《The Whole Village Thrives After Adopting a Lucky Girl》 Chapter 1 - 1: Little Girl_1 1 Chapter 1: Little Girl_1 Trantor: 549690339 Starting a new story, ¡°The Little Rural Blessing Has a Cheat¡±, those interested can have a look. ¡­ [This story debuts on Qidian Reading, where you can listen to the audio book.] ¡°Another girl!¡± Chen Fong-shi disgustedly shoved the newborn baby into her son¡¯s hands, snorted, and left the room. Once she got to the kitchen and saw two bowls of brown sugar poached eggs on the stove, her anger was barely restrained. She picked up a bowl and poured it into the pot, then said to her daughter-inw, ¡°First take this bowl of sugary eggs to your fourth aunt-inw, your second sister-inw won¡¯t be able to eat right now, so we¡¯ll wait until she¡¯s hungry. The one in the pot, just add some water and boil it, then dole it out to Qi¡¯er and Song¡¯er.¡± ¡°Yes, mother,¡± said Zhao¡¯s with joy, quickly picking up a bowl of sugary eggs and heading for the second room. She lifted the curtain and saw her brother-inw standing at the door, holding the newborn girl, his face an unreadable mix of grimness and confusion. She handed the sugary eggs to the midwife who was cleaning up her medicine box, and said, ¡°Fourth Aunt, eat first.¡± Without any hesitation, Aunt Wu took the bowl and quickly ate the six poached eggs, then downed the entire bowl of brown sugar water. After wiping her mouth, she stood up, grabbed her medicine box, and said, ¡°I am going now. Let your second sister-inw massage her abdomenter to get rid of the lochia. If there¡¯s anything, just call me. We¡¯re not far.¡± Zhao hurriedly said, ¡°Okay, thank you very much, Fourth Aunt. I¡¯ll have Big Brother send you off soon.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Wu Fourth Aunt slung her medicine box over her shoulder, gave Chen Ergou -expressionlessly standing there- a meaningful look, then lifted the curtain and left with Zhao. The woman lying on the bed turned her head, pulled the quilt over her face, and started crying.¡¯ The man holding the swaddle purse looked grim, his face terrifyingly dark. He already had two daughters and never expected that this time it would also be a girl, which made Chen Changping both angry and embarrassed. Among his three brothers, his older brother already had two sons, and even the one who just got marriedst year had a son, but his own family had three girls in a row. No, it was four births. More than a year ago, that one, only born f or a while, had her face covered by ident during his wife¡¯s deep sleep at night, and by the next day she was gone. That was also a daughter. Chen Changping could only feel his head buzzing. He was mortified. As the saying goes, there are three unfilial conducts, with no offspring being the greatest. Was his second family going to end his lineage? Thinking of the strange gazes he might receive from rtives and friends, the oblique insinuations from his parents, as well as the various gossip and innuendos, Chen Changping felt like his blood was running backwards. Looking at the baby in his hands again, he was filled with disgust. He turned around and left the house. The sunset was everywhere at this time, with a few passersby on the road. Chen Changping tucked the tiny swaddle into his wide sleeve and walked quickly towards the back mountain. The infant in his sleeve moved her little head a few times and her mouth twitched twice before falling back to sleep quietly. Standing next to the hill for a moment, he still felt it was too close to the mountain road and not hidden enough. If this little bastard was picked up by a passing viger and brought back to the vige for everyone to know, it would not be good. Everyone knew his wife had just given birth, and it would be easy for people to guess it was their child that was abandoned. After thinking for a while, Chen Changping walked a few dozen steps further in before taking the swaddle out and cing it in a patch of grass. Still standing a while longer, and clenching his palm, in the end, he didn¡¯t dare to strangle the baby girl. Well, maybe she¡¯ll be carried away by a wild wolf overnight, and he wouldn¡¯t have to bear the guilt of killing a girl. Looking around and seeing no one, Chen Changping turned around and hurried down the mountain. ¡­ During thete spring, the wild peach trees all over the mountain shed their flowers and were hung with fuzzy little fruits. The wild cherries were already ripe, their stalks attached to branches, red and yellow, looking especially tempting. In Dongchen Vige, by the Chuanhe River, several women are pounding clothes and washing vegetables. ¡°Did you hear? Jiang Sang¡¯s family found a girl yesterday. Who knows whose child was abandoned, tsk, tsk, the umbilical cord wasn¡¯t even detached.¡± ¡°Really? Did you see it with your own eyes, Auntie Er?¡± A woman seemed not to believe it, ¡°Who would abandon a child these days? It¡¯s not like we¡¯re in a famine and can¡¯t afford to raise them.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the truth? I went to their house to borrow a bucket this morning and saw it with my own eyes.¡± Aunt Wang Ersan wrung the clothes in her hand, threw them into the basket, and said, ¡°Her whole face was red and swollen, said it was bitten by ants, tsk tsk tsk.¡± ¡°Oh dear, it¡¯s such a sin.¡± Another woman leaned in to ask, ¡°Where was she found?¡± ¡°No idea, Jiang Sang¡¯s family simply won¡¯t tell.¡± Aunt Wang nced around, a gossipy look on her face: ¡°Probably from one of the nearby viges. I wonder which family is so disgraceful.¡± ¡°Absolutely!¡± The women knocked their washing sticks on clothing, a flurry of noise. ¡°Anyway, she¡¯s not from our vige. We only have about twenty households in our vige, everyone would know if a woman so much as farted, let alone gave birth to a child.¡± One woman said. The crowd burst intoughter. ¡°Certainly, no one in our vige would be that heartless.¡± Aunt Wang pursed her lips: ¡°What¡¯s unfortunate is that the baby is a girl. If it were a boy, Xu Chunniang would be relieved.¡± Jiang Sang had been married to Xu Chunniang for ten years without a single child, which had nearly infuriated his mother to death. The women looked at each other, breaking into knowingughter, ¡°Yes, yes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s to Jiang Sang¡¯s credit that he hasn¡¯t divorced his wife after all these years.¡± ¡°Indeed, if it were my family, constant nagging would ensue everyday. A wife without a child wouldn¡¯tst three years in my family, let alone ten.¡± ¡°Absolutely.¡± The crowd agreed. One woman knocked her washing stick and said: ¡°Ah, Chunniang is lucky to have a husband who cares for her. Without Jiang Sang¡¯s protection, she would have long been divorced by his mother.¡± ¡°Yes, what a shame Jiang Sang is such a talented man, both cultured and strong. I am afraid there might be no continuation of his lineage.¡± Another woman sighed. ¡°Who can disagree?¡± The women sighed collectively, sometimes feeling sorry for Jiang Sang, sometimes envying Xu Chunniang for having a handsome and caring husband. The thought of their own husbands, whose unkempt beards and body odor were sources of displeasure, resulted in an acrid taste in their mouths. ¡°A baby girl is not so bad.¡± A woman wringing clothes said: ¡°How does the saying go? Raising a daughter brings a son. This baby girl might bring Jiang Sang a chubby baby boy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily true.¡± A woman retorted. ¡°Why not? Isn¡¯t that exactly what happened to Chen Ergou¡¯s family in West Vige? Their daughter-inw didn¡¯t have a child for three years until his old mother adopted a baby girl. Guess what, less than two yearster, Ergou¡¯s wife was pregnant.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes, I heard about that. It truly happened.¡± ¡°Yes, even the girl might be adopted by Jiang Sang from somewhere else, iming it as a foundling. He probably feigned her origin to avoid being ridiculed if she didn¡¯t bring them a child.¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s also a possibility¡­¡± After a round of gossip, the women finished washing the clothes, packed their baskets, and returned home. Dongchen Vige, Jiang Family. Jiang Sang walked into the house with a bowl of sheep milk and told his wife: ¡°Older brother¡¯s sheep just hadmbs yesterday, so I milked some to feed the baby.¡± ¡°Oh, what a coincidence!¡± Xu Chunniang rejoiced, ¡°Now the baby has milk to drink.¡± They were worried about what to feed the child, but it turned out that the ewe, his elder brother bought earlier that year, had just given birth. She ced the swaddled baby on the bed, covered it with a thin nket, rolled up her sleeves to take the bowl, and told her husband, ¡°I¡¯ll go boil it. You look after her; she was crying a lot earlier.¡± Jiang Sang passed the y bowl into his wife¡¯s hand, looked at the baby on the bed, and the more he looked, the more attached he became, ¡°She must be hungry, she has only had some sugar water since yesterday.¡± The baby on the bed opened her eyes slightly and suddenly smiled at him. ¡°Oh, our daughter knows how to smile.¡± Jiang Sang was thrilled, touched his stubble, and proudly said, ¡°Our daughter recognizes her dad.¡± ¡°Stop talking nonsense.¡± Xu Chunniang shot a nce at him, ¡°She is so little. How could she possibly recognize you?¡± Jiang Sang chuckled, ¡°You never know; our daughter is very smart. Yesterday, the moment I picked her up, she stopped crying and just kept shedding tears, as if she was grievously wronged.¡± Thinking of the baby girl¡¯s pitiful face, Jiang Sang¡¯s heart ached. He reached out to touch her head and sighed. Who would be so heartless to abandon a newborn baby girl on a grave mound? They clearly wanted the child to die. If he hadn¡¯t passed by and heard a baby¡¯s cry in the graveyard, the baby would most likely have been eaten by snakes, rats, and ants in another day or two. If you didn¡¯t want to raise a child, you could give her away. Why kill her? ¡°It¡¯s alright now; you¡¯re my, Jiang San¡¯s, true daughter from now on.¡± Jiang Sang picked up the baby and held her close to his chest, ¡°As long as I have something to eat, you will never go hungry.¡± Chapter 2 - 2: Rebirth_1 2 Chapter 2: Rebirth_1 Trantor: 549690339 The milk in the y pot has boiled. Xu Chunniang removes the skin from the milk with a spoon. Once it has cooled down, she carries the baby and feeds her spoonful by spoonful. The little girl doesn¡¯t rush or fuss, swallowing mouthful after mouthful. Once she is almost full, she closes her mouth tightly and closes her eyelids, looking like she wants to sleep. After using a handkerchief to clean the corners of the baby girl¡¯s mouth, Xu Chunniang lightly pats her back to burp her. She looks up at her husband and says, ¡°Sang, let¡¯s name her.¡± Jiang Sang scratches his head, but can¡¯t think of a good character even after racking his brain. ¡°Why not ask Uncle Chen Sanyou? I¡­I can¡¯t think of a good name at the moment.¡± Uncle Chen Sanyou, also known as Chen Cunzheng, is the respected vige head of Dongchen Vige. He has a rudimentary knowledge of literature and calligraphy, and has named many children in the vige. Xu Chunniang shakes her head, ¡°No need to trouble him.¡± She doesn¡¯t want the news of them adopting a child to spread throughout the vige. Although they cannot keep this a secret, it¡¯s better to keep a low profile. Once the baby grows up, people will be ustomed to it. ¡°How about we call her Yingbao?¡± Xu Chunniang gently rubs her daughter¡¯s little face and suggests, ¡°She¡¯s the treasure you found when you went to pick cherries at North Mountain.¡± ¡°Good, let¡¯s call her Yingbao.¡± Jiang Sang ps his thigh,ughing and agreeing, ¡°Chunniang, you¡¯re right. She¡¯s the treasure I found while picking cherries.¡± Hehe, this name is good. It¡¯s auspicious! In the blink of an eye, it is spring again after fall and winter. In the full bloom of spring, Little Yingbao is now eleven months old. She can not only crawl, but also walk a few steps with the support of a wall. ¡°Dad!¡± Yingbao holds onto the wall with one hand and opens the other to Jiang Sang who has just entered the house, ¡°Pick up!¡± She can speak now, but can only utter one or two words disjointedly. ¡°Oh, Yingbao, are you learning to walk? Tired? Come, see what Dad has brought for you.¡± Jiang Sang takes out a somewhat wrinkly green and red fruit from his bosom and dangles it in his hand. He bends down to his daughter and teases, ¡°Do you want to eat it? It¡¯s sweet and fragrant.¡± Yingbao¡¯s eyes light up, and she reaches out her chubby little hand to hold it, making a sound that indicates her approval. It¡¯s arge apple. Although its appearance is not very good, it¡¯s still a rare sight in rural areas during this season. ¡°Where did you get it?¡± Xu Chunniang nces at it while she¡¯s sitting next to him, busily stitching a shoe sole. Jiang Sang gives a mischievous smile, bends down to pick up his daughter and sits next to his wife. ¡°Mother gave it to me. She couldn¡¯t bear to eat it and secretly gave it to me. She said it¡¯s for Yingbao to sweeten her mouth.¡± Xu Chunniang gives her husband a disdainful re, ¡°Isn¡¯t this the annual gift that your eldest sister-inw gave your parents? You actually brought it home? We have already separated from the family. It won¡¯t sound good if outsiders see it.¡± His eldest brother¡¯s family also has children. If the sister-inw finds out that mother-inw secretly gave an apple to her third son, who knows what she would think. ¡°What¡¯s the big deal? I didn¡¯t ask for it. How can I not ept it when mother gives it to me? Gifts from elders should not be declined. Don¡¯t you understand!¡± Jiang Sang doesn¡¯t care at all. Seeing that his daughter can¡¯t bite open the apple skin with her little teeth, he takes it and nibbles off a circle of skin before returning it to her hands. Yingbao: ¡­ She lowers her head to look at the bitten and irregr apple, and suddenly can¡¯t bring herself to eat it. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you eating?¡± Jiang Sang scratches her little nose andughs, ¡°Have you grown tired of your father?¡± Yingbao blinks and shakes her head, ¡°Not tired!¡± She takes a big bite and then removes it from her mouth to stuff it into her father¡¯s mouth, ¡°Dad, eat!¡± Jiang Sang bursts intoughter and takes a bite of the apple that Yingbao hands him as a token of filial piety. Xu Chunniang alsoughs, she gently strokes her daughter¡¯s fluffy little head, ¡°Our Yingbao is really filial, she knows to give the first bite to her father.¡± Yingbao nods her little head affirmatively, ¡°Filial! Daddy, mommy!¡± She takes another bite and then hands it to Chunniang. ¡°Hahaha, good girl!¡± Jiang Sangughs heartily, ¡°When your mother and I get old, we can count on Yingbao to look after us.¡± Yingbao shakes her head, holding her chubby little hand up towards her mother, ¡°Brother! Yingbao! Take care!¡± ¡°What is Yingbao saying?¡± Jiang Sang doesn¡¯t understand what his daughter is saying, so heughs and asks. Yingbao gets down from her father¡¯s knee, wobbles over to Xu Chunniang, and jumps into her mother¡¯s arms. She touches her mother¡¯s belly and says, ¡°Brother! Mom, brother!¡± It seems Jiang Sang now understands what she means. Is her daughter trying to say that she has a baby brother in her belly? How is that possible? Xu Chunniang was also dumbfounded. She rubbed her belly and asked with a smile, ¡°Yingbao, are you saying that there¡¯s a little brother in Mommy¡¯s belly?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Yingbao earnestly nodded, and ced her small hand on her mother¡¯s belly, insisting, ¡°Baby brother!¡± Two of them! Jiang Sang was stunned, suddenly recalling how his wife had an ongoingck of appetite and was often dry-heaving these past few days. Could it be¡­ could it be¡­ His eyes suddenly lit up with surprise. He grabbed his wife¡¯s arm and suggested, ¡°You¡¯ve beenining about digestive problems these past few days¡­ What if we¡­ what if we go see a midwife?¡± Xu Chunniang was also taken aback and murmured, ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± She¡¯d been married for nearly eleven years, nearly thirty years old ¨C how could she possibly be pregnant? Jiang Sang urgently helped his wife stand, ¡°Seeing a doctor won¡¯t hurt, even if¡­ even if you¡¯re not pregnant, we should still have a check-up. You¡¯ve been unable to eat properly for days, that¡¯s not good¡­¡± Xu Chunniang contemted then nodded, ¡°Then let¡¯s go. We certainly can¡¯t make it today, let¡¯s go to the town tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Jiang Sang hoisted up his daughter and spun her around joyously. He was so happy his smile reached his eyes, ¡°Good girl, tomorrow Daddy and Mommy will take you to the town to y.¡± Xu Chunniang chuckled lightly, folding up her shoe soles, ¡°Let¡¯s have soup biscuits for dinner and make a steamed egg custard for Yingbao.¡± ¡­ Midwife Old Zhang lived in town, about five or six li away from Dongchen Vige ¨C a half-hour¡¯s walk. Jiang Sang did not want to tire his wife and nned on borrowing a donkey from Chen Cunzheng as a ride. ¡°No.¡± Xu Chunniang was a little embarrassed, ¡°Let¡¯s just walk, it¡¯s not like I can¡¯t manage.¡± Zhang Midwife was well-known in town, the widely recognized go-to midwife within a radius of several li. Those who went there for consultations were either pregnant or hoping to be. In past years, she¡¯d gone there several times for consultation, taken a lot of medicine, but there was still no movement in her womb. If she goes again this time and truly is pregnant, well and good, but if she¡¯s not, who knows how others wouldugh at her. ¡°Alright then.¡± Jiang Sang held his daughter with one hand and helped his wife with the other, ¡°Just be careful.¡± Xu Chunniang chuckled and pushed her husband¡¯s hand away, ¡°I was carrying water just yesterday, and today I suddenly can¡¯t walk anymore?¡± Jiang Sang awkwardly withdrew his hand, held his daughter tightly, and whispered, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t do it anymore, wait for me to do everything.¡± He¡¯d been busy in the fields during the spring nting season. He would leave before daybreak and only return after dark. He was even eating his meals in the fields, which were brought by his wife. Naturally, he didn¡¯t have time to fetch water for the house. However, from then on, he could rise half an hour earlier, ensuring to fill the water vat before going to work. Xu Chunniang smiled at her husband and rubbed her belly, her heart full of trepidation. Yingbao blinked her eyes ¨C first at her dad, then at her mom ¨C and smiled sweetly. How wonderful, Mother is pregnant with Baby Brother. Their family is finally reunited. Yingbao hugged her father¡¯s neck tightly, her mind returning to the red birthmark on her wrist. It was this birthmark that had forever parted her from her mom, dad, and younger brother. She¡¯ll have to figure out how to get rid of it. Before then, she must carefully hide it and not let others see it. She definitely didn¡¯t want to be recognized and taken back by that family, to endure the torment, deceit, and murder again. In her previous life, she struggled for over a decade to survive, yet only lived until she was twenty-one. Just when she thought she¡¯d finally escaped to taste the sweetness of life, her biological parents suddenly tracked her down and jointly strangled her to death. She clearly remembered her biological mother, tight-lipped and gritting her teeth while cursing as she tightened the rope, ¡°You disaster star! Evil wench! How dare you live? How can you still live?¡± The intensity with which Han Family¡¯s matriarch was exerting herself twisted her face and frothed her mouth. She looked like a terrifying demon. Even now, the memory of the choking pain as the rope tightened around her throat, the head-splitting pressure as her brain struggled for oxygen, and the profound despair and anger caused her to tremble uncontrobly. Chapter 3 - 3: Grotto_1 3 Chapter 3: Grotto_1 Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao has died once and reincarnated, reincarnated back to when Daddy Jiang first found her. She felt both fortunate and fearful. She was d to be back with her parents, once again being a worry-free and cherished baby. But she was afraid that, in a few years, she¡¯d be imed by that family again and forced once more down the path of her previous life. In this era of ceremonialws binding monarchs and ministers, fathers and sons, she was just a woman with no rights, restrained by kinship, filial piety, and societal norms, with no way to protect herself. Even if her biological father had once abandoned her and never raised her, as long as they came to im her, everyone would take morality as their high ground, use her with blood ties, suppress her with filial piety, and even the Prefectural Government Office sided with them. In her previous life, she had already seen those people¡¯s true colors. If she had to live again, she vowed not topromise even if she had to die once more. What nonsense about the debt of life being greater than the sky! What kind of favor did she owe to people who schemed against her and intended to harm her? Yingbao closed her eyes, and her consciousness instantly entered a cave. This was her territory, a magical ce she identally discovered in her previous life, a mysterious cave. The cave was about ten square feet in size, with an almond-shapedrge pool in the middle that took up about six or seven tenths of the cave. The pool water was clear, sweet and slightly blue. In the middle of the pool was arge spherical object emitting a golden light like the sun. This waspletely different from the cave in her previous life. She remembered when she was eighteen years old, just escaped from the armymander¡¯s residence, disguised as a beggar, hiding everywhere. One day, she was shivering inside a statue niche in a dpidated temple. The temple was draughty and chilling to the bone. She was feverish and somewhat delirious. Pictures flitted through her delirium, consciousness suddenly entered this strange cave. Back then the cave had nothing but thick ice, making her think she had fallen into an ice hole. Unexpectedly, in this rebirth, the ice in the cave melted and disappeared. There was an additional pool in the cave, and there was a glowing sphere in the center of the pool. It looked extraordinary at a nce. Yingbao came to the edge of the pool and buried the apple seeds she had brought in yesterday into the soft ck soil by the pool. This ck soil, three feet wide, circled the pool. At a nce, it looked like someone had drawn a ck eyeliner around the pool with a brush. This strange ce perfectly matched the description of the mysterious caves in the storybooks. So Yingbao wanted to test whether this ck soil was also as described in the storybooks, possessing magical functions and able to grow anything nted within. If one day an apple tree truly grew from it, then her family would have sweet, big apples to eat in the future. After burying the seeds and watering them several times, Yingbao¡¯s consciousness began to blur and soon fell asleep. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in the midwife¡¯s house, with the midwife taking her mother¡¯s pulse. Zhang the midwife was over seventy, her white hair neatly tied behind her head. A silver hairpin was inserted in her bun, the tassel on the head of the pin swaying gently with her movements. It was said that this old woman had worked at the county government office when she was young, doing the work of a midwife. Later, when she got older, she returned to her hometown to retire. She was very skilled at handling pregnancies and childbirth, as well as treating someplex diseases in women, so many people respected her and sought her for treatment. ¡°How is it?¡± Jiang Sang couldn¡¯t help but ask. Zhang the midwife released her pulse-taking fingers and turned to smile, ¡°Congrattions, your wife has a happy pulse. She¡¯s about three months pregnant.¡± ¡°Ah? Really? You¡¯re not joking with me, are you?¡± Jiang Sang spoke excitedly and incoherently, somewhat incredulous. ¡°Would I joke about this?¡± The midwife stood with a smile, took out a stethoscope from her medical box, and said to Xu Family¡¯s wife, ¡°Third Mistress, follow me. I will let you listen to the baby¡¯s breath.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Xu¡¯s wife got up, nced at her husband, and followed the midwife into the back room. Before long, the midwife emerged, cheerful, and said, ¡°Oh my, Sang, your wife is carrying twins.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Jiang Sang eximed in surprise, ¡°This¡­ is it really twins?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The midwife put away her stethoscope and, with a nce at Jiang Sang, advised him in a soft voice, ¡°Your wife is almost thirty, isn¡¯t she? And this being her first pregnancy, you must take extra precautions.¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Jiang Sang grew even more anxious, stuttering, ¡°Well¡­ what precautions should I take? What¡­ What should I do?¡± The midwife wiped her hands on a cloth and, upon seeing that thedy from the Xu family had finished tidying her clothes and wasing out from the inner room, she continued, ¡°Let your wife eat well, including meat and eggs, and do not strain herself with heavy duties. When she is seven or eight months along, she should eat less rice and more vegetables to facilitate delivery.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Jiang Sang hastily acknowledged. ¡°And remember, when she is nearing full term, find apetent midwife in good time. Don¡¯t leave it until it¡¯s toote. Twins are a different matter entirely from a single baby, you mustn¡¯t be careless,¡± cautioned the midwife, her tone solemn and earnest. ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Jiang Sang fervently nodded his head in agreement. Upon leaving the midwife¡¯s abode, Jiang Sang was still somewhat dazed. Carrying one daughter in one arm, he held his wife¡¯s hand with the other and spoke softly, ¡°Let¡¯s go buy two pounds of brown sugar, and measure out some rice to make porridge for you.¡± Unfortunately, there was no market today and the butcher shops in the town had closed early; otherwise, he could have bought some pork to take home. ¡°Rice is expensive, we have only a bit of money left at home. Let¡¯s not waste it unnecessarily.¡± Chunniang grumbled, ¡°It¡¯s just the beginning of spring, there are still several months until harvest.¡± Jiang Sang looked at his wife sympathetically and reassured her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, once we finish nting our fields, I will go to the county to find work. I¡¯m sure I can find something.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not as easy as that.¡± Chunniang sighed, ¡°The county is a long way away. Where will you stay? Will you end up sleeping in a dpidated temple likest time?¡± Last year after the harvest, Sang and two other vigers went to the county in search of work. They couldn¡¯t find anything and were nearly beaten to death by a gang of local ruffians. Chen Cunzheng¡¯s nephew had been the worst off, he still couldn¡¯t do heavy work to this day. Jiang Sang scratched his head, ¡°We definitely need to purchase rice and brown sugar. The midwife said that you should eat fine nutritious food¡­ And when we get home, we can ughter one of our old hens to make soup.¡± ¡°We only have two hens left, and they¡¯reying eggs now. We can¡¯t afford to ughter one.¡± The Xu family wife interrupted her husband¡¯s incessant rambling, ¡°Without hens toy eggs, what will Tiantian eat?¡± ¡°Ah yes, hehehe, Tiantian does need to have an egg custard every day, I forgot.¡± Jiang Sang scratched his head andughed foolishly. Tiantian blinked her eyes, too, was at a loss. Their home was poor,prised of three thatch huts and a small kitchen, with a bamboo fence enclosing it. Just like in their previous lives, there was barely any furniture in the house. As for food, they had just enough to eat. She had once looked inside the jar where they kept their food. There was only a thinyer of wheat in there. Even the least appetizing millet, they only had about one stone measurement left, just enough to sustain the family until the harvest. The two hens at home were probably their most valuable possessions right now. Being small and delicate herself, with weak legs and speech difficulties, she couldn¡¯t help her parents and depended on them to look after her. Tiantian was worried, her little face creased with concern. Her mother was pregnant with her brother and needed more nutrition. How could she eat only wheat and millet? Suddenly, an idea shed through her mind. Wasn¡¯t there a river to the west of the vige? Even though the current was strong, there would be fish in the river. ¡°Daddy, fishing!¡± she decided to give her doting father a hint. Without meat, mommy can eat fish. As long as they could borrow a fishing, they should be able to catch some fish and shrimp. Chapter 4 - 4: A Book_1 4 Chapter 4: A Book_1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°What?¡± Jiang Sang, as ever, was puzzled by his daughter¡¯s speech. ¡°Fish, fish!¡± Yingbao was exhausted. ¡°Fish fish.¡± Spring Ladyughed and acted as a trantor, ¡°The little miss is asking for fish.¡± Yingbao kept nodding in agreement. Her beautiful mother was indeed intelligent. ¡°Ha, ha, so Yingbao wants to eat fish,¡± Jiang Sang suddenly understood, ¡°Once daddy is home, I will go and catch one from the river!¡± Yingbao: ¡­ Having bought brown sugar and a measure of rice, and spent ten coins on a bamboo basket to hold things, he had spent almost all of his remaining money. Jiang Sang put his daughter in the bamboo basket on his back, held his wife¡¯s hand and happily rushed home. Once home, he ced the little miss on the kang bed, and the couple started a fire and began kneading dough, ready to reward themselves with pancakes. Yingbao on the kang bed was rather bored, rolling around several times, she eventuallyy down pretending to sleep. From her little pouch, she took out a handful of rice in its husk, secretly brought it into the cave and ced it next to the stone wall with the various seeds she had collected earlier. These were all grains she had secretly taken a few days ago from their storage of home. Upon inspection by Yingbao, there were a few soybeans, a handful of wheat grains, a handful of millet, and the rice she had just brought in. It was a pity that she was too young and had insufficient energy. She couldn¡¯t stay in this space for long, otherwise, she would certainly have nted them all by now. While she still had the energy, Yingbao looked intently around the cave. The cave ceiling, the surrounding walls, and the ground, all were made of hard rock, and she felt as if she were in a closed-off space made from rock. There was no apparent passage to enter or leave, yet she was clearly standing here, which was indeed magical. Yingbao also found that some crystal clear white nts were growing in the cracks of the rock. They looked a bit like Ganoderma lucidum. The crystal white leaves were only the size of soybeans, plump and thick. Clustered together, they looked like palm-sized hydrangeas. If you pinch the leaves, they burst into a sticky juice, akin to cactus juice. The juice had a faint fragrance that was invigorating, and it would dry quickly when applied to the skin. The skin it was applied to became as smooth as if it had been coated with snow cream, and the lingering fragrance persisted. It seemed harmless, but she couldn¡¯t confirm if it was edible. However, ording to the logic of the story scripts, some treasures of heaven and earth were indeed grown in mysterious caves or secret realms. Hence, this crystal white nt could be a kind of treasure from heaven and earth. Yingbao, lost in her thoughts, decided to take some out when she had the chance to feed it to the animals for observation, and see what their reactions would be. Unfortunately, there had not been a suitable opportunity recently, and she had not encountered any animals she could feed. Of course, she couldn¡¯t use her own hens for testing. What if they died, or stoppedying eggs because of it? That would certainly break her and her parents¡¯ hearts. Yingbao lingered in the cave a bit longer, but soon she was unable to keep her eyes open, and unknowingly fell asleep. In her dream, she seemed to be walking through a mist, suddenly a golden light shed in front of her, bringing up a giant book asrge as a table, a few majestic characters on the book cover: Qian Pce Sweet Charming. Oh, this¡­ Perhaps it was because she had not been reading script stories for a while, so even her dreams contained a book with such a familiar title. She turned to the first page, and Yingbao looked closely, several familiar terms jumped out from the paper. Chuanhe Town, Xichen Vige, Qinchuan County, Chen Tiantian. Yingbao was taken aback. The ce she was in now, wasn¡¯t it Chuanhe Town in Qinchuan County? Across the river, wasn¡¯t that Xichen Vige? And Chen Tiantian, this name sounded so familiar, but she just couldn¡¯t remember where she had heard it before. As he was deep in thought, a sudden gust of wind blew, turning the book in his hands into paper butterflies scattering in all directions, impossible to catch. It¡¯s a pity, he had almost finished the second chapter, and now he didn¡¯t know what would happen next. The two chapters were actually quite simple, mainly depicting Chen Tiantian¡¯s beautiful and charming appearance and cleverness. It also mentioned that she was a well-known beauty in Qinchuan County and the little lucky star who was doted on by her entire family. One day, a group of poor rtives from the countryside suddenly arrived at the beauty¡¯s home. It was said that Chuanhe had experienced a great flood, destroying many houses and estates. These rtives escaped from their vige and sought refuge with Chen Tiantian¡¯s mother, Mrs. Han. Yingbao frowned. Xichen Vige, a flood, and going to the county seat to seek refuge with rtives surnamed Han. This was what happened when she was nine. Mentioning it, the town where she lived, Chuanhe Town, was right next to the Chuan River, and every few years there would be a flood. However, because the Chen Vige was located at a higher elevation, each time a flood urred only the crops and farnds were flooded, the vige homes were not affected. But at the age of six and nine, Chuan River experienced two serious floods. The year when she was six, she remembered that heavy rain started in early summer, followed by the rising water level of the Chuan River, flooding both viges and the surrounding viges. People took their cattle and sheep and fled to the higher terrains of Houbei Mountain or Xiaonan Mountain, only after over ten days, the water level gradually receded. The water in the vige receded, but the ripening crops were lost. The farnd was filled with silt from the flood, and it was not possible to rent for a while, so many vigers took their families and fled. The summer of the year she was nine, there was also a lot of heavy rain, Jhelum flood came rushing, not only breaking the stone bridge between the two viges, but the houses in the vige were also almostpletely washed away. Many vigers died in that unprecedented flood. Yingbao remembered that she went with the Chen Changping¡¯s family to the county town for refuge, and stayed in the house of Aunt Han, the younger sister of her birth mother, Han. The situation of Aunt Han¡¯s family was good. Her husband¡¯s surname was also Chen, and he was said to be a trusted adviser of the County Magistrate, and was quite respected in the county town. Even the clerks in the government office addressed him cordially. Aunt Han had two sons and three daughters. Usually she called her daughters Big Yaya, Second Yaya, and Third Yaya, but which one of them was Chen Tiantian, she did not know. Before she could think more about it, her consciousness began to blur. When she woke up the next day, her head was still filled with the dream she hadst night, and she felt listless. Sigh, it would have been nice if she could continue the story, the feeling of being left hanging, was really annoying. ¡°Baobao, time to eat.¡± Chunniang cooked sticky sweet white rice porridge and also made a steamed egg custard, mixed together to feed her daughter. Yingbao ate it spoon by spoon, soon finishing a small bowl. She had to grow up fast, so she could start running and jumping without needing her mother¡¯s constant care. ¡°Baobao is really obedient today, she ate a whole bowl.¡± Chunniang put down the bowl and smilingly rubbed her daughter¡¯s stomach, ¡°Let mother see, is your little belly full?¡± Yingbao was ticklish, and she giggled away to dodge her mother¡¯s hand. The mother and daughter were having fun when Grandma Jiang walked in with a basket. ¡°Mother is here.¡± Chunniang quickly got up to greet her. After the division of the family, even though they lived in the same vige with Grandmother Jiang Liu, she seldom visited. But today was unusual as she came early in the morning. However, Chunniang knew clearly that her pregnancy must have been told to her mother-inw by her husband. Grandmother ced the basket on the table, scanned her daughter-inw up and down, her gaze lingering on her daughter-inw¡¯s abdomen. ¡°Sang told me you were pregnant, so I came to see. I¡¯ve brought some chicken eggs from home. Your sister-inw asked me to bring them to you.¡± Grandmother and her husband lived with their eldest son and all household affairs were managed by her eldest daughter-inw. Luckily, the eldest daughter-inw was virtuous and sensible, and she had picked some egg early in the morning and asked her to give it to her third son¡¯s wife. Chapter 5 - 5: Sending the Child_1 5 Chapter 5: Sending the Child_1 Trantor: 549690339 Chunniang supported the olddy to sit on the edge of the kang and anxiously said, ¡°We still have eggs at rhome, you should keep these and nourish your body¡­¡± Everyone has it hard these days, let alone she hadn¡¯t given birth yet, it didn¡¯t feel right to ept her sister-inw¡¯s eggs. Jiang Liu nced at her and took off her shoes to climb onto the kang and sit cross-legged. ¡°What belongs to your household is yours, but the eggs are a token of affection from your sister-inw, so you mustn¡¯t decline. Besides, you¡¯re pregnant for the first time, and it¡¯s twins at that. You need to eat nutritiously.¡± Xu Family¡¯s daughter-inw bowed her head in submission, quietly taking the advice. Jiang Liu, annoyed at her daughter-inw¡¯s silence, started lecturing her: ¡°Look at you, already pregnant but always huddled at home. It¡¯s good for your legs and feet to move around, it¡¯ll make for a smoother birth as well.¡± Chunniang wanted to deny her usation of always staying at home but was afraid to interrupt and upset her mother-inw, so she held back. Jiang Liu continued, ¡°You don¡¯t have to do the heavy or exhausting work. You have your husband, and if he¡¯s not avable, just call out for your sisters-inw and they¡¯ll help you out.¡± Touched by her mother-inw¡¯s kindness, Chunniang responded softly, ¡°Yes, mother.¡± Jiang Liu sat up straight, lecturing on and on. Seeing Chunniang obedient andpliant, unlike her second daughter-inw who loves to talk back, made her feel much better. The long-standing frustration was diluted by her daughter-inw¡¯s pregnancy situation. The olddy touched Little Yingbao¡¯s nose and said in a gentle tone, ¡°And you, from now on, don¡¯t let your mother carry you. Be careful not to identally bump the baby inside her.¡± Seeing her grandma talking about her, Yingbao grinned, ¡°Grandma, Yingbao is good, won¡¯t carry, granny carry!¡± ¡°Ah, what a sweetie, you can call me grandma.¡± Jiang Liu was thrilled to see the little one so sensible and able to understand human speech. She stroked the toddler¡¯s small head and affectionately said, ¡°Grandma is too old to carry Yingbao. How about I let your sister carry you next time?¡± ¡°Mmm!¡± Yingbao nodded agreeably, ¡°Sister, carry!¡± The houses of the first and second uncles had several boys, but only two girls. They were Dani from the eldest uncle¡¯s family and Erni from the second uncle¡¯s house, aged nine and six respectively. In her previous life, she used to follow the two cousins around and y until she was five. They picked ragged clothes, collected firewood, and gathered amaranth, even enjoying ying house with mud. It was wonderful fun. But those happy memories abruptly ended with the arrival of the Chens. ¡°That¡¯s a deal. Grandma will have your sister carry you.¡± Jiang Liu touched Yingbao¡¯s forehead and said to her daughter-inw, ¡°Pack a few clothes for Yingbao and take her to the front yard. Let your eldest sister-inw take care of her for a while, and you need to take care of your pregnancy.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Upon hearing this, Chunniang quickly declined, ¡°It¡¯s not good to bother my sister-inw. Yingbao is a good kid, I¡­ I can take care of her myself, it¡¯s no trouble.¡± She couldn¡¯t bear to hand over Yingbao to someone else, even her sister-inw. ¡°As you wish.¡± Jiang Liu nced at her third daughter-inw, feeling that she had given all the necessary instructions. She got off the kang, put on her shoes, beat the dust off her clothes, and walked out, saying as she went: ¡°If one day you find you can¡¯t cope, just call for Dani in the front toe and help out. I need to go back. Be careful not to climb or go to high or low ces to avoid straining yourself.¡± ¡°I understand, mother.¡± After sending her mother-inw off, Chunniang breathed a sigh of relief. Thinking of her mother-inw¡¯s advice to move around more for an easier childbirth, she reached out to hold her daughter, ¡°Yingbao, do you want to go outside with mom to see the peach blossoms?¡± Yingbao remembered grandma¡¯s instructions and was reluctant to be carried by her mother. She shook her head, pushing away her mother¡¯s hand. Yingbao twisted her hips to slide down from the kang, then reached out her small hand for her mother to hold. A peach tree outside the courtyard bloomed luxuriously, its pink petals scattered all over the ground. After walking around a fewps, mother and daughter sat to rest under the peach tree. Yingbao propped herself up against therge stone under the tree, crouching down to pick up the peach blossoms. Chunniang sat next to her, embroidering a pair of tiger-head shoes. All of a sudden, Wang Er¡¯s wife from next door came over with her embroidery basket. She plopped down on a small stool under the tree, gazing at Chunniang¡¯s tiger-head shoes for a bit before breaking the silence: ¡°Oh, are you making shoes for Yingbao?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Chunniang did not particrly want to engage with Wang Er¡¯s wife, who had often gossiped about her outside. Wang Er¡¯s wife ignored Chunniang¡¯s coldness, and said mysteriously, ¡°Chunniang, let me tell you something fascinating.¡± Chunniang nced at her, ¡°What is it?¡± Wang Er¡¯s wife moved her stool closer to Chunniang, ying coy, ¡°You know, Chen Cunzheng¡¯s daughter-inw gave birth before the New Year, with Aunt Wu from West Vige acting as the midwife. Can you guess what happened?¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Wang Er¡¯s wife chuckled, nced in Yingbao¡¯s direction, and lowered her voice, ¡°Aunt Wu said that Chen Changping¡¯s wife from West Vige had another girl.¡± Xu Chunniang didn¡¯t raise her eyes, and disdainfully said, ¡°What¡¯s so surprising about having a daughter?¡± ¡°Huh! It¡¯s not surprising, but since Chen Eng¡¯s family had their child, I¡¯ve never seen her carry a child outside.¡± Chunniang paused her work, looked up and said, ¡°So, what if she doesn¡¯t go out?¡± Wang Erniang covered her mouth and chuckled softly, ¡°Some people say that their child has been given away.¡± Chunniang¡¯s heart skipped a beat, her brow furrowed. ¡°Oh dear, who could they possibly give the child to?¡± Wang Erniang threw a nce at Yingbao, ¡°Who has spare money to raise someone else¡¯s daughter?¡± Chunniang sternly asked, ¡°What do you mean, Erniang?¡± Wang Erniang smirked, ¡°I was just talking carelessly, don¡¯t overthink it. Yingbao was picked up by your third son, what does she have to do with Chen Changping¡¯s family? Anyway, Chen Eng is an educated man, his family isn¡¯tcking in food or drink, how could they abandon a child, right?¡± She winked as she continued, ¡°But, Chen Changping¡¯s mother did say that the little girl was born weak and died the next day.¡± Dead? Chunniang felt a sense of relief. ¡°Oh dear, people can say whatever they want, who knows if it¡¯s true or not.¡± As Wang Erniang sorted out her thread, she said, ¡°But the midwife, Wu Siniang, said that the baby had a loud cry on the day of delivery, she didn¡¯t seem weak.¡± ¡°If she wasn¡¯t weak, howe the perfectly good baby gone all of sudden? Oh goodness, I don¡¯t even dare to think about it. Who would be heartless enough to abandon their own flesh and blood considering it¡¯s not as if we are starving?¡± Chunniang remained silent. Little Yingbao, who had been picking peach blossoms, looked at Wang Erniang; her heart was in turmoil. In her previous life, Chen Changping¡¯s family insisted the child was born weak and died before it was abandoned in the back mountain. There was no intention of intentional abandonment. Hence, the government ruled that she should be returned to her original family, and Chen Changping had to pay Jiang Family two taels of silver for the upbringing fees. She remembered when she was forcibly carried away, both her parents had red eyes from crying. It was due to that case that the Jiang Familypletely fell out with Chen Changping¡¯s family. Yingbao rubbed her nose and tugged down her sleeve. This birthmark was the tangible evidence for Chen Changping and the midwife to im her identity. Before she turned three, she must find a way to get rid of it. ¡­ In the evening, Xu Chunniang told her husband about her conversation with Wang Erniang, worriedly saying, ¡°What do you think, could our Yingbao really be Chen Changping¡¯s child?¡± Jiang Sang fell silent. After a long while, he finally said, ¡°Even if she is his child, he has abandoned her already. Can he still want to reim her?¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Chunniang pulled her daughter close to her, feeling down, ¡°I feel uneasy.¡± Jiang Sang held his wife¡¯s hand,forting her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. When I found Yingbao, there was no one around to see. Who could prove the child is from Chen Changping¡¯s family? Moreover, they abandoned the child at the graveyard, clearly not intending for her to survive, so how could theye looking for her after all this time?¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± Xu Chunniang was slightly relieved. She closed her eyes, but suddenly opened them again, ¡°Sang, you didn¡¯t tell anyone where you found Yingbao, did you?¡± Jiang Sang nodded, ¡°I¡¯m not foolish. Since we decided to raise Yingbao, why would I tell the truth?¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Xu Chunniang rests her head on her husband¡¯s chest, murmuring, ¡°If, if someone doese to im Yingbao in the future, you must say we found her at Xiaonan Mountain.¡± North and south, separated by over ten miles. ¡°Alright.¡± The husband and wife remained silent for a while. Chunniang suddenly remembered something, anxiously asking, ¡°Sang, Yingbao has a birthmark on her wrist, do you think that family will im her with the birthmark as evidence?¡± Jiang Sang frowned, and after a while, he replied, ¡°Then we just make sure no one else sees her birthmark.¡± ¡°But,¡± Chunniang said, worried, ¡°we¡¯ll be fine when it¡¯s cold, but I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to hide it in the summer.¡± There¡¯s no way a child would wear long sleeves in the summer. Even if we made her wear them, she wouldn¡¯t keep them on. She would take them off herself, ah. ¡°Don¡¯t think about it anymore, sleep. There will be a way where the road ends.¡± Jiang Sangforted his wife, ¡°After all, Chen Changping is an educated man, his reputation is still important. We didn¡¯t steal or rob Yingbao, if he wants her back, he must follow the proper procedures.¡± Chunniang didn¡¯t speak again, staying quiet. Chapter 6 - 6: Planting Trees_1 6 Chapter 6: nting Trees_1 Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, quietly listening to her parents¡¯ whispers. In the end, her parents underestimated the shamelessness of Chen Changping and his wife. They didn¡¯t need any dignity, as long as they could achieve their goals. She descended into the depths of her consciousness, and Yingbao carefully observed the red birthmark on her wrist. How to remove it without leaving a scar? As long as the birthmark on her wrist disappeared, no one could prove that she was a child of the Chen Family. Yingbao squatted by the pool, soaking and scrubbing her arm repeatedly in the icy cold water. She scraped some of the Five Dingzhi juice from the stone wall and applied it onto her wrist, unwilling to give up. She wanted to try and see if the birthmark could be scrubbed off. In the story, it mentioned that the Spiritual Spring could wash away impurities and eliminate bodily bruises. She didn¡¯t know if this water was Spiritual Spring, and whether Five Dingzhi was a treasure, but how would she know if she didn¡¯t try? ¡­ Four months passed in a blink of an eye. Yingbao was one year and three months old. After tireless efforts, she was not only able to run and jump, but hernguage skills had greatly improved. Now in the height of summer, she was wearing a sweatshirt and shorts sewn by her mother. Her wrists wrapped in cloth, she was in the corner of the yard, wielding a small shovel to dig a hole, ready to transnt saplings. The apple seeds in the soil of the cave dwelling had germinated, but unfortunately, the seedlings only grew to the height of chopsticks before they stopped growing. Without a choice, Yingbao decided to transnt them outdoors, nting them at the northwest corner of the yard. This was their vegetable plot at home. The soil was loose and fertile, suitable for young nts to grow. ¡°Yingbao, what are you nting?¡± With a big belly, Xu Chunniang walked over slowly. Her face was glowing and full, and she looked even more beautiful and tranquil than before. She was seven months pregnant but looked as if she was already full-term. It was quite difficult for her to move around. Yingbao nted the sapling, patted some earth over it, then beamed, answering, ¡°Apple tree.¡± Xu Family was curious, ¡°Where did Yingbao get an apple tree?¡± ¡°From a seed.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t hide it. ¡°The apple that Dad gave. There were seeds in it.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Xu Chunniang was surprised. Apples were rare here. They were only sold in the county town, and in small quantities. They were exotic items brought over by merchant convoys and often bought up by the wealthy as soon as they appeared. Sister Jiang Yunniang¡¯s family, who ran a business in the county town, had easier ess to foreign merchant convoys, so they could bring some home to their parents. ¡°When did Yingbao nt it?¡± Chunniang was somewhat incredulous. She thought her little girl was just ying in the mud in and around the yard every day. Yingbao stood up. ¡°In the spring.¡± Then she ran towards the kitchen to get water for irrigation. Of course, she wasn¡¯t lifting water from the well, but secretly taking it from the cave dwelling when she appeared to be in the kitchen. ¡°Baobao, you can¡¯t use well water to water the nts. You have to expose it to the sun first,¡± suggested Xu Chunniang, as a farmer, aware that well water could harm the seedlings. Yingbao blinked, hesitated for a while, then ced the water scoop on the ground. Her mother¡¯s words made sense. Perhaps the reason the seedlings in the cave did not grow was due to the water not being exposed to sunlight. Seeing how cute her little girl was, Chunniang couldn¡¯t help but touch her head, speaking softly, ¡°When Dades back, let¡¯s have him carry river water specifically for watering your trees.¡± Chunniang didn¡¯t really have high hopes for Yingbao¡¯s apple tree sapling. After all, no one had seen such a thing before, and fruit seedlings needed to be pruned and grafted by people who understood them before they could bear fruit. Otherwise, even if they grew up, it would be in vain. Of course, she wouldn¡¯t say these things to disappoint her daughter. All children have their beautiful dreams, right? At noon in the summer, the heat was extraordinary. The sun baked the earth, and it was scorching hot, as if it could peel offyers of skin. In the soybean field, Jiang Sang was wearing a straw hat, sweating profusely as he weeded with his hoe, finally finishing a plot ofnd. Looking up at the high sun and feeling his stomach already singing the song of emptiness, he wiped off his sweat, bent down to pick up the empty water jar, and rushed home with his hoe on his shoulder. On the way home, he ran into neighbor Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang, greeting them, ¡°Uncle, are you also weeding?¡± ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Uncle Wang, around four decades old, was a bit deaf. He was tall and thin, with a serious hunchback due to years of hard work. Aunt Wang, on the other hand, was robust and had a quick tongue. Seeing Jiang Sang, she asked with a smile, ¡°Sang, when is your wife due?¡± Jiang Sang scratched his head, ¡°It¡¯s still early.¡± The midwife told him that his wife¡¯s due date was at the beginning of October, but early delivery wasn¡¯t out of the question. So, Jiang Sang didn¡¯t want to tell others about his family affairs, especially someone like Aunt Wang who loved to gossip. Seeing that Jiang Sang was avoiding the question, Aunt Wang pursed her lips but dropped the topic. She just smiled and said, ¡°Sang, your little Yingbao has be quite famous recently.¡± Jiang Sang knitted his brows, ¡°Aunt, what are you talking about?¡± Aunt Wang leaned in, and said in a hushed tone, ¡°Let me tell you. Recently, many people in the vige are saying that your Yingbao is the reincarnation of a fairy child who came to earth to send children to people.¡± ¡°Aunt, don¡¯t talk nonsense!¡± The displeased Jiang Sang retorted, ¡°What kind of fairy child, who¡¯s spreading such rumors? I should go to their house and have a word. Who talks about a child like this? My Yingbao can¡¯t bear this kind of reputation.¡± If Yingbao were their own biological child, it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal, but she was picked up. And now that this rumor was out, who knew if her good-for-nothing biological parents would get any ideas. Aunt Wang snorted, ¡°Why am I talking nonsense? It¡¯s what people on the outside are saying, I¡¯m just inform you, alright. And moreover, whether you admit it or not, your wife Chunniang is genuinely pregnant with twins. She hasn¡¯t been pregnant for ten years, and just by coincidence, now she is?¡± ¡°Absurd!¡± Jiang Sang scowled, didn¡¯t address Aunt Wang again, and walked off with big steps. ¡°Humph!¡± Aunt Wang rolled her eyes. What does he think he is, a big shot? I kindly told him and he got a big huff! It was like feeding meat to a dog! He didn¡¯t appreciate it! Ugh! Wasn¡¯t his wife barren before they found Yingbao? Now, without Yingbao, wouldn¡¯t his wife still be childless? In previous years, every day they watched him throw out medicine residue. The small pond behind his house is nearly full. Does he think we¡¯re blind? Aunt Wang muttered to herself. She caught a glimpse of her husband¡¯s ring look and barked back, ¡°What are you ring at? Useless piece of junk! You only know how to bully your wife. Just now when Jiang Sang was being all high and mighty, why didn¡¯t you re at him?¡± Uncle Wang shrank his gaze, mumbled a few words unclearly, then turned his head, carrying his hoe hurriedly to walk in front. As for Jiang Sang, he strode towards home. From a distance, he saw his little girl standing at the entrance of the courtyard looking out for him. His heart warmed up instantly. ¡°Dad¡¯s home!¡± Seeing her dading home, Yingbao quickly brought a stool for him to sit and then sprinted to the kitchen to scoop water for her dad to wash his face. Jiang Sang entered the kitchen and lifted his daughter off the small stool, lightly tapping her and scolding her with a stern expression, ¡°How can you stand on a stool to scoop water? What if you fell into the barrel?¡± Yingbao giggled, ¡°Yingbao won¡¯t fall in.¡± Chapter 7 - 7: Water Chestnut_1 7 Chapter 7: Water Chestnut_1 Trantor: 549690339 Jiang Sang hummed lightly, scooped up twodles of water, then pulled the sweat-soaked towel off his shoulder to rinse in the basin. In a few swipes, he washed his face, and wiped his neck and arms. Atst, he felt cool. Yet, the water in the basin had turned pitch ck. After changing the water, he saw his wifeing over, hand on her waist. ¡°Sang, there¡¯s vegetable soup and tbreads under the basket. I¡¯ve already eaten with Yingbao. You better eat now,¡± she said. ¡°Alright.¡± Jiang Sang nodded, retrieving arge bowl of Shepherds purse soup and five pieces of dark tbread, plus a boiled goose egg from under the basket. ¡°Where did this goose egge from?¡± Jiang Sang asked, sitting at the small table and taking arge bite out of a tbread. ¡°Sister Dani brought them.¡± Chunniang fanned her husband with a palm leaf fan while also fanning Yingbao. ¡°She gave us two. Yingbao and I ate one, the other is for you.¡± Jiang Sang tasted the soup and took a bite of the tbread, then eximed, ¡°Leave the goose egg for you both tomorrow. They say pregnant women who eat goose eggs will have fair-skinned babies. Why should I, a man, eat such delicacies? It¡¯s a waste!¡± Chunniangughed, ¡°Nonsense, how is it a waste if you eat it? Yingbao and I have boiled eggs every day. Besides, our nephew has been bringing us small shrimps and loaches, we don¡¯tck just a single goose egg. You better eat now. It¡¯s such a hot day and you are farming under the scorching sun, if you don¡¯t eat some meat and protein, you¡¯ll suffer sunstroke.¡± As she spoke, she cracked the goose egg on the table corner, peeled off the shells, and handed it to her husband. Jiang Sang had no choice but to ept and began peeling the shells piece by piece. While Chunniang seated herself on the high stool, she fanned her husband and daughter. Seeing their two hens crowding around her little girl as if begging for food, she quietly said, ¡°It¡¯s strange, our two hens have gotten fattertely, and have beenying eggs more diligently, two a day, and all double-yolked.¡± Yingbao looked up at Mom, then squatted down to pet the chickens¡¯ heads and stroked their feathery backs. The two hens clucked, nuzzling their young mistress¡¯s toes affectionately. At his wife¡¯s words, Jiang Sang halted and scrunched his brows, ¡°It must be because they¡¯ve been fed earthworms. Danielle has been bringing Yingbao to collect earthworms for the chickens these days. The chickens are thriving, so of course theyy eggs more frequently.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡± Chunniang watched her daughter with a beaming smile, her joy growing the more she looked. Yingbao was getting more and more beautiful, her entire being was like a delicately carved masterpiece, her refined brows and eyes resembling that of a doll in a New Year picture. Even though she was outdoors all day being exposed to the wind and sun, she hadn¡¯t darkened a bit. As for the other kids in the vige, they were as ck as mud loaches as soon as the summer harvest was over, it was unbearable to see. ¡°Baobao,e here, open your mouth.¡± Jiang Sang held a piece of egg yolk with chopsticks and stuffed it into his daughter¡¯s mouth. He handed another piece to his wife, and then finally started to eat the rest of the goose egg. After finishing the meal, the family of the threey down on the mat for a midday nap. Yingbao couldn¡¯t fall asleep, so when her parents were sound asleep, she snuck out of the house quietly. The two hens followed her closely. The three little ones arrived at a little dry ditch. This was the earthworm haven that Yingbao and Sister Dani frequented. The fertile soil in the ditch was excellent for growing seedlings. Yingbao squatted down to dig the soil, filling the small bamboo basket with earth rich with fallen leaves, then carried it back and forth to her vegetable patch, scattering it around the seedlings. After just a few trips, she was panting heavily and had to sit down to rest. Suddenly remembering something, she smacked her forehead. She had an invisible storage space of her own, didn¡¯t she? Surely, it could be used to transport some soil? Ah, bing smaller made her brain rust. She looked around to find nobody. Everyone was indoors at midday avoiding the heat. Therefore, no matter what she did, no one would see. Yingbao snapped to attention, picking up the shovel to dig into the soil. Dig, store, dig, store. Soon, she had stored arge patch of fertile soil from the ditch. The two hens, not getting any worms to eat, clucked anxiously, tilting their heads in puzzlement at their mistress. Yingbao patted them regretfully, promising, ¡°Wait a while, when Sister Danies, you¡¯ll have worms to eat.¡± She needed to gather more soil while nobody was around to use it for growing seedlingster. ¡°Baobao, what are you doing?¡± Not finding his daughter after waking up, Jiang Sang rushed out, and there he saw ¨C his little girl, face, hands, and body all covered with deep ck soil, squatting in the ditch doing god knows what. Yingbao jumped up and ran over hastily, followed closely by the two hens. They picked up speed, wings pping in the process. ¡°Daddy, Baobao is digging earthworms for the chickens,¡± Yingbao threw herpanions under the bus without a hint of embarrassment. Two hens: She¡¯s a liar! She lied! She ate them all herself, not even leaving the crumbs. Jiang Sang led his daughter home, dusted the soil off her body, washed her hands and face, put her by Chunniang¡¯s side, pinched the little tufts on her head, and threatened, ¡°Go to sleep! If you dare run around alone again, prepare for a spanking!¡± Yingbao giggled, nestled next to her mother, and made a face at her father. Jiang Sang stood up and said to his wife, ¡°The sun is not very intense outside, I¡¯m going to hoe the rest of the field. Be careful at home with your heavy body and don¡¯t go out for a stroll too much. Also, keep an eye on Yingbao and don¡¯t let her run around.¡± ¡°Hmm, I got it.¡± Chunniang leaned on the cool mat, stroked her daughter¡¯s little head and gently said, ¡°Lately, Baobao has definitely be wild. The moment I¡¯m not looking, she disappears, and I can¡¯t catch up with her. Later you should call for Dani at the front and ask her toe over and y with Yingbao more frequently.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Jiang Sang went to the kitchen to fill a pot with cold boiled water, put on his straw hat, shouldered the hoe, and went out. Not muchter, Dani ran over, trailed by her youngest brother, Yuanbao. ¡°Aunt Chun, we¡¯re here to y with Yingbao.¡± Dani said. Chunniang was pacing around the house, and seeing her niece and nephew, she waved with a smile: ¡°Dani is here,e inside quickly. Aunt Chun will make you some sugar water to drink. Ah? Doesn¡¯t Yuanbao have lessons today?¡± Yuanbao, six years old, had just started his private schooling this spring. Everyday he went to school as if going to the gallows, and he came back like a monkey down a mountain. ¡°No, no lessons.¡± Yuanbao sniffed and hung his head low. He didn¡¯t understand why all the adults liked to ask that question when they saw him. Couldn¡¯t they say something that made him happy? Yingbao ran over, dab dab dab, and grabbed her little cousin¡¯s hand, ¡°Brother Yuanbao, can you read to Yingbao?¡± Yuanbao touched the back of his head, his face struggling, ¡°I, I only know the first few sections of the Three Character ssic.¡± Sigh, he shouldn¡¯t havee with his big sister. ¡°Then Brother Yuanbao, read the Three Character ssic, alright?¡± Although Yingbao could read, she couldn¡¯t let her parents find out. She had to interact with and learn from Yuanbao first before she dared to gradually reveal this skill. Yuanbao couldn¡¯t bear his little cousin¡¯s expectant gaze, sighed helplessly, cleared his throat and began to recite, ¡°At birth, people are, intrinsically good, their inclinations are simr, but their habits make them different ¡­¡± After he recited ¡°Of the three forces: Heaven, Earth and Human¡±, Yuanbao started to fumble and scratch his head anxiously. Yingbao pped her little hands in praise, saying: ¡°Brother Yuanbao is really amazing!¡± Yuanbao¡¯s face flushed, but his little chest puffed out instantly. Chunniang called out: ¡°Come and drink some sugared water. Yuanbao, don¡¯t mind your sister. Hurry over and moisten your throat with some water.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yuanbao exhaled in relief, dodged his younger cousin and ran over. Yingbao snickered, then also ran to drink water. After finishing their brown sugar water, the three children stayed in the house for a while. Finding it uninteresting, they ran out of the yard and started catching small bugs among the many trees in front of the house. Yuanbao was the most familiar with this game. He plucked a handful of locust tree leaves, stripped off the leaves, leaving only the slender leaf stem. He bent down and searched for a few bug holes, inserting a thin leaf stem into each one. He then patted the ground with his hand, shouting: ¡°Bug, bug,e out quickly!¡± Then he gently pulled out the leaf stem, and a small greenish white bug would be dangling from it. Yuanbaoughed heartily, rubbed the back of his nose with his hand, and held up the dangling bug for Yingbao to see. Yingbao backed away a few steps. She wasn¡¯t interested in these childish games. She turned to Dani and said, ¡°Sister Dani, can we go and dig up some water chestnuts?¡± In their small mountain vige there were rice paddies, and in the rice paddies they could find lots of tiny water chestnuts that were sweet to eat. Dani was also tempted and agreed immediately. So, Yingbao went home to tell her mother, then ran with Dani and Yuanbao to the nearby rice paddies. In the paddy, the rice seedlings had just taken root, and the small water chestnuts had quietly sprouted. Dani and Yuanbao took off their shoes and waded into the paddy. They bent down, groped around and before long they had found a bag of small round, ck water chestnuts. These water chestnuts were only the size of a fingernail, and when eaten were sweet and crisp. Yuanbao immediately popped a few into his mouth. Chapter 8 - 8: Shepherd’s Purse _1 8 Chapter 8: Shepherd¡¯s Purse _1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°What on earth are you doing!¡± A roar of anger echoed from a distance. The owner of the rice field was angrily rushing towards them. ¡°Run!¡± Dani quickly picked up her shoes and grabbed Yingbao¡¯s hand to make a quick dash. Yuanbao followed suit, within seconds all three children had run far away. ¡°If I see you guys again, I¡¯ll break your dog-legs! You little troublemakers!¡± The field owner didn¡¯t really chase them, he just needed to shoo these naughty kids away. There¡¯s no day when those mischievous kids don¡¯t pull a stunt or two. Can he possibly scold them every single time? Besides, all these kids are part of the same vige, every household has a few rascals of their own. Together with her cousins, Yingbao ran all the way home and even scored a small handful of water chestnuts. She was delighted, secretly stashing away a few as seeds in her secret space, and gave the rest to her mother. Reluctantly epting, the mother scolded, ¡°Why did you go to the rice field? What if you trod on and damaged someone¡¯s rice seedlings?¡± Yingbao confidently said, ¡°I didn¡¯t break anything.¡± Sighing, her mother took the water chestnuts to wash them. She culled the rotten and shriveled ones, leaving only about a dozen fresh ones to eat. By now, Dani and Yuanbao had already gone home with their spoils. Yingbao divided the dozen of small water chestnuts into three parts ¡ª one for her father, one for her mother, and one for herself. Her mother couldn¡¯t possibly ept her daughter¡¯s small treat and made an excuse that she didn¡¯t like it, asking her daughter to keep it for herself. Yingbao didn¡¯t insist, she ate one and then took the rest into her room, cing them on her kang bed-stove. Kicking off her shoes, she climbed onto the bed and closed her eyes, her consciousness entering into her secret space. There she saw a pile of dirt next to the pool, crawling with earthworms, all heading toward the pool. It was quite a frightful sight. What¡¯s going on? What are these earthworms in the dirt pile doing going towards the pool? If they pollute the water it will be a disaster. Yingbao quickly picked up a couple of sticks to catch the earthworms, ensnaring all of them into a mostly broken pottery jar. She had found this jar outside, despite being damaged, it was still usable, so she had brought it into her secret space. She had originally nned to use it to scoop water, now it came in great use to hold the earthworms. Having gathered up all the earthworms, Yingbao packed a bit more dirt into the jar to prevent them from escaping. After some thought, she pulled out an earthworm, scratched off a bit of the Five Cauldron Fungus from the stone wall, crushed it and smeared it onto the earthworm. For a long time, the earthworm showed no reaction, nor did it struggle. It seems the fungus is not poisonous, but she¡¯s not sure if it¡¯s edible for humans. Maybe she¡¯ll bring some out to test on the hen next day. A while ago, she only gave the hen some of the pool water to drink, but hadn¡¯t fed them the Five Cauldron Fungus. Instead she gave them some herbs that grew in her secret space. The herb seeds she had taken from outside and sprinkled some onto the dark soil in her space. Surprisingly, in a few days, arge patch of herbs had sprouted, green and fresh, each ntrger than her own head. The fast-growing herbs almost filled up the dark soil next to the pool. So she had to dig some out quietly to feed the chickens. From theying frequency of the hen recently, it seems that crops produced from the dark soil are quite good. Therefore, she enjoyed sneaking out alone, toe back with half a basket of herbs to give to her mother. Her mother initially found it strange, wondering how her daughter could always find such fresh and plump wild herbs. After all, it¡¯s summer now, most herbs are flowering, their stems and leaves are too old and tough to eat. Yet her daughter managed to bring back a half-basket of tender herbs each time, which was indeed impressive. Luckily, her mother didn¡¯t think too much about it, unaware of the existence of such secret space cheat. She just thought her daughter was smarter and luckier than the other children. Inspired by the herbs, Yingbao set her sights on the bare rock space next to the pool. She nned to cover it with dirt and nt various vegetables. Although perennial fruit trees couldn¡¯t grow much, these annual or biannual leafy vegetables could grow normally, and quite fast at that. After the vegetables grow, what the humans don¡¯t eat can be given to chickens, sheep, and pigs. She ns to have the hen incubate some chicks next spring, and feed them with the produce from her secret space. This way, when her little brother grows up, there will be plenty of eggs to eat, and if there are extras, they can be sold for money or bartered in the market. That¡¯s why she has been collecting a variety of thingstely. She did not reject any seeds like shepherd¡¯s purse, shepherd¡¯s cress, dandelion seeds, mustard seeds, and so on. She collected a little bit of all of them and ced them on a broken pottery shard that she had picked up earlier. Unfortunately, the variety of vegetables in the small mountain vige was pitifully scarce. Apart from amaranth, greens, winter melon and turnips, there were no other vegetables in the vigers¡¯ fields. This was unlike Prefecture City, where the rich families¡¯ dinner tables had an extraordinary variety of vegetables and some aristocratic families even had species from foreignnds in their farms. These foreign crops were rare and precious, utterly unreachable for ordinary people. All Yingbao could do was to yearn for them in her heart. After squatting down and digging up a few shepherd¡¯s purse nts, enough for tomorrow¡¯s lunch, Yingbao stopped. She then scattered the recently harvested little water chestnuts on a pile of ck soil and watered it heavily. Only then did she feel a little tired. Yingbao quickly left the cave dwelling and plunged into sleep. When she woke up, her father had already returned home, and her mother had just finished making dinner, ready to call her. ¡°Baobao,e and eat.¡± Yingbao rolled over, sat up, rubbed her eyes, and slid off the kangs, or tform beds. She put on her shoes by herself, reached out for her mother¡¯s hand, and walked out of the room with her. By now, the sun was setting in the west. There was a mild breeze outside, and it was much cooler than inside the house. The table was set up in the center of the courtyard and had a big pot of amaranth corn porridge, a stack of ck bread and pickled turnip shreds. Jiang Sang, after washing his face and hands, hung his sweat towel on the drying line and sat down at the table. The family of three gathered around and started eating. ¡°Sang, are you going to weed the field tomorrow?¡± Spring Lady asked. Jiang Sang shook his head, ¡°Our bean field is already weeded. The eldest brother has two paddies left, but he said he doesn¡¯t need my help.¡± The three brothers of the Jiang family had divided their fields but not their households. Each was farming his ownnd separately, but since their parents were still around, the elder¡¯s field and allocated fields were under the eldest brother¡¯s name. So, whenever things got busy around the farms, the brothers would help out. Jiang Sang picked up a y bowl bigger than his head and drank his veggie porridge, scooping huge mouthfuls, then slowly chewing on a few strands of pickles. ¡°Tomorrow, I¡¯m going to North Mountain. I guess it¡¯s time to harvest the ramie.¡± Ramie could be harvested thrice a year, and the end of July was just the right time for the second harvest. It shouldn¡¯t be postponed. ¡°You nted lots of ramie in North Mountain. Can you handle it by yourself? Why not ask your two elder brothers for help?¡± Spring Lady worried that her husband was working too hard, and she couldn¡¯t provide any help, which made her uneasy. Jiang Sang shook his head, ¡°No need to ask them, I can handle it. It will be done in just a few days.¡± Yingbao blinked at her father, then suddenly said, ¡°Dad, I want to go too.¡± North Mountain had many wild fruit trees. Even if those trees did not yield good fruit, she had her ck soil. She could cultivate them first, then transfer them out for a try. Jiang Sang reached out to pinch her small nose and chuckled, ¡°What are you going there for? Dad will be busy with his work and can¡¯t take care of you.¡± Yingbao wrinkled her nose and murmured, ¡°Baobao wants to go. Baobao doesn¡¯t need daddy.¡± ¡°Oh! You¡¯ve got guts.¡± Her father fondly rubbed her small head. ¡°Be good and listen. Dad will bring you wild apricots when Ie back.¡± After dinner, they washed the bowls and chopsticks. Jiang Sang then boiled some water for the family to wash up. By the time they finished their chores, it was already dark outside. Jiang Sang grabbed a papyrus fan and shooed away the mosquitoes in the mosquito. After dropping the door, the three of them climbed onto the kangs to rest. Yingbao slept on the innermost side, cuddled against her mother. She feigned sleep with her eyes shut, but her ears were erect, listening to her parents whisper to each other. Helpless, she had slept too much in the afternoon, and was too excited to fall asleep now. ¡°Has Baobao fallen asleep?¡± Dad Jiang asked. Yingbao didn¡¯t make a sound, pretending to be asleep. She knew, whenever her father asked this question, it meant he wanted to talk about something with her mother that he didn¡¯t want her to hear. In the darkness, her mother reached out and touched her eyes. ¡°She¡¯s asleep,¡± said Spring Lady. ¡°I guess she¡¯s tired today. She picked water chestnuts in the paddy fields with Dani at noon, and said she was saving them for you. After eating dinner, she was fussing over her two apple seedlings, watering and enriching the soil. To prevent chickens from pecking the seedlings, she even looked for a basket to cover them.¡± Jiang Sang chuckled lightly, asking, ¡°Where did she get the apple seedlings from?¡± ¡°They¡¯re from the apple you brought backst time. Baobao kept the seeds. And guess what, she actually managed to germinate two seedlings.¡± Spring Lady sighed, ¡°You see, she¡¯s so young, but she¡¯s already adept in saving seeds for nting and has even seeded in growing them.¡± Jiang Sang was silent for a while before he said, ¡°Spring Lady, don¡¯t mention these things to others in the future.¡± Upon catching the seriousness in her husband¡¯s voice, Spring Lady hurriedly asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did someone say something?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Jiang Sang said, ¡°I ran into Second Aunt Wang today. She said that people in the vige were saying that Yingbao is a god-given child. I worry that someone might harbor ill intentions.¡± Could such a small child carry the weight of these titles? If the rumors got out of hand, given their humble status, they wouldn¡¯t be able to protect their daughter. Spring Lady fell silent too. Chapter 9 - 9: Rumors Start_1 9 Chapter 9: Rumors Start_1 Trantor: 549690339 After a while, Jiang Sang finally spoke again, ¡°Chunniang, how did Yingbao know that there¡¯s a boy in your belly?¡± Chunniang paused before saying, ¡°I¡¯ve heard from the elders that children are rumored to be a bit supernatural. As they grow up, those supernatural elements gradually fade away. It¡¯s not unusual. It is also said that younger children can sense if the baby in the mother¡¯s belly is a boy or a girl. I guess I¡¯m carrying a boy.¡± Jiang Sang chuckled, ¡°True that. Last time, your mother asked Yuanbao: ¡®Is it a brother or a sister you have in your belly?¡¯ Heh, I hope it¡¯s a boy and a girl. Yingbao will have a brother to protect her and a sister to keep herpany.¡± The two of them made small talk for a while and then drifted off to sleep. Yingbao was wide awake, blinking in the dark. The rumors started to circte nheless. That family will probably hear about it very soon. Yingbao lowered her consciousness into the cave dwelling and looked at her wrist. She didn¡¯t know if it was an illusion, but the color of her birthmark seemed to have faded a bit, yet it was still clearly discernible. The size of a copper coin, shaped like a plum blossom, it was very distinct and unforgettable at first sight. Yingbao was troubled. She had scrubbed it for several months, but the birthmark had not changed much, indicating that it could not be washed off with the Five Ding Chi and pool water. In that case, she could only resort to the other two methods, either cutting it off or burning it off. With her brother¡¯s birth imminent, she would soon be the focus of the entire vige, so she couldn¡¯t afford to dy any longer. But¡­ Both cutting and burning were so painful, she was afraid she might not be able to go through with it. But if she was afraid of this little pain, what awaited her would only be even more agonizing pain. Pain that hurt her to the bone. Maybe she could wait until the weather was colder to proceed, that way, there would be less chance of infection. The next day, Yingbao got up early, got dressed, washed up, and, as usual, bandaged up her wrists with cloth. She first went to water the tree sapling and covered it with the wicker cover. Then went to the chicken nest to collect a couple of eggs and put them in the egg storage basket. After that, she took a small basket with a small shovel in it, took two mother hens, and went out for a walk. She didn¡¯t go far, just idled around near the house. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Yingbao.¡± Aunt Wang was about to go to the river to wash, and when she saw the kid wearing shorts and a short top, she smiled and asked, ¡°Where are you off to so early?¡± Yingbao blinked, looked up and responded in her baby voice, ¡°Aunt Wang, I¡¯m about to dig some earthworms to feed the chickens.¡± ¡°Oh, you are such a good kid.¡± Aunt Wang scanned Yingbao, her gaze stopped at the baby girl¡¯s wrist, ¡°Eh? Why are both of your wrists wrapped in cloth? Did you get hurt?¡± ¡°No,¡± Yingbao, keeping a straight face, said, ¡°It just looks nice.¡± To appease Yingbao and stop her from taking off the wristbands, Chunniang had trimmed the cloth strips and embroidered plum blossom patterns on them. In fact, Chunniang didn¡¯t know this but even if she hadn¡¯t made the effort to decorate the strips, Yingbao would still keep them on, not giving anyone a chance to discover her birthmark. In her previous life at this point, Yingbao was a na?ve, ordinary kid who didn¡¯t understand the purpose of the wristband her mother put on her, nor did she strictly abide by her mother¡¯s instructions. As a result, that family found her. Aunt Wangughed slightly and lowered her voice to ask, ¡°Yingbao, tell auntie, do your parents hit you? Do they ever not feed you?¡± Rolling her eyes inwardly, Yingbao replied in her sweet innocent voice, ¡°Daddy and Mommy love Yingbao the most. They never hit me. They always save the tastiest food for me. Daddy and Mommy say that Yingbao is their treasure. If anyone dares to bully her, they¡¯d beat them up!¡± Aunt Wang¡¯s face darkened and her lips twitched, ¡°Oh, this little chatterbox, she sure can talk a lot.¡± She turned and left. Yingbao stuck her tongue out at Aunt Wang¡¯s retreating figure, then took the two mother hens to the small dry canal. Seeing no one around, she took out the jar of earthworms from the cave and dumped it out. The earthworm smeared with Five Ding Chi was also taken out, cut into pieces with the shovel, and fed to the hens. The two hens clucked and pounced on the food, quickly finishing the pieces of earthworm. Then they tilted their heads from side to side and kept an eye on their owner, acting as if they wanted more. The earthworms that were dumped out of the jar crawled around, but they werepletely ignored by the two hens. Even if the little owner cut a few more worms into pieces and put them in front of the hens, the hens merely retreated a few steps and did not pay it any attention. Yingbao thoughtfully scooped up a handful of Five Ding Chi from the cave wall and fed it to the hens. The hens became excited, quickly stretched their necks to peck and eat, and they even pecked and bit Yingbao¡¯s fingertips, their force so light that it made her giggle. Afterward, Yingbao spent the entire day observing the two hens. Seeing that they were acting as usual, she felt relieved. A few dayster, Jiang Sang finished harvesting the hemp from the North Mountain, and carrying it to the pond behind the house, he began soaking it in bundles. These hemp nts needed to soak for several days before they could be peeled, so Jiang Sang could finally take a few days off. ¡°Yingbao, do you want to go to North Mountain?¡± Jiang Sang remembered that his daughter wanted to go to the North Mountain, and today he nned to fulfill her little wish. ¡°Yes, Yes!¡± Yingbao raised her little hand, happily asking her daddy to hold her. Jiang Sangughed heartily, and brought over a carrying basket, ¡°Yingbao can sit in the basket, it will be easier for daddy to carry.¡± ¡°Ok!¡± Of course, Yingbao had no objections, she happily stepped into the carrying basket. North Mountain is about three to four miles away from Dongchen Vige and has a thicker vegetation than Xiaonan Mountain. Jiang Sang pointed to a piece of the forest to his daughter, ¡°This piece ofnd belongs to us. Next to us is your two uncles¡¯. Your grandpa¡¯s ce is near Xichen Vige over there, it¡¯s a bit far from here.¡± Last year, while he was picking cherries in his father¡¯s field, he heard a baby crying near a small mound of graves. So, he went over to check and found a small swaddling baby in the bushes. The swaddle was covered with ants, biting the baby¡¯s face. The baby was helplessly shaking its head and crying loudly. It was pitiful. Every time he thought of that day, Jiang Sang felt a heartache. Luckily, the baby had an amazing recovery. In a few days, the swelling on her face went down, with no scars left. ¡°Let¡¯s go, daddy will take you to see our mulberry trees.¡± Jiang Sang, with his daughter on his back, walked towards a piece ofnd with mulberry trees. The vigers of Chuanhe Town weren¡¯t very good at rearing silkworms, but every household grew some mulberry trees. This was the rigid requirement of the Imperial Court, which not only mandated each family to grow a certain quantity of mulberry and elm trees but also trees that could easily be turned into wood, otherwise, they would be subjected to double taxes and levies. Jiang Sang stood on his toes and pulled a bunch of mulberry branches for his daughter, each with several purple mulberries on them. Yingbao squinted her eyes with a smile and chose the biggest and most purple mulberry to stuff into her father¡¯s mouth, ¡°Daddy, eat.¡± Jiang Sang enjoyed the fruit with a smile and found a few more trees, and pulled a big handful of branches with mulberries into the basket, telling his daughter, ¡°Don¡¯t eat too much, we¡¯ll take them back for your mother to taste.¡± Eating a few of these could help with diarrhea, but eating too much would cause it, so Jiang Sang didn¡¯t let his daughter overindulge. ¡°Ok, ok. Let¡¯s take them home for mommy.¡± Yingbao confirmed verbally, but still picked a few that were fully ripe and secretly kept them in her cave for seeds. Hehe, now she had one more variety of fruit tree. The father and daughter wandered around the forest and found many wild fruit trees, like chestnut, wild peach, and wild pear. The fruit from these wild trees were not only small but also not pleasant to eat, so vigers weren¡¯t interested in them. Only children would asionally visit them once or twice. Jiang Sang toured around with his daughter and only found a few fully ripe apricots, but when he broke them open, worms were already living inside. He shook his head and asked his daughter, ¡°Can we go home now?¡± Yingbao was reluctant to leave. She wanted to see if there were any Treme Fuciformis (a type of fungusmonly known as snow fungus) here which usually grow on mulberry trees. This was worth a fortune. If dried, it would sell for twenty taels of silver per pound in the big pharmacies of the Prefecture City. Suddenly, two roe deer appeared from behind a cluster of trees, looking at them with big eyes. ¡°Daddy, deer! Deer!¡± Yingbao excitedly tugs at daddy¡¯s cor and points to the side, whispering a reminder. Jiang Sang also saw them, and was even more excited than his daughter. ¡°Daddy sees them. Ok, let¡¯s hurry back home and ask your uncles to help with hunting.¡± Saying this, he turned around and left. The deer were vignt and had already fled into the trees and disappeared. Jiang Sang hurried home, handed his daughter to Chunniang, and then grabbed the bow, arrows, and ropes to leave. It had been a few years since the North Mountain had deer. He didn¡¯t expect a herd to appear this year. His wife was about to give birth at home, and he was worrying about not having enough money for the preparations, and here came a gift from heaven. Jiang Sang went to his elder brother¡¯s house to discuss, and the three of them carrying canteens and a few cakes, bows and arrows on their backs, quietly left the vige. During deer hunting, they would have to scare the deer into an open area before they could start hunting. The deer were extremely alert, before they could even fully draw their bows, the deer would already have darted into the trees and disappeared. It took a lot of time to prepare for this hunt, searching, driving, and surrounding. The efforts spent on hunting deer would take at least a day or two. Some hunters would spend half a month in the mountains just toe back with one or two big animals, like deer, or bears. Chapter 10 - 10: Deer Hunting_1 10 Chapter 10: Deer Hunting_1 Trantor: 549690339 Three dayster, the Jiang brothers returned each carrying a deer on their shoulders, causing a stir in the entire vige. Three deer in total, one dead and two injured, one of which was a fawn. ¡°I say, Jiang Three, that¡¯s not very honorable of you.¡± ¡°Going deer hunting without giving us a heads up,¡± a young vigermented sarcastically. Jiang Sang chuckled: ¡°It all happened so suddenly, besides, I didn¡¯t see you around.¡± Knowing he was just fobbing him off, the youngster switched topics and asked, ¡°Where did you go hunting?¡± ¡°North Mountain, my elder brothers and I chased them dozens of miles and nearly lost our way back.¡± Jiang Sang put a rope around the fawn¡¯s neck and tied it to the handle of the stone mill. ¡°North Mountain ah, I was chopping hemp on North Mountain yesterday, why didn¡¯t I see this?¡± asked another viger. ¡°By the time you see it, the deer would have already run off somewhere,¡± the young man retorted snappishly, then turned back to Jiang Sang and asked, ¡°You brought back three deer, the herd must have been prettyrge, right?¡± Jiang Sang replied, ¡°Not that big, just three or four deer, three adult deer and one fawn.¡± In truth, there were more, but he wouldn¡¯t reveal the whole truth to outsiders. This time, when he and his elder brothers went chasing after the deer, they found that the herd had as many as a dozen deer. If they were to hunt one, they could have settled it and returned the same day. Because of the hot weather, the dead deer wouldn¡¯t keep for long, so they had to be brought back as soon as possible for processing. But how could they let go of such a good opportunity. So they followed closely, waiting for a chance to hunt more live deer to bring back. Sure enough, their efforts paid off, and they managed to hunt three deer. However, one of the deer suffered severe injuries and died on the way back. Fortunately, the deer carcass had been wrapped with herbal medicine, so it hadn¡¯t rotted much. Upon hearing that it was only a small deer herd, the young man¡¯s grudge dissipated, and he reluctantly said, ¡°You are really lucky, actually managed to hunt three.¡± Jiang Sang chuckled and went to help his elder brother skin the deer. Yingbao squatted in front of the stone mill, and seeing the fawn curled up under the stone mill, looking at her with a pair of frightened, wet eyes, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a stir in her heart. It seemed like the fawn had been shot in the buttocks, which had been treated with some herbal medicine, but blood was still seeping out. Many flies were buzzing around the wound, which didn¡¯t look very good. Yingbao slowly moved closer, and quietly got some Wudingzhi (a type of medicinal herb) from her dwelling. She crumbled it and applied it to the fawn¡¯s wound. Just as she finished applying it, she heard Sister Dani calling, ¡°Yingbao, don¡¯t touch it, you¡¯ll get your hands dirty.¡± Yingbao turned her head and smiled, ¡°Not dirty.¡± Dani saw that her cousin¡¯s hands indeed weren¡¯t dirty, and took her outside the yard, ¡°Let¡¯s go watch the deer being skinned.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t want to go; she wanted to look after the injured elder deer. But she was too small to resist Sister Dani, she had no choice but to follow her, ncing back one step at a time. Outside in the tree grove, a crowd of vigers had gathered, all watching eagerly as the Jiang brothers skinned the deer. A few kids were darting about in the crowd, touching the antlers and poking the deer legs, frolicking andughing. Yuanbao was among them as well, acting like a little wolf protecting its food, ring at this one and blocking that one, not letting anyone touch his family¡¯s deer. In the afternoon, the Jiang Family cooked the deer meat, inviting Chief Chen Fu of Chen Vige n, vige chief Chen Sanyou, private school Master along with several highly respected elders in the vige to their house for dinner. After the deer banquet was over and the guests were sent off, Old Man Jiang finally called his three sons to have a talk. ¡°Tomorrow is market day in Simen, why don¡¯t the three of you take the injured deer, deer hide, and antlers to sell there? Simen is near the county town and it¡¯s arge market, you should get a good price.¡± After taking a sip of the bamboo leaf drink handed to him by his wife, Old Man Jiang resumed, ¡°The silver you get, you three split evenly. As for the fawn, let¡¯s leave it for Sang. Da Lang, Er Lang, you two don¡¯t have any objections, right?¡± Jiang Da immediately replied, ¡°What are you talking about, how could we object? We¡¯re all family here, the fawn should indeed go to Sang.¡± Jiang Er also nodded, ¡°Exactly, Father, you¡¯re too much of a stranger, what do you think we are?¡± Old Man Jiang nodded, ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Turning to his third son, he said, ¡°When you go back, take the fawn with you. I noticed that Yingbao seemed to like it very much. If the fawn can be raised well, it canter be sold for money to make clothes for her. Sang, Yingbao is such a good girl, you have to take good care of her.¡± This was effectively handing over the ownership of the fawn to Yingbao. Jiang Sangughed, ¡°Father, don¡¯t worry, even without the deer, my girl will have new clothes.¡± ¡°As long as you understand.¡± Old Man Jiang snorted lightly, ¡°Our boys and girls are all precious in this household. Yingbao is also my own granddaughter. Whatever others have, she must have too.¡± He was reminding his third son not to neglect Yingbao when his own biological children were born. Jiang Sang wasn¡¯t foolish; he naturally knew what his father intended to convey. But how could he be terrible to his own daughter? His father was underestimating him. ¡°You can rest assured that Yingbao is my eldest daughter. Her younger brothers and sisters will all respect and love her. When she grows up, I will find a good family for her to marry into.¡± Jiang Sang said with augh. Old Master Jiang red at his third son, ¡°You talk nonsense all the time. How old is she now? Go away.¡± Jiang Sang scurried away, leading Xiaolu back home, and tied it to the leg of the table in the main room. Hearing the noise, Yingbao hurriedly got off the bed and ran over to see. ¡°Dad, why did you bring Xiaolu back?¡± Though the three brothers of the Jiang family had split up, they still lived in the same household. Whenever they worked together on a project, the profits were primarily managed by the eldest brother, since their parents still lived with him. Jiang Sangughed and said, ¡°Your grandfather gave Xiaolu to us. He said that my daughter should raise it, and the money we get from selling itter will be used to buy you fabric for beautiful clothes.¡± ¡°Really? Hehe.¡± Yingbao was happy. She joyfully stroked Xiaolu¡¯s head and murmured, ¡°I promise to fatten you up, so my little brother can eat meat.¡± Xiaolu: ¡­ It backed away in horror, keeping its distance from this frightening human cub. That night, Yingbao had a dream again. She stood in a thick fog, and that book appeared before her again. The pages of the book turned of their own ord, flipping directly to the third chapter. Yingbao didn¡¯t dare to hesitate and quickly leaned in to read. Before she could read much, the book turned into a paper butterfly and flew away. This time, Yingbao was certain that the book was describing the Chen family of Xichen Vige, including Aunt Han¡¯s family in county town. Except for the name Yingbao, everything else matched up one-to-one. The book said that there were three brothers in the Chen family, with Chen Changping being the second. He was a schr who had failed the imperial exam multiple times. His wife, from the Han family, had lost her parents early. She had no brothers and only one younger sister. She gave birth to their eldest daughter, Chen Wan, their second daughter, Chen Zhao, their third daughter, Chen Ying, and a four-year-old son, Chen Xu. The third daughter, Chen Ying, was the name that Chen Changping had given to Yingbao in her previous life. Yingbao squinted her eyes. This book was fascinating indeed. It was written from the perspective of Aunt Han¡¯s second daughter, Chen Tiantian. In the book, Chen Changping¡¯s three daughters were described as follows: Eldest daughter Wan was timid and fearful, second daughter Zhao sweet-tongued but full of bitterness, third daughter Ying was gloomy and malicious, and all were considered undesirable females. The only son, Chen Xu, was portrayed as a spoiled, little tyrant, selfish and disliked by many. And indeed, this was the truth. Chen Changping¡¯s three daughters were often beaten or scolded by Madam Han. Girls who grow up in such a family atmosphere would naturally have some character ws. Yingbao clearly remembered how, when she was five years old and brought back to the Chen family, Madam Han had beaten her severely with a bamboo strip as soon as she entered the door. Her back, arms, and legs were all bruised. Madam Han probably regretted parting with the two taels of silver given to the Jiang family and was frustrated with previous issues. Upon seeing Yingbao¡¯s crying and fussing, she wanted to establish her authority over her new daughter and vent her own anger. After all, the process of getting their daughter back was full of twists and turns and had even ended up in court. In thatwsuit, though it seemed that the Chen family had won, they ended up losing their reputations in the vige. But Madam Han had her wish fulfilled. The next year, she gave birth to a big, fat son. Chen Changping was jubnt and searched through numerous books to name his son¡ªan auspicious name ¡®Xu¡¯ and pet name was ¡®Baobao¡¯. As for Yingbao, who they used as a tool in all this, she started living a miserable life in the Chen family from that day onward. Chapter 11 - 11: Possibly Cannon Fodder_1 11 Chapter 11: Possibly Cannon Fodder_1 Trantor: 549690339 Waking up from the dream. Yingbao stared at the top of the tent, dumbfounded for quite a while. She didn¡¯t expect she¡¯d be cast in a book. Based on her years of reading experience and reflecting on her own experiences, she probably yed the role of a viinous cannon fodder. It¡¯s a pity she had only read a few chapters, and she didn¡¯t know what was next. She wondered if it was the same as what she had experienced in a previous life. ¡°Yingbao, get up and eat.¡± Chunniang had already prepared breakfast, and she came over to dress Yingbao who was awake. ¡°Mom, where¡¯s dad?¡± Yingbao asked. ¡°Your father went to your uncle¡¯s house before dawn. They¡¯re going to the market today and can¡¯t bete.¡± After dressing Yingbao in a short sleeve sweatshirt, Chunniang helped her tie her wristbands and let her get off the bedstove herself. Yingbao quickly went to thetrine, checked on Xiaolu, and then washed up. Xiaolu had already been led to the courtyard, it huddled under the jujube tree, watching the little figure run back and forth with pitiful eyes. After hurriedly finishing breakfast, Yingbao quickly said goodbye to her mother, grabbed a small bamboo basket in one hand, and led Xiaolu with the other to take a stroll outside. Chunniang knew that her daughter would go out every morning and did not stop her, only reminding her not to go too far away. The children in the vige got up early. Before the sun rose high, they would carry their baskets to the fields to pick dewy grass, which they would wash, chop, and feed to the pigs and sheep, which loved it. Yingbao also took advantage of the cool morning to go to the wild. Not for cutting grass, she was grazing the deer, and by the way, she smuggled some shepherd¡¯s purse and five tripod nts for Xiaolu to eat. Xiaolu was clearly more agile than the day before, and the wound on its buttocks seemed to have scabbed over. However, because the injury was sticky with bloody fur, it was not clear how well it had healed, and Xiaolu resisted anyone touching its wound, so Yingbao continued to feed it the five tripod nts. It seemed Xiaolu really liked to eat this, it even gave up its fear and stretched out its tongue to lick Yingbao¡¯s fingers. Yingbao simply took out some more and watched it eat it all. After Xiaolu finished eating, it looked left and right, its tongue moving back and forth, seemingly thirsty. ¡°Here, drink some water.¡± Yingbao took out a broken pot, which contained some pool water. Xiaolu drank it down in one gulp and happily started grazing again, wagging its short tail. ¡°Yingbao! You¡¯re grazing deer.¡± Yuanbao from her uncle¡¯s house ran over, still carrying his little schoolbag. Seeing him, Yingbao¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Yes, Brother Yuanbao, you are going to school this early?¡± Yuanbao nodded and came forward to touch Xiaolu¡¯s back. Yingbao asked, ¡°Brother Yuanbao, can I go to school with you?¡± Yuanbao shook his head: ¡°Master doesn¡¯t allow.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stay outside, won¡¯t go into the school.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t give up. Yuanbao blinked and said earnestly: ¡°Master will beat your hand with a ruler.¡± Yingbao: ¡­ Seeing his little cousin was not happy, Yuanbao hesitated for a moment and said, ¡°Or, you can watch from a distance, just don¡¯t get too close.¡± The Master did not like girls going to school, he would scold and drive them away whenever he saw them. ¡°Okay.¡± Yingbao agreed immediately, led Xiaolu, and urged, ¡°Let¡¯s hurry.¡± Yuanbao scratched his head, and had to follow her. The vige school was a private school run by the Chen Family, initially established for the education of the Chen Family¡¯s children. But it was the only school in the surrounding viges, so as long as they paid tuition, children from other families could also enroll. The Master of the vige school was an old schr, also surnamed Chen. He was nearly seventy but very conservative and firmly refused to admit female students. So in the Dongchen Vige and Xichen Vige, there was no girl who could read or write. Yingbao parked Xiaolu about fifty feet away from the vige school, pushed Yuanbao who was still sticking to Xiaolu, and urged him to get going. Yuanbao reluctantly left, and cautioned before leaving, ¡°Don¡¯t run around, wait for me after school.¡± Yingbao nodded and waved at him, ¡°Brother Yuanbao, study well, teach me how to read after school, and I¡¯ll let Xiaolu y with you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yuanbao nodded seriously, turned around and resolutely ran towards school. Yingbao sat on the hillside, from where she could see the school, the slowly flowing Chuanhe River, and Shigong Bridge over the river. As long as she crossed the bridge, she would reach Xichen Vige on the other side, where Chen Changping¡¯s house was. In her previous life, all of her suffering after birth came from that family, and they were also the ones who ended her life. It¡¯s such a pitiful thought. Yingbao turned her gaze, one hand stroking Xiaolu while observing the children who were rushing to school. Having eaten its fill, Xiaolu nestled at the feet of its young master, contentedly chewing its cud. A few curious schoolchildren sized up this strange pair; two of them even climbed up the dirt slope, reaching out to touch Xiaolu. Startled, Xiaolu sprang up and hid behind Yingbao. Yingbao stared icily at the two children. She recognized both of them. One was Chen Song, the youngest son of Brother Chen Changping, and the other was a child from the leading family of Xichen Vige. Seven-year-old Chen Song was a year older than Yuanbao and had just started learning. At the moment, he seemed dim-witted and harmless. Who could have imagined that such a child could harbor malicious intentions towards a six or seven-year-old girl five yearster? But then again, as vengeful as she was, how could she let herself be wronged? In the cold winter of her seventh year, she arranged for Chen Song to fall into the icy water, ending up in an ice hole. Even though he was rescued in time, both of his legs became useless, rendering him a cripple. Of course, she didn¡¯t get off lightly either; she was brutally beaten by her own parents and grandmother with several rods broken on her body. She was almost beaten half to death and was left in a pile of hay, immobile for a month. During that month, no one bothered to get medical treatment for her or took care of her. She was neglected like a stray dog. Perhaps to avoid neighbors¡¯ criticism, they asionally threw her a piece of ck pancake and a scoop of water. Even in that state, the Chen Family had deemed her as good as dead. Who would have thought that she would stubbornly hang on to life? To this day, Yingbao still doesn¡¯t understand why she¡¯s like a cockroach that can¡¯t be killed, managing to survive time and time again in dire situations. ¡°Is this deer yours?¡± Chen Song asked. Yingbao ignored him, leading Xiaolu away. Chen Song, not miffed by the child¡¯s disregard, followed them and continued to ask, ¡°Which family do you belong to? Can I lead the deer for a while?¡± Yingbao scowled and coldly said, ¡°No!¡± Chen Song frowned, preparing to say something, when one of the children by his side said, ¡°You can¡¯t just say ¡®no¡¯ and expect us to listen. We want to lead the deer!¡± And with that, he attempted to snatch the rope. Yingbao quickly dodged and cried out, ¡°Master! Your student is trying to steal my deer!¡± The child was taken aback and involuntarily stepped back, hurriedly looking around. Sure enough, the Master was standing at the entrance of the school, watching them from a distance. The child and Chen Song were terrified and ran downhill as if fleeing. Yingbao snorted and continued to stroll with Xiaolu. Just yesterday, the Jiang Family had treated the Master to deer meat. She didn¡¯t believe that the Master could just stand by and watch his students bully a young child of barely a year old. After strolling for a while and finding no one around, she squatted down to shovel soil from the farnd or river ditch into the cave dwelling. When she had gathered enough, she stole some shepherd¡¯s purse and stuffed it into the basket before heading back. Xiaolu followed her closely, seemingly not needing to be led by the rope. Once home, Yingbao was soaked with sweat,pletely exhausted. After all, she was not yet two years old, and her strength was limited. After working and walking so much, Yingbao felt on the brink of copse. ¡°Where have you been going off to?¡± Chun Niang came out of the kitchen and saw her daughter sprawled out on a rattan bed. Feeling her forehead, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did you get heatstroke?¡± Yingbao shook her head, weakly saying, ¡°I woke up too early and I¡¯m tired.¡± Chun Niang chuckled, gave her daughter¡¯s nose a gentle pinch and said, ¡°I think you ran yourself ragged outside. Go to bed. When you wake up, I¡¯ll give you some braised pork.¡± Her family had received a piece of deer meat yesterday, which she had stewed early in the morning. Today, she was going to braise it, making it crumbly and soft, perfect for her daughter as it wouldn¡¯t stick between her teeth. ¡°Mm.¡± Yingbao clung to her mother¡¯s arm and softly said, ¡°Mum, you sleep too.¡± With no other choice, Chun Niangy down next to her daughter and fanned her with a straw fan. Chapter 12 - 12: Double Yolk Egg_1 12 Chapter 12: Double Yolk Egg_1 Trantor: 549690339 At dusk, Jiang Sang returned home and handed eight hundred coins to his wife. ¡°This is the money from selling the deer.¡± Chunnian took the bag of money, poured out a pile of copper coins, and eximed, ¡°So much?¡± Jiang Sang beamed with pride, and from his bosom drew several strings of coins, ¡°I also have seventy-odd coins in change left here. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll go to the town and buy a few old hens for your confinement.¡± Chunnian bashfully turned away and locked the weighty copper coins into the box, whispering, ¡°There¡¯s still plenty of time. Why the rush?¡± ¡°Not much time left, ording to the midwife we need to prepare early.¡± They should prepare not only meals but also quilts, swaddling cloths, baby nkets, and diapers. Nothing could be neglected. And nothing could be neglected, it had to be done double, s. Jiang Sang looked around and didn¡¯t see his daughter, so he asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Yingbao?¡± ¡°She went over to your brother¡¯s. Said she wanted to learn to read with Yuanbao.¡± ¡°Hey! Our daughter¡¯s got quite a knack,¡± Jiang Sangughed, ¡°How old is she to be so eager to learn already?¡± Chunnian gave him a reproachful look, ¡°Yingbao already learned some characters a few days ago. She even showed me by writing them with a twig. They were remarkably neat, even neater than the ones Yuanbao writes.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Jiang Sang feigned disbelief, ¡°When shees back, I¡¯ll have to test her.¡± The couple chatted for a while. Seeing that it was gettingte, Jiang Sang got up to bring his daughter home from his brother¡¯s house. At that moment, Yingbao was watching Yuanbao recite the Three Character ssic. Xiaoluy quietly asleep at their feet. In the kitchen, Jiang Dasi, who was washing dishes, found it strange: What had gotten into her son today? He was so diligent. As soon as he came back from school, he had started writing big characters and then reading. He hadn¡¯t rested for an hour. If it weren¡¯t for the dinner break in between, she would worry that her son¡¯s throat was going to split from all the reading. Jiang Dabo and Jiang Lao Han were quite relieved. Their younger son (grandson) was finally showing some ambition. Their family might even produce a child prodigy. In Jiang Dabo¡¯s eyes, a child prodigy was indeed an extraordinary figure, who in the future could not only teach in the vige as a master but also be a shopkeeper in the county town or, at the very least, keep books for someone else. Wasn¡¯t the eldest son of Chen Laoshuan of Xichen Vige, Chen Changrong, just keeping books for a wealthy family? He made twenty to thirty taels of silver a year. Although his family still farmed and paid taxes, thisrge ie made their life more thanfortable. When the time came, Yuanbao could also keep books for people, earning money just by sitting in an office, no longer having to hoe fields or plow thend, and no longer exposed to the sun and rain. Oh, such a life would be most fulfilling. You can¡¯t me Jiang Dabo for thinking this way. Every farmer who groveled for a living on thend had a dream of a better life in the county town. Jiang Laohan had a different perspective from his eldest son. He didn¡¯t think so far ahead, he simply felt that his grandson had finally started to show diligence, abandoning his previousziness. This was a good thing. ¡°He¡¯s better than his third uncle when he was young,¡± Jiang Lao Han made a candid appraisal, ¡°Although the third one is clever, he didn¡¯t use it on studying.¡± Jiang Liu¡¯s wife gave her husband a look, ¡°Compliment when youpliment, why raise one by stepping on another?¡± Jiang Lao Han coughed, and turned his head away awkwardly. In the side room, Yuanbao finally finished reciting an entire Three Character ssic, and turned to look at his little cousin, ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± Yingbao immediately pped her hands in praise: ¡°Brother Yuanbao is so amazing! Tomorrow, I¡¯lle with you to school early in the morning, and Xiaolu will walk with you.¡± Yuanbao chuckled, nodding emphatically, ¡°Okay!¡± At that moment, Jiang Sang walked into the room and waved at his daughter, ¡°Yingbao, let¡¯s go home now.¡± Yingbao responded and led Xiaolu out of the room, following her father. Jiang Dabo stood at the door, his sullen face brightened with a chrysanthemum-like smile, and said to his niece, ¡°Yingbao,e over to your uncle¡¯s house tomorrow to listen to Yuanbao reading.¡± ¡°Okay, okay.¡± Yingbao enthusiastically agreed. Because she would soon be able to write openly and confidently. Although she learned to read in her past life, she is not good at writing, which has always been a great regret in her life. So, she decided to learn diligently from Yuanbao and practice beautiful handwriting. When her younger brothers grow up, she¡¯ll teach them to write and read early, so they can be officials in the future and no longer be bullied by others. ¡­ Days and nights passed like a fleeting horse. In a blink of an eye, more than two months had passed. The weather was getting colder, leaves started to fall, and the Cold Clothes Festival was drawing near. The apple sapling Yingbao had nted had grown to eight feet in height. Its trunk was sturdy, its branches robust, and it had be a bona fide miniature fruit tree. Jiang Sang and his wife marvelled at this, eximing how incredibly fast the sapling had grown, outpacing even the Speedy Tree. The fawn at home had also grown significantly and was named Youyou. It was sturdy and gentle, always following Yingbao closely wherever she went, seeming to regard her as apanion. After the fall harvest, Jiang Sang bought two old hens and a rooster. With the two original chickens, they now had five chickens at home. Under Yingbao¡¯s careful feeding, the two old hens had also startedying eggs. Each chicken wasying an egg per day, with every egg having double yolks. Jiang Sang and his wife were astonished. But they kept this to themselves, not even telling those in the main part of the house. ¡°Sang, isn¡¯t that strange?¡± Chunniang sat at the edge of the kang, sewing a baby bib while chatting with her husband. ¡°Those hens you bought were past their eggying stage, but after Yingbao fed them, they startedying eggs again, and every egg has double yolks.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because Yingbao often digs earthworms to feed them,¡± Jiang Sang said, sitting on a stool, cleaning his arrowheads one by one. Once it started snowing this winter, he would go rabbit hunting in South Mountain to provide a feast for his family. If they were lucky and caught a few more, they could take them to the market to exchange for some pork or mutton. ¡°Why aren¡¯t other people¡¯s chickensying double-yolked eggs?¡± Chunniang found it magical, ¡°The chickens in Big Brother¡¯s house are also fed earthworms. Doesn¡¯t Dani dig for them with Yingbao every day? Now that it¡¯s getting cold, Dani told me that in their house, out of their five hens, they only find two eggs every three days.¡± Jiang Sang had no response to that. But he couldn¡¯t admit that his daughter had magical abilities. With a smile to his wife, he teased, ¡°Are you saying that you¡¯re going toy double-yolked eggs like those old hens?¡± Chunniang¡¯s expression darkened as she spat out her husband¡¯s name, lightly kicking him with her foot, ¡°Nonsense.¡± Jiang Sang chuckled, reaching out to touch herrge belly, ¡°Our little double-yolk shoulde and see for themselves how your mom bullies your dad.¡± ¡°You are not serious.¡± Chunniang turned the corner of her mouth upward in a smile, ignoring her husband. Jiang Sang stared seriously at his wife and sighed, ¡°Chunniang, why do I find you getting more and more beautiful?¡± Chunniang blushed and turned her body away, ¡°I am an old woman now, what¡¯s beautiful about that?¡± Jiang Sang clicked his tongue a few times, put down the bow and arrow in his hand and reached out to turn his wife towards him, ¡°Indeed you¡¯ve be prettier. Your skin is fair, almost as fair as Yingbao¡¯s. Freckles used to be here and here, now they¡¯re gone.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Chunniang touched her face, finding it hard to believe. Which woman wouldn¡¯t care about her appearance? ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Jiang Sang nodded, ¡°Before, I thought your skin became fair because you don¡¯t go out much, but yesterday when I saw you standing next to my sister-inw, she looked like a piece of charcoalpared to you.¡± Jiang Sang¡¯s sister-inw had given birth two years ago and had barely left the house to work for thest one or two years, spending most of her time looking after the child. Her skin color was always simr to his wife back then, and it should have stayed the same now. But when the two werepred yesterday, it gave Jiang Sang a serious visual shock. His wife was too beautiful, even more youthful than when she was young. Herplexion and skin did not resemble that of a vige woman at all. ¡°Stop spouting nonsense, or my sister-inw will scold you if she hears you.¡± Chunniang gave her husband a re, but she felt delighted inside. They didn¡¯t have a copper mirror at home, the only dowry copper mirror was sold a few years ago, its value exchanged for bowls of soup which were poured into their stomachs. Thinking back, it seemed quite foolish. She used to just randomly twist her hair up in front of a basin of water when getting dressed, plus she didn¡¯t go out much because she was pregnant, so she didn¡¯t dress up much either. But after receiving her husband¡¯spliment today, she was starting to look forward to it. ¡°Tomorrow is market day, I¡¯ll go to town and buy a copper mirror for you.¡± Jiang Sang also realized his negligence. He apologetically hugged his wife, ¡°I¡¯ll also buy a few hairpins. You and our daughter can wear them, it¡¯ll look auspicious.¡± All the flowers had withered by now, leaving the women¡¯s heads bare. He remembered that the women in the county town all wore silk flowers, which looked exactly like real flowers, bright and eye-catching. Chunniang smiled with her mouth shut,¡±Also buy a piece of cloth for Yingbao. While I have idle time now, I can make her a new cotton dress.¡± Their daughter had been mostly wearing the old clothes passed down from Dani and Erni since she came to their home. Even though she had embroidered and altered the old clothes as much as she could to make them look as close to new, or even prettier, they were still old clothes. So, Chunniang always felt that she was short-changing her daughter. ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Jiang Sang also agreed, ¡°It¡¯s indeed time to make new clothes for Yingbao.¡± Chapter 13 - 13: Seeking Medical Help_1 13 Chapter 13: Seeking Medical Help_1 Trantor: 549690339 In the west room, Yingbao was leaning against the kang, deep in thought. In her previous life, her two younger brothers were born on the twenty-sixth of September, and their mother said they were born at night. As their birth was quite unexpected and it was raining heavily, their father didn¡¯t have time to fetch a midwife from the town, so he had to ask for Aunt Wu from Xichen Vige. Although Aunt Wu had plenty of experience as a midwife, she was inevitably flustered because it was her first time encountering a case like their mother¡¯s. In the end, the twins were born safely, but one of the brothers was mentally impaired because of distress during birth. Their mother also suffered a lot, she had toy in bed for two months, and was unable to bear children afterward. ¡°Tomorrow is the 26th of September, we need to ask father to fetch the town¡¯s midwife early in the morning,¡± Yingbao muttered to herself, ¡°No matter what, I cannot let anything happen to my brother and mother again.¡± But how can she convince her father that their mother is going to give birth tomorrow? After all, having a midwifee to the house is not easy, and the consultation fee is quite substantial. And since their mother showed no signs ofbor, if they asked the midwife toe and she didn¡¯t go intobor, wouldn¡¯t it be a waste of silver taels? Well, if it¡¯s a waste, then so be it. She couldn¡¯t risk her mother and brother¡¯s lives just to save some money. Yingbao crawled into her quilt, closed her eyes, and entered the cavern. Now, the open area by the pond was covered in a thickyer of soil. This fertile soil, had recently been shoveled in little by little by Yingbao, and now it was nted with wheat, rice, soybeans, and several water chestnut nts, as well as a patch of green vegetables and shepherd¡¯s purse. The wheat, rice, and soybeans had just sprouted, while the green vegetables and shepherd¡¯s purse were growing rapidly. The previously nted water chestnut nts had grown and produced water chestnuts as big as eggs, crunchy and sweet. But no one here had ever seen suchrge water chestnuts, as it was autumn, Yingbao didn¡¯t dare to take them out, she had to rent them one by one. Moreover, on the other side of the ck soil, many fruit trees were nted, including jujube, pear, peach, chestnut, and apricot trees. The fruit saplings had grown to half a foot tall, and could be transnted out next spring. The two apple trees that were transnted earlier were growing well, so these saplings should be no different. However, where to nt them required careful consideration. Twenty or thirty fruit tree saplings certainly couldn¡¯t all be nted in the yard, not even in the front or back of the house, as that would be too conspicuous. nting them on North Mountain was out of the question. Thatnd was part of the allotment, and when her father got older, he would have to return half of it to the public. If he passed away, the entire allotment would have to be returned. She didn¡¯t want to make an effort just to benefit others in the future. Therefore, the only ce left was South Mountain, where her father¡¯s permanent farnd was located, with dozens of acres of mountainnd. Moreover, South Mountain had the advantage of high terrain and few rocks, so even if there was a major flood in the future, it wouldn¡¯t reach the top. Hmm, in the future she would encourage her parents to build a house on South Mountain, in order to avoid the great flood a few years from now. Yingbao approached the rock wall and carefully observed the growth of these crystal-clear objects. The part that had been scraped off hadn¡¯t grown back, which made her feel a bit disappointed. This meant that once these Wudingzhis were used up, there would never be any more. Yingbao scratched her head, feeling conflicted. The fact that the hen at home was willing toy eggs and that Xiaolu was growing well was thanks to the Wudingzhi. Even when she cut her finger with a reaping hookst time, it was the juice of the Wudingzhi that she used for treatment. The effect was very obvious, with just two hours leaving no trace, proving it was a good thing. Since this was a non-renewable good thing, she would have to use it sparingly in the future. The next day, Yingbao got up before dawn, dressed, folded her quilt, and ran to her parents¡¯ room. That¡¯s right, Yingbao had her own room now. Because her brother was about to be born, and she was a sensible girl, she couldn¡¯t keep sharing a bed with her parents. So, at her strong request, her father had made a kang in the west room for her to live in. Yingbao peeked out from under the curtain and called to the room, ¡°Dad!¡± Jiang Sang was putting on his shoes, and seeing his daughtering in so early, he thought something had happened. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Mr. Jiang hurried over. Yingbao, leading her father by the hand, tugged him outside. ¡°Come quickly, I have something to tell you.¡± Mr. Jiang followed his daughter into the western chamber and asked, ¡°What does Yingbao want to tell Daddy?¡± Yingbao thought for a moment with her fingers crossed, then said in a low voice, ¡°Dad, I had a dreamst night.¡± Mr. Jiangughed and rubbed his daughter¡¯s small head, ¡°Did you have a nightmare?¡± Yingbao shook her head and said earnestly, ¡°I dreamed that Mother is going to give birth to my little brother tonight, and she bled a lot. Dad, you should rush to get a midwife toe home.¡± Mr. Jiang was taken aback and instinctively thought his daughter¡¯s dream was absurd. Then he suddenly remembered that his wife¡¯s due date was approaching, and thatst time his daughter had urately predicted that her mother was carrying a boy. Hence, his daughter seemed to possess some intuitive abilities. He grew a bit panicked, but resolved to make a decision. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go to town right away.¡± Mr. Jiang hurried to the east chamber to check on his wife. Seeing that she was not exhibiting any abnormalities, he breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Chunniang, I¡¯m going to town, you stay home and don¡¯t go wandering off,¡± Mr. Jiang instructed. Having propped herself up into a sitting position, Chunniang asked in surprise, ¡°What are you doing so early in town? The sky isn¡¯t even light yet.¡± ¡°It will be soon.¡± Mr. Jiang turned around and left. Once they were outside, he saw that it was raining and pretty heavily at that, so he went back to get his hat and raincoat, which hung on the wall. With those in hand, he proceeded to his elder brother¡¯s house. He needed to ask his sister-inw toe over and help. With his wife about to give birth and their daughter so young, it would be unwise to not have an adult in the house who could handle the situation. Seeing her father hurrying around, Yingbao quickly reminded him, ¡°Dad, it¡¯s rainy and the roads are slippery. Be careful. The midwife is old, she can¡¯t walk in the mud. Go borrow a donkey cart from Uncle Zhang at the vige.¡± Mr. Jiang smacked his forehead. Ah, how could he have forgotten about that? Waving at his daughter, he said, ¡°Got it, Dad will take care of it. You stay home with your mother, don¡¯t run off.¡± Saying this, he dashed into the rain. With a sigh, Yingbao went to the kitchen to feed Xiaolu, and let out the chickens from their coop. Seeing that the water in the tank was nearly gone, she let the water out of the cave till the big tank was filled. Then, after thinking for a while, she retrieved some dry firewood from behind the kitchen stove, and took two old y bowls and a y jar from the cab. She stored all these things in the cave for potential future needs. Sister Zhou, Mr. Jiang¡¯s sister-inw, arrived soon after, holding an umbre and a pot of freshly cooked rice porridge. ¡°Aunt Zhou.¡± Yingbao greeted her warmly. Sister Zhou smiled and asked, ¡°Yingbao, why are you up so early? Where¡¯s your mother?¡± ¡°Mother is inside, she¡¯ll be out soon.¡± Yingbao replied lightly. ¡°Then I¡¯ll go see her.¡± Sister Zhou began to walk towards the east chamber. Yingbao, seeing Aunt Zhoue to apany her mother, felt a sense of relief. She put on the small hat her dad had made for her, wore her wooden clogs, and took Xiaolu out of the house to do its business. Xiaolu obediently followed, stepping into the rain. Once Xiaolu was finished, Yingbao cleaned its body with a torn cloth and began to shovel the chicken manure from the coop. This was usually her father¡¯s chore, but since her father was busy today, she had to take it on herself, she didn¡¯t want her pregnant mother to do it. After cleaning the chicken manure and sweeping up, she finally entered the kitchen. Just then, Sister Zhou came in, expressing her surprise. ¡°Oh my, you¡¯re so diligent! I was going to ask your sister Dani to do it, but you¡¯ve already swept everything clean.¡± Yingbaoughed, ¡°Usually, it¡¯s Mom and Dad who do it. But Dad is out today and Mom is not well, so I just tidied up a bit.¡± Sister Zhou took out two y bowls and two pairs of chopsticks from the cab. ¡°Yingbao, Auntie brought some porridge, it¡¯s still hot. Come and have some with your mother.¡± ¡°Okay, thank you Auntie Zhou.¡± Yingbao, hopping about happily, followed Sister Zhou through to the main room to have porridge. Chunniang, at this time, expressed her helplessness to Sister Zhou, ¡°Don¡¯t bother yourself with this, I already promised I won¡¯t go out.¡± Sister Zhou then chuckled and said, ¡°This morning, Mr. Jiang rushed over and told me that you might be going intobour, so he asked me toe and check on you. I had just cooked some porridge in the morning and felt that you might have trouble getting around, especially with it raining outside. I didn¡¯t want you to slip and fall, so I brought some over.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way I would give birth yet.¡± Chunniang felt somewhat embarrassed. She rubbed her belly and hesitated, ¡°But I have been feeling my belly tighten and then loosen intermittently for thest couple of days. I still can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s the baby kicking or not.¡± Chapter 14 - 14: Younger Brother is Born_1 14 Chapter 14: Younger Brother is Born_1 Trantor: 549690339 Zhou Family served some porridge to her sisters and Yingbao, saying, ¡°This isn¡¯t a baby¡¯s kick, it¡¯s clearly the start ofbor. Good thing Sang was quick to fetch a midwife this morning.¡± Upon hearing this, Chunniang became a little nervous, ¡°But, my stomach doesn¡¯t hurt at all, does it?¡± Zhou Family put a chopstick in her hand, ¡°When your stomach truly hurts, that means the baby is about toe out. What you¡¯re experiencing now is the start of contractions.¡± It was still raining, and it was getting heavier. Jiang Sang borrowed a donkey cart with a canopy from Chen Vige and rushed to Chuanhe Town. When he reached the old midwife¡¯s house, he saw two people standing at the door, wearing raincoats and conical bamboo hats. One of them was even holding an umbre, it seemed like they were also here for medical help. Jiang Sang felt a bit uneasy, fearing that the midwife would have been asked to go help someone else first. Unfortunately, his fears were realized. As soon as the door to the midwife¡¯s house opened, the two men were the first to walk in, asking the midwife to deliver their babies. Jiang Sang¡¯s mind was buzzing. Without caring about anything else, he quickly bowed to the midwife, ¡°Midwife Zhang, my wife is also going intobor today. Could you pleasee and take a look? She¡¯s carrying twins and it¡¯s her first birth¡­¡± As he spoke, he couldn¡¯t help but choke up. Jiang Sang felt scared. There¡¯s a saying that women giving birth is like going through the Ghost Gate, if they make it through, they survive. If they can¡¯t, well¡­he didn¡¯t dare to think about it. The two men who arrived before him immediately red at Jiang Sang, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you? Don¡¯t you know there¡¯s a line?¡± Of course, Jiang Sang knew. But when it came to the life and death of his wife and child, what did it matter if he was the bad guy for once? Midwife Zhang was familiar with Jiang Sang. After all, Chuanhe Town wasn¡¯t that big, and there were only a dozen or so viges in it. From the 70-year-old seniors to the three-year-old children in the vige, she could at least recognize everyone. And since she¡¯s been providing women with medical care all year round, she knew exactly who has kids and who¡¯s wife had been barren for many years. ¡°Has the bloody show started with your wife?¡± Midwife Zhang asked. Jiang Sang paused but still answered honestly: ¡°No.¡± The man next to him was even more furious, ¡°My wife¡¯s water has broken, and your wife hasn¡¯t even seen the bloody show yet.¡± Midwife Zhang had no choice but to apologize to Jiang Sang, ¡°His situation is more urgent. How about Ie over after I finish delivering his baby?¡± Jiang Sang dropped his head in dismay and could only nod, ¡°Thank you, Midwife. Can I, can I wait here for you?¡± Midwife Zhang nodded and left with the other man. As they got to the door, the midwife voiced again, ¡°Delivering a child can take a long time. You may have to wait quite a while, and I can¡¯t guarantee that I¡¯ll be able to get to your house today.¡± Jiang Sang sincerely said, ¡°Midwife, no matter how long it takes, I¡¯ll wait as long as you¡¯re willing toe.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Midwife Zhang nodded. Then, Jiang Sang used the donkey cart to take the midwife to that house, and he squatted at the door, silently waiting. He ended up waiting for several hours. Cold wind carried the autumn rain, pitter-pattering nonstop untilte afternoon, with no sign of stopping. Yingbao stood at the door, anxiously looking out, but her father did not return. ¡°Auntie, my father still hasn¡¯te back.¡± She looked pitifully at Zhou Family, ¡°Should we send someone to the town to check?¡± Zhou Family was also a little panicked. Sang¡¯s wife¡¯s stomach was tightening more and more. The baby maye tonight. ¡°Yingbao, watch your mother at home. I¡¯ll call your grandparents to decide what to do.¡± ¡°Okay, Auntie. You go first. I¡¯ll watch over mother.¡± Yingbao nodded seriously. Zhou Family went home with an umbre and immediately told her father-inw and mother-inw about Chunniang¡¯s condition. On hearing this, Jiang Liu couldn¡¯t sit still, and pped his thigh, ¡°Well, what are we waiting for? Let¡¯s quickly send Eldest to West Vige to ask Aunt Wu for help. No matter whether Sanges back or not, we can¡¯t just sit around and do nothing. And let Second go to town to see why Sang has been dyed for so long.¡± ¡°All right, Mother, I¡¯ll send Dng to fetch Aunt Wu,¡± said Mrs. Zhou. With this, Elder Brother Jiang hurried over to Xichen Vige, but had just arrived at Shigong Bridge when he encountered his younger brother returning with a donkey cart. As it turned out, there was no need to go for Aunt Wu, because Jiang Sang had invited Doctor Zhang. That night, Yingbaoy on the kang in the west room, listening to the stirrings in the room to the east with her eyes closed. First, her mother¡¯s moans echoed through the house, and not long after, a robust cry from a baby joined them. After a short wait, another baby¡¯s cry followed. Aunt then eximed joyfully, ¡°My, one more son! Sang, you will have to give out twenty red eggs tomorrow when sharing the good news with the rtives!¡± Jiang Sangughed heartily, ¡°Twenty it is.¡± Yingbao buried her face in her hands, her tears flowing like a rushing river. She could see her brother again. In this lifetime, she would protect them with all her might. She wouldn¡¯t let her parents die early, or let her brother meet that tragic end. After escaping from the provincial governor¡¯s residence years ago, she eventually found her brothers after much inquiry in Qinchuan County. They were seventeen years old and in the prime of youth. Yet, one was mentally challenged, and the other was gravely ill, eking out a living in Jiang Family Vige under the care of their eldest cousin, living a harsh life. Later, she took them to the county town, gathered a bit of silver by selling ice from the grotto in the summer, curing her brother¡¯s illness, and purchasing a small courtyard, nning to gather some more silver to find wives for them. Just when she thought their lives were improving and their troubles were finally behind them, the Han Couple suddenly barged into their house with a horde of people. Those people knocked down her brothers who were protecting her and forcibly dragged her into the house. Then, she was strangled to death by her birth parents. She could only imagine what had happened to her two brothers after her demise; it probably wasn¡¯t anything good. Before her death, she saw with her own eyes the vicious force with which her brothers were beaten over their heads, blood streaming down their faces. Every time she thought of that, it was as if her heart was being crushed. Fortunately, she was now reborn, and none of these terrible things had happened yet. In this life, she would do everything possible to prevent cmity from befalling her family. She also needed to carefully n a rich and peaceful life for her parents and brothers. As for that family, as long as they didn¡¯t provoke her, she would let bygones be bygones, considering it as repaying their act of giving her life. ¡°Yingbao, quick! Come with me to see your little brothers,¡± Jiang Sang walked into the room holding amp, giddy with joy, he picked up his daughter and headed towards the eastern room. In the eastern room, twomps were lit, and their grandmother, their aunt, and the midwife were all there. They were joyfullyparing the two babies wrapped in armor, ¡°Oh, they look alike! Look at their long eyebrows and eyes, they¡¯ll definitely be handsome when they grow up.¡± Yingbao stretched her neck to look, smiling so widely her mouth could barely close. She asked her father, ¡°Which one is the elder brother, and which one is the younger?¡± Jiang Sang pointed to a baby with a slightly round face and said, ¡°This is your younger brother, and that¡¯s your elder brother.¡± Yingbao chuckled endlessly. How wonderful, her younger brother¡¯s face was rosy and vibrant, he certainly seemed healthy, definitely as smart as her elder brother. In her previous life, her younger brother was mentally impaired due to asphyxiation at birth. Although he wasn¡¯t naturally idiotic, he was cute in his silliness, very good-looking and always fond of following her around, gifting her all the dragonflies and butterflies he caught. When they were three years old, upon seeing the Han family pestering them, her little brother courageously stood in front of her, stretching his short arms to protect her, even used his head to hit the Han family. Every time she recalled those past events, Yingbao couldn¡¯t help but feel her eyes well up with tears. Chapter 15 - 15: Full Moon_1 15 Chapter 15: Full Moon_1 Trantor: 549690339 In the blink of an eye, a month had passed and the twins had reached their first month. Jiang Sang organized a full moon banquet for his two little sons, inviting rtives and friends to partake in the feast. Those who came to offer their congrattions mostly brought their little boys and grandsons. With not enough room on the six tables, Jiang Sang constructed an open-air tent in the courtyard and arranged a few more banquet tables. ¡°Sang, congrattions,¡± said one of the vigers, who had brought several eggs as a gesture of good luck. He teased, ¡°Who would have thought you¡¯d go from having no children to suddenly having two sons! We call that saving the best forst, a true surprise, haha!¡± Jiang Sangughed heartily and bowed to the viger, ¡°You tter me, you tter me. Pleasee in, the banquet will begin shortly.¡± ¡°Alright, you¡¯re busy, you¡¯re busy!¡± The viger walked into the hall, ced his gift in front of the ount book, and asked Jiang Eng, who was keeping the ounts, to register it. At this time, a few more guests arrived and Jiang Sang rushed forward to greet them¡­ In the kitchen, the women of the Jiang family, along with Chunniang and her sisters-inw, were busy cooking and the whole ce was bustling. A few of the neighboring women sat on small stools, chatting casually as they washed and chopped the vegetables. The children ran around the courtyard,ughing and ying. For a while, there was a constant stream of people in and out of Jiang Sang¡¯s house. It was lively. Inside the house, Yingbao was watching over her two little brothers¡¯ cradles, spinning a rattle drum for them to see. Little Xiaoluy obediently at her feet, watching everything with big, innocent eyes while chewing on his food. Dani, Erni, and Yuanbao also gathered around the cradle, craning their necks to observe their identical little cousins. ¡°This is the eldest, Jahrriery, and this one with the round face is his younger brother, he¡¯s called Jiang Wu.¡± Yingbao patiently introduced the twin brothers to everyone who came to visit, helping them tell one from the other. Yuanbao blinked his eyes, still confused. ¡°But their faces are all round.¡± Dani, smacked his little brother, ¡°Silly! One has a round face, the other doesn¡¯t.¡± Erni giggled and added, ¡°Exactly!¡± A puzzled Yuanbao rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a little wronged. After not much time, Jie in the cradle began to squirm and cry, quickly followed by little Wu. When the two babies started crying, their three siblings panicked and rushed off to get the Third Aunt. Yingbao, however, was unruffled and slowlyforted her brothers, whispering gently, ¡°Little Jie and Dawu are hungry, don¡¯t be in such a rush. As soon as your motheres, you¡¯ll have something to eat.¡± Chunniang hurriedly arrived, picked up one of the babies, and began to feed him. The other one cried even louder, as if deeply unsatisfied. With no other choice, Chunniang had to feed both sons simultaneously. Fed and full, the two little ones fell into a peaceful sleep. Old Madam Jiang came in and told her third daughter-inw, ¡°You should rest with the children. You just had a baby, don¡¯t overexert yourself. Your sisters-inw can handle the affairs outside.¡± Chunniang, indeed feeling tired, nodded in agreement. ¡°Alright, I¡¯lly down for a while. I¡¯ll leave the kitchen to my sisters-inw.¡± Old Madam Jiang grunted in agreement, turned and pulled Yingbao up, ¡°Yingbao, go out and y with your brothers and sisters. Your mother is here with your brother.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Seeing her young mistress leaving, Xiaolu quickly scrambled to his feet to follow. Hence, Yingbao, followed by a deer and nked by Dani, Erni, and Yuanbao, went off to y outside. There wasn¡¯t much to do outside. The weather had turned cold, even the tree leaves hadpletely fallen, and the bugs and ants were nowhere to be seen. It would probably snow soon. But the children didn¡¯t see it this way. They could happily run around all day using bamboo sticks as horses. Not long after they left the house, the vige children came rushing over, all jabbering about Xiaolu, some even reached out to touch him. Yingbao reminded them, ¡°Don¡¯t touch his backside carelessly. Be careful not to be kicked by Xiaolu.¡± Nowadays, Xiaolu had grown quite tall and was farrger than an ordinary deer, exhibiting a robust physique with strong hooves. He looked as if he was almost a small pony. If saddled and bridled up, the kids could even ride it like a horse. Indeed, Yingbao had this thought in mind, but getting a custom saddle would cost quite a few silver coins, so she had put off the idea for now. The children pulled their hands back and chattered around Youyou with envy written all over their faces. This deer had be a celebrity in the vige, having been seen and touched by nearly all the children, even those from Xichen Vige often came by, just for a glimpse of Youyou. Yingbao had seen the two daughters from Chen Changping¡¯s home too but felt no ripples in her heart. The happenings of her previous life were left where they belonged, in the past. The now her did not want any connections with them. ¡°Are you Yingbao?¡± A pallid vige woman stood not far away, her eyes fixed on Yingbao. Yingbao didn¡¯t even need to turn around to figure out who was speaking. It was her birth mother, Han Juniang, who had been watching for who knows how long. Yingbao was startled, but she quickly calmed down, pretended not to hear anything, and turned to Brother Yuanbao, ¡°Brother Yuanbao, can I go over to your ce to read?¡± She had already learned the Three Character ssic from Yuanbao, and was currently reading through the Thousand Character ssic and Hundred Family Surnames. She believed that soon, she¡¯d be able to write freely and openly. ¡°Sure.¡± Yuanbao agreed without hesitation. If his little cousin went to read, then Youyou would be his to take care of. As she was about to leave, the woman took a few steps forward to block her, repeating, ¡°You¡¯re Yingbao, aren¡¯t you? Do you know who your real parents are?¡± Rolling her eyes, Yingbao responded, ¡°My parents are Jiang Sang and Xu Chunniang. Who are you? Why are you blocking my way?¡± Wiping imaginary tears from her eyes, Han Juniang protested emotionally, ¡°No! They¡¯re not your real parents¡­¡± Before she could finish, Yingbao grabbed Yuanbao¡¯s hand and ran toward her uncle¡¯s house, shouting ¡°Bad woman!¡± over her shoulder. Stunned, Han Juniang stood in ce. With one breath, Yingbao dashed into her uncle¡¯s house. On seeing that cousins and Youyou had followed her, she quickly asked them to close the gate to the courtyard. The house was empty at this time. Her grandparents, uncle, and aunt had gone to help out at their own homes; her other cousins weren¡¯t home either. Yingbao, clutching her chest and panting, was somewhat dazed. How could this woman dare toe over so early? It wasn¡¯t like this in her past life¡ªshe remembered the first time the Han Family visited was when she was over four years old. Yingbao lowered her head to look at the birthmark on her wrist. She hadn¡¯t managed to remove the birthmark yet. She couldn¡¯t let that woman bring everything out into the open. ¡°Why did Yingbao call her that?¡± Dani asked, perplexed. She recognized the woman; she seemed to be from Xichen Vige. Being older by a few years, Dani understood what the woman was implying. She red at her sister, ¡°That woman dared to try and sow discord; of course, she¡¯s a bad woman!¡± Everyone in the family knew that Yingbao was not their uncle¡¯s biological child, but they didn¡¯t care as long as her uncle and his wife treated her as their own. That woman bringing up such a topic was trying to drive a wedge between Yingbao and her adopted parents. ¡°Oh.¡± Dani finally understood. At six years old, she was still a little confused, but she knew that the family needed to stick together. She nodded forcefully, ¡°Then let¡¯s go tell Uncle, and we¡¯ll deal with that bad woman.¡± Dani had the same thought in mind, she turned to Yingbao, ¡°Should we go find Uncle?¡± Yingbao shook her head, ¡°Not for now.¡± Today was her little brother¡¯s one-month celebration, and there were so many guests at home. She couldn¡¯t give Han Juniang the chance to reveal everything in front of everyone. She surmised that Han Juniang wouldn¡¯t have the nerve to say it herself, so she came looking for her instead, trying to find a breakthrough with the children. ¡°What if she¡¯s still waiting outside?¡± Though sensible, Dani was only nine years old, and hadn¡¯t encountered such a situation before, so she was a little uneasy. Peeking through the crack in the door, Yuanbao quietly said, ¡°The bad woman isn¡¯t outside.¡± Turning to his little cousin, he patted his chest, ¡°I¡¯ll go out and check if she¡¯s gone.¡± ¡°Alright, you go, but don¡¯t talk to her or call for anyone.¡± Yingbao instructed. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll just take a quick look from afar.¡± Yuanbao walked out, leading Youyou by the hand. Chapter 16 - 16: Regret_1 16 Chapter 16: Regret_1 Trantor: 549690339 Han Juniang stood for a long time, looking at the bustling Jiang Family home, her heart filled with jealousy and resentment. Why weren¡¯t the twin boys hers? Why did the neer have such good luck, adopting a girl and even having it bring him twin boys? How was she worse than that woman who had been sterile for ten years? The more Han Juniang thought about it, the more upset she became, the more indignant she felt, almost shedding tears on the spot. People passing by whispered amongst themselves, and some even called out loud, ¡°Isn¡¯t this Chen Second Auntie? Are you here to give congrattions, why don¡¯t you go in?¡± The Han Family stiffened, stuttered: ¡°I-I¡¯m just passing by.¡± After saying that, she turned and left. Walking quickly away, as if a ghost were chasing her from behind. Halfway, she encountered several vige women, talking about Jiang Family¡¯s gossip. ¡°Today, I finally saw Jiang¡¯s twins, oh my, they¡¯re so handsome. Fair and chubby, their small arms are like lotus roots.¡± ¡°Indeed, the woman can finally hold her head high. Didn¡¯t conceive for ten years, didn¡¯t expect to conceive twins when she finally did. And they¡¯re both sons, wow.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you really can¡¯t judge a book by its cover, the old m can also produce pearls. Those who said Jiang would have no descendants will have to bite their tongues now.¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± ¡°Hey, it¡¯s also Jiang¡¯s good luck to adopt a fairy child. If it weren¡¯t for Yingbao, would she have been able to conceive? Hmph!¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s not necessarily true.¡± ¡°How is it not? Even the Divine Witch Song said that Yingbao is a lucky doll. Whoever adopted her would be blessed.¡± ¡°Really, did olddy Song really say that?¡± ¡°Indeed, she even said that the day Jiang adopted Yingbao, there was a divine light shining upon his house.¡± ¡°Really? Did you witness it?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t see it myself, but is not the deer that follows Yingbao around all day evidence enough? In our area, which other child canmand such a big deer?¡± ¡°Oh my, now that you mention it, Yingbao really does seem like a fairy child. So fair and pretty, just like a painting, not like the children in our vige. They say she could speak before she was one, even recognize some characters now. Who in our vige has a girl who can do that?¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± ¡°Oh, I wonder who Yingbao¡¯s biological parents are. To abandon such a gifted child, I wonder if they¡¯ll regret itter.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll definitely regret it. They¡¯d be green with envy.¡± ¡°Regret is useless now!¡± ¡°True.¡± A woman lowered her voice: ¡°Hey, do you think Yingbao could be from Chen Eng¡¯s family in West Vige?¡± Another woman pped her thigh, ¡°Now that you mention it, the timing of Chen¡¯s wife giving birth and finding Yingbao does line up. Oh my, the Chen family have had three or four girls in a row, they really could have abandoned a child. Karma is really catching up to them¡­¡± As they were enthusiastically chatting, they suddenly noticed someone standing not far away. It was Han from Chen Eng in West Vige, they quickly nudged each other, winked, and stopped talking. After a moment of silence, a woman said: ¡°I¡¯m off, I still need to go to Jiang¡¯s house for the One Month celebration. I can¡¯t chat with you anymore.¡± ¡°You better hurry, my husband¡¯s already there, he¡¯s probably seated by now.¡± ¡°I have to get back too, haven¡¯t cooked the meal at home yet.¡± The crowd dispersed, leaving Han alone from a distance. This time, Han Juniang truly began to cry. She hurried home, flopped onto her bed and sobbed for a long time. Chen Changping entered the room and upon seeing his wife like this, couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wiping her tears, Han looked at her husband and said: ¡°Eng, can we take the child back?¡± Chen Changping furrowed his brow, ¡°What child?¡± ¡°Just¡­ Just the one you abandoned.¡± Han Family wiped her eyes. ¡°What nonsense are you spouting?¡± Chen Changping¡¯s face reddened in an instant, he angrily said, ¡°That child is already dead! Do you understand? Dead!¡± Having said that, he stormed off with a sweep of his sleeve. Han Family was stunned for a while, her face growing paler and paler, her fingers clenching the front of her dress, grief swelling in her heart. Actually, whether they had that child was not important at all, the main thing was she was unsure in her heart whether she could ever give birth to a son in the future. What would happen if she could never give birth to a son? Even though she had the support of her younger sister and brother-inw in the county town, it was hard to ensure that her husband would not abandon her in the future. If her husband did really leave her, what would she do? Where could she seek refuge? Her parents had long passed away, she had no brothers in her maiden family, although her only younger sister could provide some help, she could not help her for the rest of her life, could she? The more Han Juniang thought about it, the more frightened she was, and the more anxious she became. At this moment, her seven-year-old daughter peeked her head in from behind the curtain, timidly saying, ¡°Mom, Grandma wants you to go and fetch water, there is no water left in the pot at home.¡± Upon hearing this, Han Family was instantly infuriated. She jumped up, picked up a bamboo stick and began hitting her daughter on the head while yelling, ¡°Worthless wretch! Now, even you are bossing around your mother! Can¡¯t you fetch the water yourself? What¡¯s the use of having you! What¡¯s the use of having you!¡± The older daughter was crying out in pain, covering her head with her hands, but she didn¡¯t dare to dodge. Because she knew that the more she dodged, the more furiously her mother would beat her. ¡°What in the world are you doing?¡± The mother-inw, Feng Family from Chen, rushed over, pointing at Han Family and shouting, ¡°What, you even beat your child for just a water-fetching task, who are you trying to show your temper to? Who were you just cursing at now? Rebelling against you, huh?¡± Han Family ignored her mother-inw and continued to beat her daughter, ¡°Worthless creature! Why don¡¯t you just die! I should just kill you.¡± ¡°Second Son! Second Son! Where the hell have you died off to?¡± Furious, Chen Feng Family stamped her feet. After shouting for her second son for a long time and seeing that he did not show up, she swore, ¡°Shameless jerk! Daring to curse the mother-inw behind her back now! Second Son! You unfilial son! Look at what you have spoiled your wife into!¡± Seeing that her mother-inw was genuinely angry and fearful of further enraging her husband, Han Family threw down her bamboo pole, hung her head, and moved towards the stove. She picked up two buckets and a carrying pole and left the house. The moment Chen Feng Family saw that her daughter-inw was giving in, she too stopped cursing, she turned her head to nce at her granddaughter who was huddled on the ground, sobbing miserably, and furrowed her brow, ¡°Are you a fool? When your mom beats you, you don¡¯t know to run farther away? Utterly useless! Everyone is such a worry!¡± She huffily rushed back to her room, only to see her old man leisurely ying with the purple y teapot their eldest son brought back. Indignant, she said, ¡°You sure know how to take it easy. Didn¡¯t you hear the ruckus outside?¡± ¡°The matters concerning our children and grandchildren should be left to them.¡± Old Chen Changping waspletely unconcerned, ¡°The more we interfere, the moreints we¡¯ll receive.¡± ¡°Easier said than done!¡± Chen Feng Family was still seething with anger. ¡°Han Family beats the child every day until they¡¯re wailing, tarnishing our family¡¯s reputation. Hmph! She can¡¯t even give birth to a son but dares to be so domineering, nobody has a temper as bad as her.¡± ¡°You deal with her.¡± Old Chen Changping gave his wife a side nce, ¡°The more you meddle, the more you¡¯ll worry. Be careful not to overdo it and harm your health. We¡¯re all old bones now, how many years can we live? Why bother worrying so much.¡± ¡°I would rather not worry.¡± Chen Feng Family sat down with a huff by the kang bed, ¡°But if she keeps acting like this, she will ruin Second Son¡¯s luck.¡± Old Chen Changping kept quiet, his heart full of dissatisfaction towards his second daughter-inw. Indeed, for the past few years, his second son had always been down on his luck, failing the county examination several times. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of his daughter-inw¡¯s misfortune. Not able to give birth to a male child was one thing, after all, his own Chen Family didn¡¯tck grandsons, but this woman¡¯s temper was growing bigger and bigger, and her entire person was gloomy. It was as if someone owed her a thousand coins, was very ominous to look at. The old couple both fell silent. After a good while, Chen Feng Family softly asked, ¡°Old man, do you think that child the Jiang Family from East Vige picked up is Second Son¡¯s?¡± Old Chen Changping gave his wife a sideway nce, ¡°What does it matter whether it is or not?¡± The child was already abandoned, it was just a girl, why would they even bring it up. Chen Feng Family pondered for a while, then said in a hushed tone, ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard? The whole vige is spreading that Jiang Family¡¯s third son picked up a lucky child. They¡¯re even saying that she¡¯s the reincarnation of the Fairy Child under Guanyin.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t listen to such nonsense.¡± Old Chen Changping certainly did not believe this kind of rumor. ¡°Where on earth is there a Fairy Child? It¡¯s just a young girl. If she was really that miraculous, his Jiang Family wouldn¡¯t be so poor.¡± ¡°So what if they¡¯re poor?¡± Chen Feng Family shot a sideways nce at her husband, ¡°That¡¯s because they were ruined by his daughter-inw years ago. Any money they made was spent at the medicine shop.¡± Chapter 17 - 17: Tool Man_1 17 Chapter 17: Tool Man_1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°Just go and see for yourself, even if nothing else, that deer alone of the Jiang Family is worth a fortune.¡± Chen Family¡¯s Feng sighed, ¡°I heard rumorsst time iming that they refused to sell their deer even when they were offered twenty taels. Twenty taels, my God, that¡¯s what our eldest son makes in a year!¡± Old Chen scoffed, ¡°However much it is, it¡¯s just a one-time deal. Can itpare with the steady ie of our eldest son?¡± Feng rolled her eyes, ¡°Then do you know who is raising the deer?¡± Without waiting for her husband to answer, she continued, ¡°It¡¯s that little girl. She pastures it every day without needing to lead it by a leash. The deer follows her everywhere without ever straying from her side. Everyone in the vige knows this, right? Even Master from the n school said that the child has a special aura.¡± Old Chen frowned, ¡°What good does that do? Even if the child has a special aura, she was raised by the Jiang Family. You actually want to shamelessly ask the Jiangs for her back? Tch!¡± If they really did so, the spit from the vigers could literally drown them. They abandoned a perfectly good child in the past. Now that they see how good she has turned out, they want her back. As the Chen family, they can¡¯t stoop so low or lose face like that.¡± Feng was taken aback and mumbled, ¡°I was just saying¡­ who imed to go ask for her back? Besides, we¡¯re not even sure if she¡¯s our second son¡¯s child.¡± With that said, she angrily stood up, lifted the curtain and left the room. Meanwhile, at the Jiang¡¯s. The celebration party for the newborn¡¯s first month didn¡¯t end untilte. Jiang Sang felt exhausted but overjoyed as hey side by side with his wife on the tform bed. Their two sons were sleeping soundly between them. ¡°Who would¡¯ve guessed that I, Jiang Sang, would have both a son and a daughter one day.¡± Jiang Sang said, ¡°Just two years ago, I was considering adopting another child.¡± His wife Chunniang stroked their son¡¯s head, smiling, ¡°We owe all our luck to Yingbao. Haven¡¯t you heard the gossip? They say our Yingbao is a little fairy bestowed to us from heaven.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense,¡± Jiang Sang frowned, ¡°Let the outsiders gossip all they want, but we shouldn¡¯t blindly join in.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Chunniang said softly, ¡°I¡¯m just sharing it with you, no strangers here to hear.¡± Jiang Sang cupped his hands behind his head and sighed deeply, ¡°s, our daughter¡¯s reputation is drawing way too much attention. I fear we might be unable to protect her one day.¡± Chunniang poked him lightly, expressing her annoyance with his remark, ¡°That¡¯s nonsense. Yingbao is our eldest daughter, the real sister of Xiaojie and Xiaowu. Her name is already recorded in our family registry, what do you mean we couldn¡¯t protect her?¡± Although the Jiang Family were recent arrivals, they also had their own n. The vital base of the Jiang Familyy in the Jiang Family vige located twenty miles away. Even to this day, Jiang Sang¡¯s uncle still lived in the Jiang Family Vige. Likewise, people came from there to celebrate the newborn¡¯s first month. Jiang Sang turned towards his wife, grabbing her hand, ¡°I¡¯m speaking the truth. You don¡¯t know, Chen Changping¡¯s mother even came to our house today. She stood at our doorstep for a long time, watching with her sharp eyes. It was quite unnerving.¡± ¡°Why did shee?¡± Chunniang immediately became displeased. They weren¡¯t on friendly terms with Chen Changping¡¯s family, and they hadn¡¯t invited them over for their son¡¯s first month celebration either. Jiang Sang sneered, ¡°That woman actually told Yingbao that we aren¡¯t her real parents.¡± ¡°What¡­¡± Chunniang was infuriated, ¡°Did she really say that?¡± ¡°Yes, Dani told me. Yingbao called her a bad woman and hid at my older brother¡¯s house.¡± ¡°That damned woman!¡± Chunniang was both angry and resentful, ¡°What else did she say to Yingbao?¡± ¡°She wanted to say more, but our Yingbao didn¡¯t give her the chance.¡± Jiang Sang chuckled, ¡°Our daughter is smart.¡± Chunniang fell silent, feeling heartbroken. This woman had the audacity to harass a one-year-old child without consulting the child¡¯s parents. What on earth was she plotting? She has absolutely no shame! ¡°Sang, what should we do?¡± Chunniang pulled on her husband¡¯s arm, worriedly asking, ¡°That woman mighte again. What about Yingbao¡­¡± She was truly worried that Yingbao would leave her, leave this family. ¡°Hm,¡± Jiang Sang snorted, ¡°Let here. We¡¯re not afraid of her.¡± His fist wouldn¡¯t hesitate to punch a woman. Since that woman was not ying fair, he had nothing to worry about. Even if it escted to the Chen Family n Leader, he still had the upper hand. ¡­ Meanwhile, in the western room, Yingbao was crouched on the ground, taking a half-burnt, thin piece of charcoal from the firece. It was still warm to the touch. If she could heat this piece of charcoal until it glowed red, she could use it to burn off the birthmark on her wrist. Yingbao took a deep breath, pulled out a tinderbox from the firece, and lit the piece of charcoal. When the charcoal was almost fully burned, she blew out the me. She stuffed a folded cloth into her mouth, closed her eyes, and, gathering all her resolve, pressed her wrist onto the red-hot charcoal. Sss¡­ The smell of charred flesh assaulted her senses. ¡°Whimper, whimper, ¡­¡± Yingbao¡¯s entire body trembled, and the pain brought her to tears. Looking at her wrist, the birthmark area was now a charred mess. She whimpered softly, discarded the chewed-up cloth, and with one hand, picked up the prepared Five-Tribute Mushroom, swallowed it, and smeared its juice over her burnt flesh. A cooling sensation coursed through her, easing the wretched pain temporarily, yet it was still unbearable. Wiping away her tears, Yingbao stepped onto a stool, climbed onto the kang bed-stove, and buried herself in the quilt, trying to force herself to fall asleep. Shouldn¡¯t she feel no pain once she¡¯s asleep? Oh, it hurts, it hurts so badly¡­ After what felt like forever, the pain in her wrist started to fade, finally allowing Yingbao to drift into slumber. In her dream, she found herself standing in thick fog once more, with that bookid out in front of her again. Yingbao felt a sense of bewilderment. This dream was persistently cryptic; she hadn¡¯t thought or pondered about the story during her day, yet she found herself dreaming about the narrative once again. And it was the same narrative. Regardless, she was still anxious to find out what was toe next. She approached the book, opened the pages skillfully, and resumed reading where she had left off. The story continued with Chen Tiantian taking her three cousins from her aunt¡¯s family out to y, only to lose one of a pair of golden Hua-Sheng hairpins. Originally a pair, the precious hairpins were gifted to her by a noble gentleman on the day Chen Tiantian had her hair coiffed up for the first time, so losing one left her morosely regretful. A few days went by, and surprisingly, the lost hairpin was found beneath the pillow of her third cousin, Chen Ying. This sent the entire family into uproar. Her aunt was mortified, and pped her third daughter over a dozen times, forcing her to kneel and admit her wrongdoing and apologize to her cousin. Unexpectedly, Chen Ying stubbornly refused to submit. She red at her mother with a fierce look in her eyes, defiantly refusing to apologize. Chen Tiantian, kind-hearted as she was, saw Chen Ying¡¯s face in painful disfigurement, with blood oozing from her nose and lips, and couldn¡¯t bear it. She offered to give the hairpin to her obstinate third cousin. However, their aunt turned down the offer, chastised her daughter once again, and locked her in an abandoned chicken coop in her yard, refusing to feed her for three days. Afterward, the incident seemed to have been swept under the rug and forgotten. A few more dayster, the most beautiful dress in Chen Tiantian¡¯s wardrobe was shed. This time, both her second cousin and a younger cousin imed that it was Chen Ying, who was just recently released, that was responsible. Even her usually reticent eldest cousin agreed to their usation. But just like before, Chen Ying adamantly rejected the usation. She even attacked her elder sister and younger brother, leaving two bloody scratches on the face of Chen Zhao. At this point, everyone concluded that Chen Ying was malicious and insolent, uncivilized, and simply impossible to educate. Even the usually cid Mrs. Han started to disdain this persistent niece of hers. In the end, the defiant cousin was taken away by the aunt to the countryside. As she read up to this point, the book changed into paper butterflies and vanished. ¡°So ording to the book, I am evil and beyond reproach. Not even a supporting character, merely a tool used to emphasize the protagonist¡¯s beauty, kindness, and purity.¡± No one would be happy to be portrayed in such a manner. Simrly, Yingbao was furious andpletely lost interest in the book. What rubbish was written in it! That¡¯s not how it happened at all. Firstly, it was Chen Zhao, her second sister, who found the hairpin. Yingbao had seen her secretly trying it on. However, because this matter had nothing to do with herself, Yingbao chose to ignore it. Perhaps her older sister didn¡¯t think so. For whatever reason, she put the hairpin under the younger sister¡¯s pillow, then went to Chen Tiantian and falsely incriminated Chen Ying. Admittedly, Chen Zhao¡¯s preemptive attack had been sessful. No matter how much Yingbao tried to refute the usations, no one would believe her. Chen Ying was pped by her mother, Mrs. Han, a dozen times in front of everyone. Later, she was whipped with bamboo till her body was covered in wounds and was locked in a chicken coop for three days without food. When they let her out three dayster, right after she finished a bowl of porridge, she was used by Chen Zhao and their younger brother of shing Chen Tiantian¡¯s dress. She argued vehemently with her second elder sister and younger brother on the spot. While Chen Zhao was eloquent and prudent with her words, how could a four-year-old be so cautious? He slipped up the moment he started to speak. ¡°Second Sister said that if I rip the dress, she will give me candies, and that it was you who did it. Everyone hates you so you can¡¯t deny. Humph! It was you, Third Sister!¡± Those were the exact words of the four-year-old. Yet no one cared about these details. All that mattered was that she was the one they could me. The result was that everyone began using Ying Bao. They said she had be wicked and ruthless from living with the Jiang Family and could not be reformed. Later, Aunt Han suggested to her own sister, Mrs. Chen, that they send Yingbao to a family renowned for training dancers and voice actresses for the wealthy upper ss so that she could learn some manners. Chapter 18 - 18: Five Tripod Mushrooms_l Chapter 18: Five Tripod Mushrooms_l Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao stayed there for four or five years, enduring daily whippings and being forced to learn acrobatics and song-and-dance routines, learning how to charm and please people. It was in that ce that she learned to read and understand scripts from an elder sister. It wasn¡¯t until she was fourteen that her biological father, Chen Changping, passed the schr examination. The Han family feared that her shameful past as a ve would be discovered, so they redeemed her. After all, Chen Changping was now a man of distinction. The imperial court valued family ties and filial piety. If someone were to report that he had sold his daughter into very, he would be barred from taking the official examination, and even if he had passed, his results might be revoked. In severe cases, his schr status could even be stripped away. That was the truth, not what was written in the book, that she was sent to the countryside. Ha-ha, it¡¯s not worth reading such a book filled with nonsense, describing a deer as a horse. The next day, when she woke up¡­ Yingbao checked her wrist; the charred area had begun to heal and didn¡¯t hurt much anymore. ¡°Indeed, the Five Ding Herbs are a treasure of nature.¡± She was both surprised and pleased. Judging by this rate of recovery, in a few days, the wound should be scabbed over. What she was unsure about was whether the birthmark had been removed. Upon thinking, Yingbao took out arge batch of Five Ding Herbs, chewed them for a while, and swallowed them. They tasted fresh and slightly sweet as soon as they entered her mouth. She couldn¡¯t describe the taste, but it wasn¡¯t unpleasant. She may have eaten too many this time, as she only felt a warm stream flowing through her entire body, making her feel cozy andfortable. Her mind became clear in an instant, and her body filled with vigor. She stretched her legs, joyfully dressed herself, wrapped her wrist, opened the door to her room, only to find that it had snowed outside. The pristine snow had nketed the courtyard up to the thickness of half a knee. Yingbao rubbed her face, steps on the snow with her cotton shoes, but she felt unusually cheerful. Youyou was calling her from the newly built straw shed, and the hens were clucking away nonstop. Yingbao ran over, dipping one foot deeply in the snow and raising the other, cing some straw and a few beautiful green soybean sprouts in Youyou¡¯s stone trough. The straw was leftover from the rice harvest in their own paddy field, while the bean sprouts were produced in the cave dwelling. Youyou didn¡¯t mind the fewer green nts and slowly chewed down the straw and bean sprouts. Yingbao then scattered some barnyard millet and a handful of shepherd¡¯s purse for the chickens before she picked up four eggs from the chicken nest and put them into the egg basket. Her father couldn¡¯t bear to kill these five chickens after all and bought new ones to boost the body of his wife. Jiang Eng built another straw shed in the courtyard for the chickens to perch and made a cozy shed for Youyou as well. The kitchen is finally a lot cleaner without the daily chore of cleaning up chicken droppings and that stench of chicken feces. ¡°Baobao, why are you up so early?¡± Her father, Jiang Eng, was carrying a bucket, heading out of the courtyard. Seeing his daughter already busy in the chicken pen, he said, ¡°It¡¯s cold outside. Don¡¯t catch a chill. Come back inside. I¡¯ll cook in a while.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yingbao pped her hands together and then hopped back to the east room to check on her brothers. The two little ones were already awake, and Chunniang was feeding them. Yingbao peered over the edge of the kang (a traditional Chinese heated bed) at the brother in her mother¡¯s arms, wishing they would quickly grow up so she could take them out to y. Chunniang gently said to her daughter, ¡°Come up here on the kang, it¡¯s cold on the ground.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yingbao quickly climbed up onto the kang and sat next to her mother. Now her daily task was to take care of her brothers, freeing up more time for her mother to rest. The family would only improve as long as her mother got a good rest and regained her strength. Yingbao thought about the Five Ding Herbs in the cave dwelling and hesitated whether to give her mother some. But her brothers were still breastfeeding, and she couldn¡¯t guarantee that the herb wouldn¡¯t affect the babies¡¯ normal development. She decided to wait until her brothers were weaned and then feed it to her mother. As for her father, Jiang Eng, he was young and strong and didn¡¯t need any tonics at all. Jiang Sang came in from outside, bringing in the chill of winter. He ced the cleaned chamber pot in the small partition, and chafing his palms together, he said, ¡°Spring Maiden, Elder Brother and Second Brother are nning to go hare hunting on South Mountain once the snow stops. Should I go with them?¡± While he was asking for her opinion orally, his eyes were steadfastly fixed on his wife, full of anticipation. Spring Maiden sounded a bit annoyed, ¡°The snow is still falling, isn¡¯t it? We¡¯ll talk about it once it stops.¡± Jiang Sang gave a sly chuckle, ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll go prepare the meal now. What would you and our daughter like to eat?¡± Most of yesterday¡¯s leftovers were given to the neighbors who had helped out. Only a little was left at home, just as much as a family would need for a day. ¡°Make whatever you want. I¡¯m a bit low on milk. How about some fish soup? And boil an egg for Yingbao.¡± Spring Maiden looked down at her two sons and slightly furrowed her brows. These two little bugs ate so much that her breast milk supply was insufficient. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll have fish soup noodles for breakfast, and I¡¯ll also boil eggs for you and our daughter.¡± Jiang Sang leaned over to look at his son and then turned to leave the room. Yingbao blinked her eyes, climbed down from the kang bed, and followed him out. When they reached the kitchen, Yingbao volunteered to sit at the back of the stove to help stoke the fire. She asked, ¡°Dad, is it that our house is out of fish?¡± After looking around for a while, Jiang Sang indeed found no fish at home. Scratching his head in vexation, he said, ¡°Yes, we¡¯re out of fish. How about making chicken soup noodles for your mother instead?¡± While saying this, he began scooping out flour to knead, preparing to roll out noodles. Chicken soup was readily avable, which still had a bit of chicken meat left. It should be enough for his wife and daughter for one meal. ¡°Dad, can we go fishing by the river after we eat?¡± Yingbao grabbed a handful of dough and rolled it in her hands while blinking expectantly. There were fish in winter too. She had once seen people cut through the ice on frozenkes in the north to fish. ¡°Sure, we¡¯ll go borrow a fishing from your Uncleter.¡± Jiang Sang sighed, ¡°But I doubt we¡¯ll catch anything.¡± It was very cold outside with the snow falling, and the river should be freezing over. All the fish would probably have sunk to the bottom. Yingbao asserted, ¡°How would we know if we don¡¯t give it a try?¡± She had food pellets for royal deer, which deer and chickens would fight over to eat. Perhaps the fish would like them too. Jiang Sang nodded, ¡°Mhmm, my daughter is right. How would we know if we don¡¯t give it a try?¡± With a freezing day and snowfall, there was no way to buy fish in town. His wife was waiting for fish to help boost her milk supply, and their sons were close to going hungry. They had no choice but to brainstorm solutions. After they¡¯d had breakfast and tidied up, Jiang Sang was about to step out when his little daughter followed him, ¡°Dad, take me with you.¡± Jiang Sang shook his head, ¡°No! It¡¯s cold outside. And the riverside is slippery. What if you fall into the river?¡± ¡°I want to go.¡± Yingbao was determined, ¡°Maybe I¡¯m better at fishing than you, dad.¡± Jiang Sang guffawed and ruffled his daughter¡¯s hair, ¡°You little imp. Fine! I¡¯ll take you with me. But you must behave there and not wander around.¡± ¡°Mhmm.¡± Yingbao joyfully sprinted over to her father, who then picked her up and put her in the carrying basket. Jiang Sang nced outside and seeing that the snow was still falling, turned back inside to pick up a colorful tiger-head hat and put it on his daughter. He also put on a traditional broad bamboo hat himself. With the carrying basket on his back and having borrowed a fishing from his elder brother¡¯s house, Jiang Sang headed to the riverside. However, unbeknownst to him, he was followed by threeds. One was his elder brother Jiang Dng, one was his second brother Jiang Eng, and the third one was Jiang Dng¡¯s second son, Jiang Quan. Jiang Yuanbao also wanted to follow them, but after being beaten up by his mother a few times, he ran back into the house crying. Arriving at the river¡¯s edge, they saw a fog of snow over the river¡¯s surface and a thinyer of ice along the water¡¯s edge. ¡°It¡¯s going to be tough.¡± Jiang Da bo suggested, ¡°The fish must be sunk to the river¡¯s bottom. We can only fish if we row to the middle of the river.¡± Jiang Sang and Jiang Eng also thought the same. Yet, Yingbao wanted to give it a shot. Clinging onto the carrying basket she called out, ¡°Dad, put me down.¡± Jianz Sanq, left with no choice, put his daughter down. Just as Yingbao was about to run towards the water, Jiang Sang grabbed her, ¡°No running around. Just stay on the riverbank and watch.¡± Yingbao could only tug at the fishing her father was holding in his hand, plead, ¡°Then Dad, you take me to the river¡¯s edge. I have bait. Let¡¯s just give it a try.¡± She had already prepared the bait.. How could she be content without giving it a try? Chapter 19 - 19: Big Fish_l Chapter 19: Big Fish_l Trantor: 549690339 Jiang Sang hesitated for a while, but eventually gave in to his daughter and reluctantly took her to the riverbank. Yingbao crouched down and put the small ball of dough mixed with Wuding chi into the water from her hand. ¡°What did you throw in?¡± Jiang Sang asked curiously. ¡°Bait.¡± Yingbao mysteriously replied, ¡°The fish might like it.¡± Jiang Sangughed, ¡°From what I see, it¡¯s just dough. Fish naturally like it of course, but¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, he heard his elder brother Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng shouting from the riverside simultaneously, ¡°Look! Look! Sang, quickly look! Some fish areing!¡± Jiang Sang looked up and indeed, two dark ridges in the water were heading their way. ¡°Hey, watch out, everyone!¡± Jiang Sang promptly picked up his little girl and handed her over to his nephew who had alsoe, ¡°Quick, take your little sister up to the bank.¡± He picked up his fishing and realized that it was too small to catch suchrge fish. ¡°Elder brother, second brother, we can¡¯t catch them!¡± Jiang Sang was so anxious that he was jumping around. Both elder brothers rapidly came running over, but were equally helpless. Half of the tworge fish emerged from the water. They swam to the shallow waters, ate the bait, circled around a few times, and swam away. ¡°Oh, oh!¡± Jiang Sang couldn¡¯t help but sigh. The fish were too big, and the water was too cold; he couldn¡¯t risk going into the water, it could be lethal. ¡°If it was summer, we wouldn¡¯t have let them get away,¡± Jiang Dng sighed as well, ¡°It¡¯s almost nine feet long from head to tail, oh God.¡± Thest time he had seen such a big fish was in Jianglin County; it was a fish that a fisherman had caught from the big river and dragged to the county town using a tbed cart, the slices of fish meat, which looked like tofu, were sold piece by piece. A steward from a wealthy family spent two taels of silver to buy two baskets of fish meat, saying that this type of fish was the best for making sliced raw fish. Yingbao was also stunned ¨C she didn¡¯t expect that her little ball of Wuding chi would attract such enormous creatures. This was too absurd. After gawking on the riverside for a while, Jiang Sang hesitantly asked his daughter in a low voice, ¡°Baobao, do you have any more bait?¡± Yingbao searched through her pockets and pulled out three dough balls the size of bird¡¯s eggs, ¡°I have three more.¡± Jiang Sang hesitated for a moment, then asked, ¡°Can you give them to Daddy?¡± Yingbao nodded and put the fish bait into her dad¡¯srge, sturdy palms, ¡°Here, for fishing.¡± Jiang Sang smiled heartily and ruffled his daughter¡¯s tiger-head hat, ¡°You go home first. I need to discuss something with your Uncles beforeing back.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Knowing the magic of Wuding chi, Yingbao was content and ready to go home to see her little brother. ¡°Dad, be careful not to fall into the river.¡± ¡°Mm, Daddy knows.¡± Jiang Sang sent his nephew, Jiang Quan, to take his daughter home, while he and his elder brothers nned before they went back to look for tools to catch the fish. Just a fishing would not be effective. The big fish was violent and could very well drag both them and their into the river. In that case, they would have to catch them manually using iron hooks and ropes. They would attach two long ropes to an iron hook and fork, and tie one end to a big tree. They would use the hook to snag the fish, while assisting with the fork. As long as the hook did note off, they had no worries about not being able to catch the big fish. Leaving aside how Jiang Sang will catch the fish, let¡¯s talk about Yingbao. Upon returning home, she saw that Sister Dani and Sister Erni were there watching her mother spin x threads. Her two younger brothers were still sleeping. So, Yingbao didn¡¯t disturb them and pulled up a stool to watch beside her mother. Chunniang looked up at her three daughters, ¡°Baobao, take your cousins to sit on the kang (heated brick bed). It¡¯s too cold. Beware of getting frostbite on your feet. ¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Actually, Yingbao felt warm, but her two little cousins appeared to be shivering from the cold. So, the three sisters sat on the warm kang, covered their legs with a quilt, Dani was embroidering with a handkerchief in hand, and Erni was also sewing a piece of rag cloth. Country girls mature early; they started learning to spin and embroider at the age of five or six, and by the age of nine or ten, they must have learned how to weave and tailor. Yingbao also wanted to learn more, so she took a piece of scrap cloth from her mother¡¯s sewing basket to practice embroidery. It was noon before they knew it. As her mother prepared to go to the kitchen, she suddenly heard amotion outside. Rushing outside to see, arge crowd of vigers were carrying arge fish towards Uncle Jiang¡¯s house. ¡°My goodness, such a big fish, it hasn¡¯t turned into a spirit, has it?¡± Aunt Wang eximed in front of her house. Turning her head towards Chunniang, she said, ¡°Chunniang, Sang and the others caught a big fish in the river, you should go and see.¡± Chunniang was also taken aback and quickly ran to Uncle¡¯s house. Lo and behold, there was another fish in the courtyard there. Even n Leader Chen Fu¡¯s family hade over, circling therge fish and marveling at it. Old Man Jiang couldn¡¯t stop grinning and loudly said, ¡°Brother Chen, stay and have dinner here today, let¡¯s enjoy some fresh sushi.¡± n Leader Chen nodded with a smile. ¡°I¡¯d be honored to obligate. Let us both have a drink.¡± He turned his head and ordered his grandson, ¡°Go home and fetch that jug of green ant wine.¡± The grandson agreed and ran off quickly. And so, the Jiang family started hosting guests again in the afternoon, inviting the n Chief, vige headmaster, and a few old vigers. Zhou family and several sisters-inw were cooking in the kitchen. They prepared dishes of soybean-stewed fish, charcoal-grilled fish, fresh sushi, and fish fin stew. A fewrge bowls were brought to the table, and everyone ate until their mouths were shining with oil. After eating, everyone took a chunk of square-cut fish meat home. After tidying up the table, Old Man Jiang sat down and discussed with his three sons how to distribute the remaining fish. ¡°We must give some to the people who have helped, leave some for our family to eat, and sell the rest in the town,¡± he said. Jiang Sang said, ¡°We don¡¯t need to sell it at a too high price, slightly higher than the usual price of fish is fine, let¡¯s set it at nine coins a pound.¡± ¡°Nine coins a pound, isn¡¯t that expensive?¡± Jiang Dng hesitated, ¡®What if we can¡¯t sell it?¡± The usual price of fish is five or six coins a pound, and the highest price during the festival did not exceed eight coins, because in the town, pork is only twelve coins, and mutton is the most expensive, seventeen or eighteen coins a pound. ¡°If we can¡¯t sell it, we will take it back and eat it during the festival.¡± Jiang Sang said, ¡®We haven¡¯t seen this fish for decades. Selling it for nine coins a pound is actually a loss.¡± Jiang Eng said, ¡°Listen to Sang, let¡¯s sell it for nine coins a pound. Big fishes are rare, and the meat is so good, scarcity is what makes something valuable. I don¡¯t believe we can¡¯t sell it.¡± ¡°Alright, it conveniently falls on the market day tomorrow, you guys transport it to the town early in the morning,¡± Old Man Jiang took the final call. There was no more talking for the rest of the night, and the next day when the snow had stopped, the three brothers borrowed a cart and took the remaining big fish to the town. The snow made it difficult to travel, and by the time their cart reached the town, it was alreadyte, and there weren¡¯t many people at the market. Perhaps the cold weather and slippery roads due to the heavy snow made many people stay home. Finding a suitable location, they parked the cart, and Jiang Sang started calling out, ¡°Come,e,e! Century-old big fish, a rare delicacy indeed. Eating it gives you longevity and wards off all illness.¡± Seeing his younger brother¡¯s mboyance, Jiang Dng felt embarrassed, poked him and said, ¡°Third brother, stop shouting.¡± But Jiang Eng justughed and said, ¡°Big brother, you don¡¯t understand. How can you do business without shouting? Look, isn¡¯t someoneing now?¡± Jiang Dng looked, and sure enough, a few people were heading towards them. ¡°How much for this fish?¡± The man who asked the question was about forty, wearing a fox fur hat, a thick cotton robe, and deer skin boots. He looked wealthy. Jiang Sang responded, ¡°Ten coins a pound.¡± Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng: ¡°¡­¡± They immediately recoiled and turned away, pretending not to know their younger brother. ¡°Ten coins per pound? That¡¯s almost the price of pork.¡± The man in the fox fur hat touched the fish and clucked his tongue, ¡°That¡¯s a bit expensive.¡± Hearing this, Jiang Dng felt more embarrassed and his head was almost sinking into his chest. Jiang Sang justughed and said, ¡°Sir, this fish is a century-old big fish. As they say, anything transformed after a century is rare and hard toe by. If you still think ten coins a pound is expensive, then ten-year-old ginseng would be as cheap as cabbage.¡± The man in the fox fur hat looked at him andughed, ¡°I appreciate your novel justification; give me twenty pounds..¡± Chapter 20 - 20: Making Money_l Chapter 20: Making Money_l Trantor: 549690339 Jiang Sang quickly picked up the deboning knife, drew it across the fish, and asked, ¡°Where do you want a piece from? The dorsal flesh is delicate and can be made into fish slices, while the belly is fatty and can be braised or grilled, you see¡­¡± The fox fur hat member gestured around the fish¡¯s body, ¡°Just here, cut two more pieces of the fins, a bit deeper, more sticky flesh.¡± Apparently, the flesh under the fish¡¯s fins tastes the most delicious, particrly therge fish¡¯s fin meat, when stewed or boiled, it is delightful. His master especially had a taste for it. ¡°Alright then.¡± With a swift movement, Jiang Sang chopped off arge chunk of fish and cut away two pieces of the fin. He tied them together with a thin hemp rope and hung them on a hook to be weighed. ¡°It weighs a total of twenty-one catties (about 25.2 kg) and three taels. I¡¯ll discount the weight of the hemp rope and call it twenty-one catties for you. It¡¯s two hundred and ten coins.¡± The man in the fox fur hat took four strings of coins from the coin pouch around his waist and added another ten copper coins before handing it to Jiang Sang. Jiang Sang took the coins and counted them. Four strings, each containing fifty coins, added to ten odd pieces, just the right amount of two hundred and ten coins. ¡°Thank you for shopping.¡± With the fish handed over to the customer in both hands, Jiang Sang had a big grin on his face as he waved off his first customer. After making the first sessful sale, things went smoothly, and the few spectators who had been lingering around also each purchasedrge portions of fish before leaving. The crowd at the market was getting bigger and bigger. Most of the fish on Jiang brothers¡¯ cart were already sold. Then, the local tax collector, Xiang Zhi, arrived. He inspected the goods in the cart and demanded twenty coins as the market tax. Jiang Dng was displeased and intended to argue the amount, but his younger brother intervened. Jiang Sang handed over twenty coins to Xiang Zhi, sliced another chunk of meat from the fish¡¯s head and handed over: ¡°This is our first time setting up a stall in the town. This is a small token of our gratitude.¡± Xiang Zhi eyed him for a moment, chuckled, epted the fish meat and asked: ¡°Which vige are you from? Are youing back next time?¡± ¡°From Chen Vige, if we manage to catch more fish, we will surelye back.¡± Jiang Sang alsoughed. ¡°Alright then.¡± Xiang Zhi remarked: ¡°Next time youe, set up your stall right here. I¡¯ll consider you as regr traders, and you¡¯ll only need to pay ten coins each time.¡± Jiang Sang thanked him and said, ¡®We are indebted to you.¡± After Xiang Zhi left, Jiang Dngined, ¡°The stalls around us only have to pay three to five coins. The ones who sell vegetables and eggs only need to pay one or two coins. Why did he ask us for twenty coins? Why did you even give it to him?¡± ¡°Even dragons don¡¯t step on local snakes. Our vige is far from town, and we are not familiar with these people. If we want to sell fish smoothly in the future, we have to keep a low profile temporarily.¡± Jiang Sang exined, ¡°Besides, we don¡¯t have the time to quarrel with him.¡± ¡°Sang is right. We mighte back next time. It¡¯s a good thing that Xiang Zhi has arranged a fixed ce for us now. Jiang Dng was silent for a moment before asking, ¡°Will wee again? Can we catch such a big fish again? Jiang Sang scratched his head without uttering a word. Whether we can catch a big fish is uncertain, but regr fish should be fine. We still have two of our little girl¡¯s baits left, which should suffice for two more times. By noon, thest bits of fish were sold out, even the fish heads and bones have been sold at a low price; the three brothers pushed their empty cart home. As soon as they reached their house, the three brothers hurried inside to count the money. With a swoosh sound, the money bag was poured out, and a pile of copper coins made people dizzy. They counted the money together and quickly reached a conclusion. ¡°Four thousand five hundred and thirteen coins. One fish sold for over four thousand five hundred coins!¡± Jiang Dng was ecstatic. This amount was nearly close to his family¡¯s annual ie. Jiang Dng worked on thend, and the total annual yield was only fifteen to sixteen coins. After deductingnd taxes, household taxes, and misceneous expenses, not to mention the cost of seeds, only remained around five to six coins. Their living conditions were very tight. Luckily, he and his brothers had some hunting skills; every winter they would go hunting to make up for the household expenses. Otherwise, they would not have made ends meet. He didn¡¯t expect to be so lucky this year. In the summer, they made more than two coins with Sang, and today, they earned more than four coins. Combined, they had seven coins in total. Although this money would eventually be divided among the three of them, each receiving a part, it would remain in Jiang¡¯s family. Jiang Dng couldn¡¯t help butugh out loud, looking expectantly at Sang and asking, ¡°Sang, are we going to go fishing again tomorrow?¡± Jiang Sang scratched his head, ¡°Why don¡¯t we wait a bit longer? In about ten days, there will be a big gathering. We can go fishing prior to the gathering, that way we can sell the fish fresh the next day.¡± On the first and fifteenth of every lunar month, the country folks woulde out in droves for the temple fair. Everyone had to make the most of it, especially as they could sell the fish at a higher price. Furthermore, in just a short span of time, it would be the Lunar New Year. Before the festival, the market would be more bustling as everybody needed to prepare the New Year goods and were also more willing to spend. ¡°Yes, Yes, Yes! Sang makes sense.¡± Jiang Eng kept nodding his head, ¡°In another month, it¡¯ll be the Lunar New Year. If we fish before the festival and sell it at the market, we might fetch a good price.¡± Jiang Dng was slightly disappointed, but he agreed with his brothers, ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s better, we have already caught the big catfish from the river. There won¡¯t be another one for a while. Let¡¯s just wait for some time.¡± After the three brothers came to a consensus, they started to divide the money. Over four coins in total were at first discounted with the odd change, and then, the four coins were divided into three portions. Each family received one thousand three hundred and thirty-four coins. The remaining five hundred and eleven coins were given as a dutiful share to their parents, two hundred coins. The other three hundred and eleven coins were requested by Jiang Dng to be given to Yingbao. It was because he observed that Yingbao had put something in the river that attracted those two big fish. ¡°Are we good with this division?¡± As the eldest brother, Jiang Dng spoke with an authoritative tone. Jiang Eng quickly nodded, ¡°I agree. The big fish came for Yingbao. Without my grandniece, we would not have been able to catch such big fish.¡± Jiang Sangughed and said, ¡°Thanks to my two elder brothers. I¡¯ll ept it on behalf of Yingbao for now, and hand it to her when we get home. However, there¡¯s a matter that I¡¯d like to inform my brothers in advance.¡± Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng were both slightly taken aback, ¡°Sang, just say it. Your brothers are all ears.¡± Jiang Sang coughed once, and said, ¡°I speak straight and simply, please don¡¯t take it personally. But this matter rtes to my daughter so I had to speak up first. Well, we are all family here, no need for pretense. But outside, please remember not to mention that the big fish were attracted to Yingbao. She is still young, and I worry that people might start spreading unsavory rumors.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Jiang Dng patted Sang¡¯s shoulder, ¡°You are right to remind us. We forgot about it. Your brothers will be cautious in the future.¡± Jiang Eng also assured, ¡°I will not mention it outside. Sang, rest assured.¡± Jiang Sang bowed to his brothers, and said with augh, ¡°Thank you for your consideration, brothers.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about being considerate or not. You have reminded us. Let me tell my son right away, not to talk nonsense when he goes out.¡± ¡°Hmm, hmm.¡± Back home with the money, Jiang Sang immediately told his wife and daughter about everything and handed over the money that belonged to Yingbao. Yingbao happily received it and ced it into the small wooden box in her bed. Ha -ha, she finally earned her first batch of money. Though not much, being less than two years old, she was already a little tycoon in the vige. Sister Dani, was almost ten years old. Her family had already started looking for a good family for her to marry into, but she had not a single coin in her possession. Compared to her cousins, she was simply rolling in riches. Yup, after a while, she¡¯ll definitely ask father to take her to the market to buy colored silk and fabric flowers as hair essories for her older cousins.. Chapter 21 - 21: Fishing Again_l Chapter 21: Fishing Again_l Trantor: 549690339 There¡¯s an old saying: frost before cold, snow after cold. The freezing weather was not enough to deter the vigers from their dreams of wealth. Lately, the area around the Chuanhe River had be exceptionally lively. Ever since the Jiang brothers caught two big fish in the river, many vigers had been lingering by the river with their tridents ands, hoping they, too, would experience such good luck. However, after waiting for over ten days, they hadn¡¯t even seen a single small shrimp. ¡°Sigh, why do you think the Jiang brothers are so lucky?¡± A viger remained puzzled. ¡°First they encountered a herd of deer and caught three to bring back, and now they¡¯ve caught sturgeon. Such big ones that would usually appear only in major rivers, how did they get into our modest Chuanhe river?¡± ¡°Well, isn¡¯t it because the Jiang¡¯s have their little Fairy Child? It¡¯s only natural they¡¯d have good luck,¡± another viger responded sarcastically. ¡°Oh, you know, you might be right.¡¯ Another viger chimed in, bringing up old gossip, ¡°Look at Mrs. Jiang who hadn¡¯t been pregnant in ten years yet after picking up Yingbao, she became pregnant within a few months, and with twins no less. And now they are bing richer and richer. It is tough for us to be skeptical about it.¡± ¡°Exactly, you can¡¯t deny that,¡± a viger nodded thoughtfully. ¡°The Jiang family seems to have struck it rich. When will the Fairy Child bless us as well? We are from the same vige after all, she always releases the deer from our fields.¡± ¡°Heh, yes, the Fairy Child should bless the rest of us too. It¡¯s only fair to ¡®send blessings to all equally¡¯, they can¡¯t keep all the blessings in one family.¡± ¡°Exactly! ¡± ¡°Oh, you lot need to cut it out.¡± An annoyed viger interjected, ¡°Does the Fairy Child eat your food? Drink your water? Wear your clothes? Hmph! Stop daydreaming.¡± Stirred by these words, someone immediately grasped the new idea, smacking his head, ¡°Ah! That¡¯s it! You¡¯ve hit the nail on the head. Hahaha, I¡¯ll head home. You guys carry on chatting.¡± With that, he bolted off. Everyone looked at each other in confusion, having no idea what had gotten into him. So, one day when Yingbao took Youyou out, they came across two six-or-seven-year-old children, who each gave her a boiled egg and then ran off Yingbao: ¡­ The eggs in her hand were still warm, as if they had just been boiled. A few dayster, when Yingbao and Dani went out to y, they hadn¡¯t gone far when they were surrounded by three or four children. Without saying a word, each of them gave her a piece of food: pancakes, boiled eggs, walnuts. One child even gave her two soft, red persimmons, but being overly nervous, he identally squeezed the persimmons, spilling juice all over Yingbao¡¯s hands and staining the front of her new cotton jacket. The seven or eight-year-old boy immediately started crying when he realized his mistake and apologized, ¡°Little¡­Little Yingbao, please don¡¯t be angry, 1¡­1 didn¡¯t mean to.¡± Yingbao was speechless and curiously asked, ¡°I¡¯m not angry, but could you tell me why you¡¯re giving me these things?¡± She didn¡¯t consider herself to be universally popr, and even with Youyou, the ultimate weapon, by her side, she found it hard to believe that all the children in the vige would be giving her gifts, especially precious items like eggs and pancakes. You must understand that in the vige, less than three households were well-off, only four or five households had enough to eat; the rest were half-starved and struggled to survive. How could they possibly be giving the most valuable things in their homes to a stranger? ¡°My¡­my¡­my parents told me to,¡± the little boy faltered, ¡°They said¡­ if you eat our food, then¡­then we¡¯ll be blessed¡­ Yingbao: ¡­ She roughly understood their intentions now. When she got home, Yingbao put the food on the table, washed her hands, wiped her dress with a cloth, then sat down and sighed. In her previous life, she hadn¡¯t experienced this situation and she really didn¡¯t know how to handle it. She didn¡¯t know who sent these gifts, as she couldn¡¯t distinguish which child belonged to which family. Well, she would wait till her dad came back to discuss it. At this time, Jiang Eng was going to another ce along the river with his two brothers, trying to find the best spot for fishing. With too many vigers gathered on the banks of the Chuanhe in Chen Vige, it was impossible for them to make a move. If people found out they had something that attracted big fish, they would surely strip them alive. ¡°Is this ce alright, Eng?¡± Jiang Eng asked. The area they chose was several miles away from the vige, with bumpy roads and many stones, making it difficult to walk. The only advantage was the broad river surface, gentle water flow and a likely shelter for fish. Jiang Eng stroked his beardless chin, ¡°This ce might not be good for luring fish.¡± His thoughts remained focused on the big fish they caughtst time, assuming they could catch another sturgeon this time too. ¡°We¡¯ve brought big baskets, we should be able to carry the fish back,¡± Ling Eng replied. ¡°Alright then,¡± Jiang Eng said, his main focus was on supporting his little brother for everything. The three brothers came down to the water, and Jiang Eng took out a small dough wrapped in oil paper from his bosom. Jiang Eng stretched his neck to look at it, but couldn¡¯t see anything special about it. ¡°Was it really this thing that lured the fishst time?¡± He found it hard to believe. ¡°Sort of,¡± Jiang Eng crumbled the dough into fragments and only pinched a little bit to spread on the water surface. They waited for a while, but the river remained quiet. Jiang Eng¡¯s stinginess upset Jiang Eng, ¡°Just this bit, will it really work? Isn¡¯t it too little?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see,¡± Jiang Eng replied, leaning on his hand. After waiting for a while longer, the river started to stir. Jiang Eng and Eng held their breath, their eyes wide open, watching the ripples on the water intently. ¡°Thi¡­this¡­ they¡¯re reallying,¡± Jiang Eng said, his face flushed with excitement, ¡°quick, Eng, get the fishing fork!¡± Jiang Eng nced at the ripples and said, ¡°The fish this time aren¡¯t too big. We need to catch them alive for a good price.¡± ¡°Okay, okay! Let¡¯s use the big then.¡± After their previous fishing experience, Jiang Eng had specially bought materials from the town and made a big, the kind that could catch several dozens pounds of fish at once. It finally came in handy this time. Several greenish fish silhouettes bobbed up and down, soon reaching the fish bait andpped up the fragments. Jiang Eng and his brothers made their move, each aiming at one, and swung their bigs toward the bottom where the big fish were. ¡°Hahaha, we got them we got them! Eng, quick,e and help, I can¡¯t hold on anymore! ¡± Jiang Eng first helped Eng pull the fish up, and then helped Jiang Eng hold on tightly to the to avoid the thrashing big fish getting loose. In no time at all, the three brothers were drenched in sweat but secured two big fish on the line. They looked at each other and burst intoughter. ¡°This fish is good, over five feet long, perfect for the wealthy households to use for ancestral rites,¡± Jiang Eng stated whileughing, ¡°It¡¯s a shame that two got away.¡± Jiang Eng responded nonchntly, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if a few got away, let¡¯s secure these two first and aim to catch more.¡¯ The fish for sacrifices had to be alive, so he put these two fish into a nearby puddle to ensure they wouldn¡¯t suffocate. Having secured the fish, the three brothers, though drenched to the bone, collected theirs and returned to the river to continue waiting. Jiang Eng once again took a pinch of the fragments and dispersed them onto the water surface¡­ They continued this activity for a whole day and caught eight more five-feet long fish as well as a few smaller ones. As the day grewte, the three brothers carried all their fish and headed home.. Chapter 22 - 22: Selling Fish 1 Chapter 22: Selling Fish 1 Trantor: 549690339 By the time they got home, it was pitch dark. The three brothers had icicles on their clothes, shivering from the cold. Elder Brother Jiang couldn¡¯t stop sneezing and rubbing his nose. Upon seeing this, Mrs. Zhou hurriedly pulled her husband to the back of the stove to undress and warm up. Old Man Jiang and his wife were scrambling about. They first had their grandson fetch clothes, then instructed their granddaughter to heat up water to wash the faces and hands of the eldest, second, and third sons, and change their clothes. ¡°Aiya, how did you all get so wet? Ah, your hair is filled with ice.¡± The olddy Jiang was frantic; she quickly searched for dried evodia fruit to brew hot water for the children to dispel their coldness. After warming himself by the fire, Third Brother Jiang recovered quickly. With his thirteen-year-old nephew, they temporarily stored the fish in therge vat at home and ate two bowls of steaming dough knots before he went home. At this moment, Chun Niang was lying on the kang bed with the children, dozing off. Seeing her husband enter, she quickly got up. ¡°Why are you sote? Have you eaten? Let me warm up some food for you,¡± Chun Niang quietly got off the bed and prepared to cater to her husband. ¡°No need, I¡¯ve already eaten at my eldest brother¡¯s home.¡± While sitting on the kang bed removing his shoes, Jiang Sang got into the warm quilt and sighed, ¡°It¡¯s so warm.¡± Returning to the kang bed with a towel, Chun Niang began to dry her husband¡¯s hair while whispering, ¡°Why is your hair wet? Did you fall into the river?¡± ¡°Not at all,¡± Jiang Sang chuckled softly, ¡°We had a great catch today, caught several big fish, each of them four feet long.¡± Chun Niang was surprised. ¡°Four feet? How heavy is that? Usually, thergest fish we see by the river are three to four jin, not more than two to three feet. Why do we keep encountering big fish this year?¡± Jiang Sang rested his hands behind his head and casually said, ¡°Our stretch of the Chuanhe River is deep and there aren¡¯t many proper fishermen. We don¡¯t usually get the chance to see such fish.¡± Turning to his wife, he continued, ¡°Tomorrow morning, I will go to the market. Let me know if we need anything at home and I will bring it back. New Year¡¯s Day ising soon, we need to get the new year¡¯s provisions. Yingbao is growing up too, we need to get her some new clothes.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll think about what we need to buy¡­¡± The next day, before the crack of dawn, Jiang Sang got up, fetched a pole, and went to fetch water. After filling the vat with water, he hastily left the house and went to his elder brother¡¯s house. Seeing Uncle Sanging, Mrs. Zhou hurriedly invited him to have breakfast, saying, ¡°Your elder brother seems to be sick today, he may not be able to make it to the market.¡± ¡°Sick?¡± Jiang Sang was surprised, he asked, ¡°Should we call a doctor?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have Dacheng fetch er¡±, Mrs. Zhou wore a worried expression, ¡°your elder brother had a feverst night, I¡¯m a little concerned¡­¡± Jiang Sang: ¡°How about I fetch the doctor from town? The vige one isn¡¯t that good.¡± There was a man in their vige who had some rudimentary medical skills, but he was only capable of dealing with minor ailments. Anything more serious was beyond his abilities. This wasn¡¯t only an issue of his medical skills, but also because hecked high-quality medicinal herbs. ¡°Then I will trouble you, Sang,¡± said Mrs. Zhou with slight relief. After the breakfast, when his second brother was still not around, Jiang Sang sent his nephew, Jiang Quan, to his house to check on him. It turned out that his second brother was also sick with a fever. Jiang Sang had no choice but to borrow a donkey cart from Chen Cunzheng. Apanied by his younger nephew, Quan, he went to the market to sell fish and to fetch a doctor. The town was particrly crowded today, as it was the end of the year and every household was out purchasing New Year goods. Jiang Sang had Dre-weighed one of therge fish¡ªit was around seventv catties. If sold by the catty, at ten coins each, the whole fish could be sold for over seven hundred coins. However¡­ Jiang Sang told his nephew that live fish would be sold by the unit, nine hundred coins each; dead fish would be sold by the catty, ten coins per catty. These prices were pretty steep, but Jiang Sang was confident that he would be able to sell his fish. As expected, many people gathered around to watch. There were many inquirers, but few buyers, as everyone thought the prices were too high. Thereafter came a wealthy man who bought tworge live fish at once. The other customers hurriedly followed suit. Originally, there were only eight big fish, five of which were still alive, but two were quickly sold, leaving only three. Jiang Quan, Yingbao¡¯s nephew, was smiling brightly, weighing fish for the customers while saying to his uncle Yingbao, ¡°Uncle, our fish sell really well.¡± Yingbaoughed and turned his gaze towards the crowd. He spotted Xiang Zhi again, the local official, and another man who seemed to be another tax collector. With a sigh in his heart, Yingbao quickly picked up two medium-sized live fishes and put them in the donkey cart. The Imperial Court imposed many types of taxes, likend tax, household tax, grain tax, market tax, fishing tax, and vehicle tax, amongst others. Presently, Yingbao had to deal with three of these. He had to pay the market tax, but whether he had to pay the fishing and vehicle taxes was debatable. The cart wasn¡¯t his; perhaps Chen Cunzheng had already paid the tax for it. However, these tax collectors might insist that since he used it, he would have to pay again and won¡¯t ept any argument. As for the fishing tax, though he brought fish to sell at the market, if matters got strict, he¡¯d have to pay. ¡°So, Chen Vige is selling fish again? The middle-aged Xiang Zhi came over expressionlessly, pointed at the remaining fish on the ground and said, ¡°Since you¡¯re in business now, you need to pay the tax.¡± Yingbao, with a hurried smile, handed over ten coins to Xiang Zhi and handed out one of the fish he had stashed in the cart, ¡°The festival ising up, and we don¡¯t have much to offer in our house. I¡¯ve saved this especially for you to taste. ¡± Xiang Zhi took it without hesitation and nodded towards the side, ¡°This is my colleague responsible for the fishing tax.¡± Quick on the uptake, Yingbao immediately took out another fish and handed it to the man, ¡°Just a token of respect. We, the humble people, also make a meager living by selling some fish at the end of the year.¡± The fishing tax man, grinning from ear to ear, epted it, ¡°Um, I understand. But it won¡¯t be a precedent.¡± Having sessfully sent the two officials on their way, Yingbao finally exhaled in relief. At this moment, there were still two big live fish left for sale, while most of the dead fish were sold. Leaving his nephew to mind the stall, he went to the town to call for a doctor from the only medical shop present. Upon reaching the shop, he found it full of people waiting to see the doctor. The only doctor in the ce was rushed off his feet and downright refused to make a house call. Though Yingbao pleaded for quite some time, the old man still tly refused, asking the attendant to escort him out. With no other choice, Yingbao asked for two prescriptions for cold and fever, picked them up and headed back. Upon returning to his cart, he saw the man in the fox fur hat haggling with Jiang Quan. ¡°I¡¯m an old customer of your family. How can you refuse to give me a hundred coins off the price for these two fish?¡± Jiang Quan pleaded with a sense of wrong, ¡°No one haggles like you do. You want to reduce the price by a hundred coins at once. I, I just can¡¯t sell it to you like that.¡± The man in the fox fur hat raised an eyebrow and, noticing Yingbao, pointed at him to ask his opinion. Yingbaoughed, ¡°A hundred coins off is too much. The fish aren¡¯t just mine, you sawst time that we are three partners in this.¡± Seeing the man in the fox fur hat frown, Yingbao quickly added, ¡°How about this, I have one more fish here, it¡¯s fresh and weighs about four pounds. I¡¯ll give it to you, how does that sound?¡± The man in the fox fur hat became somewhat cheerful and reluctantly nodded, ¡°Alright.¡± After paying, the man signaled a porter toe over and carry the fish. Holding up the four-pound fish, he said to Yingbao, ¡°I specifically came from the county. I wanted to see if there were any white sturgeon likest time. My master likes fresh fish sashimi. If you catch any again, send them to the county. I will cover the transportation costs.¡± Yingbao bowed andughed,¡±That would be great. In the future, any that are caught will definitely be sent to the county. May I ask where your residence is¡­¡± The man in the fox fur hat gave an address and left with the porter.. Chapter 23 - 23: Chaos and Panic _1 Chapter 23: Chaos and Panic _1 Trantor: 549690339 The fish were sold out, and Uncle Jiang Sang and his nephew packed their things and went home. When they reached the old house, Jiang Sang fed his donkey with a bundle of straw, took a three-pound green fish out of the jar and gave it to his nephew, and asked him to pay for the donkey cart. He also handed the purchased herbs to his sister-inw. ¡°The doctor at the town center can¡¯t leave, and doesn¡¯t want to make a house call, so I collected two doses of Typhoid Medicine. Give one to my second brother and the other one for you to stew for my eldest brother.¡± Zhou Family nodded, took the bag of medicine and quickly went to the kitchen to find the pot to stew the medicine. Jiang Sang entered his eldest brother¡¯s room and saw him lying on the bed with a wet cloth on his forehead, whining. Seeing his third brothering in, he struggled to sit up and asked, ¡°How much did you sell?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t checked yet.¡± Jiang Sang put the bag of coins on the table: ¡°I¡¯ll call my second brother toe; we can count it together.¡± The so-called clear ounts make for good brothers. Jiang Sang could not possibly count these coins on his own. Even if his eldest and second brother were both sick, they would still have to be present to watch. Before long, Jiang Eng arrived, coughing all the way. Jiang Dabang was already off the bed, and the three brothers huddled together to count the money. ¡°In total, we have seven thousand, one hundred and thirty-four coins! Oh, haha, we¡¯re rich, cough cough¡­¡± Jiang Eng couldn¡¯t stopughing and coughing. Jiang Sang alsoughed, iming triumphantly: ¡°If we hadn¡¯t lost those three big fish, we could have earned more.¡± Jiang Dabang was very happy, rubbing his hands, he said, ¡°Why don¡¯t we do like before, give our parents three hundred coins, and also give YingBao three hundred coins. The rest of it, we three brothers can split evenly, how about that?¡± Jiang Eng had no objections; he didn¡¯t go to sell the fish this time; he knew his contribution was less, so he thought this was a fair distribution. Jiang Sang naturally hoped to give more to his daughter, after all, the bait was hers, and without it, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to catch anything, let alone big fish, in such cold weather. But he held back from speaking first, and refrained from letting them know more. Well, three hundred is three hundred then. Yingbao is still young, so she can¡¯t hold on to too much money. After all, he would save up for her dowry as her father. Giving her this money is just to let her have a little more freedom, saving up a bit of her private money. After all, most children in the vige, after they are more than ten years old, don¡¯t even have a single coin at hand, just like his second nephew. So, each of the three brothers got two thousand, one hundred and seventy-eight coins, which is almost half a year¡¯s ie for them. Getting the money, Jiang Dabang immediately felt significantly better. Eng also didn¡¯t let this weigh on him, and with the heavy coins in his embrace, he went back home in light steps. When he got home, he gave all the Copper Coins in his arms to his wife Leng Family, smiling and saying, ¡°Today Sang sold seven thousand coins in town, cough cough, each of us got more than two thousand coins, you keep them safe. We can buy a couple of pieces of cloth in townter, cough cough¡­ You and the kids can have new clothes for the New Year. Leng Family received the copper coins and counted them, then frowned, ¡°Eng, that¡¯s not right. If Sang sold seven thousand coins, why did we only get two thousand, one hundred and seventy-eight coins?¡± Jiang Eng gave a cough, and then said, ¡°Three hundred coins were given to pay respects to our parents, and another three hundred split for Yingbao. The rest naturally is divided up this way.¡± Leng Family looked displeased: ¡°It¡¯s right to pay respects to our parents, but why Yingbao? What did she do to deserve this? She received as much as our parents. ¡± Jiang Eng frowned, thinking to tell her about the big fish being lured by Yingbao, and that the fish hook was also given by Yingbao. But remembering his younger brother¡¯s insinuations, he suddenly couldn¡¯t exin it to his wife, so he said, ¡°This is how the eldest brother divided it, cough cough, also Sang is making money with us brothers, so what¡¯s wrong with giving Yingbao a little?¡± Leng Family was even more upset when she heard this. ¡°What do you mean ¡®Sang is making money with you¡¯? You are brothers; isn¡¯t this supposed to be how it works? Plus, if you guys didn¡¯t help out, could Sang catch so many fish by himself? This is clearly eldest brother in collusion with Sang, taking advantage of our family!¡± The portion given to the inws will eventually be left to the eldest son after they die, won¡¯t it? Regarding the portion given to Yingbao, could a toddler manage that much money? In the end, isn¡¯t it just going to end up with third brother? Jiang Eng became angry upon hearing this, ¡°What nonsense are you talking about! Collusion? If this word gets out, how can we brothers get along? Cough cough cough¡­ ¡°What nonsense are you talking?¡± Leng Family¡¯s eyes reddened, ¡°They are bullying us. It was the samest time, we let it slide when they short-changed us by two to three hundred coins, but they can¡¯t just keep pushing us around.¡± As she spoke, she began to berate her clueless three-year-old son, ¡°Your parents have always favored your eldest and third brothers, considering you, the second son, as surplus. Now, even your brothers have started to oppress you¡­¡± Jiang Eng furrowed his brows, ¡°Do you really need to say all this in front of the child? How my parents and brothers behave is none of your business.¡± Leng Family saw that her husband was not on her side, which made her even angrier. She began to curse, ¡°You¡¯re just a coward, being bullied yet you only show your temper at home. Have the guts to show it outside. Marrying you, a man of no use, has really brought bad luck upon me for eight lifetimes¡­¡± Jiang Eng couldn¡¯t win the argument and couldn¡¯t exin either, so furious, he raised his hand as if ready to hit her. ¡°Go ahead, hit me!¡± howled Leng Family, clutching her son and bowing her head, rushing toward her husband, ¡°Just kill me then, I can¡¯t live like this anymore. I rather die¡­.¡± The three-year-old Huzi, frightened by the scene, started to cry out, struggling to get out of his mother¡¯s arms. Jiang Eng, seething with anger, took his son and shouted at his wife, ¡°Enough! If you don¡¯t want to live with me, then leave!¡± Leng Family, who was sobbing into her hands, shuddered at his words, and threw herself onto the kang-bed, continuing to cry out loud. ¡°Fine, fine, fine, keep throwing your tantrums. Cough, cough, cough¡­¡± Jiang Eng, knowing that he was in the wrong just now, carried his son out of the room andy down in the west room. His head was spinning from anger, and he felt that his illness had grown worse. Let¡¯s not discuss the chaos at Jiang Eng¡¯s household. Speaking of Jiang Sang, when he got home, he handed the money to his wife. Remembering that he had promised to buy some New Year goods but had forgotten, he pped his forehead and apologized to Chunniang, ¡°I got too caught up and forgot. Ah, how about I go to town in a few days and buy them.¡± Chunniangughed, ¡°If you forgot, you forgot. Today, Yingbao was still saying she wanted to go to town. Next time you go, take her with you.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jiang Sang looked around and not seeing his daughter, asked, ¡°Where is Yingbao?¡± ¡°She went out to y with Dani and Erni.¡± Chunniang picked up her elder son and started to feed him. They had been eating a lot of fish these past few days, so she had plenty of milk. Both babies had been eat, sleep, and repeat. They had gotten chubby, their faces so round that they had developed double chins, making them difficult to hold. Jiang Sang watched his son with a loving smile on his face, and poked the baby¡¯s face a couple of times, chuckling gleefully. The baby, who was poked, let go of the nipple and turned his head to look, as if silently reproaching him. Chunniang swatted away her husband¡¯s hand, giving him a re, ¡°Xiaowu is still waiting to be fed, don¡¯t bother him, let Xiaojie finish eating quickly.¡± Jiang Sang picked up the little baby who was lying next to him, waving his tiny hand, and started to y with him, making all sorts of noises. Chunniang, while nursing the child, chatted with her husband, ¡°It¡¯s really strange these past few days, lots of vige children have been insisting on giving gifts to Yingbao, they get upset if she doesn¡¯t ept them. I don¡¯t know what their intentions are.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Jiang Sang turned his head and asked, ¡°What are they giving?¡± ¡°Eggs, white flour cakes, and all kinds of fine food.¡± Chunniang said. Jiang Sangughed out loud, ¡°Who are they? How generous of them!¡± Eggs and white flour cakes are rare items. Regr kids in their vige might not get to taste them even once in a few months. Chunniang, looking annoyed, said, ¡°Who knows which child they are, I guess the children who always follow Yingbao around have given gifts.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nothing.¡± Jiang Sangughed and shook his head, not minding, ¡°We can just prepare some snacks ourselves and let Yingbao give them back.¡± After all, children trading gifts during their ytime is very normal. Moreover, the deer their daughter was raising was considered a priceless treasure by the children in the vige, so giving some food was just a way of trying to ingratiate themselves.. Chapter 24 - 24: 2 Bo Got Sick_l Chapter 24: 2 Bo Got Sick_l Trantor: 549690339 Deep in the winter, at the tail end of the year, the weather was particrly chilly. Yingbao had run a dozen or sops in the threshing field with Youyou before returning home with Dani and her sister. This was her daily exercise routine, which also served to train the deer to be more docile and obedient, so that one day it could serve as her mount. Leng Family¡¯s third son, who was cooking in the kitchen, stuck his head out when he saw his daughtere home: ¡°Your uncles have given you three hundred coins, Dad put them on your bed table. Hurry up and put them away.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Yingbao put Youyou in the hay shed, filled the stone trough with fodder, and then ran off to the west room. Three hundred copper coins were threaded on a fine linen rope, fifty coins per string, and when piled together they formed a small pile that was pleasing to the eye. As soon as she had enough for two strings of coins, she would go to town and order a leather saddle for Youyou so she could ride it further. Overjoyed, Yingbao gathered up the copper coins and added them to her previous stash, then ran into the east room to check on her little brother. Their mother was sitting on the bed, spinning thread, while the two infant boysy next to her, fast asleep. ¡°Baobao, are you cold?¡± her spring mother asked. ¡°No.¡± Yingbao ate a handful of Wudingzhi every day before going out; her body was warm and she wasn¡¯t afraid of the cold at all. Spring mother smiled at her daughter¡¯s response, ¡°Mother thinks you¡¯ve grown taller.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Yingbao ran over to the wall, standing feet together, handsparing her height to the previous mark. ¡°Wow, I really have grown taller.¡± She squinted withughter. Growing tall was great, the taller she was, the stronger she would be, and the less likely anyone would dare to bully her. ¡°No wonder your cotton jacket¡¯s sleeves look a bit short, my Baobao is growing up so fast.¡± Spring mother put down her handwork and stepped forward, ¡°Let me see. Should I let out the sleeves a bit?¡± Yingbao immediately shook her head, ¡°No need to let them out, they¡¯re perfect as they are.¡± The sleeves were a bit long before and always got in the way when she was doing things, but now they were just right. After saying this, she spun around and ran out of the room, ¡°I¡¯m going to help Dad with the fire.¡¯ Upon arriving at the kitchen, her father had already finished cooking the meal. Fish soup, pork fat cakes, rice porridge, a bowl of pickles, two boiled eggs. Such a dinner was quitevish by vige standards. Yingbao helped her father carry the food to the east room, cing it on the heated bed table. After the family of three finished dinner, their father went off to wash the pots, rinse the dishes, and heat the water for washing. He did not stop until it was dark. Yingbao, lying on the heated bed, began to slowly peel off the ck scab on her wrist. The burn on her wrist hadpletely healed. The skin was smooth, with only a faint pink hue remaining. She believed that in no time at all, this pinkness would return to its normal color. The original plum blossom birthmark was gone, but a small red mole the size of a needle tip remained. Yingbao furrowed her brow, not entirely satisfied. Thest time she burned so deeply, the birthmark was notpletely removed. Would she have to burn it again? Remembering the pain of that day, she shrugged her shoulders. Forget it, let it be for now. After all, there were still several years to go. Moreover, she had not seen the Han family recently, let alone her two daughters who seemed to have vanished and note into her sight again. However, Yingbao could not let her guard down. She had to keep her wrist wrapped up, and, yes, she should borrow a brush from her little cousin. Better yet, she should obtain some cinnabar y to paint a picture of a turtle on her wrist, just in case. Because even if she didn¡¯t have a birthmark on her wrist, the Han family would still target her. What that woman wanted was never a daughter, but a son. She blew out the oilmp and entered the cave. The wheat and rice in the cave had ripened. The heavy ears were full, which was a beautiful sight. Yingbao picked up a sickle and decided to start harvesting the rice. Two hourster, only a quarter of the rice had been harvested, but Yingbao¡¯s palm was scraped with two big blisters that hurt so much she gnashed her teeth. Gasping for breath, Yingbao, with teary eyes, scraped a bit of Wudingzhi from the rock wall, crushed it, and rubbed it on the blisters on her palm before going to bed. When she woke up the next day, the blisters on her palm had disappeared. Yingbao was very pleased. She eagerly went back to the cave, ate a handful of Wudingzhi, and continued cutting for a while, charging on with her replenished energy. s, she was still physically insufficient. With such arge field of rice, wheat, and soybeans, when would she be able to collect them all? She got dressed, got off the kang bed, went to the kitchen to fetch water to wash up, and then ran to the chicken coop to collect eggs, before taking Youyou outside to frolic about. ¡°Third Uncle, Third Uncle!¡± Jiang Quan from Uncle¡¯s house rushed into the hall in a hurry. Jiang Sang poked his head out from the kitchen, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Jiang Quan then rushed to the kitchen, huffing and puffing, ¡°Third Uncle, you better take a look. Second Uncle has a persistent fever and coughed up blood this morning.¡± Jiang Sang was startled. He quickly put down the soup spoon in his hand and went outside. ¡°What do you mean he coughed up blood all of a sudden? Didn¡¯t he look alright yesterday?¡± A patient coughing up blood was not a good sign. If his second brother got tuberculosis, then it could be bad news. His son Huzi was only three years old, and Dani was only six. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Jiang Quan said, ¡°Yesterday, I heard my second aunt arguing with my second uncle. They didn¡¯t cook dinner at their housest night, and Dani and Huzi both ate at our house.¡± Jiang Sang frowned, feeling some displeasure in his heart. This second sister-inw really didn¡¯t understand things. His second brother was still sick, yet she didn¡¯t even cook. If she didn¡¯t cook, then she probably didn¡¯t make the medicine either. He wondered if his second brother took his medicine yesterday. Jiang¡¯s second brother¡¯s house was not far from the two brothers¡¯ house, only separated by a few houses. The uncle and nephew hadn¡¯t arrived yet, but they could already hear the Leng family¡¯s crying. Jiang Sang furrowed his brow in thought, and asked his nephew, ¡°How is your dad doing?¡± ¡°My father felt better after taking the medicine yesterday. He¡¯s still coughing, but he had two big bowls of rice porridge this morning,¡± said Jiang Quan. Jiang Sang let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that the medicine he brought back was effective. However, his second brother has always been more physically weak than his older brother. He had overlooked this and assumed that since they had caught a cold together, their symptoms should be simr. Yet to his surprise, his second brother coughed up blood. Jiang Sang was frustrated. As he entered the yard, he saw Leng¡¯s wife were crying hysterically on the ground while holding Dahuzi. Dani was also teary-eyed, standing beside to them, lost. A few vigers were watching the spectacle, standing outside the fence with their bowls in hand. ¡°Second sister-inw, it¡¯s cold outside, you should go back inside quickly, don¡¯t let the child catch a cold,¡± Jiang Sang said sternly. Upon seeing Jiang Sang, Leng¡¯s wife cried even harder. As she cried, sheined about how unfortunate she was to marry a useless man, bringing misery to their children. Jiang Sang couldn¡¯t stand her nonsensical talk anymore, and entered the house in an irritated huff. He saw that his parents and older sister-inw, from the Zhou family, were already there. ¡°Sang,ter on, take your second brother to town to see a doctor,¡± said old man Jiang. ¡°Your older nephew has already gone to borrow a donkey cart.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Jiang Sang nodded, went to the kang bed, and tested his second brother¡¯s forehead. His temperature was very high; he was burning up with fever. ¡°How are you feeling, second brother?¡± Jiang Sang asked. Jiang Eng¡¯s face was flushed red, and he kept coughing incessantly, looking extremely weak, ¡°My chest hurts, cough, cough, cough¡­ I¡¯m¡­ out of¡­ strength¡­¡¯ Zhou Family¡¯s wife brought a bowl of porridge over and handed it to the third brother, ¡°Feed your second brother some porridge. He had been hungry all night. How could he have any strength? Ah, I am really done with your second sister-inw.¡± Seeing that things were serious, Jiang Eng nodded in fear, barely managing to eat half a bowl of rice porridge. Seeing that things were serious, Jiang Eng nodded in fear, barely managing to eat half a bowl of rice porridge. Shortly afterwards, Jiang Cheng, his oldest nephew, arrived at the door with a donkey cart. Jiang Sang picked up his second brother and put him on the cart, wrapping him with a cotton quilt. Jiang Liu came chasing after them and gave a roll of coins to the third son. She said quietly, ¡°Take it; use this money for your second brother¡¯s medical treatment.¡± Without declining, Jiang Sang took it, put it in his pocket, got on the cart, waved the whip, and set off.. Chapter 25 - 25: Naughty_l Chapter 25: Naughty_l Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao led Youyou, watching her father drive away with a frown. In her previous life, her uncle sumbed to lung disease. That year, Huzi was five, and his sister was eight. After observing the 35-day mourning period at home, her aunt returned to her parents¡¯ home, leaving her children with their uncle. She was rumored to have married a widower as his second wife within two months. Now, Huzi was only three, and her uncle was already sick. Was it because of her rebirth that the course of events changed? After all, in her previous life, there were no Five Dingzhi mushrooms, no Xiaolu, no big fish, and her father had never gone fishing with his brothers. If they had refrained from fishing, her uncle wouldn¡¯t have overworked himself in the cold, and he wouldn¡¯t be ill now. What should she do? Her uncle was such a gentle man, and just because of her rebirth, was he going to die prematurely? Feeling guilty, Yingbao returned home sulkily, put Youyou into the shed, went back to her cave, and continued to harvest crops. It wasn¡¯t until noon that Jiang Eng returned, washing his hands and face with hot water, and took out the warmed-up food from the steamer, cing it on the table to eat. ¡°How is your second brother?¡± Chunniang asked. Jiang Eng shook his head and sighed, ¡°Not so good.¡± ¡°What did the doctor say?¡± ¡°The doctor said he has lung disease. He prescribed some medicine for him to take first, and he should be examined again once it¡¯s finished.¡± Jiang Eng sighed, regretfully said, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have let him go fishing with us. He was already weak, and the overwork and cold¡­¡± it was not surprising he fell ill. Chunniangforted him, ¡°If you had forbidden it, would there not be talk? When siblings make money together, if you leave one out, wouldn¡¯t people gossip? Besides, you know what his wife is like. Her temperament is the strangest, and it would only create more unrest.¡± Jiang Eng fell silent, finished his meal in a few bites, wiped his mouth, and lied down on the Kang bed, pondering for a while before saying, ¡°Anyway, my second brother caught a cold fishing with us. Sigh, from now on, my elder brother and I will split the cost of his medicine.¡± This time his second brother went to the doctor, his sister-inw didn¡¯t give a single coin, their mother gave them a coin. Fortunately, they epted that coin, otherwise, the money she brought would not be enough to pay for the medicine. ¡°How much will our family pay?¡± Chunniang who didn¡¯t know the specifics, asked tentatively. Jiang Eng thought for a moment, and said, ¡°A prescription cost more than 800 coins, and that¡¯s not even the best quality, I estimate it to be two to three coins.¡± A prescription could onlyst three to five days, and considering how serious his brother¡¯s condition was, it would take at least seven to eight prescriptions to heal. Eight prescriptions would cost more than six coins, if he and his elder brother split the cost, each family would have to pay more than three coins. ¡°This¡­ a single prescription cost that much?¡± Chunniang was surprised, ¡°Normally, treatments for colds and coughs only cost about twenty or thirty coins per prescription, right?¡± ¡°The prescription contains slices of ginseng and ejiao. The doctor said that for my brother¡¯s condition, he must slowly be nursed back to health, and ginseng and ejiao are indispensable.¡± Jiang Eng said dejectedly. After a moment of hesitation, he turned to his wife and said, ¡°Chunniang, my second brother¡¯s condition is severe this time. Elder brother and I can¡¯t just sit back and do nothing, so¡­ I need you to bear a bit more.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Chunniang lowered her eyes, getting up to open the coin box: ¡°Then¡­ How much?¡± Jiang Eng waved his hand, ¡°There¡¯s no rush, get me a coin when I invite the doctor for a follow-up visit in three days.¡± ¡°Alright.¡¯ Chunniang agreed, feeling a pain in her heart. Their family had just managed to save a little money, and before they could even get used to it, they had to pay again, sigh. But what could she do? Her husband¡¯s siblings were very close. Seeing his brother severely ill, how could they just stand by and watch him slip away? Two dayster, Jiang Eng¡¯s condition had not improved; in fact, it worsened. Early in the morning, his daughter ran to her uncle¡¯s house, crying and begging her grandparents to save her father. Jiang Liu held her granddaughter in her arms and wept, saying to her husband, ¡°Old man, think of a solution, oh¡­ Eng is only thirty.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go check on him.¡± Old man Jiang was also upset, and he stood up to go outside. Jiang Liu wiped her tears and followed him along with their eldest son. At Jiang Eng¡¯s house. Jiang Sang was about to feed his second brother medicine when he saw his parents and elder brother walk in. He ced the bowl of medicine on the small table and made room for them. ¡°How are you feeling, Eng?¡± Jiang Liu approached and grabbed her second son¡¯s hand, choking up as she spoke: ¡°My child, tell me if you¡¯re feeling ufortable anywhere.¡± At this point, Jiang Eng¡¯s eyes were sunken, his cheeks had be thin and gaunt and he was unable to speak. He could only look at his parents tearfully in silence. ¡°Eng¡­¡± Jiang Liu gently stroked her son¡¯s face as she wept: ¡°You must take the medicine. Your third brother will go to the town to fetch the doctor. Don¡¯t be afraid, you will get better¡­¡± Jiang Eng nodded weakly. Seeing his son in such a frail state, old man Jiang couldn¡¯t help but sob. He quickly wiped his tears away with his sleeve and patting his son¡¯s head, heforted him: ¡°Eng, nothing serious. You¡¯re just feverish. It¡¯ll be fine in a few days, yes¡­¡± Tears rolled down Jiang Eng¡¯s cheeks as he grunted a low acknowledgment. Watching this made Yingbao, who had slipped in unnoticed, feel awful too. She looked at her grandparents and her second uncle, then at her oldest uncle and father with their red-rimmed eyes. She sneaked to the side of the table. While everyone was preupied, she quietly added arge amount of Five Dingzhi juice to the medicine bowl and stirred it with a spoon. Suddenly, she felt a light tap on her head that made her jump. When she looked up, she saw it was her father. ¡°Don¡¯t be naughty.¡± Jiang Sang saw his daughter meddling with the medicine bowl and assumed she was being mischievous. He pulled her outside, ¡°You should go home soon.¡± Yingbao nodded and seriously said: ¡°Second uncle will get better, Daddy. Make sure he drinks all the medicine, don¡¯t let it spill.¡± ¡°Daddy knows.¡± Jiang Sang led his daughter out of the room and whispered: ¡°Once you get home, tell your mom that I¡¯m going to town in a bit and ask her to send a coin over.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Just as Yingbao was about to head home, she heard Leng scolding them from the eastern room: ¡°Keep your fake sympathy! Wuuu¡­you are all like rats delivering greetings to the chicken. Wuuuu, my lot in life is so miserable¡­¡± Yingbao frowned. This second aunt was really unreasonable. In her former life, she did not have many interactions with Leng, so she was oblivious to her nature. While her husband was ill, she did not care for him; and when her third brother-inw tirelessly fed and cleaned her husband, all she did was spit out venomous words. Yingbao felt rather annoyed by it, she hurried through the gate on her short little legs, where she saw Erni at the door wiping her tears, and Huzi, at three years old, sitting on the ground ying with snow, his hands raw from the cold. Upon seeing Yingbao, Huzi ran up to her, reaching out to pull the twin tails on her tiger hat. Yingbao: ¡­ She brushed off the kid¡¯s hand, ready to give him a p, then remembered that in her former life, this little guy had protected her and her little brother. She paused, took a clean radish from her pocket and handed it to him, ¡°Here, eat this. It¡¯s sweet.¡¯ Upon receiving the radish, Huzi promptly took a bite, munching on it with its skin sending delightful aroma, he smiled brightly and said, ¡°It¡¯s gooood.¡± Yingbao rubbed her nose and quickly left the courtyard. Back home, she ryed her father¡¯s message to her mother and then climbed onto the Kang bed to y with her little brother. Her little brother was pleasant to look at; clean, adorable, and always smiling. Seeing her approach, he wriggled his little legs happily. Her mother, Chunniang, quickly fetched a coin from the money chest and rushed out to send it to her husband.. Chapter 26 - 26: Sending Porridge_1 Chapter 26: Sending Porridge_1 Trantor: 549690339 The next day. Jiang Sang came back from his second brother¡¯s house with a face full of joy, telling his wife, ¡°Last night, the second brother slept deeply, hardly coughing at all. This morning, his fever miraculously subsided.¡± ¡°Really? Oh, that¡¯s fantastic,¡± Chunniang said with a mix of surprise and joy. ¡°It seems that the second brother is getting better.¡± ¡°He should be,¡± Jiang Sang smiled. ¡°The medicine we got yesterday seemed to work. He got better after just one dose.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s so expensive,¡± Jiang Sang shook his head with a sigh. ¡°One dose costs more than one coin.¡± Chunniang didn¡¯t respond, thinking, that means the coin she spent yesterday was not enough. If it¡¯s going to continue like this, they won¡¯t have enough for their daily expenses. But not spending is not an option. The situation is enough to give anyone a headache. Yingbao was also worried. His uncle had a lung disease, which was not easy to treat, so medication couldn¡¯t be stopped. He had toplete three full courses of the medication. Three courses would roughlyst for forty-five days. If a new dose is needed every five days, that would total ten taels of silver. Ten taels! That was equal to ten thousand coins. With the money from her father, grandfather, grandmother, and uncle allbined, they might still not have ten taels. So, where would the money for the medicinee from? Or, should she feed her uncle with some Five Tripod Ganoderma to help him recover faster? Although she wasn¡¯t sure if it could cure his lung disease, her uncle had already significantly improved, which suggested that the Five Tripod Ganoderma should be effective. With that thought, Yingbao rushed to the west room and instantly entered the cave. One-fifth of the Five Tripod Ganoderma in the crevices of the rock wall was gone, but it seemed like more had grown on the top of the cave. But that ce was too high, and no matter how hard Yingbao tried, she couldn¡¯t reach it. Well, she would let it be for now and figure something out once the Ganoderma on the wall was used up. Yingbao carefully plucked the leaves of the Five Tripod Ganoderma one by one and ced them in a clean pottery bowl. When she had thirty leaves, she stopped. She grabbed a rolling pin and smashed the leaves into a paste. She then added some water from the pond and stirred it until half a bowl of transparent medicine paste was formed. At noon, Jiang Sang was boiling medicine in his second brother¡¯s yard. Seeing his youngest daughter jumping around, he asked, ¡°Has Baobao eaten yet?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Yingbao squatted on the ground, staring at the bubbling medicine pot, and said, ¡°Mother asked you toe back home for lunch.¡± Leng¡¯s house wouldn¡¯t prepare lunch for Jiang Sang, and she was even reluctant to boil medicine for her husband, let alone enter the room where he stayed. She was probably afraid of getting infected, because Doctor Li had said that those who are looking after a patient should cover their mouth and nose with a cloth. Of course, Jiang Sang and Jiang Dng didn¡¯t have faith in Leng to prepare the medicine either. After all, this woman was cold-hearted. If she were to steal the ginseng slices and donkey hide gtin from the medicine, that would be uneptable, and it wouldn¡¯t be the first time she did something like this. A few years ago, when Jiang Eng was ill, she had picked out the ginseng slices from the Herbal packages and, together with money and goods, hidden them under the bed. She waster unintentionally discovered by Jiang Liu. Out of rage, He almost divorced her on the spot. If it wasn¡¯t for the sake of Dani who was young at the time, and the fact that she was already pregnant with another child, and Jiang Eng¡¯s hard defense, Jiang Liu would have definitely sent Leng back to her family that time. It was after this incident that the three Jiang brothers decided to split up their households. Yingbao overheard her parents discussing this incident. ¡°I¡¯lle back home as soon as your uncle finishes drinking this medicine,¡± Jiang Sang said, using a cloth to lift the pot lid to take a peek. Seeing that it was about done, he removed the charcoal fire and fetched arge pottery bowl to contain the medicine. The medicine was poured into the bowl, filling it halfway with a dark and bitter concoction. Seeing his youngest daughter staring intently at the bowl of medicine, he didn¡¯t want her to make a mess and said, ¡°Baobao, you should go back first. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Yingbao blinked her eyes, ¡°I¡¯ll wait and go with Father.¡± Jiang Sang was helpless, carrying the bowl of medicine and heading to the west room, he cautioned her, ¡°Then you must behave.¡± ¡°Baobao will be good. Baobao wants to see her second uncle.¡± Yingbao hopped behind her father into the west room where her uncle was staying. Inside the west room, Dani was standing by the bed, talking to her father with a worried face. The little girl seemed to have grown up all of a sudden as she softly and gently exined to her father why her mother wasn¡¯t at home. ¡°Father, Mother took my little brother to my uncle¡¯s house. She said my external grandmother wasn¡¯t feeling well and will be back soon after checking on her.¡± Half-closed eyes of Jiang Eng who¡¯s lying on the kang couldn¡¯t reveal any expression, his hand feebly tightened for a moment and he whispered hoarselv, ¡°Got it.¡± Yingbao was surprised. How could Leng Family¡¯s Eng¡¯s wife take Huzi to her parental home under such circumstances? Her husband was ill, what was she thinking? No wonder she hadn¡¯t seen Huzi, turns out his mother had taken him away. ¡°Brother, it¡¯s time for your medicine.¡± Jiang Sang ced the medicine bowl on the small table, and turned his head to re at his little girl, warning her with his eyes not to touch the medicine bowl. He then helped Eng sit up. Yingbao: ¡­ She hadn¡¯t done anything yet. Turning her head, she saw Sister Dani looking at her, could not help but scratch her head. ¡°Sister Dani, shall we go to Uncle¡¯s house to find Sister Dani?¡± Yingbao knew there was no way she could sneak the Five Dingzhi into the medicine bowl now, so she had to settle for the next best thing, inviting Dani to find Dani. Dani shook her head: ¡°No, I have to take care of dad.¡¯ With mom not home, dad would have difficulty even if he wanted to drink water, she must stay at home to keep an eye on things. Yingbao pouted, and walked out of the room sulking. Jiang Sang helped his brother to drink the medicine, and helped him lie down again, saying, ¡°Brother, you sleep for a while, and I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± ¡°Um.¡± Jiang Eng nodded and closed his eyes. After Jiang Sang went out, he saw his daughter looking like a wilted leaf in the sun, and couldn¡¯t help butugh, squatting down and pping his hands: ¡°Baobao,e, back home with dad.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t want to go home, but it didn¡¯t seem useful for her to stay here either, so she reached out for her dad to hold her, and couldn¡¯t help but ask: ¡°Dad, has Uncle eaten yet? Shall we bring him some food?¡± ¡°He¡¯s already had breakfast.¡± Jiang Sang carried his daughter and started walking home. ¡°Your aunt will bring porridge over for lunch, we don¡¯t need to deliver.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Yingbao was even more disappointed. After reaching home, she saw her dad going into the house for food, and she quickly went towards her Uncle¡¯s house. As soon as she reached the doorstep of her uncle¡¯s house, she saw Yuanbao holding a stone ball, preparing to kick the ball with a few boys at the threshing ground. Seeing his little cousining over, Yuanbao thought she was here to read books as usual, so he said: ¡°Yingbao, the books are on the table, go and read them, I¡¯m going to y football.¡± He had been obsessed with footballtely, even Youyou was out of favor. Yingbao blinked her eves: ¡°Where¡¯s Sister Dani?¡± ¡°She¡¯s cooking in the kitchen.¡± Saying this, Yuanbao had already run far away. In the kitchen, Sister Dani was indeed cooking porridge, the sweet smell of rice wafting with the heat. Yingbao pursed her mouth and smiled, asking, ¡°Sister Dani, are you making porridge?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Dani nodded, specifically saying, ¡°It¡¯s for Uncle.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Yingbao was even more delighted, and hurriedly asked, ¡°Are you going to bring it to Uncleter?¡± ¡°I will deliver it as soon as it¡¯s ready.¡± Dani thought her little cousin wanted some, and quietly said: ¡°I¡¯ll save some for youter.¡± Yingbao shook her head: ¡°No need, I¡¯m full.¡± Pausing for a moment, she added: ¡°Can I help you serve the porridge?¡± Dani didn¡¯t understand why her little cousin wanted to help her serve the porridge, but still nodded: ¡°Okay, but be careful not to spill.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t spill.¡± Yingbao excitedly stood on her tiptoes to see the steaming pot, measured with her hand, and saw that she could not reach the stove at all, so she quickly moved a stool next to the stove. Not long after, the porridge was ready, and Dani took out the fire, fetched a jar, and also got a big bamboo spoon, and opened the pot. A surge of steam carrying the strong fragrance of rice came to face. Yingbao was afraid that Dani would change her mind, so she quickly snatched the bamboo spoon in her hand and stood on the stool. Dani: ¡­ Avoiding Dani¡¯s strange look, Yingbao used the bamboo spoon to scoop the porridge and pour it into the jar.. Chapter 27 - 27: Recovery_l Chapter 27: Recovery_l Trantor: 549690339 ¡°Be careful, ¡± Dani helplessly supported her younger cousin, trying to prevent her from tipping over the porridge pot. Afterdling the porridge, Yingbao asked Sister Dani to fetch a bowl cover for the pot. Without suspicion, Dani quickly ran to the cupboard to fetch a bowl. Yingbao took this opportunity to pour half a bowl of Wudingzhi into the pot, mixing it with the bamboo spoon. ¡°Yingbao, you bettere down quickly, don¡¯t fall.¡± Dani was somewhat scared of her little cousin. She quickly ran back, immediately covered the pot with the bowl, picked up the pot by the ropes attached to its ears, and asked, ¡°I¡¯m going to Second Uncle¡¯s house, do you want toe with me?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Yingbao nodded. She wanted to see with her own eyes Second Uncle finish the porridge. And so, Dani held her younger cousin¡¯s hand in one hand, and the pot of porridge in the other and they went to Second Uncle¡¯s house. ¡°Second Uncle, wake up and have some porridge,¡± Yingbao called out to him when she saw her uncle sleeping with his eyes closed. Jiang Eng, who had just taken his medicine not long ago, didn¡¯t feel like eating and shook his head, ¡°Second Uncle is not hungry, doesn¡¯t want to eat for now.¡± Seeing him refuse, Yingbao hurriedly urged, ¡°Second Uncle, you¡¯ll get better faster if you eat the porridge. Sister Dani worked so hard to make it. If you don¡¯t eat it, Sister Dani will be sad.¡± Dani: ¡­ unfairly med. Only now did Jiang Eng notice his two young nieces standing in front of the kang (a traditional Chinese heated bed), he gave a small smile and nodded ¡°Alright, Dani, serve me half a bowl.¡± So, Jiang Eng reluctantly ate half a bowl of porridge, theny down to sleep again. Seeing her mission aplished, Yingbao put her worries aside and took Youyou out for a jog. Another day, Yingbao woke up early and prepared a double-yolk egg in a bowl, stirred in some Wudingzhi paste and pond water, steamed it in a pot, and then gave it to Second Uncle to eat. Every day after that, she would deliver a bowl of steamed eggs. Several days flew by. Jiang Eng¡¯s health was gradually improving, he was already able to get off the kang and move around, but his wife from the Leng Family had still not returned. Jiang Sang saw that the medicine he had caughtst time was almost used up, so he decided to ask the doctor toe over and check on his second brother again for another prescription before the New Year. After feeling Jiang Eng¡¯s pulse, the white-haired Doctor Li was somewhat in disbelief. He asked Jiang Eng to stretch out his other hand and rechecked his pulse. Huh? Could he have misdiagnosedst time, and this patient was not suffering from a lung disease? You should know that lung disease is a chronic disease, and to this day, no one has been able topletely cure it. To stay alive, one needs to slowly adjust using rare medicinal ingredients such as ginseng and donkey-hide glue, to prolong life. But today, looking at Jiang Eng¡¯s pulse condition, which was calm and steady, neither too big nor too small, although a bit weak on the surface, it was indeed a sign of early recovery from a major illness. That is to say, Jiang Eng¡¯s illness waspletely cured. Doctor Li was puzzled, he checked Jiang Eng¡¯s tongue coating again, pulled down his eyelid, and took a stethoscope to listen to Jiang Eng¡¯s chest and back, and asked a few more questions. Jiang Eng answered them all, saying that he felt a little weak and had no other diforts. He was not coughing or panting now, his appetite was very good, and he could eat tworge bowls of porridge in a meal. Doctor Li looked at him with a frown, confirming that the patient in front of him had fully recovered. How could this be possible? Even the Imperial Medical Bureau in the Capital City couldn¡¯t find a cure for lung disease. How could one recover after only taking a prescription or two? Doctor Li was temporarily unable to find a solution, so he picked up the prescription he had written and looked at it repeatedly. Yes, it was indeed a prescription for treating lung disease, and a verymon one at that. Because the Jiang family had limited silver coins, the ginseng slices and donkey-hide glue they used were the cheapest and the quantities were very small. ¡°Sang, do you still have the medicine you caughtst time?¡± Doctor Li was determined to find the cause, after all, he would dream of a method that could make a patient with lung diseasepletely recover. ¡°I still have one packet left,¡± Jiang Sang brought out thest packet of medicine without understanding why. Doctor Li opened it and carefully identified the medicinal materials in the packet. Yes, it was exactly the same as the one prescribed in the prescription, without any difference. Could the patient have taken other alternative herbal remedies? Doctor Li stroked his beard, continuing to inquire, ¡°Can you tell me, what meals and supplements has Eng been consuming recently?¡± He was certain that Jiang Eng must have used some remarkably effective herbal ingredients. Last time he examined him, Eng was panting heavily, suffering from fever and profuse sweating, his body emaciated and weak, his pulse slow and sinking, showing signs of stupor and coughing blood. His lungs had rales, and he was still suffering from a high fever. He was clearly in the terminal stages of his illness and wouldn¡¯t have survived for long. But hardly a few dayster, Eng was bouncing around energetically ¨C how astonishing was that? Moreover, it had been diagnosed several years ago that Jiang Eng had a lung disease, which took half a year of medication to slightly improve. But now, even that old remnant of the disease seemed to have disappeared. His voice was clear, his lungs were healthy ¡ª he couldn¡¯t have been any better. Jiang Sang scratched the back of his head, saying, ¡°He didn¡¯t eat any supplements, just the usual meals we make at home. Mornings and evenings, he had rice porridge with steamed eggs for breakfast and lunch, he ate some chicken meat, fish, and greens.¡± Steaming his own double-yolked eggs was a family matter which Sang didn¡¯t want to mention. Doctor Li nodded, ¡°I see.¡± Then, lowering his head, he rummaged through his medicine chest for a pen, ink, and paper. He then began to write a prescription. ¡°Your elder brother is much better, but he is still a little weak. I am going to prescribe another course aimed at nourishing the lungs. After he finishes it, he should be fine.¡¯ Doctor Li knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to extract much information and thus, no longer dwelled on it. He kept a mental note of the previous prescription, deciding to try it on other patients with lung disease in the future. Jiang Sang felt relieved knowing his second brother was doing well. He bowed to Doctor Li, ¡°Thank you, Doctor Li, for your efforts.¡± Doctor Li waved his hand, gave the prescription to Jiang San, took his consultation fee, packed up his medicine chest, and got up. Jiang Sang sent Doctor Li back to his pharmacy, got the medicine, and then cheerfully bought some New Year goods to take home. Just as he crossed Shigong Bridge, he heard some tumult in the vige, not knowing what had happened. As soon as he entered the vige, he saw arge crowd gathered in front of his eldest brother¡¯s house. A woman in her fifties was sitting in the middle of the crowd, pping her thigh and weeping loudly. ¡°Ah! You wretched Jiang Liu, you deceived my maiden daughter with your sickly son, initially singing so many praises. I didn¡¯t expect you to harbor such malicious intent, aiming to harm my maiden daughter¡­ Heavens! You are such a deceitful woman, isn¡¯t it enough your son is sick and frail, you even deceived my family¡­ I will sue you for marriage fraud¡­¡± The old woman was beating her legs and pounding the ground while crying aloud. A young woman stood beside her pretending tofort her. Behind the woman stood a man in his twenties, scanning the surroundings with an unweing face. This¡­ was unexpectedly his second sister-inw, Leng, her mother Old Lady Cao, and her younger brother and sister-inw. Hearing the old woman repeatedly mentioning the sickly child, Sang couldn¡¯t help but frown, plunging into the crowd. ¡°What happened?¡± he asked his eldest brother standing by the door. Eldest Brother Jiang was angry, ¡°Second sister-inw¡¯s mother came to make trouble at our house, forcing Eng to divorce her daughter. She even used us of concealing Eng¡¯s illness and demanded apensation of thirty taels of silver from us. ¡°Thirty taels?¡± Her family is really that bold. Jiang Sang asked, ¡°What does second brother have to say?¡± Eldest Brother Jiang sighed, ¡°Eng was so angry, he fainted. He¡¯s lying in our parents¡¯ room.¡±upd?t? ?t ?ew?o?el . ?rg ¡°I¡¯ll go check on him.¡± Jiang Sang stepped into the courtyard. At this time, Jiang Eng was lying down on his parents¡¯ bed with closed eyes, his face as pale as paper; he looked like he had fainted from anger. Jiang Liu hugging him, incessantly crying whileforting him, ¡°Eng, don¡¯t be angry; your illness is cured. Today, Doctor Li said that after a few days of nourishment, you will be as fit as a fiddle. Oh oh oh, my dear child, don¡¯t scare your mother¡­ ¡® Seeing Eng in this condition because of Old Lady Cao, Jiang Sang clenched his fist and immediately turned to leave the room. Ah, he really wanted to beat someone up. If it hadn¡¯t been for the fact that the old woman was his brother¡¯s mother-inw, he would have loved to kick her out of the vige. But, he couldn¡¯t act impulsively. She was his brother¡¯s mother-inw, and this was his own family matter. He shouldn¡¯t act heedlessly and harm Eng¡¯s marriage.. Chapter 28 - 28: And Departure_l Chapter 28: And Departure_l Trantor: 549690339 Jiang Eng managed to gather himself, seeing his elderly mother¡¯s tear-streaked face and trembling lips, he apologized, ¡°Mother, I¡¯ve caused you worry¡­¡± Jiang Liu was crying so hard she was choking. Clutching her son tightly, she kept stroking his chest, ¡°I don¡¯t mind the worry, as long as you¡¯re okay¡­My son, you must try toe to terms with this, sob sob sob¡­¡± Jiang Eng closed his eyes, it took a while before he said, ¡°Mother, since the Leng Family wants the divorce, let it be. But it¡¯s impossible for me to give them thirty taels of silver.¡± He paused for a moment and said, ¡°The Lengs are well aware of our situation, our brothers have already divided up the family property. There¡¯s no reason for me to ask my parents and brothers to pay for my divorce.¡± The way his wife acted during his illness had thoroughly chilled Jiang Eng¡¯s heart. He had put up with her tantrums, but she took advantage of his illness to take all the money from the house and ran to her mother¡¯s home. This morning he was thinking, once he got better, he would go to the Yue Family to bring his wife back. After all, they had been married for over a decade. Couples argue and bicker. He thought, as long as he apologized and did some coaxing, considering their child, their home, and the bond of so many years of marriage, she woulde back to him, and they could live a good life. But what he would never have expected was today her mother, brother, and sister-inw came knocking at the door to demand a divorce. No matter how his parents exined or how others counseled, the Lengs insisted on the divorce. They even imed that Leng had been suffering in misery in the Jiang Family and couldn¡¯t bear to live there any longer. Not only did they want a divorce, they also asked for thirty taels of silver aspensation. Jiang Eng didn¡¯t believe that this idea of a divorce came from Leng. Although his health had been weak, he did all the heavy work at home, and Leng never had to do the hard work in the fields if she didn¡¯t want to. He tried his best to make her happy. Therefore, before they divorced, he had to ask her personally whether she really couldn¡¯t continue to live with him. If she really had had enough, he wouldn¡¯t find it hard to let go. After all, he already had a son and a daughter from his second wife. Even if he ended up without a wife for the rest of his life, it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal. When Jiang Liu heard her son agreeing to the divorce, she hurriedly advised, ¡°Son, a divorce is no small matter. You must think it over clearly. Leng¡­perhaps she only said it out of anger. As long as we show courtesy and apologize to them¡­¡± ¡°No¡­cough, cough, cough¡­¡± Jiang Eng was so agitated that he started coughing, and he felt pain in his chest again. After catching his breath, he said, ¡°Mother, we did nothing wrong. Before we got married, I was perfectly healthy and had never suffered any serious illness. ¡± The disease he had now was caused by catching a cold when he was doing hardbor duties two years after they got married. Back then, they hadn¡¯t yet divided the family property, and his parents and brothers felt very guilty, using all the family¡¯s money to treat his illness. He guessed that Leng had been nning for divorce since that time, secretly stashing away ginseng slices from the medicine bag, and bundling all the valuables and money in the house into a package and hiding it under the bed. If his mother hadn¡¯t identally discovered the package and opened it to check, noticing something wrong and questioning her, Leng might have abandoned the child in her womb and absconded with the package, never to return. Today, the Yue Family suddenly demanded a divorce for their daughter who had been married out for over a decade. Presumably, they had already nned their next move. Their goal was nothing more than to get a second betrothal gift for their daughter. But his wife had always seemed bewitched, unable to see her parents¡¯ and brothers¡¯ greed, unwilling to heed his advice, and bent on helping her own family. Over these years, it seemed he hadn¡¯t wronged his wife or the Yue Family in any way. He had sent all the customary gifts without fail and spent all the necessary money. Two years ago, when her younger brother got married, at his wife¡¯s request, he went hunting in the mountains with his two brothers to provide a generous gift. They endured bitter cold and didn¡¯t return home for several days. Back then he had just recovered from an illness less than a year ago and had managed not to copse despite his condition. When he got home, Leng hadn¡¯t asked after him once, but had kept urging him to bring back all the game. In the end, neither of his brothers took any of the game they had caught. They gave it all to him. Even so, Leng wasn¡¯t satisfied. She had insisted that he borrow a coin from his parents and take it back to her family. He still hadn¡¯t repaid that coin to his parents till this day. Of course, his parents had never asked for it back. So, if Leng were really insistent on a divorce, let her have it. He didn¡¯t owe her or the Leng Family anything. The next day, Jiang Eng confronted the Lengs himself, agreeing to the divorce on the condition that Leng return with their son Huzi so they could discuss the divorce face to face. And so, Leng came back home that afternoon with Huzi in tow. The couple sat across from each other at the table. ¡°Are you sure you want a divorce?¡± Jiang Eng asked quietly, stifling his sadness. Leng, her face veiled, nodded her head. Jiang Eng closed his eyes and asked, ¡°Why?¡± Madam Leng remained silent. ¡°Is it because of my illness? But I¡¯m now fully recovered, Doctor Li said so,¡± Jiang Eng restrained his heartache, trying to salvage the situation. Leng still kept her head down, without speaking a word. Jiang Eng couldn¡¯t help but weep, quickly turning his head and wiping away the tears with his sleeve. After a long silence, Jiang Eng asked again, ¡°Is there something troubling you? Let¡¯s discuss it together.¡± Leng finally raised her head and said calmly, ¡°Eng, my trouble is that I married you. I¡¯ve had enough of poverty over the years.¡± She paused, then continued, ¡°Let me go, let¡¯s get a divorce.¡± Upon hearing this, Jiang Eng feltpletely disheartened. Standing up, he said, ¡°Alright, since you¡¯ve made up your mind, I will let you go. I hope you have a peaceful life in the future.¡± As he left the room, Jiang Eng personally went to ask the vige head for advice and then sent his eldest nephew to West Vige to fetch the matchmaker who arranged their wedding years ago. Since they were parting, they had to partpletely. So, Chen Sanyou, the vige head, and the matchmaker both witnessed the divorce between Jiang Eng and Madam Leng. The Leng family also invited several elders of the Leng family to show their support. After long negotiations, both families agreed that the children, Erni and Huzi, would be cared for by Jiang Eng, and the Jiang family would pay Madam Leng fifteen taels of silver as a settlement fee and they would have no future dealings. Chen Cunzheng, the vige head, made two copies of the divorce paper. Both families signed and confirmed the divorce, and the elders guaranteed it. The same-day matchmaker also provided a fingerprint as evidence. From then on, Jiang Eng and the Madam Leng were formally divorced. Yingbao didn¡¯t know the five or six hundred coins she had received had caused such a rift in her second uncle¡¯s family. But even if she did know, she would not feel guilty. Because Madam Leng was never a suitable match for her second uncle, her six hundred coins were just the fuse. It was just too bad for Erni and Huzi, they were so young but had already lost their mother. In her previous life, Madam Leng abandoned her young children early to live her own life after her second uncle¡¯s death. In this life, Erni and Huzi at least had their biological father to take care of them. ¡°Yingbao, hurry up, Daddy is leaving.¡± Jiang Sang pretended not to wait for his little girl anymore and started to step out. Yingbao became anxious, put on her tiger hat and ran after him, blocking her father¡¯s way and reaching out to be hugged. Jiang Sang hoisted his little girl onto the back carrier and went to the front yard to call out his elder and second nephew to go to town together. Today was thest big market before the New Year. The street was busy with people buying provisions for the New Year. Yingbao stood in the back carrier, watching the hawkers on both sides of the road from a higher perspective. There were sellers of chickens, ducks, old geese, eggs, vegetables, wild game, and children¡¯s toys. There were also vendors selling silk and floral headpieces. Most of all, there were New Year pictures of door gods and luckynterns, hanging on the wooden racks in bright red, bringing a touch of warmth to the dreary winter. Yingbao watched with great interest, frequently asking her father to get closer and ask the vendors about their wares. One hawker disyed children¡¯s y toys on the ground ¡ª small y pigs, bulls, chickens, ducks, dolls, as well as y tigers and y whistles. They all had appropriate colours painted on them, making them look particrly attractive. ¡°Which one do you want?¡± Jiang Sang asked. Yingbao shook her head, ¡°I don¡¯t want any.¡± She had lost interest in these a long time ago and was just curious to take a look. The four of them squeezed among the crowd, each going their own way to look for interesting things. Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan quickly disappeared from sight, which made Jiang Sang shout out, ¡°You two, don¡¯t go too far! I¡¯ll wait outside for you both to go home together!¡± ¡°Alright, Uncle San!¡± Jiang Cheng replied from within the crowd. Yingbao, who was standing high, could see her two elder cousins still hanging around the juggling stall. ¡°Daddy, let¡¯s go over there to look at the floral headpieces.¡± Yingbao pointed to the roadside. ¡°Alright.¡± So, father and daughter began strolling around the roadside stalls.. Chapter 29 - 29: Buying Firewood_l Chapter 29: Buying Firewood_l Trantor: 549690339 In the end, Yingbao paid to buy two pairs of colorful silk flower hairpins and three pairs of exquisitely carved woodenbs, which could be used as hair decorations. They were currently quite popr. She also bought a dried tobo pipe and a bunch of toys made out of wood. Items like a colorful pigeon cart, a tangram puzzle, a Kongming lock puzzle, and two small horse heads made out of colored paper, altogether, they cost her one hundred and eighty coins. Jiang Sang marveled at his little daughter¡¯s ability to pick out items and spend money wisely. Although the little items she bought did not seem significant, they were all exquisite, beautiful, and practical. He tried to dissuade her a couple of times, but when he saw she wouldn¡¯t listen, he just went along with it. After all, the money was hers, as long as his little daughter was pleased, she could even buy a person to go back home. The father and daughter continued their shopping spree while sauntering around. As Jiang Sang bought New Year decorations, Yingbao bought candied hawthorns. As Jiang Sang selected bowls, basins, and chopsticks, Yingbao bought sugar figurines. In the end, therge basket was filled to the brim, and both hands were also full. Jiang Sang could only carry his daughter on his back and head home. Suddenly, from her high vantage point, Yingbao saw a ragged young boy with a load of firewood in front of him. On the dark firewood, there seemed to be a few dried golden-yellow mushrooms that were particrly eye-catching. ¡°Dad! Dad! Quickly go over there!¡± Yingbao patting her dad¡¯s shoulder, pointed to the side of the road and said, ¡°Go over there.¡± Jiang Sang assumed his daughter had spotted some tasty food, so he reminded her, ¡°Baobao, we¡¯ve bought too many snacks; it¡¯s hard to carry all of them.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want snacks. Dad, put me down. I want to look at that.¡± She pointed her little finger to the roadside. ¡°Uh¡­¡± Jiang Sang turned his head to look and was momentarily taken aback. In that direction, there were no food stalls, no toy stands, nothing but a thirteen or fourteen-year-old ragged boy and a pile of firewood in front of him. Could it be¡­ was his daughter really going to buy a person? Shoo! What was he thinking? How could his daughter want to buy a dirty little boy? But since his daughter struggled to get down, out of the basket, Jiang Sang had no other choice but to set the basket beside the road, sit on a stone and rest his feet while waiting for his two nephews. Luckily this ce was on the outskirts of the market, there were few people setting up stalls, and the flow of people was scarce, so he didn¡¯t have to worry about his little daughter getting stepped on. Yingbao was lifted out of the basket by her father and in a sh spot ran over to the load of firewood, she looked up at the ragged young boy and asked, ¡°Are you selling firewood?¡± The boy, seeing a small bobble-hatted child asking a question, assumed she was curious and nodded. ¡°How much does it cost?¡± Yingbao asked. The boy: ¡°Three coins.¡± Beaming, Yingbao asked again, ¡°If you deliver it home for me, how much would that cost?¡± The boy frowned and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s your home?¡± ¡°Dongchen Vige,¡± Yingbao replied. ¡°Dongchen Vige¡­¡± The boy thought about it and said, ¡°To deliver to Dongchen Vige¡­ five coins.¡± ¡°Alright then, you wille with meter.¡± Yingbao put five coins into the boy¡¯s hand, ¡°This is the money for the firewood. I¡¯ll give it to you first.¡± The boy nodded, clenched the copper coin in his hand, pursed his lips, and a dimple appeared on one cheek, he was obviously very happy. Seeing the brief appearance of a dimple on the boy¡¯s cheek, Yingbao was stunned. She took a closer look at him. He had delicate features, a thin face, and a cold expression. His only w was that he was a little dark, probably because hebored in the fields all year round. After looking at him for a while, whatever familiar feeling she had vanished. Yingbao turned around and went to check the firewood. Jiang Sang was dumbfounded by his daughter¡¯s actions. Why on earth did his little girl want to buy a load of firewood? They didn¡¯t need to buy firewood at home, there was plenty on the back hill. They just had to go there and they could carry back a load themselves. But since his daughter had already bought it, what could he do? He might as well let her do as she pleased. Jiang Sang didn¡¯t know that what his daughter had bought was not firewood, but the golden ear fungus grown on dry twigs. Yingbao squatted in front of the pile of wood, her little hands already holding two golden ear fungus, each the size of a finger. She sniffed them and pretended to put them in her pocket, but actually secretly stored them in her cave. Hehe, instead of Xue¡¯er, she unexpectedly found something even more valuable ¡ªgolden ear fungus. She nned to put the fungus-sourced firewood into her cave, give it a ssh of water, and see whether more fungi could grow. Yingbao focused her gaze on the bundle of wood, prying it open with her hands, eager to see if there were any more golden ear fungi, but remembered her father¡¯s calling. ¡°Baobao,e quickly, your cousin is here, we¡¯re going home.¡± Jiang Sang finally spotted his two nephews, so he immediately called his daughter to get in the back basket. ¡°Okay,¡± Yingbao responded, not forgetting the firewood she bought and gesturing to the raggedly dressed teenager, ¡°We¡¯re going home now, hurry up.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± the boy said without a word, he bent down and picked up the firewood. The journey from Chuanhe Town to Dongchen Vige was almost five or six miles, which was not easy with a load of firewood. By the time they finally arrived, the boy¡¯s face was glowing red from exhaustion, and his whole body was covered in sweat. While he was untangling the cord to unload the firewood, Yingbao asked, ¡°Where did you cut this firewood from?¡± The boy shot a wary nce her way, saw the child¡¯s innocent curiosity, paused, and replied, ¡°From Stone Tower Mountain.¡± ¡°Where is Stone Tower Mountain?¡± Yingbao continued to ask. The boy was silent for a moment, ¡°It¡¯s to the west of North Mountain.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Yingbao licked the candy in her hand, gave it some thought, and then pulled out two water chestnuts from her pocket and stuffed them into his hand, ¡°Here, eat this.¡± She noticed this boy wearing crude straw sandals with bare feet, his trousers in tatters, and too short, revealing a purple, frostbitten ankle. It reminded her of a man she met in her previous life, but that man had never been so downcast. She didn¡¯t know why she suddenly thought of him. She recalled that his name was Chuyan, an officer in the governor¡¯s mansion. Every time she encountered him, he was dressed in fine brocade, with an embroidered spring knife hanging at his waist. His eyes were as cold as unsheathed swords,plete devoid of any emotion. Yingbao had seen Chuyan draw out his embroidered spring knife, and with one stroke cut off a person¡¯s arm. His facial expression didn¡¯t change in the slightest, like he was simply chopping vegetables. And yet, such a ruthless man was willing to be used by her, and took great risks to help her escape the governor¡¯s mansion. There was something about the eyes and cheek dimple of the boy in front of her today that reminded her of him, especially that cautious nce from just now. The boy hesitated for a moment, took the water chestnuts, and murmured, ¡°Thank you.¡± Yingbao watched as the boy carried away his burden and disappeared into the distance, licking her candy repeatedly, her face expressionless. ¡°Yingbao, what are you standing there for?¡± Jiang Sang emerged from the kitchen and asked in curiosity upon seeing his daughter standing at the entrance of the yard. Yingbao snapped back to reality, smiling and said, ¡°I¡¯m looking for a ce to stack firewood.¡± The boy had brought the firewood into the yard and ced it next to the deer shed. Yingbao nned to spread it out and check each piece for any golden ear fungus on the dry twigs. Jiang Sang shook his head and decided not to bother about his daughter. He went back inside to sort out the items they¡¯d brought back. Most of the items in the back basket were little knick-knacks bought by Yingbao, and his own New Year purchases were quite pitiful. A strip of pork, a few bowls, a pair of chopsticks, a bag of coarse salt, two blocks of tofu, several talisman for the doors, and that was about it. Jiang Sang sighed, organized the things, then scooped out a tub of wheat, prepared to go to his eldest brother¡¯s ce to grind it into flour. They¡¯ll make dumplings on New Year¡¯s Eve the next day. After grinding the flour, he also needs to pound some rice to eat during the holiday. Meanwhile, Yingbao squatted beside the stack of firewood, inspecting it piece by piece, and found four branches with golden ear fungus on them. She was thrilled, took the wood, and ran to ask her father, ¡°Dad! Dad! Do you know what tree this is?¡± Only golden ear fungus growing on non-toxic trees could be eaten, and she needed to know what species of tree this wood was. Jiang Sang took it from her and looked at it carefully, then truthfully said, ¡°It¡¯s a mulberry tree.¡± ¡°Hehehe, I see.¡± Yingbao grabbed the branches back and ran off again. Jiang Sang shook his head, speechless. He then took a basin full of wheat and walked out the door.. Chapter 30 - 30: Planting the Golden Ear_l Chapter 30: nting the Golden Ear_l Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao carried several Mulberry sticks back to her room, disregarding her little brother, she immediately retreated to her cave abode. All the crops inside the cave were harvestedpletely, piled up in the corner, there were three huge mounds that still needed to be threshed. Whenever she had spare time, Yingbao would go into the cave to thresh, yet she didn¡¯t know when she could finish. If she had known earlier, she wouldn¡¯t have nted so many crops. Now she had work to do: turning over the soil, threshing crops. Despite all her efforts, she was just one little girl, too busy to handle everything. She soaked the Mulberry sticks in the pond for a while, then took them out and inserted them into the soil. She looked them over and smiled more and more. Gold grains¡­ In her past life, she had only seen them once in the Prefecture, contained in a gift box before a servant identally knocked them over. They scattered across the floor in a golden shimmer. She remembered the stern rebuke from the steward, ¡°Fool! Your life wouldn¡¯t even begin to cover the cost, the Prefecture does not need useless beings like you! Drag him away and beat him! If he dies, feed him to the dogs!¡± Afterward, the servant was dragged away, and several young girls squatted to pick up the gold grains from the floor. Back then, Yingbao was naive and fearless. Out of curiosity, she secretly took two grains she found in the grass. She thought to herself: these are the gold grains that Sister Wen mentioned ¨C they¡¯re pretty, golden just like gold. Sister Wen was an older girl she met when she was around ten at Wuchun Yard, who also taught her how to read. She heard that Wen¡¯s family was initially a medicine shop. However, after a nobleman was poisoned to death by their drugs, her family was ransacked. All the adult men in her family were sentenced to exile, while the children and women were sold as ves. Sister Wen said that she was only ten when she was sold off to Wuchun Yard and never saw her family again. When Yingbao first arrived at Wuchun Yard, she was incredibly stubborn but eventually suffered a lot. Wen, who was sixteen, often came to take care of her, brought her tasty foods and read her stories. Later, Yingbao learned that Wen was the best dancer in Wuchun Yard. She danced exceptionally well and was often invited to perform at various mansions to liven up the banquets of the wealthy families. Thus, she was able to bring back all kinds of refined pastries and delicious foods. Now, where was Sister Wen? Where was her family¡¯s medicine shop? She sighed, knowing that she should have asked more at that time. Based on her calctions, Sister Wen should be eight years old now, and it would be another two years until her family¡¯s medicine shop falls into disaster. She wondered if she would meet Sister Wen in this life. If possible, she would try to remind her. Leaving the cave, Yingbao began to organize the gifts she bought. The seven clever boards, Kongming lock and small dove car were for her little brother. Two colorful little horse heads, one for Yuanbao, and the other one for Huzi. Two pairs of silk flowers were for her two little cousins. The three pairs of woodenbs, she nned to give one pair to her mom, one pair to her aunt, and her grandmother would get a pair as well. As for this copper pipe, naturally, it was for her grandpa. On New Year¡¯s Eve. The meal for New Year¡¯s Eve was prepared at Uncle Jiang¡¯s house. Jiang Eng, bringing his son and daughter, Jiang Sang carrying his twin sons, Spring Maiden holding Yingbao¡¯s hand while carrying a basket of gifts, all arrived together for the New Year¡¯s Eve dinner. Yingbao handed out the gifts one by one, mumbling, ¡°Uncles and my dad, my elder and second elder brothers didn¡¯t get any gifts because all of you are already adults, no more toys for you.¡± Everyoneughed. Her uncles quickly waved their hands, ¡°It¡¯s okay, we don¡¯t y with toys.¡± Her elder and second elder cousins were dissatisfied and jokingly said, ¡°We are not married yet. How can we be considered adults? Yingbao, you¡¯re being biased.¡± Yingbao, without any embarrassment, said: ¡°Your marriages have already been discussed by Auntie.¡± Everyone burst intoughter. Old Man Jiang and his wife, Jiang Liu, received gifts from their grandchildren for the first time, their smiles were sorge they couldn¡¯t close their mouths. The olddy cradled Yingbao in her arms, repeatedly calling her a good girl and sweet granddaughter. She even took her to a room, secretly gave her a string of coins, whispering, ¡°Good Girl, keep this carefully. The New Year money given to you by your grandma is the most, don¡¯t let others see it.¡± Yingbao nodded with a smile, stuffing the money into her pocket. Yuanbao dashed in, his face watchful as he gazed at his grandmother, thinking she must have secretly given Yingbao some delicious treats and left him out. Jiang Liu poked his forehead, took out a few copper coins, ¡°Yuanbao,e, grandma has New Year¡¯s money for you too.¡± Yuanbao¡¯s face immediately lit up with a grin. Taking the money, he knelt down and kowtowed thrice to his grandmother. Seeing this, Yingbao also hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed to her grandmother, wishing her a happy new year in advance. Everyone happily feasted on the New Year¡¯s Eve dinner, distributed New Year¡¯s money to the children, and sent them off to bed. The men stayed upte to wee the New Year. Just before dawn, the three Jiang brothers reced the old charms with new ones on the main doors of each house. They lit bamboo in the courtyard to bid farewell to the old year and wee the new one. For a moment, the vige was filled with continuous sounds of bamboo explosions. Many houses also set off bamboo crackers. Yingbao had an uneasy sleep and a dream. In the dream, there was still that sea of fog, and that same book. Yingbao thought for a moment, then decided to open the book. She skipped the irrelevant parts, directly looking for mentions of Chen Ying or Yingbao. But there were none. She flipped through dozens of chapters, but her name didn¡¯t appear anywhere. The story revolved around Chen Tiantian and her second sister, Chen Zhao, with a detailed portrayal of their rivalry and scheming. Atst, Yingbao found the chapter where Chen Changping passed as a schr. Chen Changping expresses to his wife, Han Family, his fear of not being physically able to make it to the rural examination and his intention of leveraging connections for a government position. He asks her to seek her brother-inw¡¯s help. Han Familyplies and finds her brother-inw, Chen Guanglu. Chen Guanglu taps on his chest confidently, saying it¡¯s not an issue. He assures that as long as the superiors are properly appeased and their preferences catered to, a position for the brother-inw at the County Government would be no problem¡­ As soon as she reached this point, the pages of the book turned into paper butterflies and dissipated. Yingbao: .. Alright, she knew this would happen. Actually, it didn¡¯t matter if she read the book or not, since she had already experienced the event in her past life. She was given away by her parents in the hope of acquiring a governmental position. After waking up early, Yingbao¡¯s first task was to visit the Golden Ear in the cave dwelling. The withered Golden Ear seemed to have freshened up a bit, but she couldn¡¯t tell if it was because of soaking in the pond. She will have to wait and revisit thister. For now, she should return to digging the soil and nt some more crops. And about the three piles of wheat, rice, and soybeans, they will have to be dealt withter. After eating some Five Ding Ganoderma, Yingbao spent a good while in the cave before going out to wash up. She was to visit her elder uncle¡¯s house this morning. And tomorrow morning, she will apany her mother to visit her maternal grandmother. She was a little bit busy, indeed. After washing up, she heard her mother call, ¡°Baobao,e over and put on your new clothes. We¡¯re going to your grandfather and grandmother¡¯s house to wish them a happy new year.¡± Spring Maiden had made a new cotton suit for her little daughter. The neckline was lined with a round of soft rabbit tail fur, which was warm, and didn¡¯t rub against the neck. Yingbao happily ran over, changed into her new red cotton suit embroidered with bat patterns, a pair of new green cotton trousers, and a pair of colorful tiger-headed cotton shoes. Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t have much hair on her head to wear any floral headpieces. She only managed to tie two little tufts on top of her head with a red string. Luckily, she had a tiger-head hat, so no one would be able to see her sparse braids as long as she was wearing the hat.. Chapter 31 - 31: Valuable 1 Chapter 31: Valuable 1 Trantor: 549690339 Once everything was tidied up, Yingbao went with her parents and younger brother to wish her grandparents a happy New Year. On the way, they saw two children hopping along on bamboo poles. The ends of the bamboo poles each had colored paper horse heads attached, which were the two horse heads Yingbao had given Yuanbao and Huzi. ¡°Ha ha! Drive! Drive! Charge!¡± Yuanbao, leading Huzi, raced away, attracting the attention of the nearby children who all followed. Within the vige, a few other children also had simr horse heads, so they all arrogantly lined up andpeted to see who could run the fastest. Those children without horse heads could only ride in poles and followed at the end, looking lonely and rather unimpressive. Seeing this made Yingbao want tough, and a sudden desire to try it came over her. However, this was a boys¡¯ game, and girls were not only unused to it, but were also not allowed to y. Upon arriving at her eldest uncle¡¯s house, they first bowed and wished their grandparents a happy New Year, then bowed to her eldest uncle and his wife. Later, when her second uncle arrived, they bowed to him as well, afterwards they bowed to their parents again. After all thismotion, Yingbao felt quite dizzy from all the bowing. Dani and the second girl didn¡¯t get much rest either as they spent their time bowing as well. After the New Year¡¯s greetings, the eldest aunt started to prepare dumplings and rice cakes. The dumplings were stuffed with shepherd¡¯s purse and pork, they were absolutely delicious. Yingbao, being a small child, could only eat seven before she felt too full to continue, despite wishing she could eat more. The rice cakes were made from glutinous rice and red beans, with honey added inside. Sweet and sticky, they were delicious. Yingbao took a piece of the red bean rice cake in her hand and went out to y with Sister Dani. There were few games that girls could y. Most of the time they stood on the sidelines watching boys zoom back and forth, riding their bamboo poles, dividing into two teams, ying war games. Yingbao lost interest after a while and suggested going home to sleep. There was still a lot of work to be done in her cave, and she couldn¡¯t settle down. So she bid goodbye to her cousin and went back home, climbing onto the ¡®kang¡¯ bed and burrowing into the quilt. The first day of the New Year was a leisurely and jovial one. Other than eating and drinking, the vigers spend their time visiting each other to exchange New Year¡¯s greetings. Only Yingbao had a hard time, as she was busy working in her cave the whole day, rubbing both of her palms raw. Sigh, she decided they must not nt so much grain next time. Relying on just one small person to do the work, and not allowing anyone to help, she was going to work herself to death. The next day, Yingbao went with her parents to her grandmother¡¯s house ten miles away to celebrate the New Year. They had lunch there and had to rush back in the afternoon. In the evening, they met her aunt who had returned from the county town and collected a silk flower. Yingbao¡¯s aunt was in her thirties, sallow-faced, and not very well. This time she returned to her mother¡¯s home with only her youngest son, who was about the same age as Yuanbao. Yingbao wasn¡¯t familiar with her aunt¡¯s family. In her previous life, it seemed she had only met her once, and even after she herself moved to the county town, she never thought of looking for her aunt. Busy as she was, the first lunar month passed by. The spring rain kept drizzling for several days in the second month of the lunar year, known as Dragon¡¯s Head Raising month. Before they knew it, the snow and ice had melted and the weather was starting to warm up. In Yingbao¡¯s cave, the five mulberry trunks had grown over a dozen adult¡¯s palm-sized golden ears. They looked like golden pig¡¯s brains, very beautiful and pleasing. She carefully cut off one, put it in a pottery bowl, and split the root part into several sections to nt on a dozen or so dried mulberry trunks. Before nting, she had drilled holes in the trunks with scissors and filled them with finely chopped wheat stalks and rice husks. Afterwards, she watered them once a day, waiting patiently for them to sprout and grow again. One day, Yingbao took Youyou, Dani and the second girl to pick wild veggies in a deserted field. They went into a small woods. While her two cousins weren¡¯t paying attention, she took two golden ears from her cave and put them in her basket. ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± Dani stood up straight, holding the basket, ¡°I¡¯ve already picked half a basket.¡± Yingbao immediately nodded: ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡± The second girl also agreed. The three little sisters each carried their baskets and walked back. When they passed a small ditch, Dani dipped the baskets into the water to rinse the veggies. After washing, the veggies were tender and lush, and when cooked back home with soybean dregs, they were delicious and filling. This is the lifesaving meal for poor families during food shortages in the transition from winter to spring. Vigers usually pick the veggies after the first spring rain, wash them clean and then dry them. They collect them in baskets, hanging them from the rafters as emergency food storage. asionally, they would grab a handful, soak it in water and cook it with wild vegetables, which was enough for a meal or two. Dani took Yingbao¡¯s basket intending to help wash the veggies, but was surprised to find two strange mushrooms. Curiously, she asked, ¡°Yingbao, what are these?¡± ¡®Golden Ear.¡± Yingbao answered truthfully. Dani was curious, ¡°What is this Golden Ear? Where did you find it? Is it poisonous?¡± Yingbao shook her head, ¡°I found it in the forest. It¡¯s not poisonous. Youyou loves to eat it, we can eat it too.¡± Youyou turned her head and blinked innocently. Dani picked up the Golden Ear and sniffed it, ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s kind of fragrant.¡± The Golden Ear had a faint medicinal scent, simr to osmanthus flowers. Dani also took it and sniffed, but she wrinkled her nose and put it back, ¡°It doesn¡¯t smell good.¡± She didn¡¯t like the fragrance. Yingbao held the two Golden Ears in her dress, and wagged her head, ¡°This is a medicinal herb, it¡¯s worth a lot of money.¡± The two young girls neither agreed nor disagreed, washed the vegetables, and returned home with their younger cousin. Once home, Yingbao handed the two Golden Ears to their mother, ¡®Mom, can we cook this?¡± Their mother looked at it and frowned, ¡°What is this? Who told you it was edible? Baobao, if you eat something you don¡¯t recognize, you might get poisoned. We mustn¡¯t eat recklessly.¡± Yingbao paused and made up a story, ¡°This is Golden Ear. An old woman in West Vige said it¡¯s very valuable. It can sell for dozens of taels of silver per box in the city.¡± ¡°What?¡± Upon hearing the word valuable, their mother¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°Which old woman in West Vige?¡± Yingbao scratched her head, ¡°I don¡¯t know her name.¡± Their mother automatically assumed it was the old woman whose son worked as a medicine clerk in the county, the grandmother of the midwife Aunt Wu from West Vige. If it was true what Wu¡¯s grandmother had said, then it¡¯s highly usible. After all, her deceased husband had worked as a clerk in a medicine shop in town, and they had initially be wealthy by collecting and selling medicinal herbs. And her son even had some understanding of Traditional Medicine Techniques, and her daughter-inw was a well-known midwife in the vige. Their mother looked at the Golden Ears again, and wondered to herself, ¡°Could it really be worth that much?¡± They were in need of money at home. Thest time when Jiang Eng divorced, the fifteen taels of silver were borrowed from Jiang Da and Sang, with some help from their parents. They even had to sell two of their sheep for it. Only two months had passed. Jiang Eng had stopped taking medicine, but he was nowhere near able to repay the debts. Moreover, Sang had said that there was no rush, they could repay the money whenever they were able to. So, their mother was poor, so poor that she couldn¡¯t evene up with thirty coins. But she couldn¡¯t tell her daughter about their difficulties. ¡°Mom, why don¡¯t we let dad take it to the medicine shop in town to see if it¡¯s worth anything?¡± Yingbao suggested. Their mother was considering the idea. Indeed, she should have her husband take it to the medicine shop for appraisal. What if it was really valuable? ¡°But, there are only two¡­¡± Their mother was hesitant. Yingbao knew what her mother was worried about, and whispered, ¡°I can find a lot more.¡± She gestured with her tiny hands, ¡°This much.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Their mother¡¯s eyes sparkled, ¡°Well then, let me go with you to have a look. ¡± Yingbao shook her head, ¡°No need, I will go get them now.¡± With that, she ran out of the courtyard, dashed into the small forest by the entrance, and returned a momentter with two branches covered in Golden Ears. She handed them to her mother. Their mother was astounded. The two dark branches were covered with more than a dozen brilliant yellow Golden Ears, eachrger than a fist, and incredibly beautiful. ¡°¡­ ¡± Their mother carefully held the branches, cautious not to damage any of the Golden Ears. ¡°When your dad gets back, let him take these to Granny Wu in West Vige to see if they truly are as valuable as we think.¡± Yingbao: .. Has one ever heard of the saying, shooting oneself in the foot? ¡°No! Let¡¯s go to town instead, doctor Lee certainly knows more than olddy Wii. Their mother thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.. Chapter 32 - 32: Guiding Out of Misery_1 Chapter 32: Guiding Out of Misery_1 Trantor: 549690339 Chunniang then chopped a golden ear fungus into pieces and stewed it. After it had been stewed, she first fed some to a chicken to observe for half a day. Seeing that the chicken showed no abnormalities, she decided to taste some herself. Yingbao actually didn¡¯t want her mother to taste it. After all, her mother was still breastfeeding, and it would be disastrous if her milk supply were affected in any way. But Chunniang insisted on tasting it herself. She drank a small half bowl and, after waiting for a while and feeling no difort, she finally allowed her daughter to eat. Yingbao took a sip. The golden ear soup was soft, glutinous, and slightly viscous. It carried the scent of osmanthus, and it would have been even better with a touch of honey. ¡°It¡¯s delicious.¡± Yingbao devoured half a bowl in one breath, then licked her lips and said, ¡°Let¡¯s have dad take it into town to the pharmacy tomorrow. If that doesn¡¯t work, we¡¯ll take it into the county.¡± She was certain that this was the golden ear. The texture and appearance were all as Wen Jiejie had described and the taste was simr as well. A member of Wen Jiejie¡¯s family used to work at the Imperial Medical Bureau, reputedly serving the royal family and nobility. Later, as he grew older, he returned home to retire. Thus, the men in the Wen Family tended to study medicine and operate pharmacies, holding renowned reputations in various ces. Under the influence from a young age, Wen Jiejie not only understands medicine but also knows how to differentiate herbs. She would often share her Imowledge with Yingbao, who loved to hear these stories. ¡°Mmm.¡± Chunniang replied with a smile, ¡°Let¡¯s wait for your dad toe home, then I¡¯ll talk to him.¡± In the evening, Jiang Sang came home barefoot from the fields, rinsed his feet after dropping his plowing tool, put on the cloth shoes his daughter brought him, and then sat down to have dinner. Seeing a bowl of golden slop on the table, he curiously asked, ¡°What kind of porridge is this?¡± Chunniang grinned and replied, ¡°It¡¯s the golden ear that Baobao picked. Try some to see if it¡¯s good.¡± Jiang Sang lifted the bowl and had arge gulp, smacking his lips andmenting, ¡°The taste is pretty good. It¡¯s smooth and warm inside.¡± Chunniang grinned again and remarked, ¡°This stuff is worth a lot of money. Granny from West Vige said that the pharmacies in the county are selling it for dozens of coins a box.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Jiang Sang¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°For real? Which granny from West Vige said that?¡± Yingbao, who was listening to the side: . So as the saying goes, one lie requires countless others to support it. The next day, Jiang Sang took a mulberry stickden with golden ear fungus to the town and showed it to Doctor Li. Doctor Li sniffed it and appeared surprised, ¡°This indeed looks like golden ear, a top-quality nourishing delicacy.¡± He lifted his aged eyes and asked, ¡°Did your Eng ever eat this?¡± He had been wondering how Jiang Eng¡¯s lung disease was cured. Jiang Sang was taken aback and hastily shook his head, ¡°No, this¡­this is something I recently found. I cooked a bit of itst night to taste and thought it tasted good, and heard this¡­could be sold for money. So, I brought it here for you to check if it¡¯s true.¡± Doctor Li stroked his beard and nodded, ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s golden ear. However, this is the first time that I¡¯ve seen it fresh. I never knew that such a precious herb could be found in a small ce like ours. However, if you¡¯re nning to sell it, you must dry it first.¡± Upon hearing this, Jiang Sang was somewhat disappointed. As he was about to take the mulberry stick back, he heard Doctor Li say, ¡°If the fresh golden ear is still attached to the tree stick, it might not spoil within a day or two. You might as well take it to the county town to have a look.¡± Chuanhe Town was too small and its purchasing power was limited. Even though the golden ear was a rare herb, it couldn¡¯t be sold. If it were dried, however, he might consider buying some. Jiang Sang, deliberating for a moment, quickly thanked him, ¡°Thank you, Doctor, for showing the way.¡± He cut tworge golden ear fungi from the stick with a small knife and gave them to Doctor Li. Doctor Li chuckled, ¡°This thing is precious and I can¡¯t take it just like that. Let me share a quick method of drying herbs with you. You can try it at home and see if it works with the golden ear.¡± Jiang Sang was delighted, ¡°That would be great.¡± He deeply thanked Doctor Li, ¡°Thank you for your instruction.¡± Doctor Li smiled and did not withhold any information. He told Jiang Sang how to dry the golden ears. ¡°When I was young, my master once taught me how to dry Xue¡¯er. I suppose the methods should be simr to drying golden ears. ¡°. ¡°First, clean the Xue¡¯er and dry them on a bamboo tray. Don¡¯t let them bunch up. Sun-dry them for three to four days until they arepletely dried.¡± Doctor Li took out a whole Xue¡¯er to show to Jiang Eng, ¡°It should be dried like this.¡± He pointed to the root of the Xue¡¯er, ¡°You must remove all the stems from the back, otherwise they won¡¯t dry properly, and will easily turn ck and moldy.¡± Jiang Eng nodded continuously. ¡°There¡¯s also another method, which is to build a kiln in the yard, withpartments.¡± Doctor Li picked up a pen and roughly sketched it on a paper. ¡°Like this, put the Xue¡¯er into the kiln¡¯spartment, gently heat it overnight and you can quickly dry it. But the temperature shouldn¡¯t go too high or too low, it should be about double the temperature during the hottest days of summer¡­¡± Jiang Eng listened carefully to Doctor Li¡¯s exnation and even took the sketch for further study. Aftering out of the pharmacy, he went straight home and told Chunniang everything Doctor Li had said. ¡°Doctor Li also said that if we can find more Xue¡¯er, and if the appearance is decent after drying, he will buy it for ten coins per jin.¡± ¡°Oh my, really?¡± Chunniang was ecstatic. She immediately turned to her daughter and asked, ¡°Baobao, where did you find it? Tomorrow, your mother wille with you to find more.¡± Yingbao: ¡°In the forest, but there probably isn¡¯t any left there.¡± Chunniang was slightly disappointed. She then heard her daughter continue, ¡°But we can cultivate it.¡± Yingbao pointed at the Xue¡¯er on the mulberry trees and said, ¡®We can propagate from these, we just need to get some dry mulberry sticks, make a few holes in them and nt the Xue¡¯er roots in.¡± ¡°Ah? We can do that?¡± Not just Chunniang, even Jiang Eng was astonished by his daughter¡¯s suggestion. They haven¡¯t ever grown mushrooms, let alone Xue¡¯er. ¡°Is this really doable?¡± Chunniang asked. Without waiting for his daughter¡¯s response, Jiang Eng said decisively, ¡°It should be. Let¡¯s follow our daughter¡¯s advice and give it a go.¡± In fact, whether it was feasible or not, Jiang Eng wanted to give it a try. Dried Xue¡¯er sells for ten coins per jin, this was a great opportunity, how could they just let it slip through their fingers. Jiang Eng immediately went up the mountain, collected some dried mulberry woods and brought them back. Following his daughter¡¯s instructions, he got some rice husks and wood chips, put them into a stone mortar, and ground them into fine bits. He then hollowed out the mulberry woods and filled them with these bits, before pouring water over it. They then divided the Xue¡¯er roots into multiple parts and nted them into these holes filled with bits. After nting the Xue¡¯er, they watered the woods and ced them in a newly built bamboo shelter to wait for the fungi to emerge. Of course, Yingbao would sprinkle the woods daily with pond water from their residence to keep it moist. After about ten days, tiny Xue¡¯er sprouted from the mulberry wood, showing promising growth. In the meantime, Jiang Eng had also built a drying kiln in the yard, the kind withpartments. After a few tries, he finally got the temperature right and sessfully dried seventeen Xue¡¯er. Though not perfect, their first batch of dried Xue¡¯er was good enough, and the color was also eptable. Jiang Eng was overjoyed and immediately showed them to Doctor Li. Doctor Li was quite surprised that Jiang Eng had sessfully dried Xue¡¯er in just over ten days. He weighed the dozen or so dried Xue¡¯er, they came to four taels and eight qian. ording to the initial quote of ten coins per jin, four taels and eight qian is four coins and eight hundred coin pieces. Doctor Li handed the money to Jiang Eng and chucklingly said, ¡°Jiang Eng, if you have more, you can sell them together to this old man..¡± Chapter 33 - 33: Xue’er 1 Chapter 33: Xue¡¯er 1 Trantor: 549690339 Jiang Sang quickly agreed. He happily carried the copper coins back home. He gave five hundred coins to his little daughter, took fifteen hundred for himself, and gave the rest to his wife. He took the copper coins to his eldest brother¡¯s house, called over his two nephews, and gave each of them one hundred coins. He gave five hundred coins each to his eldest and second brothers. Because when he was building the bamboo sheds and drying kilns, they had alle to help. He also generously gave three hundred coins to his parents, then merrily said, ¡°Yingbao found some golden ear mushrooms in the forest. I sold them today and got more than four coins.¡± ¡°More than four coins?¡± Jiang Dng was surprised. ¡°Are these golden ears made of gold? Howe they are so valuable?¡± Jiang Sangughed, ¡°They are even more valuable than gold.¡± He then said to his two older brothers, ¡°I have grown another batch that is just starting to sprout. Once they mature, I will share some golden ear seeds with you guys. You can also try growing them.¡± Jiang Dng and Eng Jiang readily agreed. Jiang Eng felt awkward epting money from his younger brother and tried to refuse it: ¡°I still owe you three coins, it¡¯s not right for me to take these five hundred.¡¯ Jiang Sangughed, ¡°You take it first, Eng. Repay me when you make some moneyter.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Jiang Eng took the money with a sigh. After his wife divorced him, he and his two kids have been having a tough time. Even so, he doesn¡¯t regret it. He determines to make a lot of money in the future so that his children and himself can live a good life, without making a joke of himself in front of others. But making money is certainly not easy. He was busy with farm work recently, didn¡¯t even have time to look for jobs outside, and didn¡¯t even have ten coins on hand. If it weren¡¯t for his eldest brother and sister-inw, who invited his family in to eat every day, he probably wouldn¡¯t have had enough to make two meals a day. Ah, if only the golden ears could keep selling at a high price, he would then be able to see a future for himself. If he followed his younger brother and nted a few, wouldn¡¯t he have an easier time making money? Thinking of it, he asked to see how his younger brother cultivated golden ears. Jiang Sang was happy to, taking his elder brothers and their father to his yard. Jiang Sang¡¯s yard is now unusually cramped, having not just chicken and deer sheds, but also a bamboo shed and a y kiln that¡¯s two people high. In the bamboo shed, there¡¯s a wooden rack with twoyers, and eachyer has ten dried mulberry trunks. The upturned mulberry trunks each had about ten holes in them, filled with rice husks and wood chips, then the golden ear seeds were sown. The golden ears had already sprouted, specks of golden yellow, which was very lovely. ¡°If all of these grow, how much could we sell them for?¡± Jiang Dng marvelled. He counted and found twenty dried mulberry trunks. If each mulberry trunk produced ten golden ears, that would be two hundred golden ears. Two hundred golden ears, how much could they sell for after drying? Dng Jiang¡¯s heart was fluttering. He hade by when his little brother was drying the golden ears, but he didn¡¯t take it seriously back then. After all, no one had ever seen this before, and nobody knew if they were really worth anything. But now that his little brother had sold them at a high price, and made more than four coins at once, how could he not envy him until he was breathless? Just tens of dried golden ears sold for so much, how much would these more than two hundred golden ears sell for? Ah, he didn¡¯t dare to even think about it. Jiang Dng turned his head and asked his little brother: ¡°Sandan, where did you find the golden ear seeds? Why don¡¯t we go look for some too and try growing them with you?¡± He couldn¡¯t wait any longer, he needed to go into the mountains to find golden ears now. Jiang Sang scratched his head, ¡°This is what Yingbao found, let me go ask her. ¡± As a result, Yingbao, who just returned from herding the deer, was warmly surrounded by her two uncles. They eagerly asked her where she found the golden ears. Yingbao blinked, ¡°I found them in the woods over there, but there isn¡¯t any left. Maybe we can go look in the North Mountain¡¯s Stone Tower Mountain.¡± She still remembered the raggedy young boy saying, that the firewood he carried had been chopped from Stone Tower Mountain in North Mountain. ¡°Good! Let¡¯s go to the North Mountain and find it.¡± Jiang Dng pped his thigh, excited. There were many woods and mulberry trees on North Mountain, maybe they would indeed find what they were looking for there. The next day, Jiang Sang carried his granddaughter, leading his older and younger brothers, along with their two nephews, into the mountain. Just in case, they all carried bows, arrows, ropes, machetes, and backpacks. North Mountain was abundant with fruit trees, which were blooming beautifully in the early spring of the third lunar month with peaches, pears, apricots allpeting with each other in splendor. This reminded Yingbao of the fruit seedlings in the cave. She had to think of a way to nt them on the South Mountain as soon as possible. They walked, stopped, and ran over several hills, and inspected countless trees. They didn¡¯t find the golden auricria, but they unexpectedly discovered some white wood ears, as big as a chicken egg. Yingbao was thrilled. She didn¡¯t let her father and others touch them, only allowing them to cut down this dead mulberry tree and carry it home. Since it was dead wood, Jiang Sang didn¡¯t hesitate and, along with his brothers, cut down the thick tree. ¡°I don¡¯t know who owns thisnd; nobody seems toe and take care of it.¡± Jiang Dng murmured, looking around and urging his brothers to leave quickly. ¡°We should not let anyone see us. Let¡¯s go.¡± He was worried that the owner of this ce would find out that he and his brothers had secretly cut down their trees. If they were caught, it would be a disaster and could lead to a serious fight. Jiang Eng stood on a high slope and looked around for a while, then said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this piece ofnd should be public property now. No one wille and bother us.¡± ording to thew of the Great Qian Dynasty, after andowner dies, his allocation ofnd must be returned to the Imperial Court untilter it can be redistributed to other adult men. Therefore, either the owner of thisnd was dead, or the entire family had abandoned the ce and migrated. Upon hearing this, Jiang Dalong cheered up and promptly ordered his sons, ¡°Hurry up and look around to see if there are any more white aurics.¡± This was the first time he had seen this kind of thing. He had heard that it was called a white auric from his niece and brother, and that it was worth a lot of money. Doctor Li¡¯s pharmacy even sold it, so he hurriedly asked his sons to look around for more. Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan agreed and set about looking separately. They found another mulberry tree with white aurics nearby. The aurics on this tree were small, just bigger than a fingernail. However, they were plentiful, with many clusters growing. So, Yingbao asked her father and others to cut down the entire tree and take it away. By the evening, the Jiang family came back to the vige carrying two sections of dead trees. Although the vigers were curious as to why they brought home an entire dead tree, no one asked about it. After all, everyone had needed firewood at some point, and carrying firewood back from North Mountain was an everyday urrence. These two sections of the tree were taken to Jiang Sang¡¯s yard, where the three brothers cut off the ends and left only the middle, leaning them against the bamboo shed. That night, Yingbao stealthily sprinkled the pond water from the cave onto the white wood ears on these two dead trees, and also onto the golden aurics, then went back to the room to rest. The next day, she saw that the white wood ears had not only survived, but even grown a bitrger. Yingbao was delighted. Saying it, she would soon have white wood ear spores, and afterwards, she wanted to take some into the cave and cultivate them there. More than twenty days passed in a blink of an eye. The golden aurics in Jiang Sang¡¯s bamboo shed were finally ready to be harvested. The white wood ears on those two sections of mulberry trees had also grown. They were crystal-clear and even prettier than the golden aurics. However, the white wood ears were somewhat scattered, not as well-shaped as the golden aurics. He and his wife washed their hands and carefully harvested them with a newly purchased thin knife. Then they removed all of the golden aurics¡¯ roots, carefully ced them on a bamboo tray, some exposed to the sun, and others baked in a kiln. The white wood ears were also harvested, scattered on the bamboo tray, and pushed into the oven along with some golden aurics. The weather was exceptionally clear these few days, and in only five days, more than a hundred golden aurics had dried nicely. Jiang Sang picked up one andpared it with those he had baked himself,menting, ¡°The ones from the oven are drier, but the color isn¡¯t as good as the ones dried in the sun.¡± His wife felt that the baked ones looked better, but this method was too troublesome and tiresome. Because somebody had to attend to the kiln all night, adding and reducing the firewood constantly to maintain the right temperature. These few days, her husband had lost quite a bit of weight because of it.. Chapter 34 - 34: Entering the County City_1 Chapter 34: Entering the County City_1 Trantor: 549690339 It was the beginning of summer in April, when the fragrance of pagoda tree flowers filled the air. Doctor Li was teaching his grandson how to recognize herbs at their pharmacy when Jiang Sang walked in, carrying a basket on his back. Jiang Sang bowed to Doctor Li, ¡°Elder Li, I¡¯ve baked some more Auricria mushrooms, would you like to take a look and see if you can buy any?¡± Upon hearing this, Doctor Li¡¯s face brightened and he stroked his beard, ¡°Let¡¯s have a look.¡± Jiang Sang ced his basket on the counter and opened the hemp cloth covering it. The basket was full of vibrant golden mushrooms, each resembling a small yellow embroidered ball, they were a feast for the eyes. Surprised, Doctor Li looked up at Jiang Sang, ¡°Where on earth did you find so many Auricria mushrooms?¡± Jiang Sang scratched his head, embarrassed, ¡°They are not found, they were grown by us.¡± ¡°No wonder.¡± Doctor Li eximed, ¡°No wonder they¡¯re all uniform in size and pure in color.¡± He picked up a mushroom and felt it. It was dry and when squeezed it, the mushroom made a cracking sound as if it would shatter into pieces any minute. ¡°You¡¯ve put in quite some work, Sang.¡± Doctor Li smiled, ¡°The quality is good, if stored properly, it won¡¯t spoil for a year.¡± After taking another glimpse at the mushrooms in the basket, he muttered, ¡°We¡¯ll need to find something to seal them up.¡± He turned to his grandson and instructed him to fetch two bamboo baskets to store the mushrooms. The mushrooms shouldn¡¯t be subjected to pressure to prevent them from breaking. His grandson dashed off towards the back hall. Doctor Li took out his scales and began weighing the mushrooms. ¡°Three catties in total.¡± Doctor Li said, ¡°Based on a rate of ten coins per catty, I owe you thirty coins. Sang, would you like the payment in copper or silver ingots?¡± Although Jiang Sang already knew how much money his mushrooms would fetch, he still felt dizzy when he heard the sum again. Good heavens, thirty coins, it equates to thirty thousand copper coins, it would require a big basket to hold this amount. However, they still had a substantial amount of copper at home, more than enough for their expenses for half a year. It would be more convenient to take the silver ingots for easier storage. ¡°Silver ingots, I¡¯d prefer silver ingots, they¡¯re easy to carry.¡± He replied with a grin. Doctor Liughed too, ordering his grandson to ce the mushrooms, while he went to the backyard to fetch the silver. This time he brought out six silver ingots, each weighing five taels, and disyed them shiningly before Jiang Sang. This was the first time Jiang Sang had seen so many silver ingots. He couldn¡¯t help but chuckle as he stashed each of them in his waist pouch. After slinging on his now empty basket, he asked, ¡°Old Uncle Li, I have some more mushrooms at home, do you still need more?¡± On hearing the words, Doctor Li was taken aback, ¡°What? You have more?¡± ¡°Yeah, we nted quite a lot. The ones I brought today only ount for forty percent.¡± Jiang Sang replied. It was now Doctor Li¡¯s turn to scratch his head. In embarrassment, he said, ¡°To tell you the truth, Sang, I can only store as much. After all, the main consumption of these mushrooms is in the autumn and winter seasons. At present, I can only purchase this many. If you have any more, I don¡¯t have the avable cash for payment. You can try selling it to therger pharmacy in the county town.¡± Jiang Sang paused, and then bowed to Doctor Li, ¡°Understood. Thank you, Old Uncle Li for your advice.¡± When he returned home, Jiang Sang was in low spirits. Although he had earned another thirty taels of silver, the majority of the mushrooms still remained unsold. Besides, his elder brothers were eagerly anticipating the opportunity to grow mushrooms with him in order to get rich. But now Doctor Li was not buying anymore. If they couldn¡¯t sell the mushrooms, his brothers would be sorely disappointed. Noticing her husband¡¯s somber expression, Chunniang quickly inquired, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Jiang Sang ryed Doctor Li¡¯s words, sighing, ¡°Doctor Li¡¯s pharmacy can¡¯t buy any more Auricria mushrooms, it appears I will have to make a trip to the county tomorrow instead.¡± Upon hearing, his daughter Yingbao immediately lit up, and promptly raised her hand, ¡°Dad, I want to go too! I want to go to the county town!¡± Jiang Sang looked at his eager little daughter and couldn¡¯t help butugh, ¡°What for?¡± ¡°To sell the Auricria mushrooms, can you take me, Dad?¡± Yingbao sweetly pleaded, tugging at her father¡¯s sleeve. ¡°All right, all right. I¡¯ll take you.¡± Jiang Sang picked up his daughter, and said to his wife, ¡°I am going to the front yard to discuss with my brothers. Let¡¯s see if they are avable tomorrow. It¡¯s safer for us brothers to travel together.¡± If they could sessfully sell the mushrooms in the county town, a considerable sum of silver would being in. If they encountered bandits on their way home, it would not bode well, so it was necessary to travel with several adult men. Moreover, if they were nning to involve their brothers in growing mushrooms, they needed to find a merchant who couldmit to steady purchases. Otherwise, all their collective efforts would be in vain. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea, you should go.¡± Chunniang looked worriedly at her little daughter, ¡°But¡­are you really taking Bao with you? The road is not safe.¡± Before her father could answer, Yingbao preemptively responded insisting, ¡°I want to go! Dad has already agreed to take Baobao.¡± Chunniang red at her little daughter, ¡°Naughty girl, don¡¯t you care about your baby brother?¡± ¡°I want a brother, when Baobaoes back from the county town, I will bring something tasty for my brother and for Mother.¡± Her baby brothers were seven months old now, they could have some food to chew and grind their teeth. She nned to buy milk cakes from the best pastry shop in the county town for her baby brothers. Chunniang:¡­ Jiang Sangughed, ¡°Just let her go. When the timees, we¡¯ll also bring along Dacheng to carry Bao.¡± Yingbao¡¯s eyes squinted in a happy smile as she nodded her head repeatedly, ¡°Mother, don¡¯t worry, Baobao won¡¯t be wild. Baobao will be helpful.¡± Not knowing what else to say, Chunniang poked her daughter¡¯s forehead, ¡°You had better behave then. No running around. The county town is dangerous, with bad people who steal children, particrly babies like you.¡± ¡°Uh-huh, Baobao won¡¯t run around.¡± The next day, Jiang Sang borrowed a cart from the vige head¡¯s family. Carrying two baskets of Auricria mushrooms, he and his three brothers set off for the county town. Of course, Yingbao and her eldest cousin, Brother Jiang Cheng were also aboard the cart. They started at dawn, and with intermittent stops along the way, they reached the city gates only by noon. The guards required them to pay a five-coin transport tax before letting them in. Once they entered the city, they drove around aimlessly in their cart, mainly in search of a pharmacy that would buy their mushrooms. Having lived in the county town for several years in her previous life, Yingbao was very familiar with theyout of the town. She directed her father to drive the cart, turning right and left, and eventually entering a bustling street. The street was lined with various shops, colorful gs fluttered and various people wereing and going in great numbers. Yingbao pointed at a shop, ¡°Dad, that¡¯s a pharmacy over there.¡± In her previous life, she and her brother had visited this pharmacy and purchased medicine. The doctor was skilled and the shopkeeper was trustworthy. But she didn¡¯t know if it was still the same now, just like her past life. Jiang Sang looked up and saw that it indeed was a pharmacy. ¡°Jiukang Pharmacy.¡± The name alone suggested that it was an old, established pharmacy. ¡°Elder brothers, let¡¯s go have a look.¡± Jiang Sang invited his two older brothers, ¡°We should take one basket of mushrooms first, leaving the rest in the cart. I¡¯ll leave Dacheng to watch the cart.¡¯ Jiang Dage and Jiang Eng agreed. They jumped off the cart and tidied up their clothes, wiping off the dust from their shoes, before following their younger brother into the Jiukang Pharmacy. Yingbao was held by her father-inw, her eyes rolling around incessantly. From the looks of it, Jiukang Pharmacy seemed small, with fewer medicinal cabs than she remembered. But the Jiukang Pharmacy she remembered was from more than ten years into the future, you couldn¡¯tpare the two. Upon entering the shop, Jiang Sang handed his daughter to Eng while proceeding to approach a young pharmacy attendant who was preparing the herbs, ¡°Excuse me, is your shopkeeper avable?¡± Chapter 35 - 35: Jiukang Pharmacy_l Chapter 35: Jiukang Pharmacy_l Trantor: 549690339 The attendant was polite as he saluted Jiang Sang, ¡°What business does the guest have with our shopkeeper?¡± Jiang Sang was forthright: ¡°I have some auricria at home, I was wondering if your pharmacy would purchase them?¡± The attendant was taken aback, inspected the group, and said: ¡°That will need to depend on the quality. If the quality is decent, we will certainly purchase.¡± Jiang Sang quickly brought over his basket and ced it on the counter, ¡°Please take a look at this.¡± The attendant picked up one and examined it thoroughly, sniffing it, and pinching it. Without giving a clear response, he said to Jiang Sang, ¡°Please wait, I will fetch the shopkeeper.¡± The attendant then instructed the nearby boy to take over and he himself turned and left for the inner hall. Shortly after, a fortysomething bearded middle-aged man followed the attendant out, his demeanor haughty as he casually scanned Jiang Sang and his brothers. ¡°You all are selling auricria?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Jiang Sang responded, saluting. The shopkeeper came over, picked up an auricria, and said after a nce, ¡°For auricria of this quality, it¡¯s one tael of silver per jin at our store.¡± ¡°What?¡± Jiang Sang was taken aback, hisplexion turning a bit unsightly. Doctor Li paid ten taels of silver per jin, and yet this pharmacy was only offering one. Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng exchanged nces but did not look too disappointed. They knew that one jin of rice was only three coins and mutton was just eighteen coins per jin. To be able to sell one jin of small auricria for one tael of silver, which was equivalent to one thousand coins, was also quite a sum and was tantamount to several months of ie for a farming household. But didn¡¯t the third brother say it was ten taels per jin? Why such a big difference? Jiang Dng wondered. Although irritated internally, Jiang Sang didn¡¯t re up, he only reminded, ¡°Shopkeeper, did you perhaps see wrongly? This indeed is auricria, only days ago it sold at ten taels of silver per jin.¡± The shopkeeper appeared impatient, ¡°We buy at this price, you can sell or not.¡± Having said that, he turned and left, even giving the attendant a re as he passed by. The attendant was visibly embarrassed as he said to Jiang Sang, ¡°That is our shopkeeper. If you are unable to ept the price of one tael, please leave.¡± Jiang Sang, with a grave expression, did not say a word as he packed up the auricria and left. Yingbao nced at the attendant sadly. This attendant wouldter be the Store Manager of Jiukang Pharmacy in a decade or so. s, he was currently a mere attendant and had no decision-making power. The group exited the Jiukang Pharmacy and went to discuss by their donkey cart. Jiang Sang: ¡°Shall we try somewhere else?¡± ¡°That can be done. There are many pharmacies on this street, we can try a few more to enquire about the price.¡± said Jiang Eng. Jiang Dng: ¡°Yes, yes! Enquire at multiple ces to get a better understanding.¡± So, the three brothers wandered around the prefecture city for a long time, visited several pharmacies but none were to their satisfaction. Although the price had increased from one tael to two taels per jin, Jiang Sang was still not satisfied. Given that Doctor Li had offered ten taels per jin, why was it considerably less in the city? He wasn¡¯t willing to ept it. Jiang Sang was frustrated but there was nothing he could do. As they walked past arge shop with upturned eaves, Jiang Sang stopped in his tracks. Furuifeng Trading Company. Wasn¡¯t this the address the customer who bought fishst year had given him? He had promised him to bring sturgeons whenever he caught them, but after a series of events, he didn¡¯t fish anymore. And now, he happened to pass by. Jiang Sang hesitated, contemting whether to go in and check. After all, the sign indicated that it was a tradingpany, they must be doing business of some kind. Just as he was hesitating, a middle-aged man walked out of the gate. He was wearing a blue robe with a longevity pattern on it, and he was lifting his robe to descend the stairs. He looked up and eximed in surprise. He quickly walked over. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the fishmonger? Have you caught a sturgeon?¡± Jiang Sang greeted him with a bow, ¡°I haven¡¯t been fishing recently, and just happened to pass by here. I was hoping to have a look inside.¡± The middle-aged man was slightly disappointed. ¡°Oh, then go ahead.¡± He said, preparing to leave. Jiang Sang hurriedly spoke again, ¡°Actually, I brought some dried goods in hopes of selling them. Sir, could you kindly take a look?¡± The middle-aged man halted his steps and asked: ¡°What dried goods?¡± Jiang Sang exposed the golden ear mushrooms from the basket on his back, ¡°These ones.¡± The middle-aged man stroked the short beard on his chin, and a glint shed in his eyes. He said, ¡°Then, follow me.¡± He led Jiang¡¯s family members to the back yard of the tradingpany. After entering a spacious room, the middle-aged man had them sit down and ordered the servant boy to bring tea. Only then did he say, ¡°Would you mind showing me your goods?¡± Jiang Sang quickly gave his back basket to him, ¡°These are golden ears made by our family. It took a lot of effort to make them.¡± The middle-aged man inspected them, and then asked, ¡°They have been well-preserved. Do you have a price in mind?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t conceal,¡± answered Jiang Sang. ¡°Before I arrived, I had sold a batch to the local pharmacy. The residing doctor offered me ten taels of silver per catty. I wonder what the prices are here.¡± The middle-aged man pondered, ¡°Ten taels is indeed too high. I estimate the doctor gave you the retail price.¡± Seeing Jiang Sang¡¯s disappointed look, the man exined, ¡°Our tradingpany needs to make a profit too. Moreover, we have to transport the goods long distance, guard against moisture and insects, ount for losses from weighing errors, and take onrge risks. So the highest price we can offer for golden ears is three taels per catty, no more. Even if you sell them in Prefecture City, you won¡¯t get a higher price.¡± ¡°Furthermore, if you sell these golden ears to a pharmacy, they will buy at most ten catties and no more. It¡¯s different with a tradingpany. We sell all over the country, so we naturally buy and sell muchrger amounts than a pharmacy. We also buy for longer periods.¡± He was sincere and reasonable, causing Jiang Sang to waver. With a sigh, Jiang Sang said, ¡°Alright, if it¡¯s three taels, then it¡¯s three taels. May I ask your name sir? Do you manage this tradingpany?¡± The middle-aged man stroked his beard andughed. ¡°My name is Zhou Mao. I¡¯m the second steward of Furuifeng. I have the authority to purchase goods.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re Manager Zhou. My apologies for any previousck of respect.¡± Jiang Sang bowed in response. ¡°Myst name is Jiang, and my generational name is San. This is my eldest brother and second brother, along with my eldest daughter, Yingbao.¡± Jiang Eng and Jiang Dng promptly bowed to Zhou Mao, and even Yingbao timidly called out ¡°Uncle Zhou.¡± Zhou Mao stood up to return the greeting, ¡°May I ask how many golden ears Jiang San and his brothers brought? Why don¡¯t we weigh everything at once?¡± He realized that the Jiang brothers had brought a donkey cart with them. Jiang Sang replied, ¡°There¡¯s another basket. We weighed it at home. I will get it and we can weigh everything again.¡± Zhou Mao waved his hand, ¡°No need for you to rush. I¡¯ll ask the servant boy to bring the donkey cart in.¡± He then told the servant boy to bring in the cart. In a short while, the donkey cart was brought in front of the room. Jiang Sang picked up the back basket, cing it next to the other one. Zhou Mao had already ordered the servant boy to bring the scales, and began measuring each. ¡°Net weight is six catties.¡± The servant boy reported. Jiang Sang nodded, relieved. It seemed this tradingpany was very honest. There was no attempt to cheat him on the weight. The reported number was the same as what he had weighed at home. Zhou Mao said, ¡°Six catties. I owe you 18 taels of silver.¡± Upon hearing the sum of money, Jiang Sang didn¡¯t express much joy, but breathed a sigh of relief. Although the price was much less than he had hoped for, he was still content. In previous years when he came to town to find work, carrying sacks of goods for others and working to exhaustion, he had earned at most two hundred coin, if even that much. Now, he had just earned in one go what his parents hadn¡¯t managed to save in their lifetimes. How could he not be satisfied? Zhou Mao continued, ¡°If you have more golden ears at home, feel free to bring them to me. If I¡¯m not here, just report my name at the front hall. Someone will attend to you.¡± Jiang Sang nodded. In a short while, the servant boy brought the silver. There were three ingots worth five taels each, plus three strings of copper coins. Jiang Sang put away the silver and copper coins, then bid goodbye to Zhou Mao with a bow.. Chapter 36 - 36: A Big Flood Coming_l Chapter 36: A Big Flood Coming_l Trantor: 549690339 At this moment, Yingbao spoke: ¡°Uncle Zhou, do you buy Xue¡¯er? We still have some at home.¡± Zhou Mao looked at the baby girl doing business with him and couldn¡¯t help butugh, ¡°Yes, of course I¡¯m buying.¡± ¡°Then how much do you pay per kilo?¡± Yingbao asked. Zhou Mao pondered for a moment, ¡°If the quality is good, a kilo of dry Xue¡¯er is 500 coins.¡± Yingbao nodded her tiny head, then asked, ¡°Uncle Zhou, will you keep buying it? Or will you stop if you get too much?¡± Zhou Mao seriously replied, ¡°There¡¯s a possibility, our tradingpany has to sell what we buy ¨C if supply isrger than demand, we naturally stop buying.¡± ¡°Oh! Thanks, Uncle Zhou, I understand.¡¯ As they left the Furuifeng Trading Company, only Jiang Sang was feeling down while everyone else was ecstatic. Having confirmed the purchase price, they could return home and get started. How could they not be excited? Even if they only sold once, it would be enough for their family to live happily for many years. Jiang Sang, driving the donkey cart, stopped by several stores and bought a lot of daily necessities. He even bought some calligraphy and painting supplies and books for his daughter. He also bought several bolts of cloth. Now that they had earned some money, it was time to buy new clothes for his family, and live a better life. As they passed by a cksmith shop, Jiang Sang bought several farming tools and a new iron pot. Buying metal tools required registration and tax payment, Jiang Sang presented his prepared family register for the process, and paid the metal tool tax. After leaving the city gate, the donkey cart became much faster. The three brothers chatted andughed in the cart, discussing how they would nt Jin¡¯er in the future. Despite taking several breaks, the one donkey pulling the cart full of people for a hundred li was exhausted. Yingbao took advantage of the donkey¡¯s break for grazing and drinking water to feed it Wudingzhi, which refreshed it. Touching the donkey¡¯s head, Jiang Cheng muttered, ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be anything wrong with it. Usually it¡¯s foaming at the mouth after a 20 li journey. It is strange today.¡± The donkey gave him a snort, lifted its head high, and looked towards the direction where Yingbao vanished. As for Yingbao, she first went to see her little brother upon returning home. She gave her mother a packet of cakes, ¡°The shopkeeper said this one is the most easily digestible, it can be given to babies, mom, you eat too.¡± Her mom happily took it, ¡°My Baobao is the best. Your dad went to the county town and didn¡¯t buy anything for us three.¡± Yingbao replied, ¡°Dad bought cloth for mom and little brother. It looks great. He will be carrying it back soon.¡± Not only did Jiang Sang buy cloth for his own family, but he also bought it for his parents, his elder brother and sister-inw, niece and nephew, and even his second brother¡¯s family. As nobody in Jiang Eng¡¯s family could sew clothes, all the cloth were left at the bigger house, waiting for help. Soon enough, Jiang Sang entered the house holding three rolls of cloth. It wasn¡¯t until nightfall that the five people and the donkey arrived home. When they returned to their old house, as it was toote, Jiang Cheng didn¡¯t return the cart. After unloading the donkey, he fed it a bunch of green grass. However, he noticed that the donkey was energetic, which was unusual for it after running 200 li all day. The fabric was smooth and bright, of a quality and color not avable in the cloth shops in town. On top of the cloth, the two books for Yingbao, a copybook, a stack of paper, two brushes and an inkstone, and a few bars of ink. Putting down the items, he took out three silver ingots from his waist bag and handed them to his wife. He picked his son he hadn¡¯t seen all day, kissed him, and smiled, ¡°I have told your grandparents that we will order a batch of bricks and tiles from the kiln in a few days. After the summer harvest, we will rebuild the house and build the courtyard wall, then we won¡¯t have to worry about people sneaking in.¡± A few days ago, some rascal kid sneaked into the bamboo shed at night and stole a golden ear from a mulberry tree, even ruining a few others, which pissed off Jiang Sang. Afterwards, Jiang Sang simply slept in the bamboo shed to prevent others froming over. Upon hearing her father mention building a house, Yingbao, who was skimming through the books, immediately ran over and looked up earnestly, ¡°Dad, don¡¯t build a house.¡± Jiang Sang was taken aback, ¡°Bao¡¯er, why don¡¯t you want a house? Isn¡¯t it nice for us to live in a big house? In the future, let¡¯s build a big courtyard, so you and your brother each will have a spacious room.¡± ¡°No!¡± Yingbao grabbed her father¡¯s sleeve and decisively said, ¡°In case there¡¯s a flood, it could knock the house down. Dad, we shouldn¡¯t build a house here, let¡¯s build it on South Mountain, it won¡¯t flood there.¡¯ Jiang Sang was surprised. He was shocked that his daughter woulde up with such an idea. Indeed, in previous summers, the water level of the Chuanhe river would rise, sometimes spilling over into the fields. But how could such a small child know about these matters? ¡°How did Baobao know there would be a flood?¡± Chunniang asked, her heart filled with unease. She had always believed the vige rumors that her little girl possessed some spiritual sensitivity, so she paid special attention to what Yingbao said. Yingbao¡¯s eyes flickered and she said, ¡°I dreamed it. There will be a flood here that will submerge our vige, knocking down all the houses, even the vige head¡¯s house.¡± The vige head¡¯s houses were all built of green bricks and tiles, andmon floods simply could not wash them away. At these words, Chunniang and Jiang Sang were left speechless. They exchanged a nce, their facial expressions somewhat solemn. Jiang Sang put down his son, crouched down to look at his daughter, ¡°Baobao, did you tell anyone else about these things?¡± Yingbao shook her head. Jiang Sang said, ¡°Then you can¡¯t tell others about it in the future, understand?¡± Yingbao nodded her head. ¡°Tell your mother and me when the flood wille,¡± Jiang Sang asked again. Yingbao bit her finger and thought, then said, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Jiang Sang: ¡­ Chunniang stroked her daughter¡¯s head tenderly and asked quietly, ¡°Baobao, tell your mother why we should build a house on South Mountain?¡± Yingbao¡¯s eyes lit up, speaking and gesturing, ¡°If we build a house on South Mountain, we can nt a lot of apple trees there. Xiaolu will have a ce to graze. We can build our house very big, and even expand the yard. Daddy will have a ce to nt Jin¡¯er.¡± Jiang Sang scratched his forehead, actually finding his daughter¡¯s words reasonable. Indeed, South Mountain had a wide expanse ofnd, some of their inherited fields were also there, if they built a house, they wouldn¡¯t worry about space. As for the taxes on the house and cultivatednd, they could afford all sorts of taxes with the money they made from growing Jin¡¯er. Furthermore, South Mountain¡¯snd was barren, and it didn¡¯t matter whether they cultivated or not. Many families had abandoned theirnds there because they couldn¡¯t even make back the cost of the seeds. However, living on South Mountain also had disadvantages because it was far from the vige. If their family truly moved there, it might not be safe. ¡°Chunniang,¡± Jiang Sang asked his wife, ¡°If we go to South Mountain to build a house, can we really do it? Won¡¯t it be too remote?¡± Chunniang frowned. She had no idea. Jiang Sang sighed and muttered, ¡°If only my older brothers would also build their homes there.¡± With more residents, the safety issue would be resolved. South Mountain was undoubtedly the safest ce to live, at least no need to worry about floods. Actually, South Mountain wasn¡¯t really a mountain, it was just a mound. There were many fields cultivated on it, as well as many wild bamboo forests. However, because the cultivated fields weren¡¯t properly maintained, they became more and more barren year by year, and many people abandoned and fled from their fields. There was also a natural water pond there. Although it wasn¡¯t big, it was enough for daily life of few households. If they expanded the pond somewhat, and collected rainwater over time, perhaps it could even solve the irrigation problem. Thinking about it this way, maybe building a house on South Mountain wasn¡¯t such a bad idea. At least, they could avoid the flooding that their daughter dreamed of. ¡°Maybe tomorrow, I¡¯ll discuss this with my parents and brothers.¡± Moving and building a house were no small matter; not only did he need to gain his parent¡¯s approval, but also the vige head¡¯s. There was no more talk that night. The next morning, before Jiang Sang could head to the front courtyard, his older brothers, Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng, along with their father, came carrying mulberry wood pieces. ¡°Sang, can we separate the mycelium today?¡± Jiang Dng had already set up a bamboo shed in his courtyard, just waiting for Sang to finish his work ande to separate and cultivate the mycelia. ¡°Sure!¡± This was precisely Jiang Sang¡¯s intention, so he quickly led his brothers into the bamboo shed to teach them hands-on how to separate and nt mycelia and how to water them. Jiang Dng nted a hundred roots, Jiang Eng also nted a hundred. Old man Jiang only nted twenty roots, wanting to make a little extra money. In the midst of the bustle, the day passed. After two busy days, Jiang Sang hadpletely forgotten to mention his n to move to South Mountain.. Chapter 37 - 37: Preparing to Build a House_1 Chapter 37: Preparing to Build a House_1 Trantor: 549690339 Now that he had finished nting his 300 golden eared mushrooms, he was preparing to discuss it with his parents and brothers in the front yard, when he saw Chen Cunzheng, standing at the entrance of his yard with his hands behind his back. Chen Sanyou, the vige leader, was in his forties. He was a gentle and polite man who was willing to help others. He held considerable prestige in Dongchen Vige, second only to his older brother, n Leader Chen Fu. Upon seeing Chen Cunzheng approach, Jiang Sang quickly went up to greet him, and with a chuckling smile, said, ¡°Uncle Chen, pleasee in and sit down.¡± Only then did Chen Sanyou stride in, looking around as he questioned, ¡°Sang, I see you¡¯ve been busy recently. What are you busy with?¡± Jiang Sang rubbed his hands together andughed, ¡°I haven¡¯t been too busy. I just harvested some mushrooms from the mountain and nted them.¡± ¡°What kind of mushrooms?¡± Chen Sanyou asked curiously. Jiang Sang brought him into the bamboo shed, pointed at the twenty pieces of mulberry wood on a rack, and said, ¡°I nted golden eared mushrooms. They¡¯re said to be nourishing food.¡± Chen Sanyou stretched his neck to take a look. He couldn¡¯t recognize it, so he murmured, ¡°How strange.¡± Jiang Sang chuckled naively. Upon exiting the bamboo shed, Chen Sanyou said in a solemn tone, ¡°Sang, it¡¯s fine to nt mushrooms, but don¡¯t neglect your fields. Growing grains is the foundation for us farmers.¡¯ Jiang Sang immediately nodded, ¡°Uncle Chen, rest assured. Our fields are all nted. Not a single acre has been neglected.¡± Chen Sanyou nodded and sighed, ¡°Yesterday, Lizheng came to inform us that the Imperial Court will be collecting arge amount of food and cloth after the summer harvest. Every acre of our vige¡¯s fields will be taxed an additional 10%. You better prepare. If you can¡¯t meet the requirements, neither of us will have an easy time.¡± Jiang Sang frowned, ¡°Another tax increase? Uncle Chen, is the Imperial Court going to war with someone again?¡± Chen Sanyou shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m not sure. There¡¯ll be official orders when the timees. We can only wait.¡± He walked a few steps, then stopped, and continued, ¡°Also, you better start farming the fields by South Mountain. No matter what you nt, it¡¯s better than letting thend lie fallow. I expect food prices to rise in the next six months. If you tend to those fields a bit, it¡¯s better than going hungry in winter.¡± ¡°Uncle Chen is right.¡± Jiang Sang replied, ¡°I was nning to tend to the South Mountain fields. When the timees, I¡¯ll definitely ask you for advice.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Chen Sanvou left. satisfied. with his hands behind his back. Jiang Sang saw off the vige leader, his face growing serious. Every year before the Imperial Court went to war, it would collect grain and fabric. If the war dragged on, it would draft soldiers. At that time, themon people would probably have to face hardships again. Fortunately, he had managed to earn a few dozen taels of silver. Even if there was a draft, his three brothers could use the silver to pay for substitutes. Therefore, he¡¯d need to reconsider the house construction. There¡¯s an old saying that goes, ¡°Peach blossoms in March, rain in April.¡± It was now the end of April, and the sky was densely covered with dark clouds, looking like a storm was brewing. Chunniang sat by the window, asionally ncing outside, anxious. These past few days, she had been pondering her daughter¡¯s words, worried that the Chuanhe River would flood, and inundate their house. ¡°Sang, let¡¯s hurry to South Mountain and build a house. Ah, I haven¡¯t been able to sleep well these days.¡± Jiang Sang, who was ying with their son at the time, was taken aback. He nced outside and frowned. The rainfall in early summer was indeed heavy. It hadn¡¯t cleared up for several days. After thinking for a moment, he said, ¡°How about we start by building three straw huts on South Mountain? If there¡¯s heavy rain, we can take refuge there.¡± Chunniang immediately nodded, ¡°Let¡¯s build straw huts then. Sang, I just can¡¯t take it anymore.¡± She had spent all night on tenterhooks, not daring to close her eyes. ¡°Then I¡¯ll talk to our parents and older brothers about it tomorrow to see if they want to build any,¡± said Jiang Sang. Chunniang red at her husband, ¡°If you¡¯re going to build it, just build it. Why do you always bring up your parents and older brothers? If they don¡¯t want to go, are you not going to build it?¡± ¡°How can that be?¡± Jiang Sang scratched his head awkwardly, ¡°I was thinking that if there really is a flood one day, they can also find shelter in the houses on South Slope.¡± Chunniang appeared slightly relieved and urged, ¡°What are you waiting for then? It¡¯s not toote right now. Go and talk to your older and second brothers. ¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m going right away.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t realize that a casualment she made would prompt her parents to decide to build a house on South Mountain. Not only did her father agree to build it, but also roped in her eldest and second uncles to help. In this moment, she was busily working in the cave-house, nting Xue¡¯er fungi on lengths of mulberry wood. After nting the Xue¡¯er, she went to inspect the Golden Ear fungi growing on other pieces of mulberry wood. These Golden Ears had fully matured, but because the current weather wasn¡¯t ideal, they were not harvested yet. If they weren¡¯t harvested soon, the ripe Golden Ears would shrivel, discolor, and ultimately rot. Given that the Golden Ears nted by her father hadn¡¯t fully grown yet, naturally, there would be no baking in an oven. Additionally, with it being the rainy season and the weather humid andcking sunshine, if the harvested Golden Ears weren¡¯t dried immediately, they would rot and mold. Ah, the timing needs to be calcted well for the next cultivation. Otherwise, it would be wasted effort. While making the rounds in the cave-house, Yingbao spotted arge patch of Bolboschoenus, a nt that produces Arrowheads. Now, the Arrowheads hade to maturity. If not harvested soon, they would rot in the ground. Yingbao scratched her head and squatted down to start digging Arrowheads. With a bit of pulling and digging from mere dozens of Bolboschoenus nts, she had already harvested arge basket of egg-sized Arrowheads, which worried her. She couldn¡¯t possibly finish them all by herself, and she also dared not distribute them excessively to others. This was truly a life-ending predicament. If only she were grown up. Then she could sell them in the town, or perhaps pretend to have bought them from the market. But she was still just a two-year-old toddler now, only a bit taller than a small dining table. If she were to go out alone, even a slightly older child could easily carry her off. She picked out a dozen or so of thergest Arrowheads and set them aside to save as seeds. The rest, she temporarily left in the basket. After cleaning her hands in the pond water, Yingbao set about pondering over the thirty mature Golden Ears that she had. These things were super valuable, and it pained her to waste even one. Scanning her surroundings, Yingbao¡¯s eyes fell on the Wu Ding Zhi fungi on the stone wall, and suddenly, she had a eureka moment. She pulled off a few leaves of the Wu Ding Zhi, crushed them into a pulp in a bowl, and then mixed in some pond water. The juice of Wu Ding Zhi dissolved into the water, only making it slightly thicker but otherwise, it seemed no different. Yingbao poured this bowl of liquid over the mature Golden Ears, thinking to wait a few days to see if they would mutate. Given that the Golden Ears were already mature and would rot and mold if not quickly harvested and dried, it might be worthwhile to use them for an experiment. If no abnormalities arose, she would cook these Golden Ears and have her grandparents and uncles eat them. That way, it wouldn¡¯t be a waste. If, however, they spoiled or became rotten, she¡¯d simply throw them away. When she came out of the cave-house, she saw dark clouds and raining outside the window. Yingbao knelt by the kang table, picking up a stick of ink to begin grinding it. Ever since her father bought her the set of brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, she¡¯d added an extra task to her daily routine¡ªcopying calligraphy practice sheets and writing the Three Character ssic. The rain was getting heavier, sttering on the windowpanes and causing water sshes. Jiang Sang hurried back home from outside, his clothespletely drenched. Taking off his wet clothes and wiping his face with a towel handed over by his wife, he said cheerfully, ¡°Eldest brother and second brother have agreed to go with us to build a house on South Mountain. Once the rain stops, I¡¯ll go ask Brother Li Dayong to help us mold y bricks so that we can start construction in the autumn.¡± Building a house isn¡¯t easy, even if it¡¯s a grass-thatched one. It requires pre-drying the necessary y bricks, preparing enough bamboo and thatch, as well as round wooden beams for the house. The door and window frames need to be ready as well. And only once everything is prepared can people be hired toy the foundation and build the house. In the meantime, it is necessary to avoid busy farming seasons. It¡¯s not advisable to build during the harsh winters either, because the ground would be likely to contain ice. Once spring arrives and the ice melts, the house bes unstable and the walls could copse after not too long. Spring Maiden chuckled, handing over dry clothing for him to change into, and asked, ¡°Are we still building a y brick house?¡± Given their financial status now, they couldpletely afford to build arge, five-chamber house with green brick and tile, which was both clean and bright. There wouldn¡¯t be any chance of bugs crawling down from rotten thatch in the summer either. Jiang Sang nodded, ¡°We¡¯ll start with three rooms of y brick first. Once we earn more money, we¡¯ll build a brick and tile house..¡± Chapter 38 - 38: Five Poison Moon_l Chapter 38: Five Poison Moon_l Trantor: 549690339 The rain had been pouring for an entire day, turning into a torrential downpour by midnight, with lightning and thunder that frightened Chunniang to the point that she couldn¡¯t really sleep that night. It was only when the rain stopped the next day that she let out a sigh of relief. After a night of torrential rain, the river Chuanhe had brimmed to the point that it was just about to overflow the riverbanks. Jiang Sang stood by the surging riverside for a long time, bing almost certain of something lingering in his mind. It seemed likely that his daughter¡¯s dream coulde true. A single night of torrential rain could fill the river to such an extent, what if it rained heavily for another night? He dared not think about how he and his family would deal with an oing flood. Chuanhe used to overflow, even flooding the low-lying farnd and asionally flooding vigers¡¯ homes, but it quickly receded each time, so the vigers didn¡¯t bother much. However, ever since his daughter had predicted a major flood, an rm had suddenly rung in the hearts of Jiang Sang and his wife. Looking again at the Chuanhe after the rain, it seemed more and more dangerous. No, it was better to move to Xiaonan Mountain as soon as possible. Looking back, Xiaonan Mountain was not far from the vige, just a few miles away, and the smoke from the vige could be seen from the mountainside. It seemed usible for a few more households to move to South Mountain. Determined, Jiang Sang turned around to find the vige chief, Uncle Chen San. After the rain cleared, the sun was bright and the weather grew gradually hot. Today was the first day of WuDu Month. Yingbao, wearing the five-colored wristband embroidered by her mother, five-colored silk threads tied to her ankles, wearing a five-colored shirt, and five-poison-embroidered shoes, went to a river gully with simrly dressed Dani, Erin, and Huzi to catch shrimps and pick some reeds on the way, using their leaves to make dumplings when they got home. Xiaolu trudged along behind them, asionally munching on fresh grass by the side of the road, his short tail wagging happily. Dani, with the reeds growing lushly and their leaves quite broad, asked her little sisters and cousin to stay on the bank while she went down to the riverside to pick leaves. She soon filled a bamboo basket and, stepping carefully, walked back up the bank. At that moment, a wild chicken suddenly fluttered by them, startling Huzi into yelling, ¡°Chicken! Chicken! Catch it, Big Sister!¡± Dani nced at it, ¡°The wild chicken has flown far, we can¡¯t catch it.¡± Putting down the basket by Erin¡¯s feet, she turned around and went back to the riverside, ¡°I¡¯m going to see if there are any wild chicken eggs in the reed bushes.¡± Normally, wild chickens and wild birds would nest in the grass or in the reeds, and the ce where the wild chicken had just taken off might even have wild chicken eggs. Sure enough, a pleasantly surprised shout came from within the reeds, ¡°Ah! There really are wild chicken eggs!¡± Yingbao, Erin, and Huzi craned their necks in an attempt to see where the wild chicken¡¯s nest was. After a while, Dani, wading through the water, came outughing heartily, showing the wild chicken eggs in her clothes to her brother and sisters, ¡°Look, there are eight.¡¯ Huzi squeezed in to try and grab one but was swatted away by Erin, ¡°Don¡¯t touch, you¡¯ll break them.¡± The four-year-old immediately started calling out in annoyance, jumping up and down in an attempt to grab them. Suddenly, his little hand was grabbed by Yingbao. Huzi instantly froze, quiet as a mouse, then turned and grinned at Yingbao, ¡°I wanted to give them to Yingbao to y with.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t y with them, we still have to catch shrimps.¡± Two-year-old Yingbao consoled him as an older sister might, ¡°Huzi, be good, we¡¯ll cook the wild chicken eggs for you when we get home.¡± Huzi nodded furiously, gave a sniff, and instantly changed into a well-behaved baby. Dani led her siblings to arge puddle with aquatic nts and started to catch shrimp with their. The shrimps at this time were fat and big, just twenty or so could be cooked into a whole dish. As Yingbao was too small to handle the, she toted along a basket and leisurely ambled about. Seeing Dani, Erin, and Huzi all concentrating on the puddle, she squatted down, and silently took arge clump of arrowhead nts from her pocket and arranged them along the banks, pretending to have just dug them up from the ditch. Then she shouted, ¡°Sister Dani,e quick, I found huge arrowheads!¡± Dani came over when she heard the sound, nced at what was in her little cousin¡¯s hand, and was somewhat surprised. ¡°Is this really water chestnut?¡± They were huge. She had never seen water chestnuts as big as eggs before. Yingbao, regardless of how shocked Dani was, picked up a water chestnut nt and swished it in the water, pointing at several water chestnuts hanging beneath, ¡°These should be edible.¡± She picked one off, washed it, bit a chunk, murmuring, ¡°Sweet, and so tasty.¡± Huzi had forgotten about eating water chestnutsst year. He picked up a water chestnut nt, rinsed it, cheerfully tore off a big water chestnut, and crunched it with a satisfying sound. Seeing this, Dani crouched down and picked off the water chestnuts one by one and put them in the basket. Dani didn¡¯t hesitate for long, she also came over to help. This time, Yingbao had a small basket full of water chestnuts that she had just plucked from the rootless grasses. The group of siblings gave up on catching shrimp, taking home a basket of water chestnuts and a basketful of reed leaves. ¡°These are water caltrops, aren¡¯t they?¡± Jiang Liu and Zhou Family¡¯s eldest daughter-inw were very surprised the first time they saw suchrge water caltrops, ¡°Where did theye from?¡± ¡°Yingbao found them,¡± Dani and her sister said in unison. ¡°Where did she find them?¡± Jiang Liu asked. ¡°Over by the irrigation ditch.¡± Dani was still a bit confused; she asked Jiang Liu, ¡°Grandma, can we really eat Jiang Liu picked up a water chestnut, rubbed it in her palm, took a bite and chewed it, ¡°It¡¯s not numbing, it¡¯s crisp and sweet, should be edible.¡± She then passed one to her eldest daughter-inw, ¡°You try it too.¡± Zhou¡¯s eldest daughter-inw took it, went to the kitchen to rinse it under the water, then took a bite. ¡°Tastes like water caltrops, but even sweeter.¡± Jiang Liu chirped at her granddaughter with a grin, ¡°Are there more by the irrigation ditch?¡± Dani looked perplexed, and then turned her gaze to her little cousin. Yingbao said in haste, ¡°There should be, let¡¯s go look again tomorrow.¡± She hoped to gather all the water chestnuts from her secret cave. Maybe she could also nt some in their own and her uncles¡¯ fields, which could be a source of ie. If they don¡¯t sell, they can eat them. It would be better than letting them rot in the cave. Jiang Liu patted Yingbao¡¯s head, smiling, ¡°Then go look again tomorrow. If you find more, let grandma know. I¡¯ll send your second brother to help dig.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yingbao nodded. She was certain she would find many more water chestnuts. When Yingbao got home, she showed her mother half a basket ofrge water chestnuts. ¡°These are the water chestnuts Dani, her sister and I found. ¡°Suchrge water chestnuts?¡± Chunniang picked one up and looked at it. ¡°Quite rare.¡± The two little infants on the kang also crawled over to grab them. They were both teething, anything they grab, they would put in their mouths. Yingbao moved the basket away a bit, ¡°Wait until they¡¯re cooked before you eat.¡± Seven or eight-month-old infants have delicate digestion; they can¡¯t eat raw food. Besides, these things grew underwater; who knows if there might be small bugs inside. Chunniang took the water chestnuts to wash them clean, cooked them all, and drained them into a yellow basin. The two little ones drooled as they watched their sister peel the water chestnuts, making excited noises. Yingbao peeled the cooked water chestnut and gave it to her little brothers. Seeing their enjoyment, she also took one and crunched on it. The two little ones were relishing it, drooling all over their clothes. Chunniang had to keep wiping their mouths and little hands, only to be flicked away by the infants, who protested with babbling sounds.. Chapter 39 - 39: Lodging a Complaint_l Chapter 39: Lodging a Comint_l Trantor: 549690339 The next day, as expected, Yingbao ¡®found¡¯ a lot of water chestnuts again. The water chestnuts were scattered all around the ditch, a few nts here, a few nts there, and even more further out. She would always manage to pull a few nts out of the water during the times when Dani and Erni were not paying attention. This confused Dani and Erni quite a bit. Erni, being young with less experience, thought she did not have the sharp eyesight like her younger cousin, hence she couldn¡¯t find the bare stalks hiding in the ditch. Puzzled, ten-year-old Dani did not understand how her cousin could pluck out several bare stalksden with water chestnuts from ces in the ditch she had already searched and found nothing. Oh well, they gave up, figuring since they aren¡¯t finding anything, they might as well let their little cousin do the searching, and they would gather what she found. So, Dani and Erni collected the bare stalks that Yingbao ¡°uprooted¡± from behind her, gathering them into arge pile. After taking out about three-tenths of the water chestnuts from her stash, Yingbao decided it was time to stop. Just then, Jiang Quan arrived, followed by two boys. These two boys were the youngest sons of the masons, Li Dayong and Li Eryong, one of them was named Li Dao, aged nine, and the other was Li He, aged eight. Their father was currently helping the Jiang Family make y bricks at Xiaonan Mountain, and their older siblings were there too, helping to cut and dry grass which would be used with the y. Being young, they couldn¡¯t provide much help so they followed Jiang Quan to fish and catch shrimp to provide for the family. ¡°Oh wow, so many water chestnuts.¡± Jiang Quan had tasted them yesterday and they were incredibly delicious, seeing his sisters had found such arge pile, he was over the moon. They tasted much better than the wild cherries and sour apricots from the mountain, and tasted even better when cooked. ¡°Er Ge,e here quickly and pick these,¡± Dani called out, ¡°There are so many, we won¡¯t finish picking them.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Jiang Quan walked over, put down his carrying basket and fishing, and squatted down to pick the water chestnuts. The Li brothers, Li Dao and Li He, also came to help. Yingbao washed a few and handed them to the Li brothers: ¡°Here, try some.¡± Last year, she had tasted the food they shared with her, so now it was a great opportunity to repay their kindness. At first, Li Dao and Li He felt embarrassed to ept. However, seeing Jiang Quan also eating, they took some. While eating, Jiang Quan asked, ¡°Yingbao, how did you find so many water chestnuts? I never noticed them before?¡± He often went fishing and shrimp catching with his friends, and had never noticed that this kind of good stuff grew in the ditch. Yingbao replied earnestly, ¡°You only think about fishing and catching shrimp, so of course you didn¡¯t notice.¡± Jiang Quan scratched his nose and found himself agreeing with his little cousin¡¯s reasoning. Indeed, he had never paid much attention to the aquatic nts in the ditch. ¡°Er Gege, we surely can¡¯t finish eating all these water chestnuts. It¡¯s market day tomorrow, why don¡¯t we take them to town to sell?¡± Yingbao was wondering how she could use this chance of selling water chestnuts to bring out some more. After all, she still had a lot of them stored in her secret spot, and they were taking up a lot of space. Jiang Quan¡¯s eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly: ¡°Great idea, I¡¯ll carry them to the market tomorrow.¡± Being twelve years old now, he understood the importance of money. Not to mention the money needed for future expenses like starting a family. Even now, he didn¡¯t have any money to buy the things he craved for. The hundred coins he had were given by his uncle, and he was too reluctant to spend any, so he stashed them all in a hole in the wall. Yingbao smirked and made a request: ¡°I want to go too.¡± She wanted to go to the market to order a leather saddle for Xiaolu, so that she could ride it for longer distances in the future. ¡°Huh?¡± Jiang Quan scratched his head, ¡°What are you going for?¡± His little cousin was so young, and she walked slowly. It would be a hassle to bring her to the market. What¡¯s more, if he was there to sell things and something went wrong, it would be bad if he lost track of his little cousin. ¡°I just want to go.¡± Yingbao could see his reluctance, so she quickly said: ¡°I can walk myself. I don¡¯t need you to carry me.¡± Jiang Quan twitched his lip corners, nodded reluctantly: ¡°Alright then, but don¡¯tin about being tired when the timees.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Yingbao had always been exercising, so running more than ten miles alone was no problem. Moreover, she ate a handful of the Five Ding Zhi mushroom every day, so now her strength was even greater than Yuanbao¡¯s, and she could run just as fast as him. Early the next morning, Yingbao got up early, first fed the deer, then scattered some wheat produced in her spirit cave for the chickens. After hurriedly washing up, she grabbed a freshly baked egg pancake made by her mother and ran towards the front yard. Upon reaching Uncle¡¯s house in the front yard, she searched everywhere for her second cousin, but could not find him. When she asked her aunt, she found out that her cousin had already gone to the market with a load of water chestnuts early in the morning. Yingbao was stunned for a while, before suddenly throwing back her head and wailing at the top of her lungs, causing a hugemotion. Of course, she wasn¡¯t really crying. She hadn¡¯t faced any heartbreak over her long life, so no tears were shed. However, she was very angry, angry at the boy for breaking his promise. He had said he would bring her to the market but then reneged on his promise. She was hell-bent on letting Aunt teach him a good lesson today, or she would not rest easy. As expected, Aunt was startled and hurriedlyforted her niece, ¡°Baobao, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Yingbao kept wailing, but she didn¡¯t stop using her second cousin, ¡°Second brother said he would take Baobao to the market, but he ran off alone¡­ wu wu wu¡­ he does not keep his word, he lied to Baobao¡­¡± Aunt helplessly patted andforted her: ¡°Good girl Baobao, when your second brother returns, Aunt will surely give him a good beating. Now, don¡¯t cry, Aunt just made some water chestnut cake. Once it¡¯s steamed, I¡¯ll give you some to eat.¡± Grandma Jiang Liu was also startled by Yingbao¡¯s wails and asked repeatedly what was going on. Upon learning that her grandson had gone to the market without her granddaughter, she stomped her foot and scolded, ¡°When hees back, Grandma will scold him. That cheeky boy dares to bully his younger sister.¡± Then she loudly called her eldest grandson, ¡°Dacheng! Dacheng!¡± Jiang Cheng was ventting the bamboo shed when he heard Grandma calling him, so he responded, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°You have no ns today, right? Then take your cousin to the market. Grandma will give you twenty coins. Buy some delicious food from the market.¡± Jiang Liu was quite affluent now since her third son had given her a coinst time. She was willing to spend money to make her granddaughter happy. ¡°Okay!¡± Jiang Cheng agreed: ¡°I¡¯ll be right there.¡± Observing the situation, Yingbao stopped crying and rubbed her eyes. ¡°What a good girl.¡± Jiang Liu sat down with Yingbao beside a small table in the yard and wiped her face with a clean cloth. Jiang Cheng came out of the bamboo shed, smiling, he asked, ¡°Yingbao, do you want to go to the market?¡± Yingbao nodded vigorously, ¡°I do.¡± ¡°Big cousin will take you.¡± Jiang Cheng said, ¡°It so happens that Dani also wants to go to the market. You guys go together.¡± Yingbao jumped up in joy, hugging Jiang Cheng¡¯s calf. She looked up andplimented him, ¡°Big brother is the best, better than second brother.¡± Jiang Cheng picked up Yingbao, smiling, and helped her into a basket to carry her on his back. Dani ran out cheerfully, even leaving the stove untended. She went back to the room, changed her clothes, and followed her big brother. Aunt took some freshly steamed water chestnut cakes from the steamer, wrapped them in clean reed leaves, and put them in the basket where Yingbao was sitting, cautioning, ¡°Wait until it cools down before you eat it. Be careful not to burn yourself.¡± Yingbao nodded vigorously, ¡°Mmm. Thank you, Aunt.¡± She behaved obediently, ¡°Baobao will bring delicious food from the market for Aunt and Grandma.¡± She had a lot of Copper Coins in her pocket, and there was even a five-liang silver ingot left in her spirit cave. Zhou Shi patted Yingbao¡¯s head and smiled, ¡°Okay.¡± Jiang Liu took out twenty coins from the house and handed them to her eldest grandson, reminding him, ¡°Take good care of your sister.¡± ¡°I know. Grandma, don¡¯t worry.¡± After taking the money, Jiang Cheng with his little cousin on his back, and leading his sister Dani, set off for Chuanhe Town. Dani very rarely had the chance to go to the market. Today, her big brother was breaking convention by taking her along, so she was ecstatic. The ordinarily taciturn girl was chirping away on the way to the market, asking big brother and Yingbao all sorts of questions and was extremely happy. Yingbao smiled brightly as she peeled off the cooled water chestnut cake and handed a piece to Dani, giving another one to big cousin Jiang Cheng.. Chapter 40 - 40: Liar_l Chapter 40: Liar_l Trantor: 549690339 Jiang Cheng has just turned fourteen this year, his height has been sprouting up recently, almost catching up with his third uncle¡¯s height. Although he¡¯s growing taller, he¡¯s still a slender teenager. Carrying his little cousin on his back for 5 or 6 miles, he was sweating profusely. After all, Yingbao now weighs twenty pounds. Very heavy indeed, almost as heavy as a piglet. Finally arriving at the market, he sat on a stone by the road to rest a bit, then got up and started walking again. Seeing this, Yingbao took a boiled water chestnut from her pocket and handed it to her big cousin. Jiang Cheng took it and finished it in three bites, feeling warmth spreading all over his body. In no time, his exhaustion was gone. Being simple-minded as a teenager, he thought he was just hungry and a water chestnut helped him recover. He didn¡¯t know that this water chestnut was an experimental piece that Yingbao had soaked in five-ding-zhi overnight. Yingbao in the back basket was standing on her toes, looking everywhere for her second cousin. The market was not crowded today, a lot less than during the holiday season. But there were still many stalls. Mostly they sell seasonal vegetables, chicken eggs, goose eggs, and chicks or goslings. There are also those who sell baskets, bamboo trays, chicken cages, and straw sandals, and offer fortune-telling services. Many small vendors set up their stalls with bamboo fences, disying colorful threads. There were five-poison embroidered bags, ai tigers, ai men, as well as amulets for women, such as peach wood hairpins, owl talismans, and so on. Ai tigers and ai men were made from dried mugwort woven into the shapes of tigers, humans, scorpions, centipedes, and toads. They were worn around the waist to ward off evil. Of course, these well-made ai charms were dyed and boiled into bright red with cinnabar. The more carefully made ones also had a few colorful silk tassels hanging from them, which looked quite beautiful. Owl talismans were hairpins made from the feathers of an owl dyed red. They symbolize using poison against poison and prevent evil and Five Poisons when inserted into one¡¯s hair bun. Because the Dragon Boat Festival would take ce the day after tomorrow, the vendors are trying to take this opportunity to make a big profit, so they put out all their festival goods. Yingbao immediately spotted her second cousin, Jiang Quan, squatting by the roadside, negotiating with several old women who were carrying baskets. ¡°Olddy, these are water chestnuts I brought from the county town. A bag is ten coins and I won¡¯t sell it for less. Your offer of seven coins just won¡¯t do.¡± The olddy red at him, ¡°You young man are too greedy, what thing could be worth ten coins a bag? There are only twenty pieces in a bag, I see these are just water chestnuts from the paddy field, seven coins is already too much.¡± Jiang Quan was not happy, ¡°Look at what you¡¯re saying, could the water chestnuts in the paddy field grow this big? Olddy, could you be more reasonable, please?¡± ¡°I only have seven coins left, no more¡­¡± the olddy started to act shamelessly, picked up a bag of water chestnuts, about to leave. Yingbao had her big cousin put her down, trotted up to her second cousin, hands on her hip, and eximed, ¡°You cheater! You just sold it to me for twenty coins a bag, now you¡¯re selling it for ten coins, give me back the extra money! Humph! I bought five bags just now, give me back fifty coins!¡± Jiang Cheng and Dani were dumbfounded, before they could say anything, Yingbao turned her head and winked at them. Jiang Cheng immediately shut his mouth, took his sister, and turned to another stall, pretending to look at the goods. Jiang Quan was more astute and responded immediately, pleading pitifully, ¡°Little sister, it¡¯s this olddy who kept bargaining, I always sell them for twenty coins per bag.¡± As he was saying this, he turned to the bargaining olddy and said, ¡°Olddy, why don¡¯t you just not buy it? I¡¯m still selling it for twenty coins a bag.¡± ¡°What?¡± The olddy was displeased when she heard this, ¡°Youd are really cunning. You said it would be ten coins a bag, but then changed it to twenty coins. No! I insist on buying it for ten coins.¡± After saying that, she threw down ten coins, picked up a bag of water chestnuts, and walked away. Two onlookers saw this, each spent ten coins to buy a bag of water chestnuts, and hurried away for fear that the young vendor would change his mind. Jiang Quan made two more transactions in the blink of an eye, unable to stop smiling. Just as he was about to talk to his little cousin, he saw her wrinkling her nose, ring at him fiercely, ¡°Liar! Leaving all by yourself without me.¡± Jiang Quan touched his nose guiltily, whispering, ¡°I was afraid I would lose you. Don¡¯t be angry, I¡¯ll buy you some candied fruitter.¡± Yingbao snorted, turned around, and went to find her big cousin. She wanted her big cousin to take her to the harness shop to make one for Youyou so she wouldn¡¯t have to be carried by others wherever she went. Humph, it¡¯s better to rely on yourself than others. In the future, she must be a self-sufficient person. And so. Tiang Cheng carried his little cousin. leading his big sister around the market. They saw a food stall selling owl soup, served with steamed glutinous rice balls or water chestnut dumplings. The owl soup was made with owl meat. It was vored with salt, spices, and dogwood powder, then thickened with wheat flour. It was thick, spicy, and very delicious. Owl soup is amon food people often eat during the toxic month of May. It signifies using poison tobat poison, resisting evil spirits. Smelling the aroma, Jiang Cheng couldn¡¯t help but swallow and asked his little cousin: ¡°Yingbao, are you hungry? Shall we have a bowl of owl soup?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Actually, Yingbao didn¡¯t want to eat soup made of owl meat, but since her big cousin and Sister Dani wanted to, shepromised. So the three siblings sat down, ordered three bowls of owl soup and six green dumplings from the vendor, spending a total of 18 coins. The vendor stirred the pot with arge spoon, filled up three bowls, and the strong aroma hit their nostrils. He then took out six green dumplings from the steamer, each wrapped in a mulberry leaf, and ced them in front of the three. Yingbao only ate one green dumpling and took a small sip of soup before dering she was full. Jiang Cheng took his little cousin¡¯s bowl without hesitation, leaving no trace of the soup or even the meat at the bottom of the bowl. After eating and drinking to their hearts¡¯ content, the three continued to stroll around. When they spotted winter melon candy, Yingbao bought several packs, kept one for herself, and asked her big cousin to take the rest back for Granny and Auntie. ¡°Big brother, where can I find saddles? I want to get one for Youyou,¡± Yingbao asked from her carry basket. Jiang Cheng knew this, ¡°There is a saddle shop on the northern street. However, a saddle costs quite a lot of money.¡± ¡°I have money.¡± Yingbao confidently said from her basket, ¡°I have a lot of money, enough to order the best saddle.¡± Jiang Cheng merely said ¡°Ah, ¡± without taking any notice. The three of them continued browsing until they reached the saddle shop. There were plenty of people around the entrance of the shop, and several mules and horses too. Two assistants were busy fixing the animals¡¯ hooves and attaching iron shoes. ¡°Do you make leather saddles?¡± asked Jiang Cheng. An assistant straightened up and answered, ¡°Of course. What kind of saddle do you want? For a donkey or a mule?¡± ¡°For a deer,¡± said Jiang Cheng. The assistant thought he had misheard, ¡°What?¡± ¡°For a deer,¡± Jiang Cheng repeated, ¡°I have a deer at home that needs a leather saddle.¡± The assistant, annoyed by this, red at Jiang Cheng, ¡°You must be joking. Never before has anyone asked for a saddle for a deer here.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s joking with you,¡± Jiang Cheng was also somewhat irate, in a frosty tone he said, ¡°Just say whether your shop can make it or not.¡± The assistant sneered, ran into the shop to consult the shopkeeper. The people standing at the entranceughed, one of them said, ¡°Young man, you might as well bring the deer here, let us see what kind of deer needs a saddle.¡± Jiang Cheng didn¡¯t pay them any mind, his gaze focused on the shop. Soon, the assistant came out and said in a loud, ringing voice, ¡°The shopkeeper says bring the deer here so that we can measure its size.¡± Jiang Cheng turned to ask his little cousin, ¡®Should we bring the deer here?¡¯ Yingbao nodded, stood up in her carry basket, and asked the assistant, ¡°How much does a saddle cost?¡± Seeing the inquirer was a two or three-year-old toddler, the assistant twitched at the corner of his eyes, reluctantly answered, ¡°A cowhide saddle is eight coins.¡± Yingbao, ¡°You¡¯re saying it¡¯s for a big mule saddle. My deer is even smaller than a donkey, is it still eight coins?¡± The assistant rubbed his nose, ¡°Well not that, the smallest saddle we have here is for donkeys, and it costs two coins.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Yingbao nodded at the assistant, ¡°I will bring the deer tomorrow.¡± The assistant turned his face away, snickering quietly. He wouldn¡¯t believe for the life of him that a two or three-year-old child could be in charge and bring a deer, bah! Chapter 41 - 41: Deer Saddle_l Chapter 41: Deer Saddle_l Trantor: 549690339 Jiang Cheng brought his two younger sisters to his second brother and saw that almost all the water chestnuts in his basket were sold out. He asked, ¡°You don¡¯t need me to stay and help, do you?¡± ¡°No need.¡± Jiang Quan waved his hand and proudly said: ¡°I can handle it all by myself. ¡± This was the first time he¡¯d done business all by himself, and it was going smoothly. He felt a sense of achievement and naturally didn¡¯t want his elder brother to get involved. Jiang Cheng handed a sticky rice dumpling to his younger brother: ¡°This is from Yingbao for you.¡± Without hesitation, Jiang Quan took it, peeled off the mulberry leaf, bit half of it off in one go, and cheerfully said to his younger cousin, ¡°Next time, I¡¯ll buy a small whistle for you.¡± Yingbao: ¡­ She didn¡¯t want a small whistle at all. Since returning from the fair, Yingbao had been staring nkly under the apple tree. It had been almost two years since the apple trees were nted and both of them had grown to over 10 feet tall, but they only grew in height and didn¡¯t bear any flowers, which frustrated Yingbao. What went wrong? Should she wait for her father toe back and ask someone with knowledge to check? Well, let¡¯s put it aside for now, and think about how to make more money for the move to South Mountain. At noon, Jiang Quan came back after selling all the water chestnuts, poured out the money bag on the table, and started counting the money with his elder brother. ¡°A total of five hundred and sixty coins, haha, we¡¯re rich.¡± Jiang Quan was grinning from ear to ear, he started to divide the money. ¡°These water chestnuts were found by Yingbao and Dani, so they should share half of the profit.¡¯ Jiang Quan pushed half of the money aside. ¡°Li Dao and Li He also helped with wrapping the water chestnuts in reed leaves, so let¡¯s give them twenty¡­ no, ten coins each.¡± Jiang Quan pulled out another twenty coins. ¡°Let¡¯s also give Grandpa and Grandma fifty coins.¡± He pulled out another fifty coins. ¡°Give Mom fifty coins too, and the rest is all mine. Hahaha.¡± Jiang Quan embraced the remaining one hundred and sixty coins into his chest, grinning from ear to ear. When he raised his head, he saw his elder brother looking at him with a stern face. ¡°What about mine?¡± Jiang Cheng asked. ¡°Yours?¡± Jiang Quan wrinkled his nose, ¡°but you didn¡¯t do anything.¡± Jiang Cheng: ¡°I counted the money.¡± Jiang Quan: . He wanted to m his head on the wall. Pouting, he reluctantly counted out ten coins from his share and handed it over, grinding his teeth, ¡°Here you go! For counting the money!¡± Humph! Jiang Quan quickly stuffed his money into his pocket, gathered up the money on the table into the bag, and then went to summon Dani to go to his uncles¡¯ houses with him and divide the money with the girls. Jiang Cheng, who was fourteen, didn¡¯tin about the small amount of money and picked up the ten coins one by one into his palm and locked them away in his cupboard. The following day, Yingbao put a rope around Youyou¡¯s neck, stroked its head, and said, ¡°Youyou, I¡¯m taking you to the town. You have to behave and not run around.¡± Youyou stared at its young master with big watery eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t panic when you see strangers. I will be with you the whole time.¡± Yingbao patted its neck. Youyou lowered its head and nuzzled her, then tilted its head and rubbed against her. Yingbao understood and fed it some Wuding mushrooms. When Jiang Sang heard that his daughter was going to the town to get a deer saddle, he immediately put down everything he was doing to apany her. ¡°You are just a little kid, and people will take advantage of you. Let dad take Youyou there instead.¡± Their deer was really majestic, half a man¡¯s height, and its antlers were starting to grow too. Probably by next year, they would be intimidating forks. A deer like this, if sold in the county, could fetch twenty to thirty taels of silver. Many people with bad intentions might take a risk for such a big amount of money. Therefore, he definitely can¡¯t let his little girl go, even if her elder and second cousins apany her. Yingbao shook her head, ¡°Youyou gets scared in crowded ces. It behaves well when I¡¯m around. Dad, I¡¯ll go with you.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jiang Sang picked up his daughter, ready to ce her in the carrying basket. ¡°Dad, I¡¯ll ride Youyou.¡± When Yingbao was training Youyou, she would asionally ride it for a walk, so as long as Youyou didn¡¯t run, she could sit on it steadily. Jiang Sang put his daughter on the back of the deer, and reminded, ¡°Be careful, don¡¯t fall off.¡¯ ¡°I won¡¯t fall.¡± Yingbao sat steadily on the back of the deer, her father led it with a rope, and they headed towards the town. They passed the Shigong Bridge, Xichen Vige, and took the dirt road onto the official road. The official road runs through the middle of the town, one end leads to Qinchuan County, and the other end leads towards Yuzhou. The father and daughter arrived at a saddlery shop. The towering and majestic deer instantly stupefied two of the shop assistants. Even the shopkeeper ran out, marveling, ¡°I have lived for fifty years, and it¡¯s the first time I have seen such arge deer. No wonder you need a saddle.¡± He then waved the shop assistant over to take measurements. Youyou became nervous when strangers approached and retreated behind Yingbao, stomping its hooves uneasily. Yingbao calmed it down, taking out a handful of wheat from her pocket to feed it. Only then did Youyou calm down, lowering its head to nibble the grains of wheat in its young mistress¡¯s hand. The shop assistant handed the recorded measurements to the shopkeeper, then stood by and curiously watched the interaction between the young girl and her deer. The shopkeeper patted the deer¡¯s back and said to Jiang Sang, ¡°Although your deer is big, its spine is thin and cannot bear a heavy load. So, a cowhide saddle is not suitable. How about choosing sheepskin instead?¡± Jiang Sang nodded, ¡°Sounds good. The deer was not meant for adults to ride, it¡¯s just for the kids to ride asionally. Please make sure the saddle is sturdy.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± The shopkeeper pondered for a while, then went inside the house to find materials. After waiting for a while, Jiang Sang asked, ¡°Shopkeeper, when can you have it ready?¡± If it was going to take too long, he and his daughter wouldn¡¯t wait. The shopkeeper threw several pieces of leather on the ground and said, ¡°I¡¯ll cut it right now. It will be done very quickly, within a couple of hours at most.¡± Jiang Sang looked at the sun, it was still early, so they could wait. He sat down on the stool brought over by the shop assistant, while Yingbao looked around curiously. There were no other shops near the saddlery. Not far away, there was only a grassy shack where someone was selling pork. The pork was sold out by this time, and the butcher and his son were cleaning up and getting ready to go home. The butcher, Tu Da, took down the iron hooks from the wooden rack and threw them into the basket, put a few knives in as well, and then picked up the basket. His fifteen-year-old son, Tu Xiong, didn¡¯t want to go home yet. He said, ¡°Dad, you go ahead, I have something to do, I¡¯ll be backter.¡± Tu Da red at his son and warned, ¡°Don¡¯t mess around with your rowdy friends. If you cause trouble again, I¡¯ll beat you to death.¡± ¡°What trouble could I possibly cause?¡± Tu Xiong rubbed his nose, ¡°I¡¯m going to join Chen Santi to hunt birds in the mountain. What could go wrong?¡± Tu Da snorted, picked up his load and walked away. Seeing that his father had gone far, Tu Xiong smirked and called to a pile of grass behind him, ¡°Aren¡¯t youing out yet?¡± Two young men, one tall and one short, both about seventeen or eighteen years old, came out from behind the grass pile, each with a slingshot made of tendons at their waist. ¡°Are we still going to North Mountain?¡± Tu Xiong asked. The tall one, with chiseled features, grinned and said, ¡°Why go to North Mountain? Look over there¡­¡± He gestured with his mouth in the direction of the saddlery shop. Tu Xiong turned his head and looked, confused, ¡°Look at what?¡± ¡°The deer.¡± said Mr. Chiseled Face, ¡°That big deer standing over there, didn¡¯t you see it?¡± ¡°I saw it earlier, so what?¡± ¡°Guess what?¡± Chiseled Face leaned his arm on his short and squatpanion, his eyes sparkling. Tu Xiong caught on, narrowed his eyes and wore a malicious smile, ¡°Brother Thirty, aren¡¯t you scheming something again?¡± Chapter 42 - 42: Bad Idea_l Chapter 42: Bad Idea_l Trantor: 549690339 ¡°What do you mean by harping on a bad idea?¡± Chen Thirtyughed and said, ¡°That deer is originally a creature of the mountains and forests. Whoever gets it owns it, right, Donkey?¡± The youth with the hemp-face who was called ¡®Donkey¡¯ responded with an apologetic smile, ¡°Absolutely, absolutely. Brother Thirty is right, whoever gets it owns it.¡± Tu Xiong smacked his lips, pped Chen Thirty forcefully on the back with his plump hand, and putting an arm around the youth, he asked with a smile, ¡°Well then, how do you n to get it?¡± ¡°Come here,e here, hear me out!¡± Chen Thirty gestured for them toe closer. The three drew their heads together, whispering and hatching a n. All ended with a knowing smile. ¡°Ding, ding, ding, ding¡­¡± A salesman carrying his merchandise and ringing a small gong passed by the saddle shop. Yingbao saw him carrying a load full of eye-catching trinkets, and immediately rushed over, ¡°Hey there, salesman, hold on a moment.¡± The salesman noticed a child running towards him, knowing it meant business, so he stopped immediately and set down his burden. Yingbao ran over and was dazzled by the goods in his basket. Embroidered buttons, sewing threads, multi-colored silks, rosewood bead nes, auspicious knots. Hanging from the basket were jade pendants, copper coin pendants, mini dolls, gourds, tiny colorful charms, and paper pinwheels. There were alsodies¡¯ hair decorations, earrings, ornamental hairpins made of both copper and wood,bs, bracelets, and neck chains. The most expensive items,rge and small copper mirrors, were at the bottom of the basket. Jiang Sang, sitting at the entrance to the shop, was looking at his giggly little girl with a smile, knowing that she was going to spend money on a heap of trinkets again. Yingbao chose over a dozen brightly colored silks to give to her mother. She also picked up two ceramic goose-shaped whistles for her little brother. She selected several embroidered towels which could be used for washing faces at home. She pointed at a little gourd with tassels hanging from it and asked, ¡°Do you have the seeds for this?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The salesman reached into the bottom of the basket, opened a cloth bag, and took out a small oil-paper packet, ¡°These are gourd seeds.¡± Yingbao was thrilled. She took a look at it, but did not recognize it, ¡°Are these really gourd seeds?¡± ¡°Of course. Not only do I have gourd seeds, but I also have Fanbang seeds.¡± The salesman dug out two more small paper packets and opened them for her to see. ¡°Fanbang seeds? What are they?¡± Yingbao was very interested in the unfamiliar seeds. She hastily grabbed one to examine it, but still couldn¡¯t recognize it. The young salesman scratched his head. In fact, he didn¡¯t recognize them either. These seeds were all picked out from among the undesired items of a Fanbang merchant by his father and given to him to sell. Yingbao did not fret about it and asked, ¡°How much for these seeds?¡± ¡°The vegetable seeds are one coin per pack, gourd seeds are two coins per pack, and Fanbang seeds are ten coins per pack,¡± answered the salesman. It seems not too expensive, thought Yingbao. ¡°Except for the vegetable seeds, I¡¯ll take the rest.¡± They had plenty of vegetable seeds at home, there was no need to spend money buying more. ¡°Alright.¡± The salesman was delighted, picked out the vegetable seeds, counted the rest carefully, and gave them all to the little girl. Finally, Yingbao collected a pile of seeds and bought a small copper mirror. Seeing nothing else that she wanted, she took out some copper coins from her pocket and paid the bill. The total was less than two hundred coins, quite cheap. After a while, a few more children came running over, surrounding the salesman¡¯s basket to take a look. Yingbao, cradling an armful of items, ran back and put them in her bamboo basket. Jiang Sang, all smiles, patted his little girl¡¯s head and said, ¡°When we get home, Daddy will give you another string of coins.¡± Her cute little spending habits could melt anyone¡¯s heart; he just couldn¡¯t be strict with her. Seeing that it was nearly noon, Jiang Sang patted his stomach and asked his little girl, ¡°Are you hungry, Baobao?¡± Yingbao blinked and took some boiled water chestnuts out of her pocket and handed them to her father. Jiang Sang chuckled, ¡°How do you manage to fit so many things in your pocket?¡± He wasn¡¯t really asking, it was just a casual remark. Yingbao chuckled as she shoved the water chestnut into her father¡¯s hand: ¡°Dad, you should eat if you¡¯re hungry. I¡¯m not.¡± Jiang Sang took it, bit into it, and found it was already cooked. He figured it must have been given to his daughter by his wife. ¡°Are you really not hungry, Baobao?¡± he asked. ¡°Hmm, I still have more here.¡± Yingbao took out another water chestnut. Jiang Sang couldn¡¯t help butugh, savoring the water chestnuts his daughter gave him one by one. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was because the weather was getting warmer, but he felt a warming sensation coursing through his veins. He clenched his fists, suddenly feeling extraordinarily strong. Youyou leaned her head close by, nudging her little owner, hinting that it needed a water chestnut too. Seeing no other option, Yingbao fed it the water chestnut and patted her head: ¡°Take me hometer.¡± She was looking forward to the feeling of riding on the deer. Finally, the Shopkeeper brought over thepleted saddle, ¡°Come,e, try it on. If it doesn¡¯t fit, we¡¯ll make adjustments.¡± Yingbao held onto Youyou as the Shopkeeper ced the saddle on it, tightening the straps. Youyou was somewhat resistant, repeatedly trying to jump and hit him. ¡°Okay, okay.¡± Yingbao stroked its neck to calm it down. Youyou reluctantly rubbed against her little owner, finally settling down. The Shopkeeper then fastened the reins, exining to Jiang Sang how to control the deer and things to pay attention to. Yingbao carefully listened, not missing a single word. Once the saddle and reins were secured, Jiang Sang lifted his daughter onto Youyou¡¯s back. Yingbao sat upright, her feet firmly on the foot rope, grabbing reins from her father. She instantly felt as sturdy as an old dog. She urged Youyou to take a walk around, feeling absolutely thrilled. Jiang Sang paid for the saddle, smiling from ear to ear, following beside Youyou¡¯s on their walk back. ¡°Baobao, slow down.¡± He was still worried his daughter might be thrown off. Yingbao trusted Youyou. It wouldn¡¯t stumble for no reason, let alone deliberately throw her off. Along the way, Youyou caught the attention of passersby. Some even approached them, asking where they bought the deer and how they trained it. Jiang Sang simply smiled and ignored them. Off the main road leading back to the vige, there were a few patches of Wild Bamboo Forest. The bamboo forest was well-maintained, not lush but quite tall, perfect for cooling off in the summer. There seemed to be three figures squatting in the bamboo forest, up to something unknown. Jiang Sang instantly became alert, reaching into his bag to grab his axe, gripping it in his palm. Being a frequent hunter, he had a sharp intuition. Those three didn¡¯t seem to be just resting, but rather waiting for someone. In the bamboo forest, Tu Xiong and Chen Thirty, along with Chen Lulu, had been waiting for more than an hour, growing increasingly impatient. Before this, Chen Thirty had specifically made two trips back to the town to confirm whether the deer were still there, only to return and continue waiting. ¡°Damn it! I¡¯ve been waiting for so long. I¡¯ll teach that¡­ what¡¯s his name?¡± Chen Thirty spoke fiercely, turning to ask Chen Lulu, ¡°What¡¯s the man¡¯s name?¡± Chen Lulu: ¡°His name is Jiang Sang, from Dongchen Vige. The little girl he¡¯s with is adopted, not his biological daughter. I heard recently he¡¯s been quite lucky, they¡¯re even building a house on South Mountain.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Chen Thirty was intrigued and asked, ¡°How did they be so wealthy?¡± ¡°They apparently have some kind of ¡®golden ears¡¯.¡± Chen Lulu spat in disgust and said, ¡°I stopped by their house and took a few, they tasted terrible.¡± ¡°Golden ears?¡± Chen Thirty, at the mention of ¡®gold¡¯, became even more curious, ¡°What golden ears? Made of gold?¡± ¡°Not made of real gold.¡± Chen Lulu fumbled, ¡°It seems to be a kind of yellow mushroom. It looks odd. Maybe it¡¯s poisonous.¡± ¡°Poison?¡± Chen Thirty didn¡¯t believe it, ¡°If it¡¯s poisonous, why did you eat it?¡± Chen Lulu: ¡°Well, I was just curious, so I took a bite. My mom told me not to eat poisonous mushrooms, so I threw the rest away..¡± Chapter 43 - 43: Robbing the Path 1 Chapter 43: Robbing the Path 1 Trantor: 549690339 What a dumbass! Chen Thirty mumbled under his breath. Spotting what seemed like a man and a deer in the distance, he quickly whispered, ¡°They¡¯reing, they¡¯reing!¡± He shoved Chen Lulu, ¡°Hurry up and get your staff! We¡¯ll knock out Jiang Sang first, then take the deer.¡± Tu Xiong, peering out from behind the bamboo, spoke nervously, ¡°What about that little kid? Shall we knock her out too?¡± He worried that one blow might smash the child¡¯s skull apart. Chen Thirty gave him a look, ¡°Knock out for what? She¡¯s a kid. Just gag her. We could sell her in the county. She should be worth a few taels of silver.¡± No one would care too much about a bastard child, even if she went missing from the Jiang family. As for why they did not directly kill Jiang Sang, Chen Thirty had his own considerations. Killing a man wasn¡¯t the same as stealing a deer. Murder came with a price; it required paying with your own life. But stealing a deer, as long as no one recognized them, it would be no big deal. What Chen Thirty sought was wealth, not retribution. Tu Xiong nodded and quickly covered his face with a prepared thick cloth, leaving only his eyes visible. Turning his head, he saw Chen Thirty and Chen Lulu also covering their faces, with wooden sticks in their hands, ready to go out. Tu Xiong felt a bit excited, as this felt thrilling, just as hunting in the mountains. The thrill of preying on the unsuspecting, the boiling blood, was quite stimting. Outside the bamboo grove, Jiang Sang paused and whispered to his daughter, ¡°Baobao, let¡¯s not go any further, let¡¯s turn back and head to town.¡± Once back in town, he could find some familiar folks to escort his daughter and him back to the vige. Yingbao, seeing her father¡¯s nervous face, immediately realized something was going to happen. She nced towards the bamboo grove and saw three sneaky figuresing this way. Yingbao pulled the rein, prompting Youyou to turn around. As if sensing her intent, Youyou immediately turned around and bolted back the way they hade. Jiang Sang also followed, constantly looking back to keep track of the three figures. Seeing their prey trying to escape, Chen Thirty quickly signaled Tu Xiong and Chen Lulu, ¡°They¡¯re trying to escape, hurry up and intercept them! Once they escape, our chance is gone!¡± With that, he took the lead and rushed after Jiang Sang and Yingbao. Jiang Sang swiftly instructed his daughter, ¡°Quickly go to the town and find the midwife! Or go to Rongji Pharmacy and look for Doctor Li! I¡¯ll hold them off, quick!¡± As he spoke, he smacked Youyou¡¯s backside hard, urging it to speed up. Youyou hastened its pace, speeding up in an instant, and Yingbao looked back at her father, calling anxiously, ¡°Dad, hurry up and follow! Dad- -¡± Jiang Sang had turned around, gripping his felling ax firmly as he eyeballed the approaching men. They were now right in front of him and without a word, they immediately raised their sticks to strike. With his short ax, Jiang Sang had to get close to harm them. But they swiftly pummeled down on his head and body with their sticks. Despite evading repeatedly, he couldn¡¯tpletely dodge them. A blownded on his head, causing his skull to crack with blood flowing out. Furious, Jiang Sang lunged at the man who struck the hardest, gripping his long stick, andunched a strike with his ax. The man quickly backpedaled, avoiding the ax, dropping his stick in the process. ¡°Kill him! Damn it!¡± Chen Thirty cursed, ¡°Strike him dead! Let¡¯s not worry about the brating back! ¡± Tu Xiong and Chen Lulu pushed forward, raising their sticks high above their heads and swung down hard on Jiang Sang¡¯s head. ¡°Dad!¡± A mournful shout rang out behind them, apanied by a sh of frosty light. With a shing sound, blood sttered as a long gash was slit open on Tu Xiong¡¯s back. His body stiffened and he fell to the ground. Another icy de struck Chen Lulu¡¯s arm, cutting deep to the bone. Pain shot through him and, with a scream, he fell to the ground holding the sickle. Chen Thirty was stunned, not even getting a chance to figure out what happened to his aplices, Jiang Sang¡¯s ax shed his arm. ¡°Ah!¡± Chen San, with a shriek of horror, clutched his arm and screamed, ¡°Murder! Murder!¡±, and tried to run away. Jiang Sang leapt forward, hit Chen San with the handle of his knife, leaving Chen thirty unconscious on the ground. ¡°Baobao¡­¡± Jiang Sang managed to stand up, fighting off dizziness, and quickly ran towards his daughter. Yingbao who had fallen off the deer was trembling all over, her face covered with teardrops. She was still clutching the sickle that was deeply embedded in Chen Lu¡¯s arm. She extended her hands to her father, ¡°Daddy, Baobao is scared.¡± Jiang Sang tightly held his daughter, and after ensuring that she was not hurt, reassured her in a soft voice, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, Baobao. Daddy is here.¡± Just then, a donkey cart galloped forward. Chen Yin, the second son of Chen Cunzheng, jumped off the cart and quickly ran towards them. ¡°Sang, what¡¯s going on? How did this happen?¡± He had seen the fight from afar, saw a deer and a child involved, hence he knew who was fighting, and had rushed over. Jiang Sang wiped the blood off his face, ¡°These three are robbers, I got them.¡± ¡°Robbers?¡± Chen Yin looked down at the three men. All three were hooded with a kerchief over their faces. Two of them were huddled on the ground wailing, one wasying there, lifeless, with his arm bleeding. ¡°Indeed, they are robbers. Let¡¯s take them to the town, Lizheng will handle them.¡± Chen Yin unraveled their kerchiefs, and upon recognizing who the perpetrators were, he snorted in disdain. ¡°They are really seeking their own doom.¡± Technically, Chen Lu had some ties with his family, yet he had robbed his own fellow vigers, which was even lower than pigs and dogs. Jiang Sang hugged his daughter tightly, and bent down to pull out the sickle from Chen Lu¡¯s arm, ced it back in his basket, and whispered, ¡°Baobao, be good, don¡¯t talk to anyone without thinking. Daddy will handle everything.¡± Yingbao nodded, and stuffed a piece of medicinal herb into her father¡¯s mouth, ¡°Daddy, eat this.¡± Jiang Sang was confused, yet he took what his daughter had put in his mouth. Yingbao then applied some of the medicinal herb¡¯s sap to her father¡¯s head wound, making her feel relieved. Earlier, when she had seen these men aiming to strike her father¡¯s head, her mind went nk, and she darted forward, pulling a sickle from her storage and attacking. Luckily her father was safe, otherwise, she would never let them off. Two hourster, the three ruffians were tied up and brought to Lizheng¡¯s house. Sun Lizheng had a stern face as he ordered the peasants to reveal their faces. As their kerchiefs were removed, the gathering crowd gasped in surprise. It turned out that the bandits were Tu Xiong, the youngest son of the butcher Tu Da, Chen San who was a notorious character in the town, and Chen Lu, son of Chen Ergou of the Xichen Vige. These three were notorious in the town, especially Chen San and Chen Lu, who were despised because they stole and harassed widows. Sun Lizheng was furious as he watched them, trembling in anger. Unbelievably, within his jurisdiction, these local townsmen had be bandits. This, he couldn¡¯t bear. If people learned of their identities, they would think that this ce was infested with bandits. If these good-for-nothings stole a little or caused a tiny ruckus, he could let it go, as these were minor issues. As long as the vigers didn¡¯t press charges, he wouldn¡¯t interfere. But now, they had attacked and injured people on the road, he couldn¡¯t tolerate such actions. ¡°Summon their vige heads! ¡± Sun Lizheng shouted: ¡°Call their family heads and warrantors too, summon them all!¡± As per his instructions, when one personmits a crime, ten neighbors are held ountable. As Lizheng, today he would make an example of them. ¡°Yes!¡± , several vigers ran to fetch them. In less than two hours, arge crowd was brought in. The wife of Tu Da, in tears, pounced on her son¡¯s body, smearing her hands with his blood, and screamed. Sun Lizheng looked annoyed and ordered the peasants to drag her away. He turned to the vige heads, ¡°These three are from your vige. Now, they are robbing and injuring good people.. There are witnesses and evidence, what do you suggest we should do?¡± Chapter 44 - 44: Disposal_l Chapter 44: Disposal_l Trantor: 549690339 The three vige heads were also quite angry at this moment. The emergence of such people in their own vige was a disgrace to the whole vige, and above all, it trampled over their dignity as vige heads. What does this indicate? It indicates their ipetence and unworthiness of their positions. The three of them fist saluted, saying, ¡°Deal with them as you see fit, Lizheng. As for their family members, punish them ording to thew. We have no ints.¡± As for their family members, punish them ording to thew. We have no ints.¡±Serving as vige heads meant that they had a certain standing in the vige and therefore, they could be connected with these vigers by kinship ties, which was why they had such a statement. Several vigers who were co-guarantors with the three individuals were dissatisfied, stepping forward to plead their case. ¡°Lizheng, we didn¡¯t know anything about this matter. You can¡¯t punish us all. We are honest andw-abiding people who haven¡¯t done anything wrong. We can¡¯t be punished because of this beast.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, we¡¯re innocent¡­¡± ¡°Lizheng, these three evildoers deserve to be killed. But we are allw-abiding, we¡¯ve never even hurt an ant¡­¡± We¡¯re unjustly used, Lizheng¡­¡± Sun Licheng, with his hands behind his back, swept his gaze over the crowd, saying coldly, ¡°Whether you¡¯re wrongly used or not has nothing to do with me, Sun Zaiyue. Daqian Country has itsws. Ten households are responsible by imperial decree. If you don¡¯t agree, go to the county government to ask for justice and see how Mingfu will judge.¡± Which of these vigers would dare to go to the county government? Some had never even left their vige in their entire lives. The crowd wailed, knowing they couldn¡¯t escape punishment, they were suffocated with anger. ncing at the three men crouching on the ground, they suddenly burned with rage. Several people rushed forward to kick and curse them, ¡°Evil demons! Why don¡¯t you go die!¡± ¡°You troublemaker, should be beheaded right away¡­¡± Tu Da and his wife along with Chen Ergou and his family were already controlled by the local guards. Seeing their sons being beaten, they couldn¡¯t help but struggle and cry out. ¡°Stop beating, please don¡¯t beat him anymore, he¡¯s still a child¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s already so badly hurt, don¡¯t hit him anymore¡­¡± Chen Ergou¡¯s wife saw her son being kicked and trampled by the crowd, and she fainted on the spot out of shock. Chen Thirty did not have any familye to him, not even his wife. His parents were said to have died long ago, and after his elder brothers had casually gotten him a wife, they split up and lived separately, cutting off most interactions. Naturally, they didn¡¯t want to deal with his affairs. Sun Licheng stomped his foot angrily, saying, ¡°Stop it! If you kill them, you¡¯ll all have to go to prison!¡± Hearing this, the crowd backed off after delivering a final kick each. At this moment, Doctor Li¡¯s two grandsons were summoned by the vige guards to give medical treatment to the three men lying on the ground. Sun Licheng instructed, ¡°First, lock them up in the vige hall, I¡¯ll interrogate them separatelyter.¡± The guards in attendance were keeping a watchful eye on the three men, ready to haul them away once their injuries were attended to. At this time, Jiang Sang was having his wound dressed at Doctor Li¡¯s ce. He had a wound on the top of his head from where he¡¯d been hit, but it had already stopped bleeding. Doctor Li picked up a pair of scissors, cut off some hair around Jiang Sang¡¯s wound, and noticed what seemed like signs of healing. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Sang, did you apply any medicine?¡± Otherwise, how could a half-a-finger-long wound heal so quickly? Moreover, there was a trace of transparent medicinal extract on his hair, clearly, some kind of medicine had been applied and had dried up. Jiang Sang cast his eyes downwards, pondered a moment and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t use any medicine.¡± He knew his daughter must have applied something on his wound, but he couldn¡¯t say it. Doctor Li didn¡¯t press further. He cleansed the wound again with medicinal liquid, sprinkled some medicinal powder on it, and bandaged it up. ¡°Sang, it seems like you are hurt pretty badly. Is your head feeling dizzy? Jiang Sang blinked, ¡°I was drowsy at first, but I¡¯m not dizzy now.¡± ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s good.¡± Doctor Li said, ¡°I¡¯ll prescribe you some medicine. You should take it for a few days and rest for a while.¡± Doctor Li took his brush to write the prescription, ¡°If you still feel unwell,e back immediately. Don¡¯t be negligent about a head injury.¡± After writing the prescription, he personally prepared the medicine, let his daughter-inw brew a packet of it in the back hall, and served it to Jiang Sang. As Jiang Sang¡¯s case was still pending, he had to stay in town and wait for a summons from the Lizheng. Yingbao had been quiet in her father¡¯s arms all the time. The image of those men raising their sticks kept shing through her mind, and she was still terrified. ¡°Daddy, it¡¯s my fault, I shouldn¡¯t have brought Youyou into town.¡± Otherwise her father wouldn¡¯t have been hurt. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, Bao¡¯er, it¡¯s those bad people who wanted to do bad things. Whether we came or not, we couldn¡¯t have avoided it.¡± Jiang Sangforted her. The deer from his home had always been coveted by others, so he did not let his daughter bring the deer with her to town with her elder nephew. He didn¡¯t expect those three men to be so cruel, attacking in broad daylight, trying to kill him and his daughter. ¡°Sang, I¡¯ve had someone prepare a room for you, you should go and rest there.¡± Seeing that the father and daughter had been sitting idle for a while, Doctor Li said, ¡°I don¡¯t know when it will be over at the Lizheng¡¯s side. If it¡¯s toote, you¡¯ll sleep here and go home tomorrow.¡± Jiang Sang: ¡°Okay, thank you, Old Uncle Li, for your kindness.¡± Doctor Li waved his hand: ¡°It¡¯s just a small effort. You¡¯ve lost a lot of blood, you should go lie down for a while.¡± ¡°Alright.¡¯ In Dongchen Vige, Chen Yin rushed his donkey cart directly to the Jiang Family, telling them that Jiang Sang had encountered robbers on the road and was currently being treated at Doctor Li¡¯s ce. Jiang Liu¡¯s wife was nearly scared into fainting, and hurriedly had eldest and second son go to town to check on him. As soon as Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng heard, they did not hesitate to borrow Chen Yin¡¯s donkey cart and rush to town. When Chunniang heard that her husband had had an ident, her legs went weak and she wanted to apany them, crying. Jiang Da¡¯s daughter-inw persuaded, ¡°You can¡¯t help by going now. It¡¯s better to stay at home and wait. Don¡¯t worry, Chen Yin said that Sang and Yingbao are fine, nothing serious happened, and the bad guys have already been sent to the country hall, just waiting to be interrogated.¡± Chunniang wiped her tears and reluctantly nodded her head. By the time Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng arrived in town in their donkey cart, it was already dusk. They arrived at Doctor Li¡¯s house and found their younger brother, who was currently unconscious. ¡°Sang, what happened to your head?¡± Seeing that his brother¡¯s head was bandaged up like a zongzi (dumpling), Jiang Dng couldn¡¯t help but ask worriedly. Jiang Sang was already awake. Seeing his elder brothers arrive, he slowly sat up, touched the bandage on his head, and said, ¡°I got hit on the head and got a cut, but I¡¯ve been treated.¡± ¡°You got a cut? Are you hurt badly?¡± Jiang Dng frowned. ¡°I¡¯m fine now.¡± Jiang Sang said. ¡°You should lie down.¡± Jiang Eng quickly reached out to help his younger brother lie back down. Jiang Sang shook his head and was about to get out of bed, ¡°I need to go check on things at the vige hall, I can¡¯t lie here.¡± He didn¡¯t know how long he had slept, but he imagined that the Lizheng¡¯s interrogation must have finished, and it was time for them to question him. ¡°What exactly happened?¡± Jiang Dng asked. Jiang Sang then exined the situation from beginning to end. He turned to look at his sleeping daughter and sighed, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for Bao¡¯er¡¯s quick thinking to attack them with a scythe, I might have been killed right there.¡± Jiang Dng was furious, ¡°This Chen Lu! Since childhood, he has been spoiled by his parents and has been getting away with robbing and stealing everywhere. I didn¡¯t expect him to dare to hurt you, Sang, we can¡¯t let this matter slide.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Jiang Sang sneered, ¡°He deliberately plotted to kill my daughter and me. How could I possibly let him go?¡± If this time Lizheng Sun Licheng still wants to downy the matter, then he would think of a way to finish those three men himself. After all, nothing is more important than their lives. They dared target his daughter, even if they die a hundred times, it would not be enough.. Chapter 45 - 45: Compensation_l Chapter 45: Compensation_l Trantor: 549690339 Before long, Lizheng indeed sent someone to summon Jiang Sang to the vige hall for questioning. Jiang Dng went with his third younger brother, leaving his second brother behind to look after Yingbao and Dalu. The vige hall was where Lizheng and the Xiang Zhi worked, and today it would serve as the ce where the culprits would be interrogated. Lizheng was in charge of the process. It was already evening, andnterns were hung high in the courtyard of the vige hall. Several torches were also set up around, illuminating the entire courtyard. Quite a few people crouched against the courtyard wall. They were the guarantors of the three culprits, amounting to twenty or thirty in total. For several guarantors who were too old, their sons took their ces to receive the punishment, each being beaten with twenty nks. As the vige men were limited in number, they had to take turns administering the punishment. For a time, the courtyard was filled with the sound of the wooden nk striking flesh, apanied by cries of pain. With the help of his older brother, Jiang Sang walked into the main hall and bowed to Lizheng. Lizheng asked him to exin the entire incident, and had a clerk record the details on the spot, before cross-checking Jiang¡¯s ount with the testimonies of the three robbers. After verifying the uracy of the records, Sun Licheng ordered the families of the three offenders topensate Jiang Sang with fifteen taels of silver for his medical expenses. The fifteen taels had to be delivered within a specified period, otherwise, severe punishment would ensue. Tu Da was straightforward, immediately instructing his family to bring five taels of silver, and personally handing it to Jiang Sang, saying, ¡°It¡¯s all because I failed to discipline my child. Please, Jiang Mr. Jiang, forgive us.¡± Jiang Sang epted the silver without a trace of emotion, saying calmly: ¡°Whether or not I forgive you is not important. Thew will make its judgment.¡± After all, he would never forgive these people. Those who dared to harm him and his daughter would have to pay the price. The remaining ten taels were to be paid by the families of Chen San Shi and Chen Donkey. However, Chen San Shi¡¯s family had nothing, his wife was heavily pregnant, and they couldn¡¯t even afford a copper coin. Sun Licheng then ordered the ten households that had guaranteed Chen San Shi¡¯s family to collectively pay the sum. Anyone who dared to exceed the deadline would be beaten until the debt was cleared. Seeing such a situation, Chen Ergou, who was squatting at the door, came up with a wicked idea. He also imed that his family had no money, not even a single coin. Sun Lichengughed coldly, mmed his hand on the table, and said, ¡°Very well, let the ten families that guaranteed for you collectively pay the money.¡± Upon hearing this, the ten families simply hated Chen Ergou, grinding their teeth in secret and vowing to never let his family off in the future. Among these ten families, was the father of Chen Changping, Old Chen. Old Chen, who was already fifty, was more humiliation than pain for having been stripped and beaten twenty times in public. To add insult to injury, he had toe up with five hundred coins, which made him feel like vomiting blood from anger. But there was no choice. So he let his younger son go home to get the money and handed it over to Sun Licheng. After being beaten and fined, Sun Licheng justifiably let him go. Old Chen was then carried home by his younger son Chen Changhai. All along the way, he criticised Sun Licheng and the vige chief for theirck of decency and Chen Ergou for his ungratefulness. ¡°Indeed, people of the same family are expected to have the same standards, look at what Chen Ergou has be! Ever since he was a child, he was ever thieving. Now, he has even turned into a robber, and it¡¯s all because of the splendid example set by his father!¡± Turns out, this Chen Ergou was somewhat rted to Old Chen, and who would have thought him to be so shameless, demanding his own family to pay for his fine. ¡°We must¡¯vemitted some terrible sin in our past lite to have be guarantors with his family. Changhai, tomorrow you go to your cousin¡¯s house and ask him to change our guarantor.¡± Old Chen grumbled angrily. Chen Changhai retorted impatiently, ¡°Dad, if you want to change, just go ahead. Now, who would dare to get involved with Chen Ergou¡¯s family? I think, let uncle hurry and drive his family out of the vige.¡± True enough, troublests for a thousand years. Chen Ergou¡¯s father is a habitual thief. Despite his age, he even went to steal a chicken from a neighbor¡¯s pot during the new year and was caught red-handed. s, they were unfortunately the guarantors of such a family. Upon returning home, Old Cheny down on the kang, while Chen¡¯s wife applied medicine to his wounds. ¡°Why would Chen Donkey be so thoughtless to mix with that street thug Chen San Shi. Now, it¡¯s good, isn¡¯t it? Chen Ergou had a son when he least expected it, and before he could leave an heir, the boy is going to be sentenced¡­¡± While Chen¡¯s wife grumbled, she didn¡¯t forget toin, ¡°Your cousin is really something too, how could he let you be beaten like this? You won¡¯t be able to get off the kang for a few days.¡¯ Chen Lashuan¡¯s cousin was Chen Changsheng, the head of Xichen Vige, and also the one who had pushed them out as guarantors. For this, Chen Lashuan was very aggrieved. Not even showing a little bit of decency, causing him to lose money and face, what kind of rtive was this? Humph! When it was his turn to be the vige head, he would certainly make him taste the bitterness of inhumanity. At the guard hour, Jiang Sang returned home with his sleeping daughter in his arms. Chunniang hurriedly stepped forward to take over her daughter and ced her on the kang. ¡°How are you? Is the injury serious?¡± Chunniang touched her husband¡¯s head. ¡°I¡¯m fine, it doesn¡¯t matter anymore.¡± Jiang Sang took out a bag of silver coins from his bosom and handed it to his wife, ¡°This is thepensation silver given by Lizheng to me and Baobao. It¡¯s fifteen taels in total.¡± Chunniang took it, set it aside, and asked, ¡°How were the ones who hurt you dealt with? They surely weren¡¯t just fined and then let go, right?¡± ¡°They were not let go. Lizheng said they will be sent to the county government office for punishment early tomorrow morning.¡± After all, Lizheng was not an official of the government, he had no power to sentence criminals, but he could fine some silver or beat a person a few times. Chunniang was relieved, she put away the money and asked: ¡°Have you eaten? I have dinner warming in the pot, would you like some?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve eaten. I had chicken porridge at my elder brother¡¯s house.¡± Jiang Sang then spoke to his wife, ¡°Baobao was not well today. Doctor Li said she might have been frightened, so he prescribed her a calming medicine which I¡¯ve fed her. Let Baobao sleep with you tonight, you look after her a bit, I¡¯ll go to the west room.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Chunniang took the oilmp and led her husband to the west room. ¡°You sit down first, I¡¯ll go get you some hot water.¡± Jiang Sang nodded, took off his shoes and sat on the kang, feeling very heavy and sleepy. Soon, Chunniang brought hot water for him to wash his face, and then brought a basin of footwashing water for him. After Jiang Sang washed up, heid down and fell asleep. He had lost a lot of blood today, and he felt cold all over, his eyelids trembling. If he didn¡¯t lie down and sleep, he might faint. At that moment, Chunniang brought a bowl of golden ear porridge, insisting that he finish it before he slept. Chunniang covered her husband with a quilt, then returned to the east room with another basin of water to wash her daughter¡¯s face and hands, and then fetched more water to wash her feet. Yingbao¡¯s eyelids twitched as she became immersed in a memory from her past life. In the coldest winter month, when she came back from washing clothes by the river, her birth mother of the Han family, who had always been unfriendly to her, unexpectedly called her into the house, produced a set of brightly colored skirts, and even a pair of anklets for her to put on. Yingbao took the skirt and shook it out for a look, her face sinking slightly. The fabric was thin, the hem only reached her calves, and the waist dangled with long tassels, it was the kind of dancing skirt worn by Hu Xuan dancers. ¡°Ying¡¯er, we have a distinguished guest at home today. Since you have learned Hu Xuan dance at Wuchun Yard, why don¡¯t you perform it for the guest.¡± The Han family¡¯s sweet cries of ¡°Ying¡¯er¡± likely sounded odd even to herself, and the fake motherly smile she put on was particrly phony. ¡°Your father¡¯s chance to be an official relies on this special guest, so you must behave well and never offend the guest.¡± Yingbao dropped the skirt in her hands on the table and sneered, ¡°Why don¡¯t you let your second daughter do it, I¡¯m young and ugly, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll spoil the guest¡¯s eyes.¡± Her hands, feet, and face were all covered with frostbite. To ask her to wear such a thin dress in this cold weather, let alone dancing for a man¡¯s viewing, even just walking on the street, she would be scolded by people. Performing? She simply wanted to sell her off again. Over the years in the Wuchun Yard, what kind of people hadn¡¯t she seen? Fortunately, she had good rtions with Sister Wen and was still young, which was the reason why she hadn¡¯t been pushed out by the Yard¡¯s ss leader. She didn¡¯t expect that her birth mother who redeemed her was actually intending to use her to please the rich.. Chapter 46 - 46: Dreamscape_l Chapter 46: Dreamscape_l Trantor: 549690339 Upon seeing her third daughter throw her dress and utter such words, the Han Family matriarch was livid. She raised her hand to p Chen Yingbao, but the girl deftly dodged her. ¡°You little bitch! Have the gall to talk to your mother like this!¡± The matriarch grabbed a washing stick to hit her, while cursing, ¡°All you have to do is dance, not cater to guests. Stop acting so virtuous!¡± Ignoring her, Yingbao turned and bolted. She was not foolish enough to wait around for the matriarch to pummel her. Running towards the courtyard entrance, she suddenly bumped into her biological father Chen Changping. Chen Changping, dressed in a green robe, looked at her coldly. Despite the fact that he had never hit her, Yingbao was understandably intimidated by her father who never treated her as his own. Neither had he protested when her mother beat her or when her siblings, Chen Zhao and Chen Xu, bullied her. His silent disregard and contempt instilled an innate fear in Yingbao. ¡°Chen Ying, follow me,¡± Chen Changpingmanded sternly, gesturing to his wife to leave. The matriarch discarded the washing stick and stormed off, fuming. After a moment of hesitation, Yingbaoplied with her biological father and followed him into his study. Seating himself behind the desk, Chen Changping began, ¡°Chen Ying, your mother has always been rather hot-tempered and her treatment of you has been a bit rough. Don¡¯t hold it against her. In disbelief, Yingbao listened as her father criticized her mother for the first time. Chen Changping coughed then added, ¡°Over the years, you have suffered a lot while living outside. For that, I don¡¯t me you for your resentment towards your mother.¡± Yingbao almostughed at this, half-listening as she prepared herself for his next words. ¡°Her strictness stems from her concern for you. You¡¯ve always been a rebellious child, always crossing your mother, involved in all kinds of troubles and wrongdoings. How could you expect her not to get angry with you? Several years ago, when we send you off, it was because you were too disobedient and rebellious. Feeling helpless, your mother made the decision.¡± Cocking her head to one side, Yingbao asked, ¡°So when she bought me back, does it mean she thought I had been taught well?¡± The vein on Chen Changping¡¯s forehead throbbed as he fought the impulse to m the desk, slowly saying, ¡°Chen Ying, it was my negligence that I didn¡¯t get you back sooner. Now that you¡¯re back, it¡¯s time you changed your temper and get along well with your mother.¡± Yingbao remained silent. It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t want to get along with her birth mother, but her mother abhorred her and never considered her as a daughter. Not knowing any better, she had previously thought that they disliked her because she had done something wrong. Now, at fourteen, and after spending five years in the chaotic environment of Wuchun Yard, she had gained some understanding of the world. For example, the way her parents treated her and her younger sister and her brother were different. Let¡¯s not talk about the only son Chen Xu of the family, even Chen Zhao, although a daughter, was raised by their side. With her sweet talk, cleverness, and ability to adapt, she was much favored by her father. Although the matriarch had a preference for Chen Xu, she didn¡¯t habitually scold or beat Chen Zhao, even when Zhao asionally talked back. So, Yingbao thought, it wasn¡¯t that she was beaten for doing something wrong, whatever she did was wrong. Given that, why should she try to curry their favor? Seeing his daughter¡¯s stubborn look and the fact that she remained unaffected by his words, Chen Changping was infuriated. Suppressing his frustration, he spoke in a softer tone, ¡°Chen Ying, you are growing up. You will have to get married someday. Your mother wants to find you a wealthy husband. That¡¯s why she is teaching you so strictly. You don¡¯t have to hold grudges against her. Which parent doesn¡¯t want their child to seed and live a life of luxury? s, all parents in the world are the same, you need to understand what it means to respect elders and to be filial. epting things as theye is your duty as a child. ¡± Yingbao fell silent. She had never hoped for her biological parents to give her a life of luxury, nor would she endure withoutint. But she had always harbored an aspiration. She wanted to get a household registration pass, to escape from this family as soon as possible, and live off her own earnings in the future. Alternatively, like her eldest sister Chen Wan, she could get married and leave the Chen household for good. Living in poverty with a farmer is preferable to getting hit and scolded every single day. Frankly, she preferred her days at Wuchun Yard. Over there, she at least had Sister Wen as apanion. If they weren¡¯t dancing, they might asionally go out to the market to buy snacks and scripts to read. ¡°Chen Ying, we will be weing a distinguished guest in our home this afternoon.¡¯ Chen Changping, believing that he had adequately set the stage, voiced his thoughts, ¡°The prosperity and status of this family, whether you and your second sister can find good families to marry into, all these depend on this person.¡± ¡°As such, your duty is to treat the guest well, please do not embarrass me.¡± After a short pause, Chen Changping added: ¡°As long as you behave and stop being obstinate this time, whatever you ask for in the future, I will grant it.¡± Yingbao¡¯s features subtly altered as she asked, ¡°What if I want fifty taels of silver and a household registration to move away.¡± She yearned to find Sister Wen. Because Sister Wen had promised her that she would form an opera troupe in the future, and let her be the lead. Chen Changping lowered his eyes, ¡°Agreed.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Yingbao was a little excited, ¡°Then you must swear you¡¯ll give me the fifty taels of silver and the document allowing me to leave.¡± Chen Changping massaged his temples and said, ¡°I swear.¡± ¡°Great,¡± Yingbao started to feel joyous, ¡°But I can only dance the Hu Xuan Dance, I know nothing else.¡± She was best at the Hu Xuan Dance, and considering her petite, exquisite figure, when she moved in sync with the drum beats, she danced as if she embodied a nimble, flying bird. ¡°Then you will dance the Hu Xuan Dance,¡± sighed Chen Changping in relief. His brother-inw, Chen Guanglu, had informed him that the distinguished guest was particrly fond of the Hu Xuan Dance, especially when performed by a cunning little woman. If this guest took a liking to her, the official position of county chief might just be within reach. Previously, Chen Changping had considered purchasing a practicing courtesan who was capable of performing the Hu Xuan Dance, but his brother-inw had mentioned that due to his high status, a purchased courtesan, after all, was merely a lowly servant, and would not catch his eye. Chen Ying, on the other hand, was his own daughter, moreover a schr¡¯s daughter. Even though she had spent several years in Wuchun Yard, she was still technically a virgin, probably wouldn¡¯t offend the aristocrat. By dusk, several well-dressed guests indeed arrived at their home. The man walking in the middle was a middle-aged schr wearing a Daoist Robe. Chen Changping led this man to the main seat, then ordered the cook to bring out the wine and dishes. After three rounds of drinks, Yingbao was pushed into the main hall by Mrs. Han. She dressed in a red dance skirt and attached anklets to her bare feet, dancing the Hu Xuan Dance on the round stage. Her dance was graceful, and her pace was quick in tune with the drumbeats, capturing everyone¡¯s undivided attention. The middle-aged schr was evidently pleased. He promptly rewarded her with a jade wall and asked her if she was willing to apany him to Prefecture City. Yingbao decidedly declined. The schrughed heartily, showing no signs of anger. Chen Changping, on the other hand, didn¡¯t mask his displeasure, continuously ring at her as if he was going to devour her. Ignoring the nces, Yingbao cheerfully returned to her own room, holding the jade wall, after changing from her dance dress into her cotton clothes. At that moment, her second sister, Chen Zhao, and her younger brother, Chen Xu, who was almost nine, came in. Upon seeing Yingbao¡¯s jade wall, Chen Xu immediately grabbed it. ¡°Give it back! ¡± Yingbao was not ustomed to tolerating him and immediately tried to snatch it back. Chen Zhao purposely blocked Yingbao, allowing Chen Xu to run out of the door. ¡°Scoundrel!¡± Enraged, Yingbao forcefully pushed Chen Zhao to the floor. As a mixture of old resentments and new grievances rushed into her mind, she mounted her sister and started hitting her relentlessly¡­ ¡°Baobao, Baobao, wake up¡­¡± Yingbao was jolted awake, looking around in confusion as she opened her eyes. Chunnan held her little girl and soothed her, ¡°Did Baobao have a nightmare?¡± Just a moment ago, the little girl had been cursing and iling about in her sleep. It had scared her to death.. Chapter 47 - 47: Borrowing Money_l Chapter 47: Borrowing Money_l Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao held her mother tightly, nuzzling her head against her chest. Thankfully, it was just a dream. Thankfully, she came back. Chunniang patted her daughter¡¯s back, softly saying, ¡°Baobao, are you hungry? It¡¯s already noon, you were sleeping so soundly, your mom couldn¡¯t wake you.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll go bring the lunch, and you hurry up and wash your face.¡± Chunniang said. ¡°Hmm.¡± Yingbao turned her head to see her two little brothers, they sat beside her, sucking on their fingers while squinting andughing at her. She let go of her mom and rushed over to her little brothers, touching their chubby heads whileughing and saying, ¡°Xiaojie, Dawu, would you like it if your sister taught you to readter?¡± Xiaojie took his finger out of his mouth, and slobbered on his sister¡¯s face when she came over, making a sound as if he agreed. Xiaowu suddenly turned his head and pped his big brother¡¯s forehead, then started to bite his fat little hand. ¡°Oh my, Xiaowu, why are you biting your big brother?¡± Yingbao quickly pulled Xiaowu away. Xiaojie began to wail, holding up his bitten hand toin to his mother. Chunniang, not knowing whether tough or cry, touched Xiaojie¡¯s little hand and even blew on it ¡°Okay, okay, Xiaojie, it doesn¡¯t hurt. Xiaowu was just joking with his big brother.¡± Xiaojie rubbed his eyes, truly stopped crying, and went back to sit with his sister and little brother. Yingbao gently tapped Xiaowu¡¯s forehead, whispering, ¡°You can¡¯t bite your brother in the future, okay?¡± Xiaowu blinked, burrowed into his sister¡¯s arms, turned his head and red at Xiaojie, sneakily sticking out his tiny foot to kick him, hoping to push him further away from his sister. Jiang Sang had been lying on the kang bed for two days. He drank medicine on time every day, ate the steamed egg made by his little daughter, and was lively, even taking off the bandage wrapped around his head. Now it was the busiest time of farming season. The wheat in the dry fields was to be harvested, the rice seedlings in the water fields were to be transnted, and millet was to be nted in the fields near South Mountain. At this time of year, even the donkey belonging to the vige head would be exhausted. Yingbao was also busy looking after her little brothers, allowing her parents to tend to the fields without worries. Apart from looking after her brothers, she also had to find time to cook for her parents and to make a bowl of steamed egg for her brothers to supplement their nutrition. As for the things in the cave, they would have to wait until nighttime. The seeds she bought from the salesman had beenpletelv nted in the cave, just waiting to sprout. The exotic seeds received her special care, being nted in the dark soil next to the water pool. And those thirty golden ears seemed to have truly mutated. Not only did they not copse, but they grew bigger, shiny and translucent, golden in color, very beautiful. As for the three piles of grain harvested earlier, they had not yet beenpletely threshed. Yingbao decided to secretly take the wheat from the cave to the threshing site when her family¡¯s wheat was taken there, and pile it with their wheat to be threshed together. Yuanbao¡¯s school was on holiday for the farming season. He and Huzi often came over to y with his little cousins. asionally, with the approval of his littledy-cousin, they could ride Youyou around the vige, drawing many envious and jealous eyes. Xiaojie and Xiaowu were also very excited to see Youyou, always crawling in her direction. So, Yingbao found two small carriers and tightened them with ropes. She then hung them on both sides of Youyou¡¯s back and fixed them with the saddle so they wouldn¡¯t move to one side. Then she put each of her brothers in a carrier and led them here and there. Xiaojie and Xiaowu were thrilled, clinging to the edge of the carriage and looking out,ughing non-stop. Huzi watched them enviously, persistently pulling Yingbao¡¯s sleeve, wanting to be in the carriage as well. Without any other choice, Yingbao had to ce her two brothers in one carrier and let Huzi wait in the other one. Therefore, the vige saw an unusual sight. A two-year-old girl leading a big deer with two carriers hanging on each side. In those carriers sat three boys, one of whom was noticeablyrger than the girl. Dalu was surrounded by several children who were enviously staring at Huzi, Xiaojie, and Xiaowu. The Master sighed and shook his head upon seeing this. The world has gone downhill, and the weak are being overpowered by the strong. What¡¯s wrong with these children in the vige? Why are they always circled around a tiny little girl? Several days passed. The wheat in the vige had been mostly harvested. Some had already been threshed, with only the drying to bepleted. In those few days, Lizheng had alreadye to inspect once, announcing that this year¡¯s taxes would be increased by ten percent. The vigers grumbled, but they were powerless. So, many vigers rushed to dry their wheat, hoping to sell their crops early to make more silver coin. This was because the Imperial Court now implemented a taxw based on the amount ofnd one owned, and taxes were calcted into silver coin. So, the people had to sell their grain first to get the money to pay their taxes. This resulted in the rapid oversaturation of the grain market after the summer harvest, with prices heavily suppressed by wealthy merchants. Therefore, people had to sell their grain before the price dropped in order to reduce their losses. Jiang Sang¡¯s wheat had also been gathered andid out to dry in the threshing ground, ready to thresh in a few days. But he was not in a rush, for he had enough silver coin to pay his taxes, and he didn¡¯t n to sell his grain at this time. Uncle Chen had said that the price of grain would definitely rise this winter, so he not only refused to sell his grain, but also nned to buy some from other families to store. He wouldn¡¯t purchase a great deal, just enough for his family to live afortable year. While he was flipping his wheat over to dry, Chen Ergou from Xichen Vige suddenly ran over with his wife, knelt before Jiang Sang, and began to sob and beg: ¡°Sang, I beg you to go to the county town and speak up for my son Lulu, sniff sniff¡­ Jiang Sang jumped, quickly retreated and said coldly, ¡°I wonder if you¡¯re appealing to the wrong person.¡± Chen Ergou crawled forward on his knees, tears and snot running down his face: ¡°Sang, it¡¯s all my son Lulu¡¯s fault for listening to that damned Chen Thirty¡¯s incitement, but you didn¡¯t suffer any harm, can you please go to the county elder and ask him to let my son go, sniff sniff¡­ I beg you¡­¡± Jiang Sang was rendered speechless and barked, ¡°Are you suggesting I suffered no harm?¡± He lowered his head, pointing at arge bald scar on his scalp, ¡°Are you blind? Who do you think caused this to happen?¡± Chun Niang also angrily said, ¡°My husband was nearly killed by your son Chen Lulu, and you dare to say nothing happened?¡± Chen Ergou blinked his small eyes, thinking to himself, you seem to be very alive and kicking now. He sniffed, sobbing, ¡°Then¡­ can you lend me some money, so¡­ I can redeem my son?¡± Even though his son hadmitted a crime, he was still under eighteen years old. The county elder said that as long as their family coulde up with fifty taels of silver, they could redeem their son and bring him home. If they couldn¡¯t produce the ransom, Chen Lulu would have to remain in the county jail indefinitely. But where could he get fifty taels of silver? He couldn¡¯t even scrape together one hundred coin from his home. He had tried to borrow from the entire vige over the past few days, but no one was willing to lend him any money. Many people locked their doors and closed their windows as soon as they saw himing, even after he called and pleaded, they didn¡¯t respond a word. It was Old Chen Shuan who told him that Jiang Sang from East Vige hadpletely recovered and was bouncing around lively, far from looking like someone who had been severely injured. Moreover, on that day, Jiang Sang received fifteen taels ofpensation, fifteen taels! All built from the blood and sweat of the people of West Vige. Old Chen Shuan also suggested to him that Jiang Sang¡¯s home was supposedly growing gold, even a small escape of savings would be enough for fifty taels. He suggested Chen Ergou visit Jiang and cry and ask for help, as Old Jiang was known for caring about his reputation and may very well provide support. Jiang Sang was nearlyughing with rage, ¡°How dare you have the nerve toe here to borrow money from me? Who gave you such audacity?¡± Chapter 48 - 48: Busy Farming_l Chapter 48: Busy Farming_l Trantor: 549690339 Chen Ergou spoke with certainty, ¡°I borrow money, but I always pay it back. Sang, saving a life is better than creating seven statues, so could you just do me a favor? When my donkeyes home, he can consider you his godfather; he¡¯ll work for you for life¡­¡± Jiang Sang and Chunniang turned green with indignation and furiously yelled, ¡°Get lost!¡± They picked up a wooden spade to hit him. Scared, Chen Ergou and his wife crawled up and ran far away, still not stopping their gabbles, ¡°Could¡­ could I borrow your deer? When my donkeyes back, I¡¯ll go hunting in the mountains to repay you with another deer, no¡­ three in return¡­¡± Jiang Sang became so furious that he lifted the wooden shovel and chased after them. Scared, Chen Ergou and his wife broke into a run and disappeared in a cloud of dust. Upon hearing this, the vigers in the threshing ground couldn¡¯t help but scoff, ¡°Really shameless! No wonder Chen Lulu dares to block the road and rob, with such parents, it¡¯s no surprise he turned out this way.¡± The more Jiang Sang thought about it, the stranger Chen Ergou¡¯s behavior seemed. ¡°No, I have to go see the n Leader of the Chen Family and have him solve this.¡± After all, Chen Ergou is from the Chen Family n, and only the n Leader could control him. Chunniang nodded, ¡°You go. I¡¯m worried Chen Ergou might make more trouble.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jiang Sang threw the spade he was holding and headed towards the n Leader¡¯s house. The midsummer sun was as hot as a small stove. Yingbao took Youyou for a walk out. Seeing Xiaowu and Xiaojie¡¯s heads sweating under the bright sunlight, she quickly returned home. She helped her two younger brothers off the carrying basket and asked Yuanbao to get Huzi as well. She spread two mats on the ground in the main room, and the four boys sat down to y with a Kongming lock and Tangram puzzles. Little Yingbao then went into the kitchen to cook. She couldn¡¯t stir-fry, but she could wash rice and cook it, along with boiling some water chestnuts on the side. With no one around, Yingbao simply got a basket of water chestnuts, washed them thoroughly, and started boiling them. Her family¡¯s stove had two pots, perfect for cooking both rice and water chestnuts. Before long, the rice was cooked and the water chestnuts boiled. She took out the water chestnuts and poured the water into a y jar, stired in some brown sugar, and set it aside to cool for Yuanbao and Huzi to drinkter. She then picked some green vegetables, washed them and set them aside for her mother to cook. In early spring, one of their hens had hatched a brood of twenty chicks, which were now big enough to find their own food. Yingbao threw them the plucked vegetable leaves to peck at. Fluffy chicks circled around Yingbao¡¯s feet, clucking incessantly. It wasn¡¯t until evening that Jiang Sang and Chunniang came home. Seeing that their daughter had cooked the rice and prepared the vegetables, Chunniang touched her little girl¡¯s head, praising, ¡°Baobao, you¡¯re so capable.¡± Yingbao gave a small smile, ¡°I also boiled some chestnuts. Yuanbao and Huzi took some home, and we still have a little left. Mother, you taste.¡± Chunniang was surprised, ¡°Did you go chestnut picking again?¡± Yingbao nodded. ¡°Did you take your brothers with you?¡± Chunniang asked. It seemed she had seen her daughter leading the deer around earlier. ¡°No, I went by myself,¡± Yingbao replied straightforwardly, not blushing. Chunniang took her at her word, adding, ¡°Baobao, in the future, when you go out to y, it¡¯s better to go with your siblings.¡± The previous incident was still unresolved, so she didn¡¯t dare let her daughter out of their sight by herself. ¡°Ok, Mother, don¡¯t worry. From now on, I will stay with Sister Dani and the others,¡± Yingbao obediently nodded. Once Chunniang had finished cooking the vegetables, the family sat down to eat. Xiaojie and Xiaowu, smelling the delicious food, quickly crawled over and started moring for attention from their parents and sister. Chunniang fed them steamed egg with a spoon and asked her husband, ¡°Sang, what did the n Leader of Chen family from West Vige say?¡± Jiang Sang wolfed down his rice, saying, ¡°Chen Ergou said it was Chen Laoshuan who stirred things up, and the n Leader of Chen Family gave him a scolding. I guess this matter will just end as it is.¡± ¡°However, the Chen Family¡¯s n Leader assured me that Chen Ergou won¡¯t bother us again.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good news.¡± Chunniang was somewhat relieved. After finishing his meal, Jiang Sang cleaned up the dishes and started washing them while Chunniang boiled water for the children to bath and change clothes. Ever since the two little monkeys learned to crawl, they¡¯ve been scampering all over the ce, making themselves as dirty as mud monkeys, their shorts and shirts looking as if they had been dug out of mud. After changing their clothes, Chunniang patted her son¡¯s bottom, ¡°If you continue to crawl all over the ce, I¡¯ll punish you.¡± Xiaojie giggled while Xiaowu crinkled his nose and turned around, looking for his sister forfort. At this moment, Yingbao was lying on a table in the west room, first copying from a calligraphy model, then transcribing the Thousand Character ssic. Her handwriting was already quite impressive, though itcked a bit of ir, it was pretty and neat. The summer harvest ended. Lizheng came with the local constables to collect taxes, and Jiang Sang was the first to pay his taxes, also paying for his two older brothers. Once they sold their golden ears, his brothers would naturally pay him back. In the meantime, the Jiang family bought several hundred jin of wheat from other vigers, to be stored as food. After the wheat harvestes ploughing, rice nting, and soybean nting, all these chores would keep them busy for a month. And just at this time, the golden ears also ripened and needed to be harvested and dried urgently. Jiang Sang was in a bit of a predicament, not knowing which to do first. ¡°Father. I can harvest the golden ears. let me take care of this.¡± Yingbao volunteered to help: ¡°There are only 300 golden ears in our family, I can finish picking them in two days. The sun is now strong, so it¡¯ll save us the trouble of drying.¡¯ ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave it to Baobao.¡± Jiang Sang dly agreed. So Yingbao started to busily work, while her two younger brothers were well-behaved, not causing any trouble. As long as they could see their sister, they could sit quietly on the mat and y with tangram puzzles for two hours. The golden ears were dried under the hot sun for five days untilpletely dry, with none of them getting moldy or rotting. Just in time, Jiang Sang and his wife had also finished plowing the drynd and nting rice seedlings. Taking a day off, the three Jiang brothers took the dried golden ears to the county town and sold them all. This time, Jiang Sang sold eleven jin of golden ears and got thirty-three taels of silver. Jiang Dng¡¯s hundred golden ears also dried up to three jins, which were sold for nine taels of silver. Jiang Eng made the same amount, earning nine taels. Even old man Jiang made one coin and eight. The family happily returned from the county town, bringing back loads of cloth and daily necessities. Now, the entire vige knew that the Jiang family made a lot of money from selling golden ears. The first to inquire was the Wang¡¯s second sister-inw. Her house was not far from Jiang Sang¡¯s. In the recent days, she saw the Jiang family spreading out the yellow mushrooms to dry. Although curious, she only took a brief look. Later, the three Jiang brothers took loads of yellow mushrooms to the county town and brought back lots of cloth and goods. Even a fool could guess they made a lot of money. ¡°Chunniang, how did your family grow those yellow mushrooms? Could you spare some seeds for us?¡± Wang¡¯s second sister-inw smiled broadly as she questioned Chunniang. Chunniang chuckled: ¡°Sure, but our seeds are very expensive, costing ten coins per nt.¡± ¡°What!? Ten coins per nt? You might as well rob!¡± Wang¡¯s second sister-inw turned around and left, her face darkening. Chunniang ignored her. Selling them at ten coins a nt would be a loss. Why not grow it for themselves? Sigh, if not for the limited space in the bamboo shed, Sang would like to nt four or five hundred nts at a time.. Chapter 49 - 49: Surname Wen_1 Chapter 49: Surname Wen_1 Trantor: 549690339 After the summer harvest, the vigers were busy selling grain. Both carrying loads and pushing carts, they filled the entire street of the town. A ck canopy carriage came down the official road, followed by two sword-carrying attendants riding fine horses. Such fine-looking horses were rarely seen by the vigers, so they couldn¡¯t help but stop and watch. The carriage headed straight for Rongji Pharmacy. The carriage stopped in front of Rongji Pharmacy, the attendants got off their horses, and an elderly man with white hair was helped out of the carriage. Then, a young man about seventeen or eighteen got out of the car. ¡°Ay! Senior, you actually came yourself?¡± Doctor Li hurriedly ran out from the shop, almost tripping midway. Seeing the visitors, his hands trembled with excitement. The old manughed and greeted him, ¡°Doctor Li, I trust all is well since west met?¡± With reddened eyes, Doctor Li stepped forward to pay his respects, ¡°I¡¯m honored by your concern, senior. Pleasee inside.¡± The old manughed and agreed, and then introduced the young man next to him, ¡°This is my eldest grandson, Hengchuan; Hengchuan, this is my fifth junior,e say hello.¡± Hengchuan stepped forward and greeted, ¡°Greetings, Fifth Uncle Senior.¡± Doctor Li quickly greeted him and warmly said, ¡°Very good, you must be tired from the journey. Pleasee inside and have a seat.¡± The group entered the pharmacy and proceeded to the back room. Doctor Li asked his two grandsons to brew tea while he instructed a servant to arrange for the guests¡¯ carriage and attendants to rest in the courtyard. The three of them settled down to chat. ¡°Doctor Li, how is the patient you wrote about in your letter?¡± the old man asked. ¡°He¡¯s doing very well!¡± Doctor Li replied, ¡°I saw him a while ago, he looked rosy and was quite strong.¡± The old man smiled, took a sip from his tea, and asked again: ¡°May I see the patient?¡± Doctor Li stroked his beard, thought for a moment, and said: ¡°Seeing him is possible, but he lives in a vige five or six miles from here. Suddenly calling on him might raise unnecessary suspicions. Plus, it¡¯s the busy farming season¡­¡± The old man waved his hand, ¡°I¡¯m not calling him here. I want to visit his family personally.¡± ¡°That could work.¡± Doctor Liughed: ¡°The Jiangs are honest and kind people. If you visit, they will surely wee you.¡± The old man chuckled and put down his cup, ¡°Doctor Li, may I see your medical case notes?¡± ¡°Of course, of course.¡± Doctor Li got up and went to fetch the case notes. As doctors, they keep detailed records for all challenging andplex cases. The miraculous cure of Jiang Eng was recorded without missing a single detail. Doctor Li brought out arge book and handed it to Senior Wen Jingyan, ¡°Senior, please take a look.¡± Wen Jingyan took the book and carefully opened it. The book not only recorded Jiang Eng¡¯s pulse readings from a few years ago, but also the state of his pulse during each of his visitsst year. It even included his daily diet and his pulse condition after the illness was cured. Wen Jingyan picked up a few strands of hair in the pulse case and asked, ¡°What is this?¡± Doctor Li pointed to some transparent dried-up medicinal fluid on the hair and said, ¡°His brother was injured in¡­uh¡­in a fight. When he came here, his wound was mostly healed, like he had applied some kind of medication beforehand. But he denied it.¡± He touched his nose in embarrassment, ¡°Curious, I took the liberty of keeping this strand of hair.¡¯ Wen Jingyan pinched the transparent substance on the hair, held it up to his nose and smelled it, and nodded his head, ¡°It has a slight fragrance, I can¡¯t tell what it is.¡± The youth by his side said, ¡°Grandfather, why not dissolve it in water and try it on a small animal.¡± Wen Jingyan nodded, ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡± So, Doctor Li ordered a servant to catch a cat, cut off a bit of its hair, and made a small wound with a knife. Then they soaked the hair in a little bit of cold water, and the dried transparent substance gradually dissolved. Wen Jingyan personally applied the water-soaked cotton cloth to the cat¡¯s wound. Half an incenseter, the wound was healed and a scab formed. All three of them were stunned. ¡°What kind of medicine is this? Its efficacy is so incredible.¡± Wen Jingyan had a serious expression on his face and turned to the others, ¡°This is no trivial matter. We must be careful with what we say or it could harm both ourselves and others.¡± Doctor Li and Hengchuan immediately swore, ¡°We will not breathe a word of this to anyone, otherwise let us be condemned by man and gods alike.¡± Wen Tingvan nodded and stroked his beard. ¡°MV Wen family has been practicing medicine for generations. We must set a good example. We cannot do anything that could endanger people¡¯s lives. Doctor Li, as half a member of my Wen family, we must keep this between us.¡± Doctor Li rose and bowed, ¡°Rest assured, senior. No matter what, I will not involve the Jiang¡¯s in this.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡¯ Wen Jingyan sighed, ¡°I came here this time solely to treat that child and for no other reasons. Since it involves the survival of my family, I must be very careful. Doctor Li, I hope you can understand.¡± ¡°Senior, please don¡¯t say that. My life and livelihood were all given to me by my master. We¡¯re only asking for a prescription. What¡¯s more, we¡¯re only asking for the medicine and have no intention of robbing them. As long as we offer a generous reward and promise their family¡¯s well-being, I¡¯m sure the Jiangs will be willing.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s hope so.¡± Wen Jingyan sighed lightly, ¡°We cannot rush this matter. Let¡¯s go have a look first and then make a n. The family has been keeping it a secret all this time and it seems they don¡¯t want others to know. If we rush to ask for the medicine, it will certainly make them resistant.¡± We must proceed with caution. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take senior to Chen Vige tomorrow.¡± Doctor Li said. ¡°Hmm.¡± The next day, Yingbao was taking her younger brothers for a stroll, leading a deer. Suddenly, she saw a carriage entering the vige and slowly stopping in front of her uncle¡¯s house. Three people got out of the carriage, two elderly men and a young man, among whom was Doctor Li. Curious vigers quickly gathered round to watch the spectacle. The three men stood at the gate of the yard, and Doctor Li loudly asked, ¡°Is Brother Jiang at home?¡± When Old Man Jiang heard the voice, he came out to see it was Doctor Li, and immediately went forward to greet him. ¡°So it¡¯s you, Brother Li. What brings you here today?¡± Doctor Liughed, ¡°My senior, Wen Jingyan, happened to be passing through this area and was impressed by the beautiful scenery here, so he wanted toe and take a look.¡± ¡°That¡¯s wonderful.¡± Old Man Jiangughed and greeted Wen Jingyan, ¡°Mr. Wen, pleasee in and sit down.¡± Wen Jingyan quickly returned the greeting, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for intruding, Brother Jiang. ¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± Old Jiangughed and ushered the men inside. Wen Hengchuan also came forward to greet, ¡°Junior Wen Hengchuan, nice to meet you, Mr. Jiang.¡± Old Man Jiang blinked, it was the first time someone had called him ¡®Mr.¡¯, and he felt immediately dignified. ¡°Hehe, this young man is¡­¡± Wen Jingyanughed, ¡°He¡¯s my eldest grandson, named Hengchuan. Brother Jiang, just call him Hengchuan.¡± ¡°Ah? Hahaha, good, good, Hengchuan,e in quickly.¡± Old Man Jiang led the three men into the courtyard. Because it was a bit dark inside, he arranged a few benches under the persimmon tree, brought out a small dining table, and invited the guests to sit down. Lady Jiang hurriedly went to boil tea. As there was no tea in the house and she felt it inappropriate to serve in boiled water, she brewed a pot of water with fresh bamboo leaves instead. Yingbao also came to see what was going on, having heard them im they were of the Wen family, her heart jumped. ¡®Wen,¡¯ was it the same ¡®Wen¡¯ as from Sister Wen¡¯s family? She quickly took her brothers home, then ran back to eavesdrop on their conversation.. Chapter 50 - 50: Zhong Lingyu Xiu_l Chapter 50: Zhong Lingyu Xiu_l Trantor: 549690339 The few of them chatted about family matters for a while, after which Wen Jingyan requested to meet Jiang Eng. As a doctor himself, he wanted to check Jiang Eng¡¯s pulse. Jiang¡¯s old man naturally agreed, immediately getting up and taking the three of them to his second son¡¯s house. Vige children followed them from a distance, chattering all the way, curious about this distinguished guest who was visiting the Jiang family. When they passed by the house of the third son, the old man from Jiang introduced, ¡°This is my third son¡¯s house.¡± Wen Jingyan noticed arge deer in the courtyard, with a saddle on its back, clearly intended as a mount for people. He was astonished and proposed to go in and have a look. Upon entering the house of Jiang¡¯s third son, they saw a few sheds set up in the courtyard and arge stove. Under an apple tree, a mat was spread out, and four boys were ying with Kongming Locks. The old man from Jiang chuckled and said: ¡°The eldest is my first son¡¯s child, and the second son¡¯s. The twins are my third son¡¯s.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Wen Jingyanughed, ¡°your Jiang family is indeed prosperous.¡± ¡°Hehe, not at all,¡± the old man from Jiang stroked his beard, his smile broad. Since there were no adults in the house of the third son, Wen Jingyan didn¡¯t feel it appropriate to linger and went on to the house of Jiang Eng with the old man from Jiang. At that moment, Jiang Eng was at home, dividing up some golden mushrooms. Hearing someone¡¯s visit, he hurriedly came out from the bamboo shed. ¡°Eng, this Mr. Wen here wants to check your pulse,¡± announced the old man from Jiang straightforwardly. Jiang Eng stepped forward to greet them, and after introducing each other further, they all entered the main room. Wen Jingyan took Jiang Eng¡¯s pulse and found indeed he was very healthy. He stroked his beard, nodded, and smiled, ¡°Congrattions. You are in good health, young man.¡± Jiang Eng scratched the back of his head andughed awkwardly. Even he himself had almost forgotten that he had been ill, let alone someone else remembered. After sitting for a while, Wen Jingyan and the others got up to wander outside, but showed no sign of leaving. The old man from Jiang perceived that he would probably have to serve them dinner. For such a dinner, they would of course need to invite some people to apany them. Hence, the n Leader Chen Sanyou and the Master were once again invited to the Jiang family for a meal. Luckily, the Jiang family was now well-off and could afford several tables of food daily. Had it been in the past, having such frequent feasts could have impoverished a family. At the dinner, naturally they talked about the Jiang family growing golden mushrooms. The n Leader and Chen Sanyou seemed to want to say something but stopped, given the distinguished guest present, they didn¡¯t go into deep discussion. Afterward, they talked about the local river Chuanhe and the forests. Wen Jingyanughed and said, ¡°Such a ce, with clear mountains and beautiful waters, makes me reluctant to leave. The n Leaderughed and responded, ¡°If the elder doesn¡¯t mind, why not stay for a few more days? My house is quite spacious; if the elder doesn¡¯t despise it, feel free to rest at my humble abode.¡± Assuming that Mr. Wen, who was passing by, would decline, to his surprise, Wen Jingyan nodded with a smile, ¡°I¡¯d rather follow yourmand than refuse. I¡¯ll be imposing on you.¡± The n Leader was stunned for a moment, then immediatelyughed, ¡°That¡¯s great! I¡¯ll have someone clean up a few rooms for you when we get back.¡± As such, Mr. Wen and his grandson Wen Hengchuan decided to stay. However, though they were staying in the house of the n Leader, it was not right to eat their food and use their things every day. Wen Hengchuan had the attendant buy grain and dishes and sent them to the n Leader¡¯s house. Of course, he also sent quite a bit to the Jiang family. The grandfather and grandson stayed this way, strolling around every day, and often ended up at the Jiang family. They chatted very congenially with the old man from Jiang. In his entire life, the old man from Jiang has never met such a humble nobleman, so naturally, he was willing to chat with him more. Wen Jingyan, a learned medical practitioner, could roughly know a person¡¯s health by just looking at theirplexion. However, it seemed that everyone in the Jiang family was robust and ruddy. Compared to the surrounding vigers, the difference was evident. Especially the family of Jiang Sang, the women were fair and soft, the three children were smart and outstanding, and Jiang Sang was even more robust and handsome. If it wasn¡¯t for their coarse and in clothes, Wen Jingyan would think that this was a family of well-bred sons and daughters of some illustrious household. One day, while Wen Jingyan was leisurely walking around the vige with his eldest grandson, they ¡°identally¡± bumped into the little girl from the Jiang family who was riding a deer. ¡°Your name is Yingbao, isn¡¯t it?¡± Wen Jingyan asked with a smile. Yingbao nodded, suddenly remembering Sister Wen. She wanted to ask this grandfather Wen if there was a girl named Wen Shu in his family, but she couldn¡¯t. Not only could she not ask, she couldn¡¯t even mention it. Upon seeing the child¡¯s lively eyes and recognizing her as a clever one, Wen Jingyan asked, ¡°I heard from your grandfather that you can already read and write?¡± Yingbao: ¡°Mmm, learned from Brother Yuanbao.¡± ¡°Then do you want to learn medicine?¡± Wen Jingyan asked with a beaming smile. Yingbao¡¯s eyes lit up as she quickly nodded, ¡°Yes! Grandfather Wen, are you going to take me as your apprentice?¡± Wen Jingyan stroked his beard andughed, ¡°I don¡¯t take apprentices anymore. However, we have n schools at my ce, even schools for girls. If you¡¯re willing, and your parents agree, I can take you back and enroll you in school.¡± ¡°Where is your home then?¡± Yingbao asked. If it were in the county town, she could go, because her father would go to the county town every month or two to sell golden ears, so it wouldn¡¯t prevent her from seeing her family. ¡°Not in the county town, my family n is in Yuzhou, which is nearly a thousand miles away from here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s far.¡± Yingbao quickly shook her head, ¡°No, I¡¯m not going.¡± Are you kidding me, she hadn¡¯t even been that far in her previous life. Moreover, she didn¡¯t want to separate from her parents and younger brother. Wen Jingyan stroked his beard, seemingly not regretful. Yingbao stole nces at the old man with white beard, then looked at the young man beside him, she didn¡¯t feel that they had any resemnce with Sister Wen. ¡°Grandfather Wen, do you have a little sister at home who is about eight or nine years old? A little sister who is about the same age as my Sister Dani.¡± Wen Jingyanughed, ¡°There are quite a lot.¡± Yingbao rolled her eyes and asked again, ¡°Then what are their names?¡± Wen Jingyan looked at the little girl, not irritated, but instead said seriously, ¡°There are many granddaughters in my family and I can¡¯t remember all their names.¡± Yingbao felt a little disappointed, sighed heavily, and drooped her head. Sister Wen never mentioned the names of her family members, nor what her family¡¯s pharmacy was called. But once, she seemed to mention that she had a little brother named Baobao, a name simr to hers. But Baobao is usually a nickname, only those closest would call that. This old man Wen didn¡¯t even know his granddaughter¡¯s full name, so it¡¯s even less likely he knows his grandson¡¯s nickname. Seeing the little girl seemed a bit upset, Wen Hengchuan, who stood beside them, asked out of curiosity, ¡°Why does Yingbao want to ask for their names?¡± He had never seen a child ask such a question. Yingbao blinked her eyes and made up a random excuse, ¡°Because I want to y with them. Now, my big sister and second sister are all very busy and have no time to y with me.¡± Wen Hengchuan held his forehead. ¡°I see that your vige also has a school. Since you can already read, why don¡¯t you go to school with your little cousin? It has to be better than wandering around alone.¡± ¡°Because the school master does not allow girls into the school.¡± Yingbao said. Wen Jingyan nced at his grandson. Wen Hengchuan suddenly felt like he had just asked a silly question and ufortably coughed. Oh, talking to a little kid can inadvertently lower your own intelligence. Although the Great Qian Dynasty didn¡¯t prohibit girls from going to school, girls¡¯ schools only existed in the families of officials or the extremely wealthy, nothing like that existed in small mountain viges. Not only could girls not go to school, many boys also didn¡¯t even have the chance to learn to read.. Chapter 51 - 51: Finally Left_l Chapter 51: Finally Left_l Trantor: 549690339 The vige in front of them had about forty to fifty households, each with at least one or two children under ten years old. Wen Jingyan looked around and a sudden thought sprouted in his mind. Why not start a medical academy here and let the vige children learn some medical skills? In this way, he could frequently interact with the Jiang Family and it would be convenient for him to actter. These days, no matter how he tried to probe or even directly asked if their family had any ancestral secret medicine, Old Mr. Jiang denied it and chuckled, iming that his ancestors were just farmers, how could they have any secret medicine. He also secretly observed the expressions and mannerisms of the Jiang Family. They appeared carefree, as if they had no secrets. If it wasn¡¯t for witnessing the medicine on the strand of hair and its magical effect, he would have thought that his junior had misdiagnosed Jiang Eng¡¯s illness. As for Jiang Sang, he had been living here for three days but had only exchanged a single sentence with him. It was not that Jiang Sang ignored people, but the young man was too busy and often disappeared for the entire day. Unable to continue dying here, Wen Jingyan felt impatient. ¡°Hengchuan, what do you think about setting up a medical academy here?¡± Wen Jingyan turned to his grandson and asked. Wen Hengchuan looked doubtful: ¡°Grandfather, why start a medical academy here? It¡¯s quite far from our ce and wouldn¡¯t be convenient for us to travel.¡± Wen Jingyan sighed, ¡°I know it¡¯s inconvenient, but you¡¯re aware of the situation at home too. If something happens to him, our family will definitely be affected. I think we should send one or two of our children to settle here, let them establish roots here as a backup n for our family. Things won¡¯t always be peaceful in Beijing.¡± Wen Hengchuan fell silent. His grandfather was right, once that person can¡¯t be treated, their family would likely be in trouble. ¡°Let¡¯s follow grandfather¡¯s arrangement.¡± Wen Henzchuan calmlv said: ¡°However, setting up an academy here will require careful nning.¡± We not only need someone to settle here, but we also need to establish good rtions with the local prominent families. Neither he nor his grandfather would surely teach here, so they could only select one or two reliable children from their family toe. Wen Jingyan nodded, ¡°Since we¡¯re setting up an academy, we must discuss the rules with the n Leader of the Chen Family as they also have a family academy and ours can¡¯t conflict with theirs. Why not start a women¡¯s medical academy? Teach the girls here medical skills, perhaps it might help to continue the legacy of women doctors in the Wen Family.¡± Although the Great Qian Dynasty was considered liberal, very few women studied medicine. This was because female doctors mostly specialized in treating other women, mainly dealing with gynecological conditions, including pregnancy and childbirth. Women from wealthy families would never study obstetrics because a doctor inevitably has to examine the patient¡¯s body, which would be regarded as impure. This would make it difficult for them to get marriedter on. Those who are willing to learn are mostly women who have had children, but these te-starter¡± doctors would not achieve significant sess. Wen Hengchuan chuckled, ¡°Indeed, not considering others, Yingbao alone is quite talented.¡± The next day, Wen Jingyan and his grandson bid their farewell. Old Mr. Jiang saw them off to their carriage, waving his hand, sincerely asking them to visit again so he could offer some golden ears for the old brother to taste. At the same time, Jiang Sang let out a sigh of relief. Finally, they left. Whenever those two spoke to him, their conversation was never far from the topic of Eng¡¯s recovery. They even inquired about any folk remedies or family secret medicines they might have, which had scared him into avoiding them these past few days. Ah, they¡¯ve left. Hopefully, they won¡¯t return again. ¡°Chunniang, I¡¯m nning to build a brick and tile house on South Mountain.¡± While eating, Jiang Sang said: ¡°These few days, I¡¯ve ordered bricks and tiles for three rooms at the brick kiln. I estimate they should be ready by autumn, so then we can hire people to build our house.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Chunniang was very happy. They now have almost a hundred taels of silver, building a three-room brick and tile house wouldn¡¯t take up to a hundred. In the future, when they earn more money, they can buy some good timber, hire people to make a few sets of furniture, build arge courtyard and some bamboo sheds. ¡°My two elder brothers are also ready to build with us. The three of us brothers will build houses of the same size, as well as courtyards of the same size.¡± Jiang Sang said happily: ¡°I also bought ten acres ofnd from several vigers, and we¡¯ll build the bamboo sheds there.¡± ¡°You boughtnd?¡± Chunniang eximed, ¡°Does that mean our household registration level will be upgraded?¡± If their household registration level increased, the taxes they had to pay would also increase correspondingly. For instance, their current registration is a fourth-ss lower household, hence they pay much less in taxes than Chen Cunzheng¡¯s first-ss upper household. Jiang Sang: ¡°Even without buyingnd, building a house here would cause our registration level to increase. As soon as we¡¯ve built our house, Sun Licheng wille over for inspection and registration next year.¡± The Imperial Court has numerous reasons for levying taxes. They need to keep track of how much livestock themon people have, how many houses, and how many pieces of furniture and farming tools. Afterpiling this data, they categorize households into five sses for taxation purposes. sses one to three are upper households and pay one-tenth more in taxes than sses four and five, which are lower households. Therefore, many farmers avoid building houses or walls wherever possible. Instead, they just encircle their houses with bamboo fences. Quite a few wealthy people even bribe officials to be ssified as a fourth or fifth-ss lower household, just to pay less in taxes every year. As a result,mon people like Jiang Sang bear the brunt of these unfair practices. Chunniang started worrying again. ¡°If our level increases and our taxes rise, what if they stop buying golden ears?¡± ¡°If they don¡¯t buy from us, then we¡¯ll sell somewhere else.¡± Jiang Sang was not afraid at all. ¡°Since growing golden ears doesn¡¯t require much capital, as long as we can sell them, we¡¯re making a profit.¡± He didn¡¯t have any business experience earlier and was always worried and afraid. But now that he has money in hand, he feels much more confident. When he walks outside, he carries himself with pride. Upon careful reflection, Chunniang agreed that her husband makes sense. She finally let go of some of her worries. ¡°Make sure to build the courtyard wall higher, South Mountain is secluded after all, it¡¯s not very safe.¡± ¡°Of course. Jiang Sang chuckled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, even after it is built, we won¡¯t move in immediately. We¡¯ll wait until next spring and move along with my two elder brothers. ¡± The sky is filled with the end of summer, the leaves echo with the sound of autumn. In the blink of an eye, autumn arrived. After the autumn harvest and sowing the winter wheat, the three Jiang brothers began construction on South Mountain, attracting the help of the entire vige. Not for anything else, but because the Jiang family provided arge rice meal at noon, along with a fragrant stewed pork dish. The South Mountain was thriving. Some were building walls, some were chopping and transporting bamboo, some were helping with cooking, some were picking up stones for foundation, while others went further to quarry stone bs. There was incessant activity. Yingbao and her two brothers stayed at home and didn¡¯t go to South Mountain, but she heard about the progress of their house building from her mother every day. Because it was three brothers building together and on the same line, the scale of the houses seemed particrly grand. A monthter, the houses on South Mountain were finallypleted. After a few more days, the courtyard walls were also built and the doors and windows installed. They still couldn¡¯t move in though, because they had to wait for the dampness in the new house to dissipate fully. At the same time, thest batch of Golden Ears also matured. Jiang Sang and his wife quickly harvested and dried them. With all the work, they entirely forgot about their son¡¯s first birthday. ¡°Just make a long-life noodle bowl, what kind of birthday does the little rascal need to celebrate?¡± Jiang Sang didn¡¯t think much of it, saying, ¡°Their father never celebrated his birthday anyway.¡± Chunniang gave him an annoyed nce, but didn¡¯t say anything else. She really made a few bowls of noodles, topped with two poached eggs. The whole family had a hearty meal.. Chapter 52 - 52: Big Gourd_l Chapter 52: Big Gourd_l Trantor: 549690339 On the third day of November, the dark clouds were heavy, and thick snowkes fluttered down early in the morning. kes of snow fluttered down from the sky, quickly covering the earth with ayer of white. Jiang Sang and his two brothers, their father Old Man Jiang, and two nephews, gathered around a bonfire in the new tiled house, warming themselves and talking. ¡°Yesterday, the vige chief notified everyone that the Imperial Court demanded grain. For every acre of high-gradend, they demanded two pints, and for each acre of low-gradend, one pint. Fortunately, we didn¡¯t sell our grain, or else¡­ This time, they don¡¯t want silver, but only grain. It seems the price of grain will indeed rise this winter.¡± Old Man Jiang sighed, ¡°With all these changes, who knows how many people will freeze or starve to death. Jiang Sang nodded, thinking that if it weren¡¯t for his daughter finding golden ears for them to cultivate, the Jiang family would probably have a hard time. They might not starve to death, but they would inevitably go hungry. Now, looking at his brothers, not only had they builtrge tiled houses at the same time, but their family members were also dressed in thick cotton clothes and wore cotton shoes with thick soles. The granary was filled with hundreds of pounds of wheat and rice, there was plentiful beans and other cereals, needless to say, they also had a reasonable amount of surplus money. Living all these years, Jiang Sang had never felt asfortable and rxed as this winter. ¡°After the requisition of grain, they might also requisition soldiers.¡± Old Man Jiang¡¯s gaze swept over his sons, ¡°If they do, our family would definitely be drafted.¡¯ ¡°No problem, we have money. If necessary, we can just buy a substitute soldier.¡± Jiang Sang shrugged it off. Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng nodded, ¡°We don¡¯t need to worry about this.¡± From thest batch of golden ears, Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng each made twenty taels of silver. After deducting the cost of building the house, they still had one or two taels left. It was a pity that golden ears did not grow in winter, otherwise, they could fill the newly built bamboo shed with mulberry wood. However, winter had its advantages too. At least they could take a break and rx after a year¡¯s hard work. For instance, going hunting. They had decided not to fish anymore because Sang said there was no bait to catch fish. But the three brothers could go hunting for hares and wild chickens in the snow. They might even catch some roe deer or wild boars. ¡°After the snow stops, we brothers can go hunting hares and wild chickens.¡± Jiang Sang stirred the fire to make it burn more vigorously, ¡°Take some wheat and yellow corn, we can also catch some owls.¡± That would be delightful. Upon hearing this, Jiang Dngughed, ¡°Right, we can catch owls right at our door. Just scatter some yellow corn and cover it with a basket. At present, only their three families had built houses on South Mountain. They had bought the surrounding lower-gradend, so the area was very open. As long as they scattered corn grain outside the courtyard, there would be no shortage of birds to catch. ¡°Good idea, good idea.¡± Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan were thrilled at the idea of catching birds, readily agreeing with their hands raised. They had been assigned by the adults to stay in the new tiled house to look after it, and each day was quite dull and lonely. Now, hearing that they could go outside to catch birds, they were keenly interested. Hehe, they could roast the birds they caught directly. If they also smeared some honey, the taste would be exquisite. The old house in Dongchen Vige belonging to the Jiang family. Now there were only women and children living in the old house. Jiang Liu and her elder daughter-inw were sitting on the warm kang-bed sewing clothes with her two granddaughters. The New Year was approaching, so they had to make a new cotton coat for each family member to wear when visiting rtives. ¡°Matchmaker Yang from West Vige told me today that her niece, who is twenty years old this year, wants to be Eng¡¯s second wife.¡± Jiang Liu twisted the needle and thread in her hand and muttered, ¡°But Eng is absolutely unwilling, ahh, that stubborn boy, he makes me so furious.¡± Zhou: ¡°I guess Eng is afraid that marrying too soon will negatively impact his two children, that¡¯s why he¡¯s not willing to.¡± ¡°We would be there to supervise, what could go wrong?¡± Jiang Liu sighed, ¡°Seeing him so lonely every day, with no one to take care of him, makes me feel ufortable.¡¯ Every other family consisted of a husband and wife, sharing all burdens hot or cold. However, her second son had to manage everything alone as a grown man with two children, busy running around, even having to wash his own clothes when he came back. Zhou Family¡¯s sister-inw refrained from saying more, insteadforting her mother-inw, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, perhaps Second Uncle hasn¡¯t found someone suitable yet.¡± Jiang Liu thought about it, thenughed, ¡°That may be true. Since Eng has built a tiled house and isn¡¯tcking in money, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to consider a few more families. This time, she was determined to be more discerning. She absolutely couldn¡¯t let Eng end up with someone like that Leng woman again. At the Jiang¡¯s house, Yuanbao and Huzi were running around ying with Xiaojie and Dawu. They ran from the east room to the west room, then from the west room to the east room,ughing and screaming, not staying still for a moment. Yingbao sat on the Kang bed writing, asionally ncing at the frolicking devils, shaking her head helplessly. As expected, boys were all mischievous creatures. If a strict teacher didn¡¯t constantly guide them, her n to cultivate a child prodigy might fall through. Two dayster, the snow stopped, revealing a clear azure sky. Early in the morning, Yingbao collected seventeen eggs from the chicken coop, six of which were double-yolk eggs. She ced the eggs in a grass basket and covered it. These days, the new hens had startedying eggs. By this morning, she had collected seventeen eggs at once. She was delighted beyond her expectations. It was worth the effort of painstakingly raising them for over six months. These eggs were essentially copper coins. They not only could be bartered for salt and goods but also used as currency. A salesman hade to the vige recently. She had exchanged eggs for toothbrushes and toothpaste, as well as two packs of salt and arge jar of soybeans. The soybeans were delicious, mixed with sliced white radish, fragrant and crisp ¨C a must-have pickled dish for a rural family in winter. Unfortunately, her mother couldn¡¯t make it, and her grandmother¡¯s wasn¡¯t as good as the one sold by the salesman. After collecting the eggs and feeding the chickens, she refilled Youyou¡¯s food trough with hay and water, then Yingbao quickly ran back into the house. It was too cold outside, not suitable for walking the deer, so she decided to stay cozily in her nket. Luckily, her two younger brothers were also not allowed off the bed by their mother, so she could continue to lie down for a while. Last night, she spent half of the night in the cave dwelling, picking thirty mutated Golden Fungus andid them out on bamboo trays ¨C two full trays. The remaining parts were left to continue to grow. Previously, she had watered the Silver Fungus several times with the solution of Wuding Mushroom and pond water. Those were also harvested andid on another bamboo tray. Furthermore, the gourds she nted before had flowered, fruited and matured, producing dozens of gourds of various sizes, with thergest one taller than herself. Such giant gourds could astonish anyone. So, she decided not to nt gourds again and dared not bring the giant gourds out. She originally thought that she was nting cute petite gourds. She hadn¡¯t anticipated that these cute little gourds would turn into something gigantic and not so cute anymore. Yingbao counted; among these gourds, the biggest ones, about five feet tall, numbered around ten. The nextrgest ones were about her height, around a dozen. The rest were about the size of a household¡¯s water scoop. The smallest gourds were roughly the size of her father¡¯s palm, only four or five of them. But thoserge gourds, though they seemed useless, were actually valuable. In her past life, she had seen one hanging in a liquor store, even smaller than her gourds, used as a sign with arge character ¡®Liquor¡¯ attached to it. The shopkeeper of the liquor store had said that hisrge gourd was worth twenty taels of silver. She didn¡¯t know if it was true or not. Her gourds were much bigger than the one in the liquor store, so they should be worth at least twenty taels too. If only she could go to the city. Then she could sell these damned things and likely earn arge sum of silver.. Chapter 53 - 53: Cotton_l Chapter 53: Cotton_l Trantor: 549690339 The seeds that were purchased from the salesman had already sprouted and grown. A whole batch of Chinese chives and a dozenrge white cabbages that could be wrapped into hearts. Heart-wrapped cabbages are a northern vegetable, they could be stored for long and are considered a delicacy in small mountain viges. No household in this area ever nted them before. A few months ago, when these vegetables first sprouted, Yingbao transnted them to a small patch of field in her own yard. The Chinese chives, having matured, were harvested twice, used for stir-frying with eggs, and they were very delicious. Today, therge cabbages have grown more than two feet high. Initially, each nt spread out over arge area. Later, Yingbao wrapped each of them with straw rope to facilitate them forming hearts. During the recent snowy days, all therge cabbages were chopped down and piled up indoors by Yingbao. Two other packets of foreign seeds had also sprouted. There were a dozen cotton trees and a few unidentified vines. The first time Yingbao saw cotton in her previous life was in the garden of the governor¡¯s mansion, where it was nted as ornamental trees. The cotton trees have beautiful flowers and they are pink and bright. As a foreign variety, they were nted in arge area in the mansion garden. Unfortunately, these trees only have a lifespan of one year. After the flowers wilted and bore fruit, the branches and leaves withered. Back then, when Yingbao was rtively free in the mansion, she took an interest in the cotton from the cotton trees, and frequently picked it. In the end, she picked a small basketful. Atter pulling out the cotton seeds, she used this basket of cotton to make herself a padded jacket. It was onlyter that she discovered that many aristocratic farms were also nting this kind of cotton tree, and the harvested cotton was very valuable. It could be used for spinning and weaving. Now, her dozen or so cotton trees have bloomed and fruited. The fruits burst open, revealingrge clumps of white cotton. Yingbao picked all the cotton and piled it in a basket, filling a small basket. The withered cotton stalks were uprooted by her for firewood. The cotton seeds were peeled out and nted again. All were nted in the dark soil, and they would probably sprout soon. By next spring, there should be arge amount of cotton seeds in her home. Nowadays, the cultivation of cotton in the Great Qian Dynasty is not widespread. Even a decade from now, it will still be limited to a few aristocratic family estates. So at this time, even a few aristocratic families may not have started nting it. Therefore, she must seize the moment and be the first in her family to nt cotton. You must know that most of the linen on the market today is either hemp fabric or kudzu fabric. A small portion is silk and damask that can only be used by the noble and aristocratic, as well as thick velvet fabric woven from various fur fibers such as sheep wool, rabbit hair and so on. Even though the Jiang family now has quite a bit of silver, the quilts and mattresses are still only filled with some reeds or fluffy straw and hemp, which can barely keep out the cold whenid on top of the body. As for the cotton clothes, the rich fill them with animal hair and duck feathers or directly use animal fur for the coats. Most of the poor still fill the clothes with prickly reeds and hemp. Now that she has had the good fortune to receive the foreign cotton seeds, not nting them would not do justice to the grace of nature bestowed on her. ¡°Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!¡± ¡°Attention to all households! The Imperial Court has decreed that each household with a better piece ofnd must pay two liters of rice! Houses with less fertilend must pay a liter. This must be paid in full within seven days, vitors will be treated as criminals!¡± The vige guard, wearing a bamboo hat, repeatedly announced as he hit his gong. He passed each viger¡¯s doorstep before moving on to the next vige. After the vige guard left, the vigers came out of their houses, voicing theirints. ¡°As expected, they are collecting grains again, how are we supposed to live?¡± ¡°God, our family only has two or three hundred jin of grains left. If these are all handed over, our family won¡¯t survive.¡± ¡°I am going to ask the Lizheng, how are we supposed to live?¡± Several vigers even started crying with their faces covered. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go to Chen Sanyou and see. Only a few days now, and they¡¯re gathering grain again.¡± Thus, dozens of vigers reached Chen Sanyou¡¯s home,ining with all their tongues wagging. ¡°Uncle Chen, where do we have any grain in our house? After paying taxesst time, we sold more than half of our grains. Now, we only have a little over two measures of rice left, and seven to eight mouths in our family rely on this remaining grain for winter survival. Can you not speak to Lizheng, and ask if we can make up the shortfall next year?¡± ¡°Yes, Sanyou, please just talk to him.¡± ¡°We really can¡¯t even make it through the day now.¡± Chen Sanyou¡¯s head was swelling because of the noise. He impatiently said: ¡°Enough, enough. Listen to me. This is an order from the Imperial Court. What can I, as a lowly vige leader, say about it?¡± ¡°But you are also working for the Imperial Court, Uncle Chen, you can¡¯t ignore us.¡± ¡°Yes, Sanyou, please go and ask Lizheng. If we turn in all the grain, our families will starve to death¡­¡± ¡°Vige leader, you cannot neglect whether we live or die.¡± ¡°Wah wah wah wah¡­Uncle Chen, please help us¡­¡± ¡°Uncle Chen, only you can talk to Lizheng, can you go and negotiate with him¡­¡± Everyone wasining in confusion, making Chen Sanyou feel flustered. With a stern face, he said: ¡°Since you are not happy with me as the vige leader, my term ends next year anyway, elect whomever you want.¡± He¡¯d had enough of this torment. With this happening several times annually, Chen Sanyou was worn out and stressed. He was reprimanded by Lizheng if he couldn¡¯t collect enough grain tax, cursed by the vigers if he pressed too hard. s, he was half in the grave already, why would he bear such agony? The Jiang brothers also heard the cries for grain from the locals, calcting the amount they needed to turn in. They filled up the required quantity with a heavy heart and sent it to town on a cart. Jiang Sang had a total of sixty acres ofnd, twenty of high-quality, and forty of lower quality, which included the Sangyu fields in the north and the drnd in South Mountain. Regardless of whether these fields grew grain or not, if your property ledger had recorded this muchnd, you had to pay taxes ording to the acreage. This time, Jiang Sang had to give up eighty measures of grain, which equated to nearly two hundred pounds. Tworge bags of rice were suddenly cleared from his home storage, causing him agony. And yet, he couldn¡¯t resist paying it. In these days, the local officials, responsible for gathering grain, beat gongs and shouted every day. After five or six days of loud calls, there were still many vigers who could not deliver the grain. The next morning, Sun Licheng led about a dozen local officials to begin collecting from house to house. During the freezing winter, the vigers whose grain was taken away wailed on the snow-covered ground. Some people were beating their chests and stamping their feet in grief. The children were crying loudly, creating a scene of utter misery. Yingbao, holding Youyou, watched this unfold, feeling heavy in her heart. The remaining food of these vigers was taken away. Who knows how they would survive theing days, or how a whole family could withstand the entire cold winter. One of the households was particrly tragic, with several children, the oldest being only around twelve or thirteen, and the youngest only three or four. In thest lifetime, the man of this house was forced to go out and cut wood for sale in the snowy weather. As a result, he fell from a slope while carrying the firewood down the mountain, was pierced in the thigh by the bundle of wood, and froze to death on the mountain before being found a few dayster. Latterly, the woman of this house also hanged herself, leaving four helpless children to wander in the vige, begging for food from ce to ce, and in the end, only the two eldest children survived. Seeing a tragedy unfold again, Yingbao felt a stifling pain in her heart. She returned home dejectedly, locked Youyou in the deer pen, and returned to her room to go to the cave to nt more grain. She originally did not want to nt any, because it was too tiring, but today¡¯s events startled her, making her realize the importance of rice. No matter when, there should never be a shortage of grain. Starting now, she has to store arge heap of rice and flour in the underground cave to relieve her anxiety. #Many thanks to all for your votes, and thanks to all the silent readers who have been supporting my work. With yourpanionship and support, my book can go further..# Chapter 54 - 54: Childhood Friend_l Chapter 54: Childhood Friend_l Trantor: 549690339 Two dayster, the three Jiang brothers returned from hunting in the South Mountain, their backpacks filled with wild chickens and hares. Jiang Sang was also carrying a hefty roe deer on his shoulder, attracting a crowd of vigers toe and gawk. At this moment, a skinny man timidly approached Jiang Sang and quietly asked, ¡°Sang, does your family still need furniture made?¡± Jiang Sang saw that it was his childhoodpanion Wang Ke and suddenly recalled that Sun Licheng had taken people to collect their grain taxes two days ago, and nodded subconsciously, ¡°Yes.¡± Satisfaction spreading across his face, Wang Ke tentatively asked, ¡°Sang, I¡­ I also know carpentry. I made the doors and windows for your house. What if¡­ I help your family make furniture?¡± Jiang Sang thought for a second before nodding, ¡°Alright.¡± His family needed furniture anyway and the wood had already been bought; it was all stacked up in the new brick and tile house. Wang Ke was so thrilled that he nearly knelt down in front of Jiang Sang. ¡°I will start working tomorrow then, alright?¡± Jiang Sang patted Wang Ke¡¯s shoulder and smiled, ¡°Sure, but I can¡¯t pay you much.¡± Hiring a carpenter to make furniture at home meant providing him with two meals a day. Hence, without having to deduce Wang Ke¡¯s intentions, Jiang Sang already understood. However, he was also willing to support his childhood friend, which is why he agreed so readily. ¡°No problem, no problem.¡± Wang Ke waved his hands frantically, scratching his head awkwardly, ¡°Just pay whatever you think is suitable.¡± Early the next morning, Wang Ke arrived at South Mountain with his carpentry toolbox and also brought his two sons along as helpers. His older son, Wang Dashan, who was thirteen, was just as dark and thin as him and knew how to measure and trim wood. His younger son, Wang Xiaoshui, who was nine, could run errands and pass things, as well as do some polishing. Jiang Sang didn¡¯t say much, simply informing Wang Ke of what furniture they needed and their measurements. ¡°The kitchen needs a te cab, a grain cab, a small dining table, six benches, and a pair of water buckets.¡± ¡°The hall needs an altar table, arge square table, four chairs, and six stools.¡± ¡°The eastern room needs a dress table, two clothes boxes, a clothes rack, and a wooden bed.¡± ¡°The western room needs a wooden bed, a desk, two chairs, two clothes boxes, a bookshelf, and a dress table.¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s about it for now.¡± Jiang Sang finished in one breath, and then noticed Wang Ke sketching on a piece of paper. Upon a closer look, he had drawn all the furniture Jiang Sang mentioned using a charcoal pen. Pointing to his sketches of furniture in each room, Wang Ke said, ¡°I¡¯ve drawn all the furniture for each room, you check if it¡¯s correct.¡± Jiang Sang stroked his chin and nodded repeatedly, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. As for the size, you handle it.¡± Laughing, Wang Ke assured, ¡°Sang, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re satisfied.¡¯ This amount of furniture would allow him to work from winter to spring, solving the problem of food for himself and his two sons. Come springtime, when Sang could settle his wages, no matter the amount, it would help his family get through. Sigh. Afterwards, Wang Ke and his two sons moved into the new house in South Mountain and started their diligent work every day, ensuring that each piece of furniture was finely crafted and smooth. Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan now hadpany. Besides preparing two meals each day, they spent the rest of their time hunting birds and rabbits with little Xiaoshui on South Mountain, providing food for everyone. asionally, Jiang Sang would also visit, bringing them some grains and vegetables. One day, Yingbao and Youyou joined their dad for a trip to South Mountain. Although South Mountain seemed nearby, the winding path to climb up was more than two or three miles long. After crossing a small stream, they finally reached the mountain. Actually, it wasn¡¯t exactly a mountain but rather a high slope. Clusters of wild bamboo forests and patches of farnd filled the slope. Due to the poor soil quality of the fields that made them unfit for wheat, the vigers could only nt millet. The millet was already harvested, leaving only frost-covered mud. The house of the three Jiang brothers was built in their permanent field, upying a broad area surrounded by the inferiornds they had bought. As Yingbao calcted the number of fruit tree saplings in her den, she sat on Youyou¡¯s back, looking around. Three terraced brick houses were adorned withrge tiles, surrounded by a wall over a man¡¯s height, covered with green tiles, tidy and beautiful. The courtyard wasrge, triple the original size, so much so that one could ride a horse in it. In front of the three main rooms was a five-foot-wide wooden column corridor. An earthen wall with a tile roof was built to the east of the main room. A chicken coop and a deer pen were built on the west side of the courtyard, along with a long bamboo shed which took up most of the western courtyard wall. Jiang Quan poked his head out of the kitchen, seeing his uncle carrying provisions and his young niece riding a deer, he immediately ran towards them. ¡°Uncle, why did you bring Yingbao?¡± Jiang Sang carried grains and vegetables into the kitchen, replying: ¡°I brought your niece to see our new house.¡± Jiang Sang carried grains and vegetables into the kitchen, replying: ¡°I brought your niece to see our new house.¡± Jiang Quan burst intoughter, lifted up his cousin from the deer¡¯s back, and led her into the room. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing you came today, my brother and I just caught a wild rabbit, it¡¯s stewing in the pot now.¡± The main room was filled with wood shavings. A lean man sat on the floor, busy woodworking, two teenagers nearby were helping collect the ned wood. Yingbao recognized him at first nce as the man who died on the mountain in her previous life. It seemed that her father had given the man woodworking jobs, so he didn¡¯t have to go up to the mountain to cut firewood in the snowy weather, saving him from dying in the mountains. Yingbao felt suddenly uplifted and joyously ran to check out the two rooms. The rooms wererge and the windows were big. The carved window frame could be pushed outwards, allowing direct sunlight into the room on winter days. There was a bed by the window, with plenty of room left for a small bed and a table. Jiang Sang followed to look around: ¡°Yingbao, you will stay in the west room when finished. When your younger brother grows up, Daddy will build another house for them.¡¯ ¡°Hmm.¡± Yingbao happily touched the new bed, nced at the alreadypleted desk and dressing table, then grinned. She was moving into her new house, and nned to nt various fruit trees at the front and back of the house. She wanted to have fruits for all four seasons, she could pick whatever she wanted to eat, and the surplus could be transported for sale in the town. She also wanted to nt a lot of cotton in the surrounding fields to rece the filling in everyone¡¯s cotton jackets with soft fluffy cotton, and use the same cotton for bedding so it¡¯s warm and doesn¡¯t prick at people. ¡°Yingbao, your second brother will take you bird hunting.¡± Jiang Quan stood outside of the window, one hand holding a bamboo screen, and the other holding a bunch of fine hemp rope. ¡°I want to see the pond.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t want to hunt birds, she wanted to inspect the surrounding environment and n where she was going to nt her fruit trees and cotton. ¡°What are you hunting birds for, it¡¯s almost time for dinner.¡± Said her first cousin Jiang Cheng. It was already noontime, Jiang Cheng had steamed several baskets of buns, just waiting for the rabbit meat in the pot to cook. ¡°Let¡¯s eat, let¡¯s eat.¡± As soon as Jiang Quan heard that it was time for dinner, he immediately dropped the bamboo screen and dashed to the kitchen to set the table. Today, Jiang Sang not only brought rice and grain, he also brought some turnips and a jar of preserved cabbage for his nephews and the father-son duo, Wang Ke, to eat. In the winter, there weren¡¯t many fresh vegetables, so farmers mostly ate preserved salted vegetables. Jiang Cheng filled a bowl with shredded turnip, cut up some preserved cabbage,dled out a basin of cooked rabbit meat from the pot onto the table. There was also a basket of steamed buns made of dark flour,rger than a fist, which was divided into three to four pieces per person. Because Jiang Sang was present today, Wang Ke and his two sons sat at the table a little restrained, all too shy to reach out and pick up their chopsticks. Jiang Sang didn¡¯t say much, just told them to eat more and get full, so they wouldn¡¯t dy their work.. Chapter 55 - 55: Outsiders Arrive_l Chapter 55: Outsiders Arrive_l Trantor: 549690339 After returning from the South Slope, Yingbao faithfully stayed home, spending time teaching her little brother to speak and memorize texts, and visiting the cave dwelling to tend their crops whenever she had a chance. The golden and snow ear mushrooms that she had harvested and sun-dried some time ago werepletely dry now and, to her delight, none of them had rotted. She packed them neatly into a bamboo basket. New mushrooms were sprouting from the ten mulberry trees. The sight of the golden mushrooms and the translucent, white snow ear mushrooms was particrly pleasing to the eye. The cotton seeds she had nted were already sprouting and growing vigorously. In a blink, it was time to celebrate the kitchen god festival, when the third eldest of the Jiang Family took a break to go to the South Slope again. He instructed Wang Ke and his two sons to take a break for the New Year celebrations and to resume work afterwards. He also gave them five pecks of wheat and one peck of rice as an advance payment for theirbor. Wang Ke cheerfully carried the wheat and rice and took his two sons back home. They still had three mouths to feed at home, and it was likely that the little grains they had left had been eaten up. The grain provided by the youngest Jiang would be a timely supplement, enough to keep his family going until February and March. By then, wild vegetables and ground yams would be sprouting, and elm tree shoots would be avable. They could survive on these, preventing them from dying of hunger. By April, the mountain would be covered in pagoda tree flowers, which could fill their bellies. The children would also start catching small fish, shrimp, loaches, and freshwater ms in the ditches, making do until the summer harvest. In this way, his family was able to get by. This was the way in which the poor had been surviving year after year, until they couldn¡¯t hold up any longer. In a blink of an eye, the first month of the lunar year was over, and the ice and snow had melted. A new year had begun. As expected, the Imperial Court issued a conscription order during this time. Many young men from Chuanhe Town were forced to go to the battlefield. It was the same in Chen Vige and Xichen Vige; about ten men, ages eighteen and older, were conscripted each time. Even the Chen Family n leader¡¯s family was not spared; his youngest son was conscripted into the army. The conscription was very severe this time. To meet the requirement for troops, private substitution was not allowed. Thus, the n Leader had no choice but to push his youngest son into the army. But no one expected that the old man of the Jiang Family would be so cunning. After supplying the required grain, he had divided his sons¡¯ households at the Lizheng¡¯s ce. In order to get his sons¡¯ household registrations expedited, the old man Jiang even gave half a catty of dried golden ear mushrooms to Sun Licheng. Sun Licheng didn¡¯t just take his gift for nothing. The next day, he submitted the household registrations to the County Government. The advantage of dividing the households was that the County Government would not conscript the only male in a household. The disadvantage was that each household had to provide one person forbor service every year. This meant that the three brothers would have to do ten to thirty days ofbor service every year from now on. It was a necessary evil. Doing localbor was better than going to an unknown battlefield to die. The Jiang brothers thus escaped conscription and saved some money that would have otherwise been spent on substitutions. Just after the first month of the lunar year, Sun Licheng, the Lizheng, led people to the Jiang¡¯s to reassess their household rankings. In the end, the three Jiang brothers were all designated as second-ss households, so from then on, they would have to pay taxes ording to second-ss households for both the summer and autumn harvests. Jiang Sang, the third eldest, was not surprised and dly epted this ranking. As soon as spring arrived, he was as busy as a top, hardly having the chance to stop. His daughter was nning to transnt fruit trees on the South Slope, so he had to dig pits for the trees first, and then carry chicken manure from the yard to the South Slope for fertilizing. ¡°Sang, some outsiders have moved into our vige.¡± His wife, Chunniang, said while kneading dough, ¡°They¡¯re nning to set up a school for girls here.¡± ¡°A school for what?¡± He asked, surprised. ¡°No wonder the n school has a new building.¡± He had recently stayed on the South Slope, digging pits to nt trees, and his daughter was there helping him as well. Little did he expect that in a few days, a new house would be built next to the n school for the outsiders. ¡°They said it¡¯s a school to teach girls medical skills.¡± Having kneaded the dough, Chunniang started to shape the dough into small pieces and roll them into buns. ¡°Medical skills? That¡¯s not bad. We can let Baobao, our daughter, learn too.¡± He replied. His little girl was clever and defied the norms of a typical vige girl; if she could learn some useful skills, she would be able to find a better family to marry into in the city. Overhearing their conversation, Yingbao became curious. There wasn¡¯t such a thing as a girls¡¯ school in her previous life. She led Youyou out, proficiently put a saddle on its back, put on the reins, climbed onto the bench, and then climbed onto the deer¡¯s back. She was going to see what the outsiders were like. She noticed that some new houses had been built next to the Chen Family n School at some point, and a big yard was also being constructed. The yard was not fully constructed yet, and several vigers were helping to pile up soil to build the wall. But it seemed that someone had already moved into the house, and there were two finely dressed children standing at the door who clearly weren¡¯t vigers. From this distance, Yingbao couldn¡¯t see their faces well, but vaguely sensed that there was a boy and a girl. The girl was slightly older than Erni, and the boy was about the same size as Yuanbao. Yingbao urged Youyou to get closer, and noticed that the two children had also seen her and were looking in their direction. A woman in a camel-colored dress walked out of the house. She looked to be in her thirties and was elegant and calm. She also noticed Yingbao and waved at her. Yingbao magically hurried the deer towards her. The woman smiled and asked, ¡°Whose child are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m from the Jiang Sang family.¡± Yingbao suppressed her excitement, her eyes constantly ncing at the girl on the side. This girl looks like Sister Wen, their eyes and brows were almost identical. But how could Sister Wen end up in this obscure little mountain vige? ¡°So, you are from the Jiang Sang family.¡± The woman smiled even more gently. She asked softly, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Yingbao, my name is Yingbao.¡± Yingbao replied loudly. The boy standing on the side stiffened, his face looked a little unpleasant. The woman and the girl bothughed. ¡°So your name is Yingbao, that¡¯s a good name.¡± The woman spoke gently, ¡°Would you like toe down and y for a while?¡± Yingbao nodded eagerly. The woman stepped forward, lifted her off the deer, and touched her sheep horn braid with a smile, saying, ¡°Meet my daughter, her name is Wen Shu. And my son, his name is Wen Hengyin.¡± Wen Shu? Yingbao almost screamed, the youngdy¡¯s real name was indeed Wen Shu! Yingbao¡¯s eyes glittered, she stared at Wen Shu without blinking, constantly reminding herself, don¡¯t get too excited, don¡¯t expose yourself. There are many people with the same name and surname in this world, she must not misidentify, she must ask slowly and then confirm. Wen Shu also smiled at her and went forward to hold Yingbao¡¯s hand, ¡°Yingbao, how old are you?¡± Yingbao raised three fingers, ¡°Three years old.¡± It would be exactly three years old in two more month. ¡°I just turned nine, I¡¯m a rabbit. You¡¯re a monkey, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Yingbao nodded hard: ¡°Sister Wen, you guessed right.¡± The boy on the side let out a grunt and mumbled a word, ¡°Is this something to guess? Stupid.¡± Yingbao turned to look at him, he seemed to be around six or seven, with a small chubby face, pale and tender. If they gave him two pigtails, he would definitely look like a girl. ¡°My little brother is six years old, he¡¯s a snake.¡± Wen Shu led her to the side and took a piece of light green cake from the box on the table and handed it to Yingbao, ¡°Try the green bean cake my mother made.¡± ¡°Thank you, Sister Wen.¡± Yingbao took the cake, ate it in small bites while squinting her eyes, she couldn¡¯t help but examine the young girl in front of her. Her eyebrows were like willow leaves, her phoenix eyes and straight nose, and jade lips, her skin was soft and white, the more Yingbao looked at her, the more she seemed like Sister Wen. ¡°Sister Wen, where is your hometown? Why did youe here?¡± Yingbao asked boldly using her young age as an excuse. Wen Shu smiled: ¡°My hometown is far away. My father is weak, and he wanted to find a ce with beautiful mountains and rivers to recuperate, so we came here.¡± Yingbao turned her eyes and asked again, ¡°The Grandpa Wen who came herest time is your rtive, right?¡± Wen Shu nodded: ¡°That¡¯s my grandfather. He told my father that this ce is a good ce, suitable for recuperation.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Yingbao realized, ¡°Then, does your family run a pharmacy?¡± Wen Shu lowered her eyes and thought for a moment before answering, ¡°My family doesn¡¯t run a pharmacy, but my father used to work as a doctor.¡± Wen Hengyin suddenly snorted from behind, dissatisfied, ¡°Are you from the Patrol Post? Asking so many questions.¡± Yingbao ignored the little boy¡¯s cold words, she hugged Wen Shu with a mischievous smile. ¡°Sister Wen, can I be your friend?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Wen Shu stroked the little one¡¯s head, feeling a trace of warmth in her heart, she spoke softly, ¡°From now on, you cane to me to y anytime you want.¡± What a cute little girl, she gives a warm feeling, not at all like her cousins.. Chapter 56 - 56: Advancing Studies_l Chapter 56: Advancing Studies_l Trantor: 549690339 After leaving Sister Wen Shu¡¯s home, Yingbao rushed back home with the wind at her heels, hopping and skipping to find her parents. ¡°Mrs. Wen said that I will be her first disciple, and she will teach me individually in the future,¡± she said. Hearing this, Jiang Sang furrowed his brows: ¡°Wen?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the granddaughter-inw of the Wen Grandfather who visited our vigest time,¡± Yingbao chattered the whole story to her parents. ¡°Uncle Wen is frail and needs to recuperate where the mountains are green and the water is clear, so he brought his family here to settle down.¡± ¡°Mrs. Wen also said that since her daughter needs to study, why not just set up a girls¡¯ school here and teach other girls.¡± Chunniang smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s wonderful, Baobao can go there to study, and being taught by a female master is the most appropriate.¡± However, Jiang Sang looked grave and pulled his daughter aside, asking in a low voice, ¡°Baobao, do you really want to study there?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Yingbao certainly wanted to go. She was sure that Sister Wen Shu was the same one as in her previous life. But she was not sure why she hade here in this life. Jiang Sang furrowed his brows deeper, and cautiously asked, ¡°Did the Wen family ask you anything about our ancestral secret recipe?¡± Yingbao¡¯s eyes flickered, and she shook her head: ¡°No.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Jiang Sang patted his daughter¡¯s head: ¡°Remember, do not tell anyone about our secret recipe, not a single word.¡± ¡°I know, dad, our family doesn¡¯t have any secret medicine, we have nothing.¡± Of course, Yingbao understood her father¡¯s concern. Being an adult in her soul, she wouldn¡¯t reveal her secret to others. Jiang Sang patted his daughter again, slightly relieved. He turned to his wife, ¡°I will have to stay on the South Slope for a while, you watch the children at home.¡± His daughter had brought back over twenty seedlings and arge bag of seeds, iming they were from a cotton variety she bought from a salesman and needed to be nted in the South Slope field. So Jiang Sang was busy. Not only was he busy nting seedlings, but also turning thend to nt cotton, and the fertile fields at home needed attention as well. Fortunately, the Golden Ears hadn¡¯t started to fruit; otherwise, he would have been stretched too thin. ¡°I understand, ¡± Chunniang wasn¡¯t worried about anything else, but that the Han family from the West Vige would harass her daughter when they least expected it. ¡°If she goes to school, we should prepare the proper gifts as well. Even though our daughter is a girl, she should notck anything when paying respects to her master.¡± ¡°I will ask my parents about this, we will prepare all that we need.¡± Chunniang said, unlocking the box to take out some money to give to her inws, hoping they would help prepare the school entering gifts. Her parents-inw had more experience and knew the appropriate protocols, they knew better than she and her husband about what gifts should be prepared for going to school. Jiang Sang nodded, gave Yingbao a few more instructions, then picked up his hoe and went to the South Slope. Jiang Liu was excited when she heard that her third daughter-inw was sending Yingbao to the girls¡¯ school, she pped her thigh, ¡°Sending one is the same as sending two, why don¡¯t we also send Danni and Erni to school?¡± Jiang¡¯s eldest daughter-inw didn¡¯t object, and asked her own daughter, ¡°Danni, why don¡¯t you go to school with your cousin for a few days?¡± Danni quickly shook her head: ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± She was eleven this year, and in a few years, she would be of marriageable age. How embarrassing it would be to stay with a group of young children at school! ¡°You are ungrateful!¡± Jiang Liu frowned and red at her granddaughter, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with learning a few words?¡± Now that they were not short of money, if her granddaughter learned to read, it would make her future inws look upon her with greater respect. Danni hid behind her mother, poking Zhou in the abdomen and whispering, ¡°Mom, I won¡¯t go to school. If I want to learn words, I can learn from Yuanbao.¡± Zhou sumbed and said to her mother-inw: ¡°Danni is already this big, it would not look good for her to go to school. If she wants to learn to read in the future, she can learn from her little brother.¡¯ Casting an angry re at her eldest daughter-inw, Jiang Liu turned and asked Dani, ¡°If your big sister won¡¯t go, you will go with Yingbao.¡± Dani nodded, feeling quite pleased, but was also worried about who would look after her younger brother Huzi if she went to school. ¡°Grandma, what about Huzi?¡± It was only then that Jiang Liu remembered her mischievous grandson. ¡°Let Huzi go too, I don¡¯t know if Mr. Wen takes male students.¡± As Huzi was very young, the local school¡¯s master was unwilling to ept him, so he had always been hanging around with Yingbao, Xiaojie, and Dawu to y. ¡°Let¡¯s ask Mr. Wenter if he epts male students.¡± Spring Mother handed over two coins to her mother-inw, ¡°I don¡¯t know if this is enough for the courtesy gifts, if it¡¯s not, I can go back and get more.¡± epting the coins, Jiang Liu said, ¡°We don¡¯t need so much for one Yingbao, but we also have to buy ropes for rituals and with these two coins, it should be enough.¡± The next day, Spring Mother sent her two sons to the front yard to ask her sister-inw to look after them, then she carried the six ceremonial gifts in a bamboo basket, leading Yingbao to meet Mr. Wen for the teaching. Jiang Liu also led Dani and Huzi, carrying double ropes for rituals, to the Wen Family. Wen¡¯s fourth son was not there, Mistress Wen, Xiu Zhenniang, was arranging the newly renovated school with a maidservant. ¡°Mr. Wen, I am here to be a student!¡± Yingbao called out from a distance. Xiu Zhenniang came out of the house, seeing it was people from the Jiang Family, she hurriedly asked a maidservant to bring stools for Jiang Liu and Spring Mother to sit down. After exchanging pleasantries, Jiang Liu brought up the matter of her young grandson Huzi, ¡°Our Huzi is almost five years old, he usually ys with his sister and cousin. Now that Dani and Yingbao are going to school, it¡¯s not right to leave him alone at home. I think we should also send him to school to study and y with his sisters. I don¡¯t know if Mr. Wen epts male students here?¡± Xiu Zhenniangughed, ¡°Ordinarily, we don¡¯t, although my husband also teaches, but he is only responsible for teaching the children their first characters. If you¡¯re thinking about preparing for the imperial examinations, it won¡¯t work.¡± The meaning of her words is that her husband¡¯s knowledge is limited, only responsible for teaching the children to recognize characters. If they want to sit for the imperial examination, they would need to find another famous teacher. Hearing this, Jiang Liuughed heartily, ¡°He¡¯s still a kid, where does he need to take the imperial examination? Please ept him and casually teach him a few characters. ¡± Xiu Zhenniang nodded with a smile, ¡°Then let him stay for now, I¡¯ll tell my husbandter.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s great,¡± Jiang Liu was overjoyed. Just like that, Yingbao, Dani, and Huzi all began studying at Wen¡¯s school. A few dayster, a que was hung up at the Wen Family¡¯s schoolhouse, with a few big characters written on it: Ai Chang Women¡¯s Medical Academy. Yingbao, Dani, and Huzi officially started school the day after the que was put up. When they arrived at the school, they found it was only the three of them, plus Sister Wen and a boy named Wen Hengyin. It was a bit awkward. They initially thought that their teacher would feel shameful due to theck of students, but after Yingbao secretly observed for half a day, she found them to be calm and collected, as if nothing had happened. Next, she and Sister Wen had a ss together, taught by Mistress Wen. While Wen Hengyin, Huzi, and Dani were in another ssroom, taught by Mr. Wen with the Thousand Character ssic. Five students, divided into two ssrooms, one teacher per student. It was ridiculous. Mistress Wen handed a medical book to Yingbao, and then started the ss. ¡°Our medical learning is divided into four sections: medical science, acupuncture, massage, and incantation.¡± Mistress Wen continued, ¡°In the future, we will mainly study medical science, but we also need to learn about acupuncture, massage, and incantations¡­.¡± Chapter 57 - 57: So That’s How It Is_1 Chapter 57: So That¡¯s How It Is_1 Trantor: 549690339 Lady Wen finished the prefix and then began to teach medical knowledge. Yingbao listened carefully, cross-referencing with the book. This book had never been seen in the market, probably a treasure of the Wen family. Lady Wen exined the first section, then guided the two children through it, followed by asking them to copy it word by word and sentence by sentence to deepen their impressions. After the lesson, Lady Wen asked her daughter, Wen Shu, and Yingbao to quiz each other as follow-up exercise. She went straight back to her room afterwards. Walking into the inner room, she met her husband¡¯s gaze, Wen Yanmin. She turned her head, not wanting to deal with him. Wen Yanmin stepped forward and held onto his wife¡¯s sleeve, whispering, ¡°Zhenniang, are you still angry?¡± Xiu Zhenniang shoved his hand away, coolly saying, ¡°What do I have to be angry about? We¡¯re already here. We can¡¯t go back, can we?¡± Wen Yanmin sighed, ¡°Coming here isn¡¯t all bad.¡± Xiu Zhenniang sneered: ¡°It sounds nice, but the so-called advantage you¡¯re talking about is the apothecary in Luzhou that your great-nephew gave you, right?¡± Wen Yanmin rubbed his nose and cleared his throat, ¡°The pharmacy in Luzhou is quite good, it can make quite a bit of silver each year, and it¡¯s close to here so we can manage it easily. It was a gesture of kindness from our father, not a gift from Hengchuan.¡± Xiu Zhenniang closed her eyes, sat down on the bed, and picked up a medical book. ¡°Zhenniang, when Father arranged for us toe here, it wasn¡¯t like you thought ¡­¡± Wen Yanmin tried to exin. His second and third brothers refused toe, and the old father had no choice but to let him, the fourth son, bear the burden. But he didn¡¯t think it was a burden; he liked the peaceful life in this little mountain vige. Xiu Zhenniang did not look at her husband, simply said with indifference: ¡°I know, he wants us to look for some secret medicine, a remedy for lung disease, to save the only child of the Central Pce.¡± The present Emperor¡¯s offspring were fragile, with only the Empress bearing a son and a daughter. Unfortunately, the royal son is poorly and at a tender age of nine; his disease was beyond cure. Furthermore, the Emperor¡¯s wife is jealous, while the imperial inws are dominant. As the Emperor is facing the threat of having no heir, the Vassal Kings seem to be ready to make a move at any moment. ¡°Hush, lower your voice.¡± Wen Yanmin looked to the outside, ¡°If you know it, that¡¯s good. This matter concerns the rise and fall of the Wen family, the old man is also out of options.¡± Xiu Zhenniang sneered, ¡°Only now you realize there are no options? Were it not for your eldest brother¡¯s bootlicking, promising whatever he could, how could the Wen family be dragged into this?¡± Wen Yanmin¡¯s oldest brother worked at the Imperial Medical Bureau, he used to treat nobility exclusively. Somehow, he managed to establish a connection with the Empress¡¯s family and promised to cure the Empress¡¯s only son. As a result, he¡¯s entangled in a tricky situation. Wen Yanmin kept silent for a moment and then apologized to his wife, ¡°There¡¯s no point inining any more. Zhenniang, we are one with the Wen family, in glory and disgrace. Father had us settle here with the intention to preserve us. As for seeking the secret form, it was nothing but an excuse.¡± In such a deste little mountain vige, sporting a nce, he did not believe there could exist a recluse or an expert. Let alone the secret prescription, he didn¡¯t even see a decent vige doctor. And the Jiang family ¡ª none of the three brothers stood out, and old Mr. Jiang waspletely illiterate. He would never believe that such a family could possess any rare prescription. Xiu Zhenniang turned her face away, pulled out her handkerchief to gently wipe her eyes, and said through her sniffles. ¡°I¡¯m not so muchining as worried about Shushu and Baobao. Should they live their entire life in this small mountain vige?¡± Shushu was almost ten years old and soon it would be the right time to arrange her marriage. However, they currently resided in a small vige. How could they find a match for Shushu from an equivalent background now? Wen Yanmin massaged his brow while soothing his wife, ¡°If the situation in Beijing calms down and there¡¯s no major incident, we may be able to go back. Shushu and Hengyin are still young ¨C it wouldn¡¯t matter if we waited a few more years before returning home.¡± Xiu Zhenniang sighed faintly, ¡°One can only hope.¡± After ss, Yingbao sincerely invited Miss Wen to her home. Wen Shu happily agreed, leading her younger brother to visit the Jiang family and to see the golden ear mushroom in her bamboo shed. ¡°These are the golden ears we grow at home. They haven¡¯t matured yet.¡± Yingbao pointed to the mulberry rack, ¡°When theye of age, I will give you some.¡± Wen Shu was curious, crouching down to get a closer look at the golden item. She eximed, ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen fresh golden ears. They¡¯re really beautiful. She couldn¡¯t help reaching out to touch them. They were soft and really looked like small ears. After admiring the golden ears, they went to see the deer and chicken in the deer shed. Yingbao took a dozen eggs from the egg basket and used another basket to collect them for Wen Shu, ¡°Our chickensy a dozen eggs each day. Sister Wen, take some home ¨C they¡¯re delicious when boiled.¡± Wen Shu felt a bit embarrassed and wanted to decline, but the enthusiasm of the child was overwhelming. ¡°Well, then I¡¯ll make some mung bean cakes for you to try when I get home.¡± The friendship between girls often starts with food. For instance, eating snacks together, shopping for treats together, and eating at roadside stalls together. Wen Hengyin was not interested in the girlish chit-chat; he only liked the magnificent deer. He secretly reached out to pat it, and seeing the deer did not resist, he felt a burst of joy. If he could ride on it, he would surely look impressive. A few days ago, when he first saw the little girl riding on that deer, he was utterly amazed. The little boy kept stealing nces at the girl with the braids shaped like goat horns. s, he couldn¡¯t find the words to speak up. Wen Hengyin drooped his head in disappointment. Perhaps next time, he would give her his Nine-Linked Rings, in exchange for a chance to ride the deer. Yes, that seemed like a good n. After looking at the chickens, the children ran to Uncle Jiang¡¯s pigpen to see the pigs. This spring, Uncle Jiang had bought a healthy ck-and-white sow, intending to find a boar to breed piglets with. It was the first time Wen Shu and her brother had seen a live pig, so they couldn¡¯t help but peer over the low wall of the pigpen in fascination. Such arge fat pig, snorting as it sniffed at them, begging for food. Yingbao ran back to her house and then came back again, bringing arge bundle of shepherd¡¯s purse and green vegetables for Wen Shu: ¡°Sister Wen, you feed her.¡± Wen Shu took the greens and began to feed the sow piece by piece. Seeing the sow enjoying the food, Wen Hengyin couldn¡¯t help himself and began to throw some shepherd¡¯s purse over as well. The sow seemed to really like the shepherd¡¯s purse and kept nudging Wen Hengyin¡¯s hand with her snout, urging him to give her more. Wen Hengyin chuckled continuously, stood on his tiptoes, leaned down to touch the pig¡¯s head, and then pinched itsrge, floppy ears. So much fun! Before they knew it, the afternoon had passed, and the siblings left reluctantly, carrying a small basket of eggs that Yingbao had given them. After seeing off the Wen siblings, Yingbao returned home, full of high spirits. Upon entering the house, she saw her two little brothers were standing at the door to her western room, looking at her with a touch of resentment in their eyes. Their lips were downward turned, as if they were about to cry any second. Yingbao had no choice but to hug her brothers, ¡°What¡¯s wrong Xiaojie, Dawu?¡± Xiaojie¡¯s nose was all red, and he was sniffling as he clung onto his sister¡¯s neck without saying a word. Dawu also leaned against his sister, grabbing her arm and trying to burrow into her embrace. Spring Mother walked over,ughing, ¡°The little ones are feeling neglected. Sister Bao didn¡¯t take them out to y after school.¡± Feeling slightly guilty, Yingbao held her brothers¡¯ hands and said, ¡°Next time, I¡¯ll definitely take both of you out, all right?¡± Her brothers nodded their heads. Thinking for a moment, Yingbao reached into her school bag, took out her medical book, and said to Xiaojie and Dawu, ¡°I¡¯ll read to you.¡± Her two brothers immediately ran to fetch their small stools, and sat down in front of their sister, their eyes sparkling like stars. Patting their heads, Yingbaoughed and said, ¡°Now it¡¯s sister reading to you. But in the future, Xiaojie and Dawu will read for sister, all right?¡± Nurturing a child prodigy requires encouragement and guidance from an early age. Get them into the habit of reading, make them love reading, and then they can grow up and be important officials to support themselves, hehe¡­ ¡°Okay!¡± The two little ones said in unison. #Before, some readers pointed out an error in the quantity of gold earrings after they were dried. This has been corrected, and from now on, please use the current number as the reference.. Thank you all for your attention to detail!# Chapter 58 - 58: Ahua is Pregnant with My Child, Chapter 58: Ahua is Pregnant with My Child, Trantor: 549690339 Recently, Wen Hengyin had been feeling a bit restless, peeking outside during ss. His father, Mr. Wen Sng, had already knocked on the table with his ruler several times, his gaze full of warnings. Wen Hengyin had no choice but to suppress his restless thoughts and start studying with a nodding and shaking of his head. Once school was finally over, Wen Hengyin snuck to the kitchen, grabbed two steamed buns, stuffed them into his bosom, and dashed off to the Jiang Family¡¯s house. Upon arriving at the yard of Uncle Jiang, he saw that there was no one around, so he silently ran to the pigpen and fed the steamed buns to Ahua in the pigpen over the fence. Yes, he had named the ck pig Ahua and even brought her delicious food every day. Because Ahua was pregnant, and the piglets in her belly might be his. This is how it happened. A few days ago, he often fed Ahua with wild vegetables, and she seemed very happy, grunting whenever she saw himing. Wen Hengyin had never seen such a cute and clever pig, so he often gave her wild vegetables and sometimes brought some steamed buns and cakes for her too. One day, while he was feeding the pig with the mung bean cake his sister had just made, he suddenly noticed someoneing over¡ª it was that annoying brat Yingbao and his sister, Wen Shu. Fearful of his sister discovering that he used the mung bean cake she made to feed the pig, Wen Hengyin hastily jumped into the pigpen. He quietly hid behind Ahua, listening to the noise outside. His sister and Yingbao were chatting non-stop outside, seeming to have endless topics to discuss. Wen Hengyin was frustrated waiting for them to leave so he could get out, but as he waited, he dozed off and unknowingly fell asleep. Wen Shu gave a bag of mung bean cakes to Yingbao, ¡°These are ones I made. I added honey inside; they¡¯re really delicious. I originally made a lot, but I don¡¯t know why half of them are gone. I think my younger brother took them away.¡± Upon receiving the cakes, Yingbao smiled, ¡°Thank you, Sister Wen. You¡¯re very kind.¡± Wen Shu patted Yingbao on her braids and smiled, ¡°You¡¯re very good too, Yingbao.¡± Looking around, she said, ¡°I saw my brother headed this way earlier. I thought he would visit the deer at your house, but I don¡¯t know where he went off to.¡± Yingbao stood on her tiptoes and also looked around, but saw no one. ¡°He might have gone to find Huzi.¡± Huzi and Wen Hengyin were ssmates and were very familiar with each other, sometimes ying together. The two girls chatted for a while before parting ways. By dusk, Dani came to feed the pigs with a bucket of pig feed. Suddenly noticing a boy sleeping beside the mother pig, she was startled and nearly knocked over the pig feed bucket. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was the young master from Master Wen¡¯s house. Dani quickly woke him up, ¡°How did you end up sleeping here? Were you bitten by a pig? Wen Hengyin rubbed his eyes, and upon seeing that he was lying next to Ahua, he was so scared that he jumped up and rushed out the gate Dani had opened. He ran all the way back home, where he saw his parents and sister about to set out with the servants to find him. Seeing his son, Wen Sng was so angry that he picked up the ruler to hit him. Xiu Zhenniang didn¡¯t stop him, but watched as her husband hit their son several times before asking, ¡°Where did you go?¡± Wen Hengyin hung his head and dared not answer. Seeing that her brother was all dirty, Wen Shu quickly said, ¡°He must have gone to catch loaches again.¡± Since Xiu Zhenniang saw that her son was still silent, she didn¡¯t ask further and let him go inside to change his clothes, letting the matter drop. However, not long after, Wen Hengyin heard from Huzi that Ahua was pregnant. Scared witless, he ran to ask his mother. ¡°Mother, if a boy and a girl sleep together, will they get pregnant?¡± Xiu Zhenniang was confused, mistakenly thinking that her son had encountered a challenging medical problem. She answered her son¡¯s question earnestly, ¡°It could be.¡± Wen Hengyin¡¯s small face instantly crumpled up like a steamed bun, he stuttered and asked, ¡°Then, then will a male and a female sleeping together also result in pregnancy? Xiu Zhenniang thought for a moment and nodded, ¡°That¡¯s also possible.¡± Wen Hengyin was almost in tears as he asked again, ¡°Mother, am I, am I male Xiu Zhenniangughed, poking her son¡¯s forehead, ¡°You¡¯re a man! Why are you talking about males and females? Only pigs and sheep are referred to as males and females.¡¯ Wen Hengyin, with a gloomy face, pulled at his mother¡¯s sleeve and pressed on, ¡°Mother, do I really count as a male?¡± Xiu Zhenniang, left speechless by her son¡¯s question, could only reply, ¡°Of course, you do. But you shouldn¡¯t talk like that.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Wen Hengyin walked away dejectedly to his room, wiping away his tears, and silently made up his mind. He was a man and needed to be brave in epting responsibility. The unborn creature in Ahua¡¯s belly was also his, and he wasmitted to take responsibility. Having realized this, Wen Hengyin dried his tears and decided to go visit Ahua first. Luckily, his grandmother had cooked some eggs, so he put one in his pocket and ran to the pigsty of the Jiang family to feed Ahua. Afterwards, whenever Wen Hengyin had spare time, he would bring some tasty food for Ahua to boost its nutrition for the baby. By the time it was May, Ahua¡¯s belly was getting quite big. Wen Hengyin felt very pleased and was more determined to take good care of it and its unborn pib1eL. On Dragon Boat Festival in May, the sun was fierce. The golden sprouts that the Jiang brothers had nted at their new house on the South Slope could finally be harvested. This time, the third Jiang brother had nted four hundred sprouts, the eldest and second Jiang brothers each nted three hundred, and old man Jiang also nted a hundred. During the harvest, many people from the vige came to watch. They were curious about how the Jiang family harvested, dried, and then put it into the kiln for further drying. Even the n Leader Chen and Chen Cunzheng together with the Master visited specifically for half a day. ¡°Third Brother, I heard that you discovered this. Could you tell us how to cultivate it?¡± Although n Leader Chen was not short on money or food, strictly speaking, he wouldn¡¯t be considered wealthy. His sons lived together without having split the family, and there were always disputes happening every day. On top of that, his youngest son had been enlisted in the army, and it felt like the whole family had suddenly lost its structure, each hiding their own thoughts. The fourth branch was having the hardest time at the moment. It wasn¡¯t easy for the young daughter-inw to take care of a young child alone, so he wanted to find her a way to make more money to make up for what theycked due to the absence of his youngest son. Jiang Sang smiled, ¡°There¡¯s really not much to say. As you can see, this is not easy to manage. It needs watering everyday to keep it moist, but the water can¡¯t get on the mushrooms, or else they will rot. The shed also needs to be ventted to let sunlight in, otherwise the golden mushroom will change color.¡± He had also learned this through several trials and errors. Last time, because he had not noticed these details, the golden mushrooms were almost ruined. n Leader Chen stroked his beard, nodded, and asked, ¡°Third Brother, can I buy some seeds from you? Ah, it¡¯s not easy for my son Zhuzhu¡¯s wife to care of a young child alone, so I¡¯m thinking¡­¡± ¡°No problem,¡± agreed Jiang Sang readily, ¡°but I have limited spores and can¡¯t give you too many.¡± Several vigers had already ordered mushroom seeds from him, and squeezing out fifty sprouts for n Leader Chen was the best he could do. ¡°Give as many as you can. It won¡¯t be easy for Zhuzhu¡¯s wife to manage this alone, and she probably can¡¯t handle too many anyway.¡± The n Leader, seeing that Jiang Sang had agreed, was quite pleased, ¡°Third Brother, calcte how much it will cost for the seeds and I¡¯ll give the money to youter.¡± Jiang Sang calcted in his mind and said, ¡°Fifty golden mushrooms, you just give me five hundred coins.¡± The reason why he asked for ten coins a sprout was after much consideration. Because after they bought the seeds, they would certainly call him over for guidance from time to time, and if they encountered any problem, he would inevitably need to worry about it. This back and forth would take a lot of his effort.. Chapter 59 - 59: There are Premium Products in Golden Ear 1 Chapter 59: There are Premium Products in Golden Ear 1 Trantor: 549690339 Once the golden mushrooms were harvested, they needed to be spread out to dry. Previously, Yingbao had also nted some next to the old house, not many, just about a hundred, plus another hundred of Xue¡¯er. Both of these two hundred variations were grown from mushroom spores of golden mushrooms and Xue¡¯er. They were watered with a blend of a small amount of Wudingzhi and pond water, so they grew very well. After Yingbao harvested them, she spread them out to dry and obtained more than four catties of dried golden mushrooms and four catties of Xue¡¯er. She didn¡¯t n to sell all of these dry mushrooms but gifted half a catty of golden mushrooms and half a catty of Xue¡¯er to grandfather and grandmother for them to stew and eat. She also gave half a catty of golden mushrooms to Sister Wen. She kept less than a catty for herself, and gave the rest to her father, telling him that these were premium golden mushrooms and should not be sold for less than ten taels of silver per catty. The Xue¡¯er mushrooms were also premium quality and should not be sold for less than a tael of silver per catty. Jiang Sang nodded in agreement. Following that, the three brothers carried the golden mushrooms to the county town to sell them to Zhou Mao at the Furuifeng Trading Company. When Zhou Mao saw that the three brothers had brought more golden mushrooms, he immediately ordered his servant to serve tea and the young shopkeeper to bring the steelyard weight and weigh the mushrooms. This time, there were twenty-eight catties of golden mushrooms in total. Of these, fifteen catties belonged to Jiang Sang. Jiang Eng and Jiang Dng each had ten catties, and the old man Jiang had the least, just three catties. After weighing the golden mushrooms, Zhou Mao noticed that there were still two carrying baskets on the donkey cart that hadn¡¯t been brought over, and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Sang, what¡¯s this¡­¡± He suspected that Jiang Sang had started doing business with other merchants. Jiang Sang calmly replied, ¡°These are the premium products from our family. They cannot be sold for less than ten taels per catty.¡± ¡°What?¡± Zhou Mao was somewhat displeased, ¡°Are you trying to jack up the price?¡± Jiang Sang shook his head, ¡°If I wanted to jack up the price, I wouldn¡¯t have sold the other ones to you. These really are premium products.¡± Zhou Mao looked at Jiang Sang with suspicion, ¡°What premium products? You better exin quickly.¡± Although Jiang Sang didn¡¯t understand why his little girl insisted on treating these golden mushrooms as premium products, since she said so, there must be a reason. So, he said, ¡°Premium products, of course, have value. I can¡¯t exin it well. But if Steward Zhou thinks it¡¯s too expensive, it doesn¡¯t matter. I can take them to another ce. Doctor Li told me that he wanted all of these.¡± In fact, Doctor Li hadn¡¯t said anything like this to him. Most likely he hadn¡¯t even used up the several catties fromst year. Even if he had used them up, Jiang Sang wouldn¡¯t have gone back to him anyway because he had been upset about the matter with Old Man Wen. Zhou Mao frowned, clicked his teeth, and pped the table, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take these first. If I find out you have been ying tricks, Zhou will chase you back to your old home and demand an exnation.¡± Having said that, he asked the young shopkeeper toe over and weigh the golden mushrooms and Xue¡¯er. Three catties of premium golden mushrooms, four catties of premium Xue¡¯er, for a total of thirty-four taels of silver. Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng looked at each other. When did their third brothere up with a premium product? The money made from these few catties of premium products was unexpectedly more than their own ten catties. Zhou Mao was actually a little annoyed in his heart, but he had no choice but to ept these so-called premium products. Jiang Sang, this little guy, seemed honest and straightforward, but in reality, he was very clever. If he let his golden mushrooms fall into the hands of others, he would definitely lose out. Especially the head steward of the tradingpany, Zhao Kun, that old fox was a crafty character and had always been coveting the supply of golden mushrooms. Fortunately, Jiang Sang only recognized him, and the amount of supply each time was notrge, which didn¡¯t give the old fox an opportunity. Humph,ter he would cook some andpare them. If Jiang Sang were to try to deceive him, he would definitely make him suffer. After getting their silver coins, the Jiang brothers returned home cheerfully. Jiang Dng said, ¡°Sang, we might as well put our money together and buy a donkey cart. We can¡¯t keep borrowing one from Uncle Chen, it¡¯s really not right.¡¯ Jiang Sang was also considering this. It was truly inconvenient not to have your own cart. In the future, they would often travel to the county town, and it was indeed too inconvenient to always borrow someone else¡¯s cart. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go to the Mule Horse Market and take a look.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go to the Mule Horse Market. Anyway, the money we have together is enough to buy a donkey cart.¡± And thus, the three brothers headed towards the Mule Horse Market. Upon asking the price, a sturdy green mule cost over thirty taels of silver. Horses were even more expensive, costing four to five ten taels. Even a donkey cost more than twenty taels. This didn¡¯t include the cart itself. A new one also cost over ten taels. The three brothers sighed, but still bit the bullet and bought a mule, but couldn¡¯t afford to buy the cart. They could ask someone to build a cart when they got back, which would save quite a bit of money. There was a person in their town who built carts. If they brought their own good wood, thebor cost would only be three or four taels. Let¡¯s not discuss how cheerful the three brothers were when they led the mule home. Let¡¯s talk about Zhou Mao instead. As soon as the three Jiang brothers left, he called his servant boys to cook some golden mushrooms, a little bit of both types. After they were cooked, he first tasted the premium golden mushroom soup, finding it extremely fragrant, indeed different frommon golden mushrooms. Zhou Mao thought for a while, then took a sip of themon golden mushroom soup, smacking his lips and shaking his head, ¡°It does seem to be somewhat different.¡¯ At this time, the head steward, Zhao Kun, walked over, saw that there were two bowls of golden mushroom soup on his table andughed, ¡°Well, have you started using them yourself?¡± Zhou Mao secretly rolled his eyes andughed, ¡°Just tasted some. We just received some premium golden mushrooms, so naturally had to see if they were worth it.¡± Zhao Kun lifted his robe and sat down, reaching out to bring a bowl to his nose, ¡°Isn¡¯t this stuff all the same, what¡¯s the difference between premium and non-premium?¡± Zhou Mao saw him taking the bowl of premium golden mushroom soup and immediatelv took it back,ughing, ¡°I¡¯ve eaten from this bowl, vou taste the other one.¡± Zhao Kun didn¡¯t suspect a thing, picked up the other bowl, stirred it with a spoon, and began to eat by himself. This stuff was precious. Even as the head manager of a tradingpany, he couldn¡¯t afford to buy it for consumption. Now that there was a free supply, it would be a waste not to eat it. Zhou Mao also picked up a bowl, stroked his increasingly sparse forehead, picked up a spoon, and started drinking spoonful by spoonful. Don¡¯t mention it, after drinking the premium golden mushroom soup, he felt an incredible sense offort throughout his body, and even his hair seemed to be more energetic. After the head steward left, Zhou Mao instructed his young shopkeeper, ¡°Record all these in the book, the premium ones are bought for eleven taels per catty, and the ordinary ones are still the same as before, bought for three and a half taels per catty.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The young shopkeeper was Zhou Mao¡¯s nephew. He was learning the ropes and had a lot of trust with Zhou Mao. While the young shopkeeper was recording, he secretly asked, ¡°Uncle, this premium golden mushroom is so expensive, how much should our tradingpany sell it for per catty?¡± Zhou Mao picked up the tea cup and skimmed off the froth,ughing, ¡°Naturally we need to increase the price. When goods are scarce, the price goes up. A catty of premium product can be sold for about five taels of silver. There are plenty of rich people in Prefecture City. This little thing is nothing to them.¡± The young shopkeeper was astonished, and secretly looked at the stew pot. There were still some leftovers. When his uncle went out, he also wanted to taste what something that was several dozen taels a catty tasted like. Zhou Mao sat there sipping his tea with his legs crossed, and suddenly stood up. The young shopkeeper was overjoyed, waiting for his uncle to go out. However, Zhou Mao leisurely walked over to the small table, picked up the stew pot and looked at it, then carried it outside. The young shopkeeper: . Did uncle not eat enough? Or did he want to wash the pot himself? Chapter 60 - 60: Brother is Missing_1 Chapter 60: Brother is Missing_1 Trantor: 549690339 Jiang Sang and his brothers invited someone to make a cart for their mule the day after they returned home. From then on, the Jiang family also had a mule cart. However, not long after, Sun Licheng heard about it and came to collect the cart and horse tax. He also told them that from now on they would have to pay taxes every year,bined with the summer and autumn taxes. At the same time, Yingbao received the thirty-four silver ingots his father brought back. He was so happy that he put most of the silver ingots in his treasure cave whenever he had the chance. After that, she nted one hundred premium golden ears and one hundred snow ears, and then gave some of the remaining premium spore strains to her father, eldest uncle and second uncle, and her grandfather also got some. For the premium strains she gave away, without the mixed liquid for cultivation, they probably wouldn¡¯t equal those she cultivated herself, but they should be pretty good as subpremium products. ¡°Third brother, are these really premium?¡± Jiang Dang was still a bit confused, ¡°When did you cultivate these?¡± Jiang Sang scratched his nose: ¡°Last time, bring it back to try nting, whether it can be nted or not depends on the situation.¡± He didn¡¯t dare to guarantee that he could cultivate premium products, because that was what his little girl told him. Jiang Lao Han red at his eldest son, ¡°Just nt it if you¡¯re told to. Why so much nonsense?¡± Jiang Dang took the spores with a smile, carefully separating them onto the mulberry wood. This stuff was worth a lot of money, one couldpete with three ordinary ones, and there were not many, so they had to be carefully taken care of. Jiang Lao Han also received fifty premiums, happily taking care of them without asking his grandchildren for help. Now his eldest grandson, Jiang Cheng, also nted dozens of them, but they weren¡¯t premium. The eldest grandson was fifteen this year and was about to marry, but he couldn¡¯t do it without money. A few dayster, after nting the golden ears ended, Jiang Sang took advantage of this time when the wheat was not collected, and invited the vigers to dig a water pool on South Slope. The water pool is too small and shallow to store much water, and Jiang Sang has nted a lot of fruit trees and cotton on South Slope, which requires a lot of water for irrigation. So they must take this opportunity to erge and deepen the water pool to store more rainwater. ¡°I say, Third Brother, why is your family building a house on South Slope?¡± a viger asked. This question has been asked by many people, and Jiang Sang always gives the same answer. ¡°Chuanhe River floods every year. What if a big flood one day washes the house away? Then we¡¯ll have worked so hard for nothing.¡± A viger didn¡¯t believe it andughed, ¡°There hasn¡¯t been a big flood for so many years. Only someone timid like you would be scared about such things.¡± ¡°Believe it or not, it¡¯s up to you.¡± Jiang Sang didn¡¯t want to waste his breath arguing. At the side, Li Eryong heard this and turned his head to his big brother and said: ¡°Brother, some of our permanent fields are on the hillside. We might as well build a house here too. We can¡¯t build a brick house, but we should be able to build a grass house.¡± Li Eryong deeply trusts Jiang Sang, because Sang made a lot of moneyst year, and now he is leading his two brothers to nt golden ears. Sang has such good luck, so whatever he says surely makes sense. Li Dayong shook his head, ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see.¡± Building a house is a big matter, not only does the family¡¯s money note together, but there¡¯s also the attached sentiment of the old ce. Who could bear to leave the ce where they have lived for so many years and run to another ce to build a house? And this ce was too remote, which was simply uneptable. Li Eryong was a bit frustrated. He hadn¡¯t separated from his elder brother. For such a big matter as building a house, both brothers had to agree. Otherwise, when he makes some money by nting golden ears, he¡¯ll build a thatched house on his permanent field first, in case a big flood really happens one day, he can take his wife and children to get away. Li Eryong¡¯s suggestion didn¡¯t get his eldest brother¡¯s approval, but caught the attention of Wang Ke who was also digging together. He also agreed with Jiang Sang¡¯s words. Chuanhe River may flood every two or three years, although not severely, it¡¯s a trouble. What if there was a massive flood one day; would his family not bepletely doomed then? Wang Ke¡¯s house was not far from the Chuanhe River. Every summer when a heavy rain urred, his house would flood. If he had the money, he would have wanted to move long ago. Wang Ke looked at therge tile house of the Jiang brothers, gritted his teeth, and ran to Jiang Sang to ask, ¡°Sang, can I learn to grow Jin Ear mushrooms with you?¡± Jiang Sang wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded, ¡°Sure, but I¡¯ve given away all the mushroom spawns. If you want some, I can share some with you in a month.¡± Upon hearing this, Wang Ke jumped up excitedly and quickly said, ¡°Okay! I¡¯m relieved knowing you¡¯re considering me. Sang, what if I help you with your work in the future? It¡¯s also a good opportunity for me to learn how to grow and maintain the nts, so I¡¯ll know how to do it when I get the spawn.¡± Jiang Sangughed, ¡°Sure!¡± Why not take advantage of avable freebor? They were indeed too busy at home, and he had been considering hiring some help. Wang Keughed happily and dug with more enthusiasm. The pond was dug for over ten days and was starting to take shape. During this period, there happened to be a heavy rain, which filled the pond halfway. The pond could no longer be called a pond; it should be referred to as a reservoir. Jiang Sang nted some lotus in the reservoir, guessing that they could have fresh lotus roots next year. Yingbao also took the opportunity to nt arge area of water chestnuts by the reservoir and instructed her second cousin to care for them properly. When the water chestnuts grew, they could sell them in town. Jiang Quan was not unhappy about this and took time every day to check on the water chestnut sprouts. Then the wheat harvest began. The school closed for holiday, and Madam Wen also gave Yingbao and her friends time off for the harvest. Afterward, Yingbao stayed home to look after her younger brothers while making lunch, which she would then bring to the fields for her working parents. One day, Yingbao cut a couple of handfuls of Chinese chives and chopped down a big Chinese cabbage. A tofu seller passed by in the morning, so she traded some soybeans for arge piece of tofu. After washing and chopping the vegetables, Yingbao rinsed the rice and started boiling it, arranging firewood in the stove and letting it burn slowly. She ced a stool next to the cooking tform, stood on it and first wok-fried Chinese chive with eggs, then stewed tofu with Chinese cabbage, and boiled a big pot of water chestnuts. She decanted the water chestnut water into a water jar toter take to the field to quench her parents¡¯ thirst. Once the rice was cooked, she filled half of it into a y pot, left the rest in a rice basket to cool, turned up the heat to make crispy rice at the bottom of the pot nice and golden, scooped it out, and put it on the table. Her hungry little brothers were eagerly waiting at the table. Yingbao handed them a few peeled boiled water chestnuts and some crispy rice for them to nibble on. Xiaojie and Xiaowu were eating the crispy rice, taking bites of water chestnuts,ughing and ying, chasing each other in the yard. Yingbao put out the stove fire, packed up the food, and prepared to take her two younger brothers to bring lunch to their parents. Youyou was already saddled up and standing in the yard, waiting for her young master to arrive. ¡°Xiaojie! Dawu! Come over here quickly, we¡¯re going to deliver the lunch!¡± Yingbao stood in the yard, holding tworge y pots, and shouted, ¡°Hurry up, c¡¯mon let¡¯s ride the deer.¡± After waiting for a moment, Xiaojie and Dawu still hadn¡¯te over. Yingbao had no choice but to lock the house door first and led Youyou out of the yard. However, there were still no signs of her two younger brothers outside. Yingbao immediately became alert, put the y pots by the door, stepped on the stone steps by the door, and climbed onto the deer¡¯s back. The young deer swiftly began to run. Yingbao looked in two directions but didn¡¯t see them, so she immediately had Youyou change direction. On the road, she met Wen Hengyin and immediately asked him, ¡°Have you seen my two younger brothers?¡± Wen Hengyin nodded, ¡°I think I saw them a while ago, a woman was holding them.¡± Yingbao¡¯s heart pounded as she urged Youyou to hurry in the direction Wen Hengyin pointed.. Chapter 61 - 61: Lifesaving Gourd_l Chapter 61: Lifesaving Gourd_l Trantor: 549690339 Wen Hengyin also sensed something was wrong, chasing frantically behind the deer. In the busy farming season, there weren¡¯t many people in the vige. People were either in the fields harvesting wheat or preparing meals at home to be delivered to the fields. Youyou galloped swiftly, and soon saw a woman holding Xiaojie and Xiaowu, hurrying ahead in haste. Xiaojie and Dawu were obviously not happy, struggling and crying desperately. ¡°Stop!¡± Yingbao shouted, urging Youyou to move faster. The woman looked back, immediately dropped the more troublesome Xiaowu, and ran away holding Xiaojie. Yingbao reached Xiaowu and nced back to see Wen Henzvin trailing far behind, ¡°Wen Hengyin, please take care of my brother!¡± she yelled, before pushing the deer to chase after the woman. Wen Hengyin roughly understood the situation. He run over to Xiaowu and picked up the crying child, looking in the direction where Yingbao had disappeared. He knew he couldn¡¯t catch up, so he turned around and started running back. Sigh, he was just feeding Ahua, he never thought he would encounter a child thief. He had to quickly find an adult to rescue Yingbao and her brother. Holding Xiaowu, he ran all the way, gasping heavily, when he saw a viger. He immediately shouted, ¡°Auntie! Someone is stealing a child, go to the Jiang family to call for help!¡± The person was Wang Ke¡¯s wife, who was preparing to deliver food to the field. Hearing these words, she immediately headed to the Jiang Family,running and shouting, ¡°Help! Someone is stealing children!¡± Yingbao chased all the way to the Chuanhe river, and just as she was about to catch up, the woman turned and coldlyughed, forcefully throwing the child in her hand. ¡°Xiaojie!¡± Yingbao¡¯s eyes were bloodshot. She had no time to tangle with the woman, following Xiaojie downstream. Because it had rained recently, the river flowed rapidly, taking Xiaojie far away in a sh. Yingbao urged Youyou to chase downstream, watching Xiaojie¡¯s red coat floating up and down in the water, her mind buzzing, but her heart was unusually clear. No! She must get ahead of the current and stop Xiaojie. If they continued to chase this way, a wave could easily sink him to the riverbed. Yingbao pped Youyou fiercely, urging it to run faster. When she had passed Xiaojie, she jumped off the deer¡¯s back, ran to the riverside, and jumped in disregarding the height difference. As she fell into the water, Yingbao released a Gourd Vine linked with tworge gourds. Upon entering the water, she unconsciously held her breath and the small body was pulled out of the water by the Gourd Vine. She grabbed the Gourd Vine with one hand and wrapped it around herself, swimming with all her might towards Xiaojie. In her past life, she knew how to dog paddle, and she hadn¡¯t forgotten it now. Finally, she managed to catch him. Yingbao held Xiaojie tightly, letting his head rest on the thin waist of the gourd. She wanted to have Xiaojie ride on the thin waist of the gourd, but therge gourd rolled in the water and couldn¡¯t carry a person. And she couldn¡¯t control the floating gourd, only watching herself and her brother drifting downstream. It was over, she and her brother couldn¡¯t make it to the shore. Looking back, she saw Youyou chasing after them, non-stop. In the water, Yingbao holding her brother was being carried further and further away by the gourd, and soon she couldn¡¯t see Youyou clearly. The chest of Xiaojie in her arms was rising and falling with breath, his eyes tightly closed, not knowing if he was asleep. Yingbao felt slightly relieved. With one hand holding him and one hand grabbing tightly onto the gourd, she didn¡¯t let herself and her brother sank into the water. She didn¡¯t know how long they had been drifting for. The surface of the water began to widen and the current slowed down. Catching her breath, Yingbao kicked her legs hard and swam towards the shore. After struggling for a long time, Yingbao, exhausted as she was, finally drifted to the shallow bank. After consuming a handful of Wuding Shi, she felt a slight recovery in her powers and managed to drag her brother to the shore. The tworge gourds also got entangled in the weeds on the bank, not drifting away. She turned him over to drain the water from his lungs, removed his wet clothes, fetched a thicker garment from the cave dwelling, and wrapped her brother in it. Then she fed him a bit of Wuding Shi juice, and only then did she copse on the ground herself, gazing absently at the blue sky. After an unknown length of time, Youyou ran over, bumping her with its head, trying to rouse her to get up. But she could not move, not even able to lift a hand. At that moment, someone ran over in their direction. Yingbao took a nce, but couldn¡¯t clearly see who it was. ¡°Baobao!¡± Jiang Sang ran over like a madman, seeing the two children lying silently on the beach, his vision darkened, and he almost fainted. ¡°Baobao! Xiaojie!¡± Jiang Sang knelt on the gravel, holding Yingbao in one arm and his son Xiaojie in the other, encircling them tightly into his chest, with unstoppable tears cascading down. A man in his thirties, choked up to the point of speechlessness, touched his son¡¯s still warm body and the rise and fall of his chest, reassured somewhat. He then checked the breath from his daughter¡¯s nose. There was breath on his fingers too, settling a bit more of his anxiety. However, he couldn¡¯t stabilize his fluctuating emotions, bursting into loud, heartrending sobs. A few vigers arrived, saw Jiang Sang in this state, and, assuming that both children were gone, immediately felt sorrow and regret. They didn¡¯t even notice the two strange huge gourds nearby. At this point, Jiang Eng also ran over, picked up his nephew from the arms of his sobbing younger brother, discovering that the boy still had breath. He immediately started pushing and pressing the water out him. Xiaojie woke up from the pressing, opened his eyes, and cried loudly. ¡°Ah, the child is crying, it¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay.¡± Everyone was shocked and delightfully eximed: ¡°God bless.¡± Yingbao also recovered a little. She raised her hand and pointed to the vigers who were about to move, ¡°You, don¡¯t move! Those gourds are mine.¡± A few vigers had already noticed the gourds by the shore and were going to take a look, but after hearing this, theyughed, ¡°We wouldn¡¯t move them, we just wanted to help you pull them up. Wow, what kind of gourds are these, they¡¯re so huge!¡± ¡°These gourds must be what saved the children, ah, amazing, the fairy child is indeed extraordinary, even summoned such magical gourds.¡± Yingbao: ¡­ Could she say that these people were too smart for her? It was terrifying. They were about to expose all her secrets. After this, the vigers carried the tworge gourds, Jiang Sang carried his daughter, and Jiang Eng carried his nephew, they quickly returned to the vige. At this moment, there was arge crowd gathered in front of Jiang Sang¡¯s house, a woman with her hands bound behind her back sat copsed on the ground. Jiang Liu, furious, pped her across the face and pulled her hair back and forth, crying and cursing, ¡°You¡¯re damned! What did my children ever do to you, why did you try to harm them? If anything happens to them, I¡¯ll kill you, you beast¡­¡± The kneeling woman had a bruised face and was bleeding from the corner of her mouth. She chuckled at Jiang¡¯s family, ¡°Why should my son die while yours lives well? If it weren¡¯t for Jiang Sang¡¯s pitilessness, how would my son Donkey have been sent to the barracks?¡± ¡°Nonsense!¡± Jiang Dng retorted in anger, ¡°Your son, Donkey, would¡¯ve still been conscripted even if he was home. Only someone sick in the head would me my family.¡± The n leader, Chen, and Chen Sanyou too arrived, pushing their way through the crowd in front of the woman, biting their teeth in fury. ¡°You¡¯re a wicked woman! You¡¯ve utterly disgraced our Chen Family!¡± The n leader then turned to Chen Sanyou. ¡°Later send her to Lizheng, have him judge her as he sees fit. Who will go to call her family? Such an evil woman, she¡¯s not wanted in our Chen Family. Where is Chen Ergou? Call him here. If he is an aplice, send him to the authorities as well.. If he knew nothing, let him write a divorce letter, and divorce this ignorant and foolish woman first!¡± Chapter 62 - 62: There is a Difference in Golden Ears 1 Chapter 62: There is a Difference in Golden Ears 1 Trantor: 549690339 Upon hearing the n Leader suggesting that her husband should divorce her, the woman immediately slumped to the ground and started crying and wailing inconsbly. At this moment, the crowd was in an uproar. ¡°Jiang Sang is back! The child has been saved!¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright now, both children are safe.¡± The crowd parted to let the Jiang Sang brothers through, all eyes on them as they carried the child into the house. Chunniang, who had been brought back to consciousness, copsed once again in joyous relief upon learning her daughter and son were safe and sound. After themotion, Chen Ergou¡¯s wife was taken into custody. Sun Licheng, the Lizheng, heard the case and signed his name to the instructions, and then she was escorted to the County Government to await the County Magistrate¡¯s judgement. Since Chen Ergou¡¯s wife shouldered all the me, Chen Ergou was still able to continue living in the vige. However, Chen Ergou became increasingly silent and emotionless. His gloomy nce made people¡¯s hair stand on end. The neighbors on both sides of his houseined about the bad luck he brought. Many even ran to the vige leader, demanding a change in his guardianship. But changing guardians turns out to be impossible. In the end, the matter was left unresolved. It took Yingbao about ten days of rest at home before she could go back to school. Chunniang personally sent her daughter to the school gate, and only left after watching her go inside. Wen Shu, guiding Yingbao to the ssroom, said, ¡°It really scared me to death. When your younger brother came back that day and told us what happened, your mother and I were extremely worried. What a wicked woman, to throw your brother into the river. Fortunately, you both are alright.¡± Yingbao hugged Wen Shu¡¯s arm, eyes crinkling in a smile, ¡°My father and grandparents all said, my brother and I have the protection of immortals, we won¡¯t be hurt.¡± Fortunately, she had arrived in time. Otherwise, the oue would have been unbearable to think about. That woman was not just trying to kidnap them, she wanted to drown both her younger brothers to seek revenge on her parents. Wen Shu gently patted her head, her voice soft, ¡°Next time, if you encounter danger, you can¡¯t take risks like that. You need to find an adult for help. You were lucky this time, but it can¡¯t always be that way.¡± ¡°I know.¡± While they were talking, a six or seven year old girl from another ssroom approached timidly, ¡°What are you guys talking about?¡± Yingbao¡¯s smile vanished instantly. She recognized her at once. It was Chen Zhao, the second daughter of the Han Family. Why is she here? Yingbao watched her warily and remained silent. Wen Shu replied, ¡°Nothing in particr.¡± Chen Zhao turned to Wen Shu with a gorgeous smile, faintly asking, ¡°Sister Wen Shu, can I y with you guys?¡± ¡°Sure, but you have to study first,¡± Wen Shu answered kindly. Noticing Yingbao¡¯s coldness towards the girl, Wen Shu told Chen Zhao, ¡°The teacher will be here soon. You should get to your ssroom.¡± Chen Zhao obediently agreed, gave Yingbao a smile, and then ran toward the ssroom. Yingbao¡¯s eye twitched involuntarily. She quickly pulled Wen Shu into the ssroom. Oh my, she just wanted to rush over and p her. She knew Chen Zhao was opportunistic, always fawning on those in power and stepping on those beneath her. She had seen it all in her past life. Seeing her trying to please Sister Wen now, Yingbao really wanted to punch her. Dare to snatch Sister Wen from her? She¡¯ll beat her to death! As Lady Wen walked into the ssroom, she nodded at Yingbao and asked kindly, ¡°Yingbao, are you feeling better?¡± She and her husband were both impressed that this child dared to jump into the Chuanhe River to save her little brother, and seeded. Even her husband has said that this girl is extraordinarily lucky, with untold opportunities awaiting her in the future. It is said that tworge gourds happened to drift down the river and miraculously saved both her and her brother. This kind of against-the-heavens luck is something that even storytellers wouldn¡¯t dare to invent. ¡°Thank you for your concern, sir.¡± Yingbao crisply responded. Lady Wen walked over, ¡°Let me check your pulse.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yingbao extended her hand. Seeing Yingbao¡¯s wrist wrapped in a handkerchief, Lady Wen curiously asked, ¡°Can you take it off?¡± Yingbao untied the handkerchief, revealing a red turtle pattern on her wrist. Lady Wen chuckled, ¡°Why is there a turtle?¡± Yingbao seriously responded, ¡°Because turtles have long lives.¡± Wen Shu nced at the turtle, then at Yingbao, unable to suppress a smirk on her lips and turned her body tough secretly. Yingbao looked at her with a wronged face, not understanding the joke. ¡°You¡¯re right, the ck turtle is a divine beast from ancient times, its lifespan equals the heavens, its body is robust and its strength is boundless, it even carries the celestial pirs.¡± Lady Wen exined earnestly, ¡°The turtle is the descendant of the ck turtle, using it as a symbol of longevity is appropriate.¡± After checking the pulse, she let Wen Shu try it out as well, then had Yingbao check both her and Wen Shu¡¯s pulses. She instructed, ¡°You should feel different pulse rhythms daily. Afterward, you can summarize your experiences, observe the person¡¯splexion and bodynguage, ask about their daily lives, so you can understand their subtle differences.¡¯ ¡°Doctors are not omnipotent, even those who call themselves Divine Doctors, cannot fully understand a patient¡¯s physical condition. So you mustbine learning with practice, see more people and check more pulses, andbine this with medical scriptures for progress. Everyone¡¯s body constitution is different. If you rely solely on books, you will eventually make mistakes.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Yingbao and Wen Shu stood up in agreement. The lesson soon ended. Lady Wen let the two children go out for a walk to stretch their legs, while she herself returned to her inner chamber. Her husband was also resting in the inner chamber and chuckled when he saw his wife, ¡°That little girl really is a gem.¡± Xiu Zhenniang shot him a nce, ¡°Listening in on student discussions as a teacher is unbing.¡± Wen Yanmin touched his nose, coughing, ¡°I wasn¡¯t eavesdropping, I was just passing by.¡± Xiu Zhenniang huffed and walked straight to the window, turning to ask her husband, ¡°Do you really think that golden ear fungus is extraordinary?¡± Last time, Yingbao gifted them half a kilo of golden ear fungus. She herself had been stewing it daily for her husband to drink. After a few days of this regimen, he unexpectedly imed that his chronic ailment had improved significantly, and he was sleeping soundly at night. In the past few days, he also took frequent walks by the river and didn¡¯t feel tired at all. ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s extraordinary.¡± Wen Yanmin rolled up his sleeve and offered his arm to his wife, ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, take my pulse.¡± Xiu Zhenniang reached out and checked her husband¡¯s pulse, her brow furrowed as she carefully examined, ¡°Your pulse does indeed seem much steadier than before.¡± Her husband had been diagnosed with a weak constitution as a child, and it was her father-inw who had been taking care of him. Although he improved as he grew older, he couldn¡¯t get angry or overwork himself. Therefore, he didn¡¯t venture out to make a career for himself but simply acted as a doctor in the n¡¯s pharmacy. As a result, he was looked down upon by his brothers, making life difficult for herself and their two children in that household. ¡°See, I told you I feel much better.¡± Wen Yanmin smiled as he retracted his hand, tidying his sleeves, ¡°I¡¯ve already sent the remaining golden ear fungus to father, so he can verify whether it really is effective.¡± Xiu Zhenniang: ¡°Considering how good the golden ear is, why didn¡¯t you buy more from the Jiang Family? The amount you¡¯ve sent won¡¯t be enough for more than a few brews.¡¯ It wouldn¡¯t even cover the servant¡¯s travel expenses. ¡°Do you think I didn¡¯t buy it?¡± Wen Yanmin stood up and took out a packet of dried golden ear fungus from a cab and handed it to his wife, ¡°This golden ear was bought from Jiang Sang, smell it.¡± Xiu Zhenniang took it and sniffed it, not understanding, ¡°Aren¡¯t they all the same?¡± ¡°Compare it with this one.¡± Wen Yanmin took out another piece of golden ear fungus, ¡°See if there¡¯s any difference..¡± Chapter 63 - 63: The Gourd is a Divine Object_l Chapter 63: The Gourd is a Divine Object_l Trantor: 549690339 Xiu Zhenniang took it and sniffed it, sensing a faint, refreshing fragrance. ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s different, there¡¯s a slight difference in the smell.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Wen Yanmin put away the small golden mushroom, ¡°This was sent by Yingbao, it¡¯s different from the ones the Jiang Family sells. I also bought some from old man Jiang, but none of them is as effective as the ones brought by Yingbao.¡± Xiu Zhenniang was surprised, ¡°So you¡¯re saying, the Jiang Family indeed possesses a secret ancestral remedy?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Wen Yanmin nodded: ¡°But they do not use this secret remedy to amass wealth.¡± Xiu Zhenniang contemted. It seems that my father-inw¡¯s hypothesis was right, and it¡¯s a good thing we moved here. But how could she get that golden mushroom again? Thinking of Yingbao, Xiu Zhenniang couldn¡¯t help shaking her head. She really didn¡¯t want to be maniptive towards that child. Wen Yanmin added: ¡°If we receive good news from Grandfather¡¯s eldest brother, you, Shushu, and Baobao can return to Yuzhou.¡± Returning to Yuzhou, they will be able to continue enjoying the family resources and lead a life of luxury. ¡°Let¡¯s cross that bridge when wee to it.¡± Xiu Zhenniang stood up, ¡°The prince has been ill for many years, it won¡¯t be cured overnight, it¡¯s safest for us to stay here obediently.¡± Although the mountain vige is poor, most people are reasonable. Her two children have be more cheerful living here, happier than living in that strict household. Even her son, who was never interested in studying, has be more sensible and has even voluntarily started reading books. Now that they have settled down, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to stay for a few more years. She could use this time to cultivate her mind and maintain her health, so she wouldn¡¯t have to deal with others when she goes back, avoiding unnecessary troubles. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Wen Yanmin really liked this vige. She loved the endless leaves strewn on the ground in autumn and the sight of beautiful flowers everywhere in spring. She hoped to live her life in such a peaceful ce without disputes, witnessing all shades of life while watching the falling leaves in autumn and admiring the flowers in spring. ss ended at noon. Yingbao packed her little school bag and waved goodbye to Miss Wen, bounding out of the ssroom. As soon as she exited the ssroom, she saw Erni and Huzi waiting for her not far away. Erni went up to her, held her younger sister¡¯s hand and led her brother home. ¡°Yingbao, you didn¡¯t know, we have a new student in our ss. She is from West Vige.¡± Erni gestured towards a figure in the distance, ¡°As soon as she arrived, she kept pestering Wen Hengyin with questions, even asked him if he is a rich man from the county town and if he could take her to the county town for a visit. She scared Wen Hengyin into avoiding talking to her.¡± Yingbao nced in the direction indicated by Erni, only to see Chen Zhao clinging on to Wen Hengyin, speaking rapidly. Wen Hengyin was visibly irritated. He tried to break free several times but failed. Finally, he gave her a fierce push and dashed away. Chen Zhao staggered, almost falling over. When she turned around, her eyes met Yingbao¡¯s. Yingbao turned her head away and said to Erni, ¡°Ignore her from now on.¡± In her past life, everyone was divided into two categories in Chen Zhao¡¯s eyes: ?those who were useful and those who were not. As long as she felt that someone was valuable, she would do everything to please them. Once they were of no use, she would turn her back, even betray them. Yingbao did not want her brothers and sisters to be targeted by people like this. The best way was to stay away from her and avoid any contact. The three of them continued on their way home. On the way, they ran into several vigers, all greeting Yingbao warmly. ¡°Yingbao, are you just getting off school?¡± ¡°Yingbao, you¡¯re just getting home.¡± ¡°Yingbao, have you eaten yet? Do you want to drop by my house for a meal?¡± Yingbao: ¡­ She¡¯s still just a child, there¡¯s really no need for such formality. Upon returning home, she heard Chunniang say, ¡°Baobao, someone wants to buy our big gourd. What do you say, should we sell it?¡± Yingbao, without any hesitation, nodded her head, ¡°Sell! How much silver is he offering? Chunniang replied, ¡°There are two people who want to buy it. One is offering ten coins, and the other is offering twelve. They are both businessmen from the town.¡± Yingbao blinked, ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit too little? Oh well, let¡¯s not sell then.¡± The offer was much lower than she had anticipated. Aside from the deer, these tworge gourds were the most famous things in their home. These objects had appeared at the spot where her siblings nearly drowned and had conveniently saved their lives. Many vigers believed that the gourds were gifts from the immortals. Hence, they revered the gourds as sacred objects. In recent days, several groups of people from other viges have speciallye to see the gourds. Of course, every local viger, including children, came to touch the gourds, almost wearing the skin off the tworge gourds. Even the newborn babies were held by the adults in their family to rub the gourd, saying that it would pass on the blessings sent by heaven. Later, it became more intense. Every day, when the vigers returned from the fields, the first thing they would do was to sneak over to the Jiang Family to touch the gourd before going home with satisfaction. On seeing this, Jiang Sang carried one gourd to their new house on the South Slope while leaving the other in the old house for everyone to touch. s, they had to let the vigers touch it. Even the n Leader, Vige Head, and Master all often intentionally or unintentionally came to touch it before leaving satisfied. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to sell it, don¡¯t.¡± In fact, Chunniang didn¡¯t want to sell it either. After all, this was an oddity, they were not short on money, so why sell But since the gourds were brought back by her daughter, it was best to ask her opinion first. ¡°Let¡¯s eat first, ¡± Chunniang, lifting the bamboo cover, revealed two dishes and a soup already prepared on the table. Cabbage with tofu, a dish of sliced salted eggs, a bowl of spinach and egg soup, and a pot of steaming white rice. The two younger brothers also came running over, readying the stools for their mother and sister, sitting themselves down, waiting for their mother to serve the rice. ¡°Is Dad noting home to eat today?¡± Yingbao asked as she sat down on the stool. While serving food to the children Chunniang said, ¡°Your dad has been called away to build a bamboo stand. There are several families in the vige who want to nt golden ear fungi and they have all arranged with your father that once the fungi are avable, they can start right away. s, our North Mountain¡¯s mulberry trees are going to be cut down by those people.¡± At this point, every household in the vige was quietly going to North Mountain to cut down mulberry trees. It looked like North Mountain was going to be entirely stripped bare. Yingbao picked up her bowl and took a couple of bites, saying, ¡°Why do they have to use mulberry trees? We can rece them with pottery jars.¡± She had tested it long ago; even with a pottery bowl, as long as the nutrients were enough, golden ear fungi could still grow. ¡°How can pottery jars rece them?¡± Chunniang was puzzled. ¡°Previously, mulberry wood was used because it¡¯s dead wood, from which the golden ear fungi could absorb a small amount of nutrients. But now don¡¯t we have wheat bran and rice hulls? If we grind these with mulberry wood dust, then steam them in a basket for two hours, let them cool and then put them into jars, we can grow golden ear fungi on them.¡± Yingbao asserted, ¡°We can reuse these several times, isn¡¯t that better than cutting fresh mulberry trees?¡± If the authorities found out that the locals were massively cutting down trees, her family would probably be the first one to get into trouble. Therefore, they must stop the vigers from cutting down the mutlberry trees on the North Mountain. nting mushrooms required dead trees, not fresh ones. ¡°Can we really do that?¡± Chunniang was ted, ¡°I¡¯ll tell your father when he¡¯s back. By the way, let him order two hundred pottery jars too. We will use those to nt golden ear fungi from now on.¡± In the past, they had used mulberry wood as a base out of necessity because they didn¡¯t have money and naturally tried to save where they could. But now that they had money, they could afford to buy some jars. It would just cost four or five coins each. Buying a hundred or two would only cost a few hundred coins. While they were eating their meal, they suddenly heard someone outside shouting, ¡°Is Jiang Sang home?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Chunniang put down her bowl and chopsticks to get up and go outside. She saw two burly men standing at the courtyard gate. Chunniang didn¡¯t recognize the visitors, so she asked, ¡°What do you need from my husband?¡± One of the men smiling said, ¡°We¡¯vee after hearing rumors and we wanted to see your family¡¯s gourd..¡± Chapter 64 - 64: How Is It You_l Chapter 64: How Is It You_l Trantor: 549690339 Chunniang hesitated, unwilling to open the door: ¡°My husband is not at home, it might not be convenient to let you in.¡± The visitor grinned, ¡°You¡¯re Jiang San¡¯s wife, right? We¡¯re from Jinxiu Cloth Store in Simen town. We heard that your family has tworge gourds and we wanted to see them for ourselves. Look, we travelled quite a distance, could you let us have a look?¡± Yingbao peered out from behind her mother, tugged at her softly, whispering, ¡°Let them in.¡± Maybe they¡¯re big spenders. Chunniang patted her daughter¡¯s head and went forward to open the bamboo gate. The two men walked in, giving Chunniang a slight bow: ¡°Sorry to disturb you.¡± Chunniang didn¡¯t let them inside the house. She brought out therge gourd herself and put it on the stone b in the middle of the courtyard for them to see. The two men circled the gourd in amazement, exchanged a nce, and asked with a smile, ¡°Is this gourd for sale?¡± Yingbao answered first, ¡°Of course it¡¯s for sale, but if the price isn¡¯t right, then we¡¯re not selling.¡± Chunniang nodded, ¡°Several people have wanted to buy this gourd from our house. I wonder how much silver can you offer?¡± One of them asked back, ¡°How much do you want for it?¡± Chunniang was speechless. She didn¡¯t really know how much the gourd could sell for. Yingbao also countered, ¡°So, you¡¯ll give us as much as we say?¡± The man choked, then burst intoughter, ¡°This little girl of yours is quite funny.¡± The other man said, ¡°We really would like to buy it, but anything over thirty taels wouldn¡¯t be a good deal.¡± Yingbao grinned, ¡°That¡¯s alright. Thirty taels it is.¡± She had plenty of these things in her cave, selling one for thirty taels were already a hefty price, she couldn¡¯t be too greedy or risk getting struck by lightning. The two men were straightforward, taking out three silver ingots from their bag and cing them on the small table under the apple tree: ¡°These are ten-tael silver ingots, take a good look.¡± Assuming that farmers didn¡¯t recognize silver ingots, he pointed out the characters inside the ingot to Chunniang: ¡°This is silver made by the Luzhou Prefecture, ten taels. Got it?¡± Chunniang nodded: ¡°I see.¡± As the two men were lifting the gourd to leave, Yingbao stopped them, ¡°Take out the seeds first before you go.¡± The manughed, ¡°This little girl is really sharp, the gourd would be worthless without the seeds, even ten taels wouldn¡¯t be worth it.¡± He quickly stepped out of the yard, cing the gourd carefully on the mule cart. The two men jumped onto the cart, whipped the mule, and quickly left the vige. Yingbao chuckled quietly, touching the silver and muttered, ¡°If I hadn¡¯t said that, you¡¯d probably think you got a bad deal. Hmph.¡± Chunniang, on the other hand, was regretting at the side, ¡°Yes, how could I forget to take out the seeds first.¡± Even a few would suffice. It would be so much better if she could nt some of her own. Yingbao: ¡°We still have anotherrge gourd on the South Slope, can¡¯t we just grow its seeds?¡± Even if that fails, she still had many more in her cave. ¡°Correct, correct, correct!¡± Chunniang carried the silver back to the hall, asking her daughter, ¡°Do you want to keep this cash or should your mom help you keep it?¡± ¡°You keep it.¡± She still had more than forty taels stored in her cave, it was better to let her parents keep the thirty taels. When Jiang San¡¯er came back that evening and heard that the gourd from their house was sold for thirty taels, he was stunned. ¡°Who bought it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a cloth store from Simen.¡± Chunniang told her husband everything that happened that day. ¡°We should scoop out the seeds from the gourd on the South Slope and nt some of them, what do you think¡­¡± ¡°Sure thing! I¡¯ll go to the South Slope and scoop out the seeds from the gourd tomorrow.¡± Since it was so valuable, why not try to grow some ourselves? If they can growrge gourds, it would be another source of ie. But before he could leave the house the next day, the n Leader and the vige head came to see him. ¡°San¡¯er, I heard you sold our vige¡¯s Divine Gourd?¡± Jiang San¡¯er: . How did his gourd be the vige¡¯s? Chen Fu, the n Leader, looked heartbroken: ¡°San¡¯er, that was the divine object of our vige, how could you just sell it? Ah, what about the other one? You can¡¯t sell that one too.¡± He hadn¡¯t touched the gourd for a day and he felt sore in his waist, even walking was difficult, and his old cold leg was cramping. Just as Jiang San¡¯er was about to respond, he heard Chen Sanyou say: ¡°San¡¯er, how about dividing the seeds from the other gourd among the vigers? We¡¯re willing to give you money for them.¡± Chen Sanyou knew he and the others couldn¡¯t stop Jiang San¡¯er from selling the gourd, but asking him to leave behind some seeds wasn¡¯t too much, right? Jiang San¡¯er thought for a while and nodded, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s wait until I¡¯ve scooped out the seeds from the gourd.¡± So, Jiang San¡¯er went to the South Slope, came back carrying therge gourd, made a hole at the top, and after exerting a great effort, finally scooped out the seeds from inside. After cleaning the pulp, he scraped out more than thirty plump seeds. While he was scraping the pulp, a dozen vigers gathered around to watch. Even the n Leader and the vige head were sitting on low stools, eagerly watching. There are twenty-eight registered households in Dongchen Vige, but there are also many families split from those registered and didn¡¯t register separately. If they were to count individually, there might be about forty households in the vige. And there were only slightly more than thirty seeds, how could they be divided among every household? ¡°Why don¡¯t we just divide them ording to the registered households,¡± vige head Chen Sanyou waved his hand, ¡°Each household gets one.¡± Jiang San¡¯er had no objection, but the question of how much to charge became a problem. If they charged too much, the vigers wouldn¡¯t be happy, and he¡¯d have a hard time living in the vige in the future. After all, the vigers had helped him a lot. For things like building houses and digging ponds, his family didn¡¯t pay a dime inbor. They only provided two meals a day for the vigers. If paid too little, he might as well give them the seeds for free. They were all fellow vigers, it was just a few seeds. If they didn¡¯t grow, at least there wouldn¡¯t be me on him. When Yingbao came home from school, she saw this scene, the courtyard was crowded with people, everyone craning their necks to see what was happening in the middle. She squeezed her way in and saw a handful of gourd seeds on the small table, and a few elderly men were deep in discussion. In the end, Jiang San¡¯er said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s set the price at ten coins per seed. As for whether it can grow or not, it¡¯s all down to your luck.¡± He initially wanted to give them away for free, but the n Leader and vige head disagreed, so Jiang San¡¯er set a not high, but not low price for the seeds. Ten coins was not a small sum for the vigers, yet they could still afford it. Everyone was in agreement, even the ever calcting Wang Erniang didn¡¯t say anything. Even her family could receive a seed, whereas Chen, the vige head, who had three sons, all living separately because of household division, could only get one gourd seed. Even the richest family in the vige, Chen Family n, only had one. You had to understand, these were Divine Gourd seeds. Hehe, withoutparisons, there would be no harm done. Wang Erniang unexpectedly felt a sense of unprecedented relief. Not long after the gourd seeds were distributed, someone else came to buy gourds. Jiang San¡¯er sold the empty gourd and earned twenty taels. A lot of vigers were onlookers to this event, and their hearts were ignited. They wished they could rush home to nt the gourd seeds right away. But it¡¯s Liqiu now, it¡¯s not the season to nt gourds, so people could only hold back their eagerness and carefully kept the gourd seeds, hoping for the arrival of the spring in theing year. It was just after the Zhongyuan Festival in July, Jiang Er¡¯er was preparing to go to the South Slope to harvest golden ears. As he opened the gate, he suddenly saw a disheveled woman standing outside. Jiang Er¡¯er startled, took a closer look, and his face instantly turned sour, ¡°Why is it you? What are you doing here so early in the morning?¡± Chapter 65 - 65: There’s No Regret Medicine in the World 1 Chapter 65: There¡¯s No Regret Medicine in the World 1 Trantor: 549690339 Standing at the door was Jiang Eng¡¯s ex-wife, from the Leng Family. Her face was pale and sallow, a faint bruise still on her cheek, tear-brimmed eyes looking at Jiang Eng. ¡°Eng, 1¡­1 came to see the children.¡± Jiang Eng was silent and didn¡¯t let her enter. From the Leng Family, she stepped forward to grab his sleeve, but he evaded her. Jiang Eng backed off a few steps and noticed her protruding stomach, apparently she was pregnant. ¡°You¡¯re already married, don¡¯te to my house anymore.¡± Jiang Eng spoke coldly: ¡°The children are all right. They¡¯ve gotten used to living without a mother. You being here will just upset them.¡± After divorcing from Jiang Eng, she remarried to a widower in his forties in town. Her mother, Old Lady Cao, received twenty taels of silver as a betrothal gift. This news was known throughout Dongchen Vige. In a vige of this size, any bit of news spreads quickly; not a thing can be kept hidden once the olddies start to gossip. Reportedly, the widower runs a pickle stand in town, selling all sorts of pickles, salted vegetables, garlic and others¡ªthe business wasn¡¯t bad. His previous wife left him with a son and a daughter, but the son died of illness two years ago, leaving only a young teenage girl. In theory, life wouldn¡¯t be bad for Leng as the wife of the household, so long as she bore him a son and a daughter, the widower would definitely take good care of her. Why she came back now was unclear. Leng Family covered her face and started crying, ¡°Eng, can you really be so heartless? I just miss the children, just let me see them once¡­..¡± At this time, Erni and Huzi, hearing themotion, ran out from the house and stood by Jiang Eng, looking at the woman before them. Huzi hadn¡¯t seen his mother in over a year, and he barely recognized her, simply staring at her curiously. Erni had, however, recognized the woman. Even though her appearance was somewhat unfamiliar, Erni knew at a nce that this was her mother. Yet Erni didn¡¯t dare to call out to her. She merely gave her a look of pity, not knowing what to do. ¡°Huzi! Erni! My children¡­.¡± When Leng Family saw the two children and tried to rush them, she was blocked by Jiang Eng. ¡°Leng Family! Our divorce was clear, I paid you 15 taels of silver and said the children will not be rted to you from then on. You inked your handprint on those papers.¡± Jiang Eng coldly said: ¡°You have seen the children, stop lingering here and return where you belong.¡± Even if her life was notfortable now, she should go to her mother¡¯s house, not seek warmth here. Leng Family¡¯s eyes blurred with tears, sobbing, ¡°Eng, I regret it, I really do¡­¡± At this time, some nosy neighbors holding their bowls came over to watch the scene. Someone ridiculed: ¡°Isn¡¯t this Leng Family then? But you are already married, why are you back?¡± ¡°Could she be eying Jiang Eng¡¯s wealth and want to scoop some money for her younger brother?¡± ¡°Oh my, Leng Family, you change faces faster than turning pages in a book, aren¡¯t you afraid of burning bridges?¡± Ignoring the vigers¡¯ ridicule, Leng Family continued crying, ¡°Eng, for the sake of us being husband and wife for more than a decade, let mee back¡­.¡± Jiang Eng became stern and interrupted her words, ¡°Leng Family, I urge you to go back, I am about to get married. Even if you regret now, it¡¯s toote.¡± The words were just to push off the Leng Family. He and the children were living well now. Although life was hard, it was peaceful. He really didn¡¯t want to go back to the days of constant pandering. ¡°No! Eng, how can you marry someone else? I do not agree!¡± Leng Family screamed hysterically, throwing herself onto Jiang Eng, ¡°Eng, you are mine¡­mine¡­whoo-whoo-whoo¡­¡± Jiang Eng wanted to push her off, but Leng Family clung to him like a ster, her arms desperately wrapped around his waist. Erni and Huzi were both stunned and didn¡¯t know how to help their father. Even the neighbors couldn¡¯t bear to watch and kindly advised, ¡°I say, Leng Familydy, you¡¯re already married so stop pestering like this. Go home. If your husband¡¯s family finds out, it¡¯s going to be really bad.¡± From the Leng Familydy, there was no response. She just clung to Jiang Eng and wept bitterly, ¡°Eng, don¡¯t abandon me. I really know I was wrong¡­.whimper¡­whimper¡­¡± At that moment, a young girl¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°Oh, how shameless! Told us you ran home, but here you are bothering a man. Did you see this, Father? This woman is just despicably adaptable, not being punished for just one day can make her grow wings.¡± Woman from Leng Family quickly turned her head, only to see her twelve-year-old stepdaughter watching her with a gleeful smile. Standing next to the young girl was her current husband, Zuo Cheng, with a dark expression on his face as he came over. Leng Familydy screamed and tried to hide behind Jiang Eng. Zuo Cheng rushed forward, grabbing her hair, and brutally scolded, ¡°I¡¯ve been feeding you, clothing you, looking after you and your pickled vegetables. The moment I turn my back, you run home and start meeting men secretly. I¡¯ll kill you, you fickle-minded, stinking, depraved woman.¡± With that, he pped her in the face, the sound echoing loudly. Instantly, one side of the Leng Familydy¡¯s face turned a deep purple. Instantly she stopped crying, covering her head, pleading desperately, ¡°Stop hitting me, I won¡¯t dare to anymore¡­Zuo Lang, I won¡¯t dare to¡­let go, I¡¯m bearing a child.¡± Jiang Eng turned and pulled the two children into the room, instructing them not toe out, before taking up his carrying basket and heading to South Slope. By now, the Leng Familydy had been dragged away by Zuo Cheng, followed by a group of vigers with bowls in hand. Yingbao, who was just heading to the school, also witnessed this and silently watched tor a while, then shook her head. There is no antidote for regret in this world. In the past year, despite her marriage in town, the Leng Familydy didn¡¯t return to look at her children even once, let alone make shoes for Huzi and Erni or send any clothes. Now that she said she missed and couldn¡¯t bear to part with her children, only a fool would believe it. Perhaps she heard that their uncle had built arge tile-roofed house and was making money by nting golden ears, so she started acting up. You could tell from the quality of the clothes she was wearing that her widower husband was treating her quite well. The man was only a bit old, a bit ugly, and a bit dark. Everything else was eptable, and he was well-matched with the Leng Familydy. Not to boast, but Yingbao¡¯s uncle was good-looking and delicate, unlike a man in his early thirties. Now that he has recovered from his illness and his body is gradually strengthening, he looks even more youthful and robust, more handsome than their own father, and several unmarried girls in the vige are secretly giving Huzi treats. Looking at the Leng Familydy, however, she seemed to have aged, and her entire demeanor was old and weathered. Inparison to her past rounded beauty, she seemed like a different person. Well, what can you say? When you get something, you don¡¯t know how to cherish it. Now that you realize how good your uncle is, you want to regret it? Is there such a thing as a regret remedy in this world? When Yingbao arrived at the school, she saw that Chen Zhao was sitting with Sister Wen, both with smiles on their faces. ¡°Sister Shu Shu, you¡¯re amazing. I can¡¯t get this text right, but as soon as you teach me, I get it.¡± While Chen Zhao was praising Wen Shu, he caught a nce at Yingbao, his eyes full of triumph and provocation. Yingbao walked up to them, like a food protective wolf pup, pulled Shen Shu aside, and sat down opposite Chen Zhao. She grinned, ¡°If I teach you, I can definitely do better than Sister Wen. Do you want to try?¡± She and Sister Wen were both on the first track and their curriculum was more difficult than the second track, so it wasn¡¯t wrong for her to call herself Chen Zhao¡¯s senior. Chen Zhao¡¯s pretty little face gradually crumbled, her lips pouting as she looked for help from Wen Shu. ¡°Sister Shu Shu, I¡­.¡± Wen Shu answered with a smile, ¡°I have my own studies to do. Let Yingbao teach you. Although she¡¯s young, she is still your senior. In academia, it¡¯s all about knowledge level, not age. She is more than capable of teaching you.¡± Chen Zhao¡­. Yingbao raised an eyebrow at him, then mmed her hand down on the Thousand Character Text, ¡°I am your second senior sister, and if I don¡¯t teach you ten sections of text today, I¡¯ll beat your hands with a wooden ruler!¡± Chapter 66 - 66: The Jiang Family Gets Rich_l Chapter 66: The Jiang Family Gets Rich_l Trantor: 549690339 In the end, Chen Zhao, failing to learn the ten-verse poem, had no choice but to stretch out his hands and tightly shut his eyes under the supervision of Wen Shu and the icy gaze of Yingbao. Thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack! Summoning all her strength, Yingbao pped Chen Zhao¡¯s hands ten times, enough to bring tears to his eyes. Upon opening his eyes, his palms were red and swollen. Chen Zhao managed to suppress his tears by pouting his mouth and ran back to the ssroom next door with red-rimmed eyes. After this episode, Chen Zhao never came to look for Wen Shu in ss A again, avoiding Yingbao for many days. During this time, Yingbao managed to find the time to harvest her premium golden and silver ear mushrooms, sunning them thoroughly under the high autumn sun. On this rest day, Yingbao put the sunned golden ear mushrooms in a clean bamboo basket, preparing to give them to her father to sell in the county town the day after tomorrow. She used the new scale her family bought to weigh them ¡ª one hundred fifty pieces of dried golden ear mushrooms totaled four and a half pounds, while one hundred fifty pieces of dried silver ear mushrooms weighed five pounds and two ounces. She nned to keep the leftover pieces and let her father take the rest to the county town to sell. ¡°Yingbao, what are you busy with?¡± Wen Yanmin and his wife, Xiu Zhenniang, stood outside the fence, smiling as they watched Yingbao. When Yingbao saw it was her husband, she quickly opened the entryway to their courtyard and invited them in. ¡°What brings you here, sir?¡± She moved a bamboo chair for them to sit. Wen Yanmin flipped his robe and sat down,ughing, ¡°I¡¯m free and decided to take a walk with your husband.¡± Xiu Zhenniang nced at the few baskets of golden and silver ear mushrooms and asked, ¡°Yingbao, are you selling these mushrooms?¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Of course they are for sale.¡± ¡°Have they been designated for sale to a specific family?¡± Xiu Zhenniang asked again. ¡°No, my father will take them all.¡± Wen Yanmin bent down to pick up a golden ear mushroom, took a sniff, and asked, ¡°Yingbao, how much do you sell these golden ear mushrooms per ounce ¡°Last time my father sold them for ten taels per pound,¡± Yingbao honestly replied. ¡°Ten taels a pound, not expensive,¡± Wen Yanmin asked with a smile, ¡°Would you sell them to me? I¡¯m willing to pay twelve taels per pound.¡± Yingbao blinked her eyes and nodded vigorously, ¡°Of course.¡± As long as the price was right, it didn¡¯t matter who the buyer was. ¡°Will your parents agree?¡± Xiu Zhenniang asked. ¡°Of course, my parents would agree,¡± Yingbao giggled, ¡°How much do you want? I can weigh it for you right away.¡± She wouldn¡¯t not take or take less money just because Wen Yanmin was her husband. Even biological brothers keep clear ounts. It wasn¡¯t like she had to beg him to buy it. ¡°I want all of them, ¡± Wen Yanminughed and pointed at the silver ear mushrooms, ¡°And how much is the silver ear mushroom per pound?¡± ¡°One tael of silver,¡± Yingbao replied, ¡°Thest time my father took them to the county town, it was one tael of silver per pound.¡± ¡°Good, I¡¯ll take them for a tael of silver as well,¡± Wen Yanmin picked up a silver ear mushroom, sniffed it, and his eyes smiled like crescents. So, Yingbao managed to sell her golden and silver ear mushrooms without even leaving the house, receiving more than sixty taels of silver. She originally wanted to keep the golden ear mushrooms¡¯ residue, but Wen Yanmin made a broad gesture and even bought the residues. Yingbao didn¡¯t mind, she collected the silver and started to allocate the mushroom hyphae. She rented fifty golden and fifty silver ear mushrooms in the cave and nted a hundred more outside. The extra hyphae were put into new y jars she bought, which she prepared to give to her father for distribution. Several busy days passed, and under the guidance of Jiang Sang, households in the vige that nted golden ear mushroom also progressively harvested and sunned them. The premium golden ear mushrooms of old Jiang and his two sons were also sunned, each weighing over a pound. The next step was to sell them in the county town. Jiang Sang didn¡¯t keep any secrets, he took along his elder brother Jiang Eng, as well as Chen Yin and Li Dayong to the Furuifeng Trading Company to sell golden ear mushrooms. Store Manager Zhou Mao had been anxiously waiting a long time. When he heard from a shop assistant that Jiang Sang had arrived, he lost a shoe in his hurry. ¡°Hahaha, Brother Jiang, you are finally here,¡± Zhou Maoughed, picked up his shoe, ordered a servant boy to make tea, and hurried to check the carts of mushrooms himself. ¡°How many premium products did you bring today?¡± He craned his neck to scan around, even picking up a piece to take a sniff. Jiang Sang carried over the quasi-premium products he and his older brothers and father had grown, ¡°Five catties of premium products in all.¡± Zhou Mao picked up another piece and sniffed, feeling the fragrance was very light, not as strong asst time. ¡°There must be a mistake?¡± Picking up another piece to sniff, he felt that he might be overthinking. However, as a businessman, if he had doubts, he had to voice them, ¡°Is this really a premium product?¡± Jiang Sang kept his face unchanged and said, ¡°Yes, they¡¯re indeed premium products.¡± The premium products grown by his own little daughter had already been sold to Mr. Wen at a high price of twelve taels, so the quasi-premium products he and his father grew should be worth at least ten taels per catty. If Zhou Mao doesn¡¯t buy, then he would just take them back. He couldn¡¯t show weakness at this juncture. Zhou Mao frowned at Jiang Sang for a moment, then clucked dismissively, ¡°Whatever, just unload the goods now.¡± The young assistant arrived early with a steelyard, weighing out the golden fungus basket by basket. ¡°A total of fifty-two catties of ordinary golden fungus, seven catties of Xue¡¯er, five catties of premium golden fungus, three catties of Xue¡¯er,¡± the assistant reported. Zhou Mao calcted on his abacus, ¡°A total of two hundred and twenty-two taels and five hundred coins. Jiang Sang nodded. This includes the golden fungus and Xue¡¯er grown by other households in the vige. He had already calcted it once at home, and the amount was urate. Zhou Mao was pleased, and said to Jiang Sang, ¡°Brother Jiang, next time you don¡¯t need to run around. Our Store Manager said that we wille to you for collection, which will save you the trouble.¡± Jiang Sang: ¡°Okay.¡± He didn¡¯t want to bother running back and forth anyway. ¡°Do you want silver notes or cash silver?¡± Zhou Mao asked again. Jiang Sang shook his head, ¡°Not silver notes, just cash silver. After all, we country folks can¡¯t identify those notes.¡± If he got those things, he wouldn¡¯t know where to change them. If the silver shop ever disappeared, wouldn¡¯t his money be lost for nothing? Zhou Mao shook his head, not bothering to argue with such a backwoods peasant. He ordered an assistant to bring the ountant to settle the silver money. Twenty-two silver ingots, each of ten taels, and another two thousand five hundred copper coins. Chen Yin and Li Dayong, both seeing such a pile of silver ingots for the first time, were nearly blinded. Good Lord, that¡¯s a lot of money. The Jiang family has indeed struck it rich. Returning home, Chen Yin showed the seven taels of silver to his father, ¡°Dad, you don¡¯t know, the golden fungus business does make money. The Jiang family made over two hundred taels this time. Goodness, you¡¯ve been the vige head for so many years, and you haven¡¯t made that much!¡± Chen Sanyou red at his second son, ¡°You rascal! Do you think your dad makes money by being the vige head?¡± Chen Yin giggled and said, ¡°I was just drawing an analogy.¡± Handing the seven taels to his father, Chen Yin added, ¡°This time, I¡¯m going to grow two hundred pieces. Jiang Sang says this is thest chance to grow golden fungus this year. We have to act quickly, otherwise, once it frosts, the fungus won¡¯t grow.¡± Chen Dafei, standing on the side, was unhappy, ¡°What do you mean, second brother? If you¡¯re going to grow two hundred pieces, how many will my younger brother and I grow?¡± The golden fungus spawn could only be split from the previous fungus mycelium. If you wanted bigger fungus, a lump of mycelium could at most be split into three or four portions. If the second brother used up two hundred portions, would that mean he and his younger brother wouldn¡¯t get even two hundred portionsbined? Chen Sanyou couldn¡¯t stand it when his three sons started squabbling and immediately interjected, ¡°Enough! Grow them together. I¡¯m not dead yet. You brothers are arguing over such petty things. Aren¡¯t you ashamed?¡± The oldest Chen boy closed his mouth huffily. Chen Yin, however, was not upset. He immediately took his wife and ten-year-old son to divide up the fungal seeds. He was enthusiastic because he was acting out of selfishness, wanting his wife and son to learn how to grow and care for the fungus as soon as possible. Soon enough, he and his older and younger brothers would have to split the household. By that time, if his family all knew how to cultivate golden fungus and Xue¡¯er, wouldn¡¯t their future be bright? Maybe he¡¯d be like Jiang Sang, making hundreds of taels per year. Haha, just the thought made him immensely happy. Wham! A porcin bottle flew over from next door, almost hitting Chen Yin¡¯s head. Chen Yin shouted in outrage, ¡°Who threw that? How can you just throw things like that? Can you afford to pay if you hurt someone?¡± An angry shout and crying came from next door, along with chastising from the n Leader, ¡°Things are turned upside down! A fight breaks out over some fungus.. You¡¯re regressing in your ways!¡± Chapter 67 - 67: The Kid is Missing_l Chapter 67: The Kid is Missing_l Trantor: 549690339 It turned out that the gold mushrooms nted by Chief Chen¡¯s youngest daughter-inw were sold, more than three coins for fifty mushrooms. More than three coins is equivalent to more than three thousand, which can buy six or seven stone of rice, enough for a family of five to eat for half a year. Earned so easily in just over a month, without interfering with farm work ¡ª who wouldn¡¯t want such a good deal? So Han Miaoniang, Chief Chen¡¯s second daughter-inw, said to the four sisters-inw, ¡°These fifty mushrooms can be propagated, right? I don¡¯t want much, just give me a hundred nts.¡± The fourth sister-inw, Mrs. Shao, was of course unwilling, and went toin to her mother-inw, Mrs. Tang. When Mrs. Tang heard it, she was furious, and came over to scold the second daughter-inw, ¡°How ruthless can your heart be, can¡¯t you stand it if our mother and daughter are doing well?¡± She was not the biological mother of Han Miaoniang, she was Chief Chen Fu¡¯s second wife, and she had only one son, Chen Zhu, in her life, and a daughter who had already been married off. But Chen Eng and Chen Dayong were the sons of Chen Fu¡¯s ex-wife, so the eldest and the second daughter-inw always disdain this stepmother, sometimes even arguing with her, making the rtionship between inws is not like it should be. The second daughter-inw sneered, ¡°Listen to you talk, howe you can¡¯t stand us prospering? Father didn¡¯t say we can¡¯t ask for the seeds of the gold mushrooms.¡± When Mrs. Tang heard that, she was furious and immediately went to confront her husband. ¡°Tell me, aren¡¯t those gold mushrooms given to your youngest daughter-inw? Why does the eldest and second daughter-inw also want to nt them?¡± She is Chief Chen¡¯s second wife, and she has only one son, Chen Sng, who was sent to enlist by Chief Chen, this is a heart-wrenching affair for her. Joyful that the old man finally had a conscience and found a livelihood for the young daughter-inw, the eldest and second daughters-inw became jealous and caused problems incessantly. Chief Chen took a sip from his tea bowl and said lightly, ¡°What¡¯s the big deal? Chief Chen took a sip from his tea bowl and said lightly, ¡°What¡¯s the big deal? Those gold mushrooms have mycelium, right? It¡¯s no problem to share a little.¡± ¡°What?¡± Mrs. Tang sat on her chair, pped her leg, and burst into tears, ¡°You monster! I was blind to marry you! Oh my God, I can¡¯t live anymore, do you Chen Family want to push us to death? My poor Chen Zhu, not only did he go to soldier for his nephews, his wife and children are also bullied at home.¡± Chief Chen¡¯s forehead veins jumped and he pped the table in anger, ¡°Enough! Who¡¯s bullying Chen Zhu¡¯s wife and children?¡± Mrs. Tang leaped up and pointed at Chief Chen Fu and cursed: ¡°You old fool, saying they are not being bullied? As soon as Chen Zhu¡¯s wife gets her hands on three coins, someone can¡¯t stand her being better off. Is it that only the eldest and the second are your biological sons, and is Chen Zhu perhaps adopted?¡± ¡°Nonsense!¡± Chen Fu was so angry that his beard trembled.¡± At this moment, the second daughter-inw, Han Miaoniang, cynically said from outside the window, ¡°Whoever is oppressing should die immediately. Oh, only the youngest daughter-inw has the right to nt the gold mushrooms, we don¡¯t have the right?¡± Upon hearing this, Mrs, Tang was enraged, picked up a vase and ran out of the house, throwing it at Han Miaoniang. However, she used too much strength and threw the vase right over the low wall, almost hitting Chen Yin¡¯s head in Chen Sanyou¡¯s house next door. Let¡¯s not talk about the chaos in the house of n leader Chen, Li Dayong and his brother Li Eryong are overjoyed. They nted a total of two hundred gold mushrooms and fifty snow mushrooms and made a total of fifteen taels of silver. Fifteen taels, they had never been able to save that much after working for more than ten years. ¡°Brother, let¡¯s nt four hundred this time.¡± Li Eryong held the silver ingot and could not bear to move his hand. He had never touched a silver ingot in his life. He never expected he would one day own one himself, no, two silver ingots. The blind old father asked, ¡°Son, let daddy feel what silver feels like.¡± Li Eryong put the two silver ingots in his father¡¯s hand, ¡°Feel them.¡± The old man Li, touching a big and a small silver ingot, burst into tears. Li Dayong and Li Eryong, were taken back, and quickly asked, ¡°Father, why are you crying?¡± ¡°Well, I can die happy now.¡± Old man Li rubbed the silver with his old face and cried out, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that your mother died early. If she knew that one day her sons would be so sessful, she would have held on for a few more years.¡± Li Dayong and Li Eryong looked at each other, sighed, and told Old man Li, ¡°Dad, when we have nted the gold mushrooms, we want to go to North Mountain to pay our respects to mother and give her the good news.¡± ¡°Okay, let mee with you when that timees.¡± Old Man Li wiped his eyes and said, ¡°It¡¯s been many years since Ist saw your mother.¡± Just after the Ghost Festival in July, the sow in the house of the eldest brother of the Jiang family gave birth to piglets. The sow had given birth to eight piglets in one go, which greatly delighted Uncle Jiang. ¡°Eng, Sang, when the timees, each of you take one to raise. The rest will be sold.¡± Jiang Eng and Jiang Sang both shook their heads, ¡°No, we don¡¯t have time to raise them.¡± Their households were busy. Their children had to go to school; where would they find the spare time to raise pigs? Uncle Jiang scratched his head and sighed, ¡°In that case, give two to the boy on the South Slope to raise. By next New Year, they¡¯ll be ready for ughter. The rest can be sold once they¡¯re a month old.¡± Nowadays, everyone is busy trying to make big money, and no one has the time to raise pigs. The only one idle is Jiang Quan, who spends his days bird trapping and rabbit hunting. Even Yingbao, who¡¯s just over three years old, knows to nt golden ears to earn pocket money. Only that boy doesn¡¯t have the sense, focused only on selling water chestnuts. He even ims that he just loves selling stuff and doesn¡¯t like nting golden ears. Now, aside from Yuanbao, Huzi, and the twins who are still clueless, even Dani and Erni have started nting golden ears and snow ears, saying that they want to earn their own money and spend it as they like, just like Yingbao does. With time passing by swiftly, the piglets soon reached one month old. The sow¡¯s milk was abundant, and she raised the eight piglets into round and smooth bundles that were a joy to behold. Among them, the happiest one was Wen Hengyin. Every day he would secretlye over to feed the sow, Ahua, and seeing the suckling piglets under Ahua¡¯s belly gave him great satisfaction. But one day, when he came to feed them again, he found that two of the piglets were missing. What happened? Wen Hengyin hastily counted twice. Indeed, two were missing. ¡°How are you taking care of them?¡± He couldn¡¯t help but scold Ahua, ¡°Two have gone missing and you don¡¯t even know?¡± Ahua let out a couple of grunts at him andy there without paying him any attention. Feeling frustrated, Wen Hengyin went home and had a sleepless night. When he came to see the next day, there was only one piglet left under Ahua¡¯s belly. Wen Hengyin panicked and tried to grab the piglet, but to his surprise, Ahua jumped up and attacked him. ¡°Have you gone mad!¡± Wen Hengyin could only retreat behind a wall, stomping his foot in annoyance but daring not to go back in. The more he thought about it, the sadder he became. He ran home andined to his mother, ¡°Mother, please go save your grandchild. It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s about to get stolen by someone. Wuu¡­ wuu¡­¡± Xiu Zhenniang¡¯s hand, which was holding a pen, trembled as she asked, thinking she had misheard, ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°Your grandson is¡­is about to be stolen. Please go and buy it back¡­¡± Wen Hengyin sobbed, heartbroken. He had worked so hard to raise the piglets, and now there was only one left. He was sure that tomorrow, even thisst one would be gone if he didn¡¯t do something. ¡°My grandson?¡± Xiu Zhenniang¡¯s face fell, ¡°What nonsense are you talking about?¡± ¡°I¡­l¡¯m not speaking nonsense. It¡¯s true.¡± Wen Hengyin stuttered, ¡°It¡­ it¡¯s in the¡­ in the pigsty at Jiang¡¯s.¡± Xiu Zhenniang stood up, ¡°Alright, lead me to take a look.¡± So, mother and son went to the Jiang¡¯s, beside the pigsty. When Xiu Zhenniang saw her ¡°grandson¡±, her expression was calm. She nced at her son and asked, ¡°Are you sure this is your child?¡± Wen Hengyin nodded earnestly, recounted the events of that day, and defended himself at the end, ¡°1¡­1 didn¡¯t mean to¡­ Xiu Zhenniang¡¯s mouth twitched, and she suppressed herughter, saying only, ¡°Then wait here, I will go buy it from the Jiang Family..¡± Chapter 68 - 68: Too Ashamed to Show One’s Face 1 Chapter 68: Too Ashamed to Show One¡¯s Face 1 Trantor: 549690339 Jiang Dng was somewhat surprised when Lady Wen came to buy a piglet. He eventually sold it to her for two hundred coins less, taking a total of six hundred coins. Xiu Zhenniang carried the piglet and son home with her in silence the entire way. Once inside the house, she handed the piglet to her son, saying, ¡°Let mother teach you what it is to be a parent, what it is to be a son.¡± And thus, after listening to his mother¡¯s discourse on medicine for two hours, Wen Hengyin finallyprehended that he was not, in fact, Ahua¡¯s child¡¯s father. Looking at the piglet ensconced in his embrace, he began to feel a sense of embarrassment. However, as it was a piglet he had watched grow, he decided he would still adopt it. It was a ck and white piglet with a cute white spiral on its forehead. ¡°You shall be called Spiral from now on.¡± Wen Hengyin patted the small pig¡¯s head and let out a quiet sigh. The nanny came over and smiled, ¡°Young master, let the nanny find a ce for the piglet. You just check on it when you have time.¡± Wen Hengyin nodded and handed the piglet to the nanny, ¡°Nanny, find it a warm space, spread out some straw, don¡¯t let it get cold.¡± The days and nights were cooling down now, and without its mother pig, the piglet would certainly get cold at night. ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯ll create a straw nest for it ced behind the stove. During the day we¡¯ll move it outside. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Good!¡± Wen Hengyin took one final look at the piglet, and then turned to go back into the house. He must study hard, never to be foolish again. This matter must not be known to anyone, especially that little girl Yingbao, or he would never have the face to see people again in his lifetime. Xiu Zhenniang was so amused by her son¡¯s antics she didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. Finally, she returned to writing her letter in good spirits. Wen Shu asked, ¡°Mother, when will father return?¡± Her father Wen Yanmin was sent out to deliver some goods to Yuzhou, which concerned her. Xiu Zhenniang gave it some thought before saying, ¡°He¡¯s likely to be back in two months.¡± Yuzhou was far away. Even if he traveled by carriage, the daily distance covered would be around a hundred miles, and the journey of a thousand miles would take ten days or so. If the weather was extreme, it would take even longer. It would take at least two months for him to go there and back. If only she knew if that golden ear mushroom medicine was any help for those suffering from lung illnesses. In the Imperial Pce at the Capital City, The Empress summoned Imperial Physician Wen Yanpei of the Imperial Medical Bureau to her residence in Zhaohedian. She was adorned with a phoenix crown embedded with eight precious jewels and dressed in bright red clothes with golden dragon and phoenix patterns,plete with an eight-meter-long Ruyi skirt. This majestic attire exhibited a wealth of prosperity and pride. Her demeanor wasmanding, even when she didn¡¯t express anger. ¡°Doctor Wen, tell me honestly, how is the condition of my son¡¯s illness? I won¡¯t me you.¡± Wen Yanpei¡¯s body shivered like a sieve as he tremuously responded, ¡°The prescription that I, your humble subject, made for His Highness is just missing one medicinal ingredient. As long as that ingredient is delivered, His Highness will surely recover after some more time.¡± The Empress became a little more reassured and said in a gentler tone, ¡°From where are you procuring these ingredients that it has taken so long? If need be, I can get the Ministry of War to dispatch a courier to make a quick delivery.¡± Wen Yanpei thought to himself that this was all his father¡¯s doing, and he genuinely did not know where his old man had found the ingredients. But he couldn¡¯t say that his father was helping him find these ingredients. Otherwise, he would seem like a useless person to the Empress. ¡°Your Grace, the ingredient was discovered by a local hermit who frequently travels. Therefore, we can only confirm when the ingredient will arrive once the hermit has been located.¡± The empress¡¯s face darkened slightly, her voice carrying a hint of anger, ¡°You¡¯ll have to hurry then. Make sure your family contacts that hermit as quickly as possible to have the ingredient sent back.¡± ¡°Yes, I will dispatch more people to hurry the process as soon as I get back. Please rest assured, Your Grace, as soon as the ingredient is delivered, His Highness will undoubtedly recover.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± The Empress picked up the tea cup on the table to her side and said lightly, ¡°In that case, you may leave, Doctor Wen. I await your good news.¡± ¡°Yes, I shall take my leave.¡± Wen Yanpei bowed, took a few steps back, then turned to leave. Once out of the Imperial City, Wen Yanpei wiped the sweat off his forehead and hastily boarded his own carriage. Back at his mansion, he called for the chief steward. ¡°Has there been any news from my father?¡± Wen Yanpei asked. Previously, his father Wen Jingyan had sent him two ounces of dried golden mushrooms, instructing him to simmer them with ginseng and donkey-hide gtine to be given to the ten-year-old Prince. After the Prince had taken it, hisplexion improved. He slept deeply at night, his coughing and wheezing symptoms greatly alleviated, and he even ate half a bowl of porridge the next day. But the dried golden mushrooms ran out in just a few days. Wen Yanpei was anxious, repeatedly urging his father to send more. However, his father replied that obtaining such a thing was not easy, the next batch was uncertain, and asked him to be patient. He had been waiting for over a month now. The Prince¡¯s condition had rpsed, and both the Emperor and Empress were furious. Wen Yanpei was on pins and needles, fearing that he might be beheaded any day now. The chief steward bowed and reported: ¡°Master, word has been sent over that the medicinal herbs will reach Yuzhou Prefecture in a few days. Please wait a few more days when the Eldest Master will deliver them back to the capital.¡± Wen Yanpei was overjoyed: ¡°Really? My father said so?¡± Chief steward: ¡°Yes, the old Master asked you to remain calm and wait for the Eldest Master to discuss things in detail with you upon his return.¡± ¡°Alright, you can leave.¡± Wen Yanpei waved him away. He paced back and forth in his study, both d and anxious, wishing he could get the medicine now. At that moment, his wife Lady Guo brought their daughter Yurong into the study. In her hands, the young girl held a box of freshly made pastries. ¡°My lord, please try this Poria cocos date paste cake that Yurong has just made,¡± she offered. Wen Yanpei nced at the tray of food in his daughter¡¯s hand. He had no appetite and waved her off, ¡°Put it down. I¡¯ll try itter.¡± His younger daughter Yurong was ten years old this year. She was beautiful from a young age, and her beauty was even more apparent now that she was older. The reason Wen Yanpei volunteered to treat the Prince was partly due to personal gain. He once thought that if he could cure the Prince, his daughter might catch the eye of the Empress, and one day she might be selected as the Prince¡¯s principal wife. By then, he would be rted to the imperial family. The future emperor would owe him a favour, and the Wen family would flourish under his generation. But curing the young Prince¡¯s ailment turned out to be a tremendous challenge. He exhausted all his skills but could not rid the child of his illness entirely. His only choice was to ask for assistance from his father, Wen Jingyan who had retired to their native Yuzhou. He thought that with the deep foundation of medical knowledge of the Wen family, if he wasn¡¯t capable, his father wouldn¡¯t just stand by and do nothing. Once his father intervened, curing a minor lung disease would be effortless. But the Prince¡¯s condition kept rpsing, and his body grew weaker, to the point where he couldn¡¯t even get out of bed. The Emperor and Empress were furious. Even the father of the Empress, the Duke of Qi, pointed at his nose in anger, threatening that if he couldn¡¯t cure the Prince, he would be charged with deceiving the Emperor and his entire family would be punished. Only then did Wen Yanpei truly panic and sent another urgent letter to his father. His father was also at a loss, scouring all corners for folk remedies. Eventually, he heard of a remote mountain vige where a resident seemed to have a cure for lung diseases. ording to his father, an old disciple of his who he hadn¡¯t seen for decades had set up a pharmacy in the rural town. An advanced case of lung disease hade to him, and the patient had actually been cured within a month¡­ ¡°Father, these cakes are best when eaten hot,¡± his daughter said, opening the box and smiling,¡± I noticed that you seemed quite stressed recently with dark circles under your eyes, so I decided to learn how to make some.¡± Wen Yanpei sighed softly, and took a piece of cake. ¡°Master! Disaster has struck! ¡± A servant rushed into the study, scrambling and panting, ¡°The Imperial Guards¡­ They¡¯ve broken in¡­!¡± Wen Yanpei was startled, and the cake in his hand fell to the ground.. Chapter 69 - 69: Narrow-minded_l Chapter 69: Narrow-minded_l Trantor: 549690339 The Imperial Guards stormed in with force, swarming every corner of Wen Yanpei¡¯s residence like a tidal wave. Wen Yanpei¡¯s face was deathly pale. He disregarded his unconscious wife and panic-stricken daughter, and hurriedly ran to assess the situation. He saw the Empress¡¯s brother, Xiao Weiliang, walking among his guards with a smile on his face and his hands behind his back. He was strolling leisurely, looking around the scenery of the Wen residence as if enjoying a garden tour. ¡°Commander Xiao, what is the meaning of this sudden intrusion into my home?¡± Wen Yanpei stepped forward to bow in greeting before questioning. Xiao Weiliang looked at him with a contemptuous expression. ¡°Imperial Physician Wen, you¡¯ve got quite the nerve, daring to deceive His Majesty and take the life of the Prince as a joke.¡± He tidied his sleeves and chuckled softly, ¡°His Majesty ordered us to take you to the Sky Prison and await trial by the Ministry of Justice.¡± A buzzing sound filled Wen Yanpei¡¯s head. He felt as if the sounds around him were getting further away, ¡°How can this be? I had just returned from the pce and His Majesty had ordered me to hasten the preparation of the medicine¡­¡± Xiao Weiliang sneered, ¡°I am merely following orders. I know nothing of the rest. If Imperial Physician Wen has anything to say, you can exin yourself at the public court of the Ministry of Justice.¡± With that, he waved his hand and two Imperial Guards quickly advanced, one on each side of Wen Yanpei, locking his neck and wrists with chains. ¡°No! Commander Xiao, please listen to me. The Empress herself did ask me to hasten the medicine. No, no, the ingredients have already been sent. They should arrive in a few days. I swear that I can cure the Prince,¡± Wen Yanpei frantically repeated his exnation: ¡°Commander Xiao, I did not deceive His Majesty. I genuinely can cure the Prince. Please report to Teacher Xiao on my behalf, considering our past rtions¡­¡± ¡°Enough, I don¡¯t want to hear your rubbish.¡± Xiao Weiliang curtly interrupted him and ordered the Imperial Guards: ¡°Gag him.¡± One of the guards bent down, took off Wen Yanpei¡¯s shoes, pulled off his cotton socks, balled them up and stuffed them into Wen Yanpei¡¯s mouth. Wen Yanpei struggled desperately: ¡­mmmm¡­ Fifty miles away, Wen Hengchuan was riding his horse at full speed towards Beijing. His several horse-riding servants were following him closely, all of them were at the end of their wits. Along the way, everyone had developed friction burns on their thighs. They didn¡¯t even have time to apply the medicine. They couldn¡¯t understand why their young master was in such a hurry. Meanwhile, amidst the turbulent storm ravaging the Wen family from afar, Dongchen Vige in Chuanhe Town was experiencing a tremendous harvest. However, this harvest was not of grains but a significant yield of golden and snow mushrooms. Now, among the twenty-eight households in Dongchen Vige, ten of them were growing golden and snow mushrooms. These included the households of Wang Ke, Li Dayong, Li Eryong, Wang Ershen, the three sons of n Leader Chen Sanyou, and the Chen n Leader¡¯s family. There were also a few other households in the vige facing difficulties. They had bought mushroom seeds on credit from Jiang Sang, promising to pay him back when the golden mushrooms were sold. This was thest harvest of the autumn, and everyone was filled with anticipation. Those vigers who didn¡¯t manage to reserve seedsst time were now itching to try. They waited secretly at Jiang Sang¡¯s doorway, and when they saw him returning, they immediately surrounded him. ¡°Sang, it¡¯s my turn this time, isn¡¯t it? I made a deal with you before,¡± ¡°Brother Jiang San, it¡¯s my turn now. It should be my turn this time.¡± ¡°And me, I¡¯ve been waiting for two rounds.¡± The vigers were all speaking simultaneously, fearing that they might miss out on the mushroom seeds. Jiang Sang said helplessly: ¡°The weather is cold now, and I can¡¯t give you the seeds yet. If they are not properly stored, they won¡¯t sprout next year. How about this, you all queue up and I¡¯ll distribute them in order when it¡¯s time.¡± The vigers nodded in agreement: ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll do as you say.¡± Everyone was bustling around trying to figure out their order, and it almost started a fight over who would be first. Yingbao peeked out from a window and counted the number of people. Wow, there were more than twenty people, each representing a household, so, more than twenty households. With this many households wanting mushroom seeds, if each household needs fifty nts, that would be over a thousand nts. If her father was to give away all his mushroom seeds, they probably wouldn¡¯t be enough to go around. Yingbao counted the terracotta jars she collected in her cave, thirty in total, filled with fungal spores. She estimated a yield of around four hundred golden ears and two hundred snow ears. That was still too few. Of course, these premium mushrooms she cultivated weren¡¯t for the vigers, but for her own use. She wanted to improve the grade of her own golden ears and snow ears, and let her father hand the regr variety over to the vigers for cultivation. That way, even if an increasing number of people grew golden ears and snow ears, the selling price of her own batch wouldn¡¯t be affected. It seemed that she would have to cultivate another batch of premium ones. Only then would there be enough to rece the stock her father, uncle and their families were using by next spring. The September sun was still warm, and the weather had started to dry up. The autumn taxation was mostlyplete, the winter wheat had been sown, and the paddy fields had been turned over once. They were now waiting for the winter snow to kill off the pests in the soil. Typically, it indicated that the busy farming period hade to an end, and the locals could finally rx. Only a handful of homes would go up the mountain to dig up kudzu root that was three or four years old, and bring it back to be crushed into powder. However, the vigers of Dongchen Vige were exceptionally busy. Each household was building bamboo sheds, using stone mortars to mash rice husks, wheat bran, and wood chips. They were working round the clock. Carts loaded with terracotta jars were hauled in, one by one, and distributed to every household. Many households had bamboo drying racks set up at their front doors. On these racks were clean reed mats, and on the mats were yellow mushrooms, their golden colors dazzling, causing neighboring vigers to stop and stare in fascination. ¡°What are you drying there?¡± Vige Chief of West Vige, Chen Changsheng, came over, hands sped behind his back, asking Vige Chief of East Vige, Chen Sanyou. Chen Sanyou, while flipping over his golden ears, didn¡¯t raise his head and responded, ¡°Mushrooms.¡± Chen Changsheng retorted, ¡°I know they¡¯re mushrooms. I¡¯m asking why you¡¯re growing them. Can you make money from them?¡± He was deliberately ying dumb. Chen Sanyou rolled his eyes at him, ¡°If we can¡¯t make money from it, we can eat them ourselves.¡± He had always been annoyed with Chen Changsheng since they were little. Although they were of the same Chen n, they were distant cousins and rarely interacted. They would pass each other without even greeting. The reason? It was all because both of them were smitten with a pretty young maiden from another vige, but Chen Changsheng won her over. In reality, it wasn¡¯t a case of winning her over. The young maiden hadn¡¯t exchanged more than a few words with Chen Sanyou, and she wasn¡¯t close with Chen Changsheng either. What infuriated Chen Sanyou was that Chen Changsheng took the underhand route and secretly found the maiden¡¯s older brother, telling him that a boy from Chen Vige had taken a fancy to his sister. Needless to say, the older brother was immediately filled with rage. So, one day, Chen Sanyou was cornered by the maiden¡¯s brother and received a couple of hard punches to the face. Of course, it didn¡¯t go well for Chen Changsheng either. The maiden¡¯s brother warned him to stay at least ten feet away from his sister, otherwise he would break Cheng Changsheng¡¯s legs. Every time Chen Sanyou remembered this incident, he felt a surge of anger. But back then he was only nine years old, two years younger than Chen Changsheng, and knew he couldn¡¯t beat him. And he wasn¡¯t as cunning as Chen Changsheng, unable to think of any way to get back at him. After they grew up and married their respective wives, the incident was forgotten. However, since then, it had been a constant thorn in Chen Sanyou¡¯s side. Every time he thought about it, he felt irritated. In his dreams, he wished he could give Chen Changsheng a good beating. Chen Changsheng shrugged his mouth and nced at Chen Sanyou as if looking at a fool, ¡°Since when did your household be so poor that you need to use mushroom as food? I see there are several hundred of them here. Would it be enough to feed your family for two months?¡± ¡°None of your goddamn business!¡± Chen Sanyou responded irritably. ¡°If you have nothing better to do, return to West Vige. Our vige doesn¡¯t need your concern, better to keep an eye on Chen Ergou from your vige.¡± Chen Changsheng brushed off hisment without getting angry, hands behind his back and said, ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know this was started by Jiang Sang from your vige. His family is getting rich off this. No one in West Vige is blind.¡± Chen Sanyou retorted, ¡°You certainly act like a blind fool. If you¡¯re so aware, why are you bugging me here?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it because I can¡¯t find him around?¡± Chen Changsheng picked up a golden ear and looked at it, then leisurely said, ¡°We are from the same vige, why would you hide good things? We are still blood-rted brothers after all, Chen is themon character of our names. Don¡¯t be so petty, you need to change this old habit of yours¡­.¡± Chapter 70 - 70: Someone Jumps into the River 1 Chapter 70: Someone Jumps into the River 1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°What did you say, Chen Dalian? Who are you calling petty?¡± Chen Sanyou instantly red up at this, taking off a shoe and hurling it at him: ¡°Bugger off! Stop putting on a show in front of me.¡± This unfoundedment stirred up his old grudges, faning the mes of his anger. Damn Chen Dalian! That bald-headed jerk! Ignoring him wasn¡¯t enough, now he hade to his door to mock him. Seeing Chen Sanyou suddenly lose his temper, Chen Changsheng knew that he was about to go berserk and start hitting people again, so he quickly turned and ran. He only dared to shout insults back when he was far away: ¡°You old geezer! You have the audacity to throw a shoe at me while we¡¯re just having a conversation! Just wait and see! I¡¯llin to the n Leader about your insolence and how you¡¯ve be unreasonable with age! Absolutely unreasonable!¡± Of course, Chen Changsheng didn¡¯t actually go to see the n Leader since the n Leader was Chen Sanyou¡¯s older brother; approaching him would just result in further agony for himself. As he stomped back home, he ran into Old Chen, and immediately began toin. ¡°Can you believe that Chen Sanyou? I was just talking to him, and the bastard threw his stinking shoe at me¡­ Who am I doing this for? The East Vige does nothing productive, just messing around, and it¡¯s making our vigers restless that they can¡¯t even focus on farming. This is uneptable! I¡¯m going toin to Lizheng. He needs to step in.¡± Old Chen nced at him, nonchntly saying, ¡°Then you should hurry, otherwise you¡¯ll miss your lunch.¡± Chen Changsheng: ¡­Everyone¡¯s being so nasty today, just like Chen Ergou. They¡¯re all so insufferable! ¡°Humph!¡± He snorted and turned to leave. It felt like he was caught between a rock and a hard ce. Old Chen paid him no mind and continued on his way home. He still remembered how this guy had been selfish back in the day, which had caused him to get beaten. Now, every time the weather gets bad, his butt still hurts. How could he have time to listen to others whine, while he had his own problems to worry about? His second son failed the college entrance exam again, and Old Chen was so dejected that he lost his appetite. Before he even got to his front door, he heard crying and yelling from his home. As soon as he stepped inside, he saw his daughter-inw, from the Han Family, brutally beating her child with a bamboo stick. Chen Wan, his granddaughter, was already nine years old. She was old enough to be betrothed, yet her mother was still scolding and abusing her. She wasn¡¯t afraid that the child would be damaged and not be able to marry into a good family. ¡°That¡¯s enough! Are you done yet?¡± For the first time in his life, Old Chen screamed at his second daughter-inw, ¡°Look at what you¡¯ve done to Wan! What the hell is your problem?¡± The Han woman was startled by Old Chen¡¯s sudden rebuke and quickly stopped her actions. Unappeased, Old Chen continued, ¡°Han, I¡¯m not one to speak ill of you, but just look at what you¡¯ve done to our home! The neighbors look down on us because of your misbehavior. Can you not disrupt the peace for one day? How is our second son supposed to go out in public or focus on his studies with all this?¡± The Han woman didn¡¯t dare to talk back. She tossed the bamboo stick and went into her room. Chen Wan sobbed for a while, then ran out of the courtyard. Old Chen didn¡¯t interfere and returned to his own room, feeling frustrated. Feng was sitting on the heated bed, spinning cotton into thread, she nced at him and asked: ¡°What¡¯s wrong today? You¡¯ve actually started scolding people.¡± Old Chen sat down on the edge of the heated bed, slid off his shoes, sat cross-legged on the bed, and lifted his small teapot to drink from it. He pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, ¡°Do you think the kid in the Jiang Family from East Vige is really our second son¡¯s?¡± Feng kept on spinning the cotton without lifting her head, ¡°Who knows. Wasn¡¯t it you who said you wouldn¡¯t get involved? Why are you suddenly bringing this up now?¡± Old Chen took another sip of tea and snapped his mouth shut, ¡°They say the Jiang Family in the east vige has struck it rich, first catching a big fish, then growing some sort of golden ears, and now they havee up with this Divine Gourd. Even people from other viges areing to see it¡­¡± ¡°Do you finally believe now?¡± Feng suddenly perked up, craning her neck, ¡°I¡¯ve seen the Divine Gourd too. It¡¯s just a shame I couldn¡¯t touch it. They say that you¡¯ll have good luck if you touch it, look at the poor people in East Vige, they¡¯re all so spirited now. I told our second son to touch it too, but he refused. Ah, and now there¡¯s no chance to touch it, the Jiang Family has sold the Divine Gourd. Humph, they only care about money, even willing to sell something that was gifted by an Immortal. ¡± Old Chen stroked his beard, deep in thought, ¡°What do you think, if we were to acknowledge that kid as our own, would our second son¡¯s chances at passing the college entrance exam be guaranteed?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the truth!¡± Feng Family pped her thigh, ¡°We should have brought her back a long time ago. To give away a good Fairy Child like that, Han Family, I tell you, she¡¯s nothing but trouble, never does anything right. She finally gives birth to a useful one, and she throws her away. Our second son married her, and he sure took a big unlucky dive.¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Chen Lao Shuan red at his old wife, ¡°Be careful with your tongue, you say too much.¡± Feng Family moved away from the spinning wheel, got off the brick bed, patted her clothes and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go ask Han Family where she gave that child away years ago.¡± Chen Lao Shuan remained silent, just holding his teapot and pondering. Feng Family walked to the door of the second room, calling out loudly, ¡°Han Family,e out, I need to talk to you.¡± Only after a while did Han Family lift the curtain and step out of the room, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Feng Family gave her daughter-inw a nce, pushed past her and went into the room. Chen Changping was sitting by the desk, copying the Book of Rites, and did not pay any attention to the arrival of his old mother. Feng Family took a seat on a chair to the side, nced at the daughter-inw who followed her in and said, ¡°Now that both of you are here, I want to ask, is the lost girl that Jiang Sang picked up in East Vige ours?¡± Chen Changping furrowed his eyebrows, put down his brush, turned around and looked at his mother, ¡°Mother, why do you ask this now? I¡¯ll say it once again, the child that the Jiang Family found has nothing to do with us.¡± Feng Family¡¯s mouth twitched slightly, then she turned her head to ask the second daughter-inw, ¡°Do you think the same?¡± Han Family quietly nced at her husband, gathering her courage to say, ¡°Mother, why don¡¯t we go to the Jiang Family¡¯s ce and see for ourselves?¡± ¡°Han Family!¡± Chen Changping got angry, suddenly stood up, overturning the chair, ¡°Don¡¯t you have any shame? I certainly do!¡± He then said to Feng Family, ¡°Mother, can¡¯t you stay calm? How am I supposed to study with all thismotion?¡± He had failed the court examination for several years in a row, and he was extremely frustrated. Although he had changed several academies to study, his progress was minimal. So he decided to study at home and put off going to the county academy for a while. To his dismay, there was no peace at home, either. It was either children crying or adults arguing, and now they were bringing up the child that was lost years ago. Every time he heard about it, he felt as ufortable as if he had swallowed a fly, as if the deepest, most hidden, most fearful, and most regretful secret in his heart was being dug up, leaving him nowhere to hide. Seeing her son¡¯s strong resistance to this matter, Feng Family didn¡¯t dare to say anything more and got up to leave. Han Family followed her out. The two women looked at each other, each understanding what the other meant. When they stepped outside, Feng Family asked, ¡°Han Family, what do you think? Is that child really ours?¡± Han Family nodded slightly, ¡°I think she looks like ours, mother, why don¡¯t we quietly go and see. We won¡¯t let my husband know.¡± Over the past three years, there had been no movement in her belly, which made Han Family increasingly anxious. If it wasn¡¯t for the scandal caused by Chen Ergou¡¯s wifest time, she would have wanted to sneak to the Jiang Family¡¯s ce and take the child back. Every time she mentioned adoption to her husband, he would immediately lose his temper, giving her the cold shoulder for days. Today, her mother-inw suddenly brought it up, and it hit right where Han Family wanted. ¡°Hmm, let¡¯s settle on this. We two will find time to visit the Jiang Family. If the child is not ours, we won¡¯t wrong them.¡± Feng Family smoothed her hair, and then said to her daughter-inw, ¡°Han Family, don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you, stop angering Ergou. His head hurts from all the daily noise, how is he supposed to study properly?¡± This time, Han Family was very obedient, bowing her head in acquiescence, understand, mother.¡± ¡°Disaster! Someone jumped into the river!¡± Faintly, the cries of the vigers could be heard in the distance, ¡°Someonee quickly! Help!¡± ¡°Who jumped into the river?¡± A viger emerged from their home. ¡°We should go and see, seems like a child jumped into the river.¡± ¡°Oh dear, whose child could it be, so unwilling to live¡­¡± A few vigers hurried towards the source of the cries. Han Family and Feng Family nced in that direction, but didn¡¯t seem to care much and turned to go back home.. Chapter 72 - 72: Father Is Really Cunning_1 Chapter 72: Father Is Really Cunning_1 Trantor: 549690339 The incident of the second daughter of the Chen Family jumping into the river didn¡¯t cause much turmoil, and the vigers soon forgot about it. Now, what the people of West Vige are most concerned about are the mushrooms from East Vige, as well as the bamboo sheds they¡¯ve built. So, the vigers of West Vige came to visit East Vige in small groups, asking questions from time to time. But the vigers from East Vige, being cunning now, didn¡¯t want to pay much attention to the people from West Vige. They often brushed them off with a few words, excusing that they were too busy to answer, essentially driving them away. But the people from West Vige weren¡¯t easily discouraged, trying various ways to sneak a peek. The more audacious ones even ran to the Jiang Family to learn from them, but ended up being turned away at the door. One day, arge mule cart drove into the vige, followed by a few servants riding donkeys. After the coachman inquired about the residence of Jiang Sang, he drove the cart straight to his home. ¡°Is Jiang Sang home?¡± Zhou Mao jumped down from the mule cart and called out in front of the bamboo fence gate. Jiang Sang happened to be at home picking cotton seeds, so he rushed out to answer the door upon hearing the sound. ¡°Oh! It¡¯s Steward Zhou, what a rare guest.¡± Jiang Sang saluted Zhou Mao with a clenched fist and invited him and his entourage into the house, offering them seats. Chunniang quickly got up to boil some tea in the kitchen. Zhou Mao nced around Jiang Sang¡¯s house but didn¡¯tment, simply lifting his robe and sitting down on a broken stool. Rolling up his sleeves, he chuckled, ¡°Your golden mushrooms have been sun-dried, right?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Jiang Sang also smiled, ¡°Steward Zhou, your timing is perfect. We¡¯ve got everything ready.¡± As long as he goes out and calls for them, the vigers are likely to bring the golden mushrooms and snow mushrooms. ¡°What about the premium ones? How many did you collect this time?¡± Zhou Mao mainly came for the premium ones this time, which were already selling for fifty taels of silver per tael in the Prefecture City, even more valuable than century-old ginseng. This is still due to the fact that not many people know about it. If those aristocratic families knew, their trading firm would be swarmed with servants and the price would surely skyrocket. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t let the Jiang family know about these matters. ¡°We¡¯ve produced twelve catties of premium ones.¡± said Jiang Sang. Out of these twelve, five catties were from his own home, three each from his elder brother and second brother, and two from his father. The ones nted by his daughter Yingbao weren¡¯t included in this. ¡°Only twelve catties?¡± That was too little. Zhou Mao was somewhat disappointed, ¡°Bring them here for me to see.¡± Well, twelve catties it is, at least it¡¯s better than none. s, going back, there¡¯s not even enough for a few distinguished guests to split. The head of the trading firm alone would reserve three catties, not to mention other distinguished guests. They were all waiting for him to bring back the premium golden mushrooms. Jiang Sang carried two big baskets out of the house and ced them in front of Zhou Mao. Zhou Mao picked them up and sniffed at them one by one, fearing that Jiang Sang might have mixed in some fakes. Jiang Sang didn¡¯t mind him and simply watched quietly on the side. Yingbao also came out of the house, followed closely by the two twins. After checking the premium mushrooms, Zhou Mao instructed his clerk to weigh them. After finishing weighing the premium golden mushrooms, Zhou Mao asked again, ¡°Don¡¯t you also have premium snow mushrooms? Why didn¡¯t you bring them out?¡± Jiang Sang chuckled, ¡°Actually, the premium snow mushrooms have already been reserved by others.¡± ¡°What?¡± Zhou Mao was displeased, ¡°I say brother Jiang, this isn¡¯t fair. We agreed that I woulde and pick them up, not even needing you to make the trip, and now you¡¯ve reserved the premium snow mushrooms for others?¡± Jiang Sangughed, ¡°But Steward Zhou never said we couldn¡¯t sell to others. Besides, we didn¡¯t make a formal contract. Of course, we¡¯d sell to whoever offers the highest price.¡± Zhou Mao was so angry, he wanted to curse Jiang Sang but didn¡¯t dare to. He only snorted and asked, ¡°How much did they offer?¡± Jiang Sang didn¡¯t inte the price too much, saying, ¡°They gave five taels of silver for one catty of premium snow mushrooms.¡± ¡°What?¡± Zhou Mao gritted his teeth, and eventually cursed, ¡°You, you swindler, you dare cheat me!¡± Jiang Sang calmly said, ¡°They did give that much. Steward Zhou, you may think it¡¯s expensive, but others don¡¯t.¡± Zhou Mao, frustrated, spun around on the spot. Finally, he gritted his teeth, ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll also give five taels. Get the Xue¡¯er out quickly and remember they should be premium quality. If there¡¯s even one fake piece, you¡¯ll be in for it!¡± Jiang Sang then went back into the house and fetched two baskets of Xue¡¯er, ¡°There are eight jin in total here. I can only give you half, the other half has to be reserved for the other customer.¡¯ Upon hearing this, Zhou Mao instantly rushed over, grabbed the two baskets and left, muttering, ¡°Keep dreaming!¡± He then ordered the young assistant to weigh the mushrooms quickly. After they were weighed, he had them carried to the mule cart and told one of his servants to keep an eye on the baskets. Yingbao, observing her father¡¯s cunningness, waspletely amazed. Ah, she needed to learn more from her father. His skill in deceiving people would be very useful in the future. Next, it was time to weigh themon golden mushrooms. Jiang Sang had grown five hundred nts, as did both Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng. The elder Jiang had grown two hundred, and so had Jiang Cheng. Even Dani and Erni each had grown one hundred nts. In the future, they¡¯re likely going to keep this quantity. ¡°The golden mushrooms weigh fifty-two jin eight liang. The Xue¡¯er weigh twenty jin,¡± the young assistant reported. Zhou Mao took out an abacus and began calcting. ¡°In total, that¡¯s three hundred and thirty-seven taels, plus five hundred coins.¡± It was the highest sale in history, and Jiang Sang couldn¡¯t help but smile. Zhou Mao knew that the Jiang family didn¡¯t ept silver notes. This time, he had brought along plenty of silver ingots, some of which wererge twenty tael ingots. He had more than enough to pay for this. After moving the golden mushrooms and Xue¡¯er onto the cart, Zhou Mao went to inspect Jiang Sang¡¯s bamboo shed and pet the big deer in the yard. Surprised, he asked, ¡°Brother Jiang, are you selling this big deer?¡± ¡°No, this is my daughter¡¯s deer. No amount of money can buy it.¡± Zhou Mao shook his head regretfully and was about to leave when Jiang Sang said, ¡°Please wait, Steward Zhou. There are more golden mushrooms and Xue¡¯er in our vige that haven¡¯t been moved over.¡± Zhou Mao blinked, about toe up with a cunning n, but Jiang Sang quickly said: ¡°They also went to the trade officest time and know the purchase price.¡± Zhou Mao sighed, not entirely giving up, he asked, ¡°Are there any premium ones?¡± ¡°No. Only our family has premium. It¡¯s not easy to care for them; others can¡¯t grow it.¡± Jiang Sang mercilessly crushed his hopes. ¡°Oh.¡± Zhou Mao felt disappointed, and waved his hand, ¡°Well, then tell them to hurry up and bring them over. Time is money.¡± At this point, Yingbao had already run out to call for thedy next door, Wang Er¡¯s grandmother, and asked Wang Er¡¯s son to notify other families. Soon, Jiang Sang¡¯s house was bustling with activity. Vigers flocked to bring their own golden mushrooms and Xue¡¯er. Yingbao sat on the fence of the deer pen with her two younger brothers, dangling their legs and watching the streams of people. Among the group of men, a mother-inw and daughter-inw pair stood out. The older woman was around fifty years old, the younger one was in her twenties, they looked delicate and attractive, with thin brows and bright eyes. Their fragile appearance showed they were easy to bully. This was Chen, the n leader¡¯s second wife, Mrs. Tang and her young daughter-inw, Mrs. Shao. Mrs. Tang was holding a small baby boy, about two or three years old, just a bit older than Yingbao¡¯s younger brothers. He had a shaved head with tufts of hair in three ces and thin brow lines, looking a lot like his mother Mrs. Shao. Mrs. Shao was carrying arge bamboo basket, filled with around a hundred dried golden mushrooms. Mrs. Tang walked over to Yingbao, carrying her grandson, and took several pieces of hard candy out of her pocket to put in Yingbao¡¯s hand, and also gave two each to the twins. She smiled and said ¡°These are made by grandmother, they are very sweet.¡± Yingbao thanked her: ¡°Thank you, Grandma Tang.¡± The two brothers also learned to say: ¡°Thank you, Grandma Tang.¡± Mrs. Tang patted Yingbao on the head, smiled and said, ¡°Next time, Baobao, bring your brothers to Grandma¡¯s house, I will make a lot more delicious food.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Okay.¡± Mrs. Tang¡¯s smile widened. She introduced her grandson to Yingbao: ¡°His name is Chen Bozhong, his nickname is Yaoyao. Yaoyao, say hello to Sister Yingbao.¡± Yaoyao blinked his small, almond-shaped eyes and obediently said, ¡°Sister Yingbao.¡± Yingbao couldn¡¯t help but touch his tufted hair and responded with a smallugh. Xiaojie and Dawu became jealous, tugging on their sister¡¯s arm from both sides, not letting her touch any other kids.. Chapter 73 - 73: Stealing the Child Again_l Chapter 73: Stealing the Child Again_l Trantor: 549690339 After Shao Family sold the golden earrings, she showed the silver coins to her mother-inw: ¡°I sold them for seven and a half taels. Tang Family was overjoyed andughed, ¡°Store the money well when you get back. It¡¯s your private stash for the future. Don¡¯t spend it unnecessarily. After all, public funds are used for food and clothing so don¡¯t lend it to anyone. Yaoyao will need money when she grows up.¡± ¡°I understand, mother.¡± The Shao wife gave Yingbao a smile, took back her son from her mother-inw¡¯s arms, and went home with him. Yingbao watched the mother and son leave, feeling inexplicably sorry for them. Because next year, Tang¡¯s son will return from the battlefield with a broken leg and die not long after. Grandmother Tang, ovee with grief, will also pass away within a few months, leaving this mother and son in the Chen Family. The n Leader of Chen had prestige outside, but wasn¡¯t always fair within his own home. After his second wife passed away, his daughter-inw was widowed, so he didn¡¯t intervene much in the affairs of the fourth house. Hence, the Shao wife and her son, living under the rule of the first wife, didn¡¯t have a good life. After that big flood, Yingbao never saw them again. Yingbao hopped off the railings, let her two younger brothers down, and went for a walk outside with Xiaolu. Youyou nudged Yingbao¡¯s with its head, gesturing for her to climb on. ¡°There are three of us, you can¡¯t carry us all.¡± Yingbao patted its neck and led it outside. The active Xiaojie and Xiaowu were like wild horses let off the reins once they got outside, even dogs couldn¡¯t catch up with them. ¡°Slow down! Don¡¯t run too far, or I won¡¯t bring you out to y next time!¡± Yingbao had no choice but to threaten them. As expected, the twins obediently ran back. ¡°You are Yingbao, aren¡¯t you?¡± An old woman popped out from behind the haystack and squinted with a smile. Yingbao turned to look and was startled. So, Chen Changping¡¯s mother hade here at some point. And the Han Family¡¯s Han Juniang was also with her. Yingbao looked around and seeing no one paying attention, called her two younger brothers to her side and asked guardedly: ¡°Are you here to kidnap children?¡± Chen from the Feng Family stiffened, quickly shaking her hand: ¡°No, no, I am¡­¡± she thought for a moment, struggling to find the right words to introduce herself. Han from the Han Family stepped forward, a forced smile on her face, ¡°Yingbao, I am your biological mother, and she is your grandmother¡­¡± Before she could finish, Yingbao screamed loudly: ¡°Dad! Mom! Someone¡¯s kidnapping children! ¡± Chen from Feng family was shocked and Han Family was also panicked. They hurriedly tried to cover Yingbao¡¯s mouth. The sight of someone bulling their sister incensed the twin boys who promptly rushed to attack them, crying out, ¡°Bad people! Bad people!¡± Jiang Eng dashed out of the house ahead of others, followed by a crowd of vigers. ¡°What¡¯s happening!¡± Jiang Eng rushed forward, protectively hiding his daughter and son within his embrace and yelled in anger, ¡°Again from the West Vige! You can¡¯t stand us East Vigers having a good life, can you? Come with me to Lizheng¡¯s ce, let¡¯s sort this out properly.¡± The previous incident of Chen Ergou¡¯s daughter-inw kidnapping children and throwing them into the river had just taken ce. That woman was eventually sentenced to exile, whether she was dead or alive no one knew. Now, Chen Ergou¡¯s rtives ¨C Chen Laoshuan¡¯s old wife and second daughter-inw were here. They were definitely hitting out at him, Jiang Eng. ¡°Yes! Bring them to Lizheng¡¯s ce. This is outrageous. I think the people of West Vige have all gone mad, one after another, howe they like to kidnap children so much?¡± ¡°Exactly, if Lizheng dares to tolerate them this time, we will take this to the County Government and seek justice.¡± ¡°Tie them up! Attempting to kidnap even in our vige, who will dare to let their children go out in the future?¡± The vigers were indignant and critical; a few even rushed over to kick Feng and Han violently. Chen from Feng Family was almost paralyzed with fear and kept protesting, ¡°No, I didn¡¯t mean to kidnap the child, we are¡­¡± Jiang Eng gave her no chance to exin, handed his children to Chunniang, and with a few vigers, tied up Chen from the Feng Family and Han. They gagged their mouths with old cloth and began to drag them away. Jiang Dang, Jiang Eng, and old man Jiang also wanted to follow, but Jiang Eng stopped them, asking them to go back and look after Zhou Mao and the others. In such a manner, arge group of people from East Vige headed off to town, hunting down Sun Licheng. Sun Licheng was fretting about collecting the remaining tax silver, when he was confronted with a child theft case. Upon enquiry, it turned out to be from the West Vige again. ¡°Darn it! Summon the Vige Chief of West Vige! And also bring over the heads of the households of these two women. He was curious to see if this was some sort of uprising! So, Chen Changsheng arrived, Chen Sanyou too, along with Chen Laoshuan, the husband of the Feng Family¡¯s Chen. Upon seeing her husband, Chen Feng quickly called out, ¡°Father! Come quickly and save me, oh my arm, it¡¯s practically broken¡­¡± Chen Laoshuan looked grim and said to Sun Licheng, ¡°It¡¯s a misunderstanding by Jiang Sang. How could my wife steal a child?¡± A viger angrily retorted, ¡°If not for child theft, what were you doing in East Vige? And you strangled Yingbao, were you trying to murder her?¡± Chen Laoshuan quickly looked at his wife, asking what was happening. Chen Feng repeatedly shook her head, ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­didn¡¯t strangle her. I just¡­just wanted her to stop shouting¡­¡± ¡°Oh, finally speaking the truth?¡± Jiang Sang sneered, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you want her to shout? You say you didn¡¯t want to steal the child, but how did her shouting at her own doorstep bother you?¡± Feng was at a loss for words and her speech became increasingly garbled. ¡°Because she said we were flower-smackers¡­we..we weren¡¯t, so naturally, we couldn¡¯t let her shout¡­¡± Jiang Sang bowed to Lizheng, ¡°Lizheng, you heard it, my daughter thinks they are flower-smackers.¡± Lizheng sternly said, ¡°In that case, we will bring them to the authorities first thing in the morning.¡± Chen Laoshuan was taken aback and began to exin hastily, ¡°That¡¯s not how it is, Jiang Sang, you misunderstood¡­you misunderstood!¡± If Feng and Han were sent to the authorities, there would be no hope for their second son to take the imperial examination. From the side, Han suddenly said, ¡°Yingbao is my biological child, we went to recognize her, not to steal her.¡± The crowd was in an uproar. The brothers, Wang Ke and Li Dayong, were the most furious. ¡°Shameless! Failed at smacking flowers, and now iming Yingbao as your child. How daring of you!¡± ¡°You crazy woman, do you have a mental problem? I think you¡¯re delusional.¡± Jiang Sang sneered, ¡°How did my daughter be your biological child?¡± Sun Licheng also chimed in, ¡°Yes, Han, if you say the child is your biological child, is that enough? Everything needs evidence, understand?¡± Before pinching herself to force a tear, Han quietly said, ¡°Lizheng, Yingbao really is my biological child, if you don¡¯t believe me, ask everyone, isn¡¯t that child picked up by Jiang Sang.¡± Chen Sanyou snorted, ¡°You¡¯re really something. Who in the vige doesn¡¯t know Yingbao was picked up by Sang, but that doesn¡¯t mean anyone can im Yingbao as their biological child. Hold back your dirty thoughts, do you think we don¡¯t know what you want to do?¡± The crowdughed, ¡°Yeah, since you can¡¯t have a son, do you want to take Yingbao back to gift you one?¡± Everyone in the vige knew that Yingbao was the incarnation of a fairy child, and Chen Laoshuan¡¯s family dared to dream of kidnapping the child from East Vige. Li Dayong spat, ¡°You are really shameless!¡± With her face turning red, Han was now shedding real tears, ¡°That¡¯s not true, Yingbao really is my biological child.¡± Chen Laoshuan, standing to one side with a loss of face, told Lizheng, ¡°Old brother Sun, that child is indeed from the Chen Family.¡± Even if it weren¡¯t true, it had to be now. Otherwise, he would lose his face in the vige. ¡°Is the moon in the sky also yours?¡± Jiang Sang sneered, ¡°Everyone is iming Yingbao as their own, and you are already the eighth.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Chen Laoshuan was speechless. Sun Licheng pulled over a chair and sat down, stroking his beard and said slowly, ¡°I¡¯ll say it again, everything relies on evidence. Chen Laoshuan, do you have any proof that the child is yours?¡± Chen Laoshuan was dumbfounded and turned his gaze to his wife, Chen Feng. Chen Feng blinked and turned to her daughter-inw, ¡°Han, the child was borne by you.. Do you have any proof?¡± Chapter 74 - 74: No Evidence_l Chapter 74: No Evidence_l Trantor: 549690339 Han¡¯s Family motherhood set her eyes down, her heart in a daze. She hadn¡¯t even looked at the child when she found out it was a girl. She had no idea what she looked like, let alone any evidence to prove it. However, she seemed to remember the midwife Wu Sishen saying something in surprise, but she couldn¡¯t remember exactly what it was. What was it? ¡°I, I was a bit fuzzy at the time, I can¡¯t remember¡­¡± Jiang Sang sneered, ¡°Then why don¡¯t you tell us, how did your child end up with me?¡± Han¡¯s Family: . She couldn¡¯t tell the truth, even if she wasn¡¯t the one who lost the child. But to say it was her husband, that was even worse. Her husband was a schr, his reputation was crucial, she would rather be childless than ruin his chance in the imperial examination. Seeing her daughter-inw not saying a word, Chen Feng immediately responded, ¡°Because the child was weak from birth and didn¡¯t have any strength, so, so¡­¡± ¡°So you left her by the river Chuanhe?¡± Jiang Sang asked coldly. Chen Feng quickly nodded, ¡°Yes! We can¡¯t keep a dead child at home, can we?¡± ¡°Then tell me, how did your child, who passed away as soon as she was born, end up with me?¡± Jiang Sang asked forcefully. ¡°I threw¡­.threw her somewhere by the Chuanhe, I can¡¯t remember the exact location, It has been so many years¡­¡± Chen Feng looked to her daughter-inw for help, ¡°Han¡¯s Family, do you know?¡± Han¡¯s Family was silent. Her husband Chen Changping never said he threw the child by the Chuanhe. He only said he left her in North Mountain. But why did Jiang Sang say the child was found by the Chuanhe? Was he trying to confuse them? Or was the child really not hers? Regardless, the child had to be hers! Jiang Sang turned to Sun Licheng and said, ¡°Lizheng, Yingbao has never been weak since she was a child. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask my neighbours if they have ever seen her been ill or used medications.¡± Everyone shook their heads, ¡°We never saw Yingbao fall ill, and we never saw the Jiangs invite a doctor for the child.¡± ¡°If my child has never been weak, how did she be Chen¡¯s child who was weak from birth and died?¡± Jiang Sang¡¯s gaze was sharp, he turned to Han¡¯s Family, ¡°Or is it because you couldn¡¯t give birth to a son, you listened to rumours, intentionally deceived and tried to steal Yingbao from us for your heir?¡± Han¡¯s Family avoided his gaze and mumbled, ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­¡±. She began to doubt her previous judgement. Maybe¡­ maybe the girl wasn¡¯t hers after all. So what if that¡¯s the case? ¡°Also, Yingbao wasn¡¯t found by Chuanhe, I picked her up from South Slope, which is miles away from Chuanhe.¡± Jiang Sang asserted confidently. Chen Feng and Han¡¯s Family: ¡­. Old Chen angerly red at his daughter-inw. Han¡¯s Family wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Sun Licheng, ¡°Enough, you all quiet down now!¡± Pointing at Old Chen, ¡°You are the head of the family, you shouldn¡¯t be making a fuss with two women. I won¡¯t punish you today, but I can¡¯t tolerate this unhealthy trend. How about this, you give Jiang Sang two taels of silver as apensation, let¡¯s end this matter right here. Otherwise, I will have to take you to the county government and let Mingfu himself preside over this fraud case.¡± He was really fed up with the families from Xichen Vige, they didn¡¯t do any actual work but kept doing these uwful things. The autumn tax collection deadline was approaching. There were still several families in West Vige that hadn¡¯t paid. If he didn¡¯t issue a penalty, they would think they could get away with anything. When he looked at East Vige, several households that had difficulty paying taxst year, paid their taxes early. This saved him so much trouble. When Chen Feng heard about the penalty silver, she became annoyed. ¡°Lizheng, why should our family get penalised? Even if we mistook the person, the judgement shouldn¡¯t warrant this.¡± Sun Licheng mmed on the table, ¡°What? So how should I judge? You defame others¡¯ children again and again. Is there now and order?¡± Chen Feng shrunk her neck back and kept quiet. She looked at her daughter-inw once again with hardened eyes. What a useless thing! Without any evidence, she had the nerve to go to the Jiang¡¯s and demand the child. Now they had lost all face. In the end, Old Chen had no choice but to give two taels of silver, otherwise Lizheng would spank both his wife and daughter-inw, as well as him. If his female family members were forced to pull down their pants and be spanked in public, he would be utterly humiliated. On the way home, unable to hold back his anger, Old Chen scolded the two women harshly, instructing them to keep their mouths shut and not tell his second son about the incident, as he didn¡¯t want it to distract him from his studies. Back at home, Jiang Sang found out that Zhou Mao had already left after receiving the goods, and vigers had also gone their separate ways. Handing the two taels of silver to Chunniang, he talked about the incident at Lizheng¡¯s. ¡°I suspect that Chen¡¯s wife from the Han Family is still not content. We have to be careful,¡± he said. Jiang Sang sighed, ¡°But this is a good thing, at least everything is out in the open now.¡± He had always been worried that someone mighte to im Yingbao. Now that they had explicitly stated their intention, he felt relieved. It¡¯s easier to deal with a thief who actually steals than one who just covets what you have. Now knowing their intentions and tactics, he could figure out how to deal with them. No matter what, he would not give up his daughter. ¡°What about the birthmark on Yingbao¡¯s wrist?¡± Chunniang asked nervously. Since their daughter had been insistent on bathing and changing clothes herself, Chunniang was not aware that the birthmark on her wrist had disappeared. Moreover, Yingbao had tattooed a small red turtle on her wrist. Even if Chunniang asionally saw her daughter¡¯s wrist, she would assume that the birthmark had been covered by her daughter¡¯s tattoo. Jiang Sang frowned in thought, ¡°Let¡¯s deal with it when the timees, there will always be a way. However, the Chens didn¡¯t mention anything about the birthmark on Yingbao¡¯s wrist today. They must not know about it.¡± This was a good opportunity for him to figure out a solution unnoticed. Chunniang pondered, ¡°Do they really not know about the birthmark on Yingbao¡¯s wrist?¡± ¡°Quite possible.¡± Jiang Sang stroked his chin, ¡°If that is the case, it¡¯s even better.¡± At this moment, Yingbao stuck her head in, asking, ¡°Dad, you¡¯re back?¡± Jiang Sang waved her over, ¡°Baobao,e over here, let your mom and dad take a look at the birthmark on your wrist.¡± Yingbao obediently ran over, pulling up her sleeve to reveal the clean wrist. It was entirely white, with no trace of the previously existing plum blossom-shaped birthmark. ¡°What? How is it gone?¡± Both Chunniang and Jiang Sang eximed in surprise. Yingbao chuckled, ¡°I scrubbed it off.¡± She couldn¡¯t say that she had actually burned it off with charcoal, which would be harder to exin and more troublesome. ¡°Scrubbed it off? What did you scrub it with?¡± Chunniang checked Yingbao¡¯s wrists again, looking for the birthmark. It was really gone, the birthmark was honestly gone! Only a tiny red mole the size of a needle tip was left, hardly noticeable without close inspection. Chunniang beamed joyfully. Jiang Sang also heaved a great sigh of relief. Now they didn¡¯t need to worry about any conspiracies from the Chen Family anymore. ¡°I used golden ears to scrub.¡± Yingbao chuckled, ¡°I scrubbed for a long time.¡± Upon hearing this, Chunniang held her daughter in her arms, nearly crying from happiness, she cried out in heartache, ¡°Baobao, you must have scrubbed away a wholeyer of skin, right?¡± She could only assume that the birthmark could have been removed by scrubbing away ayer of skin. Yingbao didn¡¯t say a word. It was better to let her parents misunderstand her, scrubbing off ayer of skin was much better than exining that she had burned off a piece of flesh. Jiang Sang patted his daughter on the head, feeling rather taken aback. His daughter was so sensible that she had figured out how to scrub off her own birthmark. What condition could she have probably scrubbed her skin to for the big coin-sized birthmark to fade? It was connected to the flesh after all. ¡°Did it hurt, Baobao?¡± he asked, his eyes welling up. ¡°It didn¡¯t hurt,¡± Yingbao shook her head. ¡°Good girl.¡± Chunniang clung to her daughter, pressing their cheeks together, ¡°You¡¯re my good daughter.¡± Her twin brother also came over, stretching his neck to press his cheek against his sister¡¯s, ¡°A Wu (A Jie) good girl.¡± Yingbaoughed, pushing away her brothers¡¯ heads.. Chapter 75 - 75: Inner Canon _1 Chapter 75: Inner Canon _1 Trantor: 549690339 The incident of the Chen Family from West Vige stealing children came to a temporary end. However, the people of East Vige started to look even more unfavorably at those from West Vige, even a small sign of friendliness was rare. A few women were more dramatic, when people weren¡¯t looking, they pried out theundry stones near old Chen Laoshuan¡¯s house on the west bank of Chuanhe River, expressing their dissatisfaction and contempt. West Vige had be a nest of child thieves, all of them were troublemakers! They didn¡¯t deserve to wash clothes or rinse rice in the same river as the people of East Vige! Meanwhile, the Jiang Family worked day and night to remove all the cotton seeds, and the three Jiang brothers began to pluck the cotton with their longbows. Surprisingly, this method worked quite well, the plucked cotton was softer and easier to turn into cotton coats and quilts. Therefore, Madame Jiang and her mother-inw, Madam Jiang Liu, were busy making new cotton clothes for the family, using delicate ramie fabric. The ramie fabric had been dyed and the colors were very attractive. In the past, poor people couldn¡¯t afford dyed fabric and mostly just made clothes out of white ramie fabric. Now that the Jiang family had money, they could afford to dress everyone in clothes with color and patterns. They also made a dozen or so quilts, ensuring that everyone had warm, fluffy, cotton pads on their beds. It was almost like being treated like an aristocratic family. After plucking the cotton, Jiang Sang and his two brothers went to North Mountain to dig out the kudzu roots that had been untouched for four years. The roots had grown bigger than a man¡¯s thigh, easily breaking with a hit, they contained a good amount of starch. They scraped off the skin, cleaned the roots, cut them into small pieces, and crushed them in a stone mortar. They then soaked these kudzu root fragments in water to draw out the starch, leading to a white sediment the next day. Once dried, the kudzu powder was easy to store. During leisure time, a little could be dissolved in water, cooked, and served with syrup for a better taste. Though an ancient peasant food, it wasn¡¯tmon because the kudzu root takes three to four years to grow before it can be dug up for its starch. Moreover, most roots yielded very low starch content, making the process time-consuming and inefficient. However, the kudzu vines could be harvested annually. Like retting hemp, it required aplicated process of peeling and beating. The woven kudzu fabric was a favorite summer garment material, it was cool and didn¡¯t cling to the body. For aristocratic families, fine kudzu fabric was a holy grail for cooling-off in summers. Once the weavers sold their kudzu fabric to the cloth stores, it was often immediately bought by customers. Yingbao watched her father and others crushing the kudzu roots, soaking and filtering the starch, and found it very interesting. The process was simr to making tofu, with only one less step of boiling the brine. ording to Shennong¡¯s ssic of Materia Medica, kudzu is sweet in vor and neutral in nature, it quenches thirst, treats fever, vomiting, various pain and raises yin energy, counteracting all kinds of poisons. But ording to Lady Wen, kudzu is cold in nature and shouldn¡¯t be consumed by people with weak spleens and stomachs, as well as pregnant women and young children. Mentioning Lady Wen, Yingbao thought of Mr. Wen. It had been a long time since Yingbao had seen Mr. Wen, which made Lady Wen quite unhappy recently. With her being responsible for teaching two sses of students, she organized Yingbao and Wen Shu¡¯s ss schedules to be in the mornings, assigned homework for them toplete at home in the afternoon, so she could teach the ss with Huzi and the others. However, Lady Wen still purchased Yingbao¡¯s premium golden and Xue¡¯er fungi. For five kilograms of golden ears, Yingbao received over sixty taels of silver. With the previous silver ingots, she was indeed a little millionaire now. Her parents also made a lot this time, most likely over a hundred taels. Dani and Erni each made more than seven taels of silver, they were overjoyed and urged their eldest cousin to take them shopping in the market. Yingbao didn¡¯t have much to buy, so she didn¡¯t go to make a fuss at the market. Instead, she devoted herself to studying medical ssics at home. The medical ssics, also known as books of prescriptions, are divided into four parts: ssics, pulse diagnosis, prescriptions, and medicine. The schr says: ¡°Master the ways of the ssics, navigate the arts of pulse, understand the workings of prescriptions, recognize the nature of herbs; have all of these four, and you¡¯ll have all the skills needed.¡± It implies that mastering these four skills: ¡°ssics¡±, ¡°pulse¡±, ¡°prescriptions¡± and ¡°herbs¡± would qualify someone to be a doctor. The term ¡°ssics¡± here epasses the ¡°Inner Canon¡±, the ¡°Difficult Canon¡± , the five viscera, acupunctures, gynecology and pediatrics, surgery, health preservation, medicinal recipes, herbal texts, food Canons, and so forth, into 23 categories. Yingbao has only learned the Inner Canon so far; bing a doctor is still far from reach. The Inner Canon, also known as ¡°The Yellow Emperor¡¯s Inner Canon,¡± includes ¡°in Questions¡± and ¡°Spirit Pivot.¡± ¡°in Questions¡± is mainly a dialogue between the Yellow Emperor and his teachers, which discusses the deductions of the human body and its organs, as well as the rtionships between heaven and man; some of it is abstract. ¡°Spirit Pivot¡± is a work on acupuncture, emphasizing the practice of meridians and acupuncture. Yingbao has finished studying in Questions, and is currently learning human acupoints and acupuncture techniques from Madame Wen. However, Madame Wen did not stress the importance of mastering acupuncture, but urged her to have some understanding of it. Because acupuncture cannot really cure diseases, it can only alleviate some symptoms. Simr to how shamans perform bloodletting to cure people, it¡¯s just another medical method. Next, Yingbao will start to learn the Difficult Canon. The ¡°Difficult Canon¡±, also known as ¡°Eighty-one Difficult Questions,¡± focuses on basic theories, while also analyzing various rted diseases. The content includes meridians, viscera, Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, diseases, circadian rhythm, conduit acupoints, acupuncture, etc., covering normal human physiology, anatomy, diseases, diagnosis, and treatment. Studying medicine strains the mind; many things require rote memorization, causing Yingbao immeasurable anguish. During her spare time, she would call her two younger brothers to recite texts for her. The two twin boys were very smart and had already learned to recite the Three Character ssic and Hundred Families Surnames. Therefore, Yingbao also started teaching them to recognize and write characters. And encouraged them that whoever learned ten characters first each day, she would take them out to ride a deer and visit the piglets Wen Hengyin was raising. So, the twins became diligent andpeted with each other to learn more and faster. ¡°Look at what you¡¯re scribbling, every character takes up a whole page, where else can you write?¡± Not teaching leads to ignorance, but teaching results in shock. When Yingbao saw their scrawling handwriting, she almost fainted out of exasperation. The characters were not only skewed but also written outrageouslyrge. If not for fearing to dampen her brothers¡¯ enthusiasm for learning, she would like to smack their little ws with a ruler. Oh well, for the sake of enjoying the benefits when her brothers be officials in the future, she will just have to endure it. As the days went by, the weather became colder and colder. The people of the Jiang Family were huddled up at home, enjoying the winter. They even bought a sheep to ughter and everyone gathered around the fire to roast and heat the mutton. However, the good times did notst long before the vige official was knocking on the gong door-to-door, announcing themencement of river work, which was essentially providingbour service. This work was not within the vige, but rather ording to the direction of the county magistrate, it was allocated to other ces. This might take up to ten or twenty days, or even a month. During this period, if you fell ill or were hungry, no one would take care of you, because the county government did not provide for thebourers¡¯ meals, nor did they care about where thebourers lived. So Chunniang quickly prepared bedding and dry food for her husband, along with a rain-hat and raincoat, and even sewed a small tent with sheepskin for him. In case it rained or snowed, her husband and the two brothers would have a ce to take shelter. Their family could pay forbour, but the vige official said that forrge families like theirs, even if they paid forbourers, at least one of the brothers would have to go serve. Otherwise, it would be difficult to ount forter on. In other words, they could buy two quotas at most, but one must go work. The three Jiang brothers discussed and decided that they all might as well go. It was not easy for one person to be out there alone, in case something happened, no one would know about it.. Chapter 76 - 76: Charity Diagnosis_l Chapter 76: Charity Diagnosis_l Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao was also busy preparing medicinal pills for her father. These pills were actually made by steaming date paste, red bean paste, and wheat flour, kneading them into small balls roughly the size of bird eggs, and mixing in wu ding zhi. She made fifty in total, enough for her father to consume one every day, and even to spare some for her uncles. On the day they started working, before the break of dawn, the vigers picked up shovels, hammers, and baskets, some shouldering yokes, came to Jiang Sang¡¯s house and called for him to join them. Jiang Sang also shouldered a yoke, put his tools and bedding on it, and blended into the crowd with his elder and second brother who were shouldering the same loads. Yingbao got up early to stand with her mother at their courtyard to see her father off. ¡°Mother, where is father going to do the river work?¡± asked Yingbao. Chunniang, holding her daughter¡¯s hand, returned inside the house: ¡°I¡¯ve heard they¡¯re headed to Simen Town a few dozen miles away.¡± She wasn¡¯t sure about the exact location. The specific location of the river construction wasn¡¯t determined. A river section could stretch from one end to another for dozens of miles, and workers had to dig river channels on both banks, carry river mud, and clear up the blockages. Once a section of the river was finished, they would move to another part. ¡°Baobao, you can sleep a little longer.¡± Chunniang said: ¡°It will be a while before daylight.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Yingbao climbed onto the kang, took off her cotton-padded jacket, and snuggled into her mother¡¯s quilt. The cotton bedding was indeed warm, she didn¡¯t want to get up once she was under it. At this moment, her two younger brothers were sleeping in another quilt, snoring lightly. Being able to sleep with her mother today made Yingbao very happy. Chunniangy down on the kang, held her daughter in her arms, and said,ughing: ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve been this close to Baobao.¡± Yingbao snuggled up to her mother: ¡°Because Baobao has grown up.¡± ¡°Yes, my Baobao is almost four in a blink of an eye.¡± This referred to her actual age; by nominal age, Yingbao would turn five after the New Year. The mother and daughter snuggled up and fell asleep unknowingly. The next morning, Yingbao still had to go to school. Erni and Huzi came to call her. ¡°Yingbao, that Chen Zhao didn¡¯te to school yesterday.¡± Lately, Erni was fond of discussing all sorts of gossip, ¡°Our teacher said she won¡¯t being anymore.¡± Yingbao was not surprised at all. When the Han Family suddenly sent Chen Zhao, they harbored ulterior motives. Now that their hopes have been dashed, they certainly will not let Chen Zhao attend school anymore. Such a shortsighted woman, besides wanting to bear sons all day, her mind was filled with nothing but ruthlessness. But she never thought herself ruthless. On the contrary, she felt wronged, as though everyone owed her and everyone was wronging her. She believed her children deserved a beating when they annoyed her. ¡°Also, big brother is to be engaged.¡± Erni kept babbling as she walked. Yingbao blinked, ¡°Which family are you talking about?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s from the Chu Family in the neighboring vige.¡± Erni said: ¡°I heard from auntie that big cousin will go see her tomorrow.¡± Jiang Cheng was going to be sixteen after the New Year, so it was indeed time for him to get an engagement. When they arrived at the school, Erni and Huzi went to the neighboring ssroom. Yingbao was still taking sses with Sister Wen Shu. However, today, there was an additional student, Wen Hengyin. Wen Hengyin had already read books at an early age, but because he was unwilling to study seriously, his parents intentionally put him in the B ss to receive primary education with the children who just started school. Buttely, he became motivated. So Mrs. Wen called him back to ss A to study medical ssics with Yingbao. ¡°Now that we¡¯ve finished the inner ssics, we¡¯ll do some free clinic for the vigers today, which will let me see what you¡¯ve learned.¡± Xiu Zhenniang said: ¡°I have informed the vige leader. He will call the vigers toe for check-ups. We can set up a table under the thatched perg at the door. After taking their pulses, I have some decoctions here that can be given for free to those whoe for a checkup.¡± Upon hearing this, Yingbao¡¯s eyes widened. She was actually going to take patient¡¯s pulses now? Even though she knew this was just a simted session, such an opportunity was rare. She needed to make good use of it and gain more practical experience. The trio excitedly carried tables and chairs to the entrance of the schoolhouse, under the grassy shed. The shed was now surrounded by cloth as wind and cold protection, leaving only one entrance and exit. After arranging the items needed for pulse diagnosis, the three children sat behind three tables in a row, quietly waiting for ¡°patients¡± toe in. Within a quarter of an hour, the greetings between the n Leader and Lady Wen could be heard from outside, followed by a few people entering. Lady Wen led the way, followed by the n Leader and Chen Cunzheng, and behind them were several older vigers. Yingbao was a bit nervous, and together with Wen Shu and Hengyin, they stood up to greet the neers before resuming their seats to take the pulses of each of them. Before taking a patient¡¯s pulse, Yingbao would observe hisplexion, then examine the whiteness of his eyes and the color of his lips and tongue coating, and check for any swelling in his cheeks and eyelids. If all these were normal, it meant that the person did not have any serious health problems. Then it was time to take their pulses. The first pulse Yingbao took was the n Leader¡¯s. She felt the pulse with three fingers. The pulse was smooth and round, unhurried and moderate, soft yet strong. This was a normal pulse, indicating the n Leader was healthy. Yingbao would write the pulse findings down after checking. Then she moved on to Chen Sanyou, the vige leader. His pulse was taut like a string, straight and long, strong and hard, rising and falling squarely. This was a string pulse. People with this sort of pulse often suffer from excessive liver qi and weak stomach qi. Yingbao wrote this down faithfully, and at the end said, ¡°Grandpa Sanyou, do you have a bitter taste in your mouth every morning? To be healthier, you should eat less sweet foods and rice, and drink more tea.¡¯ Chen Sanyou froze for a moment, then burst outughing. ¡°Our little vige doctor is indeed impressive. How did you figure this out? You¡¯re right, I love sweets, and I always find the bitterness unbearable every morning.¡± Yingbao said seriously, ¡°Eating too many sweets harms the spleen and stomach. If you keep it up, your liver fire will be more vigorous, your meridians will be harder, causing a stroke finally.¡± Chen Sanyou nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll heed the advice of our little doctor Yingbao. I will eat less sweet and greasy foods.¡± Recently his son had nted a lot of jelly ears which he often boiled and ate, adding maltose in it. As a result, his bitterness had worsened and sometimes he even felt numbness in his fingers. Lady Wen rechecked Chen Sanyou¡¯s pulse and found it simr to what Yingbao had written, she nodded in approval. Following that, Yingbao diagnosed several other people. They all had minor issues, but nothing too serious. Before long, the morning had passed. Those who hade to watch the fun and get a diagnosis began to leave. The three young doctors also packed up and This free clinic session provided Yingbao with tremendous learnings, more than what she had gained even from reading the entire ssic of Questions. Therefore, a doctor cannot always rely only on books, they must apply their learnings,bining it with their own experiences to diagnose diseases. Unfortunately, she had not yet learned about prescriptions and did not know how to treat diseases. Wen Shu and Hengyin also gained a lot from this experience. The three chatted about the pulses they had encountered and spected about the diseases that these people might have. Returning home at noon, Yingbao waspletely immersed in her thoughts about pulse diagnosis, oblivious to a person sneakily spying from behind the haystack. Erni and Huzi apanied Yingbao back home before returning to their uncle¡¯s home for a meal. As soon as Yingbao entered the courtyard, she saw her two younger brothers running towards her, showing her a few pages of characters they had scrawled. ¡°Well done, you two are really smart. Later, sister will take you to ride deer.¡± Yingbao stroked the top of their heads in praise, saying, ¡°You write better than sister when she first started.¡¯ The two young brothers grinned with delight, carrying the sloppy and scrawled characters, they ran back to the room joyfully. They wanted to write it a few more times for their sister to see. Yingbao rubbed her eyes and sighed. Ah, educating her younger brothers is a weighty responsibility and a long journey ahead.. Chapter 77 - 77: Kidnapping the Kid_1 Chapter 77: Kidnapping the Kid_1 Trantor: 549690339 After lunch, Yingbao was walking Xiaolu while his two younger brothers sat atop Xiaolu¡¯s back. The three children leisurely strolled outside the house, digesting their meal. Suddenly, three women appeared from the side, heading straight towards them. Yingbao was alert and prepared to take his brothers back to the house when he saw a woman smiling at him, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, Yingbao. We just want to ask you a question.¡± Ignoring them, Yingbao led Youyou back home and shut the courtyard gate. After putting his two younger brothers back into the room, Yingbao told Xu Chunniang, ¡°Mom, three strangers came. They seem to be from the Han Family¡¯s house.¡± Upon hearing this, Chunniang furrowed her brows, quickly setting down her spinning wheel and going outside to check. Standing at the gate were three women, one being the fourth aunt from the West Vige¡¯s Wu family, another from the Han Family, and the third woman, fair-skinned, who bore some resemnce to the Han woman. ¡°What are you doing at my front door?¡± Chunniang asked in a low voice. Fourth Aunt Wu smiled awkwardly, ¡°Ah, Chunniang, let¡¯s go inside and talk. It¡¯s cold out here.¡± ¡°No need for that. Say whatever you need to here at the gate.¡± Chunniang would never allow these people into her home. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll talk here.¡± The fair-skinned woman said, ¡°You¡¯re Xu Chunniang, right? Let¡¯s not beat around the bush. The girl your family adopted is my elder sister¡¯s. We¡¯re just here today to ask you to return the child to my elder sister. We can discuss whateverpensation necessary.¡± At this point, Chunniang finally realized who this fair-skinned woman was. She was Han Juniang¡¯s younger sister, Han Yueiang. ¡°What evidence do you have that my child is your sister¡¯s?¡± Chunniang felt confident, not the least bit afraid of their extortion attempt. Even if it were Han¡¯s sister, even if it were the Lord himself, she wouldn¡¯t be afraid, because the birthmark on her daughter¡¯s wrist no longer existed. ¡°Xu Chunniang, are you that stubborn?¡± Han began, ¡°We¡¯vee to discuss with good intentions, yet you show us this attitude.¡± Havinge here today, she naturally came prepared. Just yesterday, she had spent five taels to persuade Fourth Aunt Wu to testify for her. From Aunt Wu, she learned about the plum blossom birthmark on the wrist of the baby girl she birthed. This news was excellent! All she had to do was check for the birthmark on the girl¡¯s wrist. She was sure it must be there. Otherwise, Xu Chunniang wouldn¡¯t have the child¡¯s wrist wrapped up all day. ¡°Youe to my house with ill intent, and you expect me to be agreeable?¡± Chunniang had grown impatient with these three and ordered them off, ¡°Keep away from my house. Don¡¯t make me get rough!¡± ¡°You, woman! You refuse the toast only to drink the punishment. You want awsuit, don¡¯t you?¡± Han became angry. Chunniang snorted, ¡°Who wants awsuit? Seems to me you¡¯re trying to steal the child while my husband isn¡¯t home.¡± ¡°Steal what child? That girl is mine!¡± Han screamed. ¡°Yours? What proof do you have?¡± Chunniangughed coldly, ¡°Looks like Lizheng was too kind when he only fined you taelsst time!¡± ¡°Sister, no point in talking to her,¡± Han Yueniang yanked at Han and gave her a signal, ¡°Let¡¯s get to the point.¡± Han got the hint and shouted, ¡°My daughter has a birthmark on her wrist. If you dare, let us see. The truth will be evident.¡± Han Yueniang echoed, ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll know whether the child is my sister¡¯s or not by examining her.¡± ¡°Why should my daughter show you anything?¡± Xu Chunniang refused to oblige. Jiang Sang had said not to let anyone see the girl¡¯s wrist unless it was absolutely necessary. ¡°You say no and we just ept it? We insist on seeing it!¡± Han scoffed. ¡°Then try and see what happens!¡± Without saying another word, Xu Chunniang picked up arge broom from beside the courtyard gate and charged at them. The three women quickly scattered. Han shrieked, ¡°Xu Chunniang! You dare to hit us?¡± At this moment, Second Aunt Wang came out upon hearing the noise. Seeing that Han from the West Vige hade again, she quickly beckoned her son and whispered, ¡°Go help your third brother¡¯s wife.¡± She pointed at the chamber pot in the house. Fourteen-year-old Wang Eng got the hint, carried a feces bucket out, and sshed it at the three women, saying, ¡°Where did these dung beetlese from, barging in wherever they please.¡± The three women were sshed with a skirt worth of shit and piss, screeched, and ran off as if flying. Seeing them go for the moment, Chunniang breathed a sigh of relief and said to Wang Eng, ¡°Thanks for today, Brother Wang.¡± Wang Eng scratched the back of his head, grinning foolishly: ¡°No problem, if theye again, just let me know, if I am not around, my mother will be.¡± Chunniang smiled and nodded, ¡°Then I will have to bother Auntie Wang.¡± ¡°In our own homes, there¡¯s no bother or not bother,¡± Auntie Wang said from the courtyard doorstep, ¡°Who are you with who?¡± Chunniangughed again, put away the broom, saw Yingbao and his two brothers peeking out the window, still engrossed in the scene. She went over and shut the window and huffily said, ¡°Go and read your books.¡± Yingbao shrank back to the kang with a giggle, leading his two little brothers to continue writing big characters. Actually, she wasn¡¯t afraid of these people at all when they attacked openly, but she had to guard against them resorting to underhanded tactics. Han Yueniang was no good piece of work, even worse than her sister Han Juniang. Han Juniang was foolish, but that Han Yueniang was not stupid. In her previous life, this woman was very sinister and more adept at maniption than her sister. For the next two days, the three women did note again, but Yingbao did not believe the Han Family was done. In her previous life, the Han Family nagged Jiang Family day after day, persistently making a fuss for more than half a year before finally taking it to the County Government. The Han Family must be hatching some nasty plot at this moment. One day, Yingbao went to the school as usual. Walking with Erni Huzi, they were almost at the school gate when two masked men suddenly rushed over. One masked man pushed Erni and Huzi down, picked up Yingbao and ran. Yingbao: ¡­ After a moment¡¯s stunned silence, Yingbao started yelling for help, ¡°Help! A child is being kidnaped!¡± The man pulled out a cloth and covered her mouth and nose. Unsure what drug was added to it, Yingbao felt her head spinning and quickly fainted. When she came to, she was already lying in a moving mule cart. Sitting next to her was none other than the woman of the Han Family, Han Yueniang. Seeing her wake up, Han Yueniang gave her a cold look and said nothing. Lowering her head, Yingbao saw that her hands and feet were tightly bound with cloth strips. The Han Family dared to kidnap kids. This didn¡¯t seem to have happened in her previous life, so where did it all go wrong? Back then, although Han Family kept bothering the Jiang Family, they didn¡¯t dare toe to the Jiang Family to kidnap anyone. Yingbao struggled a few times, finding it didn¡¯t work, she started crying loudly. She needed to find out exactly what this little Han Family woman was up to. Han Family woman looked disgusted at her, kicking her a few times, ordering angrily, ¡°Shut up!¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t stop but continued to cry. ¡°I said shut up!¡± The Han Family woman kicked her a couple more times, threatening fiercely, ¡°Cry again and I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Yingbao had no choice but to shut up and stop crying. After a while, she asked, ¡°Who are you? Where are you taking me?¡± The Han Family woman nced at her, restraining her disgust, and said, ¡°I¡¯m your aunt. I¡¯m taking you to the county town to live a good life.¡± Yingbao understood. It must be the Han Family bribing someone to kidnap her, then settling her in her sister¡¯s home in the county town, and aiming for something elseter. Since her life was not immediately endangered, Yingbao was not worried for now. For now, the only thing she could do was wait until she reached the destination and then figure out how to escape. The mule cart jolted for who knows how long until they finally entered the gates of the county town. Seeing that Yingbao had stopped crying and causing trouble, the Han Family woman untied the ropes on her wrists and ankles.. Chapter 78 - 78: Kidnapped to Zhouhe County_l Chapter 78: Kidnapped to Zhouhe County_l Trantor: 549690339 The mule-cart pulled into an alley and stopped in front of a courtyard. Little Mistress Han was the first to jump off,manding, ¡°Get off!¡± With a sullen look, Yingbao climbed out of the carriage, taking in her surroundings as she sat on the yoke. All the way here, she had already realized that this wasn¡¯t Qinchuan County. Clearly written on the city gate were the characters: Zhouhe County. This Little Mistress Han was truly sinister, actually bringing her to Zhouhe County. Originally, she had thought that once she reached Qinchuan County, she could sneak off to ask Zhou Mao for help at Furuifeng Trading Company. Now her n had gone down the drain. She had never been to Zhouhe County before and couldn¡¯t tell the directions here. Moreover, a three or four-year-old child venturing alone in a strange ce is akin to amb waiting to be ughtered, easily targeted by kidnappers. Little Mistress Han gave the coachman a signal, and he immediately lifted Yingbao off the mule-cart before taking the cart to the side to rest. Yingbao was led into the courtyard by Little Mistress Han, all the while being quietly threatened: ¡°If you dare to speak nonsense, I¡¯ll cut off your nose and feed your hands and feet to the dogs, understand? Huh?¡± Yingbao nodded. Right now, she couldn¡¯t resist this woman outright, for fear she might indeed be silenced for good. Because Little Mistress Han¡¯s husband was under the County Magistrate and had killed and seen blood before. In her previous life, when the County Magistrate was cracking down on famine refugees, he had been dispatched. Chen Guanglu, leading a group of guards, indiscriminately ughtered the refugees, as madly as chopping winter melons. As Chen Guanglu¡¯s wife, Little Mistress Han was already ustomed to the smell of blood. She didn¡¯t even blink when washing her husband¡¯s bloody clothes. ¡°Oh, isn¡¯t this Third Auntie? Howe you have time toe back today?¡± A middle-aged woman in old clothes came to greet her. Little Mistress Han smiled, ¡°I have a small favor to ask of you this time, Big Sister-inw. Let¡¯s talk inside.¡± ¡°Hurry in then.¡± The Chen Family Big Sister-inw nced at Yingbao, smiling, ¡°Oh, whose child is this? Such a handsome kid.¡± Little Mistress Han: ¡°She is from my elder sister¡¯s family.¡± With that, the two women went inside. Little Mistress Han let go of Yingbao, who squatted on the ground with her head down, picking at the dirt, acting like an innocent three-year-old. Little Mistress Han sat down at the table and told Big Sister-inw Chen, ¡°I came here this time to temporarily leave this child in your care. To avoid you having to take care of her for free, my elder sister has given two coins to cover her food expenses for these days.¡± With that, she took out two copper coins and handed them to Big Sister-inw Chen. Big Sister-inw Chen pretended to decline, ¡°Just another child in the house, how much could she eat? It¡¯s not right to take your sister¡¯s money. You¡¯re being too formal, Third Auntie. ¡°How can you not take the money, Big Sister-inw.¡± Little Mistress Han stuffed the coins into Big Sister-inw Chen¡¯s arms, ¡°Quickly ept it, it¡¯s also my intention.¡± Big Sister-inw Chen, with a more sincere smile, epted the money, ¡°Then I¡¯ll ept it.¡± Little Mistress Han touched her temples and said, ¡°It¡¯s only proper. s, Big Sister-inw, you don¡¯t know, this child is quite mischievous and difficult to discipline. My elder sister is at her wit¡¯s end, which is why she came up with this n. The child needs to taste a bit of hardship outside to understand the difficulties of being a parent. Please, Big Sister-inw, put in a little more effort to discipline her. Don¡¯t hesitate to spank her as necessary, just don¡¯t beat her to death.¡± Big Sister-inw Chen blinked her eyes andughed, ¡°Look at what you¡¯re saying. I think this child is quite obedient. I don¡¯t see the difficulty in disciplining her.¡± ¡°Big Sister-inw, you don¡¯t know. This child may seem obedient, but she¡¯s actually quite wicked and full of lies. You must not believe her¡­¡± The two had a good long chat before Mrs. Han took her leave. As she was about to leave, she warned Chen¡¯s sister-inw not to believe anything the child might say. She also said, ¡°If she dares to talk nonsense, don¡¯t be afraid to smack her until she stops.¡± Chen¡¯s sister-inw frowned upon hearing this, looking at the child crouching not far away and not saying a word. Yingbao didn¡¯t make a sound the whole time. Whether she was in the room or outside in the courtyard, she listened to the entire conversation between Mrs. Han and Chen¡¯s sister-inw. Well, so this was the n of the Han sisters. First, they nned to foster her out to the countryside until the situation had calmed, and then take her back. During this time, someone would properly discipline her, break her will, until she dared not have any other ideas. To the Han sisters, she was nothing more than a three-year-old child with a short memory. They believed that after a year or so, she would forget her original identity. Even a year may not be necessary, under the education of a stick, they estimated it would take only a month for her topletely behave. After seeing off Mrs. Han, Chen¡¯s sister-inw¡¯s face fell. She coldly looked at Yingbao crouched in the corner, gave her a light kick and said, ¡°Did you hear that? Behave, or don¡¯t me me for hitting you.¡± Yingbao nodded her head. Chen¡¯s sister-inw then turned to a young boy and girl standing nearby, ¡°Watch her, don¡¯t let her leave the yard.¡± The girl nodded obediently, ¡°Yes, mother.¡± The boy, although not replying, looked curiously at the very young girl. In the evening, when Chen¡¯s sister-inw¡¯s husband came home and saw the extra girl, he asked which family she was from. Chen¡¯s sister-inw told him everything, even chortled, ¡°The Han family is really something. They asked us to take care of their niece, what do they think I am? A nanny for the Han family?¡± Chen had a mouthful of soup, ¡°You agreed to take her in, whyin now?¡± Chen¡¯s sister-inw shot him a look, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for those two coins, I would have driven her away.¡± Chen stayed silent. Two coins really wasn¡¯t a small sum, and this girl¡¯s aunty really was generous. ¡°I wonder, if this child is from her elder sister¡¯s family, why doesn¡¯t she look after her herself? And why send her to our ce? Don¡¯t tell me this child was stolen?¡± Chen¡¯s sister-inw kicked her husband, ¡°What do you think of my guess?¡± Chen frowned, ¡°If that¡¯s true, we can¡¯t keep this child here.¡± If the child was indeed kidnapped, wouldn¡¯t their family be taking the me for the Han sisters. The Imperial Court¡¯s punishment for trafficking people was severe, ranging from decapitation to banishment to the borders. For a mere two coins, it¡¯s really not worth taking such a risk. ¡°I knew Han Yueniang was up to no good. Would we ever get anything good from her? I hardly see her visiting us, and now shees to us from far away, just to shift her problems over to us.¡± Chenined, ¡°What use is there in saying all this? You shouldn¡¯t have agreed to keep the child.¡± Chen¡¯s sister-inw gave her husband a sidelong nce, ¡°I didn¡¯t react at the time, but the more I listened to her, the more suspicious I became. She imed the child was unruly. This fair and lovely-looking child seems pampered at home. How could the Han sisters let such a doted-on child be disciplined by others? And what about the part where she said it¡¯s fine to hit and scold her as long as she doesn¡¯t die? How does anyone discipline children like that? I even suspect that this child is from the enemy of the Han family and was deliberately taken to seek revenge..¡± Chapter 79 - 79: Became a Little Beggar _1 Chapter 79: Became a Little Beggar _1 Trantor: 549690339 Chen Da heard his wife say this and became uneasy. ¡°Won¡¯t keeping that child at home be a disaster?¡± ¡°Who could argue with that,¡± Chen Dasao began to worry. ¡°What if we hand her over to the authorities?¡± suggested Chen Da. ¡°Hand her over to what authorities?¡± Chen Dasao was annoyed. ¡°If the child was indeed kidnapped, turning her in won¡¯t help us. We would end up offending the Han Family and your brother for no reason. Your brother might even me you for meddling too much.¡± Chen Guanglu, who was good at ingratiating himself andworking with others since his youth, had much interaction with county officials. His connections were wide-ranging. How should they say it if they just gave the child away themselves? Should they say that the Han family sent her and that they are turning her in for fear of getting involved? They might end up with the tables turned on them by the couple, causing trouble for themselves. ¡°So what should we do?¡± Chen Da scratched his head, distressed. ¡°This won¡¯t work, and that won¡¯t work, why did you agree with her in the first ce?¡± Chen Dasao kicked her husband, irritated, ¡°I told you, I didn¡¯t realize it at the time.¡± Chen Da was silent, burying his head and eating his porridge. ¡°Hmph, if the Han family isn¡¯t letting the child out, then let¡¯s let her get lost by ident.¡± Chen Dasao¡¯s eyes sparkled, ¡°We can¡¯t watch her every second of the day.¡± Chen Da looked up from his rice bowl, ¡°What if the child doesn¡¯t leave?¡± ¡°If she doesn¡¯t, we¡¯ll make her leave.¡± Chen Dasao had full confidence, ¡°Tomorrow there is a temple fair, children get lost at these events all the time.¡± In the evening, Yingbao was arranged to sleep in a small thatched hut filled with misceneous items and firewood. Chen Dasao threw her a tattered hemp nket, telling her to sleep in the pile of grass. After they left, Yingbao entered her little nest to check the items she had gathered. After Xiaojie¡¯s drowning incident, she had stored many things in that little nook. Old clothes, nkets, ropes, baskets, some grains, and flour, none of which were of use at the moment. She lifted her wrist and looked at it. It had been cleaned, which meant the Han family already knew that she didn¡¯t have a birthmark. That is to say, they must have already realized she wasn¡¯t their daughter. Even knowing that she wasn¡¯t their daughter, they had still sent her to Zhouhe County, over a hundred miles away. This meant the Han family hadn¡¯t given up on their idea. So what awaited her was either being silenced or being silenced, it was just a matter of time. If the Han family indeed had a son, or if anything else happened during this period, there¡¯s no doubt she would be killed sooner thanter. It¡¯s far too easy for an adult to kill a child, then find a random ce to bury the body, nobody would have any idea. Therefore, she couldn¡¯t stay here and she couldn¡¯t tell these people the truth. Her best act was to pretend to be a naive child and escape when the chance arose. Early the next morning, The tattered nket on Yingbao was stripped off. Chen Dasao looked at her with a friendly smile and gave her two ck buns. ¡°You must be hungry. Eat quickly.¡± Yingbao took the two ck buns owned out. Chen Dasao said, ¡°There¡¯s a temple fair outside the front street today, do you want to go?¡± Yingbao¡¯s eyes brightened, and she nodded. ¡°Let your big sister take you then.¡± She said, giving a girl standing at the side two coins, ¡°Take good care of your little sister at the temple fair. She¡¯s your aunt¡¯s rtive after all.¡± The girl happily took the two coins, held Yingbao¡¯s hand, and led her outside. Yingbao, with a bewildered look on her face, followed the girl outside. Looking back, she saw Chen Dasao looking at her with a heavy face. The sky outside was gray and it wasn¡¯t very bright. An eight or nine-year-old girl leading a toddler girl little more than three years old out of the alley didn¡¯t attract any attention. This dirty and dpidatedne was a home to the less affluent people, whose outfits were ragged, evenpared to the vigers of Dongchen Vige. The girl led Yingbao left and right, across two streets, eventually arriving at the bottom of a hill. There were already many vendors setting up their stalls here, it appeared to be the day of the temple fair. The girl took Yingbao to an old elm tree and let her sit on its roots, telling her to stay put while she went to buy some food. Yingbao nodded, watching as the girl bounced away and quickly disappeared into the crowd. Was she left there by herself? Yingbao looked around, surprised. She quickly stood and started walking in a different direction. Ahead was arge patch of evergreen shrubs, lush and green even in the piercing winter cold. Yingbao hid among the bushes and took out a worn-out padded jacket from her bag. The clothes were old and faded, but they were wearable still. But just to be safe, Yingbao spread the old padded jacket on the ground and stomped on it for a while. When she picked it up again, the outside of the jacket was hardly recognizable. Yingbao tiptoed and looked around, seeing no one about, she quickly shed her new red padded clothes and put on the grimy, unbing old outfit. She then pulled her hair loose, grabbed a handful of mud to smear on her face and head, and then slyly took out a small bronze mirror to look at her reflection. She was content, she looked exactly like a dirty little beggar. She had disguised herself as a beggar in her past life, so she knew how to pull this off. Who would have thought she would have to y a beggar again today. But she knew she could only enhance her performance. Dressed like this, she wouldn¡¯t be easily captured and sold while traveling alone. Those child snatchers wouldn¡¯t want a filthy, smelly, ugly little beggar. They would refuse her even if she was offered to them, for fear of contracting diseases. She carefully put away the bronze mirror and the new clothes and lowered her head to check her feet. On her feet were half-new, warm, and lightweight cotton shoes which seemed out of ce with the rest of her outfit. However, she didn¡¯t have any suitable shoes in her bag. She certainly couldn¡¯t go barefoot in the dead of winter. Oh, well. It would have to do. Just as she lifted her head, she found herself looking into a pair of eyes. Yingbao was startled and took a few steps back. The person squatting across from her was a teenager, dirty from head to toe and dressed in tattered clothes that were even worse than hers. He looked at her suspiciously and asked, ¡°Which hill are you from?¡± Yingbao blinked, ¡°No hill.¡± She understood what the boy meant: he was asking if she belonged to a Beggar Gang. The boy scratched his messy hair, stood up and looked around. ¡°Hmm,¡± he asked again, ¡°Did you see a little girl in red clothes? I saw her walk in here, but she disappeared.¡± Yingbao shook her head. ¡°Didn¡¯t see her, she probably went that way,¡± she said, pointing towards a narrow path by the bushes. The boy was about to go in that direction but then turned back and asked, ¡°Since you don¡¯t have a hill, do you want toe with me?¡± Yingbao thought for a moment and nodded, ¡°Okay.¡± And so, the two beggars walked down the slope and not finding the little girl in red, they turned back. The teenage beggar took Yingbao to meet another beggar, they discussed their begging territories, and went their separate ways. Yingbao continued to follow the boy, eventually settling down in a suitable spot along the road. The boy beggar looked left and right, carefully inspecting his surroundings. Every time he spotted a friendly-looking woman, he sent Yingbao forward to beg. With no other choice, Yingbao ran up to them and pitifully stretched out her hands to a middle-aged woman. She was familiar with this kind of work, so she did it naturally and smoothly, without any embarrassment.. Chapter 80 - 80: The Little Beggar is a Gold_l Dog Head Chapter 80: The Little Beggar is a Gold_l Dog Head Trantor: 549690339 Oh bother, just his luck to be targeted by a little beggar. If he refuses to follow the beggar, stating that he has his own territory, he¡¯s bound to get a good thrashing from this young beggar, who will likely grab him and sell him off. In his past life, he had disguised himself as a beggar and lived the life of one for a while, gaining some knowledge of the rules of the Beggars Gang. They divide their begging territories. If another beggares along, they either fight it out, with the victor retaining the spot, or the intruder joins the resident beggar. Clearly not able to beat this young beggar in his teens, and unable to escape immediately, he could only temporarily join them. But joining them also depends on capability. If he fails to perform well, he could still be taken away and sold by the beggar. That would be the time toment a heavens that did not answer and an unresponsive earth. A middle-aged woman took a pitiful look at Yingbao, and took out a white steamed bun from her gift basket and handed it to her, ¡°Here, eat. Poor thing, so young and already out begging.¡± Yingbao thanked her, took the bun, and ran back to give it to the young boy. He was quite pleased with the bun, and gave half to Yingbao, keeping the other half for himself. Yingbao was also hungry, and sat on the ground nibbling the bun. At this moment, another mother and daughter going to the temple fair came by. Without waiting for the boy¡¯smand, Yingbao ran to them and reached out her dirty hands. Within less than an hour, Yingbao had managed to beg back several buns and pastries, and three coins. Only then did the boy let Yingbao rest and took over the job. However, it was clear that he wasn¡¯t as likeable as a three or four year-old child, or perhaps he was a familiar face, and the people did not take him seriously, thus reluctant to give him anything. The boy seemed a bit upset, his roguishness clearly revealed on his face. Sometimes he would even spit at the back of those who refused him. So Yingbao had to step in again. Possibly because a child is just too endearing, even when they¡¯re covered in dirt and unrecognizable, there will still be women willing to offer her alms. When Yingbao returned once again with a full pocket of food, the eyes of the beggar boy gleamed, looking at her as if she were a golden nugget. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± The young boy asked, as he sat down by the side of the road. Yingbao: ¡°My name is Baoying. What¡¯s yours?¡± The boy didn¡¯t directly answer and said, ¡°You should call me Big Brother Kui from now on.¡¯ Yingbao obediently called out, ¡°Big Brother Kui.¡± Once they exchanged names, it was like eptance, an acknowledgement of each other¡¯s territory. Kui seemed rxed now, not treating Yingbao with the same guarded vignce as before. After the fair, Kui led Yingbao to an abandoned, dpidated temple. It was a semi-copsed Land Temple. Half of one wall had copsed, the other three barely supporting the ramshackle roof. Inside the temple, dried grass was spread out where four other young beggars sat,ughing and joking. They were all quite young, none older than twelve or thirteen. Among them were three boys and one girl, the girl being only about eight or nine years old. ¡°Brother Kui, you¡¯re back.¡± The girl called out to the beggar boy. Seeing him leading a small three or four-year-old beggar, she asked curiously, ¡°Where did you pick this one up?¡± ¡°At the temple fair.¡± Kui entered the dpidated temple and pointed to a corner, ¡°Baoying, you will sleep over there from now on.¡± Yingbao looked over and nodded. Kui took out the buns and pastries from his pocket, but didn¡¯t take out the three coins. ¡°All this was gotten by Baoying, so from now on she¡¯s your junior sister.¡± The rest of the young beggars smiled at Baoying, even handing over the ckened food they had in their hands. Yingbao didn¡¯t mind, epted it and put it into her own pocket. The girl beggar approached and asked with a smile, ¡°Why were you alone at the temple fair?¡± Yingbao: ¡°I got separated from my parents.¡± The girl looked at her sympathetically, reached out to touch her muddied head, and said, ¡°Let meb your hair for you.¡± Yingbao shook her head quickly. ¡°No.¡± She managed to put her hair in a messy bun and would not allow it to bebed, waiting for the opportunity to return home with it as is. The city of Zhouhe County is about one hundred miles away from the city of Qinchuan County, and also around a hundred miles from Chuanhe Town. As long as she followed the official road, she should be able to return home in less than ten days. Seeing Yingbao¡¯s obstinacy, the girl didn¡¯t persist, she turned to use a flint to light a fire and cook some food. The beggars had a bountiful harvest today, not only did they cook arge pot of assorted food, but everyone also got a bun and a piece of cake. Yingbao also ate a bowl of mixed stew and theny down in the corner. A brother named Kui brought her a tattered mat to keep her warm at night, theny down next to her. The little beggars huddled together and quickly fell asleep. Seeing that Kui hadn¡¯t fallen asleep, Yingbao tentatively asked, ¡°Brother Kui, I got separated from my parents, can you take me home? I¡¯m sure my parents will pay you a good sum of silver.¡± Kui clearly didn¡¯t believe it andughed, ¡°Are you sure your parents would pay me silver?¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Certain.¡± Kui sneered, ¡°But I¡¯m not sure. Instead of a thankless task, it might be better to sell you to a flower boat, where at least I¡¯ll get ten taels of silver.¡± Yingbao¡¯s face fell. She knew it, the beggar was not to be trusted. Not just the beggars, no one in the whole county is willing to go hundreds of miles to send a strange child home. They have reason not to believe her. Who can guarantee that a child¡¯s words wille true? In the eyes of most people, she is a little girl, might even have been intentionally abandoned by her family, so why would they be willing to walk hundreds of miles to take her home? So, Yingbao could only figure it out on her own. Better to rely on herself than others, she would just walk home by herself. s, she disappeared suddenly, and she didn¡¯t know how her mother was. Her father and uncles had gone to work on the river, and only her grandparents were left at home. They were probably very worried. The following day, tiny snowkes began to fall. The beggars in the Land Temple were shaking from the cold, each huddled under a straw mat, refusing to budge. Although Yingbao also felt the cold, she could bear it. She crawled out to take care of her needs, then returned. Looking up, she noticed Kui leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, seemingly staring at her all along. Her face darkened, and she angrily asked, ¡°Were you peeping at me?¡± Kui chuckled, ¡°You¡¯re just a kid, what does it matter if I watched you?¡± Yingbao was truly angry now. She rushed over and kicked him fiercely, shouting, ¡°Shameless!¡± Surprisingly, Kui didn¡¯t get angry. He picked her up by the cor of her coat and returned her to the Land Temple, throwing her into the straw nest, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll take you out for something deliciouster.¡± Yingbao rolled into the straw nest, ignoring him. After sleeping for another two hours, the other young beggars began to wake up. There wasn¡¯t much food left fromst night, they divided what remained, and then went out individually. Kui picked up Yingbao again, ¡°Come on, we¡¯re off for a feast.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t pick me up! I can walk.¡± Yingbao swatted his hand away dissatisfiedly and scurried off. The snowkes hit her face causing a stinging sensation, but Yingbao ignored them, running at full speed. ¡°You¡¯re heading in the wrong direction, this way!¡± Kui caught up to her in a few steps, catching hold of her arm, ¡°This way.¡± He pointed in one direction, ¡°We¡¯re off to the Sanqing Temple.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a feast there for the festival of the Lower Yuan, if we time it right, we can get glutinous rice balls..¡± Chapter 81 - 81: Lying is a Transformation to a Rat 1 Chapter 81: Lying is a Transformation to a Rat 1 Trantor: 549690339 The Taoist temple was located on the mountain, and due to the falling of snowkes, the path was not easy to navigate. After walking a little while, Yingbao refused to continue, and sat under a tree by the roadside, motionless. She had no desire to eat any glutinous rice balls, all she wanted was to go home, and be cozy under her warm cotton quilt, listening to her brothers recite their lessons. Observing that Yingbao wouldn¡¯t budge, Brother Kui eventually picked her up, but feeling that it was too tiring, he decided to carry her on his back instead. Yingbao was delighted by the leisure,ying on Brother Kui¡¯s back and looking around. A good number of people had already gathered at the entrance of the Taoist temple. They were all there to send offerings. They saw that worshipers ced bundles of food in front of the Supreme Elder Lord¡¯s statue and burned incense to pray. Brother Kui, looking at the offerings, couldn¡¯t stop the saliva in his mouth. There were glutinous rice balls, steamed bread cakes, as well as whole chickens and entire fishes. Among them, the chicken and fish would be taken back by the worshippers, but the scattered glutinous rice balls and bread cakes wouldn¡¯t be carried away. Brother Kui put Yingbao down and pushed her forward, prompting her to collect the discarded offerings. Out of necessity, Yingbao moved forward, looked around, and then dashed to the altar to pick up the leftover bread cakes after the worship. Once the first round of worshippers hadpleted their ceremonies, they took their offerings away, and then the second round of people would ce their offerings. In the meantime, scattered cakes would fall to the ground, ignored by all. Yingbao wasn¡¯t particrly lucky. There were other children picking food too, so she had to wait off to the side. People were queuing up to worship, also chatting in twos and threes. Suddenly, a person wearing a Taoist robe in the crowd caught Yingbao¡¯s attention. This man was in his thirties, wearing a ck turban, handsome and kind-faced, sporting short whiskers on his chin. However, his neck had a lump the size of an egg, covered by a kerchief. Despite this, Yingbao, with her sharp eyes, could still see it. What attracted her attention was not the lump on his neck, but the shiny,rge gourd that he carried over his shoulder. At the waist of the gourd, there was a colorful silk ribbon tied. At the end of the ribbon were tassels, attached with several jade beads. With such fine adornments on the gourd, it¡¯s clear this gourd was deeply cherished by its owner. Was this¡­ Wu Daozi? In her previous life, she had encountered Wu Daozi, the man obsessed with gourds, a few times. She had never imagined that this was what he looked like in his youth. If it weren¡¯t for therge gourd he carried, Yingbao wouldn¡¯t have recognized him. In the old days, when she first met him, he was already destitute, his hair almost gone, his body thin as a bag of bones, and the lump on his neck was asrge as a melon, tilting his head to one side. Despite this, he was a brilliant man: not only was his calligraphy excellent, but he was also skilled in ying the guqin and sword dancing. In his early twenties, he had achieved the rank of Top Schr. He went to Beijing to participate in the imperial examination and earned the second-highest qualification. For some unknown reason, he became a wandering Taoist, carrying arge gourd and roving around to treat people. He was known as the Gourd Divine Doctor. As for whether he was a Divine Doctor, Yingbao wasn¡¯t sure, because he never healed therge lump on his own neck. Despite this, he was a man of his word, honorable, and generous. He would even lose money treating the poor, giving them medicine for free. She never thought she would be so fortunate to meet Wu Daozi in his youth right here, right now. Yingbao was secretly delighted and approached him to initiate a conversation: ¡°Mister, your gourd looks very nice. We have many of this kind of gourd at home too.¡± Wu Daozi nced at her and, recognizing her as a little beggar, didn¡¯t pay attention to herment. Seeing that he was ignoring her, Yingbao stepped forward and said, ¡°We really do have this kind of gourd at home, much bigger than yours, this big!¡± She stretched out her arms to illustrate. Ultimately, Wu Daozi broke his silence and asked, ¡°Where is your home?¡± ¡°My home is in Chuanhe Town, Qinchuan County.¡± Yingbao, seeing that he had caught his interest, cheerfully replied, ¡°Everyone in our vige says that our gourd was gifted by an immortal, and touching it can bring good luck.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Wu Daoziughed, ¡°Then why didn¡¯t it bring you good luck?¡± With a darkened face, Yingbao argued, ¡°That¡¯s because I encountered a bad person who stole me away and brought me here.¡± Wu Daozi surveyed the child and asked, ¡°Is everything you said true?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Whoever lies turns into a rat.¡± Wu Daoziughed again, saying: ¡°I was asking about your family¡¯s gourd.¡± Yingbao¡¯s smile faltered, immediately replying: ¡°Our gourd is also real, if you don¡¯t believe it, you can go to Simen Town in Qinchuan County and see. A cloth shop owner there paid thirty taels of silver for our big gourd, and it is still being used in the shop.¡± Wu Daozi mused: ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really, really.¡± Yingbao looked around and whispered, ¡°If uncle doesn¡¯t believe me, I can take you there.¡± Before Wu Daozi could answer, Kuige suddenly came over, his face was very unpleasant, and he picked up Yingbao and walked out of the shop. Yingbao struggled a few times and, seeing that she couldn¡¯t escape, she gave Wu Daozi a pitiful look, trying to squeeze out a few tears. As expected, Wu Daozi followed them. ¡°Young man, please wait a moment.¡± He quickly caught up with Kuige, ¡°What is your rtion to her? Put the child down first, I have something to say.¡± Kuige cast a wary look at him and coldly asked: ¡°What are you trying to do? She is my sister!¡± Hearing this, Wu Daozi hesitated. Yingbao struggled mightily, shaking her head violently: ¡°No, I¡¯m not his sister. Uncle, save me.¡± Wu Daozi frowned, took a few steps to block the young man¡¯s path, and still spoke gently: ¡°Young man, it might be best if we let her down and let her exin whether or not she is your sister.¡± Kuige grew angry, yelled out loud: ¡°Mind your own business! Get lost! Or else you¡¯ll see what I¡¯m capable of!¡± Wu Daozi was unyielding: ¡°Young man, if this child is really your sister, I won¡¯t say another word, but it¡¯s clear she¡¯s not¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll say it again, get lost!¡± Kuige growled menacingly: ¡°She¡¯s mine, whether she¡¯s my sister or not, I was the one who found her first! From now on, she¡¯s following me!¡± Wu Daozi: . Angered, Yingbao lunged forward and bit him sharply on the neck. Hurt by her bite, Kuige quickly pulled her off his neck and threw her to the ground. Yingbao quickly got up from the ground and threw herself at Wu Daozi, crying, ¡°Uncle, save me!¡± Wu Daozi also reacted swiftly, pulling Yingbao behind him, and warned Kuige, who was rushing towards them: ¡°I know the clerk at the county government, young man, if you dare to act rashly, I can bring you there to settle this.¡± At this moment, passersby began to notice the situation and came to investigate. Someone remarked: ¡°Isn¡¯t this the beggar from up ahead? What¡¯s happening, is he trying to hurt someone?¡± ¡°If he dares to hurt someone, we¡¯ll send him to the county government!¡± Kuige indeed hesitated, stepping back a few steps, he red at Yingbao fiercely and then turned away. Watching the young beggar leave, Wu Daozi squatted down and asked Yingbao, ¡°Now, tell me the truth. Where is your home and how did you end up here?¡± This time, Yingbao was really crying. She stuttered and whimpered as she recounted everything, atst saying, ¡°I want to go home. Uncle, can you take me home? My parents will reward you, they will even give you gourd seeds. The gourds grown in our house are big, from now on, we¡¯ll give them all to you.¡± Wu Daozi smiled, saying, ¡°I¡¯m on my way to Qinchuan County anyway, might as well take you there.¡± ¡°Great!¡± Yingbao¡¯s tears turned intoughter, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s your name, uncle? Where is your hometown? My parents will visit your home to thank you.¡± Wu Daozi patted Yingbao¡¯s head andughed, ¡°Myst name is Wu, and my hometown is a long way from here, so your parents probably can¡¯t make it..¡± Chapter 82 - 82: Chance Encounter_l Chapter 82: Chance Encounter_l Trantor: 549690339 Wu Daozi led Yingbao down the mountain, saying as they walked, ¡°I¡¯m taking you to an old friend¡¯s house to stay for a few days. After I take care of some things here, I¡¯ll send you back to Qinchuan County.¡± ¡°Okay, thank you, Uncle Wu.¡± The two of them trudged through the snow, passing two streets. When they were near the alley of Aunt Chen¡¯s house, they saw a mule cart emerging from within. Yingbao shivered, instinctively hiding behind Wu Daozi. That was the mule cart of the Han Family. Why had shee back? Wu Daozi also noticed Yingbao¡¯s vignce. He nced at the mule cart and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yingbao whispered, ¡°It¡¯s that kidnapper, she¡¯s back.¡± ¡°Go! Go!¡± The coachman waved the whip and urged the mule forward. The mule cart quickly pulled away, disappearing into the distance. Yingbao kept her head lowered, her fingers tightly clutching Wu Daozi¡¯s sleeve, not daring to look up until the mule cart was no longer visible. The Han Family member must have had unspeakable motivesing here. Maybe she intended to silence her, otherwise it wouldn¡¯t make sense. The journey from Qinchuan County to Zhouhe County was more than a hundred miles, not just a mile or two. The Han family¡¯s woman had just returned the day before yesterday, it was unreasonable for her to hastily return today. There must be that her mother had informed the officials, the government had already found some evidence, so the Han family¡¯s woman was in a hurry to return to Zhouhe County, intending to deal with her. She couldn¡¯t let that happen; she had to hurry home. Only by returning home could the danger be lifted and the instigator be brought to justice. After walking for a while, Yingbao followed Wu Daozi to a house where two horse-mounting stones stood at the entrance. He knocked on the door knocker and soon a teenage servant boy opened the door. Upon seeing the visitors, he immediately opened the wooden door with a full-face smile, ¡°It turns out it¡¯s Master Wu, our master is free today.¡± Wu Daozi nodded to him and pointed at Yingbao, ¡°This is a child from my hometown. I n to take her to Qinchuan County. I would like to borrow your house for a few days. Could you please convey this request to your master for The servant boy hurriedly said, ¡°Since it¡¯s a guest brought by Master Wu, I¡¯ll inform mydy right away. We will definitely arrange for her properly. Pleasee in.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Only then did Wu Daozi lead Yingbao across the threshold. Shortly after, Wu Daozi was led to an outer courtyard, while Yingbao was handed over to a dark-skinned maid by the servant boy. The maid, who was about thirteen or fourteen, looked at Yingbao with disdain, but still brought her a basin of water to wash her face and hair. Fortunately, while Yingbao¡¯s face and hair were dirty, her body was not. After washing some semnce of cleanliness, the maid was surprised and said as she wiped Yingbao¡¯s hair, ¡°What happened to you, little girl? Did you fall into a mud ditch?¡± Yingbao nodded. The maid cleaned her hands and face and led her to a courtyard. ¡°Madame, here is the girl brought by Master Wu. I have cleaned her up. Would you like to meet her?¡± The maid asked from under the eaves of the house. They heard an old woman¡¯s voice from inside, ¡°The mistress has already seen her. Take her to the guesthouse, find her a room and let her stay there. She should not leave the courtyard unless necessary.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The maid led Yingbao to the guesthouse, opened the door of a room and let her in. The guest room was small and full of dust, as if no one had lived there for a long time. There were no covers on the small wooden bed either. However, the maid soon brought another quilt and sent her a pot of hot tea. Yingbao gave thanks, climbed onto the bed and spread the quilt, before going to sleep. The snow outside was getting heavier and heavier, quickly covering the ground in ayer of white. Qinchuan County. Xu Chunniang was in tears, clinging onto Sister Jiang Yunniang¡¯s hand. ¡°It must be the cursed Han Family who hired someone to abduct my Baobao, ugh¡­ I will not let them go.¡± Jiang Yunniang sighed, wiped her sister-inw¡¯s tears, andforted her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sun Licheng has already submitted your statement to the County Government. There should be a verdict soon.¡± Jiang Liu¡¯s wife also cried, ¡°Chunniang, stop crying. I¡¯m also feeling terrible. Although we didn¡¯t catch anyone, someone recognized one of them as Chen Ergou, that damned beast. He hasn¡¯t returned home these days, and I don¡¯t believe he¡¯ll nevere back.¡± That day, two veiled men took the child and quickly disappeared into the reeds, leaving no trace. The vigers chased them for a long time and couldn¡¯t find anyone. Upon closer inspection, they found that they had escaped from the other side. However, someone recognized one of them as Chen Ergou from West Vige¡ª the other person was probably Chen Ergou¡¯s friend or rtive. So Old man Jiang went to Lizheng to file aint. Sun Licheng searched several ces but didn¡¯t find anyone. In the end, he went to the husband¡¯s family where Chen Ergou had arranged for his daughter to be adopted, and learned that Chen Ergou had been living there these past few days. However, noticing Sun Licheng and his men arriving, he and his son-inw had already fled. Having failed to catch the culprits, on behalf of the Jiang family, Sun Licheng wrote an usation asserting that Chen Ergou had abducted the child. At Xu Chunniang¡¯s strong suggestion, they also included Han¡¯s family sisters, the daughters-inw of Chen Lao Shuan, as they were also suspects in the usation. They initially wanted to include Aunt Wu as well in the report, but she took an oath, iming that she knew nothing, but admitted to receiving five taels of silver from the Han sisters for revealing the birthmark on Han¡¯s youngest daughter¡¯s wrist. She denied knowing anything beyond that. So, Chunniang left her twin sons in the care of her sister-inw and traveled with her inws and Sun Licheng to the county seat. After Sun Licheng submitted the document to the government office, he went to his son¡¯s house. Chunniang and her inws stayed at her elder sister¡¯s house to wait for news from the government office. But they waited for several days without any news from the government office. What Chunniang and others didn¡¯t know was that, after theint reached the bookkeeper at the County Government, he did not report it to the County Magistrate. He took the written usation to Chen Guanglu andughed, ¡°Chen Guanglu, your wife is in big trouble.¡± Chen Guanglu was surprised, ¡°What do you mean, Master Lin?¡± Lin, the bookkeeper, shook the report in his hand, ¡°Someone has used your wife of hiring others to kidnap a child. Thirty vigers have put their fingerprints on the report as evidence that this is true.¡± ¡°What? Let me see.¡± Chen Guanglu extended his hand to take a look, but Lin moved it away. ¡°You can¡¯t see it, you can¡¯t see it.¡± Linughed, ¡°This matter is serious. I suggest you go back and ask for details. Fortunately, our honorable Mingfu is about to step down, so legal matters will be postponed for a while, otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t tell you about this.¡± Chen Guanglu frowned and could only thank Lin, ¡°Thank you Master Lin for informing me, once I find out more, I¡¯ll have to bother you for guidance.¡± Lin stroked his beard and smiled without answering. Chen Guanglu rushed back home and asked his wife as soon as he saw her, ¡°What did you do in Chuanhe Town?¡± Little Lady Han was startled and slowly said, ¡°I just went to visit my sister, what else could I do?¡± ¡°Tell the truth!¡± Chen Guanglu pped the table and shouted, ¡°Theint has been submitted to the County Government, and you¡¯re still lying! Tell me! What have you done!¡± Little Lady Han was startled, and the teacup in her hand fell to the ground and shattered. Seeing her husband¡¯s furious expression, Little Lady Han dared not hide it anymore and told him all she had done in Chuanhe Town. ¡°¡­The child picked up by the Jiang family is clearly my sister¡¯s, but they stubbornly refused to let go, so¡­ so I suggested to my sister to hire a man to take him back¡­. am I wrong to do so?¡± Chapter 83 - 83: My Medical Skills are Excellent 1 Chapter 83: My Medical Skills are Excellent 1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°Is that all?¡± Chen Guanglu was suspicious, ¡°Then why did the Jiang Family file awsuit with the County Government? You didn¡¯t kill anyone, did you?¡± ¡°Absolutely not.¡± The look of the younger Han wife was evasive, ¡°We just took the child to Zhouhe County, and it was not even Jiang¡¯s child. Why did she have the audacity to sue?¡± ¡°Fool!¡± Chen Guanglu threw up his hand and pped the younger Han wife, rebuking angrily, ¡°Even if it¡¯s not from the Jiang Family, how do you know she isn¡¯t from your elder sister¡¯s side?¡± The younger Han wife covered half of her face and didn¡¯t dare to make a sound. Chen Guanglu pointed at her and rebuked, ¡°Since you im she was your elder sister¡¯s child, you should have handed her over. It would be up to your elder sister to deal with the Jiang Family. Isn¡¯t that what you should have done? So why did you send the child to my elder brother¡¯s house?¡± The younger Han wife broke out into sobs, ¡°I¡­ I had no choice, the child had no birthmark on her wrist, and my elder sister feared trouble from the other family and didn¡¯t dare to keep the child. She asked me to bring her back to Qinchuan County for a while, but I couldn¡¯t possibly bring her home to us¡­¡± Chen Guanglu gritted his teeth in frustration, kicked her, knocking her to the ground, and cursed, ¡°Wicked woman! So you just dumped that troublemaker on my elder brother?¡± Although he was not very close to his elder brother, after all, he was his only blood-rted elder brother. How dared the Han wife¡­How dared she hand that child over to his elder brother? What if the Jiang Family bes relentless? Wouldn¡¯t his elder brother get punished for the Han sisters then? Chen Guanglu paced around the room with his hands on his hips, ncing diagonally at the sobbing younger Han wife, he threatened, ¡°You had better go to Zhouhe County right now and take care of that child. Make it a clean job without leaving a trace! She is just three or four years old, easy to clean up. If you leave any evidence behind, I¡¯ll divorce you!¡± With that said, Chen Guanglu stormed out of the room. The younger Han wife managed to get up, absent-mindedly wiped her face, and immediately left to get her servants to harness the carriage and hurry back to Zhouhe County. Sitting in the mule-driven cart, she wound a thin hemp rope around her hand, thinking about the easiest way to kill the child. The best method would be strangtion, no blood would be spilled. Then she could discard the body anywhere and be done with it. No need even to dig a pit for burial. Such a small child, if left in the wild, would be quickly eaten by the wolves or wild dogs. It wouldn¡¯t draw any attention. With these thoughts, the younger Han wife calmed down and med her elder sister once more in her heart. If it wasn¡¯t for her, she wouldn¡¯t have been cursed and beaten by her husband. What a useless woman! Ironically, she couldn¡¯t conceive a son, and merely wanted undueplications, which made her journey hundreds of miles in snow. She was not only tired but also had to spend money on bribery. She would never bother to deal with her again in the future! The mule-driven cart rushed and arrived at Zhouhe County finally. But when the younger Han wife arrived at her elder brother-inw¡¯s house, the sister-inw notified that the child had run out on her own and had not returned home for the entire night, and they had searched for her for a long time but in vain. The younger Han wife¡¯s head was throbbing with frustration, yet she dared not stay longer and immediatelymanded the servants to drive the carriage back to Qinchuan County. It snowed only for one night, and then the sky was clear, but the temperature was surprisingly cold. Yingbao had been staying at this house for several days, staying indoors every day without setting foot outside the yard except for using thetrine. The female owner of the house sent her some old cotton clothes to change into and had a maidservant help her with washing andbing her hair every day. On this day, Wu Daozi finally came to pick her up, bringing two servants and two mule-driven carts along. Each servant drove a cart. There was luggage, bedding, and book boxes tied to the back of the second cart. After bidding farewell to the household, Yingbao left with Wu Daozi. She and Wu Daozi rode in the front cart together. The cart had soft cushions, and there were two thin nkets, each draped over a person¡¯s knees, blocking the cold winding through the cart curtains. Today Wu Daozi was not wearing his Taoist robe but a green straight robe made of cotton, which gave him the appearance of a schr. Yingbao¡¯s gaze passed over his neck, and she took out two boiled water chestnuts from her pocket: ¡°Uncle Wu, these are for you to eat.¡± She didn¡¯t exin where the water chestnuts came from, letting Wu Daozi fill in the nks himself. Wu Daozi epted the two water chestnuts, turning them over in his hand for a closer look: ¡°Do they need to be peeled?¡± Yingbao shook her head: ¡°They¡¯re clean and cooked, so you can eat them without peeling.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Wu Daozi started eating at a leisurely pace, then nced at the little kid and asked, ¡°Do you have any rtives in Qinchuan County?¡± ¡°No.¡± Although Aunty Jiang Yunniang lived in the county, Yingbao had no idea where she lived. She decided to simply say no. The mule cart was shaking and moving slowly. It was estimated to be good enough if they could reach their destination by evening. ¡°I¡¯ll take you back to the county first, and when we have time, we can visit Simen Town to check out therge gourd you mentioned.¡± Yingbao: ¡°¡­Okay.¡± The carriage had not traveled far on the street when they encountered a long procession performing the sacrificial dance, leaving them with no choice but to pull over and wait for the procession to pass. Yingbao quietly lifted the curtain of the carriage to watch. She saw hundreds of dancers draped in colorful silk, performing the sacrificial dance to the rhythm of drums. Most of them were bare-chested, showing off their robust arms and chest muscles. In the chilling wind, these people seemed not to be afraid of the cold. They danced and sang prayers in dialect, heading in the direction of the Taoist temple. Many people followed to watch the dance, making the crowd stretch out for two to three miles. The drums echoed, and gs fluttered, some gpoles even having strings of whitenterns hanging from them. It was a shame that it was daytime, so thenterns were not lit. If it was night, and thenterns were each set alight to shine like stars in the sky, it would be truly beautiful. Wu Daozi also watched with interest, even tapping his legs to the rhythm of the drums. Yingbao calcted with her fingers, and realized that today was the 15th of October, also known as the Lower Yuan Festival in Taoism, when all Taoist temples would conduct rituals. No wonder she encountered Wu Daozi at the Taoist temple. He was a true believer in Taoism. It was only after the dance procession passed that the mule cart slowly began to move again. Yingbao continued peeking out the carriage window, observing the houses along the street. Many of them had gs erected, embroidered with words like ¡°Heaven, Earth, and Water Shrine¡±, ¡°Harmonize the Wind and Rain¡±, and ¡°Ward Off Disasters and Blessings¡±. Some households even set up a shrine at their doorways, with an assortment of cakes and fruits set on it, such as glutinous rice vegetable balls, red bean steamed buns, and fried tofu, for their own children to eat. Sometimes, they would also share some with the neighboring children who came to beg for food. Even after leaving the county, the mule cart could still see some farmers¡¯ houses with g poles erected. However, most of these poles were adorned with animals shapes made of rice straws and wheat stalks, like carps and sheep, to pray for bounty. Little children under the guidance of their family members were inserting burning incense sticks into the ground in the shape of Chinese characters. This was to worship the passing spirits, to appease those lost souls and ghosts, and to prevent them from clinging to the children. Yingbao had also been taught by her parents to insert incense sticks like this. While she was doing it, her parents would pray to the passing spirits to leave after enjoying the offerings and not to bother the children. The mule cart picked up speed upon entering the official road. On both sides of the official road were either farnd or wilderness, which weren¡¯t very interesting. Yingbao let down the carriage curtain, looking bored at the interior of the wagon. Suddenly, she became curious about the lump on Wu Daozi¡¯s neck. But she couldn¡¯t just say it directly. After thinking for a moment, she said to Wu Daozi, who was reading a book: ¡°Uncle Wu, I have learned medical skills from the master at home. Do you want me to take your pulse?¡± Wu Daozi nced at her but didn¡¯t respond. Picking at her fingernails, Yingbao thought for a while, then continued, ¡°Uncle Wu, the master always praises my medical skills. Are you sure you don¡¯t want me to take your pulse?¡± Wu Daozi didn¡¯t even lift his eyelids, still ignoring her. Yingbao felt discouraged. But was she the kind of person who gave up easily? Of course not. After all, she was still a child. There was nothing wrong with being a bit thick-skinned. As long as Uncle Wu didn¡¯t kick her out of the carriage, it was all fine.. Chapter 84 - 84: Little Divine Doctor_l Chapter 84: Little Divine Doctor_l Trantor: 549690339 After a moment, Yingbao sneaked a peek at Wu Daozi. Seeing he didn¡¯t seem angry, she tentatively asked again, ¡°Uncle Wu, are you really¡­¡± not going to try? Wu Daozi didn¡¯t wait for her to finish before putting down his book and good-naturedly stretching out his wrist, ¡°Then you go ahead and take my pulse.¡± He estimated if he didn¡¯t let her take his pulse, this little girl could nag him the whole way without stopping. Yingbao blinked, almost thinking she had misheard. Wu Daozi was actually letting her take his pulse. Wasn¡¯t he a Divine Doctor? Why would he let a child take his pulse? But such a question could only be contemted in her heart, she was not going to ask it out loud. Though pretending to be calm on the surface, Yingbao thrusted out three fingers in a fake proficiency and took Wu Daozi¡¯s pulse. But she was still a bit nervous. After all, he was a future Divine Doctor. When he became famous as the Divine Doctor, she would hire a painter to capture this moment, with the caption: ¡°On a certain day, month, and year, a three-year-old child prodigy took the pulse of the Divine Doctor.¡± Heh, she could make a name for herself just based on this story alone. Yingbao carefully felt his pulse and said, ¡°Uncle Wu, your pulse is smooth and slightly sticky, indicating a stagnation of liver energy and the energy mechanism of the lung and stomach is not smooth. Are you often frustrated?¡± She pointed at Wu Daozi¡¯s neck and continued, ¡°Subsequently, dampness umted to form a disease, and phlegm-energy blockage urs in the neck. As a result, you have a swelling in your neck, and the neck mass grows bigger.¡± Wu Daozi nodded in approval, ¡°Your diagnosis isn¡¯t bad.¡± He rubbed his neck and mockingly asked, ¡°So does young Doctor Yingbao have a cure?¡± After pondering for a moment, Yingbao took out a few boiled water chestnuts from her pocket and handed them over, saying earnestly, ¡°This is a good medicine.¡± Wu Daoziughed heartily and took the water chestnuts gratefully, ¡°Thank you for the medicine, young doctor.¡± He just assumed it was a child¡¯s game and didn¡¯t take it seriously. Yingbao saw him continuing to read his book, showing no intention to ¡°take the medicine,¡± and impatiently urged, ¡°Uncle Wu, why aren¡¯t you taking your medicine? Taking the medicine is how you get better.¡± Wu Daozi looked at her and had no choice but to stuff a water chestnut into his mouth and started to crunch. Only after seeing him finish three of them did Yingbao finally look away, satisfied. After that, they didn¡¯t speak much. Yingbao even fell asleep. When she woke up, the mule cart had stopped in a courtyard. ¡°Get off and stretch your legs.¡± Wu Daozi lifted Yingbao down from the mule cart and set her on the ground. A few soldiers withrge ¡°Post¡± characters embroidered on their backs came over and respectfully asked, ¡°Sir, will you be stopping here for a rest or lodging?¡± ¡°Rest for a while. Bring us some food to eat, we¡¯ll leave once we¡¯re finished.¡± Wu Daozi instructed with his hands behind his back, ¡°Also, bring a brazier over.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. I¡¯ll go handle that right away.¡± The postal soldier ran off quickly. Yingbao tilted her head and looked at Wu Daozi, thinking to herself, it turns out he¡¯s an officer. Not just anyone could rest in a postal station. This was a ce controlled by the government office, and without any official rank, one wouldn¡¯t even be allowed to stand at the entrance. Yingbao looked around and saw atrine at the edge of the courtyard. She called to a postal soldier to take her there. Now she could bluff around a bit, ying a little fox borrowing the tiger¡¯s prestige. After using thetrine, the postal soldier brought hot water for her to wash her face and hands, then took her to eat. Of course, she was eating with Uncle Wu. The food was quite ordinary, just steamed buns, tofu, pickles, not even a single egg. Judging from this treatment, Wu Daozi¡¯s official rank wasn¡¯t very high. Food and warm water at the postal station were free for passing officers, but the quality of food was directly linked to an officer¡¯s rank. What rank you were determined what kind of food you got. This was a rule from the Imperial Court. If you weren¡¯t satisfied, you could pay extra for additional dishes. Yingbao took a sip of the warm pickle soup, her eyes darting to Wu Daozi from time to time. She finally couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Uncle Wu, where do you serve as an officer?¡± Wu Daozi leisurely took bites of his steamed bun and pickles, saying, ¡°You sure ask a load of questions, kiddo.¡± Yingbao curled her lip, took arge bite of her bun, and stuffed her mouth full. After finishing their meal and warming their feet a while, Wu Daozi instructed his servant to hitch the mule cart and get on the road again. A few hours into their journey, they came to a fork in the official road where they paused. The cart driver asked, ¡°Master, which road should we take?¡± ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, let¡¯s head to the county town first,¡± Wu Daozi instructed. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± The cart driver, who had already inquired about the direction to Qinchuan County while they were at a ry station, flicked the whip to spur the mules towards the county town. Before nightfall, the mule cart finally reached the town, and following Wu Daozi¡¯s instructions, the servant stopped at an inn. Though they had arrived back in Qinchuan County, Yingbao remained on her guard. Before stepping out of the cart, she wrapped a thin nket around her face, leaving only her big bright eyes to goggle at their surroundings. Wu Daozi was unfazed by Yingbao¡¯s peculiar dress, while the two servants couldn¡¯t help butugh. The behaviors of this pint-sized kid were hrious and sure enough to amuse people. Regardless of theirughter, Yingbao knew that the husband of the little Han family was a subordinate in this county town, and there was a chance that they might cross paths. Though Chen Guanglu might not recognize her, he was surely privy to her appearance from his wife¡¯s mouth. Although Wu Daozi was an officer, he had brought along only two servants. Arriving on someone else¡¯s turf, they could easily be ambushed by an enemy if they were not cautious. Upon entering the inn, the innkeeper checked in the travellers. Realizing that one of them was an iing officer, he quickly ran out from behind his counter, bowing and scraping as he led them to the room upstairs. He urged his helper to bring up hot water and a brazier as quickly as possible, then had his wife brew a big pot of ginger jujube tea sweetened with brown sugar to help the officer stave off the cold. Yingbao also received special treatment. Not only was she given her own room, but she also enjoyed the warm hospitality of the inn. The innkeeper¡¯s wife personally carried in hot water for this youngdy to wash her face and hands, smiling as she asked, ¡°Little miss, why didn¡¯t your mothere along?¡± Taken aback by her question, Yingbao answered briefly, ¡°She¡¯s at home.¡± ¡°Oh, why would she say that?¡± the innkeeper¡¯s wife said with a sly smile, then whispered, ¡°Did the officer not want to bring along someone to take care of him on this long journey?¡± The question was anything but respectful, but the innkeeper¡¯s wife thought this toddler wouldn¡¯t understand anything and, moreover, she had no maids or female servants around her. The woman assumed it would be easy to pump some information out of the little girl. But Yingbao, who had grown up so quickly in her past and present lives, had both her parents from the vige and had not been taught what was proper to listen to and what wasn¡¯t, so she did not catch the innuendo in the matron¡¯s question. Upon hearing the innkeeper¡¯s wife¡¯sment, she was reminded of Wu Daozi¡¯s miserable, neglected old age. She seemed to never have heard him mention a wife or children, and considering he had only brought some gifts to present when assuming office, and the two servants hadn¡¯t mentioned anything about their master¡¯s wife or children, she wondered, could it be that Uncle Wu had never married? Ah, that might be possible. So she replied, ¡°Uncle Wu hasn¡¯t assumed office yet. He¡¯ll handle such matters once everything is properly arranged.¡± Overheard her earlier, the innkeeper had been respectfully addressing Wu Daozi as Mingfu and officer. Who was Mingfu? Naturally, he had to be the magistrate of a county. Therefore, Wu Daozi was most likely going to assume the position of a county magistrate. That was wonderful news. As long as she maintained a good rtionship with Uncle Wu, why would she have to fear Chen Guanglu? But Chen Guanglu was a big fish in their local pond, so she couldn¡¯t afford to be The innkeeper¡¯s wife was taken aback when she heard Yingbao called the Mingfu ¡°Uncle Wu¡±, but she quickly forced a smile and said, ¡°So, it turns out you¡¯re the officer¡¯s niece.¡± Yingbao: ¡­ Alright, let her guess what she wanted. After all, she would be going home the next day anyway. The innkeeper¡¯s wife¡¯s smile became even more pleasant. She said to Yingbao in a low voice, ¡°The officer said you¡¯ll be staying at the inn for a couple of days.. My niece isn¡¯t doing anything tomorrow, why not let here over to keep youpany?¡± Chapter 85 - 85: Catching the Villain (Begging for Monthly Tickets)_l Chapter 85: Catching the Viin (Begging for Monthly Tickets)_l Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao felt numb. She seemed to understand why the innkeeper¡¯s wife was so attentive to her. But outright refusal seemed too heartless, so she tactfully said, ¡°Let¡¯s discuss this after I¡¯ve spoken with Uncle Wu.¡± The innkeeper¡¯s wife happily agreed. As she left with the basin, she said, ¡°Madam, I¡¯ll go buy a box of Rongfu Bean Paste Crisps for you to try, it¡¯s the best in our Qinchuan County.¡± Upon hearing this, Yingbao repeatedly shook her head: ¡°No need, thank you Auntie, eating sweets at night is bad for the teeth.¡± No matter what, she couldn¡¯t ept their money and gifts, otherwise, if her real identity was revealed, she¡¯d get beaten up. The next day, a servant came and told Yingbao that her husband had gone to the County Government Office for work and instructed her to stay at the inn. After he finished his work, he would send someone to the countryside to bring her parents to im her. The servant then went downstairs and entrusted the innkeeper¡¯s wife to look after Yingbao and to keep strangers away from her. The innkeeper¡¯s wife immediately agreed. As soon as the servant left, she led in a pretty girl in her early twenties. ¡°Madam, this is my niece, she just turned twenty this year and is still unmarried.¡± Yingbao gazed at the graceful girl in front of her, dumbstruck. What did this mean? Were they nning to use her as a stepping stone? However, since the girl was standing right in front of her, she had no choice but to let her stay for now. She decided to exinter that she was not Wu Daozi¡¯s rtive, so as not to hinder her. ¡°My name is Yanru.¡± Yanru stepped forward lightly and made a slight bow to Yingbao. Yingbao jumped up immediately to return the gesture. ¡°Please, no need for formalities, Sister Yanru, I¡­ She suddenly stopped, realizing she shouldn¡¯t reveal her real name to a stranger. With a shift in conversation, Yingbao cheerfully said, ¡°You can call me Baobao, Sister Yanru.¡± ¡°Baobao.¡± Yanru readily agreed, and opened the food box she brought, revealing the bean paste crispsbeled inside. The crisps were the size of an egg, each with a red diamond-shaped slip of paper stuck to it, bearing the words ¡°fortune¡±, ¡°prosperity¡±, ¡°longevity¡±, ¡°joy¡±, ¡°wealth¡±, and so on. Such fine packaging was obviously expensive. ¡°These are some snacks I got from Rongfu, they were just made and are still warm. Try some, Bao¡­Baobao.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t dare to taste it, she gave an awkward smile and said, ¡°I just had breakfast and I¡¯m not hungry yet, Sister Yanru, you can put them away first.¡± After pacing around the room, Yingbao cocked her head and examined Yanru. Her figure was graceful and her looks were pretty and attractive, why was she still unmarried at the age of twenty? And she was so tantly eager to please the rtive of a stranger, which was not something an unmarried girl would normally do. This was not right, she didn¡¯t want to cause trouble for Uncle Wu. Since she had nothing to do, she might as well go to the Furuifeng Trading Company and find Steward Zhou Mao. She had business dealings with Zhou Mao, and he depended on her goods to make money, he certainly wouldn¡¯t ignore her. Moreover, Uncle Wu seemed very busy and could not spare her time, and as he was new to the area, he was not familiar with the ce. Instead of waiting for Uncle Wu, she could just ask the innkeeper to take her to the Furuifeng Trading Company. At the very least, she could ask Steward Zhou to send a message to her home for her. Of course, if he could take her home, that would be even better. So, Yingbao asked Yanru, ¡°Sister Yanru, do you know about the Furuifeng Trading Company?¡± Yanru nodded, ¡°Yes, do you also know about our big tradingpany, Little Sister Baobao?¡± Anyone in the county who wasn¡¯t confined to their own homes would know about this big tradingpany. But how could this little girl, who just arrived here, know about Furuifeng? ¡°Yes, I want to go there to find someone, can you take me there? I have money to hire a carriage.¡± Yingbao said, taking a string of copper coins out from her pocket, ¡°Is this enough?¡± Yanruughed and pushed back the coins, ¡°Why should you spend your money? Our inn has a donkey cart. I¡¯ll have one of our men harness it.¡± ¡°Thank you very much, Sister Yanru.¡± Yingbao smiled at her with squinted eyes. Shortly thereafter, Yanru led Yingbao onto a donkey cart, heading toward the Furuifeng Trading Company. The inn they were staying at was only three or four miles away from thepany, so they arrived quickly. Yingbao was the first to jump off the donkey cart, dashing into the tradingpany. ¡°Excuse me, is Steward Zhou Mao here?¡± She craned her neck to ask one of the clerks behind the counter. The clerk had been looking around for a while without seeing who was speaking. When he looked downwards, he saw a little girl who was only as high as his knee, looking up at him. ¡°What business do you have with Steward Zhou?¡± the young clerk asked patiently. Yingbao: ¡°It¡¯s important. I must speak with him in person.¡± ¡°Steward Zhou has gone to the Prefecture City. He will not be back for a few days.¡± The clerk informed her. ¡°He went to the Prefecture City?¡± Yingbao was disappointed. Clerk: ¡°Yes, you¡¯d bettere back in a few days.¡± Leaving the Furuifeng Trading Company, Yingbao slouched dejectedly in the donkey cart. Yanru also followed her into the cart, instructed the coachman to head back, and asked in a low voice, ¡°Little Baobao, feel free to confide in me if something¡¯s bothering you.¡± Yingbao shook her head and wrapped her head in a small nket, not wanting to interact with anyone. As the donkey cart passed a street, they suddenly heard amotion up ahead. Several vigers were in a conflict with a man. Recognizing those vigers, Yingbao¡¯s eyes lit up. She urgently called out, ¡°Stop the cart! Stop! I want to get off!¡± Seeing this, Yanru quickly instructed the coachman to stop. Ignoring Yanru¡¯s attempts to stop her, Yingbao jumped off the cart and ran towards the crowd, shouting as she ran, ¡°Uncle Jianger! Uncle Jianger!¡± Among the people up ahead, one of them was indeed her uncle, Jiang Eng. They were busy beating Zhang Mazhi, Chen Ergou¡¯s son-inw, while berating him, ¡°You dog! You¡¯vee to the county town, haven¡¯t you! We¡¯ve caught you now. Tell us, where is Chen Ergou?¡± All of a sudden, a little girl came running toward them. Jiang Eng, with his keen eyes, recognized his niece and quickly let go of Zhang Mazhi to greet her. ¡°Baobao!¡± He picked up his niece in surprise and delight, ¡°You really are in the county town!¡± Yingbao hugged her uncle tightly, her mouth spread wide in a grin, as if she wanted to cry andugh at the same time. She was too excited, so much so that she didn¡¯t know how to express her current feelings. ¡°Goodness, we finally found Yingbao,¡± one of the vigersughed. He then kicked Zhang Mazhi again and spat out, ¡°Now tell us where your father-inw is hiding! Otherwise, when we take you to the government office, you won¡¯t like the oue!¡± Zhang Mazhi was surprised to see the little girl had returned by herself. Knowing it was meaningless to hide any longer, he covered his head and cried out, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you everything! Don¡¯t turn me into the authorities, I¡¯ll confess¡­!¡± It turned out that one day, Chen Ergou suddenly approached Zhang Mazhi with a lucrative business proposition and asked him to cooperate. Afterwards, he would give him a taels of silver as a reward. Zhang Mazhi, who was worried about how to make ends meet after paying his taxes, agreed without hesitation. After sessfully kidnapping the child together, Chen Ergou asked him to go home while he delivered the child to the customer, promising to share a tael of silver when he got the money. However, when his father-inw returned, he only gave him a hundred coins, saying that the customer didn¡¯t bring enough money and asked them to wait a few days. Chen Ergou grumbled and cursed all night. Early the next morning, he heard that Sun Licheng was leading people to arrest them. So, the two of them had to hide in the wilderness for two days, only daring to return home to grab a bite to eat in the middle of the night. Seeing that the customer hadn¡¯t sent the money yet, Chen Ergou had no choice but to secretly visit and request it. In the end, however, he was told that the customer had gone to the county town and he had to get the money there. With no other option, they had to go to the county town. Chen Ergou swore that if the woman tried to deceive him again, he would risk jail to expose her.. Chapter 87 - 87: Interrogation (Thanks for the extra monthly tickets from you guys)_l Chapter 87: Interrogation (Thanks for the extra monthly tickets from you guys)_l Trantor: 549690339 Liao Qilin stepped outside of the public hall, loudly questioning, ¡°Who is it that bangs the drum here?¡± ¡°It is amoner beating the drum to dere injustice.¡± Jiang Sang stepped forward to bow. Liao Qilin sized up the man standing in front of him, ¡°Why would you beat the drum instead of submitting a written statement of grievance first?¡± Jiang Sang, ¡°I¡¯ve prepared and submitted a written petition, but I¡¯ve heard nothing back for several days. Concerned for the safety of my daughter, I am in desperate angst. Fortunately, I have caught one of the kidnappers, so I brought him to the government office today.¡± Liao Qilin, ¡°To whom did you submit the petition?¡± ¡°The document was submitted through our vige¡¯s Sun Licheng. The office also provided a receipt.¡± Jiang Sang handed over the receipt for the petition. Upon his inspection, Liao Qilin couldn¡¯t help but furrow his brow. The receipt bore the signature of Lin Huaisheng, the chief registration officer of the office. After Liao Qilin contemted it, he was about to take the receipt back into the hall when Jiang Sang stepped forward to block him, ¡°Please, sir, return the receipt to me.¡± This item was proof that he had submitted theint; it was impossible to let someone who looked like a schr take it away. Indeed, this Liao Qilin was a schr who, having lost hope in examination sess, had sought to serve as a staff member under the county magistrate, offering strategies and dealing with some less important public affairs. Liao Qilin frowned, ¡°Why? Do you think I would keep your receipt?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare.¡± Even though Jiang Sang said he didn¡¯t dare, he still insisted, ¡°If I don¡¯t have the receipt, the officers won¡¯t handle my case. Please return the receipt to me.¡± Liao Qilin, displeased, nced around to see dozens of eyes watching him. He had no choice but to return the receipt to Jiang Sang. Back in the hall, Liao Qilin said to the county magistrate, ¡°The person who was beating the drum outside had in fact submitted a petition. It was received by the chief registration officer, Lin Huaisheng, who also signed the receipt on which he even stamped the government¡¯s seal.¡± The county magistrate was furious as soon as he heard this, mming the table, ¡°Damn it! If he epted the petition, why didn¡¯t he let me see it? Call Lin Huaisheng in!¡± The cases officially epted would belong to the cases under his jurisdiction. If he allowed them to be transferred to his sessor without authorization, his performance examination would inevitably be wed. How could the county magistrate not be angry? In a short while, Lin Huaisheng walked in, neck shrunken. The county magistrate sat behind his desk, asking coldly, ¡°Did you ept that man¡¯s petition outside?¡± Knowing that he couldn¡¯t deny it, Lin Huaisheng confessed directly, ¡°Yes, I epted it, but didn¡¯t you mention that such matters should be postponed¡­¡± ¡°Enough! Don¡¯t me your failure on me!¡± Infuriated, the county magistrate asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the document?¡± The county magistrate was to leave his position soon, but this miserable man had caused him such trouble. If the superior officials found out, wouldn¡¯t all his hard work over the years be negated due to such a trivial matter? It should be noted that local officials have to go to the provincial governments to continue their duties after demitting office, waiting for the Supervisory History to assess their performance. The assessment results would decide whether they should be promoted or demoted. The assessment mainly covers four virtues and three tops. The four virtues are morality, caution, fairness, and diligence; the three tops refer to handling affairs, encouraging diligence and fostering social security. If any serious w is found in these aspects, then the official¡¯s career is likely over. Without a word, Lin Huaisheng took a petition out of his sleeve and handed it in. The staff member received it and handed it to the county magistrate. The more the county magistrate read, the angrier he grew. ¡°Who are these Han sisters? Hurry up and bring them here! And as for this Chen Ergou, if you can¡¯t catch him, call other members of his family for questioning!¡± The county magistrate threw down two green orders. The arrest officer nearby had been waiting all along. He quickly took the orders and saluted, ¡°Yes! We¡¯ll do it immediately!¡± Arresting people is sure a good task; once in the viges, not only could they be fed and received, but there might be some gains as well. Subsequently, the Meizhou County Magistrate immediately ordered the court to be set, and had the Jiang family brought into the court of civil affairs. Sitting behind the dock, the Meizhou County Magistrate banged the gavel and asked, ¡°intiff, state your name!¡± A government official led Jiang Sang to the intiff¡¯s position, where he ceremonially greeted the magistrate. ¡°Commoner Jiang Sang pays respect to the respected official.¡± Jiang Sang greeted the magistrate. The Meizhou County Magistrate said, ¡°You, who are you using, and for what? Tell everything in detail.¡± Jiang Sang then retold the story of his daughter suddenly being kidnapped and taken away. ¡°Themon people have caught a kidnapper named Zhang Mazhi, who has admitted that this act was done by him and his father-inw Chen Ergou together. They imed someone paid them to kidnap people, promising them payment with silver coins afterward,¡± he said. Upon learning that a criminal had already been caught, the magistrate felt relieved and ordered the defendant to be brought up. Zhang Mazhi was being led by two government officials to kneel on the defendant stone. Zhang Mazhi, who had been terrified at this time, was shaking uncontrobly as he kowtowed before the magistrate in fear. His force was not well controlled, and he almost broke his forehead, ¡°Esteemed official, I, I was deceived by my father inw.¡± He was promised a coin, but only received a hundred coins, and the fact that he has been hiding these past few days, unable to reunite with his wife and child, was unjustifiable. The Meizhou County Magistrate banged the gavel: ¡°Confess your crime in full, omit a single word, and thew of punishment awaits you!¡± As a result, Zhang Mazhi told everything he knew in a rush, choking near the end to say that he had been hungry all day and, upon seeing a child at the end of an alley holding half a piece of rice cake, he stole it to eat. The clerk of the Meizhou County Magistrate recorded everything, with not a single word missed. In the end, Zhang Mazhi signed and sealed his confession, received thirtyshes, and was then dragged into the county jail. Next, they would be waiting for the constable to bring back the arrested man. Naturally, the Meizhou County Magistrate wouldn¡¯t be waiting in the public hall, so he withdrew first to his backstage room to discuss with his staff how to wrap up the case. The preliminary trial of the case went smoothly, and the magistrate was in a good mood; he even instructed one of his staffs to prepare questions for the next court session. Jiang Sang,ing out of the courthouse, first let his wife take Yingbao and his elderly parents back to his eldest sister¡¯s house to rest, and he went to a nearby restaurant to have a meal with several vigers. They hadn¡¯t finished their meal yet when his second brother, Jiang Eng, and two vigers brought back Chen Ergou. ¡°Sang, we caught him over there. We chased him for two streets before we caught up.¡± Jiang Eng kicked Chen Ergou, ¡°Should we send him to the officials now?¡± Jiang Sang narrowed his eyes, ¡°Let¡¯s first ask him who the employer is. If he dares to lie, I¡¯ll cut off his tongue.¡± Chen Ergou, with a gag in his mouth, let out a loud wail upon hearing this. ¡°Be good!¡± Jiang Eng kicked him again and pulled out the rag from his mouth. Chen Ergou spat out a piece of rag from his mouth and shouted, ¡°Jiang Sang, how dare you!¡± ¡°What wouldn¡¯t I dare?¡± Jiang Sang rested one foot on a stool, pped him, and sneered, ¡°You dared to harm my child, I can make you pay with your life!¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve got quite a temper!¡± Suddenly, several government officials barged in, led by Chen Guanglu. Chen Guanglu signaled the government officials, who in a flurry of activity seized Chen Ergou. Jiang Sang kept his face stern, knowing that he could not confront the government officers or snatch the man from Chen Guanglu at this time. Chen Ergou, seeing that Chen Guanglu had arrived, said cheerfully, ¡°Officer Chen, you are here to save me¡­¡± He recognized this official. It was Han¡¯s husband, who had been to Xichen Vige before and had even had a conversation with him. Before he finished speaking, he was pped in the face by Chen Guanglu. ¡°Take him back to the government office!¡± Chen Guanglu gave a cold nce to Jiang Sang and others, directing the government officials to take Chen Ergou away.. Chapter 88 - 88: Do you know me (Thanks to the little darlings for voting for the update)_l Chapter 88: Do you know me (Thanks to the little darlings for voting for the update)_l Trantor: 549690339 Jiang Sang and hispanions could only watch, helplessly, as Chen Ergou was taken away. ¡°Sang, why did Chen Guanglue to arrest Chen Ergou? Isn¡¯t he just a subordinate of the County Magistrate?¡± Jiang Eng asked. Jiang Sang hummed, ¡°It¡¯s not Chen Guanglu who came to arrest him, he is just following the constables to rob us.¡± These constables often mingled with Chen Guanglu. Although Jiang Sang knew that something was off, he could do nothing to stop it. ¡°Let it be. Let¡¯s eat. Anyway, Chen Guanglu wouldn¡¯t dare to release Chen Ergou under the watchful eyes of so many people. All of us saw him being taken away ¡± Jiang Eng invited the vigers to sit down and eat, ¡°Thanks to everyone for helping my brother catch Chen Ergou.¡± Everyoneughed, ¡°We didn¡¯t find it hard at all. We thought of it as a trip to the county town.¡± Jiang Sang held a fist salute towards everyone, ¡°After this is over, I¡¯ll give each of you twenty catties of cotton seeds.¡± ¡°Wow, great!¡± Everyone burst intoughter and settled down at the table. All of them have coveted the cotton seeds for a long time, but they didn¡¯t feelfortable asking Jiang Sang about purchasing them because he once mentioned that he doesn¡¯t n to sell them for now. To their surprise, Jiang Sang nned to gift each of them twenty catties of seeds, which made them really happy. The trip to the county town was worthwhile after all. ¡°Shopkeeper, add two tes of mutton and two roast chickens! Do you have rice wine? Bring us two jars.¡± Jiang Sang spoke to the restaurant owner. ¡°Alright! Please wait, I¡¯ll have them prepared right away! I have already sent for the rice wine.¡± The shopkeeper cheerfully replied. Having such arge group of customers today was good business, not only were they ordering meat but also wine. Anyone running a restaurant would know that most profitse from the meat and alcohol. As for vegetarian dishes, even though they are cheap, they hardly made any profit no matter how many different varieties one served. Soon enough the wine and meat were served, and Jiang Sang led everyone to have a good meal. After the meal, he asked Jiang Eng to take the vigers back first, while he stayed behind to wait for the trial at the County Government. ¡°Alright, we will head back first. Take care, Sang.¡± Jiang Eng, ¡°I also need to return to the construction site.¡± He and his younger brother took a leave of absence to search for the child and for that, Sang had given the Supervisor five taels of silver as a bribe. Now that the child has been found and the kidnapper captured, it was time for him to get back to work. ¡°Alright, you head back first, I¡¯ll return once the trial is over.¡± Jiang Sang held out a fist salute to the vigers, ¡°I owe you all for your help today, Jiang Sang will not forget.¡± ¡°Why the formalities?¡± The vigers lightly patted Jiang Sang, smiled, ¡°We¡¯re all from the same vige, who wouldn¡¯t have a crisis?¡± After that, everyone bid farewell and left with Jiang Eng. Meanwhile, Chen Ergou was taken back to the County Government by the constables and thrown into a cell alone. Chen Guanglu came in and squatted in front of him. A sense of foreboding suddenly rose in Chen Ergou¡¯s heart, prompting him to instinctively move backwards. However, his hands were tied behind him, sitting on the ground with wooden pirs and bars behind him made moving away almost impossible. ¡°Chen Ergou, do you recognize me?¡± Chen Guangluughed maliciously, drawing out a dagger from his waist. Chen Ergou was scared out of his wits and stammered, ¡°Yes, I do.¡± Chen Guanglu¡¯s eyes turned cold as he abruptly drove the dagger towards Chen Ergou¡¯s head. ¡°Ahh¡­¡± Chen Ergou screamed, wetting his pants. Chen Guanglu chuckled coldly, pulling the dagger out of the wooden pir next to Chen Ergou¡¯s head and asked again, ¡°Do you recognize me?¡± Chen Ergou was so frightened that he shook his head repeatedly, ¡°No, I don¡¯t recognize you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s more like it,¡± Chen Guanglu tapped his face with the dagger, ¡°Remember, you don¡¯t know me, nor the Han Family. This kidnapping case is entirely your doing, it has nothing to do with anyone else. Otherwise, I can let you live, or I can let you die.¡± Chen Ergou nodded frantically, ¡°It was all my doing, it has nothing to do with anyone else.¡± Chen Guanglu chuckled, shoved the dagger back into the leather sheath on his waist, and added, ¡°As long as you admit to the crime, I can save your life, and even your son who has been sent to the military camp.¡± ¡°Really? Really?¡± Chen Ergou asked tearfully, ¡°Can you really save both of us?¡± ¡°Of course. I keep my word,¡± Chen Guanglu said standing up with his eyes on Chen Ergou, said harshly, ¡°However, if you dare mention the Han Family in public court, I¡¯ll make sure your family line ends!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t say anything! I swear not to!¡± Chen Ergou stared at Chen Guanglu with hopeful eyes, ¡°Can I really see my son?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said Chen Guanglu, walking toward the exit, ¡°If you say something you ought not to, you won¡¯t be able to see anything anymore.¡± The next day,the Mei County Magistrate ordered a court hearing. Cries of ¡°All rise!¡± echoed as the constables took their positions on either side of the courtroom. This time not only were the intiff and the defendant present, but the constables also brought the Han Family from Chuanhe Town. Yingbao also came to the court with her parents, she noticed the Han sisters standing there too, and began to devise a n to incriminate them. The County Magistrate rapped his gavel and asked, ¡°Who is Han Juniang and Han Yueniang?¡± The Han sisters stepped forward and bowed. ¡°We, peasant women Han Juniang (Han Yueniang), give our respects to the Honourable Magistrate.¡± Mei County Magistrate, ¡°It has been alleged that you hired a thug to kidnap a child, is this true?¡± ¡°We are falsely used!¡± Han Juniang and Han Yueniang both kneeled on the ground and cried injustice, ¡°This case ispletely baseless, why would we want to hire someone to kidnap a child?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Honor, we are innocent. We have no grudges against the Jiang Family, yet we have been falsely used by them.¡± Mei County Magistrate scanned everyone before his gaze fell on the young girl from the Han Family and said indifferently, ¡°But, ording to Jiang Yingbao¡¯s testimony, she was captured by Han Yueniang and taken to Zhouhe County andter, a man by the surname Wu rescued her and sent her back to Qinchuan County.¡± With that, the Han sisters looked at each other, then turned their gaze to the child in Jiang Sang¡¯s arms. When they entered the court, they didn¡¯t notice that Jiang Sang was carrying a child. ¡°Your honor, how can the words of a three-year-old child be taken seriously?¡± The young Han quickly defended, ¡°I did indeed find a child that day. I wanted to bring her back home, but I had an urgent matter to attend to, so I took her along to Zhouhe County. Unexpectedly, when I went back for her the second time, she was gone. Your Honor, I took her because I felt pity for her and didn¡¯t have any ill intentions. I didn¡¯t expect that a good deed would be med on me and tarnish my reputation.¡± Yingbao was simply in awe of this woman. Her lie was even better than Yingbao¡¯s. Mei County Magistrate turned his attention to Yingbao, ¡°Is that true?¡± Yingbao immediately hopped out of her father¡¯s arms, bowed to the County Magistrate, and replied resoundingly, ¡°She¡¯s lying! This woman threatened to cut off my nose and hack off my limbs. She also said that if I didn¡¯t behave or mentioned my parents to anyone else, she would kill me and throw my body to the dogs to eat.¡± Ha! Who can¡¯t fabricate a story? One of her was enough to beat the two of them! The young Han gritted her teeth and red at Yingbao, ¡°I never said those words, children should not lie!¡± Yingbao blinked and jumped into her father¡¯s arms, shouting, ¡°Daddy, she is bad. She kicked me and said she would sell me to the brothel where I would be worth twenty taels of silver..¡± Chapter 89 - 89: Talking Nonsense 1 Chapter 89: Talking Nonsense 1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°I didn¡¯t, how could I say such a thing.¡± Little Miss Han was infuriated, pointing at Yingbao, she bellowed: ¡°At such a tender age, yet you can spout such nonsense. Who taught you this?¡± ¡°You are the one talking nonsense! I dare swear to the heavens that everything I said is true, do you dare? Hmph! You and your sister even tried to kidnap children from my house before. Our neighbors couldn¡¯t stand to see it, and they literally dumped shit on you, hence you bribed Chen Ergou to do the dirty work.¡± Yingbao, taking advantage of her young age, jabbered eloquently to an extent that the clerks could not even keep up with their records. Little Miss Han did not expect such a sharp tongue from such a small child, eximed, ¡°Shut up! A child ndering others without any evidence, what terrible upbringing¡­¡± ¡°You are the one without upbringing, look at the things you did, which are any of those an act of propriety?¡± Yingbao stood her ground, hands on hips, confrontationally exchanging words with her. ¡°You¡­ you¡­ this¡­¡± Little Miss Han was so angry her hands shook. ¡°Silence! There must be no mor in the court!¡± County Magistrate Mei mmed the gavel, ¡°Any moremotion and you¡¯ll be disciplined with the wood mp!¡± Little Miss Han dared not say any more. Yingbao rolled her eyes at her and obediently stood next to her father. County Magistrate Mei turned to the defendant Chen Ergou, ¡°Tell us everything about the crime youmitted. If you miss a word, you¡¯ll have to face flogging!¡± Chen Ergou knelt on the ground, beginning to confess. Finally he said, ¡°I cannot bear Master Jiang¡¯s abuse towards my family, his aggressive sentencing causing deportation and imprisonment. So, with my son-inw, we nned to take away his child and left her to survive by herself in the wild. Honored official, I was mistaken, I didn¡¯t intend to harm anyone, I am a good citizen and I have never killed anything, not even a chicken. Honored official, please, spare me this once.¡± Liao Qilin, standing next to County Chief¡¯s desk, asked: ¡°Your confession differs from Zhang Mazhi¡¯s. He imed that you were hired, and promised to be rewarded with a tael of silver afterwards. Is this true?¡± ¡°No, sir, I had never said that to him, he must be trying to swindle me out of my money. Think about it sir, if I were truly hired by someone, how would I have no money to even buy food?¡± Chen Ergou continuously denied, which enraged Jiang Sang and Yingbao. This rascal must have been bought off, but there was nothing they could do about it. ¡°You liar!¡± Jiang Sang yelled angrily: ¡°Baobao was clearly handed over to the Han sisters by you. Now, you twist the truth. Are you expecting to gain some sort of advantage from them?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t, you must not unjustly implicate innocent people¡­¡± Chen Ergou averted his gaze. ¡°Silence!¡± County Magistrate Mei mmed the gavel, shouted: ¡°Jiang Sang! This court has not asked for your response, no mour! Or you will face twenty beats of the rod!¡± Then turned to the used, ¡°Chen Ergou, this court asks you, do you know these twodies standing witness here?¡± Chen Ergou ducked his head scratching his neck, nced at the Han sisters and loudly dered: ¡°Honored official, I know both of thesedies, but they did not hire me. They truly did not, it was all me, I¡¯m willing to take full responsibility, and I swear I will not me any innocent people¡­¡¯ Yingbao and her father were so mad they gasped for breath, turning to nce at the Han sisters, they could see a hint of satisfaction across their faces. County Magistrate Mei was quite pleased with the rapid confession, and was eager to settle the case quickly so that he could focus on his resignation matters. Then, he asked the prisoner to sign a confession and prepare for sentencing. Jiang Sang was displeased, stepped forward and implored, ¡°Honored official, my daughter was indeed kidnapped by the Han sisters who hired a thug, you can¡¯t just close the case like this¡­¡± ¡°Insolent!¡± County Magistrate Mei was furious, ¡°When did this court ever need your opinion to judge a case? You believe the Han sisters hired someone which needs proof. You are baselessly using them based on senseless chatter by a small child. Are you treating the Imperial Court¡¯sw as a joke? Or do you think this official is ipetent and can be manipted bymoners like you?¡± Jiang San protested, yet could only pay his respects, ¡°I dare not.¡± ¡°Hmph!¡± County Magistrate Mei banged his gavel, ¡°The case is clear. ording to the penalw of the Imperial Court, I sentence the principal offender, Chen Ergou, to forty strokes of the rod and five years in prison. The aplice, Zhang Mazhi, is sentenced to thirty strokes of the rod and three years in prison!¡± Chen Ergou and Zhang Mazhi knelt and kowtowed, all feeling a sigh of relief. At least they won¡¯t be banished, their lives are spared. However, serving a few years in prison, they will still go back to the vige work in the fields. Jiang Sang clenched his fist in anger, and Yingbao quickly pulled her father¡¯s hand and shook her head at him. The sisters of the Han Family looked pleased and thanked the County Magistrate greatly for his mercy. County Magistrate Mei took out his official seal and stamped it on the judgment document. He then asked Lin Zhuo, the chief clerk, to write up the verdict announcement and post it on the public notice board outside the County Government. Suddenly, Han Juniang said, ¡°There¡¯s something else I would like to report.¡± County Magistrate Mei, in a good mood, permitted her to speak. Han Juniang said, ¡°The truth is, that girl from Jiang Sang¡¯s family is my biological child, and the Jiang Family has been refusing to return her. I implore the honorable official to help me retrieve my child.¡± Jiang Sang could not contain his anger upon hearing this and was about to rush forward. Yingbao quickly pull back her father, urging him to stay calm. She said to the Han Family, ¡°I am not your child. You must be hoping to abduct me and sell me again!¡± The Government Officials around them saw the situation and pounded their sticks on the ground, shouting ¡°Silence!¡± County Magistrate Mei also banged his gavel, and his face fell slightly. Yet out of curiosity, he asked, ¡°Is there such thing? Han Family, can you exin?¡± Han Juniang bowed to County Magistrate Mei, and said: ¡°Three years ago, I gave birth to a child, but she was weak and seemed to stop breathing early. My mother-inw thought she was dead and threw her away, but then she was picked up by Jiang Sang¡­¡± County Magistrate Mei raised his hand when he got the gist, ¡°This matter is unrted to this case. If there are any disputes, you can wait for the new county magistrate to take office and appeal at that time. Dismissed!¡± Jiang Sang was furious but knew he could notsh out in court. He picked up Yingbao and left. As he passed by the Han sisters, he chuckled coldly. Yingbao, resting her head on her father¡¯s shoulder, said to the Han Family, ¡°I am not your child, you wicked woman! Your child was killed by you a long time ago! Go to hell to find her.¡± Han¡¯s face stiffened. Little Sister Han was also very displeased with her older sister¡¯s actions, and scolded her in low voice. ¡°What nonsense were you talking about? How could you bring this up at a time like this?¡± Had it not been for the County Magistrate¡¯s eagerness to close the case quickly, did this fool want to pull everyone down with her? ¡°In the future, never mention this matter again! The child is not yours, don¡¯t make a big fuss!¡± little Han shouted angrily. Han lowered her head, murmured in agreement, but she was not reconciled. ¡°Besides, we¡¯ve spent quite a lot of silver on this, you must pay us back.¡± Little Han stared at her sister with disgust, ¡°A total of two hundred taels, you must return it to me by the end of the year.¡± Han shrieked, ¡°What!? How can you ask for so much? I don¡¯t have two hundred taels of silver.¡¯ ¡°Keep your voice down!¡± Little Han quickly left the courtroom, reached her family¡¯s carriage, and turned around to tell Han: ¡°Are you pretending that we only bribed one person? Is this amount considered a lot? I don¡¯t care whether you have money or not. You must pay this debt. If you don¡¯t have money, ask for it from your brother-inw or, worstes to worst, from your inws.¡± ¡°Also, don¡¯t ever bring up that child again. If anything goes wrong, no one can save you.¡± Then, Little Han got into the carriage, instructed the servants to set off, and left straight away. Han became lightheaded and looked around. Seeing the Jiang Family¡¯s people staring at her, she got terrified and hurried to find her husband, Chen Changping.. Chapter 90 - 90: There Will Be a Turnaround 1 Chapter 90: There Will Be a Turnaround 1 Trantor: 549690339 Jiang Sang, carrying his daughter, stepped out of the courthouse, surrounded by Chunniang and his parents. Chunniang, her eyes red from anger, took Yingbao from her husband, ¡°Sang, let¡¯s go home and talk.¡± Jiang Sang remained silent, thinking over the situation. The family of five boarded their mule cart. Jiang Sang took the reins and headed for the city gate. Yingbao suddenly remembered Wu Daozi and urgently said, ¡°Father, mother, let¡¯s go to the inn first, I still have to thank Uncle Wu.¡± She had promised to give gourd seeds to Wu Daozi and even said she would take him to Simen Town to see therge gourd. It would not be right for her to break her word. Moreover, she also wanted to invite Uncle Wu to her vige in order to gift him some golden eared Xue¡¯er mushrooms. ¡°Okay, Dad also wants to express his gratitude to Mr. Wu for saving Baobao.¡± Jiang Sang cracked his whip and directed the cart toward the inn. The inn was called Gao¡¯s Inn. You could see its colorful gs fluttering from a distance. The mule cart stopped at the entrance of the inn. Yingbao was the first to jump down and run toward the inn, where she ran into Wu Rui, the servant of Uncle wu. ¡°Uncle Wu, has Uncle Wu finished handling his official business?¡± she asked. Wu Rui was delighted to see Yingbao as well, ¡°I was just about to look for you. Our master is still busy. He specifically asked me toe over and escort Miss back home.¡± Yingbao replied, ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary, I¡¯m with my grandparents and parents, there¡¯s no need to trouble Uncle Wu.¡± Wu Rui smiled and replied, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I will let our master know.¡± Jiang Sang and Chunniang approached and bowed to Wu Rui, ¡°Thank you, young master, and your master for saving my daughter. We wanted to express our gratitude to Master Wu. Could we do so at your convenience?¡± Wu Rui waved his hand, ¡°No need for formalities, my master said he was just lending a helping hand by bringing Miss back. He also said if he had some free time, he woulde to your vige to see your giant gourd.¡± Then, in a low voice, he added, ¡°There are still a lot of uncertainties about your case. My master advises you to be patient. Once the new county magistrate takes office, he will be sure to reexamine your case.¡± Upon hearing this, Jiang Sang¡¯s eyes lit up, quickly thanking him, ¡°Thank you for telling us.¡± Yingbao asked, ¡°Uncle Wu, are you and Uncle Wu going to stay in the county town?¡± Wu Rui replied with a smile, ¡°For the time being, yes.¡± ¡°Then where will you be staying? When I go home to fetch the gourd seeds for Uncle Wu, where should I find you?¡± ¡°Miss, don¡¯t worry. When the timees, I will pick up the seeds from your home. Our master is just renting a ce at the moment, we¡¯ll be moving in a few days.¡± Wu Rui replied cheerfully. ¡°Alright, then.¡± Yingbao had a rough idea of where Wu Daozi held office. Although this servant hadn¡¯t explicitly spoken, his words hinted that his master intended to settle down in this county. When an iing officer decides to stay in a certain county, it usually means he has arrived at his destination and is just waiting to take up his post. This was good news. From now on, she will have to butter up Uncle Wu frequently. At the very least, it could be convenient if she needed to reportints about Xiaohei. After saying goodbye to Wu Rui, the whole family gradually cheered up, their previously worried expressions disappearing. With Wu Rui¡¯s words, they knew this case still had a potential turning point. Jiang Sang felt greatly relieved. ¡°Once the river work ends, it¡¯ll almost be December. I¡¯lle back to the county town at that time.¡± Jiang Sang already had an idea who Mr. Wu was, but he still felt the need to express his gratitude properly for rescuing his daughter. Yingbao nodded, ¡°And I want toe too.¡± She was still worried about therge lump on Wu Daozi¡¯s neck. Thest time the Han Family had taken their case to court, the County Magistrate wasn¡¯t Uncle Wu which indicated that something unusual had happened to Wu Daozi in the year and a half that followed, forcing him to resign and leave. This ident could rte to his health condition or it could be that a direct, elder rtive of his passed away, meaning he had to return home for the mourning Deriod. Another possibility was that he had offended his superior and had his title revoked. No matter what, Yingbao didn¡¯t want any of these possibilities toe true. As they exited through the city gate, Jiang Sang pulled the reins to stop the mule cart and told his father, ¡°Dad, you take the reins. I need to get back to work on constructing a river canal. I won¡¯t be able to apany you home.¡± Old man Jiang, aware that his son had had to bribe the supervisor toe out, nodded in agreement, ¡°Okay, just be careful. It seems there is a donkey cart for passengers over there, you could hire one to return, it could save you some energy.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Jiang Sang hopped off the cart and watched his father head home with the mule cart. Yingbao stuck her head out of the cart¡¯s curtain, waving to her father, ¡°Dad be sure toe home early.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jiang Sang replied with a serene smile, ¡°You all be careful on the road.¡± It was only when the mule cart was out of sight in the distance that Jiang Sang turned around, walked into a nearby grove, and changed into the dirty old clothes that he wore for river construction work from the bundle he had with him. After thinking for a moment, he wrapped a single garment around his face and head, tried it on, and then took it off again. Having packed his bundle and tied it around his waist, he left the grove, slowly walking back toward the county town along the official road. By the time old man Jiang managed the mule cart home, it was already dusk. As soon as Yingbao entered, she saw her two younger brothers run to her, throwing their arms around their sister and crying. ¡°Alright, alright. Look what Sister has brought for you?¡± Yingbao took out the books, calligraphy practice paper, brushes, ink and paper she had bought in the county town. Having received his share of the books and calligraphy practice paper, Xiaowu suddenly stopped being sad. Wiping away his tears, he now looked at his sister with a resentful look on his face. Xiaojie, on the other hand, happily received his character forms and immediately began flipping through them. Yingbao patted the two on their heads, smiling, ¡°You two should study hard so that you can be high-ranking officials in the future.¡± So they could have her back when the time came. The next day, before Yingbao had gone to school, Lady Wen came over with her daughter and son to visit her. Wen Shu, holding Yingbao¡¯s hand, anxiously asked, ¡°Yingbao, have those bad people who captured you been punished yet?¡± ¡°Yes, they were sentenced to five years.¡± Yingbao felt anger rise within her at the memory. ¡°I heard that the Han sisters hired those assassins. How were they sentenced?¡± Lady Wen asked. Yingbao made a face, ¡°Chen Ergou took all the me for the crime. The Mingfu judged the Han sisters to be innocent.¡± Lady Wen sighed, she had expected this oue. Having lived in this mountain vige for a while, she hade to understand a little bit about Chen Changping¡¯s family. The brother-inw of the Han sisters worked under the County Magistrate. Compared to the rootless and baseless Jiang Family, he was far superior. Just a little maniption and the Han sisters would be acquitted. What¡¯s fortunate is that the Jiang family didn¡¯t suffer a major loss and getting the child back was already a miracle in itself. It¡¯s just a pity that they themselves didn¡¯t know anyone in the county, otherwise they would have tried to pull some strings. But, on the other hand, even if they had attempted to pull strings, it would have been useless given the fact that the criminal took all the me. The final sentence would still have been the same. ¡°The important thing is that she¡¯s back.¡± Lady Wen patted Yingbao on the head. ¡°From now on, I¡¯lle to your house to give you lessons every other day.¡± Anyway, this child is still small and there¡¯s no hurry to start learning medicine. Yingbao shook her head, ¡°There¡¯s no need to trouble teacher, I¡¯m not scared of bad people.¡± She was determined to go to school every day. If a situation like thest one were to ur again, she would take a knife from her heavens¡¯ pce and stab the person. She had been startled the previous time and hadn¡¯t had time to react before she was restrained. She would definitely be extra careful in the future. After chatting for a while, Lady Wen took her children and bid goodbye. Before leaving, Wen Shu gave Yingbao another book, ¡°Rest at home for the next few days. Look through this book, The ssic of Shen Nong, when you have time. I will be giving you a quiz in the future..¡± Chapter 91 - 91: Chen Family Wants to Split Up 1 Chapter 91: Chen Family Wants to Split Up 1 Trantor: 549690339 At night, Yingbao entered her underground hideout. The soybeans and wheat she had nted previously were almost ripe, and the cabbages had grown quiterge. The shepherd¡¯s purse and chives were blooming as well. These crops are difficult to harvest during winter. It truly is frustrating. Previously, she had nted golden and silver fungi, which were also ripe. Yingbao simply harvested them and left them to dry on a bamboo rack. She sprinkled a little Ganoderma juice over the mycelium, waiting for them to fruit. For the next few days, Yingbao resumed her usual life. She went to school in the morning, tutored her younger brothers in the afternoon, read medical books herself, and cleaned up crops in the hideout at night. Early one morning, she got up, cleaned herself up and went to feed the deer. Meanwhile, Chunniang was cooking in the kitchen. The dough kneadedst night had already fermented. Chunniang added some alkali in the water, dipped her hand in the alkaline water and started kneading the dough to steam buns. When Yingbao returned from feeding the deer and washed her hands, she also started kneading the dough. ¡°Today we¡¯re making date buns.¡± Chunniang bought two catties of dried dates from the county and a bag of brown sugar and osmanthus. They were perfect for making bun fillings. ¡°Date buns are delicious.¡± Yingbao smacked her lips. In her previous life, she had tasted her mother¡¯s date buns once. The dried dates were pitted and wrapped with brown sugar in the dough and then steamed. It was fragrant and sweet. At that time, their family was poor. Her mother only made them once a year during the New Year. That was the only time she got to taste them. As the mother and daughter were kneading the dough, the neighbour, Aunt Wang, came in with a mysterious look on her face, ¡°Chunniang, I have something to tell you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Chunniang ced the kneaded buns on a bamboo tray. Aunt Wang took a seat on a bench, patted Yingbao¡¯s head and said, ¡°Chen Laoshuan¡¯s second son and daughter-inw from West Vige were beaten up Chunniang and Yingbao immediately turned their heads to look at Aunt Wang, their eyes gleaming, ¡°Really? What happened? Did they lose any limbs?¡± Aunt Wang gave a sly smile, ¡°Chen Changping¡¯s head was broken, and his wife¡¯s face was swollen like a pig¡¯s head.¡± ¡°Serves them right!¡± Chunniangughed, ¡°Bad people deserve to be punished.¡± Yingbao asked, ¡°Do you know if the one who beat them was caught?¡± She had a sense of unease in her heart. Aunt Wangughed and said, ¡°From what I hear, it doesn¡¯t seem like they¡¯ve been caught. This morning, I went to West Vige and saw quite amotion.¡± ¡°What was themotion?¡± Chunniang leaned in and asked. Aunt Wang pped her thigh, ¡°Oh, you wouldn¡¯t know, Chen Laoshuan¡¯s sons and daughters-inw are arguing about dividing the family property. Chen Dng, the eldest, even came back from the county and wanted to fight with his younger brother.¡± Chunniang pulled up a stool and sat down, curiously asking, ¡°Tell me more.¡± Yingbao also brought a bowl of brown sugar porridge to Aunt Wang, ¡°Aunt Wang, please continue.¡± Aunt Wang took a sip of the porridge and said, ¡°ording to their neighbours, when Chen Changping and his wife returned, they demanded money from their parents, specifically two hundred taels. My goodness, two hundred taels! We wouldn¡¯t make that much in a lifetime.¡± Chunniang and her daughter looked at Aunt Wang without batting an eye, waiting for her to continue. ¡°Guess what, the eldest brother Chen immediately turned against them. He said that the money he had earned over the years was spent on his younger brother¡¯s education and now he had to repay his sister-inw¡¯s debts. If this continued, life would be unbearable. They might as well split the family.¡± Aunt Wang took another sip of porridge and then said, ¡°Since the eldest brother suggested splitting the family, the third son¡¯s wife also demanded a separate living. Chen Changhai, the son-inw of the third family, had gone to serve in the military. All they had at home was his wife and a five-year-old child. That daughter-inw was quite something. She immediately went home and brought back her family. They demanded that her parents-inw also give them two hundred taels for the division of property. If the second brother could get two hundred taels, so should the third. They wouldn¡¯t settle for less.¡± Aunt Wang emptied the bowl of porridge, put down the bowl andughed, ¡°Now, the Feng Family took a rope to hang herself but was stopped. Chen Laoshuan was so angry that he smashed all the pots and tes in the house and was jumping around, demanding that his second son divorce his wife.¡± Yingbao blinked, deep in thought. In her previous life, the Chen Family had never asked the second son to divorce his wife, and they had never split up. Until Chen Changping passed the schr examination and moved to the county, the two brothers of the Chen Family still helped him buy a house and courtyard in the county. This was strange. But it¡¯s good that their family is in such a mess. It makes her wonder if Mrs. Han will still covet her, the human tool, in the future. ¡°Oh Chunniang, I came back specifically to tell you this. I need to go back and see what¡¯s going on.¡± said Aunt Wang. Aunt Wang stood up and touched Yingbao¡¯s little head, ¡°Dare to steal our little Fairy Child, tsk! May his entire family be cursed!¡± After speaking, she swung her hips and left. Yingbao straightened out her tousled hair and said to Mother Chun, ¡°Mother, why don¡¯t we go and join the fun?¡± Chunniang smiled, ¡°What¡¯s there to see? It will just hold us up. Instead, let¡¯s kill a chicken and celebrate at lunch.¡± Naturally, ughtering a chicken was off the table, as the hens at home were raised asyers. Losing even one would mean an egg less each day. It was market day, so Chunniang handed two coins to her nephew, asking him to buy amb leg, a couple of pork strips, and an old goose. At noon,yed out a table full of delicious dishes to treat her inws, sister-inw, and nieces and nephews to a meal. After eating, Sister Dani and Dani sat and chatted on Yingbao¡¯s heated bed. Sister Dani had an embroidery hoop in her hand, embroidering flowers, while Dani was knitting a belt. ¡°Tomorrow, Brother Dacheng will be engaged. There will be many guests.¡± Jiang Cheng¡¯s engagement came as no surprise to Yingbao. He was almost sixteen, and if he didn¡¯t settle his marriage soon, there was always a risk of conscription by the Imperial Court. So, he must marry as soon as possible to have children and continue his lineage. ¡°Is it a girl from Chu family vige?¡± Yingbao asked. ¡°Yes, the daughter of the vige chief of Chujia vige, called Chu Man.¡± ¡°Chu Man?¡± Yingbao looked up from her book. Why was this different from her past life? In her previous life, Brother Jiang Cheng¡¯s wife wasn¡¯t named this, nor was she the daughter of the vige head of Chu Family vige. ¡°Yes. Chu Man is the youngest daughter of the family. Her two elder brothers and one sister are already married.¡± Shifting the topic to Big Dani, Dani said, ¡°Mother said, after fixing Brother¡¯s engagement, we¡¯ll arrange Sister Dani¡¯s too.¡± Sister Dani¡¯s face immediately turned red with embarrassment. She twisted Dani¡¯s arm. ¡°Mind your own business.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Dani giggled and dodged. ¡°I already saw my brother-inw that day.¡± ¡°Stop talking!¡± Sister Dani toppled Dani on the bed and tickled her. Daniughed loudly and pulled Yingbao for cover. Yingbao curiously asked, ¡°Who is Sister going to get engaged to?¡± She had no idea that Sister Dani¡¯s marriage had already been discussed. ¡°No telling!¡± Sister Dani covered Dani¡¯s mouth. Dani pulled away Sister Dani¡¯s hand, turned her face to the side, andughed, ¡°He is called Zhang Shaodong, the youngest grandson of the town¡¯s doctor Zhang. ¡± Yingbao was taken aback. This also seemed off. In her previous life, Sister Dani¡¯s husband was a young man from Liu Family vige. His family wasn¡¯t wealthy and certainly couldn¡¯t bepared to Doctor Zhang¡¯s family. Pretending to be angry, Sister Dani pped Dani and then ignored her, continuing her embroidery. Once the sisters finished their yful banter, they continued chatting. ¡°Yingbao, today I saw Chen Zhao from West Vige standing on Shigong Bridge staring at our school,¡± Dani¡¯s love for gossip never died. Yingbao wasn¡¯t initially interested, but she was curious about Chen family¡¯s split and the aftermath. She wondered how Chen Zhao would cope without the shelter of the great Chen family. ¡°Should we go to West Vige in the afternoon to check out the situation?¡± Yingbao looked at Sister Dani. Dani shook her head: ¡°No, grandmother doesn¡¯t want me to take you around aimlessly. We might encounter some trouble.¡± The shadow of the previous incident still lingered. Dani couldn¡¯t forget what had happened. That day, she was close to wetting her pants out of fear. It was a trauma for life. Moreover, Huzi had lost a front tooth. He was still whistling while speaking.. Chapter 92 - 92: Turn Sister Back to Normal_l Chapter 92: Turn Sister Back to Normal_l Trantor: 549690339 No need for Yingbao to watch the excitement. Come evening, Aunt Wang came again to visit Jiang¡¯s house, sharing with Chunniang the interesting happenings she witnessed. ¡°The Chen family just had a division of property.¡± Aunt Wang, grinning as she epted a red date steamed bun from Chunniang, said, ¡°Ah, you wouldn¡¯t know. Feng from the Chen family moved all the contents of the moneybox to the yard and smashed it; there was only ten and a bit taels of silver inside, ours is even more than theirs.¡± Ever since Aunt Wang started growing golden ears with Jiang, her life improved day by day. Thest sale of their golden ears brought in more than twenty taels of silver; subtract the autumn tax and repayment of debts, and there was still more than ten taels left. Chunniang asked cheerfully, ¡°How much did each of their houses get then?¡± Aunt Wang, munching on her steamed bun, mumbled: ¡°How much can they get? Six taels for each son¡¯s family. But, Chen divided quite a lot ofnd for his sons, more than three hundred acres ofnd, a hundred acres per family, leaving only sixty for the elderly couple.¡± This was no surprise to Chunniang. When Chen and his wife were young, they were hardworking people, and they had a nice homestead. Even though they spent years supporting their children and grandchildren in their studies, they managed to amass quite a lot ofnd. It¡¯s said that when Chen was young, he worked as a horse boy in a wealthy family and saved their young master; the master¡¯s family rewarded him with a significant amount of money and even gave him a beautiful wife, who returned home with him to farm. That wife was the Chen¡¯s Madame Feng. ¡°Oh, there¡¯s still better dramaing.¡± Aunt Wang couldn¡¯t even bother to eat her steamed bun as she jested, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t know. The Han¡¯s immediately sold their hundred acres ofnd right on the spot for 220 taels of silver.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Chunniang was amazed, ¡°They sold them straight away? Who did they sell to?¡± Aunt Wang chuckled, ¡°Who else? Chen Sanyou¡¯s family bought ten acres of paddy, and Chen Changsheng from West Vige also bought ten acres. A few other households bought scattered pieces ofnd totaling to twenty acres. The rest of the plots were slowly bought up by people from other viges. Only the fields on the South Slope remain unsold.¡± Of course, thends that had been verbally promised to Chen Changping cannot be sold. ¡°Tsk tsk, Chunniang, you wouldn¡¯t know this, Chen was annoyed to the point of passing out, but he couldn¡¯t prevent Han from selling thends.¡± Aunt Wang shook her head regretfully, ¡°I wanted to buy some too, but unfortunately, the remainingnds are all on the lower South Slope, so it¡¯s meaningless to buy them.¡± Chunniang burst intoughter and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t her husband going to do something about Han¡¯s actions?¡± ¡°How can he do anything? From his expression today, it seems like he can¡¯t wait to sell all thends to avoid any troubles. Well, Chen Changping read himself into a fool since he was a child. He has never done a day¡¯s worth of farming; how would he know the importance of it?¡± Aunt Wang bit her steamed bun viciously, and said contemptuously, ¡°Just watch, he will suffer one day.¡± Chunniang poured a bowl of tea for Aunt Wang, ¡°That might not necessarily be the case. I heard Chen Changping has his own abilities. He used to earn money by copying books himself during his school days.¡± ¡°You believe that nonsense!¡± Aunt Wang took a sip from her tea bowl, and bit into her steamed bun again, ¡°Did he go to read or to copy books? Other elders have said that you only earn a few coins for copying a book in the bookstore. Make one mistake, and you don¡¯t earn a coin, worse, you¡¯ll lose money for the paper and ink. Pfft! If Chen Changping can earn two taels of silver a year from copying books, I¡¯ll walk backward through the vige.¡± ¡°Maybe they really have a way to make money.¡± Chunniangughed, ¡°Just as the saying goes, snakes have snake paths, mice have mouse paths; who¡¯s to say Chen Changping doesn¡¯t have the ability to provide for the family?¡± Aunt Wang nodded, ¡°Hmm, I did hear someone say that Chen Changping wants to sell hisnd and mix around with his brother-inw. Surely his sister and brother-inw, who live in the county city, can lend him some support?¡± Chunniang simply couldn¡¯t wait for Han to go to the county city and nevere back. ¡°Indeed, they maybe able to enjoy a life of luxury in the county city.¡± ¡°Possibly so.¡± Aunt Wang chatted with Chunniang for a while longer before she got up to go home. Yingbao sat nearby, secretly listening to their conversation and pondering. Han and her husband were truly unique; selling thend they relied on for survival and nning to live in the city. In her past life, she never saw Han earn a single coin, not to mention Chen Changping. Before bing a schr, his education was solely supported by his parents and elder brother. Now, his older brother Chen Changrong had split from the family, so how much could Old Chen and Feng Family really help him? Well, anyway, it¡¯s none of her business. She would rather have the Han Family distance themselves from her as much as possible. The next day, Jiang Family¡¯s eldest grandson was having an arranged engagement. Many guests needed attending to, so Chunniang went to help her sister-inw¡¯s family early in the morning. Yingbao took her two younger brothers for their morning routine and breakfast, then led them to school. This was the first time Xiaojie and Xiaowu were in a ssroom, they were so reserved they didn¡¯t dare to speak. They were like mice seeing a cat when they saw Lady Wen. Although Lady Wen was very kind, the two children sat upright without moving for an hour. In the end, Wen Hengyin couldn¡¯t bear to see this, so he took them to the backyard to see the piglets. It was then that they began to loosen up. The piglet Spiral had grown to a weight of fifty to sixty pounds, and wasn¡¯t afraid of people. When it saw them, it came running over, making noises for food. Wen Hengyin gave it a dried date, and Spiral rolled it happily into his mouth, chewing away until drool streamed out. ¡°Once it gets a little bigger, I can ride it.¡± Wen Hengyin bragged to the two little scamps, ¡°It runs faster than your family¡¯s deer.¡± Hearing this, Xiaowu became unhappy, ¡°Our deer runs faster than your piggy.¡± Xiaojie nodded in agreement: ¡°Yeah, your piggy is so ugly.¡± Wen Hengyin pulled a face, but as the older brother, he had to maintain his dignity. He couldn¡¯t stoop to the level of these two ignorant scamps. ¡°Spiral isn¡¯t ugly, look how good it is.¡± As Wen Hengyin stroked Spiral¡¯s head, he suddenly thought of the little tufts on Yingbao¡¯s head. Well, why not tie two little tufts on Spiral too? It would look adorable, and then the two little scamps wouldn¡¯t call Spiral ugly anymore. No sooner said than done, Wen Hengyin ran like the wind to his sister¡¯s room and searched until he found two ribbons that matched the ones on Yingbao¡¯s head. He guessed they were for his sister¡¯s hair, but she hardly used them anymore, so they were just left in the makeup box. Wen Hengyin ran back and tied two small tufts on Spiral¡¯s head. Just taking a look, it really did look simr to the tufts on Yingbao¡¯s head. ¡°Xiaojie, Xiaowu,e and see if Spiral looks good¡±?¡± Wen Hengyin pulled the two scamps over and pointed at Spiral smugly. Xiaojie and Xiaowu were both amazed, looking at Wen Hengyin in disbelief. ¡°Big Brother! You¡¯re in for trouble.¡± ¡°What?¡± Wen Hengyin blinked in confusion. ¡°Why am I in for trouble?¡± Xiaojie wore a grave face: ¡°You¡¯ve turned our sister into a piggy.¡± Xiaowu clenched his little fists in anger: ¡°Turn my sister back!¡± Wen Hengyin was taken aback. He looked carefully at the pig before him, a twinge of panic inside. But then he thought again, this was his Spiral, how could it be Yingbao?! Sure enough, nearly fooled by these two dummies. ¡°Look closely, dummies! This is my Spiral, not your sister.¡± Wen Hengyin pointed seriously at the piglet¡¯s forehead: ¡°Your sister doesn¡¯t have a spiral on her forehead.¡± Xiaowu pouted, then suddenly burst into tears: ¡°Bad brother! Your sister doesn¡¯t have a spiral!¡± Chapter 93 - 93: Cousin’s Marriage 1 Chapter 93: Cousin¡¯s Marriage 1 Trantor: 549690339 Wen Hengyin felt screwed. His goodwill bore no fruit and he found himself trapped by two little brats. Just a moment ago, Yingbao and her sister stormed in. Upon seeing the tiny knubs of hair sticking up from his head, an immediate rage hit them. Not only did they chase him half-way through the vige, they also punished him by making him copy the Nei Jing ten times. Her sister said that until he finished copying, he would get no food. Who did he provoke to deserve this? Hmph! Unreasonable! For the sake of them being women, he would not argue with them. He was a strong man. How could he be scared off by copying the Nei Jing ten times? If he couldn¡¯t finish it today, couldn¡¯t he just do it tomorrow? Anyway, the Nanny would never see him starve, she would always sneak some good food to him, so he wouldn¡¯t even be hungry. When school was let out at noon, Yingbao brought her two younger brothers and her second sister Huzi home. There were quite a number of people standing in Uncle Jiang¡¯s yard, and two tables were set up in the house. Yingbao and the children went into the room to look at Brother Dacheng¡¯s future wife. Several women were sitting in Sister Dani¡¯s room, and a girl of fourteen or fifteen was particrly eye-catching. The youngdy was dressed in a peach-colored jacket and skirt, with twin buns in her hair. Her skin, fairer than Brother Dacheng¡¯s ex-wife, made her more beautiful. The only thing was her eyebrows that seemed a bit too sharp, making her seem difficult to get along with. Next to her, a woman in her thirties who looked somewhat simr to her, looked aged with difficulty in her steps. ¡°Oh, whose twin children are these?¡± Ady in her twenties asked with a smile. Springdy, who was apanying them,ughed, ¡°They¡¯re mine. The girl is my eldest daughter, Yingbao. Yingbao, Xiaojie, Xiaowu, greet your aunts.¡± Yingbao stepped forward to greet them, and sweetly said, ¡°Hello, Aunts.¡± Xiaojie and Xiaowu also followed her and greeted everyone in turn. When it was the youngdy¡¯s turn, Yingbao also greeted her, ¡°Hello, My Sister.¡± The young girl suddenly giggled, ¡°So you are the child bride found by your third aunt. I thought you would have three heads and six arms. Turns out you are just a kid. The rumors are really not to be trusted.¡± There was a hint of embarrassment among the women when they heard this while Springdy¡¯s expression instantly darkened. Yingbao turned to the girl with a beaming smile, ¡°Yeah, is there a problem? Even though I was picked up, I¡¯m no child bride, nor do I have three heads or six arms.¡± Suddenly, Xiaojie and Xiaowu blocked their sister, clenched their little fists at the girl, and eximed, ¡°You are the one who was picked up! Your entire family was picked up!¡± Seeing this, Yingbao quickly pulled her two brothers out of the room. The girl in red turned beet red, sped the sleeve of the woman next to her, and with a sob in her voice, said, ¡°Mother, I, I want to go home.¡± The woman gently patted her daughter¡¯s hand, then turned to Springdy and said, ¡°Young Sister, my daughter is straightforward and often speaks without thinking. Please do not take offense.¡± Springdy simply smiled, ¡°No harm done, they¡¯re all children. My younger son is only three years old, and sometimes his words don¡¯t reflect well. Sister-inw Chu, you mustn¡¯t take it to heart.¡± ¡°Yes, children often speak without thinking,¡± thedies around themughed, trying to ease the tension. Outside, Yingbao was a little annoyed. She had regrets abouting at this time as well. If she had caused trouble for her Cousin Brother¡¯s engagement banquet, she would be the one to me. After she led her brothers home and stroked the tops of their heads, she decided not to lecture them. After a while, Springdy returned, hugged her daughter, and said, ¡°Baobao, there¡¯s no need to lower yourself to their level. We are the true family. Everything others say is nonsense.¡± Yingbao grinned and cuddled up to her mother. Yes, she had her father, her mother, her siblings ¨C her true family. Why should she care about what others said? In the afternoon, with no school, Yingbao continued reading, and at the same time, supervised her brothers¡¯ handwriting practice. Xiaojie¡¯s writing skills were beginning to show promise. His daily copying of characters had transformed into writing, each stroke and each dot full of charm. Xiaowu¡¯s writing was not bad either, but itcked the vitality of Xiaojie¡¯s. Yingbao believed that diligence could make up for deficiencies, and Xiaowu would be able to write good characters one day. However, they couldn¡¯t just keep instructing them without proper guidance, they had to find a good master for them as soon as possible. Otherwise, once they developed a habit in writing, it would be hard to change. Time flew, and it was thest lunar month. The tributarybor finally ended, and the vigers began to return home. The three Jiang brothers also returned home, looking rtively unharmed, albeit much thinner and darker. Chunnain heated arge pot of warm water for her husband to take a bath, and warmed up the kang, making the room much warmer. She took out a set of new clothes andid them on the rack, saying, ¡°You change into these after washing. I made them for you.¡± With abundant cotton and sufficient money in the house, Chunnain made new clothes and shoes for everyone in the family whenever she was free. Jiang Sang took off his dirty and shabby clothes and sat down beside the bath tub, lowering his head for his wife to wash his hair. Chunnain scooped a handful of soap mud out of the can and began to knead it on her husband¡¯s head. ck water trickled down from her fingers. ¡°The wedding date for your big nephew is fixed in April next year. The date was chosen by the girl¡¯s side.¡± Chunnain discussed the family affairs with her husband. ¡°In a few days, Dani is going to have her betrothal, with the grandson of Widow Zhang.¡± Jiang Sang responded with a nod of approval, then asked, ¡°Why is the eldest sister-inw setting Dacheng¡¯s betrothal at this time?¡± The children¡¯s engagement was set when he and his two elder brothers were not at home, which was quite unexpected. Chunnain: ¡°It was suggested by the matchmaker from the Chu Family, we didn¡¯t know either. The eldest sister-inw and parents also proposed to the matchmaker that it would be better to wait for your return, but the Chu Family didn¡¯t mind.¡± Jiang Sang did not reply, merely rinsed his hair with the hot water in the yellow basin. Seeing the water turn ck, Chunnain hurriedly dumped it out and scooped another basin of hot water for him to wash again. After washing his face and head, Jiang Sang got into the big wooden bath tub to soak. While Chunnain was scrubbing his back, she noticed a scar half a finger long on his shoulder and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°When did you hurt your shoulder?¡± Jiang Sang said with his eyes closed, ¡°Forgot.¡± Chunnain touched the scar and frowned, ¡°Such a long one, it should have bled quite a bit.¡± Jiang Sang didn¡¯t respond. His wound was caused by Chen Guanglu¡¯s dagger, but that guy didn¡¯t end up well either. He had his leg crippled by Sang, he was regretful to have not found Miss Han, otherwise he would have made her suffer the same fate as her husband. Daring to harm his daughter, since the government couldn¡¯t punish him, he would take revenge himself. Luckily, he had taken a medicine made by his daughter beforehand and smeared the wound with a prepared ointment. The wound healed promptly once he arrived at the work site. This was done so discreetly that even his elder brother had no idea. Only his second brother knew what had happened, and did not let him do heavy work while they were working. Jiang Sang wore a new blue cotton robe after the bath. It was his first time wearing such a robe, and he felt a little ufortable. Usually, peasants like them wore shorts. A short top and short trousers, tied with a belt at the waist, it was convenient for work. Those who were well-off would only wear long robes on important asions, to show their respect. The rest of the time, they would still wear shorts. ¡°Tomorrow Dani will get engaged, you as her uncle have to show up.¡± Chunnain adjusted her husband¡¯s robe. Not to mention, Sang, when dressed up, did look handsome. No one could have guessed he was a peasant. Seeing that his wife suddenly blushed, Jiang Sang smiled and said, ¡°You should also dress up. We¡¯ll all go together.¡± Since he had to show face for his niece, it was not only up to him. At critical times, it was the women from the family who had to step forward.. Chapter 94 - 94: When is the Return Date_l Chapter 94: When is the Return Date_l Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao and her two younger brothers did not attend Sister Dani¡¯s engagement banquet. Yuanbao and Huzi also did not go, only Erni apanied Dani. Today was a school¡¯s rest day. Taking advantage of their parents¡¯ absence, Yingbao fetched a basket of chives from the storage and prepared to make some chive pockets. She originally wanted to make pork and chive dumplings, but no one went to town to buy meat. Even if she had meat, she couldn¡¯t mince it. It was simpler and easier to make chive and egg pockets. After kneading the dough, she washed the chives, drained the water and chopped them up. Then, she cooked an omelette, chopped it up, and mixed it with the chives. The next step was to roll out the dough and make the pockets. Yuanbao and Huzi were ying in the yard with their two little brothers, while Little Yingbao was painstakingly making the chive pockets alone. After she finished making them, she had to slowly cook them over low heat. Just as she had finished a few, the four boys ran in, each grabbed one and started eating. They didn¡¯t care that the chive pockets were half-cooked, they still keptplimenting how delicious they were. Yingbao: ¡­ Well, this was her first time cooking chive pockets. Herck of experience led to one side being burnt while the other wasn¡¯t even cooked yet. It was hard on the four kids who didn¡¯t evenin. They each took one and ate it heartily. The second batch was much better. Although a little burnt, at least they were cooked and edible. But the second batch was also taken and eaten by the four rascals. Yingbao was speechless, but she was also happy because those burnt pockets didn¡¯t go to waste. By the third batch, the chive pockets were cooked perfectly. Yingbao finally picked up one to eat herself. Not bad, her skills were really not bad. They weren¡¯t burnt at all, they were nearly as good as her mother¡¯s. ¡°Yingbao, are you at home?¡± Wen Shu¡¯s voice was heard from outside the courtyard. Yingbao immediately ran to open the gate and saw Wen Shu and Wen Hengyin walking in. The four little rascals also ran over to greet Wen Hengyin, each one with ck around their mouths. Wen Hengyin was surprised and asked Huzi, ¡°What did you guys eat?¡± Making such a mess. Huzi: ¡°We ate the chive pockets made by Yingbao, do you want a taste? They¡¯re really good.¡± ¡°No!¡± Wen Hengyin shook his head. He didn¡¯t want to eat anything ck. Yingbao led Sister Wen into the kitchen, cooking and listening to her talk. ¡°Yingbao, I came to say goodbye. Tomorrow, my mother will take us to Prefecture City, and we probably won¡¯te back till next March.¡± Wen Shu sat down on a small stool. When Yingbao heard this, she became a bit worried. Because this time happened to be when the Wen family had trouble, she didn¡¯t want Sister Wen to leave. ¡°Sister Wen, can you not leave?¡± Yingbao removed the fire and came out from behind the stove. Wen Shu stirred her handkerchief and sighed: ¡°We haven¡¯t heard from my father for over a month. My mother and I are very worried. We are going to Prefecture City to find out what on earth happened in Yuzhou.¡± Yingbao frowned, ¡°Can¡¯t you write to your rtives to ask?¡± She feared that once Wen Shu left, it would be hard for them to meet again. Wen Shu shook her head: ¡°Mother said instead of waiting idly, it¡¯s better to go to Prefecture City. They are well-informed there, unlike our isted small vige. We can always know something there.¡± ¡°Well, can you and Madam Wen reallye back next March?¡± Yingbao asked. Wen Shu nodded, ¡°No matter what, we will be back.¡± Yingbao scratched her head, unable to think of a way to help Sister Wen. Her own precious golden habiliments and Xue¡¯er had been bought by Lady Wen, so they didn¡¯t need her Five Dingzhi. After a long hesitation, she spoke earnestly, ¡°Sister Wen, not long ago, I had a bad dream. I dreamed that your house was ransacked, and you were separated from your little brother¡­ Don¡¯tugh, my dreams are very urate, you and your husband must be careful.¡± Wen Shu stopped smiling, deep in thought. ¡°I¡¯ll go home and tell my mother to interpret your dream for you.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Beyond that, Yingbao could think of no other good method. Wen Shu left with her brother. Before leaving, she gave Yingbao a few medical books she had brought with her. ¡°On the days when my mother and I are not here, you must study these books diligently. If you don¡¯t understand anything, note it down and wait for my mother and me toe back to exin it.¡± Yingbao nodded, hugged Sister Wen, and said quietly, ¡°Sister Wen, you must take good care of yourself and your little brother. In my dream, you were separated from your little brother.¡± She wasn¡¯t afraid that such words might upset Wen Shu, she blurted them all out. ¡°For many years after that, you never found him again.¡± Wen Shu was taken aback. She patted Yingbao¡¯s head without showing any displeasure, ¡°Thank you for the reminder, Yingbao. I will keep an eye on him and not let him run around.¡± After Sister Wen and her brother left, Yingbao, a little depressed, finished cooking her chives pancakes, then sat on a stool, dazed. She suddenly remembered that it had been a long time since she had dreamt about that book. She wondered about the final fate of Chen Zhao and Chen Tiantian. Early the next morning, Yingbao rode Youyou to see off Lady Wen, only to find the school¡¯s door tightly locked. They had already left, even the snails had been brought along. Yingbao stood at the door, saddened for a long time before she reluctantly returned home. Since there was no school, Yingbao proposed to move to the new house on South Slope. After discussions with her husband, Chunniang decided to move the entire family to South Slope. Now it was the cold twelfth month, and there was no work to be done in the fields. It was the ck season for farming, and the vige folks had nothing to do. Whenever it was sunny, the men of the vige would sit under the south wall, basking in the sun and chatting, some even took off their cotton-padded clothes, turned them inside out to pick off the lice. The women would gather with their needlework and baskets to gossip about recent events. Jiang Sang first used the mule cart to transport some bedding and clothes to South Slope. Then it was the daily necessities, followed by people. Yingbao rode Youyou and arrived at South Slope early to tidy up the house. The house and yard on South Slope were quiterge, and at first it seemed a bit empty and even colder. But here it was open, with a good view, and there were not many households. In snowy weather, they could hunt for birds and Youyou could go out for a run by itself, without anyone having to walk it. After a round, it would return home on its own. Seeing his younger brother¡¯s family move to South Slope, Jiang Eng also decided to move in with his children. Every day he would cut some bamboo to make bamboo stools, and weave a few bamboo baskets forter to dry Xue¡¯er. Old Man Jiang had already been living on South Slope, watching over their granary with his two grandsons and incidentally fattening two pigs. Before they knew it, a month had passed and in no time, it would be the New Year. One day, the peaceful mountain vige was suddenly disrupted because a small group of soldiers draftedst year had returned, and all of them were wounded. ¡°My son, what happened to you? How did your leg get injured like this?¡± The n Leader¡¯s second wife, Tang Family, cried and wept as she hugged her son who was lying on a stretcher. ¡°Da Lang, you hurry and go to the town to invite the doctor to take a look at your brother,¡± the n Leader instructed his eldest son at the sight of this. Seeing the misery of his younger brother, Chen Da felt ufortable and rushed to town in a carriage to fetch Doctor Li. Having examined the condition, Doctor Li shook his head and said to the n Leader, ¡°Your son¡¯s situation isn¡¯t good. His right thigh has necrotized, and the toxins from the rotting flesh have already spread throughout his body. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s difficult to treat.¡± Upon hearing these words, Tang Family fainted. The youngest daughter-inw quickly pinched her mother-inw¡¯s point of consciousness and her tiger¡¯s mouth. Seeing this, Doctor Li hastily pried open Tang Family¡¯s mouth and tucked a slice of ginseng under her tongue.. Chapter 95 - 95: Asking the Fairy Child to Cure the Disease 1 Chapter 95: Asking the Fairy Child to Cure the Disease 1 Trantor: 549690339 Mrs. Tang finally woke up, let out a slow sigh, and burst into loud sobs. Grabbing a handful of Chen Fu¡¯s clothes, she wailed, ¡°Husband, you must think of a way, save Zhuzhu.¡± She then turned towards Doctor Li, and suddenly kneeled, knocking her head against the ground. ¡°I beg you, Doctor Li, save my child, sob, sob, sob, he is only in his twenties, please save him¡­¡± Doctor Li quickly dodged and said to Mrs. Shao, ¡°Help your mother-inw up.¡± Wiping away her tears, Mrs. Shao quickly helped her mother-inw. Doctor Li sighed and proceeded to examine Chen Zhu¡¯s wound. Chen Zhu was injured by an arrow, on the outer thigh. The arrow had been removed, and as long as the wound was immediately treated and bandaged with the right medicine, there would be no issues. Unfortunately, there was no medicine at the time, so the wound became infected and purulent, swelling up his entire thigh. Doctor Li touched Chen Zhu¡¯s forehead, feeling that he still had a high fever. His lips were turning ck, his face a sickly pale, unconscious, seeming to be at the end of his rope. The situation seemed dire. ¡°I will formte a prescription for a decoction to bring down his fever and detoxify him, and apply an anti-inmmatory medicine to his leg. s, whether he could pull through would be entirely up to him,¡± Doctor Li said. Doctor Li quietly said to n Leader Chen Fu, ¡°The situation is perilous for your son. You should prepare yourself.¡± Hearing this, Chen Fu couldn¡¯t keep the tears from falling, feeling overwhelming guilt towards his fourth son and elderly wife. But now that things have reached this point, other than feeling heartache, he was helpless. His wife didn¡¯t look too good either, which increased his worries. ¡°Doctor Li, could you please check on my wife too?¡± Chen Fu wiped his tears with his sleeve, chokingly bowed to Doctor Li. Doctor Li quickly helped him up, gently shook his head, and went to check Mrs. Tang¡¯s pulse. At that moment, Mrs. Shao had already helped her mother-inw onto the kang, the two were crying together. On seeing Doctor Lie over, they quickly rolled up Mrs. Tang¡¯s sleeve. After checking her pulse, Doctor Li said to Chen Fu, ¡°your wife¡¯s pulse indicates that her liver heat is intense; there¡¯s risk of stroke. You need to keep an eye on her.¡± Hearing this, Chen Fu felt somewhat lost and quickly asked, ¡°What should be done?¡± Doctor Li sat down to write a medical prescription and said, ¡°Try not to agitate her and cause her to get inmed, and avoid excessive grieving. Ensure that she has calm and peaceful rest. I will prescribe a decoction for her first, and then check on her after a few days.¡± ¡°Alright, you just prepare the medicine. From now on, I will definitely keep an eye on her.¡± Afterwards, Chen Fu had his eldest grandson escort Doctor Li home, and fetch the medicine on his way back. After soothing his wife, Chen Fu went to check on his youngest son, feeling even more distressed. It seemed like the white-haired him would have to send off the ck-haired son. He would rather exchange his life for thetter¡¯s if he could. After pacing a few rounds in the room, an idea popped into Chen Fu¡¯s head and he hurriedly went to West Vige to find the divine witch, Song, to exorcise the evil spirits from his son. As the saying goes, desperation leads to erratic attempts at finding a cure. He was out of options. As a result, in the courtyard of n Leader Chen¡¯s home, an altar was set up, incense and candles were lit, and Divine Witch Song led her two grandchildren, adorned with colorful ribbons, in a ritual to worship the gods and began the sacred dance. The sacred dance was quite particr and not random; dances for healing, praying for blessings, and exorcising evil spirits were each unique and had their specific steps. The divine witch, also understood as a shaman or sorcerer,bined the roles of a shaman and a doctor. They were known as the healers among themon folk due to their knowledge of medicine and their ability tomunicate with the divine, predict good and evil fortunes, and provide divine revtions. Divine Witch Song took out a packet of prepared medicinal powder from her belt, mumbled her prayers while ringing her bell, and then poured the medicinal powder into a bamboo tube filled with water, shaking it a few times. She then handed it to Chen Fu, ¡°This is the divine medicine bestowed by the gods. Hurry and have your fourth son drink it.¡± Chen Fu respectfully epted the divine gift and gave it to his fourth son to drink. Divine Witch Song also went into the room and saw the young man lying on the kang, and silently shook her head. From how he looked, even though he was young, he would probably not survive for a few more days. After feeding the divine medicine anding out, Chen Fu saw Divine Witch Song still chanting and ringing her bell, holding a piece of tortoise shell and casting it onto the ground. Thud! The tortoise shell broke into three pieces. Before anyone knew, the Divine Witch Song had drawn a ring of fire on the ground, into which the turtle shell was thrown. She grabbed the shell, shouting loudly, ¡°Heaven has decreed that a demon haunts this ce. Only with the Fairy Child assisting me can we lift the curse.¡± n Leader Chen hurriedly asked, ¡°What does that mean? Who¡¯s the Fairy Child?¡± The Divine Witch Song blinked her small eyes, raising her voice, ¡°The Fairy Child lives in the vige, only four years old. With her help, the demon haunting your son will surely withdraw.¡± Chen Fu instantly knew who the Fairy Child was in Song¡¯s words. At this moment, he hesitated. After all, the child was only three or four years old, what could she do? But, for a glimmer of hope for his son, he, as a father, couldn¡¯t give up. Chen Fu contemted how he should talk to Jiang Sang, asking Yingbao to cure his son¡¯s evil disease. If he speaks improperly, Jiang Sang might throw him out of the house. From the corner of her eye, Divine Witch Song watched Chen Fu¡¯s hesitation, rang her bell and spoke a long incantation, finally saying, ¡°If the Fairy Child doesn¡¯t help, there¡¯s nothing I can do.¡± The implication was, if the Fairy Child didn¡¯t help, Chen Zhu would undoubtedly die, and it had nothing to do with her, the witch. Chen Fu clenched his teeth and strode out the door. He ran all the way to South Slope, only to see a little girl riding arge deer sprinting from the open field. The deer was strong and tall, its antlers looked like a divine beast, galloping like the wind. The little girl in red dress, two little braids on her head, rosy cheeks, sat straight on the deer¡¯s back, like a born rider. At this moment, Chen Fu stared nkly at her, as if he had truly seen a Fairy Child descended from the heavens. ¡°Little¡­ Yingbao!¡± Chen Fu quickened his steps towards her. Seeing n Leader Chen running hastily towards her, Yingbao quickly pulled Youyou to a stop. ¡°Grandpa Chen, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Chen Fu, panting, paused beside therge deer,posed himself and asked, ¡°Where is your father?¡± ¡°My father is over there, digging a pond.¡± Since the Jiang family had moved to South Slope, they encountered water issues. Thus, Jiang Sang, along with his second brother, were digging a well beside the pond while they had some free time. But drilling a well in South Slope was not easy, they had to remove the underground stones first. So, digging a well turned into digging a pond. Chen Fu pondered for a while, then tentatively said, ¡°Yingbao, my son, Zhuzhu, is injured. I was¡­ I was thinking you coulde and look at him.¡± He didn¡¯t dare to mention Witch Song¡¯s words and treated Yingbao only as a little doctor, asking her to see the patient. Upon hearing the request for a check-up, Yingbao¡¯s eyes lit up, and she readily agreed, ¡°Okay.¡± She also wanted to see what kind of injury Chen, the n Leader¡¯s younger son, had gotten. Lady Wen once said that to quickly improve your medical skills, you must treat different patients and umte clinical experience. ¡°But I need to go back and tell my mother first, and also grab a medicine bag.¡± Yingbao urged the deer to turn around. With a look of delight, Chen Fu quickly nodded, ¡°I also need to go and talk to your parents.¡± Upon reaching Jiang Sang¡¯s house, Chen Fu told Chunniang about asking Yingbao for a check-up, without mentioning anything about Witch Song¡¯s divination, fearing that Jiang Sang would overreact. Chunniang puts away the thread wrapper and stood up, ¡°Since Baobao agreed to go, I will apany her.¡± She can¡¯t let her daughter go to someone else¡¯s house alone. Yingbao entered her cave house to collect some ointment and pills, put them in a small bag made by her mother, and then came out. ¡°Grandpa Chen, let¡¯s go.¡± Yingbao, carrying her little bag, climbed onto Youyou¡¯s back. Chunniang also finished packing up, instructed Erni and Huzi to y with their sons in the yard, and followed close to her daughter.. Chapter 96 - 96: Special Effect Drug_l Chapter 96: Special Effect Drug_l Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao and Chunniang walked into n Leader Chen¡¯s courtyard, stunned by the scene before them. Incense smoke filled the courtyard, and two five- or six-year-olds danced in front of the incense table. The two of them were draped in multi-colored ribbons, and held colorful ropes and peace fans in their hands. Bronze bells tied around their wrists and ankles jingled as they moved. ¡°Were these shamans?¡± wondered Yingbao. An old woman wearing a feather crown came forward, dancing around Yingbao. Chunniang frowned, protectively scooping up her daughter, and turned to ask n Leader Chen, ¡°Uncle Chen, what is the meaning of this?¡± Chen Fu awkwardly touched his nose and didn¡¯t dare to speak the truth. Instead, he told the Divine Witch Song, ¡°Yingbao wants to go in to see my son¡¯s illness, would you please make way?¡± Divine Witch Song gave a knowing look and immediately stepped aside. Chen Fu then said to Chunniang, ¡°The Divine Witch is performing a ritual. Let¡¯s go inside first.¡± Seeing that Divine Witch Song had moved aside, Chunniang held her daughter and walked into the house. The house still smelled strongly of incense and candles, mingled with a faint stench of decay. Chunniang wrinkled her nose, ced her daughter down at her daughter¡¯s indication. Yingbao walked to the front of the bed and stood on her tiptoes to look at the sick person. Unable to see clearly, she asked Chen Fu to bring over a chair and stood on it to pull back the covers. A wave of foul stench hit her. Chen Zhu was not wearing pants, only a loincloth. Chunniang gasped and was about to carry her daughter out of the room. Yingbao waved her hand and said to Chunniang, ¡°It¡¯s okay. As a doctor, I must be impartial to gender. Mother, you can go out first. I will examine the patient¡¯s injuries.¡± If she was to be a doctor, she would inevitably have to deal with the human body. She may even have to dissect the corpse and examine the internal organs. She couldn¡¯t fulfill her dream of bing a Divine Doctor if she can¡¯t even face a man¡¯s body. Helpless, Chunniang left the room and stood guard at the door. Yingbao examined Chen Zhu¡¯s leg wound. Seeing it was covered with dark ointment, she suggested Chen Fu to clean it off. Chen Fu immediately called his daughter-inw to bring some hot water for cleaning his son¡¯s wound. ¡°Do you have any spirits?¡± Yingbao asked. Madam Wen always said that external injuries need to be cleaned with strong liquor to kill bacteria, before applying medicine for the best effects. Chen Fu shook his head, ¡°No spirits.¡± He had only heard of spirits, but never seen it. In this rural ce, even rice wine was notmon, let alone spirits. ¡°Then use boiling water, let it cool and use it to clean his wounds. The cloth must also be sterilized by boiling and drying,¡± Yingbao instructed seriously. Shao epted and immediately started to do as Yingbao instructed. Yingbao then took Chen Zhu¡¯s pulse and looked at his pupils. Madam Wen had said that if a patient¡¯s pupils dte, it is a strong indication the person may not survive. Yingbao had never seen dted pupils before, now she finally did. Chen Zhu¡¯s pupils were indeed somewhat dted, certainly different from the regr pupils of a healthy person. Yingbao took a pill from her bag, considering that Chen Zhu couldn¡¯t swallow solid food, she asked Chen Fu to bring a bowl and pour some tea into it. She crushed the pill and dissolved it in the tea, then let Chen Fu feed it to his son. After a while, Shao brought hot water for her husband to clean the wound and Yingbao stood on the chair to watch. The thigh wound was dreadful, a gaping hole in it was filled with pus. It looked disgusting. Shao sobbed as she cleaned the wound, tears fell into the wash basin. Yingbao wanted to tell her not to let her tears drip into the water. Lowering her head, she saw a narrow-eyed little boy looking at her with his head raised, his eyes dark and deep. It was Little Demon, Chen Zhu¡¯s son. Yingbao sat down and motioned for the Little Demon toe over. After a moment of hesitation, Little Demon approached her. Yingbao took out a cooked water chestnut from her bag and handed it to him. ¡°This is for you.¡± Little Demon took it and studied it, but did not eat it. ¡°The wound has been cleaned,¡± said Mrs. Shao softly. Yingbao nodded, asked Mrs. Shao to fetch a new basin of clean water, and withdrew a small sharp knife from her bag. She used this knife when harvesting golden ears, and today she nned to use it to cut Chen Zhu¡¯s wound. Seeing Yingbao take out a small knife, Mrs. Shao¡¯splexion changed. But before she could speak, Yingbao instructed, ¡°Bring the candlemp over.¡± Mrs. Shao obeyed and fetched the candlemp. Yingbao ced themp to the side, instructed Mrs. Shao to prepare hot water, then she climbed onto the kang bed tform where Chen Zhu was, ready to cut into his wound. Chen Fu stared, his eyes wide in disbelief. But the Fairy Child was someone he had invited, even if he had many doubts, he did not dare voice them just yet. Pressing around the wound, Yingbao noticed Chen Zhu¡¯s spasms and quickly instructed Chen Fu. ¡°Grandpa Chen, have a few peoplee in to hold him down. Don¡¯t let him move around.¡± Chen Fu immediately went to the door to call for people. He summoned his oldest son and grandson. The three men held Chen Zhu down while Mrs. Shao brought the hot water and two pieces of cloth that had been heated. Yingbao cleaned her hands with the fresh water, and also cleaned her knife before holding it over the candle me for a good while. Once the knife had cooled off, Yingbao squatted beside Chen Zhu¡¯s leg and made a small incision in his wound, releasing a wave of foul-smelling pus and blood. Chen Zhu woke up in pain, his legs thrashing around, but fortunately Chen Fu and the others kept him still. Fighting back against her difort, Yingbao made a few more cuts around the wound, releasing even more pus and blood. Once the flow of pus and blood had lessened, she cleaned the area with a clean cloth and applied some of the medicinal ointment she had brought along. This ointment contained not only Five Tripod Fungi, but also baical skullcap root, honeysuckle flowers, red sage root, and knotweed flour. All of these ingredients were bought from the town¡¯s apothecary, in preparation for unexpected injuries. Ever since Yingbao had read the ssic of Herbal Medicine and the Folk Herbals the older sister Wen gave her, she nned to store more herbs in her cave dwelling to create various ointments and herbal pills, to be prepared for sudden needs. Since the future would not be peaceful, with the Imperial Court constantly conscripting troops to quell rebellions, it was possible that some of her family members would be conscripted one day. Therefore, she had to prepare more special wound medicine. This was the first time she had prepared wound medicine, and now she was testing it on Chen Zhu to see its effectiveness. After applying the medicine, Yingbao jumped off the kang bed and pulled out a few more medication pills, passing them to Mrs. Shao. ¡°Give him two pills every two hours and tie a clean cloth around his wound. Be careful not to rub off the ointment. I wille back tomorrow to check on him.¡± Mrs. Shao nodded repeatedly in agreement Yingbao looked at n Leader Chen and spoke, ¡°Grandpa Chen, you have to pay me for the medicine this time. There will be no consultation fee, but the pills and ointments are expensive.¡± Chen Fu did not seem surprised and asked, ¡°How much in total?¡± ¡°Five taels of silver,¡± answered Yingbao. Chen Fu froze for a moment but still went to fetch a nugget of five taels of silver from his house and handed it to Yingbao. Yingbao pocketed the silver and dashed out of the house, followed closely by Chun Niang carrying her daughter. Divine Witch Song wanted to say something, but was rudely interrupted by Chen Fu, ¡°Yingbao has already medicated Zhu¡¯er, and she said she would be back tomorrow to check on him. The offering fee to invite the Divine Witch will be delivered to you by my eldest son. I still have things to arrange and will not see you off.¡± Divine Witch Song rolled her eyes quietly, not saying more. She immediately instructed her grandchildren to pack up and prepare to head home. Psh! Did they really think that little brat was a true Fairy Child? That was just something she said on purpose! If Chen Zhu dies tomorrow, they can me it on Yingbao. Then no one can put the me on her, Divine Witch Song.. Chapter 97 - 97: Fishing (requesting for monthly tickets and recommendation tickets)_l Chapter 97: Fishing (requesting for monthly tickets and rmendation tickets)_l Trantor: 549690339 Chunniang led Youyou and said to her daughter sitting on the deer¡¯s back, ¡°Don¡¯t just agree to treat people in the future. If anything bad happens to them, won¡¯t it ruin your reputation?¡± Yingbao nodded: ¡°Hmm, I know, mother.¡± She simply wanted to test the effect of the wound medicine, and Chen Zhu happened to be the best subject for this experiment. After some time, she nned to go to the county town, buy more medicinal materials to make medicine, and see Wu Daozi while she was at it. On her previous visit, sister Wen gave her a book of precious prescriptions. Yingbao had a quick read and decided to follow the instructions and buy some medical supplies to make some pills. Back at their South Slope home, Yingbao unloaded the saddle from Youyou¡¯s back, led it to a secluded spot in the courtyard, and fed it some fresh beanstalks. She patted its neck and said, ¡°After you¡¯re done eating, go back home on your own. I need to check on how father¡¯s well ising along.¡± Youyou nudged her with its head as if it understood what she said. ¡°Sister! Sister!¡± Xiaowu and Xiaojie came running at full speed. Yingbao walked towards them, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Brother Huzi and Brother Yuanbao have gone bird hunting. I also want a bow and arrows to shoot birds.¡± Xiaowu was particrly enthusiastic about archery. He pestered his father all day to make him a small bow and arrow set. However, their father was worried that the two youngsters might hurt each other while ying, so he didn¡¯t make them such objects. Yingbao pulled her two younger brothers back, ¡°Why do you want to shoot birds? We¡¯re not short of meat. Birds are so pitiful, they are harmless, why do you want to kill them?¡± Xiaowu scratched his head and felt that what his sister said made sense. But he still really wanted a bow and arrow, even if he just shot trees with it. Xiaojie tipped his head and said: ¡°We won¡¯t shoot birds, we¡¯ll shoot rabbits.¡± Yingbao tapped him on the head, ¡°Have you done your calligraphy for today? How far have you recited the Thousand Character ssic?¡± Xiaojie rubbed his forehead and excitedly raised his small hand: ¡°I¡¯ve already memorized up to ¡®Dragon is assigned to fire, bird to the sphere of humanity. Initially they made characters, then they clothed and dressed.¡¯ Yingbao praised him: ¡°Xiaojie is really good, you¡¯ve already memorized up to this point. I¡¯ll buy you something good to eat when I go to town.¡± Xiaowu protested: ¡°I¡¯ve also recited it.¡± Yingbao patted him too, generously praising: ¡°Xiaowu is also very good, whatever gift you want, sister will buy it.¡± ¡°A bow! I want a bow! And arrows!¡± Both of them shouted in unison. Yingbao was left speechless. Oh well, the next time they go to the market she would buy a small bow and arrow set for each of them, making sure the arrows aren¡¯t too sharp. As soon as Chunniang came back, she started cooking. First, she boiled a pot of rice, and when it was cooked, she deliberately simmered it a little longer on low heat. This made the rice form a crust at the bottom of the pot, which she kept as snacks for her children. Then she made tofu with cabbage, boiled a few salted eggs and a couple of links of sausage. At home, they also had a small pot of bean paste, and a bowl of it as a side dish was delicious. With the food ready, Chunniang instructed the twins to go and call their father and uncle in for dinner. At the dinner table, Jiang Sang took a mouthful of rice and said to his wife, ¡°There¡¯s a big market tomorrow. Look around the house and see what we need. Buy what¡¯s missing. This year we should expect a lot of visitors during the New Year¡¯s celebration, so prepare plenty of food and meat to entertain our guests.¡± Chunniang nodded, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll have Dacheng help me take the donkey cart tomorrow, it will be easier to buy and bring back more things.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t buy tofu. Dad said we¡¯re making it ourselves this year, and we¡¯ll divide it up amongst the families.¡± ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll buy some more fish.¡± Chunniang said. Your banquet must include fish, otherwise, it will be disrespectful. Yingbao lifted her head from the bowl and blinked, ¡°Why don¡¯t we go and catch some fish?¡± Her cave was stocked with a generous amount of premium Xue¡¯er fragments, which would otherwise go unsold. Since they couldn¡¯t finish them at home, why not make them into fish bait? They could even save the money that would otherwise be spent on buying fish. Jiang Sang was about to refuse, but then he heard his daughter say, ¡°I have a lot of chopped Xue¡¯er. Mixed with some flour and bran, it can be made into fish bait, sure to catch big fish.¡± Jiang Eng¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Sang, then let¡¯s go fishing this afternoon.¡± There¡¯s no hurry for well digging; we can invite some vigers to dig it after the New Year festivities. Also, we can hire two professionals to guide us so that the well fills up with water in spring. Because after the spring warmth returns, the water in the pond will contain insects, rendering it unsuitable for drinking. Jiang Sang was initially not enthusiastic about the idea, but seeing his little daughter, nephews and brother looking forward to it, he had to nod: ¡°Then let¡¯s prepare the fishing gear, and look for a spot this afternoon.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go to the same spot asst time, it has a wide water surface, and we¡¯ll certainly catch a lot of big fish.¡± Jiang Eng hadpletely forgotten about getting soaked and falling sick previously. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go there.¡± Jiang Sang nodded and stuffed a piece of tofu into his mouth. Yingbao decided to go along and see, anyway, she was riding a deer, it wouldn¡¯t get in the way of her father¡¯s ns. After eating, Yingbao mixed the chopped golden and snow fungus into the bran, and then handed arge jar of fish bait to her father. Jiang Sang grabbed a handful to inspect, seeing his hand full of bran and flour, he was pleased, and agreed to let his daughter go with them. When harnessing the mule for the cart, it spotted Yingbao and started crying out, repeatedly pushing itsrge head towards her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have food for you.¡± Yingbao patted itsrge ears, feeding it a handful of bran, and also fed some to the deer. Jiang Sang harnessed the mule to the cart, ced the fishing, iron hooks, ropes, and baskets onto the cart, and then hopped onto the shafts in one swift motion. After the two nephews and his brother also squeezed onto the mule cart, he wielded the whip to drive the mule on the road. Yingbao mounted her deer and followed closely behind. On the way, they ran into Chen Yin and a few vigers. They initially wanted to invite Jiang Sang for a rabbit hunt in the mountains, but they unexpectedly saw him driving a mule cart towards the river. Then, noticing the equipment piled on the cart, the men exchanged knowing smiles. ¡°Sang, you¡¯re going fishing. Take us along too.¡± Could Jiang Sang refuse? Of course not. With frustration, he responded, ¡°Fine! But you must bring your own tools.¡± The Chuanhe River wasn¡¯t his property, these men were his good friends as well, bringing them along didn¡¯t matter. However, whether they could catch anything depended on their luck. Chen Yin and others cheered, running back home swiftly to fetch tools and yelling as they ran, ¡°Sang, make sure to wait for us!¡± By the time they returned, several other vigers had followed them, including the Li Dayong brothers and Wang Ke. Well, now it had turned into a vige event. Jiang Sang felt exasperated, but there wasn¡¯t much he could say. Yingbao, riding her deer, followed closely behind the mule cart, receiving warm looks from the vigers on the way. Alright, she was the center of attention. At ater time, she would give each of them a health check and see what was troubling them. After traveling several miles, they arrived at a broad riverbank. Jiang Sang, Jiang Eng, and the two nephews began unloading their fishing gear and searched for a suitable spot. Yingbao, on the other hand, was trotting around on her deer, appreciating the scenic surroundings. ¡°Sang, let¡¯s spread the fish bait here,¡± Jiang Eng pointed at a river beach and said. It was here where they had caught fish the year before. There was a shallow water area about half a yard wide near the river bank, which was particrly good for dragging fishings. ¡°Alright, here it is then. I¡¯ll spread the fish bait first, you guys watch the timing to use the fishing. Dacheng, Erquan, you both are not very strong, be careful not to fall into the river!¡± ¡°Yes, Uncle San!¡± Dacheng and Erquan bubbled back cheerfully, picking up thes in preparation for catching fish.. Chapter 98 - 98: Envy and Jealousy (Requesting Monthly Votes and Recommendation Tickets)_l Chapter 98: Envy and Jealousy (Requesting Monthly Votes and Rmendation Tickets)_l Trantor: 549690339 After a short while, Yingbao began hearing exmations from the crowd. Her own dad caught two big fishes, each five or six feet long, causing astonishment and excited yelps among the crowd. ¡°Are these fishes possessed? Why are theying this way?¡± A viger yelled. Chen Yin scorned, ¡°Shut your stupid ass up! Didn¡¯t you see when Third Brother threw out the fish bait?¡± The crowd said: ¡°Exactly! Your mouth is nothing but bad luck. It¡¯s almost New Year¡¯s, stop running your damn mouth. Didn¡¯t you see Fairy Child here keeping order?¡± The man, feeling embarrassed, rubbed the back of his head and awkwardlyughed: ¡°I spoke without thinking, I¡¯m sorry. Don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± He then bowed towards Yingbao and said, ¡°Fairy¡­ Yingbao, don¡¯t be angry. It was Uncle¡¯s potty mouth.¡± Yingbao pretended to ignore him and beckoned Youyou to stand higher. Standing high and looking far, she could see the entire river surface. Straight after, Jiang Sang spread another handful of fish bait along the river bank, for about two feet. Then, he told the crowd: ¡°You should hurry and get the fishs ready by the water to catch them, otherwise, once they finish eating the bait, they will swim away.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± About a dozen vigers instantly spread out, each held a scoop and a bamboo basket, standing next to the fish bait with some even gripping tight onto iron forks. After a short while, water ripples started to appear on the surface. Several big fishes swam over to eat the bait. The crowd was screaming and attempting to catch the fish. The scene was total chaos. The Jiang family captured another two big fish methodically. These two weren¡¯t asrge as the previous ones, but they still weighed about ten pounds each. The vigers each had their own catch, one even caught a big turtle with the size of a hat. ¡°Hahaha! I got one!¡± ¡°I also caught one.¡± ¡°Agh, I was so close¡­¡± Some were joyous, some were frustrated, but none of them minded their clothes or pants soaking wet, with shoes filled with cold water. Two hourster, everyone had something to show for, catching two or three big and small fish each. The Jiang family caught the most ¨C a total of sixteen four to five feet long big fishes and several ten-pound blue fish. ¡°Okay, we should head back.¡± It was getting dark, and if they didn¡¯t leave soon, it would be hard for the mules to see the paths. Jiang Sang and others loaded all the fish onto the mule cart and changed into the dry cotton clothes and shoes they prepared beforehand. Last time, they got sick due to being too cold throughout the journey since they were wearing wet clothes. So this time, they brought extra cotton clothes and shoes. The other vigers didn¡¯t bring anything extra, but they still happily carried their fish back to the vige with smiles on their faces. Along the way, they received countless envious looks from others. A passerby even asked, ¡°Are you guys clearing a fish pond?¡± ¡°What fish pond? We caught these in the river,¡± a viger proudly replied. The passerby was surprised, ¡°You managed to catch fish in this weather? Wow, are you selling these fish?¡± Li Dayong and his brothers loudly declined: ¡°No, we¡¯re not selling! We¡¯re keeping these for the New Year celebration.¡± The passerby wouldn¡¯t give up and asked others. A few vigers decided to sell one fish each and keep one for themselves after discussing among themselves. These few hadn¡¯t had their turn to nt golden ears and were financially tight. With these few hundred coins of earnings, they would have a better New Year celebration. At the very least, they could buy a couple of pounds of pork or mutton from the market. Moreover, they still had a big fish. They would never buy such arge fish to eat in previous years. On the way, they met several vigers from West Vige who were extremely envious. When Jiang Sang and his party left victoriously withrge fishes, several vigers from West Vige began toin: ¡°Look at how prosperous East Vige is bing! I really want to punch that Chen Changsheng.¡± ¡°What does Chen Changsheng have to do with this?¡± someone retorted, ¡°The good times in East Vige are because they have a Fairy Child watching over them. What does our vige have?¡± An evil like Chen Ergou, not even an immortal could prevent him from causing disasters. ¡°Right.¡± Someone agreed, ¡°The Jiang Family has surely prospered. They were lucky to find such a blessed fairy child, if I had been the one to find her, maybe our West Vige would¡¯ve prospered too.¡± ¡°Nonsense! What blessed fairy child, you all are just being delusional.¡± One person scoffed. ¡°How is it nonsense? Haven¡¯t you seen how Jiang¡¯s third son changed? Not only did they build a house on South Slope, they even grew golden ears and made a fortune out of it. The whole of Quandong Vige has benefited.¡± ¡°Absolutely! I heard they also grew cotton on South Slope. Cotton, mind you, it¡¯s precious. It makes winter clothes light yet warm, and above all, it does not prick. Do you know who gifted them those cotton seeds? It was the fairy child.¡± Everyone fell silent. Indeed, who other than a blessed fairy child could present such seeds? One person suddenly asked, ¡°Hey, who actually lost the fairy child?¡± ¡°Who knows? Maybe she snuck out of the Fairy Pce¡­¡± ¡°Nonsense! Even the Holy Mother has a mortal mother, the fairy child must¡¯ve been born of a mortal woman.¡± ¡°Well then, who¡¯s her mother? Why would she abandon a blessed fairy child?¡± ¡°Her mother must be blind.¡± ¡°Are you suggesting her mother could be Chen¡¯s second daughter-inw?¡± ¡°Stop joking. How could it be her? She is sinister and malicious, she even drove her eldest daughter to suicide by throwing herself into the river.¡± ¡°Exactly! How could such a woman give birth to a fairy child?¡± ¡°Hey, I heard the other day that the Government Official questioned Chen¡¯s second daughter-inw about hiring Chen Ergou to kidnap children, but somehow she got released.¡± ¡°My, she¡¯s really relentless, despite everything she still dared to act.¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± ¡°Which is why the child is not from Chen Changping¡¯s family. You all should stop guessing blindly.¡± While they were engaged in their gossip, they suddenly noticed Chen¡¯s old father approaching, quickly they nudged each other. ¡°Keep it down, herees Chen¡¯s old father.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s move.¡± The vigers of West Vige, immersed in their discussions, noticed Chen¡¯s old father staggering towards them, causing them to scatter in all directions. Jiang¡¯s third son and his group returned home, dividing the caught fish amongst themselves. Each family took five big fish. The rest of the slightly smaller fish, were given to Jiang Cheng to take to his inws as a new year gift. Of course, two were kept aside for the Zhang family. Since Jiang Cheng was betrothed to a girl from Chu Family, it was tradition to exchange gifts at the beginning of the year. Delivering some fish would also add to their prestige. It was the same with Dani¡¯s side, the man had to give a gift, and Uncle Jiang¡¯s family had to reciprocate. While scaling the fish, Chunniangmented, ¡°In past years, due to our poverty, we couldn¡¯t exchange gifts. Now that we have enough, we still can¡¯t afford to.¡± Jiang¡¯s third son asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You see, we need to give gifts to the Twenty-mile Shop, my parents¡¯ house, and even my uncle¡¯s house, your uncle¡¯s house. We have to prepare a gift for everyone.¡± Chunniang sighed, ¡°In the past we saved where we could and turned a blind eye to it, but look at us now.¡± Jiang¡¯s third son chuckled, ¡°Just put your heart into it, we aren¡¯t obliged to entertain everyone.¡± ¡°Easier said than done.¡± The mere thought of it gave Chunniang a headache. Just her maternal family alone required several gifts, each elder required a gift, and then the gifts for the younger ones, wouldn¡¯t even fit in a mule cart. Also, everyone knew that their life was getting better and kept their eyes wide open. If the gifts were a tad mundane, they would have to bear snide remarks. They¡¯d say she had be arrogant since amassing wealth, looking down upon her poverty-stricken rtives, even after acquiring so much wealth, she was giving such gifts. s, the past would¡¯ve been better. At least then, no matter what she brought back, they wouldn¡¯t have said anything about it. Where there¡¯s no expectation, there¡¯s no resentment.. Chapter 99 - 99: Improvement in the Condition_l Chapter 99: Improvement in the Condition_l Trantor: 549690339 Early the next morning, after breakfast, Little Yingbao took a mule cart to n Leader Chen¡¯s house with Mother and Brother Jiang Cheng. n Leader Chen rushed out, his smile wide on his face, ¡°Little¡­ Yingbao is here,e in quickly, have you had your food? ¡°I have eaten, I came to see Uncle Chen Zhu.¡± ¡°Good, good, Zhu woke up this morning and even ate half a bowl of porridge.¡± n Leader Chen was chirpily following behind the toddler, like an old follower. Seeing Madam Shaoing out of the house, he quickly instructed: ¡°Zhu¡¯s wife, go and make tea for your third sister-inw and niece.¡± Spring Lady: ¡°No need, after Baobao has finished the diagnosis, we still have to go to the town, don¡¯t bother your fourth sister-inw.¡± Madam Shao hesitated, unsure whether to go and make tea, but her father-inw red at her, and she hurriedly ran to the kitchen. Yingbao walked into Zhu¡¯s room, asked n Leader Chen to light amp, so she could examine Zhu¡¯s leg injury. Zhu was already awake now, but still very weak. First, Yingbao pulled down his eyelid to check his pupils. Zhu¡¯s pupils had recovered to normal, but still seemed a bit unnatural. After checking the pupils, she started examining the leg. Zhu obviously felt embarrassed, he curled up his leg and turned his face away. The red swelling on his thigh had considerably reduced, but the ointment applied yesterday was dry. Looking at the state, his medicine needed to be changed again, and Yingbao couldn¡¯t help but feel the sting. Not to mention those expensive herbs, just in this ointment and pill, a lot of ¡°Five-Ding-Zhi¡± has been added. But thinking of someone paying for the medicine, she got over it. ¡°Grandfather Chen, my medicine is very precious, a box along with twelve pills, altogether five taels of silver, this is only for one day¡¯s dosage.¡± Yingbao seriously told n Leader Chen: ¡°If you find it expensive, I also have cheaper options, as low as one tael of silver per dose.¡± Chen Fu waved his hand repeatedly: ¡°Not expensive, not expensive, use the one for five taels, I will get the money.¡± No matter how expensive, he had to use the best, Chen Fu was well aware of his son¡¯s condition. Since he ate Yingbao¡¯s pills, his son Chen Zhu had significantly improved. At that time, even the doctor Li had told him to prepare for the worst. The Fairy Child was indeed a Fairy Child, she pulled his son back from the Ghost Gate with just a few pills. With that statement from n Leader Chen, Yingbao was satisfied. She took out the ointment to apply on Zhu¡¯s wound. After applying the medication, and feeding him two more pills, she only then epted the twenty-five taels of silver that n Leader Chen handed over, and stuffed it into her small bag. Chen Fu was not surprised that her small bag could hold so much, he said: ¡°I want to prepare four days¡¯ worth.¡± The New Year was about to arrive and it would not be right to trouble Yingbao toe to his house for treatment at that time. Even if Little Yingbao agreed, her parents probably wouldn¡¯t. Of course, Yingbao didn¡¯t have a problem, she took out four palm-sized jars from her small bag, and a bowl full of pills. ¡°This is enough for four more days, I wille to see you again in a few days.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Chen Fu asked: ¡°Yingbao, can you also take a look at my wife?¡± Madam Tang had been feeling quite unwell in the past few days. Even after taking the medicine prescribed by Doctor Li, there was no improvement. She was constantlyining of dizziness, blurry vision, and stiff fingers. Yingbao nodded, ¡°Okay, where is Grandma Chen?¡± ¡°She¡¯s lying in the room.¡± Chen Fu quickly led Yingbao to his room. Madam Tang was lying on the bed with her hair disheveled. There was more grey than ck in her hair, and her face was dark and haggard; she appeared even older than the n Leader. My, she was actually about ten years younger than n Leader Chen. The critical illness of their son abruptly snatched away half the life of the olddy. Yingbao conscientiously took her pulse, checked her eyes and tongue coating, and asked n Leader Chen to bring one pack of her medicine for examination. She had already determined her condition. Lady Wen once said that for people around fifty years old, most of them suffer from symptoms like irregr liver and spleen function and thick blood. Not only should they take medicine to regte, but they also need a low-sugar, low-salt diet. They should move around more, drink more water to alleviate this situation. The prescription provided by Dr. Li is indeed helpful, but adding cinnabar to it is somewhat unfortunate. But now most prescriptions follow ancient recipes, some not only add cinnabar, but also mercury. Lady Wen¡¯s family has a medical background, her father said that cinnabar and mercury are high-quality medicines, but they are highly toxic, and misuse can be fatal. So Lady Wen especially emphasized during her lectures that you should not use cinnabar and mercury to prepare medicines at will. Yingbao thought for a while and said to n Leader Chen: ¡°Mrs. Tang¡¯s pulse is tense, the medicine prescribed by Dr. Li is just right, but she should still pay attention to a light diet, should not eat sweets, shouldn¡¯t drink rice porridge, should drink more water. When Ie back from the town, I will prepare some medicine for her to try.¡± n Leader Chen rubbed his hands: ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good. I¡¯ll go back to your house to pick it up. Yingbao, how much does the medicine cost?¡± Yingbao raised a hand: ¡°Five taels!¡± She needs to pay for the herbs from the pharmacy, and the price of five taels is already a favor. n Leader Chen¡¯s face twitched, but he still nodded: ¡°Okay, I will give it to you.¡± ¡°No need, no need. Wait for me to prepare the medicine and take it then.¡± Yingbao said: ¡°I¡¯m going to the town now, and it¡¯s not appropriate to carry too much silver.¡± Chen, who had just spent twenty-five taels of silver, subconsciously looked at Yingbao¡¯s small bag. It was light, not looking like it was filled with several ingots of silver. Yingbao said goodbye to n Leader Chen and cheerfully left with her mother. There were already many people on the streets of the town. The crowd was packed, and the donkey cart couldn¡¯t get in, so it had to be parked on the side of the road for Jiang Cheng to watch. Therefore, Chunniang carried Yingbao in a bamboo basket and went in with the crowd. Before every New Year, there are many stalls in the market, even the peddlers who travel from house to house put down their carrying poles on the roadside. Yingbao picked some toys and also bought a dozen sugar-coated haws, silk flowers, andbs. She also bought two thin-de knives, two pairs of scissors, and two sets of children¡¯s bows and arrows from a general merchandise stall. She also saw several sheepskin balls and pigskin balls hanging from a peddler¡¯s shelf and bought two. These are filled with pig urine, sewn with a pig or sheepskin cover, inted and tied tightly so kids can y with them. They are more shoe-saving than kicking stone balls and do not hurt the feet. They are just right for the little monkeys at home. This kind of ball is only sold during the New Year, and it cannot be bought at other times. Chunniang bought a few pieces of cloth in a cloth shop and asked the shop assistant to send the cloth to the donkey cart. Then she went to the grocery store and bought two bags of salt to take back for pickling fish. Brown sugar, rock sugar, frost sugar corner, fried sugar candies, and cloud piece cakes were also bought in plenty. One pound per pack, and bought eight packs for each variety. Red paper was pasted on the oil paper packaging outside, with the words ¡°Good Luck.¡± When visiting someone¡¯s house during the New Year, these are the gifts. She also bought a lot of mutton, pork, andrge roosters. Seeing that someone was selling wild chicken and wild rabbit, she also bought a few of each. When they returned from the market, the donkey cart was already filled with things. Yingbao also bought many items, some for mom and dad and her younger brother, and some for other people at home as New Year gifts. She also went to the pharmacy of Dr. Li¡¯s house and bought many kinds of medicinal materials and spices, and asked the shop assistant to cut them into pieces, some of them were ground into powder with a grinder. On the way back, Yingbao gave Brother Jiang Cheng a skewer of sugar-coated haws and she and her mother each had one. The rest will be taken back for her brothers, sisters, and two younger brothers to eat. Chunniang originally didn¡¯t want to eat her daughter¡¯s snacks, but Yingbao stuffed the sugar-coated haws into her mouth. ¡°It¡¯s so delicious, mom, you must try it.¡± Yingbao grinned and took a bite of the sugar-coated haws in her hand, sour and sweet. Chunniang could only but take the sugar-coated haws and start eating. Many years ago, her husband had bought her some, and now her daughter is buying them for her. Holding her daughter in one hand and the sugar-coated haws in the other hand, she felt like she had returned to her youthful days.. Chapter 100 - 100: New Year’s Painting Doll 1 Chapter 100: New Year¡¯s Painting Doll 1 Trantor: 549690339 The next part was about preparing festive foods for the New Year celebration. Old Man Jiang and his wife were grinding beans at home to make tofu, and they poured out unseasoned soy milk for each child to taste. Chunniang and her sister-inw steamed buns and rice cakes for the festival together. Some of the buns were shaped into figures of cows, sheep, pigs, and rabbits, with red beans for eyes. They then painted red flowers on the white dough using sumac water, which looked very beautiful. In anotherrge pot, they were cooking a full pot of sausages, pork trotters, and a pig¡¯s head. There was also a basin of ready stewed chicken with yellow beans, the delicious aroma of which could be smelled from afar. The happiest at this time must be the children because no reading and writing, no work, and they even get lucky money. On the first day of the new year, Chunniang and Jiang Sang got up before daybreak, giving each sleepy child two pieces of Cloud Cakes, implying a cheerful and happy new year. After urging them to finish their cakes, the two of them went to the stove room to boil water for dumplings and glutinous rice balls, symbolizing a smooth and reunion new year. Yingbao knew that she shouldn¡¯t dawdle in bed at this time. She quickly got up, put on the new clothes and trousers her mother had set at the head of the bed the night before, put on the beautiful tiger head shoes, thought for a moment, and put on the tiger head hat as well. The new cotton-padded jacket was red with yellow flowers. A pattern of the Five Blessings was embroidered on the front and back, and a circle of white rabbit tails was sewn around the cor, soft and good-looking. Paired with green pants and a tiger-head hat, Yingbao looked like little New Year¡¯s baby doll. After dressing up, Yingbao went to wake up Xiaojie and Xiaowu, dressed them, put on their shoes and hats, and dragged them to wash up. ¡°Come and eat dumplings!¡± Chunniang brought a pot of dumplings from the kitchen and put it on therge table in the hall, then went to bring a few bowls of rice balls. Each bowl only contained four, symbolizing everything going as one wishes. The family sat around therge table, eating rice balls and dumplings. After the meal, Chunniang gave Yingbao two small silver ingots, each weighing roughly one tael, and also gave one to each of her twin sons. Yingbao and her two younger brothers knelt down to salute and wish their parents a happy new year. Receiving the silver ingots, the twins were overjoyed and wanted to rush out to show off to Brother Huzi. Chunniang quickly grabbed them, ¡°Let your mother save the New Year¡¯s money for you. You won¡¯t find it if you lose it outside.¡± Xiaowu immediately refused: ¡°No! I won¡¯t lose it.¡± Xiaojie echoed, ¡°No, it won¡¯t be lost! We¡¯ll keep it in our pockets.¡± ¡°What if it¡¯s lost?¡± These two little guys must be crazy. Since when did pockets ever serve to hold things? ¡°Shall your mother put some candies in your pockets instead?¡± ¡°No, no!¡± The two little guys struggled, finally escaping from their mother¡¯s ws. Jiang Sang saw his wife¡¯s annoyance andughed, ¡°Let them go.¡± What were two taels of silver after all? If lost, they could search it. Next, the family of five went to Jiang Dng¡¯s house to celebrate the New Year, and Yingbao and her younger brothers received here another wave of lucky money. Xiaowu stuffed his New Year¡¯s money into his sister¡¯s hand for safekeeping. Seeing this, Xiaojie also handed all of his lucky money to his sister to keep. He sneaked a nce at his mother, worried that she mighte for it. Then, a few boys took out the leather ball Yingbao had bought, divided into two teams to y ser, so engrossed they didn¡¯t even have time to eat. The next day, Chunniang and her husband took their three children back home to celebrate the New Year. The Xu vige wasn¡¯t far from Dongchen Vige, but it wasn¡¯t close either, being about seven or eight miles away. The eldest nephew, Jiang Cheng, first drove the cart to send Uncle San¡¯s family, then hurried back to take his parents and siblings to celebrate the New Year at his uncle¡¯s house. Chunniang had a brother and a sister. Her father passed away early, and after her younger sister got married, her widowed mother, Old Lady Xu, was living with her only son, Xu Da. Old Lady Xu was looking forward to them from early in the morning by the door. Seeing her eldest daughter¡¯s mule cart arrive at the entrance to the vige, she jogged over to greet them. ¡°Oh, my dear grandsons.¡± Old Lady Xu hugged Xiaojie and Xiaowu tightly, beaming with joy. Yingbao calls out, ¡°Grandma.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± The olddy Xu puts down her two grandsons and picks up her granddaughter. ¡°My baby has grown so big.¡± Yingbao hugs her grandma¡¯s neck andughs, ¡°Baobao is four years old now.¡± ¡°Indeed, indeed, time does fly. Baobao is four already.¡± Xu Chunniang takes Yingbao back home. The two little grandsons behind her are shouting, ¡°Grandma, put sister down quickly. We want to kowtow to greet you for the new year.¡± ¡°Alright, alright.¡± Xu Chunniang puts Yingbao down and leads the three children indoors. Xu Chunniang and her husbande in with big and small bags, distributing gifts to the brothers, sisters-inw, and the nephews and nieces. ¡°Mom, this piece of cloth is made from cotton, it¡¯s so soft and without any coloring. You can use it to make an undershirt.¡± ¡°And this ramie fabric, it has a nice color. Just make it into a dress yourself.¡± It is not that Chunniang doesn¡¯t want to make it for her dear mother, but Lady Xu likes to do it herself, saying that a garment made by herself is more fitting andfortable. Lady Xu happily felt the fabric, ¡°Chunniang, what do you need so much fabric for? I am already living simply, where do I need these new clothes?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t utter such words, you are going to live until ny-nine, why should you not wear new clothes?¡± Chunniang took out a silver ingot weighing five taels and a copper coin and stuffed them into the olddy, ¡°This is for the upkeep of your son-inw.¡± Seeing the copper coin, Old Lady Xu widened her eyes and promptly tried to decline, ¡°Oh, why are you giving me so much money? I don¡¯t go anywhere, no need to spend any silver.¡± ¡°Just keep it.¡± Chunniang insisted and gave it to the olddy, ¡°You are an elder, how can you not have any money? The children at home still need money for the new year, and Daniu¡¯s wife ising soon, how could it be eptable if you don¡¯t have any gift to present to her?¡± Daniu is Xu Da¡¯s eldest son, sixteen this year, and he is getting married in few months. Lady Xu couldn¡¯t persuade them to take it back, so she finally epted the silver coins. Since her husband passed away, she had been relying on her eldest son, and didn¡¯t really have much spare money. Even on festivals or holidays when her two daughters asionally gave her some private money, she would always use them for the children instead. At this moment, Xu Da¡¯s wife walks into the room and Chunniang quickly takes the two pieces of cloth and hands them over, ¡°Elder sister-inw, this is the cloth I bought for you and elder brother.¡± Xu Da¡¯s wife gratefully epts andughs, ¡°Ah, you are causing Chunniang to spend again.¡± ¡°Nonsense, you take care of mother at home. I haven¡¯t even thanked you.¡± Chunniang puts four packets of candies and snacks on the table, as well as hats andbs for her nieces and nephews. Nowadays men also wear flowers, very colorful silk ones. Chunniang brought some for all her nieces and nephews. She pulls over Yingbao and the two boys, ¡°This is your great aunt, quickly wish her a happy New Year.¡± Yingbao and two brothers loudly say, ¡°Great aunt, happy New Year, may everything go well! ¡± ¡°It¡¯s all good, it¡¯s all good.¡± Xu Da¡¯s wife takes out the prepared ¡°lucky¡± money from her pocket, about ten coins, and distributes it to the three children. Yingbao and her brothers ept, graciously kowtowing to their great aunt. Xu Da¡¯s wife holds the fabric andughs, ¡°Your second sister-inw will be back soon too. Elder sister, you chat with mother for a while, I will go and cook.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you elder sister-inw.¡± Chunniang gets up to see her out. At this point, three children run into the room, all from elder brother¡¯s family. From oldest to youngest, they are the sixteen-year-old nephew, the twelve-year-old niece, and the eight-year-old nephew. ¡°Wishing a Happy New Year to our great aunt!¡± The three children kneel in a row and kowtow to Chunniang. Chunniangughs and gives out ten coins as new year money to each of them, and hands them the purchasedbs and hair essories. ¡°Thank you, great aunt!¡± The three children thank her, then happily run out with the money. Suddenly, you hearughter from outside, ¡°Elder brother-inw is here this early, where¡¯s elder sister? Why didn¡¯t I see her?¡± Then the curtain is lifted, and Xu Qiuniang walks in. ¡°Oh! What is elder sister doing hiding in the room? Why doesn¡¯t she help elder sister-inw with the cooking?¡± Chapter 101 - 101: The Poor are in the Right (Thank you for the additional votes, babies)_l Chapter 101: The Poor are in the Right (Thank you for the additional votes, babies)_l Trantor: 549690339 Xu Qiuniang was speaking when her gaze fell upon arge bamboo basket full of gifts on the floor. Her heart sank, ¡°My elder sister really has be wealthy, she brought so many things home this time. Sigh, we really can¡¯tpare to my elder sister.¡± Old Lady Xu reprimanded, ¡°What are you talking about? These are for your uncles.¡± Old Lady Xu¡¯s two brothers lived in the neighboring vige. Every year, Chunniang would visit her two uncles to wish them a happy new year and present them with some modest gifts as a token of her regard. ¡°What fortune? We¡¯re just managing to feed ourselves.¡± Chunniang pulled her children closer, ¡°Wish your aunt a Happy New Year.¡± Yingbao stepped forward to pay her respects, ¡°Aunt, Happy New Year.¡± Xiaojie and Xiaowu followed, ¡°Aunt, Happy New Year.¡± ¡°All good, all good.¡± Xu Qiuniang pulled out two coins from her sleeve, giving one to Xiaojie and the other to Xiaowu, ¡°Go buy some sweets. Don¡¯t think it¡¯s too little, your aunt is not as well off as your mother now.¡± Chunniang felt unhappy seeing her sister not giving any New Year¡¯s money to her daughter, but she didn¡¯t say anything. Old Lady Xu couldn¡¯t keep a straight face, hurriedly took out twenty coins and gave them to Yingbao, ¡°Good girl, this is the New Year¡¯s money from your grandma.¡± She also gave twenty coins each to Xiaojie and Xiaowu. Xu Qiuniang raised an eyebrow in surprise, ¡°Mother, why are you giving so much to the children? I gave you two hundred coins, surely you¡¯re not spending all of it on my elder sister¡¯s children.¡± Old Lady Xu ignored her second daughter and pulled Yingbao up to sit on the kang, ¡°Good girl, it¡¯s warm up here.¡± The two brothers also climbed onto the kang and sat with their sister. Seeing that her mother wasn¡¯t paying attention to her, Xu Qiuniang stomped out of the room, calling from outside, ¡°Jinjin! Yuyu! Hurry over and wish your grandma a happy New Year! Grandma is giving out New Year¡¯s money!¡± In a little while, two children ran in. The eight or nine-year-old boy was Qian Jin, and the six-year-old girl was Qian Yu. Xu Qiuniang pushed the two children forward, ¡°Go and ask your great aunt for New Year¡¯s money. And your grandmother will also give you New Year¡¯s money.¡± Qian Jin was puzzled, ¡°Hasn¡¯t grandma already given us New Year¡¯s money?¡± ¡°What does she give! Grandma gave you ten coins this morning, you still need ten more,¡± Xu Qiuniang said. At these words, Old Lady Xu was so angry she nearly fell over, but since she was the one who had made the mistake, she didn¡¯t say anything. Chunniang was unhappy, but she didn¡¯t want to argue with a child, so she took out twenty coins and divided them between Qian Jin and Qian Yu. Qian Jin and Qian Yu were clever children. They paid their respects to their great aunt, ¡°Great aunt, may you get rich in the New Year.¡± Then they turned to their grandmother, ¡°Grandma, you still owe us ten coins of New Year¡¯s money.¡± What could Old Lady Xu do? She had to take out twenty coins and divide them between the two. This second daughter was spoiled by her father from a young age. Not only was she wilful, but also extremely selfish, always wanting topete with her elder sister over everything. Only when Xu Qiuniang saw that her mother had given her children additional New Year¡¯s money, she finally became satisfied, ¡°Elder sister, since your family has nted the golden ear and be rich, why don¡¯t you help out your parents¡¯ home a bit? As for me, your little sister, that¡¯s one thing, but you don¡¯t even bother to help out our elder brother. It¡¯s really true a woman¡¯s heart leans outward. Once married, she doesn¡¯t care about her own family.¡± Chunniang didn¡¯t want to bother arguing with her, so she didn¡¯t respond. Last year she had already suggested to her elder brother and his wife that they also nt the golden ear, but her elder brother was a bit slow. He was only consumed by thoughts of farming and had no interest in nting the golden ear. What could Chunniang do? She couldn¡¯t exactly just give them money directly. ¡°What are you saying!¡± If it wasn¡¯t New Year, Old Lady Xu would have already reprimanded her second daughter. ¡°Howe your elder sister doesn¡¯t help your elder brother? Your elder sister already gave five taels of silver for Daniu¡¯s engagementst time, what did you give?¡± ¡°Oh, listen to you! Isn¡¯t it because we don¡¯t have money? If we had, wouldn¡¯t we give?¡± Xu Qiuniang curled her lips, ¡°If I had money, why would I give only five taels? I¡¯d give at least fifty taels.¡± Yingbao, sitting on the kang, was beginning to feel ufortable with the conversation. It seems that whoever is poorer is in the wrong. My Aunt didn¡¯t hesitate to criticize my mother in the past, saying it was because she picked up a useless girl and raised her for someone else¡¯s family that we were poor. If it were her, she would have sold the girl earlier and earned a few taels of silver. Seeing that her older sister and mother remained silent, Xu Qiuniang became more emboldened, pointing at Yingbao she said: ¡°Your older brother isn¡¯t helping you but you¡¯re raising a bastard who doesn¡¯t know his parents. You really do have money to burn¡­¡± Before she could finish speaking, Xu Qiuniang received a hefty p to the face from Chunniang. With an icy expression, Chunniang said coldly, ¡°Qiuniang, let me tell you, if you dare nder my Baobao like that again, our two families will have nothing to do with each other!¡± ¡°You hit me?¡± Xu Qiuniang covered her pped cheek, staring incredulously at her older sister. ¡°Because of a foundling bastard¡­ girl, you dare hit me?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll say it again, Yingbao is my own daughter. If you insult her, it¡¯s the same as insulting me. Is it not right that I¡¯m allowed to hit you?¡± Chunniang had always tolerated her only sister, but she never expected her sister to disrespect her more and more. A few years back, she would ridicule me for my inability to procreate, she would say that I must havemitted severe sins in my past life, which is why I am unable to have offsprings in this lifetime. Now that she has nothing more to say, she continuously belittles me with her words in order to showcase her own superiority. Chunniang couldn¡¯t understand what she had done to deserve such treatment from her only sister. Xu Qiuniang, with her hand still covering her face, looked at their elderly mother. Seeing her turn her head away, Qiuniang couldn¡¯t hold back tears, and she cried out loud and ran out of the hut. The olddy Xu bit her teeth in anger, ¡°This silly girl, she¡¯s always been foul-mouthed. She¡¯ll never change!¡± Chunniang was also displeased, the sisters were making a scene during the New Year¡¯s festival. It was very embarrassing. Jiang Sang lifted the curtain and entered, asking, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Nothing, ¡± Chunniang didn¡¯t dare to mention the matter in front of her husband, ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re here; let¡¯s divide up what¡¯s in the basket. We should take it to my uncles¡¯ ce.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Jiang Sang agreed, and divided up the gifts with his wife. They then took Yingbao and their two sons to give New Year¡¯s gifts to the two uncles. The uncles¡¯ homes were not far from the Xu family; they arrived within a quarter of an hour. The two uncles, after receiving the New Year¡¯s gifts, insisted on hosting a meal, but they were politely declined by Chunniang. The family of five then returned to Xu Da¡¯s house. Surprisingly, Xu Qiuniang hadn¡¯t left either. She sat by therge dining table with a frosty expression. ¡°Big girl, set the table.¡± Xu Da¡¯s wife, seeing her sister-inw and her familying back, called her daughter from the kitchen to clean the table and serve the dishes. ¡°Okay,¡± the big girl responded, cing a stack of bowls and chopsticks on the table. Xu Da got Jiang Sang to sit at the table, then called Qian Jiu, his younger sister¡¯s husband, toe over and sit down too. Qian Jiu had a sour expression, sweeping his gaze over Jiang Sang in a very spiteful manner. The atmosphere was tense during the meal, and Jiang Sang only had a few sips of alcohol with his brother-inw before refusing to drink any more. However, Qian Jiu just kept drinking, his face flushing red and froth started to appear at the corners of his mouth. ¡°You! Look down on¡­me?¡± Qian Jiu suddenly mmed the table, pointing at Jiang Sang and started cursing, ¡°Just¡­because¡­you have some bloody money! You dare¡­look down on Jiang Sangpletely ignored this man, finishing his meal quickly, then he stood up and said to Chunniang, ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡± Chunniang nodded, holding hands with her children who had already finished their meal. Qian Jiu also stood up, staggering over. Xu Da caught him, asking, ¡°What are you doing, brother-inw? ¡°Don¡¯t¡­worry about me!¡± Qian Jiu violently brushed off Xu Da and pointing at Jiang Sang he said, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for¡­you! Me and Chunniang¡­¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Jiang Sang could no longer restrain himself. He punched Qian Jiu right in the face.. Chapter 102 - 102: Premeditated Murder_1 Chapter 102: Premeditated Murder_1 Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao was utterly shocked. Her father just started fighting with Qian Jiu out of the blue. No, it was more like her father was singly-handedly thrashing Qian Jiu. Qian Jiu was eventually beaten until blood covered his face, and Uncle Xu Da hurriedly dragged him into the house for cleaning. Xu Qiuniang was crying incessantly, but she didn¡¯t dare to intervene between Jiang Sang and Chunniang. On their way home, Jiang Sang used a bamboo basket to carry the twins, while Chunniang carried Yingbao. All five of them didn¡¯t say a word. As they reached midway, they ran into Jiang Cheng who hade to meet them. ¡°Uncle San, how did you hurt your hand?¡± Jiang Cheng asked. Only then did Jiang Sang notice a cut on his hand that had dried blood on it. Chunniang was very worried. Self-reproachful, she felt it was totally unjustifiable for her not to have noticed her husband¡¯s wound. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, just a minor skin scrape.¡± Jiang Sang touched his hand and reassured his wife: ¡°It¡¯s not my blood.¡± Yingbao also came over to check, and seeing that her father was indeed fine, she finally felt at ease. Upon returning home, Yingbao washed her hands and face and went back to her room to rest. The fight between her father and Qian Jiu today was expected. In her previous life, they had fought more fiercely. Qian Jiu had even lost two teeth. When the Qian Family and the Xu Family were arranging a marriage years ago, it was originally decided that Chunniang, the eldest daughter, would be the bride for Qian Jiu. But somehow, Qian Jiu suddenly decided to marry the second daughter, Xu Qiuniang, privately. As a result, the elder sister and younger sister swapped roles in marriage. In the end, Chunniang married the poor boy Jiang Sang from Dongchen Vige, while Xu Qiuniang, the second girl, married the rtively well-off Qian Jiu. Originally, this was an indecent act by Qian Jiu and Qiuniang, but instead of feeling remorse, they proudly unted their happiness in front of Chunniang. However, ever since Chunniang gave birth to twins and their life improved, Qian Jiu became increasingly dissatisfied with his wife and felt that his wife was much less capable than Chunniang. Because of this, Qiuniang grew to resent her elder sister more and wished the worse for her. She eagerly wished that her sister would forever remain stuck in the mud and live a life that was never better than hers. So the sisterly affection was almost absent after their marriages. As soon as the second day of the new year was over, the Jiang family began to entertain their rtives and friends who visited for New Year¡¯s greetings. However, these did not affect Yingbao or her young brother. Whenever the boys of the family had spare time, they would go to the threshing ground in the vige to y football. Yingbao would ride her deer to the house of n Leader Chen to see Chen Sng. Chen Zhu could already sit up straight. He was pleased when Yingbao arrived and called his son Xiaoyao to greet his sister. Yingbao inspected his wound and saw that it had essentially healed. She nodded approvingly, ¡°You can start walking around now. Constant lying in bed is detrimental to your recovery.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Chen Zhu hade to treat this child as a real doctor, very respectfully he responded. Yingbao then asked Tang Family¡¯s Granny Tang, ¡°Aunt Tang, how have you been feelingtely? Do you still experience dizziness and blurred vision?¡± Granny Tang chuckled, ¡°Not after I ate your medicine, I feel much better now. I no longer have dizziness, numbness in my limbs, and my mobility has improved tremendously.¡± ¡°Hmm, maintain this condition. You must pay close attention to your daily diet; avoid consuming rice porridge and sweets, you also have to abstain from pickles, engage in more physical activities, avoid sitting for a long period, and get up slowly.¡± Granny Wen said, many elders suffer from cerebral strokes because they abruptly stood after sitting or squatting for a prolonged time. ¡°All your instructions will be heeded,¡± Granny Tang responded with a beaming smile. Leaving the n Leader¡¯s house, Yingbao mounted her deer and leisurely made her way to the threshing ground. The boys from the Jiang family were all ying football there, she was nning to walk back home with themter. The time flew by, and in a blink of an eye, it was already the fifteenth of the first lunar month. Yingbao was about to discuss with her parents about the trip to the county town. Suddenly, she heard amotion in the courtyard. Upon going out, she saw two constables wielding sticks pulling and lugging her father, Jiang Sang, out. Chunniang screamed in shock, ¡°Why are you arresting my husband?¡± One constable replied, ¡°Someone used Jiang Sang of assault. The County Magistrate ordered us to arrest him! Anyone unrted should stand aside at once!¡± Yingbao toddled out quickly and said to Chunniang, ¡°Mother, let¡¯s go with them!¡± She had to go to the county town with her father to find out what was going on. In her previous life, her father had never been arrested by the government office. Chunniang also reacted, hurriedly hitching up the mule cart. Sun Licheng, who brought the constable, seeing the Jiang family in a panic,forted them, ¡°The County Magistrate is just taking him for questioning. If your third brother has done nothing wrong, he will be released soon.¡± Chunniang wasn¡¯t reassured at all, for she couldn¡¯t forget the scar on her husband¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Sister-inw, you stay at home to look after the children, I¡¯ll go.¡± Jiang Eng was also a little flustered and hurriedly took over the reins of the mule cart. Jiang Liu and Jiang¡¯s sister-inw also tried to persuade Chunniang, ¡°Even if you go, it won¡¯t make a difference. Let Eng go.¡± Chunniang shook her head: ¡°I must go, please sister-inw help me look after Xiaojie and Xiaowu.¡± How could she stay at home calmly waiting for news while her husband was arrested? ¡°Me! Me too!¡± Yingbao hugged her uncle¡¯s leg, ¡°I want to go!¡± She knew the newly-appointed County Magistrate, surely she could say a few words for the family. Moreover, this matter definitely concerned her and was rted to the Han family¡¯s Han. Jiang Eng knew what was going on, he also knew that his niece was saved by the County Magistrate, so bringing her along might be helpful, so he picked up Yingbao and put her on the mule cart. Then Jiang Eng drove the cart, with his sister-inw and niece followed the government official¡¯s cart. In the afternoon, the mule cart entered the county town. The constable took Jiang Eng back to the government office, and said to Jiang Eng who had followed all the way, ¡°The Magistrate will open court to hear the case tomorrow. You cane and listen to the hearing in the morning.¡± ¡°Thank you for the information, big brother.¡± Jiang Eng thanked the constable, and took his sister-inw and young niece to Gao¡¯s Shop Inn. The Innkeeper still remembered the little girl, he registered their information and led them to the upstairs. Early the next morning, Chunniang and Yingbao got up and went downstairs to wash up and saw Eng was already downstairs, beside him stood a gracefuldy. Thedy was holding arge tin pot, pouring hot water for Eng. ¡°Sister Yanru.¡± Yingbao ran over, looked up at Eng, then nced at Yanru. Today, Sister Yanru¡¯s makeup was delicate and elegant, as if she had carefully dressed up, yet it didn¡¯t appear contrived, in short, she looked very beautiful. Yanru touched Yingbao¡¯s head, smilingly said, ¡°Baobao, I¡¯m so d to see you again. ¡± Yingbao thought to herself, it¡¯s not me you¡¯re d to see; I bet it¡¯s my Uncle Eng. ¡°Why is Sister Yanru in the inn?¡± This Yanru was neither an employee nor a worker of the inn, but she showed up here early in the morning, even brought hot water for Eng. Yingbao didn¡¯t believe there wasn¡¯t something sneaky going on. Didn¡¯t she see that the inn¡¯s staff were keeping their distance from her? Surely the Innkeeper¡¯s wife had instructed them to. There was a momentary embarrassment on Yanru¡¯s face. She stole a nce at Jiang Eng and whispered, ¡°The Inkeeper is out on business today, so his wife asked me to help at the inn.¡± Jiang Eng was experienced, and could easily see thedy¡¯s interest in him. He turned his head and coughed lightly, ¡°Yingbao, hurry up and wash, we have to go to the government office.¡± Yingbao blinked, washed and brushed her teeth with her mother, and then made another trip to the toilet. When the three of them arrived at the government office, they saw two indifferent officials sitting inside the main gate, leering at them. Yingbao jumped off the mule cart and stood at the entrance of the government office, peering inside. Oh my God! She hadn¡¯t taken a close look at the government officest time. But looking at it this time, she could sum it up in three words: old, dpidated and shabby! The government office didn¡¯t even have a main gate. Although it also had brick walls, the roof was covered with thatch, which was already in a state of disrepair. The wild grass growing in the cracks of the steps to the office was now withered and yellow, giving an even more deste appearance. ¡°Uncle, a weasel!¡± Yingbao pointed at the small animal that ran away quickly and shouted, ¡°Two of them!¡± Jiang Eng nced over, not surprised at all. Although this was the County Government office, besides the Magistrate and the officials, there was no reason for themon people toe here, not to mention merchants. Over time, this ce became deserted. Moreover, the Magistrate served his term for three or four years and then left, who would be a fool to pay out of their own pocket for its renovation. As long as it could provide shelter from wind and rain, the Magistrate and his family would just live in the backyard and deal with it.. Chapter 103 - 103: The Thief’s Heart Never Dies _1 Chapter 103: The Thief¡¯s Heart Never Dies _1 Trantor: 549690339 A servant in blue clothes came out from the inner yard, saw the three people by the mule cart, nced around and saw that no one was watching, and immediately beckoned Yingbao over. Yingbao immediately ran over, looking up and asking, ¡°Uncle Wu, is uncle Wu inside?¡± ¡°He is in the back hall discussing business.¡± Wu Rui led her to one side and quietly warned her, ¡°There are two people with the surname Chen using your father of attempted murder. If your father has an alibi, this will be a minor issue.¡± Yingbao understood immediately and nodded, ¡°My dad is a good person, he would nevermit a murder.¡± Wu Rui: ¡°I can only say this much, hurry up, in another hour the court will begin hearing the case.¡± ¡°Thank you Uncle Wu.¡± Yingbao ran back and ryed Wu Rui¡¯s words to her mother and second uncle. Upon hearing this, Jiang Eng immediately said, ¡°I have to go back and find a witness. You take Yingbao and stay here, don¡¯t wander off.¡± Chunnian held her daughter¡¯s little hand tightly: ¡°Alright.¡± Jiang Eng unloaded the mule cart, jumped onto the mule, and galloped away. Not long after, government officials came to take up their posts, followed by clerks and other personnel. The County Magistrate also arrived, apanied by two sword-bearing guards. Cao Can, in his thirties, nced over the mother and daughter, then took another few looks at Chunnian. Yingbao recognized at a nce that this was Cao Can, Chen Guanglu¡¯s superior. If he presided over the case today, her father would certainly suffer. What to do? Perhaps they should hire awyer to help them with their case. Yingbao looked around, her gazending on ane in the distance. She remembered that in her previous life there was a very famouswyer living in thatne. ¡°Mother, we should hire awyer.¡± Yingbao tugged at her mother¡¯s sleeve, ¡°Ms. Wen said that if we have awyer to help us with awsuit, we are sure to win.¡± Chunnian looked at a loss, ¡°What¡¯s awyer?¡± Having been raised in a rural area and the farthest ce she had been was this county town, how could she know what awyer was? ¡°Follow me.¡± Yingbao knew it would take a long time to exin, and there was no time to lose, so she simply pulled her mother and ran towards thatne. Entering thene, Yingbao was a bit dumbfounded. This row of dpidated yards and old houses, she didn¡¯t know where thewyer actually lived. Adding up the time, thatwyer should be less than thirty years old this year, she didn¡¯t know if he was famous or not. What was his name again? Oh, it seemed to be Mr. Song Wenyu. Approaching a house, she saw a few kids ying at the door, so she asked: ¡°Can you tell me where Mr. Song Wenyu lives?¡± The children looked at each other, and shook their heads in unison, ¡°Don¡¯t know!¡± Yingbao was not discouraged and continued to ask as they walked along. Finally, she asked an older man, ¡°Uncle, do you know where Song Wenyu¡¯s house is?¡± The man looked at the little girl, then nced again at Chunnian who was following her, and instantly grinned, showing his yellow teeth: ¡°In the house, in the house.¡± Yingbao looked at him doubtfully, feeling that this man was a bit unreliable, so she asked again: ¡°I am asking about Song Wenyu who helps people withwsuits, do you know him, Uncle?¡± ¡°I know, I know, he¡¯s lying in the house right now.¡± Dahuang said: ¡°I am his father, how could I not know him.¡¯ Yingbao was still doubtful. Looking around and seeing someone looking this way, she hurriedly ran over to ask, ¡°Uncle, do you know Song Wenyu?¡± The man pointed at Dahuang: ¡°That¡¯s his father. His fourth son¡¯s leg was broken a few days ago and is lying in the house.¡± Following Chunnian frowned, she whispered, ¡°Bao¡¯er, is that Song Wenyu really awyer?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After confirming that Dahuang was indeed Song Wenyu¡¯s father, Yingbao dared to follow him into the house. Chunnian tightly gripped her daughter¡¯s hand, warily scanning her surroundings. Upon entering the dpidated thatched hut, they were immediately hit by a musty, rotten smell. In the dimly lit room, there seemed to be a person leaning against the cot by the window. Yingbao carefully assessed the man, who was also sizing them up. Dahuang ran to the bedside with excitement and said, ¡°Hey, Fourth, your old me brought her kid to see you!¡± Chunniang¡¯s face darkened instantly, Yingbao loudly corrected him, ¡°We are here to ask for Mr. Song Wenyu¡¯s help with ourwsuit, Uncle, please don¡¯t speak nonsense.¡± She had recognized that the young man leaning against the head of the cot was Song Wenyu. The most apparent sign was, of course, therge mole in the middle of his forehead. It was said that because of this mole, Song Wenyu could only attain the title of ¡°schr.¡± To repay his father¡¯s gambling debts, he initially wrote statements for others, butter became awyer. The young man put down his book and asked, ¡°What is thewsuit that you want me to help with? Speak freely.¡± Seeing potential business arrive, Dahuang no longer annoyed his son, and cheerfully opened the window to brighten up the room. Yingbao recounted the feud between her family and the Chen Family. In conclusion, she said, ¡°Now the Chen Family falsely uses my father of assault and turned him in to the County Magistrate. Yesterday, they detained my father at the County Government. I wish to seek Mr Song¡¯s help to defend my father¡¯s innocence and, if possible, I would like to file a counterint using them of hiring thugs to kidnap a child.¡± Song Wenyu thought for a moment, then nodded: ¡°I can help you with thewsuit, but my fee will be twenty taels of silver.¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Yingbao replied instantly: ¡°But if we lose, I can only afford to pay you two taels.¡± ¡°Fine!¡± Song Wenyu stated, ¡°Then you must also guarantee that every word you tell me is the truth, otherwise, I demand the full twenty taels.¡± ¡°Uh-huh, I assure vou that every word I sav is true. The Han Family was the principal instigator in hiring the thugs, and the young Han woman personally took me to Zhouhe County. Later, she gave two taels of silver to the members of the Chen Family of Zhouhe County and had them guard me.¡± ¡°Who would have thought that they¡¯d still be trying to harm my father now.¡± After Yingbao finished speaking at once, she asked, ¡°Mr Song, when will you be able to go? The County Government will begin its trial in just over an hour¡¯s time.¡± ¡°Give me half an hour to prepare theint.¡± Song Wenyu sat up and loudly called for his father to bring him his pen, ink, paper, and inkstone. Dahuang responded from outside and hurried in. Yingbao: ¡°In that case, my mother and I will wait for you outside the County Government. Our donkey-cart is parked over there too, you can meet us there.¡± ¡°Okay, you two go ahead.¡± Song Wenyu then focused on preparing theint. Upon leaving the Song Residence, Yingbao and Chunnian hurried back to the County Government office. Chunnian had many doubts she wanted to ask her daughter, but before she could ask, her attention was drawn by the sudden appearance of a few people. She saw Chen Guanglu leaning on a crutch, being supported by his wife, Han, as he was ring at them maliciously. Chen Changping and his wife had also arrived, standing together with Chen Guanglu and his wife. Chunnian¡¯s face darkened as she carried Yingbao and moved them further away from those people. Half an hourter, Song Wenyu arrived on a bamboo chair carried by his father, Song Daya. After submitting hisint to the officials, he joined Chunnian and Yingbao. ¡°I have already submitted theint. After a while, follow me in.¡± Song Wenyu signaled to Yingbao. This little girl, though young, is very smart and eloquent, much stronger than her mother. Therefore, he wanted to bring her into the courtroom. ¡°Is the Wu official who saved you really the newly appointed County Magistrate?¡± Song Wenyu asked. Yingbao: ¡°Yes, but we don¡¯t know if Uncle Wu will be willing to testify for us.¡± Unless Wu Daozi himself was willing, it wouldn¡¯t be suitable for them to ask him to testify. Song Wenyuughed, ¡°I was just confirming.¡± If they had the help of the newly appointed County Magistrate, he was sure to win thiswsuit. ¡°Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!¡± The mighty sound of the court gong began to echo; one by one, the government officials filed into the courtroom. The voice of the County Magistrate thundered from the hall, ¡°Bring the intiffs before the court!¡± Chapter 104 - 104: Unable to Beat _1 Chapter 104: Unable to Beat _1 Trantor: 549690339 The intiffs were Chen Guanglu and his wife, Chen Changping. They were summoned into the court hall, followed shortly by the arrival of Jiang Sang, escorted by a government official. Upon noticing this, Chunniang hurriedly followed, cradling their daughter in her arms. Song Wenyu had already submitted theint to the county scribe and also followed, carried by his father in a bamboo chair. Yingbao looked over at her father. Seeing that he hadn¡¯t been tortured, she gave a sigh of relief. However, upon seeing the county magistrate Cao Can presiding on the courtroom dais, her heart once again filled with dread. As Chen Guanglu¡¯s superior, who also regarded him with high esteem, Yingbao found it hard to believe that Cao Can would be impartial in this matter. Cao Can pounded the gavel andmanded, ¡°The used, state your name!¡± ¡°This humble one is Jiang Sang, greetings to the official,¡± Jiang Sang responded with a bow of respect. ¡°Chen Changping and his wife, Chen Guanglu, allege that you had intentionally assaulted them. Do you plead guilty?¡± ¡°I do not!¡± ¡°Hah! With both witness testimony and hard evidence against you, yet you still refuse to admit your crimes. Are you provoking this official to administer corporal punishment?¡± demanded Cao Can. Jiang Sang retorted, ¡°How could I admit to something I didn¡¯t do?¡± Chen Guanglu sneered, ¡°You didn¡¯t do it? Fine, I remember stabbing your shoulder. Why don¡¯t you show the official your shoulder wound?¡± Turning his head, Jiang Sang countered, ¡°Didn¡¯t you see itst night, Captain Chen? You even had someone jab my shoulder with a wooden stick. I now realize you merely intended to fabricate false evidence.¡± The scar on his shoulder had long vanished, rubbed away with fine particles of gold that they owned, leaving only a faint trace barely noticeable. He had heard his daughter mention once that her birthmark had been rubbed away with gold, so he decided to give it a try. Amazingly, the scar disappeared. However, on the previous night, Chen Guanglu had two men forcibly strip him to inspect his shoulder. Seeing no scar, Chen Guanglu unexpectedly had someone jab a wooden stick into his shoulder, creating a flesh wound. ¡°Nonsense!¡± Chen Guanglu bellowed, ¡°You audaciousmoner, how dare you naer me government m court! ¡± ¡°Whether it¡¯s nder or not will be clear once we take a closer look, ¡± interjected Song Wenyu. ¡°Jiang Sang, why not show your shoulder to the official?¡± Song Wenyu had not yet had the chance tomunicate with Jiang Sang and was not aware of the injury on his shoulder. However, he believed that this calm-faced man was telling the truth. Unconcerned about the presence of women in court, Jiang Sang removed his shirt to reveal his badly injured shoulder. Seeing this, Chunniang cried aloud, tears streaming down her face. Yingbao was furious and deeply concerned about her father. She wanted to use Wudingzhi to treat him, but knew it was not the right time. Song Wenyu stepped forward to examine the wound, clicking his tongue, ¡°This is clearly a fresh wound. Captain Chen, did you really have this man injured?¡± ¡°Nonsense!¡± An enraged Chen Guanglu responded, ¡°And who might you be, daring to nder the headman in court?¡± Song Wenyu pulled out a piece of paper from his sleeve, ¡°I have been enlisted by the Jiang family to exonerate Jiang Sang and seek justice for him. My petition has been submitted, and this is my letter of representation. If Captain Chen believes that he¡¯s been ndered, then let the medical examiner inspect Jiang Sang¡¯s wound, to determine whether it is a fresh wound inflicted by a wooden stick, or an old injury from over a month ago.¡± Chen Guanglu¡¯s face darkened. Last night, he did indeed have Jiang Sang jabbed, partly to vent his frustration, but more importantly, to manufacture evidence that could be used in his favor when Cao Can arrived. He had not expected that Jiang¡¯s family would hire awyer to defend them. With thiswyer¡¯s arrival, many things were bound to surface. After all, the newly appointed county magistrate wasn¡¯t a pushover. The entire case would be scrutinized in detail. Should any oversight or mistakes ur, Cao Can would also be held ountable. County Magistrate Cao Can did not anticipate Chen Guanglu would resort to such measures. Now, even if he wanted to show partiality, he dared not do so tantly. Banging the gavel, hemanded, ¡°Bring in the medical examiner to assess the injury!¡± Shortly thereafter, the medical examiner arrived to assess Jiang Sang¡¯s wounds. After the examination, he reported, ¡°Official Cao, this man has a fresh wound from a blunt instrument, the skin and flesh have turned outwards. It appears to be an injury caused by a bamboo arrow or wooden stick.¡± Upon hearing this, Cao Can¡¯s brows furrowed. He dismissed the medical examiner and turned to Chen Guanglu, ¡°What do you have to say about this?¡± He really wished the fool knew when to hold his tongue. Chen Guanglu tly denied it, ¡°I didn¡¯t do it.¡¯ Song Wenyu immediately stepped forward, ¡°Official Cao, why not summon the jail keeper on dutyst night for questioning? Then we can determine whether Captain Chen did or did not go to the county jail. Besides, there were other prisoners in the jail, too. We could ask them as well.¡± If Chen Guanglu wanted to keep his actions hidden, he would have had to bribe all the jail keepers and all the prisoners at the county jail. If he was incapable of doing so, then his underhand dealings would not remain hidden. Not everyone would be willing to do Chen Guanglu¡¯s bidding. Cao Can didn¡¯t want this case to involve too many people. Avoiding Song Wenyu¡¯s question, he instead turned to Jiang Sang and asked, ¡°Defendant Jiang Sang, since you im to be innocent, do you have any witnesses to support your defense?¡± Jiang Sang asked, ¡°What kind of witness does the official require?¡± ¡°One that can prove you were not present at the scene on the day of the incident.¡± ¡°I do. After the court adjourned that day, I left the city with my family and returned to the work site by the river that same night. My family can testify to this, as can my coworkers.¡± He had foreseen this day and had already asked several coworkers from his vige to vouch for him. He was unafraid of the government¡¯s inquiries. The matriarch of the Han family stepped forward. ¡°You¡¯re lying! The criminal who broke into the Chen residence that day had his face covered, but his physique was unmistakable. It was you, Jiang Sang. Official, you must serve us justice.¡± Song Wenyu interjected, ¡°That is merely your own conjecture, and all based on spection. If you truly believed that Jiang Sang was the perpetrator, why didn¡¯t you apprehend him on the spot? There are several of you in the Chen household. Jiang Sang doesn¡¯t have three heads and six arms, nor is he a martial arts expert. How could he fight four to five people on his own?¡± ¡°We were not together at the time. My husband and I were peacefully at home when suddenly, a man barged in and started attacking us¡­¡± The matriarch of the Han family feigned grievance, ¡°My husband and I barely had time to react.¡± Chen Guanglu added, ¡°Indeed, his strength is astonishing. Ordinary people stand no chance against him.¡± ¡°Yes, he kept punching my face and head. We didn¡¯t have the strength to fight back.¡± echoed Chen Changping. Song Wenyu smirked, then turned to ask Chen Guanglu, ¡°It¡¯s understandable if Chen Changping couldn¡¯t hold his own; being a mild-mannered schr, he isn¡¯t ustomed to fighting. However, Captain Chen, you¡¯re one of the best fighters in the county office. Why couldn¡¯t you overpower a peasant like him? Are you implying that Jiang Sang possesses some kind of martial arts skills, or that he had help?¡± Chen Guanglu¡¯s expression darkened. He was indeed no match for Jiang Sang. Even pulling out a dagger offered him no defense against the man¡¯s fists. Even though he had stabbed the man with his dagger, Jiang Sang reacted as if he felt no pain, and had retaliated by kicking him in the leg, breaking his shin bone. His leg was essentially ruined now. He estimated that this would result in the loss of his headman position. His humiliation and anger were immeasurable. Without his position as headman, who would fear him? In the past, he incurred many grudges on behalf of Cao Can. Once abandoned by Cao Can, Chen Guanglu believed his life would be perpetually in danger. ¡°Of course he had help!¡± In his confusion, Chen Guanglu blurted out, ¡°That day, he and his two brothers were the ones whomitted the crime!¡± It wasmon knowledge that the Jiang family had three brothers, so it was not impossible that they hadmitted the crime together. Given the circumstances, it would not have been unreasonable for him not to have seen the other culprits since his head was covered in a sack at the time.. Chapter 105 - 105: Three Fires_l Chapter 105: Three Fires_l Trantor: 549690339 The County Magistrate spun his eyes and quickly threw out a green arrest warrant. ¡°Bring the Jiang brothers here!¡± he ordered. ¡°Yes!¡± responded the arrest officer, grabbing the green arrest warrant and leaving the court with several government officials for Chuanhe Town. Song Wenyu wasn¡¯t in any hurry, he suggested to the County Magistrate that Jiang Sang should be released on bail for medical treatment. They couldn¡¯t keep Jiang Sang in jail for another day or two while they waited to arrest the suspects. The County Magistrate was reluctant, but after seeing Mingfu silently observing from across the room, he hurriedly agreed. Jiang Sang¡¯s case has yet to be decided and no crime was confirmed today. He was injured, deciding against bail would be unfair. Song Wenyu also pointed out that Jiang Sang was injured in jail, which gave the County Magistrate no choice but to let him go. Truth be told, even if Chen Family won thewsuit, Jiang Sang would not be sentenced to death or exile. It would likely be considered a minor dispute that resulted in a brawl, requiring only a smallpensation. The County Magistrate initially didn¡¯t want to take up this case, but since Chen Guanglu was his trusted confidant, he had to attend to the matter closely as Chen Guanglu¡¯s leg was broken. Since there was no possibility for Chen Guanglu to overturn the case, the County Magistrate decided to continue the trial ording to the rules, disregarding Chesn Guanglu¡¯s views. Consequently, Chunniang paid two taels of silver for bail and returned to Gao Family Inn with her husband. Yingbao wanted to treat her father¡¯s injuries but Jiang Sang refused, as he needs his wounds visible for the uing trial. If his wound heals now, Chen Guanglu would go unpunished. The next afternoon, the constable brought Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng to the county town, followed by several vigers. The vigers were stirred up, shouting that they wanted to make an example out of Chen Guanglu and Chen Changping. Seeing the matter was getting out of hand, the County Magistrate, Wu Shi, finally stepped in. He took over the case from the County Magistrate to judge it personally. Moreover, he publicly tried this civilian dispute. Indeed, the County Magistrate adjusted the ssification of the case and grouped it into civil disputes. Jiang Sang¡¯s stabbing in prison was treated as a separate case. Upon seeing this, Song Wenyu didn¡¯t hesitate to climb thedder, submitting an appeal. He used Chen Guanglu of breaching thews of the imperial court by bribing the jailer to torture Jiang Sang. He also attempted to mislead and disrupt the court by intentionally breaking thew. Chen Guanglu was stupefied as he watched the County Magistrate start his sweeping reform of the prison and arresting several officials. This included Chen Guanglu and a few of his good brothers. Only then did Yingbao realize why Wu Daozi avoided meeting her and did not speak up for her during the first trial. It seemed he needed an excuse to clean up the scum within the government office. The so-called ¡®new official lights three fires¡¯ seemed quite timely in Wu Daozi¡¯s case. After the case was sentenced, County Magistrate Cao Can didn¡¯t dare show his face for several days. Not to mention daring to speak up for the Han couple. Once the County Magistrate took action, everyone elseplied, and no one dared to stir the pot. In the end, Chen Guanglu was dismissed from his position, sentenced to five years in jail. The jailer and officials who helped him were also sessively sentenced. The appeal of Chen Changping and the Han family were also dismissed without any serious penalty. However, after this incident, it¡¯s estimated that Chen Changping would face greater difficulties when taking the Schr Examination Next, Wu Daozi began to re-try the case of the Han sisters hiring thugs to kidnap. The case was simple. As soon as Chen Ergou was brought in for a retrial and faced with a torture device, he confessed everything. Just like that, the Han sisters turned from intiffs to defendants and were immediately put in jail. Considering the Han family¡¯s kidnapping did not cause any deaths, they were sentenced to three years in prison and were to receive fortyshes. Chen Changping, however, wasn¡¯t involved, so he wasn¡¯t penalized. As the court session ended, the Jiang Family was overjoyed and immediately paid Song Wenyu twenty taels of silver for the litigation fee. The first month passed quickly and it was already February before anyone realized. Jiang Sang invited a farmer skilled in nurturing fruit trees to help trim the trees in their courtyard. The two apple trees from the old house had also been moved to the South Slope and nted in their own courtyard. One day, while Yingbao was making medicine at home, Erni came in while holding her nose, ¡°Yingbao, I¡¯ve got some interesting news for you.¡± ¡°What interesting news?¡± ¡°Many people came to the Chen Family in West Vige. The three children of Mrs. Han were sent to Chen Changping¡¯s house by Chen Guanglu¡¯s older brother and sister-inw.¡± Erni spoke with curiosity, ¡°Chen Daya evenined that all the troubles had been caused by Mrs. Han and Chen Changping, so the children of Mrs. Han must be raised by Chen Changping¡¯s family.¡± Yingbao raised her head, ¡°Three children? Doesn¡¯t Mrs. Han have four children?¡± ¡°Yes, there are only three of them, three girls.¡± Erni fanned her nose with her hand, ¡°What are you brewing that smells so bad?¡± ¡°Renewing Pills.¡± Yingbao stirred the medicine pot and asked again, ¡°What did Chen Changping say? ¡°What else could he say? He just had to swallow his pride and ept responsibility. He definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to toss the children out.¡± Erni gloated, ¡°Now he has to feed five girls by himself. I bet he won¡¯t even have enough for food.¡± Chen Guanglu¡¯s oldest daughter is nine years old this year, the second daughter, Chen Tiantian, is only eight years old, and the youngest one must be about four or five years old. Together with eight-year-old Chen Zhao and ten-year-old Chen Wan, Chen Changping¡¯s household was now a lively one indeed. Chen Guanglu¡¯s house and property were sold by his older brother, Chen Daya, leaving only ten taels of silver for his nieces for their future living expenses. Chen Changping had set up his own household separately from his two brothers. Chen Laosuan was utterly disappointed in his second son and had no intention of financially supporting him. Without any farnd or money, Chen Changping could not continue his studies. He could only copy texts at home, scraping a few coins together to support his family. In the sunny March, Yingbao saw several girls, including Chen Tiantian and her sisters, eager to find food on the South Slope. Among the girls, only Chen Wan seemed happy, patiently teaching Chen Daya and her sisters how to recognize wild vegetables. Chen Tiantian pouted, reluctantly picking up some wild vegetables and throwing them into a bamboo basket before sitting on the ground, refusing to get up. Chen Zhao disapproved and reprimanded, ¡°You are not a pampered young miss anymore. If you don¡¯t work, you won¡¯t eat.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all because of your mother!¡± Chen Tiantian suddenly exploded, pointing at Chen Zhao and yelling, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for her getting us into trouble, how could my family be like this?¡± Chen Zhao was lost for a reply, ¡°Your parents took 200 taels of silver from our family. If they hadn¡¯t been greedy for money, would they have stepped forward?¡± ¡°Humph!¡± Chen Tiantian turned her head and suddenly saw a girl riding a deer in the distance. Anger surged from within her. Picking up small clod of dirt, she threw it towards them and yelled, ¡°You bringer of doom! All of this happened because of you!¡± Since their perfectly fine life encountered this harbinger of doom, it¡¯s been one misfortune after another. Yingbao was riding on a deer¡¯s back, watching the girls from a distance; a strange feeling filled her heart. She wondered if they would have the same smooth ride in this life as they did in the past. Mrs.. Han was sentenced to three years in prison, so will Chen Xu still be born two yearster? Chapter 106 - 106: Planting Gourds_l Chapter 106: nting Gourds_l Trantor: 549690339 After March, the Jiang Family began preparing for Jiang Cheng¡¯s wedding. Jiang Cheng managed to buy tworge geese at several markets, clipped their wings, and kept them in a cage. Yingbao¡¯s eyes sparkled and she had a continuous grin watching her elder cousin. ¡°Baobao, what are you nting in the yard?¡± Seeing her daughter busying herself in the small vegetable plot in the yard, Chunniang, who was sifting rice, asked. ¡°Gourds.¡± Yingbao buried two gourd seeds in the soil. She nned to grow lots of gourds, sell them for money, and also give a fewrge ones to Wu Daozi. When Sister Wen came back, she would give her two as well. Speaking of which, it was already the end of March, why hasn¡¯t Sister Wen returned yet? Just then, the sound of Mrs. Tang came from the courtyard entrance. ¡°Is Chunniang home?¡± Chunniang instantly stood up: ¡°Yes, yes. Auntie Tang, pleasee in.¡± Mrs. Tang, leading her little grandson Xiao Yao, entered and appraised the courtyard with a smile, ¡°Oh, your yard is very spacious.¡± ¡°Not really.¡± Chunniangughed and moved a stool for Mrs. Tang to sit on. ¡°I see you¡¯ve also started making earth bricks on the South Slope. Are you building a house?¡± ¡°Yes, indeed.¡± Mrs. Tang sat down with a smile and gently pushed Xiaoyao: ¡°Go and y with sister.¡± Xiaoyao ran up to Yingbao and stood there without a word, staring at her. Yingbao ignored him and continued to dig the soil and nt seeds. Mrs. Tang said, ¡°Once our house is built, we can visit each other often. Then I will also grow some vegetables in the yard for convenience.¡± ¡°You¡¯re also building a house on South Slope?¡± Chunniang asked with a smile. Mrs. Tang sighed, ¡°South Slope has more space. Our Zhuzhu will have to divide the family property with his two elder brothers sooner orter. It¡¯s better to divide it sooner thanter. I¡¯m still alive now, and the old man can take care of them a bit. Once I kick the bucket, who will care for Zhuzhu¡¯s family?¡± ¡°Look at you, no matter what, he is still Uncle Chen¡¯s biological son, how can he be so heartless.¡± ¡°Ah, Chunniang, you just don¡¯t understand¡­¡± Mrs. Tang shook her head and didn¡¯t continue on the topic. She turned her head to Yingbao and asked: ¡°Yingbao, do you still have those medicinal pills? I would like to buy some.¡± While her family hasn¡¯t divided yet, she needed to buy a lot of medicine in preparation. Surely the old man would not treat them all equally. If she didn¡¯t spend some money now, it would all eventually go to the eldest and second brotherter. ¡°Yes, Grandma Tang, how many do you want?¡± Yingbao heard Tang PoPo wanted to buy the pills and immediately ran over. Mrs. Tang took out a five-tael little silver ingot, ¡°Just buy this much.¡± She had to beg the old man hard to get this silver. She had realized that nothing was as important as her own life. As long as she lived, Zhuzhu¡¯s family would live peacefully. Yingbao cheerfully epted the silver, ran back into the house, and came out again, this time holding a ceramic bowl full of pills, ¡°Here you go, a total of thirty pills. You can only eat one a day.¡± This was the Harmony-preserving Pill she had made a while ago. It wasposed of hawthorn, fermented grain, pinellia, poria, tangerine peel, forsythia, radish seed, and a little bit of Wudingzhi. This pill targeted people like Mrs. Tang, who had a high-fat blood type. Mrs. Tang pocketed the pills in herrge sleeve, called her grandson over, stood up, and bid Chunniang farewell. Shortly after Mrs. Tang left, Sister-inw Jiang came over and called over the three sisters to sew wedding quilts. There was a custom regarding the sewing of wedding quilts, it could only be done by those blessed with good fortune. A total of four quilts were sewn for the wedding, all of them had a silk surface, a cotton lining, and were stuffed with soft cotton floss. Sister-inw Jiang did not look happy as she sewed the quilts and chatted with the three sisters. ¡°The matchmaker from the Chu Family came yesterday, suggesting that we give a hundred taels of silver for a bride price. Oh, I don¡¯t know what they are thinking.¡± Although the Jiang Family made good moneyst year, they¡¯ve just started to get on their feet, and they¡¯ve just built a new house, with new furnishing throughout. And what about those bamboo cages they built, and the other necessities they bought, don¡¯t these cost money too? ¡°Didn¡¯t you give the Chu Family thirty taels as an engagement giftst time? Plus a pair of silver bracelets, now they¡¯re asking for a hundred taels?¡± They must think the Jiang family is loaded. Jiang¡¯s sister-inw sighed: ¡°Yes, if it weren¡¯t for the fact that we¡¯re engaged, and that Dacheng is especially fond of her, I¡¯d be thinking about breaking off this engagement.¡± Which farming family ever spends so much on a dowry? It¡¯s as if they¡¯re marrying into a high-ss family. A hundred taels, only the Chu Family coulde up with such an idea. Even if our family pooled all our money, it would be no more than seventy taels. Chunniang did not respond, but her dislike for the Chu Family¡¯s daughter grew. But that girl is already her nephew¡¯s prospective daughter-inw, so it¡¯s not her ce to object. ¡°We initially talked about the daughter of the Chu Craftsman, I don¡¯t know why, but the matchmaker brought up the horoscope of the legitimate daughter of Chu Vige, saying it matches perfectly with Dacheng¡¯s, oh¡­¡± Jiang¡¯s sister-inw grew more and more frustrated as she thought about it. She had seen the daughter of the Chu Craftsman; while not as refined as the legitimate daughter of Chu Vige, she seemed like a decent girl. It was as if they were blindfolded byrd, and agreed to consider the legitimate daughter of Chu Vige. Chunniang silently shook her head. A case of notorious fame inviting trouble, word about the Jiang family¡¯s cultivation of gold ear mushrooms must¡¯ve spread far and wide. Otherwise why would the Chu family force their daughter¡¯s horoscope upon them? It would be humiliating if the prospective groom¡¯s family refused. Once the quilt was mended, Chunniang went home to wash rice, cook porridge, and make some pancakes. In the evening, Sang Jiang came back from the fields, with his two sons who he had picked up from school. Xiaojie and Xiaowu have now started their formal education at the vige school, going to and from school with Huzi and Yuanbao. asionally, Jiang Sang would go and pick them up. Both children were very bright; even the Master praised their quick wit. Chunniang brought the food to the table and served the porridge and pancakes to the children. Pancakes filled with fried chives and little dried fish were delicious. Yingbao ate three in one go and drank half a bowl of porridge, her stomach round and full. ¡°Chunniang, we won¡¯t be nting ramie this year, I¡¯ve already bought arge number of saplings to nt on the North Mountain,¡± said Jiang Sang, biting into a pancake. Chunniang replied: ¡°If we¡¯re not nting ramie, we¡¯re not nting ramie. It¡¯s too much work. We can just nt more cotton this year.¡± ¡°Mhm, I¡¯ve nted ten acres of cotton. My eldest and second brothers also nted ten acres. We should finish sowing the seeds in a few days.¡± Jiang Sang took several sips from his bowl of porridge, put it down, and said, ¡°Once we¡¯re done with the cotton, we can start nting the gold ear mushrooms.¡± The strains of his gold ear mushrooms are still covered under the straw curtains; they anticipate considerable work ahead. Immediately, Yingbao chimed in: ¡°Dad,ter, I will give you the premium gold ear and Xue¡¯er strains. Others can have the regr ones.¡± Jiang Sang¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°How many premium strains do you have, Baobao?¡± ¡°There are several hundred strains. We can separate six hundred strains and each of your elder and second brothers can have three hundred.¡± To grow premium gold ear and Xue¡¯er mushrooms, a special nutritional base is required. Once the nutrients in the base are exhausted, the mushrooms that grow next are just regr golden ears. Therefore, others simply can¡¯t grow the premium version. ¡°Great.¡± Jiang Sang was very pleased, not caring at all about where his daughter was storing these golden mushroom strains. Oh, wait, her gold ear strains are kept separately in a bamboo cage in their courtyards, covered by a grass curtain. He just never went in to check.. Chapter 107 - 107: Cannon Fodder in Novels 1 Chapter 107: Cannon Fodder in Novels 1 Trantor: 549690339 At night, Yingbao crawled into the bamboo shed and got busy. First, she moved the earthen jars from the cave house one by one to the shelves in the bamboo shed, and then collected some empty jars into the cave house. When she finished these tasks, she washed her hands and returned to the room to sleep. Lying on the warm heated floor, she closed her eyes and entered the cave house. The crops in the cave house were mature and she had harvested most of them, leaving a small portion unharvested. She didn¡¯t n to harvest the crops tonight, but searched all around for Wudingzhi on the cave walls. She had used most of this strange thing, and only a pitiful little bit was left. Yingbao decided not to use it anymore until she could set up a clouddder to reach the top of the cave, then she¡¯d use the remaining Wudingzhi. After all, she had nearly prepared all of the medicines she was supposed to, even the portion for Wu Daozi was ready. Walking around the pool once, Yingbao squinted at the glowing object at the middle. At first nce, the thing looked like a small sun, but on closer inspection, it looked more like a glowing stone. She wasn¡¯t sure whether it was hot or not. Perhaps she should send a gourd boat to the center to check? No sooner said than done. Yingbao selected a fewrge gourds with vines, dragged them together and twisted them into a gourd boat. Fiverge gourds were tightly connected side by side, sturdy and well bnced, with no risk of tipping over. Yingbao sat in the middle of the gourd, using a shovel as a paddle. Before long, she arrived next to the glowing object. This object, although it glowed, didn¡¯t seem to burn people. When she got close, she didn¡¯t feel much heat either. While paddling, Yingbao circled around the smooth and shiny glowing object. Suddenly, she noticed a small oval door on the glowing object, which looked like the moon gate in the garden of a rich family. Yingbao hesitated for a moment, but couldn¡¯t resist her strong curiosity, so she slowly approached the small door. She poked the small door with the shovel, but there was no response, like poking into a bunch of cotton. Yingbao became more curious, she put down the shovel and reached out to touch it. Suddenly, the glowing object burst into a bright light, blinding her. Yingbao instinctively closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she found herself in a foggy ce. What¡­ Why does it look like the ce she saw in her dreams? Sure enough, a huge book slowly appeared in front of her, with the pages flipping rapidly. Shockingly, Yingbao stepped forward and held the book down with her hand. The pages stopped moving then, but the words inside were still jumping around so much that it was impossible to read them. When Yingbao removed her hand, the pages slowly closed. The words ¡°Qian Pce Sweet Charm¡± were still on the cover. ¡°What the hell is this?¡± A book with freely jumping characters was something she had never seen before. Looking around, she could only see thick fog everywhere, she couldn¡¯t see what was around her at all. Returning to the book again, she stood in silence for a moment before forcefully flipping open the first page. This time, the words on the page no longer jumped around, but the contents were entirely different from what she had seen earlier. The first chapter told of Chen Tiantian¡¯s mother and Chen Zhao¡¯s mother being framed and thrown into jail, andter being saved by a nobleman. This nobleman was none other than the head of the Wei family in the Prefecture City. Yingbao frowned. She knew about the Wei family. In the future, they were involved in thepetition between the three princes. Their power was not to be underestimated. Since they were involved in a rebellion, they should have either manpower or money. She didn¡¯t know about they have people, but they surely had money and power, it was said that their shops were spread all over the country. Yingbao wanted to turn to the second chapter, but the book turned back into a butterfly and flew away. As the book disappeared, Yingbao blinked and found herself back on the gourd boat. Looking at where the small door once was, it had disappeared without a trace. Rowing the gourd boat back to the shore, Yingbao contemted deeply. It would seem, she was indeed living inside a book. The female lead and the female side character in the book were exceptionally formidable. Despite the circumstances, they still had a chance to turn the tables. Even though she had changed the course of many events, the book could rearrange itself, beginning a new round of drama. The myriad of changes still led to the same conclusion. The female lead remained as the female lead, and herself, a cannon fodder tool, might still be just that. Yingbao felt unbearably depressed. Was she doomed to never escape this damn fate? No, she would find out tomorrow, what the Chen Changping family were plotting, and how they could possibly vindicate the Han sisters. Chen Family in Xichen Vige. In order to support his second son, Chen Laoshuan, along with his wife, followed Chen Changping. The eldest son, Chen Changrong had no objections, the third son, Chen Changhai, even less so. Only Chen Laoshuan¡¯s daughter, Chen Hui was unhappy, she hurriedly ran back to her maternal home to scold her parents. ¡°Mother, why are you still taking care of brother when he¡¯s like this?¡± Chen Feng looked at her daughter: ¡°Are you suggesting I should just ignore him because he is my son?¡± Chen Hui huffily sat down on a stool, ¡°You¡¯ve already divided thend and properties to him. It was him who sold it all after listening to the Han woman¡¯s lies. Now, are you nning to give the remaining few acres to him as well? How will you sustain yourselves in the future?¡± Chen Feng defended: ¡°Your second brother hasn¡¯t asked us to financially aid him, he has been copying books these past few days.¡± ¡°Copying books?¡± Chen Hui scoffed, ¡°He spent decades studying, and all he can do is copy books. What else can he do?¡± Chen Laoshuan came in, hands behind his back, and scolded in a low voice: ¡°Speak no more nonsense! ¡± Chen Hui turned away, ignoring her father. Chen Laoshuan closed the door behind him, spoke softly: ¡°I went to the county town to consult awyer. If we want to save the Han woman, we must prove that the child is ours. Only then, she can¡¯t be used of being a kidnapper.¡± Chen Hui huffed: ¡°Why are you so obsessed with saving that woman?¡± Chen Laoshuan red at her: ¡°What am I to that unlucky star! I wouldn¡¯t care if she died, unless it involves my second son!¡± His son cannot take the civil service examination in this lifetime because his wife is a kidnapper. That stigma haunted him. Even if the Han woman died, Chen Changping could not get rid of this stain on his reputation. The more Chen Laoshuan thought about it, the angrier he became at his good son being ruined by such a stupid woman. The only way to clear all the charges was to prove that the child was indeed their own. After the Han woman was exonerated and returned, he could force his son to divorce her. He didn¡¯t want such an ill-omened woman to affect his son¡¯s luck. ¡°How do you n to prove it? The county magistrate himself dered the sentence. Do you think you can easily overturn it?¡± Chen Hui disdained. Chen Laoshuan: ¡°The county magistrate may be in charge here but who is he in the prefecture city! Hmph, I will go to the Prefecture City tomorrow to meet the head of the Wei family.¡± It had been over a decade since hest visited Prefecture City. He didn¡¯t even know if that master was still alive. Nevertheless, he had to try. Compared to his son¡¯s future, what was losing a little face. Maybe he could still turn things around. The next day, before dawn, Chen Laoshuan and his second son Chen Changping rode a donkey cart out of the vige, heading for Prefecture City. Thest piece of information that Yingbao gathered was that Chen Laoshuan and his second son had already gone to Prefecture City. What was written in the book was indeed true. It seemed that she had another tough battle ahead. The Chen Family just wouldn¡¯t let it go. She didn¡¯t know how exactly they were nning on saving the Han sisters. Right, other than proving that she was their child, there was no other way. But how could that be, now that her birthmark had vanished. How could they recognize her as their child? Yingbao thought for a moment, and decided to find her mother. There were some matters that needed her parents¡¯ involvement.. Chapter 108 - 108: The In-Laws are Troublesome 1 Chapter 108: The In-Laws are Troublesome 1 Trantor: 549690339 It was the day of Jiang Cheng¡¯s wedding. Elder Jiang invited everyone from East Vige to the wedding banquet, and even invited Aunt Wu Sishi and her family from West Vige. Aunt Wu Sishi didn¡¯t want toe, but her husband decided to use this opportunity to mend rtionships with the Jiang family, therefore forcing her to attend. During the banquet, someone asked her, ¡°Aunt Wu Sishi, did you really see a red birthmark on the wrist of Han family¡¯s daughter?¡± Aunt Wu Sishi nodded, ¡°Of course, whoever lies will not end well.¡± Someoneughed and asked, ¡°Then why did you believe our little Fairy Child also had a birthmark?¡± Wu Sishi coughed awkwardly and replied, ¡°It wasn¡¯t my assumption, it was indeed the Han sisters who tricked me into bing a witness for them. Who would have thought that those two would be so malicious.¡± The crowdughed, ¡°You can¡¯t im that our little Fairy Child is from the Chen Family next time, otherwise your oath wille true and even the ghosts wille to get you.¡± Hehe, indeed, I know that.¡± Aunt Wu Sishiughed awkwardly before burying her face in her food. At dusk, the bride arrived in a pnquin. Chu He, her uncle and older brother, and her two uncles escorted the bride to her groom¡¯s house. When the pnquin was settled in the courtyard, the matchmakers helped the new bride out. After crossing over the fire basin and paying respect to heaven, earth and her parents, she entered the bridal chamber. After the ceremony, Elder Jiang quickly invited his daughter-inw¡¯s uncles and older brother to sit down, and had his two younger brothers and a few peers from the vige to apany them. After three rounds of drinks, Chu¡¯s eldest uncle began to criticize Elder Jiang indignantly, ¡°Father-inw, we had clearly agreed on a dowry of one hundred taels of silver, but when we came to the wedding today, your family only brought eighty taels. If the matchmaker hadn¡¯t buttered us up, I wouldn¡¯t have let my niece board the pnquin.¡± Elder Jiangughed embarrassingly and didn¡¯t know how to respond. In fact, he had only given Dacheng sixty taels of silver, but Dacheng had apparently added an additional twenty taels to make it eighty. Yet, the Chu family was still unsatisfied. Sigh. Chu¡¯s eldest uncle continued, ¡°When we return tomorrow, you can use the Golden Ear Fungus aspensation. We¡¯re all reasonable people here, we don¡¯t need a lot- four hundred pots should be enough.¡± The Chu¡¯s matchmaker also chimed in with augh, ¡°That¡¯s four hundred pots of fungus, not four hundred individual pieces. How does that sound, Father-inw? There¡¯s no problem, is there?¡± There was a moment of silence among the crowd. Four hundred pots of fungus? If they were to be individually grown, that would amount to over a thousand Golden Ear Fungi. The Chu family really dared to ask for a lot. Jiang Sang put down his wine cup and spoke calmly, ¡°We Jiangs are just poor farmers. When inws demanded for a hundred taels of silver, it was a bit outrageous. Brother-inw, you better go around and ask, among the families around, how many can afford a hundred taels of silver for a dowry? Even the rich townspeople couldn¡¯t afford it.¡± Jiang Sang was too embarrassed to tell them that evening up with twenty or thirty taels of silver for a wife would be a stretch for some families. And now they also wanted four hundred pots of fungus. Even he, Jiang Sang, couldn¡¯t produce that much in one go. The Chu family had quite the ambition. One of the Chu uncles mmed the table and asked, ¡°What do you mean? Are you nning to go back on your word now that the bride is here?¡± The Jiang family¡¯s matchmaker hurriedly intervened, ¡°Uncle, please don¡¯t say that. We, as adults, are supposed to discuss these things properly. The children shouldn¡¯t be involved.¡± Chu¡¯s uncle replied, ¡°I don¡¯t want to involve my niece either, but you guys from the Jiang family were the ones who started this.¡± The eighteen-year-old Chu He even threw his cup on the floor in anger and shouted, ¡°Are you Jiangs trying to bully my Chu family thinking we have no one to protect us?¡± Jiang Sang¡¯s face fell and he shot a nce at his older brother. They were marrying a daughter, especially the daughter of his older brother, who would eventually inherit the family business. They should have examined the Chu¡¯s family situation more thoroughly. With these weird rtives causing chaos, Dacheng¡¯s marriage might not be as blissful as expected. The Jiang¡¯s matchmaker quickly intervened again, ¡°Let¡¯s calm down and discuss this.¡± Jiang Sang stood up and said coldly, ¡°There is nothing to discuss. The Golden Ear Fungus is always supplied by me, Jiang Sang. My older brother doesn¡¯t have that many mushrooms.¡± Even if he did, he wouldn¡¯t give them to this family. Having said that, he turned and walked away. Jiang Eng also stood up and looked at the inws. ¡°If you are dissatisfied, feel free to take the couple back. They haven¡¯t even consummated their marriage yet. Our Jiang family isn¡¯t desperate to climb your Chu family tree.¡± Saying so, he also left the banquet. Seeing that the two direct rtives from the groom¡¯s side had left, a few apanying guests also began to exit. As they exited the room, they were pulled by Jiang Eng to sit at another table, where the drinking continued. This left the people from the Chu family stunned. Both mediators look at each other in confusion. This was the first time they had encountered such a situation, but they couldn¡¯t leave either, so they had to continue to entertain the Chu family and Jiang Dng. Seeing the situation at an impasse, another uncle of the Chu family scolded his nephew, ¡°When adults are speaking, it¡¯s not your ce to interfere! Apologize to your Uncle Jiang!¡± They had also been startled by the rigid attitude of the Jiang family, genuinely scared. What if the Jiang family doesn¡¯t follow the rules, would they truly have to take their niece back home? Oh dear, the Chu family just can¡¯t afford this disgrace. Having grown ustomed to having his way at home, Chu He, for the first time, was meeting someone bold enough to resist him, and it happened to be the newly rich Jiang family, out of rage, he flipped the wine table. Crash! An entire table of food and drink was spilled all over the floor, narrowly missing the mediators¡¯ feet. ¡°We won¡¯t marry into your family! I¡¯m taking my sister home!¡± Having said that, he stormed off towards the bridal chamber. Jiang Dng stood unmoved, letting the two mediators approach and pull Chu He. The uncles of the Chu family, seeing the Jiang family still indifferent, couldn¡¯t help but feel vexed. In order to prevent the situation from escting, one of the Chu family¡¯s uncles instantly stepped forward and pped his nephew, ¡°Look at yourself, acting crazy after a few drinks, just wait until we tell your parents when we get back home.¡± After hitting his nephew, he raised his hands to Jiang Dng in apology, ¡°My apologies, my nephew can¡¯t handle his drink, he bes disoriented after a few sips.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, Chu He is young and can¡¯t hold his liquor. Everything he said just now was nonsense, please don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± Chu family¡¯s mediator quickly came to mediate. Jiang Dngughed lightly, ¡°Since he¡¯s drunk, let him rest.¡± He held himself with dignity, not like his two younger brothers, who chose to walk away with indifference. Moreover, this was his son¡¯s wedding, no matter what, he had to attend to the few members of the Chu family. The few attendees from the Chu family were then led to the new room in Jiang Eng¡¯s house to rest. Jiang Eng took the newly made bedding to his room, took out some old nkets and spread them on the bamboo bed in the living room for the guests to rest. As for his own bedroom, he wouldn¡¯t let people from the Chu family enter. To prevent guests from recklessly entering and messing with his bamboo shed, Jiang Eng even sealed all the bamboo sheds, making it impossible for even a rat to get in without some effort. After the feast, Chunniang and a few vige women cleaned up the tables, chairs, pots, pans, and dishes, then gave the leftover food to the helpers and finally went home. In the bridal chamber, the matchmaker and another old woman fed the newlyweds dumplings, then took two gourddles filled with wine and fed them. After the couple drank the unifying wine, the old woman said a bunch of auspicious words, and finally let the newlyweds rest. The double happiness candles lit up the bridal chamber brightly. Jiang Cheng, feeling a bit embarrassed, asked his bride if she was hungry. Of course, Chu Man was hungry. She hadn¡¯t eaten anything since dawn and had been starving all day. After putting on the bridal dress, she couldn¡¯t go to the bathroom, and her mother wouldn¡¯t let her drink even a sip of water. Even though the old woman had just fed her two raw dumplings, it didn¡¯t help at all. At this moment, she wasn¡¯t just hungry, she was also thirsty and desperately needed to use the bathroom. In the courtyard of the Jiang family, tworge rednterns adorned with the word ¡°double happiness¡± were hanging high under the eaves, making the courtyard bright and festive. In the middle of the silent night, a woman¡¯s scream suddenly came from the bridal chamber in the east, followed by the sound of something breaking.. Chapter 109: Newlywed Drama 1 Chapter 109: Newlywed Drama 1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°Get out! Get out of here!¡± The woman¡¯s shrill screams echoed far and wide, startling the rtives living in the Jiang family house. Immediately afterwards, Jiang Cheng, disheveled, was pushed out of the room. The door mmed shut behind him. Jiang¡¯s sister-inw, d in her gown, rushed out to investigate. Upon seeing her eldest son covered in blood, she screamed in terror. ¡°Dacheng, what¡¯s happened?¡± Jiang Cheng, too mortified to find a hole to crawl into, pressed his hand against his forehead and murmurred, ¡°Mother, please be quiet.¡± It was quite embarrassing. His newly-wedded wife had smashed his head with a ceramic pillow, iming she felt disgusted. If word of this event were to get out, he would surely be too ashamed to show his face again. Jiang¡¯s uncle also got up, seeing his son¡¯s severe injuries, he quickly brought him into his own room and dashed off to find his younger brother for medication. Yingbao and Dani were sleeping soundly, utterly ignorant of their cousin¡¯splicated wedding night and his bloody head. The next day, the newlyweds were supposed to serve tea to the elders in the morning and take this opportunity to familiarize themselves with the family members. However, the girl from the Chu family slept until well after sunrise and thennguidly shuffled out of her nuptial chamber wearing her shoes. Chu Man stood disheveled and disoriented under the eaves, looking all around and shouting loudly: ¡°Brother! Uncle! Where have you all gone?¡± When no one answered, she began to stomp her feet and cry: ¡°Brother! Brother! Where are you?¡± By this time, those who had apanied the bride to her newlywed¡¯s home had already returned after having breakfast. If they stayed any longer, they would probably feel too embarrassed. Chunn, Dani and Erni were just entering the courtyard and were taken aback at the sight of Chu Man¡¯s disarray. Upon entering from outside, the matriarch saw her new daughter-inw crying while in disarray; she quickly rushed over to ask, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Chu Man violently shook off her mother-inw¡¯s hand and screamed, ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡± Jiang¡¯s sister-inw furrowed her eyebrows, suddenly suspecting that her new daughter-inw might not be in her right mind. Dani was displeased seeing her new sister-inw shake off her mother, nheless, she stepped forward and asked, ¡°Do you need help freshening up, I can guide you.¡± After crying for a while, Chu Man suddenly turned around and went back into the room, took care of her business in the toilet behind the bed screen, then came out again. She stopped crying now, with her chin raised high, she instructed Danli, ¡°Help meb my hair!¡± Dani kept her feelings to herself and went inside to help herb her hair. Yingbao and Erni looked at each other in confusion, unable to figure out what was going on with Chu Man. It didn¡¯t seem like she was mentally ill, but her behavior was undoubtedly unusual. Which new bride wouldn¡¯t exercise some restraint upon arriving at her husband¡¯s home? Yet she behaved as if she had been spoiled into an idiot, knowing nothing about anything. ¡°Ouch! Do you even know how tob? You¡¯re ripping off my hair! It doesn¡¯t hurt, huh!¡± Chu Man¡¯s shrieks echoed from inside the room. It was unbearably ear-piercing. Jiang¡¯s sister-inw¡¯s brows furrowed even deeper and she turned around to go hang theundry. These were her son¡¯s new clothes stained in blood, and she had soaked them with wood ash water early in the morning to cleanse them in the pond. Her son was still unconscious now, and she couldn¡¯t help but worry if his brain had been injured. After much difficulty, Dani finallybed Chu Man¡¯s hair and was hoping to style it into a married woman¡¯s bun, but Chu Man refused. Having no choice, she could only help her make a double bun as she requested. After her hair was done, Chu Man asked Dani to help her dress. Once she had put on her clothes, she stretched out her foot and asked Dani to help her put on her socks and shoes. However, Dani didn¡¯t entertain her this time and simply left the room. Dani finally understood. This new sister-inw wasn¡¯t simple-minded; she was deliberately flexing her power to the Jiang family. First pretending to be insane, then prodding her inws step by step, and if all else fails, resorting to crying, making a scene, and throwing tantrums. All to show her inws that she was not to be trifled with. Jiang¡¯s sister-inw hung up theundry, and she eventually went to the kitchen to prepare two bowls of noodles, each topped with two puffy eggs. She asked her eldest daughter to deliver a bowl to their new daughter-inw and herself carried the other bowl to her son. After all, it was her first time entering their home, and Jiang¡¯s sister-inw was worried about letting her new daughter-inw go hungry. After finishing a bowl of noodles in front of her dressing table, Chu Man staggered out of her room. She ignored her mother-inw and the third aunt in the courtyard, her attention fixed on the silver locket hanging from Yingbao¡¯s neck. It was a birthday gift Chunniang had bought for her daughter this year and decided to let her wear it these past few days due to the recent family celebration. Rtives hade to visit, naturally, she would want her daughter to look her best for them. Yingbao sensed Chu Man¡¯s gaze, unafraid, she reciprocated. Chu Man ambled forward, reaching for the silver locket around Yingbao¡¯s neck. Chunniang stepped forward, discreetly stopping her, ¡°Dacheng¡¯s wife, what are you trying to do?¡± Chu Man smirked, ignoring the third aunt, turned around, and dashed back into her bridal chamber, not seen again after that. Jiang¡¯s eldest daughter-inw sighed, told Chunniang, ¡°You all can go.¡± Originally, Chunniang visited here to show the newlywed respect. But this new bride didn¡¯t even extendmon courtesies. Not even offering tea to her own mother-inw today. Well, sooner orter, every child must forge their own path, let her be. Chunniang returned home with her daughter and second niece not long after, Dani soon dropped by as well. They exchanged nces, none mentioning Chu Man. ¡°Yingbao, I¡¯m thinking of growing an extra hundred golden ear mushrooms this year.¡± Dani asked, ¡°Do you have any extra spawns?¡± Aside from her father¡¯s spawn, the surplus was all given to her uncle¡¯s family. Even Dani¡¯s spawn had been partially given away, it was demanded by rtives and she couldn¡¯t say no. Yingbao nodded, ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t have much, if I give you a hundred, I won¡¯t have any for my second sister.¡± She still had twenty jars of ordinary golden ear mushroom spawns in her cave, she should be able to spare a hundred. Dani generously said, ¡°I don¡¯t need it, I¡¯ve already grown two hundred this year.¡± Any more, she¡¯s worried she can¡¯t handle. Her father grew five hundred this year. Dani shyly smiled, thanked her younger sister. The three sisters chatted for a while, then each went home. Yingbao sat beside her mother watching her weave. Chunniang was still using an old-fashioned local loom, difficult to operate and incapable of wide weaves. She suddenly remembered a type of loom she had seen in her past life, not only was it fast, it made weaving easier. ¡°Mother, I heard there¡¯s a type of loom in Prefecture City that¡¯s easier to use, more efficient, and saves time. Why don¡¯t we buy a couple and try it out.¡± Chunniangughed, ¡°Silly child, Prefecture City is so far away, looms are heavy and bulky, even if we go, it won¡¯t be easy to bring it back.¡± Yingbao: ¡°We can ask Zhou Mao, the steward, to help us. Furuifeng is a merchant group that does business everywhere, as long as we pay, they can bring goods back from anywhere.¡± Chunniang nodded, ¡°makes sense, let¡¯s discuss this with Zhou steward next time we sell golden ear mushrooms.¡± Anyway, they aren¡¯t short on money, she wanted to see what the loom in Prefecture City looked like. If indeed it was faster and more efficient, then wouldn¡¯t they be hitting the jackpot. While they were talking, there seemed to be activity in the courtyard. Chunniang got up abruptly and went out to check. A red figure, like a ghost, was standing at Yingbao¡¯s window sneaking a peek inside. Chunniang was furious, she sternly asked, ¡°Niece-inw, what are you doing?¡± No decent person would sneak around someone else¡¯s house, let alone peep inside like a ghost. This Chu Man was really something.. Chapter 110: The Jiang Family Can ‘t Afford This Kind of Daughter-In-Law_1 Chapter 110: The Jiang Family Can ¡®t Afford This Kind of Daughter-In-Law_1 Trantor: 549690339 Chu Man turned her gaze and said, ¡°I came to y with the child you picked up, why are you being so hostile?¡± Nanny Chun said coldly: ¡°Our Baobao and you are not of the same kind, Dacheng¡¯s wife, you should just go back.¡± This new daughter-inw is not here to y with her daughter, she¡¯s likely coveting the daughter¡¯s silver lock. Chu Man pouted, tantly acting careless, ¡°But I want to y with her.¡± Yingbao emerged from the house and stood beside her mom, looking at Chu Man as if she were an idiot: ¡°First sister-inw, how old are you this year?¡± Chu Man: ¡°I¡¯m sixteen, kid, do you want to go out and y with me?¡± ¡°Turns out you¡¯re already sixteen. I thought you were only two.¡± Yingbao ridiculed without any mercy: ¡°I don¡¯t want to y with a two-year-old retard.¡± ¡°You!¡± Chu Man was furious when she heard Yingbao¡¯s mockery. She disregarded everything and rushed at Yingbao, ¡°You bastard, dare to scold me? I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Nanny Chun became enraged, she picked up a bamboo broom to strike, ¡°Get out!¡± Even though this Chu Man was the new bride, Nanny Chun did not want to indulge her any further. Such an arrogant and rude person who dares toe to her house looking for trouble really has guts¡ªtoday, even if the heavens hade down, she would not forgive her. Chu Man was not really a fool, seeing Nanny Chun raising the broom to hit her, she got scared and turned to run, running all the way out of the yard. Nanny Chun wielded the broom at the doorway, pointed at the idiot and yelled, ¡°If you dare set foot in my house again, I¡¯ll make you pay!¡± When Sister-inw Jiang and Dani Erni heard the noise, they came out. Not knowing what had happened, but knowing that Nanny Chun would not beat or scold someone without cause, they looked at the new bride. Chu Man sat on the ground, kicked her legs, twisted her body, and started crying, ¡°Mother! The Jiang Family is bullying me! I want to go home! Woo-woo-wa-wa ¡­¡± Unfortunately, no matter how she cried out, no one came tofort her. Sister-inw Jiang and Nanny Chun exchanged a look, then each turned around and returned home, ignoring the new daughter-inw who was still throwing tantrums and crying. Dani didn¡¯t go back but ran to Second Uncle¡¯s house, and pulled Erni, who was watching the excitement at the door, into the yard, closed the door, and said in a low voice: ¡°Don¡¯t look at her. The more we look at her the more energetic she gets. Humph! Last night she even smashed my older brother¡¯s head.¡± ¡°What? She smashed Dacheng¡¯s head?¡± Erni was surprised. No wonder she hadn¡¯t seen her first cousin since morning. It was also no wonder that her third aunt was so rude to the new daughter-inw. ¡°Indeed.¡± Dani said indignantly: ¡°I just found out.¡± She and Erni had slept in Yingbao¡¯s roomst night and had breakfast in Nanny Chun¡¯s house this morning, so they had no idea that the new sister-inw had done such a thing. If she had known earlier, she wouldn¡¯t have bothered doing her hair. What a piece of crap. Her older brother was still lying on the kang and couldn¡¯t get up. Even turning over made him feel dizzy. ¡°How bad is the injury? Is it serious?¡± ¡°Pretty serious. Second Brother went to the town to invite Doctor Li early in the morning.¡± Dani said in sorrow: ¡°Mom said Big Brother lost a lot of blood, his face turned pale at the time.¡± ¡°What a poisonous woman!¡± Erni couldn¡¯t help but curse. ¡°Why on earth would she hit Dacheng?¡± ¡°No idea. Just look at her arrogant demeanor, she definitely caused trouble on purpose by smashing Big Brother.¡± Dani was thoroughly disgusted by the new sister-inw. Such a charming person who does not seem at all to have screws loose in the head, why would she be this way? Chu Man outside saw that no one was paying attention to her, and quickly quieted down. She rushed straight back home, darting through the rooms in search of someone. Kicking open the door to one of the side rooms, she saw a young boy lying on the heated brick bed. Immediately, she lunged at him and began tearing at him, ¡°Get up! Your family has been bullying me. What are you ying dead for!¡± Jiang Cheng¡¯s head was spinning, and being torn at like this, his vision went ck, and he suddenly fainted. Jiang Zhou, who had hurried over from the kitchen, saw this scene as soon as she entered the room. She was terrified. Lurching forward, she fiercely pulled Chu Man away from her son and pinched his philtrum desperately while shouting, ¡°Dacheng! Dacheng, wake up!¡± Chu Man was pushed to the ground, and it took her a while to react. She burst into tears and wailed, ¡°Mother! The Jiang Family are all bad people! They¡¯re all bullying me. I want to go home! I want to go home!¡± The shriek was so piercing, it could have shaken the roof. Jiang Zhou suddenly turned around, took two steps toward Chu Man, and pped her fiercely, ¡°Get out now! The Jiang Family can¡¯t afford a daughter-inw like you!¡± Chu Man was shocked and stunned by the p, totally forgetting to cry out. This was the first time she had truly been pped like this, and she began to feel fear. Especially when she saw the furious expression on her mother-inw, her fear intensified. Chu Man crawled up from the ground, quickly ran back to her bridal room, and mmed the door shut. She then burrowed under the bed covers, too scared to stick her head out again. Not long after, Jiang Quan brought the doctor in a mule cart. ¡°Mother, the doctor is here.¡± Not seeing anyone in the yard, Jiang Quan called out loudly, ¡°Mother! Where are you?¡± Jiang Zhou came out from the room and wiped away her tears, ¡°Quick, let the doctor in. Your eldest brother fell unconscious, but I¡¯ve just brought him around.¡± The doctor, carrying his medicine chest, entered the room and saw a pale-faced teenager lying on the heated brick bed. The boy¡¯s eyes were swollen and bruised, and his head was bandaged with a white cloth, exhibiting several spots of blood. ¡°How did he get hurt?¡± The doctor put down his medicine chest on the table, sat down on a chair next to the heated bed, and began to take the young boy¡¯s pulse. Jiang Zhou replied, ¡°He got hit by a porcin pillow. He was bleeding a lot. We had applied some herbal medicinest night, and the bleeding has stopped. But he keepsining about his head, and this morning when we tried to feed him some noodles, he vomited after only eating a few mouthfuls.¡± The doctor furrowed his brow, tested the boy¡¯s neck, found he had no fever, and breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°He has suffered a head injury with probable internal bleeding. You have to be careful and avoid letting him do any strenuous activities.¡± He lifted Jiang Cheng¡¯s eyelid and saw blood clots under it. He couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°The boy is quite seriously injured.¡± Thinking of the scene she saw yesterday, Zhou felt heartbreak and nodded, ¡°Yes, he is severely injured.¡± That damned Chu Man, how much force did she use? Did she want to kill him? The doctor walked over to the table, opened up his medicine box, ¡°I¡¯ll prescribe some medicine first. Let him take it for a while and we¡¯ll see how it goes.¡± Suddenly, he remembered how Jiang Sang had also suffered a head injury and seemed to have healed rather quickly. Turning to look at Jiang Zhou, he decided to write down the same prescription he gave to Jiang Sang. It was strange indeed how the Jiang family, despite having ess to good medicine and recipes, preferred usingmon herbal soup. After writing the prescription, the doctor gave a few more instructions before asking, ¡°Where are the other Jiangs?¡± Jiang Zhou replied, ¡°They went to the old house.¡± Ever since Dacheng suffered a head injuryst night and the new daughter-inw didn¡¯te out of her room this morning ignoring the knocks on her door, the Jiang patriarch and Jiang Liu decided to return to the old house with a group of rtives. Out of sight, out of mind. This way, they wouldn¡¯t have to deal with the new daughter-inw causing more trouble, embarrassing them in front of rtives who traveled from afar. Jiang Dng and his two brothers naturally had to apany them back to the old house. Moreover, a few banquet tables were to be set up at the old house by noon to thank the vigers who had helped yesterday. Thus, only Jiang Dasi and Chunniang stayed behind at the new house to keep watch over the new daughter-inw.. Chapter 111: Canceling the Engagement_l Chapter 111: Canceling the Engagement_l Trantor: 549690339 After seeing off Doctor Li, Mrs. Zhou could not help but start weeping again. What kind of sin had shemitted, to have such a daughter-inw? What would happen to Dacheng in the future? She clearly thought Chu Man was quite decent during the matchmaking event. She had a pleasant smiling face and a sweet mouth, but she seemed to have changed entirely after the marriage. Besides, her father was the vige chief of the Chu Family Vige and highly respected locally. His children wouldn¡¯t be too bad, right? Even during the engagement, nothing seemed amiss. The Chu Family seemed reasonable, only mentioning how their daughter had been spoiled since childhood and couldn¡¯t handle hardbor. She didn¡¯t care too much about that statement, because she was getting a daughter-inw, not a workhorse. It didn¡¯t matter if she could work, as long as she could live happily with Dacheng. Who could have expected such trouble to ur on the wedding day? She could still bear the bride¡¯s older brother flipping the banquet table, dismissing it as youthful exuberance and drunken antics. But the bride had hit her son¡¯s head that night, even kicking him out of the bridal chamber. If the woman had hit any harder, wouldn¡¯t her son have been killed by that pillow? The more Zhou thought about it, the angrier and more afraid she became. This won¡¯t do! She must go and discuss this matter with her sister-inw. Mrs. Zhou closed the door to her son¡¯s room, thought for a moment, and closed the door to the bridal chamber as well before she went to visit her sister-inw, Jiang Sang, to express her frustrations. ¡°I really regret not waiting for my eldest son to return before arranging Dacheng¡¯s marriage. This hastily arranged match is truly problematic.¡± Wiping her tears, Mrs. Zhou asked, ¡°Sister-inw, what should we do?¡± Chunniang could note up with a definite n either. If the marriage had not been consummated, there would still be room for maneuver. But now that the bride was already brought home, unless they found a reason to send her back to her parents¡¯ home. But if they simply send her back, would the Chu Family agree? ¡°Eldest sister-inw, have you asked what Dacheng thinks?¡± Chunniang asked. Mrs. Zhou sighed, ¡°What could he possibly think? He was nearly killed before consummating the marriage. Would he dare to approach her again in the future?¡± Chunniang thought for a moment and suggested, ¡°How about using Dacheng¡¯s injury as a reasoning and ask the Chu Family to take back their daughter?¡± Mrs. Zhou was stunned, ¡°Is that possible?¡± ¡°Why not? Their daughter nearly killed our Dacheng. Everyone who came for the wedding from the Chu Family knows it.¡± That was probably why they hurriedly left early the next day without any further demands, fearing that the Jiang Family might confront them. ¡°What if¡­ what if they refuse to take her back?¡± Mrs. Zhou was caught in a predicament. Chunniang suggested, ¡°Then tell the Chu Family that, if they don¡¯te to get her back, we will report them to the government and let them decide.¡± Injuring the bridegroom to a severe condition on the wedding night, no family could tolerate such a daughter-inw. Mrs. Zhou gritted her teeth, ¡°Alright! I will discuss this with my eldest son and have him send someone to deliver the message to the Chu Family Vige.¡± This was a major matter; it would be more effective if they found some respected elders to intimidate them. At this point, Yingbao poked her head out from the side and whispered, ¡°Auntie, I can prepare some sedatives for Dacheng to make sure he sleeps well these days. You can then tell them that Dacheng has been unconscious since the incident. This will give us a greater chance of winning.¡± Dacheng had suffered a head injury and needed plenty of sleep for his recovery. This n would kill two birds with one stone. ¡°Alright, I will tell my eldest son this.¡± Mrs. Zhou got up to leave, calling Dani from the neighbouring house toe home and take care of her brother Dacheng, while she herself quickly made for the old house. After her sister-inw left, Chunniang turned her head and red at her daughter, ¡°This is an adult conversation. What are you, a child, chipping in for? What if one day Dacheng regrets it and mes you for it?¡± Yingbao: ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of him feeling angry! And Dacheng would never regret it.¡± Spring Lady poked her daughter¡¯s forehead: ¡°You¡¯re still a child, what would you understand!¡± Of all things in the world, rtionships are the most unpredictable. Dacheng had just gotten married, in case he couldn¡¯t let go of Miss Chu from the Chu Family, and decided to take her home himself, it would surely put their own daughter in a difficult position. ¡°I¡¯m already four years old, I know everything.¡± Casually, Yingbao rubbed her forehead and giggled. The Spring Lady was left speechless. In the afternoon, Yingbao brought a bowl of bitter medicine to Jiang Cheng. She watched him drink the medicine and fall asleep, then she cheerfully headed back home. The new bride, Chu Man, hadn¡¯t left her room all day, Dani was the one taking food to her for both meals. The next afternoon, the Chu Family finally sent people over. The ones who came were not the ones who escorted the bride, but three older gentlemen. The three first visited the injured Jiang Cheng. The young many motionless in bed, his head wrapped in thick gauze, his eyes ck and blue, his face pale. It was a horrifying sight. One of the elders gently checked his pulse, gradually his expression turned grave. He shook his head at another elder, sighed, ¡°The young man is badly injured, Chu Man really crossed a line.¡± The white-bearded elder was furious, he stormed out of the room and bowed to Jiang and Zhou in the courtyard, ¡°We¡¯re truly sorry. It was my fault as I spoiled Chu Man. I¡¯ll take her back home immediately to teach her a lesson. This divorce situation however, I hope you¡¯ll reconsider.¡± Jiang waved him off: ¡°Mr. Chu, it¡¯s not about reconsidering, it¡¯s about my son¡¯s life. We definitely cannot keep the bride.¡± The stern expression on the white-bearded elder¡¯s face dissolved slightly, but he insisted, ¡°In that case, we¡¯ll take Chu Man back with us. But let¡¯s keep the marriage tie between our families intact, since the wedding ceremony between your son and Chu Man wasn¡¯tpleted, how about substituting her with another bride?¡± As soon as Jiang heard this, he immediately waved his hand, ¡°That won¡¯t work, it¡¯s totally inappropriate.¡± Are they joking? They had barely managed to get rid of one problem, and now they might need to deal with another troublemaker? His family just can¡¯t afford it. The go-between, who had been standing off to the side,ughed, ¡°Mr. Chu¡¯s suggestion is good, Brother Jiang, you should agree. The Chu family has several eligible youngdies, all of good character and appearance.¡± Zhou, who had been standing on the side, couldn¡¯t help but give the matchmaker a cold re. This guy switched the eight characters in Madam Shen the matchmaker¡¯s hands to Chu Man¡¯s and swore to the heavens that Chu Man was a fine-lookingdy, came from a good family, and her father was a reputable vige chief. Only then, did they consider the marriage. If they believed him again now, they¡¯d really have to be possessed. At that moment, Chu Man was called out. As soon as she saw the visitors, she ran over and started making a fuss, ¡°Grandfather, you¡¯ve finallye. ¡­ Whimper, whimper ¡­ The people in the Jiang family bully me, I want to go home.¡± ¡°Enough!¡± The white-bearded elder looked at her coldly, hands behind his back, ¡°Go pack your things, you¡¯reing home with me!¡± Upon hearing this, Chu Man immediately brightened up. She dashed back into the room with renewed energy to pack her belongings. She didn¡¯t want to stay in this ce for even a day longer, ideally never having to return, ever. Chu Man packed carefully, not only filling a suitcase with her own clothes, but she also stuffed in the clothes and jewelry given to her by the Jiang family during the wedding. And then she looked around, found a few sets of Jiang Cheng¡¯s new clothes, and shoved those into her suitcase to take back home for her brother. Dani stood at the doorway and watched for a while, until she couldn¡¯t bear it any longer. Walking into the room, she snatched her brother¡¯s clothes out of the suitcase and told Chu Man coldly, ¡°You may only take your own clothes. You cannot take my brother¡¯s.¡± What this woman was up to was obvious even to a blind man. She was nning on taking everything in the room back to her parents¡¯ home. Snorting softly, Dani thought to herself, now that they had decided to divorce, there was no way they would let her do as she pleased. ¡°And these pieces of jewelry, bring them out too!¡± Dani opened the redcquer box and wrestled with Chu Man for the jewelry box.. ¡°These were bought by my brother, you¡¯re not allowed to take them!¡± Chapter 112: Chu Family Village_l Chapter 112: Chu Family Vige_l Trantor: 549690339 As they were wrestling for control, an Elder of the Chu Family walked over and roughly reprimanded Chu Man, ¡°Can¡¯t you behave yourself for once!¡± If she continued to be wild, the Chu family mightpletely fall out with the Jiang Family. As for mending rtions between the two families, they would be fortunate enough if they just avoided bing enemies. But Chu Man did not yield, she began to wail uncontrobly again, ¡°Those are mine! All mine! I¡¯m taking them all with me!¡± The Elder raised his hand and punished her with a fierce ear twist, ¡°You don¡¯t need to take anything! Come back home with us now! ¡± Chu Man was smacked again, this time by the strictest n elder in the Chu n, which instantly frightened her into submission. She didn¡¯t dare to resist as the elder dragged her by the arm and walked out. ¡°My dear kinsman, I will take this troublemaker home today. On another day, I will certainlye to apologize in person,¡± The patriarch of the Chu Family said to Jiang Cheng¡¯s father, cupping his hands in a gesture of respect, as he and Chu Man boarded the carriage. Carriages were rare in the countryside, and only a few could afford one. The patriarch did not utter a word along the journey, nor did he nce at his niece, who was huddled in the corner of the carriage, he just pretended to sleep. Chu Vige was about ten miles from Chen Vige, and the quick carriage journey brought them there speedily. Like Chen Vige, the original Chu Vige had been split into two viges, Chu Vige, and Chu Mountain Vige, as the poption increased. But there were few neers to these two viges. The majority of residents were descendants of the Chu Family. The carriage came straight to the main entrance of Chu Vige. The coachman first reigned in the horses, then helped the Patriarch and his two uncles dismount, and dragged Chu Man off the carriage. He didn¡¯t care whether she fell to the ground or not, he just hurriedly drove the carriage away. The first to rush out was Chu Man¡¯s mother, from the Sun family. On seeing her daughter lying on the ground, she rushed over to help her up, ¡°My child, are you hurt?¡± Chu Man clung to her mother and sobbed, ¡°Mother, the Jiang family bullied me, wuu wuu wuu, they hit me.¡± ¡°What? They hit you?¡± Hearing that, Sun family¡¯s matriarch was heartbroken. She held her daughter up and shouted, ¡°The Jiang family not only bullied us, but they were the first toin about it. Let¡¯s go, we should go home and tell your father!¡± The two women helped each other enter the courtyard, where the n leader was standing with his back turned, lecturing the vige leader. ¡°You¡¯ve spoiled an otherwise good child. I think you are getting more and more muddle-headed! I¡¯ve brought Manman back today. Restraining her from marrying into the Jiang family is done, I will choose a virtuous woman from the n to marry the Jiang family¡¯s child.¡± As the n leader of the entire Chu family, no one dared to dispute his words. Upon hearing this, the vige leader was displeased and said anxiously, ¡°Uncle, this isn¡¯t right. If you do this, what will be of Manman?¡± The patriarch responded, ¡°Manman is only sixteen. In two years, we can find another family for her to marry into. As for the Jiang family, they should be d they didn¡¯t file aint against Manman.¡± ¡°No, no!¡± the vige leader shook his head, ¡°It was just children ying around. Manman is young; she doesn¡¯t know her own strength. How did it escte to this level?¡± One of the uncles scolded, ¡°Shut up! That Jiang family child passed out and hasn¡¯t woken up, which means he has suffered serious head injuries. He could die at any moment, and you¡¯re still speaking like this? Aren¡¯t you afraid that the Jiang family will go after your daughter¡¯s life?¡± At this, the vige leader¡¯s mouth hung open in shock. Sun family¡¯s matriarch, who was about to make a fuss, also beat a retreat, quickly leading her daughter inside the house. ¡°Manman, tell me what happened. Why did you end up hitting Jiang Cheng so hard?¡± Sun family¡¯s matriarch asked softly. Chu Man pouted, mumbling in a hush, ¡°He¡­he was disgusting, he even¡­tried to take off my clothes¡­¡± Sun family¡¯s matriarch darkened her face, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you very clear at home? On the night of the wedding, you have to consummate the marriage. You¡­you¡­¡± Chu Man snorted, ¡°I don¡¯t want to consummate anything with him!¡± Sun family¡¯s matriarch sighed. It was toote for anything now. If the engagement is to be called off, so be it. If that Jiang family boy does die, at least her daughter can get out, she won¡¯t have to take on the name of a widow. It was just a shame that the eighty betrothal gifts would probably have to be returned. Since the patriarch said he wanted to choose another girl to send over, these betrothal gifts would inevitably be given to that family. If her family didn¡¯t take out the same amount, it probably wouldn¡¯t suffice. In the yard, the n Leader scolded his nephew for a while then returned home to talk with his two uncles. After taking a sip of tea to wet his throat, he asked his two cousins, ¡°Have you selected someone for the matter of the Jiang family?¡± Both shook their heads. The n Leader said, ¡°Regardless of family background, can¡¯t we pick a child based on their virtue? Older brother, is there really no one in your vige?¡± His second uncle was a cousin of the n Leader. When they were young, they parted ways from the main family, unfortunately getting relegated to Chu Mountain Vige. However, due to his older age, he and his fourth brother had be n elders, and when anything big happened in the n, they would discuss it together with the n Leader. ¡°There is one, but how do I approach her?¡± The second uncle said, ¡°She¡¯s a good girl, how can I knowingly push her into the fire pit?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s throwing her into a fire pit?¡± The n Leader said unsatisfied. ¡°You are too short-sighted, elder brother second!¡± The second uncle huffed angrily and kept sipping his tea. He and the fourth elder already disagreed with the idea of selecting another Chu girl to be sent over, but the n Leader persisted single-mindedly. The n Leader angrily said, ¡°Who am I doing this for? All of you think I have gone senile, is that it?¡± He pulled out his hand that looked like a dried tree bark and mmed it on the table, ¡°No wonder, our Chu family is getting worse with each generation, even the two of you have be muddle-headed!¡± The fourth uncle couldn¡¯t resist speaking up, ¡°Brother, it shouldn¡¯t be said like this, even if we do want to have a good rtionship with the Jiang family and learn how to cultivate mushrooms, there is no need to sacrifice a girl from the Chu family for it.¡± ¡°What ¡®sacrifice¡¯? The Jiang family is prosperous with descendants and are booming with good fortune. Our Chu family¡¯s child marrying into their family means a lifetime offort!¡± The n Leader resisted the urge to hit someone, and taught them something in a word-by-word manner. ¡°No matter what you think, today, you must select a sharp and attractive girl for me, and I will send her to the Jiang family tomorrow!¡± With these words, The n Leader even unceremoniously sent them away, ¡°You two, stop idly chatting and go prepare! If you can¡¯t handle this, you can postpone your grandchildren¡¯s schooling for next year.¡± The two elders were driven out by the old n Leader, they looked at each other and sighed deeply. ¡°Second brother, I think the daughter of that honest Chu family in your vige is good. She is also fifteen or sixteen this year. Let¡¯s go with her.¡± The fourth elder said casually. The second uncle shook his head, ¡°No way, that child has a red birthmark on her forehead. Once the n Leader sees it, he will surely scold us for not doing our job and the Jiang family surely wouldn¡¯t want a girl with a blemish. That would be like deliberately pping their face.¡± Four elder said, ¡°Although her forehead has a birthmark, it can be covered with her hair and couldn¡¯t be seen, and besides this point, the girl is outstanding in all aspects. I think she is the most suitable. Or, should we go to the Chu¡¯s honest family and ask a bit?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± There seemed to be no other choice. The second uncle sighed, and he and the fourth uncle headed towards Chu Mountain Vige. Chu Mountain Vige was next to Chu Vige, separated by a dirt road. Before long, the two old men arrived at the house of Chu the honest. Three shabby huts with straw roofs, along with a small stove room, as poor as most of the vige households. It was spring nting time, and Chu the honest seemed not to be at home. However, his youngest child, Qingqing, was squatting at the doorstep, ying with ants. ¡°Qingqing, where¡¯s your father?¡± the second uncle asked as he approached.. Chapter 113: Switching the Bride_l Chapter 113: Switching the Bride_l Trantor: 549690339 Seven-year-old Chu Qing stood up upon seeing his granduncle¡¯s question, promptly wiping his nose before answering, ¡°My dad¡¯s out in the field, is there something you need, granduncle?¡± The granduncle did not respond but looked over at his distant grandnephew before asking, ¡°And where¡¯s your sister?¡± ¡°My sister and my brother have gone to fetch water, they¡¯ll be back soon.¡± As Chu Qing said this, he wiped his nose again. The granduncle furrowed his brows and turned to ask his cousin, ¡°Shall we stick around to check?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± The fourth n elder took a quick nce around, then picked a smoothrge tree root to sit on. He wanted to see with his own eyes if this girl was indeed suitable. Chu Qing was a good boy, noticing that the two elders were staying, he quickly went back inside the house to get a long bench for them to sit on. The fourth n elder nodded and asked, ¡°Your name is Qingqing, right? What¡¯s your sister¡¯s name?¡± Chu Qing: ¡°My sister¡¯s name is Chuchu.¡± ¡°Chuchu, a nice name. Did your father tell her about the potential mother-inw?¡± the fourth n elder continued to inquire. Chu Qing blinked, shaking his head in confusion. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The fourth n elder, ¡°How old is your sister this year?¡± This Chu Qing knew: ¡°My sister is fifteen. My dad said, after her birthday, he will go to town to buy fabric to make her a new dress.¡± Fourth n elder stroked his beard thoughtfully before asking another question. ¡°Qingqing, you¡¯re seven this year, right? Do you want to study?¡± Chu Qing met the gaze of his granduncle with a nk look. Just then, Chuchu and their younger brother came back with a big bucket of water. Seeing two n elders sitting at their doorstep, they both paused with surprise. ¡°Sister, you¡¯re back! The second granduncle was looking for you,¡± Chu Qing cheerfully ran over to help carry the water bucket. Chuchu nodded to both n elders, and with her younger brother, carried the water bucket into the kitchen. Only after that, she came out to pay her respects to the elders, ¡°Second granduncle, fourth granduncle.¡± The fourth n elder noticed the girl conducted herself withposure and grace; he couldn¡¯t help but nod in approval. On her forehead was a small red birthmark, norger than a fingertip, which could be easily covered by her fringe, barely noticeable. She had a beautiful face, clear eyes, and appeared sensible and considerate. The fourth elder was even more pleased. He stood up and said to Chuchu, ¡°Chuchu, when your fatheres back, tell him to visit the Chu Family in the vige. The n Leader has some matters to discuss with him.¡± Chuchu was taken by surprise but didn¡¯t ask any question, she gently responded: ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll let him know when he¡¯s back.¡± The fourth n elder, hands sped behind his back, headed home and walked alongside his cousin, asking, ¡°How many years have passed since Chu Lao Shi¡¯s wife passed away? The second n elder thought for a while: ¡°Probably four or five years, Qingqing could barely walk then. Chuchu, that girl, had to take care of him while she did all the housework.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the story with that boy named Chu Yan in their house?¡± the fourth elder seemed more concerned about this. Everyone in the vige knew that Chu Lao Shi¡¯s eldest son was not his biological child, but a burden brought to him by his second wife. The situation in Chu Lao Shi¡¯s home wasplicated, which was why no matchmaker had visited their household even though Chuchu was a good fifteen-year-old girl. ¡°If Chu Yan is given Chu Lao Shi¡¯s surname, it means he recognizes Chu Lao Shi as his father. He is not like what the rumors have been saying, destined to be Chuchu¡¯s childhood betrothed.¡± The second elder, aware of what his cousin was implying, exined everything to him. Chuchu was the child of Chu Lao Shi¡¯s first wife. After the first wife fell ill and passed on when Chuchu was three, Chu Lao Shi went to work and brought back a woman refugee, who had a five-year-old son named Chu Yan. The womanter bore a son for Chu Lao Shi and named him Chu Qing. Unfortunately, she fell ill and died when Chu Qing was around two years old. Since then, Chu Lao Shi became more silent and refused to remarry. The people in the vige said it was because he is cursed and it affected his children, hence they did not have positive view of his family. The fourth elder nodded: ¡°As long as it¡¯s not like what the rumors say.¡± He was also worried that Chu Lao Shi had already promised Chuchu to Chu Yan. If that were the case, it would seem like he was bullying them if he were to intervene. At the Jiang¡¯s residence in Dongchen vige. After seeing off all the rtives, every member of the Jiang family looked utterly exhausted. Their own wedding event was nothing but aplete disaster. The groom was injured, the bride was taken away, and the bride¡¯s family refused to back out of the marriage, insisting on sending another girl over instead. What kind of situation is this? It¡¯s unheard of in history,pletely baffling. Master Jiang and Madam Zhou were categorically against this bizarre suggestion. Dani had cleaned the items in her elder brother¡¯s bridal chamber, items brought by the bride¡¯s family. Not a single one was left as they were all moved into the side chamber, ready to be returned to the Chu family when they had time. This included the two redcquered wood boxes from the bride¡¯s dowry, two beds, a dressing box, a potty, a washbasin, a foot bath basin, and a bathing basin. Dani collected all the items that belonged to their family together, waiting to hand them over to her elder brother for verification once he awoke. Unexpectedly, before Jiang Cheng woke up, someone from the Chu family came over again. This time, more than a dozen nsmen from the Chu Family came, along with a few women. The most exasperating fact for the Jiang family was that they even brought a bridal sedan chair along. The bridal sedan chair stopped directly at the entrance of Master Jiang¡¯s new residence, and two unfamiliar matchmakers assisted a petite bride out of it. Master Jiang almostughed out of annoyance, ¡°n Leader Chu, what¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± n Leader Chu chuckled and said, ¡°My good son-inw, this is the most exceptional child of my Chu Family. She is of the right age for your son and her character and looks perfectly match him.¡± He then turned to the veiled girl and called, ¡°Chuchu,e and greet your father and mother-inw.¡± The two matchmakers quickly supported the girl forward to bow. The young girl bowed obediently, ¡°Chuchu greets her parents.¡± Madam Zhou was so angry that she turned around and went back to her room. Of course, she was not angry at the girl, but at the shamelessness of the Chu n Leader. They had clearly stated their intent to call off the marriage and refused to ept any substitute bride, but n Leader Chu still brought this girl over. Master Jiang also gritted his teeth and spoke solemnly, ¡°n Leader Chu, are you exploiting your age and taking advantage of the fact that my Jiang Familycks members?¡± n Leader Chu said, ¡°What are you talking about? I¡¯m doing this for the sake of making peace between our two families, that¡¯s why I picked an appropriate girl. ¡± Before Master Jiang could intervene, n Leader Chu continued, ¡°s, if your family is really unwilling, why not let this child stay and take care of your son for now? When his health recovers, you can send her back home. This is our Chu family¡¯s way of apologizing; my good son-inw, you need not refuse.¡± Master Jiang immediately refused, ¡°What nonsense is that? My son has enough people to care for him. n Leader Chu, there¡¯s no need for your concern. If you really feel guilty, you can return my son¡¯s marriage book and dowry.¡± He didn¡¯t want to deal ambiguously with the Chu family any longer, instead, he directly demanded the marriage book and dowry back. This time, n Leader Chu didn¡¯t say anything else and ordered his subordinates to bring the dowry and marriage book. He then respectfully handed them over. ¡°Here, we have a total of one hundred and fifty taels of silver. Thirty taels were given when the marriage was agreed, plus eighty taels as the dowry. I also changed some sundry items into silver to add up to ten taels, and the remaining thirty taels are your son¡¯s medical expenses. Please look them over.¡± n Leader Chu¡¯s attitude was very humble, which made Master Jiang feel somewhat ufortable. After receiving the silver and marriage book, and confirming their correctness, he got Jiang Quan to take them into the house. Jiang Quan and Dani moved out all the items that Chu Man had brought as her dowry, one by one, and handed them to n Leader Chu. n Leader Chu didn¡¯t say anything else, just instructed his nsmen to take them and load them onto the cart, ready to take back. Afterwards, n Leader Chu bid his farewell, and Master Jiang did not ask him to stay. With the departure of the bridal sedan chair, and the horse and mule carts, the members of the Jiang family finally breathed a sigh of relief and went home one after another. Suddenly, they saw a petite girl standing at their front door. She was wearing a bright red dress. Isn¡¯t she the substitute bride brought by n Leader Chu? ¡°Why didn¡¯t you leave with them?¡± Dani couldn¡¯t help but ask.. Chapter 114: Help Me Out (Seeking Monthly Recommendations)_l Chapter 114: Help Me Out (Seeking Monthly Rmendations)_l Trantor: 549690339 Chuchu lowered her head, saying softly, ¡°I can¡¯t go back.¡± Dani curiously asked, ¡°Why? Did they force you?¡± Chuchu shook her head, ¡°If I go back, my younger brother won¡¯t be able to attend school.¡± In fact, it was not just because of this. The old woman also said that if she stayed at home and didn¡¯t marry, her two younger brothers would not be able to find wives, so she had to stay. ¡°Dani! Come in!¡± Uncle Jiang shouted from the courtyard, ¡°Close the door!¡± Dani shrunk her neck and hurriedly entered her courtyard, closing the gate. The girl left outside, her head hanging even lower. After a while, Chuchu looked up at the tightly closed gate of the Jiang Family, sighed, and began to look around. It was a spacious ce with only three households. But these three households were very affluent; their big houses were all built with green bricks and tiles, and even the courtyard walls were quite high, keeping whatever inside out of sight. Chuchu slowly turned and walked away, asionally touching her new clothes and dress. Hitherto, it was her first time wearing such an exquisite new dress, and she felt quite happy within. If she wasn¡¯t being looked down upon, she would be happier. Seeing the hem of her dress almost dragging on the ground, Chuchu quickly gathered it up. She picked up her bundle from the corner, and sat behind a pile of straw, hugging her knees and lost in thought. She absolutely couldn¡¯t return home, not only for her brother¡¯s education but also for herself. The n Leader had told her, even if she couldn¡¯t be a daughter-inw to the Jiang Family, she mustn¡¯t disgrace the Chu Family. He also mentioned that the Jiang Family was full of kind people, and asked her to stay for a while. Maybe the Jiang Family would ept her if they noticed her kindness. Chuchu sighed. The words of the n Leader were somewhat contradictory, putting her at a loss. In short, he wanted her to stay with the Jiang Family to find an opportunity to restore the rtionship between the two families. Chuchu lifted her head and suddenly noticed a four or five-year-old child standing nearby, looking at her curiously. The baby girl was very pretty. She was dressed in a pink hue, with two little buns on her head, and a silver ne around her neck. Her brows and eyes were peculiar, her skin was radiant and delicate; she was more beautiful than the children painted on the New Year pictures. Chuchu had never seen such a good-looking child before, and seemed to be taken aback. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you going home?¡± Yingbao asked the older sister hiding behind the straw, who appeared rather dazed and foolish. Chuchu shook her head, ¡°I don¡¯t want to go back.¡± Yingbao took a step forward and asked, ¡°What is your name?¡± In her previous life, Dacheng, her brother, had never canceled a marriage, and the n Leader of the Chu Family had never cast her aside. So, she was a little curious about who this unfamiliar girl was. ¡°My name is Chuchu. What¡¯s your name, little sister? Are you also a child of the Jiang Family?¡± Yingbao nodded, kicking the mud thaty beneath her and asked, ¡°If you don¡¯t go home, where are you nning to sleep tonight?¡± Chuchu thought for a moment and pointed to the straw pile behind her, ¡°Can I sleep here?¡± Children in the vige often yed hide and seek in the haystacks. She could dig a hole in the hay and squeeze inside the hole to sleep at night. Yingbao shook her head, ¡°No, you can¡¯t sleep here. There are wolves at night.¡± South Slope was isted, without any other families nearby. Wild animals often roamed around at night, of which wolves were the mostmon. She often heard the howling of wolves at night. Chuchu was taken aback upon hearing this. She was somewhat at a loss, showing bewilderment in her eyes. Seeing the ingenuous look on the older girl, Yingbao spun an idea in her mind and asked, ¡°Are you sure you aren¡¯t nning on going home?¡± She had been busytely and was looking for some help. She wasn¡¯t sure if the girl in front of her could handle the tasks. Chuchu nodded, ¡°I can¡¯t go home.¡± At least, not now. ¡°So, you want to marry my big brother, Dacheng?¡± Yingbao asked. ¡°1¡­1 don¡¯t know.¡± Chuchu said, a bit embarrassed to be discussing such a thing with a child. Yingbao didn¡¯t mince words: ¡°My big brother Dacheng might not like you, I advise you to give up that idea.¡± Chuchu lowered her head, her pretty face turning bright red. Before she consented toe, she expected that she would be discriminated against and despised, but it was still a bit awkward to be called out by a small child. But the fact was true. The Jiang family did not like her, and they did not even consider letting her stay. But even so, she couldn¡¯t go home now. Because the n Leader Grandfather said, if it really can¡¯t work out, she needs to stay at the Jiangs¡¯ ce for at least ten days before she could go home, or else in the future the n wouldn¡¯t provide the fees required for her little brother to go to school. ¡°I, I didn¡¯t think about making¡­making your brother like me, I just¡­ just can¡¯t go back.¡± As Chuchu spoke, tears trickled down her cheeks. Seeing her cry, Yingbao felt a little mercy. She stepped forward tofort Chuchu: ¡°Don¡¯t cry, I was just telling the truth, I didn¡¯t mean to ridicule you.¡± Chuchu nodded and wiped her tears with the back of her hand, ¡°Hmm, I know.¡± The two were silent for a moment, then Yingbao asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t your parents worried about you staying here?¡± Chuchu shook her head: ¡°I don¡¯t have a mother, and my father¡­ he¡­¡± He should be worried, right? But when she was lifted onto the bridal sedan, her father did not show any expression. It was her little brother Chu Qing who cried, his face covered in snot bubbles. Her big brother, as usual, had the same expression as his father, showing no sadness or joy. Yingbao understood that Chuchu was a poor child without a mother. ¡°Well then, if you don¡¯t mind, you can help me work, and I¡¯ll find a ce for you to stay temporarily, and I will pay you. But you can¡¯t use this as an excuse to linger in my house, and you must not have any ns for my big brother Dacheng, are you willing?¡± Yingbao asked. Chuchu blinked and nodded earnestly: ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll help you work.¡± Yingbao nodded in satisfaction, ¡°Then follow me.¡± Chuchu stood up, picked up her bundle, and followed the little girl. Yingbao led her to a straw house next to their vegetable garden. The house was built for future use, in case someone had to guard the vegetable garden. Because their vegetable garden often suffered from wild creatures, her father had someone build this straw house to facilitate its protection. ¡°You¡¯ll live here from now on.¡± Yingbao gestured toward the straw house. The house was not big, but it was fit to amodate one person. The house had solid doors and windows and was very safe once locked from the inside. Chuchu was clearly pleased and immediately thanked Yingbao, ¡°Thank you, little sister.¡± Yingbao pushed open the wooden door and asked her to look inside. The room was about five square meters, with a small bamboo bed and a table. As no one lived there, the bed and the table were covered in dust. ¡°Later, I¡¯ll bring you a quilt. At night, don¡¯t open the door for just anyone who calls, understand?¡± Yingbao instructed like a mature little adult. ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± Chuchu was so happy that she walked around the room, touching here, touching there. Seeing that the girl had no objections, Yingbao felt relieved and went home to tell her mother about her decision to keep Chuchu. Mother Chun didn¡¯t object much. She found an old quilt to give to Chuchu. She then gave Chuchu two unused ceramic jars and half a jar of rice for her to cook her own meals. Chuchu thanked Chun: ¡°Thank you, auntie. From now on, if you have any chores, just let me know, I can do anything.¡± Chun sighed: ¡°I don¡¯t have any work for you here, just listen to Bao, do whatever she tells you to do.¡± She herself wasn¡¯t sure what her daughter was nning. Was it a good idea to keep this girl from the Chu family? Hopefully, she won¡¯t stick around the Jiang family, impacting Dacheng¡¯s future match. But her daughter assured her that she would make Chuchu abandon this idea, work hard, ensure that she doesn¡¯t harbor other thoughts.. Chapter 115: Paying You A Reward_l Chapter 115: Paying You A Reward_l Trantor: 549690339 The next day, Yingbao arranged for Chuchu to help her clear and plow thend, to expand the vegetable garden. The original patch was too small, and her parents were too busy, being little herself she couldn¡¯t plow, so she had to bring in a helper. As it turned out, she was not mistaken, Chuchu was extremely capable, not only efficient but also particrly meticulous. She first cut down the weeds, then began digging the ground, rooting out the grass roots and shrub roots, shaking off the soil and tossing it in a pile. As Chuchu dug, she crumbled the earth and even picked out the small stones, making the ground loose and t. Yingbao was very satisfied and promptly gave her a boiled egg. Chuchu epted the egg, her eyes reddening and quietly thanked her, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee, eat it quickly and oh, from now on when you cook, you can take some vegetables for yourself. I¡¯ll bring you some saltter.¡± It wasn¡¯t that Yingbao wouldn¡¯t take her into her home for food and lodging, but Chuchu¡¯s status was special, they couldn¡¯t bring her home to eat with their parents. Chuchu carefully peeled the egg, scraping off every bit of egg white stuck to the shell to eat. Yingbao ran back home to pick up a big turnip, put some salt in a small pottery bowl and took it to the thatched cottage. The cottage had now been tidied up by Chuchu, the bedding neatly folded. Outside the cottage, Chuchu had built a simple little stove with stones and gathered a lot of dry firewood and grass roots next to it, often cooking her meals on this little stove. Indeed, the fire starter was given to her by Yingbao. That day, Dani rushed over, grabbed Yingbao by the hand and started to walk back, as she said while walking, ¡°Sister Dani wants to talk to you.¡± Yingbao of course knew what Dani wanted to ask, and she had already thought about her response. Arriving at Dani¡¯s house, she found Dani ring at her, ¡°Yingbao, why did you let that girl from the Chu family stay?¡± Yingbao smiled heartily, ¡°I hired her to work for me.¡± Dani remained silent, ¡°Why her? Don¡¯t you realize she only came to rece someone from Chu family?¡± Yingbao blinked, ¡°What do you mean rece, brother Dacheng and her aren¡¯t married. She has a working rtionship with our Jiang family, nothing else.¡± Dani:¡­ Indeed, her brother and this woman were not married, and she was working for Yingbao, not their family. Dani¡¯s expression softened a bit, muttering, ¡°You still shouldn¡¯t have kept her.¡± Yingbao: ¡°If I don¡¯t keep her and she refuses to go home, sleeping in the haystack at night, what if something happens?¡± Dani was taken aback, silent. In the room, Zhou Family exchanged a nce, sighed. ¡°We were not as thorough as Yingbao, ah.¡± Jiang Dad: ¡°We were just too angry at the moment, now thinking about it, the girl from the Chu family is still a girl after all, we can¡¯t let her stay outside alone, our South Slope is so quiet, if something happens it would be real trouble.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all because of Chu n Leader¡¯s bad idea, ah, let Yingbao handle it, as long as it doesn¡¯t involve Dacheng.¡± Zhou sighed, feeling exhausted. Jiang Dadforted: ¡°With Yingbao watching, it won¡¯t involve Dacheng, you can rest assured.¡± For the next few days, Chuchu worked hard and quickly cultivated arge patch of ground for vegetables. After the vegetable garden was levelled, Yingbao led her to the Wild Bamboo Forest to cut bamboo and drag them back, stripping off the branches and leaving only the poles to stick around the garden. While inserting the bamboo fence, Yingbao asked to include the thatched cottage as well. After inserting the bamboo fence, and scattering the vegetable seeds, it was already May, and the Jiang family began to harvest golden mushrooms. Yingbao¡¯s golden mushrooms ripened earlier than her father¡¯s, and she had already harvested more than half of them. After watching for half a day, Chuchu was able to quickly grasp the task and even did it faster and better than Yingbao. So Yingbao left the task to Chuchu, focusing instead on nting more mushroom spores. Several days passed in such a hurry. The golden mushrooms and Xue¡¯er have been sun-dried for several days and are dry. Yingbao packed them into a basket and stored them in their storeroom. At this point, the tasks that Yingbao had arranged for Chuchu hade to an end, and it was time to pay her wages. ¡°Sister Chuchu, here are three strings of copper coins, count them.¡± Yingbao pushed threerge strings of coins forward. Chuchu, holding back her excitement, wiped her hands on her old dress several times before picking up the coins, ¡°Really, are all these for me?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s your monthly wage, as we agreed.¡± Yingbao said with a grin. Chuchu had been such a great help, she wanted to give her a little extra, but decided against it. Chuchu counted the copper coins one by one, her heart leaping with joy. She has never seen so much money in her life; it felt like a dream. She lost count while counting her coins, and rather than continue, Chuchu held the coins and began to cry. She had earned this, it was arge sum of money she had gained through her own hard work. ¡°Vingbao, can I¡­ can I really take all this money away?¡± Chuchu was still a bit in disbelief, ¡°Will your parents scold you?¡± ¡°This is the wage you deserve, why would my parents scold me?¡± Yingbao patted Chuchu¡¯s shoulder, saying earnestly, ¡°If you continue to work with me in the future, I will continue to pay you.¡± Chuchu nodded emphatically, ¡°I will work with you!¡± She hesitated for a moment and then stuttered a question, ¡°Yingbao, can I¡­ can I go home first?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°The harvest season is almost here, I will give you a month off.¡¯ Chuchu jumped with joy, hugged Yingbao tightly and sobbed, ¡°Thank you Yingbao.¡± Early next morning, Chuchu came out of her thatched hut with her small bundle on her back, closed the door and left with a spring in her step. Looking up, she saw a mule cart parked in front of her, and there was Little Yingbao, her two younger brothers and her mother, sitting on the cart smiling at her. ¡°Get in the car, we¡¯re taking you home.¡± Chunniang said with a smile. She had noticed that this girl was genuinely good. She was honest, hardworking, and didn¡¯t mind being taken advantage of; a good kid indeed. Chuchu pursed her lips, mumbled a confirmation and climbed into the mule cart. Secretly wiping away her tears, Chuchu put on a smile and started talking with Chunniang, ¡°Auntie, thank you all.¡± Chunniang said teasingly, ¡°Silly girl, what are you thanking for, we were just going to town anyway, so we took you on the way.¡± ¡°Um.¡± Chuchu nodded. She knew that Aunt Xu was just saying that to make her feel better because Chu Mountain Vige and the town were not in the same direction. The cart was driven by Yingbao this time. The mule listened to hermands well, it ran off with its hooves ttering quickly without having to be whipped, not cking off at all. The cart soon arrived at Chu Mountain Vige and stopped in front of Chu Lao Shi¡¯s house. Chuchu had just jumped off the cart when she saw her younger brother Chu Qing rushing towards her. ¡°Sister! Sister!¡± Chu Qing flung himself into his sister¡¯s arms and began to sob. Chuchu also started crying, holding her brother and asking him questions. Yingbao took one look and drove the mule cart away. When she passed by a young man, she couldn¡¯t help but gaze at him for a moment. Chuyan? It was indeed Chuyan! He was tall and had stern brows, although he still had a childish face, there was no mistake in his demeanor. The young man turned to look at her and then quickly redirected his gaze and ran towards Chuchu. The mule cart brushed past him, moving further and further away, gradually disappearing in the distance.. Chapter 116: Little Puppy_l Chapter 116: Little Puppy_l Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao drove the mule cart into town, and Chunniang got off to buy daily necessities. She also went to the butcher¡¯s stall to buy a piece of pork, preparing to make pork and chive dumplings as a treat for the family. The butcher was still old Tu and his son. Tu Xiong had bepletely honest since his father redeemed him with money. It was said that he had already married and be much more stable than before, not messing around with badpany anymore. Although it wasn¡¯t a market day, due to the busy farming season, there were still quite a few vendors selling goods on the street. It was the twin boys¡¯ first timeing to town, and they were so excited that they insisted on getting off the cart to walk around, but Yingbao ruthlessly restrained them. These two boys were hyperactive. Once let off the cart, they could quickly disappear into the crowd, and even a dog wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up with them. ¡°Whatever you fancy, your sister will buy for you.¡± After suppression, appeasement was a must, and Yingbao handled it smoothly. Xiaojie pointed at a water buffalo resting by the road and shouted, ¡°Sister, buy the buffalo! Buy the buffalo!¡± Yingbao pped his little hand without pleasure, ¡°Choose another one! ¡± Xiaojie then pointed to a stone carved flying beast on the roof of a house by the street, ¡°I want that! That!¡± Yingbao: ¡­ She seriously suspected that this little guy was doing this on purpose. ¡°Puppy! Puppy!¡± Xiaowu tugged at his sister¡¯s sleeve, pointing in a certain direction. As Yingbao turned her head to look, her eyes lit up instantly. There was a raggedy man squatting by the side of the road with a bamboo basket in front of him. Inside the basket, there were two fluffy puppies. Yingbao quickly jumped off the cart, ran over to the man, and asked, ¡°Are you selling these puppies?¡± The man nodded, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How much for one?¡± ¡°Ten coins.¡± Yingbao pulled out ten coins and handed them to him: ¡°I¡¯ll take one.¡± The man happily took the money and pushed the basket towards her, ¡°Pick whichever you like. They¡¯ve already opened their eyes. Just feed them some porridge every day and they¡¯ll live.¡± Yingbao picked a light yellow puppy. The puppy was soft and fluffy with droopy ears and eyes as ck as polished ck obsidian. It was incredibly adorable. When she returned to the cart with the puppy, Xiaojie and Xiaowu immediately pounced to snatch it. ¡°I want it! I want it!¡± Xiaowu, quick and agile, snatched the puppy away and twisted his body to prevent Xiaojie from touching it. Seeing that he couldn¡¯t win against his stronger younger brother, Xiaojie got upset, tilted his head back, and burst into tears, starting toin to his sister, ¡°I want a puppy! I want a puppy too.¡± Having been worn down by the two boys, Yingbao had no choice but to return to the man and spend another ten coins to buy the other puppy as well. What other choice did she have? If she didn¡¯t buy it, she¡¯ll probably turn the two boys into sore eyes. This one was a ck haired dog, but it had a patch of white fur on its forehead that cunningly extended to one of its eyes. Xiaojie wasn¡¯t picky; once he got hold of the ck puppy, he wouldn¡¯t let go. When Xiaowu reached over to have a look, Xiaojie twisted and turned to hide it from him. Xiaowu gave a snort, cuddling his yellow puppy next to his sister and whispered, ¡°His puppy is so ugly.¡± Yingbao: ¡­ When Chunniang came back from shopping, she was surprised to see that her daughter had bought two puppies. ¡°Your father and I have been thinking about getting a dog to guard the house for a long time, but we never came across anyone selling them. It¡¯s quite a coincidence that you managed to buy two today.¡± In the remote South Slope, keeping one or two dogs at home had the benefits of home guarding and nighttime alerts. Hearing this, the two boys protested in unison, ¡°It¡¯s my puppy! It won¡¯t be guarding the house! ¡± Chunniang ignored her silly sons, packed away the items she had bought, climbed onto the mule cart, and headed home. Then the busy summer harvest season began. Harvesting wheat, threshing wheat, and drying wheat. Then turning the soil, sowing soybeans, and nting rice seedlings. The people of East Vige also had to focus on harvesting and drying golden and silver ear mushrooms, then re-seeding them, a task that kept their feet off the ground. Even before the summer harvest ended, Sun Licheng had begun to visit each vige with his underlings, beating drums, urging for tax payment, and notifying everyone that this year¡¯s taxes had increased by 10%. Nowadays, the vigers of East Vige were indifferent to the increase in the tax levy, even if they wanted to dwell on it, they had no spare time. They would rather spend their time nting dozens of golden ear mushrooms than cursing their fates. At this time, Zhou Mao came to collect the golden ear mushrooms again. This time he brought two horse-drawn carriages, two ountants, and several bodyguards. Arge group of people reached the doorstep of Jiang Sang¡¯s old house with a hustle. Jiang Sang, who had been waiting for a long time, greeted Zhou Mao: ¡°Mr. Zhou, you must be tired.¡± Zhou Maoughed and replied: ¡°No, not at all, Brother Jiang, how many premium products have you harvested this year?¡± Jiang Sang led them into the house with a smile, ¡°Let¡¯s discuss inside.¡± This year, he and his two brothers grew premium golden and silver ear mushrooms. The ordinary varieties were all handed over to the vigers, so it wasn¡¯t convenient to discuss it outside. Understanding, Zhou Mao entered the house with augh. The vigers knew that the merchants who bought golden ear mushrooms had arrived again. They hurriedly called their friends and family to pack up the dried golden ear mushrooms and bring them to Jiang Sang¡¯s house for weighing. In a short time, a long queue formed at the entrance of Jiang Sang¡¯s house. Everyone was carrying baskets full of golden ear mushrooms, waiting to sell them. These events didn¡¯t affect Yingbao because her golden ear mushrooms were not for sale. They were all stored in the warehouse, waiting for Mrs. Wen toe back and decide what to do with them. The two little puppies, after a few days of feeding, were already running around in the yard. Seeing Yingbao, their tails wagged furiously, and they hovered around her feet, ignoring even their young masters¡¯ calls. Xiaojie and Xiaowu didn¡¯t mind, they just continued chasing the puppies, holding chicken bones in their hands to tease them. These few days being farm holidays, Yuanbao and Huzi also had time off and were home. The two of them already joined a group of boys from the vige and went out fishing. They certainly wouldn¡¯t return until dusk. Jiang Liu and his two daughters-inw were busy wrapping dumplings, for the work in the wheat field of Jiang Family was almost done. ¡°Erng told me a while ago that he would marry after the farming season is over,¡± said Jiang Liu while wrapping the dumplings. ¡°I asked him about the girl, like maybe we should find out about her family, but he said he¡¯d handled everything and told me not to worry. How could I not worry though?¡± The incident of marrying her daughter-inwst time was clear in her mind. Although Dacheng recovered physically, he turned out to be much more silent, often staying inside the mushroom shed for the entire day. Chunniang and Dasao exchanged nces, both found it astonishing. Erbo was getting married? ¡°It¡¯s a good thing,¡± Chunniangughed. ¡°Do you know when his wedding day is?. Jiang Liu replied, ¡°He said it¡¯ll be on the 28th of this month. He¡¯s had someone calcte it and says it¡¯s the best choice.¡± ¡°But there are only around ten days left, wouldn¡¯t it be rushed?¡± Zhou¡¯s wife asked. ¡°Even the wedding items haven¡¯t been prepared yet.¡± Jiang Liu replied, ¡°Erng said he¡¯s prepared everything, we shouldn¡¯t worry.¡± Upon saying this, she sighed: ¡°I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s prepared, he¡¯s been so mysterious, he didn¡¯t even tell us.¡± Chunniang pondered for a moment and then asked, ¡°Did Er¡¯bo mention the name of the girl?¡± ¡°He said her name is Lu Yanru,¡± Jiang Liu muttered. ¡°The name is not bad, but I don¡¯t know what her character is like.¡± Chunniang paused, suddenly remembering the girl she had met with her daughter at the Gao family inn in the county town. Her name seemed to be Yanru. Ah, it turned out her daughter was right.. Chapter 117: Jiang Erlang Gets Married_l Chapter 117: Jiang Eng Gets Married_l Trantor: 549690339 Compared to the liveliness of East Vige, West Vige was exceptionally deserted today. Quite a few people had sneaked over to the area near Jiang Sang¡¯s house in East Vige, peeking at how they were selling golden mushrooms. They saw the residents of East Vige bringing bucket after bucket of golden mushrooms, then grabbed handfuls of copper coins and returned with smiles stretching across their faces. Some were evenparing the size of their silver ingots as they walked, theircency causing the people of West Vige to grind their teeth in envy. As they were staring wide-eyed in surprise, the vigers of East Vige noticed them. They immediately came over to confront: ¡°What are you doing here? Acting so sneaky, are you nning something bad again?¡± The people of West Vige awkwardly replied: ¡°We were just passing by.¡± ¡°Passing by? Where are you headed that you happened to pass by Sang¡¯s house? Don¡¯t tell me you have some malicious scheme in mind?¡± The people of East Vige clearly didn¡¯t believe them. ¡°We¡¯re just passing by! The road is public property, you can¡¯t control where we go.¡± The vigers of West Vige began to rebel. ¡°Public property?¡± The East Vige people were fuming at their words: ¡°You dare to im that when you¡¯re on our East Vige¡¯s territory? Why don¡¯t you take to the sky instead?¡± ¡°Beat them up! Anyone who dares to stalk around our third brother¡¯s house is definitely up to no good. Are you here to steal children again?¡± The people of East Vige threatened to fight, clenching their fists. ¡°Right! They¡¯re definitely up to something.¡± The rest of the group was eager to join in. Seeing the situation deteriorating, the people of West Vige turned and ran, making it over the Shigong Bridge before they stopped. They were infuriated. Even just looking from afar was problematic, how irritating. The real irritation wasn¡¯t the people of East Vige, but Chen Laochuan¡¯s household. Instead of living their peaceful lives, they had to go steal kids from East Vige. Now, everyone in West Vige bes a suspect when they set foot in East Vige, suspected of child stealing. What a mess. If it wasn¡¯t for that ill-fated family of Chen Laochuan, their vigers wouldn¡¯t have been looked down upon by the Jiang Sang. If it weren¡¯t for all those troubles, they might¡¯ve been able to buy some golden mushrooms from the Jiang family and be sleeping with their silver ingots, just like East Vigers. As the West Vige people grew angrier, when the moon had risen high, they each scooped a spoonful of manure and sshed it on Chen Laochuan¡¯s front door. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Chen Feng¡¯s wife had been sleeping restlessly, constantly worrying about her husband and second son encountering trouble. It had already been more than a month and her husband still hadn¡¯t returned. The summer harvest season wasing to an end and it was time to nt beans, but with no men in the house, what could they do? Just as she was worrying, she heard a noise outside. Chen Feng¡¯s wife draped on a robe and went out to investigate, only to smell a strong odor from the doorway. When she opened the door to check, she was maddened to find the front door and the ground soaked in urine and faeces. The odour almost made her tumble. ¡°Who¡¯s the damn swine that dumped manure at our door?¡± Chen Feng¡¯s wife cursed out loud, fuming. But under the shadowy moonlight, no one responded. After cursing a few more times, Chen Feng¡¯s wife didn¡¯t dare to linger outside. She rushed to close the door tightly. Once inside, she found her hand covered in faeces. She had to suppress her nausea as she washed her hands. By the time she got back to bed, the rooster had started to crow. Early next morning, as Chen Wan was preparing breakfast and saw her grandmother still asleep, she went and scooped out adle of wheat flour from the cab, then thought for a while and scooped half more. She went to the stove and began kneading the dough, preparing to make dough gobs. By the time she had finished making the dough gobs, all her sisters had woken up. Chen Zhao, upon opening the courtyard door, screamed in surprise: ¡°Why is there excrement on the door?¡± Chen Wan knew what had happened, but she didn¡¯t care and said, ¡°Just go to the river and bring water to wash it off.¡± Chen Zhao was unhappy, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and fetch water? Why make us do all the dirty work?¡± Chen Wan ignored her and carried a big bowl of dough gobs into her grandmother¡¯s room. ¡°Granny, it¡¯s time for breakfast.¡± She called out a few times, but Chen Feng¡¯s wife remained still. She quickly went over to check, and found that Chen Feng¡¯s wife¡¯s face was bright red. She seemed to have developed a fever. Chen Wan became anxious at once, quickly went out to find her elder uncle and his wife. The busy farming period was over and soon it was the twenty-eighth of May. The Jiang Family started preparing for a happy event again, this time to marry off Jiang Eng. For the bride fetching, sedan chairs were not used. Jiang Eng took two matchmakers and betrothal gifts. He along with some close brothers drove three mule carts to fetch the bride. No one from the bride¡¯s family came to send her off. The dowry was two redcquerwood boxes, no one knew what was inside them. After crossing the threshold over a brazier, they went to the main hall for the wedding ceremony. Jiang Eng, ignoring the teases from brothers, held the bride¡¯s hand throughout the whole process. After paying homage to Heaven and Earth and then to the high hall, the ceremony ended as announced by the master of ceremonies. Jiang Eng then escorted his bride into the bridal chamber. Yingbao and Sisters Dani were quite curious about the bride¡¯s looks and sneaked into the new room. They saw a bride sitting on the big carved bed, wearing a red embroidered wedding dress and a veil over her head. The bride¡¯s body was slender, sitting straight and motionless, like a person made of brocade silk. Yingbao ran over and peeked at the bride¡¯s face from under the veil. Wow, it really was Sister Yanru. Yanru also saw the child peeking at her. She smiled, pulled out two silver rattles from her sleeve and handed them to her, ¡°Little Baobao, go and y with these.¡± Upon receiving the rattles, Yingbao grinned and said, ¡°Thank you, Auntie Yanru.¡± Yanru gently pinched her little face and gave her a gentle smile: ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± Yingbao, having nothing to do, sat on the footrest of the big bed and started chatting with her, ¡°Auntie Yanru, why did you marry my Uncle Eng?¡± Yanru paused, at a loss for how to answer. After a while, she finally said, ¡°Because your Uncle Eng is a good person.¡± ¡°You have good taste.¡± Yingbao praised, ¡°Not only is my Uncle Eng a good person, he also looks good, right?¡± Yanru¡¯s face turned slightly red. She reached out and gently touched Yingbao¡¯s head, humming softly. Just as Yingbao was about to say something else, she was suddenly lifted up in the air and carried out of the bridal chamber. ¡°Baobao, be good, go y with Sister Dani,¡± Jiang Eng put down his niece and patted her head, ¡°Come back tomorrow morning to talk to your aunt.¡± Yingbao opened her eyes wide in disbelief, looking at this man who now preferred his wife over his niece. He actually shoved her out! Then she saw Uncle Eng strolling back into the bridal chamber, closing the door behind him. Humph! As they say, a man who has a wife forgets his mother¡­ no, forgets his niece! And to think she was the one to introduce him to Sister Yanru. Pouting, Yingbao went to find Sister Dani. Earlier, she was so focused on talking with Auntie Yanru that she didn¡¯t notice when Sisters Dani had left the room. Sister Dani was standing outside the courtyard at this time, looking a bit distracted. Yingbao tiptoed over to her, tilting her head to look at her, ¡°Sister Dani, why are you crying?¡± Sister Dani quickly wiped away her tears and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m not crying.¡± After a while, she sniffed and softly asked, ¡°Yingbao, do you think Dad will stop liking Huzi and me in the future?¡± Yingbao patted her hand, assuring her: ¡°How could he, you are his children, how could he not like you.¡± Sister Dani sighed, ¡°But he¡¯s married now, there will be other kids in the future. I hear people say, when there¡¯s a new mother, there might be a different father, so ¡­ Yingbao blinked, at a loss tor what to say. All she could do was hold her hand and say, ¡°Sleep with me tonight.¡± Sister Dani nodded, following her little cousin to their Uncle¡¯s house.. Chapter 118: Apricots are ripe (asking for monthly recommendation tickets)_l Chapter 118: Apricots are ripe (asking for monthly rmendation tickets)_l Trantor: 549690339 In the evening, Ernian voiced many worries and even cried a little, but by morning it seemed she had forgotten all about it. She cheerfully discussed with Yingbao how they should spend the silver in their hands. She and Dani nted 200 golden ears each, and this time they sold it for fifteen taels of silver. Added to the score or so earnedst year, they now had over thirty taels. Compared to the girls of her age in the vige, Ernian was practically a little rich girl. ¡°When you get marriedter, you can use the money you¡¯ve been saving to buy a shop in the county town. Even if you don¡¯t do any business yourself, you can still make money by renting it out to others every month,¡± Yingbao suggested to Ernian. ¡°So you need to save up as much as you can now.¡± Ernian agreed and asked with a wistful expression, ¡°How much silver does it take to buy a shop in the county town?¡± ¡°It depends on the location. A shop in a good location will cost about two hundred taels at least.¡± ¡°What? It¡¯s that expensive!¡± Ernian did some quick calctions, andpared it to the silver she had on hand. It didn¡¯t seem like an impressive amount anymore. Next time when they divide the mycelium, she might as well nt an additional 200 golden ears. But the problem was, she needed space to cultivate the mushrooms. The mushrooms required a delicate environment, they couldn¡¯t be exposed to sun or rain, nor nted too densely. Ten or twenty extra nts would be fine, but any more would require the construction of a new bamboo shed. Ernian scratched her head. Building a bamboo shed was no easier than building a house. After breakfast, Mother Chun took the children to meet the new bride. As they entered Jiang Eng¡¯s courtyard, they saw most of the Jiang family members had already arrived. Yanru was in a red dress, serving morning tea to her inws from a bowl. The morning tea was an egg soup, made with boiling water and sugar added. ¡°Dad, Mom, please have some tea,¡± Yanru respectfully offered the bowl. Old man Jiang and Jiang Liu took the bowl, drank a sip, and gave their new daughter-inw a red packet each. After serving the tea, Jiang Eng introduced his wife to the family. ¡°These are my eldest brother and eldest sister-inw.¡± ¡°Eldest Brother, Eldest Sister-inw,¡± Yanru greeted obediently. Jiang Dng and his wife nodded at her but said nothing. ¡°Here are my third brother and his wife,¡± Jiang Eng introduced his younger brother and sister-inw. ¡°Third Brother, Third Sister-inw.¡± ¡°Second Sister-inw,¡± Jiang Sang and Mother Chun nodded in acknowledgment. ¡°Over here are Dacheng, Erquan, Dani, Yuanbao from my eldest brother¡¯s family,¡± Jiang Eng introduced. ¡°Over there are Yingbao, Xiaojie, Xiaowu from my third brother¡¯s family.¡± Yanru took out arge handful of silver jujubes and handed them out to the children, two for each. The children thanked her in unison: ¡°Thank you, Second Aunt!¡± Jiang Eng then pulled his own two children closer. ¡°Pay respects to your mother.¡± He turned to his newlywed wife, ¡°Yanru, this is my eldest daughter, Ernian, and this is my eldest son, Huzi.¡± Ernian and Huzi looked a bit awkward, but they still called her ¡°mother¡±. Yanru gave each of the siblings a fancy silver lock, and personally put them on for them. Once the introductions were over, Yanru went into the kitchen to cook, while Ernian went in to help with the fire. Mother and daughter worked well together, one at the stove and the other at the fire, their cooperation silent but efficient. It was harmonious. Jiang Liu sighed in relief. In a low voice, she told her second son, ¡°Now that you¡¯re married, settle down and lead a good life. Yanru seems to be a good girl, you ought to treat her well.¡± ¡°I understand, Mom.¡± Jiang Eng said with a beaming smile, ¡°No one needs to make lunch today; we¡¯ll all taste Yanru¡¯s cooking.¡± Zhou and Mother Chun both nodded with a smile. After the children had met their new aunt, Yingbao and the others ran off because Jiang Quan said he would take them to the pond to catch shrimp. The pond at South Slope was quiterge, surrounded by many lotus nts. Their leaves were now quiterge and could be used as hats when they are picked. Each of the kids had arge lotus leaf on their head and were catching shrimp with smalls by the pond. Very soon, they caught almost half a basketful. After catching the shrimp, Jiang Quan took them to see his fish pond, in which there were many loaches squirming around. ¡°These are all the ones I¡¯ve raised. Let¡¯s catch a few more loachester, coat them in flour and fry them inrd. Trust me, they¡¯re delicious.¡± Yuanbao and Huzi were salivating at the thought, quickly urging Jiang Quan to catch more loach for them so that it can be fried in oil. Yingbao was also yearning for some fried food, but she preferred sour and sweet fruits like apricots and peaches. Her family had many fruit trees around their house ¨C peaches, apricots, pears, persimmons, jujubes, and even a couple of apple trees, alongside several exotic vines that she did not recognize. After pruning and grafting, the fruit trees started to bloom and bear fruit this year. As it was the first year they were fruiting, there were not many fruits. Each tree bore only several fruits. Yet, the sheer number of trees made up for it. Now it was the end of May, and most of the apricots had turned yellow. It appeared to be the right time to eat them. ¡°Big brother, let¡¯s go and pick some apricots.¡± The apricot trees were too tall for Yingbao, and the apricots were hidden behind the leaves, unreachable without a long bamboo pole. ¡°Sure, let me take the shrimp and loach home first.¡± After Jiang Quan had collected enough loaches, he ran home with the basket. Soon after, he returned with a long bamboo pole. Thus, the kids started to pick apricots again. With each hit from the bamboo pole, the ripe apricots fell from the tree. Xiaojie and Xiaowu let out exmations as they picked up the fallen apricots, and when they found a big one, they would show it to their sister, brimming with joy. Yingbao, Yuanbao, and Huzi also picked up the apricots. If they picked one that was squashed, they would wipe it clean with their sleeves and eat it straight away. The ripe apricots were very delicious ¨C sweet and sour, far better than cherries. However, eating too much would harm one¡¯s teeth and stomach. Soon enough, Yingbao felt she could not bite into anything else, yet she still desired more. Jiang Quan stopped picking after half a basketful and started discussing with Yingbao, ¡°Yingbao, shall we take the leftover apricots to the market to sell tomorrow?¡± He knows that these fruit trees belong to Yingbao and thus he must discuss these matters with her. Yingbao nodded her head, ¡°Hmm, please take me with you at that time.¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Jiang Quan started tough, tousling Yingbao¡¯s hair, ¡°When we sell them, we will each get half of the money.¡± ¡°Good.¡± At noon, all members of the Jiang family gathered at Jiang Eng¡¯s house for lunch. Indeed, Yanru made tworge tables of dishes, each dish made with great effort. Not only were the dishes aromatic, but they were also beautifully arranged. The shrimp and the loaches Jiang Quan brought back were also made into a dish ording to his suggestion ¨C fried in oil, ced in arge dish with a small round lotus leaf at the bottom, green and tempting. Both Zhou family¡¯s wife and Chunniang, who had cooked for a lifetime, were not aware that dishes could be presented in this way. For instance, a circle of leaves could be arranged around the steamed fish, with a small piece of yellow apricot on each leaf. It looked extremely nice. During lunch, the adults sat at one table and the kids at another. Although the dishes served were the same, the fried shrimp and fried loach served at the children¡¯s table was more in quantity. After lunch, Yanru started to clean up the dishes, Chunniang and Da Ni¡¯er also lent a hand. Yingbao led her two younger brothers home. Having eaten too much at lunch, she took her two puppies for a stroll in the courtyard. The gourds that had been nted in the spring had now started to climb up the trellis, blooming with many small white flowers. Tiny green gourds had begun to emerge from beneath the flowers, and some had already grown to the size of half a palm. Xiaojie found these small gourds interesting and stretched his hand to pick them. He was stopped by Yingbao, ¡°These are baby gourds that have not yet grown up. We can¡¯t pick them just yet. Let¡¯s wait until they grow and then we will pick them, okay?¡± Reluctantly retracting his hand, Xiaojie murmured, ¡°We can¡¯t pick the tiny gourds yet. We will pick them when they are bigger.¡± ¡°Such a good boy.¡± said Yingbao as she patted Xiaojie¡¯s head. Suddenly, Xiaowu ran over, lowered his head in front of his sister, waiting for her to pat his head while saying: ¡°Xiaowu is the best behaved.¡± Yingbao had no choice but to pat him too and praised, ¡°Xiaowu is also well-behaved..¡± Chapter 119: Wei Family members_l Chapter 119: Wei Family members_l Trantor: 549690339 On this market day, Jiang Quan and Dani took Yingbao to the market to sell apricots. Arge basket full of ripe yellow apricots, each being juicy and full, was enough to make anyone salivate at sight. Jiang Quan ced the basket in a ce with a high rate of foot traffic and began to call out: ¡°Apricots for sale! Big and sweet yellow apricots, ten coins a pound.¡± Today, he brought the family¡¯s scale to urately weigh the apricots, and even prepared arge pile of lotus leaves for packaging the apricots. Soon a customer came asking, ¡°Are the apricots sour?¡± ¡°There are no apricots that aren¡¯t sour, but the ones from my home are mostly sweet,¡± Jiang Quan exined to the customer. ¡°Let me taste it.¡± An olddy reached out and took a bite of one. Jiang Quan was unable to stop the quick-handed olddy and looked at her with some annoyance, suggesting that if she didn¡¯t buy, she would not be allowed to leave. Fortunately, the olddy bought two pounds after tasting one, but when it came time to pay, she shortchanged him by one coin, giving only neen before leaving. By the time Jiang Quan finished counting the money, the olddy had disappeared. Jiang Quan shook his head and continued calling out for customers. At this time, several people from East Vige arrived. Seeing their vige¡¯s fairy child selling apricots, they quickly came over to show their support, each buying two pounds of apricots, and loudly praising, ¡°These apricots are delicious. This is the first time I¡¯ve tasted such delicious apricots. Hey, don¡¯t just watch, hurry up and buy. They¡¯ll be gone if you¡¯rete.¡± Thanks to their shouting, a crowd gathered to buy apricots. Jiang Quan grinned from ear to ear and hurriedly started weighing the apricots in lotus leaf packages for the customers. Seeing therge crowd, others in the market approached out of curiosity. The result was that more and more people gathered until the ce waspletely crowded. ¡°Move! Move! Everyone move!¡± Someone shouted loudly, trying to disperse the crowd. A boy of about six or seven years old was seen being squeezed into the crowd by some people. The boy was dressed in splendid silk, with an exquisite jade brand hanging around his neck ¡ªan obvious sign of his from a wealthy family. In such a rural ce, it was rare for someone to wear jade ornaments, yet the jade brand around the boy¡¯s neck was smooth and transparent, clearly of high value. The boy came over to Yingbao and looked at her, ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Selling apricots.¡± Hearing his ent, Yingbao noticed he wasn¡¯t a local and seemed curious, watching him carefully. ¡°Apricots?¡± The boy stretched his neck to look into the basket, ¡°Are they tasty?¡± ¡°Tasty.¡± Yingbao replied. The boy turned to his attendant and said: ¡°I want to buy apricots.¡± The attendant hastily shook his head: ¡°No, young master, these things can harm one¡¯s spleen and stomach, you cannot eat.¡± The boy got angry and kicked the attendant, ¡°I want to buy them!¡± Left without a choice, the attendant took out some copper coins and bought a pound of apricots. The boy, mimicking the others around him, grabbed an apricot, rubbed it on his sleeve, and then took a bite. As soon as the apricot hit his tongue, his face instantly puckered up at the sourness. He stealthily nced at Yingbao, noticed that she was watching him, and quickly finished the apricot in a few bites. After finishing the apricot, he seemed to want another one. The attendant quickly tucked the bag of apricots into his chest and moved the boy away from the crowd, ¡°Young master, let¡¯s eat more at home. There are too many people here.¡± The boy didn¡¯t want to leave, but kept looking back at Yingbao. Finally, he pointed at her and said, ¡°Take her too.¡± The attendant grimaced and whispered, ¡°Young master, she¡¯s a child of a good family, we can¡¯t take her.¡± ¡°Then buy her.¡± The boy insisted rudely. ¡°Oh my, young master, they don¡¯t sell people.¡± The attendant tried to coax the boy towards a carriage, ¡°Please get in the carriage, the eldest son is getting impatient.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to get in!¡± The boy was angry and kicked the attendant viciously, ¡°I want to buy more apricots!¡± ¡°Okay, okay, you get in the carriage first, and I¡¯ll go buy them right away.¡± As long as this little master didn¡¯t insist on buying the girl, he would even buy a donkey if asked. The attendant lifted the boy into the carriage and quickly went back to the crowd to buy another pound of apricots. He nced again at the girl, marvelling to himself. No wonder the young master wanted to buy her, thisssie is truly beautiful to behold. In the carriage, the upright sitting young man looked surprised and chided coldly: ¡°Wei Zhan, why were you running around just now?¡± Wei Zhan didn¡¯t fear his half-bred elder cousin in the slightest, he stoutly replied: ¡°I was curious about the crowd.¡± Wei Wenbo argued angrily: ¡°Curious? You jumped right off the carriage out of curiosity? If I had known you would be this disobedient, I wouldn¡¯t have brought you out.¡± Wei Zhan scoffed, grunted lightly, and tookmand as soon as the attendant returned: ¡°Give me the apricots!¡± The attendant, discreetly ncing at the elder young master, took out a package of yellow apricots wrapped in lotus leaves. He softly warned: ¡°Eating too many apricots is bad for the body. Young master should eat less¡­¡± Wei Zhan snatched the package of lotus leaves, red at the attendant, and bit into an apricot. Wei Wenbo was left with a sour taste, but he couldn¡¯t help picking one up, ¡°Isn¡¯t it sour?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not sour, it¡¯s delicious.¡± Wei Zhan replied, expressionless. The steward of the party asked: ¡°Young master, shall we continue with Chen Changping?¡± ¡°No, let¡¯s first find an inn to stay in,¡± answered Wei Wenbo. ¡°But the inns here are in such poor condition, maybe we should stick with Chen Changping,¡± suggested the steward, cautiously. ¡®After all, their family is considered wealthy around here, their amodations should be clean.¡¯ ¡°Alright, but rify to Chen Changping that we are just here to travel. Everything else can be discussedter.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The steward headed toward the mule cart, telling the haggard looking old man Chen, ¡°Our young master has agreed toe to your ce, you lead the way.¡± ¡°Good, good.¡± Old man Chen was ecstatic and immediately took the reins of the cart. Inside the mule cart, Chen Changping was already exhausted, leaning on the cart without moving. He and his father had been through the wringer all the way, not to mention that the Wei Family¡¯s young master was particrly difficult to handle. He could torment people to death with his whims and fancies. He was almost home, and the young master stirred up trouble again, insisting on strolling through the market. Chen Changping felt mentally drained. He wanted to rush home,y on his bed, and sleep for days on end. All other matters could be discussed afterwards. At the market, Jiang Quan quickly sold all the apricots in his basket. Someone asked, ¡°Will you be here at the next market?¡± Jiang Quanughed and nodded, ¡°I will.¡± There were still quite a few apricots on the tree, but most were half green and half yellow. In a few days, they should be ripe for picking. Jiang Quan carried his younger cousin in the empty basket, and strolled around with his younger sisters, Dani and Erni. He also wanted to buy a puppy, but unfortunately, he didn¡¯te across one on his stroll. In the end, they spent about twenty coins. Each of the four siblings had a bowl of boiled vegetable dumplings, after which they returned home. When they passed by Xichen Vige, they saw several carriages and a few tall horses parked in front of Old Chen¡¯s house. Many vigers were watching from a distance, whispering amongst themselves. Yingbao, with a stern face, urged her second cousin who wanted to see the excitement, to hurry home. The emblem embroidered on the carriage was the crest of the Mansion Wei Family. It seemed that Chen Changping had indeed called for help from the Mansion Wei Family. It was unknown how they nned to clear the Han family¡¯s name. She had to go to the county town as soon as possible and alert Wu Daozi. If the Wei Family intended to defend the Han family, they would certainly have sufficient evidence. Or perhaps they didn¡¯t even need evidence, they could just use their influence to pressure the county magistrate for a retrial. Would a man like Wu Daozi easilypromise? Definitely not. If Wu Daozi refused to retry the case, he would effectively offend the Wei Family. He was only a humble seventh-grade county magistrate, who was in office for less than a year and hadn¡¯t had any political achievements. He could easily be dismissed.. Chapter 120: Servant of Wei Residence_l Chapter 120: Servant of Wei Residence_l Trantor: 549690339 When the group returned home, Jiang Quan began to count the money and divide it up. Yet his three sisters were not interested in his little bit of money, directly telling him to keep it. Although Jiang Quan was somewhat disappointed, no one could resist money. It was more than five hundred coins, which could buy a lot of things. Well, if they didn¡¯t want it, all the better, it would save for himself. In the afternoon, Yingbao took Dalu to the pond for water and a stroll. In the summer heat, people usually do their activities in the early morning orte afternoon. Some are hoeing in the field, others are making adobe bricks, and some are carrying shovels to irrigate the rice fields. Recently, South Slope had been bustling, with several families nning to build houses here. Like Chen Zhu from the Tang family, brothers Li Dayong and Li Eryong, and Chen Yin, the second son of Chen Sanyou. As soon as they had time, they woulde to South Slope to make adobe bricks and chop bamboo. Some of them had alreadyid the foundation, just waiting for the bricks to be delivered from the brickyard, and then they will start construction of their houses. Suddenly, a group of men on horses charged directly towards them. Some of them even pulled out their bows on horseback, aiming at Youyou. Yingbao was startled and quickly urged Youyou to run back home. Startled, Youyou sped home as fast as her legs could carry her. Yingbao followed closely behind, asionally ncing back. Luckily, she and Youyou were not within the range of the arrows. Even if these people urged their horses to chase wildly, they couldn¡¯t catch up with the hardy Youyou. Upon reaching home, Yingbao immediately shut the door and shouted, ¡°Dad! Mom! There are bad guys!¡± Jiang Eng and Chunniang heard the shouts and came out to see several horse-riding guards surrounding their front door, making them frown, ¡°Who are you? What do you want to do?¡± One of the guards demanded, ¡°Just now a deer ran into your house. Hurry up and drive it out!¡± ¡°That¡¯s our family¡¯s deer. Are you trying to plunder the people¡¯s property?¡± Jiang Eng said coldly. The leading guard raised his eyebrow, rebutted contemptuously, ¡°Just because you say it¡¯s yours, it¡¯s yours? Get out of the way. I¡¯m going in to catch the deer.¡± Jiang Eng pulled out a trident from the side of the gate. ¡°Let¡¯s see who dares to intrude on my property!¡± At this point, brothers Jiang Cheng, Jiang Eng, and Jiang Quan also came out, each holding tools such as shovels, tridents, and wooden sticks as weapons. They angrily shouted, ¡°Who are you? What do you want to do?¡± Seeing so many mening out made them hesitate slightly. One of them whispered, ¡°Forget it. We just arrived here. We should avoid conflicts with the locals. If the eldest young master gets to know about it, we won¡¯t be able to exin. ¡± Another one added, ¡°What¡¯s there to be afraid of? We are guards for the young master. What¡¯s wrong with hunting deer in the mountains?¡± ¡°But that¡¯s a deer raised by the vigers.¡± Some didn¡¯t want to stir up trouble The leading guard snorted coldly, ¡°We¡¯ll buy it off them for a few dozen coins. They dare not say anything.¡± At this moment, three more horses arrived, one of them carrying a six or seven-year-old boy. The boy pulled the reins haughtily and asked, ¡°What are you doing surrounding someone¡¯s house instead of hunting?¡± ¡°Young Master.¡± The leading guard greeted with a salute, ¡°We were interested in a deer, but these arrogant vigers have hidden it in their courtyard.¡± Yingbao angrily shouted, ¡°That¡¯s our family¡¯s deer!¡± Seeing that it was the little girl he had met in the market, the boy¡¯s eyes lit up. Seeing her standing with her hands on her waist, ring at them, he asked, ¡°Are you trying to steal someone¡¯s deer?¡± The leading guard hesitated before attempting to defend himself, ¡°Young Master, the deer is a creature of the wilderness. How is it theirs? These insolent vigers are taking advantage of your youth¡­¡± Before he could even finish his sentence, the boy cracked a whip across his face. The boy angrily said, ¡°Get out of here! Don¡¯t follow me anymore!¡± He hated being referred to as young. Though humiliated, the leading guard still responded, ¡°As you wish, young master,¡± and backed his horse away. The boy turned back to Yingbao and nodded, ¡°Don¡¯t be angry. My guards were rude. They won¡¯t take your deer.¡± After a pause, he added, ¡°So, you live here.¡± Jiang Eng stepped in front of his daughter and coldly said, ¡°Our humble household isn¡¯t suitable for a young master. We won¡¯t invite you in.¡± He told Chunniang to take his daughter back to the yard and close the gate, while he stayed outside to deal with these people. After a while, the group finally rode away. Jiang Cheng and Jiang Eng asked what happened. Yingbao: ¡°They just tried to hunt Youyou.¡± ¡°Who are they? How dare they be so outrageous?¡± Jiang Eng had spent the whole morning making snacks at home with his new bride, preparing for the visit to the bride¡¯s home the next day. He had no idea that Old Chen from West Vige had returned from Prefecture City, bringing with him arge group of people. ¡°They were brought back by the Chen Family from West Vige, it¡¯s said that they are people from the Wei Family in Prefecture City,¡± Yingbao exined. ¡°The Wei Family from Prefecture City? What do they want here?¡± In this poor mountain vige, it was rare to have nobility visiting. Jiang Eng had been alive for more than thirty years and this was the first time he had encountered so many neatly dressed horse guards. Jiang Sang shook his head: ¡°I don¡¯t know, but these men are definitely former servants of Old Chen¡¯s master.¡¯ His family had a grudge with Old Chen¡¯s family ¨C this was a given. Chen might just use those servants to seek revenge against his family. ¡°Elder brother and second brother, don¡¯t let Dani, Erni, Yuanbao, and Huzi wander off these days. We have to guard against this group,¡± Jiang Sang said. Jiang Eng and Jiang Dng nodded, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we have our ns.¡± Jiang Dng turned to ask his younger brother: ¡°Aren¡¯t you taking your sister and siblings to the county tomorrow? Erni and Huzi are not going, right?¡± ¡°Um, Yanru and I can go.¡± ¡°Then let Erni and Huzi stay at my house, I¡¯ll let Dacheng look after them,¡± Jiang Dng said. Jiang Eng: ¡°Alright.¡± Yingbao knew from that book why these people came here, but she couldn¡¯t tell her parents. So she had to go to the county to talk to Wu Daozi. ¡°Uncle, I want to go to the county with you tomorrow. I promised Magistrate Wu to bring him some Jiner.¡± Jiang Eng nodded: ¡°Alright, we should also thank Magistrate Wu properly.¡± ¡°Baobao, does daddy go too?¡± Jiang Sang was a little apprehensive about letting his daughter go alone. Yingbao: ¡°No need, Uncle and I will be fine.¡± It would be inconvenient to talk with too many people, so it was better not to bring her father along. The next day, Yingbao got up early to wash and clean herself, and also packed a bamboo basket with quite a few things. After eating the chicken noodle soup that her mother had cooked, Yingbao climbed onto the mule cart and sat down next to her Aunt Yanru. Jiang Eng flicked the reins and drove the mule cart onto the road. Yanru loved the little baby she held in her arms, and seeing Yingbao¡¯s hair was carelessly tied, she wanted tob it again and braid it properly. Yingbao¡¯s hair was much thicker than when she was a child, and it had grown considerably, barely manageable to style into an ornate bun. Yanru took out her make-up box and took two pink ribbons to braid into her niece¡¯s hair. She intricately twirled and wrapped,bing Yingbao¡¯s hair into two beautiful hanging bun hairstyles and stuck two blue beaded flowers on each side. Holding up the bronze mirror for Yingbao to see, she smiled and asked, ¡°Do you like it?¡± Yingbao blinked, somewhat unable to believe that the little figure in the mirror was her, she nodded: ¡°It¡¯s beautiful.¡¯ For the first time, she felt that she looked so beautiful, she couldn¡¯t help but touch the ribbons hanging from her hair buns, her eyes curved into crescents. ¡°Aunt you braid so beautifully.¡± Yingbao was generous with herpliments: ¡°I¡¯ve never seen it before.¡¯ In fact, she had seen more intricate and beautiful updos in her past life, but that was in the past. Yanruughed and gently touched Yingbao¡¯s little nose, ¡°It¡¯s because Baobao is so pretty, any hairstyle suits you.¡± Yingbao narrowed her eyes and nodded vigorously: ¡°Yes, Aunt is beautiful too.¡± Now, Yanru was indeed beautiful, glowing with a vibrant energy, much more beautiful than when she first met her. Yanru giggled, took out some Whitening Skin Cream, and started applying it to Yingbao¡¯s face. ¡°This Whitening Skin Cream is homemade by me, give it a try and see if it¡¯sfortable?¡± Yingbao nodded, letting Yanru handle her freely, asking from time to time about how to make the Whitening Skin Cream and rouge. Yanru seemed to know everything, talking to her all the way about how to make rouge and powder, and how to mix Whitening Skin Cream. Yingbao listened with great interest, deciding to nt more flowers in the future to try making her rouge and powder.. Chapter 121: Seeking County Magistrate Wu 1 Chapter 121: Seeking County Magistrate Wu 1 Trantor: 549690339 The mule cart quickly entered the county town, winding through a maze of streets before stopping at a household¡¯s front door. The door to the house was wide open, and Xiu, Yanru¡¯s maternal aunt, was eagerly awaiting their arrival at the front door. Seeing the cart pull up, she immediately rushed over. ¡°Oh my, Yanru is back!¡± Jiang Eng helped his young niece off the cart, assisted his wife to dismount, and then began to unload the gifts. Two bolts of fabric, four boxes of pastries, two jars of wine, and eight kinds of gifts in total ¡ª all neatly packed, not one too many or too few. ¡°Auntie,¡± Yanru paid her respects to her aunt, and introduced Yingbao, ¡°This is Uncle¡¯s daughter Yingbao. She is here with us, andter she will be visiting the County Government to meet the official.¡¯ Yingbao bowed to the inn¡¯s matron, ¡°Hello, Auntie.¡± ¡°Good, good.¡± Xiu, seeing her smile spread across her face, hurriedly took her hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go inside and chat.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t, Auntie. We must return back,¡± said Yanru. As it was a visit back to her home, she had to visit her maiden family. Although Yanru¡¯s biological mother had passed away, her elderly father and stepmother were still at home. Xiu didn¡¯t insist. She just whispered, ¡°If they don¡¯t keep you for a meal there, bring your husband to my ce.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yanru softly responded. She picked up the eight gifts from the cart and, apanied by Jiang Eng, headed towards her mother¡¯s family¡¯s home. The Lu Family house was not far from Auntie Xiu¡¯s, separated only by four or five houses. As Yingbao, Lu Yanru, and Jiang Eng walked into the Lu Family courtyard, they saw several people standing under the eaves of the main house. In the center stood a man in his forties with a weathered face and long beard. He was dressed inke silk with a brightly colored silk flower in his hair presumably Yanru¡¯s father. Next to him stood a middle-aged woman dressed in a light blue summer cloth dress. She didn¡¯t say a word as they entered, her expression cold. Next to the woman stood a girl about fifteen or sixteen years old. The girl¡¯s face was fair, her eyebrows simr to Yanru¡¯s, but her thin lips gave her a severe look. There was also a boy about thirteen or fourteen years old, with a devil-may-care look. Seeing Jiang Eng bringing in the presents, he shouted out loud, ¡°New brother-inw, what gifts have you brought? Did you bring anything for me?¡± Jiang Eng didn¡¯t say anything. Yanru¡¯s father, however, red at the boy, rebuking: ¡°Nobody would think you¡¯re mute if you didn¡¯t speak!¡± The boy snorted and said carelessly, ¡°I¡¯m just asking, what are you ring at me for, dad?¡± The man paid him no further mind, took a nce at Jiang Eng, and then frowned at Yingbao. Jiang Eng paid his respects to Yanru¡¯s parents, and Yingbao did the same. Then they heard the stepmother say in a sarcastic tone, ¡°Oh, unable to have your own children, you bring someone else¡¯s child to the house. Don¡¯t me me, the stepmother, for saying it, Yanru, you seem destined to raise children for others. Yanru¡¯s face turned red with anger. She was about to argue with her stepmother but was stopped by Jiang Eng. Jiang Eng calmly said, ¡°Auntie, you have misunderstood. This is my niece. We have brought her here because we had some business in town. If we have disturbed you, we will leave immediately.¡± The stepmother huffed and went back to the room, followed by the girl next to her. Yingbao felt as if the whole family was rather sick. No wonder Yanru was so eager to get married and leave her family. With such rtives, every extra day spent there was a drain on one¡¯s life. Yanru¡¯s biological father was very distant from his daughter and son-inw. He left his son-inw sitting alone in the room, then walked away. Yingbao and her Uncle Jiang exchanged nces. Yanru went back to her room to pack up her things, intending to take them away. After a while, Yanru came out with arge bundle, telling her husband, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Jiang Eng stood up, took the bundle from his wife, and asked, ¡°What¡¯s inside?¡± ¡°My old clothes, from when I was a little girl until now. I¡¯m going to use them to patch up the soles of shoes,¡± Yanru casually said, ¡°It also includes some of my mother¡¯s old belongings.¡± The three of them left the Lu house and headed straight for Auntie Xiu¡¯s house. Jiang Eng put the bundle on the mule cart and then went into the courtyard of his aunt¡¯s house with his wife. ¡°You¡¯re back.¡± Auntie Xiu poked her head out of the kitchen with a smile on her face, ¡°Eng, you sit down first. Lunch will be ready soon.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Jiang Eng sat down under the persimmon tree in the courtyard with his niece. In the kitchen, Xiu stir-fried vegetables while Yanru helped with the cooking fire. ¡°Is the Jiang Family treating you well?¡± Madam Xiu asked. Yanru nodded: ¡°Everyone in the family is good.¡± Madam Xiu: ¡°Are Jiang Eng¡¯s son and daughter respectful to you?¡± ¡°Both Erni and Huzi are good to me. Aunt, don¡¯t worry, they consider me as their own mother, and are always respectful.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Madam Xiu felt relieved, sighed gently: ¡°You have finally found happiness after suffering, my elder sister can rest in peace now.¡± Yanru remained silent. Madam Xiu ced a fish into the pan, the hot oil sizzled loudly. ¡°Your stepmother wishes for nothing but your downfall. Today, she met me on the road and spoke sarcastically, humiliating me. Such a wretch!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the worry, Aunt. Please don¡¯t pay her any mind next time. After returning today, I don¡¯t n to go back to her again. From now on, I¡¯lle here, Aunt, as you are my true family.¡± Upon hearing this, tears welled up in Madam Xiu¡¯s eyes. While wiping her tears, she sobbed: ¡°Good child, from now on, this is your home.¡± Her own niece had lost her mother at a young age, if it weren¡¯t for her own care, the child would have been tormented to death by her stepmother. Thank goodness she finally married into a good family. Madam Xiu cooked a few dishes, and then she bought some braised food from a store, managing to cook a simple meal. By this time, her husband had returned, and he and his nephew had a few drinks together. After dinner, Yanru stayed to chat with her aunt, while Jiang Eng took Yingbao to the County Government Office. The County Government Office was overgrown with weeds, looking even more deste than in winter. Yingbao jumped off the mule-drawn cart, running to the gatekeeper government official: ¡°Uncle, I came to see Uncle Wu.¡± The two officials recognized this little child and, chuckling, asked: ¡°What do you need from the officer?¡± Yingbao took out a few yellow apricots from her pocket and gave them to the official, ¡°I brought apricots for Uncle Wu to eat.¡± The official teasingly epted the fruits, biting into an apricot while going into the inner hall to deliver the message. Not long after, Wu Rui ran out, ¡°Oh! It¡¯s really Yingbao,e,e,e, follow me. The officer is free right now.¡± ¡°I also brought delicious food for Uncle Wu, Uncle Wu, can you help me carry it?¡± Yingbao went to the side of the mule cart, pointing at a bamboo basket, ¡°This basket.¡± Jiang Eng quickly got off the cart to greet Wu Rui. Wu Rui, waving his hand with a smile, said: ¡°Juste in with me.¡± Subsequently, Jiang Eng followed Wu Rui and Yingbao into the inner yard of the County Government Office, carrying the bamboo basket. In the middle of the inner yard was a huge vine trellis, lush and full of countless wisteria flowers. Wu Daozi was sitting on a bamboo couch under the vine trellis, fanning himself with a Pu fan while reading a book. ¡°Uncle Wu!¡± Yingbao ran over excitedly, ¡°Uncle Wu, do you still remember me?¡± Looking at her, Wu Daozi smiled and said: ¡°It would be difficult not to remember you. What brings you here today?¡± Yingbao giggled, sitting down beside the small bamboo table next to the couch, and whispered: ¡°I¡¯ve prepared a very good medicine specially for Uncle Wu.¡± ¡°Oh? What medicine is it?¡± Wu Daozi asked with the fan in his hand. Under the intense sun, Jiang Eng awkwardly stood holding the bamboo basket, not knowing whether to put it down. Wu Rui went forward and helped him, moving the bamboo basket under the trellis. Yingbao started taking things out from the basket one by one, mumbling to herself: ¡°Our apricots ripened at home, I picked somest night to bring for you to taste. And this golden ears packet, I grew it myself, it¡¯s for you to boil and eat, Uncle Wu. Oh, where¡¯s my medicine? Oh, here it is.¡± She found a y pot at the bottom of the basket, took it out and gave it to Wu Daozi: ¡°This is the medicine pellet I prepared for you, Uncle Wu, you must take it, one a day.¡± Wu Daozi sat up, opened the pot lid, and instantly smelled an indescribable fragrance. He squeezed out a pellet and looked at it, asking: ¡°What ailment can this medicine cure?¡± Chapter 122: Must Take Medicine_l Chapter 122: Must Take Medicine_l Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao blinked her eyes, ¡°These can cure any disease. Uncle Wu, you must take them. Only then will you get better.¡± Wu Daoziughed, ¡°You are a clever little girl indeed.¡± As he spoke, he popped a medicial pellet into his mouth and chewed it before swallowing. He nodded and said, ¡°Hmm, it has a sweet and sour taste. It seems to contain hawthorn.¡± Yingbao gave an awkward smile and nced at the lump on his neck. Seeing it hadn¡¯t grown, she sighed with relief and said mysteriously, ¡°Uncle Wu, you better believe, my medicine is the best. I even cured Chen Zhu.¡± Wu Daozi, while fanning himself, asked casually, ¡°Who is Chen Zhu?¡± ¡°He is the son of n Leader Chen. He almost died from a severe injury to his thigh, but I saved him.¡± Yingbao enthusiastically praised herself. ¡°Am I impressive or not?¡± Wu Daoziughed and said, ¡°Very impressive.¡± ¡°So, Uncle Wu, you must take your medicine regrly. Then, the lump on your neck will stop growing.¡± Yingbao dared to point out Wu County Magistrate¡¯s weakness. Wu Daozi seemed thoughtful, picked up another pill and examined it carefully. He also took the time to smell it. Yingbao stole a nce at Second Uncle, seeing that he had retreated with Wu Rui to the side under the eaves. She said to Wu Daozi, ¡°Uncle Wu, my family also grows quite a lot of cotton. It can be used to weave cloth or make cotton clothes and quilts. It¡¯s much better than ramie. Would you like to take a look?¡± She knew if Wu Daozi wanted to stand out in the year-end evaluation, he must do one or two things beneficial to the country and the people in his term. Her cotton would certainly be the greatest achievement of the local official in the future. Once cotton cultivation is promoted, it will significantly solve the people¡¯s problem of clothing and keeping warm. Originally, Yingbao didn¡¯t understand these, but she had read a lot of dialogues. She knew a bit about the affairs of the officialdom. ¡°What cotton?¡± Wu Daozi was certainly interested. Yingbao dug out a pack of cotton from the bottom of the bamboo basket, along with a ball of cotton thread and a piece of cotton cloth. She showed them to Wu Daozi one by one. Wu Daozi took them for a close look, his eyes shining brighter as he looked. ¡°What species is this? Where did you get it from?¡± ¡°This cotton was grown by my family. The seeds were bought from a salesman. They are said to be a foreign variety.¡± Yingbao told Wu Daozi everything. ¡°We nted itst year and yielded several hundred pounds per acre.¡± Suddenly, Wu Daozi sat upright and asked Yingbao seriously, ¡°How many families in your area are nting this?¡± Yingbao counted on her fingers, ¡°About ten or so families. They didn¡¯t nt much, just a few acres each, not as much as my family.¡± ¡°Did your family give them the seeds as well?¡± Wu Daozi asked. ¡°Are there any left now?¡± ¡°Yes, but we shared all of our seeds with the vigers. After the autumn harvest, we will have plenty of cotton seeds again.¡± Wu Daozi suddenly stood up, his eyes burning as he stared at Yingbao, ¡°Little Yingbao, can this cotton really yield a few hundred pounds per acre?¡± ¡°Yes, if the field is fertile, it should yield more than a few hundred pounds. Our two acres yielded nearly a thousand pounds of seed cottonst year. This year, we nted over 20 acres. We estimate it will yield 10,000 pounds of cotton.¡± 10,000 pounds of cotton would spin so many threads and weave so many cloths. It¡¯s much better than growing ramie. Wu Daozi¡¯s eyes shone excitedly. He paced back and forth, then suddenly turned and walked out. Yingbao was anxious. She still had something important to say. ¡°Uncle Wu, I still have something important to tell you.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Wu Daozi turned back, ¡°What is it?¡± Yingbao ran up to him and whispered, ¡°Mansion Wei Family from Prefecture City wants to vindicate the Han Family.¡± ¡°Mansion Wei Family from Prefecture City?¡± Wu Daozi indeed knew about this Wei Family. It was said to have close rtions with some Commandery Prince. ¡°How do you know?¡± Wu Daozi asked. Yingbao then told him about how Old Chen had gone to Prefecture City and brought back a group of people. Wu Daozi rubbed his chin, deep in thought. ¡°Anyway, I am not a child of the Chen Family. Uncle Wu, you must not believe in anyone¡¯s words.¡± Yingbao said all she wanted to say and then took her leave, ¡°I¡¯m going home now, Mr. Wu, if you are free,e and visit my ce. By autumn, the big gourds I¡¯ve nted will have grown up, and I can send some to you.¡± Wu Daozi smiled slightly, ¡°Okay.¡± Yingbao hopped off to find her uncle. On her way, she turned back to remind him, ¡°Mr. Wu, make sure to take your medicine. I¡¯lle over again after some time. My pears are almost ripe, and there are peaches too.¡± Wu Daozi smiled and nodded. After leaving the County Government, Jiang Eng wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was from the heat or something else, but he had to admit he admired his tiny niece. He could never hold a good conversation with Mingfu himself, but his little niece managed to say so much, even convincing the important official to take her medicine. What¡¯s more, Mingfu had agreed. He sighed. He really needed to learn from his niece. It was gettingte. If he left the county town now to journey home, which was tens of miles away, it might not be very safe. Jiang Eng decided to stay overnight and go home the next day. It was a good chance to wander around the town and do some shopping. He and his elder brother had each earned over a hundred taels of silver from selling premium gold ear mushrooms and white fungus. He had made back all the extravagant spending done for his wedding. With this money, Jiang Eng decided to buy some things for his wife and children. He bought stationery for Huzi and his daughter along with copybooks and books. Some nice-looking summer clothes were purchased for his wife and children. Then he parked the mule cart in front of a temple and went in to consult for Yanru. The old nun in the temple who was a doctor said that it was difficult for a woman like Yanru who was amenorrhoeic to be pregnant. She advised Jiang Eng not to get his hopes up too high. Jiang Eng was slightly disappointed, but he came to terms very soon. Anyway, he already had a son and a daughter. Whether Yanru could have a child or not was not so important. In fact, Jiang Eng had known this before marrying Yanru. Getting medical advice was just to rify things for himself. Yanru had been married once before and was divorced by her ex-husband because she hadn¡¯t conceived for three years. She had mentioned this to Jiang Eng. So Jiang Eng didn¡¯t ask his parents to hire a matchmaker for him, nor did he let anyone in his family know. The county town is about eighty or ny miles from Chuanhe Town. As long as he and Yanru didn¡¯t tell, nobody in Chen Vige would know about this. While wandering about the county town, Yingbao and her uncle bought some books and primers for her little brother, and some facial cream and rouge powder for her mother. Finally, they visited Jiukang Medicine Shop and bought a decent quantity of exotic spices. These spices were quite expensive ¨C she spent nearly twenty taels of silver on a few small packs. The spices she bought all had seeds, like pepper, coriander, garlic, onions, and so on. After returning home the next day, the first thing Yingbao did was to sow those spices in her underground cer and water them thoroughly. She wasn¡¯t sure if they would survive but whatever, as long as one of them could grow, she would make a profit. That day, Chuchu came back, bringing her younger brothers, Chuyan and Chuqing with her. ¡°Yingbao, they just came to have a look, nothing else. You¡­you don¡¯t mind, do you?¡± Chuchu fiddled with her fingers nervously, afraid that Yingbao would be displeased and send her away. Yingbao replied, ¡®I don¡¯t mind. You can show them around. There are apricots on the trees that you can pick and give to them. Later, we¡¯ll catch some shrimps in the pond. Then, we can have lunch at my ce.¡¯ Chuchu smiled, hugged Yingbao, and said, ¡°Thank you, Yingbao.¡± Thus, a big group of children, carrying bamboo poles ands, went to pick apricots and catch shrimps. The only pity was the pond was small and the yield of shrimps was limited. They only managed to get less than half a basket of shrimps after a long effort. Taking advantage of the fact that her second cousin was not around, Yingbao secretly went to his breeding pond and caught half a basket of loaches. Only then did she happily take the children home.. Chapter 123: It Turns Out to be Grapes_l Chapter 123: It Turns Out to be Grapes_l Trantor: 549690339 If you ask who in the Jiang family now cooks the most delicious meals, it would definitely be Yanru. So, Yingbao handed over the half-basket of shrimp and half-basket of loaches to the new aunt and took a group of children to gather apricots. It¡¯s a pity that the peaches aren¡¯t quite ripe yet. Otherwise, she would have picked some more for Chuyan and Chu Qing to taste. Ever since she confirmed that this Chuyan was the Chuyan in her past life, Yingbao always carried a guilty heart. In her past life, Chuyan must not have ended well. He might have been sentenced to death by the governor shortly thereafter. Because he took her out of the governor¡¯s mansion and sent her out of Prefecture City, he could not hide this from anyone. And the governor hated those who betray him most. Regardless of the type of betrayal, he would personally behead the betrayer. ¡°Brother Chuyan, do you like peaches?¡± Yingbao looked up at Chuyan and asked. Chuyan looked at the peach tree in front of him and nodded. ¡°Wait another ten or so days and you can eat them. Then,e to my house and I will pick some peaches for you.¡± Yingbao enthusiastically introduced her family¡¯s fruit trees to Chuyan, ¡°There are also pears over there. They will be ripe in a month. You muste and try them.¡± A rare smile appeared on Chuyan¡¯s face. ¡°Okay.¡± Then Yingbao led him to a few Exotic Vines, pointed at the small green fruits growing on the vines, and asked, ¡°Do you recognize this?¡± Chuyan nodded, ¡°Western Region grapes.¡± ¡°What?¡± Yingbao was surprised, ¡°Are these Western Region grapes?¡± In her previous life, she had heard about them but had never seen them, as they were only found in the homes of high-ranking officials and nobles in Beijing. ¡°Hmm.¡± Chuyan nodded affirmatively. He had seen and eaten them in his childhood. Yingbao was stunned. She touched the small green fruits, couldn¡¯t help it and picked one to take a bite. A sour taste instantly wrinkled her face, ¡°Yuck! It tastes awful.¡± Chuyanughed and said, ¡°They aren¡¯t ripe yet, so of course they don¡¯t taste good.¡± Yingbao knew that unripe fruit wouldn¡¯t taste good. She just wanted to make Chuyan happy. After introducing their fruit trees, Yingbao said, ¡°I¡¯ll teach you how to grow Auricria.¡± She brought over some bran and mulberry wood shavings, teaching Chuchu and Chuyan how to crush them, how to steam sterilize, and how to store them in a pottery jar after cooling. Then she brought out a jar of mycelium for nting. She instructed them on how to manage the Auricria seedlings, how to keep them moist, and how to prevent the Auricria from changing colors. Chuchu and her two younger brothers watched carefully, and after two hours of serious learning, they even forgot to eat. In the evening, Chuyan and Chu Qing stayed in Chuchu¡¯s hut, and Yingbao let Chuchu rest with her. The next morning, Chuyan and Chu Qing went home with five jars of Auricria mycelium given by Yingbao. When leaving, Chu Qing cried his eyes out, vowing to visit his sister the next time he had a day off. Chuchu, on the other hand, didn¡¯t cry, happily saying goodbye to her two younger brothers. ¡°Yingbao, what do we do now?¡± Chuchu worried that Yingbao wouldn¡¯t need her if she didn¡¯t work for a day. Yingbao looked at the sky and said, ¡°The weather is clear today. Let¡¯s go cut bamboo.¡± There was arge bamboo grove in the Jiang family¡¯s perennial fields on the South Slope, filled with randomly growing wild bamboo. Although it was lush, the bamboo was thin and small, so it was of little use. Thus, they had to remove some of the lush bamboo, leaving behind only the sturdy bamboo that was good for growth. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go cut bamboo.¡± Chuchu took the new axe Yingbao gave her, carried a backpack, and followed Yingbao to the bamboo forest. Dani and the second aunt also came along for fun. They recently had nothing to do and found Chuchu to be a genuinely good person. So both of them put aside their prejudices and were willing to work and y with her. So, the three young women and one child went towards the bamboo forest. ¡°I heard that there are bamboo shoots in the bamboo forest. They¡¯re delicious when cooked, but I¡¯ve never seen them,¡± the second aunt asked Chuchu, ¡°Have you seen them?¡± Chuchu nodded, ¡°There is a bamboo forest on the hillside near my house. But that belongs to others. You can collect bamboo shoots there. They are indeed very delicious when cooked.¡± Yingbao also had never seen it and asked curiously, ¡°What is a bamboo mushroom?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a type of fungus, also known as bamboo pith.¡± Chuchu replied, ¡°When I go back, I¡¯ll bring some for you to taste.¡± Yingbao nodded. The group arrived at the bamboo grove. They scared away any snakes hiding in the bushes before gradually advancing. ¡°Let¡¯s chop here.¡± Yingbao pointed at a section of bamboo, ¡°Chop down the thinner ones and keep the thicker ones.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Chuchu and Dani started chopping. Yingbao and Erni dragged the chopped thinner bamboo out of the grove and piled them up at the side. The bamboo could be dragged back to be used as firewood or at the very least, be turned into brooms. However, Yingbao had a bigger use for these bamboos. She wanted to extract fresh bamboo juice from them. Fresh bamboo juice has a cooling effect and is a keyponent in treating phlegm. It can be used to treat symptoms such as excessive phlegm when a person has a cough, asthma, chest tightness, stroke, and children¡¯s heat stroke. As the four young sisters were energetically working, several people suddenly approached briskly. The one leading the group was Wei Zhan, aged seven. He ran quickly to Yingbao¡¯s side and asked with his head cocked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Yingbao replied annoyedly, ¡°Working.¡± Seeing that the little girl¡¯s face was red with exertion and sweat was streaming down her neck, he resisted the urge to help her wipe her sweat, and said, ¡°I¡¯ll help you.¡± ¡°No need.¡± Yingbao did not want to deal with this annoying boy from the Wei family. She dragged two thin bamboos away. Wei Zhan was not discouraged. He followed her and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired? How about I get a guard to help you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not tired. Move aside and stop blocking the way!¡± Yingbao dropped the bamboo and proceeded back into the bamboo grove to drag another batch. Wei Zhan wanted to follow but was blocked by his attendant, ¡°Young Master, there could be snakes inside, you should not enter.¡± ¡°Everyone else is not afraid of snakes, only you are. You¡¯re less brave than a child, what use are you to me?¡± Wei Zhan red at the guard discontentedly. The guard lowered his head, speechless. At this moment, Chen Zhao and Chen Tiantian arrived, panting and using handkerchiefs to fan themselves. ¡°Seventh Young Master, what are you doing here?¡± Chen Tiantian offered a handkerchief to Wei Zhan to wipe his sweat, but he pushed her away. ¡°Stay away from me!¡± Wei Zhan scolded rudely. Embarrassment shed across Chen Tiantian¡¯s face, but she quickly smiled and said, ¡°Seventh Young Master, the eldest young master asked us to take you for a stroll. But this ce is deste and wild animals may show up, so you see¡­¡± ¡°Get lost!¡± Wei Zhan shouted angrily, ¡°Who asked you to guide me?¡± At Wei Zhan¡¯s rebuke, Chen Tiantian took a step back, teary-eyed and dared not say another word. Chen Zhao gave her a nce, thinking she deserved it. Stepping forward, she cautiously asked, ¡°Seventh Young Master, how about we rest here for a while? This area seems pleasantly cool.¡± She realized that Wei Zhan, the little master, seemed to like the Jiang family child. If she said anything that made him unhappy, she might end up like Chen Tiantian. So she knew she had to win his favor by always agreeing with him. Weizhan nodded in approval. He asked the guards to clean up the area and sat down on a tree stump to rest. ¡°Wow! Bamboo mushrooms! So many bamboo mushrooms!¡± Chuchu screamed in joy from inside the bamboo groove. Yingbao ran over to check. She saw a patch of fungus with white skirts in a clearing within the bamboo grove. Chuchu was picking them one by one. ¡°So this is a bamboo mushroom?¡± Yingbao was seeing this kind of mushroom for the first time and wondered if they were edible. Chuchuughed heartily, ¡°Yes, these are bamboo mushrooms. I never expected to find them here. We are in for a treat. Seeing Chuchu so confident, Yingbao also began to help pick. They got over a dozen bamboo mushrooms. She put the white mushrooms in her basket, nning to bring them back to show to her mother.. Chapter 124: Fresh Bamboo Drips _1 Chapter 124: Fresh Bamboo Drips _1 Trantor: 549690339 Wei Zhan was disturbed by their shouts and hurried in to see what was going on. Seeing the child very fond of the bamboo maiden mushrooms, he ordered the guard, ¡°Go find these mushrooms and pick them for me.¡± The guards couldn¡¯t defy him, so they had to reluctantly enter the bamboo forest to look for the mushrooms The Yingbao sisters once again chopped bamboo for a while, seeing that it was gettingte, they packed up their things and went home. Wei Zhan followed behind them until they reached the front door of the Jiang Family. But once these sisters entered the house, they shut the main door, showing no intention of allowing him in. Wei Zhan had never experienced such a cold reception in his life; while he felt dejected, a strange feeling arose in his heart. Hemanded his guard to leave the collected mushrooms at the front door of the Jiang Family. Only then did he leave, clearly upset. Yingbao who was a door away, listened for Wei Zhan¡¯s departure before she opened the door. She paused at the doorway for a moment, pondering over the situation, before returning to her room. Dani too peeked out, and seeing a lot of bamboo maiden mushrooms left outside the door, she eximed with joy and quickly grabbed them to show to Chuchu. ¡°There are so many, we can¡¯t finish them all, let¡¯s dry them and save them for next time, ¡± Chuchu suggested. God knows where the Wei Family¡¯s guards found so many mushrooms, it was like a bountiful harvest. Dani grinned widely and immediately found a bamboo tray to dry the mushrooms. At this moment, Yingbao was a bit cell. She didn¡¯t expect that the Wei Family¡¯s brat turned out to be Wei Qi. In her previous life, Wei Qi was a frequent visitor to the governor¡¯s mansion, not only was his rtionship with Chen Zhao ambiguous, but he also had repeated run-ins with her because of Chen Zhao. That¡¯s right, at that time Chen Zhao had also entered the governor¡¯s mansion and even became a concubine of the murderous governor. And she, a humble dancer, was continually targeted by Chen Zhao. Once Zhao had even conspired to make her make a mistake during a dance party, causing her to be almost stabbed to death by the guards. Luckily, the governor couldn¡¯t bring himself to kill her, a dancer well-versed in the Hu Xuan dance. Instead, he made her stand in the winds and snow with a chunk of ice for two hours. But she was not one to turn the other cheek. Since Chen Zhao dared to harm her, she was going to fight back. She nned to escape from the governor¡¯s mansion, so she left a note under the pillow, certain that it would end up in the governor¡¯s hands after she had fled. Yingbao could imagine, when the governor realises her escape was due to being deceived by Chen Zhao, he would definitely have a severe punishment for Chen Zhao. Even if he didn¡¯t y her, a bout of whipping was certain. Ten strokes would be enough to take half of Chen Zhao¡¯s life. There were many concubines like Chen Zhao in the governor¡¯s mansion, there weren¡¯t a hundred of them then at least dozens, all young, beautiful and charming. They were also the lowest of the low, often used by the governor to entertain guests or reward subordinates. If a concubine made a mistake, it was lethal. They were not even given the chance to be sold, they were simply beaten to death with rods or whips. That¡¯s why, the Han couple was desperately trying to eliminate her, probably because her escape caused Chen ChangPing and Chen Zhao to bepletely rejected by the governor¡¯s mansion. She didn¡¯t expect that in this life, Wei Qi would run to the Chen Family in Chuanhe Town, and get mixed up with Chen Zhao so early on. Yingbao couldn¡¯t figure out why the prestigious Wei Family held Chen Laoshuan in such high esteem. Not only in her past life, but also in this life. Even if Chen Laoshuan had once saved the patriarch of the Wei Family, it was only right for a servant to protect his master. There was no reason for them to elevate Chen Laoshuan so high, going as far as fulfilling his every request. Unless Chen Laoshuan has a deep connection with the Wei Family,pelling their patriarch to look after his family. ¡°Yingbao, it¡¯s time for dinner.¡± Dani came over to call her. Jiang Eng wasn¡¯t home today. Yanru had prepared some shrimp and loach and invited all the girls to eat with her. After dinner, Dani, Erni, and Chuchu helped clean up the dishes. Yanru, on the other hand, used balsam flowers to make a dye, added some alum water, and applied it to each girl¡¯s nails. She also helped them redo their hair, taught them how to do their eyebrows, apply makeup, and how to coordinate their outfits. Having grown up in a county town, Yanru¡¯s taste in fashion was entirely different from the vige girls. Under Yanru¡¯s guidance, Dani, Erni, and Chuchu felt as if they had stepped into a whole new world, and their horizons broadened. Thus, Dani, Erni, and Chuchu suddenly became beautiful and learnt to cherish their own appearances while working. Whenever they went outside to work or chop bamboo, they all wore rain hats and cotton gloves. Dani would even wear a face towel to prevent sunburn on her cheeks. Yingbao didn¡¯t care much, as she was still young and didn¡¯t care whether her skin was fair or not. She sat on a stool next to the pile of bamboo and started to burn bamboo to get fresh bamboo juice. She prepared several clean pottery jars, ced them at the end of the peeled bamboo, and then burned the green bamboo pole with fire. The drips of bamboo juice would then drip down the bamboo into the jars. After a day of burning bamboo, Yingbao obtained several jars of fresh bamboo juice before she finally stopped. She brought the pottery jars back, quietly stowed them in her cave, and nned to make some medicinal liquid whenever she had time. Once the autumn and winter seasons arrived, there would be more people suffering from coughing and wheezing. Her bamboo juice woulde in handy then. During this period, Wei Zhan came to South Slope every day, either bringing bamboo shoots or wild chickens and rabbits. ¡°Yingbao, this is a wild chicken I hunted,¡± Wei Zhan showed off a long-tailed wild chicken he held, ¡°I am gifting it to you.¡± Yingbao originally didn¡¯t want to deal with this kid, but remembering how she had been humiliated by him and Chen Zhao in her previous life, she squinted and asked, ¡°Why are you giving me things?¡± Wei Zhan scratched his head, ¡°Just felt like giving.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t know you.¡± Yingbao replied. Wei Zhan blinked, seeming a little confused. ¡°I¡¯ve been here for three days and you still don¡¯t know me?¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Of course I don¡¯t know you. I don¡¯t know your name, I don¡¯t know your parents¡¯ names, and I don¡¯t even know why you came to our humble vige.¡± ¡°MV name is Wei Zhan, and I¡¯m the seventh in line in mv familv. MV father¡¯s name is Wei Shixian, and my mother¡¯s name is¡­ Wang, ¡± Wei Zhan earnestly started telling her about his family, ¡°My cousin and I were traveling and thought that the scenery here was nice, so we decided to stay for a while.¡± He ended by asking, ¡°Now do you know me?¡± Yingbao merely responded with a hum before asking, ¡°Why are you staying with the Chen family? Are they your rtives?¡± Weizhan blinked his eyes, ¡°Chen has known my father for some time, it was my older brother¡¯s decision to stay at their house. Otherwise, could I stay at your house?¡± ¡°No.¡± Yingbao felt she wouldn¡¯t get anything useful out of this kid and didn¡¯t really want to speak to him anymore. Wei Zhan was just happy to speak with the young child and kept circling around her. One moment he was pulling out a stalk of grass and asking her what it was, the next he was plucking some leaves to give her. Suddenly, Wei Zhan screamed. His whole body jumped up and he shook his hand non-stop. The guards were startled and rushed over, ¡°Young master, what¡¯s wrong? Were you bitten by a snake?¡± Weizhan stood stiffly there, his hand outstretched, his face flushed red, his eyes looking sideways at the ground and repeatedly yelling, ¡°Get it away! Get rid of it fast!¡± When Yingbao looked, she couldn¡¯t help butugh. A big fat green worm was wriggling on the ground, thicker than an adult¡¯s finger, and had horns on its head. So the little tyrant was scared ofrge green worms. Ha, he¡¯s so useless. The guards breathed a sigh of relief, kicked the green worm far away, and thenforted, ¡°Young master, don¡¯t be afraid, it doesn¡¯t bite.¡± But these words didn¡¯tfort him at all, and in the end Wei Zhan left with a long face following the guards. Because he felt that he had lost face in front of the young child, he couldn¡¯t stay any longer.. Chapter 125: Extortion and Blackmail_l Chapter 125: Extortion and ckmail_l Trantor: 549690339 Wei Zhan was absent, and Yingbao finally had a couple of days of peace. Whenever the girls weren¡¯t working, they would learn to make rouge and scented powder with Yanru. They would pick lotus and pomegranate flowers and repeatedly pound them in a stone mortar. After adding water and washing the product, they would dispose of the topyer of yellow liquid, leaving behind red ointment as their bright rouge. This intense rouge could be scraped into tiny porcin bottles and used for a long time. The preparation of scented powder was moreplex. Country girls usually used a powder made from ground chestnuts, while youngdies from prestigious families would often use lead powder or mix a varying amount of lead or aluminum powder into the chestnut powder. Another type was the ¡°Fair Lady Peach Blossom Powder¡± blended with gypsum, talcum, powered oyster shells, beeswax, musk, and motherwort. Yanru taught them to roast oyster shells over a fire, remove the outer ckyer, leaving only the shiny inneryer to be crushed and ground into a fine powder. They would then dry lotus and peony flowers to make a powder and mix this with the oyster shell and chestnut powder. This scented powder would leave the skin soft and clear when applied. Adding a little lead powder would make it even better. However, Yingbao said that applying lead powder could cause sickness in women and refused to let Yanru add any into the mixture. One day, as Yanru was making rouge with the girls, some unexpected visitors arrived. Lady Cao, the true mother ofdy Leng, came to Jiang Eng¡¯s house with her son and daughter. Jiang Eng was not at home at the time, and Yanru, unfamiliar with this group, ended up being shoved around by them. ¡°You vixen! Behaving so seductively towards my son-inw!¡± Cao attacked Yanru as soon as she arrived. Dani and her sister were scared and rushed forward to protect Yanru. ¡°How dare you defend this wench?¡± Lady Leng saw her daughter protecting Yanru and became furious. She charged forward and pped Dani twice. Seeing this, Yingbao quickly yelled, ¡°Aunt! Mother! Come quickly!¡± Jiang¡¯s sister-inw and Chunniang rushed over when they heard her. They pushed away Lady Leng and her daughter, quickly ushering Yanru into the room. They shut the door, keeping Mrs. Cao and her daughter away from Yanru. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Chunniang was very angry. Lady Leng had really gone too far. Jiang Eng was already married, and she had also married and had children. Chunniang couldn¡¯t understand why she was making trouble. ¡°Sister Chunniang, wu wu wu¡­ are you really going to defend that wench?¡± Lady Leng sobbed, holding her face in her hands. Chunniang coldly retorted, ¡°I¡¯m not your sister, don¡¯t try to im otherwise.¡± Ladv Leng had alreadv birthed two children with the oil merchant. Chunniang had no idea what she was hoping to achieve bying here today. ¡°Chunniang, could you really be so heartless?¡± Lady Leng cried. Seeing no reaction from Chunniang, she ran to Zhou¡¯s wife, ¡°Sister-inw! Is mother-inw at home? I want to pay my respects.¡± Zhou¡¯s wife felt a shiver down her spine and quickly motioned for Chunniang to find Jiang Sang and Jiang Eng. Chunniang didn¡¯t hesitate and left. Halfway there, she found Jiang Eng hurrying home. ¡°You¡¯re finally back. The Leng family is causing trouble again, I suspect they¡¯re up to no good,¡± she said. ¡°I understand, Sister Chunniang, please take the children home first. I¡¯ll handle this.¡¯ Jiang Eng stepped into his home, scanned the people standing in the courtyard, and coldly asked, ¡°Do you want to be charged with trespassing?¡± As soon as Granny Cao saw Jiang Eng return, she immediately pounced on him: ¡°Eng, I was the one at fault before. I shouldn¡¯t have separated you and your wife. If you want to hit or scold me, go ahead. But now, our daughter knows her mistake. Can you two reconcile?¡± Leng tried to cling onto Jiang Eng, but he dodged her. ¡°Eng, I was truly wrong. Considering we have two children together, let¡¯s reconcile, wuuuu¡­ Jiang Eng paid no mind to her sobs, immediately picking up a broom and sweeping it towards them: ¡°Get out of here!¡± Granny Cao¡¯s family was pushed back by the sweeping, and Jiang Eng drove them to the gate of the yard. They refused to move any further. ¡°Jiang Eng, why are you so proud?¡± Cold¡¯s brother, Leng Da, yelled furiously, ¡°I¡¯m Yingbao and Huzi¡¯s true uncle, and you dare drive me away like this?¡± ¡°My Huzi and Yingbao have no uncle. It was clearly written in the break-off agreement, and your whole family put their fingerprints on it.¡± Granny Cao¡¯s family had said all sorts of heartless things in order to get that fifteen taels of silver. Now talking about being an uncle was ridiculous. ¡°So what if we put our fingerprints? Yingbao and Huzi are my sister¡¯s flesh and blood.¡± Leng Da yelled persistently. Jiang Eng sneered: ¡°Your sister¡¯s flesh and blood is living in a house selling pickles in town. Don¡¯t bother looking for trouble here.¡± Leng had given birth to two children, a boy and a girl, for the man selling pickles. The youngest son was only a few months old. He didn¡¯t understand why she persistently caused trouble here. ¡°I don¡¯t care. You must give us another fifty taels, no, one hundred taels. Or else this is not over.¡± Leng Da huffed loudly, finally revealing his true intention for this visit. ¡°So, you¡¯re trying to extort money, huh? What gives you the audacity to ask me for my money? Okay then, Sun Licheng ising over. Let him decide.¡± At this time, Sun Licheng was leading the county officials over to understand the cotton nting situation from the Jiang brothers. He heard that Leng¡¯s family was once again causing trouble on South Slope, so Jiang Eng rushed back. When Granny Cao heard that Sun Licheng wasing, her calf cramped up. She turned her head to look at her son for guidance, silently asking him what to do. But Leng Da was dazzled by all the new houses in the Jiang family, andpletely ignored his mother¡¯s hint. ¡°Even if the sky falls, I, the uncle of Yingbao and Huzi, have to approve their marriages.¡± Uncles in the countryside wield great power. If they act recklessly, they can meddle in their nephew and niece¡¯s marriage, hence Leng Da¡¯s deration. ¡°Oh, what a big talker.¡± Sun Licheng came over with his hands behind his back, followed by a few local officials and the vigers. They were escorting two middle-aged men with long beards. Yingbao recognized one of them as Mr. Liao, a staff member of the previous county magistrate. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Mr. Liao asked. Jiang Eng immediately recounted his disputes with the Leng family. ¡°I have divorced from Leng. We¡¯ve signed a break-off agreement and I paid Leng family 15 taels of silver. But now Leng, who has married another man and has children, is still trying totch on to me. Today, she tried to extort 100 taels of silver, otherwise she threatened to sabotage the marriages of my son and daughter.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just going to break off rtions like that?¡± Leng Da was still roaring, ¡°My sister and I are not dead yet!¡± Mr. Liao cast a cold nce at Leng Da and turned to Sun Licheng, ¡°Mr. Sun, is itmon for such ruffians to emerge in your countryside areas? Someone that cheats and ckmails in broad daylight is being ignored?¡± Sun Licheng broke out in a sweat as he replied defensively, ¡°This is my first encounter with such a situation.¡± He turned and ordered the vigers, ¡°Tie them up and take them to the vige hall for trial.¡¯ Seven or eight vigers swooped in and knocked Granny Cao¡¯s family to the ground. They took out rope and started to restrain them. Leng and Granny Cao screeched in terror, ¡°I am rted to Jiang Eng. Lizheng, why are you doing this?¡± Before Lizheng could say a word, the vigers tore a shirt off Leng Da¡¯s back and stuffed it into Leng and Granny Cao¡¯s mouths. They dragged them away, keeping them from disturbing the people from the county.. Chapter 126: Mouse Droppings_l Chapter 126: Mouse Droppings_l Trantor: 549690339 Mr. Liao was finally satisfied and went with Sun Licheng to check on the Jiang Family¡¯s cotton field on the South Slope. By this time, the cotton had grown quite tall, some even beginning to form flower buds. Yet, there were many weeds in the field, which needed to be weeded out in time. ¡°The Mingfu asked me toe over to check on the growth of the cotton crops, to see if it needs additional fertilization.¡± Born a schr, Liao Qilin¡¯s family were also farmers, he therefore understands some things about farming. Jiang Sang said: ¡°We certainly need to fertilize it. This field of ours is of inferior quality. We have already spread pond mud and decayed nt water manure. We estimate that the yield per mu should reach around five to six hundred jin. If we don¡¯t fertilize, the yield per mu from an inferior field would only be two to three hundred jin.¡± Liao Qilin nodded his head, gesturing him to continue speaking. ¡°Not only do we need to fertilize, we also need to thin out some of the cotton leaves when they start forming flower buds, firstly, to let more flowers bloom, and secondly, to give the cotton bolls enough sunlight.¡± Jiang Sang said: ¡°I also learned this from other old farmers, regardless of the crops that bloom and bear fruit, their leaves cannot be too lush. Otherwise, they would snatch nutrients from the fruits.¡± ¡°Hmm, that makes sense.¡± As they walked and observed the situation of the cotton field, Mr. Liao suddenly asked: ¡°Brother Jiang, I heard that every household in your vige grows wood ear mushrooms and the ie is quite good. Is that true?¡± Jiang Sang ambiguously said: ¡°It¡¯s just to supplement the household expenses. Previously, many families in our vige could not even afford food, so we had toe up with ways to earn some money. Otherwise, just like the next vige, everyone would go begging when they run out of food.¡± Liao Qilin chuckled: ¡°Brother Jiang, don¡¯t be overly cautious, I was just asking casually. Do you know where the mushroom seeds came from?¡± ¡°At first, my daughter found them in the mountains, andter we gradually started nting them. Now, the seeds are all saved from our own harvest, and there is just enough for our own needs.¡± Jiang Sang said. This was not a secret. Rather than letting Mr. Liao hear distortions from others, it was better for him to exin it himself. Liao Qilinughed: ¡°To be honest, the people in my hometown are also having a hard time. If they could also find some additional sources of ie like your vige, it would prevent them from fleeing their fields with their families.¡± Jiang Sang didn¡¯t quite know how to respond. Sun Licheng chuckled as an effort to change the subject: ¡°Not every household in our countryside grows wood ear mushrooms, many farmers are still struggling to feed themselves. Our seeds supply is limited and many are waiting for Jiang Sang¡¯s family to share some.¡± Jiang Sang nced at Sun Licheng without responding. Indeed, recently, many people from outside the vige havee to ask for seeds to grow wood ear mushrooms, but the homegrown seeds could not be given away, so he had not promised anything yet. Whether other people in the vige sold or not, he couldn¡¯t control that. Zhou Mao, the steward, once mentioned that their purchase of wood ear mushrooms depends on supply and demand. If supply exceeds demand, they would resort to lowering the price or temporarily suspending purchases. He already mentioned this to the vigers, so very few people sell mushroom seeds to outsiders. However, nothing is absolute. Every family has rtives in other viges, and it was possible for them to secretly give some to their close rtives. Liao Qilin¡¯s seemingly casual remark may indicate his intention to find secondary upations to increase ie for his hometown. After the group of people looked at the cotton fields, Mr. Liao specifically checked the mushroom sheds of the three Jiang brothers, then he went to look at the others¡¯ , saying a few words of praise before finally getting on the horse cart to leave. Before leaving, he reminded Sun Licheng: ¡°The malicious vigers who break thew should be severely punished, such tant extortion and ckmail really ruin the vige¡¯s atmosphere.¡± ¡°Certainly, Mr. Liao, rest assured. I will definitely teach them a lesson. I hope you can say a few good words for us to the Mingfu.¡± Sun Licheng said earnestly. ¡°I will rify everything at the Mingfu¡¯s. The vige head may personally visit here to inspect the cotton harvest. Don¡¯t let anyone spoil the vige¡¯s reputation again.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, thank you for reminding me, Mr. Liao.¡± Sun Licheng bowed to Mr. Liao, and watched as the horse cart drove away. Back at the vige hall, Sun Licheng was furious. The Leng family was simply a disgrace, and if he didn¡¯t teach them a lesson today, they would think he was a pushover. ¡°Summon Zuo Cheng, the husband of the Leng family! Also fetch Lizheng from the Leng Vige!¡± He didn¡¯t believe that he couldn¡¯t deal with a woman who couldn¡¯t behave properly. In a short while, Zuo Cheng came over, followed by his daughter. Sun Licheng asked: ¡°What¡¯s your wife doing? Why does she keep harassing the Jiang family?¡± Before Zuo Cheng could speak, his daughter said: ¡°That woman is no longer with our family, my dad wrote a divorce letter yesterday and told her to go back to her mother¡¯s house.¡± Sun Licheng frowned: ¡°Why did you divorce her all of a sudden?¡± Zuo¡¯s daughter: ¡°Not only does that woman not follow women¡¯s virtue, but she is also an insatiable wolf. We can¡¯t afford to keep her! She gives birth to children but doesn¡¯t raise them, and time and time again steals money from home to her mother¡¯s house. Lizheng, what family can stand a woman like Sun Licheng turned to ask Zuo Cheng, ¡°What do you think?¡± Zuo Cheng sighed: ¡°Lizheng, I simply can¡¯t afford to keep her anymore. She has stolen thirty taels of silver from me in half a year, and she doesn¡¯t care even when our two children are starving and shouting for food. As soon as she has free time, she runs back to her mother¡¯s house, and only when the money is spent does she deign toe back.¡± ¡°Before I could even say a few words to her, she brought her brothers to beat me up. Look at my head, the egg-sized bump hasn¡¯t gone down yet. If it wasn¡¯t for my son-inw arriving in time, I would have been beaten to death by her family.¡± ¡°It¡¯s really like this?¡± Sun Licheng looked at the Leng family with an even worse expression. What kind of family is this? It was utterly a group of ruffians. Just then, the Lizheng from the Leng Vige arrived.¡±Lizheng, you called me. What¡¯s the matter?¡± Sun Licheng pointed to the three members of the Leng family, ¡°These three from your vige went to Chen Vige to extort, how should we resolve this?¡± The Lizheng of Leng Vige seeing that trouble was stirring up again because of Cao Pozi¡¯s family felt extremely annoyed. He sped his fists towards Sun Licheng- ¡°Lizheng, I can¡¯t control this family. However you deem it should be handled, so it shall be handled. The families who are in joint responsibility with them said that if Cao Pozi¡¯s family cause trouble again, they will join in a petition to expel them from the vige.¡± ¡°Well then, since you have no way of handling it, they should be sent to the officials for extortion.¡¯ Sun Licheng was thoroughly irritated by these trouble-causing vigers. Every single one of them seemed to give him troubles especially today, they hit his sore spot. Leng¡¯s family and Cao Pozi were frightened; they fell to their knees and begged for mercy: ¡°We didn¡¯t extort anyone, Lizheng, you cannot send us to the officials.¡¯ Leng Da also begged for mercy, he didn¡¯t dare to be arrogant anymore. Sun Licheng ignored them, he only ordered his son to record the things from start to finish, and then made them press their fingerprints. The Lex family refused to follow through, but they were held down by the vigers, forcing them to press arge handprint on the confession. Leng¡¯s family and Cao Pozi cried loudly, repeatedly promising not to make the same mistake next time, and begged not to be sent to the officials. Because once sent to officials, this would mean the end of their lives. The prison was not a ce for women, once they entered it was uncertain whether their reputation would be preserved and whether they coulde out alive. Seeing that the heat was about right, Sun Licheng then showed abination of kindness and sternness, making them pay a fine and had the Lizheng from the Leng Vige ensure they got home. The Lizheng of Leng Vige was very cooperative, he had been cold with Sunlicheng all along, asionally intimidating Cao Pozi¡¯s family. This trick was very effective, Leng and Cao Pozi indeed became much quieter after returning home and no longer caused any more fuss.. Chapter 127: Even Dogs Recognize Their Own Family_l Chapter 127: Even Dogs Recognize Their Own Family_l Trantor: 549690339 After returning to the county government office, Liao Qilin reported the situation in Chen vige to County Magistrate Wu Shi. He concluded: ¡°Indeed, the Jiang family has nted a lot of cotton, and many households in the vige are doing the same, but the exact yield per acre can only be calcted after the cotton is harvested. Wu Shi nodded, ¡°You have worked hard, Brother Liao.¡± Liao Qilin smiled,: ¡°It is my duty to serve you, Mingfu.¡± Ever since he resigned from the side of the Mei County Magistrate, Liao Qilin has offered himself up to this Wu County Magistrate as his staff. He firmly believed he made the right choice over these past days. This man may not have strong connections, but he was indeed apetent and good officer. Unlike the Mei County Magistrate, who spent his tenure doing nothing but bribing, following such a person would not only result in no career achievements, but might even bring misfortune in the long run. Wu Shi invited Liao Qilin to sit down while Wu Rui poured him tea and left. Wu Shi blew on his tea cup, ¡°The Luzhou governor sent a letter today, asking me to re-examine the case of the Han sisters trafficking children. How do you view this, Brother Liao?¡± Liao Qilin pondered for a moment, ¡°Mingfu should be cautious about this. If the governor has written a letter, he must intend to acquit the Han sisters. You could review this case and if there are indeed no doubts, release the Han sisters on bail.¡± Seeing Wu Shi looking unhappy, Liao Qilin added: ¡°Mingfu has just taken office in Qinchuan County. If you upset the governor about such a minor matter, wouldn¡¯t it be more harm than good?¡± Wu Shi sneered and put down his cup of tea, ¡°And what if I don¡¯t release them on bail?¡± Liao Qilin bowed his hands to Wu Shi, ¡°Why should a high-ranking official offend the governor over a small matter? Releasing them on bail does not mean they are innocent. However, if you stubbornly refuse, the governor will inevitably react, and if she is exonerated, your dossier will be admonished. Then, the governor will have a good reason to rece you.¡± It¡¯s a serious matter if an officer misjudged a case. His superior has the right to dismiss him, and even the supervisory historians could do nothing about it. Wu Shi frowned, ¡°Today, the Chen family filed aint saying the Jiang family¡¯s child is their son¡¯s biological girl and imed to do a blood test with her.¡± Liao Qilin suddenly realized, ¡°I see, that¡¯s the Chen family¡¯s trick. They want to acquit the Han sisters this way. If you really let them do the blood test, I can assure you that they will make the fake thing real. Then, the Han sisters will be acquitted.¡± If the child indeed belongs to the Han sisters, then the case¡¯s ssification will change, and the Han sisters would not have kidnapped someone else¡¯s child. Therefore, Wu Shi¡¯s previous judgment would be wrong. Thinking of the child¡¯s earnest request, Wu Shi¡¯s stubborn temper rose, and he sneered, ¡°I don¡¯t believe it. Let them test the blood. The case of the Han sisters hiring murderers is set in stone. Whether the child is from the Chen family or not, the crimes of the Han sisters remain unaffected.¡¯ Those who dare to break thew under my rule should be duly punished. As a local parental official, if I cannot provide the people with fair justice then I may as well not be the county magistrate.¡± Upon seeing the magistrate¡¯s stubbornness, Liao Qilin shook his head and said nothing more. The next day, just after Yingbao and his parents and brother finished breakfast, a vige constable led two government officials to their doorstep. ¡°The honorable county magistrate is judging cases in the vige hall today. He has ordered us to bring Jiang Yingbao for a blood test.¡± One of the officials said. Although Jiang Sang already knew about some things, he was still very angry. He picked his daughter up and got on the donkey cart, not allowing his wife to follow. He drove the cart with his second brother and followed the officials to the town. The puppy Xiaohei was barking behind the donkey cart, chasing it along the way. Seeing this, Yingbao had an idea and quickly asked her father to stop the cart and let Xiaohei onto the cart. ¡°What are you taking him up there for?¡± Jiang Eng asked, puzzled. Yingbao grinned, ¡°He will be very important.¡± Wasn¡¯t a blood recognition test proposed? Hence, she would have the dog also do the blood recognition with the Chen family. Today, County Magistrate Wu himself came to Chuanhe Town, apanied by the Principal Secretary, Scribe, and several government officials. They convened an open court here in the countryside to officially review theint from Chen Laoshuan. Because the Lizhen had informed everyone in advance, all the residents of East and West Chen Vige had gathered outside the town hall, squeezing and crowding together, waiting for the court session to begin. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, Bao¡¯er.¡± Jiang Sang, fearing his daughter would be frightened by this show of authority, reassured her softly, ¡°Dad is with you the whole time.¡± ¡°Bao¡¯er is not scared.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t feel scared. In her previous life, she had faced muchrger crowds. So, she wouldn¡¯t be scared of these people. At the top of the hall, County Magistrate Wu sat in the main seat, his face solemn and serious. The Principal Secretary, Scribe, and others were seated on either side of the hall. There was also a strange middle-aged man sitting by himself. He seemed to be an auditor from the Prefecture City. This time Jiang Sang stood used, with Chen Laoshuan and Chen Changping acting as the intiffs. This was the first time Yingbao got to see Chen Changping up close in her life, and the sight was quite repulsive. This guy seemed polite and kind but concealed a selfish and sinister heart. ¡°Honorable official, my name is Chen Changping and I wish to sue the Jiang family for refusing to return my stolen daughter. The child they took in is actually my daughter. I beg you, Honorable official, to help me get my little girl back,¡± Chen Laoshuan, along with Chen Changping, bowed and pleaded to the officer at the head of the hall. Jiang Sang sneered. He stepped forward, bowed and said, ¡°Honorable officer, Chen Changping is spouting nonsense. Our entire vige knows that the daughter he abandoned has arge birthmark on her wrist. Midwife Wu Si could attest to this. However, my Yingbao¡¯s wrist has no birthmark. How could she possibly be Chen Changping¡¯s child?¡± County Magistrate Wu nodded, hit his gavel, and said, ¡°Bring forward Midwife Wu.¡± Jiang Dng had arranged for Midwife Wu Si to wait outside the hall well in advance. At the government official¡¯s call, Wu Si, trembling, came forward. ¡°Humble woman pays her respects to the Honorable officer,¡± Wu Si knelt down with a thud. County Magistrate Wu said, ¡°Stand up and answer.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Wu Si stood up, bending at the waist with her head bowed, not daring to look up. ¡°Wu Si, has Chen Changping¡¯s wife given birth to a child delivered by you?¡± County Magistrate Wu asked. ¡°Yes, I was the one who delivered Chen Changping¡¯s mother¡¯s four daughters,¡± Wu Si confirmed. ¡°Do you remember what Chen Changping¡¯s youngest daughter looked like and what distinguishes her from others?¡± ¡°Honorable Official, all newborns look pretty much the same when theye out. I only remember that Chen Changping¡¯s youngest child had a red birthmark the size of a copper coin on her wrist; I don¡¯t remember anything else.¡± The County Magistrate turned to Jiang Sang, ¡°Show your daughter¡¯s wrist.¡± Jiang Sangplied, rolling up Yingbao¡¯s sleeves to expose her wrists. Both wrists were smooth without any birthmark. ¡°Chen Changping, Chen Laoshuan, did you two see clearly?¡± County Magistrate Wu asked solemnly, ¡°Does this child¡¯s wrist have a birthmark?¡± Chen Laoshuan, who knew early on that there was no birthmark on the girl, stated calmly, ¡°Honourable officer, the appearance of my granddaughter when she was born can¡¯t be taken at the word of the midwife. Who knows if Wu Si is corrupted by the Jiang family or not.¡± ¡°You¡¯re full of shit!¡± Wu Si got angry, pointing at Chen Laoshuan and cursing, ¡°I swear to God, everything I said is true. The newborn had a birthmark on her wrist. Han family had specifically asked me about it, and I told the truth.. Why on earth would you say that I was bought by the Jiang family?¡± Chapter 128: Blood Test to Determine Kinship_l Chapter 128: Blood Test to Determine Kinship_l Trantor: 549690339 Chen Lao-shuan said, ¡°My daughter-inw did indeed ask you, but she also gave you five taels of silver. Since you¡¯ve epted the Han Family¡¯s silver, why can¡¯t you ept the Jiang Family¡¯s silver?¡± ¡°You¡­,¡± Wu Sisi was momentarily speechless. Jiang Sang said, ¡°Chen Lao-shuan, stop discussing irrelevant matters. My daughter is definitely not a child of the Chen Family. Stop deluding yourself.¡± Chen Lao-shuan replied, ¡°O gentleman, this child is clearly of the Chen line. If you don¡¯t believe me, just look at her features. Doesn¡¯t she resemble my son?¡± ¡°I am not your child! Your son is so ugly, how can I resemble him in any way? Yingbao couldn¡¯t helpshing out. Chen Lao-shuan and Chen Changping looked at Yingbao, feeling irked in their hearts. Yet, they could only pretend to bepassionate, ¡°Child, you truly are a Chen. We as a family are all hoping for you to recognize your ancestors.¡± Repulsed by their hypocritical disy, Yingbao hid behind her father, not wanting to look at them again. At this point, the middle-aged man sitting beside them spoke up, ¡°Wu Mingfu, since they can¡¯t settle their dispute, why don¡¯t we suggest a blood test to identify the parentage?¡± Upon hearing this, Chen Lao-shuan nodded vigorously, ¡°Yes, yes! I request the presence of the dignified gentleman to witness the blood test. It will be clear whether or not she¡¯s a Chen child.¡± Wu Shi¡¯s expression darkened slightly, he turned to Jiang Sang, ¡°Do you agree to the Chen family performing a blood test to identify the parentage?¡± Jiang Sang bowed in salute, ¡°I do not agree. Honorable official, Yingbao may not be of my blood, but she is as dear to me as a biological child. If every ill-meaning person wants to run a blood test with Yingbao to identify parentage, even if she were to run dry of blood, she could not amodate everyone.¡± ¡°Fair point.¡± Wu Shi nodded. The middle-aged man interjected, ¡°Mingfu, it is only a drop of blood, it certainly won¡¯t cause her to run dry of blood. Should the child turn out to be truly rted to the Chens, it would be a joyful event. After all, the Jiang Family aren¡¯t her biological parents, they don¡¯t have authority over the child.¡± Wu Shi chuckled coldly, ¡°This argument is wed, Mr. Liu. The Jiang family has raised her, how is such a generous act not equated to having authority over Mr. Liu stroked his beard, ¡°I heard rural rumors about this child being a reincarnation of a fairy child. Although unverifiable, it attracted ambitions. The fact that the Jiang Family raised her would mean they benefitted substantially from it. Thus, their act of raising her stems from a motive and cannot be considered a generous act.¡± His flippant remark discredited the Jiang Family, infuriating Yingbao: ¡°My adoptive parents took care of me because they are honorable people. They were kind to me because they cherished me as their own daughter. How can an adult like you misrepresent the truth so?¡± ¡°The Chen Family merely wants to absolve the Han Family of guilt. Do they really think that we are fools? They paid money, hired thugs and used drugs to abduct me hundreds of miles away. The Han Family intended to use me to bear a son for them, and nned to kill me afterwards. She admitted this herself. How can you absolve such a malicious woman of guilt? I would like to ask, which prestigious Prefecture City family do you serve for? Why have you traveled great lengths to our small vige? What benefits would associating me with the Chen Family bring to you?¡± Faced with the barrage of questions from a little girl, Mr. Liu¡¯s face turned from pale to green. Had the challenger been an adult, Liu Lin could have rebuked her for her arrogance by saying that she didn¡¯t know her ce. But she was but a four- or five-year-old girl. Any way he chose to berate or pick a quarrel with her, he would end up looking like a fool. ¡°You¡­ who taught you to speak like this?¡± Liu Lin struggled toe up with these words after a long while. Yingbao replied, ¡°Nobody taught me. Any person with a brain would know that I am not a Chen child. This includes the Handy. She abducted me because she realized that I am not her biological child, and wanted to hide me somewhere else. Had I been her biological child, the Han Family would not have needed to go to such lengths.¡± Liu Lin¡¯s beard trembled in anger, pointing at Yingbao he demanded, ¡°Why would the Handy abduct you? What was her motive?¡± Yingbao chuckled, ¡°You just mentioned it yourself, the rural rumor about me being the reincarnated fairy child. The Handy, unable to bear a son, hatched an ill-conceived n. She abducted me to act as her talisman for bearing a son. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask the vigers here, isn¡¯t that right?¡± The vigers listening outside collectively agreed: ¡°That¡¯s exactly how it happened! The Handy harbored sinister intentions, it wasn¡¯t her first time bothering our little fairy child. We can all vouch, Yingbao is not a child of the Chen Family.¡± ¡°Yes, yes! We, the people of West Vige, can testify to that too. The Handy frequently abuses her daughters. She only abducted the daughter of Jiang Sang because she wanted to bear a son.¡± The people of West Vige had grown weary of the Chen Family and wished for the officials to arrest them all. Only then, would Jiang Sang no longer vent his anger on West Vige in the future, and the little fairy child would also bestow good fortune on them. ¡°The Handy IS the kidnapper!¡± ¡°Yes! The Handy is a kidnapper! We don¡¯t want such a person in our vige!¡± The crowd was filled with righteous indignation. Some people started to berate Chen Lao-shuan and Chen Changping. ¡°The mastermind of a kidnapping is in your household, yet you have the audacity toe here to have our little fairy child absolve her of guilt! What are you thinking?¡± ¡°Chen Changping, you are an educated man. How could you have no shame?¡± Observing that the situation had heated up appropriately, Wu Shi lightly cleared his throat to mask theughter in his eyes. ¡°Silence! Silence, everyone! Please stop arguing.¡± He turned his gaze towards the father and son of the Chen Family, ¡°What do you have to say for yourselves?¡± Chen Changping¡¯s face turned pale and he was speechless. Chen Lao-shuan knelt on the ground and wailed bitterly, ¡°Honorable official, this child is truly from the Chen Family. As a humblemoner, I wish to perform a blood test to identify blood ties with her. If she is not a Chen, I am willing to ept any punishment, honorable official, please make a fair judgment.¡± Wu Shi¡¯s face grew stern. This old man was truly a nuisance. Liu Lin beside him added: ¡°Mingfu, under the given circumstances, why not agree to a blood test to prove blood ties? Could it be that you intend to favour someone?¡± Wu Shi¡¯s gaze cooled but before he could respond, Yingbao stepped forward. ¡°Honorable official, if the Chen Family wants a blood test, let them have it. But I would like to know, how does one perform such a blood test? How can we tell from a drop of blood if we are kin?¡± Liu Linughed upon hearing this, and promptly exined, ¡°A blood test involves each party contributing a drop of blood into water. If the two drops of blood merge as one, it means they are kin. If the drops don¡¯t merge, they are not rted by blood.¡± ¡°Fine, I agree to the blood test. But to prevent any trickery, I request we use three bowls of water.¡± Yingbao stated. Jiang Sang looked worried and quietly asked his daughter, ¡°Baobao, why did you agree?¡± Yingbao reassured him softly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Papa. Nothing will happen.¡± She couldn¡¯t refuse. Otherwise, Uncle Wu would be med. She hadn¡¯t yet cured his illness and given him the gourd, so Wu Daozi must not have any problems at this moment. The man named Liu sitting in the hall was certainly a staff member of the Prefecture City governor. His presence here represented the intent of the governor. Therefore, Yingbao must ensure that Uncle Wu did not oppose him directly. A viger brought three bowls and lined them up on the table. A young servant stepped forward from behind Liu Lin. He took a gourd from his waist and poured a little water into each bowl. Next, the young servant took a needle and pricked Chen Changping¡¯s middle finger, asking him to drop a drop of blood into each bowl. ¡°Wait, don¡¯t drop any blood into this bowl.¡± Yingbao quickly covered thest bowl, preventing Chen Changping from adding his blood into it. Chen Changping didn¡¯t pay any mind and simply dropped a drop of blood into the other two bowls. ¡°It¡¯s your turn.¡± The young servant looked at Yingbao.. Chapter 129: The Gourd is Ripe_l Chapter 129: The Gourd is Ripe_l Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao stepped forward and extended her hand towards the servant: ¡°Give me the needle, I¡¯ll do it myself.¡± The servant looked at Liu Lin and, seeing his nod of approval, handed the thick steel needle to the little girl. Yingbao gritted her teeth and pricked herself with the needle, dropping her blood into the first and third bowls. She then took out Xiaohei, her little ck dog, from her pocket, pricked its paw and, ignoring its howls of protest, let a drop of its blood fall into the second bowl. Amidst the crowd¡¯s astonishment, she dragged her father to the third bowl and pricked him as well, letting his blood drop into the third bowl. Everyone was utterly dumbfounded. The middle-aged man surnamed Liu¡¯s face turned pale but he still leaned in to inspect the condition of the blood in the three bowls. As expected, the blood in all three bowls had mixed together. Old Chen Haozhaughed heartily, pointing at the first bowl and eximed, ¡°This girl indeed belongs to the Chen Family! Mr. Mingfu, the Han Family is innocent! She took her own child away, she is not guilty, please, Mr. Mingfu, release her.¡± The people listening outside were taken aback. Yingbao looked at him as though he were a fool: ¡°Why aren¡¯t you looking at the other two bowls? Are you suggesting that my little ck dog is also rted to Chen Changping by blood? And the blood my dad dropped has also mixed with mine.¡± Chen Haozha was stunned, ¡°What?¡± He leaned in for a closer look, indeed, the blood in the other two bowls had mixed together too, and his face instantly darkened. Wu Shi personally came over to investigate and, upon looking, nodded, ¡°Indeed all have mixed together, could it be that all of you are rted by blood?¡± Liu Lin¡¯s face hardened as he squinted at Yingbao, ¡°Kid, do you know what you¡¯re doing?¡± ¡°Of course, isn¡¯t this the blood testing you asked for? What¡¯s wrong? The bowls were brought by the vige warden, the water in the bowls was given by you. I simply wanted to test whether this blood test is effective or not.¡± Yingbao replied nonchntly. Let these monstrous people vent their anger at her. As long as her parents and Wu Daozi were not implicated, she could endure anything. She could not let the Chen Family get their way. ¡°Child, are you aware of the saying, ¡®too clever is foolish¡¯?¡±. Liu Lin said sternly ¡°You¡¯re still young, there¡¯s a long future ahead of you. Don¡¯t overlook some things while focusing on others.¡± Yingbao: ¡°Officer Liu, are you trying to intimidate a child?¡± She was not afraid of Liu Lin¡¯s threats. ¡°I¡¯m already five years old. I¡¯m not afraid of you!¡± Liu Lin¡¯s face grew livid with rage, he huffed, stood up, and walked away. Both Chen Changping and Chen Haozha were bewildered when they saw Mr. Liu leave. Wu Shi asked, ¡°Chen Haozha, Chen Changping, are you both satisfied with the results of the blood test?¡± Chen Haozha shook his head hurriedly, ¡°Mr. Official, I want to redo the blood test. The earlier one was too absurd and isn¡¯t valid.¡± The County Magistrate¡¯s gaze turned cold as he watched him, ¡°ording to you, you only acknowledge the blood of Yingbao and your son, and not of others? Even Jiang Sang¡¯s blood had mixed with that of Yingbao.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, how could others¡¯ blood count?¡± Chen Haozha was at a loss for words. The County Magistrate was amused to anger, and with a strike of the gavel, he roared, ¡°The father and son, Chen Haozha and Chen Changping, falsely used innocent people without any proof. ording to thew, they will receive forty spanks in public court. Bring them!¡± He then threw down his red-tipped token. A government official received the red-tipped token and immediately lead Chen Haozha and Chen Changping out. ¡°Mr. Official, Mr. Official, why are you punishing me?¡± Chen Haozha and Chen Changping cried out in fear. ¡°Injustice, injustice! That child originally belonged to the Chen family¡­¡± Before they could finish speaking, their mouths were gagged. The punishment took ce right in the courtyard of the County Tribunal. Nearly a hundred vigers witnessed the father and son being stripped and their bare bottoms spanked forty times each. After the punishment, the County Magistrate ordered the head of Xichen Vige to take them back home and warned them that if they dare falsely use people again, they would be severely punished. Vigers from East Vige jumped with joy and continually praised their savior, the upright official. Even the citizens of West Vige joined in the apuse, praising the official for siding with them and being a decent man. Jiang Sang was overjoyed, holding his daughter tightly, nearly moved to tears. He had been terrified earlier, for he was the only one who knew the truth Yingbao was a child of the Chen Family. But what of it, they won the case and from then on, no one would dare question Yingbao¡¯s identity. After Wu Daozipleted the trial, he took his scribes and officials and rushed back to the county, ignoring the Wei family and the Liu family. However, a few dayster, a letter arrived from the prefecture city. Governor Wang personally ordered the release of the Han sisters, as they were both pregnant. Yingbao didn¡¯t know about all this. However, one thing pleased her ¨C the Wei brothers had left, and they took with them Old Chen, the Chen couple, Chen Changping and the sisters, Chen Zhao and Chen Tiantian. Wei Zhan tried once to ask Yingbao to return to the prefecture city with him for a better life, but was chased away by Dani, Erni, and Chuchu with brooms. With the absence of Old Chen and Chen Changping in West Vige, the vigers burnt arge pile of bamboo joints at night, celebrating their departure. Yingbao finally felt relieved. The turn of events seemed to have concluded, and she presumed there wouldn¡¯t be any concern for her in the future. Soon a few months passed, approaching the Mid-Autumn Festival. The gourds Yingbao nted had grownrge, thergest almost the height of a person, all thanks to regr watering with the pond water from her cave residence. Because the gourds grown by others in the vige hadn¡¯t grown thisrge ¨C thergest ones were only about the size of a face basin. Even so, the basin-sized gourds were prized by the vigers. They picked them and hung them under the eaves to dry. Some even took their gourds to sell at the market and made quite a bit of silver. It was said that a foreigner once paid five taels of silver for two gourds. At this point, the vigers of West Vige were even more envious and quietly bought gourd seeds from the East Vige residents. The East Vige residents were not stingy this time and sold the gourd seeds at five coins each, making a tidy profit. ¡°Yingbao, can you give me two of your gourds?¡± Jiang Quan had been eyeing Yingbao¡¯srge gourds for a long time, and now that they were ripe, he was the first to ask for some. Yingbao had a total of about thirty gourds, three of them were extraordinarilyrge and could be used as bathtubs when cut open. The rest were not small either, at least MUCHrger than what others in the vige had grown. ¡°Sure, just leave the threergest ones, you can take any of the rest.¡± Yingbao generously waved her hand. ¡°Hehe, I will.¡± Jiang Quan rubbed his hands, selected two uniquely shaped gourds among the many, and ran off with them. He had also grown more than ten gourd nts at home, producing dozens ofrge gourds, but hisrgest gourd was smaller than Yingbao¡¯s smallest one. He wanted topare them to see what was different. In the end, apart from noticing that the stems of Yingbao¡¯s gourds were thicker, he didn¡¯t find any other difference. It seemed that Yingbao¡¯s title as a fairy child must be true, as even the gourds she grew were different from anyone else¡¯s. Jiang Quan started to ponder how he could use his little cousin¡¯s reputation to help his own business. He had been nning to sell gourds in the market for a while, but recently other vigers also started selling their gourds. Therefore, the gourd business was not promising. Perhaps he should use the Fairy Child¡¯s name to exclusively sell Fairy Child Gourds. In this way, his gourds would certainly sell well.. Chapter 130: Work to Pay Off Debt_l Chapter 130: Work to Pay Off Debt_l Trantor: 549690339 No sooner said than done, Jiang Quan found some red paper at home, cut it into diamond shapes, each inscribed with characters like ¡°luck¡±, ¡°wealth¡±, ¡°longevity¡±, ¡°happiness¡±, and ¡°prosperity¡±, and marked at the bottom: Fairy Child Gourd. He then stuck the red paper to his own gourds. He looked at them and felt very satisfied. He called over his two young friends, Li Dao and Li He, pointed at the red paper and said to them, ¡°From now on, these gourds will be called Fairy Child Gourds. Do you want in?¡± Li Dao and Li He were puzzled. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It means, if you two put your gourds here with mine for sale, I¡¯ll take thirty percent of the earnings from every sold gourd, ¡± exined Jiang Quan. Li He blinked and seemed a bit reluctant. ¡°Why?¡± Jiang Quan held up his chin and said, ¡°Because I sell my gourds at a higher price. You¡¯ll earn more money than if you sell them yourselves. So, are you in or out? If you¡¯re not interested, I¡¯ll find others.¡± Li Dao, being quick-witted, immediately consented. ¡°I¡¯m in!¡± Having witnessed Jiang Quan¡¯s selling techniques before, he hadplete trust in him. So, that day, Jiang Quan, Li Dao, and Li He went to the market with their donkey cart full of gourds to sell. Of course, Yingbao was coaxed into joining them as well. The donkey cart was parked at the same spot where he sold apricotsst time. They unloaded ten big gourds and lined them up along the roadside. ¡°Gourds for sale! Grown by the Fairy Child herself. Want luck, wealth, longevity, happiness, or prosperity? Whichever you choose wille knocking at your door. Hurry up, limited stock! Get them before they are all gone!¡± Yingbao was startled by her older cousin¡¯s catchy slogan. Turns out, he was using her to gain poprity. ¡°Are these gourds really grown by the Fairy Child?¡± Someone came over to inquire. Jiang Quan pulled Yingbao from behind and grinned. ¡°Would I ever lie about that?¡± By now, almost half of Chuanhe Town¡¯s vigers recognized the young girl from the Jiang Family. Upon recognizing little Fairy Child, they asked, ¡°How much for the gourds?¡± Jiang Quan shows five fingers, ¡°Five coins for the big ones, two for the small ones.¡± ¡°What?¡± The man nearly stumbled, ¡°Are you crazy? Why is this so expensive?¡± Five coins could buy an acre of prime paddy field. This boy sure dared to name his price. ¡°If it¡¯s too expensive, there¡¯s nothing I can do about. In fact, these prices are the cheapest.¡± Jiang Quan boasted, ¡°Our King Gourd, if you don¡¯t have fifty taels of silver, don¡¯t even think about seeing it.¡± ¡°Hmph! This kid must¡¯ve gone mad with his desire for money,¡± someone shouted angrily. ¡°Exactly!¡± Others echoed. Nevertheless, Jiang Quan ignored them and kept yelling, ¡°Gourds grown by the Fairy Child herself, five coins each. Firste, first served. Take it or leave it, miss your chance and you might regret it. Come buy it if you wish to bring prosperity into your life, we don¡¯t wait forggards.¡± Yingbao couldn¡¯t help but admire her older cousin. But what could she do, she was here already. She gestured to Jiang Quan toe over, ¡°If you¡¯re using my name to sell gourds, how do we split the earnings.¡± Jiang Quan grinned and said, ¡°We¡¯ll split it half and half once we¡¯ve earned something. ¡± ¡°Alright, that sounds fair,¡± Yingbao was satisfied. However, despite Jiang Quan¡¯s loud yelling for an hour, not a single gourd was sold. Li Dao and Li He began to lose hope, they got up and went elsewhere to take a look, and that¡¯s when they saw the issue. It turned out that several vigers from East Vige were also selling gourds, but only for five hundred coins each, some even as low as two hundred coins. Such fools! ¡°Jiang, how about we sell ours for five hundred coins too?¡± Li He was worried they wouldn¡¯t be able to sell their gourds. Jiang Quan shot him a re: ¡°If you wish to sell it for five hundred coins, do it elsewhere. Not here.¡± He was joking. He¡¯s known as the Fairy Child. How could he bepared to those of ordinary human status? Li Dao also red at his cousin. ¡°You can¡¯t keep your cool.¡± Li He felt wronged, but he dared not refute. Suddenly, a man rushed over, carrying a child in his arms. He knelt on the ground in front of Yingbao, tears welling up, ¡°Please, Fairy Child, save my child, sob please¡­¡± Yingbao was taken aback, looking at the child in the man¡¯s arms. Hisplexion was waxen, he was foaming at the mouth, and he was barely holding onto life. One of his legs had turned ck and blue, apparently injured by some kind of poisonous creature. ¡°Quickly, put him down so I can take a look.¡± Yingbao, not caring about the surprise, hurriedly ordered the man to put the child down. The man obediently ced the child on the ground. Yingbao quickly pried open the child¡¯s eyelids to see his pupils dting. It looked like he wouldn¡¯t hold on much longer. With a quick movement, Yingbao pulled a pill from her pocket, broke it down and stuffed it into the child¡¯s mouth. Then she pulled out a small porcin vial from another pocket, which contained the antidote she¡¯d previously prepared, though she didn¡¯t know if it was the appropriate treatment. After forcing the medicine down the child¡¯s throat, hisplexion visibly improved. Still, Yingbao didn¡¯t let her guard down. She rolled up the child¡¯s trouser leg to find two small points of blood on his calf. It appeared the child had been bitten by some kind of venomous snake. After a moment¡¯s thought, she turned to the man. ¡°Go buy a candle.¡± Without hesitation, the man got up and ran to the grocery store to buy a candle. Yingbao had him light the candle and sterilize a thin de over the me. Then she used the de to make a cross-shaped cut on the boy¡¯s wound, allowing the poisonous blood to flow out. By this point, a crowd had gathered around them. Despite the murmurs from the crowd, no one raised a question. After a while, Yingbao fed another vial of antidote to the child, squeezed the area around his wound, and then dusted the wound with her own medicine. The child¡¯splexion eased somewhat, and he began to whimper and cry. Relieved, Yingbao turned to the man and said, ¡°Pay me for the medicine, a total of ten taels of silver. ¡°Huh?¡± The man was dumbfounded. Jiang Quan, spotting the man¡¯s reaction, was not pleased. ¡°What do you mean, ¡®huh¡¯? Should the Fairy Child treat your child for free?¡± The man quickly shook his head and nervously said, ¡°But¡­ but 1¡­1 don¡¯t have that much money.¡± With a frown, Jiang Quan said, ¡°If you don¡¯t have the money, then you¡¯ll work it off. The Fairy Child¡¯s medicine is all divine, charging you ten taels is already very cheap. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ll be so ungrateful as to refuse to pay? ¡°No, not at all. To save my son¡¯s life, the Fairy Child, even if she asked me to work for her for a lifetime, I will. This man had only this one boy. He never expected that he would be bitten by a poisonous snake and even Doctor Li was helpless and refused to treat him. It was out of desperation he brought his son to the Fairy Child. Now the boy¡¯s face was no longer lifeless, and he could make some noise. Even the purplish color on his calf had faded quite a bit. He knew his son was going to be alright. At the same time, the man was both overjoyed and distressed. He couldn¡¯t afford the ten taels of silver. Since the Fairy Child asked him to work off the debt, he decided to do so. Someone nearby said, ¡°Zhao Da, to work for the Fairy Child is your family¡¯s good fortune, you should quickly agree.¡± ¡°Yes, bring your son with you. The Fairy Child may continue his treatment.¡± People were urging Zhao Da, ¡°You should thank the Fairy Child for saving a life. Zhao Da came to his senses, knelt down in front of Yingbao, and knocked his head on the ground three times, ¡°Thank you, Fairy Child, for saving him. I will definitely work hard to pay off the medical bill.¡± Yingbao was stunned and was about to refuse when Jiang Quan tugged at her sleeve, ¡°We¡¯re not running a charity. There¡¯ll be many more people seeking your medical treatment in the future. Are you going to treat them all for free? You can¡¯t set that precedent. You have to let him work off his debt..¡± Chapter 131: Cotton Harvesting_1 Chapter 131: Cotton Harvesting_1 Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao thought about it and agreed. She had managed to attract everyone¡¯s attention with her sess, and people were bound to seek her medical advice in the future. If they all used the excuse of not having money, would she still treat them? All this would result in was her being left to deal with myriad problems. ¡°Alright, you can go back home now. Our family is set to harvest cotton tomorrow, you cane over and help with thebor.¡± The Jiang family¡¯s cotton was practically mature and they had already begun the harvest. They had sown quite a bit this time, so her parents were busy plucking cotton every day. Even their meals were being prepared by their Aunt Yanru. ¡°Alright, I will definitelye tomorrow.¡± With heartfelt thanks, Zhao Daqian took his son and returned home. At this point, the curious onlookers swarmed in, all wanting to buy gourds. ¡°I¡¯ll just buy a small one for some good luck.¡± ¡°The big one, give me that big one, five coins it is!¡± ¡°I saw it first, why are you trying to snatch it?¡± She had brought a total of ten gourds, and they quickly sold out. Jiang Quan was grinning from ear to ear, urging Yingbao to help count the money. There was no choice; a lot of people had paid with copper coins. If they miscalcted by even a few coins, it would be a significant loss. After selling the gourds, the town¡¯s tax collector Xiang Zhi showed up. He looked Yingbao up and down, then asked with a smile, ¡°Did you really grow these gourds yourself?¡± Yingbao had no choice but to admit, ¡°I did.¡± Xiang Zhi then asked, ¡°Will youe again for the next fair?¡± Jiang Quan quickly nodded, ¡°Yes, we still have some left at home.¡± Xiang Zhi: ¡°Leave a gourd for me next time youe. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll pay what it¡¯s worth.¡± Yingbao: ¡­ Jiang Quan squinted his eyes and grinned: ¡°Sure, rest assured, we¡¯ll keep the best one for you.¡± After returning from the fair, the children began to divide the money. Today, Li Dao and Li He had only brought five gourds. At the rate of two coins per gourd, that was ten coins. They had agreed to give a third to Jiang Quan, so Li Dao and Li He ended up with seven coins. They had made seven coins off of just five gourds, earning several more coins than they usually did. Li Dao and Li He were grinning from ear to ear with delight. ¡°I¡¯ll bring all the gourds from our house to the next fair.¡± Li Dao said excitedly. His family had also nted over a dozen gourd nts, yielding around thirty to forty gourds of various sizes. What he had brought this time were just average sized ones. Jiang Quan was happy to have earned an additional three coins for nothing, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll go again next fair.¡± Li Dao and Li He happily returned home with their copper coins, and then Jiang Quan began to settle ounts with Yingbao. Their own gourds, two big sizes and three small, had totalled to sixteen coins. Adding the three coins earned from Li Dao, the total was neen coins. So Jiang Quan gave his little cousin nine and a half coins and kept the same for himself. Yingbao didn¡¯t stand on ceremony and took the nine and a half coins. At noon, the husband and wife pairing of Jiang Sang and Jiang Eng returned from the cotton field with Jiang Cheng, Dani, his second wife and Chuchu to eat. Yingbao picked two bunches of grapes, a dozen pears, and a basket of peaches, washed them clean, and ced them on the dining table for everyone to taste. The family sat around the table, eating fruit. Today, Yanru had made a fish stew, fried tofu, steamed glutinous rice with lotus root, vegetable soup, and also a few salted duck eggs. Additionally, she had cooked rice. The crispy rice at the bottom of the pot was scooped out and kept for the children as a snack. ¡°Tomorrow, I will invite some people to help us harvest cotton, and I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll need your help to cook.¡± said Jiang Sang while eating. Yanru smiled and nodded: ¡°There¡¯s no trouble at all. I have nothing else to do at home, so cooking is something I should do.¡± Chunniang stated: ¡°There will be a lot of people to feed tomorrow. You can¡¯t handle this alone, Dani, Erni and Chuchu can help you. We do not need them in the cotton field.¡¯ When harvesting the cotton, it¡¯s inevitable to get poked by the cotton fluff. The girls¡¯ arms are delicate, and even when wearing long sleeves, they can¡¯t avoid being pricked to bleeding, which looks very painful. ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Yanru agreed, knowing that Chunniang was concerned about the girls. The next day, that Zhao Da indeed came, bringing his wife and son along. The little boy had woken up, but his spirits were not very high, and he was carried on his mother¡¯s back. Yingbao checked the boy¡¯s leg, seeing that most of the bruising had faded, she gave him some medicine from a porcin bottle. She told the boy¡¯s mother: ¡°You need to make him drink more water to flush out the toxins in his body, that¡¯s the only way he can recover quickly.¡± The woman responded in a low voice and went to scoop water for the boy. ¡°We have boiled water on the table, you can give him that to drink.¡± Yingbao suggested: ¡°If he drinks unboiled water and gets diarrhea, it won¡¯t be good.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Zhao¡¯s wife responded awkwardly and went to get the boiled water. Jiang Sang was already aware of Zhao Da¡¯s situation, so he didn¡¯t say anything. He went with him and a few vigers to pick cotton in the cotton field. ¡°Yingbao! Yingbao! Madame Wen is back!¡± Erni ran in from outside, jumping excitedly. Yingbao was surprised: ¡°She¡¯s really back? And Wen JieJie?¡± ¡°She¡¯s back too, hurry and go see her.¡± Erni was excessively excited. She suddenly remembered she had forgotten half of what she learned and felt guilty, ¡°Yingbao¡­ you go first, I¡¯ll be right there.¡± Yingbao quickly ran to the yard, put the saddle on Youyou, stepped on the stepping stone and rode on the deer¡¯s back. Youyou galloped towards the vige. It wasn¡¯t long before she reached the school, where she saw several carriages parked in the courtyard and servants unloading things. ¡°Wen Jiejie!¡± Yingbao dismounted from the deer and ran towards Wen Shu. Wen Shu was also delighted to see Yingbao, she hugged her and smiled: ¡°Yingbao, you¡¯ve grown taller.¡± Yingbao tip-toed topare her height with Wen Shu and giggled: ¡°You¡¯ve grown taller too.¡± Wen Shu sat down with her under a pavilion on the side and started talking about her own affairs. ¡°Mother and I originally went to the Prefecture City, but something happened at home and we had to rush to Yuzhou.¡± Yuzhou is thousands of miles away from here, not to mention the long and difficult journey, some mountain roads are fraught with bandits. Luckily they hired a team of several dozen armed escorts, and they safely reached Yuzhou. Yingbao didn¡¯t know how to respond, she asked: ¡°Why haven¡¯t I seen Madame Wen and Wen Hengyin?¡± Wen Shu replied: ¡°Mother and my third aunt are tidying up the house. Little brother couldn¡¯te this time, grandfather wants him to study in Yuzhou, so he probably won¡¯t be able toe here in future.¡± ¡°Is everything at your home resolved?¡± Yingbao was still worried about a troubling event in the Wen family¡¯s past. Wen Shu nodded, ¡°Fortunately, there wasn¡¯t any big trouble. My uncle was demoted and sent back to our hometown. He¡¯s currently in Yuzhou recovering. My mother and I have returned here, and my third aunt came with us.¡± Wen Shu didn¡¯t urately depict their troubles, stating that her third aunt had worked hard topete with her mother for this trip to Qinchuan. The golden fungus from the Jiang family has remarkable effects. Their family almost encountered a disaster this time, it was thanks to the golden fungus her parents brought back that relieved them from immediate danger, that¡¯s why her third aunt was keen oning here. Her intention was obvious. But how could she talk to Yingbao about such matters? ¡°My third aunt also brought her two young daughters here. They will be studying with us from now on.¡± Wen Shu said softly: ¡°They are eight years old this year, a little over three years older than you. One is named Wen Tian, and the other one is named Wen Jiao, they are twins.¡± ¡°Wen Tian? Wen Jiao?¡± Yingbao inquired. Why do these names feel a bit odd? Chapter 132: Wen Family Sisters 1 Chapter 132: Wen Family Sisters 1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°Sixth Sister, who is this?¡± A soft and delicate voice could be heard. Yingbao turned to look and saw a very pretty young girl in pink walking over. ¡°This is my little apprentice sister, Yingbao,¡± Wen Shu introduced as she managed her patience. ¡°Yingbao, this is my cousin, Wen Jiao.¡± Yingbao nodded at the girl, ¡°Sister Wen Jiao.¡± Wen Jiao walked into the pavilion with a sweet smile, grasping Yingbao¡¯s hand in an ostensible disy of endearment, ¡°So you¡¯re Yingbao, you¡¯re really cute.¡± ¡°You¡¯re also cute¡­¡± Unable to hide her difort, Yingbao withdrew her hand. Wen Jiao sat down next to Yingbao, but found nothing to say. At that moment, another young girl in red rushed over, asking, ¡°What are you guys doing over here? Mother wants you to have a chat inside.¡± Looking at this girl who bore a resemnce to Wen Jiao, Yingbao had already guessed who she was. Wen Tian had a bright red dot on her forehead, making others wonder whether it was natural or artificially added. At this time, people loved to add unique marks to their faces. For example, women generally liked to draw patterns on their foreheads and add dimples to their cheeks. Some even purposely painted their eyebrows to look like sorrowful ones, considering it fashionable. Wen Shu pulled Yingbao up and whispered, ¡°Let¡¯s go meet the third wife. She will also be your master in the future.¡± The Wen family has always been devoted to medical practice and often married into families with the same background, so a daughter-inw with no knowledge of traditional medicine techniques was considered illiterate. Yingbao followed Wen Shu into a room, where a middle-aged woman in her forties was sitting in a chair drinking tea. ¡°This is my third wife, Mrs. Lin.¡± Wen Shu whispered an introduction. Yingbao stepped forward to pay her respects, ¡°Apprentice Jiang Yingbao greets Mrs. Lin.¡± Mrs. Lin lifted her eyes from the tea cup, merely grunted and asked softly, ¡°So you¡¯re Yingbao, a rather clever girl.¡± Yingbao¡¯s mouth twitched, but she kept silent. Mrs. Lin took a sip of tea, sizing up Yingbao before casually asking, ¡°I heard your family grows golden aurics, is that true?¡± Yingbao replied respectfully, ¡°Yes, every family in our vige grows them. Some even have white wood ear. Are you interested in purchasing some, Mrs. Lin?¡± Mrs. Lin¡¯s face darkened, ¡°I was asking if your family grows them.¡± ¡°Of course, we do.¡± Replied Yingbao. Mrs. Lin put down her tea cup, ¡°Can you bring some for me to see?¡± ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, the golden aurics we nted recently haven¡¯t matured yet.¡± Mrs. Lin, ever dark and menacing, replied, ¡°Such a disrespectful child. I only wanted to see the golden aurics and here you are spouting excuses?¡± Yingbao blinked, ¡°But I only told the truth. The golden aurics haven¡¯t sprouted yet.¡± Mrs. Lin was about to say something when Xiu Zhenniang walked in, ¡°Yingbao, I¡¯ve been looking for you- ¡°Mrs. Wen!¡± Yingbao was delighted to see Xiu Zhenniang and quickly ran over to hold her sleeve, ¡°I have something to tell you, too.¡± Xiu Zhenniang fondly patted her head and led her outside, ¡°Come with me, I have something to give you.¡± Yingbao followed her into another room. Xiu Zhenniang took out numerous books from a wicker box. ¡°I bought these books for you in Yuzhou. They contain a lot of ancient prescriptions. You should take them home and study them.¡± Then, Xiu Zhenniang gave a big bag of seeds to Yingbao. ¡°These are seeds of various vegetables and melons from Yuzhou, and there are some flower seeds too. I specially requested them from a florist. You can try to nt them.¡± There was nothing more valuable to a farming family than new varieties of vegetable and melon seeds, especially varieties not found locally. Yingbao was incredibly excited. She hugged Mrs. Wen, ¡°Thank you, Master, you are so kind.¡± Xiu Zhenniang stroked her hair and sighed inwardly. This girl is so simple-hearted. If she knew the Wen family had always been scheming against her, what would she think? The only thing she could do was try not to cause her too much harm. In the afternoon, Wen Shu took Yingbao in a carriage back to the South Slope. Along the way, they dropped off the books and Yuzhou specialties at Jiang¡¯s house. That night, Wen Shu didn¡¯t return home. Instead, she stayed over and chatted with Yingbao in bed. ¡°No matter what Auntie Third says, if you feel something¡¯s off, just ignore it.¡± Not only was Auntie Third a stickler for details, she was also petty. Wen Shu worried that Yingbao would suffer at her hands in the future. Yingbao, puzzled, asked, ¡°Why did Auntie Thirde to a small ce like ours?¡± Today she had seen for herself that Mrs. Lin was not only pretentious, but also looked down on others. How could such a person be willing to live in the countryside? Without any benefits, would she have brought her two beautiful daughters to live a life of poverty? Wen Shu pondered for a while, then quietly said, ¡°Yingbao, I¡¯ll tell you the truth. The Wen family set up the school here because of your family¡¯s secret prescription.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°I¡¯ve also guessed something.¡± Wen Shu embraced Yingbao, her voice low, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Yingbao, we shouldn¡¯t have kept you in the dark.¡± Yingbao: ¡°I¡¯ve known it all along, there¡¯s no cheating.¡± She was also aware that a nobleman had died after taking medicine from the Wen family, but she couldn¡¯t mention it. ¡°So, if Auntie Third tries to get something out of you, just ignore her,¡± Wen Shu finished, feeling a little relieved. ¡°Okay.¡± Yingbao tugged at Wen Shu, ¡°Tell me about Yuzhou, and why your family wants to buy our golden aurics?¡± Wen Shu gritted her teeth then began to tell Yingbao about everything. ¡°My uncle offended a nobleman and was banished back to Yuzhou. That nobleman¡¯s child was very sick and our family almost got implicated. It was thanks to your family¡¯s golden aurics that the nobleman¡¯s child was saved, allowing our family to avoid disaster.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°So that¡¯s why.¡± It seems that in her previous life, the Wen family met their downfall due to the death of that nobleman¡¯s child. Wen Shu whispered, ¡°Yingbao, no matter what, we are the best of friends, and we will remain so forever.¡¯ ¡°Mhm.¡± Yingbao nestled into Wen Shu¡¯s arms, just like in her previous life. ¡°We will always be best friends, forever.¡± The next morning, Yingbao and Wen Shu got up, washed, and had breakfast made by Yingbao¡¯s second aunt. They then went to the orchard to pick a basket of ripe grapes, a basket of yellow daffodil pears, and a few peaches. ¡°Take these and give them to Mrs. Wen to taste.¡± Yingbao ced the baskets on the Wen family¡¯s carriage. Wen Shu didn¡¯t want to return home this early, but everyone at the Jiang house was busy picking cotton. She couldn¡¯t help much by staying here, and felt as if she was in the way. ¡°Once your family finishes this period of work, hurry back to school.¡± Wen Shu advised. ¡°My mother still wants to test what you¡¯ve learned these past few months.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± After sending Wen Shu off, Yingbao finally had time to explore the books given by Mrs. Wen. ¡°Treatise on the Origins and Symptoms of Diseases¡±, ¡°Tang Materia Medica¡± , ¡°Emergency Prescription Worth a Thousand Gold¡±, ¡°Supplementary Methods Worth A Thousand Gold¡±, ¡°Four-part Medical Canon¡±, and other medical tomes that couldn¡¯t be bought locally.. Chapter 133: The Great Arrival (Seeking Monthly Tickets and Recommendation Tickets) _1 Chapter 133: The Great Arrival (Seeking Monthly Tickets and Rmendation Tickets) _1 Trantor: 549690339 The Jiang family finally harvested all their cotton. Zhao Da¡¯s child waspletely healed, and Jiang Sang was very satisfied with Zhao Da¡¯s help, so he gave him a handful of gourd seeds and asked if he was willing to continue working, as there were still thousands of pounds of cotton seeds to shuck, requiring a lot of manpower. Zhao Da originally intended to stay, but now it¡¯s the busy farming season, and his family¡¯s beans and rice still needed to be harvested. After harvesting, the fields need to be turned over for wheat nting, and only after the wheat is sold and the taxes paid, would he be free to do anything else. Jiang Sang understood his predicament and did not insist. In the following days, all the adults and children of the Jiang household started to shuck the cotton seeds. Chunniang and her two sisters-inw spun the wheels and began making thread for weaving cloth in the winter. Before long, County Magistrate Wu Shi arrived. Together with him came Mr. Liao, two scribes, and more than a dozen government officials. The arrival of the County Magistrate caused a stir all over East and West Chen Vige, with Lizheng Sun Licheng, n Leader Chen Sanyou, and vige chiefs from several surrounding viges apanying him the whole time. No one was more excited than Yingbao. ¡°Uncle Wu, you¡¯ve finallye, take a look at the giant gourds I¡¯ve saved for you.¡± Yingbao tugged at Wu Shi¡¯s sleeve and brought him to her house. Against the wall were tworge crates filled with three unusuallyrge gourds. Wu Shi was also surprised. To be honest, he had never seen such huge gourds before. But despite his surprise, he didn¡¯t remember ever telling this little girl that he liked gourds. He just couldn¡¯t understand where this little girl had heard that he liked these things, and she insisted on giving him one, she was so relentless, it was helpless. Yingbao said triumphantly, ¡°Uncle Wu, look at the gourds I grew. Take two with you when you go back.¡± Wu Shi chuckled, ¡°How could I take your things for nothing? Let¡¯s set a price, and I¡¯ll buy them.¡± ¡°No need, no need, these are not worth anything.¡± Yingbao said this against her will, but she saw Jiang Quan gritting his teeth behind her. n Leader Chen also chuckled and added: ¡°These kind of gourds aremon in our vige, Mingfu, you shouldn¡¯t decline, it¡¯s just a small token from the child. ¡± Standing next to him, Sun Licheng nced at him, wondering whether what n Leader Chen had just said was true. His son, who was doing business in the county town, had wanted a King Gourd for a signboard for a while now. ¡°Hehe, well, I¡¯ll dly ept then.¡± Wu Shi only took one giant gourd and had a servant carry it to the carriage, but Yingbao brought another smaller one and put it on the carriage as well. Then Wu Shi went to see the huge pile of cotton harvested by the Jiang family. The snowy white cotton hadn¡¯t yet been deseeded, but was all stacked in a room which was filled to the brim. Wu Shi picked up a bunch of cotton and examined it, praising it, ¡°This cotton is indeed excellent. Jiang Sang, would you be willing to sell the cotton seeds to the county government?¡± Before Jiang Sang could reply, Sun Licheng was anxious, stepping forward and saying, ¡°Mingfu, there are many households in our vige waiting to buy cotton seeds, you cannot¡­¡± buy them all too. The faces of the other vige chiefs became anxious, but they did not dare to interrupt. Wu Shiughed, ¡°I just want to buy the cotton seeds and distribute them uniformly, Elder Sun, you don¡¯t need to worry.¡± ¡°Hehehe, so that¡¯s how it is.¡± Sun Licheng smiled awkwardly. Jiang Sang said, ¡°My older and younger brothers have also harvested a lot of cotton, and other families in our vige have also nted it, so they should have a lot of cotton seeds. He didn¡¯t mean anything by saying this, he was just telling Sun Licheng that there was no shortage of cotton seeds. Wu Shi considered for a moment and said, ¡°Let¡¯s do this ¨C your vige will have priority in cultivating cotton, and the leftover cotton seeds will be sold to the County Government.¡± These things are precious, and if they don¡¯t get involved, the nobles and big families might soon be buying them at high prices. This way, the cotton will once again flow into the hands of the nobility, and ordinary people won¡¯t be able to spread its cultivation. What he wants is for the whole county to cultivate cotton, not for the aristocratic families to monopolise everything. Upon hearing this, Chen Sanyou was delighted and quickly stepped forward, ¡°Our vige has a total of 28 households, all of which have already decided to each nt 20 acres of cotton next year.¡± If they calcted ording to 10 pounds of cottonseeds per acre, their vige would need over 5,000 pounds of cotton seeds alone. No, actually, they would need 10,000 pounds, because although there were only 20-plus households registered in East Vige, the actual number that split households without separatingnds took up half of this figure. Just as Chen Sanyou was regretting his blurt about there being only 28 households in the vige, he heard Jiang Sang say, ¡°If every household in our vige is to nt, it¡¯s estimated that we would need 10,000 pounds of cotton seeds. The remaining ones, could then be left to the local magistrate to manage.¡± Wu Shi nodded in satisfaction and ordered a scribe beside him to calcte the potential vield of cotton in East Vige. While they were discussing these matters, Yingbao snuck off to pick some grapes. Jiang Quan followed her and whispered, ¡°Why did you say the gourds aren¡¯t worth anything? How are we going to sell our gourds in the future?¡± ¡°Stupid!¡± Yingbao said, ¡°Our gourds are sold to people from other viges, and no one in our vige is going to buy them. If I had said the gourds were valuable, and we sold all ours, do you think you could keep buying gourds in the vige?¡± Jiang Quan understood and chuckled, ¡°Yup, Baobao is the smartest one.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Yingbao said unabashedly, ¡°I am the one and only fairy child.¡± ¡°Haha, right, you are the one and only fairy child.¡± Jiang Quan, already ustomed to his young cousin¡¯s thick-skinned talk, found her remarks very reasonable. A few children followed Yingbao and went to pick pears and grapes, picking and eating meanwhile. The grape skins were discarded all over the ce. Yingbao, on the other hand, used a bamboo basket to collect grapes, picking a whole basketful of red and purple ones. Too bad the peaches have all been eaten, otherwise she would also pick some for Wu Daozi to taste. With this round of harvesting, only a few grapes were left. The pears remaining were a few unripe ones in the middle of the tree. Yingbao calcted that next spring, she should transnt the new grape vines, pepper seedlings, and apple seedlings that were growing in her cave, to her own orchard and expand the yard a bit more. This year, only a few apples were harvested from the apple tree. She had picked them a while back and had her family eat them. The apple seeds were left, and all nted in the cave. ¡°Yingbao, the basket is heavy. Let me help you carry it.¡± Chuchu took the bamboo basket from Yingbao. She imed to be Yingbao¡¯s little helper and refused to go home, despite her family living considerably better now. Since the time Yingbao gave her family the mushroom spores, after two cycles of cultivation, Chu Yan has now nted four hundred golden mushrooms. As long as these mushrooms are harvested and sold, Chuchu¡¯ family¡¯s life would take a great leap. But Chuchu insisted on staying here, learning to read and write with Yingbao when free, and ying with Dani and Erni during leisure times. She was quite content. Yingbao just let her be, assigning her some work on a daily basis, and continuing to pay her three coins a month. Having Chuchu as her daughter¡¯spanion put Chunniang more at ease when ites to her daughter¡¯s constant wanderings. Sometimes, she even allows the two to go to town to do the shopping, of course, either apanied by Jiang Quan or Jiang Cheng. ¡°Yingbao, why aren¡¯t you afraid of Lord Mingfu?¡± Chuchu asked out of curiosity. The sight of the highly revered County Magistrate made her legs tremble. She didn¡¯t even dare to look him in the eye, let alone chat with him. Yingbao: ¡°Why should I be afraid?¡± Even in her previous life, she was never afraid of anyone, not even those who had blood on their hands. As long as they dared to offend her, she would grab anything within her reach and beat them until they scrambled away in fear, never daring to provoke her again.. Chapter 134: Acquiring Cotton Seeds (Requesting monthly tickets, Recommendation tickets)_1 Chapter 134: Acquiring Cotton Seeds (Requesting monthly tickets, Rmendation tickets)_1 Trantor: 549690339 The inspection round ended, and Magistrate Wu returned to the county government office. His carriage was not only loaded with two gourds,rge and small, but also with a basket of grapes and a basket of yellow duck pears. Mister Liao, who was squeezed off the carriage, could only huddle on a donkey cart with two scribes, gnawing on a duck pear in one hand, deep in thought. His hometowny in a small town in Zhouhe County, roughly the same size as Chuanhe Town. The life of the people there was very hard; they were not only oppressed by the harsh conditions of life, but also by the local squires and petty officials. His family used to live quitefortably until they offended the rtives of the local Lizheng. From then on, his family fell into misery. The Lizheng would find all sorts of reasons to tax the Liao family. Every time his family bought a new sickle or raised a chick, Lizheng woulde to collect taxes. Even when children wore flowers on their heads for festivals, they were reported and had to pay taxes. In the end, with no other options, his parents had to sell theirnd and move to Qinchuan county to live off his meager sry. Although their life in Qinchuan County was impoverished, at least they did not live in constant fear, unlike his two elder brothers who were still struggling in that small vige. If only their family could live in Chuanhe Town, where the local customs were simple and honest and the vige and local officials were upright and honest. With him looking after them, there would be no worries about daily life. s, when he returned to the county government, he would discuss with Mingfu and see if he could allow the Liao n to settle here. If possible, he would have his rtives settle down in Chuanhe Town. Even if they had to cultivate wastnds, it would be better than struggling for survival in Zhouhe County. Dongchen Vige. As soon as the Mingfu official left, someone came to the East Vige asking to buy cotton seeds. These people were dressed extravagantly, obviously stewards of wealthy households. The vigers of the East Vige had been instructed by the Lizheng and the vige officials not to sell cotton and cotton seeds to outsiders, so they paid no attention to these out-of-town people who looked like stewards. Unexpectedly, these people did not give up and raised the price of cotton seeds to one tael of silver per catty. The news caused a stir among the vigers. Someone was tempted and secretly sold fifty catties of cotton seeds, earning fifty taels of silver. He set a precedent, and the steward repeatedly found him, asking him to sell more cotton seeds. Ultimately, this situation ended up being discovered and reported to the vige officer, Chen Sanyou. Chen Sanyou was furious and immediately went to his elder brother, Chen Fu, demanding an exnation for the vigers. Indeed, the one selling cotton seeds was the second son of the Chen n leader. The n leader, Chen, was also very angry. He immediately summoned his second son, Chen Jiazhen, and questioned him as to why he had sold the cotton seeds privately. ¡°It¡¯s just a few catties of cotton seeds, not a big deal.¡± Chen Jiazhen replied dismissively, ¡°You can sell too, one tael of silver per catty, it is more profitable than selling Jin¡¯er. Who would pass on earning money?¡± Chen Fu was so angry that he raised his stick to beat him. Chen Sanyou was also furious, pointing at his nephew and scolding him: ¡°Don¡¯t you realize this is a request from the county magistrate? Are you short of money?¡± Chen Jiazhen ducked his father¡¯s bamboo stick while protecting his head, not forgetting to retort, ¡°Can the county magistrate give us one tael of silver per catty? I¡¯m not crazy. Why reject making money and choose instead to sell cheap to the government?¡± Chen Sanyou was momentarily speechless, but he agreed with the words of the county magistrate. Once the cotton seeds were taken by wealthy families, it would not be easy for other vigers to nt cotton. Chen Sanyou did not bother to argue with his second nephew, and directly said to his brother Chen Fu: ¡°How many cotton seeds does your family have left? Take them all out. The cotton seeds were originally given by Jiang Sang. I will return them all to the Jiang family. You should not nt cotton in your family in the future to avoid such incidents and prevent the whole vige from losing face.¡± When the government officialse to collect the cotton seeds, what would happen if they did not get a single catty? Where would he put his old face then? ¡°Why should we?¡± Before Chen Fu could speak, Han Miao, his second daughter-inw, jumped up, ¡°These are all ours, why should we give them to the Jiang family?¡± Chen Fu, angered, mmed the table, ¡°Everyone shut up!¡± He pointed to the cotton in the room: ¡°These are all my cotton, it¡¯s not your turn to make decisions!¡± The family had harvested over two thousand catties of cotton, which could be peeled to produce a thousand catties of cotton seeds. Next year he was nning to nt another thirty acres. Considering ten catties of seed per acre, he would need more than 300 catties of cotton seeds. The rest, originally, should be sold to the county government ording to the requirements of Mingfu, but now there was this mishap. His face was practicallypletely lost by his unfilial son. His family was, after all, considered a first-ss household, far superior to those third, fourth and fifth-ss households. But what his second son has done is worse than a fifth-ss household. It was highly humiliating. How could he face others in the future? Chen Jiazhen and his wife, seeing their father really angry, dared not say anything and squatted silently on the ground. Chen Fu said to his brother Chen Sanyou: ¡°Call someone to carry away all the cotton seeds. Leave me three hundred catties. If all are kept at home, who knows what will happen.¡± Chen Sanyou was waiting for his elder brother to say this. He immediately called a few people to transport the cotton seeds in their house to Jiang Sang¡¯s house for weighing. In the following days, Chen Sanyou tirelessly collected cotton seeds and temporarily stored them at Jiang Sang¡¯s house. Those in the vige who hadn¡¯t nted cotton but were nning to do so next year were asked by Chen Sanyou to register to reserve the cotton seeds. After registration, the remaining cotton seeds were handed over to the county government to be taken away as soon as possible. The task of deciding whom to distribute them to was left to the county magistrate. The fall harvest was over in a blink of an eye, and Sun Licheng came to urge the vigers to pay their taxes. However, the people of East Vige did not need to be urged. They simply handed in their tax money without a shortfall. Sun Licheng chuckled: ¡°The tax collection in your Dongchen Vige is always smooth, never needing a second reminder.¡± Li Dayong, Li Eryong and several others alsoughed: ¡°Isn¡¯t it all thanks to our Jiang Third Brother? If we didn¡¯t nt Jin¡¯er, where would we get the money to pay the tax?¡± ¡°Exactly. ¡± Sun Licheng strolled around with his hands behind his back: ¡°I¡¯ve seen plenty of you vigers building houses on the South Slope. I¡¯lle over and have a look next year.¡± Household evaluations were done every three years, and theing year was a three-year term, so many households in Dongchen Vige were expected to be regraded. ¡°Hold on a minute, Uncle Lizheng. We are just building a mushroom shed on the South Slope, not a residential house,¡± one viger exined. Once rated as a middle or high-ss household, the annual tax would increase significantly, and the vigers did not want to ascend in household level. Moreover, in times of famine when the imperial court provided disaster relief, only the lower-ss households would receive grain. Upper and middle-ss households would not receive any. Sun Licheng gave him a sideways nce, ¡°The mushroom shed is also your property, and it should be included in the tax project.¡± Actually, Lizheng was quite envious of the Jin¡¯er in East Vige, but the vigers stood together and refused to sell mushroom spores to outsiders. However, the cotton in their vige was also good, and he had quietly obtained some cotton seeds from a government official, so he would be able to nt some next year. Sun Licheng came to Jiang Sang¡¯s house and saw his daughter teaching two of her cousins to read under the fruit tree. Seeing Lizhenging, Yingbao promptly stood up, ¡°Grandpa Lizheng, are you looking for my dad?¡± Sun Licheng waved his hand and asked, ¡°Yingbao, where is your family¡¯s big gourd?¡± His visit today was for the purpose of bringing back a shop signboard gourd for his son¡¯s shop.. Chapter 135: The Upright Mid -Autumn (Seeking monthly recommendation tickets)_l Chapter 135: The Upright Mid -Autumn (Seeking monthly rmendation tickets)_l Trantor: 549690339 ¡°He¡¯s in the hall.¡± Yingbao thought that the Lizheng was there, like everyone else, to see her gourd, so she led him there. Only onerge gourd remained in the hall at this moment. The other had been taken home by Jiang Quan, who nned to bring it to the marketce next time to draw a crowd. After all, they couldn¡¯t always bring his little cousin to the market. Sun Licheng touched therge gourd and asked, ¡°Yingbao, how much are you selling this gourd for?¡± Yingbao thought for a moment and gave him a middle-of-the-road price: ¡°The shopkeeper in Simen Town offered thirty taels of silver for itst time, and this one is about the same size as that one, so it¡¯s also thirty taels.¡± Sun Licheng was quite happy to hear this because his second son had given him fifty taels to buy a gourd to attract business. He just saved twenty taels out of nowhere, which he had no ns of returning to his son. Whoever says a father doesn¡¯t profit off his son is likely lying. When such good luckes along, it¡¯s best to take advantage of it. ¡°I¡¯ll buy this gourd,¡± Sun Licheng dered. Yingbao, of course, was happy to agree, nodding immediately: ¡°Great! Would you like to carry it back yourself?¡± Sun Licheng certainly wouldn¡¯t carry it himself. His youngest son and a few townsmen were collecting taxes in the vige, and they woulde up to the South Slope to pick him up shortly. At noon, when Jiang Quan heard that Yingbao had sold therge gourd for thirty taels, he pounded his chest in frustration. ¡°You fool! Sold for just thirty taels? That was the King Gourd! Many people have asked me about it. I was already offering eighty taels. One guy is at home discussing how to get the money.¡± ¡°There¡¯s still one more,¡± Yingbao replied with nonchnce. She was pondering how to get therge gourd out of the den. The ones in the den were much bigger than the ones grown outside. ¡°That one is for advertising! You understand? It cannot be sold!¡± Jiang Quan sighed heavily. Yingbao blinked, whispered soothingly, ¡°Why are you in such a hurry? Actually, I have two more of thergest gourds hidden away. But I can¡¯t show them to you right now.¡± She had decided to sneak out two big gourds that night and im they were previously hidden in the mushroom shed. ¡°Really? How didn¡¯t I know?¡± Jiang Quan was a bit skeptical. Ever since Yingbao¡¯s gourds grew to the size of washbasins, he visited every day. How did he not know about another two King Gourds? Yingbao made up a serious lie, ¡°Because I hid them in the bamboo shed, that¡¯s why you didn¡¯t know.¡± Jiang Quan scratched the back of his head, a bit puzzled. But puzzled as he was, he was still very eager to have two more King Gourds. With their conversation done, each of them went about their own business. Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn festival. Yingbao gave Chuchu a few days off, so she could enjoy the holiday at home ande back next month if she wanted. Yanru had bought many candles, and melted a potful of wax. She added some red dye into the wax, teaching her nieces to make floatingnterns. She took a chicken egg, lightly dipped it into the melted wax, and then picked it up. Ayer of red wax stuck to the eggshell. Once the wax hardened, she carefully peeled it off the eggshell and set it aside. This tedious process of dipping and peeling created a pile of oval, red wax petals, which she then attached to each other, forming a red lotus base. She then used a slice of sheepskin as a base for the lotus, put a candle in the middle of the lotus, and thus, a riverntern was created. Yingbao decided to make a few of thesenterns, to release with her sisters during the Mid -Autumn night. Jiang Eng chopped up some bamboo and built a bamboo tower outside the yard, preparing for the Mid-Autumn festival. Old man Jiang and his grandsons were not idle either. They bought all kinds of colorful papers and sliced up bamboo strips, making a variety ofnterns at home. Madame Chun and a few other women used new mooncake molds to make mooncakes. The mooncake filling was red bean paste and osmanthus sugar crisp. After making the rivernterns, Yingbao took her two younger brothers to knock down some dates. Several date trees were nted in their yard. At this time, the dates were already ripe, hanging from the treetops, red and glossy, eachrger than a bird¡¯s egg. ¡°Delicious.¡± Jiang Jie picked up a date and crammed it into his mouth, chomping away eagerly. Seeing there were still many dates high on the branches, unreachable, Yingbao decided to climb the tree to knock them down. It¡¯s easy for children to climb trees, with a few pushes and pulls she was up, sitting on the fork of the tree, looking around. Some families were building houses in the distance, also building brick houses, with three main rooms facing south, and two kitchens on the east side, simr to their own house¡¯s design. Once these new houses arepleted, and people move in to live, the South Slope won¡¯t be remote anymore. Suddenly, Yingbao recalled the flood from her past life and felt uneasy. Although they had moved to live on the South Slope, most of their fields were still at the bottom of the slope, and they could not be moved. Finer fields like paddy and wheat fields were fundamentally within the flood area, and a single flood could wash everything away. ¡°Sister,e down!¡± Jiang Wu and Jiang Jie saw their sister still in the tree, growing anxious ¨C they ran to the tree, calling upwards: ¡°Stop knocking down the dates, sister,e down quickly!¡± Yingbao responded with an ¡°oh¡±, used her bamboo pole to knock a few times to get the reachable dates down, then slowly climbed down the tree. Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu bent down to pick up the dates, two puppies rushing about, vying with them for the dates. Dahuang would even pick up the dates with its mouth and actively drop them into the basket. Xiaohei on the other hand would bite and break every date it got, a pup who enjoyed eating dates just like its owner. When they had gathered the dates, the three sibling carried the baskets home. On reaching the stack of straw near their house, they saw a child sneakily hiding behind it, peeping at them. Xiaohei and Dahuang barked insistently in the direction the child was, jumping about and wanting to pounce over but not daring to do so. ¡°Who is there! What are you doing!¡± Jiang Wu rushed over, brandishing the bamboo pole in his hand as a threat. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± A dirty boy with tousled hair emerged from behind the straw stack. ¡°I¡¯m Wei Zhan.¡± Yingbao and her brothers were stunned. How did this brat end up like this, hiding behind their straw stack. Jiang Wu and Jiang Jie also recognized him and asked in confusion: ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Wei Zhan stepped out, scratched his tousled hair and said in a low voice, ¡°I¡­l¡¯ve got separated from my elder brother¡­¡± ¡°Got separated?¡± Yingbao expressed disbelief. ¡°You have so many guards, how could they lose you?¡± Wei Zhan frowned and said, ¡°We met arge group of bandits halfway¡­ I barely escaped back.¡± ¡°Arge group of bandits? Where did you run into the bandits?¡± Yingbao had never heard of any bandits near Qinchuan County in her past life. ¡°Near Zhouhe County, a hundred miles from here.¡± Wei Zhan spoke softly, ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten for several days.¡± He was quite smart and had exchanged his outer clothing for some dry food from vigers along the way. After that, he followed the official road andwalked all the way back to Chuanhe Town. When Jiang Wu heard that he hadn¡¯t eaten, he gave him a date that Dahuang had held in his mouth, ¡°Here, eat this.¡± Wei Zhan took the date and started eating at once. ¡°What about your brother and those from the Chen family?¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t actually believe this boy¡¯s words. Wei Zhan: ¡°I don¡¯t know, there were too many bandits, my guards told me to run, and I¡­got separated from them.¡± In fact, he didn¡¯t tell them that he had deliberately ridden his horse back home, until the horse was exhausted and fell down with froth at its mouth. He then hid in the forest. After he was sure that no pursuers were behind him, Wei Zhan came out of the forest, and followed the official road back to Chuanhe Town. He could¡¯ve gone to Qinchuan County, but he didn¡¯t. He chose to return directly to Chuanhe Town, even running to the Jiangs¡¯ house on the South Slope.. Chapter 136: No Work, No Food (Seeking for Monthly Tickets and Recommendation Tickets)_l Chapter 136: No Work, No Food (Seeking for Monthly Tickets and Rmendation Tickets)_l Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao didn¡¯t want to bring Wei Zhan home, so she suggested, ¡°You can go to Chen Changrong¡¯s house in West Vige, or Chen Changhai¡¯s house. You have ties with the Chen family, they won¡¯t abandon you, they will certainly send you back to the Prefecture City.¡± Wei Zhan didn¡¯t want to go. ¡°No, I¡¯m not familiar with them.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with you either, so you are not allowed to stay in the haystack behind my house.¡± Yingbao said sternly. What if this boy causes any trouble while here, wouldn¡¯t her family be inviting disaster? Wei Zhan hung his head in dejection, stubbornly went back behind the haystack and curled up underneath it silently. Yingbao brought her still curious little brother back home, she told Jiang Sang about Wei Zhan¡¯s situation outside, ¡°Dad, you should take him to West Vige. If that¡¯s not feasible, give him over to Grandfather Lizheng.¡± Anyway, her family can¡¯t afford to get involved in this issue. Who would have thought that when Jiang Sang went out and came back, ¡°he stubbornly refuses to leave. He insists on sleeping in the haystack tonight.¡± Wei Zhan was incredibly stubborn, neither Jiang Sang nor his son Jiang Cheng could manage him. Of course, it¡¯s also because Jiang Sang didn¡¯t want to hurt him and thus didn¡¯t use too much force. Chungniang sighed, ¡°Then let him stay in Chuchu¡¯s little house for now, give him some food and water, and call the vige mayor tomorrow to see what to do.¡± ¡°We have no other choice for the moment.¡± Jiang Sang shook his head helplessly. Now that night is falling, it was not easy to travel to the town, and the boy was too stubborn to cooperate, using force would only make matters worse. So, Jiang Sang served him a bowl of rice and dishes and a jar of clear water, and let Wei Zhan stay in the little house where Chuchu lived for the time being. Wei Zhan was very pleased. He happily ran to the small house, went around in the vegetable garden a few times, pulled out a couple of vegetables, and made a pot of vegetable soup in Chuchu¡¯s pottery. At night, Yingbao entered the cave. She had nted a number of seeds in the cave previously given by Lady Wen, and now they had sprouted and grown. One of the cantaloupe seedlings had started to grow vines, and it was estimated that it would start to flower and bear fruit in a few days. There was also a cucumber of a foreign variety that had started to shoot vines. Yingbao had made bamboo stakes for the cucumber vines to climb onto. Various flower seeds such as roses, peonies, peonies, magnolias, etc., had all sprouted. Although they had not yet flowered, they were growing well and could be transnted outsidee spring. She had also grown many fruit seedlings in the dark soil, including twenty vine trees and about ten loquats from the seeds given by Lady Wen. Several seedlings of the peppercorns she had previously bought from a pharmacy had sprouted, while there were even more onions and garlic which Yingbao had long since transnted to the vegetable garden. The Golden Ear and Snow Ear mushrooms were also growing well and could be harvested in a few days. There were a fewrge baskets of dry Golden Ear and Snow Ear mushrooms in the corner of the cave, which she had harvested and dried previously but hadn¡¯t sold yet, just stored in the cave. Now that Lady Wen was back, Yingbao nned to wait until the Golden Ears were harvested this time, and then sell them to her. Standing by the pool and observing the golden light body for a while, Yingbao boarded the Gourd Boat and paddled over. After circling the giant ball of light, she saw that small door again. After some thought, Yingbao reached out to touch it. In the blink of an eye, she found herself again in a thick fog. A book gradually appeared before her, and Yingbao immediately turned to a chapter without hesitation. ¡°¡­Droves of bandits attacked and stormed the post station, killing the station soldiers, robbing the townsfolk along the way. The vigers fled in all directions, Chen Tiantian and her mother escaped by hiding in the bushes of a tomb mound.¡± The County Magistrate of Zhouhe County was informed and ordered the County Magistrate to lead the soldiers to annihte the bandits. However, the bandits were too fierce, they swarmed and beheaded the County Magistrate on his horse, the more than a hundred guards suffered heavy casualties, the rest fled back to the city¡­] ¡°¡­The news reached the County Government, the County Magistrate of Zhouhe County panicked and hastily ordered the city gates to be closed, and sent people to the Prefecture City for reinforcement¡­¡± ¡°¡­Chen Tiantian and her mother, Han Yueniang, fled on the road, eating and sleeping in the wind and dew, finally met with the Wei Family¡¯s attendant and Chen Changping¡¯s family. But Chen Tiantian¡¯s eldest sister and third sister are missing, Chen Wan and Wei Zhan, seventh young master of the Wei Family, also disappeared¡­¡± [ ¡­The grief-stricken eldest son of the Wei Family ordered people to search everywhere, but all was in vain. Seeing that it was unwise to stay any longer, hemanded his attendant to lead a few survivors away and return to the Prefecture City¡­] At this point, the book turned into a paper butterfly and disintegrated. As the book vanished, Yingbao returned to the Gourd Boat, with no trace of the small door in sight. Yingbao rowed back to the shore. In her past life, whether Zhouhe County had encountered bandits was unknown, but sisters Chen Wan and Chen Tiantian had certainly never disappeared. Their disappearance during the bandit riot pointed to a grim oue. But then again, perhaps they could escape unscathed, like Wei Zhan. However, many things were changing, causing Yingbao to be alert. Events that didn¡¯t happen in the past life were urring now, and whether this was good or bad, she couldn¡¯t tell. The next day, Yingbao rose early to wash andb. She gathered more than a dozen eggs from the chicken coop into a basket before leading Youyou out for a walk. The chilly autumn morning made the wilting nts heavy with dew, which Youyou was not so willing to eat. Yingbao went back to the grotto to retrieve some green bean sprouts for it, letting the little deer nibble at them leisurely. ¡°Yingbao!¡± The transformed beggar-like Wei Zhan sprinted toward her, his tousled hair bouncing as he showed his teeth in a grin, ¡°You¡¯re taking the deer out.¡± Yingbao nced at him irritably and grunted, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to go to the Chen Family, I¡¯ll take you to Grandpa Lizheng today. He can take you to the county city. Your family has a shop there, right? Someone can take you home then.¡± Upon hearing this, Wei Zhan¡¯s face darkened, ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere! Hmph! Don¡¯t think you can get rid of me!¡± He had finally made it here after enduring plenty of hardship on the way and could finally do as he pleased. there was no way he would return now. Yingbao didn¡¯t bother arguing with him. After Youyou had finished eating, she took it to the pond for a drink. Wei Zhan stood for a while before also heading to the pond to scoop water for washing his face and mouth. After Yingbao brought the deer back, Wei Zhan quietly followed behind, returning to the hut to prepare his own meal. In Chuchu¡¯s house, there was stocked rice and salt, along with a bit of pickled vegetables. Fire starters were also readily avable. Wei Zhan was busy for a good while before finally cooking up a pot of vegetable porridge. His freshly washed face was now smudged again with soot. However, he was delighted. He dug eagerly into the porridge he had cooked, savouring every mouthful. Just as he was eating, he looked up to see a pair of twin boys watching him. ¡°Is it good?¡± Jiang Jie swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Wei Zhan smiledcently, ¡°It¡¯s delicious.¡± Jiang Wu frowned at him, ¡°Those are Sister Chuchu¡¯s rice! You also stole vegetables from our house!¡± Wei Zhan almost choked, and retorted, ¡°Your dad allowed me to stay here, how can you call it stealing? Jiang Wu: ¡°But sister said that only those who work can eat our food. You didn¡¯t work but ate our food, so it¡¯s stealing.¡± Wei Zhan¡¯s face turned red, but that didn¡¯t stop him from eating his porridge. He muttered, ¡°Can¡¯t I just work for you guys then?¡± Jiang Jie¡¯s eyes lit up at his words, ¡°Good! Hurry up and start digging. Sister said she wants to nt lots of grapes, and the current orchard isn¡¯t big enough. We need to dig up morend.¡± The grapes were really delicious. However, they just finished thest of them. Sister said she wanted to nt more grapes in the future. Whatever they couldn¡¯t eat could be made into wine. ¡°Digging is digging!¡± Wei Zhan quickly finished his porridge, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and asked, ¡°Where should I start digging? As long as they didn¡¯t kick him out, he was okay with digging.. Chapter 137: Releasing River Lanterns_l Chapter 137: Releasing River Lanterns_l Trantor: 549690339 When Yingbao went to call her brothers back for dinner, she saw them and Wei Zhan digging in the fruit orchard. Upon seeing his sister, Jiang Wu emphatically pointed to the section of ground they had dug up, ¡°Look, Wei Zhan and us did all this.¡± Yingbao¡¯s eyelids twitched, she pulled her brothers back: ¡°Why are you letting him dig?¡± Jiang Jie defended: ¡°He wanted to.¡± Jiang Wu responded: ¡°He wanted to eat vegetables, so he started digging.¡± Yingbao: ¡­ When they got home, she made sure her brothers washed their faces and hands before letting them have breakfast. While eating his porridge, Jiang Eng suggested: ¡°Let¡¯s send the boy to n Leader Chenter, after all, he is a guest of the Chen Family.¡± The Chen Family was indeed their kin, and they guaranteed an audience with the n Leader. ¡°Whether we send him over or not, it¡¯s not right to keep him here.¡± With the grudge they held against the Chen Family, Mother Chun was really reluctant to get too involved with their rtives. But thinking of the boy¡¯s destitute situation, she finally relented and sent him an egg and two mooncakes. When Wei Zhan received the items Mother Chun brought, he teared up with gratitude. He thanked her around choked sobs, then started peeling the egg. He had been wandering outside for some days. Despite all the rush of adrenaline, it was overwhelmingly tough. There were several times when he regretted it and wanted to run to the post station for help, but he always managed to restrain himself. After a journey filled with begging and sleeping in the open, he finally made it back here. Now he thinks about it, all the hardships were worth it as he had finally aplished one of life¡¯s great feats on his own. Mother Chun felt worse when she saw the boy in tears, she stroked his head, ¡°I¡¯ll bring you to n Leader Chen¡¯s ceter. After the festival, they¡¯ll arrange for someone to contact your elders.¡± Behind her words, Wei Zhan looked stunned and quickly shook his head: ¡°No! I¡¯m not going anywhere! I want to stay here.¡± Seeing her silent, Wei Zhan blinked his tear-filled eyes. ¡°Auntie, please don¡¯t send me away? I can work, I can even dig.¡± He stretched out his palms for her to see, ¡°Look, I got blisters from digging this morning. But I¡¯m not even afraid.¡± Mother Chun gasped softly, taking his small hands, ¡°How did you end up like As a mother herself, seeing the boy in such a state naturally conjured up images of her own children, therefore she felt a pang of heartache. ¡°I will go get some medicine for you.¡± The moment she finished speaking, Mother Chun hurried home. She fetched a powdered medicine and went to administer it on Wei Zhan. She didn¡¯t notice the fleeting hint of mischief in Wei Zhan¡¯s eyes. After tending to Wei Zhan, Mother Chun returned home and said to her husband: ¡°The boy is really pitiful, let¡¯s keep him in for a while. Sigh, seeing him like this, I can¡¯t help but recall when Baobao was abducted.¡± Jiang Eng furrowed his brows, finally agreeing: ¡°Alright, let¡¯s keep him here until the festival ends. We have to send him to the vige no matter what.¡± In the evening, the whole family celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival together, and Mother Chun decided to invite Wei Zhan for dinner as well. By this time, Wei Zhan had cleaned up and even changed into Yuanbao¡¯s old clothes, he also swapped his worn-out deer skin boots with Yuanbao¡¯s cloth shoes. Before dinner, Jiang Cheng litnterns one by one, and hung them on the bamboo tower outside the courtyard, totaling eighteen in all. Jiang¡¯s oldest and second sons brought out the incense table and ced it to the south of the bamboo tower. On the table as offerings, there were mooncakes, a bowl of dates, a te of pears, a te of persimmons, and a bunch of rice ears. They also put incense in the incense burner, and had each child in the familye and worship the moon. There was a custom for worshipping the moon here. Only unmarried men and women could worship, symbolizing a wish for the Moon God to tie the red thread, and in the future find a good bride (or groom). As the full moon rose, starting with Jiang Cheng, the children in the Jiang Family, one by one, came forward to light incense and kneel in worship. Seeing them all paying respects, Wei Zhan followed suit and earnestly knelt and bowed. After paying homage to the moon, the whole family returned to the courtyard for the reunion dinner. Two tables were set up in Jiang D¡¯s courtyard, one for the adults and one for the children. Tonight, Yanru was in charge of cooking, turning chicken, duck, fish, and meat into different delicacies, and filling tworge tables. After dinner, Yanru took the children to releasenterns into the river. Of course, there was no river on South Slope, so they could only release them into the pond for sentiment¡¯s sake. Each child was holding antern, they came to the edge of the pond, lit up their prepared rivernterns, and gently pushed them afar with bamboo poles. Wei Zhan also held a riverntern, made a wish just like the young girls, lit thentern, and put it in the water. The redntern shone on his face, making his eyes gleam brightly. After releasing thenterns, the group of children carried theirnterns home. Wei Zhan was allowed to stay with Yuanbao, so he returned to the Jiang¡¯s with him. Yuanbao was quite curious about this boy, asking him how he returned to Chuanhe Town. So, Wei Zhan excitedly told Yuanbao about his heroic deeds, leaving Yuanbao in awe. ¡°You actually walked more than a hundred miles alone? For more than ten days?¡± Yuanbao found it hard to believe. ¡°Where did you sleep at night?¡± Wei Zhanughed with pride, ¡°I slept in the trees at night, or squeezed into the haystack, and when I met kind people, they would let me sleep in their kitchen.¡± Yuanbao marveled, ¡°You¡¯re really amazing.¡± ¡°Hehe.¡± Wei Zhan said mysteriously, ¡°Do you know what I ate all the way? ¡°What?¡± Yuanbao craned his neck to ask. Wei Zhan swiftly pulled out a small dagger from his leg, ¡°I dug up vegetables from people¡¯s fields to eat, ate rice raw, and even once caught a fish and ate it raw.¡± In fact, he had killed a person who tried to rob his jade pendant during his escape, and dispatched him with a single blow. Listening to this, Yuanbao felt nauseated, ¡°Stop, raw fish is so fishy, I can¡¯t believe you can eat it.¡± ¡°You can eat anything when you¡¯re desperate with hunger,¡± Wei Zhan cleaned his dagger and put it back on his leg. This adventurous experience was a tale he could boast of for a lifetime. Humph! When he returned home, he would definitely teach the Guard Team a lesson. Originally, he was with his elder brother, but a guard deliberately blocked his horse, separating him from his brother. As a result, bandits caught up with them, and he had no choice but to flee towards safe ground. Wei Zhan didn¡¯t know if this was idental or intentional, but either way, it was a wake-up call to him. His mother was right, he was a thorn in some people¡¯s sides, and if he was not careful, he could soon find himself in danger. His father had many concubines, including a cherished concubine and a good concubine, both of whom had sons older than him. His mother also said that they would be d if he died, so he should be particrly cautious and not trust anyone, including his elder brother, Wei Wenbo. The moonlight was waning, and thenterns on the bamboo tower went out one after another. The South Slope was once again silent. Before long, the crowing of a rooster woke up the dawn, and a new day began. After the festival, Yingbao and Erni went to school. Yuanbao, Huzi, Jiang Jie, and Jiang Wu also joined them on their way. Wei Zhan insisted on going to school with them anding back with them, as if he was a part of the Jiang family. The n Leader of the Chen Family had already heard about this from Jiang Sang, so he wrote a letter and sent it to the courier station for a swift-footed courier to deliver it to the Wei Family in Prefecture City.. Chapter 138: Bandits Attack _1 Chapter 138: Bandits Attack _1 Trantor: 549690339 Now, in addition to the sisters Wen Shu, Wen Tian and Wen Jiao, there are two new young girls in the ssroom. Yingbao continues to join Wen Shu, while Erni starts afresh with the new students. ¡°Today we are going to study theprehensive prescriptions for women,¡± Lady Wen opens the book. ¡°The world¡¯s doctors have ¡®Special Treatment For Women¡¯ and ¡®Treasures of Childbirth¡¯ for the discipline of women. ¡®Special¡¯ in treatment means exclusivity, ¡®Treasure¡¯ in prescription means its value. The art of medicine is difficult, and treating women is even more difficult¡­¡± Yingbao and Wen Shu listen attentively. At the end of the ss, Lady Wen beckons for Yingbao to talk to her in the inner room. ¡°Have you sold your gold ear?¡± Lady Wen asked. Yingbao: ¡°There are still twenty catties.¡± Lady Wen: ¡°Would you sell them to me?¡± Yingbao nods. Those golden ear mushrooms were indeed set aside for Lady Wen. ¡°I¡¯lle to your house at noon.¡± Lady Wen has never been to the Jiang family¡¯s home on the South Slope, so it¡¯s a good chance to pay a visit. ¡°Okay.¡± At noon, Lady Wen and her daughter Wen Shu took Yingbao and Erni in a horse carriage to South Slope and arrived at the entrance of Jiang Sang¡¯s house. Lady Wen got out of the carriage and looked around. She saw three big houses built with ck bricks and roof tiles, facing south from north, stood in a row from east to west, each with arge yard. Not far in front of the yard was a fruit orchard, a bit further arge pond, and a well. Even further away, there wererge tracts of wild bamboo forests and fields. When Chunnu heard the sound, she came out and saw it was Lady Wen and her daughter, she quickly invited them inside the house for a seat. Yingbao went back to her room, where she quietly took out several baskets of dried gold ear mushrooms and carried them to the main house. These gold ear mushrooms already weighed exactly twenty catties. As for the leftover, Yingbao retained them for her own use. Lady Wen asked the servant to move the silver from the carriage. Twenty catties of gold ear amounted to a total of 240 taels of silver, which was indeed a significant sum. Chunnu carried the silver to her daughter¡¯s room and asked her to keep it, then she came out again for a chat with Lady Wen. At this time, Jiang Sang hurriedly ran back home. ¡°Chunnu, vigers have reported that arge group of bandits areing our way. Lizheng asked us to hide all the properties and grains in our homes, just in case.¡± Jiang Sang wiped a handful of sweat and nodded to Lady Wen: ¡°Please be careful too, it¡¯s better not to go out these days.¡± Both Chunnu and Lady Wen were surprised, ¡°How many bandits are there? Even the soldiers at the posthouse couldn¡¯t stop them?¡± Every fifty li along the official road was a defensive posthouse with at least one to two hundred guards stationed inside. How could they not stop a band of bandits? ¡°It is said that there are hundreds of bandits, all extremely brave, heavily armed. The few guards at the posthouse can¡¯t stop them. Today, I asked Xiaojie and Xiaowu to stay at home. The school was already notified, there¡¯s no need to go to school for the next few days.¡± After Jiang Sang finished talking, he hurriedly went to his brothers to discuss what to do. Lady Wen saw this and rose to excuse herself, taking her daughter back to school. Yingbao wanted to ask Lady Wen and her daughter to stay, but their home was too remote. It was safer in the vige since there were more people, which should be more secure. After Lady Wen left, Chunnu went back to her room to tidy up her jewellery. Holding the silver, she turned around and around, not knowing where to hide it. Finally, she gritted her teeth, pried open a few tiles in the corner of the room, dug deep with a shovel, wrapped all the silver in old clothes, and buried it all under the ground. After restoring the floor tiles and treading them down again and again, and moving a table over it, Chunnu finally felt at ease. But there was still a lot of cotton and grain in the house that had nowhere to hide. ¡°Baobao, Baobao.¡± Chunnu ran to her daughter¡¯s room, ¡°Did you hide your silver well?¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°It¡¯s all hidden, no one can find it.¡± In fact, she had stored silver and other valuables in her cave, and also stored several bags of grain. Even if bandits came, as long as their family survived, they would have food to eat. ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± Chunniang had her two sons brought back, insisting that they stay with their sister and not venture out. She then proceeded to the kitchen to knead dough, intending to steam buns. She nned on making an ample amount of buns and pancakes, to guard against the possibility of having nothing to eat while hiding from the bandits. Yingbao, too, was keeping busy, had been hiding unsightly items in the cave, such as cotton clothes, quilts and some cotton seeds. She wouldn¡¯t store everything. Only within the limit where her parents wouldn¡¯t notice a difference. The two younger brothers, however, seemed oblivious to the emergency; they were merrily running around the courtyard with two puppies, even ying football with Wei Zhan, Yuanbao, Huzi and a few others. That night, Jiang Sang didn¡¯t return. He, along with other vigers, had been enlisted in a temporary vige guard squad, going on a round-the-clock patrol around the vige. Yingbao had a restless night and decided to count her silver in the cave. Fromst year to now, she managed to save over four hundred taels of silver, along with a small basket of loose copper coins. With this considerable sum of money, she and her family would not starve, no matter what happened in the future. She remembered that the following years were not peaceful; rebellions frequently broke out in various ces, and the Imperial Court continuously dispatched troops to quell them. Themon people were the most unlucky ¨C they had to contribute both money and manpower. The remote Chuanhe Town hadn¡¯t been harassed by rebels, but the Imperial Court hadn¡¯t given up on exploiting this mountain vige. Just as people started to recover from the flood, the Imperial Court¡¯s conscription order arrived. Now, bandits had moved from Zhouhe County to Qinchuan County, razing many viges along their path. If the number of bandits continued to snowball, it was certain that the Imperial Court would once again send troops. When that happened, the entire Chuanhe Town would be a battlefield. She guessed that her family wouldn¡¯t be able to stay in the vige much longer. In her previous life, she was just a n?IVe child and didn¡¯t clearly understand how the bandits in Zhouhe County were eliminated. Butter, many refugees with families in tow started arriving in the vige, asking for food and then leaving. The sight was truly pitiful. After organizing the cave, Yingbao atst went to sleep. Early the next morning, a viger was suddenly beating a gong and shouting through the vige: ¡°Bandits are less than twenty li from us, everyone, hide quickly!¡± His cry startled everyone awake. People rushed to ask Lizheng about the situation, only to find that the Lizheng¡¯s family was in chaos, packing up their things. ¡°Uncle Chen Sanyou, what should we do now?¡± the vigers asked. Chen Sanyou also didn¡¯t know what to do, he pondered for a moment and said: ¡°How about we all go to the mountains? Bring all the food from your homes into the mountains. After the bandits leave, we can bring it back. Those with cers at home can also hide the food that cannot be transported in the cers.Livestocks should be taken to the mountains.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no other way.¡± The vigers ran quickly back to their homes to hide the food. Jiang Sang also got the news and hurried home to inform his family. ¡°The vigers are all preparing to go to North Mountain, shall we also go to North Mountain?¡± North Mountain was dense with trees and had a vast area. Vigers could hide deep in the forest without being easily discovered. Inparison, South Slope had fewer trees but ample bamboo forests. However, the bamboo forests were excessively dense that people and livestock would have a hard time getting in. Chunniang frowned, ¡°What about our food and cotton if we go to North Mountain?¡± They¡¯ve stored a lot of food and cotton, they wouldn¡¯t be able to transport it all. Would they really just give up on it all? Jiang Sang sighed, ¡°We¡¯ll take what we can. There¡¯s no other way.¡± The bandits were just over twenty li away. They probably covered a lot of ground by now. It wouldn¡¯t take them more than a few hours to arrive. Their small vige was close to the official road, the bandits ransacking along their path would definitely invade their vige. A group of hundreds of people could easily ughter a vige. ¡°Dad, why don¡¯t we go to the bamboo forest ahead?¡± Yingbao suggested, ¡°we can hide there.¡± The bamboo forest on South Slope was vast. She and Chuchu had cut down some bamboo there a while ago. Her family could hide in there for more than ten days with no problem. The only condition was that the bandits didn¡¯t find out there were people hiding inside.. Chapter 139: Hiding_1 Chapter 139: Hiding_1 Trantor:549690339 Jiang Sang had always unconditionally trusted his daughter. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll head to the Wild Bamboo Forest. I¡¯ll tell your uncle and second uncle, you and your mother should quickly pack our things.¡± With that said, Jiang Sang walked out the door. Spring Mother turned to her daughter and said, ¡°Go pack some thick clothing. Autumn nights can be cold, we don¡¯t know how long we¡¯ll have to hide out. I¡¯ll put yesterday¡¯s steamed buns on the mule cart.¡± We also need to pack some rice and wheat, and we must bring some of our golden mushroom seeds, if they get ruined, we¡¯ll be without. Yingbao nodded and ran into her room, putting her two boxes and furniture straight into the secret cave. Then she went to her golden mushroom shed and harvested all the golden mushrooms, even the wooden racks were taken all in one pot. The next step was simply waiting for her mother to finish packing so she could wrap things up. After a quarter of an hour, Chunniang had packed everything onto the mule cart and was about to lock the gate to their house. Yingbao took the lock from her: ¡°I¡¯ll do it, Mother. You should go and call your younger brothers.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Chunniang handed the lock to her daughter and hurriedly went to find Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu. Seeing her mother leave, Yingbao immediately ran to the grain warehouse, taking everything inside, then went to her mother¡¯s room, putting all their wooden boxes, furniture, and the like away in the cave. She then went to the kitchen, not leaving behind even the pots, bowls, and pans, and took everything, including the big table, altar table, and chairs from the main room. She looked around the now empty room, satisfied, then locked the door. After she locked the door, Yingbao told her mother to leave first with her younger brothers, then she went to her father¡¯s mushroom shed and took the rest of the golden mushroom jars and wooden racks. She then went to the chicken coop and put all the chickens in a cage, directly storing them into the secret cave. She then put a saddle on Youyou, and led it outside. As long as she then locked the gate, no one would notice the house was empty. ¡°Baobao, let¡¯s hurry. Your uncle and second uncle have already packed their things.¡± Spring Mother eximed anxiously. Jiang Jie sitting in the vehicle also called out: ¡°Sister, hurry up.¡± Jiang Wu said: ¡°Sister, you¡¯re dragging your feet.¡± ¡°I¡¯ming, I¡¯ming,¡± Yingbao ran over. Jiang Dng, Jiang Eng, and Jiang Cheng had already carried bedding and other soft items towards the bamboo forest. Dani, Erni, Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle¡¯s Wife, Aunt, everyone had a basket on their back, and a big basket hanging from their arm. Both baskets were filled with the most important things. As for food and the big ques, those were piled up on the mule cart. Wei Zhan, Jiang Quan, Yuanbao, and Huzi were also following behind everyone, carrying more or less their own possessions. ¡°Ah, if I had known, I would have dug a cer. There¡¯s still so much grain left at home, what are we going to do now?¡± Mrs. Jiang Liu said with a pained face as she walked along, looking back. Yingbao blinked her eyes, but she couldn¡¯t take care of Uncle and Second Uncle¡¯s families. She dared to take things from her own house because the key was in her hand, it was easy to hide, thinking it through, her parents wouldn¡¯t notice. Even if they did, she could exin it away, but as for Uncle and Second Uncle¡¯s houses, she couldn¡¯t really do anything about it. Oh well, things are as they are. Maybe the bandits won¡¯t reach here anyway. The Jiang Family gradually moved into the depths of the Wild Bamboo Forest, only stopping when they could go no further. Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng took a few bundles of bamboo and blocked the road, telling their family members, ¡°You all hide here, don¡¯t make a fire, don¡¯t let the mules make a noise, we¡¯ll go out and take a look.¡± ¡°You two be careful, if you see someoneing, hide immediately. Don¡¯t confront them,¡± Old Man Jiang said worryingly, ¡°Ah, I have no idea when Sang will return from the vige. If he runs into the bandits, it would be disastrous.¡± Jiang Sang had returned home to inform them and then went back to the vige again to observe the situation. Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng acknowledged this and went outside. Just then, a light rain began to fall. Seeing the situation, Chunniang and her sisters-inw rushed to bring bamboo to build a low shelter. This bamboo had been cut by Dani and Chuchust time, and because there was too much, they piled it up inside the bamboo forest, which came in handy now. ¡°Ah! Snake! Snake!¡± When Dani picked up thest stack of bamboo, she found two ck snakes hiding underneath, which gave her a good scare. Jiang Cheng rushed over without a word and chopped the snake¡¯s body with the iron shovel in his hand. Looking at the squirming body of the snake, he said, ¡°Be careful, there are many snakes in the bamboo forest, don¡¯t get bitten by them.¡± Everyone nodded, proceeding with increased caution. With several adults working together, they quickly built two bamboo shelters. They were a bit low, but there was no problem for sheltering from the rain or resting. The children were ordered to stay in the bamboo shelter and not go out. After Chunniang fed the mules some fodder, she put a muzzle on them to prevent them from making sudden noises. Everyone then crouched in the bamboo shelter, listening quietly to the sounds outside. Dani sighed, ¡°We still have a lot of things at home that haven¡¯t been hidden. The gold ear mushrooms haven¡¯t been moved either, I¡¯m sure dad and the others went to hide them.¡± The gold ear mushrooms hadn¡¯t grown much, and logically the bandits wouldn¡¯t be interested in them, but if they burned down the mushroom shed, the family would suffer a great loss. Yingbao said nothing, she was a bit worried about dad and Lady Wen¡¯s family. After an unknown amount of time, children like Yuanbao, Huzi, Wei Zhan, Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu started to doze off. Chunniang went to the mule cart to fetch tworge bamboo trays and put them in the two bamboo shelters. She also brought two quilts, and let the children sleep in the bamboo trays. Outside, the fine rain continued. Jiang Sang and the others had not yet returned. Chunniang wanted to go out and look, but was stopped by Madam Jiang Liu. ¡°Don¡¯t go. Sang told us to stay here and not to wander around. Just wait for them patiently.¡± ¡°Yes, Chunniang, you can¡¯t help even if you go out. Just look after the children.¡± Old man Jiang adjusted the corners of the quilts for his grandchildren. With no choice, Chunniang could only suppress her impatience and return to the bamboo shelter. Before long, both Dani and Erni became tired. Chunniang told them to sleep on the mule cart, which was loaded with grain, but there was still room for the two girls. Yingbao followed her two cousins onto the mule cart, squeezing between the sacks of grain. The mule cart was covered. The sound of the rain falling on it made a rustling sound, and Dani and Erni quickly fell asleep. Seeing that her two cousins were asleep, Yingbao took advantage of the situation and quietly slipped out of the shelter. Xiaolu and Youyou were standing under the bamboo forest, blinking their big eyes at their little mistress ¡°Don¡¯t make a sound. Let¡¯s sneak out and take a look.¡± Yingbao carefully climbed on the deer¡¯s back and asked it to quietly circle around the bamboo shelter and head out. It was now noon, but the foggy rain made it impossible for Yingbao to see the situation at the base of the mountain. It seemed that a carriage was parked at the gate of their yard, and a man in a raincoat was talking to the person on the carriage. From the look of it, that carriage seemed to belong to Lady Wen, and the one talking to them was Jiang Erbo. Yingbao hurried the deer over, and indeed it was Lady Wen¡¯s carriage. On the carriage sat Lady Wen, her daughter and her nanny, with Lady Wen¡¯s servant sitting on the shaft of the carriage wearing a straw hat. ¡°Master, you didn¡¯t go to North Mountain?¡± Yingbao asked. Lady Wen poked her head out and said, ¡°We could not get to the North Mountain on our carriage, so when I saw it was raining, I decided toe and find you.¡± Yingbao: ¡°We are all in the bamboo forest, why don¡¯t youe too?¡± The small path by the bamboo forest could amodate a mule cart, so the carriage should definitely be able to go in. Lady Wenughed and said, ¡°Thank you then. Your second uncle also suggested we go to the bamboo forest, he was just about to lead us there.¡± Jiang Eng said, ¡°The bamboo forest is secluded. If there is any unusual movement, we can abandon the carts and go inside. Yingbao, you lead Lady Wen there first, your big uncle and I still have to clear the food at home. Did you bring the key? Later move your food to hide it too.¡± He and his older brother were constantly moving the food and cotton from their home and hiding them in the vegetable garden, because there was a ground shed there which was used to store cabbages in winter, but was now perfect for hiding food. After all the food and cotton were moved into the ground shed, they would pile up some straw on it. From the outside, it would be impossible to tell. As for whether it would be discovered or not, they didn¡¯t know. It¡¯s always better to hide something than not. If the thieves weren¡¯t sharp-eyed and didn¡¯t discover it, their family would have made a gain. Chapter 140: Avoiding Bandits (Three Chapters in One)_1 Chapter 140: Avoiding Bandits (Three Chapters in One)_1 Trantor:549690339 Yingbao brought Madam Wen¡¯s carriage into the bamboo grove, stopping next to her own mule cart. Spring Maiden was slightly surprised to see her daughter riding back on a deer, but held back her reprimand when she saw Madam Wen¡¯s family. ¡°Mr. Wen, how is the situation in the vige?¡± asked Spring Maiden. Madam Wen said, ¡°Everyone has taken what they could and moved to North Mountain. Our carriage couldn¡¯t make it there, so we had no choice but toe here.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to say this is out of desperation.¡± Spring Maiden said, ¡°We¡¯re all just finding refuge together. Eh? What about the other gentleman? Did his family note with us?¡± Madam Wen sighed, ¡°They insisted on hurrying to the town, iming it¡¯d be safer there. No matter how I persuaded them, they didn¡¯t listen.¡± She feared that the road to the town would already be blockaded by bandits, which would undeniably worsen their situation. After talking for a while, Spring Maiden offered to put up a bamboo shed, but Madam Wen said it was unnecessary and they¡¯d just stay in the carriage. An hourter, both Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng hurried in. ¡°Bandits have appeared at the foot of the mountain, and they seemed to have set fire to the houses in the vige. They¡¯ll be here soon,¡± they reported. The South Slope was only three or four miles from the vige, so after looting the vige, the bandits might move up towards the slope. ¡°What about Sang? Isn¡¯t he back yet?¡± asked Jiang Liu. Jiang Eng said, ¡°I¡¯ll go check.¡± He quickly grabbed his bow and quiver, and rushed out, with Jiang Dng following right after him. Spring Maiden was so anxious that she wanted to go out and check as well, but was stopped by Jiang Liu, ¡°A woman like you should not cause more trouble, those desperados will take advantage of us, particrly women.¡± Jiang Da Sao also said, ¡°Spring Maiden, you stay put. If necessary, we can go deeper into the bamboo grove to find a way out, in case bandits overrun us.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± said Spring Maiden, picking up a sickle and heading out of the bamboo shed. ¡°I¡¯ll join you,¡± said Jiang Lao Han, picking up a machete and heading into the bamboo grove. Seeing this, Madam Wen¡¯s servant hurriedly followed. And so the three sisters-inw headed in one direction, while Jiang Lao Han and Wen¡¯s servant went in another, chopping away obstructing bamboo and brambles on their path. Meanwhile, Jiang Dng and Eng left the bamboo grove, standing on a high slope overlooking the vige. Dense smoke was rising from several ces in the vige, and numerous individuals could dimly be seen running around. ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look,¡± Jiang Dng said, still worrying about his younger brother. He decided to approach the vige to see what was happening. Eng, who shared his brother¡¯s thoughts, quickly rushed down the mountain alongside him. In the vige, Jiang Sang was leading several dozen young men in a battle against a mob of bandits. They were armed with iron forks, shovels, and some even sharp sickles, struggling fiercely against the attacking bandits. But the bandits kepting relentlessly. All of them looked fierce and brutal, armed with broadswords and long spears, and some even bows and arrows. In no time, several vigers were injured. However, the bandits didn¡¯t have it easy either, as many of them were injured as well. The bandits, most of them d in tattered rags, seemed more like local peasants, and their weapons were utterly crude and simple. Seeing the intense resistance from the vigers, the leader of the bandits felt a sense of admiration and shouted, ¡°Brothers! We¡¯re just trying to survive, we don¡¯t want to harm anyone. I see you¡¯re all brave men, why not join us for a crusade against the corrupt Imperial Court? There¡¯s no future for usmon folks. If you follow us, you can live a life of luxury, and even be appointed high-ranking officials.¡± However, Jiang Sang and hisrades ignored his speech. They weren¡¯t desperate enough yet. Even if they were, they still possessed the skill of gold farming, which was far better than rebellion and risk death. ¡°Since you¡¯re here for supplies, and you¡¯ve taken quite a lot already, we kindly request that you leave our vige,¡± said Jiang Sang. Jiang Sang shouted loudly, ¡°We¡¯re farmers who depend on ournds for survival, and we can¡¯t leave our homes and families to wander aimlessly.¡± The leader¡¯s eyes darkened and he snorted, ¡°You have families and maybe we don¡¯t? Brother, I respect you as a brave man. Join us now and enjoy a world united and peaceful, where everyone is equal, and no one goes hungry or cold. Isn¡¯t that wonderful?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, I can¡¯t agree,¡± replied Jiang Sang as he and his group retreated a few steps. He signaled those behind to draw their weapons in preparation for defense. ¡°Mr. Leader, please spare our vigers. Life is already hard for us, and we still have to feed our elderly and children.¡± The bandit chief stood with his hands behind him in the middle of the crowd, smirking, ¡°If you refuse to see reason, you can¡¯t me me for being ruthless.¡± He then waved his hand andmanded, ¡°Kill them all and burn this vige to the ground.¡± Chapter 141 - 140: Avoiding Bandits (Three Chapters in One)_2 Chapter 141: Chapter 140: Avoiding Bandits (Three Chapters in One)_2 Trantor: 549690339 The bandits immediately charged forward with loud howls. When Jiang Sang saw theirrge numbers, around one to two hundred, and his side only had several dozen, he knew they were outnumbered and promptly led his men to retreat. He naturally couldn¡¯t lead the bandits to South Slope, and North Mountain wasn¡¯t an option either, as many vigers were hiding there. The crowd could only flee east. A portion of the bandits pursued them, while the rest ransacked houses one by one. However, the vigers had already taken all their food and valuables with them, leaving only those items too bulky to move. Some households had left a small amount of grain, but the quantity was minimal. The bandit leader took this in stride. Not many big scores were met on their robbing sprees, unless they went to market towns or county cities. Viges like this were mostly filled with the poor, their houses run-down and dpidated. Finding a family with several dozens of pounds of grain was rare. However, the households with gray brick and tile houses were different; they were surely the local wealthy families. The bandit leader, along with twenty or so of his fellows, stormed into n Leader Chen¡¯s house and found quite a few valuable items, along with several hundred pounds of grain. As such, he decided to settle down there, directing his men to scoop rice for cooking, pull vegetables from the garden, and cook them with the stolen meat. Jiang Sang and his group desperately sprinted east, trying to shake off the bandits. But these bandits were hell-bent on taking their lives, pursuing relentlessly and intermittently shooting arrows. Two other vigers were hit by arrows, Jiang Sang swiftly had others carry them and run, while the rest provided cover, but this inevitably slowed them down. ¡°Hahaha! I want to see where you can run to!¡± The lead banditughed manically and directed his men to shoot another volley of arrows. Suddenly, an arrow shot from a nearby tree, hitting the man right in the face. It was shot with formidable force, prating the bandit leader¡¯s temple in an instant. The bandits froze, then all turned to look at therge elm tree in the distance, charging towards it with loud howls. Another arrow shot from a tree further away, hitting the bandit at the front square in the chest. He thudded to the ground, motionless. Then, another arrow, dropping another bandit in an instant. The bandits were all shocked, and quite a few turned to flee out of fright. The person in the elm tree jumped down and ran off. Some bandits wanted to chase after him, but were driven back by arrows flying from the tree. Jiang Sang noticed themotion and, recognizing the archer, quickly turned back to provide support. The tide began to turn at this point. Jiang Sang and his men shot arrows at the bandits while throwing iron pitchforks and stones, causing injuries to several of them. The bandits, being a motley crowd, saw the situation going south and abandoned their injuredrades, fleeing frantically. ¡°Elder brother, second brother, how did you get here?¡± Jiang Sang asked, his heart pounding in fear. If they weren¡¯t careful, both his brothers could have been killed. ¡°Let¡¯s find a safe ce first before talking.¡± Said Jiang Dng, gathering the fallen bandits¡¯ weapons. A few vigers also ran over, jabbing at the injured bandits with pitchforks to send them off to meet King Yama, before collecting their arrows and weapons. One viger had been seriously injured in the fierce battle, so Jiang Sang gave him two pills that his daughter had given him. As the vigers carried their wounded teams, they were at loss about where to go. ¡°You guys should head to North Mountain.¡± Jiang Sang remembered his wife, children, and his elderly parents back home. He couldn¡¯t escape with them and could only part ways. ¡°Alright.¡± Some vigers were willing to head to the North Mountain, as their family members were there. However, a few others insisted on apanying Jiang Sang. Jiang Sang shook his head, ¡°You all should go to North Mountain together. What about your families if youe with me?¡± Several people hung their heads, and finally followed the crowd of vigers to leave. After the vigers left, Jiang Sang and his two brothers detoured to South Slope, keenly observing their surroundings to avoid any bandit tracking them. Luckily, it was gettingte, and it was raining, causing the bandits to take shelter in the vigers¡¯ houses and reluctant toe out. Upon reaching their home on South Slope, the three brothers dared not rest. They gathered up three houses, making sure not to leave behind any food, cotton quilts, or other items. Even if they had to find a ce to burn or bury them, they must not leave these things to the bandits. Jiang Sang wanted to return home to check, but the courtyard doors were locked. After some thought, he decided to climb the wall to get in, and peeped through the window only to be greatly shocked. The house was empty. Not only were the trunks and the like gone, but the furniture had also disappeared without a trace. And of course, there was no trace of therge vats of rice grain either. Jiang Sang furrowed his brows, went to check the kitchen, and found that the dishes, pots, and even the water vat were all gone, leaving only the two vacant stoves. Chapter 142 - 140: Avoiding Bandits (3 chapters in one) _3 Chapter 142: Chapter 140: Avoiding Bandits (3 chapters in one) _3 Trantor: 549690339 In the mushroom shed, not only was there no golden mushrooms, even the wooden shelves were gone. Inside the chicken coop, not a single chicken was left. Suddenly, Jiang Sang thought of his little girl. Could it have been Baobao¡¯s doing? But how is it possible? He quietly climbed over the wall and saw his elder brothers, each carrying arge square table. ¡°What are you guys doing?¡± A puzzled Jiang Sang asked. Jiang Dabang replied, ¡°It¡¯s raining, isn¡¯t it? There¡¯s no cover in the bamboo grove. We can¡¯t let ourselves get drenched all night. These big tables can give us cover.¡± Jiang Sang: ¡­ Alright, his elder brother had a point. The three brothers entered the bamboo forest as the sky waspletely dark. Walking with one foot deep and one foot shallow into the depths of the bamboo forest, a dim light was visible from a bamboo shed. After putting down the big square table, Jiang Dabang crawled into the bamboo shed. Inside the bamboo shed were only old man Jiang and his wife, Mrs. Jiang Liu, and Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan. The two kids were curled up asleep in the bamboo bed. Old man Jiang and his wife were awake, waiting for their sons to return, by the light of a dim oilmp. ¡°You¡¯re back!¡± A surprised and joyful Mrs. Jiang Liu called out upon seeing her oldest son and looked outside, ¡°Where are Eng and Sang?¡± ¡°They¡¯re here, too.¡± A weary Jiang Dabang replied, sitting on a thin bamboo branch. Mrs. Jiang Liu handed him a steamed bun, ¡°Eat something quickly.¡± Jiang Dabang took a bite of the bun handed to him and then took the water gourd handed over by his mother and drank it all in one go. No kidding, the gourds they had grown themselves came in extremely handy. Their benefits were clear in times like these. ¡°How are things outside?¡± Old man Jiang asked. Jiang Dabang took a sip of tea and said, ¡°There are quite a few bandits in the vige. They¡¯ve taken over and they¡¯re not going to leave anytime soon.¡± ¡°Oh, what are we going to do?¡± Mrs. Jiang Liu frowned. Jiang Dabang: ¡°The government will eventually send people to get rid of the bandits. We just have to tide over this period.¡± At this moment, Jiang Sang also crawled in. ¡°ording to the vigers, these bandits don¡¯t just upy this ce. Some of their teams have already gone towards the county town. I estimate that government officials won¡¯t be able to attend to us for the time being.¡± Old man Jiang was surprised, ¡°Howe there are so many bandits?¡± Jiang Sang: ¡°There seems to be some major trouble in Zhouhe County and Donglin County. There are uprisings in many ces. From the ents of these bandits, most of them are from those areas. Their leader is not simple either. He is actually nning to incite a rebellion among the vigers.¡± ¡°Rebellion?¡± Old man Jiang stroked his beard, finding it hard to believe. Who would willingly rebel if their life wasn¡¯t unbearable? That¡¯s a capital crime that implicates nine generations. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s such a disaster.¡± Mrs. Jiang Liu sighed. Jiang Sang and his two brothers ate something, rested for a while, but still felt uneasy. The three of them discussed with their father and set up several traps in the bamboo forest overnight and cut many bamboo arrows. After a short nap, as the sky was gradually brightening, Jiang Sang got up to check out the situation outside. The rain was still falling, pitter-patter, the weather was growing even colder. Soon, Jiang Sang ran back again, panting, ¡°Get up! The bandits areing up the mountain.¡± Yingbao and her younger brother, who were sleeping soundly squeezed in the bamboo bed, were promptly lifted up by their father. ¡°Get up quickly, have something to eat. If the bandits break into the bamboo forest, we should run deeper.¡± Yingbao hurriedly put on her shoes, urging her two brothers to get dressed. Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu were obedient and without making a peep, they quickly put on their clothes and shoes. Under the guidance of their two elder cousins, the two youngsters paid their respect, washed their hands and faces with the water from therge gourd, and then epted the steamed buns handed over by their mother and began to nibble. Seeing the water gourd, Jiang Quan looked at his younger cousin with a resentful expression and asked in a low voice, ¡°Where are the two King Gourds? Why didn¡¯t you bring them?¡± Yingbao replied annoyedly, ¡°How was I supposed to carry suchrge gourds?¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have thrown them at home though.¡± Jiang Quan sounded quite heartbroken. He hadn¡¯t even sold off the King Gourds yet when this happened. What a shame. ¡°If it¡¯s not thrown at home, who will carry it?¡± Yingbao retorted him without flinching. Now of all times, he was still obsessed with the King Gourds. What if her second older cousin impulsively ran home across their wall? Then he would surely discover her big secret. Jiang Quan hung his head and sighed. Jiang Sang nced at his daughter and then exited the bamboo forest. He still had to go out and investigate to see how many bandits actually arrived. Lady Wen and her daughter had an unsettled sleep throughout the night, always being awakened by the sound of wind rustling the bamboo grove. They got up early and moved around with her daughter, who dismounted from the carriage to stretch their legs and also to relieve themselves. Yingbao, who was wearing a small bamboo hat, came out from the bamboo forest and quietly asked, ¡°Master, did you guys not bring raincoats?¡± Chapter 143 - 140: Avoiding Bandits (Three Chapters in One)_4 Chapter 143: Chapter 140: Avoiding Bandits (Three Chapters in One)_4 Trantor: 549690339 After a night of light rain, the bamboo forest was still dripping, and one would easily get wet walking through it. Surely one would catch a cold in such weather. Lady Wen, who indeed had not brought a rain hat or straw coat, whispered in self-me, ¡°I can¡¯t believe I forgot.¡± Even if she hadn¡¯t forgotten, she and her daughter didn¡¯t possess straw coats. Such clothing was only worn by servants in their home. Yingbao said, ¡°I¡¯ll go back and get two rain hats for you.¡± Having said that, she ran back to pull out two rain hats from the mule cart and handed them to Lady Wen and her daughter. These two rain hats were a bit damaged, but still usable. In fact, Yingbao had pulled them out from her secret stash in the hideout under the guise of fetching them from the mule cart. ¡°Thank you, Yingbao.¡± Lady Wen and her daughter put on their rain hats and indeed, the droplets could no longer reach them. First thing in the morning, more than two hundred bandits ascended the South Slope. They broke down the door of the Jiang family house and rummaged through it, but they found nothing. Their leader was not angry but circled the house, remarking, ¡°The Feng Shui here is excellent¡ªit¡¯s a good ce.¡± With a sigh, the bandit leader said, ¡°It¡¯s a pity it¡¯s not the right time; I would love to settle here.¡± Soon, one of his followers reported, ¡°General, we¡¯ve found a lot of grain and quilts in the fields.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± The leader was interested and decided to have a look. He watched as his follower lifted a pile of straw to reveal a hiding ce filled with big hemp sacks of grain and quilts. The leader smiled, ¡°So much grain? It seems the people on this slope are wealthy.¡± He then ordered, ¡°Go and search around, there might be more hidden stuff.¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The bandits began to search around and soon arrived near the bamboo forest. But the bamboo forest was dense and they couldn¡¯t see clearly into it, so the bandits dared not enter. However, there seemed to be a small path leading inside, meandering with tracks left by carts. One of them rushed back to report to the leader, while the rest waited outside cautiously. Jiang Sang, who hade to scout, retreated deep into the bamboo forest and urgently instructed everyone to go into the forest: ¡°The bandits areing in, you guys prepare some things and hurry into the forest.¡± Chunniang asked anxiously, ¡°What about the mule cart?¡± ¡°Leave the cart here, take the mule.¡± Jiang Sang put two sacks of grain on the mule¡¯s back and urged, ¡°Hurry up, they¡¯reing.¡± The whole Jiang Family immediately picked up their belongings and went into the forest. Lady Wen ordered her servant to lead their horse too. The horseback was loaded with their grain and bedding. She and her nanny, as well as her daughter each carried things in their arms, leaving the carriage behind and followed the Jiang family into the forest. As Chunniang walked, she kept looking back at the mule cart. There was still a lot of grain on it. Seeing it left behind was heartbreaking. Yingbao also felt sorry for the grain on the mule cart. Noticing that others hadn¡¯t yet reacted, she suddenly ran back, climbed onto the mule cart and swiftly collected all the leftover grain. She then quickly ran back before her mother found out. ¡°What did you run back there for, child?¡± Jiang Eng, who was at the rear, scolded her. Yingbao: ¡°I went back to fetch something.¡± She showed her uncle the bag she had. Jiang Eng picked up his niece and hurried to catch up with the group: ¡°Don¡¯t run around! If the bandits catch you, they¡¯ll treat you as a littlemb to cook.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Yingbao obediently responded. At that moment, Jiang Sang came back from the front, took his daughter from Jiang Eng and gave her to his wife. He said to his brother, ¡°We¡¯ll take the rear, big brother and father, together with Dacheng, are leading the way.¡± Jiang Eng nodded and kept vigntly pacing backwards while walking. By then, the bandits had entered the bamboo forest and quickly found the nook where the Jiang family had camped. ¡°General, should we pursue inside?¡± A bandit asked. The leader examined the mule cart and carriage racks, smiling faintly, ¡°Of course we should. What a big fat sheep, it would be a pity to let them get away.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Receiving the orders, the bandit immediately summoned dozen of his aplices to pursue. But they had not gone far when they suddenly stepped on a few ropes. The ropes snapped, triggering the bamboo poles attached to them which sprung up, firing a few bamboo arrows. Two of the bandits were shot down in an instant. The bandits cried out in pain, curling up on the ground. ¡°There¡¯s a trap!¡± One of them shouted. ¡°Fetch a long bamboo pole to clear the path ahead.¡± The bandits were frightened and dared not advance. They waited nervously for the others to return with a bamboo pole to guide their way, which slowed them down significantly. Chapter 144 - 140: Avoiding Bandits (Three Chapters in One)_5 Chapter 144: Chapter 140: Avoiding Bandits (Three Chapters in One)_5 Trantor: 549690339 They encountered several traps along the way, forcing the bandits to proceed with increased caution. Their leader grew more interested and insisted on having his men continue the pursuit. He wanted to see who was ahead of them, someone so clever to utilise traps. The leader didn¡¯t know that these were basic hunting techniques by using the resilience of bamboo for simple traps. While they could catch someone off guard, they could also be easily avoided once detected. Indeed, the bandits soon caught up with Jiang Sang and his group. Jiang Sang and his elder brother took turns firing arrows, maintaining their defence whilst retreating, thus holding the bandits at bay. Eventually, the bandits¡¯ ferocity heightened, disdainful of their losses they attacked recklessly. Hence, Jiang Sang drew his confiscated machete to fight back, assisted by his brother. Due to the narrowness of the bamboo path, only one or two could pass at a time. The bandits became infuriated as they were repeatedly repelled by the brothers. Hearing the sounds of the intense battle behind her, Yingbao grew increasingly anxious. Seeing the situation, Lady Wen¡¯s servant also joined them, brandishing a machete at the bandits. This servant was obviously well trained, far superior to the Jiang brothers, and held the bandits off single-handedly. However, as the casualties among the bandits increased, Jiang Sang¡¯s group began to show signs of exhaustion, their strength visibly weaker. At this time, Jiang Lao Han and his group ahead suddenly found a steep slope blocking their way. There were some bamboos growing on the steep slope, but numerous other trees as well. Jiang Lao Han was overjoyed and urged his family to climb the steep slope. Once they reached the top of the slope, they couldunch attacks against the bandits who were pursuing them. But the slope was very steep. Though it was possible for people to climb up using the bamboo and shrubs, it was difficult if they were carrying anything. It was even impossible for mules and horses to climb this slope. ¡°Women and children, go up quickly. If you can¡¯t carry something, leave it.¡± Jiang Lao Han advised. Dani, Erni and Yanru reluctantly discarded the baskets they were carrying. However, they still climbed up the steep slope, struggling with their carry-on baskets. Yingbao suddenly handed her mother a bundle of ropes, ¡°Mother, hurry up and take the children up, then tie the rope to the tree.¡± Chunniang immediately understood her daughter¡¯s intention. Without considering where her daughter had gotten the rope, she immediately rushed up the slope with the two children. Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu, who had been trained by their sister countless times to climb trees and walls, were put to good use. They were even faster than their younger cousin Yuanbao. Wei Zhan also followed closely, climbing up the steep slope. But Lady Wen and her daughter Wen Shu couldn¡¯t make it because it was rainy and the slope was wet and slippery. They tried several times but ended up falling and getting covered in mud. If it wasn¡¯t for the straps on their shoes, they would have lost them too. Just in time, Chunniang made it to the top of the slope. She tied one end of the rope her daughter had given her to the tree on the slope and tossed the other end down the steep slope. ¡°Master, Sister Wen, hurry up and grab the rope, we¡¯ll pull you up.¡± Yingbao, who had already climbed up the steep slope, called out. Wen Shu was almost in tears. Pushed by her mother, she sped the rope while the nanny reassured her, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, Miss. Just make sure to hold the rope tightly and don¡¯t let go.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Wen Shu knew she couldn¡¯tg behind. Her mother and nanny had not climbed up yet. She had to make it to the top quickly to pull them both up. Simultaneously, another rope was thrown down. Yingbao somehow found another bundle of rope, asking her mother to tie it to another tree and tossed the loose end down, ¡°Master! You have to hurry up!¡± The situation was critical, they couldn¡¯t afford to hesitate. If they did, they would lose their lives. Lady Wen couldn¡¯t afford to dy. She quickly grabbed the rope and began to climb up. At the same time, it was obvious that Jiang Sang and the others were barely holding out. Chapter 145 - 141: Escaping Disaster_1 Chapter 145: Chapter 141: Escaping Disaster_1 Trantor: 549690339 Old man Jiang calmly directed his two grandsons to draw their bows, aligning their arrows toward the direction where the bandits were about to appear. ¡°Hold your bows steady, and don¡¯t let your arrows skew, beware not to mistakenly injure your second and third uncles.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan responded, drawing their bows with a grim determination. With the help of her eldest daughter-inw, Jiang Liu finally managed to climb the steep slope, sitting on the ground, gasping for breath. She saw her little granddaughter, Yingbao, untying the rope from around Wen Shu¡¯s waist after dragging him up, and then she held onto the rope and smoothly slid down the hill. ¡°Baobao!¡± Chunniang eximed in shock, quickly looking downward, she saw that her daughter wrapped the rope around Youyou after descending the hill, instructing her mother and aunts above to pull up. Youyou must not be left behind, it still had great use. Chunniang, Yanru, and Mrs. Zhou all pulled hard on the rope, dragging it up. Combining their efforts with the intelligent Youyou who understood it needed to climb, they quickly pulled it up too. ¡°Baobao! It¡¯s your turn now!¡± Chunniang called out. Yingbao took the thrown down rope, quickly moved to tie up the mule. ¡°Baobao, hurry up ande up!¡± Chunniang was almost frantic, ¡°Forget about the mule!¡± Yingbao shook her head: ¡°No way! Without the mule, we can¡¯t take a lot of our stuff.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡± Jiang Cheng also slid down and took the rope from his younger cousin to tie up the mule. The mule was carrying tworge sacks of grain, which Jiang Cheng swiftly discarded. The grain could be forsaken, but they surely couldn¡¯t abandon this mule. Though Chunniang and her sisters-inw on the slope were irritated, they could not hesitate, and with great force, they pulled the mule up as well. The only thing left now was the horse of the Wen family. At this moment, Jiang Eng and the others had already retreated from the bamboo forest, with the bandits closely emerging behind them. The old man Jiang, who had already taken over his eldest grandson¡¯s bow and arrows, fiercely loosed several arrows at the bandits, along with his second grandson¡¯s arrows, forcing them back into the bamboo forest and making them dare not show their heads. ¡°Hurry ande up!¡± Chunniang shouted out. Yingbao cast a reluctant look at the Wen family¡¯s horse and the grain on the ground and held tightly onto the rope with her elder cousin, as they were pulled up by their mother and the others. As soon as Jiang Cheng came up, he seized hold of the bow and arrows his grandfather had madest night and fired continuously at the bandits who showed their heads, buying time for his second uncle and third uncle to make their retreat. Fortunately, old man Jiang and his sons had peeled a lot of bamboo arrowsst night, otherwise, they really wouldn¡¯t have been able to fend off those bandits. In the end, when Jiang Eng and Jiang Quan were pulled up, they still held onto the baskets that Dani, Erni, Yanru, and the others had discarded. As for Wen Fu, he was more steady, he hastily dumped the things from the horse¡¯s back, astonishingly tied the rope around the horse¡¯s belly, and had the people above pull the horse up first. Seeing that Jiang Eng and Jiang Quan were continuously shooting arrows overhead, he again used the rope that was thrown down, tied up the hemp sacks, and let them pull up every single sack and bedding as well. Finally, he carried his own stuff and climbed up the rope. Chunniang and the others were exhausted, but also very relieved. They managed to bring up all the food and bedding from both the Jiang family and Wen family, even the mule and big horse had been brought up. After a few bandits were wounded by their arrows, they shrunk back into the bamboo forest and didn¡¯t dare to show their heads again. But the Jiang family never let their guard down and kept a close watch on the movement below. Chunniang and the others untied the rope and took a short break, ced two sacks of grain back on the mule¡¯s back for it to carry. This steep slope was actually the ridge of South Slope, once they crossed it, they would descend to the other side, within view was arge wastnd. The Jiang family worried that the bandits might climb up, and they could not stand a chance against them, so they did not linger and continued their journey downhill. Seeing that her father, second uncle, and uncle Wen were all injured, Yingbao hurriedly took out some medicine she had prepared and handed them over and also took out some tablets to distribute to everyone else. Their clothes were soaked through and if they didn¡¯t take some medicine to ward off the cold, someone might fall ill soon. In fact, besides being a bit exhausted, everyone in the Jiang family was in good health, with Jiang Liu also being robust and reliable, her steadiness in walking not losing out to her children or grandchildren. But Mrs. Wen, her daughter and the nanny seemed to be reaching their limits, their pace became slower and slower, and they were almost unable to keep up with the group. ¡°Should we find a ce to rest first?¡± Chunniang watched this, feeling quite worried. Jiang Eng looked back, seeing no bandits chasing after them from behind, he sighed a little bit of relief. ¡°Once we reach the woods ahead, we can decide then.¡± At the exposed area, it would be troublesome if the bandits caught up with them. Despite all odds, the dense forest could conceal their traces and provide shelter from rain, Yingbao led Youyou along at a quick pace, whilst Youyou carried both Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu on its back. The two boys also held their pets, Xiaohei and Dahuang, in their pouches. Observing Wen Shu growing increasingly weaker, Yingbao handed her a few cooked water chestnuts, ¡°Older sister Wen, if you eat something, you¡¯ll regain some strength.¡± After boiling, she had soaked these water chestnuts in Five-Tripod Mushroom soup for quite a while. Eating them should help alleviate exhaustion. Wen Shu¡¯splexion was pale, she epted the water chestnuts and muttered her thanks before slowly beginning to eat. Yingbao also handed a few to Madame Wen and the nanny. After eating the water chestnuts, it seemed like their legs became a bit stronger, and they managed to trudge into the woods ahead. Encouragingly, there had been no bandits following them, which relieved everyone. Upon entering the woods, Jiang Sang went for a look around and found an old tree. The old tree had twisted branches, but it could shelter group from the rain underneath. Hence, everyone took a break under the tree. Chunniang distributed steamed buns and pickles to everyone, and both Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan, carrying their gourds, poured a bit of water for everyone. Jiang Quan shook his gourd and mumbled, ¡°We¡¯re almost out of water.¡± Yingbao nced at her second cousin brother and remained silent. There was plenty of water in her hideout, so she didn¡¯t worry about this problem. What she worried about most was whether their house had been burned down by the bandits. After all, her father and the others had injured many bandits. She walked over to Xiaolu and quietly fed it some dried golden ears, allowing it to slowly chew and regain its strength. The mules and horses,den with heavy loads, were nibbling at the grass and moss on the ground. Yingbao also gave them a handful of golden ears to eat. Jiang Sang climbed to the top of the tree and started to peer into the distance. There were no bandits¡¯ silhouettes on the ridge of the mountain, perhaps they had genuinely retreated. ¡°Where are we heading next?¡± Jiang Dng asked his younger brother. Jiang Eng also couldn¡¯t make up his mind, ¡°How about we ask Sang?¡± Since they could not return to their vige for the time being, they needed to find a safe ce to stay. They didn¡¯t know that arge number of bandits had entered Chuanhe Town and were stationed there, preparing to attack Qinchuan County after gathering enough manpower. With the increase in manpower, food became an issue. Hundreds to thousands of men would consume at least hundreds of kilos of grain a day, and thus, the bandits began to search for vigers who had fled with their grain and livestock. Hundreds of bandits entered North Mountain along the mountain paths, and startedbing through the area. The vigers hiding in North Mountain panicked and ran further into the woods, abandoning the livestock they had brought with them. Some elders who were too slow were caught by the bandits and killed on the spot. After regaining some strength, they decided to head east, towards Jiang vige, which was twenty miles away. Jiang Vige was situated in a remote area, far away from the official roads, the chances of being harassed by bandits were rtively low, so it seemed like a safe choice. ¡°Just follow me, I know the road to Jiang vige well.¡± Old Man Jiang took the lead, ¡°Back in the day, I used to roam around all the viges nearby.¡± At dusk, they finally arrived near Jiang vige. Jiang Sang was cautious and suggested checking it out first. ¡°You be careful, if something¡¯s wrong in the vige, get out immediately.¡± Chunniang was quite worried about her husband. ¡°I know.¡± Jiang Sang tightened his belt and fastened his leg wraps again, then he headed towards Jiang vige. Before he reached the vige, he could hear the dogs in the vige barking. Jiang Sang slowed his pace, walking while observing his surroundings. Jiang vige was a real mountain vige, built alongside the mountain, covered with lush trees. From afar, only trees could be seen and houses were invisible. The entire vige was shrouded in trees. Only when the smoke rose from cooking, one could notice that there was a vige here. The rain had stopped by now, but the road was muddy. Thick mud soon stuck to the soles of Jiang Sang¡¯s shoes, making walking difficult. After scraping the mud off his shoes on a stone, Jiang Sang came to the entrance of his uncle¡¯s house. Chapter 146 - 142: Taking In_1 Chapter 146: Chapter 142: Taking In_1 Trantor: 549690339 Grandpa Jiang was in the courtyard chastising his great-grandson. ¡°You little bunny! I¡¯ll twist your ear off the next time I catch you trading cotton for sweets!¡± Jiang Sang knocked on the wooden gate. ¡°Uncle.¡± Grandpa Jiang was startled, and rushed over to open the door. ¡°Oh! Sang,e in!¡± Jiang Sang stepped into the yard and asked, ¡°Uncle, has your ce been attacked by bandits?¡± ¡°Ah? No.¡± Grandpa Jiang gestured for Jiang Sang toe inside. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about the bandits though. Were you attacked?¡± Jiang Sang nodded, paused, and said, ¡°Uncle, we have just escaped the bandits and would like to stay here temporarily if it doesn¡¯t inconvenience you too much.¡± Grandpa Jiang snorted remarking, ¡°What inconvenience would it mean? You are my nephew! Stay as long as you need to. Now let¡¯s get your cousin to clear some rooms out for you.¡± He had always felt guilty towards his brother because of his unwise wife, who drove his brother away and forced him to establish his own household. Although many years have passed since the incident and his wife had died, and both families had repaired their rtionships, his guilt never diminished. Turning to his eldest son who had juste out, he said, ¡°Quickly, clear a few rooms for your uncle and his family. They are many, and we wouldn¡¯t want them to be cramped.¡± Jiang Jiu agreed and, after a brief greeting with Jiang Sang, told his wife and children to start tidying up. Jiang Sang: ¡°Our family consists of over a dozen people, including my daughter¡¯s husband¡¯s family. Uncle, we¡¯ll be counting on you.¡± ¡°Sang, you¡¯re too polite. There¡¯s no inconvenience. Where are your parents? Call them over quickly!¡± Grandpa Jiang looked outside expectantly. ¡°They¡¯re outside the vige; I¡¯ll call them here now,¡± Jiang Sang said. ¡°Good, I¡¯ll join you.¡± Grandpa Jiang followed Jiang Sang out of the courtyard and rushed towards the edge of the vige. Upon seeing each other, the brothers sighed deeply. Grandpa Jiang guided his brother old Man Jiang back home, reassuring him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The bandits can¡¯t reach our remote mountain vige. You can stay herefortably until the Imperial Court sends troops to dispatch them. There¡¯s no rush for you to go back.¡± With everyone walking into Grandpa Jiang¡¯s home, Jiang Jiu had already cleared several rooms for the neers. Jiang Jiu was in his 40s, with two married sons and several grandchildren. Given his uncle¡¯srge family, he arranged for his own family to temporarily give up their newly built rooms for them. The new house consisted of three rooms and two side rooms. Mrs. Wen and her daughter Wen Shu, along with their nanny, shared one room. While Yingbao, her parents, younger brothers and puppy shared another room Grandma Jiang Liu, Great Aunt Zhou, Second Great Aunt Yanru, and Dani shared another room. Jiang D, with his three sons, Jiang Eng with Huzi, Wei Zhan, servant Wen Fu, and the rest stayed in the remaining rooms. It was a relief for everyone to finally have a temporary shelter. They quicklyy down and fell asleep exhausted. Yingbao, equally exhausted, fell asleep before dinner and slept until the next morning. Upon awakening, she realized that it was already bright outside, her younger brothers were still deep in sleep, and her parents were not on the kang bed. Unwilling to move, Yingbaoy in bed studying the room. The house seemed to be newly built; the yellow mud on the wall was still shiny, and even the fresh smell of tung oil from the new window frames still lingered. However, there was only a bit of simple furniture inside; it seemed that the host family was not wealthy. After a while, Yingbao got up, put on her coat, got off the kang bed, and slipped her feet into her shoes. The thick mud on the soles had been scraped clean and the shoes¡¯ surface had been dried¡ªit was clearly her mother¡¯s work, done early in the morning. Stepping outside, she saw a clear sky. The sun was already up, on top of the trees. Great Aunt Zhou, Second Great Aunt Yanru, and her mother were busy in the kitchen, while Grandpa Jiang¡¯s daughters-inw and granddaughters-inw were chatting with them. After Yingbao returned from the outhouse, she saw Youyou being surrounded by a few children. Among these children, there were not only Grandpa Jiang¡¯s great-grandchildren but also a few kids from the neighborhood. Grandpa Jiang¡¯s great-grandchildren, Yingbao, were known, because they had been to Dongchen Vige at the time of their uncle¡¯s wedding. One was named Jiang Chong and the other was Jiang Mao. They were honest children, neither mischievous nor troublemakers. Upon seeing Yingbao, Youyou began to excitedly prance about. Yingbao walked over, stroked its head, untied the leash, and led it outside. ¡°Little aunt, may I ride it?¡± Jiang Mao, five years old, asked timidly. He had seen this little aunt riding a deer before, so he wanted to ride it too. Yingbao: ¡°It doesn¡¯t have a saddle on, so you can¡¯t ride it.¡± Seeing Jiang Mao¡¯s disappointed face, she added, ¡°Wait for me to put a saddle on it for you to ride. It¡¯s hungry now and needs to eat grass.¡± Jiang Mao¡¯s eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly. Yingbao led the deer out of the yard, with several children following behind her like tails, making it inconvenient for her to fetch some green shoots from the cave for Youyou. However, she could use her bag as a cover to fetch some wheat from the cave to feed Youyou, and these children probably wouldn¡¯t notice. Yingbao nced back at the children, reached into her bag for a handful of wheat, and held it out to the little deer¡¯s mouth for it to lick slowly. ¡°Why are you feeding it wheat?¡± asked one of the children in surprise. ¡°Won¡¯t your dad beat you for doing that?¡± Before Yingbao could respond, her seven-year-old nephew Jiang Chong said, ¡°Grandfather wouldn¡¯t dare hit little aunt.¡± The neighboring child was confused, ¡°Why? She dares to waste food, doesn¡¯t her dad care?¡± If they dared to do such a thing, their parents would surely smack their bottoms. ¡°Humph! Little aunt is a fairy. Not to mention feeding the deer wheat, even if she fed the deer cooked rice, grandfather wouldn¡¯t hit her!¡± Jiang Chong had been to Grandfather¡¯s house twice and each time he heard people say that his little aunt was a Fairy Child. Even Great Grandfather said that the cotton and golden ears nted by his family were bestowed by the Fairy Child, which was why his family could build several new houses. Since his little aunt is a Fairy Child, whatever she does is allowed, or so Jiang Chong understood. Yingbao: Alright, let him say what he wants, anyway, she had grown used to it and had be numb. The other children overheard the conversation and couldn¡¯t help but sneak nces at the little girl before them. To be honest, she seemed really different from the children of ordinary families. The children instantly felt awe, they even tried to walk quieter and breathe lightly, afraid to disturb the little Fairy Child. Looking at Jiang Chong and Jiang Mao, the two were proudly following Yingbao, chin raised high, looking like two proud little roosters. After Yingbao had let Youyou defecate and urinate and found a small pond for the little deer to drink from, she finally led it back. Suddenly, arge number of people stumbled into the vige. They were filthy and carried bamboo baskets and bedding on their backs, looking like refugees from afar. ¡°Yingbao! Yingbao!¡± A man spotted her and the little deer from a distance and ran over quickly. ¡°Uncle Chen Yin?¡± It took Yingbao a while to recognize that the man who was running towards her was actually Chen Yin, the second son of Chen Cunzheng. His hair was disheveled and his clothes were caked with mud. He didn¡¯t even have shoes on his feet. Chen Yin rushed over, hugged Yingbao, and burst into tears: ¡°I finally found you¡­wuuwuu¡­please save my father ¡­¡± Then Yingbao was led by Chen Yin to Chen Sanyou. At this time, Chen Sanyou was leaning on his eldest son, his eyes tightly shut, teeth clenched, hisplexion was waxy yellow and his body was convulsing, he did not look good. Yingbao took his pulse and lifted his eyelids to take a look, then said, ¡°Grandfather Chen has had a stroke.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Chen Yin was stunned when he heard this, and could not help but wail again, and fell to his knees: ¡°Father! Father ¡­¡± Yingbao pushed Chen Yin, ¡°Don¡¯t get in the way, I need to bleed him for treatment.¡± Chapter 147 - 143: Stroke Part 1 Chapter 147: Chapter 143: Stroke Part 1 Trantor:549690339 Chen Sanyou was carried to Old man Jiang¡¯s house and ced on a bamboo bed. Noticing that Chen Sanyou¡¯s mouth and eyes were somewhat skewed, Yingbao brought out the silver needles given by Lady Wen and used them to perform acupuncture on Chen Sanyou. The needles slowly prated into acupoints like the Earth Storehouse, Cheek Car, Dumb Door, Joint Valley, Communication Inside, Modest Spring, Bearing Jelly, and Wind Pool. After the acupuncture, she performed bloodletting by inserting the needles, then used a pry to open his mouth to feed him half a bowl of soup mixed with Wudingzhi herb. Lady Wen also took Chen Sanyou¡¯s pulse and confirmed Yingbao¡¯s diagnosis. However, she had no medicinal materials at hand and could only count on her apprentice, Yingbao, for his treatment. Yingbao continued the treatment on Chen Sanyou, including acupuncture and bloodletting. After the series of treatments, his face gradually rxed, and he soon fell asleep. Upon seeing his father¡¯s condition stabilized, Chen Yin finally felt relieved, and he talked to Jiang Sang about the bandits. ¡°Those bandits are ruthless. They kill anyone they see, even the elderly and children are not spared.¡± Chen Yin wiped his eyes with his sleeve and dejectedly said, ¡°They even went into the mountains to search. Seeing the unfavorable situation, I took my family and ran to the mountains, losing much of our food along the way.¡± Jiang Sang was curious, ¡°How did you end up in Jiang Vige?¡± Chen Yin said with a bitter face, ¡°My uncle said we should seek refuge in a remote vige. We thought of Jiang Vige as you were originally from here, and we might even run into you. So we came this way.¡± ¡°Where is Chief Chen?¡± Jiang Sang asked. Chen Yin replied, ¡°My uncle¡¯s family separated from us while fleeing. We lost contact with them.¡± There were no roads in the mountains, and with the bandits chasing after them, their group of dozens of people was in a total panic, running in every direction they could. ¡°On the way, dad suddenly fainted and we were all terrified. We traveled all night and didn¡¯t expect to actually run into you all, boo hoo¡­¡± Thinking of the panic fromst night, and the ecstatic joy of seeing Dalu and Yingbao this morning, Chen Yin couldn¡¯t help but tear up. Jiang Sang patted his shoulder in silent constion. Seeing that the Chen family had not eaten, old man Jiang had his daughter-inw cook them arge pot of rice porridge using their rice. Chen Sanyou¡¯s family, including the old and the young, was a group of more than ten people. Although they had brought some food with them, it wasn¡¯t much. This left old man Jiang scratching his head. They were all fellow vigers fleeing from disaster, friendly acquaintances who got along well. It would seem inappropriate to just ignore them. But if he were to help, his own limited food supplies would run out. Due to the current unrest caused by bandits, even if they had money, they couldn¡¯t buy any food, and they didn¡¯t even know when this turmoil would end. Sigh, they would just have to take it one step at a time. From now on, everyone would have to survive on porridge, hoping it could sustain them a little longer. Not just old man Jiang, even Old man Jiang was torn. So many people havee and they simply couldn¡¯t afford to host them all. After having a bowl of porridge, Chen Yin recuperated slightly and also realized this problem. So he presented five taels of silver to Jiang Sang. ¡°Sang, I want to set up a couple of straw huts first. We will reside in those huts. I know it¡¯s been tight for all of you, so I don¡¯t want to impose on you.¡± Jiang Sang nodded, took the silver, and handed it to Jiang Jiu who was next to him: ¡°Big cousin, please take care of this. Use this silver to hire vigers to build two huts for Uncle Chen¡¯s family.¡± Jiang Jiu didn¡¯t refuse but took the silver and went to find people to help. Since the family was willing to pay for the construction of their own huts, it was more than good news. The vige head of Jiang Family Vige was open-minded. He not only agreed to let the Chen family reside in the vige, but also allowed them to build straw huts in areas of the vige where they would not be in the way. Money makes the world go round. When Jiang Jiu gave out five taels of silver, the vigers all pitched in. Three grass huts were soon set up, using several thick tree trunks as support and the roofs were covered with thin bamboo and thatch, providing protection against both wind and rain. The inside of the grass huts was also stuffed with tworge bundles of straw, serving as beddings for the night. Chen Yin¡¯s family of four squeezed into one grass hut with the elders, while the families of the elder and younger brother, having more members, upied one each. Chen¡¯s sister-inw was a little upset, murmuring to her husband, ¡°What¡¯s up with Jiang Sang¡¯s family? They live in proper houses while we must live in the grass huts. How are we supposed to sleep in this small hut at night?¡± They had three children, the eldest son was already fifteen, and the youngest daughter was also ten. It didn¡¯t seem right that they had to squeeze together with their parents. Chen Dng was also not happy, but considering they were refugees, it was already good for the vigers of Jiang Family vige to take them in. He couldn¡¯t be too demanding. ¡°Sigh, let¡¯s just squeeze in for now. We¡¯re not staying here forever.¡± Chen¡¯s sister-inw snorted and spread the quilts on the straw, starting to tidy up the things they brought with them. But to their surprise, by evening, Chief Chen Fu¡¯s family, as well as Li Dayong and Li Eryong¡¯s families, arrived at the Jiang Family vige in disarray. This group consisted of twenty or thirty people, a whole group with both young and old. This shocked Lizheng, the vige chief of Jiang Family vige, who immediately asked Jiang Jiu what was going on. Jiang Jiu had no idea and had to go ask Jiang Sang. Jiang Sang was talking with Chief Chen, ¡°You mean, those bandits are currently raiding viges everywhere?¡± Li Dayong nodded, ¡°On our way here, we met many vigers. They were from neighbouring viges and even from the town. Their homes were all raided by the bandits. Yesterday, I also met a viger who said that their resistance attempts led by Lizheng were defeated. The bandits were rampant; they simply didn¡¯t fear death and wounded several of them in an instant.¡± ¡°Little brother, you had no idea, the bandits we met earlier were only a small part, and now more and more bandits keeping.¡± Li Eryong said, ¡°I met an acquaintance who once saw bandits carrying the Beast Fangs g. They would forcibly conscript anyone they met, and anyone who dared to escape or resist was killed on the spot.¡± Chief Chen said, ¡°That¡¯s why, Sang, this is not a good situation. Staying in Jiang vige is not safe either. We need to make a n and prepare early.¡± He had seen it on his way¡ª the bandits wereunching organized attacks on the viges as if they nned to use this ce as a stronghold. If so, there would be a brutal battle ahead. Jiang Sang pondered for a moment, then said, ¡°Since we can¡¯t avoid them, let¡¯s fight! We can¡¯t always wait for the Imperial Court¡¯s rescue.¡± Chief Chen stroked his beard and nodded, ¡°I agree, but our manpower is limited, and we don¡¯t have weapons. How are we to fight against the bandits with bare hands?¡± Chen Zhu, who had experienced battle, chipped in, ¡°Aren¡¯t there wild bamboo in the mountains? Let¡¯s buy some ropes from Jiang vige and make bamboo arrows for long-range attacks. Once we kill the first batch, we will have our closebat weapons.¡± Jiang Sang suddenly recalled his previous attack on Chen Guanglu, thought about it, and said, ¡°If we can¡¯t do it openly, let¡¯s do it secretly. We cannot just sit and wait for death. Bandits are also human; they need to sleep and rest. We might as well take the initiative and ambush them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s feasible.¡± Chen Zhu agreed. Yingbao, who was eavesdropping on their conversation at the door, began to think. Not only did the bandits need to sleep, but they also needed to eat. Since they were organized, the food they snatched would definitely be hand over to their leader for distribution and management. It would be great if she could find their storage location and collect all the food into her cave mansion. However, this was easier said than done. ¡°Yingbao, what are you doing?¡± Wei Zhan ran over and seeing the girl sneaking behind the door, he asked curiously. Yingbao casually walked away, ¡°I¡¯m doing nothing.¡± ¡°Then why are you hiding behind the door?¡± Wei Zhan blinked and asked again. ¡°None of your business!¡± Yingbao nced at the boy, considering whether to seal his mouth. Chapter 148 - 144: Refugees_1 Chapter 148: Chapter 144: Refugees_1 Trantor:549690339 Early the next morning, Yingbao did another acupuncture treatment for Chen Sanyou and fed him a bowl of medicinal soup. Seeing that he had regained consciousness and was even able to sit up and show his gratitude, she was relieved and made a note in her ount book. When she returned to the vige, she nned to give this ount book to his three sons, asking them to reimburse the cost of the medicine. As for now, Yingbao mentioned the payment for the medicine to Chen Yin, who assured her that it would undoubtedly be repaid in the future. However, by noon, another group of refugees arrived in Jiang Vige. Half of them knew Jiang Sang, and it seemed as if they hade to seek refuge under his wing. Jiang Sang and his brothers were helpless, but these were their fellow vigers, also disced from crisis, and they couldn¡¯t just ignore them. Luckily, the refugees brought their own food, enough for a few days. But before they had finished discussing how to amodate them, anotherrge group of refugees had arrived. This time, most of them were from Dongchen Vige, among whom were three generations of women ¨C Mrs. Wen and her twin daughters, Wen Tian and Wen Jiao, as well as two maids. They went straight to Jiang Sang upon reaching the vige, and the sight of therge group of people crying and huddling on the ground was truly pitiful. With the influx of more than a hundred refugees, panic set in among the vigers of Jiang Vige. The twenty-some households found the vige head, also the n Leader, and unanimously requested the expulsion of the Jiang family and the refugees from the vige. The n Leader was in a predicament, but since the vige could not amodate that many people, he had to gently suggest to the elder Jiang that they leave. Given that the n Leader had spoken, and there were dozens of vigers behind him staring at them fiercely, the Jiang family had no choice but to silently pack their belongings and prepare to leave. For Jiang Dage, it was unbearable to let his brother go; his eyes were tearing and his nose running. Jiang Jiu suggested: ¡°Dad, why don¡¯t we let them go to the East Mountain? There¡¯s water there and a bamboo forest. Aren¡¯t we supposed to cut bamboo arrows? It would be more convenient for them to stay there and work.¡± Jiang Dage¡¯s eyes brightened at the idea, and he immediately prepared to take his brother¡¯s family to the East Mountain. But the vigers of Jiang Vige were still unhappy and desperately tried to stop them from going to the East Mountain. ¡°They must leave the vige. They are not allowed to go to the East Mountain!¡± Jiang Dage was furious; he grabbed a kitchen knife, rushed out, and shouted, ¡°I own the fields on the East Mountain. There are dozens of acres of woond. What is it to you if I want to let them stay there? Pointing to the Jiang n Leader, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t burn your bridges. My family has given you so much cottonseed. All of that was brought by my nephew. Now my brothers are in trouble, and you turn your back on us? It¡¯s disgraceful!¡± The n Leader was ridiculed by this elderly man; his face turned red with chagrin, but he didn¡¯t dare to retaliate. Finally, he grudgingly agreed to let Jiang Sang¡¯s family go to the East Mountain woond. Jiang¡¯s wife Lin was reluctant to go. She told Xiu Zhenniang, ¡°Sister-inw, we¡¯re different from those other refugees. We should speak to the n Leader and ask to stay in the vige. We can pay whatever lodging fee they want.¡± While packing her things, Xiu Zhenniang replied, ¡°If you want to say something, you go ahead. I and Shushu will definitely go with the Jiang family.¡± Lin was not pleased andined, ¡°It¡¯s only a matter of speaking. You¡¯ve been in the Jiang family for a day or two; you¡¯re familiar with them. I just arrived, I can¡¯t put it into words.¡± Xiu Zhenniang nced at her, ignoring herints, and asked, ¡°Weren¡¯t you going to the county town? Why did youe back? And where is the gold you took, and your two horse carts?¡± Looking embarrassed, Lin turned her face and muttered, ¡°We encountered bandits on the road and had to turn back. But those bandits were relentless in their chase, so I had to have the maid throw all the valuable items including the gold, so we could escape. Our carriage wheel broke in halfway, so we had to walk. Later on, we ran into the vigers from Chen Vige and decided to follow them.¡± ¡°Oh, what about the horses?¡± Xiu Zhenniang asked, ¡°Did you lose both horses as well?¡± ¡°Yesterday night, someone stole the horses.¡± Lin was too embarrassed to say that the two coachmen had actually stolen the horses and disappeared in the chaos. The horses were all carrying food and some other valuables along with their identification documents for travel. Xiu Zhenniang looked at her sister-inw expressionlessly and continued to pack up her things: ¡°So now you have lost everything but still want to live in Jiang vige. Have you ever thought about how you will pay for your lodging and meals?¡± Lin wanted to say, ¡®Isn¡¯t that what you are here for?¡¯, but pride prevented her from doing so. ¡°I still have a bracelet, which should be enough to cover the expenses.¡± If worstes to worst, there are two zodiac gold medals in her daughters¡¯ cors, which should support them for a while. Xiu Zhenniang paid her no attention and wrapped up her and her daughter¡¯s belongings into two bundles. The nanny came in and whispered, ¡°Madam, if you are leaving now, let me take care of anyst packing.¡± ¡°Everything¡¯s packed.¡± Xiu Zhenniang pointed to the tworge bundles on the kang bed, ¡°I¡¯d like Nanny to carry one, and I¡¯ll carry the other.¡± The nanny put a bundle on her back, tried it, and picked up the other one, ¡°These are not heavy; I can carry them both.¡± Xiu Zhenniang didn¡¯t say anything and walked out the door. ¡°Sister-inw!¡± Lin was furious and quickly followed her out, ¡°Are you trying to abandon us?¡± Xiu Zhenniang, without turning her head, replied: ¡°Whether I abandon you or not, we are both in dire straits. It¡¯s better that we each look after ourselves.¡± She didn¡¯t want anything to do with this sister-inw of hers. Instead of heeding her advice not to go to the county seat, she went anyway and took Jin Er with her. As a result, not only did she lose goods worth more than two hundred taels of silver, she lost all her money and valuables as well. And now she wanted to depend on Xiu Zhenniang for their living, all six of them, three masters and three servants, and she acted as if it were the most reasonable thing. What a wishful thinking! ¡°You¡­¡± Lin got flustered and dropped her restraint. She ran up and grabbed Xiu Zhenniang¡¯s arm, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go together.¡± The vigers obviously didn¡¯t wee them, and Lin was actually afraid to stay alone. When she saw her sister-inw leaving, it was only natural for her to follow. The flight a few days ago had scared the wits out of Lin. Now, meeting Xiu Zhenniang was like grabbing a lifeline in the rapids. She wouldn¡¯t let go for anything. Arge group of refugees climbed up East Mountain. Jiang Sang led a group of young men to cut bamboo for. Old man Jiang stripped bamboo to make bows and arrows with a group of others. Jiang Jiu took some money to the vige to buy a lot of ropes for his uncle, brought a couple ofrge iron pots, and had his aunts cook for themselves. Spring Girl exchanged the rice and wheat her family had brought for rice flour with Jiang Jiu. They made pancakes with the iron pot and boiled porridge with the other pot for their own family. As for others, she couldn¡¯t care less, because her family didn¡¯t have much grain either. Of course, they couldn¡¯t neglect her little daughter¡¯s two female teachers. They must give what they ought to. The vigers of Chen Vige, who had followed Jiang Sang to East Mountain, were quite content. Everyone was enthusiastically cutting bamboo and setting up bamboo sheds. They were so familiar with this work that they quickly built bamboo sheds for their families that could shelter them from wind and rain. They all settled in. The women even started collecting firewood spontaneously and piled it up next to the bamboo sheds. The vigers who had lost their food did notin either. The women took their children to look for edible wild vegetables and ground skins on the mountain. Since it had rained a few days ago, there were especially many ground skins on the mountain. In no time, they found half a basketful to take back. If they boiled some hemp leaves with ground skins, it could barely fill their stomachs. Chapter 149 - 145: Melon_1 Chapter 149: Chapter 145: Melon_1 Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao and her two younger brothers went to pick chickweed, and Yuanbao, Huzi, and Wei Zhan came along for the fun. Jiang Jie, Huzi, and Wei Zhancked patience and often ran around aimlessly instead of participating seriously. The two puppies followed them around, running and barking, enjoying themselves immensely. Xiaolu, on the other hand, stayed close to Yingbao, following her wherever she went. The woods were dense with a few scattered fruit trees, but unfortunately, there were no fruits on them. Yingbao walked around with her basket, searching for chickweed, wondering how she could get the ripe melon out of her secret hideout. These few days, the melons had started to ripen one by one, filling the entire hideout with their fragrance. Yingbao¡¯s mouth watered in temptation, but she didn¡¯t dare eat them, afraid that the lingering scent might cause suspicion. Nor could she bear to hog the melons all to herself, while leaving her family out. After thinking it through, she decided to take some out when they were outdoors. She turned her head and saw her younger brother, Jiang Wu, bending over to pick chickweed. His earnestness was heart-wrenching. Seeing that no one else was around, Yingbao slipped behind a tree and pulled out two melon vines from their secret hideout, quickly burying the roots in the soil. ¡°Jiang Wu,e here, there¡¯s something good!¡± Yingbao shouted in a hushed voice, careful not to be too loud to attract other children. Jiang Wu jumped up and ran over. He stared in disbelief and gasped, ¡°What¡¯s this? It smells so good!¡± ¡°Hush!¡± Yingbao gestured for him to be quiet, she picked the melons one by one and put them into her basket. Though Jiang Wu had never seen a melon, the sweet smell confirmed that it was something delicious, and he couldn¡¯t help but salivate. ¡°What is this?¡± he asked again, picking one and putting it into his own basket. Yingbao replied solemnly, ¡°It¡¯s a melon, I¡¯ve seen it in town, it tastes great.¡± In truth, she hadn¡¯t, but her brother wouldn¡¯t know. Upon hearing that it was tasty, Jiang Wu excitedly started to fill his basket with the rest of the melons hanging from the vines. The two vines had eightrge melons in total. There were an additional couple of unripe little ones, but Yingbao didn¡¯t care about them. In her mission to taste the melons, the sacrifice of a couple of small ones didn¡¯t matter. Yingbao and her brother started to call for the others, ¡°Huzi! Yuanbao! Come here quickly!¡± After calling twice, the children finally ran over with the two delighted puppies in tow. ¡°Wow! It¡¯s honeydew melon!¡± Yuanbao, who had eaten green melons before, picked up one and started sniffing it, ¡°It smells amazing!¡± Wei Zhan had also eaten sweet melons before, curious; he asked, ¡°Where did you find this? You didn¡¯t steal it from someone¡¯s field, did you?¡± Yingbao shot him a sideways nce, ¡°If you think so, don¡¯t eat!¡± Did he think she wasn¡¯t aware that he was using her of stealing fruits? Wei Zhan didn¡¯t get upset butughed, ¡°Sharing is caring.¡± Yuanbao then used his fingernail to make a circle around the melon and gave it a few hard taps until it cracked open. He broke off pieces and gave them to Wei Zhan, Huzi, Jiang Jie, Jiang Wu and Yingbao, then took the biggest portion for himself. He took a huge bite and eximed, ¡°Sweet! Delicious!¡± Finally, Yingbao got to taste the melons that she had been longing for, she even ate the skin, finishing it up in a few bites. Yuanbao and Huzi also ate everything, including the skin and seeds, only Wei Zhan ate off the flesh and left the skin for Youyou, who had squeezed in next to them. Dahuang and Xiaohei felt left out seeing their owners eat and started whining. Their almond-shaped eyes were filled withints. Yingbao simply brought out another melon and shared it with them, then gave the rest of the fruit to the two dogs. After eating the cantaloupes, the children stopped picking grasses, and Yuanbao and Huzi voluntarily carried the basket back. When they handed the basket to Chunniang, she was utterly astonished. ¡°Where did you get the cantaloupes?¡± Few people in their mountain vige grew such fruits, and if they did, they sold out quickly. Unless you went to the market daily, you might not evene across them. Jiang Wu took the initiative to exin, ¡°We found them behind the big tree! My sister and I picked them all!¡± Upon seeing a few scattered flowers and two undeveloped fruits on the vines, Chunniang regretfully said, ¡°Why did you pull the vines out? Wouldn¡¯t it have been better to let them continue growing?¡± Jiang Wu quickly closed his mouth, refraining from furtherment. News of the Jiang children finding cantaloupes soon spread throughout the vige as Chunniang offered one to Madam Wen and another to n Leader Chen. They were left with fourrge and two small cantaloupes, more than enough for themselves. This caused a flurry of adults and children to scramble around, also hoping to find cantaloupes, but the results were predictable. Xiu Zhenniang divided the cantaloupe Chunniang brought into six parts, keeping one for herself and Nanny, then giving the remaining three to the Wen sisters, Tian and Jiao. Seeing this from her bamboo shelter, Lin frowned andined to Xiu Zhenniang when she returned, ¡°That third wife Jiang really doesn¡¯t know etiquette. I¡¯m also the teacher of her children, yet she only sent one melon.¡± Xiu Zhenniang ignored her, and after eating the cantaloupe, she and her daughter started sewing shoe straps onto their shoes. Hiking in the muddy terrain was causing the shoes toe off, necessitating the need for shoe straps for secure footing. Seeing that her sisters were ignoring her, Lin became even more frustrated. Suddenly, she turned around and kicked over the ceramic pot in the bamboo shelter. The pot had contained half of the rice porridge that the Jiang family had brought over. Xiu Zhenniang had meant to save it for her children to eat in the evening, but now it was spilled all over, and the pot was shattered. Upon hearing the noise, Xiu Zhenniang looked over but said nothing, deciding there and then. Since Lin was so inconsiderate, she needn¡¯t bother about her anymore. In the future, everyone would just mind their own business. The only pity was the limited living space; she and her daughter had no choice but to share with Lin and her daughter, which was quite vexing. Seeing the shattered pot, Nanny was heartbroken. She quickly scraped the spilled rice porridge into the broken pot shards and took it outside for the horse to eat. Having vented her anger, Liny down on the grass and pretended to nap, regrettinging to this god-forsaken ce. The incident when they had almost been caught by the bandits was still fresh in her mind, nearly breaking her courage. Her daughters had also been badly frightened and were still stricken, often having nightmares at night. Once the bandit trouble was over, she resolved to take her daughters back to Yuzhou. She would never stay in this ce again. To hell with those folk remedies and secret medicines! Nothing was more important than herself and her family¡¯s lives. In the evening, Jiang Eng and his two older brothers each dragged back arge bundle of bamboo. Jiang Lao and his grandsons had already shaved a pile of bamboo arrows. Meanwhile, Chen Zhu and a few others who could make bows were busy making longbows out of special wood by heating and bending the wood over a fire and fastening them with hemp fibers. They had made more than ten longbows that day. Jiang Eng tested them and found them to be extremely resilient. Unfortunately, they had no iron arrowheads. Otherwise, these bows and arrows would definitely be a major weapon. Yet, bamboo arrows could also inflict serious injury, as long as the enemy wasn¡¯t wearing cowhide armor. The sharpened bamboo arrows could easily pierce their chests. ¡°The food is ready. Come and eat,¡± Chunniang said. Chunniang and her sisters-inw had already prepared the meal, which consisted of a pot of wild vegetable and grass stew, a basket of thin pancakes, a pot of rice porridge, and a te of sliced cantaloupe. ¡°Huh? Where did this cantaloupee from?¡± Jiang Eng asked. Yanru answered, ¡°Yingbao and the others found them while they were picking grass.¡± Jiang Eng let out a heartyugh, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to find cantaloupes up in the mountain. Could it be from someone else¡¯s melon field?¡± ¡°My sister and I found them in the woods,¡± Jiang Wu stated loudly, ¡°It¡¯s not from anyone¡¯s melon field.¡± Chapter 150 - 146: Nightmare_1 Chapter 150: Chapter 146: Nightmare_1 Trantor: 549690339 Jiang Sang looked at his younger daughter when he heard this. He sat down to eat with an unperturbed countenance. He took a bite of a piece of melon, it was extremely sweet, the best melon he had ever eaten. Dani also took a piece of melon and asked Yingbao, ¡°Will you go and look for more tomorrow?¡± She still remembers the experience of looking for arrowheads with her younger cousin. She and her second sister didn¡¯t find any, whereas her little cousin could always find one or two wherever she looked. It was very strange. Yingbao nodded: ¡°I will!¡± She has a field of these melons. Most of them are ripe and if not picked in time, they will probably rot in the field. Upon hearing this, the second sister¡¯s eyes sparkled, ¡°I will look for them too tomorrow.¡± These melons are too delicious, even better than arrowheads. She wanted to eat them every day. Jiang Wu picked up another piece of melon and mumbled, ¡°Hmph! None of you can find the melons. Only my sister can!¡± Yingbao turned to look at her brother. Strange, how did this little guy know that only she could find them? By the time they finished dinner, it was already dark. Yingbao crawled into her quilt and closed her eyes to enter her sanctuary. It had been a while since she had checked on that book. Today, she suddenly had a whim to find that little door, to see if it had appeared. She arrived next to the luminous object on her Gourd Boat, circled around the giant sphere, but the small door did not appear. Yingbao didn¡¯t give up, she put her hand on the sphere and muttered: I want to go in! I want to go in! After a few attempts, she got nothing. Yingbao exhaled in frustration, prepared to leave when suddenly a small door slowly appeared. Excited, Yingbao quickly reached out and touched it. A sh of light and she again appeared in a dense fog. The giant book turned a page on its own as per the agreement. Yingbao hurriedly went over to read it. [¡­On a storm-ridden night, bandits swung their broadswords at the vigers. Blood sprayed, limbs flew, and although some vigers tried to resist, it was in vain as they all ended up decapitated.] [¡­The banditsughed crazily, pursuing and killing vigers, setting fire to the vige houses, the scattered rain was unable to put out the mes of sin, all the houses were burnt to the ground.] [¡­Refugees temporarily settled on East Mountain weren¡¯t able to escape their fate either, hundreds of bandits surrounded the forest, shing anyone they saw. Jiang Family members protected Madam Wen San and Wen Tian, Wen Jiao while fighting, retreating to a cave deep in the forest. At this point, only Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan were left by their side, and Jiang Yingbao, the adopted daughter of the Jiang Family¡­] After reading one chapter, the book disappeared as a paper butterfly. In the blink of an eye, Yingbao was back on her Gourd Boat. Her mind kept reying the plot from the book, causing the hairs on her back to stand up. Yingbao quickly paddled the Gourd Boat to the shore and left the sanctuary. She opened her eyes suddenly. Everything around her was pitch dark, she couldn¡¯t even see her hand. She could hear her parents¡¯ soft snores, the sound of the wind outside, and the sound of rain hitting the shed. The words from the book suddenly shed in her mind: ¡­ On a storm-ridden night¡­ ¡°Dad! Mom!¡± She yelled. Spring Lady and Jiang Sang sat up straight in the dark, fumbling, ¡°Baobao, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t care whether the description in the book was true or whether the event would happen tonight, she shouted, ¡°Dad, Mom, get up quickly! Bandits are attacking the vige! They are about to storm the mountain!¡± ¡°What?¡± Upon hearing his daughter¡¯s words, Jiang Sang didn¡¯t hesitate, he quickly got up, put on his coat, and instructed Spring Woman, ¡°Call the children to get up! I¡¯m going to warn others!¡± With that said, he had already crawled out of the bamboo shed, rushing to wake up his elder and second brothers and their parents. ¡°Get up! Get up everyone! Bandits areing!¡± In no time, everyone was awake,ing out to see what was happening. Chen Yin, while putting on his coat, ran over asking, ¡°Third brother, what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Bandits are attacking the vige. They¡¯ll be up the mountain soon! Get your children up quickly!¡± Upon hearing this, Chen Yin also panicked and called out to the bamboo huts, ¡°Get up! The bandits are here!¡± Xiu Zhenniang and her daughter Wen Shu were also startled awake and quickly got dressed and began gathering their things. Fortunately, she was mindful and always tidied things up before sleeping each night, to be prepared for any sudden incidents. The nanny, asleep by their side, quickly got up and lit a candle with a matchstick. Woken up on the other side, Mrs. Lin was not pleased. But she knew this was no small matter, hurriedly got dressed, and peeked out of the bamboo hut. Outside was utter darkness, only sporadically lit by a few torches. ¡°It¡¯s still raining outside, how could there be bandits at this hour?¡± Mrs. Linined discontentedly. ¡°Then you can continue sleeping,¡± Xiu Zhenniang said, unwilling to indulge her. She helped her daughter into some short clothes suitable for walking, and tightly fastened her shoces. She then rolled up their bedding to carry on her back. Her daughter Wen Shu and the nanny each packed a bundle, and the three of them put on their bamboo hats, left the bamboo hut, and rushed to meet up with the others at the Jiang Family¡¯s bamboo hut. Seeing that Xiu Zhenniang and her daughters had left, Mrs. Lin became flustered and hastily ordered her maids to get her own daughters dressed. Wen Tian, who was sleeping soundly, was agitated by the abrupt awakening and refused to get dressed. Mrs. Lin coaxed, ¡°The bandits are here. We have to hurry.¡± ¡°There aren¡¯t any bandits!¡± Wen Tian, irritated, shrugged off the maid¡¯s hand and burrowed back under her nket. ¡°I¡¯m not getting up!¡± Wen Jiao was sleepy too, but her fear of bandits was stronger. She quickly persuaded, ¡°Sis, get up. If we don¡¯t get moving, the bandits wille and kill us.¡± Frustrated with her elder daughter¡¯s disobedience, Mrs. Lin snapped, ¡°Then sleep, we¡¯ll just leave you here alone to sleep. Xiao Hong, Xiao Cui, forget about her. Quickly find clothes for Jiao.¡± Her two maidsplied, found easy-to-walk-in clothes for Wen Jiao, and helped her dress. While Mrs. Lin and her daughters were still getting dressed, Yingbao, along with her parents and brothers, had already packed up. Each held their dogs gently, and Youyou carried a lot of items that Yingbao had ced on her back. Yingbao even took advantage of the surrounding darkness and everyone busily packing to collect tworge iron pots and some grain and bedding. These items were too cumbersome and would only slow them down. Amid the chaos, nobody noticed what was missing and just assumed others had taken it. Suddenly, her father, Mr. Jiang, came over and asked in a low voice, ¡°Yingbao, which direction will be safe for us?¡± Yingbao blinked, pointed towards the depths of the forest, ¡°That way, there¡¯s a cave.¡± Mr. Jiang patted his daughter, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll go there then.¡± He then signaled everyone to head deeper into the forest. Fortunately, they had explored these woods yesterday and knew the terrain airily well, so they could figure out the direction. Halfway there, Mr. Jiang left everyone with Yingbao and went down the mountain with a group of young men, armed with weapons and carrying bows and arrows. Yingbao rushed over and gave her father a packet of pills, telling him to keep it safe. ¡°Dad, you must be careful. There are many bandits, don¡¯t fight them if you can¡¯t win. Run immediately.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mr. Jiang patted his daughter¡¯s head, turned around resolutely, and left. The rain wasn¡¯t heavy, but the wind was strong. Wearing her little bamboo hat, Yingbao quickly walked into the woods, her heart filled with sadness. She didn¡¯t know if her father and others were in danger, nor whether the events in the book would ur. But she couldn¡¯t gamble with the lives of her family. ¡°Wait! Wait a minute!¡± Mrs. Wen¡¯s voice could be heard from the rear. Chunniang wanted to turn back, but Yingbao firmly grasped her sleeve, not giving her a chance to stop. However, that voice kept calling from behind, which was quite grating in the silent night. ¡°We should go back and check. It¡¯s not right for her to keep trailing and calling from behind,¡± Mr. Jiang said, his brow furrowed. Chapter 151 - 147: Escape_1 Chapter 151: Chapter 147: Escape_1 Trantor:549690339 Jiang¡¯s old man didn¡¯t even make it there before someone had already received Lady Wen and her servants. Yingbao did not linger; she swiftly ventured further into the forest with Youyou under the light of the torch. She needed to quickly find the cave described in the book, so that everybody could rest, and then she would make further ns. Chun¡¯niang was carrying Jiang Jie on her back, Jiang Cheng was carrying Jiang Wu on his back, Yanru with Huzi and Yuanbao quickly followed behind, with Wei Zhan and Dani also not far behind. Jiang¡¯s old man and his wife, Jiang Liu, didn¡¯t fall behind either, leading their mules. Jiang Quan was ahead, holding a torch to light the way for his little cousin. Xio Zhenniang and her daughter Nanny followed close behind the Jiang household. Their horse was carrying food and bedding, led by Wen Fu, they were not slow. The dozens of elderly and children quietly followed the team without anyints. Of course, except for Lady Wen, Mrs. Lin and her daughter Wen Tian. ¡°Mother, I can¡¯t walk anymore.¡± Wen Tian said with a sad face: ¡°My shoes keep falling off.¡± ¡°If you can¡¯t walk, you have to!¡± Mrs. Lin, unable to see the road ahead in the rain, was incredibly irritated. Although she felt bad for her daughter, she had no choice but to keep up with the crowd. Wen Tian eventually broke down crying, refusing to move: ¡°Mother, I really can¡¯t walk anymore.¡± With no other choice, Mrs. Lin called to her servant, ¡°Aqiu, you carry her.¡± Aqiu, a 14 or 15 year old boy, struggled to carry the eight-year-old Wen Tian on the nighttime trail. Even in the autumn rain, Mrs. Lin and her daughters soon fell behind the others Mrs. Lin grew anxious, urging Wen Jiao¡¯s maid and Aqiu, who was carrying Wen Tian, to hurry up. She kept calling Xio Zhenniang who was ahead, ¡°Fourth Sister! Wait, don¡¯t walk so fast, wait for us¡­¡± But in these times, Xio Zhenniang wouldn¡¯t care, Even with the help of three servants, Mrs. Lin was still slow. Waiting for her was waiting for death. In a hurry, thanks to the book, Yingbao was the first to find the cave. However, the trail leading up the mountain was narrow and difficult to climb. Due to the rainy weather, the path was slippery and anyone could easily fall off the cliff. Yes, the cave was halfway up the mountain. It was a natural cavern, once everyone was inside, and the mountain trail was guarded, no one else could climb up. ¡°Mother, you and the little one be careful,¡± instructed Yingbao ¡°I¡¯ll go up first and check it out.¡± She was small and agile, often exercising herself, so walking this mountain path was not difficult. Yingbao took the torch from Jiang Quan¡¯s hand and walked directly up the trail while the Jiang family didn¡¯t manage to react. Wei Zhan, who loved adventures, quickly followed Yingbao up the trail. Youyou became anxious as it could no longer see its little master, running in circles and making several unsessful attempts to follow. Carrying too many things on its back, it kept rubbing against the mountain wall and got pushed away. In the end, Youyou could only be ced alongside the mules and horses, watching anxiously as everyone ascended the narrow trail. Wen Fu didn¡¯t go up. He stayed behind to look after the horses, mules, and deer ¨C all of which were carrying the family¡¯s food, nkets, and other belongings. They couldn¡¯t afford to lose anything. Without food, no matter how secure it was up there, they wouldn¡¯tst more than a few days. So he had to stay behind, wait until the elderly, women, and children were all up, and then have Jiang Quan and Jiang Chenge down and transport the goods up in batches. After walking up the trail for a long time, Yingbao was the first to reach the cave entrance. It was incredibly dark inside, making it rather frightening. Luckily, Wei Zhan and Jiang Quan quickly followed after her, shining their torches inside, ¡°Let¡¯s go in and have a look.¡± Seeing that they were apanying her, Yingbao bravely ventured into the cave. The cave was very spacious, measuring more than 70 feet in length. The entrance was wide open, allowing wind and rain to blow in from time to time. However, the interior of the cave was not too deep, extending only around forty-five feet. With a squeeze, it couldfortably amodate around two hundred people. The floor was smooth, as if it had been manually excavated. In the corners, there were still a few piles of ashes from past fires, suggesting that someone had lived here before. At that moment, people began to enter the cave with torches, illuminating the space clearly. Old man Jiang and his wife arrived, looking around and sighing from time to time, ¡°It¡¯s been so many years since we¡¯ve been here, but it hasn¡¯t changed at all.¡± ¡°This ce is really good. If one man guards the entrance, no one can get through. It¡¯s a great refuge.¡± The n Leader, supported by his eldest son and seated on a rock, asked old man Jiang: ¡°How did you know there was a cave here?¡± Old man Jiang replied, ¡°In my youth, I used toe here often. This ce is called Tiger Mouth.¡± Decades had passed in an instant, and he had not thought of it until he saw the nk road and suddenly recalled it. A question arose in his mind, ¡°How did my little granddaughter know there was a cave here?¡± Upon further thought, he remembered the children had gone into the mountains to fetch firewood yesterday. It must have been that his little granddaughter wandered farther than the others and stumbled upon the cave. The refugees began toe in. Some people walked around the cave and found two grey snakes. They split them into halves with a sickle and threw them out of the cave. Chunniang arrived with her son. She settled her belongings and baskets in a clean spot and asked her daughter, ¡°Baobao, is this ce really safe?¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°For now it¡¯s safe. I¡¯ll ask Grandpa n Leader to find two people to guard the entrance of the nk road. No one will be able to get up.¡± In the book she had read, Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan guarded the entrance just like this until the Imperial Court¡¯s troops came to suppress the bandits. ¡°Are there really bandits circling the mountains?¡± someone raised a question, ¡°We didn¡¯t encounter anything on our way here.¡± If they hade all this way in the middle of the night, enduring the wind and the rain, and it turned out to be a false rm, that would be a real joke. Yingbao did not respond to the question. She was busy helping her mothery out the sleeping area for her younger brothers. ¡°Whether there are bandits or not,¡± most people said they would rather be safe than sorry. ¡°We¡¯re not at a loss foring here. At least, we can avoid the rain in the cave. It¡¯s easier than staying under a bamboo shed. Tomorrow, we can go down to find food and water. We should be able to hold out until the Imperial Courtes to suppress the bandits.¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± someone echoed. Everyone was content with the decision to stay in the cave. Thest few days of escape have left them physically and mentally exhausted. Now, they could finally have a good sleep. Once everyone had entered the cave, Yingbao walked to the entrance of the nk road and tried to look below. She saw the Lin family¡¯s Mistress and several servants holding a torch, still standing at the entrance, dawdling. Wen Tian, the eight-year-old, stubbornly refused to set foot on the narrow nk road. ¡°Wuu wuu wuu, I don¡¯t want to go, I might fall off.¡± Wen Tian refused to step on the rickety wood nks. She resolutely clung to Mistress Lin¡¯s sleeves, unwilling to let go. Mistress Lin felt helpless but did not dare to ask Aqiu to carry her up. The nk road was so narrow that if Aqiu identally dropped her daughter down the mountain, it would be disastrous. Mistress Lin looked at Wen Fu standing not far away and walked over. ¡°Wen Fu, take Madam up there.¡± Wen Fu nced at her and refused immediately, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Madam Three, I have to guard the grain.¡± ¡°You! You are a dog ve daring to disobey the owner¡¯s order?¡± Mistress Lin grew angry. In all the years she had lived in the Wen Mansion, no ve had ever defied hermand. With neither arrogance nor humility, Wen Fu said, ¡°I am a ve belonging to Fourth Lady and answer only to hermands.¡± Mistress Lin was infuriated, but she understood, at this point, she really couldn¡¯t do anything to this damned dog ve. At this moment, the n Leader¡¯s grandson came over with a torch, holding his hand out to Wen Tian. ¡°Hold on to me, and I¡¯ll help you up.¡± Wen Tian still shook her head and continuously backed off, ¡°No!¡± Chapter 152 - 148: Simply a Disaster Star_1 Chapter 152: Chapter 148: Simply a Disaster Star_1 Trantor:549690339 Wen Jiao steps forward, gripping the young boy¡¯s hand, ¡°Then you should be careful, I¡¯m scared.¡± The young boy soothes, ¡°Stick to the cliff, there will be no problems.¡± As long as you ovee your fear, the nk road is navigable. Wen Jiao nodded, cautiously stepping onto the nk road. The young boy leads Wen Jiao slowly, and quickly enters the mountain cave. The moment she enters the cave, the little girl sighs and quickly gives a thank you, ¡°Thank you, brother.¡± Chen Boyuan waves his hand, ¡°No need to be polite, it was nothing.¡± Yingbao¡¯s gaze passes over them before he looks down at the scene below. Brother Jiang Cheng arranges the grandparents, holds a torch with his younger brother Jiang Quan sticking to the cliff, and slowly moves down the mountain, preparing to bring up food from the horses and mules. Yingbao secretly follows them down the mountain. ¡°Yingbao, stop messing around! Go back up!¡± Jiang Cheng turns his head and sees his little cousin following them, frowning and scolding. Yingbao, ¡°I¡¯ll watch the mules and horses for you.¡± Jiang Cheng res at his little cousin, ¡°You don¡¯t need to! Go back now!¡± ¡°I want to go.¡± Yingbao doesn¡¯t want to argue with him. Her tworge iron pots hidden in the cave must be taken out, but not under the watchful eyes of all in the cave. Jiang Cheng grits his teeth, if he wasn¡¯t standing on the narrow nk road, he would have pped her. Seeing that they had already walked halfway, he reluctantly let her go. The three siblings quickly descend the mountain path ande to Wen Fu. As soon as Mrs. Lin sees Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan, her eyes light up and she quickly approaches, ¡°You are here to take us up, right?¡± Yingbao interrupts before Jiang Cheng can speak, ¡°We have other things to do and don¡¯t have time to escort people. Mrs. Lin, you must go up yourself.¡± Reflecting on the depiction in the book, Yingbao immediately loses any good impression of this Lady Wen. In the book, she ordered Brother Jiang and Second Brother Jiang to work to death for her and her three daughters. Mrs. Lin was really bold. She is not a real child, so her analysis of the plots in the book does not follow a child¡¯s logic. So as long as she is here, Mrs. Lin should not count on Brother Jiang and Second Brother Jiang. Mrs. Lin did not expect this little girl to speak in such a way, she was annoyed. ¡°Yingbao, how dare you speak to your elders like that?¡± Yingbao tilts her head, ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth, Mrs. Lin, the mountain path is narrow. If you fall, both of us will lose our lives.¡± She covertly pulls on Brother Jiang¡¯s sleeve, not allowing him to ept. Jiang Cheng was initially inclined to agree, but seeing his cousin¡¯s determination, it would be awkward to dismantle her situation. He had no choice but to apologize: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mrs. Lin, the mountain path is narrow. We dare not take people up casually. Could you think of another way?¡± Angered, Mrs Lin flounces away. Yingbao grinned, whispering, ¡°Big brother, second brother, this Mrs. Lin is very cunning. We just need to take care of our own people. Besides, she has three servants. We shouldn¡¯t be bothered by her.¡± Jiang Quan agrees, ¡°Indeed, with three servants, she certainly shouldn¡¯t rely on us to help her and her daughter. We¡¯re not gods with three heads and six arms, can we fly them up?¡± Moreover, Lady Wen¡¯s delicate daughter was really unreliable. She refused to walk up the nk road even with a servant¡¯s help. She endlessly kicked and hit the servants, eventuallyying down and refusing to walk. If she were to throw a tantrum on this narrow nk road, even a god would be kicked down by her. Jiang Cheng nods, turning to greet Wen Fu, ¡°Uncle Fu, let¡¯s move the rice.¡± A bag of rice weighs at least a hundred or so jin, it¡¯s impossible for one person to carry it up due to its weight, so it must be split into ten or twenty jin bags and moved up like ants moving house. Wen Fu nods and unhooks the grain bag from the mule¡¯s back. Jiang Quan uses his bag to contain the rice. Carrying one in front and one behind should enable him to carry twenty or thirty jin of rice. Jiang Cheng then uses an empty sack to separate the rice. Seeing the three men busy, Yingbao says: ¡°I¡¯ll stay here to watch the mules.¡± Jiang Cheng handed a torch to Yingbao, ¡°Be careful then.¡± A few torches were already stuck in crevices along the cliff, burning brightly. He didn¡¯t need the one in his hands for now, and he hoped it would boost his little cousin¡¯s courage. Luckily the rain wasn¡¯t too heavy, so it didn¡¯t put out the torches. Yingbao used the torch to light the way for Brother Jiang Cheng and the others, urging them to hurry up and load the grain. Lin and Wen Tian finally stepped onto the pathway. Surprisingly, it was the n Leader¡¯s physically weak grandsoning to fetch them. Yingbao gave them a nce and then stopped paying attention. However, not long after, Wen Tian shrieked, followed by the yells of young men and the sound of pebbles tumbling down the cliffside. ¡°Oh no, someone fell down!¡± Several people ran out of the cave, shouting in rm. On the pathway midway up the cliff, a young man was hanging on, struggling to climb back up. But the path was slippery and had no handholds, and the youth failed several times. The women standing next to him seemed to be frightened into paralysis, not reaching out to help him. ¡°Boyuan!¡± Chen n Leader¡¯s daughter-inw screamed in panic, rushing forward to save her son but was held back by the crowd. Two men quickly moved towards the youth, wanting to help him. But before they could reach him, the boy had already fallen. Han Miaoniang screamed out loud and then copsed on the spot. Yingbao had also seen all this. When Wen Tian screamed, she reflexively looked over and saw Wen Tian unsteady on her feet, pushing Chen Boyuan unintentionally. While she managed to regain her bnce, the frail Chen Boyuan lost his footing and slipped off the path due to her push. This Wen Tian really is a disaster. Thankfully, I didn¡¯t let Brother Cheng help her. Yingbao silently cursed. Before she could check on the situation down the cliff, she saw Wen Fu and Brother Cheng running down towards the cliff with torches, followed by Jiang Quan. With everyone gone, Yingbao ced her torch at the entrance of the mountain path. Looking around and seeing no one, she took out arge iron pot from the cave and ced it on the ground. Then she took out two quilts and piled them on top of the iron pot. At this time, chaos broke out on the pathway. After hauling Wen Tian and Lin up to the cave, people descended again to look for Chen Boyuan. Finally, Chen Boyuan was hoisted from the cliff by Wen Fu and others, one of his legs twisted abnormally, and he had fallen unconscious. ¡°Yingbao, do you still have medicine?¡± Jiang Cheng asked his little cousin. Yingbao: ¡°I do have a bit, but it can¡¯t treat broken legs.¡± The youth¡¯s leg was clearly fractured. No matter how magical her medicine is, it can¡¯t mend his broken limb. ¡°If it can keep him alive, that¡¯s enough.¡± Jiang Cheng said. This youth was about his age. Jiang Cheng felt greatly mncholic, feeling deep sympathy. Yingbao took out ten medicinal pills from her small pouch and handed them over: ¡°My medicine is very expensive, each pill is worth two taels of silver, ten pills are twenty taels, Brother Cheng, you should rify this with them.¡± Hum, when she had treated Chen Zhu with her medicine before, the n Leader¡¯s daughter-inw had made sarcastic remarks, calling her a money-grabbing child who was fooling her inws with fake stuff. So she had raised the price of her medicine. If it was too expensive, they could choose not to buy it. Jiang Cheng took the pills, ¡°Alright, I will discuss the price with grandfather.¡± Actually, he didn¡¯t approve of his little cousin demanding money upfront, but he knew the medications she had were valuable. He had himself recovered from a serious head injury after taking her pills, he knew this better than anyone else. So even if he didn¡¯t approve, he needed to rify the price of the pills with grandfather. Inside the cave, Han Miaoniang held her son and started wailing. She was so breathless that she almost fainted. ¡°My son¡­hic¡­¡± Sun, the elder sister-inw, rubbed her back whileforting her, ¡°Stop crying, Physician Wen said it¡¯s just a broken leg, there¡¯s no other harm.¡± Upon hearing these words, Han Miaoniang rolled her eyes and fainted. Chapter 153 - 149: Refuge_1 Chapter 153: Chapter 149: Refuge_1 Trantor: 549690339 Xiu Zhenniang hastily set Chen Boyuan¡¯s bones and strapped his leg to two wooden boards, then fed him a pill that Jiang Cheng had brought over. She told the n Leader, ¡°I¡¯m not skilled in bone setting, you will still need to find a bone doctor as soon as possible.¡± The n Leader of the Chen family was stupefied. Where on earth could he find a bone doctor at this time? Dr. Li¡¯s eldest son was quite skilled in bone setting, but where could he find him? The n Leader turned his gaze to Chunniang, ¡°Daughter-inw of third son, does your Yingbao know how to set bones?¡± Out of desperation, he temporarily forgot that Yingbao was only a four-year old child, hardly a bone setter. Only then did Chunniang remember that her little daughter had gone down the hill with Jiang Cheng for some time now, why haven¡¯t theye back up? ¡°Where¡¯s Baobao?¡± Chunniang hastily asked Jiang Quan, ¡°Why hasn¡¯t Baobaoe up yet?¡± Jiang Quan had just carried a sack of rice into the cave and said, ¡°She¡¯s down there with the big brother, watching the mules and horses.¡± Chunniang was about to go down to find her daughter, but was stopped by Jiang Quan, ¡°Auntie, our torches are about to burn out, don¡¯t wander around. Yingbao will be back with big brother soon.¡± Sure enough, not long after, Jiang Cheng came up carrying tworge iron pots, followed by Yingbao leading a deer, and Wen Fu carrying a sack. As soon as Yinbao came up, she was asked by the n leader to check on Chen Boyuan, but she didn¡¯t know how to set bones, so she had no idea what to do with such an injury. ¡°My medical skills were taught by Master, and so far I only know a bit about internal medicine, I¡¯m not good at the rest,¡± Yingbao told the truth. The Chen n leader looked dejected. Han Miaoniang, crying even louder by her son¡¯s side, suddenly got up and charged at Wen Tian. ¡°It¡¯s all because of you, you troublemaker! My son kindly brought you up here, and you pushed him! You wretch!¡± Madam Lin had the maid protect Wen Tian and told the angered Han Miaoniang: ¡°My daughter didn¡¯t mean it, don¡¯t vent your anger on her. She¡¯s just an eight-year old child, how could she have pushed your son?¡± Han Miaoniang was so angry that she went up to Madam Lin and wed at her, ¡°Your daughter is a disaster! If it wasn¡¯t for her, how would my son have broken his leg!¡± The Chen n Leader shouted, ¡°Han family! Stop it now!¡± The crowd pulled Han Miaoniang away, trying to console her. But Han Miaoniang was not listening and cried and made a scene, until she was finally taken aside by her husband. Wen Tian was trembling with fear, hiding behind the maid and not daring to make a sound. Madam Lin pitied her daughter, but there was nothing she could do at this time. She was even more disgusted with the vigers. They were a bunch of unenlightened troublemakers! She turned her gaze to her fourth sister-inw, and saw her with her daughter and wet nurse lying next to the Jiang family on a spread-out nket, pretending to sleep. Hmph! True enough, every man for himself in times of trouble, even her own niece was ignored, left to be bully! When they return to Yuzhou, she would tell her father-inw and let the whole family know what creatures the fourth room had married! The torches on the mountain path went out one by one, leaving only one in the cave. Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan, with the help of Wen Fu, had already carried all the things from the foot of the mountain, including bedding and iron pots that Yingbao had released. Chunniang pulled her daughter to her side and stayed with the whole family of the Jiangs. Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu had fallen asleep on theid out bedding, even Grandfather Jiang and Madam Jiang couldn¡¯t resist sleep due to fatigue. Chunniang tossed and turned but couldn¡¯t sleep, quietly waiting for her husband¡¯s news in the dark. With the extinguishing of thest torch in the cave, everything gradually quieted down, broken only by the faint groaning of Chen Boyuan. The pain of a fractured bone might persist for a while, and Yingbao was helpless as well. She focused her consciousness into the cave, closely examining the state inside. The cave was messily piled with many items, even taking up a part of the vegetable field. A basket of chickens, however, seemed at ease, poking their necks out of the cage and pecking at the wheat piled outside. Yingbao scattered some vegetables around the chicken cage and left them alone, running to nt some melons. The seeds were from the melon they ate yesterday. Yingbao selected some full kernels to nt in the ck soil. As for those cucumbers, many have already grown, some have turned yellow and matured, just a pity that they can¡¯t be taken out for her mother and the others to eat now. After a tour, Yingbao left the cave to close her eyes and sleep. She didn¡¯t know how long was passed, all of a sudden, there is amotion at the cave entrance. Someone whispered, ¡°They¡¯re back!¡± The vigers who were guarding the entrance to the cave stood up excitedly and tiptoed looking towards the mountain path below. Some sporadic torches wereing up from the mountain, it was hard to tell whether it was bandits or Jiang Sang and the others. n Leader Chen was also awake, he quickly ordered everyone to prepare for the enemy. ¡°No matter whoes, you can¡¯t be careless.¡± n Leader Chen ordered, ¡°Pick up your bows and arrows, if they are bandits, shoot them directly.¡± The vigers, finally waking as if from a dream, hurriedly groped for their weapons and stayed on alert. More torches appeared in the woods, as if arge number of people were rushing towards them. Leader Chen¡¯s face turned serious as he ordered his n to defend the entrance. ¡°It¡¯s me! I¡¯m Jiang Jiu!¡± A soaking wet figure appeared at the entrance. By that time, the rain had stopped, day was starting to break, and the people¡¯s faces became barely distinguishable. Elder Jiang ran over when he heard the voice, shouting, ¡°This is my nephew, let him up quickly!¡± The vigers withdrew their rods and bows and arrows, and let the neer into the cave. ¡°My nephew, how¡¯s the vige?¡± Elder Jiang constantly asked, ¡°Have you seen Sang and the others?¡± Jiang Jiu wiped his face, ¡°Big brother, second brother, Sang are all behind, they will be here soon.¡± Seeing his nephew soaked through, Elder Jiang took out a set of old clothes from his bundle for him to change into. Jiang Jiu changed out of his wet clothes and into his uncle¡¯s, continuing, ¡°Many bandits camest night. Fortunately, Sang timely alerted us and we prepared, otherwise I don¡¯t know what would¡¯ve happened.¡± ¡°Then how is your vige now? Are the bandits gone?¡± Elder Jiang asked again. Jiang Jiu: ¡°They temporarily retreated, but I feel they wille again.¡± This time, the bandits didn¡¯t gain much and suffered many casualties. They will definitelye for revenge, so the vigers decided to find a ce to hide temporarily. Everyone in Jiang¡¯s vige knew about this Tiger Mouth cave with dangerous terrain, suitable for temporary refuge, so they all rushed here with their families. Jiang Jiu, being quick on his feet, arrived first. Elder Jiang was silent for a moment and then asked, ¡°Sang and the others, they weren¡¯t injured, were they?¡± ¡°Just some minor injuries, nothing serious.¡± Jiang Jiu, took a sip of water handed to him by his aunt. Remembering the events ofst night, he couldn¡¯t help but fear. So many bandits, at least two hundred. All the able-bodied men in the vige fought, plus a few more people led by Jiang Sang and about twenty bows and arrows, they barely repelled them. Had Sang and the others not given the warning, he, himself would have been chopped down in sleep. While they were talking, many more people had arrived but were stopped by the guards. Seeing this, Jiang Jiu quickly ran over, ¡°They¡¯re all from our Jiang¡¯s vige, let them up quickly!¡± So, dozens more people entered the cave, and there was still arge gathering of people at the foot of the mountain. Some were leading oxen and sheep, others were driving fat pigs, and some were carrying chickens and geese. It seems that all the people from Jiang¡¯s vige hade, except for a few strong men. Plus the scores of people from the Chen¡¯s vige, the cave was soon packed full. However, those water buffalo and donkeys couldn¡¯t get up, even the fat pig refused to enter the cave. So, the people of Jiang¡¯s vige drove these livestock into the woods, waiting for the end of the bandit threat before retrieving them. Even so, quite a few sheep and chickens and geese had entered the cave, and for a while, the cave was filled with the smell of droppings and urine. Chapter 154 - 150: Siege_1 Chapter 154: Chapter 150: Siege_1 Trantor: 549690339 Jiang Sang and his party hadn¡¯t returned yet, dozens of young and able men had gone with him to cut bamboo and make arrows. Some were in the woods collecting firewood and searching for water sources, ferrying the purified water up the mountain in bamboo pipes and pots. By this point, the sky was bright, and the adults and children in the cave were starting to wake up. Chaos ensued once again as many people anxiously tried to make their way down the mountain, especially the women, for they had to relieve themselves below the mountain. But the narrow and winding path made it impossible to quickly descend, leaving many people all atwitter. Upon seeing this, several older women set up a simpletrine at a cliff-facing corner of the cave entrance using bamboo poles and old hemp cloth, solving everyone¡¯s need to relieve themselves. The next hurdle was finding drinking water, an even more daunting task than relieving themselves. Without water they couldn¡¯t cook, and without food, everyone would go hungry. They could bear the hunger for a day or two, but any longer and they would start to feel weak. The Jiang family brought two gourds of water; Sister-inw Zhou of the Jiang family picked one up and shook it, feeling that only half the water was left. Filching none of it, she used some to wash the pot clean, added rice, and directly poured the water to cook porridge. To rinse the rice at this point was a luxury, because there were no water sources nearby. Old man Jiang mentioned that to fetch water one must either travel several miles or find a narrow spring flowing from the crevice of the mountain. Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, Yingbao stealthily went to the gourd, pulled out the plug, pressed her hand over the mouth of the gourd, and poured half a gourd of water into it, repeating the action with the other gourd as well. She wanted to fill thempletely, but doing so might have raised suspicions. If there was only half a gourd left, maybe their grandaunts would think they were wrong. After performing such a ruse, Yingbao walked away nonchntly and took out some boiled water chestnuts from her pocket to give to her little brother to snack on. Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu, upon receiving the treats, did not forget to share one each with Wei Zhan, Yuanbao, and Huzi. The five young boys sat around on mats, ying rock-paper-scissors; the loser had to bark like a dog. The two puppies yed around next to them, asionally joining in and barking. ¡°Sister-inw He, do you still have any water?¡± n Leader¡¯s wife from the Tang family came over to borrow some water to cook with. Sister Zhou regretfully responded, ¡°I just used it to cook the porridge. Why don¡¯t you check if there¡¯s any left?¡± Upon hearing this, the Tang matron was a bit disappointed, she looked at the tworge gourds by the mountain wall and decided to pick one up and shake it. It wasn¡¯t as light as she imagined. On the contrary, it seemed quite heavy, suggesting that there was still a lot of water inside. You must know that these tworge gourds were bigger than water basins; half a gourd of water was quite a lot. Upon discovering this, the Tang matron was overjoyed, ¡°Oh, there is still quite a bit of water here! I¡¯ll use it right away, thank you, Sister Zhou.¡± She then carried the gourd of water back to her own side to cook after saying so. Sister Zhou was left puzzled but didn¡¯t give it much thought. She knew she had left some water, but not much; it didn¡¯t seem to be enough to cook with. But with Tang iming there was plenty of water left, Zhou was quite confused. After a while, Tang returned the gourd of water and even brought over two freshly baked pancakes. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so courteous, we are making our own pancakes too.¡± Zhou was embarrassed to ept the pancakes. Tang matronughed, ¡°This is for the children to fill their stomachs, go ahead and take it.¡± Reluctantly, Zhou epted the pancakes. After the old woman Tang had left, Yingbao quietly shook the gourd and found that there was very little left. After a moment¡¯s thought, she again unplugged the stopper and poured half a gourd of water in, then went to administer the acupuncture to Chen Sanyou. Chen Sanyou was much better. He could already walk a fewps in the cave, but when he spoke, his mouth was slightly skewed, which was an after-effect and would not be easy to recover. Upon seeing Yingbao, Chen Sanyou¡¯s smile was kind, and he stammered his thanks, ¡°Tha¡­thank you, Yingbao.¡± If it weren¡¯t for this girl, he probably would have been chanting with the Buddha by now. ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± She had been paid after all, even if the money hadn¡¯t arrived yet, as long as Grandpa Chen Sanyou was alive, his sons wouldn¡¯t dare default on their debt. After finishing the acupuncture and reminding him to take his medicine on time, Yingbao sat back down with her mother and the others. Spring Lady and her two sisters-inw were kneading the dough and making pancakes. They wanted to use this free time to turn all the flour at home into dry food for easy carrying. By midday, everyone was growling with hunger, especially those without food, who were watching with envy as the Jiang family and Chen, the n Leader¡¯s family¡¯s pots. Chen, the n Leader, couldn¡¯t bear it any longer, borrowed arge iron pot from the Jiang family, and had his daughter-inw cook arge pot of rice porridge to share with everyone. Old Man Jiang also shared some pancakes with the children. Just then, a shout came from the foot of the mountain, ¡°Bandits areing!¡± Immediately, many strangers sprang out of the woods, brandishing machetes, spears, bows and arrows, and farming tools. ¡°They really are bandits!¡± Everyone started panicking. n Leader Chen bellowed, ¡°Don¡¯t panic! Anyone who can shoot arrows,e here quickly! We need a few more people to guard the entrance, don¡¯t let them up!¡± Most of the young men had gone to the bamboo grove to cut bamboo and make arrows, and it was unknown whether they were safe. Inside the cave, under the direction of n Leader Chen, everyone took their positions. Some took up bows and arrows aiming at the mountain trail while others held long bamboo poles guarding the entrance. Fortunately, the entrance of the cave did not face the mountain trail directly. After the bandits had fired a few useless arrows, they started shouting and pushing their way up the path. n Leader Chen sneered, ¡°What fools.¡± Charging up that kind of trail was practically suicide. As the bandits turned around the mountain wall, the moment they revealed their heads, they were jabbed with a long bamboo pole. These bamboo poles specifically jabbed at the bandits¡¯ legs, giving them no chance to react. A bandit screamed and was jabbed off the cliff, his fate unknown. Another one was also stabbed and fell, although he was hung up by the rocks below, it was likely he would not be able to climb up again. The women and children inside the cave were all huddled in trembling at the very end, even the dogs didn¡¯t dare to run around, they huddled in their young owner¡¯s arms without making a sound. Yingbao wasn¡¯t scared at all, she and her two older cousins were standing at the edge of the cliff, sticking their heads out to look down. The cliff was steep and deep, and there were jagged rocks at the bottom. If a person fell down, they would either die or be crippled. After several consecutive losses, the bandits finally became smarter and retreated from the trail. However, they didn¡¯t leave, but instead set up camp at the foot of the mountain, apparently nning to starve the people on the mountain to death. Old Man Jiang took a peek and quickly retreated, telling Old Man Jiang, ¡°I see there are more than a hundred bandits under the mountain, all of them armed with weapons and bows and arrows, they seem to be here for revenge.¡± Last night, Jiang Sang and the vigers ambushed and killed many bandits, so in theory, the bandits shouldn¡¯t dare toe again. Yet, today they appeared again and seemed to have captured two vigers to guide them to the Tiger¡¯s Mouth. So, these bandits were most likely here for revenge. ¡°I wonder how Sang and the others are doing.¡± Old man Jiangmented. He wasn¡¯t worried about his own situation, as long as they didn¡¯t go down the mountain, the bandits wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to them. But his three sons were still outside. What if they strayed into the bandits¡¯ encirclement? n Leader Chen, stroking his beard, said, ¡°With so many bandits attacking the mountain, Sang and the others must have received the news. Zhuzhu said they sent two sharp lookout scouts. If anything happens, the scouts will definitely run back to inform them, you don¡¯t have to worry.¡± This did nothing to assuage Old Man Jiang¡¯s worries. If his three sons encountered an ident with the bandits, how could he and his wife carry on? Chapter 155 - 151: The Plank Road is Destroyed (Seeking Monthly Tickets, Recommendation Tickets) _1 Chapter 155: Chapter 151: The nk Road is Destroyed (Seeking Monthly Tickets, Rmendation Tickets) _1 Trantor:549690339 At this moment, Jiang Sang and his crew were fighting the bandits. The fight was taking ce in a bamboo forest, and they were falling back while fighting. The bandits outnumbered them several times over, and they were incredibly fierce, so much so that they would even kill each other in a frenzied state,pletely disregarding any consequences. Jiang Sang¡¯s side had never experienced this kind of battle strength, and their morale immediately plunged by half. Seeing the situation was unfavourable, some of the vigers from Jiang vige abandoned theirrades and fled into the woods, disappearing in an instant. Chen Zhu was infuriated, ¡°Damn it! What nonsense! I risked my life to save them, only to save a bunch of ungrateful wretches!¡± ¡°Retreat!¡± Jiang Sang waved his hand: ¡°Run into the forest!¡± With ten people from their side suddenly running away, if the rest didn¡¯t run, they would only be waiting for death. So Jiang Dng, Jiang Eng and Jiang Sang swiftly led the vigers to flee into the forest, temporarily unable to care for those at the cave¡¯s side. The bandits bellowed as they pursued all the way till nightfall. By the nk road, the number of bandits down the road did not decrease, but instead, it seemed to have increased by one or two hundred. Seeing this, n Leader Chen and a few others frowned, pacing back and forth with their hands behind their backs in the cave, quite agitated. ¡°What should we do?¡± Jiang Dahu, the vige head of Jiang Vige was scratching his head. n Leader Chen sighed: ¡°We can only take one step at a time. For now, our priority is to secure the entrance, we can¡¯t let the banditse up.¡± If they were attacked by the bandits, everyone would be sitting ducks, none would be able to survive. ¡°s, we have no other choice.¡± Jiang Dahu also sighed. Yingbao counted the people in the cave, about two hundred more or less, the majority of whom were the old, weak, women and children. These people were now split into two sides, the Jiang Vige on one side and Chen Vige and the refugees on the other. Jiang Vige was more populous with over a hundred people, upying most of the cave, with the chickens, geese, and goats they had brought along running around randomly. Yingbao was sittingfortably between the two gourds, observing the surroundings, having a hunch. If it continued like this for a few more days, without food or water, there would be no need for the bandits to attack, the people in the cave themselves would start to fight. Even now, certain vigers from Jiang Vige red fiercely when they looked their way. In their view, the bandits were brought upon by the refugees, and tracing back to the root, they were drawn here by Jiang Sang¡¯s family. Even if Jiang Sang had saved their entire vige, some people in Jiang Vige would only take it for granted. ¡°Baobao, keep these pancakes,¡± Chunniang and Dahuang¡¯s wife had been making pancakes for half the day, and used up most of the flour. Had there been more firewood in the cave, they would have baked all the flour to distribute to their family members for safekeeping. Yingbao received five pancakes and stuffed them into her small bag. Each person in the Jiang Family was given five pancakes, which was theirst dry food. Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu gave their pancakes to their sister to keep, saying they would eat them when they were hungry. Chunniang tried to give a few pancakes to Xiu Zhenniang, but she declined them. ¡°I still have plenty of food here, save the pancakes for the children.¡± Xiu Zhenniang not only had food but also a full water bag. The servant, Wen Fu, had fetched the water early in the morning, which was enough for her and her four servants to eat and drink for a day or two. As for Lin family¡¯s members, Xiu Zhenniang couldn¡¯t and didn¡¯t want to take care of them. Seeing that Xiu Zhenniang refused to take them, Chunniang gave up and gave ten pancakes to Mrs Lin from Wen Family. Now Lin had learned to behave herself. She took the pancakes, thanked them and divided them. She gave three each to her two daughters, kept two for herself and shared the remaining two between the two maids and the servant. As night fell, n Leader Chen and Jiang Dahu arranged for someone to keep watch at night to prevent a surprise attack by the bandits. However, the night was quiet and the bandits didn¡¯t make a move. The next morning, the vigers were surprised and delighted to find that the number of bandits at the foot of the mountain had halved. This happiness didn¡¯tst long when they suddenly heard someone exim: ¡°They have destroyed the nk road!¡± The nk road leading downwards was broken and destroyed, leaving only the wooden rafters nailed to the mountain wall. ¡°Oh, heavens! What are we going to do!¡± Someone cried out in despair. Without the walkway, there was nothing but a precipitous cliff below. There was no way for them to go down. n Leader Chen and Jiang Vige¡¯s leaders hurried over to inspect the situation. They found most of the walkway had been dismantled, even the wooden pegs nailed into the cliffside had been burned. With the walkway destroyed, were they all destined to be trapped and starve to death in the cave? With so many people hiding in the cave, the most urgent problem was water, never mind other necessities. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t raining either, so collecting rainwater was out of the question. Without water, none of them could survive more than five days, even if they had brought up enough food. Everyone became frantic, quickly checking their belongings. If only they had some ropes. They could have used them to climb down the cliff. Yet, after pooling everything together, the ropes they found were not enough for everyone to descend safely. ¡°What can we do, n Leader?¡± Jiang vige¡¯s people were the most terrified because they had already run out of water. Jiang Dahu strolled over to Chen Zhu with his hands behind his back, ¡°Brother Chen, we need to think of a solution together.¡± But what could Chen Zhu do? He turned his gaze toward the old Jiang. Old Jiang and his wife remained calm, as he remembered bringing tworge bundles of rope. The question was where they were now. Yingbao saw her grandparents looking for the ropes, quietly pulled two bundles out from underneath the covers. ¡°Here they are.¡± Jiang Liu was overjoyed, ¡°Oh, Yingbao, how did you manage to hide the ropes under the covers?¡± Yingbao: ¡­ She had no other choice but to remain silent. Everyone felt a slow sense of relief seeing the tworge bundles of rope at Old Jiang¡¯s. With so much rope, they could surely reach down to the bottom of the cliff. Now that they had a means to escape, the destruction of the walkway seemed less devastating. What¡¯s more, they wouldn¡¯t need a guard shift at night and everyone could sleep peacefully. By afternoon, another batch of bandits had left, with only around sixty or seventy remaining. Old Jiang spat in disgust, grumbling angrily, ¡°Paying tribute to your ancestors¡­¡± Realizing that his words were inappropriate, he quickly spat again, pacing back and forth in the cave to alleviate his frustration. In a corner of the cave, Yingbao was quietly feeding Youyou water from a broken pottery bowl. An old goose squawked and squeezed its way to Yingbao, pecking at the bowl in her hand. She pushed its head away, but it persistently followed, its eyes filled with desperation. Having no choice, Yingbao surreptitiously poured a bit more water into the pottery bowl for the old goose to drink. Before long, a goat ran over with a kid in tow, bleating and butting at Yingbao, almost knocking her over. Yingbao gritted her teeth and red at them, reluctantly pouring some more water for the mother goat and her kid. With the goats still drinking, more arrived, circling Yingbao and nudging her with their heads when she didn¡¯t pay them attention. This made the two little puppies unhappy. They barked angrily at the goats, bounding around, driving them to the other side of the cave. Despite that, these goats kept looking towards Yingbao, bleating, and eager to approach. Dahuang and Xiaohei stood protectively in front of Yingbao, baring their teeth at the goats, and producing low threatening growls. Yingbao stroked their heads, breaking off a small piece of bread and stuffing it into their mouths. With water in short supply and not even enough for people to drink, it was impossible to provide for the livestock. Only thanks to Yingbao¡¯s constant refilling was her gourd notpletely empty. But she needed to be careful, her great-aunt and mother had already noticed the gourd, growing suspicious as to why there was always water in it. Chapter 156 - 152: Can Only Look But Can’t Touch (Looking for Monthly and Recommendation Tickets)_1 Chapter 156: Chapter 152: Can Only Look But Can¡¯t Touch (Looking for Monthly and Rmendation Tickets)_1 Trantor:549690339 So every time, Yingbao would only inject a little into the gourd, just enough to pour about three or four bowls. When her little brothers were thirsty, she would hand them a long bamboo tube, which was filled with clear water. The two little boys didn¡¯t understand anything and never questioned where the water came from. After drinking their fill, they would leave some for their older siblings, so the Jiang Family never really felt the water shortage. ¡°Mom, I¡¯m thirsty, so thirsty, I want water!¡± Children would asionally whine for water. Even Jiang Jiu¡¯s two little grandchildren were crying for water. Jiang Jiu nced at the two big gourds of the Jiang Family, then ran over with dry, cracked lips to ask, ¡°Uncle, does your family still have water?¡± ¡°Let me check.¡± The old man Jiang picked up his family¡¯s gourd and shook it, ¡°Seems like there¡¯s still some, bring a bowl, I¡¯ll pour some for you.¡± Jiang Jiu was overjoyed, hastening to fetch a pottery bowl for the uncle to pour some water into. When the other people of Dongchen Vige saw this, they gathered to ask for water. Jiang was scratching his head. His own water was not much. If he gave it all away, what would his own family do? ¡°Uncle, my grandson is dying of thirst, could you please give us some water.¡± An elderly man pleaded. Being the youngest in his family, Jiang was significantly younger than his oldest brother; therefore, his seniority was respected; many in Dongchen Vige were his younger generations. But seniority did not mean selfless dedication. He gave Jiang Jiu water because Jiang Jiu was his nephew. ¡°I our family really has no more water left.¡± the old man Jiang stammered. The elder pointed at therge gourd, ¡°May I take a look inside? My two grandsons are dehydrated. They haven¡¯t had a drop of water since yesterday.¡± Jiang looked distressedly at the gourd and finally nodded, ¡°Go ahead.¡± Yingbao rushed in front of the man to pick up therge gourd, saying, ¡°I will do it for you.¡± The elder had no suspicion, he took a pottery bowl and ced it on the ground. Yingbao picked up the gourd and poured water into the bowl, then she blocked the mouth of the gourd with her hand. The elder thanked her profusely, took the bowl of water and left. When people saw that Jiang¡¯s home had water, they all crowded around, ¡°Give me a little, my child hasn¡¯t had water for a day.¡± ¡°I I just want a little to moisturize my throat¡± Yingbao had expected this and, expressionlessly, she poured water into every extended bowl. Now everyone was extremely thirsty. From yesterday till now, they had hardly drunk a drop of water. This, Yingbao understood clearly. She was taking refuge along with everyone, they were besieged by bandits. With adequate water resources, Yingbao couldn¡¯t bear to see them dying of thirst. So, she took the risk and filled the gourd with water to let everyone hold on a little longer, so as not to kill each other for water. If a real fight started, there were fewer people on the Dongchen Vige side, and more were old, weak, women, and children. They would definitely be at a disadvantage. So, she decided to take the risk, she would first pacify the people, and as soon as the bandits left, they would leave the mountain. It was now the old man Jiang¡¯s turn to be surprised. He couldn¡¯t understand why their family gourd would keep dispensing water as if it would never run out. Jiang¡¯s wife and Chun Niang Yanru were also very surprised. No one knew better than they did how much water was in the gourd. The most surprised was Jiang Quan. He jumped up to Yingbao, took the gourd from her hand and felt it. There was still half of the gourd¡¯s worth of water left. ¡°I¡¯ll pour it!¡± Jiang Quan¡¯s face was flushed with excitement, the words ¡°Magic Gourd¡± appearing in his mind. Yingbao didn¡¯t stop him. She moved to the other gourd, quietly unplugged it, and pressure the mouth of the gourd with her hand. Now that it hade to this, she decided to let it all go, filling the otherrge gourd with water as well. And if anyone asked, she would feign ignorance. Anyway, no one knew it was her who did it. More and more people came for water, Jiang Quan quickly finished off the half gourd¡¯s worth of water and turned to the other gourd. He gave it a shake, and darn it was unexpectedly heavy. He pulled out the cork and took a peek. Good Lord, it was brimming with water. Jiang Quan¡¯s eyes bulged, already convinced that these two gourds of his were Magic Gourds. He simply poured all the water from this gourd to the thirsty crowd, and then put the now empty gourds beside him. Jiang Quan held onto his gourds and chuckled foolishly. God, what kind of dumb luck was this? He actually managed to grow two Magic Gourds. Yes, these two gourds were grown by him. He had carefully hollowed out their insides with great effort to create two water-carrying gourds. The Zhou Family was astounded by their son¡¯s antics, and she couldn¡¯t help bute over and tug his ear. ¡°You foolish spendthrift! Giving all our water away just like that, do you intend to let us all die of thirst?¡± Jiang Quan covered his ears and defended himself in a low voice: ¡°Ouch, you don¡¯t understand. These are Magic Gourds, why should we worry about having no water to drink? Don¡¯t worry, mother, there will be more water tomorrow.¡± Zhou Family loosened her grip, dubiously asking, ¡°Really?¡± Jiang Quan nodded vigorously, ¡°Of course it¡¯s true, have these gourds run out of water these past few days?¡± Zhou Family shook her head. Jiang Quan proudly dered, ¡°Your son has grown two Magic Gourds, from now on our family will neverck water.¡± Yingbao, who stood nearby, nced at him, took out a water chestnut and munched on it in silence. The crowd, no longer anxious after drinking water, ate some dry food and began to close their eyes to rest. They hadn¡¯t paid attention to the situation with the gourds from the Jiang Family before, so they weren¡¯t too shocked when water poured out of them. But for the Jiang Family, it was different. They knew exactly how much water was in their gourds, and were now staring intently at the two gourds. ¡°Can it really produce water?¡± Sister-inw Jiang couldn¡¯t believe it, giving it a shake every now and then to see if it had produced any water. ¡°Stop shaking it!¡± Jiang Quan displeasedly pulled the gourd over to him, and tenderly wiped it with his sleeve. Zhou Family gave her son a re but didn¡¯t object further. Before they knew it, the day passed, and nightfall came again. Jiang Quan fell into a deep sleep, clutching a gourd while he slept, and held the other one between his legs. The gourd¡¯s mouth was aimed at his belly. Yingbao was speechless and didn¡¯t bother to add water to the gourds. The night passed without a word. With the crowing of a rooster echoing in the cave, a new day began. A person waking up early discovered that the bandits at the foot of the mountain were gone and couldn¡¯t help but shriek with joy: ¡°The bandits are gone! The bandits are gone! Hahaha, we can go home!¡± The crowd was awoken and rushed over to check. Sure enough, there was no sign of the bandits at the foot of the mountain. They couldn¡¯t help but jump for joy and repeatedly asked Old Jiang for ropes to get them down. But the n Leader Chen disagreed. He observed for a while and then said, ¡°We can¡¯t go down now. Those bandits are very cunning. They might be luring us down.¡± If the bandits wanted revenge, they wouldn¡¯t give up easily. They could have hidden twenty or thirty people nearby. As soon as they saw someone descending from the cliff, they would definitely shoot with their bows and arrows. ¡°Right! We can¡¯t go down yet,¡± said Jiang Dahu. ¡°The bandits suffered major losses that night and definitely won¡¯t let it go. We¡¯ll wait and see. We¡¯ve been stuck here for so long, a day or two more won¡¯t make a difference.¡± Everyone sighed and didn¡¯t say anymore. Unable to descend the cliff, providing water for more than a hundred people was indeed a problem. So once again, everyone turned their gaze towards therge gourd of the Jiang Family. ¡°Wake up, little brother!¡± Jiang Cheng nudged his younger brother, who was sound asleep and drooling. Jiang Quan opened his eyes groggily, ¡°What?¡± Jiang Cheng pointed to the gourd in his arms, ¡°Check if there¡¯s any water in it.¡± Chapter 157 - 153: Gourd Died_1 Chapter 157: Chapter 153: Gourd Died_1 Trantor:549690339 Jiang Quan immediately got up and pulled out the stopper to look inside. There¡¯s no water, incredibly there was no water in the gourd! He did not believe it and picked up the gourd to shake, it was light and s, still no water. He turned the mouth of the gourd down, and only a few drops dripped out. Jiang Quan was dumbfounded. How could this be? He picked up another gourd, shook it with the mouth facing down, still no water. ¡°Wah wah wahmy Magic Gourd is broken, it no longer produces water¡± Jiang Quan couldn¡¯t help but cry big tears, ¡°It must have been exhausted when I divided the water yesterday wah wah wah¡± His heartfelt crying attracted everyone¡¯s attention. Hearing him talk about the Magic Gourd¡¯s breaking and exhaustion, everyone felt guilty. Especially the people of Dongchen Vige, they all knew that the gourds grown by Jiang family were extraordinary, but they had never seen ones that kept producing water. And such a precious gourd was now broken, which pained anyone who heard it. Those who still wanted to ask for water silently put away their pottery bowls, too ashamed to speak up. Jiang Wu was woken up by the noise, rubbed his eyes and sat up. Seeing his second cousin crying heartbrokenly with the gourd, he got up tofort him. ¡°Brother, don¡¯t cry. Even if the gourd is gone, Xiaowu will still y with you.¡± Jiang Quan: He held the gourd and cried even more heartbrokenly. The first thing Yingbao did when she got up early was to check Chen Sanyou¡¯s pulse and give him acupuncture, and then check on Chen Boyuan¡¯s condition. Afterwards, amidst the crying of the second cousin, she reported her pulse diagnoses to Madam Wen and Xiu Zhenniang. Xiu Zhenniang patiently answered her inquiries, and instructed her to record Chen Sanyou and Chen Boyuan¡¯s pulse cases in detail after she went back, forparison with simr patients in future. By noon, there were still no signs of bandits down the mountain, so many people asked to climb down the cliff. After discussing with the n Leader Chen, Jiang Dahu decided to let two people go down first to check the situation. After all, there was not a drop of water in the cave, if everyone did not take action, they might actually die trapped. So, the old man Jiang connected two bundles of ropes together, let several people hold it tightly, and then sent someone down first. ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± Someone volunteered bravely. Seeing that it was Wang Ke, a 15-year-old young man from his own vige, n Leader Chen advised, ¡°Wrap your palms with cloth to prevent abrasion.¡± Wang Dashan nodded, took the hemp cloth strip handed over by someone nearby, wrapped it around his palms, and then, holding the rope tightly, began to climb down. He was small and agile, and quickly reached the bottom of the cliff. When he was still five feet from the ground, the rope was already at its end. Wang Dashan gritted his teeth and directly jumped down. The bottom of the cliff was all rubble. He was lucky not to sprain his ankle. n Leader Chen and Wang Dashan¡¯s mother watched his figure nervously as he sprinted down the mountain and into the woods. After about half an hour, Wang Dashan came out of the woods and waved up at the cave, shouting, ¡°There are no bandits nearby!¡± Hearing this, the people in the cave were so excited that they jumped up and requested to go down one after another. n Leader Chen asked them to line up one by one. To prevent the rope from getting worn out by the cliff, the old man Jiang also brought his family¡¯s cotton quilt and padded it on the edge of the cliff. But even so, after sending down dozens of people, the rope still got frizzy from wear. The remaining people were even more anxious, each demanding to be let down the mountain first, some even started fighting over it. That was not the worst part, some of the elderly and children were simply unable to climb down the cliff themselves with the rope. ¡°What to do?¡± Jiang Dahu scratched his head in desperation. Most of these people were from their Jiang Vige. It was easy getting up here, but getting down the cliff was challenging. n Leader Chen said, ¡°Then let someone carry them down.¡± ¡°But who is willing to do it?¡± Jiang Dahu anxiously asked, ¡°Each family has several old folks and children, and only one or two young adults. If they each carry one person down, what about the other children?¡± ¡°What do you suggest we do then?¡± n Leader Chen thought of his old wife and injured grandson instantly. It was not just these two, there were also several young grandchildren. Moreover, the weight and size of an adult is different from that of a child. You¡¯d need significant arm strength to carry an adult down. Chunniang was also anxious upon hearing their conversation. She had two sons and a daughter, how could she carry all three children down? She wasn¡¯t afraid of carrying three at once, but what if she slipped Jiang Cheng noticed her aunt¡¯s anxiety and said, ¡°Aunt, don¡¯t worry. I can carry Yingbao down.¡± How could Chunniang not worry? She looked at Yuanbao and Huzi and said quietly, ¡°What about Yuanbao and Huzi?¡± ¡°Mother can carry Yuanbao.¡± Jiang Cheng nced at his frail second aunt. He wasn¡¯t sure if she could carry Huzi down. Chunniang asked, ¡°What about your grandparents?¡± Jiang Cheng froze in shock. Yes, his grandparents too, how he had forgotten about them, he was damn guilty. Chunniang sighed, ¡°I¡¯ll just carry them myself.¡± On the other hand, Xiu Zhenniang decided to let Wen Fu carry the nanny down, while she carried her daughter, Wen Shu. The nanny shook her head and refused, ¡°I can manage on my own. Let Wen Fu take Shushu down first.¡± Xiu Zhenniang thought it through and nodded in agreement. Lady Lin from the third family suddenly walked over, ¡°Fourth sister, your two nieces are only eight years old, why not let Wen Fu take them both down? Shushu is already ten, she doesn¡¯t need someone to carry her. Look at the children over there in their early teens, which one of them isn¡¯t going down on their own?¡± Xiu Zhenniang did not even look at her, she immediately ordered Wen Fu to take Wen Shu down the cliff. ¡°Mrs Xiu! You are too much! At least Ah Tian and Ah Jiao call you aunt, yet you disregard their lives!¡± Lady Lin was so angry that she tried to pull Wen Fu back, preventing him from taking Wen Shu down the cliff. Even n Leader Chen couldn¡¯t stand it anymore, he blocked Lady Lin, ¡°Lady Lin, you¡¯re wrong here. How can you demand someone to abandon their own child to save yours?¡± Lady Lin burst into tears, ¡°But what about my children?¡± n Leader Chen furrowed his eyebrows, ignored her, and instructed a group of young men to tighten the rope, and allowed Wen Fu to carry Wen Shu down the cliff. After which, the nanny also went down. She almost sprained her ankle when she jumped onto the rope, but luckily she was quite agile due to her regr physical work, and quickly regained her bnce. She ran to the other side and shouted toward the cave, ¡°Quicklye down, ma¡¯am. As long as you hold onto the rope, there¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡± Previously, Wen Fu had already thrown the bedding and leftover food down the cliff. Although jars and the like had broken, the water bag wrapped in nkets was intact. Now, he gathered everything up, moved them to a stable ce, and waited for his mistress toe down before he would go looking for water. Seeing that the Wen Family¡¯s nanny and Wen Shu had both gone down, Chunniang was relieved. It seemed that going down the cliff wasn¡¯t too difficult. As long as she was careful, everything should be fine. Xiu Zhenniang came over to Yingbao and said, ¡°Yingbao, I¡¯ll carry you down.¡± She had noticed that the Jiang Family had too many children and no young adults, Chunniang alone wouldn¡¯t be able to bring three kids down the mountain. Since her own daughter was already down the mountain, she could help Chunniang by carrying one child. Upon hearing Lady Wen¡¯s offer to take Yingbao down, Chunniang was naturally pleased and quickly thanked her, ¡°Thank you very much, ma¡¯am.¡± Yingbao shook her head, ¡°Please, take my brother down first.¡± She chose to be thest to go, not only because her mother and brother were still up there, but also because she believed that she could climb down the mountain on her own, without needing someone else to carry her. ¡°That¡¯s fine too.¡± Xiu Zhenniang didn¡¯t mind, as long as she could share Chunniang¡¯s burden and it didn¡¯t matter who she carried. So, Xiu Zhenniang used Chunniang¡¯s cloth belt to securely tie Jiang Jie to her back. Using another cloth strip, she wrapped her hand around it few times, holding onto the rope as she climbed down the mountain. Just then, Lady Lin fell to her knees, pleading desperately to Xiu Zhenniang with her voice choked with emotion, ¡°Fourth sister! I beg you, save your nieces!¡± Chapter 158 - 154: Going Down the Mountain, _1 Chapter 158: Chapter 154: Going Down the Mountain, _1 Trantor:549690339 Her crying and kneeling not only embarrassed Chunniang but also Jiang Lao Han. After all, Lin¡¯s wife and Lady Wen were sisters-inw, and Lin¡¯s daughter was also Lady Wen¡¯s niece. Now that Lady Wen had taken her own grandson down the mountain without caring for her own niece, if this was heard by others, people wouldn¡¯t listen to any disputes between the sisters-inw. They would only say that Lady Wen was heartless. Chunniang quickly helped Lin¡¯s wife up with Zhou¡¯s help, not knowing how to console her. At this moment, Xiu Zhenniang slid down the mountain with an emotionless expression, without even giving Lin¡¯s wife a nce. Seeing Lin¡¯s wife still crying loudly, Jiang Lao Han had to step forward and say, ¡°Lady Wen the Third, don¡¯t worry. I, an old man, will take your child down the mountain. Lady Wen the Fourth can¡¯t carry your child as she is a woman, so¡­¡± Even though she resented at heart, Lin¡¯s wife dared notsh out at this moment. She bowed to Jiang Lao Han, ¡°Thank you Jiang Weng, sob sobI just pity the two children, who are being neglected by their Aunt Fourth¡­¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t want to listen to her tea words, so she went to the cliff edge to look down by herself. Lady Wen, carrying Xiaojie, quickly descended to the bottom of the cliff. With Wen Fu¡¯s help, she climbed up the gentle slope and retreated to the edge of the woods with Wen Shu and Nanny. Yingbao let out a sigh of relief and turned back to see that her grandmother, Jiang Liu, also held on to the rope and slid down the cliff. Although Jiang Liu was already in her sixties, she was still able-bodied, sliding down to the bottom of the cliff quite quickly with her hands and feet. Then Er Bo Niang Yanru went down with Huzi. Dani and Erni didn¡¯t need to be pushed, they went down the cliff smoothly. Da Bo Niang first threw down the family¡¯s bedding and belongings, and with the help of her eldest son, slowly lowered the grain with a rope. Several young and strong men assisted in delivering the food to the ground, even stepping forward a few paces. Xiaolu and Youyou were also bound by ropes and lowered down the cliff where there were naturally people to untie them. In the end, only Wei Zhan and Yingbao were left among the children from Jiang Lao Han¡¯s family. Meanwhile, Jiang Wu had already been carried on Chunniang¡¯s back. When Chunniang came to carry Yingbao, she refused: ¡°I can go down by myself. You can¡¯t possibly carry both of us. Better take Xiaowu down the cliff first.¡± ¡°No! You are still a young child, how can you go down the cliff by yourself?¡± This time Chunniang refused to obey her daughter¡¯s wishes. ¡°You¡¯re not heavy; I can carry both you and your younger brother.¡± Yingbao said: ¡°I really can.¡± She turned her head to ask Wei Zhan, ¡°Can you go down by yourself?¡± Wei Zhan dared not say no. He shouted, ¡°This is nothing. I have been down cliffs even higher than this!¡± ¡°Alright, you go down first and show me.¡± As soon as Yingbao finished speaking, she kept her eyes on him. Wei Zhan twitched the corner of his eyes, wrapped his hands tightly, and grabbed the rope resolutely, saying to Yingbao: ¡°Watch closely!¡± ¡°Be careful. You must grip the rope firmly, otherwise, if you fall, you¡¯ll be a meat pie,¡± Yingbao warned him emotionlessly. ¡°Humph!¡± Wei Zhan snorted, but dared not nce down the mountain, and slowly slid down a little at a time. Several young men easily pulled a child. They even kindly moved forward a few steps to ensure Wei Zhan reached the ground. ¡°Did you see that?¡± Wei Zhan shouted triumphantly from the bottom. Yingbao nced at him and then turned back to her mother, saying, ¡°See, Mother? It¡¯s quite easy. I don¡¯t need your help.¡± After considering for a while, Chunniang was still uneasy. At this time, Lin¡¯s wife brought her daughter, Wen Tian, over to Jiang Lao Han, saying, ¡°Please take care of her, Jiang Weng.¡± After the incident, Wen Tian had be much more obedient and hadn¡¯t dared to make a fuss in the past few days. At this moment, she quietlyy on Jiang Lao Han¡¯s back, letting others secure her tightly with a rope. However, when Jiang Lao Han took her down the cliff, she resorted to her old tricks. She kicked and screamed violently, which caused the rope to swing uncontrobly. This situation scared everyone. They quickly pulled Jiang Lao Han up. Yingbao also broke into a cold sweat. She immediately stepped forward to release Wen Tian¡¯s bonds and shoved her aside. ¡°Grandpa! Just leave her alone!¡± She¡¯s clearly asking for trouble and doesn¡¯t deserve anyone¡¯s help. Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan are equally furious and unanimously tell their grandfather to stop carrying her. Lin¡¯s mother gets frustrated and ps Wen Tian. ¡°What are you getting on with?¡± Wen Tian covers her face and sobs: ¡°I am scaredwuu wuumother, I am really scared.¡± Lin¡¯s mother feels like pping her again, but then she sees old Mr. Jiang ready to carry Yingbao. She runs over immediately and questions him, ¡°How can you break your promise? You promised to help us, and now you¡¯ve gone back on your word!¡± Jiang Cheng responds coldly: ¡°Who broke the promise? Your daughter almost killed my Grandpa. How do you ignore that? Now, my grandfather is going to carry Yingbao, we don¡¯t have time for your child.¡± And then he turns to Jiang Quan, ¡°You go first, Grandpa and I will cover the rear.¡± He does not wish to leave first and then have Lin¡¯s mother persuade his grandfather to carry her daughter again. Jiang Quan doesn¡¯t hesitate. He descends the cliff with tworge gourds on his back, while leaving the two puppies to his older brother, Jiangcheng. Eventually, old Mr. Jiang also sessfully reaches the bottom of the cliff carrying Yingbao on his back. Originally, Yingbao could havee down on her own, but to deny Lin¡¯s daughter a ce, she insisted on having her grandpa carry her. Next, Jiang Cheng goes down carrying the two little puppies. Once all the members of Jiang family have gathered, they immediately head towards the forest. Everyone shares the load of carrying the food and bedding, so it doesn¡¯t feel very heavy. By now, many people have gone far away. Most of them have gone looking for water sources nearby, while some have gone back to Jiang vige to investigate the situation. Residents of Dongchen Vige are still gathered around old Mr. Jiang¡¯s house, asking where he ns to go. ¡°Shall we go back to the vige?¡± Old Mr. Jiang turns to ask the n Leader, ¡°What do you think?¡± The n Leader nods: ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the vige, but we shouldn¡¯t take the main road.¡± Who knows whether there are bandits on the main road? ¡°Alright, let¡¯s take the small road back to the vige.¡± Old Mr. Jiang looks towards the cave, ¡°Is there anyone who hasn¡¯te down yet?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The n Leader replies: ¡°Sanyou and a few vigers are still on the mountain, and it seems that Mrs. Wen and her daughters have note down yet.¡± Old Mr. Jiang sighs and says, ¡°Since we are going back to the vige, let¡¯s wait for those who are still on the mountain.¡± In times of difficulty, we shouldn¡¯t abandon anyone. The n Leader nods: ¡°In the meantime, let¡¯s send someone clever to take a look around, so we aren¡¯t caught unaware if more banditse.¡± ¡°Wang Ke¡¯s child has already gone to investigate the situation, he should be back soon.¡± Before it gets dark, Yingbao, along with her two cousins, follows some of the vigers to strip bark from pine trees in the forest and make fire torches. They scrape some pine resin and rub it onto the bark so that when it¡¯s rolled up, it easily catches fire. Yingbao touches the tree trunks from which the bark has been stripped and writes severalrge characters on them using a charcoal pen: Mum, brother, and Baobao have returned to the vige. If her father is around, he will probably see these words. After writing on more than a dozen trees, Yingbao follows her cousins back to the camp. Two hours have passed, and people are stilling down from the cave. However, Chen Sanyou and Lin¡¯s mother and daughters have already been carried down by the vigers. Chen Sanyou is helped to a sitting position by his eldest son, near the n Leader. Lin¡¯s mother, with her two daughters and three servants, alsoes over, but they don¡¯t get close to the Jiang family, instead they sit with Chen Sanyou¡¯s oldest daughter-inw. Mr. Wen¡¯s servants have gone into the forest to look for the mules and horses. It¡¯s uncertain if they will find them,¡± says Mrs. Jiang Liu with a sigh. Old Mr. Jiang is not very hopeful: ¡°Most likely, they won¡¯t find them. There were many bones at the foot of the mountain; the bandits have probably eaten them already.¡± Even if they didn¡¯t eat the animals, mules and horses are excellent for carrying goods and people. How could the bandits possibly let them go? Chapter 159 - 155: Return to the Village _1 Chapter 159: Chapter 155: Return to the Vige _1 Trantor: 549690339 Two hourster, Wen Fu and several vigers returned empty-handed, not only failing to find the horses and mules but also unable to locate the pigs and cows the Jiang Family vigers had taken to the forest. The old man Jiang sighed, but quickly stopped dwelling on it. As long as the people survived, that was all that mattered. The rest were just material things that could be bought with money in the future. It was not until evening that everyone in the cave was rescued. Jiang Vige¡¯s inhabitants gradually returned to the vige. Uncle Jiang knew that his younger brother¡¯s family also would return to the vige, he sighs with regret, teary-eyed, saying goodbye to his younger brother. But upon entering the vige, they found the entire vige had been burned down and there wasn¡¯t a single intact house. The vigers sat by the ruins sobbing heavily. Some started criticizing Jiang Sang¡¯s family. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for them, we wouldn¡¯t have suffered this disaster.¡± ¡°Exactly! Our vige was fine before they came¡ªnow it¡¯s all gone!¡± Jiang Jiu couldn¡¯t stand it any longer, he angrily said, ¡°Enough! Have you gone to see the neighboring vige? Or maybe visit a vige further away. Did any of them escape casualties like we did? If it wasn¡¯t for my brother who came to alert us at night, you would have died in your house! You should be grateful instead of mourning.¡± ¡°Hmph! Bunch of ingrates!¡± Uncle Jiang huffed coldly, ¡°My nephew shouldn¡¯t have saved any of you!¡± Jiang Dahu sighed, ¡°Enough, enough, stop crying. We still have our lives, and our belongings are intact. We should quickly figure out how to build houses. It¡¯s getting colder each day. What¡¯s the point of ming others here?¡± ¡°Build houses? What if the banditse again?¡± ¡°Yeah, if the banditse, wouldn¡¯t we have been busy for nothing?¡± Jiang Dahu red at them: ¡°So you think crying here will stop the bandits?¡± Uncle Jiang rolled his eyes: ¡°Build or not build, it¡¯s up to you. The weather is getting colder. If you want to live like mole-rats and dig holes when the timees, that might also save you trouble when bandits return.¡± All the vigers: Now, let¡¯s talk about n Leader Chen and Elder Jiang¡¯s group. Wang Dashan came back with news. ¡°The bandits have all gone towards the county town!¡± Wang Dashan took a drink of the water handed by Jiang Cheng, and said, ¡°I saw it with my own eyes. There are a lot of people, about a thousand, holding the Beast Fangs g, and they had mules, big carts. It was a vast crowd.¡± Elder Jiang frowned: ¡°They¡¯re heading to the county town? Are they nning to attack it?¡± n Leader Chen also looked serious, ¡°No wonder they raided all the viges first. They wanted to stock up on food and fodder beforeying siege to the city.¡± ¡°This is bad. My eldest son, my second son, they haven¡¯t returned yet. I don¡¯t know whether they¡¯ve been captured.¡± The more Elder Jiang thought about it, the more afraid he became. n Leader Chen: ¡°Let¡¯s not specte. We should hurry back to the vige. If Sang and the otherse back and don¡¯t see anyone, they will definitely return to the vige. We can¡¯t stay here for long.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go back to the vige first.¡± Everyone picked up their belongings, quilts and remaining food, and hurried after Elder Jiang¡¯s family towards Chen Vige. It¡¯s a twenty-mile journey from Jiang Vige to Chen Vige. But that¡¯s along the official road, if walking through small trails, it would certainly be more. It waspletely dark now and they could only move forward with two torches to illuminate the path. One at the front and one at the back. The entire procession was silent. Even Wen Tian who was being carried by a viger whom Lin family had bribed with a bracelet, didn¡¯t utter a word. Whenever they encountered a vige on the way, they would bypass it from a distance, even extinguishing their torches, marching head down, withrge and small steps. Finally, they reached Chen Vige in the middle of the night. From a distance, the vige was pitch-ck, and there wasn¡¯t even a dog barking. n Leader Chen found Elder Jiang to discuss, ¡°We can¡¯t go into the vige at this time. We need to send someone to explore first.¡± Elder Jiang nodded, ¡°Alright! How about we first go to the South Slope? It¡¯s far from the vige and there¡¯s a bamboo forest. If there are no bandits, we can stay at my ce.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do that,¡± n Leader Chen immediately nodded in agreement. On a chilly autumn night, sleeping in the open air would not do. Many people didn¡¯t even have bedding. If they were to freeze all night, they would surely fall ill. It would be much better to have a ce that could shelter them from the wind and rain. So, Wang Dashan and a fellow viger dashed into the darkness to check whether there were any bandits on the South Slope. Less than an hourter, they returned, reluctantly informing old man Jiang, ¡°There are no bandits on the South Slope, but your house has been burnt down.¡± Old man Jiang froze, his heart aching as though it was bleeding. ¡°Everything¡¯s burnt?¡± Wang Dashan nodded, ¡°The house of Jiang San-shu is intact, with only the kitchen burnt down. The main building hasn¡¯t suffered much damage.¡± Upon hearing this, Chunniang heaved a sigh of relief. Old man Jiang paused for a moment, then said, ¡°Let¡¯s head to South Slope quickly.¡± It was now the middle of the night; in another couple of hours dawn would break. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get going.¡± The n Leader Chen led the group, his mind troubled. If even the Jiang family¡¯s home on the South Slope had been burnt down, what about his own? It was indeed an undeserved disaster. The group of people quickly arrived at the Jiang family¡¯s home on the South Slope. Under the moonlight, the once neat and tidy tile-roofed house was now severely damaged. Only Jiang Sanng¡¯s house was alright. Although the kitchen had been burnt, just a corner of the three tile-roofed rooms was destroyed. There shouldn¡¯t be any big problem as long as they patched it up and reced a few tiles. Chunniang rushed in first and saw the house inplete disarray. There were smouldering heaps of ashes, burn marks, and ragged discarded clothing on the floor. The y beds were also littered with debris, as though many people had slept on them. Scattered everywhere were leftover bones and food residues, even on the beds. But what distressed Chunniang the most was that all the household furniture and belongings had disappeared. However, the floor tile under which silver was buried at a corner of the room was untouched. This brought Chunniang a mix of joy and concern, but now was not the right time to dig it up and check. The group found a broom in the courtyard and swept the y beds clean. Theyid out the bedding they had brought with them. The aged mothers, sisters-inw, and the two nieces were allowed to sleep first, while Chunniang herself, her daughter, and two sons squeezed next to them. They would discuss everything the next day as they had been on the road for most of the night and were exhausted. The other room was also full of women and children. Lady Wen, her daughter, nanny, and several other women squeezed onto Yingbao¡¯s bed. The men, on the other hand, made do by sleeping on the floor of the living room until dawn. By the time Yingbao woke up, the sun was already high in the sky. In her courtyard, there were two big iron pots with rice porridge boiling in each. Old Grandpa and n Leader Chen were sitting under the eaves, listening to Wang Dashan¡¯s report on the situation in the vige. ¡°There are no bandits in the vige, but many homes have also been burnt down.¡± ¡°Did anyone return to the vige?¡± n Leader Chen asked. Wang Dashan: ¡°A few households have returned and are tidying up their homes.¡± n Leader Chen stroked his beard and asked again, ¡°Has my family¡¯s house been burnt too?¡± ¡°Not really, but several of Great Uncle¡¯s houses have been burnt.¡± Madame Dashan stuck her head out of the window and asked, ¡°Dashan, what about our house?¡± Wang Dashan: ¡°It¡¯s also been burnt down.¡± Madame Dashan¡¯s brows furrowed, but she wasn¡¯t too distressed, because they had built a house at South Slope. Although it was only a frame so far, all their purchased bricks, tiles, and wood were neatly stacked at South Slope. Since their vige houses were burnt, they decided not to return there. They would instead stay here in their half-constructed houses. Once their husbands came home, they would put a roof on, and the houses would be ready to live in. Li Dayong and Li Eryong also shared the same thought because they too had built houses on the South Slope, though they hadn¡¯t been able to put up the roofs yet. When the rumors of bandits first showed up, their blind old father insisted on not bing a burden to his children and grandchildren. He had them take him to South Slope, and since then he had been living alone in their unroofed house, surviving on the dry food and water his son had left him. Early in the morning, Li Dao and Li He went to their unroofed house to check on their grandfather and found, surprisingly, that the blind old man hadn¡¯t been killed by the bandits. His food supply hadn¡¯t even diminished. Not only had it not diminished, but there was also an extra small bag of rice. ording to the blind old man, a person had given him a bag of food and told him to stay alive. Chapter 160 - 156: Brown-noser_1 Chapter 160: Chapter 156: Brown-noser_1 Trantor: 549690339 n Leader Chen looked at his younger brother, Chen Sanyou and said, ¡°Sanyou, your house has been burnt down too. When we return to the vige, your family can stay at my ce.¡± Chen Sanyou had no objection, but his wife, Mrs. Zhang, from the Zhang Family, said: ¡°Thank you for your kindness, uncle, but my son Xiaoxiao and I will not being.¡± Their house was also being built on the South Slope, it was notpleted either. She had already checked early in the morning, all the bricks, tiles, wood, and bamboo were still neatly piled up there, untouched. Moreover, they had built two small cottages made of thatch next to their house, intended for the builders to rest. This ce was just right for her and her son, Chen Xiao, to live in now. The South Slope had ess to water supplies and they had even opened up a small piece of vegetable garden next to their house. There was still turnip left in the garden, enough for mother and son to eat for a few days. ¡°Where will you live?¡± Mrs. Tang asked. Mrs. Zhang replied, ¡°There are two thatched cottages on the South Slope, Xiaoxiao and I will live there.¡± Upon hearing this, Mrs. Tang had an idea. Her son, Chen Zhu, also built a house on the South Slope, right next to Chen Yin¡¯s house. Although it was notpleted, there was one thatched room already built. Perhaps she could move there with her daughter-inw and grandchild as well. But on second thought, it wouldn¡¯t work. Chen Zhu hadn¡¯t separated from his brothers yet. If she moved, wouldn¡¯t that be what all those people wanted? Snorted! She should wait until Chen Zhu returned to separate from them, then she would move. By then, she would stay with Chen Zhu and let that old man enjoy himself alone Chen Sanyou¡¯s eldest and fourth sons knew that their own houses were burnt down, but their second uncle¡¯s house remained unscathed, which really rankled them. When Chen Yin wanted to build a house on the South Slope, a lot of conflicts urred with his brothers. Then, their father, Chen Sanyou, intended to separate his three sons, letting them live their own lives, and spend each their own money. Chen Shu, naturally agreed, as the eldest son, the father¡¯snd would be his in the future, and the family old house must also be his. However, the fourth son did not agree to separation. Because once separated, he would have to farm his ownnd, pay his own taxes, and do everything himself, which wouldn¡¯t be asfortable as living under his parents. In the end, Chen Yin was the only one who separated. Chen Sanyou supplemented him with thirty taels of silver. Chen Yin then took that money, along with his own earnings to build a house on the South Slope. But who would have guessed, before the house waspleted, the bandits came. Now, the bandits had burnt down most of the houses in the mainpound. If the eldest son, Chen Shu, and the fourth son, Chen Ting, could bnce things in their hearts, that would be surprising. Chen Sanyou frowned, wanted to say something but didn¡¯t. He could only nod at his daughter-inw to agree with her decision. Chen Sanyou¡¯s wife sighed, touched her grandson Chen Xiao¡¯s head and asked her daughter-inw, ¡°Do you have any food here? Do you have all the necessary bedding?¡± Mrs. Zhang replied, ¡°I have checked, there is still a little rice and flour in the house, and there is bedding too. The pots, bowls,dles, and basins are all intact.¡± The ce was originally built for the builders. The food was stored in a pottery jar under the bed, and although the bedding was a little dirty, it was still usable. ¡°That¡¯s good then, you and your son can stay here for now, I¡¯lle and check on you in a a couple of days.¡± She looked at her husband, ¡°Anyway, your father still has toe for acupuncture treatment, I will bring over some clothes for you to change into then.¡± Mrs. Zhang said, ¡°Thank you, mother.¡± After having breakfast at the Jiang family¡¯s ce, the vigers gradually left. n Leader Chen, and Chen Sanyou, also took their families back to the vige. Xiu Zhenniang and her servants also returned, because Wang Dashan said that the school there had not been damaged. When Mrs. Lin saw her four younger sisters leaving, it didn¡¯t feel right to continue staying at the Jiang¡¯s, so she also left with her daughter and servants. The Jiang Family¡¯s home immediately became quiet. Old man Jiang walked round and round his eldest and second son¡¯s houses for a long time, then sighed and returned to his third son¡¯s home. The biggest problem at the moment was not the house, nor the money. His deepest concern was theck of food in their home. They only had half a bag of rice and less than half a bag of flour left, barely enough for about ten people for seven or eight days. But what would they do after seven or eight days? The grain that his eldest and second sons had hidden in the cer was all gone. A lot of cotton and sacks were scattered around the fields, drenched by the rain, it was a pitiful sight. Jiang Liu and her three daughters-inw, two granddaughters picked up the cotton and seeds one by one. The dirty ones were washed by the pond before being dried in the courtyard. Old man Jiang stood in his third son¡¯s yard for a while and took a walk around the vegetable garden. All the radishes and cabbages nted in the garden were gone, even the leeks werepletely cut off. However, when they fled that day, he had driven two of the family¡¯s fat pigs and a dozen chickens deep into the bamboo forest, and scattered a lot of wheat and rice in the bamboo forest. He wondered if the sow and the chickens were still alive. ¡°Dacheng!¡± Jiang¡¯s old man saw his eldest grandsoning out of the bamboo forest and immediately asked, ¡°Have you found the pigs?¡± Jiang Cheng shook his head: ¡°No, just found two chickens.¡± The two chickens seemed to be ustomed to living in the bamboo forest. As soon as they saw a person, they would scurry into the forest and stubbornly refuse to show themselves. ¡°Could they have run into the bamboo forest?¡± Jiang¡¯s old man was persistent, looking at his eldest grandson with a hopeful face. Jiang Cheng shook his head: ¡°No, I guess they were eaten by bandits.¡± There were so many pig bones thrown inside and outside their courtyard, yet the old man was stubborn and insisted on having him look into the bamboo forest, but nothing was found in the end. Upon hearing this, Jiang¡¯s old man was heartbroken to the point of tears. The two pigs were originally nned to be kept for the New Year to be killed for meat. Who would¡¯ve thought that the bandits would take the advantage. The damned butchers not only ate his pigs but also set fire to his house. Jiang¡¯s old man was practically driven mad with fury. If he had those sons of bitches in front of him right now, he would not hesitate to risk his life to kill a few of them to vent his anger! ¡°What about the gold ear mushrooms?¡± Jiang¡¯s elder man asked again. ¡°Gold ear mushrooms are fine. Unfortunately, some got wet from the rain, so they won¡¯t look good once they grow.¡± The Jiang family had moved the spawn of gold ear and snow ear mushrooms into the bamboo forest and covered them with straw. The bandits probably didn¡¯t see any use of it and didn¡¯t bother much about it. Jiang¡¯s old man heaved a sigh of relief, ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good!¡± s it¡¯s a blessing in disguise. Fortunately, bandits did not recognize the gold ear mushrooms. If they had, it would have been tough for their family to make it through. By the edge of the bamboo forest. Yingbao led Youyou and told her younger brother, Wei Zhan, Yuanbao, and Huzi: ¡°Don¡¯t follow me. Wait for me here, I¡¯ll be out soon.¡± Jiang Wu clung to his sister¡¯s sleeve, ¡°I want to go as well.¡± Jiang Jie: ¡°I also want to find Lady Bamboo for melons.¡± Wei Zhan and Huzi raise their hands: ¡°And me!¡± Yingbao had no patience left for these little tag alongs. She finally cated them: ¡°You wait here, afterwards I will take you to the pond to pick lotus roots.¡± Jiang Jie hesitated. Jiang Wu pouted his lips, clearly unhappy. He wanted to look for melons with his sister, he had no interest in picking lotus roots. Yuanbao, Wei Zhan, and Huzi¡¯s eyes lit up as they immediately agreed: ¡°Okay! You must honor your words!¡± Jiang Liu and Zhou family did not allow the children to y near the pond. A smack for each time they were caught there, even Wei Zhan was not let off. So when Yingbao said she would take them to pick lotus roots, the three mischievous kids instantly agreed. If granny found out about the punishment, Yingbao would take the me. After all, granny could not bear to punish her. Yingbao led Little Deer inside, asionally looking back to see if they were following. Luckily, they were well-behaved this time and did not follow her in. After walking a dozen steps further in, when the outside could not be seen clearly, Yingbao quickly took out a few melon vines and cabbages from the cave dwelling and stuffed them into the basket on Youyou¡¯s back. Little Deer had two baskets on her back, one left and one right. The left one was filled with melons and the right with cucumbers and cabbages. With a basket of eggs in her hand, Yingbao led Youyou out of the bamboo forest. Chapter 161 - 157: Melon Field_1 Chapter 161: Chapter 157: Melon Field_1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°Wow! Sister, you really found the melons! I want, I want!¡± Jiang Jie was overjoyed, eagerly jumping for a piece of the melon. Yuanbao, Wei Zhan and Huzi were simply stunned. They didn¡¯t expect Yingbao to find the melons she talked about, identical to those from the other day¡ª how magical. ¡°Wow! There are even eggs!¡± Huzi eximed, his eyes shining. Their house had been burned, and they lost all their chickens. His grandma even said they would not have eggs anymore. However, Yingbao returned from the bamboo forest with a basket full of eggs. ¡°Ha ha! I want to eat boiled eggs!¡± Huzi loved boiled eggs, as well as egg tea. But now, there was no honey, so the egg tea wouldn¡¯t taste good, making boiled eggs a much better option. Yingbao picked out a melon to give to Yuanbao, ¡°Try one first.¡± Yuanbao took it and broke the melon open with a few taps of his fingernails, then shared it with his brothers. All of them nibbled on a melon as they walked home, having managed to eat two whole melons by the time they reached their house. Longing for more, Yuanbao took out a cucumber from another basket and asked, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Yingbao replied, ¡°A cucumber.¡± ¡°Can you eat it?¡± Yuanbao took the cucumber and sniffed it, ¡°It¡¯s refreshing and smells different from the melon.¡± Yingbao: ¡°Yes, it is edible. Youyou has already eaten one.¡± Not only did she feed Youyou, but she also chopped up the overripe cucumbers to feed the chickens. Those chickens ate so happily. About a dozen chickens in the cave seemed to have gained weight. Each chicken produced an egg every day without fail. These past days, they had collected several dozens of eggs, filling up two rice washing baskets. Yuanbao took a bite of a cucumber, mumbling to himself, ¡°Not bad, but not as sweet as the melons.¡± When the children got back home with Xiaolu, Jiang Jie immediately handed a melon to their mother, calling out, ¡°Mom! Sister found more melons!¡± The sight of Xiaolu, her backden with two baskets full of melons and vegetables, left their mother stunned. What incredible luck does her daughter have that she continually finds these melons? It was truly unbelievable. ¡°And there are eggs! Sister also found a basket full of eggs in the bamboo forest!¡± Jiang Jie excitedly hopped around their mother, ¡°Boiled eggs! I want to eat boiled eggs!¡± Their mother received the basket of eggs from her daughter and took it to the kitchen. Dani and Eryong ran over, shocked: ¡°Yingbao found the melons again? Where in the bamboo forest did she find them? I want to go too.¡± Yingbao silently handed them a melon and said, ¡°Eat first, I¡¯ll take you there after lunch.¡± Their mother took the cucumbers out one by one from the basket, asking, ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Cucumbers. I bought the seeds from a salesman and nted them in the bamboo forest. I forgot about them for a while but when I checked today, a good number had already fruited.¡± Yingbao, without the slightest change of expression or hesitation, spun this lie easily. Their mother didn¡¯t seem the least bit suspicious and asked, ¡°Is there any more?¡± ¡°There are still some left, I¡¯ll pick them up in a couple of days.¡± Yingbao helped her mother unload the Chinese cabbage, cing it on the kitchen floor. Once the bandit incident died down, she would move all her hidden items out of the house, piling them up in the bamboo forest to pin the me on the bandits. Just at this moment, Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan returned with two huge bamboo tables from the forest. Those were the only two pieces of furniture their family had left. Fortunately, the tables had been kept away; otherwise, they would have been burned like everything else. With the vegetables and eggs, they prepared a more scrumptious meal for lunch. Yanru plucked a handful of Spanish garlic from the ground to mix with cucumber slices for a refreshing sd. In addition, she cooked a pot of egg soup with Chinese cabbage leaves, made a cold dish from the cabbage stems, and added some Euonymus, giving it a delicious salty and spicy vor. They also boiled arge pot of white rice. After dishing out the rice, the rice crust at the bottom of the pot was toasted to a crispy crunch, so every child took a piece, and their chewing echoed with a satisfying crunch. Huzi and Jiang Jie were a bit disappointed because they didn¡¯t get the boiled eggs they craved, so they ate their meals reluctantly. Yingbao whispered, ¡°Eat quickly, we¡¯ll go gather more eggs this afternoon.¡± The family¡¯s situation was not good, there were only so few eggs, the mother and aunties definitely wouldn¡¯t be willing to boil one for each person, so they made an egg vegetable soup instead. She could go and collect a basket of them, so at that time, she could boil an egg for each of them, Huzi, Yuanbao, and her brothers. ¡°Great!¡± eximed Huzi and his two brothers in unison, quickly devouring their food. Just then, a sudden burst of noise came from outside the courtyard, as if many people wereing. Old man Jiang startled, immediately picked up a sickle and rushed to the entrance of the courtyard. The courtyard door was pushed open with a squeak, and Jiang Sang was the first to step in. ¡°Sang!¡± Old man Jiang, caught up in the excitement, grabbed his son, ¡°Thank goodness you¡¯re home!¡± He looked him up and down: ¡°What happened to you? Are you injured? What about Dng and Eng?¡± Yingbao and her two brothers jumped up with excitement, rushing to their father and hugging his legs: ¡°Dad! Dad, you¡¯re back!¡± ¡°Dad, are you injured?¡± Jiang Sang looked disheveled at the moment, with dark red blood stains on his clothes, his hair was messy, he looked no different from refugees who had been fleeing for a long time. Bending over, he gently patted his children on the head, smiled lovingly and said, ¡°Dad¡¯s not hurt. You guys go y somewhere else, dad¡¯s clothes are dirty with blood.¡± Then he said to Chunniang, ¡°There are quite a lot of peopleing to eatter, do we still have rice left? Cook more rice for them.¡± Seeing her husband in such a state, Chunniang¡¯s heart ached uncontrobly. She quickly pulled the kids aside, ¡°There is some rice left. I will go and cook now, you sit and rest first.¡± She got a bowl and filled it with rice for her husband, urging him to sit down and eat. Jiang Sang, with clean hands and a washed face, sat down, started to eat from his bowl. Haven¡¯t had a proper meal in days, he ate hungrily. Upon knowing that Dng and Eng had returned, the Zhou family and Yanru scrambled out of the yard to look for them. They saw arge group of peopleing over, some carrying wounded on their backs. Both Dng and Eng were also supporting two injured men, they looked okay. These people quickly entered the yard of Jiang Sang¡¯s house, Yingbao counted there were more than thirty people. Each and everyone of them looked weary, not only were their clothes tattered, but some were even without shoes. Chunniang, along with the first and second sisters-inw, were busy with washing rice and cooking¡ªtwo big pots in total. As for the vegetables, it just so happened that Yingbao had brought back some Chinese cabbage. They nched it in boiling water, added a little salt, and made a cold sd. Sliced cucumbers were also served as a cold dish. When the rice was done, they served it for the thirty-plus people. There weren¡¯t enough bowls, so Dani went to the ruins to collect some broken bowls. They were washed clean to serve the rice, and when there weren¡¯t enough chopsticks, they broke off some tree branches as a substitute. No one minded; they lifted their bowls and took their tree branches, quietly digging in. In one go, they finished all the rice in the two big pots. Not only did they finish all the rice, they didn¡¯t even leave the crispy rice at the bottom of the pot. After the meal, most of the vigers went back down the mountain to the vige. Those with injuries drank the medicine which Yingbao prepared and with the help of others, made their way back to the vige. Only Chen Yin, Wang Ke, Li Dayong, and Li Eryong stayed. Having learnt that their wives and children are at the South Slope, they went directly to find them. ¡°Sang, why did you take so long to return?¡± Old man Jiang questioned his son. ¡°What have you been eating these past few days?¡± ¡°We were chased out by the bandits for dozens of miles, then hid in the forest, set up an ambush, and killed quite a few bandits.¡± Taking a bite from the melon which his wife handed to him, Jiang Sang said with a smile of triumph, ¡°Those bandits saw the situation was unfavorable and wanted to escape, but we turned the tables and pursued them instead, hence the dy.¡± Pointing to the weapons in the yard, he said, ¡°Those were left by the bandits, they seemed useful so I picked them up.¡± Old man Jiang¡¯s face twitched, as he eyed his son, ¡°How many bandits did you kill?¡± Having lived for so many years, he had never even killed a pig, but his son dared to kill people¡ªmoreover quite a few. Those were deeds done by evil men in the past. Well, this is truly a sin. Chapter 162 - 158: The Village Head Positon Belongs to You_1 Chapter 162: Chapter 158: The Vige Head Positon Belongs to You_1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, who cares? They dared to mercilessly ughter ourmon people; they got what they deserved in death.¡± Jiang Sang finished eating the melon, stood up and said, ¡°I need to get some sleep. I¡¯ll talk to you all about future matters afterwards¡±. He had not slept much in several days, now he was beyond exhausted. Old man Jiang waved his hand: ¡°Go and sleep. I¡¯m going to go outside and have a look¡±. He had to tidy up the rooms of his first two sons,e free time he had to pick things up, clean out all the clutter from the room, then, when he felt better, repaint and fix the roof. Right now, Yingbao was taking her brothers and sisters to find melons. Of course, it was impossible to find any, but they did find a bamboo bed. On the bed were stacked tworge wooden boxes, two sacks of rice, and two sacks of wheat, plus several quilts. They were covered with some straw, and surprisingly, they hadn¡¯t been soaked after two days of rain. Jiang Quan rushed over first, pushing off the straw, eximing excitedly and incoherently, ¡°We¡¯re rich! We¡¯re rich! Hahaha! I¡¯ve found the bandits¡¯ treasure!¡± Yingbao grimaced, ¡°This is my family¡¯s stuff¡±. Jiang Quan, ¡°¡± He opened one of the wooden boxes and picked up a garment to look at, it was indeed his cousin¡¯s clothing. He was disappointed; he had gotten excited for nothing. He thought he had found the loot that the bandits had hidden. Jiang Quan and his elder brother Jiang Cheng carried a sack back each, while Dani and Erni each shouldered a quilt. Yingbao, her two brothers, Yuanbao, Huzi, Wei Zhan, and others remained by the bamboo bed. The two dogs barked excitedly and circled around the bamboo bed. They both clearly saw the sudden appearance of this item in front of their young master, which caused them to take a severe shock. Even now, they hadn¡¯t recovered from the shock. ¡°Yingbao, let¡¯s go collect some eggs, Brother Yuanbao and Wei Zhan can just watch over this,¡± Huzi was already itching to go, urging his cousin repeatedly. Little did he know, before his cousin could even respond, Yuanbao was the first to object. ¡°Why should we watch over this? What can you and Xiaojie Xiaowu do? I think you guys should just watch the stuff here, Yingbao and I will go collect the eggs.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Huzi huffed, ¡°I¡¯ve already made ns with Yingbao! Humph! I want to go!¡± Seeing the two brothers about to fight, Yingbao red at them: ¡°None of you are going, I can go myself.¡± She then pointed at her two brothers: ¡°You guys stay here and watch the things, when I return, we¡¯ll go home and cook some eggs to eat.¡± Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu pouted in grievance, but they nodded their heads. Jiang Wu ran to whisper into his sister¡¯s ear: ¡°Sis, next time let¡¯s not bring them! Humph!¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Yingbao agreed. Jiang Wu brightened up immediately, he nced at Huzi and the others confidently, feeling smug inside. With that, the boys watched Yingbao leading Xiaolu into the bamboo thicket. Yingbao found a clearing in the bamboo thicket, about one zhang (3.3 meters) square. She took out a small shovel and started digging, moving the melon vines and cucumber vines some distance away and nting them into the ground one by one. After preparing the soil and watering the vines, she finally felt satisfied. She would call Dani and Erni over to pick melonster, then she¡¯d have something to say to the adults. Sheter brought out a few hens and scattered a handful of wheat grains on the ground. The hens looked a little befuddled oning out, but on seeing Yingbao, a familiar face, they calmed down and happily pecked at the grains. When Yingbao appeared in front of Yuanbao¡¯s group with a basket of eggs, Dani, Erni, Jiang Cheng, and Jiang Quan had also arrived. Apanying them were old man Jiang, Jiang Liu, and Zhou of the Chun family. They were preparing to carry back a few sacks of grain and boxes on their shoulders. ¡°Baobao, where did you find the eggs?¡± The old man Jiang asked first. Yingbao pointed to the bamboo grove: ¡°Over there, do you want to go take a look?¡± ¡°Go, of course, go!¡± Old man Jiang was always curious about where his granddaughter found these things. Not only the old man, but everyone in the family was curious. So, Yingbao led her grandparents, cousins, and sisters to the spot she just cleaned up. ¡°Oh my, so many melons!¡± Jiang Liu¡¯s excitement gripped her listless husband, ¡°Look, are those our chickens? Oh, God is really watching over us.¡± Dani and Sister Dani, along with Jiang Quan, had run off to pick melons early. Second Sister picked and yelled: ¡°No wonder! So there¡¯s a melon field here! Haha! I¡¯ming here every day to pick melons.¡± Jiang Liu, seeing her granddaughter yank the melon vine from the ground, pped her thigh in distress: ¡°Aiyo, careful! There are still baby melons up there, don¡¯t pluck the vine. Ah, you clumsy girl¡­¡± The second sister was careful, but the melon vine was too fragile, and it pulled out from the root. ¡°Stupid!¡± Jiang Liu pped her granddaughter¡¯s hand, forbidding her to pick any more, and ordered her grandson, ¡°Go home and fetch a sickle!¡± Yingbao silently handed over a pair of scissors, ¡°Why not use the scissors to cut?¡± Second Sister was overjoyed, she took the scissors and began to snip away. It has to be said, the feeling of cutting melons with scissors was quite satisfying. After picking the melons, Jiang Liu carefully mounded soil around the base of each melon vine, pressing it down. Only then did she go home with the chicken they had caught. On the way home, Old man Jiang muttered to his wife: ¡°I wonder if the bandits hid anything else in the bamboo grove?¡± Jiang Liu nodded: ¡°Certainly. Let¡¯s return these things home first, then we¡¯lle back and search.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go look aroundter.¡± But to no avail, Old man Jiang turned the bamboo grove upside down and found nothing. At night they retired, with the women in one room and the men in another. Fortunately, today they found a few quilts and nkets, so no one would freeze to death. The next day, the weather became colder. Jiang Cheng got up early to have breakfast, then he and his younger brother Jiang Quan went to town. The families would need to start preparing their cotton clothes, otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be able to get through the winter. Just as Jiang Cheng they left, n Leader Chen and a few vige elders came by to see Jiang Sang. n Leader Chen sat down by the bamboo bed and stroked his beard as he said to Jiang Sang: ¡°Now that Sanyou cannot be in charge, our vige has decided to elect you as the head of Chen Vige.¡± Jiang Sang was taken aback and waved his hands: ¡°That can¡¯t be.¡± ¡°How can it not?¡± n Leader Chen said: ¡°Our vige¡¯s young people all listen to you, and your family is a second-tier household, there¡¯s no one more suitable than you to be head.¡± ¡°Yes, Sang, just agree.¡± The vige elders chimed in, ¡°With the way things are in the vige right now, we can¡¯t do without a leader.¡± Jiang Sang scratched his head, ¡°But I¡­¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s settled then.¡± n Leader Chen said: ¡°Beforeing here, I had talked with the vige people, and they all agreed that you bing the vige head was most appropriate.¡± One of the vige elders patted Jiang Sang¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Managing the vige won¡¯t be easy now, but I believe in you. Later, we¡¯ll go to Lizheng to tell him, from now on you¡¯ll be taking care of all the affairs in Chen Vige.¡± ¡°Yes indeed, you absolutely cannot turn this down, otherwise, our vige will be done for.¡± Jiang Sang didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry, so he just nodded in agreement: ¡°Well then, I will humbly obey. If there¡¯s anything I¡¯m not doing right, please guide me, Uncle Chen, and the vige elders.¡± ¡°What are you talking about, we trust you very much.¡± The vige elder smiled kindly: ¡°Also, the problem of repairing the vigers¡¯ houses needs to be addressed; winter ising soon, and we can¡¯t leave people without a ce to live.¡± Chapter 163 - 159: Relocate the Village_1 Chapter 163: Chapter 159: Relocate the Vige_1 Trantor:549690339 Jiang Sang finally understood why the n Leader and the vige elders chose him to be the vige head. But was he a person who would easily admit defeat? Definitely not. Since he decided to take over Dongchen Vige, he couldn¡¯t back down. However, the matter of renovating the houses had to be carefully considered. After informing the n Leader and vige elders about his decision at Sun Licheng¡¯s ce, Jiang Sang officially assumed the position of vige head of Dongchen Vige. When Jiang Sang returned from the town, Old Jiang immediately asked, ¡°How¡¯s the town?¡± ¡°Some houses have been destroyed, but it¡¯s not severe, though Sun Licheng¡¯s house was burnt down. His family escaped to the mountains just in time.¡± ¡°And what about Doctor Zhang¡¯s house?¡± Dani worried about Doctor Zhang¡¯s grandson whose birth she had mentioned, regretting if anything should happen. Jiang Sang: ¡°Dr. Zhang¡¯s house is fine. I went there once, everything in his house is good, the bandits didn¡¯t invade his house.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Old Jiang was relieved, ¡°No wonder Dacheng said the town is better than our vige, many houses are intact without being burnt.¡± Jiang Sang remained silent, contemting. The bandits seemed to have left, but regardless of their victory or defeat, they would surely return. How should the vigers resist them? Should his people hide like dogs who have lost their homes? Jiang Sang remembered a vige he encountered while fleeing from the bandits a few days ago. This vige was built like a small fortress with walls all around. When the bandits attacked, the vigers stood on the walls shooting arrows down, or throwing rocks, sessfully repelling the hundred-odd bandits. ¡°Sang, what are you thinking about?¡± Seeing his third son didn¡¯t respond, Old Jiang asked: ¡°Do you find it hard to be the vige head?¡± Jiang Sang shook his head. Today, Old Jiang particrly wanted to chat with his third son, ¡°Then why are you ignoring me?¡± Jiang Sang: ¡°I was thinking, the vige is already almost destroyed, why not let everyone move to South Slope and build houses there.¡± He wanted to build the vige like a fortress, so no matter how many bandits came in the future, they wouldn¡¯t be afraid. Moreover, his little girl had mentioned before that the vige would be flooded in the future, even the n Leader¡¯s house would be swept away. If that is the case, what¡¯s the point of spending money building houses in the vige? So, he must discuss this with the vigers thoroughly. If they want their homes to not be flooded or invaded by bandits, they must build their houses on South Slope. But he can¡¯t do this alone, the entire vige has to back him up. As long as everyonees, he can organize them to build a fence, which wouldn¡¯t be too difficult. ¡°Everyone moving to the South Slope to build houses?¡± Old Jiang shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not feasible.¡± Jiang Sang: ¡°It has to be.¡± If they want him to be the vige head, they must listen to him on this matter. After making up his mind, Jiang Sang immediately went to n Leader Chen¡¯s house to express his ideas. ¡°What do you say? Let the whole vige move to build houses in South Slope?¡± n Leader Chen frowned: ¡°Then what about here?¡± Jiang Sang: ¡°We can slowly repair it when we have time, otherwise we can only give it up.¡± n Leader Chen sighed: ¡°Let me think about it.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go discuss it with others. If there¡¯s anything, I¡¯lle back to talk to you.¡± With that, Jiang Sang got up and left. After seeing Jiang Sang leave, the n Leader¡¯s eldest son scoffed, ¡°Dad, see? He has just be the vige head and he¡¯s already caught up. He even wants us to build houses on the South Slope, I think he¡¯s gone mad.¡± Seeing his father remaining silent, Chen Jiaxing continued: ¡°What were you and the other elders thinking, letting an outsider be the vige head? What good cane to our vige in the future?¡± n Leader Chen gave his eldest son a stern look: ¡°What are you trying to say? What¡¯s wrong with an outsider? There¡¯s no one more suitable than Jiang Sang, this outsider, to be the vige head!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t say that.¡± Chen Jiaxing couldn¡¯t help but argue with his father: ¡°In other viges, if the father doesn¡¯t do it, the son takes up the position. I think our cousin Chen Shu isn¡¯t bad, why not let him rece the third uncle as the vige head, instead let Jiang Sang be the head?¡± n Leader: ¡°You don¡¯t know shit! Can the vige head position be taken by just anyone you want?¡± ¡°Really, isn¡¯t it?¡± Chen Jiaxing muttered quietly. The n Leader wanted to smack him for being ridiculous, ¡°The vige leader is chosen through a vige-wide election, can¡¯t you realize that? Do you think Chen Shu has what it takes to win the votes of our vigers? Moreover, your third uncle¡¯s life was saved by Jiang Sang¡¯s little daughter. Without Jiang Sang, you would have been chopped up by the bandits!¡± Chen Jiaxing curled his lips, his heart filled with disagreement. The n Leader waved his hand, ¡°The decision to move the vige depends on everyone¡¯s consensus. If everyone agrees, you and Eng can move to South Slope. Your mother and I will take care of the old house.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t go! My younger brother won¡¯t go either!¡± Chen Jiaxing turned around and stormed off. Humph! He would never move to South Slope, and his younger brother wouldn¡¯t either. Why should they abandon their grand house and suffer in that damn ce where not even a bird would want to shit? The next day, Yingbao took Youyou to the bamboo forest, followed by a bunch of kids. Trailing behind the kids were two puppies. Yingbao nced not far away to see her dad leading the vigers in measuring thend. Yesterday, her dad said that everyone in the vige had agreed to build houses on South Slope. So, Yingbao gave him a rough sketch of the n. The blueprint was modeled after theyout of the Prefecture City, with rows of neatly arranged houses that were aesthetically pleasing and space-saving. Considering this was a vige, every household should have a big, square courtyard, and then a plot outside the courtyard for growing vegetables. With only about thirty or forty households in Dongchen Vige, constructing five rows of eight households each would be more than enough. Two ponds could also be dug for the vigers to wash clothes and vegetables, and the excavated soil could be used to build the outer wall. This was a big project that might take time. Hence, the vigers decided to first measure thend for the houses and construct the outer wall gradually. If anyone upied someone else¡¯snd during this process, they had to offer an equal amount of their ownnd aspensation. Everyone agreed with this rule. Therefore, today, everyone in the vige came to South Slope to select a site for their house on the nnednd. Yingbao, along with her little brother, Yuanbao, Huzi, and Wei Zhan came to the small melon field within the bamboo forest. Interestingly, after these vines were transnted, they not only survived but continued to bloom and bear fruits. But the growth was much slower than that in the nutrient-rich soil of the cave dwelling. The children turned over the gourd leaves, looking to see if any ripe guava had been missed underneath. Jiang Wu and Jiang Jie were counting the young gourds. When they got to the second vine, they were shocked, ¡°Sister! Two of them are missing!¡± Yingbao went over to inspect, ¡°Where are they missing?¡± She really didn¡¯t know how many young melons were left on these vines. ¡°They really are!¡± Jiang Jie pointed at the cucumber vines, ¡°I counted yesterday, there were four on this vine. Now only two are left, and they are the smallest.¡± Jiang Wu echoed, ¡°Yes! I also counted.¡± He had counted together with his brother, and they couldn¡¯t have got it wrong. Wei Zhan leaned over, ¡°Could someone have stolen them?¡± Jiang Wu and Jiang Jie pursed their lips, feeling like crying. They couldn¡¯t believe someone would steal their gourds. Even the ones that hadn¡¯t grown to full size were stolen. It was really infuriating. Yingbao didn¡¯t take it that seriously, saying, ¡°If they were stolen, so be it. Maybe they didn¡¯t know this was our melon field.¡± Jiang Wu frowned, then went to count the remaining gourds on other vines. As he counted, he found that all the bigger cucumbers were missing. Not only were the slightlyrger cucumbers missing, even the goose egg-sized melon buds were gone. ¡°Sister, a thief has stolen all our gourds.¡± Jiang Wu looked up and cried. Chapter 164 - 160: The Surrounding Wall_1 Chapter 164: Chapter 160: The Surrounding Wall_1 Trantor:549690339 Yingbao quickly coaxed: ¡°If it¡¯s gone, it¡¯s gone, maybe a monkey stole it.¡± In fact, these mountains did not have monkeys, but there were wild boar, roe deer, and even wolves. However, these animals are rarely seen during the day, and they avoid adults at all costs. But they pose great danger to children. For wild boars and wolves, children are equivalent to vulnerable cubs that can be easily hunted. ¡°Ehwas it really stolen by a monkey?¡± Jiang Wu had seen monkeys before. There were usually street performers with monkeys begging for food at the market. The little monkeys, wearing little red shirts, would not only do somersaults but also bow to people. Jiang Wu choked at this thought, tears welling in his eyes as he tried to suppress his sadness. ¡°Your sister is tricking you, it wasn¡¯t stolen by a monkey at all.¡± Wei Zhan rained on his parade. Yingbao: ¡­I really want to smack someone. Yuanbao also chimed in, ¡°We don¡¯t have monkeys here, it must have been stolen by a little thief.¡± Huzi nodded vigorously: ¡°Yeah!¡± Yingbao shot them a re, pulling away the tearful younger brother away from the bamboo forest. Once home, Yingbao told her two brothers a story about a crybaby who had turned into a top schr. At dinner, Jiang Eng discussed with his elder brother the need to go out and buy food. ¡°Pingjiang County suffered no bandits attack, we should go there early and buy some grains back.¡± Eldest brother Jiang pondered: ¡°Don¡¯t we have enough food in our home? Why should we need to buy more?¡± ¡°Not for our family, but the vigers need to buy,¡± replied Jiang Eng. Jiang Eng continued, ¡°Not only the vigers need to buy, our family also needs to. Though the grain in our home is enough, we all need to renovate our houses and courtyard walls. I n to hire moreborers from the nearby vige to expedite the renovation work.¡± In hiring workers, thebor cost is minimal, but it ispulsory to provide two meals a day. Jiang Eng gulped down some congee and salted cabbage, ¡°Also, the courtyard walls of our three houses need to be re-built and heightened, with broken porcin shards embedded on top. In the event the bandits return, we could have some means of defense.¡± Since the vige walls entail a lot of work, they will first raise their own courtyard walls. The Zhang clinic in town has walls that reach a yard high. Commoners can¡¯t easily scale it, and coupled with their sturdy front gates, the bandits were unable to break in either. During the recent bandit attack, the neighbors on both sides of Zhang¡¯s clinic sought refuge in her home, and she single-handedly saved more than a dozen families. Therefore, this courtyard wall is not to be taken lightly. ¡°Well, let¡¯s find a few people to go to Pingjiang County together,¡± Eldest brother Jiang proposed. ¡°We probably need to spend more than ten days on the road if we only rely on carrying the burden on our shoulders.¡± Jiang Eng: ¡°Let¡¯s hire some horse-drawn or mule-drawn carriages for the return trip, we mustn¡¯t try to save money on this. The sooner we get back, the safer it will be.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s follow your n,¡± Eldest brother Jiang nodded. The next morning, Eldest brother Jiang set off for Pingjiang County with a few vigers to buy grain. Jiang Eng went to the neighboring vige to hirebor, and in one fell swoop, he hired several dozen experienced construction workers. With dozens of people working together to knead y and build bricks, the walls of the three households in the Jiang family werepletely demolished and rebuilt. Old man Jiang went out to buy back building materials and bamboo, and also ordered a lot of tiles from the tile kiln. Within a few days, all the bricks, tiles, wood materials, and bamboo could be delivered, and the new doors and windows were also ready. They then began to roof the houses with tiles, dug the foundation of the wall, and build the surrounding walls. In addition to repairing the original house, a few additional rooms were built in Jiang Eng¡¯s home. The wall that was two yards high and more than half a yard wide rounded up the homes and courtyards of the three families of the Jiangs. Watchtowers were built at the four corners of the wall, which could amodate three people at the same time for archery. From afar, the enclosure looked like a small city wall, robust and sturdy, giving a strong sense of security. After the wall was built, Jiang Eng immediately instructed his men to install two heavy doors. There was only one gate that could amodate horse-driven carriages. Only after entering the big gate could they see the three doors of the courtyards side by side. The courtyard doors were three yards away from the main gate and did not affect the sunlight and feng shui of the yards. On the day that the gate was installed, Yingbao climbed the wall from the stairs in the courtyard and walked around it. The watchtower was excellently built and from here, she could see far away. She could see vigers everywhere around her, upied with their work, some were cutting bamboo, others moulding y bricks, while the children were barefoot, ying in the mud. Yuanbao, Huzi, Wei Zhan, and few other kids also climbed up the wall,ughing and jumping around, until they were chased and soundly thrashed by a nanny with a bamboo pole before they reluctantly came down. The next day, after the wall around Jiang Family¡¯s estate waspleted, a vige patrolman passed around a message, beating a gong. He announced that bandits had been repelled by the Imperial Court¡¯s soldiers. The defeated bandits had scattered and escaped. He urged the vigers to stay vignt and guard against sneak attacks by the bandits. Jiang Sang, upon hearing the message, immediately sent someone to warn all the vigers, suggesting for them to gather together at night as a precaution. Yingbao, riding on Youyou, sneaked down the mountain to the vige school to find Madam Wen and Miss Wen. Lately, everyone was busy tidying up their houses, so even the n¡¯s school had to close its doors. Madam Wen assigned Yingbao homework, allowing her to study at home. ¡°Master! Miss Wen!¡± Yingbao climbed down from her deer¡¯s back and ran into the school. Wen Shu came out of the house, holding a book in her hand. ¡°Yingbao, why are you here?¡± ¡°Where is Master?¡± Yingbao asked. ¡°She¡¯s inside. Come in,¡± Wen Shu led Yingbao into the house. Without wasting words, Yingbao directly asked Xiu Zhenniang, pulling her towards the South Slope, ¡°Master, pleasee with me to the South Slope. The vigers say that there might be a disturbance by bandits. My father advised that the vigers better gather together at night.¡± Xiu Zhenniang had also heard the patrolman¡¯s message and was worried about what to do. When her student invited them to South Slope, it fell right in line with her wishes. ¡°Alright, let me pack some stuff first.¡± Xiu Zhenniang then said to her daughter, ¡°You also start packing some necessary items.¡± Wen Shu nodded, dragging Yingbao to the next room. The nanny and Wen Shu shared a room and quickly helped the youngdy pack her clothes and valuables. Wen Shu didn¡¯t have many things, she pack them all away in two bundles. The nanny rolled up the bedding from the bed and tied it up tightly with a rope. Wen Fu, seemingly from nowhere, brought a wheelbarrow and piled up the family¡¯s grain bags and bedding on it, then began to push it himself. Xiu Zhenniang, her daughter, and the Nanny only carried a bundle each, and then set off with Yingbao. Yingbao didn¡¯t see Madam Wen Tian and asked curiously, ¡°Where is Madam Lin?¡± Wen Shu whispered, ¡°Auntie Lin is living at n Leader Chen¡¯s house.¡± Yingbao was puzzled. Why on earth would he let her live in his house after what Wen Tian did to his grandchild, breaking his leg? Seeing Yingbao¡¯s confusion, Wen Shu exined, ¡°Auntie Lin gets along well with Chen n Leader¡¯s eldest daughter-inw, so she moved in with them.¡± In fact, their mother had had a falling out with Aunt Lin, even had a big fight, which led to Aunt Lin moving to Chen¡¯s family. But, how could she tell Yingbao about it? Yingbao led Wen Shu and her master home and settled them in her own room. Anyway, her bed wasrge enough to amodate four to five people. As for Wen Fu, he was arranged to stay in the newly built side room. When Chunniang saw her daughter bringing Madam Wen and others, she wasn¡¯t surprised and chatted with Xiu Zhenniang for a while before hurrying off to prepare a meal. Now there were dozens of people to feed in their house. She and her sisters-inw were kept busy all day, running off their feet. Lunch was rice, tofu with cabbage, cucumber sd, stir-fried leek, and pickled vegetables. Dinner was steamed buns, rice porridge, pickles, cucumber sd, and cabbage. Although there was no meat, the food was filling and the side dishes tasted good. The hiredborers didn¡¯t mind, as soon as they finished eating, they went straight to work without cking. That night, a few torches could vaguely be seen going around the vige, and then moving towards South Slope. Jiang Sang, standing on the watchtower and spotting this scene, immediately ordered the vigers to take up their bows and arrows and squat on the wall, ready to deal with whateveres. Chapter 165 - 161: A Comprehensive Victory_1 Chapter 165: Chapter 161: A Comprehensive Victory_1 Trantor: 549690339 The torches gradually ascended the South Slope, first turning around in all directions, then slowly approaching the Jiang family¡¯s wall. Jiang Sang could see clearly that this was a pack of over a hundred bandits. The bandits were dragging along two people, who were Chen Jiaxing, the eldest son of the n Leader Chen, and Chen Shu, the eldest son of Chen Sanyou. These two were bound with ropes like dumplings, dragged along the road by the bandits. Seeing this, Chen Yin gritted his teeth in anger. His elder brother just would not follow his advice. Today, after painstakingly persuading his family toe to South Slope and stay with the Jiang family, neither his elder brother nor his cousin were willing toe, even saying that if they encountered bandits, their fate would be left to luck. He had thought that they would at least find a ce to hide, but they were staying at home so openly. Now it¡¯s good, both of them were caught by the bandits and dragged all the way here. If Uncle and Father and Mother saw this, they wouldn¡¯t know how to bear the pain. Jiang Sang made no sound, looking coldly at the bandits below and seeing how they would act. These bandits did not approach, but instead circled around the wall. The bandit leader kept nodding and murmured to himself: ¡°This ce is well-built. This fence was constructed in less than ten days, which shows how wealthy this family is.¡± He turned his head and motioned to his sidekick: ¡°Send a few men up to check it out.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The sidekick called over two lean young men and let them scale the wall to scout the path ahead. These two were once thieves and first-rate in climbing walls and looting houses. The two bandits nodded and quickly ran towards the wall. Seeing that there was no movement on top of it, they took out a w hook strapped to their waist, and threw it forcefully onto the wall. The w hook clung to the side of the wall, the bandit pulled it hard to make sure it held firm, then swiftly scaled up the wall using the rope. The hidden vigers were anxious and quietly asked Jiang Sang, ¡°Third Brother, what should we do?¡± Jiang Sang thought for a moment and said softly, ¡°Let theme up.¡± The bandits were too far from them to be reached by arrows, so they had to lure the bandits closer before they could shoot. Moreover, they had two hostages in their hands, who were the sons of Chen Sanyou and n Leader Chen, so he had to be considerate of their lives. The vigers, although confused, still stepped aside. To resist the bandits, plenty of wood, stones, and bamboo arrows were piled on the wall. The vigers hid behind these, and with the cover of a moonless night, it wasn¡¯t certain that the bandits could spot them. A bandit climbed over the wall, only to have his hands cut by shards of ceramics on the outer edge of it. He cursed under his breath, not daring to raise his voice. Looking up, he was startled by the shadows on the wall. On closer inspection, they didn¡¯t seem to be people but piles of wood, stones, and other debris. Looking down at the dark courtyard, there was no sound. The bandit thought for a moment before signaling the others below. The bandit leader saw this but did nothing, instead waiting for another¡¯s response. Another bandit climbed the wall, but before he could get up his neck was constricted by a thin rope. He tried to struggle but someone grabbed his head and snapped it with a forceful twist. With a faint crack, the bandit copsed like a dead fish. This smallmotion startled another bandit. This bandit reacted quickly and tried to escape by sliding down the rope. But he was not able to get away. He had already been dragged over and had his neck twisted off. It was then that Jiang Sang saw clearly that Wen Fu was the one who took action. Wen Fu said indifferently, ¡°The more you worry about the hostages, the more rampant the bandits will be, leading to a disastrous end. Send the signal now, so we canunch a pincer attack, catching them by surprise!¡± Jiang Sang nodded and immediately ordered the ignition of the arrows. The ming arrows, shot from heights, flew directly towards the haystack ten paces away. This distance won¡¯t kill people, but it can ignite the oil-drenched haystack. For a moment, the bandits were surrounded by zing fire, leaving them nowhere to hide. Suddenly, cries of attack echoed from behind the bandits. The leader of the bandits was taken aback and subconsciously looked over his shoulder. From the darkness, more than a hundred vigers charged out. They wielded clubs, pitchforks, and shovels, some even brandishedrge swords, shouting attacks and cries for battle. Having never encountered such a force, the bandits frantically raced towards the walls in panic. ¡°Fire!¡± Seeing the bandits within range, Jiang Sang gave the order. The archers on the wall aimed their arrows downward, striking down more than a dozen bandits in one go. Immediately, the gate flung open, and Wen Fu led dozens of vigers charging out, brandishing their knives and axes at the bandits. The vigers were already filled with pent-up anger. Their homes burned, their food and valuables stolen, their rage drove them forward fearlessly. They charged, hacking at every bandit they saw, almost taking one down with each swing. This group of bandits was in fact just a rabble of deserters, some of them even injured. Their night raid was merely an attempt to steal some grain and silver coins, hoping to facilitate their escape in the future. But they encountered a group of vigers who fought like a well-trained army from the Imperial Court, using all sorts of tactics against them. The bandits were inplete disarray, running frantically in every direction. The leader tried to escape solo, but someone had already set their sights on him. A sh of cold light took down the two bandits protecting him, followed by another sh, severing one of the leader¡¯s arms. The leader cried out, clutching his arm as he tumbled to the ground. Two vigers pounced on him, quickly tying him up like a dumpling. Wen Fu whispered, ¡°Take him back, stop the bleeding, don¡¯t let him die. This is a significant capture.¡± Understanding, the vigers dragged the leader back. Inside the walls,nterns lit up the area. Everyone stood in the courtyard, listening nervously to the cries of battle and screams outside. The vigers dragged the leader into a small hut and called for Wen Fu¡¯s wife to tend to his wounds. Wen Fu¡¯s wife and Yingbao entered the hut, with Yingbao carrying a medicine pouch while Wen Fu¡¯s wife took out her own medical kit and suture tools to sew up the wounds on the bandit leader. The leader, having lost a lot of blood, was semi-fainted. Yingbao took out a pill, crushed it in water, and fed it to him. This was a significant capture. He couldn¡¯t be allowed to die. Outside the walls, while some bandits were killed or injured, only a tenth or so managed to escape under the cover of darkness. The injured were tied up, and the bodies of the bandits were gathered in one ce to be dealt withter. Meanwhile, the kidnapped sons of the n Leader and Chen Sanyou were untied and taken back to Jiang Family for medical treatment. Each of them had lost an ear, their faces were swollen like pigs¡¯ heads, and aside from surface wounds, they weren¡¯t badly injured. However, they were scared to the extent that they had soiled themselves. The n Leader, appearing visibly upset, requested his daughter-inw to change their son¡¯s clothes before calling upon Wu Four, the husband of Aunt Wu to medicate them. By the time the cleanup was over, the day had already dawned. Jiang SanLang sent two swift men to report the incident to Sun Licheng in the town and then went to rest for a while. The victory was not only credited to Dongchen Vige but also to a dozen or so households in Xichen Vige and dozens of masons who helped out. The most credit was attributed to Wen Fu. Jiang Sang could see that Wen Fu was very capable, not only was he a skilled martial artist, but he was also decisive and experienced like a battle-hardened general. However, he couldn¡¯t understand why such a person was willing to live as a servant. Even with the Imperial Court¡¯s preference for schrs over warriors, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for such a talent to be freed from servitude, as long as he was willing. Chapter 166 - 162: Fox Fairy_1 Chapter 166: Chapter 162: Fox Fairy_1 Trantor: 549690339 Sun Licheng soon arrived with several of the local men. After examining the bodies and the injured bandits, Sun Licheng¡¯s stern face burst into a broad smile. ¡°Ah, Sang, this is indeed a significant contribution, hahaha.¡± He patted Jiang Sang¡¯s shoulder: ¡°I¡¯ve already sent someone on horseback to the county town to report the news. There should be someonee to take over these bandits this afternoon.¡± Jiang Sang nodded: ¡°We were able to capture so many bandits this time thanks to our vigers¡¯ brave fight against the enemy. Many West Vige residents also joined in, and dozens of craftsmen from neighboring viges helped as well. Lizheng Uncle, when you write your report, please include their names. I¡¯ve already drafted a list. Please attach it with your report and send it to Mingfu.¡± ¡°Of course, of course.¡± The vigers of Chuanhe Town had made a contribution. It was as if he himself had made a contribution; there was no way Sun Licheng would refuse. That afternoon, a team of over two hundred cavalry came, leaving behind a cloud of dust. They were led by a young officer. They came to the South Slope under the guidance of Sun Licheng. Yingbao, Dani, Erni, and their older sister were kept in the house by their grandmother and not allowed to go out. Yingbao pressed her face against the window to sneak a peek outside. But there were too many people outside, a sea of ck. The n Leader was their grandpa, Lizheng Sun Licheng, their father Jiang Sang, several n elders, and the vige leader of West Vige, Chen Changsheng, as well as Uncle Chen Yin. They were all apanying the two officers and several soldiers in the middle. A crowd went to the hut to bring out the bandit leader, then left the yard. Yingbao wanted to see who the officer was, so while her grandma wasn¡¯t paying attention, she snuck out of the house and climbed up the wall using the steps. Standing on the wall, she could only see the tops of the soldiers¡¯ heads and the officer¡¯s head. The soldiers tied up the bandits one by one, like long gourd strings, and the bandit leader was thrown into a prison cart. The leading officer said something to Sun Licheng, who kept nodding. Suddenly, the young officer looked up at the wall, his gaze met with Yingbao¡¯s. Yingbao blinked, finally making out the man¡¯s appearance. Eighteen or neen years old, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes. If he grew a goatee, he would look just like themander ten yearster. She hadn¡¯t expected him to look like this when he was young. Tsk, tsk, he looked even better without a beard. ¡°Baobao,e down quickly!¡± Chunniang, their maid, called from inside the courtyard. Yingbao responded and slowly mbered down from the wall. On returning to the room, she resumed reading with her elder sister. Although the bandit leader had been taken away, the people of Dongchen Vige did not feel relieved. On the contrary, they were even more vignt. After all, bandits rarely only had one leader, there must be aplices. The n Leader and several n elders had decided to also build houses on South Slope. At least here they had the fortress-like Jiang Family home; if bandits came, everyone could run there for shelter. So, the South Slope became even livelier, with all the inhabitants of Dongchen Vige choosing plots ofnd on the slope and eagerly asking people to help them build houses. Even several families from Xichen Vige in the west came to visit South Slope, asking to build houses here too, but they were rejected by Jiang Sang. Because this whole area was made up of farnd belonging to Dongchen Vige. If people from Xichen Vige came to build houses here, it would inevitably infringe upon Dongchen Vige¡¯s territory. Even if they were to upy unusednd, eventually mixing the two viges together would cause chaos and make management difficult. In addition, if they were to propose merging the two viges, n Leader of Xichen Vige, Chen Changsheng, would certainly not agree. If the vigers he governed went to the neighboring vige to build houses, what use would he have as the vige leader? Ten dayster, Jiang Dng returned from Pingjiang County with grain. He told his father and younger brother about what he had seen and heard on the road. ¡°All the inns along the road have had a lot of people added to their staff. They are constantly patrolling the official road. Those in shabby clothes are taken away for questioning, and if a group of refugees without a guide are encoutered, they are immediately executed.¡± Old man Jiang was dumbfounded: ¡°What if they are really refugees?¡± ¡°Then they can only me their bad luck, but if they can¡¯t produce a guide, then they are suspicious and deserve to be killed. The bandit problem has been quite severe recently. Every county is in a state of panic. I saw two groups of refugees being killed on the spot on the way here.¡± Jiang Dng sighed: ¡°Judging from their ents, those refugees seem to be from Zhouhe County. Ah, it¡¯s their bad luck that they happened to arrive as the Imperial Court is suppressing the bandits.¡± Old man Jiang shook his head, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for their desperate circumstances, who would want to abandon their home and run away?¡± But then again, refugees banding together to cause unrest is a disaster. Although their circumstances may have been pitiful, it is also unforgivable tomit atrocities. Not only do they rob and kill everywhere they go, but they also rape women. The craftsmen who were building houses said that several people in their vige had been killed by these bandits. The bandits had also captured a number of women, who were raped and then tortured to death. They were no better than animals. It seemed that those refugees were not entirely innocent afterall. In the blink of an eye, a month had passed. Yingbao had already gradually moved all the items in the house, each time she quietly lured second cousin to go and discover them, and then used his hands to carry them back home. Other than Jiang Sang, everyone in the Jiang Family found it quite magical. ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange? I searched the bamboo forest countless times and found nothing, but the moment Erquan goes, he finds a pile of items, and they all belong to Sang.¡± Old man Jiang had repeated this many times. His wife¡¯s ears had even formed calluses from hearing it. ¡°Are you trying to say that our Erquan is the Fox Fairy?¡± Jiang Liu said discontentedly. Old man Jiang coughed lightly, ¡°Whether he is the Fox Fairy or not, I am just curious. Erquan, tell grandpa, how on earth do you manage to find things from your third uncle¡¯s house in the bamboo forest?¡± Jiang Quan: ¡°How would I know?¡± He was also puzzled. But the feeling of discovering treasure was irresistible, he was nearly addicted. Tomorrow, no, today, he wished to go to the bamboo forest again to see if he could find anything else, even a piece of furniture would do. However, when going, he must take Yingbao. Jiang Quan had tried several times, as long as he took Yingbao, he could find arge treasure. Once he went alone, or with someone else, he would return empty-handed. Could it be that Yingbao was his lucky star? ¡°Yingbao,ter second brother will take you to dig winter bamboo shoots in the bamboo forest, okay?¡± Jiang Quan looked at his younger cousin with a ttering expression. Yingbao: ¡°I don¡¯t want to, I have homework with Sister Wen.¡± Now that Mrs. Wen and her daughter were living with Jiang Sang, they had started to tutor her daily. So Yingbao attended ss in the morning, and she had to write and read in the afternoon, she rarely had time to go to the bamboo forest. Jiang Sang had also asked someone to build a school on the South Slope for the vige children to attend, but it was not yetpleted. Jiang Quan was slightly disappointed to see his younger cousin refuse, it seemed he had to take the chisel to the bamboo forest to dig bamboo shoots alone. Actually it might be a little too difficult to dig bamboo shoots at this time, but it wasn¡¯t impossible. As long as a suitable location was found, the winter shoots dug out would be more tender than spring shoots. Jiang Quan arrived at the edge of the bamboo forest, he looked left and right, and began to dig in a ce with a thickyer of fallen leaves. As he was digging, he suddenly heard a faint sound of footsteps behind him, they were getting closer. Jiang Quan suddenly turned around, and saw two ragged-looking people standing not far behind him. ¡°What do you guys want?¡± Sneaking around behind him, were they trying to attack or something? Chapter 167 - 163: Defection_1 Chapter 167: Chapter 163: Defection_1 Trantor: 549690339 The two of them took a step forward, but seeing Jiang Quan retreat warily, they quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, we just want to ask you some questions.¡± Jiang Quan remained on guard, ¡°You are asking about things, why aren¡¯t you going to the vige? Why are you sneaking around following me?¡± ¡°We¡¯re sorry, we didn¡¯t mean to do this.¡± It¡¯s only because this young man was so focused, his full attention devoted to digging the ground, that he hadn¡¯t noticed the two of them. A square-faced man said, ¡°We just wanted to ask if there¡¯s a man named Wen Fu in this area.¡± Jiang Quan frowned, scrutinizing the two men from head to toe. The two of them were dirty, with tattered clothes and bare feet, and seemed to be about the same age as his father, making him even more cautious. ¡°Can¡¯t you go ask anyone else? There are plenty of people in the vige. Why are you secretly following me and asking?¡± The square-faced man paused for a moment, then said, ¡°To tell you the truth, we two brothers have no identification papers and the checks have been tightened everywhere recently. To avoid unnecessary trouble, until we were certain that the person we are looking for is here, we didn¡¯t dare go into the vige. Wen Fu is our rtive, we came to seek refuge with him. Please let us know.¡± Hearing this, Jiang Quan somewhat believed them. However, it would not be very appropriate for him to rashly bring these two individuals who looked like refugees into the vige. After pondering for a moment, he nodded and said, ¡°There is indeed a man named Wen Fu, but I can¡¯t be sure he¡¯s the one you¡¯re looking for.¡± The other man was overjoyed, quickly saying, ¡°It has to be him. We asked around before, he is a servant in Wen Family, and followed the fourthdy of Wen Family to Qinchuan County a while ago, which is why we¡¯ve travelled all the way here.¡± Hearing this, Jiang Quan was further convinced. ¡°Well, you two wait here, I¡¯ll go and ask Uncle Wen.¡± With that, he ran off, carrying his hoe. Whew, that was scary, these two looked like bandits. No, he must inform Uncle San and have them arrested. Humph! They think he¡¯s a child, has he not seen such people before? Whether these two were really Uncle Wen¡¯s rtives or not could only be determined after questioning. Jiang Quan ran all the way back to the vige. Now, the South Slope had be a fairlyrge vige with rows of houses. Each home had a yard of the same size, and the home gardens in front of them were uniformly neat. Most of the vigers had moved here. On the wide andpact vige road, children were regrly seen running about ying. Jiang Sang was instructing the vigers on how to build mushroom sheds when he saw Jiang Quan panting and running over, ¡°Uncle San, there are two refugees at the bamboo forest, they said they¡¯re looking for Uncle Wen, and imed to be his rtives.¡± Refugees? We must not take refugees appearing at this time lightly. Jiang Sang frowned, immediately ordering a few people to surround the bamboo forest with him, and sent a child to find Wen Fu. Wen Fu, who was helping at the school, heard that someone was looking for him and hurried over with Jiang Sang towards the bamboo forest. Listening to Jiang Quan¡¯s ount, if he wasn¡¯t mistaken, these two men were his former subordinates. Upon reaching the bamboo forest, he saw two people squatting at the edge of the forest, looking around nervously. The crowd of vigers rushing towards them surprised the two men, who turned to escape into the bamboo forest. ¡°Zhang Meng! Xu Kun!¡± Wen Fu shouted out loud. The two men stopped in their tracks, turned to look at Wen Fu, and their eyes instantly filled with tears, ¡°Captain Brother Fu!¡± Wen Fu quickly stepped forward, embracing Zhang Meng and Xu Kun who had also run over, their shirts were all damp with tears. Seeing this, Jiang Sang motioned for the vigers to disperse and waited to the side. After the trio had a quiet conversation, Wen Fu came over to Jiang Sang, bowed, and said, ¡°These two are my sworn brothers, they have no ce to go now and they¡¯re seeking refuge here. I ask you to allow them to stay.¡± Jiang Sang, with a furrowed brow, looked at the two men, and asked, ¡°Are they clean?¡± ¡°They are clean, I¡¯ll stake my life on it. They¡¯re not criminals nor in any way connected to bandits,¡± Wen Fu swore. Jiang Sang turned his gaze to the two men, asking, ¡°Do you have a household registration document?¡± The two men blinked, Xu Kun said, ¡°To be frank, we came from Yizhou, and we don¡¯t have household registration documents.¡± ¡°Yizhou? The Yizhou where battles frequently ur?¡± Jiang Sang had heard about Yizhou, as the Imperial Court had drafted a significant number of people and sent them to that ce. ¡°Yes,¡± Xu Kun said, ¡°We were originally soldiers guarding the border, but due to injuries, we were sent back to our hometowns. However, living in the countryside is not easy, and we no longer have any rtives at home, so we came to seek refuge with Brother Fu.¡± Actually, the reasons were more than this, but they could only say so. Xu Kun extended his right hand for Jiang Sang to see, only his thumb and half of the index finger were left on that hand, the other three fingers werepletely gone. He then pointed to Zhang Meng, ¡°He has injured the ligaments in one of his legs.¡± Jiang Sang turned his head to look at Zhang Meng and indeed saw that he was walking with a limp. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, you guys cane with me first.¡± Jiang Sang felt more at ease knowing they weren¡¯t deserters or bandits. Upon further observation of the two men, despite their weary appearance, they carried a sense of righteousness, unlike petty thieves. Moreover, Wen Fu was a servant of the Wen Family, and everything he said and did was associated with the Wen Family, so there shouldn¡¯t be any major issues. Jiang Sang took the two of them back to the vige and went directly to n Leader Chen to exin the situation. n Leader Chen did not object to taking them in, he just instructed them to work in the vige first. If they perform well, they can report to Lizheng and apply for new household registration for them. ¡°If they continue to behave properly, they can apply for refuge as refugees. I think both of them, though disabled, are physically robust. Why not let them help mend the vige roads?¡± he suggested. The vige was undergoing arge-scale construction of houses, and the transportation of building materials inevitably damaged the roads, so people were needed to fill and repair them. This job was tiring and tedious, without any substantial benefit, no one wanted to do it. It was a good opportunity to put these two strongborers to use. ¡°That sounds reasonable, each household can contribute a bit of grain to support their livelihood,¡± Jiang Sang said. Since they were levelling the roads for the entire vige, it was unreasonable for a single household to bear the cost. The whole vige had to contribute. The n Leader had no objections: ¡°Then let¡¯s do it that way. Afterward, we¡¯ll distribute the cost of these two¡¯s food and daily expenses among the vigers.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Having reached an agreement with the n Leader, Jiang Sang could say that Zhang Meng and Xu Kun had crossed a significant hurdle. He took them to a thatched hut next to his garden and said, ¡°You two stay here temporarily. Once you have your identities, we¡¯ll allocate a plot ofnd for you to build a house.¡± Chuchu had not returned, and Wei Zhan was still living with Huzi, so the thatched hut had been vacant, perfectly suitable for these two to stay temporarily. ¡°Thank you, vige leader Jiang.¡± Zhang Meng and Xu Kun thanked Jiang Sang with a fist pump, not minding the smallness of the thatched hut at all. Jiang Sang nodded and brought them two old quilts, two worn-out padded jackets, two old pairs of shoes, and some pots and pans. Afterward, he asked the vigers to gather some rice, flour, and salt for them to cook their meals. The next day, Zhang Meng and Xu Kun officially started work. One was filling the pits with soil, and the other was leveling the roads, both working tirelessly and withoutints. Jiang Sang observed them for a few days and, seeing no abnormalities, finally let down his guard a bit. Before he knew it, it was already mid-December and the weather was exceptionally cold. Construction in the vige hade to a halt for the time being, and the school had been built. The school was funded jointly by Jiang Sang, the n Leader, and several n elders. It consisted of two courtyards, one for boys and one for girls, with a total of twelve rooms. Thebined cost for the construction and interior furnishing, including desks and chairs, amounted to more than two hundred taels of silver. Jiang Sang contributed more than forty taels. The money was well spent, as the children in Jiang Vige would be able to attend school here in the future. Both the boys¡¯ and girls¡¯ schools had six rooms with a courtyard, separated by a high wall in the middle. The first three rooms were ssrooms, and thest three rooms could be used to house the teacher¡¯s family. Madame Wen moved in with her daughter and servants shortly after the school was built and soon admitted several female students. These girls were all between six and ten years old. The vigers were willing to spend money to send their daughters to school in the hopes that the girls could be like Yingbao and Erni, able to read and possess medical skills. They weren¡¯t necessarily expecting their daughters to be doctors in the future, but were hoping that their well-educated daughters could marry into a good family. Chapter 168 - 164: Receiving People_1 Chapter 168: Chapter 164: Receiving People_1 Trantor: 549690339 In the early morning, before the rise of the sun, a faint mist swirled around Bamboo Forest Vige. Yingbao, apanied by her two younger brothers and Youyou, was running along the well-paved vige path. Youyou was swift, and Yingbao and her brothers trailed closely behind him, notgging at all. Both puppies have grown up, and when they run, they are even faster than Yingbao. The sight of the three children, two dogs, and a deer running early in the morning was quite usual for the vigers. Zhang Meng stood at the crossroad, watching them with approval. ¡°Those two kids are agile and athletic, they have potential. They¡¯re good prospects.¡± Unfortunately, the Imperial Court values schrly pursuits over martial ability. Proposing that Jiang, the vige head¡¯s twin sons, learn martial arts seems somewhat inappropriate. ¡°Good prospects should be trained more,¡± Xu Kun murmured. Zhang Meng nced at his brother, ¡°You¡¯re thinking of taking them as apprentices?¡± Xu Kun chuckled, ¡°If anyone is to take an apprentice, it wouldn¡¯t be me. I sense that Brother Fu would like to do so, but I don¡¯t know why he hasn¡¯t acted.¡± ¡°With Brother Fu¡¯s awkward status, how could he offer to teach the children of decent citizens martial arts?¡± With a sigh, Zhang Meng said, ¡°We should just live out the rest of our lives peacefully.¡± Xu Kun remained silent. Yingbao and her brothers followed Youyou straight to the edge of the pond. After Youyou stopped to drink, Yingbao gazed into the distance. Early in the morning, their father was leading a group of vigers to dig a water storage trench. The trench, twenty feet wide and ten feet long, could be filled with water during the rainy season next year to improve the water supply for the more than two hundred vigers on the South Slope. After Xiaolu finished drinking, he lifted his head and also looked into the distance. Following his gaze, Yingbao saw a horse-drawn carriage approaching along the distant vige road, apanied by four horse-riding servants. The two puppies immediately charged towards the unfamiliar carriage, barking madly as they ran alongside it. Sun Licheng, who was seated in the driver¡¯s seat,manded the carriage to stop at the entrance of the Jiang¡¯s residence. Upon recognizing a familiar face, the two puppies wagged their tails and went whimpering back to their young masters forfort. Yingbao patted the two puppies on their heads and, leading her brothers, walked quickly towards home. A middle-aged man descended from the carriage and was led by Sun Licheng through therge entrance of the Jiang¡¯s residence. The man nced at the tall surrounding walls and curiously asked, ¡°Why was it built like this?¡± Chuckling, Sun Licheng replied, ¡°There was some trouble with bandits a while ago, building high walls is for defense¡ªnothing more.¡± The man nodded without pressing further. ¡°Is Brother Jiang home?¡± Sun Licheng called out loudly towards the entrance of the house. Upon hearing it was Sun Licheng¡¯s voice, Old Man Jiang hurried out of the house, ¡°My, my¡ªBrother Sun is here! Please,e on in.¡± Smiling broadly, Sun Licheng introduced, ¡°Here¡¯s a distinguished guest from Prefecture City, Mr. Wang. Mr. Wang, this is Brother Jiang, the one who has been taking care of your nephew, Wei Zhan.¡± Wang Xian quickly stepped forward and bowed to Old Man Jiang, ¡°Thank you for taking care of my nephew, Wei Zhan. I am deeply grateful.¡± Old Man Jiang quickly returned the bow and invited them in, ¡°Please,e inside and we can talk.¡± He then instructed his grandson to find Wei Zhan. The three men entered the main hall while Sister-inw Zhou hurried into the kitchen to prepare morning tea for their guests. Yuanbao had already dashed over to his second uncle¡¯s house to find Wei Zhan. ¡°Wei Zhan! Your uncle is here to pick you up!¡± Wei Zhan was surprised and asked subconsciously, ¡°Which uncle?¡± Not knowing which uncle it was, Yuanbao pulled him out the door, ¡°You¡¯ll know once you go see!¡± Wei Zhan resisted, grabbed the doorframe, and refused to go, ¡°No, no!¡± Surprised, Yuanbao turned and stared at him, ¡°Why?¡± Even after several months away from home, would he not miss his parents? ¡°I¡¯m not going!¡± Wei Zhan turned around, went back into the room, pulled off his shoes, climbed onto the kang bed, and burrowed under his quilt, refusing to show his face. Yuanbao blinked, not understanding why Wei Zhan was behaving this way. In the living room, Wang Xian and old Jiang chatted for a while, waiting for the young man who was nowhere in sight, they couldn¡¯t help but feel puzzled. Yuanbao rushed into the living room and told grandfather, ¡°Wei Zhan refuses toe.¡± Old Jiang looked at Wang Xian, stood up and suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s go and see what¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°I appreciate it, Uncle Jiang.¡± Wang Xian also stood up, following old Jiang to the Jiang Eng¡¯s house. Jiang Eng was not at home, he had gone out to dig ditches with his elder brothers. In ordance with etiquette, Yanru, who saw that men had arrived, only led them to Huzi¡¯s room and left. ¡°Seventh Brother?¡± Wang Xian called out to the bulging quilt on the bed. The bulge didn¡¯t move at all. With no choice, Wang Xian was forced to lift the quilt, only to have Wei Zhan tug the corner of the quilt firmly and refuse to let go. ¡°Seventh Brother, I am your uncle.¡± Wang Xian said helplessly, ¡°Are you upset with me foringte?¡± Wei Zhan still remained silent. ¡°Seventh Brother, you don¡¯t know, but the inspections on the road are strict. We have to rece our travel permit every hundred li, which caused me to be dyed.¡± Seeing Wei Zhan still silent, Wang Xian heaved a sigh, ¡°Your mother heard you were separated from Dabang and she coughed up blood on the spot. Seventh Brother, let¡¯s go home immediately, or else¡± Wei Zhan suddenly threw off the quilt and started crying, ¡°I I don¡¯t want to go back, wuwuwu Uncle, can you bring mother here instead? Yingbao¡¯s medical skills are very good, she can definitely cure my mother.¡± Wang Xian: He turned to ask old Jiang, ¡°Uncle Jiang, who is this Master Yingbao?¡± Old Jiang chuckled, ¡°That¡¯s my youngest granddaughter. She¡¯s only four years old and has just learned a bit about medicine. I think young master Wei is joking.¡± Wei Zhan was not convinced but knew he couldn¡¯t contradict grandpa Jiang and pouted without speaking. Seeing his nephew¡¯s stubbornness surface again, Wang Xian could only reason, ¡°Seventh Brother, how about we go back to the prefecture city first to see your mother, and then you cane back with your mother, is that okay?¡± Wei Zhan really missed his mother, but he couldn¡¯t bear to leave this ce, to leave his little buddies here. This ce is much more fun than the city. He could y freely with his friends without worrying about people ridiculing him for not having the manners of a noble gentleman, and he didn¡¯t have to worry about his food being poisoned. The key point was that his treatment here was the same as his friends¡¯. He would be praised for helping the adults and if he misbehaved, he would be punished along with them. Wei Zhan felt that this was what a family should look like. The one in the prefecture city was just a cage for training beasts where he had to behave exactly as they wanted, disying modesty and respect, obeying norms, and preventing misconduct. Otherwise, his mother would be disappointed, his father would be fed up, and the whole family wouldugh at him. Even the ves and servants acted insincerely because of his young age. ¡°Seventh Brother¡± Seeing that his nephew remained silent, Wang Xian couldn¡¯t help but try to persuade him again. Wei Zhan wiped his tears and finally nodded, ¡°Then then I¡¯ll go back first and bring my mother backter.¡± Mrs. Wen is also from the city and she managed to live here with her daughter. Therefore, his mother could do the same. When he returned, he would bring his mother and they would build a house next to Yingbao¡¯s. Then, he would live here with his mother. Seeing his nephew finally agreed to go home, Wang Xian heaved a sigh of relief, ¡°Let¡¯s leave now then, hurry to the county seat to change the travel permit and hire a convoy.¡± This ce was rife with bandits. Although the Imperial Court had sent troops to suppress them, there might still be remnant bandits on the road, so they had to hire a convoy for protection. Wei Zhan was unhappily seeing his uncle in such a rush, ¡°We will leave tomorrow!¡± He had just be good friends with many children in the vige and didn¡¯t have time to say farewell to them. How could he leave just like that? Wang Xian knew his nephew was stubborn and should be coaxed gently and not forced, or else there would be a fuss. ¡°Alright then, we will set off early tomorrow.¡± Chapter 169 - 165: Farewell_1 Chapter 169: Chapter 165: Farewell_1 Trantor:549690339 Afterward, Wei Zhan instructed his uncle to send someone to town to buy a selection of children¡¯s toys such as y rattles, wooden spinning tops, bamboo dragonflies, etc., to distribute among the vige children. He separately bought writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones to give to Huzi, Yuanbao, Dani, and Yingbao. Wang Xian also prepared twenty bolts of cloth as a thank-you gift for Jiang family¡¯s hospitality toward Wei Zhan. Old man Jiang, unable to refuse, had to ept it. Early the next morning, the Jiang family escorted Wei Zhan to the carriage. Seeing Lady Wen with her two daughters sitting in a mule cart,den with numerous baskets of dried golden ears, seeming to leave with Wang Xian and his party, Yingbao was relieved. Good riddance! Yingbao did not want to entangle herself with a woman who might be the female lead from a story, lest her own family end up being trampled underfoot. The vige¡¯s harvest of golden ears was extremely low this time, and for some unknown reason, Steward Zhou hadn¡¯te to purchase them. So, all the golden ears in the vige were sold to Lady Wen. All in all, it totaled just over forty catties. Lady Wen surprisingly bought them at a price of ten taels per catty, leaving the vigers incredibly delighted. However, since Lady Wen did not have cash, she issued an IOU of more than four hundred taels under the name of the Wen family, and had n Leader Chen bear witness. Though the vigers were somewhat perplexed, they didn¡¯t hesitate to ept it, given Lady Wen¡¯s active involvement in providing education in theirmunity. As for the Jiang family, they did not sell their golden ears. Firstly, they didn¡¯t have much, and secondly, they were waiting to see what Steward Zhou would do. Business requires trust. If Steward Zhou turned up and found no golden ears on sale, it would surely give the people of Chen Vige a reputation for being untrustworthy. All the golden ears from the Jiang family were stored in Y¨©ngbao¡¯s cave, so she had no intentions of selling them to Lady Wen Lin. Atst, the carriage brought by Wang Xian began to move away. Wei Zhan was crying at the carriage window, making the women from the Jiang family teary-eyed. ¡°I wille back very soon Wuuu. Huzi, Yuanbao, don¡¯t forget me.¡± Huzi was crying loudly, chasing the carriage a long way off. His rtionship with Wei Zhan was the closest because he had always lived and ate with him and hade to regard him as a brother. Seeing Huzi chasing after, Wei Zhan cried even harder. Had it not been for Wang Xian holding him tightly, he would have jumped off the carriage and refused to leave. Seeing this, the women from the vige sighed heavily and watched the carriages gradually disappear into the distance. A few dayster, near the end of December, Jiang Liu sat in the corridor with her three daughters-inw and granddaughters, basking in the sun while they sewed. She murmured: ¡°The sacrificial ceremony is almost here, ah, this year our ancestors must be going hungry. We used to have a pig¡¯s head, a sheep¡¯s head, or at least a couple of chickens and fish for the offering, but now, most of our livestock was taken by the bandits. Even the vige¡¯s old ox was killed by the damned thieves for meat. What do we have left to offer our ancestors?¡± Zhou said, ¡°If there is no other way, we still have a few chickens. We can kill one or two to offer as a sacrifice.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t work. We only have a few chickens left. We are expecting them toy more eggs in the spring to hatch chicks. We can¡¯t kill them.¡± Jiang Liu directly dismissed this suggestion. During this period, the household had spent quite a lot of money, especially Jiang Eng and his brother¡¯s families. They were building a house, buying daily necessities, and making necessary furniture, almostpletely depleting the family¡¯s silver reserves. Dani and his wife volunteered to contribute their silver to buy things for the family. Luckily, Jiang Eng¡¯s family had managed to recover quite a bit of grain, which was enough for the whole family to eat until next year¡¯s summer harvest. This saved them from having to buy grain from outside the county, unlike other vigers. With the sacrificial ceremony close at hand, the offering for the ancestors was indispensable. Now, whether talking about livestock or even chickens, ducks, or geese, there were very few left, and even if money was offered, none could be bought. ¡°Why don¡¯t we go fishing? Didn¡¯t we catch a lot of fishst year? Whatever is left over can be smoked forter,¡± Dani suggested to his grandmother. Jiang Liu brightened, ¡°Yes, your uncles are the best at fishing. We can ask them when they return and see if they have time.¡± It wouldn¡¯t be a dishonor to present a big fish as an offering to the ancestors. After the ceremony, they could smoke the leftovers, which couldst until next spring. In the afternoon, when Jiang Eng and his brothers returned, they heard their mother¡¯s suggestion. ¡°Eng, the sacrificial ceremony ising up. Are you nning to go fishing?¡± Jiang Sang: ¡°We¡¯ll see when the timees.¡± Fishing requires bait, which was always prepared by his daughter. He didn¡¯t know if she still had that kind of bait. ¡°What do you mean, ¡®we¡¯ll see¡¯? The day after tomorrow is the start of the twelfth lunar month. We should start preparing early.¡± Jiang Liu said, ¡°Your father mentioned it to me early in the morning. The situation at your uncle¡¯s ce is not good. His house has been burned down, he has no money left. If it were not for the food we sent to him a while ago, his whole family would have to beg for food. So, your father volunteered to be in charge of the sacrifice offerings.¡± Jiang Sang scratched his head and resignedly nodded, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll try to find some time to handle it.¡± Upon returning home, he took off his mud-covered outerwear and reced them with a clean cotton garment. ¡°Where are Baobao, Xiaojie, and Xiaowu?¡± Jiang Sang didn¡¯t see his children, so he asked casually. Chunniang set the dirty clothes aside and served her husband a bowl of porridge. ¡°They are in the room doing their writing.¡± Chunniang sat down opposite the table, ¡°Mother said that we should do some more fishing for the New Year¡¯s sacrificial offerings. What do you think?¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll go fishing.¡± What else could he do? Jiang Sang thought while drinking his porridge. He remembered that his daughter used gold nugget pieces mixed with wheat bran as baitst time. Maybe he could do the same? Fortunately, they still had some premium gold nuggets at home. He could use those with poorer quality for a try. Early next morning, Jiang Sang brought a bucket of prepared bait to his elder brother¡¯s house. ¡°Big Brother, we¡¯re nning to gather some people for a group fishing trip today. Are youing too?¡± How could Jiang Dng refuse? He quickly nodded, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m going!¡± ¡°Great, I¡¯ll call out to Second Brother.¡± Jiang Sang shouted in the courtyard, ¡°Second Brother! Are youing fishing?¡± Jiang Eng immediately responded, ¡°Of course! When do you n to set off?¡± ¡°Now. I¡¯ll go home and get the fishing and rope. You guys just need to bring a couple of fishing spears.¡± Jiang Sang soon left. When the people of East Vige saw Jiang Sang going fishing again, lots of them followed along. Even many women and children followed to join in the fun. Jiang Sang¡¯s homemade bait worked extremely well. With a couple of tosses, fish would quickly swim over for the food. The vigers screamed with excitement, scooping up fish with baskets. Surprisingly, quite a few fish were caught. The three Jiang brothers had an impressive haul; they had more fish than their baskets could carry. Themotion by the river attracted people from West Vige and nearby viges. The West Vigers took advantage of the moment when everyone was distracted and also secretly started fishing. Unexpectedly, they managed to catch quite a few as well. This action was akin to poking a ho¡¯s nest, causing arge number of people to return home for their tools. Soon, the banks of Chuanhe River teemed with people, slowly moving along with Jiang Sang¡¯s pace. By the time the East Vigers realized what was happening, it was toote to stop others from joining in. ¡°You really have no shame! Stealing our fish!¡± An East Viger couldn¡¯t hold back and cursed. A West Viger retorted, ¡°Whose fish are they? This river belongs to everyone. Everyone has a share in the fish. If you can fish, why can¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Then why don¡¯t you go fish somewhere else? Why are you following us?¡± ¡°There¡¯s enough road for everyone. I can go wherever I want. It¡¯s none of your business.¡± Chapter 170 - 166: Not Fun_1 Chapter 170: Chapter 166: Not Fun_1 Trantor:549690339 As both sides argued, it did not stop them from continuing to fish. One side would scoop up a basket, and the other would a catch, almosting to blows. Jiang Sang walked forward, spreading fish bait as he went. After using up the entire pot of bait, he and his older brothers and nephews imed a part of the river, catching a lot of fish. Seeing that they had enough, they started to pack their baskets, preparing to go home. The vigers were reluctant to leave, staying until no more fish came swimming. Only then did they reluctantly pack up their tools. At this point, a grubby young man approached Jiang Sang, ¡°Jiang Sang, do you have any more bait?¡± ¡°No.¡± Jiang Sang nced at him, not wanting to say more. He and his older brothers and nephews picked up their baskets, ready to leave. This man suddenly grabbed the back of Jiang Sang¡¯s basket and shouted out loud, ¡°You clearly have more, why won¡¯t you share with us? Does your rich family care so much about such trifle? You profit whilecking in humanity. Are you trying to starve us poor folks to death?¡± Before Jiang Sang could shrug off his basket, Wang Ke and Li Dayong had already charged over and punched the man in the face. The young man fell to the ground screaming for help, ¡°Murder! Jiang Sang is murdering me! Help! Help!¡± Little did he know, not only did nobodye to his aid, but more people from East Vige came rushing over. With everyone piling on, they punched and kicked the man, who was begging for mercy. ¡°Alright, don¡¯t kill him.¡± Seeing that it was enough, Jiang Sang quickly called for an end. The crowd finally dispersed. Looking at the man again, he was now cowering on the ground, too scared to say anything. Seeing Jiang Sang approaching, he recoiled in terror. Jiang Sang gave him a cold nce before leaving with the crowd. Despite the man¡¯s disheveled state, Jiang Sang recognized him. He was the brother of his second older brother¡¯s ex-wife, the son of old Widow Cao from Leng Vige, Leng Da. It seemed that this scoundrel had squandered the money from selling his sister, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t be in such a sorry state. He even dared to cause trouble in front of him, truly tired of living. Jiang Sang was never one to be messed with. The East Vige people followed Jiang Sang, striding back to South Slope. This time, almost every household caught a good number of fish. Chen Zhu and his second cousin, Chen Yin, together caught over a dozen fish, each weighing over ten kilos. They divided the fish between them, each getting six. Chen Zhu gave one to his oldest brother, and the second brother¡¯s family also received a fish. The rest were kept for the family¡¯s use. With the winter festival approaching, the n would perform a sacrifice for ancestors, and each family should contribute offerings. These fish were enough for that purpose. Seeing her son catching so many fish, Tang¡¯s mother was overjoyed, and she busied herself with setting up a water tank for the fish. The n leader, hands sped behind his back, came over and looked curiously at the fish, asking, ¡°How did you all catch these?¡± Chen Zhuughed and said, ¡°Jiang Sang had fish bait. Once thrown into the water, the fish all came swimming over.¡± ¡°What kind of magical bait is this?¡± the n leader was skeptical. Chen Zhu washed his hands in the water. ¡°Jiang Sang said it was a mixture of crushed Auricria auric-judae and bran. Big fish really love it.¡± The n leader nodded, gazing at the huge fish leaping in the water tank. After a moment, he asked, ¡°Zhu, how much auric-judae do you have left to nt?¡± ¡°About a hundred jars,¡± Chen Zhu responded, drying his hands with a towel handed over by his mother. ¡°How many pieces can you divide next year?¡± the n leader asked again. ¡°About four hundred pieces should be possible,¡± Chen Zhu said. After considering for a moment, the n leader said, ¡°Zhu, both your elder brothers lost their auric-judae. When you¡¯re dividing the pieces next year, each of their families should get a hundred pieces.¡± Chen Zhu was taken aback. When Tang¡¯s mother heard what the old man said, she jumped up with indignation, ¡°Why? Why should the seeding that my son painstakingly nurtured be given to them?¡± The n leader was displeased, ¡°What do you mean, ¡®them¡¯? Those are my sons, Zhu¡¯s biological older brothers!¡± ¡°Bah!¡± Tang¡¯s mother scoffed, ¡°When Zhu was lying on the kang (bed), none of them considered him their true brother! Oh, now they remember the blood rtionship.¡± ¡°You!¡± The n Leader was practically choked with rage by his old wife, and he flung his sleeve and returned to the room. Madam Tang gave a cold snort, pulling her son aside and said, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to your father! When you went to war, we women suffered enough at home. The whole family were eating boiled eggs, yet they didn¡¯t give us any, saying there weren¡¯t enough. My poor Yaoyao, watching with envy those cousins of his eating eggs. Oh, it grieves me to recall this.¡± Seeing his mother start to ramble, Chen Zhu said helplessly, ¡°Mother, don¡¯t mention these things anymore, it¡¯s not good if Yaoyao hears.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so bad about it!¡± Madam Tang gave her son a re: ¡°If we don¡¯t make it clear to him, others will take him for a fool to be bullied in the future.¡± Chen Zhu sighed and didn¡¯t say anything more. It seemed there might be no more peace between his family and his older brothers¡¯ families. After lunch, Madam Tang, leading her grandson, went to visit the Jiang Family. Madam Tang instructed her little grandson, ¡°Be nice to Yingbao when you y with her. Don¡¯t bully her, understand? ¡± Yaoyao nodded. ¡°And remember to give Yingbao the silk flowers that grandma gave you,¡± Madam Tang reminded with a beaming smile. Yaoyao blinked and didn¡¯t understand why grandma always asked him to give gifts to Yingbao and y with her. In fact, he preferred ying with Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu. Entering the yard of Jiang Sang¡¯s house, Madam Tang called out, ¡°Is Chunniang home?¡± Chunniang hurriedly ran out: ¡°Oh, Aunt Tang,e in quickly.¡± Leading her little grandson into the house, Madam Tang looked around without seeing the three children. She asked with a smile: ¡°My Yaoyao insisted oning over to y with Yingbao, but I don¡¯t see her anywhere? ¡± Chunniang moved a bamboo chair for Madam Tang to sit and said, ¡°Baobao is practicing writing in her room.¡± ¡°Oh dear, what a diligent child.¡± Madam Tang lightly patted her little grandson, ¡°See how hardworking Yingbao is? You should learn more from her in the future.¡± Chunniangughed, ¡°Yaoyao is still young.¡± ¡°He is not young, he is only a few months younger than Yingbao, it won¡¯t be a big deal as they grow older.¡± Madam Tang sat on the bamboo chair, turned to her little grandson and said, ¡°Go y with Yingbao. Oh, Chunniang, you have no idea how fond Yaoyao is of Yingbao. He insists oning to see her every day.¡± Yaoyao, who was about to head into the inner room, turned back, wanting to tell his aunt that he hadn¡¯t, but was red back by his grandma. Yaoyao pursed his lips and ran into Yingbao¡¯s room, where he indeed saw her practicing writing at a Kang table. Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu were also practicing at another Kang table. ¡°Jiang Jie, Jiang Wu,¡± Yaoyao waved his hand happily at them. After a thought, he took out a pair of silk flowers from his pocket and said, ¡°Here, wear these.¡± Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu were delighted to see a visiting ymate at this time, and they quickly invited him to join them on the Kang. So, the three boys sat on Kang and began discussing how to wear the silk flowers to look the best. ¡°My second cousin wears it at the side of his ear, like this, he learned it from the city people, people in the city all wear it this way.¡± ¡°My grandpa only wears it during festivals, he wears it on his hat,¡± Yaoyao gestured with his small hands. ¡°My grandpa never wears flowers, but dusts powder during festivals,¡± Jiang Jie said, ¡°Let¡¯s put this flower on him.¡± Yaoyao and Jiang Wu agreed. Just powdering the face without wearing a flower was quite unattractive. Having finished writing a page, Yingbao put down her brush and looked without a word at the three boys discussing about wearing flowers and powdering faces. ¡°Jiang Jie, Jiang Wu, have you finished your homework?¡± Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu shrank their necks and said no more. Yingbao then asked Yaoyao: ¡°Chen Bozhong, have you finished your homework?¡± Yaoyao slowly moved behind Jiang Jie, covered his eyes with his small hands, and peeped at the girl on the opposite side through the fingers. She was scary, scarier than Master. Yet, grandma keeps saying she is cute and wants me to y with her. She¡¯s not fun at all. Chapter 171 - 167: Festival of Heaven’s Granary_1 Chapter 171: Chapter 167: Festival of Heaven¡¯s Granary_1 Trantor:549690339 After the twelfth lunar month, the New Year began. From the fifteenth to the neenth of the first lunar month, the family began to steam cakes, preparing food for the Heavenly Barn Festival. ¡°Tian Cang¡±, also known as ¡°Tian Cang¡±, means that the family¡¯s granary is full and everyone is well-fed and clothed. Chun Niang and her two sisters-inw used rice, wheat, and bean flour to shape into shapes of Yuanbao, pots, bundles, sheep, cows, chickens, dogs fornterns, and steamed them in a cage. After that, they took it out and put a cotton thread into the steamed cakes in the shape ofnterns and poured a little castor oil into it. At night, the Jiang family lit these flour and ricenterns and ced them in every corner of the house, symbolizing flourishing poption, abundant grains, and plenty of livestock. Early the next day, all the men of the Jiang family went out to fetch water and soil. The water was poured into water tanks, and the soil was spread around the straw mats ced in a circle for grain storage. They then poured all the grain from the family¡¯s grain bags into the grain storage until it was filled up and the grain piled up to form a sharp top, symbolizing wealth and happiness. Early in the morning, Chun Niang and her two sisters-inw were busy making meals, boiling a pot of crucian carp soup, and preparing dumplings and potstickers. They also fried the rice and flournterns fromst night inrd for the family to eat. Dumplings symbolize filling the barn, potstickers symbolize covering the barn, and drinking fish soup symbolizes having surplus every year. All of these are foods for the festival. While making dumplings, Chun Niang also shaped several small hedgehogs and mice with the dough and ced them in corners of the yard. Starting from the twentieth day of the first lunar month, known as ¡°Small Tian Cang¡±, the family¡¯s rice vat could not be left empty, the water tank could not be without water, and there had to be food in the pot at all times, even if it was just a few steamed buns. On the twenty-fifth day of the first lunar month, known as ¡°Big Tian Cang¡±, Madam Jiang Liu used a sieve to fill the ashes pit with nt ashes. She carried the sieve in one hand and a small wooden stick in the other while walking and tapping. The green ashes that fell created a pattern of grain storage and grain heaps in the yard. Then, she sprinkled a variety of grains like rice and wheat within these three-ring and five-ring heaps drawn with green ashes, ced a few stones on the edges, and let her own chickens in to eat. This symbolized a full granary and an abundance of grains. At noon, the Jiang family brought out the altar table, hung out the painted image of the Warehouse Officer, and started to lightnterns, burn incense, and bow in worship to pay homage to the Warehouse Officer. After the Big Tian Cang, the entire Spring Festival in the first lunar month was consideredpletely over. Soon, it was the early days of March. The weather gradually warmed up, making it the perfect time for transntation of saplings. Yingbao took dozens of grapevine saplings and a pile of peppercorn shoots out of the cave house and secretly put them in the bamboo shed in her own yard. This bamboo shed had been assigned to Yingbao. Her father and the others had built a row of new bamboo sheds for mushroom cultivation in the vegetable garden outside the yard. ¡°Dad, I¡¯ve cultivated a lot of saplings again. Where do you think we should nt them?¡± Yingbao led her father into the bamboo shed and pointed to a pile of saplings on the ground, ¡°This is the grapevine from the Western Region, and these are peppercorn shoots.¡± Jiang Sang squatted down and picked up a peppercorn shoot to inspect. ¡°Is this really a peppercorn?¡± Peppercorn is a valuable item. Although many noble and powerful families are growing it now, the price remains incredibly high, and the supply still cannot meet the demand. But a small mountain vige like Chuanhe Town does not have any. Yingbao nodded: ¡°It is peppercorn. I bought the peppercorn seeds from the Jiukang Pharmacy in the county town. There is no mistake.¡± Jiang Sang did not doubt his own daughter. He just felt it was unbelievable. Is his own daughter a human or a fairy? No matter what she brings out, there is nothing ordinary including the Magic Gourd that supposedly yields an endless supply of water that everyone in the family talks about. Jiang Sang felt that it should all have something to do with his own daughter. Jiang Quan, his second nephew, was just taking the me for Yingbao. But no matter what, as long as only he knew about his daughter¡¯s magical skills and no matter what others said or suspected, he always refute them. ¡°What should we pay attention to when growing peppercorn?¡± Jiang Sang asked. Since his daughter had cultivated these vine seedlings, she must also know some nting methods. Yingbao: ¡°Peppercorn is drought-resistant, so it¡¯s not suitable to be nted in damp ces. It¡¯s best to nt it in sandy soil fields with good drainage. The same goes for grapevines.¡± This was what a shop assistant in therge pharmacy told her, who heard it from a pepper farmer. As for grapevines, she had grown them once, so she had some experience. Jiang Sang thought about it and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t we set up a vineyard and a peppercorn garden in our family?¡± Yingbao indeed had this idea, otherwise she would have just nted them herself. However, nting saplings requires a lot ofnd, so she had to get her father¡¯s approval first. After the father and daughter discussed, Jiang Sang immediately went out to inspect thend. Finally, they decided to nt peppercorn and grapevines in an inferior field outside the vige. But this ce was remote, and the saplings were at risk of being damaged by wild creatures. So Jiang Sang asked some vigers for help and cut down some bamboo to make a bamboo fence around the two fields. Setting up a bamboo fence around two inferior fields was a bit extravagant and drew the vigers toe and watch. ¡°Brother San, what are you doing?¡± Chen Yin asked while leaning on the bamboo fence. Jiang Sang was nting seedlings with Chun Niang with his head down, and said without looking up, ¡°nting some grapes.¡± ¡°Grapes?¡± Chen Yin knew about this. He had even secretly eaten grapes from Brother San¡¯s orchard. ¡°Are you nting grapes in this entire field? Isn¡¯t that too much?¡± Fruit trees, after all, cannot be eaten as meals. It¡¯s okay to nt one or two at home, but if too many are nted, it not only takes up thend, but may also increase taxes. Jiang Sang finished nting a seedling, ¡°It¡¯s not too much. If we can¡¯t finish eating, we can make wine.¡± If worsees to worst, we can directly sell it to the winery in the county. His little daughter said so. Chen Yin scratched his head and pointed to the bamboo fence next door, ¡°Are you nting grapes there too?¡± ¡°We¡¯re nting peppercorn there.¡± Jiang Sang used his hand to scoop up the soil, and put the grapevine seedling in it, and then filled it with soil to firm it. ¡°What? Peppercorn!¡± Chen Yin jumped up, his eyes glowing with excitement, ¡°Brother San, can you grow peppercorn too?¡± Peppercorn is a good thing. It¡¯s valuable and is sold without any issue, as all the pharmacies in the county are scrambling to buy it. Jiang Sang nced at him, but didn¡¯t say a word. Chen Yin ran into the bamboo fence gate and asked blinking, ¡°Brother San, do you have peppercorn seedlings at home?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Jiang Sang didn¡¯t stop his hands, just continued to nt another grapevine. Chen Yin chuckled, ¡°Can you spare some for your brother?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it when the peppercorn shoots grow a bit bigger.¡± His little daughter said that peppercorn vines can be cut and transnted, so they wouldn¡¯t need peppercorn seeds to cultivate seedlings anymore. ¡°Then I, your brother, will make a reservation first.¡± Chen Yin squatted down to help Jiang Sang nt seedlings. Some vigers who were watching outside saw this, and after looking at each other, they also rushed in to help nt seedlings. With people helping, the grapevines in a piece ofnd were quickly nted, and then it was time to nt the peppercorn seedlings. Peppercorn is a climbing nt. Jiang Sang first nted a circle around the bamboo fence, so they wouldn¡¯t need to set up climbing frames for them in the future. Afterward, they estimated the distance and continued nting until the entire peppercorn garden was full of seedlings. When these seedlings grow a bit bigger, they would then set up climbing frames for them. While Jiang Sang and his wife and a few vigers were nting seedlings, Yingbao was watering them from behind with a small bucket. She used water from the cave house, mixed with a little pond water, and thoroughly watered each seedling. Soon, both gardens were full of young seedlings. The fresh green color and orderly arrangement were very pleasing to the eye. Chapter 172 - 168: Martial Arts Prodigy_1 Chapter 172: Chapter 168: Martial Arts Prodigy_1 Trantor:549690339 Next, Yingbao nted some muskmelons and cucumbers in the vegetable garden. In addition to these, she nted a few rose and peony magnolia saplings in the yard. To keep the chickens from pecking at the saplings, every day after releasing the chickens from their coop, Yingbao would herd them out of the yard and scatter some grain outside for the hens to peck at. However, it seemed like a few chickens were preparing to brood, spending all day nesting. Upon seeing this, Chunniang quickly ced over a dozen eggs in each nest, and also ced a bowl of water and a bowl of wheat grains and millet by the nesting hens to make themfortable for chick hatching. Seeing this, Mrs. Tangughed warmly and asked, ¡°Chunniang, can I exchange some eggs for chicks after they hatch?¡± ¡°You could just take a few chicks back then, no need to exchange,¡± Chunniang agreed immediately. One could raise at most a dozen or so chickens at home, any more would be a nuisance, with chicken droppings everywhere, which was quite a mess. The reason Chunniang was letting the chickens brood was also because the sister-inws and the mother-inw all wanted a few chickens. Even the nanny from Madam Wen¡¯s family wanted to raise a few chickens, making it easier to eat eggs in the future. ¡°That wouldn¡¯t do, the chicks alsoe from eggs,¡± Mrs. Tang said, ¡°Let¡¯s agree on this.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll save more than a dozen for you then.¡± The two chatted for a while more before Mrs. Tang excused herself and left. In early spring, each household had a lot of chores. It was time not only to plow and nt beans, but also to clear the fields and prepare to nt cotton. The mushrooms also had to be removed from under the straw curtain to aerate and receive sunlight. When the weather warmed up, they could begin to divide the mushrooms for propagation. On her rest day, Yingbao hurriedly moved all the tree saplings out of herir. Like chestnut tree saplings, apple tree saplings, and loquat tree saplings. This time, she didn¡¯t tell her parents, but went by herself to nt them in the fruit garden. Her family¡¯s fruit garden was veryrge, half of ity fallow and the other half was her father¡¯s permanent farnd. The chestnut trees nted before had grown taller, they were graftedst year and were expected to bloom and bear fruit this year. Yingbao nted a dozen chestnut saplings next to a chestnut tree, and nted a few apple saplings next to two apple trees. The other loquat saplings were all nted on the emptynd at the edge of the fruit garden. She watered the saplings and covered them with bamboo hoods to prevent the young nts from being pecked at by chickens. Her father had said that he intended to cultivate all this wastnd, nting all kinds of fruit trees, andter building a pavilion on the highnd. When the fruits ripened, their whole family could enjoy the fruits and cool off here. Yingbao went around the fruit garden, admired the blossoming apricot flowers, and the radiant peach blossoms, and thought about the endless fruits in the future. Her smile widened. The most enjoyable time was a life of stability, adequate food and clothing. ¡°Sister! Sister!¡± Jiang Jie frantically ran over, with two puppies trailing behind him. ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡± Yingbao hurriedly went to meet him, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± If Jiang Jie, her eldest younger brother, was so flustered, something must have happened. Jiang Jie grabbed his sister¡¯s sleeve, panting, ¡°The uncle living in our vegetable garden insists Xiaowu watch him perform a chest-breaking-stone trick, he won¡¯t let Xiaowu go unless he watches, sister, you should go take a look!¡± This what kind of nonsense is this? Such entric demands? Yingbao immediately took off running back home. When she reached her family¡¯s vegetable garden, she saw that a man named Zhang Meng, dressed in thin clothing, was lying on the ground, rolling his eyes, with a lot of rubble and y on his chest. Xiaowu was crouched on the ground, staring at his chest in amazement, making amazed noises. Xu Kun held arge sledgehammer in his hand and kindly tempted, ¡°Would you like to learn martial arts with uncle? You¡¯ll be very powerful in the future, and able to fight one against three.¡± Jiang Wu blinked and asked, ¡°Does it hurt?¡± ¡°What?¡± Xu Kun didn¡¯t react at once. Jiang Wu extended a finger and poked at the spot on Zhang Meng¡¯s chest that had been smashed, ¡°Does this hurt?¡± ¡°How could it?¡± Xu Kun chuckled, kicking Zhang Meng with his foot, urging him not to lie there like a corpse and to get up quickly. Zhang Meng took a deep breath, slowly sat up, and red at Xu Kun resentfully, ¡°Where did you get that stone from?¡± Couldn¡¯t you have tampered with it? It took several blows to break it, almost making me puke out my dinner. Xu Kun gave him a signal to keep quiet, then turned his head and said to Jiang Wu, ¡°He doesn¡¯t feel any pain at all, quite impressive, right?¡± Jiang Wu said, ¡°You¡¯re lying. Uncle Zhang has turned pale and couldn¡¯t get up for a while. He must be in agony.¡± Upon hearing this, Zhang Meng immediately got up, grimaced due to his pain, turned back and smiled at Jiang Wu, ¡°It really doesn¡¯t hurt. Your uncle has practiced the Unparalleled Divine Power, I¡¯m quite tough.¡± ¡°What do you mean by Unparalleled Divine Power?¡± Jiang Wu had never heard the term before and was very curious. Zhang Meng cleared his throat, ¡°It¡¯s the kind of skill that is formidable in a fight.¡± ¡°Show it to me then,¡± Jiang Wu was even more curious. Zhang Meng nced at Jiang Wu and his sister who were standing nearby, hesitating for a moment. Xu Kun felt this was the perfect opportunity, signaling fervently to him, ¡°Perform it, the kids are watching.¡± Zhang Meng had no choice but to endure the pain and perform a boxing technique. ¡°That was amazing!¡± Jiang Wu pped his hands in amazement, and kept shouting, ¡°Do it again! Do it again!¡± Zhang Meng was speechless. This damn kid was treating him like a street performer. Yingbao, however, was looking at the two men with newfound respect. She didn¡¯t expect them to be so skilled. Although Zhang Meng only performed one set of movements, to Yingbao, his punches were strong, his movements agile, indicating that he is indeed a martial artist. In her past life, she had practiced dancing and had seen fighters performing martial arts, so she was able topare and spot true talent. ¡°Uncle Zhang, are you really going to teach my little brother martial arts?¡± Yingbao asked. Zhang Meng immediately nodded, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Why do you want to teach him?¡± Yingbao just could not understand. Could it be they want to earn money by teaching martial arts in the vige? That wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea. There were many children in the vige and if each family gave some tuition fees, it would provide them both with afortable living. Zhang Meng earnestly said, ¡°Jiang Wu¡¯s physique is exceptional, he is a great potential martial artist. Despite my disability, I have once fought in many battles and I do not want such a talent to be buried.¡± Yingbao pondered this. Her little brother learning martial arts could be beneficial, he wouldn¡¯t get bullied and if he got drafted to the army when he grows up, he would have a means of self-defense. Moreover, she knew that Xiaowu didn¡¯t enjoy studying and she had tried many ways to change his dislike for studying. But till now, his calligraphy still looked like caterpirs, nowhere close to Xiaojie. ¡°Uncle Zhang, are you thinking of opening a martial arts school in the vige?¡± Yingbao asked. Zhang Meng paused for a moment, then nodded, ¡°That¡¯s exactly what we intend to do.¡± Yingbao: ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go home and ask my parents about this.¡± With that, she grabbed Jiang Wu and Jiang Jie and headed home. Zhang Meng and Xu Kun exchanged nces and smiled, ¡°We¡¯re halfway there.¡± Everyone in the vige knew that the daughter of the Jiang family had some influence at home. Her parents always considered her opinions. Initially, they intended to lure the kid to learn martial arts from him, only to find that the little fellow was not receptive. Fortunately, his sister had no objections and intended to discuss it with their parents. ¡°This was worth it! Your suffering today wasn¡¯t in vain,¡± Xu Kun chuckled. Zhang Meng grumpily red back at him, ¡°I would have forgotten if you hadn¡¯t brought it up. What was the deal with that stone earlier? Why didn¡¯t it break after several blows?¡± Xu Kun blinked, ¡°I wanted to make it look realistic. The little kid from the Jiang family is too shrewd. He was observing every move I made, I couldn¡¯t have sabotaged anything.¡± Chapter 173 - 169: Martial Arts Practice_1 Chapter 173: Chapter 169: Martial Arts Practice_1 Trantor: 549690339 In the afternoon, the Jiang family gathered together for dinner. ¡°Daddy, Uncle Zhang Meng wants to teach my younger brother martial arts.¡± Yingbao told her parents, ¡°Today he demonstrated a boxing sequence for us. I think it was quite good, he should be skilled.¡± Jiang Sang was not surprised, ¡°Zhang Meng and Xu Kun are both frontier soldiers. They are old acquaintances with Wen Fu, so their martial arts skills should be evenly matched.¡± He wasn¡¯t clear about Zhang Meng and Xu Kun, but he knew that Wen Fu was highly skilled. Jiang Sang asked his two sons, ¡°Do you really want to learn martial arts?¡± Jiang Jie shook his head again and again, ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± He was frightened when he saw Uncle Xu Kun beat Uncle Zhang Meng with a hammer, so he didn¡¯t want to learn any martial arts from them. Jiang Wu blinked his eyes and nodded his head, ¡°I want to learn, and sister will learn too.¡± Meaning his sister would learn with him. Jiang Sang flicked his son¡¯s forehead and unceremoniously said, ¡°If you want to learn, do it. If not, don¡¯t force your sister. Your sister is a girl, how could she wield swords and guns?¡± More importantly, how could he let his daughter be a male teacher¡¯s disciple? This was absolutely inappropriate. ¡°Why not?¡± Jiang Wu said unsatisfactorily while rubbing his forehead, ¡°If sister doesn¡¯t learn, I won¡¯t either.¡± Jiang Sang didn¡¯t want to argue with his son. He ate his porridge and said, ¡°Suit yourself. If you don¡¯t want to learn martial arts, then study hard and pass the civil service exams in the future.¡± Jiang Wu: . He didn¡¯t want to take the civil service exam, and he wouldn¡¯t pass it either. Because every time the Master checked recitations, he got his palms beaten. If it weren¡¯t for the fear of being beaten by his parents, he wouldn¡¯t even go to the academy. After giving it some thought, Jiang Wu asked, ¡°If I learn martial arts, does that mean I don¡¯t have to study?¡± ¡°Who said you don¡¯t have to study when you practice martial arts?¡± Jiang Sang red at him, ¡°If you don¡¯t study, how will you practice martial arts? What have you learned from the Three Character ssic? An uncarved gem cannot be used, if a person does not learn they won¡¯t understand righteousness, hasn¡¯t the Master taught you that?¡± Jiang Wu¡¯s face fell. After dinner, the two boys washed up and headed back to their room and climbed on the Kang (a heated bed). Jiang Jie heard his brother sighing continuously, he quietly said: ¡°You¡¯re so clueless. If you practice martial arts every day, you won¡¯t have to stay at the academy all the time, and if you can¡¯t recite texts, you¡¯ll at least have an excuse.¡± Can it be like that? Jiang Wu had an epiphany. Yes, training with Uncle Zhang would leave no free time to attend the academy. That way, the Master wouldn¡¯t be able to hit his palms anymore. ¡°Hehe, our Master also said that, ¡®every person who has talent must y a role¡¯. If I can¡¯t pass the civil service exam, I can still do other things. As long as one works hard and puts in effort, one can excel in any line of work. From now on, I will be the Martial Champion.¡± Although their master was old-fashioned, he was open-minded at times. He didn¡¯t mind whether his students could pass the exams or not. But if a student reads for a day under his teachings, he must work for an entire day. If they don¡¯t study hard, they get their palms beaten. The next day, Jiang Wu got up early, and without his parents noticing, he ran to tell Uncle Zhang that he had decided to learn martial arts. ¡°Did your parents agree?¡± Zhang Meng was delighted to hear the news, but he was also worried if it was only a child¡¯s wishful thinking. If Jiang Vige Chief disagreed, he wouldn¡¯t be able to ept the kid as his disciple privately. ¡°Agree! They all agreed! They even said they would prepare gifts for the ceremony of epting a teacher.¡± Actually, they hadn¡¯t, but as long as he promised to take learning martial arts seriously and it wouldn¡¯t affect his studies, his parents wouldn¡¯t object. Zhang Mengughed heartily and patted Jiang Wu¡¯s small shoulders, ¡°Good! If that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s start now.¡± ¡°Start what?¡± Jiang Wu was confused. ¡°Tendon stretching!¡± said Zhang Meng: ¡°The first step in learning martial arts is to understand how to stretch the major tendons in your body and make them flexible.¡± Seeing that Jiang Wu was still confused, Zhang Meng picked up a tree branch and broke it in two, ¡°See this, this branch is like your bones. Without protection, they can break with a bend.¡± He then picked up two ropes and wrapped them around the branch, ¡°These ropes are like your major tendons. They not only protect your bones from external forces, but also help you exert force to attack others with maximum strength.¡± Jiang Wu nodded, looking intently at his master, not blinking once, as he listened attentively. Zhang Meng pinched Jiang Wu¡¯s shoulders, elbows, spine, and legs, ¡°There arerge tendons here. First, you must train the toughness of these tendons and bones, allowing therge tendons to protect your limbs at all times. Only then can you learn the moves.¡± Jiang Wu seemed to understand. Zhang Meng continued, ¡°Yourrge tendons are not strong, tough, or thick enough. So first, we need to strengthen your muscles and tendons. That¡¯s the essence of tendon training.¡± ¡°All right, Master, go ahead.¡± Jiang Wu looked forward to it. Zhang Meng¡¯s face twitched. He thought there was still a long time left and he couldn¡¯t scare away his new apprentice yet. ¡°Once you officially be my disciple, we will formally start. For now, I am just telling you how to use your muscles and exert strength.¡± ¡°Okay, okay!¡± Jiang Wu excitedly responded. At noon, Jiang Sang and Chunniang brought gifts with their son to formally recognize their new masters. Chunniang wasn¡¯t sure what gifts to bring when recognizing a martial arts master, so she prepared something practical ¨C two portions of pork, two sets of new clothes, two pairs of new shoes, along with five taels of silver as tuition. Zhang Meng and Xu Kun were very satisfied and readily epted them. Jiang Wu then kowtowed to officially recognize his masters. With this, he had recognized two masters. Zhang Meng excelled at boxing, wrestling, and knife skills, while Xu Kun was skilled in fighting on horseback. However, the Jiang family didn¡¯t have a horse yet. They could only focus on training the boy¡¯s physical ability for now, and the riding skills would be taughtter. Soon, Jiang Wu realized what it felt like to shoot oneself in the foot. On the first day, he was exhausted and his legs were trembling on his way home; he didn¡¯t even recover the next day. Regretting his decision, Jiang Wu refused to get up from bed. But his father showed no mercy and bundled him off to learn under his master again. He continued the horse stance from the previous day and endlessly threw punches to train the muscles in his arms and back. This one exercise alone nearly killed him with exhaustion; he couldn¡¯t sleep at night due to the aching all over his body. Jiang Wu ran crying to his sister,ining that he didn¡¯t want to practice martial arts anymore and wanted to study instead. Yingbao handed him a bowl of water and softly said, ¡°You should never give up halfway. You must endure the path that you chose. If you give up today, you will continue to surrender when facing other difficulties in the future. Do you want to be a man of integrity, or do you want to be a good-for-nothing that can¡¯t do anything right?¡± Jiang Wu whimpered, ¡°I, I want to be a hero.¡± His sister once told him that the good-for-nothing people sleep in pigsties and eat pig food, even dogs despise them. He certainly did not want to be one of them. Yingbao patted his head and stuffed the bowl into his hand, ¡°Here, drink the water and then go to sleep. Your legs will stop hurting tomorrow.¡± Jiang Wu obediently drank the water. Surprisingly, after drinking it, he felt warm all over, and his waist and legs didn¡¯t hurt as much. After waking up, Jiang Wu felt refreshed and full of energy, not only was there no pain, but he also felt more powerful. That day, he managed to maintain the horse stance for the duration of three incense sticks, which surprised both Zhang Meng and Xu Kun. Even Wen Fu praised him, saying the boy was indeed a promisingd and martial arts prodigy. A few dayster, Jiang Wu was able to hold the horse stance for over an hour without feeling tired, and he could also jog for two or three miles as a warm-up afterward. Seeing this, Zhang Meng added more exercises for him; he let him hold a small bucket of water in each hand to train his shoulder, back, and arm strength. Only after finishing these could he rest a bit. Due to theck of space in the vegetable garden, Jiang Sang built a martial arts training field next to the fruit orchard. Following Zhang Meng and Xu Kun¡¯s suggestion, he also ced several plum piles around the field. Yuanbao, Huzi, and other vige boys were curious about all this and often came to watch Jiang Wu¡¯s martial arts training, some even secretly imitated him. Even the teenagers of the Jiang family like Jiang Quan and Jiang Cheng found this interesting. They sneakily climbed the plum piles when nobody was around at night but ended up falling down, resulting in sore bottoms for days. Chapter 174 - 170: Bottomless Depths_1 Chapter 174: Chapter 170: Bottomless Depths_1 Trantor: 549690339 Suddenly, the boys of Dongchen Vige, whether they were in need or not, would all frequent the martial arts training ground to practice on their own, some even doing a pretty good job. However, very few of them managed to persist till the end. After some time of training, Jiang Wu¡¯s strength had increased significantly and his body had be more flexible. This once soft and delicate child had begun to toughened up day by day, maturing visibly to the eye. His rapid progress was not without reason; every night before sleep, Yingbao would give him a bowl of tea boiled with Five Ding Zhi herbs, keeping his small tired body rejuvenated the next day and his strength greatly enhanced from the day before. Now, when he wrestles or arm-wrestles with others, he doesn¡¯t lose to his fifteen-year-old cousin. This aroused the fervor of many boys in the vige, making them beg their parents at home for martial arts training. However, this time Zhang Meng and Xu Kun were very picky, discarding anyone over ten years old. After feeling the roots of many children, only Huzi and the n leader¡¯s little grandson Xiaoyao were selected. In fact, Yuanbao and Jiang Jie were also not bad, but these two were academic big shots and their family preferred that they focused on academics. As time passed, Jiang Wu¡¯s progress was phenomenal. He had even surpassed his older brother, Jiang Jie, in height, catching up to Yingbao. Yingbao was quite envious, and would also train in her spare time at home. When Jiang Wu returned home, he was also quite willing to teach his sister martial arts, looking quite serious and strict, much like a little master. Yingbao studied seriously too. From horse stance to bow stance, from empty stance to golden rooster stance, from prone stance to physical training, she persisted in all of them. To save time, she even managed to do two things at once ¨C training while reciting prescriptions. After a day of training, her body would ache all over, but as long as she ate a handful of Five Ding Zhi herbs, she would basically recover by the next day. Her body became more and more resilient, and her strength gradually increased. Later on, she started doing long-distance running, sprinting, frog jumping, leg splitting, and so on. After warming up, she would stretch her waist and leg ligaments. As time went by, thest bit of Five Ding Zhi on the cave wall was almost used up, which made Yingbao a bit nervous. Without the formidable power of the Five Ding Zhi, after a day of high-intensity training, both she and her brother would have no energy to study. This was uneptable. Martial arts was only for self-defense, she preferred to study medicine. This is because mastering the medical skills is the fundamental way to settle down and forge her own path. If one day she lost her cave and the divine Five Ding Zhi, she could still earn a living with her medical skills. Therefore, no matter how exhausting it may be, she must study medicine. Yingbao looked up to the top of the cave and saw the Five Ding Zhi hanging like clusters of milky white clouds, growing around the cave¡¯s ceiling. From a distance, they appeared like arge patch of glowing fluorescence. As long as she had a way to get them, there were enough herbs tost her a lifetime. But the cave ceiling was too high, she currently had no way to reach it. Yingbao then recalled the bamboontern tower her uncle had built for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Could she also have someone build a bamboo tower? However, building a bamboo tower more than ten meters high would require a lot of bamboo, and normal bamboo wouldn¡¯t work. Instead, a lot of bamboo poles would be needed to support such a high building. Although bamboo poles were not hard to find, she could simply buy them. Sister Chuchu¡¯s family produced plenty, she could easily buy two hundred back home. But who would build a bamboo tower for her? A bamboo tower over ten meters tall, that was probably impossible. She sighed and decided to think of another n. Yingbao then directed her gaze towards the light-emitting body in the middle of the pool. She estimated that the huge giant light ball was seven or eight meters high. If she could climb up there, would she get closer to the cave ceiling? With that thought in her head, she climbed onto the Gourd Boat and used her new paddle to glide towards the center. Strangely enough, this gourd, despite being immersed in the water for so long, did not rot. The vine leaves seemed still quite green, and the gourd appeared to have grown a sizerger. Yingbao didn¡¯t have time to study this right now, she wanted to see if she could find a way to climb the light source. After wandering around the light ball for a while, she found it was too smooth and warm like a furnace, making it impossible for her to climb. ¡°I can¡¯t do it.¡± Yingbao was discouraged and was just about to leave, when she saw a staircase appear on the light ball in front of her, leading all the way up. Yingbao was simply stunned. Could this thing understand her words? She didn¡¯t hesitate, and began climbing up the stairs. For each step she went up, the stair behind her disappeared. This made Yingbao feel quite frightened. But this is her own cave dwelling, and she can always leave if necessary. This thought immediately made her feel more at ease. She didn¡¯t¡¯ know how long she had climbed until she didn¡¯t dare to look down anymore. Finally, she reached the highest point. In front of her, it seemed like there was a thin fog. Yingbao walked towards it. The fog gradually dissipated as she approached, and the view in front of Yingbao suddenly became clear. What kind of ce was this? Beneath her feet was a drifting white fog, and underneath that was a massive roundnd buried in the mist. Thend was a brownish color with a faint flowing luster. Yingbao walked on thisnd, the fog gradually dissipated. Stooping down, she touched the y under her feet, it was soft and delicate. In the heart of thendy a ck abyss that seemed bottomless. Yingbao furrowed her brows. This ce felt familiar to her, reminiscent of something. Right, the color and shape, it looked just like an eyeball. And the ck abyss in the center was like a pupil. Could it actually be an eyeball? A giant¡¯s eyeball? This realization sent chills down Yingbao¡¯s spine. Was she standing on an eyeball? But that didn¡¯t seem right. The ground here was clearly brown y, and even what she held in her hand had the texture of soil. Yingbao thought for a moment, then stepped towards the ck pupil area. She didn¡¯t dare step into the pupil, but she squatted down to touch it. Surprisingly, it was water. She scooped it up, and it was crystal clear. Everything was pitch ck beneath the water, and she couldn¡¯t see anything. She took a sip, and it tasted even sweeter than the water in the pool. Yingbao wanted to scoop some up to take back, but she didn¡¯t have anything to carry it in. She stood up and took a few steps back, looking up at the ceiling of the cave, it was much closer yet still out of reach. Never mind, she¡¯d figure out a wayter. For now, she needed to figure out what was going on here. Yingbao slowly looked around. As she moved, the fog around her gradually lifted, and she could finally see the wholendscape. It was a roundnd, approximately ten acres. The ck water pool in the middle was just over ten feet in diameter. Once the fog lifted from the brownnd, the ce was well-lit like daytime, but there was still lingering fog around the periphery, obscuring the view beneath. Fortunately, there was no fog overhead, and the five ding nts on the cave ceiling seemed within reach. Yingbao stood there for a while without returning the same way. Instead, she thought in her heart about exiting, and then she actually appeared on her bed. With just a thought, she took a small bucket, some seeds, and a shovel from her cave dwelling and re-entered. Sure enough, she found herself once again standing on the brown roundnd. So that¡¯s how it was. If she entered from below, she¡¯d appear below. Now she was at the top of the light source. If she exited from there and entered again, she would still appear at the top. Yingbao ran over to the ck water pool with the bucket to scoop up a bucket of water, and then she nted the seeds in the brownnd. Some apple seeds, a handful of pepper seeds, and a few melon seeds. After watering these seeds and fetching another bucket of water, she finally left the cave dwelling. She was unsure whether they would sprout in that ce and resolved to check the next day. As for the bucket of water she brought back, she decided to let her chickens drink some first and see what happened. Chapter 175 - 171: Chick Hatches_1 Chapter 175: Chapter 171: Chick Hatches_1 Trantor:549690339 Upon waking up the next day, the first thing Yingbao did was draw water for the hens. Seeing that the hens had drank without any anomalies, she then gave some to Xiaolu. Youyou seemed quite fond of the water, guzzling it all down in one go, then persistently licked the bottom of the bowl. ¡°Alright, alright.¡± Yingbao took the bowl away, patted Xiaolu¡¯s head and fetched some bean sprouts from the cave to add to the food trough. It was strange that while she could help herself to anything from the cave, she could not take any of the Five-Triple Ganoderma from the roof of the cave. Yingbao closed her eyes to concentrate, attempting to draw water from the pupil pool, and to her surprise, she seeded. Looking at the water in the pottery bowl, she grew contemtive. Could it be that once she managed to reach up to the roof of the cave, she would be able to harvest at will? Quite possibly. Like the glowing object, before she reached its top, she had no idea what was there, and she couldn¡¯t touch anything on top of it. But now, she could take out anything from the top of the glowing object. Upon further thought, could she also take out and examine the book within the glowing object at will? For some reason, she hadn¡¯t been able to enter the glowing object to look at the book for quite a while, and didn¡¯t know what came next. Yingbao tried to enter the glowing object using her consciousness, but to no avail. Well, that¡¯s that. Perhaps she hadn¡¯t touched any of the key characters in the book, or maybe the plot between the female lead and the supporting characters had nothing to do with her, and that¡¯s why the book wouldn¡¯t let her see. No problem if she can¡¯t see it, what the eye doesn¡¯t see, the heart doesn¡¯t grieve over. She felt more rxed and could live peacefully. By the end of March, the vigers of Dongchen Vige became even busier. Not only did the alfalfa start to divide but the cotton was also being nted. During the bandit raid, Yingbao collected all the cotton seeds stored by the vigers at Jiang¡¯s family into her cave. This action preserved those cotton seeds, otherwise the vigers of East Vige wouldn¡¯t have had any cotton seeds to nt this year. One day returning from school, she saw Chunniang waving at her with a smile, ¡°Baobao, quicklye look, our chicks are hatching.¡± Immediately, Yingbao rushed over to watch. She saw a small hole pecked into one of the eggshells, and inside a chick pecked away with its tiny beak. Eventually, the hole in the eggshell got bigger and bigger, until the chick finally broke free, wet and struggling, from the eggshell. Chunniang promptly ced the chick under its mother¡¯s belly to let her warm up its feathers. ¡°Several more eggs will hatch soon, probably within an hour.¡± Chunniang brought over an old nket: ¡°After all the chicks have hatched, put them under the nket for warmth. The hen won¡¯t take them foraging until the next day.¡± Yingbao blinked, ¡°With so many chicks, can the mother hen handle them all?¡± Her mother had ced more than thirty eggs in each chicken nest. If all had hatched, that would be arge flock. A mother hen¡¯s belly couldn¡¯t possibly shelter over thirty chicks. With no warmth, many could die of the cold at night. Chunniangughed, ¡°After they all hatch, Aunt Tang will bring a rooster over, and then we can divide the chicks among different nests.¡± ¡°Dividing nests with a rooster?¡± Yingbao curiously asked. ¡°Can a rooster lead the chicks?¡± Chunniang: ¡°Of course. Roosters are very protective. You just blindfold the rooster, stick some chicks under its belly, and by the next day, it will lead them foraging just like the hen.¡± Really? Is that possible? Yingbao became even more curious, ¡°Why doesn¡¯t grandma Tang use hens to divide the nests?¡± It would save so much trouble. ¡°Her family only has one rooster left. The new hens they just bought are homesick and can¡¯t guide the others, otherwise, the chicks would be pecked to death by the hens.¡± Chunnian checked the other two hens for eggs and seeing some broken shells, she noticed fluffy chicks that had already dried off. They huddled together and were quite adorable. ¡°Wait until tomorrow, all these eggs will hatch. Then ask Nanny of the Wen family whether we are raising the chicks for her, or if she will take them home and raise them herself.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Yingbao responded, ¡°I¡¯ll go ask in the afternoon.¡± Xiaowu ran back, dripping with sweat, followed by his brother Jiang Jie, carrying his school bag. Seeing that her children were back, Chunnian went to the kitchen to prepare food. ¡°Is Dad noting home for dinner again?¡± Yingbao washed her hands and helped to carry the bowls and chopsticks. ¡°Your father was invited by the West Vige chief today. They are probably going to have dinner there.¡± Ever since her husband became the vige chief, he became busier. If he wasn¡¯t going to town, he was being invited to the neighboring viges, barely having the time to tend to their own fields. Fortunately, they had their older brother and nephews to help out. The vigers also pitched in, so their farm work didn¡¯tg behind. Yingbao, her aunt, and her brother gathered around the dining table for dinner. Today, Chunnian cooked three dishes and a soup: scrambled eggs with chives, stir-fried garlic shoots with tofu, a te of cucumber sd with garlic, and a bowl of green vegetable soup. The vegetables in their garden had gradually grown and produced excellent produce like garlic, green onions, cucumbers, and melons. They were growing sprouts, enough to drop anyone¡¯s jaw. While others barely saw their vines reach one foot, their vines had already started blooming and bearing fruit. Even the gourds nted at the edge of their vegetable garden bloomed and climbed the vines. Tiny gourds, hanging like little pendants from the bamboo fences, attracted many children who were stopped by Xu Kun from picking them. Chunnian nced at her little daughter but didn¡¯t ask anything. Were these miracles rted to her daughter, who took care of the vegetable garden and orchard in her spare time? Wang Auntie was even murmuring today that it¡¯s no wonder that her ¡®magical¡¯ daughter could grow something so different. She even asked Chunnian for some greens, iming their benefits in curing ailments. Chunnian was left speechless but couldn¡¯t refute. What Auntie Wang said was correct. No one in her family had fallen sick, including Xiaojie and Xiaowu. While other children were often down with a runny nose, fever, or cold, her children never had any such symptoms. Even if they asionally sneezed or coughed, they recovered quickly. Even the children¡¯s grandparents, who were susceptible to coughing fits during winter due to a fondness for tobo, became healthier since Yingbao came into their lives. After dinner, Chunnian ushered her children to rest so they could go to school in the afternoon. She then cleared the dishes and went back outside. She couldn¡¯t leave the vegetable garden solely to her daughter. She also needed to loosen the soil and weed the garden herself to avoiding gossip about her daughter¡¯s ¡®divine powers¡¯. She also had to frequently water and fertilize the orchard. Walking into the orchard, Chunnian saw that their fruit trees wereden with fruit. It was only April, and the apricot, peach, pear, and apple trees were already covered with small fruits¡ªtoo many to count. What would happen when these fruits ripened? Wouldn¡¯t they overwhelm the branches? Chunnian took a walk around the orchard and went to check the vineyard. Good heavens! She¡¯d only been gone a few days, and the grapevines had already climbed onto the newly set bamboo frames, creating a lush green sight. She then visited the pepper garden. The pepper sprouts had already grown into vines, flourishing even more than the grapevines. No wonder the other women in the vige kept bringing up the pepper nting. They had been keeping a close eye on her pepper garden all along. Chapter 176 - 172: Buying a House_1 Chapter 176: Chapter 172: Buying a House_1 Trantor:549690339 After returning from the garden, Chunniang was lost in thought for a while. At this time, all the children had gone to school, and she was the only one left at home. Chunniang went to check the peonies and roses that her youngest daughter had nted, along with the magnolias. These nts not only thrived in growth but have also budded. Previously, she hadn¡¯t paid much attention to the growth of the nts, but today she happened to see other people¡¯s flower seedlings, which were nted this spring, are just as long as chopsticks. Looking back at her own, she couldn¡¯t help but marvel at how miraculous they were. ¡°Chunniang, what are you doing?¡± Zhou¡¯s wife came in from outside the yard and asked when she saw her sister-inw squatting by the flower garden in a daze. Chunniang stood up and smiled, ¡°Nothing much, just smelling the fragrance of the magnolias.¡± Zhou¡¯s wife also leaned in to smell and was met with a fresh scent, ¡°Wow, this magnolia is really fragrant, the more you smell, the more you want to smell.¡± Chunniang smiled, picked a few from the magnolia branch, and gave them to her sister-inw: ¡°You can sew them into a sachet.¡± Usually, sachets from magnolia flowers are only avable in May. Since the flowers were blooming now, it would be nice to make some sachets for the children to wear. Zhou¡¯s wife didn¡¯t refuse and took a handful of flowers. ¡°Chunniang, I wanted to discuss something with you today.¡± Chunniang: ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°It¡¯s our Dacheng.¡± Zhou¡¯s wife sat down under the grape rack in the yard, ¡°Yunniang found a girl for Dacheng in the county town. We were supposed to visit her tomorrow, but Dacheng is refusing to go.¡± Chunniang: ¡°Why doesn¡¯t he want to go?¡± ¡°Who knows.¡± Zhou¡¯s wife was bothered by her eldest son¡¯s marriage situation, ¡°He just said he doesn¡¯t want to get married yet and asked us not to worry. But how can I not worry? He is already seventeen this year, and Erquan is fifteen. It seems like Erquan will have to start looking for a wife soon, but how can we let the younger brother get married before the older brother?¡± Zhou¡¯s wife was on the verge of tears, ¡°His father doesn¡¯t care about anything and just says to let it be. Chunniang, do you think we can let this be?¡± Chunniang felt helpless too. Ever since her elder nephew was wronged by the Chu¡¯s Family girl, he has been avoiding all girls like they were snakes or scorpions. It¡¯s hard for him to even consider having a marriage meeting, let alone when adults casually mention a girl is good, he walks away immediately with no looking back. Continuing, Zhou¡¯s wife said, ¡°Dacheng always listens to his uncle. I wonder if you could speak to his uncle and ask him to persuade Dacheng. Not all girls in the world are as unreasonable as the girl from the Chu family. He shouldn¡¯t be afraid of a rope for ten years because he was bitten by a snake once.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll speak to him after hees back in the evening.¡± Chunniangforted her, ¡°Sister-inw, don¡¯t worry too much. Dacheng is only seventeen. There are also men in our vige who didn¡¯t get married until they were twenty.¡± Like Chen Zhu, the youngest son of the n Leader, who got married when he was twenty years old. The two of them chatted for a while longer before Zhou¡¯s wife left with a handful of magnolia flowers. When Jiang Sang came back in the evening and heard his wife talking about Dacheng¡¯s issue, he casually replied, ¡°If Dacheng doesn¡¯t want to see the girl, let him be. He must have not met his soulmate yet. These things can¡¯t be rushed.¡± Chunniangined, ¡°Even though it¡¯s not urgent, Elder Sister sent a message, saying they found a girl for Dacheng and we are supposed to meet her tomorrow. If we break the arrangement, I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t look good on Elder Sister¡¯s part.¡± Jiang Sang: ¡°If we break the promise, then we break the promise. What¡¯s there to exin? With such a long journey, who can guarantee to be present tomorrow?¡± Elder sister Yunniang is indeed too impulsive. She sent over a letter asking Dacheng to go to the county town for a marriage meeting without even mentioning what does the other family do. It¡¯s no wonder Dacheng doesn¡¯t want to go. Seeing that she couldn¡¯t persuade her husband, Chunniang gave up, brought him a basin of water to wash his face, and casually asked, ¡°What did Chen Changsheng of West Vige ask you to do today?¡± ¡°It¡¯s still about the Chinese-ck mushroom. Many families in their vige also want to nt them and they want to buy the spores from me.¡± Jiang Sang picked up the towel to wash his face, after washing it, he poured the water from the basin into the foot-washing tub to wash his feet. Chunniang handed him a towel to dry his feet, ¡°Did you agree?¡± Jiang Sang shook his head, ¡°I¡¯d like to agree, but I don¡¯t have any spores.¡± All the Chinese-ck mushrooms at their home are premium and would never be sold to others. At the end of February, Steward Zhou came over, took away all of Jiang Family¡¯s premium Chinese-ck mushrooms, but never asked about the Chinese-ck mushrooms in the hands of other vigers. It seemed that he was not very interested in the ordinary Chinese-ck mushrooms. Before leaving, Steward Zhou also told Jiang Sang that there were many empty houses for sale in the county town. If he was interested, he should hurry and buy them. If he waste, the houses would be gone. Jiang Sang did seriously consider it for a while but was too busy and forgot about it. He remembered a monthter, but it might be a bitte if he went to buy them now. However, his daughter Xiaojie kept urging him to go to the county town to check. She said that if Xiaojie and Huzi wanted to take the Imperial Exam, they must go to the county town to study. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to pass the exam. Jiang Sang dried his feet, put on his wooden clogs and went out to pour out the water. He went to check on his two sons and saw they were already asleep, then he turned back, nced at his daughter¡¯s room and saw they have turned off the lights to sleep. He returned to his room andy down on the kang bed, thought for a while, and said to his wife, ¡°Chunniang, let¡¯s buy a house in the county town.¡± Chunniang¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Are you serious?¡± There were more than three hundred taels of silver at home. Originally, they wanted to buy some paddy fields, but her daughter disagreed, saying that when there would be a flood in the future, those fields wouldn¡¯t worth a lot of money. Buying paddy fields at a high price now is just throwing money away. Chunniang and her husband always listened to their daughter¡¯s words, so they didn¡¯t buy them. But having stored so much cash at home, she wasn¡¯t at ease, fearing that bandits would rob them of their money. ¡°Of course it¡¯s true.¡± Jiang Sang rested his head on his hands, speaking in a leisurely manner, ¡°Let¡¯s buy a house in the county town, so we won¡¯t have to stay at inns whenever we go there. Moreover, Xiaojie and Yuanbao are going to study in the county town, and it would be inconvenient for us to take care of them without having a house there.¡± Chunniang asked expectantly, ¡°When are you nning to buy it?¡± ¡°The day after tomorrow.¡± Jiang Sang replied, ¡°The day after tomorrow, I will go to the town to rent a cart to the county town. If things go well, I am considering buying a horse carriage to bring back too.¡± It was inconvenient at home without having a cart, everybody had to walk long distances for markets or visits. Adults might cope with it, but it was hard on the children. Moreover, mules and horses could also be used to plow fields. He wanted to reim the wastnd by the orchard. Having mules or horses would save a lot of time and effort. ¡°We should buy a cart for our home.¡± Remembering her sister-inw¡¯s words, Chunniang asked, ¡°Are you going to take Dacheng with you? You need to let Elder Sister know.¡± Jiang Sang: ¡°Whether he goes or not, is up to him. I will talk to our elder sister.¡± The sister-inw is really worried about her son not having a wife. Putting aside the others, with Dacheng¡¯s handsome appearance, good figure and character, would any girl be missing him? Perhaps he would be like his second uncle in the future, finding a suitable wife for himself. ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Chunniang rxed knowing her husband had agreed. She would tell her sister-inw tomorrow,plying with her request. The next morning, Chunniang got up and checked the condition of the chicken hatchlings. Under the wings of three hens, there were a bunch of fluffy chicks drumbling around. Chunniang quickly picked them up into arge basket padded with shredded grass, then covered the basket with a small quilt. Under the stomach of the mother hen, there were still a few eggs that hadn¡¯t hatched, but a small hole had been pecked in. Chunniang peeled the eggshell bit by bit, took out the wet chick inside, and ced it back under the hen to keep warm. Chapter 177 - 173: Chicken Kid_1 Chapter 177: Chapter 173: Chicken Kid_1 Trantor: 549690339 By noon, most of the chicks were exchanged by people for eggs. Old Lady Tang exchanged ten, Wen Shu¡¯s Nanny also got ten, the Zhou Family and Yanru each received fifteen, and the other vigers sessively exchanged more than forty, leaving only a dozen chicks at home now. These dozen or so chicks are being raised by a hen, foraging in the yard. The other two hens were miserable, unwilling to abandon thete-hatching eggs, their chicks were stolen one by one by their mistress, leaving only a few weak chicks that had just hatched with their feathers still wet. Chunniang wanted to take these chicks too, let one hen raise them and allow the other two hens to recover more quickly and startying eggs sooner. However, one Reed Chicken was particrly stubborn. Once her chicks were taken away by the mistress, she would chase after them frantically, snatch one or two back from the hen who was raising the chicks, then take the two chicks somewhere else to forage. After several urrences, Chunniang decided to let her be. A few dayster, the hens were able to take their chicks out of the yard. Fearing that their own chicks would get mixed up with others¡¯, Chunniang made a red mark on the heads of their chicks with sappanwood. Every morning, after feeding the hens and chicks with small yellow rice, the hens would cluck and bring their chicks out. The Reed Chicken also brought out her two little chicks. Perhaps because the Reed Chicken was raising fewer chicks, she often went far out, sometimes even to the wastnd over there. The wastnd was near a pond and there was a wild bamboo forest in the distance. With the thriving nts and dense bushes in the wastnd, the hens with chicks could not only find insects there but also hide from the hawks and falcons in the sky. However, there are also many ground predators, such as weasels, foxes, jackals, etc., that would sneak out to hunt. Fortunately, people are often washing rice and vegetables, doingundry, and carrying water near the pond, preventing these animals from approaching during the day. However, the two chicks of the Reed Chicken disappeared after a short while, probably either snatched by eagles or caught by other wild animals. Recently, one or two eagles have been gliding past the sky above the vige, causing widespread panic among the chickens. Not only the chickens were frightened, but the vigers were also uneasy, quickly bringing their children back home and hiding thembs and piglets. Because these eagles arerge enough to easily snatch a four or five-year-old child or a half-sizedmb. Whenever they see an eagle diving down, the vigers would beat their copper basins or gongs, waving their arms and shouting loudly to scare them away temporarily. However, the eagles would soon return, circling above the Jiang family¡¯s yard a few times. Chunniang had no choice but to drive the hens and chicks into the house until the eagles flew away before letting them out. She didn¡¯t pay much attention to the Reed Chicken, leading to the disappearance of Reed Chicken¡¯s chicks. However, the Reed Chicken did not despair after losing her chicks, instead, it repeatedly attempted to snatch chicks from other hens. But the chicks have recognized their mother and were not willing to follow it. Therefore, Yingbao often saw the Reed Chicken going to the pond alone, unsure whether she was foraging or looking for her lost children. After spending three days in the county town, Jiang Sang returned joyously with a new carriage, immediately showing his wife and daughter the title deed of a house. It is a courtyard with five rooms, not far from the county school, and cost more than 300 taels of silver. With the cost of the carriage being a hundred taels, Jiang Sang spent over four hundred taels in all, including the hundred taels of silver given by his daughter. Chunniang had almost spent all her silver, leaving only more than ten coins of copper left. She didn¡¯t feel a bit reluctant and was instead very delighted. Finally, they have a house in the county town, and it¡¯s a five-roomed house made of green bricks and tiles. The house is good, and the yard is quiterge too. There should be no problem growing some vegetables or flowers as normal. Wait for a while and I¡¯ll go there again to hire several bricyers to refurbish it and buy some furniture. After the autumn harvest, we can send Xiaojie and Yuanbao to study in town,¡± he said. Jiang Sang said to his little daughter, ¡°You and your mother will go to the county town together, and we will be a family based in the county town from now on.¡± After eight or ten years, the young girl would be a proper inhabitant of the town, and by then, she could find a good inw family in the county town. Yingbao shook her head: ¡°I won¡¯t go to the county town. It¡¯s enough if Ah Ma goes with Big Brother.¡± In her previous life, she lived in the county town for several years, but aside from therger poption, there was nothing interesting about the ce. Besides, water was a serious problem in the county town. If a house had no well, they either had to carry water from the river for their use or purchase it. If they bought water, even a full load barelysted a family of three to five people a day. For typical tasks likeundry, rinsing rice, and washing veggies, they would have to go to a nearby pond. Therge water pond in the county town was in the same league as a dirty drain, and the color of the water was green. While it was bearable in winter, by the time summer rolled around, the entire pool would exude a faint stink. Even if they lived near a flowing river, people would perform their washing directly using the moving water. However, there was no guarantee that there was not someone upstream who was in the process of dumping their chamber pots or cleaning their toilets. Therefore, she didn¡¯t want to go to the county town. Chunniang asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you want to go, Baobao?¡± ¡°I need to learn medicine from my master,¡± exined Yingbao. Not only did she have to study medicine, but she also had to practice martial arts. Furthermore, she couldn¡¯t afford to neglect earning money by cultivating golden ears. If she moved to the county town, she wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything. Chunniangughed, ¡°That¡¯s right, our Baobao has to study medicine. We ¡ª her parents ¡ª have been so silly that we forgot all about it.¡± In just a few days, the fact that the Jiang Family purchased a property in the county town spread throughout the vige. This couldn¡¯t be helped. One of Lizheng¡¯s duties was to register the vigers¡¯ assets. Land and property records were particrly important to keep track of. Right after Jiang Sang formalized the ownership document in the government office, a notification from the County Government arrived at Sun Licheng¡¯s ce another two dayster, asking him to re-register Jiang Sang¡¯s wealth. With all this back and forth, now, who wouldn¡¯t know about it? ¡°Aiyo, has your family really purchased a property in the county town?¡± As soon as Wang Eng¡¯s aunt saw Chunniang, she started questioning her. Withdrawing her sleeve subtly, Chunniang smiled and replied, ¡°It¡¯s not a grand property, but just a two-room house.¡± ¡°Well, even a two-room house is a property,¡± Wang Eng¡¯s auntughed mysteriously and asked in a low voice, ¡°So, are you nning to move to the county town? Are Erni and Yingbao also going with you?¡± ¡°How could we? We have all our farnd here, there¡¯s no way we could move to the county town.¡± Eager to leave, Chunniang said hurriedly, ¡°Erniang, I have stuff to do. I can¡¯t chat longer.¡± With that, she quickly walked away. Wang Eng¡¯s aunt was persistence. She wanted to follow Chunniang to ask more, but was stopped by her son, ¡°Mother, the pancake is getting burnt, you better go take a look.¡± ¡°Oh my!¡± Wang Eng¡¯s aunt pped her thigh and rushed to lift off the pot cover. Upon checking, she found the pancake to be perfectly okay and not burnt at all. ¡°You rotten boy! How dare you trick me!¡± Wang Eng¡¯s aunt was annoyed to discover she¡¯d been duped as she flipped the pancake. She turned around to find her son standing near the stove looking at her, she red at him, ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Wang Eng: ¡°I¡¯m hungry. I¡¯m waiting for the pancake to be done.¡± ¡°Eat, eat! All you know is eating!¡± Wang Eng¡¯s aunt swayed a spat in front of her son¡¯s face, annoyed. ¡°Erni will soon go to the county town, let¡¯s see what you will do then!¡±¡± ¡°What will I do then?¡± Wang Erng¡¯s eyes were glued to the pancake in the pot. Wang Eng¡¯s aunt gives her son an exasperated look, ¡°Haven¡¯t I told you arrangements could be made, the more you y around with Erni and Huzi, the likelier our two families could be inws.¡± Only then did Wang Eng react, pulling a face, ¡°Mother, how old is Erni? What on earth can we do together?¡± He was fifteen, and Erni was just ten. Whatmon interests could he possibly have with a little girl? Chapter 178 - 174: Snatching the Child (Seeking Monthly Tickets, Recommendation Tickets)_1 Chapter 178: Chapter 174: Snatching the Child (Seeking Monthly Tickets, Rmendation Tickets)_1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°What a blockhead!¡± Wang Eng¡¯s Aunt Wang was so angry she wanted to hit him with a wok spat. ¡°Our Yingbao is already ten years old, soon she¡¯ll start going on matchmaking visits, if you don¡¯t get moving, a good daughter-inw will be someone else¡¯s.¡± ¡°Mother, you need to wake up. You know our family situation. What do we have to marry into the Jiang Family with?¡± Wang Eng didn¡¯t want to argue with his mother over pointless matters. He picked up a sizzling hot pancake and turned it from hand to hand to cool it down, eating it while leaving the kitchen. Instead of dreaming unrealistic dreams like his mother, it¡¯s better to nt more JinEr mushrooms to make money. Once he earned a lot of money, who wouldn¡¯t want to marry him? There was no shortage of people with the same mindset as Auntie Wang, these days the Jiang Family¡¯s entrance was almost ruined by all the foot traffic. Some were matchmaking for Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan, some found Jiang Eng directly, trying to get Yingbao married. Some even more outrageous ones, were trying to betroth little four-year-old Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu. Chunniang was speechless, gently refusing the processions of rtives. For some reason, no one mentioned Yingbao. Recently, Yingbao was very busy, studying medicine on one side and practicing martial arts on the other. She also had to apany her master to the wilderness to identify medicinal herbs. They could find many medicinal herbs in the countryside, such as Ji, Ban Zhi Lian, Bei Chai Hu, Bo He, Ban Xia, Ban Lan Geng, Bai Tou Weng, etc. Each one had different medicinal uses. Such as Ji can stop bleeding and reduce inmmation, Chaihu and Bangen can treat colds, Baitouweng can treat women¡¯s postpartum blood deficiency diarrhea, and Cat ¡®s w grass can treat throat swelling and pain. After identifying the herbs, Yingbao found that the ordinary wild nts she saw normally were all medicine. Including some fruits, flowers, and trees, each had its unique health benefits. But Yingbao had given up using the shovel to dig herbs, now she only carefully recorded the names of the wild weeds. Combining this with the medicinal forms she memorized before, she felt like she had entered a natural pharmacy. Every weed in the wild could be medicine, as well as every wild vegetable. In the future, if they needed medicine, they could obtain it themselves directly, without having to go to the pharmacy to buy it. ¡°Eh? Look at that hen!¡± Yingbao¡¯s fellow student pointed at something. Yingbao looked up and saw their home¡¯s Reeve¡¯s Pheasant fighting with a wild duck. The feathers on its neck were standing on end. The wild duck with its tter beak was no match for the sharp-beaked and fat chicken, but it didn¡¯t run, it just circled the Reeve¡¯s Pheasant, quacking angrily. Underneath the pheasant, there were some fluffy little ducks, as many as eight. It turned out that the Reeve¡¯s Pheasant had stolen the wild duck¡¯s chicks and was even kind enough to gently feed them bugs. The little ducks were very attached to it; wherever the Reeve¡¯s Pheasant went, there they followed. The mother duck wasn¡¯t willing to let her offspring be taken and repeatedly tried to snatch them back. Unfortunately, the ducklings didn¡¯t want to follow the mother duck and stayed close to their adoptive Reeve¡¯s Pheasant mother. Everyone was stunned, including Yingbao. This was one domineering hen. Stealing the wild duck¡¯s offspring and then bringing them home. The mother duck followed them all the way to the entrance of the Jiang family, watching as her children were taken inside by the damned fat chicken. It quacked angrily outside before finally flying away unwillingly. Chunniang was quite happy to see their Reeve¡¯s Pheasant bring back a group of little ducks, and she immediately grabbed a handful of millet to feed them. From then on, the Jiang family had a few more little ducks. In mid-April, the fruit in the Jiang¡¯s orchard gradually ripened. Apricots and peaches filled the branches, their yellow and tender skins making your mouth water. Jiang Quan was exceptionally happy about this. After getting approval from his little cousin, he picked a few baskets of apricots and peaches to sell at the market, but it didn¡¯t go as expected. After the disaster, the families in Chuanhe Town were living quite frugally, and not many were willing to spend money on snacks. Yes, in the eyes of the vigers, these fruits are nothing but trivial snacks that do not fill their stomachs, and only pregnant women and children would eat them. Most vigers would rather spend two coins to purchase a ck bread roll and not even spend a coin to buy two apricots to try. This discouraged Jiang Quan. Yingbao plucked an apricot and took a bite. It was quite sweet and slightly sour, tastier thanst year¡¯s apricots. The peaches were also not bad, big and sweet, with a strong peach vor. They were much tastier thanst year¡¯s peaches. Could this be the contribution of the Pupil Spring? Some time ago, she used the Pupil Spring to irrigate all the nts in their home, including the pepper and grape seedlings. Those nts that were watered with spring water grew rapidly, to the point where she dared not water them anymore. Later on, from time to time, she would water the vegetables because the Jiang family had many members. In addition, Zhang Meng and Xu Kun, her two martial arts teachers, also had big appetites, hence the vegetables were consumed quickly and needed to be quickly harvested. The few apple trees Yingbao nted in the brown soil grew even faster and they were now more than three meters tall and seemed to still be growing. However, those apple trees had not bloomed or born fruit but rather expanded their branches and leaves upwards. It was predicted that in a matter of days, they could reach the cave¡¯s roof. The melons, which were nted at the same time, had already borne ripe fruits that were very sweet and delicious. Yingbao took away some melons under the pretext of the vegetable garden and distributed them among her family and her master. Her teacher Xiu Zhenniang was extremely fond of them and sighed that her son and husband missed out on this delicacy. Elder sister Wen also liked it very much, but she was reserved and would not express it openly. ¡°So many fruits can¡¯t be sold or eaten all, s, it¡¯s such a waste.¡± Jiang Quan sighed while looking at the fruit trees. Yingbao didn¡¯t care, ¡°If they can¡¯t be eaten up, they can be made into dried fruit. Aunt Er said to me yesterday that apricots make the best dried fruit.¡± Jiang Quan¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Can they really be made into dried fruit?¡± ¡°Yes, why don¡¯t you ask Aunt Er about it? Once we sell the dried fruit and make money, we three can split it equally.¡± Yingbao plucked another peach and took a bite. It was sweet and delicious. It¡¯s unbelievable that these delicious fruits aren¡¯t bought by anyone. Jiang Quan went to find Aunt Yanru. ¡°Second Aunt, Yingbao said that you can make dried fruit. Is it true?¡± Yanru nodded, ¡°It¡¯s not difficult to make dried fruit, but it uses a lot of sugar. At least two pounds of sugar need to be used for every ten pounds of apricots.¡± ¡°Oh? That much.¡± Jiang Quan scratched his head. This is problematic. As everyone knows, sugar is quite expensive, even more so than salt. The cheapest now is brown sugar, but brown sugar isn¡¯t very sweet anyway. It¡¯s not as sweet as granted sugar and frosting. Jiang Quan has tasted candied fruits, and those are awfully sweet¡ªnot something made with brown sugar. Frosting costs sixty coins a pound. If two pounds of frosting are used for every ten pounds of apricots, the dried fruit produced and dried would probably not even weigh a pound. This is very unprofitable. Jiang Quan left dispiritedly. He found his younger cousin again andined, ¡°It¡¯s not profitable. Second Aunt said that at least two pounds of frosting should be used for every ten pounds of apricots, otherwise it won¡¯t taste good. Two pounds of frosting would cost more than a hundred coins, and in the end, it will only dry to a pound of apricot fruit. How can we make money like this?¡± Yingbao asked, ¡°How much does a pound of dried apricots sell for in the market?¡± Jiang Quan blinked his eyes, thought for a while, and said, ¡°I have never bought dried apricots, but I have bought candied fruit. Six candied fruits in one portion cost fifteen coins.¡± Six candied jujubes should at least weigh two ounces, that is to say, two ounces of candied fruit cost fifteen coins, so a pound of candied fruit would be one hundred and twenty coins. So one pound of dried fruit would cost a hundred or so coins, not even counting the cost of the apricots. However you look at it, this seems like a losing business. ¡°The candied fruit are weighed with the pit included, so undoubtedly the weight is taken into ount. The dried apricots don¡¯t have pits, so the price is naturally higher,¡± said Yingbao. ¡°Why don¡¯t we try making a small amount first to see how it goes? If it doesn¡¯t work, we can just eat them ourselves.¡± Jiang Quan reluctantly agreed, ¡°All right, let¡¯s try it first.¡± Chapter 179 - 175: Special Product_1 Chapter 179: Chapter 175: Special Product_1 Trantor: 549690339 Jiang Quan went to town and bought ten kilograms of sugar frosting, as well as a few earthenware jars. His second aunt told him that preserved fruit should be stored in jars, so he bought them in preparation. Then came the apricot picking. They chose the ones that were seventy to eighty percent ripe, fully ripe ones that had bugs were unusable. They were then cleaned, pitted, and preserved with crushed sugar frosting. A bit of salt was also added during preservation. After being preserved for a few hours, the apricots would exude juice, at which point they were directly boiled in a pot. They couldn¡¯t be boiled for too long, otherwise the apricot flesh would lose its form. The apricot flesh and juice were promptly scooped out and let to stand for two hours, then the apricot halves were plucked out of the juice,id out one by one on bamboo trays, and then taken out to bask in the sun. After being sunned for two to three days, the apricot flesh bes as chewy as a persimmon cake, its color a brilliant yellow, and it tastes sour and sweet, extremely delicious. The sun-dried preserved fruit was sealed in the jars, where it could be preserved for a long time. The remaining thick, sour and sweet juice is not only loved by children, but also praised by adults. Yingbao wasn¡¯t interested in preserved apricots, but she loved the sour and sweet juice left over from boiling the apricots. If some ice cubes were added, it would be absolutely refreshing to have a sip in hot weather. Yingbao looked at the apricots hanging from the trees and made a n in her mind. ¡°Brother, let¡¯s pick all the apricots on the trees,¡± She said to Jiang Quan, ¡°Let¡¯s give some ripe ones to the vigers, and make preserved apricots from the half-ripe ones. These apricot kernels can¡¯t be thrown away either, they can be ground into almond flourter.¡± In her past life, she had drunk almond tea, which was made by grinding almonds into powder, adding it to rice milk and milk to boil, then adding some malt sugar, the strong aroma of which was enticing. However, there was one thing, almond toxins, especially the surface skin of the almond was highly toxic. If not handled properly, it might endanger life, and children should not even touch it. But she had the Pupil Spring, she could soak the almonds in the spring water to presumably reduce some of the toxicity. Jiang Quan widened his eyes, ¡°Yingbao, there are so many apricot trees, how many preserved apricots are we going to make? If we can¡¯t sell them, the money we spent on sugar would have gone down the drain.¡± ¡°They will be sold.¡± Yingbao was not worried at all. Worst case scenario, they could sell them for less to merchants, which was still better than letting so many apricots rot for nothing. Yanru suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s trade the apricots for items at the dried fruit and candied fruit shop in the county town, although the profit won¡¯t be much, it would still be some ie. At least the cost of the sugar can be covered.¡± Her suggestion coincided with Yingbao¡¯s thoughts. ¡°That can be done, big brother, let¡¯s go to the county town after all the preserved apricots are ready.¡± Yingbao was full of confidence. It was also convenient for Yingbao to go to the county town to check out their new house, to see what was needed, so she could prepare ordingly. ¡°Second aunt, can peaches also be made into preserved fruit?¡± Yingbao asked. Yanru replied, ¡°Yes, the process of making preserved peach fruit is simr to that of apricots. It would be nice to make some.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s make some preserved peaches. The peach pits can¡¯t be discarded either. Preserved peach seeds are a kind of herb, we can sell them to the herbal shopter.¡± She estimated the price wouldn¡¯t be high, but it could at least recoup some costs. Jiang Quan was still unsure, ¡°How much sugar is required?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do it this way first, we can talk to the store if we bought more sugar than needed, the price will surely drop a bit.¡± In her previous life, Yingbao had run some business, so she knew a little about bargaining. Yanru nodded, ¡°Going to the big stores in the county town to buy sugar would indeed save a lot of money when buying in bulk.¡± ¡°All right.¡± Jiang Quan scratched his head, asking, ¡°So when are we going to the county town?¡± The fruit on the trees wouldn¡¯t wait for them. Day by day, they were ripening and spoiling. Just watching them spoiling was distressing. Yingbao didn¡¯t speak, she was frowning and contemting. With so many fruit trees at home, apples and grapes that are about to ripen certainly wouldn¡¯t all be consumed. We wouldn¡¯t be able to sell them all in the countryside either, but we also can¡¯t bear to give them all away. This is rather distressing. We worked hard to grow these fruit trees, thinking that they would bring some money in, but unexpectedly, they have instead be a burden. Perhaps, we should have my second cousin open a shop in the county town dedicated to selling fruits and dried fruits. We still have more than three hundred taels of silver, enough to buy a storefront. With the storefront, the fruits and dried fruits from our trees wouldn¡¯t have to be sold off in desperation. In the future, the rare apples and grapes might even make our shop the center of attention in the county town. Even if the fruits go out of season, we will still have golden and silver mushrooms, and in the worst case scenario, Yanru could make scented powders and rouge for sale in the shop. Yingbao has already scattered many flower seeds on the brownnd in the grotto, such as roses, magnolias, peonies, and others. She has also scattered some lotus seeds by the pond, and now small round lotus leaves have sprouted. But the difficult question is, how should we position our shop? Other shops have a specific focus, like baked goods, grains, fabrics, jewelry, and so forth. Even the bamboo ware shop only sells bamboo products. Our shop¡¯s offerings are diverse, but we can¡¯t call it a general store. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in her head. Why not call it local specialties? Although Qinchuan County is a lesser-known county, it has its fair share of travelers. If our shop is branded as local specialties, those visiting friends and family would likely want to buy some things to take away. Each ce has its own specialties, such as woodenbs, pears, persimmons, chestnuts, tangerines, tea leaves, and so on. Travelers visiting these ces would feelpelled to buy some. However, Qinchuan County doesn¡¯t seem to have any specialties. No tea, no silk embroidery, no inkstone, no rare herbs. It¡¯s just an ordinary small county where most people make a living by farming. Ironically, Qinchuan County is located in hilly terrain, with little arablend. However, they still have to pay a heavy annual tax. It¡¯s a wonder that people here aren¡¯t impoverished. Previously, the Imperial Court allowed each family to have a hundred acres ofnd. When it came to this ce, however, each family could only get sixty acres. And these sixty acres weren¡¯t all quality farnd, part of it was hilly. Nowadays, even the sixty acres can¡¯t be allocated due to theck of avablend in the countryside. My elder cousin is already seventeen this year. By rights, he should have been allocated somend, but there hasn¡¯t been any movement on Lizheng¡¯s side. It¡¯s not that Lizheng isn¡¯t doing anything, but that thend in the countryside has been essentially divided up. What¡¯s left are barren rockynds where not even grass can grow. If these barrennds were assigned to the people, it would be equivalent to forcing them to their deaths. Who could afford the taxes for a plot ofnd on which not a single grain could be grown? Therefore, Yingbao decided to follow an unconventional path and create a money-making opportunity for her elder and second cousins. Our golden and silver mushrooms are indeed special to Qinchuan County. Even the Wen Family has assigned people to wait for the harvest and purchase them. Labeling them as a special product of Qinchuan County isn¡¯t an exaggeration. Then we could alsobel the dried apricots, peaches, and pears as specialties of Qinchuan, which would be a logical next step. That¡¯s right, we also have grapes and apples. Although they are not specialties of Qinchuan, they could still be sold alongside them. Having made up her mind, Yingbao chuckled and said to Jiang Quan, ¡°I¡¯ll go to the county town tomorrow.¡± Not just to buy sugar, but also to purchase a storefront. She¡¯s already thought of a name for the shop, called ¡°Jiang¡¯s Specialties¡±. Although the primary offerings are Qinchuan¡¯s specialties, the name of the shop absolutely cannot contain the word Qinchuan, otherwise, she could get arrested and taken to the county government for punishment. Merchants are treated as lower-ss. Not only can the name of the county or township not appear on the shop name gue, but even the two characters of ¡®Murong¡¯ cannot appear on the shop sign. This is because the current royal family is surnamed Murong, and all subjects must avoid these two characters. Chapter 180 - 176: New Home_1 Chapter 180: Chapter 176: New Home_1 Trantor: 549690339 First, we must register at Lizheng¡¯s office before going to the county town. Luckily, Jiang Sang is now the vige leader and can easily fill out the household registration guide for his family, which then Lizheng can confirm and stamp. As the farming season has ended and the vige¡¯s major canal project is almostplete, Jiang Sang decided to take his wife and children to the county town for a stroll and to have a look at their new house. So, Chunniang asked her sisters-inw to help look after the chickens, dogs, and ducklings at home before they set off in the carriage. Yingbao also picked two baskets of apricots and peaches for Wu Daozi and nned to discuss Qinchuan County¡¯s specialty products with him. The carriage moved faster than a mule cart, so they set off before dawn and took two breaks on the way, feeding the horses some forage and water. By mid-afternoon, they entered the county town. Jiang Sang drove the carriage straight to their new house. He hopped down, carried his children, and helped his wife get off the carriage. Yingbao looked up at the courtyard in front of her. The modest entrance wasid with a few bluestone bs, and there were tie posts for horses on each side. Despite wear and tear, therge wooden door still showed its once glossy ck paint. Jiang Sang tethered the horse, took out the keys and unlocked the door, ushering his wife and children inside. ¡°This is our new home.¡± Chunniang lifted her skirt as she stepped over the threshold. Inside, there was no hidden wall obstructing the view of arge courtyard in the center of which stood an empty pond that used to hold lotus flowers. Now, the pond was empty ¨C with dried mud and weeds instead of water and flowers. Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu ran around the courtyard with their sister, exploring cheerfully. There were three rooms in the main building, with wooden pirs and eaves in front. To the east, there were two side rooms and a garden to the west. The rooms were mostly empty, save for a few dpidated tables and chairs. The kitchen stove in the east didn¡¯t even have a cooking pot. An empty cupboard against the wall was full of rat-nibbled holes and droppings. Apart from a few broken pots and jars, there was only dust covering everything, except for arge water vat. It seemed that a thorough cleaning and shopping for household items were needed before they could move in. After a quick tour, Yingbao sighed, realising there was no well. She wondered if there were any public wells nearby or even a stream. In the main streets and alleys of the county town, there were usually one or two public wells for residents to fetch water. But in remote areas, people had to fetch water either from a distant river or dig shallow wells in the ground. Water from shallow wells was not as clean as that from deep ones and could dry up during droughts. ¡°Dad, is there a river near our house?¡± Yingbao asked. Jiang Sang replied, ¡°Yes, there is a river nearby. I¡¯ve looked, and the water is pretty clear.¡± The river water here was not as clear as that of Chuanhe, but it was good enough for washing clothes and vegetables. The only problem was that it was inconvenient to fetch drinking water from the public well. ¡°Why don¡¯t we dig a well at our house? It will make fetching water easier in the future.¡± Yingbao suggested. Jiang Sang nodded, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about itter.¡± Digging a deep well would cost nearly a hundred taels of silver. He didn¡¯t have the money at the moment and would have to wait until he sold this batch of golden earrings to hire someone to check it out. After checking out their new home, Jiang Sang took Yingbao to the County Government to meet County Magistrate Wu Shi, while Chunniang took Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu to start cleaning the house. The government office was just as it had been, not one bit different, even the guards at the gate were the same two people. ¡°Oh, you¡¯vee to see our boss with apricots again!¡± He still recognized the young girl in front of him and joked with a smile. Yingbao looked up and grinned, ¡°Yes, could you please pass on the message for me?¡± She took two baskets from the carriage, filled with ripe apricots and peaches. ¡°These are home-grown, specially brought for you two to taste.¡± The two officials lit up with smiles and eagerly received the gift. ¡°Oh, this is too considerate of you, thank you, little Yingbao. I¡¯ll pass on your message right away.¡± A jovial government official ran off to the courtyard inside the government office. Another official, chuckling, started chatting with Yingbao, ¡°The peaches in your house are so early, it¡¯s just a few months now and they¡¯re already ripe.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Yes, the fruit trees in our house ripen early. After a few more days, the pears and grapes will also be ready. If Ie to the county town again, I will bring some for uncle to taste.¡± The officialughed heartily, unable to close his mouth, ¡°Thank you, Little Yingbao. If there¡¯s anything uncle could help with in the future, just let me know. Needless to say, there¡¯s no one in this county town who doesn¡¯t know me, Jin Wu.¡± Yingbao respectfully saluted Jin Wu, ¡°With uncle Jin¡¯s word, I am not afraid of being bullied by bad people.¡± Jin Wuughed, ¡°That¡¯s right, if you encounter those who dare not open their eyes in the county town, juste and tell me. Your Uncle Jin might not have any special skills, but dealing with a few street hooligans is a piece of cake.¡± Yingbao was waiting for these words, and quickly thanked him. Then he introduced his father, ¡°Dad, this is Uncle Jin Wu. Uncle Jin, this is my father, Jiang Sang. He is the vige chief of our vige.¡± Jiang Sang and Jin Wu greeted each other with fists, and then started chatting. At this time, the official Cheng San led Wu Rui out from the inner courtyard. Seeing this, Yingbao ran over immediately, ¡°Uncle Wu! I came to see Uncle Wu, is it convenient?¡± Wu Ruiughed, ¡°I came to take you inside.¡± Jiang Sang hurried over to greet. Then, Wu Rui and Jiang Sang each carried a basket of peaches and apricots to the inner courtyard. Yingbao followed the two, bouncing and hopping around. Wu Rui led the two into the backyard, where two men in blue robes were sitting under the wisteria arbor in the courtyard. One was a white-haired and long-bearded old man of about sixty, and the other was the County Magistrate, Wu Shi. ¡°Uncle Wu!¡± Yingbao ran over joyfully and respectfully bowed to Wu Shi, ¡°Uncle Wu, are you well?¡± Wu Shiughed, ¡°I¡¯m very well. Thank you, Little Yingbao for your thoughts.¡± He turned and introduced the old man beside him, ¡°This is my father. He also wanted to meet the young doctor who cured me today.¡± Yingbao quickly bowed to the white-haired elder, ¡°Hello, Grandfather Wu.¡± Old Master Wu chuckled and stroked his white beard, ¡°Good, good, this child is indeed intelligent.¡± He turned to Jiang Sang, who was standing outside, ¡°This must be Chief Jiang,e and sit.¡± Jiang Sang then walked under the wisteria arbor, bowed respectfully to Mingfu and Mingfu¡¯s father, and sat down cautiously in a side position. Wu Rui poured tea for Jiang Sang and Yingbao and then withdrew. Wu Daozi asked, ¡°Chief Jiang, has the cotton in your vige been nted?¡± Jiang Sang quickly stood up and replied, ¡°In response, Mingfu, it has been sown.¡± ¡°Sit and talk.¡± Wu Shi sipped his tea, ¡°Did your ce suffer any damage from thest bandit invasion?¡± Jiang Sang sat back down and replied with a straight spine, ¡°Of course, it suffered some. Nearly half of the houses in our vige were destroyed and several people were injured. Fortunately, no one was killed.¡± Wu Daozi nodded: ¡°I¡¯ve also heard from people below, you¡¯ve even moved your vige because of this, to live on the hillside.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jiang Sang said, ¡°There aren¡¯t many good houses left in the vige. It¡¯s not cost-effective to rebuild at the original site, and the fields on the South Slope don¡¯t yield crops, so we¡± Wu Shi interrupted, ¡°I understand.¡± After a moment, he asked, ¡°Will there be difficulties with your summer taxation this year?¡± ¡°In response to Mingfu, there definitely will be difficulties, but what can we do.¡± Jiang Sang wore a grim expression, ¡°No matter how poverty-stricken and difficult, we still have to live.¡± Wu Shi¡¯s hand holding the tea paused mid-air. When the vigersined to him, he was left speechless. Chapter 181 - 177: Offsetting Merits and Demerits_1 Chapter 181: Chapter 177: Offsetting Merits and Demerits_1 Trantor: 549690339 Upon seeing Wu Daozi and her father unable to carry the conversation, Yingbao quickly interjected: ¡°Uncle Wu, there¡¯s something I wanted to tell you today.¡± Wu Daozi turned to look at her: ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve nted golden oyster mushrooms in our vige, and I want tobel them as a specialty of Qinchuan County.¡± ¡°Specialty?¡± Wu Daozi skimmed the foam off his teacup and nodded approvingly: ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡± He had tasted the golden oyster mushrooms that Little Yingbao had given him and found them pretty good. Labeling them as a local specialty seemed fitting. Yingbao continued saying: ¡°That¡¯s why I want to buy a shop in the county town, specializing in selling local specialties.¡± Wu Daozi raised his eyebrows and put down his teacup to ask: ¡°Do you n to run the shop yourself or lease it to someone else?¡± ¡°My eldest cousin will run it.¡± Yingbao replied. ¡°He¡¯s very good at this.¡± Without saying much, her eldest cousin made a fair bit of money selling gourds and water chestnutsst year. It was no less profitable than the hard work of growing oyster mushrooms. Wu Daozi seriously advised: ¡°In ordance with thew of our dynasty, if one family member engages in business, then the whole family would be ssified as merchants. Have you thought this through?¡± As he spoke, he looked at Jiang Sang. Yingbao and her father were taken aback and quickly shook their heads: ¡°No, we haven¡¯t thought it through.¡± They hadn¡¯t expected that running a shop could affect the status of the entire family. If this changed their status from farmers to merchants, perhaps they shouldn¡¯t even embark on this venture. Being a merchant was a low-ranking social status, their descendants couldn¡¯t participate in the imperial examination. She still harbored hopes for her younger brother to be a senior official. It would be ridiculous to ruin his future for a shop. Seeing the young girl¡¯s anxious face, Wu Daozi smiled: ¡°However, there is a solution.¡± Yingbao¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°What¡¯s the solution?¡± ¡°You can buy the shop, but the operator must be someone unrted.¡± Wu Daozi leisurely sipped his tea and seeing the confused expressions on the faces of the father and daughter, he had to rify: ¡°That is, you can hire a shopkeeper to run the business.¡± Could it be that simple? Yingbao was surprised. Wu Daozi was indeed Wu Daozi, his temperament and nature were just like in his previous life. This high-ranking County Magistrate was teaching a child how to exploit loopholes in thew. Yingbao¡¯s eyes crinkled into a smile, and she imitated her father¡¯s gesture of making a fist salute: ¡°Thank you Uncle Wu for your guidance.¡± Wu Daozi responded with augh but no words. Mr. Wu Sr. didn¡¯t show any surprise at his son¡¯s actions. He just quietly sat there, observing the father and daughter duo on the other side. Jiang Sang had a simple and honest face, but his eyes were bright. The little girl did not behave like a child of her age. Though her movements seemed childish, they carried the clever wit of an adult. What an extraordinary family. Wu Rui brought over a te of washed peaches and ced it on the stone table in front of Wu Daozi. Wu Daozi picked up a plump, juicy peach and handed it to the senior officer, only then did he pick a rosy one for himself, taking a bite. It was wonderfully sweet and refreshing. ¡°Not bad, are these early peaches also grown by your family?¡± ¡°Yes! We have also grown grapes and peppers at home.¡± Yingbao perked up, telling Wu Daozi about her family¡¯s business. To the side, the senior Mr. Wu listened with surprise, ¡°You also grow grapes and peppers?¡± ¡°Mmhm.¡± Yingbao noticed how cultured the elderly officer seemed to be and, putting that together with Wu Daozi¡¯s background as a schr-official, she couldn¡¯t help but look at him with admiration. ¡°When our grapes ripen, I¡¯ll pick some and bring them for Uncle Wu and Grandpa Wu to taste.¡± ¡°That¡¯s thoughtful of you, Little Yingbao. But isn¡¯t your house quite far from the county seat? Isn¡¯t it inconvenient toe all this way?¡± Mr. Wu Sr. asked with a smile. ¡± It¡¯s quite easy actually. We bought a property in the county town. My younger brother will be studying here from the second half of the year onward. We¡¯ll be traveling back and forth often.¡± Yingbao shared. ¡°Your younger brother?¡± Mr. Wu Sr. looked at Yingbao, who seemed about four or five years old. How old would her younger brother be then, alreadying to the county town to study? Yingbao said with a smile, ¡°My little brother is almost five years old, and he¡¯s very smart. He can recite the whole of the Three Character ssic, Hundred Family Surnames, and Thousand Character Text.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± When Mister Wu heard that a four-year-old child could recite such long passages, he couldn¡¯t help but be curious. ¡°Then, bring him along next time youe to the city for me to see.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Seeing that she had said all that was necessary, Yingbao pulled out a packet of golden oysters from her bag and handed it to the old man. ¡°This is a golden oyster grown in our house. It can keep you healthy and replenish your chi, you must give it a try.¡± Mister Wu was thin and hisplexion not too good, so her golden oysters might help a little. But the elderly should not eat this with sugar, or else it might have the opposite effect. ¡°Grandfather Wu, you should best not add treacle when eating this, the effect will be better.¡± she cautioned. Mister Wu smiled and nodded, ¡°Thank you, little Yingbao, when youe again I will also give you a gift.¡± At that moment, Wu Rui rushed over, holding a bundle in his arms. In the bundle were toys and some stationery that he just purchased from outside. Mister Wu handed the bundle over to Yingbao, ¡°Here are some toys for you, take it and have fun.¡± ¡°Thank you, Grandfather Wu.¡± Yingbao pleasantly epted the bundle. Wu Shi asked, ¡°Yingbao, are you going to buy a shop now?¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Yes, but we don¡¯t know where a shopfront is avable.¡± ¡°Shops that are for sale are all registered in Teeth Row. You can go there and check it out with Wu Rui.¡± Wu Shi responded. ¡°Great, we¡¯ll go check it out right away.¡± With that, Yingbao and her father got up and bid farewell to Wu Daozi and the old man. After they left, Old Mister Wu sighed, ¡°This child is really smart. Jiung, it¡¯s time for you to start a family. If you have children like her, your mother and I can rest peacefully in the underworld.¡± Wu Shi said nothing, but picked up another peach to eat. Seeing his son did not speak, Old Mister Wu knew that he didn¡¯t want to discuss this, so he changed the topic. ¡°What did the Provincial Government say about the bandit incidentst year?¡± Wu Shi chuckled, ¡°Merits offset the faults.¡± During the official evaluation at the beginning of the year, the Governor Wang had sent a letter, informing him that although the source of the bandits wasn¡¯t in Qinchuan County, it had greatly affected the surrounding counties. The Emperor was furious and ordered the Provincial Government to thoroughly investigate whether the local officials had failed in their duties. As such, even after he did his utmost to resist the bandits, instead of being prasied, he was admonished and warned by the Provincial Government¡¯s governor. Luckily, he had previously discovered the cotton seed transportation, so he didn¡¯t get demoted or dismissed. Embarrassingly, it was little Yingbao who told him about the cotton matter. So basically, Wu Shi indirectly owed a favor to the little girl. Old Mister Wu was silent for a while, then patted his son¡¯s shoulder, ¡°It¡¯s lucky as it is.¡± He nced at the two baskets of fruit andughed, ¡°Qinchuan County isn¡¯t all bad. That little girl¡¯s hometown is quite good. As long as you give a little support, you¡¯ll surely pass the end-of-year performance review.¡± Wu Shi smiled sarcastically at himself, ¡°I only wish to avoid mistakes, not hoping for merits.¡± He really wasn¡¯t ustomed to the ways of the bureaucracy. Even the little County Government was full of intrigue. The county magistrates harbored their own ambitions, wishing for him to be dismissed early so that they could monopolize the power. Thest time they fought the bandits, the County Magistrate disobeyed orders, causing the number of bandits to grow. In the end, a force of over two thousand surrounded the county seat. Fortunately, he had anticipated the situation and asked for reinforcements from his friend¡¯s son, avoiding cmity. Remembering the bandit incident still sent shivers down his spine. If the county seat was breached, not only would the citizens of the county suffer, but his family would also be implicated. Afterwards, his frail old father, despite his old age, rushed all the way to Qinchuan County to help his unfilial son. Wu Shi rubbed his forehead, feeling ipetent and embarrassed about his role as an officer. Being nearly thirty years old, he still required the care of his sixty-year-old father. Old Mister Wu gave his son a nce, then suddenly said, ¡°Your mother and your aunt will being over in a while. Your aunt is bringing your niece to Jianglin, and has ns to stop by here on the way. You better receive them well when they arrive.¡± Chapter 182 - 178: Fated_1 Chapter 182: Chapter 178: Fated_1 Trantor: 549690339 Wu Shi instantly understood what his father meant. His cousin from his aunt¡¯s side, well, better forget about it. They didn¡¯t fancy him at first, and it¡¯s unlikely they would now. His parents are worrying over nothing. Wu Shi felt the lump on his neck. It used to be the size of an egg, but now it was half that size. That child wasn¡¯t just bragging, she really could cure this illness. Years of seeking medical treatment hadn¡¯t helped, but surprisingly, a little girl¡¯s medicine had cured him. A smile appeared on Wu Daozi¡¯s face as he looked around, but he didn¡¯t find what he was looking for. Oh? Little Yingbao seemed to have forgotten to bring out the medicine. Did she forget? Wu Shi nced at the golden ear mushrooms that his father was holding. It can¡¯t be that those mushrooms were meant for him. Seeing his father was around, did she decide to use them as a gift? Seeing his son staring at the golden ear mushrooms in his hand, the old master Wu subconsciously wrapped the small bag in his hand and red at his son. ¡°What are you looking at? This is a gift from the little girl to your dad.¡± Wu Shi touched his nose and smiled awkwardly. ¡°I know, I won¡¯t snatch it from you. Why are you so nervous?¡± Yingbao and her father followed Wu Rui to the Teeth Row. The Teeth Row was a department under the county government. All business transactions in the county must be registered there. Wu Rui took the father and daughter to the office responsible for property registration to inquire about any good locations for sale. Seeing that they were brought by the servant of the County Magistrate, the clerk was enthusiastic and rmended a shop on the street front to Jiang Sang. In the end, Yingbao picked a shop opposite the county school. Although it was somewhat distant from the bustling city center, it wasn¡¯t too remote, it was close to home, and the Gao Family Inn was not far away. Yingbao and her father were very satisfied, so the clerk took them to see the shop. The shop wasn¡¯trge, it consisted of three wooden rooms facing the street, a yard at the back, and several dpidated straw houses. Opposite was the county school, and there was a small river on the side of the school. ¡°The front three rooms used to sell food and tea to pedestrians. Later, the house owner¡¯s son lost a lot of money in gambling. The house owner had to pawn the house to the Teeth Row to pay the son¡¯s debt.¡± The clerk said, ¡°You guys are here at a good time. The house owner just pawned the house to us, and not many people havee to see it. 240 taels of silver is not expensive. There is a pretty big yard at the back.¡± Jiang Sang frowned. Was this dpidated house worth 240 taels? His own five-tile-roofed rooms with a big yard were worth no more than 300 taels, including the contract tax. Yingbao didn¡¯t think it was expensive. In the next decade or two, every square measure of this road section would be worth its weight in gold. 200-plus taels could only buy one shop front. Plus, she had the protection of the County Magistrate¡¯s follower, so the clerk wouldn¡¯t dare to inte the price. So she decided to buy it. The title of the house was still registered under her father¡¯s name, Jiang Sang. The shop had to pay contract tax every year and therefore couldn¡¯t be registered under a minor¡¯s name. Afterwards, they paid an additional mortgage tax, and the shop waspletely their own. After signing the property papers at the government office, Wu Rui went back to report, and Jiang Sang took his daughter to Furuifeng Trading Company to buy candies from Zhou Mao. There were all kinds of goods in the tradingpany, like fur, cloth, tea, fruit, dry fruit, medicinal herbs, sugar, etc., but they only did wholesale, not retail. Jiang Sang bought 200 catties of candied fruit, spending only eight taels of silver, which was indeed nearly half the price of retail. The father and daughter then strolled around several streets in the city, purchasing mats, nkets, and daily necessities for their new home. They also bought some pots, bowls,dles, buckets, and washbasins, and they even weighed out two catties of rice, two catties of white flour and a bag of coarse salt. The family stayed in the new house for three days. Not only did they clean the house thoroughly, but they also inspected the surrounding environment. On the fourth day, they rode the carriage back to their hometown. The carriage returned to South Slope. Jiang Wu jumped off the carriage and ran to report to his master. But he soon came back and shared a piece of big news to his sister, ¡°Sis, my master has taken another disciple.¡± Yingbao was helping brother and sister-inw unload the candied fruit, and didn¡¯t pay much attention. ¡°Isn¡¯t it normal for your master to take disciples?¡± she asked. ¡°It¡¯s not normal! Not normal at all!¡± Jiang Wu said mysteriously. ¡°They took in Brother Chuyan as a disciple!¡± Chuyan, who was already sixteen years old and of adult household, was surprisingly epted as a disciple by their masters Zhang and Xu. This was simply unbelievable. ¡°Chuyan?¡± Yingbao was surprised. Zhang Meng and Xu Kun only took in children aged ten or below. They refused anyone older than ten, saying that their muscles and bones were already set, and even if they learned martial arts, they wouldn¡¯t make much progress. But now they had taken in Chuyan as a disciple. Did this have some deeper meaning? ¡°What about Sister Chuchu?¡± Yingbao asked. ¡°Have you seen here back?¡± Jiang Wu said, ¡°Sister Chuchu is also at the martial arts field, she is cooking for the masters.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go and see.¡± Yingbao ran towards the martial arts field, pulling her brother along. Ever since Zhang Meng and Xu Kun started epting disciples, their father Jiang Sang had submitted new household registration papers for them to Sun Licheng. It was unknown when the approval woulde down, but the n Leader had already agreed to let the two outsiders build houses on the wastnd beside the vige. The houses of Zhang Meng and Xu Kun were built next to the martial arts field. They had three thatch huts and a small kitchen, but no fenced yard. It only took the vigers about ten days to finish building. At this moment, it was afternoon. There were many kids on the martial arts field watching Chuyan practicing horse stances. Chuyan was dripping with sweat, his clothes were soaked front and back, but his face was determined and aloof, not showing any sign of backing down. Seeing Chuyan like this, Yingbao suddenly remembered the Chu school official from her previous life. ¡°Yingbao!¡± Chuchu spotted Yingbao as soon as she arrived and ran over, pulling Yingbao aside with a joyful face. ¡°You¡¯re back.¡± Yingbao looked at the girl in front of her, who was even more radiant and beautiful thanst year with her bright eyes and white teeth. ¡°Sister Chuchu, why haven¡¯t you visited us for so long?¡± she asked. Chuchu pulled Yingbao aside and spoke in a low voice, ¡°Bandits came to the vigest time and our n ran away to other ces. We only returned this spring. After that, we had to clean up the house, then build mushroom sheds and nt golden ear mushrooms, so, so I haven¡¯t had time toe.¡± The truth was, her father didn¡¯t want her toe anymore, saying he was arranging a marriage for her. But she didn¡¯t want to marry at all. Yingbao nodded and pointed at Chuyan on the martial arts field. ¡°Is he here to apprentice?¡± Chuchu nced in her elder brother¡¯s direction and smiled, ¡°No, my eldest brother brought me here. But Master Zhang and Master Xu insisted on taking him as a disciple when they saw him. They also said that my eldest brother is predestined with them.¡± Destined? Yingbao pondered. Chuchu added, ¡°The two masters also said that my elder brother has a distinguished destiny and must learn martial arts to protect himself.¡± Yingbao quietly watched Sister Chuchu as she chattered on and on about what had happened in thest few days. ¡°My father came to find me and my brother yesterday. Master Zhang said that my brother is now his disciple and he would be responsible for everything. He also promised my father that he would arrange a good marriage for my brother. My father agreed, but he insisted that I go home with him and said he woulde to pick me up in a couple of days.¡± Chuchu was in a dilemma. ¡°Yingbao, I don¡¯t want to go back and get married. Can you help me think of a solution?¡± She had no one else to turn to, and her only hope was pinned on Yingbao. Chapter 183 - 179: Becoming a Shopkeeper_1 Chapter 183: Chapter 179: Bing a Shopkeeper_1 Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao was at a loss. Marriage was for a woman¡¯s parents to decide, how could an outsider interfere? Moreover, Chuchu was not young. It was indeed time for her to be married. ¡°Why not try talking to my master?¡± Yingbao suggested to her. In her view, Mrs. Wen was a highly respected elder woman here and was best suited to discuss this matter with Chuchu¡¯s father. ¡°However, Chuchu, I think my master may at most help you postpone for half a year. After the autumn harvest, you will still have to return home with your father.¡± That was the truth. Chuchu was already sixteen this year, and once the new year passed, she would be seventeen. Indeed, in the countryside, there were very few girls aged sixteen or seventeen who were not married yet. Chuchu pulled a face, nodded, and immediately dragged Yingbao off in search of Mrs. Wen. Mrs. Wen was quite open-minded. Seeing Chuchu¡¯s determination, she agreed to help her this time. When Chuchu happily ran off to help the nanny, Mrs. Wen pointed at Yingbao and scolded her, ¡°You little minx, giving me trouble as soon as you get back. Come here and review the lessons you missed.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Yingbao giggled and sat down to study with Wen Shu. During the break, Wen Shu told Yingbao, ¡°We¡¯ll be heading back to Yuzhou in a few days.¡± Yingbao frowned, ¡°Why?¡± Wen Shu lowered her voice, ¡°My grandparents have asked me toe back.¡± She did not have the face to tell Yingbao that it was because she was already eleven years old, and she had to return home for the family introductions. In fact, it wasn¡¯t just Chuchu who had the trouble of marriage, she did too, so her mother agreed to help Chuchu this time. But women were meant to be married. As much as she resisted, she had topromise. Yingbao had always known that a day woulde when they would have to part. And that this parting might well be lifelong. She went up and hugged Wen Shu, rested her cheek on her chest, speaking softly, ¡°Remember me when you go back, and write to me often. Don¡¯t be likest time when you disappeared without a trace.¡± Wen Shu didn¡¯t expect Yingbao to say this, and burst intoughter: ¡°I thought you would be reluctant to let me leave.¡± ¡°Even if I don¡¯t want you to go, you¡¯ll still leave.¡± Yingbao sighed, ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as a perpetual feast in the world. Remembering you in my heart is enough.¡± Wen Shu gently tugged at her hair, nodded, and said softly, ¡°I¡¯ll always be thinking of you, and I¡¯ll write to you often. Yingbao, you must take care of yourself. If you ever have any difficulties, write to me. My family has a pharmacy in Prefecture City called Kang¡¯an Pharmacy, and my father is currently practicing there.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Okay, I understand.¡± Wen Shu added, ¡°Someone will be arranged from Yuzhou toe here. If you want to send a letter, you can give it to that person.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± A few dayster, Chuchu¡¯s father came to fetch Chuchu, as expected was sent away by Mrs. Wen, and he never came back thereafter. After about ten days, Yanru had used up all the candy and managed to make more than a hundred pounds of apricot and peach preserves, as well as some pear preserves. All these preserved fruits have been dried and packed into jars. Some were taken by Jiang Quan to the county town for sale. However, the preserved fruit was not selling well, and the fresh fruit was more popr. Jiang Quan and his elder brother, Jiang Cheng, picked the mature apricots and peaches during these days and transported them to the county town in a cart, setting up a fruit stall in front of Yingbao¡¯s shop, and the business was booming. In between, their uncle, Jiang San, also visited once, spending some money to get the house and the shop front repaired and let his nephew, Dacheng, look after it. The money to repair the house was given by his little niece, over a hundred taels in total. It was an advance payment from Mrs. Wen for the gold earrings, which was finally depleted. Seeing that the grapes and peppers were ripe, Yingbao decided to pick some and send them to Wu Daozi for tasting, taking her younger brother to visit the old gentleman at the same time. The cart first stopped in front of the shop. Jiang Quan and his older brother who came along unloaded three baskets of grapes from the cart. Leaving one basket in the cart, they intended to give it to old Mr. Wu the next day. Yingbao also filled a basket with some grapes and left it in the cart. After that, Jiang San drove the cart first to their new house on Plum Blossom Lane. He wanted to tidy it up and check on how the carpenter¡¯s progress was going. Meanwhile, Yingbao led her little brother, Jiang Jie, around the shop to inspect. The shop had been cleaned thoroughly with some new small bamboo baskets stacked inside. The damaged areas of the house had been repaired, even the three thatched huts at the back were now fixed, but the interior was still empty, nothing to be seen. Jiang Quan followed behind his little cousin,ughing: ¡°From now on, I¡¯ll be the store manager of this shop.¡± Yingbao was serious, ¡°Second brother, after you be the shopkeeper, you¡¯ll be a merchant.¡± ¡°A merchant is a merchant.¡± Jiang Quan nonchntly said. Jiang Cheng gave his brother a look, ¡°You being a merchant is fine, just don¡¯t drag Yuanbao into it.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Jiang Quan frowned, ¡°I¡¯m doing my business, how does it concern Yuanbao?¡± Yingbao: ¡°Because Mingfu said, if any family member bes a merchant, then the whole family is considered as merchants.¡± Jiang Quan scratched his head, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll separate myself. I¡¯ll be a family of my own, unrted to anyone else.¡± Jiang Cheng snorted, ¡°How old are you? You¡¯re not an adult yet, and you haven¡¯t set up a family or business, how can you split the family?¡± ¡°That¡± Jiang Quan was at a loss for words. Jiang Cheng continued, ¡°I just turned into an adult this year.¡± He nced at his little cousin, ¡°So, I can be the manager of this shop.¡± Jiang Quan was instantly angered, ¡°No! I, I¡± He stuttered for a while but didn¡¯te up with a rebuttal. Truly, since his older brother hade of age, if he proposed to separate the families to do business, their parents would definitely not object. Jiang Jie, looking up at his older brothers, said, ¡°Big Brother is not married yet.¡± Which meant he hadn¡¯t set up a home or a business. Jiang Jie understood this. Jiang Cheng pinched his little cousin¡¯s cheek, and his lower voice contained a threat: ¡°I won¡¯t buy you amb skewerter!¡± But Jiang Quan next to himughed: ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, Xiaojie, I will buy you er.¡± Yingbao was standing beside them ¨C At this time, two men dressed in ck entered the shop. ¡°Huh? Are you selling western region grapes?¡± one of them, upon seeing the two buckets of purple grapes in the shop, picked a few to taste, his mouth full as he spoke: ¡°Pretty good. How much per kilogram?¡± Jiang Quan quickly ran over, ¡°Fifty coins per kilogram. You¡¯re the first customer today, so let me give you a discount. Let¡¯s make it thirty-five coins per kilogram.¡± This customer was a regr. He had bought fruit from him several times before. The servant in ck grimaced, picked a few more grapes and put them in his mouth, muttering, ¡°Okay okay, thirty coins per kilogram. Give me ten kilograms.¡± Pulling out three hundred copper coins from his waist pouch. Whilstining of making a loss, Jiang Quan weighed ten kilograms of grapes for him. Because there was nothing to package the fruit in, he gave away a small bamboo basket. The person who came with the servant also weighed five kilograms, handed over one hundred and fifty coins, and took away a basket to put the grapes in without any courtesy. After the two left, Jiang Quan put all the coins into a wooden box and grumbled, ¡°Lost another ten coins.¡± These bamboo baskets were all purchased from a peddler for five coins each, specifically for customers who bought a lot of fruit. Yingbao: ¡°That¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not a loss.¡± Although selling grapes for thirty coins per kilogram wasn¡¯t costly, it was not cheap either. The advantage was that these grapes were grown by them, hence, no cost was involved. If they were procured from a fruit store in the county town and resold, then it would be a loss. At that moment, Yingbao felt that her second cousin might be better suited as an apprentice. Chapter 184 - 180: Dictation_1 Chapter 184: Chapter 180: Dictation_1 Trantor: 549690339 Soon after, several waves of customers arrived to buy grapes, each buying three to five pounds, quickly emptying one basket of grapes. Jiang Quan had already raised the price to forty coins per pound, asionally allowing bartering if someone bought a significant amount. Grapes cannot be kept for long, and with many at home still unharvested, they had to sell the fruit quickly. Two men in ck clothes came by again, each taking ten pounds with them. By the afternoon, all three baskets of grapes had beenpletely sold out. However, people still came asking for more, most of them drawn by samples from others¡¯ purchases. ¡°We¡¯re sold out,e back in a couple of days.¡± While exining to the customers, Jiang Quan quietly asked his younger cousin, ¡°Shall we sell the basket that¡¯s in the carriage?¡± Yingbao shot him a stare, ¡°Don¡¯t touch the grapes in the carriage, they are for Mingfu.¡± Jiang Quan made a face, seeing the customers leave disappointed, then began to clear up the shop. After locking up the shop, Jiang Quan and his older brother took their cousins back to Plum Blossom Lane. Plum Blossom Lane was not far from the shop, with several small diners at its entry. ces like Grandma Jiang¡¯s mixed soup dumplings, Yang¡¯s grand soup, Fat Zhou¡¯s peppered mutton skewers, and the mutton bun stall. The siblings managed to try tastings all the way home, their stomachs full before they even reached their doorstep. Jiang Quan also bought ten mutton buns to bring home for his third uncle. When they returned home, they noticed a carriage parked in the courtyard, with the horse grazing quietly in one corner. The carpenter working at home had already finished for the day and left. Jiang Sang tidied up the house, especially the daughter¡¯s room, clean and with all furniture new and orderly. Smoke was emanating from the kitchen stove, Jiang Cheng had been cooking there recently. ¡°Third Uncle, we ate outside. I brought these for you.¡± Jiang Quan handed Jiang Sang the lotus leaf-wrapped mutton buns. Jiang Sang took them, sitting down next to the table under the eaves and opened the lotus leaf package. ¡°How did the grape sales go?¡± He asked while eating a bun. Jiang Quan smiled triumphantly, ¡°All sold out.¡± Jiang Sang looked surprised, ¡°All three baskets?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jiang Quan ced a heavy bundle on the table, ¡°Everything¡¯s here.¡± They had bought lots of tasty snacks while out, using the money from this bundle. Jiang Sangughed, ¡°You siblings divide this money among yourselves.¡± Jiang Quan let out a cheer, picked up the bundle, and ran into the house to count the money. They had made over five thousand coins for the grape sales, leaving five thousand six hundred coins even after deducting the cost of the baskets. Jiang Quan divided this money into three, he, his cousin, and his older brother each getting one thousand eight hundred coins. The remaining two hundred coins were given to Jiang Jie. After the money distribution, it was already dark, so they took their baths and retreated to their rooms for rest. The next day, Jiang Sang took his daughter and youngest son to the entrance of the county government office. The gatekeepers today were unfamiliar government officials rather than Jin Wu and Cheng San. Though they were a little impatient, they still went in to report. This time, a middle-aged nanny came out. She looked surprised when she saw Yingbao, then smiled and said, ¡°It must be Miss Jiang.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°I had promised Mr. Wu that when our grapes were ripe, I¡¯d bring some for him to taste. So, here I am.¡± The nanny replied, ¡°Follow me then. You came just at the right time. If you hadeter in the afternoon, Master ng would¡¯ve been unavable.¡± She then turned to Jiang Sang, ¡°You can bring in the goods.¡± Without saying a word, Jiang Sang carried the grape basket and went inside. Yingbao held her little brother¡¯s hand following behind her father, entering the inner courtyard with the nanny. They were still greeted under the wisteria vine in the courtyard, but this time an elderly couple were seated beneath it. The nanny said, ¡°Our Master ng and thedy are enjoying the cool. You two kids go say your greetings.¡± Recognizing Mr. Wu, Yingbao assumed the older woman next to him must be his wife. ¡°Hello, Grandpa Wu, Grandma Wu.¡± Yingbao respectfully greeted them with a bow, and the boy beside her mimicked the action. ¡°Good, good. This must be your brother? Let me take a look.¡± Old Mr. Wu seemed very pleased and introduced him to his wife, ¡°This is Jiang Yingbao, and it seems this is her brother.¡± Old Mrs. Wu, around sixty years old with a full head of white hair and a frailplexion. She seemed much older than Yingbao¡¯s granny. Yingbao guided her brother in front of the old Mrs. Wu and old Mr. Wu, saying clearly, ¡°Grandma Wu, Grandpa Wu, my brother¡¯s name is Jiang Jie.¡± Old Mrs. Wu smiled, ¡°So, you are Yingbao. Such a clever child.¡± Turning her gaze to Jiang Jie, she ran her eyes over him. Seeing his delicate white skin she was overjoyed and gently asked, ¡°How old are you?¡± Jiang Jie replied, ¡°Grandma, I¡¯m almost five.¡± ¡°Oh, almost five years old.¡± Mrs. Wu¡¯s smile reached her eyes, and she wanted to hold the child in her embrace, but she feared it might be inappropriate. So, she asked, ¡°Did you have breakfast yet?¡± Jiang Jie nodded, ¡°Yes, my father fed us mutton dumplings.¡± Just as old Mrs. Wu was about to say something else, old Mr. Wu asked, ¡°Jiang Jie, can you recite the Thousand Character ssic for me?¡± Jiang Jie paused, but recalling his sister¡¯s instructions, immediately nodded, ¡°Okay.¡± Then he began to recite the Thousand Character ssic sincerely. Old Mr. Wu did not interrupt him until he finished reciting. Yingbao stole a nce at old Mr. Wu, and seeing his nod of approval, she breathed a sigh of relief. After Jiang Jie finished reciting the ssic, he looked eagerly at his sister, silently asking when they could leave. Old Mr. Wu suddenly asked, ¡°Jiang Jie, since you can recite, can you also write it from memory?¡± Jiang Jie nodded, ¡°Yes!¡± Their master favorite practice was making students write the texts from memory. Those who can¡¯t he would hit with a ruler. Out of fear, he was always the first to finish. Old Mr. Wu asked for a brush, ink, and paper, and gestured for the boy to write on his own. Jiang Jie went over, unrolled the paper, poured water into the inkstone, and started grinding ink stick. When the ink was ready, he dipped the brush in it and started to write. He wrote seriously with no regard for his surroundings. Mr. Wu walked over and started observing behind him. His penmanship was neat, elegant, flowing, and contained subtlety, like running clouds and flowing water. Such a young child with such exceptional brushwork was truly rare. Old Mr. Wu felt a sudden sense of affection and started observing the boy before him more carefully. At just four years old, his posture was upright, his facial expression solemn, and his brush-holding formal. Even with Mr. Wu standing beside him, he seemed oblivious, engrossed in his writing. From this, it could be inferred that he was a very self-disciplined child. Such a child from a farming family, having such a nature and talent, was truly rare. Seeing that Jiang Jie had already written on over ten pieces of paper, old Mrs. Wu red at her husband. Only then did old Mr. Wu pat the boy¡¯s small shoulder, ¡°That¡¯s enough, take a break.¡± Jiang Jie finished writing thest sentence before putting down his brush, tilting his head back to ask, ¡°Grandpa Wu, can I go home with my sister now?¡± His hand was already aching from writing. If he didn¡¯t go home now, he was afraid he would start crying. Chapter 185 - 181: Becoming a Disciple_1 Chapter 185: Chapter 181: Bing a Disciple_1 Trantor: 549690339 Mr. Wu remained silent, carefully examining the piece of paper Jiang Jie has written on. If this child¡¯s writing skills were to be on a person of a much older age, it might not be amazing, but he is only four years old. Such a young child possessing such a degree of brushwork, even better than his own son when he was young. This is such a talented child, what a pity it would be if this talent is wasted in the countryside. Mr. Wu looked at Jiang Jie and asked, ¡°Are you willing to be my student?¡± Jiang Jie blinked his eyes, remembering his sister¡¯s admonition, and nodded, ¡°Yes!¡± His sister had said that Mr. Wu¡¯s son might be a top schr, and so Mr. Wu must be a very capable schr. He would be lucky to have him as a teacher, and it would be no problem for him to pass the Schr and Top Schr exams in the future. If he bes a schr, his family¡¯snd could be tax-free, and after he grows up, he could wear colored clothes when traveling outside, not just the ck and white ones like his cousin, which is not good looking at all. Mr. Wu turned his head to Jiang Sang, who was standing in the distance under the eaves, and beckoned him over. Jiang Sang hurried over and bowed to Mr. Wu and Mrs. Wu. Mr. Wu stroked his beard and said, ¡°Jiang Vige Chief, I wish to take your son as my apprentice, what do you think?¡± Jiang Sang was stunned, thinking that he had misheard. But he quickly recovered and deeply bowed to Mr. Wu, ¡°It¡¯s an honor that my son has caught your eye. I¡¯m extremely happy, there is absolutely no objections from our family.¡± Mr. Wu nodded, ¡°Alright, from now on, Jiang Jie will be my student.¡± Hearing Mr. Wu say this, Yingbao was very excited and gently nudged her brother, indicating that he should quickly kneel down and pay respect to his new teacher. Jiang Jie quickly understood his sister¡¯s meaning and promptly kneeled in front of the old man, kowtowed three times, and called out, ¡°Master, your apprentice Jiang Jie is showing respect to you!¡± At the beginning, he kneeled down so fast that he tripped and fell t on his face, but fortunately, he quickly crawled up and kneeled properly,pleting his kowtow earnestly. Olddy Wu covered her mouth,ughing non-stop, and quickly helped up the little boy. ¡°Oh slow down, did you hurt your face?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± Jiang Jie touched his own face, feeling a bit embarrassed. Mr. Wu: ¡°Since you¡¯re now my student, you¡¯ll live here from now on, are you willing?¡± Jiang Jie hesitated, looking to his sister and then to his dad. Seeing them both nodding, he had to nod as well, ¡°Yes, but, but can I still go hometer?¡± If they don¡¯t let him go home, he might reconsider the decision. ¡°Of course, you can go back. Every half moon period (15 days), you will get a day off,¡± Mr. Wu stroked his beard and said. Jiang Jie thought for a while, and ultimately nodded. Coming out from the government officepound, Jiang Jie kept his head down and stayed silent. Jiang Sang picked him up into the carriage and asked his little girl to apany him and talk with him. But until they got back to Plum Blossom Lane, Jiang Jie did not speak. Yingbao understood that her brother must be finding it hard to ept leaving home and parents to study. So she gently touched his head and said, ¡°If you want to be a person like the county magistrate, you must find a good teacher. Did you see the students from the county school yesterday? Some of them are even older than your father and are still studying in school. Do you know why?¡± Jiang Jie mumbled, ¡°Because they did not pass the exams.¡± ¡°Exactly. Can you guess why they didn¡¯t pass?¡± ¡°Because they don¡¯t have powerful teachers.¡± ¡°Haha, Xiaojie is really smart, even knowing this.¡± Yingbao pped her hands andughed, ¡°It¡¯s because they didn¡¯t have a good teacher when they were young. That¡¯s why they¡¯re still studying even when they¡¯re older than dad.¡± Jiang Sang: Just how old is he that his children look down upon him? Then Yingbao continued, ¡°Do you want to keep studying until you¡¯re old and still haven¡¯t passed anything, or do you want to have a teacher¡¯s guidance and pass to be schr and official as soon as possible?¡± Xiaojie thought for a moment and said, ¡°I want to pass the exams as soon as possible.¡± He doesn¡¯t want to study till he¡¯s as old as grandparents and can¡¯t walk anymore. Yingbao patted her brother¡¯s shoulder and encouraged, ¡°Good, ambitious. There was a child prodigy in the previous Dynasty who passed the Schr¡¯s exam at age ten, the Top Schr¡¯s exam at thirteen, and at sixteen went to Beijing and passed the final stage. Do you know how powerful a Top Schr is? Each of them can be a high-ranking official.¡± Jiang Jie¡¯s eyes shone with anticipation. When he was young, he often listened to his sister¡¯s stories about students¡¯ pursuit of knowledge and was especially enthralled by the officials who went to Beijing for the final exam in the stories. Being listed on the gold que and bing the top achiever, the champions, were not as appealing as the ghost and deity tales encountered on the road to the final exam. So he must go to the final exam as soon as possible. Right now, his top priority is to pass the official¡¯s exam. ¡°Sister, when am I going to study at Mr. Wu¡¯s house?¡± The conclusion reached by Jiang Jie made him impatient to go to Mr. Wu¡¯s house for his studentship. Yingbao smiled, ¡°Dad has already gone to prepare the gifts for the teacher. We will go first thing tomorrow.¡± The next morning, Jiang Jie, dressed in brand new in fabric clothes, neatlybed his hair, carried a cloth bag, and climbed onto the carriage, sitting upright. He looked just like a proper little schr. Jiang Sang also dressed in clean in clothes, carrying the required six rituals and gift. This time Yingbao did not go, because it was not appropriate for anyone other than the elderly to be present at such an event. It was not until noon that Jiang Sang came back. He happily said to Yingbao, ¡°Xiaojie has formally be a student. Mr. Wu has asked him to stay in the government officepound. We can pick him up toe home for a day on the first and fifteenth of every month.¡± Yingbao also felt very happy. ¡°Then let¡¯s bring mom to the county town on the first and fifteenth days.¡± Jiang Sang had the same idea, and heughed and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go home now and share this good news with your mother.¡± For a child of a rural family like theirs to be able to be a student of Mr. Wu, it would be a blessing for several lifetimes. Although Jiang Sang did not know what Mr. Wu used to do, but for being able to teach a son like the County Magistrate, he must be an extraordinary person. But on the other hand, if it wasn¡¯t for his young daughter, he wouldn¡¯t even be able to step through the threshold of the county governmentpound, let alone make a connection with the county magistrate¡¯s family. Hearing that they would be going home right away, Jiang Quan quickly climbed into the carriage. However Jiang Cheng did not want to leave, iming he wanted to stay in Plum Blossom Lane to guard the house. Because there were carpentersing every day to build furniture, somebody must be there to take care of it. In fact, he didn¡¯t want to go back to the vige. Hisst appointment made him feel that he couldn¡¯t hold his head up in the vige, he only wished to stay in the county town and never return. After giving some instructions to Jiang Cheng, Jiang Sang drove the carriage out of town. By rushing all the way, they managed to reach their vige before it got dark. The two little dogs, rushing up wagging their tails furiously, and barking, came to greet their young master. ¡°Dad! Sister!¡± Jiang Wu had not seen his sister for several days. Every evening he would stand on the high wall watching the road entering the vige. Today, when he saw his family¡¯s carriage from afar, he quickly came down from the wall and rushed out. Yingbao jumped down from the carriage, first gave her younger brother a big hug, then hugged the two dogs and fondled them a few times. Chun Niang also ran out. When she didn¡¯t see Jiang Jie, she hesitated, ¡°Where is Xiaojie?¡± Jiang Sang chuckled and said, ¡°Xiaojie has taken an oath to a teacher in the county town. From now on, he will live in the teacher¡¯s house. On the first and fifteenth of every month, youe with me to the county town to see him.¡± Chunniang was taken aback for a moment. She remembered that her daughter took Xiaojie to pay respects to the county magistrate¡¯s father. She asked incredulously, ¡°Did Xiaojie really take Mr. Wu as his teacher?¡± Jiang Sang smiled and whispered, ¡°We know this at home is enough, don¡¯t let outsiders know.¡± Chapter 186 - 182: Farewell _1 Chapter 186: Chapter 182: Farewell _1 Trantor:549690339 ¡°Of course.¡± Chunniang curled her lips in a smile, pulling her young daughter into the room for a chat. Yingbao ryed the entire story to her mother, reassuring her that Master Wu was very kind, and would definitely teach Xiaojie well. There was no reason for Chunniang to worry. It was a tremendous fortune bestowed by previous generations on her son, a farmer with no background or connections, to be chosen as Master Wu¡¯s apprentice. ¡°Bao¡¯er, do you think we should make a pair of shoes for Master Wu and his wife as a gift?¡± Chunniang asked. Yingbao thought for a moment, ¡°But we don¡¯t know their shoe size. How about I prepare some Health Preserving Pills for them instead, so you won¡¯t have to worry, Mother.¡± ¡°That works too.¡± The medicine pills her daughter made were famous throughout the vige and very precious, and they¡¯d also make fitting gifts. Chunniang put her heart at ease and went to the kitchen to prepare egg noodles for the father and son. Not long after, Old man Jiang found out about Xiaojie bing an apprentice and immediately came to inquire from Jiang Sang. ¡°Sang, is it true that Xiaojie has gone to the county town to be an apprentice? Could Yuanbao also join him?¡± Jiang Sang was somewhat troubled, ¡°Father, I¡¯m not sure. Master Wu is not a private school teacher, it might not be appropriate to abruptly suggest that Yuanbao join him.¡± Seeing his father¡¯s gloomy face, Jiang Sang added, ¡°Why don¡¯t I ask him when Xiaojie has some free time?¡± Old man Jiang nodded, sighed, ¡°If all else fails, you go to the county town to find out which school is good, and we¡¯ll send Yuanbao there to study instead.¡± Jiang Sang originally had this in mind as well, and promptly promised, ¡°Sure! I¡¯ll ask the next time I¡¯m there.¡± The store run by Yingbao¡¯s family was located just across from the county school, so students and servants often came to buy fruit. Who better to ask for information on schools, than the schrs from the county school? Early the next day, Jiang Quan got up to pick grapes. This time, he nned to bring six baskets to the county town, so he wouldn¡¯t have to continuously return for more. The two girls, Yingbao and Dani, each grabbed a pair of scissors to help cut grapes. Each held a small bamboo basket, selecting the ripest ones to eat while they worked. The grapes were nowrge and sweet, with incredibly inviting white frost covering their purple skins. However, recently, birds had started pecking at them, often leaving entire bunches of grapes ruined. Jiang Quan, upon seeing the damaged grapes, would curse in frustration and angrily tear off the spoiled ones, but the undamaged ones would be ced back into the basket. These were all money and not to be wasted. Not only did the birds peck at the grapes, they also had a particr fondness for the ripe red pepper. Luckily, Chuchu was always there to help watch over them. Whenever arge flock of birds flew by, she would wave her long bamboo pole and run over to scare them away. Chuchu came to scare away the birds this morning as well, swinging her bamboo pole around. There were a few cloth strips hanging from the end of the pole; the wave of the pole would frighten the birds away. ¡°Sister Chuchu,e in and have some grapes.¡± Yingbao waved to her. Chuchu looked a bit shy, but she eventually came in to help pick grapes and put them into the baskets. Yingbao handed her arge, purple cluster, urging her, ¡°Sister Chuchu, try these and see how good they taste.¡± Chuchu took the grapes and popped one into her mouth, nodding repeatedly, ¡°Delicious.¡± Yingbao giggled, ¡°Take some for Chuyan and the others to tryter.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Chuchu nodded, finished the grapes in her hand, and quickly resumed picking. ¡°Yingbao, those peppers have turned red, and the birds eat them every day. What should we do?¡± asked Dani. She had never seen peppers before, and had no idea how they turned into the dark pepper grains. Yingbao replied, ¡°We¡¯ll pick the red pepper fruits, put them all in a sack, and soak them in the river for a few days. After that, we¡¯ll pour them into a basin and stomp on them to remove the pulp, then rinse them with water. The remaining seeds will be dried in the sun for a few days.¡± This was what Lady Wen had told her. ¡°Alright. Later, I¡¯ll go call some people to help.¡± Dani said, ¡°We can just give them some grapes as payment.¡± The grapes grown in Third Aunt¡¯s family were coveted by everyone in the vige, but few dared toe in and pick them secretly. Unmarried girls were even too embarrassed to approach the garden, afraid of being used of having a gluttonous mouth. Dani was friends with several local girls and knew they all wanted to try the grapes from the Western Region, but she couldn¡¯t just give them away privately. Peppers in the pepper garden were ripening one after another. Why not invite them to work and pick some grapes for them to taste? ¡°Of course.¡± Yingbao had no objection. There¡¯s arge area of pepper garden, with strong and dense vines. The peppers are hidden under the leaves, making it very difficult to pick. Her mother alone can¡¯t manage it all. Being short and small herself, she could hardly pick the peppers, let alone reach those on the higher vines. Dani put on a smile, then ran home with two baskets full of grapes. She was going to invite some of her friends over to pick peppers. Jiang Quan, overhearing this, was annoyed. He shot a nce at his little cousin and muttered lowly, ¡°Wasteful!¡± These grapes were money, why was she being so generous. Yingbao red back at him, ¡°So many have ripened and fallen to the ground, it¡¯s better people taste them than go to waste.¡± Jiang Quan snorted, promptly snipping away the good-looking ones one by one and gently cing them in the basket. Finally, six baskets of grapes were picked. Jiang Quan drove the horse cart and loaded all the baskets onto it. ¡°I¡¯m taking off now, you keep an eye on the house.¡± Jiang Quan instructed his little cousin, ¡°There are still quite a few peaches and apricots on the tree. If you want to give some away, use those.¡± The prices of peaches and apricots were not high, only a few coins per pound. Even if she gave them all away, he wouldn¡¯t mind. Grapes were a different matter. They were a rarity. Many people came seeking them, which made Jiang Quan feel very prominent. If he wasn¡¯t afraid of bringing too many and not being able to sell them before they went bad, he would have liked to bring a few more baskets. ¡°Got it!¡± Yingbao waved at him, suddenly asking, ¡°Are you going to the county town by yourself?¡± Jiang Quan thought for a moment and said, ¡°Shall I invite Li Dao along? I¡¯m a little bit scared on my own.¡± The journey is over a hundred miles. If he ran into bad guys, it would be troublesome. Having one more person would provide extra security. Jiang Quan decided he would also invite Wang Dashan along. With Li Dao and Wang Dashan apanying him, he felt braver. As she watched her cousin drive away in the cart, Yingbao picked another two full baskets of grapes. She would give one basket to Lady Wen and her daughter, and let Chuchu take the other one for Chuyan and Master Zhang Meng to taste. As Yingbao walked into the ssrooms with the baskets, she saw two horse carts parked in the yard of the study hall. These were just bought by Wen Fu from the county town for Lady Wen and the others to use on their return to Yuzhou. Yingbao handed the basket to the nanny, then ran into the inner room to find Lady Wen. ¡°Master, are you leaving already? But I still haven¡¯t learned everything.¡± She looked at Lady Wen, who was packing, with a face full of grievances. Lady Wen patted her head gently and said softly, ¡°I have taught you all that I know. The rest is up to you.¡± She took a letter out of her makeup box and handed it to Yingbao. ¡°This is a letter of rmendation from Shushu¡¯s grandfather. If you want to continue your studies, take this letter to the Medical Bureau in Luzhou.¡± Yingbao held the yellow-sealed letter, trying hard not to cry. The prefecture city was so far away. How could she possibly leave her father, mother, and brother to study on her own? Wen Shu came over, noticing that Yingbao looked depressed. He whispered, ¡°Didn¡¯t you already know that we were going back to Yuzhou? Why are you unhappy now?¡± Yingbao pouted, but tears still fell. Although she knew, she just didn¡¯t want them to leave. Chapter 187 - 183: Apprentice_1 Chapter 187: Chapter 183: Apprentice_1 Trantor: 549690339 A few dayster, the golden ear and snow fungus that Yingbao had nted were ready to be harvested. She and Chuchu were busy for several days, picking all the fungi and drying them, then renting. They nted another six hundred golden ear and three hundred snow fungus. She handed the dried golden ear and snow fungus to Mrs. Wen, also giving her some fruit preserves and freshly ripened apples for her and her daughter to eat on the journey. On that day, Ms. Wen left the vige with her daughter in a horse cart. Surprisingly, Xu Kun and Chuyan also left with them. Master Zhang Meng said Xu Kun and Chuyan were just escorting Mrs. Wen and would return after a few days. But Yingbao didn¡¯t believe it at all because Chuchu cried a flood of tears when she was saying goodbye to Chuyan, as if they were parting forever. In the blink of an eye, it was already May, and all the grapes had been sold out. Still, the apples and pears in the orchard were maturing one after another, and were picked by Jiang Quan to be sent to the store in the county town. Now Yingbao¡¯s shop was on track, not only officially hanging a signboard of ¡°Jiang¡¯s Specialties¡± but also had Jiang Cheng registered as the store manager. Despite his reluctance, second cousin Jiang Quan had to reluctantly agree. After all, his older brother was older and had given up inheriting the family property to establish another family on his own. But Jiang Quan was not resigned, so he assigned himself the job of steward, responsible for procurement and transportation. As for the store¡¯s profit distribution, Yingbao took fifty percent, and the remaining fifty percent could be divided however Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan two brothers wanted. For the fruit preserves, since Yanru took part in making them, Jiang Cheng gave her a processing fee of thirty coins per pound. More than three hundred pounds of fruit preserves amounted to a dozen taels of silver. Yanru didn¡¯t refuse, and after the market of apricots and peaches ended, she began to make rouge and face powder again at the request of Yingbao. Dani and the second son¡¯s wife kept themselves busy with their things and sometimes took along the few girls in the vige to help. Yingbao was sending a big basket of flower petals every day, such as roses, peonies, oenothera, lotus flowers, etc., different ones every day, giving them to the second brother¡¯s wife to make rouge and face powder. From time to time, Yanru would find it strange why her niece could pick so many petals, each one wasrge and brilliant, with a strong aroma, and she didn¡¯t know where she got them from. One morning, as Yingbao was leading the deer home, she saw a donkey cart stopped at the door of her house. Doctor Li from the town was talking with her father. ¡°Sang, isn¡¯t your daughter Yingbao considering studying medicine? My pharmacy needs an attendant. Why not have her be an apprentice there?¡± Doctor Li was sitting under the grape vines in the yard talking to Jiang Sang. Jiang Sang hesitated for a moment, ¡°I¡¯ll ask Baobao about it first.¡± His daughter was headstrong and whether or not she could be an apprentice in the pharmacy still had to be her own decision. Doctor Liughed, ¡°Actually, this is also the opinion of my senior doctor. Do you remember him? It¡¯s Wen Jingyan, the father-inw of Mrs. Wen, and he is now serving at the Imperial Medical Bureau in Beijing. Ahem he said that your daughter has excellent potential, where she can learn how to identify medicine and diagnose patients in my pharmacy.¡± Jiang Sang certainly knew about his daughter¡¯s potential, but he was surprised to hear that the old Wen fellow was from the Imperial Medical Bureau. But considering his daughter¡¯s unique abilities, he didn¡¯t feel that the old fellow was so remarkable. But Doctor Li had good intentions, and he should consider it carefully. Being an apprentice at the pharmacy is of course excellent, once shepletes her training, it will be a lifelong job. Moreover, considering the abilities she already had, she definitely could be a renowned little divine doctor in the neighbourhood, receiving admiration and respect for a lifetime. While he was thinking, Yingbao rushed over and said, ¡°Dad, I am willing.¡± Upon hearing this, Doctor Li¡¯s eyes lit up, he looked at Jiang Sang expectantly, waiting for his acquiescence. Jiang Sang frowned, ¡°But where will you live in the town as a girl?¡± The South Slope was more than ten miles from town, and the family¡¯s horse cart was used by his nephew for transporting fruit to the county town, so he could not drop off his daughter at the pharmacy in the morning and pick her up in the evening. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that.¡± Doctor Li said: ¡°Let Yingbao stay in my house. My little granddaughter is about the same age as Yingbao, and they can live together then.¡± Jiang Sang looked at his daughter, ¡°Baobao, what do you think?¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°I can do it.¡± Her master had mentioned that she should try to learn more at the pharmacy if she had the opportunity. Although she could recognize somemon herbs, she didn¡¯t recognize a single one that was prepared as a medicine. And since Doctor Li¡¯s family owned a pharmacy, she could not only learn how to identify medicines there but also meet many patients, which would allow her to practice the four diagnostic methods more frequently. ¡°Alright then.¡± Jiang Sang patted his little daughter, ¡°Then you go.¡± Consequently, Nanny Chun helped her daughter pack some clothes, shoes, and personal items, even brought some apples and pears as gifts, and sent her little daughter to Doctor Li¡¯s house in the town with her husband Jiang Sang. Doctor Li had two sons and two daughters. His old wife had already passed away, and he lived in the pharmacy in town with his eldest son¡¯s family. His younger son set up a small pharmacy in the county town with his wife and children, and they were living pretty well. Both his daughters got married early, one stayed in the town, and the other moved to the county town. Doctor Li¡¯s little granddaughter, called Li Xihua, was seven years old this year. She was very happy to have a little sister of simr age in her house. She took Yingbao¡¯s hand and showed her the rooms. ¡°From now on you can live with me. The beds are already ready. You can sleep in this one and I in the one over there.¡± Li Xihua took Yingbao to two tables, ¡°My grandfather had someone bring two writing desks. You can have one, and I can have another. The brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones have all been prepared for you.¡± ¡°Also, there¡¯s this medicine box.¡± Li Xihua opened a medicine box on the table, saying ¡°There¡¯s a box of silver needles, five cupping tools, and a piece of stone needle.¡± Then she gave a small lock to Yingbao, ¡°Grandfather said the medicine box must always be carried by a person practicing medicine, otherwise, it should be locked and shouldn¡¯t be rummaged by strangers.¡± Noticing Yingbao staring at her, Li Xihua blushed and said, ¡°I I only had a look before, absolutely didn¡¯t rifle through your medicine box.¡± Yingbao took the lock and nodded, ¡°I know.¡± Seeing the little girl did not me her, Li Xihua smiled, pointing at the clothing box next to the bed, ¡°This clothing box is new, just for you to use.¡± ¡°Thank you, Sister Xihua.¡± Yingbao put her clothes into the clothing box and asked, ¡°Are we going to the pharmacy now?¡± She had met all members of the Li family, and now it was time to familiarize herself with the pharmacy environment. ¡°Okay.¡± Actually, Li Xihua didn¡¯t like the pharmacy very much. Her head would ache after smelling the medicinal smell for a long time. However, her parents insisted she learn medicine with her brothers, which was really annoying. The two girls arrived at the pharmacy, Li Xihua¡¯s older brother Li Lin was crushing medicine with a stone mill. Li Lin nodded at Yingbao then he continued doing his own thing. Behind the counter, there was a boy about ten years old, Doctor Li¡¯s second son, Li Qing, was using a steelyard to weigh medicine for a customer. Every time he weighed an herb, he divided it evenly into five paper bags, his technique was skillful and natural. Chapter 188 - 184: Back Again_1 Chapter 188: Chapter 184: Back Again_1 Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao nced over the medicine cabs; each cab was lined withpartments, eachpartmentbeled with three different herb names. Eachpartment housed three different herbs, their names written on thepartment¡¯s facade. Themonly used herbs were ced in the central and upper level of thepartments, enabling easy ess during prescriptions, such as Angelica, Peony, and Szechuan Lovage; Astragalus, Codonopsis, and Licorice, and so on. The lighter-weight, less frequently used herbs were housed in thepartments on the higher level, like Rose, Plum Blossom, and Buddha¡¯s Hand Flowers. Heavier-weight materials, such as mineral-based herbs, shell-based herbs, and charcoal-based herbs that could cause contamination, were down lower in thepartments. Examples include Maite, Ocher, Amethyst, Dragon Bone and Dragon Teeth, Oyster, and so on. The loosest and most frequently used herbs are housed in thergepartments at the lowest level of the cab. Such as Rush, Tangcai; Reed Root, Couchgrass Root; Artemisia, Lysimachia; Bamboo shavings, Mint, Mulberry Leaves, and Lotus Leaves, etc. Yingbao went through the herb names one by one, and Li Xihua pulled open eachpartment to show her the already sliced and prepared herbs. The herbs varied greatly in size and shape; they appeared easy to identify at first nce, but were actually not. So, Yingbao wanted to also see the whole, uncut herbs. ¡°Do you have any uncut herbs?¡± she asked. Li Xihua nodded, ¡°Yes, they are all in the storeroom. I¡¯ll show you tomorrow.¡± The next day, Yingbao formally began her apprenticeship. Starting with the bottom-most medicine cab, she learned to identify each herb¡¯s scent, color, and shape by smelling and examining beforeparing them to their uncut versions. By the end of the day, she was familiar with over twenty kinds of herbs. Comparing them with the prescriptions she had previously learned, she started to develop a clearer understanding. However, the variety of herbs here was vast, numbering in the hundreds to thousands. She would need repetitive practice and exposure to remember them all. As it was the harvest season and everyone was busy farming, the number of patients visiting the clinic was rather low. Li Xihua and her two older brothers had a lot of free time. Only Yingbao diligently kept record of the herb names in her notebook using charcoal. To reinforce her memory, she even sketched the shapes of the herbs and the paired prescriptions on the side. Doctor Li walked over, seeing the young girl¡¯s dedication, he couldn¡¯t help but stroke his beard and smile. His elder disciple had written him a letter, requesting to mentor this child, to teach her medicine and herb recognition. The letter also mentioned her intelligent nature and predicted a sessful future. Doctor Li had rushed over to the Jiang family to meet this little girl after receiving the letter. He was pleasantly surprised at her discipline and self-control at such a young age. ¡°Yingbao,e here.¡± Doctor Li sat down in a chair and beckoned Yingbao over, asking, ¡°What medical texts have you read?¡± Yingbao conscientiously replied: ¡°I¡¯ve read the Internal ssic, Etiology and Symptomatology, Shennong¡¯s Herbal ssic, Pulse ssic and A Thousand Gold Prescriptions.¡± Her master had said that these are all fundamental knowledge for studying medicine and should be memorized. She has only read through these books once, barely memorized a few, and only wrote down a few prescriptions. Doctor Li nodded, ¡°Well then, let me ask you a question. What does it mean, ¡®One who cures illnesses must understand the principles of heaven and earth¡¯?¡± Yingbao thought for a moment, then her face lit up. He wanted her to recite content from Suwen, the Theory of Yin and Yang in Nature, which she could do. ¡°The heavens are iplete in the northwest, therefore northwest is Yin; hence the right ear and eyes are not as observant as the left. The earth is iplete in the southeast, therefore southeast is Yang; hence the left hand and foot are not as strong as the right.¡± After reciting, Yingbao anxiously looked at Doctor Li, and asked, ¡°Is that correct?¡± Doctor Li smiled, nodding, ¡°Correct. Now, let¡¯s move on to the next question.¡± In this way, Yingbao was forced to recite several segments from Suwen. It wasn¡¯t until a few people rushed into the clinic seeking Doctor Li¡¯s help that the impromptu quiz ended. ¡°Doctor Li, my son has cut his arm. Could you take a look, please?¡± The middle-aged man was supporting a young man whose left arm was gashed by a sickle, and was bleeding profusely. Doctor Li hurriedly left the counter to examine the injury. He grabbed medicinal alcohol and a needle and thread from the medical box his grandson brought over. First, the wound was cleaned with medicinal wine, then the needle was warmed over a candle me, threaded with sheep¡¯s intestine, and used by Doctor Li to suture the wound of the young boy. After stitching, ayer of medicinal powder was applied, and only then was it wrapped up tightly with clean strips of cloth from the medicine box. ¡°I¡¯ll prescribe a flesh-renewing decoction for you. After returning home, brew it for him to drink, and rece the wound dressing on his arm tomorrow,¡± the old doctor instructed. Doctor Li bent over the table to write out the recipe, then handed it to the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man took the prescription with trembling hands and asked, ¡°How much does the medicine cost?¡± Li Lin replied, ¡°The external and internal medicine together will cost eighty-five coins.¡± ¡°Ah? That much¡± the middle-aged man said with difficulty, ¡°Doctor, I, I only brought thirty coins with me¡± Doctor Li waved his hand and said to his grandson, ¡°Prepare his medicine.¡± Then he looked at the middle-aged man, ¡°You can pay the remaining fifty-five coins after you¡¯ve sold your wheat.¡± The middle-aged man immediately bowed to Doctor Li, expressing his profound gratitude, ¡°Thank you, Doctor Li, I promise to bring the money after I¡¯ve sold the wheat.¡± Yingbao looked at the middle-aged man, then at Doctor Li, and quietly asked Li Xihua, ¡°Do you think he will really return with the money?¡± Li Xihua responded quietly, ¡°Sometimes they do, sometimes they don¡¯t.¡± Such an act was repeated every few days and she was ustomed to it. Yingbao pondered over it thoughtfully. It seemed that the que in the medical hall with the words ¡°healing the world¡± was not an empty im. The days passed by, filled with Yingbao learning to identify medicines and seeing patients. The summer harvest ended quickly, and the town began to liven up. Several portly grain merchants set up scales and measuring cups on both sides of the town¡¯s streets, and began to buy summer grain. Many vigers queued up to sell their baskets of wheat, arguing intermittently with the grain merchants. The bone of contention was that the grain merchants imed the cereals were not dry enough, or the grain had too much sand mixed in, and they wanted to lower the price. Whereas the vigers believed the grain merchants were fabricating reasons to sh prices, leading to both parties arguing fiercely. Fights almost broke out until Xiang Zhi intervened to broker peace. For a time, the town¡¯s streets were jammed with a chaotic crowd, blocking the roads and hindering the movement of several horse-drawn carriages. Yingbao, peering from the counter towards the excitement outside, suddenly noticed a few familiar figures. Chen Changping and his wife from the Han Family were stepping down from a carriage, with a little child in her arms. Two young girls also stepped down from another carriage ¨C it was Chen Tiantian and Chen Zhao. Not only that, but Old Chen Lao had also returned, apanied by his wife from the Feng Family. Chen Tiantian and Chen Zhao, supporting Feng, walked straight towards the medical hall. ¡°Doctor! Doctor Li!¡± Old Chen Lao hurried into the medical hall in two steps, calling out to Doctor Li, ¡°Quickly, take a look at my wife, she, she¡¯s vomiting violently!¡± Doctor Li stood up, nced outside, and said, ¡°Help her sit here, I¡¯ll examine her.¡± Chen Zhao and Chen Tiantian had Feng sit on the bench outside the counter, rolling up her sleeve to let the doctor feel her pulse. As they looked up, their eyes met with Yingbao¡¯s. ¡°You¡­¡± Chen Zhao momentarily didn¡¯t recognize that the girl in the blue robe was Yingbao. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Chen Zhao couldn¡¯t help but ask. Yingbao raised an eyebrow, ¡°I¡¯m an apprentice.¡± At this moment, Chen Changping and Han, who was holding the baby, also walked in. Yingbao casually nced at the baby in Han¡¯s arms. The child appeared to be several months old, and surprisingly, looked just like Chen Xu from her past life. Chapter 189 - 185: Body Strengthening Tea (Seeking monthly Chapter 189: Chapter 185: Body Strengthening Tea (Seeking monthly tickets, rmendation tickets)_1 Trantor:549690339 Han Family¡¯s face changed slightly at the sight of Yingbao, but she didn¡¯t say anything. She quietly held her baby and sat down on one side. As for Chen Changping, he ignored Yingbao entirely, focusing on seating himself on another bench to rest. Yingbao was confused as to why Chen Changping hade back. Wasn¡¯t it better for him to stay in Prefecture City? Why would he rush back in such hot weather? But the question that she didn¡¯t ask was raised by Doctor Li. After checking Madame Feng¡¯s pulse and feeling her forehead, Doctor Li said to Old Chen, ¡°Madame Feng has a heat stroke. Rest and drink some water, she should be fine. It¡¯s not a big problem.¡± As he said this, he instructed his grandchild to pour a few cups of tea for Old Chen and hispanions and to prepare a bowl of honeysuckle tea for Madame Feng. Old Chen thanked Doctor Li, saying, ¡°Thank you for your concern, Doctor Li.¡± Doctor Li waved his hand dismissively, curious, he asked: ¡°Brother Chen, have you just returned from Prefecture City?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Old Chen replied. ¡°My second son is preparing for the county examination next year and needs to register early in the County Government.¡± Not only did they need to register, but they also needed to ask the tutor to make arrangements for forming a group with five other candidates and requesting a government-supported student to vouch for them. These affairs must be nned in advance. If dyed, they might not find suitable candidates and a government-supported student who were willing to form a group. ¡°I see,¡± remarked Doctor Li. After chatting with Old Chen for a while, Doctor Li saw some patientsing into his clinic and went to tend to them. After drinking the honeysuckle tea, Madame Feng looked considerably better, and Old Chen bid farewell to Doctor Li. Before leaving, the members of the Chen Family nced at Yingbao. Chen Tiantian even gave her a friendly smile. Yingbao smiled back and waved to her. Chen Tiantian blinked, turned around and quickly left. At night, Yingbaoid in the mosquito, waiting for Li Xihua to fall asleep before she quietly entered her cave realm. Standing on the brown earth, she looked up at the apple tree rooted at the top of the cave and decided to climb and see if she could pick any Wuding mushrooms. Although she had been apprenticing at Doctor Li¡¯s clinic recently, she hadn¡¯t neglected her daily exercises. Climbing a tree wasn¡¯t difficult for her. Rubbing her hands together, Yingbao tied a rope around her shoulder, used her limbs and started climbing the tree. She quickly climbed to a tree fork and tied the rope to a solid branch. The other end of the rope was tied around her waist. Gathering Wuding mushrooms was important, but her life mattered more, so she made sure she was safe. She climbed the highest branch and soon reached the top of the cave. The branches here were thin and nearly couldn¡¯t bear her weight, but she still couldn¡¯t reach the mushrooms. Yingbao didn¡¯t rush. She just looked around at the top of the cave. The Wuding mushrooms here seemed different from those on the cave¡¯s walls. The leaves wererger and more translucent. Some of the leaves were even the size of an egg. There was a bud resembling a lotus tform in the middle of theserge leaves, releasing a faint fragrance. Yingbao pulled out the prepared shovel from her bag. Standing on her tiptoes, she reached out and tried to dig into therge leaves above her head. Several leaves and a bud fell off, two of whichnded directly on her face. Yingbao caught them, but then the thin branch under her feet suddenly broke. She fell down abruptly. The sudden incident shocked her, and she screamed. Fortunately, the branches and leaves buffered her fall, and the rope tied around her waist stopped her from falling to her death. After she climbed down slowly, she found several scratches on her face and body. She picked up the fallen Wuding mushrooms, dusted off the dirt, tasted them, and found that their taste was simr to that of their smaller counterparts. Yingbao quickly finished a whole leaf in a few bites, then stowed the rest in her pocket before cautiously descending the steps down to the gourd boat. After leaving the cavern, she curiously found the scratches on her body were gone. A few dayster, it was Yingbao¡¯s day off. Jiang Sang and Chunniang came in a horse-drawn carriage to pick up their daughter and do some shopping at the market. On the way, Chunniang and her daughter discussed the recent happenings of the Chen Changping family. ¡°The Chen family has been building a house recently and Chen Laoshuan has even bought lots of good farnd from neighbouring viges, all of them top-quality paddy fields.¡± Those were the fields that her daughter had declined to buy, and they had all been snapped up by the Chen family. ¡°Han Family had a son, named Chen Xubao.¡± Chunniang frowned, ¡°Yesterday, Chen Feng¡¯s wife and Han¡¯s wife brought their two girls to our house with a bunch of gifts, apologizing to your grandparents for past misunderstandings. They promised to have a good rtionship with us from now on and even suggested their daughter Chen Zhao be Dani¡¯s sworn sister.¡± Yingbao was speechless, ¡°Who proposed that?¡± Chunniang: ¡°Who else would it be? It was that Chen Feng¡¯s wife. She was crying and repenting in front of your grandparents, saying all her past actions were due to confusion. Phew! Fortunately, your grandparents didn¡¯t agree. They told your father afterward, who was quite furious.¡± Such bizarre people are rare. Fortunately, they at least had the decency not to mention Yingbao, otherwise she and Sang would definitely have had to teach them a lesson. Seeing that her daughter remained silent, Chunniang pulled her into an embrace, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Baobao. It doesn¡¯t matter if theye back. Now that Han¡¯s wife has a son, who she treasures greatly, she wouldn¡¯t dare to harass our family anymore.¡± Everyone has their weak points. Han¡¯s wife¡¯s weak point is her son, so she will probably not dare to do anything to Yingbao anymore. Yingbao nodded: ¡°Hmm.¡± Han¡¯s wife had finally achieved her wish to have a son, thus it seemed she wouldn¡¯t stir up any more trouble. The son, Chen Xubao, was now seven or eight months old, and seemed to truly be Chen Changping¡¯s offspring. In this case, she herself seemed to be of no use to Han¡¯s wife anymore, so there should be no further involvement with her family, right? That was excellent. Yingbao quietly let out a sigh of relief. When they got home, two dogs came sprinting from afar. They pounced towards Yingbao, almost knocking her over. Jiang Wu also ran up, putting on a serious face and asking, ¡°Have you been cking off with your martial arts training?¡± Yingbao pinched his cheek andughed, ¡°I¡¯ve been diligent. If you don¡¯t believe me, let¡¯s have a match.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯spete!¡± Jiang immediately took his stance, intending to spar with his sister. Yingbao removed her small bag, warmed up by circling around Jiang Wu, then suddenly extended her leg to swipe him down. ¡°Ha ha, you lost!¡± Yingbaoughed triumphantly. Jiang Wu, red-faced with frustration, scrambled up from the ground, ¡°You are not adhering to martial ethics and yed dirty!¡± ¡°Regardless of ying dirty or not, I won in the end,¡± Yingbao decided to teach her brother a lesson by example, ¡°Once on the battlefield, the one who wins gets to live. Who cares about martial ethics?¡± Before she finished speaking, Jiang Wu used a grappling technique to flip her over, causing her tond hard on her back. ¡°Ha ha ha!¡± It was Jiang Wu¡¯s turn to gloat, he stood with his hands on his hips andughed ¡°This is called ¡®a taste of your own medicine¡¯!¡± Yingbao, grimacing while climbing up, pointed at Jiang Wu, ¡°Good job! I won¡¯t share the good stuff with youter! Hmph!¡± ¡°What good stuff?¡± Jiang Wu was curious. Seeing his sister paying him no attention, he quickly said, ¡°I¡¯ll allow you to knock me down one more time, okay? What¡¯s the good stuff?¡± Yingbao picked up her bag and went into the house, ¡°Body Strengthening Tea.¡± Upon hearing this, Jiang Wu immediately followed her, ¡°Really, Body Strengthening Tea?¡± He still remembered the tea his sister made him drink every night when he had just started practicing martial arts. It had a faint fragrance and left him refreshed. By the next day, his bodily pain and soreness werepletely gone, and his stamina was gradually increasing. Butter, for some reason, the tea was no longer there. He asked Yingbao about it, and she simply said it wasn¡¯t ready yet and asked him to drink another tea, called Health Tea instead. Although the Health Tea was somewhat useful, it was not as noticeably effective as the Body Strengthening Tea. Chapter 190 - 186: marrow cleansing (Seeking monthly tickets, Chapter 190: Chapter 186: marrow cleansing (Seeking monthly tickets, rmendation tickets)_1 Trantor:549690339 ¡°Give me a bottle then.¡± Jiang Wu murmured behind his sister, ¡°When we get back, I¡¯ll teach you a new set of moves that Master just taught me.¡± Yingbao turned her head, ¡°Alright. Wait for me outside, I¡¯ll get it for you.¡± She practiced her basic skills morning and evening every day, but she was only slightly proficient in actualbat moves. This time, the doctor Li gave her three days off, so she could spend time at home to spar with her brother. The Body Strengthening Tea was made from ground giant leaf Ganoderma, mixed with honey and Pupil Spring. Yingbao had taken a small sip before and found it quite good, so she prepared a few porcin bottles to give to her two brothers, one bottle each, and it came in handy now. The porcin bottle filled with Body Strengthening Tea is about the size of an adult¡¯s palm. If you take a sip each day, it canst for about ten days, just enough to hold until her next break. She came out of the house and handed the porcin bottle to her brother Jiang Wu, ¡°Here, take a sip each day, make sure to drink it before bed, so you¡¯ll have energy for training the next day.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jiang Wu took it and ran off. That evening, Yingbao went to her uncle¡¯s house for dinner with her parents and brother, because her aunt had returned from the county seat to her parents¡¯ house, bringing her sixteen-year-old son, Zhang Yukun. Two dining tables were set in the yard, adults were dining at the bigger table while the girls and younger children were at the smaller one. Looking around, Yingbao saw that besides her eldest cousin Jiang Cheng and Yuanbao Jiang Jie, the rest were present, even her second cousin Jiang Quan was there. The dinner was cooked by her uncle¡¯s wife and second uncle¡¯s wife, it had fish and meat as well as tofu, vegetables, green bean sprouts, fried small fish and shrimp, and pancakes, it was veryvish. ¡°Dad, are you really sending Dacheng to do business? He¡¯s so young and he hasn¡¯t even gotten married and settled down yet, what if he loses money in business?¡± Jiang Yunniang served a piece of mutton to old man Jiang,ining, ¡°I¡¯ve been to the shop with his uncle. What do they sell there? It all looks so messy, and we didn¡¯t see a single customer in all that time.¡± Before old man Jiang could speak, Jiang Quan interjected, ¡°Aunt, our shop is doing well, it¡¯s just that we ran out of goods that day.¡± Zhou Family, sitting beside him, lightly tapped his arm to signal him not to speak. Jiang Yunniang red at her second nephew, ¡°You guys are just selling fruit, right? Once all the fruits are off the market, what else can you sell? Are you nning to wait until next year to open the business?¡± Jiang Quan: ¡°We also have dried fruits. Yingbao suggested that we sell our family¡¯s golden and snow fungus in the shop. Worstes to worst, we still have the rouge and face powder made by my second aunt.¡± Yanru lowered her head in embarrassment when she heard her name, not daring to look at her oldest cousin sister. Jiang Yunniang snorted, ¡°What does a child know? You guys are actually taking advice from a five-year-old.¡± Yingbao, who was eating fried shrimp at the small table, turned to look at her aunt, only to hear her father say, ¡°I listen to whatever my daughter says too. The reason our Jiang family can grow golden fungus and cotton is also because of my daughter¡¯s remarks.¡± Jiang Yunniang¡¯s face darkened a bit, she defended herself, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean that, Sang, why are you making things up?¡± Old man Jiang coughed, ¡°Yunniang, let Dacheng and Erquan handle the business of the shop, and we just need to take care of thend at home. Even if we make a loss, it¡¯s not a big deal. Dacheng is nning to build a mushroom shed over there. When he has time, he¡¯ll grow some golden fungus. That would also bring in some silver to supplement our ie every year.¡± ¡°Why bother then?¡± Jiang Yunniang said. ¡°Just let Dacheng cultivate the golden fungus. That way, we can earn more than a hundred taels of silver a year. As for the shop, why not let someone else run it? Wouldn¡¯t that kill two birds with one stone?¡± Jiang Sang, who was picking up food, paused, and asked his eldest sister, ¡°Are you suggesting we rent out the shop?¡± Jiang Yunniangughed, ¡°Oh, with that location, nobody would even rent it for a tael of silver a month.¡± Jiang Quan was a little upset, he was about to retort, but his mother pulled his arm. ¡°Eat your food.¡± Zhou Family said in a low voice, chiding him. She picked up arge piece of tofu and put it in her son¡¯s bowl. Jiang Yunniang continued, ¡°Dad, why not let Yukun run the shop? He has been doing business with his dad for several years, managing a small shop is nothing for him. In the future, we can also let him sell the fruits we grow at home. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be able to sell them better than Dacheng.¡± Jiang Lao was choking after hearing what his daughter said, and it took several drinks of thin gruel to swallow the pancake in his mouth. Jiang Liu gave her daughter a stare and annoyed said: ¡°Yunniang, the shop is Sang¡¯s, and the fruit trees were nted by Yingbao. The reason why Dacheng and Erquan were sent is also for your brothers to help your two nephews.¡± If Yukun would manage it, what would her grandsons do then? And besides, how would the money earned be divided? Jiang Yunniang said: ¡°Mother, raising Yukun¡¯s operation does help Dacheng too, right? Our fruit trees only yield once a season. The shop would not like to be busy for half a year and idle for half. Should it just be idle for the second half of the year? Isn¡¯t the shop just wasted then?¡± Jiang Sang restrained his anger and asked, ¡°From your perspective, if your family managed the shop, would it not be wasted?¡± ¡°Yes, when the timees, our family could sell goods there and wouldn¡¯t it make the shop more vibrant?¡± Jiang Yunniang said. Jiang Sang: ¡°Elder sister, if the shop sells your goods, how much rent do you n to pay?¡± ¡°Rent?¡± Jiang Yunniang looked surprised and turned to Sang: ¡°Haven¡¯t I told you? That ce is very remote. Who would pay rent to rent such a ce?¡± Jiang Sang wanted to say something, but he was stopped by Chunniang who said, ¡°Let¡¯s eat, why talk about this at the table?¡± The shop was theirs. If they didn¡¯t agree, then whoever said anything was simply talking nonsense. Zhang Yukun saw his uncle¡¯s unhappy face so he quickly said, ¡°Mother, the food is getting cold. Let¡¯s discuss this matter after dinner.¡± It was then that Jiang Yunniang stopped her impulsive speech and started eating. After dinner, Zhou quickly ushered the two sisters-inw and children out, while she and Dani cleaned up the dishes. Jiang Yunniang wanted to talk to Chunniang, but when she turned around, Chunniang was gone, so she decided to rest first and to persuade her the following day. The next day, at the break of dawn, Yingbao was awakened by a cry. Recognizing that it was her mother¡¯s voice saying: ¡°Xiaowu, what¡¯s happened to you? How did you get this way?¡± Yingbao jolted awake, leaned on the window to take a look, and was also taken aback. She saw a boy standing outside the window, ck all over, gazing in with bright eyes. ¡°Sister, why am I covered in ck oil?¡± He stretched out his arms for his sister to see. The phrase ¡®washing the marrow¡¯ shed through Yingbao¡¯s mind, she asked, ¡°How much Body Strengthening Medicine did you drinkst night?¡± After eating arge piece of Five Tripod Leaf one day, she had the same experience, but not as severe as Jiang Wu. She thought it was because she sweated a lot due to the heat. Jiang Wu shyly said, ¡°I I drank it all.¡± The honey water mixed with the medicine was too good to drink, fragrant, and sweet, he took a sip and wanted a second sip, but identally ended up drinking it all. At that time, he felt warm all over and was sofortable that he fell asleep immediately, but when he woke up, he found that he had changed like this. Yingbao was speechless, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to wash up?¡± ¡°Mom is heating the water.¡± Jiang Wu nced at his sister, seeing that she had no intention of ming him, and then rxed. ¡°Sister, am I poisoned?¡± He was worried that he was poisoned from taking too much medicine, so he didn¡¯t dare to tell his mother that he had drunk the Body Strengthening Medicine his sister made. ¡°Do you feel unwell anywhere?¡± Yingbao asked. Jiang Wu: ¡°No, I feel very well. I feel like I can run ten rounds around the vige.¡± Usually, he was too tired to run more than two rounds. ¡°Then you¡¯re not poisoned.¡± Yingbao pinched her nose and waved at her brother: ¡°Please stand aside, it stinks.¡± Chapter 191 - 187: Damn Dog_1 Chapter 191: Chapter 187: Damn Dog_1 Trantor: 549690339 Chunniang boiled threerge pots of hot water and used a basketful of nt ash to thoroughly scrub her son clean. Seeing her son¡¯s body all red and tender, she asked worryingly, ¡°Did I scrub too hard and break the skin?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m off to my master¡¯s ce.¡± Jiang Wu quickly dressed and dashed out of the courtyard. In the west room, Yingbao was examining a fewrge transparent leaves before crushing them into a paste using a stone mortar. She mixed in some honey and water from the Pupil Spring, thus creating the Body Strengthening Tea. After some thought, she added some rose juice to color the concoction red, then poured it into several porcin bottles. With the addition of colour, Jiang Wu probably wouldn¡¯t mistake it for honey tea anymore. Finally, she picked up a lotus-shaped bud, sniffed it and was overwhelmed by an indescribable aroma that was even stronger than the leaves. After some thought, Yingbao popped the bud into her mouth, chewed it, and swallowed. A warmth then spread from her chest to her limbs, causing her head to shiver. Her vision went ck, and she copsed onto the bed, her consciousness seemingly pulled into another space. It was a space simr to a dreand or the inside of a glowing object, filled with thick fog. Before hery arge, glimmering book. The book then opened slowly. Before Yingbao could get a good look, the words transformed into streams of light, rushing into her mind and assaulting her memory with a flood of information. Many faces shed before her eyes, including her adult younger brother, herself, Chen Tiantian, Chen Zhao, Wen Tian, Wen Jiao, and many others she didn¡¯t recognise. Among these scenes, she saw herself getting married to an unclearly characterized martial general. After their wedding, the general was extremely cold to her and seldom returned home, preferring to stay in his own yard when he did. Later, the emperor died, and his six-year-old son seeded him, lifting the Empress to the position of Empress Dowager. Soon after, various vassal kings rebelled. In order to quell the rebellion, the Empress Dowager and her supporters conferred the rank of Duke Chu on the general and allowed him to handle state affairs. Due to his achievements, his rank was raised to the King of Chu, also taking up the role of Secretariat. A few years passed and peace was restored. The general often frequented the inner court of the Imperial Pce and would often not return home at night. One Mid-Autumn Festival, the general was invited to the pce for a feast. Late at night, a group of eunuchs from the pce bearingnterns arrived at Yingbao¡¯s residence with a pot of wine, ordering her to drink it. Yingbao, knowing the wine was likely poisoned, struggled and refused, but the eunuchs forced it down her throat. She then died. Afterwards, Yingbao saw the general never marrying for the rest of his life, without any offspring, conscientiously assisting the young Emperor, and always around the Empress Dowager Yingbao¡¯s consciousness slowly returned, and she opened her eyes to find herself still in bed. She could still clearly remember the contents of the book. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is Qian Gong Tian Jiao,¡± she said. Indeed, she was merely a throwaway character exploited by the protagonists. The novel mainly told the story of the female lead, Chen Tiantian. It described how her family met with disaster, how her mother Han Yueniang remarried, and temporarily sent her to live with her aunt and uncle. The female lead, Chen Tiantian, was kind and sweet, often bullied by her cousin Chen Zhao. Eventually, Tiantian¡¯s real mother managed to find a firm footing in her new family and had Tiantian return to the Prefecture City. It was here that she met and fell in love with the male lead. Among the narrative were also entangled feelings involving a number of male and female supporting characters who were frequently causing misunderstandings between the male and female leads. One year, Tiantian was chosen in the selection process and entered the Imperial Pce to serve as a concubine to the ailing prince. But with her intelligence, beauty, and kindness, she quickly won the prince¡¯s favor and gave birth to his only child. The plot went on to describe the death of the Emperor, the ascension of the new Emperor, and how he too would soon pass away, leaving only a mother and child. The Emperor had but one son, the son of Chen Tiantian. Therefore, with the help of the Xiaoshi n, her mother¡¯s birth family, the six-year-old son ascended the throne, and Chen Tiantian, as was only natural, became the Empress Dowager Yingbao rubbed her temples and sat up, infuriated at the plotline in her head, pounding the covers in anger. Why should she have to suffer the indignation of that lousy man oaf? She was even killed by that couple in the end. The ending of the book ridiculously imed that they had gone through many hardships and finally got together, everyone praising them for their talent and beauty, made for each other. What a load of rubbish! And that damn main male character, she¡¯d have to go mad to marry such a man! What¡¯s the name of that bastard again? Why can¡¯t she remember? Yingbao tapped her forehead, trying hard to recollect the plot. But no matter how much she tried, she could not remember who that person was, including what kind of family he had, she had apletely nk impression. How could this be? She remembered all the other characters, including the supporting, male and female characters, but couldn¡¯t recollect his household. Was this an intended pitfall in the book¡¯s setting to catch her off guard? Hmph! She doesn¡¯t need to remember, and she won¡¯t marry anyone in the future! But why is the plot different from her previous life? Is it because she wasn¡¯t taken back by the Chen Family this time, so she was given a different role? Yingbao died at the age of 21 in herst life, and this time, the plot had arranged for her to also die from poison at 21. This damn novel really didn¡¯t give her a chance to live. But she wouldn¡¯t believe it! She won¡¯t get married in this life, she¡¯s curious to see if she would die at 21 this time around. ¡°Chunniang! Chunniang!¡± Aunty Jiang Yunniang came in from outside, knocking on the windowttice and calling out, ¡°Are you at home?¡± Yingbao emotionlessly pushed open the window, ¡°Aunty, mother is not at home.¡± Every morning, Chunniang would take Youyou to water and weed in the vegetable garden, or sometimes visit the pepper garden. When she was not at home, it was Chuchu and her mother who took on the tasks in the fruit and vegetable gardens including picking peppers and drying pepper seeds. Every now and then, her family could harvest over ten pounds of pepper seeds, the profit wasn¡¯t inferior to golden ears. Jiang Yunniang studied Yingbao for a moment and suddenly asked, ¡°Yingbao, you are five years old this year, aren¡¯t you?¡± Yingbao nodded. ¡°Five is not young, you can start helping out at home. See what time it is? The sun is high up in the sky and you¡¯re still in bed.¡± Jiang Yunniangined. ¡°My Hong Xiao is only six, and she can help at home with washing dishes now¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡± Just as she was speaking, Chunniang came back from outside with a basket of cleaned vegetables. She heard her elder sister speaking ill of Yingbao and was displeased, so she hurriedly asked, ¡°Sister, have you eaten yet?¡± Jiang Yunniang turned around, smiling, ¡°I¡¯m back. I ate at mom and dad¡¯s. I was just about toe to talk to you.¡± Chunniang: ¡°Oh, we haven¡¯t eaten yet.¡± With that, she headed towards the kitchen. Jiang Yunniang also followed, looking around at the kitchen in her third brother¡¯s house and remarked, ¡°Your kitchen is really nice. You even have a sink for washing dishes. Hey? There¡¯s also a bamboo pipe underneath, the dirty water can flow out of the wall. Who thought of this idea? I will let ng make one when I go back.¡± Chunniang didn¡¯t say anything but just cut the cleaned vegetables, mixed some dough, and lit the fire to cook dumplings. Jiang Yunniang sat down on the stool, gathered her thoughts and asked her sister-inw, ¡°Chunniang, how did it go with the shop? Have you discussed it with Sang?¡± ¡°Sang and I don¡¯t have any discussions about it. The shop belongs to Baobao. If she lets her first cousin and second cousin help her manage it, it¡¯s a matter of her being kind to her siblings. Sang and I shouldn¡¯t interfere with that.¡± Chunniang tossed a few stalks of firewood into the stove then fetched some eggs. She nned to add them to the soup once the water was boiling. Jiang Yunniang¡¯s face darkened, ¡°Chunniang, no disrespect, but you guys are spoiling the kid too much. It¡¯s such a big shop, and you let her, a few years old child, mess with it. What does she know?¡± Chapter 192 - 188: Pepper Vine_1 Chapter 192: Chapter 188: Pepper Vine_1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°Sis, we¡¯ve already agreed that the shop belongs to Baobao. She paid for it with her own money. Henceforth, it will be her dowry. Sang has made it clear that no one else shouldy im to it.¡± Chunniang cracked six eggs into the pot and then used a pair of chopsticks to stir the dough pieces. ¡°¡± Jiang Yunniang abruptly stood up, fuming with anger, and ran back to the house of the eldest Jiang brother. As soon as she saw her mother Jiang Liu, she startedining: ¡°Mother, aren¡¯t you going to do something about the mess that your third son¡¯s family is making?¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on now?¡± Jiang Liu frowned, ¡°What chaos has Sang caused?¡± Jiang Yunniang pulled her mother into the house, holding onto her sleeve and whispering, ¡°Chunniang even dared to say that the shop is Baobao¡¯s dowry. Tell me, has our third brother¡¯s family lost their minds?¡± Jiang Liu brushed off her daughter¡¯s hand and shed her an angry look, ¡°What a fuss. The shop has always been Baobao¡¯s. Sang said that the money to buy the shop was earned by Baobao herself. What¡¯s wrong with it being her dowry?¡± ¡°How much money could a little child earn?¡± She suddenly remembered that Baobao seemed to be growing adventures on her own and quickly changed the topic, ¡°Even if she earned all the money to buy the shop, she isn¡¯t our family¡¯s bloodline. You people, letting her have so much money¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Jiang Liu got angry, pointing at her daughter, ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s confused! I don¡¯t want to hear this kind of talk again. Baobao is our Jiang family¡¯s child, no one can argue about bloodline!¡± Jiang Yunniang was startled by her mother¡¯s harsh words. She stared at her in a daze, taking a while to recover. Jiang Liu let out a sigh. She was still concerned about her daughter, and spoke softly, ¡°Yunniang, if there¡¯s nothing else, you should go back. Do not mention the shop again. If your father heard what you just said, he might beat you with a stick.¡± Jiang Yunniang¡¯s eyes became red instantly, and she felt wronged. She was merely speaking the truth, but it wasn¡¯t eptable? Just like throwing water out, once a daughter gets married, she¡¯s no longer taken seriously at her maternal home? The more she thought about it, the sadder she became. Jiang Yunniang suddenly got up to leave the house, shouting for her son, ¡°Yukan! Yukan! Get the mule cart, we¡¯re going home!¡± When the eldest Jiang sister-inw saw that her sister was going to leave, she didn¡¯t stop her. Instead, she said, ¡°Just wait a moment, Sis, I¡¯ll pull some radishes for you.¡± It was the season when the radishes were tender and fresh. They were crispy and sweet when eaten raw. The eldest sister was a city dweller and had no such things at home. Hence, she would take some home every time she visited her maternal home. ¡°There¡¯s no need!¡± Jiang Yunniang tly refused. Once her son had the mule cart ready, she climbed up and left immediately. Jiang Liu watched her daughter go with a sigh. Her good daughter, who was not usually like this, has be so calcting since she started doing business in the county town with her son-inw. Now she¡¯s even calcting her own brother. Well, it¡¯s a good thing that Sang didn¡¯t hear what his sister just said, otherwise it would¡¯ve been a mess. After breakfast, Baobao went to the orchard with her second cousin. As Jiang Quan climbed the tree to pick apples, he began to discuss the shop with his little cousin. The aunt made sense, once the apples and pears were sold out, the shop¡¯s business would surely plummet. Because not many people bought preserved fruit or gold wonder nts, sometimes they wouldn¡¯t sell a pound for several days. If it weren¡¯t for the fresh fruit from home to attract customers, the shop would be deserted. ¡°Baobao, what are you going to do when the fruits are sold out?¡± Jiang Quan asked anxiously. Baobao put the picked apples in the basket, ¡°Things will get straight when the boat gets to the pier. You don¡¯t need to worry.¡± At worst, they could set up a wonton stall at the door of the shop. There would always be a way. However, this was simply ast resort. She wouldn¡¯t take that step unless there was no other choice. Although the food stall seems profitable, it merely provides a subsistence living. It doesn¡¯t earn as much as growing golden ears. But the shop couldn¡¯t be left idle, because a city tax has to be paid every month. If the payment is overdue, the tax collector could seize the shelves in your shop. The golden ears weren¡¯t easy to sell in the shop, as those who could afford it would go to therge pharmacies to buy, rather than her tiny, unknown shop. With that in mind, she was better off dealing with popr merchandise, like the rouge and fragrant powder made by her aunt. She had many flowers and trees in her fairy residence; there were so many flowers that she couldn¡¯t finish picking them. It would be a waste to let them fall down untouched. If things get tough, she could make fragrant medicinal pills for sale. There were many shops in Prefecture City selling medicinal pills, like ammoniacum, sobriety, patchouli, clove, frankincense, agarwood, sandalwood, and so on. These pills could be made for consumption or to be worn as essories. Across from her shop was the county school, and every schr there used fragrance. For anything from a headache, fever, stomachache, or diarrhea, they would first use the medicinal pills they had on hand, only then would they go to the pharmacy for treatment if they still weren¡¯t feeling better. She had the Pupil Spring, from which she could grow many fragrant flower materials; she could even grow some medicinal herbs, as long as she could get the seeds. If worst came to worst, she could purchase medicinal herbs from the stores, add just a little bit of ingredients, and the medicinal pills produced would be guaranteed to cure the ailment. After filling severalrge baskets with apples and a basket with pears, and picking two baskets of fragrant melons from her vegetable garden, only then did Jiang Quan load the baskets onto the carriage, gged down hispanions, and they all headed to the county town together. Before leaving, she touched the gourds hanging on the fence of her vegetable garden, muttering to herself, ¡°They should be well grown in another month and can be sold in the county town then.¡± Last year, Jiang Quan made quite a bit of money from selling gourds. That¡¯s why he nted a lot more this year by the edge of his vegetable garden, waiting for the gourds to ripen so he could sell them. Li Dao and Wang Dashan have also nted quite a number. However, their gourds were growing slower than Jiang Family¡¯s, and the reason was unclear. Once Jiang Quan left, Yingbao went to find Chuchu. These days, Chuchu had been picking peppers with Erni and the others. After the peppers were picked, they had to be sent to the Chuanhe riverbank to soak and remove the skin. When Yingbao wasn¡¯t home, Chuchu would live with Erni. They would eat, sleep, and work together. Arriving at the pepper field with the two dogs, she saw her father and several vigers pruning the pepper vines. They seemed to be preparing for nt propagation. ¡°Sang, we agreed, a hundred coins for a seedling is a hundred coins, but you must ensure that they will survive after nting,¡± said Chen Changsheng, the head of West Vige. ¡°We need five hundred seedlings, a total of fifty guan, and you won¡¯t be a penny short.¡± Jiang Sang raised his eyebrows and said, ¡°What, you want to take the goods without paying? Then forget about buying. There¡¯s a whole line of vigers waiting to buy.¡± On hearing this, the vigers of West Vige became anxious and shot Chen Changsheng an angry look, ¡°Chen Uncle, could you please keep your mouth shut? If the seedlings don¡¯t survive, we will discuss it then. Speaking about it now is just looking for trouble.¡± Seeing that Jiang Sang had actually stopped, Chen Changsheng quickly said, ¡°Look, the money is here. You can start pruning.¡± He pointed to a bag next to him, ¡°The fifty taels of silver are all inside.¡± He was really afraid that Jiang Sang would be stubborn and refuse to give the West Vige pepper vines. The vigers of his vige had been waiting for a long time. They couldn¡¯t nt golden ears or cotton seeds, so they also couldn¡¯t miss out on the pepper vines. Seeing West Vige bing the poorest vige in the whole township, Chen Changsheng was really anxious. Li Dayong and Li Eryong, who were with Jiang Sang, immediately went to check the amount of silver. After counting the silver in the bag, they nodded at Jiang Sang, ¡°It¡¯s just fifty taels.¡± Only then did Jiang Sang begin pruning the vines. Yingbao admired her father. He could always find a way to earn money with every single crop at home. In fact, she still had many pepper vines herself. If she could sell each chopstick-length vine for a hundred coins, she would be rich even without managing a shop. Chapter 193 - 189: Fighting_1 Chapter 193: Chapter 189: Fighting_1 Trantor:549690339 Jiang Sang and the brothers Li Dayong and Li Eryong quickly trimmed five hundred pepper vines, and handed them to Chen Changsheng and the others. He generously gave them an extra ten and then pocketed the silver. Turning his head and seeing his little daughter looking on, he asked with a smile, ¡°Have you finished picking the apples?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Yingbao looked around the pepper garden, noting that the vines were somewhat thin. She nned to water them with the Pupil Springter. ¡°Dad, who else wants to buy pepper seedlings?¡± Jiang Sang thought for a while and said, ¡°There are quite a lot. The vige chiefs from several surrounding viges havee to make appointments, but our pepper vines are not quite enough.¡± However, they couldn¡¯t possibly strip their own pepper vines bare, so they could only have those people wait in line until new vines grew back. Yingbao nodded and looked around. When her father and the others were pruning the vines, they pruned intermittently. At most, they cut two small roots from each pepper nt, so it wouldn¡¯t affect their own pepper nts from flowering and fruiting. Fortunately, like the kudzu vine, the pepper vine is a perennial vine and can grow for many years, so she wasn¡¯t worried about having to re-seed next year. The question was, how should she take out the pepper vine seedlings and give them to her father to sell? She was short on money. Not only her, but also her parents. They had recently bought a house and a store in the county town, and along with refurbishment, making furniture, shelves, counters, etc., and purchasing a lot of household items, they had almost spent their savings. Even though her parentster sold a batch of golden ears, all the proceeds were invested in the house in the county town. Her dividends with her older cousin were also sessively spent in the store. Because the straw houses in the back of the store needed rebuilding, she wanted to change the low and damp straw houses into severalrger brick houses, which were convenient for living and storing goods. Therefore, her monthly dividend was used for her older cousin to help her buy bricks and tiles and save them in the yard, waiting for construction to begin when enough materials were gathered. Coming out of the pepper garden, she saw several children practicing horse stance in the martial arts training area not far away. Her younger brother, Jiang Wu, was already practicing with Master Zhang on the Plum Pile. Yingbao watched from a distance with her two puppies. Zhang Meng¡¯s punches were fast, but Jiang Wu¡¯s evasion was not slow, and he even sneakily kicked Zhang Meng. But because he was small and his legs were short, it didn¡¯t hurt at all. Yingbao watched for a while, then turned her eyes to the children in the field. There was five-year-old Chen Bozhong, and several unfamiliar kids who were probably from neighboring viges. Huzi was not there, he had to be at the academy to learn literacy; it was only in the afternoon that he had time to practice martial arts. Her brother practiced martial arts in the morning and went to the academy in the afternoon. The two brothers alternated, so Master Zhang Meng had an easier time teaching one-on-one. ¡°Sister!¡± Jiang Wu finished practicing with Master Zhang, jumped down, and ran towards his sister. ¡°Let¡¯s practice against each other.¡± The little boy made an attack posture towards his sister. ¡°Okay!¡± Yingbao took off her bag, threw it to Dahuang and Xiaohei to look after, and started to grapple with her brother. Due to her age and height advantage, coupled with her experience in dance from her previous life, her speed and reaction were not weak. She was on par with Jiang Wu, and even slightly took the upper hand. But after all, she had not practiced much of two-person fighting, and in the end was still knocked down by her brother. ¡°Not bad, not bad!¡± Master Zhang came over and asked with a smile, ¡°Do you want to learn too?¡± Yingbao nodded: ¡°Yes, but I also have to go to the medicinal hall, so I can onlye to learn asionally.¡± Zhang Meng: ¡°The purpose of girls learning martial arts is just for self-defense, so you can learn more defensive moves. ording to Jiang Wu, you practice basic moves every day?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll teach you a few defensive moves.¡± Zhang Meng pulled Jiang Wu over, pointing out on his body, ¡°Women are not strong, so aim for the opponent¡¯s vital parts to defeat him in one strike.¡± As he spoke, he gestured with Jiang Wu, ¡°The vital parts of the opponent are their head, throat, chest, abdomen, ribs, and groin. A hit at these parts will temporarily incapacitate them.¡± He demonstrated punches, kicks, palm chops, knee strikes, and elbow jabs on Jiang Wu. Then he signaled to Yingbao, ¡°You try to train with Jiang Wu for a bit.¡± Thus, Yingbao and Jiang Wu practiced each move at the martial arts training ground until noon when Chuchu called them for lunch. Several children from neighboring viges brought their lunch because of the long distance. It was usually Chuchu who helped with the cooking. Jiang Wu sometimes ate here, but today his sister came home. Their mother made delicious food at home, so naturally, neither he nor his sister would stay to eat. ¡°Yingbao, stay and try the fried loaches I made.¡± Chuchu tried to persuade her to stay. Yingbao nced at Chuchu and then at Zhang Meng, shaking her head, ¡°No, I will eat at home.¡± Seeing Yingbao was insistent about not staying, Chuchu picked two leaves and wrapped them around some fried loaches and gave them to Yingbao and Jiang Wu. ¡°They¡¯re fried inrd, so they¡¯re delicious.¡± In the morning, she had gone with Dani and Erni to pick the peppers. They had also caught many loaches in a small mud hole by the edge of Chuanhe with a bamboo basket. They had even given some to Mrs. Chun on their way back. Yingbao didn¡¯t stand on ceremony. She epted the food and ate it as she headed home. Looking back at Chuchu, she saw her and Zhang Meng sitting on opposite sides of the table, eating. Chuchu was even asionally picking food with her chopsticks and putting it in Zhang Meng¡¯s bowl, which he received without hesitation. There were several kids sitting on their left and right. The scene was just like a family. The sixteen-year-old girl was stunningly beautiful and looked quite matched with Zhang Meng at the moment. This Zhang Meng was surprisingly younger-looking after shaving his beard, apparently only around twenty-eight or twenty-nine. He was handsome and had a heroic air about him, but he was minus several fingers on his right hand. Yingbao walked back home pondering. Mrs. Chun had prepared the meal and was going to call her children. Seeing them enter the house, she served the food under the grapevine canopy in the yard and called them to eat. Today, she had made braised fish, shrimp fried with leek, fried loaches, winter melon soup, a few salted eggs cut open, and a bowl of white rice. Yingbao and her brother washed their faces and hands, sat down at the small dining table, and took the bowls and chopsticks handed over by their mother. ¡°After eating, I need to soak some soybeans. I n to cook beans and sun-dry the paste tonight.¡± As she ate, Mrs. Chun told her husband, ¡°When you have time, go to town and buy more salt. I¡¯ll need it when I make the paste.¡± Jiang Sang said, ¡°Didn¡¯t I buy salt yesterday?¡± ¡°That little salt is not nearly enough. I want to sun-dry more, so we can eat it until next spring.¡± ¡°Oh, alright, I¡¯ll go in the afternoon.¡± After finishing the meal, Mrs. Chun cleaned the dishes and utensils. Yingbao wiped the table with a rag and fed the two puppies some winter melon soup and rice. Mrs. Chun washed the pots and dishes, then picked out the dirt and rotten beans from the soybeans under the grapevine canopy. Yingbao also pulled out a stool and sat down to help her pick, listening to her mother chatter. ¡°Last time I went to the county to see Xiaojie, he asked why you didn¡¯t go to see him.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll go back and tell Grandpa Li to arrange my rest days on the first or fifteenth of the month. By then, I can go to the county with you.¡± Yingbao said. Mrs. Chun nodded, ¡°That sounds good, we¡¯ll go together on the first of next month.¡± In the evening, Yingbao was alone taking the two puppies to water the pepper garden. After that, she went to the martial arts training ground to practice herbat skills with Jiang Jie. With Master Zhang Meng¡¯s continuous guidance on the side, she made great progress. Chapter 194 - 190: Provocation_1 Chapter 194: Chapter 190: Provocation_1 Trantor:549690339 The next morning, Yingbao went to the martial arts training ground as usual to practice with Jiang Jie. Before noon, Erni ran over to tell her cousin that the n Leader had hired a y troupe to celebrate his sixtieth birthday, and they were going to start their performance in the afternoon. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s check it out.¡± Erni pulled Yingbao along, not forget to invite Chuchu, ¡°You shoulde too!¡± ¡°You go ahead, I¡¯lleter.¡± Chuchu was currently cooking for Master Zhang Meng and some kids and couldn¡¯t leave right now. Erni didn¡¯t insist, and she ran off to the threshing field with Yingbao. The threshing field on South Slope was fresh and tidy. Therge stone mill was still on the side, and several children were climbing up and down, ying on it. On the other side of the threshing field, a small tent was set up. An unfamiliar man and woman with four children were tidying up some things. Erni whispered, ¡°See that tall one? He¡¯s the one who ys the warrior.¡± Yingbao looked over and saw a lean, tall teenager handling a red tassel spear. ¡°Isn¡¯t he good-looking?¡± Erni whispered to her cousin: ¡°He¡¯s even better looking than Chuyan.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t share Erni¡¯s sentiment that the thin teenager was particrly good-looking, but she didn¡¯t refute. These performers all wear heavy makeup during their performance, and men can impersonate women. If the teenager were to dress as a woman, he would probably look very good. The two sisters watched from a distance for a while before heading home together. In the afternoon, the area of the threshing field was already packed with vigers before the y even started. Even people from the nearby vige came to join the excitement. The vigers brought stools to im good spots, the inner circle was taken by n Leader Chen¡¯s family. Chunniang prepared dinner early in anticipation, and once everything was cleaned up after her family¡¯s meal, she hurriedly brought her children and the two sister-inw to the y. Yingbao didn¡¯t want to go and chose to stay home. In her previous life, she had seen all types of ys, and this type of crude troupe with simple props and costumes didn¡¯t pique her interest. However, not watching the y let her watch the bustling scene from home. Sitting on her home¡¯s fence was cool and had fewer mosquitoes, an ideal spot for enjoying the breeze and scenery. Yingbao climbed the steps on to the fence. A bamboo bed and a few mats were set atop, which were brought by the family member for cooling off. Sitting on the bamboo bed, as the twilight gradually fell, she clearly saw severalnterns hanging in the middle of the threshing field. Some performers yed drum and flute while two others were acting out a scene. The cool breeze asionally carried fireflies that blinked on and off randomly on the fence. Yingbao let her consciousness sink into her inner world and scanned it once beforeing out. She picked up an apple to munch on. As the moon climbed from the tree branches to the top of her head, the y finally ended, and the vigers reluctantly left. Some people stayed directly in the threshing field,ying an old mat on the ground. A few children wrapped in an old quilt lying on the mat, taking the cool evening air. Sitting on the fence, Yingbao watched the dispersing crowd and suddenly noticed several figures sneaking into their orchard. Those shapes didn¡¯t look like adults but rather a group of children, and they also seemed like children from other viges. Because the children in her vige had great respect for her dad, Jiang Sang, and revered her as a little fairy, they wouldn¡¯t dare to venture into the orchard to steal fruit. So these rascals must be the naughty boys from another vige. Yingbao cleared her throat, stood up, and shouted towards the direction of the orchard, ¡°Catch the thief! Someone is stealing fruit from the orchard!¡± Her shrill voice echoed far from her high vantage point. She didn¡¯t need to shout a second time, as quite a few people began running towards the direction of the orchard as if really going to catch a thief. Yingbao chuckled mischievously, shaking her fan, she hopped down from the fence and went back to her room to sleep. The days flew by and before they knew it, it was August. Yingbao had by now be familiar with most of the medicinal herbs in Doctor Li¡¯s pharmacy. At the same time, she had taken pulses of many patients, made urate diagnoses, and even helped in writing prescriptions. Doctor Li was extremely satisfied with his young apprentice¡¯s learning ability, often using her as a model to motivate his grandchildren. Li Xihua could no longer afford to be negligent and studied diligently, memorizing books and prescription forms every day. One day, Doctor Li suddenly brought two girls into the pharmacy and said to his grandchildren and Yingbao, ¡°These two will also be apprentices here, so you guys should look after them.¡± Yingbao was stunned. Chen Tiantian and Chen Zhao were acting crazy; they actually wanted to be apprentices too? It¡¯s not that she didn¡¯t want others to join, but this situation was too strange. Why couldn¡¯t she get rid of the people from the Chen Family? In her past life, she didn¡¯t learn medicine, and these two didn¡¯t either. Now, they wereing in droves. Chen Tiantian smiled at her and said, ¡°Sister Yingbao, please take good care of us.¡± She then turned to Li Xihua and said, ¡°And also you, sister Xihua, please look after us. I¡¯m new here and don¡¯t understand many things, so I will be relying on you two.¡± Chen Zhao also politely smiled at them without speaking much. Li Xihua, very curious, asked Doctor Li, ¡°Grandfather, howe they want to be apprentices too?¡± We haven¡¯t had any female apprentices in so many years, but this year we¡¯ve taken in three at once. Doctor Li replied, ¡°I have a disciple in Prefecture City, and he sent me a letter asking me to teach these two some medicine.¡± Li Xihua: ¡°I see.¡± She asked Chen Tiantian, chuckling, ¡°What¡¯s your name, sister?¡± Chen Tiantian pointed to Chen Zhao, responding, ¡°My name is Chen Tiantian, and her name is Chen Zhao. We are cousins.¡± Chen Zhao, gave her a white eye, and turned her head to check out the pharmacy. Chen Tiantian didn¡¯t care, holding onto Li Xihua and asking her various questions. Yingbao, on the other hand, continued to browse through the medical book. Chen Zhao approached her and asked softly, ¡°Jiang Yingbao, what are you reading?¡± Yingbao closed the book and pointed at the title, saying, ¡°You can see for yourself.¡± She didn¡¯t want to have any interaction with the Chen Family at all. Even without the plots from novels, she didn¡¯t have any good feelings toward them. Chen Zhao nced at it, smiled slightly, and purposely asked, ¡°Can you understand it?¡± Yingbao looked at her and replied, ¡°As long as I understand more than you.¡± ¡°Hmph,¡± Chen Zhao snorted lightly and walked to Li Xihua, saying, ¡°Sister Xihua, Jiang Yingbao said she knows much more than you do.¡± Li Xihua was taken aback. Yingbao, who had been keeping an eye on Chen Zhao, walked up to her when she heard what she said, and angrily said, ¡°Say it again!¡± Chen Zhaoughed, ¡°Look, sister Xihua, she¡¯s angry because¡± Before she could finish her words, her hair was grabbed by Yingbao, and with a swift move, she was thrown heavily onto the ground. Chen Tiantian screamed and quickly pulled the stunned Li Xihua to the side. Li Xihua¡¯s two brothers were also shocked and forgot toe over and stop the fight. Yingbao pressed her knee against Chen Zhao¡¯s throat and pointed a brush at her face, ¡°You say it again! If you make up one more word, I¡¯ll draw a turtle on your face that you can¡¯t wash off for the rest of your life!¡± In her past life, Chen Zhao instigated this kind of trouble. The best way to deal with this was to teach her a lesson. Even though Chen Zhao tried to resist, she ended up crying and screaming for help. But after a long time, nobody came to her rescue. Instead, she got a few harsh jabs on her face, which hurt a lot. Chen Zhao was really frightened this time and stuttered, ¡°I, I was just joking, you, you actually hit me, boo hoo hoo¡± Only then did Yingbao get up and kick her again, ¡°You better change your habit of stirring up trouble, or you¡¯ll get beaten up again!¡± Then she turned to Chen Tiantian. Chen Tiantian flinched and quickly hid behind Li Xihua. Chapter 195 - 191: Xiaolu Ran Away_1 Chapter 195: Chapter 191: Xiaolu Ran Away_1 Trantor:549690339 After being beaten, Chen Zhao was significantly more obedient. Since then, he has quietly apprenticed with Chen Tiantian, not daring to act out, at least not openly. As a result, they lived in peace for a while. Soon it was Mid-Autumn Festival, and Dr. Li gave Yingbao a few days off to go home for the holiday. One afternoon, Jiang Quan picked up his little cousin in a carriage, with Jiang Jie also on board. ¡°Sis! Sis!¡± Jiang Jie jumped off the carriage to help his sister with her parcel,ughing, ¡°This time Mr. Wu gave me a five-day break, so I can rx at home.¡± Yingbao rubbed his head, asking, ¡°How do you n on rxing?¡± ¡°Brother Yuanbao said he wants to catch fish in Chuanhe, and bring it back to town to make fish sashimi for his master.¡± Yuanbao was also studying in the town, but was not a student of old Mr. Wu. Uncle Jiang Sang found a well-renowned home tutor for his nephew, said to have had several schrs and even a degree holder among his students. Yingbao: ¡°Then let¡¯s go fishing. Auntie Eng also said that when I get back, we can go to North Mountain together to pick soap pods. We can visit North Mountain then.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Jiang Jie climbed back into the carriage, also lending a hand to his sister. Once the two were seated, Jiang Quan drove the carriage away. At this point, Chen Tiantian came out from the medicine hall and stood at the door, lost in thought as she watched the departing carriage. On the way, Jiang Quan told his little cousin about recent incidents at the shop. ¡°A few local hoodlums came to our shop a few days ago, saying they wanted protection money. If we did not give it, they said they would rob us.¡± Jiang Quan fumingly said, ¡°They even smashed several of our candied fruit jars.¡± Yingbao was not surprised at all, as in her previous life, even when she was just selling ice water, she was extorted by local thugs. Reporting to the government office was of no use, because the constables were in cahoots with the thugs. Eventually, she spent a substantial amount of money to bribe a tough guy to deal with those thugs, which finally resolved the issue. But she didn¡¯t need to do that in this life because she had Wu Daozi, the strongest backer. ¡°Brother, did I not tell you to send some fruit to the chief constable and the arrests officers Golden Five and Cheng San every month? Have you done so?¡± It¡¯s more efficient to deal with local officials first and give those chief constables and constables a bit of bribery, if that doesn¡¯t work then bring out the higher official. ¡°I did. Those two even came to our shop once,¡± said Jiang Quan. ¡°But we never ran into each other.¡± Yingbao: ¡°Then find an opportunity to have them meet.¡± Their offerings should not be wasted, they should do something in return. Jiang Quan expressed difficulty. ¡°How can we make them meet?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go to the county town after a while.¡± The local thugs in the county town are just a few groups, some even inherited their father¡¯s business. Yingbao had dealt with them many times in her previous life. Finding those people is quite easy. ¡°Oh.¡± His little cousin always had ideas, Jiang Quan saw no harm in asking her for advice whenever he encountered a problem. Anyway, he was just aid-back cashier; his big brother and little cousin were covering things from above. He was happy with how rxed he was. Upon returning home, Yingbao was warmly weed by two dogs. Jiang Wu had just returned from a martial training ground. Seeing his sister and brother, he demanded to spar. Springdy grumbled, ¡°Enough messing around, go wash your faces, dinner will be ready soon.¡± The group of kids rushed off to wash their hands and faces, while Jiang Sang helped his wife set up dinner. Today, there was steamed fish, braised chicken with bamboo shoots, fried green shrimp, boiled eggs, cabbage tofu, cold cucumber sd, a bowl of winter melon soup, and a te of cut cantaloupe. Springdy had also cooked a pot of golden ear porridge, adding lotus seeds and wolfberries. The family happily ate their reunion meal. The next day was Mid-Autumn Festival, when they would celebrate the holiday with their uncle Eng, grandpa and grandma. Mid-Autumn Festival was the same as in previous years, with bamboo towers erected andnterns hung up, a moon worship ceremony followed by dinner. But this year was different fromst year, because South Slope was no longer upied by just the Jiang family, but by forty other households. Every home hadnterns hung and tables of offerings set outside their doors. After dinner, they set off rivernterns, making for a lively sight. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Yanru took a few nieces and nephews to North Mountain to gather soapberries. Soapberries not only could be made into scented cosmetics, but their seeds could also be peeled to produce translucent soapnuts. Jiang Quan carried a long bamboo pole with a sickle tied to one end. Whenever he saw a soapberry tree, he would go over and cut soapberries, letting his younger siblings pick them up from the ground. These soapberries grew on tall trees with sharp thorns, which they couldn¡¯t reach without the long bamboo pole. Yingbao quietly gathered a lot of soapberries and kept them, nning to cultivate seedlings in her cave house. The fence around their vige was neverpleted, posing a great risk. The soapberry trees were thorny and toxic, not only protecting against bandits but also wild animals. Once she had grown soapberry saplings, she nned to nt them around the vige for added security. Even if unexpected events happened in the future, thisyer of protection would ensure the vigers¡¯ safety, and her own as well. She cared less about the drama of storytelling. All she wanted was to live a peaceful life with her parents and siblings. ¡°Sister! Youyou ran into the forest!¡± Jiang Wu shouted, wanting to chase after him, but Yuanbao held him back. ¡°You cannot go in.¡± Yuanbao held tightly onto his younger cousin, ¡°There are wolves in the forest.¡± Not only were there wolves, but also other dangerous wild animals. It was extremely risky for a three- or four-year-old child to venture into the woods. Yingbao was anxious as well. She shouted several times, ¡°Youyou! Youyou!¡± But there was no response from deep inside the forest. Upon seeing this, Jiang Quan quickly climbed up a tall tree. Peering into the distance, he saw a few deer darting away, followed by arge deer wearing a saddle. ¡°Oh no, Youyou ran off with the deer.¡± Jiang Quan descended from the tree, telling his cousin, ¡°We won¡¯t be able to catch up.¡± Perhaps if their uncle was there, they might be able to chase after them. But they were all young children, and he was the oldest among them. Yet he didn¡¯t dare venture into the mountain alone. As for his aunt, she was a woman, how could she possibly run into the forest chasing deers? Even if she wanted to, she couldn¡¯t catch up. After a while, Yingbao relented, ¡°Let it be. I just hope the saddle on Youyou¡¯s back won¡¯t hurt it.¡± Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu were both teary-eyed. Since birth, they had grown up with Youyou as apanion, considering it a part of their family. But now that Youyou had just run off like that, they were more devastated than anyone else. Seeing her brother in tears, Yingbao tried to console him, ¡°Don¡¯t be sad. Maybe it wille back in some time.¡± Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu pursed their lips, wiped their tears, and nodded in agreement. ¡°Or we could go back to the vige and ask for help,¡± suggested the second aunt. ¡°Since the deer herd is here, they are unlikely to leave soon.¡± Yingbao shook her head, ¡°No, what if they hurt Youyou?¡± Not everyone would care about Youyou¡¯s welfare. She would rather let Youyou go free than see it hunted down by the vigers. The group then spent some more time picking soapberries until their baskets were full, but Youyou still didn¡¯te back. Seeing that it was gettingte, Yanru suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s go back. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll ask your father toe and see.¡± Yingbao and her brothers nodded and reluctantly descended from the mountain, ncing back every few steps. The next day, Jiang Eng, Jiang Sang, and a few vigers went to North Mountain to look for the deer herd, but they couldn¡¯t find them even after two days of searching. Upon returning, Jiang Sang had no choice but to tell his daughter that Youyou had really joined the deer herd. Yingbao was no longer upset, ¡°Let it be.¡± She figured that Youyou must have been lured away by the female deer in the herd. She med herself for not finding a does for Youyou earlier. Jiang Sang patted his daughter¡¯s head, ¡°Once dad is done with his work, I¡¯ll catch you another one from the forest.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want it.¡± she said, resolving never to keep deers as pets again. Chapter 196 - 192: Soapnut Rice_1 Chapter 196: Chapter 192: Soapnut Rice_1 Trantor:549690339 Yanru collected arge pile of soapberry fruit with the children, removed the seeds, cleaned the shells of silt, dried and then ground them in a stone mortar. She bought a pig pancreas in advance, cleaned it of blood and fascia, diced it, and pounded it into a paste in a small stone mortar. Afterward, she mixed the pig pancreas paste with the soapberry paste, adding some osmanthus and grinding again until all three were fullybined. Yanru then brought two carved molds, pressing and shaping the paste within, letting it solidify naturally before overturning them to air dry; thus, a piece of osmanthus pancreas candy was made. She made a total of twenty pieces of the candy, gave some to her sister-inw, and her three younger siblings, and kept a few for herself. She gave the remaining soapberry shells to Dani, Second Sister, and Yingbao, advising them to learn how to make the pancreas candy as well. As for the soapberry beans, she soaked them in water to remove the husk, peeled off the outeryer, and revealed the white and smooth soapberry rice. Once these were sun-dried, they could be stored for a long time. Whenever she wanted to eat them, she would soak a handful in water, then cook with rice, lotus seeds, and goji berries, making an extremely tasty meal. ¡°Soapberry rice should not be eaten in excess or eaten daily.¡± Yanru told Yingbao and the others, ¡°My aunt says eating a bit after giving birth can be beneficial.¡± As for the benefits, Yanru wasn¡¯t sure. But Yingbao knew, soapberry rice could alleviate constipation, reduce inmmation, and it had excellent therapeutic effects on diseases like dysentery, abdominal urgency, hernia, sores, and swellings. It could also treat menstrual pain in women and facilitatectation in nursing mothers. But soapberry rice is slightly toxic. Some groups, such as pregnant women and young children, must not eat it. After all the soapberries had been processed, several days passed, and Yingbao was back at the medicine clinic. Perhaps it was due to the change in weather, but the clinic was suddenly crowded with patients, and Dr. Li and his grandson were incredibly busy. Yingbao and Li Xihua helped to prepare the medicine, serving it to critically ill patients seeking treatment from afar. The patients stayed in the patient rooms behind the clinic. The medicine preparation area was a bamboo pavilion made of bamboo, containing several small stoves and a pile of straw and charcoal. ¡°Ah, that guy is urinating blood already, his face is terribly dark. Grandfather said that a patient in that state usually doesn¡¯t survive the month.¡± Li Xihua sighed, ¡°It¡¯s truly pitiful. He¡¯s just fourteen or fifteen.¡± Yingbao paused, fan in hand. For a young man in his prime years to die like this was truly a shame. Perhaps she should use him to test if her Five Ding Elixir could cure kidney disease. The medicine was prepared, and when Yingbao was pouring the liquid, she added a bit of the Five Ding Elixir into it, then carried the bowl to the clinic. Chen Tiantian stood at the back door stretching her hand out with a smile, ¡°Let me carry it.¡± Yingbao looked at her, puzzled, ¡°You have nothing to do?¡± She had already brought the bowl to the door, it wasn¡¯t far to the clinic, why did she need her to take over? Chen Tiantian awkwardly retreated her hand and argued with a smile, ¡°I was afraid you might burn yourself.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Yingbao dodged past her and headed inside, keeping a watchful eye on her to prevent any attempts at tripping her up. Entering the sickroom, a woman knelt next to the boy with kidney disease, weeping. She stood up to take the bowl of medicine but was stopped by Yingbao. ¡°You help him sit up; I¡¯ll feed him.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± The woman helped the boy sit up, leaning him against her body. She looked at the young attendant in front of her. Barely six years old and stunningly beautiful, his sparkling eyes seemed capable of peering into one¡¯s heart. It was indeed unusual to find such a distinguished child in these rural areas. Yingbao stirred the medicine with a spoon, waited for it to cool, and then spoon-fed the young patient. The young boy had a strong will to survive. He drained thest bit of his medicine,y down, and closed his eyes to sleep. ¡°Thank you.¡± The woman slightly bowed to Yingbao, then took out a handkerchief to wipe her eyes. Yingbao examined the sick boy. He looked pale and feeble. His eyelids were swollen, and even his lips were ckish. If it weren¡¯t for the doctor¡¯s diagnosis, she would have suspected him of being poisoned. The woman by his side was dressed in a simple, blue dress, dramatically different from the rich, silk robe of the boy. They didn¡¯t seem like mother and son. At this point, Chen Tiantian approached the woman, bowed, and softly said, ¡°The young master is asleep now. You should take some rest. I can look after him.¡± The woman shook her head, ¡°Thank you for your kindness, young miss, but I am not tired. I don¡¯t need to rest.¡± Yingbao, carrying the empty bowl, walked out of the patient¡¯s room, covered the medicine jar with it, put the name card on it, and then started to prepare the next pack of medicine. This fetus-stabilizing medicine belonged to a pregnant woman, who, just like the young kidney disease patient, was a traveler passing by. She was busy until the sunset. Only then were all the patients seen. The local patients took their medicine and went home, leaving only two out-of-town patients behind. The young boy with kidney disease had woken up once, supported by a servant to the bathroom, and did not see any blood in his urine this time. In the evening, Doctor Li¡¯s daughter-inw brought a pot of white porridge, and the young boy even managed to eat a bowl. This greatly delighted the woman, who insisted on staying here for a few more days. Several servants were somewhat unhappy, but they said nothing, going to the town inn to rest, while the woman stayed with the young patient. The next day, Yingbao woke up early, washed up, and practiced a set of boxing techniques in the courtyard. When the medicine hall opened, she went in to fetch the medicine pack for the young kidney disease patient and prepared it. As she gently fanned the fire, Chen Tiantian quietly walked up to Yingbao, her gaze tightly focusing on her every move. Actually, Yingbao had already noticed, but she acted as though nothing happened, wondering what major illness Chen Tiantian had that made her keep an eye on her daily like a ghost. Chen Tiantian stepped forward, smiled and said, ¡°Let me do it.¡± Yingbao nced at her, ¡°You are eager to prepare the medicine? Then go and fetch another packet from the medicine hall. There¡¯s another patient in the sickroom who needs medicine prepared.¡± Chen Tiantian¡¯s face darkened momentarily before quickly returning to normal: ¡°Okay.¡±. She then turned and went to the medicine hall to fetch medicine. Yingbao couldn¡¯t understand why Chen Tiantian was always trying topete with her. She was serving medicine yesterday, and today she wanted to prepare it. Could it be that the young boy had some special identity? Thinking about the plot that came into her mind, she decided to ask this boy¡¯s name. When serving the medicine, Yingbao still added a bit of the five-ding zhi into it, a piece no bigger than the size of a little fingernail. Walking into the patient¡¯s room with the medicine, she saw that the boy was already sitting up and the woman was talking to him. Seeing Yingbao enter, they immediately fell silent. ¡°It¡¯s time for the medicine.¡± Yingbao handed the bowl of medicine to the woman, casually asking, ¡°May I ask the young master¡¯s surname? My master needs it to prepare a new prescription.¡± As the patient¡¯s condition was improving, it was indeed necessary to change the prescription after a few days of taking the previous one. For a moment, the woman looked confused as to why a surname was needed to prescribe medicine, so she replied, ¡°Our young master¡¯s surname is Zhao.¡± Zhao? Yingbao immediately searched her memory for the plot story. There seemed to be many characters with the surname Zhao. Among them the most influential were two, one named Zhao Yi and another named Zhao Yang. They were cousins who held control over arge part of the military. But this weak, young boy in front of her, even in ten years¡¯ time, could never be such a strong soldier. However, he could still be from a family of prominent soldiers, hence why the protagonist was trying so hard to get close to him. Chapter 197 - 193: The tag-along_1 Chapter 197: Chapter 193: The tag-along_1 Trantor:549690339 Yingbao guessed correctly, Chen Tiantian did indeed want to familiarize herself with the sickly boy. Ever since the bandit attack, Chen Tiantian has been having frequent dreams, spiraling through a litany of strange events, like a carousel. But the scenes in her dreams were chaotic and vague, she couldn¡¯t even link them together. However, in her dreams, there was someone who kept telling her that she must stick with Jiang Yingbao, and follow whatever she did. The figure in her dream also said that Jiang Yingbao was merely a stepping stone for her. Her reputation, friends, family, admirers ¡ª everything would belong to Chen Tiantian. If not, she was certain to die before reaching the age of twenty-one. At first, Chen Tiantian didn¡¯t believe it, but then a series of predictions from the voice in her dream proved true. Only then did she start to panic. She did not wish to die at twenty-one. She wanted to live a long life, to enjoy the world¡¯s riches and honours. So she beseeched her mother, Han Yueniang, to persuade her stepfather to bring Jiang Yingbao to her side. Her stepfather was a trusted staff member of a martial general in Prefecture City. As long as he advocated for her, there was nothing that couldn¡¯t be aplished with the general¡¯s influence. Upon hearing this, however, Han Yueniang was furious, iming her daughter had lost her mind and was willing to bring disaster upon their family. She saw Jiang Yingbao as a jinx who had been nothing but trouble for them. Unbelievable that her second daughter actually wanted her to find a way to bring that disaster closer. ¡°What nonsense! If you want to be with Jiang Yingbao as much as your aunt does, go to Chuanhe Town. Your aunt¡¯s family wants to go back home. Why don¡¯t you go with them?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not I didn¡¯t Mother, listen to me.¡± Chen Tiantian desperately tried to exin about the voice in her head, but that only made Han Yueniang even angrier, thinking her second daughter had gone mad. ¡°I think you better go back to Chuanhe Town with your aunt. Once your mother gets her footing in your stepfather¡¯s family, I¡¯ll have youe back.¡± Han Yueniang finally managed to tie the knot with the Pei family and was yet to bear a son. She couldn¡¯t let anyone know that her daughter was mad, so she had to send her away. Thus, Chen Tiantian ended up returning to Chuanhe Town with her aunt¡¯s family. However, her mother Han Yueniang ultimately still cared about her and asked her stepfather to help her by sending a letter back to their hometown, arranging for her to study medicine at Doctor Li¡¯s medical hall. Of course, Chen Tiantian was the one who pleaded with her mother to learn medicine through a letter. It was only after her mother¡¯s help that she, a nine-year-old, was able to enter Doctor Li¡¯s medical hall ande in contact with Jiang Yingbao. However, no matter how much Chen Tiantian tried to ingratiate herself with Jiang Yingbao, the five-year-old girl was like a stone that couldn¡¯t be warmed up. She absolutely did not fall for Chen Tiantian¡¯s tricks. This made Chen Tiantian feel quite frustrated. Fortunately, she got along quite well with Li Xihua. With the instigation of the foolish Chen Zhao, Li Xihua and her two brothers grew closer and closer to her. That could be considered as stealing Jiang Yingbao¡¯s friends. Chen Tiantian felt a secret joy and a hint of pride in her heart. She wanted Jiang Yingbao to have not a single close friend, to be abandoned by all, with everyone hating her, isting her. Perhaps she wouldn¡¯t die at twenty-one that way, maybe Jiang Yingbao would be the one to die. By the afternoon, the pallor on the Zhao family boy¡¯s face had lessened considerably. Although his lips were still pale, they looked much better than they had the day before. Doctor Li was puzzled. He would measure the boy¡¯s pulse every hour, and each time it got better and better. ¡°Remarkable indeed. Perhaps my own medical skills have improved?¡± Doctor Li gazed at the prescription form he had written, studying it carefully and then recording it meticulously in his casebook. Early the next day, Doctor Li hurried from the backyard to the patient¡¯s room to check on the Zhao boy. He saw Yingbao squatting near the stove decocting medicine in the medical hall, with Chen Tiantian standing not far away. ¡°Yingbao, who are you preparing the medicine for?¡± Doctor Li asked as he stopped. Yingbao: ¡°It¡¯s for Zhao Sng.¡± ¡°Is it ready?¡± The doctor, Li, walked over, looking closely at the bubbling, steaming medicine pot. Yingbao: ¡°It should be ready, I¡¯m about to pour it out.¡± Before she could finish, Chen Tiantian had already walked over, smiling, ¡°Sister Yingbao, let me do it. The medicine pot is too hot, be careful not to burn yourself.¡± Before Yingbao could refuse, Doctor Li also said, ¡°Let your elder sister Chen handle it.¡± Yingbao nced at Chen Tiantian, stepped aside graciously, and seriously said to Doctor Li, ¡°Grandfather Li, I am the elder sister. From now on, both Chen Tiantian and Chen Zhao must call me sister.¡± Otherwise, she would go home, never to return again, since she had already recognized all of the medicinal herbs here anyway. Doctor Li helplessly nodded, ¡°Alright, alright, you are the elder sister. I misspoke before.¡± This young apprentice was good at everything, except she was incredibly stubborn. Chen Tiantian poured out the medicine, lifted it up and smiled at Yingbao: ¡°I am four years older than you, how can I call you sister?¡± ¡°What use is being an older? A dummy like you who still can¡¯t recognize all the medicinal herbs only qualifies to be a younger sister.¡± Yingbao pointed out Chen Tiantian¡¯s weakness without any courtesy. ¡°You!¡± Chen Tiantian got so angry that she almost flung the medicine bowl at Jiang Yingbao. She turned toin to Doctor Li, but he had already gone to the patient¡¯s side. Chen Tiantian red at Yingbao, cursed her a thousand times in her heart, and followed him with the bowl of medicine. In reality, Yingbao even more wanted to smash the medicine stove on Chen Tiantian¡¯s head. Early in the morning, this annoying girl kept following her around like a shadow, making her nauseous with those sly eyes. Would anyone like to have someone standing behind them like a ghost while they work? So, she deliberately made remarks to provoke Chen Tiantian, hoping to provoke her into attacking, then she would have reason to give her a good beating. Who knew there was so much strategy in this girl; she wouldn¡¯t take the bait. Huh, it¡¯s no wonder she could be an Empress Dowager, with such a deep sense of strategy at only nine years old, few could match her. If it were any ordinary girl, being ridiculed to their face, few could suppress their anger. But this Chen Tiantian showed surprising restraint. However, no matter how patient she was, if she still followed her tomorrow, she could use her as a punching bag for practice. In the patient¡¯s room, Doctor Li checked Zhao Sng¡¯s pulse and said with satisfaction, ¡°Your condition is stable now. If you rest and take care of yourself, you should recover in a few days.¡± The pallor on Zhao Sng¡¯s face hadpletely faded, his lips had a bit of pink in them, he gave a deep bow to Doctor Li, ¡°I am deeply grateful for saving my life.¡± The woman also bowed to Doctor Li and cried tears of joy. At this moment, Chen Tiantian stepped forward, presenting the bowl of medicine in her hands, speaking softly, ¡°Hurry and drink the medicine. It was made early this morning; drink it while it¡¯s hot so you can recover quickly.¡± Zhao Sng also bowed to Chen Tiantian, ¡°Thank you, miss, for your consideration.¡± The woman took the bowl of medicine from Chen Tiantian¡¯s hands, repeating her thanks. Chen Tiantian smiled slightly, ¡°No need to thank me. One shouldn¡¯t dy treatment. Making medicine early in the morning is part of my duty, sir, you need not worry.¡± The woman nced at her, and didn¡¯t say anything more. Every morning, she had seen the child called Yingbao fetching and preparing the medicine, while this young girl just watched from far away without moving. She didn¡¯t understand the meaning of this. Now, she was speaking as if she was the one who made the medicine at such a young age, she thought a lot. Chapter 198 - 194: Sitting in Clinic_1 Chapter 198: Chapter 194: Sitting in Clinic_1 Trantor:549690339 The next day, young Master Zhao finally left. After settling his prescription bill, he left a hundred taels of silver and a name card behind. ¡°So he is from the Zhao family in Prefecture City, no wonder.¡± Doctor Li put the name card into a drawer with many others. The Zhao family of Prefecture City was rtives to the Commander¡¯s Office, and it was said their family had produced a queen, thus they were quite prestigious locally. However, this young master from the Zhao family seemed to be in a tight spot, could it be because of his illness? It¡¯s not easy being from a distinguished family. Even if you are part of the main lineage, if your health is poor or your brain is not sharp, you would still be abandoned by your family. Perhaps it was his chronic illness that led him to be given up on. From the behavior of his apanying servant, one could tell that this young lord was not particrly well-regarded at home. Doctor Li stepped out of the pharmacy with his hands behind his back, standing on the steps and looking at the market. Tomorrow was the Double Ninth Festival, and vendors were already selling pressed flower cakes at the market. Pressed flower cake was a threeyer rice cake with dates, candied fruits and others in between. It was soft and rich, and tasted quite good. There were also vigers selling chrysanthemums and dogwood leaves, for just two or three coins each. Doctor Li then saw his little granddaughter, Chen Tiantian and Chen Zhao, buying pressed flower cakes. Each took one, eating and strolling around the stalls, chatting andughing. Their rtionship seemed very good, but Yingbao was not with them. Doctor Li frowned and turned his head to scan around, only to notice that the little girl, Yingbao, was studying the medical book. ¡°Yingbao, why didn¡¯t you go out to y with Xihua and the others?¡± Doctor Li went back into the pharmacy. During off peak times, only one person was needed to manage the pharmacy, and the others could go out for a walk or eat something. His own little granddaughter always ran out to y as soon as she was free. Yingbao: ¡°It¡¯s a waste of time.¡± Going out with Chen Tiantian and Chen Zhao would not only waste her time but also her energy. Of course, she knew the petty tactics of the Chen sisters, isting her and such. She had seen it all in herst life and didn¡¯t bother topete with them. What she wanted was never what the Chen sisters thought it was. As long as they didn¡¯t bother her studying, they could mess around as much as they liked. Doctor Li shook his head and picked up a prescription. ¡°Okay then, let me ask you a few questions.¡± Upon hearing this, Yingbao immediately closed the medical book and gazed at the old man eagerly, ¡°Please go ahead.¡± She was also eager to find out if she had really memorized everything she had learned. Doctor Li: ¡°A man in his forties who, for about two months, often feels numbness in his upper arm, from the arm to the hand sometimes he spasms, his fingertips are numb, hisplexion pale, he is prone to sweating, but his appetite and bowel movements are normal. His tongue is light red with a white coating, and his pulse is thin and rough. How should the medication be prescribed?¡± Yingbao thought for a moment and replied: ¡°Use ten coins¡¯ worth of raw Astragalus, two coins of cassia twig, two coins of raw white peony root, and two coins of raw ginger, and three pieces of jujube sliced as guide. Decoction to be taken for a week and a half.¡± ¡°Not bad.¡± Doctor Li asked her a few more questions aboutmon symptoms and how to treat them, and she answered all of them correctly. Doctor Li said with relief and a smile: ¡°Yingbao, tomorrow you can start seeing patients. After you write the prescription, bring it to me to check.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yingbao was very happy to hear that she could start seeing patients and nodded repeatedly. ¡°I can definitely cure them.¡± The next day, Yingbao sat neatly behind the consultation desk, waiting for patients toe. Li Xihua asked curiously: ¡°Yingbao, what are you doing sitting there?¡± That consultation table was usually upied by her elder brother and grandfather. asionally, her second brother would sit there to see patients, but only when their grandfather was present. ¡°Grandfather Li asked me to see patients today.¡± Yingbao said seriously. Li Xihua was stunned: ¡°You are only a few years old, how can you start seeing patients?¡± And hadn¡¯t Yingbao only been at the pharmacy for a few months? How could she already be seeing patients? ¡°Grandfather really asked Yingbao to see patients today.¡± Li Lin said: ¡°Xihua, you need to work harder. When you have memorized all the medical cases and prescriptions, you can also start seeing patients.¡± Li Xihua¡¯s face fell, she pursed her lips and went to look at the medical book. It was such a thick book, when would she be able to memorize it all? Chen Zhao and Chen Tiantian exchanged nces, both feeling uneasy. They couldn¡¯t even recognize all the herbs, yet Yingbao, who was only five, was going to see patients. ¡°Humph! Isn¡¯t she just a few months ahead of us? What¡¯s the big deal.¡± Chen Zhao muttered under her breath and picked up a medical book, running to Li Lin, ¡°Brother Li, could you teach me?¡± Li Lin looked troubled, ¡°You haven¡¯t even read a medical book before, how can I teach you?¡± He was not a tutor, not someone who could teach them to read each and every word. ¡°¡­¡± Chen Zhao hurriedly remedied, ¡°There are many words in this medical book that I don¡¯t recognize, Brother Li, can you tell me how to pronounce these words and what they mean?¡± Li Lin furrowed his brow. He still had many ssical medical texts to read, he really didn¡¯t have time to teach others how to read and write. Noticing Li Lin¡¯s impatient expression towards Chen Zhao, Chen Tiantian hurriedly picked up a medical book and pretended to examine it. At this moment, two people walked in, supporting a man whose face was ashen and full of pain. ¡°Young man, we¡¯vee to see the doctor,¡± one of them said. Li Lin pointed towards Yingbao¡¯s table, ¡°Sit over there, someone will take your pulse.¡± The pale-faced middle-aged man sat down on the bench by the table. Looking around and noticing the absence of Doctor Li, he started to be restless. Yingbao said, ¡°Extend your hand.¡± The man hesitated for a moment, then extended his hand. Yingbao rolled up his sleeve to take his pulse, but the man suddenly pushed her away, angrily saying, ¡°What do you mean? Why is a child taking my pulse?¡± Standing aside, Li Lin says, ¡°She¡¯s about to graduate, she can see patients, don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°No way! I don¡¯t want her to see me!¡± The man firmly refused, clutching his chest and groaning in pain. Seeing this, Yingbao stood up and stepped aside. With no choice, Li Lin had to sit down. At this moment, a few more people came in, carrying an old man on a door. One of them urgently called out, ¡°Doctor Li! Please take a look at my father, he suddenly passed out today!¡± Li Lin was about to stand up, but the man with the sallowplexion held him back, ¡°Brother Li, my stomach hurts so much¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go get grandfather!¡± said Li Xihua as he ran out of the pharmacy, heading towards the backyard. Yingbao recognized the men and therefore came out from behind the counter to examine the man on the door. Recognizing Yingbao, the men quickly moved aside, saying, ¡°SoYingbao you are also here in the pharmacy. Take a look at my father.¡± Yingbao squatted down to pull up the old man¡¯s eyelid, then took his pulse. Turning back to her medicine box, she took out a packet of silver needles. A few needles down, the old man slowly awakened, looking around in a daze, ¡°How did I end up here?¡± The men cried tears of joy, ¡°Dad! You really scared us.¡± ¡°How did I scare you guys?¡± the old man replied. Seeing that the elderly man was clear-minded and able to sit up, Yingbao ruled out the possibility of stroke. ¡°Do you remember how you fainted?¡± she asked. The old man touched his stomach, ¡°I just felt a sudden pain here, then I cked out.¡± Yingbao pressed down on his stomach area and asked, ¡°Does it hurt here?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± the old man nodded. Yingbao: ¡°I guess you ate something bad. Do you feel like going to the restroom now?¡± The elderly man became wide-eyed, then quickly cupped his stomach, ¡°Oh my, now that you mention it, I really need to go. Help me!¡± The men quickly helped the old man stand up, hurrying to the restroom. Doctor Li walked into the pharmacy at this time, seeing no patients, he was quite confused, ¡°Where are the people?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve gone to the restroom.¡± Yingbao put the silver needles away, suddenly realizing that someone seemed to have touched the things in her medicine box. She looked around andnded her gaze on Chen Tiantian. Chapter 199 - 195: Beat her_1 Chapter 199: Chapter 195: Beat her_1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°Did you touch my medicine box?¡± Yingbao walked towards Chen Tiantian, ¡°What did you take? Hand it over!¡± She had quite a few medical tools in her medicine box, some of which were given to her by Doctor Li, and some were purchased by herself. These items, like the knives, scissors, and sutures for treating wounds, were not to be touched by outsiders. They were all sterilized by boiling in Pupil Spring, and there¡¯s even a bottle of emergency pills that she had prepared. No matter the item, none of them should be tampered with. And yet, while she was treating patients, someone dared to open her medicine box and tamper with its contents. This was something that she could not tolerate. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Chen Tiantian said calmly, ¡°When did I touch your medicine box? Jiang Yingbao, don¡¯t make false usations.¡± Yingbao put the silver needles back into the medicine box, and as she rummaged around, she indeed found that her bottle of emergency pills was missing. ¡°I¡¯ll say it again, hand it over!¡± ¡°Hand what over? I didn¡¯t take anything.¡± Chen Tiantian instinctively stepped back, casting a plea for help towards Doctor Li, ¡°Grandfather Li, Jiang Yingbao is framing me.¡± Doctor Li nced at Chen Tiantian, then at the advancing Little Yingbao, sighed, ¡°Yingbao, let¡¯s wait until the patients have left, then we can¡± Before he could finish speaking, Yingbao grabbed Chen Tiantian, flipped her over in a judo throw, and mmed this tall girl onto the ground. She then frisked her, pulling out a small porcin bottle from the chest of her clothes. The crowd: Yingbao took the porcin bottle and pped her, ¡°You said you didn¡¯t take anything! What is this?¡± Chen Tiantian fought back desperately, scratching at Yingbao and screaming, ¡°It¡¯s mine! Mine! Give it back to me!¡± Previously, a voice in her head seemed to be luring her to steal the pills from Jiang Yingbao¡¯s medicine box, saying that it could change her life. Hence, she quietly opened the small box while no one was looking, and truly found a small porcin bottle at the bottom of the box, which made her ecstatic. So how could she let Jiang Yingbao take it back? ¡°Give it back to me! Give it back to me! That¡¯s my pill!¡± Chen Tiantian, departing from her usual gentle and modest demeanor, sobbed and fought with Yingbao over it. As if she had suffered a great injustice, everyone hesitated. Could it be that the porcin bottle was really hers? Doctor Li frowned at Yingbao and asked, ¡°Yingbao, is that pill bottle really yours?¡± Yingbao kicked off the desperate Chen Tiantian, quickly retreated, and coldly said, ¡°Of course, it¡¯s mine.¡± Then she took out another identical porcin bottle from her pocket, ¡°This is the emergency pill I prepared. If Grandfather Li doesn¡¯t believe it, he can open it and see.¡± Doctors always carry some emergency medicines in their medicine boxes, like Zixue, Zhibao, knockout drugs, Powder for Anesthesia, and special pills or powders for resuscitating patients with internal and external injuries. Wealthy doctors would also keep some ginseng slices in their medicine boxes to help patients with severe diseases replenish their vitality. It was not surprising for Yingbao to have her own homemade pills in her box. Doctor Li took the two porcin bottles and opened one to look inside. Indeed, the pills inside were identical, and even the fragrance was the same. This refreshing fragrance was familiar and tantalizing. Before he could take a closer look, the porcin bottle was taken away by Yingbao. Doctor Li lightly coughed and said to Chen Zhao and Li Xihua, ¡°You two, take Chen Tiantian to the backyard.¡± His medicine counter was almost crowded out with people watching themotion. Then he said to Yingbao, ¡°You go to the backyard too.¡± The saying goes that family squabbles should not be aired in public. Although Chen Tiantian was not his own child, she was, after all, an apprentice in his house. Even if shemitted theft, it was improper to embarrass her in public. Yingbao agreed, tidied up the medicine box and locked it. As for the porcin bottle, it was safer to keep it in the furnace cave. She med herself for thinking that nobody would touch her medicine box. Earlier, she was in a hurry to retrieve the needles and didn¡¯t lock it immediately, thus leading to this unfortunate incident. Why did Chen Tiantian take her medicine? The way she looked frantic and pale, as if she were the victim and the owner of the porcin bottle, was very unsettling. Something was not right. In the backyard, she found Chen Tiantian sitting on the ground, sobbing, while Li Xihua and Chen Zhao stood some distance away, whispering to each other. Yingbao, medicine chest on her back, walked straight to her room and began packing her daily necessities and clothes. Tomorrow was the Double Ninth Festival, her father would surely pick her up to celebrate. She decided she wouldn¡¯te back afterwards. Seeing the Chen sisters every day, Yingbao felt mentally drained. She did not want toy eyes on them at all. If so, she wouldn¡¯t mind staying away from the clinic either. Having finally been reborn, she did not want to feel aggrieved again. Li Xihua walked into the room, Chen Zhao following behind her. ¡°Yingbao,¡± she came up to Yingbao, ¡°Sister Tiantian is so pitiful. Can¡¯t you just give in to her a little bit?¡± Yingbao was folding clothes into a bundle and asked, ¡°How should I give in?¡± Li Xihua: ¡°Just let her have the medicine bottle. She, she has been crying non-stop¡± ¡°No way!¡± Why should she give her own stuff to a creepy and annoying person? Chen Zhao suddenly spoke: ¡°Cousin says that the medicine bottle was originally hers, and you took it from her.¡± Yingbao turned around, looking at Chen Zhao in a rather grim way, ¡°Tell her to say that to my face.¡± Chen Zhao sneered: ¡°She¡¯s afraid you¡¯ll hit her, she wouldn¡¯t dare toe.¡± Yingbao ignored her, putting everything into her bag, leaving nothing behind, not even a toothbrush. Li Xihua, surprised, asked: ¡°Yingbao, why have you packed all your things?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t being here anymore, so of course, I took all of my things with me,¡± Yingbao replied. Li Xihua was anxious, grabbing at the clothes in Yingbao¡¯s hands: ¡°Why? Aren¡¯t you going to study medicine anymore?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to see the two of you with the surname Chen,¡± Yingbao said bluntly. Hearing this, Chen Zhao became angry and jumped up: ¡°We don¡¯t want to see you either!¡± ¡°Perfect, don¡¯t ever appear before me again, or I¡¯ll give you a beating each time I see you.¡± She used to beat Chen Zhao often in her previous life, developing quite the knack for it. Thus, they were practically mortal enemies, and the fear of being beheaded in the government office was the only thing preventing an outright killing. Now, Yingbao was even less apprehensive. If anyone dared to bully her, she wouldn¡¯t hesitate to retaliate. ¡°How dare you!¡± Chen Zhao clenched her fists, cracking her knuckles, red at Yingbao, and cursed under her breath. But that was the only way she could vent her anger since she had no chance of winning against Yingbao. ¡°Hmph! As if we want to see you!¡± Chen Zhao turned around and stormed off. Li Xihua looked at Chen Zhao walking away, then seriously told Yingbao: ¡°You should not always resort to violence. They are older than you. Grandfather says we should respect our elders and not be violent to them.¡± Yingbao: ¡°I¡¯m their senior sister; it¡¯s perfectly within my rights to correct them. Plus, they were the ones at fault first.¡± Li Xihua: She realized that Yingbao did kind of have a point. When Doctor Li came to handle the apprentices¡¯ quarrels after seeing his patients, he found them acting as if nothing had happened. Chen Tiantian stopped crying, her face clean, gazing off in the direction of Yingbao¡¯s room. Seeing Doctor Li, Chen Tiantian ran over, timidly saying, ¡°Grandfather Li, I, I was wrong. I shouldn¡¯t have taken Yingbao¡¯s things. Can you, can you not let her leave? I¡¯ve already apologized to her¡± Chapter 200 - 196: Chuchu is Getting Married_1 Chapter 200: Chapter 196: Chuchu is Getting Married_1 Trantor: 549690339 Doctor Li suddenly admired the young girl¡¯s ability to admit her mistake and apologize. dly, he said, ¡°Knowing one¡¯s mistake and being able to correct it is a virtue. It¡¯s good to see you learning. Where¡¯s Yingbao?¡± Chen Tiantian fidgeted with her fingers and said, ¡°She¡¯s in the room and said she would note back. Grandpa Li, you have to make her stay.¡± Noting back? Doctor Li furrowed his brows, walked towards Yingbao¡¯s room, stopping at the entrance he called her, ¡°Yingbao.¡± Yingbao came out from the room, and before Doctor Li could ask her, she said, ¡°Grandpa Li, I was about to talk to you. I have learned all the herbs in the Medical Hall and now I would like to stay home and read ssics. In my free time, I¡¯d identify herbs found in the wild, so I no longer need to be here in the Medical Hall.¡± She deeply bowed to Doctor Li and continued, ¡°I¡¯m forever grateful for your teachings in the past few days.¡± After a long silence, Dr. Li had no reason to hold her back and sighed, ¡°If so, you can go home. You can alwayse to me when you do not understand something.¡± All of a sudden, Chen Tiantian ran over, her face pale, ¡°Yingbao, it¡¯s all my fault. I was just curious and moved your medicine box. I swear I won¡¯t do it again. Please forgive me and don¡¯t leave. Okay?¡± Yingbao was taken aback by her dramatic performance, her temple twitching with irritation. At that moment, Li Xihua also came out, her eyes welled up with tears as she held onto Yingbao¡¯s hand, ¡°Yingbao, are you really noting back?¡± She really didn¡¯t want Yingbao to leave. Yingbao: ¡°I will visit you when I have time, I will bring you persimmon cakes and roasted chestnuts.¡± The chestnut harvest in her family¡¯s orchard was in full swing. The persimmons were all picked by her mother and they learned from Aunt Yanru to peel the skins and make persimmon cakes. As we speak, the persimmons were hung on fine hemp rope under the eaves to dry. Li Xihua wiped her tears and nodded, ¡°Don¡¯t forget.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± In the afternoon, Jiang Sang indeed came to pick up Yingbao. When he heard his daughter was not going to work as an apprentice anymore, he was a bit surprised, ¡°Why did you suddenly decide not toe?¡± Yingbao: ¡°The gourds at home have grown up. I want to go to the county town to sell gourds to earn money.¡± Jiang Sang chuckled, ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll let Jiang Quan take you to the county town. Xiaojie also has the day off, you siblings can spend some time together.¡± After loading Yingbao¡¯s things onto the cart, Jiang San bowed to Doctor Li, ¡°Thank you for taking care of Yingbao these past few days. I¡¯ll take her home now.¡± Doctor Li waved his hand, ¡°This child is very disciplined. I didn¡¯t have much to worry about. Make sure she studies a lot once she gets home.¡± He gave Yingbao a few medical books to read, asking her to return them when she finished and he would give her a test then. The carriage passed the marketce, where they saw many people drying clothes and quilts, young and old, all dressed in fringed hats and wearing chrysanthemums. When they arrived home, Jiang Sang unloaded Yingbao¡¯s bag and medicine box and carried them into the house. Jiang Quan had been waiting in the yard. As soon as he saw Yingbao, he couldn¡¯t wait to boast, ¡°Yingbao, our gourds are selling like hot cakes! Haha, each gourd can sell for ten taels of silver.¡± ¡°So, how many have you sold?¡± Yingbao was curious about how well their gourds were selling. Jiang Quan held out one hand: ¡°Five! I sold five gourds in one day!¡± ¡°So, how many did you sell in total?¡± Yingbao asked again. Jiang Quan: ¡°Five.¡± Yingbao: So, they only sold five gourds. Jiang Quan excitedly said, ¡°Last time, I took five gourds and they sold out in a day. Tomorrow I n to take ten.¡± In fact, he wanted to take more, but the cart couldn¡¯t hold any more. ¡°Besides selling gourds, how¡¯s the rest of the business in the shop?¡± Yingbao interrupted her second cousin¡¯s endless chatter. Jiang Quan scratched his head: ¡°Not so well.¡± Most of the fruits from home were sold out and visitors to the shop dwindled. Luckily, he brought a few gourds to sell, otherwise the shop would be deserted. ¡°What about the candied fruits?¡± ¡°We asionally sold some, but not much,¡± Jiang Quan responded, showing a sign of worry. After pondering a while, Yingbao said, ¡°Then, I will go to the county town with you tomorrow.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jiang Quan: ¡°Oh yes, when we go to the county town, bring more chestnuts. The folks at the Tile House love boiled chestnuts. I n to bring some to sell.¡± The Brothel at the Tile House put on various performances and name-y shows every day, drawing a steady stream of people. Jiang Quan had been there once, and saw many vendors with baskets selling food by the brothel. Their business was booming. At the time, he had the impulse to take the candied fruits from their shop to sell there. Yingbao nodded: ¡°Your idea is not bad, but there are lots of hooligans there. They will cause trouble when they see a new vendor.¡± Jiang Quan was dumbfounded. How did Yingbao know everything? Yingbao: ¡°So you should stay at the shop. We are here for big business, although the ce is good for business, we can¡¯t get rich there.¡± She didn¡¯t want her second cousin to end up as a petty vendor wandering around the brothel. Though they were not a wealthy family, they had to think long-term. If not, they are better off farming at home and being counted among the farming ss. It took a lot of effort to transition from farming to business. If in the end, they just be a wandering street vendor, it¡¯s not worth it. But, her second cousin did give her an idea. If they market their shop¡¯s specialty well, with nice packaging, they would surely attract customers. Their candied fruits were sold by weight, which didn¡¯t necessarily reflect their worth as specialties. Therefore, she nned to make a bunch of packaging boxes and package all the candied fruits separately. The wrapping paper must state the county town and the ce of origin of the specialty. Also, the County School was just across the street from their shop. Not all of the students were locals. Most of them came from different viges, and some of them were even from other counties. When they returned to their hometowns, they would definitely bring local specialties for their families. So, they should print auspicious phrases like ¡®a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate¡¯, ¡®Golden List Title¡¯, ¡®Moon Pce Folding Branch¡¯, ¡®Five sessful imperial examinations¡¯ on those boxes. Jiang Quan sighed, ¡°Well, I¡¯ll listen to you.¡± Yingbao was right. There were indeed many hooligans around the brothel in the Tile House. He had seen them extorting money from a vendor, even causing the vendor¡¯s nose to bleed. At dusk, the Jiang family returned from the cotton field with big baskets of cotton. They gathered together for dinner. Earnie whispered to Yingbao: ¡°Chuchu is going to marry Master Zhang Meng.¡± Yingbao blinked, not surprised at all. Earnie continued, ¡°Chuchu¡¯s father initially disagreed. But after Zhang Meng¡¯s master gave him thirty taels as a marriage gift, he agreed.¡± ¡°When will Chuchu get married?¡± Yingbao asked. Earnie took a sip of soup: ¡°It seems to be scheduled for the twelfth lunar month. Chuchu said she would go home to prepare for her wedding after helping us pick the cotton.¡± Yingbao looked around: ¡°Where is she now?¡± Isn¡¯t she supposed to be helping us with the cotton? Why isn¡¯t she here for dinner? Earnie gave a cheeky grin and said quietly, ¡°She said she was going to cook for Master Zhang Meng. But I saw that Zhang Meng had already cooked the meal, just waiting for her toe back.¡± Yingbao felt a small prick in her heart as she bowed her head to eat rice. In the storyline she remembered, both Zhang Meng and Xu Kun became officials, but Zhang Meng¡¯s wife was not Chuchu. What was happening? Chapter 201 - 197: Too Expensive_1 Chapter 201: Chapter 197: Too Expensive_1 Trantor: 549690339 After the Double Ninth Festival, everyone in Dongchen Vige was at home stripping cotton seeds, including the Jiang family. Yingbao thought about it for a night, sorting out the plot in the book, and found that the focus was on the female protagonist, with little description of peripheral characters. Even her own parents and younger brother, who were part of the supporting cast, were not mentioned, let alone Chuchu and others. However, in the book, a process of cotton farmers using a machine to remove seeds from cotton was described. They used a machine called a cotton gin, which was a lot faster than manually picking out one seed by one. The description mentioned securing a set of shelves on a table, with a wooden axle and an iron axle horizontally installed on top. The iron axle was uppermost, with the wooden one beneath. The right side of the wooden axle had a crank, and the left side of the iron axle had a spinning wheel attached to a cross-shaped wooden frame. During operation, the two axles cranked against each other, with one hand feeding the cotton in between the axles. The cotton was then ejected from the front of the machine, while the seeds fell to the ground behind. Yingbao took a charcoal pencil and roughly sketched the shape of this cotton gin on paper, guessing that the craftsman would have to figure out the finer details. ¡°Dad, we can use this to strip the cotton seeds. It should be faster than picking by hand.¡± She handed the drawing to her father. There was an overwhelming amount of cotton in their home, and the removal of seeds was a huge task. It would take their entire family at least a month or two toplete it. Jiang Sang took the drawing from his daughter, examined it, and nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll ask Wang Ke to make one and see if it works. If it does, we¡¯ll make a few more.¡± Now as the vige chief, he was responsible for all matters big and small in the vige, and cotton ginning was a major one. Sun Licheng kept urging him to hurry and sort out the cotton seeds, staying some for the vigers to nt and selling the rest to the County Government. It was said that the Imperial Court attached great importance to this batch of seeds, and ordered the County Magistrate to send a batch of seeds and cotton to the Ministry of Revenue of the Capital City. Yingbao suddenly thought of something and asked, ¡°Dad, why haven¡¯t the two looms we ordered from Zhou arrived yet?¡± ¡°I asked the Steward Zhou, Zhou Mao said he would definitely bring them when he came to collect golden corn ears.¡± Jiang Sang often took his wife to the county town to visit their eldest son, which caused more interaction with Zhou Mao. Yingbao nodded. Their golden corn ears would be harvested in half a month, so she should first go to the county town and spend a few days there, and return after dealing with shop matters. At noon, Jiang Quan loaded several baskets of chestnuts on to the wagon, and hung severalrge gourds on the roof of the wagon. The gourds were as big as washbasins, and it was scary when they hung on both sides of the wagon. Erni took a carry-all and climbed onto the cart, sitting next to her young cousin. Today, her third uncle asked her to apany Yingbao to go to the county. Erni was absolutely thrilled. She had never been to the county town even once in her whole life, and this time she would definitely have a good time there. ¡°Bao¡¯er, take Xiaohei with you. Dacheng said having a dog at home can prevent theft at night.¡± Chunniang took Xiaohei onto the wagon and instructed, ¡°Xiaojie also wants to see Xiaohei, so just leave it in the county town afterwards.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yingbao held Xiaohei in her arms and waved to Chunniang, ¡°Mom, I¡¯m leaving.¡± ¡°Be careful on the road.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Jiang Quan whipped the horse to start the cart and quickly left the vige. After a long and tiring journey, they finally arrived at the shop in the county town before nightfall. By this time, the shop was already closed, but luckily Jiang Quan had a key. Jiang Quan and Erni unmounted the chestnuts and gourds, and after putting everything into the shop they finally locked the door and led the cart to the backyard. The backyard was piled full of bricks and tiles, almost filling up the whole yard. ¡°Where is big brother?¡± After entering the grass hut and not seeing Jiang Cheng, Erni asked Jiang Quan, ¡°Doesn¡¯t he live here at night?¡± ¡°Big brother should have gone to Plum Blossom Lane.¡± Jiang Cheng usually slept in the shop, probably knowing that his younger brother wasing back today, and thus went to Plum Blossom Lane instead. Jiang Quan lit an oilmp with a fire-starter and said, ¡°You two stay here tonight, and go to Plum Blossom Lane tomorrow.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Erni had no objections, she took the oilmp and looked around. The room was fairly neat and clean with a wooden bed andplete set of bedding, which was just quite enough for two people to rest. ¡°Don¡¯t the people in the county town build Kang (heated bed)?¡± Erni asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t it cold in the winter?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know, we just don¡¯t feel cold without a Kang.¡± Jiang Quan: ¡°You and Yingbao don¡¯t run around in the room. I am going out to buy some food. What do you want to eat?¡± Yingbao said: ¡°I want to eat osmanthus glutinous rice balls, and donkey meat buns.¡± She turned to Erni: ¡°What do you want to eat? Let second brother buy it for you.¡± Erni didn¡¯t know what else to eat, so she said, ¡°Same as you is fine.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Jiang Quan took out three hundred coins and merrily left the house. The advantage of living in the county town is that you can eat many kinds of delicious food every day, as long as you have money, you can buy anything. The little ck dog was barking at him as if it wanted something too. Yingbao ran to the door and shouted towards the direction where Jiang Quan had disappeared: ¡°Second brother, buy some food for Xiaohei as well.¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Jiang Quan ran off swiftly. Erni sat down on the bed, touched the edge of the bed, and asked her cousin: ¡°Yingbao, where are we going to y tomorrow?¡± Yingbao thought for a while: ¡°Nowhere tomorrow, I need to set up the shop and ce some orders. I¡¯ll take you out the day after tomorrow.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Erni didn¡¯t mind. She was more than satisfied just to be in the county town. Besides, she really didn¡¯t know any good ces to y in the county town. After a while, Jiang Quan came back with a whole bunch of delicious food. There were donkey meat buns, osmanthus glutinous rice balls,mb dumplings, pepper grilled meat skewers, andmb wontons. Aside from the rice balls andmb dumplings that Erni had eaten before, she had never even seen the rest. ¡°Wow! This smells so good!¡± Erni took amb dumpling and bit into it. Jiang Quan brought several earthenware bowls and served the rice balls and wontons separately to the two cousins. He held an earthenware pot and ate his wontons. A bite of pepper grilled meat skewer and a spoonful of wontons, it was simply divine. While eating a bowl of rice balls, Yingbao said to the second brother: ¡°Where did you buy these fruit baskets? I need to order a batch of bamboo boxes to package those fruit candies.¡± Jiang Quan took a bite of the meat skewer: ¡°I used to buy them from street vendors, butter I found the price at the bamboo shop was simr, so I bought them there. I¡¯ll take you there tomorrow.¡± The next day, Jiang Cheng came from Plum Blossom Lane, bringing a basket of steamed bread he had made himself. Seeing his second brother spending money on outside food again, he couldn¡¯t help but scold him: ¡°We have rice, flour, and eggs at home, plus we¡¯re growing a lot of vegetables by the yard wall. Why don¡¯t you make your own food?¡± Jiang Quan grumbled: ¡°Well, Yingbao and Erni came, and I didn¡¯t buy that much.¡± Jiang Cheng harrumphed, took the steamed buns to the kitchen to make porridge. Erni rushed to help him light the fire. After the meal, Jiang Cheng minded the shop while Jiang Quan took the two cousins to the bamboo shop to order bamboo boxes. Yingbao favored one book-sized, finely made bamboo box. She asked the bamboo craftsman to make it a bitrger and to include a chic cover. ¡°If we create it ording to your requirement, it would certainly not be cost-effective at eight coins each.¡± The Craftsman Master said. Yingbao: ¡°How much do you want then?¡± The Craftsman: ¡°At least twenty-five coins each is about right.¡± ¡°That¡¯s too expensive.¡± Yingbao seriously said: ¡°We¡¯re nning to order hundreds, and it¡¯s going to be a long term order. You¡¯re asking too much. Forget it, I¡¯d better check out the other shops. You¡¯re not the only bamboo shop in the county town.¡± With that, she turned around and left. Erni and Jiang Quan quickly followed her out. Chapter 202 - 198: Seeing a Doctor_1 Chapter 202: Chapter 198: Seeing a Doctor_1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t go!!¡± The proprietor of the bamboo ware shop reacted quickly, rushing out and calling out, ¡°Don¡¯t be in a hurry to leave. Let¡¯s talk some more.¡± Yingbao turned her head and said, ¡°Name your price first. If it¡¯s reasonable, we can negotiate further.¡± The shopkeeper gritted his teeth, ¡°Twenty coins, twenty for the one with a lid included. I can¡¯t go any lower than that, you can check with any other shop.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yingbao was satisfied and returned to the Bamboo Ware Shop with the shopkeeper to discuss the details of the custom bamboo box. After leaving the bamboo shop, Yingbao went with the two maids, Jiang Quan, to buy a stack of colored paper and stationery. Later, they visited a porcin shop, ordering a batch of small porcin bottles of various colors and shapes. The colored paper was for writing product introductions, and the small porcin bottles were for containing medicinal powder and pills. Back at the shop, Yingbao cut the colored papers into pieces, writing item descriptions categorically ording to color. It was written: Jin¡¯er, a specialty of Qinchuan County. Produced in Dongchen Vige, Chuanhe Town. A rare and highly valued product that prolongs life and beautifies theplexion. There were also descriptions of Xue¡¯er and preserved fruits, etc. The finished papers were sorted by category, ready to be packaged once the bamboo boxes arrived. Finally, Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan understood their little cousin¡¯s intention, and they also joined in to help with the writing. Jiang Quan had a brainwave and wrote a few auspicious phrases for her gourds. After writing, she stuck a note on each gourd. On the papers were written: Fortune-Turning Magic Gourd, Attracting Wealth and Sess, Making Wishes Come True, Turning into a Dragon at the Dragon Gate, Dispelling All Illnesses, Immune to All Poisons. Then, she ced the gourds facing the entrance of the shop and sat nearby admiring them. Good thing, the gourds quickly attracted quite a few people to gather and watch. Among them were schrs from the school across the street. As the Chongyang Festival just passed, the schrs were still on holiday. Many people didn¡¯t go home but chose to hang out in groups, some just came back from the poetry conference. They nned to see if this specialty shop still had fresh fruit for sale, but they ended up seeing a room filled withrge gourds. ¡°Ten taels each, it¡¯s too expensive.¡± Someone shook their head,ining about its high price. One of them burst intoughter, ¡°This is a good omen. Brother Huaiming, why don¡¯t you buy one? It will bring good luck for the Imperial Examination next year.¡± The young schr named Huaiming blushed with embarrassment, waving his hands, ¡°It¡¯s too big, there¡¯s no space for it in the dormitory.¡± Another person said, ¡°That¡¯s not a problem, you can turn it into a bathtub when you get home.¡± Everyoneughed heartily. After a while, the group left to return to the dormitory, but one person lingered, hesitating to leave. This man is about forty, with a pale and gauntplexion. He was staring at the gourd the entire time, seemingly uncertain. ¡°Young man, is is this gourd really effective?¡± He asked. Jiang Quanughed and said, ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll take it.¡± The gaunt man gritted his teeth, ¡°But, young man, can you give me a discount? I I only have seven taels left.¡± As soon as Jiang Quan heard this, he immediately shook his head, ¡°No, no! Who bargains like you? The lowest price is nine taels, not a single coin less.¡± The gaunt man hesitated for a long time before sighing, ¡°I wille back tomorrow.¡± As they watched the gaunt man leave, Yingbao frowned and red at her second cousin. ¡°How could you deceive people so casually? What if this person takes your words seriously, or even ckmails you?¡± Jiang Quan scratched his head and stole a nce at his little cousin, ¡°Everyone knows that these are just auspicious words. Who would be silly enough to believe them?¡± ¡°What if he is in a real predicaments and sees this gourd as hisst straw? Do you know how to defuse the situation?¡± Yingbao frowned and scolded her second cousin, ¡°Are you prepared to go to court orpensate people?¡± ¡°I¡± Jiang Quan had nothing to say. Jiang Cheng also walked over and said, ¡°Even fortune-tellers don¡¯t dare to make definitive statements. You¡¯re pretty bold, making such a grand statement.¡± Jiang Quan lowered his head. After a while, the man hurried back, undid the bundle he was carrying, and poured out a bunch of coins. ¡°Here is nine taels¡± Jiang Quan had already seen this man running back from a distance, and had hid in the backyard. The second maid also went into the kitchen to cook chestnuts, so only Jiang Cheng and Yingbao were left in the shop. ying dumb, Yingbao asked, ¡°What would you like to buy?¡± Seeing a five or six-year-old child talking to him, the man was taken aback, pointing at the gourd and saying, ¡°I¡¯d like to buy this one The one that says ¡®Dispelling All Illnesses.¡¯¡± Yingbao¡¯s eyes flickered, ¡°Our gourds are merely symbolic, they cannot really dispel all illnesses.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t they¡± The man revealed a look of destion and his shoulders sagged. Without changing her tone, Yingbao asked, ¡°Do you have a sick person in your home?¡± The man was stunned for a while before nodding slowly. Yingbao studied this man closely. He was wearing a yellowish hemp robe with several patches of the same color sewn onto the corners of the robe. Nevertheless, the color mismatch made him look extremely shabby. ¡°Do you know what the illness is? I have studied medicine, I can have a look at the patient.¡± Yingbao proposed. The gaunt man looked closely at Yingbao for the first time, shaking his head weakly. ¡°There isn¡¯t much use.¡± Yingbao knew that he didn¡¯t believe her, so she asserted, ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate people. Let¡¯s quickly discuss the patient¡¯s condition.¡± The gaunt man hesitated for a while before saying, ¡°My child is sick. The illness is persistent and doesn¡¯t seem to get better. I I¡¯ve run out of ideas.¡± Finishing his sentence, he turned around, quietly using a sleeve to wipe his eyes. ¡°Can you take me to see?¡± Yingbao decided to help him because he had taken her in his previous life, allowing her to live in the county town under his daughter¡¯s name. Although the man didn¡¯t fully trust her, seeing the young girl take out a medicine box out from the house, he finally agreed to take her with him. So Yingbao and the two maids, Jiang Quan, followed Gao Lifan to a dpidated alleyway. There were several households in the alley. When they saw Gao Lifan, they greeted him, ¡°Mr. Gao is back. Oh? Who are these people?¡± Gao Lifan: ¡°They¡¯re the doctors that I¡¯ve invited.¡± The others looked enlightened. Just as they were about to say something, Gao Lifan had already ushered the group into the house. The interior of the house was dim, simr to thewyer¡¯s residence. A woman in a coarse cloth dress came out, seeing her husband bringing a group of people home, she asked, ¡°ng, who are they?¡± ¡°They¡¯re here to treat Dongmei.¡± Gao Lifan led Yingbao into his daughter¡¯s room, saying, ¡°My daughter Dongmei has a strange illness that has remained unhealed for a long time. If you would like to look, feel free to.¡± As Yingbao stepped forward, she saw a young girl around sixteen or seventeen years old lying motionless on the bed, as if she were dead. A faint stench lingered in the room. The second maid stood by her cousin, pinching her nose and whispered, ¡°Yingbao, what is this smell? It¡¯s so horrible.¡± She didn¡¯t even dare to breathe. Yingbao had experienced this smell before. It was the odor from a human body, possibly even the smell of a rotting wound. ¡°Are you alright?¡± She asked the girl lying on the bed, ¡°Where are you hurt?¡± The young girl slowly opened her eyes to look at Yingbao. She seemed somewhat reluctant to speak, but her survival instinct allowed her to reply, ¡°I haven¡¯t stopped bleeding since I had a miscarriage.¡± ¡°A miscarriage?¡± Yingbao frowned, ¡°Can I examine you?¡± ¡°Uh-huh.¡± The girl nodded gently. She didn¡¯t want to die. She wanted to live a long and fulfilling life, to live even longer and better than that person. Chapter 203 - 199: Rootless Water_1 Chapter 203: Chapter 199: Rootless Water_1 Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao asked the mistress of the house to bring an oilmp, and then she pulled back the sick woman¡¯s nket. A strong, overpowering smell of blood hit her, causing several people to step back. The woman choked out, ¡°Miss, to be honest, my daughter was poisoned, she identally took abortion medicine. Since then, she¡¯s be like this I don¡¯t know what to do anymore.¡± She had previously invited several midwives over to examine her, but none could do anything. Now, her daughter couldn¡¯t even get out of bed. ¡°identally took abortion medicine?¡± Yingbao questioned. The woman replied: ¡°Yes, that is what the doctor said.¡± Her daughter, Dongmei, was once married to Li Xing who lived in Willow Branch Lane. She became pregnant a yearter, but unexpectedly miscarried after five months. Li Xing then handed her a divorce letter and drove her out, proiming that his family, having produced only males for two generations, could not tolerate a woman who didn¡¯t give birth. Mrs. Li even spread rumours, stating that Dongmei had lost her virginity at a teahouse with her father and hence would never be able to have children; that was why Li Xing divorced Dongmei and remarried. The poor girl got so upset that her sickness grew worse, and eventually she couldn¡¯t get out of bed. Yingbao examined Dongmei thoroughly, then told her mother: ¡°Your daughter¡¯s condition is not critical, but you must follow my method. I will give you two prescriptions: one for oral intake, the other for bathing in the boiled medicine water. Both medicines must be brewed with the Rootless Water from my shop, and don¡¯t forget to use it three times a day.¡± The woman¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Can my daughter be cured?¡± She was willing to give everything a try, even a prescription written by a child, as long as her only daughter would live. ¡°She should recover, but I don¡¯t know if she¡¯ll be able to give birth in the future,¡± Yingbao gave an honest answer. At worst, she could use Five Tripod Ganoderma to repay Gao Lifan¡¯s kindness for sheltering her in his previous life. The woman, excitedly, expressed: ¡°As long as my daughter lives, that¡¯s enough,¡± regardless of whether she may bear children in the future. Yingbao left the room and sat down at the table in the hall. She instructed Erni to ce the medicine box on the table and unlocked it with her own key. She took out a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, ground the ink and started writing the prescriptions. Once she finished, she even stamped her personal seal on them. Yingbao handed the prescriptions to the woman, ¡°Go fill these at the pharmacy, then go to my shop and buy a jar of Rootless Water.¡± The woman thanked her and asked, ¡°May I ask yourst name, young doctor?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Jiang Yingbao. I¡¯m a disciple of the Wen Family in Yuzhou. I was previously an apprentice at Rongji Pharmacy and I havepleted my apprenticeship,¡± Yingbao stated with a straight face. The woman had no idea who the Wen Family in Yuzhou was, nor where Rongji Pharmacy was located, but this child sounded so confident that she didn¡¯t have any doubts. ¡°What about your consultation fee¡± ¡°No need for any consultation fees.¡± Yingbao generously waved her hand, ¡°Go fill the prescription quickly.¡± After saying this, she packed up her medicine box, locked it, and instructed Naini to carry it as they left the Gao residence. Jiang Quan followed them closely, constantly asking along the way, ¡°Yingbao, you are really treating people? Won¡¯t there be any problems?¡± Erni nced at him, ¡°Yingbao has already cured many people in the vige. You, stop being a worrywart.¡± Jiang Quan reluctantly shut his mouth. After Yingbao left, the woman quickly showed the prescriptions to her husband to review. Gao Lifan looked at them and noticed ingredients like angelica, Chuanxiong, peach kernel, dried ginger, Huangbo, Cnidium Fruit, and Sophora Root, he nodded approvingly. He talked to his wife, ¡°The prescription seems okay; it¡¯s simr to the one given by doctors who came here before.¡± Even though a few of the herbs were different, the overall prescription still made sense. His daughter had been sick for so long, and he was so used to buying medicine all the time, he felt as if he might be a doctor himself. That little girl must be a real doctor after all. ¡°She didn¡¯t take any consultation fee and just asked us to buy some Rootless Water from her shop. Don¡¯t forget to buy it,¡± the woman reminded her husband. Gao Lifan replied, ¡°I understand.¡± Upon reaching the pharmacy, he handed the two prescriptions to the pharmacy clerk. The clerk took them, puzzled, and asked, ¡°Who is this Jiang Yingbao? Which doctor is this? Where does he practice?¡± Gao Lifan dared not say that it was a child from the Jiang family, instead, he vaguely replied, ¡°A doctor new to the area, you won¡¯t know him, just fill my prescription quickly, please.¡± The shop assistant didn¡¯t suspect anything. He handed the prescription over to the ountant in the pharmacy to calcte the price and asked Gao Lifan to pay first while he went to weigh the medicines. Gao Lifan then went to Jiang¡¯s Speciality Shop with his package of medicine. As he entered the shop, he greeted Jiang Cheng, ¡°I havee to buy Rootless Water.¡± Jiang Cheng, with an expressionless face, pushed a jar of water already prepared by his younger cousin and said, ¡°A bargain, two coins.¡± Gao Lifan paid two coins, lifted the jar of water and headed home to brew the medicine. Seeing the customer leaving, Jiang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. Earlier, when his little cousin came back, she went by herself to the kitchen and returned with a jar of water for him. She advised, if anyone came to buy Rootless Water, it would cost two taels of silver a jar. They were charging two taels of silver for a jar of water which ordinarily costs ten coins. Jiang Cheng was genuinely afraid that the customer would turn around and smash him with the jar. Incredibly, this man indeed spent two coins to buy a jar of water. s, he prayed that he wouldn¡¯te back to cause trouble. Jiang Cheng set those two coins aside separately, pondering that if the man came back to im a refund, he would secretly return the money to him. Yingbao, unaware that her elder cousin had already nned to return the money to the customer, went with her second cousin to the porcin shop and ordered a batch of jars that could hold water. Later, she instructed her second cousin to hollow out tworge gourds in his free time ¨C she would use them for storing water. Ni Er, following her everywhere she went, was very happy and asionally asked her, ¡°Yingbao, could that woman really recover?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°How did she end up like that?¡± ¡°An idental abortion resulted in uterine damage, there might be residual blood clots.¡± ¡°Ah? How do you know?¡± ¡°My master said so.¡± Ma¡¯am Wen specialized in gynecology; however, due to limited resources, Yingbao had only observed a few female patients with her. This was the first time Yingbao encountered a patient afflicted like Dongmei, so she wasn¡¯t sure if she could fully cure her. But, she had the Five Ding Zhi, it should not be a problem saving her. On the next day, Jiang Quan took his two female cousins to visit the Tile House, actually to go there to watch a variety show. Before they even reached there, they could hear the drum and music sounds. The foot traffic along the way increased. There were people of all ages, as well as many vendors who mostly sold various types of snack foods. Such as deep-fried tofu, tofu pudding, cooked chestnuts, stir-fried soybeans, candied popcorn, candied fruit, colored sugar balls, and milk sweets. There were candied haws, toasted bread slices, rice cakes, sticky rice with red beans and osmanthus rice balls, amongst others ¨C a vast variety. Jiang Quan bought three candied haws, one for each of the siblings to enjoy as they strolled about. Yingbao spotted a store specializing in selling needles. There was a bronze sign hanging in the middle of the store, on which was an image of a rabbit pounding medicine. On the side it was inscribed: ¡°Chen¡¯s Skilled Needle Store, buying top-grade steel bars, producing refined needles, suitable for household sewing, also dealing in wholesale, with special discounts granted, recognizable by a white rabbit sign.¡± This was a wholesale and retail shop that also bought steel bars, with a white rabbit as its insignia. After looking at the signs of a few stores, Yingbao noticed that each one had its own symbol. Even the pattern on the bronze signs was the same, likely created under unified production. What if their house also custom-made a sign like this? Could they then also hire a songstress to advertise for their shop andpose some lyrics to promote Jiang¡¯s Speciality Shop? Or perhaps they could pay to have a g and drum team carry banners around the county town to publicize their shop? As long as the advertising was executed effectively, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about unsold or slow-selling goods. Chapter 204 - 200: Making Trouble_1 Chapter 204: Chapter 200: Making Trouble_1 Trantor: 549690339 But Yingbao could only dream. As it seems right now, the money she earned from selling her goods wouldn¡¯t even cover the costs of hiring a songstress, let alone hiring a full band. The three of them arrived at a theater tform, peering over the railing at the inside. From afar, they could see a few people wearing bright costumes performing on the stage. ¡°Do you want to go in and see?¡± Jiang Quan turned to his younger cousin and asked, ¡°It¡¯s cheap, only ten coins per person.¡± Ernini asked in curiosity, ¡°How do you know?¡± Jiang Quan pointed his mouth at a sign, ¡°It¡¯s written on the sign.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go in and take a look,¡± Yingbao had intended to take Ernini out for a good time, besides this was the busiest area in the county seat, it wouldn¡¯t do to not take a look. So, they paid thirty coins, found a table and sat down. Soon, a vendor came and tried to sell food. Jiang Quan orderedrge portions of crispy, salty and fragrant toasted bread slices, three bowls of tofu pudding, and three red bean glutinous rice balls. The rice balls were even wrapped in ayer of deliciously sauced diced meat. All three of them enjoyed their meal while watching the performance. Ernini and Jiang Quan watched the dancers and the singing on stage, while Yingbao observed the surroundings. These ces were all variety show venues, there were storytelling and songs performances inside the nearby teahouses, outside the brothel there were even acrobats and knife dancers. Apanied by the varied hoarse voices of the vendors, it was extremely lively. That Gao Lifan was a storyteller, and his wife, of the Zhang family, sang and yed the drum along with him. When she had met Gao Lifan and his wife in her previous life, they were in the same line of work. At that time, their only daughter, Dongmei, had been dead for many years. She recalled them adopting a child from the Gao Family n, over time, the adopted son became very nefarious, not only being outrageous rude to the couple, but also often stealing from them and giving their belongings to his birth parents. ¡°Yingbao, Yingbao!¡± Ernini tugged at her cousin and pointed at the stage in a hush, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that woman on stage look like the eldest daughter from the Chen family?¡± Yingbao looked up, and indeed, a dancing girl on stage looked a lot like Chen Wan. Even though her face was heavily painted with rouge, that figure and face undoubtedly belonged to Chen Wan. Unexpectedly, she had ended up dancing in a troupe. Ernini leaned in next to Yingbao¡¯s ear and asked excitedly, ¡°Should we tell the Chen n leader?¡± ¡°Up to you.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t want to get involved. On the stage, Chen Wan danced clumsily, waving her sleeves, spinning her body. Her face bore no expression, her gaze was fixated outside the brothel, as though she was searching for something. Here, the three Jiang siblings finished their snacks, feeling quite relieved, and got up to leave as soon as the servant came to collect their appreciation money. On the way, Ernini chatteringly began to talk about Chen Wan, expressing both sympathy and schadenfreude. Just when they were about to reach their shop, they saw many people gathering around, all of them pointing and talking about their shop from a distance. Jiang Quan and Yingbao were startled and immediately started running towards their shop. In the shop, a few fierce-looking street ruffians were beating up Jiang Cheng. Yingbao was furious, but she remained rational. She turned to Erquan and ordered, ¡°Go get help! Get someone from the government office!¡± After saying that, she dashed forward like a bullet. After a moment¡¯s hesitation, Jiang Quan immediately started running towards the nearby patrol post. Ernini followed Yingbao into the shop, and saw that it was aplete mess, with several gourds also smashed and scattered all over the ground. Thankfully, the fruits and chestnuts had already been moved to the backyard for packing, and hence were not ruined. ¡°Help! Murder!¡± Yingbao shouted as she charged into the shop and kicked a thug in the leg. In her hand, a thick steel needle appeared instantly, and she thrust it straight into the thug¡¯s lower body. He howled in agony and immediately crumpled to the ground, curling up and shrieking incessantly. After stabbing that man, Yingbao quickly moved aside and pushed Ernini towards the back yard, ¡°Quick, get inside!¡± After all, Ernini was already a ten-year-old girl, she couldn¡¯t afford to be touched by these street thugs. One of the local ruffians was stabbed and fell over, leaving the other two dumbfounded, but they quickly snapped out of it and tried to seize Yingbao. However, Jiang Cheng wouldn¡¯t let them have their way. He swung a stick he picked off the ground at them. Earlier, he couldn¡¯t beat all three of them on his own, but now there were only two left. He had trained every day and, in a fit of rage, brutally attacked the now two ruffians, leaving them crying out in pain. Then the two ruffians turned back and started to grapple with him. Seeing this, Yingbao pounced forward to ambush them. She took them by surprise by stabbing their backs, thighs, and buttocks with her needle. She stabbed them wherever she could, eliciting screams from the two ruffians. One of the ruffians, furious, turned around and grabbed Yingbao, plunging a dagger towards her head. ¡°Stop!¡± A loud shout was heard as a figure rushed forward, and with a swift kick, knocked the ruffian over. ¡°How dare youmit violence in the streets! Someone! Arrest them all!¡± Several government officials rushed in, quickly knocking the ruffians to the ground and chaining their necks. Jiang Quan ran back to the store, panting heavily. He held his brother, who was covered in blood, and began to wail, ¡°Brother! Brother! Are you okay?¡± Jiang Cheng, now exhausted and sitting on the ground, shook his head at him: ¡°I¡¯m fine¡± Yingbao, standing to the side, tilted her head back to thank the leading government official, ¡°Thank you for saving me, Uncle Jin.¡± Jin Wu patted her on the head,ughing, ¡°What are you thanking me for? I should apologize foringte and letting little Yingbao get frightened.¡± He turned and pointed at the ruffians, cursing, ¡°Are you blind? How dare you bully anyone under my protection?¡± The three ruffians knelt on the ground begging for mercy, ¡°We are sorry, Boss Jin. We didn¡¯t knowit was our gang leader who sent us¡­¡± Before they could finish speaking, a government official pped one of them and shouted, ¡°Shut up!¡± Jin Wu waved them off, ¡°Take them away! Take them back to the government office for trial. They dared to assault others with weapons in broad daylight. They must be tired of living!¡± The two main gangs in the county have connections with the government officials and patrollers; their rtionships were mutually beneficial. Yet these local ruffians dared to cause nuisance under the name of their gang, it¡¯s clear they didn¡¯t value their lives. Jiang¡¯s Specialties Store had been explicitly ordered by the adults to be well-protected. Even if Jin Wu and the others had the guts, they dared not ck off. Now that these dogs happened to create a ruckus, they had no one to me but themselves for Jin Wu using them to set an example. The officials led the three ruffians away. Jin Wu even stood at the door and loudly announced, ¡°Anybody who dares tomit violence and disturb the peace will have their premises raided!¡± He was addressing the gangsters among the crowd, letting them know that this store was off-limits. Sure enough, someone in the crowd quickly ran off, presumably to go warn others. After Jin Wu and the officials left, Erni, who was still in shock, hugged Yingbao with teary eyes, ¡°The people in this county are so frightening.¡± ¡°Those were just a few local thugs, don¡¯t be afraid. We¡¯ve paid our business tax, and the patrol post is looking after us. They wouldn¡¯t dare to kill. At most they would try to create chaos.¡± However, after Jin Wu¡¯s deration earlier, their shop should be much safer in the future. Yingbao opened the medicine box and applied a medicinal paste on her cousin¡¯s face, then gave him a pill to swallow. Jiang Cheng¡¯s injuries were only skin deep, not critical, and he should recover after a few days. As the spectators gradually dispersed, Jiang Quan, still feeling regretful and upset, began to clean up the store. He set aside a few usable gourds and swept the rest of the debris out. Erni collected the seeds from the broken gourds and gave them to her younger cousin to handle. At this point, Jiang Yunniang walked in, looked around, and asked, ¡°Erquan, what happened here?¡± ¡°Aunt,¡± Jiang Quan called out, ¡°Some local ruffians caused trouble, but they¡¯ve been taken away by the government officials.¡± Jiang Yunniang frowned and said, ¡°Erquan, you¡¯ve offended the Tiger Head Gang. What are we going to do? Even the government officials can¡¯t do anything about them.¡± She continued, addressing Jiang Cheng, ¡°I told you, running a store is not easy. You were trying too hard to prove yourselves, and now you¡¯ve got yourself into unnecessary trouble.¡± Yingbao turned her head to look at her aunt, ¡°Auntie, how did you know those people were from the Tiger Head Gang?¡± The three local ruffians had already been taken away by the government officials. Could it be that her aunt could predict the future? Chapter 205 - 201: Gift Box_1 Chapter 205: Chapter 201: Gift Box_1 Trantor: 549690339 Moreover, the Tiger Head Gang did not rely on intimidation and extortion for their livelihood. Their primary source of ie was running gambling dens and brothels. As for the thugs that showed up today, they were nothing but rogues exploiting the name of the Tiger Head Gang for their fraudulent activities. Yingbao was very familiar with this, having fought twice with the gang leader¡¯s youngest son in her previous life. Eventually, they buried the hatchet and openly became friends. Another gang controlled the city, namely the Qinglong Gang, which monopolized the transportation of grain in canal terminals. They mainly conducted their operations around the docks and didn¡¯t conflict with the local townsfolk. Living in the county town for many years, her aunt would undoubtedly be aware of this. As for her sudden visit today, whether it was pure coincidence or something else, Yingbao didn¡¯t want to specte too much. After all, she was her father¡¯s elder sister. Even if she had some ulterior motives, she likely wouldn¡¯t dare to act too outrageously against her. Jiang Yunniang pursed her lips and assertively said: ¡°Won¡¯t people talk?¡± Yingbao did not respond. Instead she joined Eerni in cleaning up the shop¡¯s trash. Jiang Yunniang watched Yingbao for a while, then turned to take in the appearance of the shop. The shop seemed to be in decent condition after the modifications, but it was a pity that it was being managed by a few children who didn¡¯t know anything. What a waste. ¡°Dacheng, I believe that you wouldn¡¯t need two shops. How about renting one out to Yukan? He can pay five hundred coins per month, what do you think?¡± Jiang Cheng said: ¡°Aunt, I am afraid, we can¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Why not? Your shop has had so many problems in just a few days of operation. If Yukan were here, these reckless thugs would at least show some respect. Leaving everything else aside, your uncle has been doing business in the county for many years ¨C everyone on the street knows him. Even the second-inmand of the Tiger Head Gang has had several meals with your uncle.¡± Jiang Yunniang said, ¡°If our Yukan were here, what happened would not have happened.¡± Hearing this, Jiang Cheng¡¯s brow furrowed tightly. ¡°Aunt, are you implying, if we don¡¯t rent out the shop to your Yukan, those hooligans will cause us trouble again?¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± Jiang Yunniang said: ¡°You don¡¯t know, but the thugs in the county town are very annoying¡­¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Jiang Cheng said, suppressing his anger to cut off her words, ¡°Aunt you should go home, and don¡¯te here again. Our shop is not for rent!¡± Jiang Yunniang was startled, quickly stood up and said angrily: ¡°Are you trying to drive me away? Dacheng, are you actually driving your aunt away?¡± Jiang Cheng, with a somber face, turned around and walked into the courtyard. Jiang Yunniang was so enraged that her face turned bright red. Looking around, she had no ce to vent her anger. So, she shouted, ¡°Let¡¯s see how long your shop canst!¡± After dropping this cryptic sentence, Jiang Yunniang stormed out of the shop and headed home at a brisk pace. Eerni watched her aunt leave and whispered to her younger cousin: ¡°Yingbao, what does our aunt mean?¡± She kept trying to persuade her older brother to let her son manage the shop, but still hoped that her nephew¡¯s shop would not be sessful. Yingbao thought for a while and said: ¡°I guess that there¡¯s some problem with their shop and it¡¯s probably difficult for them to keep it going.¡± This would exin why she was trying to take over her shop. Only this reason seemed usible. Eerni realized and said in a low voice: ¡°No wonder aunt borrowed money from grandmast year. I heard it myself, she borrowed fifty taels.¡± Not only did she borrow money, but she alsoined to grandma for a long time. However, Eerni didn¡¯t dare to eavesdrop. The next day, Bamboo Workshop delivered the customized bamboo boxes, a total of one hundred. Yingbao and Eerni started packing candied fruit, one pound per box. They weighed the candied fruit, wrapped it in wax paper, put it in the box, closed the lid, and then attached a written coloredbel to the lid. ¡°It looks so good when it¡¯s packed like this.¡± Eerni praised while working, ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to your idea, Yingbao.¡± ¡°How much are we going to sell each box for?¡± Jiang Quan asked. Yingbao calcted a bit, ¡°For now, we will sell each box for 400 coins.¡± Taking into ount the cost of the candied fruit, thebour costs, and the cost of packing, they could probably make a profit of half the selling price. If the business did well in the future, they could raise the price then. ¡°What about the golden fungus?¡± asked Jiang Quan. Yingbao said: ¡°These small boxes can only hold half a pound of golden fungus. We will sell it for ten taels a box.¡± ¡°What? Half a pound is ten taels, wouldn¡¯t that mean a pound is twenty taels?¡± After his initial excitement, Jiang Quan expressed his concern: ¡°It¡¯s so expensive, who will buy it?¡± Yingbao said:¡±You don¡¯t need to worry about that.¡± If they can¡¯t sell it, they¡¯ll give it to Steward Zhou Mao. Otherwise, they could keep it in the storage house. They could keep it for quite some time, even sell it next year if needed, it wouldn¡¯t be a waste. The siblings packed all the preserved fruits into boxes, stored some in the shop and the rest in the back room. Surprisingly, two people came in that day and bought several boxes of candied fruit to take away. They said they were taking them back to their hometown to give as gifts. Jiang Quan was ecstatic and tugged at his cousin, asking: ¡°Yingbao, what if we sell out all our candied fruits?¡± At present, there were only about 200 pounds of preserved fruits left in their shop. Given the current trend, they would probably sell out within a month. ¡°When that timees, we¡¯ll buy some from the vendors. The fruit they sell is much cheaper than ours. We¡¯ll just need to package it. But we must make sure to choose the ones that look good.¡± Yingbao pointed to the packaging box, ¡°Order another two hundred boxes, and ask the Bamboo Workshop to weave our shop¡¯s name into the box with colored bamboo strips.¡± In this way, the gift boxes will look a bit more refined. ¡°I get it!¡± Jiang Quan nodded repeatedly. Jiang Cheng, who was on the side, said: ¡°Our golden fungus and Xue¡¯er fungus are about to be harvested soon. We might as well order somecquer wooden boxes, which look more expensive and will make the golden fungus look more presentable.¡± ¡°Sure, big brother, whatever you think of, just go ahead and do it. When customizing, remember to have the shop¡¯s name written on it.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Once they had finished discussing the details, the siblings began to divide up the tasks. Jiang Quan went to scout out the market and bought some food items avable that were easy to store. He put them in the bamboo boxes and added their shop¡¯sbels. Surprisingly, people actually came in to buy them, and some even bought several boxes at a time. It turned out they were all buying them to take back to their hometown. Jiang Quan was thrilled. Like a shot of adrenaline, he vigorously went around the county town. He bargained with bakery shops and packaged the goods in boxes with their shop¡¯sbels after buying them. In the following days, business in the shop suddenly picked up. They were able to sell dozens of boxes of various pastries and preserved fruits each day. ¡°The packaging really makes a difference. Ha ha ha!¡± Jiang Quanughed with satisfaction, continuously measuring and packing pastries. Since Yingbao had neat and pretty handwriting, she took up the task of writing the productbels. By now, she already had more than a hundredbels written. Meanwhile, Jiang Cheng was keeping the ounts. Given the recent flurry of business, it was necessary to maintain urate ounts, including an inventory and loss ount. As of now, they had no idea exactly how much they had earned. They¡¯d have to wait until the end of the month to calcte that. On this day, while Yingbao was writingbels in the backyard, she heard Eerni calling out: ¡°Yingbao, that female patient is here!¡± The female patient? She almost forgot. It seemed like it was time for Gao Lifan¡¯s daughter, Dongmei, to change her prescription. Yingbao put down her pen, tidied up the productbels, got her medical kit on the table, and called to Eerni: ¡°Please invite her in, sister.¡± Eerni responded and told Zhang and her daughter Dongmei: ¡°Come this way, my cousin will see you in the back room.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Zhang helped her daughter Dongmei walk towards the backyard. Upon seeing Yingbao, Dongmei bowed and greeted: ¡°I am here for the young doctor¡¯s follow-up consultation.¡± Chapter 206 - 202: Drawing_1 Chapter 206: Chapter 202: Drawing_1 Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao looked her up and down, then pointed to the stool across the table. ¡°Sit down, and I¡¯ll check your pulse.¡± Dongmeiplied, extending her wrist. Yingbao took her pulse, observed herplexion, and asked, ¡°Is there still lochia?¡± Dongmei shook her head, ¡°It has been clear recently.¡± Yingbao spread out the paper to write a prescription: ¡°I will change your medicine slightly, take it for a few days to consolidate, your body is frail, and needs to be properly nourished.¡± ¡°What the young doctor said makes sense.¡± Zhang Family added from the side: ¡°Thank you for curing my daughter, could we perhaps purchase another jar of that Rootless Water?¡± She had just asked the shopkeeper in the front and he said they were out of Rootless Water. Yingbao looked at her, ¡°Of course, you need that water for decoction.¡± It seemed that Pupil Spring was indeed useful. After finishing the prescription, he gave it to Mother and Daughter Zhang, asking them to wait in the front shop. Yingbao went to the stove, filled a clean jar with water from Pupil Spring. Erni ran over and asked, ¡°Yingbao, the female patient said she wanted to buy Rootless Water, you¡± She looked down, her younger cousin pointed to a jar of water on the ground, ¡°Take it, this is the Rootless Water.¡± Erni picked up the jar of water, then nced at therge water tank, feeling inexplicably guilty. Two dayster, all of the candied fruits they made at home were sold out, but Jiang Quan again purchased fifty jin of candied fruit from elsewhere, along with some jams. ¡°Yingbao, we need to prepare more gift boxes, the sales will definitely berger during holidays.¡± As Jiang Quan was packaging the fruit preserves, he noted, ¡°I saw that the cake shop also has gift boxes. The paintings on the boxes are lovely.¡± He nced at his younger cousin, ¡°You only write and don¡¯t paint, the gift box is not festive at all.¡± Yingbao replied impatiently, ¡°I have never studied painting, why don¡¯t you do it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m no good at it.¡± Jiang Quan sighed and turned his head to look at Jiang Cheng: ¡°Big Brother, you can paint, you¡¯ll be in charge of it from now on.¡± Jiang Cheng could only agree, ¡°I¡¯ll give it a try first.¡± He had studied painting with the Master for several years, but the Master said that his painting was rigid and the coloring was garish,cking in soul, so he hardly painted anymore. Once again picking up the brush to paint, he stuck to painting wealthy characters, birds, and flowers. Surprisingly, they perfectly fit the gift box. Jiang Quan picked up one of his elder brother¡¯s paintings to inspect it, joyfully announced, ¡°It¡¯s more beautiful than the paintings on the cake shop¡¯s boxes. Big brother, the drawings on these gift boxes will be up to you from now on.¡± Jiang Cheng refused as he nced at the pile of bamboo and wooden boxes, ¡°I can¡¯t paint all of them!¡± Painting a few asionally was doable, but if all of them were to be painted by him alone, he wouldn¡¯t be able to finish even if he didn¡¯t eat or drink. Unlike writing, painting was not something you could do offhand. It involved several steps such as painting and coloring. Being able to paint three in two hours was considered good. He could imagine a hundreds of gift boxes in the room needing hundreds of paintings, and just thinking about it made his scalp prickle. Yingbao suggested, ¡°How about hiring someone else? The students at the county school opposite us have excellent calligraphy and painting skills. If we hire them, it will definitely save time and effort.¡± They should be able to easily paint these soulless images of wealth and luck. Jiang Quan immediately shook his head at Yingbao¡¯s suggestion: ¡°Those are schrs, how could they be willing to paint these things for you?¡± ¡°With ten coins per standardized small painting, there must be those willing to do it.¡± Yingbao: ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, post a notice outside. I guarantee there will be people interested.¡± Jiang Quan thought about and wrote on a piece of paper: Hiring painter to draw small auspicious paintings, eight coins for each. He then posted the paper on the front of the store. In the afternoon, several students passed by the shop¡¯s entrance, chuckled at the notice and left one by one. However, by the next day, a schr dide to inquire about the painting job. Jiang Quan outlined the requirements to the schr: ¡°Do you provide the stationery and pigments?¡± ¡°Of course, but if they are damaged, you will need topensate for them.¡± Jiang Quan certainly didn¡¯t want to give out the stationery only to get back a few paintings, that would be a major loss. The schr nodded: ¡°I am willing to give it a try.¡± Jiang Quan exchanged a nce with his big brother and said, ¡°Then, please follow me to the backyard to draw.¡± He couldn¡¯t possibly hand over his stationery to a stranger to take away. If he wanted to draw, he had to do it in the shop. The schr nodded and followed Jiang Quan to the backyard, stopping by a table under the corridor. The table was Yingbao¡¯s, all the stationery and pigment were there, ready for the schr to draw. The schr sat down at the table, picked up the cut sheets in his hand to inspect, and began to draw. First, he drew a ¡°blooming flower and full moon¡± image, then a ¡°Peony brings wealth,¡± then a ¡°Five sons all passing the civil exam,¡± and finally a ¡°Surplus year after year.¡± These four types of images were typically used on ordinary product packaging. In the future, these four types will continue to be drawn. The schr painted fast, daringly and brightly colored. Although itcked soul, it was already great. Jiang Quan nodded: ¡°Not bad, like this. But you can¡¯t just paint, you must also write.¡± ¡°The writing will be done after finishing the paintings.¡± The schr efficiently continued drawing for some time before he started adding writing in the nk spaces of the drawings. Of course, he wasn¡¯t writing poems or songs, but product introductions and ce of origin. By dusk, the schr finally finished ten small paintings, received the eighty coins from Jiang Quan and went back to the county school. Jiang Quan flipped through the ten small paintings with a look of pain on his face and muttered, ¡°These ten small paintings cost eighty coins, Yingbao, maybe we should stop adding paintings. Just stick with writing.¡± Yingbao replied: ¡°Even if we write, we still need someone to do it. I can¡¯t stay here all the time, your brother alone can¡¯t handle it. This schr¡¯s writing and painting are good, it¡¯s worthwhile to hire him.¡± ¡°Sigh, I guess we have no choice but to hire him.¡± Jiang Quan agreed after thinking about it. He carefully put away the small paintings, cing them separately. He asked, ¡°Yingbao, when are you going back to collect the Golden Fungus?¡± He was eager to disy a batch of Golden Fungus for sale in the shop. ¡°I¡¯ll go back after Xiaojie has his break.¡± Yingbao hadn¡¯t been visiting Wu Daozi at the county government office recently. Firstly because the County Magistrate was busy at the end of the year and didn¡¯t have time to entertain a child like her, and secondly, because she was also busy, so she didn¡¯t go to disturb him. However, her younger brother Xiaojie would be having a break soon and she would have to go pick him up to bring him home. Not to their home in the countryside, but the house in Plum Blossom Lane. In the blink of an eye, it was the fifteenth of September. Early in the morning, Jiang Quan set off in a carriage to pick up his little cousin from the government office. After picking up his cousin, he took the opportunity to buy some vegetables and meat from the market before heading home to prepare a feast. ¡°Second Brother, Teacher asked about the specialties in our shop. He wants to buy some to take home.¡± Xiaojie asked his second eldest cousin. Jiang Quan brightened up at this, ¡°We have a lot. Golden Fungus and Xue¡¯er are unique to our vige. For the rest, fruit preserves, sweetmeats and ky chestnut pastry are our shop¡¯s specialties.¡± ¡°ky chestnut pastry?¡± Xiaojie had never heard of this dessert before and curiously asked, ¡°Who made it? Is it delicious?¡± Jiang Quan: ¡°Your sister made it, and of course it¡¯s delicious.¡± These past few days, Yingbao and Erni had made frequent visits to the pastry shop, where they would stay for a long time under the guise of shopping. Yingbao was able to take advantage of her young age, and she did not attract much attention. She was finally able to mimic their method of making chestnut pastry. ¡°She made a lot of chestnut pastries at home yesterday, they were delicious. When you go home tonight, you can take some for your teacher to try.¡±Jiang Quan brought a lot of chestnuts from the house, not knowing how to sell them. In the end, the younger cousin came up with a method, ran to learn from her and sessfully mastered the method of making ky chestnut pastry. Chapter 207 - 203: Deception_1 Chapter 207: Chapter 203: Deception_1 Trantor: 549690339 The carriage drove directly into the backyard of the shop. Xiaojie hopped off the carriage and hurried over to pet Xiaohei. Ever since Xiaohei had arrived in the county, his freedom had been severely limited by being tied to a post in the backyard. He was almost falling into depression. Seeing his little master now, he barked excitedly. ¡°Xiaojie!¡± Yingbao came out from the kitchen and waved at him, ¡°Come and have some chestnut cake.¡± They had just made a pot of it in the morning. It was still warm, crispy, and delicious. Jiang Jie ran into the kitchen to find his cousin Yingbao packaging chestnut cakes. She was cing the packed chestnut cakes, one by one, into a t-bottomed iron pot on the stove. Off to the side, there was a bamboo tray of freshly baked chestnut cakes that were giving off a rich aroma. Jiang Jie took a piece and bit into it. It was really delicious, much better than the chestnut cake from his teacher¡¯s house. While packaging the chestnut cakes, Yingbao asked Xiaojie about his studies. Learning that Master Wu often praised him, she was quite happy. Her little brother would surely pass the exam and be a high-ranking official. Outside the shop, Jiang Cheng had just ced ten boxes of freshly packaged chestnut cakes on the shelf when a customer walked in. ¡°Young man, how much do you charge for your specialities?¡± Jiang Cheng: ¡°What would you like to buy? The prices are disyed with each item.¡± The visitor was dressed in a bright silken robe and wore a turban adorned with a brightly colored silk flower. He looked like a person of wealth. ¡°Oh, your prices are not low. Can I get a discount if I buy in bulk?¡± The man, with a thickyer of fragrant powder on his face and his eyebrows and eyeliners painted on, was difficult to ascertain his real appearance. Jiang Cheng nced at him and responded, ¡°May I ask how many you want to buy? We do not offer discounts for purchases less than thirty boxes.¡± The manughed and then suddenly took out a folding fan from his waist and began fanning himself, ¡°For now, I can¡¯t buy that many. Just give me two boxes of pastries for now.¡± He took out copper coins from his purse, paid for the pastries, picked up two boxes of chestnut cakes, and left. Jiang Cheng collected the money and continued to sit inside the counter to draw productbels. Having learned some painting skills from the schr, he was now much faster. He could draw over a dozenbels in two hours. Unconsciously, it was already noon when Jiang Quan came to rece his elder brother so he could go to the backyard and have lunch. Jiang Cheng noticed a man in a silken robe entering the shop. Jiang Cheng recognized him. He was the customer who had bought two boxes of chestnut cake earlier. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re so busy.¡± The man smiled and said, ¡°Your pastries are really good. Give me four more boxes.¡± Jiang Cheng did not find it suspicious and gave him four boxes. Instead of leaving after paying, the man said to Jiang Cheng, ¡°Can you deliver these four boxes of pastries to Feihe Building? I am the owner of Feihe Building.¡± Jiang Quan knew of Feihe Building and quickly offered, ¡°I¡¯ll deliver it.¡± His elder brother hadn¡¯t eaten yet, so he would just make the delivery himself. Jiang Cheng nodded, tied up the four boxes of pastries with a thin hemp rope, handed them to his brother, and reminded him to verify the details before delivering the goods. After all, they didn¡¯t know the owner of Feihe Building, and if the goods were delivered to the wrong ce, wouldn¡¯t they have topensate? ¡°I know,¡± Jiang Quan said, picking up the four boxes of pastries and running off. Feihe Building was a big restaurant. It served drinks on the ground floor and had dining rooms upstairs. It was a ce frequented by the wealthy. Jiang Quan ran to the front of the building. Before he could go up the stairs, person who looked like a servant came forward, ¡°Are you delivering the pastries our owner bought? You can just give them to me.¡± Jiang Quan nced at Feihe Building and asked, ¡°What is your owner¡¯sst name? What does he look like?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± The servant gave him a re, ¡°Our owner¡¯sst name is Lai. Didn¡¯t he buy two boxes of pastries at your ce in the morning? Hurry up and give them to me, the guests upstairs are waiting.¡± Jiang Quan had no choice but to hand over the four boxes of pastries and watched as the servant went into Feihe Building. When he returned to the shop, that customer was no longer there. Jiang Cheng asked him, ¡°Is that man really the owner of Feihe Building?¡± ¡°Yes, the servant inside said so.¡± Jiang Quan replied, ¡°Elder brother, you go and have lunch. I¡¯ll look after the shop.¡± Jiang Cheng nodded and went to the backyard. Today, Erni and Yingbao had cooked many dishes and bought stewed goose and chicken from outside. Yingbao had also bought a can of fruit juice from somewhere. It was tart and sweet, and very refreshing. As Jiang Cheng sat down to eat, he saw the chestnut cakes still being fried on the stove. He said, ¡°The chestnut cakes are selling really well today. One person bought six boxes and said he¡¯lle again next time. He told us to make more because his guests like them.¡± ¡°His guests like them?¡± Yingbao found it odd. Their gift box of chestnut cakes was priced high. Ordinary people wouldn¡¯t buy it to take home to eat unless they were very wealthy. Jiang Cheng: ¡°It¡¯s the owner of Feihe Building. He said his guests are either rich or noble, and ordinary pastries won¡¯t attract their interest.¡± Yingbao felt that something was off, but she couldn¡¯t put her finger on it. While they were eating, they suddenly heard Jiang Quan calling from up front, ¡°Yingbao, how many chestnut cakes do we have left? This customer wants fifty boxes.¡± Fifty boxes, that would be twenty taels of silver at four hundred coins a box. This was no small amount. Yingbao checked the number of pre-packaged chestnut cakes in the kitchen and told her second brother, ¡°We have forty boxes.¡± Jiang Quan: ¡°Forty boxes should do. The customer is waiting. He wants us to deliver them to Feihe Building and settle the ount there.¡± He¡¯s not paying upfront? Yingbao immediately became alert and ran to the front of the shop to check. She saw a man sporting a silk flower on his head, casually fanning himself with a folding fan, looking around. He didn¡¯t pay much attention when he saw a little girl, and he said to Jiang Quan, ¡°Hurry, my guests are waiting.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ming.¡± Jiang Quan prepared the chestnut cakes in the shop, bundling them up with hemp rope into piles. Five boxes a pile, fifty boxes would probably make up ten piles. Yingbao asked outright, ¡°Isn¡¯t the customer paying upfront?¡± Before Jiang Quan could respond, the man red at her, ¡°What do you mean? Do you think I, the owner of Feihe Building, would owe your little shop twenty measly taels?¡± The more Yingbao looked at this man, the more something seemed off about him. He imed to be the owner of Feihe Building, but apart from the mboyant decorations he didn¡¯t look like an owner at all. Even the thickyer of white powder couldn¡¯t hide his lewd appearance. ¡°Our shop has a strict policy against credit.¡± Yingbao said unapologetically, ¡°If you can¡¯t afford to pay in cash, you should go somewhere else to buy cheaper pastries.¡± Jiang Quan was stunned, looking at his cousin clueless about what to say. The man was furious, pointing at Yingbao and cursing, ¡°Where did this little rabbite from? Dare to be disrespectful to me? Do you still want to do business?¡± Yingbao was not afraid of him at all, ¡°My uncle works for the Patrol Post, how dare you threaten me?¡± She turned to her second brother, ¡°Go to the Patrol Post and get uncle. Tell him there¡¯s a scammer here trying to cheat us. Humph! I know the owner of Feihe Building, and he¡¯s nothing like you!¡± Yingbao was so sure of herself that the man was taken aback. Seeing Jiang Quan really heading out of the shop, he suddenly turned around, lifted his robe, and ran away. He didn¡¯t even bother to pick up the folding fan he dropped. Jiang Quan could onlye back and ask, ¡°Yingbao, was that man really a scammer?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Yingbao nodded confidently. She had had a close encounter with such a scammer in her previous life. She had almost been fooled, but fortunately, her caution and stinginess prevented the scammer from seeding. Jiang Quan was confused, ¡°But how did he attempt to scam us?¡± They had suffered no losses. Yingbao rolled her eyes at him, ¡°He gives you a sweet taste first, then attempts to scam you.¡± Chapter 208 - 204: Seeking a Famous Doctor_1 Chapter 208: Chapter 204: Seeking a Famous Doctor_1 Trantor: 549690339 Jiang Quan still couldn¡¯t understand. So Yingbao broke it down for him. ¡°That man ordered fifty boxes of cakes in one go, asking you to deliver them to Feihe Building. Then he would find various excuses to borrow money from us, promising to settle it all in Feihe Building. After you lend him money, he takes it and runs. That¡¯s one possibility.¡± ¡°If he can¡¯t borrow money from us, the goods you delivered to Feihe Building will be confiscated and smuggled out from a backdoor. That¡¯s the second possibility.¡± ¡°Thirdly, if you lend him money and give the goods to the clerk you first met, you will end up with nothing. When you go to Feihe Building for an exnation, you¡¯ll find out that the proprietor is actually someone else and the clerk who had contact with you has disappeared.¡± Jiang Quan was stunned. ¡°So, are there several of them involved in this fraud?¡± ¡°Yes, they are specifically scamming new and inexperienced shops like ours.¡± Yingbao continued, ¡°So regardless of the size of the business in the future, I will not entertain any that require credit.¡± Jiang Quan broke out in a cold sweat. If he had fallen for it just now, he wouldn¡¯t only lose dozens of taels of silver but might also lose dozens of boxes of cakes. ¡°Yingbao, how do you know all this?¡± Jiang Quan asked suspiciously, finally feeling the gravity of the situation. His younger cousin acted just like a street fortune teller, she saw through everything. Yingbao ignored him. Her silence was more meaningful than words, better to let him guess. At night, when Yingbao escorted Jiang Jie back to the county government, she gave him three boxes of chestnut cakes, three boxes of homemade medicated pills, and three bottles of rejuvenating water. He was to keep one set, with the remaining divided between Wu Daozi and Mr. Wu. In the following days, Yingbao and Sister Dani turned all the chestnuts into cakes and packed them into boxes. Her only female patient, Dongmei, made another visit. This time, Dongmei looked even healthier. ¡°I will be able to apany my father on stage tomorrow.¡± Dongmei bowed respectfully to Yingbao, ¡°Thanks once again to Doctor Yingbao for saving my life.¡± Yingbao hastily supported Dongmei to prevent her from bowing down, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, really.¡± Dongmei looked around the shop, smiled and asked, ¡°Does Doctor Yingbao want me to promote your shop?¡± ¡°That¡¯d be great.¡± Yingbao was eager, ¡°Dongmei, how much silver should we pay you each month?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want silver.¡± Dongmei smiled, ¡°As long as Doctor Yingbao gives me a jar of Rootless Water each month.¡± The Rootless Water not only made her healthier, but her parents also improved significantly after drinking it. Theirplexion improved, and even their mobility seemed better. She and her father, due to their years of storytelling, had rough voices. Now, not only were their voices clearer, they could even perform three shows in a row without their voices getting hoarse. It seemed that the Rootless Water was a good thing indeed. And no other ces were selling it, showcasing the extraordinary medical skills of Doctor Yingbao who managed to concoct such a magical water. Yingbao immediately nodded in agreement, ¡°Alright then.¡± It¡¯s just Pupil Spring water, of which she had plenty. She would fill a big jar for herter. Dongmei took a look around the shop, memorizing the prices of each item, then asked, ¡°Are these all the items that you have in stock? Do you have any others?¡± ¡°Yes, we do!¡± Yingbao took out a prepared product introduction, ¡°Our shop specializes in Qinchuan County¡¯s specialty products. The golden and snow mushrooms are our main products. You can see their prices and effects here.¡± She had initially nned to hire a singer to promote her shop, but she didn¡¯t need to do that now. With Dongmei¡¯s current beautiful appearance and sweet voice, she believed that she would soon be popr and her influence would be no lesser than that of a singer. Dongmei read through the product introduction and asked, ¡°Can I take this home and study it slowly?¡± ¡°Of course, of course,¡± Yingbao said. She would naturally wholeheartedly support Dongmei, who worked so diligently. ¡°Then I¡¯ll return home.¡± After carefully folding the paper and tucking it into her sleeve, Dongmei announced her departure. ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Yingbao hurriedly ran into the kitchen, brought out arge jar of water, and handed it to Dongmei, ¡°Your reward.¡± Dongmei gave a small smile, thanked her, and left carrying the jar. Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan were simply dumbfounded. ¡°Yingbao, are you sure that Dongmei won¡¯t discover the trick with the water?¡± queried Jiang Quan. This time, Jiang Quan had personally seen his younger cousin scoop a jar of water from the kitchen water vat and then give it to the girl. Yingbao snorted, ignoring her two older cousins. How dare they question her, Yingbao the Fairly! Did they not notice anything these past few days? Not to mention Jiang Cheng, whose face looked more and more handsome and refined, even Jiang Quan¡¯s dark skin seemed a bit lighter. These two fools had never questioned why the water vat was always full. But now, they dared to doubt whether the jar of water she gave to Dongmei was real. ¡°Send me back home tomorrow,¡± Yingbao said, ¡°Our home¡¯s golden mushrooms and snow mushrooms should be ready for harvest soon, and Second Brother should go back and get the chestnuts.¡± Jiang Quan nodded, ¡°We should indeed go back.¡± He then turned to ask Dani, ¡°What about you?¡± Having eaten and yed to her heart¡¯s content, and having thoroughly explored the county, Dani decided it was time to return home. ¡°I¡¯ll go back as well.¡± Before she returned, she wanted to buy some gifts for Huzi and for her father and stepmother as well. Thus, Dani and her younger cousin embarked on a massive shopping spree in the county, purchasing a pile of trinkets and novelties. Yingbao, on the other hand, went to therge pharmacy to buy arge amount of medicinal herbs for her own medicine preparation. The next day, Jiang Quan drove the carriage to send the two cousins away. Before she left, Yingbao gave her older cousin two more bottles of medicated pills ¨C one for healing and invigorating, and another for treating internal and external injuries. ¡°Now that we¡¯re gone, you need to be careful. Normally, you can let Xiaohei roam freely, it won¡¯t run away anymore.¡± Yingbao instructed, ¡°If thugs evere to the door again, don¡¯t confront them, go straight to Patrol Post and find Uncle Jin.¡± ¡°Alright. You too should take care on the road,¡± Jiang Cheng waved as he watched the carriage leave. Once the carriage left the city gate, it sped along the official road. The Red Date Horse galloped vigorously, pulling the carriage at a breakneck speed. Halfway through the journey, they stopped to rest. Yingbao fed the Red Date Horse some Pupil Spring water and some wheat. At noon, the carriage finally arrived in the South Slope. ¡°Yingbao, you¡¯re finally back!¡± Dani lifted her younger cousin down from the carriage and said mysteriously, ¡°A few visitors came to our house this morning looking for you to heal them. If you didn¡¯te back today, they would have gone to the county to find you.¡± Yingbao blinked her eyes, ¡°Who?¡± Who was so insightful? ¡°I don¡¯t recognize them, but someone said that it was Chen Tiantian who told them you can cure patients.¡± Dani: ¡°Uncle was very upset and unless Mr. Li, the doctor, was also with them, he would have kicked them out of the vige.¡± Upon hearing Chen Tiantian was involved, Yingbao lost interest immediately. Carrying her medicine box, she walked into her courtyard, where she saw Aunt weing her from the kitchen and gesturing her over. Yingbao understood, and she entered the kitchen with Dahuang dancing happily at her side. ¡°There are guests in the living room talking to your grandfather.¡± Aunt Spring passed the medicine box to her daughter while adding wood to the fire for the tea. Yingbao asked curiously, ¡°Who are they?¡± As Aunt Spring added more firewood to burn the tea, she replied, ¡°They imed to havee due to your reputation. Hmm, they seem to be from the Prefecture City, seeking treatment for a child in his teens.¡± Chapter 209 - 205: Swearing an Oath_1 Chapter 209: Chapter 205: Swearing an Oath_1 Trantor:549690339 ¡°Where¡¯s the patient?¡± ¡°The patient is said to be at Rongji Pharmacy.¡± After boiling the tea, Chunniandled it into the teapot and carried it to the main room. She quickly returned. ¡°Baobao, your grandfather wants you to go over.¡± Chunnian warned, ¡°I think those people are not easy to deal with, be careful with your words.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Yingbao walked over to the main room. Several people sat in the main room. Her own father and Uncle Li Langzhong sat on one side, and three strangers sat on the other. Jiang Sang pulled his daughter to him and tly stated, ¡°This is my daughter. She¡¯s not even six years old; she¡¯s no divine doctor.¡± ¡°But the Seventh Young Master of the Wei Family said that your daughter Yingbao is an extraordinary doctor who can cure even the most difficult diseases. Even the Fourth Young Master from the Zhao Family affirmed this, which is why we havee to seek medical help.¡± A middle-aged schr said, ¡°Jiang Vige Mayor, there is no need to belittle yourself. As long as you cure our young master, we will certainly provide a generous reward.¡± Yingbao sized up the three people before her. This middle-aged schr seemed to be a staff member in a certain mansion. There was one martial general with a sword, with a straight figure, he appeared to be in histe twenties and dressed like a high-ranking officer. The man in the middle, too familiar, turned out to be the future Army Horse Commander, Xiao Mo. As Yingbao looked at Xiao Mo, he was also examining her. Meeting his eyes, Yingbao defiantly red right back. In her previous life, she wouldn¡¯t dare to do this, but now she was just a few-year-old girl from aw-abiding family, with her parents protecting her. What could he do? Xiao Mo smirked and started, ¡°So, your name is Yingbao. Wei Zhan often mentions you, he said you¡¯re a very able littledy, your medical skills are outstanding, unparalleled.¡± Yingbao swore inwardly at Wei Zhan, that ungrateful guy. After feeding and taking care of him for several months, he betrayed her and brought this death god to her. However, since he showed up, she didn¡¯t need to hide her medical practice anymore, because the vigers knew about it. ¡°Indeed, my medical skills are outstanding,¡± Yingbao admitted without any shame. Considering the circumstances, she might as well be generous in admitting that she was a unique young divine doctor. Only in this way could she negotiate with these nobles; even if she appeared arrogant, they would think it was because she was proud of her talents. Jiang Sang didn¡¯t agree and pulled his daughter back, whispering, ¡°Don¡¯t make a scene.¡± Xiao Mo didn¡¯t mind, he smiled and asked, ¡°Since Yingbao admits her exceptional medical skills, could she have a look at my brother? If he recovers, I will be eternally grateful.¡± ¡°If I can¡¯t cure him, will you kill me?¡± Yingbao asked candidly. ¡°Absolutely not,¡± Xiao Mo solemnly replied. ¡°We can only do our best and leave the rest to fate. If his illness really can¡¯t be cured, then it¡¯s just his destiny. I would never me Yingbao.¡± Yingbao: ¡°Then be it. Swear that if I can¡¯t cure him, you won¡¯t me anyone nor retaliate against anyone in my family. But if I cure him, you must promise not to harm anyone in the Jiang Family for the rest of your life, including me.¡± This man kept his word, and he had a prestigious status. Yingbao was betting that he would definitely keep his promise. She remembered that in her previous life, a travelling doctor who was very good in the medical field once treated him and was often invited to his shut-in concubines for medical consultations, even to herself, a dancing girl. That time when she sprained her ankle, yet was still required to perform at a banquet, she ended up with a foot swollen like a pig¡¯s trotter, almost useless. The old man treated her sprained ankle while cursing Xiao Mo very harshly. Even while Xiao Mo was standing beside them, he never replied. Moreover, he gave him arge consultation fee and respectfully escorted him out. From this, it seemed that this man could be courteous to those who had been kind to him. So, she might as well take this opportunity to get a promise from him and ask for a favor. It is just treating his brother. If it fails, she can¡¯t be med. She is just a five or six-year-old child. But if the treatment works, this man would owe her a favor. Upon hearing his daughter¡¯s blunt words, Jiang Sang was a bit guilty, so he said: ¡°Children don¡¯t know how to be tactful, please don¡¯t be offended, my lord.¡± Xiao Mo gestured dismissively, ¡°No worries, your darling is straightforward; why would I be petty?¡± Yingbao¡¯s face twitched. She nestled into her father and whispered, ¡°Dad, treating his brother won¡¯t be a loss for us. A nobleman¡¯s life is very valuable. When the timees, if he gives us arge sum of medical fees, we will be in good fortune.¡± Jiang Sang: As a Martial General, Xiao Mo, despite Yingbao¡¯s small and muffled voice, heard everything and couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°Doctor Yingbao, is it convenient for my brother to receive medical treatment now?¡± Xiao Mo asked. Yingbao: ¡°You have not sworn yet.¡± Xiao Mo, helpless, stretched out three fingers and made an oath to heaven and earth: ¡°I Xiao, swear never to harm Doctor Yingbao and her family; if I break this oath, let heaven and earth punish me.¡± ¡°You need to add one more item: if you break this oath, you will be childless and wifeless, living a life of loneliness.¡± Yingbao said. This guy in her past life collected quite a number of concubines, but she never saw a child being born, neither heard of his wife or children, perhaps he received retribution. Once the two people beside him heard this, their faces changed, and they harshly retorted, ¡°What daring!¡± Jiang Sang tucked his daughter into his arms and looked at the two men unhappily, ¡°Why are you two shouting? My daughter is only five years old; she¡¯s but an innocent child, and you are grown-ups, why are youpeting with a child?¡± The Schr, his moustache bristling with anger, said, ¡°Children must learn proper manners. Such unashamed boasting, aren¡¯t you afraid of bringing catastrophe upon your family?¡± Jiang the Old Man was immediately displeased, ¡°What do you mean? You are evenpeting with a four-year-old child now. Are you here for treatment, or to show off? I tell you, I am not easily intimidated!¡± The Schr was about to retort, but Xiao Mo stopped him with a nce: ¡°It¡¯s okay, calm down. It¡¯s just a promise, I can keep it.¡± Then he repeated the oath, adding the provision that Yingbao had asked for. Yingbao, satisfied, ignored the murderous res from the Schr and Martial General, grabbed her father and went to the kitchen to get her medicine box. Jiang Sang whispered to her, ¡°Baobao, why are you causing so much whirlwind? We can¡¯t afford to offend those people.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not causing a whirlwind, they need my help, and with Uncle Li Langzhong here, it is natural to meet my conditions before treating his brother.¡± If she were to refuse to treat, she¡¯d truly risk offending him; hence, she couldn¡¯t afford to miss out on anything she could get from this. As for his subordinates, if they do something without hismand, they would surely die a horrific death. Anxious about her father, Yingbao added: ¡°If I can cure his brother, they will be even less likely to make me cross. Don¡¯t worry, Dad.¡± Martial Generals love life, they would hope for effective medical treatment once injured. In their eyes, her medical skills were a guarantee of life-saving. Who would want to contend with their own lives? Jiang Sang sighed, helping his daughter pick up the medicine box: ¡°Let your dad apany you to Uncle Li Langzhong¡¯s house.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Father and daughter followed Li Langzhong and the others back to the Rongji Pharmacy. In the room where the patient was, Yingbao saw a young boy with a grayish face curled up on the bed, half unconscious. The boy, in his teens, bore slight resemnce to Xiao Mo. Yingbao took his pulse, examined the wounds on the boy¡¯s body, cross-referenced with Uncle Li Langzhong¡¯s diagnosis, and drew a conclusion. This boy was in critical condition due to severe infection of his abdominal wound. Uncle Li Langzhong whispered, ¡°Yingbao, what are the odds of healing him?¡± ¡°Fifty percent, I suppose.¡± Good or bad, both oues were equally likely in this case. Yingbao continued, ¡°Grandpa Li, we need to cut away the necrotic flesh from his wound first, then we will apply medication to sew it up.¡± Worstes to worst, she would use a bit more Five-Ding Zhi, trying to see if she could save him. Chapter 210 - 206: A Familiar Feeling_1 Chapter 210: Chapter 206: A Familiar Feeling_1 Trantor:549690339 With Yingbao¡¯s reassurance, Doctor Li felt relieved. He ordered his grandson to bring the medicine box and took out the tools to clean the young man¡¯s wounds. Of course, he had to put a little Powder for Anesthesia on him before sterilization, to prevent the young man from fainting from severe pain. ¡°Don¡¯t use the Powder for Anesthesia on him.¡± It¡¯s highly toxic; a small mistake could make the already weak boy breathe hisst. Yingbao took out a medicine pill from her own medicine box and shoved it into the boy¡¯s mouth. She then told Doctor Li, ¡°Let¡¯s start with this.¡± It might hurt, but he won¡¯t die. After some hesitation, Doctor Li put back the Powder for Anesthesia and took a scalpel to scrape the necrotic flesh from the boy¡¯s wounds. Before he even made a few scrapes, the boy let out a howl and began to struggle. ¡°Hold him down quickly!¡± Yingbao ordered Xiao Mo who was nearby. It will just make things worse if the boy is identally injured. Xiao Mo, along with the martial general, quickly stepped in, pinning the boy down on the bed from both sides. Doctor Li wiped sweat from his forehead and continued the excision of necrotic flesh. Finally, after much screaming and struggling, the task was done. Yingbao then gave the young man a bit of water to drink. ¡°Suture.¡± Yingbaomanded. Doctor Li had no choice but to reluctantly take out a catgut thread to stitch up the wound. Amidst more screams, this time the young man passed out. Xiao Mo and the martial general were sweating bullets, both ring unhappily at the young girl. As if oblivious to their stares, Yingbao took her time to remove a packet of medicine powder from her medicine box, sprinkled it slowly on the boy¡¯s wounds, and then instructed Doctor Li to wrap it up with sterile gauze. Afterward, she made some medicine of her own. After instructing Li Lin to fetch it, she personally went to boil it. When the medicine was ready, Yingbao quietly added half a bowl of a special liquid essence into it and stirred it with a long-handled spoon. She left the task of feeding the medicine to Xiao Mo¡¯s trusted aide, whom Xiao Mo had brought along to attend to the young man. After drinking the medicine, the boy slept on, not waking up even when the trusted aide wiped his face and cleaned his body. By this time, it waspletely dark. Yingbao was staying with Li Xihua. Li Xihua wasn¡¯t as enthusiastic as before, but still chatted a lot with Yingbao. ¡°Yingbao, can you actually cure that man?¡± Li Xihua wore a puzzled expression, ¡°My grandfather said he wasn¡¯t so sure.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure either. We will only find out tomorrow.¡± In truth, Yingbao herself wasn¡¯t too confident either. The boy¡¯s injuries were quite severe. Not only was his injury severe, but his internal organs had also been affected by the heavy dose of drugs given to him by the previous doctor, and he was showing signs of exhaustion. His survival depended on whether he could get through this night. Li Xihua rxed, ¡°I knew it. How could your medical skills possibly surpass my grandfather¡¯s? But Tiantian insisted that you possess a miraculous medicine pill, that anyone could heal the young lord of the Xiao Family if they get their hands on that pill.¡± Yingbao¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. How did Chen Tiantian know about the magic of her pills? ¡°What else did she say?¡± Yingbao asked. Li Xihua shook her head, ¡°Nothing else.¡± The twoid quietly on the bed for a long time after that, before Li Xihua couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Yingbao, does your family really have a secret ancestral form?¡± Yingbao thought for a moment and said, ¡°That¡¯s just rumors people are spreading. However, all of my medicine pills are refined using the Xue¡¯er fungus.¡± Upon hearing this, Li Xihua¡¯s spirit picked up considerably. Her eyes shone brightly in the dark, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Yingbao lied. Li Xihua: ¡°Then I¡¯ll tell my grandfather tomorrow that your medicine pills are extracted from Xue¡¯er. You don¡¯t mind, do you?¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± Why would Yingbao mind? She was looking for a reason to raise the price of their Xue¡¯er fungus anyway. This was the perfect opportunity. She believed that as long as the boy was cured, from then on, the price of their Xue¡¯er would double. Perhaps even more. They both remained silent for the rest of the night. Early next morning, when it was still barely dawn and Yingbao was in a daze, she heard someone knocking on the door: ¡°Miss Jiang, wake up!¡± Yingbao jumped up in surprise, clumsily got dressed and ran out the door. She saw two people at the door ¨C it was Xiao Mo and the martial general. ¡°Whawhat¡¯s going on?¡± Yingbao immediately grew anxious. Did the patient die? Did theye to ce the me on her? Xiao Mo turned to her, ¡°Doctor Jiang, quickly check on my younger brother.¡± ¡°Oh¡± Yingbao quickly made her way to the ward. Upon entering the room, she saw that Doctor Li had also just arrived. His gray hair was in disarray, scattered on his shoulders, looking rather disheveled. Yingbao furrowed her brow, making her way closer to the young boy¡¯s bed. She saw the boy lying there, his eyes darting back and forth, and when he saw Xiao Mo standing behind Yingbao, he said, ¡°Brother, I¡¯m very hungry.¡± Yingbao let out a sigh, bent forward to lift up his quilt, ready to examine his wounds. ¡°What are you doing?¡± The young boy red at Yingbao discontentedly, gripping the corners of his nket. The trusted aide quickly exined, ¡°Young Master, this is the doctor who had been treating you.¡± The young boy looked surprised and turned to his older brother. ¡°A doctor so young saved me?¡± Xiao Mo gave her a slight smile, ¡°Yes, Chengjun, remember to thank Doctor Jiang and Old Master Li. They saved your life.¡± Seeing his younger brother awake and talking about hunger indicated good progress, but Xiao Mo was reluctant to make a decision about feeding him. He summoned Doctor Li and Yingbao. Yingbao abruptly looked up, her gaze locked onto the boy. Chengjun? Xiao Chengjun? The name seemed familiar¡ªit felt as if she had heard it somewhere. She studied him carefully. His childlike face was simr to Xiao Mo¡¯s. His sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, straight nose and delicate lips, good-looking in a mischievous way, felt oddly familiar. In her past life, she didn¡¯t think she ever met him, neither did she hear that Xiao Mo had such a brother. Right, in her previous life she didn¡¯t have the ¡®golden finger¡¯ skill or know any medical arts. He probably died young back then. Yingbao and Doctor Li checked over his wounds and applied anotheryer of their homemade medical powder. At that moment, Chen Tiantian ran over, saying softly, ¡°I¡¯ll go make the medicine.¡± Yingbao nced at her, then looked at the boy lying on the bed. She seemed deep in thought. Xiao Mo intervened, ¡°Let Doctor Jiang do it.¡± Chen Tiantian lowered her eyes, unwillingly passing the medicine pack to Yingbao. Yingbao didn¡¯t want to make the medicine at all. But since the Xiao family had said so, she felt obliged to follow through, especially considering she hadn¡¯t received her consultation fee yet. She arrived at the medicine decocting tent and poured the medicine slices from the bag into the pot. Seeing no one around, she added the Pupil Spring water. Started with five bowls of water, boiled to just one bowl. When pouring out the medicine, Yingbao didn¡¯t add the Five Tripod Ganoderma, instead, she took out a medicine pill. She¡¯d put this out in the open and would tell Xiao Mo about the costster. She brought the medicine to Xiao Chengjun and first handed him a medicine pill, ¡°This medicine is precious. Take this pill first before drinking the medicine.¡± Xiao Chengjun obediently took the pill and ingested it, then he picked up the bowl and drank all the medicine. The trusted aide then brought over a bowl of red date rice porridge to feed him spoon by spoon. Eventually leaving the ward, Yingbao began to get ready for the day. As soon as she finished, Doctor Li hurried over to ask, ¡°Yingbao, is that medicine pill really extracted from the Golden Fungus in your house?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Yingbao replied seriously, ¡°But the extraction process is my family¡¯s exclusive secret and cannot be passed on to others.¡± She preemptively cut off what Doctor Li was about to say next. Doctor Li wasn¡¯t bothered by it and asked, ¡°Yingbao, would you be willing to sell some of your family¡¯s Golden Fungus to me?¡± ¡°My father handles the sale of our Golden Fungus, why don¡¯t you ask him directly, Grandpa Li?¡± Yingbao was saving her own Golden Fungus for Madam Wen, but she didn¡¯t mind if her father and uncles had ns to sell their share, whether to Doctor Li or the Steward Zhou Mao, they were to act in their own discretion. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll go find your father!¡± Doctor Li hurried off to find Jiang Sang. Jiang Sang was justing back in when he saw Doctor Liing straight towards him. He was taken aback. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He had been worrying about his daughter¡¯s ability to treat the patient. He had spent a night at the inn tossing and turning, unable to close his eyes for a moment, anxious that he might receive bad news. Chapter 211 - 207: Little Rich Woman_1 Chapter 211: Chapter 207: Little Rich Woman_1 Trantor:549690339 ¡°Nothing went wrong.¡± Doctor Li reached out and grabbed Jiang Sang, leading him to the study in the backyard. After seating him on the chair in the study, Doctor Li asked, ¡°San Lang, could you sell me some of your golden ears?¡± Jiang Sang was puzzled as to why Doctor Li suddenly wanted to buy golden ears, but he nodded anyway. ¡°How much do you want, Mr. Li? I can reserve some for you.¡± ¡°Five pounds, no, ten pounds.¡± Doctor Li had asionally bought some before, but he never bought a lot each time, as his pharmacy sold very little of it. After everyone in the township learned that golden ears were being grown in Dongchen Vige, the golden ears in his drugstore were even harder to sell, so he simply stopped buying them. This morning, his little granddaughter told him that the magic pills of Yingbao were extracted from the golden ears. Doctor Li immediately got excited, fumbled out the half pound of golden ears that Yingbao had given him as an apprentice, and sniffed it. The subtle fragrance did indeed match exactly with the pills Yingbao had brought out. Jiang Sang paused a moment before nodding. ¡°Okay.¡± He had a considerable crop this time. Not only did he nt eight hundred golden ears, but he also nted eight hundred snow ears. If all were dried, he estimated he could harvest more than twenty pounds of golden ears and more than twenty pounds of snow ears. When the time came, he would sell him ten pounds. After all, they were from the same vige, and Old Li was also the master who passed on his skills to his daughter. Having agreed on the purchase of the golden ears, Doctor Li cheerfully went back to the sickbed and took Xiao Chengjun¡¯s pulse again. The pulse was steady, and the condition seemed to be getting better. Doctor Li then instructed Xiao family¡¯s trusted aide to keep an eye on the color and shape of Xiao Chengjun¡¯s urine and stool before returning to his room to tidy up the case notes. In the afternoon, seeing that Xiao Chengjun was clear-minded, in good health and no longer feverish, Yingbao asked to leave. Xiao Mo did not stop her, but suggested buying the herbal pills she had. Yingbao thought for a moment, pretending to be in a bind, ¡°These medicines are hard to prepare, and the ingredients are very valuable, each pill costs at least two taels of silver¡­¡± ¡°Just name your price.¡± Xiao Mo interrupted her incessant chatter. ¡°I want to buy a hundred.¡± Yingbao¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°A hundred? But I don¡¯t have that many now, it will take several days to prepare anew.¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright, I can wait. Let¡¯s first discuss how much for each pill.¡± Xiao Mo said. ¡°Well¡­even if it¡¯s a discount for you, three¡­four taels of silver per pill, if you think that¡¯s too expensive¡­¡± ¡°Three taels or four?¡± Xiao Mo asked. Yingbao acted as if making a huge sacrifice: ¡°Let¡¯s say three taels, that¡¯s the cost price for you.¡± ¡°I appreciate it.¡± Xiao Mo then turned to the middle-aged schr, ¡°Give her three hundred taels in silver notes.¡± Silver notes? That won¡¯t work! That thing is just a piece of paper, and not universally epted. Moreover, the inscriptions could get blurred if it got wet in the rain, the silver shop will not exchange for it. Yingbao immediately refused, ¡°I don¡¯t want silver notes. I don¡¯t know where to exchange them, and I heard they discount at exchange. If you don¡¯t have ready cash, I¡¯ll also take copper coins.¡± To trade in copper coins equivalent to three hundred taels of silver, he¡¯d have to cart them by mule, haha! Xiao Mo looked at the little girl deeply. He turned to the schr, ¡°Mr. Chui, could you please make a trip to the county town and withdraw three hundred¡­no, five hundred taels of silver.¡± Chui Zhaochen saluted, ¡°Yes.¡± He then rode to the county town with a few bodyguards to withdraw the money. Yingbao purchased many herbs for treating external injuries and a bit of ginseng at Rongji Pharmacy before going home with her father. Jiang Sang was very pleased to see his daughter heal the young master from the Xiao family. His daughter was finally making a name for herself. A disease that the doctor in the prefecture¡¯s city couldn¡¯t cure, was miraculously healed by his daughter, it was beyond his expectations. Jiang Sang was full of pride, feeling that his back was straighter than others, he walked with a spring in his step, and when he greeted acquaintances, his voice was resounding. When she returned home, the first thing Yingbao did was to prepare the medicine. In order to reduce costs and maximize profits, she went out into the wild to dig up some herbs and added them all to the medicine. In her view, the efficacy of these herbs is no less than the expensive ingredients in pharmacies, but the elites in the city are convinced that the most expensive ingredients are the best. Little do they know that themonest wild grasses, flowers, and vegetables are the real cure for diseases. A few dayster, Xiao Mo personally led the team to collect the medicine. Looking at the fiverge coarse porcin jars lined up on the table, he couldn¡¯t help but twitch the corners of his mouth. Pills priced at three taels of silver each are stored in such crude bottles by this little girl, with twenty in each one. He had clearly seen that the small porcin bottle she had earlier was exquisite and held only five pills; but when it came to him, everything had been simplified, hadn¡¯t it? Picking up a porcin jar, he pulled the plug and poured out a pill. The aroma was tantalising, intoxicating. Packing up the pills, Xiao Mo instructed Mr. Chui to gather up the fiverge jars, then had someone bring in a heavy wooden box and ced it on the table. ¡°This is the money for the pills, please check, Doctor.¡± Yingbao¡¯s smile curved up her eyes as she unceremoniously opened the lid of the box and carefully counted it. Ten taels silver ingots, shining with a silver luster, neatly stacked in the box, thirty in total. ¡°Good, it¡¯s exactly three hundred taels, the price for a hundred pills.¡± Yingbao touched the silver, casting nces at Xiao Mo all the while, appearing as if she had something to say but didn¡¯t. Where was her consultation fee? What about the money for the pills she gave to Xiao Chengjun? Why wasn¡¯t he mentioning it? Xiao Mo sat in his seat, seemingly oblivious to the little girl¡¯s silent usations, busily chatting with Jiang Sang. ¡°I heard that Jiang¡¯s family has grown quite a bit of Aureus, may Xiao Mo have a look?¡± Jiang Sang: ¡°Sure, we¡¯re harvesting it now, you¡¯re wee toe with me to the mushroom shed.¡± ¡°Great, please lead the way, Mr. Jiang.¡± Xiao Mo stood up. After several people left the main hall for the mushroom shed, Yingbao scratched her head. Seeing no one around, she hastily packed up the silver ingots and stored them in an empty box in her room, locking it in her chest. An ie of three hundred taels all of a sudden, she was a rich little girl again. However, she couldn¡¯t disregard the consultation fee. She was initially taken aback by the amount of silver she received and didn¡¯t feelfortable bringing it up, but she decided to mention it to Xiao Mo next time. Yingbao excitedly ran to her own mushroom shed to harvest the Aureus. This time she had grown six hundred Aureus and six hundred Xue¡¯ers. They all were premium-size and brimming with nutrients. If dried, she estimated she could get eighteen kilograms each of Aureus and Xue¡¯er. The yield from this batch, which had beenpletely soaked in Pupil Spring water, was muchrger than previous yields, so the total weight of the harvest would certainly be more than usual. Next year, when she nts mushrooms, she will also use Pupil Spring water to soak the mushroom spawn for her father and uncles, improving the yield of their previously nted mixture. From now on, for cultivating Aureus and Xue¡¯er, she would not be using the Five Dingzhi technique, as Pupil Spring¡¯s effect was not inferior, so she may as well use it for soaking. Yingbao spent the entire afternoon busying herself in the mushroom shed,pletely losing track of time. By the time she had harvested all the mushrooms, it was almost dark. Yingbao¡¯s mother came back from working in the outside mushroom shed to cook dinner and called her over for a talk. ¡°That Mr. Xiao left, he said he¡¯lle back for the Aureus in a few days,¡± Chunniang spoke while kneading dough. ¡°He also said he would bring your consultation fee and medicine money next time.¡± So, he wasn¡¯t trying to avoid paying. Yingbao breathed a sigh of relief. Who knows how much he¡¯ll give for the consultation fee. Well, next time she makes a home visit, she wouldy out her charges in advance to avoid any ambiguity. Chapter 212 - 208: The Flood Monster_1 Chapter 212: Chapter 208: The Flood Monster_1 Trantor:549690339 After collecting the mushrooms, it was time to dry them, but the recent weather had been poor, the sun had a fog-like veil and was neither bright nor dark. Upon seeing this, Jiang Sang urged the vigers to start a furnace to dry all the Golden Ear mushrooms at home. If they dyed any further, the collected Golden Ear mushrooms might rot. Once they turn moldy and ck, the Furuifeng Trading Company would definitely not ept them. If Furuifeng Trading Company didn¡¯t buy them, wouldn¡¯t the mushrooms they worked so hard to cultivate be left unsold? As time passes, improper storage could make a month¡¯s anticipation turn into disappointment. Many vigers, who shared the same thoughts as Jiang Sang, started burning in a stove to dry the mushrooms in a hurry. However, there were also some people who didn¡¯t care, thinking that Jiang Sang was making a fuss over nothing when he encountered a little issue. These vigers still hung their Golden Ear mushrooms outside to dry, without using the stove. Among these people were Chen Yin¡¯s elder and younger brothers, as well as Chief Chen Fu¡¯s eldest and second sons. Chen Fu¡¯s eldest son, Chen Jiaxing, and his second son, Chen Jiazhen, still lived in the old vige, while Chen Fu lived with his youngest son, Chen Zhu, in their new house on the South Slope. Seeing that every household on the South Slope started stoves to dry the Golden Ear mushrooms, Chen Fu and his brother, Chen Sanyou, leisurely strolled to the old vige to see if his eldest son¡¯s family had started drying. When they arrived, they found that the 300 Golden Ear mushrooms from both the eldest and the second son¡¯s families were still drying outside. The eldest daughter-inw from the Sun Family was sitting under the eaves spinning thread, while the second daughter-inw, Han Miaoniang, was chatting with Chen Changping¡¯s wife from the Han Family on the other side. ¡°Where is the eldest son?¡± Chen Fu asked his eldest daughter-inw. Seeing her father-inw return, the daughter-inw from the Sun family immediately stood up and said, ¡°He has taken the eldest grandson to the town for a medical examination.¡± Ever since his eldest son, Chen Boyuan, was injured by ady from the Wen Family and had trouble walking, he often had to go for a medical examination and buy some medicine for consumption. ¡°Going to the town for a medical examination?¡± Chen Fu said disapprovingly, ¡°Haven¡¯t I told you and your family many times, to let Boyuan go and see Yingbao on the South Slope. She even cured ZhuZhu, wouldn¡¯t she be able to cure Boyuan too?¡± The daughter-inw from the Sun Family remained silent and did not respond. It wasn¡¯t that she was unwilling, but her husband simply didn¡¯t believe that a child of few years could treat his illness. Seeing that the eldest daughter-inw was behaving like this again, Chen Fu couldn¡¯t be bothered to talk to her any further and asked the second daughter-inw, Han Miaoniang, ¡°Where is the second son?¡± Han Miaoniang said, ¡°The second son has gone to the shop, and hasn¡¯t returned today.¡± Chen Jiazhen ran a cloth store in the town, which was doing quite well. His two children were both helping out in the store and seldom came home. Chen Fu pointed at the mushrooms drying in the courtyard and said, ¡°Since they are not at home, you two should take these to your younger brother¡¯s house and ask him to dry them in his stove.¡± Han Miaoniang rolled her eyes secretly, ¡°Father, what¡¯s the point of sending these to be dried when they are perfectly okay, they aren¡¯t even wet?¡± Chen Fu pointed at the sky, ¡°Look at the weather. There¡¯s no sun, how are they supposed to dry?¡± Han Miaoniang pursed her lips, ¡°Father, you say it so lightly, but it¡¯s a long way. How am I supposed to transfer everything?¡± You¡­¡± Chen Fu was so angry that he stomped off with a flick of his sleeves. Forget it, since they weren¡¯t anxious, why should he be? All of them were just not heeding his advice, let them be. Chen Fu came to the house next door and saw his grandnephew being scolded by Chen Sanyou. He was asked to quickly pack up the Golden Ear mushrooms at home, send them to the South Slope, and have someone help to dry them. The grandnephew, who was being scolded by his father, had no choice but to pack up the Golden Ear mushrooms and prepare to carry them to the South Slope for his second brother, Chen Yin, to help dry them. Chen Fu sighed, waiting for Chen Sanyou to finish scolding the child before leaving together. Now, Chen Sanyou had almost fully recovered, except for a slight nt in the corners of his mouth, he had no other symptoms. Yingbao asked him to exercise more when he had nothing to do, so he often ran around and strolled with his elder brother, Chen Fu, going everywhere, which made him feel quitefortable. At Chen¡¯s house next door, Han Miaoniang was quietlyining to her cousin, Han Juniang. ¡°Look at our family, we really do have stepmothers and stepfathers. They split the family and instead of living with their eldest or second son, they live with the bastard child raised by the mistress! They go to South Slope and forget all about our family matters.¡± Chen Fu split the family assets among his three sons, and the ancestralnd and shop were also properly distributed. The eldest son, Chen Jiaxing, being the legitimate heir, would take the n Leader¡¯s position in the future, so he received the mostnd and the majority of the main residence. Given up a portion ofnd, the second son, Chen Jiazhen, got a cloth shop in town and three rooms in the side houses of the old residence, which was quite satisfactory to him. The youngest son, Chen Zhu, received the leastnd. However, he took all the South Slopend, used his own money to build a big house there, and moved his mother in to look after Yaoyao and his pregnant wife. When Tang Family¡¯s wife moved in with her youngest son, Chen Fu naturally had to follow suit, shamelessly upying a room to himself. Although he was living with his youngest son on the South Slope, in reality, he still hoped his eldest son would offer the final rites when his time came. So, he often came down to visit, taking the opportunity to check on his end-of-life preparations left in the old house. Given Chen Fu¡¯s arrangements, the eldest son and daughter-inw didn¡¯t dare speak out, yet they couldn¡¯t prevent themselves from grumbling in private. ¡°Exactly,¡± responded Han Juniang. ¡°He must have been influenced by outsiders.¡± As Han Miaoniang worked on her shoe, she added, ¡°I know who you¡¯re talking about. Isn¡¯t it that outside family, the Jiangs? They¡¯ve snatched the vige head position from our Chen family, and now they¡¯re putting on airs, expecting all of us in the vige to move to the South Slope to stir up trouble with them.¡± With a cold smile at the corner of her mouth, Han Juniang hit her son lightly and stated, ¡°Exactly, the Jiang family is worthless, relying on their bit of money, causing trouble. If they hadn¡¯t used underhanded tricks, how could our third uncle have given up his vige head position.¡± She swept a nce over Chen Boyuan¡¯s wife from the Sun Family, asserting, ¡°Even if our third uncle Chen Shu can¡¯t be the vige head, there¡¯s still Chen Boyuan. The position would never go to their Jiang Sang.¡± Chen Boyuan¡¯s wife from the Sun family paused at this, then turned back to Han Juniang. ¡°Auntie, your words are inappropriate. Even if Chen Shu can¡¯t make it, the position of vige head is thest thing my husband desires. Don¡¯t speak like this again, we¡¯ll be theughingstock of others, iming we¡¯re daydreaming.¡± Humph! This Han woman is not any good. Since day one, she¡¯s been stirring things up every time she visits their house. Her conversations always revolve around the Jiang family, seemingly yearning for their entire family¡¯s downfall. The Sundy certainly didn¡¯t want to mingle with such a woman. Chen Boyuan¡¯s wife, Sun, was thoroughly annoyed by Han Juniang. Whenever she saw her carrying her child into the courtyard, she hurried to call her daughter back inside and close the door, not letting here out. A woman who has been released from prison will be bad luck to anyone shees into contact with. Han Juniang saw how Chen Boyuan¡¯s wife showed her disapprobation, but she didn¡¯t get angry. Instead, she smiled and said, ¡°How could it be delusional? Chen Boyuan is highly respected and capable. Not only could he be vige head, he also has the ability to be the town officer.¡± Disgusted by her words, Sun wanted to throw the thread in her hands at Han Juniang¡¯s face. But Sun restrained herself because Han Juniang was a distantly rted cousin of her sister-inw. No matter how good her husband was, it was not the ce of a criminal woman toment. With a nce, Sun stood up, picked up the thread she had spun, and went back into the room. Han Juniang, observing this sequence of events, realized that Chen Boyuan¡¯s wife also despised her. She was both sad and angry about it. She was upset that ever since Han Juniang had been released from prison, her husband Chen Changping would sometimes not speak to her for an entire day. He never spent the night with her, even when she gave birth to their son. He did nothing more than give him a name, never even holding him once. What made her angry was that everyone was avoiding her. Whenever the impoverished neighbor encountered her, he would take a detour, as though she were some kind of dangerous beast. So, she had no choice but to speak with her cousin, Han Miaoniang. However, to her surprise, even her cousin¡¯s sister-inw, Mrs. Sun, gave her the cold shoulder. Han Miaoniang noticed her cousin¡¯s displeasure and softly said, ¡°Why should you bother about her? Her son is crippled, so she¡¯s in a bad mood.¡± Han Juniang gave a weak smile, picked up her son and stood up. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. I¡¯ve been here for so long, I should go home.¡± Han Miaoniang also rose and said, ¡°I also need to go to the vegetable garden and pick some vegetables. I¡¯ll go with you.¡± With that, she picked up a vegetable basket, and walked out of the courtyard with Han Juniang. Halfway there, Han Miaoniang suddenly seemed to remember something and said quietly, ¡°Hey, I almost forgot to tell you. Yesterday my husband came home and said that the Jiang family¡¯s boy saw your daughter, Chen Wan, in the county town.¡± Han Juniang was taken aback, ¡°Wanwan? Where did he see her?¡± ¡°At the Wa Market. It seems she¡¯s be a dancer, performing on the stage.¡± As Han Miaoniang spoke, she surreptitiously observed her cousin¡¯s expression. Han Juniang held her son a bit tighter, and responded coldly, ¡°They must be mistaken. My daughter couldn¡¯t be a dancer.¡± Chapter 213 - 209: A Virtuous Wife Brings Prosperity to Three Generations_1 Chapter 213: Chapter 209: A Virtuous Wife Brings Prosperity to Three Generations_1 Trantor:549690339 After speaking, the Han Familydy briskly walked home, carrying her son in her arms. Her thoughts churned all the way home. This matter, her husband must not find out about it. Her time in jail already disgusted him, if he found out that Wanwan had be a low-ss citizen¡­ She didn¡¯t dare continue that thought, considering how her husband might treat her afterward. The Jiang family, they¡¯d bbed to the leader of the Chen n. There was no hope of hiding it any longer. Maybe soon, it¡¯ll make the rounds through the whole vige, even the entire town, what would she do then? The more Han Juniang thought about it, the more resentful she felt towards the Jiang family. With a heavy heart, she carried her son and headed home. The Chen matriarch Feng was stepping out of the house and saw her daughter-inw and immediately wore a cold expression. ¡°Where are you off to carrying Xubao again? Didn¡¯t we tell you not to go wandering? Is there not enough room at home for you?¡± she questioned critically. Han didn¡¯t dare talk back to her mother-inw and stammered meekly, ¡°I just went to visit the n leader¡¯s house. I didn¡¯t go anywhere else.¡± Upon hearing her visiting the n leader¡¯s house, Feng¡¯s expression softened slightly but she still wore a hard face, ¡°Stop wasting time and start making the meal, your husband will need it soon, don¡¯t leave him hungry.¡± She then disdainfully looked at the child in Han¡¯s arms. Heading back into the house, she emerged carrying two eggs which she took into the kitchen and set down near the stove. ¡°Make a sweet egg tea for your husband, put more sugar, he likes it sweet.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Han ced her son in the wicker basket and started to prepare the water for boiling. Seeing there was no firewood in the stove, she went outside to the yard to grab some. Just as she stepped out, her son started bawling loudly. Han immediately rushed back to check on him. Seeing her darling son crying with a runny nose, holding out his chubby hands wanting to be held, made her heart ache. She quickly picked him up and startedforting him. Feng came out of the house fuming, ¡°Which child doesn¡¯t cry at all? Look at you spoiling the child till it bes a liability. He¡¯s ten months old, and you are still holding him day and night. What, are you nning on holding him for the rest of his life? You never once held Wanwan or Chen Zhao when they were kids, but now all of a sudden you¡¯ve be a doting mother? Stop coddling him and go make the tea.¡± Han turned around and kept her back towards Feng, as she held her son andforted him, resentment filling her heart. Feng knew very well that her hands were tied with the baby, yet she still asked Han to make egg tea. The damn woman did nothing herself, not even looking at the child, but had the gall tomand her around. To make matters worse, she also sent Chen Zhao, her second daughter to be an apprentice, leaving her without any help even at night, as Xubao was quite the handful. Feng, after seeing her daughter-inw sulking got even angrier and yelled, ¡°You think you can ignore me? He has stopped crying now, what are you still holding him for? You deliberately want to go against me, don¡¯t you?¡± Han turned towards her mother-inw, suppressing her feelings of resentment and said, ¡°Mother, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to put him down, but the midwife said that male children will get hernias if they cry too much.¡± This took Feng aback briefly before she angrily retorted, ¡°I raised three sons, none of whom needed to be held all day, and they all grew up just fine. But your precious son, he can¡¯t even cry now!¡± Han lowered her eyes and softly said, ¡°Mother, why don¡¯t we let Chen Zhaoe back? If she could help with Xubao, I could manage the household chores.¡± As soon as Feng heard this, she exploded in anger, pointing at Han and scolded, ¡°What the hell is wrong with you, plotting behind my back? It was I who sent Chen Zhao away. She is a girl, and learning a skill could help her find a good family. Being around you all day could tarnish her reputation.¡± ¡°Mother!¡± All of a sudden, Han lost her temper, yelled, ¡°How have I been tarnishing her reputation?¡± Feng staggered back a step as her daughter-inw yelled at her. She stared at her for a moment then pped her, eximing, ¡°You dare to yell at me! It was a mistake to have rescued you back then! You ungrateful wretch!¡± Han did not expect her mother-inw to hit her, something that had never happened before. This sudden turn of events filled her with panic, dissipating her hostility. She was terrified, afraid that her mother-inw in her anger might discard her, as disrespecting one¡¯s elders is a valid reason for divorce. Ten-month-old Xubao was so scared by Chen Feng¡¯s actions that he began to wail, which broke Han Family¡¯s heart. She decided to carry her son and escape into the room, avoiding her mother-inw¡¯s rage. Chen Feng was so angered by her daughter-inw¡¯s attitude that it was like a pain in her liver. She turned and returned to the main room, grinding her teeth and saying, ¡°Once Eng finishes his county exam, we might as well divorce her.¡± Dealing with such a troublesome thing every day could shorten her life by ten years. Old Chen Changping, sitting cross-legged on the kang flipping through an ount book, didn¡¯t even lift an eyelid. ¡°Han Family¡¯s parents are gone, there¡¯s no way to divorce her.¡± Because one of the three unbreakable rules is: if a wife had parents when she got married, but they have passed away when her husband wants to divorce her, leaving the wife without a homnd to return to, the husband cannot divorce her. Otherwise, not only would the man be beaten, but he would also have to serve a year and a half in prison. And Han Family is in this situation. Even without this rule, Han Family cannot be divorced temporarily, because Han¡¯s younger sister has been favored by a prominent staff member in Prefecture City. If the Chen Family dared to divorce Han, it wasn¡¯t guaranteed that Han¡¯s younger sister wouldn¡¯t seek revenge on Chen Changping. With just one word from that staff member, her son¡¯s future could be ruined. So old Chen Changping could not take this risk. ¡°So what do you suggest we do? Just let her wreak havoc at home?¡± Chen Feng sat down on the kang, huffing angrily at her husband. Old Chen Changping, ¡°Once Eng passes his exams, we¡¯ll move to the county. Let Han Family stay alone in the countryside; there are still several dozen acres of farnd. Let her endure here by herself.¡± That way, out of sight, out of mind. Thest time Han Family sold more than a hundred acres of good farnd at home, it almost drove old Chen Changping mad, he wanted to strangle this worthless woman with a rope. What kind of bad luck did the old Chen Family have to deal with, to have such a daughter-inw. He had painstakingly umted some wealth, only for it to be ruined by this stupid woman. As the old saying goes, a virtuous wife brings prosperity for three generations, while a wicked wife can ruin a lifetime. His second son was almost ruined by this woman. Old Chen Changping gritted his teeth in hatred whenever he thought of the past events. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the child in her belly was Eng¡¯s, he would have killed her on the way to Prefecture City. Chen Feng was silent for a moment, then suddenly said: ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have saved Han Family in the first ce. Now what? She¡¯s always running around, she has no shame at all. If Xubao grows up under Han Family¡¯s influence, will he amount to anything? Our Chen Family having such a grandson is worse than without.¡± Chen Changping squinted his eyes and thought for a moment, shaking his head, ¡°No matter what, Xubao is Eng¡¯s only son. Let¡¯s see what happens. ¡± If Eng bes a schr next year, let him first take a concubine and have a son or daughter, then we can discuss further. Han Family cannot always be Eng¡¯swful wife, or else the descendants of his old Chen Family will be ruined by her. Yes, they should let Han Family die of illness in the old house then. In the countryside, it¡¯s nothing unusual for a woman to die at home. Those who die from childbirth, those whomit suicide out of suffering, and those who are beaten to death by their husbands and then imed to have died of a sudden disease, the majority are never brought to justice. When ites to troublesome inws, a bit of silver coins can usually send them off. There¡¯s a saying ¡°people don¡¯tin and officials don¡¯t investigate.¡± Even if someone suspects that the daughter-inw was beaten to death by her husband¡¯s family, who would willingly stick their neck out to cause trouble? Chapter 214 - 210: New-style Loom_1 Chapter 214: Chapter 210: New-style Loom_1 Trantor:549690339 A few dayster, the weather suddenly became muggy, followed by light rain. The rain grew heavier and it went on for three days straight before it stopped. Most of the vigers had already dried their golden and silver fungus, packed them in cloth bags, and stored them in bamboo buckets. By November, drum signals from the county called upon every household to send one person for mandatorybor service. The service was to repair the city walls and clean the rivers running through the county, estimated tost about a month. Jiang Sang organized a vige meeting and told the vigers, ¡°Steward Zhou will being over these few days to buy fungus, so prepare the golden ears you intend to sell by weighing them exactly. Don¡¯t mix in any spoiled or moldy ones to avoid disputes.¡± Thest time they sold golden fungus, a few households had mixed in moldy ones which caused friction when discovered by Zhou Mao. If it weren¡¯t for his intervention, Zhou Mao wouldn¡¯t have bought any fungus from those households. Chen Yin said, ¡°Third brother, rest assured, our golden ears selected are top-notch, absolutely no spoge.¡± Chen Zhu also said, ¡°Same here in my household.¡± The rest of the vigers also pledged to avoid such situations this time. After discussing the golden ears, Jiang Sang went on to discuss the cotton and its seeds. ¡°For cotton and its seeds, save enough for your own households, and sell a portion to the county government. Later, Sun Licheng wille to our vige to weigh and purchase them.¡± This year, their Dongchen Vige became the focus of the county magistrate. During cotton harvest, a trusted adviser Mr. Liao from Mingfu was sent for an inspection, and 20,000 jin of cotton seeds and cotton was prearranged. All these cotton and its seeds have to be sent to the prefecture city, and from there the city will hand them to the Ministry of Revenue. So, this quantity must be met. ¡°But the 20,000 jin of cotton seeds don¡¯t seem to be a big deal. It¡¯ll be enough if every household contributes a few hundred jins.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Sang, rest assured, there won¡¯t be any mistakes even if you hadn¡¯t mentioned it.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve set aside our cotton and seeds, prepared to sell 800 jin to the county government.¡± ¡°Yes, yes! We¡¯re doing the same thing!¡± The vigers chimed in their agreement. This year¡¯s cotton and seeds were not as tight asst year¡¯s, each household nted over twenty acres. Jiang Sang and his two brothers nted even more. They nted forty acres each on the South Slope. The harvested cotton could fill several rooms. Fortunately, Yingbao provided the blueprint for a cotton ginning machine. Jiang Sang had a very skilled carpenter from the town produce it. The machine was fast and convenient to use. Jiang Sang didn¡¯t keep this to himself. He shared the cotton ginning machine with the other vigers, freeing them from the tedious process of manually ginning the cotton. So, when Jiang Sang asked them to sell a portion of their cotton and seeds to the county government, the vigers readily agreed. After all, the price offered by the county government was not as high as the merchants from outside. If the vigers sell more to the government, they would lose the same amount of money. Having given instructions on cotton and its seeds, Jiang Sang started to register the names of those who would be going forbor service. This list would then be handed over to Sun Licheng, who would report to the county government. The next day, Jiang Sang, leading a group of vigers and carrying tools, headed towards the county city. It was over a hundred miles from Chuanhe Town to the county city. They estimated that it would take two days on foot. Though Yingbao felt sorry for her father, there was nothing she could do. She could only give him some pills, and a couple of bottles of body-strengthening tonic for him to sip when he felt tired. The day after the vigers set off for forcedbor, Zhou Mao arrived in Dongchen Vige with two horse carts. He first went to Jiang Sang¡¯s house, sat in the hall, and chatted with Old Man Jiang. When he saw the premium golden ears Jiang family brought out, he was a bit surprised, ¡°Why is it only 20 jin?¡± Old Man Jiang stroked his beard andughed, ¡°Isn¡¯t it always around 20 jin each time?¡± ¡°But I heard you clearlyst time. You said that the quantity you nted this time is more than usual.¡± Zhou Mao looked suspiciously at Old Man Jiang: ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you sold it to others?¡± Old Man Jiang coughed awkwardly, ¡°I won¡¯t hide it from you. Officer Xiao from Xuefu City has ordered ten jin. Doctor Li from the town also bought ten jin. That was all we had. The rest is left for you.¡± ¡°Officer Xiao from the prefecture city?¡± Zhou Mao frowned. Could it be someone from the Xiao Family who is the observation officer for the Provincial Military Exercise? That¡¯s not someone to be messed with. Zhou Mao didn¡¯t say anything further and weighed the golden fungus. At this moment, vigers started to bring their golden and silver fungus over one after another. Zhou Mao asked his two assistants to check the quality of the goods. Meanwhile, he instructed his men to unload the weaving machines from the horse cart. ¡°The weaving machines you ordered, specifically bought from Wuzhou, are the most recent model.¡± Zhou Mao pointed to the weaving machines and asked, ¡°Where do you n to put them? I¡¯ll have my men assemble them for you.¡± Upon hearing this, Chunniang was delighted. She quickly instructed the men to ce the weaving machines into a well-lit side room, ¡°Just put them here, thank you both.¡± It was a bit of a squeeze to ce two weaving machines inside the room, but they still made it. It didn¡¯t affect their usage. This time, Zhou Mao not only brought two weaving machines, but he also brought along a master to teach Chunniang how to thread and weave. After the assembly, Chunniang immediately put the hand-spun threads onto the weaving machine and started to test it out. It was highly efficient indeed, and the width of the cloth was wider than what they could achieve with their own machine. ¡°How much for these two weaving machines?¡± Chunniang asked. Zhou Mao: ¡°Including our delivery charge, the two machines are 230 taels in total.¡± ¡°What?¡± So expensive? Chunniang looked over at her young daughter, seeking her opinion. Yingbao nodded at her. The machines certainly wouldn¡¯t be this expensive locally in Wu Yue, but since they brought it over here from thousands of miles away without any damage, it should be worth this price. And also, there¡¯s nothing like this in the local area. What Zhou Mao brought wasn¡¯t just two machines, but a whole new technology. As long as they sold the blueprints for this weaving machine, they could possibly make back the more than 200 taels. Seeing her daughter nodding, Chunniang didn¡¯t hesitate anymore. She fetched the silver and handed it to Zhou Mao. They were fortunate to have the money from Doctor Li and Officer Xiao for buying the golden fungus; otherwise, Chunniang wouldn¡¯t have enough silver to pay. Suddenly, a heated argument erupted outside. All they saw was Han Miaoniang, carrying a back basket, angrily using, ¡°You are all bullies! Why ept theirs but not mine?¡± The younger assistant replied, ¡°Your golden fungus is moldy. Of course, we¡¯re not buying.¡± ¡°Moldy? Where¡¯s the mold?¡± Han Miaoniang shouted loudly, ¡°Stop pushing people too far!¡± Enraged, the assistant pointed at the golden fungus in her basket and said, ¡°You thought we wouldn¡¯t notice if you just wiped off the mold? None of us is an idiot. The color of the golden fungus has changed. You are still asking where the mold is? The whole thing is moldy and its sticky. Who the hell would want this?¡± Han Miaoniang sat down hard on the scale in despair, pping her thigh and crying, ¡°Oh my god! You city folks are such bullies. You¡¯re being picky even when purchasing fungus. You think that because I¡¯m a woman, you can bully me? Oh God, I don¡¯t want to live anymore¡­¡± The assistant, red in the face from anger, was about to push Han Miaoniang aside and take back the scale beam. Just then, Steward Zhou stepped forward, ¡°Enough, we¡¯re not buying it. Let¡¯s leave.¡± They had finished weighing the premium golden fungus, and the remaining ones aren¡¯t important. Whether they take them or not doesn¡¯t matter. The assistant was stunned for a moment but quickly regained his senses. He promptly started to pack the weighed goods onto the cart, preparing to leave. Vigers, who were waiting in line, were not pleased. They all started to criticize Han Miaoniang. Two women even stepped up to pull her away, mocking her, ¡°Look here, Han¡¯s, who can you me if the fungus from your household has gone moldy? Don¡¯t obstruct our business while you make a scene here. If you n on throwing a tantrum, do it at home with your husband. No one here is going to indulge you.¡± Chapter 215 - 211: Weaving Fabric_1 Chapter 215: Chapter 211: Weaving Fabric_1 Trantor:549690339 The Sun matron who stood at the back observed her sister-inw being ridiculed and immediately took a few steps back, turned around with the basket on her back, and started to walk away. On seeing this, someone asked her, ¡°Why is sister-inw Chen leaving? Aren¡¯t you selling your Treme anymore?¡± ¡°Mm,¡± responded the Sun matron hesitantly, quickening her pace. Her Treme had developed mold too. Even after having it roasted, it was still no good. It was dull and marred with mold spots, and even its fragrance was gone. She had hoped to sell her merchandise without anyone noticing its quality, but given themotion created by the Han family, it seemed unlikely that she could sell her Treme. As it was, she decided to avoid the embarrassment of standing out in the crowd. She felt a pang of loss considering the money she had invested in buying the seeds for cultivating Treme. She estimated that she would lose over ten taels of silver. Ten taels was no small amount. Feeling an unbearable pain in her heart, she thought of asking her husband to have a crack at selling the Treme in a drugstore in town. Perhaps someone unacquainted with the product might buy it, helping her recover some losses. Meanwhile, in the main courtyard of the Jiang family, After a bout of persuasion from everyone and an intercession by old man Jiang, Zhou Mao finally agreed to continue buying goods. The vigers waiting to sell their goods quickly sorted through their Treme to avoid presenting subpar goods that could irritate the steward Zhou. Yingbao, however, ignored the happenings outside and continued measuring the weaving machine with her mother, made sketches of the variousponents, and recorded their dimensions. She nned to ask different carpenters to make theseponents following the designated dimensions and then assemble them to sell the weaving machines. Even if she sold a machine for fifty taels, selling just five would cover the initial investment. She might even be able to profit more in the future. These weaving machines could shuttle automatically. Weavers only needed to pull the strings with one hand and the board with the other while treading on the pedals, which could improve weaving speed several timespared to manually shuttling. With enough practice, they could weave a bolt of three-foot-wide cotton cloth in just a day. The weaving speed was practically miraculous in the local area. The machine alone justified an investment of over two hundred taels of silver. The following day, Yingbao and her mother took the drawings to several carpenters in other towns and gave each of them the designs and dimensions for a couple ofponents. They requested each to make twenty sets as quickly as possible. They then gave the simplerponent designs to Wang Ke, who was skilled in carpentry, and requested him to manufacture twenty sets. The metallic elements of the looms and the springs in the shuttle paths were to be made by a cksmith shop in town. Ten dayster, Chunniang and her two sisters-inw were proficient in operating the new weaving devices, producing wide and soft cotton cloth. The wooden and metallicponents also gotpleted, and old man Jiang, taking a mule cart, went to fetch them. Then came the assembly of the weaving machines. Chunniangpleted the assembly for one machine in her sister-inw¡¯s house, and then another in the house of her other sister-inw. She stored the remaining eighteen machines at home. If someone wanted to buy, the price would be fifty taels for each device. The price was high, ten times the cost of local weaving machines. But so what? Raritymands a premium, and those who coveted it had to pay the price. However, Yingbao told her mother to hold off the sale until her father returned and could sell them all at once. Because if they could get the pieces made, so could others. Thus, it was a one-time deal. If they sold one machine and others started to replicate it rampantly, they would turn into the vige fools, investing their own money to pave the way for others. Potential buyers might even use them of being money-grubbers. So, either they sold all eighteen at once or none at all. Chunniang listened to her daughter¡¯s advice. If people asked, she told them to wait for her husband. If people thought the cost was prohibitive and no one wanted to purchase, they could hire some weavers to weave cotton clothes for them. They had an ample supply of cotton at home. If it all got spun into cotton yarn and woven into cloth, the revenue would add up to arge sum. Before long, the news that the Jiang Family had bought a new type of weaving machine quickly spread throughout the vige. Many people came to watch, and the sight of Chunniang swiftly weaving fabric left them awestruck. Especially, the shuttle that could run back and forth automatically, it amazed everyone and they couldn¡¯t figure out how it worked. When they asked about the price, they were bbergasted to learn that one weaving machine costs over a hundred taels of silver. However, when they learned that the machine was purchased from Wu Yue, thousands of miles away, it seemed to make sense. Many families itched to learn where they could purchase a simr weaving machine, but their inquiries were to no avail. Soon it was thest month of the year, and when Jiang Sang and others returned from working outside, they found several hundred rolls of pure white cotton fabric piled up in their home. In both the side rooms and main hall of their house, there were two weaving machines each, and a total of six, with each one operated by a weavingdy. Some others were spinning cotton under the eaves, some were from their vige, and some from others. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Jiang Sang asked his wife. Chunniang grinned and said, ¡°I hired some weavingdies to help us. Look at these beautiful cotton fabrics. I¡¯ll make you some clothes with themter.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± Jiang Sang pointed at the weaving machines in their house and asked, ¡°Where did all thesee from?¡± ¡°We hired people to make them.¡± Chunniang shot her husband an impatient look and headed to the kitchen to heat water for him to wash up. ¡°Zhou Mao brought us two weaving machines as payment. Baobao wanted to earn back that money, so we hired people to make twenty parts and assembled them ourselves.¡± Jiang Sang followed his wife into the kitchen: ¡°Twenty? Where are the others?¡± He only saw six in their house. Could it be the others had been sold? Chunniang scooped water into the pot: ¡°The rest are in storage. Baobao said she would wait for you to return before selling them.¡± Jiang Sang sat down by the stove, helping to stoke the fire and asionally asking, ¡°How much did Zhou Mao pay for each of ours?¡± Chunniang covered the pot and replied, ¡°Two for two hundred and thirty taels. That¡¯s why our daughter wants to earn that money back.¡± Jiang Sang nodded, adding fuel to the fire, ¡°Baobao is right. I¡¯ll ask around to see who wants one, let¡¯s sell them for fifty taels each.¡± Chunniangughed, ¡°You two really think alike. And you don¡¯t need to ask around, I¡¯ve already taken note of it.¡± ¡°Ten households in our vige want them, three in West Vige, and some from other viges have also ced orders. All in all, twenty-eight households want this kind of weaving machine. They¡¯ve already paid deposits.¡± ¡°Twenty-eight?¡± Jiang Sang was stunned: ¡°Then, how much can we earn?¡± Chunniang just smiled mysteriously but did not speak. The costs to custom-make the machine parts was around ten taels per machine. If they sold each for the price Baobao had set, fifty taels each, they could earn over eleven hundred taels in one go. Over a thousand taels, a sum she didn¡¯t even dare to dream of in her previous life. With that much money, even if they never earned another dime, their family could livefortably. But her husband had the final say in this matter. Men had their considerations, and both she and her daughter dared not make such a decision rashly. ¡°Since twenty-eight households have ordered weaving machines, and what we have at home is definitely not enough, what are you nning to do¡­¡± Before Jiang Sang could finish speaking, Chunniang replied, ¡°We¡¯ve ordered another thirty pieces. We will retrieve them in a few days.¡± The parts for the weaving machines she had ordered this time were paid for with other people¡¯s deposits, so Chunniang wasn¡¯t worried about having no buyers when the machines were ready. Once they earned this money, they would build a spinning house in the vige and hire several more weavingdies to specialize in weaving cotton. After all, the whole township was starting to nt cotton, and there would be more and more cotton in the future. When cotton bes unseble, she would weave them into fabrics and sell those instead. Chapter 216 - 212: Assault_1 Chapter 216: Chapter 212: Assault_1 Trantor:549690339 If calcted at four hundred coins per bolt of cloth, with the ten looms we n to prepare, we can weave at least four hundred bolts in a month, which equals one hundred and sixty taels of silver. Even after deducting the cost of cotton andbor, we can still make a profit of eighty to ny taels. Earning eighty to ny taels in a month, our daughter says it¡¯s more than what a high-ranking official like the County Magistrate earns. The key is, this is something I can manage on my own. The more Chunniang thought about it, the more beautiful it seemed, her heart filled with anticipation. By then, we can hire people to farm ournd, which would also ease some of our burden. After heating the water, Chunniang brought a basin and helped her husband shampoo his hair in the kitchen. After washing his face, Jiang Sang put on the clothes his wife handed him. ¡°These clothes seem loose on you. It looks like you have lost quite a bit of weight sincest month.¡± Chunniang asked, ¡°Does performing manualbor take a toll on you?¡± Jiang Sang shook his head: ¡°It¡¯s just that the work is a bit heavy, but everyone is in the same situation. There is nothing unbearable.¡± With sympathy, Chunniang pinched her husband¡¯s arm, sighed, took a few eggs from the grass basket, and beat them into the basin. She scooped in some flour, preparing to roll out egg noodles for her husband. At this moment, Yingbao and her younger brother Jiang Wu ran in from outside. Seeing their father, they rushed over. ¡°Dad! I knew you¡¯d be back.¡± Yingbao handed over a package of pastries: ¡°This is a chestnut cake which Granny, Sister Dani and I just made. Please try it.¡± These days, Yingbao led a few vige kids to pick all the chestnuts from their trees, shelled them, made them into chestnut cakes and pies in batches, ready to sell them in the city when Jiang Quan came back. Jiang Sang, holding his son Jiang Wu with one hand, took a bite of the chestnut cake with the other. The crust was crisp and fragrant, and the filling was sweet and soft. It tasted delicious. ¡°Very good, very good. Chestnuts are indeed delicious when made in this way.¡± Jiang Sangplimented. Yingbao proudly said: ¡°I learned this from a pastry shop in the city. It¡¯s very popr in our shop.¡± In fact, she used Pupil Spring water to soak the chestnuts, and also used it for making the dough, hence the sweet and fragrant taste. Upon finishing a few bites, Jiang Sang picked up another piece and asked: ¡°How is the shop recently?¡± ¡°Very good. The golden and silver ear mushrooms are selling extremely well.¡± Last time, only a portion of the premium golden ear mushrooms were sold to Zhou Mao, the rest were taken by Jiang Quan to the city for sale in their shop. They were priced at twenty taels per box, each box half a kilogram. The silver ear mushrooms were fifteen taels per box, also half a kilogram per box. As the quantity of golden and silver ear mushrooms in stock was low, Yingbao told Jiang Quan not to worry about them not being sold, the New Year¡¯s Festival wasing, people would certainly buy them regardless of the price. Jiang Sang: ¡°Our persimmon cakes at home are also dried now. In two days, when Erquanes back, I will go to the city with him.¡± He could then retrieve the loom parts that his wife had customized at the cksmith shop. ¡°I will go too.¡± Yingbao: ¡°Fortunately, I don¡¯t have much to do now, Sister Dani and Second Sister are also nning to go to the city.¡± With the New Year approaching, they all wanted to buy some pretty hairpins and flowers in the city, and see how the youngdies there dressed up. Ever since Second Sister told them about Wa City after returning from the city, Sister Dani has been envious and wanted to go. But she¡¯s been too busy at hometely and hasn¡¯t had the time. Jiang Sangughed: ¡°That¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll take them with me then.¡± ¡°And me! And me!¡± It¡¯s been a long time since Jiang Wu saw his older brother Jiang Jie. ¡°Good, good! And you too.¡± Jiang Sang patted his son on the head, turning his gaze towards his wife. Chunniang understood what her husband meant and said, ¡°I won¡¯t go. There¡¯s still quite a bit of cotton at home. I¡¯ll spin it these days. Once everyone starts preparing for the New Year, we won¡¯t have any free time.¡± ¡°Sounds good.¡± Jiang Sang also wanted to sell all the looms before the New Year. Money in hand was, after all, money earned. With the family¡¯s agreement, Jiang Quan indeed returned in a cart on the third day, seeing Yingbao giggling non-stop. ¡°Yingbao, we¡¯ve made it!¡± Yingbao asked, ¡°Did we sell all the golden and silver ear mushrooms?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Jiang Quan responded with a broad, uncontroble smile and whispered: ¡°You probably don¡¯t know, Dongmei really knows how to attract attention. She promoted our shop for over a month, and as a result, many people came for products bearing our name. We couldn¡¯t keep up with the demand for our gift boxes.¡± ¡°Now, the best pastry shop in the county is working with us, providing us with freshly made cakes daily for our shop to sell on their behalf.¡± Surprised, Yingbao quickly asked, ¡°Has Big Brother signed a contract with them?¡± ¡°He has. Big Brother had everything clearly written in the contract ¨C the ingredients for each type of cake. If their shop uses not-fresh ingredients or substitutes inferior ones, they mustpensate our shop with double the loss.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± Her big cousin is indeed made for the shopkeeper role. However¡­ Yingbao was a bit worried. All the profitable golden ear and snow ear products in the shop had been sold out, and it was not a good sign that stock was running out even before the holiday season. Should she take out the ones stored in her cave dwelling? No, she couldn¡¯t! Those were reserved for the Wen Family and couldn¡¯t be used for the time being. But the Wen Family still hasn¡¯te to pick up the goods. Does it mean they no longer need them? It wouldn¡¯t matter if they didn¡¯t want them. She only promised to keep the goods for the Wen Family until a few days before the holiday season. If they didn¡¯te, she would put all the golden ear and snow ear products on sale at the shop. Yingbao had only received one letter from Sister Wen Shu a few days ago. In the letter, Wen Shu mentioned that something unexpected happened to their family again and they would be moving to Luzhou in a few days. In the meantime, she asked Yingbao not to send letters to Yuzhou as she may not receive them. Sigh, there seems to be no end to the Wen Family¡¯s troubles, with one problem arising after another. Later that night, Yingbao entered her cave dwelling. Inside the dwelling, there were several crates of dried golden ear and snow ear, totaling up to about forty pounds. In addition, she had ced over a thousand cans of mushrooms around the pool, all of which she had umted over the years. The tops of the cans were already full of golden ear and snow ear, which she estimated could be harvested in around ten days. After harvesting, the mushrooms only needed to be dried in the dwelling for about four or five days. This was something Yingbao discovered early on. The mushroom roots left after harvesting could continue to grow in the cans, which was pretty convenient. If she wanted to propagate them, she just needed to get more cans and fill them with a nutrient base. However, Yingbao didn¡¯t want to do that anymore. She already had too many types of mushrooms in her dwelling and she couldn¡¯t keep up with them all. Besides breeding and cultivating mushrooms, Yingbao had no ns to nt anything else on this patch ofnd. Whatever was already nted could fend for themselves, like the melons, cucumbers, and various flowers. She didn¡¯t go up to check the nts near the luminescent body at the top, but she guessed they were all growing well. The next day, Jiang Sang brought his children and two nieces, along with Jiang Quan, to the county city. After dropping the kids off at the shop, he drove the carriage to pick up the custom made items. Jiang Quan took the returned persimmon cakes and chestnut cakes into the backyard for Yingbao, Dani, and Erni to help weigh and pack. He took his young cousin to go out and buy delicious food. As the two brothers were eating and shopping, and were heading back with arge bag of snacks, they suddenly saw a group of people fighting at the entrance of an alley. A crowd gathered around to watch the spectacle. Jiang Quan curiously took a closer look and to his surprise, the two who were being beaten up were none other than Aunty Jiang Yunniang and Uncle Zhang Jia. There was also a heavily made-up young woman standing by, crying pitifully. Aunty Jiang Yunniang was seen desperately defending Uncle Zhang, shouting through tears, ¡°Stop it! You¡¯re going to beat him to death¡­¡± A big, brutish manughed coldly, ¡°He deserves to die! He dared to seduce my daughter, it would be no loss if he died!¡± ¡°No! He didn¡¯t, that woman seduced him first.¡± Jiang Yunniang defended her husband, using her body to shield him from the blows. Hearing this, the brutish man became infuriated andid into Jiang Yunniang and Zhang Jia, yelling as he hit them, ¡°Bullshit! How could my beautiful, innocent daughter be seduced by an old, ugly man like him? Since you¡¯re so intent on protecting him, either die with him, or pay mepensation. Go on, make your choice!¡± Chapter 217 - 213: The Immortal’s Jump_1 Chapter 217: Chapter 213: The Immortal¡¯s Jump_1 Trantor:549690339 ¡°We¡¯ve already given you plenty of money, what more do you want?¡± Jiang Yunniang cried:¡±We¡¯ve even pledged our shop to you, please spare us.¡± The burly man sneered:¡±How much is your pathetic shop worth? Not even fifty taels! Eithere up with two hundred taels today, or it¡¯ll be a knife fight.¡± Not far away, Jiang Quan saw the two burly men acting so cruelly, he was filled with anger. But remembering the instruction of his younger cousin sister, he did not dare to interfere with his younger cousin, so he pulled Jiang Wu towards the weapons shop. He intended to fetch constables from the government office at the weapons shop. Surely, the constables wouldn¡¯t ignore such heinous acts of extortion. Besides, no matter how his aunt might behave, she was still his grandpa and grandma¡¯s legitimate daughter, his father¡¯s legitimate sister, he as a nephew could not stand by and do nothing. Jiang Quan ran to the weapons store near the county school and found Jin Wu.¡±Uncle Jin, someone is trying to kill my aunt! Please, go save her.¡± Jin Wu was sitting in an arms shop bragging to his colleagues. Hearing Jiang Quan¡¯s words, he immediately stood up, picked up his sword from the table and asked:¡±Where? Hurry up and take me there!¡± On the eve of the New Year, the county government had issued orders for each team to inspect thoroughly, to prevent criminals from causing trouble and damaging the reputation of the county government. Yet, surprisingly someone dared tomit murder. This was outrageous! Jian Quan nodded, pulling along Jiang Wu and running ahead. On the way past their shop, Jiang Quan asked his younger cousin to go back. But Jiang Wu took the goodies he bought into the shop and then followed his second cousin. He kept looking curiously at the constable¡¯s sword. He so wished he could have such a good-looking knife too. When they arrived at the mouth of the alley, they saw Jiang Yunniang sitting on the ground crying, Zhang Jia and the murderer had disappeared. ¡°What happened?¡± Jin Wu asked Jiang Yunniang. Jiang Yunniang looked up and saw that it was a constable, she quickly got up and stammered:¡±Nothing¡­ I just fell.¡± ¡°You fell?¡± Jin Wu nced suspiciously at Jiang Quan. Jiang Quan immediately spoke:¡±Auntie, I saw two men hitting you and uncle just now, how has it turned into a fall?¡± Jiang Yunniang turned and saw her second nephew, was startled, then angrily retorted:¡±What did you see? You¡¯re just a kid, don¡¯t just make things up! Who hit me?¡± Someone in the crowd bellowed out:¡±You were being hit, how can you be so ungrateful? We tried to help and you just end up scolding us.¡± Jin Wu scoffed, asked Jiang Quan:¡±Is this woman really your aunt?¡± Jiang Quan looked embarrassed but nodded:¡±Yes.¡± ¡°Looks like your aunt doesn¡¯t want you meddling in her business,d. Next time youe across something like this, it¡¯s best not to interfere.¡± Jin Wu patted him on the shoulder and left, leading the constables away. Jiang Wu looked curiously at his second cousin and then at his aunt. He pulled Jiang Quan by the sleeve and said:¡±Second brother, let¡¯s go home.¡± He didn¡¯t like this lying aunt at all. Just a moment ago, someone was clearly hitting her, but she hid the truth and scolded his second cousin. It¡¯s just like what his master said about ¡®biting the hand that feeds you¡¯. Jiang Quan nodded and left with his younger cousin. After a few steps, Jiang Yunniang grabbed his shoulder. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Jiang Quan brushed off his aunt¡¯s hand and stepped back a few paces, looking warily at this dishevelled woman. Jiang Yunniang¡¯s expression changed to one of pleading:¡±Erquan, don¡¯t tell anyone at home about what just happened.¡± Jiang Quan nodded indifferently. ¡°And, could you talk to Dacheng¡­I need to borrow two hundred taels of silver from him urgently, I promise I will pay him back soon.¡± Jiang Yunniang pleaded:¡±As you saw earlier, your uncle is in trouble. If we don¡¯t provide money for them, he could get killed.¡± Jiang Quan shook his head:¡±No, we don¡¯t have that much silver.¡± Even if they had, they wouldn¡¯t lend it to this troublesome aunt. Seeing her nephew unwilling to help, Jiang Yunniang immediately scowled, her face dark. She turned around and limped away. Jiang Wu tugged on Jiang Quan¡¯s sleeve, saying:¡±Aunt is weird.¡± Jiang Quan uttered an agreement, pulling his younger cousin quickly back to the shop to tell his older brother what had happened. ¡°Older brother, I think our aunt will try borrowing money from us again. Don¡¯t lend her any.¡± He always felt something was strange. Jiang Cheng:¡±I¡¯m not stupid, even if mom and dade, I wouldn¡¯t lend them that much money.¡± The shop¡¯s business had just started to turn around, it was taboo to spend or lend the first bit of money earned. This was akin to giving away one¡¯s own luck and fortune. It was very unlucky, so the money from the shop, he wouldn¡¯t lend even a single coin. At that moment, Yingbao and the two other cousin sisters were packing boxes in the storeroom. A box of persimmon cake weighed two pounds, as did a box of chestnut cake. The packed gift boxes were stacked neatly in the storeroom¡¯s shelves, a very impressive sight. The storeroom also stocked manyrge gourds, all of which were brought from the vige. They were sold for ten or twenty taels each and could sell several in a month. Each gourd had different auspicious phrases attached, such as: ¡®carps leaping over the dragon gate¡¯, ¡®five children attaining schstic honours¡¯, ¡®securing the first ce in official examinations¡¯, ¡®wealth and happiness as vast as the East Sea¡¯, ¡®prosperous business¡¯, and so on. Jiang Wu ran in, handed the snacks he¡¯d bought earlier to his three sisters, sat down, started munching and ryed what had happened earlier, finally saying:¡±Aunt is weird, she was clearly being hit but didn¡¯t admit, furthermore she borrowed money from second brother.¡± Yingbao frowned and pondered. She couldn¡¯t help but feel this scheme seemed familiar, like a scam. But the target of their plotting seemed to be, not her uncle, but her aunt, or more specifically, her aunt¡¯s family. Beginning fromst year, her aunt would frequently return to her maiden home to borrow money, not only from her grandparents but also from her eldest and second uncles. Even her mother was approached but refused on the ground of having recently purchased a house. After having borrowed from everyone and unable to find anyone else to borrow from, she began to frequently demand that her son, Yukan, take over the management of their speciality shop. Probably her aunt thought she was just a five-year-old kid and therefore not capable of managing the shop, and so never discussed it with her. And now she had set her eyes on Jian Cheng, hoping he would lend her money. Yingbao thought about it, ran to the shop and asked Jiang Quan for details about the incident. Jiang Quan exined the situation in detail, fuming:¡±I clearly saw someone hitting my aunt, so I went and fetched uncle Jin. But when we arrived, that group of people and my uncle had already left, only my aunt was left sitting on the ground.¡± ¡°Alone? Where was uncle?¡± His wife had just been beaten in his defense, he should have taken his wife to seek medical help or go home, yet, he just left on his own? What kind of a heartless man was this? And yet, her aunt lied to the constable saying she was not beaten but had only fallen, also pleading with Jiang Quan not to tell anyone at home, let alone mention why her uncle was not there. This was really a strange family. Jiang Quan said irritably:¡±Who knows! Looking at my aunt¡¯s condition, it seems uncle is temporarily safe.¡± Yingbao fell silent, not saying anything more. The next day, Jiang Quan took his three sisters and younger cousin to Wa City for fun, and took the opportunity to listen to Dongmei and her father telling stories. Chapter 218 - 214: Storytelling_1 Chapter 218: Chapter 214: Storytelling_1 Trantor:549690339 A few people arrived in front of a wooden building with redcquered railings in Wa City. The signboard read Baxian Teahouse. The siblings entered the tea house, chose a table by the window, and ordered some pastries and a pot of tea from the young waiter. In the middle of the table were several upside-down tea bowls. When turned over, the waiter poured tea for each of them. They arrived quite early, the storyteller hadn¡¯t arrived yet, and there weren¡¯t many people in the tea house. Yingbao and her siblings ate their pastries while observing the scene outside. Outside was much more lively than inside the tea house. There were performers with various tricks, vendors selling medicinal sters, and people showing off martial arts. There were also peddlers carrying yokes and baskets, selling an array of homemade foods. Suddenly, Jiang Wu tugged at his sister¡¯s sleeve and pointed outside, ¡°Look! Isn¡¯t that uncle in the floral robe?¡± Yingbao looked over and saw a man in his thirties, dressed in a green birthday gown, among the crowd not far away. He wasughing with two burly men and heading towards the brothel. Jiang Quan also saw and asked, ¡°Hmm, aren¡¯t those the two who fought with uncle and aunt yesterday? Why are they together?¡± They saw the three men arm in arm walk into the brothel, quickly disappearing into a building. Yingbao watched as the three disappeared and turned to ask Sister Dani, ¡°Sister Dani, how much silver did aunt borrow from my unclest time?¡± Dani thought for a moment and replied, ¡°Fifty taels. She wanted to borrow one hundred taels from mum and dad initially, but mum didn¡¯t agree.¡± ¡°Did she say what she needed the silver for?¡± Yingbao asked. Dani replied, ¡°Aunt said her shop needed to replenish stock and that she was short of funds. When she borrowed money from grandma, she said that uncle was going into a big business deal with others and needed silver as capital. She promised to repay quickly, but she hasn¡¯t until now.¡± Yingbao then asked the second girl, ¡°Did aunt borrow money from my second uncle as well?¡± ¡°Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. Dad gave her forty taels.¡± The second girl said, ¡°Aunt even sneaked and asked me if I had any money. Humph, I told her I didn¡¯t.¡± Yingbao:¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤ Considering the incident from yesterday, she probably knew why Jiang Yunniang needed to borrow money. Could it be to cover Zhang Jia¡¯s deficit? Jiang Quan pondered for a while, then said, ¡°How about I sneak over to the brothel to see what they are really up to.¡± ¡°No! If you get caught, you are dead.¡± This was not an exaggeration. Yingbao said, ¡°Just tell aunt what we saw today when we see her.¡± As for what Jiang Yunniang should do, let her decide. ¡°Or else, when we go home, we¡¯ll tell my uncle, second uncle, and dad. Let theme to the county town to confront Zhang Jia.¡± If Zhang tries to pull any tricks, the three Jiang brothers can take him on, and even their spit could drown him. While the siblings were talking, Dongmei and her father took the stage. Looking around, the tea house had filled up to about forty percent capacity. Gao Lifan noticed the children sitting by the window, nodded at them, adjusted his sleeves, and set out his mallet, fan, and a handkerchief. The young waiter had already run over with a teapot to pour him a cup of tea. By the time Dongmei sat down next to Gao Lifan with her pipa, the tea patrons were already urging them to start their performance. Today, Gao Lifan continued to recount the tale of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He struck his mallet and began: ¡°As the saying goes, a horse recognizes the reins, a dog repays the kindness of even a de of grass; Deer gather in herds when food is seen, heartless people are detestable! Let¡¯s continue talking about that Lu Bu, Lu Fengxian¡­¡± Yingbao and Jiang Quan listened with relish, but Dani, the second girl, and Jiang Wu could hardly sit still after a while. Jiang Wu repeatedly tugged at his sister¡¯s sleeve and asked, ¡°Sis, can we stop listening and go have fun outside?¡± He didn¡¯t understand any of it, and he simply wanted to watch the knife-juggling performers. If not, watching stilt walkers would do as well. ¡°Let¡¯s wait a little longer.¡± Yingbao still didn¡¯t know how Dongmei was promoting their shop. Finally, after Gao Lifan finished a section and took a break to sip his tea, his daughter Dongmei, cradling her lute, began her introductory speech. Surprisingly, her introduction promoted the Jiang Family¡¯s specialty goods store across the county school and the various merchandise it sold. Dongmei¡¯s words flowed fluently, seeming like she had recited this many times. The audience was ustomed to this and showed no dissatisfaction. After the introduction, Dongmei began to y her lute and sing. A segmentter, a young clerk began to go around the tables collecting tip. Yingbao took out a handful of copper coins from her bag and put them into the tray, telling Dong Mei, ¡°Sister, after you and the gentleman finish on stage, could you stop by my shop?¡± She hadn¡¯t given Dongmei her Rootless Water for a month, and today she nned to give her three jars all at once. As the New Year was approaching, Yingbao wasn¡¯t sure when she would be able toe to the county town again, so she decided to give extra. It was a reward for Dongmei¡¯s publicity work for her. Dongmei smiled and nodded. The siblings walked out of the teahouse, went to a calligraphy and painting shop and bought several portraits of Zhong Kui and several pairs of peach wood amulets, keeping them for the New Year. Dani and her sister went to the silverware shop and bought some silver ornaments, like earrings, pendants and Beaded Flowers. These little items were not expensive, but of course, they contained a small amount of silver, notparable to the silver made by the Prefectural Government Office. A few dayster, Jiang, the third son, drove the carriage into town again, ready to take his children and nieces home. Before leaving, they had to pick up Jiang Jie from the County Government Office and go back to their hometown to celebrate the New Year together. Jiang prepared some New Year¡¯s gifts and sent them to Mr. and Mrs. Wu of the county office in advance. There were newly made chestnut cakes from home, as well as a pound of Xue¡¯er and a pound of golden mushrooms, two boxes of persimmon cakes, and health pills made by his youngest daughter. Mr. Wu was very pleased and asked Jiang why he didn¡¯t bring Yingbao with him. The next day, Jiang Quan took advantage of their uncle¡¯s good mood, and repeated the story of his aunt and uncle¡¯s troubles. Jiang instantly furrowed his brows and immediately rose to seek out Zhang Jia. Fearing that his uncle might suffer alone, Jiang Cheng quickly called out to his younger brother to apany him, and instructed Dani, her sister, and Yingbao to watch the shop. Only by dusk did the three men return. Jiang looked furious and went straight into his room to sulk, nobody knew what he was doing. Yingbao could only quietly ask Jiang Quan, ¡°What did you guys do?¡± Jiang Quan touched the back of his head and said, ¡°Uncle found Aunt Zhang and questioned his rtionship with that woman and the attackers. Aunt Zhang got angry and insulted Uncle, so Uncle pped him and knocked out two of his teeth.¡± ¡°What happened next?¡± Yingbao was full of curiosity. Jiang Quan: ¡°Then Aunt suddenly appeared and started fighting Uncle, saying that it was her own family matter, and Uncle shouldn¡¯t interfere. Uncle was furious and immediately came back.¡± He also whispered, ¡°Aunt Zhang admitted to keeping a mistress and having a pair of children with her, whom he was supporting. He even said he wanted the two children to recognize him as their father. I don¡¯t understand why Aunt is still protecting him.¡± This was a direct p in Aunt Zhang¡¯s face, Jiang Yunniang actually said that her own family should not interfere. Yingbao was simply dumbfounded. ¡°What about the other two men who beat him up?¡± she asked. Jiang Quan: ¡°I don¡¯t know, Aunt Zhang wouldn¡¯t say, but I guess they are from his mistress¡¯s family.¡± Because he heard one of the beaters say that Aunt Zhang had seduced his daughter. That burly man, full of fury, was indeed probably the young mistress¡¯s real father. Chapter 219 - 215: Speculation_1 Chapter 219: Chapter 215: Spection_1 Trantor:549690339 The next day, Jiang Sang bought quite a few items in the county town for the New Year, ready to take them back to the countryside. He quietly told his daughter that he had sold all the looms at a price of fifty taels each. ¡°In total, I¡¯ve earned over one thousand eight hundred taels of silver.¡± Jiang Sangughed, ¡°We¡¯ve bought arge swath of wastnd on the South Slope, ready to be cleared in the spring. I n on nting a pepper garden there. With more peppers growing in the future, we won¡¯t need to soak white peppers anymore. I¡¯ve heard that if you just pick semi-ripe pepper fruits and dry them directly, the ck pepper produced has a stronger aroma.¡± If you make white pepper, soaking pepper fruits in water for a long time can result in an odd smell, and if handled improperly, it will stink. ck pepper is spicier and more fragrant inparison. Hence, Jiang Sang had decided to sun-dry ck peppers from now on. Yingbao: ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea. It does save a lot of steps.¡± Jiang Sang nodded, and said, ¡°We¡¯ve bought a lot of prime rice fields in our home, and there¡¯s also a lot of inferior drynd. I n on using thisnd to grow cotton.¡± He had bought property at the right time, right at the end of the year. Many poor farmers from various viges were struggling and had pawned off theirnd, bringing their children to Dongchen Vige to work as hiredborers. Now that Dongchen Vige had be more prosperous and vigers had savings, they all boughtnd. With this increase innd, it was impossible to farm all of it with just familybor, so they hired people to help. In the long run, the poor farmers who worked as hiredborers found it preferable to stay in Dongchen Vige. At least they didn¡¯t have to worry about paying the yearlynd taxes, and they could also learn the craft of nting golden mushrooms and Xue¡¯er mushrooms in Dongchen Vige. After saving some money, they also bought some mushroom spawning to nt. The vigers of Dongchen Vige were thereby able to grow more golden mushrooms and Xue¡¯er mushrooms, as well as peppers and cotton. Everyone felt that they could both make money and farm thend sessfully. Jiang Sang continued, ¡°I n to build a few tile-roofed houses on the open ground outside the yard. Your mother said she wanted to build a spinning mill there and purchase another ten looms and twenty spinning wheels. In the future, we¡¯ll invite weaving mothers toe back to spin yarn and weave fabric.¡± ¡°Great idea!¡± Yingbao raised both hands in agreement. In this way, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about not being able to sell therge quantities of cotton they grew, and avoid being exploited by wealthy merchants by having their prices lowered. Speaking of rice fields, Yingbao suddenly thought of something. After the New Year, she would turn six years old, and during May or June of the year she turned six, the viges along the Chuanhe River would suffer a major flood. Although this flood wouldn¡¯t be as destructive as the one a few yearster, people would definitely lose their lives in the flood. The farmers¡¯ fields along the river bank would also be destroyed by the flood, and the seeds and seedlings in those fields would be washed away. Hesitating for a moment, Yingbao decided to tell her father about it now so he could think of solutions ahead of time. ¡°Father, I have to tell you something important.¡± Yingbao said solemnly, ¡°I dreamt about a flood again in the past few days.¡± Jiang Sang was taken aback, ¡°Again?¡± He had almost forgotten that the original reason their family moved to the South Slope was to prevent floods. ¡°When will it happen?¡± Jiang Sang didn¡¯t question the truth of her words one bit. Because the facts have shown that his little girl is like a sorceress¡­ no, like a little fairy. Everything she said was as urate as an oracle. ¡°Probably around May or June.¡± She did forget the exact day. All she knew was that those days were particrly stuffy and hot. Afterwards, thunderstorms woulde down,sting several days. ¡°I dreamt that all the farnds around the Chuanhe River were flooded, not just our vige, but all the nearby viges and farnd were washed away by the flood.¡± Thest few sentences were made up by Yingbao. She guessed that nine out of ten times, it would turn out like this. The upper reaches of the Chuanhe River are a major river, and their river is merely a tributary of therger one. If the water level of therger river upstream rises abruptly, it would naturally affect the water level of the downstream tributary. With only the power of several small townships, they would have no way to resist the flooding down from upstream. The only solution is to evacuate the vigers in advance and minimize the damage to people and livestock. Jiang Sang¡¯s expression was serious as he said, ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Sun Licheng when I get back and see what we can do.¡± This was a serious matter. Not only do they need to prevent the loss of life, but they also need to figure out how to prevent locals from losing all their seeds. If a flood hits and the crops in the fields fail, and the vigers lose arge number of grain seeds,bined with the pressure of summer tribute, life would be even harder. The Imperial Court won¡¯t pay attention to these small-scale disasters, and when the timees, the taxes will not decrease. In the end, the vigers would have to pack up their families and flee the fields. If you thought other people fleeing the fields had nothing to do with you, then you were gravely mistaken. Because the unpaid taxes from those who fled would be shared among the remaining people. The more who flee, the more taxes are shared among the remaining people. This results in one family fleeing, causing the ten families who secured them to flee as well, even though they may not have lost much. And when ten families flee, dozens of families who were linked to them must also flee. Eventually, it could lead to the entire township fleeing. Although the people of Dongchen Vige had be wealthy, no matter how wealthy they were, they couldn¡¯t bear the county¡¯s taxes. So, they couldn¡¯t let the vigers lose too much, and they definitely couldn¡¯t let them feel that the only option was to flee. This matter had to bemunicated with Lizheng, with Lizheng leading the vigers in preparations to face the flood. Afterwards, Jiang Sang, along with his two nieces and twin sons, together with a heap of items, hurriedly rushed back to the countryside. Yingbao, Jiang Quan, and Jiang Cheng didn¡¯t go back just yet. Because they wanted to make as much money as possible during this end-of-the-year period. These days, the store¡¯s business did really well, and the chestnut cakes and persimmon cakes in the warehouse were almost sold out. Not only that, but golden mushrooms and Xue¡¯er mushrooms were also sold out, with only two sample gourds left at the entrance of the store, one with ¡°Attracting Wealth and Treasure¡± and the other with ¡°Ies of Gold Everyday¡±. These were kept because Jiang Quan didn¡¯t let them be sold. Otherwise, these two would have also been bought. ¡°The people in the county really have money.¡± Jiang Quan sighed, and turned his head to ask his elder brother, ¡°Did you bnce the ounts? How much have we earned this monthpared tost month?¡± Jiang Cheng lowered his head to operate the abacus, ignoring him. But Yingbao had an approximate estimate in her heart. They would definitely have enough money to build a few big houses. When spring arrives, she ns to build three, no, fiverge tile-roofed houses, and arge fireproof and waterproof warehouse. She also wants to make a series of tables and chairs with precious wood. In the future, they can entertain customers more glitzily. Most of the people who came to their shop to buy items came from rtively well-off families. They couldn¡¯t let those customers think that their shop wasn¡¯t up to snuff. She wanted to build a special product shop that belonged to the Jiang Family in the county town. Even if others followed suit in the future andpeted with her store, she wouldn¡¯t be afraid. Because they have Rootless Water and special effect pill. If worsees to worst, she could hang a sign and seeing patients, specifically curing difficult andplex diseases, which would surely attract many customers. Jiang Quan, seeing that his elder brother didn¡¯t pay him any attention, started a conversation with his younger cousin, ¡°If we make more money this time, let¡¯s buy another horse carriage.¡± It was too inconvenient to only use one carriage for everything. Hearing this, Jiang Cheng raised his head: ¡°You¡¯re right. Why not take a hundred taels of silver from me first? You and Yingbao go to the Mule Horse Market to buy a horse carriage to bring back, so it¡¯ll be convenient for us during the New Year.¡± Yingbao pped her hands in agreement: ¡°That¡¯s right! Let¡¯s buy a horse carriage. Let¡¯s go now.¡± If it gets toote, the Mule Horse Market won¡¯t open, and everyone will be back home preparing for the New Year. Chapter 220 - 216: Buying a Horse_1 Chapter 220: Chapter 216: Buying a Horse_1 Trantor:549690339 Yingbao and her second cousin arrived at the Mule Horse Market, stumbling on the ce filled with horse dung and urine everywhere. The siblings inspected several horses but none were to their liking. Either the horses were too old or they were sick or impaired, and the few that were somewhat satisfactory had exorbitant prices, about thirty percent higher than usual. Jiang Quan, unhappy with how these horse dealers were behaving, asked his younger cousin, ¡°Should wee again next time?¡± He felt they were exploiting their young ages by inting the prices. Yingbao¡¯s eyes fixed on two skinny horses, one big and one small, and she said, ¡°Let¡¯s see how much those two horses cost.¡± If the skinny horses weren¡¯t too old and the prices weren¡¯t high, she wanted to buy both. Following the direction of his cousin¡¯s gaze, Jiang Quan frowned, ¡°Those two don¡¯t seem very good. Therger horse has lost much of its fur, and the little one seems sick. I doubt they¡¯d survive.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go check. If they¡¯re no good, we won¡¯t buy them.¡± Yingbao avoided the dung and urine on the ground and ran over to ask the horse owner, ¡°How old are these two horses?¡± Upon hearing someone inquire about the horses, the owner quickly looked up, only to find a tiny girl. His face fell as he reluctantly responded, ¡°Therger one is eighteen years old, and the smaller one is three.¡± He found it beneath him to even lie in front of such a young girl. ¡°So how much for these two horses?¡± Asked Yingbao. The horse owner replied, ¡°Thirty taels for the big one and twenty taels for the small one.¡± Jiang Quan, who had followed Yingbao over, felt discontent with the owner¡¯s pricing, ¡°You¡¯re asking for thirty taels for this emaciated horse?¡± Wouldn¡¯t that make it close to fifty taels, including the pawn tax? The horse owner red at Jiang Quan, ¡°Even if I asked for twenty taels, you couldn¡¯t afford it.¡± Normally, those who came to buy horses were wealthy adults. These two children, the eldest being no older than fifteen or sixteen, were not their usual customers. They were merely asking out of curiosity. However, Yingbao retorted, ¡°So, you¡¯re really asking twenty taels for this horse? Remember, you can¡¯t take back your words.¡± The average price for a healthy, adult horse usually ranged from forty to fifty taels. Including the tax for horse transactions, it would reach around sixty taels. Also, attaching a carriage to it would cost at least a hundred taels. If she could buy a horse for half of that, it would be quite a deal. The horse owner irritably said, ¡°Give me the silver now, and I¡¯ll sell it to you! Whoever goes back on their word is a beast.¡± Earlier, he had refused an offer of twenty taels, but now with the market closing and no customer in sight, he was desperate. If this child really paid twenty taels for the horse, he could save the trouble of taking it to the vet. After all, treating this horse would cost a lot of money, which he was unwilling to invest in an old and useless horse; each day he kept it, it was a loss. ¡°What about this small horse?¡± Yingbao asked, patting the foal¡¯s head. The horse owner nced at the young horse, sighed, and said, ¡°At least eighteen taels for this one. I can¡¯t sell it for any less.¡± The foal had been suffering from diarrhea for a while now. Even after treating it with traditional cures, there was no improvement. So, he decided to sell it to avoid it dying at his home and losing even the potential of getting eighteen taels. Yingbao seemed satisfied. She waved her hand, ¡°We¡¯ll take these two horses. You can call over the salesman.¡± Hearing this, Jiang Quan panicked and pulled his cousin aside, whispering aint, ¡°These horses aren¡¯t looking great, spending dozens of taels and what if they die? Wouldn¡¯t that be a huge loss?¡± Seeing Jiang Quan¡¯s displeasure, the horse owner hurriedly ran to the horse market¡¯s housing department and dragged a salesman over. Of course, the salesman could tell something was off with these horses, but he didn¡¯t reveal anything. He made a show of patting the horses, smiling and inviting Jiang Quan and Yingbao to the Teeth Row to make the payment. Once the payment was done and the contract signed, the transaction was cleared. Even if both horses died the next day, it had nothing to do with them. Only after checking the contract and confirming there were no discrepancies, did Yingbao pull out silver ingots from her bag. The two horses, along with the contract tax, totalled fifty-nine taels. She pulled out six ten-tael silver ingots, shocking the salesmen and the horse owner. They all curiously stared at the girl¡¯s bag, unable to understand why it hadn¡¯t seemed to have this much silver in it before. Jiang Quan was already used to his cousin¡¯s ability to fit things into her bag, and impatiently urged, ¡°Hurry up with the change.¡± His cousin had bought two sick horses and he was horribly conflicted, causing his temper to re. The salesmen didn¡¯t mind and quickly gave Yingbao a coin. Then! They watched as the girl put all the coins into her bag, along with the horse purchase contract. One of the salesmen teased, ¡°Miss, do you want to buy a carriage? I¡¯ll give you the cheapest price!¡± He wanted to see if the young miss would pull out more silver ingots from her bag. Another salesman gave him a cold look and subtly kicked him under the table. The miss and her brother had spent dozens of taels on two worthless horses. Who knows if they might be beaten by the adults in their family? This guy was still trying to coax her into buying a carriage. If the carriage hasn¡¯t been used and the horses have already died, wouldn¡¯t that be cheating people out of their money? Yingbao looked up with a grin and asked, ¡°Really the cheapest? If you cheat me, you will turn into a dog.¡± The salesman¡¯s smile briefly froze, but he quickly said, ¡°Absolutely no cheating,e! Follow me to take a look. If you don¡¯t buy, you¡¯ll be the dog.¡± Jiang Quan was nearly driven mad by his cousin, but knowing his words bore no weight, he reluctantly followed his cousin to look at the carriage. Yingbao chose a brand-new carriage with a canopy, equipped with steel axles. The carriage dealer quoted the price at twenty-five taels. Yingbao turned to the salesman, ¡°You promised to give me the cheapest price.¡± Anything sold in the Mule Horse Market, the salesmen have the right to value, indicating there is room for negotiation in the quoted price of twenty-five taels. The salesman¡¯s face twitched, he nudged the carriage dealer and said, ¡°Give her the cheapest price, without any overhead.¡± He was telling the carriage dealer not to add profit for himself and to give her the base price. ¡°Alright, twenty taels.¡± The carriage dealer said helplessly, ¡°I¡¯m not making any profit. The carriage axles are made of steel, just the two bearings alone cost quite a bit.¡± The salesman asked the young girl, ¡°How about it? I did keep my word, didn¡¯t I?¡± Yingbao nodded her head, ordered the bigger horse to pull the carriage. Everyone was eyeing the old horse, scared it might copse before it left the market. Jiang Quan was also worried ¨C not that the horse would copse in the market, but that it would copse as soon as it left. Ignoring their reactions, Yingbao scurried off excitedly to pay, handling the contract taxes. Even the carriage needed to be taxed, she ponied up two taels of silver as the vehicle tax. Then, everyone in Teeth Row watched her take out more silver ingots from her bag to pay. This time, she pulled out two ten-tael silver ingots and a bunch of copper coins. A salesman, unable to resist his curiosity, leaned over and asked, ¡°Young miss, do you still have money in this bag?¡± Yingbao looked up at him, smiled and asked, ¡°Uncle, do you really want to know? Then give me two hundred coins.¡± Salesman: He would only waste two hundred coins to ask about someone else¡¯s bag if he was extremely bored. Another salesman pulled out two hundred coins from his money pouch, pped them on the table, and said, ¡°There¡¯s your two hundred coins! I want to see how much stuff your bag can hold!¡± If he didn¡¯t find out, he wouldn¡¯t be able to eat well today. Chapter 221 - 217: Dividing Money (Seeking Monthly Tickets) _1 Chapter 221: Chapter 217: Dividing Money (Seeking Monthly Tickets) _1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°Great.¡± Yingbao, smiling, gathered the two hundred coins, put them into her little pocket, then started to shift the bag off her shoulder. Everyone clustered around, craning their necks to see. The horse trader nced around, quickly stopping Yingbao¡¯s actions, and said to the others: ¡°It¡¯s okay if you want to look, but it¡¯s fifty coins per person! Otherwise, you¡¯ll have to pay two hundred coins on your own.¡± Humph! He, Ding Er, wasn¡¯t stupid, why should he be the generous one and pay for others? ¡°Tch! Who wants to see?¡± a few people feigned disinterest and walked away. Two people hesitated for a while, bit their lips, each pulled out fifty coins and gave them to Ding Er. Ding Er was stingy about the fifty extra coins he paid but felt somewhat reassured. Only then did he let Yingbao open the bag for the others to see. However, the bag only held a few scattered copper coins and two deed papers, nothing else. ¡°Damn it!¡± The three people left looking dejected. Yingbao chuckled to herself, shouldered the bag again, and hopped off excitedly to look at the carriage she now owned. One person, seeing such a young child are at horse market, curiously inquired, ¡°Where are you from, young miss?¡± ¡°My family owns a special product shop, the Jiang Family¡¯s, right opposite the county academy,¡± Yingbao replied. ¡°Jiang Family¡¯s special product shop? What do they sell?¡± ¡°They sell local specialties, the most respectable gift boxes during festivals and holidays. Even the County Magistrate gave us high praise.¡± Yingbao intentionally didn¡¯t say what they sold, wanting to pique their curiosity. ¡°Oh, really?¡± One person joked, ¡°Did your family give a gift to the County Magistrate?¡± Yingbao took the opportunity to promote her family¡¯s shop, ¡°Not at all. The County Magistrate is the most incorruptible, how could he ept gifts from ordinary people? His servant frequentlyes to our shop and says that our special products are the authentic and most respectable gifts in the county. It¡¯s a face-giving thing to bring a few boxes when visiting rtives during festivals.¡± In reality that was not the case, but who would have the guts to verify the story from the County Magistrate? Hearing the young girl¡¯s words, the crowd thoughtfully calcted, each deciding to spare some time to visit the special product shop and see what kind of item could get the County Magistrate¡¯s preference. Coming out of the horse market, Jiang Quan, who was walking the horse, kept ncing at the old horse, afraid it might lie down on the spot. Suddenly, he saw his little cousin take something out of the bag and stuff it into the old horse¡¯s mouth, also giving it two pills. After eating them, the old horse seemed to perk up a bit, no longer wobbling. It could pull the cart with some difficulty. Yingbao then fed two more pills to the young horse. The young horse didn¡¯t squirm anymore. It seemed to have gained some strength in its legs and could keep up with the carriage¡¯s pace. Without either Yingbao or Jiang Quan riding the carriage, they led the horses back to the shop. They pulled the carriage into the backyard, and Jiang Quan quickly unhitched the harness from the big horse, letting it rest well. Yingbao fetched a basin of water and ced it in front of the two horses for them to drink. Seeing the siblings truly had bought a carriage back, Jiang Cheng hurried into the backyard to look. He ended up seeing two skinny horses and couldn¡¯t help frowning. ¡°Can this horse pull the carriage?¡± He stared at his younger brother, scolding, ¡°Do you know how to buy horses?¡± Jiang Quan pouted, huffily replying, ¡°Yingbao bought them, why are you yelling at me?¡± ¡°Then what use were you going along?¡± Jiang Cheng became angrier. ¡°What does a child like her know?¡± Seeing her two cousins starting to argue, Yingbao quickly said, ¡°Elder Brother, we got the horses very cheaply. The two horses, including the carriage and taxes, cost us less than a hundred taels.¡± Jiang Cheng irritably asked, ¡°What¡¯s the use of it being cheap? These two horses are obviously problematic. We bought them to pull the cart, not to ughter them.¡± ¡°Big Brother, don¡¯t forget I can cure illnesses.¡± Yingbao shook the porcin bottle in her hand. ¡°In a few days, these two horses will be as vigorous as dragons and tigers.¡± She petted the young horse¡¯s head, ¡°This one is my mount, it¡¯ll be with me from now on.¡± Glimpsing the pills in his younger cousin¡¯s hand, Jiang Cheng paused a bit, reluctantly believing her words. ¡°Fine then, the young horse is yours.¡± Upon hearing this, Jiang Quan immediately perked up, circling around Yingbao, ¡°You can really heal them? Then we¡¯re really going to make a fortune.¡± ¡°Of course, I am the unparalleled little Divine Doctor after all.¡± Yingbao patted the old horse¡¯s neck with satisfaction, ¡°Look at its big frame, a standard northern war horse. As long as we take good care of it, we can sell it for over a hundred coins, excluding the cart.¡± Jiang Quan widened his eyes, carefully examining the frail horse. In spite of its significantly thin body, the horse¡¯s four hooves were sturdy, and its skeleton was high andrge, indeed different from the local horses. ¡°Is it really a war horse?¡± Jiang Quan touched the horse¡¯s head, his expectations growing. ¡°What about this young horse?¡± Yingbao: ¡°The foal has the same color as the older horse. It is probably its offspring. I guess these two horses were traded from the north, but were abandoned due to recurrent sickness from not adapting to the local environment.¡± Usually, such northern war horses would be sold directly to the army or noble families after they¡¯d been traded. However, this pair of mother and foal ended up with the horse trader, clearly because they fell ill frequently. ¡°Alright then, Yingbao, you better heal them properly.¡± Jiang Quan said with hope, ¡°In the future, having war horses pulling the cart will undoubtedly make it faster than other horses.¡± By evening, Jiang Cheng closed the shop and returned to the backyard to cook. Jiang Quan cleaned the stable for the two horses and added some fine fodder into their troughs. This chopped fodder bought from the fodder shop was mixed with a bit of soybean meal and wheat bran. A sack cost fifty coins. A sack of feed would onlyst the two horses for a few days before they needed to buy more. So, buying mules and horses savedbor but was costly. By the next day, the state of the two horses had significantly improved from yesterday, and their eyes were even more spirited. Yingbao gave each horse two medicine pills and filled their water trough with water from Pupil Spring. The two horses affectionately nuzzled her with their heads before lowering them to drink water. After feeding the horses, Yingbao returned to her room to continue weighing the gold and Xue¡¯er mushrooms using a scale, packaging them into boxes, half a pound each. There was still no one from the Wen Family, presumably they weren¡¯t buying gold mushrooms this year. Therefore, Yingbao decided to take all the mushrooms from the cave, weigh them, put them into boxes, and prepare to sell them in the shop. When the timees, she¡¯d tell her eldest cousin and second cousin that these gold and Xue¡¯er mushrooms were stored in her room. As for whether her eldest cousin and second cousin would believe it, she wasn¡¯t worried at all. As long as she insisted they were previously stashed under her bed, they would probably have no choice but to believe her. Unknowingly, it was already the 26th of the twelfth lunar month, and more and more people wereing to the shop to buy items. Even though Jiang Quan kept having to restock from other stores, the goods in the shop were still in short supply. In particr, the gold and Xue¡¯er mushrooms sold out that day. The customers who didn¡¯t manage to buy some were quite annoyed andined, ¡°What kind of shop are you running that you can¡¯t even stock enough goods.¡± He had previously bought Xue¡¯er mushrooms as a gift for his father. After the old man had used them in a soup, he found that his limbs felt nimbler and the various aches and pains on his body disappeared. His appetite also improved significantly. That¡¯s why the old man specifically asked his son to buy more, regardless of the cost, even suggesting buying a few pounds to store at home. Jiang Cheng didn¡¯t mind the customers¡¯ tone at all and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m truly sorry, we can¡¯t harvest too many gold and Xue¡¯er mushrooms in a year. If you really like them, pleasee back after the New Year.¡± His kid cousin had said that after the New Year, she would have a batch of gold and Xue¡¯er mushrooms for harvesting, but the quantity wouldn¡¯t be much. The customer huffed and asked, ¡°Which day after the New Year? My father is waiting to eat them for health.¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s after the first month.¡± There will definitely be no Xue¡¯er mushrooms during the first month, even if the shop opens, they could only sell some pastries or so. The customer nodded, ¡°Then I¡¯lle after the first month.¡± He even took out a name card, ¡°If your Xue¡¯er mushrooms arrive, you can also deliver them to my house, um, three or four pounds would be fine.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± When Jiang Cheng saw the name card, it surprisingly had the words ¡®Wei¡¯s Gold and Silver¡¯ written on it. Chapter 222 - 218: The Good Son-in-law Candidate_1 Chapter 222: Chapter 218: The Good Son-inw Candidate_1 Trantor: 549690339 After seeing off the guests, the three siblings closed the door to tally their ounts. There were no goods left in the store. Keeping the store open would be pointless, so they hung a sign outside that read, ¡°Sold out. Shopkeeper has gone home for the New Year. Reopening for business on the 28th day of the first lunar month.¡± In the store¡¯s ounting room, Jiang Cheng clicked away on the abacus, finally calcting the profits of the past two months. ¡°After deducting the principal for the gold and Xue¡¯er, the pastries, and all the expenses in the store, we have a total profit of one thousand six hundred and thirty-six taels of silver.¡± Jiang Cheng had barely finished speaking when Jiang Quan screamed incredulously, ¡°Heavens! That much?¡± ¡°Such exaggeration!¡± Jiang Cheng gave his little brother a nce and smugly said, ¡°That doesn¡¯t even include the 120 leftover redcquer boxes and over 200 bamboo boxes at home.¡± In other words, the profit wasn¡¯t just that much. It also included the many boxes left over. ¡°How did we manage to earn so much?¡± Jiang Quan couldn¡¯t understand. Jiang Cheng said, ¡°The bulk of it was earned from the gold and Xue¡¯er. Aside from those two, the rest isn¡¯t that much.¡± Then, he pulled out an ount book and handed it to Yingbao. ¡°Here¡¯s the book for the iing goods. Check if it¡¯s correct.¡± Yingbao flipped through it. It recorded the quantity and amount of goods from each store. Some had been paid for, while others hadn¡¯t. The unpaid ones included the gold and Xue¡¯er from home, the uncle¡¯s gold and Xue¡¯er, the second uncle¡¯s, and Jiang Cheng¡¯s own. The purchase price for premium gold was calcted at fifteen taels per catty, while Xue¡¯er was ten taels per catty. Jiang Cheng said, ¡°I¡¯ve set the money for these goods aside. I¡¯ll give it to youter. The rest, I¡¯m thinking of depositing in the bank and then bringing back some silver notes to distribute to everyone.¡± The money for these gold and Xue¡¯er was no small sum, and it would be dangerous for him to bring it all the way home. Yingbao nodded in agreement, ¡°Okay, you handle it.¡± As expected, their eldest cousin was skilled at doing business. His ounts were clear, and he didn¡¯t muddle through things. Then, Jiang Cheng said, ¡°Next, let¡¯s divide the profits. Yingbao gets half, which is eight hundred and eighteen taels. The remaining will be equally divided between me and my younger brother, each getting four hundred and nine taels.¡± Jiang Quan let out another exmation, followed by heartyughter, ¡°Haha! I can finally afford to buy a house!¡± Some time ago, he had wandered through the town while collecting goods from the various stores, and had glimpsed several beautiful houses. He had long desired to own a nice mansion one day. Now that he had the money, his dream could finally be realized. Jiang Cheng said with a hint of annoyance, ¡°Even if you buy a house now, it will need to be under Father¡¯s name.¡± Doused by cold reality, Jiang Quan huffed, ¡°So what? Once you¡¯ve distributed the assets, the house will be mine to inherit.¡± Jiang Cheng ignored him and went to his room with the ount book to get the silver. When Yingbao and Jiang Quan helped their elder brother pull severalrge boxes of silver and copper coins from under his bed, they were astonished. In one box, there were neatly stacked five and ten-tael silver ingots. Another box was filled with one-, two-, and half-tael pieces of silver, and there were also tworge boxes of copper coins. Jiang Cheng counted out over thirteen hundredrge silver ingots and handed them to Yingbao, saying, ¡°This is the profit and principal from your gold and Xue¡¯er.¡± He also counted out four hundred and nine taels and gave them to Jiang Quan: ¡°You didn¡¯t have any gold, so you just get the profit.¡± Jiang Quan didn¡¯t mind at all. Compared to the long days spent in the mushroom shed, he much preferred being on the go. He cheerfully hugged the silver and repeatedly counted it. He even picked up a silver ingot and kissed it, saying, ¡°Haha! I¡¯m now the wealthiest person in the vige!¡± Who in the vige was wealthier than him? Yingbao said, ¡°I¡¯m richer than you, and so is our elder cousin.¡± Not to mention, the principal from our elder cousin¡¯s gold, plus the store¡¯s profit, already amounted to one thousand taels. Jiang Quan stiffened and huffed, ¡°Our elder cousin isn¡¯t from our vige anymore, and you¡­¡± He nced at Yingbao. Did she count as a person? She was just a little monster¡­ a little Fairy Child, and he couldn¡¯tpare himself with her. After dividing up the money, Jiang Cheng said, ¡°The remaining money is for the goods from the various stores in the town. They will probablye to settle their ounts tomorrow.¡± ¡°Each of us needs to take out one hundred taels to put in the store as working capital. From now on, daily expenses will be paid from this working capital. This includes the monthly market tax, carriage tax, gifts for the government office, and money for dining with the shopkeepers. All of these will be paid from here. When we calcte the profits each month, we must first replenish this money before we start.¡± Yingbao indicated her understanding. Jiang Quan also nodded in agreement. He had learnt a lot during this period and understood that doing business required dealing with different people and also giving gifts to various government offices. It was not easy. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the bank to deposit the money now. Once we¡¯ve settled the payments for the goods tomorrow, we can go pick up Yuanbao and go home,¡± Jiang Cheng said, ¡°At the same time, we need to buy some New Year¡¯s gifts to take home.¡± This year, he had earned so much money; he had to return home in glory and wash away the humiliation of his failed marriage attempt. ¡°Yes, I also want to buy some New Year¡¯s goods.¡± Not only did Yingbao want to buy New Year¡¯s goods, but she also wanted to buy more pastries, candies, and small items from the town to take home. The next day, several pastry shop owners came to settle ounts, each bringing two boxes of their best pastries. ¡°May I wish you, Shopkeeper Jiang, prosperity in theing year first. After the New Year, let¡¯s gather at Tianxiang Restaurant,¡± a pastry shop owner said with a smile. Jiang Cheng smiled in return, ¡°Let me return the blessing first by wishing each of you prosperity in your businesses and lots of wealth in theing year. When I return, I¡¯ll bring some local specialties for you to try.¡± ¡°Sounds good, sounds good.¡± After settling their ounts, they took their leave one after another. One of the shopkeepers, a portly man, hung back. He came up to Jiang Cheng and asked in a low voice, ¡°Has Young Master Jiang found a spouse yet?¡± Jiang Cheng honestly replied, ¡°Not yet.¡± The portly shopkeeper pped his chubby hand andughed heartily, ¡°Excellent, excellent. It¡¯s unbelievable that a promising youth like you, Jiang, isn¡¯t married yet. Why not let me y the matchmaker for you?¡± Jiang Chengughed awkwardly, ¡°My parents are to decide in such a matter. I don¡¯t dare ept such offers casually.¡± The portly shopkeeperughed, ¡°What¡¯s there to fear? As long as the two families are well-matched, and the children are of good character, endowed with both virtue and talent, it will be a good match. I believe your parents wouldn¡¯t object.¡± As he spoke, he sized up the youngd in front of him. Clothed in an unbleached robe, handsome and aristocratic, indeed he was a rare delight. Add to that his ability to read and make money, he was truly a matchless gem of a young man. Looking at the younger brother by Jiang¡¯s side, he was equally handsome with clear, honest eyes. Even though he dealt with marketce matters, he didn¡¯t exhibit any sly or crooked demeanor. Even the young sister was exceedingly clever, and anyone who looked upon her was filled with affection. Judging by the demeanor and personality of these children, one couldn¡¯t doubt the upbringing of the Jiang family. If his daughter were to marry a young man like Jiang Cheng, it would indeed be fortune rued over several lifetimes. The more he thought about it, the more anxious he felt. What if such a good prospective son-inw went back home and was engaged to someone else? His precious daughter could then miss out on a perfect match. With this in mind, the portly shopkeeper pped Jiang Cheng on the shoulder andughed heartily. ¡°Brother Jiang, why not today rather than another day? Why don¡¯t we¡­ I mean, why don¡¯t you and I go to Tianxiang¡­ to my home for a drink?¡± Seeing Jiang Cheng¡¯s hesitation, he immediately added, ¡°Bring your younger brother and sister too. You haven¡¯t been to my house before, so it¡¯s a good chance for you to familiarize yourself. After all, we will have many opportunities to interact in the future. Ah, yes, our shop recently came up with a new type of pastry. Why not let your little sistere and learn how to make it?¡± The littless had apparently been secretly observing their bakery for a full morning earlier, probably trying to learn their techniques. His wife, who was particrly fond of clever children, had deliberately made the chestnut cakes several times from start to finish, giving the little girl a clearer view. Chapter 223 - 219: Crispy Milk Cake (seeking monthly ticket)_i Chapter 223: Chapter 219: Crispy Milk Cake (seeking monthly ticket)_i Trantor: 549690339 Upon hearing this, Yingbao couldn¡¯t help but size up the chubby Shopkeeper Chou. He possessed a round face with a Fu Manchu moustache, eyes squinted like a Maitreya Buddha, a kind face, but a shrewd man. Astonishingly, he had taken a fancy to her older cousin. However, her cousin was indeed getting older, and would be eighteen after the New Year. If he didn¡¯t find a wife soon, Auntie might go mad with worry. She tugged on her cousin¡¯s sleeve, trying to give him a hint. Seeing her cousin ignored her, she had to say to Shopkeeper Chou, ¡°If Ie to your house to learn how to make pastries, Uncle Chou, you really don¡¯t mind?¡± Chou Fuguiughed and said, ¡°Miss, you jest. My neighbors also know how to make those pastries. There¡¯s no reason to be ufortable about it.¡± ¡°Then I can go to your house to look.¡± Yingbao said with a bent-eye smile, ¡°I can also pay a visit to Auntie Chou.¡± She guessed that she couldn¡¯t hide her intention of ¡°stealing¡± the shop¡¯s recipes from the mistress¡¯s sharp eyes. It didn¡¯t seem right to not mention this beforehand. ¡°You¡¯re more than wee.¡± Chou Fugui then eagerly looked at Jiang Cheng, ¡°Brother Jiang, why don¡¯t we go together?¡± With no other choice, Jiang Cheng nodded his head towards Chou Fugui and said, ¡°Then we¡¯ll have to inconvenience you, Shopkeeper Chou.¡± So, Jiang Quan stayed behind to watch the house while Jiang Cheng and his little cousin rode on Shopkeeper Chou¡¯s donkey cart, heading to the Chou residence. On the way, Jiang Cheng bought several packages of candied fruits as gifts. Shopkeeper Chou didn¡¯t stop him, he watched the young man the entire journey, smiling, and the more he watched the more he loved the sight. He thought he was just like himself when he was younger, handsome and understanding. When they arrived at the entrance of Rongfu Pastry Shop, Yingbao and her cousin got off the carriage. In good humor, Chou Fugui led the siblings to the back yard, not forgetting to instruct the shop assistant to choose a few pastries to send to the back yard. ¡°Rong¡¯er, Rong¡¯er! We have guests, hurry up and prepare some tea!¡± Even before they entered the main house, Chou Fugui started to call out. ¡°Coming!¡± A crisp response echoed and a young girl in a red dress of about fourteen or fifteen years old came from the interior room, lifting the curtain. On catching sight of a handsome young man wearing in robes standing in the yard, she was taken aback. She quickly covered half of her face with her sleeve and observed the neer covertly. Chou Fuguiughed, ¡°Rong¡¯er, this is the shopkeeper of Jiang¡¯s Specialties with whom we have business dealings. Hurry over and pay your respects.¡± Only then did Chou Rong lower her sleeve and properly greeted Jiang Cheng with a bow, saying, ¡°Shopkeeper Jiang, may you be in good health.¡± Fighting the urge to flee, Jiang Cheng barely managed a return bow. Chou Fu Gui was observing Jiang Cheng¡¯s reaction all this while. Seeing Jiang Cheng, who didn¡¯t even spare a nce at his own daughter, he felt both relieved and disappointed. Did this young Master Jiang despise his own daughter? It¡¯s impossible. Although his daughter cannot be considered as a beauty that would overthrow cities and kingdoms, she could be regarded as a pretty youngdy. Why didn¡¯t he even lift his eyelid to look at her? Chou Fugui could only continue, introducing Yingbao to his daughter, ¡°This is Shopkeeper Jiang¡¯s younger sister, named¡­ um, what¡¯s her name again?¡± ¡°My name is Jiang Yingbao, greetings Sister Rong.¡± Yingbao formally greeted Chou Rong. Chou Rong took her hand and said with a smile, ¡°Sister Yingbao,e sit with me in the room.¡± Chou Fugui also pulled Jiang Cheng to enter the room. Before long, the shop assistant brought a mixed box of pastries. Inside, there were several kinds of cakes and fruits, including their shop¡¯s most famous three-vor red bean pastry. This red bean pastry was made with red bean paste, mung bean paste, and chestnut powder which formed three colorful fillings, the pastry was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, it had a sweet taste, and it was very delicious. Chou Rong brought some tea, personally poured tea for Jiang Cheng and Yingbao, and then sat aside to chat with Yingbao. Chou Fugui also made small and light conversation with Jiang Cheng. asionally he would indirectly inquire, and finally got a detailed understanding of the Jiang family¡¯s situation. When Chou Fugui learned that the Jiang Family were farmers, their children were educated, and Jiang¡¯s third uncle was the vige head, he became even more pleased. He couldn¡¯t wait to find a matchmaker to propose a marriage to Jiang Cheng right away. Being able to serve as the vige head meant that the Jiang Family held high prestige in the vige, and they were either second or first-ss farmers. If his daughter was married into their family, though she might not be extremely wealthy, at least she would not starve. Soon, Chou Fugui¡¯s wife, Madam Chou, also arrived, with a boy around five or six years old in tow. ¡°Ah, if it isn¡¯t Shopkeeper Jiang! What a rare guest!¡± Madam Chou, who bore a striking resemnce to her husband, was also rotund with a round face. When she smiled, her eyes almost disappeared into crescent shapes. Jiang Cheng hastily stood up to greet her, ¡°Madam Chou, I hope I¡¯m not interrupting.¡± ¡°Nonsense, your presence has added luster to our humble home. Please have a seat.¡± Madam Chou¡¯s gaze wandered from her daughter and Jiang Cheng to Yingbao, her smile even more benevolent. ¡°Why, it¡¯s little Madam Yingbao! Come over here, let me have a look.¡± Yingbao politely bowed to her, ¡°Greetings, Madam Chou.¡± Madam Chou drew her closer, praising her, ¡°Little Madam Yingbao, you¡¯ve be more and more beautiful, just like a fairy child from a painting. It would be nice if you were my daughter.¡± She grabbed her son who was next to her, and chuckled, ¡°Together, you two look like the golden boy and jade girl.¡± Yingbao nced at the boy, Jin Tong, who was sniffling, her eyes twitching. Jin Tong gave her a big smile, sucking his runny nose back in, and said, ¡°Yingbao.¡± ¡°Jin Tong¡­¡± Facing a boy her own age, Yingbao just couldn¡¯t bring herself to call him brother. Yes, the boy¡¯s name was Jin Tong. He was the only child of the Chou family. Yingbao had once seen him outside the Chou¡¯s shop, where he was poking at ants with a twig. Chou Fugui subtly signaled to his wife, ¡°Yingbao wants to learn how to make our new pastry. Why don¡¯t you show her?¡± This also provided an opportunity for his daughter and Jiang Cheng to spend some time alone together. Madam Chou caught on immediately, taking Yingbao¡¯s hand and asking, ¡°We have just introduced a new pastry in the shop, would you like to see it?¡± Yingbao nodded without hesitation, ¡°Yes, thank you, Madam Chou.¡± Not everyone was allowed ess to the kitchen of Chou¡¯s pastry shop. When Yingbao and her sisters, and Jiang Quan camest time for business, only she was allowed in the kitchen for a long time just because she was young. So, Madam Chou led Yingbao and Jin Tong to the kitchen. From a distance, they could already smell the sweet aroma emanating from the kitchen, their mouths watering. Two or three women, around thirty to forty years old, were bustling about in the kitchen. They were all hired helpers of the Chou family. Madam Chou led her to one of the women and said, ¡°Mrs. Xue, please teach Yingbao how to make crispy milk cakes.¡± Mrs. Xue acknowledged and nced at the little girl, slightly puzzled. Teaching such a young child to make pastries, she wasn¡¯t sure if Yingbao could remember everything. But, well, since the boss asked her to teach, she just had to teach. It wasn¡¯t something tooplicated, anyway. Since she was teaching Yingbao how to make pastries, they had to start from the beginning, not missing any step. Mrs. Xue took out a fewrge buns and told Yingbao, ¡°First, peel off the skin of the buns, we¡¯ll use them to make crispy crumbs.¡± Yingbao did as she was told, washing her hands and starting to peel off the bun skin with Mrs. Xue. After peeling off all the bun skins, Mrs. Xue chopped them into small pieces, drained them over a clean iron pot on low heat, until they became crispy. The crispy bun crumbs were then scooped out and left to cool on a te. Once cooled, they were put on a chopping board, covered with a cloth, and ground into small pieces with a rolling pin. The ground bun crumbs then had to be sifted to remove the coarser pieces, leaving the finer crumbs forter use. Chapter 224 - 220: December 28th, Preparing the Dough (Request for Monthly Tickets) _1 Chapter 224: Chapter 220: December 28th, Preparing the Dough (Request for Monthly Tickets) _1 Trantor: 549690339 After that, Aunt Xue began to boil the milk, which might be cow¡¯s milk. She added frosting and glutinous rice flour to the milk, stirred them with a stirring rod until the sugar waspletely dissolved. She then let it simmer over low heat, stirring constantly. At first, it was watery and not thick at all, but as the temperature rose, the milk would gradually thicken. When it finally turned into a very thick paste, she took the milk pot off the fire. Because the temperature inside the pot was still quite high, she had to keep stirring for a while to keep the paste smooth and lump-free. Then, while it was still hot, she used a spat to pour the milk paste into a greased wooden tray, smoothing the surface as much as possible, before leaving it outside to cool. Meanwhile, Aunt Xue prepared another bowl of glutinous rice flour, a bowl of beaten eggs, and some toasted breadcrumbs. Once everything was ready, the milk pastes had already solidified into jelly. Aunt Xue cut them into pieces of about the width of a finger. She used a t spoon to scoop up a piece of the milk jelly and rolled it in the glutinous rice flour to lock in the moisture, then rolled it in the beaten egg, and finally in the breadcrumbs before frying it in the oil over low heat. When it was fried to a golden brown color, she took it out and ced it on a te lined with dry lotus leaves, and the crispy milk cakes were sessfully made. ¡°Miss, try it.¡± Aunt Xue handed a pair of chopsticks to Yingbao, ¡°Be careful, it¡¯s hot.¡± Yingbao took the chopsticks and took a bite out of a crispy milk cake. The crust was crispy, the inside was tender, and her mouth was instantly filled with a rich sweet milk vor. ¡°They¡¯re really delicious.¡± Yingbao ate one and wanted to eat more, she was a bit unsatisfied. Aunt Xueughed: ¡°These milk cakes taste best when freshly fried, they are not as good if left for a long time, so in our shop, we fry them on the spot. If your home is not convenient for frying, you can directly coat the milk jelly with ayer of sugar bean powder, it will also be delicious.¡± ¡°Thank you for letting me know, Aunt,¡± Yingbao thanked her. As for the sugar bean powder, she knew about it because her Second Aunt Yanru could make it. It involved washing yellow soybeans, frying them in a pan until they were cooked, then crushing them into a powder, sieving the coarse grains out, adding powdered sugar and mixing evenly. This kind of sugar bean powder was very sweet, and many kinds of pastries used it as a filling, or sprinkled it on the outside. After learning how to make crispy milk cakes, Yingbao excused herself from the kitchen. She went to the front hall looking for her older cousin but couldn¡¯t find him. Uncle Chou and Aunt Chou were not there either, only little Jin Tong was ying with his bamboo toy horse in the courtyard. Yingbao went over and asked: ¡°Jin Tong, have you seen my older brother?¡± Jin Tong nodded, wiped his nose, and pointed to a moon gate, ¡°Sister took brother to feed the fishes.¡± Yingbao looked at the moon gate. That should be the inner courtyard, right? What was her cousin thinking, running off to the inner courtyard with a girl to feed fishes? Yingbao quickly went over to check. As soon as she entered the moon gate, she saw a flowerttice wall blocking her view. This kind of flowerttice wall was not high, on top were carved windows. You could see the scene of the inner courtyard through the window, but Yingbao was short and couldn¡¯t see anything even when she tiptoed. Suddenly, she saw Uncle Chou and Aunt Chou peeking through the window into the courtyard. ¡°Uncle Chou, Aunt Chou.¡± Yingbao called out. Chou Fugui and his wife were startled and quickly turned around. When they saw it was Yingbao, they sighed in relief. ¡°Oh dear, I was about to invite your brother for dinner.¡± Aunt Chou grinned and walked over. She took Yingbao¡¯s hand and led her away from the flowerttice wall, while giving her husband a knowing nce. Chou Fugui understood, coughed, and called towards the courtyard: ¡°Rong¡¯er, the dinner table is ready. Please invite Shopkeeper Jiang toe over for a meal.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± A crisp voice came from behind thettice wall. Aunt Chou led Yingbao to a flower hall. The square table in the hall had already been set with some dishes, and chopsticks. A kitchen maid was pouring tea from a hot water pot. After a short while, Chou Fugui also walked in, hands behind his back, followed by his son Jin Tong. Behind them was Jiang Cheng, who was in turn followed by Miss Chou Rong. As they entered in a line, they took their seats one after another. Yingbao looked at her older cousin and noticed hisposed demeanor and natural expression, which slightly alleviated her worries. It seemed that Miss Chou Rong had indeed only taken him to feed the koi, and there was nothing ambiguous between the two. During the meal, Chou Fugui tantly and subtlyplimented his daughter, and Jiang Cheng pretended not to understand, responding vaguely and saying nothing else, only burying his head to eat. Madam Chou began to praise how clever and nimble Yingbao was again, encouraging her daughter to spend more time ying with Yingbao. Yingbao naturally agreed. Since she had just learned how to make their pastries, she could not turn her back on them. After dinner, Chou Fugui personally sent the siblings home, also bringing two boxes of just-made crispy milk cakes for Yingbao. In the afternoon of that day, Jiang Cheng went to pick up Yuanbao from his private school, and locked up the shop and backyard doors early next morning, taking his younger brother and sister, along with tworge baskets of gifts, back to their hometown. Yingbao had initially wanted to buy some sheep or cow¡¯s milk in the county town and make crispy milk cakes for her family, but she failed to find any. Helplessly, she could only divide the two boxes of milk cakes gifted by uncle Chou, one for Yuanbao and one for herself to give to her younger brother. The cart drawn by the skinny horse didn¡¯t travel fast, but it wasn¡¯t slow either, about the same speed as a donkey cart. The obedient young horse didn¡¯t even need to be leashed, it followed the skinny horse all the way, withoutgging behind at all. These two horses were basically recovered now, but they still needed to be nursed slowly until they fully recovered. ¡°Yingbao, where did you put all those silvers?¡± Her younger cousin didn¡¯t deposit the silver in the bank, which made Jiang Quan very curious. More than a thousand taels, a hundred or so pounds of silver, where did Xiaotangmei hide them? Yingbao patted a locked wooden box next to her and said, ¡°In here.¡± In fact, she had stored them in her cave. Jiang Quan looked at the wooden box, highly doubtful. This was the box he had loaded onto the cart, and while it was somewhat heavy, it didn¡¯t seem like it weighed a hundred or so pounds. Forget it, why bother himself about it. Anyway, no one could beat his cousin in hiding things. As the saying goes, on the twenty-eighth of the twelfth lunar month, you start rising the dough; on the twenty-ninth, you steam the bread. The three sisters-inw of the Jiang family joined together to make red bean buns, assorted bun fillings, and flower swirls. The first steamer of steamed bread was tasted by Old Man Jiang and his wife Mrs. Jiang Liu, and only then were the children and grandchildren allowed to eat. Yingbao and her brothers each took two buns with assorted fillings and ran out to the training ground for practice. Children from the vige also came to train, but most of them watched and cheered from the side. After a session of training, Yingbao sat on a stone bench by the field to rest, when she saw Chuchu, the newly-wed bride in a green jacket, brought over a bowl of sweet soy milk. ¡°I just boiled this, try it.¡± Chuchu¡¯s face was radiant with a sweet smile as she sat down next to Yingbao, teasing, ¡°You didn¡¯t evene back when I got married, you must have forgotten about me.¡± Yingbao blinked her eyes. She had indeed forgotten about it, but fortunately remembered when buying New Year¡¯s gifts, so she specifically bought a pair of beaded flowers with silver and turquoise for Chuchu. She took out a silver flower bead from her pocket and put it in Chuchu¡¯s hand: ¡°I picked this one from the county town, it¡¯s a wedding gift for you.¡± Chuchu opened the silk cloth package, took out the two silver bead flowers, and attached them to both sides of her hair bun, asking, ¡°Do I look good?¡± ¡°You look good,¡± Yingbao nodded, took a sip of the sweet soy milk, its rich aroma engulfing her. Chuchu looked too beautiful now, her face like a tender flower, delicate and charming, even the birthmark on her forehead couldn¡¯t mar her beauty at all. Chuchu hugged Yingbao and quietly thanked her: ¡°Thank you, Yingbao.¡± If Yingbao hadn¡¯t taken her in back then, gave her silver and mushroom spores, she might have been married off by her father to some random person in that vige. She might have never had the chance to see the world outside the mountain gully, let alone meet a good man like Zhang Lang. Chapter 225 - 221: Self-Deception_1 Chapter 225: Chapter 221: Self-Deception_1 Trantor:549690339 Just like that, it was the second day of the New Year, and Jiang San, as usual, took his wife and children to visit his mother-inw for the annual courtesy call. They hurriedly ate lunch there then rushed back home. Upon arriving home, Jiang San Lang was immediately called over by his father. In his parents¡¯s main room, Jiang Yunniang was on her knees weeping in front of her mother, Jiang Liu, with her young son, Zhang Yuying, and young daughter, Hong Xiao, standing by her side. ¡°Mother, I am truly desperate, Zhang Lang says if he doesn¡¯t get the money, the other family is going to kill him, would you just watch Yuninning and Yuying lose their father?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? He has been cavorting with another woman and even fathered a child with her, and he expects our family to bail him out?¡± Jiang Liu banged on the table in anger. Jiang Yunniang said, ¡°He didn¡¯t fool around, it was that woman who seduced him. Mother, Zhang Jia said that if we give them two hundred taels of silver, everything will be alright and they will not contact us again.¡± Jiang Liu retorted angrily, ¡°Do you believe his nonsense?¡± Jiang Yunniang nodded, ¡°I believe him.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t!¡± Jiang Liu said, ¡°Your brother has already investigated, Zhang Jia is conspiring with others to deceive you, and you still remain so stubborn.¡± ¡°Mother¡­¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s best for you to divorce him! Zhang Jia is a very cunning man, he¡¯s not worthy of your sacrifices.¡± ¡°No! I don¡¯t want a divorce! Yukan isn¡¯t married yet, Yuying and Hong Xiao are still young. If I divorce him, what will happen to the children?¡± Jiang Yunniang sobbed. Let alone her two sons, even her young daughter, whom she could pick up easily, Hong Xiao, how could she hold her head high in front of outsiders afterwards? Jiang¡¯s old man pounded his dry tobo pipe angrily, ¡°Then what do you want to do? Are you going to keep giving him money? Filling up his bottomless pit? What do you think our family is? A free bank to retain that beast?¡± Jiang Yunniang covered her face and sobbed. Jiang San Lang walked into the room and saw this scene, his face turned grim. His elder sister is so weak, it¡¯s as if she couldn¡¯t live without that man. ¡°You¡¯re here,¡± the elderly Jiang looked at his third son, and said, ¡°Sit down.¡± Jiang San Lang then sat down on a chair next to the kang bed, asked, ¡°Father, why did you call me over?¡± The old man Jiang coughed, sighed, ¡°Look at your sister¡¯s condition, see what you can do.¡± ¡°What can I do?¡± Jiang San Lang said indifferently, ¡°Last time my sister said that her family¡¯s affairs had nothing to do with me, and asked me not to get involved.¡± Jiang Yunniang suddenly turned around and cried, ¡°San Lang, you can¡¯t just intervene like that. After all, he is Yukan and Yuying¡¯s father. After you beat him like that, how can he hold his head up in front of others?¡± ¡°So, what do you want to do today by crying in front of mom and dad? Do you want me to beat Zhang to give him some face?¡± Jiang San Lang coldly looked at his elder sister. Jiang Yunniang shook her head, ¡°I don¡¯t mean that, it¡¯s just¡­ it¡¯s just that Zhang Lang is really out of options. That family wants two hundred taels of silver from him. If he doesn¡¯t have the money, he has to bring that woman home as his wife or else they will kill him.¡± ¡°He wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± Jiang Liu shouted angrily, pointing at Jiang Yunniang, ¡°Yunniang, your mother is not ming you, but you¡¯re too weak! If Zhang Jia dares to marry, I will go to the County Government to use him of bigamy!¡± ¡°Mother¡­¡± Jiang Yunniang gasped in horror, ¡°If he goes to jail, won¡¯t our family be finished? Don¡¯t do that. Please.¡± She turned to Jiang San Lang, ¡°San Lang, please, I beg you, lend me two hundred taels of silver first. I¡¯ll repay youter, even if I have to be a cow or a horse, I¡¯ll pay you back.¡± Jiang San Lang scoffed coldly, turning to his parents and asked, ¡°Father, did you call me to lend money to big sister?¡± The old man Jiang coughed awkwardly, ¡°When did I ask you for money? Ah, we can¡¯t ignore your sister¡¯s problem. We called you here to discuss.¡± ¡°I am not going to give a single coin.¡± Jiang San Lang continued, ¡°I have nothing to discuss. Either big sister gets a divorce and we, her brothers, take care of her and her children, or she solves her own problems and never bothers me again. I, Jiang San Lang, don¡¯t have the extra money to support Zhang Jia and his mistress¡¯s family.¡± Saying this, he got up and left. ¡°Sang!¡± Jiang Yunniang, gasping for breath, turned and threw herself at her parents. ¡°Father! Mother! You cannot disregard your daughter. Zhang Jia has always been good to me. I cannot abandon him because of a single mistake.¡± Jiang Liu pushed away his daughter, pulled Yuying and Hong Xiao close, and asked, ¡°Yuying, Hong Xiao, does your father treat your mother well?¡± Yuying nodded, ¡°Father is very good to mother.¡± Hong Xiao added, ¡°Daddy even buys sweet cakes for mother. He treats mother so well.¡± Old man Jiang didn¡¯t believe it, he said to his daughter, ¡°Yunniang, if Zhang Jia truly cares for you, and is sincere in his devotion to this family, how could he have two children with another woman?¡± He had heard from Sang that Zhang Jia had a boy and a girl with his concubine, the older of the children already three years old. Sang also said that Zhang Jia was simply putting on a show for Yunniang, tricking her into returning to her parents¡¯ home for money to support him and his concubine. ¡°Your shop has long been mortgaged to others, hasn¡¯t it, Yunniang? Tell father, who¡¯s managing the shop now? Is it the brother of that concubine?¡± Old man Jiang asked. Jiang Yunniang dropped her head and covered her face, weeping. Old man Jiang sighed, ¡°Yunniang, Zhang Jia¡¯s heart is no longer with you. Stop being deluded.¡± His daughter was too gullible, believing whatever others told her. That Zhang Jia must have been putting on the act of a loving husband to deceive Yunniang, so she would keep bringing him money from her parents¡¯ house to squander. ¡°I¡¯m asking you again, why doesn¡¯t Zhang Jiae with you when you return home for the New Year?¡± Old man Jiang continued asking. Jiang Yunniang mumbled, ¡°He¡­ he takes the children to Zhang Vige for the New Year. You know, his parents passed away early. His older brother and his wife raised him. It¡¯s customary for him to take the kids to give New Year greetings¡­ ¡± Old man Jiang turned and asked his granddaughter, ¡°Hong Xiao, does your father take you to Zhang Vige for the New Year every year?¡± Hong Xiao, in a daze, nodded, ¡°Yes, my older brother and I go to our uncle¡¯s house for the New Year. We even stay there for a few days.¡± ¡°What about your father? Does he stay at your uncle¡¯s house?¡± Old Man Jiang asked. Hong Xiao, biting her finger, said, ¡°Daddy has to go home early because he has things to do. He asks me and my brother to stay with uncle and auntie for a few more days before going back.¡± Every year, after she and her big brother reached their uncle¡¯s house, their father would leave. Once, her big brother wanted to take her home early, but their uncle wouldn¡¯t let them. Her second brother alwayses with mother to our grandparent¡¯s house for the New Year. ¡°Father, please, don¡¯t ask anymore!¡± Jiang Yunniang, as though struck by a severe pain, stood up suddenly and dragged her daughter Hong Xiao outside. Jiang Liu and her husband looked at each other and shook their heads. Their daughter was beyond help. Every New Year, Zhang Jia never visited the Jiang family, always finding excuses to go to his brother¡¯s, before leaving the kids and returning to the county city to spend the New Year with his concubine. Their daughter knew about these things, but she chose to deceive herself, letting that man cheat her with just a few words, so she couldn¡¯t find her way. Jiang Liu let out a sigh and said to her husband, ¡°We can¡¯t let her carry on like this. Zhang Jia is just trying to keep control of Yunniang and the kids, so our family will continue to support him. This is absolutely uneptable! Let¡¯s take our older sons with us and have a talk with the vige of Zhang.¡± ¡°What good will visiting Zhang Vige do? Zhang Jia and his brothers have separated ounts long ago. The moment they open their mouths, we¡¯ll be speechless. Besides, we may not even be able to find them.¡± Old man Jiang snorted, ¡°We¡¯ll take a few people into town and find Zhang Jia directly. We¡¯ll ask him what he means.¡± If he wants to remarry, let him do it, we can take our daughter back home. Jiang Liu furrowed her brows, ¡°What about Yunniang? What if she objects?¡± Old Man Jiang answered, ¡°If she dares to object, tell her she doesn¡¯t need to return to her parents¡¯ house anymore. We will consider she¡¯s not our daughter anymore!¡± Chapter 226 - 222: Taking a Concubine_1 Chapter 226: Chapter 222: Taking a Concubine_1 Trantor:549690339 On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the Jiang family traveled with two horse carts to Zhang Vige. As expected, Zhang Jia was not there, even Yukan who was visiting Uncle Zhang did not know where his father had gone. The older brother of the Jiang family immediately took everyone to the county town, to Jiang Yunniang¡¯s ce. As they rushed into the house, they found Zhang Jia holding a little over one-year-old toddler, sitting at the table having a meal with his young mistress, as if they were a picture-perfect family. Seeing the members of the Jiang family bursting in, the woman screamed and flung herself into Zhang Jia¡¯s arms. Zhang Jia also looked flustered, hugging his beloved woman and the child tightly, shouting, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Jiang Sang sneered and pointed at Zhang Jia for Jiang Yunniang to see, ¡°Elder sister, are you seeing this? This is the honorable son-inw of yours.¡± Jiang Yunniang looked at the couple clinging to each other, her tears streaming down. Hearing about it was one thing, but seeing them all cozy was apletely different matter. Jiang Yunniang wanted to ask Zhang Jia why he deceived her so much, but the words choked up in her throat, and she could not speak a word. Her husband was always telling her that he had been lured into a trap and was unable to escape, hence he had to spend money to buy peace. But what about this scene? It was not about being seduced, it was clear that they were both deeply smitten with each other. Jiang Sang asked, ¡°Elder sister, do you want to continue living with him or get a divorce?¡± Not waiting for Jiang Yunniang to answer, he continued, ¡°You can continue to live with Zhang Jia, but don¡¯t expect us brothers to help you anymore. If you choose to divorce, you cane back with us, you can even bring your children along. We will take care of your and the children¡¯s lives from now on.¡± Jiang Dng also said, ¡°Yunniang, this kind of man is not worth it. He not only deceives you, but also abandons his own children. If he had any conscience, he wouldn¡¯t have sold the family shop to strangers.¡± After being silent for a while, Jiang Yunniang said, ¡°I¡¯m not getting a divorce.¡± She¡¯s not willing. Why should she give ce to others just when she had been his wife for more than ten years, served him half her life, and even bore him children? Even if he has a new love, there are plenty of men outside with concubines. She¡¯s the main wife, and as long as she doesn¡¯t leave, she¡¯s the mistress of this house. No one, including this vile woman and her two biased children, can overstep her. If he¡¯s unkind, then she won¡¯t be righteous. Jiang Sang knew early that his elder sister would make this choice, and he was not surprised. Instead, Jiang Eng and Jiang Dng were furious. ¡°Yunniang! Are you possessed!¡± Jiang Dng wished he could smack his sister to wake her up. Jiang Yunniang only hung her head in silence. Jiang Sang¡¯s re at Zhang Jia was ice-cold, ¡°Zhang Jia, who is this woman? And who are these two children?¡± Zhang Jia, seeing that Jiang Yunniang didn¡¯t want a divorce, instantly cheered up. He let go of the delicate woman, stood up, adjusted his clothes arrogantly, and said, ¡°Who she is, is none of your business.¡± Jiang Yunniang suddenly spoke, ¡°She is the new concubine taken by my husband. As for those two children, they are burdens brought with her.¡± The woman, upon hearing this, again threw herself into Zhang Jia¡¯s arms, whimpering, ¡°My lord¡­¡± Zhang Jia, while holding the delicate woman, pointed at Jiang Yunniang and yelled, ¡°Jiang Yunniang! What nonsense are you talking about?¡± Jiang Yunniang wiped her tears, calmly saying, ¡°My lord, how am I rambling? Isn¡¯t she the lowly concubine I bought for over two hundred coins?¡± ¡°Nonsense!¡± Zhang Jia¡¯s face turned red as he swore at Jiang Yunniang, ¡°When did you spend two hundred coins to buy her?¡± Jiang Yunniang responded coldly, ¡°My lord, you surely forgot. Last year, the over two hundred coins I handed you intermittently, didn¡¯t you use them to buy this person?¡± Zhang Jia: ¡­ ¡°I didn¡¯t buy her.¡± Zhang Jia roared, ¡°The money was spent on her.¡± Jiang Yunniang tidied up her disheveled hair bun, took a cold nce at the woman and said, ¡°Oh, so she¡¯s a prostitute. My lord, why did you bring a prostitute home? Bringing such an ominous thing during the New Year, be careful not to ruin the fortunes of the Zhang family.¡± Zhang Jia and the woman were stunned for a moment. The delicate woman started wailing loudly, holding one child and set about to strike Zhang Jia with her free hand. Zhang Jia was not fast enough to evade and got several w scratches on his face. ¡°She is not a prostitute! She¡­ she is my concubine.¡± Zhang Jia hurried to justify. Jiang Yunniang said, ¡°If she is a concubine, where is the paper of agreement? My lord, you wouldn¡¯t have missed out the formal contract, would you? Which decent girl would just follow a man home without any exnation?¡± Zhang Jia: ¡­ He didn¡¯t understand why his wife suddenly became so harsh, not only aggressive but also foul-mouthed. Zhang Jia felt his teeth itch with rage, he wished he could rush up and beat her. But clearly, he could not do that now, so he had to cate her, ¡°I will write you the contract for the concuber.¡± Jiang Yunniang said, ¡°My Lord, why not write it now? It will be convenient when we submit it to the government office after the New Year.¡± She had to get this done while her brothers were still around, who knows, she might not have anyone to help herter. Zhang Jia looked at the delicatedy in his arms and then at his brothers-inw who were staring at him like tigers. He had no choice but to nod. After writing the contract for the concubine and making the delicate woman press her fingerprints on it, Jiang Yunniang handed the document to her eldest brother, Jiang Dng, to keep for her. Coming out from Zhang Jia¡¯s ce, the faces of the three Jiang brothers were all unpleasant. They had given Zhang Jia a stern warning before they left, but they were still worrying about Jiang Yunniang. ¡°Let it go, let her be.¡± It was pointless for the brothers to worry about her. If she chose to go down this dead end, no one could stop her. In the blink of an eye, it was already February. Jiang Sang told Sun Licheng that the Chuanhe River would flood in May or June this year. Sun Licheng didn¡¯t believe it at first but when Jiang Sang insisted that this was true, he was forced to consider it. In case of a flood, if he as the Lizheng did nothing, it would ruin his career. So, he took a few vigers and traveled along the river, only to find that there were indeed many dangerous signs. Many farnds were not only low-lying but also very close to Chuanhe. In case of a flood, aplete loss of the crop yield was likely. Sun Licheng felt very conflicted. One of his duties was to encourage farming, but this was the first time he had to persuade people not to nt crops. How could he say this? What if there was no flood? Then what? He gave up, deciding to tell them the truth, whether to nt or not was their own choice. So, Sun Licheng summoned the vige leaders of more than a dozen viges under his administration and told them about the possible risk of flood this year. However, when the vige leaders learned that the news of the flood came from Jiang Sang, they had no objections and promised to take it seriously. Chen Changsheng, the vige leader of Xichen Vige, was particrly anxious. He went back to the vige and held a meeting with the vigers. Not only was their farnd close to Chuanhe, but the vige was also built not far from Chuanhe. In case of a flood, losing farnd would be of less concern; the loss of life would be the most critical issue. ¡°Jiang Sang from Dongchen Vige said that there might be a major flood in May or June. If anyone has farnd near the Chuanhe, be careful. If you can avoid nting, don¡¯t nt. It will save you the trouble of losing even the seeds¡­¡± Before Chen Changsheng could finish his sentence, Old Chen interrupted, ¡°Can Jiang Sang forecast the future? I say, Changsheng, don¡¯t jump at shadows. If we don¡¯t nt for one season, what will we pay our taxes with?¡± ¡°Yes, we can choose not to nt, but how will we pay the summer tax?¡± Chapter 227 - 223: Wen Family Commission _1 Chapter 227: Chapter 223: Wen Family Commission _1 Trantor:549690339 Chen Changsheng¡¯s eyes opened wide: ¡°You think nting will ensure you can pay your taxes? You¡¯re free to choose, nt or don¡¯t nt. After I¡¯ve said my piece, don¡¯teining to me if you can¡¯t get your seedlings. However, Chen Maomao, can your family afford to take the risk of losing both the seedlings and the crop?¡± Chen Maomao, who was singled out, didn¡¯t say a word, his face bitter. Currently, his family was the poorest in the vige. They used to be above Chen Ergou¡¯s family, but since Chen Ergou brought his own downfall, their condition hasn¡¯t improved. s, from being the second poorest to being the poorest in the vige, he found it hard to raise his head in front of the vigers. ¡°I, I believe you.¡± said Chen Maomao: ¡°Our family has ten acres of paddy fields near Chuanhe. This year, this year, I won¡¯t nt anything. But, Brother Changsheng, could you spare some cotton seeds for me? I n to grow cotton on the South Slope.¡± He gave up on his aspiration to nt peppers. With expensive pepper seeds and years needed for the nt to flower and bear fruit, his family simply couldn¡¯t afford the wait. Chen Changsheng snorted, ¡°I don¡¯t have many cotton seeds either, you should think of other ways. Oh, and a piece of advice ¨C while it¡¯s not too busy now, go cut some bamboo on the South Slope and build a hut. Move your bulky belongings there. Just in case of a flood, at least they won¡¯t get ruined.¡± More than half of the forty household owners nodded in agreement; only a few people were dismissive. Among them, Chen Laoshuan was the most scornful. His house was made of bricks, not even a heavy flood could wash it away. He didn¡¯t see the need to worry like the others. He stood up, dusted off his clothes and said, ¡°I¡¯m going back home, you guys continue chatting.¡± His youngest son had already gone to the county town for exams, while the eldest son and grandson also apanied him. At home, he was left with his wife, daughter-inw and small grandson; and they had to n for the spring nting season, too busy to chit-chat here. Those who shared his mindset also requested permission to leave, after all, they needed to plow the paddy fields, irrigate, then sow and cultivate rice. Chen Changsheng let out a sigh, waved them off and then addressed the remaining vigers: ¡°You should also go home and get ready, follow me to the South Slope tomorrow.¡± Many of the farms in West Vige were located on the South Slope, right next to Dongchen Vige, just spreading to the east and west. ¡°Alright, we¡¯re off to the South Slope tomorrow.¡± The remaining vigers were excited. Many of them had wanted to establish residence on the South Slope, but the vige chief had not agreed. Of course, some people couldn¡¯t afford to build anything because they didn¡¯t have the money. But now it was different ¨C with the vige chief taking the lead, who would be foolish enough not to join! So, one day, the vigers of Dongchen Vige were surprised to find that straw huts and bamboo shelters were sprouting up like mushrooms in thend belonging to the West Vige on the South Slope. The vigers of West Vige warmly waved and greeted Dongchen vigers who came to watch from afar. While grazing horses, Yingbao would also visit to take a look before returning to cultivate chestnut trees, apple trees, and acacia trees on her ownnd. In addition, Yingbao nted one thousand each of Auricria and Treme in her mushroom hut. The nutrient base for cultivating the mushrooms was not spiked with Five Dingzhi, but soaked and cooked using water from the Pupil Spring, which both eliminated any harmful eggs and disease in the base and increased yield. Of course, she also had a batch nted in her cave, also one thousand each. Seeing her preparations for mushroom cultivation so early, her parents also started to cultivate some, adding two more huts to their farm and increasing their cultivation to one thousand of each type. Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng, after discussing it, also decided to follow their younger brother, each nting an equal amount. After all, it was easier to mix the nutrients together when preparing, and it also saved the trouble of sterilizing thepost. Amidst the hustle and bustle, it was soon March. One day, a horse-drawn cart arrived in the vige abruptly followed by two attendants. One of them was a teenager Yingbao recognized ¨C Aqiu, a servant of Lin, the third wife of the Wen family. The carriage came straight up to the entrance of the Jiang family¡¯s house, and a middle-aged man with a short beard in his thirties got off the carriage. Aqiu also quickly dismounted from the horse, calling into the courtyard, ¡°Is anyone home?¡± Yingbao ran over immediately, asking, ¡°Who are you looking for? My parents are not at home.¡± Her father had been very busytely, often not seen for an entire day, while her mother was in the vegetable garden tending to the fields, nting cucumbers and melons. Upon seeing Yingbao, Aqiu smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s Yingbao. This is our Lord Lin, who has been entrusted by the Wen Family. He¡¯s here today to collect the wood ear mushrooms from your house.¡± Yingbao nced at the haughty-looking Lord Lin and frowned, ¡°Entrusted by the Wen Family?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Aqiu saw that Yingbao seemed doubtful, and exined, ¡°Our Lord Lin is the biological brother of Madam Wen.¡± Yingbao replied truthfully, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but all the wood ear mushrooms from our house have already been sold.¡± In the past, Madam Wen had indeed mentioned that someone from the Wen family woulde to purchase them, but she had not asked her to keep them in storage. And in her recent letter, Lady Wen had not mentioned this matter, only that their entire family had moved to Luzhou and asked her to send her letters to the Kang¡¯an Pharmacy in Luzhou. At the beginning of March, she had just sent a letter to Lady Wen in Luzhou, along with two pounds of golden ear and two pounds of snow ear mushrooms. However, to her surprise, in the middle of the month, the Wen family sent someone from the Lin family to collect the wood ear mushrooms. Upon hearing this, Lin Lu frowned and scolded, ¡°What? You people are so audacious, even daring to sell the Wen family¡¯s orders at will?¡± Yingbao immediately became unhappy upon hearing this, ¡°And who might you be? Howe I can¡¯t sell my own things?¡± She had not signed any contract with the Wen family, and the Wen family had not paid any deposit. Why should she wait for their purchase? Wouldn¡¯t it be better to sell it in her own shop and get three or four times more? Seeing that even a maid from the Jiang family dared to talk back to him, Lin Lu became even angrier, ¡°Impudent! Where are the adults from your family? Have theme out to speak with me!¡± ¡°My family members are busy and don¡¯t have time to entertain guests. If you don¡¯t have anything else, I won¡¯t keep you,¡± Yingbao had no interest in dealing with such unreasonable people. Seeing that their master was about to lose his temper, Aqiu hurriedly interjected, ¡°Master, children don¡¯t understand the rules. You shouldn¡¯t let her get your goat. I¡¯ll go find her elder and have theme to speak to you.¡± Lin Lu snorted and walked away to a ce far from the entrance of the Jiang family¡¯s house. The other servant hurriedly fetched a stool from the carriage for his master to sit and rest upon. Aqiu ran to the field to find the members of the Jiang family and indeed brought back Old Jiang and Jiang Eng. Old Jiang and his eldest son, not understanding why, followed Aqiu back to their house, just to see a thirty-something man sitting not far from the entrance of their house. His face was white with a short beard, dressed in fine long clothes; it was easy to see he was not from a farming family. ¡°Gentleman, may I know why you are looking for us?¡± Jiang Eng asked. Lin Lu gave him a sidelong nce without rising, and said, ¡°I have beenmissioned by the Wen family to take the golden ear mushrooms. How much have you prepared?¡± ¡°Take what golden ear mushrooms?¡± Jiang Eng wasn¡¯t very clear about the transactions between Lady Wen and Yingbao. He only knew that when Lady Wen was around, she often bought golden ear mushrooms from Yingbao but never from anyone else. Fearing that their master would have another conflict with the Jiang family, Aqiu hastily exined, ¡°Our master has been entrusted by the Wen Family, to collect the agreed mushrooms.¡± Jiang Eng was surprised, ¡°This is not the right time to collect the golden ear mushrooms. Our mushrooms were recently nted and haven¡¯t fully grown yet.¡± Chapter 228 - 224: Thunderstorm_1 Chapter 228: Chapter 224: Thunderstorm_1 Trantor:549690339 ¡°Didn¡¯t grow well? What about the ones you used to nt?¡± Lin Lu managed to ask despite his mounting frustration. Jiang D replied, ¡°The ones before? They¡¯ve long since been sold.¡± ¡°Sold already? Do you know the rules? You casually sold off something that the Wen Family ordered.¡± Lin Lu could not help reprimanding. Jiang Lao stared at him, thinking there was no need to be polite to him anymore. ¡°Sir, firstly, we didn¡¯t take any advance from the Wen Family, and secondly, we are not tenants of the Wen¡¯s. We can decide who to sell our stuff to, it¡¯s none of your business!¡± Hearing this, he called his eldest son and went home without paying further attention to the group. Aqiu and another attendant exchanged looks of bewilderment. Lin Lu was infuriated, but he had no way to deal with these stubborn vigers. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Back to town!¡± Angrily, he climbed into the carriage and yelled at the coachman to leave. Aqiu had no choice but to follow on his own horse. Returning the same route down the South Slope, they passed by the old residence of the n Leader and happened to run into his second daughter-inw, Han Miaoniang. Han Miaoniang recognized Aqiu, giving him a slight nod, and mistook the person in the carriage for Lady Wen, ¡°Oh, Lady Wen is back again?¡± Aqiu greeted her with a salute, ¡°Madam Han, ourdy isn¡¯t here. The person in the carriage is her brother, our family¡¯s eldest son.¡± Since Lady Wen had stayed in the n Leader¡¯s house for quite some time and had good rtions with his daughters-inw, Aqiu naturally treated them very politely. Han looked at the carriage and asked with a smile, ¡°I saw you heading to the South Slope earlier, why did you rush away so soon?¡± Aqiu turned his head and looked at the carriage. He could see his master was deep in thought. However, he was making no move to hurry and didn¡¯t ask him to send Han Miaoniang away, apparently he was distracted by his unsessful endeavor. Aqiu turned back to Han and said, ¡°Well, I might as well tell you, our young master came to the Jiang¡¯s to gather mushrooms, but unexpectedly, the Jiang family sold the mushrooms to someone else, causing us to make a fruitless trip for thousands of miles.¡± Upon hearing that they came for mushroom collection, Han Miaoniang¡¯s eyes sparkled, and she hurriedly said, ¡°Little brother Aqiu, actually, our house still has quite a few golden ears. Would you like to have a look?¡± ¡°Really?¡± Aqiu was delighted when he heard this, ¡°does your family truly have golden ears?¡± Having stayed in Dongchen Vige for more than half a year, he naturally knew that everyone in the vige was growing mushrooms. However, he didn¡¯t understand why the Wen¡¯s asked them to collect mushrooms specifically from the Jiang family. Han Miaoniang replied, ¡°Of course it¡¯s true. Would you like to wait here while I go home and bring some for you to see?¡± Before Aqiu responded, Lin Lu lifted the carriage curtain, peeked out, and said: ¡°Go fetch them.¡± ¡°Right away!¡± Han Miaoniang happily ran back home and brought back the golden ears that hadn¡¯t been sold before. These moldy golden ears had been re-cleaned and dried by her, and all mold spots had been removed, which was undetectable to anyone not familiar with the product. Originally, she intended to take them to the county, but it didn¡¯t work out. Soon, Han Miaoniang came back with arge basket full of golden ears, and her sister-inw Chen Dashao was also following behind. ¡°Little brother Aqiu, you see, our golden ears are always the brightest. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that we are holding them for domestic use, they would have been sold long ago.¡± As Han Miaoniang was exining, she was also assessing Aqiu and the person in the carriage. Lin Lu leaned out, picked up a mushroom and looked at it, then sniffed it and asked, ¡°How much are you selling these for?¡± To be honest, Lin Lu had only seen golden ears once at his sister¡¯s house, hence he had a general idea of what golden ears looked like, but knew nothing about their quality. However, as long as he could take the goods back, it would mean his mission wasplete. Han could tell immediately that this person didn¡¯t know the products well, so she grinned happily and said, ¡°Last time, Lady Wen purchased them for ten taels of silver per catty.¡± Lin Lu didn¡¯t haggle over the price. He nodded to Aqiu, ¡°Go and weigh them.¡± Before leaving, Lady Wen had handed him a bnce. She asked him to weigh the mushrooms to avoid being deceived by the vigers. Aqiu agreed and took out the bnce from a box on the carriage to weigh the golden ears. Chen Dashao, watching, couldn¡¯t hide her eagerness, ¡°Sir, we also have a few catties of golden ears at our house as well. Would you like to buy them?¡± Lin Lu nced at the gold earrings that were being weighed, saw that there weren¡¯t many, and nodded, ¡°Bring them over for me to see.¡± Chen Dasao was overjoyed and rushed home to bring her gold earrings. Lin Lu took a quick look and then let Aqiu weigh them. The two sets of gold earrings totaled fifteen and a half jin, which at ten taels per jin, was one hundred and fifty-five taels. Lin Lu took out the ready cash from the carriage box, handed it to them, ordered the attendants to load the gold earrings onto the carriage, and then drove away. Han Miaoniang was so happy that she was going mad. She watched as the carriage disappeared into the distance, held the silver, and rushed home. ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯ve hit the jackpot.¡± Han Miaoniang was beside herself with joy and said to Chen Dasao: ¡°It¡¯s just as the old saying goes ¨C every cloud has a silver lining. Steward Zhou wouldn¡¯t buy our gold earrings for three taels per jin, but just after the New Year, our gold earrings sold for ten taels per jin.¡± Humph! I really want to throw a silver ingot at the face of that unscrupulous Steward Zhou. So he can see the value of the gold earrings that he refused to buy. Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t have made so much money. ¡°Isn¡¯t it just?¡± Chen Dasao said, holding several dozen taels of silver and gratefully saying to Han Miaoniang: ¡°Thanks for reminding me this time. I¡¯ll go to townter to buy some meat and we can make dumplings.¡± Han Miaoniangughed in triumph: ¡°Who are we kidding? We¡¯re family.¡± The Han family didn¡¯t know that their gold earrings almost led to the extermination of the Chen family. After March, it quickly came to the end of April. These past few days, the weather has been unusually oppressive. The two thousand gold and mushroom ear seedlings that Yingbao had nted had matured, and she and her mom were busy harvesting them in the bamboo shed. Jiang Sang was drying the harvested mushrooms in the drying oven. The family had worked for several days until all the mushrooms had finally been properly harvested. They harvested a total of twenty-eight jin of gold earrings and an equal number of mushroom ears. If all of these were sold, it would be another significant ie. Taking advantage of the current absence of rain, Jiang Sang decided to transport this batch of mushrooms to the county town and let his eldest nephew, Jiang Cheng, sell them. ¡°No need to hurry.¡± Yingbao looked out at the sky and said to her father: ¡°The weather has been bad recently. I think there¡¯s going to be a heavy rainstorm. You shouldn¡¯t be traveling far.¡± She had been feeling uneasytely, as if something bad was about to happen. Jiang Sang always listened to his darling daughter, ¡°Okay, then, I¡¯ll go and notify the vigers to be careful.¡± He especially needed to remind n Leader Chen. His two sons were still living in the old house at the foot of the hill. Crrrack! A loud p of thunder, apanied by a bright sh of lightning, was really shocking. Yingbao jumped off the kang bed, startled, and peered out of the window. It was clearly afternoon, but outside it was as dark as if night had fallen. She jumped down from the bed, put on her shoes, and ran outside. ¡°Yingbao! Where are you going?¡± Chunniang chased after her, shouting: ¡°Your brother is still at home.¡± As Yingbao ran, she looked back at Chunniang and said: ¡°I¡¯m going to find father.¡± ¡°Your father went to the n Leader¡¯s house! Come back! I¡¯ll go and find him!¡± Chunniang grabbed an oiled-paper umbre and ran out after her. Yingbao ran quickly and soon arrived at the ce where the n Leader lived. She ran into Chen Zhu¡¯s courtyard and saw Tang Aipo leading her grandson, standing under the eaves and looking over. ¡°Yingbao? Why are you running around when it¡¯s about to rain?¡± Tang Shi scolded: ¡°What if you get caught in the rain? You¡¯d better go home!¡± Chapter 229 - 225: Torrential Rain_1 Chapter 229: Chapter 225: Torrential Rain_1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°Auntie Tang, have you seen my father?¡± Yingbao asked. Tang Family replied: ¡°Your dad, well, he just went to the vige down the slope with your Grandpa Chen.¡± His two sons¡¯ families all live down the slope and had note up, and hisme grandson Chen Boyuan was one of them. So Chen Fu invited Jiang Sang to go to the old house in the former vige with him to help his two sons move. Of course, those who went included his young son Chen Zhu, second nephew Chen Yin, and several men from the vige. Hearing this, Yingbao hurriedly turned back home, saddled her pony, stepped on the mounting stone, and climbed on its back. Spring Maiden ran back and forth after her daughter, panting with exhaustion. She caught the reins, and scolded: ¡°Baobao! Why don¡¯t you listen?¡± Yingbao snatched the reins: ¡°Mother, you stay at home and don¡¯t go out, I¡¯m going to find father, I will be back soon, let go quickly, it will be dangerous if I¡¯mte.¡± Spring Maiden hesitated for a moment, then eventually released the reins. Yingbao squeezed the horse¡¯s belly with her legs, urging the young horse to speed up. The pony¡¯s hair is now shiny, its hooves are strong, and it is no longer as weak as it used to be. It galloped off at an impressive speed, not much slower than Youyou. With the small horse¡¯s robust and broad back, it felt even more stable than riding a deer. The young horse ran all the way, heading towards the old house of n Leader Chen in the old vige. At that time, the sky was filled with dark clouds, with asional thunder and lightning. There were two carriages parked outside the entrance of n Leader Chen¡¯s house, and several men were standing there talking. ¡°Father! Don¡¯t listen to Jiang Sang¡¯s nonsense about a flooding. I think he¡¯s just exaggerating.¡± Chen Jiaxing adamantly refused to move to his fourth brother¡¯s house on South Slope. Right now, Chen Jiaxing, his second brother Chen Jiazhen, and Chen Shu from Chen Sanyou¡¯s family are the only ones in Dongchen Vige who haven¡¯t built houses on South Slope. Even his cousin Chen Ting, who was always a disappointment, also built three straw houses on South Slope with the help of his parents. His family of three have settled down there. If the Chen Jiaxing family move to South Slope, they must move in with his fourth brother Chen Zhu. This is something he is least willing to do. Becuse he and his fourth brother do not share the same mother, they are not close. As they are not close, he does not want to get too involved with him. n Leader Chen was so upset that he felt like giving him a beating. But his son is all grown up, and he can¡¯t humiliate him in front of outsiders. After all, his position as n leader will eventually be seeded by his eldest son. He turned to his youngest son Chen Zhu and said: ¡°Since your eldest brother and second brother don¡¯t want to move, you should take your mother and me to South Slope.¡± At the age of 58, he and his wife had their coffins made and they were stacked behind their beds. They had selected top quality nanmu for the coffins and they wouldn¡¯t let the water ruin it. Chen Zhu nodded and went with Jiang Sang and a few others to his father¡¯s bedroom to carry the coffins. n Leader Chen turned to his eldest son and said: ¡°Darong, if you¡¯re not going, then you¡¯re not going, but Boyuan has to follow me.¡± Without waiting for his eldest son to respond, n Leader Chen led his second nephew into the house, to fetch his great-grandson. Chen Boyuan didn¡¯t want to go either, but he couldn¡¯t resist his grandfather¡¯s decision. Helplessly, he could only be helped up onto Jiang family¡¯s carriage by his second uncle. Chen Zhu, Jiang Sang, and a few others brought out the coffins of the leader and his wife. They loaded them separately onto the two tbed carts, securely tied them up with ropes, and wheeled them out of the courtyard headed for South Slope. n Leader Chen followed them, walking along behind them with his hands sped behind his back. His second nephew tried to offer him a ride on the horse carriage, but he refused. The coffins were heavy. One person pulling the cart and another pushing from behind made the journey incredibly hard. Just then, a sudden violent wind blew, thunder rumbled and lighting shed, and hailstones the size of pigeon eggs fell from the sky. They pelted the lid of the coffin and the roof of the cart, making loud noises. ¡°Ah!¡± Chen Zhu felt a pain in his head, and touched it to find a bump had formed. Frightened, he quickly scrambled to take shelter under a big tree. ¡°These hailstones are so big, they could kill someone. You guys should find shelter quickly.¡± Jiang Sang and the others were also pelted by the hail with nowhere to hide. They could only run under a big tree on the side of the road for cover. At that moment, everyone saw a pony galloping towards them, braving the storm and the hail. ¡°Yingbao?¡± Jiang Sang recognized his daughter at a nce and waved frantically, ¡°Baobao, hurry up ande over!¡± The small child, wearing a bamboo hat, was spurring her horse towards them at full speed. But she paused not far off, waving her arms frantically, her face filled with terror. ¡°Dad! Hurry up!¡± ¡°You all hurry over! It¡¯s dangerous over there!¡± Jiang Sang didn¡¯t know why, but his intuition told him he must listen to Baobao. He quickly summoned the others to hurry towards Yingbao. ¡°Baobao! What¡¯s the matter?¡± Chen Yin and Chen Zhu looked at each other and also rushed towards them on the carriage. The n Leader Chen initially had no intention of following, but his arm was being tugged by his youngest son, so he had no choice but to go. Just as they left therge tree, a sh of lightning shot over their heads, striking the tree directly. A loud crackling sound echoed. Looking back, they saw that half the trunk of the tree had been severed by the lightning. Everyone was stunned, disregarding the hail hitting their heads, they hurried to Baobao¡¯s side. At that moment, Baobao was holding several bamboo hats, of all sizes, two of which were damaged. ¡°Here, put these on quickly,¡± she handed the biggest and best hat to her father and distributed the rest to the others. The n Leader Chen turned as pale as a ghost from fear, quickly climbed onto the carriage with his grandson, took a look at the tree through the small window of the carriage. After the trunk of the tree was severed, it fell down, covering the two tbed carts underneath. So close! If not for Baobao¡¯s timely warning to leave the tree, he estimated that he would have soon found himself inside his own coffin. The hail was followed by a torrential rain. Jiang Sang, worried about his daughter getting wet in the rain, took her into the carriage, squeezed in together with the n Leader and Chen Boyuan, while he braved the rain to drive the carriage back to the South Slope. As for those two coffins, they could be left for the Chen family to deal with. After bringing his daughter home and having his wife quickly get her into a warm bath and new clothes, Jiang Sang then drove the n Leader and Chen Boyuan to Chen Zhu¡¯s home. The rain continued relentlessly, making rivers out of the road, promptly filling up the ponds and ditches on the South Slope. Not only that, the stream downhill was quickly filling up. The rainwater overflowed the stone bridge, making the road indistinguishable. Seeing the danger, Chen Yin and Chen Zhu quickly moved the two tbeds to higher ground, waded through the stream, and ran back to their own homes to shelter from the rain. The rainstormsted the whole night, and only gradually lessened the next day, but it continued unabated. At dawn, Jiang Sang put on a straw cape and bamboo hat and came out of the house to check the conditions downhill. Many individuals shared his concerns, and n Leader Chen was one of them. His and his wife¡¯s coffins, abandoned by their youngest son by the stream, who knows if they¡¯ve been washed away by the rainwater. Vigers of Dongchen Vige stood on the high slope looking into the distance, they could see many areas downhill filled with rainwater. The dirt road uphill was bisected by a four to five feet wide muddy flow of water. Chen Fu could just make out, that his and his wife¡¯s glossy ck coffins were sitting on the tbed, lonely on the far bank of the stream. He shot a nce at his fourth son, his heart aching terribly. Those two coffins, crafted from century-old Nanmu wood, each held two sets of silk burial clothes and several duvet quilts. Who knows if they had been soaked by the rainwater. Seeing this, Mrs. Tang, standing aside with an umbre, snapped, ¡°What are you staring at? If it weren¡¯t for your coffins, my Zhuzhu and others almost got struck by lightning.¡± She had heard all about yesterday¡¯s events from Zhuzhu. If not for Yingbao¡¯s timely arrival, her son and several vigers might all have been victims. Oh my, little Fairy Child really is a fairy child. How did she know that the tree they hid under would be struck by lightning? This is truly miraculous. Fortunately, Yingbao went there, otherwise¡­sigh, we owe her yet another life debt. No, it¡¯s two lives, this old man¡¯s life too. Chapter 230 - 226: The Water is Rising_1 Chapter 230: Chapter 226: The Water is Rising_1 Trantor: 549690339 Chen Fu peeled off the noodles, and moved to the other side. Forget it, what¡¯s the point of arguing with an ignorant woman. Seeing Jiang Sang, Chen Fu quickly went over and asked, ¡°Is Yingbao alright?¡± Yingbao got drenched in the rain yesterday, his whole body was soaked, and he was really afraid the child would get sick from it. ¡°He¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t worry, Uncle Chen.¡± Jiang Sang looked towards the river and said, ¡°As soon as the rain lets up a bit, hurry up and pull the cart over.¡± Chen Fu nodded and then frowned, ¡°I don¡¯t know how the old vige is doing. Those two dead brats, Jiaxing, and Jiazhen, I told them to move to the South Slope but they wouldn¡¯t. I think they¡¯re looking for death!¡± Jiang Sang remained silent. He had done his duty by warning them, whether they listened or not was up to them. By noon, the rain finally ceased, and the current of the stream had lessened significantly. Chen Zhu and Chen Yin asked for some help from vigers to pull over two carts, and transported two coffins into their house, finding a small room to store them. At this time, many vigers from West Vige, with their luggage and cattle, moved up to the South Slope, settling in the thatched cottages built earlier. After a night of heavy rain, the water level of Chuanhe rose drastically, almost spilling onto the banks. The more timid vigers were scared. As soon as the rain stopped, they hastily packed up their belongings and led their families up to the South Slope. Some stubborn ones, like Old Master Chen, stood at the doorway of his house scoffing at the moving vigers. ¡°All gone mad, hmph!¡± He went back into the house, and said to his wife, Feng Family:¡±When has the Chuanhe not risen due to rain? But some people are taken in by Jiang Sang¡¯s nonsense. I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s up to, getting everyone to move to the South Slope.¡± Feng Family was a bit perturbed and said to her husband: ¡°Last night¡¯s rain was really scary, I didn¡¯t dare to close my eyes all night.¡± ¡°Well, hasn¡¯t it stopped now?¡± Old Master Chen sat down on the edge of the kang, picked up the teacup and took a sip: ¡°It¡¯s just a bit of water in the house. Isn¡¯t summer always like this? You shouldn¡¯t believe everything you hear, even if there really is a flood, we can go to the town, or even directly to Prefecture City.¡± The water flows from west to east, and they have a carriage at home. They don¡¯t have to cross rivers or bridges to reach Prefecture City, they can just directly ride in a carriage. He didn¡¯t believe that even Prefecture City would be flooded. The rain stopped for a day and then started falling again in the evening. Since there wasn¡¯t much thunder, everyone didn¡¯t pay much attention to it. In the middle of the night, Han Family¡¯s son, Xubao, cried incessantly, so she found a match and lit a candle. She groggily stepped out of the kang to help her son use the bathroom, only to find her foot submerged in water. ¡°Ah!¡± Han Family screamed, lower her head to see that the room was filled with water, which had risen to her ankles. Han Family was terrified and hurriedly sshed through the water to open the door. Water surged into the house non-stop, making Han Family retreat a few steps in fear. ¡°Mom! Mom! The house is flooding!¡± Han Family shouted in the direction of her inws¡¯ rooms: ¡°Get up, quick!¡± After several shouts, she finally managed to wake Old Master Chen and his wife. Feng Family hurriedly climbed out of the bed, found a match, and lit the oilmp, only to see the room glittering with water. ¡°Oh my! What are we going to do?¡± Feng Family was horrified and hurriedly looked for her shoes to put on. Fortunately, there was a step stool by the kang and the shoes were ced there, but they werepletely soaked. Feng Family put the wet shoes on and waded out of the room. Old Master Chen also got down from the kang and came to the door. Under the illumination of the oilmp, the yard was filled with water, and the sky was still raining. ¡°What do we do? There¡¯s a flood!¡± Feng Family was in utter panic and asked her husband, ¡°Should we go to town?¡± Old Master Chen looked at the pitch-ck sky and sighed, ¡°Even if we go, we have to wait till it¡¯s light. How can we find our way in this darkness?¡± ¡°Then, then I¡¯ll go pack our things¡­¡± Feng Family hurriedly went to pack household items. Moving the silver, clothes, jewel boxes, and documents for the house andnd, nothing could be missed. But the more she packed, the more things there were; threerge bundles couldn¡¯t even fit everything. ¡°Han Juniang waded through the water and upon seeing her inws packing their things, she understood they might be heading for the county town and hurried back to pack her own things. It was quite a relief when daylight finally broke. Not only had the rain not stopped, but it was also getting heavier. Old Chen donned his raincoat and bamboo hat, opened the courtyard gate, only to see water rushing outside like a runaway horse. He muttered a curse under his breath and retreated back into the yard. He waded his way to the stable, led the old horse out, and harnessed it to thecart. He then instructed his old wife to put all the bundles into the cart. With one hand holding an umbre and the other a bundle, Han Juniang walked in and asked, ¡°Father, where are we headed?¡± Old Chen responded, ¡°We¡¯re heading to the town first. If the town is also flooded, we will go straight to the county town.¡± Upon hearing that they were going to the county town, Han Juniang was quite pleased. Her husband had passed the county examination and had already gone to Prefecture City to take the prefectural exam. She figured that it wouldn¡¯t be long before he returned and they could all reunite in the county town. She was utterly fed up with this vige and did not want to stay a moment longer. She thought that escaping from here due to this flood could not be any better. Han Juniang ced the bundle into the cart and went back to get her son Xubao. Old Chen nced at the back figure of his daughter-inw, his eyebrows furrowed. ¡°Father! Where are you nning to go?¡± Old Chen¡¯s younger son, Chen Changhai, waded over, saw his father leading the horse cart towards the gate, and asked. Old Chen replied, ¡°We¡¯re heading to town. I was about to go get you. Have you packed your things?¡± Both his older and younger son¡¯s houses were not far away, just a few steps away. Chen Changhai replied, ¡°Everything is packed. Father, you don¡¯t have toe, I¡¯ll go and call my sister-inw and they cane over.¡± ¡°Good, hurry up. The water is rising quickly, don¡¯t get stranded here.¡± Old Chen urged his son. Chen Changhai acknowledged him and turned to go back. He first went to his elder brother¡¯s home to inform his sister-inw and told her to hurry and pack their things, before returning to collect his own wife and child. His wife, Mrs. Chui, used a cloth strap to securely bind their son, Chen Kang, onto her back. She held her husband¡¯s hand with one hand and held an umbre with the other. ¡°Husband, how many people can fit in Father and Mother¡¯s cart?¡± With tworge bundles in his arms, Chen Changhai replied, ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter how many it can fit, as long as you and Ah Kang get on it.¡± Chui Family replied, ¡°Oh.¡± After considerable effort, they waded to the old house. Chen Changhai stuffed the two bundles into the cart and then helped his wife and son onto it. In a short while, his elder sister-inw from the Zhao Family, d in a raincoat, also arrived, leading her ten-year-old son. Chen Changhai helped his little nephew and his own mother, Mrs. Chen Feng, onto the cart, then grabbed the reins of the cart and started to move off. Han Juniang, holding Xubao, ran after them, ¡°Wait for me.¡± Old Chen replied indifferently, ¡°Give Xubao to your mother to hold, you can follow behind the cart.¡± Seeing her sister-inw already wading through the water, Han Juniang reluctantly handed her son to her mother-inw. The cart moved slowly, but the flow of water grew increasingly swift. Han Juniang held an umbre in her hand and almost fell several times, fortunately, her sister-inw Zhao Family managed to grab her. As they passed by other vigers¡¯ houses, one asked, ¡°Changhai, where are you all going?¡± Chen Changhai: ¡°To the town!¡± The town is built on higher ground and should not be flooded. The vigermented, ¡°The town isn¡¯t safe either. It might be better to seek shelter on North Mountain.¡± Chen Changhai retorted irritably, ¡°Did you build a house on North Mountain? Do you expect us to stand under this heavy rain?¡± He deeply regretted not building a house on the South Slope with Chen Changsheng, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have to be scurrying about like a refugee. If the town also ended up getting flooded, with just this one cart, how could he get his family to the county town? Chapter 231 - 227: Washed Away by Water_1 Chapter 231: Chapter 227: Washed Away by Water_1 Trantor: 549690339 Chen Changhai and his father led the cart out of the vige. Outside the vige was a vast expanse of water, the roads werepletely obscured, and the cart could easily be trapped in a mud pit. ¡°Push quickly!¡± Old Chen tightly grasped the reins, turning back to instruct his son and daughter-inw. Chen Changhai and sister-inw Zhao each stood on one side, pushing the cart forward with difficulty. Madam Han was at the back of the cart, holding an umbre in one hand and leaning on the cart with the other, feeling somewhat lost. The water flow was rapid, the waves were already hitting their knees, and she could hardly stand, let alone have the strength to push the cart. Suddenly, the cart jerked towards Madam Zhao¡¯s side, terrifying those on the cart into screaming. Old Chen quickly shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t let the cart fall into a pit! Third Brother! Madam Han! Quicklye push!¡± Chen Changhai immediately ran to his sister-inw¡¯s side to push the cart, trying to right the cart and free it from the pit. But Madam Han did note over, he couldn¡¯t help but rushed, turning his head to look back. There was no trace of Madam Han from behind the cart. After looking around, he only saw an umbre being swept further and further away by the water, and behind the umbre, a faint figure was struggling in the water. ¡°Dad, Madam Han has fallen into the ditch!¡± There were asional shallow ditches along the vige roads, which were the irrigation channels for rice fields. Now the trace of the ditch was obscured by the rain. If one identally slipped into it, it was impossible to climb out. Furthermore, the water flow was rapid, quickly sweeping Madam Han further and further away. Old Chen took a brief look, and coldly ordered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about her, let¡¯s get the cart out first, there are still family members on it.¡± If the cart flipped over, the whole family would be doomed. Chen Changhai nces once again at Madam Han being swept farther and farther away, then stopped paying attention, using all his strength to push the cart. Madam Zhao dared not even look in that direction, and together with her brother-inw, they finally righted the cart. When they looked back, there was not a trace to be seen, even the umbre had disappeared. The other end of the ditch was Chuanhe River, and was now an extensive expanse of water, forming a vast body of water with the surroundings. Madam Zhao was trembling slightly, and didn¡¯t dare to look anymore, only tightly gripping the frame of the cart. Chen Changhai wanted to go back to look, but was stopped by his father, ¡°Changhai! Have you lost your mind! The water¡¯s so deep, we don¡¯t even know where she¡¯s been washed away to. Do you think you can find her? Don¡¯t get us all involved because of her!¡± It would be convenient if Madam Han was dead. This was her own fault for identally falling into the irrigation ditch, and it had nothing to do with the Chen Family. In such a disaster, no one could predict life or death. If Madam Han¡¯s younger sister, little Madam Han, asked about itter, they would have a few words to say. Madam Chui on the cart also anxiously implored, ¡°My dear, the water is enormous, don¡¯t take any risks, think of me and Kangkang, and¡­ and also the child in my stomach.¡± Chen Changhai was silent for a moment, then turned back to look one more time, sighing in his heart. ¡°Dad, let¡¯s go.¡± Hearing these words, Old Chen¡¯s eyebrows rxed, ¡°Good, you and your sister-inw be careful, don¡¯t fall.¡± ¡°OK.¡± The family walked in the water for several hours and finally reached the town. The town was indeed much better than their vige, although the water was high, the situation was not severe. Many households had managed to stay dry because their foundations were high enough. The Chen¡¯s cart was the first to arrive at Rongji Pharmacy. Old Chen found his granddaughter Chen Zhao and told her, ¡°Zhao, your mother was swept away by the flood. I was useless, I couldn¡¯t save her.¡± Then he cried a little. Chen Zhao was stunned and after a while started to cry loudly, ¡°Mom really was swept away by the water? How was she swept away when she was just fine?¡± Old Chen patted his granddaughter, choking on his words, ¡°Our area was hit by a flood, the entire vige got flooded, a lot of houses copsed. Your grandmother and the rest of us barely made it out, we were really lucky. Ah, thank god your little brother was being held by your grandmother, otherwise, ah¡­¡± Chen Zhao cried for quite a while, then turned to look for her little brother, and saw her grandmother Chen and her little brother Xubao sitting nkly to one side, lost in thought. ¡°Xubao.¡± Chen Zhao flung herself at Xubao, starting another bout of crying, scaring Xubao into crying as well. ¡°Don¡¯t cry, be careful not to scare Xubao.¡± Chen Laoshuan scanned the surroundings and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s your aunt?¡± Chen Zhao stuttered, ¡°She caught a cold yesterday. She¡¯s lying in the house at the backyard.¡± While they were speaking, the doctor Li came rushing in, greeted Chen Laoshuan with a bow, and asked, ¡°Your vige is really flooded?¡± ¡°It¡¯s more than flooded! Many houses in the vige were washed away.¡± The houses that were washed away were all mud huts that had long been in disrepair. ¡°Oh dear, that¡¯s terrible, has anyone been injured?¡± Doctor Li asked. Chen Laoshuan¡¯s face was etched with grief, ¡°Of course people were injured. My second daughter-inw was washed away by the flood. How¡­ how am I going to exin this to my second son¡­¡± He broke down sobbing as he spoke. Doctor Li was taken aback, thenforted him, ¡°Please ept my condolences. Thank God the others are safe. If you, old Brother Chen, have no ce to go, why not stay at my ce until the flood subsides?¡± Chen Laoshuan wiped his eyes and saluted Doctor Li, ¡°Thank you for your kindness, Brother Li, I am truly grateful.¡± So, Chen Laoshuan¡¯s family temporarily settled down in the Li¡¯s family home. The next day, the rain stopped, and the umted floodwater gradually receded. A few days passed and the water level of Chuanhe finally dropped to a safe level. The vigers of West Vige returned bit by bit, only to find the ground covered in mud, with fish and shrimps flopping around in puddles by the roadside. Many of the old mud huts had copsed, but the red-brick houses were still standing. However, the standing houses were filled with mud, and the walls and furniture were crawling with all kinds of bugs and leeches. Those who moved to the South Slope in advance were d to have heeded Lizheng¡¯s advice to move their food and bedding to the slope, otherwise the loss would have been great. Those who did not move were in a pitiful state, with their belongings soaked and their grains ruined by the water. The greatest loss was incurred by the farnd along the banks of Chuanhe, with not a single stalk of seedling or rice sapling remaining. Everything was gone. Some people sat by the field and wept bitterly, while others were secretly pleased. The secretly pleased ones were those who had heeded Lizheng¡¯s advice and did not sow their fields. Not sowing the seeds meant that their own seeds were not lost. Jiang Sang, the vige head of East Vige, announced that the flood crisis had passed. He urged everyone to tidy up their fields while they still had time and to start sowing seeds again. Due to the early warnings from Jiang Sang and Sun Licheng, the vigers living on both sides of the Chuanhe, though some of them had houses copsed, most of their property was saved and there were not many casualties. As far as Xichen Vige was concerned, only Chen Laoshuang¡¯s family was preparing for a funeral. When Yingbao learnt of Han Family¡¯s death in the flood, she was somewhat surprised. She did not expect that Han Family would die this early in this lifetime. She did not feel happy nor sad, just found it a bit strange, but also felt relieved. She could still vividly recall the feeling of being strangled to death by Han Family in her previous life, which made her feel scared whenever she thought about it. Now that Han Family was dead, the heavy stone in her heart was finally put down. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t believe it, Chunniang, when Han Family¡¯s body was dragged out of the bushes, she was already bloated, her body didn¡¯t even fit into the coffin, what a sin¡­¡± Tang Family sat under the eaves repairing shoes, and spoke as she pulled the hemp thread, ¡°I pity her son, he¡¯s just over a year old, s, how will he live without a mom at such a tender age?¡± Chunniang was silent, casting a stealthy nce at Yingbao, who was sitting by the window writing words. Seeing that her daughter had no reaction, she rxed slightly. She heard Tang Family continued, ¡°Since Han Family¡¯s passing, Feng Family has seemed like a changed person. Her neighbors even say that she started chanting Buddhist scriptures at home, and is nning to bring a Buddha statue from Simen for worship.¡± Since the people of West Vige moved to the South Slope, a lot of women and young wives from East Vige had been dropping by with their sewing baskets, hence Tang Family had heard a lot of gossip. Chunniang chuckled, ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s due to the sudden death of her daughter-inw, she must have been quite shocked.¡± ¡°Exactly, that¡¯s what I think too.¡± Chapter 232 - 228: Poisonous Fungus_1 Chapter 232: Chapter 228: Poisonous Fungus_1 Trantor: 549690339 In the hustle and bustle of everyone, May passed by in the blink of an eye. Now it was the time to harvest apricots and peaches again. This time, Yingbao did not have to worry about it, as her second cousin had invited some friends to help out. The Jiang family and the vigers had already harvested the mushrooms once and had rented them again. Some vigers also sold their excess mushroom seeds to the people of West Vige. As a result, several more families from West Vige moved to the South Slope, including Chen LaoShuan¡¯s family. Yes, it seems that Chen LaoShuan hade to his senses after the water disaster and spent a huge amount of money to build fiverge tile houses on the South Slope. The house was built on the farnd of his youngest son, Chen Changhai. As soon as it waspleted, even before the whitewash had dried, Chen LaoShuan and his wife moved in with Xubao, Chen Zhao, and Chen Tiantian. Thus, whenever Yingbao went out to dig for medicinal herbs, she often saw Chen Zhao and Chen Tiantian taking their little brother Xubao to y in Dongchen Vige, sometimes even running to the martial arts training ground and staying for half a day. Yingbao couldn¡¯t help but wonder if these two weren¡¯t apprenticed to the pharmacy anymore. What¡¯s even more outrageous is that these two even took Xubao to their own orchard and asked Jiang Quan for apricots and peaches, and her second cousin actually gave them some. Yingbao wanted to warn her second cousin, but she decided to leave it alone. She wanted to see what they were up to, always hanging around her house. But before she could figure it out, arge group of guards suddenly came to the vige, led by none other than Xiao Mo. Also with him was the County Magistrate, Cao Can. ¡°Where is the vige chief of Dongchen?¡± Cao Can, riding on a horse, looked disdainfully at the bustling vigers. Jiang Sang happened to be at home and ran out immediately when he heard the news. His gaze fell upon Cao Can, and he moved forward to pay his respects, ¡°Dongchen vige chief, Jiang Sang, greets Official Cao.¡± Cao Can lifted his chin and said, ¡°Your viger Chen sold poison that harmed an important person, do you know about this?¡± Jiang Sang was taken aback and quickly responded, ¡°Chen¡¯s viger sold poison? Who exactly was it? Please rify, Officer Cao.¡± Cao Can snorted, turned his head, and motioned for someone behind him, ¡°Youe over and tell him!¡± A servant named Aqiu stepped out from amongst the soldiers. After paying respect to Cao Can, Aqiu turned to Jiang Sang and said, ¡°Two months ago, my master bought several pounds of mushrooms from the n Leader of the Chen family at a high price. However, they harbored malicious intentions and sold us poisonous mushrooms.¡± ¡°The n Leader¡¯s family sold mushrooms to you?¡± Jiang Sang didn¡¯t believe it at all, ¡°How is that possible?¡± All the mushrooms in their vige, without any left, were sold to Furuifeng Trading Company via Steward Zhou, including part of the golden mushrooms from Jiang family. How did this man get his hands on the mushrooms? He couldn¡¯t be here to cause trouble, could he? ¡°How can it not be possible? It was Chen n Leader¡¯s daughter-inw who sold it to us.¡± Aqiu stated firmly, ¡°If you don¡¯t believe, call them over and we can confront them.¡± Jiang Sang furrowed his brows and instructed a viger to invite the Chen n Leader and his daughter-inw over. In a while, n Leader Chen hurriedly arrived, followed by Chen Zhu and his wife Shao. ¡°Sang, what¡¯s happened?¡± n Leader Chen, on hearing that someone said his daughter-inw had sold poisonous mushrooms to others, got a fright and hurried over. Chen Zhu was worried about his father, so he and his wife followed. Jiang Sang said, ¡°This man is iming that your daughter-inw sold poisonous mushrooms.¡± ¡°How is that possible?¡± n Leader Chen nced at Shao and shook his head, ¡°My daughter-inw is honest and upright, when has she ever sold poisonous mushrooms? Aqiu, you cannot make unfounded usations.¡± At this point, Aqiu became anxious, ¡°n Leader Chen, I swear to the heavens, it was indeed your daughter-inw. That day, as our carriage was passing by near your house, your second daughter-inw, Han, stopped us to talk. She said she had mushrooms and wanted to sell them to my master¡¯s son.¡± n Leader Chen stood frozen. The Han Family! It¡¯s the Han Family again! He was just about to be frustrated to death by that foolish matter. Cao Can spoke up, ¡°n Leader Chen, hurry up and hand over the person. Let¡¯s get this over with as soon as possible.¡± n Leader Chen¡¯s hands were trembling, he turned to his youngest son and said, ¡°Quickly go fetch your second sister-inw.¡± He couldn¡¯t allow a single Han family member to jeopardize his entire family. Just as Chen Zhu was about to run to call for people, he heard Xiao Mo say, ¡°Since the evidence is clear, there¡¯s no need to dy. Magistrate Cao, you can send people to arrest them all.¡± Cao Can: ¡­ Looking around, County Magistrate Cao instructed the guards he brought with him, ¡°Have that man lead the way and arrest the criminals and their family members. Make sure not to let a single one escape!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Ten or so county guards immediately followed Chen Zhu and ran down the mountains. Mr. Jiang¡¯s face grew serious. He initially wanted to ask n Leader Chen what was going on, but he held back. Hearing that even the family members would be arrested, n Leader Chen was stunned. He in a hurry to protest, ¡°Officer, it should be the person whomitted the crime that bears the responsibility, this has nothing to do with the rest of the Chen Family.¡± Chen Fu couldn¡¯t figure out what was happening. The fact that Xiao Mo from the prefecture city personally came to arrest people, and wanted to arrest the entire family, bewildered him. Xiao Mo ignored him and turned to Jiang Quan, ¡°Not only do I want to arrest criminals, I also need n Leader Jiang¡¯s help for something.¡± Jiang Quan only felt his scalp tighten, ¡°Captain Xiao, you¡¯re too polite, just let me know anytime if you need any help.¡± Xiao Mo: ¡°I received an order from my superiors to find a child who possesses medical skills. I noticed that your daughter, Yingbao, is quite skilled in medicine, so I thought I would let you know that tomorrow I n to take her to the capital to treat an important person¡¯s illness.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t work! My daughter is just a few years old, she doesn¡¯t know how to treat people. Captain Xiao, please see this clearly.¡± Jiang Quan bowed to Xiao Mo. Xiao Mo didn¡¯t respond, just quietly scanned Jiang Quan and the others. Soon, n Leader Chen¡¯s eldest son¡¯s family and second son¡¯s family were brought in, and even the mobility-impaired Chen Boyuan was carried over. Aqiu pointed at Han Miaoniang and said to Magistrate Cao Can, ¡°It is her who sold us the poisonous mushrooms.¡± Han Miaoniang was terrified and screamed, ¡°I didn¡¯t do it. What poisonous mushrooms? They are golden ears that we grew at home. How could they be poisonous mushrooms?¡± Cao Can gave a cold sneer and waved his hand, ¡°Put them on the prison cart!¡± As the soldiers encircled them, tworge prison carts pulled by two horses each were revealed. Amidst the screams of n Leader Chen¡¯s family, the soldiers picked them up one by one and shoved them into the prison carts. At this point, the vigers became agitated, some yelled, ¡°Why do you all have the right to arrest them?¡± ¡°Let them out quickly!¡± ¡°What crime have theymitted! Why do you guys have to arrest all of them?¡± n Leader Chen, after all, was the pir of the family and the face of the Chen Family, once he was arrested, their reputation would be ruined. How could they hold their heads up in front of outsiders? Seeing the situation, Xiao Mo gestured to Cao Can: ¡°Let n Leader Chen and his wife go. The rest will be taken back to the County Government Office for trial.¡± So, n Leader Chen and his wife were pulled out from the cart and tossed aside. ¡°Daddy! Daddy! Please, save me! Save me!¡± Han Miaoniang was scared face pale, shouting repeatedly. Now she was more rmed than anyone, because she knew it was her golden ears that had caused this problem and allowed the distinguished person to fall ill. Maybe the noble person had been eaten to death, that¡¯s why these people came to arrest her family? But she really didn¡¯t know that thing would kill people. If she had known that, even if someone offered her a thousand taels of silver, she wouldn¡¯t dare to sell it to anyone. Han Miaoniang held onto the wooden fence and cried out, ¡°The Jiang family did this to me! It¡¯s the Jiang family¡¯s spores that caused the problem! It wasn¡¯t my fault! Officer, we are innocent! If you have to arrest someone, arrest someone from the Jiang family¡­¡± Chapter 233 - 229: Dung Beetle (Request for Monthly Ticket)_1 Chapter 233: Chapter 229: Dung Beetle (Request for Monthly Ticket)_1 Trantor: 549690339 Upon hearing her baseless usations, all the vigers were furious. Someone eximed: ¡°My lord, don¡¯t listen to her nonsense! All the golden mushrooms in our vigee from the Jiang family, not a single one is poisonous!¡± ¡°Indeed! We sell our mushrooms to Steward Zhou of the county town, and have never heard of any issues. Yet only her mushrooms are toxic, who knows what rubbish she¡¯s using to deceive people with.¡± ¡°Humph! Some people truly have no conscience, she might even be selling mouldy mushrooms to the unsuspecting!¡± ¡°Exactly! Didn¡¯t Han Miaoniang cheat Steward Zhoust year by passing inferior goods as quality ones, but he was smart enough not to fall for her tricks!¡± ¡°Han Miaoniang, you deserve to die, youmit evils and dare to nder others, how dare you?¡± Seeing everyone univocally turned against her, Han from the Han family couldn¡¯t help but yell: ¡°You know nothing¡­¡± Chen Jiazhen, who was in the cage, saw his wife rambling again, and hurriedly covered her mouth, whispering: ¡°Shut up!¡± Xiao Mo swept a cold nce over the crowd, ignoring them, he said to Jiang Sang: ¡°Jiang Vige¡¯s head, no matter what, your vigers selling poisonous mushrooms has harmed people¡¯s lives, for which you cannot evade responsibility. I don¡¯t want to involve too many people, I¡¯m merely informing you that if anything happens to her, the whole vige will pay with their lives.¡± Upon hearing these words, everyone drew a sharp breath, all eyes were on Jiang Sang. Xiao Mo continued: ¡°However, in view of the fact that your daughter saved my younger brother, I offer you a chance to atone for your past deeds¡ªif you cure her, we will let bygones be bygones.¡± Having said this, he turned his gaze to the little girl standing behind Jiang Sang. ¡°Yingbao, you can decide.¡± Yingbao remained silent, her face grim. It was clear what Xiao Mo meant. If she couldn¡¯t cure the person he referred to, there would most likely be no turning back¡ª she might be executed on the spot. She red at Han Miaoniang in the cage, thinking that the women of the Han family were just a bunch of dung beetles, always attracted to all sort of troubles. Jiang Sang tried to hide his daughter behind him, and said to Xiao Mo, ¡°Commander Xiao, my daughter is just a child of few years old, what does she know? How about you¡­.¡± ¡°Silence!¡± Xiao Mo coldly said, ¡°Let your daughter respond!¡± Hismanding presence suddenly pressed down, Seeing him like this, Yingbao couldn¡¯t help but worry about her father¡¯s safety, so she immediately stepped forward and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go!¡± Xiao Mo showed a satisfied smile, ¡°Good, there¡¯s no time to waste, let¡¯s go now.¡± Jiang Sang was anxious, he grabbed his daughter and said to Xiao Mo, ¡°No!¡± Yingbao was afraid that her father would anger Xiao Mo, she pulled his sleeve and whispered, ¡°Dad, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± It was just a trip to the Prefecture City, after all, she had made this journey before. After getting to the city, she might even get to see her master and sister Wen. Xiao Mo adjusted his sleeves and said, ¡°Jiang Vige¡¯s Head, this matter is not up to you or me to decide. Don¡¯t dy any further, quickly pack some things for your daughter, and we will set off immediately. If we¡¯rete, every single life in your vige will have to pay the price. I never mince my words.¡± Jiang Sang: ¡­.. Yingbao pulled her father towards home, whispering, ¡°Dad, he¡¯s not bluffing.¡± The Wen family from her previous life was victimized by a nobleman, and now, history was repeating itself. Jiang Sang seeing the situation as it was, had no choice but to go home and pack things for his daughter. He also packed some clothes and silver taels for himself as well. Upon learning that her daughter was to be taken away, Chunniang was distraught, ¡°Sang, Baobao is still so young, how can I rest easy?¡± ¡°I will take care of her.¡± Jiang Sang, while packing their belongings, said, ¡°You stay at home and take care of Xiaowu, don¡¯t let him run around.¡± Chunniang put her husband¡¯s belongings back, saying, ¡°Let me go. Baobao is already six years old. If you go too, it will be inconvenient.¡± Jiang Sang thought about it and agreed. But he was a bit worried, ¡°Chunniang, how about we both go?¡± ¡°No need.¡± Chunniang refused outright and proceeded to pack her own stuff. ¡°I can go alone. Since that Officer Xiao wants Baobao to treat someone, he will surely safely send us to the destination, there is no need to worry.¡± You shouldn¡¯t put all your eggs in one basket, she mustn¡¯t let her husband take such a risk with her. Jiang Sang remained silent for a long time before agreeing, ¡°Alright.¡± Chunniang packed some clothes for herself, along with somefortable cloth shoes for long walks. She then took to packing for her daughter. However, her daughter had already packed two oversized bundles by herself. Chunniang had no idea what was inside them. Having sent his wife and daughter onto the carriage brought by Xiao Mo, Jiang Sang was filled with worry. ¡°Baobao, be careful during the journey with your mother and make sure to return as soon as the patient is cured.¡± ¡°Hmm! I¡¯ll be back soon!¡± Yingbao leaned out of the carriage window and shouted, ¡°Dad, take care of yourself at home.¡± Tears welled up in Jiang Sang¡¯s eyes. He hurriedly turned around to hide his reddish eyes from the others. The big team reached the town. Cao Can and a group of soldiers took two prisoner carts toward the County Government, while Xiao Mo, after picking up Dr. Li, headed in another direction. Yingbao, sitting in the carriage, noticed something was amiss. This was not the way to Prefecture City. She leaned out the window of the carriage, desperately calling for Xiao Mo¡¯s attention: ¡°Hey! Where are you taking us?¡± Xiao Mo nced at her dismissively, ignoring her rudeness. He said, ¡°We¡¯re going to Beijing.¡± ¡°What?¡± Yingbao was surprised, ¡°How far is Beijing? Will we be able to reach in time?¡± The unspoken question was whether they could arrive in time to treat a person who was dying of poison. Xiao Mo seemed to understand her meaning. He responded indifferently, ¡°If the person is already gone when we reach, don¡¯t me Xiao for being unable to save him.¡± Yingbao was so angry she wanted to curse. She pointed to another carriage with her small chubby hand, ¡°Why are you stalling? You¡¯ve even loaded two more burdens.¡± She had seen it earlier. Xiao Mo had taken on Dr. Li and his grandson in one carriage, and had also taken Chen Tiantian and Chen Zhao in another carriage. Yingbao couldn¡¯t understand why Xiao Mo had chosen to bring along Chen Tiantian and her sister. Chunniang was scared by her daughter¡¯s rude remarks. She quickly pulled Yingbao back and whispered, ¡°Baobao, what are you saying? Quickly lower the curtain.¡± ¡°How dare you disrespect the Commander!¡± a trusted aide rebuked Yingbao. Xiao Mo waved to the aide to zip it and seriously replied to Yingbao, ¡°Xiao didn¡¯t dawdle. There¡¯s a reason to bring them.¡± Yingbao snorted and lowered the curtain. Chunniang was terrified. She reprimanded Yingbao, tapping her forehead, ¡°They all have swords. You can¡¯t behave like this in the future.¡± Yingbao nodded,y down on her mother¡¯sp, pretending to sleep while thinking: Something is strange about Chen Tiantian, howe everywhere I go, I run into her? And just a few days ago she was at South Slope, and in a blink of an eye she was back in Dr. Li¡¯s pharmacy, and coincidentally joined Xiao Mo¡¯s convoy. If you said there¡¯s nothing fishy about this, Yingbao wouldn¡¯t believe it. In the story the character from the book she read never had such a plot twist, the female protagonist never went to the capital city before the selection. Yingbao scratched her head, trying hard to recall things from her past life, attempting to find some connection with the current situation. But she couldn¡¯t. In her previous life, she met Chen Tiantian when she was nine years old. At that time, Chen Tiantian was thirteen and was exceptionally beautiful. It was said that many young masters admired her and gave her all kinds of gifts. But this was based on the fact that her father was still a leader in the County Government. Presently, Chen Tiantian is an orphan girl with no one to rely on. In the book, her chance to participate in the selection came through the help of her stepfather, and of course, the assistance of his master¡¯s family. And the master of Chen Tiantian¡¯s stepfather seems to be Xiao Mo¡¯s father, Luzhou Surveince Commissioner Xiao Weizhong, the Empress Xiao¡¯s biological younger brother. Chapter 234 - 230: Acting (Seeking Monthly Tickets)_1 Chapter 234: Chapter 230: Acting (Seeking Monthly Tickets)_1 Trantor: 549690339 With this realization, as if a pathway opened throughout her body, as if she had opened up her governor and conception vessels, Yingbao felt a sense of rity. Damn it, so that¡¯s why. No wonder Xiao Mo inexplicably included Chen Tiantian, it must have been someone¡¯s request. This person must be Chen Tiantian¡¯s stepfather. The only person who could ask her stepfather for help was Chen Tiantian¡¯s biological mother Han Yueniang. But what is unknown is why Xiao Mo didn¡¯t take her back to Prefecture City to find her biological mother, the Han Family, but instead went to Beijing with them. Unable to figure out the reason, Yingbao stopped pondering over it. She closed her eyes, looking around her cave for things that could relieve the heat. It¡¯s June now, the hottest month of the year. The carriage they were in felt like a steamer, even when the front curtains were lifted by Chuniang, it was still unbearably hot. ¡°Mother, are you thirsty?¡± Yingbao saw her mother¡¯s forehead covered with sweat and handed her a cotton handkerchief to wipe it. Chuniang took the handkerchief from Yingbao and shook her head, ¡°I¡¯m not thirsty¡±. In fact, she was thirsty. However, they were on the move, and she didn¡¯t want to ask someone to stop the carriage from moving just to get water. Yingbao did not believe it. She rummaged through herrge bundle and pulled out a long bamboo tube. Both ends of the bamboo tube were sealed and attached with a small slim piece of bamboo. ¡°There¡¯s water in this, mother, you drink¡±. Yingbao handed the bamboo tube to her mother, pointing to the piece of bamboo, ¡°Just suck it up.¡± Her mother receieved the bamboo tube and followed her daughter¡¯s advice and sucked on it, experiencing the cool water gushing into her mouth. After a few sips, Chuniang offered it back to her daugther, ¡°You have some too.¡± YingBao shook her head, pulling out another identical bamboo tube from herrge bundle, ¡°I have my own. You keep that one.¡± She had many bamboo tubes in her cave not only filled with water but also with a bit of Wudingzhi. By evening, the caravan arrived at a ry station. Xiao Mo¡¯s soldiers presented the paper of Wan Die to register, and only then were therge doors of the ry station slowly opened. This ry station is veryrge and divided into many courtyards. Xiao Mo¡¯s team was led into one of the medium-sized courtyards. Yingbao and her mother got down from the carriage and looked around. The inn was neatly arranged, all the buildings were of green bricks, with carved beams, painted pirs, overhanging eaves and arches, with a strong feeling of grandeur. They were arranged in a spacious room with four narrow beds arranged against the wall. Yingbao and her mother each imed a bed and ced theirrge bundle on it. Chen Tiantian and Ahzhao also entered, each holding a small bundle, looking pitiful. ¡°Aunt Jiang,¡± Chen Tiantian greeted Chuniang with a smile. Chuniang nodded at the two of them and didn¡¯t say anything. Ahzhao, however, looked glum and was preupied, sorting through her bundle on her bed. Not long after, the station soldiers brought food. A pot of tofu vegetable soup, eight steamed buns, four empty bowls and four pairs of chopsticks. This was their dinner, the same as those soldiers. Yingbao took a pottery bowl and spooned in some soup for her mother, and also spooned a bowl for herself, took four steamed buns. Mother and daughter sat on the edge of their bed starting to eat. Chen Tiantian also served herself a bowl and took a steamed bun and handed it to Ahzhao, ¡°Hurry and eat. We have to travel again tomorrow.¡± ¡°Stop pretending!¡± Ahzhao swatted away the bowl, pointing at her, ¡°If you want to go to Beijing, just go by yourself! Why are you dragging me along? You want to make me your maid, don¡¯t you?¡± The pottery bowl crashed to the floor, shattering into pieces. The soup, green vegetables, and tofu spilled everywhere. With a hurt expression, Chen Tiantian said, ¡°Ahzhao, I did this all for you. How could you say that about me?¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Ahzhao wiped her face with her sleeve, ¡°I¡¯ve told you! My mother has just died, and my little brother is still young and can¡¯t be left alone! But you still told that man that you wantpany. Chen Tiantian, you did it on purpose! You did this on purpose to upset me, didn¡¯t you!¡± Chen Tiantian: ¡°Ahzhao, how could you talk about me like this? I just saw you looking gloomy, so I wanted to take you to Beijing to broaden your horizons¡­¡± ¡°Shut up! I don¡¯t want to hear another word from you!¡± Chen Zhao shouted angrily, not waiting for her to finish, he turned and left the room to fetch water and wash up. Sitting on the horse carriage all day, Chen Zhao felt like he was being steamed dry, if he didn¡¯t wash up and cool down soon, he thought he might faint. Yingbao watched their drama enthusiastically while eating her meal. In her previous life, Chen Tiantian was just like this, causing unhappiness under the pretense of good intentions. And the reason why Chen Zhao¡¯s rtionship with Chen Tiantian was sometimes good and sometimes bad was also because of this. When they got along, they could unite against outsiders, but when they quarreled, they attacked each other. Well, it¡¯s a bit like they love each other as much as they want to kill each other. After eating, Chunniang took Yingbao to fetch water for cleaning and theny on the bed to rest. While she was half asleep, Yingbao felt someone watching her. She suddenly turned around and saw a person standing at the head of the bed, her hair in disarray, looking particrly eerie under the moonlight. Yingbao quickly picked something up and threw it at her. ¡°Ah!¡± Chen Tiantian screamed, squatting down holding her forehead. Chunniang was startled awake, and quickly took out the fire starter to light the oilmp. She saw Chen Tiantian squatting on the ground crying with a face full of blood. ¡°What happened?¡± Chunniang nced at the broken porcin on the ground, then looked at her daughter. Yingbao suddenly threw herself into Chunniang¡¯s arms, bawling, ¡°Mom! There¡¯s a ghost! I¡¯m so scared!¡± Humph! Anyone can act! Chunniang was frightened and held her daughter tightly,forting her: ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, Baobao, there¡¯s no ghost.¡± Then she red fiercely at Chen Tiantian: ¡°Why did you get up in the middle of the night and run to my daughter¡¯s bed? Are you trying to harm people?¡± Chen Tiantian was a bit flustered, and when she touched her broken forehead and realized that a lot of blood was flowing, she got scared, ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­¡± At this moment, someone outside knocked on the door: ¡°What happened?¡± As soon as Yingbao heard peopleing, she cried even harder: ¡°Ahhh! There¡¯s a female ghost! I¡¯m scared!¡± It would be best to keep Chen Tiantian away from her in the future, so she wouldn¡¯t have to be on guard against her all the time. The door was kicked open and several soldiers rushed in, followed by Xiao Mo. He immediately saw Chen Tiantian, kneeling on the ground with a face full of blood, and Yingbao crying incessantly, frowning. ¡°What happened?¡± He looked at everyone in the room. Holding her daughter tightly, Chunniang said resentfully, ¡°You ask her! Why didn¡¯t she sleep in the middle of the night and ran to my daughter¡¯s bed! Is she trying to harm people?¡± Chen Tiantian defended herself while holding her forehead: ¡°I, I just saw Yingbao¡¯s nket fall off and wanted to help her¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying! My nket didn¡¯t fall!¡± Yingbao cried even louder, ¡°I want to go home! Waaah! So scary! She pretended to be a ghost to scare me! I don¡¯t want to see her anymore¡­¡± Xiao Mo stared at Chen Tiantian suspiciously, ¡°Tell the truth! Why did you get up in the middle of the night and run to Yingbao¡¯s bed?¡± Chen Tiantian covered her face and wept, ¡°I, I don¡¯t know¡­¡± She then fell to the ground, pretending to faint. Yingbao watched it all clearly, if it wasn¡¯t for her mother holding her tightly, she would have jumped off the bed and kicked her a couple of times. What a drama queen she is! She would have wasted her talents if she didn¡¯t go perform in a drama! Seeing the situation, Xiao Mo immediately ordered someone to carry Chen Tiantian out of the room and find the doctor. He turned around and instructed Chen Zhao, ¡°You go and take care of Chen Tiantian.¡± His tone left no room for refusal. Chen Zhao dared not disobey and hurriedly put on his shoes to follow. In his heart, he secretly cursed Chen Tiantian, thinking she was a jinx. She didn¡¯t sleep in the middle of the night and went to the Jiang¡¯s child¡¯s room, was she trying to steal something, likest time? s, he thought himself so unlucky, being tied to such a dishonest girl, he felt helpless to get rid of her. Chapter 235 - 231: The Lucky Person_1 Chapter 235: Chapter 231: The Lucky Person_1 Trantor: 549690339 Chen Tiantian and Chen Zhao finally left, and Yingbao stopped crying, lying down to continue her sleep. Xu Chunniang lowered her head to nce at her daughter¡¯s face, not a single tear to be seen. ¡°What happened exacty?¡± Chunniang asked her daughter after closing the door. Yingbao: ¡°I opened my eyes and saw her standing by the bed, it was so frightening. Mother, Chen Tiantian must be insane, you must be very careful.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Chunniang stroke her daughter¡¯s head,y down next to her, holding her gently tofort her: ¡°Mother is guarding you, Now, go to sleep, we have to get on the road early tomorrow.¡± Yingbao nodded, embraced her mother¡¯s arm, closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep. The night passed quietly. As day just starting to break, someone came knocking: ¡°Mrs. Jiang, we need to set off now!¡± Chunniang gave a reply, hurriedly got up and packed up. Yingbao and her mother took a quick wash, ate something, and boarded the carriage. Before getting on the carriage, she nced back at the carriage behind, seeing Chen Tiantian with a white bandage wrapped around her forehead, her eyes staring back at Yingbao, a deep look in her eyes. More than ten dayster, the carriage finally arrived in Beijing, entering from the East City Gate, it directly arrived at the residence of the Duke. Yingbao and her mother got out of the carriage, looked up and nced around, then followed Xiao Mo through the side entrance. Afterwards, they, together with Dr. Li and his grandson, as well as the Chen sisters, were led into a courtyard. This time, Yingbao and Chunniang shared a room, the Chen sisters were in another room, and Dr. Li and his grandson were in the room across from theirs. Servants brought in their luggage and a locked medicine box. ¡°We¡¯re likely to be staying here for a while.¡± Yingbao said to her mother, showing concern: ¡°If I¡¯m not around, mother, you mustn¡¯t let the Chen sisters in our room.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Chunniang began to unpack, pulling out the mostmon items for use. Not long after, two thirteen or fourteen-year-old maids came in bearing water, they bowed to Chunniang: ¡°Good day, madam, we are here to help you wash.¡± Chunniang hurriedly returned the courtesy: ¡°Thank you youngdy, let me do it myself.¡± she took the basin, put it on the stand, then took the towel from the other maid, first washed her daughter¡¯s hands and face, then washed hers. One of the maids said: ¡°My name is Xiaoqing, if you need anything, you can ask me directly.¡± The other one added: ¡°I¡¯m Xiaodai.¡± Chunniang replied, kindly providing her own name, ¡°My name is Xu Chunniang. This is my daughter, Jiang Yingbao. We¡¯ll be in your care.¡± Xiaoqing smiled, ¡°What¡¯s all this about? You are our honored guests. The young master specifically instructed us to serve you well.¡± Yingbao blinked, asking, ¡°By the way, Xiaoqing, what¡¯s the name of your young master?¡± ¡°Our young master¡¯sst name is Xiao, first name Chengde, he¡¯s the oldest son of the duke.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Yingbao searched her memory for information about this person, but came up nk. This was rather strange. After all, he was the nephew of the Empress Xiao. How could there be no description of him? Not only did she not find any mention of Xiao Chengde, but she also couldn¡¯t find any mention of Xiao Mo, which was very unusual. After their wash, the two maids carried out the water, and soon brought breakfast. Two bowls of white rice porridge, four small dishes, and two baskets of assorted buns. Yingbao and her mother quickly ate their food under the watchful eyes of the two maids, rinsed their mouths, and let out a sigh of relief when the maids took away all the dishes and bowls. Chunniang was not used to being watched while eating, to say the least it was quite unsettling. Yingbao told her mother to stay in the room and not to wander around, while she herself went to see Doctor Li in the opposite room to inquire about the patient. Meanwhile, in the main hall of the Duke Residence, two officers from Qin Tianjian were led by a servant into the study to meet the Imperial Teacher, Xiao. Teacher Xiao invited the two to sit down, stroked his beard and said, ¡°Today I have invited you both here to determine the astrological fate of a child.¡± The Director saluted Teacher Xiao, ¡°Could you bring forth the child so that we may observe them?¡± Teacher Xiao nodded, turned around and ordered his grandson, Xiao Mo, ¡°Bring all the children here and let them walk about in the yard.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Xiao Moplied and left the study to get them. Teacher Xiao then addressed the two venerable officers of Qin Tianjian, ¡°My son has an unusual forteller who divined that a little girl can negate the disaster of Zimei Star, thereby enhancing the fortune of Daqian. So I invited you here to have a good look at her to see whether she is truly the one who can solve the crisis for the Prince.¡± The Director and Deputy Director bowed to the Teacher, ¡°We will devote our utmost effort.¡± Shortly after, Xiao Mo led the three girls into the yard. Rather than entering the house, he let them wander about the yard, looking at the flowers and nts. The Director and Deputy Director exchanged nces, their brows slightly furrowed as they meticulously observed the three girls outside, their fingers continually making calctions. One of the girls was only six or seven years old with unusual features, but a faint ferocity in her face suggested an omen of a premature death. The other two girls were seemingly of the same age and both had beautiful appearances. However, the one with a long and thin face had a narrow forehead and thin, parsimonious lips. Such characteristics indicated shallow luck and low fortune; she certainly could not be the one to solve the crisis. The other girl possessed the exact opposite traits. Her forehead was long and plump,rge and proportionate, indicating nobility and the appearance of prosperity. Observing her lower face which was evenly filled, dignified and thick, indicated the luck of wealth and prosperity. So, she must be the one who solves the crisis. The Director and the Deputy Director quietlypared notes and then bowed to the Teacher, stating, ¡°We have calcted that the girl in green has a prosperous destiny, a life filled with good fortune, and the signs of wealth and nobility.¡± Teacher Xiao slightly nodded, his face filled with joy, then had his confidential aide go out and tell his grandson to take the girls away. Then, he took out a piece of paper to give to the fortellers, ¡°This is the birth data of the girl in green. Could you confirm if there is any conflict or disadvantage with the Prince¡¯s?¡± The Director took the birth data and, shoulder to shoulder with the Deputy Director, began to calcte. Their conclusion was that this girl was extremelypatible with the Prince, mutually supportive and indispensable to each other. ¡°No wonder, no wonder,¡± The Teacher was ecstatic, ¡°No wonder the Prince has been ill for so long, probably because he hascked this girl by his side.¡± After dismissing the two fortellers, Teacher Xiao immediately had someone send some clothes and essories to the guesthouse for that girl named Chen Tiantian to put on, as he wanted to take her to the pce to meet his daughter, Empress Xiao. He also instructed Xiao Mo to inform the country doctor and have them follow to the Imperial City to treat the Prince. Confused, Yingbao was led around in a circle. But she could sense that while they were in therge courtyard, somebody had been peeking at them from a hidden spot. Not long after they returned, the servants and maids from the Xiao Residence swarmed over to help the neighbor¡¯s girl, Chen Tiantian, change clothes and dress up. Even Chen Zhao was surprised, initially believing that someone from the Xiao Residence was fond of his aunt and wanted to take her as a concubine. But that wasn¡¯t right; no matter how pretty Chen Tiantian was, she was still too young at only ten years old. Moreover, they were civilians; they couldn¡¯t just arrive at Xiao Residence and be sold off as property. But who really knew for sure? Since they were very few in number, weren¡¯t they at the mercy of others now that they were here? The more Chen Zhao thought about it, the more frightened he became. When he saw an opportunity while everyone else was preupied, he sneaked out of the room and ran to Chunniang. ¡°Disaster is upon us! The Xiao Residence is a den of human traffickers. They¡­they¡¯re intending to sell my aunt. It¡¯ll be our turn soon, Aunt Jiang, let¡¯s run away quickly!¡± Chapter 236 - 232: Changsheng Hall_1 Chapter 236: Chapter 232: Changsheng Hall_1 Trantor: 549690339 Chunniang was startled and turned to her daughter, ¡°Baobao, something isn¡¯t right with them.¡± She found it strange when she¡¯d seen so many servants carrying gifts. They were here to treat a patient, not for a marriage proposal. They hadn¡¯t even seen the patient yet, and they were already dressing up her daughter. Yingbao was also confused. She had never encountered such a situation in her past life, and the plot of the book did not include such a thing either. ¡°Should we go and ask Grandpa Li?¡± No matter how crazy the Xiao Family was, they couldn¡¯t possibly deceive an old doctor like Doctor Li. Upon hearing this, Chunniang quickly led her daughter out of the room. Just as they stepped out of the room, they saw Xiao Mo approaching. Startled, Chunniang acted quickly to shield her daughter, casting a guarded look at the young man in the brocade robe. Xiao Mo bowed slightly towards her and said, ¡°Sister-inw Jiang, I¡¯d like to take Yingbao with me to examine a noble patient. Could you prepare her for this? We¡¯ll be leaving soon.¡± Chunniang frowned, nced towards the adjacent room, and asked, ¡°Mr. Xiao, what¡¯s going on in the room next door?¡± Xiao Mo was momentarily taken aback, thenughed, ¡°My grandfather wants her to meet an extremely noble person, so he sent some clothes and jewelry, with no other intentions.¡± Despite her doubts, Chunniang couldn¡¯t find a proper reason to refuse and reluctantly started to help her daughter to pack for their outing. In truth, Yingbao didn¡¯t need much preparation. She was wearing an ivory-colored dress that her mother had made, paired with a green skirt. Her hair was tied into two small buns, giving her a clean and refreshing appearance. Just that her medicine box was quite heavy and needed someone else to carry it. Chunniang wanted to carry the medicine box for her daughter and apany her on the visit. However, Xiao Mo stopped her. ¡°Sister-inw Jiang, the residence of the noble person is not a ce where ordinary people can easily enter. Let me carry the medicine box. Please wait here,¡± Saying this, he took the medicine box, and left with Yingbao. Helpless, Chunniang could only watch as her daughter left with Mr. Xiao while both she and Chen Zhao were unable to leave the courtyard. For this outing, Yingbao and Doctor Li shared a carriage. Doctor Li¡¯s second grandson, Li Qing, was not allowed to apany them. The carriage quickly arrived near the Imperial City. Yingbao and Doctor Li dismounted and followed Xiao Mo over Zhou Bridge, arriving at the gate of the Imperial City. The guards at the gate verified their identities before allowing them in. Once inside the Imperial City, the three of them boarded an open-top carriage within the pce grounds. Driven by a eunuch, the carriage took them straight to the entrance of Yingxian Yard. The eunuch respectfully said, ¡°Mr. Xiao, please alight.¡± Xiao Mo stepped down from the carriage, nodded at the eunuch, and tossed a piece of silver at him. The eunuch bowed in gratitude and drove the carriage away cheerfully. After being announced, Yingbao and Doctor Li followed Xiao Mo into Yingxian Yard with the guidance of another eunuch. Yingxian Yard was enormous, with three towering pces and dozens of rooms. The Changsheng Hall in the middle was the Empress¡¯s main living quarters and the ce where she received officials and noblewomen. Standing at the bottom of the pce steps, they waited for a long time before finally being summoned by a pce attendant. Xiao Mo adjusted his robe, climbed up the steps, with Doctor Li and Yingbao following closely behind him. ¡°Your servant Xiao Mo, pays his respects to the Empress!¡± Xiao Mo performed a deep bow to the Empress. Doctor Li and Yingbao also stepped forward and paid their respects. The Empress sat on her dragon-embroidered throne. One hand rested on the armrest as she scrutinized the people in front of her. Her gaze lingered on Yingbao for a while, then she asked, ¡°Mo¡¯er, is this young girl also one of the doctors you¡¯ve brought?¡± Xiao Mo quickly replied, ¡°Yes, Imperial Mother. It was I who brought them. My younger brother, Xiao Chengjun was cured by these two. Therefore, I dared to rmend them here to alleviate your worries.¡± After the Empress gave a nonchnt hum, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s the girl¡¯s name? How old is she this year?¡± Yingbao immediately stepped forward, folded her hands and replied, ¡°Your Majesty, my name is Jiang Yingbao. I am six years old and have been studying medicine for three years.¡± Having been taught in herst life the etiquette of meeting nobles in a dance troupe, she mimicked Xiao Mo¡¯s actions well after observing him. ¡°She started learning medicine at three and can diagnose at six,¡± the Empress chuckled lightly, waving her hand, ¡°Take her to Qing Pce, I want to see if she truly lives up to her name.¡± And so, Yingbao, along with Doctor Li and Xiao Mo, sat in an open horse carriage, leaving the imperial city, turned a corner, and arrived at the entrance of the East Pce. This pce group was the Qing Pce, the residence of Prince Murong Xian. Seeing that the people were led by Li Li, the steward eunuch by the Empress¡¯s side, the gatekeeper soldiers immediately let them pass. After this dy, by the time Yingbao and the others arrived at the entrance of the prince¡¯s bedroom, it was alreadyte afternoon. Yingbao¡¯s stomach was growling with hunger, which led to her internalints. No wonder the prince¡¯s disease hadn¡¯t improved for so long. Even a doctor visiting him had to pass through multiple checkpoints and take half a day. She wondered how the prince endured till the doctor arrived. Wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead, Yingbao quickly stuffed a piece of cantaloupe into her mouth when no one was looking, and slowly chewed on it. She was helpless, both thirsty and hungry, if she didn¡¯t eat something, she might not have the strength to walk. She was still a child, continuously walking for that long inside the Imperial Pce had caused blisters on the soles of her feet. After the final message was passed, Yingbao and Doctor Li finally entered the prince¡¯s sleeping quarters. Several doctors were already standing in the hall, the youngest in his thirties, and the oldest, around seventy, all with bitter faces. Among them was an old man with white hair, who Yingbao seemed to have seen somewhere. She suddenly realized, wasn¡¯t this Old Mister Wen, Wen Shu¡¯s grandfather? It was unexpected to see him here. Just, he haspletely white hair and looks much olderpared to a few years ago. Wen Jingyan also looked at Yingbao and nodded at her. ¡°Grandfather Wen.¡± Yingbao approached and asked in a low voice, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the patient?¡± Wen Jingyan shook his head and said softly, ¡°It¡¯s a long story. We¡¯ll talk about itter.¡± Just as Yingbao wanted to ask more, someone from the side called her over. Helpless, she had to go into the inner hall, where there was arge carved wooden bed in the center of the main hall. The carved wooden bed was enclosed by a mosquito, which was rolled up high, and a weak boy was lying on the bed. Doctor Li sat on a low stool in front of the bed, taking the boy¡¯s pulse. Finishing the diagnosis, he frowned and signaled Yingbao toe over and check the pulse. Yingbao did as instructed, carefully studying the teenager on the bed. Judging by his looks, he was about twelve or thirteen. He was scarily thin, his cheeks were deeply sunken. Moreover, his face was pale, and his lips were almost the same color as his face, without a hint of red. He looked as if he was on his deathbed. Yingbao was a bit nervous. No wonder Xiao Mo said that if she failed to cure the nobleman, he wouldn¡¯t be able to help her. It was indeed the truth. If she had known earlier that the patient she would be treating was the son of the Empress, she would not havee at all. If this youngster passed away, it was likely that none of the people present would be able to leave the pce alive. Biting her teeth, Yingbao quietly said to Xiao Mo standing on the side, ¡°Bring me my medicine box.¡± Without a word, Xiao Mo went out, brought the medicine box and put it on the ground. The box was very heavy, even heavier than Doctor Li¡¯s, and she did not know what was inside it. Yingbao turned her back to Xiao Mo, opened the medicine box, and felt around for a while before pulling out a small porcin bottle about the size of her palm. ¡°This is a special medicine of mine, are we allowed to try it on the prince?¡± Yingbao asked Xiao Mo. Xiao Mo replied, ¡°We need to inform Yao Yuanzheng, the dean of the Imperial Medical Bureau.¡± ¡°Where is Yao Yuanzheng?¡± Yingbao asked. She was feeling anxious, fearing the young boy wouldn¡¯t be able to hang on and die; then, she and everyone else would likely be taken out and executed. Xiao Mo replied, ¡°I will call him.¡± and walked out of the inner hall. Chapter 237 - 233: No Gain without Pain_1 Chapter 237: Chapter 233: No Gain without Pain_1 Trantor: 549690339 Soon enough, an elderly man with a gray and white beard came in, a stern expression on his face, ¡°Child, how dare you bring medicine into the pce without authorization? Show me what you¡¯ve got, this is not a ce for you to mess around.¡± These XIAO family members are getting more and more unreasonable, actually letting such a small child diagnose His Highness. If she can cure His Highness, then they, this bunch of old folks, might as well lie in their coffins. Yingbao wrinkled her brows and red at Xiao Mo,¡±Xiao¡­Uncle, if I can¡¯t use my own medicine, why did you bring me here? ¡± Present at the scene, which person didn¡¯t have far superior medical skills than she did? They probably have tried all the prescriptions already. If they didn¡¯t need her medicine, why would they make her, a small child,e here to join this chaos? Xiao Mo was somewhat embarrassed by her questioning, so he said to Yao Yuanzheng, ¡°Yao Yuanzheng, this woman was ordered by the emperor himself to treat His Highness. Her medicine will, of course¡­ be thoroughly examined. If it¡¯s not harmful, then give it a try on His Highness.¡± Yao Yuanzheng¡¯s face looked a little gloomy. He said coldly, ¡°Do you think this is child¡¯s y? What do you take us for?¡± Did their medical skills notpare to those of a several-year-old child? Or has the Xiao family reached a point of desperation? Well, well, they all would be implicated sooner orter. There wasn¡¯t a significant difference between a moment sooner orter. Yao Yuanzheng waved his hand, signaling another physician toe forward. He pointed towards Yingbao, ¡°Take the medicine in her hand to check if it¡¯s poisonous.¡± If it¡¯s not poisonous, let her try it out. After all, they are like this already, everyone was just filling their days along with the Prince. The physician nodded his head, took the porcin bottle from Yingbao, poured some out into a te, and tested it with a Silver Needle for poison. After a while, the physician said, ¡°Master, this substance is not poisonous.¡± Yao Yuanzheng nodded in acknowledgement and instructed him to return the porcin bottle to the girl. Yingbao took the porcin bottle and was about to feed the medicine to the young man on the bed, but he clenched his teeth tightly and it was impossible to feed him. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Xiao Mo came over, took the porcin bottle from Yi?ngbao, and asked, ¡°All of it? ¡± Yingbao nodded her head, ¡°Not even a single drop can be left.¡± The medicine in the porcin bottle was made from Five-Dingshi, ginseng slices, and mountain honey, it was both nourishing to the Qi and body. She did not know if it would help the Prince. Xiao Mo sat on the bed, held the boy¡ªwho was as thin as a skeleton¡ªagainst his chest, pinched his cheeks to force him to open his mouth, and directly poured the sweet medicine into his mouth. Forced to swallow a mouthful, yet half of it ran down the side of his mouth and dripped down his neck and chest. Yingbao wrinkled her brow, close to Xiao Mo she whispered, ¡°Uncle Xiao, the cost of this medicine bottle is one hundred taels of silver.¡± Xiao Mo ignored her and poured the remaining bit into the prince¡¯s mouth. After the medicine was administered and the Prince was settled, Xiao Mo got off the bed, called over two Pce Attendants to clean up the Prince, and then he left the inner hall. The several Imperial Physicians who had been watching closely followed him out and kept asking, ¡°What did Xiao Langjun feed the Prince?¡± Xiao Mo pointed back at Yingbao, ¡°You can ask her.¡± And then he hurried out of the pce. ¡°Hey! Where are you going?¡± Yingbao ran out of the crowd and ran after him, ¡°Take me with you!¡± Running to the entrance of the Grand Hall, she was stopped by a few eunuchs: ¡°Without the imperial edict, no one is allowed to leave!¡± Yingbao watched helplessly as Xiao Mo descended the steps, crossed the courtyard, and quickly disappeared behind the screen wall, stamping her feet in frustration. Whether in her past life or this one, Xiao Mo was not a good person, leaving a child in the lion¡¯s den while he slipped away. He was absolutely deplorable! Displeased, she returned to the Grand Hall and seeing that all the chairs in the hall had been taken, she had no choice but to drag her medicine box to a corner of the Grand Hall and sit on the ground. Pretending to rummage through the medicine box, she took out a melon, scored a loop around it, smashed it open with her fist, and she tore off a piece and started gnawing on it. There was no other way, she was thirsty, hungry, tired, and hot. On top of that, she was mentally and physically exhausted, so she couldn¡¯t care less about pretenses Her actions quickly drew everyone¡¯s attention. Yingbao saw several people swallow reflexively, and then they turned their heads away, coughed lightly, pretending not to care. Only Dr.Li came over, he put his medicine box next to Yingbao, lifted his robe, and sat down next to the pir. Yingbao casually handed him a piece of cantaloupe: ¡°Grandpa Li, here is something for you to eat.¡± Doctor Li, without ceremony, epted the cantaloupe and started to eat it crisply. Like Yingbao, he hadn¡¯t had a sip of water since the morning. He felt incredibly thirsty and hungry, but the pce maids in the pce ignored them without asking them about their meals. And Doctor Li didn¡¯t know those Imperial Physicians, so he felt embarrassed to ask them to order the pce maids around for him. Or rather, those Imperial Physicians looked down on people. They didn¡¯t even bother to pay attention to him. Unable to find Senior Brother Wen, Doctor Li had no choice but to stick with Yingbao and sit on the ground. Luckily, the floor wasid withrge bs of marble, which were very cool and clean. The two silently finished their melon, Yingbao pulled out a handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped his mouth. Doctor Li also took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands and beard, and asked in a low voice: ¡°Yingbao, what are the odds for Prince Dai?¡± Yingbao: ¡°About fifty percent.¡± It¡¯s a toss-up between life and death. Hearing this, Doctor Li breathed a sigh of relief and said, ¡°It¡¯s still good to have a fifty percent certainty. I hope we can safely leave the pce.¡± After a while, he added: ¡°I heard from Senior Brother Wen that the peril to Prince Dai was caused by identally eating a mushroom.¡± Yingbao curiously asked: ¡°What kind of mushroom? Was it Auricria? Who gave it to him? Could it be Mr. Wen?¡± After all, Han Miaoniang¡¯s moldy Auricria had all been sold to the thirddy of the Wen family, who is from the Lin family. Doctor Li nced around and saw no one paying attention to them. He lowered his voice and said: ¡°No, my senior brother said it was privately given by a Doctor with the surname Lin.¡± This person bypassed Wen Jingyan, probably wanting to show off in front of Prince Dai, disy himself, and secure the credit for saving the lord by himself. As a result, he failed in his theft and ended up imprisoning himself. His imprisonment is not the main issue, but it has implicated Senior Brother Wen. After all, the Lin family and the Wen family are rted by marriage, and it was Wen Jingyan who first used Auricria to make a porridge for Prince Dai. After eating it for a while, Prince Dai¡¯s condition did indeed improve. But as Prince Dai became healthier, many people in the Imperial Medical Bureau thought that Wen Jingyan fabricate mystery. They thought he portrayed amon Auricria as a divine medicine to curry favor and secure his status. Therefore, everyone dismissed the Auricria provided by Wen Jingyan. Yao Yuanzheng even ordered people to buy Auricria elsewhere and stock the Imperial Pharmacy. Yuanzheng¡¯s move made everyone feel that he wanted to exclude Wen Jingyan and his purchased Auricria. Wen Jingyan saw through it so he sent a letter asking his fourth daughter-inw to return home and no longer worry about the Jiang family. Who would have known that after Prince Dai had eaten the Auricria being presented by Doctor Lin, he was vomiting and diarrhea. In just a few days, he had be emaciated. The Emperor and Empress were outraged upon hearing this and ordered a thorough investigation. It turned out that the Lin family acquired it from a small mountain vige and it was purchased on behalf of the Wen family. At that time, the Lin Family was greedy and semi-smuggled two to three pounds to send to their rtive who worked in the Imperial Medical Bureau, which resulted in this trouble. Now, not only was the person from the Lin family thrown into a big jail, but Wen Jingyan was also held ountable because of it. If Prince Dai does not get better, it is estimated that the Lin family, Wen family, and even the vigers who sold the Auricria will not end well. Even the Imperial Physicians here may have difficulty protecting themselves. ¡°Sigh, it¡¯s really a disaster out of the blue.¡± Doctor Li shook his head. He didn¡¯t want toe here in the first ce, but he couldn¡¯t resist Xiao Mo¡¯s coaxing and coercion. Xiao Mo said that the illness of Prince Dai implicated many parties. Anyone who had the slightest involvement with it wouldn¡¯t be able to escape. So Doctor Li had toe here with Yingbao. Upon seeing Prince Dai for the first time, he felt numb, and thought he might meet his end here. Therefore, he put all his hopes on this halfway apprentice of his. Chapter 238 - 234: Ancestral Secret Recipe_1 Chapter 238: Chapter 234: Ancestral Secret Recipe_1 Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao listened to Doctor Li recount the incident of the Crown Prince being poisoned, feeling disheartened. She didn¡¯t know whether she could leave or if she could see her mother. But she was just a child, surely the Empress wouldn¡¯t be cruel enough to harm an innocent child. Engrossed in her doubts and fears, Yingbao, unable to resist her fatigue, fell asleep on top of her medicine box. ¡°Yingbao! Yingbao! Wake up quickly!¡± Yingbao was roused from sleep by a nudge and saw Doctor Li and a few imperial physicians looking at her with joy. As soon as he saw Yingbao awake, Doctor Li grasped her hand, ¡°Do you have any more medicine? If so, hurry and take it out, the Crown Prince has woken up.¡± Not only had he woken up, but he was also able to sit up and express hunger. Yingbao rubbed her half-pressed face, blinked, and said, ¡°No more, that medicine is precious and requires many precious ingredients to make.¡± Yao Yuanzheng eagerly said, ¡°Whatever ingredients you need, I¡¯ll ask someone to bring them, or perhaps go to the Imperial Pharmacy, you can prepare it there.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll go to the Imperial Pharmacy.¡± She nced at Doctor Li¡¯s expectant face and said, ¡°I need two assistants, Grandpa Li is my master, he must apany me, and Mr. Wen, I need to ask about the Crown Prince¡¯s condition.¡± Yao Yuanzheng frowned and said, ¡°I will first report.¡± This country doctor was ater, there was no problem walking with the girl, but Wen Jingyan was a criminal, he couldn¡¯t simply let people go. Plus, without the imperial edict, even he couldn¡¯t leave the East Pce. Yingbao nodded and stepped towards the inner pce. She wanted to see the Crown Prince¡¯s condition firsthand, to help her decide on the correct treatment. Once inside, She smelled a strong scent, it was cloud incense often used in the Imperial Pce. This incense was mixed with a faint sour odor, like a person who hadn¡¯t bathed in a long time. As she reached therge bed, she saw a young girl standing by it, trembling from nervousness. Yingbao looked at her for a moment, and asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± This young girl was Chen Tiantian. She was dressed in a pce maid-like outfit, holding a copper basin with warm water as if she was about to help the frail young man clean up. As soon as Chen Tiantian saw Yingbao, her hand suddenly stopped trembling, and her frightened expression gradually faded. ¡°Yingbao, it¡¯s you, I, I was about to wash the Crown Prince¡¯s face.¡± Yingbao nced at the young man still lying in bed and said, ¡°Then, you do it. Hurry up, I need to check his pulse.¡± Chen Tiantian unconsciously stepped back and whispered, ¡°Then¡­ you do your check first, and I wille back.¡± Yingbao squinted andughed, ¡°No, the Crown Prince has stains all over his face. If they¡¯re not wiped off, I can¡¯t see hisplexion clearly. This will affect the visual diagnosis.¡± Chen Tiantian was holding the water basin but remained silent, as if she hadn¡¯t heard. ¡°Hey, what are you doing standing there? Are you repulsed by the Crown Prince?¡± Yingbao said. Did she think she wouldn¡¯t notice? Chen Tiantian was not only disgusted with the young man right before her eyes, she was also terrified of him. Because at this moment, the Crown Prince¡¯s image was quite horrifying. For Chen Tiantian, a little girl in her teens, the Crown Prince seemed like a skeleton lying in bed. How could any girl dare to clean such a figure? When Chen Tiantian heard this, she immediately became flustered and said, ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t! I¡¯m going to get ready to wash the Crown Prince right now.¡± She rushed to put the copper basin on the stool, wrung out the towel and slowly walked towards the young man. As she gathered up her courage to wipe his face, the Crown Prince weakly blocked her with his arm. ¡°Get lost!¡± the young Crown Prince uttered in a low voice, revealing an unhidden chill in his eyes. Chen Tiantian shivered with fear, the towel fell from her hand onto the foot of the bed. Yingbao said, ¡°So useless, you can¡¯t even wash his face properly. Just step aside and let someone else do it.¡± Then she beckoned to a pce attendant at the side, ¡°Youe here and clean the Crown Prince.¡± The pce attendant didn¡¯t dare to argue and came over with her head down. Once someone handed her a new towel, she carefully started washing the Crown Prince. After the cleaning process, the pce attendant picked up the basin and left. Chen Tiantian followed suit. Yingbao watched the entire process, not leaving even when she received countless res from the prince. She affirmed: ¡°I am the doctor treating you, and you¡¯re awake thanks to the divine medicine I prepared.¡± The prince said nothing. Yingbao sat on a low stool beside the bed to take his pulse. Ignoring the piercing stares behind her, she put a medicine pill into the prince¡¯s mouth. ¡°This is the Vitality Nourishing Pill. If you take one daily, you won¡¯t have any difficulties going hunting in the future.¡± ¡°Really?¡± The prince asks indifferently, ¡°If I can¡¯t hunt, would you be guilty of deceiving your king?¡± Yingbao widened her eyes, ¡°How can you me me if you can¡¯t hunt? I am a doctor, not responsible for teaching you how to hunt.¡± The prince turned his head away and coughed lightly. At this moment, Yao Yuanzheng approached and inspected the small bag hanging on Yingbao, ¡°Yingbao, what did you just give to the prince?¡± ¡°Vitality Nourishing Pill.¡± Before Yuanzheng could speak again, Yingbao said, ¡°This is very precious, costing ten taels of silver each.¡± ¡°Ten taels each?¡± Yao Yuanzhen was taken aback, ¡°So expensive? What precious ingredients are used?¡± Yingbao: ¡°Regrettably, I cannot tell. It¡¯s a secret form handed down from my family, and I won¡¯t reveal it to outsiders.¡± Yao Yuanzheng: ¡­. The young prince suddenly spoke up, ¡°I¡¯ll give you five hundred taels, give me fifty pills.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Yingbao¡¯s face lit up immediately as she approached the prince, ¡°Then you give me the silver now and I¡¯ll get the pills for you.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± The prince turned his head to his secretary, ¡°Go get the money.¡± He nced at the short little girl again, ¡°Give her fifty taels of gold.¡± Fifty taels of gold is equivalent to five hundred taels of silver, which is easier for the little girl to carry. The secretary responded and bowed, then turned around to get the money, bringing back five shiny gold ingots. Yingbao cheered once, ran to her medical box with the weighty gold ingots in hand. She secretly took a bite and nearly broke her teeth. Upon closer inspection, there were two shallow teeth marks on the gold ingot. Hehe! It¡¯s real gold. In both her previous and current life, this was her first time earning so many gold ingots. Turning her body to shield from others¡¯ prying eyes, Yingbao took out tworge porcin bottles from her medical box, and put the gold ingots inside. Actually, she put them in her treasury. After locking the medical box, Yingbao ran back to the inner room, and put the porcin bottle into the prince¡¯s hand, ¡°Here you go, fifty Vitality Nourishing Pills, we¡¯re all square now. Oh, wait, there¡¯s also a bottle of emergency medicine, which costs one hundred taels of silver a bottle, you¡¯ve used it.¡± The prince coughed lightly a few times before signaling the secretary to go get more. He then finally closed his eyes, ¡°I¡¯m tired, you all may leave.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yao Yuanzheng and several other Imperial Physicians left. Yingbao also followed them out, happily running to sit next to her medical box. At this time, a pce maid came over, respectfully saying, ¡°I have been ordered to invite little Physician Yingbao to rest in the side chamber.¡± Yingbao looked at Yao Yuanzheng and Physician Li, asking, ¡°What about my master?¡± Pce maid: ¡°All the doctors will take turns to rest. It¡¯ste now, please go first.¡± Yingbao pointed to her medical box and said: ¡°This is heavy. I want to go with my master. He will help me to carry the medical box.¡± She really didn¡¯t dare to go to a side hall alone, especially when it was pitch ck at night. She would rather sleep in this main hall since guards keep watch here all night and the lights never go out. Chapter 239 - 235: Life is Not Easy_1 Chapter 239: Chapter 235: Life is Not Easy_1 Trantor:549690339 The pce maid bent over to pick up the medical box and said, ¡°I¡¯ll carry it for you. It¡¯s gettingte. Please follow me, young doctor. The senior doctor will be taken care of by the eunuchs.¡± Left with no choice, Yingbao had to follow this pce maid to the side hall. The side hall had partitions, but there were no doors or curtains to cover them and there was only a screen obscuring the view from outside. Now it was already dark, and Yingbao didn¡¯t know what time it was. A pce maid was holding amp, lighting the way for her. Inside the partitioned area, there was a bed and a small table with two chairs. In the corner of the room, there was a chamber pot just behind the bed, separated by a curtain. Once Yingbao finished washing up, a pce maid brought her some tea and food. The meal was straightforward: a bowl of white porridge, two steamed buns and two small dishes of side dishes. The side dishes were shredded pickled vegetables and a dish of cooked greens. Yingbao was seriously suspecting that someone was deliberately treating her harshly, so she asked, ¡°What do you guys usually eat?¡± A pce maid responded, ¡°I eat the same as you, young doctor.¡± ¡°Oh, and what about Yao Yuanzheng and the others?¡± ¡°They also eat the same.¡± The pce maid answered. Yingbao not willing to drop the topic, asked again, ¡°Then what does the prince eat?¡± The pce maid was silent for a moment before saying, ¡°Of course the prince¡¯s meals are different.¡± Now Yingbao understood that this was simply the way of the imperial pce, and it wasn¡¯t targeted at any particr person. She quickly finished her bowl of in porridge and one bun with the pickled and green vegetables while holding the other bun in her hand she told the two pce maids standing beside her, ¡°I¡¯ve finished eating, clean up quickly.¡± Waving the bun in her hand, she added, ¡°I¡¯ll save this to eat when I¡¯m hungry.¡± Living here was not easy so she had to cherish every single bun. The pce maid twitched at the corner of her eyes before collecting the dishes and leaving the space. Yingbao nced at the remaining pce maid and suddenly asked, ¡°Do you know why the new pce maid is here?¡± The maid answered, ¡°She was admitted by the Empress¡¯s order to serve the prince in the inner temple.¡± By the Empress¡¯s order? Why would the Empress let Chen Tiantian serve the prince intimately? Something didn¡¯t seem right to Yingbao. Reflecting on her experiences at the Xiao Residence, Yingbao spected that someone must have seen Chen Tiantian in advance before sending her into the pce. Could it be possible that someone was using Chen Tiantian as the prince¡¯s medicine? Or was it that Chen Tiantian was of noble birth, and the Empress sent her to the prince to protect her son and increase his fortune? After all, the story described Chen Tiantian as exceptionally lucky and noble, a reincarnated phoenix from the heavens. It must be so. Bearing this thought, Yingbao became a little unhappy. She had been working her heart out to treat the skeleton boy, and in a blink of an eye, Chen Tiantian took all the credit. Why? Just because she was the main character in the story, and Yingbao was destined to be her stepping stone? Ugh! Yingbao didn¡¯t buy it. Once the two pce maids left, Yingbaoid on the bed, watching as the oilmp gradually extinguished, and quickly covered her head with a thin nket. She quietly entered the cave house, gathering arge handful of Five Tripod Fungus to be crushed in a mortar and pestle, before dividing it into several porcin bottles for future use. The melons in the cave had mostly matured, so she picked the ripest ones and ced them in a basket. The next day, before the pce maids coulde, Yingbao made haste to use the chamber pot before dressing and tidying herself up. In no time, two pce maids came in carrying water for Yingbao to wash up with. Just after she finished washing up, someone came to hurry her to the main hall. A pce maid carried Yingbao¡¯s medical box and apanied her to the main hall before leaving. Doctor Li, still drowsy, waved at Yingbao: ¡°Come here quickly.¡± Yingbao dashed over, ¡°Grandpa Li, what¡¯s up?¡± Doctor Li looked around and asked in a low voice, ¡°Do you still have those medicinal pills?¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°I have some, but not much.¡± Doctor Li said, ¡°Yao Yuanzheng and several pharmacists are studying your medicinal pills.¡± ¡°Oh, let them study however they want.¡± Her pills contained not only ginseng, poria, Atractylodes, angelica, rehmannia and the like, but also Five Tripod Fungus. Even with their best efforts, they would never figure it out. Yingbao looked around and didn¡¯t see Wen Jingyan, so she asked, ¡°Grandpa Li, why hasn¡¯t Grandpa Wene back yet?¡± She had only been in the inner hall for a while yesterday, and when she came out, Wen Jingyan was nowhere to be seen. She didn¡¯t know where he had gone. Doctor Li said, ¡°Elder brother Wen went back to the Imperial Medical Bureau. There are people watching over here, he needs to work at the Imperial Medical Bureau.¡± Just as the two of them were talking, Yao Yuanzheng waved at her, ¡°Yingbao,e over.¡± Yingbao ran over. Yao Yuanzheng: ¡°You can first look at the prince¡¯s medical case records.¡± Yingbao nodded, following Yao Yuanzheng to inspect the prince¡¯s medical case records. There were stacks of ledgers piled high on the table, which startled her. This¡­ was too much! Where should she start? ¡°Which one is for this year?¡± Yingbao asked. Yao Yuanzheng handed her tworge volumes, ¡°Here. One is for daily living conditions, and the other is for daily pulse diagnosis records.¡± Yingbao took them, opening them up to inspect carefully. Starting from the first day of this year up until yesterday, every detail of daily living and pulse diagnosis were meticulously recorded in the ledgers. The prince was indeed delicate. Every extra bite he ate, extra sip of water he took and every additional visit to the toilet were documented. In the end, Yingbao noticed the record of him eating a small bowl of golden ear mushroom on that day. If this were happening to anyone else, there wouldn¡¯t be a problem. However, this prince was a sensitive individual with a delicate diet and his lungs still hadn¡¯t fully recovered, and these factorsbined almost took his life. Moreover, the prince had a weak constitution due to years of taking medicine, not only was his digestion poor, but even his kidney energy was weaker than others¡¯. Yingbao shook her head, realizing she had thought too much before. Even if she gave him the Five Tripod Fungus, his body wouldn¡¯t miraculously get better right away. He would need long-term nourishment. Inherited weakness from birth and contracting a lung disease at a young age made her wonder how he managed to grow into adulthood and even have children in the book. The unfortunate medical practitioner, Mr. Lin, was set up to please his master but ended up being imprisoned. Even if the prince was sessfully treated, he probably still wouldn¡¯t be acquitted. Yingbao focused on reviewing the recent case history andparing previous medical conditions. She was certain that all of the prince¡¯s five major organs were unhealthy. She estimated that the more medicine he took in the future, the worse he would get. The best course of action now was to stop all medications and rely exclusively on dietary supplements. Paired with her Five Tripod Fungus, he should be able to recover. After all, he was still young and his body was at its prime in terms of growth. As long as he had time to recover, living for another thirty to forty years shouldn¡¯t be a problem. After reviewing the case history, Yingbao went to the inner hall to visit the prince again. After just entering, she saw Chen Tiantian standing next to the prince¡¯s bed with two pce maids. Yingbao furrowed her brows and turned to Yao Yuanzheng who was following her, ¡°Take away all the incense in the prince¡¯s room and let these maids leave. From now on, only two eunuchs are needed for his service.¡± Yao Yuanzheng was puzzled, ¡°Why should the eunuchs serve?¡± He understood the removal of the incense, but why shouldn¡¯t there be any maids? Yingbao casually said, ¡°The prince is naturally weak and dominated by Yin energy. Pce maids are also Yin in nature, and their presence would only exacerbate the prince¡¯s condition.¡± Chapter 240 - 236: Planting Ginseng_1 Chapter 240: Chapter 236: nting Ginseng_1 Trantor:549690339 Yao Yuanzheng thought about it and felt it made sense. So, he ordered several pce maids to leave and reced them with two eunuchs for the service. Two pce maids retreated, but Chen Tiantian was unwilling to leave. Lowering her head, she said, ¡°I was ordered by the Empress to serve His Highness; I can¡¯t go anywhere else.¡± Yao Yuanzheng frowned, exchanging a nce with Yingbao. Being just an imperial physician, matters within the Prince¡¯s chambers were beyond his jurisdiction. Therefore, he felt helpless with the stubbornness of this small pce maid. Yingbao didn¡¯t care and straightforwardlyined to the Prince, ¡°Your Highness, this person refuses to leave.¡± The young Prince leaning on the bed had to speak, ¡°Step back.¡± Chen Tiantian, furrowing her brows, reluctantly looked at Yingbao and exited the Inner Pce. Only then did Yingbao step forward and ask, ¡°Are you feeling a bit better?¡± Murong Xian nodded slightly. Yingbao asked again, ¡°Did you take your morning dose of medicine?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°What else did you eat?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t eat anything.¡± Yingbao fell silent for a moment, then turned to Yao Yuanzheng, ¡°Grandfather Yao, let¡¯s step outside and discuss His Highness¡¯s treatment n.¡± Yao Yuanzheng nodded, exiting the inner chamber with Yingbao. The reason he trusted Yingbao so much was also that this young child was able to produce extraordinary effective medications. In addition, Xiao Mo had once told him that her younger brother, Xiao Chengjun, and Zhao Sng were both healed by her, so he naturally considered her a colleague. He hadn¡¯t seen Xiao Chengjun¡¯s injuries, but he knew about Zhao Sng and had even treated the boy for a while. However, Zhao Sng¡¯s disease was extremely tricky, more so than the Prince¡¯s. Eventually, even Yao Yuanzheng himself ran out of remedies and could only advise him to leave. Unexpectedly, such a dying person was miraculously cured by a rural doctor and a small child. It was simply incredible. Yingbao sat down at the table and seriously told Yao Yuanzheng who was sitting across from her, ¡°The Prince¡¯s body is too weak. He is not suitable for consuming too many drugs. Presently he can only be nourished slowly with food therapy; otherwise, it will backfire.¡± Yao Yuanzheng touched his beard in thought, finally nodding, ¡°Good idea.¡± Previously, the Prince¡¯s diarrhea had been intermittent, which made him and several imperial physicians fearful every day, scared that a careless medication mishap would send the Prince to his death. Yao Yuanzheng had also thought about temporarily stopping medication to let the Prince¡¯s gastrointestinal system rest for a while, but the physicians each had their own opinions, which made it difficult for him to decide, thus leading to a day-by-day dy until the Prince¡¯s disease became critical. Now, seeing Xiao Family bringing a young and an old rural doctors, the Imperial physicians took the opportunity to shirk their responsibilities for self-protection. After all, the Prince¡¯s situation was too dangerous. Since there were people to bear the responsibility, they were more than willing to step aside. Yingbao: ¡°Since Grandfather Yao agrees with my treatment method, then the Prince¡¯s daily life and meals must be taken care of by specific individuals.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Yao Yuanzheng didn¡¯t understand. Yingbao: ¡°I am afraid of too many cooks spoiling the broth, which may harm the Prince¡¯s body.¡± Which meant, she was afraid the Prince would get food poisoning again. Yao Yuanzheng: ¡°I cannot decide on this matter, it needs to be reported to the Chief Secretary, or notified to the Chambein.¡± Yingbao: ¡°Then, Grandfather Yao, please go ahead and say it. Later you can write a dietary prescription and hand it to the Imperial Kitchen.¡± The pce had plenty of health-preserving dietary recipes, Yingbao didn¡¯t need to worry about it. ¡°And also,dies should not be allowed near His Highness¡¯s bedroom to prevent the imbnce of Yin and Yang.¡± Yao Yuanzheng: ¡­ He felt as though the little girl was behaving like a divine witch, even mentioning the five elements and the Yin and Yang. Seeding that, Doctor Li and Yingbao were led out of the Imperial Pce by Yao Yuanzheng to the Imperial Medical Bureau¡¯s pharmacy. Yao Yuanzheng allowed Yingbao to draft a list of medicinal ingredients. He ordered his people to fetch them, and handed them over to her to prepare medicinal pellets and liquid. Yingbao, of course, was more than pleased and immediately wrote a long list full of rare medicinal herbs, which she handed to the steward. In the list, there were five ginseng nts ranging from ten to a hundred years old, along with other medicinal herbs such as fritiry bulbs, gastrodia, panax notoginseng, astragalus, and poria, etc. The selling price of these materials was very high, making them difficult to buy in rural pharmacies. Once she obtained the herbs, Yingbao expressed that she wished to organize and formte them herself, she wouldn¡¯t even let Doctor Li watch. Yao Yuanzheng had to yield and emptied a room specifically for her to formte the medicine in. With nobody around, Yingbao chuckled and picked up two whole ginseng nts to inspect them. She then put them into a hole and buried them in ck soil, then watered them with Pupil Spring water. She had tried nting before, but had not seeded. This time, she was going to try again to see if it would work. It was a pity that she couldn¡¯t buy ginseng seeds, otherwise she wouldn¡¯t keep trying to nt dried ginseng again and again. Then she stowed away a few more medicinal herbs and started to prepare and cook the medicine. She chopped every kind of herb into pieces, ground them into powder using a grinder, and then steamed all these powders on a steam tray. She weighed the steamed medicinal powders based on proportion, then mixed them with honey, and shaped them into medicinal pills. In order to make these medicinal pills tastier, Yingbao also added steamed jujube pulp. Of course, to ensure the stability and effectiveness of the medicinal pills, Five Tripod Ganoderma was indispensable. After working for a whole day, Yingbao made one hundred medicine pills and two bottles of highly effective medicine water, using up almost all the medicinal herbs. Actually, half of those herbs had been taken into her den. However, she didn¡¯t just take things from others, the Five Tripod Ganoderma she brought out was much more valuable than these herbs. At night, Yingbao and Doctor Li stayed in the Imperial Pharmacy. There were maids in the Imperial Pharmacy whose responsibility was to clean and cook. Yingbao lived in a room alone, the maids carried water for her to wash, and delivered a meal to her. The food in the Imperial Pharmacy was apparently much better than the imperial pce¡¯s, at least there were eggs and a few pieces ofmb in the food. On the second day, it was Wen Jingyan¡¯s turn to be on duty. After Yingbao and Doctor Li had breakfast, they went to the office to find him. ¡°Grandpa Wen, why are you back in Beijing as an Imperial physician?¡± Yingbao remembered that he had previously said he had retired and returned to his hometown. Wen Jingyan forced a smile, ¡°I am a doctor, I can¡¯t refuse when the Emperor calls me.¡± In reality, his unfilial son had made a mistake, and so he had no choice but to take over the mess. Doctor Li asked, ¡°Has the doctor surnamed Lin been judged yet?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± Wen Jingyan sighed, ¡°It was also my negligence. I didn¡¯t expect such a thing to happen.¡± He had originally asked his third son to send a person to the Jiang Family of Chuanhe Town to receive gold-foil, but his third son handed this matter over to his third daughter-inw¡¯s brother. That Lin fellow procrastinated until after the New Year before he went, and as a result, this happened. Doctor Liforted, ¡°Don¡¯t worry elder brother, the Crown Prince has already improved, the Emperor might not pursue this matter.¡± Wen Jingyan smiled, then turned to talk to Yingbao, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that you have already graduated. It¡¯s really impressive that you, at such a young age, are able to heal several critically ill patients.¡± Yingbao said modestly, ¡°Not at all. It¡¯s because Grandpa Wen and Grandpa Li taught me so well that I can graduate.¡± Wen Jingyan asked, ¡°Yingbao, which department do you want to major in? Have you thought about it?¡± ¡°I¡­I haven¡¯t thought about it.¡± Yingbao truly didn¡¯t know what she excelled in. She had only learned the basics of each subject, but none in depth. Hitching a ride on the luck of the content of her hole, she was in fact quite capable of getting things done. As for medical skills and such, at most she was still an apprentice. Wen Jingyan stroked his beard, ¡°After this incident, the Emperor will definitely let you stay in the Imperial Medical Bureau. So, you have to think clearly about what you¡¯re good at.¡± ¡°What? Stay in the Imperial Medical Bureau?¡± Yingbao widened her eyes, ¡°No way! I want to go home with my mom!¡± She would be crazy to stay in such a ce. Isn¡¯t going home to run a shop and earn a lot of money more tempting? Staying in this ce full of intrigue, a ce where powerful figures can remove her with a twitch of a finger, she would be at risk. Chapter 241 - 237: The Ruler_1 Chapter 241: Chapter 237: The Ruler_1 Trantor:549690339 ¡°Whether you can stay or leave might not be something you can decide.¡± Wen Jingyan sighed inwardly. Even an old man like him who has been working in the Imperial Medical Bureau for decades couldn¡¯t leave, let alone a rootless country child. Yingbao blinked, ¡°I am a kid. If someone forces me to stay, I¡¯ll beat up the person they care about most every day.¡± Like Chen Tiantian, for instance. Wen Jingyan burst intoughter, ¡°You¡¯ll be punished as well.¡± ¡°So be it!¡± Yingbao was not afraid. The three of them chatted for a while longer, and soon someone from the pce came to take Yingbao into the pce to meet the emperor. This time they didn¡¯t call for Doctor Li to go with them, but summoned Yingbao alone, which made her a bit uneasy. Wen Jingyanforted her, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, it must be that His Majesty wants to reward you.¡± The moment she heard about the possibility of a reward, Yingbao instantly perked up. She happily got into the carriage with the little eunuch, of course, not forgetting to bring along her medical kit. The carriage went straight into the Imperial City and stopped at the entrance of Yingxian Yard. The little eunuch held Yingbao¡¯s medicine box and walked into the big gate of the Yingxian Yard,ing to the steps of Changsheng Hall. Soon someone announced loudly, allowing Yingbao to enter the pce. And so, Yingbao met the morous Empress once again. This time, the Empress had a smile on her face. She had a stool brought over and asked her to sit down for a chat. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that your family has a secret ancestral prescription?¡± the Empress asked with a smile. Yingbao nodded, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty, we do, but there is a family rule that we cannot divulge it to outsiders.¡± The Empress said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I am not asking about your family¡¯s secret recipe, but¡­¡± She looked at the child below her and said, ¡°My son¡¯s health is weak, and perhaps your family¡¯s secret recipe can cure his condition.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Your Majesty, don¡¯t worry, as long as the prince properly recuperates, he should be able to recover within two years.¡± By then, he will be able to hold on even without her medicine. The Empress breathed a sigh of relief and said, ¡°Yingbao, why don¡¯t you just live in Qing Pce from now on? In that way, taking care of the prince would be more convenient.¡± In her heart, Yingbao thought, ¡®Here ites, just as Grandpa Wen predicted.¡¯ She immediately stood up and bowed to the Empress, ¡°Your Majesty, I can¡¯t do that. I have to go home. My mother has been waiting for me for a long time. We have a field to plow at home, and no one to look after my little brother. Also, we have chickens and ducks at home. If no one takes care of them, they won¡¯ty eggs any more.¡± Yingbao emphasised how busy and miserable her family was, subtly hinting that her family were farmers andw-abiding citizens, who wouldn¡¯t sell themselves into the pce. The Empress was taken aback before breaking into a smile, ¡°You silly child. If I ask you to stay here and care for the prince, of course I will arrange proper living for your family.¡± Yingbao blinked and pretended to be flustered, ¡°Oh¡­ how can we trouble Your Majesty like this?¡± When she saw the Empress was not angry, she continued to tter, ¡°Your Majesty, why don¡¯t we have the princee to my house for recuperation? Our vige is very beautiful, with mountains and rivers and lots of delicious fruits. The prince will surely enjoy it there, and his health would recover faster.¡± The Empress twitched her mouth, and said with some impatience, ¡°Are there no mountains, rivers or fruit trees in Qing Pce?¡± Did this child seriously think that her tiny country vige was better than the grand Qing Pce? Truly a rustic child with no sense of decorum in her speech. Yingbao made a sullen face, ¡°There are mountains, rivers, and fruit trees in Qing Pce, but they don¡¯t allow me to roam around freely, nor do they let me pick the fruits.¡± Today, the Empress was in a good mood, and patient, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. I will issue an order that you can move freely within Qing Pce and pick fruits to eat.¡± She took a sip of her tea and said, ¡°Now, are you satisfied?¡± Yingbao nodded her head, realising she couldn¡¯t fight against them. Suddenly, she said, ¡°What if the pce maids bully me? I am only six years old, and I definitely can¡¯t beat them.¡± The Empress pinched her forehead, starting to feel a bit impatient, but still managed to maintain a gentle smile. She said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll grant you a punishment stick. If anyone dares to bully you, you can hit them back with it.¡± That should do it, right? Sigh, it¡¯s been such a long time since shest had to deal with children. It¡¯s such a bother. The pce maid standing beside her was quick-witted. She immediately fetched a punishment stick and handed it to Yingbao, saying, ¡°Won¡¯t you hurry and thank the Empress for her kindness?¡± Yingbao epted the punishment stick and ced it at her waist. She sped her hands, bowed deeply to the Empress, and said, ¡°I¡¯m much obliged for your kindness, Empress.¡± Humph! With the punishment stick in hand, the wrongdoers will bow their heads. For now, she¡¯ll just stay in Qing Pce. After the skinny Prince¡¯s condition improves, she¡¯ll ask for his permission to go home. As his only child at present, she should have this power. When she left Yingxian Yard, Yingbao carried two strings of silver coins given to her by the Empress as a reward. Each string had five hundred coins, making it a total of a thousand coins. These silver coins were exactly like copper coins, only they were made of silver instead, probably specifically for rewarding people in the pce. Additionally, she also received two pieces of silk and two pieces of summer cloth, carried by a young eunuch all the way to Qing Pce. Yingbao was still assigned to the samepartment she had previously stayed in. The young eunuch ced the four pieces of fabric and the medicine box on the table, wiped the sweat from his brow, and stood by the door for a while, continuously casting nces at Yingbao. Yingbao knew what he wanted. After thinking for a moment, she reluctantly took out a five-tael silver ingot from her small pouch. This was already the smallest silver ingot in her possession. Ah, if only she¡¯d thought to keep one-tael and two-tael ones. ¡°Little brother, you¡¯ve worked hard. Here, buy yourself some tea,¡± said Yingbao as she handed the silver to the young eunuch. The young eunuch looked to be about thirteen or fourteen years old. epting the silver, he beamed, ¡°It wasn¡¯t hard at all. If you ever need anything or want to buy something, just send for me. My name is Gui Ping. I usually run errands for thedies in the outer courtyard of Yingxian Yard, buying odds and ends.¡± So he was an errand-running eunuch. Yingbao nodded quickly with a smile, ¡°Of course, of course. I¡¯ll be sure to call upon you, Brother Gui Ping, if I need to buy anything.¡± Gui Ping happily tucked the silver ingot into his pocket before excusing himself and leaving. Although Yingbao felt the pinch of parting with her five taels of silver, she also felt that it was money well spent. Being unfamiliar with the pce, striking up a good rtionship with the eunuchs and pce maids was crucial. Therefore, she had to spend money when necessary. If needed, she would figure out a way to earn back the money she¡¯d spent. Just then, she heard someone calling her from outside, so she stepped out. As soon as Yingbao arrived at Qing Pce, the head officer of the pce had received an order, aware that this young doctor would be staying here permanently, a pce maid was assigned to care for her daily needs. After all, she was the young doctor who was treating the Prince. Despite her young age, she was not like ordinary pce maids. This pce maid was called Changxiu. Around fifteen or sixteen years old, she had an honest and simple demeanor. Originally a cleaner of the courtyards, she was surprised and pleased to be reassigned to look after Yingbao. Changxiu really didn¡¯t have much to do for Yingbao, other than fetching water, delivering meals, and washing clothes. Also, Changxiu could keep herpany at night, otherwise, she would be scared. Chen Tiantian noticed that Yingbao had returned and her facial expression wasn¡¯t great. But she still greeted her, ¡°Yingbao, you¡¯re back. Prince just woke up, let me go inform him for you.¡± From yesterday until now, Chen Tiantian and a few other pce maids weren¡¯t allowed to enter the inner hall, making her feel anxious. A voice in her mind constantly urged her to seize every opportunity to show herself to the Prince to increase his affection towards her. However, the head officer and several of Qing Pce¡¯s other officers didn¡¯t allow the pce maids to enter, much to her frustration. Now the inner and outer areas of the Prince¡¯s chamber are guarded by eunuchs, only a single Nanny has the freedom toe and go. Chapter 242 - 238: The Momentum of a Turtle-1 Chapter 242: Chapter 238: The Momentum of a Turtle-1 Trantor:549690339 The nanny was the former wet nurse of the Crown Prince, naturally she was not like the others. Chen Tiantian initially intended to win over this nanny, so that she could apany her into the inner pce, but the nanny was too proud, refusing to associate with her. With no other option, Chen Tiantian had to try and cozy up to Yingbao. ¡°No need to report back, I can go in myself.¡± Yingbao asked Changxiu to help carry the medicine box and she dashed into the inner hall with her short little legs. Chen Tiantian also wanted to follow in but was blocked by the eunuch at the door. She could only watch in helpless as Changxiu and that damn Jiang Yingbao disappeared behind the inner pce curtains. Chen Tiantian stomped her foot and returned disappointedly to her own quarters. She lived with three other pce maids in a shared chamber, where they would sleep side-by-side when night fell. Chen Tiantian was new, and not very familiar with the pce maids here, or rather, the other maids somewhat rejected her and were reluctant to speak to her. Not only that, but the older maids particrly enjoyed ordering her around, asking her to fetch water or do theirundry. In this hot weather, fetching heated water from the dining room required a long walk, and the slightest carelessness would cause her to spill water from therge jug and scald herself. ¡°Hey! Take this basket of clothes to be washed.¡± An older pce maid ordered Chen Tiantian as soon as she saw her, ¡°Take those two pairs of shoes as well, be careful when washing them, don¡¯t let them be discoloured.¡± Chen Tiantian dare not disobey, so she could only pick up the basket of clothes and head to theke to wash them. The East Pce covers a vast area, nearly half the size of the Imperial Pce, with seven or eightrge pces and several hundred tile houses within its walls. There was also argeke within the pce that connected to the moat outside the Imperial City. A painted pleasure boat and two smaller boats were moored by theke shore. On one side of the shore, there were pavilions, towers, and winding corridors, while the other side was ser up with stone docks for the pce maids and eunuchs to do their dailyundry. Chen Tiantian reached theke and took off her shoes, standing barefoot in the clear water to wash clothes. The clothes of the pce maids couldn¡¯t be washed with a washing stick as she might tear them and she wouldn¡¯t be able to afford to pay for the damages. While she was washing clothes, she suddenly felt someone approaching. Chen Tiantian nced behind instinctively and saw Xiao Mo leisurely walking over with a few people. Besides Xiao Mo, Chen Tiantian also recognized another person¡ªit was Xiao Mo¡¯s younger brother, Xiao Chengjun. Xiao Chengjun, talking to his elder brother while ncing in her direction, was around fourteen or fifteen years of age. He was dressed in a light green gauze robe and wore a jade hairpin in his tightly coiled hair. His handsome features and gentle demeanor made him ten times more attractive than the Crown Prince. Chen Tiantian¡¯s eyes met his and her face abruptly turned red, she quickly turned back to continue washing the clothes. The group of people steadily approached and finally stopped not far behind her. Chen Tiantian was so nervous that she identally dropped the clothes into the water. She hastily bent down to pick them up, and almost slipped into theke. ¡°Who allowed you to wash clothes here?¡± a crisp, youthful voice inquired. Chen Tiantian was startled and thought it was forbidden to wash clothes here, so she quickly defended herself, ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t know¡­¡± Xiao Chengjun asked again, ¡°Weren¡¯t you ordered by His Majesty to serve in the inner pce? Why are you here washing clothes?¡± At his words, Chen Tiantian nearly broke into tears and answered with her head bowed down, ¡°Yes, the older sisters in the pce told me to do so.¡± Xiao Chengjun furrowed his brows and said to the young girl, ¡°Come up.¡± She was only about eleven or twelve, washing clothes alone by theke. If she were to fall in and drown, nobody would even know. Chen Tiantian wrung out the clothes, picked up the basket, and came ashore after quickly wiping her feet and wearing her cloth shoes. Xiao Chengjun nced her over and said, ¡°Go back, my brother and I will speak to the pce secretary so you can stay and serve in the inner pce.¡± Chen Tiantian bowed to Xiao Chengjun and Xiao Mo, her heart filled with joy, ¡°Thank you, Young Master Xiao.¡± Xiao Mo looked at his brother, then at Chen Tiantian again, but didn¡¯t say anything. Speaking of Yingbao, after checking Murong Xian¡¯s pulse, she began writing the medical case. A doctor then brought a small bottle of medicine and had the prince drink it. This medicine was mixed by Yingbao the day before, containing a good amount of five dingzhi. After drinking the medicine, Murong Xian felt a warmth spread through his body, giving him an incredible sense offort. He had felt this way yesterday too, but his consciousness was a bit muddled then, so he didn¡¯t sense it as clearly as he did today. After drinking the medicine, a eunuch brought him a bowl of soup made from top-quality bird¡¯s nest. After drinking the soup, Murong Xian became drowsy and quickly fell asleep in bed. With her taskpleted, Yingbao left with Changxiu carrying the medicine box. Running right into Xiao Mo and Xiao Chengjun peacefully seated. ¡°Yingbao, I have a question for you.¡± Xiao Chengjun said, with a stern face, stopping the child. Yingbao looked at him suspiciously. He was acting strange today, as if he came to interrogate her. ¡°Who told you that women are not allowed in the prince¡¯s room?¡± Xiao Chengjun asked. Yingbao suddenly realized. So, he was here because of Chen Tiantian. So she half truthfully half falsely replied, ¡°An immortal told me.¡± ¡°Ridiculous!¡± Xiao Chengjun: ¡°Are there really immortals in this world?¡± ¡°If I say there are, then there are.¡± What can you do about it? The more Yingbao looked at this boy, the more wrong he seemed. That arrogant aura, even stronger than his brother¡¯s. Xiao Chengjun¡¯s brows furrowed even tighter. He didn¡¯t waste any more words with Yingbao and asked directly, ¡°The order from the saintly one was to let Chen Tiantian serve in the inner pce, why did you stop her?¡± ¡°Patients with chronic diseases have heavy Yin energy on them. To cure them, Yin and Yang need to be bnced. As women are considered Yin, naturally they cannot enter the inner pce.¡± Yingbao spouted nonsense. Anyway, the medical book also states that women are Yin and men are Yang. This point is correct, it just depends on how others interpret it. Xiao Chengjun was slightly irritated, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a woman too? Why are you allowed to enter the pce?¡± ¡°Because I am a doctor, in addition, I am just a child, my energy is on the rise.¡± Yingbao squinted her eyes and continued, ¡°If you insist on letting Chen Tiantian enter the inner pce, you can. Nobody is stopping you. But, if something were to go wrong with the prince, you would bear full responsibility.¡± Suddenly, Xiao Chengjun stopped talking and strode out of the hall in a huff. Watching his retreating figure, Yingbao suddenly felt she had seen him somewhere. But where exactly? Yingbao nced at Xiao Mo again, asking, ¡°Is my mother well?¡± Xiao Mo: ¡°She¡¯s very well. I¡¯ve already told your mother about you temporarily staying at the East Pce. She asked you to focus on treating the prince and not to worry about her.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Thank you, Mr. Xiao, for delivering the message.¡± Xiao Mo smiled a bit, ¡°I should be the one thanking you for not only saving Chengjun but also the prince.¡± Oh.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t warm to him: ¡°When others thank for saving lives, they give money and put in effort. Your family is different. Not only do I not see a single coin from you in thanks, but I also have to work like an ox and a horse for you, on top of that still haveints and grudges thrown at me.¡± Xiao Mo touched his nose, ¡°Chengjun is straightforward and soft-hearted. He can¡¯t stand seeing a girl being bullied and speaks without thought. I urge you to bear with him.¡± Yingbao tilted her head and nced at him, ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to bear with this?¡± Now she finally understood that the male lead from the book was likely a certain young master from the Xiao Family. It might be Xiao Chengjun. But it could also be Xiao Mo, after all, his status aligns more with Xiao Chengjun¡¯s. He came from a military background, led soldiers into battle, and was very capable. Plus, he was dedicated, loyal, and bore no grudges or regrets towards the female lead. Chapter 243 - 239: Lychee_1 Chapter 243: Chapter 239: Lychee_1 Trantor: 549690339 That general was not only loyal to Chen Tiantian, he even raised her son for her without anyint, taking care of every little detail. People who didn¡¯t know the situation might even think that the son was the general¡¯s biological child. Perhaps he really was as the prince had always been weak and didn¡¯t even live to see his twenty-sixth birthday. Poor Prince, a cuckold who died without ever knowing he had been cheated on. Yingbao was thinking about it secretly and seeing that Xiao Mo didn¡¯t respond, she asked,¡±Mr. Xiao, when can I go home?¡± Xiao Mo smiled and said, ¡°Well, we¡¯ll have to wait for the prince to recover.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t bother to engage him any further and turned to leave the main hall. Outside the hall, it was rather hot, like an oven, under the direct sunlight. But every now and then a cool breeze would blow from the distantke, which felt veryfortable against the skin. Yingbao had an idea, asking Changxiu to put away the medicine box and lead her to the fruit grove by theke. So, Changxiu held an umbre over the young physician as they walked towards the grove. The East Pce¡¯s fruit grove was vast with many different kinds of fruit trees. On first nce, Yingbao spotted lychee trees she had only ever seen in paintings ¨C there were more than a dozen of them draped in purple-red lychee fruits. ¡°Lychees!¡± Yingbao sprinted over, standing on her tiptoes to grab a branch, ready to pluck the fruits. Such an abundance of lychees! And all fresh right from the tree! It was her first time seeing them. Changxiu rushed over in panic to stop her, ¡°Young Physician, you can¡¯t pick these fruits.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Yingbao asked while plucking two fruits, sniffing them, and then popping one into her mouth after peeling it. So sweet! So delicious! Seeing the child not only pick but also eat the fruits right there, Changxiu worriedly said, ¡°These fruits are for imperial use, we can¡¯t eat them. Give me the skin quickly, I need to hide it.¡± Yingbao handed her the skin, chewing on the lychee in her mouth ambiguously, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, the empress permits me to eat these fruits.¡± Still afraid, Changxiu took a stick, squatted down on the ground to dig a hole, and buried the lychee peels there. Seeing her proficient movement, Yingbao had reason to suspect her of regrly doing such things. While Changxiu was busy digging, Yingbao picked a few more lychees and secreted them away. Hehe, now her home had one more type of lychee tree. Thereafter, Yingbao kept picking and eating fruits, asionally handing some to Changxiu. Changxiu initially didn¡¯t dare to ept, but seeing no one around, she boldly took a bite, then hastily got rid of the fruit peel as if destroying incriminating evidence. After eating lychees, Yingbao saw a few loquat trees with yellowish loquats hanging in abundance. Many of them were starting to shrivel and some were pecked by birds. But the loquats here were only about the size of bird eggs, not as good as those at her home, so Yingbao decided not to pick them. Walking, they arrived at a pear orchard. In the middle of the orchard was a pavilion where two eunuchs were seated, eating pears. Seeing a pce maid leading a child, they didn¡¯t care much. Only after they finished eating their pears did they ask, ¡°Who¡¯s child is this, daring to run around recklessly?¡± Changxiu quickly responded, ¡°Steward Gao, this is the young physician who came to treat the prince.¡± Steward Gao had heard about a child from the Xiao family who was just a few years old but was better than the old people in the Imperial Medical Bureau. This child had single-handedly managed to improve the prince¡¯s condition which was actually hard to believe. So, he quickly got up and greeted Yingbao with a salute, ¡°So, it¡¯s the young physician. My apologies for being unaware.¡± Yingbao also responded with a courtesy, ¡°No worries, I¡¯m sorry for intruding.¡± From the look of it, this man must be the steward in charge of the orchard. Steward Gao was delighted and immediately had the eunuch next to him pick some fruits for Yingbao. The young eunuch promptly agreed and ran hurriedly to pick two pears and arge bag of lychees. Yingbao didn¡¯t stand on ceremony. She had Changxiu hold the lychees and pears while she strolled about the fruit garden with the head-steward, listening as he introduced her to the names of various fruit trees. The fruit garden of the East Pce was quite big and filled with diverse trees such as grapevines, apricots, peaches, pears, citrus, persimmon, loquat, banana, bayberry, papaya, and more, leaving Yingbao drooling in anticipation. It was a pity that many of the fruits weren¡¯t ripe yet and could not be tasted. After a walk around the fruit garden, noticing the time, Yingbao returned to the main hall with Changxiu. By this time, the eunuch had delivered lunch, which was ced on the table in her room. There was a small bucket of white rice, a te of pepper fish, a dish of boiled broad beans, and a dish of cold spinach sd, much richer than the previous day. After Changxiu served a bowl of white rice for Yingbao, she withdrew to the side. Yingbao said, ¡°You sit down and eat too.¡± Changxiu shook her head repeatedly, ¡°I¡­I will wait until you have finished.¡± Seeing her restraint, Yingbao did not insist, and started to eat her rice with the pepper fish, boiled broad beans, and cold spinach sd. After finishing her meal, she saw Changxiu put the leftover food back into the food box and took it to her room in the maids¡¯ quarters. Changxiu was still living with the other utility maids. When she brought out the food from the food box, it caused an exmation from several of the utility pce maids. ¡°Wow! Changxiu, you¡¯re so lucky to be able to serve the young doctor.¡± A pce maidughed, ¡°I even saw you going to the fruit garden with him today. Did you bring anything back?¡± With a shy smile, Changxiu removed a handkerchief from her sleeve, unrolled it to reveal about a dozen lychees. ¡°This was given by the young doctor. He couldn¡¯t finish them and gave some to me. You can try them.¡± The maids cheered and each grabbed a lychee to peel. One of the maids eyed her critically without taking any. ¡°You didn¡¯t steal these, did you? If the steward finds out, don¡¯t get us all in trouble.¡± The other maids were taken aback and all looked at Changxiu. Changxiu hurriedly exined, ¡°These were really given to me by the steward. The young doctor said he couldn¡¯t eat them all and gave me some. Zhang Yuyue, don¡¯t spread rumors.¡± Zhang Yuyue sneered and sat down by her bed.Y0u can read sh0rt, t0uching, and r0mantic st0ries ab0ut c0uples, as well as children¡¯s st0ries f0r free 0n sitest0rys(.)c0m The remaining three nced at each other and carefully put the lychees back on the table. One suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s eat first,¡± and began serving herself with her own bowl and chopsticks. The others also took out their own utensils and began to serve themselves. They couldn¡¯t usually eat pepper fish, nor were they like the pce maids in the front hall, who often received gifts from their masters. Just as the maids were eating, a face peeked in through the door. A teenage girl timidly asked, ¡°Can I talk to Sister Chang?¡± Changxiu jumped to her feet. ¡°It¡¯s Sister Chen, pleasee in.¡± Only then did Chen Tiantian walk in, carrying a package. ¡°I¡¯ve been given a dish of lychee cakes today, and I thought I¡¯d bring some for you and the other sisters to taste.¡± Having said that, Chen Tiantianid down the oil-paper package on the table, revealing six or seven round, bulging pastries. The pce maids were astonished. Now was the season for lychees to ripen, and the Imperial Kitchen would asionally bake some lychee cakes or cook lychee in sugar syrup, and lychee jam, etc. Although they imed these were for the Prince, most of them ended up in the bellies of those head eunuchs and pce officers. Now and then, some were gifted to others, but they would rarely reach the lower-ranked utility maids like them. Zhang Yuyue, who had been sitting nearby, walked over, picked up a lychee pastry andughed, ¡°Thank you for thinking of us, Sister Chen.¡± Chen Tiantian smiled lightly: ¡°Not at all, these were a gift from young Master Xiao, I could not finish them all by myself, so I brought some here for all of you to taste.¡± Chapter 244 - 240: Bullying People_1 Chapter 244: Chapter 240: Bullying People_1 Trantor: 549690339 Changxiu slightly furrowed her brows. She was aware of the discord between this Chen Tiantian and young doctor Yingbao, and she also knew that the young doctor from the Xiao family had quarreled with Yingbao over Tiantian. Yet, she had no clue why this girl hade to her. ¡°Sister Chang, why aren¡¯t you eating?¡± Chen Tiantian picked up a piece of lychee cake and handed it over. Changxiu hastily took a step back, saying, ¡°Thank you, Sister Chen. I¡¯m already full now, I can eat itter.¡± Chen Tiantian reluctantly put down the lychee cake, sighed lightly, and hesitated to speak: ¡°Sister Chang, in fact, Yingbao and I hail from the same hometown and we were schoolmates¡­¡± Changxiu silently watched her: ¡°I heard about that.¡± ¡°Ah, you all only know one side of the story but not the other,¡± Chen Tiantian said. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I did to offend her and lose her favor, she often embarrasses me in front of others.¡± Changxiu remained silent. Despite being only 15 years old and serving in the pce for three years, she had seen and heard many things even though she was always upied with chores. The young doctor was only six years old, nor was she a cruel and calcting person. Anyone who could make her despise them was probably not simple. Chen Tiantian continued, ¡°I wasmanded by the Empress to serve the Prince in the Qing Pce, but Yingbao has consistently refused to let me enter the inner hall. She also said that pce maids have a cloudy aura that can harm the Prince¡¯s health.¡± The faces of several maids instantly turned sour. ¡°Did she really say that?¡± a pce maid cried out angrily, ¡°So young and already so malicious, she dares to call us people with a cloudy aura!¡± Chen Tiantian nodded, ¡°Many people know when she said this. The sisters who lived with me were very upset.¡± Zhang Yuyue spoke indignantly, ¡°Yingbao is truly wicked. She belittles us like this without fear of divine retribution.¡± Then she red menacingly at Changxiu, ¡°You even brought us the leftovers from her meals to eat, what is your intention?¡± Changxiu panicked and quickly defended herself, ¡°The young doctor is not like that. She kept the maids from entering the inner hall because she didn¡¯t want to offend the Prince who has been ill for a long time and is surrounded by a heavy yin aura¡­¡± Zhang Yuyue interrupted her, ¡°In the end, you¡¯re saying that we are affecting the Prince¡¯s health? What benefits did she give you? Are you siding with an outsider?¡± A nearby maid chimed in, ¡°Exactly, we¡¯re here to serve the Prince. Because of her words, will we ever have a chance for promotion?¡± Changxiu was at a loss for words. Chen Tiantian quickly spoke, ¡°Please don¡¯t criticize Sister Chang, it¡¯s not her fault. She means well and she¡¯s not defending Yingbao.¡± ¡°Humph! She is just trying to climb higher branches, not knowing if she¡¯s even worthwhile to them!¡± Zhang Yuyue shot Changxiu a disdainful nce and taunted, ¡°Don¡¯t end up being kicked to the corner as a cloudy object!¡± Changxiu lowered her head without replying, collected the uneaten meals, and carried them to the dining hall. As she was walking, Chen Tiantian followed her. ¡°Sister Chang, let me help you carry that.¡± She reached out to take the lunch boxes, but Changxiu avoided her. Chen Tiantian looked aggrieved and spoke, ¡°Is Sister Chang mad at me? I¡­ I didn¡¯t expect them to direct their anger at you. It wasn¡¯t intentional¡­¡± Changxiu didn¡¯t look at her and only coldly replied, ¡°Please, Miss Chen, go back. I¡¯m just a lowly chore worker, with no sway. I can¡¯t help you with anything.¡± This young girl was no ordinary person, able to incite anger and hatred amongst the crowd with just a few words. Given enough time, her future was limitless. She could not afford to offend Tiantian nor could she get close, lest she be used by her, and in the end, not even knowing how she ended up dead. Chen Tiantian halted her steps resentfully, watching Changxiu walk faster and faster until she disappeared from sight, then turned around and sulkily walked back. The afternoon sun shone on her, causing her to sweat profusely. Upon returning to her own quarters, Chen Tiantian saw a few maids lying on the shared bed, leisurely fanning themselves to keep cool. When they saw here in, they didn¡¯t pay attention and continued to chat amongst themselves, ¡°Let¡¯s go to theke and pick some lotus podster, Qiu Yue, you are quite familiar with the Steward, ask him for some lychees.¡± The one called Qiu Yue grumbled, ¡°You go and ask yourself, I don¡¯t even like eating lychees, they are too sweet, not as good as peaches. We can¡¯t even finish the peaches from the tree at our ce, why would we want lychees.¡± ¡°Exactly, that Steward is very difficult to deal with, as if the orchard belongs to him, we are all judged by him every time we pass by, disgusting.¡± One womanmented. ¡°Isn¡¯t it? I also encountered it once.¡± As they chatted, the conversation shifted to the prince. ¡°That young doctor is really talented, his medical skills are better than the Imperial Physician despite his young age.¡± ¡°Indeed, if I had such a sister in my family, my ancestors¡¯ tombs would be smoking.¡± Suddenly oneughed, ¡°Ever since her arrival, things have be easier for us, we don¡¯t have to stand guard at night anymore, we let the eunuchs do it instead.¡± ¡°Indeed, the eunuchs¡¯ eyes are ck fromck of sleep these past few days, they all look frostbitten and stumble as they walk.¡± As they giggled, Chen Tiantian softly said, ¡°But she says we have a yin aura and can¡¯t be near the prince.¡± A pce maid nced at her and fanned herself, ¡°That¡¯s the way it has been since ancient times, men represent yang and women represent yin, a bnce must be kept. Moreover, the young doctor only said we can¡¯t be close to the prince when he is sick, not forever. What are you worried about?¡± The moment Chen Tiantian arrived, she was assigned to serve the prince personally in the inner pce, which honestly upset all the pce maids in the inner pce. Luckily, Doctor Yingbao kicked her out and forbade her from approaching, allowing the maids to breathe a sigh of relief. Even if they themselves were ordered not to approach the inner pce, all the pce maids tacitly agreed to exclude Chen Tiantian. After all, the young doctor won¡¯t threaten their survival status, but Chen Tiantian will. Not only will she pose a threat, she may also climb above them, something none of the older pce maids in the inner pce can tolerate. If Chen Tiantian was a nobledy from a high-ranking family, they would ept it since they cannotpete against her high status. But she is a simple country girl, why should she seize their ce upon her arrival? Another pce maid sneered, ¡°She¡¯s worried about not being able to go into the inner pce to tter the prince. Such a young age and already so cunning!¡± The group of pce maidsughed behind their fans. After enduring their mockery, Chen Tiantian could no longer bear it and ran out of the room. She went to thekeside pavilion and couldn¡¯t stop herself from crying. The voice in her head kept urging her to go to the prince¡¯s side, please him, make him have a good impression of her. But she didn¡¯t want to go at all, and she had no confidence in making him have a good impression of herself. If she doesn¡¯t do as the voice in her head says, she might not live past the age of twenty-one. What should she do? Chen Tiantian became more and more agitated as she thought about it, she sat in the pavilion hugging her knees and cried. Why is this Yingbao targeting her all the time? She didn¡¯t offend her. Even if her mother made one mistake, she shouldn¡¯t have to pay for it. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± A young boy¡¯s voice sounded beside her. Looking up, Chen Tiantian saw the young master of the Xiao Family, Xiao Chengjun, standing beside her, looking at her with concern. ¡°I¡­¡± Chen Tiantian didn¡¯t know what to say, hurriedly covering her face with her sleeve. ¡°Is Yingbao bullying you again?¡± Xiao Chengjun asked, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, tell me, I¡¯ll take revenge for you.¡± Chapter 245 - 241: Hedgehog_1 Chapter 245: Chapter 241: Hedgehog_1 Trantor:549690339 ¡°No, I¡­I just miss home.¡± Chen Tiantian wiped her eyes and stood up: ¡°Xiao Langjun, please don¡¯t go, she hasn¡¯t really bullied me. But¡­but serving the Crown Prince in the inner hall was the Empress¡¯ decree, and I¡¯m afraid she will me me if she finds out that I didn¡¯t obey her order.¡± Xiao Chengjun knit his brows tighter, pondered for a moment, and said, ¡°Come with me.¡± Chen Tiantian silently followed behind Xiao Chengjun, all the way to the entrance of the main hall. Xiao Chengjun spoke to the two eunuchs guarding the hall: ¡°I¡¯ve brought someone to visit the Crown Prince.¡± He was the Empress¡¯s own nephew and the Crown Prince¡¯spanion, so his movements in and out of the main hall were rather casual. Bringing a pce maid into the hall now, the gate-guarding eunuch naturally had no right to stop him. So, Chen Tiantian followed Xiao Chengjun into the inner hall. In the inner hall, Crown Prince Murong Xian was reclining with his eyes closed. Hearing the eunuch announce Xiao Chengjun¡¯s arrival, he opened his eyes and said with a smile, ¡°Cousin, you¡¯re here.¡± Xiao Chengjun grunted in affirmation, lifting his robe to sit on a chair next to therge bed, and asked, ¡°Xian, how are you feeling? Better?¡± Murong Xian nodded, ¡°Much better, Yingbao said I can go for a walk tomorrow. Ahem, cousin, I have to thank you and cousin Mo for rmending Yingbao. She indeed has exceptional medical skills.¡± Xiao Chengjun was silent for a moment, then said, ¡°That Yingbao is just a few years old, what medical skills could she possess? She merely relies on her family¡¯s secret ancestral prescriptions.¡± The Crown Princeughed, ¡°Regardless, she saved me. Having secret ancestral prescriptions is still a show of her abilities.¡± The two chatted for a while, and then a eunuch brought in a bowl of meat porridge, ¡°Your Highness, this chicken shred porridge has just been sent from the Imperial Kitchen. Please eat a little.¡± Murong Xian nodded, and the eunuch by his side hurriedly helped him sit up, taking the bowl of porridge ready to feed him. Xiao Chengjun turned his head to Chen Tiantian standing behind him, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to serve the Crown Prince?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Chen Tiantian walked to the bedside. She stole a nce at the gaunt Crown Prince then quickly lowered her gaze. The Crown Prince waved his hand, ¡°No need, you can leave.¡± Chen Tiantian stepped back, looking quite lost as she turned her gaze towards Xiao Chengjun. Xiao Chengjun frowned and said to Murong Xian, ¡°Xian, why would you not even keep a pce maid in your pce? The eunuchs aren¡¯t capable of a woman¡¯s delicate attentiveness. This maid should stay in the inner hall to serve you, especially as it is my aunt¡¯s wish.¡± Murong Xian looked at Chen Tiantian without speaking. He knew his mother had sent a pce maid over and had evenmented that the maid had a prosperous fate and asked him to keep the girl in his pce to serve him. But he could clearly see the maid¡¯s reluctance and fear of him. Seeing Murong Xian¡¯s silence, Xiao Chengjun added, ¡°Xian, don¡¯t blindly listen to Jiang Yingbao¡¯s nonsense. What does she know? She just has a feud with this pce maid and wants to take revenge. Does a master of the Qin Tianjian know any less than a few years old child?¡± Murong Xian replied indifferently, ¡°Then let her stay.¡± He paused for a moment and then said, ¡°First, let her follow the nanny to learn some rules.¡± So, Chen Tiantian was taken to meet Murong Xian¡¯s nurse, Madam Rong. Madam Rong was in her early to mid-thirties, her face was pale and kind, and she lived in a side hall of the Qingyang Hall. She was sitting on an arhat bed, putting down the embroidery work in her hands. She looked up and down at Chen Tiantian and asked, ¡°How old are you?¡± Chen Tiantian bowed her head and replied softly, ¡°I¡¯m ten this year.¡± Madam Rong asked again, ¡°Where are you from? Are your parents both alive?¡± ¡°My father passed away from illness, my mother is still alive.¡± In fact, Chen Tiantian¡¯s father had escaped from forcedbor during the bandit disturbance and his whereabouts had been unknown ever since. Han Yueniang assumed that he was dead, so she remarried a widower in his sixties, named Pei. Old Man Pei was a sorcerer,monly known as Mr. Forteller. He was skilled in astrology and enjoyed favor in the eyes of Xiao Chengjun¡¯s father, Xiao Weizhong, the Supervisory History of Luzhou. It was Old Man Pei¡¯s rmendation to Xiao Weizhong that got Chen Tiantian brought into Beijing. Madam Rong nodded, instructing the senior pce maid Baoping next to her: ¡°You will be responsible for guiding this child from now on.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Baoping responded, but her gaze towards Tiantian was noticeably unfriendly. She herself hade to serve Nanny Rong at around ten and had now reached her sixteenth year. Just when she¡¯d finally be a second-tier pce maid, another girl of about ten arrives at the pce, sent over by the Empress¡¯s orders. This made Baoping feel threatened. In another two to three years, the prince would need to choose some innocent and beautiful pce maids to serve him, and this Tiantian was her most formidable rival. Baoping introduced Tiantian to a few pce maids and had her work and keep watch with them. Tasks like sweeping the floors within the pce, dusting the objects, taking care of flowers in flower pots, washing clothes, and even keeping watch at night. ¡°Once you¡¯ve learned all these, you can learn other things.¡± Baoping, holding her head high, warned: ¡°Once you are here with nanny, you can¡¯t just walk around freely. Even getting water from the Imperial Kitchen requires two people. If you get caught running around alone, be ready to get spanked.¡± Chen Tiantian: ¡­ After all this hassle, it would have been better to stay in her previous maid quarters, at least she would not have to work during the day and keep vigil at night. After several days of confinement at Qingyang Hall with no chance to step foot in the Qilin Hall, Tiantian started to get anxious. However, she didn¡¯t dare venture out alone to seek Xiao Chengjun¡¯s help, fearful of punishment upon her return. Meanwhile, Yingbao¡­ These past few days she was swamped with work, often leaving the pce for the Imperial Pharmacy to fetch medicines, then returning to join the Imperial Physicians in studying the prince¡¯s case. This itself was not a problem, but she constantly ran into Xiao Chengjun every time she visited Qilin Hall. Listening to his unkind words had irked her, and she wondered why he was always hanging around the East Pce instead of heading home. Only after querying Changxiu, she found out that Xiao Chengjun had been serving as the prince¡¯spanion since childhood and ordinarily resided in a side-hall of the prince¡¯s Qilin Hall. His prior departure from Beijing to suppress bandits was also arranged by his grandfather. The original n was to gild him with exploits, thereby securing an official position from the emperor. However, the decision narrowly caused the demise of his grandson. Luckily, Xiao Chengjun survived and was granted the status of a functioning Seventh-grade Colonel, a rank and a half lower than his elder brother Xiao Mo¡¯s. ¡°No wonder,¡± Yingbao mumbled, strolling around the orchard while listening to Changxiu¡¯s exnation. Changxiu was carrying a bamboo basket filled with ripe grapes in her hand. ¡°All the Xiao lords hold an official position; mydy doctor, please don¡¯t spar with them. We don¡¯t want to be used of disrespecting our superiors¡± Changxiu kindly advises, ¡°Moreover, the youngdies of the Xiao family often visit East Pce for fun. Should you run into them someday, try to avoid them as much as possible.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Thank you for the reminder, Sister Changxiu.¡± She wasn¡¯t a fool, why would she pick a fight without any reason? However, that Xiao Chengjun was too annoying. If she didn¡¯t think of a way to prank him, she probably wouldn¡¯t even get a good night¡¯s sleep. Suddenly, she noticed a hedgehog munching on a fallen fruit under a fruit tree. Yingbao¡¯s eyes lit up, she thought of a perfect n to prank him. She ran over urgently, shouting, ¡°Sis Changxiu,e help me catch it! I want to raise it.¡± Chapter 246 - 242: Cough_1 Chapter 246: Chapter 242: Cough_1 Trantor:549690339 Changxiu didn¡¯t understand why Yingbao wanted to catch a hedgehog, but she still grabbed a branch and ran over, tapping lightly on the back of the fleeing hedgehog. It instantly stiffened and rolled into a ball. Yingbao squatted on the ground and looked at the ball of quills, not knowing how to proceed. ¡°Young doctor, you wait, I¡¯ll go get a piece of grass to tie it up.¡± Changxiu said, and then she ran over to the grass. She returned shortly after with a bunch of long thin grass in her hand, quickly weaving it into a bag. Using the stick, she pushed the hedgehog into the grass bag and picked it up. ¡°Can we go back now?¡± she asked. Yingbao nodded, ¡°Let¡¯s go! Back home.¡± When they returned to their quarters, Yingbao put the hedgehog in a bamboo basket. Changxiu also collected some lotus leaves from theke to ce under the basket. Yingbao, having nothing to do that day, saw Xiao Chengjuning again, so she sat at the entrance to the main hall and told tales of midnight ghosts to the gatekeepers. ¡°Once upon a time, there was a schr staying in an inn for his exams. At night, he would always hear someone coughing under his window. He thought it was the innkeeper, so he didn¡¯t pay it any mind. But for two days in a row, there was someone coughing under his window which made him curious, so he pushed open the window to see¡­¡± The two gatekeepers, engrossed in the story, stretched their necks and asked, ¡°What did he see?¡± Yingbao took a sip of almond tea, and with a nce out of the corner of her eye, she saw Xiao Chengjun standing not far away. She then put down her tea cup, pulled her eyelids with both hands, rolled her eyes while sticking out her tongue, and made a strange voice, ¡°He saw a hanged ghost out the window, with a long tongue hanging out, howling at him ¨C give me back my life¡­give me back my life¡­¡± The two gatekeepers jumped in fright, and thenughed, ¡°Aiyo, young doctor, don¡¯t scare us.¡± Yingbao picked up her almond tea again and took a sip, ¡°What¡¯s there to be afraid of? It¡¯s broad daylight, hanged ghosts won¡¯te out. Only at night¡­hee hee, that¡¯s when theye out to im lives.¡± The two gatekeepers looked at each other and shivered in unison. Yingbao turned her head and saw Xiao Chengjun had already entered the inner hall. After another day, the Empress personally came to the East Pce to visit her son who had greatly recovered. ¡°My son seems to have put on some weight.¡± Empress Xiao held Murong Xian¡¯s hand, looking him up and down. Murong Xian looked healthier now, not only gaining weight but also appearing much more lively. Murong Xianughed, ¡°Yes, Yingbao makes me eat five meals a day, naturally I would gain weight.¡± The Empress looked around, asking, ¡°Why don¡¯t I see young doctor Yingbao? And where is that little girl named Chen Tiantian?¡± ¡°Yingbao probably went to the orchard.¡± Murong Xian said, ¡°As for the pce maid, I told her to learn some manners from nanny.¡± The Empress uttered an ¡®oh¡¯, chatted with her son for a while longer, and then ordered for Rong Family to be called into the main hall. At this time, the Rong Family and several pce attendants were waiting outside the entrance of the main hall for instructions. Hearing the summons, they hurriedly entered the hall and bowed, ¡°Your servant Rong Family greets the Empress. May your majesty have peace.¡± The Empress waved her hands with a smile and asked her to sit down and talk. Rong Family thanked the Empress, then sat down on a small stool next to her. Empress: ¡°These past few days, due to my busy schedule, I¡¯ve imposed on you to take care of the Crown Prince.¡± ¡°Your Majesty, don¡¯t mention it, taking care of the Crown Prince is my duty.¡± Rong Family answered respectfully. As the Crown Prince was still underage and had been ill for a long time, all internal affairs were managed by the Rong Family apart from the administrative duties of the steward of the pce. Everything from the Crown Prince¡¯s food, clothing, shoes, and socks to the daily affairs and assignments of the pce attendants, were all her responsibility. However, receiving foreign guests and dealing with external matters, arranging various congrattory gifts and letters, were the responsibility of the pce¡¯s officers. The Empress said a few words of encouragement, and then ordered several bolts of silk to be brought over as a reward for Rong Family. She also called for a few officers from within the pce and awarded each of them with fabrics and wealth too. By the time Yingbao rushed back to see the Empress, she saw the Empress was holding Chen Tiantian¡¯s hand and chatting. ¡°Indeed, she¡¯s a child of good fortune,¡± said the Empress with a smile, ¡°From now on, continue to work hard in Qing Pce, I will certainly not treat you unfairly.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Chen Tiantian knelt down and bowed. Yingbao¡¯s eyes swept over the Empress and Chen Tiantian and she quickly understood the situation. The Empress probably considered Chen Tiantian as a lucky charm for her son. When the Empress saw Yingbao, she gestured for her toe over. She then bestowed a few lengths of silk to her, and encouraged her to get along with Chen Tiantian, saying that since they¡¯re both from the same hometown and also schoolmates, they should naturally care for and love each other. Yingbao could feel a vein popping on her forehead upon hearing this. She turned to see Xiao Chengjun standing nearby, giving her a displeased look. An hourter, the Empress finally left, and Yingbao let out a sigh of relief. Back in her room, she tossed a few fruits to the little hedgehog, and started thinking. As the prince¡¯s condition had improved, there was really no need for her to stay, hence she needs to go home. But, how can she convince the Empress to let her go? Maybe she should just be honest with the prince. As long as he lets her go, the Empress would probably have nothing to say. By evening, Yingbao fetched a chunk of honey from the cave and fed it to the hedgehog. After watching it finish the honey, Yingbao picked up the basket containing the hedgehog, snuck out and headed to the window of Xiao Chengjun¡¯s room. She let the hedgehog out, directing it to squeeze into the gaps between the flower pots under the window, before sneaking back to her own ce. She climbed into bed, closed her eyes and went to sleep. In the middle of the night, she was suddenly awakened by a lot of noise. Yingbao simply turned over and continued sleeping. She slept until the morning when Changxiu came in and whispered to her, ¡± Last night, Xiao Langjun was startled and had a dozen eunuchs patrolling around the room all night.¡± Yingbao got dressed, and without even raising her head, she asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°They said someone was coughing outside the window at midnight, but when they went out, they couldn¡¯t find anyone. It scared Xiao Langjun quite a bit.¡± Changxiu chuckled, ¡°So Xiao Langjun had a dozen eunuchs guarding outside until dawn.¡± Yingbao snorted in amusement, ¡°Coward!¡± After breakfast, she casually walked to Xiao Chengjun¡¯s windowsill. Noticing that no one was around, she quickly retrieved the hedgehog from the gap in the flower pots, put it back in the basket and carried it back. She encountered a few eunuchs along the way who greeted her, ¡°What are you up to, little doctor?¡± ¡°The hedgehog ran away. I went to fetch it.¡± Yingbao waved the basket in her hand. Back in her room, Yingbao fed the hedgehog a couple of grapes, watching its behavior. The hedgehog ate the grapes quickly, then curled up and stopped moving. After a while, it gave a few coughs that were indistinguishable from human coughs. Yingbao grinned mischievously, covered the basket with something and went to find the prince. At that moment, Murong Xian was walking around in the main hall, exercising his legs. Seeing Yingbaoe in with a smile on her face, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s making you so happy?¡± Yingbao: ¡°I¡¯m happy for you, recovering so quickly. Why don¡¯t youe and take a seat? Let me take your pulse again.¡± Murong Xian did as he was told, stretched out his arm and sat down next to the table. After taking his pulse, Yingbao said earnestly, ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯re all better now. The imperial physician can take over from here, I want to go home, is that okay?¡± Murong Xian was stunned, lowered his eyes and after a long pause, he said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll have someone send you there when you want to leave.¡± Yingbao thought for a moment, ¡°Three dayster?¡± She needed to prepare some medicine to leave behind, and also wanted to see how Xiao Chengjun would embarrass himself. Chapter 247 - 243: Haunting_1 Chapter 247: Chapter 243: Haunting_1 Trantor:549690339 The next day, Yao Yuanzheng and two Imperial Physicians came to take the pulse of the prince regent, confirming that his health had stabilized. Afterwards, they returned to the Imperial Pharmacy with Yingbao to gather the medicinal herbs for her to prepare. This time, Yao Yuanzheng insisted on observing the medicine preparation process. Yingbaoplied, instructing several attendants in grinding and boiling the herbs. When the preparation was almost done, she secretly added a bit of Wudingzhi into the mix, stirring it into a dense paste. Once it cooled, she instructed them to roll it into individual pills and wrap them in wax paper. On another side, an attendant was making wax shells, also known as hanging wax skin. First, they melted wax in a pot. When the wax oil lowered to a warm temperature, they dipped a wooden ball that¡¯s fixed on an iron branch into the pot, afterwards immediately putting the wooden ball into cold water to solidify. They repeated this process of dipping in wax and cooling until the wax skin reached a certain thickness. Latterly, they used a small knife to cut open most of the wax skin around the wooden ball. Once the wooden ball was removed, they ced the pill wrapped in wax paper into the wax shell and sealed it, polishing the wax stem smooth. Then, they heated the Bull Horn Seal, applied red y to it, and stamped the name of the medicine onto the sealed area. Yingbao expressed interest in the tools used to create the wax shells and requested a set from Yao Yuanzheng to take with her. In the future, if she wanted to sell her own medicine, she would need to encase each pill in a shell and brand it with her own seal ¨C only then would it be truly grand. Yao Yuanzheng did not begrudge her and readily agreed to gift her a set of the tools for creating wax skins, additionally gifting her several hand-copied volumes of pce medicinal diets. Yingbao reciprocated by gifting him a small bottle of her handmade pills. The concentration of Wudingzhi in these pills was far greater than that in the ones they had just prepared. Upon her return from the Imperial Pharmacy, Yingbao found that Xiao Chengjun had moved from his previous location and was now staying next door to her, separated by only one room. Changxiu brought back the hedgehog from the orchard and handed it over to Yingbao. ¡°Following your instructions, I¡¯ve been tying the hedgehog in the bushes of the orchard where no one could see.¡± ¡°Thank you, Sister Changxiu.¡± Yingbao took the hedgehog, put it on the ground, and fed it some pumpkin seeds. These seeds were given by attendants in the Imperial Pharmacy. They said the seeds were brined with salt and then roasted to a savory taste. Yingbao found the seeds too salty and didn¡¯t dare to eat too much of them, so they were perfect to feed the hedgehog. The hedgehog didn¡¯t seemed bothered and ate them one by one. As evening arrived and Changxiu went to the Imperial Kitchen to fetch their food, Yingbao sneakily slipped out of her room and made her way into Xiao Chengjun¡¯s room. At this time Xiao Chengjun should have been apanying the prince regent in Qilin Hall, meaning his room was empty. Yingbao tossed some pumpkin seeds under the bed, added a piece of rock honey, and then pushed the little hedgehog in. Then, she hurried back to her own room, where she calmly sat on the Arhat Couch, waiting for Changxiu to bring back their food. After dinner and cleaning herself up, Yingbao asked Changxiu to sleep inside the bed while she herself slept on the outside, closing her eyes to listen to the sounds around them. Only after dining with the prince regent did Xiao Chengjun return. He had the pce eunuchs inspect everything before finallyying down to rest. The incident the other day had scared him terribly. Late into the quiet night, he had heard coughing sounds but sending people to investigate found nothing. Ever since then, he had the eunuchs stand guard outside every night, as he was too terrified to fall asleep otherwise. After these circumstances persisted for several days, even the eunuchs began toin. Whenever they saw him, they would go out of their way to avoid him, fearful of being assigned to stand guard at night again. Luckily, no disturbing sounds were heard for a few days, so Xiao Chengjun began to rx. He no longer required people to guard his door through the night, though he still needed amp to be lit in his room. While lying in bed, Xiao Chengjun read for a while, and then gradually fell asleep. Seeing that he had fallen asleep, the Pce Attendant doused a few of themps, leaving only two lit before going to rest in the outer room. In the middle of the night, Xiao Chengjun was suddenly awakened by coughing sounds. He furrowed his brows, listening attentively. The shock came when he realized the coughing sounds were noting from outside, but rather from underneath his couch. Xiao Chengjun screamed in fear, jumping off the bed and running barefoot out of the room. He yelled loudly, ¡°Somebody! Somebody!¡± Two attendants came running withnterns asking, ¡°Xiao Langjun, what happened again?¡± ¡°There¡¯s¡­there¡¯s¡­there¡¯s a ghost in there¡­qu¡­qu¡­quickly¡­ go check¡­¡± Xiao Chengjun stuttered in fear, his teeth chattering and his entire body trembling like a sieve shaking chaff. The two attendants looked at each other, too scared to go in. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go to Qilin Hall first, Xiao Langjun? We¡¯ll find more people to help check,¡± suggested one of the attendants. Xiao Chengjun agreed without hesitation and allowed one of the attendants to escort him to Qilin Hall. The other attendant hesitated, raising hisntern to head back, when suddenly a small head peered out from a partition beside him, giving him a fright. ¡°Oh my goodness young doctor, you almost scared the living daylights out of me.¡± The attendant recognized the figure as Yingbao and clutched his chest, ¡°You should go back to your room. Xiao Langjun said his room is haunted again.¡± Yingbao blinked and asked, ¡°Why does his room keep getting haunted? Has he been in contact with someone recently that could cause this?¡± The attendant quickly hushed him, ¡°Young doctor, you can¡¯t just say things like that. Xiao Langjun has been spending a lot of time with the Prince recently.¡± ¡°The Prince is of royal blood and his health is excellent. His vital energy is very strong at the moment, it¡¯s a miracle Xiao Chengjun hasn¡¯t affected him.¡± Yingbao gently persuaded, ¡°Think again, who else has Xiao Chengjun been interacting with recently?¡± The attendant thought for a moment, smacked his forehead and said mysteriously, ¡°I got it, Xiao Langjun has been spending a lot of time with the new pce maid. I even saw him take her to the orchard to pick lychees.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°That¡¯s it. s, quickly go find some people toe to the rescue.¡± The attendant nodded at Yingbao and hurried to find others. Yingbao turned to Changxiu who was already out of bed, ¡°Older Sister Chang, you stand guard here. I will go check in Xiao Chengjun¡¯s room.¡± Changxiu looked worried, ¡°Young doctor, why are you going there? It¡¯s quite scary, let me¡­ let me apany you.¡± ¡°No, no, I really don¡¯t believe that there are ghosts in this world. It must be something wrong with Xiao Chengjun¡¯s mind. He is always suspicious and fearful, may have even be delusional by now.¡± As Yingbao said this he ran towards Xiao Chengjun¡¯s room, ¡°Older sister Chang, you wait here, I¡¯ll go in and see if there really are any ghosts.¡± Although Changxiu wanted to follow, she was even more afraid of ghosts, so she paced anxiously on the spot. Yingbao entered the room and saw it was still lit. It appeared that Xiao Chengjun was so terrified that he would even sleep with the lights on. Yingbao quickly crawled under the couch and caught the string tied to the hedgehog¡¯s leg, pulling it out. Carrying the hedgehog, he ran to Changxiu and said, ¡°There¡¯s definitely no ghost in his room, let¡¯s go back.¡± Changxiu followed Yingbao back to theirpartment and settled on the couch, watching the little boy feed water to the hedgehog. Yingbao grumbled, ¡°Why on earth are you running around sote at night? What if someone catches you and mistakes you for a ghost?¡± The hedgehog drank some water and then curled up quietly. Unable to resist asking, Changxiu said, ¡°Yingbao, did the hedgehog scare Xiao Langjun?¡± ¡°Hush¡­¡± Yingbao signaled her to be quiet: ¡°Older Sister Chang, you mustn¡¯t say anything. If Xiao Chengjun mes us for this, we will be in big trouble.¡± Changxiu quickly nodded: ¡°I won¡¯t say anything.¡± With that, Yingbao seemed pleased. He covered the hedgehog¡¯s basket with a piece of cloth and got back into bed to go sleep. Chapter 248 - 244: Healing Prayer Technique_1 Chapter 248: Chapter 244: Healing Prayer Technique_1 Trantor:549690339 The next day, before dawn, someone outside was calling for Yingbao. ¡°Little doctor, hurry over. Master Xiao is feverish and delirious,¡± they said. Yingbao slowly sat up. ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll be right there.¡± Changxiu quickly got up to help her dress and fetch water for her to wash up. Once she was ready, Yingbao leisurely made her way to a side hall in Qilin Hall. At the entrance stood several eunuchs. Through therge window, she could see an Imperial Physician administering acupuncture to Xiao Chengjun. However, Xiao Chengjun was iling about, uncooperative. So, two eunuchs went in and pinned him down. Yingbao thought for a moment and decided to go in. The Imperial Physician was intently administering acupuncture to Xiao Chengjun, asking the eunuchs to hold him down, before turning to the Senior Historian of the East Pce and saying, ¡°We should invite someone practiced in the Healing Prayer Technique from the Imperial Medical Bureau, it seems like Master Xiao is bewitched.¡± The Senior Historian nodded, turning to instruct a eunuch to go to the Imperial Medical Bureau to invite a Shaman proficient in the Healing Prayer Technique. Yingbao walked into the room, seeing Xiao Chengjun with his eyes tightly closed, his face beet red, muttering something under his breath. After thinking a while, she took a few steps closer, trying to discern what he was saying. After listening for a while, it seemed like he kept repeating: sorry¡­ sorry¡­ sorry¡­ I didn¡¯t want you to die¡­ I didn¡¯t want you to die¡­ Huh? It seems like this guy killed someone and was confessing in his sleep. Leaving the room, Yingbao suddenly noticed Chen Tiantian standing at the window, looking in, worry etched clearly on her face. And the King was also standing at the entrance of the main hall, wanting toe over but being stopped by the eunuchs. After all, Xiao Chengjun was his childhoodpanion, and also his direct cousin. Naturally, he was concerned about him falling ill unexpectedly. Yingbao walked over to Murong Xian and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry, he¡¯s just been frightened. The Imperial Physician just administered him acupuncture.¡± Murong Xian furrowed his eyebrows and asked, ¡°I heard from the eunuchs that he¡¯s been encountering strange happenings all this while, is that true?¡± ¡°I have no idea.¡± Yingbao said with all seriousness, ¡°You should ask Chen Tiantian. She¡¯s been with Master Xiao a lottely, and they seem to get along well. She would definitely know about anything that happened.¡± Murong Xian couldn¡¯t help but chuckle, ¡°How old are you to know what it means to get along well?¡± ¡°Of course I know. It means that Chen Tiantian likes Xiao Chengjun, and Xiao Chengjun also likes Chen Tiantian. They even went fruit picking together.¡± Yingbao decided to solidify the rtionship between these two, lest Chen Tiantian ascends to the position of Empress Dowager in the future and persecutes her family. Murong Xian rubbed his temples, changing the topic, ¡°Yingbao, are you really nning to go back to your hometown?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Mom and I have been out for quite a while. If we don¡¯t go back, dad will be worried. And there¡¯re my little brothers at home. They¡¯re still young, with no one to look after them.¡± Seeing the deste expression on Murong Xian¡¯s face, she added, ¡°Your Highness, now that your health is better, you can go out and have fun. In a few years, when my brotheres to Beijing for the Imperial Examination, I¡¯lle to see you.¡± Murong Xianughed, ¡°Are you sure your brother cane to take the exam in just a few years?¡± ¡°Of course! His studies are going really well. Even Grandpa Wu praised him.¡± Yingbao had absolute confidence in Jiang Jie. Because old Mr. Wu had said that once he turned eight, he could start taking the exams. If her little brother got the title of Schr when he was eight, he could then take the provincial examination at twelve or thirteen. Once he passed the provincial examination, wouldn¡¯t he be able to take the metropolitan examination in Beijing? At the time, she could apany him to Beijing and take the opportunity to visit the King then. Murong Xian did not agree with Yingbao¡¯s words. He couldn¡¯t imagine a child of a few years old taking part in the Imperial Examinations. So he changed the topic again: ¡°I heard from cousin Xiao Mo that your family also grows golden ears. The golden ears that Imperial Physician Wen brought were also grown by your family.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Upon hearing him mention her family¡¯s golden ears, Yingbao instantly perked up, ¡°Not only do we grow golden ears, but we also grow cotton.¡± She extended her sleeve towards Murong Xian, ¡°Look, this cotton fabric I¡¯m wearing was woven by my mother from cotton. It¡¯s very soft.¡± Murong Xian indeed stretched out his hand to touch her sleeve and nodded, ¡°Indeed, this cotton fabric is very soft.¡± Although Murong Xian had been ill these years, as long as his health was slightly better, he had to attend sses with the crown prince¡¯s guests and various teachers. He had to learn not only state governance but also poetry and song, as well as knowledge about agriculture and silkworms. The Great Qian Dynasty also produced cotton, but in very small quantities. Murong Xian, with his prince status, was only allocated fifty taels of cotton each month. This fifty taels of cotton included cotton cloth. Yingbao confidently said, ¡°When I get back home, I¡¯ll send you some cotton cloth. It¡¯s quitefortable to use cotton cloth to make undergarments for winter.¡± She nced at the clothes Murong Xian was wearing, saying, ¡°Your silk clothes are fine for summer, but in winter, nothing beats cotton clothing.¡± Murong Xianughed, ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble little Doctor Yingbao. I¡¯ll wait for you to send the cotton cloth to have clothes made.¡± The two were so engrossed in their conversation that they forgot about Xiao Chengjun. It wasn¡¯t until the eunuch led two shamans that they remembered him, so they went to observe them exorcising the patient¡¯s evil spirits. The shamans were seen wearing robes pieced together from various colors, bells and drums in their hands, and tall feathered hats on their heads. After observing Xiao Chengjun¡¯s condition, they had the eunuch bring the altar table, then burnt incense and prayed. One shaman drew talismans and chanted exorcism spells, the other held bells, drums, and a small bow and arrow, and started dancing a shaman ritual. ¡°An arrow shoots the sky¡¯s cmity, two arrows shoot the earth¡¯s cmity, three arrows shoot the ghost¡¯s cmity, four arrows shoot in all directions, breaking evil spirits, vanishing them away from their homnd, a sh dispels the sky cmity, all ghouls turn into injuries, starse to guard, the sun and moon provide the three lights, second sh dispels the earth cmity, earth spirits take the center stage, corpses disintegrate, devils and demonspletely vanish, third sh dispels the ghost cmity, all ghosts dive into hiding, the fourth sh cleanses all directions, spirits find peace in the underworld, forever blessed within the cave¡­ ¡± ¡°¡­ In the name of the Supreme Elder Lord, Imand all evil spirits and ghosts to leave immediately!¡± The shaman lit the exorcist talisman and ced it in a ceramic bowl. The talisman quickly turned to ashes, and the shaman took a bamboo tube from his waist, poured a little water into the bowl. He stirred the water in the bowl a few times with his finger and had the eunuch feed it to Xiao Chengjun. Surprisingly, after Xiao Chengjun swallowed the talisman water, he fell asleep and stopped his incessant muttering. The shamans then danced again beforeing out and paid their respects to the prince. They couldn¡¯t leave yet and had to wait until the patient had fully regained consciousness. Yingbao was very interested in them and quickly approached to ask for guidance. They were quite forting, answering whatever the little girl asked. Soon, the eunuch came to report that Xiao Langjun had sweated profusely, and his fever had subsided. Yingbao was amazed and hurriedly ran in to check. She saw the eunuchs wiping Xiao Chengjun¡¯s face and feeding him water, looking quite busy. Xiao Chengjun slowly opened his eyes, and when he saw Yingbao, his pupils constricted. ¡°Who¡­ who are you?¡± he asked. Yingbao¡¯s mouth twitched as she answered, ¡°I¡¯m a doctor who treats people.¡± She wondered if Xiao Chengjun had gone mad. He didn¡¯t even recognize her. At this point, Murong Xian also walked to the bedside, asking, ¡°Cousin, do you feel better?¡± Xiao Chengjun abruptly sat up, wide-eyed as he looked at Murong Xian, and instinctively withdrew. Chapter 249 - 245: Leaving the Palace_1 Chapter 249: Chapter 245: Leaving the Pce_1 Trantor: 549690339 Murong Xian noticed this and asked the doctor by his side: ¡°What seems to be the matter with him?¡± ¡°Your Highness, please don¡¯t worry. Xiao Langjun is now out of danger. He is just notpletely conscious. Let him rest more, he will be fine after a sleep.¡± As the chief doctor said this, he pulled out a yellow talisman and drew a sleep talisman on it. Humming a little, he burned the talisman paper and mixed it with water for Xiao Chengjun to drink. Having drunk the talisman water, Xiao Chengjuny back on the bed and fell asleep again. Observing this, Yingbao was amazed and suddenly entertained the idea: why not focus on mastering the Healing Prayer Technique? She nced at a series of small bamboo tubes hanging around the doctor¡¯s waist, guessing that they contained various types of medicinal water. They were likely using rituals, prayers, talisman papers, and psychological suggestions to make patients believe their illnesses had been eliminated or transferred elsewhere. This type of suggestion could indeed create an illusion for some patients, making them believe they were getting better, thereby putting their minds at ease. Inbination with medicated treatment, their bodies naturally improved. Her Wudingzhi used with medicinal herbs could be a perfect fit for this, given its magical effectiveness on many diseases. The more Yingbao thought, the more she was convinced that the Healing Prayer technique was tailor-made for her ¨C absolutely perfect! ¡°I want to be a Forbidden Curse Master in the future,¡± she said seriously to the two doctors, ¡°Where can I buy relevant books?¡± Both Forbidden Curse Masters had heard of this little six-year-old doctor and said with a smile: ¡°If you really want to learn, you can be our apprentice.¡± Yingbao looked a bit embarrassed, ¡°But I have to go home. I can¡¯t stay in Beijing for long.¡± One of the Forbidden Curse Masters said: ¡°Buying books is easy. The Calligraphy and Painting Workshop in Beijing sells them. However, these only provide the simplest of curses. If you want to learn the more profound ones, you need to have a master.¡± Yingbao bowed to him, ¡°Thank you for informing me. However, I need to discuss with my parents about bing an apprentice when I get home.¡± She merely wanted to learn the basics to bluff people. As for profound Forbidden Curse Techniques, she could take that slowly. Murong Xianughed: ¡°I¡¯ve got some curse books at my ce. I¡¯ll have someone find some and give them to you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Yingbao gratefully said, ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡± After seeing off the two doctors, Yingbao started packing her things, preparing to leave the pce the next day. As she was preparing, she realized that there were quite a few things she needed to take with her ¨C threerge boxes to be precise. Apart from her own clothes, there were two boxes of silk and satin gifted by the Empress and some wax-making tools given by Yao Yuanzheng. Soon after, Murong Xian sent some fabrics and fifty taels of gold, as well as a box of books. When Yingbao opened the books, she found they were about the spell talismans of the four Healing Prayer Technique categories for curing diseases. One book depicted the talismans used for bone setting, mria, burns, ringworm, infantile convulsion, dog and snake bites, abscesses, and carbuncles. The second book exined the universal talismans for curing diseases in each of the four categories. The rest of the books detailed the talismans used for the major and minor categories of the pulse diagnosis category. Overall, the Healing Prayer Technique mainly was about Forbidden Curse Technique and talisman drawing, and different spells and talisman patterns were used for different diseases. It seemed quite daunting at first. However, there was no rush; she could take her time learning these things. The next morning, Yingbao got up early and bid farewell to the Prince. Murong Xian did not try to detain her and had escorts send her out of the pce. Before leaving, Yingbao hesitated a moment, then took out two porcin bottles from her bag and handed them to the Prince, ¡°This is a health potion. You should take arge gulp every night before sleep to maintain a healthy body.¡± These two porcin bottles should be enough for him tost about two months. By then, the frail prince should be fit and robust. Murong Xian smiled as he received the porcin bottles: ¡°Thank you, Yingbao, I will do as advised.¡± After getting on the carriage, Yingbao looked ahead and saw a figure standing in the distance. It was no one other than Xiao Chengjun, who had already recovered. Standing tall and looking handsome in his pale green robe fluttering with the wind, he was gazing at her with a deep look in his eyes. Chen Tiantian, dressed as a pce maid and standing by the willow tree behind him, nervously nced around, seeming lost in thought. Yingbao furrowed her brows and waved to the prince. Murong Xian, not understanding, still took a few steps forward and asked, ¡°Is there anything else?¡± Yingbao spoke softly, ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯ve just recovered, so be careful with your food, it wouldn¡¯t be good if someone were to poison it.¡± Murong Xianughed, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no one dares to hurt me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily true.¡± Yingbao covered her mouth with her hand and whispered in Murong Xian¡¯s ear, ¡°You should be careful of Xiao Chengjun and Chen Tiantian, they seem quite suspicious. In case you are poisoned again¡­¡± With some reluctance, Yingbao took out another porcin bottle, ¡°Use this as an antidote.¡± Murong Xian took the porcin bottle, nodding his head, ¡°I understand.¡± Yingbao returned to the carriage and waved at him, ¡°I¡¯m leaving now. Oh, and Sister Chang is a good person, make sure you take care of her ¨C don¡¯t let anyone bully her.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Murong Xian also waved at her, ¡°I look forward to the day your brotheres to Beijing.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± The carriage gradually moved toward the gate of the East Pce. Yingbao took onest look back and saw Murong Xian still standing at the pce entrance looking in her direction, and Changxiu, kneeling and crying. Yingbao sighed and nced at the baby hedgehog in the bamboo basket. She might take the hedgehog away, but she couldn¡¯t take Changxiu with her, not knowing when they¡¯ll see each other again. But she had given her twenty pills before leaving, as long as she stayed healthy, they would meet again one day. The carriage arrived at the Xiao residence, and because an inner servant was driving, the servants of Xiao family quickly came over to help carry the things. There were four or five boxes of various sizes. This trip to the pce had been fruitful for Yingbao. The boxes were delivered to the guesthouse, and Xu Chunniang rushed out to greet her daughter. Mother and daughter hadn¡¯t seen each other in over twenty days and their reunion felt like a lifetime had passed. ¡°Bao¡¯er, did you suffer there? Has anyone bullied you?¡± Chunniang stroked her daughter¡¯s face and asked, ¡°Is the nobleman you treated recovered?¡± Chunniang was not aware that her daughter had been to the pce and assumed she was treating some nobleman in Beijing. ¡°Nobody bullied me.¡± Yingbao sat down on the chair, ¡°The nobleman is fully recovered. He has allowed us to go home.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Hearing this, Chunniang was overjoyed, ¡°When can we go home?¡± Yingbao: ¡°We need to ask Xiao Mo first, after all, he was the one who brought us here, so it is his responsibility to send us back. I estimate we could leave the day after tomorrow at thetest.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± In this period of time, Chunniang was anxiously waiting, worried not only for her daughter but also yearning for her husband and son. Yingbao: ¡°Mother, before we go, let¡¯s go to the West Market in Beijing. I need to buy some things to take with us.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go to the West Market this afternoon.¡± Chunniang did not want to waste a single day here. Yingbao scratched her head: ¡°it might be a bitte in the afternoon, let¡¯s go tomorrow.¡± As guests of the Xiao family, they had to inform the host before going out, to fail to do so would be impolite. Chunniang nodded continuously. Now that her daughter was back, Chunniang felt like she had support and that everything would be fine as long as she listened to her daughter¡¯s advice. The house of the Duke had way too many rules, and Chunniang had no idea how to act. During her daughter¡¯s absence, she had luckily been guided by two maids, or else she would have made a fool of herself. As the mother and daughter were talking, Chen Zhao came in from outside and greeted Yingbao awkwardly: ¡°Yingbao, you¡¯re back.¡± Yingbao nodded: ¡°Yes.¡± In her absence, Chen Zhao had stayed by her mother¡¯s side, and the two had gotten along fine. Just for this, Yingbao decided to be a bit nicer to Chen Zhao. Chapter 250 - 246: Not a Good Sort_1 Chapter 250: Chapter 246: Not a Good Sort_1 Trantor: 549690339 Before long, a maid came to deliver a message, saying that the olddy of the house wanted to see Yingbao alone. Yingbao and her mother exchanged nces, and she reluctantly got up and followed the maid to the inner court of the Duke Residence. The olddy of the Duke Residence was the wife of Imperial Teacher Xiao, the biological mother of Empress Xiao, and the biological grandmother of Xiao Mo and Xiao Chengjun. She looked to be in her sixties, her hair was white. Yingbao bowed respectfully to her, ¡°Greetings to the old madam, wishing you peace and health.¡± The olddy smiled and said, ¡°No need for formalities,e closer and let me have a good look at you.¡± Yingbao moved a few steps closer, and her hands were immediately grasped by the olddy. ¡°Oh, what a charming child.¡± The olddy asked with a smile, ¡°What is your name? How old are you this year?¡± ¡°My name is Jiang Yingbao. I am six years old.¡± ¡°Oh my, you¡¯re only six years old, and yet you¡¯re already such a skilled little doctor. That¡¯s truly impressive. Come,e and sit beside me and have a chat.¡± A maid hastened to bring over a round stool and ced it next to the olddy¡¯s arhat bed. Unfussed, Yingbao directly sat down on the round stool and looked around the room. There were quite a few people sitting in the room, none of them very old. There were two young women who looked to be in their twenties, and two young girls in their teens, one delicate and beautiful, the other striking and mboyant. The mboyant young girl in the peach-colored chiffon dress came to the olddy, looked Yingbao up and down with a smile, and said, ¡°Perfect timing, I¡¯ve been feeling a bit dizzy today, could you read my pulse?¡± Yingbao was silent for a moment, then nodded, ¡°Alright.¡± It¡¯s just reading a pulse, she could definitely identify a few issues. Two maids brought over a small table, and Yingbao began reading the pulse of the girl in the peach-colored chiffon dress on this small table. After a moment, she said, ¡°Your pulse is steady and long, showing signs of excessive liver fire.¡± The girl was taken aback, ¡°What does that mean?¡± Yingbao asked, ¡°Do you often lose your temper?¡± The girl nodded, ¡°Yes, I do. Is that a problem?¡± Yingbao nced at the butterfly-shaped patches on her nose and told her honestly, ¡°Of course it¡¯s a problem. If it¡¯s not treated in time, over time, the dark spots on your face will increase, affecting your looks.¡± The girl in the peach chiffon dress turned red with embarrassment and suddenly became angry, shouting, ¡°How dare you! Who gave you the audacity to fabricate lies about me!¡± She was most sensitive about anyone mentioning the dark spots on her face, and this despicable country girl dared to publicly poke at her weakness. Yingbao blinked, turned to look at the others, and seeing they were all silent, including thepassionate-looking olddy at the head of the room, she scoffed. So, they had summoned her to put her in her ce. Yingbao curled her lip and started to cry loudly, ¡°Daddy! Mommy! Someone¡¯s bullying me, waaah¡­ She asked me to read her pulse, but then she didn¡¯t let me tell the truth, wooo¡­ I want to go home! I want to go home¡­¡± Everyone was startled by her wailing and howling, a maid quickly came over to soothe her, but couldn¡¯t calm her down. Seeing the young girl¡¯s crying grow louder and her kicking and stomping spilling over a small table, continuously bellowing for her parents and wanting to go home,pletely disregarding decorum, the olddy had no choice but to let the maids take her back to the guest house. After the young girl left, the olddy red at her granddaughter, ¡°Yanyan, why did you lose your temper on her?¡± Yanyan pouted, ¡°That child was doing it on purpose, she was utterly disrespectful, and you are ming me, grandmother.¡± The olddy, ¡°She was just telling the truth, you asked her to read your pulse, how can you not let her exin?¡± ¡°She was just making things up!¡± Yanyan protested. ¡°Look at her just now, throwing a tantrum, she was definitely doing it on purpose.¡± The olddy pat her granddaughter¡¯s arm, sighed, ¡°My dear, that child is just a few years old, what could she possibly do intentionally? She justcks manners and exposure.¡± A granddaughter-inw at the sideughed, ¡°Grandmother is right, even though that child saved the Duke, she is after all from the countryside, shecks manners and understanding. No matter how much we try to help her, it is in vain, she is fundamentally helpless.¡± The other daughter-inw nodded in agreement: ¡°She is untamed from her rural upbringing. She¡¯s been making a ruckus non-stop, just because our master reprimanded her once. How can such a nature be eptable?¡± The olddy sighed: ¡°Forget it, forget it. I had nned to keep her in the residence for a few years, but it seems unnecessary now.¡± A headstrong girl like her, who has no concept of patience, would be of no use even if raised well. It would be better to train an obedient dog than to waste time and effort nurturing a wolf that doesn¡¯t appreciate its master. There are countless children wanting to get into the Xiao Family; her absence would not make any difference. Jiang Yingbao just knew a bit of medical skills due to a secret family recipe, nothing significant. Moreover, the Xiao Family received news that she had already given the ancestral secret recipe to Yao Yuanzheng. Yao Yuanzheng had even gifted her some handwritten copies. In light of this, Jiang Yingbao has lost her value; it would not make much difference even if she was allowed to stay. The olddy Xiao instructed: ¡°Tomorrow, find an escort agency, hire a few escorts to send them back to their hometown. We must not let others gossip.¡± The news that the Xiao Family invited a rural doctor from the countryside was known to all in Beijing, and many eyes were on the Xiao Family¡¯s every move. Any slip-up would lead to rebukes from thementators and couldnd on the Emperor¡¯s desk. Therefore, even unwillingly, the Xiao Family had to spend the money to send them back. ¡°Yes, I, as the daughter-inw, will arrange for it,¡± said the wife of Xiao Chengde, the heir. The olddy nodded, ¡°Then I am relieved, you all may return, I am feeling tired.¡± ¡°Yes, I will take leave.¡± ¡°Grandmother, please rest well, I will also leave.¡± Several people exited Fushou Hall one after another. Now, about Yingbao¡ªwho instantly stopped crying once returned to the guesthouse¡ªshe wiped her eyes and stealthily informed her mother about everything once they were alone. As soon as Spring Mother heard about it, she frowned, ¡°The Xiao Family, which seemed easy-going at first, is actually quite difficult to get along with.¡± Not only harsh, but also highly contemptuous of others. The Xiao Family¡¯s servants even looked down on them, treating them rudely as if they were beggars when delivering food and water, which Spring Mother found extremely unptable. But since they were waiting for Yingbao here, they had to tolerate this for the time being. Now that Yingbao had returned, Spring Mother wished they could leave immediately. ¡°Mother doesn¡¯t need to be polite to them anymore.¡± Yingbao said, ¡°We are not here to beg, nor are we here because we can¡¯t afford food. We are the doctor invited by Xiao Mo.¡± If this is how they treated their guests, then she didn¡¯t need to hold back. After all, she was just a child, and she could be fussy and cry when something went wrong. It would be best if her fussiness embarrassed them. These Xiao family members were all the same. Xiao Chengjun was like this, and so was everyone else in the Xiao Family. No wonder she met such a tragic end in the book, it turned out that none of the people in the Xiao Family were kind. Now, Yingbao was one hundred percent sure that Xiao Chengjun was the protagonist in the book, and she was the one who was killed by him and his concubine. As for why she, in the book, could marry into such a prestigious family, Yingbao did not yet know. But many things would be clearer as she grew up. That night, Yingbao, while her mother and Chen Zhao were sound asleep, got up to sort out her belongings. She opened each chest and stowed all the gold, silver, silk, cloth and other valuables in her secret storage, including the tools and books gifted by Yao Yuanzheng, and then carefully relocked the chests. When returning, she would just carry these empty chests, which would be much safer on the road. Chapter 251 - 247: Procurement_1 Chapter 251: Chapter 247: Procurement_1 Trantor:549690339 The next day, Yingbao and Chunniang woke up early. Chen Zhao, who had been sleeping on the nearby pallet, quickly got up, dressed, and put on his shoes and stockings. Once they were ready, the maids Xiaoqing and Xiaodai came over carrying water. ¡°Oh, young doctor is up so early. Why didn¡¯t you sleep a little longer?¡± Xiaoqing asked with a smile. Chunniang quickly took over the water jug, ¡°We n to go to the West Market early in the morning. Please inform your young mistress, Xiaoqing.¡± The Duke Residence was managed by Her Highness the Crown Princess, and Xiaoqing and Xiaodai were part of her household, so Chunniang only needed to mention it to Xiaoqing and take her daughter out. ¡°Since madam is going to the West Market, should I inform the Crown Princess and have someone from our household send a carriage for you?¡± Xiaoqing asked. Chunniang promptly replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need to trouble them. Yingbao and I are just heading out. Taking a carriage would actually be less convenient.¡± Xiaoqing didn¡¯t press the matter. She stood by the side, chatting for a short while, instructing one of the inn¡¯s maids to follow and tend to Chunniang and her group, before she left with Xiaodai. After everyone finished washing up and had a simple breakfast, Yingbao, Chunniang, and Chen Zhao, guided by the maid, left the house. Li Qing, who had been living across from them, had long since been brought to Wen Jingyan¡¯s residence by his grandfather, Dr. Li, so only Chunniang and Chen Zhao were left in the whole hostel, along with two gatekeepers and a pair of sweeping girls. Chunniang, Chen Zhao, and Yingbao were led by the maid from the side door of the Duke Residence, alongside the outer courtyardne, before they reached the main street. On both sides of the street wererge stores, like gold, silver, and jewelry stores, silk and satin fabric shops, antique calligraphy and painting shops, fragrance shops, restaurants, karaoke bars, banks, and horse-drawn carriage stores, etc. After the group had been walking for a while, the maid started to grow impatient andined to Chunniang, ¡°Madam, the West Market is about five or six miles from here. I am old and cannot walk such a long distance. Should we use a bullock cart formuting?¡± Chunniang looked at her daughter. Seeing that she did not object, she nodded in agreement, ¡°We could hire a bullock cart.¡± They didn¡¯t have to go far before the maid gged down a bullock cart. The driver was an old farmer who hade to the city early in the morning to sell vegetables and was about to head home after selling his load to traders. Then, he encountered people needing a ride. The maid negotiated the price with him: to shop at the West Market and then return to the Duke Residence would cost two hundred coins. The old farmer was delighted. He cleaned the cart and invited them to sit. While the bullock cart slowly moved down the street, Yingbao would jump off whenever she saw food being sold at the side of the road, buy it, and share it with everyone. The roasted, crunchy, and fragrantrd sesame pancakes, coated with ayer of fragrantrd on the outside and stuffed with delicious mutton on the inside, were very tasty. Yingbao bought thirty of them in total, and weighed out five kilograms of rawrd sesame seeds from the shopkeeper. She gave out a few pancakes for everyone to eat, and the rest were given to her mother to keep for their journey back home. Then they encountered stalls selling fried white intestines, blood sausage withmb offal, andmb wonton, pepper and goose offal soup, stir-fried stomach and lungs, stir-fried pancakes, eel soup, etc. She also bought some for everyone to taste. Soon everyone was full, including the old farmer driving the cart, who was patting his belly and belching contentedly. Seeing Yingbao still buyingmb buns, cow cakes, hibiscus pancakes, and crispy ring pancakes, the maid said to Chunniang, ¡°Madam, you shouldn¡¯t pamper the child like this. The weather is hot. If we buy so much food to take home, it will spoil in a night, which is a waste of food.¡± Chunniang smiled, ¡°We rarelye to Beijing. Besides, we are leaving for home tomorrow. Yingbao is buying these for the road, it won¡¯t be a waste.¡± The maid rolled her eyes but didn¡¯t say more. The bullock cart passed a fruit shop, arge wholesale fruit market. All fruitsing to Beijing from other ces had to go through this market before they could be sold in the city, so there was a wide variety of fruits here. Yingbao selected some ripe watermelons and dragon fruit to weigh, and bought a lot of lychees and melons. She packed all these fruits into the bullock cart. The maid was toozy to say anything more and just closed her eyes and dozed off. Chen Zhao, on the other hand, was very happy, helping to move things withoutining about being tired. After buying the fruits, Yingbao asked the old farmer to continue driving and slowly made her way down the street. Uponing across a merchant selling charcoal, she purchased a basketful, as well as two charcoal stoves and copper kettles for boiling water, in addition to cooking pots for soup and rice. Then, she spotted a noodle shop selling assorted varieties of dried noodles. Yingbao also bought tworge bags of them. Later, she parked herself in front of the shop for a while, observing how they pulled and dried the noodles. Adjacent to the noodle shop was a store selling whole grains, where Yingbao bought heaps of local vegetable and whole grain seeds like eggnt, radish, celery, ginger, spinach, fava beans, t beans, gourds, etc., buying arge pack of each variety. Madam Chun, as she received from Yingbao the seeds she¡¯d purchased, was greatly pleased. She herself hadn¡¯t given much thought to such details, yet her daughter had thought of everything. Bringing back local vegetable seeds not only guaranteed a supply of vegetables for their own household but would also greatly benefit the vigers. The ox cart slowly trudged along; Yingbao and Chen Zhao did not climb aboard, instead, they took a leisurely stroll. Every time they spotted something interesting, they would buy some for the ox cart ¨C shrimp paste, crab paste, aged vinegar, as well as vinegar-preserved radish, cucumber, and garlic. They purchased two jars of each item. Finally, they arrived at arge liquor outlet, and Yingbao bought two jars of lychee liquor, two jars of plum liquor, two jars of fermentation starter, as well as two jars of sweet rice wine. After the autumn harvest, they would use the fermentation starter to brew their own liquor, to be used during festivities. After all, they had an abundance of rice at home and weren¡¯t required to sell their grain to pay taxes. As long as the wine was only brewed for personal consumption and not for sale, the government wouldn¡¯t intervene. Further along, they stumbled upon a shop selling icy beverages. Two youngdies were standing by the counter, each holding a bowl. The white balls in the y bowls were garnished with apricot slices, emanating a chilly aura that was quite tempting. Chen Zhao swallowed, looking pitifully at Yingbao. She didn¡¯t have a single coin on her, so whenever she wanted to eat something, she had to turn to the little girl. ¡°Sister¡­¡± Wiping some sweat from her forehead, Yingbao said, ¡°Help yourself to whatever you fancy, I¡¯ll cover the bill.¡± Chen Zhao had given her quite a bit of assistance along the way, and she wasn¡¯t prohibitively stingy. Treating her to a bowl of a cold beverage seemed reasonable. ¡°I¡¯ll have that one!¡± Chen Zhao pointed at the icy bowls that the two youngdies were holding. As such, Yingbao bought three bowls of sugar-coated snowballs ¨C one bowl for her mother, another for herself, and thest one for Chen Zhao. Having a bowl of a frosty delight during the height of summer was indeed refreshing. It was a pity that she didn¡¯t have ice at home; otherwise, she could have made some for her father and brothers to sample. After finishing the snowballs, they all rode the ox cart back to the Xiao Residence. The servants called over a couple of young boys to help shift the items into the guestpound. Maid Xiaoqing looked at the myriad of misceneous items in the room and expressed her surprise, ¡°Miss, you¡¯ve bought so much stuff. How are we going to transport it all?¡± Yingbao replied, ¡°No worries, everything will fit once I clear out two chests.¡± Xiaoqing nced at the cluttered room, then at the wooden chests piled up in the corner, falling silent. Even if every single chest was emptied out, there wouldn¡¯t be enough space to pack all these things. Madam Chun was also concerned, ¡°Baobao, are you sure everything will fit?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Even it couldn¡¯t fit, it had to. All that mattered was that no one saw how she packed it. That night, Yingbao had her mother and Chen Zhao go next door to wash up while she quickly opened the chests and started packing up the day¡¯s purchases. Fruits, mutton buns, pickles, liquor jars, etc., all went into the cave dwelling while some seeds went inside the chests with the remaining items. By the time Madam Chun and Chen Zhao returned, Yingbao had cleaned up the room, sessfully packing everything into the chests and locking them. Both of them were astonished. ¡°Did everything fit into the chests?¡± ¡°Yes, everything has been packed away. We can set off tomorrow.¡± Chapter 252 - 248: Boat Ride_1 Chapter 252: Chapter 248: Boat Ride_1 Trantor:549690339 Spring tried to lift the suitcase; it was quite heavy but still manageable. She wanted to open it and see how her daughter managed to fit so many things inside, but the suitcase was already locked. Ah, it didn¡¯t matter whether she saw it or not, as long as everything was packed properly. Yingbao was also grooming, and when she returned, she saw Chen Zhao was already snoring on the bed. ¡°Mother, is Chen Zhao going to go back with us?¡± Yingbao asked. ¡°Yes, she is also a poor child. Her mother just passed away, and she was brought here while still in mourning. Ah, she told me she didn¡¯t want to stay here, and pleaded with me to take her with us when we leave.¡± Spring sighed. Yingbao remained silent. Chen Zhao had indeed changed a lot recently, possibly due to the shock of losing her mother. Or perhaps it was because she had been spending a lot of time with Springtely, and was influenced by her. In any case, Chen Zhao had be less annoying and no longer tried to confront her. This was a good thing, and she hoped that she could keep it up. In her previous life, Chen Zhao had set many traps for her, but she had always fought back immediately. Now in this life, the Han family had died early, and Chen Zhao was only ten years old at this moment. A ten-year-old girl could perhaps live a different life if she had someone to guide her properly. That night, Xiao Chengjun suddenly returned to the Duke Residence. The olddy was quite surprised to see her grandsone to the pavilion, and asked: ¡°Chengjun, why are you back at this hour? How is the Prince?¡± ¡°The Prince has fully recovered and is recuperating,¡± Chengjun said. ¡°I have been ordered by His Majesty to apany my elder brother to Luzhou for a two-year assignment.¡± The olddy was delighted: ¡°Oh, good for you, Chengjun. Work hard, and when youe back in two years, I will help you find a good family to marry into.¡± By the time hepletes the two-year assignment andes back, Chengjun¡¯s rtionship with the Prince would definitely earn him the Emperor¡¯s favor. Maybe Chengjun could be promoted to fifth or sixth-grade official by then, and it would be eptable for a family of their status to marry one of the imperial princesses. It¡¯s a pity that the Emperor doesn¡¯t have a daughter of suitable age, otherwise, Chengjun would surely have been able to marry a princess. Xiao Chengjun smiled: ¡°You¡¯re worrying too much, Grandmother.¡± The olddy patted him on the arm. ¡°If I don¡¯t worry, who will? Are you relying on your stepmother? Humph! Your brother Mo followed your father to Luzhou for so many years, but he still hasn¡¯t married yet.¡± The olddy¡¯s second son, Xiao Weizhong, has been away in Luzhou for several years since he was separated from the Duke Residence. Not only did he take his stepwife, Wang, with him, but he also took Xiao Mo, who was thirteen at the time, and put him into the garrison for experience. Fortunately, Xiao Mo had some talent, and after several years of hard knuckle training, he was promoted to a fifth grade general at neen. Now Brother Mo was twenty years old and should be getting married, but the Wang family had yet to arrange anything, to the olddy¡¯s annoyance. The olddy originally intended to arrange a marriage for her grandson in Beijing, but suitable matches weren¡¯t just around the corner. For those pure-blooded girls of equal social status, they wouldn¡¯t consider a martial artist who lived thousands of miles away. As for a consort daughter, that was out of the question. It would be ridiculous for the legitimate grandson of the Duke Residence to take a consort daughter as his main wife. But if they were looking at families of lower status, the olddy was not willing to settle for that either. Xiao Chengjun saw his grandmother start toin about his stepmother and decided not to say anything, only taking a sip from the cup of tea that the maid had brought. ¡°Where¡¯s your brother? Why isn¡¯t he back?¡± the olddy asked. Xiao Chengjun said, ¡°My elder brother is on an errand; I am going to send the Jiang mother and daughter home tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t this dy your journey?¡± ¡°Not at all, this route is exactly on the way. The Prince instructed me personally to do so.¡± Xiao Chengjun said, cing down the tea cup and bidding his grandmother goodbye: ¡°The hour iste, Grandmother. I ask for your leave.¡± The olddy sighed: ¡°Ah, no sooner have youe back than you¡¯re leaving again. I don¡¯t know when your brother will return. You should go rest; we have an early start tomorrow.¡± After a thought, she added: ¡°I had previously asked my daughter-inw to find an escort to send the Jiang mother and daughter home. This saves us the trouble.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to have you guarding, those escorts outside are not as reliable as the guards after all.¡± Xiao Chengjunughed and after bidding farewell to his grandmother, he went to his grandfather, the Imperial Teacher¡¯s courtyard, and they chatted untilte in the night. When he left his grandfather¡¯s courtyard, the moon was already low in the sky. The next day. Yingbao and Chunniang got up early to pack their things. After washing up, they were led by Xiaoqing to bid farewell to the olddy and the wife of the Duke, only then did they instruct people to carry the four wooden boxes outside. What Yingbao did not expect was that the person to escort them home was Xiao Chengjun. She frowned and suspiciously eyed him a few times. Isn¡¯t he studying in the Imperial Pce? Why is he returning to Qinchuan County with them? With all her doubts, she did not want to ask naively. Chen Zhao, not seeing Chen Tiantian, curiously asked Yingbao, ¡°Why isn¡¯t our cousin leaving with us?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Yingbao shook her head and boarded a carriage with her mother. Chen Zhao also wanted to squeeze onto the carriage, but the carriage couldn¡¯t fit three people. Reluctantly, she had to board another carriage. This carriage was tied with threerge boxes, all with Yingbao¡¯s items. Soon after, the caravan set off. Yingbao quietly looked at the caravan and found that they had four carriages and more than twenty horse-riding escorts. Xiao Chengjun was also riding a horse and was in the middle of the convoy. Seeing her daughter continuously staring outside, Chunniang hugged her and whispered, ¡°Baobao, if you¡¯re tired, sleep for a while, mother is here.¡± The mother and daughter talked for a whilest night, only to fall asleep drowsily, and when she opened her eyes, it was already daytime. Chunniang was still sleepy after waking up and the rocking of the carriage made it hard for her to keep her eyes open. Like her mother, Yingbao nestled in her mother¡¯s arms and soon fell asleep. Suddenly, she was awakened by a burst of noise, and when she looked out, the caravan had reached the bank of a river. ¡°Everyone off the carriages! We¡¯ll take the boat and go by water!¡± Somebody shouted loudly, ¡°Hurry up! Leave the carriages and lead the horses onto the boat!¡± So, Yingbao and her mother got off the carriage and watched as the guards carried their boxes and other items onto arge boat. Chunniang muttered, ¡°Why are we going by water?¡± ¡°It¡¯s faster by water.¡± Yingbao answered. ¡°Is it really?¡± Chunniang, who was on such arge boat for the first time, couldn¡¯t help but curiously look around. After boarding the boat, Yingbao leaned inside the cramped cabin and continued to doze off until she wasn¡¯t even aware of when the boat had set sail. When she woke up, she saw her mother and Chen Zhao lying next to her, already asleep. Yingbao sat up, got up and out of the cabin to see Xiao Chengjun sitting on the deck. In front of the fourteen-year-old boy was a small table, on which was ced wine and a small dish. He threw back his neck and drained the wine in his hand, then turned his head and coldly looked at Yingbao. That look was as creepy as a venomous snake. With an indifferent stare, Yingbao asked, ¡°Where is Xiao Mo? Why didn¡¯t hee?¡± Xiao Chengjun averted his eyes, poured himself a ss of wine and said, ¡°My elder brother took thend route, not with us.¡± ¡°But he clearly promised to escort us home.¡± Yingbao stared at Xiao Chengjun, ¡°Why did he leave us without telling us?¡± Suddenly, Xiao Chen raised a hand, smashed the wine ss on the deck, and the ss shattered immediately. Chapter 253 - 249: Mentally ill_1 Chapter 253: Chapter 249: Mentally ill_1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°What¡¯s the difference between me giving and him giving? Why are you being so nitpicky?¡± Xiao Chengjun coldly red at Yingbao. Yingbao knitted her brows. Well, there really wasn¡¯t any difference. But it just rubbed her the wrong way. And every time she thought about the content of these stories, she felt a growing distaste for Xiao Chengjun that she couldn¡¯t quite articte. But despite her distaste, she wasn¡¯t foolish enough to provoke him. Yingbao: ¡°I just wanted to ask about old Mr. Li, why are you getting mad?¡± Since Doctor Li and his grandson hadn¡¯t returned with them, it was only natural she would ask. Then, when they returned, she would have an answer for the family. Upon hearing this, Xiao Chengjun¡¯s expression stiffened and he gradually reined his anger in: ¡°You could¡¯ve asked me the same question¡±. Yingbao, seeing him order a cup of wine but not responding to her question after waiting for a while, reminded him impatiently: ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you going to answer?¡± Xiao Chengjunzily ate his food and without lifting his head, he replied: ¡°You haven¡¯t asked yet.¡± Yingbao: ¡­ Is this kid mentally ill? ¡°I, want, to, know, why, old, Mr. Li, didn¡¯t,e!¡± Yingbao emphasized each word distinctly. ¡°Now I have asked, so hurry up and answer.¡± Saying this, she narrowed her eyes, carefully assessing this youth who exuded an immature aura but behaved strangely. Xiao Chengjun picked up his wine cup, took a sip, then continued eating. He repliedzily: ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± Yingbao¡¯s face twitched. Not only was this guy crazy but he was probably quite severely so. If she were not so young and physically smaller, she would really like to kick him a few times then dunk his head to see how waterlogged his brain was. Yingbao didn¡¯t want to waste her time arguing with a lunatic. She returned to her cabin, noticing her mother, Chen Zhao, were still sleeping, she sat next to them, took out a book of Zu Yuke and began reading. While reading, she quietly chanted a calming spell: ¡°A heart as clear as ice and would not be disturbed by the copse of heaven! Among the myriad changes, the spirit stays peaceful and the energy calm, do not stoop to the level of a fool!¡± The first chapter was the Nine Laws, which included Tian, Yuan, Di, Fang, Lu, Ling, Jiu, Kou, and Zhu Chapters. These Nine Laws were necessary ritual tools for officers andmoners, and also the behavioral norms that constrain them. Like the first chapter, Tian Chapter: Heaven has nineyers, the earth has eight dimensions. Gentlemen focus on the origin, small-minded people focus on the end, implementingws and investigating truth to resolve disputes¡­ Although Lady Wen had taught her this and Yingbao had recited them, she didn¡¯t take them seriously at the time. Now when looking at them again, she found them rather insightful and understood more from them. That¡¯s because these were the preludes that the Forbidden Curse Masters would recite prior to drawing their talismans. For instance, if one was to draw a talisman for curing a child¡¯s nocturnal crying, the introduction would be: Heaven is round, earth is square, the Nine Laws are supreme, as I now pen the talisman, all ghosts must retreat! Then during drawing the talisman one would chant an incantation: The sun rises in the east, the profound yin and yang, I hereby write this talisman to sweep away all misfortune, mouth spewing the holy fire, eyes shining like the sun, summoning celestial marshals to capture monsters, making use of diamond warriors to fight diseases and disasters, calming monsters and turning ill luck to good fortune! And the concluding mantra: Heaven is vast, the earth is vast, there¡¯s a creature in my house called Nightng, its job is to capture crying ghosts at night, with magic talisman safeguarding the room ensuring a peaceful sleep! I, under themand of the Supreme Elder Lord, in dire need like aw requires, capture!¡± The drawn talisman would then be affixed to a peachwood sword, whilst the Forbidden Curse Master will continue to perform a set of hand signs. After that the drawn talisman would be set ame and be ced in a y bowl. The burning talisman would be reduced to ash, which would then be mixed with a form of herbal medicine the Forbidden Curse Master brought, and be administered to the child. As Yingbao continued reading, she suddenly realized that being a Forbidden Curse Master was not easy at all. One had to memorize various incantations, and also had to master various hand seals and steps, tobine and draw talismans. Meaning that, for every talisman one has to draw, not only does one have to recite incantations, but one must also perform the corresponding hand signs and steps. Moreover, every brushstroke corresponds to a different hand sign, and one also has to perform the steps at the same time. So when a Forbidden Curse Master is drawing talismans, it often looks like they are dancing, moving their feet back and forth, left to right. At this moment, Yingbao came across a diagram of a set of steps. She stood up and tried to follow the instructions on the diagram. She first stood with both feet on the Central Pce position, crouched down, directly advanced her right foot forward, stepping on the Qian Hexagram. Then her left foot traced a curve towards the left, stepping on the Dui Hexagram. Next, she advanced her right foot forward directly and stepped into the Li Hexagram. Swing the right foot in an arc to step to the left into the Zhen Hexagram, and move the left foot forward in a straight line to step into the Central Pce¡­ It¡¯s somewhat simr to a boxing technique¡¯s footwork, surprisingly easy for me to pick up. However, the cabin¡¯s limited space made it difficult for me to practice properly. After contemting, Yingbao carried her book and stepped out of the cabin onto the deck. Xiao Chengjun was already gone, probably back to his own cabin. Perfect, she thought, now I can really begin mastering the steps of invoking the power of hexagrams. Starting with the left foot, step by step, alternating front and back, with the duality of Yin and Yang. Start and end synchronized, cing each foot perpendicrly to one another, forming a ¡®T¡¯ shape. The Forbidden Curse Master uses such steps to summon the spirits. However, there are dozens of types of Yu Steps. It would take a long time to master them all. Yingbao decided to practice one at a time, and after many repetitions, she finally mastered one. Meanwhile, the sailors on the deck watched with great interest, asionally whispering andmenting. Yingbao ignored them and focused on mastering the second Yu Step and the Pinching Hand Technique. She ended her session when Spring Maiden and Chen Zhao came out of their cabin. ¡°Yingbao, what are you doing?¡± Chen Zhao curiously asked. ¡°I¡¯m studying the Healing Prayer Technique.¡± By this time, dusk had fallen and the boatdy began to cook dinner. Yingbao opened one of her own boxes and took out a few mutton steamed buns and three bamboo tubes full of water. Relieved that the buns hadn¡¯t gone bad after Spring Maiden smelled them, they split the buns and water with Chen Zhao and began eating on the deck. The boatdy walked over andughed, ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve brought your own dry food, I¡¯ve cooked some fish, would you like to try some?¡± Spring Maiden politely declined: ¡°Thanks for the kind offer, but we¡¯re already full.¡± Without insisting further, the boatdy put a pot of boiled fish on the deck, followed by arge pot of rice, inviting the guards to help themselves. Several sailors docked the boat near a pier, dropped anchor, and came over to eat. After eating and drinking their fill, the trio walked around the deck to enjoy the scenery. Night fell, and the stars above blinked, mirroring the lights on the surrounding boats. ¡°It¡¯s a bit chilly.¡± Chen Zhao rubbed her arms and shrunk her neck. Spring Maiden quickly asked her daughter, ¡°Baobao, are you cold? I¡¯ll fetch you some more clothes.¡± ¡°Mmhmm¡±. It was indeed a bit cool now that it waste July. The three of them returned to their cabin, decided to stay inside, and began chatting as they sat down on the cabin floor. Of course, it was Spring Maiden and Chen Zhao who talked, while Yingbao continued practicing her hand seal technique. The Pinching Hand Technique, also known as the Gripping Technique, Twisting Technique, Pinching Technique, Charm Technique, Hand Technique, Magic Technique, and sometimes referred to as the Doubt Technique, is simply known as Seals. Depending on the arrangement of the 28 constetions and Eight Diagrams, each hand seal corresponds to a specific chant by changing the pose of the hand. Chen Zhao found it fun, started learning it herself, and even brought over an oilmp to cast shadows of their hand seals onto the cabin wall. ¡°Haha! Rabbit, rabbit! Doesn¡¯t mine look like a rabbit?¡± ¡°Wow! Yingbao, yours looks like a wolf¡¯s head. I want to learn how to do it too.¡± In the end, the two girls created hand seal shadows and attacked each other. ¡°Roar, roar, I¡¯m going to eat you, little rabbit!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t! Watch me turn into a hawk, I¡¯ll peck your eyes out¡­ ¡± Spring Maidenughed her head off to the side. The two girls yfully wound around each other, making hand puppet battles with their shadows. Chapter 254: The 250th story: Unfortunate _1 Chapter 254: The 250th story: Unfortunate _1 Trantor: 549690339 In another cabin, Xiao Chengjuny with eyes closed on the straw mat, starting to dream again. Just like the previous two times, his dream were bizarre and chaotic, with many scenes intertwined, leaving his mind in confusion. However, one person stood out in his memories, that was Chen Tiantian, who was now serving as a pce maid in the East pce. Because his dream was all about her. He was infatuated and crazy about her, head over heels, willing to smash into a wall for her, regardless of sttering his brain. He would do it, even if it caused his hands to be stained with blood, without any regret. But how is that possible? How could he go to such lengths for a woman? Unless he was crazy. Xiao Chengjun resisted internally, trying hard to break free from this strange dream, but just couldn¡¯t. Crackle! A startling thunderp sounded. Xiao Chengjun suddenly sat up, panting heavily. Thank goodness, it¡¯s just a dream. Heposed himself, looking outside through the small window. The pitch-ck sky was asionally lit up by shes of lightning, apanied by muffled thunder. A gale swept through the cabin, making a moaning noise, and causing the ship to begin to rock. Xiao Chengjun stood up, put on a cloak and boots, and opened the cabin door. A gust of wind blew his way, knocking him off bnce. The boy servant, Nan Zhu, quickly grabbed him, ¡°Master, the wind is strong and the deck is dangerous.¡± Xiao Chengjun had to retreat back into the cabin, watching Nan Zhu close the cabin door. Soon, it started to rain outside. Nan Zhu looked out the window worriedly, muttering, ¡°Why is it suddenly raining? Luckily, we hadn¡¯t set sail.¡± Xiao Chengjuny back down, closed his eyes feigning sleep, his mind still filled with thoughts of the dream. Strange indeed, in his dream, his wife¡¯s name was also Jiang Yingbao. Every time he tried to see what she looked like, he was never sessful. The wind and rain outside grewrger, and the ship started to sway more. Lil¡¯ Zhu was so frightened that he couldn¡¯t close his eyes, kneeling on the ground with his hands sped together, mumbling for Buddha¡¯s blessing, and the blessings of the Three Purities. At the break of dawn, the storm got worse and the whole ship was tossed about by the waves. ¡°Oh no! There¡¯s a ship overturning!¡± Someone outside was shouting. The ship¡¯s captain and a few sailors held onto the ship¡¯s pir, looking out at the river. They saw a ship capsizing not far away, slowly sinking. ¡°Oh! It¡¯s a cargo ship!¡± one sailor shouted. ¡°There are quite a few people falling into the water!¡± The captain¡¯s eyes lit up and he quickly ordered, ¡°Quick, save them! Throw our lifebuoys into the water, anyone we can save counts!¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Two sailors ran to the stern of the ship against the wind, untied a string of lifebuoys from the side, then ran to the bow, and threw it out with all their strength. Afterwards, the two of them climbed down along the side of the ship, grabbed onto the lifebuoy, and swam towards the people in the water. The two ships were not far apart, and among the people struggling in the water, some could swim, so they grabbed onto the lifebuoys. On board, the guards rushed over to help, tugging the ropes attached to the lifebuoys back. In a moment, they dragged both the people and the lifebuoys back to the side of the ship. When they hauled these people up one by one, everyone could clearly see that they had saved four men and four women in total. Among these eight people, three were young girls, one was a middle-aged woman, and the other four were young men. The few girls who didn¡¯t sink into the river were fortunate to have the protection of these swimming men. Now they were all drenched, huddled together in a cabin, shivering from the cold. Especially the girls, they were barely clothed. However, there were no spare clothes on the boat for them. The guards couldn¡¯t bear to see this, so one of them stepped forward and knocked on the door of Yingbao¡¯s cabin. Xu Chunniang opened the cabin door and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Madam, a ship nearby capsized and we managed to rescue a few women. They¡¯re without clothes. We were hoping you might lend them some garments,¡± the rescuer exined. Immediately, Chunniang nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can find.¡± She turned around and rummaged through her belongings, producing two of her own outer garments, ¡°I only have these two, take them.¡± The guard epted the garments and frowned, ¡°Madam, there are four women.¡± Chunniang apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, these are the only garments I have. The clothes of my daughter are too small, they probably won¡¯t fit them.¡± Without a better solution, the guard took the two garments back to the women. The wind outside seemed to subside and the rain started to lighten. The overturned ship on the river remained inverted, with scattered debris floating around it. A few boats went forward to salvage what they could. Some returned the saved items to the survivors, while some boats simply gathered the salvaged goods and left. The saved survivors sat on the riverbank, weeping in despair, powerless to change their plight. As the rain ceased, sunlight bathed the earth once more. The rescued women, who had been in the cabin, eventually emerged onto the ship¡¯s deck. The sight of their capsized ship, with only a small part visible above the water, brought them to tears. All their clothing, jewelry, and Silver Coin, were lost. The boatdy asked, ¡°Where are you nning to go? If it¡¯s not out of our way, you can travel with us.¡± ¡°We were heading to Beijing. Where is your boat headed?¡± asked the middle-aged woman. The boatdy pped her hands, ¡°Ah, that¡¯s unfortunate. We¡¯re actually on our way from Beijing, heading to Luzhou.¡± ¡°That is unfortunatate,¡± the middle-aged woman looked disappointed, she carefully asked, ¡°Can we persuade you to first take us back to Beijing? Rest assured, we will surely reward you handsomely when we arrive.¡± The boatdy regretfully shook her head, ¡°We can¡¯t make that decision. Although this boat is ours, we¡¯re required to head to Luzhou as per the orders of our employer. Unfortunately, we cannot turn back.¡± While they were talking, the middle-aged woman spotted two peopleing out from another cabin and her eyes lit up. ¡°You are Xu Chunniang, aren¡¯t you?¡± she hurriedly walked over to them and greeted. Chunniang looked equally surprised, ¡°Lady Wen? What are you doing here?¡± Lady Wen replied, ¡°I was taking my daughter to visit our rtives in Beijing, but a stormst night overturned our boat. How strange, what brought you to Beijing?¡± ¡°My daughter was in Beijing for a medical consultation with a nobleman. We were actually about to return home.¡± Chunniang replied. ¡°Your daughter is here too?¡± Lady Wen couldn¡¯t help but nce curiously at Chunniang¡¯s side. Chen Zhao, who knew Lady Wen, quickly paid her respects and greeted her. Lady Wen just looked at her without uttering a word, her gaze wandered around. ¡°My daughter is still sleeping,¡± Chunniang mentioned. Chunniang¡¯s daughter had been upte the previous night and was unable to get up in the morning. Chunniang decided to let her sleep in, wrapped up in her nket. ¡°Oh,¡± Lady Wen changed her mind abruptly and decided not to return to Beijing. Last time, her brother screwed up an assignment and got their uncle thrown into prison. The purpose of her visit to Beijing was to plead with her father-inw, hoping he would leverage his rtionship and get her uncle out of jail. Unfortunately, her n was thwarted by the bad weather and their boat capsized. Thankfully, they were rescued by good samaritans. If not for them, the oue would have been unthinkable. Seeing that Lady Wen had been silent for a while, Chunniang spoke in a low voice, ¡°I need to freshen up. Please excuse me.¡± Then, she straightaway headed towards the washroom. Following closely behind, Chen Zhao entered the washroom and closed the door. On board, this washroom also served as thedies¡¯ Gongfang, and the smell was somewhat unpleasant. Chunniang hurriedly cleaned up, fetched a bucket of water to rinse the toilet and then led Chen Zhao back to the cabin. Seeing that her daughter was now awake, Chunniang whispered, ¡°I have to tell you something very strange.¡± ¡°What is it!¡± Yingbao curiously asked. Chunniang said, ¡°Lady Wen, along with her two daughters, was travelling to Beijing and their boat capsizedst night. They were rescued by our ship¡¯s crew. All three of them survived without a scratch. Isn¡¯t that strange?¡± Chapter 255 - 251: Malicious Heart_1 Chapter 255: Chapter 251: Malicious Heart_1 Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao didn¡¯t find the situation odd at all. Because in the story books, the coincidental encounters between various female characters and the male lead were quite diverse and odd. And the two daughters of Lady Wen were also among those many female characters. But all of these had nothing to do with her. It¡¯s true that she was good friends with Sister Wen Shu, but that doesn¡¯t necessitate having dealings with the entire family of Lady Wen. After freshening up, Chunniang used a small charcoal stove and a pot that her daughter brought, to heat up water and cook dragon beard noodles. Once the noodles were cooked, she drained some of the water and mixed in crab roe sauce. The three of them sat on the deck, each with a bowl of noodles starting to eat. Yingbao also took out several sesame seed cakes to share with Chunniang and Chen Zhao. ¡°Oh my, madam, you¡¯ve brought your own charcoal stove.¡± The boatdy came over to look and eximed with a beaming smile, ¡°You¡¯ve really prepared well!¡± No wonder they didn¡¯t eat the food on the boat. When Xiao Chengjun hired the boat to go to Luzhou, it was a spontaneous decision, and he didn¡¯t bring enough food supplies for the journey. Therefore, they had to pay extra for the food prepared by the boatdy. Chunniang didn¡¯t want Xiao Chengjun to pay extra for them, so she decided to cook their meals herself. ¡°It¡¯s my daughter who¡¯s meticulous, I hope thedy boat owner can forgive us,¡± said Chunniang. The boatdyughed, ¡°What¡¯s there to forgive? We¡¯re all travelling, being meticulous spares us from suffering.¡± The two chatted leisurely for a while, and a fishy aroma gradually wafted over from the rear of the boat. The boatdy promptly had to lift the lid off her pot to prepare the meals. Today¡¯s dish was still boiled fish, apanied by arge te of ckened pickled vegetable shreds, and a big bucket of steamed rice. The fish had been caught from the river just that morning and after descaling, was ced directly into the pot to boil. It was slightly vored with salt, which is why it had a bit of a fishy smell. The boat crew and guards didn¡¯t seem to mind, and continued to savor their food. However, the mother and daughters of the Wen family seemed to have trouble swallowing their food. Wen Tian and Wen Jiao had soaked in the water for quite some time yesterday. Even though they drank ginger date soup after being rescued, they still caught a chill. Added to the fact that they were already somewhat seasick, the smell of the fish soup made them feel even worse now. ¡°Mom, I¡¯m feeling dizzy and want to vomit.¡± Wen Jiao weakly nestled into the bedding, her face as white as a sheet. Wen Tian directly vomited, and started crying as she did so. ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat these meals, woohoo¡­ Mom, I feel so ufortable.¡± Lady Wen of the Lin family was terrified, and immediately ordered the maid to find help. Knowing that among everyone on the boat only the child of the Jiang family knew medical skills, the maid ran to beseech Chunniang, ¡°Please help my mistress! They are all ill and have been vomiting a lot.¡± After giving it some thought, Yingbao asked her mother to help her carry her medicine box and they went together to the cabin where Lady Wen and her family were staying to examine them. Indeed, Wen Tian and Wen Jiao didn¡¯t look well. Besides vomiting, they were also a bit feverish and coughing. After checking their pulses, Yingbao said, ¡°They have wind-cold invasion. I¡¯ll use acupuncture to reduce their fever first, then I¡¯ll write a prescription. You can buy the medicine at the next dock and decoct it for them to drink.¡± In fact, she had stored some pills that could treat wind-cold diseases in her stash, but those were made with Five Tripod Mushroom and in limited quantity, so she didn¡¯t want to give them to Lady Wen and her family to take. Furthermore, the conditions of these two sisters were not severe, they were just suffering from the chill, as long as they get some rest and drink some herbal decoction, they should be able to recover soon.¡± Upon hearing that they needed to use needles, Wen Tian immediately objected, ¡°No! Get away from me!¡± She then turned toward Lin toin, ¡°Mom, I don¡¯t want to use needles. What can a child know about medical skills? I want to get off this boat, it¡¯s so ufortable.¡± Lin hugged her daughter to console her, then turned to Yingbao and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t there any other way?¡± Yingbao spoke without emotion, ¡°Yes, you can take them off the ship to see other doctors.¡± She was speaking the truth, the Wen sisters get seasick, staying on the ship would only worsen their condition. Upon hearing this, Lin Family¡¯s matriarch thought Yingbao was being sarcastic and became angry, ¡°What are you saying? My son is so ill and you¡¯re so heartless, you¡¯re even making fun of him.¡± Seeing the situation, Chunniang frowned, grabbed her daughter¡¯s hand and led her out of the cabin. Behind them, Lin¡¯s angry roar resounded, ¡°Where¡¯s yourpassion as a doctor, Yingbao? You¡¯re unfit to be a doctor! The Wen Family truly is blind to have trained a disciple like you.¡± Listening to this, Yingbao became enraged. She released Chunniang¡¯s hand, returned to the cabin and said to Lin, ¡°Madam Wen, whether I¡¯m fit to be a doctor is not for you to decide. You know a bit about medicine, you should know that your daughter being seasick constantly is not conducive to her recovery. Where did I go wrong?¡± Lin paused, but then yelled out, ¡°You¡¯re doing this on purpose. Here you have medicine, yet you don¡¯t allow my son to use it. You insist that we must go ashore to find another doctor, you¡¯re deliberately making things difficult.¡± Yingbao was surprised, looking at Mrs. Wen, she asked: ¡°How do you know I have medicine? Do you know that the medicine I carry isn¡¯t right for your daughter¡¯s illness?¡± Lin was at a loss for words. Yingbao continued, ¡°Madam Wen, if you are short of silver taels, you can borrow from me. I can lend you some for the sake of the old Mr.Wen. But I, Yingbao, owe your Wen Family nothing, so don¡¯t try to manipte me with your previous arguments.¡± Having said that, she turned and left the cabin. On the deck, Xiao Chengjun was looking at her with a stern face, his eyes filled with scorn. This girl was truly detestable. Despite her young age, shecked any sympathy and was disrespectful to her elders. Such a character could win the appreciation of the Prince, she was truly cunning and deceitful. When he arrived at Luzhou, he would write a letter to inform Murong Xian about everything that happened during the journey. He would let him know that this girl was a vile viin. Yingbao, unaware of Xiao Chengjun¡¯s thoughts, returned to her cabin with her mother and began reading books, studying Zu Yuke¡¯s works. After a while, the ship reached a pier. Xiao Chengjun sent someone ashore to invite a doctor to treat the Wen sisters. The doctor also suggested allowing the patients off the boat for treatment, but Lin refused. Because she did not wish to be separated from the young master of Beijing¡¯s top noble family. Seeing Lin¡¯s refusal to disembark, Xiao Chengjun could only promise, ¡°You all go ashore for treatment first, I¡¯ll have the ship wait here. When your daughters feel better, we can continue our journey.¡± Upon hearing this, Lin was overjoyed and quickly thanked him, ¡°Thank you, young master, for your consideration. I will take them off the ship.¡± Xiao Chengjun nodded and had his personal servant Nan Zhu escort the threedies off the ship and settle them in an inn in the county town. Chen Zhao returned to the cabin from the deck and informed Chunniang about the news, ¡°Young Master Xiao has allowed Lady Lin¡¯s family to disembark and recuperate. He said he¡¯d wait for them to recover before they continue their journey. Auntie, there¡¯s a county town not far from here, shall we visit?¡± Chunniang was undecided, she turned to her daughter, ¡°Baobao, can we go?¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°We should ask Xiao Chengjun first. If he is willing to stay here for three to five days, we can go to the town.¡± So, Chunniang went to ask Xiao Chengjun, ¡°Young Master Xiao, how long are we nning to stay here? I¡¯d like to take the child into the county town.¡± Chengjun replied indifferently, ¡°No more than three days. If you want to go to town, go as soon as possible and make sure toe back before midday the day after tomorrow.¡± Seeing his agreement, Chunniang immediately returned to tell her daughter. ¡°Young Master Xiao said we must return before midday the day after tomorrow. He will stay here for three days, so we can go and return early.¡± Chen Zhao, overjoyed, jumped up, ¡°Let¡¯s get off the ship quickly!¡± Staying on the ship these few days was unbearable. Apart from eating and sleeping, the only pastime was watching Yingbao¡¯s discussions about the pulse, which got really boring. Now they finally had a chance to get off the ship and move around, she couldn¡¯t wait. Chapter 256 - 252: Anping County_1 Chapter 256: Chapter 252: Anping County_1 Trantor: 549690339 Spring Maiden gathered a few silver taels and stashed the household registry and travel pass on herself, before taking the two girls off the boat. Soon after they disembarked, Xiao Chengjun also got off the boat with two guards. On the dock, there were ready ox carts and mule carts avable, all were trying to attract business. Three women boarded a mule cart and headed towards the county town. Yingbao, sitting on the cart, asked the old man who was driving, ¡°May I ask, sir, what is most famous here?¡± The old man lightly flicked his whip, and chuckled, ¡°The most famous thing, would no doubt be our honey mandarins here. Every autumn, many merchant shipse to buy honey mandarins to transport to Beijing. However, it¡¯s a pity that you¡¯vee at an inopportune time, as the mandarins are not yet on the market.¡± ¡°What delicious things do you have here?¡± Chen Zhao asked. The old man flicked his whip and said: ¡°There are plenty of delicious things. The entire Cross Street is full of snack shops; youdies can go check it out.¡± Yingbao: ¡°Then please take us to Cross Street, sir.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± The mule cart galloped at a brisk pace, and they quickly entered the county town. The county town was named Anping County and, simr to Qinchuan County, it was a small town. The mule cart went straight to Cross Street, the old man dropped them off thoughtfully at the entrance of an inn before driving off. First, Yingbao took her mother and Chen Zhao to book a room in the inn before strolling through the market. It was lunchtime, and there weren¡¯t many street vendors, but there were quite a few shops open. Spring Maiden took the two kids to a food stall for lunch, and then bought a carry basket from a general store. Because her daughter mentioned wanting to buy a lot of stuff, she prepared in advance. Then the group went to browse the shops. As Spring Maiden lent all her clothes to Lady Wen¡¯s family and had none for herself, Yingbao bought her several outfits at a clothing store, along with two pairs of cloth shoes suitable for walking. Chen Zhao¡¯s clothes seemed thin, and she didn¡¯t have anything extra to wear in the chilly mornings and evenings, so they bought her two padded outfits, which moved Chen Zhao till her eyes were reddened. Yingbao also bought two thick padded outfits for herself, in addition to two nkets. These nkets would make them warmer when sleeping at night. Although she had such items in her cavern, they were not conveniently essible. The three then visited a medicine shop and purchased several big packages of herbs for treating cold and flu. The experience of Lady Wen¡¯s family reminded Yingbao that it was uncertain when they could return home, so they needed to prepare for any potential problems. After returning to the inn, while Spring Maiden sorted out the purchased items and Chen Zhaoy on the bed to sleep, Yingbao practiced the Step of Yu in their room. Suddenly, there was amotion, which seemed to being from next door. ¡°I say, Young Master Li, when will someone in your familye to pick you up? I¡¯m a small-scale businessman, truly can¡¯t afford¡­¡± It was the Innkeeper¡¯s voice, and it was also tinged with a whining tone. Out of curiosity, Yingbao opened the door and peeked out. She saw the Innkeeper standing in front of the door of the room next door, wiping his nose and tears, saying, ¡°Young Master Li, It¡¯s not that I¡¯m rushing you, but you¡¯ve been staying at my small inn for several months already. If this continues, I¡¯ll be spending all of my savings.¡± A few coughs were heard from the room, and a hoarse voice replied, ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry for the trouble. I¡¯ve already sent a letter home, they¡¯lle to pick me up soon, could you give me a few more days¡­cough, cough, cough, cough¡­¡± The innkeeper sighed, turned around, and left the room. Yingbao quietly moved to the door of the next room and peeped inside. She saw a thin, frail man lying on a nk-bed, with a bamboo bookshelf beside the bed ¨C the kind that schrs use. Underneath the bookshelf was a bamboo examination basket, and through the openwork of the basket, she could see all kinds of examination utensils inside. It seemed that this man was a schr traveling to the examinations but fell ill and was stranded at the inn. ording to current dynastyws, if a schr who is on the way to his exams is detained due to illness and unable to return home, an inn cannot kick him out, instead they must have a doctor look at him. The inn canter report the expenses to the County Government. The cost of the student¡¯s board and lodgings and the cost of the doctor are then reviewed by the County Government, and then reimbursed to the inn. However, the premise is that the inn must first pay this expense. Presumably, this schr has been in poor health for a long time, his family hasn¡¯te to pick him up, so the Innkeeper is worried that the schr would die at the inn and came to ask. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Seeing her daughter hesitating to enter, Chunniu asked. Yingbao returned to the guest room and quietly said to her mother, ¡°There¡¯s a schr in the neighboring room who seems very ill.¡± ¡°A schr on his way for the exams?¡± Chunniu sighed, ¡°Doesn¡¯t he have anyone with him?¡± Those who go for the exams, generally have their families with them to some extent, or at least have a servant following them. Very few are alone. Yingbao shook her head: ¡°I guess not.¡± She suddenly thought of her younger brother Jiang Jie. If he was to take an exam someday, they would definitely not let him go alone. After a while, there was another noise outside. It turns out Innkeeper was back again. Yingbao ran out again to check. She saw that the Innkeeper was followed by a doctor who looked very impatient. The two of them entered the room, the doctor didn¡¯t even check the schr¡¯s pulse, he just nced at him and told the Innkeeper, ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do for him. It¡¯s not that I won¡¯t cure him, it¡¯s just that he has been too physically deficient and is beyond medical treatment.¡± As soon as the Innkeeper heard this, his face fell. He grabbed the doctor and asked, ¡°Is he really incurable? What are we supposed to do?¡± If a schr died in his inn, that would be too unlucky. The doctor withdrew his sleeve and said, ¡°I¡¯ve said all that I can. I¡¯ll prescribe another remedy for him, you go and boil it for him to drink. Don¡¯t bothering to me after this.¡± After saying that, he left the guest room. The Innkeeper sighed, looked at the schr lying on the bed, shook his head, and left the room. Yingbao saw the schr lying on the bed, pale as death and not moving. She thought for a moment, then ran to catch up with the Innkeeper, ¡°Uncle Innkeeper, wait a minute.¡± The Innkeeper turned around, saw the child who had just checked in today, and asked, ¡°What is it, little Miss?¡± Yingbao said in all seriousness, ¡°I am a shaman. I can cure that schr.¡± The Innkeeper was taken aback, looked up and down at the little girl in front of him, smiled and said, ¡± Little Miss, don¡¯t joke around. I¡¯m busy.¡± Yingbao: ¡± I really am a shaman. I might be able to cure that schr, why don¡¯t you believe me?¡± The Innkeeper sighed, ¡°Alright, if you want to cure him, go ahead. If you really cure him, I won¡¯t take a penny from you.¡± Yingbao smiled, ¡°Okay, but first I need to buy some yellow talisman papers and a cinnabar brush. Could you please buy them for me?¡± The Innkeeper wiped his face, just about to brush her off and leave, when he saw the little girl take out a small spindle of silver and hand it over, ¡°It has to be top-grade talisman paper and cinnabar, please buy more.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The guest paid the silver first, so there was no reason for him not to take the business. At least he could make amission. The Innkeeper took the five taels of silver and personally ran to the City God Temple to buy a big pile of talisman paper, then went to the pharmacy to buy cinnabar. Just when he returned to the inn, a waiter handed him the prescription the doctor had written. The Innkeeper waved his hand: ¡°Put it aside for now, we¡¯ll talk about itter.¡± He wanted to see what this child can really do. Even if she couldn¡¯t cure him, it wouldn¡¯t matter, as he had already earned 800 coins from her. At that point, he¡¯ll use that money to get the medicine for the schr, and with the remaining money, he might even be able to hold a funeral for him. Chapter 257 - 253: Scholar_1 Chapter 257: Chapter 253: Schr_1 Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao received the yellow talisman paper and cinnabar, as well as a brush, brought by the shopkeeper. She ground the cinnabar into a fine paste with a drip of water and drew an eviction talisman with the brush. The quality of the talisman was not very good, its lines were still a bit twisted and warped, but it looked passable. Unfortunately, she had forgotten to obtain a peach wood sword, a priest robe, and a priest hat. Otherwise, she could have been a proper Forbidden Curse Master. The shopkeeper stood beside the child, watching her fumble around with a puzzled expression on his face. He dared not judge the quality of the talisman she drew, but it seemed that the little girl might indeed be a shaman. When she was chanting and drawing the talisman, her mother and sister showed no surprise, indicating that she often treated people this way. The shopkeeper began to feel hopeful. They all arrived at the schr¡¯s room, Yingbao kept muttering the incantation several times, now she only needed to perform the corresponding gestures and recite it. She then walked in the Yu Steps twice, murmuring all the while, took out a small porcin vial of potion from her bag, and made the schr drink it. This schr looked to be in his twenties, bearded, disheveled, and with a strange smell emanating from his body. Yingbao stepped back and told the shopkeeper, ¡°Have someone heat some water as he needs a wash.¡± The smell, she thought, was enough to make someone faint. Fortunately, the chamber pot in the room was cleaned every day; otherwise, the whole room would have been stinking. The shopkeeper nodded, ¡°I do have people clean him every now and then or else he wouldn¡¯t look human.¡± The schr slept as soon as he had taken the medicine, and everyone left the room. That night, taking advantage of Chen Zhao and his mother¡¯s sleep, Yingbao entered her spiritual domain (Dongfu) and started to arrange the seeds. She sprinkled seeds of each vegetable around the Pupil Spring, including x. She also cut open ripe watermelons and cantaloupes, took out their seeds and nted them. As for litchi and longan, she took out their seeds and buried them in the ck soil for sprouting, nting around twenty or thirty of each. She then checked the ginseng she had buried in the ck soil and found out one of them had actually sprouted. Heavens! The ginseng has finally sprouted! Yingbao was overjoyed, and she spent a long time watching the tiny sprout. When they will bear fruits, she would nt a lot of ginseng. She also had to figure out how to grow San Qi (Panax notoginseng) and Huang Qi (Radix astragali). It would be best if she could find fresh San Qi and Huang Qi, and at that time, she could directly nt them in her spiritual domain. The next day. The shopkeeper came knocking early in the morning: ¡°Little doctor! Little doctor!¡± Chen Zhao¡¯s mother(Spring) opened the door: ¡°Shopkeeper, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Schr Li is capable of getting out of bed.¡± The shopkeeper said with a delighted face: ¡°Please excuse the call, little doctor. Can you take a look at him to see if he is better?¡± Hearing this, Yingbao immediately ran over, ¡°I¡¯ll have a look.¡± She had only given him one vial of Five Ding Chi liquid diluted by the Pupil Spring to drink. It doesn¡¯t make sense for it to have taken effect so quickly. Could it have been the effects of her incantations and talisman drawing? The group of them went to the room next door and saw that the schr was sitting on the edge of the bed. His hair was wellbed, and his clothes had been changed ¡ª altogether, he looked much more invigorated. However, his emaciated cheeks and the full-face beard made him look haggard. Upon seeing Yingbao, Schr Li stood up and took a deep bow: ¡°Thanks to the life-saving grace the little doctor. I, Li Xu will never forget it.¡± Yingbao nodded with a profound look on her face, ¡°Saving lives is our duty, Mr. Li, you should not worry about it.¡± She took a quick look at Li Xu: ¡°Do you feel unwell anywhere?¡± Li Xu honestly answered, ¡°I feel a dull pain in my chest, and my limbsck strength.¡± ¡°Come over here, I¡¯ll take your pulse,¡± Yingbao said, taking a seat by the small table. As instructed, Li Xu sat down on one side and extended his slender wrist. Yingbao took his pulse and listened to his back. The man seemed to have lung disease, somewhat like the lung disease that her Uncle Er suffered from. Apparently, due to exposure to harsh weather and theck of timely treatment, his health deteriorated step by step. Yingbao thought for a moment, had the shopkeeper bring some paper and pen, wrote a prescription, and then asked him to get the herbs. She also took out a small vial of potion from her bag and gave it to Li Xu to drink. Without hesitating, Li Xu drank the potion, not a drop remained. The shopkeeper gave the prescription to the errand boy and told him to go and get the medicine from the pharmacy. Then he turned to Yingbao with eager eyes. ¡°Um, little doctor, do you make house calls?¡± Yingbao shook her head: ¡°I do not.¡± She nned to return to the boat in the afternoon, so how could she make house calls? The shopkeeper sighed, ¡°To tell you the truth, my daughter who lives in the west of the city has been married for almost three years but has yet to conceive. I was hoping you could examine her.¡± Yingbao replied, ¡°Sorry, I am not free for house calls, and we will be returning to our boat this afternoon.¡± Upon hearing that she was leaving in the afternoon, The shopkeeper became anxious and quickly asked, ¡°Then, then can I bring my daughter here for you to see?¡± Yingbao relented and nodded, ¡°Of course, but I will only provide consultation, and not the medicine, as the medicines I have are very precious.¡± She picked up the small porcin vial that Schr Li have drank from and said, ¡°A vial of such potent medicine needs ten taels of silver.¡± ¡°What?¡± Both Schr Li and the shopkeeper were taken aback. ¡°Te¡­Ten taels?¡± Schr Li¡¯s hands and feet started trembling. From yesterday till now, he identally had drunk twenty taels of silver. What on earth should he do now? Li Xu bowed to Yingbao again, ¡°I apologise, but I currently don¡¯t have twenty taels of silver. Could you please tell me your address? Once I get the money, I shall personally deliver it.¡± Without hesitation, Yingbao wrote down her address on a paper and gave it to Schr Li. Li Xu took the paper, blew on the ink to dry it, carefully folded it, and put it in his book box. Seeing his serious attitude, Yingbao began to develop a good impression of him. No matter whether he would deliver the silver or not, his attitude was quite appealing. The shopkeeper bit his lips, ¡°I¡¯ll immediately go and fetch my daughter. Could I kindly request you to stay put?¡± Yingbao: ¡°Alright, make it quick. My mother and I need to go out to buy some thingster.¡± She had not bought the local grains and vegetable seeds yet. She nned to visit the morning market and browse around. Even if she could only gather one or two kinds, it would be good. ¡°I¡¯ll be back very soon!¡± The shopkeeper hastily went out, leaving his ten-year-old son to look after the shop, while he personally went to fetch his daughter from her inws¡¯ ce. After the shopkeeper left, Yingbao took out a packet of medicinal pills from her bag. ¡°There are thirty pills in this packet. Take one every day. Should you not fully recover after finishing them,e to find me in my hometown.¡± Li Xu hesitantly took the packet of pills and asked, ¡°How¡­ how much are these pills?¡± ¡°One tael of silver per pill. So thirty taels for thirty pills.¡± Yingbao replied. Li Xu almost dropped the packet from his hands, he hurriedly shook his head, ¡°I appreciate the kindness, little doctor. But my family is in financial straits, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll not be able to repay such arge amount of money.¡± He tried to return the packet, but Yingbao stopped him, ¡°It¡¯s no problem. Once your health improves and you be a sessful candidate at the imperial exam, you can repay me.¡± Li Xu with a troubled look on his face asked, ¡°What if I don¡¯t pass the exam?¡± The imperial exams are tough, who could guarantee that they would pass? ¡°If you don¡¯t pass, you cane to my hometown and open a school to tutor children as repayment of the debt.¡± Yingbao greatly respected schrs and saved him for this very reason. ¡°Alright,¡± Li Xu gave another deep bow, ¡°Then I shall reluctantly ept it.¡± Chapter 258 - 254: The Ship Has Left_1 Chapter 258: Chapter 254: The Ship Has Left_1 Trantor: 549690339 An hourter, the innkeeper hurriedly returned to the inn on a donkey cart. A thin and frail young woman got off the donkey cart. Though she was referred to as a married woman, she was actually just 18 or 19 years old and simply wore her hair in a bun, as married women do. When she saw the young divine doctor her father had mentioned, she was taken aback. How can such a young child diagnose people? The innkeeper whispered, ¡°My girl, don¡¯t judge her by her age, her medical skills are truly formidable. Schr Li, who stayed in our home for several months, ate a bottle of medicine she gave yesterday and was able to get out of bed this morning.¡± Although the young woman was skeptical, she followed Yingbao into a guest room. Yingbao took her pulse and asked her a few questions before saying, ¡°Your pulse is slippery, you have insufficient qi and blood, and symptoms of a cold womb.¡± The young woman nodded, ¡°That¡¯s what the other doctors have said too. Do you have a solution, young doctor?¡± ¡°If you want to conceive, you need to replenish your qi and blood. I will give you a prescription, use this prescription to make porridge.¡± Yingbao dipped her brush in ink and wrote down the prescription, then handed it to the woman. The young woman took a look and saw Jujube, Goji berry, Donkey-hide gtin, and Lotus seeds written on it, and was somewhat startled. Is this it? It doesn¡¯t look like a medical prescription. Yingbao exined, ¡°You¡¯re still young, you only need to replenish your qi and blood through a nutritious diet, there¡¯s no need for additional medication. All medicines have some toxicity, you can stop taking all the other medications. Eat more chicken, fish, greens, citrus, and others daily. When your body is nourished well, you will naturally conceive.¡± The woman often had irregr periods, or her periodssted too long because her diet was too poor and monotonous. Most of her meals were taken up by drinking medicinal soup, which led to her body bing more deficient. Upon hearing Yingbao¡¯s words, the woman wept into her hands. Since she married into her husband¡¯s family, her mother-inw started questioning why she hadn¡¯t gotten pregnant even before half a year had passed. She was anxious and fearful, unable to eat or sleep well. A yearter, she was still not pregnant, so her mother-inw started inviting doctors and divine witches over. Despite all the fuss, there was no improvement. This young woman was tormented daily, having to drink arge bowl of bitter medicine three times a day. That was bearable, but her mother-inw often made her drink talisman water and ash water, which would make her stomach hurt for a long time after each drink. Another year passed like this, and when she still wasn¡¯t pregnant, her mother-inw began to berate her, saying that if she didn¡¯t have a child in three years, she would divorce her. Now even her husband doesn¡¯t care much for her, causing her parents to worry greatly. If she really was sent back to her maiden home, how would her parents and brothers ever raise their heads in front of others? ¡°Wi-Will I really be able to conceive?¡± the young woman asked tearfully. Yingbao: ¡°As long as you nourish your body well, there won¡¯t be a problem.¡± The woman was so thin she was practically bones, her face was waxen yellow and her hair was dry and brittle. If she continued on like this, forget about having children, she would probably wither away in a few years. The young woman wiped her eyes, ¡°I will heed the young doctor¡¯s advice and take good care of myself.¡± The innkeeper, who had been eavesdropping at the door, suddenly barged in and said to Yingbao, ¡°Young doctor, could you sell me some of your medicine?¡± If the medicine could cure Schr Li, who was on the verge of death, it could surely cure others too. If he didn¡¯t buy a few bottles, he would surely regret it for the rest of his life. Yingbao: ¡°Sure, Uncle Innkeeper, how many bottles do you want to buy?¡± The innkeeper hesitated, asking, ¡°Can my daughter take this medicine?¡± ¡°She should be able to.¡± Yingbao herself could take it even though she wasn¡¯t sick. It doesn¡¯t make sense that this young woman couldn¡¯t. With that, the innkeeper clenched his teeth and said, ¡°I¡¯ll buy five bottles! No! Ten bottles!¡± Ten bottles amounted to a hundred taels of silver. He could barely afford that. Moreover,pared to a life, a hundred taels was nothing. Yingbao blinked, ¡°It will be one hundred taels, I will start preparing the medicine immediately.¡± With that, she took ten small porcin bottles out of her bag, ced them neatly on the table. ¡°Alright! I will go get the money now!¡± The innkeeper hurried out of the room to get the money. One hundred taels is not a small sum, he had to go to the bank to withdraw it. Half an hourter, the innkeeper returned with ten silver ingots and handed them one by one to Yingbao. Yingbao secured the silver ingot and then pretended to cast a spell on the medicine bottles. ¡°Heaven is clear, the earth is at peace, armor in the body, secretws of the Purple capital, piercing directly into the gateless, great saints show greatpassion, nine turns drive out the diseases, make it as swift as an imperial decree! All right, these medicines have been endowed with divine power, Uncle Shopkeeper, please take good care of them.¡± Yingbao stood up, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, we should go.¡± She still had to go to the market with her mother and they had been dyed for quite a while. The shopkeeper asked hurriedly, ¡°Are you checking out now, young doctor?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After she and her mother had finished at the market, they would definitely have to hurry back to the big boat. It would be better to return early, lest Xiao Chengjun cause trouble again. ¡°Then, I will start processing it now.¡± The shopkeeper pocketed the eight small porcin bottles and gave the remaining two to his daughter, whispering, ¡°Drink one bottle a day and eat more rice as the young doctor suggested. Stop the medicine prescribed by your mother-inw. Medicine is a three-part toxin, we must not be careless.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The woman nodded. After that, the shopkeeper joyfully checked Yingbao out, then asked her where she lived. Without concealing it, Yingbao told him truthfully. When they left the inn, the three of them visited the market and then took a mule cart to the pier. However, after looking around the pier, they couldn¡¯t find the boat that Xiao Chengjun had chartered. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Chun¡¯niang was beginning to panic. It was only the second day. She arrived one day earlier than Xiao Chengjun had said and the boat had already left. Not only had it left, but it had also taken her several boxes. Yingbao went to the ce where the boat was docked and asked a tea vendor nearby, ¡°Excuse me, sir, do you know where the boat that was previously docked here went?¡± The vendor answered, ¡°That boat left this morning.¡± It left? Yingbao¡¯s heart sank. Was Xiao Chengjun out of his mind? Not only did he leave them behind, but he also took her boxes. Why? ¡°Excuse me, sir, did ady with two daughters also board the ship?¡± She wanted to know if Lady Wen and her family had also been left behind. The vendor thought for a moment, then said, ¡°Yes, there was ady with twin girls who boarded the ship this morning, along with a maid. Not long afterward, the ship sailed.¡± Bastard! Yingbao felt like pounding the ground in anger. That damned Xiao Chengjun! Did he do this intentionally? ¡°Baobao, what should we do now?¡± Chun¡¯niang, clutching her daughter¡¯s hand in anxiety, asked, ¡°Did Xiao Chengjun really leave? But why?¡± They had agreed clearly. He had also agreed and said that they could return by the day after tomorrow in the afternoon. But they came back one day earlier, so why did the boat still leave? Yingbao tightly held her mother¡¯s hand andforted, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, let¡¯s stay here for the night, and we will see what happens tomorrow.¡± If Xiao Chengjun¡¯s boat didn¡¯t appear the next day, it would mean they really left the three of them behind. ¡°Alright,¡± Chun¡¯niang agreed, gripping the terrified Chen Zhao¡¯s hand, ¡°let¡¯s find an inn to stay at for now.¡± There was a market town near the pier which seemed a lotrger than Chuanhe Town. Not only were there inns, but there were also many shops. Chun¡¯niang booked a room first, then sat down not far from the pier, gazing towards the river. Very fewrge boats were docked here. Most of the boats were small fishing boats. The fishermen stood at the front of the boats, flinging out the fishings and then slowly pulling back a full of lively fish. Seeing her mother¡¯s worried expression, Yingbaoforted, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we can hire a few escorts and travel by road if we must. We will get home.¡± Chun¡¯niang nodded her head. Her concern wasn¡¯t about not being able to return home, but rather about the boxes left on the boat. Chapter 259 - 255: Tea Tree Village_1 Chapter 259: Chapter 255: Tea Tree Vige_1 Trantor: 549690339 On the second day, Chunniang went to the pier early in the morning to check, waiting until noon, but still, Xiao Chengjun¡¯s ship was nowhere to be seen. By this point, she had realized that the young master of the Xiao Family had indeed abandoned them here. Chunniang was furious, but the only avable course of action was to figure out a way to return home. Yingbao, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t in a hurry. She leisurely went to the market with Chen Zhao, taking the opportunity to eat, drink, and shop. They not only bought a new small charcoal stove and a basket of charcoal but also purchased a variety of local vegetable seeds. Once at the market, they happened upon a vendor selling honey mandarins and bought arge basket full of ripe yellow ones. As expected, the honey mandarins were sweet and delicious, with a fragrant aroma that wafted into your nose. She collected all the peels and dried them secretly in the cave dwelling, intending to steam them and make dried orange peel when they got back. Anxious, Chunniang thought about hiring a cart in the county town to return home, but was deterred by Yingbao. ¡°Mother, don¡¯t worry. This is a shipping pier, and many merchant ships pass by. All we need to do is find a ship heading to Qinchuan County, and we can just pay them a fare,¡± Yingbao advised. Chunniang sighed and nodded in agreement. But she continued to visit the pier daily, inquiring the crew of anyrge merchant ship that docked if they would be passing through Qinchuan County. Several days passed in this way, and they didn¡¯t find any ship passing through Qinchuan County. Instead, they encountered a familiar face. The lean schr, Li Xu, arrived at the pier with his book bag, surprised to see Chunniang sitting under arge tree. He quickly came over to greet her. ¡°Madam Jiang, what brings you here all alone?¡± Chunniang returned the greeting and bitterly smiled, ¡°Truth be told, the ship that brought us here has departed. I was looking for a merchant ship going to Qinchuan County to take us back.¡± Li Xu furrowed his brows, ¡°Madam Jiang,rgemercial ships seldom dock here. Why note with me, and we can find a ship from my home.¡± Chunniang was startled, ¡°There are fewrgemercial ships here?¡± Li Xu nodded, ¡°This pier is small. It¡¯s good if we see two or three long-distance merchant ships in a month. Mostly, short-haul ships dock here for passengers. My hometown is right next to the Ming River; there are quite a fewrge merchant ships that pass by. Perhaps, we could find one that¡¯s headed directly to Qinchuan County.¡± Chunniang pondered for a moment, then said, ¡°I¡¯ll go back and discuss it with my daughter.¡± For the first time in her life, she was all by herself in an unknown ce. Without a clue about what she should do, she could only turn to her daughter for advice. Li Xu nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting here for you, Madam Jiang.¡± Chunniang responded and hurried to the inn to meet her daughter. Yingbao and Chen Zhao had just returned from the market. Seeing Chunniang¡¯s worried face, they asked immediately, ¡°Mother, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Chunniang exined everything about her encounter with Li Xu. ¡°Schr Li said that there are few long-distance ships docking here and suggested that we go with him to his ce and find another ship there,¡± she borated. After a moment¡¯s contemtion, Yingbao nodded in agreement, ¡°In that case, let¡¯s go with him.¡± Travelling with a schr like Li Xu was undoubtedly the safest option for them. Upon hearing this, Chen Zhao was quick to pack her things, ¡°Well, let¡¯s go. I¡¯m fed up with staying here and would like a change of scenery.¡± Thus, Chunniang and Chen Zhao packed up their sundries into baskets and headed for the pier. Once they reached the pier, they found that Schr Li Xu had already found a fishing boat and was haggling over the fare with the fisherman. ¡°Two coins is too expensive for a journey to Tea Tree Vige in Anyang County. Thest time I rented a boat, it only cost one coin,¡± he argued. ¡°We¡¯re more than a hundred miles away from Tea Tree Vige. Which part of it seems excessive to you?¡± The fisherman countered, ¡°Go around and ask, can you find anyone offering a better price?¡± Li Xu thought for a moment and indeed turned to inquire from a different fisherman. Seeing his potential customer leaving, the boatman became frantic. He quickly jumped ashore, caught hold of Li Xu¡¯s book bag and pleaded, ¡°Hey, hey, sir, don¡¯t you leave, I haven¡¯t finished speaking. How about this, I can go as low as one coin and eight, not a penny less.¡± Li Xu deliberated for a while before nodding, ¡°Okay, but I have threepanions. You¡¯ll have to wait a bit.¡± ¡°What? There are others?¡± The boatman felt he was at a loss but was worried about Li Xu approaching other boats, so he agreed reluctantly, ¡°Alright, alright. But I can only wait for two hours.¡± Just as his words fell, they heard a young girl¡¯s voice, ¡°Mister Li, we¡¯re here!¡± Seeing Yingbao, Li Xu¡¯s face brightened up. He respectfully greeted her, ¡°Young doctor.¡± Yingbao also paid his respects, ¡°Thank you for your trouble, Mister Li.¡± ¡°Not at all. Let¡¯s get on board.¡± Li Xu boarded the ship first, cing his book bag down and proceeded to assist Yingbao and the others. Once everyone was aboard, the boat¡¯s pole pushed off from the pier, and they departed downstream. Yingbao sat on the boat, observing Li Xu intently. She noticed his frail health and his intermittent coughing, which prompted her to ask, ¡°Mister Li, has your health improved?¡± Li Xu whispered back, ¡°Much better, thanks to your medicine.¡± ¡°Since you are better, why don¡¯t you go and take the examination?¡± This was the year of the local triennial examinations. If Li Xu were to go to the Prefecture City, he would make it in time for the exams in August. Li Xu shook his head, ¡°You¡¯re unaware of this, young doctor. I was ill for several months. Not only has my health been severely undermined, but my studies have also been disrupted too. Thus, I want to try again in a few years.¡± The primary reason, though, was that he was out of money for the trip to the Prefecture City. The reason he had enough money to hire a boat to return home today was because he had sold two of the medicinal pills that young doctor had given him for four coins. When he was doing this, he felt very ashamed. After all, he had received the pill as a gift and was now selling them to outsiders for a tidy profit. However, if he didn¡¯t sell them, he would have no money to get home. So¡­ Li Xu shot Yingbao a guilty look and covered his mouth to cough faintly. ¡°Oh,¡± Yingbao nodded, seemingly understanding. The fishing boat rode the wind and the current, and with sail set, travelled swiftly. They covered the hundred-plus mile journey in just one day. Li Xu led Yingbao and the others ashore when it was already dusk. They found a nearby inn and checked in for the night. The night passed without incident. In the morning before sunrise, they checked out of their rooms. Li Xu hired a bullock cart and escorted the three of them back home. He wanted to go home first and check on his elderly mother, then personally see them off to the big pier by the Ming River. During his illness in Anping County, he had sent a letter back home, but no one hade to get him. He was unsure if something had happened at home. A few hourster, the cart finally reached a small vige in Tea Tree Vige. As soon as they entered the vige, someone recognized Li Xu and called out, ¡°Hey! Isn¡¯t this our vige¡¯s schr? Have youe back from the Prefecture City after the exams? Have you been rmended for further studies?¡± Li Xu greeted that person politely, ¡°Uncle Four, I didn¡¯t go to the Prefecture City.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t go to the Prefecture City? Where have you been all this time?¡± The man referred to as Uncle Four nced into the bullock cart, shocked and said, ¡°Oh dear, you¡¯ve brought a woman back with you! Did you get married out there?¡± Yingbao coldly replied to the man, ¡°We are traveling doctors passing through here. Uncle, please don¡¯t spread rumors.¡± With a stern face, Chunniang quickly put on her wide-brimmed hat. Chapter 260 - 256: Widow_1 Chapter 260: Chapter 256: Widow_1 Trantor: 549690339 Li Xu¡¯s face flushed with annoyance. He said indignantly to the middle-aged man, ¡°Uncle, this person saved my life, please don¡¯t speak inconsiderately.¡± After speaking, he picked up his pack and led Chunniang and her daughter to a house surrounded by a dpidated bamboo fence. The room inside was dim, but it was clean and tidy. ¡°Mother!¡± Li Xu put down his backpack and ran into the room. On the wooden bed in the roomy an elderly woman with silvery hair. Hearing the sound, she struggled to get up from the bed, ¡°Xuxu¡­¡± Li Xu rushed over, knelt down in front of the bed and cried, ¡°Mother, what¡¯s wrong with you? Are you sick?¡± The old woman with silvery hair was in tears, and she reached out with her thin hand to touch her son, ¡°Xuxu, is it really you?¡± ¡°Mhm, it¡¯s me, your son is back.¡± Li Xu held the old woman¡¯s hand as he wept. Seeming to remember something, he took out a small package from his bosom, pinched out a pill and stuffed it into the old woman¡¯s mouth. ¡°Mother, eat this. It was given by the Divine Doctor. The only reason I was able toe back to see you is because of this pill.¡± The elderly woman swallowed the pill, choking on her words, ¡°Xuxu, you¡¯re really back¡­ am I dreaming?¡± Li Xu replied, ¡°You¡¯re not dreaming. I fell ill at the inn, and fortunately, I was saved by the Divine Doctor. Only then was I able to escape death.¡± Upon hearing these words, the elderly woman, An, burst into loud weeping, ¡°My son, it¡¯s all because I¡¯m good for nothing. I wanted toe meet you after receiving your letter, but I tripped and sprained my ankle on the road.¡± At that time, her ankle was so swollen that she couldn¡¯t walk at all, so she had to turn to Xuxu¡¯s uncle¡¯s family for help. Unfortunately, his uncle was not home during those few days, and his aunt outright refused, using her of making a big fuss out of a small matter. Ovee with anger and distress, An fell ill that night and remained so for several days. Afterwards, when his uncle returned, he told her that Li Xu had been arranged to recuperate at an inn, and that there was no need for the family to worry. Once he recovered, he would go directly to Prefecture City for the examination. An felt somewhat relieved after hearing his words. After recuperating at home for a few days, her ankle injury improved slightly. However, her eyesight deteriorated and she was now nearly blind. Noticing his mother¡¯s unusual gaze, Li Xu quickly asked, ¡°Mother, what¡¯s wrong with your eyes? Can you see me?¡± His mother had ruined her eyes from years of embroidery to support his studies, and was unable to see clearly at night. But now it was daytime, and she couldn¡¯t see clearly. Why was that? ¡°I can¡­ I can see.¡± An, worried her son would be concerned, wiped away her tears and struggled to sit up. ¡°Now that we have guests, I need to go out and greet them, so as not to be impolite.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Li Xu helped his mother up, found her shoes, and began exining how he had sent a letter to his uncle in Anping County. Upon hearing this, An fell silent, but the tears streamed down her face uncontrobly. Outside the house, Yingbao, Chunniang, and Chen Zhao were waiting under the eaves of the house. Soon they saw Li Xu helping an elderly woman with silvery hair out of the house. ¡°Guests, pleasee inside to sit.¡± An slightly bowed in the direction of the figures, saying, ¡°I apologize for the humble conditions of my home.¡± Chunniang quickly answered with her two children, ¡°Not at all, it¡¯s us who are intruding.¡± Li Xu looked around, went back into the house and carried a few stools out, arranging them under the eaves for Chunniang and the others. Chunniang and An exchanged names and chatted for a bit before talking about Li Xu and what had happened at the inn. Initially, Chunniang didn¡¯t want to say much but An kept asking for more information. When An learned that her son was at death¡¯s door at the inn, she couldn¡¯t help but sob and cover her face. It turns out that after Li Xu sent the first letter to his mother, he wrote two more to his uncle, hoping his uncle would bring some silver to take him home. Because An had never traveled far from home and her eyesight was poor, she could not possibly go to Anping County, which was over a hundred miles away, to fetch her son. His uncle not only disregarded his nephew¡¯s plea for help but also concealed the truth from his sister-inw, nearly resulting in Li Xu¡¯s death in a foreignnd. It was fortunate that the innkeeper was kind-hearted. He didn¡¯t desert him, but instead got a doctor and medicine for Li Xu. With this, Li Xu managed to hang on for over two months until he met Yingbao. With just a brief exchange with her son, An Family understood the situation and felt a mix of anger and destion. Her husband died young, and she, a widow, had raised her son in hardship, desperately saving money to send him to school. Her son didn¡¯t let her down. He passed the schr examination at seventeen. He wasn¡¯t an official schr with an allocated rice supply, but he hadnd exempt frombor service tax. As a woman, she couldn¡¯t farm, so she gave the tax exemption benefits to her elder brother¡¯s family. She had hoped that if anything happened to her, her brother¡¯s family would provide some support. Unexpectedly, they not only didn¡¯t help but also didn¡¯t lift a finger to save her son. Almost noon, An Family stood up, ¡°Mrs. Jiang, rest here. I¡¯ll go cook.¡± Chen Zhao politely stood up, ¡°I¡¯ll help you light the fire.¡± An Family nced at the young girl, and smiled, ¡°I appreciate it.¡± Meantime, Yingbao ran to get some tangerines from her bag and put them on the table as a gift. News of Li Xu¡¯s return spread swiftly through Sanba Vige, attracting curious onlookers and sparking debate. ¡°Isn¡¯t he supposed to take the local schrship tests in August? Why did hee back now? It¡¯s still only July.¡± ¡°My, he¡¯s brought a woman back. Did he get entrapped by a widow and quit the examination?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s possible? Those two children must be the widow¡¯s burdens.¡± The vigers¡¯ outrageous spections inspired someone to tell Li Xu¡¯s uncle, the vige head, Li Jishan. Li Jishan was pacing nervously in his home. On hearing the gossip, he hastily made his way to Li Xu¡¯s house. As soon as he entered the yard, he saw a beautiful woman in her thirties under the eaves. Her charm was in full bloom, even better than younger girls. ¡°Li Xu!¡± Li Jishan shouted, ¡°Come out!¡± Li Xu was pulling vegetables in the backyard for cooking. Hearing his uncle¡¯s call, he immediately walked over. ¡°Uncle,¡± Li Xu asked tly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Li Jishan, with his hands behind his back, rebuked angrily, ¡°Why are you back now? Did you take the local schrship test?¡± Li Xu replied, ¡°I¡¯ve been sick in Anping County for over two months and just got a bit better. I can¡¯t take the schrship test.¡± ¡°Stop making up stories! I can see you¡¯re smitten by a woman!¡± Li Jishan pointed at Mrs. Jiang, ¡°Who is she? Why did shee with you?¡± Li Xu immediately realized what his uncle was implying and was embarrassed, ¡°Uncle! Mrs. Jiang saved my life! She¡¯s a doctor!¡± This was all he could say for the moment, or else he would only make things worse. Their argument attracted a crowd that ogled Mrs. Jiang and Yingbao. When Mrs. Jiang realized the vigers were targeting her, she got a bit flustered. Yingbao urged her mother to retreat into the kitchen, then stood by Li Xu and asked, ¡°Li Xu, who is this man?¡± ¡°Young doctor, this is my uncle,¡± Li Xu answered, ¡°He¡¯s also our vige head.¡± Yingbao calmly said, ¡°Since you have an uncle and so many kinsfolk, howe no one helped when you were critically ill in the inn? Didn¡¯t they know you were seriously ill in Anping County?¡± Li Xu¡¯s eyes welled up with tears, he sniffed and said, ¡°I wrote two letters asking my uncle for help, but¡­ but no one came to save me.¡± Li Jishan turned ck with anger and shouted, ¡°What nonsense are you talking about? When did I receive your letters?¡± Li Xu wiped his eyes and said calmly, still looking straight at his uncle, ¡°If you didn¡¯t receive my letters, then how did you know I was staying at the Peni Inn? You even told my mother that you had arranged for me to rest and recuperate there. Uncle, when did you ever go to Anping County to arrange for my stay?¡± Chapter 261 - 257: Outing_1 Chapter 261: Chapter 257: Outing_1 Trantor: 549690339 Li Jishan was momentarily speechless, but he quickly recovered and pointed at Yingbao, ¡°Now that you¡¯re healed and not going to the examination, what is the meaning of bringing these people home?¡± Before Li Xu could reply, Yingbao pridefully said, ¡°Because he owes me for the medical treatment and consultation fees! Of course, I have toe here to collect them!¡± Li Xu nodded, ¡°Indeed, my nephew has incurred the young doctor¡¯s consultation and medicine fees, which he is currently unable to repay.¡± Everyone present was astounded upon hearing this, and all eyes turned to the vige head, Li Jishan. Everyone in the vige knew that the twenty acres of tax-free farnd owned by Li Xu were held under the name of Li Jishan¡¯s family, and have been so for three years. But over these three years, it seemed that Li Jishan had done nothing for this older nephew of his. Not only had he shown no gestures of support, Li Jishan¡¯s wife had often imed they should never have split the family apart. That way, their household could have avoided one extrabour levy. Upon hearing this, Li Jishan¡¯s face changed rapidly, and after hesitating for a moment, he said painfully, ¡°I will trust you this one time, I will cover the medical expenses.¡± Yingbao said, ¡°Good, the total is fifty taels of silver. Once I receive it, I¡¯ll leave.¡± ¡°Wha-what?¡± A stupefied Li Jishan asked, ¡°Fifty taels? What medicine is so expensive?¡± Yingbao replied, ¡°The medicine isn¡¯t rare, but wasn¡¯t it able to pull your nephew back from the Ghost Gate?¡± ¡°You¡­ Congenital liar! I will not believe you!¡± A frustrated and irritated Li Jishan turned and left in a huff. Before leaving, he added, ¡°Li Xu, I have to go first because of some errands. Come to my houseter to discuss in detail.¡± Watching his uncle¡¯s retreating figure, Li Xu silently sighed. During his stay at the inn, he had suddenly realized a lot. Dependence on oneself is the best, and all talk about n and rtives was illusory. Just like his birth uncle who was enjoying the benefits he offered, yet secretly hoping for his misfortune. Once, when his uncle¡¯s youngest son was drunk, he pointed at Li Xu and said, ¡°You poor bugger should stay downtrodden your whole life. You think bing a schr is a big deal? That you can unt your achievements before us? Dream on!¡± At the time, Li Xu was terrified, not understanding why his cousin would speak to him that way. Seeing his cousin¡¯s drunkenness, he assumed he was just talking nonsense. Now, it all makes sense. His eleven or twelve-year-old cousin, given his outburst at his schrship celebration party, must have heard his parents¡¯ behind-the-scenes discussions. Li Xu, who lost his father at a young age and depends on his mother, did not have a proper meal on Chinese New Year for the first few years. To support his education, his mother had to sell theirnd and work tirelessly on her embroidery. His uncle¡¯s family lived next door but had never lent them a helping hand. After he became a student, his uncle was nicer to him, but he never missed an opportunity to belittle him in public, saying he was slow and obtuse from childhood and his student position was just because the county magistrate had sympathy for his orphaned status. But his uncle didn¡¯t know that the actual examination was held in the Prefecture City and it was not the County Magistrate but the Education Commissioner who supervised the examination. ¡°Young doctor, I am sorry for causing you this embarrassment.¡± Li Xu, after a moment of contemtion, suddenly asked, ¡°Can I really work off my debt by teaching students in your hometown?¡± ¡°Of course, my father is the Lizheng. Our vige has a ready school, but we haven¡¯t been able to find a suitable tutor for a while now.¡± ¡°Great! I¡¯ll go!¡± Li Xu decided, then hesitated again to ask, ¡°Young doctor, can I bring my mother with me?¡± Yingbao replied, ¡°Of course, our school has many rooms and arge yard. It¡¯s even bigger than this ce. The previous tutor left a few hens behind. If youe, those hens will be yours to take care of. You can keep all the eggs theyy.¡± As she tried to persuade him, she also sneaked nces at Li Xu. It would be wonderful if I could bring home a Schr to be a private tutor. Because a Schr has examination experience, teaching children would definitely be better than those child students who can only enlighten children. ¡°Thank you, young doctor.¡± Li Xu bowed deeply to Yingbao, ¡°We will leave tomorrow.¡± Yingbao smiled with her eyes gleaming, nodding continuously: ¡°Okay, we leave tomorrow.¡± I was originally worried that my mothers would encounter ill-intentioned people on the way, but now, with a Schr apanying the journey, it will undoubtedly be safer. However, that afternoon, when Li Xu applied for his mother¡¯s household registration and travel permit, he was stopped by his uncle. Li Jishan angrily scolded his nephew: ¡°Your mother is a widow, how can she be allowed to travel around?¡± Li Xu said coldly: ¡°My mother has mourned my father for thirteen years, even if she now remarries, no one has the right to interfere.¡± ¡°You!¡± Li Jishan pped the table in anger: ¡°I am the head of the Li Family, and you can¡¯t act recklessly.¡± Li Xu looked at his uncle: ¡°Uncle, since you say so, please lend me fifty taels of silver so I can repay the young Divine Doctor. Then I will send them away. I don¡¯t need to go and earn money to repay the debt. Once I pass the exam, I will repay the money to my uncle.¡± ¡°You can pass the exam?¡± Li Jishan sneered: ¡°You think you can pass the exam? Don¡¯t delude yourself! I won¡¯t give you any silver coin to squander!¡± Li Xu grinned andughed at himself: ¡°Since uncle is unwilling to lend money, I have to go out and make money to repay the debt. But once I leave, my mother, who is blind, will have no one to rely on, so I must take her with me.¡± Li Jishan¡¯s mouth moved a few times but no longer spoke. Seeing the situation, the nearby Lizheng quickly wrote out a travel deration, apanied Li Xu to the nearest post station for a stamp, and sent him to the County Government for recording. Although now it is much more convenient for ordinary citizens to travelpared to the past, one still needs to follow procedures to avoid being apprehended when going out of town. After receiving this household registration certificate, Li Xu thanked Lizheng and went home. Early the next morning, the hired ox cart arrived, and everyone hastily loaded their belongings onto the cart. Li Xu helped his mother onto the cart and ensured she was seated. Then he locked the door, closed the bamboo fence, and got onto the ox cart. The ox cart traveled for several hours and finally arrived at Ming River pier before dark. This ce was a bustling market, and even though it was already dark, many shops were still open. Li Xu first found an inn. After settling everyone in, he went alone to the pier to inquire about ships passing by Qinchuan County. As it turned out, he did find a merchant ship that would dock at the pier in Qinchuan County. Li Xu was overjoyed and even more excited when he confirmed that this ship could take passengers. But the ship¡¯s owner said that they would sail at the hour of yin tomorrow, so passengers must be on board before that time, or they would not wait. Li Xu quickly promised to board the ship early and ran back to tell his mother and Aunt Jiang. Chunniang was very happy and held her daughter¡¯s hand to promise that she would definitely get up early tomorrow. Finally, she could go home in peace, Chunniang let out a sigh of relief. All the worry and anxiety of these days finally eased, and Chunniang couldn¡¯t help but shed tears. Yingbao patted her mother and said: ¡°Mom, once we get home, I will send a letter to the Prince. Not only did Xiao Chengjun deliberately abandon us, but he also took the imperial gold and cloth with him. If anything is missing from the box, I won¡¯t let it go!¡± A hundred taels of gold is not a small sum, and there were also dozens of pieces of silk. Even if Xiao Chengjun is a noble son, but he has no property, no patronage, and relying only on a little sry and asional rewards, taking out such arge sum of money would be enough to hurt him. Chapter 262 - 258: Malice_1 Chapter 262: Chapter 258: Malice_1 Trantor: 549690339 Thousands of miles away in Yuzhou, Xiao Chengjun ordered the ship to anchor at the dock. Wen Tian ran to him, tugging at his sleeve and cooed, ¡°Brother Chengjun, are those boxes really for us?¡± ¡°Yes, everything you brought was lost in the shipwreck. Consider these items aspensation.¡± Xiao Chengjun thought maliciously: Even if I let the vige girl take them home, she and her family can¡¯t use the fine silk and satin- better to give it to the Wen Family. The Wen Family has been practicing medicine for generations with an illustrious reputation, and their grandfather is a famed physician of the Imperial Medical Bureau. It wouldn¡¯t hurt for me to curry favor with Wen Jingyan by giving away these items. If the women of the Jiang Family manage to return safely to their hometown, they can¡¯t possibly do anything to me given their peasant status. Being a military leader of Zhechong Prefecture in far away Luzhou, even if I killed them, it would be as easy as crushing ants for people like them. Xiao Chengjun thought, coldlyughing. Meep marrying a woman with the same name and surname as the rustic girl in my dream? Ridiculous. As if someone of her lowly status should have the same name as my wife? The thought of this angered Xiao Chengjun, making him feel as sick as if he had eaten a fly. From now on, anyone surnamed Jiang would be suppressed. I cannot believe that I, the worthy heir of Xiao Family, would have anything to do with a Jiang family. Wen Tian cheered, repeatedly thanking him, ¡°Thank you, Brother Chengjun! You are so kind!¡± Xiao Chengjun smiled and nodded, ¡°No need to thank me. I¡¯ll have Nan Zhu escort you home.¡± Nan Zhu, standing nearby, furrowed his brows and tried to signal his master but was ignored. Only after the young Wen sisters left, did Nan Zhu say, ¡°Young Master. Why would you let the Wen Family have the Jiang Family¡¯s things? If people find out, won¡¯t it harm our reputation?¡± While walking back to his cabin, Xiao Chengjun replied, ¡°So what if they know? Can the Jiang family afford such things?¡± ¡°But¡­Many things in that box were imperial gifts. What if the pce hears of this¡­¡± Nan Zhu followed his master, attempting to reason with him, ¡°Not to mention, this will be hard to exin to the prince.¡± Xiao Chengjun stopped in his tracks, turned around, and coldly stared at his servant, ¡°If you don¡¯t speak, and I don¡¯t speak, how will the pce know?¡± Noticing his master¡¯s anger, Nan Zhu hung his head and did not dare speak further. Ah, his young master was perfect in every way, except for his stubbornness. Once he took a dislike to someone, he would try to find any way to make their life miserable. He prayed that Jiang family¡¯s mother and daughter would make it home safely and preferably never cross paths with his young master again. A few dayster, Xiao Chengjun¡¯s ship finally arrived in Luzhou. As he had been dyed on the journey, he arrived just after his older brother, Xiao Mo, returned home. His stepmother¡¯s son Xiao Chengyu ran over, standing at a distance, curious and staring at his two elder brothers. Xiao Mo came over and patted his head, then went straight into their father¡¯s study. At five years old, Xiao Chengyu nced at his second brother, saw he didn¡¯t interact with him, snorted, and didn¡¯t bother with him. He ran that his elder brother into the room. Xiao Chengjun thought briefly and then entered his father¡¯s study. An hourter, the two brothers emerged from the study having finished talking to their father. Xiao Mo nced at his younger brother and asked, ¡°Did you send the Jiang family back?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Xiao Chengjun nonchntly responded, ¡°I sent someone to take them back.¡± Xiao Mo nodded his head and walked towards the outside, ¡°You shoulde with me to Zhechong Prefecture to report, we¡¯ll arrange your duties there, then we can discuss other things.¡± As they walked out of Moon Gate, Xiao Mo faced his brother, ¡°You are still young. Consult a few people before taking any action to avoid mistakes.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Xiao Chengjun replied, ¡°I will certainly be cautious in my actions.¡± He came to gain experience and naturally couldn¡¯t afford to make mistakes in official matters, otherwise he would fail the assessment and it would be in vain. As for Yingbao and herpanions, they finally reached the dock of Qinchuan County a few dayster. After getting off the boat, Yingbao found a post station to send out the letters she had written. Previously on the ship, she borrowed Li Xu¡¯s pen and ink to make a list of all the money and gifts she had received in the Imperial Pce. She also wrote down another list of the expensive items she had seen in Beijing, including those she had taken a liking to but didn¡¯t buy. She then stuffed all these lists into an envelope, ced it in a waterproof pouch, and sent it using Li Xu¡¯s identity as a schr. She estimated that the prince would receive it soon. If he didn¡¯t, it was all right, after all, she had written many copies. When officials came to buy medicines from her, she could have them take the letter back with them then. Actually, the truly valuable items were all stored in her cave dwelling. In those boxes were nothing more than irrelevant clothing and shoes. That¡¯s right, there were also lots of fruits and dry food. With such hot weather, they must have gone bad in the boxes. The group of five hired two mule carts and set off early in the morning. By noon, they returned to Dongchen Vige. Just as she had sent Li Xu and his mother to their school, she saw her brother, Jiang Wu, running over. ¡°Mother! Mother! Sister! You all have returned¡­¡± Jiang Wu hugged his mother, Chunniang, and started to sob. Chunniang held her son and asked with a choked voice, ¡°Is everything at home okay? Where¡¯s your father?¡± ¡°Father has gone to the fields, I¡¯ll go call him!¡± Jiang Wu struggled to extricate himself from his mother¡¯s arms. Chunniang let go of her son and watched him dash off. Yingbao told Li Xu, ¡°You and your mother will live here in the future. Feel free to use anything in the house. I¡¯ll send over some more foodter.¡± ¡°Thank you, young doctor.¡± Li Xu helped his mother sit down on a stone bench in the school courtyard, then he ran to open the house door. The house was spacious, fully furnished, even wooden cabs for clothes were provided. The kitchen was equipped with pots and utensils, though the iron pot was a bit rusty and the bowl cab and water tank were full of dust. Even so, it was still way better than his own home. He will fetch water to clean up everythingter, then this ce will be his home. After Chunniang and the coachman unloaded Li Xu¡¯s and his mother¡¯s belongings, they led Yingbao home. Chen Zhao had gotten off the cart when they passed through Xichen Vige and ran home with his bag. The entrance of Chen¡¯s house still had red paper door gods pasted on it, indicating some kind of celebration. Entering their own courtyard, Chunniang unloaded everything from the cart. After paying the fare, the two coachmen left with their carts. Jiang Wu and Jiang Liu, heard the noise and ran over. The olddy saw Yingbao and held her tightly, calling her, ¡°my darling,¡± incessantly. ¡°My darling girl, why have you be thinner?¡± Jiang Liu stroked Yingbao¡¯s cheek,menting, ¡°You must have suffered out there, haven¡¯t you?¡± Yingbao shook her head with a grin, ¡°I didn¡¯t suffer, I even earned quite a lot of reward money.¡± As she spoke, she took two silver bracelets from her bag and handed them to her grandmother, ¡°I bought these from Beijing. They¡¯re thetest design. Try them on.¡± The small gifts she bought for her family weren¡¯t listed on the inventory, which made her feel safe to bring them out. If someone came to investigate, she would have her exnation ready. Jiang Lao Han asked, ¡°Yingbao, is the noble person¡¯s illness cured?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Yingbao: ¡°I also told the nobleman about our vige and asked him to order the release of Grandfather Chen¡¯s family. He¡¯s agreed.¡± Although Murong Xian agreed, the pardon documents or letters still needed the Emperor¡¯s approval. This had to be ryed down from the Zhongshu Province, so it was a slow process. Jiang Lao Han heaved a sigh, ¡°No wonder the Lizheng came to notify Chen n Leader to go to the County Government yesterday afternoon. It seems they¡¯re not going to execute them, but rather to bring their people back.¡± Jiang Liu said, ¡°Indeed, the moment the Lizheng arrived, he scared the n Leader of the Chens to death. Early this morning, the Chen n Leader and his wife were sobbing their way to the County Government, sigh, who knows what their status is now?¡± As they were speaking, Jiang Sang returned. ¡°Father! Father!¡± Yingbao waved at her father. Jiang Sang ran over in a few steps, lifted his daughter in his arms, his eyes filled with tears of excitement, ¡°Bao¡¯er, you¡¯ve alle back.¡± He nced at his wife and held back his desire to embrace her in public. Chapter 263 - 259: Going Home_1 Chapter 263: Chapter 259: Going Home_1 Trantor:549690339 Jiang Liu knew her son and daughter-inw hadn¡¯t seen each other for a long time and there must be private matters to discuss. Therefore, she led Yingbao out, shooting her husband a nce before she left. Old man Jiang understood and made his way back inside. Earlier this morning, their eldest son had driven the n leader and his wife to the county town, and so he wasn¡¯t home. The eldest daughter-inw, Mrs. Zhou, and their eldest granddaughter were in the fields too, leaving only him and his wife at home. When Yingbao entered her uncle¡¯s courtyard, she saw hedgehogs piled up everywhere, and in the corner of the yard, there was arge pile of chestnut shells. ¡°Grandpa, have all the chestnuts been gathered?¡± she asked. Old man Jiang kicked away the chestnut shell under his feet to keep his granddaughter from stepping on the hedgehogs. ¡°Not all of them. Your second brother said we should gather them bit by bit. If we harvest them all at once, they¡¯ll get moldy.¡± Yingbao looked around and noticed severalrge bamboo trays filled with purple skinned chestnuts in the yard. Jiang Liu said, ¡°Once we¡¯ve peeled the chestnuts, your aunt will make chestnut cakes. When your second brotheres back in a few days, he¡¯ll take them to the store for sale.¡± Yingbao nodded, picked up a purple-skinned chestnut, bit open the shell, and ate it crunchily after peeling off its hairy skin. The chestnuts were sweet andrge, far bigger than the roasted chestnuts sold by the street vendors in Wa City. Seeing her granddaughter eating raw chestnuts, Jiang Liu peeled two and handed them to her, cautioning, ¡°Don¡¯t eat too many raw ones, they¡¯ll upset your stomach.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yingbao obediently nodded. ¡°Yingbao, tell Grandpa about Beijing.¡± Old man Jiang, sitting on a bench made from an old tree root, asked as he peeled hedgehogs, ¡°What does the Emperor¡¯s pce look like?¡± ¡°Beijing has a lot of people, and a lot of carts, and even more people doing business,¡± Yingbao replied. Unable to describe the hustle and bustle of Beijing, Yingbao said, ¡°The Emperor¡¯s residence looks like a fairy pce. Its roof tiles are golden. When the sun shines on them, they dazzle people¡¯s eyes. Oh, and I brought some lychee back from Beijing.¡± Yingbao rummaged through her bag, pulled out a bunch of purple-skinned lychees, and handed them to her grandparents. By this time of year, lychee should have been off the market already, but those she had kept in her vault remained fresh and unspoiled. ¡°Oh my!¡± Jiang Liu eximed in surprise taking the lychee from her granddaughter. ¡°So this is a lychee! It¡¯s my first time seeing one.¡± Old man Jiang had seen them before, but like his wife, he had never tasted one before. The old couple each peeled a lychee and popped it in their mouths, eximing, ¡°It¡¯s so sweet!¡± Jiang Liu quickly peeled another one for her granddaughter and watched with delight as she gobbled it up. After chatting with her grandparents for a while, Yingbao said her goodbyes and headed home. Her father, Jiang Sang, and his wife were in the living room. Seeing their daughter return, they eagerly waved her over. ¡°Baobao,e here.¡± Yingbao approached them, and upon closer inspection, saw that her father¡¯s beard was rugged, and his face pale and gaunt, having aged considerably in thest two months. Jiang Sang invited his daughter to sit on the chair next to him. ¡°The mushrooms you grew have been harvested and dried. There are twenty-eight pounds of golden mushrooms and twenty-seven pounds of snow fungus. I have kept an ount of it all and had Erquan deliver them to the county store,¡± he reported. He handed a ledger to his daughter, ¡°Keep this safe. Even between brothers, we keep clean ounts. Your cousin has a copy as well. Oh, by the way, the specialty shop is doing quite well. Erni has been called to help.¡± Yingbao leafed through the ledger. It not only recorded the quantities of golden mushrooms and snow fungus, but also the weight of fruit preserves, grapes, apples, and pears. Even the number of gourds sent to the market was recorded. The ledger also listed the purchase prices, signed off by her second cousin, as a record of the wholesale prices they had paid. It seemed that the shop, under the management of her eldest and second eldest cousin, had finally got on track. Jiang Sang continued, ¡°Your second cousin has also brought some of our family¡¯s woven cotton to the shop, and it¡¯s selling very well. From now on, we can sell our family¡¯s cotton in the shop.¡± Of course, the family¡¯s own textile workshop also had to be taken into ount because cloth brings in more revenue than simply selling cotton. Yingbao closed the ledger. ¡°Our cotton should be ready to harvest, right?¡± Jiang Sang nodded, ¡°We will harvest it in a day or two. I have already hired the workers who wille then. Oh, right, I have had people clean up the backyard of your business premises and have hired over thirty bricyers to build some houses. They should be finished by the end of the year.¡± Jiang Sang unfolded a blueprint. ¡°I have asked them to construct five main rooms, a kitchen, and a stable. Once the houses there are built, we can clean up this wastnd.¡± In the first half of the year, Jiang Sang had bought arge plot of wastnd on the east side of South Slope, which he hadn¡¯t had time to clean up yet. Once the autumn rush was over, he wanted to hire some workers to reim the unusednd so that by the time spring came around, the entire wastnd would be nted with peppers and various fruit tree seedlings. He also nned to dig a couple of ponds. As the poption of South Slope increased, the issue of water became a problem. They had not noticed this issue when they lived next to the Chuanhe River as they would simply wash their clothes and dishes in the river. However, now that they lived on the South Slope, not only was drinking water scarce but also washing became inconvenient. Not to mention, each household had to carry water daily for their crops and gardens. So, it was necessary to get a workforce together to dig some more ponds. Yingbao looked over the blueprint and was very satisfied. She suddenly remembered the fruit tree seedlings in her cave. ¡°Dad, when springes next year, I want to nt lychee, tangerine, and longan trees on the mountain.¡± Jiang Sangughed, ¡°Great, then the people in our vige will also have lychee and tangerines to eat.¡± But what was this longan thing his daughter was talking about? Well, whatever it was, it was bound to be something good. The vigers were now keeping a close eye on the Jiang family, ready to follow their lead and nt whatever the they were nting. Just take their grapes, for instance¡ª everyone in the vige had now taken cuttings to nt in there own yards, with some even growing apple seedlings from apple cores. And, surprisingly, the grape cuttings were all surviving. It remained to be seen whether apple trees could actually grow from those apple cores. Next, Yingbao brought up the matter of Li Xu and his mother. ¡°He owes me money for medical treatment, so he¡¯se here to teach as repayment.¡± Yingbao proudly dered, ¡°Li Xu has agreed to teach here for three years. After three years, he¡¯ll return to take the imperial examination, and at that time, I¡¯ll give him the money for the round trip.¡± To help Li Xu and his mother recover quickly, she had given them several bottles of medicinal concoctions. Now, Li Xu¡¯s health had greatly improved, and Lady An¡¯s eyesight had recovered somewhat, but her vision was still slightly blurry at night. ¡°Is he really a schr?¡± asked Jiang Sang. Yingbao confirmed, ¡°Yes, he passed the examination for schr at seventeen. His future is very promising.¡± Jiang Sang chuckled, ¡°That¡¯s excellent! We must treat him and his mother well, and hopefully, they¡¯ll decide to stay here for good.¡± Having a schr teach at the vige school was a matter of great pride. He estimated that in no time, their vige would be even more famous. Although the school in the town was run by an old schr, the man was too old to have many students, and he was considerably prideful and dismissive of others¡¯ perspectives, producing few sessful students. Li Xu, on the other hand, was only twenty and was at the prime of his life with innovative learning methods and examination tips. Even if he taught for only three years, it would be a tremendous help to the vige children. Chapter 264 - 260: A Lifetime of Glory_1 Chapter 264: Chapter 260: A Lifetime of Glory_1 Trantor:549690339 Soon after, Jiang Sang personally delivered rice, flour, and condiments such as salt and pepper to Li Xu. He also delivered two beds of quilt and cotton cloth to him and his mother. He told them that they could pick vegetables freely from the vegetable garden behind the school, as it was left by a predecessor. The cotton cloth and quilts were spun from cotton, snow-white and soft, leaving Li Xu dumbfounded. This was the first time he had seen such white and soft fabrics. While touching the fabric, Mrs. An said to his son: ¡°Xuxu, it seems we made the right choiceing here. The people here are simple and kind. Although you teach here, you still have time to study, which is much better than being at home.¡± Li Xu nodded: ¡°You are right, with you by my side, I feel at ease. Regardless of what happens in the future, we should stay here.¡± If possible, he would like to live herefortably and happily with his mother for the rest of his life. Earlier, after tidying up the room, Li Xu went out for a walk and saw that every house in the vige was made with blue bricks and tiles, giving an impression of extreme prosperity. The adults and children were all kindhearted and polite, their clothes neat and tidy, showing no signs of poverty. Li Xu was curious about what made this whole vige prosper. It was not like his hometown, where in a vige there were naturally both rich and poor. The rich and the poor hardly interacted, even among the children living in the same vige, who didn¡¯t y together due to the wealth disparity. It was as if an invisible gulf had divided them into two sses. In the evening, the n Leader¡¯s family finally returned. Everyone got off the carriage, looking wilted, like frost-beaten leaves. They had sat in the county government jail for more than two months. Although they hadn¡¯t been tortured, they all appeared disheveled and haggard, all had lost significant weight, and looked like fleeing refugees. Chen Zhu helped his pregnant wife walk home, with the olddy Tang holding a little baby, closely following behind. The n Leader nced at his wife¡¯s back, then at his eldest and second sons and their families, sighed, and said to his two sons: ¡°Jiaxing, Jiazhen, you will stay in your uncle¡¯s house tonight, tomorrow you can return to your old home vige.¡± Both sons don¡¯t have houses on the South Slope. They could originally stay temporarily at their younger brother Chen Zhu¡¯s ce, but judging from the youngest son¡¯s attitude toward his two older brothers, it seemed impossible. Without saying a word, Chen Jiaxing went to his cousin Chen Shu¡¯s ce at his beckoning. However, Chen Shu said to the n Leader: ¡°Uncle, my house is limited and can only amodate my eldest cousin¡¯s family.¡± As for the second cousin¡¯s family, he had to find another ce. The n Leader then turned his gaze to his youngest nephew, Chen Ting. Chen Ting immediately avoided his gaze, turned around and squeezed into the crowd. He was joking. He himself relied on his mother for meals, where could he provide for his cousin¡¯s family? Seeing his brother slip away, Chen Yin had to say: ¡°Or maybe the second cousin cane to my house. Although my house can make room for one, you¡¯ll have to make do for one night.¡± Chen Jiazhen had no objections, Han Miaoniang didn¡¯t dare to say anything, so the family of four went to their cousin Chen Yin¡¯s house. After the n Leader arranged his two sons, he sighed with relief, and then walked back to his youngest son Chen Zhu¡¯s house with his hands behind his back. His wife Tang didn¡¯t pay any attention to her husband and went straight to the kitchen to boil water and wash down the bad luck for her son, daughter-inw, and grandson. Chen Fu cleared his throat and said to his old wife: ¡°I¡¯ll cook, you go and knead dough to make noodles for them.¡± Mrs. Tang dropped the firefork and got up to knead dough. Chen Fu stole a nce at his old wife and silently sat by the stove adding wood to feed the fire. Because of the disaster caused by the daughter-inw and eldest daughter-inw, it implicated the family of his younger son Chen Zhu and almost led to little son¡¯s wife, Mrs. Shao, having a miscarriage. So, for his wife¡¯s wrath, Chen Fu dared not utter a word. From start to finish, the family of his younger son Chen Zhu was the most innocent. They knew nothing, yet they were forced to experience an undeserved disaster. Shao and the little baby spent two months in jail. Due to fear and hunger, the mother and baby have be so skinny and like a pile of bones. If it hadn¡¯t been for Jiang Sang who sought out Constable Jin Wu for assistance and brought over another dose of pills prepared by Yingbao, it remained uncertain if Shao Family¡¯s Lady and Xiaoyao would have survived till now. In the evening, after Chen Zhu had washed up with his wife and child and eaten a little, he let his wife take their son Xiaoyao to rest first. He then approached his father¡¯s room and said in a chilly tone, ¡°Father, let¡¯s separate our households.¡± Among his three brothers, only the second elder brother had been separated because he had opened a cloth shop in town. The household registration of him and his eldest brother had always been under their father. This was precisely why they were repeatedly undermined by their eldest brother even though their households hadn¡¯t been separated. First, he was forced into military service, and this time, his entire family was trapped in prison. If it weren¡¯t for Jiang Sang and Little Yingbao, his family wouldn¡¯t even know how they died. The n Leader of the Chen Family was silent for a moment, then opened the chest to take out the household registration. ¡°Alright, tomorrow morning, I¡¯ll take you to Lizheng to register for a new household.¡± His youngest son¡¯s family suffered significant grievances this time. No matter how displeased Chen Fu was with his youngest son, he didn¡¯t dare to say anything and took out five silver bars from the chest, passing them to him. ¡°Take this money, take Shao Family¡¯s Lady and Xiaoyao to Yingbao¡¯s ce for treatment, and buy some medicine.¡± His daughter-inw from the Shao Family was already pregnant, about seven months along. The imprisonment had almost led her to lose her life and her unborn baby¡¯s. This was also one of the reasons why his youngest son hated his eldest and second eldest brothers. s, having more sons was having more debt, he was getting old, yet he still had to mediate in his sons¡¯ disputes. After this incident, he was afraid he couldn¡¯t pass the n Leader position to his eldest son anymore. His second son and youngest son couldn¡¯t do it either, they had both been imprisoned once. Although they hadn¡¯t been sentenced, they would be criticized. So, he could only let his eldest nephew, Chen Shu, take over. Chen Fu held the thick, yellowed Chen Family n genealogy book, speechless as old tears fell uncontrobly. He hadn¡¯t expected that his lifetime¡¯s reputation would be ruined by his son¡¯s family in his old age. How could he face his father and grandfather when he passed on? Luzhou¡¯s Xiao Residence. Xiao Mo summoned his younger brother, Xiao Chengjun. He mmed a letter on the table, asking in a cold voice: ¡°Chengjun! What is going on? Why did you leave the Mother and daughter of the Jiang Family halfway?¡± Xiao Chengjun was taken aback, then asked indifferently: ¡°Oh? Did theyin to you?¡± Xiao Chengjun! Did you bury all the lessons you learned deep in the dog¡¯s belly? Do you know what ingratitude is? Regardless of the fact that the kid of the Jiang Family once saved your life, she is the person that the Prince personally instructed to be safely sent back. You shouldn¡¯t have abandoned them halfway.¡± Xiao Chengjun lowered his head, not saying anything anymore. But many questions arose in his heart. Did that country bumpkin girl write a letter to his elder brother? How dare she? Xiao Mo red at his brother and continued to question: ¡°Where did you put her five boxes?¡± Xiao Chengjun wrinkled his brows and denied subconsciously: ¡°What boxes?¡± Xiao Mo mmed his hand down on the table, rebuking in a stern voice: ¡°Xiao Chengjun! Being a child of a noble family, you actuallymit such shameful acts! Speak! Where are the luggage boxes of the Jiang Family?¡± Xiao Chengjun¡¯s face turned red. Raising his neck, he said, ¡°What¡¯s the big deal about a few broken boxes? Why are you shouting at me, Elder Brother?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you, Xiao Chengjun, where are the boxes? They not only contain the Jiang Family¡¯s belongings, but also the gold, silver, and textiles bestowed by the Emperor. If you can¡¯t bring them out, you have topensate the Jiang Family in full!¡± ¡°Why should I have to pay?¡± Xiao Chengjun was furious: ¡°She¡¯s but a servant of the Jiang Family, how is she deserving of gold, silver, and silk satin? I¡¯ve thrown all those boxes into the river. If they want them, they can go fish them out of the river themselves!¡± Chapter 265 - 261: Naughty Kid_1 Chapter 265: Chapter 261: Naughty Kid_1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re talking about?¡± Xiao Mo was infuriated by his foolhardy younger brother. He turned his head and gave an order: ¡°Someone, go call for Nan Zhu! Bring the second young master¡¯s guards as well!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Someone at the door echoed as they left. Upon hearing that his elder brother wanted to bring Nan Zhu in, Xiao Chengjun turned to leave. However, he was stopped by the guard at the door: ¡°Second young master, please stay.¡± Left with no choice, he returned to his seat, pouting with anger. Xiao Mo ignored his brother, sitting in his round chair, massaging his temples. Before long, Nan Zhu and a few guards were escorted in. Xiao Mo ignored his little brother¡¯s angry re and asked Nan Zhu, ¡°Where have Jiang Family¡¯s trunks gone?¡± Nan Zhu didn¡¯t dare to look at the two young masters. He lowered his head and muttered incoherently, failing to answer their question. Xiao Mo leaned back in his chair, coldly watching this teenage servant. He said lightly, ¡°Speak one lie, and your tongue will be severed.¡± Nan Zhu was frightened into kneeling and trembling on the spot. He managed to stutter, ¡°Rep-reporting to the eldest young master¡­ the trunk¡­ it was sent¡­ to the Wen Family.¡± Xiao Mo red at him with throbbing temples and said, ¡°For failing to stop your master from making a mistake, go and take twenty military blows as a warning to others.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Nan Zhu did not dare to lift his head to see the second young master¡¯s expression. He scurried out of the study. After questioning the guards, all their responses confirmed Nan Zhu¡¯s ount. His brother Xiao Chengjun had genuinely given several trunks to the Wen Family¡¯s mother and daughter. Xiao Mo was lost for words. He pinched the bridge of his nose to calm himself down. He had never noticed such naivety in his younger brother before. What had provoked him to act this foolishly? ¡°What do you have to say?¡± Xiao Mo asked. Xiao Chengjun snorted: ¡°There¡¯s nothing to say.¡± The items had already been given away; could they be retrieved? After all, he wouldn¡¯t do it, and his elder brother would not either. With his hand against his forehead, Xiao Mo looked coldly at his brother. ¡°By the look of it, those old schrs have just been holding their positions without doing any actual teaching. They didn¡¯t even teach you the barest manners. I will ask Father to find some people for you. You are still young. Read their books for a while. Once you fully understand Biography of Rites, then you may take up an official position in the Zhechong Prefecture. Even though Xiao Chengjun wasn¡¯t willing, he knew that his elder brother never went back on his word. The more he resisted, the longer he expected his learning wouldst. ¡°Yes, elder brother.¡± He lowered his head in consent. Xiao Mo waved his hand, dismissing his brother. He then called for his staff member, Chui Zhaochen, and handed him two lists. ¡°Mr. Chui, please purchase all items on these lists and send them to the Jiang Family in Chuanhe Town. Make sure there is no breach of etiquette.¡± Chui Zhaochen took a nce at the list andughed, ¡°Oh, they¡¯ve even listed sock supplies! And there¡¯s a pack of needles and threads, and two silk threads¡­ Whose gift list is this?¡± Xiao Mo replied irritably, ¡°Just buy ording to the list. As for gold, silver and silk fabrics, take them first from my private storage.¡± He would gradually pay back for the gold and silver he used out of his own pocket by deducting them from Xiao Chengjun¡¯s monthly allowance, until everything was paid off. Chui Zhaochen folded the lists and tucked them into his sleeve. Giving a bow to Xiao Mo, he went to the ounting room to get two hundred taels of silver, and then left Xiao Residence. He hadn¡¯t gone far when he saw Kang¡¯an Pharmacy. Thinking of the medicine case and the tools for making wax pills on the list, he put up the corner of his robe and walked into the pharmacy. ¡°Brother Wen.¡± Chui Zhaochen bowed towards the doctor sitting in the pharmacy. ¡°Long time no see.¡± Wen Yanmin quickly stood up to return the greeting, ¡°You¡¯re Brother Zhaochen! What brings you here?¡± Chui Zhaochen smiled, ¡°I¡¯m here at your ce to buy two things. Do you happen to sell them?¡± ¡°What items?¡± ¡°One is the tool for making the wax shell of medicinal pills, and the other is a type of medicinal case.¡± Chui Zhaochen made a gesture: ¡°The type of medicine case that you doctors carry on your back. The case should contain a set of silver needles ¨C one hundred and eight in total, a set of various surgical instruments, emergency medicines, and a set of brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.¡± Wen Yanmin nodded, ¡°We do have the tools to make wax shells at home, but we don¡¯t sell them. We also have only one medicine box, which is not for sale either.¡± ¡°Then do you know where Brother Wen can customize it?¡± Chui Zhaochen asked. Wen Yanmin: ¡°Not far from here is Zhang¡¯s Woodwork Store, they should be able to make it.¡± ¡°Thank you, Brother Wen, for the information.¡± Chui Zhaochen bowed, took his leave and left. A few dayster, Chui Zhaochen finally purchased all items on the list and reported back to Xiao Mo. Xiao Mo, looking at the sixrge boxes ced in the courtyard, was a bit puzzled. ¡°Wasn¡¯t there supposed to be five boxes? Why is there an extra one? Did you not pack it correctly?¡± Not only was there an extra box, there was also a wooden frame and a medicine box that had not been packed into the wooden box. Chui Zhaochen: ¡°Who said I didn¡¯t pack it correctly? The boxes are packed tightly with no gaps at all.¡± Xiao Mo picked up the checklist andpared it against the procurement list brought by Chui Zhaochen, finding no discrepancies. ¡°Oh well, you can take a few men to Qinchuan County tomorrow, oh right, Wei Zhan is also going, so you can take him along, to and fro quickly.¡± ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll take the water route tomorrow, it¡¯ll be faster.¡± Chui Zhaochen gathers the list and stands to leave. The next morning, Chui Zhaochen has several guards load the boxes onto a horse-drawn carriage to the pier. Later Wei Zhan arrived with four servants, two of them carrying anotherrge box. Once they were onboard, Wei Zhan instructed his servants to carry therge box into his cabin, closed the door, and not allow anyone in. Therge boat began to move, heading to Qinchuan County. It¡¯s just over six hundred li from Luzhou to Qinchuan County. With the boat going downstream, they arrived in a day and a night. ¡°Young Master, we¡¯ve arrived at our destination. Come out quickly.¡± The servant knocked on the door, straining to hear any movement within the cabin. ¡°Coming!¡± The cabin door was opened, and the servant¡¯s mouth fell open in surprise. ¡°Yo¡­ Young Master, why is Young Master Xiao here?¡± The servant was so nervous he was on the verge of hyperventting. A head, adorned with a red silk braid, poked out from behind Wei Zhan, blinking the big eyes and said, ¡°I¡¯ve been here for a while! You¡¯re really dumb!¡± At this time, Chui Zhaochen also walked over. When he saw Xiao Chengyu behind Wei Zhan, he drew a breath of surprise. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Wei Zhan, why did you bring him too?¡± Wei Zhan nonchntly said, ¡°He wanted to y with me, so I brought him along.¡± Seeing Chui Zhaochen frown, he hurriedly said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I left a letter for my aunt. She won¡¯t me you.¡± Chui Zhaochen grunted, ¡°Your words are lighter!¡± Who in the Xiao residence didn¡¯t know that Lord Xiao and his wife loved their five-year-old son the most? Especially thedy of the house, who treated her son as her lifeblood ¨C concerned of dropping him if held in her hand, and worried he might dissolve if held in her mouth. This is too much! Wei Zhan had actually taken Lady¡¯s lifeblood hundreds of li away to Qinchuan County. But since the situation was already as such, there was no way to turn the boat around and take him back. Chui Zhaochen turned to call a guard and asked him to pick up the young master Xiao to prepare for disembarking. Wei Zhan looked pleased with himself and winked at Xiao Chengyu. Xiao Chengyu also winked back at him. The two children had an unspoken understanding. Chui Zhaochen entered Wei Zhan¡¯s cabin and immediately understood the situation. This rascal had hidden his young cousin in therge wooden box and had his servants carry over. Wei Zhan even knew to drilled two holes, the size of eggs, into the box for air cirction and lined up ayer of cotton padding inside for his cousin to lie on. Chui Zhaochen, shaking his head and sighing, knew there was going to be trouble. The Mid-Autumn Festival was just around the corner, and the Xiao residence was bound to be turned upside down when they found the young master missing. Chapter 266 - 262: People die, goods are discarded_1 Chapter 266: Chapter 262: People die, goods are discarded_1 Trantor: 549690339 Today is the fourteenth of August, tomorrow is Mid-Autumn. Yuanbao and Jiang Jie were on break and were brought back home by Jiang Quan to y with Jiang Wu, Huzi and a few other children at the martial arts field. On the vige path of Dongchen Vige, suddenly, two horse carriages appeared. Several horsemen were following behind the carriages for protection. ¡°Huzi! Yuanbao! Jiang Jie Jiang Wu!¡± Wei Zhan poked his head out of the carriage, waving his arm from a distance and shouting: ¡°I¡¯m back!¡± Xiao Chengyu also popped his head out and shouted: ¡°I¡¯m back!¡± Huzi and a few boys rushed over when they heard the shouts, ¡°Wei Zhan! Wei Zhan!¡± Wei Zhan jumped off the carriage before it stopped, surprising everyone. Chui Zhaochen was worried that Xiao Chengyu might jump off too, so he quickly asked the carriage to halt. ¡°Hahaha! I came back to see you!¡± Seeing all his young friends there, Wei Zhan was jubnt, hugging them withughter and jumping around. Xiao Chengyu was simrly excited, hugging this one, embracing that one, having a wonderful time. Huzi asked, ¡°Is he your younger brother?¡± Wei Zhan rubbed Xiao Chengyu¡¯s round head andughed, ¡°He is my little cousin, he also wanted toe y with you guys.¡± So each person in the group touched Xiao Chengyu¡¯s round head as a way of greeting him. Xiao Chengyu had a tripartite hairstyle, two wisps of hair on either side were braided with red silk incorporated, and a tuft on the top formed a peach-shaped knot. It was amusing to look at. However, he was very good-looking, withrge eyes and fair skin, he looked like the chubby children in New Year paintings, which gave a festive impression. Noticing that Wei Zhan was familiar with these children, Chui Zhaochen left some bodyguards to guard them and took the carriage straight to the Jiang Family. After exining his purpose to the third brother Jiang, he had sixrge boxes and a medicine chest, along with a wax-making tool, unloaded. He handed over the inventory list and said, ¡°The previous boxes were identally dropped into the river. My young master felt guilty about it and purchased the same things again. I hope you will not find it odd, Vige Head Jiang.¡± Jiang Sang chuckled softly, simply said, ¡°We appreciate it.¡± His daughters had told him that Xiao Chengjun had purposely left them behind and taken away their boxes. What happened now was just because the girls had written letters to the capital. ¡°Not at all. Vige Head Jiang, please check the inventory to see if the number is correct. If anything is missing, just let me know.¡± As per the eldest young master¡¯s instructions, Chui Zhaochen tried his utmost to be humble. Jiang Sang didn¡¯t stand on ceremony. He took out the list given by his daughters and started to check the items. Once the check wasplete, he asked his nephew, Jiang Quan, to move the boxes into his daughter¡¯s room. These items were all her earnings, hence they belonged to her and would be part of her dowry. After Yingbao returned from Chen Zhu¡¯s house, Chui Zhaochen¡¯s party had already been invited by Old Man Jiang for tea at Uncle Jiang¡¯s house. Everyone in the vige was busy collecting cotton nowadays, and Jiang Sang was the busiest of all, leaving the task of hosting the guests to Old Man Jiang. As all the guests were men, Old Man Jiang didn¡¯t ask his daughter-inw or granddaughter for help. He cooked a big pot of rice to serve the guests with his wife. He also boiled a few pickled duck eggs, mashed some garlic cucumbers, cut a te of cantaloupe, and made a te of steamed fish, managing to put together a modest feast. Chui Zhaochen didn¡¯t mind the simple dishes and enjoyed the meal. He hinted through his words that he and his entourage nned to stay for a few days. Left with no other choice, Old Man Jiang had to arrange amodation for them. However, their numbers were toorge to stay in one house, so Old Man Jiang had to lodge these guards in an empty bamboo shed. They brought in a few more bamboo beds and gathered some bedding. It was just enough for the guards and servants to get some sleep at night. Because the festival was the next day, every household needed to prepare fish and meat for offerings. The vigers nned together, and came to Jiang Sang to ask for fishing bait. Because only the Jiang family¡¯s bait could lure the fish, the ones others made were no good. ¡°Brother San, can you give us some fishing bait?¡± Chen Yin caught Jiang Sang¡¯s sleeve andughed with a thick skin, ¡°Just a little bit, we can fish in the river to celebrate the festival.¡± Jiang Sang was hassled by them so he had to go back, mix arge te of fish bait with mushroom ear crumbs and wheat bran for them. Chen Yin cheered, hugging the fishing bait and running far away with a group of vigers. People in West Vige have recently been frequenting the East Vige, and they are very envious when they see this. But they didn¡¯t dare to scrape the bait from others like a few times before, fearing that it would ruin the friendship they had worked so hard to establish. Just as they saw their vige¡¯s Chen Changshenging from the school, they surrounded him andined: ¡°Uncle Changsheng, look at the head of their vige, he¡¯s done a great job. Not only does he lead the vigers to get rich, but we can also get fishing bait during the holidays. What benefit do we get from following you in West Vige?¡± Upon hearing this, Chen Changsheng was furious, ¡°You brats! If you don¡¯t want to stay in West Vige, then leave! No one is stopping you!¡± Ouch, you won¡¯t even let us speak.¡± Another vigerined, ¡°Isn¡¯t it? Look at Dongchen Vige. Every family has a big tiled house, and the roads under your feet are t. Even the vegetable gardens are like tofu blocks. Look at our vige again, it¡¯s ragged and looks like a refugee camp.¡± Chen Changsheng stood with his hands on his waist, pointed at the few people before him and said, ¡°What, you¡¯re disgusted with your own refugee camp? Then don¡¯t live here! If you are capable, let Jiang Sang take you in! All of you get away from me!¡± With that, he angrily rushed home. In fact, their Western vige was already pretty good, far superior to other viges. However, their vige was right next to Dongchen vige. Inparison, even their own five-room tile house seemed inferior. Chen Changsheng went home all the way, sat grumpily on the bamboo chair under the porch. The five-year-old grandson and six-year-old granddaughter came running over, called him grandpa and then ran back into the courtyard to y when they saw their grandpa ignored them. The little grandson was holding a small whip, ying with a spinning top with all his might, while the little granddaughter was watching him while wiping her snot. Chen Changsheng squinted at his two dirty grandchildren, then thought of the children of the Jiang family, especially that Little Yingbao, and felt a sourness in his heart. Why are their children so capable? Not only are they capable, they also look good and dress neatly and cleanly, making people feelfortable when they look at them. Then look at what kind of things his family has given birth to? It¡¯s not like they don¡¯t have enough to eat or wear; having such a messy look can really piss people off. It really is thatparing oneself to others will only make one feel frustrated. Chen Changsheng looked at his grandchildren more and more with disdain. He was angry but had nowhere to vent, when he saw his daughter-inwe out wearing wooden clogs, her dress crumpled and her face covered with dust, looking like she had just climbed out of bed. ¡°Dad, did you talk to Schr about it? When can our stone start going to school?¡± His daughter-inw Qian Shi asked. ¡°Talk about what!¡± Chen Changsheng became angry when he heard this, pointed at his daughter-inw and said angrily, ¡°I told you to send the children for enlightenment early on, but you insisted that they are still small and yful, and it¡¯s not toote to wait until they are older! Now you want to send them to the Schr, are you dreaming? The Schr only takes children who have matured, and doesn¡¯t ept those who don¡¯t know anything!¡± In fact, Li Xu was also worried about affecting the master next door, so he had this agreement. Only those children who have learned the Three Character ssic, Hundred Family Names and Thousand Character Essay would he ept. He did not take in any that hadn¡¯t been enlightened. This is equivalent to the fact that the old master¡¯s school is the primary enlightenment ss, and Schr¡¯s side is the advanced learning ss, so that there won¡¯t be any conflicts between the two. Qian Shi was shouted at by Chen Changsheng and stood there dazed, then covered her face and ran crying to the kitchen. Chapter 267 - 263: Concubine’s Child_1 Chapter 267: Chapter 263: Concubine¡¯s Child_1 Trantor: 549690339 In no time, Chen Changsheng¡¯s old wife, Madam Qian, stormed out of the kitchen armed with a rolling pin, pointing at him and yelling, ¡°You old coffin-filler! Who upset you? Why are youing home in a foul mood?¡± As she spoke, she brandished the rolling pin to hit him. Chen Changsheng gave a start, quickly jumped up and ran out of the courtyard. Seeing that his wife remained at the entrance without following, he hopped about and hollered, ¡°You¡¯re so out of line! How dare you hit your own husband! Wait and see how I deal with you when I get back!¡± Before he had finished his sentence, he saw his wifeing after him with the rolling pin, so he ran off to Dongchen Vige in fright. By this time, everyone in the vige had gone to the river to fish, and even most of the children were there to watch the scene. Chen Changsheng leisurely made his way to the edge of the pond, sitting down on a rock to rest his feet. He thought of how he had exhausted himself caring for the vigers, only to be met with a barrage ofints from those ingrates. And his own sons had been so disappointing, even failing to properly educate their children. No one could understand him now, and no one could share his feelings. Whatever he did was wrong in their eyes, and he was not as good as others. The more Chen Changsheng thought about it, the angrier and sadder he became, and he couldn¡¯t help but choke up. ¡°Grandpa Chen. What are you doing?¡± a childish voice sounded from behind him. Chen Changsheng was startled, hastily wiped his eyes and turned around to see a few children standing not far away, looking at him curiously. Each of them was holding a small bamboo basket filled with red dates. It seemed that they were gathering dates from the nearby orchard. Yingbao noticed that Chen Changsheng¡¯s eyes were red, as if he had been crying, and she couldn¡¯t help but feel curious. Why was old man Chen sitting by the pond crying? Was he nning on jumping in the water tomit suicide? Oh no, that couldn¡¯t be. The pond was an essential source of life for their home. Having a dead body in it would be terrifying. The vigers nearby washed clothes and vegetables in this pond. It couldn¡¯t be polluted. ¡°Grandpa Chen, this is for you.¡± Yingbao walked up and stuffed a basket of red dates into Chen Changsheng¡¯s hands. ¡°They¡¯re so sweet; take them back and share them with Yaya and the others.¡± Chen Changsheng¡¯s granddaughter, Yaya, was the same age as Yingbao and had oftene over to y recently. Chen Changsheng held the basket, his eyes redder than before. He hastily turned around to avoid Yingbao¡¯s gaze, picked up a big date, and crunched it in his mouth, swallowing it along with his tears. His own grandchildren were not as considerate as little Yingbao, who managed to cheer him up with a basket of dates. What luck old man Jiang had to have such a granddaughter. When Yingbao saw Chen Changsheng wiping his tears again, she became even more worried that he mightmit suicide, so she advised, ¡°Grandpa Chen, you should go home. I saw Old Chen Shuan going to your house.¡± Old Chen Shuan had indeed gone to Chen Changsheng¡¯s house, but before that, he hade to thank her grandfather, Jiang, for helping his granddaughter Chen Zhao thank Chunniang for bringing her back from such a faraway ce. As soon as Chen Changsheng heard that Old Chen Shuan was looking for him, he knew something was up. He quickly thanked Yingbao and headed home with the basket. Watching Chen Changsheng walk away, Yingbao finally heaved a sigh of relief and led the other children back to the orchard to pick apples and pears. The Mid-Autumn Festival was tomorrow, so they needed to pick a lot of fruit to offer to the moon. Fortunately, their orchard had everything like persimmons, chestnuts, dates, hawthorns, apples, and pears. Although most of them had been picked and sent to the shop, there were still many left on the trees. Later, she would go to the vineyard to look for somete-ripening grapes. Wei Zhan, having found an apple tree, tucked the corner of his robe into his waist and climbed up the tree. Five-year-old Xiao Chengyu also wanted to climb, but he was firmly held back by the guard. Xiao Chengyu twisted and turned, but couldn¡¯t break free. In his anger, he kicked the guard and wailed, ¡°Sister Yingbao,e and hit him!¡± Yingbao nced at the little brat and said, ¡°You¡¯ll hurt yourself if you climb up. Just pick them up from below.¡± ¡°Look how good this little devil is,¡± she said, pointing at one of them. ¡°He has collected so much. Later, we¡¯llpare who has more fruit in their basket. I¡¯ll perform magic tricks for the one with the most.¡± She had be a master at tricking children. She would hold something in her hand and make them guess which, left or right. They never guessed correctly. Of course, if they behaved well, she would generously let them guess correctly once and give them the candy or other little knickknack in her hand. This trick worked every time, and no child could resist the toys she brought out. All these toys were purchased in Beijing, things like cowhide slingshots, bamboo dragonflies, mud puppies, square sky halberds made of peach wood, bamboo section snakes, and so on. However, Xiao Chengyu waspletely indifferent to what Yingbao said. Being obsessed with climbing trees, he would start crying if he didn¡¯t get to climb one. In the end, the guards, who had been harassed by him, helped him climb a low tree branch. Yingbao, not caring about them, began picking up the fallen fruit under the tree with little devil and her two younger brothers. Weizhan and Huzi Yuanbao who climbed up the tree would pick a fruit and toss it down. The children at the base of the tree would catch them barehanded and put them into the baskets. Jiang Wu enjoyed this task the most, darting from one side to the other, catching the most fruit. At dusk, Jiangcheng returned home from the county town. Several people got off the carriage. It turned out to be his aunt, Jiang Yunniang, and her son and daughter. Suddenly, she took another boy, about two or three years old, off the carriage. The boy was the son of her husband¡¯s concubine. The boy timidly looked at the crowd from the Jiang family. He wanted to cry but dared not. He tightly clung to his elder brother Zhang Yuying¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Yunniang, this is ¡­?¡± Jiang Liu started hesitantly, looking at the little boy. Jiang Yunniang said calmly: ¡°He is the son of the concubine, named Zhang Xiang, and I am raising him now.¡± She waved to the boy, ¡°Xiang,e here and bow to your grandmother.¡± Under the guidance of his brother Zhang Yuying, Zhang Xiang knelt down and bowed to Jiang Liu: ¡°Grandma.¡± Jiang Liu felt awkward. She didn¡¯t understand why her daughter would bring home a child conceived by the concubine. Still, she helped the boy up and gave him a chestnut cake, ¡°Good boy, eat.¡± Jiang Yunniang again asked the child to bow to Jiang Old Man, ¡°This is your grandpa.¡± Zhang Xiang, somewhat bewildered, bowed to Jiang Old Man as well. Afterwards, Jiang Yunniang asked her son Zhang Yuying to take the children out to y, and then she sat down and started a conversation with her mother: ¡°I am Zhang Jia¡¯s legal wife. If the concubine¡¯s child wishes to stay, he must either call me his mom or stay with that slut and be a ve. Dog-like creatures have no right to choose; they can only ept my decision.¡± Jiang Liu sighed, saying to her daughter: ¡°What you are saying is not untrue, but if you are going to raise the child, you should treat him well and not y petty tricks.¡± ¡°What kind of petty tricks would I, a mere woman, y?¡± Jiang Yunniang said unconcernedly, ¡°I feed him well; I take good care of him.¡± From then on, the child became her weapon, a sword she used to break the hearts of that pair of adulterous miscreants. Jiang Old Man sat nearby, smoking, and asked her daughter: ¡°Erquan said you¡¯d set up a small food stand next to their shop, how¡¯s business?¡± Jiang Yunniang picked up a piece of chestnut cake and began eating, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Many schrs from the county schoole to buy snacks. I earn about two to three hundred coins a day, which is enough for the family.¡± Jiang Old Man: ¡°What about Yukan? He¡¯s seventeen, right? Are you nning to let him sell snacks with you his whole life?¡± ¡°What else can he do if not sell snacks? The family store was pledged to the concubine¡¯s older brother by that dog-like creature. The document has already been filed in the county government; it¡¯s impossible to get it back ¡­¡± Jiang Yunniang wiped her eyes and sniffed, ¡°Yukan has known about this for a long time, yet he and his father kept it a secret.¡± She then scoffed, ¡°Since that¡¯s how it is, let him sell snacks for the rest of his life. Being a woman, I was fortunate enough to get our nephew¡¯s approval to set up a stall next to the specialty shop, there¡¯s nothing else I can do.¡± Chapter 268 - 264: Stable as an Old Dog _1 Chapter 268: Chapter 264: Stable as an Old Dog _1 Trantor: 549690339 Jiang Liu stared at her daughter in disagreement. ¡°Yukan is also your blood son, how can you talk like this?¡± ¡°What can I do then?¡± Jiang Yunniang pretended not to care. When she discovered that her son had conspired against her with his father, and against her own family, shepletely lost her affection for this son. Like father, like son, they even have the same thoughts. She had devoted her life to raising their children, and had worked tirelessly for the family. Yet in the eyes of her son, her efforts were worthless. Yukan even thought that everything he ate or wore was paid for by his father¡¯s money, and had nothing to do with his mother. She shouldn¡¯t concern herself with his father having a concubine, nor should she let her brothers know about it. It was not only embarrassing for his father, but also made him lose face in front of his uncles. Jiang Liu suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t we let him learn how to grow mushrooms? That should be better than running a stall.¡± Jiang Yunniang replied indifferently, ¡°Where can we grow them? Our courtyard is so tiny, it doesn¡¯t have enough space to grow mushrooms, let alone amodating a few more people.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you havend near the Zhang vige? Just build a mushroom shed there,¡± the elder Jiang suggested. Jiang Yunniang replied, ¡°Zhang Jia sold hisnd to his elder brother long ago. The old house was dpidated and not livable. Besides, Yukan, who grew up in the county town from childhood, doesn¡¯t know anything about farming.¡± Once, she had persuaded her elder son to go back to the vige and learn to grow mushrooms from his uncles. But he was reluctant. Yukan believed that he was a city-dweller, and if he returned to the countryside to farm, he would beughed at. The elder Jiang said impatiently, ¡°If nothing works for you, then just run a stall.¡± Having said that, he stood up and left. It was like picking up ame turtle, nothing she said could help! Dacheng should never have allowed them to set up a stall next to the shop; who knows what kind of trouble it might cause in the future. At night, Jiang Dang prepared several tables of banquets at home. It was not only to host Chui Zhaochen and others but also because his sister and her family had returned home, so he needed to prepare delicious food. To apany the guests at Chui Zhaochen¡¯s table, Jiang Dang invited n Leader Chen, Chen Sanyou, and Chen Changsheng, as well as two masters from the school. Together with his three brothers and his father, there were exactly ten people. Yingbao sat at a table with a few children. As she indulged in the crunchy rice crackers made by her second aunt, she stealthily observed three-year-old Zhang Xiang. The little boy clung tightly to Zhang Yuying, looking stiff and shy. Fortunately, Zhang Yuying took care of him, feeding him regrly and using a handkerchief to wipe his hands and mouth. On the other hand, Xiao Chengyu, was like a little tyrant, matching Wei Zhan in every regard. The little guy not only fought with Xiao¡¯er over food but also attempted to shove Wei Zhan from Yingbao¡¯s side and upy that spot exclusively. However, Wei Zhan did not give in and continued to resist, sitting firmly by Yingbao¡¯s side like an old dog. Jiang Jie, Jiang Wu, and Huzi were restless during the meal, either pping each other or knocking against each other, and even using chopsticks as a sword to mock fight against each other. Amidst the fun and games, dinner finally came to an end, and the children scattered to their respective homes. As usual, Wei Zhan followed Huzi to his house for the night. Seeing this, Xiao Chengyu followed suit, unabashedly disregarding Chui Zhaochen¡¯s threats and pleas. The men¡¯s table continued untilte into the night as they ate and drank. Little Xiao¡¯er was already asleep on the bamboo bed. Jiang Cheng lifted him up and delivered him back to Chen Zhu¡¯s house along with the n Leader. After taking a bath, Yingbao went back to her room to organize her six trunks. She first put the one hundred and fifty gold ingots into the cave, then divided the silverware and silk fabrics into two parts, keeping some for herself and giving the rest to her mother for safekeeping. The trunks also contained several sets of ready-made clothes, several pairs of shoes and socks with high-quality colors and materials, all of which werepensated by the Xiao family. Otherponents included several types of liquor and seeds, along with various toys, stationery, as well as cakes and candies. The list that Yingbao handed out was half true and half false, in order to make it look as realistic as possible. Turns out, that Prince really is a nice guy, even made the Xiao Familypensate us with a generous gift. Hehe, I¡¯ve really hit the jackpot this time! By now, Yingbao has umted three hundred taels of gold, over two thousand taels of silver, and a huge basket of copper coins in her cave dwelling. In addition, there are forty to fifty rolls of fine silk and satin fabrics, several exquisite silver headdresses, and a pile of beaded flowers. I bet you can¡¯t find a wealthier youngdy in all of Qinchuan County. Feeling quite pleased with herself, Yingbao moves the golden and silver mushrooms out from the dwelling. These mushrooms have been sun-dried, amounting to forty catties each of gold and silver mushrooms. The mushrooms inside the dwelling ripen once a month, regardless of the season. A good ten days or so are needed for them to dry outpletely after being harvested, as they cannot be dried under the zing sun and it would take much longer. The only advantage is that the mushrooms harvested can be stored in the dwelling for a long time without being spoiled or getting moldy. Not just mushrooms, other food and crops are the same, so Yingbao always stocks up on cooked food inside the dwelling for emergencies. The next day is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Every house starts preparing hibiscus cakes. Hibiscus cakes, filled with pine nut crisps and maltose, are a favorite amongst children. The Jiang Family¡¯s house is the most lively this year, because there are so many naughty children running around, often leading the vige children on a wild goose chase. Wei Zhan and Xiao Chengyu are simply over the moon, first going fishing with Jiang Jie, Jiang Wu, and Huzi at the pond, then scattering grain in the bamboo forest to catch birds. Yingbao stays home, reading, writing, and taking breaks to practice the Yu step as a form of exercise. ¡°Yingbao! Yingbao!¡± Chen Zhao, leading her little brother Xubao,es over to y with Yingbao. Yingbao has no choice but to put down her book, step outside, and invite them to sit beside the stone table under the grapevine, serving them dates and chestnut cakes. Chen Zhao lets her little brother eat the dates on his own while she talks to Yingbao: ¡°My older sister came back.¡± Yingbao blinks: ¡°Hmm.¡± Chen Changping passed his imperial examinations this year and of course, had to redeem Chen Wan back, otherwise it would tarnish his reputation Oddly enough, wasn¡¯t Chen Changping supposed to pass his imperial examinations a few yearster? I wonder if his early sess will adversely affect my family. Chen Zhao continues: ¡°Grandma wants to arrange a marriage for my older sister, but she¡¯s not willing.¡± Yingbao nods in understanding. Without the abuse of the Han Family, their lives are pretty good, as long as they¡¯re diligent and capable, Madame Chen and the Feng Family won¡¯t punish or scold their granddaughters. ¡°But grandma said that if my older sister doesn¡¯t get married soon, it would affect our futures,¡± Chen Zhaoments. Chen Zhao really doesn¡¯t want her sister to get married soon because ever since their mother passed, she has felt like an orphan with no one to talk to. Her little brother is still young and doesn¡¯t understand anything, all he knows is how to eat and mess around, leaving him filthy all the time ¨C it¡¯s simply infuriating. Fortunately, her older sister is back. Although she has be more silent, she is kind to Chen Zhao and her brother, and even volunteers to doundry and cooking for the family. She doesn¡¯t understand why her sister¡¯s early marriage would affect her and her brother¡¯s futures. Yingbao quietly watches Xubao as he stuffs his mouth full with dates and chestnut cakes, gets his hands dirty ying with mud. Meanwhile, Chen Zhao prattles on: ¡°Recently, lots of matchmakers have beening to our house, not just for my sister, but also for my dad. Yingbao, can you guess who the matchmaker suggested for my dad?¡± ¡°Who?¡± Yingbao asks nonchntly. Chen Zhao contemptuously reveals: ¡°It¡¯s Chu Man, the daughter of the vige head from Chu Family¡¯s vige!¡± Chapter 269 - 265: Remarriage_1 Chapter 269: Chapter 265: Remarriage_1 Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao¡¯s face twitched slightly. That Chu Man, about the same age as Brother Jiang Cheng, must be eighteen this year. She would turn neen after the New Year and is still unmarried. And Chen Changping, around thirty-two or thirty-three, is thirteen or fourteen years older than Chu Man. Had he been born a few years earlier, he could practically qualify as her father. ¡°Grandmother opposes it, and so does Grandfather, but that matchmaker keeps pushing it.¡± Previously, the wedding news between Chu Man of Chu Vige and Jiang Cheng had been widely spread across Chuanhe Town. Who would dare to marry such a woman? Of course, those who are impoverished or old bachelors might not mind, but how could a reputable family like the one in Chu Vige allow their precious daughter to marry into such a family? Chen Zhao was worried and chatted with Yingbao for a while before taking his brother home. After the previous flood, Old Chen Laoshuan had also built houses on South Slope, but only three tile houses were built, without even enclosing a courtyard. The third son, Chen Changhai, also built three tile houses nearby, likewise without a courtyard, as they mostly still lived in the old house, simply having this one just in case. The eldest son, Chen Changrong, did not build a house on the South Slope, considering it unnecessary. It was only during the spring and summer seasons when there was more rain. The rest of the time, it was more convenient to live in the old house. Today was the Mid-Autumn Festival and the family hade to the South Slope to celebrate the new house. When Chen Zhao brought his brother home, he saw the eldest sister helping their third aunt cook in the kitchen. Grandma Chen, of the Feng Family, sat on a wooden bench picking vegetables, while their grandfather was sipping tea from a teapot. The olddy nced at her granddaughter and instructed, ¡°Let Xubao y by himself ande help with the vegetables. Your uncle and aunt will be here soon.¡± Chen Zhao agreed and squatted on the ground to help with the leeks. He heard his grandfather speaking with his grandmother, ¡°After the holiday, our second son is going to the county school to study. We need to prepare some silver coins for him.¡± Feng Chen, without looking up, said, ¡°Of course, I have twenty silver coins on hand that I can give him.¡± Mr. Chen took a sip of tea and shook his head, ¡°If we give him this time, what will we do next time? I heard the county students often hold poetry and painting meetings together. Each time they have to chip in some money, our second son will inevitably be involved. Add to this the annual tuition fees and meal costs, twenty silver coins¡­ I¡¯m afraid they might just cover half a year¡¯s expenditure.¡± Feng Chen was not concerned: ¡°Our second son can also earn money, and if worstes to worst, he still has his older and younger brothers to help.¡± Mr. Chen gave his wife a nce: ¡°How much can we rely on his brothers for help? Our sons are all studying, spending a fair amount on annual tuition, ink, paper, and every year our eldest son also ns to take the examination, which will cost a lot.¡± For each examination, they first had to prepare a gift for the mentor. The mentor would then help connect them with five other examinees forming a pledge group. Afterwards, they would have to spend a considerable amount of money to hire someone for help, to contact a student who receives a schrship for their guarantee, and whether the student passed the examination or not afterwards, they would have to show their appreciation to this schrship student. This process was something that an ordinary family could not afford. Therefore, if Chen Changping wanted to study at the county school steadily, he must have the support of a well-off family behind him. But Mr. Chen didn¡¯t have much money left, and most of the family¡¯snd had been divided among his sons. Now, he simply can¡¯t afford to support his second son¡¯s schooling. The property that had been originally divided to Chen Changping had already been sold out entirely by that wasteful woman of the Han Family, leaving only a few dozen mu of mountainnd and those lower-grade plots on the South Slope. Looking to those plots for their son¡¯s education, or even just to rely on them for food, was simply impossible. Feng Chen frowned, ¡°If this doesn¡¯t work and that doesn¡¯t work, then what should we do?¡± Thest time they went to Prefecture City, although the Wei Family had given them some money, how many times could that money be used for their household expenses? Mr. Chen squinted his eyes, sipping tea, and said, ¡°In my opinion, the Chu Family seems not bad. They said they can fully support our second son¡¯s studies.¡± Upon hearing this, Feng Chen was displeased and red at her husband, ¡°What¡¯s not bad? How is the daughter of the Chu Family worthy of our second son!¡± Although she had not seen the maiden from the Chu Family, the whole vige would sneer at the mere mention of her. The girl was known to be fierce and disrespectful. Just after she married into the Jiang Family, before even entering the bridal chamber, she had beaten the young master of the Jiang Family until his head was bleeding, and was sent back to her parents¡¯ house in disgrace. For this reason alone, her Chen Family could not ept such a woman. Her own son, after all, was a schr, and there were plenty of good marriage prospects. They weren¡¯t desperate for the Chu Family¡¯s proposal, especially since the Chu Family was not a good marital connection. Upon seeing his wife¡¯s fury, old Chen said, ¡°I was just making a suggestion. It doesn¡¯t have to be the Chu Family.¡± However, finding a suitable match for their second son was the pressing matter. Lady Han had passed away more than a hundred days ago, and no one would gossip about their son remarrying. Moreover, there was a young child at home waiting to be taken care of, so even if they were to marry immediately after the festival, it would be understandable. That night, a full moon rose in the sky. Every household hung all sorts ofnterns outside their doors. Now that the folks of Dongchen Vige had money, they celebrated the festival even more grandly. West Vige, too, hungnterns, though sparsely, and not as grandly as Dongchen Vige. In front of the Jiang Family¡¯s main gate, a tall bamboo tower was erected loaded with more than twenty assortednterns. On the south side of the tower, an altar was set up, overflowing with an offering of fruits. After the children respectfully saluted the moon one by one, they lit incense, shouted cheerfully, and scampered off to the banquet. That night, the Jiang Family set out four banquet tables. Their family upied three tables, while the remaining one was taken by the guards of the Xiao Family and the servants of the Wei Family. Xiao Chengyu was over the moon. He was spending such a lively festival for the first time, with manypanions, and he was beside himself with excitement. Chui Zhaochen fearing that he would overeat, constantly urged him to eat less, but Xiao Chengyu declined to listen, trying every dish on the table, quickly filling his small belly. Yingbao brought two jars of fruit juice from home. It was made from the water of the Pupil Spring in their cavern home, sweetened with honey, and mixed with a bit of Five Dingzhi herb. ¡°This is peach juice, very delicious, and it helps digestion too. Let¡¯s all try some.¡± She poured a bowl for every child and handed the rest to her mother¡¯s table. Wei Zhan and Xiao Chengyu drank the peach juice non-stop, repeatedly asking for refills. After the banquet, the Second Aunt still led the children to release rivernterns and make wishes. After releasing thenterns, Wei Zhan and Xiao Chengyu refused to go to bed. Along with Jiang Jie, Jiang Wu, Yuanbao, and Huzi, they wandered around withnterns in the vige, looking at the colorfulnterns outside other people¡¯s doors, and surreptitiously eating the offerings on other people¡¯s altars. The other children were not to be outdone and dared to steal fruit from other households¡¯ altars. The fruit and lotus seed cakes on the Jiang Family¡¯s altar were the most and the finest, so they had the most children visiting. Jiang Liu and her husband warmly watched the children snatch the offerings. When they saw the offerings on the table were about to run out, they went home to get more. It was only when the moon began to set in the west that the children gradually began to head home. Those who refused to leave were physically led by the ear by their parents. Wei Zhan and Xiao Chengyu were also pulled by their ears by Yingbao and taken to Huzi¡¯s house. This stunned the guards from Xiao Residence and the Wei Family¡¯s servants. This youngdy was too fierce, she actually dared to pinch their young master¡¯s ears. They had to know, not even their own mothers had ever pinched their young master¡¯s ears. What was even more surprising was that the young master didn¡¯t get mad, but obediently went to bed. The several guards looked at each other and privately decided whether to report this exactly as it happened when they returned. Chapter 270 - 266: Regret of the Past_1 Chapter 270: Chapter 266: Regret of the Past_1 Trantor: 549690339 Wei Zhan and Xiao Chengyu spent two days at the Jiang family house. On the third day, Chui Zhaochen prepared to take them home. Wei Zhan epted this bravely, understanding that if he didn¡¯t return, he might be grounded for another six months, so he obediently boarded the carriage, waving goodbye to Huzi and the others: ¡°I¡¯lle again during the New Year!¡± Xiao Chengyu stubbornly refused to leave, kicking and punching the guard who was holding him and crying out for help. ¡°Ah ah ah! Help! I don¡¯t want to go back! Wuwuwu¡­ I want to get down! I¡¯m not going back!¡± The guard didn¡¯t dare to use force, and the young master slipped out of his arms in an unguarded moment. Xiao Chengyu swiftly ran to Yingbao, hugging her tightly: ¡°Wuwuwu¡­ I don¡¯t want to go back, Sister Yingbao save me¡­¡± Helplessly, Yingbao patted him, ¡°Don¡¯t you want your parents anymore?¡± Xiao Chengyu shook his head firmly, his face wet with tears and snot, ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡± Yingbao was speechless, used the hem of his clothes to wipe his face, and coaxed him: ¡°Then you go home first, ande y with your brother Wei Zhanter, okay?¡± ¡°No good.¡± Xiao Chengyu clung to her, sobbing and whimpering, feeling terribly wronged, ¡°Mother won¡¯t allow it.¡± Yingbao thought for a while and said: ¡°Then, sister will give you a pot of peach juice, you take it back and let your mother taste it. Maybe she will agree to let you stay here for a few more days.¡± Xiao Chengyu blinked, and with his undeveloped mind, he felt that it made a lot of sense through his immature thoughts. Because the peach juice was too delicious and could help digestion, even when he was full it didn¡¯t harm his stomach or cause pain, surely his mother would like it. ¡°Then, then I want two pots.¡± Xiao Chengyu began to bargain. One pot for his mother, and the other one would be for him to drink. Yingbao: ¡°Fine, two pots then.¡± As long as she could send away this little troublemaker, even giving him three pots would be fine. After all, the peach trees next to her Pupil Spring had already blossomed and fruited, producing peaches that wererge, red, and sweet. At this time of year, she alone could not finish eating the peaches and grapes and she couldn¡¯t bring them out to share, so she had to cook them into peach juice or grape juice, asionally bringing out a pot for her brother to drink. Merely cooking fruit juice could not solve the problem, so she also brewed some peach wine and grape wine in her cave. In Beijing, she had once bought a pot of yeast, and with the potspensated by the Xiao family, she could brew a lot of wine. When the wine was ready and the holidays came, she would bring out some as gifts, or keep the rest for family use. Yingbao ran back to her house, brought two pots of peach juice for Xiao Chengyu. Seeing Wei Zhan looking at her reproachfully, she gave him two pots as well, and then finally managed to send the two of them off. Returning home, Jiang Quan was constantly eyeing his little cousin, pestering her with questions: ¡°Where did you get so much peach juice?¡± ¡°I boiled it earlier, stored it in the house and didn¡¯t take it out.¡± Yingbao replied calmly. Jiang Quan suspected his little cousin was lying, but had no proof. ¡°Are youing to the county seat with me?¡± he asked. Yingbao: ¡°No need.¡± The county store was managed by the two elder cousins, she didn¡¯t need to involve herself in everything. Moreover, the store side was building a house recently and amodation would be inconvenient if she went. Jiang Quan shook his head regretfully, and began to record the golden and silver mushrooms that the younger cousin had moved out. Their store mainly made big money from the golden and silver mushrooms, and everything else was trifle. However, this year¡¯s gourds were surprisingly fruitful, drawing many people to the specialty store to buy. The gourds grown by the vigers were basically sold by Jiang Quan, and every household had earned a good amount of money. Even a few households in West Vige that grew gourds had made a small fortune because of this. Jiang Quan took a few baskets of mushrooms and dozens of gourds back to the county town. Apanying him were his elder brother Jiang Cheng, along with Yuanbao and Jiang Jie. Jiang Yunniang¡¯s family was also taken away by her eldest son, Zhang Yukun. Despite feeling pained about parting with her daughter, before leaving, Jiang Liu secretly gave her twenty taels of silver. The vige also gradually became busy with every household going to the fields to pick cotton. The Jiang family were the same, the entire family worked on picking cotton. Jiang Sang also hired about twenty people from other viges to help with the family¡¯s work. Chunniang and the eldest and second wives stayed home to cook, delivering the food to the fields for those hired workers to eat. Once the cotton was picked, it was time to start ginning. In Dongchen Vige, almost every family had cotton ginning machines, and the cotton seeds harvested were quickly ginned. Jiang Sang wrapped up the ginned cotton with oil paper, five pounds per roll, and sent a portion of it to their own shop, with the remaining part prepared to be spun into yarn for weaving cloth. At this time, the County Government also dispatched people to purchase cotton and seeds, to be transported to the Prefecture City. The County Government¡¯s purchase was quite extensive this time, involving twenty to thirty mule carts. The procession was grand and truly spectacr. Fortunately, cotton farming had be widespread in Chuanhe Town, so many households were willing to sell their surplus cotton and seeds to the government, saving both time and effort. After the cotton was harvested, the vigers began to pull up the cotton stalks, tidy up the fields, and prepare to nt wheat. The Jiang family still hired people to do these tasks, taking care of their two meals a day. One day, Erni and Yingbao went to the fields to deliver food. The food was packed in wooden buckets, ced in arge bamboo basket, and carried on a small horse to the cotton field. Halfway through their journey, they saw a woman standing by the roadside. The woman¡¯s hair was white and disheveled, her face was old and wrinkled, and her clothes were patch upon patch. ¡°Erni.¡± The woman called out, her tearful eyes looking at Erni. The momentary surprise on Erni¡¯s face gave way to recognition. Her mother, Mrs. Leng, stood before her. ¡°Mother? What happened to you?¡± Erni was shocked to discover her mother was in such a dpidated condition. Mrs. Leng took a step forward and unwrapped a parcel in her hand. Two small clothes and a packet of cloth strips were revealed. ¡°Your mother sewed these for you.¡± She handed the small parcel to Erni: ¡°You¡¯re already ten, you¡¯ll be needing these soon.¡± Erni held the parcel, biting her lip, her tears flowed uncontrobly. Touching Leng¡¯s rough hands, Erni choked up, ¡°Mother, why are you doing this to yourself?¡± Mrs. Leng held onto Erni and began to sob loudly. Through her tears, she cried, ¡°It was all my fault, I¡¯ve wronged your father, and Huzi, and you. I¡¯m so full of regret¡­¡± After being abandoned by Zuo Cheng, she returned to her natal home, only to be sold by her brother to a man over sixty, for the price of two goats. This older man was a brute, frequently belittling and humiliating her, refusing to allow her to go out, and forcing her to bear children However, for reasons unknown, she failed to conceive. Feeling cheated, the old shepherd confronted the Leng family forpensation, resulting in a fight with Leng¡¯s brothers. The fight was unfair, with Leng¡¯s young and robust brother easily oveing the old shepherd, who passed away a few dayster. The vigers helped bury the old man, and Mrs. Leng finally regained her freedom. She did not return to her maternal home but stayed in the dpidated house, living all by herself. With a few sheep left at home, she sold a couple and kept the rest for breeding. However, just a few dayster, her elder brother and mother came knocking on her door, forcing her to remarry yet again. This time, Mrs. Leng was adamant about her refusal, threatening to report them to the authorities for the old shepherd¡¯s death. Only then did her mother and brother fear her, and stopped endangering her peace. ¡°Erni, your mother doesn¡¯t want anything, just wishes to see you once in a while, can I?¡± Mrs. Leng cried, holding Erni. She was full of regret and began to reflect on her past. She had been so convinced that her family was the best option, but had ended up in this tragic state. Erni nodded, ¡°You cane if you want, but¡­ just don¡¯t be like before. Father has already remarried. Yanru Mother is very kind to Huzi and me. You¡­you just don¡¯t have to disturb them.¡± Chapter 271 - 267: Delivering Meals_1 Chapter 271: Chapter 267: Delivering Meals_1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°Mother knows, mother won¡¯t make such a mistake again¡­¡± Leng Family was sobbing, ¡°Huzi, my Huzi doesn¡¯t recognize his mother anymore.¡± She saw Huzi once before, intending to talk to him, but he didn¡¯t recognize her at all. He even said his mother was Lu Yanru, not an old woman like her. Seeing that the mother and daughter had more to say, Yingbao had no choice but to go deliver the food with the pony. Upon arrival at the cotton fields, she shouted, ¡°Dinner time!¡± The people who were working came over one after another. ¡°Oh! It¡¯s Little Yingbao delivering the food today.¡± ¡°Yes, we have fish today.¡± She brought out the dishes one by one, braised fish, pork stewed with cabbage, cold cucumber with garlic sauce, a bucket of chive and egg soup, and a big bucket of white rice. She then took out a stack of ceramic bowls and started serving food to everyone. A dozen or so workers gathered around, each holding arge bowl of white rice, squatting at the edge of the field and eating. Among these workers, there were fourteen or fifteen-year-old boys, children from poor families in neighboring viges, who came to Dongchen Vige to earn some money with their parents. Not only could they earn money, but they could also get two meals a day, both with meat dishes. The big bucket of rice was quickly cleaned out by everyone, not a scrap of food remained, even the chive and egg soup was finished. The workers, their stomachs full, strolled around for a bit then returned to the fields to continue pulling cotton stalks. Yingbao packed up the food buckets, bowls, and chopsticks into the basket and let the pony carry them home. Various wild grasses and flowers were growing along the field ridges, all of which, in her eyes, were medicinal herbs. Yingbao took out a small medicine hoe she had prepared in advance and started to dig, picking some medicinal herbs to keep in the cave dwelling. By the time she reached the ce where Erni and Leng Family had met, Leng Family had already left, and Erni was squatting on the ground crying. Seeing Yingbao, she wiped away her tears and got up, silently following her back. ¡°Yingbao, my mother is so pitiful. I want to bring her to our vige.¡± Erni said with tears in her eyes. Yingbao remained silent. She couldn¡¯t reallyment on this matter. Erni continued, ¡°I want to build a thatched hut on the wastnd, or even a bamboo shelter is fine. Just let her live there, so I can take care of her.¡± Jiang Eng had also bought some wastnd further away from the vige, but he hadn¡¯t found the time to tidy it up yet. Yingbao turned to ask, ¡°What if you get married? Who will take care of her then?¡± Are they expecting Huzi to take over? If that were the case, what would happen to Yanru, Huzi¡¯s stepmother? Erni¡¯s tears spilled out, after a pause, she said, ¡°Then¡­ then I won¡¯t get married.¡± Yingbao sighed quietly and remained silent. In fact, if the Leng Family had not behaved badly back then, living with the man surnamed Zuo wouldn¡¯t have been too bad. She already had two children with that man, one of them being a boy. Given his son, Zuo Cheng would not have abandoned Leng Family. When they got to the edge of the pond, Erni took down the food bucket, soup bucket, bowls, and chopsticks from the pony¡¯s back and squatted down to clean them by the pond. After cleaning everything, she scooped water to wash her face, and then she and Yingbao went home. In the following days, Erni often went out to meet Leng Family, she even gave her fabrics and silver coins. After receiving the fabrics, Leng Family would make clothes and socks for Erni and Huzi, but she always wore worn-out clothes herself. Sometimes, Yingbao would see the mother and daughter sitting on a rock by the orchard, sewing and chatting, with Erni secretly bringing delicacies from home to Leng Family. By the time October arrived, it was time to harvest thest batch of wood ear mushrooms of the year. The vige was busy again; even Chu Chu, heavily pregnant, was busy sun-drying the mushrooms. She and her husband had also built a mushroom shed next to their house, which was now full of gold ear mushrooms. This was their third harvest, and they had a total of four hundred mushrooms. Once everything is dried, there should be about ten pounds of golden ear mushrooms, which will sell for thirty taels of silver to Steward Zhou. As Aunt Wang passed by Zhang Meng¡¯s house, she saw Chu Chu, heavily pregnant and still bustling about, andughingly said, ¡°My oh my, you¡¯re almost due, aren¡¯t you? You should call your rtives from your maternal family to attend to you soon.¡± Zhang Meng Chu Chu¡¯s husband, isn¡¯t a local, so he can¡¯t expect anyone from his wife¡¯s natal home to take care of her postpartum recovery. Chu Chuughed, ¡°I can manage by myself.¡± She didn¡¯t have a maternal family to speak of. Ever since their father started growing mushrooms and saving up silver coins, he quickly remarried and brought another woman into the family home. The new wife was young, and justst month, she was confirmed pregnant, so there¡¯s no way she was going to look after Chu Chu. Aunt Wang tutted a few times, shook her head, and carrying her basket, she went to the pond to wash clothes. Zhang Meng also overheard Aunt Wang¡¯s words. He came out of the house and anxiously studied his wife, ¡°We should hire someone to stay with you.¡± He had to go to the martial arts training ground every day to coach the children, and was busy for several hours at a stretch. He had no spare time to care for his wife. Moreover, this was a crucial time. Even the midwife in town said that someone had to be on hand to watch over Chu Chu. She was nearing her due date and could deliver at any moment. Chu Chu shook her head. ¡°No need. Yingbao is regrly checking up on me. I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Indeed, Yingbao came to her every day to check up her pulse, both in the morning and in the afternoon. When he saw that she had a poor appetite, he even brought her some fruit juice. So, Chu Chu wasn¡¯t worried about experiencing anyplications. That day, right after Yingbao had checked Chu Chu¡¯s fetal heartbeat, someone outside called out, ¡°Is Chu Chu home?¡± Chu Chu quickly got dressed, got up, and walked out of the house. There were several women and a pretty young girl standing outside. Recognizing them, Chu Chu¡¯s brows slightly furrowed. Among the women were her young stepmother, Xiao Sun, Chu Man¡¯s mother Sun Erniang, as well as the n Leader¡¯s wife, Granny Chu. And that teenage girl turned out to be Chu Man. ¡°Granny, why are you here? Pleasee in.¡± Chu Chu invited them into the house. Granny Chu looked Chu Chu up and down, her face stretching into a wide smile. ¡°You¡¯re about to give birth, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, the due date is the ninth of the tenth month.¡± Chu Chu served the guests some tea and busied herself preparing to entertain them. Granny Chu: ¡°Don¡¯t bother with it. We¡¯ve juste to see how you are. We¡¯ll leave soon.¡± The olddy quickly nced around Chu Chu¡¯s house, nodding approvingly. ¡°Chu Chu, you¡¯ve found a good husband. Look at this house of yours; itcks nothing.¡± Sun Erniang chimed in, agreeing, ¡°Yes, Chu Chu is definitely a rice scoop that fell into the bucket. You don¡¯t have to worry about food or clothing for the rest of your life. You should thank your great uncle. If they hadn¡¯t sent you here, how could you have ended up in such afortable marriage?¡± Chu Chu lowered her eyes, her face gradually turned cold. Yingbao was packing up his stethoscope, ready to go home, when he heard Granny Chu ask, ¡°Who is this young girl?¡± Chu Chu took Yingbao¡¯s hand. ¡°She¡¯s the daughter of the head of Jiang vige, and she is my adoptive sister.¡± Chu Chu had taken Chunniang as her adoptive mother, and Jiang Sang as her adoptive father, which naturally made Yingbao her adoptive sister. ¡°Oh my, so you¡¯re the daughter of the head of Jiang vige. What a pretty girl!¡± Granny Chu chuckled, patting Yingbao on the head. Sun Erniang alsoughed agreeably, though looking slightly embarrassed. Chu Chu¡¯s stepmother seemed honest and slow with words, only giving Yingbao a faint smile. Chu Man was different, though. She sneered at Yingbao, seating herself arrogantly on a bench, and started looking around Chu Chu¡¯s house, her expression full of disdain. Chu Chu inexplicably felt a strong aversion for these guests. She whispered to Yingbao, ¡°Yingbao, don¡¯t leave just yet.¡± Yingbao nodded and sat on a small stool. These people obviously had some ulterior motive for their visit. Yingbao decided to stay and see what they intended to do at Chu Chu¡¯s. Chapter 272 - 268: Dashing and Debonair_1 Chapter 272: Chapter 268: Dashing and Debonair_1 Trantor: 549690339 Chuchu finished brewing the tea and poured a bowl for everyone. The tea was boiled with the core of bamboo leaves. Yingbao said it could cool the body and calm the mind. Chu Matriarch took a sip, saying, ¡°Chuchu, you are due to give birth soon. Your mother is pregnant again and it¡¯s inconvenient for her to look after you. So, your grandfather and your father have discussed letting Chu Man stay with you for a while.¡± Chuchu¡¯s face fell immediately, ¡°Thank you, Grandmother and Grandfather, but my husband will look after me, there¡¯s no need to trouble Cousin Chu Man.¡± Her words darkened the faces of everyone present. Especially Chu Man. Her face turned red and she was on the verge of bursting. Sun¡¯s second wife quickly patted her daughter¡¯s hand, saying with augh, ¡°Chuchu, you¡¯ve never given birth, so you don¡¯t know how dangerous it is. If no one is here to care for you, a single mistake could result in dying in childbed.¡± Yingbao, who was listening by the side, could not take it any longer. She bluntly asked, ¡°Madam, is Chu Man a midwife?¡± Unable to contain herself any longer, Chu Man stood up in fury, dering, ¡°You are the midwife!¡± Yingbao replied calmly, ¡°Yes, I am indeed a midwife. With me around, Chuchu and her baby will certainly be safe.¡± No mother¡¯s family would dare to utter such things about their daughter dying during childbirth. It¡¯s extremely bad luck. The Chu Matriarch also felt something was not right. She shot a sharp re at Sun¡¯s second wife, then turned to Chuchu and smiled, ¡°Your aunt is too blunt and often speaks without thinking. She has a good heart despite her sharp tongue. She meant well.¡± ¡°Thank you, Grandmother, but I have Yingbao to look after me, and my godmother is also here. You do not need to worry.¡± Chuchu continued, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I need to go to my godmother¡¯s house, so I won¡¯t keep you all.¡± With that, she picked up a lock and stood at the door, her intentions clear as she looked back at everyone in the house. She was nning on locking the door and leaving. Upon seeing Chuchu¡¯s tant attempt to drive them out, everyone reluctantly got up and walked out of the house. Chuchu promptly locked the door, gave a respectful bow to the Chu Matriarch, and holding Yingbao¡¯s hand, turned to leave. Sun¡¯s second wife and Chu Man were so angry they could hardly speak, stomping their feet as they spat out, ¡°Look at her attitude! She¡¯s an ungrateful wretch! Since she got married, she¡¯s forgotten her own family and doesn¡¯t care about us at all!¡± Chu Matriarch¡¯s face also darkened. After thinking for a moment, she said to Sun¡¯s second wife, ¡°As Chu Chu¡¯s stepmother, you should be here to help her when she¡¯s about to give birth. Let Chu Man stay with you.¡± Although Sun¡¯s second wife was not enthusiastic about the idea, she didn¡¯t dare to offend the old woman, so she could only nod. In this manner, the Chu Matriarch and Sun¡¯s second wife left, leaving Sun¡¯s second wife and Chu Man sitting at the door of Chuchu¡¯s house. When Zhang Meng returned home, he saw that his front door was locked, with his wife¡¯s stepmother and an unfamiliar girl sitting at the door. ¡°Aunt, why are you here?¡± Zhang Meng greeted them as he approached. Sun¡¯s second wife quickly stood up and stammered, ¡°I¡­ came to look after Chuchu¡¯s confinement.¡± Zhang Meng nced at the lock on the door and replied, ¡°Chuchu¡¯s due date is still some time away. You don¡¯t need to trouble yourself. You should go home.¡± Sun¡¯s second wife just stood there with her head bowed, seeming to be determined to stay. Chu Man, however, just wandered around aimlessly, picking up the golden ears drying at the entrance, looking bored. Seeing them act like this, Zhang Meng finally understood why his own door was locked. With great patience, he repeated, ¡°Chuchu doesn¡¯t need your care. It¡¯s gettingte, you should go home.¡± Seeing that they ignored him, Zhang Meng frowned and said, ¡°Chuchu won¡¯t be back tonight. It¡¯s not appropriate for you twodies to stay with a man overnight.¡± Then, he started picking up the golden ears from the bamboo te. He put all the golden ears into a basket, carried them into the kitchen, locked the kitchen door, and walked off. Upon seeing this, Chu Man and Sun¡¯s second wife panicked. After standing at the door for a while, they had no choice but to leave dejectedly. When they walked past the entrance of the school, Chu Man suddenly stopped and stared intently into the courtyard. Sun¡¯s second wife followed her gaze and saw a young schr in his twenties talking to two children. ¡°Is that the Schr?¡± Chu Man shyly asked. Sun¡¯s second wife hastily replied, ¡°The Schr your Second Aunt told you about is not him. This man is from out of town and does not n to marry locally.¡± Chu Man frowned, ¡°Then who was she talking about? Is there another Schr here?¡± ¡°His name is Chen Changping and he lives nearby.¡± Little Sun and Chuchu¡¯s father had been to Dongchen Vige twice, so they were somewhat familiar with the ce. Chu Man asked with displeasure, ¡°Who is Chen Changping?¡± Little Sun hesitated, unsure of how to exin. At that moment, a tall man was seen walking from the distance towards the school. Little Sun¡¯s eyes lit up. She discreetly tugged at Chu Man and pointed with her lips, ¡°That¡¯s him.¡± Chu Man saw him too, her eyes widening in surprise. The man was wearing a new blue robe, a ck turban on his head. He had a face as fair as jade and extraordinarily handsome features, far more mature than the young schrs in the yard, his every movement exuding charm and elegance. Chu Man¡¯s face turned an even deeper shade of red as her mind began to wander. ¡°Is it really him?¡± She was a little incredulous. Little Sun nodded, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s him.¡± Who wouldn¡¯t know this newly recognized schr? He was a famous handsome man in the entire town. Only a young girl like Chu Man, who was a bit slow, would be unaware. Chu Man suddenly felt shy, ¡°Then, how do we strike up a conversation with him?¡± They couldn¡¯t just go up and introduce themselves out of the blue. The reason why Granny Chu and Sun Mom had painstakingly sent Chu Man to Chuchu, was to give Chu Man the opportunity to interact more with Chen Changping. If a man and a woman contact each other often, they would naturally develop feelings. When the timees, it would be natural, and the Chen family would have to agree to the marriage. However, Chuchu was unwilling to ept Chu Man, which created a problem. Little Sun sighed, ¡°Let¡¯s go back for now, we¡¯lle back after Chuchu gives birth.¡± No matter how much they wanted the two young people to interact, they must first find a suitable ce to stay. Since Chuchu was unwilling to ept Chu Man, they had to go back and figure out another n. Chu Man reluctantly followed Little Sun back home, asionally looking back at the school yard. The two schrs were sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, seemingly engrossed in a conversation. Little Sun and Chu Man hitched a ride on a donkey cart and slowly went downhill. From her home¡¯s courtyard wall, Yingbao witnessed everything. She began to connect the dots with what Chen Zhao had said and she had a fairly good idea of what was going on. The Chus have such thick skin, they could evene up with such a n. They weren¡¯t here to take care of Chuchu, they were here to fish for a wealthy son-inw. Coming down from the wall, Chuchu anxiously asked, ¡°Yingbao, did they leave?¡± ¡°Yes, they left.¡± They are likely toe back though. Yingbao decided not to mention thatst part to Chuchu in order to avoid worrying her excessively. Chuchu took a sigh of relief and said, ¡°I¡¯m really scared of Granny Chu and her party.¡± That Granny Chu also belonged to the Sun n and she was the cousin of Chu Man¡¯s mother, Sun. She was of the same n as Chu Man¡¯s stepmother, Little Sun. She, like the n leader, was willing to do anything for the n¡¯s benefits, even disregard her face. They had initially coerced and lured Chuchu and her father into making an innocent girl a stepping stone for the n, regardless of what would be of her future. After a few years, they were nning to use her as a stepping stone again to pave the path for Chu Man. Chu Man wanted to get married, but she needed to use Chuchu toy the groundwork. Speaking mildly, this could be considered a favor for an adult, but to put it bluntly, it was akin to procuring. As a soon-to-be mother herself, how could Chuchu let herself be associated with such a title for an outsider¡¯s sake? Therefore, no matter who came, she would notpromise this time. Chapter 273 - 269: Production_1 Chapter 273: Chapter 269: Production_1 Trantor:549690339 On the afternoon of the sixth day of October, Chuchu suddenly went intobor. Upon seeing this, Zhang Meng quickly borrowed a horse cart from the Jiang Family and went to town to bring Nurse Zhang to assist with the childbirth. Yingbao and Chunniang came over to help, first boiling arge pot of water, then washing all therge and small basins in the house, before finally putting a postpartum cushion for Chuchu toy on. Seeing that Chuchu was in terrible pain from her contractions, Yingbao worried she might faint, so she quickly had her drink a bowl of juice fortified with Mood Stamina mushrooms. Chunniang made a bowl of brown sugar poached eggs, forcing Chuchu to eat two of them to prevent her from experiencing physical exhaustion during childbirth. Nurse Zhang finally arrived. Upon seeing that everything was prepared, she didn¡¯t hesitate to help Chuchu give birth immediately. At this point, Chuchu¡¯s cervix was already four centimeters dted, so Nurse Zhang helped her walk a few rounds. Afterwards, the birth progressed smoothly. Not long after Chuchu¡¯s water broke, as per Nurse Zhang¡¯s instruction, she pushed along with her contractions. The baby slid out smoothly, letting out a loud cry. ¡°Oh! It¡¯s a precious baby girl!¡± Nurse Zhang chuckled as she spoke, then quickly cleaned out the centa, gently cleaned the baby¡¯s mouth with gauze, turned her over and lightly patted her back and buttocks to facilitate her breathing, causing her to cry even louder. Picking up the baby and gently bathing her in warm water, Nurse Zhang then dried her properly with the soft cotton cloth prepared in advance. Nurse Zhang then, with a piece of cotton cloth, tied a knot in the baby¡¯s umbilical cord about a finger¡¯s length from the belly, bit through the cord across the cloth, and secured it with a cotton string. Yingbao watched Nurse Zhang¡¯s delivery process in awe, finding it magical. After wrapping up the baby, Zhang massaged Chuchu¡¯s abdomen and gently pressed to expel the remaining blood from her uterus. Only after her lower abdomen no longer had any hardened lumps did she stop pressing. ¡°Start breastfeeding the baby soon, otherwise, there¡¯ll be risk of inmmation due to milk engorgement.¡± Nurse Zhang instructed, ¡°Also, remember to use the toilet soon, okay?¡± Chuchu nodded, her gaze softening as she looked at the baby in Chunniang¡¯s arms. After Nurse Zhang had cleaned up Chuchu, she changed her birthing pad and then sat down to rest. ¡°You cane in,¡± she called out to the door. Zhang Meng lifted the curtain and walked in, touching his wife¡¯s face and heart aching with sympathy, he was unable to speak. Pointing to the fleshy lotus leaf bundle on the stool, Nurse Zhang said, ¡°This is the centa. Find a ce to bury it, and bury it deep.¡± Zhang Meng answered, took up the leaf bundle, and went out. Chunniang put the baby next to Chuchu and went to help dispose of the bloody water. She then went to the kitchen to cook a big bowl of pigs¡¯ feet noodles for Nurse Zhang. As Chuchu had just given birth, she could only have some soft and light egg noodles. Only on the second day, once the breastfeeding got facilitated, would it be suitable to feed the mother fish soup forctation support, or else she risked developing mastitis. Early the next morning, Zhang Meng took red eggs to the Yue family to share the good news, and Jiang Sang also helped to deliver red eggs to every household in the vige. Since Chuchu was Chunniang¡¯s goddaughter and considered half a child of the Jiang family, the vigers also brought eggs or brown sugar to congratte them after receiving the good news. For a while, Zhang Meng¡¯s house was bustling with peopleing and going. Not to disturb Chuchu and the baby¡¯s rest, Chunniang received the guests in the living room and had Yingbao jot down the congrattory gifts. When Zhang Meng returned from the Yue family, he took over these tasks. Apanying Zhang Meng was Chuchu¡¯s younger brother, Chu Qing. As it turned out, after the n Leader found out the vige school was not taking students from other viges, he sent Chu Qing to his sister¡¯s ce, asking his brother-inw for a favor in arranging Chu Qing¡¯s studies under the Schr¡¯s tutge. Because the Schr¡¯s knowledge, was no doubt superior to those repeatedly failed child students. If one of Chu¡¯s descendants became a schr, it would be an honor to their lineage, offering a chance for their family to transcend their social ss from farmer to schr. Upon seeing her brother arrive, Chuchu was happy, eagerly arranging a room in her husband¡¯s home for him to live in. Sitting by the bed, Chu Qing touched his baby niece¡¯s soft face and said to his sister, ¡°Sister, the olddy asked me to bring our cousin, Chu Man, to take care of you. But I didn¡¯t agree.¡± Considering Chu Man¡¯s spoiled attitude, Chu Qing figured she wouldn¡¯t be of any help. Instead, he would rather take care of his sister himself rather than having Chu Mane over. Moreover, the siblings were not exactly close with Chu Man. They barely exchanged words when crossing paths. Her presence in their home would be seen as extremely suspicious. Chuchu gave a small approving smile. ¡°You did the right thing; I don¡¯t need their care.¡± Chu Qing scratched his head and said, ¡°I told grandma I would take care of you and the niece, and she got angry.¡± Chuchu softly sighed, ¡°Let her be angry. In the future, we won¡¯t go back to the vige; we¡¯ll just live here with my sister.¡± Her brother, whom she had raised since he was a child, was closest to her. Naturally, it was her strongest desire that they could live together. ¡°Mm.¡± Chu Qing pursed his lips in a small smile. He¡¯d wanted to live with his sister for a long time, but father wouldn¡¯t allow it. Now that their father has remarried and doesn¡¯t care about him as much, he can finally avoid going home. At this moment, Zhang Meng came in and said to Chuchu, ¡°The vige head of Jiang agreed that Chu Qing can study under Schr Li. Tomorrow morning, he will go to pay respects to his new master.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± Chuchu was very happy. Being able to study under Schr Li, even for just three years, was an extraordinarily lucky opportunity for her brother. That was because Schr Li had announced that he was going to take the imperial examination in three years and, given his limited energy, he couldn¡¯t ept more than twenty students. But the applicants for the remaining spots were far more than twenty. The children from Chen¡¯s family in East Vige alone took up more than ten spots. Who would not vie for these remaining few positions, chosen from among thousands? Even if the tuition fee amounted to twenty taels a year, there were people moring for it. It was said that this amount of tuition was set by Yingbao. First, it was to prevent people from making unreasonable demands to Schr Li. Second, Schr Li has a lot of debt, and he can¡¯t pay it off without the tuition fee. Days passed, and it was soon the end of October. One day, Chu Qing told her sister when he returned from school that he had seen Chu Man and Sun¡¯s Second Wife. They were living in West Vige. It seemed they¡¯ve rented a ce in a viger¡¯s house in West Vige, but he didn¡¯t know what they were nning. Chuchu certainly knew what they were up to, but how could she exin it to her brother? ¡°You ignore them. If you see them, avoid them, and don¡¯t deal with them!¡± She reminded her brother: ¡°Just focus on your studies. Ignore everything else. Understand?¡± Chu Qing nodded, puzzled. He did not tell his sister that he had seen Chu Man peeking at their teacher¡¯s house several times through the school gate. No, she was not peeking at the teacher, but at the teacher¡¯s friend. The friend of the teacher lived near West Vige. He came to visit the teacher every other day to discuss schrly issues. They often recited poems and painted pictures, spending the entire afternoon together. When he came, Chu Man and her mother woulde in and chat with the teacher¡¯s wife. However, the teacher¡¯s wife was very polite but distant to them, often saying she was tired and needed to rest. But once Chu Man and her mother left, the teacher¡¯s wife woulde out and go to the backyard to pick vegetables or sit in the yard to sew clothes. The other students might not have noticed, but since Chu Qing knew Chu Man, whenever she and her mother came, he couldn¡¯t help but take a few more nces to see what they were up to. Soon it was December 6, the day of Chuchu¡¯s daughter¡¯s first-month celebration. Zhang Meng held a banquet for his daughter¡¯s first-month celebration, inviting all the vigers to attend. Of course, as a sign of respect for schrs, Schr Chen Changping from West Vige and Vige Head Chen Changsheng were also invited. The weather that day was not good, gloomy and cold, with delicate snowkes drifting down. Jiang Sang led several vigers to help set up two celebration tents, under which several banquet tables were arranged. The sisters-inw of the Jiang family helped cook, while several older women from the neighboring households sat outside the kitchen picking vegetables and washing dishes. Before the banquet could begin, Chuchu¡¯s father arrived. With him were the n Leader of the Chu family and the vige head of Chu Vige. They braved the snow, arriving in an old horse-drawn cart, and stopped in front of Chuchu¡¯s house. Chapter 274 - 270: There are Rivers and Lakes Everywhere in the World_1 Chapter 274: Chapter 270: There are Rivers and Lakes Everywhere in the World_1 Trantor:549690339 Zhang Meng hurried to greet them and invited them into the main hall. A table was set up in the hall, where the Chen n Leader, Old Jiang from Dongchen Vige, and several respected men were seated. Of course, the two schrs were also present. Everyone greeted each other with courtesy, and the Chu n Leader took several nces at Li Xu. Unfortunately, this young man was from out of town and had no intention of getting married here; otherwise, he would be the ideal match for Chu Man. Then he took another look at Chen Changping. Hmm, he seemed more reliable. As the elders, they understood their children¡¯s temperament very well. Although Chen Changping was a widower with several children, he was mature and steady. Perhaps, he could tolerate Chu Man¡¯s temper. Besides, Chu Man was young and rtively beautiful. She should be able to win the schr¡¯s favor. The Chu n Leader thought so and cast a secret nce at Old Jiang again. The sons of the Jiang Family were also excellent, but it was a pity that Chu Man did not appreciate them and had ruined such a good marriage prospect. Old Jiang did not want to have anything to do with the Chu Family. He did not even spare them a nce. He only engaged in conversation with Chen n Leader Chen Sanyou and the Master. The most leisurely person today must be Yingbao. After showing her little daughter, Chuchu, to her younger brother Jiang Wu and Huzi, she went to the martial arts practice field to practice martial arts. Although Jiang Wu was only five years old, he was agile, and his hand strength was also considerable. Yingbao was simply no match for him. Disheartened after being tossed around several times, Yingbao sat on the side and watched Huzi and her brother spar. ¡°Huzi!¡± Erni ran over and waved at Huzi, ¡°Come with me!¡± Huzi ignored his sister and continued to spar with Jiang Wu. Erni pulled him aside and whispered, ¡°Come with me to see mother.¡± Huzi struggled, ¡°No, no!¡± He was very unfamiliar with that ¡®mother¡¯ and was not interested in seeing her at all. Erni pleaded, ¡°Huzi, juste and take a look with sister.¡± Huzi still refused and broke away from his sister, running away fast. He hade to see Yanru as his real mother, as she had taken care of his food, clothing, living, and transportation with great care. Although he vaguely remembered his former mother, he genuinely did not want to see her. Erni watched her brother run off dejectedly and had no choice but to visit the Leng Family on her own. Now, the Leng Family lived in two huts that Erni had paid to build for them. The huts were located at some distance from the vige, not far from a few tenant farmers. Many families in Dongchen Vige rented their fields to others for cultivation, hence many tenant farmers lived outside the vige. These tenant farmers had built shacks or huts next to their fields to amodate their families. Scattered here and there, there were roughly over ten households, including the Leng Family. asionally, the Leng Family would chat with the wives of the tenant farmers, and their days were rather peaceful. Erni also nned to give Mrs. Leng some seeds to grow next year, so she could be self-reliant and have something to rely on in her old age. Jiang Eng was aware of this, but did not interfere out of respect for his daughter¡¯s filial piety. He only reminder his daughter not to bring Mrs. Leng home and not to let her harm her stepmother. Erni naturally agreed immediately. Mother Yanru was very kind to her and her brother, and she was not an ungrateful person. How could she possibly harm her? After practicing fighting with her brother for a while, Yingbao took him home. The snow was getting heavier, soonying a thinyer of silver white on the ground. Yingbao did not join Chuchu¡¯s seat. She cooked two bowls of dragon¡¯s beard noodles on a small charcoal stove. Each bowl also had two poached eggs, enough for her and her brother to eat and drink. Then each returned to their rooms to rest. In the dwelling, Yingbao nted anotherrge batch of Treme fuciformis and Auricria auric-judae, a total of four thousand nts. These mushrooms grew very quickly in the dwelling and their quality was exceptional. Each of them was crystal clear and seemed extraordinary. Today, besides the ck soil, mushroom racks and pots, andrge bamboo trays are ced around the pond. Above the glowing object and around the Pupil Spring, fruits like grapes, apples, peaches, lychees, and tangerines had been nted. The grapes, peaches, and apples were nted early, and they were flowering and fruiting at this time. The lychee, tangerine, and papaya, however, were just small seedlings that had newly sprouted. Yingbao was worried that if the fruit trees grew too tall they would not flower, so she trimmed their branches early, keeping the height of the trees at about half a foot. The two original giant apple trees had also been pruned, and currently, they were growing steadily and had begun to flower and bear fruit. So now, she didn¡¯t have to exert any effort to pick the fruit. She only needs to step on a stool to reach it. Yingbao had just finished picking a basket of apples, a basket of peaches, and a basket of grapes. She nned to continue making peach juice with the water from Pupil Spring, as both Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu liked to drink it. The grapes, on the other hand, were to be used for making wine. Jiang Quan, her second cousin, had already helped her find out how to make fruit wine, and she had already brewed a few jars of peach wine and buried it under the peach tree some time ago. First, she would snip off each grape, wash it clean, and let it dry. Once dry, she would pour the grapes into a clean basin and crush them. Then, she would add distiller¡¯s yeast and icing sugar, allowing them to slowly dissolve. Afterwards, she would scoop the grape pulp into a pottery jar, cover it, and let it ferment for fifteen days. After about ten or so days, she would skim off the grape skins that were floating on top of the pulp, and would strain the pulp once more with a piece of muslin. She would then pour the grape pulp back into a clean jar, seal it, dig a hole, and bury it in the ground. After allowing it to ferment for another two months, the grape wine would be finished. The longer it ferments, the richer and stronger the taste of the wine will be; such is the method of making grape wine. Yingbao made three jars of grape pulp in one go, covered them, and was now just waiting for them to ferment. Upon leaving the cave, Yingbao felt extremely tired, and promptly boiled water to wash and rest. She had a good night¡¯s sleep until the following morning. Yingbao rolled out of bed and gently pushed the window open. Outside the window, everything was covered in a thickyer of white snow. The snow was not too deep, reaching about up to her ankles. However, the weather was extremely cold. The cold wind on her face was ufortably numb and prickly, prompting Yingbao to quickly shut the window. From the box, she pulled out her padded jacket and trousers to put on, and then heard voices outside. It turned out to be Auntie Wang, who hade early in the morning to gossip with Chunniang. ¡°Oh, Chunniang, something terrible has happened¡­no, rather a major scandal has urred in West Vige,¡± Auntie Wang said, unable to contain her excitement. Auntie Wang confided in Chunniang, ¡°That girl from the Chu Family in our vige¡­ she was actually caught messing around with Chen Changping. They were found in the haystack at the entrance of the vige, my goodness, so many people saw¡­¡± Chunniang nced towards her daughter¡¯s room and lowered her voice, ¡°Auntie, keep it down. The children are at home.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, yes.¡± Auntie Wang lowered her voice, ¡°Chen Feng¡¯s wife was so angry, she was cursing at their door¡­So vulgar! Chunniang, why don¡¯t you go and have a look? Chen Feng¡¯s wife was practically pointing at that girl from the Chu Family and calling her a slut.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Curious, Chunniang pulled Auntie Wang towards the door, ¡°Let¡¯s go and see.¡± Yingbao was even more curious. She had been listening intently when Auntie Wang left. Not only did she leave, but she also took Chunniang with her. Yingbao put on her cotton shoes, and clumped, clumped, clumped ran out the door. After thinking a bit, she picked up a small broom, swept the snow off the stairs, climbed onto her house¡¯s wall, and looked towards West Vige. By this morning the snow had already stopped, and the sky was a cloudless blue. Quite a few vigers appeared to be heading towards West Vige, probably to watch the excitement. Yingbao stood on her tiptoes and strained to look towards the west, but she could only barely make out some figures. She couldn¡¯t see clearly. However, she did seem to hear the sound of a woman crying and shouting in the wind. Yingbao shook her head and climbed down from the wall. She could specte without a second thought that this scandal must have been orchestrated by the Chu Family. The legitimate line of the Chu Family wanted a schr for a son-inw, but the only unmarried girl of suitable age and appearance they had was Chu Man, from the main lineage. What¡¯s more, this Chu Man was infamous, so the Chen Family would certainly not agree to the marriage. So, the Chu Family decided to force their hand, aiming to present them with a fait apli. If Chen Changping hadn¡¯t fallen prey today, it might have been Li Xu instead. Ah, indeed, life is full of intrigue everywhere. Chapter 275 - 271: Mixed Vegetable Soup_1 Chapter 275: Chapter 271: Mixed Vegetable Soup_1 Trantor:549690339 Yingbao couldn¡¯t resist and secretly ran to the scene in West Vige. Arge crowd had already gathered at the entrance of Chen Laoshaun¡¯s house in West Vige. Chu Man¡¯s biological mother, Mrs. Sun, was arguing with Chen Laoshaun and his wife. ¡°You must give my Chu Family an exnation for this. My daughter is an innocent girl, she cannot be taken advantage of.¡± Facing such a shameless family like the Chu¡¯s was unbearable for the Feng family, they were infuriated and extremely disappointed in their son. But in front of all these people, they couldn¡¯t allow their son to lose face, so Mrs. Feng rebuked, ¡°Where did this prostitutee from, who dares to use my second son! Can¡¯t you see what your daughter is like, how could my son be interested in her?¡± Upon hearing this, Mrs. Sun was infuriated, she lunged at Mrs. Feng and began to grapple. People rushed in to separate them. Chen Changhai¡¯s wife jumped in, tightly holding onto Mrs. Sun, and protested, ¡°You should not arbitrarily hit people. It¡¯s said that domestic disgrace should not be publicized. How ignorant of you to smear your own daughter.¡± Mrs. Sun struggled vigorously, yelling, ¡°It was the Chen Family who did something wrong. I don¡¯t care! They must give my daughter an exnation, or we¡¯ll take it up with the government!¡± Upon hearing this, Chen Laoshaun furrowed his brow. His son had just passed the schr examination in June and hadn¡¯t received the admission notice yet, so he hadn¡¯t started attending school in the county. Before entering school, the school officials examined the character of the new students in the county. If they found anycking, they would directlty strip their qualifications to attend. His son could not be criticized at this junction, perhaps the school officials would conduct their investigation soon. ¡°Enough! Let¡¯s go inside and discuss!¡± Chen Laoshaun ordered, giving his wife a look. Mrs. Feng understood, quickly fixing her disheveled hair and headed inside, huffing. Chen Laoshaun then said to Mrs. Sun, ¡°Mrs. Sun, let us also go inside and discuss. Whatever the matter is, we can negotiate.¡± This was exactly what Mrs. Sun wanted, she immediately nodded in agreement. Afterwards, Chen Laoshaun sent his third son to Chu Vige to call for the Chu n Leader and the vige chief, so that both families could formally discuss the matter of their children. Ultimately, the result was that Chu Man would marry into the Chen Family, bing Chen Changping¡¯s secondary wife. If not, they would see each other in court. Chen Laoshaun had no choice but to agree. However, using the excuse that his family was poor and unable to afford a substantial bride price, he asked that the Chu family handle it. The Chu n Leader and the vige chief looked at each other, gritted their teeth, and agreed to the Chen Family¡¯s disrespectful request. However, they demanded that the new couple¡¯s wedding attire bepletely green when Chen Changping came to im his bride. ording to rural customs, the groom should wear green when marrying a primary wife. If marrying a secondary wife, the clothes sent to the bride by the groom are typically red. Not only because red fabric is cheaper than green, but also because it was a local custom. Mrs. Feng outright refused, iming that rituals cannot be discarded, with their grandson and granddaughter watching, they cannot disrespect his first wife. Therefore, the two families argued over the color of the wedding clothes. Finally, they reached apromise, the bride would wear a red top and green skirt. So, Chu Man married into the Chen family on December 24th, bing Chen Changping¡¯s secondary wife. When she first entered the house, things were rtively peaceful, as she treated Chen Wan, Chen Zhao, and Chen Xubao with kindness. On this day, Chu Man took her own clothes to wash by the pond, but ran back home before finishing as she thought the water was too cold. She handed her clothes to Chen Wan, asking her to wash them. Chen Wan was gentle and obedient, ustomed to going along with orders. So she took the clothes to the pond to wash. Seeing this made Chen Zhao grind her teeth. She quickly followed and scolded her older sister. ¡°Why are you washing her clothes?¡± Chen Zhao huffed. ¡°These are all her clothes, some of them are very small. Why should we wash them?¡± Chen Wan spoke quietly, ¡°It¡¯s just a few clothes, it won¡¯t take long to wash them all. Ah Zhao, don¡¯t be so petty. She is our stepmother after all. It¡¯s nothing for us, the younger ones, to help her.¡± Chen Zhao stomped off, upset. She went to find Yingbao and vent, ¡°From now on, I won¡¯t bother with her anymore. No good deed goes unpunished! She even says I¡¯m being petty. Isn¡¯t that the same as saying I¡¯m narrow-minded? Hmph! Let her wash them herself!¡± Yingbao was not surprised at all. In her previous life, Chen Wan had always been such a soft-hearted person. The only time she dared to rebel was when she tried to jump into the river. She thought that suicide could gain attention and sympathy from others, or would make them realize their conscience. Unbeknownst to her, others did not care about her life or death at all. Chen Zhao chatted with Yingbao for a while, then suddenly remembered that her brother Xubao was left unattended, so she quickly ran home. In a blink of an eye, it was the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month. The houses in the county town werepleted, and Jiang Cheng was about to marry Chou Rong, the daughter of Rongfu Pastry Shop, so the Jiang family all went to the county town to host Jiang Cheng¡¯s engagement banquet. Chunniang left the chicken and ducks at home for Chuchu and Zhang Meng to take care of, she took her children and rode on the carriage driven by her husband, heading to the county town with several sisters-inw. Apanying them were Jiang Eng, Dani and Erni from the Jiang Family. The old couple from the Jiang family stayed to look after the house. When they reached the county town, Jiang Cheng settled all family members in the mansion he had bought himself. The mansion, only a short distance away from Jiang Sang¡¯s house, consisted of two courtyards and a total of nine rooms. There was also a well beside the kitchen in the front yard. The house was originally an old one, but it had been refurbished and repainted by Jiang Cheng. All household items inside were newly purchased andplete. Jiang Cheng ced his parents in the main house, and arranged for his uncles, aunts, and siblings to stay in the back yard. Since Jiang Sang and his family had their own mansion, they did not live here. After checking out her eldest brother¡¯s mansion, Yingbao went to her own shop to inspect her support system. The five-room house stood neatly. The carved windows and doors were coated with purplish-red tung oil. The furnishings in the rooms were allplete and fireces had been installed in three of the bedrooms. The one storage room had many empty shelves, without any goods. When no one was in sight, Yingbao took out all the fungus from her storage room and put them on the shelves, then recorded the inventory in her ledger. Coming out of the storage room, she saw a well not far from the kitchen. The well was covered with a lid that held a bucket tied to a rope for fetching water. The kitchen was huge, with three stoves. A pile of chopped firewood was stacked near the stove entrance. Yingbao nodded in satisfaction and returned to the shop. Her shop consisted of three rooms, two of which were interconnected and served as the showrooms. They wereid with green bricks and had counters at the back with shelves stocked with goods. The third room served as the office, which not only had a money box and a desk, but also a small bed for resting. The door to the office was inside the counter area, so outsiders couldn¡¯t easily get in. Jiang Yunniang¡¯s snack stall was set up on the right side of the shop. The canopy of the snack stall was just a few steps away from the shop door. Yingbao stood at the door and looked over. The snack stall was selling meat pies and mixed vegetable soup. It was lunchtime and the business was pretty good. After a busy spell, Aunty Jiang Yunniang saw Yingbao watching her, smiled, and asked, ¡°Yingbao, would you like a meat pie?¡± Yingbao nodded and sat down beside the small square table under the oilcloth umbre. Jiang Yunniang served a bowl of mixed vegetable soup and gave her a freshly made meat pie. Without being shy, Yingbao took a bite. The meat pie tasted quite good. After sipping the mixed vegetable soup, she found that the soup contained chopped greens, diced bottle gourds, and few strips of chicken. The soup was thickened with flour and vored withrd, pepper, and salt. It tasted quite delicious. Chapter 276 - 272: Engagement_1 Chapter 276: Chapter 272: Engagement_1 Trantor:549690339 ¡°Is it delicious?¡± Jiang Yunniang asked. Yingbao nodded, ¡°Yes, it is.¡± Jiang Yunniangughed, ¡°I¡¯ll make some more for you to take home for your parents to try.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After finishing a meat pie and arge bowl of vegetable soup, Yingbao was absolutely stuffed. ¡°Auntie, why are you the only one busy? Where are my older and second cousins?¡± she asked. While making more meat pies, Jiang Yunniang answered, ¡°They¡¯ve gone to the Tile House area to sell meat pies.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Yingbao nodded. That seemed quite reasonable. At that moment, Uncle Zhang Jia came from afar and said to Jiang Yunniang, ¡°Give me some money. Hong Shao is feeling a bit feverish, and I have to take her to the medicine hall for a consultation.¡± Jiang Yunniang gave Zhang Jia a cold nce, ¡°Where would I get money?¡± Hong Shao was his concubine¡¯s daughter, nearly two years old now, and she had been frequently getting sick with a cough. ¡°How do you not have any? What happened to the money you earned today? You just don¡¯t want to give it to me on purpose, you want Hong Shao to die of sickness, don¡¯t you?¡± Zhang Jia red at his wife angrily. Jiang Yunniang gave her husband a sidelong nce and sneered, ¡°The paltry amount I¡¯ve earned isn¡¯t even enough for one of your doses of ¡®Five Rocks Blend¡¯, how could that be considered money?¡± At some point, Zhang Jia had developed an addiction to the ¡®Five Rocks Blend¡¯ drug. He took a dose every few days, then he would fool around with his concubine the whole night. By now, pustules had started to form on Zhang Jia¡¯s body and neck, and his foul smell could be detected from a long distance away. Jiang Yunniang was utterly disgusted and was nning to rent a couple of rooms elsewhere to live with her children. Seeing his wife¡¯s mockery, Zhang Jia was furious and pointed at her nose, ¡°You poisonous woman! I should have divorced you long back!¡± ¡°Divorce me?¡± Jiang Yunniang scoffed, ¡°Go ahead and try it!¡± Not to mention her three brothers standing behind her, if she was really provoked, she would sell off that woman and her three kids in a heartbeat. Zhang Jia red at Jiang Eng and Jiang Cheng standing by the shop¡¯s entrance, clenching and unclenching his fists. However, he didn¡¯t dare to actually throw a punch and turned away. Now, Yingbao understood why her aunt had set up a stall at the entrance of their own shop. If she did it elsewhere, she would definitely not be able to secure her earnings. Not only would Zhang Jia forcefully demand it, but those ruffians from her concubine¡¯s family would likely cause trouble as well. Setting up a stall at the shop entrance couldpletely prevent such urrences. Moreover, at the end of each night, she could store her tables and stools in the shop, and give the silver coins to her elder nephew for safekeeping, killing many birds with one stone. Jiang Eng watched Zhang Jia leave with squinted eyes. Only then, he said to Jiang Yunniang, ¡°Wrap up a bit earlier today. Let¡¯s go to Dacheng¡¯s house for a casual meal this evening. Dacheng is getting engaged tomorrow, bring the kids with you too.¡± A nephew¡¯s engagement was a big deal. Since his aunt was right there, it seemed inappropriate not to invite her for a meal to celebrate the happy asion. Jiang Yunniang nodded, ¡°I will clean up right away.¡± Her nephew¡¯s engagement was to the daughter of a famous pastry shop owner in the county town. Although her parents hadn¡¯te to the city, both her elder sister-inw and her two sisters had arrived. She also needed to prepare a substantial red envelope as a gift. The next day, Dacheng and the matchmaker took gifts and personally drove a horse cart to pick up the family of the pastry shopkeeper, Sima. Today was essentially a day to set the wedding date between both families. The four taels of banquet dishes were all cooked by several chefs invited by Jiang Cheng. All of it was both visually appealing and abundant. At one table sat the older male rtives from both families along with the matchmakers. The other table was upied by female rtives from both families, and Yingbao was a part of it as well. The other two tables were filled with the boys from the family, and Jiang Yunniang¡¯s two sons were sitting with them. Jiang Yunniang¡¯s husband Zhang Jia was also present, sitting with the male elder. However, he didn¡¯t say a word and buried his head in his drink. At the table, both families discussed the children¡¯s wedding dates, finally settling on the twenty-second of thest lunar month. With the saying ¡°marrying a daughter-inw makes the New Year more festive,¡± Shopkeeper Qiu gleefully expressed his desire for his daughter to visit the Jiang family as soon as possible to kowtow to her grandparents and ask for her New Year¡¯s money. Naturally, the wedding date was mainly decided by the bride¡¯s side. Elder Uncle Jiang readily agreed without hesitation, stating that the old family home had already prepared a new house, with all new items, and wouldn¡¯t shortchange the children. Shopkeeper Qiu, of course, had no objections. His struggle to snatch Jiang Cheng as a golden son-inw was not easy, but he was finally sessful, and he wished to pack his daughter off to the Jiang family as soon as possible. Over the past year, business at Jiang¡¯s Specialties had been booming, quickly surpassing Rongfu Pastry Shop, which had been in operation for decades. Setting that aside, Jiang Cheng had managed to buy arge two-story house in the county town in a short amount of time. What else could an eighteen or neen-year-old kid do if not for him? So he made a concerted effort, letting his daughter do the job of delivering pastries. Even though the goods could be delivered in one trip, he had his daughter run several trips to make more deliveries, allowing her more opportunities to interact with the young man. On the other side, he went to great lengths to invite Jiang Cheng over for dinner, having his wife personally cook delicious dishes for him. Combined with his own warm hospitality, he quickly won over Jiang Cheng¡¯s heart, and the two young people inevitably got along better and better. Feeling pleased with himself, Shopkeeper Qiu thought how fortunate it was that he had acted early. The old guy from the silk shop next door was still asking about Jiang Cheng¡¯s situation. He knew the old man¡¯s situation best; his family had several daughters ready for marriage. Since Jiang Cheng often went to the pastry shop to pick goods, they saw him, and a few of the young women came to the speciality shop intentionally or unintentionally, iming to buy pastries. Their own pastry shop was right next to their house, offering cheap, freshly baked pastries that were hot, fragrant and delicious. Instead of buying cheap and delicious pastries, they ran two streets away to the speciality shop. Humph! Sima Zhao¡¯s heart, everyone can see! Shopkeeper Qiu picked up a cup of wine, grinned at Elder Brother Jiang, and said, ¡°Come, let¡¯s drink to our brotherhood.¡± Elder Brother Jiang quickly lifted his cup in response: ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take the lead.¡± With that, he tilted his head back and emptied his cup. After drinking a couple of cups with Elder Brother Jiang, Shopkeeper Qiu drank two cups with Jiang Eng, then Jiang Sang, and then proposed a toast to Zhang Jia, the husband of Jiang Yunniang. Zhang Jia sneered, slurred a few words due to his drunkenness, gulped down the wine, and then smashed the wine cup on the floor. The room fell silent instantly. Seeing this, Jiang Yunniang hurriedly came over with her eldest son to support him, apologizing to everyone: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my husband can¡¯t hold his liquor, and he¡¯s not making much sense. I¡¯ll take him home!¡± With that, she started dragging Zhang Jia towards the exit. Jiang Cheng paused for a moment, then got up to harness the carriage and take them home. The faces of Elder Brother Jiang and his brothers were ugly. Actually, inviting Zhang Jia was out of necessity. After all, he was Jiang Cheng¡¯s biological uncle and still was married to Jiang Yunniang. They didn¡¯t expect him to behave so rudely, losing face in front of their future inws and the matchmakers. But shopkeeper Qiu didn¡¯t mind; he merelyughed it off. Having been in business for so many years, what kind of people hadn¡¯t he seen? He didn¡¯t care about people like Zhang Jia, who were of low character. They wouldn¡¯t amount to much anyway. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to see that.¡± Even though Shopkeeper Qiu didn¡¯t mind, Elder Brother Jiang still felt obliged to apologize. Shopkeeper Qiu shook his head: ¡°No need to care, we¡¯re all family now, and there will be many rtivesing and going in the future, encountering all sorts of temperaments is nothing strange.¡± ¡°Indeed, indeed, drunks can¡¯t keep their bearings, and he won¡¯t remember anything when he sobers up.¡± The two matchmakersughed in agreement. Chapter 277 - 273: Ruffian_1 Chapter 277: Chapter 273: Ruffian_1 Trantor: 549690339 Jiang Cheng¡¯s engagement banquet ended without any major issues, and everyone gradually returned home. The next day, Elder Sister-inw Jiang and Chunniang went shopping together for wedding necessities. They bought twelve pairs of thick, double-happiness red wax candles, four pairs of incense burners, arge bundle of redbud incense, four pieces of embroidered satin quilt, two bridal canopies, and a pair of satin-embroidered pillows. They also bought some jewellery, such as hairpins, bracelets, earrings and nes for the bride. Because the matchmaker said that the bride¡¯s dowry might amount to thirty-six pnquins, their own betrothal gifts should not be too shabby inparison. After purchasing the jewelry, they went to the clothing store and bought several silk wedding gowns. The green, silk-embroidered ceremonial dresses were embroidered with symbols of wealth and blessings as well as images of many children and grandchildren. Even the shoes were embroidered with golden threads depicting auspicious clouds of prosperity. These items needed to be taken to the bride¡¯s house at the time of the wedding, for the bride to wear while ascending the bridal sedan. Afterward, Chunniang suggested that Elder Sister-inw Jiang should also buy two silk dresses for herself and Elder Brother Jiang to wear during the marriage ceremony. Elder Sister-inw Jiang, who had never worn silk clothing before, declined persistently, saying: ¡°There are new clothes at home, I don¡¯t need any.¡± Chunniangughed and replied, ¡°The clothes at home are too in. They can¡¯t be worn at a wedding feast.¡± Left with no choice, Elder Sister-inw Jiang bought two dresses. Having finished shopping, the two women got onto a carriage, driven by Jiang Quan, to return to Jiang Cheng¡¯s estate. Meanwhile, Yingbao and her sisters, led by Yanru, went to a cosmetics shop. When the groom picks up the bride, he must also bring cosmetics such as rouge and scented powder, as well as sachets of perfume, scented soaps, and incense. Although the bride¡¯s dowry would include these items too, she wouldn¡¯t be able to use them on her wedding day. The bride could only adorn herself with the clothes and essories provided by the groom¡¯s family. Uninterested in these items, Yingbao dragged her second sister to the neighboring shop to select exorcism masks. Kids love these colorful masks, drawn with images of monsters and beasts. Yingbao chose a Zhong Kui mask and wore it on her face, then picked up a few others with different patterns. Finding it amusing, the second sister also put a mask on her face. After paying, the two sisters walked hand in hand to the teahouse where Gao Lifan was telling stories. They found a seat and sat down to listen. Gao Lifan was still the storyteller, but his daughter, Dongmei, was nowhere to be seen. After a while, Yingbao ran over to ask, ¡°Mister Gao, where is sister Dongmei?¡± Seeing it was Yingbao, Gao Lifan smiled, ¡°Dongmei didn¡¯te today. She¡¯s at home preparing for the New Year with her mother.¡± Preparing for the New Year at this time usually involved making sausages and curing meat. These would be hung under the eaves for a little over twenty days and would be ready to eat in the first month of the lunar new year. Yingbao nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll go see herter.¡± As they left the teahouse, Aunt Jiang had just finished shopping. The group,den with packages, returned to the shop, where they bumped into Yanru¡¯s uncle and aunt who were talking to Jiang Cheng and Jiang Eng. ¡°Auntie!¡± Yanru bowed in greeting and walked towards her, hugging her tightly. Yanru¡¯s aunt held her niece and patted her, ¡°You didn¡¯t let us know when you came back. Fortunately, your husband informed your uncle. Otherwise, we would have missed each other.¡± Yanru replied, ¡°We¡¯ve just arrived as well, and we were busy shopping. We didn¡¯t have time to visit you.¡± While the aunt and niece were chatting, the conversation turned to Yanru¡¯s health. The aunt quietly asked, ¡°Still no sign of a baby?¡± Yanru¡¯s face paled instantly. She lightly shook her head and replied, ¡°No.¡± The aunt sighed, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Jiang Eng already has two children.¡± But deep down, she was still hoping for her niece to have at least one child with Jiang Eng. Once Yanru had a child, she would be able to conduct herself with more confidence, and there would be someone to look after her when she became old. Yingbao stuck her head forward, looked from left to right, then said, ¡°Second Aunt, let me take your pulse for you.¡± Yanru¡¯s auntughed, ¡°Little Yingbao, how old are you that you already know how to take someone¡¯s pulse?¡± Yingbao solemnly said, ¡°I am a little Divine Doctor.¡± Yanru confirmed, ¡°Godmother, Yingbao truly knows medicine, she has even attended to distinguished people in Beijing.¡± She herself wanted Yingbao to take a look at her back home but was shy, so she never asked Yingbao whether she could conceive or not. Surprised, the godmother eximed, ¡°Oh, really? Maybe I made a correct prophecy.¡± Yingbao nodded in understanding, then took Yanru¡¯s pulse. Yanru¡¯s pulse was much steadier than a few years ago; there was no reason for her to remain infertile. Yingbao pondered for a moment then said to Yanru, ¡± Madam, let¡¯s go to the backyard. I¡¯ll perform a ritual on you.¡± She prepared to let Yanru try taking some pure Five Tripod Ganoderma and trick her in doing so. As instructed, Yanru, along with her godmother, walked towards the backyard room. Yingbao rummaged around in a small bag, pulling out a talisman and a small porcin bottle. Then she hopped around while muttering incantations. Afterwards, she handed the porcin bottle to Yanru: ¡°Madam, you¡¯d better drink it quickly.¡± Yanru didn¡¯t question it and excitedly took the porcin bottle and guzzled it. After drinking, she felt a warmth rise from her abdomen, which was veryfortable. ¡°How do you feel?¡± asked Yingbao. Yanru touched her chest and said, ¡°I feel warm here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Yan¡­Madam, you should eat well every day and take care of your health. You will definitely be able to conceive,¡± said Yingbao. Yanru was only in her twenties this year, apart from abnormalities in her menstrual cycle, it didn¡¯t seem like there were any significant issues. But it seemed like her condition had normalized now, and she was heavier than before, there should probably be no problem with her getting pregnant and having a child. Yanru smiled and said, ¡°Thank you for your kind words, Yingbao.¡± The two of them chatted a bit more when the godmother suddenly began: ¡°Two schrs have been staying at our inn. They keep pretending to be sick so they don¡¯t have to go home, iming they don¡¯t have any money. They also refuse to pay the room rate. Sigh, your godfather is at his wits¡¯ end, but we can¡¯t really force them out.¡± Yanru frowned, ¡°There are such people? They¡¯ve been freeloading off the inn for so long, doesn¡¯t the county government care?¡± The godmother sighed, ¡°The county government doesn¡¯t allow private eviction of schrs. Otherwise, they¡¯ll punish us severely. The schrs want to eat and drink in the inn, and make a fuss if they don¡¯t get their way. Our small business can¡¯t stand this sort of torment.¡± Yingbao considered this and said, ¡°You can think of a way for them to leave on their own, like catching a hedgehog, feed it salt, and then put it under the schr¡¯s bed. The schrs surely wouldn¡¯t dare stay at the inn anymore.¡± To deal with rogues, one should resort to rogue tactics. ¡°Could it really work?¡± The godmother¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°It should work.¡± Yingbao suddenly regretted telling Yanru and her godmother this strategy. What if the schrs were like Li Xu, fallen ill and poverty-stricken. Wouldn¡¯t her actions be driving them to their deaths? She decided to have a look for herself first. ¡°Godmother, take me to your inn.¡± The godmother, aware that Yingbao had some connections with the magistrate of the county, didn¡¯t refuse and immediately stood up to lead her niece and Yingbao back to the inn. The Gao¡¯s inn wasn¡¯t far from the county school, just a short walk. Just as they reached the entrance of the inn, they saw two schrs loudly yelling in the hall, ¡°Why hasn¡¯t our food been brought yet? Are you trying to starve us to death?¡± The godmother whispered, ¡°See? Those are the two. They¡¯ve already stayed at our inn for more than half a year and refuse to leave. They demand food and drinks all day and imed they¡¯ll stay until the exam starts next year.¡± Yingbao blinked, ¡°They are schrs?¡± ¡°No,¡± the godmother said, ¡°They passed the county exam but failed at the prefectural level. They n to reapply and take the test again next year.¡± Turns out they are not schrs! Yingbao walked boldly into the lobby of the inn, in a sassy manner, ¡°Where did these roguese from! They¡¯re freeloading off our food and drinks here! Wait until I tell the official, let him see what the county¡¯s students are like!¡± Chapter 278 - 274: Impersonation_1 Chapter 278: Chapter 274: Impersonation_1 Trantor: 549690339 The schr was taken aback and thenughed sarcastically, ¡°You insolent child, dare you nder us! Do you believe we can sue you for defamation? You are outrageously talking nonsense at such a young age. Can someone like you, a lowly merchant, tarnish my honorable reputation as a schr?¡± Auntie Xiao and Yanru were infuriated, but they didn¡¯t dare to scold them and stomped their feet in exasperation, ¡°Such scoundrels! Scoundrels!¡± Upon hearing the man¡¯s ent, Yingbao squinted his eyes and turned to Auntie Xiao, ¡°Auntie, can I take a look at their guest register?¡± Auntie Xiao nodded and led Yingbao to the counter, pulling out the register. ¡°Here, they checked in at the end of April and haven¡¯t paid a single coin. It¡¯s already December and they are still here.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t pay attention to the date, instead, he carefully examined their ces of origin and ages. Both, are from Qinchuan County, but from different towns. One person¡¯s information was particrly strange, he was allegedly just seventeen years old. Yingbao looked up and scrutinized the men sitting in the lobby, neither of them seemed seventeen. The youngest one, despite having shaved his beard and having caked his face with thick powder, could not hide the fact that he was almost thirty. The fact that this man¡¯s ent was from Zhouhe County made Yingbao suspect his identity. Perhaps he was a schr who hade to participate in the examinations under someone else¡¯s identity? Yingbao shut the register, and quickly ran in front of the two, hands on hips, ¡°I suggest you leave at once! Otherwise, I will report to the county government that you are participating in the examinations under someone else¡¯s household registration!¡± Actually, the situation of participants using someone else¡¯s household registration for the examinations happens in every county, it¡¯s not strange, but it cannot be publicized, otherwise, it¡¯s illegal. These students, firstly, are too poor to afford the repeated fees of hiring proctors to invigte the meals. Secondly, they may be descendants of lower ss, not qualified to participate in the examination, so they spend money to use other people¡¯s household registration. The families whose registration is used, if they have had someone in the family who passed the government examination and became a schr or were rmended as an official, the descendants can participate in the examinations without recruiting a proctor to ensure their meals. The other students just need to buy such a family¡¯s household registration, rece their names and participate in the examinations, significant cost can be saved. After all, not everyone can ensure that they pass the examination in one try. The two were shocked, their faces fluctuating with uncertainty. Yingbao continued, ¡°You must leave by tomorrow! If you¡¯re still here, I will go to the county government and sue you for using someone else¡¯s household registration!¡± She pointed at the man who had a Zhouhe county ent, ¡°You¡¯re from Zhouhe county, right? Yet you¡¯re impersonating someone from Ten-mile Shop. I advise you to leave early. Otherwise¡­hmm!¡± The man¡¯s face, already powdered, turned even more pale, stuttering in defense, ¡°Y-You¡¯re talking nonsense! W-What impersonation¡­I-I am genuinely¡­¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t listen to his babbling, she simply walked away with Yanru. ¡°Hey hey hey! Where are you going?¡± The man got anxious, stood up abruptly and quickly looked left and right seeing no other people in the lobby, he hastily said, ¡°We will leave now! Now, you¡­don¡¯t go¡­¡± to report. Having said that, he scurried back to his room to pack his things. Yingbao and Yanru exchanged a look and waited at the inn entrance. Neither of these two seemed like good folks, seeing hispanion pack, the other one also didn¡¯t dare to stay, quickly packed his luggage and left, running faster than anyone. They are not poor, they just want to freeload, sometimes they even order food and drinks from other shops and put the tab on the inn¡¯s ount, saying they will settle it all together. Seeing both of them have left, Auntie Xiao heaved a sigh of relief and turned to Yingbao, ¡°Thank you, Yingbao.¡± Eventually, the scoundrels didn¡¯t pay, but this was already the best possible oue. As a humble merchant herself, she definitely didn¡¯t dare to offend these schrs. After all, who knows if they will pass their examinations and be officials to seek revenge on her family in the future. Additionally, these schrs have the government¡¯s support when they stay at the inn, it inherently causes trouble for the merchants. Good-natured schrs certainly wouldn¡¯t do such a thing, but those with bad character can easily take advantage of the merchants, leaving them with unspeakable frustrations. Yingbao understood their concerns and didn¡¯t say anything, she just led Yanru back home. The next day, the Jiang family returned to the vige with their newly bought goods, to prepare for the wedding. Because Jiang Cheng¡¯s marriage had to take ce in the vige. The bride has to be escorted by a wedding procession from her old home to his old home, where the wedding ceremony will take ce. After a month of marriage, the couple will move back to the county. Yingbao and Dani didn¡¯t return home, the two sisters lived in the backyard of the shop, while their shop was taken care of by Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan. Dani also wanted to stay and y for a few days, but her older aunt didn¡¯t allow, saying she was already engaged and couldn¡¯t afford to behave irresponsibly anymore. Dani watched dejectedly as her sister climbed onto the carriage, and quietly told Yingbao, ¡°I definitely don¡¯t want to be engaged early.¡± ¡°Hmm!¡± Yingbao nodded emphatically, ¡°Indeed, one shouldn¡¯t be engaged early. There¡¯s no freedom.¡± After the New Year, Dani would be eleven, and her sister would already be fourteen, perhaps in a year or two she will be married off. Her gaze then shifted to Jiang Quan. Her second cousin was already sixteen, almost as tall as her eldest cousin. He was wearing a ck turban, with a cloth flower tucked in his ear, dressed in a ck short robe, a blue cloth belt tied around his waist, holding various objects and a small purse. His feet were in a pair of brand new deer hide boots, his face, although not as fair and handsome as his elder brother, was also quite handsome and stately, with a keen look in his eyes, he was definitely a capable and clever person. Her second cousin like this, in the future, should be able to be a great merchant. Because his mind is more nimble, and he¡¯s bold and resourceful than his elder brother. In just over a year, he has already made friends with many people in the county, even calling the constable, Jinwu, his brother, so they hit it off. That¡¯s why Zhang Jia and his concubine¡¯s family, didn¡¯t dare to provoke Auntie Jiang Yunniang, even less harbour any ill intentions towards the specialty shop. Jiang Quan, turning his head, faced the steady gaze of his little cousin andughed, ¡°Why are you staring at me? Do you think your second brother is exceptionally attractive and unmatched?¡± Yingbao nodded earnestly and said, ¡°If you wouldn¡¯tugh, you would seem even more attractive.¡± Jiang Quan¡¯s face twitched and he replied irritably, ¡°I insist onughing!¡± and stretched his mouth into a wide square shape. Yingbao and Dani: ¡­ ¡°Brother Jiang Quan¡­¡± A delicate, cloying female voice rang out. ¡°Do you have any chestnut cakes left?¡± Jiang Quan instantly put on a professional smile, ¡°We still have some, how many boxes does Miss Pan want?¡± The young girl in the green dress nced shyly at him and raised a finger, ¡°One box. My mother especially likes the chestnut cakes from your shop.¡± Jiang Quan took a box of chestnut cakes from the shelf and handed it over, ¡°Much appreciated, four hundred coins.¡± The girl in the green dress paid, but didn¡¯t take the box, instead she kept loitering in the shop, frequently sneaking nces at the cashier¡¯s desk. Jiang Cheng was sitting at the cashier¡¯s desk calcting the books, utterly ignorant of the person spying on him. The whole incident amused Yingbao, so she deliberately mentioned to her second cousin, ¡°Second brother, how much are you nning to give as a wedding gift when elder brother gets married in a few days?¡± Upon hearing this, Jiang Quan¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°Why should I give a gift? Grandma said those who aren¡¯t married don¡¯t need to give one.¡± Chapter 279 - 275: Attending the Wedding Banquet_1 Chapter 279: Chapter 275: Attending the Wedding Banquet_1 Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao sneakily nced at the girl in the green dress. Sure enough, her face showed surprise, and then she quickly blushed and ran out of the shop without even taking the chestnut cake she had bought. The girl in the red dress, who was following her, didn¡¯t leave. She stared at Jiang Quan for a moment, covered half of her face with a handkerchief, and pointed at the shelf, saying, ¡°Brother Jiang Quan, I also want to buy a box of chestnut cakes.¡± Jiang Quan handed her the chestnut cake that the girl in the green dress had left behind, ¡°The two of you can share a box.¡± Both youngdies were daughters of Pan¡¯s silk shop, but the one in green was the legitimate daughter, while the one in red was the illegitimate one. The daughter of legitimate birth had plenty of silver coins at her disposal, but the illegitimate one was rtively poor. Jiang Quan knew so much about them because these youngdies often came to the shop to buy things, and his sharp-eyed observations had helped him figure this out. The girl in the red dress blushed, curtsied slightly to Jiang Quan in gratitude, and ran off carrying the box of cakes. Yingbao, observing her second cousin, noticed he didn¡¯t change his expression. She realized he was clueless. She estimated that the girl in the red dress was likely to have her heart broken. ¡°Yingbao, I don¡¯t want to go home.¡±, Jiang Quan told his younger cousin, ¡°Business is really good during the New Year. I want to stay here to look after the shop.¡± Yingbao said, ¡°But we¡¯ve already sold out of our goods. All the other cake shops are also closed. What would you manage if you stayed?¡± Jiang Quan chuckled, ¡°I¡¯ll set up a wheel in front of the shop and run a game of chance.¡± ¡°A game of chance?¡± Yingbao frowned, ¡°That¡¯s gambling. We aren¡¯t in need of money. How could we rely on that kind of business?¡± Jiang Quan scratched the back of his head and muttered, ¡°It¡¯s only for a few days a year, let¡¯s just give it a try.¡± The imperial court strictly prohibited the business of gambling, but during festivals, they would rx the rules a little to let people have some fun. Knowing her second cousin was determined to try gambling as a business once, Yingbao reluctantly agreed, ¡°Fine, I¡¯lle too, when the timees.¡± ¡°Ha-ha! I knew you would want to y too.¡± Jiang Quan, seeing his cousin relent, cheerfully jumped up. Then he said in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯ve already bought the wheel. Let¡¯s go try it out.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already bought it? Where did you put it?¡± He was acting first and reportingter. Jiang Quan left his younger cousin in the shop, and he ran to the backyard with her. From his room, he brought out a colorful,rge spinning wheel. The wheel was about five feet wide, filled with various colored fan-shaped patterns of different sizes, with smaller patterns offering better prizes. The colors were divided into ck, red, orange, blue, green, and white, varying in size. ¡°Look at this!¡± Jiang Quan demonstrated to his cousin. ¡°You spin the wheel, quickly, that¡¯s right! Just like that. I¡¯ll shoot the arrow at whatever pattern, and that¡¯s the prize I win.¡± He lifted a bow and arrow and shot it at the spinning wheel. Thump! The arrow hit the wooden spinning wheel. Yingbao stopped turning the handle and looked to see what her second cousin had hit. The arrow was lodged in a white pattern. The white section was the mostmon on the wheel, signifying no prize. Yingbao pulled out the arrow and threw it to Jiang Quan, urging him to try again. Resultantly, Jiang Quan shot ten arrows in total. Five hit white, four hit green, and only one hit blue. ¡°Second cousin, you can set the prizes ording to this ratio.¡± The highest prize also needed to be regted. It should neither be too low nor too high in value, or else they would suffer a loss. Jiang Quan eximed joyfully, ¡°I know, I will have everything prepared by then.¡± Yingbao nced at him skeptically before saying, ¡°I don¡¯t want any of the money you make from this, and our elder brother probably won¡¯t want it either. But you cannot be obsessed with this.¡± ¡°How could I? This game is only allowed for three to five days a year. Even if I wanted to get addicted, there isn¡¯t enough time!¡± Jiang Quan put away his bow and arrows and moved the turntable back to his room. On the twenty-second day of the twelfth lunar month, Jiang Cheng got married. Before dawn, nine horse carriages and mule carts set off from Dongchen Vige towards the county town to pick up the bride with their bridal gifts. The vigers didn¡¯t see how many gifts there were, but when the wedding party returned, the bride¡¯s dowry was lifted down from the carriage, all thirty-six items, stunning the whole vige. These thirty-six items of dowry was disyed openly, silk fabrics, silverware, and copper coins, enough to dazzle anyone. The bride¡¯s rtives who hade to see her off were also carrying bamboo baskets, throwing copper coins and sweets into the crowd, causing the children to scramble for them. Jiang Cheng, resplendent in his wedding robes, helped his bride down from the carriage, causing another gasp of admiration. ¡°Oh my, this youngdy is too beautiful, she¡¯s like a queen from the court, they make such an attractive couple. Wang Ershen did not hesitate in her praise, her nce flicking towards Chu Man who was standing not far away. Someone echoed, ¡°Oh yes, look at Jiang Cheng, he used to be unremarkable, but now he has truly blossomed, even more handsome than a young master.¡± ¡°Ha ha! Of course, all the Jiang family members are good-looking, and now they have made a fortune. Any girl who gets married into the Jiang family, that¡¯s really a blessing from the ancestors.¡± The women were chattering enthusiastically, all while scrambling for sweets and copper coins. One of them even nabbed a silver spoon, and immediately burst into toothless grins. ¡°The Jiang family is generous indeed, throwing out silver!¡± ¡°Wow, is that about an ounce?¡± Someone admired. ¡°Of course, Jiang Cheng has made a fortune with his shop in the county town. Being able to buy a two-building mansion at such a young age, he truly is a man of wealth.¡± The crowd chattered andughed uproariously until the bride was escorted into the Jiang family¡¯s mansion. Chu Man watched the couple who were the center of attention, almost grinding her silver teeth in frustration. She turned around in a huff and headed home. Along the way, she ran into Chen Zhao, who was carrying Xubao. She red at her and snapped, ¡°What are you doing running around with the kid? Have you made dinner yet?¡± Chen Zhao, not one to back down, shot back, ¡°We¡¯re going with grandma and grandpa to have a feast at the Jiangs¡¯, we¡¯re not eating at home!¡± Chu Man was angry and reached out to hit Chen Zhao, ¡°You all have something to eat, then what do I eat? Go back and make dinner!¡± Even if she wascking in smarts, she knew she couldn¡¯t attend the feast at Jiang¡¯s. Otherwise, she would beughed to death. Chen Zhao didn¡¯t manage to dodge in time and received a p across the face. Instantly furious, she let go of Xubao and charged directly at Chu Man, hitting her squarely in the abdomen. ¡°Ouch!¡± Chu Man fell backwards to the ground, clutching her belly and crying out in pain. Chen Zhao spat at her, then grabbed her brother and headed for the Jiang¡¯s, leaving Chu Man crying on the ground. She was done dealing with this woman¡¯s melodrama. The Jiangs had set up dozens of banquet tables, inviting the entire vige to the feast. Of course, people from West Vige on South Slope were also notified, and everyone gathered. Even the blind old father of Li Dayong and Li Eryong was helped in to sit at the banquet table. The wine was rice wine brewed by Jiang Dng himself. It was a sweet and sour drink that was really tasty, and even the elderly and children could have a few sips. Long before his son was betrothed, Jiang Dng had his wife cook rice to start brewing rice wine. They brewed two full vats, which came in handy now. Yingbao also tasted this rice wine, and she found it tasted better than the fruit wine she brewed herself, it had the rich aroma of rice along with the sweet and sour taste. Maybe she should brew some to keep for herself? Just as she was thinking that, Chuchu called out to her, ¡°Yingbao! Yingbao! Come quickly!¡± Yingbao got up from the banquet table and ran outside, ¡°Chuchu, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Chuchu looked anxious: ¡°I think Chu Man might be having a miscarriage. Could you take a look?¡± Chapter 280 - 276: Beggar_1 Chapter 280: Chapter 276: Beggar_1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°Chu Man had a miscarriage?¡± That woman had been married not long ago and was already pregnant? Yingbao found it hard to believe, but she still went to Chu Man¡¯s house with Chuchu. Upon entering, she saw Feng¡¯s stern face standing inside the door. Chu Man was lying on a bamboo bed, with Wu Sishu examining her. ¡°Indeed, she has miscarried.¡± Wu Sishu said to Feng: ¡°There isn¡¯t much else to do, let her rest at home for a couple of days to recuperate.¡± Feng looked at Chu Man with annoyance and said: ¡°Didn¡¯t you know you were pregnant? Your fourth aunt has said there¡¯s nothing much to worry about, get up quickly and go home!¡± Chu Man did not have any specific feelings about the miscarriage, but remembered that Chen Zhao had bumped into her. She cried out loud: ¡°It was that wretched woman who hit me! Whimper! You me me instead of her! You are all bullying me¡­whimper! I want to go home¡­¡± Feng rolled her eyes: ¡°Go home if you want to, nobody is stopping you!¡± After saying that, she turned around and left the room to look for Chen Zhao. Chuchu hugged her little daughter, nced at Chu Man, and whispered to Yingbao: ¡°Earlier, Cousin Chu Man came to my house, saying that her stomach hurt badly and that she was bleeding. So, I called Grandma Chen and Grandma Wu, and¡­and I also called for you¡­¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t mind: ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ve already had my meal.¡± She leaned over to look at the little girl, tickled her a bit, and asked, ¡°Have you named her yet?¡± Chuchu smiled: ¡°Not yet, my husband said we will wait until her first birthday to give her a formal name. For now we just call her Niuniu.¡± Three days after Jiang Cheng¡¯s wedding, his bride returned home, and the Jiang family went to the county town again to meet their inws. This was to familiarize with each other¡¯s main rtives, such as uncles and aunts from both sides. The men can represent this matter, while the women stay home preparing food for the New Year. Yingbao and Jiang Quan also went along. However, they¡¯re not there to meet rtives; instead, they¡¯re preparing for the tomb business. On the 26th of the twelfth lunar month, it¡¯s amon saying to ughter pigs and cut New Year meat. The market in the county town was bustling with people, and various stalls filled the streets on both sides. Jiang Quan walked past these stalls with his younger cousin, buying anything that looked good or fun. The prices of these items were not high, ranging from a few coins to a dozen coins, making them ideal for tomb prizes. Yingbao remembered the flowers and melons in her grotto, and she wanted to bring them out, so she deliberately separated from Jiang Quan. She carried a small bamboo basket on her back, which had a lid. As long as she walked around on her own, she could put the things into the basket and bring them back. At this time, Jiang Quan saw another stall selling small porcin dolls. He squatted down to make a selection, intending to buy more to take back. These ythings only cost a few coins each, did not fade or rot, and could be kept as prizes for the tomb, so he decided to buy more. Yingbao took this opportunity to quietly step back a few steps and slipped to the back of antern shop. There was a high wall at the back where there were no passersby. She took off the basket from her back, reached into the basket, and magically took out some apples and melons from the grotto and put them in the basket. When the basket was almost full, she took out some fresh flowers and put them on top. Such as magnolias, also known as gardenias, peonies, chrysanthemums, etc. After arranging the items, Yingbao realized that she couldn¡¯t lift the basket on her own. Just when she didn¡¯t know what to do, a kid crawled out from under thentern shelf and stood in front of her. ¡°Yingbao, what are you doing?¡± The person who came was Jin Tong, Jiang Cheng¡¯s youngest uncle, and Chou Rong¡¯s seven-year-old brother. Yingbao: ¡°Nothing, why are you alone?¡± She looked around and did not see anyone else. Jin Tong wiped his nose: ¡°I¡¯m just alone.¡± He nced at the basket, blinked, and eximed: ¡°It¡¯s so beautiful, is this for my older sister?¡± Some time ago, Jiang Cheng sent many gifts to his bride, including jewelry and hair flowers. Jin Tong thought these beautiful flowers were also for his eldest sister. Yingbao: ¡°These are for business.¡± They¡¯re not free. Fearing the toddler might misquote her, she picked out a few magnolias and a couple of peonies to give to him. ¡°Give these to your eldest sister.¡± But Jin Tong declined, ¡°I¡¯m not going home right now. Please deliver them to her yourself.¡± His home was filled with guests and both his parents and elder sister were busy entertaining. He seized the chance to slip out and y, without any intentions of returning home at that moment. Yingbao put the peony back, handed him a big apple and a couple of magnolias to stash into his pockets, before she got on her feet with her basket, calling her second cousin from the street side. Jiang Quan, who was mere yards away, heard his young cousin¡¯s call and ran over. ¡°Where have you been?¡± Pointing to her basket, Yingbao responded, ¡°I bought a bunch of goodies, but can¡¯t carry them all.¡± Horrified at the flowers and apples in her basket, Jiang Quan was unable to close his agape mouth. ¡°Where did you get them? These apples are even bigger than ours!¡± This was the first time he had everid eyes on suchrge, red apples, its luscious scent hit his nostrils as he picked one up to smell. He couldn¡¯t help but marvel, ¡°How much per fruit?¡± Suchrge apples should be sold individually. If the price was right, he could buy some to resell. Yingbao gave it a thought before answering, ¡°Fifty coins each.¡± Each apple was about a pound, so fifty coins per apple was not expensive, she reasoned. ¡°That¡¯s not pricey.¡± However, profit from reselling these would be meager. Jiang Quan lifted the basket; it was rather heavy. ¡°Let¡¯s get these items home first ande back for more.¡± Yingbao nodded before ncing around again, only to notice Jin Tong was nowhere in sight. The sly young thing had mysteriously disappeared again, just after giving her a fright. The two siblings returned home to drop off the purchases before setting out to the market once more. Xiaohei rushed towards them, barking and tagging along as he wagged his tail. Seeing the robust stature of Xiaohei,parable to that of a wolf-dog, Yingbao had a brain-wave, fetching a cloth for it to wear. She wouldn¡¯t have to carry the items and Xiaohei could do it ¡ª an excellent utilization of resources. Concerned that theirrge dog might harm others, Jiang Quan tied a rope around Xiaohei before they continued their journey. Halfway there, they noticed a few children fighting nearby. Upon closer inspection, they recognized Jin Tong in the scuffle with two other kids his age. Yingbao yelled and rushed over, shoving one kid aside and pulling Jin Tong away. Several scratch marks could be seen on Jin Tong¡¯s face as he blubbered, pointing towards the other two children through his tears, ¡°Wah wah wah¡­ They stole my apple!¡± Yingbao¡¯s fury ignited upon hearing this. She dashed towards the two culprits, fists clenched and ready to brawl. But she froze with her fist in the air. A dirty, scrawny child hugged an apple, half-eaten by Jin Tong. He was huddled against the wall, munching on it and asionally offering a bite to the other child. Were these beggars? Yingbao was intrigued as to why the two kids didn¡¯t flee after grabbing the apple, choosing instead to squat against the wall and eat. So, she cast her gaze around. Then, she spotted a motionless figure lying at the foot of the wall. Shut eyes hidden under a shabby hemp sheet which barely provided coverage. No wonder the children didn¡¯t run away; the lifeless figure was probably a rtive.¡± Yingbao asked the two children, ¡°Hey! Where do youe from?¡± It was unusual to see the town¡¯s regr beggars sleeping against a wall in such weather. Usually, they would huddle in ramshackle temples or under bridges, otherwise they might freeze to death. Chapter 281 - 277: Peony_1 Chapter 281: Chapter 277: Peony_1 Trantor: 549690339 After asking twice, one of the children answered in a foreign ent, ¡°Xiaohe Vige, we¡¯re from Xiaohe Vige.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t know where Xiaohe Vige was, but she was certain these two children were not from Qinchuan County. She crouched down and felt the breath of the person lying on the ground with her finger, only to find that the person was already dead. ¡°Who is this person to you?¡± Yingbao asked. The older boy was wary and wouldn¡¯t answer, but the girl beside him said, ¡°She¡¯s our mother.¡± Yingbao paused for a moment, then decided to tell them the truth: ¡°Your mother has died.¡± Even in cold weather, staying with a corpse could lead to illness, and if these two children didn¡¯t quickly find somewhere to stay, they probably wouldn¡¯t survive the winter. The girl cried as she gnawed on her apple, the boy was silent. Apparently, they were already aware of this oue. Jiang Quan walked over and handed them a string of copper coins, ¡°Here¡¯s three hundred coins. You can¡¯t go around stealing from others anymore. Today you were fortunate enough to meet us; if it had been someone else, they would have broken your legs by now. Hurry and leave this ce, find somewhere to stay.¡± Even bing someone¡¯s ves was better than freezing or starving to death on the street. The boy immediately took the copper coins, thanked him, and put the money in his ragged jacket. Jiang Quan left holding his little cousin in one hand and Xiaohei and Jin Tong in the other. There were many beggars like this. Today alone, he had encountered several groups at the market, and he didn¡¯t even know where they all came from. He could help them temporarily, but not forever. All he could do at the moment was give them some money to help them survive a little longer. Jin Tong choked back tears the whole way, mourning his half-eaten apple that had been stolen. Yingbao saw that he wouldn¡¯t stop, and reluctantly took another big apple from her bag and gave it to him. ¡°Here, stop crying. I haven¡¯t even asked you yet, why did youe here?¡± Jin Tong took the apple, wiped his nose with his sleeve, instantly beaming with happiness, ¡°I wanted toe to your house to y.¡± In the past, he used to go to the Jiang Family¡¯s special product store with his big sister, so today he wanted to go there to find Yingbao to y. Yingbao scolded unhappily, ¡°How old are you? You dare to run around alone?¡± Jin Tong blinked and answered seriously, ¡°I¡¯ll be seven years old after New Year¡¯s, of course, I dare.¡± He had been ying outside the store since he was little, and when he was a bit older, he would run off to y with the kids from the neighboring houses. A while back, he even went to Wa City by himself to watch an acrobatics performance. Yingbao sighed inwardly. She supposed that¡¯s how street children were raised. In fact, Jin Tong had started attending private school, but he had some free time because the school was on a New Year¡¯s break. Today happened to be the day that the Qiu family was visiting the Jiang family, there were many guests at home, and in the hustle and bustle, Jin Tong had been overlooked. Fortunately, Jin Tong had only encountered two small beggars and was not hurt too badly. It was unthinkable what could have happened if he had encountered kidnappers or criminals. However, a seven-year-old boy was old enough to remember things. Kidnappers didn¡¯t usually target boys like him, but if it was a girl it would be a different story. To be safe, Yingbao and her cousin escorted Jin Tong to his front door before turning back to the market. After they finished shopping and saw that it was gettingte, they started back home. When they passed the ce by the wall again, the two small beggars and the corpse were gone. The next day, Jiang Eng went back to his home vige with his wife, while Jiang Quan stayed behind to look after his daughter and the three of them, taking the opportunity to buy door gods and peach talisman from the market to rece the old ones on his own house and his daughter¡¯s store on New Year¡¯s Eve. As for Cheng¡¯s house, it was, of course, taken care of by his father-inw. New Year¡¯s Eve arrived soon enough. Jiang Quan woke up early in the morning and also woke up his little cousin. They loaded up the turntable and some merchandise onto the cart and transported them to the ce he had previously scouted. It was barely dawn, and there were already people starting to move around the streets. Yingbao stuck her head out of the carriage and saw bricksid out on the ground on both sides of the street, interspersed here and there with a bamboo root or a wooden stick, or a few clods of earth. This indicated that someone had been there overnight, using these items to reserve their spot so they could set up their stall there the next day ording to their markers. Her second cousin must havee by, as she saw that where they had parked their carriage, over a dozen broken tiles had beenid out, marking out a space. ¡°Yingbao, are you hungry?¡± Jiang Quan asked as he set up the carousel, preparing to go buy breakfast from a food stall not far away. Yingbao yawned, ¡°I want to eat wontons, and meat pies too.¡± She suddenly missed her aunt¡¯s meat pies. ¡°Wait here! I¡¯ll go buy them.¡± Jiang Quan dashed off excitedly to buy breakfast. It wasn¡¯t long before he came back, holding tworge bowls of wontons and tucking a greasy paper bag under his arm. Yingbao sat on the carriage, taking alternate bites of wontons and meat pie, relishing her meal. As the sky grew brighter, more people began to popte the street, most of them street vendors setting up their stalls. Yingbao eyed their own colourful carousel, next to which was a signboard, on which was written: Jiang Specialties, opposite the county school, selling local specialties of our county. Honest dealings assured for both young and old. She looked again at the carousel, which Jiang Quan had already decorated with various designs, each corresponding to a different small item. The most expensive item was surprisingly a silver bracelet. After finishing her wontons, Jiang Quan returned the dishes and chopsticks to the small food stall and got on with his own business of shooting arrows to attract customers. Yingbao found herself bored sitting on the carriage. Seeing her second cousin still shooting arrows, she said, ¡°I¡¯m going back. Will you be alright here by yourself?¡± ¡°Go back where?¡± Jiang Quan asked in confusion. Yingbao pointed towards the shop, ¡°I¡¯m going to set up a stall at the entrance of the shop.¡± She had brought out a lot of apples and cantaloupes over the past two days, as well as some flowers, all to sell at the shop and increase its poprity. Jiang Quan nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± After all, their third uncle was also around. If his little cousin couldn¡¯t cope, he would certainly step in to help. The traffic on this side of the county school was far less than that in the market, and the number of roadside vendors was sparse. Yingbao and her father opened the shop and ced a small bamboo bed at the entrance, on which they disyed arge bunch of eye-catching peony flowers and chrysanthemums. These clusters of peonies, their stems wrapped in cotton soaked in Pupil Spring water, would remain fresh for several days. There was also a basket of sweet-smelling magnolias, a basket of big red apples, and another basket full of golden and green cantaloupes. Although Jiang Sang was puzzled to see such things in the middle of winter, he couldn¡¯t think of anything unusual. After all, some wealthy families also built warm houses in which they grew many rare flowers. But as to what they actually grew,mon folks had no idea. Perhaps these peonies, magnolias, and chrysanthemums were raised by some wealthy households. As for the apples and such, they weren¡¯t unusual. Some fruit farmers would intentionally save their autumn fruit to sell in winter, hoping to fetch a higher price. It wasn¡¯t long after they had set up their wares when people started to gather to browse. The bed of vibrant peonies was so appealing that even Jiang Yunniang came over several times to take a look. ¡°How much are these flowers?¡± asked an older woman. Yingbao replied, ¡°Fifty coins for a peony, 100 coins for five magnolias.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s quite expensive!¡± The woman eximed, ¡°It¡¯s as expensive as silk flowers!¡± Yingbao retorted seriously, ¡°Silk flowers don¡¯t have a fragrance. Our flowers are fresh and can stay fresh for several days.¡± Nowadays, people loved to wear flowers, especially real flowers. Silk flowers, although they never wilted, were considered inferior adornments. Especially during winter, when all flowers had withered, wearing a real peony while visiting rtives and friends during Lunar New Year was a matter of great prestige. Chapter 282 - 278: Didn’t Win_1 Chapter 282: Chapter 278: Didn¡¯t Win_1 Trantor: 549690339 The spectators watching ¡°ahh-ed¡± and ¡°ohh-ed¡±, taking in the sight, and finally, someone bought five magnolias, saying they wanted to sew them into their sachet bags. Five flowers equal one hundred coins, but the fragrance of these magnolias is robust and shouldst a long time. As a result, people gradually started buying magnolias, and soon half of the basket full of magnolias had been sold. With an increasing number of customers, peonies and chrysanthemums also started to sell. Melons and apples were also purchased, with ten being sold for one coin at a time. Yingbao was extremely busy at this moment. To prevent anyone from taking things without paying, Jiang Sang stood on a stool, keeping a close eye on everyone. Indeed, he saw someone secretly tuck tworge apples into their wide sleeves trying to slip away. ¡°Hey! Pay before leaving!¡± Jiang Sang jumped off the stool and grabbed the person, coldly saying, ¡°Or you can put the items down!¡± Seeing Jiang Sang towering above them, the person knew they couldn¡¯t win in a fight and grudgingly took the apples out of their sleeves and tossed them back into the basket. As Yingbao saw the number of people around her booth increase, she felt a bit overwhelmed and hurriedly said to her father, ¡°Dad, let¡¯s move the goods behind the counter.¡± Having a counter as a barrier should make things much safer. Jiang Sang also felt that it was unreliable to have a market stall outside. So they moved all the goods back to the store¡¯s counter, leaving only a few samples on the counter. As a result, the number of onlookers decreased, but not the number of actual customers. Indeed, having a market stall was not suitable for her, Yingbaomented. By noon, arge basket of apples and arge basket of melons were all sold out, and only a few flowers were left. Yingbao peeked at the cash box, it was filled to the brim. She wondered how her second cousin was doing, she needed to go see. But before going, she had to bring some apples and flowers from the store, to take home in the afternoon. ¡°Dad, I¡¯m going to check on my second cousin,¡± Yingbao said to Jiang Sang. Jiang Sang nodded, ¡°Take Dahei with you when you go out.¡± His second nephew was selling at another street market. A turn from here, and he would be in sight. ¡°Okay,¡± Yingbao cheerfully ran from the shop¡¯s back door into the backyard, brought out a basket of grapes, two baskets of apples, a basket of melons, and arge basket of flowers from the house. The house nowcked nothing but these items. Then, with Xiaohei in tow, she excitedly went to find her second cousin. When Yingbao arrived at the marketce, she saw a ruffian extorting Jiang Quan. ¡°Damn it! You dare to cheat me! Eitherpensate me five taels of silver, or give me that silver bracelet!¡± It turned out that the ruffian had yed an archery game with ten coins and only hit a small porcin figure, which annoyed him. Thus, he grabbed Jiang Quan and tried to extort the silver bracelet prize from him. Jiang Quan naturally disagreed. He had purchased the engraved silver bracelet embedded with gems for four taels of silver. It was used to attract customers, and he couldn¡¯t just give it to anyone. However, this ruffian looked familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before. Yingbao, however, remembered. This man was Zhang Jia¡¯s concubine¡¯s another brother. She wasn¡¯t sure if they were rted by blood, but this man had once been involved in beating Aunty Jiang Yunniang and often frequented the brothel Tile House with Zhang Jia. Soon, Jiang Quan and this man began to argue, and unexpectedly, he punched Jiang Quan in the eye. Jiang Quan was furious and immediately tussled with him. The ruffian was fierce in the brawl despite his small stature. Jiang Quan was no match for him and was soon pinned to the ground and brutally attacked. Seeing this, Yingbao dropped the dog leash in her hands, patting Xiaohei. Xiaohei swiftly darted out and bit into the ruffian¡¯s buttock. ¡°Ow¡­¡± the ruffian screamed in pain. He turned his head to see a big dog lunging at him and got so frightened that he stumbled and scampered away. Jiang Quan wiped his face, feeling a sharp pain in his right eye. Yingbao peeled his eyelid back for him, seeing it was just a superficial injury and nothing serious, she handed him a medicinal pill and said, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, hurry up and pack up your stall and go home.¡± They still had to travel over a hundred miles to get home in time for the New Year¡¯s Eve dinner. Jiang Quan was quite dejected. Because his betting business wasn¡¯t exactly flourishing. Although people came to y, he didn¡¯t make much money. He initially wanted to prove that he could also make a fortune on his own, but reality turned out to be far from his expectations. After packing up his things and cing them on the carriage, he hitched up the horse and prepared to return to the shed. By now, Aunty Jiang Yunniang had also packed up her things and was standing at the entrance of the shed with her children, talking to Jiang Sang. ¡°Sang, can we hitch a ride on your carriage?¡± She had be utterly disillusioned with her husband and had no intention of spending New Year with him and his concubine. All she wanted was to return home with her children and her younger brother. Jiang Sang nodded,¡±We should be able to fit you all. Are you ready? We¡¯ll leave in a little while.¡± The horse in the shed wasrge and strong. It was fed with feed prepared by his daughter and had a lot of strength. It often pulled fully loaded goods back and forth between the county town and the countryside without any problem. Now it was just a matter of transporting a few more people, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. ¡°Dad! We¡¯re back.¡± Yingbao jumped down from the carriage, followed by Xiaohei. Seeing that his daughter and nephew had returned, Jiang Sang quickly shut the door and locked up the shed. As they were tidying up, he couldn¡¯t help but notice that his second nephew had a ck eye. He frowned, ¡°Did you get into a fight?¡± ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Not wanting to borate, Jiang Quan mumbled and rushed to help his little cousin move the apples. Zhang Yuying also came to help, and with Jiang Quan, they moved everything that needed to be taken back home onto the carriage. Hong Xiao looked in surprise at the baskets of fruit, unable to resist salivating. Yingbao handed her arge apple and another one to Zhang Xiang. Jiang Yunniang took the apple, pulled the copper hairpin from her head, and cut a deep slice into it. She broke it in half, giving one half to her daughter Hong Xiao and the other to Zhang Xiang. Everyone, including the dog, squeezed onto the carriage, and Jiang Sang went to check the doors and windows onest time. Then, he locked up the house, posted a protective charm on the door, and locked the front gate. Only then did he climb onto the cart and start the journey home. At first, Jiang Quan was silent, but once the carriage left the county town, he perked up and began to talk non-stop about his betting business with his little cousin and aunt. ¡°Although it doesn¡¯t make a lot of money in the short term, it does provide huge returns, hehe! If I keep it up, it would definitely make a lot of money.¡± Betting was simr to gambling, and the house always reaped the benefits, so Jiang Quan made this assertion. Jiang Yunniang said: ¡°Don¡¯t do it. There¡¯s a family in our alley that secretly ran a betting business. They got reported and all the men in the family were arrested by the government. They haven¡¯t been released yet.¡± The Imperial Court strictly forbids gambling. Once discovered, people are either fined or sent to jail. There¡¯s no leniency. Even so, some people still secretly open gambling dens in hidden ces to profit from them. Yingbao gave her second cousin a scornful look: ¡°Can¡¯t you make money doing business with your eldest cousin?¡± Jiang Quan scratched his head, not daring to speak up. Indeed, he made a lot of money in business with his older cousin. Just this year alone, he made over a thousand taels. His little cousin earned the most. A few days ago when they were calcting the ounts, she alone had made over four thousand taels. Discounting the few hundred taels spent on building a house and buying furniture, she took away over three thousand taels of silver. Next was his elder brother. Jiang Cheng continued to nt a lot of Golden Ear this year, so he earned a lot more than his younger brother, getting over two thousand taels of silver. Jiang Quan was not envious of his older brother or his little cousin, but having be a rich man so suddenly, he felt a bit overconfident, feeling as though he could seed at anything. So he thought he¡¯d try and test his own abilities, to see if he too, could earn a lot. As a result, not only did he not make much money, but he also got into a fight. The key point was, he didn¡¯t even win. Chapter 283 - 279: Encountering Bandits_1 Chapter 283: Chapter 279: Encountering Bandits_1 Trantor: 549690339 The stagecoach raced on, gradually moving away from the bustling city, towards the rural countryside. The sky slowly darkened, as if it was nketed by dark clouds. Without seeing the sun, it was hard to tell the time, but with this kind of weather, it felt like dusk was approaching. Driving the stagecoach, Jiang Sang felt that something was not right the further they went. On this official road during the New Year¡¯s season, it was impossible for them to travel half a day and not meet a single person. But turning back now wouldn¡¯t be right either. ¡°Erquan, have your machete ready and tell your siblings not to draw the carriage curtains,¡± Jiang Sang said. Ahead was a hilly path, where the stagecoach had to slow down each time, sometimes even needing to disembark and push to make it uphill. Hearing what his third uncle said, Jiang Quan instantly turned alert and swiftly pulled out a machete from underneath his carriage. This was something he¡¯d prepared specifically for self-defense, but it hadn¡¯t been necessary up until now. Hopefully it wouldn¡¯t need to be used this time either. Yingbao also sensed something was wrong and quietly stowed some apples and cantaloupes from the bamboo basket into his den to lighten the coach¡¯s load. Jiang Yunniang also became nervous, pushing her children farther into the carriage and shielding them behind her. The stagecoach went down a steep slope and as it started to ascend again, it was suddenly blocked by small rocks. The rocks were notrge, barely visible from afar, but if encountered while going uphill, they would certainly prevent the wooden wheels from making it past. If they tried to force it, they might end up breaking the wheels. Jiang Sang slowly stopped the coach, looked around, hopped off, and began to clear away the small rocks. At this moment, several figures emerged from the far-off bushes. They were four men and a woman, brandishing clubs and rushing towards Jiang Sang. ¡°Leave your valuables!¡± they shouted, charging towards him. Jiang Sang immediately moved back to the stagecoach, received the machete from Erquan, and pointing it at the iing people, he shouted, ¡°Who are you? Stand back!¡± Jiang Yunniang almost screamed, frantically searching about for something to defend herself with. Xiaohei barked loudly, repeatedly wanting to jump off the stagecoach. Yingbao hurriedly calmed him down and quickly stuffed a sickle into her aunt¡¯s hand, also passing one to her second cousin. The fight hadn¡¯t begun yet, and Xiaohei could not leave the carriage. The robbers numbered five, each carrying various weapons. Wooden clubs, hoes, pickaxes, one even held a sharp-edged sickle. Right now, it was three against five, even with Xiaohei¡¯s help, victory didn¡¯t seem likely. Yingbao pulled out a small cowhide slingshot and held a pebble tightly in her hand. She guessed the robbers must not just be these five; that there must be others hidden behind the bushes. So she kept a close eye on the movements in the bushes. As the robbers neared the stagecoach, their eyes greedily scanned therge horse. ¡°Leave behind the stagecoach! And we¡¯ll let you live!¡± the leading man demanded harshly. Jiang Sang pondered with furrowed brows, sweeping his gaze over the group and then towards the thicket. If these bandits truly only wanted money, in consideration of the children, he could abandon the stagecoach. But if these people reneged on their words and he lost his stagecoach here in the wilderness, wouldn¡¯t his entire family be at others¡¯ mercy? ¡°I can give you all the money, but not the stagecoach. We still have far to travel, and can¡¯t do without a carriage,¡± Jiang Sang said cautiously, watching the five men ahead, while gripping his machete. Hearing her father¡¯s words, Yingbao gritted her teeth, pulled out several strings of copper coins, and handed them to Jiang Quan, whispering, ¡°Throw them back, throw them as far as you can!¡± Getting the hint, Jiang Quan took the copper coins and hurled them towards the road behind them. A few sets of eyes looked towards Copper Coin, but no one moved. The leader of the men sneered, ¡°Get off the carriage! Roll over to the side! Did you hear me? Otherwise I won¡¯t be polite!¡± Red Xiao and the young boy in the carriage had already started crying in fright, and twelve-year-old Zhang Yuying was trembling violently. Jiang Sang didn¡¯t say a word, he was just cautiously sizing up the other party. All five men were in tattered clothes, two of them were even wearing straw sandals in such cold weather. If they were dressed like this, they were either refugees who had fled here, or they were a band of desperate ouws. No matter which type of people they were, his family would not be able to escape unscathed if they encountered them. Jiang Sang suddenly spoke, ¡°Release Dahei!¡± Yingbao immediately understood her father¡¯s intention and quickly released the rope around Xiaohei¡¯s neck, patting it once, ¡°Go bite the bad guys!¡± Xiaohei shot out like an arrow, roaring as it rushed towards the five bandits. At the same time, Jiang Sang lifted his machete and charged at the bandits, shouting loudly, ¡°Hurry up and go!¡± Jiang Quan understood his uncle¡¯s intentions, jumped off the carriage, and ran to clear the path ahead. Jiang Yunniang also jumped down, brandished her sickle to assist her younger brother. Yingbao sat on the carriage shaft, flicked the reins, and urged the horse to pull the carriage forward. With a sudden decrease in weight on the carriage, the horse pulled it with unusual ease, and the carriage quickly ascended the slope. By this time, Jiang Quan had kicked away the stones on the road, sprinted back, and with the sickle in his hand, he charged towards the bandits, fighting shoulder to shoulder with his uncle. However, two female bandits rushed out of the bushes, wielding clubs and beating Xiaohei, causing Xiaohei to cry out in pain. Jiang Sang and his men were clearly outnumbered. Even with the machete in his hands, he could only deter them temporarily. Meanwhile, two young bandits suddenly sprung out from the bushes and lunged directly at Yingbao. They held wooden sticks in their hands and raised them high to strike down. A bamboo basket suddenly appeared in Yingbao¡¯s hands, just in time to block the heavy blow of the stick. The young bandit was startled by the sudden turn of events. Before he could react, something struck his face. ¡°Aaaaah¡­¡± the young bandit fell to the ground screaming, his face covered in sharp spikes. The other youth wielded his stick viciously and swung it at Yingbao again. However, Yingbao had already lunged at him first, grabbing his hair and throwing him to the ground with a judo move. She then choked him by the neck, pressing her thin dagger against his throat, shouting loudly, ¡°Tell them to stop! Or I¡¯ll kill you!¡± She was certain that these two youths were the biological sons of the men below the slope. So long as they were restrained, those men could be deterred. As expected, the adult bandits were shocked by this sudden development and retreated in a hurry, dragging their injured bodies. One of them shouted sharply, ¡°Stop! If you dare to kill him! I will wipe out your whole family!¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t back down and loudly responded, ¡°Let us leave safely then I¡¯ll let him go! Otherwise we all die together!¡± The leader of the bandits resentfully clenched his teeth and said, ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll let you leave! But you must let him go immediately!¡± ¡°Let us leave first, I swear I¡¯ll spare his life!¡± Yingbao pressed the thin de of her dagger tightly against the youth¡¯s neck artery. The boy felt humiliated and wanted to struggle, but each time he moved, a sharp pain shot through his throat, and blood began to trickle down. Yingbao whispered, ¡°I advise you not to move, oh, your death doesn¡¯t matter, but your little brothers and sisters hiding in the bushes can¡¯t escape! Remember, if one person in my family dies, none of you brats will live! Do you believe that before I die, I will send you to heaven first.¡± Not far from them, in the bushes, a few young children were crying in whispers, obviously the children of this group of bandits. Among them, one girl cried the hardest after watching Yingbao subdue the boy, she must be the boy¡¯s biological sister. The boy finally stopped struggling, his eyes were filled with murderous intent. However, he couldn¡¯t see the girl¡¯s face, because the girl was choking him from behind and pressing a knee against his spine. As the boyy semi-recumbent on the ground, he retorted defiantly, ¡°If you touch my brothers and sisters, I won¡¯t spare you even if I be a ghost!¡± Chapter 284 - 280: Time to Recruit Soldiers Again_1 Chapter 284: Chapter 280: Time to Recruit Soldiers Again_1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°The same words I give back to you.¡± Gathering all her strength, Yingbao tightened her grip around his neck, ignoring his fingernails sinking deeply into her arm, the de in her hand sinking in even deeper. The boy, in pain, dared not exert any effort, but still tightly held onto the girl¡¯s arm. When Yingbao saw her father, second cousin, and aunt running towards her, she immediately had them bind the boy¡¯s hands and feet and put him on the cart, called back Xiaohei, and then left with the cart. A crowd followed them in a frenzied chase, ¡°Put him down! Put him down!¡± Seeing that these people were about to catch up with the cart, Yingbao started throwing apples and cantaloupes at them from the cart. The robbers paused, a few of them couldn¡¯t resist and bent over to pick them up. Two of them got a cantaloupe and, captivated by its enticing scent, started to eat it on the spot. God knows how long it¡¯s been since they had food, let alone fresh and sweet cantaloupe, that they couldn¡¯t stop eating. And so, only two people were left pursuing the carriage. Yingbao threw over thest two apples and, as she did, also tossed the empty basket at them. Whether from exhaustion or something else, the two gave up their pursuit. The carriage darted away, quickly disappearing into the distance. After what felt like an enormous distance, a post station appeared ahead. Yingbao allowed herself a moment of relief and had Jiang Quan release the boy. The boy was pushed off the carriage and fell beside the road, but he shakily got up, clutching his neck, and ran back in the direction they came from. While the carriage continued rushing forward, Jiang Eng asked, ¡°Are we going to report this to the authorities?¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°We must report this!¡± This group of people had terrorized countless travelers by their highway robbery. They were fortunate enough to escape this time, so reporting to the authorities was a natural course of action. Jiang Quan didn¡¯t understand, ¡°If we are reporting to the authorities, why did you let that young robber go?¡± Yingbao answered, ¡°Just in case.¡± If they didn¡¯t keep their word and sent the teenager to the post station, it was possible that one of his family members who escaped would find a way to retaliate. Her family¡¯s carriage frequently traveled between the county town and the countryside, and there was no guarantee that these people wouldn¡¯t intercept them again. By then, it wouldn¡¯t just be an ordinary robbery. Jiang Eng and Jiang Yunniang understood Yingbao¡¯s intention and didn¡¯t say anything. Arriving at the entrance of the post station, Jiang Eng got off the carriage to report the incident to the post soldier. The post soldier went on to report to the post chief, who immediately summoned a dozen soldiers and went after the robbers on horseback. Of course, Jiang Eng was also taken along to identify the location. By this time, it was almost dark. Yingbao didn¡¯t hold much hope for the capture of the robbers, but still waited quietly in the carriage for news, all the while tending to Xiaohei¡¯s wounds. Her aunt and second cousin¡¯s injuries weren¡¯t severe, only some bruises on their arms and bodies from being hit with a bat, and a few shes on their cotton clothes. Fortunately, their thick cotton clothes prevented the knife from cutting into their skin. But Xiaohei was severely injured. When Xiaohei attacked those men, it was also hit by their bats and sickles. At this moment, there were not only bruises on its body from the attack, but several bloody cuts as well. As darkness fell, the post soldiers finally returned, but they were unable to find the robbers. Jiang Eng seemed somewhat discouraged and asked Jiang Quan to drive the carriage away. Before leaving, a post soldier kindly gave them two torches to be careful on the road. Fortunately, there was unthawed snow on the fields, so it wasn¡¯tpletely dark. Jiang Eng drove the carriage carefully, remaining silent throughout the journey. Yingbao fed everyone a piece of medicine to boost their spirits, and then quietly took out two pieces of five-ding zhi leaves to feed Xiaohei. Xiaohei dutifully finished eating and even licked his young master¡¯s face with his tongue. After another two hours, they saw from a distance a carriage approaching with a torch lit atop it. Yingbao immediately recognized the carriage as their own and couldn¡¯t help but exim with surprise and joy. ¡°Uncle! Second Uncle!¡± Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng were also delighted to see their younger brother and quickly turned their carriage around. When the two carriages met, Jiang Dng couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Why sote?¡± Jiang Sang did not hide anything and briefly recounted what had happened on the road, ¡°We ran into some bandits on the way, which cost us some time.¡± ¡°You ran into bandits? Are you all okay?¡± Jiang Eng asked anxiously. ¡°We¡¯re fine,¡± Jiang Sang shook his head, visibly relieved. ¡°It¡¯s just that we came backte.¡± If they had set out earlier, perhaps none of this would have happened. Jiang Quan nced at his third uncle guiltily and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault.¡± If it weren¡¯t for his insistence on business dealings, his cousin and third uncle wouldn¡¯t have to rush back in the afternoon. ¡°As long as you¡¯re fine, let¡¯s hurry back. The whole family is waiting for you to have the New Year¡¯s Eve dinner,¡± said Jiang Eng. The two carriages hurried back one after the other, vignt of their surroundings. At this point, Yingbao was relieved. With her two uncles helping, she was not afraid of another wave of bandits. She regretted the loss of her hedgehog, which she had kept in the cave for so long, now lost. Just as the carriage reached the vige, they saw old man Jiang waiting anxiously under a soapnut tree, holding antern. Upon seeing that his sons and grandchildren were back, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Why sote?¡± Jiang Sang recounted the incident again, adding, ¡°I think those people were refugees fleeing from something, I¡¯m not sure where they came from. We must be extra careful, and I¡¯ll talk to the other vigers about this when we get back.¡± The fact that a group of refugees were wandering within the boundaries of Qinchuan County on New Year¡¯s Day, blocking the roads and robbing people, was very odd. ¡°Yes, we need to tell everyone. If we are caught unprepared as we were a couple of years ago, it would be disastrous,¡± said old man Jiang. ¡°Even if there is no immediate threat, it is a good idea to alert those who are traveling.¡± A lot of people would be visiting friends and family on the second day of the New Year, and running into trouble would certainly spoil the fun. When they got home, Yingbao led Xiaohei to the kitchen, made a nest for him behind the stove with some old cotton, and sutured his wounds with a needle and sheep intestine thread before applying some medication. Xiaohei shivered from the pain but didn¡¯t move, allowing his young master to stitch him up and apply medicine. Yingbao rubbed his head and fed him two medicine balls. Dahuang also came over to join in the fun, thrusting his head forward eagerly. Finally getting the attention he desired, he wagged his tail wildly. The first month always passed quickly. With everyone eating, drinking, and having fun, it was soon February. One day, Lizheng came with about ten vige men, unannounced, and handed a register to Jiang Sang. ¡°This spring, the Imperial Court is recruiting soldiers. Ten men are to be enlisted from your vige.¡± The register was issued by the County Government and meticulously recorded who among each family was to be drafted. Jiang Dng¡¯s family had two men, himself and his son Jiang Quan, so one of them had to be enlisted. The situation was much the same with the n Leader¡¯s eldest son¡¯s family. They also had to send one person. Even Chen Sanyou¡¯s eldest son¡¯s family had to send one as well. ¡°Why are they recruiting again?¡± Just like leeks being continuously harvested, themon people were recruited wave after wave, hardly getting a few years of peace. Upon closing the register, Sun Licheng said, ¡°The governor of Yizhou has rebelled, plus the disturbances from Liao. This year the Provincial Government is drafting troops from each county. Just our vige alone needs to send two hundred men.¡± Sending two hundred young and strong men, he wondered how many would return. Jiang Sang took the register and read through it, his eyebrows furrowing upon noticing that over two thousand men from Qinchuan County were to be enlisted. That indicated what? It suggested that the casualties on the front line were high and it was necessary to drawrge numbers of soldiers from various counties to fill the vacancies. ¡°Can we hire substitute soldiers this time?¡± Jiang Sang asked. Sun Licheng looked at him and said solemnly, ¡°I know your vige is rich. But because of this, I have to remind you that no matter what, there mustn¡¯t be a single shortfall in the number of men our vige is enlisted to provide.¡± Chapter 285 - 281: Falling Into Water_1 Chapter 285: Chapter 281: Falling Into Water_1 Trantor: 549690339 What Sun Licheng meant by this was that the number of conscripts recorded in the household registrations had been registered and asionally, a disability or illness could exempt one from a term of military service, but it could not exceed the specified range. Jiang Sang: ¡°Understood, I¡¯ll inform everyone and whatever they do will be up to them.¡± If all else fails, pay to have someone serve as a substitute draftee. After seeing off Lizheng, Jiang Sang gathered all the vigers and read out the list of conscripts. After hearing the list, everyone remained silent. Everyone was living well, without worries about food and drink, and suddenly there was conscription; was it even possible to live? Jiang Sang said: ¡°I don¡¯t care what methods you use, our vige has to provide ten draftees anyway.¡± Be it buying a substitute or finding someone to falsify a disability or illness, it was up to them to call the shots. ¡°So, does that mean my eldest uncle doesn¡¯t need to serve because he has trouble with his legs?¡± Chen Jiaxing, the eldest son of the n Leader Chen asked. Jiang Sang flipped through the roster and said, ¡°Your eldest son may be disabled, but the person on the conscription list is your second son, who cannot be excused due to disability or illness.¡± Though he couldn¡¯t officially dere himself unfit, if his family had connections, perhaps they could find someone to falsify his disability or illness. ¡°Why can¡¯t he be excused? You are the vige head, as long as you say a word, wouldn¡¯t that be okay?¡± Chen Jiaxing discontentedly asked. Jiang Sang nced at him, ¡°I am just a vige head. I¡¯m only responsible for delivering the message, not making such decisions. Why don¡¯t you go ask Lizheng?¡± The final say on conscription matters is given by the officials at the County Government. It is not up to a vige head. Several households had already started to cry. Everyone knew, once drafted, it was like marching to certain death. A few years ago, only a few soldiers returned from the conscription, while others have yet to be heard from and have not sent any letters home. Now there¡¯s another conscription; how could this not concern people? Jiang Sang didn¡¯t care about this. After reading the list, he asked everyone to go home and prepare. They would have to report to the station attest the day after tomorrow. Of course, he would apany everyone. Three dayster, Jiang Sang took the conscripts of his vige to report at the station. The official in charge of conscription at the County Government checked every name on the list one by one, marking a tick at the end to show his approval. Only then did Jiang Sang breathe a sigh of relief. Back home, several vigers surrounded him and asked, ¡°Is it settled?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He gave that official two hundred silver notes, and thus everything was settled. Indeed, of the ten people from their vige, five had hired substitutes, including Jiang Quan, who had just turned seventeen. This required bribing the official checking the household registrations, prompting the vigers to question this. A few vigers gave a sigh of relief as if a big stone was unloaded from their hearts and thanked Jiang Sang once again. Jiang Sang could only shrug helplessly, waving his hand and saying, ¡°You can¡¯t go bbing about this. If anything goes wrong, no one can afford the consequences.¡± ¡°We understand, Sang. Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t let outsiders know anything about this.¡± The vigers thumped their chests in assurance. Yingbao overheard a bit of the conversation from behind the window and sighed. They were all spending money to hire recements for their children to be drafted. The substitutes were from poor families of another vige. In some of these families, the eldest child was under ten years old. The men, in order to earn fifty taels of silver, became substitutes and went out to fight the war. This was the case with the family that Jiang Da Bo hired. However, Jiang Da Bo settled the family on his abandonednd and also built them a three-room straw hut to live in. ¡°Yingbao! Yingbao!¡± Chen Zhao came looking for Yingbao again, still holding a bamboo basket in his hand: ¡°Shall we go collect firewood?¡± Her father had gone to the city to study, her elder sister had gone to take care of the vegetable field, at home were only her grandparents, and that annoying Chu Man. Chen Zhao didn¡¯t want to see her, so he¡¯d often bring his younger brother Xubao to y with Yingbao. Yingbao was about to refuse but thought better of it and nodded: ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go call Sister Erni.¡± Chen Zhao certainly didn¡¯t object, happily waiting in the yard. After a while, Erni came over carrying a bamboo basket, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the pine forest to pick up pine cones, it¡¯s a bit far away, will it be inconvenient if you bring Xubao?¡± The pine forest was far from here, and two-year-old Xubao definitely couldn¡¯t walk there. ¡°Then I¡¯ll take Xubao back for grandma to take care of.¡± Chen Zhao was impatient to take care of a burden, but unfortunately, her brother always liked to follow her around. In this way, Chen Zhao sent her brother back home again and handed him over to Grandma Chen of the Feng family. The three of them, carrying bamboo baskets and small hoes, headed to the pine forest. Xiaowu, whose injuries were greatly improved, also followed Yingbao. The local pine forest was full of dwarf pines, with many pine cones growing on top. But Yingbao didn¡¯te here to pick pine cones; she wanted to look for Poria. Sister Wen had said, ¡°Poria often grows at the roots of pines, like a rice ball covered in ash. It¡¯s easy to recognize.¡± There happens to be arge area of pine forest on the South Slope, so she decided to check it out. The umted snow in the wild had already melted, but the weather was still very cold. Once they entered the pine forest, the three of them went their separate ways; Erni and Chen Zhao collected pine cones while looking for any pine nuts that hadn¡¯t been eaten by squirrels. Yingbao, with Xiaowu, went in search of Poria. Under the pines, pine needlesy thick on the ground, along with many pine cones. After a long search, she suddenly saw a dark brown lump the size of a goose egg under a pine tree. Yingbao quickly ran over, took out a small knife, shaved off a bit of it, and revealed a snow-white interior. It really was Poria! Yingbao was overjoyed and hurriedly used the medicine hoe to dig it out. The root was broken off inside; she dug a bit of soil to bury it. Xiaowu came closer to sniff. Seeing his mistress happily putting it away, he tilted his head and suddenly ran off. Finding one Poria confirmed that there would be more around. Yingbao started to search carefully again. Suddenly, Xiaowu started barking in the distance. Yingbao ran over and saw Xiaowu barking at her a few times before scratching the ground with his front paws. ¡°Wow! It¡¯s so big!¡± Yingbao shouted, touching something as big as a washbasin. She took out the hoe and dug around. Inside was snow white ¡ª Poria ¡ª But in some ces, something had gnawed at it. But that was okay, this Poria wasrge enough that even if she cut off a bit, there would still be plenty left to use. ¡°Xiaowu, you¡¯re so smart,¡± Yingbao praised, scratching Xiaowu¡¯s head and giving him a medicine pellet. After she collected the Poria, Erni called her from a distance, ¡°Yingbao! Let¡¯s go back!¡± During the time Yingbao was looking for Poria, Erni and Chen Zhao had already filled a basket with pine cones, many of which contained plump pine nuts. ¡°Coming! Coming!¡± Yingbao put the Poria in the basket, took Xiaowu, and went to join Erni. They returned home joyfully, carrying a full load. As they were nearing the vige, they heard someone shouting, ¡°It¡¯s terrible! A child has fallen into the water!¡± The three of them were startled and ran over together. They saw two people next to the pond, stomping their feet and shouting. At one nce, Yingbao saw two children struggling in the water, one of whom appeared to be her brother Xiaowu. Even if you know how to swim, it would be impossible to get back to the shore in this cold weather. Erni and Chen Zhao started screaming, ¡°Xiaowu!¡± ¡°Xubao!¡± Yingbao quickly took off her cotton-padded jacket and trousers, jumped into the water, and swam hurriedly towards Xiaowu. Just then, a few more people came to the edge of the pond; two of them who could swim also took off their jackets and jumped in. However, the pond was far too cold; the two of them didn¡¯t get very far before they had to return. Yingbao was also so cold her hands and feet were numb, but she managed to swim to Xiaowu¡¯s side and grab him. Chapter 286 - 282: Malicious_1 Chapter 286: Chapter 282: Malicious_1 Trantor: 549690339 Yingbao struggled to swim towards the shore, dragging Jiang Wu along, and Jiang Wu was still tightly gripping the cor of Xubao¡¯s clothes. Just like that, Yingbao finally dragged the two of them to shore, where several people together pulled all three of them up. Upon hearing the news, Spring Lady embraced Yingbao, unfastening her cotton padded jacket to warm her up, and, with the help of the others, quickly stripped her son of his wet clothes. Spring Lady held the two children close and dashed home. Erni also hurriedly followed Spring Lady, holding Xubao in her arms. Chen Zhao, crying all the while, took Yingbao and her brother¡¯s clothes and stuffed them into the basket on her back. She followed Erni and they went to Yingbao¡¯s house together. Spring Ladyid her daughter and son on the kang, covering them with nkets, she hurriedly stuffed dry grass into the kang¡¯s cavity and lit it. She then went to the kitchen to boil water and made ginger tea for the children to drink. Yingbao, huddled under the nket, warmed up after some time. Feeling Jiang Wu next to her, she put a slice of wu ding zhi into his mouth and gently asked: ¡°How did you and Xubao fall into the water?¡± Jiang Wu, teeth chattering still, took quite a while to respond: ¡°It was his stepmother who kicked him in¡­¡± ¡°Kicked him in? Why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I was out for a run, Xubao came following me, as he passed by the pool, his stepmother kicked him in.¡± Yingbao: ¡°Who else saw it?¡± ¡°Old Lady Wang and another woman also saw it, they were justing over,¡± said Jiang Wu: ¡°Then Xubao¡¯s stepmother ran away.¡± Yingbao¡¯s face turned sombre. She hadn¡¯t expected Chu Man to be so vicious, kicking a two-year-old into freezing water, is this something a human would do? Although Yingbao didn¡¯t particrly like Xubao, he was still unknowing and naive. In this life, without the Han Family¡¯s pampering, Xubao¡¯s temperament was rtively normal, just like the other vige kids, not particrly annoying. Jiang Wu gradually rxed, quietly asking his sister: ¡°Will Xubao die?¡± Yingbao: ¡°No, he¡¯s just frozen, it will be fine once he warms up.¡± Luckily the two children were dressed in thick cotton clothes, only floating on the water for a moment. Had they sunk and swallowed a bellyful of water, even an immortal god would not be able to save them. At that moment, Xubao was also stripped of his clothes and hastily stuffed into the warm confines of the kang. His eyes were tightly closed and his little face was pale, clearly suffering from the chill. Chen Zhao was in hysterics, she continuously massaged Xubao¡¯s cheeks and hands, saying: ¡°Little brother! Little brother! Wake up.¡± Before long, Chen Feng, along with her eldest granddaughter, Chen Wan, and her husband, Mr. Chen, rushed over. Seeing her young grandson in that state, Chen Feng rushed over, hugged Xubao, and burst into tears. ¡°My dear child! All because of that damned witch! Dare you harm him! I will avenge you!¡± Mr. Chen furrowed his eyebrows: ¡°Enough! She didn¡¯t do it intentionally, what¡¯s with all the wailing? You should hurry and find Wu Si toe over and take a look.¡± Wu Si was the local barefoot doctor in the vige, he¡¯s the husband of midwife Wu Siniang, and had some knowledge of Traditional Medicine Technique. It was only then that Chen Feng released Xubao and quickly instructed her eldest granddaughter to find Wu Si. As it turned out, Chu Man had fled back home in a panic after kicking Xubao, hiding indoors and not daring to show her face. Chen Feng had just wanted to question her about the missing rice basket when a viger had rushed over to inform her that Xubao had been kicked into the water by his stepmother, but was luckily rescued by the Jiang children and was now recuperating at the Jiang¡¯s house. Fury ignited in Chen Feng, she rushed into Chu Man¡¯s room, pulled her hair and pped her face. Chu Man sobbed and said it wasn¡¯t intentional, that Xubao had identally fallen into the water. Chen Feng didn¡¯t believe a word of it, kicking and striking Chu Man, she berated: ¡°Normally when you twist his arm or pinch him, I considered it as disciplining the child, but today you almost took his life, you wicked woman! If anything happens to Xubao, I¡¯ll make you pay!¡± Chu Man knew she was in the wrong and didn¡¯t dare to speak up or fight back, she simply used a quilt to shield her head. In her heart, however, she developed a deep hatred for the old woman of the Chen Family and Chen Changping¡¯s children. Especially that Chen Zhao, who caused her miscarriage. The old woman merely scolded her mildly, without even pping her. This made Chu Man furious. Because of this, Chu Man ran back to her parents¡¯ house toin. However, when her parents came to seek justice, they were counter-used by Chen¡¯s Family, who imed she had never been pregnant, but was just on her period. Chu Man was infuriated to the core, but she could not prove that she had been pregnant. Her parents, considering the dignity of Chen Changping the Schr, didn¡¯t press too hard, merely admonished Chen¡¯s Family a few times before going home. Chu Man was almost driven mad by anger, and shed with her husband several times. But her husband did not support her, and even told her not to create a fuss. Later, when her husband went to town for further studies, Chu Man wanted to follow. However, her wish was not granted. Today, she was ordered by that old hag to wash rice. The icy water had numbed her hands. The old hag deliberately gave her a hard time. The more Chu Man thought about it, the angrier she became. Suddenly she saw Chen Changping, the little brat,ing to the pond. He probably wanted to y with the Jiang Family¡¯s children. Being overwhelmed by the flood of resentment, Chu Man acted on impulse and kicked him into the pond. After kicking him, seeing someone nearby, she was suddenly filled with terror, dropped her rice basket, and ran home¡­ That¡¯s the gist of the event. Fearing that his wife might be too harsh, Chen¡¯s old man hurriedly pulled his wife away. Chen Feng¡¯s wife was so angry that she scratched hard at her husband¡¯s face. Her grandson was nearly gone, and the old man pretended it was nothing and even sided with the culprit. In the end, it was Chen Wan who managed to pull her grandparents away, and only then did they rush to the Jiang¡¯s house. At this moment, Yingbao was also lying stark naked in a toasty warm bed, upon seeing the crowded house full of noisy chatter, she couldn¡¯t help but be exasperated. She covered her head with the nket, quietly pulled out a set of clothes from some secret ce and put them on, and only then could she rx. She was already seven years old, and she couldn¡¯t allow others to see her bare bottom. Jiang Wu had already fully revived, but he had already fallen asleep in the warm bed. Yingbao sat up, got a small porcin bottle from her wooden box and poured it into Xubao¡¯s mouth in an exaggerated manner. Then under the watchful gaze of all, she got down from the bed andy down in her room. She slept till dusk, and when Chunniang came to wake her up for dinner, Yingbao finally crawled out from under the nket. ¡°Mother, how¡¯s my little brother?¡± She asked. Chunniang picked up a set of new cotton clothes and helped her daughter to dress. ¡°Your little brother is fine. Xubao has also awakened and been carried back by the Chen Family. They even brought over a basket of eggs to express their gratitude for saving Xubao¡¯s life.¡± Yingbao stretched out her arm and let her mother help her get dressed. She asked, ¡°Where¡¯s our Xiaohei?¡± Xiaohei also jumped into the water when she did, but it couldn¡¯t swim as fast as she did. After she was pulled out, her whole body was so cold and numb, she didn¡¯t even think about it. ¡°Xiaohei is good. It went out for a walk with Dahuang.¡± Chunniang fastened the button for her daughter¡¯s cor and asked her to sit on the edge of the bed. She then went to get shoes for her daughter. Yingbao, dangling her feet, was deep in thought. The book in her mind seemed to have appeared again, and it kept showing her new content, non-stop. Dreaming on and off all afternoon, for the most part, she dreamed that the female protagonist returned to Qinchuan County, entered the County Medical Bureau, and became an intern there. Furthermore, Yingbao would also be recruited into the County Medical Bureau to study medical skills with the female lead. Yet, it was strange, the Imperial Medical Bureau in Beijing also recruits interns. Instead of going there, why would the female leade to Qinchuan County? Besides, she had no desire to go to any county medical bureau, nor did she wish to be a ssmate with the female lead. Didn¡¯t she have money, a house, a carriage, and freedom? Why should she be subject to that kind of restriction? Chapter 287 - 283: Xiaolu Returns Home (Request for Monthly Votes)_1 Chapter 287: Chapter 283: Xiaolu Returns Home (Request for Monthly Votes)_1 Trantor: 549690339 The next day, as Yingbao was indoors scraping the skin of tuckahoe, she suddenly heard someone outside shouting, ¡°Is Jiang Sang home?¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± Jiang Sang went out and saw two government officers standing outside the gate. He was taken aback, then quickly saluted them, ¡°May I ask what official business brings you here?¡± An officer pulled out a thick envelope from his bag and handed it to Jiang Sang, ¡°This is a letter from the government. This year the county medical bureau is admitting students for medical training. Someone rmended your daughter, Jiang Yingbao, to attend. We have been sent to deliver her admission notice.¡± Jiang Sang received the letter, somewhat puzzled. Could it be that his daughter¡¯s reputation had brought the recruitment poster from the county medical bureau all the way to her? How could that be possible? ¡°Pleasee inside, officers. Have some tea to take a break.¡± Jiang Sang quickly invited the officers into the hall, instructing his wife to prepare two bowls of egg tea. The officers didn¡¯t decline, making themselvesfortable in the hallway. Yingbao, who heard everything clearly, was surprised. Her dream had actuallye true. But so what? She had decided not to go! What could anyone do about it? Who was so bored they would rmend her to attend the county medical bureau? Going to school there simply meant bing an attendant at the county medical bureau and working just like she did at Doctor Li¡¯s pharmacy. However, once in the medical bureau, she would have the option to take an examination in the prefecture city and be selected to enter the Imperial Medical Bureau. But she didn¡¯t want to be an Imperial Physician, so why bother studying there? In a short while, Chunniang prepared two bowls of sweet egg soup, even adding a few red dates to it. ¡°Please, officers, help yourselves.¡± Chunniang ced the sweet egg soup on the table beside the officers. The officers graciously thanked her with a smile: ¡°Thank you for your efforts.¡± Having finished their sweet egg soup, the officers took their leave. Yingbao opened the envelope. Inside was her name, birthce, age, admission date, among other things. Jiang Sang asked hopefully, ¡°Baobao, when do you n to go?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± She had no intention of going to the county medical bureau. ¡°Why?¡± Jiang Sang was confused. Yingbao: ¡°We¡¯re not short on money, so why should I go?¡± Frankly speaking, medical practice was also a way of earning money. Since they had enough money, it wasn¡¯t necessary for her to practice medicine. Moreover, if she joined the medical bureau, it wouldn¡¯t change her family¡¯s status at all. So why should she mingle with those female protagonists in stories? Furthermore, medical students were subjects to the Imperial Court. What if one day she was summoned to join the military as a physician? That wouldn¡¯t be good. Chunniang, standing aside, nodded in agreement. ¡°Exactly. Baobao has already been an attendant at Doctor Li¡¯s pharmacy for half a year. If she went to the medical bureau, it might just be more of the same. We don¡¯t rely on Baobao to make a living through medicine, so it doesn¡¯t matter if she goes or not.¡± Seeing that both his wife and daughter were against the idea, Jiang Sang sighed. ¡°Alright, I just wonder who sent this letter and if it could be declined.¡± Although Yingbao didn¡¯t know who sent the letter, she was sure it wasn¡¯t Wu Daozi. She didn¡¯t know any ranked officials in the county government other than the county Prefect. How could someone possibly rmend her for admission? Doctor Li? He was now a physician at the Imperial Medical Bureau in Beijing with his grandson, so he might have the qualifications to rmend students. But he was far away in Beijing, and as a newly enrolled Imperial Physician there, he wouldn¡¯t do this without her knowledge. Well, whatever, she was not going either way. Yingbao handed the letter to her father and continued scraping the tuckahoe. After peeling itsyer off, she cut it into pieces and set them out to dry. Once they were dried, she nned to use the tuckahoe to make some tuckahoe cakes, and she could also use it to make porridge every day. Tuckahoe has a bnced medicinal property that can both supplement and purge the body. Not only does it induce diuresis and infiltrate dampness, but it also strengthens the spleen and calms the mind. It¡¯s usuallybined with atractylodes, Chinese yam, ginseng, licorice, and alisma in forms. As February approached, The saying goes, ¡®On the second of February, dragons raise their heads,¡¯ hence this day is also known as ¡®Dragon Head Festival¡¯. Each household began making dragon-beard noodles, dragon cakes, and dragon-eye wontons, and offerings were made to the local gods of soil and grain to pray for a bountiful year. It was also on this day that vigers would shave the heads of their infants. Chuchu gave her daughter a peach-heart haircut, which left a tuft of hair shaped like a peach at the forehead and another small tuft at the back of her head. This time of year was the perfect time to eat wild vegetables. Everywhere in the wild field and ridges, there were tender shepherd¡¯s-purses, which were delicious for wrapping dumplings and cooking soup. Chen Zhao brought his younger brother to ask Yingbao to join them in picking shepherd¡¯s purses to make dumplings in the evening. Yingbao was just about to go to the wild field to pick some herbs, so she happily agreed. The three of them and a dog, carrying baskets, sauntered out of the vige. The early spring sunlight warmed their bodies with a gentle heat. Xubao tightly gripped his sister¡¯s hand. His walking felt steadier, and he often turned his head to giggle at Yingbao. However, he wasn¡¯t willing to talk much. Whatever others said to him, he would only respond with nods or shakes of his head. Chen Zhao was particrly concerned about her younger brother. Ever since Chu Man kicked Xubao into the water, she kept him by her side at all times. ¡°Wow! There are so many shepherd¡¯s purses here!¡± When they arrived at a wild field, Chen Zhao was astonished by the abundance of shepherd¡¯s purses. Yingbao wasn¡¯t surprised. This was the wastnd her family had purchased. They had slightly reimed it and nted a lot of shepherd¡¯s purses and bitter herbs seeds, followed by irrigating thend with pond water. The irrigated wild vegetables and herbs grew rapidly and she along with Sister Dani asionally came here to pick them. Chen Zhao was delighted. Different varieties of Shepherd¡¯s Purse were dug, shaken free of soil, and stored in the basket. After Yingbao had dug half a basket of Shepherd¡¯s Purse, she found some bitter herbs to put in the basket. This was not just edible, but also had strong anti-inmmatory effect. For instance, boiling and drinking it can effectively cure pharyngitis, dysentery, cold fever, and chronic bronchitis. After Chen Zhao finished digging up Shepherd¡¯s Purse, she didn¡¯t rush home, but wandered around and collected some dry branches to use for firewood. Xubao also helped his sister pick up dry branches, running around without feeling exhausted. He seemed like two different people from his previous life. The siblings seemed to have be more sensible since losing their mother. Yingbao nced at the two of them and then continued to look for other edible wild vegetables. Xiaohei ran around everywhere, and suddenly he seemed to find something and started barking vehemently. ¡°Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!¡± Xiaohei barked while sprinting towards the distant woods. ¡°Xiaohei!¡± Yingbao immediately chased after him. Xiaohei ignored her calls, charging straight into the woods. Chen Zhao had to take care of her brother and couldn¡¯t keep up with Yingbao¡¯s pace. Anxiously stomping her foot, she shouted ¡°Hey! stop running around! Come back quickly!¡± This was a deste woond, frequented by wild boars and wolves. For a few year old child to enter alone was very dangerous. As Yingbao chased Xiaohei into the woods, she saw him barking intensely in one direction, even his dog tail was standing up. ¡°What happened?¡± Bai Bao looked over and suddenly saw a deer sh past. Yingbao was shocked as it reminded her of her Youyou, which she had raised for several years. Calling out hesitantly into the forest, she called, ¡°Youyou! Youyou!¡± After a while, a tall stag slowly walked out of the forest and stood a short distance away, looking at Yingbao. When Yingbao noticed the remains of the strap on its back, she almost burst into tears: ¡°Youyou! You¡¯re back.¡± She took out some shiitake mushrooms and pushed it towards Youyou, saying ¡°Here, for you to eat.¡± The stag slowly approached and licked Yingbao¡¯s palm. After a bite, it looked at her and continued to lick. Yingbao gently stroked its head with her other hand, saying softly ¡°Let me cut off the strap on your body, okay?¡± She feared that if she startled Youyou, it would run off again. If the left-over strap is not removed, it might identally injure it. After all, they had not seen each other for several years and she did not know whether Youyou was still fond of her. Youyou lifted its head, silently observing Yingbao for a while and then gently rubbed against her with its head. Chapter 288 - 284: Spring Planting_1 Chapter 288: Chapter 284: Spring nting_1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°Youyou, you¡¯re back!¡± With tears welling up in her eyes, Yingbao calmed Xiaolu down and then used scissors to cut off the straps of the saddle. There were several bare patches on Xiaolu¡¯s back and abdomen where fur had been rubbed off, numerous minor injuries, some of which had begun to rot. Youyou had somehow managed to get rid of the saddle on his back, but he couldn¡¯t get rid of the straps, which caused his severe injuries. Yingbao quickly sprinkled healing powder on his wounds, touched its head, and asked, ¡°Do you want to go back with me?¡± Youyou licked her face with his tongue, then slowly turned around and walked off. ¡°Wait!¡± Yingbao was saddened, she ran over to get some more ointment to feed him before letting go. Youyou slowly walked over to a tree, his head held high as he looked towards the forest. The antlers on his head resembled a king¡¯s crown. After a little while, several deer appeared from the forest. Two females, two fawns, and two adolescent bucks. Yingbao¡¯s eyes widened, unbelievable. This was the first time she saw so many deer. Could they be Youyou¡¯s herd? The fawns near the does were curiously watching Yingbao, seemingly not scared at all. What Yingbao saw next was Youyou leading the herd towards her, eventually standing nearby. The herd curiously observed the human cub, with the fawns even trying to sniff her. Yingbao thought for a moment and then brought out some tender leaves from the cave to feed the deer. Youyou began to eat first, then the fawns came over, finally followed by the does and adolescent bucks. Seeing that they had finished the leaves, Yingbao brought out a handful of shepherd¡¯s purse, a nt grown in the cave, and led them away. When Chen Zhao and Xubao arrived, they were stunned by the scene. ¡°Youyou came back, I¡¯m going to take them home.¡± Yingbao told Chen Zhao and then led the herd away on her own. When she led the herd into the vige, Jiang Sang and many vigers ran over at the news. ¡°Wow! Little fairy child truly is a little fairy child, managed to bring back such a big herd of deer on a single trip.¡± The vigers were extremely impressed by Little Yingbao. Jiang Sang, afraid that the crowd would scare away the deer, quickly let his daughter lead the deer into their yard. Lead by Youyou, the herd, although a bit scared, followed suit into the Jiang family¡¯spound. Jiang Wu and Huzi were tremendously happy and ran home to see the deer. ¡°I want to keep a fawn! One like Youyou!¡± Huzi eximed furiously. Jiang Wu also interjected: ¡°I want to keep one too!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go cut grass to feed it right now!¡± Huzi dered. Jiang Wu: ¡°I¡¯ll go too!¡± The two stared at each other, neither willing to back down, immediately grabbing a basket and a sickle, and squeezing out of the crowd in the courtyard.. Seeing the increasing crowd of vigers, Jiang Sang had no choice but to say, ¡°The herd just got back and is new to this ce. Stop staring, everyone go home.¡± Seven deer crowded into the stable in the yard, terrified by the intense human attention, except Youyou. Chen Yinughed and said, ¡°Brother Jiang, can you sell one to our house?¡± He also wanted to keep a deer, to raise it to be a magnificent deer like Youyou, which would be quite distinguished when brought out. Chen Zhuzhu also quickly said, ¡°Brother Jiang, I want to keep one too, to serve as a mount for the little demon.¡± Perhaps in the future, the little deer could also bring a herd of deer to their home. Jiang Sang was somewhat troubled, ¡°We can discuss this in the future.¡± In fact, it mainly depends on his daughter¡¯s opinion, as long as she agreed, it was not impossible. After all, it¡¯s quite impossible to keep so many deer in their home. If he proposed to kill half of them, his daughter would definitely disagree. ¡°So we¡¯ve settled it, remember to save one for my family.¡± Chen Yin, fearing Jiang Sang might renege, rifies in advance. Chen Zhuzhu: ¡°And don¡¯t forget me, Brother San.¡± Jiang Sang reluctantly says, ¡°These deer still need to be tamed for a while, we¡¯ll see when the timees.¡± Having finally sent away the vigers, Jiang Sang asks his daughter, ¡°How do you n to raise these deer?¡± Yingbao: ¡°They can adopt deer, but they can¡¯t kill them for meat.¡± Otherwise, she would betray Youyou¡¯s trust. Jiang Sang sighs, ¡°Then let¡¯s fence off a deer field in the wastnd and raise the herd there.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Yingbao had the same idea. The next day, Jiang Sang brings over a dozen vigers to help cut some bamboo. Afterwards, they fence off a bamboo walled area in the wastnd and confine the deer inside. Youyou still follows Yingbao around, same as before. February is the right time for nting tree saplings. Yingbao takes out dozens of lychee and tangerine saplings from the cave, as well as longan and papaya trees, and nts them in her own orchard. Because of this, the orchard expands even further, almost reaching the grapevine and pepper circles. Seeing that the Jiang family has somehow gotten hold of many fruit tree saplings, the vigers ask for a couple to nt at home. Yingbao simply gives a few saplings to each family, whether they grow or not is up to their luck. Even the school gets a few saplings, which were nted in the courtyard. The elderly teacher and Li Xu both treasure them very much. They carefully nt the gifted saplings in the school flowerbed, watering them every day. As for the vegetable seeds, some are nted in their own vegetable garden, some are given to her eldest and second uncles, and the rest are distributed to the vigers. Yingbao also pulls out a bag of sesame seeds from a big wooden box sent from the Xiao family and hands it to her father, ¡°This year, let¡¯s nt more sesame. In Beijing, they use sesame oil for cooking. It¡¯s very fragrant.¡± Jiang Sang takes the bag of seeds and asks, ¡°How to nt them?¡± ¡°Just plow the soil and scatter them in. But you have to wait until March to sow them.¡± Might as well irrigate it with pond water, that should make the sproutse out. Jiang Sang has no doubt about his daughter¡¯s words, immediately he goes check where to nt these seeds. Following his daughter¡¯s instructions, this much sesame seeds could nt about five or six acres, so he ns to cultivate six acres ofnd. Spring is the busiest season, vigers not only have to rush to farm, but also have to spin the cotton stored at home into fabric. Mrs. Chun and her two sisters-inw spend their days cooking, doingundry, tidying up the house, and spinning and weaving. In their weaving room, they have already hired several women. Some spin yarn and some weave fabric, everything proceeds in an orderly manner. These weavers are poor girls from nearby viges. Mrs. Chun provides cotton and tools, as well as a meal, and they each receive fifty coins, equivalent to ten catties of grain, for every piece of cloth they weave. The price is not low, because skillful weavers can weave a piece of cloth in a day. In order to have them focus on their work, Mrs. Chun even hires a woman, paying her a coin per month, to cook meals and boil water for the weavers. In the hustle and bustle, March arrived quickly. Peaches and plums shed their exuberant flowers and bore fruits. All the fruit saplings Yingbao nted are thriving and have grown a lot taller. The vige folk¡¯s saplings also survived, but they aren¡¯t growing as robustly as the Jiang¡¯s. One day, two officers suddenly came to the vige. The officers headed straight for Jiang Sang¡¯s house and handed him a letter. Seeing it was again the two officers from the previous encounter, Jiang Sang couldn¡¯t help but feel puzzled. Upon opening the letter, he finds it¡¯s another summons inviting his daughter to enroll in school. What¡¯s the County Medical Office thinking? Jiang Sang puts the letter back in its envelope, bows to the two officers and says, ¡°To tell you the truth, my daughter is still young and can¡¯t leave home on her own. So, we¡¯re not nning to go to the County Medical Office.¡± Chapter 289 - 285: County Medical Office_1 Chapter 289: Chapter 285: County Medical Office_1 Trantor: 549690339 ¡°We¡¯re just the messengers,¡± the two officers said. ¡°Since the vige head of the Jiang family refuses to send his daughter to the county medical office, why not write a letter for us to take back as a response?¡± Jiang Sang agreed with their suggestion. He asked them to wait a little and had his wife prepare two bowls of chicken noodle soup for them while he penned down a letter. After seeing off the two officers, Jiang Sang was filled with apprehension, feeling that this issue was far from over. His worry turned out to be well-founded. Less than a monthter, a group of men arrived. Leading them was Xiao Mo. At that moment, Yingbao, along with Youyou and Xiaohei, were watering the saplings in the orchard when her sister came running hurriedly. ¡°Yingbao! That Xiao guy is here again!¡± she said, panting heavily. ¡°He says he wants to take you to the county medical office to study.¡± ¡°What?¡± Yingbao¡¯s face twitched in surprise. The Xiao family again. Was she somehow at odds with this family¡¯s fate? Her sister pulled the young girl. ¡°Quickly go home, that Mr. Xiao is waiting for you.¡± Yingbao followed her sister home and saw Xiao Mo sitting in the main hall, talking to her father. ¡°The decision for your beloved daughter to study at the county medical office is the wish of the nobleman. Once shepletes her education, it would benefit your family as well,¡± he said. Jiang Sang replied coldly, ¡°But her age¡­ she can¡¯t be separated from her family. I fear she¡¯ll be ill-treated when away from home. We couldn¡¯t bear that as parents.¡± Xiao Mo replied, ¡°You are mistaken, Mr. Jiang. There are nannies and teachers to oversee things in the medical office, who would dare to oppress her? Furthermore, for the next year, I will be stationed in the county and I will enjoin the office to take special care of the young students.¡± Recently, Qinchuan County and a few neighboring counties had experienced arge influx of refugees. To prevent a repeat of the bandit raid, Xiao Mo had decided to station troops in the area as a precaution. Jiang Sang¡¯s eyebrows were knotted together tightly. From the sound of it, it seemed General Xiao was determined to take Yingbao away this time. ¡°Father, I¡¯m back!¡± Yingbao entered the main hall and bowed to Xiao Mo. ¡°How¡¯ve you been, Xiao Langjun?¡± Xiao Mo nodded at her, saying, ¡°The nobleman hasmanded you to study at the county medical office, and I havee to take you there. Yingbao, do you need to pack anything?¡± Yingbao rolled her eyes discreetly and refused bluntly, ¡°I don¡¯t want to study.¡± Xiao Mo seemed to have anticipated her response and said lightly, ¡°None of us wants to study. But for the sake of our family, for survival, you must endure and do something you dislike.¡± Yingbao scowled. This bastard was threatening her! The meaning behind his words was very clear¡ªhe was telling her, if she didn¡¯t obey, her family wouldn¡¯t survive. ¡°Fine then, shall we leave now?¡± Yingbao did not want to risk her parents or family members just to test this man¡¯s limits, so she relented. Xiao Mo nodded, ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go get my medicine box.¡± Yingbao ran back to her room and slung the medicine box onto her back. She was now seven and had grown considerably, appearing to be an eight or nine-year-old child. Upon thinking a little, Yingbao took out the ruler that the Empress bestowed on her and held it in her hand. The ruler was made of wood. It was polished smooth and on its surface was iid with several golden peony patterns. The handle was decorated with a colorful tassel. Returning to the main hall, Yingbao announced, ¡°I¡¯m ready to go. I even brought the ruler the Empress gave me. If anyone dares to bully me in the medical office, I¡¯ll use it to teach them a lesson.¡± Xiao Mo nced at the ruler without uttering a word. He was aware of the ruler the Empress had gifted to Yingbao. He found it surprising that this shrewd little girl knew to use it for backing. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be tense; the medical office isn¡¯t a dangerous ce. Nobody dares to cause trouble there,¡± Xiao Mo said, sounding a bit worried about the safety of the other students. This little girl was known for her erratic behavior. Annoyingly, she was always able to do things that left people scratching their heads. Yingbao replied nonchntly, ¡°I¡¯m not tense. I am just worried that someone might get jealous of my medical skills and purposely target me.¡± Xiao Mo forced a cough to suppress his amusement, ¡°All right, let¡¯s set off now.¡± Following this, he stood up, leading the way out of Jiang Family home. Looking at his daughter, Jiang Sang was filled with unease. After saddling up the horses and preparing the carriage, Jiang Sang drove, leading his daughter and Xiao Mo towards the county city. After several hours of travel, they finally entered the city gates. The county medical office was located in the backyard of the Huimin Pharmacy in the county and upied arge space. Within, there were two faculties¡ª Medical sciences and Yin-Yang studies, each headed by a physician. Upon arriving at the medical office, Yingbao was first introduced to a middle-aged man with a long beard. This individual was the official in charge of the county medical office, Ya Sen ¡ª a ninth-rank official. After paying her respects to him, Yingbao heard Xiao Mo say, ¡°This is Jiang Yingbao, she is seven years old. From now on, she will study medicine at the medical office. I hope Mr. Ya Sen will keep a close eye on her and promote her learning.¡± Ya Sen smiled, ¡°I will obey yourmand.¡± Yingbao turned her head to re at Xiao Mo. Keep a close eye on her? Who did he think he was, her father? However, Xiao Mo didn¡¯t pay her any attention. After a brief conversation with Ya Sen, he took his leave. Once Xiao Mo departed, the smile on Ya Sen¡¯s face disappeared. He turned serious and scrutinized Yingbao. He instructed a student dressed in white, ¡°Take her to the dormitory to settle down.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± replied the student. The student led Yingbao towards a small courtyard. On the way, Yingbao saw several students. They all wore white gowns and ck turbans, from ages ten to over twenty. When they arrived at the courtyard, they saw two girls in white standing in the yard. They both had ck silk scarves on their heads, just like the students outside. ¡°Sister Xueqing, we have a new junior sister. Can you help her arrange her amodation?¡± the student called out to one of the girls. Xueqing turned around, and looking at Yingbao, she expressed her surprise, ¡°She¡¯s so young?¡± The student nodded, ¡°General Xiao sent her. He asked us to take extra care of her.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Xueqing replied. She turned to Yingbao, ¡°Follow me.¡± Yingbao followed Xueqing into a room. Inside were two small beds, two desks, and a few wooden boxes. ¡°Didn¡¯t you bring any personal belongings?¡± Xueqing asked. ¡°No,¡± Yingbao blinked, ¡°Xiao Mo said the office would provide everything and I didn¡¯t need to bring anything.¡± In fact, she had some belongings, but she insisted on not bringing them. If they did not prepare life necessities for her, she would have to return home. There was a slight flicker in Xueqing¡¯s eyes, and her expression became more amiable. She led Yingbao to a small wooden bed, ¡°This bed is for you. Later on, I will ask Mr. Ya for your bedding and other items.¡± Yingbao nodded and thanked Xueqing, ¡°Thank you, Sister Xueqing.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to be formal. We¡¯re ssmates; we should help each other,¡± Xueqing replied. Xueqing moved an empty wooden box for Yingbao, ¡°You can put your things in this box. Later, I¡¯ll get a set of tea utensils for you, oh yes, two other girls studying medicine were sent here recently by General Xiao. They are staying next door. I can introduce you to themter.¡± Yingbao expressed a reluctance immediately, ¡°No need, it¡¯s not necessary. We¡¯ll definitely meet sooner orter.¡± She had already guessed who Xiao Mo had sent, but who was the other one? Chapter 290 - 286: Can’t Handle It_1 Chapter 290: Chapter 286: Can¡¯t Handle It_1 Trantor: 549690339 As soon as Xueqing left, Yingbao immediately took down the medicine box and ced it on the bed. The room was dark and damp, filled with dust, and cobwebs hung in the corners. It seemed like no one had lived here for a long time. The bed opposite hers was covered only with ayer of bamboo, without even a mat, just like hers. Through the bamboo strips, she could clearly see the broken soil dug up by rats underneath the bed. Yingbao moved anotherrge wooden box by herself, ced it at the head of her bed, and stacked it on top of the previous one. Then she found a rag to wipe the dust off the table. When she opened the window, she could see a garden outside. In the garden were some evergreen trees and a few peony and paeony buds waiting to bloom. There were also a few bamboo racks hung with clothes and quilts. It seemed that this backyard was where the female students dried their clothes. She just didn¡¯t know where they washed their clothes and if there was a pond nearby. Just as she was thinking, Xueqing came in with mattresses and quilts, followed by a nanny in her forties. ¡°Jiang Shim¨´, here are your quilts. I will go get the clothester.¡± Xueqing ced the quilts on the small wooden bed, then pointed to Yingbao, ¡°This is Fang Nanny. She is responsible for managing our yard and living. If you need anything, just tell her.¡± ¡°Thank you, Senior Xueqing.¡± Yingbao saluted the nanny, ¡°Fang Nanny, please take care of me here.¡± Fang Nanny nodded, ¡°I can¡¯t take care of much, I¡¯m just here to make sure you students follow the rules.¡± Yingbao blinked without understanding. Why did she feel that this nanny is somewhat like the Mama Mia from Wuchun Yard? Next, Fang Nanny began to talk about the rules of the Medical Bureau: ¡°Every morning you must get up at Mao Shi, and go to the canteen before Chen Shi. At the quarter of Chen Shi, you must go to ss, and at the half of Wu Shi, the canteen will provide afternoon tea, and dinner is served at the beginning of You Shi (5-7 pm), hot water is also avable at that time.¡± Fang Nanny nced at Yingbao and continued: ¡°Every day after Xu Shi, you are not allowed to go out. Lights out in Hai Shi. No quarrelling, no stealing, do you understand?¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Yingbao nodded. Fang Nanny: ¡°In ss at the Medical Bureau, you must wear the same attire, and it should be clean and tidy. You must not be slovenly. If you damage things or medicine at the Medical Bureau, you must pay for it.¡± Yingbao lifted her head to reply: ¡°I know, Nanny.¡± Fang Nanny, seeing how obedient she was, was a little more lenient in her speech. She gave a lengthy rundown of the dos and don¡¯ts, and then she left. By this time, Xueqing hade with Yingbao¡¯s clothing. There were two white gowns in total, and a ck turban. Yingbao took the clothes and put them on immediately. It was almost April now, and the weather was quite warm. Wearing twoyers of clothes was enough. But she didn¡¯t know how to tie the ck turban. She had to ask Xueqing to demonstrate it several times before she could barely put it on. Xueqing also brought her bronze mirror for Yingbao to look at herself andughed saying, ¡°Look how good you look.¡± Yingbao nced at herself in the mirror and felt that all dolled up; she looked like a pretty young lord. Xueqing also helped Yingbao toy the mattresses and quilts and said, ¡°Wait a few more days, then you go ask the Senior Brothers for some mosquito repellent incense. When the weather gets a little warmer, the mosquitoes in the room here are quite a lot.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Actually, Yingbao had nted a lot of mint grass in her cave. So she just needed to move some out and ce it on the window sill. Afer the two of them finished cleaning the room, it was almost You Shi. Xueqing brought her bowl and chopsticks, and gave a set to her younger sister. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go to the cafeteria.¡± So, the two of them carrying their bowls and chopsticks and also carrying a bucket of water, went to the cafeteria. On the way, as expected, Yingbao met Chen Tiantian. Walking with Chen Tiantian was a beautiful girl about twelve or thirteen years old. ¡°Yingbao.¡± Chen Tiantian greeted Yingbao with a smile. Yingbao nodded expressionlessly and said, ¡°Chen Junior Sister.¡± The young girl beside Chen Tiantian looked at Yingbao in surprise, wondering, ¡°Why do you call Sweetie ¡®Junior Sister¡¯?¡± Yingbao smiled: ¡°You ask her.¡± The beautiful young girl then turned to Chen Tiantian: ¡°Why?¡± Chen Tiantian said with a helpless expression: ¡°Yingbao insists that her medical skills are superior to mine and insists on being my senior.¡± The beautiful young girl was taken aback, she thenughed: ¡°That¡¯s quite stubborn.¡± Without acknowledging the two, Yingbao clutched Xueqing¡¯s hand and strode into the dining hall. There were already several people in the dining hall, mostly men, with over a dozen of them. The meal consisted of two steamed buns for each person, arge bowl of thin rice porridge, and no vegetables. Most people brought their own pickles to eat with the rice porridge and steamed buns. After finishing a bowl of thin porridge, one could go for another until the porridge pot was empty. The nanny was right, anyone arrivingte wouldn¡¯t only miss out on the steamed buns but even the dirty porridge. Once Xueqing had collected her steamed buns and porridge, she ced the bowl on the table, then went to fetch hot water, for if she dyed it too, the hot water would be finished and she would be left with cold water only. Yingbao was eating her steamed bun and drinking her porridge while examining the people in the dining hall. There were nine girls in the dining room, all under the age of fifteen. Among them, she was the youngest at seven, followed by Chen Tiantian, who was about eleven, and then the beautiful young girl. Sister Xueqing looked around fifteen and the other five were around thirteen to sixteen years old. After the meal, people began to leave one after the other. Upon returning to her room, Yingbao washed herself slightly using the hot water brought by Sister Xueqing, closed the windows and locked the door before finally climbing to bed to rest. Gazing at the cobwebs on the ceiling beam, Yingbao fell into deep thought. She didn¡¯t understand why Chen Tiantian came back to study medicine in Qinchuan County. Was there no one in the Imperial Medical Bureau in Beijing who could teach her? There was also the girl apanying Chen Tiantian,ter, she heard from Sister Xueqing that the young girl¡¯s name was Wen Yurong, the granddaughter of Wen Jingyan, the Imperial Physician from Beijing. Wen Jingyan¡¯s granddaughter? Wen Tian and Wen Jiao were also Wen Jingyan¡¯s granddaughters. Yet now another one had appeared and she came to study medicine along with Chen Tiantian. Was there some underlying message? She remembered Xiao Mo saying that she was sent to study medicine in ordance with the wishes of a noble person in Beijing. Who was this noble person from Beijing? It certainly wasn¡¯t Murong Xian. Although Murong Xian had health issues, he was clear-headed with a gentle and kind nature. He knew that she detested Chen Tiantian. Thus, he would never arrange for Chen Tiantian to study medicine along with her. Moreover, Chen Tiantian was the good luck charm given to him by the Empress, and a person decreed to bring good fortune by the Qin Tianjian, without the Empress¡¯s consent, Murong Xian couldn¡¯t possibly send her out of Beijing. Therefore, this could only be the Empress¡¯s idea. The Empress let her son¡¯s good luck charm study medicine in Qinchuan County. Was it because she valued Chen Tiantian¡¯s talent? Probably not. It was probably because she wanted to cultivate a skilled medical practitioner as an intimate servant for her son. After all, the Prince was frail and often ill. He needed someone to look after him all the time. And Wen Yurong, beautiful and cultured, of the same age, and the direct granddaughter of Imperial Physician Wen Jingyan, she was probably one of the potential candidates for Murong Xian¡¯s harem. But why had the Empress involved her? She was a child who knew nothing. By the time Murong Xian came of age, she would be just ten years old. Thinking about this, Yingbao couldn¡¯t help but shudder, associating it with the plot in the story-book. Could it be that without her, the showgirl, the female lead couldn¡¯t turn the plot around? Did she have to step on her to ascend to the top? Chapter 291 - 287: Forbidden Curse Technique_1 Chapter 291: Chapter 287: Forbidden Curse Technique_1 Yingbao fell asleep unknowingly. In a daze, she began to dream again. The dream was full of things that happened in her previous life, one after another, like scenes on a passingntern. In the dream, after being strangled to death by her own mother, she somehow saw many things. Her biological parents followed Han Yueniang¡¯s family to seek refuge with a certain vassal king, because Chen Tiantian had be a concubine of the king. Not long after, the vassal king rebelled, but was soon crushed by the forces dispatched by the Imperial Court. Afterwards, Chen Tiantian and a number of other royal women were sent to Beijing to serve as the lowest-ranking pce maids. The vassal king and his descendants were all poisoned to death, and the one who gave the order was Xiao Mo. At this time, Xiao Mo was already a regent, supporting a young emperor in his rule. The young emperor¡¯s mother was Xiao Yanyan, a maiden from the Xiao family. With a shift in the dream¡¯s scene, Yingbao saw her biological parents, along with Han Yueniang¡¯s family, being escorted to the execution ground to be beheaded for treason. Not only was Chen Changping¡¯s entire family executed, but also his parents, brothers, and nephews¡ª all were decapitated. Treason was a serious crime, and as a result of Chen Changping¡¯s actions, the Chen family was subjected to a nine-family execution. Latter, the young Emperor abdicated in favor of Xiao Mo, and became a leisurely prince in his own right. However, not long after, the abdicated young emperor died under mysterious circumstances, and the Empress Dowager alsomitted suicide by poison. Then, Xiao Yanyan, the young emperor¡¯s birth mother, was ordered to be executed for colluding with foreign enemies, and along with her, her parents, brothers, and nephews were all killed. At once, Yingbao saw before her eyes rolling severed heads, sttering blood, tid corpses¡ª men and women, old and young, even children of just a few years old. Seeing the bodies without heads, being soaked in blood flowing from the necks like broken dolls, she was terrified awake. Yingbao sat up abruptly on her bed, startled into a cold sweat. At this time it was already dawn and birds were chirping cheerfully outside her window. Yingbao wipes her forehead, the scenes from the dream still weighing heavily on her mind. Xiao Mo was terrifying, not only did he kill his aunt and cousin, he also murdered his uncle¡¯s family, leaving no one behind. Being disinclined towards such a ruthless person, she sighed, she must be tired of living. Yingbao jumped off the bed, dressed, took out a bronze mirror,bed her hair in front of the mirror, and put on her turban. At that time, the gong rang out from outside. Yingbao took some water from a jug to brush her teeth and wash her face, then sprinkled some water on the dirt floor in her room. After adjusting her appearance, she then opened the door. After the dreamst night, Yingbao suddenly didn¡¯t feel so resentful towards Chen Tiantian. So, the heroine can also have moments of adversity, she didn¡¯t have much to worry about then. She remembered Chen Tiantian in her dream washing clothes and bedding for the pce attendants in aundry yard during the cold winter, her hair disheveled and face dirty. She died of illness within two years and was rolled up in a mat and buried in a mass grave, how deste. Adding it all up, she died only five years after Yingbao herself. While she herself may have died, her two younger brothers were saved by someone and managed to survive in the county with the silver taels and the house she left them. Every year they would visit her grave to offer incense and pay respect. Later, her elder brother got married, had a child, and brought his son to kowtow at her grave¡­ ¡°Yingbao, are you going to the dining hall?¡± Xueqing called out to her as she exited her room. Yingbao asked, ¡°Yes, is Sister Xueqinging along?¡± Yingbao had heard the breakfast was better than dinner, so she wanted to get in line early. ¡°Alright, wait for me.¡± Xueqing went back into her room to get her own bowl and chopsticks, and to fetch a bucket of water. Xueqing¡¯s room was spacious, divided into an inner and outer area, and the doors and windows were decorated with carved woodenttice. Four people lived in this room. Though the room was full, it was big enough for all four. The floor was paved with green stone bs, making it very clean and bright. Unlike Yingbao¡¯s room, the floor was dirt and the doors and windows were dpidated. The room was a low and narrow storeroom that was damp and dark, and filled with mouse holes. Therefore, even though Yingbao had a room to herself, no one was envious. The two girls entered the dining hall, there were not many people there yet. This morning, there were mutton buns and the rich mixed vegetable soup, truly more abundant than the night before. After eating two mutton buns and drinking arge bowl of mixed vegetable soup, Yingbao was satisfied and took her bowl to wash. A long ditchy in front of the dining hall where the students washed dishes and clothes, its water rather clear. Whilst washing, she suddenly felt someone behind her. Alert, Yingbao quickly got up to see Chen Tiantian and Wen Yurong standing not far away. ¡°What are you looking at!¡± Yingbao red at them without courtesy. Chen Tiantian didn¡¯t speak. Wen Yurong hesitated for a moment before asking, ¡°Junior sister Yingbao, I want to ask, which subject are you nning to study?¡± After thinking about it, Yingbao didn¡¯t mock her but answered honestly, ¡°I want to study Forbidden Curse Technique.¡± ¡°Forbidden Curse Technique?¡± Wen Yurong found it unbelievable, ¡°I heard that you are good at making medicine, why don¡¯t you choose medical science?¡± Yingbao unabashedly replied: ¡°Because my Forbidden Curse Technique is even better than making medicine.¡± Wen Yurong:¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤ Suddenly someoneughed out loud from the side. Yingbao turned her head and frowned, ¡°What are youughing at?¡± Theughter came from a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy. He tried to suppress hisughter and said, ¡°Junior sister, why don¡¯t you recite a forbidden curse for us, so we can learn as well.¡± ¡°Are you sick? Asking me to recite a curse.¡± Yingbao retorted without courtesy. The boy replied: ¡°I am indeed sick. I have a condition called idle talk.¡± ¡°As long as you know what disease you, that¡¯s fine.¡± Yingbao headed towards the school building without even ncing at him. The boy touched his nose, not at all offended by this little girl¡¯s sharp remark. After putting away the bowls and chopsticks, Yingbao took her medicine box and headed to the ssroom. As a new student, she was not in the same ss as Sister Xueqing. In fact, Xueqing no longer attended sses. She and several other medical girls had gone to the Huimin Pharmacy to work, learning from the old masters while assisting them. Huimin Pharmacy was a hospital established by the imperial court in various provinces and counties. It treated the public without charging or charging a minimal fee for medicine, hence numerous people sought treatment there every day. The new student ssroom for Yingbao was located next to the Huimin Pharmacy, where a teacher was currently taking roll call. In the ssroom sat several male and female students, all around twelve or thirteen years old. Yingbao casually found a seat and sat down, the teacher had already started calling out her name. ¡°Jiang Yingbao!¡± ¡°Present!¡± The teacher looked at her and asked, ¡°Can you read?¡± ¡°Yes, I can read!¡± ¡°Which medical books have you read?¡± ¡°The Yellow Emperor¡¯s Inner Canon, The Pulse ssic, Treatise on Cold Diseases, Supplement to Thousand Gold Prescriptions, Commentary on Materia Medica, and General Treatise on Febrile Diseases.¡± In fact, she had read way more, Yingbao¡¯s read medical books and prescriptions could fill arge bamboo basket. The teacher looked surprised. He examined the little girl in front of him incredulously, and decided to quiz her on a few sections from medical ssics. She gave the correct answer each time. The teacher stroked his beard and said, ¡°Since you are well-read in the ssics, you don¡¯t need to waste time here. Go to the pharmacy and find Mr. Ya Sen and ask him to arrange a new teacher for you.¡± This ss was a basic humanities ss, so keeping a girl who already knew medical ssics would be a waste of time. It would be more appropriate for Ya Sen to arrange a specialised subject and a corresponding tutor for her. So, Yingbao cheerfully ran off to find a medical officer. Hmph! She finally didn¡¯t have to face Chen Tiantian every day. She was going to join the Forbidden Curse department, which was not in the same location as the medical department. She didn¡¯t believe that Chen Tiantian could follow her to study Forbidden Curse Technique with her. Chapter 292 - 288: Craving for Meat_1 Chapter 292: Chapter 288: Craving for Meat_1 When Ya Sen heard the little girl saying she wanted to study Forbidden Curse Technique, he couldn¡¯t help but furrow his eyebrows. ¡°I heard that you¡¯re good at pharmaceuticals, why suddenly want to enter the Yin Yang Department?¡± Medical Bureau has two departments, medicine and Yin Yang, and the Yin Yang Department includes thirteen specialties. Yingbao: ¡°I¡¯ve always been majoring in Forbidden Curse, my pharmaceuticals are effective only with the help of the Forbidden Curse Technique.¡± She wanted to learn the Forbidden Curse, let¡¯s see what the heroine can do about it? Ya Sen skimmed through the booklet, his brows knotted even more tightly, trying to persuade the little girl, hoping she would change her mind: ¡°Why should a little girl like you learn Forbidden Curse? It¡¯s better if you learn how to make medicines with the Doctor of Medicine. It¡¯ll be easier for you to pass the provincial government school exams.¡± Yingbao blinked, ¡°I like Forbidden Curse Technique, I won¡¯t learn anything else.¡± She didn¡¯t want to take any provincial government school exams, which could end up drafting her to the frontier. Because every year the Imperial Court appoints some doctors to practice medicine in different ces, they are evaluated once every three years, and only those who pass could possibly be transferred to the provincial government or Beijing. What if the ce where they were sent was hit by a gue or another infectious disease? Doctors from county and provincial government bureaus would be dispatched there in advance, If lucky, some people might be able to return intact. But if they caught an incurable epidemic disease, they could only be left to die in the wilderness. No, it wouldn¡¯t even be possible to bury the bodies, they would probably all be burnt, not even ashes to be abandoned. She was still young, still not having lived enough. There was still a lot of wealth in her cave mansion that she hadn¡¯t spent, how could she die so young? Seeing her stubbornness, Ya Sen had no choice but to intimidate her, ¡°Do you know, once you learn the Forbidden Curse, you must abide by the Five Precepts, Ten Virtues, Eight Precepts, and Fourfold Refuge?¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°I know.¡± But whether to abide by them or not depends on her own will. Ya Sen was left speechless for a moment. But as this child was stubborn, he also had no solution, so he could only take her to the Yin Yang Department to meet the Forbidden Curse Master. The medical bureau only had one Forbidden Curse Master, a more than fifty-year-old man with two students of Forbidden Curse. At one nce, Yingbao recognized one of the younger students, just the same boy who chuckled at her earlier. Master Zhou was quite gentle, but he didn¡¯t say much orugh. He wore a Feather Crown, a hundred nana Taoist robe, and held a horsetail whisk in his hand. After examining a few Forbidden Curse Techniques from the little girl, he asked her to perform two Sacrificial Dances and draw a few talismans, then he epted her. ¡°These two are your senior brothers, you will study with them from now on.¡± Master Zhou then turned to his two students, ¡°Zhou Hao, Zhang Min, first take your junior sister to read the Immortal Scripture once, I will be conducting an examination in a few days.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Senior Zhou Hao and second student Zhang Min saluted their master, then took their junior sister to the ssroom. As they entered the ssroom, Zhang Min leaned over andughed, ¡°Junior sister, you¡¯re really one of us. You walk the Yu Step better than senior brother.¡± Zhou Hao nced at the second student, then said quietly, ¡°second student, stop talking and go get the tools for our junior sister.¡± Zhang Min agreed and joyously ran off to fetch the items. He spent all his time with this stoic senior brother and often got scolded, he was almost dying from gloominess. Now that a junior sister had arrived, he could finally act as a teacher for a while. After a while, Zhang Min brought a wooden box, took out a set of Mage Robes, a bell and drum, a stack of Yellow Talisman Paper, a writing brush, and also a box of cinnabar. Zhang Min handed the items to Yingbao, ¡°We¡¯re missing a Peach Wood Sword and a tube of Phosphorus Powder here, I¡¯ll get it from the frontter.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Thank you, second senior.¡± Next, Yingbao officially started her studies in the Yin Yang Department. Every day, not only did she have to memorize the spells, she also had to practice the Qi Changing Method with Master Zhou. This technique,bined with the stepping method, could draw genuine energy into the body, circte it through the hundred meridians, and could both strengthen the body and heal diseases, save lives. Master Zhou, who developed these techniques, even created a boxing technique that he made his disciples practice daily. In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed. Since it was a day off, Yingbao decided to visit her shop and buy some daily necessities. Of course, the main reason was she wanted to rx leisurely and secretly eat some meat. Because the master said, learning the Forbidden Curse required one to abstain from meat, wine, lust, spicy foods, not to argue with others, avoid sudden anger and joy, and not to kill indiscriminately. She could ept the other conditions, but not giving up meat. So, Yingbao nned to sneak back to her shop alone and have her brother buy meat for her. Just as she walked out of the gates of the medical department, she heard someone call: ¡°Yingbao, where are you going?¡± Turning around, she saw Chen Tiantian, Wen Yurong, and Senior Xueqing. ¡°I¡¯m going home.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t want to pay attention to Chen Tiantian, but since Senior Xueqing was present, she had to reply. Xueqing was surprised: ¡°So, your family lives in town.¡± Yingbao nodded. Chen Tiantian spoke up with a grin: ¡°Yingbao, we don¡¯t know where your house is. Can you take us to see it?¡± ¡°No.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t want to indulge her and said, ¡°My elders don¡¯t live in town, only my eldest brother and his wife live here. Since they just got married, it¡¯s not convenient to entertain unmarried women.¡± Before Chen Tiantian could say anything else, Yingbao turned to Xueqing and said, ¡°Senior, I have something to do so I¡¯ll leave first.¡± Then she quickly left. Chen Tiantian gritted her teeth secretly, yet she smiled and said to Xueqing and Wen Yurong, ¡°Yingbao always behaves like this. It¡¯s fine if she doesn¡¯t treat me well, but she¡¯s also disrespectful to Senior Xueqing and Sister Yurong.¡± Xueqing and Wen Yurong both looked ufortable. Being directly rejected was truly embarrassing. Wen Yurongined, ¡°Tiantian, we¡¯re not even that familiar with her, and she¡¯s been rude to you. Why on earth did you suggest to visit her house?¡± Chen Tiantian¡¯s embarrassment was her own fault, but she also involved her and Xueqing, which was absolutely confusing. Chen Tiantian paused, then said intively, ¡°We are ssmates after all. I thought of reconciling our rtionship, but she¡¯s so indifferent, she doesn¡¯t even respect Senior Xueqing.¡± Xueqing frowned at her for a moment, then said, ¡°I have something to do, I won¡¯t go shopping with you two.¡± Then she turned around and went back to the medical department. Even though Wen Yurong felt Chen Tiantian was a bit strange, especially when facing Yingbao, she was alone in this strangend, so she had to stick with her. ¡°Tiantian, didn¡¯t you grow up in this town? Let¡¯s go to your house instead?¡± To alleviate the awkwardness, Wen Yurong tried to make conversation. Chen Tiantian was silent for a moment, then agreed. Her uncle had sold the house, but she has a hundred taels of silver sent by her mother and another one hundred taels from the Xiao family, so she wondered if two hundred taels of silver could buy her old home back. The two young girls, dressed in white robes from the medical department, were not bothered by anyone. Hence, they hired an oxcart and headed towards Bamboo Branch Alley. Upon arriving, Chen Tiantian got off the cart and stood in front of her old home. The property consisted of a three-room tiled house with a kitchen, enclosed by a low wall creating a small courtyard, which one could easily overlook. ¡°Second child?¡± A woman came out of the kitchen and saw two girls in white robes and ck turbans standing outside the low wall. She then took a closer look and directly called out with Chen Tiantian¡¯s childhood nickname. Chapter 293 - 289: Incomprehensible_1 Chapter 293: Chapter 289: Iprehensible_1 Chen Tiantian recognized this woman as the wife of her father¡¯s former colleague, Aunt Song, and was moved to tears. In fact, her father Chen Guanglu was very good to her and her two sisters, not only did he spend money for Chen Tiantian and her elder sister to attend a private academy fordies, but he never hit or scolded them, he was a good father indeed. ¡°Aunt Song.¡± Chen Tiantian almost choked. Aunt Song rushed out from the yard and pulled her inside, saying, ¡°Come in and sit, it has been some years since Ist saw you.¡± Chen Tiantian and Wen Yurong walked into the yard and sat down on a stone bench under a jujube tree. Aunt Song brought them some tea and sat next to them, asking Chen Tiantian about her mother, ¡°Where is your mother now? Is she with you?¡± Shaking her head, Chen Tiantian whispered, ¡°She¡¯s in Prefecture City.¡± ¡°What are you doing here then?¡± Aunt Song asked. ¡°I¡¯m studying medical skills at the medical office.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s why you look familiar. Studying medicine is good, it¡¯s a good for livingter.¡± Aunt Song smiled. Chen Tiantian remained silent. Suddenly, Aunt Song pped her thigh, saying, ¡°Tiantian, I almost forgot to tell you. Your father was here a while ago asking about news of you and your mother and sisters.¡± Chen Tiantian was stunned, then overjoyed, ¡°Is my father really back?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Aunt Song said mysteriously, ¡°I heard that he has attached himself to some dignitary and is doing very well.¡± Chen Tiantian¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Really? Do you know who that dignitary is?¡± Aunt Song was thinking for a while then shook her head, ¡°I forgot, they said something about working for a Commandery Prince.¡± ¡°Which Commandery Prince?¡± Chen Tiantian asked. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t remember, your Uncle Song should know.¡± The two chatted for a while longer before Chen Tiantian and Wen Yurong took their leave. Meanwhile, Yingbao, She ran all the way back to the Jiang specialties shop and met her aunt Jiang Yunniang and Uncle Zhang Jia fighting. Older cousin and the second cousin were standing aside watching the excitement, not intervening. Because Aunt Jiang Yunniang was like a lioness, she grabbed Zhang Jia and beat him, sending him fleeing with his head in his arms. ¡°You bloody bastard! You dared to arrange such a match for Yukan, have the cheek to ask mother for money?¡± As she hit, Aunt Jiang Yunniang swore and cried. ¡°You are off your mind! You even let Yukan marry a girl from your concubine¡¯s family. Zhang Jia, I want a divorce!¡± Zhang Jia said stoutly, ¡°Let¡¯s divorce then! I have had enough of you!¡± Jiang Yunniang grabbed Zhang Jia by the ear, her tears gushing down even more, ¡°Fine, let¡¯s write the divorce paper right now.¡± In the past, for the sake of the child, for this home, and hoping that Zhang Jia could change for the better, she was reluctant to divorce. But until now, she had lost all hope. Not only that, but Zhang Jia was willing to destroy their child and their home. For this reason alone, Jiang Yunniang could no longer tolerate him. Jiang Yunniang rushed into the shop, asking for paper, pen, and ink from their nephew, pulled Zhang Jia, and asked him to write the divorce paper. At the moment when he got the pen, Zhang Jia hesitated. But recalling his delicate concubine who cried andined about her grievances every day, he gritted his teeth and wrote two copies of the divorce paper. Both parties put down their handprints, each holding a copy. Zhang Jia pocketed the divorce paper and was about to leave when he was stopped by Jiang Cheng. ¡°Wait, since you have divorced my aunt, then you should go to the county government to record it, to avoid any issues in the future.¡± Jiang Cheng stared coldly at Zhang Jia, ¡°I will be your witness.¡± Zhang Jia inexplicably feared Jiang Cheng¡¯s gaze and hastily agreed. In this way, Jiang Cheng took Aunty Jiang Yunniang and Zhang Jia to the County Government, leaving Jiang Quan to look after the shop. Yingbao looked around the shop and saw that most of the merchandise was pastries and dry goods from other shops. She asked her second cousin, ¡°Aren¡¯t you nning to grow white fungus this year?¡± Jiang Quan scratched his head, ¡°I want to, but where do I find the time to go home?¡± ¡°That¡¯s simple.¡± Yingbao said: ¡°Hire a few people to build some mushroom sheds in our yard. You can also build some in dad¡¯s yard, and fill them all with mushrooms. This way, you can manage both tasks.¡± Jiang Quanughed and said, ¡°Your idea is like that of eldest brother. He has already built several mushroom sheds in his yard and even taught his wife to grow white fungus.¡± At this time, Jiang Quan also realized that despite his hard work, he was unable to make as much money as his elder brother did from white fungi cultivation. Therefore, he nned to grow some this year too. But because he didn¡¯t find a good location to build the mushroom shed, he had to dy the n. Now that his little cousin suggested him to build some mushroom sheds in the backyard, he naturally couldn¡¯t wish for more. ¡°When eldest brotheres back, I will hire some craftsmen to build the mushroom sheds.¡± Yingbao nodded and then asked about her aunt¡¯s household. Jiang Quan said: ¡°My uncle has fixed a marriage for Yukun. The girl is his concubine¡¯s niece.¡± ¡°This¡­¡± Yingbao was speechless. It seems that Zhang Jia sincerely loved that concubine. Despite their circumstances, he still dragged his son into it. Yingbao nced at Zhang Yuying who was looking after the stand outside and asked her second cousin, ¡°So, Yukun agreed to it?¡± She had heard from her aunt that the concubine¡¯s family was of an ill-reputable background, so her niece must also belong to the same ill-repute. Now, Zhang Jia was letting his eldest son marry a girl of such ill-repute, was he nning to let his offspring be branded with disgrace forever? Jiang Quan whispered, ¡°Of course, he agreed. Otherwise, my aunt wouldn¡¯t be so furious and want a divorce from Zhang Jia.¡± Yingbao¡¯s face twitched slightly and she asked with curiosity, ¡°Why?¡± Jiang Quan cleared his throat slightly, ¡°Because Yukun has known that woman for a while, and has long¡­ cough, don¡¯t ask anymore. He agreed to marry that woman and even urged aunt to give the bride price money.¡± Yingbao was dumbfounded. Alright, it seemed she was a little ignorant, unable to understand Yukun¡¯s behavior. Jiang Quan asked about his little cousin¡¯s recent situation: ¡°How is it at the Medical Office? Is anyone bullying you?¡± ¡°Everyone in the Medical Office is good.¡± Except for a specific pest. Yingbao: ¡°What have you guys been eating recently? Did you cook meat?¡± ¡°Recently, elder sister-inw has been cooking and bringing food over for us. We haven¡¯t been cooking.¡± Jiang Quan looked at his little cousin and asked, ¡°Is the food at the Medical Office not good?¡± Yingbao shook her head, and told him about her experiences of learning the Healing Prayer Technique and being ordered by her master not to eat meat. ¡°Ah, today is my day off and I specifically came back to eat meat.¡± She didn¡¯t dare to buy it on the streets, fearful of running into fellow students from the Medical Office. If someone discovered her, punishment would be the least of her concerns, the worst case scenario was being sent back to the Department of Medicine. Hearing that his little cousin wanted to eat meat, Jiang Quanughed and hastily said, ¡°Stay here in the shop. I¡¯ll go buy you some braised meat.¡± With that, he got up and went to the braised meat shop to buy some dishes, and also bought a big tbread on his way. In a short while, Jiang Quan returned with several packets of braised meat. ¡°I bought braised chicken, half a braised goose, and pig ears. Use the big tbread to sandwich them, it¡¯s delicious.¡± Jiang Quan opened the lotus leaf wrap and helped his little cousin to sandwich a piece of big tbread,¡± Here you go! There¡¯s braised pig ear inside, I had them slice it into shreds, and also added shredded chicken inside.¡± Yingbao took a bite. The braised meat was savory and delicious. The pig ears were shredded and ced inside the tbread. It was crunchy and very tasty when eaten. Chapter 294 - 290: Roasted Lamb Leg_1 Chapter 294: Chapter 290: Roasted Lamb Leg_1 Two hourster, Jiang Yunniang and Jiang Cheng returned from the County Government. Jiang Yunniang sat in her room and cried for a long time. Eventually, with thepany of Jiang Quan and Yingbao, she went to collect her belongings from Zhang Jia¡¯s house. Since she had decided to divorce, Aunty and her children would inevitably have to move from their original home. Yingbao suggested that she and her two children move into an empty house in the back yard of his shop. They could also cook for Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan. After all, the new sister-inw was already pregnant and needed an elder to take care of her. Once Aunty had saved enough money and could afford to buy a house, she could then move out. Reaching Zhang Jia¡¯s house, it was just an ordinary three-room house with green tiles, plus two low thatched huts. The small yard was full of clutter and felt cramped as the few of them walked in. Jiang Yunniang lived in the east room, the west room was where the concubine and Zhang Jia lived, and Zhang Yukun and his younger brother, Zhang Yuying, should be living in the low thatched hut. Yingbao followed Aunty into the east room to start packing things. There was actually not much to pack. The roomcked furniture, and the bed was ancient and decrepit. The only thing they could do was pack their clothes, bedding, and vanity case into a wooden box to take away. As they were packing, the concubine came to the door with her daughter, smiling, ¡°Sister, where are you heading to? Yukun is about to get married soon. How can this happen without you here? The newlyweds are expected to bow to their parents.¡± Jiang Yunniang didn¡¯t answer her, but sneered, ¡°Don¡¯t gloat. With your status as a lowly concubine, you will never be Zhang Jia¡¯s head wife or Yukun¡¯s mother.¡± The Imperial Court hadws forbidding concubines from bing principal wives. Otherwise, Zhang Jia would be in trouble. The concubine also sneered back, ¡°I may not be able to be the principal wife, but my niece can. Yukun will still have to bow to me, his aunt.¡± As Jiang Yunniang packed her things, she said, ¡°Let her be, then. Children can¡¯t be controlled by their mother when they are grown. I wish your family prosperity and wealth.¡± Since Yukun had always been close to his father and was about to marry the niece of his father¡¯s concubine, she didn¡¯t want such a son, she would let him enjoy his fatherly love. Jiang Yunniang packed her and her daughter Hong Xiao¡¯s clothes and belongings into the wooden box, had the bedding tied into a bundle, and asked Jiang Quan to carry them to the ox-cart. At that moment, Zhang Yukun walked into the room, frowning at Jiang Yunniang, ¡°Mother, what are you doing? Why do you have to divorce Father all of a sudden?¡± Jiang Yunniang ignored him and went to pack Yuying¡¯s belongings after finishing hers. Zhang Yukun implored again, ¡°Mother, are you deliberately making things difficult for me? I¡¯m about to get married, but you choose to divorce at this moment. How could your son face others?¡± Jiang Yunniang threw down the clothes, angrily, ¡°Am I making things difficult for you? And who are you marrying to embarrass whom? Yukun, you are grown up now, and I can¡¯t control you. But your brother and sister still need their reputation, I will not allow them to make the same mistakes as you and your father.¡± Yukun¡¯s face flushed, defensively saying, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my father and I? Qiu Ling is a pure maiden who doesn¡¯t care about our family¡¯s poverty and is willing to marry me. How does that cause any shame to my brother and sister? Mother, you can hit or scold me, but you cannot treat Qiu Ling this way! She will always be your daughter-inw when she marries into our family.¡± ¡°I cannot bear the responsibility of acknowledging her.¡± Jiang Yunniang was almost driven crazy by her rage. She picked up Yuying¡¯s belongings and was about to leave. Yukun blocked Jiang Yunniang from leaving, ¡°Mother, where are you going?¡± Jiang Yunniang pushed her son aside, grabbed Yingbao and Hong Xiao, and left. ¡°Mother!¡± Yukun rushed to block the gate, fell on his knees, and kept kowtowing to Jiang Yunniang, ¡°Son is begging you not to leave. How can you abandon your son?¡± Tears streamed down Jiang Yunniang¡¯s face, but she still walked past her son and left the Zhang Familypound. Seated in the ox-cart, Jiang Yunniang could no longer hold her tears and sobbed. Hong Xiao held her mother tightly without saying a word, nced at their home in secret, and also started crying. Yingbao sighed internally, unable tofort Aunty, and could only exchange looks with her younger cousin. Aunty Jiang Yunniang had aged significantly over the past two years, and half of her hair had turned gray. Although she was only a few years older than his own mother, she seemed like she was from a different generation. Compared with Zhang Jia¡¯s youthful concubine, they indeed seemed like people from two different generations. s, once a woman ages and loses her charm, men start to act out, just like Zhang Jia. Yingbao pondered whether she should make some face cream for her mother, first aunt, and second aunt, to help them maintain their youthfulness? Upon returning to the store, Yingbao allocated two side rooms for her aunt¡¯s family to live in. Jiang Yunniang and Hong Xiao shared a room, while Zhang Yuying upied another on her own. Since her eldest cousin was not living here, her second cousin also had a room to himself. Of course, Yingbao had a room in the main house all to herself and even installed a double door which she always locked when she was out. In the evening, Jiang Quan went to the produce market and bought a lot of groceries, even bringing back a bamboo tube full of rice wine. ¡°Yingbao, I bought a roastedmb leg today, I hope it¡¯s enough for you.¡± Jiang Quan tore off arge piece from the freshly grilled, savorymb leg and ced it in his little cousin¡¯s bowl, then distributed a portion to his aunt and Zhang Yuying and Hong Xiao. He not only bought a roastedmb leg but also pork head meat and a braised goose, as well as a stack of wheat pancakes. ¡°Let¡¯s have a good drink today to celebrate Aunt¡¯s casting off her unjust yoke.¡± Jiang Quan said this subtly, taking into consideration the presence of Zhang Yuying and Hong Xiao. Jiang Yunniang nodded, picked up her bowl of wine, took a big sip, and then said to Yingbao: ¡°I¡¯m also grateful to Yingbao for taking us in.¡± It was thanks to the help of her nephew and niece today that she had had the courage to part with Zhang Jia. Otherwise, she might have wanted to just end her life. When she heard that her eldest son was going to take a concubine¡¯s daughter as his wife, only God knows how desperate and infuriated she was. At that moment, she even thought about killing Zhang Jia. But she couldn¡¯t, because she didn¡¯t only have Yukan as her child. She also had Yuying and Hong Xiao, and she absolutely could not allow Zhang Jia to ruin their lives. ¡°Aunt, don¡¯t mention it. Just make yourself at home.¡± Yingbao said while eatingmb meat: ¡°In the future when Second Brother goes out to procure goods, you can help Eldest Brother look after the store.¡± There was no immediate need for a shopkeeper at the store, but it wouldn¡¯t hurt to have an extra hand. Her elder cousin had to return home every night, leaving only her second cousin at the store. Soon, fruits at home would start to ripen, and her second cousin would have to go back to the vige frequently to transport the goods. At that time, having her aunt and Yuying oversee the store would relieve some burden off her eldest cousin; otherwise, even a trip to the restroom would be inconvenient. ¡°Of course.¡± Jiang Yunniang was eager to do anything to help her nephews. No matter what, her nephews were her own blood rtives. She was happy to lend a helping hand to them here. After dinner, Jiang Yunniang and her daughter Hong Xiao began to clean up and wash the dishes, while Zhang Yuying and Jiang Quan chatted. After washing up, Yingbao returned to her room andy in bed, concentrating on entering her mountain haven. By the pool in her haven, several pottery jars held golden jew¡¯s-ear and crystal clear snow funguses, all ready to be harvested. But she hadn¡¯t yet collected the dried mushrooms she had left out on the bamboo trayst time. Yingbao fetched severalrge baskets made of rattan and collected them one by one into the baskets, eventually filling several baskets. Then she weighed them on the scale, recorded their respective weights in the ledger, and then checked the condition of the fruit trees. Now, the newly nted fruit trees next to the Pupil Spring were gradually blossoming, including litchi, longan, and papaya, among others. She estimated that in less than a month, she would be able to eat litchis. Yingbao picked a basket of apples and nned to bring them to Wu Daozi at the County Government the next day. She hadn¡¯t seen him for quite some time, so this would be a good opportunity to visit him and her younger brother, Jiang Jie. Chapter 295 - 291: Breaking the Rules_1 Chapter 295: Chapter 291: Breaking the Rules_1 The next day, Yingbao got up early, got ready and left the house. Jiang Quan thought his younger cousin was going back to the medical office and wanted to see her off. ¡°No need, I am going to the county government office before returning to the medical office.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t want her second cousin to apany her because she would not be able to go for the apples with him around. Jiang Quan could only watch helplessly as his younger cousin bounced off happily. The county government office was not far from the county school, and Yingbao arrived shortly after. Seeing no one around, she took out a basket full of apples and walked towards the entrance of the government office. The gatekeepers at the county government office already recognized this little girl. Seeing that she wanted to see the prefect, they didn¡¯t say anything, but went straight in to report her arrival. Shortly after, an old woman came out to lead Yingbao inside. Yingbao gave the two government officials two big apples before following the old woman into the inner courtyard. ¡°Sister!¡± Jiang Jie came running and hugged his sister happily, ¡°You¡¯re here!¡± Yingbao patted his head, ¡°I brought apples for you.¡± Jiang Jie was surprised, ¡°Are our apples this big already?¡± ¡°They¡¯re not ours, I bought them from outside.¡± Yingbao put down the basket and moved it under the eaves with her brother. Old Mr. Wu and his son Wu Daozi stood under the eaves, smiling at Yingbao, ¡°It¡¯s been a while since you¡¯ve visited, it¡¯s a rare urrence today.¡± Yingbao chuckled, ¡°I figured the health pills for old sir and the prefect might be running out, so I specially delivered some.¡± She took out two bags of health pills from her bag and gave one to Old Mr. Wu and the other to Wu Shi. Old Mr. Wu quickly stuffed the bag of medicine into his sleeve and stroked his beard, ¡°Have you had breakfast? Would you like to join us?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t refuse, and followed Old Mr. Wu and Wu Daozi into the living room. The breakfast was simple: a te of halved salted duck eggs, a te of salted vegetable strips, and a te of steamed salted fish. The main course was rice porridge and in buns. While eating her porridge, Yingbao listened to Wu Daozi asking her, ¡°Now that you¡¯re studying at the medical office, what are you studying?¡± ¡°I¡¯m studying the Forbidden Curse Technique.¡± Yingbao took a bite of her bun. Wu Daozi slowly picked a few strips of salted vegetables and asked, ¡°Why study the Forbidden Curse?¡± Yingbao: ¡°Because I like the Forbidden Curse.¡± After thinking for a while, she added, ¡°Actually, there¡¯s an irritating ghost always following me, so I had to study the Forbidden Curse.¡± Wu Daozi looked up at her, ¡°An irritating ghost?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Yingbao told Wu Daozi about Chen Tiantian, ¡°She was supposed to stay in the Qing Pce as a pce maid, but for some reason, she suddenly came to Qinchuan County and was assigned to study medicine with me. Isn¡¯t that strange?¡± Wu Daozi and his father exchanged nces, both frowning. It was indeed very strange. ¡°So, I decided to study the Forbidden Curse Technique, hmph! I don¡¯t want to be with that Chen Tiantian.¡± Having found someone to confide in, Yingbao let out all her grievances, ¡°I even suspect that she is a fox spirit, specificallying to suck my energy.¡± Wu Daozi couldn¡¯t help butugh, ¡°Fox spirits are known to feed on men¡­¡± Suddenly realizing that he shouldn¡¯t say such things to a young girl, he corrected himself, ¡°There are no such thing as fox spirits, hering here is just a coincidence.¡± Yingbao pouted, ¡°It¡¯s not a coincidence.¡± There must be a deeper meaning for Chen Tiantian to return to Qinchuan County. If not, she might consider joining the Yin Yang Department. If she tries to join the Yin Yang Department in the days toe, then there will definitely be a big problem. It¡¯s possible that her getting close to me is with a big motive. Yes, if she¡¯s not trying to suck my energy, there¡¯s another possibility¡ª she¡¯s trying to take my luck. Isn¡¯t there the saying in the storybooks about a son or a daughter of fortune? I have a magical cave mansion, I must be considered a woman of fortune in this world, right? So, does Chen Tiantian want to seize my cave mansion? Or does she want to steal my fortune in order to rise above the clouds effortlessly? Mister Wu, having finished his porridge, put down his bowl and chopsticks, then said to Yingbao, ¡°Since you¡¯ve studied the Yin Yang Department, you should read more of the ounts of Strange Matters or the Records of the Strange, or perhaps the Extensive Records of the Taiping Era. The mysteries hidden within these might help rify your doubts.¡± Previously, an old friend from the capital wrote in a letter, mentioning that the Xiao Family once had the Qin Tianjian calcte the star destiny for a young girl, and it turned out that the girl was the lucky star of a certain prince. However, for some unknown reason, the Xiao Family actually returned the girl to her original ce of birth. Looking at it now, that girl must be Chen Tiantian mentioned by Yingbao. Yingbao nodded. ¡°Mmm.¡± She definitely needed to read more books about ghosts and spirits, and look for the peculiarities within. Her own rebirth could indeed be considered a strange tale, and owning a cave mansion made it even more bizarre. But that Chen Tiantian is sticking to her like a dog-skin ster, there must be something fishy about it. The words in her head were even more disturbing. If she wasn¡¯t careful, she might very well fall into someone else¡¯s trap. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that these words couldn¡¯t be told to others, she would want to ask Mister Wu for advice, to understand what was going on. After breakfast, Wu Daozi took some time to rummage around his study, eventually finding a few books on the supernatural that he passed onto Yingbao to take back to the medical bureau for reading. Then he mentioned, ¡°Yingbao, I¡¯ll probably have to step down from my position at the end of this year and return to the capital to continue my service. By that time my father will be taking Jiang Jie for a tour of learning and then send him back here to take the county examination when he turns eight.¡± ¡°You¡¯re leaving?¡± Yingbao opened her eyes wide, her heart a bit saddened. Wu Daozi stroked her head, saying, ¡°Yes, my term has ended, and I must leave. Little Yingbao, I haven¡¯t thanked you yet for helping me cure my illness.¡± Now, the tumor on Wu Daozi¡¯s neck hadpletely disappeared, his whole person was brimming with vitality, and he looked rather elegant. He also looked a lot younger than he had a few years ago, not at all like a man in his thirties. All this was thanks to the health pills Yingbao had given him. ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me, we haven¡¯t even thanked Mister Wu for instructing my younger brother yet.¡± In truth, Mister Wu and Wu Daozi have given so much more to her family. Because the county magistrate looked after them, no one dared to covet their shop in Qinchuan County, she could dare topete against Xiao Mo, and her family was able to steadily grow in Chuanhe Town until now. And her younger brother, Jiang Jie, might even be able to embark on a career in officialdom and be a high-ranking official in the future, all thanks to Mister Wu¡¯s teachings. Wu Daozi just smiled, not saying anything else. His father had dedicated his blood, sweat, and tears in teaching that child and wished that he could impart onto him everything that he had learned over his lifetime. The child was also very intelligent, able to learn everything that was taught to him, and even capable of analysis and inference. He was far more capable than Wu Daozi had been at his age. His old father even wished that he could literally take himself back to the drawing board by keeping his disobedient son in his stomach and starting all over again. Sigh, thinking about it all just made him want to shed tears. It was best not to speak anymore. Seeing that it was gettingte, Yingbao excused herself from Wu Daozi and Mister Wu and left. Wu Daozi then ordered the house servant Wu Rui to take a carriage to send the youngdy back to the medical bureau. After she returned to the medical bureau, Yingbao quietly walked to the Yin Yang Department ssroom, and as expected didn¡¯t see her master. She knew that Master Zhou was going to the Taoist Temple to perform rituals today, so he didn¡¯te back in the morning, which made her relieved to go to the county government office for a bit. Sitting by the desk, she took out forbidden curse books to read out loud, casting nces out the window from time to time. She saw Second Senior Brother swaying as he walked in, ring at her as soon as he saw her. ¡°Where did you go this morning? You didn¡¯t evene for the morning session!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t go anywhere.¡± Yingbao held a book and said earnestly, ¡°I went to wash my clothes.¡± Zhang Min showed his disbelief: ¡°Humph! You breached the rules!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡± This morning she only had a bowl of porridge and a bun for breakfast, she didn¡¯t even dare to eat the salted duck egg. How could he know she broke the rules? Zhang Min sat across her at the table, ¡°You breached the rules about falsehood! Humph! I was practicing the Yu Step at the riverside early in the morning, I didn¡¯t see you washing your clothes at all.¡± Chapter 296 - 292: Fortune_1 Chapter 296: Chapter 292: Fortune_1 Yingbao put down her book, ¡°You¡¯re the one breaking the precept of false speech, I did not see you by the river at all, speak up! Did you just get out of bed? Look, the sleep in your eyes is still stuck on your face.¡± Upon hearing this, Zhang Min immediately used his finger to wipe the corner of his eyes, blinking as he asked, ¡°Do I still have sleep in my eyes?¡± Yingbao picked up her book and pretended to read. This second senior brother of hers loved to sleep in. If he knew that Master was not at home, he could sleep until high noon. Even though he had just woken up, he was afraid that she, his junior sister, would find out and tell others, so he started a diversion. Hmph, she knew of his tricks long ago, she wasn¡¯t scared of being seen through by him. ¡°Junior sister, have you had breakfast yet?¡± Zhang Min started to make conversation. ¡°I¡¯ve eaten.¡± ¡°Do you want to eat some more? I can get someone to bring over two bowls of osmanthus soup balls.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± With regards to delicious food, Yingbao was never one to refuse. Zhang Min grinned, revealing his white teeth as he rose to go buy soup balls. Out front of the medical office was a marketce with many vendors selling snacks. All Zhang Min had to do was stand at the entrance and call out, and vendors would bring over food. In no time, two bowls of osmanthus soup balls were brought over to Yingbao. Zhang Min ate one bowl, and pushed the other one towards his junior sister. Yingbao didn¡¯t stand on ceremony, and began to eat with a spoon. While eating, Zhang Min said, ¡°I treat you pretty well, right?¡± Yingbao: ¡­ ¡°So you can¡¯t tell elder senior brother everything.¡± Zhang Min coaxed, ¡°We¡¯re on the same side.¡± Yingbao took a spoonful of sweet soup and nodded. ¡°Hehe.¡± Zhang Min chuckled in satisfaction, gulping down a bowl of soup. He wiped his mouth and said, ¡°Wait until noon, we¡¯ll go out and eat mutton tripe.¡± Yingbao looked at him and asked, ¡°Master and elder senior brother won¡¯t being back at noon?¡± ¡°They won¡¯t be back, they have to stay at Qinglong Temple for the whole day.¡± Zhang Min propped his feet onto a long bench and swung them leisurely. After finishing a bowl of sweet soup, Yingbao felt that the food was stuck in her throat. She quickly got up and went outside to aid digestion. Zhang Min followed her, leisurely strolling around. The two of them were walking along the stone path in the forest, when they suddenly noticed that there seemed to be people arguing up ahead. Yingbao¡¯s sharp eyes immediately recognized the two people as Chen Tiantian and Wen Yurong. Curious about what they were discussing, she quietly got closer, using her short height to hide behind a holly bush and listened carefully. ¡°Chen Tiantian, have you lost your mind? We¡¯re studying medicine very well here, so why would you want to go to the Yin Yang Department?¡± ¡°I¡­I¡¯m not talented enough, I can¡¯t learn medicine¡­¡± Chen Tiantian¡¯s voice was very low, and what she said after was too quiet to hear. ¡°I don¡¯t care! If you¡¯re switching, do it yourself! I¡¯m not going to follow your madness!¡± Wen Yurong was obviously angry and stormed off. Chen Tiantian called out from behind her, ¡°But Imperial Teacher Xiao wants you to move forward and retreat with me. I can¡¯t learn medicine. I can only go to the Yin Yang Department¡­¡± Wen Yurong paused, but eventually stopped walking. Seeing them move farther and farther away, Yingbao didn¡¯t follow, but her mind was filled with shocking thoughts. This Chen Tiantian really came to absorb her, but why? Did she get close to her intending to take her cave dwelling? Or did she want to take her luck? But how could she take it? Yingbao frowned. As she turned her head, she saw Zhang Min¡¯s face getting closer. ¡°Junior sister, what did you eavesdrop on?¡± ¡°I eavesdropped on that Chen Tiantian wanting to join our Yin Yang Department.¡± Yingbao looked at her second senior brother, ¡°Can you ask Master not to ept her?¡± Zhang Min scratched his head: ¡°If she is very talented, Master won¡¯t listen to me.¡± Yingbao: ¡°She has never learned the Healing Prayer Technique before, so how can you tell if she has a talent for it?¡± ¡°This¡­ I don¡¯t know, probably our master won¡¯t ept anyone who doesn¡¯t know anything.¡± Our master has the least patience for teaching those who know nothing. ¡°Little junior sister, rest assured, our master hates trouble, he wouldn¡¯t want to take on a foolish disciple.¡± Yingbao couldn¡¯t feel at ease at all. She returned to her dormitory with a heavy heart and opened the books given to her by Wu Daozi. They were all about ghosts and monsters, but there was no mention of how to steal someone¡¯s fortune. However, it is said in ¡°The Book of Changes¡± that a person¡¯s fortune can indeed change due to surroundings or rtionships with others. A lucky timing, location, and those present could all contribute to one¡¯s fortune! ¡°The Book of Changes¡± also says, people can create their own fortune. So, since people can create their fortune, they should also be able to ruin someone else¡¯s. Yingbao seemed to understand why Chen Tiantian wanted to stick around her. She was looking to tap into her fortune. But in her previous life, Yingbao had very little to do with Chen Tiantian, yet she was still miserable, what was that about? Oh right, she was terribly unlucky in her previous life, she had no fortune at all. Probably, all her fortune was ruined by the Han family. When she was taken in by Jiang¡¯s family, she did have some fortune. But after being reimed by the Han family, her fortune was eroded bit by bit. Probably even the heavens couldn¡¯t bear it, hence why they granted her a dwelling and let her start over again. Yingbao closed the book. She felt she didn¡¯t need to search for an answer anymore. The book also said, all fortune is to be strived for oneself. And to strive for fortune, one still needed lucky timing, location, rtions, and those present. Since this is the case, if Chen Tiantian sticks around her without her approval, she will gain nothing. The next day, Master Zhou returned from the Qinglong Temple with his eldest disciple. Just as he sat down, he saw Ya Sen walking in with two young girls. ¡°Brother Zhou,¡± Ya Sen greeted Master Zhou, ¡°I have brought two disciples here for you.¡± Master Zhou furrowed his eyebrows, ¡°Three disciples are already enough for me.¡± Ya Senughed and said, ¡°Brother Zhou, don¡¯t refuse yet, these two children are those the Imperial Teacher hasmanded to be well-taught, therefore¡­¡± ¡°I do not ept female disciples,¡± Master Zhou rejected outright. Ya Sen¡¯s face changed slightly, so he could only signal Chen Tiantian with a nce. Chen Tiantian understood and immediately knelt in front of Master Zhou, timidly said, ¡°Master¡­¡± Master Zhou nced at her: ¡°I already said, I don¡¯t ept female disciples.¡± ¡°But¡­ Yingbao is also a female disciple.¡± Chen Tiantian lowered her head to Master Zhou, timidly said: ¡°Please take me as your disciple, Master.¡± Master Zhou looked at her insistently, frowning even more: ¡°What is your purpose for doing this?¡± Chen Tiantian was taken aback, she looked up at Yingbao standing next to Master Zhou, and said sadly: ¡°Yingbao, did you say something to Master? I¡­I just want to learn the Healing Prayer Technique.¡± Yingbao looked down at Chen Tiantian with calm eyes: ¡°What does it have to do with me what you want to learn? Don¡¯t involve me in everything. Oh, since you love the Healing Prayer Technique so much, let¡¯s switch. Because Master said, he only takes three disciples in his lifetime. So, seeing how persistent you are, I have to go and learn medical science.¡± Chen Tiantian¡¯s face darkened immediately, she covered her face and cried: ¡°Yingbao, I haven¡¯t offended you, why are you treating me like this?¡± Yingbao chuckled, ¡°I want to ask you, why do you always stick to me? Wherever I go, you want to follow? Just say what your purpose is, both Master and I would like to hear it.¡± Chen Tiantian turned pale, she stuttered for a long time without saying anything. Zhang Min was also curious, he asked, ¡°Hey, just say it, why are you always sticking to my little junior sister? Don¡¯t tell me you have some ulterior motive?¡± Chapter 297 - 293: Exorcism_1 Chapter 297: Chapter 293: Exorcism_1 ¡°Disciple!¡± Zhou Hao red at him, then turned to Chen Tiantian, ¡°Tell us the truth. Why are you insistent on joining the Yin Yang Department?¡± Chen Tiantian kept her head down and didn¡¯t speak. Ya Sen coughed lightly: ¡°Brother Zhou, you¡¯ve misunderstood. This child¡¯s talent doesn¡¯t lie in medicine, that¡¯s why she wants to learn the Healing Prayer Technique. She¡¯s just a teenager, what ulterior motive could she possibly have?¡± Master Zhou opened his eyes and nced at Chen Tiantian, saying, ¡°I¡¯ve said long ago that I¡¯m no longer epting disciples. If she¡¯s adamant abouting to the Yin Yang Department, she can only be a cleaning maid here.¡± ¡°Brother Zhou!¡± Ya Sen looked at Master Zhou disapprovingly. ¡°This child is someone that the Imperial Teacher Xiaoke personally chose to be under our watch.¡± Master Zhou replied indifferently, ¡°What does the Imperial Teacher asking you to watch her has to do with me? I only ept individuals with pure intentions. This girl has ulterior motives, she doesn¡¯t belong in my school.¡± Ya Sen was so angry that he was about to storm off when Chen Tiantian quickly nodded and said hurriedly, ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m willing to be a¡­ a maid.¡± This surprised not only Yingbao, but even Master Zhou and Ya Sen took a good look at her. Wen Yurong, however, found Chen Tiantian¡¯s behavior quite unreasonable. Ya Sen furrowed his brows, finding this woman to be a bit problematic too. After some thought he said, ¡°No! You shoulde back with me.¡± With that, he got up to leave. As Ya Sen walked away with his hands behind his back, he seethed with frustration and regret about allowing Chen Tiantian toe here. He¡¯d not only lost face but also annoyed Master Zhou. Zhou Wuchang was petty like that, and he feared that he would hold a grudge over this and dwell on it night and day. Oh, how unlucky! Seeing that the physician left, Chen Tiantian and Wen Yurong, now under close scrutiny by Master Zhou and his disciples, had no choice but to follow suit. Once they had left, Zhang Min came over and asked his junior sister, ¡°What in the world happened? Tell us what you know.¡± Master Zhou also leaned back in deep thought, as if waiting for Yingbao¡¯s exnation. So Yingbao recounted Chen Tiantian¡¯s abnormal behavior, from her hometown to Beijing, until she was parched from all the talking and took a big gulp of water that her second senior brother handed to her. After listening, Master Zhou looked at Yingbao and asked for her birth information to perform a divination for her. Having learned her birth information from the storybooks, Yingbao truthfully reported it. Zhou Wuchang repeatedly studied his young disciple¡¯s birth details, then took out hispass to perform divination for her. In the divination, Yingbao¡¯s luck was very strong, but there seemed to be some twists and turns, and she was even shown to have a short lifespan. This was quite odd. For people with strong luck rarely have a short lifespan, as luck also influences lifespan. The better her luck, the longer her lifespan. And not only that, she could also bring prosperity to her friends and family with her luck. Master Zhou furrowed his brows in deep thought. He didn¡¯t have Chen Tiantian¡¯s birth details, so he couldn¡¯t divine her luck. But he was certain that there must be some mentor behind Chen Tiantian guiding her, telling her that sticking to a person with good fortune would bring her luck. But it seemed that Chen Tiantian had chosen the wrong approach, persistently resorting to the most crude methods, not realizing that such methods often backfire. And if she still refused to give up, in the end, she might resort to extreme measures. Perhaps even believing in certain forms of evil magic, trying to defy fate. Master Zhou looked at Yingbao, a hint of worry in his eyes. He was very satisfied with this young disciple of his and didn¡¯t want anyone to harm her. ¡°Yingbao,e here.¡± Master Zhou got up and went to the altar. Yingbao followed with a skip in her step. She was sure that her master was about to perform a ritual for her. Having studied forbidden curses for a long time, Yingbao had developed a blind faith in certain spells and magical techniques. Master Zhou first took a bath and changed his clothes, then returned to the altar to begin burning incense. The eldest disciple and the second disciple stood side by side, each holding various magic artifacts as assistants. Yingbao stood on the other side, waiting for her master to perform the exorcism for her. Master Zhou began to recite the exorcism spell with a peach wood sword in his hand: ¡°I am the sacrificial wine for the heaven, I am the messenger of the earth. I carry the weapons of a thousand spirits, millions upon millions, lined up before and behind me, to my right and left¡­¡± As he recited, he started to walk: ¡°What god dares stay, what ghost dares block? Righteous gods should stay, wicked ghosts must leave. Go now as if given amand!¡± While speaking, he made a few swings with the peach wood sword around and above Yingbao¡¯s head. Yingbao knelt on the mat, made hand gestures and silently recited the exorcism spell. She had to get rid of the unluckiness from both her past and present life. And, of course, all the haunting spirits in these scripts must be banished. At the end, Master Zhou drew a talisman, burned it and mixed it with water, asking Yingbao to drink it. Honestly, Yingbao did not believe in this talisman water, but had to drink it toplete the ritual. After the young apprentice drank a bowl of talisman water, Master Zhou used three fingers to dip cinnabar and drew a mark on her forehead, telling her not to wash it for three days. So, Yingbao had to endure not washing her face for three days with the cinnabar mark on her forehead. Interestingly, she had not encountered Chen Tiantian since her master performed the exorcism. Of course, this could also be because she moved from her previous dormitory to the Yin Yang Department. Generally speaking, Yingbao felt refreshed recently and even went with her master and senior brothers to exorcise a ghost for someone. The family seemed wealthy. The forty-year-old host only had a son, who was born to a concubine but was brought into his main wife¡¯s room after birth and raised solely by her. However, something mysterious happened. When the child was about one year old, he began to cry day and night, refusing to eat or drink milk, and rejecting to be held. When held, he cried even harder. Many doctors were invited, and numerous medicines were given, but the child became weaker and did not show any improvement. Left with no choice, the old master finally asked Master Zhou from Huimin Pharmacy to help. Master Zhou was a famous Healing Prayer Technique practitioner in the county, who rarely took action, but once he did, he could cure anything. Thus, Yingbao had the opportunity to follow her master and to see how he exorcised the evil and cured the child at the residence of the wealthy local civilian Zhu. Master Zhou first looked at the constantly crying child, checked his limbs, head, abdomen and lower back, then walked around, asking Zhu and his wife many questions. Then, he walked to the entrance of a small courtyard and said, ¡°There¡¯s an ominous presence here.¡± Zhu was shocked and stuttered, ¡°M¡­Master Zhou, th..this is where my concubine lives, how could there be an ominous presence?¡± Master Zhou coldly replied, ¡°Are you questioning my ability?¡± ¡°N..No, no! I am just curious. Please, Master, cleanse this ce.¡± Zhu didn¡¯t dare to say any more. Zhou Wuchang asked the eldest disciple to set up an altar at the entrance of the small courtyard, and began to worship and perform the ritual. Two women inside the yard tried toe out, but were stopped by Zhang Min: ¡°My master is performing a ritual. You may not leave. An ominous presence can hide anywhere. Maybe it¡¯s hiding on you. If you take it out, all our previous efforts will be wasted.¡± The concubine, looking weak and delicate, turned her eyes to Zhu: ¡°My Lord, I¡­ I am scared¡­¡± Zhu sighed and gestured: ¡°Just stay in the room, you cane out after the master finishes the ritual.¡± Left with no choice, the concubine and the maid stayed in the room. Zhou Wuchang, with an expressionless face, asked Zhu to bring a bowl of clear water. He washed his hands alone, then drew talismans and recited spells. Later, he ordered someone to catch a rooster. After cutting its throat, he sprinkled the chicken blood on the ground and the talisman paper. Watching from the side, Yingbao was somewhat puzzled on why her master didn¡¯t exorcise the child but came to the concubine¡¯s door instead. Soon, the courtyard and the house of the concubine were enveloped in incense smoke. The eldest disciple danced an exorcism dance. Master Zhou continued to draw talismans and attached them to the door and windows of the concubine¡¯s house. In the courtyard, they could hear Master Zhou reciting spells. He pointed his peach wood sword toward the concubine¡¯s direction, ¡°The sixth jia, the sixth yi, the evil spirites out! The sixth bing, sixth ding, the evil spirit returns to the underworld! The sixth wu, the sixth ji, the evil spirit stops¡­¡± The concubine was terrified and trembling inside the room. When Zhou Wuchang sprinkled chicken blood everywhere while holding the ughtered rooster, the concubine suddenly screamed and knelt down, knocking her head against the floor towards Master Zhou. She screamed, ¡°It¡¯s not me, it¡¯s not me, it¡¯s not me¡­ I¡­ I didn¡¯t poke a needle in his belly¡­ I¡­ I had no choice¡­ they said that when you grow up, thedy will sell me¡­ I¡­ I had no choice¡­¡± Chapter 298 - 294: Joy and Anger Do Not Show on the Face_1 Chapter 298: Chapter 294: Joy and Anger Do Not Show on the Face_1 Yingbao waspletely stunned. This woman was so malicious that she stabbed her own son in the stomach just because of a rumor. But thinking of her own birth mother from the Han Family, she suddenly didn¡¯t find it strange anymore. Not all mothers love their children. Compared to their self-interest, what are children? If one is gone, there will be another. Mister Zhu¡¯s beard trembled with anger at his concubine, ordering her to be tied up and brought to the child¡¯s bedside. After Master Zhou asked her where the needle was, he gently probed the child¡¯s abdomen. Finally, he found the spot and took out a piece of maite, moving it slightly over the child¡¯s belly. Yingbao saw a slight bulge appear on the child¡¯s belly under the attraction of the maite. Master Zhou said to Mister Zhu, ¡°Go ask a gue doctor from the pharmacy toe and remove the needle.¡± Mister Zhu did not hesitate and immediately went to fetch the gue doctor. Subsequently, Yingbao and her senior brothers packed up their things. While her master was not paying attention, she secretly asked, ¡°How did Master know it was that concubine?¡± Her eldest senior brother didn¡¯t say anything, while her second senior brother, Zhang Min, said, ¡°Ask Master yourself.¡± Yingbao: She really wanted to beat up her second senior brother. Soon the gue doctor was called in, Yingbao and her senior brothers withdrew, leaving the space for the two doctors. The doctors were very quick, and in no time, the needle was removed. A half finger-length needle had be rusty. Fortunately, it did not prate any other organ, otherwise, the child would be done for. Yingbao thought for a moment, took out a small porcin bottle and handed it to Mister Zhu, ¡°This is a Divine Medicine granted by the gods, um, granted to me. If you want your son to recover quickly, I¡¯ll resell it to you for twenty taels of silver.¡± Zhou Wuchang nced at his apprentice without saying a word. Mister Zhu did not doubt the little shaman¡¯s words at all, he immediately took out twenty taels of silver and gave them to Yingbao, and bought the porcin bottle. On the way back, Yingbao kept ten taels for herself and gave the other ten to her master. Master Zhou didn¡¯t speak, only motioning for her eldest senior brother to ept it. Seeing her master ept the silver, Yingbao heaved a sigh of relief. She was really afraid that her master would think she was reckless and then scold her. The group of master and disciples walked back to the medical office, a trip of more than ten miles. Because Onmyoji not only abstain from meat and alcohol, but also from using vehicles such as carriages and donkeys. Yingbao didn¡¯t feel anything. Whenever she was tired, she would take a sip from the bamboo tube at her waist and instantly regain her strength. But her senior brothers weren¡¯t so lucky. Not only did they have to walk, but they also had to carry many tools. All of her master¡¯s tools were carried by the two of them, and it was not light with all the bottles and pots. While all the master had to carry was a Peach Wood Sword, he strolled along, swinging his feather fan, looking carefree and unrestrained. Yingbao hopped along behind her master, urging the increasingly slower senior brothers to hurry up from time to time. Zhang Min clenched his teeth, sweating profusely, red at his junior sister, but made no sound, ming the little ungrateful girl silently, despite him helping her get food and fetch water every day, she still found joy in their misfortune. Though the eldest senior brother was also tired, his face was resolute, and he quickly caught up. When they returned to the medical office, it was already pitch dark. Yingbao went back to her own room, lying directly on the bed and refusing to move. No wonder the second senior brother did not like to apany the master out. It turns out they had to measure every journey with their feet. Even though she had drunk the energy juice, her feet still couldn¡¯t stand it and became blistered. After resting for a while, Yingbao took out some Pupil Spring to clean up, soaking her feet and applying a medicinal paste mixed with five tripod fungi and Cirsium juice to her blisters. Then she poured the water on the two grapevines under the rear window. She had nted these two grapevinesst time, which were now growing well and estimated to bear flowers and fruits by next year. In the evening, Yingbao harvested all the golden and Xue¡¯er mushrooms in her cave dwelling, andid them out on a bamboo te for drying. These mushrooms didn¡¯t need to be rented as they had no offshoots. The mushroom heads had grown bigger, each one was as big as two of the previous ones. Luckily, the mushrooms wouldn¡¯t spoil in the cave dwelling, otherwise, it would have been hard to dry them thoroughly. She then picked some ripe lychees, longans, papayas, apples, loquats, etc., nning to take them back to the shop after bathing. Oh, also, she should give some to Wu Daozi and old man Wu for tasting. When her parents came, they could bring some back too. Yingbao gathered several baskets in one go, and also ate some on the spot. The ripe grapes were juicy and delicious. After eating a big bowl full, she finally stopped. The next day, arriving first for the morning ss, Yingbao ced a basket of fruits beside her and took out a Peach Wood Sword to practice the Yu Step. Suddenly remembering the Sword Dance she saw in her previous life, she couldn¡¯t help but imitate it. Chop! Hack! sh! Cut! Swing! All in one go without a hitch. ¡°Good!¡± Zhang Min, who had arrived at some unknown point, apuded. ¡°Where did junior sister learn this Demon ying Technique from? It looks really good.¡± Yingbao continued to swing her Peach Wood Sword, her expression unchanging, ¡°I created it.¡± Zhang Minughed a few times, and also pulled out his Peach Wood Sword to learn. Master Zhou strolled over, stood and watched for a long time, and nodded, ¡°Not bad, you can also integrate the previous sword techniques with it.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Yingbao sped her fist in reply. After practicing their swordsmanship, the senior and junior brothers and sisters returned to their ssroom to study. Zhang Min was the first to find the fruit basket and couldn¡¯t help eximing, ¡°Where did these fruitse from?¡± Yingbao: ¡°They were delivered by a peddler this morning.¡± ¡°Which peddler?¡± Zhang Min picked a grape and popped it into his mouth, eximing, ¡°Delicious, junior sister, make the peddler send more next time.¡± Master Zhou also noticed, but sitting at the head of the table, he didn¡¯t say a word. Perceiving the situation, Yingbao promptly passed the fruit basket to her master, stating, ¡°Master, these are for you from your student.¡± Master Zhou was vegetarian and loved fruits especially. Seeing this basket of fresh fruits, he was genuinely surprised, but hisposure didn¡¯t give anything away. However, Yingbao noticed that her master was eating the grapes at a rapid pace, soon finishing two big bunches. Then he kept looking into the fruit basket as if he still was not satisfied, saying, ¡°Not bad, disciple, buy more back tomorrow, and get the money from your senior brother.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Yingbao agreed in one breath. It¡¯s just grapes; she had plenty in her dwelling. If she didn¡¯t pick them up, they would fall on the ground. Turning her head, she saw her second senior brother staring at her with a disgruntled look. Blinking her eyes, Yingbao whispered, ¡°I have more back at my ce, I¡¯ll bring some for you after breakfast¡­¡± Catching a glimpse of her eldest senior brother silently watching her, she quickly added, ¡°You and eldest senior brother each have a share.¡± Only then did the eldest senior brother turn his head, picking up a Forbidden Curse to read. Zhang Min was the one who fetched breakfast: a te of pickles, a few steamed buns, and a pot of rice porridge. After breakfast, when the second senior brother went to wash the dishes, Yingbao swiftly ran to her bedroom and fetched a big basket of grapes, longans, and loquats. Fearing that the distribution might be uneven, she kindly divided them into two portions, one for her eldest senior brother and the other for the second senior brother. As for the master, well, she sent two more bunches of grapes to him and took the empty bamboo basket back in passing. Chapter 299 - 295: Sneaky _1 Chapter 299: Chapter 295: Sneaky _1 Soon it was a day of rest again. Yingbao returned to the store the evening before. By this time it was dark, the shops had closed, and there were few people on the streets. Seeing no one around, she quickly took out several baskets of dried mushrooms and more than a dozen baskets of fruit from outside the shop. There were various kinds such as lychee, papaya, longan, loquat, apple, etc, with tworge baskets of each type. Then, she called in, ¡°Big brother, second brother! Come out and help bring in the goods!¡± Jiang Cheng, who had not yet returned home after closing the shop, quickly came out. Seeing the baskets of fruit and mushrooms that his little cousin had brought, he asked in surprise, ¡°Did you go back home?¡± ¡°No, I bought these from a travelling merchant.¡± Yingbao handed him a piece of paper. ¡°I found them quite cheap, so I bought a bit more.¡± Jiang Cheng was delighted and quickly went inside to open the door, saying, ¡°Erquan has gone home to pick fruit. We were worried about not having enough stock for the shop, and your supplies are just in time.¡± He removed two panels from the door and began moving the baskets of fruit and mushrooms inside. Jiang Yunniang and Zhang Yuying, hearing themotion, came to help and were surprised to see all the goods their niece had brought back. Yingbao picked some fruits and handed them to Zhang Yuying and Hong Xiao, ¡°Here, these are delicious.¡± Zhang Yuying gratefully epted and began to eat grapes with her sister. After dinner, the whole family sat in the main room to package the mushrooms, and quickly finished packaging several tens of jins of mushrooms. Jiang Cheng said with a smile, ¡°Some customers had ordered golden ear mushrooms recently, asking us to deliver them as soon as we had them in stock. Your mushrooms, Yingbao, came at just the right time.¡± Yingbao touched her nose. Jiang Cheng continued, ¡°Yingbao, I¡¯ll pay you the principal for the mushrooms first. If you find more good quality ones next time, buy more.¡± Golden ear and Xue¡¯er mushrooms were always in short supply in the shop, usually sold out not long after they arrived, so when Jiang Cheng saw his little cousin bringing back so many mushrooms, he was overjoyed. Yingbao nodded, ¡°Alright.¡± The mushrooms freshly harvested from her grotto could be thoroughly dried in about ten days, so it would be apt to take the principal now and send the golden ear mushrooms directly backter. She could then say that she had found a mushroom grower who sent her mushrooms regrly. After all, Huimin Pharmacy also purchased medicinal materials, and there were often herbal farmers who came to sell their products, so it would be normal for her to do some buying as well. Jiang Cheng then handed over the principal for this batch of mushrooms to Yingbao, a total of more than nine hundred taels of silver. He initially wanted to give his little cousin a silver note for convenience, but she just wanted cash. This was also good, as he didn¡¯t have to go to the silver shop for exchange, thus saving the interest that would have to be paid to the silver shop. The next day, Yingbao asked her eldest cousin to send two baskets of fruit to the County Government. She didn¡¯t go herself, but stayed in the shop to feel her sister-inw¡¯s pulse. Chou Rong¡¯s belly was already five months pregnant, with a slight bulge. Listening to the fetal breath, it seemed healthy. ¡°At this time, sister-inw, you can eat more fruits. Grapes and loquats are good, apples can also be eaten. But lychees and longan have more heat, so don¡¯t eat too much,¡± Yingbao advised. ¡°Eat more thoroughly cooked fish and meat on regr days, don¡¯t eat those stuff grilled.¡± Chou Rong nodded repeatedly, ¡°I will follow your advice.¡± Yingbao continued, ¡°Recently, big brother is busy. Sister-inw, why don¡¯t you stay here with us? When I¡¯m not here, you can stay in my room with big brother. With auntie here, it will be more convenient.¡± Chou Rong had already had this thought. At home, there was nothing much for her to do, and her husband was busy looking after the shop and couldn¡¯t apany her all day. Now that her junior cousin had suggested it, she was more than willing. While the two sisters-inw were talking, a three or four-year-old toddler suddenly ran into the shop, crying and calling for Zhang Yuying, ¡°Brother.¡± Zhang Yuying was taken aback and immediately pulled him aside to ask, ¡°Xiang, how did you get here?¡± Zhang Xiang burst into tears, hugged Yuying, and said, ¡°Brother, I want to be with you, woo woo woo woo¡­¡± Zhang Yuying wiped away Xiang¡¯s tears, noticing the bruised face of his half-brother, she frowned, ¡°Who hit you?¡± ¡°Auntie did.¡± Zhang Xiang sobbed, ¡°She cursed me, calling me a traitor¡­ I don¡¯t want to live with Auntie, I want to live with brother¡­¡± Zhang Yuying:¡­ ¡°What happened?¡± Jiang Yunniang heard the noise and came in, a rolling pin still in her hand. Zhang Yuying looked embarrassedly at her mother, ¡°Mother, Xiang was beaten by that woman, he wants to live with us.¡± Jiang Yunniang knit her brows, saying, ¡°It was one thing when we were taking care of him before, but now that your father and I have divorced, why should he stay here?¡± Zhang Yuying hung his head, gripping his brother tightly, he weakly suggested, ¡°Mother, let him stay here for a while.¡± Jiang Yunniang looked at her son for a moment, didn¡¯t say anything else, turned around and left the shop, heading to the food stall to roll some pastries. Seeing Zhang Xiang nestled tightly against Zhang Yuying, looking rather pitiful, Yingbao gave him an apple. Zhang Xiang epted the apple, said thanks, took a bite for Zhang Yuying first before he started eating it himself. Chou Rong, who was expecting a child, couldn¡¯t bear to see such a pitifully adorable child, so she hurriedly fetched a boiled egg from the stove for him, ¡°Here, you haven¡¯t had breakfast yet, Yuying, fetch a bowl of vegetable porridge.¡± Zhang Yuying nodded, leading his brother to the food stall to fill up on vegetable porridge. Almost noon, Jiang Yunniang closed the food stall and rushed to cook in the kitchen. The eight-year-old Hong Xiao was sorting and washing vegetables, aiding her. Jiang Cheng went to deliver goods early in the morning, and on the way, he also delivered fruits to the County Government, returning only at noon. Yingbao and Datan sister-inw were selling goods in the shop, with Zhang Yuying overlooking the proceedings and asionally helping to weigh the goods. Zhang Xiang was sitting quietly in the shop, ying with a board game in his hands. It was a toy Yingbao had given him, and he hadn¡¯t let go of it since. After lunch, Yingbao leisurely returned to the hospital. She bought a few things she liked along the way, including a small charcoal stove and a kettle. Previously purchased charcoal stoves were all kept at home and it was not convenient to take one out from her dwelling. Just as she was nearing the front gate of the hospital, Yingbao put some fruits into her basket before entering the courtyard. The Yin Yang Department¡¯s courtyard was secluded and the site wasrge, but had only a few trees, a few camphor trees, a few evergreens, and a clump of bamboo. Walking and observing the empty courtyard, Yingbao decided to nt more fruit trees here, ideally creating a fruit tree forest to provide her master with a steady supply of fruit. She acted immediately, taking advantage of her senior brother¡¯s absence, and the master also being away somewhere, she decided to nt some fruit trees and grapes in the yard. Yingbao sneaked over to her master¡¯s room for a look around when they were not in, she immediately took out the seedlings. She dug a few holes in the chosen spot, eventually nting the fruit trees and grapes. The seedlings weren¡¯trge so the holes didn¡¯t have to be too deep, she would just need to water them more with Pupil Spring in thetter stage, which would ensure they would quickly take root and grow. She hummed a tune while watering the fruit trees when she suddenly felt someone approaching her from behind. Having consumed Wuding Mushroom for many years along with daily training, Yingbao¡¯s senses were far more acute than an ordinary child. She swiftly turned around and threw her water scoop at the intruder. ¡°Ouch!¡± The person behind her got hit and cried out in pain, clutching his forehead with both hands. Having recognized the person, Yingbao¡¯s temper red, she swiftly kicked him, sending him sprawling a distance away, unable to get up for a while. ¡°What are you skulking around the Yin Yang Department for?¡± She stood with her hands on her hips, angrily ring at the man sprawled on the ground. Chapter 300 - 296: Mixing Medicine_1 Chapter 300: Chapter 296: Mixing Medicine_1 At that moment, two more people, who seemed to be students from the medical department, rushed over. They helped Chen Tiantian up, who was lying on the ground, and red at Yingbao: ¡°How could you be so crude? You kicked her without reason.¡± Unresponsive to them, Yingbao once again asked, ¡°Chen Tiantian, what were you sneaking around behind me for?¡± When normal people see an acquaintance they either greet them or ignore them, it¡¯s not normal to skulk behind someone. Chen Tiantian gave an impression to Yingbao as if she were a hunting dog, waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack. Right now, Chen Tiantian was also feeling unlucky. She followed the voice in her mind, trying to get a couple of Yingbao¡¯s hairs, not touching her before being kicked away. That kick hurt a lot, hit right in her stomach, it almost knocked the dinner she had the night before right out of her. ¡°I¡­ I just wanted to have a look, why did you hit me?¡± Chen Tiantian sobbed. ¡°What are you looking at in my Yin Yang Department?¡± asked Yingbao, pulling out a ruler from her waist, knocking it in her palm while looking at her coldly. ¡°Do you know what this is?¡± This is a ruler given to me by the Empress, specifically for punishing incorrigible people.¡± Chen Tiantian froze. She may have been calcting, but she was still only twelve, she wasn¡¯t able to think some things through. Also, Chen Tiantian had been led by the voice in her mind, only thinking about how to approach Yingbao, get a few of her hairs, or even draw blood, then make a powerful talisman doll following that method. With that powerful talisman doll, she would be able to perform tasks more effectively, suppress Yingbao with her words, belittle her, and make her feel as if she were garbage, an ominous star despised by everyone. Create some setbacks and troubles for her, alienate her rtionship with others, and cause her to feel self-inferiority, anxiety, and resentment. As long as Yingbao lives with these emotions every day, her good luck would naturally disappear. Repeating this process, day after day, month after month, Yingbao would have no luck left on her. In the meantime, she could take advantage of the fisherman¡¯s profit. Because not all persons in the world have the same luck, some are extremely lucky, and some are wrapped with mildew luck. Once people with great luck are suppressed, those with bad luck are able to change their destiny. But this method had a huge risk, if not careful, it could cause irreversible consequences, that¡¯s why the talisman doll was the most important part. This was what the voice in her mind told her. But Yingbao wouldn¡¯t let her get close and didn¡¯t follow her train of thought but became more confident and open. Now, she had be the anxious one who day by day is losing her tiny bit of luck, which caused Chen Tiantian to feel worried. She didn¡¯t want to die at the age of twenty-one. She wanted to live a long life, even if she didn¡¯t be a prince¡¯s consort. Chen Tiantian was helped up by the others, sobbing said to the two, ¡°I had no malice, I just, I just wanted to say a word to her.¡± One was confused, ¡°She treats you like this, and you want to talk to her?¡± ¡°Because, my aunt¡¯s sister is from the same ce as her, I just wanted to ask her about my sister Chen Zhao.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s how it is.¡± This person had an epiphany and red at Yingbao: ¡°You are too overbearing. She just wanted to ask you a question, but you treated her like this, we will definitely report this to the director.¡± Yingbao knocking on the ruler said indifferently, ¡°Go ahead.¡± It would be best if they expelled her from the department. The other person: ¡­ The two left angrily helping Chen Tiantian. Yingbao snorted, turned around and saw Master and senior brothers not far away, looking at her. Senior brother two even winked at her with a mischievous smile. Yingbao went over to pay respects to her master. The Master Zhou didn¡¯t say anything and turned around with his hands on his back and went to the ssroom. Yingbao followed her master with trepidation. But until the end of the ss, master said nothing. She was a bit relieved, but not long after, Ya Sen, who was in charge of the discipline, arrived. Instead of finding her, he talked to master for a long time. As a result, he came out with a sullen face and red at Yingbao from a distance. Yingbao pretended not to see and practiced walking in the steps of Yu with the senior brothers. A few dayster, Xiao Mo suddenly visited and also went first to pay respect to Zhou Wuchang. Upon seeing this, Yingbao quickly hid inside the house, even going so far as to close all the doors and windows. This particr guy is basically King Yama, and it¡¯s best for a little ghost like her to stay out of his way. As expected, not long after, her second senior brother came knocking on her door. Yingbao pretended not to hear and continued to ignore him. Later, it was her eldest senior brother who came knocking, but she still did not respond. After spending most of the day waiting, Yingbao woke up after a nap on her bed, ate arge bunch of grapes, and then finally peeked through a crack in the door. There was no one outside any longer, and she didn¡¯t know where her two senior brothers had gone. However, Yingbao still didn¡¯t feel at ease, and she remained in her room until nightfall. Her second senior brother came knocking again: ¡°Junior sister, the person has already left,e out for dinner.¡± Yingbao also wanted to know what Xiao Mo had been up to, so she opened the door and went out. Zhang Min: ¡°Finally, you¡¯re out. Let¡¯s go, our master is calling for you.¡± Yingbao followed her second senior brother to their master, quietly calling out, ¡°Master.¡± Zhou Wuchang didn¡¯t even look up: ¡°Sit.¡± Yingbao sat down on a low stool, nced at her second senior brother who was standing by making faces, and started to feel anxious. Zhou Wuchang raised his eyelids for a moment to nce at Zhang Min, scaring away his second disciple. He cleared his throat and said, ¡°Yingbao, remember to beat people in the dark in the future, don¡¯t let others discover it.¡± Yingbao opened her eyes wide, wondering if she had heard wrong. Her usually strict master was actually teaching her to beat people without getting caught. Hehe! Yingbao sniggered, instantly bing curious, and began asking her master, ¡°Master, what did that Xiao Moe here for?¡± Zhou Wuchang stroked his beard and said, ¡°He wants you to make some medicine pills, the price is negotiable.¡± ¡°Nope!¡± Yingbao immediately refused. Humph! Did he think her medicine pills were that easy to make? Zhou Wuchang: ¡°He said he would provide the medicinal herbs and pay additionally for them.¡± He would provide the herbs? Yingbao shamefully felt a little tempted. She hadn¡¯t been able to harvest any ginseng from her cave, and she wanted to nt more but had been unable to do so. Maybe, she could ask him for some fresh rare medicinal herbs? After wrestling with the idea for a while, and considering that Xiao Mo would be cruel in the future, it would likely not end well for her if she offended him. Therefore, she hesitated and said, ¡°The herbs I want are a bit special, I am afraid they won¡¯t be easy to find.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so special about them?¡± ¡°I want live ginseng, its seeds could also work, and fresh astragalus flowers, notoginseng, and angelica dahurica. Oh yes, also some Sea cuttlefish.¡± All of these medicinal herbs were expensive at the pharmacy, so she could take this opportunity to stock up. Zhou Wuchang didn¡¯t say anything, instead changing the topic, ¡°What did you nt over there in the yard?¡± Yingbao: ¡°Fruit trees, I have nted Litchi Longan and some grapefruit trees. In a few years, Master, you¡¯ll have lots of fruit to eat.¡± A smile appeared on Zhou Wuchang¡¯s face, he nodded: ¡°You¡¯re considerate.¡± After a while, Yingbao took her leave. Her second senior brother handed her a food box and left. A few dayster, Xiao Mo had someone send over arge number of medicinal herbs, which were piled up in the ssroom of the Yin Yang Department. Among these herbs, there were even a few baby ginseng nts, wrapped in soil. Not only this, Yingbao also found a small bag of ginseng seeds. She was over the moon with joy, quickly taking the ginseng seeds and baby ginseng nts down into her cave. She didn¡¯t know how Xiao Mo had managed to preserve the baby ginseng nts, considering how hot the weather was, but they hadn¡¯t spoiled. The person who came to deliver the herbs was Mr. Cui. He first went to speak with Zhou Wuchang for a while, and then found Yingbao, and handed her a list. ¡°Our master requests you to make these medicine pills, and also some medicinal powder, umm, as for medicinal soup, we want as much as you can make.¡± Yingbao looked over the list, the majority of prescriptions were for treating injuries, some were for treating colds, there were also some antidotes, but their quantity was not specified. She frowned: ¡°The medicinal herbs you brought are not enough. Do you think I don¡¯t know and are trying to cheat me out of my money?¡± Chapter 301 - 297: Incomprehensible Human Speech_1 Chapter 301: Chapter 297: Iprehensible Human Speech_1 Chui Zhaochen smiled and said, ¡°Young doctor, you can ask for as many medicinal herbs as you need. After all, preparing these medicines is not a matter of a single day or night. We do not intend to exploit you.¡± Yingbao felt relieved but remembered something else and said to Chui Zhaochen, ¡°I need peace and quiet to prepare medicines. I cannot be disturbed by anyone. If Chen Tiantian continues to harass me for no reason and wastes the herbs, it won¡¯t be my fault.¡± Chui Zhaochen thought for a moment and said, ¡°The girl with surname Chen was originally sent here by Master Xiao. She has no significant connection with our doctor. However, I will ry your request to him.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Yingbao thought, Master Xiao and Xiaomo were two peas in a pod, none of them were up to any good. In the following days, apart from studying the Healing Prayer Technique, she spent her remaining time preparing medicines in the newly opened pharmacy. Ya Sen even sent two teenage students to help her grind and steam the herbs. These two students did help at first, but soon began making frequent mistakes. If they weren¡¯t mixing up the herbs, they were adding other herbs into the freshly brewed medicine. After advising them several times and seeing them continue to act in their own way, Yingbao started to suspect something. Upon their next mistake, Yingbao rushed to call Ya Sen over and pointed to therge pot of herbal liquid and said, ¡°This is the fifth time they have added the wrong herbs. Because of them, my precious herbs have been wasted and I no longer have enough to make medicines.¡± Upon hearing this, Ya Sen immediately turned to the two students and asked with knitted brows, ¡°What is going on here?¡± The two students turned pale and made excuses. ¡°She¡¯s lying! She was the one who prepared the medicine. We merely did as she instructed.¡± Yingbao sneered, ¡°Is that so? Then exin why there are raw aconitum in the medicine?¡± She walked over to the pottery pot, scooped out some herbs, found several pieces of raw aconitum, and gave them to Ya Sen to examine. ¡°Sir, could you please check what this is? This pot was meant for internal medicine, but they added raw aconitum, which is an external medicine. What are they really up to?¡± Anyone with medical knowledge would know that both raw and processed aconitum are extremely toxic and are mainly used as external medication. Even for internal use, the dosage must be carefully controlled. The fact that these students added medicine into the pot for internal use was no less than an attempt to poison someone. Ya Sen was furious and was rendered speechless for a moment. Finally, he called for several medical guards and had the students taken away for interrogation. Yingbao¡¯s medicine preparation was halted because she ran out of herbs. The next day, Ya Sen had someone deliver a batch of medicinal herbs as apensation. He also informed her that the two students had been expelled. Yingbao was not surprised. Those who dared to tamper with the medicine were destined for this oue. It was a shame though, the students wanted to stand up for Chen Tiantian, but ended up ruining themselves. That Chen Tiantian really couldn¡¯t stay out of trouble, she even managed to get two students to take risks for her. Yingbao shook her head and started preparing medicine again. It was good not to have help. She could do everything herself and secretly process some herbs for herself. Summer harvest season soon arrived. Zhou Wuchang gave Yingbao a few days off to assist with agricultural work. So, she happily went home with her second cousin. The deer at home had already adapted to the environment, and some of them had been adopted. Chen Zhu¡¯s family adopted Yaoyao, who they took out to graze every day. Chen Yin¡¯s family also adopted a deer, which they treated as a lucky charm. Huzi and Jiang Wu didn¡¯t adopt anything. They were constantly arguing over who should ride the horse. Because the horse Yingbao was raising had grown into a magnificent war horse and it attracted their attention more than the unridable deer. ¡°Sister, do you want to ride too?¡± Jiang Wu sat on the warhorse and asked his sister smugly, ¡°I can take you.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t need him to take her, she could ride well by herself, ¡°No, I¡¯ll ride after you finish your round.¡± Jiang Wu, her younger brother, was very skilled due to years of martial arts training. He was taller than most children of his age, and matched Yingbao in height. Red Date Horse, snorting through his nostrils, nuzzled against Yingbao. After receiving a piece of honey candy wrapped in a package from his young owner, he scattered his hooves and ran off. Yingbao stood watching for a while, then ran off to see Niuniu, the little girl from the Chu Family. Niuniu was seven or eight months old, able to crawl around. She crawled from the mat to the ground, using her tiny hands to y with the soil. Upon seeing Yingbao, she paused, then swiftly crawled towards her. Yingbao twitched the corners of her mouth, used a handkerchief to wipe Niuniu¡¯s drool, teased her for a while, and said to Chuchu, ¡°Don¡¯t let her y with mud, it can cause worms in her stomach.¡± There were worm eggs in the soil, and a child can easily put them in their mouth by ident, which could quickly hatch inside their stomach. Niuniu was still so small, she could not take strong medication, so treatment would be rather troublesome. Chuchu responded, quickly washing her daughter¡¯s hands and face and changing her clothes. Yingbao left a box of milk cakes for Niuniu, then went to find her second cousin in the orchard. The loquats, peaches, apricots in the orchard were ripe, and some of the grapes were mature, but the pears and apples would have to wait another month or two to be harvested. Yingbao discreetly watered the seedlings of litchi, longan, and papaya in the orchard with Pupil Spring, then joined her second cousin in picking the fruit. Because the production of preserved fruit was tiring and not profitable, Jiang Quan no longer did it, and instead used good quality preserved fruits from other houses. But the seasonal fresh fruit they sold in their stalls was still popr, so the fresh fruit business had to continue. Soon, Dani and her younger sister also came to help, picking fruit and gossiping about the vige with Yingbao. ¡°Chen Zhao¡¯s father came back the day before yesterday.¡± Dani¡¯s sister said, ¡°He beat Chu Man as soon as he got home.¡± Yingbao curiously asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Chu Man pinched Xubao all over his body and even used a needle on him. She was caught red-handed by Chen Zhao and still denied it. Now that her father is back, Chen Zhao reported her.¡± Dani¡¯s sister picked a ripe peach, peeled it, and bit into it. The juice spilled out, sweet, and refreshing. Yingbao also picked a ripe one and slowly peeled it. She was hearing for the first time that Chen Changping hit his wife. Last time, she and Chen Wan were almost beaten to death by the Han Family, but he had never said a word. Dani¡¯s sister continued, ¡°Chu Man is ruthless. After the beating, she went and scratched Chen Zhao¡¯s face.¡± Yingbao:¡­ No wonder she hadn¡¯t seen Chen Zhao since she returned. It turns out he was fighting with his stepmother. ¡°Yingbao, you don¡¯t know. Chu Man is strange. When Chen Changping was not at home, she often went to the school to find Li Xu¡¯s mother for work and even made shoes for Li Xu, which greatly upset Li Xu¡¯s mother.¡± Dani¡¯s sister said, ¡°Li Xu¡¯s mother has sought your father several times to ask him to handle it.¡± Yingbao held her forehead. ¡°Did my father handle it?¡± Dani¡¯s sister nodded, ¡°He did. He went to n Leader Chen for intervention, but it didn¡¯t work.¡± There seemed to be something wrong with Chu Man¡¯s head. She clearly didn¡¯t understand other people¡¯s words. No sooner had she been scolded by the n leader and her inws than she went to the school again, causing great distress to Li Xu and his mother. Yingbao furrowed her brows. This Chu Man was indeed a character. Not only were her behaviors strange, but she alsocked any sense of shame. She cannot be allowed to harm Li Xu. Li Xu was going to take the official examination in the future. If his reputation was damaged by this woman, his life would be ruined. After pondering for a while, Yingbao picked up the half-basket of peaches and headed for the academy. Chapter 302 - 298: Doesn’t Look Like a Good Person (Seeking Monthly Tickets)_1 Chapter 302: Chapter 298: Doesn¡¯t Look Like a Good Person (Seeking Monthly Tickets)_1 When An, Li Xu¡¯s mother, saw Yingbao, she was delighted and quickly brought out a te of fruit. After offering her thanks, Yingbao asked, ¡°Are youfortable living here, Mrs. An?¡± ¡°Very much so,¡± An replied with a warm smile. ¡°My son and I are at ease here. Last month, the vigers built a mushroom shed for us and taught me how to grow fungus.¡± Yingbao, relieved, talked to her about Chu Man. With a sigh, An said, ¡°That Chu Man is a bit troublesome. She oftenes here to disturb my son. I can¡¯t speak frankly about it, but she¡¯s getting increasingly unreasonable, even asking my son to teach her to read and write.¡± ¡°Despite my son¡¯s constant rejection, she seems deaf to him, persistently sending him sachets and fans. Once, she even sent a handkerchief embroidered with a pair of lotus flowers.¡± With a helpless tone, An continued, ¡°The n Leader and her inws have warned her, but not long after, she repeats her antics. She even ims that her husband is my son¡¯s good friend, and that she¡¯s caring for our family on his behalf¡­¡± Living here as a guest with her son, it¡¯s difficult to argue with others, let alone incite gossip. But this woman is like a pesky ster that won¡¯t let go¡ªit¡¯s truly infuriating. The more Yingbao heard about Chu Man, the more she felt that the woman wasn¡¯t right in the head¡ªaplete headache. While she could be considered stupid, she knew how to benefit herself. She used her own wealth to manipte the Chen Family and also used her previous husband¡¯s identity to control others. Yingbao estimated that Chu Man was deliberately provoking the Chen Family this way to express her discontent towards them and the Feng Family. But while she herself courted disaster, she couldn¡¯t drag innocent people into it. Yingbao contemted for a moment, strolled around the school grounds, and then excused herself to leave. Upon returning, she reported to her father, requesting that a wooden fence be built around the schoolyard, along with a guardhouse. Then, they could assign someone to guard the entrance to prevent idle people from disrupting the students. Jiang Sang fully agreed with his daughter¡¯s suggestion and promptly arranged for its implementation. In less than two days, the schoolyard was encased in a sturdy wooden fence. Students nted flowers and Gourd Vines along the edge of the fence, making it both attractive and safe. Afterwards, Jiang Sang relocated the martial training ground to the vicinity of the school and nned to build a three-room brick house as a ssroom, naming it the Martial Arts Hall. Of course, this matter still needed to be discussed with the n Leader and vige elders. The funds for building the Martial Arts Hall had to be pooled together. ording to Yingbao¡¯s vision, the school in Dongchen Vige should be expanded. In the future, it would not only have a Literature Hall but also a Martial Arts Hall. Following their academic lessons, students could take martial arts sses, exercising their bodies to increase their physical strength. In their spare time, students who weren¡¯t interested in martial arts could nt some vegetables in the backyard, water the fruit trees, catch bugs, and identify herbs. The que of the Ai Chang Women¡¯s Medical Academy was still there. Yingbao nned to rebuild a female medical academy after the busy farming period, specifically recruiting girls from the vige to learn medical skills. She didn¡¯t expect all of them to be female doctors, but knowing some medical knowledge was necessary. Since ancient times, pregnancy and childbirth have been extremely dangerous, especially for the mothers. Many die due to difficultbor or postpartum diseases. Moreover, due to improper care, there are countless cases of infant mortality. Therefore, the continuation of the Ai Chang Women¡¯s Medical Academy was necessary. Yingbao was now wealthy¡ªbuilding a few schools was a trivial matter. However, to emphasize the importance of female education, she had to receive donations and engrave a stele with the names of the donors at the vige entrance, showcasing their good deeds. She shared her ns with her father, and Jiang Sang also fully agreed. Their family and the vigers didn¡¯tck money now, but they didck prestige. Having prestige meant that when visiting others, they would be seated at the head of the table¡ªa highly respectable honor. Especially this year, a significant number of people flocked to Dongchen Vige, making the vige lively inside and out. Some people who temporarily didn¡¯t find work set up small stalls along the road outside the vige, selling home-made items like baskets, straw sandals, rain capes, and bamboo hats. Many people from surrounding viges also came to join the bustling scene, bringing their pickles, chicken eggs, and other things to sell at the South Slope. In recent days, the situation had be even more chaotic. Stalls filled the roadside, selling vegetables, tofu, pork, and even peddling odds and ends. The gathering of numerous merchants seemingly turned the ce into a small market. Since the South Slope was now inhabited by more than a hundred households, all of whom had money, during the busy farming season, the number of people buying meat and tofu was particrly high. The young girls from the neighboring viges, under the pretext of shopping and buying items, secretly noted the young men of the East Vige, especially those of the same age with handsome features. Some people also walked around the vige, their eyes gleaming green at the sight of rows of green-brick and tile houses. In the past few days, Yingbao helped her family buy vegetables and meat. She met many small traders and even encountered a tax collector named Xiang Zhi. Tax collectors were omnipresent¡ªthey were everywhere. She didn¡¯t know if the tax he collected went into his own pocket or into the state treasury. However, Xiang Zhi was still fairly courteous to the people of the East Vige. Even if some of them also set up small stalls there, he didn¡¯t collect their taxes. Like Wang Erya¡¯s aunt, who set up a fruit stall at the corner, she sold peaches, apricots, and melons from her garden. Her business was quite good. Most of those who bought her fruits were outsiders, because every household in the vige grew fruits and they didn¡¯t find her peaches, apricots, and melons strange. Yingbao also saw Leng, Erni¡¯s mother, set up a small stall there, selling sugar water boiled with apricots and peaches. These sour-sweet fruit drinks were well-received, especially by the young women from the neighboring viges, each of whom would eat a bowl each time they came. When Leng saw Yingbao, she insisted on giving her a bowl to taste and wouldn¡¯t let her leave without trying it. Left with no choice, Yingbao sat at the small table and ate a bowl of fruit drink made from boiled peaches and apricots. At this time, Chen Zhao arrived with his younger brother Xubao to stroll around the stalls. Seeing Yingbao, he ran over immediately, ¡°Yingbao, so you¡¯re here.¡± Yingbao nodded. Seeing Xubao staring at the fruit in her bowl, she pushed half of it to him. Xubao didn¡¯t mind and began spooning the fruit into his mouth. Chen Zhao pulled Yingbao aside and whispered, ¡°I have to tell you something important. You must pay close attention.¡± Clueless, Yingbao asked, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Chen Erya¡¯s father is back. He visited our house a few days ago and said a lot to my grandfather. He even threatened to make your family pay,¡± Chen Zhao whispered. ¡°I overheard it. My grandfather advised him not to be impulsive.¡± Yingbao asked in a concerned tone, ¡°Did he say anything else?¡± Chen Zhao whispered in her ear, ¡°He said he wants to take Big Sister to the home of a noble person. My grandfather didn¡¯t agree.¡± Chen Wan was thirteen years old this year and was in her prime of maidenhood. She had an uncanny resemnce to Chen Changping, possessing an ethereal beauty. Yingbao asked, ¡°Did he mention who this noble person is?¡± ¡°No,¡± Chen Zhao said cynically, ¡°He¡¯s got a good heart? I think he¡¯s up to no good. He probably wants to trick my big sister away out of revenge.¡± Chapter 303 - 299: Witch Gu Doll (Seeking monthly votes)_1 Chapter 303: Chapter 299: Witch Gu Doll (Seeking monthly votes)_1 Yingbao thought the same. Chen Guanglu must have held a grudge about his wife¡¯s betrayal. However, for the time being, he couldn¡¯t act against the Chen Family, so he just came to gather some information. As for his resentment towards the Jiang Family, it was a certainty. ¡°Yingbao, is Chen Tiantian really studying at the town¡¯s medical bureau?¡± Chen Zhao asked, ¡°So, is she with you?¡± Yingbao: ¡°Yes, she is in the medical department of the bureau, and I am in the Yin Yang Department; we hardly see each other.¡± Chen Zhao asked again, ¡°Since she is at the town¡¯s medical bureau, why hasn¡¯t she returned with you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Yingbao, still preupied with Chen Guanglu¡¯s affairs, asked Chen Zhao, ¡°Is Chen Guanglu still at your house?¡± ¡°He left a long time ago,¡± Chen Zhao turned and took her younger brother¡¯s hand, saying, ¡°What I told you must not be divulged to others, and neither can my grandparents know.¡± Yingbao nodded, thought about it, then took a pair of beaded flowers from her purse and handed them to Chen Zhao. ¡°I bought these in the county town. You can wear them.¡± In her previous life, Chen Zhao loved beauty the most. If she had some money, she would buy some cheap jewelry to put on her head. This pair of beaded flowers was like a favor in return. Chen Zhao chuckled, held the beaded flowers, looked at them over and over, carefully putting them into her waist pouch. She then suddenly leaned into Yingbao¡¯s ear and said, ¡°I have to tell you something else. It¡¯s about Chen Erya.¡± Yingbao blinked her eyes and perked up her ears to listen. ¡°That Chen Erya knows witchcraft,¡± Chen Zhao said in a low voice, ¡°She once told me that she learned a spell from her stepfather. It uses a person¡¯s hair sewn onto a cloth doll to curse the person, making that person unlucky.¡± Yingbao: She suddenly had some understanding of why Chen Tiantian kept trying to ingratiate herself. Was she trying to pluck Yingbao¡¯s hair to create a voodoo doll? All of Yingbao¡¯s toiletries, including herb, were casually thrown into her cave dwelling. Even the singr hairs that fell off whenbing were picked up by her, balled up, and stored in the cave dwelling. This meant outsiders wouldn¡¯t have the opportunity to get her hair. She hadn¡¯t expected that this action had sessfully helped her avoid Chen Tiantian¡¯s tricks. Chen Zhao added: ¡°When I heard her say that, it scare me. Since then, every hair Ib off is burnt by me.¡± She then looked at Yingbao and said, ¡°You have to be careful of her. Because when she used to sleep with me, she would often talk in her sleep. She said that you stole her things and that she must get them back from you.¡± Yingbao was speechless. She stole Chen Tiantian¡¯s stuff? For both her past and present lives, and even in the story in her mind, she hardly had any interaction with Chen Tiantian. What could she possibly steal from her? Chen Zhao patted Yingbao¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°I¡¯ve only told you this. You can¡¯t betray me.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yingbao nodded. At this moment, Xubao, who was standing next to them, licked his lips and suddenly called out, ¡°Sister Yingbao.¡± Yingbao gave him a nce, ¡°What?¡± Xubao reached out with his dirty little hand to hold hers, wearing a big smile, ¡°I want to eat more fruits.¡± Yingbao hesitated for a moment, then took out two milk cakes from her bag and gave them to him, ¡°You just had some fruit, so now eat these.¡± The milk cakes were made by his older sister-inw. Yingbao valued them too much to eat them, so she kept them in her cave dwelling all along. She had given some to Niuniu earlier, and a few she had left untouched, so she decided to give those to Xubao now. Xubao was very happy, shoving one piece into his mouth and giving the other to Chen Zhao. Yingbao silently watched this two or three-year-old child. Thinking of Xubao¡¯s wilfulness and arrogance in his previous life and juxtaposing it with his current state, his face still bearing some bruises, she suddenly felt a bit sorry for him. His father, Chen Changping, seemed to cherish this son of his, but didn¡¯t appear to care about his living conditions. As for Chen¡¯s father-inw and wife, they seemed to dislike him even more, otherwise they wouldn¡¯t have let Chu Man secretly mistreat him. Chen Zhao and Chen Wan had no time to take care of this little brother, as the two of them had a lot of work to do every day. Gathering pigweed, collecting firewood, sifting rice, washing clothes, cooking meals, and even more tasks out in the farnd and the vegetable garden kept them busy all day. By evening, they had to fetch water from the well. Being so caught up in their work, they couldn¡¯t pay much attention to Xubao, opening up an opportunity for her stepmother to exploit. ¡°Let¡¯s go home,¡± called Chen Zhao to Yingbao before leading his younger brother back. Yingbao nodded and started making her way home. Once she saw her father, she immediately ryed what Chen Zhao had told her, ¡°Chen Guanglu has returned and has threatened our family. Father, please take care, especially when Jiang Wu is out alone.¡± Jiang Sang pondered for a moment, ¡°I understand. Be careful in town as well. I¡¯ll also remind Jiang Quan to bring more people with him when he¡¯s traveling back and forth from town.¡± Yingbao went into her room and came back with arge bag of medicine, handing it to her father. ¡°These should be kept at home for emergencies; they include both wound treatments and antidotes.¡± Jiang Sang epted the bag of medicine and handed it to his wife for safekeeping. To his daughter, he warned, ¡°I heard the child from Chen Guanglu¡¯s family has been bothering you, be careful of her tricks.¡± With a casual wave of her hand, Yingbao dismissed the warning. ¡°I¡¯ve already seen through her petty tricks. You don¡¯t need to worry, she wouldn¡¯t dare to kill.¡± After all, a life for a life. No matter how much Chen Tiantian hates her, she wouldn¡¯t dare to harbor murderous intentions. The busy month on the farm quickly passed by. Instead of rushing back to town, Yingbao decided to stay home longer and help her aunt recover her health. Most of the Jiang family¡¯s fields were now tended by hired hands, so the household chores were rtively light. Mother Jiang and her daughter-inw sat under the grape trellis to enjoy the cool air, discussing the old house. ¡°At some point, we should fix up the old house. I inspected it a few days ago, and if we don¡¯t do something soon, it will copse.¡± The eldest Daughter-inw, part of the Zhou family, acted indifferent. ¡°Why bother repairing it? We aren¡¯t going to live there.¡± Mother Jiang shot her a re. ¡°Even if we don¡¯t live there, we should still repair it. After all, it¡¯s our ancestral home.¡± She turned to Chunniang and said, ¡°Let Sang know. Ask him to hire more people to do the job. It should be done in ten days or so.¡± Chunniang responded half-heartedly and then returned to working on the sole of a shoe. Seeing that her third daughter-inw wasn¡¯t taking her words seriously, Mother Jiang became displeased. Just then, she spotted Yingbao and waved her over, ¡°Baobao,e over here.¡± Yingbao walked over and sat beside her. Mother Jiang asked with a smile, ¡°Baobao, what do you think about us repairing the old house?¡± After thinking for a moment, Yingbao nodded, ¡°That could work, but mere repairs aren¡¯t enough. We need to raise the foundation and build a new house.¡± If we are to construct a house, the foundation of the old house must first be raised withrge stones. The height, too, should be at least one ¡®Zhang¡¯ (10 Chinese feet). However, such a project would be massive and since we weren¡¯t going to live there, it seemed like a waste of money. Upon hearing her granddaughter voice simr concerns, the olddy sighed and dropped the idea. ¡°Forget it, we¡¯ll talk about itter.¡± Seeing their mother-inw finally relenting, the two daughters-inw couldn¡¯t help but suppress augh. Yingbao tilted her head and thought for a while. Without the threat of flood, the old vige would have actually been the most convenient ce to live. A small stream ran through the vige with fertile fields on both sides. The vige was shaded by green trees, and nting fruit trees and flowers would make the scenery even more pleasant. What¡¯s more, its proximity to North Mountain made it convenient for collecting firewood and harvesting hemp. However, those were mere whims. Moving back to the old vige was simply unrealistic. The severe flooding that would ur in three years was enough to sweep away all such fantasies. A few dayster, when Jiang Quan returned to transport fruit, Yingbao tagged along on his carriage back to town. On the day she arrived, she encountered her cousin arriving with his new bride to pay their respect to their mother. At that moment, Jiang Yunniang was in the shop helping out and was caught off guard by her son. She was forced to face this girl, Qiu Ling, who was paying her respect. The girl was around seventeen or eighteen, with a slim face that revealed a certain frailness. She bore a resemnce to Zhang Jia¡¯s concubine, which only irritated Jiang Yunniang more. Yingbao pulled her aunt back to reality. Chapter 304 - 300: Travels_1 Chapter 304: Chapter 300: Travels_1 Jiang Yunniang nced at Qiu Ling, ¡°You should go back, I have no connection with the Zhang Family, there¡¯s no need for this in the future.¡± Qiu Ling couldn¡¯t make out much, but Yukan looked displeased. Jiang Cheng and his wife, noticing that their aunt did not n to offer any wedding gifts, hurriedly stuffed two bolts of cotton cloth into Qiu Ling¡¯s arms as a congrattory gift. This cotton cloth was woven at home, undyed, pure white and soft. Qiu Ling epted the cloth, thanked them and then formally bid farewell to Jiang Yunniang from a distance. Jiang Yunniang turned and returned to the back yard, not to be seen the rest of the day. After finishing lunch, at the approach of dusk, Yingbao, carrying a basket of grapes, headed back to the medical department alone. Near the medical department, she saw her second senior brother purchasing something at a stall that sold boiled sheep¡¯s offal. ¡°Hey!¡± Yingbao tapped him on the shoulder, startling Zhang Min. Turning his head and seeing his junior sister, he greeted with a beaming smile, ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± Yingbao: ¡°You dare to eat meat in broad daylight, aren¡¯t you afraid the master will see?¡± Zhang Min grinned, ¡°Master and Senior Zhou Hao went to the Taoist Temple, they won¡¯t be back today. Want some, junior sister?¡± ¡°No thanks.¡± Yingbao walked towards the medical department. Zhang Min hurriedly paid the money, carrying a jar of sheep¡¯s offal following behind her. Upon returning to the courtyard of the Yin Yang Department, Zhang Min said again, ¡°Junior sister, in a few days we¡¯ll have to apany our master on a ritual mission, which might take more than a month. Prepare yourself, bring more mosquito repellent, and some detox pills¡ªyou may have to spend nights outdoors.¡± Yingbao was puzzled, ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°The Prefecture City.¡± As Zhang Min devoured his sheep¡¯s offal, he mumbled, ¡°Someone has invited our master to exorcise spirits.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t there any Forbidden Curse Masters in Prefecture City?¡± Yingbao asked, confused. Zhang Min looked at his junior sister with disdain, ¡°How can theypare to our master?¡± Their master, after all, was a renowned Forbidden Curse Master. Seeing that his junior sister was still baffled, he exined further, ¡°Although our master is currently working in Qinchuan County¡¯s medical department, that¡¯s just temporary. In time, he¡¯ll start his travels again. Heh, at that point, we will travel up and down the great rivers, visiting various divine temples and Taoist temples and discussing Taoism with masters from all over the country¡­¡± Yingbao furrowed her brow. She didn¡¯t want to travel, she just wanted to stay home. Zhang Min spotted junior sister¡¯s reluctance, and said, ¡°Having already joined the sect, you must go. When we return, it¡¯ll be time for fame and glory. By then, senior brother and I will be able to stand on our own.¡± All Forbidden Curse Masters must travel for a period before they can independently exorcise spirits for others. In fact, this journey was specifically for Senior Zhou Hao¡¯s graduation ceremony. With a sour expression, Yingbao mulled over ways to persuade the master to leave her at home. The next day when Zhou Wuchang returned, he directly ignored his junior disciple¡¯s excuses, insisting she pack her belongings and set off to travel with them. With no other choice, Yingbao returned to exin the situation to her eldest cousin brother, and asked him to deliver a letter to her parents, exining that she was going on a journey with her master. ording to their master, the journey couldst anywhere from a few months to a few years, depending on the circumstances. In her letter, she also subtly mentioned the flood that would happen in a few years, advising her parents to be careful. And so, on the clear morning after the start of autumn, Yingbao, wearing a bamboo hat, carrying a bamboo basket on her back, followed behind her master and two senior brothers out of the city gate. After walking for two hours, the four disciples took a rest under arge tree by the side of the road. Yingbao, rubbing her toes, couldn¡¯t resist asking, ¡°Master, why didn¡¯t we hire a carriage?¡± Zhou Wuchang replied expressionlessly, ¡°Does sitting in a carriage count as travelling?¡± ¡°Then, then we could hire an ox-cart.¡± Her calves were cramping. Zhang Min joined in, ¡°This isn¡¯t a pleasure trip, why hire an ox-cart?¡± A few years ago, he had also traveled with his master once, almost wearing out his feet. This time, he found the journey unexpectedly light, so his junior sister must first experience hardship to know what it feels like to finally enjoy ease after hardship. Yingbao red at him and took a sip of her energy water. Well, anyway, he had Wuding Zhi, he could always drink more and see who would tire out first. After a quarter of an hour rest, the four continued their journey. When they reached a water transport dock, Zhou Wuchang stopped. ¡°Master, are we taking a boat?¡± Yingbao ran over to ask. Zhou Wuchang nodded: ¡°First we take a boat to the Prefecture City, as your master needs to attend a ritual in July.¡± Yingbao was so thrilled she almost jumped: ¡°Great, we¡¯re taking a boat.¡± She could finally take a break. Soon, the master and disciples boarded a cargo ship. Yingbao noticed that the boat owner was very polite to their master, as they were clearly acquainted, and he arranged two cabins for the master and disciples. No wonder, their master had already arranged the itinerary in advance. Yingbao entered her cabin and immediately fell asleep. After walking for several hours, even someone as stern as Senior Zhou Hao, showed tiredness on his face. Travelling by boat after the beginning of fall, the water surface was calm. After sailing for several days, during a stretch of turbulent water, the boat owner let dozens of trackers help to pull the ship for several miles. Each of the trackers was very lean, bare-chested, with clearly defined ribs. The oldest tracker had white hair and there were those as young as teenagers. They wore straw sandals or went barefoot, carrying a tracking rope, walking difficultly along the shore whilst singing work songs. When the water surface became smooth, these trackers climbed onto bamboo rafts, following the big ship, and when the next reverse water beachhead was reached, they went ashore to pull the tracking rope again. For this journey, dozens of trackers earned only about ten coins in total. Dayster, therge ship finally reached the dock of the Prefecture City. Yingbao and disciples disembarked from the ship and walked into the Prefecture City, finding amodation at a Taoist Temple named Golden Summit. Senior Zhou Hao handed over his visiting card, and the head of the Taoist Temple personally came out to greet them. ¡°It¡¯s an honor to have you, friend Zhou, our small temple is illuminated by your presence.¡± the Temple Head with a three-strand beardughed. Zhou Wuchang bowed with his fist in palm: ¡°Friend Jin, have you been well?¡± The two exchanged pleasantries, then Zhou Hao and his junior disciples saluted Temple Head Jin. The group then entered the temple. A young Taoist came over and led Yingbao and her two senior brothers to their lodging. The Golden Summit Taoist Temple was veryrge, with a separate guesthouse. Yingbao upied a room herself, while her two seniors shared another. Yingbao asked Zhou Hao from the doorway: ¡°Senior, how long are we staying here?¡± ¡°We will leave after the July rituals arepleted, probably a month.¡± Now it was onlyte June, it seemed they would be staying in the temple untilte July. Yingbao: ¡°I am going to see my sister Wen tomorrow, her family lives here.¡± Wen Shu said that they lived in the Prefecture City and ran a pharmacy named Kang¡¯an Pharmacy. Zhou Hao: ¡°You must tell your master before you go down the mountain, and you must be apanied by your second senior.¡± Prefecture City was not like a county town, there were many aristocratic families here, an inadvertent conflict with unreasonable dandies could be troublesome. ¡°Yes, I will tell Master.¡± Yingbao was incredibly excited at the thought of seeing Wen and Madame Wen. Traveling did have some benefits, she might as well take this opportunity to inquire about mansions in the Prefecture City, so that her younger brother Jiang Jie would have a foothold when he came for the Prefectural Exam in the future. Chapter 305 - 301: Not a Small Courage_1 Chapter 305: Chapter 301: Not a Small Courage_1 Early the next morning, Yingbao followed her Second Senior Brother down the mountain. Zhang Min, being familiar with Prefecture City, hired a donkey cart as soon as they descended the mountain. They quickly found Kang¡¯an Pharmacy. Yingbao stood at the entrance of the pharmacy, peering in before stepping inside. It seemed the shop had just opened. A young shop assistant was dusting the counter. Seeing two children in medical robes, he couldn¡¯t help but take a second look. ¡°Is Sister Wen Shu living here?¡± Yingbao asked. This pharmacy wasn¡¯t very big, just two rooms, but there was an inner courtyard. Wen Shu had written in a letter that her family lived in that inner courtyard, and that her younger brother Wen Hengyin also came from Yuzhou and was studying in Prefecture City. ¡°May I ask who you are?¡± The shop assistant queried. ¡°I am her good friend, Jiang Yingbao. Please go and call her!¡± The little shop assistant, having heard of Jiang Yingbao before, promptly nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll go call her right away.¡± He then quickly ran to the back door, and shouted, ¡°Cousin Wen Shu! Jiang Yingbao is here!¡± After shouting, the shop assistant ran back,ughing as he introduced himself: ¡°My name is Xiu Liang. I am Wen Shu¡¯s cousin. I¡¯ve heard about you, Miss Jiang Yingbao.¡± Yingbao blinked in surprise: ¡°So you¡¯re Brother Xiu Liang.¡± She had heard Wen Shu mention him briefly, recounting that he was a distant rtive whose family had fallen on hard times and now an apprentice at their pharmacy. Shortly afterward, the sound of footsteps became audible as Wen Shu and her younger brother, Wen Hengyin, emerged from the back door. ¡°Yingbao!¡± Wen Shu walked around the counter and hugged the seven-year-old girl. ¡°I finally got to see you. When did you arrive in Prefecture City? Where are you staying? Would you consider staying at my house? We can sleep in the same room.¡± Yingbao hugged Wen Shu back: ¡°Master and I are staying at the Golden Summit Taoist Temple.¡± She then pointed at Zhang Min: ¡°This is my Second Senior Brother Zhang Min.¡± Wen Shu bowed to Zhang Min: ¡°Nice to meet you, Senior Brother Zhang.¡± Zhang Min scratched his head in response and returned the salute. At this moment, Wen Hengyin squeezed through and, after sizing up the young girl, asked: ¡°Yingbao, why are you wearing the student robes of the Medical Bureau?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯ve joined the Yin Yang Department of the County Medical Bureau.¡± Yingbao had not yet informed Wen Shu about these developments, so she was unaware. Wen Shu was shocked: ¡°Why did you choose to study in the Yin Yang Department?¡± The theories of the Yin Yang Department werepletely different from those of the Medical Department, so she couldn¡¯t understand why Yingbao would choose to study it. Yingbao let out a sigh: ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡± Wen Shu quickly grabbed Yingbao¡¯s hand: ¡°Let us sit inside and have a chat.¡± Wen Hengyin invited Zhang Min to go to the backyard as well. Once they had arrived in the backyard, Xiu Zhenniang appeared. She held Yingbao¡¯s hand and they sat down together on the Luohan couch: ¡°Yingbao, what brings you here?¡± ¡°My master, Elder Zhou, has been travelling and we happened to pass by here.¡± Yingbao went through the whole story: ¡°Elder Zhou said we would stay in Prefecture City for a month, then continue traveling.¡± ¡°Your master is Master Zhou Wuchang?¡± Xiu Zhenniang asked. Yingbao nodded: ¡°Yes.¡± Xiu Zhenniang smiled, ¡°Yingbao, you are very lucky to be able to study under Master Zhou.¡± Forbidden Curse Masters were valued highly; those of high moral standing were especially revered. Out of all of these, Master Zhou was the most outstanding. Yingbao, surprised that Lady Wen also knew Elder Zhou, couldn¡¯t help but be curious: ¡°You also know him?¡± ¡°Who in this Provincial Government doesn¡¯t know him?¡± Xiu Zhenniangughed: ¡°He¡¯s a man of unusual status, a powerful Forbidden Curse Master. Many people wish to witness his magic firsthand.¡± She nced at her son, ¡°If Master Zhou was still epting students, I would have sent Hengyin to be his apprentice.¡± Wen Hengyin: After chatting with Lady Wen for a while, she heard her say, ¡°Yingbao, stay here. When the Golden Summit Temple festival ends, you can go back. I need to go to the Wei Residence now, to diagnose Lady Wei.¡± This year, Lady Wei¡¯s body was particrly frail. She was frequently shivering and feverish, bedridden, and nothing she tried helped, including the ginger produced by the Jiang Family. Yingbao replied: ¡°Master, you can go ahead. I will chat with Sister Wen.¡± Xiu Zhenniang patted Yingbao¡¯s head, rose, and went to fetch her medicine box. In the end, she left with a maid, heading straight for Wei Residence. The Wei residence was not far from here, and it was only about a 15-minute walk away. Xiu Zhenniang was just stepping inside the side gate when she saw Wei Zhan hurrying over. ¡°Madame Wen, is Wen Hengyin home?¡± Wei Zhan stopped abruptly upon seeing Xiu Zhenniang, ¡°I want to y with him.¡± After arriving at the Prefecture City, Wen Hengyin was attending the best school in town and happened to be in the same ss as Wei Zhan. Xiu Zhenniang smiled, ¡°He is at home, but Yingbao is also here. He is ying with Yingbao right now.¡± ¡°What? Yingbao is here?¡± Wei Zhan¡¯s eyes lit up, and he darted out the door as if he were flying, ¡°I am going to see her!¡± Xiu Zhenniang shook her head and went into the inner courtyard with the maid, following a servant woman from the Wei Family. Wei Zhan sprinted the whole way and soon arrived at the Wen family¡¯s shop. Two youngds followed him, panting heavily, ¡°Young master, you¡­ you please slow down a bit.¡± Ignoring them, Wei Zhan rushed straight into the Wen¡¯s house and started shouting from the courtyard, ¡°Yingbao! Yingbao!¡± Yingbao, who had been conversing with Sister Wen Shu, was startled by his loud voice, then caught sight of Wei Zhan charging into the living room. ¡°When did you get here? Why didn¡¯t youe to see me?¡± Wei Zhan gazed with delight at the little girl. Yingbao retorted, ¡°I wanted toe see you, but I didn¡¯t know where your house was.¡± Wei Zhan¡¯s eyes curved into crescents, ¡°Then let me take you there right now.¡± Sister Wen Shuughed, ¡°Yingbao just arrived at our house. Wait a couple of days before going to your house.¡± Wei Zhan rubbed his nose, giving a grunt of acknowledgement. At noon, the Wen family served lunch, and Wei Zhan also stayed for the meal. After lunch, Zhang Min was besieged by Wen Hengyin and Wei Zhan. They both eagerly requested Zhang Min to demonstrate how to draw a charm for them. With no way out, Zhang Min epted the paper and pen they handed over and drew a charm on it. ¡°Wow, wow, wow! This is so interesting, I also want to learn the Forbidden Curse Technique!¡± Wei Zhan was wildly excited, ¡°Later, I will learn to draw charms with Yingbao.¡± Upon hearing this, Wen Hengyin frowned. The few children yed for a while, then apanied Zhang Min to the street to buy nk charm papers, brushes, and cinnabar ink, and started learning how to draw charms. Two nine-year-old children and a twelve-year-old boy randomly drew a few messy charms and quickly lost patience. Wei Zhan suggested going to the stream near the Xiao Family to catch fish so they could roast them in the evening. The boys, of course, had no objection. So, they rushed out, found some branches and bamboo sticks, then assigned a servant to dig for worms, which they intended to use as fishing bait. In the end, they did not catch any fish, but instead caught a lot of big crabs, big prawns, and even an old turtle. Wei Zhan was ecstatic and immediately ordered a servant to prepare these creatures, intending to bring them to the Wen Familyter. ¡°Tonight, we¡¯ll have crabs, preferably fried.¡± Wei Zhan recalled the fried fish and fried prawns he enjoyed at the Jiang Family¡¯s. ¡°Good! Fried!¡± Wen Hengyin nodded in agreement. While they were having fun, they saw a young boy approaching them from a distance. ¡°Wei Zhan, why aren¡¯t you in school? What are you doing here?¡± The boy asked. ¡°It¡¯s our day off today; we don¡¯t have any lessons,¡± replied Wei Zhan. The boy came closer, scrutinized Zhang Min, and then his gaze sharpened. Zhang Min noticed him as well and slowly stood up, ¡°Xiao Chengjun.¡± Xiao Chengjun sneered, ¡°Zhang Min, you dared toe to the prefecture city after causing my injury. You are brave!¡± Chapter 306 - 302: Little Immortal_1 Chapter 306: Chapter 302: Little Immortal_1 ¡°What¡¯s your injury got to do with me?¡± Zhang Min didn¡¯t give any ground. ¡°Don¡¯t me your own stupidity on others, I won¡¯t fall for that.¡± When he and his master and senior disciple had been on a training journey, they were caught in arge bandit uproar. But when the bandits found out they were onmyojis, they didn¡¯t trouble them and let them pass. They hadn¡¯t gone far when they came across the Xiao brothers with thirty or forty bodyguards on patrol. They seized Zhang Min¡¯s group and interrogated them, using them of being bandit scouts. It wasn¡¯t until Master Zhou presented his identity documents that the Xiao brothers let them go. Later, for some reason, his group encountered the same bandits again, who took advantage of their superior numbers to attack the Xiao brothers¡¯ team, causing heavy casualties. Sensing the urgency of the situation, Zhang Min and hispanions rushed to help, only for Xiao Chengjun to assume they were part of the bandits, and turned his attack on Master Zhou¡¯s group. Unawares, he was shed in the abdomen by a bandit with a saber. Had it not been for Master Zhou rushing forth to rescue Xiao Chengjun, the youngster would¡¯ve long been in by the bandit¡¯s hand. He wouldn¡¯t still be standing here, hopping about. Unexpectedly, when Xiao Chengjun woke up, he imed that his injury was Zhang Min¡¯s fault. Xiao insisted that, had Zhang Min not been present, he wouldn¡¯t have made the incorrect judgment. Zhang Min was at a loss for words. He had almost no connection with Xiao Chengjun, except they had been ssmates at the Imperial College for a year. Once, when they were eight, they participated in a selection process for the Prince¡¯s readingpanions. Zhang Min could¡¯ve been selected, but he was surpassed by Xiao Chengjun. But that was no big deal. Zhang Min¡¯s father hadn¡¯t intended for his son to apany the prince in his studies. The prince was frail, and if something happened during his studies, all the readingpanions around him would have a tough time dealing with the domineering Xiao family. Zhang Min participated in the selection only because his mentors at the Pce Study Room had rmended him and the Emperor had given a verbal decree, so he had no choice but to go. Probably the Xiao family had other ns, because before long, Zhang Min¡¯s family was banished from Beijing. Zhang Min¡¯s father, Zhang Fangshan, a senior schr of the Hanlin Academy and once a top schr, was demoted to a governor in Jingzhou for unfounded charges, and the whole family was exiled to that deste ce. Once they reached Jingzhou, by a fortuitous twist of fate, Zhang Min became an apprentice of Zhou Wuchang. ¡°Huh! If it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t have been injured.¡± Xiao Chengjun scanned Zhang Min from head to toe, disdaining the bamboo card hanging from his waist: nothing but a county medical student. He wouldn¡¯t amount to much in his lifetime. Zhang Min didn¡¯t want to argue with a fool, so he beckoned Wen Hengyin and Wei Zhan to walk away. They heard Xiao Chengjun shouting from behind: ¡°Wei Zhan! Come here! I have a question for you!¡± Wei Zhan pretended not to hear and scampered away without looking back. Xiao Chengjun, angry and wanting to run after him, but afraid of beingughed at by Zhang Min, had to suppress his anger. Watching as the three men walked away, Xiao Chengjun turned and called Nan Zhu: ¡°Go and see why Zhang Min is with Wei Zhan.¡± Nan Zhu agreed and followed after Wei Zhan¡¯s group. At dusk, the Wen family hosted a dinner for Yingbao and Zhang Min. Xiu Zhenniang and her husband did not eat with them, retiring early to their own courtyard, giving the youngsters some privacy. Wen Shu served Yingbao some dishes. ¡°I made this. Lotus roots stuffed with glutinous rice and osmanthus, give it a try.¡± Yingbao picked up a piece of lotus root and took a bite. It was soft, sweet, and fragrant, evidently containing lots of honey. ¡°Delicious.¡± She loved this sweet, sticky honey-cooked lotus root more than sweet dumplings. Wen Shu gave a slight smile and served her a deep-fried crab. Small river crabs deep-fried in oil, with even the pincers bing crispy. They were very delicious when eaten crunchingly. While eating deep-fried crab, Zhang Min said, ¡°A couple of years ago, I had fried silkworm pupae when traveling with my master. They were very tasty.¡± Out of curiosity, Yingbao asked, ¡°I thought your master didn¡¯t eat meat?¡± Silkworm pupae should count as meat. Zhang Min, realizing his slip, vaguely replied, ¡°Sometimes he does. Otherwise, in a ce with no viges in front or shops behind, wouldn¡¯t we starve if we didn¡¯t eat?¡± Yingbao seemed to be deep in thought. Wei Zhan nced at Zhang Min, then turned to Yingbao and asked, ¡°Yingbao, are you free tomorrow?¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°I am free.¡± She had been free for the past few days, and she was actually considering going to Teeth Row to inquire about any houses for sale near the prefecture school. ¡°Can you give my mother a check-up then?¡± Wei Zhan¡¯s mother¡¯s health had been deteriorating over the years, and she was bing increasingly weak. He knew that Yingbao had exceptional medical skills and could cure manyplex diseases, but his mother did not believe this. She even used him of making up such things to justify his escapades to Qinchuan County. Yingbao blinked, ¡°Does your mother agree to let me diagnose her?¡± She was just a seventeen-year-old girl, and it was notmon for respectable families to allow her to diagnose them. Even when she treated the prince, she was just assisting with medication. Majority of the diagnosis was still done by the Imperial Physicians. Wei Zhan: ¡°Of course she agrees, you always say you¡¯re a little divine doctor, don¡¯t you?¡± Yingbao: ¡°But I¡¯ve already switched to learning forbidden curses.¡± She intended to be a revered great wizard like Master Zhou in the future. Wei Zhan was indifferent: ¡°Then you can go and chant a spell for my mother. As long as she gets better, you¡¯ll be a little divine witch.¡± Yingbao¡¯s face twitched, catching a glimpse of the others trying to stifle theirughter, she retorted: ¡°Call me a little Immortal!¡± A little divine witch, how unpleasant that sounded. ¡°Oh, as long as you cure my mother, you are a little Immortal.¡± Wei Zhan peeled a shrimp and ced it in Yingbao¡¯s bowl: ¡°From now on, I will peel shrimps for you every day.¡± Yingbao popped the shrimp into her mouth and nodded, ¡°Alright, start peeling.¡± Thus, Wei Zhan moved a te of shrimp in front of him and began to meticulously peel them. After dinner, Wei Zhan refused to go home, opting instead to share a bed with Wen Hengyin and Zhang Min. Yingbao alsoid next to Sister Wen. They chatted tillte into the night. When Wen Shu heard Yingbao mention that Wen Yurong also went to the county medical office, she frowned: ¡°What is she doing there?¡± The Wen Family had a girls¡¯ school at their old residence in Yuzhou. If their cousin wanted to study medicine, she could simply study in the family school. Why would she need to travel all the way to a small county town to study? Yingbaomented: ¡°I guess, your cousin might be one of the potential Queens for the prince.¡± Wen Shu turned to look at her: ¡°It¡¯s surprising how much you know at such a young age.¡± Yingbao smirked: ¡°I just do.¡± Wen Shu touched her little face: ¡°You¡¯re quite thick-skinned.¡± Yingbao returned the favor: ¡°Yours feels just like mine.¡± The two girls giggled and joked around for a while. Wen Shu sighed: ¡°It would be great if you could stay. We could see each other every day.¡± ¡°After I finish my travels with my master, I¡¯lle back to the Prefecture City to see you.¡± ¡°How long will that take?¡± Wen Shu pinched Yingbao¡¯s hand anxiously: ¡°My grandmother wants to settle my marriage. I¡¯m supposed to go back to Yuzhou for match meeting next year and I don¡¯t want to go back to Yuzhou at all.¡± She was thirteen this year and would be engaged at fourteen next year. After reaching the age of adulthood, she might have to get married and she felt the time she had with her parents was too short. After that, she would have to live with her inws and spend her life serving her husband and educating their children. The thought of that seemed dull. Yingbao¡¯s life seemed more exciting, as she got to travel around with her master, learning about the vast world. Yingbao: ¡°My elder cousin was engaged at twelve. After the engagement, she could no longer y outside. After you get engaged, will you also not be allowed to go out?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Although the Wen Family was not a rich and noble family, its rules were very strict. Let alone a girl who was engaged and couldn¡¯t go out easily, even on ordinary days, the girls living in the old house had to get permission from their elders to go out. Chapter 307 - 303: Poisoned_1 Chapter 307: Chapter 303: Poisoned_1 The next day, right after breakfast, Wei Zhan hurriedly dragged Yingbao out of the door. Wen Hengyin was somewhat displeased, knocking Wei Zhan¡¯s hand away. ¡°What kind of behavior is that!¡± Yingbao, after all, is her mother¡¯s student, already seven or eight years old, and it doesn¡¯t seem right to be dragged around by a boy of eight or nine years old. Wei Zhan didn¡¯t pay any mind to what Wen Hengyin said, he ordered a servant to call a horse-drawn carriage and invited Yingbao and Wen Shu to get in. Arriving at the gate of the Wei Mansion in no time, Yingbao surveyed therge entrance, and she and Sister Wen Shu got out of the carriage. The Wei Family is a wealthy household, with a wide range of businesses. They deal in silk fabrics, gold jewellery, fur, tea and more, they also operate several banks, as well as canal transport docks, etc. Unfortunately, the matriarch of the Wei Family, from the Wang Family, is not in good health. She only gave birth to Wei Zhan, and yet remains sickly. If Mrs. Wang should pass away early, Wei Zhan is still young, it¡¯s unknown who will then inherit thisrge family estate. It is rumored that the head of Wei Family has many concubines, including two respected wives who have given birth to children of their own. ¡°Young Master, you¡¯re back, Madame has been waiting for you.¡± The steward of the Wei Residence saw the young master and hurried over to take care of the horses. With head held high, Wei Zhan said, ¡°I brought the little Divine Doctor. Move aside, you¡¯re in the way.¡± The steward quickly moved out of the way, lowering his head slightly. With a sidelong nce, he noticed the two young girls who had just descended from the carriage, and he sneered inwardly. Wei Zhan led the group,prised of Zhang Min, Wen Hengyin, and Yingbao and Wen Shu, hurrying towards the inner courtyard. As the crone at the gate of the inner courtyard wanted to stop them, she was stared down by a glowering look from Wei Zhan. Once at the main hall, a maid quickly ran inside to report their arrival. ¡°Madam, the Young Master has brought a group of people in, you see¡­¡± Mrs. Wang sat up in bed and quietly instructed, ¡°Let them in.¡± Her son¡¯s servant had already reported that he had invited a small Divine Doctor. Mrs. Wang gave a bitter smile. For the rare filial piety shown by her son, she would have to keep up appearances and y host. The young servant girl rushed out, inviting the group to sit in the parlor, stating that the Madam would be there soon. As a result, Yingbao and the others followed Wei Zhan into the parlor. A young servant girl brought in tea and served each of them treats. Mrs. Wang¡¯s personal maidbed her hair and applied a little makeup. Suddenly remembering the small Divine Doctor was about to examine her, she quickly moved to remove the makeup from Mrs. Wang. ¡°Never mind, let it be.¡± Mrs. Wang stood up, letting her maid help her change her outer garment and put on her shoes before leaving the bedroom. ¡°Mother! Come and see the little Divine Doctor I found for you.¡± Seeing his mothere out, Wei Zhan quickly got up and helped her. Mrs. Wang gave a slight nod and a smile to the group, sitting down on the main armchair. The group introduced themselves one by one. Mrs. Wang nodded to them to sit down, then said to Yingbao, ¡°Please, Little Divine Doctor, can you check this sickly woman?¡± Yingbao did not stand on ceremony, she took her pulse, then said, ¡°In fact, I have now switched to the Forbidden Curse Technique. If Madam doesn¡¯t mind, I can perform a ceremony and request a divinemand for you.¡± Mrs. Wang smiled gently, ¡°Little Divine Doctor need not disparage yourself. Just perform the spell, I will be very grateful.¡± ¡°Alright, Madam please stay still.¡± Yingbao took out a white feathered fan from her bag. It was something she had borrowed from her elder disciple brother, and the handle of the fan had a spell engraved on it. Yingbao murmured an exorcism spell while performing a dance to summon the gods. She was small and wore white magical robes. As she stomped her feet and spun around, her dance was particrly enchanting. ¡°The great ancestor of water from Taiyi, renew the divine light by raising hand to mouth, cleanse the five internal organs and enter the embryonic sac; the spleen, kidney, and the warehouse are as bright as eyes and ears, and a hundred diseases are eliminated, the evil spirits disappear, as quick as thew!¡± With a wave of his feather fan on the table, a porcin bottle appeared on the surface. Everyone was startled. Wei Zhan couldn¡¯t sit still and immediately grabbed the little porcin bottle, asking Yingbao excitedly, ¡°Yingbao, have you really brought the Divine Medicine?¡± ¡°Hmm, give it to Lady Wangter.¡± Yingbao put away her feather fan, took out a bag of golden needles from her small bag, and said to Lady Wang, ¡°Lady Wang, let me give you an acupuncture treatment.¡± Lady Wang nodded in agreement. So, Yingbao went with her into the bedroom, asking her to take off her outer robe and lie on the bed. Yingbao applied acupuncture to her waist and triple energizer, and then to the acupuncture points at the back of the neck; such as Houxi, Tianchuang, and Da Shu. After the treatment, Yingbao asked her to drink the medicine in the small porcin bottle and quietly whispered in her ear, ¡°Madam, you¡¯re poisoned. If we can¡¯t find out where the poison came from, I¡¯m afraid no one can cure you.¡± In her own memory, it was mentioned that Lady Wang was poisoned by someone close to her. She had been slowly poisoned and eventually, her body gradually withered, and she died of organ failure. Fortunately, Lady Wang often ate golden ears that Lady Wen gave her, or else, she would have already been dead. Lady Wang frowned. There have always been two doctors in her household, but neither of them had ever told her that she showed signs of poisoning. However,st year Lady Wen seemed to have mentioned once that her illness was peculiar and seemed to be some kind of chronic poisoning. But after taking the medicine prescribed by Lady Wen, she felt much better, so she suppressed her suspicion. But she didn¡¯tst for more than a few months before she started feeling unwell again. Lady Wang also secretly investigated everything from her diet to her supplements, clothes, and incense. She checked everything and found nothing wrong. But something was strange. After dressing, Lady Wang asked all the maids to leave before asking Yingbao, ¡°May I ask the Divine Doctor, what kind of poison do I have?¡± ¡°Aconitum, you¡¯re poisoned with aconitum,¡± Yingbao said, ¡°Aconitum doesn¡¯t only poison through ingestion, you can still get poisoned if you bathe or wash your face with it.¡± Lady Wang shuddered at these words. She had not checked on these factors. Yingbao continued, ¡°For instance, if you take a bath every other day and after each bath you feel cold, have breathing difficulties, experience cramps in your hands and feet, dizziness, nausea¡­ isn¡¯t it?¡± Lady Wang¡¯s fingers trembled in fear, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s exactly what happens after I take a bath each time. I have always thought it was because my body was weak from a long illness and never considered the possibility of poisoning.¡± The reason for her fear was that the person who helped her bathe was her personal maid, Ding Xiang, who she had brought from her maiden home. Ding Xiang was the top maid in her room, had been with her for more than ten years, and also her husband¡¯s concubine. A few years ago, she had nned to find a reliable man for Ding Xiang to marry, but Ding Xiang tly refused, pledging to serve her master all her life and vowing not to marry anyone else. She hadn¡¯t expected¡­ Lady Wang only felt a chill in her hands and feet. If it hadn¡¯t been for the little doctor who had given her a bottle of medicine, she probably would have fainted by now. Yingbao continued, ¡°Your poisoning can be easily addressed. I have an antidote made by boiling Gentiana and licorice here. Try drinking it for a few days. If there is no effect, you can boil Polyg Root with mountain honey and drink it. But the dose should not berge, otherwise, it will cause a second poisoning.¡± As she spoke, she took out anotherrger porcin bottle from her bag and handed it to Lady Wang, ¡°Three times a day, two mouthfuls each time.¡± ¡°Thank you, Divine Doctor,¡± Lady Wang hurriedly took the porcin bottle and added, ¡°Please don¡¯t tell anyone else about what you said earlier.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°As there is no confirmed conclusion yet, I won¡¯t speak to anyone else about it. Please also avoid mentioning me to anyone else.¡± She didn¡¯t want to get involved in the dark secrets of a rich merchant¡¯s family. She just reminded Lady Wang because she was modest and didn¡¯t want to watch her die while standing by. Chapter 308 - 304: Cultivation Ground_1 Chapter 308: Chapter 304: Cultivation Ground_1 Upon leaving the Wei¡¯s residence, Yingbao was followed by two servants, each holding a gift box. Gifts from the Wang family included consultation fees and medicinal costs totaling up to two hundred taels of silver, plus six pieces of silk in varying designs. Upon returning to the Wen family, Yingbao intended to give the silk fabrics to Mrs. Wen and Wen Shu, but they adamantly refused to take them. Xiu Zhenniang: ¡°These are tokens of Mrs. Wang¡¯s gratitude to you. How can we take them? You don¡¯t need to worry about carrying them. In a few days, I¡¯ll have them sent back to Qinchuan County and give them to your family.¡± Seeing Mrs. Wen being so determined, Yingbao had no choice but to agree. Afterwards, Xiu Zhenniang brought Yingbao and Wen Shu to the market in the Prefecture City, where they enjoyed the local delicacies. Yingbao bought a few fire starters, two small iron pots with covers, and a kitchen knife from the market. These things were small and easy to carry around, so they could be useful when traveling. For the following several days, Yingbao stayed at Mrs. Wen¡¯s house until her Second Senior Brother called her back to the Taoist Temple. Because the next day was the first day of the seventh lunar month, the ¡°Ghost Month¡±, the Temple would conduct rituals to honor the ancestors, gods, and spirits. The old saying goes, ¡°Blessings from the celestial officials on the day of the First Yuan, forgiveness from the terrestrial officials on the day of the Mid Yuan, and disaster relief from the aquatic officials on the day of the Last Yuan.¡± This ¡°Mid Yuan¡± where ¡°terrestrial officials grant forgiveness¡± was precisely on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month. So the ceremonies at Jin Ding temple would start on the first day of the seventh lunar month and continue till the fifteenth day. Yingbao and her two senior disciples, following their master¡¯s lead, sat cross-legged on straw cushions, chanting redemption mantras. At this moment, colourful gs fluttered in the temple, the air filled with the scent of sandalwood, while all types of musical instruments yed in harmony. The priests danced on ¡®Mountaintop¡¯ wearing colourful magical robes, their feather crowns adorned with colourful ribbons fluttering as if they were immortals. Yingbao estimated that there were over a thousand people in the Taoist ground, most of them Taoists andy worshippers. After a ritual, the master and his disciples returned to their guest rooms to rest after having their vegetarian meal. Most of the Taoists and worshippers went down to the vigers¡¯ homes and the inns to rest while some stayed in the great hall to keep the incense burning. Yingbaoy on her small bed and quietly took out some grapes. The meals provided by the Taoist temple were too poor, just a bun and a bowl of thin porridge per meal, barely enough to fill her. She didn¡¯t know how her master and senior disciples could endure this, especially as this would continue for more than a dozen days. A few dayster, Zhang Min quietly came to find his junior sister disciple. ¡°Yingbao, let¡¯s go down the mountain.¡± Yingbao: ¡°Did the master permit you to go?¡± ¡°Master won¡¯t care.¡± Zhang Min whispered, ¡°Are youing or not? If not, I can go by myself.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Yingbao swiftly packed her bag, tied her shoces, and followed her senior disciple as they slipped out of the guesthouse. As dawn was just breaking, there were not many people in the Taoist temple, so the two of them left the temple and went straight down the mountain. At the foot of the mountain, there were a lot of stalls selling breakfast, most of which sold vegetarian food. However, there were a few stalls selling three fillings steamed buns and mixed vegetable soup. The mixed vegetable soup contained chicken and meat shreds, which were very delicious. Zhang Min ordered two bowls of mixed vegetable soup and tenrge three fillings steamed buns. He ate six buns in one go and drank arge bowl of vegetable soup. After finishing eating, as Yingbao was still eating, he said, ¡°I¡¯m going to bring some buns to Master. Stay here and wait for me.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Okay.¡± Zhang Min bought six more buns, asked the vendor to wrap them in lotus leaves, tucked them into his robe, and hurried back up the mountain. Seeing her senior brother leave, Yingbao turned to the vendor and said, ¡°Give me two more steamed bun baskets.¡± Each basket contained ninerge buns, so two baskets are eighteen. She wanted to store some in the cave dwelling to eatter. The vendor happily brought over two baskets of three fillings steamed buns and politely asked, ¡°Would you like me to wrap these for you, young master?¡± ¡°Give me two lotus leaves, I¡¯ll do it myself.¡± Yingbao spoke while taking a bite of the three fillings steamed bun. ¡°Alright.¡± The vendor handed two lotus leaves to Yingbao and went to attend to other customers. After he was done with his chores and turned back, the steam basket in front of the young master was already empty. Having had her fill, Yingbao paid for the buns and stood at the entrance, waiting for her second senior brother. This was because Zhang Min had said that he would take her around the city and, while doing so, visit Sister Wen Shu. Just then, a group of people approached. The one in the center was a middle-aged schr, with three strands of beard, wearing a Taoist robe, bearing a striking resemnce to Xiao Mo from her previous life. A few men in Qing robes were following him. It was apparent they were of high statuses. One of them, an old man in ck Taoist robes with white hair and beard, looked at Yingbao and then studied her closely multiple times. Yingbao looked back, meeting the old man¡¯s gaze. The old man saw the bamboo que hanging from her waist and understood. Then he whispered something to the middle-aged man in the Taoist robe, who also looked at her. Finally, they stopped in front of Yingbao. The middle-aged man smiled and asked, ¡°Are you Zhou Wuchang¡¯s disciple?¡± Yingbao nodded: ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Never thought that Zhou Wuchang would take a female disciple.¡± The middle-aged manughed with the others: ¡°Quite unusual indeed.¡± The white-haired old man stroked his beard and said: ¡°I see something extraordinary about this girl. Surely, this is why Zhou Wuchang epted her as a disciple.¡± ¡°Oh? Tell me, Mr. Pei, what is so extraordinary about her?¡± A Curious man in the Qing robe asked. Pei Shixian said: ¡°I see her clear brows and sparkling eyes, suggesting an early maturity. Furthermore, her ethereal figure bears an innate charm suggesting a destined fortune.¡± Yingbao took a step back, looking at the white-haired old man with a frown. If this Pei elder was with Xiao Weizhong, Xiao Mo¡¯s biological father, he must be Chen Tiantian¡¯s stepfather, Pei Shixian. It was said that this old man was a fortune teller, a Mr. Yin Yang who specialized in telling fortunes and interpreting geomancy. ¡°Little girl, what is your name?¡± the old man Pei suddenly asked. Yingbao pretended to be mute, stepping back some more and stood in front of the bun stall. She didn¡¯t want to talk to these people nor disclose her family background. Seeing she remained silent, they assumed she was shy and continued walking up the mountain. Halfway up, Old Pei looked back again, his gaze mysterious. Yingbao narrowed her eyes, meeting his gaze fearlessly. This man must have recognized her but didn¡¯t reveal it. Obviously, he was up to no good. She didn¡¯t expect to run into Chen Tiantian¡¯s stepfather here. The one who had nned and advised Chen Tiantian in seizing other people¡¯s fortunes must be this old man. Humph! If her luck could be easily taken away, she wouldn¡¯t have had to start over. Yingbao watched as the group got farther, finally disappearing on the mountain trail of Jinding Mountain. Zhang Min came running down in a hurry, wiping sweat off his forehead: ¡°I kept you waiting too long, didn¡¯t I? Let¡¯s go! I will take you to the busiest ce in Prefecture City to have fun.¡± The observance at Jinding Mountain was too solemn and serious, nothing like the lively sacrificial dances among the folk. Zhang Min nned to take his younger martial sister to experience it. Yingbao was pulled by her senior brother, they were moving quickly, but her mind was still on Old Pei¡¯s gaze from earlier. Once one of his schemes doesn¡¯t work, he must have another one up his sleeve. She needed to be careful. There were various nefarious magic used by wizards that caught people off guard, with the mostmon being the curses on dolls. They would make dolls from rags or straw, write cursed names on them, and then insert pins into vital parts like the temples, eyes, chest, etc., and ce them in dark ces, cursing them day and night. Yingbao was not afraid of them cursing dolls in her image, but she feared they might stage a desperate attempt to kill her and silence everything. However, if she were to die, could Chen Tiantian still borrow her luck? Probably not. Chapter 309 - 305: Put a Sack on_1 Chapter 309: Chapter 305: Put a Sack on_1 Boom! Boom! Boom! The sound of rhythmic drumming filled the air. A team of priests, donning ghost masks and performing the sacrificial dance, approached. Some portrayed Zhong Kui, some the ck and White Impermanence, others dressed up as King Wu of Zhou and Duke of Shao, dancing as they proceeded. With bubbling excitement, Zhang Min suggested to his younger martial sister, ¡°Yingbao, let¡¯s go get ourselves some masks.¡± Yingbao pulled out two ghost masks from her bag, put one on and handed the other to her second elder martial brother. Zhang Min epted the mask and put it straight on, grinning at Yingbao, ¡°I¡¯ll go join them for a dance.¡± ¡°Go ahead,¡± Yingbao replied. ¡°I¡¯ll be following behind you.¡± ¡°Just be careful not to get lost,¡± Zhang Min said as he ran into the crowd and started dancing. Seeing that everyone¡¯s attention was on the dance team, Yingbao took a tattered wizard¡¯s robe from her bag and put it on. Tying it with a cloth belt, she followed slowly behind her elder martial brother. Looking through her mask, she surveilled the surroundings. People were carrying offering tables. On these tables were portraits of divine officials, being carried towards the direction of the golden-roofed Taoist temple. Upon reaching the top of the mountain, Yingbao spotted Xiao Weizhong and his party on the viewing tform, along with Pei Shixian standing behind him. After dancing all the way, Zhang Min returned to the top of the mountain and found his little martial sister. He grinned, ¡°How was your second elder brother¡¯s dance?¡± ¡°Nothing much,¡± she replied. ¡°How could there be nothing? I have been practicing Dawu since I was five; it¡¯s a dance every gentleman must know.¡± Zhang Min dered with a smug smile, ¡°They all danced wrong, so I had to lead them.¡± Yingbao red at him, disgruntled. ¡°Did you bring me down the mountain just to have breakfast and then dance up the mountain?¡± Rubbing the back of his head, Zhang Min said, ¡°I¡¯ll take you around again tomorrow.¡± ¡°No, thanks. I don¡¯t want to encounter another priest team climbing the mountain, for you to follow and dance again,¡± she responded, bored at the mere thought of it. By the middle of the seventh month, the fifteen-day-long ritual finally came to an end. Yingbao was counting the dates of her trip on her fingers, nning to visit Mrs. Wen and her daughter before she sets off. Two dayster, Master Zhou calcted the best departure date, deciding to set off on the twenty-eighth of the seventh month, heading towards Jingzhou. And so, Yingbao and her second elder martial brother descended the mountain once more, heading to Kang¡¯an Pharmacy to bid farewell to Wen Shu. Upon entering the pharmacy, they saw several people sitting inside. Lady Xiu Zhenniang of Wen family was among those present, engaging in conversation with a woman. Yingbao called out as she walked into the pharmacy, ¡°Master, I¡¯m here!¡± Seeing Yingbao, Xiu Zhenniang quickly got up from her seat, ¡°Yingbao, you¡¯re back! I was about to go to the Golden Roof Taoist Temple to look for you.¡± The woman also turned around, smiling warmly at Yingbao, ¡°Oh, Little Yingbao has grown so much.¡± Yingbao¡¯s smile froze on her face. It turned out this woman was Han Yueniang, Chen Tiantian¡¯s biological mother. She had be significantly plumper, giving her an air of abundance and dignity. Her face was pallid and radiant. Han Yueniang was holding a toddler who was over a year old in her arms; the baby was smiling at Yingbao. Pretending not to recognize her, Yingbao didn¡¯t engage in conversation with her. She only asked Lady Wen, ¡°Where¡¯s Wen Shu? I want to see her.¡± Lady Wen responded, ¡°She¡¯s in the backyard, you can go and find her.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yingbao passed through the back door of the pharmacy and entered the backyard. Zhang Min bowed to Lady Wen before following Yingbao. Though the smile on Han Yueniang¡¯s face froze momentarily, she quickly recovered herposure and said to Lady Wen, ¡°Yingbao still holds a grudge against me. She didn¡¯t even want to greet me.¡± Lady Xiu chuckled lightly, ¡°Children easily forget. She probably doesn¡¯t even remember what happened when she was little. Please don¡¯t take it to heart, Madam Han.¡± Han Yueniang¡¯s eyes glinted, she said, ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve also wanted to see the child thesest couple of days to inquire about my Tiantian.¡± Xiu Zhenniang was surprised, ¡°Madam Han, if you want to know about Ling¡¯ai¡¯s circumstances, why don¡¯t you write to ask? I heard from Yingbao that she has been studying the Yin and Yang Technique these days, so she¡¯s not familiar with other people.¡± Han Yueniang paused for a moment, then sighed, ¡°I have written letters, but Tiantian hasn¡¯t replied. As a mother, I cannot help but worry. A few days ago I heard that Yingbao was here, so I came to ask about it.¡± She dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief, ¡°Madam Xiu, to be frank, I would like to invite Yingbao over to talk to me about Tiantian¡¯s situation, I wonder if you could help persuade her?¡± Xiu Zhenniang apologized, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, but Yingbao¡¯s master is very strict and doesn¡¯t allow his apprentices to loiter around. You can tell me anything that you want to say to Madam Han, and I will pass on the message for you.¡± ¡°Well, never mind then.¡± Han Yueniang, holding her son, stood up and said to Xiu Zhenniang, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± ¡°Take care,¡± Xiu Zhenniang rose to see her off. After seeing off Han Yueniang, Xiu Zhenniang frowned and pondered for a while, then turned and headed to the inner courtyard. Finding Yingbao in the courtyard, Xiu Zhenniang told her about Han Yueniang¡¯s unusual behavior over the past few days. ¡°That Han Yueniang has beening to the store every day, asking about you, I wonder what she is up to?¡± Xiu Zhenniang: ¡°Today she asked again to invite you over to her house to ask you something. I turned her down.¡± Xiu Zhenniang was aware of the antagonisms between Han Yueniang and Yingbao¡¯s family, so she wouldn¡¯t allow Yingbao, a child, to have any contact with the Han Family. Yingbao: ¡°Thanks, Master. I am about to set off with Master Zhou soon. Today, I came to bid you farewell. The Han Family has a grudge against mine, I do not wish to meet her.¡± ¡°When are you setting off?¡± Xiu Zhenniang asked. ¡°Master Zhou hasn¡¯t said yet, probably in the next couple of days.¡± Yingbao chatted a little more with Xiu Zhenniang and Wen Shu before taking her leave. On the way home, Zhang Min asked his junior sister, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with that Han Yueniang?¡± Yingbao recounted the feud between her family and Han Yueniang¡¯s, saying, ¡°Her daughter is Chen Tiantian, who is studying in the county medical department. Someone told me a while ago that Chen Tiantian has learned the spell of Yin Sheng from her stepfather.¡± Zhang Min frowned, ¡°A medical student learning the Yin Sheng technique? Who does she intend to harm?¡± Yin Sheng, which means defeating through disgust, is a spell used to curse or pray for the purpose of suppressing people, objects, or demons. Those sorcerers with dark intentions love this kind of spell. ¡°She wants to harm me!¡± Yingbao said bluntly, ¡°And she wants to steal my fate.¡± Zhang Min opened his mouth in surprise, ¡°What? Stealing fate? No wonder that woman kept wanting to enter the Yin Yang Department. That exins it.¡± He nced at Yingbao from head to toe and then teased, ¡°I didn¡¯t realize it, but it turns out my junior sister has great luck.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Having reincarnated and possessing an unknown Immortal Cave House, if that wasn¡¯t great luck then what was? Zhang Min rubbed his chin and said, ¡°But you don¡¯t need to worry, Master has already helped you dispel the evil spirits. Those ghosts and monsters dare not approach you¡­¡± Before he could finish, a few men surrounded them. Zhang Min turned icy, immediately protected his junior sister behind him, and demanded harshly, ¡°Who are you? What do you want?¡± The men didn¡¯t reply, and all came at Zhang Min at once. Zhang Min fought back immediately. But even though he had learned somebat techniques, he was outnumbered and was soon beaten down. At this moment, before Yingbao had time to call for help, she was put in a sack and one man hoisted her on his shoulder and took off at a run. When Zhang Min struggled up from the ground, he saw that the men had already run into an alley and disappeared. Zhang Min dashed after them, but the alley was empty, not a person was in sight. ¡°Bastards!¡± Zhang Min was seething with rage, recalling what his junior sister had said earlier, he felt that this incident must have something to do with the Han Family. He ran back to the Wen Family and sought help from Xiu Zhenniang. ¡°Madam Wen! Yingbao has been kidnapped! We must alert the authorities quickly and get some people to help me search. If we dy, it will be toote!¡± Chapter 310 - 306: Bloodletting_1 Chapter 310: Chapter 306: Bloodletting_1 ¡°What? Yingbao has been kidnapped?¡± Xiu Zhenniang was in a panic, she quickly instructed the servants at home to report to the government office, and rushed to the Wei Family with a maid, seeking an audience with the mistress of the Wei family, Madame Wang, begging her to help find the missing person throughout the city. Since the Wei Family wielded significant influence in Prefecture City and had connections in all spheres, plus they had many servants and guards, turning to them for help was far better than acting like a headless fly on her own. Meanwhile, Yingbao had been thrown into a carriage that traveled for a long time before she was carried into a brilliantly lit room. When she was pulled out, she saw two masked individuals standing under themplight, staring at her. By now, Yingbao had calmed down from her initial shock, and was even quiteposed when facing the masked figures. Since they were masked, it meant they didn¡¯t want her to recognize them, and for that, she figured she had a chance of survival. But the disguises of these two wereughably poor. They hadn¡¯t even bothered to change their clothes, nor had they covered their heads, exposing their grey hair and their gloomy old eyes. Did they think she was a fool? Well, fine. For her survival, she had to act the fool and pretend not to recognize that it was Pei Shixian and Han Yueniang. So, she started crying, bawling her eyes out on the floor, ¡°Master! Eldest senior brother! Come save me! Wuuwuuwuu! The kidnappers have kidnapped a child¡­¡± Someone on the side gave her a swift kick, and scolded, ¡°Shut up!¡± Yingbao looked appropriately frightened and burrowed her head inside the sack. Suddenly, she felt someone grab her cor and drag her into the center of an Eight Diagrams symbol. Exactly, in the middle of the room, there was a huge Eight Diagrams symbol, asrge as a bamboo screen, and they had ced her on the portion designated as Yin. Yingbao looked around and realized that this ce was not a typical building but seemed more like a cave; there were no windows. There was an altar here, with incense and candles burning on it, and a few ritual implements set out for the ceremony. There were several people in the room. Apart from Pei Shixin and Han Yueniang, there were four youths dressed like Taoists, probably Pei Shixin¡¯s disciples. ¡°Cover her eyes!¡± Seeing the child¡¯s eyes dart around, Pei Shixin immediately ordered. ¡°Yes!¡± Someone immediately tore a piece of cloth and wrapped it around Yingbao¡¯s head, blocking her sight. Yingbao was about to cry again when someone threatened, ¡°Cry one more time and you will be strangled!¡± Saying so, he tied Yingbao to a post. Yingbao¡¯s heart was pounding, but she managed not to panic. She dared not say more and just whimpered quietly. The less she said, the fewer mistakes she would make. It was more important to stay alive for the moment. Soon after, someone brought a bowl of medicinal soup and forced Yingbao to drink it. After drinking the medicine, Yingbao only felt her brain getting dizzy, and her consciousness gradually became foggy. In her mind, she quickly searched for an antidote and swallowed it. The drug they had given her seemed to be the Powder for Anesthesia, also known as the Knockout Drug in the martial arts scene. It had an anesthetic effect. Probably fearing that they might poison her to death, they didn¡¯t put a lot of it in. After consuming the antidote, although she couldn¡¯tpletely get rid of the effect of the anesthesia powder, Yingbao was still able to maintain some rity. Someone then pricked her finger with a needle to see if she was truly unconscious. As the needle went in and the child had no reaction, they reported, ¡°Master, she is unconscious.¡± The voice of the old man came, ¡°Good, fetch the magic artifact, and bring Tiantian down.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± After a while, Yingbao heard Han Yueniang say, ¡°My lord, why don¡¯t we gouge out her eyes and break her legs, imprison her here, and it would be much easier to draw blood every time.¡± ¡°No!¡± Pei Shixian said, ¡°This girl has a strong fate. Hurt her a little, and ten times the harm will befall Tiantian. We shouldn¡¯t act hastily. It is best to proceed slowly and carefully.¡± Han Yueniang: ¡°But if we let her go, what if she reports us to the Prefectural Government Office?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that.¡± Pei Shixian said, ¡°After I cast the spell, she will forget everything about this ce.¡± After a pause, Pei Shixian added, ¡°Remember, we want to rise to power, not attract trouble.¡± Han Yueniang remained silent, ring darkly at the young girl bound to the rack, a cold sneer tugging at the corner of her mouth. ¡°Master, I¡¯ve brought the girl,¡± a young boy said as he led Chen Tiantian down into the basement. Han Yueniang quickly pulled her daughter closer,ughing, ¡°My second girl, this lowly wretch has been caught by your father. After the ritual, we won¡¯t have to worry about her affecting your destiny.¡± Chen Tiantian nced nervously at Yingbao, who had her head bowed, ¡°Mother, will we have to kill her after the ritual?¡± ¡°Your father said there¡¯s no need to kill her. Fear not, my child. Leaving her alive is also a way for you to umte merit.¡± Han Yueniangforted her daughter, ¡°Your father calcted that you are destined to be an empress, so we can¡¯t resort to malicious actions.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Chen Tiantian began to say, only to be summoned by Pei Shixian. ¡°Stand beside her, I am about to cast the spell.¡± Pei Shixian washed his hands in the clear water his disciple had brought, then lit an incense and began his prayer. After chanting a series of incantations, he instructed his disciple to approach the child with a small knife and a golden bowl. Yingbao felt several cuts on her wrist, followed by her blood slowly flowing into the bowl with a drip-drop sound. She didn¡¯t feel much pain, probably due to the knockout drug; she only felt colder and colder. After half a bowl of blood had been collected, her head spun and she quickly slipped into unconsciousness. Pei Shixian then cut off arge chunk of her hair, burned a portion, and mixed the rest with her blood for Chen Tiantian to drink. Chen Tiantian swallowed down the half-bowl of blood in one go, grimacing at the taste. She squatted on the ground, retching for a long time, vomiting up a lot. ¡°Why is she vomiting?¡± Han Yueniang patted her daughter¡¯s back while looking questioningly at Pei Shixian, ¡°Should we draw more blood to rece what she lost?¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary; this is enough.¡± Pei Shixian was concerned the child might die here and then¡ª this would not only make the spell invalid but alsond him in trouble. Zhou Wuchang was not someone to be trifled with. If it was traced back to him, he had enough power to wipe out the entire Pei family. However, as long as the girl didn¡¯t die, Zhou Wuchang, who always sought to avoid trouble, definitely wouldn¡¯t probe deeper. Pei Shixian ordered his disciples to bandage the girl¡¯s wounds and perform a few more treatments, before having her taken away and thrown into a deserted wastnd dozens of miles away. At that moment, Yingbao had already woken up. She stayed motionless until the hooves of the departing horses became distant before heaving her eyes open. The sky was dotted with stars, the moon had already moved to the western horizon. Yingbaoy there for a while longer before taking out the Five Ding Zh¨© pill from her storage space and swallowing it. Half an hourter, she was finally able to stand. She tenderly stroked the bandaged wrist, her expression turning darker. She entered the storage space with her consciousness, unpeeling the blood-soaked bandagesyer byyer. When she saw the cuts, she couldn¡¯t help but sneer. No wonder she was born with this strange birthmark. These intersecting wounds, isn¡¯t this the shape of a plum blossom? So her birthmark on her wrist was actually the scars left by six knife cuts. Very well! Now she finally understood. It seemed that she hadn¡¯t just lived two lives, but presumably another one that she had forgotten. In other words, the life she had forgotten was what the story in the book described, which was why she was reborn with a birthmark. So the book from her mind probably represents her first lifetime, herst was the second. And the life she¡¯s experiencing now must be her third. Yingbao rubbed her temples. Was she caught in an infinite loop of rebirths? But why? Chapter 311 - 307: Searching for People_1 Chapter 311: Chapter 307: Searching for People_1 No matter what, in this life, she would not let go of those who had harmed her. Han Yueniang, Pei Shixian, and that leadingdy Chen Tiantian, she would remember the grudges of today and if they did not pay the price, her life would be in vain. Yingbao looked around and then walked towards a ce that seemed like a vige in the distance. The deeper she went, the autumn insects murmured, and the dew of deep autumn quickly soaked her trouser legs and socks. Yingbao staggered onto a threshing ground. There were several stacks of straw here, just enough for her to shelter. She pulled out some straw bit by bit and hollowed out a cave in the haystack. Yingbao crawled in. She took a nket from the cave and wrapped it around her, ate something casually, and then slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep. In her dreams, countless scenes shed by like a revolvingntern, all of which she had never seen before. However, when she woke up, all traces of those scenes had disappeared. It was bright outside but the threshing ground was a distance away from the vigers¡¯ houses, so nobody had discovered her yet. Yingbao packed up her nket, ate something, and prepared to go out and look around. Just as she was about to leave, a farm woman came over to pull out some grass. Suddenly, she saw a disheveled little girl in white clothes hiding in the haystack, which gave her a fright. ¡°My goodness! Where did this little divine childe from?¡± The woman cried out in surprise and didn¡¯t stop running until she was quite some distance away. Yingbao scratched her own messy hair, finding a chunk missing, which annoyed her even more. She tried to speak, but found that she couldn¡¯t make a sound. She was stunned. Could it be that Pei Shixian had poisoned her mute? Yingbao frowned, crawled out of the haystack and gesticted at the farm woman, even shaking her waist card. On the waist card was engraved with the words ¡°Qinchuan County Medical Department, Yin Yang Department¡±, and her name was on the back. The farm woman couldn¡¯t read but she understood the situation and walked over to ask, ¡°Whose child are you? Why are you hiding here?¡± Yingbao blinked dejectedly, looking pitifully at the farm woman. She wanted to find someone who could read to exin her situation and then ask them to send her to the Prefecture City to find her master. Seeing that Yingbao couldn¡¯t speak, the farm woman showed a look of pity. ¡°So, it turns out to be a mute, no wonder she ended up here.¡± The farm woman took a bundle of grass, put it on her back and headed home. After thinking for a bit, Yingbao followed along. Soon, the vigers gathered around and fired a barrage of questions at her. Upon finding out she couldn¡¯t speak, they all shook their heads and sighed, ¡°Poor child, she is mute.¡± Yingbao could only shake her waist card again. Finally, one person came forward, took her waist card and looked at it, ¡°Qinchuan County, Medical Department, Yin Yang Department, Jiang Yingbao, oh, so you¡¯re a medical student from out of town.¡± Seeing that this person could read, Yingbao nodded repeatedly and even used a twig to write on the ground for him to see. ¡°Send me to Prefecture City, reward of ten silver liang.¡± As he murmured this out, there was an uproar among the surrounding people. Someone quickly responded, ¡°I have an oxcart at home, I can take you there!¡± Another person was unhappy, ¡°I also have an oxcart at my home, you Five-Dog, don¡¯t overstep.¡± The literate one was his brother. The little master was talking to his brother, it was not yet other people¡¯s turn to interrupt. In the end, Yingbao sat on an oxcart and slowly headed towards the Prefecture City. Yesterday, the Prefecture City of Luzhou was in chaos. All the brothels, tile houses, and docks were forcibly searched. After fruitlessly searching, more than a hundred people stormed into the house of Mr. Yin Yang, Pei Shixian, turning it upside down. After that, they even severely beat up a few who dared to fight back. By evening, the gates of the Xiao residence were surrounded by more than a hundred Taoists. Zhou Wuchang slowly approached the entrance and said to the guard, ¡°Please ask Xiao Yushi toe out and talk.¡± The guard, witnessing such a scene, didn¡¯t dare to hesitate and hastily went in to inform the master. After a short while, Xiao Weizhong appeared. He nced at the crowd below the steps and asked, ¡°What is the meaning of your visit?¡± Zhou Wuchang, clutching his duster, retorted coldly, ¡°Mr. Xiao, you have a lot of audacity, allowing your servant to spirit away my disciple. I have yet to question what you mean by this.¡± Xiao Weizhong furrowed his brows, ¡°Master Zhou, what do you mean by this?¡± Zhou Wuchang took a step forward, saying sternly: ¡°Your servant Pei Shixianmitted an act of public violence, seized my disciple to practice witchcraft. If anything were to happen to my disciple, even if I have to take it to the Jinluan Hall, I will make them pay in blood!¡± With that, he waved his hand, and several Taoists dragged over Pei Shixian¡¯s family, tossing them onto the doorstep of the Xiao Residence. Among them were Pei Shixian¡¯s children and his concubines. One of them being held by the nurse was the young child born to Han Yueniang. Xiao Weizhong furrowed his brow: ¡°Master Zhou, have you misunderstood? How could Pei Shixian kidnap your disciple?¡± ¡°Someone saw with their own eyes that your servant Pei Shixian was the one who abducted the person. Is Mr. Xiao trying to protect a criminal?¡± Zhou Wuchang¡¯s face was frosty. ¡°This¡­¡± Xiao Weizhong was somewhat puzzled, ¡°Why would Pei Shixian want to kidnap your disciple?¡± Zhou Wuchang: ¡°Mr. Xiao, you should ask your servant.¡± Xiao Weizhong: ¡­ He looked at the children of the Pei family, trembling on the ground, and asked, ¡°Pei Senior, where is your father?¡± Pei Senior stuttered, ¡°¡±My father went out early in the morning. We don¡¯t know where he went.¡± Xiao Weizhong asked again: ¡°Do you know who he went out with?¡± He originally wanted to absolve Pei Shixian a bit, find someone who apanied him, so he could defend him in the future, but a woman preempted him: ¡°I know! My husband left the city with the Han family, saying he was going to worship spirits outside the city, and even took her broken pot with him.¡± This middle-aged woman was Pei Shixian¡¯s favored concubine, always resenting Han¡¯s superior position as theter arrival yet bing the lord¡¯s official wife and upying all the lord¡¯s affection. Even the ¡®broken pot¡¯ that she brought along was treated as a loved one by the lord, which was genuinely annoying. Originally, her son was the eldest son, and he should have inherited all the family property in the future. As a result, that old man had a whim, married Han with the ceremony of a legal wife, and Han even had a son, upying the status of the legitimate son. In this way, the concubine¡¯s son of the Pei family, not to mention inheriting the family business, would not even be allowed to live in the ancestral house after marriage. ¡°Then do you know where they went out of the city?¡± Xiao Weizhong¡¯s expression became increasingly solemn. If his servant reallymitted such an act of abduction, as a Supervisory History, he wouldn¡¯t fare well either. He estimated that the impeachment files would flood the Emperor¡¯s imperial desk. The woman shook her head: ¡°I do not know.¡± The onlookers around first started whispering, and then started shouting: ¡°Such a vile person! Is Historian Xiao intending to protect him? Hand him over quickly!¡± ¡°Hand over Pei Shixian!¡± ¡°Dare to abduct a child! It¡¯s tough for nationalw to amodate him!¡± Seeing this, Xiao Weizhong¡¯s staff quickly whispered in his ear: ¡°My lord, this matter is no small deal, you need to find out the truth as soon as possible.¡± Zhou Wuchang has a very high reputation among the people, and his followers are all over all parts of the country. Although Xiao Weizhong held a high position, he was helpless in the face of a Taoist like Zhou Wuchang. With no other choice, he had to order his men to find Pei Shixian, and they must bring him back for questioning. On the other hand, as soon as Pei Shixian entered the city, he was stopped by the Wei Family guards. The man leading the guards was acquainted with Pei Shixian. He smiled and looked at the carriage, asking, ¡°Mr. Pei, where are you going?¡± Pei Shixian saluted him, ¡°I¡¯m just taking a trip out of the city. Does Steward Feng have any business stopping the carriage?¡± Steward Feng smiled slightly: ¡°Of course I have business. Ah, you may not know, Master Zhou¡¯s disciple is missing and he is bringing people to search for the abductor all over the world.¡± As he said this, his gaze shifted to the horse carriage: ¡°I don¡¯t know if Mr. Pei has seen it?¡± Chapter 312 - 308: People Die for Wealth and Birds Perish for Food_1 Chapter 312: Chapter 308: People Die for Wealth and Birds Perish for Food_1 Pei Shixian was taken aback, his heart pounding inexplicably. He hadmitted his deeds in such secrecy that outsiders would never suspect that he had done them. So what did these people from the Wei family want to do by stopping his carriage? Were they nning to ckmail him? Pei Shixian chuckled to himself but answered politely: ¡°How would I know about the disappearance of Master Zhou¡¯s disciple?¡± Steward Feng stroked his chin. ¡°But Master Zhou ordered that if we came across Mr. Pei, we were to invite you over for a conversation.¡± The color drained from Pei Shixian¡¯s face. He pondered for a moment before pulling out a silver ingot from his sleeve and thrusting it into the hands of Steward Feng. ¡°Thank you for the reminder, Steward Feng. I shall go check up on Master Zhou right now.¡± Steward Feng clutched the silver ingot in his hand and chuckled without moving an inch. Sighing, Pei Shixian pulled out a silver note from his sleeve and tossed it toward him while raising his fists in a formal manner. ¡°Steward Feng, please let us pass.¡± Only then did Steward Feng disperse the crowd and allow the carriage to move on. Pei Shixian drove the carriage to a secluded area and told the Han Family¡¯s mother and daughter: ¡°Find an inn and stay there for the time being. I¡¯ll return after figuring out what¡¯s going on.¡± Madam Han was worried. ¡°What about our Yuanbao?¡± She had brought her daughter to the outskirts of the city and had not brought her young son, Yuanbao, along. She couldn¡¯t help but worry about him. ¡°Yuanbao will be fine.¡± After giving some additional instructions, Pei Shixian handed over his silver note and change to his wife. ¡°If anything goes wrong, don¡¯t go back home. Use this money to head directly to Beijing and seek refuge with Imperial Teacher Xiao.¡± Madam Han nodded, but still worried about her daughter who seemed lethargic. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with our girl? Why does she seem so listless?¡± ¡°Perhaps the child¡¯s blood carried a knockout drug. There¡¯s nothing wrong, she will recover soon.¡± After sending his wife and daughter to an inn and making arrangements for lodging with his identity badge, a carriage was kept for them with an instruction that if he didn¡¯t return by the next day, they should immediately leave the city. Afterward, Pei Shixian started walking slowly towards his house. Before he could reach his doorstep, he was met by guards from the Xiao family. ¡°Mr. Pei, the young master requests your presence,¡± said a guard with indifference. Feigning calm, Pei Shixian asked: ¡°What matters does the young master have?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The captain of the guard, not willing to borate, motioned to hisrades to carry Pei Shixian onto a carriage. The carriage galloped through the streets and eventually halted at the back door of the Xiao residence. Two guards carried Pei Shixian down from the carriage and brought him directly to Xiao Weizhong¡¯s study. Xiao Weizhong sat in his round-backed chair, gazing coldly at Pei Shixian. He asked, ¡°Mr. Pei, where have you been today?¡± Pei Shixian straightened his robe, paid his respects to Xiao Weizhong, and replied, ¡°I made a trip outside the city. May I ask what matter concerns the young master?¡± Xiao Weizhong: ¡°Mr. Pei, you don¡¯t need to hide anything in front of me. I just want to know why you abducted Zhou Wuchang¡¯s young disciple?¡± Pei Shixian¡¯s face turned pale. He quickly bowed deeply to Xiao Weizhong: ¡°The young master has a keen eye. I¡­ I was just curious as to why that child could attract Zhou Wuchang¡¯s favor, so I¡­¡± Xiao Weizhong was ying with his teacup and nced at him, motioning for him to continue. Pei Shixian wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, ¡°My divination showed that the child has a fortunate fate but is destined to die young. I found her fate peculiar, so I kindly performed a blessing ritual for her so that she could live a longer life¡­¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Xiao Weizhong took a sip from his teacup and squinted at Pei Shixian. ¡°Where is the girl now?¡± ¡°She mistakenly thought that I wanted to harm her and ran away. I don¡¯t know where she went.¡± Pei Shixian¡¯s words flowed more smoothly, and his demeanor grew moreposed. Xiao Weizhong chuckled, put down his teacup and said, ¡°In that case, apany me to meet Zhou Wuchang. Let¡¯s exin everything to him to avoid any misunderstanding.¡± With that, he rose and led Pei Shixian out the door. On the way, they ran into Xiao Weizhong¡¯s younger son, Xiao Chengjun, who was d in armor and carrying a sword at his side. Xiao Weizhong asked, ¡°Chengjun, why have you returned?¡± Xiao Chengjun saluted, ¡°Father, I heard that a Taoist priest was causing trouble in the city, so I brought some men to inspect.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing serious, only a misunderstanding. I will clear it up.]¡± Xiao Weizhong waved his hand at his son. ¡°You should hurry back to the military camp. Don¡¯t act rashly.¡± Xiao Chengjun furrowed his brow, ¡°Father, I will go with you. We cannot tolerate troublemakers.¡± Xiao Weizhong, seeing his son¡¯s determination, said nothing more and strode towards the door. At that moment, Zhou Wuchang was sitting cross-legged at the doorway of Pei Shixian¡¯s house. Even at the sight of Xiao Weizhong and others approaching, he didn¡¯t get up nor open his eyes as if he was dozing off. Zhou Hao, his elder disciple, and his second disciple, Zhang Min, stood behind him, silently watching the visitors. ¡°Master Zhou, I¡¯ve brought Pei here. If you have anything to ask, do so,¡± Xiao Weizhong approached and said. Zhou Wuchang opened his eyes, giving a cold look at them. He spoke, ¡°The poor Taoist has nothing to ask. If my disciples are not returned unharmed today, I will have to do unto others as they have done unto me.¡± Perhaps these people had forgotten what he used to do, daring toy their hands on his disciples. Pei Shixian¡¯s face changed. He immediately bowed and said, ¡°I¡­ I¡­ I don¡¯t know anything.¡± In the end, he did not dare to admit any association with this affair. Zhou Wuchang sneered coldly and took out an hourss from his sleeve, cing it on the ground in front of him. ¡°The time it takes for the sand to run out, the poor Taoist will take matters into his own hands.¡± Pei Shixian broke into a cold sweat and pleaded with his master for help, ¡°My lord, you see¡­¡± Xiao Weizhong, seeing that Pei Shixian was not telling the truth, understood instantly. He frowned and said, ¡°Mr. Pei, just tell the truth.¡± Zhou Wuchang was beyond the Emperor¡¯s control due to his special status. Xiao Weizhong himself was only a Supervisory History; he knew he was not in the right nor in a position to challenge Zhou. Pei Shixian began shaking, but still managed to keep his sanity. He said, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the truth..I just came back from outside the city, and I really don¡¯t know what Master Zhou is talking about.¡± He had cleaned up the manor where the incident had taken ce the night before. His disciples who had participated in the kidnapping were also dismissed, leaving only two mute servants. Even if Zhou Wuchang could find the ce, no evidence would be found there. As for the child, both he and Yueniang had their faces covered and had administered a knockout drug to her. She probably did not know what had happened. He then fed the child a mute potion that would keep her from speaking for a long time. Even if the child were to be found, what rity could a little girl, who barely understood anything, provide? Zhou Wuchang closed his eyes in meditation, not paying any attention to Pei Shixian. Seeing such disrespect, Xiao Chengjun, standing next to Xiao Weizhong, became angry. He was about to step forward to say something, but his father stopped him: ¡°Chengjun, this is not our ce to intervene. Let the Prefectural Government Office handle it.¡± With that, he turned and left. Seeing Xiao Weizhong leave, Pei Shixian hesitated for a moment, then entered his house. All his children and concubines were huddled inside, too afraid to breathe. As soon as the head of the house returned, they immediately surrounded him, chattering incessantly. Pei Shixian cut them off and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Yuang?¡± A nursemaid approached and kneeled in a salute, ¡°The young master cried all night and has just fallen asleep.¡± Pei Shixian stepped forward to check on his young son, indeed he was sound asleep. He sighed slightly. He turned to the nursemaid and said, ¡°Take good care of Yuang. You¡¯ll be held ountable if anything goes wrong.¡± The nursemaid knelt and responded. Only then did Pei Shixian leave his young son¡¯s room to go to his wife¡¯s room to pack things up. He packed all the silver notes, jewelry, and precious utensils, tucking them into hisrge sleeves. He then left his house and headed for the inn. He nned to send Han Yueniang and her daughter away to avoid any idents. Chen Tiantian was the one personally cared for by Imperial Teacher Xiao and was the star of fortune for the sole prince regent. As long as he remained associated with her, why should he worry about the prosperity of his family? By then he would be the father-inw of the future emperor, and his young son would be the uncle of the future emperor. From then on, he would no longer have to serve others, nor would he have to act ording to the Xiao Family¡¯s wishes. Thinking of this made him excited. So he was taking this gamble now to pave the way for the future. As the old saying goes, ¡°People risk their lives for money and birds do the same for food¡±. It couldn¡¯t be more true. Chapter 313 - 309: Tattooed Face_1 Chapter 313: Chapter 309: Tattooed Face_1 Speaking of Yingbao, By the time her ox-cart leisurely arrived in Prefecture City, it was already dark. Although she was anxious, there was nothing she could do. Once in the city, she headed straight for the Wen family¡¯s residence. When Lady Wen and Wen Shu saw Yingbao, they burst into tears of joy. ¡°Yingbao, are you hurt?¡± Yingbao showed her wrist to Lady Wen and wrote a few words: ¡°They bled me.¡± Wen Shu quickly held her hand and said anxiously, ¡°Don¡¯t move, I¡¯ll get the medicinal liquor.¡± Yingbao nods. Her bandage on the wrist was dyed red with blood. It needed to be rewrapped and cleaned before applying anotheryer of medication. If it weren¡¯t for the Five Dingzhi pills she had been taking, she would have long be weak and powerless. That damned Pei Shixian used some kind of medicine that slowed down her wound¡¯s healing process, hence her wrist bandage constantly being soaked with blood. Lady Wen helped Yingbao lie down on the bed and ordered the servants to find Master Zhou and tell him that Yingbao was back. ¡°Yingbao, what happened? Why can¡¯t you speak?¡± Xiu Zhenniang asked. ¡°Pei Shixian and Han Yueniang took me to a basement and performed a sorcery ritual to transfer luck to Chen Tiantian.¡± Yingbao managed to write about the whole incident with a charcoal pen. Xiu Zhenniang gritted her teeth in fury and immediately had her husband report it to the Prefectural Government Office. Before long, Zhou Wuchang and his two apprentices hurried over. When he learned the whole incident was done by Pei Shixian and his wife, he wasn¡¯t too surprised. Zhou Wuchang, umonly affectionate, gently touched Yingbao¡¯s head and saidfortingly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your master will avenge you. You stay here with Lady Wen. I wille for you when I have taken care of everything.¡± He then ordered Zhang Min, ¡°Take good care of your junior apprentice sister. If anything else happens, you won¡¯t be let off lightly.¡± Zhang Min nodded despondently. Thus, Yingbao began staying at the Wen family home, lying in bed for a day. When she woke up, she heard about what Master Zhou had done to Pei Shixian¡¯s family from Zhang Min. ¡°The Han mother and daughter tried to flee to Beijing by boat but were stopped and brought back by my master for trial at the Prefectural Government Office.¡± Zhang Min excitedly recounted, ¡°I heard from Elder Apprentice Brother that Master Zhou drained half a bowl of blood from Chen Tiantian and fed it to a ck dog.¡± Yingbao was puzzled, and wrote in her small notebook: ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Hehe, Elder Apprentice Brother said this is the method of transferring the universe¡¯s energy, which feeds her sins to the ck dog to cleanse her soul.¡± Actually, it¡¯s just payback for her drinking Yingbao¡¯s blood. ¡°What happened after that? Were they punished?¡± Yingbao wrote swiftly with her charcoal pen. Zhang Min frowned, ¡°Pei Shixian denied practising the magic of disgust and kept defending himself. It seems like Magistrate Wang somewhat favours him.¡± Yingbao¡¯s expression darkened. Just when she heard Zhang Min whisper, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, today Master chopped off one of Pei Shixian¡¯s hands in court. He also had letters tattooed on the faces of the Han mother and daughter.¡± Yingbao¡¯s eyes widened. Zhang Min whispered, ¡°In master¡¯s hand is the purple gold dagger bestowed by the Emperor, meant to execute corrupt officials. He used that to avenge you.¡± At this, Yingbao¡¯s eyes sparkled, and she yelled, ¡°That¡¯s great¡­¡± Although her voice was hoarse, she managed to produce sound. ¡°Eh? Junior Apprentice Sister, you can speak!¡± Zhang Min eximed with surprise, ¡°I¡¯ll tell Master about this.¡± Yingbao also wanted to go. She wanted to see what words had been tattooed on Chen Tiantian¡¯s face. Under the apaniment of Lady Wen, the young apprentice siblings made their way to the entrance of the Prefectural Government Office. By then, quite a crowd had gathered around the office. Most of them were curious townsfolk, and there were also around ten Taoists. Yingbao and Zhang Min jumped off the carriage and squeezed into the crowd. They saw Mrs. Han and Chen Tiantian being held back by several government officials at the stairs, not allowed to leave. They were executing Magistrate Wang¡¯s order to exhibit them to the public for two hours before they could depart. Yingbao looked at Chen Tiantian, crying her eyes out with tears streaming down her cheeks, but she felt no ripple in her heart. In her past life and this one, she had never killed anyone. But at this moment, she couldn¡¯t help but think about killing Chen Tiantian herself. She was sure Chen Tiantian had wanted to kill her back when they were locked in the cer. Sadly for they had big ns, they didn¡¯t dare to leave no trace. Chen Tiantian, spotting Yingbao now, hatred surged in her eyes. On one side of her forehead was a prominent bird-egg size ¡®prisoner¡¯ character. Next to the Han family¡¯s mother and daughter, a government official held up a sign with a statement pinned on. It dered the Han family hadmitted heinous crimes, harming children by using sorcery, drinking their blood, actions that are morally repugnant. Therefore, their faces have been tattooed as a deterrent to others. The same ¡®prisoner¡¯ mark was etched on Han Yueniang¡¯s forehead, but she was nkly looking at the sky,pletely numb. ¡°Junior sister, Pei Shixian¡¯s right hand was severed, and he will never be able to perform spells again.¡± Zhang Min had a look of schadenfreude. Yingbao took her senior brother¡¯s arm and returned to the cart. With Chen Tiantian¡¯s face tattooed, will she still have a shot at bing the Empress Dowager in this life? Probably not. This was very good indeed. Yingbao breathed a sigh of relief. A few dayster, the master and his three disciples set off on their journey. This time, they were not traveling on foot but brought two dwarf horse carts with them. Yingbao shared one with her second senior brother, while the eldest senior brother and the master rode in the other one. The carts were loaded with bedding, luggage, and such. They headed north at a moderate pace, covering about sixty to seventy miles a day. Whenever they passed through towns and county cities, they would stop to walk around, buying daily necessities, food, and water to bring with them. Before they knew it, it was the end of August and the weather was getting colder and colder. The master and his disciples finally entered the territory of Jingzhou. Passing a small county town, Zhou Hao bought a lot of rice and flour to put on the horse cart, and also bought some salt and sugar. After traveling a few tens of miles, Master Zhou said, ¡°Let¡¯s stop at the vige ahead and rest there for a few days.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± This trip was the most rxed one for Zhang Min, he was ecstatic and quickly directed the horse cart towards the vige. Shortly after, houses made of stacked stones with thatched roofs came into view. The houses were low, looking quite shabby. A few vigers came out of the vige, standing by the road and curiously eyeing the horse carts. An elderly viger dressed in ragged clothes suddenly shouted, ¡°General Zhou! Are you General Zhou?¡± Zhou Wuchang smiled and nodded at him, ¡°Uncle Wu, I am Zhou Wuchang.¡± Old Man Wu hurriedly ran over, eximing excitedly, ¡°It really is you! You¡¯ve finallye back!¡± A few more vigers recognized Zhou Wuchang and came over to greet him. Yingbao was curious. She quietly asked her second senior brother, ¡°Have you been here before?¡± ¡°I have.¡± Zhang Min wanted to say that his family house was just over a hundred miles away in Prefecture City. This time he was happier than anyone to return home. Yingbao asked, ¡°What did Master do before? Why does he know these people?¡± ¡°Master was stationed here for over a decade, everyone in the military camp knows him.¡± In fact, Zhou Wuchang is the current emperor¡¯s uncle, the half-brother of thete Empress Dowager on her father¡¯s side. He was once stationed on the frontier in his youth and had held the high-ranking position of Great General of Huaihua. Later, as his rtives passed away one by one, he surrendered his position, returned home, and became a Taoist, living the life of a hermit. ¡°Yingbao, when we have some free time, I¡¯ll take you to the woods over there to hunt for some rabbits to bring back for dinner.¡± Zhang Min excitedly offered. Yingbao jumped off the horse cart, ¡°Master forbids killing. We are Onmyoji. Aren¡¯t you afraid Master will punish you if you go hunting rabbits?¡± Zhang Min also jumped off the horse cart, took down the bags of rice and grains from the cart, and said, ¡°That¡¯s just for show. Now that we¡¯re in Jingzhou, we should eat and drink what we can. Nobody will me you. Hey, even Master isn¡¯t strict about that.¡± Yingbao asked, ¡°For show? Why?¡± Chapter 314 - 310: Jujube Tree Village_1 Chapter 314: Chapter 310: Jujube Tree Vige_1 ¡°What¡¯s with all the questions? Anyway, our master is not a picky eater when he¡¯s travelling.¡± Zhang Min lifted some salt and carried it towards a thatched hut. Yingbao followed behind, scanning around. A few curious children were watching her and Zhang Min, one of whom spoke to Zhang Min, ¡°You are Zhang Min, right?¡± Zhang Min grinned and said, ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t you recognize me? Little Douzi.¡± The boy known as Little Douzi gave a chuckling smile, ¡°I almost didn¡¯t recognize you, you¡¯ve put on quite a bit of weight.¡± Zhang Min replied, ¡°I haven¡¯t gained weight, just grew taller. Hmm? You seem to still be short.¡± And thin. Little Douzi¡¯s face darkened in response, ¡°I¡¯m not short, you just got fatter.¡± The two continued their banter as they entered the hut. The inside of the hut was narrow and gloomy. It had a brick bed, both inside and out, covered with a ragged reed mat. Zhou Wuchang and two elderly men were already sitting on the bed, chatting away. Zhang Min ced arge bag of salt and sugar on the bed saying, ¡°Master, I¡¯m taking my junior sister out for a stroll.¡± ¡°Go ahead,¡± Zhou Wuchang nodded in agreement, reminding, ¡°Don¡¯t go too far.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t go far, just to see the Stone Mountain.¡± Zhang Min lived in this vige for half a year about two years ago, and got along quite well with the local kids before following his master and brothers to Qinchuan County. His master waster hired as an instructor for the Yin Yang Department at the Medical Bureau, where he has been studying since. ¡°Yingbao, I¡¯ll take you to see the caves here, they are quite scenic.¡± Zhang Min added, ¡°It¡¯s warm in winter and cool in summer. There¡¯s even an underground river, the vige folks get their drinking water from the cave.¡± Yingbao was also curious. She had never seen a cave with water. Little Douzi and two seven or eight-year-old girls also followed, each carrying a small wooden bucket. His family had guests, and his father had asked him and his sister to fetch water for tea. The children arrived at a hillside about two miles from the vige, climbed up a narrow path and arrived at a cave entrance. The cave was pitch dark, yet clear spring water flowed from inside forming a puddle outside. The girls squatted down and scooped water into the buckets using a gourddle, while Little Douzi submerged his bucket directly into the water to fill it, then lifted it up. Zhang Min peered into the cave, asking his little fellow sister, ¡°Yingbao, do you want to go in and take a look?¡± ¡°No.¡± The cave was narrow here, with water flowing beneath their feet. Even though she was curious about what the interior looked like, she had no desire to enter the cave. Zhang Min was somewhat disappointed. He kicked a stone into the water, turned his head and asked Little Douzi, ¡°Little Douzi, do you have a fire starter?¡± He wanted to make a torch and go into the cave himself, because he had hidden something in the cave before, and wanted to check if it was still there. Little Douzi shook his head, ¡°I didn¡¯t bring it.¡± Who carries a fire starter around with them? That thing can easily light up clothes. Yingbao squatted down and scooped the water with her hand, feeling curious. This was halfway up a hill, it was simply incredible that water could flow from a cave. A little girl beside her gazed at her with a smile, asking, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Jiang Yingbao.¡± Yingbao returned her smile. ¡°My name is Cui Hua, hers is Cui Lan, my dad is the vige chief of Jujube Tree Vige.¡± While saying this, Cui Hua put a bamboo stick through the handle of the water bucket, helped her sister lift the bucket, and suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s go back. When the sun sets, there will be wolves around here.¡± Little Douzi also lifted a bucket of water and slowly started to walk back. Seeing that he was struggling, Zhang Min took the initiative and helped him carry the water. Yingbao, with nothing to do, looked around as she walked. This ce hardly had any fertilend and no sizeable trees on the mountain. Even shrubs and wild grass were scarce, creating a bare and bleak environment with almost no vegetation. Such a barren ce was even worse than the South Slope of Dongchen Vige¡ªperhaps this was the reason for their vige¡¯s poverty. The sisters up ahead were wearing dresses patched upon patches. Despite the cold weather, they were still wearing straw sandals. Little Douzi was no better off, his sleeves thin and tattered. With such a getup, he could beg in the market without having to worry about his appearance. It was simply unbelievable that these three siblings were the children of the vige head of Jujube Tree Vige. The children carried water to the kitchen, and only then did Yingbao notice that the water tank in Cui Hua¡¯s house did have water, but it was not very clean, somewhat muddy, unlike the water from the cave. Cui Hua noticed her doubt and said, ¡°We usually drink groundwater from the vige. Today, since the general came, Dad let us fetch water from the mountain cave.¡± Yingbao: I see. She rummaged in her bag and handed out several pieces of rock candy to Cui Hua and her sister Cui Lan. Cui Lan excitedly epted and quickly popped a piece into her mouth, her eyes narrowing in a smile. ¡°It¡¯s so sweet!¡± Cui Hua epted the rock candy, thanked her, and carefully tucked it into her pocket. Then she washed her hands and began to make dough for cooking. Yingbao saw that Cui Hua was about nine years old, and her sister Cui Lan was only six or seven. Both were quite adept at housework. Yingbao had not seen the mistress of the house and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Where¡¯s your mother?¡± As Cui Hua was kneading the dough, she said, ¡°Mother is no longer here.¡± By ¡°no longer here,¡± she meant her mother had died. Yingbao understood immediately. Just as Yingbao didn¡¯t know what to say, she heard someone calling her from outside: ¡°Yingbao,e out for a moment.¡± It was her senior brother¡¯s voice, so Yingbao hurriedly ran out of the kitchen. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Her senior brother wouldn¡¯t call her if there was nothing urgent. Perhaps their Instructor had asked her to give out some medicine again, or to treat someone. Sure enough, Zhou Hao said, ¡°Instructor wants you to see a patient.¡± Yingbao had no choice but to retrieve the medicine box from the carriage. The Instructor had once said that practicing medicine was a form of cultivation and advised her to provide free medical consultations whenever possible during her travels. So, along the way, Yingbao had treated a few patients with severe illnesses and gifted them some medicine. Because the Instructor had said he would pay for the medicines, but only when they returned home. What could Yingbao do but agree? But wasn¡¯t the Instructor a Forbidden Curse Grand Master? Why did he want his disciple to take pulses and diagnose people? When she entered the main room, under the light, she saw a man lying on the kang bed. He looked weak and pale, seemingly on his deathbed. Zhou Wuchang waved his little disciple over, ¡°Come and see if there¡¯s any hope for him.¡± Yingbao walked over and took his pulse. She asked the person standing nearby, ¡°Tell me about his condition.¡± The man, who was big and burly with a goatee, soberly detailed the patient¡¯s symptoms. ¡°¡­his arrow wound has not healed and has be infected and rotten. Please, young doctor, save him.¡± The man with the goatee nearly choked on his words. Yingbao lifted the nket covering the patient and saw that his upper body was bare. On his shoulder was a wound asrge as a bowl, rotten and emitting a pungent smell. After a quick check, she found the patient only had a wound on his shoulder. She nced at her Instructor: ¡°With his condition, we need to call a gue doctor to cut off the rotten flesh. Only then, with medicine, would there be a chance of recovery.¡± Zhou Wuchang said indifferently: ¡°We don¡¯t have a gue doctor. You¡¯ll have to do it yourself. If it¡¯s too difficult, your senior brother can assist you.¡± Chapter 315 - 311: Scraping Flesh to Cure Wounds_1 Chapter 315: Chapter 311: Scraping Flesh to Cure Wounds_1 Yingbao nced again at the elder brother standing behind her master, ¡°Alright, I have a thin knife here. Let the elder brother cut it carefully, just avoid injuring the major blood vessels.¡± Zhou Hao came over with an expressionless face and ask, ¡°When do I cut?¡± ¡°First go and wash your hands clean,¡± Yingbao addressed everyone in the room, ¡°I would ask all of you to step outside, please.¡± It would not do for her to collect things with so many eyes fixated on her. Because her medicines and surgical instruments are kept in her cave dwelling, even though she has a small medical box, it¡¯s notpletely equipped. Zhou Wuchang led everyone out of the room, and had the elderly Wu to bring another oilmp into the room for illumination. Subsequently, Zhou Hao, with clean hands, walked in and saw the little sister holding two thin knives and a pair of scissors over the me of a candle. After preparing the surgical instruments and scissors, Yingbao ced everything on a clean cotton cloth for use. She took a pot of strong liquor and made the patient gulp down a few mouthfuls, then poured the liquor on his shoulder wound. The patient twitched once but didn¡¯t move again. Yingbao then had the elder brother start to cut away the necrotic flesh. The man was steadfast, he only screamed a few times, but he didn¡¯t struggle too much. After Zhou Hao cleaned the wound, he saw the little sister pouring another bottle of strong liquor on his shoulder. ¡°Ah~¡± The man screamed, with some liquid poured into his mouth again. However, this time it was not alcohol, but sweet-tasting fruit juice. Then Yingbao handed over a packet of wound medicine powder to the elder brother and asked him to apply the medicine. Afterwards he used cotton cloth to wrap up the patient¡¯s entire shoulder. The wound processed, the patient peacefully fell asleep. Zhou Hao was already covered in sweat, too fatigued to even keep his hands steady. This was his first time dealing with such a wound, his mind felt strung tight like a pulled bowstring. Only when it was finally done, he nearly copsed from exhaustion. No wonder the little sister had asked him to remove the necrotic flesh, this truly was not a job for an ordinary person. Yingbao cleaned the surgical instruments and scissors and threw arge ball of cotton onto the basin, asking the second brother to take it out and discard it. This piece of cloth was soaked with pus and blood, the disgustingly putrid smell was unbearable, she definitely did not want to clean it herself. Zhang Min carried the basin out and asked Cui Hua where to dump it. Cui Hua nced at the cotton in the basin and took it, ¡°Let me do it.¡± Zhang Min, seeing Cui Hua take responsibility, happily ran back into the room. The next day, the patient woke up, and his spirits had greatly improved. The bearded man was so happy he repeatedly thanked Yingbao, ¡°Many thanks to the young doctor for saving my life.¡± He thanked Zhou Wuchang, and spoke about their experiences of being in a military base. It turned out that they were both from a military base ten miles away. Upon learning that Zhou Wuchang had brought back a divine doctor, they immediately sent the colonel by horse cart for treatment. ¡°General, we simply cannot survive at the military base anymore, theyers of exploitation from above, the sries constantly decreasing, and we soldiers getting injured don¡¯t even have medicine.¡± The bearded big man cried as he spoke, ¡°I¡­ if I weren¡¯t a military man, I wouldn¡¯t want to do it anymore.¡± Zhou Wuchang remained silent. Beginning from the previous reign, the imperial court started favoring civil officials over the military, the Martial Generals were excluded by the entire court without any substantial authority to speak of, even the frontiermanders were treated this way. Even if foreign invaders attacked, the frontiermanders had to inform the emperor through the surveince army, and only upon the emperor¡¯s personal decree could the frontier marshal mobilize a small number of troops. This caused constant enemy harassment at the borders, causing unbearable suffering for the civilians and soldiers in the vicinity. Not to mention the court often dyed the delivery of military sries and food supplies, leading to unrest among the military camps. Thereafter, the unsupervised military officers started exploiting their subordinates, trying all means to amass wealth. In the end, it is the lower-ranking soldiers that bear the brunt of this abuse. Many soldiers do not receive a penny during a year, their army food is even worse than pig feed. Under such circumstances, many soldiers venture out to loot the peasantry, killing and plundering has bemonce. When things get out of hand, the Imperial Court will send troops to suppress it, killing off a significant number of martial generals and soldiers, which makes many harbor resentment against the Imperial Court, even colluding with foreigners, massacring viges and border markets. Under such chaos, border soldiers have no heart to guard their posts and foreigners even more so treat thisnd as their own. Zhou Wuchang sees all this but is helpless to remedy it. He too faced such circumstances in the past when the Imperial Court held back the army¡¯s food and pay, resulting in discontent amongst the soldiers, with some of his own generals itching for action,ter pacified by him. However, not long after, his parents passed away one after another, both tragically in idents, which left him devastated and forced him to return home to investigate the truth. His investigation led him to the Imperial Teacher, but he could find no evidence. Without evidence, the Ministry of Justice could not open the case. Despondent, Zhou Wuchang embraced Taoism and became a wandering Taoist. The Emperor, for reasons unknown, bestowed to Zhou Wuchang his own purple-gold dagger, indicating that he could use it to kill corrupt officials above, and oppressive nobles below. Zhou Wuchang held the sheathed dagger, its golden sheath iid with jewels of five colors and a gold dragon coiling upwards. This long dagger could also be considered a short sword, its de already sharpened by him, iparably sharp. Last month, he had used this sharpened short sword to cut off Pei Shixian¡¯s right hand. ¡°Master, dinner¡¯s ready!¡± Zhang Min called out from outside the door. Cui Hua had steamed buns and cooked three chicken eggs with arge pot of rice porridge this morning, the aroma wafting. After scooping the eggs out of the porridge, Cui Hua washed them in cold water, cut each into four, and ced them on the te. She then scooped out a handful of pickled vegetables, washed them slightly, cut them into shreds, and put them into a pottery bowl. She subsequently brought the food and rice porridge to the main room and set it on the table. Noticing her younger sister Cui Lan eyeing the eggs longingly, she quickly pulled her into the kitchen, scolding her, ¡°Those are for the guests! Don¡¯t embarrass dad.¡± Cui Lan pouted unhappily, sitting at the worn-out table in the kitchen and biting into a coarse ck bun. Upon entering the kitchen, Yingbao saw this scene and felt confused seeing the two sisters sitting at the small kitchen table, eating these mixed-flour buns. This mixed flour bread, made mostly of wheat husks and bean flour with a slight amount of flour, hardly bes soft even after fermentation. ¡°Why don¡¯t you join us at the big table?¡± Yingbao asked. Cui Huaughed and said, ¡°We¡¯ll just have a bit, doctor, you should quickly eat, or the porridge will get cold.¡± Yingbao ced two big white buns from his hand on the table and said, ¡°From now on eat with us. If you don¡¯t want to waste those coarse grains, just mix them in with the white flour and cook.¡± As soon as Cui Lan heard that, she immediately picked up a white bun and took a bite. The bun was soft and sweet, exuding a fragrance of wheat. ¡°White buns indeed taste better.¡± Cui Lan eximed satisfyingly. If only she could have white buns every day. Cui Hua red at her sister and picked up the other bun and put it into the bamboo-made cupboard. Seeing that Cui Hua insisted not to eat, Yingbao could only return to his master¡¯s side. Sitting beside the table were Master Zhou Wuchang, eldest and second martial brother, old Mr. Wu and his son Wu Yi, and Wu Yi¡¯s son Wu Xiaodou. The bearded Colonel was also there. Eating his meal, Mr. Wu made small talk with Zhou Wuchang. ¡°All the arablend around us was taken by the nearby military camps, but we still have to pay taxes. Sigh, our vige originally had thirty to forty households, now there are only twenty or so left, those ten or so households all fled to the south.¡± ¡°Some even went to foreignnds, they said that they would rather serve the foreigners, than stay here being exploited by the government and nearby military camps, living this hopeless life.¡± Jujube Tree Vige is located in the hills and naturally, there isn¡¯t much fertilend. Now only some rockynd remains. Those fields can¡¯t even grow weeds, let alone crops. Zhou Wuchang was drinking his porridge quietly, silently listening to Mr. Wu¡¯sints. Imperial Court negligence and indifference towards border citizens will surely lead to great chaos. Chapter 316 - 312: Immortal Cave_1 Chapter 316: Chapter 312: Immortal Cave_1 The bearded man was left shamefaced by Wu Weng¡¯s words. Being a low-ranked army officer, he was well aware of the misconduct in the camp. Usually, superiors oppress subordinates, who, in turn, bully those beneath them. Anyone with a bit of skill or a wicked heart would inevitably seek ways to make a fortune. Even bandits would not dare raid this area within dozens of miles because those in the camp were the real bandits. Fortunately, they only plundered wealth and did not bring much harm to the impoverished locals around them. It¡¯s not that a hare doesn¡¯t eat the grass by its burrow, but that there¡¯s simply no grass around the burrow. After their meal, old man Wu led Zhou Wuchang around the vige, surprisingly apanied by Yingbao. They strolled around, talking about how to make a living. Zhou Wuchang suddenly asked Yingbao, ¡°Apprentice, how do you think this vige should develop?¡± Yingbao blinked, unaware of why her master was asking her this question. She was just a seven-and-a-half-year-old girl, how could she shoulder such a responsibility? Seeing his apprentice seemingly puzzled, Zhou Wuchang added, ¡°I¡¯ve been to Dongchen Vige before, where people live even better than those in the county town. The vigers here say that their ability to build their big houses and not worry about food and clothing is all thanks to you.¡± Yingbao: ¡­ She suddenly questioned the true purpose of her master bringing her here for training. Zhou Wuchang sighed and continued, ¡°If you, my apprentice, can think of any brilliant ideas, let me know. I will thank you on behalf of the vigers.¡± Yingbao tugged at her face, nodded and said, ¡°Okay.¡± Old man Wu didn¡¯t understand what the master and apprentice were talking about and was still unhappily chatting about the events of the past few years with Zhou Wuchang. The poverty of every household in the vige was infuriating. The Imperial Court not only refused to reduce taxes, but it also forcefully levied money and food time and time again. The local officials did not care about the lives and deaths of the people. The sole purpose of their survival was to cultivate crops and coin for the privileged officials, providing them with freebor and soldiers. Inparison to the prosperity of the cities and the Capital City, the vigers in remote areas could barely feed themselves or cover their bodies with clothes. To escape death by hunger or cold, people sold their children. Those who feared that having too many children would lead to extra tax, they would drown their newborns or directly abandon them in the wild. The more Wu old man spoke, the sadder he became, repeatedly wiping his eyes with his sleeve. Zhou Wuchang stayed silent, his expression growing grimmer. Seeing this, Yingbao tried her best to examine the surroundings, thinking about how to help these people make a living. This cecked water sources and it seemed there were no paddy fields here. From Wu Weng¡¯s words, the locals only grew millet, and even the wheat was scarce. Should they also grow golden ears then? But now the frost had fallen, and the weather was getting colder, and it might snow soon. Yingbao scratched her head, unable to think of any way such a poor ce could generate ie. At that moment, Cuihua came over with a basket, in whichy a light yellow cloth. Seeing Yingbao staring at her, Cuihua felt somewhat embarrassed and subconsciously protected what was in the basket with her arms. But Yingbao still saw it clearly. It was the cotton cloth she had told her second senior brother to throw awayst night. Yingbao turned her face away, pretending to look into the distance. She heard her master ask Wu Weng, ¡°Have you not cleaned up the pond you use for daily chores yet?¡± ¡°We cleaned itst year. Now that pond is twice as big as it was before,¡± replied Wu Weng. Zhou Wuchang nodded. He had some ties with this vige because he had been stationed here for several years. The vigers had fought against the Jurchen with him, and he had also stayed in Wu Weng¡¯s house recovering from injuries for several months afterward. Wu Weng continued to speak, recalling the drought that urred fromst year to this summer: ¡°Thank goodness for the Mountain God Cave here, or else people from the surrounding viges would have run out. Ah, we didn¡¯t have rain for half a year, and everyone¡¯s pond ran dry. It was only in June that we finally had some rain and the pond was filled up again.¡± Upon hearing the word ¡®immortal¡¯, Yingbao¡¯s eyes lit up, and she quickly asked, ¡°Grandpa Wu, what is this Immortal Cave?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a cave on Stone Spring Mountain. My grandfather told me that it¡¯s a life-giving spring bestowed by the immortals in heaven, and it¡¯s been called that since the older generations,¡± Wu Weng said proudly. Yingbao thought for a while, then asked, ¡°Who owns that cave?¡± Wu Wengughed, ¡°Nobody. Who would want a mountain where not even a single tree grows?¡± Once thend is bought, taxes must be paid, regardless of whether it is mountainous or sandynd. If you buy it, you can be sure you will have to pay tax to the government every year. So even if the government gave it away for free, nobody would dare to ept it. Yingbao pulled at her master¡¯s wide sleeves and whispered, ¡°Master, I figured out a way to help the vigers make money.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Zhou Wuchang was also curious about what his young apprentice woulde up with: ¡°What should they do?¡± Yingbao smirked, ¡°Since there¡¯s an Immortal Cave here with a spring bestowed by the immortals, why not let the vigers buy that cave and start selling the Immortal Water exclusively to the people in the cities, charging one coin for a carrier load.¡± Zhou Wuchang was taken aback, shaking his head, ¡°Who would be foolish enough to pay one coin for a carrier load of water?¡± Even in the Prefecture City, mountain spring water brought into the city costs only five to ten coins per carrier load. At its most expensive, the price didn¡¯t exceed twenty coins. His little apprentice asked for one whole coin for a load as soon as she opened her mouth. This deal definitely wouldn¡¯t turn a profit unless those buying the water were mad. ¡°We will know if it works when we try.¡± Yingbao was very optimistic about this business. If this didn¡¯t work, she could nt some flowers in that cave herself to create a miracle. Then she wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the wealthy city folks noting to buy the water. Hehe, who knows, this vige might be famous from then on, turning into another wealthy vige. The current priority was to buy this mountain, concoct a story, and make the people from several surrounding viges the protectors of the Immortal Cave so that others would not dare touch it lightly. In this way, even if some nobles were to snatch the stone spring, they would have to treat these vigers well. Zhou Wuchang considered for a while before finally nodding, ¡°Alright, since you¡¯re so sure, let¡¯s let the vigers give it a try. However, they don¡¯t need to buy the cave. It could lead to disputes. I¡¯ll buy it instead. Then I¡¯ll build a Taoist temple there.¡± Old man Wu, having impaired hearing, couldn¡¯t make out what the master and apprentice were saying. He could only look at them curiously. Following that, the master and apprentice specifically went to the Stone Spring Mountain to scout, deciding where to build the Taoist temple. Afterward, they went to Lizheng to discuss purchasing the mountain where the spring was located. Lizheng, being an old acquaintance of Zhou Wuchang, promptly led them to the County Government to estimate the price. Eventually, Zhou Wuchang spent over four hundred taels of silver and bought the entire Stone Spring Mountain, including the surrounding sandynd. Zhang Min was shocked by his master¡¯s move and repeatedly asked him, ¡°Master, are we going to cultivate Taoism here?¡± ¡°I am merely building a ce to stay. If you wish to stay and cultivate Taoism, you can,¡± Zhou Wuchang replied. Zhang Min: ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay.¡± This is not a pleasant ce. There¡¯s nothing to eat or drink, not even a fruit tree. Chapter 317 - 313: Act First, Report Later_1 Chapter 317: Chapter 313: Act First, Report Later_1 In the following days, Zhou Wuchang hired people to purchase some square stones, timber, bamboo, and enough tiles to cover five rooms. Within less than ten days, these materials had arrived one by one. When building the house, theborers from the surrounding viges all came to help, and they got a full meal at noon. When the house was almost finished, a group of soldiers suddenly arrived, with a sneering leader at the head, shouting, ¡°Who allowed you to build a house here?¡± The vigers became nervous at the sight of these troops from a nearby military camp, gradually stopping their work. Little Douzi, who was helping to carry tiles, saw the troubleing and quickly slipped back to the vige to find Zhou Wuchang, ¡°Sir, the officer from the military camp hase and forbidden us from building. You need toe and see!¡± ¡°Alright, lead the way.¡± Zhou Wuchang got up, attached the purple and gold dagger to his waist, and followed Little Douzi to Stone Spring Mountain. Yingbao and Senior Zhou Hao quickly followed. By the time they arrived at Stone Spring Mountain, they saw three to four dozen vigers chased to one side by the soldiers. The colonel was inspecting the house, his face full of greed. Zhou Wuchang walked up to the vigers and asked, ¡°Why has the work stopped?¡± Before the vigers could reply, the colonel turned around, looked Zhou Wuchang up and down, and sneered, ¡°Who are you? Do you dare to defy my orders?¡± Zhou Wuchang also looked at him, ¡°Who I am, you are not worthy of knowing.¡± Enraged, the colonel drew his waist knife and swung at Zhou Wuchang. Zhou Wuchang didn¡¯t move, but several soldiers did. They promptly ran over, grabbed the colonel, and tried to calm him down, ¡°General, please calm down.¡± Still restless, the colonel pointed his sword at Zhou Wuchang and yelled, ¡°Where did this spye from! I¡¯m going to arrest you and thoroughly interrogate you! You! You! And you guys too! Arrest him!¡± The soldiers hesitated and murmured, ¡°General, keep your temper in check. We haven¡¯t figured out his background. What if he belongs to a prominent family? That could be troublesome.¡± The colonel roared, ¡°I don¡¯t care which family he belongs to. Once they¡¯re on my mountain, they must obey my rules!¡± Zhou Wuchang chuckled and asked loudly, ¡°Where is your mountain gate?¡± Taken aback, the colonel growled, ¡°I¡¯ll fuck your mother! My mountain gate is¡­¡± Before he could finish, Zhou Wuchang had already swiftly moved forward and brutally stabbed him in the chest with his dagger. Everyone was stunned. The two soldiers that were restraining the colonel instinctively backed away, watching as the colonel fell stiffly to the ground, dead. ¡°You! You dared to kill?¡± One of the soldiers finally reacted, hastily pulling out his waist sword and pointing it at Zhou Wuchang. Zhou Wuchang calmly pulled out a handkerchief, wiping the blood off of his dagger, then replied coldly, ¡°You exploit the people and rob travelers on the road. You all deserve to die!¡± This soldier¡¯s arm shook, and he nced at hisrades, hoping for their support. But the dozen or so other soldiers stood rooted to the spot and didn¡¯t move. ¡°This person killed our colonel general. Instead of standing there, why don¡¯t you help capture him?¡± The man was the colonel¡¯s trusted aide and squad leader. Seeing his superior officer¡¯s death, he was shaking from head to toe. If this incident got reported to higher-ups, he would surely be held ountable. A few soldiers hesitated for a moment, then walked forward, and while the trusted aide was still dazed, they killed him. The vigers cried out in shock, but deep down, they felt a sense of secretive satisfaction. Yingbao¡¯s eyes widened in shock; she didn¡¯t understand why the soldiers had also killed that man. Senior Zhou Hao remained expressionless, as if he was used to such sights. Zhang Min covered her little apprentice sister¡¯s eyes, whispering, ¡°Don¡¯t look, don¡¯t look. Both of those men were bad guys. Master didn¡¯t kill innocents. Don¡¯t be afraid.¡± Suddenly, several soldiers knelt on one knee in front of Zhou Wuchang, sping their fists and saying, ¡°We pay our respects to the general!¡± Zhou Wuchang nced at them lightly and said, ¡°I am no longer your general, from now on, call me Wuchang theyman.¡± The soldier who killed the colonel¡¯s trusted aide saluted and said: ¡°Zhu Sihu pays his respects to the general¡­ I mean, Mister Wuchang! I once fed horses in your army tent.¡± Eight or nine soldiers also said, ¡°We were all soldiers in your army.¡± Seeing that their colonel was killed by their former general, a few other soldiers couldn¡¯t help but shrink their necks, not daring to utter a word. Zhou Wuchang nced at them and said to Zhu Sihu: ¡°This Taoist temple was built by me, with all the necessary procedurespleted, and thend was purchased by me. From now on, you are not allowed to harass the vigers here.¡± Zhu Sihu looked embarrassed, and hurriedly said, ¡°I dare not do it again.¡± Zhou Wuchang nodded, ¡°Take the colonel back with you then. If anyone asks, let hime to me. The Purple Gold Sword in my hand is bestowed by the emperor. It¡¯s used to kill corrupt officials and tyrants, and even the soldiers in the army who cause chaos. If I encounter any, I will execute first and reportter, and will never tolerate them.¡± ¡°Yes! I will take the colonel back and report the truth.¡± Zhu Sihu said. The remaining soldiers also echoed his words. Afterward, a dozen soldiers took two corpses back to the camp. On their way, they agreed to tell everyone that the colonel and his trusted aide were killed by bandits, who then escaped. Anyway, such incidents were quitemon¡ª which military camp did not have casualties? Moreover, this colonel was notorious for his arrogance within the army. Leveraging his uncle¡¯s position as the supervising officer of soldiers and horses, he overlooked his subordinates and other officers, so it was not unusual for him to make enemies. Although these dozen soldiers were his personal guards, they had never received any benefits within the army. On the contrary, they would be whipped when the colonel was in a bad mood, treating them like ves. Now it¡¯s finally over; he was dead. Even the chief in charge of his property was also dead. They all thought it over, nning to divide the colonel¡¯s private property amongst themselves once they returned, lest others take it first. About ten dayster, the Taoist temple was finallypleted with an enclosing wall as well. The name ¡°Wuchang Temple¡± was carved into the que above the entrance. Yingbao and a few others moved into the temple, with her upying one of the rooms. The next day, Cui Lan and Little Douzi were arranged by their father to live there as well, saying that the newly built Taoist temple needs a thriving atmosphere. In recent days, Yingbao was always leaning on the heated table, weaving a story about Immortal Cave¡ªa narratively stirring romance about immortals¡ªto sell to the local storytellers when she and her master went to Jingzhou Prefecture. She not only wanted everyone in the prefecture city to know about the Immortal Cave in Jujube Tree Vige and the Immortal Water inside it, but she would also tell this story to the vigers, making the tale be well-known. Finally, after finishing writing it, Yingbao turned to Cui Lan and said, ¡°Cui Lan, go home and call everyone in the vige, I have something to say.¡± Cui Lan puckered her lips, not wanting to go. She was content to stay here where the stove was still burning, keeping the ce warm. Plus, she was able to eat two meals of white bread every day; she certainly did not want to go home. Seeing her reluctance, Yingbao took out a piece of candy from her bag, ¡°I will ask second senior brother to drive you home, and then you can ride backter.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Only then did Cui Lan cheer up. She took the candy into her mouth, jumped off the heated bed and left. Watching as the second senior brother drove away, Yingbao quickly ran to the rear of the house. Indeed, Shiquan Cave was just thirty feet behind the Taoist temple. Under the zing sun, the cave was fairly bright at this noontime. Yingbao took off her shoes, waded into the cave without daring to venture too far, stood on a rtively t area, took out a chisel from the cave mansion and started to nt two peony bushes. She dug two pits with the chisel and nted two robust peonies in them. After watering them with the water from the Pupil Spring and cleaning up the broken rocks, she made sure nothing looked out of the ordinary in the cave. She then put back the chisel and other items and waded out of the cave. The interior of the cave was much warmer than outside, so she suspected these two peony bushes could survive for a long time. Chapter 318 - 314: Immortal Water_1 Chapter 318: Chapter 314: Immortal Water_1 Two hourster. The vigers gradually arrived at the Taoist Temple, even Mr. Wu and his son came. Today, Master Zhou and his senior apprentice were not in the temple. Only Yingbao and the second apprentice were there. Of course, Little Douzi and his sister Cui Lan were also present. Yingbao brought out a booklet, on which she wrote a story with charcoal. Because she wrote in a hurry, the handwriting was a bit sloppy. Wu Yi curiously asked, ¡°Little Preceptor, what did you call us here for?¡± Yingbao replied seriously, ¡°Last night, I suddenly received a prophecy. I recorded it this morning, and I invited you all here to inform you about it. It¡¯s about the legend of Shiquan Cave.¡± The vigers all opened their mouths wide, stunned as they stared at the little child standing on the steps. Even Zhang Min turned to look at his junior fellow apprentice, wondering what she was up to. Yingbao cleared her throat and began, ¡°Actually, the water in Shiquan Cave is created from the tears of the Mysterious Heavenly Woman. Feeling sympathy for the sufferings of the world, she created the Immortal Cave here. As long as people are kind-hearted and have notmitted heinous crimes, drinking this water can dispel evil, cure diseases, and grant long life.¡± ¡°Re-Really?¡± The vigers were somewhat skeptical, but deep in their hearts, they held a flicker of hope. ¡°The water from the cave can truly cure diseases, dispel evil, and grant long life?¡± Yingbao nodded and added, ¡°Of course it can help the good-hearted people, as for the wicked¡­that¡¯s another story.¡± Whenever someone questioned, she encouraged them to explore the cave, believing that many people could not understand why two vivid peonies were blossoming in the cave. Even her master would be surprised when he saw it. ¡°Can¡­ can it cure my chronic rheumatism?¡± An old viger asked with great expectation. Yingbao scratched her forehead, hesitatingly saying, ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure about that, why don¡¯t you try drinking a scoop of water from the cave?¡± Chronic rheumatism is mostly caused by dampness and cold, even if he drank the most potent medicinal concoctions, it probably wouldn¡¯t cure it instantly. But to make the vigers believe in the magic of the water from this cave, this step was necessary. The old viger was about to go to the kitchen to get something to hold the water when several young men rushed out, first grabbed buckets and basins from the temple kitchen, and then ran to fetch water. Soon, they returned with the water. Yingbao went to the side of the bucket, nced at the clear spring water, and her sleeve unintentionally brushed over the bucket. She scooped up a gourd of water, stirred it inside, and gave it to the elder viger. The old man took it tremblingly, and drank the whole gourd of water bit by bit. After drinking, he patted his stomach, feeling very refreshed. The remaining vigers alsoe around, inspecting the old man up and down, asking, ¡°How does it feel? Notice anything?¡± The old manughed and said, ¡°I suddenly feel more invigorated.¡± Hearing his words, the vigers suddenly turned their gazes towards the bucket of water, their eyes burning with anticipation. Seeing this, Yingbao quickly said, ¡°Young people don¡¯t need to drink it, this water is for the elders.¡± With that, she signaled the second apprentice toe and distribute the water. Zhang Min was extremely curious and also wanted to take a sip. But with his junior fellow apprentice watching, he could only distribute the water to the elderly and weak of the vige. ¡°I, I also want to drink.¡± A man with a pale and thin face pleaded to Zhang Min. Zhang Min looked at his junior fellow apprentice. Seeing that she did not object, he scooped arge gourd of water and handed it to the man. The man gulped the water down in one breath, and even tipped the gourd to ensure not a drop was left before reluctantly returning it to Zhang Min. Just like that, the bucket and basin of the fetched water was cleaned out. However, some were still skeptical. One of them doubted Yingbao¡¯s words, ¡°Little Preceptor, this stone cave has long existed. Howe I didn¡¯t know the spring water could cure diseases?¡± All eyes turned to Yingbao. ¡°Yeah, Little Preceptor, how did you know this spring water is magical?¡± They found it hard to believe on her word alone. ¡°Could it be that you are tricking us to make contributions to the temple?¡± Some started to speak insolently. Yingbao replied, ¡°Since you don¡¯t believe it, then go home.¡± She didn¡¯t want to waste more words. She was doing all this only to fulfill her master¡¯s request, to provide them with a path to prosperity. If these people were unwilling to cooperate, she could do nothing about it. Mr. Wu red at the viger, ¡°If you don¡¯t speak, no one would take you for a mute. When has Master Zhou ever asked you to make offerings?¡± The viger hung his head and stayed silent. After a thought, Yingbao decided to rify her intentions now to dispel their doubts. But she nned not to disclose it to everyone. So, she spoke to Mr. Wu and Wu Yi, ¡°Grandpa Wu, you guyse with me, I have something to say.¡± Mr. Wu and his son Wu Yi followed Yingbao into the main hall. Although called the main hall, it was just a main room, furnished only with an incense table and a few mats, not even a single chair. The three of them sat cross-legged on the mats. In front of the incense table dedicated to the Three Pure Ones, Yingbao exined her ns to the Wu Father and Son. ¡°A bucket of water for one coin?¡± Wu Yi thought he had heard it wrong. Yingbao, ¡°Yes, the water in the cave is ¡®Immortal Water.¡¯ Selling it for one coin is not too much. The wealthy families in the city are willing to pay five to ten coins for a pot of ¡®Cold Fragrance Snow¡¯ from a plum blossom. We are just selling it for one coin, it¡¯s already very cheap.¡± This water would not be bought bymon people, only the wealthy families would be willing to spend this much. A sparkle shed in Mr. Wu¡¯s eyes, ¡°So, Little Preceptor, you told that story today for our sake?¡± Yingbao looked at him and nodded, ¡°If I didn¡¯t say those things, how will you exin the origin of the water when you go to the Prefecture City to sell it tomorrow?¡± The rich people in the city are not fools, why would they spend a coin to buy an ordinary bucket of water? Labeled as ¡®Immortal Water,¡¯ it¡¯s a different story. ording to her estimation, in the future, even selling a bucket of water for two coins wouldn¡¯t be a problem. ¡°Good! Too good!¡± The vige heads of Jujube Tree Vige and the two surrounding viges had discussed numerous times but still couldn¡¯t make up their minds to flee to the south. No matter what, this ce was their roots. As long as they could barely make a living, who would be willing to flee to a foreignnd? Seeing that the vige heads and their sons did not oppose this business, Yingbao decided to send the first batch of spring water to the Prefecture City for sale the next day. Of course, to be on the safe side, her master and fellow apprentices would also need to apany them. It was said that the home of her second apprentice, Zhang Min, was in Prefecture City. This time, he could conveniently visit his family. Early the next morning, Vige Head Wu Yi mysteriously procured a donkey cart and came to Shiquan Cave to fetch water, apanied by two vigers. They scooped up ten buckets of water onto the donkey cart, and also ced two more buckets on Master Zhou¡¯s horse cart. Having fetched the water and prepared to leave, Yingbao abruptly said to her second apprentice, ¡°Second apprentice brother, you once mentioned that you stored something in the cave. Since there are many people here now, you should go and bring it out for me to see.¡± Zhang Min pped his head,ughed and said, ¡°Right, right, right! I indeed need to fetch it.¡± With that, he asked Little Douzi toe with him into the cave. They also brought a torch made from a stick and dry grass. Because he had hidden the item deep inside the cave, they would not have found it without the torch. He took off his shoes and held them in his hand. Before entering the water, Zhang Min said to his junior fellow apprentice, ¡°I will break off a stctite from inside for you. It is very beautiful.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Ok, be careful.¡± Chapter 319 - 315: Jingzhou Prefecture_1 Chapter 319: Chapter 315: Jingzhou Prefecture_1 Zhang Min and Little Douzi hadn¡¯t been in there long when suddenly there was a scream. Everyone outside was given a start. Before too long, Zhang Min and Little Douzi came out, water dripping down them, holding two enormous peony flowers in their hands. ¡°There are two flowering trees inside the cave! They¡¯re this tall!¡± Little Douzi got so excited he started babbling, ¡°It¡¯s a miracle! Ah! This Shiquan Cave is actually the dwelling of the Heavenly Empress!¡± Zhang Min was also very excited. She put on her shoes, took the two peony flowers and ran to find her master, ignoring her junior sister disciple who was calling after her. ¡°Master! Master!¡± Zhang Min found her master and eldest fellow disciple at the entrance and brandished the flowers, ¡°Look at this! Found these in the Shiquan Cave!¡± Zhou Wuchang was talking with old man Wu and was stunned when he saw the flowers his disciple was holding. He took them and looked, took a sniff, and frowned, ¡°Grown in the cave?¡± ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Zhang Min nodded vigorously, ¡°There were two peony trees over a person¡¯s height and they were full of flowers!¡± She pointed at the peony in her master¡¯s hand, ¡°One tree blooms with bright red flowers and the other with pale white ones, their roots as thick as a bowl!¡± At the mention of peony trees growing in the cave, old man Wu¡¯s beard quivered with excitement. ¡°So the gods really have shown a sign! Truly the blessing of the Three Pure Ones! Our ce will be a blessednd!¡± Whenever a miracle happens, even without a Taoist Temple, there would be a thriving incense business. By then, the water from that cave will be worth its weight in gold. Zhou Wuchang was skeptical, but, with his second disciple, he went to the cave and indeed found two huge peony trees. Looking at the roots of the trees, they were firmly embedded in the ground, not as if they had been recently transnted. Could it be that this little disciple of his was a reincarnated luck deity? If not, why was everything she saiding true? With these thoughts in mind, Zhou Wuchang climbed onto the cart, taking his three disciples toward Jingzhou City. Wu Yi and his son, Little Douzi, followed with their donkey cart. The cart contained ten barrels of water and one viger. Because of the weight, the donkey cart was moving somewhat slowly. It wasn¡¯t until afternoon that they reached the Prefecture City. Zhou Wuchang directed Wu Yi to follow their horse cart to a fairly bustling street. ¡°Just leave your donkey cart here and take out the peony flowers. When you see peopleing you need to shout out loud. Just like I taught you, don¡¯t show any fear.¡± Yingbao was teaching Wu Yi and his son how to do business. She wanted to watch them sell a barrel of water before going with her master to Zhang Min¡¯s home. Zhang Min saw that they were close to her house, but she wasn¡¯t in a hurry. She calmly watched Wu Yi and the others to see how they would hawk their wares. Wu Yi and a thin man called Waitou started to shout, ¡°Selling Immortal Water! Benefit for longevity! Good for beauty andplexion! One coin a barrel! Limited supply,e early for your share, once it¡¯s gone, it¡¯s gone!¡± At first, they were a bit shy, but then they saw other peddlers yelling, so they also let themselves go and even added a few extra lines to their pitch. At first, people were quite surprised when they heard a barrel of water cost one coin. Some even rolled their eyes at them and said they were crazy for money. Butter, when they saw the two vibrant, enormous peony flowers, they couldn¡¯t help but crowd around to look. Someone reached out to touch a petal and, discovering it was real, asked in surprise, ¡°Do you have a greenhouse?¡± Wu Yi held the flowers up higher and said, ¡°These grew inside our Immortal Cave, and the water is also from the Immortal Cave. Recently there was a divine sign, and tworge peony trees grew in the cave.¡± ¡°Is what you¡¯re saying true?¡± a person in the crowd asked. Wu Yi: ¡°Could it be false? Look at these peonies, it¡¯s September now, whose greenhouse can make peonies bloom at this time?¡± This person seemed persuaded. He took a small two-liang silver ingot from his waist pouch and gave it to Wu Yi, ¡°Give me two barrels, but you have to help me take them home.¡± Upon receiving the two-liang silver ingot, Wu Yi was overjoyed. His head was spinning, and he quickly agreed. They never imagined that the Immortal Water could fetch such a high price in the Prefecture City, their vige was saved now. Seeing Wu Yi and a viger named Skinny Monkey rushing out on a donkey cart to deliver goods, Yingbao immediately followed Master Zhou Wuchang to the Prefectural Government Office. Zhang Min¡¯s father was the Governor of Jingzhou. When he found out that his son and his son¡¯s master had returned, he hurriedlyid aside the official documents he was working on and ran back home. When Yingbao arrived at the Prefectural Government Office, she closely followed her master and senior brother. Zhang Min was already in tears with his mother and siblings. It would take some time for him toe out. But soon after, Mrs. Zhang sent for Yingbao through a maidservant. Yingbao had to leave the guest hall and follow the maidservant to the inner courtyard. Upon reaching the inner courtyard hall, she saw several people sitting. At the head was Mrs. Zhang. ¡°Yingbao,e here, let me get a good look at you. I heard about you from Min a long time ago and finally get to meet you today.¡± Mrs. Zhang warmly took Yingbao¡¯s hand and asked her to sit beside her. She then pointed to a few youngdies and said, ¡°This one is Lady Xuehua, my eldest daughter, four years older than you and eleven this year. The other two are Chun Hua and Xia Shi, the same age as you.¡± The three youngdies smiled at Yingbao together. Yingbao nodded towards them: ¡°Hello, sisters.¡± Lady Xuehua came over, and pulling Yingbao, said, ¡°So you are Yingbao! Our second brother mentioned you in a letter, and we thought you were the same age as me, turns out you¡¯re a younger sister.¡± Yingbao smiled a little. After a brief chat, Xuehua invited Yingbao to her room without bringing the other two youngdies. It was then that Yingbao found out Chun Hua and Xia Shi were illegitimate daughters of Zhang Min¡¯s father¡¯s concubines. Amongst the siblings, there was a hierarchy based on legitimacy. Lady Xuehua was the legitimate daughter of the Zhangs, and her living conditions were much better than that of the other two. She even had her own private courtyard. The other two lived with their mothers in a remote cottage and rarely had guests. However, today, since Zhang Min was back home, the siblings were supposed to meet. That¡¯s why Chun Hua and the others were called over. Xuehua asked Yingbao to sit down. ¡°Second brother mentioned that you built a Taoist temple on the outskirts of the provincial city. Are you going to stay there permanently?¡± Yingbao shook her head: ¡°No, the temple was built for the vigers.¡± Housing in that location was convenient for the vigers to guard the Shiquan Cave. Once the water from Shiquan Cave was sold as amodity, many people with evil intentions would definitely scramble for it. Even though the master had already bought that ce, without the temple, some people would recklessly treat the ce as unimed and do as they pleased. For example, the nearby military camp, as well as the surrounding gentry. Xuehua seemed a bit disappointed and sighed, ¡°So, you¡¯re going back south again?¡± Yingbao: ¡°Master said we will stay here for some time, Lady Xuehua, if you wish to see second brother, you can visit there.¡± Xuehua blinked, ¡°Then, when you return, I¡¯ll go with you to take a look. Second brother mentioned that there is a big limestone cave that is quite beautiful. I¡­I¡¯ve never seen it before.¡± ¡°Okay, you can go back with me when the timees.¡± Lady Xuehua is also a youngdy of renown in the Prefecture City. Having lived here for several years, she would undoubtedly have interactions with severaldies of equivalent social status. As long as she is taken to Shiquan to take a look and shown the extraordinary peony trees, Jujube Tree Vige¡¯s fame should rise before long. By then, the vigers would not have to repeatedly go into the city to sell water; perhaps, customers would queue up at the vige to make purchases. Hehe! The incense from the temple might be even more prosperous. Chapter 320 - 316: Autumn Outing_1 Chapter 320: Chapter 316: Autumn Outing_1 After spending two days in the prefecture city, master and apprentice hurried back to Jujube Tree Vige. Apanying them were Lady Zhang and her three daughters, as well as the family members of Feng Sima and Qian Sihu from the prefecture city. It happened to be September and although Chrysanthemum Day had passed, people were still out and about seeking chrysanthemums and climbing heights. Upon hearing that there was a cave several tens of miles away in the countryside that housed two peony trees in full bloom, several official families in the prefecture city were immediately keen on visiting. Feng Sima¡¯s wife and Qian Sihu¡¯s wife, upon discussion, proposed the idea of visiting this miracle to Lady Zhang. Naturally, Lady Zhang agreed. She was worried that it might be unsafe for her family to go out of the city by themselves. She couldn¡¯t be happier to have the families of Sima and Sihu apany them. As they set off, they were a grand cavalcade of people, with more than two hundred servants and guards. Each family also enlisted several horse-drawn carriages. Their march was as imposing as a military expedition. Yingbao and his three sisters, Xuehua, rode in a carriage together, and along the way, Yingbao told them a story about Stone Spring Cave. She added fuel to the fire, fabricating more to the story, making the three youngdies fixated on her words. Chun Hua blinked and asked, ¡°Is it indeed magical? Is the spring water really the result of tears shed by the goddess herself?¡± Yingbao ambiguously replied, ¡°I heard it from the elders in the vige. Whether it¡¯s true or not, I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Are there really peonies in the cave?¡± Xia Shi was also quite curious. Yingbao nodded, ¡°Yes, when you get there, you can go in and see for yourself.¡± Xia Shi clenched her fist, unable to hide her excitement. It was her first time leaving the city for a jaunt and even if there were no caves and peonies, she was still thrilled. Oh, if only auntie coulde too. Xia Shi covertly nced at her full sister. This time she and Chun Hua were able to go out, thanks to her full sister¡¯s rmendation to their mother. The caravan travelled at a steady and brisk pace. They set off early in the morning, reaching Wuchang Taoist Temple on Stone Spring Mountain by noon. The servants began to prepare meals while a few old women entered the temple¡¯s kitchen to cook for their masters. They had brought rice, vegetables, meat, and even supplies like soy sauce, salt, vinegar, sugar. Even tableware like bowls, chopsticks, and tes had all been brought along. The maidservants who hade with thedies started cleaning the rooms in the temple, dusting, wiping, and setting out bedding and boxes on the Kang bed-stove. Yingbao, at the request of several youngdies from official families, led them to Stone Spring Cave. A group of people came to the entrance of the cave, where they saw several vigersying out stones in the spring water, making a path for people to walk into the cave for sightseeing. The Xuehua sisters, two youngdies from the Sima family, and the sister duo from the Sihu family, including Yingbao, a total of eight youngdies, surrounded the spring water, eximing in amazement. Xia Shi and Chun Hua even squatted down, scooped up some water with their hands for a taste, and giggled, ¡°It really is immortal water, it tastes so sweet.¡± Seeing this, the remaining youngdies also bowed down to take a sip. Xuehua, being the eldest among the girls, acted more prudently and turned to ask Yingbao, ¡°Can we go into the cave and take a look?¡± Yingbao shook her head, ¡°Not today. Tomorrow.¡± She pointed to the busy vigers, ¡°Wait for them to finishying the stones, then someone should check the cave first, clean it out of any snakes or rats, then we can go in.¡± She too wanted to see what the cave water¡¯s stgmite looked like. Hopefully, she could create a miracle inside. Xuehua: ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s go and have a look around.¡± They intended to go on an autumn outing, so naturally, they would want to have a stroll. So, Yingbao led them on a stroll around. But this ce is truly barren, and now it¡¯s the deep autumn season, there isn¡¯t much to see. On the other side, Zhang Min took a few young masters from official families to go bird hunting. There aren¡¯t many things on the mountain, but there are plenty of sparrows. Just scatter a little grain on the ground, and arge flock would fly in. Several young boys with slingshots shoot at the birds,ughing joyously every time they hit one. Zhou Wuchang isn¡¯t at the Taoist temple, he¡¯s gone to the vige to tell the vigers to prepare some local food to sell at the temple. Vige head Wu Yi came back yesterday, having sold over a dozen buckets of water and even traded the two peony flowers for two coins. For the first time, he tasted the joy of making money, and shared it with the vigers. He suggested that everyone take turns guarding the temple and that those who didn¡¯t participate would not get a share of the earnings. As vige head, his words were influential. Everyone jumped in enthusiastically, not only taking turns guarding the temple but also volunteering to patrol Shiquan Cave, scaring away the wild animals that came to drink. Before long, people from two other viges found out and quickly sought out Wu Yi, wanting to join the patrol team. Wu Yi had no choice but to agree since Zhou Wuchang also approved of the idea of the three viges collectively maintaining the cave. With the advantages of numbers, even if wealthyndlords had nasty tricks up their sleeves, they needed to consider thebined strength of the vigers. Moreover, this mountain now had an owner, and even the elites dare not contend with the Governor of Jingzhou Prefecture. With the dawn of a new day, Yingbao was the first to rise. After fetching water for washing up, he went outdoors. The courtyard of the Taoist temple was filled with various tents. The servants living inside were also starting to get up; some carried water, others cooked, and some grabbedrge brooms to sweep the courtyard. After hearing that the spring in this ce was a godly one, the servants developed a special fondness for drinking its water. In twos and threes, they headed to the cave where they filled their water pouches. The vigers guarding the cave were greatly distressed but didn¡¯t dare to stop them, because these people were brought back by Master Zhou. Little Douzi murmured to his friend, ¡°I never thought the spring water would be precious before, why can¡¯t we watch others drawing water now?¡± Hispanion scratched his head, not knowing how to answer. He had once peed into this water, but he dared not mention that now. After breakfast, arge group of people trooped to the mouth of the cave. Led by two vigers, they stepped on newly paved stones to enter the cave. Just inside the cave, two peony trees as tall as adults stood before them. The trees were full of flowers, which looked eerily beautiful in the dim cave. A group of young girls gave out surprised cries, crowding over to smell the fragrance of the flowers. The three wives were also amazed and went over to inspect them. Without a doubt, they were peonies. Therge flowers were red and white and the silky petals emitted a subtle fragrance. One quick-witted youngdy promptly plucked one, causing great distress to the vigers. The vigers were angry but didn¡¯t dare to protest as she was one of the guests brought by Zhou Wuchang. One of them could not hold back and said, ¡°We kindly ask you not to pluck the flowers, these are divine gifts and should not be disturbed.¡± At his words, the youngdy¡¯s face fell. ¡°So what if I pluck one? I¡¯ll pay you if ites to that.¡± The viger didn¡¯t back down, retorting, ¡°This isn¡¯t about money. If everyone plucks a flower, what will happen if the immortals get angry?¡± Without mentioning anything else, they still need to sell water with these two peonies in the cave. If the flowers are gone, what can they sell? ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my sister plucking a flower? What are you prattling about, you lowly peasant?¡± The girl¡¯s brother, seeing his sister being embarrassed, pointed at the viger and yelled, ¡°Believe it or not, I can uproot your flower tree.¡± Seeing the dispute escting, Yingbao and his second senior brother rushed over to break it up. But they could not calm thedy and her brother, and it looked like a fight would break out soon. The girl¡¯s mother merely watched with a cold smile, having no intention of interfering. Chapter 321 - 317: Prosperous Incense_1 Chapter 321: Chapter 317: Prosperous Incense_1 Lady Zhang quickly tried to defuse the tension: ¡°Let¡¯s go inside and take a look first. It¡¯s said that the stgmites inside are very beautiful.¡± Thedy then said to her son, ¡°Sang, stop arguing with the townsfolk. Look after your sister and let¡¯s go inside.¡± The young man snorted at the viger and led the group inside. Yingbaogged behind and said to the still angry viger: ¡°Uncle, you don¡¯t need to worry. These flowers would fall off soon even if they weren¡¯t picked. If you don¡¯t want the flowers to be picked, you can ce a wooden fence around them to prevent people from getting close.¡± As a merchant, how could she not tolerate people¡¯s grievances? As long as she had a thick skin and a strong tolerance, none of these mattered. The vige business just started, Yingbao didn¡¯t want a good venture to be ruined just because of a small dispute. The young man just now was the son of the Sima family, and his father held a position in the Prefecture City just below Governor Zhang. He is the most powerful person in the Prefecture City. If he wanted to make trouble for the vigers of Jujube Tree Vige, I am afraid even Governor Zhang wouldn¡¯t be able to stop him. Taking a step back, the sky is wide and the sea is vast. Although Yingbao didn¡¯t want to bow her head to others, sometimes she had to do so. Or perhaps, she should make another miracle to awe those young boys and girls? The viger nodded: ¡°I¡¯ll listen to the young Master and go make a fence!¡± With that, he turned around and left the cave. Yingbao sent the viger on his way, and then leisurely walked into the cave. Thanks to the crowd up ahead that were holding torches, she managed to clearly see the path underfoot. Soon, there were waves of exmations from the crowd in the front. Yingbao ran over and saw that there were jagged stgmites hanging from the roof of the cave, and shiny white stgmites on the ground. The tallest one was even taller than a house. The internal part of the cave was vast, but the path was rough, with countless water droplets falling from the ceiling and gradually gathering into small streams flowing outside. This was the source of Shiquan Spring. After admiring it for a while, Yingbao didn¡¯t go further inside but instead went to ce a huge stgmites and fetched the prepared stele from her cave house, and quietly slipped it behind. Yesterday, she sneaked out of the Prefectural Government Office and went to a Stonemason Shop. She asked him to carve some words on a stone tablet, which read that this ce was the abode of the goddess of the heavens, who blesses the people with prosperity. The vigers living in this ce were also under her protection. The inscription said that the vigers should safeguard the Peony Divine Tree within the cave and not let any humans or animals harm them. It also warned that anyone who wantonly damaged the flowers, trees or spring water or insulted the vigers here would be gued by bad luck and have nothing going their way for their entire life. Yingbao gently pressed this huge stone tablet behind the stgmites, relying on her young age and dark clothing for saw her stealth. She then slipped quietly away to join her second brother. Zhang Min was currently taking a wooden box from a cavity in a rock wall,ughing as he said to his mother: ¡°Mother, this is something I hid here a long time ago, I didn¡¯t expect it to still be here.¡± ¡°What did you hide?¡± Xuehua leaned over and asked. Zhang Min opened the wooden box to reveal a few childhood toys. Xuehua made a sound of disinterest. But Zhang Min was happily holding the items in his arms, turned his head to see his little disciple sister, and said, ¡°I¡¯ll give them all to youter.¡± Yingbao was speechless. The toys in the box were rotting, how could he give them away to someone? People stayed in the cave for a long time before someone spotted a stone stele behind arge stgmite. The stele was about the height of a person, embedded in a crack, with many indistinct characters on it. ¡°Everyone, bring the torches over here! There are a lot of words on this stone tablet, let¡¯s see what is written!¡± a young man called. All the people hustled over. Zhang Min and Lady Zhang also came to take a look and fell silent after seeing it. The little girl who broke the flower earlier was scared to tears by the inscription and kept asking her mother what to do. Her brother frowned: ¡°This tablet must be the trick of the vigers, I don¡¯t believe there is any such thing as a goddess of heaven¡­¡± This time, Lady Sima did not let her son go, but shouted sharply: ¡°Shut up! You are spouting nonsense at such a young age, did you read all your books into the dog¡¯s stomach?¡± The young man dared not speak again and lowered his head in silence. Truthfully, he was quite scared, but he did not want to appear weak to others, which is why he forced himself to utter those words. Nobody dared to stay in the cave, so they all left in session. Upon reaching the peony tree, Lady Sima joined her palms together in prayer and bowed to the peonies. She muttered something, but Yingbao could not hear it distinctly. Afterward, Lady Sima forcefully donated two hundred coins worth of oil to the Taoist temple, hoping that the people in the temple would recite additional scriptures and spells for her son. Yingbao had to oblige her, but did not tell her that no one in their Taoist temple was seriously practicing Taoism. Neither the master, nor the elder, not even his second elder brother, nor himself. They were all charm masters of the Yin Yang Department of Apricot Grove, a world apart from most Taoists. On the second day, this group of people finally left. But they bought with them dozens of barrels of spring water. Afterward, people from the Prefecture City sequentially came to buy water. Even a few masters from the Prefecture School came for a visit and even entered the cave to have a look at the stele. They, too, bought several barrels of water to take back. From then on, the number of tourists increased, and many civilians came bearing incense and sacrificial offerings. Of course, the incense money was given to the Taoist temple, and Master Zhou Wuchang unceremoniously epted it all. In no time at all, half of the money used to buy the mountainnd and construct the houses were recovered. Yingbao had local vigers bring stones to encircle the entrance to the Shiquan Cave. Anyone who wanted to enter for sightseeing would have to pay fifty coins. This approach not only reduced the number of people entering the cave but also maintained the water source¡¯s purity. Who knows if those people would wash their hands or feet in the cave, or wash off some horrible disease? If so, wouldn¡¯t the water that flows out of the cave be unclean? Once warned by her, the vigers immediately installed a circle of stone stools in the cave. With these stone stools, people wouldn¡¯t have to walk directly on the cave floor upon entering. Time passed until the twelfth lunar month, where the weather was exceedingly cold, and even the water stored in the kitchen had turned into ice. Zhang Min and the head disciple were in the kitchen hammering the ice to get water, then mixed the water with flour to make food. Yingbao leaned against the window, watching the snowkes drifting outside and started to ponder. Jingzhou was way colder than her hometown, ording to Cui Lan. The ice on the pond was three feet thick, and you could skate on it. When Yingbao went ice-skating as a child, it was merely on a narrow little ditch where one could easily slip into an ice hole, which was not fun at all. However, it was bone-chillingly cold here. After just a stroll outside, your eyebrows and eyshes would be coated with frost. During this time, she was so frozen that she dared not leave the house and kept stuffing the kang¨Ca brick bed heated by a fire underneath¨Cwith firewood. In this cold weather, if you fetched a bowl of water from Pupil Spring, it would certainly be a lump of ice within two hours. Earlier, Yingbao had considered storing ice in the cave dwelling. When summer arrived, everyone could then enjoy icicles. However, the climate in her hometown was damp and the winter was not as cold as it was here. The thinyer of ice could not be stored at all. In contrast, this ce was a natural ice cer. If she stored enough ice, she believed it could certainlyst until the next summer. No sooner said than done. Yingbao put on her cotton-padded jacket, jumped off the kang, put on a tiger-patterned headwear, and dashed outside. A few thatched huts had already been constructed beside the Shiquan Cave, which were being guarded by several vigers in shifts. ¡°Little Douzi, please help me buy some Dahuang pots from the vige and deliver them to the Taoist temple.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Little Douzi agreed without asking what little master wanted with Dahuang pots. Yingbao added another instruction: ¡°I only want new ones¡ªno used ones.¡± Many vigers used Dahuang pots as manure pits to collect fertilizer by burying them in the ground. All sorts of human waste was dumped inside, therefore used Dahuang pots were strictly uneptable. Chapter 322 - 318: Strange Person _1 Chapter 322: Chapter 318: Strange Person _1 Little Douzi agreed and hurriedly ran down the mountain. The vigers poked their heads out to nce at Yingbao, cheerfully greeting, ¡°Young Master, starting work so early.¡± Yingbao nodded at them and returned to the Taoist temple. The vige was gradually growing prosperous now, and the vitality of the vigers had increased. Even Cui Lan and little Douzi had put on weight. People from the military station ten miles away had visited a few times, but they didn¡¯te to cause trouble, they would always discuss matters with Master in his room. Originally Yingbao wanted to listen to what they were discussing, but she was stopped by her eldest senior brother, who wouldn¡¯t allow her to approach Master¡¯s room. As a result, Yingbao developed some suspicions and would avoid them whenever she saw these peopleing to visit. The second senior brother, like her, was not allowed to approach, so every time this happened, he would take his little junior sister to explore the ¡®melting hole¡¯. In the evening, Little Douzi and his grandfather brought Yingbao severalrge pottery pots, each of which could be used for bathing. These pottery pots were not expensive, costing only around twenty or thirty coins each. Yingbao paid the money, and, ignoring the questioning of her second senior brother, she cleaned them all and said she would use them to hold things. The next day, when Master and the two senior brothers were not around, Yingbao quickly filled them with water and ced them in a secluded area of the yard, then waited for them to freeze. And, sure enough, in just half a day, all the water in theserge pots had frozen. But the trouble was that she couldn¡¯t get the ice out of the pots. After pondering for a while, she came up with a solution. She went to the kitchen to boil a pot of hot water, cing the pots with ice over the steaming hot water to warm for a while. Once the ice at the bottom of the pot melted, she could easily topple out the chunks of ice. Once the ice was out, Yingbao didn¡¯t rush to take it into her cave dwelling. Instead, she let it freeze again outside for a while before bringing it into her dwelling. For the next month, Yingbao continually collected ice using this method, always doing so secretly when her senior brothers and Master were not around. By December, more and more people wereing to buy the religious candles and water from the Taoist temple. Seeing that his small disciple was busy, Master Zhou Wuchang discussed with the vige Head, asking them to select two young boys to help manage the sales. However, the earnings from Shiquan Cave were still the responsibility of the three viges, and the money they earned was divided amongst themselves. Yingbao didn¡¯t interfere with these matters. She wrote a letter to her family and sister Wen, assuring them of her safety and enclosing with it arge package filled with crystal-clear stctites. She had asked Master to mail these letters and packages, so she didn¡¯t worry about it herself. As the New Year approached, it snowed for the second time in the area. The flurryingrge snowkes quickly covered the earlier umted snow that hadn¡¯t yet melted. Yingbao sat alone on the warm kang bed, looking through the window at the people who braved the snow to worship. The majority of them were the poor from nearby areas; some came asking for wealth, some came seeking medical help, and some came seeking a son. Master Zhou Wuchang usually saw the ones who sought medical help but asionally, when there was a female patient, he would call Yingbao to help. Lately, Yingbao had seen several female patients, but most of them did note for illnesses. Surprisingly, they were asking how to give birth to sons. Whenever she met these women, Yingbao would call the second senior brother to perform a Sacrificial Dance for them. Zhang Min was initially unwilling, but after being fixed under the deathly gaze of his younger sister, he had to reluctantly dance a few steps to please them. Time passed quickly amidst such trivialities. Before they knew it, it was already June of the following year. By this time, Stone Spring Mountain had be a renowned spiritual site in the nearby regions. A marketce had gradually formed at the foot of the mountain. Wu Yi and the vigers built several houses and a couple of thatched sheds on the barrennd at the foot of the mountain. The houses provided rest for people, essentially bing temporary inns. Under the thatched sheds, tea and spring water from Shiquan were sold. Other vigers came and built a few houses and erected several grass huts, not selling tea, but selling foods likerge cakes, steamed buns, and pickled vegetables. Seeing this, some out-of-towners quietly brought their baskets over to sell their own things, and those with shrewd minds also sold sachets and handkerchiefs embroidered with the nine heavenly beauties. The two peony nts in the cave, after being watered often by Yingbao with water from Pupil Spring, continued to bud and bloom, getting people to fully believe that these flowering trees were two divine trees. Young masters anddies from the aristocratic families in Prefecture City paid a heavy price for one or two peony flowers to take home, to unt and boast about for a long time. As a result, the vigers of Jujube Tree Vige and the other two viges quickly became wealthy, and some even secretly invited their rtives to set up a stall at the foot of the mountain. Just when Yingbao thought she would have to stay here a bit longer, her master, Zhou Wuchang, told his disciples that he was going to take them back to Qinchuan County. Yingbao was thrilled and immediately packed her things to prepare to go home. Five dayster, the master and his disciples rented two horse-drawn carriages and began heading south along the official road. They arrived at a canal wharf, and the group boarded arge ship. Upon boarding the ship, Yingbao instantly sensed that something was amiss. A young man was being subtly protected by more than a dozen neatly-dressed and robust youths. This man was magnificent and had a bright, handsome face. At first nce, he appeared to be a young master from a noble family. It seemed Master Zhou Wuchang recognized this man, as he nodded at him, but didn¡¯t step forward to speak to him. Yingbao, feeling apprehensive, quietly asked her second senior brother after entering the cabin, ¡°Do you recognize that man?¡± Zhang Min shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t recognize him. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°Nothing in particr, just curious who he is and why the master recognizes him,¡± Yingbao evaded. Zhang Minughed. ¡°Our master knows so many people, there¡¯s nothing to be surprised about.¡± Yingbao ceased speaking, focusing on arranging her luggage. That night, Yingbaoy on her small bed, feigning sleep, first went to the grotto to tidy up the crops, then began contemting the identity of the man on deck. He clearly didn¡¯t want to reveal his identity, so he didn¡¯t converse with the master on the deck. Butter that night, he actually went to the master¡¯s cabin, even letting a few people guard outside, an obvious abnormality. For two days, the ship moved ahead. During the day, the man seldom loitered on deck, but at night, he would visit the master¡¯s cabin again, seemingly discussing something. Yingbao was puzzled but couldn¡¯t ask her master or elder senior brother, so she could only observe covertly. On the third day, the group disembarked at a wharf. Yingbao watched them leave, asking her elder senior brother, ¡°Elder Brother, what is this ce called?¡± Zhou Hao said, ¡°This is Chengzhou territory.¡± Yingbao blinked. The name Chengzhou sounded familiar to her. A light bulb suddenly went off in her head. Chengzhou, wasn¡¯t that the territory of the Vassal King who would rebel? Could the man be the Cheng king? Or the son of the Cheng king? No wonder they were acting suspiciously all the way. The vassal king is not allowed to leave his territory without imperial edict, otherwise, he is considered suspicious. If this man really is the Cheng king or son of the Cheng king, then what is master conspiring with him? On this thought, a chill ran down Yingbao¡¯s spine. The Cheng king is the younger brother of thete emperor, while the master is thete emperor¡¯s youngest uncle, also the current emperor¡¯s uncle. If the master were also involved in the vassal king¡¯s rebellion, wouldn¡¯t her family be doomed with him? No, no! She couldn¡¯t let the master get involved with the Cheng king. Chapter 323 - 319: Returning to the County Town_1 Chapter 323: Chapter 319: Returning to the County Town_1 While his master was standing alone at the bow of the ship, looking at the distant mountains, Yingbao walked up and asked, ¡°Master, who was that person?¡± Zhou Wuchang nced at his young apprentice, saying, ¡°Children shouldn¡¯t always be so curious.¡± Seeing his master brushing him off, Yingbao became anxious and tugged at his sleeve, ¡°Master, tell me quickly, and I¡¯ll tell you about the dream I hadst night.¡± Helplessly, Zhou Wuchang replied, ¡°That man¡¯s father and I knew each other in the old days. He just came to say hello. You don¡¯t need to ask who he is; we won¡¯t meet him again anyway.¡± Yingbao was relieved to hear this and decided not to tell his master about his dream. He turned around and went back to the cabin. The merchant ship arrived at arge dock the next day. The eldest apprentice said this was the dock of Chengzhou County. Chengzhou County was the fief of that rebelliousmandery prince. Yingbao deliberately ran up to the deck to look at the dock. The dock was bustling, no different from other provincial governments. In fact, every city in the Great Qian Dynasty was quite prosperous, and as long as the townspeople weren¡¯tzy or addicted to gambling, they could livefortably. The poorest were those farmers who couldn¡¯t leave theirnd. They had been tilling the soil for generations, and the more honest and downtrodden they were, the more miserable their lives. The ship¡¯s crew put a gangnk ashore and began unloading. This ship was a merchant ship, transporting goods from the North. The goods were bundled in circles with straw ropes, making it impossible to see what was inside. But the dock workers seemed to be having a hard time moving it, as if it was really heavy. Two words suddenly popped into Yingbao¡¯s mind ¨C iron ore. Could these goods be iron ore? She stole a nce at her master, seeing that his gaze was not on these goods, she heaved a sigh of relief. Whether it was iron ore or not, as long as her master didn¡¯t collude with the Commandery Prince, that would be fine. Although the imperial court was corrupt, there were still strong soldiers outside. It wouldn¡¯t be a problem to eliminate a rebel vassal king. Not to mention that general named Zhong in the northwest, he was very good in battle. It was a pity that General Zhong was worn out to death by the emperor. The Great Qian, in order to prevent the Western Army from dominating, kept issuing edicts to the Western Army to fight the Western Xia one day and Fang La the next. As soon as Fang La was finished, without catching a breath, they were assigned to fight against the Liao Country in the north. Before the war with Liao Country ended, the Jurchens invaded the South, and the Zhong family¡¯s army was sent to save Taiyuan. The consecutive battles resulted in the death of themander of the Western Army¡¯s son, and his father was also worked to death. In the end, the morale of the Western Army fell. A good army was scattered like sand on the ground. Many soldiers ran away, and quite a few officers disappeared along with them. Still, the Western Army remained the most capable fighting force in the dynasty. With a little reorganization, it would be a sharp de again. Yingbao had dreamt that in her previous life, it was Xiao Mo who took over the Western Army and eventually became the most powerfulmander in the dynasty. However, his power caused fear in his uncle¡¯s family, even including his aunt who was the Empress. They wanted to get rid of him. Their tactics were utterly useless in the face of absolute power. At this moment, it seemed that Xiao Mo had not yet be themander of the Western Army, and the vassal king was probably still preparing for his future rebellion. After unloading the cargo, the ship was gradually loaded with some other goods. The owners of these goods were all doing business between the north and the south. They traveled and purchased goods together for safety. Nowadays, bandits were rampant, especially in ces where merchants had to pass. They were literally everywhere. Today¡¯s highwaymen could be farming at home the next day. Even the government couldn¡¯t catch them, as they were actually local vigers. Yingbao knew this better than anyone. ¡°Anchors away! Let¡¯s set sail!¡± Following the boat captain¡¯s shout, the sailors raised the anchor and steered the ship away from the dock. The merchants gathered together, talking about their businesses. Yingbao, getting bored, had no choice but to return to his cabin. A few dayster, the merchant ship finally arrived at the dock in Qinchuan County, and Yingbao disembarked with his master. Because they were carrying boxes and cages, they hailed a bullock cart to enter the city. Once in the city, instead of returning to the medical bureau, she hopped off the cart and dashed to her shop. Upon entering the shop, she saw both Erni and her cousin. ¡°Oh! Yingbao, you are back!¡± Erni paused, and then immediately rushed over to hug Yingbao: ¡°You¡¯ve grown so tall! You¡¯re almost as tall as me.¡± Yingbao stretched out her hand topare with Sister Erni, still a long way to go. ¡°Sister Erni, you¡¯ve also grown taller. Look, what I¡¯ve brought for you.¡± All her things were still on the cart, which had already been unloaded by her second disciple brother and brought into the shop. The cousin hurried over to help, and enthusiastically invited Master Zhou and the others in for a cup of tea. Zhou Wuchang waved his hand, politely refusing. Zhang Min wanted to stay, but was deterred by a stern nce from his eldest apprentice brother. After sending away the bullock cart, Jiang Cheng came in to talk with his little cousin. ¡°Why have you been gone so long?¡± Jiang Cheng brought a cup of honey water to his little cousin, ¡°Jiang Jie also went out to study with his masterst year, and said that he won¡¯t return until two yearster.¡± Yingbao took the honey tea, took a sip, and asked, ¡°Did County Magistrate Wu also leave?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Jiang Cheng nodded and frowned. ¡°Just after the Count left, that County Magistrate came to our house, making all kinds of trouble.¡± ¡°The County Magistrate?¡± Yingbao vaguely remembered the name of the County Magistrate. Jiang Cheng: ¡°The County Magistrate ims that he and Chen Guanglu are close friends. He said that Chen Guanglu¡¯s family was ruined and killed because of us, and he demanded that we give him silver.¡± ¡°And then?¡± Yingbao frowned and asked, ¡°Did you give him the silver?¡± Jiang Cheng: ¡°No, Chen Guanglu was the one who harmed others. The evidence is conclusive. Even if it goes to court again, I am not afraid of him.¡± A while ago, he told his father-inw about this. Uncle Qiu told him not to worry, he would take care of everything. Erni also said, ¡°Yingbao, do you know? That Chen Tiantian and her mother have returned to Qinchuan County with the child her mother had given birth to. I saw them at the entrance of the alley a few days ago, their faces were all veiled. When they saw me, they even stared at me, Humph! Who¡¯s afraid of her?¡± Yingbao scratched her forehead, feeling drained. As soon as Wu Daozi left, a lot of viins sprang out. Fortunately, she still had her master. She remembered the gold knife in her master¡¯s hand, as well as the ruler in her own hand, and her heart suddenly calmed down. What was there to be afraid of, she also had a master. If Chen Guanglu¡¯s family really dared to do anything, she would end him with her master¡¯s golden knife. After all, her master killed a school officerst year and no one dared to retaliate. While she was thinking, her aunt came out from the backyard. Upon seeing Yingbao, she let out a cry of surprise, and quickly pulled her up and down to look at her: ¡°Children really do change from year to year, Yingbao, you¡¯re eight years old this year, right? You¡¯ve grown so tall.¡± Yingbao felt a bit embarrassed by her aunt¡¯s scrutiny, and quickly began to unpack the gifts from the box. Flower-patterned cloth from Jingzhou, one roll for each person, and she also took out some beaded silver hairpins for her aunt and Erni, and of course her cousin¡¯s wife. She also bought a tiger-head cap iid with jade pieces, as well as a set of tiger clothes and shoes for her cousin¡¯s little son. As for Hong Xiao and Zhang Yuying, Yingbao also brought presents for them. ¡°Mother!¡± A round little head peeked in from outside the shop, timidly said to Jiang Yunniang: ¡°Is second brother at home?¡± Yingbao took a look, it was Zhang Xiang, Zhang Yuying¡¯s half brother. Chapter 324 - 320: Sweet Smell_1 Chapter 324: Chapter 320: Sweet Smell_1 ¡°Yuying has gone to school, she hasn¡¯t finished yet.¡± Jiang Yunniang invited Zhang Xiang inside, and asked, ¡°Have you eaten yet?¡± Zhang Xiang shook his head. Jiang Yunniang sighed, led him to the kitchen in the backyard, and made him a bowl of noodles topped with two poached eggs. Zhang Xiang finished eating quickly, and even took the initiative to wash his own bowl and chopsticks clean. Jiang Yunniang didn¡¯t say much, seeing his messy hair and dirty clothes, she picked up theb andbed his hair for him, asking, ¡°You are five years old this year, didn¡¯t your father let you go to school?¡± Zhang Xiang shook his head: ¡°Dad is sick and lies in bed all day, my stepmother and sister-inw don¡¯t like me, they told me to get lost and not toe back anymore.¡± Jiang Yunniang was silent for a while, and said, ¡°Well, you can stay here with Yuying for a while.¡± Zhang Jia hasn¡¯t been doing welltely. He was addicted to taking Five-Stone Powder and became thin. Last time, she saw him in the vegetable market and he couldn¡¯t even get up. While Jiang Yunniang despised him, she also felt a little sorry for him. So she asked a man with a handcart to take him home, and she gave the cart driver ten copper coins for carriage fare. ¡°Thank you, mom!¡± There was a look of joy on Zhang Xiang¡¯s face, he hurried to fetch some water to wash his hands and face. Then, he looked up and asked, ¡°Can mom give me some work to do? I can do anything.¡± Jiang Yunniang pondered, ¡°Not today, but in a few days when the golden mushrooms are mature in the bamboo shed, you can help your cousin harvest the mushrooms.¡± Zhang Xiang nodded, ¡°Yeah!¡± At this time, Yingbao came over and handed two books, two brushes, and two ink sticks to Zhang Xiang: ¡°It¡¯s time for you to start learning, wait till Yuyinges back, you can learn to write with him.¡± She also brought gifts for Yuying and Hong Xiao. The two books, Thousand-Character ssic and Hundred Family Surnames, were taken out from the cave dwelling, which can be used for Zhang Xiang¡¯s enlightenment. Zhang Xiang took the books and ink, looking a bit overwhelmed, and hurriedly thanked her, ¡°Thank you Sister Yingbao.¡± ¡°No need to thank me, just study hard in the future, there might be hope for you when you grow up.¡± With his current family background, if the boy does not study, he can only be a small trader, or do odd jobs for other shops. If there are no older people to arrange for him, it¡¯s not possible to even get a job as an apprentice in a pharmaceutical store. Zhang Xiang hugged his books and ink tightly, nodding again and again, ¡°Yeah! I will study hard!¡± Then Yingbao went to check the mushroom shed in the yard. The mushroom shed was set up by his cousin, and there were more than five hundred golden mushrooms nted inside, which are almost ripe now. But these golden mushrooms are not growing well and they do not look very lively. Perhaps it is because this summer has been extremely hot, which might have affected the growth of these mushrooms. Er Nini, the maid, ran over and said to Yingbao, ¡°Yingbao, you don¡¯t know, Chu Man also came to town. Her parents rented a house for her nearby so that she could have more time with her schr husband, hoping that she could get pregnant early.¡± Yingbao: Upon seeing that Er Nini couldn¡¯t keep a secret, and was telling everything she knew, Jiang Yunniang reprimanded, ¡°What do you, a little girl, know about mature matters? Stop talking, or you¡¯re going to corrupt yourself.¡± Er Nini was indifferent, her eyes wide open, ¡°It was Mrs. Wang who told my mother, what¡¯s wrong with that? It doesn¡¯t corrupt at all. Before, when Yingbao and I went to the teahouse to listen to stories, the storyteller¡¯s erotic stories were the ones that corrupt.¡± Yingbao had an innocent look. In her heart she screamed: Good for you Er Nini, you betrayed me? And besides, if the storyteller didn¡¯t add some erotic episodes, who would be so interested to sit in the teahouse all day listening to the sequences? Even if they were telling stories about ancient heroes, the audience loved to hear the romantic parts between heroes and beauties the most. As expected, Jiang Yunniang turned her gaze to Yingbao, ¡°When did you and Er Nini start to listen to the stories? The teahouse is full of men, how could you two young girls run to such a ce? You really don¡¯t know what¡¯s appropriate behavior.¡± Before Yingbao could exin, she heard Er Nini say, ¡°We went years ago. It wasn¡¯t just the two of us, our brother was also there¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡± ¡°What? You went with Erquan?¡± Jiang Yunniang tweaked Er Nini¡¯s forehead, ¡°You really dare to listen!¡± Er Nini cringed, grabbed Yingbao and ran to the shop. In the afternoon, Hong Xiao and Zhang Yuying came back from school, and saw that a big table of good food had beenid out in the living room. Jiang Yunniang ughtered two of her own small roosters, and bought some beef and pork from the braised meat shop to wee Yingbao home. Jiang Cheng also brought his wife and six or seven-months-old son over, and the family sat down happily for the meal. Yingbao took out a silver ne from her bag. A silver lock was hanging on the ne, which was given as a gift to the son of her eldest cousin. The eldest sister-inw was not pregnant when she left home, so this was the first time she saw this chubby baby. The chubby baby was sitting near the dining table held by his mother, staring straight at the food on the table, saliva dripping down his chin. No matter how many times his mother called him, he finally turned his gaze to Yingbao, revealed a toothless smile, waving his small hands on the table, screaming non-stop. Yingbao pinched his little face and teased him a bit, then continued to eat and talked to everyone about her experiences while she was out. Jiang Cheng suddenly said, ¡°Yingbao, don¡¯t run around anymore after youe back. Lately, people have been giving our shop a hard time. They bought things and then returned them, saying that our prices are too high and the goods are not fresh.¡± While eating the braised beef, Yingbao asked, ¡°Did any other ce also open a specialty shop?¡± Jiang Cheng thought for a while and said uncertainly, ¡°Maybe, but I don¡¯t know where.¡± Chou Rong said, ¡°I will ask my father tomorrow, he must know.¡± Even if he didn¡¯t know, her father had a wide socialwork so he could get clear information by asking around. ¡°Oh dear, what if someone else also opens a shop like ours? What should we do?¡± Jiang Yunniang said worriedly. Yingbao: ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, we have golden mushrooms and snow mushrooms. Do they have those too?¡± Their shop has always been popr, so it¡¯s not surprising that some people might be jealous. Especially other shops, they must have tried to make an identical one. But they don¡¯t have golden mushrooms or snow mushrooms. It might be difficult to create an identical one unless someone finds the supply channel for golden mushrooms. Jiang Cheng remained silent while eating. ¡°Even if they have mushrooms, it doesn¡¯t matter. We mustn¡¯t lower the prices.¡± Yingbao said to her eldest cousin: ¡°If business is slow, don¡¯t order those cakes. The weather is also getting hot. If they can¡¯t be sold in a few days, they¡¯ll go bad. It¡¯s not worth it.¡± ¡°I know that.¡± Jiang Cheng said, ¡°I¡¯ve even stopped ordering cakes from my father-inw a few days ago, fearing they won¡¯t be sold and go bad.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°That¡¯s how it should be, after all, we still sell fresh fruits and there aren¡¯t any others.¡± Her eldest cousin told her that her second cousin had gone back to the vige to transport fruits. There were many lychees on the lychee trees at home, and the longan and papaya were almost ripe. These fruits were rare in the city. As soon as the fruits came, they were often sold out quickly. Chapter 325 - 321: Watching a Bath_1 Chapter 325: Chapter 321: Watching a Bath_1 Jiang Cheng nodded, ¡°That is indeed true.¡± He turned his head towards his younger female cousin and said, ¡°Not only am I talking about the shop, but also about that Chen Guanglu. I saw him a while ago.¡± Yingbao fluttered her eyes, ¡°Did hee to our shop to cause trouble?¡± ¡°He dares not,¡± Jiang Cheng said, ¡°After all, I do know a few constables and government officials here. Jin Wu was appointed as the arrest officer, and his grandson even acknowledged your sister-inw as his godmother.¡± Yingbao was somewhat surprised. Her elder brother¡¯s wife was only just over twenty years old, and she¡¯s already someone¡¯s godmother? Chou Rongughed and said, ¡°Jin Wu¡¯s daughter-inw lost several children over the years, butst year she gave birth to a healthy baby boy, who insisted on acknowledging me as his godmother. They said it was calcted by a monk from the temple, and told them to find a godmother for the baby with the surname Zhao, and another one with the surname Chou. Zhao means to shield the baby, and Chou is interpreted as captive, to keep the baby from leaving.¡± It was the first time that Yingbao heard such an exnation, and she found it really amusing. Hong Xiaoughed and said, ¡°My second brother also has a godmother, she has the surname Leng, which the monk has approved of. It was said that my second brother¡¯s birth characters have too much fire element, and so he needs to find a godparent with a water element, or a surname that means coldness, that¡¯s why his godmother has the surname Leng.¡± The moment Erni heard this, she giggled non-stop, which made Zhang Yuying blush. ¡°Don¡¯t meddle!¡± Yuying red at her sister, picked up a piece of chicken liver for Zhang Xiang, and said, ¡°Hurry up and eat. Once you¡¯re done, I¡¯ll teach you to write.¡± Zhang Xiang nodded, his smile reaching his eyes. He wished he could stay here with his second brother forever and never go back to that home of his. After dinner, Jiang Cheng went home with his wife and son. Jiang Yunniang locked the door of the courtyard, walked around the courtyard, fed Xiaohei, then washed up and went back to her room to rest. Yingbao and Erni were lying on the same bed, looking at the moon through the mosquito and windowttice, while listening to Erni¡¯s endless chatter about their home. ¡°Yingbao, you don¡¯t know. A seamstress almost provoked my third aunt to vomit blood.¡± Yingbao, ¡°?¡± ¡°Why was my mother so angry?¡± ¡°Hey! I¡¯ll tell you, but when you go back, pretend you don¡¯t know anything. Never admit that I was the one who told you.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Yingbao nudged Erni. Ernizily fanned herself with a cattail leaf fan, her leg casually propped on the other. ¡°That seamstress, she¡¯s good-looking, but she¡¯s mischievous. Despite having a husband and kids, she bothers my uncle with this and that all day. Third aunt drove her home.¡± Yingbao¡¯s face twitched, she asked, ¡°What do you mean, this and that?¡± Did her father cheat on her mother? Erni swatted her with the fan, ¡°You¡¯re just a child, don¡¯t ask so many questions.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t it you who told me?¡± She just wanted to know whether her father made a mistake. Erni was speechless, but quickly recovered, saying: ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll show you.¡± Then she chocked her voice and mimicked a woman¡¯s voice, her tone was coquettish: ¡°Master Jiang, I¡¯ve hurt my hand. Master Jiang, do you like my dress?¡± Erni couldn¡¯t helpughing as she imitated the woman.¡¯ Yingbao didn¡¯t find it funny, kept nudging Erni: ¡°Just tell me how my father reacted.¡± Afterughing for a while, Erni replied: ¡°Your father told her, ¡®you have a piece of leek stuck on your teeth¡¯, and then the seamstress ran away.¡± Yingbao: ¡®¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¯ Her father really knew how to handle people, he could shame someone without even using foulnguage. The next day, Yingbao got up early to wash up, then took Xiaohei for a walk, letting him frolic around. Her aunt woke up even earlier than her, and had already set up her food stall under the bamboo shed next to the shop. Xiang was also helping at the stall, serving porridge and handing out chopsticks to the customers. Once the customers finished their breakfast, he would take the bowls and chopsticks to a wooden basin and wash them clean. About half of the breakfast customers were students from the school across the street. They just finished their farming break and had returned to school. Presumably, they had some money to spare, so most of them came out for breakfast. There are plenty of vendors selling breakfast along the road, just like Aunty Jiang Yunniang. Some people were eating at the stands. Yingbao spotted a handsome man eating at another dumpling stand, who was none other than her biological father, Chen Changping. She saw him wearing the special square scarf for schrs, dressed in a green long robe. Although he was in his thirties, he looked a lot younger. There was someone next to him who seemed to be his ssmate, talking to him while eating dumplings. Yingbao quietly passed by them, overhearing their conversation about the provincial examination in Prefecture City this autumn. Once home, upon seeing her sister-inw making breakfast, Yingbao helped to light the fire. ¡°Will youe back with me?¡± she asked. As her sister-inw was kneading dough for steamed buns, she replied, ¡°I won¡¯t be going back. Once I¡¯m back, they¡¯ll start bringing up my marriage again. It¡¯s a whole different level of annoyance.¡± Yingbao: ¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤ Alright then, she would go back home on her own when her younger cousin returned. However, her master might be going to Chuanhe Town as well, saying he just passed byst time and nned on staying there for a while to understand the vigers¡¯ living conditions. After kneading the dough for two steamer baskets of buns, her sister-inw let them rise before steaming them. The dough was fermented by Aunty Jiang Yunniang before dawn. Some was used to make meat pies while the rest was left in the kitchen for making buns for their own consumption. After breakfast, Yingbao went to the medical institution apanied by her sister-inw. Her master and eldest senior brother seemed to be very busy and were not at the institution. Only her second senior brother was guarding the courtyard alone. Yingbao noticed that all the seedlings she nted have grown quite a bit. The grapes had even started to spread their vines, growing rather lush but had yet to flower or bear fruit. ¡°Junior sister, what brings you back today?¡± Sitting on the edge of the water drain and aimlessly poking at the water surface with a twig, Zhang Min said, ¡°Master and our eldest senior brother went to Golden Peak Mountain. They won¡¯t be back until tomorrow.¡± Yingbao: ¡°I just wanted to ask, are you all still going to Chuanhe Town? If not, I¡¯m leaving on my own.¡± ¡°Of course we¡¯re going! Why wouldn¡¯t we?¡± Zhang Min immediately jumped up, grinning tteringly, ¡°I still want to see your family¡¯s Litchi Forest, and that Deer Garden.¡± His junior sister always bragged about how great her hometown was, which she imed to be a thousand times better than the bitter and cold Jingzhou. He wanted to see whether that remote mountain vige was as good as she had described. Yingbao knew what her second senior brother was up to with a glimpse, but she didn¡¯t expose him. Pointing at her sister-inw, she said, ¡°This is my elder cousin. She also studied medicine before. Do you think she can enter the medical institution to study?¡± Zhang Min scratched his head, ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask master about that. As long as he agrees, you can enter either department of the institution.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll ask him when he gets back.¡± Yingbao turned to her sister-inw, ¡°Let¡¯s not go back to the shop today so we don¡¯t have to wear ourselves out running back and forth.¡± It was sweltering heat, and there were chunks of ice stored in her cave which she couldn¡¯t take out. It annoyed her. But it would be different when they got back to the institution. Nobody dared to visit the Yin Yang Department. She just needed to make the fruit iced drinks in her cave and could sneak them out quietly. Her sister-inw nodded in agreement. In fact, she admired that her junior sister was able to study medicine in such a ce. If she could also be a student here, she would definitely study hard, not wanting to be as confused as before. Afterwards, Yingbao took her sister-inw to rest in the pavilion beside the water drain, watching their second senior brother taking a dip in the water. Zhang Min sshed them, ¡°What are you two doing? You two do know men and women are different, right? I am bathing here¡­¡± Yingbao: ¡°We were here first.¡± Her sister-inw kept silent but showed support to her younger cousin through action. Zhang Min was about to say something while pointing at them when he saw a group of people walking in. The one leading the group was none other than Xiao Chengjun. Chapter 326 - 322: Heavenly Master_1 Chapter 326: Chapter 322: Heavenly Master_1 Yingbao saw it too, but she didn¡¯t move, grabbing Onto Erni¡¯s sleeve tofort her. Xiao Chengjun stormed in with several guards, showing clearly that he was there with ill intentions. Seeing his adversary approaching, Zhang Min hastily got ashore, wrung his clothes dry, changed into his outerwear and then stepped out. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Zhang Min gazed coldly at Xiao Chengjun, ¡°Could it be that you want me to help you exorcise some evil spirits?¡± Xiao Chengjun ignored him, instead turning to Yingbao: ¡°Jiang Yingbao, you had ulterior motives all along! You tricked people out of their money with those worthless items in those five boxes!¡± It then dawned on Yingbao that Xiao Chengjun hade here toin and make a scene. She did not admit anything. ¡°What are you talking about? I don¡¯t understand a single word.¡± Xiao Chengjun was so angry he was grinding his teeth, pointing at Yingbao: ¡°Stop pretending. Were you deliberately trying to trick us? Not a single thing in those five boxes is valuable, yet you tricked my family out of thousands of taels of silver.¡± Yingbao blinked, asking: ¡°What do you mean, Xiao? Are you here to rob us again? The gold silk fabric granted by the Empress has already been taken away by you. Today, are you trying to take back what your family paid me aspensation?¡± ¡°How dare you¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡± Xiao Chengjun was about to curse, but he swallowed his anger: ¡°I am not here to argue with you, either return the items my elder brother give you before, or hand over the items granted by the Empress.¡± Zhang Min, unable to bear it, sneered: ¡°Xiao Chengjun, I didn¡¯t expect you to get more shameless with age. You took my junior sister¡¯s belongings without reason, and after one or two years you shamelessly demand repayment. Aren¡¯t you ashamed?¡± He knew something about his junior sister¡¯s situation, especially how Xiao Chengjun had abandoned her en route from Beijing, also swallowing the wealth inside her boxes. Zhang Min was disgusted by him, relieved that they never became friends. When they were in Beijing, this boy used to put on such a facade in front of others. Zhang Min had never realized he was such two-faced. Unexpectedly he became more outrageous as he grew, even bullying a little child. Seeing Zhang Min criticizing him, Xiao Chengjun redirected his fury at him: ¡°Shut up! Who do you think you are to judge me?¡± Yingbao instantly retorted: ¡°You are the one who is nothing! Everyone knows that you, Xiao Chengjun, bully others with your power. I tell you, the things that your familypensated me with, you owe me. Now you want them back, no way! I will write to the Prince and tell him about all this!¡± The quick-wittedeback left Xiao Chengjun breathless. He managed to say: ¡°Fine, go ahead and write! The Wen sisters have told me already, the things in those boxes of yours are nothing but rubbish, not one high-quality item.¡± Yingbao immediately widened her eyes, eximing: ¡°Didn¡¯t your elder brother¡¯s servants say earlier, all my boxes fell into the river? How did my boxes end up with the Wen sisters? Are you guys in collusion? Did you guys divide up my gold and silver fortune? Tsk tsk, I never thought that you, a high-ranking official¡¯s son, could break thew and steal my treasures to sell to others.¡± Zhang Min added sarcastically from the side: ¡°Junior sister, you can¡¯t me him. The poor guy is so deprived that he is even eyeing a child¡¯s money.¡± Xiao Chengjun responded with scornfulughter, pointing at Zhang Min and Yingbao: ¡°You just wait, I will uncover the truth. By then you will pay for your actions! The wealth in those five to six boxes is no small amount. My family¡¯s money doesn¡¯te from windfalls. I will make you pay back double.¡± Having said that, Xiao Chengjun stormed away. Yingbao rolled her eyes at him and turned to her second elder brother: ¡°Why do you think Xiao Chengjun came from the Prefecture City?¡± Zhang Min, too, was puzzled. Xiao Chengjun had a position in Zhechong Prefecture in the Prefecture City, so it was unlikely that he would suddenly run to a small county town hundreds of miles away. It is estimated that he came here to enjoy schadenfreude to his junior sister, incidentally. The next day, Zhou Wuchang and the eldest disciple returned from outside and brought back a piece of news. It was said that there was a Celestial Master in the county who couldmunicate with the spirits and predict the future. And this man was none other than Xiao¡¯s associate Pei Shixian. Upon hearing this, Yingbao frowned and quickly asked her master: ¡°Why is Pei Shixian in Qinchuan County? What can he predict?¡± Zhou Wuchang did not reply. Instead, the eldest disciple Zhou Hao said: ¡°Pei Shixian came to Qinchuan County with his wife Han. Not soon after, he had publicly foreseen several things. Although minor they all became much more convincing when all came true.¡± ¡°What minor things?¡± Zhang Min was curious too. ¡°Eldest brother, tell us about them.¡± Zhou Hao said: ¡°He first went to a family¡¯s house and told them not to let their child go out for the next couple of days, saying there would be a risk of drowning. This family initially thought he was a fraud and ignored his warning, but within days their two children had drowned in the river while ying, one of them was saved by a passerby. The man who saved the child had been informed by a Taoist with a severed hand.¡± Zhang Min¡¯s eyes widened: ¡°Does Pei Shixian really have this ability? Could it be he was just causing mischief?¡± In the countryside, there are often religious chatans who act and make themselves appear as spiritual masters. Zhou Hao nced at him: ¡°Pei Shixian has been doing free fortune-telling on the street ever since, so he wouldn¡¯t have the time to cause mischief.¡± ¡°Free fortune telling?¡± Yingbao¡¯s eyebrows tightened. She had a feeling that Chen Tiantian and her family were up to no good. Zhang Min questioned again, ¡°What else? Pei Shixian could not be called a Celestial Master just because of this one thing?¡± Even their own master has never been called a Celestial Master. Zhou Hao was particrly patient that day and went on to tell his junior siblings about several other incidents. Yingbao, with her attention to detail, noticed that all these incidents urred near Chen Tiantian¡¯s house. These events might not involve serious national matters, but they all involved ordinary people, giving more credit to his predictions. Why could Pei Shixian foresee events near Chen Tiantian¡¯s home? Was there a necessary connection? Zhou Hao further mentioned: ¡°Yesterday, at the Gold Top Taoist Temple, Pei Shixian even predicted a major rainstorm in two days, and let people notify the nearby fishing and merchant ships not to leave the river.¡± Suddenly, a lightning bolt of realization struck Yingbao. She suddenly remembered that in her previous life when she was eight years old, an incident that shocked the entire county did ur in the summer. On the river within Qinchuan County, a merchant ship and several fishing boats had capsized, resulting in many casualties. Even she, the poor girl at the Chen¡¯s house, had heard of this. It was told by Chen Changping¡¯s eldest brother when he returned home. This incident, which she had even forgotten, was suddenly predicted by someone. But how did Pei Shixian know about it? No matter what, Yingbao didn¡¯t believe in any gods. Even though she herself had reincarnated, and there was a strange cave mansion, she still did not believe that there were gods in this world. Could it be that someone else, like her, also had memories of their past lives? Is this person Han or Chen Tiantian? For some reason, she was certain that this person must be Chen Tiantian. A chill ran down Yingbao¡¯s spine. If it was indeed Chen Tiantian who had been reincarnated like her, what would she do to her, to the Jiang family, in the future? And her stepfather, who had been clearly helping Chen Tiantian devise ns and was now trying to build a reputation of a divine master for him, had great ambitions. Yingbao remembered how she had created miracles in Jujube Tree Vige in Jingzhou. If anyone could y the role of a divine master, no one could do it better than her master and herself. Chapter 327: 323: Flat on Board_1 The next morning, the sky was clear at first, but suddenly a strong wind blew. Immediately afterwards, dark clouds filled the sky, apanied by lightning and thunder, soon followed by a torrential downpour. The sudden gale blew away the mushroom shed in the courtyard, and many tiles flew off the roof of the house. Yingbao and Yunniang¡¯s second maid, Hong Xiao, were at home, looking out through the window. ¡°Will Second Brother be caught in the rain?¡± Hong Xiao was a bit worried. Second Maid: ¡°Second Brother usually sets off before noon; he should still be at home now.¡± Yingbao was also very concerned whether his second brother would be on his way back to the county town. It would be awful if he encountered this kind of heavy rain. Aside from that, this kind of thunder and lightning is very dangerous. If one is rushing in the rain, they could possibly be struck by lightning. That Pei Shixian was doing a good deed; he should be able to save many lives. In his previous life, when he asionally heard about this, he was only an eight-year-old child. He didn¡¯t realize the danger, he only listened to it like a story and didn¡¯t have many feelings. Thinking about it now, he had overlooked a lot.
The torrential rain apanied by lightning and thunder raged on and off for two hours, finally ceasing in the afternoon. As soon as the rain stopped, the aunt and her nephews and nieces rushed out to clean up the mess. Fortunately, only the mushroom shed in their home was damaged, and there were no other losses. The edible mushroom and other things had already been brought indoors. Zhang Yuying and Hong Xiao didn¡¯t attend school as they had taken leave from the teacher at the school hall the previous day to stay at home. ¡°Xiang, don¡¯t go out. There¡¯s still rain outside.¡± Zhang Yuying saw her brother running to and fro to clean up the scattered items and asked him to stay at home. Zhang Xiang pursed his mouth and smiled: ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of the rain.¡± As the family was cleaning up the water umtion in the courtyard, Jiang Cheng even took a shovel to clear the cat hole under the courtyard wall, allowing the umted rainwater in the courtyard to flow out as quickly as possible. While busy, the courtyard door was suddenly knocked on, and someone outside yelled, ¡°Mother! Mother! Open the door! Father is buried in the house, wailing.¡± Jiang Yunniang recognized it was her eldest son¡¯s voice, hurriedly opened the courtyard door, and saw her son soaked to the skin, and his body and head were all covered in mud. She couldn¡¯t help but asked sharply, ¡°What did you say just now?¡± Zhang Yukun knelt down on the ground and cried loudly, ¡°Mother, our house copsed, father was sleeping on the bed, and he got buried in it.¡± Jiang Yunniang staggered for a moment, pushing her eldest son, ¡°If the house copsed, hurry up and find someone to save lives. What are you doing here?¡± Zhang Yukun sobbed, then finally got up from the ground. Jiang Yunniang rushed out to grab a chisel, obviously going to rescue people. Jiang Cheng and Zhang Yuying also quickly grabbed their tools and followed. They called back to Yunniang and Yingbao, ¡°You two stay at home and cook. Don¡¯t go anywhere.¡± Yunniang and Yingbao nodded. Yingbao hesitated for a moment, took out a bottle of medicinal liquid, and handed it to his eldest cousin, ¡°If the injury is severe, drink this.¡± Jiang Cheng took the bottle of medicine, nodded his head, turned around, and ran after his mother. At that moment, Hong Xiao began to cry and then ran towards the Zhang Family.
Zhang Xiang hesitated and followed too. After a while, they arrived at the Zhang Family¡¯s house, and saw that the roofs of the three rundown rooms and the two thatched huts in the Zhang Family¡¯s house had been blown away by the wind, and one of the thatched huts hadpletely copsed. Zhang Jia was originally living in the west room of the main house with his concubine. Later, after he ruined his body by taking Five Stone Powder and developed sores and pus all over his body, smelling foul all day long, his concubine who was very disgusted and used the excuse of looking after her daughter to move Zhang Jia to a thatched house. As a result, a rainstorm destroyed the house and Zhang Jia was buried in the rubble.
Jiang Yunniang ran over and started digging through the ruins, crying as she dug. The eldest and second son were shoveling with Hong Xiao. Even five-year-old Zhang Xiang dragged what he could. The concubine and her niece stood by the window of the main house, watching with detached amusement. Jiang Yunniang was so agitated she began to shovel faster. The wing of the house was mere thatched, and if the people underneath hadn¡¯t been directly hit by beams, there was a good chance they would survive. In no time, debris near the bed was cleared, revealing Zhang Jia, soaked in muddy water and filth. However, one of his legs was hit badly. Jiang Cheng handed the medicine bottle from his younger cousin to his aunt, saying: ¡°This is from my cousin. She said if the injuries are severe, make him drink this.¡± Without hesitation, Jiang Yunniang took the bottle. She cleaned Zhang Jia¡¯s face with her clothes and made him drink the medicine. Zhang Jia was lucid enough to recognize his ex-wife. He couldn¡¯t help but start crying, stuttering: ¡°Yunniang, I¡­ I am sorry for¡­ for everything I did to you.¡± Tears streaming down her face, Jiang Yunniang turned and left. After Jiang Cheng helped move Zhang Jia from the rubble, he also left. Hong Xiao and her siblings stayed behind along with Zhang Xiang to wash and dress their father. Zhang Jia¡¯s leg was injured, but it wasn¡¯t broken since it was covered by a quilt. However, the area that was hit was bruised and swollen. His existing illness made his condition worse.
Fearing that their father wouldn¡¯t survive for long, Zhang Yukun and his wife didn¡¯t even prepare a bed for him. Instead, theyid a board on the floor for him to lie on, covered him with an old quilt, then started preparing mourning clothes. After all the hustle, Zhang Yukun stopped caring about his father and went to sleep. On the floor of the living room, Zhang Jiay on the board in his shroud, quietly awaiting death. But he didn¡¯t die the next day. During the whole day, except for the small bottle of medicine that Jiang Cheng gave him and a bowl of porridge that Hong Xiao fed him, he didn¡¯t have anything else. Not to mention, no one tried to get him any medical help. Zhang Jia had a rity he had never experienced before. Hey there for a whole day and suddenly realized a lot of things. At such a time, a son is useless, and the woman he thought was his truepanion showed no real affection. The woman passed by him numerous times throughout the day, but never once did she bend down to look at him or even offer him a sip of water. His ex-wife, whom he had always detested, came to his rescue and dug him out of the debris. At that moment, Zhang Jia was struck with regret, regretting everything he had done. So when his current wife saved him and then left without looking back, Zhang Jia suddenly didn¡¯t want to live anymore. He thought, if he died, she woulde to see him onest time, and perhaps she would shed a tear for him.
If so, he would be content. By evening, Hong Xiao came from the Jiang Family with her second brother Zhang Yuying and younger brother Zhang Xiang. They brought a bowl of porridge and a salted duck egg to feed their father. The concubine came out from the room, coldly saying: ¡°Stop pretending to care. Let him die peacefully. He is in pain every day he is alive. What¡¯s the point?¡± Hong Xiao was instantly furious: ¡°My father is still alive and hisplexion is getting better. Are you refusing to let us feed him because you want him to die soon so you can remarry?¡± The concubine was enraged. She stepped forward and fiercely pped Hong Xiao: ¡°Shut up!¡± Pointing usingly at Zhang Jia lying on the board, she scolded: ¡°Does he look like he will survive? You, like your mother, always interfere with good intentions. And you dare to use me? Feeding him eight meals a day won¡¯t extend his life for a few more days!¡± After being pped, Hong Xiao was stunned for a moment before regaining her senses. Zhang Yuying had already rushed out in anger, fists prepared to hit the concubine, ¡°Dare to hit my sister? I¡¯ll fight you!¡± Chapter 328: 324: Ascending the Divine Altar_1 The concubine, caught off guard and hit by Zhang Yuying a few times and unable to fend her off, immediately began to shriek, ¡°Qiu Ling! Qiu Ling! Come and help!¡± Qiu Ling, the niece, hurried out from inside the house. Upon seeing her aunt being beaten up, she quickly grabbed a broom from next to the wall and aimed it at Zhang Yuying¡¯s face. Seeing their brother being grabbed and hit by two women, Hong Xiao and Zhang Xiang bravely put aside their fear and rushed over to shove Qiu Ling. Thus, the few of them ended up fighting each other. But Zhang Yuying was only thirteen or fourteen years old, and Hong Xiao was no more than nine years old. The two of them couldn¡¯t beat the two grown women. As for Zhang Xiang, he was just a five-year-old child. He tried to push his aunt away, but being small and all, he was shoved aside by his aunt, left sprawling on the ground for a while before he could get up. Zhang Jia, who was lying on the door frame, saw this scene. His anger boiled over and he suddenly got up from the ground, stumbled towards the concubine, grabbed her hair, and threw her onto the ground. The concubine screamed in fright, and tumbled and rolled away. Qiu Ling, too, was almost scared unconscious. It seemed a miracle that she didn¡¯t blurt out cries of a haunting spirit. You two¡­¡± Zhang Jia, trembling from head to toe in rage, had used up all his strength in his furious outburst just now and plopped down onto the ground, fainting in the next moment. Hong Xiao and Zhang Yuying rushed over to massage the emergency pressure point on his nose. At that moment, Zhang Yukun came back from outside. Seeing his father lying rigid on the ground, he thought he was dead and copsed to the ground in fear, crying out in despair.
Zhang Yuying said irritably, ¡°Stop crying! Quickly find a doctor for our father!¡± He initially thought that his elder brother had gone to look for a doctor for their father, but seeing Yukuning back alone, he realized that his older brother had not done anything. Zhang Yukun wiped his tears, intending to nod in agreement, but suddenly heard his wife Qiu Ling¡¯s groaning behind him, ¡°Oh no, husband, my stomach hurts.¡± Zhang Yukun turned back to see Qiu Ling already sitting on the floor, wailing in pain, ¡°My stomach hurts. Oh no, husband, your brother and sister just hit me in the stomach.¡± ¡°What?¡± Zhang Yukun panicked, ran over to pick up his wife and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take you to the doctor.¡± With that, he sped off. Seeing Zhang Yukun leaving, the concubine gave a spiteful look at Zhang Yuying and Hong Xiao, saying, ¡°You two just wait right here. If anything happens to my niece, you will pay with your lives!¡± She then turned to Zhang Xiang and started hitting him with the broom, shouting, ¡°You little monster! Ganging up with strangers to bully your own mother, I¡¯ll beat you to death!¡± Zhang Xiang ran out of the courtyard as fast as he could, all the way to Jiang¡¯s Special Products Store, and sobbingly said to Jiang Yunniang, ¡°Mother, father is dying. They are bullying brother and sister. Please go and have a look.¡± Jiang Yunniang was tidying up the yard, preparing to set up the mushroom shed again. Hearing what Xiang said, she immediately put down the bamboo in her hand and hurried out. Yingbao and Erni were also cleaning up. Seeing their aunt so worried, they had no choice but to take out three bottles of medicine and hand them to her, ¡°Aunt, take this.¡± Whether it could cure him or not, they didn¡¯t know. But it would definitely keep him alive for today. Jiang Yunniang took the small porcin bottles, gave her nieces a grateful look, and ran out. Xiang also rushed out after her. Erni bent down to pick up the scattered bamboo poles and said to her younger cousin, ¡°Aunt is really something. That man treats her so badly, yet she still cares so much about him. If it were me, I wouldn¡¯t care if he dies! Humph!¡± Yingbao was also somewhat puzzled by her aunt¡¯s mercy. But recalling that the man was Zhang Yuying and Hong Xiao¡¯s biological father, she somewhat understood. She herself had given the medicine to her aunt because Zhang Yuying and Hong Xiao were Zhang Jia¡¯s biological children. By noon, Aunt, Hong Xiao and the others hadn¡¯te back yet. Jiang Cheng was worried, so he told his two cousins to watch the shop while he went to Zhang Jia¡¯s house to check. Outside, a few wisps of drizzle kept falling, and the ground was muddy from the rainstorm the day before. Yingbao and Erni sat inside the counter, bored, watching the people passing by their shop.
Suddenly, Zhang Min ran in, and in a hushed tone, said to Yingbao, ¡°Little sister, I have news for you. Today a lot of fishermen ran to Pei Shixian¡¯s ce, kowtowing and worshipping him. They¡¯re all calling him a heavenly master.¡± Yingbao was not surprised at all. That¡¯s exactly what Pei Shixian wanted. ¡°Our master is also a celestial master, far more powerful than that fake one.¡± Zhang Min nced at his junior sister tangentially, ¡°When has our master ever been called a celestial master?¡±
¡°Anyway, our master is the most powerful celestial master!¡± Even if no one calls him that now, she would make others call him a celestial master in the future. She would risk everything to elevate her master to the status of a god, otherwise, who knows what shocking words that fake celestial master might utter to harm her and her family. Zhang Min shook his head, sat down on the stool brought by Erni, looked around and asked, ¡°Is this all the merchandize your family has?¡± He didn¡¯t say it, but could the store survive with just these goods? Yingbao: ¡°It¡¯s the off-season now. At this time, the shop sells the fruits and vegetables produced in our own house. The business will pick up in the fall.¡± She could get over two thousand taels of silver at the end of each year, not including the money she made from selling her pills, so she was quite content. Zhang Min peered into the counter, ¡°Fruits and vegetables? Where are they?¡± ¡°My second cousin hasn¡¯t shipped them yet.¡± There was a storm yesterday, and many roads down the South Slope must have been flooded. She guessed that her second cousin could not drive the horse-drawn cart out, hence his absence. Zhang Min nodded, ¡°Your family¡¯s grapes are quite good, our master likes them very much. He sent me to buy some today, but I didn¡¯t expect them to be out of stock.¡± The two chatted for a while before Zhang Min took his leave. By evening, Yingbao and Erni had locked up the shop when her eldest cousin and his family returned. Her aunt went to the kitchen to cook without uttering a word, Hong Xiao lighted the stove for her, and Zhang Yuying was reading with Xiang in the room. Erni quietly asked her eldest cousin, ¡°Why are you back sote? Did something happen?¡±
Jiang Cheng: ¡°Nothing happened. It was Zhang Yukun¡¯s father-inw¡¯s family causing trouble. I called several government officials to drive them away.¡± Tomorrow, I¡¯ll have to invite those officials over for a meal to repay them for their help. ¡°How¡¯s Hong Xiao¡¯s dad?¡± Yingbao was still concerned about the effectiveness of her medicine and whether it worked for Zhang Jia. Jiang Cheng: ¡°He looked just fine to me. He even stood up to fight.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Yingbao nodded, not caring about the other affairs of the Zhang family. At noon the next day, Jiang Quan finally drove the carriage to the county town. He came along with the Li Dao and Li He brothers. They unloaded the fruits from the carriage into the shop, and then went to the backyard for a meal. Jiang Quan was very happy to see his little cousin, ¡°Yingbao, when will you go home? Your uncle and aunt were talking about you yesterday.¡± ¡°In a few days.¡± Yingbao had been eager to go home for a while now. Unfortunately, her master was busy these days and asked her to wait a few more days, then they would go to Chuanhe Town together. ¡°It just happens that Li Dao and Li He will be heading back in the same time too, you can travel together for safety.¡± Jiang Quan took out a wooden board from the shop, which read: Fresh fruits and vegetables have arrived, wee to buy. He inserted the wooden board next to the door of the shop, and then turned back to talk to his little cousin. ¡°Where all have you been? Did you have fun?¡±
¡°Did you travel by boat or carriage? I¡¯ve heard that it¡¯s not safe around here anymore. There are robbers blocking the road in many ces. Every time I drive the carriage back and forth, I worry that robbers might jump out from the side of the road.¡± Every time Jiang Quan thought about thest robbery, he still felt a lingering fear. Chapter 329 - 325: Making Plans _1 Chapter 329: Chapter 325: Making ns _1 Thus, Yingbao began to narrate all that she had experienced, talking about the Peony that had appeared in the Stone Spring Mountain and in the cave, along with a bit of embellishment. It left everyone aghast and in utter awe. ¡°Can peonies bloom in winter?¡± Li He was a little confused. Li Dao gave his younger brother a nce. ¡°They said it¡¯s a miracle. Do you understand what that is? Even if peonies blossomed in winter or auspicious dragons appeared in the sky, they would not be considered strange.¡± Li He scratched his head, nodding in agreement. ¡°I wish I could encounter a miracle,¡± Erni fantasized with shining eyes. ¡°Then I could ask for some Divine Medicine, something that could grant us eternal youth.¡± She had it all nned out in her heart. She¡¯d give one to father, one to mother, one to brother, keep one for herself, and also give one to Yanru¡¯s mother. Together, they would all live forever. Jiang Quan ruthlessly shattered her dream, ¡°Stop dreaming. Do you think Divine Medicine grows like leeks on the ground? If they had to meet followers like you, the Goddess would have to spend all her time making medicine for you.¡± Erni shot a re over at her second cousin, ¡°I want a few! What of it?¡± Jiang Quan gave a snort and muttered, ¡°Delusional dreamer.¡± ¡°What did you mutter?¡± Erni leaned in. Jiang Quan slipped away. Yingbao: ¡­. She suddenly remembered her Five Dingzhi, which should also count as a Divine Medicine. She should let her parents and brothers consume more of it, so they could live long and healthy lives. In the afternoon, when Sister-in-Law heard that Jiang Quan had brought back a cart of fruit, she also came over to help the store while holding her child. She also brought some news, ¡°My father has found out that a special product store has been opened near West Street. The products they sell are exactly the same as ours, even the packaging is the same. The store is called Cao¡¯s Specialties and it was opened by the County Magistrate Cao Can.¡± ¡°No wonder.¡± Jiang Cheng sneered. Chou Rong added, ¡°What¡¯s strange is that Cao¡¯s Specialties also sells Jin and Xue¡¯er¡¯s ears, but not inrge quantities.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just do our own thing, who cares about him.¡± Jiang Quan said, ¡°I don¡¯t believe that they also have lychees and grapes longan.¡± Chou Rongughed, ¡°They really don¡¯t.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t pay much attention to the Cao family¡¯s shop. There will be other shops following suit after theirs, which is not surprising at all. At this time, many people started toe in to buy fruit, and Jiang Cheng hired an ox cart to deliver goods around. Although there was a carriage at home, the old horse had just dragged a cart of goods so far. After returning to the county town, it naturally needed to rest. There are also many wealthy families in the county town. They ordered lychees and other fresh fruits in the store a few days ago. As soon as the goods arrived, they asked to have them delivered. Observing that the ox cart was spacious, Yingbao also climbed into the cart. She needed to make a trip to the Medical Bureau to deliver some fruits to her master and brothers. Oh yes, she also needed to take a look at Yuanbao¡¯s school and bring some fruits for him and his master to taste. The ox cart slowly moved under the scorching sun. When it arrived at a house, Jiang Cheng hurriedly picked up arge basket of fruit and went to knock on the door. The front door opened, someone took the fruit in, and then sent out money. At that moment, Yingbao was sitting in the ox cart, sweat soaking her head, thinking about the blocks of ice stored in her spiritual dwelling. Those pieces of ice were piled in a corner and had not melted yet. But the area within one foot of the ice was cold. So, she ced all the fruit she had picked from her spiritual dwelling near the ice for refrigeration. They would be refreshing if she took them out to eat now, but she dared not do that. Seeing that his cousin seemed hot, Jiang Cheng used his own straw hat to fan air for her,ining, ¡°I told you not to follow, but you didn¡¯t listen. What if you get heatstroke?¡± Yingbao: ¡°I can¡¯t have heatstroke.¡± She would eat a piece of ice to lower the temperature if it gets worse, no way she could have a heatstroke. The ox cart moved intermittently, and soon delivered all the fruit to the designated homes. Jiang Cheng then arrived at Yuanbao¡¯s academy, and he and Yingbao got off the ox cart together. The academy is called Yude Academy, which was established by a man with the surname Xie, who was a literati himself. At this moment, the doors of the academy were tightly shut, and one could faintly hear readings inside. Jiang Cheng hesitated for a while, but eventually, he went up and knocked on the door ring. Soon, a woman in her thirties came to open the door. Seeing Jiang Cheng, she immediately weed them in. The woman was the young daughter-inw of the academy¡¯s Master. She usually cooked for the students in the academy and also watched the gate. She asked the two to wait in the guest hall, while she went to fetch someone from the ssroom. Jiang Cheng ced the basket of fruit that he had brought in on the ground and sat down with his cousin on the side. ¡°Big brother!¡± Yuanbao quickly came into the room. Seeing Yingbao, he was very happy, ¡°Yingbao, you¡¯re back from your travels.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Yingbao took out some books she bought in the Prefecture City from her bag and handed them to Yuanbao, ¡°My master has added annotations. Hearing my oldest cousin say that you will be taking the examination next year, these books should be useful for you.¡± Knowing that his younger cousin¡¯s current master was a knowledgeable person, Yuanbao took the books as if he had received a treasure and began to flip through them immediately. Indeed, on these books, the words and phrases had been annotated exining their meanings more exhaustively than the master¡¯s lectures. ¡°Thank you, Yingbao.¡± There could be nothing more important than this. Yuanbao was overjoyed. Because a ssic book with detailed exnations was genuinely a rarity. No wonder they often say that it¡¯s hard for poor students to excel. It¡¯s not that they¡¯re not smart or hardworking, it¡¯s just that they honestly can¡¯tpete with the resource-rich students from great families. Books on imperial examination can be easily bought as long as you have money. But once you buy it, you have to understand the content right? Many ssics discuss both ancient and current affairs, and quote as per the scenario. If you don¡¯t know the allusions, you can¡¯t understand the meaning at all. In that case, you either have to read a lot of books, or find a teacher to guide you. But in reality, poor students rarelye across books with annotations by grand schrs, and can¡¯t even find renowned tutors. When they enter the examination venue, even if they have good handwriting and can recite all the books, they can only pass the county examination. When ites to the prefectural and metropolitan examinations, it¡¯s not as simple as reciting books. Examinees also have to write discourses, edicts, promations, statements, judgments, etc., as well aspose strategies based on the ssics, historical records, and current affairs news. These test your understanding and strategy for current political affairs. For these poor students who live in seclusion, these discourses are nothing short of deadly. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Yingbao grinned, ¡°When you pass the examination and be a schr next year, we can also benefit from it.¡± Yuanbao rubbed his head sheepishly and murmured a response. After leaving the academy, Yingbao said goodbye to her older cousin and rushed to the Medical Bureau. At the Yin Yang Department of the Medical Bureau, Zhou Wuchang had just returned. He was washing his hands and face and talking to his oldest apprentice when he saw his young apprentice running in with a fruit basket in her hands. Yingbao ced the fruit basket on the table and asked, ¡°Master, are you going to Chuanhe Town tomorrow?¡± Zhou Wuchang took a nce at the fruit basket and nodded, ¡°Indeed, your master has to make a trip to Chuanhe Town.¡± He wanted to check the situation in Dongchen Vige, which had drawn so many people¡¯s attention. ¡°That¡¯s great, I¡¯ll go pack.¡± Actually, there was nothing much to pack. But it was essential to carry her medicine box. Yingbao rushed out of the room and then came back, asking Zhou Wuchang: ¡°Master, has Pei Shixian started aiming for Dongchen Vige?¡± Zhou Wuchang: ¡°?¡± ¡°The people who came to our store to buy things today kept asking if we have had Pei Shixian perform some Immortal Law on our fruit.¡± Chapter 330 - 326: Soapberry Tree Fence _1 Chapter 330: Chapter 326: Soapberry Tree Fence _1 ¡°I am indeed unaware of this matter,¡± Zhou Wuchang admitted honestly. ¡°However, it seems like that Chen Family has been quite restless recently.¡± Not only restless, but they also seem to have resorted to making up stories and spreading rumors. That woman called Han Yueniang has been zealously proiming outside that her daughter is a lucky star reincarnated. She says that when she was pregnant with her daughter, she dreamt of receiving a lotus flower, and a unicorn surrounded her, dancing in the clouds. She also says that at the time of her daughter¡¯s birth, a flock of happy magpies circled for a long time over their house roof, unwilling to leave. Yingbao had anticipated that Chen Tiantian and her mother wouldn¡¯t remain silent and wasn¡¯t overly surprised, but she was worried that Chen Guanglu would take actions against her family, even trying to sow discord between her and her master. After all, considering her master¡¯s status, both Pei Shixian and Han Yueniang had suffered losses at his hands. Because they are wary of her master, they would surely target others. ¡°Master, our family has a feud with Chen Guanglu¡¯s family. The Chen Family will surely nder us in secret and even try to sow discord. Master, you must not believe them.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Zhou Wuchang smiled and nodded: ¡°Do you think I¡¯m the sort who easily believes others?¡± Hearing this, Yingbao immediately brightened up, turned around, and started packing up her things. Early the next day, Jiang Quan returned to his hometown with Li Dao, Li He, and his younger apprentice sister. Following them were two horse carts loaded with Zhou Wuchang and his disciples, along with many pieces of luggage. After more than two hours of travel, they arrived at Dongchen Vige at noon. On the way, Yingbao saw many fallen trees, probably blown over by the strong wind that day. Luckily, their orchard was not damaged, the grapes and peppers were fine, just that quite a number of fruits were blown off. ¡°Baobao!¡± Chunniang, seeing her daughter return, rushed over, held her tightly in her arms, and sobbed. Jiang Wu also ran over, with Dahuang, the dog, wagging its tail frantically behind him. Yingbao wiped away her mother¡¯s tears,forting her a few words, and then hugged her brother. Dahuang, seeing that his young master was ignoring him, desperately circled around Yingbao, asionally knocking at her with his head. The message could not have been clearer. Elsewhere, Jiang Eng didn¡¯t have time to ask about his daughter¡¯s situation, as her master and senior brothers had alsoe. He needed to guide Zhou Wuchang and his disciples into the house. Dani helped serve the guests with tea, while the elder Ji¨¤ng and J¨¬ang Eng also came to apany them. As soon as Jiang Quan returned, his father assigned him a task: to go to the market outside the vige to buy some pork, mutton, and tofu. They had guests at home, so they needed to prepare a feast, and also invite the n Leader and several respected vigers to join them for the meal and drinks. So, the three Ji¨¤ng sister-inws, together with Dani, quickly prepared a banquet. Yingbao quietly retrieved the grape wine and peach wine she had brewed, along with arge jar of peach juice and sugared apricots, from the cave house. She pretended they were from the county town and gave them to her mother. Chunniang didn¡¯t suspect anything and handed all the fruit wine and juice to her husband sitting at the head of the table, asking him to pour drinks for the guests. The n Leader Chen, after taking a sip of the grape wine, couldn¡¯t help but exim, ¡°This wine is rich. Has it been brewed for a long time?¡± Jiang Engughed in agreement, ¡°Yes, Uncle Chen, please drink more. This fruit wine won¡¯t make you drunk.¡± He then raised his ss to everyone, ¡°Everyone, enjoy! This fruit wine, it¡¯s brewed in our house, doesn¡¯t get you drunk.¡± Having said this, he drained his ss first. Everything his daughter brought out was great. Even in such sweltering weather, it was still refreshingly cold. Even the exterior of the wine jar was wet with condensation. Drinking it was wonderfully invigorating. Zhou Wuchang also picked up the wine cup for a sip and nodded, ¡°This wine is sweet and full-bodied, lingering on the pte. It¡¯s even better than the wine from the best tavern in Beijing.¡± The rest of the crowd also couldn¡¯t stop singing its praises. The wine is not only sweet and tasty, but importantly, it is icy cool, which is truly refreshing to drink during this hot summer. After Zhang Min took another drink, his elder brother did not permit him to drink anymore, ¡°That fruit juice is also nice, you stick with that instead.¡± Although Zhang Min was dissatisfied, he knew that it was inappropriate to drink too much when visiting someone else¡¯s home. The wine may not be strong, but what if he were to get drunk? That would surely embarrassing his master. Yingbao, after having a meal in the kitchen with her mother and her aunts, took her brother Dahuang to visit Youyou at the Deer Garden. Since their young master left, Youyou prefers to stay in the Deer Park, leading arge herd of deer out of the park each day, leisurely strolling around the vige. The siblings had not yet arrived at the Deer Garden when they saw from a distance the towering, majestic deer standing in the middle of a herd of various sized deer, like a king amongst his subjects. ¡°Youyou!¡± Yingbao waved a hand at therge deer. Therge deer turned its head, looked steadily for a moment, and suddenly ran over, stopping before the young girl, nudging her incessantly with its head. Yingbao hugged Youyou¡¯s neck in an embrace, stroked its antlers, then took out a piece of homemade sugar candy from her bag and stuffed it into its mouth. Jiang Wu and Dahuang, seeing this, quickly stretched their necks over, ¡°Sister, what are you feeding Youyou? I want some too.¡± Yingbao thus retrieved a small bag of candy with the addition of five pieces of Ganoderma lucidum from her bag and handed it to her brother, ¡°Eat slowly,e to me again after you are finished.¡± Now that the weather is hot and humid, candies left outdoors would quickly melt, bing sticky and difficult to keep fresh. Jiang Wu immediately pinched a piece and popped it into his mouth, then seeing Dahuang howling in eagerness, reluctantly gave it another piece. The two siblings, leading a herd of deer, strolled around the vige, going to check on the Honey locust trees encircling the vige. These Honey locust trees were densely packed, tall and rigid, with sharp thorns sparsely scattered on the tree trunk, even a dog would find it hard to prate. Who would have thought that a few yearster, these Honey locust trees, nted by Yingbao, would indeed form a wall. Now they had grown to a height of two zhang (approx 6.6 meters), with menacing spikes on top, that would induce goosebumps on anyone who approached. Jiang Wu said, ¡°Sister, these trees that you nted, in the end, benefited the outsiders.¡± Yingbao turned to look at him, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Jiang Wu pointed to the honey locust trees, then at the outside, ¡°The honey locust trees produce a lot of pods, the vigers here only asionally pick a few to use forundry, the rest are picked by outsiders.¡± ¡°What are they picking so many honey locust pods for? To make incense?¡± Yingbao asked curiously. Jiang Wu nodded, ¡°Well, they could pick if they want, it¡¯s not considered precious in our vige. But those outsiders used knives to cut the branches, some even tried to cut down the whole tree. They were caught by my father and chased off the South Slope. Now those outsiders are residing in the old vige, there are dozens of households.¡± ¡°Why are there so many outsiders in our vige? Why do they cut down the honey locust trees?¡± Yingbao asked. Jiang Wu replied, ¡°They are all refugees who escaped from elsewhere. I heard that their ces are often attacked by bandits and military cmities, they couldn¡¯t survive and had to flee. Initially, father felt pity for them and allowed them to pick some honey locust pods to sell for money. However, these outsiders turned out to be dishonest, they attempted to cut down the tree, with an ulterior motive to move into our vige.¡± Yingbao furrowed her eyebrows. She nted these honey locust trees to guard against outsiders, what would happen if the trees were cut down? What if bandits were toe like they did a few years ago, wouldn¡¯t her vigers be put in danger? ¡°It can¡¯t be a good idea for them to live in the old vige, right? Shouldn¡¯t Lizheng do something about it?¡± No matter what, the old vige was part of Dongchen Vige¡¯s jurisdiction, if it were illegally upied for a long period, dangerous conflicts over property rights could unexpectedly arise. Jiang Wu added, ¡°Father has approached Lizheng, asking him to resolve the matter. The grandpa Lizheng came to inspect once, he said he had reported the issue to County Government. They are waiting for the County Magistrate¡¯s instructions on how to settle these outsiders. It¡¯s already been half a year, but there¡¯s no news from the County Government.¡± Chapter 331: 327: Too Old_1 Yingbao didn¡¯t respond. Half a year ago, it¡¯s likely that the County Magistrate had just taken office and hadn¡¯t yet turned his attention to this issue. She walked slowly with Youyou and her younger brother towards the market on the outskirts of the vige. Indeed, several soapberry trees were missing from this stretch of tree wall. However, after having been cut in half, the remaining section of the soapberry trees sprouted new shoots, and perhaps they could be saved. When no one else was around, she would water the trees with water from the Pupil Spring to help them grow branches more quickly. The circle of soapberry trees around the vige wasn¡¯t totally closed off. There were paths left open in several ces. Paths to Xichen Vige and the fields each had two routes, and there was another that led outside the vige, near the market. This route was wide enough for two carts to pass side by side with room to spare. Yingbao furrowed her brows, thinking about how she could quickly create severalrge gates to block off these passages? So many refugees had suddenly arrived, and likely more were continuouslying. It was impossible to guarantee that some of these people weren¡¯t dangerous criminals. In desperate times, for survival¡¯s sake, murders are all toomon. Once refugees kill a person, they may go on to kill two, or three. Human life means no more to them than the life of a pig or a dog.
If any of these people infiltrate the vige one day and massacre the unsuspecting vigers, then her father would bear the brunt of the County Government¡¯s me. No, she would have to warn her father and all the vigers. They needed to be vignt, block all the routes around the vige at night, and take turns standing guard. After a long stroll around, the siblings returned to the vige and saw Zhou Wuchang and his disciples strolling around after having finished their meals. ¡°Master, let me show you our family¡¯s orchard.¡± Yingbao approached with a cheerful smile, patting the deer following her and introduced, ¡°This is my deer, named Youyou, and the young ones behind it are its children.¡± Zhou Wuchang looked at the deer, then at the herd, and nodded, ¡°Deer are auspicious animals. Your vige living harmoniously with a herd of deer reveals that you are all kind-hearted people.¡± Zhang Min seized the opportunity and asked, ¡°Little sister, could you give or sell me one?¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Sure, you can choose one, and I will bring it to you. But, I must specify, you can¡¯t kill it for meat.¡± In the vige, some also bought deer, usually to keep as pets for their children. If anyone were to kill a pet deer, they would be shunned by everyone. ¡°I don¡¯t eat meat.¡± Zhang Min chuckled, ¡°We follow the Eight Precepts; we don¡¯t eat meat. Don¡¯t you know that, little sister?¡± Zhou Hao merely nced at his brother but didn¡¯t say a word to contradict him. Yingbao had long grown ustomed to the loose talk of her second senior brother, and she didn¡¯t mind him. She used a bean sprout to tempt a young deer close. This young deer was muchrger than Youyou had been. It wasn¡¯t afraid and rubbed its head affectionately against Yingbao, then against Zhang Min. Zhang Min was overjoyed. He petted the head and back of the little deer, unable to let go. ¡°I¡¯ve decided, I¡¯ll call it Eryou (Second-You)!¡± Jiang Wu blinked and asked, ¡°Aiyou? Brother, the name you gave is really bad.¡± Zhang Minughed, ¡°Eryou means the second Youyou, not the ¡®Aiyou¡¯ that you are thinking of.¡± Jiang Wu¡¯s face twitched. He looked sympathetically at the little deer and muttered, ¡°It seems your owner is unreliable. Good luck.¡± ¡°Little boy, what did you say?¡± Zhang Min asked while petting the deer, looking at the boy with a skewed smirk. ¡°Nothing.¡± Jiang Wu darted away.
Seeing their little owner ran away, the herd quickly followed, including the newly named Eryou. Yingbao led her master and senior brother to her family¡¯s orchard, picking a batch of lychees from the trees and sharing them. While eating the lychees, she led them around the vige. Nowadays, every household in the vige has fruit trees and grapevines in their courtyards and by their front doors, and vegetable gardens full of various produce. These vegetable seeds were all brought back from various ces by Yingbao.
On the bamboo fence of the vegetable garden,rge gourds hung in clusters, each as big as a washbasin. Of course, there were also small ones, not much bigger than a palm. These were picked up by the vigers, dried, coated with red lead, and hung on their waists for protection against evil. Zhou Wuchang idled around the vige, ignoring the burning sun, and covered the entire vige before dering to Yingbao, ¡°Your vige is excellent, affluent andposed.¡± Yingbao nodded. ¡°Our vige is the best vige, and my father says he will erge it and dig a few more canals.¡± Zhou Wuchang shook his head. ¡°In fact, the vige at the foot of the mountain is also no less appealing. If the river channels were cleared up, a couple of drainage canals were dug, even if a huge volume of water flows downstream it will be diverted. The vige would no longer be susceptible to devastating floods.¡± Yingbao opened her mouth wide in astonishment, ¡°How long would it take to clear up all the river channels? Digging a drainage canal is a massive project, would it not take years toplete?¡± Of course, if all thebourers in the county came, it might be possible toplete it in two or three months. Zhou Wuchang sighed. ¡°Indeed, but your vige can choose to hirebourers.¡± Yingbao: ¡­¡­. Did her master just speak humannguage? Her vige should hirebourers to dig canals? It might result in time and resource wastage, sheer effort without return, no? Ah, it would be nice if Wu Daozi was still the County Magistrate. She could go and suggest to him, ask him for amand to clear this part of the river and dig a couple of canals. But then again, every year thebourers have no end of work. Even if she went to talk, it probably wouldn¡¯t help.
Zhou Wuchang and his disciples finally finished touring the area and returned to the Jiang Family¡¯s estate for rest in the room arranged by Jiang Sang. Zhou Hao looked around to ensure no one was around, then whispered to his master, ¡°Master, if we bury the object here, it might be more convincing.¡± Zhou Wuchang wasying on the bed pretending to nap, he nonchntly said, ¡°We can discuss thister.¡± He had to ensure absolute safety and could not let his young disciples bear the brunt. This location was actually the most suitable for that task with the most auspicious signs, but in case the n failed, not only would he die, all the people here might also be doomed. Forget it, better find an uncultivated field. At worst, he would create a few more extraordinary phenomenons. In the next few days, Zhou Wuchang didn¡¯t let the two young disciples apany him, he only took his oldest disciple for a walk around the vige and spent a long time in a wild bamboo grove. Meanwhile, Yingbao and her second senior brother were sparring on the training ground at the schoolhouse. Zhang Min, who didn¡¯t study martial arts, kept getting thrown over by his younger junior sister who was much shorter than him. Unwilling to continue failing, he turned and pleaded with Zhang Meng to take him as a student, ¡°Master Zhang, our families were considered as one five hundred years ago, you cannot let me die.¡± Zhang Meng didn¡¯t dare to casually take Zhou Wuchang¡¯s disciple so he had to find an excuse to refuse, ¡°No, you¡¯ve surpassed the age suitable for martial arts practice.¡± ¡°What? You¡¯re saying I¡¯m old?¡± Zhang Min had a look of disbelief. ¡°I¡¯m only fourteen this year and you¡¯re saying I¡¯m old? Master, how old are you this year?¡± Zhang Meng:
The other children on the martial arts grounds covered their mouths andughed. In the end, Zhang Min was kindly shown the door by his master, Zhang Meng. He had no choice but to sulk outside the fences of the training ground, secretly watching the other students practice. Yingbao came up behind him and patted his shoulder. ¡°Second senior brother, my mother made sesame seeds, they smell so delicious. Let¡¯s go home and have some sweet sesame paste.¡± Upon hearing the words ¡®food¡¯, Zhang Min perked up. He immediately followed his junior sister for the rumoured delicious sesame paste. Chapter 332: 328 Palm: Someone comes for treatment_1 Over these two years, every household in Dongchen Vige nted quite a lot of sesame. Jiang Sang even paid to learn the technique of extracting sesame oil from a workshop specializing in making castor oil. When he returned, he taught his eldest brother-inw¡¯s son, Daniu, how to extract oil, and even had him build two huts at the market just outside Dongchen Vige to serve as an oil mill specifically for sesame oil extraction. Of course, Daniu also buys sesame and sells the oil he extracts. His business is thriving, with people from surrounding vigesing to buy his oil, leaving him barely able to meet demand. Nowadays, every family in Dongchen Vige loves to use fragrant sesame oil when cooking their vegetables and rice, even using lessrd. Yingbao led her second senior brother home, just as her mother finished roasting the sesame. Spring Lady cheerfully brought the roasted sesame seeds to the table, preparing to crush them, and said to her daughter, ¡°Baobao, if you want some, just grab a handful and try. It¡¯s really fragrant.¡± Yingbao grabbed a handful for herself, before signaling her second senior brother to do the same. Zhang Min had no qualms about grabbing a handful and chewing on it. He has to admit, the roasted sesame was truly fragrant. This was his first time eating roasted sesame, and it had his mouth watering. ¡°Don¡¯t eat too much, it can give you a headache,¡± Yingbao said. ¡°Wait until Mom crushes the sesame, then we can mix it with sugar and taste.¡±
Nodding, Zhang Min turned to Spring Lady, ¡°Auntie, let me help you crush them.¡± ¡°No need, I can handle it on my own. It¡¯ll be ready in a bit,¡± Spring Lady answered as she took a rolling pin and spread the sesame seeds on a clean board. She rolled with all her might, and the freshly roasted sesame seeds were so crisp that they were quickly crushed into bits. The fragrance of the sesame grew even stronger. Spring Lady transferred the crushed sesame into a clean pottery jar, left some aside, mixed it with sugar powder, and added a little boiling water to make two bowls of sesame paste. She handed one to Zhang Min, ¡°Here, have a taste.¡± Zhang Min took it and was soon enraptured by the aroma with each mouthful. Spring Lady then gave the other bowl to her daughter, ¡°Baobao, you too, have a taste.¡± Yingbao took a spoonful for her mother and one for herself, and soon her bowl of sesame paste was empty. ¡°Would you like a bit more?¡± asked Spring Lady. ¡°No need, too much sesame is cloying,¡± Yingbao responded as she took her and her second senior brother¡¯s bowls to wash. Zhang Min, fueled and hydrated, went out for a stroll and bumped into Huzi, who hade back for water. The pair huddled together, whispering about their martial arts training. Yingbao ignored them, sitting inside chatting with her mother. ¡°Mom, why is our weaving workshop empty?¡± Pinching a piece of cloth to cut into a dress for her daughter, Spring Lady exined, ¡°The cotton at home has all been spun and this is the busy farming season, so all the weavers went home for farm work.¡± ¡°And our cloth, has it all been sold?¡± asked Yingbao. Spring Lady pointed to the dozens of bolts of cotton cloth piled up in the room, ¡°Your father exchanged them for goods at Simen Town¡¯s cloth shop. We¡¯ve kept these here for family use. It saves us buying cloth for festival or asional needs. We have all we need at home.¡± Pausing for a moment, she went on, ¡°Sister Dani and the Zhang Family have set the wedding date, and they will get married next spring. Sigh, time flies, Dani is getting married and your father and I are getting old.¡± Spring Lady¡¯s sigh was not about Dani getting married, but about her own little daughter growing up fast. In just five or six years, they will have to find her a match. The thought of her daughter getting married made Spring Lady¡¯s heart ache. Once she marries, her visits home will be less frequent. Even though Spring Lady didn¡¯t want to admit it, once a daughter is married off, she basically bes part of another family, and her returns home are like those of a guest.
Yingbao gave her mother a serious look, ¡°Mom, you¡¯re not old at all, there are no wrinkles on your face.¡± Spring Lady chuckled and touched her face, ¡°Who says I don¡¯t have wrinkles, look at these deep forehead lines.¡± ¡°I have forehead lines too.¡± Yingbao tried to raise her eyebrows high, causing two creases to appear on her forehead. Spring Lady yfully touched her daughter¡¯s forehead,ughing, ¡°Where do you see forehead lines on you?¡±
Touching her own forehead, Yingbao said, ¡°I¡¯ll make a moisturising cream for mom. Apply it every night. Your skin will definitely be fair and soft. That¡¯s how the nobledies in the city care for their faces.¡± ¡°Great, I look forward to Baobao¡¯s skin cream.¡± After the mother and daughter chatted for a bit, they heard someone outside shouting, ¡°Is Mrs. Xu home?¡± Chunniang quickly put down the scissors in her hand and went out to check. The visitors were two men in green robes and a middle-aged woman, who did not look local. ¡°What can I do for you?¡± Chunniang wiped her hands on her apron and looked at them. The woman stepped forward to bow, ¡°My surname is Wang, I¡¯m from Willow Vige. I¡¯m here with my husband today to ask the little Divine Doctor for help.¡± Only then did Chunniang turn her gaze to the man by her side. One man was unsteady on his feet, being supported by hispanion, his face extremely pale. Chunniang frowned, unsure if she should agree. At that moment, Yingbao came over and said, ¡°Please have a seat.¡± She led them to the grape arbor in the courtyard and asked the woman, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the patient?¡± The woman walked behind her husband and lifted his cor, ¡°My husband has an abscess on his back that hasn¡¯t healed. Recently it¡¯s gotten much worse. I beg the little Divine Doctor to have a look.¡± Yingbao went over to inspect and indeed saw a pus-filled abscess the size of a fist on the man¡¯s lower neck, emitting a strong odor.
¡°The doctor in our vige said it¡¯s a carbuncle.¡± The woman said, wiping the corner of her eyes with her hand. ¡°Carbuncle?¡± Yingbao frowned. She knew about the treatment for carbuncles, but it required first cutting open the abscess to drain the pus, then cutting away the necrotic flesh, and afterward preventing infection. Any carelessness could be fatal. But this man¡¯s carbuncle was extremelyrge. If she recklessly operated, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to take it. Seeing Yingbao¡¯s hesitation, the woman all of a sudden knelt before her, ¡°I beg you, little Divine Doctor, please save his life.¡± Yingbao was faced with a dilemma, ¡°His carbuncle has be severe. If I were to treat him, I¡¯d have to cut him open and remove the necrotic flesh. The process is risky. Ifplications arise, can you bear it?¡± The woman was stunned. The sick man raised his head to Yingbao and said, ¡°I beg you, little Divine Doctor, operate.¡± He had already tried several drugstores and even the county¡¯s health department. At first, they operated on him, butter the abscess recurred, and maggots developed inside. He couldn¡¯t bear it and wanted to end his life. But someone told him that in Dongchen Vige of Chuanhe Town, there was a little Divine Doctor who didn¡¯t just treat anyone, but all her patients fully recover. Yingbao replied, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, we shall sign a contract first. If cured, you must pay the medical expenses. If not healed, you can¡¯t me me.¡± She couldn¡¯t guarantee that she couldpletely cure him. If she couldn¡¯t, she didn¡¯t want to be falsely used. ¡°Okay!¡± The man agreed without hesitation. Afterward, Yingbao went into the house to get a brush, ink, paper and inkstone, and wrote a contract on the spot, making all three of them leave their handprints.
Of course, she, the contracting party, also left her handprint. Chunniang even specifically went to invite n Leader Chen Fu and two vige elders over to leave their handprints as witnesses. Now it was time to prepare for the operation. Doing it at home was definitely not feasible. Yingbao asked her mother to clear out a room in the weaving workshop outside the courtyard for the man to stay temporarily. Then, Yingbao began to sterilize the scalpel by boiling it in a y pot. She also prepared a jar of strong alcohol. Medicine like dandelion, licorice, and astragalus were essential. But these were only stopgaps, they could only temporarily alleviate the symptoms. Chapter 333: 329: Treating Back Sore_1 Having organized the medicinal herbs and surgical tools, Yingbao donned a mask that her mother had made specifically for her, carefully cleaned her hands, and started making an incision on the patient¡¯s sore. Her senior apprentice brother also wore a mask, thoroughly cleaning his hands and assisting from the side. The patient¡¯s wife gave him a bath, cleanly washed his hair with scented soap, and dried it. The patient theny face down on a small bamboo bed. His hair was wrapped in a cloth to prevent it from getting in the way of the procedure. Yingbao, with an expressionless face, poured some strong liquor onto his back, indicating to his wife and brother to hold his arms and legs down, and then she started cutting open the sore with a knife. The patient was shivering in pain, biting hard on a cloth gag. This was Yingbao¡¯s first time looking inside a sore, which resembled a bee¡¯s nest. Numerous maggots were squirming in it, making her feel sick. Resisting the urge to vomit, she used a pair of tweezers to extract the maggots one by one, cing them in a dish. The dish was filled with water mixed with a toxic substance, more than enough to kill the maggots. Upon seeing the young Divine Doctor extracting dozens of maggots, the patient¡¯s brother couldn¡¯t help but vomit. Zhang Min scorned, ¡°Even I haven¡¯t vomited, yet you, his brother, are retching?¡±
The man did not say a word, just continued to dry heave. The patient, who was in and out of consciousness due to the excruciating pain, was jarred awake again. Once Yingbao had extracted all the maggots, only then did she use a knife and scissors to remove the rotten tissue. This sore that resembled a bee¡¯s nest also needed to be cut off and cleaned properly to prevent secondary infection. As removing the sore was extremely painful, Yingbao feared the patient might not be able to endure the pain and die on the spot. She handed him a small bottle of Divine Medicine, and emotionlessly said to his wife, ¡°This costs five taels of silver, make a note of it.¡± The woman didn¡¯t care about the cost. She will do anything to make the Divine Doctor heal her husband, even if it costs her a hundred taels. Zhang Min had goosebumps throughout as he watched Yingbao methodically removing the patient¡¯s sores. After two hours, Yingbao finally managed to open the sore on the patient¡¯s back and remove the rotten flesh inside. The wound left after the sore was removed was frightening¡ªit was so deep one could see the bones of his spine. Yingbao carefully applied the Divine Medicine to the wound, then put on anotheryer of medicine, and finally wrapped it up with a clean bandage. After settling the patient, Yingbao let out a sigh of relief. She instructed the woman to look after her husband carefully while she tidied up and left. But she could not rest yet as she had to boil and disinfect the knife and other tools. No one could assist with this task, so Chunniang only helped her daughter boil arge pot of water for cleaning and found a new set of clothes for Yingbao to change into. The clothes and mask that were taken off were also boiled clean in water. After a series of bustling activities, Yingbao put away the tools that had been boiled for an hour, quickly ate something, and then went to sleep. When she woke up the next day, she quickly went to check on the patient. Fortunately, the patient¡¯s fever had subsided, and he was already able to eat some food. Only then did Yingbao rx. She cleaned up, changed the patient¡¯s medicine, and presented the herbal medicine she had prepared for the woman to make into a decoction for the patient. Three days passed in a sh. The patient¡¯s back injury healed well, and the wound that was once as big as a fist was gradually closing. New tissue had grown, indicating that the sore hadpletely healed.
Both the patient¡¯s wife and brother were overjoyed. They immediately wanted to kowtow to Yingbao in thanks. Yingbao helped them up and said, ¡°The total cost is fifty-five taels of silver. Once you¡¯ve paid, you can go back and rest.¡± ¡°Yes, I will go fetch the silver right away.¡± The three of them hade on a donkey cart. The patient¡¯s brother immediately set off to fetch the money from their vige. They were fortunate toe from a well-off family. For others, they could not afford such treatment.
Zhou Wuchang watched as his junior apprentice sessfully cured a patient with a severe ulcer and contemted her achievement. ¡°Yingbao, how were you able to cure carbuncles?¡± Zhou Wuchang was curious. Despite his student¡¯s gifted medical skills and potential to be a divine doctor, he oddly chose to study forbidden curses with him, which was quite absurd. He himself learned forbidden curses out of necessity, but this child went against the grain, seemingly out of sync with normal thinking. Yingbao: ¡°Because I can prepare divine medicine, all it takes is to cut open the ulcer, and apply my divine medicine, then naturally, it will heal.¡± Zhou Wuchang¡¯s forehead twitched as he asked: ¡°I have a friend who also has carbuncles, could you cure him too?¡± ¡°I will only know once I have seen him.¡± Yingbao said. ¡°He¡¯s in Beijing.¡± ¡°Beijing?¡± Yingbao immediately shook her head: ¡°I won¡¯t go to Beijing.¡± She did not want to revisit the ce she had been once before. Despite its prosperity, Beijing was dull without her parents and younger brother there. Zhou Wuchang stroked his beard, ¡°Then I¡¯ll write a letter inviting him over.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Okay, when he arrives, I will do my best to treat him.¡±
But before the master¡¯s friend arrived, two more people came seeking treatment, both with ulcers. One had an ulcer on his thigh and could no longer walk. Yingbao and her second senior brother went into the fields to dig up a lot of dandelions, grinding them along with their roots forter use. They also collected honeysuckle, wormwood, skullcap, and others. They had to purchase some of the herbs like Bupleurum, forsythia, coptis, and phellodendron from the pharmacy since they were out of stock. After all the herbs were prepared and boiled into medicine with the water from Pupil Spring, Yingbao made these two people bathe and clean their heads before performing surgery on them. Five dayster, the two happily returned home. From then on, every few days, Yingbao received patients with carbuncles or toxic sores, which puzzled her. Actually, she could cure many other diseases, so why did only people with sores seek her treatment? Through this, Yingbao noticed a pattern that most of those who had carbuncles on their backs didn¡¯t pay much attention to cleanliness. In the midsummer days, they would only bathe once every few days, and they never scrub their backs. So, Yingbao wrote a method to prevent back carbuncles and pustules on arge piece of paper, calling for everyone to regrly wash and scrub their backs, and in winter, they should maintain bathing at least once every seven or eight days and wash their heads with soapberry. In the neighboring vige, there was a man with leprosy, whose head was so dirty that he developed sores, and had lost almost all his hair, which looked terrible. Since the vige has be affluent, the vigers should also learn how to prevent themselves and their family from falling sick.
Jiang Sang burst intoughter when he saw the notice written by his daughter: ¡°It¡¯s okay to bathe frequently in summer, but I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be possible in winter, it¡¯s cold, and many households do not bathe for the whole winter.¡± ¡°No wonder there are so many people suffering from carbuncles and pustules.¡± Yingbao muttered, then wrote and drew something on the paper, handing it to her father. ¡°Dad, let¡¯s build a bathhouse in the vige. In winter, we heat up a pool of water every seven days, and charge people whoe to use it.¡± With the bathhouse, it would be convenient for their own family to bathe in winter, and they could also earn some money from the firewood. Jiang Sang looked at the paper, on it appeared to be arge pot with several people squatting inside, and firewood under the pot was burning. Although his daughter¡¯s drawing was not good, it was simple and clear; even a three-year-old child could understand it. Spring Maiden also leaned over to have a look, and wondered: ¡°How big must the pot be to let people squat inside and bathe?¡± Yingbao blinked her eyes: ¡°Not too big, like the iron pot we use to cook pig food at home, but we need to build a small pool on top of the iron pot, and connect it to arger pool, then heat the iron pot, and the hot water inside it will get to therge pool. For therge pool, you need to provide an air duct from below, like how we provide heat for our kang bed stove at home, so the water in the pool won¡¯t get cold.¡± Spring Maiden was confused, but Jiang Sang understood. ¡°Okay, I will arrange for people to build a bathhouse when I have time. Hmm, one for men and one for women.¡± It¡¯s the same effort to heat one pool, so it¡¯s also possible to heat two at once. Chapter 334: 330: Zhong Family Members_1 In September, finally, that person from Beijing arrived. This time he came not only to treat his ulcer, but also brought the imperial edict, to investigate Pei Shixian, and if the rumors were true, to bring him to Beijing for an audience with the Emperor. Because Pei Shixian had be quite famous in Qinchuan County, he was referred to as Master Pei. ording to rumors, Master Pei was well-versed in astronomy and geography, could predict the future, and discern fortune from the stars. Moreover, he had a fortunate daughter, who it was said even the Qin Tianjian had divined for and who had once saved the life of the prince. ¡°Brother Wuchang, you seem quite rxed.¡± Qin Zhaolin looked at the vige in front of him with his hands behind his back: ¡°This ce has splendid scenery and a talented poption, no wonder it produces peculiar individuals often.¡± Zhou Wuchang gave him a sidelong nce: ¡°How does this little vige have anything to do with the peculiar individual you mentioned?¡± Qin Zhaolin touched his nose,ughed and said: ¡°Doesn¡¯t the little apprentice you mentioned in your letter count as a peculiar individual?¡± Zhou Wuchang impatiently said: ¡°My apprentice is not peculiar, she is just slightly more intelligent than others.¡± He then gestured to his senior apprentice: ¡°Take this officer Qin for a bath, make sure he is cleaned properly, so as not to bother others.¡± Qin Zhaolin snorted, ignored Zhou Wuchang, and went directly with Zhou Hao.
He indeed did not like bathing, drank too much in the winter, had sat under the sun removing lice from his cotton clothes with a few old friends,peted to see who caught the most, who could kill them with a loud snap, and so didn¡¯t even care when a boil grew on his back as a result. When the ulcer got deeper and deeper, Qin Zhaolin got anxious, but no treatment helped. In the past few years, his health deteriorated day by day, not even able to drink. Once he drank, the ulcer on his back would re up, making him miserable. His childhood friend Zhou Wuchang suddenly wrote a letter a while ago asking him toe to the small vige for treatment. Qin Zhaolin was just worried about not having a reason to leave Beijing then, conveniently the Emperor asked him to inspect Luzhou and look for talented individuals. After bathing, Qin Zhaolin stood on the wall of the Jiang Family¡¯s courtyard with his wet hair looking around, deeply moved. The whole vige was surrounded by tall soapberry trees, the houses in the vige were neatly arranged, vegetable beds were lush, the elderly and children were properly dressed, their faces full of joy. Outside the vige, there was a market, which had grown quiterge. In the market, there was not only an oil mill and a tofu shop, but also a meat shop, a cloth shop and a carriage shop. ¡°Stop looking, hurry down, my apprentice is ready.¡± Zhou Wuchang urged him at his side: ¡°When the surgery startster, you must endure. My little apprentice doesn¡¯t usually give people Powder for Anesthesia, you must hold on, don¡¯t embarrass me.¡± Qin Zhaolin red at him: ¡°If others can endure, I certainly can too, no need for your reminders.¡± The two of them came to the sickroom, and saw a little girl, eight or nine years old, arranging surgical instruments. She was wearing a face mask and said to Qin Zhaolin, ¡°Take off your coat.¡± Qin Zhaolin nced at his childhood friend, and seeing his friend with a poker face, he couldn¡¯t help but shiver. Seeing him dilly-dallying, Zhou Wuchang ordered his apprentice, ¡°Take the officer¡¯s coat off, tie his limbs to the bamboo bed, tie them tightly.¡± Zhou Hao and the second apprentice did as they were told, stripped off Qin Zhaolin¡¯s coat, dragged him to the edge of the bamboo bed,id him down directly, regardless of his struggle, and tied his limbs firmly to the bamboo bed. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Qin Zhaolin began to panic: ¡°Why are you tying me up?¡± ¡°This way it¡¯s simpler.¡± Zhou Wuchang sat on a chair by his side, picked up a medical book and began to read. Qin Zhaolin grumbled: ¡°I, as an officer of the Imperial Court, you treat me like this? Where is the decency?¡±
¡°Stop talking, if you interfere with my apprentice¡¯s surgery, you¡¯ll be the one who suffers.¡± Zhou Wuchang opened the book in his hand. Qin Zhaolin: Outside the sickroom, a few guards not allowed to enter were keenly watching children race on deer, suddenly they heard their master¡¯s screams from within the room, they could only look at each other. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Should we go in and take a look?¡± A guard asked.
¡°No need, the Divine Doctor is performing surgery on our master, what if we disturb them?¡± Another one who had more faith in Master Zhou¡¯s character, was sure he wouldn¡¯t harm their master. Following that were few more pig-killing like screams, the guards couldn¡¯t stand still anymore, hurriedly walked far away, out of earshot and out of mind. An hourter, the doors of the sickroom finally opened, Yingbao came out with her medical box, first she disinfected the surgical instruments by boiling them in a separate container, then, she took off her own special coat and face mask and boiled them in another big container. The container was heated with charcoal, Chunniang watched the fire, and let her daughter rest. Yingbao now had considerable experience in the treatment of ulcers, and she usedmon herbal medicines, like dandelion, greater thistle, and honeysuckle, which could be picked directly from the wilderness. In addition, for patients with less serious cases, she only gives them herbal teas boiled with Pupil Spring, without using the Five-Tripod Ganoderma, and the patients also recover well. This greatly reduced her consumption of Five-Tripod Ganoderma, and also saved the patients quite a lot of silver taels. Three dayster, Qin Zhaolin was finally able to go out for a stroll, he even went to the vige school with Zhou Wuchang. When Li Xu saw that the visitor was a person of stature, he immediately bowed in salute: ¡°Junior Li Xu greets the Sir.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for excessive courtesy.¡± Qin Zhaolin waved his hand and started a conversation with him. Upon learning that Li Xu was only in his twenties and was preparing for the county exam next year, he nodded approvingly and asked him a few questions on the spot. The content of the county exam included the Four Books and Five ssics, Analects, Mencius, the Doctrine of the Mean, The Great Learning, etc., and candidates also needed to express their views on current affairs and government affairs, if they had no insights into these subjects, they would probably fail. Li Xu answered seriously, his words were grounded, and he had his own views despite his young age.
Qin Zhaolin suddenly felt the desire to mentor this young talent and began to give him some guidance on the spot. Seeing this, Zhou Wuchang went to the martial arts field next to the school to watch the kids practice martial arts. His two small apprentices were also practicingbat there, each holding a wooden knife, attacking each other. Zhou Wuchang watched expressionlessly, but he felt that the knife skills seemed familiar. There was a time, when someone was proficient in extraordinary knife skills, but he was shot dead by enemy¡¯s arrow. The brilliant young man of the Zhong family could never return. However, it was said that he had a son, but no one knew where he had ended up. Zhou Wuchang took a closer look at Zhang Meng. He did not know this man, and didn¡¯t know if he was a subordinate of General Zhong. Yet he could not ask. Because after General Zhong and his son died in battle, another son of the Zhong family raised a rebellion, which waster suppressed by the imperial court, and the entire Zhong family was executed. So many former subordinates of the Zhong Army fled the army and their whereabouts were unknown. After dancing a few rounds of knife skills with her second senior brother and practicing a few rounds of unarmedbat, Yingbao finally put away her wooden knife and went home.
Zhang Min, however, continued to practice with Jiang Wu. He refused to believe that he was not able to defeat a seven-year-old child. A few dayster, Qin Zhaolin¡¯s back hadpletely healed and he was ready to leave for Qinchuan County. Before leaving, he took a few bottles of sesame oil and Jiang family¡¯s dried soy bean paste. Zhou Wuchang also returned home with his senior disciple, but didn¡¯t take with his second apprentice and little apprentice Yingbao. Yingbao was happy not to go, but Zhang Min was very frustrated, always feeling that his master didn¡¯t want him anymore. Chapter 335: 331: County Examination_1 Chapter 335: Chapter 331: County Examination_1 Time passed swiftly, and soon it was the end of December. Jiang Jie and Mr. Wu had returned home to the joy of the Jiang Family. ¡°Ajie, where did you travel to in these two years? Share with your grandfather,¡± the old man of the Jiang family asked cheerfully. Jiang Jie: ¡°I visited the East Sea, South Vietnam, and toured around the Shu Region with Sir.¡± ¡°How did you guys travel?¡± asked Jiang Sang. ¡°We initially traveled with the trading convoys andter, walked thousands of miles with the armed escorts,¡± Jiang Jie said confidently, exhibiting maturity. Jiang Sang greeted old Mr. Wu with a smile: ¡°Thank you, Sir, for your kindness. My son has grown so much during this trip.¡± Old Mr. Wu stroked his beard and smiled: ¡°A child¡¯s learning cannot be limited within four walls. It is only through travel that one can understand the problems of the world. I have decided to let Jiang Jie take the county examination in February. If he passes, he can take the vige examination three yearster.¡± If he was to truly instruct him, he must shape him into an unparalleled genius. It would be rare for an eleven-or twelve-year-old to pass the imperial examination.
By then, he was curious about how those old folks in Beijing would dare to look down on him. On the Chinese New Year¡¯s Eve, the Jiang family had four tables full of food. The men of the family, Mr. Wu, and Zhang Min shared a table. Yingbao, Dani, Erni, Hong Xiao, Chou Rong, and the girls sat together. Chunniang, mother-inw, elder sister-inw Jiang Yunniang, and sister-inw sat together. The other table included the children, Jiang Quan, Zhang Yuying, Zhang Xiang, and Jiang Jie, Jiang Wu, Yuanbao, Huzi, and others. Yingbao brought out her homemade grape wine and peach juice and distributed it among the four tables. She had wanted to bring out a melon, but she dared not. The foreign melons in the cave, after her repeated cultivation and improvement, had grown from the size of a fist to that of a washbasin, and they were extremely sweet. Unfortunately, nobody here grew such melons. Otherwise, she would have brought one out for everyone to taste. After the New Year¡¯s feast, the Jiang brothers went to change the door signs while the children yed outdoors. Lanterns hang at everyone¡¯s door, lighting up the night. Jiang Sang even fundednterns to be hung on the vige path so the children could y on their New Year¡¯s vigil. Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu, the two brothers, were still inseparable and yed with the vige children. As Jiang Jie was scheduled to participate in the county examination in February, Yingbao did not have time to y. She spent every day preparing exam essentials for her brother. She even consulted Li Xu on what items should be packed in the exam basket. As for the precautions on the examination site, Mr. Wu exined them to Jiang Jie. After the Chinese New Year, Yingbao arranged for the making of an exam basket that a child could carry, and tied a strap on it. Because her brother had to carry his own exam box into the examination room, if he could not lift it, he could still carry it on his shoulder with the strap. The box contained writing brushes, ink, paper, ink bs, books, paper, food, and medicinal powder. A water jug for drinking couldn¡¯t be missed, and there had to be a weatherproof oilcloth and candles andnterns for lighting.
Li Xu also said that several long nails and a hammer were necessary. At night, the oil cloth would be nailed to cover the door of the exam room. Otherwise, it would be too cold to sleep. Upon hearing this, Yingbao made some pills for her brother, a little bigger than beans, which could treat indigestion, colds, and other illnesses. As the county examination was five consecutive exams,sting over ten days, he would enter the room in the early hours of the morning, and leave the next morning after handing in his paper. There was a day¡¯s gap before the next examination. The subsequent exams followed the same schedule until all five werepleted. Then he could go home and wait for the results.
If the student was not well-prepared, he might suffer from hypothermia and exhaustion. The February weather was rtively cold, and his brother was young. He had to stay in the examination room for two nights during each examination. He wouldn¡¯t be able to bear it. Therefore, she must prepare arge size padded robe for him, which could wrap his whole body. He also needed a hand warmer, or else he wouldn¡¯t be able to write if his hands froze. A mask was also necessary. In case he drew a number which ced him near the toilet, he wouldn¡¯t be choked by the smell. Yingbao was pondering these things while preparing finger-sized snacks with five specialties, red dates, and powdered Job¡¯s tear barley, for her brother to eat when he was hungry. A small charcoal stove and a kettle for boiling water also needed to be prepared, as well as scissors, and a tool for adjusting the wick of themp. They also needed a stool. As her brother was short, when sitting in the exam room, his feet wouldn¡¯t reach the ground. If he didn¡¯t have a stool, he probably couldn¡¯t write properly. When all the items were prepared, it was the end of January. Jiang Jie, along with Mr. Wu, went to the county city, to meet a few guaranteed students, and also to visit the guaranteeing student who was also a recipient of a government schrship. All these matters were looked after by Mr. Wu himself, worrying neither Jiang Sang nor his wife. Chunniang and her daughter also went to the county city and stayed in their own mansion. After arriving at the county, Yingbao did not visit the medical college or the specialty shops but went to find out where the candidates gathered to understand what preparation the others had done for the examination. The day of the examination came in a sh. Chunniang and her daughter got up very early to make breakfast for Jiang Jie and Mr. Wu and then apanied Jiang Jie to the examination hall.
It was early in the morning, and the road was pitch ck. When they arrived outside the examination hall, they saw that it was brightly lit, full of people sending the candidates into the examination hall. They heldnterns, or carried quilts and books, anxiously looking at Dragon Gate in the distance. The entrance to the Dragon Gate was guarded by a government official who checked and verified the students¡¯ household registration and examination credentials. Carrying the heavy examination box on his back, Jiang Jie entered the crowd. As he was short, he quickly disappeared in the crowd. Chunniang, her daughter, and Mr. Wu sat in the carriage, watching as all the candidates entered the Dragon Gate. Only when the Dragon Gate was closed did they return home by carriage. It was still dark outside. Yingbao climbed back on the kang bed to sleep while Chunniang, unable to sleep, sat on the kang bed mending clothes. Mr. Wu said that after Jiang Jie passed the examination and became a schr, he would have to wear a green robe and could no longer wear children¡¯s clothes. Wearing short jackets and trousers was considered disrespectful. So Chunniang was making a small cotton robe for her son from a piece of blue fabric dyed at home, and also a jacket for spring and autumn. Old Mr. Wu also went to sleep and didn¡¯t wake up until almost noon. After cleaning up and eating, he left the courtyard alone and strolled outside the examination hall, listening to street gossip. What he heard frowned him. A lot of people were saying that a monster had appeared from Dongchen Vige in Chuanhe Town, which sucked the essence of humans to survive. The rumor was detailed, including the name of the monster, Jiang Yingbao. Upon hearing this, Mr. Wu was furious and reprimanded the person who had spread the rumor: ¡°What right do you have to nder others at will? Come, go with me to the government office, and we will talk about it.¡±
This person struggled and shouted: ¡°This is not just something I said. Why are you specifically targeting me?¡± ¡°Then tell me, where did you hear this rumor from?¡± Mr. Wu grabbed the man by the cor: ¡°Dare to tell a lie, I will make sure you rot in jail!¡± Chapter 336: 332: First Case in the County_1 Chapter 336: Chapter 332: First Case in the County_1 ¡°Hey! What¡¯s the matter with you? Let go of me right now!¡± The man struggled non-stop until he finally broke free, without uttering a single word, he dashed away like a whirl of smoke. Mr. Wu¡¯s beard bristled with anger. Several gossips who targeted this distinguished old man naturally did not dare to sh with him and scattered immediately. But Mr. Wu didn¡¯t want to let it rest so easily, so he angrily went to find Yingbao¡¯s master, Zhou Wuchang. He was familiar with Zhou Wuchang, but they had never interacted before. But no matter what, if his apprentice was being ndered, Zhou Wuchang couldn¡¯t just sit back and do nothing. Upon arrival at the medical office, Zhou Wuchang and his senior disciple were both present, so Mr. Wu exined to them all the rumors that were being spread outside. As soon as Zhou Wuchang heard this, he had a rough idea who was stirring up trouble behind the scenes. But when ites to catching a thief with the goods, if they refused to admit it, there was nothing anyone else could do.
Mr. Wu said, ¡°Those spreading rumors have malicious intentions. If they are not punished byw, I¡¯m afraid they would harm the Jiang siblings. I won¡¯t allow such a thing to happen.¡± His young disciple had just taken the imperial examination, his life was still a long journey yet to be traveled. If someone used this opportunity to tarnish the reputation of the Jiang family, it would undoubtedly affect the future prospects of the young disciple. Zhou Wuchang contemted for a moment and said, ¡°I will take care of this matter, Mr. Wu does not need to worry.¡± Mr. Wu nodded, ¡°If you can step in, that would be great. However, I also want to find some people to investigate what exactly those who spread the rumors are up to.¡± The two agreed and each went to trace the source of the rumors. The next day, Jiang Jie came out of the examination room. From a distance, he could see his mother, sister, and master all standing on a high spot looking towards him. His sister was even standing in the carriage, waving at him enthusiastically. Jiang Jie grinned broadly, but s, the weight of the examination basket on his shoulder was too heavy for him to run over. His mother and sister had already run over, helping him carry the basket of books. Yingbao handed him an apple, ¡°Here, it¡¯s from our own apple treesst year. I stored it specially, we also have some citrus fruit at home.¡± Jiang Jie epted the apple and took a bite right away. He was brutally exhausted from the examination, he wasn¡¯t allowed to lie down or move freely and it was bitterly cold. ¡°Sister, you have no idea, the person next to me caught a cold. He was coughing continuously, and he even cried non-stop at night,¡± Jiang Jie chatted while following behind her mom towards the horse carriage. Mr. Wu also walked over and said, ¡°Get in the carriage quickly. We can continue talking when we get home.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jiang Jie hoisted himself into the carriage with the help of Mr. Wu, and Yingbao also got on the carriage. Chunniang arranged her son¡¯s examination basket, bedding and cloak properly, then sat on the carriage to drive home. The meals had been prepared at home, all kept warm inside the steamer. Four joy meatballs, braised fish, tofu stew with cabbage, and soy sauce beef.
The staples were rice, meanwhile, Chunniang also made dumplings and steamed two baskets of cabbage pork buns. After washing his hands and face when he got home, Jiang Jie quickly sat at the table with his master to eat. The examination room provided food as well; white rice with tofu and salted vegetables cooked in meat broth. Both rice and the dish were cold when served. Jiang Jie remembered his master¡¯s words, he heated it up with his small charcoal heater before eating. But, the taste was far from satisfying.
After dinner, Mr. Wu didn¡¯t ask anything but told Jiang Jie to rest while he prepared some questions. They would discuss them after Jiang Jie woke up. Yingbao went back to her room and made some energy capsules for her brother using Five Tripod Elixir. Because the previous batch had all been eaten by him as snacks, he said it was to refresh his mind. The next day, Jiang Jie started the second round of the examination. After sending his apprentice into the examination room, Mr. Wu quickly went to find the head of the County Government¡¯s arrest officers. His son had been the County Magistrate here for several years, and he himself had also lived in the County Government for several years, so he was quite familiar with all the government officials. Upon hearing that Mr. Wu wanted them to quietly investigate the rumors outside and the situation of Chen Guanglu¡¯s family, Jin Wu assured him with a pat on his chest that they would handle it well. A few dayster, when the fifth exam was over, Jin Wu found Mr. Wu and reported that they had rified everything. The rumors originated from the neighbors of Chen Guanglu¡¯s family, iming that they were told by Han Yueniang. However, Han Yueniang and her daughter had already gone to Beijing with Pei Shixian and they had no ess to the principals. Mr. Wu was so angry that his beard was trembling. He turned around and informed Master Zhou Wuchang of his investigation. Zhou Wuchang also found out that the rumors came from the Han Family, but he was investigating another matter. He discovered that Chen Guanglu was actually buying cotton and grain in Qinchuan County on behalf of the Commandery Prince. Not only that, he found out that Chen was colluding with the local County Magistrate, and exerting influence over the local transport gang leader, nning to cause trouble in Qinchuan County. His intentions were highly significant.
However, Zhou Wuchang did not n to report it at the moment, he wanted to y along and expose the big fish behind this plot. On the day the results were announced, Mr. Wu told Chunniang to open the front door, and he himself sat underneath the porch with his junior apprentice, drinking tea. As it was approaching noon, a messenger ran over, banging a gong and shouting, ¡°Jiang Jie of Dongchen Vige, Chuanhe Town, has topped the county exam! Jiang Jie has topped the county exam!¡± Upon hearing someone shouting her son¡¯s name, Chunniang immediately ran out. She saw two messengers running swiftly, they nced at the gate and asked Chunniang, ¡°Is this the home of Jiang Jie?¡± ¡°Yes, Yes!¡± Chunniang could not express her excitement. The messenger bowed with his fist, ¡°Congrattions, madam! Congrattions to you! Your young Master Jiang Jie has topped the county exam.¡± Yingbao immediately invited them in: ¡°Pleasee in for a cup of tea.¡± The two messengersughed and entered the yard. They didn¡¯t enter the house but paid respects to Mr. Wu and Jiang Jie, and sat down beside the table under the porch. Chunniang quickly went into the room and took out two coins each as rewards for the messengers before she went to prepare food in the kitchen. Yingbao brought out the prepared tea and snacks for the two messengers to eat. The messenger who brought good news was supposed to stay for a celebration meal. Chunniang was busy preparing food in the kitchen, and Jiang Quan and Erni hade over early in the morning to help. Shortly after, another two groups of messengers came with good news, and Chunniang also gave each of them two coins as rewards.
Seeing this, neighbors from both sides came over to congratte them. Yingbao brought out candy and snacks, letting them take and eat. Mr. Wu was very proud. After unting outside for a while, he took Jiang Jie into the room to exin to him about the Prefecture City Exam. The Prefecture City Exam is of utmost importance, and he must go in April. The county exam mostly tests basic knowledge, mainly memorizing ssics and theoretical discussion, as well as the candidate¡¯s calligraphy skills. Only after passing the county exam, the candidate is qualified to take the official exam in the Prefecture City, which is supervised by the Prefecture City¡¯s governor or prefect. The final exam is presided over by an educationalmissioner appointed by the Imperial Court. Next, the County Magistrate summoned the top three schrs; he was quite surprised when he saw Jiang Jie. An eight-year-old who topped the county exam was indeed a rare sight. The County Magistrate presented Jiang Jie with a set of schr¡¯s four jewels (writing brush, ink stick, ink b, and paper), and a book, as encouragement, and gave one set each to the other two schrs. The other two were not young anymore, one was twenty-two and the other was twenty-eight. In March, Jiang¡¯s third son took his son and daughter to the Prefecture City to take the exam, and Mr. Wu and Yuanbao apanied them. Seeing his young cousin topping the county exam, Yuanbao also wanted to try next year. He was several years older than his little cousin, thirteen this year, and his studies were also quite solid. But his tutor felt that he needed more experience, so he didn¡¯t let him take the exam this year.
However, when he found out that his eight-year-old cousin had topped the county exam, his old tutor became unsettled, somewhat regretting not letting Yuanbao enter the exam this year. Upon hearing that the young topper was going to take the Prefecture City Exam, his tutor let Yuanbao apany him for exposure and experience. Chapter 337: 333: The Mansion Examination – 1 Chapter 337: Chapter 333: The Mansion Examination ¨C 1 Yingbao, together with her father, younger brother and a few others from the vige, set off for the Prefecture City on a boat, joined by several other schrs who had passed the county exam. As Jiang Jie was also traveling to the Prefecture City, they decided to form a group. After several days of travel on the boat, they finally arrived at the Prefecture City. Last time when Yingbao was in Prefecture City, she had asked Mrs. Wen to help her buy a house with five rooms, which were fully furnished. Now she was residing in this house with her group. Mrs. Wen was delighted when she heard Jiang Jie had achieved first ce in the county exam, but to prevent distractions to his studies, she refrained from letting her son and Wei Zhan visit. Upon arriving at Prefecture City, Yingbao personally went to the market to shop for groceries and handed them to her father to cook meals. Now there were quite a lot of people living in their house ¨C four schrs, two individuals who were supporting the schrs financially, five or six followers, their family of four, and old Mr. Wu, a total of more than twenty people. Luckily, they were all well-behaved and of good characters; even though they admired that Xiaojie had Mr. Wu as a tutor, they simply sat quietly outside the window to learn, without disturbing the more formal instructions within the house. The people who brought the schrs for the exam were also quite respectful, staying silent, afraid that their voices might distract their own family from learning.
Soon it was April, and everyone registered for the exam at the Prefectural Government Office, preparing to take their examinations. The scale of the prefecture examination was muchrger than the county exam, with nearly a thousand candidates participating. Having experienced the county exam, Jiang Jie was now fearless. After all, he had the supplement pills given by his sister, and the tasty bread crumbs, and he was sure he could endure through even five rounds, let alone just three rounds of exams. The prefecture exam tested on scriptures, misceneous writing, and policy argument, focusing on recitation, prose, and policy practice. During Jiang Jie¡¯s travels with his master, he had formed his own opinions on current affairs and government policies, and had read many ssic documents. And with the help from the empowering supplement provided by his sister, he answered the questions effortlessly. After the three rounds of examination, everyone waited in Prefecture City for publication of the results. The four candidates residing in Yingbao¡¯s house continued their studies with the two financial supporters under Mr. Wu¡¯s window. Yuanbao was fortunate enough to sit next to his cousin, openly studying with him. Ten dayster, the results were published. Yingbao and Yuanbao went to the examination field to check the results. A gong was sounded, and a government official carried the examination results out, posting it in the pavilion. Many schrs and their family members flocked around to see the results. ¡°We made it! Xiaojie is third!¡± Yuanbao pointed to the list, eximing in surprise and joy. Yingbao saw it too and was overjoyed, She thought, if Xiaojie could do this well in the prefecture exam, it¡¯s almost certain he would pass the college exam. By then, she would be the sister of a schr! Hahaha! The courier who brought out the list of sessful candidates had already secretly passed the names and ranks to the newspapermen waiting outside. They would take the news and go to deliver the good news, expecting a good sum of reward, from which they would also share a bit with their informers. The rank also mattered, here. The higher the rank, the more the gift money the newspapermen could expect. After getting a few long strips of paper with information, several newspapermen hurried to the ces recorded on the strips to deliver the good news. Even if some ces were far away, but the rank was high, they had to go. They not only went to the house of the candidate but also to the houses of his immediate rtives. Such as grandparents or grandparents, they could earn several coins from each household ¨C enough for them to livefortably for a year.
Meanwhile, Yingbao and Yuanbao were rushing back home to share the good news with everyone. But the newspapermen had arrived faster than them. They had already been to Yingbao¡¯s ce, given the good news, epted the reward, and then swiftly left. There was a boat at the dock that was about to leave for Qinchuan County, they could not afford to dy. Mr. Wu had expected his student to make it among the top three.
¡°Next is the college exam, presumably in May. During this time, you should review your poetry well.¡± His weakness is his poetry, so Mr. Wu decided to make him work hard on his poetry. Jiang Jie nodded, took his books obediently, and went out to the courtyard to practice writing poetry. There were only about twenty days left for the college exam, which was even tougher than the prefecture exam. He had to make the most of his time to practice. Yingbao took advantage of this time to go to the market in the Prefecture City alone and buy a lot of things, including grain and vegetable seeds. She stealthily moved them into the cave dwelling and took out the fruits and vegetables from there, giving them to her father to distribute among everyone. Of the four schrs staying at Yingbao¡¯s home for their studies, one had failed the prefecture exam, and he packed up his stuff to return home with his personal attendant. So, they needed to find one more person to rece him in the study group led by Jiang Jie. Fortunately, the two financial supporters had connections and were able to quickly find someone to fill the position. Finally, it was time for the college exam in May. The weather had be warmer over the past few days, and mosquitoes had started to appear. Yingbao prepared a mosquito repellent sachet for her brother, along with a small mosquito that opened instantly, a piece of oilcloth, and an oilcloth raincoat. In the evening, he would just need to hammer four nails into the wall, tie the corners of the small mosquito to the nails, and he could sleep soundly, without it affecting his exam the next day. But on the day of the exam, a strong wind suddenly started blowing, quickly followed by a downpour. Fortunately, Jiang Jie noticed the change in weather in time, and rolled up his examination paper, putting it inside an oil-papered bucket to prevent it from getting wet. Jiang Jie then stood on a stool and nailed the oilcloth he brought over the door to block the wind and rain.
But the rain kept pouring, being blown inside their room intermittently. Even with the oilcloth, it was impossible to entirely block the rain. Jiang Jie had no choice but to put on the raincoat his sister had made from oilcloth, putting on a hat as well. More than an hourter, the rain finally began to lessen. Jiang Jie wiped off the rainwater from his writing desk and used a piece of cotton cloth to dry it. But this was not sufficient; he still could noty any paper on it as the ink would blur and the writing would be unreadable. He was starting to panic a little. If it didn¡¯t stop raining soon, he would not be able to finish his paper. After giving it some thought, Jiang Jie started to check the contents of the examination basket. In the end, he found a dry sheet of oil paper. Although small in size, it fit perfectly on the writing desk. Jiang Jie was delighted and immediately began to answer the questions on his examination paper. It was still raining outside, but it was a lighter rain now. Jiang Jie finished one examination paper, then carefully rolled it up and put it in the oil-papered bucket after it had dried¡­
When it was finally time to submit the papers, Jiang Jie ced all his answer sheets on the front of his desk and watched as the assistant carried them away. Packing his belongings and on his way out, he saw many people looking dismayed. The rain had dampened a lot of their papers. Even though they managed to dry them, writing on such paper made their handwriting look terrible. Because of this, they felt hopeless about the college exams. Jiang Jie also had a sheet of paper that got wet, but he used the small charcoal hand stove his sister gave him to dry and straighten out the paper. Writing on it felt like writing on a fresh sheet of paper. Atst, the final exam was over. Everyone waited for another twenty days, until eventually, they published the results. This time, Jiang¡¯s father went with his daughter and nephew Yuanbao to check the results. Seeing his sonfortably maintaining the third position on the list, Jiang was overjoyed. To make sure, he asked his daughter, ¡°Baobao, help your father see, is that your brother¡¯s name?¡± Chapter 338: 334: Childhood Sweethearts_1 Chapter 338: Chapter 334: Childhood Sweethearts_1 There were also others with the same name on the examination list, but the age and ce of origin were inscribed next to the listed names. As long as one would observe the age and hometown, they could confirm their identity. ¡°It¡¯s my younger brother! He ranked third in the exam!¡± Third ce, that would make him a certain official student now. Not to mention that he could receive six litres of grain every month, along with a certain amount of fish and meat which could also relieve the family of certain duties, So, even when Jiang Wu bes an adult, his family no longer needs to serve inbor and military service. Right, and there are also twenty acres of tax-freend. Jiang Sang was so ted that he was on the verge of tears. He hastened home with his daughter to spread the news. The messenger was faster than them and had already sat down for tea at home, and the neighbours also came to congratte them. Lady Wen also heard the news and immediately brought her sons and daughters to offer congrattions. Soon, Wei Zhan and his mother arrived, apanied by Supervisory Historian Xiao Weizhong¡¯s second wife, Mrs Wang, and her son Xiao Chengyu. Mrs Wei and Mrs Xiao are full cousins, and Mrs Xiao is also blood siblings with the Prefect of Luzhou, Wang Shu.
Only Jiang Sang and his daughter arrived from the Jiang family, so the responsibility of amodating these noblewomen falls on Yingbao. Yingbao calmly fetched fruits, snacks, and peach juice from her room to serve the guests. There were watermelons, lychees, grapes, and peach and apricot juices boiled with Pupil Spring and sugar rock, a full table spread. Even though these noblewomen were surprised, they kept theirposure and did not show it, nor did they impolitely ask where she obtained these from. Yingbao cut open the watermelon, stuck bamboo skewers on top, and served the noblewomen. Chubby Xiao Chengyu ate a piece, unable to stop, and blurted out, ¡°Sister Yingbao, what kind of melon is this? Did you guys grow it? Yingbao smiled and said, ¡°I bought this one, but our family nted a lot this year. They should be ready this month. Young Master cane and y when you have time.¡± ¡°That sounds great!¡± Xiao Chengyu grinned, squinting his eyes with glee. Mrs Xiaoughed and said, ¡°My son is always yammering about how good Sister Yingbao¡¯s juice is. He doesn¡¯t like the juices made at home; he¡¯s set on visiting Chuanhe Town to drink your juice.¡± Mrs Wei alsoughed, ¡°Isn¡¯t that right? My seventh son is the same, always fussing. Could it be that Yingbao has a special recipe for her juice?¡± ¡°Oh, you tter me, there¡¯s no secret recipe. I just use different water,¡± Yingbao half-truthfully replied, ¡°The well water on our side is very sweet, and things cooked with it are also a little special.¡± ¡°Exactly, exactly!¡± Wei Zhan added, ¡°Yingbao¡¯s cooking is a hundred times better than ours. If you don¡¯t believe me, mother, you can taste it yourself.¡± The few peopleughed, and Mrs. Wei looked at Yingbao, her eyes gleaming. She took a bite of the watermelon, put down the bamboo skewer, and said to her son, ¡°Seventh son, you always talk about going to Chuanhe Town. Conveniently, your father opened a store in Qinchuan County this year. Why not send you to Qinchuan County to study? It would also be good for you to learn from Jiang Jie.¡± Upon hearing this, Wei Zhan was overjoyed, nodding repeatedly, ¡°That¡¯s great! After going there, I will study hard. If I can¡¯t be a literaryureate, I¡¯ll be sure to be a militaryureate.¡± Upon hearing this, Xiao Chengyu immediately became upset, ¡°I¡¯ll go too! I want to go too!¡± Turning around, he tugged at Mrs Xiao¡¯s sleeves, ¡°Mother! If you send me there to study, I promise to be a¡­no, a militaryureate.¡± Mrs Xiao scolded, ¡°You¡¯re too young, how can you go to a foreign ce to study all by yourself? Even if I agree, your father won¡¯t.¡± Xiao Chengyu is only eight years old this year, and has just started his education less than a year ago. His husband especially invited two teachers from Beijing for him. If his son goes to Qinchuan County, how could the two teachers bear it?
Lady Wen was eating grapes, her gaze sweeping across Wei Zhan and the Wei Family¡¯s Madame, then nced at her son Wen Hengyin, who was engrossed in drinking juice. She felt a bit blocked in her heart. Her young apprentice was nine years old this year and already as beautiful as a peony in the morning sun. Add to that the child¡¯s intelligence and cleverness, and her own brother¡¯s early aplishments. If her family did not act quickly, in a few more years there will be many suitors like fish crossing a river. However, Yingbao has always been decisive. If she does not like someone, then her own family proposing a marriage wouldn¡¯t hold much hope. She couldn¡¯t help but stealthily kick her son, nudging him to stop just eating and drinking.
A twelve year-old behaving so lost in thought, it was simply infuriating. Wen Hengyin looked up nkly, and was about to ask his mother what was wrong when he saw her already turned her face away. At this moment, Wei Zhan was excitedly talking to his mother about going to Qinchuan County. ¡°Mother, Yingbao and I will leave in a few days ande back for the New Year. Don¡¯t worry, I will live well in Qinchuan County.¡± Wei Family¡¯s Madame snapped: ¡°What do I have to worry about? It¡¯s you who must study well after arriving in Qinchuan County. Your mother doesn¡¯t expect you to be a schr, but studying more will help you understand the principles of life.¡± At least the Yue Family wouldn¡¯t look down upon him. The Wei Family were merchants. While they weren¡¯tcking in wealth, descendants within three generations of merchants weren¡¯t allowed to take imperial examinations. Their son¡¯s previous speech was simply a pretext to go to the Jiang family in Qinchuan County. Ah well, since her son liked her so much this mother couldn¡¯t stop him. The Wei Family¡¯s Madame nced at Yingbao and sighed slightly. The brother of this youngdy managed to get the third ce in the court examination. With such a promising future, but this youngdy was still so young. After a few more years, if her brother became a schr, her marital prospects wouldn¡¯t becking due to his status. By then, their own chances may not exist. People say that childhood friendships grow into love. Her son, having spent so much time ying with her, surely had a better chance than others. Wei Zhan grinned and said, ¡°I understand the most, mother, don¡¯t worry.¡± The chubby child on the side, seeing his only ymate going out of town, immediately became unhappy and started making a fuss with his mother. ¡°Mother! You see, Seventh Brother is going with Yingbao, I want to go, I want to go with Seventh Brother!¡± Imperial Consort Xiao was embarrassed by her son¡¯s fuss and quickly pulled him away to bid their leave. Wei Family¡¯s Madame saw that Lady Wen had not left, so she herself decided not to leave. She stayed to have dinner with her son.
Yingbao took advantage of this time to chat with Lady Wen and, with the help of the nanny and Lady Wen, prepared a table full of dishes. Of course, all the dishes had already been prepared by her father. The rice was also cooked, they only needed to stir fry a few dishes before they could start serving the meal. But there were too many people today. Jiang Sang had called for a few tables of food from the outside restaurant to entertain the neighborsing to congratte them, as well as the students living with them. Among the four students living with the Jiang family, two passed the court examination this time. This made them very happy and they also paid for two tables of banquet. Now the front door of the Jiang family was busy. The banquet was set up all the way to the alley entrance. Fortunately, the two student servants and the failed students and their families also helped with the preparations, which prevented chaos. It took a lot of effort to send everyone away in the evening. Yingbao was so tired that she copsed. She went back to her room and fell asleep immediately. In her dream, she saw foreigners dressed in strange clothes everywhere. They were wearing fur clothes, their heads shaved in an ugly fashion, and they were fighting the Han soldiers. In front of Yingbao¡¯s eyes were all blood and fallen bodies, burning houses, and copsing walls. Chapter 339: 335: It turns out that the marriage partner is _1 Chapter 339: Chapter 335: It turns out that the marriage partner is _1 Startled, Yingbao sat up from her bed, pressing her hand against her pounding heart, trying to calm herself down. The dream came unannounced and was extremely real, leaving a strong smell of blood in her nostrils. After breakfast, Yingbao shared her strange dream with her father and Old Master Wu. Jiang Sang thought his daughter might have been frightened by the crowd viewing the examination results, but considering his daughter¡¯s ability to have premonitions, a sense of urgency suddenly arose in his heart. Did his daughter dream of foreigners invading? Was that even possible? But what if it was true? If a real disturbance were to happen, they couldn¡¯t sell their grains anymore. Old Master Wu had different thoughts from Jiang Sang. Stroke his beard, he thought of a possibility¡ªthe Jurchen invasion. The foreigners described by Yingbao looked like Jurchen, who were indeed restless.
Over the years, the Jurchen have be increasingly powerful. They took money from Daqian to raise horses for him, but not a single horse was seen. Instead, they fattened the Jurchen tribe. However, he had no official position, and his son was merely a sixth- or seventh-grade official who had been moved from one poor county to another, far away from the center of power, and he couldn¡¯t even get a document presented before the emperor. Nowadays, the entire court politics is monopolized by Imperial Teacher Xiao, and the opinions of other officers, whether right or wrong, will either be dismissed or exiled if they contradict him. People saw the prosperity in Beijing, but that was just surface-level. Step out of the prefecture city or county to see famine and bandits everywhere; peasants lived a miserable life, with crowds of refugees on every path. Jurchen were restless on the border, growing more audacious each time. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if they attacked the capital of Daqian one day. Upon seeing the two men lost in their thoughts and getting no definitive answer, Yingbao ran over to Madame Wen¡¯s house to chat with Wen Jiejie. She didn¡¯t get a chance to ask about Wen Shu¡¯s marriage arrangements due to the crowd yesterday. Today was a good day to ask. Wen Shu was somewhat embarrassed and reluctant to speak about it. However, seeing Yingbao staring at her persistently, she had to say, ¡°My grandmother arranged for me to marry Xiao Langjun.¡± ¡°What¡­what?¡± Yingbao thought she heard wrong: ¡°Which Xiao family?¡± Wen Shu: ¡°It¡¯s the second young master from the family of Xiao the Censor.¡± Yingbao couldn¡¯t believe it, her face twitched, ¡°You mean Xiao Chengjun?¡± Wen Shu shyly nodded. After a long hesitation, Yingbao finally decided to speak ill of Xiao Chengjun, ¡°Wen Jiejie, let me tell you, Xiao Chengjun is not a good person, he, he already has someone in his heart. You shouldn¡¯t marry him.¡± Wen Shu was surprised, ¡°Why would Yingbao say this? Who is he interested in?¡± ¡°You know Chen Tiantian, right? Xiao Chengjun fancies her. Thest time on her ount, he even wanted to hit me.¡± Yingbao was determined to ruin Wen Jiejie¡¯s marriage. That Xiao Chengjun is selfish, dictatorial, and very stubborn. Regardless of whether he would end up with Chen Tiantian or not, Wen Jiejie marrying him would certainly ruin her life. ¡°Also, the other time he deliberately left my mother and me halfway, and he gave away my suitcase. Guess who he gave it to?¡±
¡°Who? Not Wen Jiao and Wen Tian, right?¡± When Wen Shu returned to Yuzhou, she seemed to have heard something about Xiao Langjun giving five suitcases of gifts to Wen Jiao and Wen Tian. But when they opened the boxes, they were filled with worthless items. The sisters were furious, suspecting that Xiao Langjun did it on purpose. Yingbao: ¡°Exactly. He gave it to Wen Tian and Wen Jiao.¡± She found out about itter. Wen Shu furrowed her brows. She knew something was strange when she returned to Yuzhou. So that¡¯s how the Xiao family set up this marriage.
It probably wasn¡¯t meant for her at first, but it was changedter on. ¡°I will talk to my mother about this.¡± She didn¡¯t want it initially but had to reluctantly agree after her grandmother and second aunt kept praising how good Xiao Chengjun was at this or that. At first, her mother was unaware, but then she found out. Knowing her grandmother was eager to get this done, she decided to wait and see. They¡¯ve only exchanged the betrothal gifts, the matter hasn¡¯t been finalized yet. Seeing that Wen Jiejie didn¡¯t have feelings for Xiao Chengjun, Yingbao breathed a sigh of relief. She chatted with her a little more before saying goodbye and leaving. When she returned to her yard, she saw her father already packing, preparing to return to Qinchuan County by boat tomorrow. Everyone else was ready and waiting to leave the city before dawn tomorrow. It was now July, the hottest time of the year. Yingbao stealthily made a pot of mixed iced beverages, giving it to Old Master Wu, Jiang Jie and Yuanbao to enjoy. The iced beverage was made from cooked peaches, apricots, litchi and longan, with a bit of rice wine added. Old Master Wu enjoyed this type of iced beverage, quickly eating half a bowl in one breath. After finishing, he still lingered for more, stroking his beard and saying, ¡°It would be nice if Zhizhi could also have a taste.¡± Seeing him mention Wu Shi, Yingbao took the opportunity to ask, ¡°Where did Uncle Wu go to take up his official post?¡±
¡°Shu Region.¡± Old Master Wu sighed, ¡°I originally thought he could stay in Beijing, but he was assigned to the Shu Region.¡± That ce had more mountains thannd, it was the poorest ce. The people there were uncivilized and couldn¡¯t be taught, some ces still wore animal skins and lived in caves as families. They moved around like wild people, not understanding the humannguage at all. Yingbao: ¡°And Great-Grandmother Wu? Where did she go?¡± ¡°Your Great-Grandmother Wu moved to Jianglin. I have an elder daughter who married there. She went to her daughter¡¯s house.¡± It wasn¡¯t exactly living in her daughter¡¯s house¡ªthey also had a residence in Jianglin. His wife found it lonely to stay at home alone, so she took two servingdies with her. At least, she could see her daughter and grandkids every day. Moreover, her maternal family was from Jianglin. She knew a lot of people there and wanted to look for a noble match for her son in the meantime. ¡°Oh.¡± Yingbao¡¯s hometown, QinchuanCounty, was far from Jianglin. She knew about the general direction but had never been there. Yingbao again took out some medicine pills and handed them to Old Master Wu. ¡°These are Prolong Life Pills. One pill a day prolongs life. They can be taken together with the ones fromst time.¡± She has always provided Old Master Wu with the pill, even on her travels¡ªshe had prepared one to two years of medicine in advance for him and her brother. Including her own grandparents¡ªthey all have set aside pills for them. Now they were all incredibly healthy. Old Master Wu even traveled up the mountains and across the rivers with his junior disciple to see his son. When he came back, he was still full of energy, showing no signs of fatigue. ¡°Alright, alright.¡± Old Master Wu happily took the pills and put them in his bag. Like Yingbao did, he also carried a big sling bag full of various bits and pieces, silver taels, copper coins, and so on when he was traveling. Yingbao took out another packet, ¡°This is for Uncle Wu. I don¡¯t know the address, so I can only entrust it to Grandpa Wu.¡±
She was still concerned about whether the lump on Wu Daozi¡¯s neck would reur, so she continued to prepare medicine for him. Old Master Wu had been teaching her brother selflessly, and nurtured him into a schr. No matter what, they couldn¡¯t repay his kindness. So, it was necessary for her to prepare medicine for them using Five Dingzhi. Chapter 340: 336: Food Price Increase_1 Chapter 340: Chapter 336: Food Price Increase_1 The next day, Yingbao boarded arge merchant ship along with her father, younger brother Yuanbao, Mr. Wu Lao, and others. Wei Zhan also followed, bringing along a young servant. Of course, there were also several schrs staying at the Jiang Family. During the boat trip, Yuanbao and his fellow schrs engaged in intellectual exchanges about ancient and current affairs, supplemented by Mr. Wu Lao¡¯s exnations. It was truly enlightening and helped to steady their minds. Yingbao alone stayed in her cabin, organizing the things from her mansion. All of her ginseng seeds had sprouted and grown two leaves. She estimated that they would reach four or five leaves in two years. The precious medicinal herbs she nted next to them were also growing well. These herbs are perennial, the older they are, the better their medicinal effects. Both the golden and silver mushrooms had been harvested once. She had stored over a hundred catties of dried goods in her mansion from the New Year till now. All the harvested mushrooms were here. However, as it was summer, their local shop didn¡¯t sell many mushrooms. She didn¡¯t n to stock them just yet.
Considering the potential warfare and chaos in the future, Yingbao decided to take time out to purchase grains and cotton cloth. Anyway, she had several thousand taels of silver. It would be a waste to leave the money in the cave mansion, might as well exchange it for food, seeds, cotton cloth, and other concrete items. Of course, she also had to quietly stockpile some weapons. However, it was not easy to buy iron weapons like broadswords. They, as farmers, didn¡¯t know where to buy them unless they dealt with gangs. Yet, that was too risky. If they weren¡¯t careful, they would be caught and faced endless trouble in the future. As Yingbao pondered, she suddenly thought of her cave mansion. She could collect things effortlessly. Perhaps, she could store somerge stones. If she encountered bad people, she could smash them with these stones. Upon envisioning the scene, Yingbao chuckled and began eating a bunch of grapes. Halfway on the river, the merchant ship met with a violent storm. The strong wind blew the ship, causing it to sway back and forth. Fearing that his children would be scared, Jiang Sang specifically gathered them all in one cabin. Haven¡¯t experienced such a situation before, Yuanbao turned pale with fright. Fortunately, the ship, after two thrilling days, finally arrived at the pier in Qinchuan County. It was still raining. Yingbao took out several oilcloth raincoats from her mansion and distributed them to her family members, Mr. Wu Lao, and even gave one to Wei Zhan. Wei Zhan¡¯s servant ran off the boat first, calling for a few porters and two ox carts. They lifted their boxes and cages off, loading them onto the ox carts. Seeing that the two schrs hadn¡¯t found a cart, Jiang Sang invited them to ride on their hired ox cart. The ox cart had a mat for shelter. It could barely keep off the rain, but there were still some raindrops dripping inside. Yingbao and her brother Yuanbao squeezed together, using arge oilcloth to cover the three of them. Wei Zhan also crawled in and, giving Jiang Jie a yful look, asked: ¡°Jiang Jie, when will you return to Chuanhe Town?¡± Jiang Jie: ¡°Master said we will return after Mingfu has summoned us.¡±
After this final examination, the County Magistrate would undoubtedly summon the fifteen schrs who passed the examination from the county. The County Magistrate also needs to arrange for this year¡¯s new schrs to study in the county school. There are a total of fifty to sixty schrs in the county school. This quota is granted by the Imperial Court. If new students are added, the students with the worst academic performance during the annual examination will have to be expelled. Therefore, Jiang Jie cannot attend the county school yet. He can only go to school after the annual examination and based on his test rankings.
Wei Zhan turned to Yuanbao: ¡°Aren¡¯t you going back either?¡± Yuanbao hesitated for a moment: ¡°We¡¯ll see when the timees.¡± He has benefitted a lot from studying under Mr. Wu recently and naturally wants to continue attending his sses. However, Mr. Wu has not agreed to ept him as a disciple, and staying around without being formally epted seems inappropriate. Wei Zhan showed Yingbao his big white teeth: ¡°Yingbao, are you going home too?¡± Yingbao nodded: ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go to your ce too, to hang out with Jiang Wu.¡± Wei Zhan said with a smile: ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen Huzi and Yuanbao.¡± Yingbao: ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be studying in the county town?¡± Wei Zhan shook his head: ¡°Your vige also has a school. I¡¯ll be okay studying there.¡± He has no ambition to pass the county examination. Dingchen Vige¡¯s school also offers martial arts sses, which aligns perfectly with his interests. The key point is, he will be able to often be with¡­ Huzi and Jiang Wu. Two hourster, the ox cart finally entered the county seat and stopped at the entrance of the Jiang family¡¯s main courtyard. As everyone got off the cart, Jiang Sang arranged for the cart driver to drop the two schrs at their homes. Once back home, Jiang Sang rushed into the kitchen to heat water for Mr. Wu¡¯s bathing and washing. His clothes and hair were all wet and needed a bath, a hair wash, and a change of clothes.
Yingbao and her brothers also started to clean tables, chairs, and floors. Even the kangs needed to be wiped down. Wei Zhan¡¯s servant, called Wei Zhong, who seemed to be around fourteen or fifteen years old, was very smart. He had arranged his young master¡¯s luggage properly and was now helping Jiang Sang. Seeing another pair of helping hands, Jiang Sang decided to go out to buy some groceries when he saw his young daughter running towards him under the umbre. ¡°Dad, I¡¯ll go buy the vegetables, and you can start cooking at home.¡± They have more than ten people at home. She had so many vegetables in her mansion they were bing a nuisance. If they¡¯re not eaten, they¡¯d go to waste. Jiang Sang couldn¡¯t resist his daughter and agreed: ¡°Be careful when you¡¯re out.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Yingbao was now nine years old and extremely familiar with the county town. Going shopping or strolling around alone was nothing to her anymore. Moreover, the public order of the county town was quite good. Nobody dared to kidnap a grown girl in broad daylight. Yingbao walked out of the alley with her umbre and arrived in front of an abandoned house piled with bricks and stones. Using the umbre as a cover, she collected four or fiverge stones before pulling out a basket filled with vegetables and fruits. First, she delivered the goods in the basket back home. Only then did she go to the market. Due to the rain, there were hardly any people in the market except for a fish vendor. Catching a glimpse of his fresh fish, Yingbao bought two. The vendor passed the fish to her by threading two stalks of grass through the gill of the fishes.
Yingbao received the fish and slowly walked home. When she passed a grain shop, she went in and asked for prices. To her surprise, a litre of rice was sixty coins. And rice that had been hulled even demanded a hundred coins. When she asked about other grains, even this year¡¯s newly harvested wheat, the prices were ten to twenty percent higher than previous years. When did the price of grain in Qinchuan County rise higher than in the Prefecture City? Yingbao was puzzled and asked the shopkeeper why the price of rice and grain had risen. The shopkeeper said, ¡°I don¡¯t know either. It¡¯s all Shopkeeper¡¯s decision. If the littledy thinks it¡¯s too expensive, you don¡¯t have to buy.¡± Seeing Yingbao still staring at him, he added, ¡°I heard that someone in our county is buying grain at a high price, no matter how much they got, and then shipping it away byrge merchant ship. So, the ten or sorge grain stores in our county can¡¯t get any grain now. It would be strange not to raise the price.¡± A county town with tens of thousands of people. If each person ate half a kilogram of grain a day, they would consume more than hundreds of thousands of kilograms of grain per month. Where would all this graine from? ¡°Have the prices of rice and grain in other counties also risen?¡± Yingbao asked. The shopkeeper rolled his eyes: ¡°How would I know that? The Shopkeeper told us to raise the price, and we just did.¡± Studying her, Yingbao turned around and walked away. Someone in the county town is buying grain at a high price and shipping it away, and the County Magistrate isn¡¯t doing anything about it. That¡¯s strange.
Chapter 341: 337: Plague_1 Chapter 341: Chapter 337: gue_1 Upon returning home, he broke the news about the price hike at the grain store to his old father and Master Wu. Master Wu stroked his beard and said, ¡°I brought this issue to the county magistrate¡¯s attention some time ago, it seems he hasn¡¯t done anything about it.¡± Not only had he not done anything, it seemed that he was adding fuel to the fire. Master Wu shook his head, expressing a silent sigh in his heart. It¡¯s not bragging, but how many officials in this dynasty are asmitted to serving the people like his son? Maybe they might stay true to their hearts when they first take office, but over time, they be corrupted by their surroundings and focus solely on amassing wealth, paying scant regard to the welfare of the people. Jiang Sang linked this situation to the dream his daughter had and was deeply worried. He felt the urgent need to return to his hometown now. He decided not to sell his own grain. In case something happened in the future, no amount of money could guarantee avability of food. And to make things worse, the next day, Jiang Quan and Jiang Cheng came running in a panic.
¡°Uncle, it¡¯s bad! Our vige has been flooded and several other viges are submerged!¡± Jiang Quan was headed back to the vige to pick fruit but had to turn around halfway due to the floodwaters, forced to go back to the county town. Jiang Sang grew anxious: ¡°What? Submerged in water?¡± His daughter¡¯s words havee true. Last year his daughter had warned them that there would be a massive flood this year, and now it really happened. No wonder the river in the county town had risen to the banks, and low-lying areas had umted water. It turned out that several downstream viges were all submerged. ¡°What should we do now?¡± Before Jiang Sang left for the prefecture city with his son, he had warned his wife, parents, and siblings that there could be a major flood this year due to the excessive rainfall. His family had listened and pledged to be vignt, but the flood had indeed arrived.> Jiang Quan said, ¡°Uncle, the whole area is covered in water. I saw that only the rooftops were visible in the lower viges. Many vigers are heading to the county town.¡± Jiang Sang was stunned for a moment, then he immediately rushed out of the house and ran towards the grain store. He didn¡¯t have much grain stored in the county town, and it would probablyst for about five or six days. If he didn¡¯t buy some more, hisrge family would in trouble. Jiang Cheng also followed his uncle to the grain store. The grain store was crowded with people at this time. The price of grain had risen from sixty coins per bushel yesterday to seventy coins today, and brown rice had risen from one hundred coins per bushel to one hundred and twenty coins, almost catching up with the price of pork. Without saying a word, Jiang Sang tried to buy two stones of rice, but the shop assistant told him that each person could only buy up to five bushels. ¡°Five bushels it is!¡± Jiang Sang and his nephew each bought five bushels of rice. Back at home, Jiang Sang immediately pulled his daughter aside and asked her quietly, ¡°Baobao, tell your father, what else have you dreamed of?¡± Yingbao recounted the dream she had that day once again. At the end, she tried tofort her father, ¡°Dad, we are quite far from the Jurchens, and our small ce is not an important transport route, so the bandits won¡¯t be interested.¡± This held true, the county was located in a remote area and half of the terrain was low-lying, making it highly susceptible to floods. But because of the presence of the river, floodwaters would quickly drain away. As long as the vigers were alert, there wouldn¡¯t be much loss of life, but the vigers¡¯ property could not be guaranteed. Jiang Sang was still worried, ¡°Baobao, even if the Jurchens don¡¯t reach this part, the bandits don¡¯t care about such things, they go around killing, as long as they can get food and money, they would even search through the most remote corners.¡±
Yingbao fell silent. In the next two days, the heavy rain was still falling, and more and more vigers were migrating into the county town carrying their belongings. Soon the grain stocks in a few other grain stores sold out and they were forced to close their doors. During this time, Yingbao visited Master Zhou Wuchang at the medical office, only to find that he and the senior brother were not there, and no one knew where they had gone.
Two more days passed, and the rain finally stopped. Jiang Sang was eager to go back home, so he quietly left the town with his second nephew in a horse carriage. However, they didn¡¯t get far before they couldn¡¯t proceed anymore. The view in front of them was all water, even the official road was flooded, and they simply couldn¡¯t cross it. With no other choice, both of them returned to the city in the horse carriage. On the way back to the city, they saw countless refugees who had fled into the county town. They had nowhere to go and were sitting on the side of the road, relying on the polluted rainy water from the river for their daily needs. Jiang Quan even saw these people defecating anywhere and everywhere, making the streets extremely filthy. Jiang Sang was somewhat dejected upon returning home. He was deeply worried about his family¡¯s condition, but he was unable to go back. Yingbao was unaware that her father had gone out and returned, and she asked about the grain prices outside. Jiang Sang shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s still high.¡± He went out to buy five bushels of rice every day, so there was no shortage of grains at home right now. And of course, there was no shortage of vegetables either. His daughter could bring back a full basket of fresh vegetables, along with some fresh fruits every day. Several dayster, a huge epidemic broke out in the county town, many people were vomiting and having diarrhea, and had persistent high fevers.
Yingbao sensed something was off after going outside once and immediately returned home. She called everyone and told them not to go out recently. ¡°There¡¯s an epidemic outside, you must not take it lightly. Try not to go out unless necessary.¡± After Yingbao finished speaking, she went back to the room, took out some pills and distributed them to everyone, ¡°If anyone gets fever, vomits, or gets diarrhea, take one immediately.¡± Master Wu also looked grave and couldn¡¯t help cursing, ¡°The county magistrate in this county deserves to die.¡± Once a gue breaks out in the county town, it¡¯s no small matter. It could result in the loss of tens of thousands of lives. And even now, with the floodwaters outside not yet receded, it was impossible to get medicine for treatment. Yingbao was also troubled. Although she had some medicine in her cultivation cave, it was not much and just about enough for her family. But the situation outside was really scary, people were copsing on the ground, and nobody knew if they were dead or alive. Knock! Knock! Knock! Someone was knocking on the courtyard door. Jiang Quan ran out to open the door and saw his Aunt Jiang Yunniang standing outside. ¡°Aunt, why are you here?¡± Jiang Yunniang anxiously asked, ¡°Erquan, where is Yingbao?¡± ¡°She¡¯s inside. Come in.¡± Jiang Quan let his aunt in. Yingbao came out of the room and asked, ¡°Aunt, what¡¯s wrong?¡±
Jiang Yunniang caught hold of Yingbao and began to cry, ¡°Yingbao, please go and see Yuying and her husband. They are vomiting and having diarrhea, they¡¯re not going to make it.¡± Without a second thought, Yingbao said, ¡°Wait here, I¡¯ll go get my medicine box.¡± She hurried back to her room, picked up her medicine box, and Jiang Sang and Jiang Quan wanted to go with her, but she refused, ¡°Dad, don¡¯t wander around, there are several baskets of vegetables and fruits in my room. You can eat those, don¡¯t go out and buy food.¡± Jiang Sang worriedly looked at his daughter, ¡°Baobao, just give the medicine to your aunt. Why do you have to go there?¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t really want to go either, but since Yuying, her husband and her aunt were ill and there were Hong Xiao and her first cousin¡¯s family as well, it didn¡¯t seem right if she didn¡¯t go. Jiang Yunniang apologetically said to her brother, ¡°I was careless, didn¡¯t notice that Yuying and her husband went out to fish, and they both fell ill that night.¡± They had cooked a pot of fish soup that night, she had carefully boiled the fish until it was well-cooked, yet they still got infected and fell sick. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Yingbao put on a DIY mask and led the way out of the courtyard. She and her aunt walked to the shop. On the way, they encountered several groups of copsed refugees, and there were many times when she almost stepped on excrement. When they arrived at the shop, the shop door was already closed. Dahei was helplessly squatting at the door. Seeing Yingbao from afar, he barked and ran over. Chapter 342: 338: Treating the Disease_1 Chapter 342: Chapter 338: Treating the Disease_1 Yingbao gently stroked Dahei¡¯s ears and fed it a medicinal pill made from honeysuckle, atractylodes, astragalus, and ephedra. Dahei wagged its tail even more happily and licked its young master¡¯s hand affectionately. Yingbao went to check on Zhang Yuying and Zhang Xiang, then went to inspect their well. The water level in the well was nearly up to the brim, while the water rity was far from ideal. Yingbao asked her aunt to boil a pot of water and sanitize all the bowls, chopsticks, and containers in the house. After washing her hands, she finally picked some herbs from her medicine box to brew. She did it quietly herself, recing the boiling water with water from the Pupil Spring. She prepared two doses of herbs in two separate pots, boiled down from five bowls of water to one. Yingbao then poured the medicinal liquid into another container for her aunt to feed to the two children. The remaining residue was reused by Yingbao by adding some more water, boiling it slightly, then pouring it out for Hong Xiao and her aunt to drink. Afterwards, she asked, ¡°Aunt, how is my eldest cousin and his family?¡± A couple of days ago, she had seen her eldest cousin and even brought them presents. His father-inw family had also paid a visit to the Jiang family to congratte Jiang Jie on his academic results as a schr.
No one could have predicted that an epidemic would break out the very next day. Jiang Yunniang downed a bowl of medicine in one gulp and said: ¡°Dacheng¡¯s family is okay. His father-inw was alerted to something amiss and came to inform us. Who could have predicted that catching a few fish could lead to such a disaster for Yuying.¡± After the rainfall, floodwaters had collected in many parts of the city. A lot of fish flowed into these areas from the rivers, mostly quiterge in size, some as long as half a human¡¯s arm. Many households rolled up their trousers and went out with wooden bowls to catch the fish, Yuying and Xiang had also caught two fish and brought them home. As a result, they had contracted the disease. Yingbao continued to brew medicine, this time using threerge pots. She set up three small stoves in the courtyard and put the pots on top. She rushed to the kitchen and filled the three pots with water in an instant before carrying them out one by one. Seeing this, Jiang Yunniang came over to lend a hand, ¡°Let me cook the medicine.¡± Yingbao added herbs into the pot, telling her aunt, ¡°Once you¡¯ve finished brewing the medicine, pour it into a bamboo tube. Remember to pour it into a bowl each time you feed Yuying and the others, half a bowl each time, and only three times a day.¡± Jiang Yunniang nodded continuously: ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go to the pharmacy now to buy some more herbs.¡± Yingbao said and quickly went out of the courtyard. Jiang Yunniang called out loudly: ¡°Yingbao, let Hong Xiao apany you.¡± ¡°No need.¡± Hong Xiao going with her would be inconvenient when it came to collecting items. Yingbao could easily disguise herself with a carrying basket on her back, managing to bring back any amount of items, it was very convenient. Yingbao hurried off to several pharmacies, but could only buy a small amount of herbs, which worried her greatly. Following that, she ventured to the medical bureau and found it absolutely packed with patients both inside and out. Much of the staff and students were busy brewing medicine in the back yard. Somebody sharp-eyed recognized Yingbao and immediately called her over, ¡°Isn¡¯t that a student from the Yin Yang Department? Hurry ande help.¡± Left with no choice, Yingbao strolled over and asked, ¡°Does the medical bureau still have any atractylodes left?¡± Atractylodes, also known as xian jie, mainly treat gastrointestinal diseases. Her own estate had detoxifying herbs like honeysuckle and licorice, but they were sorelycking in this particr herb. Of course, they were alsocking in ephedra, but she had the Pupil Spring. As long as they had atractylodes, even without other herbs, everything should be fine. The therapy for diseases was not about having more variety of herbs, sometimes only one type was needed to cure the illness.
This man put on a stern face and scolded, ¡°What is a student from the Yin Yang Department doing asking for medicinal herbs? The medicine treating this epidemic must not be allowed to leave here.¡± Yingbao, seeing his stubborn attitude, didn¡¯t bother engaging with him and turned around to leave. She still had important work to do, she couldn¡¯t afford to waste her time here as a helper. Seeing Yingbao disappear in a cloud of dust, the furious doctor whipped his sleeve and went toin to the medical official.
The medical officer was also extremely busy and had no time to bother about such matters. He casually brushed it off with a few words and sent him away. The kid was not even a formal student of the medical bureau, at best he was just a spiritual chatan, and also a little disciple of Zhou Wuchang. What could they do about it? Use some manpower to capture her and bring her back? Absurd! Yingbao ran to several more medical halls and bought some medicinal herbs for treating the epidemic at high prices. Seeing too manying to buy medicines, these medical halls had collectively raised their prices. These are heartless! Yingbao returned to her shop indignantly, then bumped into her eldest martial brother in the backyard. ¡°Eh? Senior brother, you¡¯vee back.¡± Zhou Hao nodded, he said: ¡°Yingbao, the master is waiting for you at home.¡± Hearing that her master was looking for her, Yingbao hurriedly asked, ¡°What does he want?¡± ¡°Discussing the treatment of the epidemic.¡± Zhou Hao said. ¡°Qinglong Taoist Temple has a lot of sick people there. If we don¡¯t think of a solution soon, those people won¡¯t be able to survive another two days and they¡¯ll all die.¡± Upon hearing this, Yingbao¡¯s expression turned solemn. That¡¯s right, there was a great flood in her past life, and there was also an epidemic that had broke out then. A lot of people in the county died. The County Magistrate took extreme measures, gathering many sick people on Qinglong Mountain, and afterwards even dug arge pit on the mountain, throwing the dead bodies in to incinerate them. So it¡¯s starting again in this life? ¡°Okay, I will take care of the medicine ande back immediately.¡± Yingbao quickly ran into the kitchen, reached her hand into therge water vat when no one was around, instantly draining the water into a water vat in her storage space. Afterwards she filled it with water from the Pupil Spring, only then did she return to her father with Zhou Hao.
Master Zhou was indeed here, sitting in the hall, having a chat with old Mr. Wu. Seeing Yingbao, he nodded: ¡°Yingbao,e with me to the Qinglong Taoist Temple. Many sick refugees have gone to the temple to beg for medicine, but found themselves bedridden.¡± The Temple Head was almost frantic, but he couldn¡¯t just abandon those people down the mountain, and had no choice but to ask Zhou Wuchang for help. Yingbao blinked, asked, ¡°Master, do you have medicine?¡± Zhou Wuchang: ¡°The only thing your master managed to purchase was five kilos of thistle, and some licorice. Everything else was sold out.¡± ¡°Thistle and licorice will suffice.¡± Thistle can treat the intestines and stomach, and licorice is a detoxifier. Adding Lonicera japonica would be even better. Yingbao looked at the wicker basket by master¡¯s feet, which was filled with oil paper wrappings. Zhou Wuchang stood up: ¡°Let¡¯s go now.¡± Yingbao nodded, took out some pills for her father, told them to stay home, and assured them that she would be back soon. But Jiang Sang was worried about his daughter and insisted on apanying them. Originally, Wei Zhan and Jiang Quan wanted to go too, but they were stopped by old Mr. Wu, who told them not to stir up trouble. If more people went and fell ill, wouldn¡¯t they be causing trouble for Yingbao? Therefore, Yingbao secretly put some fruits and vegetables in her room, and went to Qinglong Taoist Temple with her father and Zhou Wuchang.
Qinglong Taoist Temple was thergest Taoist temple in the county, with dozens of Taoists inside. Now, there are a lot of refugees lying down inside and outside the temple. The Temple Head had two outhouses dug outside beside the road, and even used mats to enclose them, making it convenient for these people. ¡°Taoist Zhou, you are finally back.¡± Seeing Zhou Wuchang returning again, bringing along his divine doctor apprentice, the Temple Head was overjoyed to tears. ¡°You must be Yingbao, right? Come, join us in the temple.¡± Seeing the fragile state of the people by the roadside, Yingbao did not waste time, saying, ¡°Venerable one, no need for formalities. Please get tworge pots ready, I am going to decoct medicine.¡± ¡°Alright, alright!¡± The Temple Head was hoping that the divine doctor could cure these people as soon as possible so he could ask them to leave the mountain. With hundreds of people here, his temple¡¯s rice and flour disappeared day by day. He was already heartbroken. Now, one after another people were falling sick, the Temple Head felt numb all over. Chapter 343: 339: Divine Gourd Bestowed by Heaven_1 Chapter 343: Chapter 339: Divine Gourd Bestowed by Heaven_1 The Temple Head moved quickly, personally directing his disciples to pry off the tworge iron pots from the dining hall first, setting up two simple earthen stoves on the open ground outside the temple. Yingbao then drew a circle, asking the Temple Head to enclose the area around therge iron pots with mats and create a ritual site. She exined that her master would perform a ritual to summon the immortals, which ordinary people were not allowed to witness. The Temple Headplied with her request. He quickly enclosed the area and even had a sacrificial altar brought in. Yingbao was the first to enter the ritual site, and in an instant, she took out a huge gourd from her cavern. The interior of the gourd had been hollowed out, so it wasn¡¯t heavy. A nine and a half year old like her could lift it with no problem. When Master and Jiang Sang¡¯s group stepped into the ritual site enclosed by mats, there was a brief moment of stillness. They saw Yingbao holding aloft a gigantic gourd in her hands, pouring water into therge pot while she was chanting: ¡°Heaven and earth natural, foul light scattered. Mighty gods from all directions, support me naturally. The chars of the spiritual treasure, dere to the nine heavens;
Destroy the evil, kill the ghosts by the thousands. Follow the Five Sacred Mountains, the Eight Seas are known; The Demon King is restrained, foul evil scattered¡­¡± Jiang Sang and Zhou Wuchang were fine, but Zhou Hao and the Temple Head were dumbfounded. Once she filled the tworge pots with water, Yingbao turned to her master and said, ¡°Master, this is a magic gourd bestowed by a heavenly god. The water inside it can cure diseases. The heavenly god told me to give the gourd to you, saying you are a divine envoy sent from heaven.¡± Zhou Wuchang walked over expressionlessly and took the gourd. The gourd wasn¡¯t heavy, it seemed as if there was nothing inside it. The Temple Head¡¯s eyes sparkled, and he quickly ran over to feel the gourd. His mouth split open into a wideugh: ¡°Three Pure Ones, Zhou and his disciple are indeed extraordinary.¡± He turned to Yingbao and asked, ¡°Little Divine Doctor, which heavenly god sent this?¡± He also wanted to respectfully worship, being favored by a heavenly god meant his ascension to immortality was just around the corner. ¡°The heavenly god didn¡¯t tell me his name.¡± Yingbao took a risk to bring out the gourd, but she was nervous deep down. She had no choice. If she wanted to elevate her master to the.status of a deity, she had to take a risk. Performing a ritual in a Taoist temple was the most suitable ce. And since the head of Qinglong Taoist Temple was her master¡¯s friend, even if she performed a miracle, he probably wouldn¡¯t harm her and her master. Jiang Sang looked worriedly at his daughter. Afterwards, Yingbao added medicinal herbs to the pot and instructed the junior Taoist to light the fire and decoct the medicine. When decocting reduced the water in one pot by more than half, Yingbao immediately called a halt. She instructed the Taoist to remove the firewood underneath the pot and begin dispensing the medicine. The decoction from the tworge pots of soup was quickly distributed, with half of the people still not receiving any. Those who didn¡¯t get the decoction started crying and shouting, some even insulted the junior Taoist who was dispensing the medicine, and in the end, they cursed the Taoist temple itself. The Temple Head became furious when he heard this and immediately ordered his disciples to drive those people down the mountain.
Yingbao needed to continue decocting more medicine. She asked her master to lift the gourd, with the mouth of the gourd facing downwards, while she helped him by holding the rim of the gourd¡¯s mouth. A clear stream of water flowed out and quickly filled therge pot. Zhou Wuchang felt a jump in his heart.
Although he was a martial general in his past, his hearing was quite good. However, clearly there was no water inside the gourd, yet water could flow from the mouth of the gourd. He couldn¡¯t understand where the water wasing from. Zhou Wuchang watched Yingbao¡¯s hand over and over again, but he couldn¡¯t figure out anything. Could it really be as the rural rumors said, that she was a reincarnated Fairy Child? Yet, were there really ghosts and immortals in this world? He became a Taoist and learned Yin and Yang Techniques just to make his travels outside more convenient. The Imperial Teacher Xiaoshivered thinking about himself, even the Emperor was afraid he would lead a revolt with his troops. He had been investigating the mysterious deaths of his parents and family members, which led him to retreat for Taoist cultivation. ¡°It¡¯s full, it¡¯s full!¡± Yingbao held the mouth of the gourd, filled anotherrge iron pot, then pushed the mouth of the gourd away and added medicine to the pot by himself. Some young Taoists were amazed to see Master Zhou and his disciples easily lift the huge gourd and pour so much water into therge pot. The total volume exceeded the capacity of the gourd. And so, they respected them more. Whatever Yingbao asked them to do, they happily did it without any dissatisfaction. Soon, the tworge pots of medicinal water were ready. After the young Taoists gave them to the patients, they each partook of what was left over without telegraphing their intentions to others. After drinking, they felt refreshed throughout their bodies, all their fatigue swept away. Indeed, it¡¯s good stuff! A few young Taoists secretly nced at therge gourd beside Zhou Wuchang, doubting in their hearts.
Their Temple Head also had a gourd, but it was iparable to this one. It was said that the Temple Head got his gourd from the Jiang family¡¯s specialty shop, but after much scrutiny, he chose one that wasn¡¯t too big nor too small; one he could hang on his belt without feeling burdened. Who would have thought that Master Zhou¡¯s gourd would outdo his today? By now, the night had set in. Yingbao, his father, his master, and elder martial brother all stayed at the Taoist temple. Yingbao stayed in his room alone as usual, receiving the meals brought by the junior Taoists, but not eating them in favor of stowing them in his cave. He only left the empty bowls and tes on the table. The next day, the people lying on the side of the mountain track gradually improved and could move enough to go to the porridge shed at the Taoist temple for thin porridge. Yingbao brewed the medicinal juice for them again, and then went home with his master. In the group, Zhou Wuchang walked in front, his enormous gourd strapped on his back. It was quite noticeable. ¡°Master, please save us.¡± One of them recognized Zhou Wuchang as the Onmyoji of the county health department¡¯s Yin Yang department and immediately approached for help, ¡°My family has fallen ill. The health department is out of medicine. I appeal to the master to save my family.¡± Zhou Wuchang ignored the man, looking at Yingbao instead, ¡°Yingbao, do we have more medicine?¡± He had used up all his medicinal herbs earlier and had nothing left now. Yingbao responded, ¡°We have a little honeysuckle left, but that¡¯s it.¡± She didn¡¯t want to use what little she had left of her ground thistle for outsiders. ¡°Honeysuckle it is then. Brew it into a medicinal drink for them,¡± Zhou Wuchang told her. ¡°Okay.¡± Yingbao took a small packet of honeysuckle from her medicine box and asked the man, ¡°Bring me your family¡¯s jar. I¡¯m going to boil some medicine for you to drink.¡±
The man was overjoyed and immediately led Yingbao and herpanions to his home. After the objects had been prepared, Yingbao let her master pour water in the jar. She held the mouth of the gourd. When the water filled the jar, she let the man boil and drink the honeysuckle tea. Just as Zhou Wuchang¡¯s group were preparing to leave, they saw his neighbors on both sidese over incessantly pleading. Yingbao asked in surprise, ¡°Is the gue really that bad?¡± The neighbors were weeping and begging, ¡°People in our family are sick, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and the pharmacy has run out of medicine.¡± Yingbao was at a loss, ¡°But I¡¯m out of medicine.¡± One of the neighbors pointed at the gourd in Zhou Wuchang¡¯s hand, ¡°Just give us some water from that gourd.¡± With a gourd thatrge, almost as tall as a person, it must be extraordinary. Perhaps the water inside it could be life-saving. Zhou Wuchang nced at his apprentice, as if inquiring silently. Yingbao turned her head towards him, ¡°Master, why don¡¯t you give them some water.¡± She wasn¡¯t sure if her Pupil Spring would cure the epidemic, but it would certainly be favorable to drink. Zhou Wuchang twitched at the corner of his eye, then nodded. Then, Yingbao asked each of them to fetch vessels from their homes to collect water. She could only provide a basin¡¯s worth for each household. Zhou Wuchang lifted therge gourd and poured a basin of water into each basin, forming a long queue of people waiting for water before he realized it.
It seemed that the entire neighborhood had turned out to ask for water. Jiang Sang sensed that something was off and quickly snatched the mouth of the gourd from his daughter¡¯s hand. He told the crowd, ¡°There¡¯s no more water.¡± Chapter 344: 340: There Once Was a White-Bearded Old Grandfather_1 Chapter 344: Chapter 340: There Once Was a White-Bearded Old Grandfather_1 Before anyone had time to speak, Zhou Wuchang tilted the gourd upside down, and indeed, not a single drop of water remained. The crowd expressed their sorrow, swarming around Zhou Wuchang and hispanions, curious to know which Taoist temple they belonged to. ¡°We are from the county medical office. If you need treatment, go there.¡± Zhou Hao stepped forward to part the crowd and made way for his master to leave. Zhou Wuchang didn¡¯t say anything else and walked towards the medical office with hisrge gourd on his back. Halfway through, he said to Yingbao, ¡°Come early to the medical office tomorrow.¡± His little apprentice had, with this disy, put both of them in the eye of the storm. If he did not do something now, things would be unmanageable. A Divine Envoy? That seems not bad. With such a position, he would have more freedom to act. ¡°Okay.¡± Yingbao felt a bit apprehensive about her previous actions, but thinking about Pei Shixian who had already gone to Beijing, incessantly spreading nonsense before the Emperor and his officials, she wouldn¡¯t be surprised if a royal decree was issued out of the blue to wipe out her entire family. Therefore, her master must be the Divine Envoy, and she must be the disciple of the Divine Envoy. Compared to the lives of the Jiang family, what does it matter if she reveals a few miracles?
Having parted ways with her master and senior apprentice, when she returned home, her dad anxiously looked at his daughter, wanting to say something but hesitating. Yingbao thought for a moment, and with a p on the kitchen table, a basket full of fruit and vegetables appeared on it. Jiang Sang¡¯s face twitched at this sight, he looked at the basket full of fruit and vegetables, identical to what they used to eat, and couldn¡¯t help but feel astonished. ¡°Baobao, are¡­ are you really a Fairy Child?¡± Jiang Sang had always thought his daughter was extraordinary, but witnessing it first hand was still shocking. Yingbao shook her head: ¡°I am not a Fairy Child.¡± She wished she was a Fairy Child. That way she could protect herself and her family. But she was not, all she had was a strange grotto, however, she did not feel the need to tell her father that. Seeing Jiang Sang still hesitating over his words, Yingbao exined, ¡°Dad, I revealed my secret to Master just to make him protect our family.¡± Revealing her secret to the master today was an act of desperation. As amoner from a non-influential family, no matter how many miraculous methods she may possess, she couldn¡¯t escape from the covetous gaze of powerful houses. But the Master was different; he came from a noble lineage and held a unique position. With him as the divine envoy, no matter the future or his willingness, he will not ignore the disciple who made him a divine envoy, he will devise ways to protect her family. That was her reason for taking the risk. Jiang Sang sighed and said quietly, ¡°Baobao, you should careful from now on.¡± Yingbao nodded, looking rxed, This is good, with Dad covering for her, she no longer needed to be secretive and sneaky all the time. When dawn broke the following day, Yingbao knew her master would definitely make a move today. As a result, she changed into a mage robe, picked up a mask and Peach Wood Sword, and headed for the medical office. When Jiang Sang wanted to follow her, Yingbao waved her hand, ¡°Dad, stay at home, don¡¯t go anywhere. When we are done with the rituals, we will go back to our hometown.¡± The pandemic in the county will take some days to end. It will be safer for her family to return to their hometown. Once the pandemic is over, they can then return. Jiang Sang could only watch as his daughter disappeared around the corner of the street with a basket in her hand. When Yingbao arrived at the Yin Yang Department of the medical office, she saw her master and senior apprentice waiting for her, properly dressed, with thatrge gourd sat next to them.
Seeing his small apprentice, Zhou Wuchang signaled his senior apprentice to leave; his face turned serious as he said: ¡°Yingbao, let¡¯s not talk about how you manipted me yesterday. I just want to tell you, getting in is easier than getting out. Have you really thought this through?¡± Yingbao blinked, remembering how her master previously spoke privately with themander of Jingzhou and formed an alliance with the rightful king under the identity of an Onmyoji. She suddenly had a bad feeling. Could her master be nning a rebellion? A rebellion with the rightful king?
The rightful king was doomed. In her previous life, he was wiped out by Xiao Mo. But with things as they are, if she dared to say that she wouldn¡¯t join her master¡¯s gang, would she be silenced by him? After some internal struggle, Yingbao avoided her master¡¯s question and asked instead, ¡°Master, do you know the rightful king well?¡± Zhou Wuchang was taken aback, but then replied: ¡°I am not well acquainted with him, why do you ask?¡± ¡°Master, I need to tell you something.¡± Yingbao sat down on a chair nearby and said seriously: ¡°On the ship, I met a person and had a dream afterwards. In the dream, the rightful king rebelled, but was wiped out by Xiao Mo leading an army. The rightful king¡¯s family was killed, and his followers were drawn and quartered.¡± Zhou Wuchang paused, thought for a while, and then turned to the small apprentice, his eyes burning intensely. ¡°Do you know which forces Xiao Mo was leading?¡± Yingbao scratched her head, ¡°They said it was the Western Army.¡± Zhou Wuchang closed his eyes, and after a long silence, said: ¡°Yingbao, honestly tell me, how do you know all this?¡± Yingbao looked confused but still told the truth: ¡°I saw it in a book in my dream.¡± ¡°A book?¡± Zhou Wuchang furrowed his brow. ¡°What else was written in the book?¡± Yingbao, ¡°Most of the book talks about Chen Tiantian. It says she will be the Empress Dowager in the future and also says she and¡­¡± She suddenly couldn¡¯t continue. She should leave it at that and not reveal too much, otherwise she would be redundant, wouldn¡¯t she?
Zhou Wuchang did not rush the small apprentice, but sat there stroking his beard thoughtfully. Taking advantage of this moment, Yingbao tried to show her loyalty and subtly remind her master: ¡°Master, I am your disciple, forever. In the future, if you are the divine envoy, then I will be the guardian disciple of the divine envoy. We should keep our distance from the rightful king.¡± Zhou Wuchang nced at his small apprentice, then asked: ¡°How did you get the gourd and the water?¡± Yingbao scratched her head, sneaked a nce outside, and whispered: ¡°Master, I am only going to tell you, and I trust you won¡¯t mention it to anyone else.¡± ¡°You can speak.¡± Zhou Wuchang sat sternly, his eyes nted, staring at his small apprentice. ¡°In my dreams, I met an old man with white hair who asked me to help him farm. He used things from his farm to pay me. That gourd is a product of that farnd. The wateres from a pool there. The water is clear and can strengthen the body and prevent diseases if drunk.¡± Yingbao spoke earnestly, then took out a few apples and handed them to Zhou Wuchang. ¡°This is my payment, but I can¡¯t take too much, otherwise, I would be driven away.¡± Zhou Wuchang took the apples and sniffed them, then fell into deep thought. He didn¡¯t think the small apprentice was telling the entire truth, but her willingness to reveal her secrets to him indicated that she indeed considered him a reliable master. ¡°We should get to the front of the medical office to perform the miracle since it¡¯s gettingte.¡± Zhou Wuchang put down the apples, stood up and walked out, hands behind his back. At this moment, senior apprentice Zhou Hao had already prepared the incense altar and other things. Therge gourd was there too, ced within arge basket in front of the altar. The gourd wasrge and plump. When Zhou Hao put it down, it attracted the curiosity of spectators who couldn¡¯t resist approaching to take a closer look. Not only the people outside were curious, but those inside the medical office were also wondering what Master Zhou was nning to do this time.
Chapter 345: 341: Divine Envoy_1 Chapter 345: Chapter 341: Divine Envoy_1 Zhou Wuchang picked a Heavenly God Mask and put it on his face, putting on a white magical robe. His two disciples did the same, each putting on a Heavenly God Mask and donning white magical robes, their waists adorned with peach wood swords. Then there was the burning of incense, praying, worshipping the deities, chanting mantras, and began the sacrificial dance. Three dozen students from the medical department also joined in the dance, making the scene spectacr. After worshipping the immortals, Zhou Wuchang held up a big gourd in one hand and exined to the crowd, ¡°The Heavenly Godmanded me to fetch holy water from the Heavens, to save the disaster-stricken people. If anyone of you has sick family members,e and receive it quickly. I will not wait for those who arete.¡± Upon hearing this, everyone hurriedly looked for something to carry the water. Before long, many people came running with jars and ceramic bowls to collect water. Zhou Wuchang repeated the act from yesterday ¨C he raised the gourd, both his disciples supporting it on either side, and then water began to flow from the gourd. People started queuing up, and one after another collected the clear water. Some drank it on the spot. Those who were yet to line up asked, ¡°How is it? Is it holy water?¡± ¡°Yes, yes! After drinking, my stomach feels warm. I must get some more for my child¡¯s mother to drink.¡± So saying, he ran back to join the line.
In a short while, dozens of people had collected the water. But the gourd seemed endless, like a treasure bottle from the Goddess of Mercy, constantly pouring out clear water. At this time, even the doctors and medical schrs ran out from the medical department. Some tried to reach out their hand to get a taste of the water but were red back by Zhou Wuchang, ¡°Get in line!¡± The official of the medical department, Ya Sen, also came running out. He observed therge gourd in the hands of Zhou Wuchang and his disciples for a while, a dubious look in his eyes. After a quarter of an hour, Zhou Wuchang put down the big gourd to rest a while. Ya Sen approached, touched the gourd, and shook it. The big gourd was light, as if there was nothing in it. Unable to resist, he took off the stopper and peered in. ¡°Sir, what are you doing?¡± Zhou Hao asked, walking up expressionlessly. Ya Sen, retreating his tiptoe, gave a light cough, and reced the stopper. With his hands behind his back, he approached Zhou Wuchang and asked, ¡°Master, where did this gourde from?¡± Zhou Wuchang initially didn¡¯t want to pay him any attention, but remembering the divine envoy identity his young disciple arranged for him, he answered in a indifferent tone, ¡°It¡¯s a holy water gourd bestowed by the Heavenly God.¡± ¡°Bestowed by the Heavenly God?¡± Ya Sen scoffed in his heart but his face remained smiling, ¡°So, Master, you¡¯re a divine envoy now?¡± Zhou Wuchang gave him a cold nce, ¡°What? Do you have a problem with that?¡± This Ya Sen was nothing more than thepdog of Imperial Teacher Xiao who would report everything to him. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Zhou considered it a hassle, Ya Sen would have been dead several times over. Ya Senughed awkwardly, ¡°I was just curious. When did the Master get this divine object.¡± Zhou Wuchang ignored him and closed his eyes to rest. Just then, someone came seeking water and Zhou Wuchang told his disciples, ¡°You two go distribute the water for them.¡± Zhou Hao obeying his master¡¯smand unconditionally, picked up the big gourd with Yingbao assisting him. Then, to Ya Sen¡¯s amazement, water really came out of what was originally an empty gourd.
And it flowed nonstop for half an hour. Ya Sen, feeling amazed, approached again. This time, Zhou Hao moved the gourd near his master and stood by the side, effectively blocking anyone who attempted to touch the gourd. Ya Sen angrily returned to the medical department, pacing back and forth in his study. Finally, he sat down at his desk andmenced writing a letter.
Imperial Teacher Xiao had instructed him to always keep an eye on Zhou Wuchang and report any abnormal behavior in a letter back to Beijing. After writing a letter, he felt that it might be too premature, so he crumbled it up and tossed it in his drawer. He decided to wait, observing if Zhou Wuchang would do anything else unusual. Outside the medical department, seeing that all the sick people in the vicinity had received the water, Zhou Wuchang instructed his two disciples to pack up the incense table and head back. On the second day, many people suddenly flocked to the medical department, each seeking water, but Master Zhou Wuchang and his disciples did not show up. Ya Sen went to check the Yin Yang Department and found no one there. They had gone to the Taoist temple early in the morning. With no options left, Ya Sen had to send someone to tell the people outside that Master Zhou wasn¡¯t at the medical department that day and had gone to the Taoist temple instead. Upon hearing this, the crowd ran off, each carrying their own containers towards the Taoist temple. When Yingbao followed her master to the Taoist temple, she saw Master Zhou instructing the temple head to prepare the censer and said they were going to perform a ritual to summon the Heavenly God. This time, the head of the temple surrounded the entrance of the temple with yellow silk. He invited Zhou Wuchang and his disciples to perform the ceremony inside. Zhou Wuchang let his senior apprentice guard the entrance, while he supervised his junior disciple as he conjured up fiverge gourds, each filled with clear water. He looked at each of them without any expression. Then he signaled his junior disciple to let the peoplee in. Outside the yellow silk-enclosed ceremony area, many people had arrived. When Yingbao removed half of the yellow silk, everyone could see the five huge gourds ced behind Master Zhou.
¡°My God! What a miracle!¡± ¡°Master Zhou is truly a divine envoy!¡± ¡°Yes, yes! The holy water Master Zhou summoned has saved many of us.¡± Many of the disaster-stricken refugees who had sought refuge in the Taoist temple had improved. They fell to their knees before Zhou Wuchang, kowtowing in worship and praising him as the divine envoy and the heavenly master. Zhou Wuchang epted these graciously and allowed the young Taoist in the temple to help distribute the water. As for his two apprentices, they stood behind him, acting as fairy children. Yingbao nced at the people kneeling on the ground, her expression calm. Later, the County Magistrate also came to see the fiverge gourds. He found them fascinating and had a cartload of medicinal herbs delivered. With these herbs and the Pupil Spring provided by Yingbao, the number of patients gradually decreased. However, the fame of Zhou, the divine envoy, grew louder and louder. As the disciple of the divine envoy, wherever Yingbao went, people recognized her and greeted her warmly. After about ten days, the epidemic in the county town disappearedpletely, but many people still died in this disaster. The rumors about Jiang Yingbao being a demon still popped up from time to time, but they were quickly squashed by the people.
Jiang Jie and a group of new entrants were called upon by the County Magistrate, who specifically asked about the fungus and cotton issues in Dongchen Vige. Jiang Jie truthfully replied, ¡°Each family in our vige grows fungus and cotton, as well as pepper and various fruit trees. If Magistrate is free, you cane and be our guest to enjoy the countryside.¡± The County Magistrate smiled and agreed. After the banquet, Jiang Jie, along with Mr. Wu, followed his sister, her master and Wei Zhan back to their hometown. Old man Jiang and Jiang Quan, Jiang Dacheng¡¯s husband and wife, and Yuanbao, had all returned home a few days earlier. As for the shop, due to the recent epidemic, they decided to close for a few days. As soon as Yingbao returned to the vige, she looked around. The old vige at the foot of the mountain waspletely destroyed by the sudden flood, including the brick house of the n Leader. Although the floodwaters have now receded, a lot of silt and muddy water still remained on the ground. The fertile fields along the banks of Chuanhe River were filled with yellow sand, and the fertile soil was washed away. It was estimated that the fertile fields would be downgraded. However, there was no sign of disaster in the vige as the vigers from East Vige and West Vige were all living on the South Slope, with their houses and property intact. But the other viges were not so fortunate. The entire area, including the town, had been abandoned by the flood. Many houses were destroyed and belongings, as well as livestock, were washed away by the water. The home of the local practitioner, Zhang, was no exception. Fortunately, Mr. Jiang had noticed the situation early on and ridden to town on horseback, bringing Zhang¡¯s family to seek shelter at the Jiang¡¯s residence on South Slope.
Now, not only was Zhang¡¯s family living with Mr. Jiang, but so were other rtives. Chapter 346: 342: Making Sugar Cake_1 Chapter 346: Chapter 342: Making Sugar Cake_1 Spring Woman¡¯s family was also affected by the flood, so Mother Xu brought her eldest son and his family to take refuge with her eldest daughter. But it didn¡¯t feel right to always stay at her daughter¡¯s home, so Mother Xu decided to discuss with her son and daughter-inw about using their own money to build a couple of houses at the market outside Dongchen Vige, which would be more convenient in the future. Of course, Xu Da and his wife did not object. But thisnd belonged to the Chen¡¯s in East Vige. Although the market outside the vige was an abandoned no-man¡¯snd where not even birds would defecate, they still needed to ask for the approval of n Leader Chen and Jiang Eng if they wanted to build a house there. Now that Jiang Eng had returned, along with his nephew Jiang Jie, Xu Da immediately presented the congrattory gifts that he and his wife had carefully prepared. Their nephew had sessfully passed the examination and became a schr, and moreover, he had ranked third in the provincial examination. They were proud to be his uncle and aunt, and walked with their backs straight whenever they went out. As soon as Yingbao and her brother returned to the vige, they were surrounded by the vigers. Of course, the main focus was on her brother, Jiang Jie. Because of this, Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng arranged more than twenty tables of banquet, inviting the entire vige to celebrate with a feast. n Leader Chen even pulled Jiang Jie¡¯s hand and sat him at their table, having a meal with the elders. Mr. Wu and Zhou Wuchang were invited to sit at the head of the table, and n Leader Chen personally offered them a toast.
Even though Jiang Jie wasn¡¯t from the Chen n, he was still a member of Dongchen Vige, and the news of him bing a schr made n Leader Chen even happier than when Chen Changping had passed the examination years ago. Mr. Wu was a few years younger than n Leader Chen, not yet sixty, and he returned the toast when n Leader Chen offered him one. Yingbao was having a meal with Jiang Wu, Yuanbao, Huzi, and Wei Zhan at another table when she saw Chen Zhao leading her younger brother, Chen Xu, to their table. They squeezed into a seat and Chen Zhao sat right next to Yingbao. Chen Zhao served her brother some food first, then turned to Yingbao and asked, ¡°Yingbao, would you allow me to be your maid?¡± Yingbao opened her mouth in surprise, unsure of what hade over Chen Zhao. Chen Zhao pulled on her and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, I¡¯m serious.¡± Yingbao immediately shook her head, ¡°No, your father is a schr. He has an official title; I wouldn¡¯t dare to ept your service.¡± Chen Zhao pouted and muttered under her breath, ¡°What does it matter that he¡¯s a schr?¡± He still didn¡¯t care about her and their sisters. While Yingbao was focused on eating, she suddenly noticed the five-year-old Chen Xubao looking at her. He was holding something in his hand which he then offered to her. Yingbao ignored him and did not ept what he offered. ¡°Sister Yingbao, here,¡± Chen Xubao insisted and stubbornly put the object from his palm into her hand. Yingbao looked down and saw it was a little green frog. The frog was desperately puffing up its white belly, trying to escape. She immediately handed the frog back to Chen Xubao, ¡°I don¡¯t want it, you keep it.¡± It seemed that Xubao was different from his past life. Now that he was growing up, his features were bing more and more dissimr from the Chen Xu of her previous life. Perhaps, this Xubao was not the same child from her past life because not only did their appearances differ, their ages were also different. Realizing this, Yingbao felt slightly relieved. She reached out and fondled Xubao¡¯s head, asking, ¡°Are you going to school yet?¡± Xubao shook his head and lowered it to touch the frog¡¯s head with his finger. Chen Zhao exined from the side, ¡°Grandfather wants Xubao to start school next year.¡±
All of a sudden, Xubao looked up and said to his sister, ¡°I want to go to school!¡± ¡°Alright, when we get home, we¡¯ll tell grandfather and have you start school,¡± Chen Zhaoforted her younger brother. After finishing the meal, Yingbao and her brothers went to Deer Garden to visit Youyou. Chen Zhao was trailing behindhand with Chen Xubao in tow. Youyou was increasingly imposing in demeanor, and after seeing Yingbao, he raised his head and strutted towards her arrogantly.
Yingbao patted Youyou on the neck, stuffing a handful of tender golden ears into his mouth. Wei Zhan, Yuanbao, Huzi and Jiang Wu also patted the deer, seeing that it lowered its head, they even lightly touched its fierce antlers. The antlers were new, the previous set had already fallen off and were collected by Jiang Eng and kept at home. Chen Xubao also leaned in to pet the deer, casually calling Jiang Wu ¡®brother¡¯ while standing beside him. Jiang Wu was quite familiar with him and evenmanded youyou to lower his head so Chen Xubao can touch his big antler. Chen Zhao grinned and said to Yingbao, ¡°Xubao really likes Jiang Wu. He goes to the practice field every day to y with him.¡± Ever since Jiang Wu saved Xubao¡¯s life, the kid had clung to Jiang Wu like a tail, sometimes even sneaking over to the Jiang family to eat. If it wasn¡¯t for Chen Zhao calling him home, Xubao would have wanted to sleep with Jiang Wu every night. Yingbao didn¡¯t say anything. After a while, Xubao followed Jiang Wu and a group of boys to the practice field. Chen Zhao then turned to Yingbao and said, ¡°Yingbao, did you meet my father and Chu Man in the county town?¡± Yingbao shook her head: ¡°No.¡± Chen Zhao hummed, angrily said: ¡°Ever since Chu Man went to the county town, she often coerced my father to ask my grandparents for money. When my grandparents didn¡¯t have money, she would ask my father and uncle. Now, we don¡¯t even have money for Xubao¡¯s schooling, and my grandmother is considering sending me and my elder sister to serve as maids in the Wei Family¡¯s mansion in the prefecture city.¡± Yingbao:
¡°I don¡¯t want to go to the prefecture city as a maid.¡± Chen Zhao pouted, growing angrier the more she thought about it, ¡°Chu Man is nothing but a harbinger of bad luck. Initially, my grandparents were counting on the Chu family to give my father some support, but not only they did not help, they also sent back a woman who splurges money.¡± Yingbao: ¡°Are you sure Chu Man is the one spending the money?¡± Would such a selfish person like Chen Changping allow his second wife to waste money recklessly? ¡°If it¡¯s not her, then who else could it be?¡± Chen Zhao became furious: ¡°Yingbao, if my grandmother insists on sending me to the prefecture, I might as well be your maid.¡± Chuchu was originally Yingbao¡¯s maid wasn¡¯t she? She was able to earn three coins a month. She can do it too, and then she would have money for her little brother¡¯s schooling. At this point, Chen Zhao already had ns on how to spend those three coins. Yingbao nced at Chen Zhao, asking, ¡°Are you short of money?¡± Chen Zhao immediately denied: ¡°No, why would I be short of money¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡± Ignoring her evasive expression, Yingbao continued, ¡°Actually, you can set up a small stall at the market outside the vige and earn some money.¡± If that is still not enough, she could grow mushrooms. But she would have to build a mushroom shed, steam and sterilize a nutrient base, meticulously cultivate the fungal inoculum every day, do a sundry of things like sun-drying the fungi, or build a kiln herself to dry the fungus. That is mind-numbinglyplex. Chen Changping probably considers this beneath him which is why he will not do these things himself. After all, both the purchase of the fungus seeds and the selling of the final product have to be done through Jiang Eng. Chen Zhao blinked, ¡°Set up a stall? What should I sell?¡± Yingbao pondered for a bit, then told her about the sugar cakes that she learned to make in the confectionery shop, ¡°You can make fried sugar cakes from flour and sesame sugar. The product doesn¡¯t cost much to make, and it should sell well in this small market.¡±
Chen Zhao hesitated for a while, then nodded her head: ¡°Okay, tell me how to make the sugar cakes, Yingbao. I¡¯ll try making some.¡± Yingbao exined to her how to make sugar cakes, and added: ¡°However, it¡¯s best if you fry them on the spot. Sugar cakes don¡¯t taste good once they cool down.¡± ¡°Fry them on the spot? Wouldn¡¯t that require a stove?¡± Chen Zhao was in a dilemma: ¡°But my house doesn¡¯t have a stove.¡± Yingbao: ¡°Isn¡¯t that simple? Just hire the vige stonemason to make a stove for you. If you feel that it¡¯s too much trouble to drag around, you can just leave it at the market. Nobody is going to steal a stove.¡± Dongchen Vige has amunity grindstone, which is left outside. Whoever needs it can just wash it and use it. Chapter 347: 343: Plant Kudzu Vine_1 Chapter 347: Chapter 343: nt Kudzu Vine_1 Seeing Chen Zhao still struggling, Yingbao knew she probably didn¡¯t even have money to make a stove. Hesitantly, she said, ¡°Why don¡¯t I lend you five taels of silver first so you can build a stove and buy a deep-frying pan? You should notck for rice and flour at home, but you still need to buy sugar icing and sesame seeds¡­¡± Just then, she saw Chen Zhao bow her head, silent tears falling. Yingbao paused, then continued, ¡°Once you¡¯ve made some money, you can pay me back.¡± Chen Zhao nodded, came forward to tightly hug Yingbao, and thanked her in a lowered voice, ¡°Thank you for still being willing to help me.¡± She had been rather unfriendly to Yingbao in the past, even hoping for misfortune to befall her. However, when her mother was imprisoned, she didn¡¯t hate Yingbao at all, secretly hoping that she would never return. She estimated that her elder sister, Chen Wan, probably felt the same. When their mother died, Chen Wan didn¡¯t shed a single tear. Yingbao silently pushed her away. She reached into her bag and pulled out a silver ingot worth five taels and handed it over: ¡°Now that everyone is idle, go ahead and build a stove.¡± Sugar icing and sesame seeds can be bought at the marketce, and sesame oil¡ªused for frying sugar cakes¡ªis sold at Brother Daniu¡¯s oil mill. After taking the silver, Chen Zhao nodded her head, turned, and ran off. A few dayster, Chen Zhao began selling fried sugar cakes as expected.
Chen Feng¡¯s Family chased her to the market to berate her long and hard, saying if her actions brought trouble to their father¡¯s honor, she would not be spared. Chen Zhao hardened her heart and stood against Chen Feng¡¯s Family,pletely ignoring her, no matter how much she yelled. Chen Xu followed behind his second sister, helping to stoke the stove¡¯s firewood. Yingbao came by to see them, and bought a few sugar cakes. But Chen Zhao pushed the money back saying, ¡°Just take them, Xubao frequently eats at your home¡ªwe can¡¯t have you paying.¡± Yingbao insisted on giving it to her: ¡°If you don¡¯t take the money, I won¡¯t buy them, and it won¡¯t be good for me toe back next time.¡± Seeing her insistence, Chen Zhao finally took the money. Today was the first market day after the big flood, and there were many people out shopping. Some of the young women and brides were enticed by the smell of the sugar cakes and couldn¡¯t resist buying one or two to taste. The children and young women from Dongchen Vige and Xichen Vige also came to join in the fun. They had pocket money and also bought the sugar cakes, one after the other. For a while, Chen Zhao could hardly keep up with the demand. After watching for a while, Yingbao bought some things in the market before heading home. Her Mother Chun was sitting in the yard sorting through chives with her mother and sister-inw, getting ready to make dumplings. She saw Yingbao and asked, ¡°What did you buy?¡± Yingbao gave one of the sugar cakes to her, then gave one each to the grandmother and aunt. ¡°Oh, who made these? They¡¯re really not bad.¡± Chun nibbled at the sugar cake after wiping her hands on her apron. Her grandmother and aunt agreed: ¡°Indeed, they¡¯re not bad ¡ªcrispy on the outside and filled with sesame and sugar.¡± Yingbao also took a bite: ¡°They¡¯re made by Chen Zhao¡ªI taught her.¡± ¡°Why would you teach her this?¡± Chun asked, shocked. ¡°Would Chen Feng¡¯s Family be willing to let her granddaughter sell things?¡± ¡°Whether she¡¯s willing or not, she has to be.¡± Chen Zhao wouldn¡¯t submit easily; she was determined to struggle against Chen Feng¡¯s Family to the end.
Yingbao was very familiar with Chen Feng¡¯s Family. They put great emphasis on appearances, and now that their son had passed the schrly exams, they saw themselves as better than others. They¡¯d rather be rattlingly poor than show their faces in trade. However, when money really runs short, they too have topromise. Of course, in her past life, Chen Feng¡¯s Family was not poor at all; they had hundreds of acres ofnd, most leased to tenant farmers and they had even bought a house in the county town for their second son. Aunt Xu chimed in, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with doing business? The Feng Family¡¯s Chen is the same.¡± Previously, Aunt Xu also went to the market, and happened to see Feng Family¡¯s Chen going to scold Chen Zhao with a bamboo stick. After Grandmother finished eating her sugar cake, she wiped her hands with her apron and said, ¡°Perhaps they don¡¯t want their daughter to be seen in public. That girl must be about eleven or twelve years old, it¡¯s indeed inappropriate for her to do business alone.¡±
Grandmother Xu¡¯s thoughts are insightful. In her opinion, the world is filled with wicked hearts, and girls should honestly stay at home. Even if they do business, they should be apanied by family members. Otherwise, what happens if they¡¯re bullied by bad people? Chunniang nced at her young daughter and thought that her daughter has been helping her cousin with his business since she was very young and had even made Schr and Schr Erquan extremely rich. She found it unbelievable, so she didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong with a girl doing business. Seeing them chatting leisurely, Yingbao held the odds and ends she had bought and brought them into the room. She took out the things for her mother and stashed the rest away in her treasure cave. Then, she took a small shovel and a backpack and went out of the house. Taking advantage of the soft ground and the mild weather, she wanted to nt more trees around the vige. She also wanted to sow medicinal herb seeds in the uncultivatednds, like marigold, thistle, atractylodes and othermon yet miraculous medicinal materials, she wanted to sow as many as possible. She took a pile of saplings from her own orchard and put them in the backpack. As she was about to leave, she heard someone calling her from behind, ¡°Yingbao, what are you doing?¡± Turning around, Yingbao saw Master Zhou Wuchang, and answered, ¡°I am going to nt some medicinal herbs.¡± Zhou Wuchang walked over with his hands behind his back, followed by his eldest pupil, Zhou Hao. ¡°Master will apany you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yingbao picked up the shovel and led the way. The three of them arrived by the soapnut trees in the vige. Yingbao put down her backpack and began to dig the soil to nt kudzu vines. The reason Yingbao chose to nt kudzu vines by the soapnut trees was firstly because kudzu vines have many uses, and secondly because they grow very quickly, often flourishing within a year. Moreover, their roots, stems and flowers are all excellent medicines for cooling the blood and detoxification.
Zhou Wuchang was interested in watching his young disciple nting and told his senior disciple, ¡°Why don¡¯t you help your junior sister with the work.¡± Zhou Hao responded and took the shovel from Yingbao¡¯s hand to dig holes. Yingbao nted the kudzu vines in the holes he had dug. After watching for a while, Zhou Wuchang asked, ¡°Yingbao, why are you nting these?¡± Without looking up, Yingbao replied, ¡°These grow quickly and can climb up the soapnut trees within a year. With their protection, it won¡¯t be easy for outsiders to get in.¡± With the kudzu vines entangled in between the soapnut trees, the gaps between the trees would be even smaller, to the point where even a cat can¡¯t get through. Zhou Wuchangughed, ¡°What if someone sets fire to them?¡± ¡°The vigers aren¡¯t blind, they¡¯ll definitely see it.¡± Yingbao replied, ¡°If foreign enemies attack, we can pinpoint their direction.¡± ¡°If they are truly foreign enemies, they won¡¯t just set fire in one ce, they will ignite all sides.¡± Zhou Wuchang said. After thinking for a while, Yingbao said, ¡°If ites to that, there will be many people, and I have a second countermeasure.¡± Zhou Wuchang was curious, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Run towards the area without fire.¡± Yingbao responded earnestly, ¡°If we really can¡¯t escape, I¡¯ll get the vigers to my house and defend together.¡± Zhou Wuchangughed, ¡°Is that your n?¡±
¡°Yes.¡± Without ever having experienced war, Yingbao couldn¡¯te up with a better n to fend off enemies. ¡°Let me tell you what to do in case of foreign invasion for your greatest chance of winning.¡± Zhou Wuchang gazed at the lush soapnut trees in admiration. Yingbao looked up, ¡°Tell me, Master.¡± Chapter 348: 344: Surprise _1 Chapter 348: Chapter 344: Surprise _1 ¡°The honey locust tree makes a good tree wall, but it can only block petty thieves. A real enemy could have a hundred ways to get around this obstacle. Therefore, either build a wall around the vige or build a few towers at the corners of the vige to keep an eye on the outside.¡± Zhou Wuchang said, ¡°However, the number of men in your vige is not enough to resist an enemy that exceeds five hundred people. If you want to win, you have to set up a good strategy and regrly train the men to repel enemies.¡± Yingbao felt defeated. She thought that her master would have a good n, but this was all he suggested. Training the vigers was possible, after all, they had already experienced a bandit attack once, but how to arrange it exactly? No matter how they arrange it, it seems that spending money would be inevitable. Yingbao nted a few dozen kudzu vines and sprinkled a lot of medicinal herbs and wild vegetable seeds around. She scattered a variety of seeds like astragalus, capiry wormwood,idium, knotweed, mugwort, ntain, etc., as well as some fern seeds in the wild. Then, under the watchful eyes of Zhou Wuchang and her eldest brother, she took out a small gourd to water the newly nted kudzu vines and various medicinal herbs seeds. Zhou Wuchang curiously asked, ¡°Yingbao, since you can take things in and out, can you go in?¡± Yingbao blinked her eyes.
She had never tried before if she could go in, but she had put chickens and hedgehogs from home in there before, perhaps she could go in too, otherwise how could she eat in the cave dwelling? Yingbao nced at her master and shook her head, ¡°No, I can only store things in it, no living people can go in.¡± Zhou Wuchang was a little disappointed. But his luck in stumbling upon this gem is definitely a win. Perhaps this child is the key to his sess. In the evening, Yingbao returned home with her master and senior brother, Chunniang and few others had already prepared pork and chive dumplings, ready to boil them. Seeing the return of Master Zhou and his disciples, they invited them to sit down. Yingbao didn¡¯t see her younger brothers, so she turned back to the school to call them. Now Li Xu had gone to take the examination, and with no one teaching in the advanced ss, the twenty students primarily self-study, or practice the Royal Archery Technique with Zhang Meng. Those who do not like martial arts practice chess or y musical instruments ording to the chessboard and music score, practicing their chess skills and rhythm, etc. Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu are still at the training ground, practicing with Wei Zhan, Huzi, Yuan Bao, Zhang Min, and others. Vige children were also there, including Little Demon. ¡°Come home to eat dumplings!¡± Yingbao shouted a few times, then went to find her father and Teacher Wu. As soon as the children heard about the dumplings, their spirits were lifted. Zhang Min took everyone to wash their hands and faces at the pond, and then a group of people returned home. Chunniang and the others had made a lot of dumplings, which filled up several dishes. They used tworge pots to boil the dumplings, and it wasn¡¯t long before they were ready. Jiang Sang and Teacher Wu also hurried back, and everyone sat at two big tables to eat dumplings. Seeing that the dumplings were running out, Yingbao brought out several jars of fruit juice and wine from the house.
Teacher Wu loved the wine the most, happily drinking with Zhou Wuchang. After dinner, Yingbao called her parents into her room and said, ¡°Dad, Mom, don¡¯t blink, see if I¡¯m in the room or not.¡± With that, she immediately disappeared into her cave dwelling. She spent a while inside nting more seeds in the soil.
When she reappeared, her parents looked shocked. ¡°Baobao, you¡­you vanished just now.¡± Chunniang tugged at her daughter nervously, ¡°Did you learn the invisibility technique from Master Zhou?¡± There are rumors amongmon folk that Taoists can use Immortal Law, and by cing a leaf over their eyes can make themselves invisible, it seems to be true. Yingbao asked, ¡°How long was I gone?¡± Jiang Sang: ¡°The time of one incense stick.¡± Yingbao nods. It¡¯s about the same as the time she had estimated. She grabbed her mother and said, ¡°Mother, I¡¯ll try to see if I can make you invisible with me.¡± Chunniang didn¡¯t know what to say, so she had no choice but to nod in agreement. Yingbao, holding Chunniang, concentrated and muttered something under her breath, and soon they reappeared in the cave house. Looking at her mother who came in with her, Yingbao felt a little excited. She could really bring people in! That was great! Moreover, she was able to fully enter the cave house herself, so she wouldn¡¯t have to worry about encountering bad people in the future.
Chunniang was stunned by the sight before her eyes. She trembled as she pointed around and asked, ¡°Baobao, where is this? Are you, are you really a Fairy Child?¡± Yingbao grinned: ¡°I¡¯m not a Fairy Child, but I do have a magical cave house.¡± The sudden appearance of this cave house was strange, and she didn¡¯t know why. Anyway, it was there in her previous life, and it was still with her in this life, so presumably, the cave house was her exclusive ce. Chunniang looked at the rows of jars containing mushrooms, nced at the pond not far away, rubbed her eyes, scooped up some water from the pond, and sshed it on her face. The water was cool and refreshing. ¡°Baobao, so this is where the golden mushroomse from?¡± Chunniang looked at the glowing orb in the pool again and asked, ¡°Is that the sun?¡± Yingbao shook her head: ¡°It¡¯s not the sun, but it emits light.¡± Chunniang gradually recovered from her shock, walked to the edge of the pond, touched therge Gourd Boats floating on the water, and eximed, ¡°So Baobao has had divine objects since she was a child. Theserge gourds were nted by Baobao herself, not given by the Heavenly God.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t deny it, saying: ¡°I originally wanted to nt more crops, but I can¡¯t handle it all by myself.¡± Chunniang¡¯s eyes widened: ¡°From now on, you bring your father and me in, and we¡¯ll help you nt.¡± The girl¡¯s ce was extraordinary at first nce, and it would be a waste not to nt anything. No wonder their fruits were always better than others. They had a pond of good water. Other people¡¯s fruit trees needed three or four years to bear fruit, while theirs flowered in the second year and wereden with fruit in the third year.
Yingbao also had this intention. She didn¡¯t know how to manage farnd, and what to nt or not wasn¡¯t carefully nned. She just nted whatever tasted good. However, after the fruit trees she nted flowered and bore fruit, a lot of fruits were wasted. Making wine was tooplicated, making fruit juice was also tiring, and she had to make medicine pills. She had too many things to keep busy and could not take care of everything. Chunniang wanted to start working right away because she saw that the golden and snow mushrooms were mature and would wilt and dry up if not picked. But her husband was still waiting outside, and she was afraid he would make a fuss if he got anxious. ¡°Baobao, let¡¯s go out for now and see if you can bring your father in.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yingbao nodded, took her mother¡¯s arm, muttered something under her breath, and soon they appeared in front of Jiang Sang. Jiang Sang was indeed anxious, but he dared not leave at all, so he stood stiffly on the spot for a quarter of an hour. Seeing his wife and daughtere out, he couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Where have you been?¡± Chunniang smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯ll know in a moment.¡± Having said that, she signaled her daughter to do it. Yingbao wanted to see if she could bring two people in, so she grabbed the arms of her parents and shed into the cave house. It turned out that she could.
She was overjoyed. In this way, she wouldn¡¯t have to fear the main characters anymore. If there was chaos and war, she could just bring her family into the cave house and stay there for half a month before going out. Chapter 349: 345: Resettling Refugees_1 Chapter 349: Chapter 345: Resettling Refugees_1 Jiang Sang found the scene before his eyes more astonishing than Chunniang did. Though he knew his daughter could summon objects out of thin air, he hadn¡¯t known about such a ce, where he and his wife could also enter. ¡°Baobao, can you bring others here and did you mention this to anyone else?¡± Jiang Sang was still worried about his daughter¡¯s recklessness. Zhou Wuchang, though her master, was different from him and his wife. He wasn¡¯t the one who raised Yingbao and he certainly wouldn¡¯t have her best interests at heart. Besides, Jiang Sang noticed, Zhou Wuchang was deep in thought and wouldn¡¯t care much about the life and death of vigers like himself. ¡°No, I told my master that I could only retrieve objects, not bring living things.¡± Yingbao couldn¡¯t fully trust her master. However, it was true that her master had offended Pei Shixian out of indignation on her behalf. That Pei Shixian was cunning, and if he said something to the Emperor, her master would probably be his first target. Yingbao had to resort to this trickery to show off her master¡¯s miraculous powers and contend with Pei Shixian, partly for her own sake and partly to repay her master. Jiang Sang was relieved. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±
Then, guided by their daughter, the couple took a tour around the grotto. They also rode the gourd boat to the glowing sphere and climbed to the top along thedder Yingbao had made from gourd vines. Next, Jiang Sang and his wife were amazed again. Swinging peonies, magnolias, and honeysuckles emitted a faint fragrance. Apart from blossoming peach, pear, apple, tangerine trees, and grape wines, some fruit trees were bearing ripe fruits while some only had immature green fruits. In the middle of the grove was a clear spring, nestled in a patch of pumpkin field. Jiang Sang estimated this piece ofnd to be about five or six acres, not smaller than thend below. This was a bit strange. From below, this big sphere didn¡¯t seem toorge, but once up here, it revealed a different aspect. Jiang Sang also saw some household items and quite a bit of grain in here. He guessed they were what his daughter used to concoct fruit juice and brew wine. Seeing a basket full of picked fruits on the ground, Jiang Sang and Chunniang decided to help their daughter brew a batch of fruit wine first. ¡°There aren¡¯t enough jars here, I¡¯ll go buy some more tomorrow.¡± Jiang Sang checked everything and said, ¡°I¡¯ll buy a few more wooden barrels andrge water tanks.¡± He wanted to keep some fish and shrimp in the tanks and see if they could survive. Yingbao: ¡°Okay, Dad, Mom, if you find we need anything else, we can buy them all together next time.¡± Jiang Sang waved his hand, ¡°I¡¯ve got it. Go get some rest. We¡¯ll call you when we¡¯re done.¡± There was a small bamboo bed here, with beddingid on it. Beside the bed stood severalrge wooden boxes, probably her daughter¡¯s personal stash. Yingbaoy on the bamboo bed, resting her head on a pillow. She watched her parents busying about until she drifted off to sleep. When she woke up, she saw her parents were still hard at work. ¡°Dad, Mom, you should go back and rest.¡± She didn¡¯t know how long they had been working, but they had boiled several pots of fruit and were letting them cool in the basin.
Jiang Sang and Chunniang were indeed tired. They left the grotto under their daughter¡¯s guidance. Suddenlying out, Jiang Sang and his wife took a moment to reacting. It was already dark outside. Had it not been for the windmp still lit under the eaves, Jiang Sang wouldn¡¯t have known they had alreadye out. After leaving their daughter¡¯s room, they quietly went to the eaves and put out the windmp before finally going back to rest.
For the next few days, Jiang Sang and Chunniang would work in there every evening. Later, they simply asked Yingbao to go out on her own ande back when it was time to pick them up. Meanwhile, during the day, Yingbao nted arrowroot vines around the vige, and hired a few stonemasons to go to a distant mountain to quarry stones. They brought the stones back to the vige to build a stone tower. Zhou Wuchang and his few disciples didn¡¯t leave either. They idled around with his senior disciple and even visited other viges. Mr. Wu was serving as a substitute teacher in the vige school, teaching lessons to the high-level students. In a sh, it was October, and Jiang Jie entered the county school for study, formally bing a schr. Since he had just passed the academy exams this year, he didn¡¯t need to take the year-end exams and became a government-fed student directly, receiving his first grain allowance and four taels of silver. Jiang Jie handed over the grain allowance and the fish, meat, and vegetables given by the county government to his aunt. He ate meals at the specialty shop every day and came home to stay every night. One day, he caught a glimpse of Chen Changping. They just exchanged a fleeting nce before turning away from each other. Yingbao had been idle these days, as the cold and gloomy weather was not suitable for nting saplings. Even if she covered the vine seedlings with fallen leaves, they wouldn¡¯t grow. Many unfamiliar faces have now appeared at the market outside Dongchen Vige. Some of them belonged to nearby viges, while others were refugees fleeing disasters. The refugees living in the old vige had be homeless once again due to a major flood. Luckily, they were quick-thinking and fled when the rainstorm started. Some went to North Mountain, while the others returned to market at Dongchen Vige and took shelter under the thatched sheds built by Jiang Sang, which protected them from the disaster.
Afterward, these people became rtively obedient, daring not to confront Dongchen Vige. During the day, they would look for work, and at night, they would sleep in the thatched sheds on the market. However, winter wasing, and snow was about to fall. The shelters, which were leaky everywhere, were insufficient to keep out the cold. So, a few refugees approached the n leader Chen, asking him to leniently allow them to build some thatched houses for warmth on the South Slope. n Leader Chen was understandably unwilling. But Sun Licheng ignored these refugees, and the county government seemed to forget these disaster victims without providing any solution. In the end, n Leader Chen discussed with Jiang Sang and allocated a plot of uncultivatednd a little away from the market for the refugees to build houses. However, before the construction, they made an oral agreement, saying that they must not steal or do anything detrimental to Chen Vige, or else, their houses would be taken back, and they would be asked to leave. The refugees were overjoyed at the news and immediately agreed. Having a chance to settle down in the richest vige in Chuanhe Town meant their better days were just around the corner. Therefore, taking advantage of the fact that it hadn¡¯t snowed yet, Jiang Sang led a group of vigers to help these people build houses. To save time and materials, these houses were built as terraced houses. There were twelve rooms in a row, and a total of three rows were built. Jiang Sang didn¡¯t care about how many people there were in a household, as long as there were two rooms for each household. None of the refugees dared to speak, fearing they might anger the vige head and get driven away. Having endured repeated disasters, the refugees realized that if they wanted to stay and live, they must abide by the local rules.
After allocating the houses, Jiang Sang pointed to the soapberry trees surrounding the vige and said, ¡°If you want to earn money, there are plenty of soapberries on these trees. Harvest them, and someone will buy the soapberry grains.¡± His dear daughter had told him that the specialty shop could buy soapberry grains and husks. If the quality was good, the price would be considerable. As long as these refugees worked hard, the money earned from selling soapberry grains would be enough to get them through winter. The refugees were delighted to hear that the vige head permitted them to harvest the soapberries and immediately expressed their thanks to Jiang Sang. Having lived here for a while, they knew that these soapberry trees were nted by the fairy child of the vige head¡¯s family and were private property. And yet, the vige head let them pick the soapberries and even said that someone woulde to buy them, how could they not be profoundly grateful. Straight after, Jiang Sang added, ¡°When you are picking the soapberries, do not break the branches of the soapberry trees.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± said the leading refugee. ¡°We will definitely be careful.¡± Jiang Sang: ¡°Later, I¡¯ll take you to cut some bamboo poles. You can use them to pick.¡± The soapberry trees were tall, and the trunk was covered with many poisonous thorns, so it was not safe to get too close, so they had to use long bamboo poles to reach. One end of the bamboo pole was slightly split open, with a small wooden stick propping it apart. When picking the soapberries, they used the split end to poke the root of the soapberry and twisted it. The soapberry then dropped down. As long as the bamboo pole was long enough, even the soapberries on the top of the tree could be twisted off. This was how the children in the vige picked fruits from the top of the trees.
Chapter 350: 346: Taxation Again_1 Chapter 350: Chapter 346: Taxation Again_1 Thus, a group of refugees followed Jiang Sang to cut bamboo. Many of the wild bamboo forests here were bought by Jiang Sang and other vigers, so the refugees had to obtain the vigers¡¯ consent to get the required bamboo poles. Once they had the bamboo poles, picking soapbean became much easier, Now, Yingbao often saw a group of shabbily dressed adults and children, holding bamboo poles to pick soapbean. By November, the snow finally fell. Zhou Wuchang took advantage of the snow not yet blocking the roads, took his senior apprentice and hurried to the county seat, while the second apprentice, Zhang Min, and Yingbao were left behind as usual. This time Zhang Min didn¡¯t feel upset, instead he was very happy, spending each day with Wei Zhan, Huzi, Jiang Wu, and Xiaoyao, having fun hunting wild pheasants and hares in the fields whenever they had free time. As for the wild chickens and hares on the South Slope, they had been almost hunted to extinction. Li Xu finally returned at the end of the month. He didn¡¯t pass the exam, but he did not feel discouraged. Instead, he returned to Dongchen Vige joyfully and continued to teach the children. His mother was not disappointed either. As long as she could live a peaceful life with her son, she was content. However, as her son was getting older year by year, it would be inappropriate if he did not marry soon. But in this small mountain vige, there were few girls worthy of her son. While the An Family was anxious, they looked at the Jiang Family.
The Jiang Family had good discipline, and all the children were outstanding. Unfortunately, the Jiang Family did not have any unmarried girls of her son¡¯s age. After Li Xu¡¯s return, Mr. Wu often visited the school, asionally giving a few lectures to Li Xu. However, most of the time, he sat with the elderly in the vige under the wall, chatting while basking in the sun. At the end of each month when Jiang Jie came back from school, Mr. Wu asked him about his studies, corrected his assignments, and exined to him the ssics he didn¡¯t understand. Days went by like this, and soon it was December. Yingbao had been quite rxed recently, besides asionally reading medical scripts, she was wandering around with Dahuang. The marketce was a ce she often visited; even on snowy days, she would go for a round. Chen Zhao¡¯s sugar cake business was doing well. Even on non-market days, she could make one to two hundred coins a day. Yingbao often saw Chen Wan helping her sister. Now Feng Family¡¯s matriarch rarely scolds her granddaughter, but sometimes asks Chen Zhao to use her money to buy salt and sesame oil. Chen Zhao naturally didn¡¯t want to spend her money, but she couldn¡¯t resist Mrs. Feng, because she and her siblings had to eat as well. ¡°Yingbao,e and taste the sugar cake,¡± Chen Zhao waved to Yingbao. ¡°This one is filled with bean paste.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t stand on ceremony, and began to eat the sugar cake she handed over. Eating sweets in such icy and snowy weather felt veryforting. Chen Zhao¡¯s stall was a small straw shed, with a circle of straw curtains around three sides, providing a little shelter from the cold wind. While eating the sugar cake, Yingbao was observing the stalls outside. The marketce, nned by her father, was designed very well. There were rows of straw sheds on both sides of the road, providing shelter from the rain and snow for the stalls. Not far away, there were several thatched huts, one was an oil mill run by her elder cousin and his wife, another was a tailor shop run by Mrs. Leng, her sister¡¯s mother, and also a bamboo-ware shop and a shop selling water jars and pottery. Two of the thatched huts belonged to Mrs. Leng, which her daughter had paid to build. Even though her brother-inw did not stop her, he never looked in that direction and did not allow his son Huzi to have any contact with her. ¡°Yingbao, do you want some tea?¡± Chen Wan suddenly asked. Yingbao looked at her and nodded.
Chen Wan, now thirteen years old and turning fourteen after the New Year, was bing quite beautiful. But whenever she came to help at the market, she would wrap her face with a cloth, revealing only her eyes. Chen Wan brewed a pot of bamboo leaf tea, in which she also added red dates. Each bowl of tea was served with two soft-boiled red dates. Yingbao finished the tea in one gulp, left ten copper coins on the small table, and returned to the vige with Dahuang.
In this life, it seemed that many things and people have changed. When she entered the vige, she saw her father leading a group of people lifting stones and constructing a watchtower. The watchtower was built quite high, more than two Zhangs tall, just above the height of the soapbean trees. The interior of the Stone Tower was spacious as well. From the spiral staircase, one could reach the top, which could amodate several people to fight at once. If they stored a sufficient number of bows, arrows, and stones at the top, plus some food and water, a few people could defend this ce. ¡°Bang! Bang! Bang!¡± Two vigers hit a gong and arrived at the Dongchen Vige on the South Slope, shouting loudly, ¡°Order from the Imperial Court! Each household should pay an extra 10% grain tax per acre! Those who don¡¯t have farnd will pay an extra 20% head tax and must pay within three days! Vitors will be punished ording to thew!¡± Jiang Sang and the others stopped what they were doing, looking at each other with worry. ¡°Why does the Imperial Court want to collect grain again?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t we just pay the grain tax the other time?¡± ¡°Do they want us to survive or not?¡± Jiang Sang also had a serious expression on his face. The taxes this year are heavier than in previous years. He even specifically made a trip to the neighboring vige to ask if it was the same there, and the result was yes, the vigers there wereining just as bitterly.
These times are extremely unfriendly to those who farm. Theyers uponyers of taxes could strip peasants down to the bone. It was fortunate that their vige was rtively well-off, otherwise, many vigers would have had to abandon their homes due to famine. Despite theints, the grain that should be paid still had to be paid. The vigers of Dongchen were fortunate to have a habit of storing grain, otherwise, they really wouldn¡¯t have been able to afford to pay the tax. Because the whole Qinchuan County was severelycking in grain. Even Jiang Quan came back and said that grain prices have risen in the grain shop, and the County Government allowed the opening of charity stores one time, setting up a cauldron at the vegetable market to make porridge and distribute it to the refugees inside the county. Yingbao felt that the County Magistrate must have something wrong with his mind. For such a long period of time, he still hadn¡¯t settled the flood refugees and let them wander around the county. Or did he mean to sell the grain in the charity warehouse quietly in the name of relief? But all of this was none of her business, and she had no power to interfere with the County Magistrate¡¯s decision. Now, they could only take it one step at a time. If the refugees were to riot again, it would be fine as long as Dongchen Vige could withstand it. Soon, it was January. The Jiang Family was bustling with activity. Not only did Wei Zhan not go home for the New Year, but the elderly Mr. Wu also didn¡¯t leave. Zhou Wuchang even brought his eldest apprentice to the Jiang Family and also brought arge box of books as a gift for Jiang Jie.
It was fortunate that Jiang Sang¡¯s house was big enough, otherwise it really wouldn¡¯t amodate everyone. After the New Year, Zhou Wuchang took his eldest apprentice and left again. Yingbao and Zhang Min were well used to this by now and almost forgot the fact that they were his apprentices. In the early spring season, the ice and snow had notpletely melted, but the refugees living on the South Slope were already looking for wild vegetables to eat all around. There were a lot of wild vegetables outside Dongchen Vige. Those shepherd¡¯s purses were growing inrge patches, not only were they big but they were also tender. It was impossible to dig them all up. They dug up the shepherd¡¯s purse, washed it, chopped it, and cooked it with rice. This could fill up the whole family¡¯s stomachs. The refugees¡¯ rice was exchanged from the soap-nut tree rice with Jiang family and the vigers. They were saving them up, it would be no problem to eat until the summer harvest. During this period, they just had to find some work in Dongchen Vige, there was no worry that they wouldn¡¯t be able to get by. Though life was hard, it was a hundred times better than what they had previously endured. Their days back home were truly desperate. The collected grains were sessively taken away by the County Government. To survive, they could only sell their fields and hit the road with the grains they bought from selling their fields. In the end, they discovered this vige which was affluent enough to make people jealous. So their leader, Lin Wng, decided to stay and didn¡¯t move anymore.
The reality proved that Lin Wng was right, they could finally settle down here. Chapter 351: 347: Stranger_1 Chapter 351: Chapter 347: Stranger_1 Yingbao got up early in the morning, washed up, first went to feed the chickens and ducks at home, and then drove them out of the yard. She collected a dozen chicken and duck eggs from the nest and ced them in a grass basket. Then she went to the kitchen to fill up tworge jars with water. Chunniang was already up and cooking. She first boiled arge pot of rice porridge, then mixed up a basin of dough to make egg pancakes. The side dish was home-made sweet and sour pickled garlic, and there was also fermented beans and stinky tofu. This kind of stinky tofu was not actually stinky at all. It was made by naturally fermenting tofu, and the taste was very delicious. Some radish slices andtro were added to the tofu, which was a great apaniment to meals. Mr. Wu particrly loved this stinky tofu, and he had to have it at every meal. ¡°Yingbao, are you nning to stay at home?¡± Mr. Wu asked as he sipped his porridge. Yingbao nodded. She felt that her life was quite good now. Without realizing it, she had cured all the people with scabies in the surrounding viges, and no one hade to see her for treatment today. No wonder, the vigers had been quite healthy in these years, and even if any child had a headache or fever, they just needed to get some medicinal syrup from Yingbao.
The medicinal herbs used for treatments were all gathered from the wild by the vigers, who kept a portion for themselves and gave the rest to the Divine Doctor. Mr. Wu asked again, ¡°Yingbao, have you ever thought about going to Shu Region?¡± Yingbao shook her head, ¡°As the saying goes, we must not travel far while our parents are alive. I will stay at home to apany my parents.¡± Her parents kept the two-story mansion in good order, saving her a lot of trouble. She didn¡¯t want to leave her parents and roam around. Mr. Wu picked up a piece of egg pancake, spread some stinky tofu on it, rolled it up and ate it with relish, saying, ¡°Your Uncle Wu has only two more years to fulfill his duty. I wonder if he will stay in his post.¡± His son didn¡¯t want to remain in office and even contemted resigning, which made Mr. Wu very anxious. He wanted Yingbao to persuade him, and perhaps his son would change his mind. ¡°Uncle Wu will certainly not remain in office,¡± Yingbao said with great certainty. In her dream, Wu Daozi returned to the capital for his appointment and was promoted one level higher. Heter served as an official in Yuzhou Prefecture. Mr. Wu didn¡¯t say anything more, and continued eating his egg pancake rolled with stinky tofu. It was good if that kid didn¡¯t hold any public office. Then, their father and son could settle down here, find a wife for his sonter, even a vige girl would do, as long as he could extend the Wu Family lineage, social status was not important. The old man watched the children running around every day, envying them greatly, wishing that his own son would get married right away and give him a bunch of grandchildren. By then, he would take some trouble to cultivate them one by one, like Jiang Jie. Yingbao had no idea what Mr. Wu was thinking. After finishing her meal, she went to write. Actually, she was writing down the things she needed to buy. She still needed to buy some seeds and farming tools, and also needed to spare some time to get a few water gourds. Most of thend of the Jiang Family was now managed by hired farmers, so Chunniang and Jiang Sang were not very busy. But they still needed to supervise during sowing, or else they would end up using too many seeds without noticing. Everyone had their meal and went off to do their own things, leaving only Chunniang and her daughter at home.
After tidying up the dishes and chopsticks, Chunniang picked up a vegetable basket and went to pick vegetables in the field. She saw three people standing outside their house. ¡°Who are you looking for?¡± Chunniang, seeing strangers, couldn¡¯t help but be alert. The visitor smiled and said, ¡°We¡¯vee for a consultation. Is your Divine Doctor at home?¡±
¡°Where are you from?¡± Chunniang noticed their strange ents and asked. One of them shed a moment of impatience on his face, but still smiled and said, ¡°We¡¯re from a nearby vige. Someone in our family is seriously ill, so we wanted to request the Divine Doctor to visit.¡± Chunniang tly refused, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, my daughter is just a young girl and she doesn¡¯t make house calls. If you want a consultation, you should bring the patient here.¡± ¡°You, you¡­¡± one man said with a fierce look, threateningly, ¡°Don¡¯t refuse the toast only to drink the forfeit!¡± Another waved his hand, saying, ¡°Calm down.¡± The man with the fierce expression then shut his mouth. Chunniang¡¯s face darkened, saying, ¡°I¡¯m a lone woman at home, I ask you to go back, it¡¯s not good if my husband sees.¡± Saying that, she tried to close the door. Both men moved simultaneously to block the courtyard gate, another slowly entered the yard. Retreating a few steps, Chunniang was about to scream when someone suddenly covered her mouth and nose. Groggy, Chunniang copsed to the ground. Several people walked into the courtyard, closing the gate behind them, quickly rushing towards the main house. Reaching the main house, they didn¡¯t see anyone. One person went to check another room, but there was still no sign of anyone.
¡°No one, what now?¡± They had crouched outside for a while, waiting for the family to leave before entering the house, only to find that the young girl wasn¡¯t inside. ¡°How is that possible? I clearly saw that she didn¡¯t leave, how could she just disappear?¡± One man, a former Scout, had excellent observation skills and hadplete confidence in his abilities. The leader, with a grim expression, said: ¡°Wake that woman up and ask her some questions.¡± After asking, they would certainly kill her to eliminate all risks. So the other two ran out of the house, circled around without finding the woman, they looked at the yard gate which was tied up, not looking like anyone had left. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Both were shocked, turned and went back to report to the boss, but the boss was nowhere to be seen. ¡°Something¡¯s not right! Let¡¯s get out of here!¡± Both turned around to leave, one man was struck in the back of his head with a club by someone who suddenly appeared at the gate. The man copsed to the ground in response. The other man, scared out of his wits, ran madly towards the yard gate. Jiang Sang raised an iron club and chased after him, soon knocking him to the ground as well. Yingbao came out of the house, stretched out her hand to take these corpses into the cave dwelling, then went to open the courtyard gate. There was no one outside, and no one behind the hay bale either. Yingbao turned around and brought her father back into the cave dwelling.
At this time, there were three people lying in the cave dwelling, two people dead, one unconscious. Jiang Sang fed his wife a vial of medicine, and after a while, Chunniang woke up. Only when Yingbao saw her mother awake did she rx. Earlier, she had heard someone talking to her mom from inside the house and noticed something was wrong. One of the men, Yingbao, actually recognized as a former confidant of Chen Guanglu, who used to serve in the County Government, but waster dismissed by Wu Daozi. She instantly understood what was happening, she wanted to go help her mother, but didn¡¯t expect them to use some kind of medicine to make her mom faint. Yingbao was immediately fuming, she quietly slipped to the door and hid behind it, instantly entering her cave dwelling. She estimated when those people were inside the house searching, she quickly showed up, ran out to retrieve her mother, and then went back to find her father. At that time, her father was in the fruit orchard in the cave dwelling picking grapes, preparing to make wine, hearing his daughter¡¯s story, worried they might hurt his family, he immediately grabbed an iron club and stepped out, promptly knocking down one person. With his daughter¡¯s help, Jiang Sang easily knocked down two others as well. Only after they dragged these people in, did they find two were already dead. Jiang Sang dragged the one who didn¡¯t die to a corner, tied his hands and feet with a piece of thin rope. He had cordoned off a ce here with a straw mat, nning to use it as a grain store to move the extra food from the house. It was just the right ce to interrogate someone. Jiang Sang stared at this man for a while, he picked up a chisel and jabbed it into the man¡¯s face.
¡°Ah!¡± With a dreadful scream, the man was abruptly awakened. Chapter 352: 348: Eradicating the Root of the Problem_1 Chapter 352: Chapter 348: Eradicating the Root of the Problem_1 ¡°Speak! Who sent you?¡± Jiang Sang kicks the man fiercely. The man nced around, his heart sinking, but he shouted with confidence, ¡°Do you know who I am? Let me go! Or your Jiang family will pay!¡± Jiang Sang¡¯s face tightens with menace as he demands once again, ¡°I¡¯ll ask you one more time, who sent you here? What are you doing at my house?¡± The man snorts contemptuously, ¡°Who do you think you¡¯re¡­ Go ask your grandfather¡­ ¡± Before he could finish, a dagger is jammed into his thigh. ¡°Ahhhhh¡­¡± The man screams, his body writhing in pain. Jiang Sang¡¯s voice is chilling, ¡°This is thest time I ask you, if you don¡¯t tell me the truth, I¡¯ll send you to the afterlife!¡± The man finally yields, begging for mercy, ¡°I¡¯ll talk, I¡¯ll talk! Don¡¯t kill me¡­ It is, it was Chen Guanglu who ordered us to kidnap somebody. He said to take your demon child as a sacrifice to the heavens.¡± Jiang Sang suppresses his rage and asks, ¡°Where is Chen Guanglu? Why didn¡¯t hee?¡± ¡°He said everyone in the vige knows him, so it wasn¡¯t convenient for him toe, he told us to kidnap the person and rendezvous in Simen Town.¡± The man¡¯s eyes dart around, he continues, ¡°Chen Guanglu is a favored man in front of the Commandery Prince now, you, an insignificantmoner who offended him, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re in trouble¡­ How about, I take you to him¡­¡±
Seeing Jiang Sang deep in thought, the man adds, ¡°But, Chen Guanglu is very secretive about his whereabouts, without me leading the way, you¡¯d definitely not be able to find him.¡± ¡°Fine, you can lead the way.¡± Jiang Sang doesn¡¯t miss the quick sh of triumph in the man¡¯s eyes. He pulls out the dagger, and suddenly plunges it into the man¡¯s heart. If he refuses to tell the truth, there¡¯s no use keeping him around. Then, Jiang Sang puts the bodies of the three men into sacks, tells his young daughter to go ahead, and ns to release them in the chaotic graveyard. Although Yingbao was nervous, she calmly left the cave, carrying a sack on her back to a cemetery far from the vige. Only after releasing her father and the three bodies did Yingbao start to feel her legs shaking. From now on, she dared not enter the cave alone. Jiang Sang digs a grave in silence and buries the three sacks deep inside. Seeing his young daughter trembling, he reassures her, ¡°Baobao, don¡¯t be afraid. These people are viins. If we don¡¯t nip this in the bud today, our family will never have peace.¡± Yingbao nodded again and again. She also felt these people deserved to die. They actually had the audacity to barge into her home and kidnap someone in broad daylight! How brazen could they be? Once the sacks were buried, Baobao rushed to release her mother. Chunniang had already woken up and knew that her husband had killed the bandits, so she didn¡¯t ask any further. She washed her hands and face and started cooking, but the pancakes were a little burnt. The next day, Jiang Sang quietly left the vige with his daughter. Early in the morning, Yingbao had stowed the Red Date Horse in the cave. After leaving the vige on foot with her father, they released the horse in a ce where the vigers couldn¡¯t see, both father and daughter rode the horse towards Simen Town. Whether Chen Guanglu were in Simen Town or not, Jiang Sang wanted to go and see for himself. Yesterday¡¯s events served as a wake-up call. His family had already made an enemy of the Chen family. If he allowed Chen to continue his reckless actions, it would be his family that was doomed. Over an hourter, father and daughter arrived in Simen Town.
Now, Yingbao was dressed as a boy with broad drawn brows and ayer of brown blush applied to her face, effectively disguising her as a boy. Jiang Sang too, disguised himself. The rough eyebrows he¡¯d drawn, the ck ring around his mouth, the shiny hat on his head, and the umbre on his back¡ªhe looked like a distant traveler. Yingbao took the horse away and, with her father, started to wander around in Simen Town. Starting with the best local restaurant, the father and daughter ordered two dishes and began conversing with the young waiter there.
When asked if any out-of-towners hade recently, the waiter replied, ¡°There has been a lot. Our ce has been busytely. Grain merchants from outside are buying grain at high prices here and employing many people to transport grains. They¡¯re paying 200 coins a day. If not for my mother not wanting me to leave home, I would have signed up too.¡± Jiang Sang asked indifferently, ¡°May I ask, young man, where are these grain merchants staying?¡± ¡°Are you also looking to sign up?¡± The waiter nced at Jiang Sang and saw that he was neatly dressed, his clothes well made. Although his face was a bit dirty, he still looked confident and proud. He didn¡¯t seem like someone looking for menial work. Jiang Sang: ¡°I have a business matter to discuss with them, not looking to sign up for the work.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s it.¡± The waiter was slightly skeptical and didn¡¯t want to reply, but when Jiang Sang passed a string of copper coins his way, he immediately said with a big grin, ¡°The grain merchants are staying at Yui Inn. If you¡¯re going to discuss business, you better hurry, they were here eating earlier and said they¡¯re setting off first thing tomorrow.¡± ¡°Thanks for the information.¡± Jiang Sang and his daughter quickly finished their meal and left the restaurant. They found the Inn mentioned by the waiter, walked in and asked for a room. The innkeeper quickly apologized, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. Our inn has already been booked out. It might be better for sir to check another ce.¡± Jiang Sang showed disappointment on his face and said, ¡°In that case, I will briefly rest here, then leave.¡± The innkeeper naturally had no objections and had the young waiter bring a pot of tea for their guests. Yingbao joined her father in the most secluded spot of the inn¡¯s lobby. They slowly sipped the tea that was poured by the young waiter while discreetly scanning their surroundings. The inn was a two-story wooden structure. The lower floor was lower in height, used as amon dormitory; the upper floor, made of wooden, served as superior guest rooms.
Not long after, a man came out of one of the superior guest rooms and yelled to the innkeeper from the railing, ¡°Hey! Go buy two bottles of wine! Also, cut two jin of pig head meat and buy a whole roast goose, it should have all the limbs, don¡¯te back with any missing!¡± The innkeeper responded with a shout and hurriedly sent the young waiter out to buy the alcohol and meat. Yingbao and her father spotted Chen Guanglu indeed there. But he was ying Chinese Chess with someone and did note out. After confirming Chen Guanglu was indeed there, Jiang Sang rose and left the inn with his daughter. After scanning their surroundings, they finally arrived at the riverside dock of Simen Town. This was a small dock, hardly anyrge ships docked here regrly. But today arge ship was parked not far away. Transport workers were carrying sacks of grains onto therge ship. Yingbao keenly noticed that the supervisor on the scene was one of County Magistrate Cao Can¡¯s subordinates. ¡°Father, do you see that man? He is one of County Magistrate Cao¡¯s men.¡± Yingbao quietly told her father, ¡°I recognized him from the time the county magistrate was hearing a case. He must be one of Cao Can¡¯s trusted subordinates.¡± Jiang Sang squinted at the man and whispered, ¡°We won¡¯t worry about Cao Can for now, let¡¯s first get Chen Guanglu.¡± Every day Chen Guanglu was alive longer was a day Jiang Sang felt unsafe.
Chen Guanglu was cunning and ruthless. If they did not act first, their family might be the one to suffer repercussions. Meanwhile, after finishing a game of chess, Chen Guanglu anxiously summoned one of his subordinates and asked, ¡°Has Gao Xun not returned yet?¡± Subordinate: ¡°No, they should have arrivedst night. I don¡¯t know why they haven¡¯t returned yet.¡± Chen Guanglu started pacing around the room with his hands behind his back. Suddenly, the man behind himughed, ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal, just handling an enemy. Why bother with so much trouble? Just kill him directly.¡± Chen Guanglu red at that man, ¡°What do you know? It¡¯s easy to kill the Jiang family members, but the Commandery Prince wants to take the child to County City, so we have to be careful.¡± The viges where the Jiang family lived were closely packed, with only a few entrances and exits. If they killed anyone and rmed the others, not only would they fail to catch the child, but they might even lose their own lives in the process. Chapter 353: 349: Water Ghost_1 Chapter 353: Chapter 349: Water Ghost_1 Chen Guanglu felt increasingly annoyed, so he decided to take his subordinates and leave the inn. ¡°Hey! Be careful! Perhaps your enemies are almost upon you.¡± Huang Xiwen called out from behind him. He was a retainer for the Commandery Prince¡¯s mansion and was involved in the collection of grain in Qinchuan County with Chen Guanglu. They were in a strained rtionship. Today, seeing Chen Guanglu in trouble, Huang Xiwen was delighted. Chen Guanglu ignored him, but he was extremely alert. The Jiang family wasn¡¯t easy to deal with, and he had to serve the Commandery Prince, so he dared not be too ostentatious in his actions. Otherwise, taking revenge would not have been so troublesome. Killing a few people wasn¡¯t something he hadn¡¯t done before, he could send a few men to attack directly. But once hemitted murder, he could no longer operate freely between Qinchuan County and Zhouhe County. His usefulness to the Commandery Prince would diminish greatly. So, Chen Guanglu had been suppressing his fury until now. When the Commandery Prince issued the order for him to escort Zhou Wuchang¡¯s young apprentice, Jiang Yingbao, to the county city, Chen Guanglu finally heaved a sigh of relief.
This was very fortunate; he would not need to worry about anything. Who would¡¯ve thought that the three men he sent yesterday would not return, he didn¡¯t know whether they were unable to act or had been captured. Chen Guanglu nced around and headed towards the wharf. If the task of capturing the person failed, he would simply make a quick exit, the Commandery Prince didn¡¯t specify that he had toplete the task, so he wasn¡¯t worried. Arriving at the dock, he looked at therge ship with satisfaction. With this shipment of grain, he had aplished a significant task. He didn¡¯t want anything else; he just wanted the Commandery Prince to grant him a title after his sess. His Chen family would then be a noble family for generations, enjoying limitless wealth and honor. At that time, no matter if it¡¯s the little Jiang family or Wu Shi, it would be as easy for him to crush them as ants. As he was thinking, a child suddenly came running towards him, shouting, ¡°Sir, someone is waiting for you over there, saying they have urgent news to report!¡± A jolt of surprise ran through Chen Guanglu as he asked the child, ¡°Who sent you to deliver this message?¡± The child was eating a piece of sugar cake in his hands, replying indistinctly, ¡°A dark-faced big uncle.¡± ¡°How many people is he with?¡± Chen Guanglu surveyed his surroundings. The kid shoved thest piece of sugar cake into his mouth and shouted, ¡°Just one man, he said he has one broken leg and can¡¯t walk.¡± Chen Guanglu signaled his subordinates to investigate in the direction the child pointed out, while he quickly ran towards the big ship. He was certain that Gao Xun, that fool, messed up his task. And intuition told him that the Jiang family wouldn¡¯t let matters rest. Thus, the best course of action right now was to hide from any threat and stay concealed until he left Qinchuan County. Upon reaching the small wooden bridge, there were porters lifting grain in front and behind. He followed behind one of the porters and stepped onto the bridge. Halfway across the bridge, someone suddenly bumped into him from behind.
Caught off guard, Chen Guanglu was sent tumbling into the river. He was apetent swimmer, so he didn¡¯t panic after the initial shock. However, for some reason, something was wrapped tightly around his leg, dragging him down deep into the water. Chen Guanglu was terrified; he tried to struggle but could do nothing.
The thing was pulling him deeper and deeper into the water, like a dreaded water ghost. Gradually, Chen Guanglu¡¯s mind started to drift and he sumbed to the darkness. On the shore, several people emerged from the water, swam to the shore, and waved towards the people on the boat, ¡°There¡¯s nobody underwater, he¡¯s probably been swept to the bottom of the river.¡± The crowd sighed. ¡°s, what on earth was he thinking running onto the wooden bridge? Now, he lost his life because of it.¡± Someone asked, ¡°Who bumped into Official Chen just now? Why hasn¡¯t that person emerged from the water?¡± ¡°Who knows? Our heads were so weighed down by the sacks, who could pay attention to who was around us?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, the man fell into the river and didn¡¯t resurface, he¡¯s probably done for.¡± ¡°Sigh, such bad luck!¡± The crowd engaged in scattered discussions, but someone soon came over and ordered them to keep their mouths shut and forget everything that happened today. It¡¯s not a big deal if a few people drown in the river every now and then. Huang Xiwen quickly ordered the food to be loaded onto the boat, nning to leave Qinchuan County that night. Downstream and far from the dock, arge gourd floated up from under the water, with a little girl at one end paddling desperately.
It was her, along with her dad who tied a rope around the tail of a big fish, and then tied the other end to Chen Guanglu¡¯s foot, leaving it up to the fish to drown him. The task wasn¡¯t too small or toorge. First, she had to catch a big fish using a pill, and then took it into her cave. After that, her father, disguised as a loader, knocked Chen Guanglu off the boat. And then, her father fitted the rope thrown by his daughter around Chen Guanglu¡¯s foot. No matter how good Chen Guanglu¡¯s swimming ability was, he couldn¡¯t escape death this time. Yingbao climbed ashore, the sky alreadypletely dark. After changing into dry clothes, she finally let out her father and the horse. As soon as her father came out and saw that his daughter was fine, he heaved a sigh of relief. His daughter had taken him into the cave under the river, bringing a great amount of river water with her, which damaged many of the mushrooms by the water pool. Fortunately, only a small area was affected, the rest was not influenced. However, it seemed that a lot of fish and shrimp were also swept into the water pool, she didn¡¯t know if it would affect the pool water. The father and daughter returned home overnight, and it was almost dawn.
Chunniang hadn¡¯t slept all night from worry. When she saw her husband and daughtere back safely, she immediately went to make them food. ¡°Don¡¯t rush, we¡¯ve already eaten. Rest immediately, Baobao is also tired, let her have a sound sleep.¡± Her father stopped his wife from busying herself andy back on the heated brick bed. Considering his daughter had soaked in the cold water for quite a while, he was worried she might fall ill. Her father briefly shared the course of events, only mentioning that Chen Guanglu had fallen into the river and disappeared without trace. He didn¡¯t mention any more to his wife. Chunniang didn¡¯t insist on asking more. She added some straw under her daughter¡¯s heated brick bed before lying down parallel next to her husband in their room. By the time March arrived, a soft rain had been falling non-stop. Although the rain wasn¡¯t heavy, theck of sunlight due to the incessant cloudy, rainy days led to the crops starting to mould. When it was almost May, the constant rainy days continued. The crops developed abnormalities, the mature ears of wheat and millet started to sprout, leaving the vigers extremely worried. Harvesting now was too early, the majority of the wheat was still in the milk stage, it wouldn¡¯t be able to be stored if harvested now. If not harvested, therge patches of wheat would sprout, the household could just about eat it, but this kind of wheat was extremely easy to mould, it couldn¡¯t be stored either. The vigers sobbed without crying,ing to ask her father what to do. Her father was also helpless. Not only did the ears of wheat sprout and get mouldy this year, the growth of the mushrooms also started to go badly.
A lot of them hadn¡¯t fully grown when they became insect-infested and turned ck. With no other choice, they could only discard this batch of mushrooms, and steam and cook the nutrient base anew, raising a new batch of mushrooms. The mushrooms in their family weren¡¯t affected, especially the ones nted by Yingbao, they were exceptionally plump and hardy. One day, when Yingbao and her second older sister went outside the vige to pick locust flowers, they suddenly found arge team of soldiers riding horses, rushing over. All of them were dressed in armor, carrying bows and arrows. At a nce, they looked like they had juste down from the battlefield. Yingbao instinctively pulled her second older sister to hide behind a tree, telling her not to make a sound, but Dahuang who came along with them didn¡¯t understand his little master¡¯s meaning, barking furiously at the cavalry. Because of this, Yingbao saw the group of cavalry galloping towards them. Chapter 354: 350: Who is the Blessed One_1 Chapter 354: Chapter 350: Who is the Blessed One_1 The cavalryman arrived quickly, a man perched high atop his horse, calling out to the figure hidden behind the tree: ¡°Hiding won¡¯t do you any good,e out now!¡± Yingbao poked her head out, nced at Xiao Mo who was d in armor, and asked: ¡°What do you want?¡± Xiao Mo gave the young girl a look-over and replied, ¡°I havee to buy some medicine, the same grade as the previous time.¡± Yingbao: ¡°I don¡¯t have any medicinal herbs.¡± Even if she did, she didn¡¯t want to mix them. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that, I have brought enough herbs for you.¡± Yingbao was forced to emerge from behind the tree. She moved closer to Dahuang and said, ¡°Alright, you go into the vige first. I¡¯ll be there shortly afterward.¡± Xiao Mo stayed put, indifferently announcing, ¡°I need it right now. If there are any tasks you need to perform, I can have the soldiers help you.¡± Thrilled at hearing this, Erni giggled, ¡°That¡¯s great! We need to gather two baskets of Schr Tree flowers¡­¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Xiao Mo cut Erni off, gesturing to the soldiers behind him. Several of them urged their horses forward and began to cut off several branches from the Schr Tree. The branches hung heavy with the flowers, more than enough to fill two small baskets. ¡°I¡¯ll leave two soldiers here to help you. In the meantime, let¡¯s return to the vige,¡± Xiao Mo stated emotionlessly.
Feelings of annoyance welling up within her, Yingbao could only lead Dahuang and Sister Erni towards the vige. She reminded the soldiers, ¡°You must be careful not to mix the leaves in with the flowers. I don¡¯t want to have to sort it all outter.¡± Nobody paid her any heed, but the two soldiers gathering Schr Tree flowers subconsciously began removing the leaves and stems from their baskets. Upon their return to the vige, vigers curiously eyed the group of cavalrymen and the carriage they had brought, which wasden with several bags of medicinal herbs. Xiao Momanded his soldiers to carry the medicinal herbs into Jiang Sang¡¯s house, before asking Yingbao, ¡°Do you need help preparing the herbs?¡± Yingbao nodded in affirmation. Each type of herb required thorough cleaning and cooking, some even needed to be crushed into powder, it was impossible for her toplete the vast quantity of work in a short span. As for her father and mother, she would not use their time to make medications for Xiao Mo. Thus, several of the soldiers doubled as apprentice pharmacists. One of them crushed the herbs, another cut herbs, and one more built a simple stove in the courtyard to cook the herbs. Yingbao was only overseeing the process of mixing the medicine, she didn¡¯t partake in the other tasks. Xiao Mo stood behind her with his hands behind his back. Suddenly, he spoke, ¡°Pei Shixian and his adopted daughter are thriving in Beijing. If it were not for Chen Tiantian¡¯s disfigured face, the Empress would have already sent her to the side of Prince Dai.¡± Yingbao remained silent. Xiao Mo continued, ¡°Moreover, a divine emissary who can summon gods has appeared in Qinchuan County. All citizens respect him as Grand Master Zhou. Supposedly, he has several magic gourds bestowed by the gods above. Currently, two of them are ced in the Qinglong Temple, two in the Medical Bureau, and one has been sent to Beijing.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°My master truly is a divine envoy of the heavenly gods. Last year, when Qinchuan County was hit by a gue, my master summoned holy water to save everyone.¡± Xiao Mo chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that our two heavenly masters in Daqian can¡¯t get along. If they could cooperate, wouldn¡¯t it be a blessing for our country?¡± He then continued, ¡°However, Pei Shixian is alleging that a demon has emerged in Dongchen Vige in Chuanhe Town, and pins the me for the flood in Qinchuan County on you.¡± ¡°A demon?¡± Yingbao widened her eyes, ¡°Aren¡¯t those who drink children¡¯s blood demons? That Pei Shixian used evil magic to kidnap a child, he cut open her wrist and let Chen Tiantian drink her blood. What would you call that?¡± As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeve, showing her wrist to Xiao Mo, ¡°Look at this, this is the wound Pei Shixian made. Are the people in Qin Tianjian all idiots? Do they truly believe that someone who drinks children¡¯s blood is a heavenly master and holy maiden? ¡± Xiao Mo noticed the red scar on Yingbao¡¯s wrist and couldn¡¯t help but frown. ¡°Did Pei Shixian really do this?¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Why else do you think my master severed his hand? Why do you think the words were engraved on Chen Tiantian mother and daughter¡¯s faces?¡±
Xiao Mo knew what had happened in the Prefecture City, but his second brother had told him that Zhou Wuchang was unruly, indiscriminately cutting off Pei Shixian¡¯s wrist, and bullying the Han Family mother and daughter by having words engraved on their faces. He had been busy exterminating bandits in various ces over the past few years and hadn¡¯t paid much attention to these matters. He never expected, however, that Pei Shixian would really dare to kidnap Yingbao and take her blood. Such audacity! He was curious as to why Pei Shixian wanted to give Chen Tiantian Yingbao¡¯s blood to drink. What was the secret behind it? It was truly a pity that Pei Shixian was far in Beijing, and his grandfather was strictly controlling him. Otherwise, he would have brought him here for questioning.
Xiao Mo looked at Yingbao, ¡°Why did he want to give Chen Tiantian your blood?¡± Yingbao blinked, ¡°Perhaps he wanted to transfer my luck to Chen Tiantian.¡± She didn¡¯t want to say too much about it before, but she couldn¡¯t just let Pei Shixian tarnish her and her master¡¯s reputation in Beijing. ¡°Luck?¡± Xiao Moughed, he looked around and nodded, ¡°You truly do seem to be a lucky person.¡± The Jiang Family¡¯s prosperity increased every year, this he knew better than anyone else. If an expert were to judge, they would say the prosperity was due to the advantageous Feng Shui of the Jiang Family ancestral tomb, not because of a girl¡¯s luck. But then again, if it were just about Feng Shui, who couldpare to the royal family? Despite possessing the best Feng Shui, were the Murong Family not in a precarious situation now? Xiao Mo roamed around the vige, his hands behind his back. This was his first time really observing a vige, and it was truly something. The vige was more vibrant and lively than any other he had seen. The residents were full of life and, in just a few short years, the vige had sessfully established a sizable market and properly functioning school. Outside the vige, there was a vige extension where many refugees lived. Seemingly they had escaped from some cmity and settled here. In this free country, these refugees were diligent. Not only did they cultivate vegetable gardens in the limited space they had in front of their homes, some had even set up small stalls in the marketce.
Of course, these stalls were run by women and children. The adult men went to help the people of Dongchen Vige with farming or assisting the vigers with tasks such as nting and harvesting fungus, rice milling, and flour grinding. In general, everyone here was self-reliant and there were no idle hands to be seen. A follower whispered to him, ¡°Sir, this vige is truly strange. Look at those fruit trees and the ck locust trees. It¡¯s only been a few years, but they have already grown to resemble seven or eight year old trees.¡± Xiao Mo gave his follower a sidelong nce but said nothing. Feeling the chill in Xiao Mo¡¯s gaze, the follower took a step back and bowed his head. Walking around with his hands sped behind his back, Xiao Mo asked his follower, ¡°What else have Pei Shixian and Chen Tiantian been up to in Beijing?¡± The follower respectfully responded, ¡°Pei Shixian has already taken up a position in Qin Tianjian. Chen Tiantian and her mother are confined to a nunnery for cultivation, and are not allowed to leave on regr days.¡± Xiao Mo smirked, ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± His grandfather must be really senile to believe the absurd ims of a hick chatan. He scoffed at the notion of the reincarnation of the Nine Heavenly Goddess or the Holy Maiden of the Yaochi. Who did that ipetent woman think she was fooling with her charade? Moreover, Chen Tiantian¡¯s face was scarred. If the Imperial Teacher is still insistent on sending her to Prince Dai¡¯s mansion, the Prince will probably hold a grudge against the grandfather. The present Prince Dai was physically robust, no longer the frail little prince he once was. He is not only reviewing petitions and handling state affairs on behalf of the Emperor, but he has also dismissed several officers promoted by the Imperial Teacher.
With such drastic measures, once he ascends the throne, the first thing he would probably do is to retaliate against the Xiao Family. Chapter 355: 351: Aunt is Pregnant_1 Chapter 355: Chapter 351: Aunt is Pregnant_1 While he was thinking, Xiao Mo saw Mr. Wu, the elderly teachering out of the school. He paid his respects to Mr. Wu, ¡°So, it¡¯s Mr. Wu. What brings you to this vige?¡± Mr. Wu squinted for a while before recognizing that the man before him was Xiao Mo, the grandson of the Imperial Tutor Xiao. ¡°So it is Young Master Xiao. What brings you here?¡± Xiao Mo replied truthfully, ¡°I¡¯vee to ask the young Doctor Yingbao to prepare medicines.¡± Mr. Wu nodded, turned to leave but suddenly asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you go to quell the rebellion? Howe you have time toe back?¡± ¡°The bandits have been annihted, but the frontier is in urgent need, so I specifically came here to prepare some medicines to take with me.¡± Mr. Wu stroked his beard, ¡°I see.¡± He wanted to ask a few more questions but had the urgency to use the restroom. So, he bowed to Xiao Mo and excused himself. At this time, a few young boys ran out of the school, one of them was Wei Zhan. Upon seeing Xiao Mo, Wei Zhan¡¯s eyes lit up. He quickly ran over, grabbed his sleeve and eximed, ¡°Brother Xiao, howe you¡¯re here?¡± Xiao Mo brushed off his hand, straightened his sleeves and replied, ¡°I have important matters at hand. I haven¡¯t asked you yet, why are you in the vige?¡±
Wei Zhan proudly replied, ¡°I¡¯m studying at the school here.¡± He not only studied academics but also practiced martial arts with Huzi, Jiang Wu, Zhang Min, and others. Now, he alone could take down three others. With this thought, Wei Zhan suddenly attacked Xiao Mo. Xiao Mo reacted very swiftly, subduing him in almost a single move. Wei Zhan was shocked, ¡°Why are you so powerful? No! I want a rematch!¡± In this way, Wei Zhan and Xiao Mo sparred back and forth at least ten times, eventually improving from being defeated in one move to two moves. ¡°Alright, go y by yourself.¡± Xiao Mo dusted off his sleeves and walked away. Wei Zhan was quite disheartened. Having learned for so long, he couldn¡¯t evenst two moves against Xiao Mo. How embarrassing. Huzi and Jiang Wu walked over, looking enviously at the armored cavalrymen, ¡°They look so mighty, I want to ride on the battlefield in armor someday.¡± ¡°Dream on!¡± Jiang Wu retorted, ¡°Big sister said our martial arts training is for strengthening our bodies and protecting our parents and family. If we all go to the battlefield, who will protect them?¡± Wei Zhan:¡­ He found this quite reasonable. No, everything that Yingbao said seems to make sense. Huzi disagreed, ¡°But if the Jurchens attack, and we don¡¯t go to the battlefield, won¡¯t they directly attack our homes?¡± The rest of the boys:¡­ Alright, everyone seemed to have a point. ¡°Seventh Young Master, I¡¯ve been looking for you.¡± Mrs. Chen Feng walked up briskly, holding a covered food box in her hand. She handed the food box to Wei Zhan, smilingly said, ¡°This is freshly made mutton buns prepared by me. Do give it a try.¡±
Wei Zhan pushed back the food box, sternly replied, ¡°Thanks Elderly Chen, but¡­I do not like mutton buns. You should take it back.¡± Mrs. Chen sighed, took back the food box, softly asked, ¡°Then, what does Seventh Young Master like to eat? I will prepare it when I find time.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to trouble yourself, I usually eat at Jiang Wu¡¯s house, they have plenty of everything.¡± Wei Zhan restrained his impatience, said, ¡°I need to leave.¡± He turned and ran away. Huzi and Jiang Wu also followed and ran away, leaving only Zhang Min all by himself.
Seeing the situation, Zhang Min also quickly followed and ran away. Mrs. Chen watched as the boys all left, she sighed, turned around and went home. Neither of her own granddaughters has gotten married, Chen Wan is already fourteen and Chen Zhao is twelve. Initially, Seventh Young Master Wei was their first choice, but ever since she discovered a certain secret, all she could do was sigh in despair. But, after all, Young Master Wei Qi was the legitimate heir of his family and also his junior, and he was studying here alone. It was only right for him to be nice to him. However, it seemed like Wei Zhan didn¡¯t think highly of the Chen family, and he didn¡¯t seem to appreciate her goodwill. Sigh, nevermind. She had done all she was supposed to do. If the family head asked, she could answer. Two dayster, Yingbao finally finished preparing all the medicine and packaged them one by one in wax shells. Xiao Mo checked the pills and medicinal powder first before confirming their efficacy was the same as previous times. He dly paid in silver taels before finally leaving with his entourage. Yingbao made several hundred taels and happily spent ten to treat her family to a feast. During the meal, Yanru kept feeling nauseous, especially when she smelled the roastmb, she even covered her nose and ran out of the room. Jiang Liu turned her head and asked her second son, ¡°Could Yanru be pregnant?¡± Jiang Eng was also surprised and put down his wine cup to check on his wife: ¡°I¡¯ll go and have a look.¡± He got to the door and turned back to call Yingbao: ¡°Yingbao,e and check your second aunt¡¯s pulse.¡±
Yingbao responded and ran back into the room to fetch her small medicine box. When she arrived at the second uncle¡¯s home, the second aunt Yanru was lying in bed, her eyes closed, resting. Jiang Eng softly patted his wife¡¯s chest, repeatedly asking her what was wrong. Yanru patted her husband¡¯s hand, ¡°It¡¯s okay, maybe I¡¯ve been drinking cold water these past few days, and my stomach is ufortable.¡± Jiang Engughed, ¡°Why do I think you might be pregnant? Since Yingbao is here, stretch out your hand and let Yingbao take your pulse.¡± Yanru nodded and extended her wrist. Yingbao first took her pulse, then listened to her belly with a stethoscope before confirming: ¡°Second auntie is definitely pregnant.¡± Jiang Eng was over the moon, and quickly asked, ¡°Does your second aunt have a single child or twins in her stomach?¡± Yingbao: ¡°A single child, probably about four months.¡± At these words, Yanru covered her face and started to cry. She was finally pregnant. No longer the barren hen people gossip about. To avoid hearing rumors, she hardly left the house, not daring to chat with the vige wives.
Now, she can finally walk outside with head held high. Washing clothes and vegetables no longer needed to be done hidden from the vige women. Seeing his wife crying, Jiang Eng quickly soothed, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, the first phase of pregnancy can be a bit hard, but afterwards it gets better. What do you want to eat? I¡¯ll go get it.¡± Yanru wiped her tears and managed a smallugh: ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to eat apricots these past few days.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go pick some now.¡± Jiang Eng joyfully ran off to the orchard to pick apricots. Yingbao packed up her medicine box and didn¡¯t know what else to say. Although she could detect that the second auntie was pregnant, she was not very knowledgeable about issues concerning pregnancy and childbirth. ¡°Second auntie, why don¡¯t we have second uncle invite the midwife, Zhang, from the town toe take a look?¡± Yingbao seriously said: ¡°I don¡¯t really know much about prenatal and childbirth matters, I just roughly estimated the month, in case I made a mistake, that would be bad.¡± Yanru nodded, ¡°Alright, when your second unclees back, I¡¯ll tell him.¡± In actuality, Yanru was also quite nervous. It took her a lot of effort to get pregnant, and she feared that a careless mistake might cause her to miscarry. When Jiang Eng came back with a lot of bright yellow apricots, Yanru told him what her niece had said, ¡°Baobao said she doesn¡¯t know much about pregnancy and childbirth. She asked you to go to the town and invite the midwife, Zhang, toe and check.¡± Jiang Eng didn¡¯t have any objections and immediately harnessed the horse cart and drove to the town. When he got to Chuanhe Town, he found a line of carts, there were horse carts, mule carts, donkey carts, and many of them were stopping at the town to rest and replenish their food and water. Upon inquiry, he learned that they were all fleeing from Beijing.
Chapter 356: 352: Recklessness_1 Chapter 356: Chapter 352: Recklessness_1 ¡°You may not know this, but the Jurchens have overthrown the Liao Dynasty and are now gathering a massive army to attack Tokyo. When we left, news was already spreading that the Jurchens have reached Taiyuan Prefecture,¡± the coachman said as he bought a handful of pancakes, some salt, andrge grains of rice and loaded them onto the cart. ¡°They have reached Taiyuan Prefecture? Then isn¡¯t Tokyo in imminent danger?¡± Sun Licheng asked with a face full of shock. ¡°Exactly. But s, many people don¡¯t believe it,¡± the coachman replied as he prepared to leave. His wife, children, and old mother all sat on the cart with tired expressions. Seeing them about to leave, Sun Licheng hurriedly asked, ¡°Where are you all nning to go?¡± The coachman replied, ¡°I have a rtive in Jiankang who trades there. We n to seek refuge with him.¡± Sun Licheng questioned several other coachmen, and they all said the same thing¡ªthey were evacuating to avoid the disaster. He looked nk. He found it hard to believe that the Jurchens, so few in numberpared to the vast poption of the Great Qian Dynasty, could have conquered Taiyuan Prefecture. Jiang Eng heard this too. He suppressed his worries, called for Nurse Zhang, and confirmed his niece¡¯s diagnosis after she took his wife¡¯s pulse. Yanru was now four months pregnant and was expected to give birth in October, around the same time as Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu. Shortly after, Jiang Eng found his two brothers and told them about what he had learned in town.
¡°If this is true, I reckon Luzhou won¡¯t escape either,¡± Jiang Sang said after some thought. ¡°Next would be the county seat¡ªour town is right next to the main road and wouldn¡¯t be able to escape either.¡± Jiang Dng asked, ¡°So, what should we do? Should we also head to Jiankang?¡± Jiang Sang shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s too early. If they really get here, even Jiankang wouldn¡¯t be safe.¡± Jiang the elderly took his eyes off the pot he was repairing and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to panic. If the enemy reaches here, we can hide in the mountains.¡± Unless the Jurchens took over the entire Great Qian Dynasty, they wouldn¡¯t bother hunting people down in the mountains. The three brothers nodded, feeling slightly reassured. Still, they realised they needed to share this information with the vigers, so they could prepare. Soon after, Jiang Sang left to notify the n Leader, Chen Yin. The women, including Chunniang and her sisters-inw, were all listening on the side. When they heard that the barbarians wereing, they were terrified. Yanru was especially scared. Her face turned white. Now that she was pregnant, dealing with a war would be troublesome. She nced at Yingbao, wanting to say something, but then held back. Yingbao knew what her aunt was worried about andforted her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m here.¡± Yanru¡¯s tears welled up in her eyes. She nodded gently. Yingbao wasn¡¯t exactly worried because in her previous life, the Jurchens didn¡¯te here. However, she couldn¡¯t say the same for Beijing and the Prefecture City. Thinking of her elder sister and her family in Luzhou, Yingbao hurried off to write a letter. She wanted them toe to the vige. Just as she finished writing the letter, Wei Zhan came running, ¡°Yingbao, I want to return to the Prefecture City for a while. Could you lend me a horse?¡±
¡°You¡¯re going home?¡± Yingbao asked. ¡°Yes! San Shushu said the barbarians are about to reach Beijing, so I want to bring my mother back here.¡± Wei Zhan realised that the viges up in the mountains were much safer than the cities in a time of war. Yingbao agreed, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll lend you the Red Date Horse. Once you reach the county, leave the horse at the specialty shop by the dock.¡± Wei Zhan nodded heavily and headed towards the stable.
As he fitted the Red Date Horse with a saddle, Yingbao went to his room to pack things for him. Clothing, silver coins, food, and water. Also, a knife for protection. Wei Zhan took the bag and asked softly, ¡°Yingbao, I¡¯m going to the county first. Do you have any messages for Jiang Dng?¡± ¡°Yes. Tell him to close his shop, bring his wife and children back to the vige, and bring back Jiang Jie and Yuanbao as well. Oh, and also, stop by the Medical Bureau to inform my master.¡± Wei Zhan promised, fastened the bag to the saddle, and slung the water bottle over his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ve added a letter in your bag. When you get to the Prefecture City, give the letter to Lady Wen,¡± Yingbao told him. ¡°Don¡¯t forget.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t forget. I will deliver it,¡± he assured her. Wei Zhan mounted the horse and quickly left the yard. He headed for the county. Yingbao watched him from the doorway for a while, then quickly headed for the Deer Garden. Youyou was now seven years old, a very steady and elegant deer. She, along with the mother deer, had just given birth to a young fawn only a few months old. The other deer had also given birth, but the fawns were taken after six months. Recognising her arrival, Youyou hurried over. She nuzzled her head against Yingbao. Yingbao handed her some tender soybean stalks and started petting her antlers, ¡°If you want to return to the forest, you can.¡±
Not understanding her, Youyou gave her a puzzled look before lowering her head to eat. Other deer also ran over when they saw the food. Yingbao yfully took out a heap of fodder and fed them all. At this time, Zhang Min and Huzi, apanied by Jiang Wu, came over to see the deer. When they saw Yingbao, Zhang Min said, ¡°Yingbao, I want to go back to Jingzhou.¡± His parents were in Jingzhou and must have already encountered the Jurchens. He had to go back to check on them. In this secluded mountain vige, if it hadn¡¯t been for the passing travellers, they wouldn¡¯t have known about the turmoil the world is facing. ¡°There¡¯s no use going back. Besides, all the big boats heading to Jingzhou are definitely gone. How do you n to go back? By horse? Even if you went non-stop day and night, it would take you at least ten days to get to Jingzhou,¡± she challenged. It was the truth. The horses needed rest and couldn¡¯t travel non-stop for twelve hours a day. Zhang Min knew the situation. Thus, his despair deepened. Huzi alsoforted him. ¡°Brother Zhang, don¡¯t worry. Your parents will be fine.¡± Zhang Min remained silent. He patted the deer¡¯s back and turned to leave. Jiang Wu and Huzi followed him closely, whispering to each other about something.
The next day, they found out that Jiang Wu, Huzi, and Zhang Min had disappeared. First, Li Xu asked Jiang Sang why these three hadn¡¯te to school. Upon hearing this, Jiang Sang hurried to Jiang Wu and Zhang Min¡¯s rooms. He discovered a letter on their table saying that the three of them had gone to Jingzhou together. Jiang Sang was furious. He rushed to his eldest brother¡¯s home to check, only to find that the three had taken the family¡¯s carriage. ¡°I¡¯m going to chase them!¡± Jiang Sang stormed out of the house angrily. Seeing her father leave in a rush, Yingbao, too, followed along. Zhang Min was reckless. He had not only risked his own life but also dragged two children with him. Did he want to kill them? Jiang Sang borrowed a horse from Chen Yin and quickly gave chase. Yingbao, trailing him, shouted, ¡°Dad! Wait! I¡¯ming too!¡± But Jiang Sang didn¡¯t wait for his daughter. Instead, he spurred his horse on faster. Yingbao stomped her feet in anger and ran back to tell her mother. No horse was left in the vige¡ªall being put to use. Catching up was certainly not an option for her. Sigh! So annoying!
Upon learning her son had gone with Zhang Min, Chunniang was terrified, ¡°How could he just go to a ce so far away at such a young age?¡± Ignoring the ongoing war, if they happened to confront the Jurchens, the three of them would undoubtedly meet their deaths. Chapter 357 - 353: Out of Arrows, Losing Support_1 Chapter 357: Chapter 353: Out of Arrows, Losing Support_1 Yingbao was also anxious. After thinking, she went to the Deer Garden. She stroked Youyou¡¯s neck and asked, ¡°Youyou, will you help me find dad?¡± Youyou seemed to silently agree, blinking hisrge eyes towards her. Yingbao fetched a saddle from the cave dwelling and fastened it onto Youyou. She climbed onto his back using a railing, ¡°Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s find dad.¡± Youyou seemed to understand her words and galloped off. Youyou had grown considerably bigger, nearly the size of a mule, but carrying the now ten-year-old Yingbao was still a lot of work. Despite keeping a keen lookout while avoiding vigers, she found no sign of her father or Jiang Wu, which made her even more anxious. Two hourster, Yingbao stopped to feed and water Youyou. Seeing that Youyou was very tired, she decided to put him back into the cave dwelling. She changed into her in short hemp clothes, put on a straw hat, and started walking briskly. After an hour, she let Youyou out again and mounted him to resume their journey. By evening, they finally arrived at a dock outside the county town. There was a small boat about to set sail at the dock. Yingbao, with her sharp eyes, saw two figures on the boat ¨C her younger brother, Jiang Wu, and Huzi. Without any considerations, she put Youyou back into the cave dwelling and ran toward the boat as fast as she could. While running, she yelled, ¡°Jiang Wu! Jiang Wu! Stop!¡± Jiang Wu ducked into the boat¡¯s cabin as soon as he saw his sister. Furious, Yingbao, undeterred by the drifting boat, lunged and clung onto the railing. ¡°Hey, littledy, you¡¯re quite reckless!¡± one of the boatmen came over to help her. Ignoring the pain from the rough handling, she urgently spoke to the boatman, ¡°Quick, dock the boat, let them off!¡± Huzi and Jiang Wu peered out and shouted in unison, ¡°Don¡¯t dock the boat, boatman, set sail quickly. We have already paid.¡± The boatman, in a dilemma, was forced to continue sailing. Yingbao was really angry now. She rushed over and tugged at the ears of Huzi and Jiang Wu, ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re doing? Going to Jingzhou? On this tiny boat? One gust of wind and you¡¯ll capsize!¡± The boatman wasn¡¯t happy and argued, ¡°What are you saying, youngdy? I make several trips to Jingzhou every year. How can you speak such ill-omened words?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s all my fault.¡± Zhang Min crawled out of the cabin, ¡°I originally nned to go to Jingzhou alone, but then Jiang Wu and Huzi insisted oning with me.¡± He then said to Huzi and Jiang Wu, ¡°Jiang Wu, Huzi, why don¡¯t you go back with Yingbao?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going back!¡± Huzi tly refused. ¡°A real man keeps his word! I¡¯m not going back either!¡± Jiang Wu covered his ears and stepped back to distance himself from his sister. Yingbao was so frustrated that sheughed, ¡°Fine, since you¡¯re not going back, I¡¯ming with you.¡± She remembered the events in a book. Jingzhou had been under siege. The Jingzhou Governor held out for two months leading over a thousand loyal men and tens of thousands of civilians. They ran out of arrows and reinforcements, the city fell. They then fought with the bandits for three days and nights and all died. The Jingzhou Governor should be Zhang Min¡¯s father. The book also mentioned that after the Jurchens overran Jingzhou City, they ughtered everyone. Jingzhou Governor died without seeing any reinforcements, and afterwards the Zhang Family was purged by the Emperor. What a sad thought. Yingbao nced at Zhang Min sympathetically and sighed. Never mind, she would go with them. If anything seemed off, she would put them back into the cave dwelling. Yes, put them back into the newly made bamboo cage in her father¡¯s cave dwelling. After thest incident, her father had built a windowless bamboo cage in the dwelling. If any bad guy showed up, he¡¯d put them into the cage, cover it, and no matter how strong, they could only be caged animals. The bamboo cage was strong, made from thick bamboo and wrapped with reed mats. Once someone went inside, it was pitch dark, and they couldn¡¯t see anything. ¡°You¡¯re going too? That¡¯s not right,¡± Zhang Min scratched his head. Two little troublemakers were troublesome enough, let alone adding Yingbao¡­ ¡°If you don¡¯t go back, I¡¯ming with you,¡± Without any hesitation, Yingbao sat down on the boat¡¯s deck. Zhang Min looked guiltily at his little sister and finally fell silent. He¡¯d originally gone to the county town to find his master, but the master wasn¡¯t there, and no one at the medical station knew where he and his eldest brother had gone. With no alternatives, Zhang Min decided to go to Jingzhou alone to investigate the situation, but Huzi and Jiang Wu insisted on following him. Before leaving the town, he¡¯d already given the Jiang family¡¯s carriage to Jiang Ji Techan¡¯s shop. After which, they hired a donkey cart to the city¡¯s outer docks on the outskirts. It was fortunate that they found arge fishing boat docked there. Hence, Zhang Min rented the fishing boat to go to Jingzhou. Seeing the children stop making a fuss, the boatman finally started rowing the boat upstream with his wife and son. Seven or eight dayster, the big fishing boat entered Jingzhou territory. Yingbao noticed something wrong when looking towards the shore. Many civilians with families were heading south. Seeing a boat on the river, they waved their hands desperately. The boatman also noticed the problem, his face solemn. ¡°Young master, we cannot proceed anymore. Look what¡¯s happening over there. Why do they all look like refugees?¡± The boatman, refusing to dock, shouted from the boat to ask the people on shore, ¡°What happened? Are the barbarians attacking?¡± When they were docked earlier, they¡¯d overheard talk about the Jurchens attacking the Imperial Court, which was yet to send soldiers. They didn¡¯t anticipaterge numbers of refugees this far from Jingzhou City. A civilian responded, ¡°Yeah, now the Governor has ordered the city gates to be sealed. We can only go south.¡± ¡°Seal the city gates?¡± Zhang Min became even more anxious and urged the boatman to set sail. The boatman had no choice, so he sailed a bit further but firmly refused to go any further. Zhang Min thought for a while, he paid him and disembarked with Yingbao and the others. The four walked in the opposite direction of the fleeing crowd and soon arrived at the city gate of Jingzhou. The city gate was tightly shut, and many civilians outside were trying to get in. Zhang Min pushed through the crowd and shouted, ¡°I have urgent matters to report to the Governor. Please, open the door and let me in!¡± The soldiers guarding the city ignored him and even shot arrows at him. Knowing this wouldn¡¯t work, Yingbao called out to Zhang Min, ¡°Second senior brother, let¡¯s find somewhere to rest first, ande backter.¡± Zhang Min had the same idea, so the four retreated several miles and sat down to rest in a dense forest. Yingbao took out some dry food and shared it with her brother and Huzi, and also with Zhang Min. The four had something to eat, and by then it was already night. ¡°Let¡¯s rest first, and we can go back early in the morning.¡± Yingbao took out some nts from her bag and handed them to her brother and Huzi. Given the hot weather, there were many mosquitoes in the wild. A minorpse in concentration could result in their faces being covered in bites. Jiang Wu took the peppermint leaves, chewed them in his mouth, then spat them out and rubbed them onto his arms and legs. Yingbao also shook out a cloak. She then had the three men squeeze under it to sleep. She took out another ck cloak for herself, covered her head with it and curled up next to Jiang Wu. Once they fell asleep, Yingbao quietly entered the cave dwelling to sort things out. There were two bows, but the arrows were all made of bamboo with limited damage potential, and thus not of much use. Chapter 358 - 354: Raw Eggs_1 Chapter 358: Chapter 354: Raw Eggs_1 Youyou, who was asleep and curled up in the cave after eating and drinking, woke up, stared at Yingbao for a while in confusion, and then stumbled toward her and nuzzled her. Yingbao patted its head and began to think about how to fight back if they encountered a Jurchen squad. Relying on themselves alone, although they have all studied martial arts, they couldn¡¯t defeat an equal number of desperados. They must think of a foolproof n, preferably one that would scare them off without a fight. She cast her gaze at the weird divine mask and the ceremonial robe worn during rituals. If all else failed, she might as well pretend to be a deity. Yingbao went up to the second floor to pick a lot of flowers, two big baskets full of peonies, roses, chrysanthemums, and so on. She also prepared a fewrge gourds. These gourds were not hollowed out, so they were very heavy, and she could suddenly throw them out when they weren¡¯t expected. And don¡¯t forget about the big rocks they picked up some time ago. All of these things could be used to hit people. As for Youyou¡­ Yingbao thought for a while, went to pick some red and blue flowers, boiled them in a pot. As soon as it cooled down a little, she took out the flowers and smeared them all over Youyou. Soon Youyou¡¯s fur turned all red. It looked quite pretty. The next day, before dawn, Yingbao sprang up. Zhang Min also woke up, rousing Jiang Wu and Huzi. The four of them ate some dry food and water in a hurry and hurried to Prefecture City. But they just watched from a distance and didn¡¯t approach because there were many cavalry gradually converging at the entrance of Prefecture City. Themon people, who had been lingering at the city gate, scattered and fled when they saw this, but were soon caught up by the cavalry and fell to the ground in a pool of blood with the swing of a de. ¡°Let¡¯s go back!¡± Yingbao pulled her brother Jiang Wu, signaled to the senior and Huzi to follow, and they quickly scattered into the forest. But the forest here was too thin and barely concealed any traces. Soon foreign cavalry were shouting and chasing after them. Zhang Min looked back while running, saw only five or six cavalry chasing, and his heart started racing. He really wanted to kill these few and then take their horses. Though the thought was there, the odds of sess were slim. The Jurchens are brave and a horse-riding nation; these kids are like newbornmbs in front of them. ¡°Stop looking! Run!¡± Yingbao saw the men getting closer and closer and hurriedly pulled her brother up the hill. Zhang Min and Huzi followed Yingbao closely, not slow in their movements. Although they were fast, they were not as fast as horses. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that the Jurchens were not skilled at horse riding in the mountains, they probably would have caught up by now. Yingbao climbed to the highest point, took a look down and saw several Jurchen men with rough beards, strange braids,ughing loudly. They treated the chase as a kind of hunt, and immediately pulled out their bows and arrows and held them at full draw towards the children. Yingbao¡¯s face was frosty as she swung her arm. Severalrge stones flew out and immediately hit two war horses and the men on them. Both the horse and the men gave a mournful scream and fell to the ground, not getting back up. The others were stunned, quickly checked on theirpanions, saw them vomiting blood, and realized they were beyond saving. When they looked up again, the children had disappeared. The Jurchen men howled in anger, but they didn¡¯t dare to chase after them anymore. Meanwhile, Yingbao, leading the others, ran swiftly into a forest and didn¡¯t stop to rest until they couldn¡¯t run anymore. Huzi and Zhang Min curiously asked Yingbao, ¡°Did you push those stones down?¡± The two of them were too caught up watching the barbarian bandits, and had not noticed what was happening on Yingbao¡¯s side. Yingbao nodded. She was too tired to say anything more. Jiang Wu sneaked a nce at his sister but didn¡¯t dare to ask. His sister had thrown severalrge rocks out of nowhere, and Jiang Wu was standing right next to her and saw it with his own eyes. He was absolutely shocked at that moment. If it wasn¡¯t for his sister holding him, he would¡¯ve forgotten to flee. Zhang Min grabbed a bamboo tube canteen for a few sips and, panting heavily, asked, ¡°Yingbao, where do we go next?¡± There¡¯s no way they could go towards the Prefecture City gate, but they could directly enter the city via the waterways. But, they didn¡¯t have a boat. All the fishing boats nearby had long since escaped. No one dared to stay behind. Yingbao thought about it and said, ¡°We will have to find a way to enter the city.¡± It had been immensely difficult for the second senior apprentice to reach Jingzhou. There was no way he was going to go back the way they came. They must find a way into the city. ¡°How do we enter?¡± Zhang Min asked as he handed over the canteen to Huzi. Swimming into the city wasn¡¯t possible. Regardless of one¡¯s swimming abilities, the distance was just too far. Besides, not only were the waterways guarded by soldiers from Daqian, but the area was also swarming with Barbarian Bandits. Yingbao suggested: ¡°Let¡¯s go to the river bank and see if we can find a boat. It doesn¡¯t matter if we don¡¯t find one, for I still have a Gourd Boat at the cave dwelling.¡± After a brief pause, they hurried towards the river bank. Along the route, they came across several groups of civilians, who, filled with fear, brought their families and ran into the mountain forest, only to find there was no food or water. They eventually followed Yingbao and the others towards the river bank, hoping to find a fishing boat. However, much to their disappointment, there was nothing to be found by the river. All the fishermen who usually worked on the river were nowhere to be found. Yingbao led the group southward, avoiding the crowd. Upon encountering arge reed field, they exchanged nces before disappearing into the reeds. They walked for a long time within the reeds before they found a suitable location. They knocked down some reeds and settled down to rest. Zhang Min took out the dry food he packed and divided it among the group. Suddenly, he realized there was no water left in the bamboo tube. Yingbao took the bamboo tube with her and stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll go to the river to fetch water. You all stay put.¡± Jiang Wu immediately stood up too, ¡°Sister, I will go with you.¡± Seeing this, Zhang Min and Huzi wanted to go as well, but Yingbao stopped them: ¡°You two should stay here and rest. We will be noticed if too many of us move around.¡± Zhang Min and Huzi had no choice but to sit down. Yingbao was right. There were a group of cavalrymen conducting a search in the vicinity. They sat high on their horses, their keen eyes surveying the reed fields like hawks. As the reed field was vast and thick, they couldn¡¯t see anything clearly from their vantage point, even from the back of the horses. Yingbao and Jiang Wu were short, and moving through the reeds was as quiet as a breeze. By the river, Yingbao saw many reeds and thorns. She fetched several eggs from the cave dwelling and handed them over to her brother. She whispered to him, ¡°Eat some of these now and save some for our senior apprentice and Huzi.¡± Jiang Wu, understanding her intention, silently ate the boiled eggs. Yingbao broke off a few leaves from the reeds and quickly weaved them into a small basket. She fetched another seven or eight raw eggs from the cave dwelling and ced them in it. She had no other choice. There was no way she could exin where the boiled eggs came from, so they would have to eat raw eggs. Eventually, she refilled the bamboo tubes with water from the Pupil Spring and set off back with Jiang Wu. In the meantime, Jiang Wu choked on an egg. Luckily, his sister was there to pat his back and help him wash it down with water. Zhang Min and Huzi were surprised to see a basket full of eggs: ¡°Are these wild eggs? Howe they are as big as domestic chicken eggs?¡± Jiang Wu shamefully lowered his head, not daring to meet Huzi¡¯s and Zhang Min¡¯s eyes. Yingbao solemnly replied, ¡°Perhaps the wild chicken eggs in the reeds are just as big as domestic chicken eggs.¡± Zhang Min thought she was right. He picked up an egg and cracked it against a small stone. He carefully peeled away the shell and guzzled it down, savoring the sweet taste. He was not a stranger to raw eggs, or ¡®balut¡¯ as it is called, as he used to eat it while traveling with his master and senior apprentice. So he did not find it strange at all. But Huzi was not ustomed to it. He felt disgusted watching Zhang Min gulp down the raw egg, the runny yolk trickling down from the corner of his mouth. Chapter 359: 355: Guardians_1 Chapter 359: Chapter 355: Guardians_1 ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat raw.¡± Huzi puts the egg back in the basket. Jiang Wu felt guilty, but he knew he couldn¡¯t let others know about his sister¡¯s secret, even Brother Huzi. He nced at his sister, torn. Yingbao took a few pieces of Poria cake out of her bag and ced them in Huzi¡¯s palm: ¡°Then you eat this.¡± Huzi did not hesitate and finished them all in one breath. They stayed in the reeds for the whole day. In the evening, while he could still see clearly around him, Yingbao took his brother to the river and released a Gourd Boat. The boat is made up of fourrge gourds and bamboo rafts, further secured with kudzu vines and gourd vines and hemp ropes. At first nce, it looked like a box with fourrge gourds hanging on the sides. Jiang Wu opened his eyes wide and asked incredulously, ¡°Sis, are you an immortal? How can you conjure up so many things?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell youter.¡± Yingbao took out two long bamboo poles and ced them on the Gourd Boat, then went back with her brother to find Zhangmin.
¡°I¡¯ve found a boat made of a gourd, let¡¯s leave now.¡± Yingbao said calmly to Zhang Min and Huzi. Zhang Min was curious, ¡°What kind of gourd boat?¡± Jiang Wu: ¡°Go check it out and you¡¯ll see.¡± With that, he took the lead and ran to the river. When Zhang Min and Huzi saw the Gourd Boat in front of them, they were so amazed that they were at a loss for words. ¡°Why does this gourd look like the ones we grow at home?¡± Huzi climbed into the boat and touched the gourd, feeling a bit incredulous. Yingbao and her brother also got on the boat, stepping onto the bamboo raft. Once everyone was on, the bamboo sank a little, and the river water seeped onto the raft. Fortunately, the fourrge gourds floating on the four sides kept the bamboo raft from sinking. Zhang Min and Huzi used the long bamboo poles to row the boat, and they slowly left the reeds and headed toward the middle of the river. Yingbao and Jiang Wu kept a vignt eye on their surroundings, wary of Barbarian Bandits shooting arrows from the shore. The sky gradually darkened, and several bonfires were lit near the riverside. ¡°Those are the bandits!¡± Jiang Wu pointed to the bonfires on the shore. ¡°There are quite a few of them.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Let¡¯s be careful, we can¡¯t let them discover us.¡± Zhang Min and Huzi tried to move as lightly as possible, but the Barbarian bandits still spotted the Gourd Boat on the river. They howled and ran to the river bank, drawing their bows and shooting arrows at the Gourd Boat. ¡°Get down quickly!¡± Yingbao had them sit behind therge gourds, quietly moving the boat forward. Several arrows whizzed and stuck into the gourds, startling Yingbao. These people are incredibly strong, they can shoot from such a distance. The Gourd Boat finally managed to escape the bandits, but as they were about to enter the city water area, more arrows were shot at them.
Yingbao recognized them as city soldiers and immediately shouted: ¡°We are rtives of Governor Zhang!¡± The defending soldiers, hearing the voice of a child and seeing a boat, hurriedly stopped shooting. ¡°Bring your boat over here, we need to inspect it!¡± The soldiers ordered sternly. Zhang Min and Huzi rowed the Gourd Boat over, and as soon as they docked, several soldiers ran over, holding swords and spears, their des pointed at them.
The four children got ashore. Seeing they were unarmed, the soldiers slightly rxed. When they found out that Zhang Min was the young master from the governor¡¯s house, they spoke with even more politeness. One of them even volunteered to take the group to the Governor Residence. Walking along the street with her younger brother and Zhang Min and Huzi, Yingbao clearly felt the tension and oppression among the townspeople. From what she learnt from one of the guards, there were fewer than five hundred guards in the entire Jingzhou Prefecture. Even if all the prisoners were freed, they would still not be enough to match the thousands of enemy troops outside. However, several army camps tens of miles away should be able to muster more than a thousand soldiers, plus the troops from Lin County, they should be able to gather two to three thousand. It¡¯s a pity that the authority to mobilize troops in Daqian was not in the hands of the general. Even if foreign troops threatened the borders, without the Emperor¡¯s decree, no one was allowed to overstep their authority. When they returned to the Governor Residence, Zhang Min immediately went to see his parents and siblings. Lady Zhang, seeing her son rush back, couldn¡¯t help but cry out, ¡°Are you a fool? Why did youe back now?¡± As a governor, even if there was a chance to send his wife and children out of the city, he couldn¡¯t do it. Otherwise, he would be despised by the world and med by the Imperial Court. Previously, Lady Zhang was relieved that her youngest son was not here. Even if they all diedter, at least Zhang Min could survive. To her shock, this little fool had run back. ¡°Mother, I have returned to help fend off the enemy!¡± Zhang Min knelt down and kowtowed to his parents.
Governor Zhang looked at his son, sighed then asked, ¡°When did you hear the news?¡± ¡°Ten days ago.¡± Zhang Min answered truthfully, ¡°There are rumors outside that the Jurchen have already captured Taiyuan Prefecture and are heading to Tokyo.¡± Governor Zhang was shocked, ¡°Has Taiyuan Prefecture really fallen?¡± The news in his area was so blocked off, by the time some news reached here, it had already been a long time. ¡°Yes, people from Tokyo and Yuzhou are fleeing south, and Jiankang is their first choice.¡± Zhang Min said worriedly, ¡°Father, when we entered the city, we saw many barbarian bandits. There are hundreds of them gathered by the river alone. I fear they will attack from Jiangkouzi.¡± Governor Zhang frowned. In previous conflicts, Jiangkouzi was always a breakthrough point, and many people had to be dispatched to guard it. But now, the people outside the city were not ordinary bandits, they were the most fierce foreign soldiers. If they really found a way to attack by boat, they wouldn¡¯t have enough manpower to defend. ¡°Alright, I understand, you should rest early, I have other matters to deal with.¡± Governor Zhang nced at Yingbao and the others, saw that they were all children, and told Lady Zhang to take good care of them. Then he went to his study to discuss defensive strategies with several staff members. Lady Zhang saw that her son not only came back himself, but also brought three children, she couldn¡¯t help but criticize him for being irresponsible. If something happened to these children, wouldn¡¯t their parents be heartbroken? After Lady Zhang asked a few brief questions, she allowed the maid to take Yingbao and the others to the guest room to rest. She also ordered the servants to prepare some food and send it over.
Yingbao and her younger brother Huzi each had a bowl of vegetable noodles before returning to their room. With the city gates closed, vegetables and grain can¡¯t be transported in from outside. With tens of thousands of people in the city needing to eat every day, it won¡¯t be long before every household runs out of food if this continues. Looking at today¡¯s meal, it seems that the governor¡¯s house had already started to experience a food shortage. What¡¯s been just a few days? The situation inside the city has alreadye to this? After washing up, Yingbao immediately fell asleep. When she woke up the next day, it was already daylight. Jiang Wu came running, knocked on his sister¡¯s door, and shouted loudly, ¡°Sister! Get up quickly! The barbarian bandits have started to attack the city!¡± Yingbao sprang up from the bed, quickly dressed and opened the door. ¡°What did you just say?¡± Jiang Wu grabbed his sister¡¯s wrist and led her outside, as he said, ¡°Brother Zhang Min went to the city wall to guard, Brother Huzi also went with him. The barbarian bandits somehow found several fishing boats, all pouring into Jiangkouzi.¡± Chapter 360: 356: No one to help_1 Chapter 360: Chapter 356: No one to help_1 Yingbao, startled by the news, hurried outside with her younger brother. On the way, she ran into Zhang Xuehua and her two half-sisters. ¡°Yingbao, where are you going?¡± Zhang Xuehua was about to ask Yingbao about the situation outside the city when she saw her rushing out. She couldn¡¯t help but ask. Without turning her head, Yingbao replied, ¡°I am going over to Jiangkouzi!¡± and with that, she had already run out the gate of the Moon Gate. Once on the street, there were hardly any passersby. asionally, though, she saw families of wealthing out with a group of servants, all holding things like wooden clubs and hatchets, all rushing towards the river bank. Yingbao was reassured as she passed a disheveled area piled with bricks. She guessed these bricks must belong to someone who was preparing to build a house, there were tworge stacks of them. Yingbao suddenly stopped, looked around, and seeing that there was no one around, she immediately went up and collected the tworge stacks of bricks. She thought for a moment, threw five taels of silver on the ground, and covered it with a brick. Jiang Wu, not understanding, followed his sister and asked as he ran, ¡°Why have you disappeared someone¡¯s bricks?¡± ¡°It¡¯s important!¡±
Yingbao ran to the dock with a crowd, and saw many young men gathered around. The river in the city is actually a tributary of the Great River, flowing from the northwest to the southeast, winding through the entire city area. This kind ofndscape means that city dwellers must secure the two entrances and exits. Moreover, people must also be present on the city walls, defending against the barbarian bandits from climbing over the walls. Yingbao nced at the city walls in the distance, and let out a sigh. ording to the book in her mind, the defenses of Jingzhou City were weak, with only a few hundred men in total. These few hundred dispersed to various points of defense, three or four people per post, posed no threat to the barbarian bandits below the city. Jiang Wu slipped into the crowd for a nce, then came back to tell Yingbao: ¡°Sis, those people have been driven away! Let¡¯s go find Brother Huzi.¡± Yingbao looked at the water where two dpidated fishing boats were quietly burning. There were also two or three bodies in the river, looked like they belonged to the barbarian bandits. Several guards were paddling small rafts over to retrieve the corpses. Because if left in the river, the dead would contaminate the water and must be lifted out and burned. Yingbao knew that this was just a probe from the barbarian bandits, estimating that in two days¡¯ time, they wouldunch a sneak attack at night. She craned her neck to look for her own gourd boat, but didn¡¯t find it and had no idea who had taken it away. With disappointment Yates led her brother back, heading for the city wall to look for Zhang Min and Huzi. When they reached the mountain path, there were soldiers guarding it who did not allow idle people to climb the city wall. ¡°We came to find Zhang Min, he is the son of Governor Zhang.¡± Jiang Wu exined. The soldiers knew that Governor Zhang¡¯s youngest son came back and immediately ran to guard the city, immediately said, ¡°Well then, I will take you two up.¡± So, the brother and sister, led by the soldiers, climbed up the city wall.
Zhang Min and Huzi were indeed there, the two were looking down on the city with Governor Zhang. Yingbao also leaned on the parapet to look down. From a distance, on the hillside, the barbarian bandits¡¯ Beast Fangs gs were flying in the wind, and many tents made of animal skins were in close formation, indicating that there were a lot of people. A troop of cavalry came galloping, under the city they waved theirrge swords and severed heads of people around, shouting provocatively.
Governor Zhang was so angry that he clenched his teeth, but those people were too far away for his arrow to reach. ¡°My Lord, the message asking for help has been sent out, now all we can do is wait for reinforcements.¡± one staff member said. Governor Zhang nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m just afraid no one wille to our aid.¡± They would havee earlier if they intended to. In a military camp tens of miles away from Jingzhou City, he had sent people to ask for help early, but there was no response. This time, the barbarian bandits came with nearly five thousand people, more than ten times the number of soldiers defending the city. The consequences would be unthinkable if they were allowed to invade the city. Another member of the staff said, ¡°My lord, why not gather the servants of the wealthy families in the city to join the defense?¡± Governor Zhang nodded and stroked his beard in thought. Even if the servants came, it would be in vain if they didn¡¯t have weapons in their hands. Repelling the invading barbarian bandits requires the use of bows, arrows, mmable oil, or even bricks and stones as weapons. What is feared is an undered attack. Zhang Min saw Yingbao and Jiang Wu, walked over and said, ¡°You two go down quickly and take Huzi back to the house with you.¡± Huzi, only eleven years old and barely taller than the battlement, could not see below even on tiptoe. His presence on the city wall was practically useless. Yingbao: ¡°Youe down too, I¡¯ve got something to talk to you about.¡± Zhang Min had to descend the city wall with his friends and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±
¡°You tell your father to immediately arrange for people to carry bricks and stones to the city wall and prepare some tung oil.¡± Yingbao wanted to suggest preparing some feces and urine as well, but eventually she didn¡¯t voice it out. Zhang Min:¡±I understand.¡± After a pause, Zhang Min said guiltily to his friends, ¡°Yingbao, I¡¯m sorry for getting you and your brother into this.¡± Yingbao remained silent. She had her own ways to protect herself and her brother Huzi, and she was not worried about being killed if the city was taken, but what about Zhang Min¡¯s family? Even if she hid them as well, the Imperial Court would eventually hold them ountable. Sigh, being an official is not easy. Yingbao suddenly regretted letting her brother pursue a degree. Zhang Min hesitated for a while, then said: ¡°Yingbao, if we can¡¯t hold the city, please find a way to help my mother and sister escape.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yingbao promised, ¡°In case the city is taken, I¡¯ll definitely ensure their safe departure.¡± Zhang Min¡¯s eyes turned red. He immediately turned around, his back to Yingbao. ¡°Thank you, sister apprentice.¡± ¡°What are you thanking, we are apprentices. I hope we can keep the city and drive away the barbarian bandits together.¡± Yingbao said. ¡°Yes!¡± Zhang Min quickly walked towards the city wall without looking back.
Huzi blinked and said to Yingbao, ¡°Brother Zhang Min is crying.¡± Yingbao hummed a response and turned around to leave. Huzi and Jiang Wu followed, muttering as they walked, ¡°Let¡¯s go eat, I only had a bowl of porridge and a bun this morning, I¡¯m hungry now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yingbao also wanted to see what was avable for purchase in the city, perhaps she could buy something for self-defense. After a round of looking, many shops were still operating as usual, but quite a few outdoor stalls were gone. Yingbao had been to Jingzhou before and knew her way around the area¡¯s shops. Suddenly, she located a noodle shop and ordered three bowls ofmb soup noodles. As the three of them slowly ate their noodles, they heard the shopkeeper muttering to his wife, ¡°Let¡¯s close the shop tomorrow. We can¡¯t even buymb anymore, so what¡¯s the point in making noodles?¡± His wife agreed, ¡°Yes, let¡¯s close. I heard from thedy next door that a lot of barbarian bandits have arrived outside the city. It¡¯s terrifying to see such a big crowd.¡± The shopkeeper: ¡°I heard about it, too. Sigh, how did those barbarians get all the way here? It¡¯s baffling.¡± A customer who was eating noodles at the table beside them joined in, ¡°I heard it¡¯s because the border guards ran away. The barbarians just came all the way without any resistance.¡± ¡°If the barbarians are at our doorstep, wouldn¡¯t the Imperial Court send troops to eradicate them?¡± asked someone else. ¡°What troops? Look at our military camp outside the city. I¡¯ve lived here for over forty years, and I¡¯ve hardly seen the soldiers train.¡±
¡°Definitely, all those officials, they¡¯re all busy lining their own pockets. Who cares about that anymore?¡± Chapter 361: 357: Siege_1 Chapter 361: Chapter 357: Siege_1 Yingbao and the others finished eating their noodles. They looked around but didn¡¯t find what they needed. They then came to the stonemason shop, where Yingbao was surprised to see arge stone statue standing in front of the shop. The statue was of a woman, with a high bun, wide sleeves and ribbons, and peony flowers beneath her feet. It looked as if she was about to fly to the heavens. ¡°Master, old man, is this statue for sale?¡± Yingbao asked. The stonemason waved his rough hand: ¡°The statue was already ordered by someone else, it¡¯s not for sale.¡± Yingbao was curious: ¡°Who ordered it? Someone from Jujube Tree Vige?¡± The stonemason nodded, and asked back: ¡°Youngdy, how did you know it was ordered by someone from Jujube Tree Vige?¡± ¡°Actually, I¡¯m from the Wuchang Taoist Temple in Jujube Tree Vige,¡± Yingbao said. ¡°Oh?¡± The stonemason nced at Yingbao: ¡°No wonder. So you¡¯re from the Taoist Temple. I heard that the incense at the Wuchang Taoist Temple has been thriving recently, with about a dozen Taoists now, almost catching up with the Wuji Temple.¡± Yingbao: ¡­ The Wuchang Taoist Temple is thriving?
She wondered where all the Taoists came from. Were they vigers from Jujube Tree Vige? Seeing the stone mason busy with his carving, Yingbao felt it inappropriate to disturb him any further. She and her younger brother Huzi headed towards the Zhang Mansion. After entering the Zhang Mansion, Yingbao told her brother and Huzi to rest while she went to speak with Lady Zhang. Being a ten-year-old child herself, and not a local, no one paid her any attention to what she wanted to do. Lady Zhang was different. Once she stepped in, no nobility in the city would dare say a word. ¡°Have the townsfolk take turns guarding the riverbank?¡± Lady Zhang pondered upon hearing eYingbao¡¯s n. Yingbao: ¡°Yes, if the barbarian bandits sneak in at night and there is no one guarding the riverbank, won¡¯t it be dangerous?¡± After hesitating for a moment, Lady Zhang finally nodded: ¡°Alright, I will have someone go around and notify every household. Anyone who refuses to guard shall be fined five taels of silver.¡± Upon seeing Lady Zhang willing to intervene, Yingbao breathed a sigh of relief, bid farewell and went back to her room to rest. At midnight, the barbarian bandits suddenly attacked the city. They carriedrge log stumps and repeatedly rammed them against the city gate. Zhang Min and his elder brother led soldiers down to the city, throwing stones and bricks, and sshing burning tung oil down. There were also bandits sneaking in from the riverbank. Just as a dozen or so bandits made it ashore, they were surrounded by hundreds of townsfolk. They held tools like t sticks, clubs, hoes, and chisels, courageously smashing them onto the bandits. In this battle, the bandits suffered heavy casualties. In the end, they abandoned thirty to forty bodies and jumped into the river to escape. When Yingbao woke up the next day, Zhang Xuehua told her about the previous night¡¯s events. ¡°Last night, the barbarian bandits attacked the city. Thanks to your idea, those sneak attackers failed.¡± The young girl took Yingbao¡¯s hand, had her sit in front of the mirror, and said with a smile, ¡°Let meb your hair. My mother wants to speak to you.¡± Yingbao obediently sat, letting Zhang Xuehuab her hair and braid it.
Looking at the graceful young girl in the mirror, Yingbao suddenly asked, ¡°Sister Zhang, if the city can¡¯t be defended, will you and your mother leave with me?¡± Zhang Xuehua was startled, her hand holding theb trembled slightly, ¡°Why would it not be defended?¡± ¡°Because there are more and more barbarian bandits outside, they will gather many troops to attack Jingzhou.¡± Only by taking Jingzhou could the barbarian bandits keep moving south. If Jingzhou didn¡¯t have any reinforcements, and could only defend, the barbarian bandits would certainly not withdraw their troops, even if they had to expend a month, two months, or even half a year, they still wouldn¡¯t stop attacking.
But could Jingzhou really hold out for that long? The smile on Zhang Xuehua¡¯s face gradually disappeared. Her father was the prefect, she, her mother, her elder brother and sister-inw, and the two half-sisters, would all not leave Jingzhou before the townsfolk. What if the city really were to be breached ¡ª where would her family go? Looking at Zhang Xuehua in the mirror, Yingbao said, ¡°I promised my second senior brother that if anything unexpected happens, I will take you all away.¡± ¡°No¡­ I can¡¯t leave.¡± Zhang Xuehua forced herself to remain calm, slowly braiding Yingbao¡¯s hair. Yingbao touched her braid, turned her head to Zhang Xuehua, and said, ¡°Sister Zhang, don¡¯t be frightened, I was just saying.¡± She just wanted to prepare them mentally. Jingzhou was already besieged, andforting words were meaningless. If there was a slight chance of survival, who would choose to die willingly? But when Lady Zhang heard about the situation analyzed by Yingbao, she was as shocked as her daughter. She thought that as long as they held out in the city, the Imperial Court would soon send troops to rescue them. But what if they didn¡¯te?
Lady Zhang looked at Yingbao and solemnly said, ¡°Yingbao, we now have a glimmer of hope, but we must hold on to the city. As for the rest, we shall not mention it again. We can¡¯t let the defenders lose morale, let alone the chaos among themon people.¡± ¡°Hmm, I just analyzed it to you and didn¡¯t tell outsiders,¡± Yingbao certainly knew not to spread rumors at this time. Three days quickly passed. The war was bing increasingly tense. The barbarian bandits attacked the city every day, but to no avail. Eventually, they stopped attempting to ram the city gate, and instead chopped down a lot of timber from the woods and piled them up at the city gate, in an attempt to burn it down. At the same time, they made rafts out of trees, nning to enter the city by water. Governor Zhang and his two sons didn¡¯t sleep at night, each leading a team to fend off the bandits. Gradually, the city¡¯s people began to panic, and many wanted to escape from the city by water. But the waterways were now blocked by the bandits, with many rafts blocking the outer river. There were a few families who didn¡¯t listen to advice, sneaking out in small boats, only to be captured by the bandits. The bandits used these vigers as human shields, supporting the rafts over, and the soldiers guarding the route shot them dead on the spot. Zhang Min led a team of several dozens to guard a water route, and there was also a defense team of over a hundred townspeople. They worked day and night, taking turns to guard the river.
Once, the bandits tried to sneak into the city by diving underwater with reeds in their mouths. Just when they thought they were about to seed, they were trapped by a fishing. When they used daggers to cut open the, they alerted the guards at that location. The result was predictable: dozens of bandits were eradicated. But this action thoroughly infuriated the bandits¡¯ leader, Wan Yan Hashi. A few dayster, Wan Yan Hashi ordered a total assault, intensively attacking from two water routes and the city gate at the same time. In the city, the citizens were mobilized by Lady Zhang to resist the enemy. After listening to Yingbao¡¯s suggestion, she had instructed them to build a long corridor on both sides of the inner city gate and a gateless courtyard behind it early on. The corridor was shaped like a long-necked gourd, and a deep pit was dug at the part resembling the belly of the gourd, in which wooden spikes were ced. Ayer of bamboo mat was ced over the pit, covered with twigs and loose soil. As soon as the bandits broke through the city gate, they would inevitably follow the corridor into the belly of the gourd, eventually falling into the trap. When this happens, a few soldiers would be arranged above to shoot them or drop stones down from the two sides of the wall, ensuring that whoever entered would be killed. To construct this corridor, they transported all the stones from the stonemason¡¯s house. Many people¡¯s stone yard walls were also demolished. True to the saying, many hands make light work, this project was sessfullypleted in a few days.
Today, Yingbao, along with Huzi and Jiang Wu, followed Lady Zhang and Zhang Xuehua, standing on the wall of the corridor behind the city gate, quietly listening to the shouts of killing and intense impact outside the city. Chapter 362: 358: Fierce Battle_1 Chapter 362: Chapter 358: Fierce Battle_1 With a thunderous st, the scorched and unrecognizable heavy city gate was breached, and many barbarian bandits cried out cheerfully as they squirmed their way through the opening. Daqian soldiers hidden in the dark trembled in their legs, but they were well aware that now, it was a matter of life and death. Arrows showered down at the bandits like rain. Bandits fell one by one, but they kepting, filling their ranks continuously. Thankfully, the tunnel wall that Lady Zhang had ordered to be built blocked them, trapping these people in the tunnel. Despite some breaking through the barrage of arrows and escaping the tunnel, they fell into a huge trap. Seeing more and more barbarian bandits falling into the trap, Lady Zhang, standing on a high wall not far away, ordered people to pour tung oil into it and set it on fire. Suddenly, mes shot up into the sky, and screams were nonstop. Finally, the barbarian bandits noticed something was wrong and had to retreat from the city gate. Because there were people continuously shooting arrows from atop the city walls, the bandits eventually retreated to their camp to regroup temporarily. Upon seeing this, Governor Zhang was delighted and immediately ordered people to clean up the enemy corpses at the city gate and collect the arrows and weapons as well. The bandits were also very cautious. Seeing people moving around the city gate, they charged over on horseback, making the collection task very difficult.
Thankfully, the breach in the city gate was sealed off again. Governor Zhang ordered a count of the bandit corpses and found that over two hundred people had been killed or injured in the tunnel and the trap. On the other side, at the river, the attack was held off as well. More than two thousand civilians gathered on both sides of the river, sessfully repelling the enemy¡¯s rafts with rocks and bricks. ¡°Well done!¡± Governor Zhang eximed joyfully, taking his wife¡¯s hand and saying: ¡°Many thanks to my wife for her staunch support.¡± Lady Zhang smiled slightly: ¡°Without the help of the civilians, I alone would not have been able to repel the bandits. You should thank the townsfolk and all the people in the city.¡± ¡°I know,¡± replied her husband. After a brief rest at home, Governor Zhang went to the conference hall to discuss matters. At this time, Grand General Sima and several other officers were sitting in the hall drinking tea. Seeing the governor arriving, they got up to pay their respects. The governor returned the salute and took his seat at the head of the table. Grand General Sima was the first to speak: ¡°My lord, the Jurchen chief Wanyan Hashi just sent a letter urging us to surrender. Here it is¡­¡± Saying this, he handed over a letter. Governor Zhang took it, pulled out the letter, and his eyebrows immediately furrowed as he read. The letter stated that Daqian¡¯s days were numbered, that Dajin¡¯s military force was unstoppable, and that they already had Tokyo surrounded. From then on, thisnd would belong to Dajin. Even if Governor Zhang resisted to the end, it would be a lost cause. They suggested he should pledge his allegiance to Dajin. They furtherplimented Governor Zhang on his character and wished to recruit him, promising endless wealth and prosperity for him and his family. His present rank would also not be lowered, they assured. Watching the governor¡¯s expression, Sima added: ¡°The messenger also said that if we stubbornly resist to the end, and the city is eventually taken, no one will be spared. Do you have a n, my lord?¡± Governor Zhang slowly tore up the letter, coldly saying: ¡°Don¡¯t believe the lies of the bandits. Even if we were to open the city gates and wee them with open arms, they wouldn¡¯t spare our people. Have you not seen the heads hanging from the bandits¡¯ horses? Those were innocent civilians of Daqian. What did they ever do to provoke them?¡± Tossing the shredded letter into a nearby incense burner, Governor Zhang scanned the room with piercing eyes. ¡°We are all officials of Daqian, the parents of our people. We eat the king¡¯s grain, and thus, owe him our loyalty. We should never entertain false hopes. Can these barbarians really conquer our vast territory? We must hold this city. I believe that as long as we hold on for a while longer, our reinforcements will arrive soon.¡± Sima and several other officials looked at each other, seeing only helplessness in each other¡¯s eyes. They stood up and bowed to Governor Zhang: ¡°We will follow your orders, my lord.¡± A few dayster, the city¡¯s poor began to run out of food, and not just the grocery stores closed, but eateries and bars were shutting down as well.
Only a few tea houses remained open, but the daily tea had turned into in water. Many people gathered in the tea houses to discuss the war, and some even began to entertain the idea of surrendering to the enemy. Of course, the middle-aged man who voiced his thoughts was beaten up and thrown out of the tea house. A few dayster, the Wanyan army suddenly increased by a few thousand. This time they concentrated their forces to attack from the main gate and attempted to scale the city wall with siegedders.
One after another, thedders were set up against the city wall, only to be pushed down by the city guards armed with long forks. But the invaders were too many. When one fell, another took his ce. Wave after wave of enemybatants engaged in tirelessbat with the soldiers of Daqian. In addition, the city gate was broken through. Countless bandits poured into the tunnel. Some even managed to knock down the tunnel walls with the aid of theirpanions. The people of Jingzhou were stubborn as well, fighting these intruders with iron pitchforks, clubs, and sticks. Both sides suffered heavy casualties. Huzi and Jiang Wu had also wanted to help, but they were stopped by Lady Zhang. While both were still children, they had received martial arts training but were no match for the desperate enemy soldiers. Going would be a suicide mission. Therefore, taking advantage of their good aim, they used slingshots made of cowhide to hit the heads of the enemybatants, and if they were lucky, they would hit their eyes. Unknowingly, they saved many civilians. Yingbao, holding a slingshot, stood with her brother Huzi on the second floor of a nearby wine house, urately hitting the swarms of peopleing their way with bricks. Lady Zhang was also on this floor, protected by the housekeeper. Watching the bandits not far away, she too was terrified. ¡°Madam, we should leave right away, we can¡¯t stay here.¡± The steward was slightly anxious. Lady Zhang nodded, called Yingbao and the others to leave the wine house from the back door, mount the carriage, and hurried back to the Governor¡¯s Residence. After returning to the residence, Lady Zhang ordered the servants to set up huge pots to cook rice, adding salt and diced meat into the rice.
Seeing this, Yingbao knew that this food was for the soldiers. So, she quietly infused the water tank and well water with Pupil Spring. At the city gate, Zhang Min and his father, the elder Zhang, seeing that the city gate had been breached, immediately called many soldiers over for a counterattack. The officer Sima and other officials each led a group of men to guard the northern and southern waterways. Zhang Wen, the elder Zhang¡¯s son who was twenty years old and newly wedded, was leading people on the city wall to stop the enemies climbing the siegedders and had no time to pay attention to the situation below the city wall. This deadlock continued all day long, the soldiers and civilians didn¡¯t even have time to eat while the enemy forces kept pouring in. Lady Zhang and the servants rushed over, delivering buckets of rice to the city walls and roadside for the fighting soldiers. The soldiers who stood down ate hurriedly. Once they finished eating, they picked up their weapons and rushed back to the battlefield, allowing theirrades to stand down. Interestingly, they felt rejuvenated after eating, their previous fatigue swept away. Then, Lady Zhang directed the women in the city to carry the wounded soldiers and civilians to a yard at the back, where they could be treated by the medical practitioners. Yingbao also joined in the effort, pulling along Huzi to help. Whenever they saw someone severely injured, they would treat them with Five Dingzhi. Huzi and Jiang Wu wanted to join the battle, but Yingbao sternly refused. ¡°Now is not the time to show off your abilities. You two are saving people by helping here, do you understand?¡± Yingbao stared sternly at her brother and Huzi. Huzi and Jiang Wu had never seen Yingbao in such a mood before, they had no choice but to nod in agreement.
However, the sight of the injured was so horrifying. Arms and legs severed was amon sight, with some sustaining gaping wounds in their abdomen, intestines spilling out before being hastily stuffed back in and stitched up by the medical officers. Chapter 363: 359: Reinforcements_1 Chapter 363: Chapter 359: Reinforcements_1 Someone¡¯s half face was cut off, wailing incessantly. Yingbao covered him with Quintuple Mushroom¡¯s juice with trembling hands, then bandaged him up with cotton cloth. There were too many severely wounded, Yingbao used up dozens of Quintuple Mushrooms in just one day. Fortunately, the Quintuple Mushrooms on her Immortal Cave House were thriving, otherwise they would have run out. By the afternoon of the second day, the number of injured people continued to increase. Mrs. Zhang brought two concubines and their children. She took out some silver taels and several patched clothes to give to them. ¡°Take this silver, in case the city falls, change into these clothes and go escape.¡± The two concubines fell to their knees, crying and shaking their heads: ¡°Madam, we are not going anywhere. We live as members of the Zhang family, and if we die, we die as the Zhang family ghosts. You cannot drive us away.¡± The illegitimate daughters also knelt down, crying and saying, ¡°Mother, our fate is with you and my sister. We are also father¡¯s daughters. If the city falls, we will follow father and mother to death.¡± Mrs. Zhang helped them up, wiped her tears. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, go back to your room. Take this silver and clothes, just in case¡­ just in case the city can¡¯t hold on, I hope you can survive.¡± The concubines and the illegitimate daughters left crying.
Mrs. Zhang then called her own daughter and eldest daughter-inw from the Chui family. Chui had been pregnant for a while, and she looked a bit pale and haggard. Mrs. Zhang asked her to sit down, and began to recount their many past events in Beijing. Chui and Zhang Xuehua listened quietly without a word. At this time, Yingbao was in the house trying to teleport her brother to her Immortal Cave House. She held her brother¡¯s hand and silently initiated the transfer. In the blink of an eye, she appeared inside the Immortal Cave House. Her brother, Jiang Wu, looked around in astonishment. ¡°What¡­ what is this ce?¡± ¡°Immortal Cave House,¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t have time to exin, she left him inside and teleported out again. She went to the guest room next door to find Huzi, grabbed his hand and said, ¡°Close your eyes, I¡¯ll take you to a ce. Remember, don¡¯t open your eyes without my permission.¡± Huzi didn¡¯t understand, but he obediently nodded his head. As Yingbao initiated the teleportation, she entered the Immortal Cave House. She looked to her side, but didn¡¯t see Huzi. Yingbao was startled, she quickly teleported out and saw Huzi standing in his room, eyes closed, muttering, ¡°Are we there yet? I¡¯m going to open my eyes!¡± With a frown, Yingbao grabbed his arm and said, ¡°Not yet, keep your eyes closed.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Huzi obediently closed his eyes. Yingbao once again attempted to teleport to the Immortal Cave House, but Huzi still did not appear. This was strange. Yingbao didn¡¯t give up, she tried several more times, but it remained the same. It seemed that she really couldn¡¯t bring Huzi into her Immortal Cave House.
What should she do? At this point, Yingbao was panicked too. If she couldn¡¯t bring Huzi into the Immortal Cave House, that meant she couldn¡¯t bring Mrs. Zhang and the others either. She had promised her second master that she would save his mother and sister, how would this look?
Huzi slightly opened one eye, saw his little niece anxiously staring at him, he quickly closed it again. ¡°Okay, you can open your eyes now,¡± Yingbao patted Huzi. Huzi chuckled, relieved to see that his niece wasn¡¯t angry. He asked, ¡°Did you have me close my eyes to surprise me with something yummy?¡± From her bag, Yingbao took out an apple and handed it to him. ¡°Rest well; there¡¯s a tough battle ahead tomorrow.¡± After saying that, she turned and left the room. From behind her, Huzi asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Jiang Wu?¡± Without turning her head, Yingbao replied, ¡°He¡¯s busy, he¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Once back in her own room, Yingbao went into Immortal Cave House again. She found Jiang Wu, who was fixated on a sphere of light, and said, ¡°Xiaowu, after you go out don¡¯t tell anyone about this.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Jiang Wu was already nine years old and well understood the gravity of the situation. He wouldn¡¯t tell anyone about his sister¡¯s secret. ¡°Mom and Dad know about this too,¡± Yingbao continued. ¡°They nted these.¡± She pointed to a fewrge water barrels by the pool. ¡°Dad also raised a lot of fish, all reaching a foot long. There are also shrimps in those barrels, which can be caught and eaten in a little while.¡± Jiang Wu had already seen the fish and shrimp, and was not interested in them. He pointed to the glowing sphere and said, ¡°Sister, I think I¡¯ve seen that somewhere before.¡±
Yingbao looked over, ¡°Where have you seen it?¡± Jiang Wu shook his head, ¡°I can¡¯t remember.¡± As soon as he came in, he had noticed the glowing sphere and felt exceedingly familiar with it, but he couldn¡¯t pinpoint why. Yingbao tried to solve his confusion: ¡°Maybe you¡¯re thinking it looks like the sun, so you think you¡¯ve seen it before.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not.¡± Jiang Wu squinted and observed carefully, shook his head and said, ¡°This doesn¡¯t look like the sun, it looks like a human eyeball.¡± Yingbao frowned, ¡°An eyeball?¡± If you look closely at the pool in the cave house, it did in fact resemble a gargantuan eye. But whose eye would be so big? It must be the eye of a Heavenly God. Many myths describe the Heavenly Gods as being a hundred feet tall, with hands like giant peaks and eyes like the rising sun. Did they really encounter an Immortal? No, they just found an Immortal¡¯s eye. Or perhaps this cave house is the brain shell of a Heavenly God. Upon this thought, Yingbao couldn¡¯t help but shudder.
¡°The ancestors of the Three Pure Ones and the Master Lingbao above, I, your believer Jiang Yingbao mean no disrespect, and I promise never to wash my feet in your eye again.¡± ¡°Sister, what did you say?¡± Jiang Wu heard his sister murmuring and leaned in doubtfully, ¡°Where are you washing your feet?¡± Yingbao closed her mouth in silence. She took her younger brother on a tour around the cave house, she originally didn¡¯t want to let him out, but Jiang Wu insisted on going out with her. Because, he was scared being alone. After sending her brother back to Huzi¡¯s room, Yingbao began to worry. If they can¡¯t defend the city, how would she save Huzi and Mrs. Zhang? After considerating every possibility, she had only one solution, to prevent the Barbarian Bandits from breaking in. The next day, the battle had intensify. Many bandits broke into the city and killed everyone in sight. In a short time, the people scattered and fled. But most of them gathered together bravely to counter the Bandits. Standing on the city wall, blooding all over, Governor Zhang looked down at the swarm of bandits rushing into the city, his heart cold.
In the end, they couldn¡¯t defend it? His family and the city¡¯s people, were they all going to die tragically today? He suddenly felt regret, regretting that he did not resign. His wife, daughters, and sons would lose their lives because of him. ¡°Father!¡± The elder son, covered in blood, shouted aloud, ¡°Father! The reinforcements have arrived! That¡¯s our Daqian army!¡± Governor Zhang was stunned, immediately ran to the parapet and looked down. He saw arge array of fluttering colorful gs, rows of cavalry were galloping towards them. The g was emzoned with the word ¡°Zhou¡±. Not only was there ¡°Zhou¡±, but also ¡°Zhong¡± and ¡°Xiao¡±. At this moment, old Governor Zhang was brimming with tears. Zhou Wuchang had arrived! He really came! Previously, Governor Zhang had not only sent a plea for help to Lin County but also sent a desperate letter to Zhou Wuchang, hoping he could bring rescuers. After all, Zhou Wuchang had been defending Jingzhou for over a decade, and the surrounding military camps were filled with his troops. ¡°Brothers! Our reinforcements have arrived!¡± The Zhang brothers, Zhang Wen and Zhang Min, shouted to their soldiers, ¡°Hold on, the reinforcements have already reached the city gate!¡± The dwindling morale of the soldiers suddenly surged, they seemed invigorated, shouting as they charged towards the bandits: ¡°Charge!¡± Chapter 364: 360: Zhong Chuyan_1 Chapter 364: Chapter 360: Zhong Chuyan_1 The barbarians who were still outside the city attacking had be instantly chaotic upon seeing the arrival of the reinforcements. Those who had already broken into the city started panicking, their formation promptly falling into disorder. Wanyan Ha¡¯shi, seeing the situation worsening, turned tail and ran with his guards, no longer caring about the people within the city. Zhou Wuchang mounted a brilliant steed, apanied by his senior disciple Zhou Hao and about a dozen guards, he led his team to charge into the crowd of enemies, shing the foes with the long-handled de in his hands. This time, they brought over two thousand cavalry and over three thousand infantry, specifically striking just when Wanyan Ha¡¯shi prated the city. They could assuredly rout the over seven thousand barbarians. Sure enough, Wanyan Ha¡¯shi, attacked on both sides, lost his fighting spirit instantly, fleeing with hisrge force. Zhou Wuchang chose not to pursue them, but focussed on dealing with the remaining barbarian bandits. Before long, the barbarians outside the city either died or fled, and those inside the city were also killed one by one led by Governor Zhang. They then hastily had people clear the city gate, weing Daqian¡¯s reinforcements into the city. The Governor¡¯s Residence was also being attacked by a team of barbarian bandits, with dozens of cavalrymen breaking open the residence gates and rushing in, attempting to plunder the governor¡¯s family members, only to engage in intensebat with the guards and servants of the residence. Yingbao, along with her younger brother Huzi, managed to knock down two barbarian bandits working together, yet the three of them also got injured in the process.
Madam Zhang also discarded her long gown, switched into a short suit, and fought desperately with a cleaver against the cavalrymen. There were three or four guards around her, so she was unharmed. The cook, an elder woman, took a pot of boiling oil and furiously sshed it towards a barbarian, causing him to shriek in pain. Two older maids and several aged maidens each held sticks and pitchforks, and one even carried a stool, waving these towards the bandits. But these elderly, weak women and children were hardly opponents to dozens of barbarian bandits, swiftly bing worn and ragged, among them, two servants even lost their lives. Right when several barbarian bandits surrounded Yingbao and the other two, swinging their des downward, suddenly, a table-sized rock flew towards them, immediately striking one person sending him onto the ground dead. The other few people were dumbfounded. Before they could react, they were knocked over by the iing rocks. Huzi and the others of the Zhang family stood astonished with wide-open mouths. They saw Yingbao quiickly run towards a barbarian bandit, swinging her arm, a facial basin-sized rock flew out and directly hit the man on his waist. This barbarian bandit instantly fell onto the ground, wailing loudly. After Yingbao toppled a few more, the barbarians came to their senses and started screaming as they surrounded her. Madam Zhang and the rest wouldn¡¯t let them have their way, they all rushed up to attack. And so, the battle situation gradually became bnced. After that, another team rushed into the Governor Residence. ¡°Senior Brother! Second Brother!¡± Yingbao recognized Zhou Hao and Zhang Min at the lead and jumped in joy. Zhou Hao and Zhang Min nodded to her without having time to ask anything, they picked up their des and charged towards the dozens of barbarian bandits. They also brought hundreds of soldiers to engage in a chaotic battle with the barbarians. At that moment, Madam Zhang pulled Yingbao and a few children into the house to avoid idental injury. Inside the house, there were a good number of injured servants and guards, so Yingbao took out medical powder and pills from her bag to distribute to them.
Everyone watched Yingbao, all wanting to ask but stopping themselves. Yingbao didn¡¯t bother exining the stone incident earlier, only busily cleaning up Huzi and her younger brother¡¯s wounds. The two kids had several scratches on them, with one deep cut on Jiang Wu¡¯s arm exposing the bone. Yingbao felt unbearable heartache, quickly cleaning up his wound, took out sutures to stitch the wound, then applied ayer of Wudingzhi and Injury Medicine Powder, and bandaged it up.
Huzi also had quite a few injuries, one of them on his back. Luckily, he had worn a thickyer of cowhide under his clothes, otherwise, the consequences would be unthinkable. Fortunately, they had all learned martial arts, and their ability to dodge was quick too, otherwise, the bandits¡¯ sword would have taken Huzi¡¯s head. The two servants lying in the yard were the live examples of this, their heads had been lopped off by the barbarians. An hourter, the battle in the courtyard came to an end. All thirty or so barbarian bandits had been killed, and their bodies were gradually taken out of the Governor¡¯s Residence by the soldiers. It wasn¡¯t until then that Zhang Xuehua and her two younger sisters were allowed by the maids to leave the inner courtyard. Yingbao ran off to find Zhou Hao: ¡°Eldest Senior Brother, did Master alsoe?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Zhou Hao was as cold as ever, ¡°Master came to save you¡­to save Jingzhou, even bringing Xiao Mo along. On our way here, we also ran into General Zhong¡¯s troops, so we decided toe together.¡± Jingzhou was a crucial military location, if the barbarian bandits breached it, it would pave the way for them to march southward to Luzhou. Therefore, Jingzhou could not fall. And Yingbao absolutely could not die. Yingbao: ¡°Where is Master? I want to see him.¡± She also wanted to thank him for saving her life.
¡°Master is currently busy, you should tend to your injuries first.¡± After saying that, Zhou Hao left with a group of people, leaving about twenty or thirty to guard the Governor¡¯s Residence. By evening, Lady Zhang personally made meals in the kitchen with a few maids for the injured servants in the mansion. She also gave a generous sum of silver taels for the burial and constion of the deceased servants, and gave all the servants and maids in the mansion a year¡¯s sry. For the two concubines, Lady Zhang sent over some silver and fabric for them to rest assured. After dinner, Lady Zhang went to see Yingbao. ¡°Thanks to you today, we survived until help arrived.¡± Lady Zhang respectfully bowed to Yingbao, causing her to jump in surprise, and she quickly returned the bow: ¡°Lady, please don¡¯t say that, I was also saving myself.¡± At that time, she really couldn¡¯t care about anything else. Either watch Huzi and everyone else from Zhang Mansion die, or reveal her abilities. Yingbao really had no other choice. Thankfully, Lady Zhang did not inquire about anything. After expressing her gratitude, she just gave Yingbao a pair of jade bracelets with excellent water quality. Even though Yingbao was not knowledgeable about such things, she knew that these jade bracelets were extremely valuable. Yingbao didn¡¯t want to ept them. Because she was afraid that she would break them while working.
¡°They¡¯re not worth much, you just keep them,¡± Lady Zhang insisted, pulling Yingbao¡¯s arm and putting on the jade bracelets. With no other choice, Yingbao epted them and thanked Lady Zhang. For the next few days, Yingbao, her younger brother, and Huzi recovered from their injuries in the Zhang Mansion. All the servants in the mansion treated her with utmost respect, and even called her ¡®Junior Divine Master¡¯. One day, Zhou Wuchang finally came. Yingbao had a lot to say to her master and immediately ran to the front courtyard. In the front courtyard, she not only saw Xiao Mo, but also saw a military-garbed Chuyan, who looked exactly the same as he had in her previous life. Yingbao curiously went around him, asking, ¡°Are you Brother Chuyan?¡± Chuyan gave her a smile, nodded, and said, ¡°Yingbao, long time no see.¡± ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s been a long time.¡± It¡¯s been several years since Chuyan left Dongchen Vige with Uncle Xu Kun. Zhou Wuchang said from the side, ¡°His surname is Zhong, he¡¯s the grandson of the old General Zhong from the Western Army.¡± Yingbao blinked. The grandson of the Zhong family from the Western Army? No wonder Xiao Mo could seize control of the Western Army, he had Zhong Chuyan by his side to aid him.
Then she heard Chuyan say, ¡°My current name is Zhong Chuyan. Yingbao, when you go back, help me take some things to my sisters.¡± Yingbao asked curiously, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going back to see them? Chuchu¡¯s daughter, Niuniu, is already a few years old and Heidan is a few months old.¡± Chuyan shook his head, ¡°When there¡¯s a chance, I¡¯ll go back to see them.¡± Chapter 365: 361: Return to Hometown_1 Chapter 365: Chapter 361: Return to Hometown_1 Xiao Mo came forward, grinning, ¡°Yingbao, I run into you everywhere. Instead of staying homefortably, why did youe to Jingzhou again?¡± ¡°I came here with my second senior brother,¡± Yingbao replied. Zhang Min chimed in, ¡°Our junior sister wanted to help us defend Jingzhou, so she decided toe along.¡± Xiao Mo took a nce at Zhang Min without saying anything else. He turned to Zhou Wuchang, ¡°Master Zhou, Jingzhou is now safe. It¡¯s about time we move to Tokyo for reinforcement, isn¡¯t it?¡± Master Zhou replied, ¡°Tokyo is already deserted. The Emperor has taken off for the Shu region. Going to Tokyo now would take a lot of resources and money but wouldn¡¯t mean anything.¡± ¡°The one who went to Shu was the Prince, not the Emperor.¡± Xiao Mo said, ¡°The Imperial Teacher, Pei Shixian, has gained much influence in Beijing. In a time like this, he even suggested the Emperor to send troops against the King, alleging that the King was nning a revolt.¡± Zhou Wuchang let out a coldugh, ¡°Pei Shixian does not limit himself to such usations. He even imed that I¡¯m an aplice of the King.¡± Xiao Mo touched his nose, ¡°The Emperor is not a fool. Why would he believe him outright?¡± Zhou Wuchang chuckled, ¡°You never know. Xiao Mo, if you wish to go back to Beijing, you can go by yourself. I hold no position, I¡¯m only a Daoist, and I¡¯d rather stay out of these matters.¡± Xiao Mo¡¯s ambition seemed great, probably intending to capitalize on this opportunity for major action.
Personally, he had no interest in political matters. He didn¡¯t care whether the Xiao Family or Murong Family were to be Emperor. He just enjoyed his free and easy life, going wherever he pleased. But if they turned against him, he had ways to protect himself. Xiao Mo pondered, ¡°Master Zhou, could you lend me the soldiers from the surrounding camps? The Jurchen have already surrounded Tokyo and the Imperial Teacher has ordered us to be at the Imperial Court¡¯s disposal.¡± ¡°The soldiers from the camps are not under mymand. In this case, Marshal Xiao should negotiate with Governor Zhang.¡± Before Zhou Wuchang came to Jingzhou, he did not bring any troops with him. He only contacted several surrounding camps as soon as he arrived at Jingzhou. The leaders of these camps were his former subordinates, this is why he was able to recruit a couple of thousand men to aid them in such a short period. On the way, he happened to meet up with Xiao Mo and Chuyan¡¯s team then they rushed to help together. Thanks to their aid, Jingzhou was saved. Now that Xiao Mo wants to borrow some men to enhance his own team, Zhou Wuchang was initially unwilling but he understood that those camps are officially the responsibility of the Imperial Court, so he could not interfere. Governor Zhang actually has no control over those camps. Given that the Imperial Court prioritizes ¡®coin¡¯ over ¡®military force¡¯, all camps are under the direct supervision of the Imperial Court. Neither Prefect nor Governor has the authority to mobilize the forces of the camps, which resulted in a shortage of soldiers for defense. Now that Xiao Mo wants to mobilize these camps, he either needs a direct order from the Imperial Court or needs to have personal rtionships with the leaders, paying high wages to hire them. He had neither and could only rely on the influence of Zhou Wuchang. However, despite their long conversation, Zhou Wuchang was not willing topromise. His reason was that these soldiers needed to stay in Jingzhou to defend the city until the Jurchen retreated back to their homnd. Yingbao had no idea what Master and Xiao Mo were discussing. After returning to her room, she began to pack things and prepared to return home with her Master. After this incident, Zhang Min decided to stay in Jingzhou and live with his parents. However, Mrs. Zhang didn¡¯t agree and insisted that he should leave with Zhou Wuchang. With no choice, Zhang Min tearfully bade his family goodbye after three days. On the way home, Yingbao and her younger brother rode in one carriage, while their master and Huzi rode in another. Their second senior brother and eldest senior brother respectively served as the coachmen for the two carriages. It was already July; the weather was extremely sultry. Yingbao and her little brother were drenched in sweat from sitting in the tented carriage.
Yingbao then took out a cold peach from her magical abode and gave it to his little brother. The peach was cooked in rock sugar and tasted sweet and sour. Seeing them, her second senior brother who was driving the carriage turned his head and asked, ¡°What are you eating? I want some too.¡± She had no choice but to take out a bowl of chilled peaches for him.
Zhang Min held the bowl of chilled fruit and began to enjoy it enthusiastically, guiding the carriage from time to time before returning to his rxed demeanor. Huzi, who was sitting in the front carriage, was peeking out the small window at the back of the canopy just in time to witness this scene. He couldn¡¯t help but shout, ¡°You dare to eat alone?¡± He turned his head towards Zhou Wuchang, who was resting with his eyes closed, and said, ¡°Master, stop the carriage quickly, these three are eating alone behind us.¡± With that, both carriages stopped on a spacious piece ofnd. Huzi quickly jumped off the carriage, ran excitedly towards Yingbao, and asked, ¡°Yingbao, what did you give them to eat? Master and I didn¡¯t get any.¡± Yingbao turned around, took three bowls of chilled peaches from a basket behind her, and handed them over, saying, ¡°Here, these are for you and your master.¡± Only then did Huzi smile broadly, holding the icy cold bowl and happily trotting to the front carriage. Zhang Min and Zhou Hao got off the carriage to feed and water the horses, taking a brief rest before resuming their journey. Whenever they saw a county town or a fair, they would drive in for a break. However, there were many refugees on the road, all of whom had brought their entire families along. Sometimes, Zhou Wuchang would stop the carriage to have a few words with them. When he learned that they had been forced to flee due to drought in their hometown, he would ask Yingbao how they could help them get out of their dire straits. Yingbao didn¡¯t know.
People in the northern region were basically living off the sky¡¯s bounty. Even in their vige, a flood would wipe out the crops for half a year. Yet, the imperial court¡¯s taxes wouldn¡¯t lessen by a dime, and they still had to be paid in full no matter what. Seeing that his young disciple had no solutions, Zhou Wuchang didn¡¯t ask further and climbed back on the carriage to leave. They traveled along the official road, passed countless viges and several cities, and finally returned to Qinchuan County in July. The county town was bustling with activity now, and it wasmon to see a line of luxurious carriages on its streets. Yingbao was very curious and asked her elder cousin about it when she returned to the store. Jiang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his younger cousins return, and exined, ¡°Those are all refugees from Beijing. We better not offend them.¡± He then asked, ¡°Where have you been? You worried your uncles sick.¡± Yingbao dared not mention what had happened in Jingzhou, she skipped the tense details and said, ¡°The second senior brother wanted to go home and take a look, so we apanied him on the trip. Now as you can see, we are all back safe and sound. Can you tell us what¡¯s been happening at home while we were gone?¡± Jiang Cheng replied, ¡°Everything is fine at home. Wei Zhan moved in too with his mother, they are living in our vige. Madame Wen and her two children are also residing in our vige.¡± In reality,, not just these families, there were also other influential families who had fled to the South Slope, boughtnd at a high price, and said they wanted to build separate courtyards there. However, these were things done by the people from Xichen Vige, they sold their inferior farnd on the South Slope at a high price to outsiders, allowing them to build houses there.
¡°Madame Wen also came?¡± Yingbao was delighted to hear that Madame Wen and her daughter had alsoe. She said to Jiang Wu and Huzi, ¡°We¡¯ll go home tomorrow.¡± The master and their senior brothers also nned to return the next day. The master said he wanted to stay in Dongchen Vige for a while and learn how to grow pepper and cotton from father. Jiang Cheng said, ¡°You guys wait a few more days, by the time Xiaojie has finished his holiday, you guys can leave together. ¡± Yingbao replied, ¡°Alright.¡± After a pause, Jiang Cheng quietly told his cousin another piece of news, ¡°Uncle¡¯s wife has passed away, and his concubine came to Aunt asking her to pay for the funeral expenses.¡± Yingbao tugged at the corner of her eye, ¡°And Auntie? Did she give the money?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Auntie and Yuying and Hong Xiao went to the funeral vigil today, I don¡¯t think they will be back tonight.¡± Jiang Cheng peeled an apple with a small knife and handed it to his younger cousin. As he began to peel another one, he continued, ¡°Zhang Yukun is quite shameless, he also thinks that since his father died, his mother should provide money for the funeral.¡± Chapter 366: 362: Roasted Mutton_1 Chapter 366: Chapter 362: Roasted Mutton_1 ¡°They even me his father¡¯s early death on his mother. They say she neglected his father, leading him to get addicted to Wushi San.¡± This made Jiang Cheng equally infuriated: ¡°I think Zhang Yukun has lost his mind. If it weren¡¯t for him mourning his father¡¯s death, I would have liked to beat him up for the way he ndered my aunt.¡± As Yingbao munched on an apple, she had other things on her mind. With the death of her uncle, the custody of Zhang Xiang should finally revert fully to her aunt. But what if the concubine uses this as an excuse to constantly cause amotion? After the siblings chatted for a while, Jiang Cheng left the shop to Jiang Yingbao and went out to buy braised meat. Huzi also wanted to go, iming he wanted roasted mutton. Jiang Wu initially wanted to go too, but seeing his sister alone in the store, he turned back to sit with her. Earlier, master Zhou and his disciples had returned to the medical bureau after dropping off Yingbao, leaving only the siblings in the store. Yingbao took out some vegetables from the cer to ce in the basket, then began to chat with her brother. ¡°Xiaowu, remember, don¡¯t act recklessly. If our master hadn¡¯t brought soldiers in time, Huzi and many others wouldn¡¯t have survived.¡±
She and her brother might have been able to escape, but Huzi wouldn¡¯t have been able to, no matter what. The book in her mind mentioned the fall of Jingzhou, stating that the entire Zhang family and the city residents were all brutally murdered. The barbarians spared no one, not even children. Only a few young and beautiful women were taken by them, but their final fate was equally tragic. Jiang Wu scratched his head: ¡°Mmm, I understand.¡± ¡°When we get home, you must devote two hours every day to studying. Spend more time reading the strategy and military tactics books I gave you.¡± On the way back from Jingzhou, Yingbao had bought numerous books, managing to find two on military tactics after considerable effort. Actually, all the good books are collected by wealthy and prestigious families for their descendants to read. They are not easily shared with others. It¡¯s therefore not easy to find good books in bookshops and bookstores. However, there were many storybooks in the bookshop, most of which were romance and chivalrous fiction, as well as ghost stories and strange tales. She also bought many of these, choosing ones she had not read before. Of course, she wouldn¡¯t let her brothers read them, to avoid leading them astray. Jiang Wu kept nodding his head. ¡°I read them every day.¡± He was not originally fond of studying, but he loved reading about military strategies and tactics. During their journey home, he would read for hours on end. It was a pity that the books were so thin. He finished them all too quickly. Soon, Jiang Cheng and Huzi returned with several packages of braised dishes. Jiang Cheng said to his younger cousin: ¡°I also ordered a full table of dishes from the restaurant. They will bring them over soon.¡± Yingbao nodded, took the braised dishes from her elder cousin, and went to fetch somerge bowls from the kitchen. She then ced the cut-up braised meat and poultry into the bowls. Jiang Wu and Huzi brought a dining table from the backyard and ced it at the entrance of the shop. At that time of day, the sun was setting in the west, providing shade at the entrance for them to enjoy their mealfortably. Jiang Cheng then returned home to bring his wife and child. Chou Rong, holding her older son Jiang Dali in one hand and patting her belly with the other, greeted Yingbao: ¡°Yingbao, you¡¯ve grown so tall now.¡±
Yingbao grinned at her: ¡°Sister-inw,¡± then bent over to pick up her little nephew. The little nephew was just two years old, chubby, and stared at her with big eyes. Under his parents¡¯ encouragement, in his baby voice he called out, ¡°Auntie.¡± Yingbao gave him a spin and found him quite heavy, then she put him down, saying, ¡°You¡¯re so heavy, I can hardly lift you.¡± However, Dali didn¡¯t want to get down and clung tightly to his aunt¡¯s neck, curving his legs up.
Seeing this, Jiang Cheng took his son with a smile, patted him on the bottom and said, ¡°Your auntie is not strong enough to carry you. Come, let¡¯s eat.¡± At the mention of food, Dali immediately turned his attention to the dining table. Before long, the food from the restaurant arrived. There were ten dishes in total, along with a barrel of freshly steamed rice. The dishes included fish, meat, stir-fry, pastries, and a pot of rice wine. Jiang Cheng poured a cup for each of his siblings, ¡°This is rice wine, taste it, and see how it differs from what we make at home?¡± Yingbao took a sip and didn¡¯t notice any difference. Huzi and Jiang Wu tasted it while eating meat. It was sweet with a hint of sourness. ¡°Our homemade rice wine is more aromatic.¡± Huzi said. The Jiang family also brewed rice wine but only kept it for themselves. They couldn¡¯t sell it on the market. That¡¯s because selling alcohol required a liquor sales permit from the government office. No matter how good your business was, the annual taxes were terrifying. Jiang Wu was not interested in rice wine, nor could he tell the quality, so he didn¡¯t express an opinion and simply concentrated on eating meat. Sharing the same preference for meat was Jiang Dali. He gnawed on a chicken leg, his face oily. While they were eating, Jiang Yunniang came back with her daughter Hong Xiao.
Seeing this, Yingbao went to the kitchen to bring out two sets of bowls and chopsticks, to serve rice for her aunt and Hong Xiao. Jiang Yunniang¡¯s eyes were red, and she sat at the table, holding her bowl but not touching her chopsticks. Hong Xiao was extremely hungry and started eating. Jiang Cheng served his aunt some food, ¡°Did the Zhang family send someone?¡± he asked. Jiang Yunniang: ¡°Zhang Jia and his older brother¡¯s family all came.¡± While eating, Hong Xiao said, ¡°They came and drove my mother away.¡± Jiang Cheng frowned, ¡°Aunt, if the Zhang family is behaving this way, you don¡¯t have to attend the funeral tomorrow.¡± Jiang Yunniang started to cry. After the meal, someone from the restaurant came to clean up the dishes, and the cafeteria sister-inw returned home with her son. Seeing that it was gettingte, Jiang Cheng closed up shop. Yingbao and Jiang Wu stood at the doorway looking towards the direction of the county school and saw a few students leaving in groups. In the end, a short figure came out and headed straight towards them. ¡°Jiang Jie!¡± Jiang Wu shouted and ran towards him. The two hugged andughed heartily.
Jiang Jie, holding a blue cloth school bag in one hand and his brother¡¯s neck in the other, walked over to Yingbao. ¡°Sister, we missed you so much. Our parents were extremely worried. If we couldn¡¯t find a ship, they would have gone to Jingzhou to find you and Jiang Wu.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t say anything. She took the blue cloth school bag from his hand, ¡°Go eat quickly, I¡¯ve kept the dishes warm for you.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu ran into the kitchen. Yingbao looked towards the county school again. Once the students had all left, she felt strange not seeing Chen Changping. Jiang Chengk locked up, and then went home, and Yingbao walked into the courtyard and locked the door. Xiaohei wagged its tail at her, barking a few times and scratching at its food bowl. Yingbao untied its rope and took it to the kitchen. Jiang Jie listened to his brother and Huzi talk about their adventures in Jingzhou while eating, His eyes opened wide in astonishment, even forgetting to eat. Huzi smugly said, ¡°I hit several bandits with my slingshot, they howled in pain. Jiang Wu also hit many of them. We cooperated seamlessly and saved several soldiers.¡± Really? And didn¡¯t those peoplee to hit you?¡± Jiang Jie asked. ¡°Of course they did!¡± Huzi said, ¡°A group of bandits charging at us with big knives were killed by Yingbao with a millstone-sized rock¡­¡± Jiang Jie¡¯s eyes grew even wider. Just as he was about to ask for more details, he saw his sister stuff an apple into Huzi¡¯s mouth.
¡°Enough talking, let Jiang Jie finish eating. Can¡¯t you see that Dahei is getting impatient?¡± Dahei was pacing around under the table, eagerly waiting for its young master to finish eating so it could have the leftovers. Chapter 367: 363: There Really Is A Problem_1 Chapter 367: Chapter 363: There Really Is A Problem_1 Jiang Jie quickly finished the rice in his bowl and asked his sister, ¡°Sis, did you really kill the barbarian bandits with a stone as big as a millstone?¡± ¡°No.¡± Yingbao dumped the leftover food into Dahei¡¯s bowl, watching it eat voraciously. ¡°Haha! I knew it, Huzi and Jiang Wu must have been boasting.¡± Jiang Jie teased. Huzi retorted hurriedly, ¡°I didn¡¯t! Yingbao really¡­¡± Before he could finish, his mouth was covered by Jiang Wu. Despite Huzi¡¯s struggle, he and Jiang Jie dragged him into the house. After eating, Jiang Yunniang returned to her room and cried silently. Her daughter Hong Xiaoforted her, ¡°Mom, don¡¯t go tomorrow, I can go by myself.¡± Jiang Yunniang wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, sobbing, ¡°I¡¯ve let your father down, allowing that despicable family to torment him. He was getting better, but then was fed the ¡®Wushi San¡¯ by that wretched man¡¯s brother. They wanted to kill him.¡± Hong Xiao also burst into tears, ¡°Mom, what¡¯s the use of saying this now?¡± A while back, father had sought peace too, but mother was unwilling. Seeing father leave dejectedly, Hong Xiao felt her heart aching.
The next morning, Hong Xiao woke up intending to sneak out, but Jiang Yunniang also got up and stubbornly followed her. Thus, the mother and daughter went to the Zhang Family again. Jiang Cheng also arrived early, bowing and offering incense before the shrine. Although the Zhang Family did not like Jiang Yunniang, they were very courteous towards Jiang Cheng. Even the rtives of the concubine treated Jiang Cheng with exceptional respect when they met him. For this reason, the eldest of the Zhang Family and the concubine¡¯s family didn¡¯t dare to ridicule Jiang Yunniang. On the way back at noon, Jiang Yunniang took off her mourning clothes and the white flower from her hair and discarded them in the wild. She was now staying in her niece Yingbao¡¯s house and couldn¡¯t wear mourning clothes in, and with her own parents still alive, she couldn¡¯t wear the white flower either. Hong Xiao and her brother Yuying did not return with them, as they were required to mourn for their father at the Zhang¡¯s house for three months. Only after the mourning period could they remove the mourning clothes. On the 15th of the seventh month, the Ghost Festival, Yingbao apanied her master and senior brothers to the Taoist Temple for rituals. Many taboos were observed on this day. No haircuts, no tomb sweeping, no celebrations, no going outte, no drying clothes, avoiding mirrors, no teasing others, not picking up money or items on the road. It was also forbidden to sleep facing the door or window to prevent evil spirits from attaching. Three dayster, Yingbao, her two little brothers, and Huzi took a carriage back home. Zhou Wuchang and his first and second disciples were with them. On the way, Yingbao saw many people on the road. Most of them were riding mules, horses, or ox carts,den with luggage. Could something really have happened in Beijing? When they arrived at the vige, Chunniang rushed over, crying, and hugging her daughter and son.
Yingbao wiped her mother¡¯s tears, saying, ¡°Mom, let me get a bamboo stickter so you can give Xiaowu a good beating.¡± Chunniang chuckled, pinched her daughter, then pinched Jiang Wu, ¡°you two debt-collecting devils are going to kill me someday! Now, wash your hands and faces. I¡¯ll go and make some noodles for you.¡± Saying this, she went to the kitchen to knead the dough. Jiang Jie looked at his sister and brother with a sidelong nce, huffed, ¡°Mom has favorites. If I were to do something wrong, she would definitely chase me for two miles with a bamboo stick.¡±
¡°She didn¡¯t just chase you!¡± Jiang Wu retorted: ¡°She chased both of us!¡± Yingbao ignored the two of them, going to fetch water for her master and senior brothers to wash off the dust from the journey. Then she cleaned out two side rooms, took out the bedding to air out in order to get rid of the musty smell, preparing the rooms for her master and senior brothers. There was no need to clean her own room, as her mother cleaned it every day. The bedding was fresh, having just been aired out, and still carried the faint scent of the sun. Madame Chun cooked a big pot of noodles, putting bok choy and eggs in it. She also made a big bowl of shrimp sauce with the well-dried soy sauce, a big spoonful of which was added to each bowl of noodles. Zhou Wuchang and his disciples each had a huge bowl of noodles and were still unsatisfied, ending up adding half a bowl more. Huzi, Jiang Jie, Jiang Wu, and Yingbao finished a big bowl each and, patting their tummies, dered they were too full. The shrimp sauce was incredibly delicious, especially with the addition of Chinese cornels and green peas, which made the noodles both savory and spicy. After the meal, Yingbao went out to aid digestion and also pay a visit to her grandparents and Aunties. Yanru was heavily pregnant and due to give birth in just over two months. She had a rosyplexion and seemed to have gained quite a bit of weight.
After checking Yanru¡¯s fetal position, Yingbao advised, ¡°From now on, eat less rice and noodles and focus more on fish, shrimp and vegetables, and avoid eating as much as possible before bedtime. You¡¯ve already gained weight, you can¡¯t gain any more.¡± If the baby is too big, and considering Yanru is having her first baby, there is a high risk of a difficult delivery. Yanru nodded, embarrassed, ¡°Lately, I have suddenly got a huge appetite and indeed have been eating too much.¡± Before, she would be full after one bowl of rice, but now she had five meals a day, each consisting of a bowl and a half of rice, not including the meat and vegetables. Erni stuck her head in, ¡°Mom,ter I¡¯ll go to the pond to catch some shrimps for you.¡± Yanru nodded, ¡°Ok.¡± Leaving Uncle Er¡¯s house, Yingbao went straight to the schoolhouse. Five more rooms had been built behind the schoolhouse, where Li Xu¡¯s mother lived, also Wen Shu and her family. Li Xu and Old Master Wu lived in the original house.] ¡°Master! Sister Wen!¡± Yingbao greeted Wen¡¯s mother and Wen Shu, and then bowed to An Shi who was sitting next to them, ¡°Aunt An Shi.¡± An Shiughed, ¡°Yingbao, you¡¯re finally back. Your mother has been worried sick.¡± ¡°It was my recklessness that made mother worry,¡± replied Yingbao. Wen Shu came over and hugged her, ¡°I haven¡¯t asked you about your trip to Jingzhou yet.¡±
Yingbao sat down with Wen Shu, recounting the events, concluding with, ¡°Fortunately, Chuyan and Xiao Mo brought soldiers to reinforce them, otherwise Jingzhou would have been lost.¡± Mrs. Wen frowned slightly, ¡°I heard that Tokyo is under siege. I wonder if there¡¯s anyone to help.¡± Her father-inw and eldest uncle¡¯s family were all in Beijing, if the city fell, the consequences would be unthinkable. Yingbao: ¡°Xiao Mo has already taken the troops there, but it will take twenty days to get there from Jingzhou?¡± Xiao Mo¡¯s troops weren¡¯t all cavalry; they had to march there on foot, and even if they traveled fifty to sixty miles a day, it would take twenty to thirty days. Mrs. Wen shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s toote.¡± All they could do now was to pray for Tokyo¡¯s safety. After chatting for a while, Wen Shu pulled Yingbao into the room for a private conversation. ¡°I¡¯ve broken off the marriage engagement with the Xiao family.¡± Wen Shu whispered to Yingbao, ¡°You were right, there is indeed something wrong with Xiao Chengjun.¡± Her mother had someone quietly investigate Xiao Chengjun¡¯s situation and found out that he snuck back to Beijing and took Chen Tiantian and her mother out of the temple. ¡°You don¡¯t know this yet, but that Chen Tiantian is now living in Xiao Chengjun¡¯s vi in Luzhou.¡± Wen Shu frowned, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing you warned me, otherwise¡­¡± The thought that her grandmother wanted to marry her off to such a man made her ufortable.
Though the Xiao family was prestigious, what he did was disgraceful. ¡°If he really liked Chen Tiantian, he should have taken her in. No one would have said anything. Instead, he secretly hid her away without proper intention. What does this make her? A mistress? Or is he preparing to indeed marry her?¡± ¡°Marry for real!¡± Yingbao said, ¡°Xiao Chengjun will absolutely marry her in the future!¡± If the two of them weren¡¯t meant to be together forever, that would just mean the heavens were blind. So, the two star-crossed lovers must be joined in holy matrimony. Chapter 368: 364: Damage to the Spleen and Stomach _1 Chapter 368: Chapter 364: Damage to the Spleen and Stomach _1 Wen Shu smiled and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who he marries.¡± She then nudged Yingbao with her arm, ¡°Oh! Tell me about what happened in Jingzhou. How did you manage to drive away the barbarians?¡± Yingbao scratched her head, ¡°It wasn¡¯t us who drove them away. It was Chuyan and my master. Then there was also Xiao Mo. Do you know Chuyan? He¡¯s Chuchu¡¯s younger brother.¡± Wen Shu shook her head, ¡°I don¡¯t recall clearly.¡± Looking at Wen Shu sewing, Yingbao suddenly asked, ¡°Do you have any preference for a husband, Wen Shu?¡± Wen Shu¡¯s face turned red. ¡°What are you talking about? You¡¯re too young to talk nonsense.¡± Yingbao responded seriously, ¡°I¡¯m being sincere. You¡¯re already sixteen this year, and I am sure that your master should be searching for suitable choices. How about you let me know, so I can help you consider them?¡± She¡¯d lived in Luzhou Prefecture and Qinchuan County for many years and knew quite a lot about the backgrounds of big families there.¡± Some families might seem very strict, but none of their children turned out well. They were either spending all their time in brothels or addicted to gambling. Some had terrible tempers, there would often be sickly maids and concubines carried out of their houses.¡± If Wen Shu ended up with such a family, it would be like falling into hell.¡± On top of that, she would feel guilty.¡±
This was because she had single-handedly destroyed Wen Shu¡¯s marriage with Xiao Chengjun. Honestly speaking, Xiao Chengjun seemed a little better than those scoundrels. At least he held a high position, didn¡¯t beat his wife, and never let his concubine overstep the main wife.¡± In the short term, Xiao Chengjun indeed appeared to be an admirable young talent.¡± Wen Shu bashfully listed a few families. All of them were of simr social standing to her own.¡± As soon as Yingbao heard the names and where these families were located, she realized that she knew all but one of them. The rest were all no-goods.¡± So, she told the truth and pointed out the issues within these families.¡± The matriarch of one family was very strict. Her daughters-inw either went mad from her constant nagging ormitted suicide. One of them even secretly ran back to her parental home and never returned.¡± Her three sons were incredibly obedient, choosing to remain single rather than disobey their mother.¡± Of the two remaining families, one man was homosexual and showed interest in pretty boys, while the other wasscivious and had affairs with any halfway decent-looking maid in his house.¡± Wen Shu didn¡¯t pay much attention, saying, ¡°These families were suggested by the matchmaker, but my mother didn¡¯t agree. Now that I hear what you are saying, I¡¯m even less likely to consider them.¡± Yingbao felt relieved and just when she had rxed, Wen Shu curiously asked, ¡°Yingbao, how did you find out about all these things?¡± Yingbao was caught off guard, quickly replying, ¡°I¡¯m now an onmyoji (a master of Yin and Yang). I deduced it all.¡± Wen Shu didn¡¯t believe her and teased, ¡°Why don¡¯t you predict your own marriage fortunes?¡± Yingbao shook her head, ¡°I¡¯ve checked my fortunes and ording to them, I will remain unmarried in this life.¡± Wen Shu burst intoughter, ¡°Nonsense. I think you will get married someday.¡± ¡°No way!¡± I might not even survive until I am twenty-one, so why waste time on this? Instead, I¡¯d rather spend more time with my parents.¡± ¡°What are you two talking about that¡¯s so joyful?¡± Wen Hengyin entered the room. He went straight to Yingbao and bowed, ¡°Yingbao.¡± Yingbao quickly stood up and returned the bow, ¡°Wen.¡± Wen Hengyin, now thirteen, was only a little taller than ten-year-old Yingbao. He looked a lot more reliable and steadypared to when he was younger. ¡°Mother said you¡¯re to stay for dinner. Our nanny is making your favorite¡ªdeep-fried prawns.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Yingbao nodded.
After saying these words, Wen Hengyin went outside again, without inquiring about the earlier conversation.¡± Wen Shuughed and said, ¡°My little brother works much harder now. He said he wants to be a schr.¡± Even though for a family like theirs, it would be easier to study medicine, her younger brother was set on bing a schr. If possible, he also hoped to be an imperial schr and eventually a county magistrate.¡± ¡°Bing a schr is indeed a good thing. With that distinction, nobody would dare bully him outside.¡± Even bandits usually left schrs alone.¡± The two chatted for a while until the nanny finished preparing dinner.
There was soy sauce marinated fish, deep-fried prawns, sweet soup stewed with Gleditsia rice and golden ear mushroom, saut¨¦ed spinach with pork liver, stir-fried spinach, grilledmb chops, a te of chilled dessert cake, a te of stir-fried ziziphus fruit with sour green beans, eight dishes in total on the table. The fish and prawns came from the marketce outside the vige, where the refugee children would sell what they manage to catch from the river every day in order to earn some pocket money. Yingbao noticed during the meal that there were two separate tables, one for men and one for women. Master Zhou Wuchang, Mr. Wu, Li Xu, her own grandpa Jiang Old Man, the Chen Family n Leader Chen Fu and Chen Sanyou were all present, as well as her two senior brothers. The woman¡¯s table didn¡¯t only consist of women, but also housed Wen Hengyin, Jiang Jie, Jiang Wu, Yuanbao, Huzi and Wei Zhan to name a few. Apanied by Mrs. Wen and Aunt An, and including Yingbao and Wen Shu, a total of ten people were present. Mrs. Wen also brought out her homemade rice wine to entertain the guests. Throughout the meal, Wei Zhan sat right beside Yingbao, peeling the shrimp for her without stop. Mrs. Wen took a look, then shifted her gaze to her own son. The boy just continued eating earnestly, as if he had seen nothing. Seeing Wei Zhan steadily peel shrimp for Yingbao to the extent of forgetting his own meal, Huzi couldn¡¯t help but to say, ¡°You can eat the shrimp with the shell, like this¡­¡± He picked up a shrimp and chomped down on it hard. Wei Zhan didn¡¯t even look up, as he continued peeling and replied, ¡°Eating the shell can hurt the spleen and stomach.¡± Huzi: ¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤ Yingbao ate the already peeled shrimp in peace without saying anything.
She thought of it as Wei Zhan making up for his past life debts, the humiliation she had to suffer due to him then, it was time she made aeback. After they finished their meal, Yingbao and her younger brother said their goodbyes to Mrs. Wen and went home. Chunniang and her husband had finished their meal and were waiting for the children to return. Jiang Sang sat in his chair holding his chin, gazing intently at Jiang Wu, ¡°Come here!¡± Jiang Wu wanted to flee instinctively but forcefully stopped himself. Jiang Sang picked up a bamboo cane, pulled his son over and gave him a firm beating on his backside. Jiang Wu, who was well aware of his misdeeds, didn¡¯t make a sound and allowed his father to beat him. Yingbao quickly pulled her father back, ¡°Dad, a couple of hits will do.¡± Only then did Jiang Sang throw down the bamboo cane and asked in an annoyed tone, ¡°Know where you¡¯ve gone wrong?¡± Jiang Wu remained silent. He didn¡¯t believe he was in the wrong. But considering his elder sister had taken part in the risk with him, he had to admit, ¡°I should not have brought my sister along.¡± Jiang Sang was so upset that he nearly burst outughing.
¡°I ask you, have you ever thought about your parents and siblings when you left? Your dad isn¡¯t heartless, but you are still young, and you should n ahead and act within your capabilities.¡± ¡°Yes dad, I¡¯ll think carefully before I act next time.¡± said Jiang Wu, lowering his head. Chunniang pulled her son over, stroking his head she said, ¡°Your father only hit you out of worry. He was afraid that you might not seed in saving the people and instead risked your own lives. Think about it, you and Huzi are still very young ¨C what help could you have provided in such a ce? You would even have to be protected by others. Isn¡¯t that burdensome?¡± Jiang Wu wanted to object that he, his sister and Huzi were not burdens at all. They had actually been a big help. His sister had saved many critically wounded people ¨Cter on, a lot of people even started calling her Little Onmyoji. But seeing the bamboo cane on the ground, he stopped himself and remained silent. Noticing her son¡¯s stubborn look, Chunniang sighed and continued, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for your father pleading Master Zhou for help, how could you and Huzi have been able to return?¡± Chapter 369: 365: Finding another way_1 Chapter 369: Chapter 365: Finding another way_1 Jiang Wu immediately widened his eyes: ¡°So it was you who found Master Zhou, dad, I thought¡­.¡± He had assumed that Master Zhou had be a general and led troops to rescue Jingzhou. Jiang Sang reached out and poked his son¡¯s forehead, irritably said: ¡°Master Zhou didn¡¯t even know you guys had gone to Jingzhou. When I told him, he immediately chartered arge ship to rush over.¡± As for how Master Zhou mobilized the troops, he himself didn¡¯t know, presumably he had to use a lot of connections. The next day, Yingbao alone went to Deer Garden, and let Youyou out. The red color on Youyou had faded a bit, making it look even more peculiar. Yingbao apologized by patting its head and its backside, and let Youyou go to the herd of deer. Youyou nuzzled against his little master, striding towards the herd. The herd was startled at first, but then recognized its leader and continued to graze on the grass on the ground. After watching for a while, Yingbao turned to look for Chuchu and handed over the things brought by Chuyan. Niuniu was already three years old, a bit older than her cousin Dali.
¡°Niuniu, do you still remember me?¡± Yingbao put the back-basket on the ground and teased the muddy child. Niuniu blinked her big eyes, then suddenly cried out, ¡°Sister.¡± Yingbaoughed heartily: ¡°Call me aunt, little aunt!¡± Niuniu obediently called her: ¡°Little aunt.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m your little aunt.¡± Yingbao picked her up and took out a handkerchief to wipe her face. She was too busy yesterday and hadn¡¯t had a chance to see her. Today she just happened to bring the things from Chuyan and bought two boxes of cakes for Niuniu. Upon not seeing Chuchu around, Yingbao asked, ¡°Howe Niuniu is home alone? Where are your mom and little brother?¡± ¡°Mommy took my brother to wash clothes.¡± Niuniu spoke clearly, her big eyes fixed on Yingbao. Yingbao put her down and took her to wash her hands again. This Chuchu is really something, letting her little girl get so dirty and not washing her. Soon enough, a basin of water was turned ck by Niuniu¡¯s washing, yet her hands were still not clean. After using two basins of water, Niuniu¡¯s little face and hands were finally clean. Yingbao handed her a piece of pastry and sat beside her, watching her eat. Niuniu ate very carefully, even imitating Yingbao by sitting on a small stool. Yingbao said, ¡°Niuniu, you can¡¯t lounge on the ground to y in the future. You might swallow little bugs.¡± ¡°Mm!¡± Niuniu nodded. Yingbao picked up a Khun Ming puzzle from the ground and taught Niuniu how to solve it. Niuniu was smart and quickly got the hang of it. She stuffed thest bit of cake into her mouth and started to attempt the puzzle just like Yingbao. At that moment, Chuchu returned carrying Heidan. She was overjoyed to see Yingbao. She put down her basket, hugged Yingbao, and started to hang up theundry. Yingbao also picked up the wet clothes to wring dry and then hang them on the bamboo rack. ¡°Sister Chuchu, I ran into Chuyan. He wanted me to bring some things to you.¡±
Chuchu paused, asked anxiously, ¡°What is Chuyan doing now? Why didn¡¯t he write me?¡± ¡°He can¡¯t easily do so.¡± Once Yingbao finished hanging up a few pieces of clothes, she pointed to a basket of items and said, ¡°These are what he wanted me to give you.¡± The basket contained fabrics, two small child¡¯s gold lockets, two pairs of small golden bracelets, two golden hairpins, a pair ofrge golden bracelets, and two hundred taels of silver. Chuchu held the items and began to cry. ¡°No matter how inconvenient it is for him, he should at least let me know he¡¯s safe. After all these years, he hasn¡¯t given me any word.¡±
Every time she thought that Chuyan left with her husband¡¯s brother, anger swelled within Chuchu. She cried for a while, then, upon hearing Heidan behind her start to howl, she quickly put him down and started to breastfeed him. Upon seeing Chuchu, who now looked like a haggard rural woman, sitting on a stool, lifting her garment to breastfeed her child, Yingbao couldn¡¯t help but grimace. She didn¡¯t want to have children herself in the future, much less breastfeed them. Breastfeeding, that¡¯s pretty scary. After leaving Chuchu¡¯s house, Niuniu kept crying and chasing after her. Unable to resist, Yingbao takes her hand and leads her along. ChuChu spends all day busy with housework, washing clothes, cooking, nursing the baby, even having to take care of the garden. ck Egg also must be carried with her, so Niuniu is often overlooked. As a result, Niuniu spends most of her time ying alone. Today, she finally encounters a youngdy¡­or rather a little aunt dedicated to ying with her, and naturally warms up to her. Yingbao takes Niuniu to stroll around the market outside the vige, where they see Chen Zhao as expected. She and her older sister Chen Wan jointly run a food stall selling fried sugar cakes and pork wontons. The wontons are filled with abundant ck pepper, vinegar and coriander. The scent simply wafts through the air for miles.
Seeing Yingbao, Chen Zhao is happy, beckoning to her, ¡°Yingbao,e quickly! Try the wontons I made.¡± Yingbao leads Niuniu over and sits down at the small table. Looking around, she sees that after a month or two, the market has a few more stalls, an extra butcher¡¯s stall and even a saddlery. More and more people are setting up homes and extending further on the South Slope. The market here is even busier than the town. Not counting the medicine stores, cloth shops, and inns run by wealthy families in town, the number of stalls in this side of the market is extensive, selling all kinds of things. There are women and young girls from neighboring viges selling embroidered products on the roadside, carrying small stools, and embroidering on the spot. ¡°The wontons are ready.¡± Chen Zhao brings a bowl of hot wontons to Yingbao and a smaller one for Niuniu. Yingbao stirs the wontons slowly to cool them off and asks Chen Zhao, ¡°Is business okay?¡± ¡°Of course. My older sister and I can earn 500 coins a day.¡± Chen Zhao wipes her hands on her apron with pride, ¡°On market days, we can earn up to two silver coins.¡± Once the wontons in the small bowl have cooled, Yingbao hands the spoon to Niuniu. ¡°Do your grandparents agree with you keeping your business?¡± ¡°What could she do if she doesn¡¯t agree?¡± sneered Chen Zhao, ¡°We¡¯ve given plenty to the family.¡± After pondering, she startsining to Yingbao, ¡°The expenses for Dad¡¯s studies in the County City are increasing. I wonder where they all went?¡±
Looking around to make sure there are no outsiders, Chen Zhao lowers her voice and asks, ¡°Yingbao, can you tell me how much it costs to study at the county school per month?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Yingbao begins eating her wontons and feeds Niuniu in-between. Chen Zhao stares at her, ¡°Your brother Jiang Jie is also studying at the county school, isn¡¯t he? Howe you don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°Oh, you mean Jiang Jie. He doesn¡¯t use much. He can¡¯t even spend 500 coins a month.¡± Yingbao tells the truth. Her brother resides in the shop¡¯s backyard and eats meals prepared by their aunt daily. asionally he dines out with ssmates, but never spends more than thirty coins. As for stationery, he consumes at most two to three hundred coins a month. Of course, that¡¯s because she had bulk purchased superior paper and ink from the Prefecture City, which wouldst Jiang Jie several years. ¡°Ha! I knew it! He went to the county city with that woman, not to study!¡± Chen Zhao angrily scrubs the table with a cloth, ¡°Each month, he spends ten silver coins. It¡¯s so hard for us to earn some money, but it just goes to his woman¡¯s rouge and face powder.¡± ¡°Ahzhao.¡± Chen Wan scowls disapprovingly at her sister, ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense.¡± Family matters shouldn¡¯t be discussed with outsiders, particrly about their own father. Chen Zhao dismisses it, ¡°What nonsense have I talked? Yingbao is not an outsider.¡± Yingbao alternates between feeding Niuniu and herself and quickly finishes the wontons. Setting down the money for the wontons, Yingbao adds, ¡°My brother never uses family money for his studies. He¡¯s a schrship student and receives four silver coins a month plus grain, vegetables, pork, and mutton.¡±
Chen Changping is just a fifth-rank charity student who doesn¡¯t even have the qualification to take the provincial exam. Not all the students studying in the County Government school can take the Imperial civil service examinations. Every three years, only the schrship students are allowed to take the provincial exam. asionally charitable students join the examination, but that requires the Instructor¡¯s approval. If the Instructor feels your studiesck merit, he simply won¡¯t give you the provincial exam certificate. Without the certificate, the County Government will not let you register for the exam, nor will they provide travel expenses. Therefore, if Chen Changping wants to enter officialdom in this lifetime, he most probably needs another way. If so, which of his daughters will he sacrifice to pave the way for him? Chapter 370: 366: Building a Workshop_1 Chapter 370: Chapter 366: Building a Workshop_1 Coming back from the market, Niuniu was following closely along, crying at the mention of sending her home. With no choice, Yingbao had to bring her home. Afterwards, she washed her head and face, changed her clothes, and threw her onto the kang bed. Then she wrote a character for her to recognize and taught her how to count on her fingers. Niuniu was very smart, she learned in no time. By nightfall, Niuniu still refused to go home, even hiding under the quilt and refusing toe out. Yingbao had no choice but topromise, but she was worried that the little child would wet the bed. Unexpectedly, Niuniu slept till morning, climbed off the kang bed herself, went outside to relieve herself, and was very independent. Just like that, Niuniu became Yingbao¡¯s little ¡°tail¡±, following her wherever she went. One day, Yingbao took her and Wen Shu to stroll around the market. Today happened to be the market day, and the market was very lively, selling all kinds of things.
There were things such as wild chickens, wild rabbits, partridges, bamboo shoots, white mushrooms, etc. Niuniu pointed at a stall selling eels, crabs, and turtles and eximed, ¡°Auntie, little turtles!¡± Yingbao leaned over and saw that in front of this man¡¯s wooden basin, there indeed were several golden little turtles. ¡°What kind of turtles are these?¡± Yingbao curiously asked. ¡°Golden coin turtles,¡± replied the stubble-bearded man. ¡°How much?¡± Yingbao found the little turtles to be very beautiful and wanted to buy a few to raise in the pond. The man: ¡°The smaller ones are twenty coins, therger ones are fifty coins each.¡± Yingbao did not haggle over the price and bought all four turtles. Niuniu was very happy, touching the little turtle¡¯s back with her small hand, infatuated, and kept moring, ¡°Niuniu wants to y with the turtles.¡± Yingbao gave her a slightly bigger one: ¡°You take this one first, don¡¯t poke its head, it will bite.¡± ¡°Ok!¡± Niuniu put the little turtle into her pocket. ¡°Yingbao, what did you buy?¡± someone asked from behind. Yingbao turned her head and saw that it was Wei Zhan¡¯s mother, Lady Wang. ¡°Lady Wang.¡± Yingbao greeted Lady Wang with a bow, and Wen Shu also followed suit. Lady Wang held her hand and said: ¡°Since both you and Wen Shu are here,e and have a meal at my house. You haven¡¯t visited my new house yet, have you? I¡¯ve built a courtyard at West Vige, and it¡¯s just been tidied up.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yingbao indeed nned to visit Lady Wang. So, Yingbao and Wen Shu, with Niuniu in tow, went to Lady Wang¡¯s house as guests. For this, she also brought back some fruits from home, and Wen Shu also brought two boxes of pastries.
Originally, after Wei Zhan brought his mother to this ce, Lady Wang bought a piece ofnd at a high price in Xichen Vige and hired over a hundred vigers to build a house for her. As long as the money was in ce, the delivery of green bricks, green tiles, and materials was extremely fast. In just one month, a two-part courtyard with over ten rooms was built. The inside of the house was fully furnished, with green bricksid on the floor.
Only some furniture was still being made and it would take a few more days toplete. Lady Wang had already moved in with a group of servants, and the stove was also lit. But Wei Zhan had been hanging out with Huzi these past few days, reluctant to return home. Madam Wang had her maid, Ding Xiang, go to the market to buy fresh vegetables. She also purchased somemb, pork, fish, and shrimp, which she handed over to the cook to prepare the banquet. She sat with the two youngdies in the pavilion outside the yard and chatted with them, saying, ¡°I remember Qng once said this ce is exceptional, I thought he was exaggerating, but indeed it¡¯s like a utopia¡ªI don¡¯t even feel like leaving.¡± The customs here are simple, and the vigers are courteous and polite. Coupled with the beautiful scenery and mountains, it is truly a good ce for cultivation and self-cultivation. Yingbao took a sip of almond tea, nodding, ¡°Our ce is indeed extraordinary. My master also decided to settle down after arriving.¡± Master Zhou intends not only to stay but also to build a Wuchang Taoist Temple here. The n Leader and the n Elders are very supportive of his ns and have proposed to raise funds collectively, even suggesting erecting a merit que at the vige entrance. Just this morning, her master and senior brother went out to select a site. Madam Wang took a sip of the almond tea and smiled. She then asked, ¡°I noticed your family has opened a textile workshop. Why didn¡¯t you keep it running? It¡¯s a promising business that could potentially enrich the local residents once it¡¯s profitable.¡± Yingbao blinked: ¡°But we run out of cotton, and each household in the vige has its own spinning wheel. They usually keep their cotton for personal use, and my mother can¡¯t manage the workshop alone.¡± ¡°Why not hire some help? You father¡¯s position as the vige head gives him a special ability to attract skilled people,¡± Madam Wang suggested. Yingbao had never considered hiring people. She earns a lot of money each year and doesn¡¯t want to worry about such things.
As for her mother, she even less likely to hire outside help. Rather, she prefers to do everything on her own. Madam Wang could see that Yingbao and her family did not have a proclivity formerce. She suggested, ¡°Given your family¡¯s reluctance to run the workshop due to its potential influence on Jiang Jie¡¯s career, why not partner with our family? We can split the profits fifty-fifty. We¡¯ll manage it, and all you¡¯ll need to do is provide a location for the workshop. How does that sound?¡± After thinking, Yingbao said, ¡°I¡¯ll discuss it with my dad and mom.¡± Having their workshop as a fixed asset for the family seems like a good deal. Moreover, without having to worry about business, they could still make money¡ªwho would refuse such an opportunity? Still, investing requires careful consideration. Yingbao decided to consult with her parents first. After having a meal at Madam Wang¡¯s, Yingbao said goodbye with Niuniu and Wen Shu and returned home. She discussed Madam Wang¡¯s proposition with her parents, ¡°Madam Wang wants to open a textile workshop in partnership with us. We¡¯re to choose the location while she sends someone to manage it. All the procurement of cotton and sales of fabric will be taken care of by them. What do you think, dad, mom?¡± Jiang Sang thought for a while and nodded, ¡°If she¡¯s genuine about the partnership, it could work.¡± ¡°I think Madam Wang is sincere. Moreover, Wei Zhan is still studying here,¡± Yingbao said confidently. Madam Wang only has one son; why would she dete his morale? And the Wei family is not short of money, so why would they bother scheming against her¡ªan impoverished country girl? Chunniang¡ªrelieved to hear she wouldn¡¯t need to worry about managing the workshop¡ªbreathed a sigh of relief.
She was tired of interacting with arge number of people, mediating between the weavers¡¯ arguments and fights every day. It drained her energy. ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll go look for a suitable location for the workshop tomorrow,¡± decided Jiang Sang. They would build the workshop somewhat further from their home so that no mboyant women would cause trouble and upset his wife. It was too bothersome. ordingly, Jiang Sang¡¯s family and Madam Wang partnered to set up a workshop on the outskirts of the vige. The construction was paid for by the Jiang family, but the structure was entirely decided by Madam Wang. Since she also owned a textile workshop, she knew exactly what was needed for one. The design included a warehouse, a workshoprge enough for several spinningthes, a lounge for the weavers, a kitchen, a well, a stable, and a room for the supervisor and the security staff. It was fully equipped. The project was a bitrge and cost several hundred taels of silver from Jiang Sang. By the lunar month, the workshop was fully constructed. Once the spinningthes were moved into the workshop and the purchased cotton was stored in the warehouse, lots of weavers started to gather for positions in the new enterprise. Madam Wang sent her most reliable subordinate, Wang Wuniang, to handle it. Wang Wuniang was originally Madam Wang¡¯s apanying servant. She had always helped her mistress manage the weavers, so she was sent here specifically to manage this new workshop. Madam Wang also brought Yingbao to Wang Wuniang and told her to teach Yingbao more about the industry. Managing a big workshop isparable to managing arge family, with lots of internal intrigue. Madam Wang intentionally wanted Yingbao to gain more experience.
As the saying goes, ¡°three women make a spectacle.¡± Here, there were far more than three women, and one could never predict how many spectacles they would put on daily. Chapter 371: 367: The Mainstay_1 Chapter 371: Chapter 367: The Mainstay_1 Madam Wang also kept no secrets, she took Yingbao with her all the time from when she selected the weavers. After going through a selection process, twenty deft-handed weavers were chosen to be on a probation period for a month. During this month, they could live in the workshop with food provided for free, but there was no wage. If they passed the probation period, they would sign a contract and officially join the workshop. The weavers¡¯ wages depended on how much cotton yarn and fabric they could spin and weave, the more effort they put in, the more pay they could obtain. If they were diligent, they could earn several coins a month. These weavers were daughters and daughters-inw from poor families. Several of them were daughters from refugee families. To have the opportunity to work there, they epted all conditions withoutint. Close to the New Year¡¯s Day, Yingbao gave these weavers a day off and gave each of them a fish to bring home for the New Year celebration. These fishes were caught by Wei Zhan and Huzi Jiang Wu. They caught dozens in total. Yingbao¡¯s miraculous fish bait brought good luck to the vigers, and many others also caught a good number of fish. The vigers living on the South Slope were overjoyed, forming crowds to catch fish along the Chuanhe River. The sight was overwhelming; even Master Zhou went to join in the fun, bing even more curious about his young apprentice.
Could there really be such a thing as a reincarnated fairy child in this world? Otherwise, it was hard to exin Yingbao¡¯s peculiarities. On New Year¡¯s Eve, the Jiang family set up several tables, Master Zhou and his two disciples, Madam Wen and her two sons, Chuchu¡¯s family of four together with her brother Chu Qing, and also Madam Wang and her son and Li Xu and his mother, all gathered together to have the New Year¡¯s Eve dinner. Jiang Sang brought out over ten jars of fruit wine and rice wine, and juice he made himself, to entertain everyone. After they had enough food and wine, Madam Wang and Madam Wen went home, but the boys insisted on staying at the Jiang house to celebrate the New Year withnterns. Normally, this was considered improper, but Madam Wang and Madam Wen both had their own agendas, so they didn¡¯t stop them. ¡°Yingbao, do you like myntern?¡± Wei Zhan held up hisntern smiling, ¡°I made it myself.¡± Yingbao nced at the rabbitntern in his hand, and nodded: ¡°It¡¯s good.¡± She lifted her tiny Pce Lantern: ¡°This one is even better. Look at the top, it¡¯s made of coloured ze.¡± The coloured zentern was a gift from Sister Wen, a pair in total, one for her brother Wen Hengyin and one for Yingbao. Wei Zhan pouted, snatching the pcentern from Yingbao and shoving his rabbitntern into her hand: ¡°What¡¯s a girl doing with a pcentern? The rabbit is cuter, I¡¯ll swap it with you!¡± Yingbao was not happy now, chasing him to get it back, ¡°No swap! Give it back!¡± Wei Zhan turned and ran away, making faces at her as he fled. Jiang Jie, Jiang Wu, Huzi and Yuanbao also joined in the chase, a gaggle of children running ap around the vige. Most families in the vige had set up offering tables and hung upnterns in their courtyards, lighting up the vige streets. The children from the refugee families living outside the vige also came in, each carrying self-madenterns, tripping over each other to grab the cakes and pastries ced on the offering tables. The offerings on the Jiang¡¯s family offering table were the most abundant, not only did it hold pastries but also various kinds of fruits, bowls of apples and mandarin oranges. When it was the second day of the New Year, Chunniang took her husband and children back to her maiden home to wish everyone a Happy New Year. They had not even arrived at the Xu vige yet when they saw several people standing by the road. It turned out to be Mother Xu and her grandchildren. Seeing her daughter¡¯s carriage approaching, Mother Xu waved excitedly, ¡°Chunniang! Sang!¡±
Chunniang lifted the curtain of the carriage and quickly hopped down, running to her mother and scolding, ¡°Why have youe all this way in this cold weather?¡± Mother Xuughed, ¡°I am idle and have nothing to do, so I came out to see.¡± Xu Da, his brother Xu Erniu, and sister Xu Lan greeted Chunniang and Jiang Sang together, ¡°Auntie, Uncle.¡± Jiang Sang nodded in response.
Madame Chun said, ¡°Why did you all suddenlye out? Hurry back, it¡¯s so chilly!¡± Yingbao and her two younger brothers popped their heads out from behind the carriage curtain, shouting in unison, ¡°Grandma, first cousin, second cousin, cousin, Happy New Year.¡± ¡°Happy New Year, Happy New Year.¡± Madame Xuughed like a blooming chrysanthemum. Xu Dan and his siblings also quickly said, ¡°Happy New Year, cousins.¡± Madame Xu waved her hand, ¡°Hurry home, your Auntie has made a lot of delicious food.¡± Then, Madame Chun walked with the elderlydy towards the vige, while Jiang Sang followed slowly with the carriage. The Xu siblings talked with their cousins on the side of the carriage. As the crowd entered the vige, many vigers gathered around to watch. Some even approached Jiang Jie to greet him politely. ¡°Happy New Year, Schr Jiang.¡± Jiang Jie replied hastily, ¡°Happy New Year to you too.¡± ¡°Great¡­ Great¡­¡± The man was overjoyed to receive a reply. He didn¡¯t know where to put his hands and feet. Seeing this, others came to greet him as well. For a moment, Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu were overwhelmed. Xu Dan and Xu Erniu, seeing this, hurried over to squeeze through the crowd, protecting their young cousins as they walked home. Xu Da had been waiting at the door, and seeing Jiang Jieughing so cheerfully, he warmly weed him into the house, calling for his wife to serve tea.
Xu Da¡¯s wifeplied, carrying out the almond tea that had been prepared earlier. She poured a bowl for her niece, her nephew, and another bowl for her elder sister and brother-inw. Then she smiled at Jiang Jie and Yingbao, ¡°This is made from the almonds from our own trees. I collected a lot this year. I roasted them yesterday, and ground them into thick paste before dawn. I even added sheep¡¯s milk and honey.¡± Xu Lan giggled and said, ¡°Enough Ma, your food is going to burn.¡± Xu Da¡¯s wife gasped and rushed into the kitchen. Afterwards, Yingbao and her brothers respectfully greeted their grandmother, followed by their uncle and aunt, to offer their New Year greetings. Both Xu Da and his wife were shocked to see Jiang Jie kneeling with the kids to offer his greetings. They hurriedly assisted him up. This was, after all, a gifted schr! Normally, even a county magistrate wouldn¡¯t have to kneel before him. Now he was kneeling to them, it was astonishing. Just then, there was amotion outside. It turned out that Madame Xu¡¯s two brothers had arrived. Both old men brought New Year¡¯s gifts, one of which was for Jiang Sang. So, Yingbao and her brothers offered their respectful greetings to their grand-uncles. The two grand-uncles had smiles in their eyes as they looked at Jiang Jie. They couldn¡¯t help but wish to pull him into a hug and pat him on the back. ¡°Xiaojie, you are our family¡¯s pir of support. From now on, our Xu family will rely on you.¡± ¡°Yes! Xiaojie, your grand-uncles have several good-for-nothing grandchildren. Please take the time to guide them too.¡±
Jiang Jie¡¯s face twitched. How did he suddenly be the pir of the Xu family? And as for disciplining the grandchildren of his grand-uncles, gosh, they were almost old enough to be married! Seeing the grand-uncles had settled down to chat with their dad, Yingbao and Jiang Wu quietly slipped out of the house. Jiang Jie noticed his siblings sneaking out and decided to follow suit as well. But he was caught by the grand-uncles: ¡°Xiaojie, don¡¯t leave today ¨C have dinner with us at your elder Grand-uncle¡¯s house.¡± Jiang Jie stiffly returned a smile and looked at his father. Knowing that he couldn¡¯t refuse, Jiang Sang nodded in agreement: ¡°Then we are in the debt of elder Grand-uncle.¡± ¡°What nonsense about being in debt, Sang, you¡¯re being too polite.¡± Another Grand-uncle said, ¡°Come to my house tomorrow at noon, your Aunt has prepared all the dishes. We¡¯re even ughtering a pig this year, especially to host Xiaojie.¡± Chapter 372: 368: Coveting_1 Chapter 372: Chapter 368: Coveting_1 His uncle added again, ¡°Your uncle doesn¡¯t have much to his name, but I hope you won¡¯t look down on our family. You¡¯re always wee to visit.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jiang Jie could only agree with a nod. They were just chatting when a few more people came in. It was Xu Qiuniang and her husband returning home with their children. ¡°Wow, the house is really lively today.¡± Xu Qiuniang entered the room carrying some pastries and scanned the room with a jubnt smile beforending her gaze on Jiang Jie. ¡°So the Schr is here, that exins it.¡± Jiang Jie bowed respectfully to Xu Qiuniang, ¡°Aunt.¡± ¡°Oh, there¡¯s no need for formalities.¡± Xu Qiuniang pulled him up and called for her daughter, Qian Yu, ¡°Yuyu,e say hello to your cousin.¡± Qian Jin and Qian Yu stepped forward together, ¡°Cousin.¡± Jiang Jie paid respects to both, ¡°Cousin, cousin.¡± Xu Qiuniangughed, ¡°Look at you, Jie, bing more and more like an adult. You seem even more mature than your cousin, one might mistake you as her older brother.¡± Jiang Jie nced at his fourteen-year-old cousin Qian Yu. She was a head taller than him, in what way did he look like her older brother?
Seeing this, Jiang Ji demonstrated some frustration and said to his son, ¡°Jiang Jie, why don¡¯t you go and find Jiang Wu.¡± Jiang Jie readily said his goodbyes to his uncles. After greeting his uncle-inw, Qian Jiu, at the door, he ran out. Yingbao and her brother Jiang Wu were watching a group of kids ying outside. When they saw Jiang Jie run out, Yingbao asked in a low voice, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stay for tea with them?¡± ¡°I¡¯m too young to drink tea,¡± Jiang Jie remarked listlessly. Xu Dan¡¯s four-year-old daughter, Xinghua, ran over, gazing at them with wide eyes. Yingbao took out a piece of wax gourd candy from her purse and gave it to her, asking, ¡°Why are you not with your mother?¡± Today was the second day of the new year, and Daniu should have taken his wife and child to visit his mother-inw. However, Daniu and Xinghua were still at home for some reason. Xinghua bit into the wax gourd candy and exined, ¡°Dad brought me back, Mum¡¯s staying at Grandma¡¯s for dinner. She¡¯s noting back.¡± It turns out, Daniu took his wife and daughter to his father-inw¡¯s house for the New Year¡¯s celebration in the morning. Afterward, he brought his daughter back, while his wife stayed at her mother¡¯s home for the holiday. As they were talking, Xu Lan came out and called them to join the meal. There were two tables set in the main room. Jiang Ji, his son, and his eldest brother-inw, along with two uncles, inws, Qian Jiu, and nephew Xu Dan sat at one table. Chunniang, Yingbao, Xu Qiuniang, her children, Xu Lan, Xu Erniu, Xu¡¯s mother holding Xinghua sat at the other. Xu¡¯s sister-inw was still busy in the kitchen and didn¡¯t have time to sit down for the meal. At the dinner table, Xu Qiuniang kept serving Yingbao food while asking with a smile, ¡°Yingbao, is it true that the special shop in the county town is part of your dowry?¡± Yingbao blinked and stuffed her mouth full of chicken, too busy to speak. Xu Qiuniang thenughed and said to Chunniang, ¡°Sister, why don¡¯t our two families be even closer through marriage?¡± Chunniang responded tersely, ¡°The children are still young. Let¡¯s not talk about such nonsense. Hurry up and eat.¡± Xu Qiuniang seemed not to understand her sister¡¯s refusal and then said to Yingbao, ¡°Yingbao, what do you think of Qian Jin?¡± When Yingbao nced at Qian Jin, the sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy was covered in sweat. He was the spitting image of his father.
But it was not an issue of appearance, she simply did not have that kind of consideration in her mind. Moreover, even if she had to find inws, there was no way she would end up with a family like Xu Qiuniang¡¯s. ¡°Qiuniang!¡± Chunniang gritted her teeth and red at her sister, ¡°What nonsense are you talking about during the New Year?¡± The olddy Xu was angry too, but she couldn¡¯t let her two daughters quarrel during the New Year, so she had to pull Chunniang aside, indicating that she should tolerate it.
Yingbao swallowed the chicken in her mouth and said, ¡°Mother, let¡¯s go home after dinner.¡± She didn¡¯t want to see Xu Qiuniang for a moment longer. Chunniang nodded, ¡°Okay.¡± Xu Qiuniang¡¯s face turned cold, but thinking of her future glory and wealth, she immediately put on a smile again, ¡°Oh, sister, you¡¯re really stingy, can¡¯t even take a joke, let¡¯s eat, let¡¯s eat.¡± Chunniang turned her head away, ignoring her, and moved all the piled-up dishes in her daughter¡¯s te into her own bowl. The meal was somber and after Chunniang finished eating, she and her daughter returned to olddy Xu¡¯s room. The men were still drinking at their table, with Qian Jiu¡¯s table-pping noise heard from time to time. Following her into the room, olddy Xu whispered to her eldest daughter, ¡°Your sister is too used to saying whatever she pleases, why are you allowing her to anger you? Ignore whatever she says.¡± Chunniang, ¡°Mother, don¡¯t you know? She¡¯s the most selfish, who knows what disgusting things she might do in the future.¡± She touched her daughter¡¯s hair, her teeth clenched, ¡°Dare toy her hands on my Baobao, she must be blind!¡± Old Lady Xu sighed and nced at Yingbao secretly. Seeing that she had no expressions, her heart eased a little. While she didn¡¯t want her two daughters to be at odds, at this point, she needed to show her stance, or her eldest daughter would harbor discontent. ¡°Chunniang, I will talk to your sisterter. What nonsense she spews in front of the child, can¡¯t have outsiders hearing about it.¡± Chunniang kept silent.
When Jiang Sang finally ended the banquet, he said he wanted to go home early. So, Jiang Sang took Jiang Jie to visit their two maternal uncles, brought them New Year¡¯s gifts, and said they had to go home because of some matters. The uncles tried to retain him several times, but seeing that Jiang Sang was determined, they could only let him go. After olddy Xu sent Chunniang and her family off, she called Qiuniang into the room, and started to scold her, ¡°You are bing more and more unreasonable! What nonsense were you talking about at the dinner table?¡± Xu Qiuniang responded nonchntly, ¡°What did I say? A stray girl found from nowhere is more precious than a pearl? If Jiang Jie hadn¡¯t been admitted as a schr, I wouldn¡¯t even bother to look at her.¡± Old Lady Xu pped her a few times in anger. But with Qiuniang¡¯s winter clothing on, it didn¡¯t really hurt. ¡°Mother, look how protective you are. Is my Jinjin inferior to a homeless girl? Who is your real blood rtive, huh?¡± Qiuniangined. Old Lady Xu pushed her away angrily, ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear your nonsense. Go home right now.¡± Xu Qiuniang huffed, ¡°We shouldn¡¯t even keep her. Mother, why don¡¯t you suggest to my sister that Qian Yu could marry Jiang Jie? It¡¯d be great to reinforce our familial ties.¡± ¡°Get lost!¡± Old Lady Xu picked up the broom and swung it at her daughter, ¡°You¡¯ve gone mad, daring to say such things! If I hear you saying such words again, don¡¯t evere to see me!¡± ¡¤¡¤¡¤ On returning home, Chunniang got rid of her three children and quietly told her husband, ¡°Sang, Baobao is eleven years old. We should really start looking out for a suitable match for her. Wei Zhan from Madame Wang¡¯s family seems a good match, why don¡¯t we¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡± ¡°Stop talking nonsense!¡± Jiang Sang frowned, ¡°Baobao is only eleven, Erni is fifteen and we haven¡¯t found a match for her yet. Why are you in such a hurry? Besides, since when do girls¡¯ families run around finding sons-inw? We won¡¯t even consider these things until she¡¯s fifteen.¡±
Chunniang sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t want Baobao to find her future family too early, but¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡± There are too many covetous people, and Baobao is too simple, not understanding how to avoid suspicion. If someone maneuvers against her, what will we do? ¡°We don¡¯t need to worry about it.¡± Jiang Sang said, ¡°Her master and Mr. Wen are watching. They won¡¯t let Baobao be dyed.¡± Chapter 373 - 369: Chopping Off The Head_1 Chapter 373: Chapter 369: Chopping Off The Head_1 Yingbao left home, taking her two brothers to visit their second uncle¡¯s wife and her new baby. Yes, Yanru had given birth to a daughter who was already over two months old and incredibly adorable. But she was quite anxious about how to raise the child. Yingbao visited them daily to check on them and soothe Yanru¡¯s anxieties. ¡°Second aunty, I¡¯m here,¡± Yingbao said as she pushed aside the door curtain and walked in. Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu followed her inside, peeking at the baby on the bed-stove. Yanru hurriedly got up from the bed-stove to pour almond tea for her niece and nephews. This drink was quite popr in Dongchen Vige because every house there had apricot trees. The fruit they bore was either boiled into syrup to be consumed slowly or made into wine. The pits were sun-dried to make almond tea. Cooked with sheep¡¯s milk and honey, it was fragrant and sweet, loved by both adults and children. Yingbao picked up her two-month-old sister from the bed-stove and yed with her, making the baby smile. Yanru ced the almond tea on the table for Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu to drink, then she leaned in to look at her daughter andughed, ¡°She was quite fussy today, refusing her milk and crying non-stop. She just quieted down.¡± On hearing this, Yingbao put her finger on the back of the baby¡¯s neck and said, ¡°Second aunty, you better change her clothes quickly, they are all wet inside.¡± Most babies tend to get sweaty when they cry; if not changed, they could catch a cold soon. Yanru, somewhat flustered, fetched a monk¡¯s suit and unpinned the swaddle to change the baby¡¯s clothes. Fortunately, the room was not too cold, so, the baby turned her head and smiled at Yingbao. After changing her daughter¡¯s clothes and diaper, Yanru swaddled her again. Just then, Yingbao said, ¡°Second aunty, at night, you should unwrap the swaddling nket and just let her wear a singleyer of clothing to sleep in theforter. Don¡¯t make the bed-stove too hot. Look, her lips are chapped. Give her some lukewarm water.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yanru rushed off to fetch a bowl of water. She fed the water to her baby with a spoon, and the little one gulped it down, clearly very thirsty. Thinking for a bit, Yingbao said, ¡°From now on, use the water from our well. Make sure to give the baby water at least twice a day.¡± The water from her well, containing pool water and Pupil Spring, not only prevented illness when consumed by humans but also helped the vegetables grow robustly when used for irrigation. Although Yanru was puzzled as to why Yingbao asked her to use their well water, she knew she could trust her advice because her niece was a fairy child and a divine doctor. ¡°Alright, from now on, I¡¯ll have your second uncle fetch water from your house.¡± Yanru carefully ced her sleeping daughter into the cradle after she drank the water and covered her with a nket. In her house, she kept the bed-stove burning. Following Yingbao¡¯s advice, letting an infant sleep on a hot bed-stove was not beneficial. During the day, it was okay to let her sleep in the cradle. After checking on her sister, Yingbao took her brothers back home. Jiang Wu, who was in a hurry, slipped out the door to go and y with Wei Zhan, Huzi, and Wen Hengyin. Jiang Jie, who was tired that day, returned to his room to sleep. Meanwhile, Yingbao returned to her room,id down on the bed-stove, and, with a focused mind, entered her cave dwelling. Her parents were now managing the cave dwelling so she didn¡¯t need to worry and would just asionally pop in and check ory down in the lush fruit forest to think. There hadn¡¯t been any changes in the book in her mind, indicating no errors in the plot. The rtionship between the main male and female protagonists was progressing steadily. That was good, she hoped they could go on forever, like a couple along with their dogs. On the fifth day of the New Year, Mother Spring got up early to boil dumplings, chop sausages, braised chicken, and braised goose. She also made tes of beef and mutton. Each dish was disyed on arge table where she then added a small bowl of bean sauce spinach, a bowl of stinky tofu sprinkled with a bit of coriander, and ced them on the table. Yingbao also fetched several fruits from her cer and sliced them onto arge te for everyone to enjoy. Jiang Sang and Master Zhou sat together, each holding a big bowl of dumplings, while discussing the construction of the Taoist Temple. Zhou Wuchang and his two disciples had been staying with Jiang Sang for a while. It seemed as if they had made his house their own. Just as the big family was enjoying their meal, Second Niece rushed in and said to Yingbao, ¡°Yingbao, Chen Zhao has been injured by her stepmother! You need to go and check on her right away!¡± Yingbao, with a mouthful of dumplings, almost choked on the news. ¡°Where was he struck?¡± ¡°Here! The head! It was Chen Zhao¡¯s head!¡± Erni was gesturing as she spoke. Yingbao put down her bowl, went back into the house to grab the medicine box, and followed Erni running outside. Before they even reached West Vige, they saw people heading there continuously. Suddenly, a young girl ran up to them, and as soon as she saw Yingbao, she started crying, ¡°Yingbao, please save my sister! She¡¯s not doing well!¡± The neer was Chen Wan, her hands covered in fresh blood. Without any hesitation, Yingbao ran quickly to the Chen¡¯s house. It was her first time entering Old Chen Laoshuan¡¯s house, and she was slightly uneasy. Chen Wan led her into a thatched cottage, it was rather dim inside, incapable of making out the condition of the person lying on the kang bed. Chen Wan quickly lit an oilmp to illuminate the room for Yingbao. She saw Chen Zhao lying on the bed, her head roughly bandaged, the bandage already stained red with fresh blood. Yingbao carefully unwrapped the cotton cloth, revealing a long gash, about the length of a finger. From the wound, blood was continuously flowing. Yingbao quickly took out hemostatic powder and sprinkled it on the wound. She then instructed Chen Wan to prepare some hot water, heated the kang bed, and had Chen Zhao warmed up and take medicine. Due to excessive blood loss, Chen Zhao was semi-conscious, her body as cold as ice, even the Five Ding Zhi couldn¡¯t be fed to her, they had to use hot water to get it down. Yingbao then took out a silver needle, pricked it into her Renzhong acupoint, to wake her up. After a while, the kang bed gradually warmed up, Chen Zhao¡¯s clenched teeth also loosened, and she finally managed to drink the boiled water with Five Ding Zhi. Only then did Yingbao use strong liquor to clean the wound on her head, afterwards she threaded it up with sheep-gut string, and covered the wound with Five Ding Zhi and other wound medicine. She then took out a piece of cotton cloth and wrapped it around her head. After that, she checked Chen Zhao¡¯s pulse, and it was already slowly stabilizing. Seeing that her sister seemed to be alright, Chen Wan¡¯splexion gradually restored, no longer waxen yellow like before. She knelt down to Yingbao in gratitude and heavily kowtowed, ¡°Thank you, Yingbao, for saving her.¡± Yingbao rushed in to pull her up, considering the fact that the medicine stores at the market were still not open, she said to Chen Wan: ¡°Go to my house to get some medicer, then just continue to recuperate.¡± Chen Wan nodded her head in agreement, and asked: ¡°How much does it cost in total?¡± Yingbao considered for a moment, and said: ¡°Ten taels.¡± Without any more words, Chen Wan, right before Yingbao, moved a brick from the corner of the wall, and took out ten silver ingots from inside, stuffing them into her hands. From outside the door, Chu Man¡¯s voice echoed, ¡°Did she die? Why are you all staring at me? If she hadn¡¯t overstepped, would I have cut her?¡± ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± Chen Changping pped Chu Man so hard that she fell to the ground. ¡°You hit me? You actually hit me?¡± Chu Man suddenly scrambled up from the ground, lunging forward at Chen Changping, wildly scratching at his face and screaming: ¡°I will fight till death with you! Old man! I¡¯m going to wipe out your whole family!¡± Chen Changping kept retreating from Chu Man¡¯s scratching, blocking with his arms, he roared: ¡°Shrew! Stop it!¡± The vigersughed as they watched the scene from the sidelines, someone even chuckled: ¡°It turns out, our Schr is henpecked after all! If my wife dared to take a knife to our child, I¡¯ll divorce her right away, let alone argue with her.¡± ¡°Damn right.¡± ¡°Eh, she is a beautiful woman after all, who can bear to hit her?¡± The crowd burst intoughter. In a corner, a pair of ruthless eyes were ring at Chu Man, hands tightly clenched around a sharp sickle. Because of his rage, his small body was slightly trembling, and his teeth were chattering. Chapter 374 - 370: Astonishing News_1 Chapter 374: Chapter 370: Astonishing News_1 Although Mrs. Feng of the Chen Family and Old Chen were angry at Chu Man for injuring their granddaughter, they thought of Chen Zhao¡¯s sharp tongue and defiance towards anyone, so they kept their peace, hoping their granddaughter would learn a lesson. But now, seeing Chu Man scratch their son¡¯s face, they couldn¡¯t help but get angry. ¡°Er Lang, take her back to the room, stop making a spectacle in public!¡± Upon hearing his parents¡¯ words, Chen Changping grabbed Chu Man and dragged her into the house. Seeing that the spectacle was over, the crowd quickly dispersed. Chen Wan followed Yingbao to retrieve the medicine and prepared it at home before feeding it to her younger sister. In the meantime, she had not noticed where Xubao had gone. Meanwhile, Chu Man began to make a fuss after being reprimanded by Chen Changping, crying and shouting to go back to her mother¡¯s house. Chen Changping was thoroughly annoyed with this woman, he ignored her, left the room and went to talk to Li Xu. When Chu Man realised that no one was paying her any attention, and nobody was asking her to join them for a meal, she became even angrier. Packing up her belongings, she smashed a few porcin jars in the house, then crying loudly, she stormed out the door and headed out of the vige. The vigers watched her go from afar, but no one intervened. As Chu Man left the vige, she started to regret her actions, but she was too prideful to turn back, so she forced herself to keep going down the hill. Since it was the holiday season, there weren¡¯t many people on the road. Chu Man hesitated and turned around to take onest look, then sat down on a rock by the road. She had just returned from her mother¡¯s house the day before, and going back this soon would surely lead to disapproval, especially from her father. Relying on her feet alone to travel the ten-plus miles back to the Chu Family vige from South Slope would be exhausting. As she was pondering her predicament, she looked up to see Xubao standing in front of her with his hands behind his back. The boy was already six or seven years old, usually quiet and grim looking. ¡°You little bastard, you scared me!¡± Chu Man cursed: ¡°Did your bastard father send you here?¡± Xubao stepped forward and nodded. Chu Man smirked and sneered: ¡°Go tell him, if he doesn¡¯t beg for my forgiveness on his knees, I¡¯ll divorce him¡­¡± Before she could finish, a sh of cold light passed by. Chu Man felt a sudden pain in her face and instinctively put her hand to her cheek. Another sh of cold light came straight for the other side of her head. Something fell to the ground. Chu Man looked and thought it was an ear. ¡°Ah! Help!¡± Chu Man screamed in terror as she saw her hands full of blood, and the pain on her face and head unbearable. Xubao stepped back, throwing a disdainful nce at the woman kneeling on the ground before running away quickly. When the vigers heard her screams and came to investigate, they found Chu Man unconscious by the side of the road, her face and head covered in blood. Someone rushed to inform Old Chen and Mrs. Feng: ¡°It¡¯s bad, your daughter-inw fell and hit her head, it¡¯s all split open. You better go and see!¡± On hearing this, Mrs. Feng turned around and went back into the house, not showing herself again. Old Chen had no choice but to call his second and third sons to go down to the hill to see what had happened. So, Chu Man was carried back. When Chen Changping saw the severity of his wife¡¯s injuries, he quickly instructed Chen Wan to call Yingbao. Chen Wan nodded, and started walking towards the Jiang Family¡¯s home. Halfway there, she turned back, picked up a bun from the stove room, and slowly began to eat it while she diverted her course to Granny Wu¡¯s house. When Granny Wu arrived at the Chen¡¯s house with her medical kit, Chen Changping was stunned. Chen Wan quickly said, ¡°Granny Wu¡¯s medical skills are much better than Yingbao¡¯s, so I asked her toe.¡± Chen Changping was furious at his eldest daughter for defying him, but since she had already invited someone, he couldn¡¯t reprimand her in front of others and had to swallow his anger. However, with some anger on his face, he gloomily invited Granny Wu into the house to attend to Chu Man¡¯s wounds. Wu Si certainly noticed, the Schr had no respect for him. He despised him! With a cold smile in his heart, Wu Si carefully examined Chu Man¡¯s wounds. Afterward, he took out the Herbal Balm and applied it on Chu Man¡¯s injuries. All of Chu Man¡¯s wounds were on her face. There was a cut from left to right that sliced off her nose tip. The other was on her right ear; almost half of it was shaved off, leaving only a small bit of the earlobe. Appalling as the wounds looked, they posed no threat to her life, but her beauty was undoubtedly ruined. Chu Man woke up shortly after, wailing loudly, ¡°The bastard injured me! The bastard injured me!¡± Chen Changping coolly stared at her swollen, bruised face, his eyes full of disgust. ¡°Chen Changping! You let your son hurt me! I will never let this slide! That little brat, I will kill him!¡± Chu Man¡¯s wailing tore open her wounds again, blood seeping into the pillow and bedding. ¡°Enough!¡± Chen Changping pointed at her, ¡°If you dare to spout nonsense, believe it or not I will divorce you at once!¡± ¡°Divorce me then! Divorce me!¡± Chu Man, who had never suffered such humiliation, was choked by old grudges and new injuries. Ignoring the pain in her face, she tried to lunge at Chen Changping. Chen Changping pushed her back and left the room. After pausing, he closed the door and locked it from outside. No matter how much Chu Man threw a tantrum inside, he did not open the door. Chen Wan sat at her sister¡¯s bedside, quietly listening to themotion outside. A smile spread across her face. She stroked her brother Xubao¡¯s head, whispered: ¡°Remember, you can¡¯t admit anything. No matter who asks, you just say you were with your sister at home and didn¡¯t go anywhere else.¡± Xubao nodded, his small body trembling incessantly. After injuring his stepmother, he was scared and ran home to tell his elder sister about it. Not only did his sister not scold him, but she also reassured him not to be scared. Chen Wan added, ¡°You¡¯re attending school now; you have to think carefully. If you let out one word, you won¡¯t be able to take the imperial exams.¡± Xubao nodded, ¡°I understand.¡± Meanwhile, Yingbao, after visiting her niece, heard about a shocking event from Erni. ¡°Chu Man had her nose and ear severed by someone and is making a ruckus at home, so the Chen Family locked her up.¡± Erniughed, ¡°That damned woman, who cracked my brother¡¯s head open back then, has finally been repaid in this life.¡± Yanru wasn¡¯t aware of the matter yet, but she didn¡¯t bother asking, either. All she cared about these days was her daughter, who had be increasingly healthier, eating and sleeping well, gaining a bit of weight. Once awake, she became very active, enjoying being held upright, looking around curiously. When someone spoke, she would dart her eyes towards them. Erni pinched her sister¡¯s little face, causing her to wave around her arms excitedly. ¡°Do you want to go out and y?¡± Erni pinched her little hand and asked. The baby blinked, even making an ¡°oh¡± sound, which surprised everyone. After leaving her uncle¡¯s house, Yingbao saw Niuniu standing at the entrance to her house, wearing the tiger-head hat from Yingbao¡¯s childhood. Niuniu was looking around pitifully. When she saw Yingbao, with her little short legs, she ran over as fast as she could, ¡°Auntie!¡± Then, she clung onto her arm, ¡°Auntie, carry me.¡± Yingbao could not carry this chubby girl, especially since she was also wearing a thick cotton coat. ¡°Auntie can¡¯t carry you. Come on, let¡¯s go home.¡± She brought the chubby girl back to her room, let her climb onto the heated brick bed by herself, and opened a book to teach her some characters. They only learned two or three characters a day, and one sentence from the multiplication table. Niuniu studied with great concentration, even picking up the bamboo stick to calcte the numbers. Chapter 375: 371: Life and Death are Determined by Fate_1 Chapter 375: Chapter 371: Life and Death are Determined by Fate_1 The Lunar New Year month passed in a blink of an eye. Chen Zhao¡¯s head injury had started to improve andrgely hadn¡¯t left a scar. However, Chu Man¡¯s face waspletely ruined. A scar like a centipedey on one side of her face, the tip of her nose was almost rotted away, and she had also lost her right ear. Her whole person seemed a little mad, crying andughing every day, and even chasing after Chen Zhao and Xubao to hit them. Chen Zhao, fed up with this, spent ten taels of silver to build two thatched cottages in the market and moved in with his elder sister and younger brother. When Chen Changping returned to the county school, he didn¡¯t take Chu Man with him, but left her at home instead. On the second day of the second lunar month, the dragon lifts its head. The spring rain fell intensively, and the vigers holed up in their homes, not wanting to go out. Yingbao was sitting on the Kang teaching Niuniu to recognize characters when she heard someone run into the yard. ¡°Third Brother! Third Brother!¡±
The person was Chen Yin, who was soaked all over and anxiously shouting, ¡°Things are not going well! The barbarians are closing in!¡± Yingbao¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly pushed open the window sash to look out. Jiang Sang, hearing the noise, ran out from the house to the corridor and asked, ¡°What¡¯s closing in?¡± Chen Yin wiped his face with his sleeve, ¡°The Lizheng sent someone to notify us, asking us to n in advance. Most of the people in town have already fled.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Jiang Sang asked with furrowed eyebrows. ¡°They said there are several thousand,ing along the official road. Each one of them is extremely brutal, killing anyone they see.¡± Chen Yin was highly anxious, ¡°Third Brother, what should we do?¡± Jiang Sang frowned as he was pondering, but heard another voice, ¡°Get all the able-bodied young men in the vige to gather.¡± Zhou Wuchang slowly came out from the side room and said to Jiang Sang, ¡°Send someone to inform the heads of the surrounding viges to gather their vigers here.¡± Jiang Sang didn¡¯t hesitate, ¡°Okay.¡± Turning to Chen Yin, he said, ¡°Get some people to inform the surrounding viges toe to Dongchen Vige.¡± Chen Yin asked, ¡°What if they refuse toe?¡± After all, who would want to abandon their home? ¡°Tell them, if they don¡¯te, life and death is up to fate,¡± said Master Zhou. Chen Yin replied, and then turned and ran into the curtain of rain. Yingbao thought for a moment, grabbed Niuniu, and tried to take her into her cave, but she was unsessful. She was now certain that no one but her family of five could enter the cave. Yingbao made Niuniu sit on the Kang and jumped down to look for her mother. Chun Niang was also packing up her things. She let her daughter pack clothes, jewelry, and other items into the cave. She also told her to pack the bedding and clothes.
As for the furniture, they couldn¡¯t move them for the time being. Because Master Zhou and his disciples were still at home. A few hourster, more than a thousand vigers had gathered in Dongchen Vige with their belongings and food. The old, weak, women, and children were settled in the school and Jiang Sang¡¯s weaving workshop, while the able-bodied men waited in battle array with hoes, pitchforks, and poles in hand.
This time, Master Zhou took it upon himself to exin defensive measures to the vigers. By the second day, shouts and cries of battle could be heard. Yingbao wanted to go out to see, but Chun Niang held her tight, and she couldn¡¯t move a step. Wei Zhan, Wen Hengyin, Huzi, Jiang Wu, and others were also confined at home, not allowed to go out. Lady Wen, Li Xu and his mother and son, Lady Wang, the n Leader¡¯s family, including Master¡¯s family, were all sitting in the Jiang¡¯s house, quietly listening to the movement outside. A few hourster, the injured were brought into the Jiang¡¯s house one after another, asking Yingbao for treatment. Yingbao didn¡¯t hold back, first treating the critically injured and then applying medicine to those with lighter injuries. Thanks to Master Zhou¡¯s leadership in this defense battle, the soldiers of Dajin were systematically eliminated. Luckily, these Dajin soldiers underestimated their enemy, and divided into small groups to plunder food and wealth from each vige. They were hence easily eliminated by the vigers led by Zhou Wuchang. One group of Dajin soldiers ran into Dongchen Vige and were subsequently wiped out by the team of hundreds of old and feeble vigers led by the Jiang brothers, armed with hoes and poles. After a day and night of fierce fighting, the surviving Dajin soldiers fled in disarray, escaping from Chuanhe Town. Just when they thought they had escaped, an unexpected reinforcement army appeared out of nowhere ahead of them and stopped their retreat. The confrontation between hundreds of fresh troops and the remaining enemy force had a predictable oue.
So, this enemy force of more than three thousand men waspletely wiped out. Zhou Wuchang also confiscated hundreds of warhorses and thousands of weapons and arrows. They also collected a considerable amount of gold, silver, jewelry, and food, presumably plundered from the viges of Daqian along the way. The vigers returned with their spoils of war, cheered by the sess. What the vigers did not know was that Zhou Wuchang secretly sent away all the undamaged horses and weapons, leaving only the gold, silver, jewelry, and food behind. In the blink of an eye, two months passed. News came from Beijing that the Emperor had invited Priest Pei to perform a ritual to summon heavenly soldiers to defeat the enemy. Not only did the heavenly soldiers fail to appear, but barbarians also were allowed into the city. In the end, the Emperor, Empress, and members of the royal family, as well as certain high-ranking officials and their families, were all taken hostage by the barbarians. Soon after, the representative king ascended to the throne in the Shu Region and changed the name of the kingdom to Zhou. At the same moment, strange things started happening with the book in Yingbao¡¯s mind. Lines of words appeared in her mind. ¡°In the first year of Dazhou, in March, the Emperor relocated to Yuzhou; in April of the same year, Jingzhou fell. In May, Luzhou fell¡­¡± Yingbao immediately took out a pen and paper to jot down this prediction and then gave it to Master Zhou Wuchang. Being so formidable, he would surely find a way to notify the people of Jingzhou and Luzhou.
Now it was only March, two months away from Luzhou¡¯s fall. There was enough time to act. Zhou Wuchang took the prophecy from his apprentice and looked at it for a while without saying anything. The next day, he and his senior apprentice bid their farewells and left without revealing their destination. ¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤ At the end of March, the Jiang Family started preparing for another joyful event. Dani, who was already seventeen years old, was getting married. As it was a daughter¡¯s wedding, the Jiang Family did not make it a grand event, inviting only their close rtives for a feast. Looking at Sister Dani all dressed up in wedding attire, Yingbao was somewhat dazed. At this time in her previous life, Sister Dani had already married into a poor family and was not living a good life. But now, Sister Dani was marrying the gentle and cultured Zhang Shaodong. The Zhang family would undoubtedly provide a much better life than a farming household. Dani¡¯s mother used fine cotton thread for face threading, removing the fine hair from her face, forehead, and around her mouth. After threading her face, her face was dabbed with cool water, dried, then dusted with fragrant powder, and beautiful eyebrows were drawn. A golden floral ornament was ced on her forehead. The red lip balm was hand-made by Dani¡¯s mother, gorgeously bright.
With her hair styled into a high bun, wearing a green hundred-children wedding dress and a pair of Peony bat shoes, Dani was transformed into a dazzlingly beautiful bride. Noticing Yingbao staring intently at Dani, Yanru chuckled, ¡°What are you looking at? Do you also wish to be a bride?¡± Yingbao quickly shook her head, ¡°No.¡± The second niece, giggling at the side, said, ¡°Definitely. Look at our eyes, they are all on Dani.¡± Yingbao instinctively rubbed her eyes and snorted, ¡°I am not. I am worrying for you.¡± The second niece was already fifteen but still unmarried, having frightened off several matchmakers due to her high standards. ¡°Why are you worrying about me?¡± The second niece red at Yingbao, ¡°It¡¯s none of your business. I¡¯ll bother you when you marry.¡± Yingbao blinked, ¡°So, you¡¯ll wait for my wedding? Whoever lies is a puppy.¡± In truth, she did not want the second niece to get married so early. Seeing her sisters getting married one after another was heartbreaking. Chapter 376: 372: Marrying Off a Daughter_1 Chapter 376: Chapter 372: Marrying Off a Daughter_1 ¡°Of course.¡± Erni had no intention of getting married. She earned a good amount through mushroom farming, and even after maintaining her own expenses, she had managed to save quite a bit over the years. She dreamed of buying a house for herself and her mother in the city, but she was worried that her father and stepmother would disapprove, so she didn¡¯t buy one. ¡°Alright, alright, go see if your brother-inw¡¯s bridal sedan chair has arrived yet,¡± Chunniang said, shooing them out as their conversation took a nonsensical turn. Daybreak had just broken, and the kitchen of Uncle Jiang¡¯s house was already bustling with activity. Rtives who hade to congratte them yesterday were rising and starting to wash up, preparing to have a meal. For this asion, Brother Jiang had paid for two cooks, each with two assistants, so Aunt Zhou didn¡¯t have to worry. All the ingredients were provided by the Jiang Family. Items likemb, pork, chicken, duck, fish, and so on were prepared and delivered the day before. The cooks were already busy before dawn; those cutting meat were chopping, those mixing fillings were mixing, all were upied. Feasts for joyous asions such as these tend to bevish, consisting mainly of meat dishes. For example, red and white meats, steamed chicken and fish, four joy meatballs, fishballs, clear water meatballs, steamed meat with rice flour, as well as two stir-fried dishes and two cold dishes to apany the wine. During the meal, they also served a bowl of gleditsia rice and fungus sweet soup, and a bowl of three delicacies tofu soup,pleting the banquet.
Yingbao and Erni climbed onto the wall, set up a stool and looked toward the vige entrance. From afar, musicians approached followed by a bridal sedan chair carried by four men. Leading them was the groom, Zhang Shaodong, and two matchmakers, a man and a woman. Following the bridal sedan was the dowry, carried by individuals on poles ¨C more than a dozen poles in all. ¡°It¡¯sing, it¡¯sing! The bridal sedan ising!¡± Erni shouted toward Uncle Jiang¡¯s house. Hearing this, Uncle Jiang immediately sent his two sons out to greet them. A lot of vige children followed the groom procession, curiously watching. Some shameless women stopped the groom¡¯s horse to ask for sweets. Zhang Shaodong smiled warmly and motioned for the matchmakers to distribute the sweets. The matchmakers, with a small bamboo basket in hand, lifted its red cloth cover and grabbed a handful of sweets and copper coins which they then scattered to the crowd. Amid the excited scramble of the crowd, Zhang Shaodong quickly led the bridal sedan forward. When they reached the entrance of the Jiang¡¯s house, a matchmaker lit the firecrackers. Within the crackling of burning firecrackers, Zhang Shaodong dismounted from his horse and greeted the two brothers-inw waiting at the entrance. Jiang Cheng led his brother-inw inside the house, seated him at the banquet, and introduced him to the family members. Jiang Quan directed the dowry bearers into a room, where the matchmakers began to check the wedding presents against the list. In the courtyard, an attendant arranged seats for those who carried the bridal sedan and the dowry. A few vige children were asked to stand guard at the grand entrance by the sedan and horses. In the meantime, Uncle Jiang¡¯s courtyard was filled with voices andughter. Guests who couldn¡¯t find a seat waited for the next serving. Li Dao and Li He, and a few other boys were in charge of serving the dishes. Every time they brought out a dish, they would shout: ¡°Hot oiling through!¡± to warn everyone to be careful not to get scalded. In the room, Dani had finished putting on her makeup and was sitting neatly on a bed covered with new bedding.
Her mother, Zhou, sat with her, advising her on how to handle matters after moving into her husband¡¯s house. She told her to respect her husband¡¯s parents and the elders, to be kind to her uncles, aunts, and cousins. Also, she should love her husband dearly and should never throw tantrums. Dani nodded.
Zhou turned her head, discreetly wiped away her tears, and pretended to be examining the jewelry and garments sent by the Zhang Family. On her wedding day, Dani was not allowed to wear anything from her original home. What she wore was all new clothing sent by the Zhang Family. Her mother helped her put on two silver hairpins and slipped on a pair of gold bracelets on her; a silver ne was put on around her neck too. Looking at her daughter¡¯s reflection in the mirror, Zhou couldn¡¯t help but shed tears. From then on, the daughter became a member of another family. When she returned, she would only be a guest. Seeing her mother weep, Dani could not help but cry too. Upon seeing this, Auntie Jiang Yunniang and Chunniang quickly tried to console them and fixed Dani¡¯s makeup. Outside, the groom¡¯s party had finished their meal, an intermediary went to set off a string of firecrackers to urge the newlyweds to boarding the bridal sedan chair. Upon hearing this, the people in the bride¡¯s room hurried to add more dowry for Dani. Chunniang gave a pair of heavy silver bracelets and so did Yanru. The sisters-inw and daughters-inw from the Zhou family also each gave a silver hairpin and a bracelet. Grandma, Jiang Liu, gave her granddaughter a red envelope filled with twenty silver ingots. The other female rtives also gifted their homemade cotton fabrics and so on. The An family, Madam Wen and Madam Wang also all brought silver as gifts.
At that time, the firecrackers urging them to hurry up were set off again. Dani held onto her mother and that both started crying bitterly. Depressed, the people within the Zhou family had no choice but to cry along. Watching this, Chunniang and Yanru, thought of their own daughters and cried even harder. The wedding chaperon, seeing this, irritably ordered to have the two of them pulled out of Dani¡¯s room. When the third string of firecrackers went off, Jiang Cheng entered the room. The wedding chaperon gave Dani a quick touch-up before asking her to stand up and lean onto her brother¡¯s back. Jiang Cheng carried his sister and the wedding chaperon put the red bridal veil over Dani¡¯s head. Watching her daughter being carried away, Mrs. Zhou wailed heartbrokenly. Everyone tried to console her. Jiang Cheng carried his sister to the bridal sedan chair. The sedan bearers got ready, and with the help of the wedding chaperon, Dani was helped down from her brother¡¯s back, stepped on the red carpet, and entered the bridal sedan chair. ¡°Lift the pnquin!¡± With this shout from the intermediary, the curtain of the pnquin was let down and it was lifted up. The groom deeply bowed to his father-inw before turning around to mount his horse. Jiang Cheng and two of his cousins from his mother¡¯s family followed suit.
This time, the dowry boxes were in the front, followed by the bridal sedan chair. Yingbao and Erni stood on the wall and counted the dowry items. They amounted to thirty-six loads, carried by eighteen people. Actually, one load was one item. For instance, a pair of chamber pots was considered one load and so was a make-up box with a mirror. As for what was inside the make-up box, it was left to one¡¯s imagination. For the wealthy, the make-up box was filled with gold and silver jewelry. For the less fortunate, it might be several pairs of silk flowers. In any case, the dowry from the bride¡¯s family had to be ostentatious with things such as fabrics, valuable utensils, all sorts of washbasins, spittoons, incense burners, canopy curtains, etc. There were also quilts. Mrs. Zhou had prepared four cotton quilts for her daughter, each weighing eight catties. The bride¡¯s family didn¡¯t provide mattresses, those had to be prepared by the groom¡¯s family instead. Of course, Yingbao and Erni also gave Dani gifts. Yingbao gave her four rolls of silk and satin. Erni gave her elder sister a pair of mandarin duck silverbs, wishing her a harmonious marital life. As the weing party moved further away, Yingbao and Erni also climbed down from the wall. Erni, feeling a sense of loss, said, ¡°Yingbao, I really don¡¯t want to get married. Look, Sister Dani can¡¯te home regrly anymore, and we won¡¯t get to y with her often.¡± Yingbao also felt the same way, which made her feel mncholic. ¡°But if we don¡¯t get married, people will gossip about it,¡± Erni responded unhappily. ¡°They will point fingers at our parents and use them of not teaching us properly.¡± This was something their mother, Mrs. Leng, had said.
Because her daughter had yet to say anything about getting a husband, Mrs. Leng was somewhat worried. She didn¡¯t dare to criticize Jiang Eng and Yanru directly in front of Erni, so she had to subtly caution her instead. Yingbao frowned. Indeed, if a girl doesn¡¯t marry, not only will outsiders gossip about her, but they would also criticize her parents ¨C making it a tricky situation. Chapter 377: 373: Shy and Timid_1 Chapter 377: Chapter 373: Shy and Timid_1 Not long after Dani got married, news came that the Imperial Court was conscripting soldiers. Every household with two able-bodied men had to send one off to the army. Jiang Wu¡¯s family was just in the position to send one person off to the war. This time, the draft didn¡¯t allow for recements, so someone directly from Jiang Wu¡¯s family had to leave for the battlefield. In the end, the conscription notice bearing Jiang Quan¡¯s name was delivered by a government official, ordering him to report to the post station within five days. Jiang Quan was at home at the time and didn¡¯t say anything upon receiving the notice, only revealing the location of his hidden money to his mother. ¡°Mom, I buried a box under my bed with 2500 taels of silver in it. There are another 500 plus taels buried in my house in the county town. Have father retrieve it when he has time.¡± Upon hearing her son inform her of the amount of silver, as if he was making hisst arrangements, Zhou Family¡¯s mother was terrified and held him closely as she sobbed. ¡°Son, I will find a bride for you today. You should get married soon and have a child. That would be good.¡± Jiang Quan shook his head: ¡°Mother, what are you saying? One shouldn¡¯t rush into a marriage.¡± Actually, he had previously fancied a girl from the county, but because her brother was nasty, he gave up on the idea. This dy had dragged on until he was neen.
As for the young women in the vige, to be honest, Jiang Quan didn¡¯t find them appealing. One reason was that most of the vige girls were illiterate; the second was that they truly were not as beautiful as the girls in the county town. In terms of family background, it would naturally be best to have a fine one, but Jiang Quan valued the conduct of the other family¡¯s members more. ¡°What¡¯s with you being picky at a time like this?¡± Zhou Family¡¯s mother punched him lightly. ¡°I¡¯m going to find a matchmaker now,¡± and she went out. ¡°Mother,¡± Jiang Quan stopped her: ¡°Why are you worrying about this now? You should stop, I have work to do, so I won¡¯t talk more.¡± Jiang Quan rushed out of the door to find his younger cousin. Yingbao was preparing supplies for her second cousin, including quite a lot of medicine for wounds and illnesses. Aside from that, she hadmissioned a leatherworker from the marketce to make a set of cowhide armor for her cousin ¨C something that would protect his neck and all sides ¨C along with a pair of wrist guards. Once on the battlefield, swords would know no master. With these items, he could be protected from immediately getting killed with one stroke. She also had a pair of thick-bottomed cowhide boots made, which would prevent his feet from getting cold even in icy snow. Jiang Quan felt the items his little cousin prepared for him, and his nose twitched on the edge of tears. Yingbao ced the items into arge backpack and said, ¡°There¡¯s also a side bag and a waist bag in the backpack. You can keep your valuable items on you. I¡¯ve heard that there are thieves within the troops who specifically target newbies, so please be careful.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± Jiang Quan pulled out the side bag and waist bag to try them on his body. The waist bag was palm-sized, quite practical, and could easily be tied around the waist. Yingbao also took out a machete and two sheathed daggers from arge box, ¡°Take these too; I had someone make a spear for you which I¡¯ll give youter.¡± Although the military also provided weapons, the new recruits wouldn¡¯t get their hands on good des, bows, or arrows, so they encouraged the soldiers to bring their own weaponry. Jiang Quan: ¡ª When he first received the conscription order, he waspletely at a loss, having no idea what to prepare. Seeing his little cousin consider so much for him now, he was very touched. Of course, Yingbao was familiar with what could be of advantage to a soldier since she previously lived in themander¡¯s government office in her past life.
Those who came and went there were all military officers of various ranks and their personal soldiers. Moreover, they often discussed military matters, including weapons, horses, and armor. No one knew better than them what could protect a soldier¡¯s life on the battlefield. ¡°Second Brother, I¡¯m also going to gift you my Red Date Horse and some loose silver, both will be of great use in the future.¡± The Red Date Horse was in its prime and under Yingbao¡¯s care, it had grown bigger than most military horses.
¡°Alright.¡± Jiang Quan did not decline whatsoever; after all, he still wanted toe back unscathed. Three dayster, Jiang Quan rode the Red Date Horse carrying ance with red tassels, a bulgingrge backpack on his back with arge machete slung atop the bag, and headed out of the vige. The people from his vige that were also conscripted included Li Dao, Wang Dashan, and two boys of simr age. However, they were already married and had children. Only Jiang Quan was unmarried, with no wife to speak of. Zhou family¡¯s mother watched her son leave with tears streaming down her face, supported by Chunniang and Yanru. Both Jiang Liu¡¯s family and the old Jiang were heartbroken, praying ceaselessly for their grandson¡¯s safe return. This conscription was unlike any they had experienced before; their children were about to go into battle against the barbarian bandits. They all understood the dangers involved. Jiang Sang sighed, too. Generally, his son¡¯s schrly honor could excuse one man from military service, but he and his elder brother had separated households with separate County Government registrations; they were two different families now, and his elder brother¡¯s family could not escape conscription. Yingbao and Dani stood on the high wall, their faces filled with gloom as they watched Jiang Quan recede into the distance. Huzi suddenly said, ¡°If only I were a few years older, I could go with Second Brother.¡±
Jiang Wu nodded, ¡°I want to go too.¡± Yingbao tapped his head, chiding, ¡°Do you think your Second Brother¡¯s going for fun? War is very dangerous.¡± Even if you¡¯re well armed, if you encounter inept teammates, you¡¯re still likely to¡­ Get out, out! A child¡¯s words are nothing to consider! May all go well! Yingbao muttered to herself as she took Jiang Wu¡¯s hand and hopped off the wall. Dani and Huzi followed them, heading to the orchard to pick fruits. With Jiang Quan conscripted, the task of picking fruits fell upon the siblings; Uncle Er would deliver them to the county town. Of course, Uncle Er would share in the shop¡¯s profits in the future. Yingbao tucked up her skirt around her waist and swiftly climbed the fruit tree, listlessly picking fruits. If she saw a particrly fine one, she would break into it while still up in the tree. ¡°Hey, are you here to pick or eat?¡± Daniined. ¡°To eat,¡± Yingbao replied, legs swinging from the branch she was sitting on. Dani:¡­.
She also hoisted her skirt around her waist and climbed another tree. Jiang Wu and Huzi followed suit, each selecting a tree to climb. So, all four upied a tree each and munched on fruits. Since the trees were exceptionally tall and leafy, the four were perfectly concealed in the branches; anyone below would be none the wiser. After a while, Yingbao noticed a figure entering the orchard. It was Li Xu. Seemingly out for a leisurely stroll, one hand held a book while the other was behind his back. He walked slowly, finally settling down in a pavilion near a pond. Huzi and Jiang Wu dared not breathe, their crunching sounds even softened. Both of them were studying under Li Xu, so they were quite afraid of him. Not long after, a slender figure entered the orchard and slowly approached Li Xu, greeting him with a curtsy. Li Xu hastily returned the courtesy, and both appeared to exchange pleasantries with smiles on their faces. Yingbao, from her perch in the tree, peeked through the leaves at the bashful woman, deep in thought. So, Sister Wen has a liking for someone like Li Xu. Did Madame Wen know about these secret rendezvous?
Hmph, no wonder Sister Wen rarely sought Yingbao¡¯spanytely. She had been deeply engrossed in conversation with Li Xu. Chapter 378: 374: Show of Power_1 Chapter 378: 374: Show of Power_1 Wen Shu had a long conversation with Li Xu before she took her leave. Li Xu sat in the pavilion for a moment before he got up and walked towards the outskirts of the vige. Yingbao and the others only descended from the tree after Li Xu¡¯s figure disappeared. Yingbao said to Erni and Huzi Jiang Wu, ¡°Don¡¯t discuss what just happened with anyone.¡± The three of them nodded. After picking the fruits, Jiang Wu and Huzi carried the basket home. Erni said, ¡°What¡¯s the big deal? It¡¯s just two people having a chat. In the vige, girls and their favorite boyfriends even make ns to cut firewood in the mountains together, spending most of the day.¡± ¡°Wen Sister is different from the vigers. Her family¡¯s teachings are very strict. If a scandal breaks out, it will be difficult to find a husband¡¯s family in the future,¡± Yingbao said. Erni responded, ¡°Well, she can just marry Master Li then. After all, Master Li is still a schr. He intends to sit for the examination, and maybe he will be a high-ranking official.¡± Yingbao blinked and found that Erni¡¯s words made sense. However, if Li Xu was interested in Wen Sister, he would definitely plead with his mother to propose marriage for him. No matter how disparate their family statuses were, he must shoulder the responsibility.
Yingbao silently set a deadline for Li Xu in her heart. She gave him a month. If Li Xu didn¡¯t propose to the Wen Family within a month yet still didn¡¯t avoid Wen Sister¡¯s advances, Yingbao would take matters into her own hands. Hmph! However, before the month was up, the news that Li Xu was to be engaged to Wen Shu came. Wen¡¯s mother handled the matter as Wen¡¯s father was not present. The witnesses were the school teacher and Elder Mr. Wu The engagement of the two families was sudden, but everyone was not surprised. Wen¡¯s mother had been living with Li Xu¡¯s mother, Mrs. An, and her children for a while, so they understood each other¡¯s character. Wen¡¯s mother admired Mrs. An¡¯s personality and was optimistic about Li Xu¡¯s potential to do well in the future. When Mrs. An formally sent a matchmaker to propose marriage, Wen¡¯s mother agreed without hesitation. Although the Wen Family hailed from a lineage of physicians, no one in the family had ever taken the imperial examination. Conversely, under the guidance of Elder Mr. Wu, Li Xu¡¯s academic progress soared. Perhaps next year, he might be a sessful candidate in the imperial examination. Taking into ount that Li Xu was already 25 and would have to sit for the examination next year, while Wen Shu was 17, Wen¡¯s mother wrote a letter to her husband setting the wedding date on the eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, deciding to hold the wedding ceremony in Dongchen Vige. As for whether any members of the Wen Family would attend, Wen¡¯s mother didn¡¯t care. As long as she notified her husband by letter, they coulde if they wanted, and it wouldn¡¯t matter if they didn¡¯t. As long as her daughter was happy, that was enough. In June, Wen Sng came rushing to Dongchen Vige with two horse-drawn carriages. He wasn¡¯t happy with his wife¡¯s arbitrary decision, but after meeting Li Xu and his mother, his anger subsided a little. Seeing that his daughter was happy, Wen Sng had no choice but to suppress his anger and arrange for a house to be built there. His daughter had to get married from her own home so building a residence was a priority. In the end, Jiang Sang sold a portion of hisnd to Wen¡¯s mother, an area big enough to build a six-room courtyard. n Leader Chen Fu also sold a piece of his lower-grade farnd to Li Xu so that he could build a house and marry a wife.
Then, Dongchen Vige became lively again with a constant flow of carts carrying wood and bricks. However, a dispute kicked off between Old Chen in the west of the vige and the Chu Family. Chu Man¡¯s elder brother, upon seeing his crazy sister, became incensed. In his rage, he chased after Old Chen and his wife wielding a cleaver to avenge his sister. Seeing this, Old Chen¡¯s third son picked up a club and smacked Chu Man¡¯s brother, knocking him to the ground.
Thus, the Chen and Chu Families fell out. The Chu Family filed awsuit against the Chen Family for alleged mistreatment and abuse of their daughter-inw. However, when the county government sent someone to investigate, they found no such matter. Instead, Old Chen¡¯s family was in a mess because of that woman. As for the scars on Chu Man¡¯s face, nobody knew how they came about. Even Chu Man herself couldn¡¯t make it clear who had hurt her. Her furious and frantic words were not credible at all. Hence, the County Government ruled that Old Shuan¡¯s family shouldpensate Chu Family with twenty taels of silver, putting an end to the matter. Yet after such an incident, Chen Changping was advised to leave the county school, to seek schooling somewhere else. Chen Changping had no enthusiasm to re-enter an academy. He simply went home and asionally loitered around to discuss the past and present with Li Xu. Before they knew it, the twelfth month of the lunar calendar had arrived. The mansions of Wen Family and Li Xu¡¯s family had beenpleted and entirely repainted. All the furniture and equipment inside were ready. Over these years, the An Family also tried their hands at cultivating wood-ear mushrooms. Including their son¡¯s earnings from teaching, they had saved several hundred taels of silver. About half of this was spent on house construction, and the rest was used for preparing the marriage articles and betrothal gifts. There were only a few days left until the proper date for her son¡¯s marriage. Mrs. An had invited Ms. Chun and Mrs. Zhou to help her son in sewing new bedding. They spread clean mats on the ground and sat on the mats to sew quilts. Mrs. Zhou sighed, ¡°Children have grown up in the blink of an eye. They are all married. Wen Shu was not even ten years old when she came to us.¡±
¡°Exactly.¡± Ms. Chun was sewing with flying needles and threads, and said sentimentally, ¡°Back then, my daughter Baobao was tiny. Now she has suddenly grown into a youngdy.¡± In several months, her daughter Yingbao would be exactly twelve years old. She was indeed a beautiful young girl, and none in a radius of several miles was more beautiful than her. However, it was difficult to find her a family-inw. Their own family was of petty bourgeoisie, so naturally, they couldn¡¯t find someone of higher social status. But how could Chun bear to ept this? Why not wait until her son passes the provincial examination to find a marriage partner for her; she might even have the opportunity to marry into a schrly family. Mrs. An looked at Chun and did not interject. Yingbao of the Jiang Family was still young, so it was inappropriate for her to discuss the girl¡¯s marriage. In fact, she highly approved of the marriage alliance between Wen Family and Jiang Family, but she could not say it now. The next day, a caravan of horse carriages suddenly made an appearance in the vige. They were grandiose, amounting to over a dozen. Upon inquiring about the location of Lady Wen¡¯s residence, they all rushed over. When Wen Sng and his wife heard the news and came out, they saw several people alighting from the carriages. ¡°Mother, why are you here?¡± Wen Sng was surprised and hurriedly paid obeisance to Lady Wen.
Lady Wen was almost seventy years old, with a full head of white hair and thin cheeks. Her eyes were incredibly sharp when she looked at people. ¡°What, I cannote?¡± Lady Wen alighted from the carriage with the support of her maidservants, sweeping her daughter-inw with a cold gaze. Wen Sng and his wife hurried to support her. Lady Wen snorted and strode into the courtyard. A few more people got off the carriages, including Third Lady Wen of the Lin family and her two daughters, Wen Tian and Wen Jiao. Another was a boy in his early teens, who was the eldest son of Wen Hengchuan and the great-grandson of Lady Wen. She sat down in the main seat in the main room, with her apanying maidservant promptly asking the fourthdy about where they might boil tea. Xiu Zhenniang had the nanny lead Lady Wen¡¯s servants to the kitchen, while she herself greeted her mother-inw, ¡°Mother, you¡¯ve taken the trouble to travel so far.¡± Lady Wen ignored her outright and proceeded to converse with her fourth son, ¡°Why haven¡¯t I seen Shushu and Hengyin yet?¡± Wen Sng responded, ¡°Shushu has gone to her young friend¡¯s house, and Hengyin is studying with his master; school hasn¡¯t dismissed yet.¡± Lady Wen scoffed, ¡°Isn¡¯t Shushu supposed to get married? Why is she still visiting others? Whose rules are these?¡± Lady Wen immediately responded, ¡°Shushu¡¯s friend lives nearby, and there are no strangers at her house.¡± ¡°How dare you!¡± Old Mistress mmed the table and scolded, ¡°When the mother-inw is speaking, where is it your ce to interrupt casually!¡±
Lady Wen looked up at her mother-inw, her expressions sinking. The mother-inw had just arrived and was already upon her case, was she trying to intimidate her daughter-inw? Chapter 379: 375: Buying People_1 Chapter 379: Chapter 375: Buying People_1 ¡°Oh dear, my dear fourth sister-inw, just look how you have angered our Mother.¡± Lady Lin, the third wife, said, chuckling as she made her way over to take a seat next to her mother-inw. Xiu Zhenniang turned to Lady Lin. ¡°Third sister-inw, how have I upset Mother?¡± Lady Lin feigned surprise. ¡°If not for you, why would our Mother have traveled all this way to this wretched ce?¡± Xiu Zhenniang slightly smirked, ¡°I thought Mother was here for Shushu¡¯s wedding, it seems that¡¯s not the case.¡± She then turned to her husband. ¡°Sng, is Mother here to reprimand you?¡± Wen Sng, who was attempting to slip away, was forced to respond by his wife¡¯s question. In a good temper, he replied, ¡°How could that be? Mother specifically came for Shushu¡¯s wedding.¡± Lady Wen¡¯s expression turned even colder, yet she refrained from arguing before her son. She was fed up with this daughter-inw of hers, disliking her not only for her humble background but also for her arrogant and disrespectful attitude. She did not consider her mother-inw at all. Wen Sng, however, loved to indulge her, preferring to defy his elders rather than criticize his wife. Now, even the marriage arrangements for her granddaughter, Wen Shu, were handled haphazardly, settling for a penniless family with no paternal lineage. ¡°Summon the man named Li Xu. I want to see this supposed man of honor.¡±, Lady Wen demanded. As Xiu Zhenniang began to respond, her husband held her back.
Wen Sng tried to appease his mother with a smile. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go fetch him at once.¡± Saying this, he dragged his wife out of the main hall. Once outside, Xiu Zhenniang shook off her husband¡¯s hand and coldly said, ¡°What do you need Li Xu for? Let me tell you, Wen Yanmin! If your mother messes up my daughter¡¯s marriage, I will make sure you all pay, even if it costs me my life!¡± Wen Sng sighed. ¡°My mother is getting on in years, and her actions might not be fully rational. Why bother arguing with an olddy?¡± Xiu Zhenniang remained silent and returned to their room. She truly couldn¡¯t be bothered with the Wen family anymore. Let her husband handle it all, she won¡¯t serve them anymore. Jiang Family. Wen Shu was chatting with Yingbao when the maid, Huanhuan, came running, ¡°Mydy, your grandmother and third mother have arrived. You should hurry back!¡± ¡°Grandmother is here?¡± Wen Shu furrowed her brow. Her grandmother had always been a domineering figure. Having made such a long journey, her intentions were probably not benign. Huanhuan nodded repeatedly. ¡°It truly is your grandmother, and along with her is the third mother and her two daughters.¡± Hearing this, Wen Shu quickly got off the bed, put on her shoes, and dashed out the door. She ran towards the gate and waved goodbye to Yingbao only when she remembered. Yingbao peered through the window, watching Wen Shu and Huanhuan disappear behind the screen wall. She had not met Lady Wen, but from snippets of their conversation, she knew thedy was rather strict and domineering. Hopefully, the elderly woman was not here to break up Wen Shu¡¯s marriage. Li Xu was brought into the main hall of the Wen family, and at his father-inw¡¯s urging, he bowed to the elderly woman in the main seat. ¡°Your soon-to-be grandson-inw pays his respects to his grandmother.¡± The elderly woman peered out the corner of her eyes, and seeing his forthright face and serious demeanor, she rxed slightly. She started asking him about his name, his birthce, and his ancestral lineage. Li Xu thoughtfully answered a few queries, choosing to remain silent in response to unreasonable inquiries.
Suddenly, Lady Lin, the third wife, asked, ¡°Li Xu, are you sure you¡¯re not married before? You didn¡¯t abandon your old wife, aiming to marry into our rich Wen family, did you?¡± Li Xu was displeased, but he replied truthfully, ¡°I assure you, I have never been married. It¡¯s an honor for me to be betrothed to Miss Wen.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so sure about that?¡± Mrs. Lin responded with a faint smile, ¡°If you purposefully deceive, who would know?¡± Li Xu: ¡­
After witnessing his mother exhaust her questions and ignoring his third sister-inw¡¯s bizarre attitude, Wen Yanmin decided to leave with his future son-inw. Once outside, he whispered to Li Xu, ¡°This is how our elders examine the younger generation in our household. Don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± Li Xu bowed and responded, ¡°I understand, father-inw. Rest assured, I truly do not have a former wife.¡± Wen Yanmin sighed and patted Li Xu¡¯s shoulder, ¡°You are a good man, and I am very reassured.¡± A few dayster, Li Xu hired a bridal sedan and musicians to pick up his bride-to-be. Yingbao and Erni served as bridesmaids for Wen Shu, apanying her until thepletion of the wedding ceremony and escorting her into the bridal chamber. Just when everyone assumed the affair had ended, the next day a messenger from the Wen family¡¯s elderly matriarch arrived at the Jiang Family to request the presence of Yingbao. ¡°Our elderly matriarch would like to meet the young mistress. Pleasee with me,¡± the outspoken maid demanded, much to the annoyance of Chunniang. Yingbao patted her mother to calm her down as she followed the maid to see the elderdy of the Wen family. Chunniang, worried for her daughter, insisted on apanying her. In the main hall of the Wen family home, the elder matriarch of the Wen family sat at the head of the room, with Lin, Wen¡¯s third wife, by her side. The only others present were two maidens, and both Mr. and Mrs. Wen were absent. It seemed that the old matriarch had called her while both Wen Sng and his wife were away. ¡°The elderly matriarch, the young maiden from the Jiang family has arrived,¡± the maid announced respectfully.
Yingbao and her mother greeted the old matriarch, ¡°Elderly matriarch.¡± After a moment, the elderly matriarch finally acknowledged the presence of Yingbao and her mother, responding with a simple ¡°Hmm¡±: ¡°You are Yingbao of the Jiang family, correct? Sit.¡± Yingbao nced at the small bench on the floor but remained standing. Although her mother intended to sit, Yingbao prevented her from doing so. She inquired nonchntly, ¡°What do you need, olddy Wen? My mother and I are quite busy; we can¡¯t afford to spend too much time here.¡± In Dongchen Vige, she was the host, while the elder matriarch and her party were guests. There was no reason for her and her mother to have to sit on a servant¡¯s bench. In the homes of wealthy families, the host sat on a high chair, while the seat offered to a servant was usually a small bench. She and her mother were not anyone¡¯s servants; they didn¡¯t need to amodate her. Upon witnessing such disrespect from a country girl, the elderly matriarch could barely contain her fury. Before she even had a chance to react, she suddenly thought of something and inquired, ¡°It¡¯s not anything important, I wanted to ask if you¡¯d be willing toe live with me.¡± Over the past few days, she had her servants inquire about the Jiang family¡¯s child. It appears that Yingbao had extremely impressive medical skills and was very beautiful. If she could pull her to her side, when she grows up, she could be a great gift to pave the way for the Lin family. That¡¯s right, the elder matriarch¡¯s surname was Lin. She was the aunt of Wen¡¯s third wife, Lin. Originally, she nned for Wen Shu to marry into the Xiao family, to bring her nephew out of jail. But the cunning girl secretly called off the engagement herself. As for why she hasn¡¯t suggested Wen Tian or Wen Jiao to Xiao Chengjun, it¡¯s because they were too young to get married early, also her n was to send the twin girls to Imperial Pce topete for the Emperor¡¯s favor with their exquisite beauty. They were sure to capture the Emperor¡¯s heart.
Yingbao smirked and responded, ¡°Old Lady Wen, are you intending to buy me as a ve?¡± Upon hearing this, Chunniang was so furious that she clenched her daughter¡¯s hand. However, before she could rebuke, she heard her daughter add: ¡°How much silver are you willing to offer, Old Lady Wen?¡± The elderly matriarch was stunned by Yingbao¡¯s unconventional approach and only managed to respond after a while, ¡°One hundred coins, how about that?¡± One hundred coins?¡± Yingbao frowned, ¡°You are trying to buy a person with a hundred coins? Is your silver more prestigious than others?¡± She sneered, ¡°My monthly petty cash is more than a hundred coins. You actually think you can buy someone from our Dongchen Vige with such a small amount?¡± Chapter 380: 376: Chicken Head Rice_1 Chapter 380: Chapter 376: Chicken Head Rice_1 Lady Wen was stunned by the belittling tone of the girl. ¡°How dare you!¡± She pointed her trembling finger at Yingbao, left speechless for a moment. Lady Wen had lived a privileged life and had never been treated this way. Moreover, the one scorning her was a girl barely in her teens. ¡°She really is a rural girl unfit for decent society, without any upbringing at all.¡± Lady Lin quicklyforted her mother-inw and scolded Yingbao: ¡°Kneel and apologize right now!¡± Yingbao ignored them and left with her mother. She believed that her manners should be disyed to those with manners. As for someone like Lady Wen who dares to insult her mother on her own territory, she wouldn¡¯t give them the time of day. So what if she was Sister Wen¡¯s grandmother? To her, her parents and younger siblings were her untouchables. Whoever dared to touch them would face severe consequences. In both her past and present life, Yingbao considered herself not to be bound by formalities; if someone respected her, she would reply with twice the reverence. Etiquette is mutual.
When someone tries to trample over you, clinging onto etiquette will make you nothing more than a frog in the mud, pleasing others at the expense of your own difort. Mother Chun was also furious. She never expected such a senior of the Wen family, who was usually pleasant and amiable, to behave so disgracefully. She was so arrogant that she even proposed buying her own daughter; did she think she was some goddess? iming toe from a wealthy family and yet behaving so lowly, yuck! ¡°Baobao, I need to go to your chamber.¡± Mother Chun said grumpily. Yingbao looked puzzled, but she led her mother to her quarters. Mother Chun first counted her daughter¡¯s silver, fourrge boxes of silver ingots, each with a thousand ounces. Then she counted her own and her husband¡¯s private stash, which was over two thousand ounces. Knowingly possessing all this wealth, Lady Wen ludicrously suggested buying her daughter with only a hundred ounces. Mother Chun calcted twice over, her anger subsiding along with her indignation. The next day, after leaving Baobao¡¯s quarters, she went to buy two pork bs. She made sausages, tied up pig feet, cured ribs, and made a few pork livers. The so-called pork livers, or ¡°zhugan,¡± were simply pig small intestines wrapped around cleaned pig liver, boiled with aniseed, then hung to dry. During the New Year, this, along with the cured ribs and sausages, would make a delicious dish. Yingbao wanted to help her mother, but Mother Chun wouldn¡¯t allow it. ¡°You just watch. When you grow up and get married, hire several servants to do the work, like Lady Wang does.¡± Her daughter would undoubtedly be a high-rankingdy like Lady Wang or Lady Wen, who managed servants, and would not have to raise a finger herself. Therefore, Mother Chun didn¡¯t want her daughter doing such manualbor. Cleaning pig intestines and the like was a dirty job, not something her young daughter should learn.
Yingbao had no choice but to give up and just watch, seeing Old Lady Tang enter the yard. Lady Tang was dressed in a blue cotton skirt, edged with silk and embroidered with longevity flowers. Yingbao greeted her: ¡°Olddy Tang.¡± Lady Tang patted her, smiling and said, ¡°Just in time, taste the fried Job¡¯s Tears and pine nuts Olddy prepared.¡±
With that, she handed over a small bamboo basket she was carrying to Yingbao. Job¡¯s Tears, also known as coix seed, was especially fragrant when fried. Its shell is so hard, just like a pine nut. Yingbao gave thanks and took the bamboo basket. Old Tang often brought things over, and in return, Yingbao would send her some medicinal pills. That¡¯s why Old Tang looked younger, even joining the vige¡¯s younger women in picking pine seeds on the North Mountain, and fishing for water chestnuts and water caltrop in the river. Seeing Granny Tang chatting with her mother, Yingbao returned to her room, poured out water chestnuts and pine nuts, and put some apples and tangerines into the bamboo basket. The fruits were from her family¡¯s garden, but most of them had been sold. The ones they ate were from their own production. After that, she poured a cup of tea and handed it to Granny Tang sitting in the kitchen. Old Tang nced at Yingbao and said with a smile to Spring: ¡°In the blink of an eye, Yingbao has grown up. Maybe matchmakers will starting soon.¡± Spring, busy washing intestines with nt ash,ughed: ¡°Baobao is still young, not even twelve. We¡¯ll think about her marriage after E¡¯erni gets married.¡± Granny Tang picked up the tea and took a sip, asking softly: ¡°Why hasn¡¯t your E¡¯erni settled on a match yet?¡± Spring: ¡°I guess it¡¯s because E¡¯erni doesn¡¯t want to marry too early and wishes to stay in her maiden home for a few more years.¡±
Now that the Jiang Family didn¡¯t have to worry about food and clothing, they were more tolerant of their children¡¯s marriage matters. Of course, this was also because they were confident and never worried about their children not finding good families. ¡°Ah, but you can¡¯t let the child have her way.¡± Granny Tang said: ¡°E¡¯erni¡¯s already 16, right? If she doesn¡¯t choose a spouse soon, all the good families will be taken by others.¡± Spring sighed: ¡°We are not in control of this matter. Her grandmother spoke a few times about this, but E¡¯erni just wouldn¡¯t agree.¡± Yanru, E¡¯erni¡¯s stepmother, couldn¡¯t make decisions for her. Otherwise, people might say she was trying to get her stepdaughter out of the house. Jiang Eng was always slow and patient. Seeing his daughter unwilling to get engaged, he just let her be. Granny Tang shook her head and said: ¡°However, there are a few girls in the vige of the same age as E¡¯erni, none of whom have mentioned their marriage yet.¡± Spring raised her head and asked: ¡°Who else?¡± ¡°Chen Changping¡¯s two daughters, the older one just turned sixteen this year, and the younger one is two years younger than her older sister.¡± Granny Tang said: ¡°The Chen and Tang Families look down on local boys and want to find city boys for their daughters.¡± Spring: ¡°I can¡¯t me them. Everyone aspires for better. It¡¯s only reasonable they want to find a better family for their granddaughter.¡± ¡°You only know half of the story.¡± Granny Tang said mysteriously: ¡°I heard that old man wants to offer his oldest granddaughter as a concubine to a county official.¡± Spring¡¯s eyes widen: ¡°What? A concubine? Won¡¯t this ruin that girl?¡± Chen Changping is now a schr, his daughters are unlikely to marry into a poor family. Why should they be a concubine and have their children considered of lesser status, when they could be respectable wives?
¡°Exactly.¡± Granny Tang said: ¡°My husband already went over to talk to them about this, but it seems they didn¡¯t take it to heart.¡± Spring shook her head: ¡°The Chen family girl is soft-hearted. If she bes someone¡¯s concubine, she¡¯ll likely be manipted all her life.¡± Granny Tang sipped her tea: ¡°If she were tough, she wouldn¡¯t dare to agree to this. But that child, just like a noodle, I guess, is definitely being manipted by her grandparents and father.¡± After chatting for a while, Granny Tang said goodbye, holding the bamboo basket filled with fruits given by Yingbao, and went home. Spring hurriedly called her daughter over and told her what Granny Tang had said, before adding: ¡°Why don¡¯t you go ask Chen Zhao what¡¯s going on? Bing someone¡¯s concubine is no joking matter.¡± It wasn¡¯t as if the Chen family couldn¡¯t afford to live, their two young daughters even opened a food stall at the market and were doing quite well. It didn¡¯t make sense for them to throw their daughter into a pit of fire. Once a concubine, she could not even return to her maiden home and would have to be under the control of the main wife, even in matters of life and death. Encountering a jealous and cruel main wife might even result in her death. Even if she was favored, it wouldn¡¯t change anything. She would just receive a few more words of affection from the man. Yingbao knew this must be Chen Changping¡¯s machinations. In his eyes, his daughters were likemodities, ready for sale whenever profitable. Chapter 381: 377: She Looks Like Your Daughter_1 Chapter 381: Chapter 377: She Looks Like Your Daughter_1 Soon after, Yingbao carried a few apples to Chen Zhao¡¯s house. Chen Zhao had just closed his stall for the day and was happy to see Yingbao. ¡°You¡¯re here! Come in and sit down.¡± Yingbao ced a few apples and tangerines on the table and asked, ¡°Why I don¡¯t see your eldest sister?¡± ¡°She went to cook for our grandparents. Chen Wan and I, although we live here in the market, we still have to go back home every day to cook and doundry for our grandparents.¡± Xubao walked over and peeled a tangerine. Yingbao hesitated for a moment, then asked: ¡°I heard that Chen Wan is going to the county town?¡± Chen Zhao paused and nodded his head, ¡°Yingbao, have lunch at my ce today, I have something to tell you.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yingbao sat next to the table, watching Chen Zhao busily preparing the meal. Xubao peeled the tangerine, gave a segment to Yingbao and another to Chen Zhao, and then stuffed the remaining ones into his own mouth. Chen Zhao cooked rice, made a radish soup, boiled two eggs, and fried a small salted fish with radish.
During the meal, Chen Zhao gave one egg to Yingbao and the other to his younger brother Xubao, then said, ¡°My dad found a family for my eldest sister. The groom is a county magistrate.¡± ¡°The county magistrate?¡± Yingbao immediately thought of a middle-aged man named Cao Can. Shocked, she thought, ¡®Chen Changping wants to give his eldest daughter to Cao Can as a concubine?¡¯ Or did he asked for Cao Can¡¯s help to send Chen Wan to another ce? Yingbao asked, ¡°Does Chen Wan agree?¡± ¡°Her? She¡¯s just a sniveling worm. She has no backbone at all and only knows how to conform.¡± Chen Zhao let out a coldugh. ¡°I told her not to agree, but she said the father¡¯smand is hard to resist.¡± Yingbao was silent. She didn¡¯t know that Chen Wan was that kind of person. Oh well, even Chen Zhao couldn¡¯t wake someone who chose to sleep, hence she didn¡¯t need to take it personally. After the meal, Yingbao went to check on the textile workshop. In a couple of days, they would give the weavers a day off, so the ce was slightly rxed now. The weavers wereughing and discussing their wages, predicting how much they would get. When they saw Yingbao, each of them greeted her as ¡®Lady Jiang¡¯. Wang Wuniang slightly bowed towards her, ¡°Lady, pleasee with me.¡± Yingbao returned the courtesy and followed Wang Wuniang into the weaving room. There were several processing areas in the workshop, some for spinning yarn, and others for weaving cloth. All of this cotton yarn and cloth were white, which would be shipped elsewhere for dyeing before being sold. Yingbao only earned money from the white cloth, and she has nothing to do with the dyed ones.
Yet even so, she could make over a thousand taels of silver a year. Wang Wuniang took out two pieces of furry white cloth from a box and handed them to Yingbao. ¡°This is woven with white rabbit fur and cotton thread. The Mistress said to give it to you for your clothes.¡± Yingbao received it and felt it; it was very soft and smooth. She was surprised, ¡°Can rabbit fur be woven into cloth with cotton thread?¡± Wang Wuniang nodded, ¡°We first spin the rabbit fur and cotton threads together. When we weave the cloth, the fur won¡¯t shed anymore, but the material will be somewhat thicker.¡±
¡°Thick is good, it will be warm to wear in winter.¡± Yingbao was fond of this fabric and thanked Wang Wuniang, ¡°Thank you, Sister Wuniang.¡± Wang Wuniang smiled, ¡°If Lady Yingbao likes it, we can also get some grey rabbit fur and spin some cloth.¡± Yingbao shook her head, ¡°No need.¡± Having two pieces is enough, there should be enough to make clothes for her two brothers. After all, the workshop doesn¡¯t belong to her alone, she shouldn¡¯t trouble Wang Wuniang too much. As she came out of the textile workshop carrying two pieces of fabric, she suddenly ran into Chen Changping with a strange man. Chen Changping nced at her, his face indifferent. The man was about his age, sporting a long beard and possessing leering eyes. Yingbao evaded them and went straight home. The man watched Yingbao walk away, then turned his gaze back onto Chen Changping, tut-tutting a few times, ¡°Was that youngdy just now your daughter?¡± Chen Changping shook his head: ¡°No, her surname is Jiang.¡± ¡°Then why do I see a resemnce to you?¡± the man joked, ¡°Could it be that she¡¯s your illegitimate daughter? Hahaha!¡± Chen Changping looked stern, ¡°How can she resemble me? She¡¯s just a wild child. Brother Yan, you jest.¡± Yan Jinshan, with his hands behind his back, apanied Chen Changping toward Chen Zhao¡¯s thatched cottage, and as they walked, he said, ¡°I¡¯m serious, that child really looks like you, and she also bears some resemnce to your eldest daughter. If you can bring her along, the influential person over there will certainly be pleased.¡± Chen Changping¡¯s expression shifted, he asked, ¡°Do you truly think she resembles my eldest daughter?¡±
¡°Absolutely. If you let the two of them stand side by side for aparison, it will be clearer,¡± Yan Jinshan dered confidently. Chen Changping squinted, but said nothing in the end, leading Yan Jinshan to his second daughter¡¯s ce. Chen Zhao was kneading dough at home, preparing to make dumpling skins for the afternoon meal. She was taken aback when she saw her father. Her father never came to the eatery, even avoiding the ce when he strolled around the marketce, as if he feared he would get dirty. But today was a surprise, he even brought a friend with him. ¡°Father.¡± Chen Zhao hurriedly brought over a long bench for Chen Changping and his friend to sit. Chen Changping didn¡¯t sit down but nced around the thatched hut, his brows furrowing. He never really paid attention to his daughter¡¯s business before, and this was his first visit, he felt embarrassingly dishonored. Yet Yan Jinshan insisted oning to see, so he had no choice but to bring him over. Yan Jinshan looked over Chen Zhao, then shook his head, saying to Chen Changping, ¡°Brother Chen, this one won¡¯t do. She¡¯s not even half as good as the one from before.¡± Chen Zhao didn¡¯t understand, but she felt a surge of disgust. She was not dumb, she could hear that this man was criticizing her. But her father remained silent.
Chen Changping turned around and left the hut without looking back. Yan Jinshan followed close behind, saying, ¡°Brother Chen, what I want to say is, that influential person actually prefers children like the one from before. Older ones or those who are average looking are not suitable.¡± Chen Changping suddenly turned around, coldly saying, ¡°Brother Yan, are you suggesting I steal a child for you to bring?¡± Yan Jinshan blinked, ¡°That works too, as long as you can steal her. I can tell the influential person that she is your own daughter.¡± Chen Changping furrowed his brows, ¡°I can¡¯t do this.¡± He was still worried about that girl ruining his ns. Yan Jinshan shrugged, regretfully saying, ¡°Brother Chen, you are too honest. How about reconsidering it?¡± ¡¤¡¤¡¤ Now back to Yingbao. Upon returning home, she handed the rabbit fur cloth to her mother, asking her to make underwear for her younger brothers to wear under their robes for warmth. Chunniang was seeing this kind of cloth for the first time and explored it curiously, ¡°It¡¯s smooth and white¡­ is it really woven from rabbit fur?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the fur of domestic rabbits.¡± The fur of wild rabbits was only soft around the belly, the rest being as coarse as dog hair. Chunniang: ¡°This type of cloth must be expensive, right?¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°That¡¯s why I only got two pieces.¡±
Chunniangughed, ¡°I suddenly remembered that in the past when your father caught rabbits, he would cut off their tails. When we had umted enough tails, I took the fur from the tail to make string, and then used it to make a pair of footwraps for him.¡± Yingbao, curious, asked, ¡°How did you make it?¡± ¡°Like this.¡± Chunniang fetched a ball of cotton thread and two thin bamboo needles, wrapping the thread around her finger and threading it through the bamboo needle. ¡°It¡¯s just like spinning thread. I used to weave your father¡¯s belts this way, and they were sturdy.¡± Chapter 382: 378: Desperate _1 Chapter 382: Chapter 378: Desperate _1 Yingbao was learning how to weave a belt from her mother, using blue dyed cotton thread. A belt as wide as a palm could be woven in a few days. So she wove a belt each for her two younger brothers. On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, it was time to worship the God of Stove. Jiang Sang got up early in the morning and ced offerings on the stove, burned the old Stove God image, lit incense and prayed, respectfully sending the Stove God to heaven to report on the family¡¯s behavior. In order not to let the Stove God speak ill of the family and bring misfortune in theing year, everyone in the family had to watch their mouths, they couldn¡¯t curse others, let alone spheme the Heavenly God. They would wait until New Year¡¯s Eve to put up a new image of the Stove God and wee it back to the house. As the saying goes, men don¡¯t worship the moon, and women don¡¯t worship the stove. Spring Mother and her daughter didn¡¯t enter the kitchen on this day, and waited for Jiang Sang to serve them food and drink. Yingbao sat on the warm bed, weaving a belt while listening to her mother tell stories of old times. ¡°When I was little, there was no food at home. We only put two tes of ck flour cakes for the Stove God. We were hungry all day. Your aunt was so hungry that she was crying. I secretly took a piece of cake and put it in her mouth. Your great-grandfather saw my act and hit me, breaking two bamboo strips.¡± Yingbao asked, ¡°How old was Aunt at that time?¡±
¡°She was seven, and I was nine. I could bear hunger better than her.¡± And also the beatings. Spring Mother sighed. Those days were good when the sisters were together. Even if their father favored her younger sister, she never felt any resentment. But everything changed as they grew up. Spring Mother stroked her daughter¡¯s head: ¡°You should get along well with your cousins in the future.¡± She didn¡¯t want Yingbao to have the same rtionship with her aunt as she had. Yingbao nodded, ¡°My cousins and I get along well.¡± She didn¡¯t have any conflicts of interest with her cousins, so it was impossible for them to not get along well. As they were speaking, Wei Zhan and Jiang Wu stepped in. Wei Zhan was holding two boxes in his hand, smiling at Spring Mother, ¡°Auntie, my mother asked me to give you these two boxes of beaded flowers for you and Yingbao to wear.¡± Spring Mother quickly took them, ¡°Oh, how could your mother go through such trouble.¡± She got off the heated brick bed, ¡°I also have something to be sent to your mother. You wait, I¡¯ll go bring it.¡± Wei Zhan nodded. Seeing his aunt leave, he sat on the edge of the bed, observing the blue belt in Yingbao¡¯s hand. Yingbao took a quick nce at him and asked, ¡°Are you and your mother not going back to Prefecture City this year?¡± Wei Zhan shook his head, ¡°There is a war in Prefecture City. We won¡¯t be going back for the time being.¡± After the barbarian bandits retreated, the vassal king suddenly rebelled and upied several cities like a sweeping tide. Fortunately, Qinchuan County was remote and not a major area of transportation, so it hadn¡¯t been affected by the war yet. As for Dongchen Vige in Chuanhe Town, which was hidden in the mountains, it was like a paradise, apart from a few refugees passing by every day, there was no other impact. Yingbao thought for a moment and asked again, ¡°You have connections with the Xiao family, do you know what their two brothers are up to?¡± Wei Zhan scratched his head, ¡°I¡¯m not sure. How about, if I send someone to inquire about it?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yingbao finished thest stitch on the belt she was weaving.
Spring Mother came in through the curtain, holding a basket of sesame pastries, and said to Wei Zhan, ¡°These were madest night, take them to your mother for a taste.¡± Wei Zhan took it, ¡°Thank you, auntie.¡± Jiang Wu pulled him to leave, ¡°We¡¯ve delivered the gifts, let¡¯s go quickly. Brother Huzi and Brother Wen are still waiting.¡± Wei Zhan had no choice but to follow, repeatedly looking back at Yingbao as if he had something to say.
Yingbao did not look at him and picked up the belt she had woven to take a closer look. On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, heavy snow began to fall. Yingbao took out about ten jars of wine and several baskets of fruits, distributed them to Mrs Wen, Wen¡¯s sister, and Mrs Wang¡¯s family. She also gave some to her uncle, second uncle, grandfather, and grandmother. In the recent period, she hadn¡¯t seen Mrs Wen and Wen¡¯s sister much. Firstly because Mrs Wen and Mrs Lin were still staying at the Wen Family¡¯s. Secondly, as Wen¡¯s sister was newly married to Li Xu, Yingbao didn¡¯t want to disturb them. Having finished delivering the gifts and returned home, Chen Zhao suddenly ran into the Jiang¡¯s, crying, ¡°Yingbao, big sister is missing.¡± Yingbao frowned, ¡°What?¡± ¡°As soon as we woke up this morning, Big Sister had already left the house and hasn¡¯t returned until now.¡± Chen Zhao grabbed Yingbao and stammered, ¡°Do you think she¡­ has lost hope¡­¡± Yingbao: ¡°Why would she lose hope?¡± ¡°Father said that he would take her to the county town tomorrow. I noticed that Big Sister has been despondent. Last night she talked to me a lot, she also said¡­ she said that you¡­ you are our real sister¡­¡± Yingbao paused, she gently removed Chen Zhao¡¯s hand, and asked in a low voice, ¡°Why would she say that?¡± Chen Zhao choked and stuttered, ¡°I asked the same question, Big Sister said that she once had a dream, a dream that you were our real sister.¡± Yingbao fell silent.
Chen Zhao wiped a tear from her eye and asked, ¡°Yingbao, are you really our sister?¡± ¡°No.¡± Yingbao tly denied. ¡°But, but Big Sister was very sure, she even mentioned a mark on your right wrist.¡± Chen Zhao instinctively nced towards Yingbao¡¯s right wrist. Yingbao revealed her right wrist. ¡°Are you talking about this?¡± Chen Zhao was stunned. ¡°You¡­are you really my sister? Big sister also said your name is Chen Ying¡­¡± ¡°This scar on my wrist was caused by wounds inflicted by Chen Tiantian¡¯s stepfather, it¡¯s not a birthmark.¡± Yingbao retracted her arm, covering it with her sleeve. She had kept the mark as evidence of Pei Shixian¡¯s guilt and had not removed it. Unexpectedly, Chen Wan said these words. Could it be that she too had returned to this life? Chen Zhao was stunned. She didn¡¯t know who to believe. But the things her Big Sister said were real and even suggested to find ways to earn more money, to leave this ce in the future, adopt new names with brother Xubao and never return, otherwise there would be a life-threatening danger. After thinking about it, Yingbao said, ¡°Your Big Sister leaving home doesn¡¯t necessarily mean she¡¯s lost hope. It could be that she already knows where she should go, so she left without telling anyone.¡± Most likely, Chen Wan had gone to the fisherman¡¯s house, where she had once been saved.
In her previous life, Chen Wan actually got married to the fisherman and had a decent life. Chen Zhao immediately stopped crying. She remembered. Ever since she learned that her father was sending her away, Big Sister hadn¡¯t seemed upset. Instead, she was busy making clothes for herself and Xubao everyday. The new clothes were allpletedst night. Chen Zhao suddenly turned and ran towards the yard, ¡°I¡¯m going home to check!¡± She wanted to see if Big Sister¡¯s clothes were still there and whether the copper coins she had saved with her were fewer or gonepletely. If they aren¡¯t there, then Big Sister must have fled quietly. Yingbao watched Chen Zhao leave into the distance with narrowed eyes. She had to find Chen Wan to see if she was at the fisherman¡¯s house. If she was, Chen Wan must also possess memories from her previous life like Yingbao. Outside the window, the snow was bing heavier, quickly nketing the world with white. Jiang Sang brought home a basket of buns and steamed bread, cing them inside the house.
¡°Baobao, taste a bun. It¡¯s filled with three kinds of ingredients.¡± Every New Year¡¯s Eve, the three Jiang brothers would get together to steam buns, bread, and rice cakes. There were usually at least two vors of buns, mixed fillings, and vegetable and meat. The steamed bread also came in two forms, filled with red bean paste or solid ones without filling. Yingbao took a bite of the warm bun, it was delicious and savory. Delicious! Just like every other year. Chapter 383: 379: Dreaming of_1 Chapter 383: Chapter 379: Dreaming of_1 The news of Chen Wan¡¯s escape spread quickly throughout the entire vige. None were angrier than Chen Changping. He stormed into Jiang Sang¡¯s home, yelling irately, demanding Yingbao to hand over Chen Wan. Jiang Sang, Zhang Min and Wei Zhan, among others, came out at the sound, directly tossing him out. Old Mr. Wu stood at the front door with his hands behind him, looking at him with cold eyes: ¡°Such a disgrace to decency, when I go back, I will write a letter to the county school instructor, questioning how a student like you could exist.¡± Chen Changping fell into the snow, struggling to get up, casting a resentful look at the people before turning and leaving. Yingbao climbed onto the fence, watching him walk away in silence, contemting her thoughts. In herst life, Chen Changping had sided with the rebels, only to end up decapitated by the Emperor. No, it seemed like he was exterminated by Xiao Mo along with his nine familial ns. Did this include the family led by n Leader Chen? At night, Jiang Sang and his wife helped their daughter cultivate fungus.
¡°Baobao, why did Chen Changping demand a person from you? Did Chen Wan tell you anything?¡± Chunniang asked her daughter. Yingbao shook her head, ¡°I have no interactions with Chen Wan, only a madman like Chen Changping would think so.¡± She didn¡¯t know how Chen Changping came to the conclusion that his daughter had something to do with her. The following day was New Year¡¯s Eve. Jiang Sang put up a new image for the God of Stove and started boiling meat. Tworge pots burned simultaneously, cooking sausages, pork head, hooves, smoked pork ribs, pork hocks and liver. There was also a pot of chicken braised with soybeans. Come nightfall, the Jiang family celebrated New Year¡¯s Eve merrily. This year, Jiang¡¯s family didn¡¯t invite Lady Wen or Lady Wang, as Wen Sng¡¯s biological mother and sister-inw were present, along with his daughter Wen Shu and son-inw Li Xu. As for Lady Wang, due to Wei Family¡¯s Prefecture City being upied by rebels, Wei family¡¯s patriarch brought a group of concubines and illegitimate children to Dongchen Vige, taking residence in Lady Wang¡¯s house. Wei Zhan was not willing to go home for new year, but had no choice. After dinner, he cheerfully ran to find Yingbao, Jiang Wu and Jiang Jie, bringing along a zedmp. ¡°Here! A zedmp from the Prefecture City.¡± Wei Zhan stuffed the zedmp into Yingbao¡¯s hand, taking away the rabbitmp from her hand. Yingbao was speechless, so she just held the zedmp and went to the pond¡¯s edge. Yanru, holding her daughter Jiang Xiaomei, squatted by the water along with a dozen children, breaking the thin ice and putting in one by one lotus-shapedmps. The pond, lit by the redmps, looked like the Milky Way. Yingbao also put down amp, gently pushing it further away. Wei Zhan stood on the other side, always watching from here. The young girl in a bright peach-coloured dress, blossoming early like a radiant spring, captivated Wei Zhan.
¡°Wei Zhan,e over here!¡± Zhang Min kicked him, ¡°Let¡¯s practice!¡± Zhang Min had been living in the Jiang family of Dongchen Vige for several years now. At sixteen years old, he did not like the chatty disposition of the women. All of thismp-floating was basically women¡¯s work. He didn¡¯t know what Wei Zhan was doing hanging around with them. Wei Zhan felt helpless, but had no choice but to follow Zhang Shixiong to the martial arts practice field.
He was fifteen this year, one year younger than Zhang Min, but with an agile stance, he was not falling behind in sparring. Currently in the vige, most of the boys practiced martial arts, so outsiders didn¡¯t dare to bully them. Even the fat grandson of the West Vige¡¯s chief was grabbed by his grandfather and handed over to Zhang Meng. On the circle of practice field,nterns were hung, and the boys gathered one after another, sparring in pairs. In a corner of the shadow, Zhou Wuchang and his senior disciple had since arrived, watching these lively and vigorous young men, quietly nodding in approval. In the middle of the night, firecrackers exploded throughout the vige. The new year had begun. It was during this year, that the rebels seized half of the Murong family¡¯s territory, using the Mo River as a border, separating the Murong family in the northwest. From then on, the leader of the rebellion dered himself the Emperor, calling it Dazhou. The Murong family was referred to as the Little Zhou Dynasty. When Sun Licheng brought the news to Dongchen Vige, everyone was stunned. ¡°What¡¯s going on? How did the situation change so quickly? Are we now citizens of Dazhou?¡± Old man Jiang couldn¡¯t believe it and pulled at Sun Licheng, asking, ¡°Does my grandson¡¯s schr status still count?¡± Sun Licheng waved him off, saying irritably, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it? Even the County Magistrate is still carrying out his duties as usual.¡±
¡°Where is the capital of Dazhou?¡± Jiang Sang asked. ¡°It¡¯s in Jiankang. From now on, we will pay our taxes to their Imperial Court.¡± Sun Licheng replied. Jiang Sang asked again, ¡°Who is the new emperor? What¡¯s his surname?¡± ¡°Well, the Emperor¡¯sst name is Zhou, but it¡¯s taboo for usmoners to talk about his given name.¡± Sun Licheng said, ¡°Don¡¯t ask too many questions. There are many things even I don¡¯t know. We just follow whatever orders are given from above.¡± Old man Jiang suddenly remembered something and asked anxiously, ¡°What about my Erquan? He was conscripted by the previous dynasty; what happens to him now?¡± Sun Licheng scratched his head: ¡°Well, I¡¯ll try and find out for youter.¡± Yingbao was also stunned at the news. What was going on? Daqian was split into two, and now there was an Emperor surnamed Zhou. She was utterly baffled. Not long after, Lizheng began to re-register the household registrations of the people in Dongchen Vige. New refugees were also registered and allotted a piece of wastnd to build houses and settle down. One day, Yingbao rode on an ox cart, bringing Chen Zhao and Xubao into a deste vige.
It was now the fragrant season of March, and peach blossoms were in full bloom. Chen Wan, dressed in coarse clothes, was sun-drying freshly washed clothes. ¡°Big sister!¡± Chen Zhao and Xubao welled up with tears and rushed towards Chen Wan. Chen Wan, seeing her siblings, didn¡¯t show much joy and only asked lightly, ¡°How did you get here? Who brought you?¡± She looked over at the ox cart not far away, and at Yingbao on it. Yingbao knew what she was suspecting and exined, ¡°We just happened to pass by.¡± ¡°Nobody brought me here, we originally wanted to go there to cut some bamboo, but we saw sister.¡± Chen Zhao said. Chen Xu held Chen Wan¡¯s arm, his lips trembling, as if he wanted to cry but could not, ¡°Big sister, let¡¯s go home.¡± Chen Wan shook her head: ¡°This is my home now,e in and rest a bit.¡± Thus, they walked into Chen Wan¡¯s new home. Yingbao followed them, looking around. A thatched cottage, a fishing drying in front of the door, a broken dpidated little wooden boat, and an old woman patched all over was cautiously observing them. Chen Wan introduced, ¡°This is my mother-inw, herst name is Song.¡± ¡°Mrs. Song.¡± Chen Zhao and Xubao paid their respects to the old woman.
¡°Ah! Ah!¡± Mrs. Song quickly moved aside, ¡°Come inside and sit down, I¡¯ll make some tea.¡± Saying this, she hurried to the kitchen. Chen Zhao walked around the room and couldn¡¯t help but shake her head: ¡°big sister, can you really bear to live in such poverty?¡± ¡°We won¡¯t be poor with me around.¡± Chen Wan said confidently. Yingbao nced at her and was quite certain. This Chen Wan must know things she wasn¡¯t aware of, which is why she hid here. ¡°Sister Chen Wan, why did you say I am your sister?¡± Yingbao decided to get straight to the point. Chen Wan looked over, her expression gradually cold. Chen Zhao also said, ¡°Big sister, Yingbao has asked me about it several times today, just say it.¡± Chen Wan looked at Yingbao and slowly said, ¡°I dreamt it.¡± Yingbao noticed that her fingers were inteced and shaking slightly. Chapter 384: 380: Jiuyang Temple_1 Chapter 384: Chapter 380: Jiuyang Temple_1 ¡°Chen Wan, would you tell me about your dream without omitting a single word?¡± Yingbao: ¡°Just tell me one.¡± Seeing Chen Wan¡¯s resistance, she continued, ¡°If it¡¯s reasonable, I will pay you fifty taels of silver as a reward.¡± Fifty taels was no small sum, even after running a food stall for so long, Chen Zhao and Chen Wan had not managed to save that much money. Chen Zhao¡¯s eyes lit up, passionately signaling his big sister. Yingbao was famously rich in the vige, no one knew exactly how much money she had, but everyone knew she was very wealthy. Even the matchmaker dared not casually speak to her about engagements. If she said fifty taels, she would certainly give fifty taels. Chen Wan looked back at her hesitant mother-inw, and after a long time of hesitation, she finally nodded, ¡°Follow me.¡± She was indeed short of money. It was because she was short of money that she had toe here. If possible, she just wanted to remain unmarried for her entire life, living with her younger siblings until old age.
Unexpectedly, Yingbao was willing to pay fifty taels for her dream. After thinking it over, Chen Wan agreed. It was just a dream, so what if she told her about the strange memory? Yingbao followed Chen Wan to a seclusion, quietly observing her. Feeling uneasy under her gaze, Chen Wan asked, ¡°Why do you want to know about my dream?¡± ¡°Because you said I was your sister.¡± Yingbao replied emotionlessly. Chen Wan lowered her head. Yingbao: ¡°You can tell me now, why did you say I was your sister?¡± Chen Wan frowned, unsure how to exin. Yingbao: ¡°What did you dream about? Tell me everything from beginning to end. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡± Seeing Chen Wan still hesitating, she added, ¡°If you tell me in detail, I will give an extra ten taels. With these sixty taels of silver, you can marry with dignity, without the stigma of a runaway bride. You can also take your siblings to the county town, buy a small house there, and make a living from some small business.¡± There were indeed houses in the county town that were worth dozens of taels, albeit shabby and remote. They could still be lived in after some tidying up. ¡°I will tell.¡± Chen Wan finally made up her mind, ¡°The dream I had was bizarre, I hope you won¡¯t take it seriously.¡± Yingbao listened attentively. Chen Wan thought for a moment, then slowly spoke. ¡°I often dream the same dream, where you are my third younger sister, named Yaya, and when you grew up your name became Chen Ying. When you were six, dad passed the Schr examination, and our whole family moved to the county town. Then dad passed another examination, and became the County Magistrate, afterwards, you¡­ you became an expert in medical skills, saved Xiao Chengjun¡¯s father, and thenter, you married Xiao Chengjun¡­¡± Yingbao listened expressionlessly, seeing that Chen Wan stopped, she urged, ¡°Continue.¡± ¡°In the year when you were twenty-one, you suddenly died. Xiao Chengjun, who was now the regent prince, had your coffin sent back to our hometown, and also ordered our whole family to return.¡± Chen Wan¡¯s lips trembled slightly: ¡°The ship carrying the coffin encountered a storm in the middle of the river¡­ ¡±
In the storm, her angry parents pushed the coffin into the river. Unexpectedly, as soon as the coffin fell into the water, a wave came and overturned the entire ship. She and her siblings miraculously survived, rescued by fishermen, but their parents were not so fortunate. Yingbao asked, ¡°What happened afterward?¡±
Chen Wan: ¡°Then I woke up.¡± She didn¡¯t want to tell Yingbao about those things, because in the dream, herself and her siblings all hated her, ming her for her sudden death, which not only brought disaster to the family but also killed their parents. Yingbao chuckled: ¡°You¡¯re not being honest, I just want to hear your real dream, not this fabrication.¡± Chen Wan was stunned: ¡°How¡­ how do you¡­¡± It was true that she omitted a lot, but how could she let Yingbao know about those parts? ¡°You didn¡¯t mention why there¡¯s a birthmark on my wrist, who I learned medical skills from, and you concealed the name taboo of the Empress Dowager.¡± These were all crucial. Because the dream of Chen Wan was exactly like the plot of the book, almost identical. Chen Wan was stunned. She didn¡¯t know why her third sister in the dream would have medical skills. Because when her third sister was brought home by her mother, she already had medical skills. Yingbao squinted at Chen Wan, ¡°It¡¯s just a dream, I¡¯m just curious, there is no other meaning, you can tell the truth.¡± Chen Wan gritted her teeth, ¡°In the dream, you were raised by¡­ by a Taoist priest since you were a child, there is a Taoist Temple on the North Mountain, called Jiuyang Temple, you grew up in the temple from an early age, you were found and brought home by mother when you were five years old, the scar on your wrist was left when you were nine years old, I do not know what happened, I didn¡¯t see it in the dream. As for the Empress Dowager, she is Chen Tiantian, your mother¡¯s niece.¡± Yingbao smiled, ¡°Very good. I have onest question, how old did Chen Tiantian live in your dream?¡± Chen Wan shook her head in confusion: ¡°I¡¯m not sure,ter I was living in the countryside with my brothers and sisters, I had no news from the court.¡±
¡°Good.¡± Yingbao patted Chen Wan¡¯s shoulder and took out six taels of silver from her bag: ¡°Here! Sixty taels, not one coin short, if you have another interesting dream in the future,e tell me, I will pay for it.¡± Chen Wan took the silver, a little unbelieving. Yingbao really paid her to tell her dream. Wasn¡¯t she afraid she might lie to her? Aftering back from Chen Wan¡¯s house, Yingbao ran directly to ask Chunniang: ¡°Mother, is there a Taoist Temple on North Mountain?¡± Chunniang looked at her daughter in confusion: ¡°Taoist Temple? I haven¡¯t heard of it, you can go ask your grandfather, um, or ask your Grandpa Chen.¡± After all, the Chen Family had been living here generation after generation. Yingbao nodded her head, then ran to ask the n Leader Chen: ¡°Grandpa Chen, was there a Taoist Temple on North Mountain before?¡± n Leader Chen stroked his beard and thought for a while, then said: ¡°There was indeed a Taoist Temple on North Mountain, but it was burned down by a huge fire a long time ago.¡± Yingbao¡¯s eyes lit up: ¡°What was the name of that Taoist Temple?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s called Jiuyang Temple. I heard about it from my grandfather when I was a kid, he said the Taoist ancestor from Jiuyang Temple was very efficacious, people in the family who had headaches and fevers would get better after burning a stick of incense there. Ah, hardly anyone knows about that temple now.¡± ¡°Jiuyang Temple?¡± Yingbao frowned more tightly. There really was a Jiuyang Temple.
¡°Grandpa, do you know where that Taoist Temple is?¡± Yingbao asked. n Leader Chen shook his head: ¡°I don¡¯t know. But there¡¯s a Jiuyang Peak on North Mountain, I wonder if it¡¯s there.¡± ¡°Where is Jiuyang Peak?¡± Yingbao kept asking. ¡°Jiuyang Peak? That¡¯s quite far, it¡¯s several miles away from North Mountain.¡± Actually, n Leader Chen had never been there, because the ce was too remote, deep in the mountains and forests, and there were rumors of wild animals roaming around. After leaving the n Leader¡¯s house, Yingbao stood dazed in the orchard for a long time. She had memories of her past life, but so did Chen Wan. The key was that her memories were exactly the same story in her own mind. Yingbao rubbed her forehead. What on earth was happening? If she wanted to understand the connection between Chen Wan¡¯s memory and the story in her own mind, she had to go to Jiuyang Peak to take a look. After making her decision, Yingbao headed home. On the way, she suddenly encountered a pair of messengers wearing red silk around their waist, they were galloping towards her home on swift horses. ¡°Congrattions to Young Master Jiang Yuanbao for ranking ninth in the prefectural examination!¡±
The two messengers had been singing praises all the way since they entered the vige, and they asionally rang the gong in their hands: ¡°Congrattions to Young Master Jiang Yuanbao for ranking ninth in the prefectural examination!¡± Yingbao was stunned, and ran home quickly. Chapter 385: 381: Provincial Government Rural Examination_1 Chapter 385: Chapter 381: Provincial Government Rural Examination_1 Jiang Da Bo and his wife, upon hearing the announcement from the courier, rushed out of the courtyard to see two couriers dismount their horses and salute them, ¡°Pardon me, but is this the home of Young Master Jiang Yuanbao?¡± Jiang Da Langughed heartily, nodding his head repeatedly, ¡°Indeed! This is Jiang Yuanbao¡¯s home, I am his father!¡± The courier saluted him, ¡°Congrattions, Lord Jiang Da Lang. Your son, Young Master Jiang Yuanbao, has achieved the ninth position in the Prefectural exam!¡± Jiang Da Lang returned the salute, ¡°Very happy, very happy! You¡¯ve worked hard, pleasee in for a cup of tea.¡± Mrs. Zhou, equally overjoyed, turned to go and prepare the tea. Soon, their neighbors, n Leader Chen, and the teacher from the schoolhouse came to offer their congrattions. All the while, old man Jiang and his eldest son were busy entertaining the guests while leading the third and second sons to arrange for the feast. ¡°Such joyous news indeed, your family has produced two schrs,¡± the n Leader sighed with envy. It¡¯s bad enough that his own son had failed, even his grandsons were unsessful, with none of them able to secure the title of a schr. The only grandchild who was somewhat intelligent, Yaoyao, had chosen to learn martial art, intending to take the Military Examination when he grew up. s, it was beyond frustrating.
Old man Jiangughed, ¡°We aren¡¯t there yet, we will only know after he takes the college exam.¡± ¡°He already ranked ninth in the Prefectural exam, earning the schr title is guaranteed!,¡± Chen Changsheng from West Vige also came to offer his congrattions, saying, ¡°Once he passes the college exam, we will have to bother you for another celebratory drink.¡± ¡°Of course, of course!¡± Old man Jiang and his eldest son returned the salutes to all. Yingbao was also quite pleased. Yuanbao was living up to expectations as well, having passed the County and Prefectural exams on his first try, it seemed as though the college exam should be no problem for him. All of this owed much to Master Wu. However, Yingbao still felt a bit uneasy, as she was unsure about how long their new dynasty couldst. If there were more upheavals in the government, it¡¯s unknown whether the schr status of her younger brother and Yuanbao would still be valid. ¡°Yingbao,¡± Wen Shu approached her, ¡°What medicine pills did you prepare for Jiang Jie for his exams? Can you prepare simr ones for my husband?¡± Since the new dynasty was established, the Emperor had convened an extraordinary examination and had even allowed foreign students to apply for the exam. People like Li Xu only had to reapply for citizenship at the local County Government to be allowed to participate in the local examinations. However, during application for citizenship, they required five ss-A households to vouchsafe for them. This was easy to obtain since he had taught for so many years in Dongchen Vige, finding five ss-A households to vouch for him wasn¡¯t difficult. Thus, Li Xu, who reapplied for citizenship this fall, would be taking the country exams with Jiang Jie. Yingbao nodded, ¡°Okay.¡± It was May already, Jiang Jie had applied at the County Government and was preparing for the country examination in the Provincial Capital. This time, she would apany her father and him, of course, Master Wu would also be present. Master Wu has said that regardless of whether Jiang Jie passes the country examination or not, he intends to take him back to Jiankang for a visit. A few dayster, Yingbao left for the Prefecture City with her two younger brothers.
Due to a recent shortage of ships, they would be travelling via horse carriage. Yingbao and Jiang Wu shared a carriage, driven by their father, while Jiang Jie and Master Wu were in another, driven by a servant from the Wei family. Wei Zhan¡¯s family was also returning to the Prefecture City, forming a grand procession with more than a dozen horse-drawn carriages. Lady Wen did not go back, and since Wen Shu was pregnant, she could not apany them. So, a servant from the Wen family took charge of the horse carriage to transport Li Xu to the Prefecture City.
Of course, having Yingbao and Jiang Sang aspany would offer reassurance to Li Xu, even if he was by himself. The olddy of the Wen family and her party had departed in March, supposedly for Beijing. The grand procession traveled rather smoothly without encountering any bandits or refugees. During their noon breaks, Yingbao would bring out a small charcoal stove to cook dumplings for everyone. At such times, Wei Zhan would alwayse over to mooch off their food, though he would bring his own jerky. Yingbao had no choice but to cook two more bowls, one for him and also asked him to carry one to Mrs. Wang. Wei Zhan sat next to Jiang Wu eating wonton soup,ughing and saying, ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but your food is really delicious. My family¡¯s food is really hard to eat.¡± Jiang Wu tilting back the wonton soup, said, ¡°Because your family¡¯s cook is too bad.¡± ¡°Right! They ruin good food.¡± After finishing his soup, Wei Zhan wiped his mouth and said, ¡°I will bring ingredients for Yingbao to cook.¡± Yingbao said, ¡°Dream on, I¡¯m not going to be your family¡¯s cook!¡± After the meal, Yingbao asked her little brother and Wei Zhan to wash the pots and dishes, then she took out the wheat to feed the horses, and gave Pupil Spring water to the three horses. After a rest, the carriage continued on its way. At night, the caravan parked on the side of the road for rest, and Yingbao brought her two younger brothers to the cave house to rest.
The cave house had bamboo beds and quilts where her brothers could have a good night¡¯s sleep. Yingbao then shrank into the carriage, covering herself with a nket, and listened to the frogs outside and fell asleep. After traveling for more than ten days, the caravan finally arrived in the prefecture city. Yingbao has a house in the prefecture city, so she drove the carriage directly to the front of the house. Yuanbao and Schrship Brother Jiang Cheng had been living there for two months, and they were very happy to see Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu¡¯s arrival. Jiang Sang drove the carriage into the courtyard, unloaded the car, let the horses eat and rest in the stable, and then prepared rooms for Mr. Wu and Li Xu. Yingbao, as usual, got a room to herself and took the reed sweeper to clean the loft. By the time she finished cleaning, Elder Brother Jiang Cheng had already made the food and called everyone for dinner. After dinner, Jiang Sang went out to buy food and grains, and also informally investigated the situation in the prefecture city. The current governor has been reced, even the Xiao residence was vacant, the signboard at the door had been changed. The Zhechong Prefecture had also changed its leader, the main leader turned out to be Wen Fu, who hadn¡¯t been seen for many years. Of course, he is not called Wen Fu now, but Zhou Fu, the Great General Zhou. The amount of information was quiterge, and Jiang Sang didn¡¯t dare to hang around outside, and hurried back to the house.
He asked Jiang Cheng, and learned that the Xiao Family had moved away before the end of the year, going back to Beijing. Including Xiao Mo and Xiao Chengjun, the brothers were not in the prefecture city. As for where they went, it was not clear. Anyway, this piece ofnd and the city belong to the Dazhou Dynasty, and families like the Xiao family, who are rtives of the royal family in the Little Zhou Dynasty, could not stay. Yingbao was a little surprised when she heard her father talk about it. So it means that she finally separated from the male and female lead in the adventure? That¡¯s great! Let those two troublemakers stay forever in the Little Zhou Dynasty. It was soon August. Jiang Jie and Li Xu went to participate in the township examination, they had to take three examinations, a total of nine days. This was a special session with a lot of participants, there were a few hundred people. At the end of the first examination, Jiang Jie and Li Xu came out, full of vigor and in a great state. After the second test, the two were a little tired but still energetic.
By the end of the third exam, many students were carried out of the examination room, Jiang Jie and Li Xu also appeared shaking their bodies. ¡°Sister, I was nearly suffocated!¡± Jiang Jie frowned, ¡°This time I was ced in a stinky ce. If it wasn¡¯t for my quick thinking and putting the medicine pellets you gave me in my nostrils, I would have been suffocated to death.¡± Yingbao asked, ¡°You stuffed both nostrils? Then how did you breathe?¡± ¡°Eh.¡± Jiang Jie couldn¡¯t help retching when he thought of the smell, ¡°It¡¯s too much, I feel like every breath I¡¯m taking is stinky.¡± Chapter 386: 382: Winning the Middle Game_1 Chapter 386: Chapter 382: Winning the Middle Game_1 Turns out, Jiang Jie had to breathe through his mouth for a whole day and night. Had it not been for the medicine Wang Yingbao gave him, the stench would have made him sick. Yingbao knew that the foul smell could potentially make one ill, so, she asked her brother to take some incense to the examination hall. However, burning incense was of no use as his examination cubicle was right next to the toilet. Fortunately, his younger brother persevered and managed to finish answering all the examination questions without any unusual struggles. Li Xu was not as affected, but hisck of rest at night left him fatigued. Upon their return, Jiang Sang immediately boiled water for them to bathe and rinse. The water was mixed with herbal liquid and flower petals provided by his daughter. After bathing, Jiang Jie and Li Xu ate a bit before falling asleep. The two didn¡¯t wake up until the next day. Then, it was time to wait for the results of the examination. Wei Zhan and Wen Hengyin came over and invited Jiang Jie, Jiang Wu, and Yuanbao to go out and y, and even visit nearby Taoist temples and Buddhist monasteries. Li Xu and Jiang Cheng, on the other hand, apanied old man Wu for a walk around the prefecture city while inquiring about the affairs of the new regime.
The reason why the new Zhou Dynasty could quickly take over half of Daqian¡¯s territory was due to the dissatisfaction of many local officials with the dictatorial ways of the Xiao Family and the Emperor¡¯s weakness and absurd behavior, which led them to defect to the new Zhou Dynasty. The second reason was that Daqian had always been suppressing its military generals and exploiting its people, thereby exposing its vulnerabilities to the enemy and providing an opportunity for the new regime. Many military generals from different regions flocked to pledge allegiance to the new Zhou emperor because he gave them opportunities for nobility and promotions, ensuring that their families were well fed and clothed, free from worries about food and clothing, even offering a life of wealth and honor. Furthermore, when the barbarians attacked and captured the capital city along with the emperor and all his rtives and court officials, it provided the perfect opportunity for the rise of the new Zhou Dynasty. Though the Prince of Dai had imed his throne in the Shu Region, his powers were still limited, and he had very few useful allies. Although he still had some former officials and remnants of the Xiao Party who were willing to die for him, their help was like trying to douse a raging fire with a cup of water. Now, seven out of the fourteen districts of Daqian have fallen into the hands of the new Zhou Dynasty, including Taiyuan Prefecture, Daname Prefecture, Kaitede Prefecture, Yingtian Prefecture, Hejian Prefecture, Longde Prefecture, Jianglin Prefecture, and others, basically surrendering to Dazhou. Besides, the new Zhou Dynasty issued newws permitting even the children of merchants to participate in the imperial examinations, provided no one within their previous three generations hadmitted any criminal offences. Jiang Cheng, Li Xu and others also found out that the new Emperor was from the royal family of the former Zhou Dynasty, and his great grandfather was once a crown prince. The reason why people trusted him so much was that miracles were frequently seen all over the country. Even the renowned Nine Heavens Mysterious Girl from Jingzhou had descended and bestowed a divine decree, designating Zhou Rui as the ruler of the world. It was rumored that the emperor of Dazhou was a person who had been favored by divine spirits. He had once used the Divine Gourd bestowed by the heavenly gods to save the lives of an entire city. When Yingbao heard these rumors from her cousin, she somehow found them peculiar. A monthter, the results were finally out. Both Li Xu and Jiang Jie had their names on the list, and were even within the top twenty. Jiang Sang was ecstatic. His son, just eleven years old, had passed the entrance examination and even ranked amongst the top twenty. Did this mean his son could be a top schr in the future? My god! A top schr! That would mean he would really be a wenchu star. In the past twenty years, there hasn¡¯t been a single top schr from their entire county, right? Very soon, a stream of messengers arrived to announce the good news. Jiang Sang gave each of them a red envelope with ten taels of silver. He even ordered more than ten tables of banquet from thergest restaurant in the prefecture city to entertain the guests who came to celebrate. The lord of the Wei Family personally came to congratte and even invited Jiang Jie and Li Xu to be his guests. During the banquet, the Wei family lord called out several of his teenage daughters and asked each of them to toast to Jiang Jie.
This infuriated Lady Wang greatly. That night, she gathered a group of people, stormed into the old man¡¯s courtyard, wrecked his room and scared his new concubine out of her wits. Lady Wang pointed at him and cursed, ¡°Stop dreaming! Do you really think your illegitimate daughters have a chance with the Jiang Family?¡± That was not the point, actually. What if the Jiang Family really did allow one of these illegitimate daughters to marry in? Wouldn¡¯t her own son have celebrated for nothing?
The lord of the Wei Family drew back his neck and didn¡¯t dare utter a word. He knew that he shouldn¡¯t be using a concubine¡¯s daughter to curry favor with the Jiang family, but he didn¡¯t have a daughter by his official wife after all. Thinking of this, the Wei family¡¯s master got angry. Who could he me for not having a legitimate daughter? It was all because this shrew was ipetent and couldn¡¯t bear him a daughter! But he dared not utter these words out loud. His legal wife was from the Wang family, a prominent and wealthy family. The prosperity of the Wei family was greatly due to the support of the Wang family. Not to mention the Wang family members who held official posts in Beijing, even his brother-inw, Wang Xian, had been appointed as a local officer. He himself was a businessman, and no matter how wealthy he was, he was still a businessman. He couldn¡¯tpare with the aristocratic Wang family. The month of October came in a blink, and Jiang Sang returned home with his children. Jiang Jie could have stayed in the Prefecture City to study, but Mr. Wu wanted to take him to Jiankang for a visit and then make a decision afterward. Yuanbao had achieved his wish and passed the academy examination. With excellent results, he obtained the sixth ce and became a state-sponsored student. Now that he was admitted to the county school, like Jiang Jie, he could not only receive four taels of silver and provisions every month but also be exempted frombor and military service au home.
They still chose the ovend route for their return journey. The Jiang family took a total of five carriages, moving at a steady pace. However, when they were about to set off, Wen Hengyin and Wei Zhan each brought two carriages to apany them back to Chuanhe Town. Li Xu did not return. He stayed in the Wen Family in the Prefecture City with ns of entering the prefectural school next year and then going to the capital city to participate in the imperial examination. Halfway through the journey, goose feather-like snow began to flutter from the sky. They hadn¡¯t covered two hundred miles when the roads were blocked by the snow. Left with no choice, Jiang Sang and the others had to find lodging in a small town. There was only one inn in the small town. It was quite run-down, with tworge shared rooms and four private ones. But three private rooms were already upied, and one shared room was filled as well. Therefore, Jiang Sang rented the remaining shared room and a private one. Seeing that among his guests were a Top Schr and a Schr, the innkeeper took extreme care to serve Jiang Sang and the others with hot water and hot food. He also added a brazier to their rooms. Yingbao was lodged alone in a room. Feeling a bit uneasy, Jiang Sang asked his two sons to apany their sister. He knew that the girl had a gourd hideout where the three siblings could rest. Indeed, Yingbao took her younger brothers to the gourd hideout. After letting them rest, she ate some grapes and cooked rice using the charcoals.
When the rice was cooked, she wrapped it in mulberry leaves to make leaf-wrapped rice parcels, which she filled with candied fruits and honey. Next, she ced the parcels in a basket and covered it with a small quilt to keep them warm. Seeing that there was still time, she cut a basket of chives and made dough to prepare chive and egg dumplings. The dumplings would break if they were only filled with chives and eggs, so Yingbao steamed some of them. She ate some herself and kept the rest in the steamer for her brothers to eat when they woke up. At midnight, amotion came from outside the inn. About twenty horses rushed to the front of the inn. Among these horses were two carriages, apparently carrying some females from a household. ¡°Open up! Open up!¡± Someone pounded loudly on the door of the inn. ¡°We need lodgings!¡± The innkeeper didn¡¯t get up, but yelled out from a window: ¡°We¡¯re fully booked! There are no vacancies!¡± ¡°You bastard! Hurry up when I tell you to!¡± Someone outside shouted rudely: ¡°If you don¡¯t open up, I¡¯ll set your house on fire!¡± Chapter 387: 383: Met Again _1 Chapter 387: Chapter 383: Met Again _1 The innkeeper, upon hearing these words and having a closer look outside to the see dozens of war horses radiating a chilling air of ruthlessness, knew that these were not people to mess with. So, he hurriedly got out of bed. He muttered curses under his breath, quickly got dressed, and went to open the door. No sooner had he unlocked the door than it was kicked open from outside. ¡°Ouch!¡± The innkeeper was sent sprawling backward. He didn¡¯t dare toin. He quickly got up and retreated to the side. Two guards strode in, incendiary torch in hand. They looked around, their eyes cold, demanding, ¡°Make space for us. We need some rooms!¡± The innkeepermented helplessly, ¡°The¡­all the guests are sleeping. There really is no room avable¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, a whip struck his face. The guard¡¯s face twisted sinisterly, ¡°I don¡¯t give a damn whether it¡¯s full or not. Get people out. Our lord is staying here!¡± The innkeeper thought about the graduate and the schr who had arrived at his inn today and didn¡¯t dare to evict them. He burst into tears, wailing, ¡°I¡¯m just amon man. How dare I evict people so casually? Please, have mercy¡­¡± His cry not only woke up all the guests in the inn but also startled his wife. Although the innkeeper¡¯s wife was afraid of the guards as well, seeing her husband get beaten infuriated her. Sobbing, she lunged over, pulling her husband away and scolded the attacker, ¡°Where did this wild doge from?! How dare you randomly attack people?! Let me see where you got him!¡±
A weal had risen high on the innkeeper¡¯s face, looking frightening indeed. At this, the wife began shouting even more fiercely. The guard tried to whip them again, but someone stopped him. A man in a ck cloak, wearing a hat against the wind, walked in slowly. Three or four women followed behind him, with one of them leading a young child. ¡°We are just here to stay for a night, and we are certainly going to pay. Is there a need for such violence?¡± The man threw a money pouch to the innkeeper. ¡°Here¡¯s fifty taels, I¡¯ll book out the whole inn. Everyone else, get out!¡± Although tempted by the silver, the innkeeper now found himself in a dilemma. He really wanted to take the money, but only if he would live long enough to spend it. ¡°Oh! Xiao Chengjun, I see you¡¯ve be bolder over the years.¡± Wei Zhan, awakened by themotion, walked out from one of the rooms, instantly recognizing Xiao Chengjun in his ck cloak. He frowned. Seeing Wei Zhan, Xiao Chengjun was a bit startled, then he suddenly smiled, ¡°So it¡¯s my cousin, what a coincidence.¡± Wei Zhan was confused. This was within the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty, wasn¡¯t it? How dare a member of the Xiao familye here unting his presence? ¡°What are you doing here?¡± asked Wei Zhan. ¡°My father is ill, I¡¯m looking for a doctor,¡± responded Xiao Chengjun. He walked into the room where Wei Zhan was staying and looked around. On seeing Wen Hengyin and Jiang Sang, he smiled slightly. ¡°What a coincidence to meet two acquaintances today.¡± Jiang Sang didn¡¯t know Xiao Chengjun very well. However, noticing some resemnce between this man and Xiao Mo, and having heard Wei Zhan refer to him as Xiao Chengjun, he became extremely cautious, shifting his two nephews to shield them from view. Wei Zhan replied bluntly, ¡°This inn is already full. We have over ten people in one room. There is really no room for your twenty or so men.¡± He nced at the women with veiled hats behind Xiao Chengjun, ¡°Moreover, you have women with you as well. It is truly inconvenient to squeeze together.¡± Without uttering a word, Xiao Chengjun allowed his guards to barge into the room next door, driving out everyone with their waist swords.
The room next door was upied by seven or eight people who were all driven out by the guards. Among them were traveling merchants, ordinary people, and two schrs who were pulled from their beds perpetually bewildered. Following this, the guards went on to kick down the doors of solitary guest rooms. When one of them tried to kick down the door to Yingbao¡¯s room, Jiang Sang pushed him away, ¡°This is our room!¡± The guard was about to re up, when Wei Zhan and others rushed over to push him back, shouting, ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡±
Xiao Chengjun waved at the guard, saying, ¡°You should have said so earlier; my subordinates wouldn¡¯t know.¡± A woman behind him suddenly lifted her veil and bowed to Jiang Sang, ¡°Uncle Jiang, long time no see, how have you been?¡± Jiang Sang instantly recognized her; this woman was Chen Tiantian, Han Yueniang¡¯s daughter. The woman next to her was very likely Han Yueniang herself. Jiang Sang narrowed his eyes, blocking the door more tightly. This woman¡¯s family harbored grudges against his own family, almost equivalent to deadly blood feud; encountering them now could only spell trouble. Chen Tiantian nced behind Jiang Sang, saying, ¡°Is Yingbao also here? What a coincidence, Mr. Xiao was just about to ask her to help diagnose a patient.¡± Xiao Chengjun looked up but did not deny it. Jiang Sang wished he could tear this woman¡¯s mouth, he coldly retorted, ¡°She¡¯s just a child, what diagnoses can she make?¡± ¡°Uncle Jiang, why do you sell yourself short? Why not call Yingbao out for a chat? My sister and I have not had a good chat for a long time, and my mother is also eager to know the situation of Aunt Jiang¡¯s family.¡± Chen Tiantian said, chuckling. Jiang Cheng and Yuanbao came forward one step, saying, ¡°Sorry, our cousin has already gone to bed and will not be seeing guests.¡± Chen Tiantian continued, ¡°We¡¯ve been so loud outside all this time, could it be that Yingbao didn¡¯t hear us?¡± Wei Zhan looked at Chen Tiantian obliquely, his face showing clear displeasure. ¡°Can¡¯t you understand what people are saying? What time is it? Are you a princess who wants people to talk to you in the middle of the night?¡±
A shadow of malice flickered in Chen Tiantian¡¯s eyes. She turned to Xiao Chengjun and said, ¡°Mr. Xiao, I admit, I was a bit too anxious. I had hoped to talk with Yingbao, so she could prepare some medicine for Uncle Xiao sooner¡­ After all, Uncle Xiao¡¯s condition is critical and cannot be dyed.¡± Han Yueniang lifted a corner of her veil and added, ¡°My daughter meant well, I did not expect the Jiang Family to be so arrogant as to ignore Mr. Xiao.¡± ¡°From where did these wild dogse?¡± Wei Zhan looked coldly at the two veiled women. ¡°They have even learned to sow dissent now, haven¡¯t they?¡± Han Yueniang:¡­ Xiao Chengjun furrowed his brow and motioned his maid to lead the two women of the Han family into a guest room. The guests who had been chased out of their rooms saw the many guards with swords. They dared to rage but not voice it. They could only let the shopkeeper fetch some straw and bedding for them to sleep in the main hall. The innkeeper didn¡¯t hesitate, he quickly went out to borrow some bedding from the neighboring shroud shop for the guests. Seeing their third uncle guarding their little cousin¡¯s door, Jiang Cheng and Yuanbao said, ¡°Third Uncle, you should go back and rest. Those people have already gone to their rooms. We can take turns keeping watch here.¡± Wei Zhan and Wen Hengyin also said, ¡°Uncle Jiang, please go to sleep. We have many people here, they dared not do anything.¡± Only then did Jiang Sang return to their lodging to rest. Before dawn the next day, Jiang Sang gently knocked on Yingbao¡¯s door. Yingbao had alreadye out of her room, and quickly opened the door to let her father in, ¡°Father, what is it?¡± Jiang Sang informed her about Chen Tiantian and Xiao Chengjun being at the inn, ¡°They even mentioned asking you to diagnose someone from their family. Baobao, be careful, these people mean you no good.¡±
Yingbao nodded, ¡°I know, father, do not worry, I will manage it.¡± If all else failed, she could give them some of the Powder for Anesthesia to eat. She wanted to see for herself if the protagonists in storybooks really could turn bad luck into good fortune and transform disaster into blessings. Chapter 388: 384: The Road Blocked by Heavy Snow_1 Chapter 388: Chapter 384: The Road Blocked by Heavy Snow_1 The snow outside had stopped, but the umtion was deep, reaching halfway up the knees. Yingbao and her father stood at the entrance of the inn, gazing into the distance with sinking hearts. Maybe they could travel on horseback, but and they were traveling by horse cart. Once the wooden wheels of the horse cart froze, the whole cart would be ruined. Yingbao went to the courtyard of the inn once again. Their own horses were all in the stable, and the innkeeper was feeding them shredded forage from a basket. Xiao Chengjun¡¯s horses were also crammed in the stable, with a few standing outside, leaving a trail of horse dung and urine. The innkeeper¡¯s wife was cursing as she shoveled the dung and urine with a spade. In the kitchen, the innkeeper¡¯s two daughters-inw were cooking, steam was billowing from arge steamer in which something was being cooked. Returning to the inn, the not-sorge hall was already crowded, as all the guests had gotten up. Yingbao and her father returned to their own room, took father and son into the cave dwelling, and served them the food they had prepared the night before.
Jiang Third Master finished washing, then sat down beside the small table to eat. There were boiled eggs, chive egg dumplings, and fragrant sweet rice ball dumplings, and a hot pot of thick rice porridge. After finishing his meal with soybean paste and fermented bean curd, Jiang Third Master immediately went out of the dwelling with his daughter and son. Yingbao also let him take a dozen boiled eggs and some rice balls for Mr. Wu and Wei Zhan, saying they were provisions from the Prefecture City. The inn also provided food, but it came at an additional cost, and there wouldn¡¯t be that many eggs. Soon after, Wei Zhan ran over: ¡°Yingbao, the snow outside is too thick, we might be trapped here.¡± ¡°Then we can wait a couple of days and leave.¡± It was only October, the umted snow would melt in a few days, but after the snow melted, the roads would be muddier and more difficult to traverse. Wei Zhan sat on a stool next to her and whispered, ¡°Xiao Chengjun and that Chen Tiantian are also in the inn, Yingbao, be careful.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°I know.¡± She was not afraid of those two at all. Xiao Chengjun needed her and would not dare to act rashly, but Chen Tiantian and Han Yueniang despised the Jiang family and might resort to some means. However, they also had their own weaknesses, didn¡¯t they? Her old man said that Han Yueniang was apanied by a child of a few years old, two years younger than Chen xubao, about four or five years old, probably her own small son with that old man Pei. Yingbao considered herself not to be a good person; if others yed tricks on her and did evil things, she would surely retaliate in kind. As they were talking, two people arrived at Yingbao¡¯s door, Chen Tiantian and Xiao Chengjun. ¡°Yingbao, you finally opened the door.¡± Chen Tiantian greeted with a radiant smile, ¡°You slept so soundlyst night. There were so many people that came to the inn, and you didn¡¯t evene out to see.¡± Yingbao was sitting in her chair, giving Chen Tiantian and Xiao Chengjun a cursory nce. The sixteen-year-old Chen Tiantian had be even more beautiful, and she was much taller, simr to a young woman. The ¡°imprisoned¡± word on her forehead was covered by a golden floral hairpin, making her look even more enchanting and voluptuous.
Standing next to Chen Tiantian was Xiao Chengjun who should be about eighteen or neen. He was wearing a ck, unpatterned brocade robe, broad-shouldered and slim waisted, looking handsome and extraordinary. The two of them standing together, it must be said, matched extremely well. However, Yingbao felt sickened by these two people; even listening to them speak was nauseating. ¡°Whether Ie out or not is none of your business.¡± Yingbao said, ¡°Besides, I¡¯ve seen enough of people with tattooed faces, you¡¯re not an exception.¡±
Upon hearing this, Chen Tiantian immediately changed her expression and looked at Xiao Chengjun ruefully. Xiao Chengjunforted her with a pat, scolding Yingbao, ¡°Jiang Yingbao! Don¡¯t take it too far!¡± Wei Zhan stood up, shielding Yingbao, ¡°How is she bullying? Is Yingbao not telling the truth? Xiao Chengjun, you are really aplished, protecting a woman with tattooed faces.¡± Anyone with tattooed faces hadmitted a crime in the past. Even if they weren¡¯t jailed, they would be despised for a lifetime. Xiao Chengjun darkened his face and said in a deep voice, ¡°Mind your own business, Wei Zhan. I haven¡¯t asked you why you are involved with the Jiangs yet.¡± Weizhan is the nephew of his stepmother, Wang, and has a familial connection with him. Xiao Chengjun gave him a bit of face out of courtesy. ¡°Mind your own business too,¡± Wei Zhan retaliated, saying coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t stand in our way; we¡¯re going to eat.¡± As he said this, he pushed Xiao Chengjun aside and led Yingbao out. The innkeeper¡¯s wife and daughter-inw had already brought up tworge barrels of rice porridge to the hall and were shouting at the crowd to serve their meals. Without thinking, Xiao Chengjun retreated and looked on bitterly as Wei Zhan led Yingbao downstairs. The hall was bustling as customers flocked to get theirrge bowls of thin porridge and tworge steamed buns, then sat down together to eat. Arge te of pickled vegetable shreds was ced in the middle of the table, without any other dishes. The guards that Xiao Chengjun brought with him also ate these, but they brought their own dry rations and jerky to soak in the porridge and eat.
Jiang Chengdled out several bowls of porridge, grabbed a few buns, and took them to their shared sleeping quarters to feed Mr. Wu and the others. After being disturbed by Xiao Chengjun¡¯s partyst night, Mr. Wu did not sleep well and was a bit unwell. ¡°We can¡¯t leave today,¡± Jiang Sang sighed, sitting cross-legged across from Mr. Wu, sipped some thin porridge and left the steamed bun untouched. Mr. Wu ate two eggs, took a sip of porridge, and said, ¡°Then we¡¯ll stay here a few more days, no rush.¡± Jiang Sang could only agree. However, he was worried that Xiao Chengjun would try to sabotage his group. They had more people and were armed; in the event of a conflict, they would be no match for Xiao Chengjun¡¯s faction. Moreover, this was just a small market town; even if Xiao Chengjun killed everyone in the inn, no one would dare to stop him. Yingbao walked in, took out a few packets of medicinal pills from her bag, and distributed them to her father, Mr. Wu, and a few others including her cousin and Hengyin. Wei Zhan leaned out his head, ¡°What about mine?¡± ¡°Here it is.¡± Yingbao handed him a packet of medicine, ¡°The powder is for stopping bleeding, and the pills can be taken orally. There are pills for treating cold injuries and internal injuries.¡± She was afraid that they would be injured if they shed with Xiao Chengjun, so she took precautions in advance. Jiang Sang looked at his daughter, ¡°Yingbao, you go backter and don¡¯te out unless necessary.¡±
¡°Okay.¡± Yingbao paused and added, ¡°Father, you guys stay in therge shared room too. Don¡¯t go out. The snow will melt in two days, and the people in the inn will increase. It will be not good if someone seizes our room.¡± The people that Xiao Chengjun brought, almost twenty, were all squeezed into one shared room and might try to seize their room. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± Wei Zhan bit into a mixed flour bun, ¡°We also have more than a dozen people, who would dare to take our room?¡± He patted the dagger hanging on his waist, ¡°We are not to be messed with either.¡± Jiang Wu echoed, ¡°Exactly!¡± At eleven years old, he was almost as tall as his sister and had been practicing martial arts all year round, which made him look strong and powerful. As long as nobody used weapons, Jiang Wu could handle two opponents by himself. But Yingbao didn¡¯t think so. Although they also had a dozen people, how could theypare with the battle-hardened warriors? If a conflict were to arise, Yingbao only wanted to apprehend the thief and capture Chen Tiantian first. Chapter 389 - 385: Making Trouble _1 Chapter 389: Chapter 385: Making Trouble _1 Jiang Sang¡¯s group was discussing how to deal with the enemy, when suddenly a four or five-year old boy ran in, followed by a nanny. The little boy saw everyone sitting on the kang eating food, looks at them curiously. Finally, his eyes fall on Jiang Yuanbao who is eating a boiled egg. His eyes light up as he asks, ¡°Big brother, do you have any more eggs? Can you give me one?¡± Jiang Yuanbao almost chokes and quickly shakes his head, ¡°None left.¡± The boy didn¡¯t insist, shakes off his nanny¡¯s hand and starts to climb onto the kang. Because he saw Mr. Wu, he feels an inexplicable familiarity, repeating, ¡°Daddy, daddy.¡± Mr. Wu: ¡­. The nanny quickly picked him up and whispered, ¡°Young master, that¡­that¡¯s not your daddy.¡± The little boy refused to let go, shakes off his nanny¡¯s hand, scrambles onto the bed and throws himself into Mr. Wu¡¯s arms, his head pressed against his chest, crying, ¡°Daddy, you came to see Yuanbao.¡± Mr. Wu coughed awkwardly and said to the child, ¡°You¡¯ve mistaken me for someone else, I¡¯m not your father.¡± But the child did not loosen his grip, clinging to Mr. Wu, ¡°Daddy, don¡¯t you want Yuanbao anymore?¡± Mr. Wu couldn¡¯t be more embarrassed, ¡°I really am not your father.¡± Being mistaken for the father of a child by a young boy when he was almost seventy, this was really¡­ Jiang Jie, Jiang Wu, and Wei Zhan couldn¡¯t help but burst intoughter. Finally, the young boy was taken away by the nanny. Yingbao naturally knew what was going on. Because the boy¡¯s real father was Pei Shixian, the old man¡¯s beard was the spitting image of Mr. Wu¡¯s, coupled with the fact that they were both elderly, it was no wonder that Pei Yuanbao had confused him. A moment after the boy was taken away by the nanny, Nan Zhu, Xiao Chengjun¡¯s attendant, found Yingbao. He paid respect to everyone and then said to Yingbao, ¡°My master would like to discuss a trade with the youngdy?¡± Yingbao tly refused, ¡°There¡¯s nothing to discuss.¡± Nan Zhu was quiet for a moment, then said, ¡°Miss Jiang, my master is willing to pay a hundred taels of silver for you to attend a patient.¡± Jiang Sang frowned, ¡°We told you before, my daughter doesn¡¯t attend patients, why are you here again?¡± Nan Zhu sped his fist toward Jiang Sang, ¡°Sorry, but it¡¯s an emergency. Our lord can¡¯t afford to wait, so please understand.¡± Seeing his relentless demeanor, Yingbao was also on alert. If they suddenly attacked, there was little chance of hering out of it. After thinking it over, she says, ¡°I¡¯m studying the Forbidden Curse Technique and I do not attend patients. If you really insist, I can burn a bowl of Talisman Water for you and you can take it to your lord.¡± As she spoke, she took out a talisman paper from her bag, began to chant while burning it with a lighter, ced it into a y bowl, poured a little water into the bowl from a teapot and stirred it with her finger. She then handed the bowl to Nan Zhu, ¡°This is Heavenly God¡¯s blessing, give this to your lord. Maybe it could save his life.¡± Nan Zhu¡¯s lip twitched, but he still took the y bowl, ¡°Thanks young doctor.¡± As he was about to leave, Yingbao added, ¡°That bowl of Talisman Water is a hundred taels, please have the money sent over.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Nan Zhu took the bowl and decanted the water into a bamboo tube. Xiao Chengjun came over, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Nan Zhu knew the temper of his master, so he dared not to tell the truth, ¡°This¡­this is the medicine given by Jiang Yingbao, I¡¯ll deliver it to the lord now.¡± He hesitated, then added, ¡°The medicine costs a hundred taels of silver.¡± Xiao Chengjun frowned, he doesn¡¯t say anything. The girl wouldn¡¯t give him the time of day, and he was nning to have her kidnapped and taken to tend his father¡¯s illness. But he was worried that this would make the girl hold a grudge and intentionally cause harm, which might endanger his father¡¯s life, so he has hesitated to make a move. It was unexpected that Nan Zhu had bought medicine from her. Wasn¡¯t this medicine too expensive? A hundred taels, you could buy two hundred-year-old ginseng nts with that. Nan Zhu corked the bamboo tube, tucked it into his bosom, bowed to Xiao Chengjun, ¡°I¡¯ll give this to the lord right away. Master, you should head back soon, don¡¯t dy any longer.¡± His young master was indeed acting like a madman. When the eldest master ordered him to go to Qinchuan County for medicines, he ran off to bring the Han family mother and daughter back. Then they went to Qinchuan County, only to find that Miss Jiang had gone to Prefecture City. Having no other choice, they hurried to Prefecture City, where they happened to run into Miss Jiang returning from there. Originally, this was something to be thankful for, but due to our master¡¯s foolish actions, we¡¯ve managed to provoke the Jiang Family. Fortunately, the youngdy from the Jiang family was sensible and voluntarily gave him the medicine. Whether it is useful or not, he can only treat it as a divine medicine. Otherwise, ording to the young master¡¯s intentions, to forcibly kidnap her would not only lead to mutual harm but would also face tremendous fury from the senior master when they returned. Nan Zhu packed his bag, mounted his horse with two guards, and rode out of town. Yingbao stood at the inn¡¯s entrance, watching Nan Zhu leave before returning to her room, closing the door behind her. She then entered her earthly den, tidied up the field, picked some fruits and then came out. Two dayster, much of the snow and ice outside had melted, making the roads walkable. Jiang Sang and his eldest nephew harnessed the horse carriage, ready to leave. Yingbao bought many steamed buns from the shopkeeper¡¯s wife and also bought charcoal, two charcoal stoves, two pots, and a kettle from the market. She then bought several pounds of cooked meat, had it cut into pieces, and ced it with the steamed buns on the horse carriage. As the carriages left the inn¡¯s spacious courtyard, Yingbao peered through the carriage window to see Chen Tiantian and Xiao Chengjuning out from the inn, looking in their direction. Jiang Jie, Jiang Wu and their sister were sitting in the horse carriage led by father Jiang Sang. Old Mr. Wu and Yuanbao were in another carriage driven by Jiang Cheng. Two other carriages wereden with bedding and baskets of food, and the Wei family sent four servants along. The remaining horse carriages belonged to Wei Zhan and Wen Hengyin. Not only did they bring heavy quilts and utensils for cooking with food but also unique delicacies and goods from the Prefecture City. The horse carriages moved majestically along the official road. The sound of crushing the icy snow filled the air. At noon, the carriages stopped to rest, and everyone took out dry food to roast on small charcoal stoves. Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves echoed from behind, about a dozen men in ck rush clothes were driving horses to catch up. As they passed the carriages, they suddenly drew their swords and shed towards the horses. For a moment, several horses were hit and immediately fell to the ground. Jiang Sang reacted swiftly and fought back with his long spear as soon as he saw them attacking the horses. The men in ck failed to attack Jiang family¡¯s horses and hurriedly urged their horses to flee. ¡°Damn it! You must be Xiao Chengjun¡¯s men, I recognize you!¡± raged Wei Zhan as his two horses were hit. ¡°If you¡¯re capable, don¡¯t run!¡± Wen Hengyin was also furiously mad. Their horses were also shed and wouldn¡¯t likely survive much longer. The men in ck were already escaping far away, and their mockingughter still echoed faintly. Yingbao also didn¡¯t know what to say. Such immaturity from Xiao Chengjun. No, he¡¯s simply an idiot. Covertly killing horses seemed like childish mischief, but was in fact malicious. They must have intended to trap them here ¡ª not a vige in sight ahead or a shop behind, and the weather being this cold, without horses, they won¡¯t be able to take the supplies on the carriages. Add to that old and young on the Jiang family¡¯s side, it was not safe to travel on an icy snowy road. Yingbao squinted her eyes and immediately told her father and Wei Zhan, ¡°They only took around ten men. There are still two horse carriages and several people left. We should wait and seize their horses.¡± Chengjun¡¯s sweetheart hadn¡¯t arrived yet, and since those men went ahead, Chen Tiantian and her group couldn¡¯t logically choose another path. We¡¯ll just wait here, and as soon as we see their carriage, we¡¯ll catch them off guard and directly snatch their horses. This is what they call using someone¡¯s own methods against them. Chapter 390 - 386: Tied Up_1 Chapter 390: Chapter 386: Tied Up_1 ¡°Great! We will just wait for them by the road!¡± Wei Zhan and Wen Hengyin were furious, and quickly sent their servants to chop some long branches from the roadside. They gathered stones themselves, and ced them in the middle of the road. As soon as they were done, sure enough, about ten people protecting two horse carriages pulled up. As the horse carriage came closer, Wei Zhan, leading several others, charged forward, using the long sticks to knock the horse-riding guards off. Taking advantage of their disorientation, Yingbao, Jiang Jie, Jiang Wu, and a few other children jumped on them, pinning and tying them down one by one. Those who were quick in response inevitably engaged in a fierce fight before being knocked unconscious. Xiao Chengjun was also knocked to the ground and tightly bound by Wei Zhan¡¯s servants. Next, it was time to switch horses. Chen Tiantian and the Han Family¡¯s wet nurse were screaming in fright, clutching the child and not daring to leave the carriage. Tied up like a dumpling, Xiao Chengjun remained defiant, roaring at Wei Zhan and Wen Hengyin, ¡°Wei Zhan! Wen Hengyin! Do you want to die?¡± Wei Zhan scoffed lightly, pointing at the dead horse, ¡°You¡¯re the one who wants to die! If you didn¡¯t act unkindly, why would we be unjust?¡± Saying that, he led the horse over and harnessed it to his carriage. Yingbao tethered the remaining three horses to her carriage, nning to take them away. Then she looked at Xiao Chengjun and the others with a cruel and merciless gaze, wondering whether she should wipe all of them out. But considering the safety of her own family, she decided against it. If Xiao Chengjun dies, those who ran away earlier will definitely suspect her group. Since they can¡¯t wipe them all out, they shouldn¡¯t act rashly. While they are out in the open, the Xiao Family is hidden. If Xiao Mo seeks revenge for his brother, they would not be able to defend themselves. ¡°Take their weapons too.¡± The old Mr. Wu stuck his head out from the carriage: ¡°Search the inside of their carriage again and take all the sharp utensils.¡± Jiang Sang nodded, picking up the weapons with his nephew, taking off the swords and daggers from the guards¡¯ bodies. Chen Tiantian and the Han Family¡¯s wet nurse were also pulled out. Everyone joined forces to pin them to the ground and tie up their hands and feet. The little kid didn¡¯t cry, only watching the crowd anxiously. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he quickly ran towards old Mr. Wu¡¯s carriage. Yingbao searched the carriage and found two daggers and a pair of scissors. Then she rummaged through Chen Tiantian¡¯s bundle and picked out a thick cloth skirt. She cut it into strips and handed it out for everyone to blindfold Xiao Chengjun and the others, before kicking them into the roadside ditch. There was water in the ditch, but it was frozen, and those people fell onto the icy surface. Wei Zhan, mischievously, wanted to damage the wheels of Xiao Chengjun¡¯s carriages, but was stopped by Yingbao. These two carriages were very sturdy, spacious inside, and equipped with everything from bedding, far superior to their own carriage. Yingbao asked Wei Zhan and her elder brother to go ahead, while she and her dad covered the rear. Jiang Cheng and Wei Zhan didn¡¯t understand, but Jiang Sang knew what his daughter was nning. She probably couldn¡¯t bear to leave the injured horses behind and wanted to sneak them into the cave dwelling. At Yingbao¡¯s insistence, all the carriages moved away. Yingbao nced at the dozen or so people writhing in the ditch, making sure that they couldn¡¯t see a thing. Only then did she collect the injured horses and the two carriages, as well as the three horses tethered behind her carriage. She approached Chen Tiantian with the dagger in her hand, debating whether she should send her to heaven. As she pressed the dagger against Chen Tiantian¡¯s neck, Yingbao suddenly experienced a piercing headache. What¡¯s going on? Startled, Yingbao stood up and stepped back a few steps. Jiang Sang walked over, took the dagger from his daughter¡¯s hand, and said in a low voice, ¡°Let daddy do it.¡± Yingbao grabbed her dad¡¯s hand and shook her head. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here quickly!¡± She was suddenly ovee with a great panic and dragged her dad to retreat. Chen Tiantian cannot be killed, at least not for now. This woman must be the protagonist of the story book, there¡¯s definitely something unusual about her. I¡¯ll wait until I figure out what¡¯s going on with the story book to say anything. They climbed into the horse carriage, and old daddy Jiang Sang also took a seat, flicked the horsewhip, and drove the carriage away at full speed. The Jiang Family¡¯s horses were very robust, and they soon caught up with Wei Zhan and hispany. The convoy sped along and entered a county town by evening. After checking the documents of the few, the soldiers guarding the city gate let them go. The convoy stopped in front of arge inn, nning to stay overnight here. Seeing a big businessing, the inn¡¯s waiter hurriedly came out to wee them. He even opened the back door of the courtyard to let the horse carriage enter. Yingbao and his younger brother got off the carriage and suddenly saw a little head poking out of Mr. Wu¡¯s carriage, ¡°Daddy! We¡¯re home!¡± Mr. Wu coughed awkwardly and said to everyone looking over: ¡°This child insists on following this old man¡­¡± The young boy hugged Mr. Wu¡¯s neck, looking suspiciously at everyone: ¡°Don¡¯t you dare kidnap my dad!¡± Jiang Sang and others twitched their faces, and no longer cared. They went to register the household documents. Mr. Wu picked up the young boy and led him to the house. The young boy was very dependent on him, calling him ¡®Daddy¡¯ every other word, and hardly ever leaving his side. Yingbao, alone in her room, locked the door, then quickly entered the secret room to tend to the horses. Eight horses were injured, and four of them died without treatment. The remaining four, under her intensive care, barely survived. But they would still need a lot of care to recover from their severe wounds. Yingbao brought some ice blocks and stacked them around the dead horses to prevent them from rotting. She also cut some soy straw to feed the horses and put a pot of wheat grain for the injured horses to eat. The three horses obtained from Xiao Chengjun were all warhorses, they wererger and more spirited than regr horses, and they were not afraid of Yingbao. They stretched their heads to lick the wheat grains. But they were very annoying as they defecated and urinated anywhere. Yingbao almost wished she could throw them out of the secret room. After staying in the county town for two nights, Jiang Sang hired a group of escorts to escort them back to their home vige. Wei Zhan and their group could restrain Xiao Chengjun because they took him by surprise. If they really fight against Xiao Chengjun¡¯s guards, it¡¯s unclear who would win. Having several children in his group, Jiang Sang didn¡¯t dare to risk their lives, so he¡¯d rather spend money to ensure their safety. The escort team had a total of fifteen people, who were very happy to receive the job of escorting people. Escorting people was easier than escorting goods, at least robbers wouldn¡¯t be tempted. By the time therge group returned to Chuanhe Town, it had been about ten days. Before they entered the vige, old man Jiang came to meet them, ¡°You are finally back! Why is it sote? Did anything happen on the road?¡± Jiang Sang shook his head, ¡°Nothing happened, dad. Has there been anyone from outside recently?¡± ¡°Yes, there have been several batches of messengers. One said that Yuanbao has passed the schr exam, and the other said Xiaojie has be an official.¡± Old man Jiang stretched his head to look into the carriage: ¡°Where is Xiaojie?¡± Jiang Jie poked his head out, ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°Oh my! my big grandson,e down and stretch your legs.¡± The old man embraced his grandson, and carried him off the carriage. The old man then, holding his grandson¡¯s hand, cheerfully went home, greeting many people along the way. The n leader and a few vige elders came to the Jiang Family, one by one touching Jiang Jie¡¯s head, patting his shoulder, and praising him. Yuanbao, who had just been promoted to a schrship student, was mercilessly ignored. After returning home, Jiang Sang didn¡¯t rest. He hurried to the Chuanhe Town post office and reported the encounter with the Xiao Family to the postmaster. The newly appointed postmaster took the matter very seriously and immediately notified the surrounding post offices and post stations that they must check the identity and household registration of anyrge group of knights that they encounter. Jiang Sang only went home satisfied, and told his daughter about it. In fact, as they traveled, whenever they came across a post station, Jiang Sang would inform the postmaster of the physical features of Xiao Chengjun and his party. If those postmasters wanted to make a merit, they would surely send people to arrest Xiao Chengjun and his party. Even if they couldn¡¯t arrest anyone, they would certainly keep a close watch on the passing people. Chapter 391: 387: Little Boy_1 Chapter 391: Chapter 387: Little Boy_1 The day after Jiang Jie returned home, a never-ending stream of people came to celebrate his homing. Even the County Magistrate sent someone to deliver a congrattory gift, inviting him to the County Government for a chat. Three dayster, Jiang Jie and his cousin Jiang Yuanbao went to the county town to meet the County Magistrate, bringing along some special products from their home store. Yingbao didn¡¯t go anywhere. After all the guests at home had left, she went to Deer Garden to let out a few horses. After a period of careful nursing, the injured horses were healed, but they couldn¡¯t be ridden again. However, they were still capable of carrying some things or grinding mill from time to time. As for the dead horses, Yingbao also took the time to let them out, allowing their father to sell the meat. The two horse-drawn carts were kept in her cave dwelling, to be used whenever needed. ¡°Sister, what are you doing?¡± A little boy ran into Yingbao¡¯s room, bent over to climb onto the Kang bed. ¡°No climbing allowed.¡± Yingbao pushed him back: ¡°And don¡¯t call me sister!¡±
The little boy blinked his eyes: ¡°Then what should I call you?¡± Yingbao ignored him and continued reading her book. The little boy was determined and climbed onto the Kang, squeezing next to Yingbao, peeking at the book in her hand and asked, ¡°Sister, what are you reading? Show it to Yuanbao.¡± Yingbao pushed his head away and said: ¡°I¡¯ve told you not to call me Yuanbao.¡± The little boy looked hurt and pouted: ¡°But my mother calls me Yuanbao.¡± Yingbao put on a stern face: ¡°Then you go find your mom.¡± ¡°Alright, I will call myself Xiaotong from now on.¡± Xiaotong finallypromised, looking expectantly at Yingbao: ¡°You should give me candy now.¡± Yingbao was worn out by the child¡¯s persistence, and took out a piece of candy from her bag for him: ¡°Go y, and don¡¯t bother me anymore.¡± Xiaotong took the candy,ughing gleefully as he slid off the Kang and ran off to find Mr. Wu. ¡°Dad! Dad! Sister gave me candy! Yuanbao¡­ Xiaotong will save some for dad.¡± Xiaotong threw himself into Mr. Wu¡¯s arms, forcefully shoving the piece of candy into his mouth. Mr. Wu had no choice but to bite off half, giving the other half to Xiaotong, and said, ¡°From now on, call me Grandpa.¡± Xiaotong seemed not to have heard, epted the piece of candy and then snuggled into Mr. Wu¡¯s arms: ¡°Dad, do you miss Mom? Yuanbao¡­ Xiaotong misses Mom.¡± Mr. Wu sighed and changed the subject: ¡°Should we read a book together?¡± Xiaotong nodded and shook his head alternately, seemingly confused: ¡°Only if Dad is reading. Xiaotong will just listen.¡± So, Mr. Wu recited a section of the Three Character ssic. When he looked again, Xiaotong had already fallen asleep. A few dayster, Jiang Jie returned from the county town, bringing back many books, including a few that his sister specifically asked him to find. ¡°This is the Qinchuan County Gazetteer, which I requested from the County Magistrate.¡± Jiang Jie took out a Gazetteer to give to his sister. Yingbao was thrilled and immediately began reading it. This Gazetteer recorded major events that had urred in the county over the years, noteworthy individuals, and some strange anecdotes, but there was no mention of Jiuyang Temple.
However, there was a strange story that stated more than a hundred years ago, a forest fire broke out in the Chuanhe Town area, destroying arge part of the forest. The surrounding viges were not spared either. The tale went on to say that the fire zed for over two months before being extinguished by heavy rain. Yingbao knitted her brows. If the Taoist Temple had been burnt down by a wildfire more than a hundred years ago, then where did Chen Wan¡¯s memoriese from?
Chen Wan¡¯s implications were clear. She was abandoned soon after birth, then raised by a Taoist priest or nun from the Taoist Temple, andter imed by the Han Family. This scenario was simr to her own past life or current life. Regardless of which life, she seemed destined to be abandoned. The repeated cycle of being abandoned and then retrieved, seemed to be constantly disrupted by her resistance, maybe that¡¯s why the plot couldn¡¯t get on track. What on earth did that book want her to do? Yingbao closed the county chronicles and decided to look for the Taoist temple in the mountainse spring. Before she knew it, December had arrived. The County Government suddenly issued a notice stating that the Imperial Court would be selecting warriors in every county from next February, inviting eligible families to sign their children up to take the exam. Anyone aged twelve to twenty could participate. Not only were warriors being recruited, the court was also selecting individuals with exceptional medical skills, regardless of gender, encouraging aspirants to sign up. The notice was posted under the big jujube tree at the entrance of Dongchen Vige, attracting many vigers to gather around. Yingbao was not affected, but her younger brother, Jiang Wu, was thrilled. ¡°Sis! I want to take the martial arts exam!¡± he would turn twelve after the end of the year ¡ª well, he¡¯d be twelve by Chinese reckoning, which was just eligible. Yingbao: ¡°Alright, if you pass, our entire family will move to Jiankang.¡±
Her younger brother Jiang Jie was already a schr and would surely be an official, at that point, he would definitely go to Beijing. If Jiang Wu also passed the martial arts exam, then their family would be a bonafide official family, staying in the vige would no longer be an option. After Jiang Jie became a schr, even some strangers from out-of-town came to present their gifts and establish connections. If you didn¡¯t ept it, it would be as if you were looking down on them. People might be tempted to use her family¡¯s connections if they got into any trouble, by then, her family¡¯s doorstep would be frequently transgressed. Any carelessness might affect her younger brother. Therefore, Yingbao hoped Jiang Wu could pass the martial arts examination, then they could all move to a prefecture city or Beijing. The martial arts examination was scheduled for the eighth day of February, so they had to register in December with their household registration. Jiang Sang and Chen Zhu took several kids with them to the county city in two horse-drawn carriages. That¡¯s right, not only Jiang Wu went to register, but Huzi, Wei Zhan, Wen Hengyin, and Zhang Min also went too. Huzi and the boys were taking the martial arts exam, while Hengyin was applying for the medical school exam. Luckily, this time, the new Imperial Court was very lenient in recruiting talent. Anyone with a household registration and a local person who could be a guarantor was eligible to participate. That¡¯s how Wei Zhan and Zhang Min could take the exam locally. After registering, the boys devoted themselves to practicing mounted archery. At night, they needed to study military tactics and formation arrangement, all of which had to be tested.
Thanks to Zhang Meng knowing some of this, and Mr. Wu giving further guidance on military tactics, the boys made rapid progress. The child had been living with Mr. Wu in Jiang Sang¡¯s house, and he ate and yed with Jiang Wu and the others. asionally he would y with Niuniu from the Chu family, but Niuniu always teased him about being illiterate. The boy felt aggrieved, and seeing his ¡°daddy¡± was too busy to deal with him, he went to find Yingbao. ¡°Sister, I want to learn to read.¡± The boy climbed onto the kang bed and squeezed up in front of Yingbao, pointing to the book on the table and saying, ¡°Sister, teach me how to read.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t understand why the child wasn¡¯t afraid of her and even quite liked being close to her. All she could do was to say, ¡°If you can¡¯t learn, I¡¯ll p your hand.¡± The boy instinctively hid his hands behind his back and whispered, ¡°I can learn!¡± ¡°All right, but when I p your hand you can¡¯t cry.¡± Yingbao took out a Three Character ssic and taught him to read, word by word, phrase by phrase: ¡°People at birth, are naturally good¡­¡± The boy took his studies seriously and could chant a few sentences quite decently. ¡°Sis, I can read now!¡± He looked up at her, seeking praise. Yingbao nodded, ¡°Well done, you need to recite a chapter every day.¡± The boy lowered his voice, ¡°OK, but you have to teach me every day.¡± Yingbao hummed in acknowledgment and gave him a milk cake, ¡°This is a reward for you. Study hard in the future, it¡¯s the only way to understand things.¡±
The boy happily took it and, with a giggle, slipped off the kang bed. He ran to find Mr. Wu quickly, ¡°Daddy! Sister gave me a cake!¡± Chapter 392: 388: Martial Arts Examination _1 Chapter 392: Chapter 388: Martial Arts Examination _1 With the passing of the first lunar month, Third Master Jiang took the children to the county seat for the examination. The candidates first went to Wucheng Temple to worship the statue of the Grand Duke and then took the tests on essayposition and discussion, followed by target shooting, riding and shooting, marching and shooting, high leap, and weightlifting. Finally, there was a review of their height, appearance, speech, and deportity. If the score for each item reached five, it was considered excellent. The examination was held in two age groups: twelve to sixteen and sixteen to twenty. Jiang Wu was young and obviously could notpete with those older in terms of height, which put him at a disadvantage somewhat. However, he was very brave and stronger than the other children. His riding and shooting was impable, and he quickly won first ce in thepetition. Huzi and Xiaoyao were not far behind, winning second and third ce in their age group, respectively. Zhang Min and Wei Zhan also took the lead in the age group of sixteen to twenty. What they did not know was that the chief examiner for the military examination in Qinchuan County was Xu Kun, who was the good brother of their martial arts instructor, Zhang Meng, and they had not seen him for several years. He touched his chin with satisfaction and ticked beside the names of these children. This time, the new Emperor specially sent him to Qinchuan County to recruit martial arts students to cultivate a group of trustworthy people.
At the beginning of the new dynasty, the Imperial Courtcked talented people, especially those who needed to defend the Imperial City and the Zhechong Prefectures. They had to be the personal confidants of the new emperor. If a new dynasty did not have a powerful military deterrent, the noble families of generations would inevitably stir up trouble. Therefore, the new emperor attached great importance to this military examination and had specially granted twenty martial arts student ces to Qinchuan County, ten more than other counties. Xu Kun knew very well what the new emperor meant, so he directly sent a recruitment announcement to the entrance of Dongchen Vige. As a result, those children came and performed well. A few dayster, when the military examination was over, Third Master Jiang and the children stayed in the county seat for several days, waiting for the results. Yingbao also followed her dad to the county seat. While her brothers went to take the examination, she went to check on the shop. Her sister-inw and elder cousin were busy in the shop, and they had hired two female servants to take care of the children. Her aunt still lived here and set up a stall to sell breakfast every morning. Now Hong Xiao was fourteen and had grown into a very beautiful girl. She no longer went to school and helped her mother set up a stall to sell food every day. Yingbao stood by and observed their business. She noticed that they still had so many customers. They could make three to four hundred coins a day and about ten coins a month. Actually, it was not a small amount for her aunt to earn that much, but she also had to support her son¡¯s studies and prepare the dowry for Yuying¡¯s marriage. The daily expenses of the family also cost a bit, so the money she earned seemed a bit insufficient. Her cousin Yuying was seventeen this year and was currently helping her elder cousin deliver goods. asionally, he looked after the shop. Her elder cousin paid him fifteen taels a month, temporarily employing him to prevent him from running around and learning bad habits from others. Yingbao went back to the shop and said to her elder cousin, ¡°I think the ce on our right is good. Why don¡¯t we buy it and build several shops?¡± Jiang Cheng was surprised, ¡°Where is there any space on the right?¡± In recent years, buildings had been constructed on both sides of their shop. Some people built houses to live in, while others opened small shops. In any case, there was no vacantnd left. ¡°It¡¯s the pond next to our shop. I¡¯m thinking of buying it, filling it in and building houses on top of it.¡± On the right side of the specialty shop was a pond. The water was shallow, and some people had dumped trash into it, making it messy. In summer, it even gave off a foul smell. Yingbao had long wanted to fill it in, but she was afraid that others would benefit from her efforts. Jiang Cheng: ¡°That pond? That might work.¡± Reminded by his younger cousin, Jiang Cheng was enlightened. The pond was not small. If it was filled and a house was built, it could hold tworge courtyards. ¡°You go to the Teeth Row right now and ask about it. If the pond is unowned, just buy it.¡± Yingbao is not short of money now, but once her brother bes an official in the future, there were a lot of ces to spend money. The little she had was a drop in the bucket.
Not to talk about buying a house and a field in Jiankang, even the asional gifts to her colleagues in the officialdom will cost a lot. If someone gave you a gift, you had to reciprocate with gifts of equal value. This was called reciprocal courtesy. Moreover, after bing an official, the official family assigned a certain number of servants and maids, whom you had to use your own money to support. s, they are all burdens.
¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go check it out now.¡± Jiang Cheng told his wife and left. Two hourster, Jiang Cheng brought the Teeth Row back to measure the size of the pond. Finally, he bought arge piece ofnd with only one hundred and eighty taels of silver. Jiang Cheng registered thend in the name of his third uncle and then gave it to his younger cousin for safekeeping. Yingbao took over the deed and asked her elder cousin to hire some people to bring in the soil to fill the whole pond andpact it. This was a major project which could not bepleted overnight. Yingbao didn¡¯t bother to pay attention to it for the time being. It was good enough for her elder cousin to handle it on his own. Anyway, she had handed over the sales of her Golden Ears and Snow Ears to her elder cousin, and the profit would be enough to build eight or ten houses. A few dayster, when the military examination results were finally announced, Jiang Wu ranked first in both the written and the physical examination in his age group. Huzi came in second, and Xiaoyao third. Zhang Min and Wei Zhan ranked second and third, respectively, in their group. The first ce went to a very strong young man whose physique was on par with a bear. Everyone was thrilled, especially Wei Zhan, who came to the exam with a try-it-out attitude and actually seeded. Different from the civil service examination, once you pass the military examination, you can directly go to the Imperial City. The Emperor will personally select and train you before conferring you a post.
Yingbao was happy for her brother, but also worried. Because once he became a military officer, he would inevitably have to go to war. Would the Emperor make them attack the Little Zhou Dynasty by then? When Third Master Jiang returned to the vige with the children, the whole Dongchen Vige was stirred up. A lot of families who didn¡¯t let their children take the examination regretted it. Hearing Third Master Jiang say that these children would go to the Imperial City to meet the Emperor in a few days and be officially appointed by the Emperor himself, several people regretted so much that they wanted to punch the wall. Once they became officials, they would officially be members of the official families. It was estimated that they would be awarded at least the ninth-rank official post like that of a County Magistrate. The most regretful one was the second daughter-inw of the Chen Family¡¯s n leader. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault! You said the military examination was just to recruit soldiers, and now those bastards have passed it. Don¡¯t they just want to get on top of us and defecate?¡± Seated on the bed, Han Miaoniang gave her husband Chen Jiazhen a few punches in frustration and said, ¡°You should have let our son Bokang take part in the examination too. He just turned sixteen this year, and he has also taken lessons from Zhang Meng. He would have passed no matter what. But you insisted on your own sayings and kept him from registering.¡± Chen Jiazhen dodged his wife and fumbled to say, ¡°If we didn¡¯t catch up this time, we can do it next year. What¡¯s the big deal?¡± ¡°You make it sound so easy. What if more people take the exam next year? Our Bokang¡­¡± Before Han Miaoniang could finish her words, she saw Bokang rushing out of the house and running out at a great speed. ¡°Bokang! Come back¡­¡± Seeing her son storm out, Han Miaoniang quickly chased after him. However, her son vanished before she knew it. Standing at the door for a while, Han Miaoniang turned around and began to scold her husband, ¡°You old fool! Why aren¡¯t you going to find Bokang back? What if he does something foolish?¡±
Hearing this, Chen Jiazhen was also panicked and hurriedly went out to find his son. Chapter 393: 389: Looking for People_1 Chapter 393: Chapter 389: Looking for People_1 Chen Bokang ran out of the vige and squatted in an unupied spot to cry. If it were not for his father¡¯s stern objection, forbidding him from taking the risky test, iming it was a sure way to send him off to die on the battlefield, he might have been able to take part in the examination along with the children from the Jiang Family. Perhaps, he might have passed and gone to Beijing with them to be an official someday. Even the neer, Wei Zhan, had passed the examination. The twelve-year-old devil child was sessful too. There was no reason he couldn¡¯t have also made it. Now he had lost a golden opportunity. Not only was he doomed to toil thend for the rest of his life, but he might also have to bow his head to that little devil whenever they met in the future. The more Chen Bokang pondered on it, the more heartbroken he became, and the louder he cried. Finally, Chen Jiazhen found his son. Seeing his son in such a state, he was filled with regret too. ¡°Bokang, stop crying. Maybe your father can talk to the little devil. Ask him to take you along when he leaves for Beijing.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want that!¡± Chen Bokang roared, getting up and running away again. This time, he ran down the South Slope, heading towards the old vige. Knowing he couldn¡¯t catch up with his son, Chen Jiazhen could only turn back helplessly. Suddenly, he remembered Chen Changping, the second son of the Chen Family.
Changping had mentioned a few days ago that he wanted to take a few children who knew martial arts to Chengzhou to serve the Commandery Prince. The Commandery Prince was thete emperor¡¯s cousin. Bing a servant in the family of such a royal rtive would bring honor to their family¡¯s ancestors. Chen Jiazhen hit his thigh excitedly and hurried off to find Chen Changping. A few dayster, Master Wu took some children along with Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu to the county town, and then they all proceeded to Jiankang City. Yingbao prepared many medicinal pills for them to take along, and even secretly arranged a horse carriage for Master Wu and Jiang Jie to sit in. The carriage was spacious. Two people could sitfortably with their legs stretched out, and if tired, they could even lie down and sleep. The carriage was much better than their own. Yingbao watched as they rode out into the distance before turning back to the vige. When she passed by Ahzhao¡¯s food stall, she realized it hadn¡¯t been opened. Yingbao didn¡¯t pay much attention to it and went to the weaving workshop for a while before visiting her elder sister, Wen Shu. Wen Shu, who was nearing her due date, was walking about in the courtyard. Seeing Yingbao, she was delighted and whispered, ¡°The young master is gone, and the madam is very upset.¡± Wen Hengyin had been admitted to the medical department and had left for Jiankang along with Wei Zhan and the others. Although Jiankang was a mere thousand miles away, no one knew when they would be able to return. Xiu Zhenniang was, therefore, very worried. Yingbao blinked and said, ¡°If the wife is really worried, when your child is born and grows up a bit, why not make a trip to Beijing. Besides, your husband will be going there for the examination, so you two can meet up there.¡± Wen Shu shook her head and spoke softly, ¡°It¡¯s impossible. My mother-inw is still here. How can I just leave her behind?¡± ¡°You could bring her along. If your husband is sessful, you can use the opportunity to buy a house in Beijing and live there.¡± Given the wealth of the Wen Family, buying a house in Beijing wouldn¡¯t be a problem. Wen Shu chuckled, ¡°You make a good point, I hadn¡¯t considered that.¡± After chatting for a while, Yingbao bid her farewell and left. She noticed numerous children crowded at the martial arts hall when she passed by the school. With Li Xu absent to take the examination, no one was left to teach at the advanced school. Many of the children were either studying on their own or practicing martial arts and archery with Zhang Meng.
The horse provided for the martial arts school by Elder Brother Jiang was given temporarily for the children¡¯s archery practice. ¡°Yingbao!¡± Suddenly, someone called her from behind. She turned around to see Chen Wan. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± asked Yingbao.
Chen Wan grabbed her and asked urgently, ¡°Have you seen Ahzhao or Xubao today?¡± ¡°No.¡± Yingbao was busy preparing for her brothers¡¯ trips and hadn¡¯t noticed Xubao or Ahzhao at all. Chen Wan wept loudly: ¡°Ahzhao and Xubao are both missing, can.. can you help me look for them?¡± Yingbao frowned: ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask your grandparents?¡± ¡°I did, they refused to pay me any attention.¡± Chen Wan wept into her hands. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault, I shouldn¡¯t have left them behind¡­¡± Yingbao: ¡°What about your dad? Isn¡¯t he home?¡± Chen Wan paused, crying harder: ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t see my father. Yingbao, help me find them, after all¡­ after all, they are your sister and brother.¡± Upon hearing this, Yingbao took a few steps back and coldly looked at Chen Wan: ¡°Leave me out of your family¡¯s affairs, Chen Wan, don¡¯t invent rtions, I have nothing to do with the Chen family.¡± ¡°But clearly you are¡­¡± Chen Wan wiped away her tears: ¡°Yingbao, no, you should be called Chen Ying¡­¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± Yingbao bluntly rebuked: ¡°How did you find out that I¡¯m your sister? Did you dream it up? Chen Wan, are you out of your mind?¡± Chen Wan stared at the girl in front of her in shock: ¡°But¡­ It was clear that you already acknowledged it, you even gave me sixty taels, why are you going back on your words?¡± ¡°Acknowledged? You¡¯re really funny.¡± Yingbao retorted: ¡°I spent sixty taels just to find out what kind of dream you had. If you¡¯re thinking of using this to ckmail me, forget it.¡± ¡°Moreover, the fact that your brother and sister are gone has nothing to do with me, if you want to find someone, do it yourself, don¡¯t involve me.¡±
After saying this, Yingbao looked at Chen Wan from head to toe, then turned around and left. ¡°Don¡¯t go.¡± Chen Wan tried to stop Yingbao, but Yingbao skillfully sidestepped her. Yingbao frowned at Chen Wan: ¡°So, do I have to help you look?¡± Chen Wan nodded urgently: ¡°I¡­I beg you, whether you are my sister or not, for the sake of Xubao, please¡­pleasee and help me search.¡± Yingbao thought for a moment before suddenly smiling: ¡°Fine, wait for me outside the vige, I¡¯ll go home to change and return shortly.¡± Chen Wan nodded repeatedly: ¡°Okay, I¡­ I¡¯ll wait for you outside the vige, make sure youe!¡± Without a word, Yingbao turned around and went home to tell her parents about Chen Wan wanting her to help look for Chen Zhao. Spring immediately became angry: ¡°That Chen Wan is totally unreasonable, Yingbao, don¡¯t pay any mind to her.¡± However, Jang Sang frowned and asked softly: ¡°Yingbao, is there any scheme behind her constantly pestering you to help find Chen Zhao?¡± Yingbao nodded: ¡°I feel the same way, father, instead of letting them scheme in the dark, we might as well outsmart them.¡± She wanted to see, what exactly was Chen Wan trying to do. Spring, worried, grasped her daughter¡¯s hand: ¡°Yingbao, what are you guys talking about?¡± Yingbao patted her mother on the hand: ¡°Nothing, mother you stay at home and don¡¯t go out, father and I need to go out for a bit.¡±
With an oblivious expression, Spring hurriedly asked: ¡°Is it that Chen Wan trying to harm you? Yingbao, mama will go with you.¡± ¡°Not necessarily, mother, you should stay at home, father and I will find a few people to go with us.¡± Yingbaoforted her mother, then she and her father left the house. To avoid rming their quarry, Yingbao decided to meet Chen Wan herself, and let her father surreptitiously follow with some others. It¡¯s alreadyte afternoon and people in the vige are returning from the fields for lunch. Dressed casually, Yingbao went to the outskirts of the vige where she saw Chen Wan looking anxiously around. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Yingbao said to her: ¡°Where should we look? Do you know?¡± Seeing that Yingbao really came alone, Chen Wan was overwhelmed with joy and took her hand: ¡°Ahzhao always goes to a particr ce to dig for wild vegetables. I want to check there to see if she¡¯s there.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yingbao followed Chen Wan towards the market outskirts. Now, there are many dwellings on the South Slope, most of them circled around Dongchen Vige, forming a residential cluster. But, beyond the residences, there are still many wild bamboo forests. Even though some parts have been cut down, other parts remain lush. Chen Wan led Yingbao to the wild bamboo forest, asionally ncing around.
Chapter 394: 390: Graceful Girl_1 Chapter 394: Chapter 390: Graceful Girl_1 Yingbao didn¡¯t mind at all and followed Chen Wan into a bamboo grove. Indeed, there were people in the bamboo grove, but it¡¯s not just Chen Zhao and Chen Xubao, but also four unfamiliar men. Chen Wan grabbed Yingbao¡¯s arm and said to the four men, ¡°I¡­ I brought her here, now you must release Ahzhao and Xubao.¡± Chen Zhao eximed in surprise, ¡°Big sister! How could you do this?¡± Chen Wan trembled, gripping Yingbao tightly and urged the men, ¡°Hurry up, I have brought the person you wanted. Release my brother and sister.¡± The four men looked at each other and smirked. Two of them walked over, reaching out to grab Yingbao. Suddenly, a cold glint shed before their eyes, aiming right at their faces. The two instinctively dodged, but they were so close that one of them had his arm shed open, flesh and blood exposed. ¡°Ah~~¡± The man yelled in pain as he fell backward onto the ground. Only then did the men see that the young girl had somehow slipped out of Chen Wan¡¯s grip and was now wielding a two-foot-long sharp cleaver, chasing after another man. ¡°Stinking girl! You¡¯re asking for it!¡± Seeing the situation unfolding unfavorably, the remaining two men hastily drew out their daggers to assist. At this point, many people gathered around them.
¡°Baobao! Get out of the way! Daddy¡¯s here!¡± Jiang Sang rushed in, swinging his pole to strike one of the men in the back. The stricken man yelped, ignoring the pain and turning tail to run. The remaining men also tried to flee but were surrounded by the vigers. A fight ensued. Although these men are well-trained fighters, they couldn¡¯t outnumber the vigers and soon were overpowered, trussed up like dumplings. After capturing the four men, Jiang Sang turned around and red fiercely at Chen Wan, barking, ¡°Chen Wan! Who told you to trick my girl here?¡± Scared to shivers, Chen Wan shook her head, tears streaming down, ¡°It¡­it was them. They kidnapped Ahzhao and Xubao, I¡­ I had no choice, wu wu wu¡­¡± But it was not only that, her dad also promised her that if she could bring Yingbao, she and her sister wouldn¡¯t have to serve the nobles, and he would even ensure they got to live in the county town. Jiang Sang gave Chen Wan a hard p andmanded his men to tie her up as well. He then led a few others to search the surrounding area, finding a carriage and a few horses. But there were no helpers on the carriage; it seemed that the coachman had escaped on horseback when he sensed something wrong. Jiang Sang ordered his men to throw the captives onto the carriage and bring them back to Dongchen Vige for interrogation. One of them kept screaming, ¡°You lowlymoner! Release us now! Do you know who we are? Believe it or not, I can have your entire family thrown into jail¡­¡± Jiang Sang, wielding a bamboo stick, gave him a harsh strike on the face. After a few more strikes, the man¡¯s face was bruised and bloody, shutting him up. Jiang Sang then interrogated each of the men separately, and in the end, one of them gave in and spilled the truth. As it turned out, these men were the subordinates of Commandery Prince Cheng¡¯s staff member, Yan Jinshan, who had intended to seize Jiang Yingbao and bring her to Chengzhou County. However, to avoid alerting anyone, they had pressured Chen Wan to lure Yingbao there. After the interrogation, Jiang Sang was filled with lingering fear. However, thinking about his daughter¡¯s extraordinary ability, he felt a bit reassured.
Finally, Jiang Sang handed over Chen Wan and the four men to the station master at the post station to deal with. Upon hearing that this involved the Commandery Prince Cheng, the station master didn¡¯t dare to dy, and immediately sent the captives off to the County Government without stopping to rest. Soon after, someone from the County Government came to inform Chen Lao Shuan¡¯s family to bring the money to ransom Chen Wan. But Chen Lao Shuan had no money left, and could only turn to his eldest and youngest sons for loans. However, both sons imed they were short of funds and couldn¡¯t afford 80 taels of silver.
Chen Changhai¡¯s wife quietly said to her husband, ¡°Chen Wan is responsible for what she has done, why do we have to cover for her? Your second brother is getting out of hand, daring to conspire with outsiders to harm another family¡¯s daughter. The Jiang Family is not what it used to be, their children are all set to be officials. You must not get involved in their confusion, my husband.¡± Chen Changhai sighed, ¡°I know.¡± Their son was also fourteen or fifteen years old and was studying martial arts at the Martial Arts Hall in Dongchen Vige. They would likely need the help of the Jiang Family¡¯s children in the future, and they couldn¡¯t afford to mess up. Old Chen Shuan could not borrow money from his son, so he had to go to the n Leader Chen for a loan. n Leader Chen scolded him harshly, criticizing him for not teaching his children and grandchildren properly. He said if Chen Shuan dared to bring Chen Wan back to the vige, he would expel his entire family from the n. In the end, it was Chen Zhao who took out the sixty taels of silver given by Yingbaost time, allowing their grandfather to redeem their eldest sister. Chen Laoshuan brought this money to the County Government. After buying his granddaughter¡¯s release, he sold her to a family in another county under a death contract, and returned home on his own. Back home, thinking about his second son¡¯s repeated mistakes andck of repentance, he guessed that his schrly honor could not be preserved, which was extremely depressing. Under considerable stress, Chen Laoshuan fell ill and could not get up. If it weren¡¯t for n Leader Chen stealing his old wife¡¯s medicine pills and giving them to him, Chen Laoshuan probably would have died. Two monthster, Chen Fengshi decided to marry the fifteen-year-old Chen Zhao to the second son of a family from another town. This family was fairly well-off, but their ancestors were executioners, and those who knew about it were reluctant to marry into the family. Chen Zhao did not object, but after getting married he continued to conduct business in Dongchen Vige, taking care of his younger brother along the way. In this period, Yingbao was forbidden by her parents from leaving the vige. Even if she wanted to go to the market, she was not allowed to go alone, she needed apanion. Even when Wen Shu was having her baby, Chunniang apanied her.
In the blink of an eye, another year had passed. Wen Shu¡¯s baby was already one year old, and the fourteen-year-old Yingbao had grown into a graceful young girl. A lot had happened over the past year. The biggest event was undoubtedly that the Commandery Prince of Chengzhou County suddenlyunched a rebellion, allying with forces within and outside of the Little Zhou Dynasty to attack the cities of the new dynasty. For a time, wars broke out everywhere. Upon hearing the news, the Jiang Family became worried. Chunniang sat on the heated bed talking to her daughter, ¡°Baobao, do you think Xiaowu and the others will go to the battlefield?¡± Yingbao kept silent for a while, thenforted her mother: ¡°Xiaowu is still so young, how could he go to the battlefield?¡± Actually, she was very anxious as well, regretting not giving Xiaowu more medicine to carry with him, and regretting even more allowing her brother to take the martial examination. But her brother should also have his own life, and she couldn¡¯t make decisions for him. With a sigh, Chunniang thought of something else and said to her daughter, ¡°I really don¡¯t know what your second sister Dani is thinking, she is determined not to get married. Your grandma is almost angry to death.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t know what to say. It¡¯s not only Dani, she herself also didn¡¯t want to consider such things so early.
She always wanted to go to North Mountain to take a look, but her parents were watching her closely, not allowing her to run around, and forbidding her from going out with other people. They said that she was older now and must keep distance from vige boys, otherwise people would gossip about her. ¡°There¡¯s another thing I need to talk to you about.¡± Chunniang nced at her daughter and whispered: ¡°Madam Wen mentioned your marriage the other day and asked me to ask you what you think of Wen Hengyin?¡± Yingbao blinked her eyes, ¡°Mother, I¡¯m still young.¡± ¡°What do you mean young?¡± Chunniang red at her daughter, ¡°Sister Dani was engaged when she was twelve. See how old you are now.¡± Seeing that her daughter was not answering, Chunniang continued, ¡°Madam Wang told me about her son, Wei Zhan, a few days ago. She said he has been appointed as a Colonel of Zhechong Prefecture,manding three hundred cavalry soldiers.¡± Yingbao: ¡°That¡¯s quite good.¡± Being appointed as a colonel of Zhechong Prefecture at just the age of seventeen suggests a bright future. Chunniang twitched at the corner of her eyes, took a sneaky nce at her daughter, and asked, ¡°Do you really think Wei Zhan is good?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Yingbao nodded. Chapter 395: 391: In-Law’s Opening Door_1 Chapter 395: Chapter 391: In-Law¡¯s Opening Door_1 Days passed, and Sun Licheng ran to Jiang Sang every day to tell him about thetest war situations he had heard. One night, Yingbao suddenly had a dream, dreaming of mes soaring to the sky in Qinchuan County and their shop being set aze, leaving her older cousin Jiang Cheng¡¯s and her aunt¡¯s families in pools of blood. Yingbao was shocked awake, the scenes are still fresh in her mind, as if she had experienced them firsthand. Thinking of a possibility, she shivered, jumped out of bed, and knocked on her parents¡¯ room, shouting ¡°Dad! Mom!¡± Jiang Sang and his wife, Chunniang, quickly got dressed and opened the door, asking, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I need to go to the county town. Dad, you should inform the vigers at home to keep an eye on the vige these days. If soldierse, let the vigers hide immediately.¡± As Yingbao spoke, she slipped her boots on. Jiang Sang frowned, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Let me go to the county town.¡± Yingbao recounted her dream, and finally said, ¡°I¡¯m worried that something will happen in the county town. I want to notify cousin Jiang Cheng and them to close the shop and find a ce to hide.¡± Upon hearing this, Jiang Sang¡¯s face changed, and he turned around to get dressed, ¡°I¡¯ll go to the county town; you stay at home.¡± ¡°No way!¡± Yingbao refused. ¡°Baobao!¡± Chunniang grabbed Yingbao and angrily said, ¡°You¡¯re a girl, what are you running around for? Your dad can get there faster.¡±
Yingbao: ¡­ Jiang Sang quickly got dressed, put on his shoes and socks, and ran out of the room to saddle his horse. By this time, it was almost daybreak. Jiang Sang leaped onto his horse and told his daughter, ¡°You stay at home and tell your uncles to inform the vigers to stay alert these days.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yingbao also knew that they couldn¡¯t dy any longer and gave her dad the nod to leave. She then took out a bag of wheat and several potions and handed them to her dad, ¡°If the horse gets tired, feed it this.¡± Jiang Sang took the bag and hung it on his shoulder, put the medicine into the bag, snapped the reins, and left the yard, quickly leaving the vige. A hundred miles away, he arrived in just a few hours. By now, it was broad daylight. The city gate was wide open, and many people wereing in and out, with no apparent anomalies. Jiang Sang didn¡¯t know what was about to happen, but his daughter¡¯s dreams were usually prophetic, so he didn¡¯t dare to take them lightly. When he reached the shop, he saw his sister, Jiang Yunniang, selling breakfast. Seeing him, she was surprised, ¡°Sang, what brings you here?¡± ¡°Pack up ande back to the vige with me.¡± Jiang Sang got off his horse and quickly ran into the shop. Jiang Cheng, who had just opened the shop, was startled to see his third uncle rushing in. Jiang Sang said, ¡°Quickly close the shop ande back to the vige with me.¡± Jiang Cheng quickly asked, ¡°Third uncle, what¡¯s happened at home?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask, hurry back and get your family. I¡¯ll help you saddle the carriage.¡± As he spoke, Jiang Sang went directly to the backyard to saddle the carriage. Seeing the serious expression on his third uncle¡¯s face, Jiang Cheng thought something major had happened and hurriedly ran home to bring his wife, son, and daughter. When he returned, he saw his third uncle hiring a carriage on the street and helping his aunt¡¯s family get on it. ¡°Third Uncle, what actually happened?¡± Jiang Cheng asked with concern.
Jiang Sang didn¡¯t know how to exin, and after thinking for a while, he said, ¡°You¡¯ll know when you get back.¡± He nced at his niece-inw, wondering whether he should tell her the truth. But since his daughter¡¯s dream seemed to not involve anyone else getting hurt, he decided not to reveal it for now. However, as the carriage had just driven a short distance away, they came across shopkeeper Chou riding a donkey. ¡°Huh? Where are you going at this hour?¡± Shopkeeper Chou asked.
Jiang Cheng quickly stopped the carriage, ¡°There¡¯s some emergency at home, third uncle came specifically to bring us back.¡± Jiang Sang also stopped his horse, thought for a moment, and said, ¡°My dear rtive, it might be turbulent recently, why don¡¯t you leave the city with us?¡± Seeing the serious look on Jiang Sang¡¯s face, Shopkeeper Chou curiously asked, ¡°Third Brother-inw, do you know something?¡± Jiang Sang looked at the sky and said anxiously, ¡°There¡¯s no time to lose, we must leave the city quickly. You should also rush back and bring your family to our vige. We must leave the city before noon!¡± After speaking, he flicked his whip, urging his horse to leave. He turned his head to Jiang Cheng and said, ¡°Hurry up!¡± Jiang Cheng could only raise his fist and bow to his father-inw, then drove the carriage away. Shopkeeper Chou¡¯s daughter, Chou Rong, was terrified. She had a vague feeling that something was wrong and hurriedly lifted the curtain on the carriage and said to her father, ¡°Dad! You should go home now and bring mom and younger brother out of the city. Hurry!¡± Shopkeeper Chou didn¡¯t quite understand, but considering the ongoing battles everywhere, he took control of his shaken nerves and rushed home on his donkey. After returning home, he hooked up their donkey cart, got his son and wife to sit in it, thought for a moment, went back into the house and packed the title deeds, a few promissory notes, and dozens of taels of silver into a bag and handed it to his wife. Only then did he start driving towards the city gate. Not long after they left the city gate, he turned his head and suddenly saw the city gate slowly closing. Shopkeeper Chou was shocked and whipped the donkey to make it run faster. What did they want to do by closing the city gate now?
It must be something bad. What he didn¡¯t know was that County Magistrate Cao Can, leading seven or eight hundred soldiers, closed the city gate, attacked the county government, killed the county magistrate, and then began a massacre and looting in the county town. Cao Can first went to the Jiang family¡¯s specialty shop. Finding it empty and not seeing any gold or silver after a search, he set the shop on fire in anger. One of his subordinates told him that Jiang Cheng¡¯s father-inw was also wealthy, so they went to his cake shop, but they didn¡¯t find anyone there either. They only found some raw materials for making cakes, and copper coins. Cao Can interrogated a passerby and learned that they had left early. ¡°Humph! Where could they have run off to? Chuanhe Town?¡± Cao Can sneered, ¡°When I take over the county town, I¡¯ll wipe them all out!¡± Commandery Prince had promised him that once the task waspleted, this county town would be under his control. ¡¤¡¤¡¤ Meanwhile, when Jiang Sang had arrived back at Dongchen Vige with two horse carriages, it was almost evening. Seeing her dad and older cousin Jiang Cheng¡¯s family returned safely, Yingbao breathed a sigh of relief. Old man Jiang was still puzzled, and he asked his third son, ¡°What happened in the county town?¡± ¡°I was worried something would happen, so I brought Dacheng and your older sister back.¡± Jiang Sang unsaddled the horses and gave them a bottle of medicine to drink. The horse waspletely worn out today, having run over two hundred miles with its entire body soaked in sweat.
Old man Jiang disapprovingly red at his son, ¡°If war was really to reach us, it would still be safer to stay in the county town. You fool!¡± Jiang Sang smiled and said nothing. He went to fetch water to wash his hands and face, then sat down at the table for a meal. After finishing his meal, he quickly fell asleep on the kang. Chunniang cleared away the bowls and chopsticks, and whispered to her daughter, ¡°Yingbao, don¡¯t tell others about your dreams. Whether theye true or not, you can¡¯t tell.¡± Yingbao nodded and took a cloth to wipe the table. When everything was put in order, it waspletely dark outside. Suddenly, the family dogs, Dahuang and Xiaohei, started barking furiously in the direction of the main door, startling Chunniang who quickly climbed the fence to check the situation. She saw a donkey cart stopped at the entrance of the Jiang¡¯s house. A chubby middle-aged man got out of the cart and was knocking on the door. ¡°Dear rtives! Open the door! It¡¯s me!¡± Chapter 396: 392: Rebel Army_1 Chapter 396: Chapter 392: Rebel Army_1 Jiang Dng and his eldest son ran to open the door at the sound, indeed it was Shopkeeper Qiu. They quickly utched the door and led the donkey cart in. Chou Rong also ran out of the house and saw that her parents and younger brother hade. Her heart was relieved as she helped her mother into the house, then she went to prepare two rooms for them. Shopkeeper Qiu told his inws what he had seen, ¡°s, I saw the city gate closed as soon as I left the city. Closing the city gates during the day means either an enemy invasion or an internal rebellion. My heart is still pounding. That was a close call!¡± Fortunately, he had listened to his son-inw and daughter¡¯s advice, otherwise he would have been trapped in the city, leaving him open to ughter? Hearing this, old man Jiang and Jiang Dng¡¯s faces changed dramatically, they hastily went to call Jiang Sang to discuss a n of action. The next day, Jiang Sang called a vige meeting and talked about the strange events in the county town. At the end, he said, ¡°There must be something wrong in the county town, we need to be vignt in case the rebel armyes here. I will inform the surrounding post houses about this matter so they can decide what to do.¡± There are also several weapons shops and post houses around Qinchuan County, and he also had to inform other counties, not knowing if they were in league with the county town. In addition, the county magistrate of Qinchuan County had an old grudge against him, and may take this opportunity to retaliate against his family. The n Leader furrowed his brow, ¡°Could it be that the county town has also rebelled against the new dynasty?¡± If that were true, it would be terrible. His grandson and the two children of the Jiang family were all newly appointed military officers of the new dynasty, a fact everyone knew. If the rebel army broke into the vige and captured the elderly, weak, and women and children to threaten the new dynasty army, that would be disastrous. Thinking of this, the n Leader said again, ¡°Sang, you take more people to notify the garrisons at the surrounding post houses, and we need to prepare here in the vige.¡±
¡°I called everyone here for that very reason,¡± said Jiang Sang. ¡°The priority now is to build the gate for the vige entrance and gather all the vigers from the surrounding viges to resist the enemy together.¡± Over the years, under the supervision of the young girl, more than half of the vige wall has been repaired, with only a few of the gates remaining to be installed. As long as they keep the vige gate secure, no one can climb over the vige wall. First, because there are a ring of soapnut trees on the outside of the wall, second, because there are several tall arrow towers next to the wall. ¡°Good! Let¡¯s do it!¡± Everyone agreed in unison. So, a few vigers who were good at riding horses went with Jiang Sang to notify the post houses and garrisons, and others provided their timber and hemp ropes to work together to build the vige gate. Some of the students from the school ran to other viges to alert the vige officials to bring people over to help. Chen Changsheng of West Vige couldn¡¯t sit still, he simply told the people of West Vige toe over and help, and set up straw and bamboo sheds on the side of East Vige. Everyone from his vige including his own family, nned to take refuge in the enclosed vige. While everyone was busy, Yingbao took Dahuang and Xiaohei out into the wild to pick up stones. She collected all she could lift, big and small, into the cave mansion. When a battle actually happened, the damage caused by throwing stones at people would be far greater than that of bamboo arrows, so she needed to collect as many stones as possible. Unfortunately, the ingredients for making the potent, colorless, and odorless poison were limited. Otherwise, it would be even easier to secretly poison these bad guys. Even the Powder for Anesthesia, she didn¡¯t have much, and couldn¡¯t incapacitate a bunch of people in a short time. Several days passed in the blink of an eye. One day, the scouts suddenly ran back and shouted as soon as they entered the vige, ¡°Bad news! A troop of soldiers ising!¡± Everyone was startled and rushed to spread the news. People at the market also picked up their baskets and pushed their wheelbarrows running into the vige. Although the textile mill also had high walls, it was, after all, not as safe as being inside the vige. So all the weavers ran into the vige. Yingbao heard the scout¡¯s shout like everyone else, and immediately ran to West Vige to find Lady Wang, urging her toe into East Vige quickly. Lady Wang didn¡¯t hesitate, she ordered her servants to load the family¡¯s food and other supplies onto the cart and hurried into East Vige.
Before long, Yingbao, who was standing on the high watchtower, saw over a thousand soldiers up on the South Slope. They rummaged around the market first, and finding nothing of value, they went straight to the textile mill. The big doors of the workshop were tightly closed. They battered them for a while but were unable to break them down. The leader then ordered them to turn around and attack the vige. The vige gate was roughly made, it was visible from the outside. But these gates were made of round logs and were very sturdy. The rebels couldn¡¯t breach them right away.
From his vantage point, Yingbao could see Cao Can riding on a tall horse, engaging in a conversation with someone. Yingbao felt like she¡¯d seen this man somewhere before. Thinking carefully, she suddenly recalled that he¡¯d been with Chen Changping once. Thinking about the incident involving Chen Wan, she began to understand a little more. This man must be the staff officer known as Yan Jinshan, a close confidant of King Cheng. He was actually coborating with Cao Can. The dream she had might have been a forewarning. If her elder cousin and his family hadn¡¯t returned, they might have been killed by them. Upon thinking about this, chills ran down Yingbao¡¯s spine. If she had dismissed her dream as insignificant, perhaps her elder cousin and his aunt¡¯s family would have fallen into disaster. Yingbao squinted her eyes, watching as those people started to burn the vige gate. The gate was merely bound with hemp ropes and logs, and was held together by wooden pegs. It couldn¡¯t withstand the fire. Zhang Meng was standing on the watchtower next to the vige gate. He yelled out, ¡°Fire arrows!¡± Several vigers on the watchtower began to fire arrows at those people. However, being a first-time experience for them to aim a bow and arrow at soldiers dressed in imperial uniforms, they were still somewhat hesitant, and didn¡¯t dare to kill these people outright.
Zhang Meng was a bit angry and shouted out angrily, ¡°Aim at their vital points, fire! If theye at us in such numbers, it¡¯s do or die. What are you hesitating for? Are you waiting for them to kill your wives, children, and elders?¡± The vigers trembled a little, and upon seeing the people outside setting all the market buildings on fire, there was a sudden burst of mes. In a rage, they drew their bows and shot arrows, firing indiscriminately below. But the vige gate had already been breached and the rebels surged into the vige like a tide. Yingbao was on the arrow tower, throwing down rocks. Next to her were her father, Jiang Sang, and her mother, Chunniang. This watchtower and the one where Zhang Meng was, were the two strongholds guarding the vige gate. If the enemy invaded, these two arrow towers could provide some resistance. However, neither she nor her father had expected Cao Can to bring so many people to attack just one vige. However, Cao Can probably didn¡¯t know that the vige gate was only the first barrier, with a second and third one waiting behind. The rebels braved the barrage of arrows and the rain of stones from the vigers to rush into the vige, but what was this ring of soapnut branches blocking their way? Just inside the gate was a circle of soapnut branches, blocking all the paths, with sharp spikes protruding from the pile of branches, enough to make one¡¯s scalp numb. With the path ahead blocked and constant attacks from bamboo arrows and stones from above, the rebels hurriedly retreated, leaving behind dozens of dead and injured men. Cao Can frowned and waved his hand signaling his troops to retreat out of the range of the arrow towers.
¡°It seems like we can¡¯t attack from the main gate,¡± Yan Jinshan stroked his chin, ¡°This vige is indeed a hidden dragon and a crouching tiger. We can¡¯t underestimate it. Seems like your n, brother Cao, might have to go through some twists and turns.¡± Cao Can scoffed, ¡°If I can¡¯t break a small vige like this, how am I worthy of following King Cheng? Don¡¯t worry brother Yan, I will tear this vige down and bring all their heads and wealth to the King.¡± Chapter 397: 393: Unawake_1 Chapter 397: Chapter 393: Unawake_1 Cao Can was leading several hundred men around the vige, attempting to find a weak point. But the vige was rather peculiar, as it was entirely surrounded by a circle of tall, soapberry trees. There were high walls inside the soapberry trees, mainly made of earth, but they were tall and wide enough to amodate many people throwing stones from above. Their arrows could not reach the top, many were blocked by the branches of the soapberry trees. Even if they burned down the trees, they probably couldn¡¯t climb over the wall behind them. Cao Can furrowed his brows, a hint of retreat began to sprout in his mind, he regretted rashly bringing his men to attack the vige. However, remembering that the sworn advisor of the new king was watching beside him, he immediately dispelled the thought of withdrawal. If he can¡¯t even take down a small vige, wouldn¡¯t he be aughing stock? ¡°Attack from different directions!¡± Cao Can ordered his two lieutenants, ¡°I refuse to believe that a wretched mountain vige with no more than two or three hundred people can resist my thousand plus men.¡± Consequently, the three entrances to Dongchen Vige were forcefully breached by Cao Can¡¯s men, many rushed in, but arrow towers guarded both sides of each door, the sound of yelling and fighting filled the air. Some finally broke through the barriers of the soapberry tree branches and headed into the vige, shing with the team led by Chen Zhu. However, as the rebel numbers grew, Chen Zhu and his men began to struggle.
Seeing this, Jiang Sang immediately rushed down from the arrow tower, leading the twenty-odd vigers hidden inside to lend aid. Yingbao and her mother stayed in the arrow tower, throwing stones at the iing rebels. Her aim was precise, sometimes when the number below grew, she would throw ten or more bowl-sized stones all at once, knocking down several people in one hit. With her assistance, the pressure on Chen Zhu and Jiang Sang quickly diminished. Along with the support from the archers like Zhang Meng, they soon scared away the rebels. However, the situation at the other two entrances was not as promising. Hundreds of rebels had entered the vige. Once into the vige, they dispersed into groups of tens and started smashing vigers¡¯ doors, attempting to loot wealth and food. That¡¯s right, the purpose of Cao Can¡¯s expedition was to gather provisions for the king, and incidentally, plunder civilian wealth. From the beginning, he went straight for Dongchen Vige,plying with the requests of Yan Jinshan. Because everyone knew that the disciple of the new emperor lived in Dongchen Vige, capturing her wouldn¡¯t necessarily threaten the new emperor, but it would certainly boost the morale of the king¡¯s troops. Seeingrge numbers of rebels entering the vige, Yingbao¡¯s eyebrows furrowed. They outnumbered the vigers able to fight by several times. She grabbed her mother, pulling her into their shelter, before she herself descended from the arrow tower. Below the tower were two or three young men from the Martial Arts Hall. Yingbao told them to shut the stone gate under the tower properly before she rushed out. She was dressed in ck, her hair tied up like a young boy, her face concealed by a cloth, except for her two eyes. Yingbao picked up therge stones she had knocked down, gathered the abandoned swords and spears of the dead rebels and even collected their arrows. She quickly sprinted towards a few rebels and unexpectedly swung her sword at them. Several people fell at the sound. Yingbao, cold-faced, picked up their swords and swiftly ran towards her father.
On her way, she came across several rebels and killed them effortlessly. Yingbao nced at her broadsword, still dripping with blood, and suddenly felt a strange sensation. It was as if she were a veteran soldier who could easily annihte all the rebels in the vige if she so wished. And indeed, it was true. Yingbao decided to surrender to her heart¡¯s desire and began to kill freely. Everywhere she passed, bodiesy strewn across the ground.
It was as if she was born to be a warrior, fearless and unstoppable. ¡°Sang, look at Yingbao!¡± Chen Zhu seemed to see a killing god, wielding a scythe as if chopping melons and vegetables. Her speed was so fast that it was not clear how she was swinging the scythe, and countless rebel soldiers had already fallen around her. Jiang Sang turned to look and saw his daughter moving like the wind, swiftly sweeping through the rebels, causing them to drop like flies. The rebels from afar saw this scene. Their faces drastically changed, and they turned around to flee in panic. Mother! What kind of monster is that? It seems like a de spinning at high speed, harvesting lives in swathes. ¡°Baobao!¡± Jiang Sang shouted loudly, rushing towards the small figure. Something was wrong with his daughter. The state she was in was terribly frightening. Yingbao suddenly halted, a moment of confusion shed through her mind. ¡°Baobao! What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Jiang Sang sprinted up to his daughter, gently lifting the headgear on her head. He wanted to see if this was indeed his daughter. Upon removing the bloody headdress, he saw her face was covered with fresh blood. She looked at him indifferently, her eyes, a fathomless ck, looking at him as if he were a stranger. Jiang Sang became more frightened. He used his sleeve to wipe the blood from his daughter¡¯s face and cautiously asked, ¡°Baobao, I¡¯m your father.¡± Slowly, Yingbao¡¯s consciousness returned. She blinked, then turned to look behind her.
Behind her, there were no living people left. Those rebel soldiers had been thoroughly frightened off by her. ¡°Baobao, let¡¯s go home.¡± Jiang Sang was genuinely concerned, cautiously persuading her, ¡°Most of them have already run away, we¡¯ll deal with the rest.¡± Yingbao scanned around and saw that the rebels were indeed retreating. She nodded in agreement. Upon returning home, Yingbao let her mother out of hiding, and then dozed off herself. Seeing that her daughter was covered in blood from head to toe, Chunniang was terrified and quickly checked for injuries. She then heated some water to wash her daughter and change her clothes. Lady Wang and Mother Wen were also residing in Jiang Sang¡¯s house and were shocked to see Yingbao drenched in blood. Mother Wen checked Yingbao¡¯s pulse while she was sleeping. Seeing that it was stable, she felt relieved. ¡°It¡¯s fine. She¡¯s just tired. A good sleep will do her good.¡± Lady Wang asked, ¡°Should we prepare some medicine for her? I think she looks stunned. Could she have been scared?¡± ¡°No need, her pulse indicates that she¡¯s not frightened. She doesn¡¯t need medicine,¡± answerd Mother Wen. Lady Wang tucked the nket around Yingbao. ¡°In that case, let her sleep properly.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± The room was left as they went outside to observe the situation.
They saw the vigers clearing the battlefield, and all the rebel soldiers had disappeared. ¡°The rebels are gone!¡± Wen Shu tiptoed to see outside the vige. She could barely see the people running down the slope. Lady Wang and Mother Wen also saw it and couldn¡¯t help but sigh in relief. What they didn¡¯t know was that Yingbao alone had killed nearly a hundred rebels and scared off half the rebel army. Regardless of how Cao Can and the vige chiefs were scolding, they ran off without looking back. Watching most of his troops flee, Cao Can didn¡¯t dare to stay and had to flee in humiliation, leaving more than three hundred corpses and wounded behind. Jiang Sang ordered the people to finish off the severely injured without blinking an eye, then dragged their bodies to the cemetery for burial. There were also casualties in the vige, but quite few. Jiang Sang took out the Injury Medicine Powder and internal medicine that his daughter had given him and asked Mother Wen and Wu Si to treat those people. He then ordered the vigers to repair the damaged entrance of the vige and redeploy traps and obstacles. The whole vige was busy until the next day, Yingbao still did not wake up. Chunniang panicked and hurriedly called Mother Wen, ¡°She¡¯s been sleeping since yesterday and hasn¡¯t woken up since. She¡¯s not responding when I call her, what¡¯s going on?¡± Chapter 398: 394: Nightmare_1 Chapter 398: Chapter 394: Nightmare_1 Lady Wen was taking Yingbao¡¯s pulse. Her pulse was the same as yesterday, showing no changes. Lady Wen frowned, lifting Yingbao¡¯s eyelids to reveal slightly dted pupils in motionless eyes, as if she were in a deep sleep. Lady Wen pondered for a moment before fetching a golden needle to acupuncture Yingbao. She utilized the Fengchi, Baihui, and Yongquan points located on the soles of the feet. After quite some time, she removed the golden needle, and Yingbao¡¯s eyes started to move under her eyelids, but she remained unconscious. Chunniang watched with a heavy heart, unable to resist calling out softly, ¡°Baobao! Wake up!¡± Lady Wang suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t we invite the Divine Witch from the West Vige to help call back her soul?¡± Chunniang quickly nodded, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go get her.¡± Before long, the Divine Witch arrived with two grandchildren and began to perform her rituals inside Yingbao¡¯s room. Smoke began to fill the room, the Divine Witch shaking the bells and drums in her hands, singing shaman songs in a hum and chatter.
Meanwhile, Yingbao was trapped in a strange dream. In the dream, she was riding a giant beast, holding a long curved knife in her hand, looking proudly at the opposite side. On the other side were many strangely dressed people covered in blood. They looked at her with fear. ¡°Demoness! Meet your end!¡± chanted several monks in red robes withrge crowns, waving their Soul Summoning Banners, standing on lotus flowers, swiftly forming a Demon Elimination Array. ¡°Take refuge! Do not be born! Thuse one! Great vows! Empty space is void of form! All thuse ones! Take Refuge! Violent demonic hindrances! All go into the void! Punished by all gods and Buddhas! Take in! All the monks began to chant in unison, waving their Soul Summoning Banners. Countless rays of golden light shot up to the sky, and the Demon Busting Array emitted a dazzling light, covering the entirend in an instant. Yingbao was surrounded by the golden light, but she was not afraid. She raised her long knife and chopped at the array. In an instant, the sky changed color, ck clouds rolled, the golden array was scattered into ashes under her blow, and more than half of the red-robed monks were killed or injured. Just as she was about to make her second strike, she heard someone shout, ¡°Jiang Yingbao! Stop!¡± Yingbao looked up and saw several men radiating a shimmering light, restraining four people, and shouting at her, ¡°If you don¡¯t submit to thew! We will kill them!¡± Yingbao squinted as she identified the four people. They really were despicable, actually using her adoptive parents as hostages. The so-called righteous path was surprisingly capable of such lowly acts. In her hesitation, countless people surrounded her. ¡°Demoness! Hand over the Divine Bead! We¡¯ll give you a quick death!¡± Just as Yingbao was about to resist, she saw a young man in white clothes chop off her brother¡¯s arm with a knife. With a cold expression, the young man in white said, ¡°If you dare resist, the next cut will be your brother and adoptive parents¡¯ heads!¡± Yingbao looked at her unconscious brother, who was being cradled in her adoptive father¡¯s arms, her heart burning with rage. The young man in white continued, ¡°I don¡¯t necessarily want to exterminate you, but you¡¯re obstinate and hard-headed, Jiang Yingbao. As long as you hand over the Divine Bead, we can promise not to kill them. Otherwise, they will die a horrible death.¡±
Yingbao looked around to see that hundreds of Cultivators had already set up an array, enclosing her in arge array. Today, the situation was not going to end well. Perhaps she could escape if she didn¡¯t care, but then her adoptive family would be killed by that disgusting man. They were her only concerns. If this world did not have her adoptive family, there would be no point in her continuing to live.
Yingbao pulled up the corner of her mouth in a strange smile, and said to the young man, ¡°Fine, you just swear a heart demon oath first. If you dare lie to me, you will never die a good death in your future lives.¡± The young man sneered and immediately raised his hand to swear a heart demon oath. Then he said, ¡°You can rest assured now. Hand over the Divine Bead to me.¡± ¡°Good!¡± Yingbao gripped her long sword tightly in one hand, gradually lifting the other. ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± Her foster mother cried out harshly: ¡°Yingbao! Don¡¯t believe him! Your two little brothers have already been murdered, run fast! Don¡¯t bother with¡­¡± Before she could finish speaking, something struck her on the head, knocking her down. Her foster father, unable to speak, frantically shook his head in Yingbao¡¯s direction, signaling her to run. Yingbao, her eyes filled with fury, pointed her sword at the young man and charged at him: ¡°Your life ends now!¡± The young man quickly grabbed her foster father and retreated sharply, ¡°Stop! Your foster mother is not dead, your brothers have only suffered spiritual damage and there is no risk to their life.¡± At this moment, a woman emerged from behind the young man, leading a few people to stop Yingbao. ¡°So it¡¯s you, Chen Tiantian, you sold out my foster parents, didn¡¯t you!¡± Anger surged in Yingbao as she swung her sword towards her. The people around Chen Tiantian hastily held up their magic artifacts to block the attack, stopping the assault. Yingbao, concerned about her foster mother and little brothers, did not use her full strength. She repelled them and instantly appeared in front of her foster mother and brothers.
Her two little brothers looked stunned, while her foster mother was unconscious. Yingbao ced them on the back of the giant beast, then slowly approached Chen Tiantian and her group. ¡°You wish to have the Divine Bead, right? I¡¯ll give it to you, but Xiao Chengjun, immediately return my father!¡± Upon hearing these words, Xiao Chengjun emerged from the crowd, looked at her, and said: ¡°If that¡¯s the case, bring out the Divine Bead first.¡± Yingbao covered her left eye with one hand and gouged it out with a force that instantly caused blood to flow down her face. She held out her hand, in the palm sat a bloody eyeball emanating a strange glow. Everyone surrounding her gasped, uttering no words, their eyes filled with greed. Yingbao sneered. She was born different, radiating light all over her body. Her biological parents thought she was a demon and urgently tried to drown her in a basin before throwing her into the mountains for the wild beasts. Who could have known that she was not an ordinary child, and instead of dying, she was picked up by her foster parents. Later, she grew up slowly by the side of her foster parents. Eventer, she was taken back by her biological parents who subjected her to inhumane torments after discovering her powers. They learned from somewhere that she possessed a rare treasure and used all sorts of unimaginable methods to find it on her.
Bleeding, disemboweling, bone excavating, they did everything they could think of. But they didn¡¯t know that her treasure was her pair of eyes. No, it was the peculiarity of her eyes. Today, she used one of her eyes to exchange for her foster father. Xiao Chengjun¡¯s eyes sparkled, filled with joy. He immediately pushed a man toward Yingbao. Yingbao grabbed her foster father and took him to the giant beast, whispering: ¡°Dad, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s all because Baobao dragged you down.¡± Tears streamed down her foster father¡¯s face, shaking his head, he grabbed Yingbao and said: ¡°Baobao. Your mother and I have relied on you for several hundred years now. It¡¯s enough. Run away quickly, don¡¯t worry about us. They won¡¯t let you go, nor will they let us go. Rather than dying in their hands, you might as well escape. Take revenge for uster.¡± Yingbao smiled: ¡°Nobody can escape, everybody is stuck.¡± She had a premonition that after losing one of her eyes, the world would soon be destroyed. As if it happened in slow motion but at the same time it happened so quickly, the eyeball in her hand suddenly flew into the sky, emitting a dazzling light. This light was powerful enough to destroy the world. The moment the eyeball left her hand, she held her foster father, mother, and brothers tightly in her arms. Her right eye also emitted a brilliant glow, engulfing them all¡­
Chapter 399: 395: Cave_1 Chapter 399: Chapter 395: Cave_1 Yingbao suddenly opened her eyes, only to see her mother and father surrounding her, faces filled with concern. ¡°Baobao, you¡¯re finally awake.¡± Her mother hugged her tightly, eyes brimming with tears of joy. ¡°Do you feel unwell anywhere?¡± Yingbao shook her head, hugging back her mother, feeling relieved. Thankfully it was only a dream. Thankfully, her parents were unharmed. Seeing his daughter awake, Father Jiang sighed in relief, telling her mother, ¡°Baobao has been asleep for two days, she must be hungry. Cook some porridge for her, but don¡¯t let her eat too much at once, she might have difficulties in digesting it.¡± Mother wiped her tears and left the room with a nod. Father Jiang sat on a chair beside and asked, ¡°Baobao, what happened before?¡± Yingbao¡¯s mind was still filled with scenes from the dream, unable to exin, ¡°I don¡¯t know, suddenly I felt extremely strong.¡± Not only was she stronger, her body movements were also very fast. Even now, she could still feel the control she had over the de in her hand. Unfortunately, the de seemed to have broken during the course of her dream, and it wasn¡¯t as sturdy or easy to wield as the one in her dream.
Seeing his daughter could not elucidate, Father Jiang sighed, stood up, and left. The vigers were busy constructing a stone wall around the vige. He had to go and oversee the work. Though those people had left, there was no guarantee they wouldn¡¯te again. Besides this, Father Jiang was worried about the Imperial Court being overthrown by the rebels. If that happened, where would they go? And then there was Cao Can. As long as he existed, their family was in danger. At this point, Yingbao was lost in confusion. Her dream was too strange, it defied exnation. But the Divine Bead those people mentioned in her dream did exist. That Divine Bead, could it be her cave dwelling? Or was the cave actually the Divine Bead? It, it was the eye of the her in the dream. Thinking about the bloody eyeball she pulled out in the dream, Yingbao couldn¡¯t help but shudder. She quickly got down from the bed to wash up. Mother had made a bowl of porridge, an egg, and some sweet and sour spinach for her. Watching her daughter enjoy her meal, Mother said, ¡°Have a little for now, I will cook more for you in two hours.¡± Yingbao nodded, finished her porridge, and started cleaning up. Walking behind her, her mother said, ¡°Baobao, let¡¯s go pick some fruits from the orchard to give them. The whole vige is working to construct the walls, we should give them something since we can¡¯t help.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Once Yingbao was done washing the dishes, she picked up a bamboo basket and apanied her mother to the orchard. It was close to mid-summer; the loquats and apricots were ripe. After enjoying a peeled loquat, Yingbao started picking them with a bamboo pole.
In a short while, two other girls, red and Nini, arrived. Seeing Yingbao, they eximed in surprise, ¡°Yingbao, you¡¯re awake?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Yingbao was busy picking loquats when she suddenly remembered her cousin brother. How was her cousin doing? It had been two or three years. He wrote twice, but hadn¡¯t sent any message after that.
Seeing her sister and aunt picking loquats, Nini and Red came over to help. They quickly filled tworge baskets with loquats and some apricots, lifted them, and went to the vige outskirts to distribute the fruits to the working vigers. Among these vigers, there were many teenagers who had fought valiantly in the previous defense. When they saw Yingbao, their faces showed admiration, and they came to greet her one by one. The sight of her single-handedly taking down hundreds of rebels was still fresh in their minds, her agile movements rivaled that of a war deity. Men admire strength, even if ites from a girl, it is still worthy of their respect. ¡°Yingbao, who did you learn your Divine Skills from?¡± a teenager could not help asking. Though Zhang Meng was a strong master, he was not as powerful as Yingbao, so Yingbao must have learned the Unparalleled Divine Power from another master. Yingbao blinked: ¡°I learned from Zhang Meng.¡± She didn¡¯t think that she had any real martial arts skills. The so-called martial arts are nothing more than speed, ruthlessness, and precision. As long as these three elements are mastered to their fullest extent, almost no one can withstand their power. The technique she employed in her dream could be regarded as the Unparalleled Divine Power.
No, it was more than the Divine Skill, the sensation was inexpressible, as if with one raise of her hand, she could split mountains and rivers, and destroy the heavens and the earth. Ah, probably read too many story books, even her dreams are full of absurdities. ¡°But your Knife Skills are different from Master Zhang¡¯s.¡± The young boy did not believe her. The other boy said: ¡°Yingbao has another master, have you guys forgotten?¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking about Master Zhang Min? But he is an Onmyoji.¡± ¡°Because he is an Onmyoji, he¡¯s amazing.¡± The young boy solemnly said: ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Master Zhou can summon divine spirits.¡± ¡°Ah? Really? Tell me more¡­¡± The young boys veered away from the subject, and without realizing, Yingbao and Erni had already left. Returning home, Yingbao went to her room andy down, rethinking the scenes from her dream. She quickly entered the underground chamber and stood before a stone wall, just as in her dream. This stone wall was where the five tripod mushrooms once grew, she slowly dragged her spear along the lines of where the mushrooms used to grow. When all the lines were traced, a strange pattern appeared on the stone wall. This pattern seemed familiar, but Yingbao couldn¡¯t recall what it was.
She ced her hand on it, tracing over the pattern. She found nothing. A sudden glint sparkled in Yingbao¡¯s eyes. She took a sickle and cut her fingertip, tracing the pattern again with her blood. A golden light suddenly appeared, moving along the pattern like a wandering dragon. Yingbao¡¯s eyes were locked on the pattern and it emitted a dazzling light that made her instinctively close her eyes. When she opened her eyes, there was a passage in front of her. However, it was pitch ck, seemingly bottomless. Yingbao looked back. She was still standing in front of the stone wall in her underground chamber, only now there was a dark passage, which was quite eerie. After hesitating for a long time, Yingbao decided to venture inside. But first, she needed to make two torches. She found some old clothes, reluctantly tearing them into strips and soaked them in castor oil. Then she wrapped the cloth strips and some straw around a stick and lit it with a flint stone. Yingbao, holding a torch in her hand, stepped into the dark tunnel, with one more unlit torch. She began to move forward slowly.
The tunnel narrowed as she went further in. Just when she thought she could go no further, she came across a stone gate. The gate was ringed by a dense growth of five tripod mushrooms. It looked a bit peculiar. Yingbao stuck the torch in a crack of the stone wall and pulled out a knife from her waist to harvest the mushrooms. After she had harvested the mushrooms, she ced them on her removed outer clothing. By the time she had collected all the mushrooms, thest torch was almost out. Yingbao had no choice but to return to her chamber. To be safe, Yingbao took a big bundle of mushrooms out of the chamber. She then went to the kitchen to find several sticks and made a few more torches. She gathered some candles in a backpack. Just as she was about to re-enter the chamber, she heard someone shouting from outside: ¡°Yingbao! Yingbao,e quickly, someone needs help!¡± Yingbao paused, immediately dropped her backpack and ran out. Chapter 400: 396: Second Cousin Returns_1 Chapter 400: Chapter 396: Second Cousin Returns_1 Many people wereing into their courtyard, a few of them carrying someone into an empty side room. Yingbao rushed over to see. A skinny young man wasying on the bed, his face wax-yellow. ¡°Second cousin?¡± Yingbao struggled to identify him. This frail young man was Jiang Quan, who had left the house two or three years ago. Lady Zhou, his aunt, was uncontrobly weeping. When she saw Yingbao, she immediately pleaded, ¡°Yingbao, please save your second brother.¡± After checking on her second cousin, Yingbao found an arrow wound on his shoulder. The wound was red, swollen, and festering, teeming with maggots. Luckily, he had no other injuries. It was a stroke of fortune in an unfortunate situation. Yingbao ran back to her room to bring her medical kit. She asked everyone else to leave and instructed her aunt to bring some boiled water. Without any hesitation, her aunt, followed by Chunniang, went to boil the water and sanitize some cloth and a basin. Yingbao asked her eldest cousin and Erni to stay in the room and assist. She then took out the surgical instruments to remove the rotten flesh and maggots from her second cousin. Flies in the wild could be deadly. They could locate their prey by smell. They wouldy eggs that could hatch in just a few seconds, and thervae would grow to the size of a fingertip in a mere moment. If they were not removed, they could eat a person alive in two hours. Given the fact that the second cousin was still intact, it must have been that hispanions were taking care of him, continuously removing the maggots.
Yingbao poured strong alcohol on the wound, causing the second cousin to scream in pain. Jiang Cheng and Erni fought back their tears and held him down to prevent any sudden movements. Yingbao took out a bottle of medicine and poured it into the second cousin¡¯s mouth. After some consideration, she also gave him some Powder for Anesthesia. She then applied some Powder for Anesthesia on the wound before starting the procedure. When she had finished treating the second cousin¡¯s wound, and had applied some powdered medicine for hemostasis and inmmation, and smeared it with Wudingzhi, she asked her aunt to wash his face, hands, and feet. The second cousin¡¯s boots were nearly fused with his feet. The intense smell that emerged when they were removed almost made Jiang Cheng faint. Yingbao gave her aunt some medicinal powder and went back to her room to prepare the Wudingzhi. She also sorted out medicine for her second cousin and the family members. Given the current situation, Xiao Chengjun could invade at any time. She had to prepare additional healing medicine for her father and the others to carry with them. Jiang Sang hurried back when he heard that his nephew and a group of vigers who had gone to fight had slipped back home with serious injuries to inquire about the matter. Not all the vigers who had gone off to fight had returned. Many had already died in battle, and some were unounted for. Several vigers, upon learning of their family members¡¯ deaths, burst into loud weeping, cursing the Daqian Emperor as they cried. That night, Jiang Quan woke up. Seeing his parents and family gathered around him, he broke into tears of joy. After he had lost consciousness, a few fellow vigers had taken turns to carry him back home. He remembered this kindness in his heart. Of course, he had also saved them on the battlefield. The medicine his little cousin had given him was almost entirely used to treat the injured vigers. Unfortunately, several of them with severe injuries had died. ¡°Erquan, tell us about what¡¯s happening in Daqian? And how did youe back?¡± Uncle Jiang inquired, regardless of his son¡¯s recent recovery. Even though Wang Dashan and several others had already shared their situations, Uncle Jiang still wanted to confirm from his son¡¯s ount. Jiang Quan: ¡°We followed Xiaojia¡¯s troops here. We didn¡¯t know they wereing this way at first. One day I identally overheard the generals discussing an attack on the New Dynasty¡¯s route at their camp and learned they were nning to breakthrough from Qinchuan County and besiege Jiankang. I realised something was off, and quickly discussed with Wang Dashan and a few others to return home and warn you.¡± An army passing through wasn¡¯t a simple matter. They required arge amount of supplies and it wasn¡¯t unusual for them to loot the people as they went along. Jiang Quan, concerned for the safety of his family, immediately plotted to escape from the group with several vigers.
They dared not take the official roads, opting instead to cut through the old woods and cross mountains in a bid to reach home. Unfortunately, they ran into a troop of pursuers at one point. Out of desperation, they jumped into a big river and let the current carry them away. Jiang Quan was unlucky enough to be hit by an arrow in the shoulder. Finally, they managed to escape the danger. However, Jiang Quan¡¯s wound became infected from being submerged in water, and most of the medicine they had was ruined by the water as well. Jiang Quan had resigned himself to the idea of dying, but luckily they managed to return home safely, and he didn¡¯t die.
¡°Those people are nning to breakthrough from Qinchuan County?¡± Jiang Sang immediately thought of Cao Can and the others. Their audacity, he guessed, probably came from the expectation that Daqian¡¯s troops wereing. With a serious expression, Jiang Sang said to his older brother, ¡°The situation isn¡¯t looking good. No matter how we fortify our vige, I don¡¯t think we can withstand the Imperial Court¡¯s army.¡± Jiang Dng agreed. ¡°So, what should we do?¡± he asked his younger brother anxiously. Jiang Sang thought for a while, then said, ¡°We need to alert the new dynasty quickly and ask them to deploy their soldiers to block ¨C no, not just block, but to take Qinchuan County first.¡± Now the county is upied by Cao Can and others. Just as soon as the Daqian army arrives, the county will be delivered to Daqian on a silver tter. If the new dynasty wanted to take it backter, it would be a Herculean task. The Jiang family and Cao Can were already mortal enemies. If this area were taken over by the Daqian, the fate of the Jiang family would be obvious. Therefore, he must not allow the Daqian army to connect with Cao Can. Jiang Dng nodded, ¡°First, let¡¯s see how far the Daqian army has advanced so we can prepare ordingly.¡± If they were still a few days away, then guarding the vige would be pointless. It would be better to lead the vigers to escape as soon as possible. ¡°Good, I¡¯ll have Chen Zhu and Wang Dashan scout ahead.¡± Chen Zhu had served in the army, and Wang Dashan had been a scout. They had just escaped from the Daqian army, so they had a decent understanding of their marching routes.
So, the two brothers split up to execute their ns. Jiang Da¡¯bo took two vigers and crossed over the Southern Slope in search of the New Dynasty¡¯s army to report the situation. Jiang Sang went to inform Sun Licheng and the vigers to be ready to flee at any time to avoid a military disaster. As for Chen Zhu and Wang Dashan, they always led a few smart young men on horseback to investigate the movements of the Daqian army. In the meantime, Cao Can retreated back to the county town and did not show up again. Probably because Chuanhe Town was too far from the county town, he did not dare to act rashly after suffering a loss once. However, the several surrounding towns of the county were all harassed by him, causing many people to flee to Chuanhe Town with their families. As a result, the townspeople were uneasy, making it difficult for many vigers to concentrate on farming. As the maturity of wheat and millet approached and summer harvest was about to begin, everyone¡¯s anxiety grew. They all feared the outbreak of a war during the harvest season. Finally, Yingbao used up all the medicine she had on hand. So, she let the vige children help her pick fresh herbs, which she would buy based on their weight ording to the need. Later, she returned to the entrance of the cave again, lit a torch, and slowly walked in. The dark passageway was very long. She had just finished burning one torch when she reached the stone door. She still used a spear to scrape around the entire border of the stone door to clear the broken stones, then pushed hard, but it remained immovable. By wiping off the dust and moss from the door, Yingbao carefully examined it for any runes. As a result, she did find arge pattern that circled around the entire stone door.
Chapter 401: 397: The Six Paths of Reincarnation_1 Chapter 401: Chapter 397: The Six Paths of Reincarnation_1 How much blood would she need to depict these expansive runes? Yingbao felt a shiver creep up her spine. Maybe, she should just try a single drop to start with? Sigh, never mind, it surely wouldn¡¯t work. She had studied rune-drawing before, mostly Forbidden Curses. Nevertheless, she knew that runes had to be drawn in one stroke¡ªany hesitations or interruptions were strictly forbidden. After some consideration, Yingbao gritted her teeth, pricked two of her fingers with scissors, and traced the runes. Thepleted rune was painstakingly drawn with abination of pinches and squeezes. The rune began to glow and the light flowed along its path. The stone door gradually opened. Yingbao waspletely stunned. Behind the stone door was a courtyard. The ground was paved with bluestones and there were two wooden houses. However, this courtyard was located at the base of a cliff, surrounded by towering precipices on all sides. Yingbao looked up at the sky. It was a vast expanse of white, as if nketed by clouds.
She nced back at the cave entrance and then assessed the dimly-lit courtyard again. The courtyard was about a hundred feet in all directions. In the center, there was a small flowerbed, but no flowers or trees grew in it. Both wooden houses were quite old but undamaged. Yingbao walked over and gently pushed the carved wooden door. It opened. On the walls inside the house hung two balls emitting a soft glow, illuminating the room. This appeared to be a study room featuring a bookshelf, a desk, and an antique shelf with several book boxes on it. Apart from these, there was nothing else. Yingbao scanned the room and her gazended on the desk. There was a book on the desk that looked familiar. She walked over and picked up the book. It suddenly emitted a ray of light which quickly faded away. Then, symbols appeared on it: Cause and effect through three lives, cycles through six realms, all things arise from mind, all things perish with the annihtion of mind, good and evil receive their deserts, blessings and curses are inherited¡­ there is noone who can bear the consequences on behalf of another. Yingbao turned a page. Suddenly an image appeared in front of her eyes, as if she was standing in a courtyard. The scene was so real that it felt as if she was back in her past life at the governor¡¯s mansion. Startled, Yingbao abruptly closed the book. She dropped the book and backed away a few steps. The book was ominous. Yingbao turned and left the study room. She intended to enter the cave residence, but after some thought, she checked the other room. The door opened to a room furnished with a bed, a table, and a chair. On the table was just a mirror. Nothing else. There was a canopy over the bed with a mat on it. The mat was covered in dust.
However, there was a long knife hanging on the wall that looked familiar. On a whim, Yingbao went over, took down the long knife, and tried to unsheathe it. But no luck. This knife seemed to be welded shut. After several attempts, she still couldn¡¯t unsheathe it. Yingbao refused to admit defeat, she gripped it tightly, intending to take it to a cksmith for a look.
She then walked to the vanity, hesitated for a while, and finally decided not to look in the mirror. She had a premonition that this mirror was just as ominous as that book. It was best not to meddle with it. She turned around, left the room, hastily left the courtyard, and entered the stone cave. As soon as she stepped into the stone cave, the stone door slowly closed behind her. Yingbao lit a torch, quickly returned to her cave dwelling holding the long knife, and then instantly left the dwelling again. Back in her own room, she tried once again to unsheathe the knife, but it still wouldn¡¯t budge. Yingbao frowned in contemtion, cut her finger with the scissors, and dripped her blood onto the knife. Suddenly, a new piece of memory seemed to have been added to her mind. A woman was brandishing the long knife in the courtyard she had just seen. Yingbao gripped the handle tightly and yanked out the sword. With a swish, the long sword was unsheathed, shing a streak of light. Indeed, to use it, one must draw blood to acknowledge their ownership. Yingbao¡¯s lips turned upward, and with the sword re-sheathed, she ran towards the grove outside. Following the memories in her mind, she started to swing it around.
The long sword in her hand was like a dancing dragon emitting ethereal light. Wherever the de travelled, the vegetation was fully cut. It was truly sharp! Yingbao felt increasingly fond of it and returned the sword to its sheath. Suddenly, a chant echoed in her mind, ¡°The cause and effect through past, present, and future lives, the cycle of six realms, the birth and termination of everything in the heart, the retribution of good and evil, the continuity of misfortune and fortune, each must bear their own, no one can rece¡­¡± That chant kept repeating, and the vibrations brought about an unbearable headache. Yingbao suppressed a scream and knelt down, clutching her head. ¡°Yingbao, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Erni, carrying Hong Xiao and their younger sister Jiang Xiaomei, came to the orchard to pick fruit. They first saw their cousin practicing her swordy, but then they saw her doubled over in pain. Running over, they asked with concern. It took Yingbao a while before she could get up and smile, ¡°Nothing much, I just sprained my hand.¡± Erni scrutinised their cousin, feeling that she seemed different from before. ¡°Did you hurt your hand? Let me see.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright now.¡± Yingbao picked up the long sword, ¡°I¡¯m going back first. You carry on.¡± With that, she rushed back. Erni was confused but seeing that their cousin was ok, she led her two siblings to pick loquats and apricots.
Yingbao returned home, tossed the long sword into her hidey-hole, and immediately fell asleep. She slept until the next morning. When she opened her eyes, she saw her mother gazing at her worriedly, ¡°Baobao, are you feeling unwell? Why are you sleeping so much?¡± Yingbao rubbed her face, ¡°I¡¯m not feeling unwell, just a bit tired.¡± After wielding the long sword, she felt low in spirits. But after a good sleep, she felt fully restored. ¡°I¡¯ll make you a bowl of egg noodles.¡± Chunniang patted her daughter¡¯s forehead and finding it cool to touch, she went to the kitchen to knead dough. After washing up, Yingbao quietly helped her mother with the fire while her thoughts wandered back to the book. Just one look at the book on the table, and the words forced their way into her mind. They even began to sing in her mind, something seemed off. It was as if she herself was the devil from her dreams, those chants seemed to specifically target her. Or, they were trying to reform her. But how was that possible? In her dreams, those people were not ordinary; they could fly and burrow into the ground, just like the immortals from the oral storytelling. If she were an immortal, she wouldn¡¯t be reincarnating time after time. Also, she would not be abandoned by her rtives time and time again. This was like¡­ Buddhists¡¯ cycle of reincarnation.
Yingbao was somewhat bewildered. Was she really reincarnated? Or was she being trapped in this cycle due to some restrictions, never to escape? Yingbao squinted, her thoughts turning to Chen Tiantian and Xiao Chengjun. They both appeared in her strange dream, cast as righteous immortals. And her long sword, she merely toyed with it casually and it resulted in a splitting headache. It seemed like someone feared her using that sword, punishing her like this, huh? ¡°Baobao, the noodles are ready. Turn off the stove ande and eat.¡± Chunniang put the noodles into the bowl, topped it with two sunny-side-up eggs and ced it on the table. Yingbao turned off the me and got up to eat. ¡°Have you eaten, mum?¡± Chunniang: ¡°I¡¯ve eaten already, your dad asked me to stay at home to look after you. He went to the field to check if the wheat can be harvested.¡± ¡°Has there been any news from Wang Dashan and the others?¡± Yingbao asked while eating her noodles. ¡°None yet.¡± Chunniang sighed while mending a piece of clothing, ¡°I hope those soldiers won¡¯t reach our ce.¡± These past years were finally starting to go well for them, but now chaos was brewing. s, wemoners are like chives in a vegetable garden. We are harvested in peace times and in chaotic times as well. When will it end? Chapter 402: 398: Smuggling into Town_1 Chapter 402: Chapter 398: Smuggling into Town_1 The next day, Wang Dashan and his team finally returned. But they brought back bad news. Daqian¡¯s troops had already conquered two towns and wereing towards them. ¡°There are about ten thousand of them, approximately five or six days¡¯ journey from us, but cavalry could reach us within two or three days.¡± Wang Dashan took a sip of water and said, ¡°It¡¯s strange that Daqian¡¯s army didn¡¯t travel to other ces, but seems to be heading straight towards us.¡± Jiang Sang spected, ¡°They probably want to join forces with King Cheng¡¯s rebel army.¡± ¡°What should we do?¡± n Leader Chen looked worried, ¡°Our wheat hasn¡¯t been harvested yet.¡± Jiang Lao, drawing on his dry pipe, sighed faintly, ¡°Perhaps they want our food.¡± With ten thousand people mobilizing, they would consume at least eight thousand pounds of food each day. Would they not snatch food from themon people along the way? Maybe they even n to conscript strong men to serve them. n Leader Chen became even more anxious, ¡°What are we waiting for then? We should run.¡± Jiang Sang shook his head, ¡°Run where? There¡¯s war everywhere. Nowhere is safe.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Jiang Lao sighed, ¡°If only our vige had walls like a town, at least we could hold out until the rescue arrives.¡±
Yingbao, who had been standing and listening for a long time, suddenly said, ¡°Father, I want to go to the county seat.¡± Jiang Sang paused, ¡°What for?¡± ¡°The County Magistrate Cao Can means ill toward us. He must be eliminated,¡± Yingbao said with an emotionless face. Jiang Sang immediately got up, yanked his daughter out, and whispered, ¡°What are you talking about? This is adult business.¡± His daughter was still a child. If people thought of her as a cold and ruthless person, how would she find a good family in the future? Yingbao insisted, ¡°We must act swiftly to end this chaos. Father, I assure you, I can kill Cao Can.¡± Without a long saber, she might have been unsure. But now that she has the legendary golden sickle, she could easily wipe out Cao Can and all his hundred subordinates. ¡°As long as we take control of the county seat and shut the city gate, Daqian¡¯s army can¡¯t do anything.¡± Yingbao affirmed, ¡°Moreover, Cao Can hasmitted atrocities in the county. The townsfolk and some rich merchants are sure to hate him to the bone. If we appeal to their emotions and reason logically, they will surely help us defend the city.¡± After considering for a moment, Jiang Sang nodded in agreement, ¡°Alright! But you can¡¯t do this alone. How about having Wang Dashan and Chen Zhu bring some people with you? I¡¯ll go too. It¡¯s safer in numbers.¡± ¡°Father, you can¡¯t go.¡± Yingbao immediately refused, ¡°You need to stay here and get the vigers to harvest the crops quickly. Only harvest the wheat spikes, the rest can wait. Store the grain and livestock in the depths of North Mountain, and take the old and weak there too. Don¡¯t leave them in the vige.¡± The Daqian army was different from bandits. They were here to recapture cities and territories. They wouldn¡¯t have the time to search the mountains for people. Therefore, the depths of North Mountain would be a good refuge. Jiang Sang was still uneasy, but Yingbao insisted that he stay in the vige and take care of the vigers. In the end, Jiang Sang reluctantly agreed to his daughter¡¯s suggestions. Afterwards, Yingbao selected about twenty people to apany her to the county seat. These twenty or so people took three horse carts and several mules, and rode off for the county seatte into the night. The waystations on the journey were unupied. The mail sentries and postmaster were either killed by Cao Can or had run off. All the mules and other animals had been taken away by Cao Can. The waystations were just empty houses. After driving throughout the night, they reached the county seat near dawn. Yingbao and her party did not approach recklessly, but observed it from a distance from a grove of trees.
The city gate was closed tightly, but there were guards on the city walls. Chen Zhu said, ¡°It looks like they¡¯ve shut the city gate.¡± ¡°How are we getting in?¡± someone asked. Yingbao replied, ¡°By water.¡±
¡°By water? We can¡¯t swim. Moreover, it¡¯s daytime. Surely there¡¯ll be guards watching the waterways.¡± Every county seat has a water source. Qinchuan County is no exception, this river is also the lifeblood of the entire county seat. ¡°You guys wait here while I swim in,¡± said Yingbao, dressed in a ck outfit and disguised as a boy. Her face had been smeared with soot by her mother, making her look quiteical. Chen Zhu, looking at Yingbao with knitted eyebrows, asked, ¡°Can you manage on your own?¡± ¡°Sure. If things go well, I¡¯ll wave my coat as a signal.¡± Yingbao pulled out a red jacket from nowhere, ¡°Like this one. If you see it, head straight for the city gate. I¡¯ll find a way to open it.¡± She pulled a white garment out of her pack, ¡°If I wave this, you guys run immediately, return to the vige, and lead the vigers into North Mountain.¡± Both Chen Zhu and Wang Dashan were silent for a moment, before finally nodding. After instructing them, Yingbao turned and ran towards the river. An hourter, she came to the river, cut some willow branches, made a crude rain cape, then cut some reeds and made tubes to breathe underwater. Next, she came close to the city walls, and quietly went into the water. Yingbao mped her nose with a clip and held a reed tube in her mouth, swimming slowly underwater. Only when she had swam a considerable distance past the guarded patrol point did she surface. She climbed onto the bank at a deserted ce, rushed into a cave for a rest, then came back out dressed as a young boy.
She smeared some dirt from the ground onto her face to hide her feminine features before heading towards the marketce. She needed to find out where Cao Can stayed overnight. The streets in the county seat were sparsely popted, all passerby were hurrying along. There were some vendors, but all of them were extremely nervous. Yingbao took out a copper coin, bought a piece of cake to eat, and bought a bamboo basket from a bamboo shop to carry on her arm. She went back to the cake vendor and bought all his cakes. Then, she strolled towards the brothel with the bamboo basket. On the way, when people tried to buy her cakes, she sold some. Finally, she arrived at a tea house outside the brothel and went inside to sell the cakes. There was no storyteller there today, and there were only a few customers. But a group of people were whispering about things. Yingbao moved closer and stood by to eavesdrop. ¡°Last night, the silk shop on East Street was robbed. Everything was taken, leaving the shop empty. Do you think it was done by one of Cao Can¡¯s men?¡± ¡°Who knows? Anyway, the world is in chaos. Good people die young while the wicked prosper.¡± ¡°Exactly. I wonder when the Imperial Court will send troops. With the city gates closed off day by day, wemoners are going to be left with nothing by those people.¡±
After the men took a sip of their tea and sighed for a while, another one added, ¡°Even the Madam of Yihong Building has started toin, saying her girls have been taken advantage of. A high-ranking official didn¡¯t even pay an appearance fee, it¡¯s unprecedented!¡± Another one said, ¡°What¡¯s so surprising about that? Even the top courtesan at Wuchun Yard didn¡¯t get paid. I heard that Cao Can is hosting a banquet tonight, he specifically asked the ss leader at Wuchun Yard to select a few girls skilled in the HuXuan dance to entertain a VIP.¡± ¡°Really?¡± A man leaned over to ask, ¡°Where is he hosting the banquet? Can we sneak by and have a look?¡± Another man gave him a sideways nce, ¡°Of course in the county government office, considering the current situation, could he host it in a tea house or tavern?¡± Chapter 403: 399: Wuchun Yard_1 Chapter 403: Chapter 399: Wuchun Yard_1 Yingbao was attentively listening when she heard someone calling out to her: ¡°Hey! You, the pastry seller! Come over here!¡± She walked over, only to hear the man saying: ¡°Give me two of your pastries.¡± Yingbao handed him two pastries and said, ¡°That will be twenty coins.¡± ¡°Twenty coins?¡± The man mmed the table and blew his mustache, his eyes wide open, ¡°In the past, they were no more than three coins each. How are you charging ten per piece?¡± Yingbao took back her pastries, turned around and walked away, paying no heed to the man¡¯s curses and grumbles, not even looking back. Standing by the side of the street, Yingbao considered the situation for a moment and decided to visit the County Government. As she passed by her shop, she saw that the two storefronts facing the street were burned to the ground, but the back building was still standing. Even the big two-story house she had recently built was still intact. However, it seemed there were people living in the new house. After inquiring with the nearby vendors, she learnt that the house had been upied by Cao Can¡¯s close confidants who had moved their entire family in. Yingbao let out a coldugh and headed briskly towards the County Government.
She hadn¡¯t even approached the government¡¯s quarters when she saw a group of soldiers on the path. They had swords hanging from their waists and guarded every three to five steps. Whenever they spotted any of the townsfolk, they would loudly harangue them, preventing anyone from getting too close. Yingbao retreated and made her way to the brothel. She bought a good amount of sweets and candied fruits from a vendor and put it all in her basket. The dancers at Wuchun Yard loved these snacks, and she nned to attract some business there. ¡°Selling candied fruits! The delicious and tangy apricot and peach. Eat a lot and you won¡¯t gain weight!¡± The dance masters at Wuchun Yard forbade the dancers from eating too much rice to prevent them from getting fat, so the dancers loved to buy snacks and fruit paste to eat when they were hungry. Soon enough, a few heads peeked out from the pavilions of the Wuchun Yard. They waved at Yingbao and called, ¡°Hey! What¡¯s in your basket?¡± Yingbao smilingly looked up at them ¡°I have apricot and peach paste, as well as candied sweets and milk cakes.¡± When the dancers heard about milk cakes, their faces bloomed into peony-like smiles: ¡°Thene upstairs, let us take a look.¡± ¡°Alright, tell the doorman so I can enter.¡± Yingbao replied. She had spent several years in Wuchun Yard in her past life, and seeing these familiar faces today made her feel nostalgic. Entering through the back door of Wuchun Yard, there was arge courtyard with several little girls around the age of ten practicing a whirlwind dance. If a mistake was made, the dance teacher would whip the little girl¡¯s legs with a bamboo stick, causing the girl to burst into tears. Yingbao felt like she was reliving her past life¡ªshe certainly hadn¡¯t escaped these beatings. A girl about ten years old came down from the building and beckoned Yingbao from the stair¡¯s entrance. Yingbao quickly walked over and followed her upstairs. Three young dancers were sitting upstairs, all about thirteen or fourteen years old. A seventeen or eighteen-year-old dancer was doing makeup for one girl. Two of the dancers took Yingbao¡¯s basket and started picking out the candied fruits and milk cakes, chucking them in their mouths as they selected. Yingbao watched them quietly, a smile bemused on her face.
The cheap behavior of dancers Tao Tao and Ying Ying was exactly like in her past life. Once they were done picking the candied fruits and milk cakes and had paid, they noticed Yingbao hadn¡¯t left, theyughed and said, ¡°If you want to keep watching, you will need to pay us.¡± Yingbao grinned at Tao Tao: ¡°Actually, I can do the whirlwind dance too.¡± Tao Tao scrutinized the vendor in front of her and giggled: ¡°Really? Show us a bit.¡±
¡°All right, y the drums for me.¡± Yingbao put down her basket, straightened her clothes, and stood on a circr dance mat. Seeing that the vendor was serious, Tao Tao¡¯s curiosity was piqued. She picked up a drum and began to y. The drum beats elerated faster and faster. Yingbao¡¯s spinning also got faster and faster, like a spinning butterfly. Dancing the Hu Xuan Dance not only requires speed but also lightness and rhythm. Moreover, the feet should not step off the two-foot-wide dance mat. The little dancer apprentices watching werepletely dumbfounded, even the courtesans who were doing their makeup were shocked. Frustrated to realize that their years of painstaking practice still fell short to a mere merchant, they didn¡¯t know how to bear it. The drum sound gradually ceased, and Yingbao also finished her dance. ¡°Good!¡± The ss leader, who had somehow climbed the loft, apuded. He scrutinized Yingbao with a beaming smile and asked, ¡°What¡¯s your name, miss? Who have you studied under?¡± Yingbao looked at him, responded seriously, ¡°My name is Huanxi. I learned the Hu Xuan Dance from myte aunt, it is not suitable to mention her name now.¡± The ss leader still grinned, ¡°Huanxi? A good name. You seem fresh. Are you new here?¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°I am not a local. I came into town a few days ago to sell preserved fruit, ended up trapped inside the city, and now, I have no money for amodation.¡±
The ss leader feigned sympathy, ¡°Oh dear, an innocent victim of unforeseeable misfortune. Huanxi, how about you stay in Wuchun Yard? Once the city gate opens, you could then go home.¡± Yingbao immediately bowed in gratitude, ¡°Thank you for taking me in, sir.¡± The ss leader replied, ¡°Don¡¯t thank me. Frankly speaking, I saw your Hu Xuan Dance and found it excellent. I am short of people here, so I would like you to join our troupe.¡± Seeing that Yingbao was hesitant, the ss leader added, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you will be paid for each performance.¡± Yingbao lowered her head to think for a while, then asked, ¡°How much will you pay me, sir? If it¡¯s too little, I¡­ I better not dance. If my fellow vigers see me and tell my family, they will surely scold me.¡± The ss leader twisted his mouth, ¡°Two hundred coins per performance. How about it?¡± Yingbao shook her head, ¡°I¡¯d better not.¡± ¡°Three hundred, three hundred coins per performance. If you don¡¯t want to, then forget it,¡± the ss leader sat down, his eyes full of calctions. After a long hesitation, Yingbao nodded, ¡°Well, then¡­ then, I¡¯ll stay here. You won¡¯t charge me for amodation, will you, sir?¡± The ss leader smilled, ¡°No charge, but you have to perform every day.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Yingbao obediently agreed. The ss leader flicked off the dust from his robe, turned to the seventeen or eighteen-year-old dancer and said, ¡°Ailian, take Huanxi to freshen up and change her clothes. Then, have her perform with you.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ailian led Yingbao to the bathroom. Someone brought water in, and helped her to take a bath and change her clothes.
When Yingbao appeared before everyone in a red dancing dress, all was silent. The ss leader sized up Yingbao, marveling in his heart. Unexpectedly, this girl turned out to be a stunning beauty. He really hit the jackpot. The ss leader had an even more amicable smile on his face and hastily ordered someone to serve a bowl of bird¡¯s nest soup. ¡°Huanxi, are you really a rural girl?¡± the ss leader asked. Yingbao: ¡°Yes, I grew up in the countryside.¡± ¡°Are your parents still around?¡± ¡°Yes, they are. We are from Simen Town. My younger brother is too small to be left alone, somy mother didn¡¯te to the city with me to sell preserved fruit.¡± ¡°I see,¡± the ss leader pondered for a moment, and said, ¡°When the city gate opens, I will visit your home and see your parents and little brother.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Yingbao brightened, ¡°I will invite you to taste my best dishes.¡± Hmph! A good beating would barely be enough for you! A maid came in with a tray and ced a bowl of bird¡¯s nest soup on the low table. The ss leader smiled at Yingbao, ¡°Eat, it¡¯s been specially prepared for you.¡±
Yingbao, without ceremony, sat cross-legged on the round carpet, and began to spoon the bird¡¯s nest soup into her mouth. The bird¡¯s nest soup tasted exactly the same as in her past life, with a vaguely fishy taste, not delicious at all. But she had to eat it, because only by eating the bird¡¯s nest soup would the ss leader lower his guard. Chapter 404: 400: Whirling Dance_1 Chapter 404: Chapter 400: Whirling Dance_1 Seeing that Yingbao had finished her bird¡¯s nest soup, the ss leader gave a satisfying nod and instructed Xiaolian, ¡°Get her a set of clothes. Take her to the banquet tonight and let her perform a solo dance.¡± High-quality courtesans might as well unt their talents, and so they could be sold at a good price. ¡°Yes.¡± Xiaolian obeyed the orders of Hu Daban deferentially, but she wore a disgruntled look on her face. She was the lead dancer for the Hu Xuan dance, and also the best dancer of the troupe. Now it seemed that Hu Daban intended to promote a neer, which naturally left her displeased. However, despite her resentment, she couldn¡¯t defy Hu Daban¡¯s decision at this time. She dutifully did the neer¡¯s makeup, painted her forehead wheel, adorned her with hand and foot bells, and tied her hair up using silk ribbons into double loop buns. At dusk, a cart carried a group of resplendent dancers and musicians to the County Governmentpound¡ªa nearby mansion. Thenterns were hung high at the gate, and several guards stood on either side, scrutinizing everyone with hawk-like eyes. Hu Daban donned a white robe, his hair piled high, adorned with a silk flower on his head. His face painted with rouge and powder made him look even more charming than a woman. He bowed his fist towards the guards at the door and said with a smile, ¡°We are from Wuchun Yard, here to attend the banquet as invited.¡± The guard scrutinized him a few times before going inside to announce. Before long, he returned, checked that none of them carried weapons, and then allowed them inside.
Yingbao blended into the midst of the dancers and slipped into the rear courtyard with ease.. After entering a big hall, they saw brightly lit chandeliers, several tables and chairs scattered around. Several officials from the County Government sat around a table, another table was upied by some big households of the county. Among them were the leader of the Cao Gang and the assistant leader of the Qinglong Gang. The young man upying the seat of honor was none other than Xiao Mo, whom she had not seen for many years. Cao Can was sitting next to Xiao Mo, constantly ttering and saying something to him. Seeing Xiao Mo, Yingbao was taken aback. She quickly lowered her head, her heart beating wildly. How did this man get to Qinchuan County so quickly? Shouldn¡¯t he still be on his journey? Fortunately, she had grown up now and she was about the same height as girls between fifteen and sixteen, so she thought he probably wouldn¡¯t recognize her. The musicians took their ces, Xiaolian spread out the dance rug, and only then did people start dancing. Five girls performed together first, with Xiaolian in the center. Everyone began to jump and spin along with the beat of the drum. Hu Daban, standing behind several musicians, was looking at Yingbao with satisfaction again and again. She danced the Hu Xuan Dance in a light, rhythmic manner, yet with strength, vitality, and liveliness. Every move was pleasing to the eye. The colourful ribbons in her hands swirled with her spin. The swing of her arms looked like shes of lightning streaking across the sky. As the performance ended, the dancers retreated for a short rest, and then two men went forward to perform the Hu Teng Dance. The Hu Teng Dance, performed by men, differed slightly from the Hu Xuan dance. The Hu Xuan involved standing and dancing, while Hu Teng involved squatting and spinning. The two young men wore long-sleeved shirts, ck belts around their waists, yellow boots on their feet, their lithe and exuberant movements mimicking the flight of birds. Once the men finished, Cao Can said, ¡°Let that young girl dance solo.¡± Everyone followed his finger and saw a group of simrly dressed dancers standing next to the musicians. ¡°The one with the double loop buns,¡± Cao Can added.
This resulted in everyone¡¯s gaze falling on Yingbao, who had her hair put up into double loop buns. Hu Daban gently nudged her and whispered, ¡°Go ahead, perform well. If there¡¯s a reward, it¡¯s all yours.¡± Yingbao had no choice but to step forward, fervently hoping that Xiao Mo wouldn¡¯t recognize her. Otherwise, not only would she fail to kill Cao Can, but her secret might also be exposed. As the drum began to beat, Yingbao lightly stepped with her tiptoes, waving her arms, and started dancing.
As the saying goes: the heart follows the rhythm, the hands follow the drum, with every strike of the drum, both sleeves rise. Like scattered snow turning in the air, endlessly spinning left and right, and without any sign of fatigue, no end is in sight¡­ Sitting at the head of the room, Xiao Mo frowned as he watched the young dancer below. He felt as if he had seen her somewhere before. At the end of the tune, Cao Can burst outughing: ¡°Bravo!¡± Yingbao received a small silver ingot, about five ounces, from a servant. She stepped back behind the dancer and quietly said to Xiaolian: ¡°Sister, I need to visit the restroom.¡± Xiaolian frowned and went to inform the ss leader. Hu Daban, in high spirits, waved his hand: ¡°Have a maid guide her, go quickly and return quickly.¡± Then Yingbao followed a maid towards the restroom. Before entering, Yingbao asked the maid: ¡°Sister, is there toilet paper?¡± The maid nced at her scornfully and said impatiently: ¡°Toilet paper? Do you think you¡¯re one of those pampereddies from the official families? There is Kenaf growing next to the restroom, we grow it for this very use. You go fetch some.¡± Yingbao collected a few Kenaf leaves and said: ¡°Sister, you don¡¯t have to wait for me. I will go back by myselfter.¡± The maid nced around the pitch-ck surroundings, only the restroom was lit with a smallmp. She then retreated a few steps: ¡°Then hurry up,e back to the main hall after you¡¯re done. No wandering around.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yingbao entered the restroom, listened to the movement outside, saw the maid leaving, and immediately extinguished themp on the niche, and quietly left the restroom. She hid behind a holly tree and slipped into a hole, changed into ck clothes, put a ck cover over her head, only revealing her eyes.
Then, she walked quietly towards the inner courtyard, pondering which room was Cao Can¡¯s. This was a two-courtyard residence; the main hall was at the front, and the inner courtyard was at the back, with no women living inside. It seemed that Cao Can wanted to use this ce to entertain guests. Although there were many guards in the front hall, there were hardly any people in the inner courtyard. Only a fewnterns were hung under the eaves of the houses, and asionally maids passed by. Yingbao was unsure about which room Cao Can was staying in, so she crouched under the window of a maid¡¯s room to listen. But she heard no useful information and had to retreat back to where she came from near the restroom. But at this time, there were a few people standing in front of the restroom looking for someone with antern. Yingbao hid in the corner of the wall, quickly slipped back into the tunnel, changed back into her previous clothes and red boots, took off her head cover, and then came out. ¡°Sister.¡± Yingbao pretended to be scared and walked over, pulling at Xiaolian¡¯s sleeve. Xiaolian was very annoyed and scolded: ¡°Where have you been?¡± Yingbao lowered her head and said: ¡°The light in the restroom suddenly went out. I, I was so scared, I took a wrong turn when I left, I¡¯m sorry sister.¡± Hu Daban also looked displeased, he coldly nced at Yingbao a few times, looked at her boots, and upon seeing no amiss, he said: ¡°Go back to the banquet hall, the guests are all waiting anxiously.¡± The group, escorted by two guards, returned to the main hall where the banquet was in full swing. Several courtesans were clinging to Cao Can and a few others, pouring wine and adding dishes. When Hu Daban and the rest returned, Cao Can asked unhappily: ¡°What happened?¡± Hu Daban quickly stepped forward to exin: ¡°The kid got lost in the dark and took a wrong turn, which caused the dy.¡±
Cao Can huffed and pointed at Yingbao: ¡°Bring her to wash her hands and face, and then change her clothes to serve the noble guests.¡± The banquet was only halfway through and going to the restroom was truly uncouth. Two maids came over, intending to take Yingbao to freshen up. Yingbao held onto Xiaolian and pleaded: ¡°Sister, please help me with my makeup.¡± She really couldn¡¯t confront Xiao Mo with her bare face. If he recognized her, her n would be ruined. Chapter 405: 401: Assassin_1 Chapter 405: Chapter 401: Assassin_1 ¡°You go with her,¡± Hu Daban gestured to Xiaolian. Reluctantly, Xiaolian grabbed her makeup kit and followed to the side room. The maid brought water, and Yingbao washed her hands and face then had Xiaolian apply her makeup. In the end, Yingbao adjusted the makeup around her eyes and mouth, making it look intensely gaudy. Even she herself could hardly recognize her own reflection. She put on a red narrow-sleeve top with green silkntern pants, throwing a yellow silk scarf over her shoulders, and returned to the banquet hall with the maid. This time, the maid led her directly to Xiao Mo and sat her down at his feet. Xiao Mo didn¡¯t give her a single nce, he was talking to the leader of the canal gang about canal transportation, asking him for help in transporting supplies southwards. Yingbao listened in silence, suddenly heard Cao Can saying: ¡°Commander Xiao, there¡¯re traitors all over Chuanhe Town, especially the Jiang family. Their children have joined the bandits, we must exterminate them this time.¡± Xiao Mo took a sip of tea and replied indifferently: ¡°We¡¯ll decide when the mass forces arrive. Those who collude with the traitor must certainly be dealt with.¡± Yingbao scowled, itching to poison their drinks. It was only recently that she¡¯d managed to concoct a small amount of poison, but the quantity was extremely limited and needed to be used sparingly.
Finally, when the banquet ended and the leader was ready to take several of the young dancers back to Wuchun Yard, they were stopped by Cao Can¡¯s personal soldiers. ¡°Don¡¯t go just yet. We¡¯ve paid for you. It¡¯s appropriate for you to stay here for the night.¡± Amanderughed lewdly. Hu Daban frowned: ¡°We are dancers, not brothel courtesans. Commander, I suggest you find someone else.¡± ¡°Ha! You¡¯ve got gall!¡± Themander suddenly drew his sword, pointing it at Hu Daban. Hu Daban, remained calm, giving themander a cold look, said, ¡°Our dancers are registered professionals at the County Government. Is themander intending on coercing us?¡± ¡°Qi Da! What are you doing?¡± Cao Can appeared under the eaves at some point, with Xiao Mo standing next to him. Qi Da immediately sheathed his sword, and stammered to Cao Can: ¡°I only suggested because it¡¯ste, just thought they could stay the night, I didn¡¯t mean to cause any misunderstanding.¡± Cao Can¡¯s gaze turned to Hu Daban: ¡°Hu Daban, it¡¯ste, and the outside is indeed not safe. Why don¡¯t you stay here for now and leave tomorrow? The guest rooms are clean and there are several rooms. It¡¯s more than enough to amodate you and the girls.¡± Seeing that Cao Can had spoken, Hu Daban knew he couldn¡¯t refuse anymore, he bowed his fist and said: ¡°It¡¯s our honour toply.¡± And so, Yingbao, several of the young dancers, and Daban were all left behind while the rest of the musicians were arranged in another courtyard. Not long after, Cao Can¡¯s personal soldiers invited Xiaolian over, Yingbao had no idea for what reason. At this time, from the intermittent conversation between the guards and attendants, Yingbao finally learned where Cao Can was staying. Yingbao was originally sharing a room with Xiaolian. Now that Xiaolian was not there, it was a good time for her to make her move. She quickly changed into ck clothes and shoes, even wrapping her head in a ck scarf, leaving only her eyes exposed. Then she quietly opened the back window and jumped out. She headed in the direction she had scoped out earlier towards Cao Can¡¯s quarters. There was no guard in the inner courtyard, the soldiers and guards were all patrolling the outer perimeter, and only two maids were on duty in the inner courtyard. In the dim light, both of them were dozing off. There was a peculiar sound from inside Cao Can¡¯s room. Yingbao listened for a moment, then gently pushed open the door and went in.
There was a screen at the entrance with several pieces of clothing hanging on it. From the gap in the screen, Yingbao could see the flickering light inside and the gently swaying mosquito. Yingbao crept up to the bed and lifted the mosquito, her dagger already plunged into Cao Can¡¯s bare back. The man copsed onto the bed without making a sound.
The woman beneath him opened her eyes in reflex, strenuously pushing the man off of her. She vaguely saw a dark figure flee the scene, and immediately screamed in terror. Yingbao quickly exited, dashing out of the yard, only to run into someone head-on. This person was dressed in a brocade robe, brandishing a dagger and asking sharply, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Without uttering a word, Yingbao instantly drew a long knife and fiercely shed away. The God Scythe shimmered with a chilling gleam in the darkness. Xiao Mo parried, but to his surprise, his dagger split into two under the power of the long knife, which even wounded his arm in the process. Xiao Mo was taken aback and hurriedly backed off, running around a lotus pond in the yard, shouting loudly, ¡°Help! There¡¯s an assassin!¡± Soon enough, dozens of guards rushed in, forming a circle around the assassin d in ck. Yingbao swung her de and attacked. Soon, several peopley motionless on the ground. But more and more people were closing in, and Xiao Mo was escorted out of the yard by someone. Seeing that her chances of killing him were slim, Yingbao, not daring to linger, shed down several more guards and ran directly out of the yard. With a swift turn, she entered a cave dwelling. She quickly took off her clothes and washed her hands, slipping back into the dancer¡¯s dress and boots before quietly returning to her own room. Not long after, Xiaolian returned and hurriedly woke up Yingbao, urging her to get up and rendezvous with Daban.
Turns out, Xiaolian was brought to Xiao Mo¡¯s room by Cao Can¡¯s attendant and asked to serve the nobleman. But Xiao Mo paid her no mind, and instead told her to wait in the side room. Xiaolian was napping in the side room when chaos broke out outside. Cao Can was assassinated. The backyard was now in a state of chaos. Having searched all around without finding the assassin in ck, the guards gave up and decided to check on Cao Can instead. By now, Cao Can was already a cold corpse. The woman in his bed was shivering with fear. The two captains exchanged nces, a look of thrill visible in their eyes. With Cao Can dead, they could now have their say in the county town. This included all of Cao Can¡¯s wealth and his shops and properties. But for the sake of maintaining order, they had to go through the proper procedure. So they took the woman into custody, iming that she conspired with the assassin to kill Cao Xianwei. The chief clerk and county magistrate kept silent, implicitly epting the conclusion. Seeing the situation deteriorating, Hu Daban wanted to take the dancers and musicians and leave, only to be intercepted by the two captains.
¡°Don¡¯t leave, Hu Daban. You¡¯re also under suspicion,¡± Qi Da, along with a few people, blocked the doorway. Hu Daban scowled, ¡°Captain Qi, you can¡¯t falsely use people. We are allw-abiding citizens.¡± Qi Da snorted, signaled with a wave of his hand. ¡°Take them all away. Imprison them first and interrogate themter.¡± Hu Daban was furious but helpless. A bunch of people were detained in the county government¡¯s jail, with Yingbao, Xiaolian, and the others locked in one cell, while Hu Daban and the men were put in the men¡¯s detention area. The cell was damp and dark, permeated by a disgusting smell that was suffocating. Even the young girls couldn¡¯t help but begin to cry, including a woman crouched in the corner. Revealing no emotion, Yingbao stared outside the barred windows, but inside, she was plotting how to eliminate those two captains. The followers and attendants of Cao Can were all no good either. They, together with Cao Can, had been wreaking havoc in the countryside. They had even attacked Dongchen Vige for no apparent reason. If not for the vigers¡¯ joint effort to fight them off, who knew what would have happened to her home and her vige. Therefore, she absolutely had to eliminate them. Of course, it would be even better if she could capture Xiao Mo alive.
Chapter 406: 402: Twisted Logic (Seeking Monthly Recommendation Tickets)_1 Chapter 406: Chapter 402: Twisted Logic (Seeking Monthly Rmendation Tickets)_1 Yingbao sat in the corner of the room, surveying the prison cell. There were no windows in the prison cell, the only source of light came from beyond the sturdy barred doors. The exit was also on the other side of these bars, but she would have to break through both the cell door and the barred doors beyond. This was not difficult. All she had to do was cut the bars with God Scythe, but this would inevitably expose her abilities. Actually, Yingbao was not afraid of exposure, but that would put Hu Daban and the other musicians and dancers at risk, especially since Cao Can was stabbed to death. While she was in her dilemma, a group of soldiers apanied by a middle-aged schr arrived at the women¡¯s prison. Yingbao instantly recognized the man as Chui Zhaochen, Xiao Mo¡¯s trusted aide. Chui Zhaochen, with a nod and a bow, asked the prison warden, ¡°Where are those people from Wuchun Yard detained?¡± ¡°They¡¯re all inside. Shall we proceed with the interrogation, sir?¡± ¡°Bring those dancers out, the master has some questions.¡± ¡°Yes sir! I¡¯ll get them right now.¡±
The warden approached the women¡¯s prison and opened one of the cell doors with a key, shouting, ¡°Come out! All of you,e out!¡± Xiaolian and the other dancers were all startled, but they still made their way out of the cell one by one. The woman who was squeezed in the deepest part of the cell also followed behind them. Chui Zhaochen surveyed the dancers, waved his hand, and the soldiers began to drive them out with their weapons. Yingbao lowered her head, keeping close to Xiaolian. They left the prison cell and walked a long way before they finally arrived at the County Government Hall. Xiao Mo sat behind the case table in the center of the hall, d in a cloak, his face gloomy as he gazed at the women. He then pointed at Yingbao with his left hand, ¡°The one with double-looped hair, step forward.¡± Yingbao paused before slowly detaching herself from the crowd. Xiao Mo scrutinized her with furrowed brows, asking, ¡°Where did you gost night? Speak the truth! If you dare to lie, you¡¯ll lose both your feet!¡± Yingbao cursed inwardly, but on the surface, she put on a pitiful expression and whined, ¡°I didn¡¯t go anywhere. I was with my sisters the whole time.¡± Xiao Mo stared at her coldly, ¡°You were first seen in Gongfang, then alone in a guest room. How could you have been with your sisters the whole time?¡± Yingbao hesitated but soon replied, ¡°When nature calls, should I not be allowed to answer?¡± Xiao Mo studied the girl in front of him, frowning. Her bold tone reminded him of someone. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± He asked. ¡°Who are your parents, and where are you from?¡± Instead of allowing the girl to answer, he pointed at Xiaolian andmanded, ¡°You answer!¡± Xiaolian nervously stepped forward, bowed to Xiao Mo, and said, ¡°Her name is Huanxi, and she was just brought into Wuchun Yard yesterday by Hu Daban. I don¡¯t know anything more.¡± Xiao Mo shifted his gaze back to Yingbao, ¡°Speak, where are you from?¡± Yingbao knew she was in trouble, but she had no choice but to say, ¡°I¡¯m from Simen Town on the outskirts of the city.¡±
¡°From which vige in Simen Town? What are your parents¡¯ names? For every lie, you¡¯ll lose one finger,¡± Xiao Mo warned coldly. Chui Zhaochen added, ¡°Youngdy, the government record of household registration is not just for show, we can trace back the history of your family up to three generations. I suggest you think carefully before responding.¡± Sweat trickled down Yingbao¡¯s forehead as realizing she was cornered, she quickly said, ¡°My family fled from famine, we do not belong to any vige. Lizheng has not yet updated our information.¡± ¡°Lying!¡± Xiao Mo mmed his hand on the table, turned his head to Chui Zhaochen, and ordered, ¡°Clean her face, I want to see who she really is.¡±
Yingbao¡¯s face turned serious, just to see Chui Zhaochen wave his hand, and two soldiers quickly grab Yingbao¡¯s arms. Then Chui Zhaochen took out a handkerchief and wiped clean the paint on Yingbao¡¯s face. Xiao Mo watched the face that had been wiped clean of all its color, increasingly irritated. He waved his men to take the other women away, before leisurely walking over, letting out a coldugh, ¡°So it¡¯s you, Jiang Yingbao, why are you disguised like this? Was the assassinst night your aplice? It¡¯s been a few years, but you¡¯ve really known how to make an impression.¡± Yingbao stopped pretending, forcefully shaking off the two guard¡¯s hands, rubbing her sore wrist and saying: ¡°What assassin? I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t y dumb,¡± Xiao Mo this time seriously scrutinized the young women, ¡°I don¡¯t care if you assassinated Cao Can out of vengeance, this matter ends here, but from now on you must follow us.¡± ¡°Why? Taking me as a hostage?¡± Yingbao red at him: ¡°I even saved your brother¡¯s life, is this how the Xiao Family treats their saviors?¡± Xiao Mo straightened his clothes with his left hand, without raising his eyes, ¡°You are now a prisoner, you should be aware of a prisoner¡¯s mindset.¡± ¡°Xiao Mo, you once swore an oath, to never harm me or my family in this lifetime, have you kept that promise?¡± Yingbao bravely used him. Xiao Mo: ¡°I have not harmed you or your family, on the contrary, it¡¯s you, who teamed up with the assassin to hurt me, how should this be ounted?¡± Yingbao blinked her eyes: ¡°I can swear to the heavens, I never teamed up with anyone to hurt you.¡± One day, I¡¯ll let this scoundrel know, there¡¯s no aplice, he was simply bested by my hand. Hearing this, Xiao Mo¡¯s face softened slightly,manding the soldiers at his side to stand down.
He took his seat back at the desk, ¡°Yingbao, you need not worry, as long as I, Xiao, am here, your family will not be harmed.¡± Yingbao: ¡°But Cao Can and his thousand men nned to massacre my vige, and you wereplicit in it, which is equivalent to harming my family.¡± ¡°Nonsense.¡± Xiao Mo¡¯s face was gentle, not looking angry, ¡°I only arrived yesterday, I had no knowledge of Cao Can¡¯s actions.¡± Yingbao looked around, moved a chair and sat down, ¡°Then if you kill Cao Can¡¯s personal guard and his two troop leaders, I¡¯ll believe you weren¡¯t involved.¡± Xiao Mo lightlyughed: ¡°Why should I make you believe me?¡± The girl had grown up, but her habit of taking advantage of situations was unchanged. Yingbao scratched her forehead: ¡°Since you can¡¯t make people believe you, how can you talk about integrity?¡± Xiao Mo was left speechless. Out of options, Xiao Mo took Yingbao back to the courtyard of the County Government Office, called two maids to look after her, he then went to another room for a doctor to check on him and apply medicine. He ordered Chui Zhaochen to call Hu Daban and the others to bring forward, investigate them thoroughly, if there were others following Yingbao before she entered Wuchun Yard. But the results of the investigation were that Yingbao was alone, no one else was with her. This seems strange. The residents of Cao Can¡¯s ce may not be his own, but not just anyone could casually enter, and the defence that night was tight. The exterior alone had hundreds of guards surrounded, how could anyone easily enter without rming anyone and then escape?
The person in ck was small in stature, and even had a long knife in his hand, these obvious clothing and props and yet nobody saw how he escaped. Xiao Mo pondered for a moment, feeling that this matter was still rted to Yingbao. Could the assassin be that girl, Yingbao? But how is that possible? She was practically raised under his watch; yes, she took some martial arts sses with a martial artist in the vige, but how could she have the skills of an assassin? And not to mention the strength of the assassin¡¯s arm which not many in Daqian could match, surely a young girl couldn¡¯t possess that kind of strength. Perhaps Zhou Wuchang dispatched a top-level expert in secret to protect Yingbao. He wondered if the girl was able to sneak into the county town because of the assassin¡¯s help. Chapter 407: 403 Chapter 407: 403 Xiao Mo¡¯s arm injury was quite serious, but he had an effective medicine, so he recovered quickly. Speaking of which, those medicines were prepared by that little girl; it was a shame there wasn¡¯t much left. Xiao Mo yed with the porcin bottle in his hand and unconsciously wore a smile on his face. Chui Zhaochen nced at him and whispered, ¡°My lord, are you really going to keep that child around?¡± ¡°What else should we do? Let her be targeted again by Qi Da and his people?¡± Xiao Mo shot his confidant a look, ¡°Once Chengjun¡¯s army arrives in a few days and we appoint new officials to the county, we can let her go home.¡± That way, the little girl wouldn¡¯t have to worry about revenge from anyone. Chui Zhaochen looked worriedly at his master¡¯s arm. ¡°My lord, do you n to kill Qi Dater?¡± Xiao Mo: ¡°Why should I kill Qi Da? Isn¡¯t it nice to let them charge ahead for us?¡± Chui Zhaochen swallowed, wondering why he didn¡¯t n to kill Qi Da but still wanted to keep the girl around. Wasn¡¯t that double trouble? Moreover, there was a high probability that the girl was involved in the injury on his lord¡¯s arm. Wasn¡¯t he afraid of getting hurt again? ¡°Your injury might have been done by the allies of the Jiang kid. Are you sure you want to release the tiger back to the mountain?¡± Chui Zhaochen nervously asked.
Xiao Mo sat upzily, ¡°That child is of great use and naive. If we imprison her, we will only drive her against us. It¡¯s better to give her freedom. Let¡¯s deal with the traitors first, then we¡¯ll talk.¡± Chui Zhaochen blinked, seeming to understand something. The lord. He wouldn¡¯t be considering taking the young girl in, would he? Not to mention that when the girl grows up, she would be one in a million, and her personality fits the lord¡¯s taste quite well. And whenever the girl confronted his lord, his lord didn¡¯t get angry at all. He seemed to enjoy it. Was this mutual agreement? Chui Zhaochen shook his head and reminded, ¡°My Lord, be careful. The¡­the youngdy knows medical skills, don¡¯t be fooled by her.¡± Xiao Mo nced at his subordinate, ¡°Do you think your lord is a fool?¡± Chui Zhaochen remained silent and left the room. The more he talks, the more mistakes he makes; better to say nothing. Coming into the courtyard, he saw Yingbao sitting under the wisteria trellis in the garden, happily shaking a folding fan in her hand. There were two maids beside her, one brewing tea for her, and the other feeding her pastries. Chui Zhaochen¡¯s eye twitched, and he quickly left the inner courtyard. Actually, Yingbao wasn¡¯t asposed as she appeared; she was extremely anxious. Chen Zhu was still waiting outside the city for her to ry ??information. However, she was confined within the County Government¡¯s inner courtyard. If the Xiao family¡¯s army arrived, Chen Zhu would be in danger. She had looked around: there were hundreds of guards inside and outside the County Government, and even soldiers stationed outside the wall. Initially, these were all Cao Can¡¯s men; now it seems like Xiao Mo had benefitted from the situation. She had asked the maids and learned that Xiao Mo had brought over two hundred elite cavalrymen into the city.
After eating a few cakes, Yingbao suddenly stood up, startling the two maids. ¡°Youngdy, what do you want? I¡¯ll get it for you,¡± one of the maids asked. Yingbao waved her hand, picked up the remaining cakes, and walked to Xiao Mo¡¯s room. ¡°Xiao Mo! Are you asleep?¡±
Yingbao stood at the window, standing on her tiptoes to peek inside. Xiao Mo was reviewing the espionage report for the day, and answered indifferently, ¡°Speak your mind.¡± ¡°I want to go for a walk; tell your men not to block my way,¡± dered Yingbao. Xiao Mo ignored her and continued reading the report. Having no other option, Yingbao moved to the door, tiptoed in, and put the cakes on the table. ¡°You must be hungry, these are especially for you.¡± Xiao Mo calmly closed the report and nced at the te, ¡°I¡¯m not hungry.¡± Yingbao sat down next to him and sized him up with blinking eyes, ¡°I¡¯m thinking about going out for a stroll, do you want toe?¡± Xiao Mo nced at her, thought for a moment, and stood up, ¡°Okay, where do you want to wander off to?¡± Yingbao¡¯s eyes gleamed, and she chuckled, ¡°I want to wander everywhere.¡± Xiao Mo chuckled and called someone in to change his clothes. Yingbao, knowing better, ran outside to wait for him, but ended up waiting for two maids instead. The maids carried a pile of clothes and said, ¡°Please change, miss.¡± Yingbao looked down at her dancer¡¯s dress and had no choice but to follow the maids to change and freshen up.
After a while, she emerged in her new dress. She wore a white crossover blouse and a light green rhomboid long skirt tied around her waist. She had on a pair of green satin embroidered shoes, and her hair had been rebed. The maids coiffed her in a side bun, making her look both cute and sassy. Yingbao ran out of the room to see Xiao Mo already waiting in the courtyard and asked, ¡°Xiao Mo, are we going horse-riding?¡± Xiao Mo nced at her: ¡°Can you ride a horse like this?¡± ¡°Yes! Of course, I can!¡± Yingbao looked around, didn¡¯t see any horses, but saw a horse carriage parked at the entrance. Xiao Mo went straight into the carriage, saying, ¡°There are no horses, only a carriage. Either get in, or stay here.¡± Yingbao had no other option but to climb into the carriage, sitting next to Xiao Mo. The carriage started moving slowly down the street. Yingbao did not converse with Xiao Mo; instead, she craned her neck to look out, without any intention to get off and wander around. Finally, the coachman had no choice but to ask, ¡°Sir, where would you like to go?¡± Yingbao spoke, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the city wall, I¡¯ve never been there.¡± The coachman dared not answer and instead, asked again, ¡°Sir, you¡­¡± ¡°To the city gate.¡± Xiao Mo said indifferently.
On hearing this, Yingbao was overjoyed, ¡°Yes yes, let¡¯s go towards the city gate.¡± ¡°Got it!¡± The coachman gave a whip and drove the carriage towards the city gate. In a little while, the carriage arrived at the stairs of the mountain. Yingbao jumped off the carriage and looked around. There were quite a few guards here as well, along with several cavalrymen following Xiao Mo¡¯s carriage. It would not be easy for her to escape. Unless she grew a pair of wings and flew off the city wall. Xiao Mo also got down from the carriage and took the lead to walk up the stairs. Yingbao followed closely behind, eventually reaching the gate tower. She stood near the wall, gazing outwards. Xiao Mo stood beside her, their bodies only two fists apart. Was he afraid she might jump? Yingbao subtly moved aside, pulled out a white rhombus handkerchief from her sleeve, waving it outside the wall. She then let it go, and the handkerchief flew away. ¡°Ah! My handkerchief!¡± Yingbao tiptoed to look down, saw her white handkerchief flutter away in the distance, gradually whisked away by the wind. Xiao Mo abruptly grabbed Yingbao¡¯s arm, pulling her away from the wall. He then looked at her sternly, ¡°Why on earth would you throw your handkerchief?¡±
Yingbao gave an innocent look, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to. Who knew the wind on the wall is so strong that it swept away my handkerchief.¡± Unsure of whether to believe her or not, Xiao Mo dragged her down from the city gate tower. He then tossed her into the carriage, turned back and ordered his attendant something. Seeing this, Yingbao¡¯s heart pounded, fearing that he might suddenly order to open the city gate and send people out to investigate. However, just as she feared, Xiao Mo indeed ordered the city gates to be opened and sent a team of soldiers out. Panic-stricken, Yingbao jumped off the carriage and ran outward, but was stopped at the city gate. Xiao Mo was on horseback, blocking her way, gazing at her grimly. She looked back up at him defiantly, wondering whether to take out her secret weapon ¨C arge knife. Chapter 408: 404: Spy (Seeking Monthly Votes, Recommendation Tickets)_1 Chapter 408: Chapter 404: Spy (Seeking Monthly Votes, Rmendation Tickets)_1 Before she could figure out what to do, Xiao Mo abruptly lifted her up onto the carriage. ¡°Stay put!¡± He waved his hand, and several trusted aides surrounded the carriage. Yingbao¡¯s mind raced, contemting what the safest course of action would be. Attempting a direct confrontation would not be wise at this moment, but allowing them to search was not an option either. What if they injured Chen Zhu and the others? ¡°Xiao Mo! What are you doing?¡± Yingbao shouted. But Xiao Mo paid her no mind,manding the cavalry to exit the city gates while he himself stood at the entrance, directing the city¡¯s defense matters. Suddenly, Yingbao seemed to calm down. Chen Zhu and the others were only ordinary vigers, even if they were caught, what then? She and her crew were merely trying to protect themselves. Moreover, she was the only one responsible for all their actions, Chen Zhu and the others had nothing to do with it. Although Xiao Mo was cold-hearted, he was not the type to indiscriminately kill the innocents. With these thoughts, Yingbao calmed down and sat in the carriage, calmly observing the situation.
An hourter, the cavalry that had exited the city returned. ¡°No abnormalities were found.¡± One man reported to Xiao Mo, ¡°We have searched the entire forest and found no suspicious individuals.¡± Hearing this, Yingbao sighed in relief. It seemed like Chen Zhu had taken her signal ¨C the waving white handkerchief ¨C to flee into the forest without wasting any time. Xiao Mo¡¯s furrowed brow slightly rxed, and upon returning to the carriage, he ordered the coachman to head back home. Once back at the County Government, Yingbao went straight to her room, barricaded herself inside and forbid anyone from disturbing her. She covertly prepared the poisons. It would be unrealistic to poison Xiao Mo to death all at once, as Xiao Chengjun would soon arrive with reinforcements. So, she could only wait for the reinforcement to arrive before making a move. Several days passed in a sh, and as expected, the military troops from the Xiao Family arrived. However, they did not enter the city but set up camp outside of it. In the evening, Xiao Chengjun, leading around thirty guards, entered the city to meet his elder brother. Yingbao was confined in the inner court of the County Government, without ever seeing anyone. Yet, she saw a chance for escape. For the two maids who were with her all the time had finally left the room to help out in the front courtyard. Yingbao pushed the door open and went to the room that Xiao Mo used as a study. She opened the door and looked around, not finding anything useful, nor any maps or letters. Just then, it seemed like someone was approaching from outside. Yingbao immediately ducked behind the window and slipped into her hidden chamber. Afterward, she stayed in her hidden chamber for several days. Except for eating, drinking, and sleeping, all she did was harvest mushrooms and fruits, and fed the horses. Indeed, she kept a horse in her hidden chamber for emergencies.
She also spent time wandering around the small courtyard inside the cave, practicing her knife skills in the middle of the yard. She hadn¡¯t dared to check the mirror in her bedroom, as something about it unnerved her. However, she did not know that her sudden disappearance had caused a huge uproar outside. Xiao Mo had sent people door-to-door throughout County Town, but they did not find any sign of Yingbao.
As a result, the two maids responsible for taking care of her were whipped, and the guards in charge of the County Government were also punished. But, that young woman seemed to have vanished into thin air and had not reappeared since. Several dayster, Xiao Mo and Xiao Chengjun each led units of soldiers to reupy the surrounding counties. In the meantime, Yingbao would leave her hidden chamber each night, looking for an opportunity to investigate the study. Fianlly, one day, Yingbao found many intelligence reports in the desk drawer of the study. Among them was a message that stated there were rebels stationed in Anping County. It detailed the number of people and horses, where the food and grain were ced, where the army was positioned, and who themander was. The description was incredibly detailed. Yingbao furrowed her brows, Anping County was close to Chuanhe Town, she suspected that Dazhou¡¯s troops intended to besiege the Xiao brothers. But before they even arrived, detailed information had been revealed to the Xiao family, indicating that the situation had been leaked from within the ranks. Yingbao hastily took this spy report back to the cave and copied it, then returned it unabridged to the drawer. She then climbed out the window and quietly went to the foot of the wall. Seeing guards approaching, she darted back into the cave and started to calcte the patrol times she had observed in the past few days. Assuming that this group of guards had gone past, Yingbao reappeared, climbed up a jujube tree by the wall and deftly scaled over it. Although there were still patrolling troops outside, Yingbao had a hiding ce in her cave. As long as she waited for the guards to go away within the cave, she could quickly run into the darkness.
Without any hesitation, Yingbao once again came out of the county town through the waterway. After leaving the county town, she dared not travel bynd; instead, she took out her gourd boat and rowed in the direction of Anping County. After about a dozen miles, she got off the water and rode on her horse, rushing along the official road. She would not dare to go to the post stations on the road in case they were manned by Xiao family¡¯s people. It was not until the afternoon of the next day that Yingbao arrived at Anping County. ording to the address on the spy report, she found the stationed troops and requested an audience with their general, saying she had something important to report. A soldier passed on her request and quickly came back to take her in. Yingbao was taken into a tent and saw that the man sitting at the head was Uncle Fu. ¡°Yingbao, how did you get here?¡± An excited Wei Zhan who stood by the side walked over. Yingbao nced at the people and said, ¡°I have something important to report to the general, it must be confidential.¡± Uncle Fu frowned and dismissed everyone, including Wei Zhan and Xu Kun. Wei Zhan reluctantly withdrew from therge tent with the others. Yingbao looked again at the schr standing behind Uncle Fu and said, ¡°He hasn¡¯t left yet.¡± The schr paused, furiously rebuking, ¡°Impudent! Who do you think you are? You dare to point fingers and makemands in the military camp!¡±
Ignoring him, Yingbao turned to Uncle Fu and said, ¡°Uncle Fu, I have to talk privately to you about an important matter.¡± The schr¡¯s face flushed red, he pointed at Yingbao and was about to say something, but Uncle Fu interrupted, ¡°Mr. Dong, you go first. This girl is a child of family friends and isn¡¯t an outsider.¡± Mr. Dong huffed and puffed out of the tent, ring daggers at Yingbao as he passed her. When everyone had left the tent, Uncle Fu asked, ¡°Yingbao, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Yingbao presented the copied spy report to Uncle Fu, ¡°Take a look at this.¡± Uncle Fu took and read the report, his brows tightened in anger. Of course, he understood what it meant. The only one who could have known the detailed ns and movements of his army was an insider¡ªa traitor. In other words, there was a turncoat among his ranks. ¡°Uncle Fu, the Xiao family has deployed not less than ten thousand men. They are all stationed around Qinchuan County, which is already in their control. Don¡¯t be fooled and go to rescue Qinchuan County.¡± Yingbao told Uncle Fu all she knew in one breath, including the situation in the county city. ¡°I see.¡± Uncle Fu smiled at Yingbao, ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard Yingbao. Go and have a good rest. We¡¯ll set off in the morning.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yingbao was indeed exhausted, feeling as if she could sleep for three straight days without opening her eyes.
Uncle Fu had someone take Yingbao to rest while he leaned back in his chair deep in thought. Remembering Yingbao¡¯s words, he went over everyone in his mind and came to a decision. Uncle Fu assembled all his generals and informed them that they would depart early in the morning to attack the Xiao brothers¡¯ troops at Zhouhe County. That night, a shadow stealthily arrived at the grove outside the encampment and took something from his bosom to hide in a tree hole. After looking around, he quietly returned. Shortly after the shadow left, two other figures approached the tree. They took out an oil-paper pack from the tree hole, and upon opening it, they were infuriated. ¡°This bastard! He is indeed a spy!¡± Chapter 409: 405: Great Victory (Seeking Monthly Votes, Recommendation Tickets)_1 Chapter 409: Chapter 405: Great Victory (Seeking Monthly Votes, Rmendation Tickets)_1 The two men carefully wrapped up the note, put it back exactly where they had found it, and then quickly rushed back to the camp to inform Zhou Fu of what had happened. Zhou Fu scoffed, ¡°Bring those two men here, and make sure you don¡¯t alert anyone else.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Wei Zhan and a young Martial General responded, clenching their fists in acknowledgment. In a short time, Mr. Dong and his trusted attendant were brought into the tent¡­ Yingbao curled up inside the carriage, sound asleep. It wasn¡¯t until the drumming of war woke her that she scrambled to her feet, dazed for a moment, and lifted the carriage curtain to look outside. She saw two armies meeting in a fierce battle at the foot of a distant slope. War is brutal, a fight to the death where soldiers from both sides are attacking each other tirelessly, like they are injected with chicken blood, not stopping until death. Bored, Yingbao furrows her brows. This endless fighting only harms the lives of themon people. In the end, the orphans and widows of themoners still have to toil in the fields to support the Imperial Court and aristocratic families.
Yingbao retreats back into her carriage to continue her sleep. Lately, she had been feeling out of sorts, unsure if it was because she had stayed in the cave dwelling for too long. Coupled with yesterday¡¯s exertion, she was growing increasingly tired. By evening, our side has achieved a great victory. Wei Zhan and his men captured Xiao Mo and his close followers. However, Xiao Chengjun had fled. Zhou Fu did not pursue the fleeing enemy. Instead, he gradually took back control over the surrounding counties. At this time, Yingbao returned to Dongchen Vige in Chuanhe Town. The vige was in shambles, with many houses burned, but most are still standing. The Jiang family¡¯s house was fine, not a single structure had been burned. Yingbao entered the house and found the rooms in disarray as if someone had gone through it. She grabbed a broom and started cleaning the house and courtyard, rearranging the bamboo shed in the yard. Some people from the vige had already started to return, but there was no sign of her parents or Madam Wen. Yingbao decided to ride to North Mountain to look for them. On the way, she met several vigersing down from North Mountain, who greeted her: ¡°Yingbao, did youe from the vige? Has Daqian¡¯s army left?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve already left.¡± Yingbao asked, ¡°Uncle Chen, have you seen my parents and Uncle?¡± Viger: ¡°They are all on North Mountain. If you go three or four miles along this road, you¡¯ll see them. I came to check the situation and will go back to tell them soon.¡± Yingbao nodded and continued riding along the trail towards the mountain.
North Mountain was dense with trees, but some parts had few trees, like the shoulder of the mountain, which was all mounds of graves. Yingbao thought for a moment, then urged her horse to slowly ascend the mountain. Reaching a fork in the road, Yingbao looked around and chose a path to follow. However, after quite some distance, she saw no signs of people.
Yingbao furrowed her brows, looking around. Before her stood a barren hill, distinctively barrenpared to the surrounding area, with only a few trees but plenty of shrubs and weeds. Suddenly, Yingbao recalled the n Leader Chen¡¯s remarks about Jiuyang Temple. Before long, she spotted remnants of a ruined wall hidden beneath the weeds and a boundary marker engraved with the words Yang Temple. Suddenly there was a sharp stab in Yingbao¡¯s heart, as if something had lodged in her throat. After standing around awhile, she decided to go have a look. The horse hesitated for a moment, but under the urging of its young master, it walked towards the ruins. Sitting high on horseback, Yingbao could clearly see a mother weasel with her young scurrying around the ruins. Then an orange snake quickly disappeared amongst the stone cracks. She even spotted a couple of foxes staring at her. Walking and observing slowly, Yingbao unwittingly reached the innermost part of the ruins. There was a stone statue, now inplete ruin, even the head of the road-protecting deity statue had be fractured. Nheless, the statue still stood, allowing vines to cover its entire body.
Yingbao squinted at the statue and another slightly smaller one next to it. No matter how she looked, the statue seemed familiar. Especially the smaller statue next to therger one, not only was it intact, but its facial details were also very clear, resembling Chen Tiantian. Yingbao dismounted her horse, swiftly drew her long knife, and swung it down. There was a cracking sound, yet the statue remained undamaged. In her head, she felt as if a thousand needles were stabbing her, the pain made her vision darken, and she almost copsed. It seemed that she hade to the right ce after all! The heavens wanted to prevent her from chopping the statue using this method, but she was not going to be swayed. She swung again with the strength of a thunderbolt. The small statue began to crack with audible creaks. But the pain in her head was even worse as if her eyeballs were about to burst. Yingbao, heedless of danger, raised her knife and swung it down violently. In an instant, a golden glow arose, the long knife emitted blinding light, striking heavily on the statue. Crash! The small statue shattered in response.
The pain in Yingbao¡¯s head suddenly disappeared. At this moment, her consciousness was incredibly clear. What she didn¡¯t know was that, thousands of miles away, Chen Tiantian let out a scream, spat out a mouthful of blood and copsed to the ground. On North Mountain, Jiuyang Mountain, Yingbao felt there must be something within these fragments. So she came to the fragments of the small statue, poked the rubble with her long knife and suddenly saw a sh of colored light inside. She curiously bent down, carefully traced it with her hand and saw a small golden fragment, as small as half of a fingernail, glistening like a piece of ss. When Yingbao picked up the fragment, she strangely felt an inexplicable affinity towards it. Very strange indeed. She shifted her gaze back to therger statue. Deciding to resolve it all today, she was determined to smash both things into pieces. Yingbao raised her long knife and robustly chopped at therge statue. Fortunately, her long knife was sturdy and could endure more than a hammer weighing tens of pounds. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t be able to split these two stones. Therger statue seemed not as sturdy as the smaller one as it quickly crumbled under the blows of the long knife. Yingbao squatted down again, meddling with the rubble to see if there was anything inside.
As expected, she found another small golden fragment, nearly half the size of the previous one. Had it not emitted a glow, Yingbao would not have noticed it. Yingbao wrapped these two little gold fragments in oiled paper and ced them in her cave dwelling. Afterward, she got back on her horse and took another look around the ruins. After the two statues were shattered, Yingbao felt that the vegetation in this ce suddenly thickened and the vines and leaves spread out. After a round of inspection, noting no further anomalies, Yingbao rode her horse back. After walking a while, she looked back to see the ruins being quickly veiled by the greenery. What the hell? She frowned for a while, then took out a piece of white hemp cloth, tied it to a thick tree, set up threerge stones around the tree, then got on her horse and left. Upon reaching the crossroads, Yingbao thought for a moment and took the other path. Not long after, she saw arge crowd gathered on a clearing in the forest, with makeshift grass and tree shelters erected around. ¡°Yingbao! Yingbao! You¡¯re back!¡± Chen Zhu was the first to spot the little girl slowly riding towards them, he excitedly shouted: ¡°Come over here!¡± Shortly after, Jiang Sang and Chunniang also ran over and asked, ¡°Bao¡¯er, are you hurt?¡± Yingbao instinctively tried to hide her hand, which had been split by the tremendous force encountered when she smashed the statues. Chapter 410: 406: Becoming the County Magistrate_1 Chapter 410: Chapter 406: Bing the County Magistrate_1 ¡°The rebel army has retreated, we can go home now.¡± Yingbao recounted how Zhou Fu was defeated by the Xiao brothers, concluding with, ¡°With Cao Can¡¯s death, his two henchmen have joined the Xiao family, presumably leaving the county town. In a while, I¡¯ll visit the county town and tidy up our house.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll take your mother with me when the timees.¡± Having said this, Jiang Eng went to notify his parents and elder brother to pack up and return to their vige. The items that the Jiang family had to pack were simple, just some daily necessities and food. The rest of their grain and valuable belongings were kept with their daughter. As the vigers returned in session, everyone became busy. The wheat stalks on the fields needed to be reaped, thend had to be turned, and the grains harvested had to be threshed and dried in the sun. Then, it would be time for rice transnting and bean hoeing. At this moment, someone from the County Government arrived unexpectedly, asking Jiang Eng toe to the county town, saying that the new County Magistrate wanted to see him. The government official even joked, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, Jiang, it¡¯s good news. You¡¯ll find out when you get there. It¡¯s not appropriate for me to tell you straightforwardly.¡± Jiang Eng was baffled, so he could only apany the official to the county town. Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng were worried, insisting on going with their younger brother. Chen Zhu and a few others also said they were going to the county town for some shopping, and decided to go together.
Yingbao, on the other hand, was not worried. Because a new chapter suddenly appeared in the book in her mind, it said that her father would receive a position, and it would be an official rank. As expected, when Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng returned, they shared good news. Jiang Eng was appointed by the new Emperor of the Zhou Dynasty as a Ninth-rank County Magistrate, and from now on, he had to stay in the county town for duty. Moreover, Jiang Eng chose Chen Zhu to work under him, and the County Magistrate agreed. Now, Chen Zhu had be the captain of the county guard. ¡°Is this really happening?¡± The n Leader of the Chen family was overjoyed and rubbed his hands together, ¡°Finally, someone from the Chen family is joining public service, hehe!¡± Madame Tang was even happier and pped her hands, ¡°Oh, this is truly heaven-sent. Our Zhu finally made it.¡± She handed a string of coins to her daughter-inw, Madame Shao, ¡°Quickly go to the market and buy a jug of wine. We women will celebrate tonight.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go now.¡± Madame Shao giggled and led her daughter to the market outside the vige to buy wine. The n Leader of the Chen family stroked his beard and mumbled to himself, ¡°With Sang working at the county town as the County Magistrate, who will take up the role of the vige leader?¡± Madame Tang gave him a side-eye, ¡°Of course it¡¯s Jiang Dng. The most respected family in our vige is none other than the Jiang family.¡± The n Leader of the Chen family nodded, ¡°Right, right! I¡¯ll go talk to the others about this so that Jiang Dng can take over the vige chores.¡± With that said, he bhacked his hands and went to find some elders of the vige, heading towards the Jiang family home. When Jiang Dng heard about the Chen n Leader¡¯s intentions, he was somewhat embarrassed and hesitant, saying, ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± An elderly viger puffed out his beard and red at him, ¡°Are you trying to hold your younger brother back?¡± Jiang Dng: ¡­ The n Leader of the Chen family stroked his beard and said, ¡°You are the only one suited for the role of vige leader in our vige. Stop rejecting, we have many people waiting to rebuild their houses, and we cannot dy.¡± ¡°Indeed, Dng, you can¡¯t dy the farming work.¡± Chen Sanyou also said, ¡°We chose you because of your familiarity with Sang¡¯s duties. If we gave the tasks to someone else, they might not handle them as well.¡± Upon considering it, Jiang Dng finally nodded, ¡°Alright.¡± Hence, Jiang Dng took over the duties of his younger brother Jiang Eng, bing Dongchen Vige¡¯s vige leader. Several monthster, not only had the Zhou Dynasty suppressed Wang¡¯s rebellion, but they had also recaptured all the lost cities. Afterwards, they sessfully took over three states, further expanding their territory.
At present, Daqian only had four states left, all of which were very barrennds with very few arable farms. The soldiers of Daqian could not even afford food, let alone fight for the court. Many serving soldiers fled and came to the Zhou Dynasty territory, as many of them originally came from there. Traders and aristocratic families also fled in session, and sought refuge with the Zhou Dynasty. The Wen family were among these refugees.
Wen Jingyan led his family into Jiankang City, and he became an Imperial Doctor at the Imperial Medical Bureau again because of his outstanding medical skills. In the fourth year of the Zhou Dynasty¡¯s reign, the Zhou Emperor personally led an army to conquer the remaining three states, brought Murong Xian, the Emperor of Daqian, back to Beijing, and conferred him as Marquis Changshou, living a pampered life in the inner courtyard of the Imperial Pce. Xiao Chengjun was also brought back and he lived in the Earl Residence with his brother Xiao Mo. Their father, who was slightly paralyzed from a stroke but did not have a life-threatening condition, was made an earl by the Zhou Emperor and lived under the emperor¡¯s watchful eye. Like his son, he was not allowed to leave Beijing unless there were important matters. Now, Yingbao is sixteen years old, a proper grown-up woman, and has moved to live in the county town with her mother. Jiang Eng served as the County Magistrate in the County Government, and his work was extremely busy, so he needed someone to take care of his daily life. So, Chunniang brought her daughter to live in the courtyard with two entrances next to the store. The daughter was growing up, and it was inappropriate for her to be seen in public often, so Chunniang bought two young girls and hired an old woman to do misceneous work, as well as a coachman. The two girls were fairly young, both around eleven or twelve years old, and came from poor families. Yingbao named them Muxiang and Xinghua. Muxiang was slightly more mature, while Xinghua was lively. Their parents sold them when they were only nine years old, and they ended up in Qinchuan County. Fortunately, they met Chunniang and her daughter when they were visiting the Teeth Row. Seeing them looking pathetically thin, Chunniang decided to buy them both. ¡°Miss, the postal station has delivered a letter.¡± Xinghua lifted her skirts and quickly ran into Yingbao¡¯s room, handing the parcel she was hugging to her young mistress.
Yingbao took the parcel and used scissors to cut open the stitches and threads. Inside the parcel was a letter, several nice-looking bolts of silk, and a box of beaded flowers. This was sent by her younger brother, Jiang Jie, and the letter said that he was going to take the civil service exam this year and asked his parents and sister to apany him in Beijing. Yingbao smiled and immediately took the letter to find her mother. She hadn¡¯t seen her brothers for several years, especially Jiang Jie. Since he went to Jiankang with Teacher Wu, he hadn¡¯t been home once. Jiang Jie had written back before, saying that he was kept at the Imperial College by the Emperor to study and that he was not allowed to return home until he passed the civil service exam. He also said that Teacher Wu had taken up a post in Beijing and couldn¡¯te back. Now that the country was unified, the Emperor of the Zhou Dynasty opened the court again and was keen on recruiting talents. As long as one was talented and ambitious, the Emperor would personally inspect and provide a corresponding post if they had no misconduct and had good character. ¡°Mom, Xiaojie sent a parcel, along with a letter.¡± Yingbao read the letter to Chunniang and asked, ¡°Should we go to Beijing?¡± Chunniang took the letter and squinted at it carefully, unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t recognize any characters. She sighed and said, ¡°Let¡¯s wait until your fatheres back, and ask him if he wants to go.¡± Ever since her husband became the County Magistrate, his days were always busy. Sometimes he went out of town to patrol and wouldn¡¯t be back for a day or two. Yingbao: ¡°Dad definitely can¡¯t make it. We¡¯ll go when the timees.¡±
Her father was really busy, often noting home. Besides, he was a ranked military officer now, and he couldn¡¯t just take his work lightly and go to Beijing. If he was punished by his superior, that would embarrass his younger brother. Chapter 411: 407: No Return_1 Chapter 411: Chapter 407: No Return_1 Chunniang: ¡°That works too. Ah, I wonder when your dad will be back. Maybe we should start preparing.¡± ¡°Sounds good. I also need to purchase some medicinal herbs to bring along.¡± As it was peak summer, herbs for heatstroke and mosquito prevention were a necessity. The mother and daughter began to prepare the items they would bring to Beijing. The clothes, shoes, and socks they made for their son, and the local specialty products, all had to be packed. Although these items could be stored in Yingbao¡¯s celestial dwelling, none of the deceptive chests and baskets on the outside could be skipped. The two women kept busy all day and finally finished packing everything. That night, Jiang Sang surprisingly came home early and brought back some news: The mushrooms grown in Dongchen Vige had been selected as tribute by the official responsible for pce procurement. This meant that in the future, Dongchen Vige could no longer sell its mushrooms on its own. They must first be selected by the County Government and the rest could then be sold to merchants. ¡°How much do they pay per pound?¡± Yingbao could not help asking. Jiang Sang: ¡°Today, the chief summoned me specifically to talk about this matter, and said that the County Government will purchase them at ten taels per pound.¡± Yingbao furrowed her eyebrows.
Ten taels per pound would surely be profitable for the vigers. But their specialty shop would suffer a huge loss as a result. ¡°Dad, did the chief mention Xue¡¯er?¡± Yingbao asked. Jiang Sang shook his head: ¡°He only mentioned the golden mushrooms. He said that if our county could produce a tribute, it would benefit the whole county greatly.¡± Yingbao: ¡°In that case, our family will grow more Xue¡¯er mushrooms.¡± Let the vigers handle the tributes, their family would focus on growing Xue¡¯er, which had a better taste than golden mushrooms and could be used as winter supplements. As Jiang Sang washed his hands and sat down to eat, he noticed several boxes in the room and asked, ¡°What are these for?¡± Chunniang replied with a smile: ¡°Xiaojie sent a letter, he wants us to visit him in Beijing; he is preparing for the provincial exams this year.¡± ¡°The provincial exams? He¡¯s so young, and he¡¯s taking them already?¡± Jiang Sang responded, taking a sip of his porridge. Chunniang: ¡°He will be fifteen by the lunar age next year, and eligible for the provincial exams.¡± She had no understanding of these matters previously, but her daughter¡¯s constant reminders brought her rity. As Jiang Sang ate, he asked, ¡°When are you nning to set off?¡± ¡°By the day after tomorrow, at thetest,¡± replied Chunniang. ¡°Xiaojie also asked you toe.¡± Jiang Sang shook his head: ¡°How can I wander around randomly? And furthermore, my superiors won¡¯t approve.¡± ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t go,¡± Chunniang huffed. ¡°Yingbao and I can manage. You should focus on getting us a travel permit by tomorrow.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jiang Sang quickly finished his meal and put down his bowl and chopsticks. Seeing her parents still had matters to discuss, Yingbao tactfully excused herself. Returning to her room, she took out the two golden fragments for another look. She had no idea what these were. Whenever she picked them up, an image of golden eyes would appear in her mind.
Could these be fragments of golden eyes? But there were far too few pieces to assemble into the shape of an eye. ¡°Young mistress, your bath is ready. Pleasee to freshen up,¡± Magnolia called softly from outside the room. Yingbao put the fragments away and got up to wash. Being served by a maid was nice. She was now used to a lifestyle where food came with an open mouth, and clothes came with an extended hand. Heh heh.
On the third day, Jiang Sang went to the Escort Agency and hired a team of escorts to apany his wife and daughter to Jiankang in Beijing. He also let his nephew Jiang Quan follow them. So, Jiang Quan drove a carriage, carrying his aunt and cousin Yingbao. The following carriage was driven by a stable hand of their household, carrying Magnolia and Xinghua. The two young girls were incredibly excited about their first long journey by horse-drawn carriage, periodically lifting the bamboo blinds to look outside. Behind their carriage was another one, driven by the men from the escort agency. It carried theirrger and smaller boxes of luggage, along with other items such as rice, flour, umbres, and raincoats. At first, the journey went smoothly. But on the third day, a sudden downpour began. Yingbao and her mother¡¯s carriage sprung a leak. The rain drizzled onto their heads and bodies, irritating them. Yingbao held up an umbre for the two of them to shelter under. ¡°Mother, you might as well hide in the cave,¡± she suggested. Chunniang rebuked her. ¡°Stop that nonsense. What if we¡¯re discovered?¡± Yingbao nced outside and saw the convoy still moving. The escorts, riding their horses, were quietly walking in the rain wearing straw hats and raincoats, showing no intention to stop and seek shelter from the rain. They eventually arrived at a small town, but there were no inns there. The escorts had no choice but to ask a local wealthy family for amodation. The rich family was courteous and arranged for a few rooms for their group.
Yingbao, her mother, and two maids squeezed into a room, all sleeping on the same brick bed. At night, a thin woman brought in an oilmp to provide them with light. Yingbao immediately recognized her. It was Chen Wan. They locked eyes, and Yingbao saw hatred in Chen Wan¡¯s eyes. Yingbao didn¡¯t care. No matter how much Chen Wan hated her, she would never be able to leave this town. In this life, she had already been very kind to Chen Wan and her sister, but how had Chen Wan treated her? Any person with a conscience wouldn¡¯t do what she had done. Moreover, Chen Wan had always imed that Yingbao was her younger sister, yet she didn¡¯t hesitate to betray her. Chunniang could barely recognize Chen Wan in the older woman standing before them, thanking her. In the middle of the night, the rain stopped. Yingbao couldn¡¯t sleep. She gazed out of the window, lost in thought. Suddenly, she saw a figure moving outside the window. Yingbao got up and quietly moved to the window to look outside.
She saw a skinny figure stacking bundles of firewood beneath her window and at her door. Then she saw the figure squatting next to the firewood, striking a flint to start a fire. Yingbao pushed against the door and found it had been bolted from outside. Frowning, she returned to the bed and woke up her mother and the two maids. ¡°Get up quickly!¡± she urged. By then, flickers of fire could be seen outside. Yingbao quickly ran to the door and kicked it open with a flying kick. However, in the brightness of the growing fire, she saw Chen Wan standing in the courtyard, a broad smile on her face. Yingbao sneered, raised her hand, and a rush of water suddenly extinguished the mes. ¡°Ah, ah, the water is flowing! The water is flowing!¡± the maid Xinghua shouted loudly, quickly alerting the other people in the courtyard. First, several escorts rushed out, followed by the host family. They were all shocked to see the piles of firewood stacked outside the door. Yingbao, supporting her mother, came out of the room, followed closely by the maids, Magnolia and Xinghua. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± The host asked shakily.
Yingbao nced at Chen Wan who was still standing in the courtyard. ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask her? Attempted arson is a serious crime, especially when she wanted to kill us.¡± The host turned to Chen Wan and pped her in the face. ¡°Is this your doing?¡± Seeing Yingbao had escaped the fire, Chen Wan screamed in despair. ¡°Why won¡¯t you die? Why won¡¯t you die?¡± ¡°Why should I die?¡± Yingbao stood in front of Chen Wan, her face expressionless. ¡°You guys are the ones who should die. Chen Wan, since you can remember the things from your dream, why not use it wisely?¡± She chose a path of no return instead. Arson and attempted murder could warrant a death sentence. It was a shame. She still wanted to know how Chen Wan had retained that memory. Chen Wan shouted loudly, ¡°You are a disaster! A devil! You didn¡¯t die when mother drowned you in the basin! Wild animals didn¡¯t eat you when father abandoned you in the mountains! You are a devil! I should have thrown you into the oven and burned you alive¡­¡± Chapter 412: 408: If There is a Next Life_1 Chapter 412: Chapter 408: If There is a Next Life_1 Upon hearing those words, Chunniang flew into a rage and pped her, ¡°You¡¯re the devil. The star of disaster!¡± Upon hearing the madwoman¡¯s rant, the master of the house quickly stuffed a piece of cloth into her mouth and, noticing her serious resistance, called his family to tie her up. Then he apologized to Chunning and Yingbao repeatedly, ¡°Madam, Young Miss, this servant girl is a fool, please don¡¯t take offense.¡± Chunniang was angry and eximed, ¡°Don¡¯t take offense? She wanted to burn us alive. How can we not take offense?¡± The escort also was very angry and red at the master of the house, ¡°We have paid for our lodging here, isn¡¯t it like you¡¯re trying to get rich by killing us?¡± The homeowner hurriedly waved his hands, ¡°Not at all! My family and I are honest peasants, we would never do such a thing. It was all because of the servant¡¯s impulsiveness. I guess she has a grudge against the youngdy¡­¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Jiang Quan who was angry, as well as fearful, pointed at Chen Wan and demanded, ¡°You tell me, what grudge does my family have against you that you want to harm my cousin over and over?¡± ¡°If it wasn¡¯t thanks to my cousin, it would have been a disaster tonight.¡± This Chen family is truly evil,pletely rotten from top to bottom. Chen Wan seemed delicate and weak, she was not bad to her brothers and sisters but she was unkind to Yingbao, even wanting tomit arson and murder this time. It waspletely baffling. ¡°We will report this to the officials when daylightes.¡± Yingbao addressed her cousin, ¡°Uncle escort. Could you go and locate the vige head Lizheng and bring him here?¡±
Since all evidence is here, it is better to get Lizheng sooner rather thanter to avoidplications. ¡°No!¡± A dwarf-like young man in his twenties suddenly rushed over, hugging Chen Wan, he said to Yingbao and the others, ¡°There must be some misunderstanding. Wanwan is very kind, she won¡¯t even step on an ant, let alone harm people. Please don¡¯t report this to the officials. I¡¯m willing to give five taels of silver, hoping you will let it go.¡± Chunniang was speechless, she pointed to the firewood piled up at the entrance and windows of the house, ¡°Are you blind? What does it mean by having all these firewood piled up at our door?¡± The young man suddenly got up and tried desperately to move the firewood. Jiang Quan and about twenty escorts immediately pushed him aside, ¡°Trying to destroy evidence? No way!¡± Yingbao scanned the family, noticing their eyes darting towards the firewood. She calmly pulled out a bronze gong and started hitting it, gesturing to Magnolia and Xinghua. The two servant girls understood and immediately started shouting, ¡°Fire! Help! Fire!¡± The young man and his family froze. Soon, many people came to knock on their front door, ¡°Uncle Fang! What¡¯s wrong? Is there a fire in your house? Open the door quickly!¡± Jiang Quan rushed to open the door. About twenty or thirty people rushed in, some carrying basins and buckets of water. Seeing the scene in the courtyard, everyone froze. ¡°What¡­ What¡¯s going on?¡± someone asked. Yingbao replied, ¡°We were staying here, and after paying the rent and provisions, someone stacked firewood in front of our doors and windows in the middle of the night and tried to burn us alive. Come, vigers, tell me, is there any family as foul as this one in the world?¡± The middle-aged owner immediately tried to exin, ¡°No¡­ we didn¡¯t know. It¡¯s all about this damn servant, she¡¯s crazy.¡± The crowd looked at the woman being protected by the young man, chattering, ¡°If she¡¯s mad, why did you let her out? What were you thinking, Uncle Fang, to keep such a harmful woman?¡± ¡°The fire she started does not concern us, our homes are all connected, if they all get burned, who shouldpensate us?¡± ¡°Exactly! Send her to the officials!¡± ¡°Right right! Such a disaster can¡¯t stay in Fang¡¯s vige! ¡±
The young man looked around, eximed, ¡°No! Wanwan is innocent, how can she be a disaster?¡± ¡°He suddenly pointed at Yingbao and the others, ¡°It¡¯s them! They deliberately framed Wanwan, trying to kill her!¡± Finally, old man Fang couldn¡¯t bear it and went forward to p his son, ¡°You scoundrel! I knew she was a curse when you secretly bought her. Her family would not have sold such a beautiful granddaughter if she was alright. Why did they sell her to us?¡± If her family was reallycking money, they wouldn¡¯t have sold her to some poor country bumpkin.
It was said that her grandfather was also looking for unmarried and naive men in the market, the implication was clear; he wanted his granddaughter to marry into a good family. As for why the Chen family used this method to marry off their granddaughter, old man Fang did not know. But he instinctively thought that the girl must have done something wrong, leading her family to sell her to an outsider and hoping she never returns. The young man was pped by his father and suddenly burst into tears, kneeling before Chunniang and her people, repeatedly kowtowing, ¡°Wanwan was innocent, please let her go, I can be your servant.¡± ¡°What nonsense!¡± An old woman carrying a crying child came out from the house and pointed at her son, ¡°Do you think she is grateful to you? Have you thought about us? When she set fire to the house, has she considered us for a bit, even your life and the well-being of your child?¡± All these houses are connected for offering living quarters to passing travelers. If it really burned down, not to mention the scope of the loss, but they wouldn¡¯t escape it either because there were still people sleeping in the main house. After this woman set fire, she did not even go to wake them up. A woman as evil as this, yet her son treasured her. The young man was stunned. He turned to look at Chen Wan, and asked, ¡°Wanwan, you¡­¡± Chen Wan turned her head, tears streaming down her face. She now fully remembered everything from her dream, clearly recalling beingvished in luxury and surrounded by servants. But everything was ruined by Yingbao. The reason she had fallen to this state, and even fallen into the hands of such a short and ugly man was all Yingbao¡¯s fault. So she didn¡¯t regret today¡¯s actions, onlymented that she didn¡¯t seed.
Old man Fang sighed, ¡°Eldest son, send her to the officials, or find a rope and let her end her own life. Think about Little Baobao, in a few years he will go to school, we can¡¯t keep a woman who will bring disaster on our future generations in our home.¡± Looking at his wife with a dazed and sorrowful expression, the young man asked, ¡°Wanwan, do you want Baobao and I to die?¡± Chen Wan remained silent. At this point, she no longer wanted to live, why should she lie to herself? If there is a next life, she would strangle Yingbao herself, stuff her in the oven, and eliminate future troubles. ¡­ As dawn was breaking on the second day, Yingbao and her mother mounted their carriage. The caravan slowly left the market and hit the road. Seeing her daughter silent, Chunniang asked, ¡°Darling, do you think Xiaowu might be in Beijing as well?¡± ¡°No, thest time Xiaowu wrote, he said he and Zhang Min had gone to Yizhou, and they¡¯d have to stay there for three years before they coulde back.¡± The Emperor dispatched Jiang Wu and Zhang Min to garrison in Yizhou. It was probably to train them and promote them upon their return. Of course, this was just a guess by Yingbao. She shouldn¡¯t tell her mother now.
Chapter 413: 409: Entering Beijing_1 Chapter 413: Chapter 409: Entering Beijing_1 Ten dayster, the caravan finally arrived in Jiankang. They first crossed the river by boat in batches, and then took a carriage to the majestic city gate. On either side of the gate, soldiers were posted, checking the household registration and travel passes of each merchant and traveler entering the city. Once they were inside the city, the group first found an inn to stay near the Imperial College. Chunniang paid the escorts their escort silver, and also gave them twenty taels of silver for their amodation. Jiang Quan then went to the Imperial College to deliver a letter to Jiang Jie. At noon, Jiang Jie arrived at the inn enthusiastically with his second cousin. ¡°Mom! Sister!¡± As soon as Jiang Jie entered, he saluted Chunniang and Yingbao, ¡°Was the journey smooth?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Chunniang nodded, smiling broadly as she pulled her son in for a closer look: ¡°You¡¯ve grown so tall, it¡¯s a good thing I made your clothes a little longer.¡± Jiang Jie scratched his head: ¡°I¡¯m not as tall as my sister yet.¡± Yingbao smiled: ¡°In a few more years, you¡¯ll be taller than your sister.¡± After chatting for a while, Yingbao asked: ¡°Where does Mr. Wu live? Once we settle down, we¡¯ll go visit him.¡±
Jiang Jie: ¡°Grandpa Wu is currently staying with his daughter-inw. Once I¡¯m rested, I¡¯ll take you to visit him.¡± ¡°Are there any properties for sale in the city? I brought money with me, and I want to buy a house here. It would be more convenient for us to live here.¡± Yingbao asked. Jiang Jie: ¡°There are, but the locations are a bit off. Wu Grandpa and I have been to Teeth Row to have a look.¡± Mr. Wu also wanted to buy a house, but because the location was too remote and the transportation was not convenient, he temporarily stayed at his daughter¡¯s house. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s a bit remote, as long as it¡¯s in the city.¡± Yingbao handed her brother a package: ¡°It contains various kinds of incense pills and health pills. You can take them first.¡± Jiang Jie took the small package, chuckling: ¡°Grandpa Wu often misses the medicine pills you make. He specifically asked me to write to you toe over.¡± Yingbao: ¡­ In fact, Yingbao had sent a few batches of medicine pills to her brother and Mr. Wu, but because the postal service did not ept mail from ordinary people, she had to ask someone else to deliver them, which was somewhat slow. From the side, Chunniang asked, ¡°I heard that Magistrate Wu also came to Beijing. Is he living with his parents at his sister¡¯s home?¡± Jiang Jie shook his head: ¡°Uncle lives in the government office. The emperor said he will assign them a ce to live in the future.¡± As the new dynasty had just stabilized, the living quarters for the officers had not been built yet, so they had to take it slow. Jiang Quan walked into the room and handed the food he bought to the two little maids to set up. Then he sat down on a chair nearby and said to his little cousin, ¡°Yingbao, let¡¯s open a shop in the county. I walked around earlier, and it¡¯s bustling with people doing business in stalls. It¡¯s very lively.¡± ¡°What kind of business are you nning to do?¡± Yingbao asked. Jiang Quan blinked: ¡°How about we open a specialty store?¡± ¡°Where will we get our stock? Where do you n to buy it from?¡± It was not realistic or cost-effective to get supplies from their hometown. Since the supply of mushrooms was limited, if they supplied them to their eldest cousin, they wouldn¡¯t have any for Beijing. The mushrooms in their own cave were also limited, and fruits and the like could not be taken out for sale. ¡°Well, what about¡­¡± Jiang Quan scratched the back of his head, ¡°How about we open a pastry shop?¡± Yingbao thought for a moment, saying, ¡°That could work, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll make much money.¡±
The pastry shops in Beijing are all old brands, and they offer a diverse range of premium products. Some of them, she¡¯d never even seen before. Her second cousin¡¯s half-baked pastry making skills could hardlypete with the popr street food vendors. Hearing this, Jiang Quan immediately wilted. Chunniang said: ¡°You two go out and take a look tomorrow, rest well today and recharge your energy.¡± ¡°Okay.¡±
By this time, Magnolia had already prepared the braised dishes and went to the innkeeper to get several sets of bowls and chopsticks. She then went to the kitchen to fetch arge bucket of rice, inviting her masters to dine. Chunniang and her children took their seats at the table with their nephew, saying, ¡°Eat up, we have plenty to do tomorrow.¡± Everyone agreed, picked up their chopsticks and ate their meals. The next day, Yingbao, with Magnolia and her second cousin, arrived at the Teeth Row. ¡°We want to buy a residence nearby, do you have any suitable properties here?¡± The dealer opened up the ledger, ¡°We do have some, but thoserge mansions can only be sold to officers above the rank of grade six.¡± He looked the siblings up and down: ¡°What rank is your husband? ¡± Yingbao and Jiang Quan were silent, after a while, she asked again, ¡°Where is a suitable house for an Imperial College student?¡± The dealer chuckled, flipped open another booklet: ¡°We have one here, but the price is a bit high. If you can afford it, I can take you to have a look¡­¡± Hence, Yingbao chose a residence with a courtyard extending into two areas and with a dozen rooms or so. There was also arge pond nearby, upying about ten acres. However, this pond was not deep; it was filled with ck sludge and foul-smelling waste water, many ducks were frolicking in it. ¡°Does this pond have an owner?¡± Yingbao asked.
The dealer replied, ¡°No owner, do you, Miss, want to buy this pond?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just asking; if the price is suitable, I may buy it and integrate it with the nearby residence.¡± Yingbao was interested in the pond because it reminded her of the house in Qinchuan County. There was no pool in the courtyard of this house, if she bought them together, she would spend money to renovate it, adding a waterside walkway on one side and a lotus pond on the other. The dealer chuckled,¡±The youngdy has made such a thorough n. Let me check with the County Government. If it is possible to sell, I will inform you.¡± Yingbao nodded, going back to the Teeth Row with the dealer toplete the property transaction, under the name of Jiang Jie. Only Jiang Jie, as a student of the Imperial College, qualified to buy a house in Beijing. Although the house didn¡¯t have many rooms and was quite far from the Imperial City, the yard wasrge enough, and there were also plenty of open spaces outside, where she could nt some trees and even dig out a vegetable garden. If they could also buy the pond, that would be even better. Once they had bought the house, Jiang Quan quickly found someone to refurbish the building and the walls of the courtyard, even recing the decayed doors and windows. After all that, it was time to buy wood to make furniture. This renovation cost Yingbao over a thousand taels of silver, including buying the adjacent pond. One day, after taking a break, Jiang Jie went to visit Mr. Wu¡¯s family with his mother and sister, bringing two baskets of fruit, four jars of fruit wine, and a shell-covered packet of medicated pills as gifts.
Upon arriving at a residence, they saw a que on the gate that read ¡°Luo¡± ¨C Mr. Wu¡¯s son-inw¡¯s home. Mr. Wu¡¯s son-inw,st name Luo, first name Guang, was an officer in the Department of Rites of the sixth rank. His residence was also merely deux courts style, with just over twenty rooms. Under the guidance of the servant, Yingbao and her party entered the courtyard, the front yard was quite cramped with a stable on each side and a part that served as a kitchen yard. They went through the Moon Gate, into the backyard ¨C the main living area of the residents. They saw ady of about thirty and two maids standing under the porch. When they saw Yingbao and Spring Mother arrived, they hurried forward to greet them. ¡°You must be Sister-inw Jiang,¡± thedy greeted Spring Mother with a beaming smile, ¡°Pleasee in.¡± Spring Mother and Yingbao hurriedly returned the courtesy. Jiang Jie introduced at the side, ¡°Mother, this is Aunt Wu, Mr. Wu¡¯s daughter.¡± Spring mother smiled and said, ¡°Greetings, Madam Wu.¡± Yingbao also greeted her, ¡°Hello, Madam Wu.¡± ¡°Oh, Sister-inw Jiang, don¡¯t be too formal, just call me Mei. Come in quickly, it¡¯s too hot outside,¡± Madam Wu grabbed Yingbao¡¯s hand, beaming at her and said: ¡°Father always talked about you. It¡¯s great to finally meet you today. Thank you so much for the medicated pills you sent, my mother is safe now because of it.¡± Chapter 414: 410: Clear Eyebrows and Bright Eyes_1 Chapter 414: Chapter 410: Clear Eyebrows and Bright Eyes_1 Yingbao Jiang Jie and Ajie¡¯s mother followed Wu Jiang into the room, paying respects to the elderly Madam Luo and Madam Wu of the Luo Family: ¡°Greetings to you, old madam.¡± ¡°Very good,e and sit.¡± Madam Wu and Madam Luo smiled and waved their hands, signaling Chunniang and Yingbao to sit by their side. Everyone took their seats one by one. Old Lady Wu, holding Yingbao¡¯s hand,ughed and said, ¡°We haven¡¯t seen each other for over a decade, and you have grown so much. Yingbao, do you still remember me?¡± Yingbao smiled and replied, ¡°Of course, old madam is looking younger and younger.¡± ¡°Laughter filled the room as old Madam Wu patted Yingbao¡¯s hand: ¡°That¡¯s all thanks to the health pills you sent me. Now, my back doesn¡¯t ache, my legs don¡¯t hurt, and even my headaches are gone.¡± Yingbao smiled. The health pills she sent to old Mr Wu had been enhanced with Five Tripod Ganoderma and brewed using Pupil Spring water. Together with some nourishing medicinal ingredients, the pills were excellent for the health of the elderly. Meanwhile, Madam Luo was talking to Chunniang and Jiang Jie about farming and sericulture, demonstrating her knowledge and experience on the topic. Wu Jiang went out to instruct the steward to prepare a banquet, asking a maid to bring her daughters back from the Jingsi House. ¡°Jin Chan, go and fetch your sisters. We have guests at home; bring them here so they can chat.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jin Chan agreed and ran off, lifting her skirt as she went. Soon, two girls around the age of thirteen or fourteen slowly walked in.
The maid at the door announced loudly, ¡°The eldest and second youngdies are back!¡± Yingbao, who was seated next to Madam Wu, turned towards the sound and saw two graceful young girls stepping over the threshold, paying their respects to the two olddies. Wu Jiang, standing nearby,ughed and said, ¡°Zhao¡¯er, Yue¡¯er,e and meet Jiang Jie¡¯s mother and elder sister.¡± The two young girls immediately greeted Chunniang and Yingbao Jiang Jie, ¡°Good day, Mrs. Jiang, and Sister Jiang. Hello, Brother Ajie.¡± Chunniang and Yingbao quickly returned the courtesy. Wu Jiang added, ¡°These are my two daughters, the eldest is Luo Zhao, who is fourteen this year, and the younger one is Luo Yue, who is thirteen.¡± ¡°Miss Zhao, Miss Yue.¡± Yingbao called out their names. Luo Zhao went to Yingbao right away, saying, ¡°Sister Yingbao, you can call me Zhao¡¯er from now on. There¡¯s no need for formality, Brother Ajie calls me that as well.¡± Luo Yue was a bit shy, but she still said to Yingbao, ¡°Sister Yingbao, you can call me Yue¡¯er.¡± Yingbao chuckled, ¡°Then from now on, I¡¯ll call you Sister Zhao¡¯er and Sister Yue¡¯er.¡± The two girls were delighted and started chatting with Yingbao. Observing how harmoniously the children were getting along, Wu Jiang and her mother-inw could not help but smile contentedly, their hearts silently agreeing with each other. Seeing Yingbao upied by the two girls, Madam Wu turned to Jiang Jie and said, ¡°Ajie, next time when you are off duty, we should take your mother and sister to visit the Ling Mountain Temple. The weather right now is not too hot and is perfect for travelling.¡± To Madam Wu, Jiang Jie, who had been raised almost single-handedly by the elderly man, is like her own grandson and naturally part of the family. Wu Jiang added, ¡°Yes, my mother-inw made a promise to the gods, we should all go.¡± Jiang Jie simply agreed, ¡°Yes.¡± Lunch time came quickly. The Luo family held a banquet to entertain Chunniang and her two children. After the banquet, the three guests said goodbye and left for home. Luo Zhao was reluctant to part, gripping Yingbao¡¯s hand, ¡°Sister Yingbao, what do you do at home all day? Can¡­can Ie and see?¡±
Yingbao smiled, ¡°Sure, once our home renovations areplete in a few days, I will invite you and the old Madam and Madam Wu to visit.¡± ¡°Great.¡± Luo Zhao was overjoyed and whispered, ¡°I will bring you some rouge when that timees.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yingbao climbed into the carriage, gave a wave to the two young girls, and lowered the carriage curtain. She then turned to check on her younger brother.
Her younger brother was already fourteen years old, handsome and charming in appearance. Truly a graceful young man. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Jiang Jie shot a disgruntled look at his sister. ¡°Don¡¯t get any weird ideas!¡± Yingbao: ¡°Who¡¯s getting weird ideas? I was just thinking how you¡¯ve grown up, and it¡¯s about time we find you a wife.¡± She turned to Chunniang and added, ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, mother?¡± Chunniangughed: ¡°Yes.¡± Jiang Jie made a face and huffed, ¡°You haven¡¯t even gotten married yet, why are we talking about me?¡± Yingbao blinked her eyes: ¡°Because I have to provide for our parents in their old age.¡± Jiang Jie: ¡°Xiaowu and I will take care of that! Women should get married early, to take care of their husbands and teach their children¡­¡± Yingbao reached out to pinch his ear: ¡°What did you say?¡± Jiang Jie held his ear and cried out in pain, ¡°Just because you can¡¯t make a point, you resort to this? Don¡¯t you have any conscience?¡± Looking at her children¡¯s antics, Chunniang¡¯s heart pounded with anxiety. Her daughter was indeed not young anymore. Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Wen had both brought up the topic of marriage before, but her daughter kept insisting that she was still young and didn¡¯t want to discuss marriage so early. And Jiang Sang also said that there would be no shortage of good matches for his daughter. He suggested to wait until Xiaojie had a stable upation before finding a better family for his daughter to marry into. But the sons of those good families might not wait forever, with many young girlspeting for their attention.
What if her daughter got older and the young men suitable for her age were all taken away? Then wouldn¡¯t her daughter have to ept a less desirable match? The thought of this made Chunniang very uneasy. But her daughter seemed determined to stay single, leaving her with no option but to worry. When they got home, Yingbao went to check the situation by the pond. Tens ofborers were digging out the pond mud and cleaning the dirty water. It would probably take another month to finish. Jiang Quan came back from outside saying, ¡°I¡¯ve ordered bricks and tiles from the kilns outside the city. The wood will be delivered in half a month.¡± His younger cousin nned to build several rooms and a few corridors by the pond, and also nned to enclose the entire pond area, requiring a lot of bricks and tiles. In order to save money, Jiang Quan made an effort to find a brick kiln outside the city and ced an order directly with them. ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard.¡± Yingbao poured him a cup of water, ¡°I¡¯ve decided what kind of shop we will open in Beijing.¡± Jiang Quan lifted the tea and took a sip, then asked, ¡°What kind of shop?¡± ¡°A four-season bonsai shop.¡± The secret cavern allowed Yingbao to quickly grow many nts and flowers without consuming other resources, making this the most cost-effective business n. Besides, many officials¡¯ families in Beijing loved to decorate their homes with unique mountains, peculiar stones, and exotic nts. Just like the Luo Family, despite their congested living quarters, they still liked to ce various peculiar stones in the courtyard and raise many potted nts.
Jiang Quan: ¡°But we don¡¯t know how to make bonsai, and we don¡¯t even know where to source the stones used in the bonsai.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a problem, we don¡¯t need to sell the peculiar stones initially. We just need to sell nts in autumn and winter.¡± It was almost autumn, and if she sold flowers like peonies, peach blossoms, and crabapples that bloomed in the spring, she was sure there would be buyers. Jiang Quan scratched his head: ¡°Alright.¡± He didn¡¯t think much of this business venture. Being a fruit vendor for so long, he felt ufortable changing directions now. However, since his cousin suggested it, he thought he might as well give it a try. What if it turned out to be sessful? In that case, he could settle in Beijing and buy his own house there. After buying a house, he could bring his parents to enjoy their retirement in Beijing. Indeed, he could also bring his grandparents; they had never been to Beijing in their entire lives, and this could be an opportunity for them to broaden their horizons. Chapter 415: 411: Narrow Road for Enemies_1 Chapter 415: Chapter 411: Narrow Road for Enemies_1 July came in a sh. This month is time forypeople to honor their ancestors. There¡¯s also a belief that the souls of ancestors are weed back home for a reunion, hence it¡¯s inappropriate to visit friends or marry during this month. Therefore, Yingbao and her mother remained at home for the entire month, except for one time when they went with Old Madam Luo to pay their respects at Ling Mountain Temple. The rest of the time was spent at home, tending to newly purchased flower pots and nts. Her mother, Chunniang, helped nt many flowers for her daughter; some seedlings were purchased from florists, while others were grafted and transnted herself. Yingbao cultivated a significant number of mandarins and peaches in pots; they were budding now and would soon bear fruit. One day, her younger brother, Jiang Jie, suddenly brought Li Xu home. It turned out that Li Xu was also taking the imperial examination this year and had just arrived in Beijing. However, Wen Shu and Lady Wen didn¡¯t apany him. They simply had two servants escort Li Xu to Beijing. Chunniang promptly arranged a room for Li Xu. Li Xu didn¡¯t hold back. He spent his days with Jiang Jie, sometimes even attending lectures with Mr. Wu.
Soon it was August, time for Jiang Jie and Li Xu to take the Imperial examination. Yingbao prepared examination baskets for both of them, stocked with medicinal pills and various foods. Since it was autumn, and the nights could be quite cold, Yingbao also prepared quilt and cloak for them. She provided a candle and charcoal brazier for each and two wind-blocking oilcloths, along with a hammer, nails, and so forth. Thinking back to her brother¡¯s embarrassing situation during the provincial examination, she also prepared a pee pot and a chamber pot for him. If he has indigestion, he can use the chamber pot as a temporary toilet. Afterwards, he can just dispose of it. This was certainly preferable to having the examiner leave a ¡°shit stamp¡± on his exam paper. The imperial examination was simr to the provincial examination, nine days long with examinations held across three rounds eachsting three days, and with breaks in between each round. During these nine days, the examinees were crammed into tinypartments, barely able to sleep at night. If it rained, an examinee could fall sick from the cold or dampen his examination papers, all his years of hard work and studying can be ruined. In the early morning, when it was still dark outside, Yingbao and her stepbrothers sent Jiang Jie and Li Xu to the Examination Yard. They watched as the two boys carried their heavy examination baskets into the gates before they returned home in the coach. It was still dark, Jiang Quan went back to sleep, while Yingbaoy and chatted with her mother. ¡°Baobao, do you think Xiaojie will pass?¡± Chunniang asked. Yingbao replied, ¡°He will.¡± And even if he doesn¡¯t, it doesn¡¯t matter. He¡¯s still young and can try again in three years. Chunniang: ¡°Once Xiaojie bes an official, your mother can ask Madam Wu to find a good match for you.¡± Yingbao let out a sigh. Chunniang sighed: ¡°Baobao, we can¡¯t dy this any longer. Look at everybody else. They get engaged at the age of thirteen or fourteen and get married at fifteen or sixteen. When your mother married your father, she was only ¡­¡± Yingbao turned her head. ¡°Only what?¡± Chunniang coughed softly. ¡°Just in her teens.¡± Yingbaoughed quietly, ¡°I heard from dad that you married him when you were neen.¡± ¡°Nonsense! Your mother was only eighteen.¡± Chunniang scolded, ¡°Your father only talks nonsense!¡±
Yingbaoughed for a while and then said seriously, ¡°Mom, I won¡¯t marry until I¡¯m twenty-one.¡± ¡°What? Twenty-one?¡± Chunniang pinched her daughter: ¡°By then, are there any suitable choices left?¡± Most men marry or get engaged by the time they have theiring-of-age ceremony around twenty years old. ¡°Then I just won¡¯t marry.¡± She didn¡¯t care about getting married; she just wanted to stay with her parents.
¡°No way!¡± Chunniang thought for a while and suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t you get engaged first, then¡­ wait until you¡¯re twenty-one to have the wedding.¡± Yingbao kept silent. Her mother was being too na?ve. What man would wait that long? Moreover, if she were to die at the age of twenty-one, wouldn¡¯t that harm others? Chunniang continued to mutter to herself. ¡°Wei Zhan is a good boy, and so is Wen Hengyin. You know their mothers well, so you two will definitely get along.¡± ¡°Xiao Xiaoyao is now a Colonel, and he might get promoted soon.¡± ¡°If you are not interested in any of them, I could ask Madam Wu to¡­¡± When Chunniang turned her head, she noticed that her daughter had closed her eyes and fallen asleep, lightly snoring. ¡°You mischievous girl.¡± She pinched her daughter¡¯s nose before closing her eyes too. ¡­ On the third day, Yingbao and her second brother went to fetch them. Outside the entrance of the Examination Yard, examinees were exiting continuously with their exam baskets in hand. Their robes werepletely crinkled, their hair was messy, and they were staggering as they came out of the barrier range.
Some guys¡¯ faces were as pale as snow, their beards scruffy, seeming as if they would faint any moment. Their servants or family members hurriedly helped them, and carried them onto the donkey or ox carts. Yingbao furrowed her brows, standing in front of her carriage and looking towards the Examination Yard. The number of people exiting was increasing, some were cheerful, others seemed as if they were attending a funeral. There was even someone who had actually fainted, being carried out of the Examination Yard by the government official. Finally, she saw her younger brother Jiang Jie, Yingbao waved at him. Jiang Quan rushed forward, he took Jiang Jie¡¯s exam basket, and ced it on the carriage. Jiang Jie¡¯s condition was quite good. He blushed and asked his sister to move aside, and he threw the pee-pot from his exam basket into the trash heap. Quickly, Li Xu also came out, Jiang Quan ran over to help him with his exam basket and helped him onto the carriage. When they returned home, Chunniang asked Magnolia and Xinghua to heat water for Jiang Jie and Li Xu to bathe and change clothes. Both of them washed their hair with soap-nut powder, put on clean clothes, and then sat down to eat. Yingbao made shredded chicken porridge for the two of them, and added five dingzhi mushrooms to it. After eating, both hurried to sleep. Chunniang and Yingbao arranged the things in their exam baskets again.
The food earlier kept in their exam baskets was all eaten, even several of the medicine pills were missing which showed that they had consumed them. Yingbao ced two packets of pastries containing five dingzhi mushrooms in the exam baskets again, and replenished the medicine pills. Early the next morning, she sent them off to the exam yard again¡­ After three days of exams, Jiang Jie and Li Xu had be significantly haggard. This was not surprising, they hadn¡¯t been able to rest well every night, and this had been going on for several days, even a machine wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it. After resting at home for a day, Mr. Wu arrived. He looked at the two people¡¯s answered exam sheets, stroked his beard and smiled, ¡°Not bad, if there are no surprises, both of you will surely be on the list of sessful candidates.¡± On hearing this, Jiang Jie and Li Xu sighed slightly with relief and bowed to thank Mr. Wu. Next up was just waiting for the announcement of results. Meanwhile, the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching. Yingbao prepared three gifts: one for Mr. Wu and Wu Daozi, and one to send to the Luo Family. Each gift included two baskets of fruits, two boxes of golden ears and snow fungus, and two jars of grape wine. Soon they also received gifts in return which included moon cakes in elegant wooden boxes, the most famous four-colored pastries in the area, and some silk cloth.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the renovation of the Jiang Family¡¯s house was finallypleted, and the furniture was also ready. Only the pond in the backyard was not yet ready, which would probably take another two to three months. Yingbao ced several potted nts in the courtyard such as begonia, magnolia, peony, peach blossom, plum blossom, chrysanthemum, etc., which were all in full bloom, creating a colorful vista. Then she wrote an invitation letter and had the servants send it to the Luo family and Mr. Wu along with Wu Daozi, inviting them to be a guest at her home the day after. To prepare the ingredients for the banquet, Yingbao took Xinghua to the market to purchase items. Since the market was a little far from their home, she asked the coachman to take them there by carriage. In front of a cake shop, she asked the coachman to stop, and Yingbao and Xinghua got off the carriage. ¡°These cakes look wonderful.¡± Xinghua was stunned by the variety of cakes in the shop. But what astonished her even more were the prices: ¡°My God! A small pack actually costs two coins!¡± Yingbao ignored Xinghua¡¯s surprise, and asked the shopkeeper to pack six bags of pastries. Xinghua carefully held the pastries, but just as she was turning around, she bumped into someone, almost dropping the pastries on the ground. ¡°Oh! What the heck are you doing?¡± Xinghua eximed, and quickly stabilized the pastries. Yingbao looked up and saw several people standing at the door of the shop, among them, two women were particrly eye-catching. At one nce, she recognized the two women to be Han Yueniang and her daughter Chen Tiantian. The person next to them turned out to be Xiao Chengjun. It was truly said, enemies always cross each other¡¯s path. Even in Beijing, she ran into these hapless individuals. Chapter 416: 412: Blood Splattering From the Nose_1 Chapter 416: Chapter 412: Blood Sttering From the Nose_1 At a nce, Chen Tiantian was taken aback by Yingbao. But she quickly recognized who the young girl in front of her was. Her countenance changed several times as she forced a smile, ¡°Yingbao, you¡¯ve alsoe to Beijing.¡± Yingbao nced at her and gave a small nod, lifting her skirt to cross the threshold. Seeing Yingbao walking away without looking back, Chen Tiantian subconsciously followed a few steps, ¡°Yingbao, there¡¯s something I need to discuss with you.¡± Yingbao climbed onto the horse carriage and looked down at her, ¡°If you have something to say, say it here.¡± Chen Tiantian looked around and pleaded, ¡°Can we find a quieter ce?¡± Yingbao gave a faint smile, ¡°It seems quite quiet here, just speak.¡± She was curious about what Chen Tiantian wanted to say. Seeing Yingbao¡¯s nonchnt demeanor made Chen Tiantian angry, but she had no choice but to swallow her pride, ¡°Yingbao, actually, you and I are maternal cousins. My mother is your biological aunt. You and Chen Zhao and Chen Wan are blood sisters.¡± ¡°Where did you get that information?¡± Yingbao looked at her indifferently as her heart remained calm. ¡°I¡­¡± Chen Tiantian hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth, ¡°I was told by a¡­ wise person.¡±
The voice in her head, in fact, hasn¡¯t spoken to her in a long time. Ever since the time when she suddenly spat out blood and fainted, that voice hadn¡¯t given her any advice. On the contrary, Chen Tiantian had been feeling increasingly weaktely, herplexion getting progressively paler. Even her skin had darkened considerably. If not for the thickyer of makeup on her face, she wouldn¡¯t dare to show herself in public. She had a hunch that it was all because of something Yingbao had done. But she had no idea what exactly that thing was. Today, she could meet Yingbao in Beijing, Chen Tiantian was shocked and overjoyed, instinctively wanting to seize this opportunity to find out the truth. She really didn¡¯t want to die. She wanted to live a long, long life, to outlive Yingbao, that petty wench. ¡°Oh?¡± Yingbao asked with a look of indifference. ¡°What do you want to achieve by telling me all this now?¡± Chen Tiantian wiped her eyes with her sleeve, grief-stricken, ¡°Your parents are both gone, and now you and I are the closest rtives. Yingbao, as long as we, as sisters, unite and work together, our lives will get better and better.¡± Yingbao chuckled, ¡°Even without you, I¡¯m doing quite well.¡± Then her face hardened, ¡°And moreover, my parents are doing just fine. So please take your fake face elsewhere, don¡¯t disgust me.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Chen Tiantian was so angry she pointed at Yingbao, ¡°You don¡¯t even recognize your ancestors anymore? Chen Yingbao, you¡¯re a Chen, not a Jiang! People like you who regard invader as the father will be thrown into the frying pan after death¡­ah¡­¡± Before she could finish speaking, Chen Tiantian was fiercely whipped on the head twice. One of the blows grazed her cheek, leaving a red mark that quickly started to swell. ¡°Jiang Yingbao! How dare youmit violence on the street!¡± Xiao Chengjun was outraged and rushed over to attack Yingbao. Yingbao squinted her eyes, dropped the whip in her hand, quickly jumped off the horse carriage and delivered a punch straight at Xiao Chengjun¡¯s face. The punch carried a wind, hitting Xiao Chengjun hard in the face. Blood sttered from his nose as he was thrown several feet away,nding on his back and stirring up a cloud of dust. ¡°Ah¡­ Murder!¡± Chen Tiantian ran quickly to Han Yueniang, screaming in fear with trembling hands and feet. Yingbao slowly walked over, giving her a cold look, ¡°Chen Tiantian, who gave you the courage to provoke me time and again?¡± If it wasn¡¯t broad daylight, and she wasn¡¯t worried about affecting her brother¡¯s career, she would have ended these two on the spot. Han Family stood in front of her daughter, looking terrified at the beautiful young girl standing before them, stammering, ¡°You¡­how dare you hurt Xiao Chengjun?¡±
Yingbao scoffed, ¡°He¡¯s just a defeated soldier. What does it matter if he gets hurt? Besides, he started it.¡± Old master Wu told her before, the emperor was keeping the Xiao brothers just because the Xiao family had deep roots and couldn¡¯t be moved temporarily. Once the time was right, or if the Xiao brothers made a big mistake, they would be dealt with all together. Han Yueniang stopped talking immediately upon hearing this.
Despite being titled Marquis Changshou, the Xiao family was suffering every day. The family¡¯s steward and servants were all assigned by the officials. If the Xiao family wanted to have some tonic or make new clothes, they needed the permission of the family steward. The thought of her own daughter following Xiao Chengjun made her feel hopeless. If it were not for the birthmark on her daughter¡¯s face, she would even consider allowing her daughter to be a concubine of a high-ranking officer, which would be preferable to suffering aimlessly alongside Xiao Chengjun. After scrutinizing the mother and daughter, Yingbao sneered and climbed into the carriage, signaling the coachman to drive off. The crowd of onlookers grew, but no one dared to intervene. Everyone was stunned by the unfolding scene. Shockingly, a teenage girl knocked a young man unconscious with a single punch! An event like this was unheard of, even in the past, and will likely never happen again. A fierce woman like this had better be avoided. When Yingbao returned home, she saw Xinghua gazing at her with wide eyes, seemingly on the verge of saying something. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yingbao asked. Xinghua scratched her head, lowered her voice and said, ¡°Mistress, could you, could you extend your hand for me to see? I want to see if it¡¯s swollen.¡± Yingbaoughed and stretched her hand out for Xinghua to look at, turning it this way and that. ¡°See clearly, it¡¯s not swollen.¡± Xinghua couldn¡¯t believe it. She held her mistress¡¯s hand and took a closer look ¨C indeed, it wasn¡¯t swollen, but a little red on the surface. The gentleman¡¯s skin must have been extremely thick. Her youngdy¡¯s hand didn¡¯t swell despite the man¡¯s nosebleed from the punch.
The next day, the elderly Madame Luo came to the Jiang household with her son, daughter-inw, and three grandchildren. Mr. Wu and his wife, along with their son, also came. Everyone was astounded by the potted nts that filled the courtyard. ¡°It¡¯s incredible that peonies are blooming in this weather,¡± Luo said, pinching the petals of a peony flower to confirm it was real. Wu Jiangughed and said, ¡°Mother, you don¡¯t know this, but Yingbao¡¯s original home also had a lot of flowers and fruit trees. My father said that it was a paradise on earth.¡± This piece of information struck Madame Luo with further awe. Together with everyone, they examined every flowering nt before settling indoors. Chunniang and her daughter entertained the guests, while Mr. Wu led his son, Jiang Jie, and Li Xu to see the unfinished pavilion and promenade. He stroked his beard and said to his son, ¡°We should buy a residence nearby as well. Far from the trouble, it will be morefortable.¡± Wu Shi nodded, ¡°I will look for an agent to ask around for suitable houses for sale nearby.¡± The closer to the Imperial City, the denser the poption. Residences are generally small, except for some noble families that haverger courtyards. Furthermore, the Emperor already has several consorts, two of whom are pregnant. If they give birth to princes, new pces will be prepared, and again, the residences of lower-ranking officials andmon people will need to be relocated. Wu Shi didn¡¯t want his painstakingly arranged house to be demolished again, so he decided to y it safe and move to a quieter area. Although it would be less convenient tomute, they had a carriage at home, and the journey would not take too much time. Mr. Wu stroked his beard and said, ¡°Eldest son, you¡¯re not young anymore. Once the house is built, you should quickly get married. Look at those your age, even their children are getting married.¡±
Wu Shi remained silent, which was as good as consent. Seeing his son did not object this time, Mr. Wu could not help but feel relieved, finding his son more agreeable. After chatting with Mrs. Wu and Mrs. Luo for a while, Yingbao excused herself to prepare the banquet. She ced the fruit juices and fruit wines on the table, washed and cut some fruits, and arranged them on arge te. Upon arriving in the kitchen, she saw that some of the dishes had been prepared and were being kept warm in the steamer by the cook, who would then prepare the next one. Yingbao was bothered by the sight of the cook and the coachman, one tending to the fire while the other stir frying the dishes. They were terribly busy. The household was severely understaffed, which became evident whenever they had guests. Thankfully, the crowd was manageable for the time being. However, if more guests were to arrive one day, they would certainly be insufficiently equipped. Chapter 417: 413: Catching the Groom Under the List_1 Chapter 417: Chapter 413: Catching the Groom Under the List_1 Yingbao was making some mental calctions: She would have to hire two more people for the kitchen, and two maids for her mother¡¯s room. Plus, she needed one housekeeper who would take care of domestic affairs, and a shrewd butler for outside matters. Two coachmen ought to be hired, and her younger brother should have two more boys to assist him as well as a master. With all that considered, she needed to hire more than ten servants. Not only did she have to pay them monthly, but she also had to provide their clothes for all four seasons, daily necessities, and three meals a day. That was the basic condition. Suddenly, Yingbao felt that the money she had saved was not enough. She tapped her forehead in frustration. Right, her second cousin also needed to hire a couple of boys. Those boys needed to be young so they could grow up serving their master and would not betray him. ¡°Miss, the dishes are all ready. Shall we start the feast now?¡± the cook, Mrs. Liu, asked with a smile. Yingbao nodded, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s serve the dishes now. I will go to the backyard to call everyone.¡± Normally, that would be a servant¡¯s job, but since the cook was busy and the maids were needed to serve tea and water in the backyard, Yingbao had toe to the kitchen herself to supervise. Soon, all the guests were seated at the banquet ¨C men at one table, women at another.
The vegetables, drinks, and so on were all produced by her family estate. Even the fish and shrimps were from their own pond. Only the pork and mutton were bought from the market by Jiang Quan. Everyone praised how delicious the food was ¨C much better than what their own cooks made at home. Especially the fruit wine and fruit juice, which greatly pleased Luo, the steward. He drank several sses and got a bit drunk. With augh, he pped Jiang Jie on the shoulder and slurred, ¡°Ajie, I, I have faith in you. Once the, the results are announced, I will promise my daughter, Zhao, to you!¡± Jiang Jie blinked, his face slowly turning red. Sitting at the other table, Luo Zhao heard this and smiled slightly. But Luo Yue turned pale and teared up. Madame Luo, embarrassed by her son¡¯s drunken words, coughed lightly and changed the subject. ¡°Madam Chun, where did you buy this fruit juice from? I feel so refreshed after drinking it.¡± Madam Chun replied with a smile, ¡°We made it ourselves. If you like it, I can prepare more for you to try.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s so kind of you, sister-inw.¡± Wu Jiang quickly pitched in, cursing her husband in her heart for such overstepping. This was an engagement matter. Since when did the bride¡¯s side make the first move? What if the groom¡¯s side disagreed? Wouldn¡¯t it ruin her daughter¡¯s reputation? Sigh, since her husband had brought it up, regardless, she would have to carefully n it. After all, Jiang Jie was an excellent boy, and the Jiang family greatly trusted by the emperor. His future was sure to be bright. Marrying her daughter into such a prestigious family, likely soon to rise further, was far better than marrying into any of those old aristocratic families from previous dynasty. Wu Jiang stole another nce at Yingbao. The breathtakingly beautiful young girl, simply sitting there was like a painting. She wondered which affluent family she would marry into in the future. What a pity that her own son was still young, or else¡­ Just as she was thinking, she noticed her legitimate daughter was on the verge of tears and frowned. Was this girl, too, harboring some inappropriate thoughts? How dared she behave like this in someone else¡¯s house? Was she, her mother, too lenient with her?
Once they returned home, she would have a word or two with her. Ajie, on the other hand, was an exceptional young boy. She was way out of his league, wasn¡¯t she? Wu Jiang took a sip of the fruit juice and said to Yingbao with a smiling eye, ¡°Yingbao, when Ajie passes the examination, let¡¯s go to Fragrant Mountain to pray and fulfill our vows. The temple there is really effective, you know? Every September, even the Emperor would go there for a visit.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Yingbao nodded.
ording to the tradition of Ascending Heights in September, she and her mom nned to have excursions to some scenic spots nearby. Upon returning home, they could share these experiences with their father. If her little brother stayed in Beijing for his official duty, she would bring her grandparents to have a look at the capital city. After the meal, the guests returned home, and Yingbao gave some flowers to both Madame Luo and the Steward Luo as gifts. She also invited Mr. Wu and his wife to stay at her ce. Mr. Wu and his wife dly epted the invitation, as they were scouting around for properties for sale, which would make visiting each other easier in the future. Finally, the day of the examination results arrived. Jiang Quan went with Li Xu and Jiang Jie to check the results. Outside the Examination Yard, the crowd was as thick as a wall. All were there to see the results. A handful of them were family members of wealthy businessmen and government officials, some of whom nned to find a husband for their daughters under the lists. The auspicious time arrived, the doors of the Examination Yard opened, and several Government Officials carried out the yellow lists. Suddenly, the crowd started to stir. Criers, wearing red flowers and red belts around their waists, rushed forward and quickly ran off after receiving the names and ranks on the list from the officials. The more households they visited, the more rewards they received. They couldn¡¯t miss this opportunity that only came around once every three years, they had to earn as much as possible. Jiang Quan immediately noticed his cousin¡¯s name appeared third in the first rank. He cried out, ¡°Ajie! You¡¯re ranked third! Third!¡±
His shout caught everyone¡¯s attention in the crowd gathered around the lists. Immediately, two or three men in embroidered seizes moved closer and started making small talk: ¡°Young sir, could you tell us who the third schr is?¡± Ecstatically, Jiang Quan embraced his little cousin andughed out loud. ¡°You¡¯re the third schr!¡± Jiang Jie smiled awkwardly as he freed himself from his second cousin and pointed at the list. ¡°Let¡¯s see what rank Mr. Li received.¡± Li Xu was pretty talented and had greatly improved after receiving instructions from Mr. Wu. Since Jiang Jie was ranked third, Li Xu couldn¡¯t be far behind. He was convinced that he must have ced in the second rank. And indeed, Li Xu was ranked fifth in the second rank. Jiang Jie was overjoyed. By ranking third, his cousin was guaranteed an official post in Beijing, allowing him to benefit from that connection. He would be able to buy a house and settle in Beijing without any problems. But¡­ Why were these men holding onto his cousin and Mr. Li without letting go? Were they nning to kidnap them? ¡°Hey! What are you doing? Why are you holding onto my cousin Ajie?¡± Jiang Jie pushed his way through and shouted angrily. ¡°What¡¯s the deal with this dragging and pulling? Is this how you invite guests?¡± The men made conciliatory gestures and exined. ¡°I¡¯m from Mr. Zhang¡¯s family at the Ministry of Revenue. We¡¯d like to invite you to visit our house.¡± ¡°I¡¯m from Wang Yuan-wai¡¯s family on the east side of the city. Please kindly visit our house to appreciate the chrysanthemum.¡±
¡°I¡¯m from the Zhao family on the west side of the city¡­¡± Jiang Quan dismissively swung his hand. ¡°We¡¯re currently unavable. We already have guests at home.¡± ¡°No worries at all.¡± One of the men shoved invitation cards into the hands of Jiang Jie and Li Xu, thought for a moment, and put another one in Jiang Quan¡¯s hand. ¡°We still hope you gentlemen could attend our event the day after tomorrow. We have three eligible youngdies whose beauty surpasses a flower¡­¡± Before he could finish, he was shoved aside by two other men. These two also handed invitation cards to Jiang Quan, Jiang Jie, and Li Xu. ¡°Please kindly visit our house¡­¡± In the end, Jiang Quan and a servant finally managed to pull Jiang Jie and Li Xu from the crowd and run to their carriage, only to breathe a sigh of relief once they were safely inside. That was terrifying! So, it was true that people actually came to the examination site to find a husband for their daughters. Among those who were looking for husbands for their daughters, some were aristocrats and even stewards from a family of a third-rank official who invited newly-established top schrs to their homes. But of course, they were selective about who they asked. First they favored high ranking young schrs, and secondly those who were young and handsome. Even if he is not a top schr, as long as he is handsome, it is eptable. Chapter 418: 414: Sin Slave_1 Chapter 418: Chapter 414: Sin ve_1 When Mr. Wu learned that his disciple had won third ce in the first rank, he couldn¡¯t stop grinning. He also felt a sense of relief. ¡°Good! Well done! I knew that boy was exceptional.¡± Standing in the courtyard, he watched one wave after another of messengersing to give the good news, stroking his beard and smiling. Meanwhile, Mrs. Wu also smiled and said: ¡°This is great. Ajie will surely be able to stay in Beijing.¡± Anyone who ranks third in the first rank of the examination, without any idents, would undoubtedly enter the Hanlin Academy. After umting a few years of seniority, they would have the chance to enter the cab. This is to say, all the Cab officials are graduates of the first rank. Jiang Jie is so young. In a few years, he will be in the prime of his life. With the emperor¡¯s support, rising up to the high ranks of the cab will not be unlikely. Moreover, he hails from a poor farming family with noplicated background, which is just the type of talent the new emperor is looking for. In the future, the Jiang family might truly prosper. Mrs. Wu was thinking gleefully, if her granddaughter could marry into the Jiang family, their future would surely be promising. At this moment, Chunniang and Yingbao were busy tipping the messengers, while having a couple of young maids bring tables and stools so they could sit down and have some tea.
The Wu family¡¯s servants also helped to set up tents in the courtyard, inviting the bearers of good news to sit inside the tents. Yingbao asked the cook to prepare meals and a feast to feed the messengers. There were plenty of dishes prepared at home, including chicken, duck, goose, fish, pork, andmb, which had all been cooked in the morning and merely needed slicing. The remaining vegetables were much simpler, just stir fry a few different kinds of small dishes as side dishes, and the banquet was ready. By the time Jiang Quan returned with Jiang Jie and Li Xu, the Luo family¡¯s congrattions party had arrived. Not only the Luo family but the Wen family also sent people. They were not here to congratte but to take Li Xu to stay at the Wen family, saying that he, as the son-inw of the Wen family, should not stay in another¡¯s house. Li Xu didn¡¯t want to go to the Wen family, but the person who came said that Old Lady Wen had personally instructed to take him back home. With no other choice, Li Xu had to say goodbye to Chunniang and Mr. Wu, and then he followed the Wen family¡¯s steward onto the donkey cart. On the third day, the Emperor held a feast in the Imperial Pce, inviting all the schrs who made the list to join the banquet in the pce. Afterwards, the emperor awarded robes and cors, and all the schrs, riding tall horses, led by the top three among the first rank, paraded along the royal street with the Imperial Guards clearing the way on both sides. Jiang Jie, sitting on a horse draped in red silk, wearing a feathered hat, was asionally showered with flowers and silk handkerchiefs from young girls on either side of the road, feeling rather helplessly amused. When passing in front of a restaurant, he saw countless flowers and petals falling from above. Looking up, he saw that his elder sister, leading two little maids, was throwing flowers at him, which made him smile. Everyone turned their gaze to the upstairs of the building, and they saw a banner hanging there, which read: ¡°Four Seasons Fresh Flowers and Fruit Pot nts, Half Price on the First Day of Opening.¡± So it turns out they were selling pot nts; no wonder then. Looking at the flowers and petals that fell,rge and small, brightly colored and seemingly of many varieties, he couldn¡¯t help but marvel. They were remarkably generous! Almost every schr had been baptized with these flower petals, and even the Imperial Guards and the citizens received a few piecesnding on their heads. However, the people who followed the parade got a clear view of the youngdy upstairs. She was very beautiful, daintily scattering petals over and over again like a heavenly maiden. People were drawn to this newly opened shop, and they saw four big characters on the que at the entrance: ¡°Jiang¡¯s Pot nts¡±. There were quite a few flower pot nts disyed at the entrance of the shop. A young man in a white robe, around twenty, remarkably handsome, was standing at the entrance, grinning at everyone.
Some people were infected by his smile, walked into the shop and took a look around, they were soon stunned by the various flowers and fruit pot nts inside. When they walked out, they had a pot of peonies or a pot of kumquats in their arms. With one person buying, several others followed suit. In less than an hour, Jiang Quan had sold over twenty potted nts. By this time, the parade had fully passed by, but a curious crowd still lingered behind. Seeing the flower petals scattered all over the ground, despite some being trampled unrecognizably, they could still make out a significant difference.
As a result, more people came into the shop for a look. Upon exiting, nearly half of them had bought potted nts. Jiang Quan was grinning from ear to ear, working joyfully with the coachman. By the time Yingbao came down from the upstairs loft with Magnolia and Xinghua, most of the pot nts in the shop had been sold. She had priced these nts quite high, with each one starting at ten coins. Even with today¡¯s 50% discount, each pot still cost at least five coins. Surprisingly, they had all been sold! Beijing was indeed not the same as other cities. There were really a lot of rich people here. ¡°Yingbao, most of the nts we brought have been sold. Do we need to bring in more?¡± Jiang Quan asked. Yingbao shook her head: ¡°No need, it¡¯s already after noon. Let¡¯s close shop as soon as we sell out, put up a ¡®sold out¡¯ sign, and bring new ones tomorrow.¡± Jiang Quan didn¡¯t quite understand the idea of his younger cousin, but he obeyed anyway. After all, she was so clever that all her decisions had to be right. Yingbao led Magnolia and Xinghua out the door once again to the pawnshop, expressing her desire to pick some servants. The Pawnshop Manager recognized this youngdy and knew that her brother had just ced third in Top Schrpetition. He immediately responded with a smile, ¡°Just in time, we just received a new batch of good stuff. I¡¯ll show you around.¡± The pawnshop also sold official ves. Recently, arge number of condemned ves from various regions had been brought to Beijing, many of whom were families and servants of the culprits from the previous dynasty. Many official families in the city were afraid of being implicated, so they didn¡¯t dare buy too many of these condemned ves. The asional customers picking people were only old women from brothels, tile houses, and dance houses.
Yingbao followed the manager to arge courtyard where there were wooden cages on both sides. Each wooden cage was crowded with people of all ages, including children only a few years old. Magnolia and Xinghua instinctively shrank back upon seeing these cages, but remembered that they already belonged to the youngdy and immediately straightened their chests. Yingbao said to the manager, ¡°I want two cooks, four boy servants aged around ten, and four maid servants aged between thirteen and eighteen. Appearance doesn¡¯t matter, as long as they are docile.¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy, let me pick some for you right away.¡± The manager ordered an underling to open the wooden door and selected several people. Yingbao looked them up and down before asking a few questions, ¡°Where are you from? What crime did youmit? Is there anyone left from your family?¡± Most of them answered honestly, only two young girls refused to say anything. Yingbao looked at their hands, which were delicate and covered in grime but hadn¡¯t done much work. ¡°I don¡¯t want these two. Choose another two.¡± What she was buying were servants, not ancestors. She didn¡¯t have the time or patience to train arrogant and disrespectful people. The manager immediately had these two girls dragged back into the cage and was about to make a new selection when a woman in her twenties grabbed the cage bars and said, ¡°Youngdy, choose me as your maid. I can read and do embroidery, please choose me.¡± On hearing this, Yingbao looked at the woman and nodded, ¡°Okay,e and answer some questions.¡± The manager let the woman out, who was shivering and seemed unable to stand steady. Yingbao asked, ¡°How old are you? What was your status before?¡±
¡°I, I am twenty-five years old. I used to be¡­ the daughter of Weng Wanzhang, the Minister of Personnel Affairs. Because my fathermitted a crime, I was demoted to be a ve.¡± She muttered in a low voice, tears welling up in her eyes. Chapter 419: 415: Magnificent and Splendid_1 Chapter 419: Chapter 415: Magnificent and Splendid_1 Yingbao: ¡°What¡¯s your name? Do you have any other rtives here?¡± ¡°My name is Weng Xiuxiu, the two from earlier are, are my younger legitimate sisters.¡± Weng Xiuxiu said with trembling hands: ¡°I also have a child here. I beg you, mistress, buy us mother and daughter together.¡± With that, she knelt down, paying her respects to Yingbao. Yingbao instructed her to stand up: ¡°Go and bring your child to see me.¡± Weng Xiuxiu was overjoyed, she knocked her head against the floor three times in front of Yingbao, turned around and ran off to the wooden cage to bring her daughter. In the wooden cage, the two young girls from before spat at her: ¡°Pah! You¡¯re shameless! You¡¯ve disgraced our father!¡± An emaciated-looking woman sitting in the wooden cage said to Weng Xiuxiu: ¡°Xiuxiu, your uncle said he woulde to save us, why are you in such a hurry to be someone¡¯s servant?¡± Weng Xiuxiu held her three-year-old daughter tightly and replied coldly: ¡°He¡¯s not my uncle.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± The woman said discontentedly: ¡°Even if he¡¯s not your real uncle, he won¡¯t abandon you. Why are you so disobedient? What would happen to me and your two sisters if you left?¡± Weng Xiuxiu let out a coldugh: ¡°What happens to you and them has nothing to do with me. Do you expect me to forever sell myself to ensure safety for you mother and daughters?¡± After she spoke, she walked out of the wooden cage holding her daughter.
Yingbao nced at Weng Xiuxiu and her daughter, then at the wooden cage, turned around and led the group of ves out. The shopkeeper locked up the wooden cage and followed behind this group of ves with a stick, herding them to wait in the corner of the wall for their new master toe pay and handle the ve transaction. After Yingbao paid and obtained the deed to the ves, she got on the horse carriage and went home. The middleman tied the ves up with ropes and escorted them to the Jiang family with two ox carts. Seeing her daughter bring back so many servants at once surprised Chunniang a little, but thinking about how they were indeedcking manpower at home, she didn¡¯t say anything. However, seeing the three-year-old girl kneeling to her, she suddenly felt a bit ufortable. It was pitiful, such a young child had be a maid. ¡°What is the child¡¯s name?¡± Chunniang asked. Weng Xiuxiu respectfully replied: ¡°Mydy, her pet name is Wan Zhu.¡± Chunniang nodded, turned around and said to her daughter: ¡°Baobao, you arrange for them. The child is still young, give her and her mother a separate room.¡± Yingbao: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will make arrangements.¡± She renamed the two new young girls as Zhenzhu and Hupo, and arranged for them to serve in her mother¡¯s room and take care of her daily needs. She kept Weng Xiuxiu for her mother too, whose daily tasks included talking with her, doing some embroidery, and taking care of misceneous chores. The two kitchen maids were given to Chef Liu as helpers. Four youngds, one for her brother Jiang Jie, one for her second cousin, while the other two were kept to guard the main gate. The house was soon bustling with activity, as the servants and maids each assumed their duties. Shortly after, the official documents of Jiang Jie¡¯s appointment came down; as expected, he entered the Hanlin Academy and took up a seventh-grade post alongside the top two students from the highest level. Li Xu was sent to a local province to serve as a County Magistrate. One day, two eunuchs from the pce suddenly came to the Jiang family to convey an oral edict, summoning Jiang Yingbao to appear before the Emperor and instructing her to bring her medicine box.
Yingbao did not dare to dy and immediately had Magnolia carry the medicine box and apany her to the pce. The two eunuchs nced at Magnolia and without uttering a word, indicated for Yingbao and her maid to get into the horse-drawn carriage. Compared to Tokyo, the Imperial City of Jiankang was not as grand, but it was still sufficiently imposing. Yingbao rode in the pce carriage, smoothly entering the Imperial City, and eventually arrived at a pce.
As the young eunuch announced their arrival, a pce maiden came out to escort Yingbao into the pce, but Magnolia had to stay outside. Yingbao took over the medicine box from Magnolia andforted her: ¡°Just stand right here, don¡¯t wander around, and don¡¯t be afraid. I will be out soon.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Magnolia stood straight, with her arms hanging down, her legs involuntarily trembling. As Yingbao entered the pce, she saw a group of pce maids surrounding a beautiful woman. This woman was wearing brocade, her head decorated with pearls and jade; indeed, she was remarkably resplendent. The eunuch leading the way said, ¡°This is Her Majesty, the Virtuous Consort. Kneel and pay your respects.¡± Yingbao bowed towards the woman at the head of the table, ¡°Commoner Jiang Yingbao greets Her Majesty, the Virtuous Consort.¡± The Virtuous Consort looked at her with a smile, waving her forward, ¡°Come closer, let me take a look at you.¡± Yingbao had no choice but to step forward and bow again. ¡°Oh my, such a beauty,¡± the Virtuous Consort tittered, taking Yingbao¡¯s hand, ¡°I once heard His Majesty mention that he has a female disciple, whose medical skills are extraordinary. Today, His Majesty has given the edict to summon you to the pce to check my pulse.¡± ¡°I am willing to relieve Your Majesty of her worries.¡± Yingbao was finally able to rx, she anxiously said to the Virtuous Consort, ¡°Please extend your wrist.¡± The Virtuous Consort didn¡¯t hesitate and ced her wrist on the table. After Yingbao took her pulse, she realized the Consort was pregnant. ¡°Your Majesty, you are pregnant.¡± The Virtuous Consort nodded, ¡°It¡¯s been five months already. The reason I requested your presence was to ask whether this child is a boy or a girl.¡±
Yingbao withdrew her hand, ¡°I apologize. My medical skills are modest. I cannot determine the child¡¯s gender.¡± A pce maid nearby expressed her dissatisfaction, ¡°How could you not determine that? Even His Majesty said your medical skills are exquisite. What¡¯s so difficult about determining the child¡¯s gender?¡± Yingbao nced at the maid, having no desire to argue with such a dimwit. The Virtuous Consort noticed the young girl¡¯s gloomy face andughed, ¡°Even the Imperial Physicians can¡¯t determine it. Zhenzhu, you must not me her so recklessly. Miss Jiang, Zhenzhu is a bit hasty by nature, please bear with her.¡± Yingbaoughed, ¡°Her Majesty, you jest. I¡¯m merely amoner, you mentioning bearing with me is simply ttering.¡± The Virtuous Consort appeared slightly embarrassed and immediately ordered the pce maids, ¡°Quickly, bring what I have prepared to give Miss Jiang.¡± A pce maid came over carrying a box and opened it in front of Yingbao. Inside the box, she saw ten glittering gold ingots, each weighing no less than ten liangs. Yingbao stepped back, made a fist and salute, ¡°I haven¡¯t done anything. I can¡¯t ept these rewards without rendering any service.¡± The Virtuous Consortughed, ¡°Miss Jiang, your words are incorrect. In five months, I will be giving birth and I will need you to assist.¡± Yingbao furrowed her eyebrows slightly, feeling somewhat displeased inside. She was not a woman physician from the Imperial Medical Bureau, how could she serve these dignitaries by assisting in childbirth? If anything were to go wrong, wouldn¡¯t her family be the scapegoat?
But if she refused now, she would definitely offend the Virtuous Consort. Her nominal master has not been made Empress yet, and likely all the consorts were vying to be the first, striving to give birth to the crown prince. While giving birth, they would undoubtedly wish for the early demise of the children of others. Frequently visiting the pce, it was almost certain she would be someone¡¯s scapegoat. s, it was an unprovoked disaster. ¡°Miss, please take it!¡± A pce attendant urged. Yingbao gritted her teeth, and epted the heavy wooden box. ¡°Thank you, Her Majesty.¡± Just at this moment, someone outside dered, ¡°The Emperor has arrived!¡± The Virtuous Consort immediately stood up, joyously arranging her temples, and headed towards the door to greet him. Yingbao also followed with the box in her arms. A resplendent figure dressed in imperial yellow walked in, and all the pce maids knelt down. Yingbao did not kneel, she just put down the wooden box and saluted the Emperor. The Virtuous Consort clung to the Emperor and behaved coquettishly, ¡°Your Majesty, why have you only just now arrived? This consort has been waiting for you for more than ten days.¡± Zhou Wuchang chuckled, patting her arm, ¡°I¡¯ve been quite busy recently, only today did I manage to get some free time.¡±
As he spoke, his gaze fell on the standing young girl, ¡°You are¡­ Yingbao?¡± Yingbao immediately replied, ¡°Yes, Master, don¡¯t you recognize your disciple anymore?¡± Chapter 420: 416: Unexplained Intentions_1 Chapter 420: Chapter 416: Unexined Intentions_1 Zhou Wuchang gave Yingbao a once-over: ¡°I hardly recognize you anymore.¡± Now the small child had fully grown into a youngdy, and as he had not seen her for several years, he felt somewhat confounded. But his apprentice¡¯s facial features remained the same, and her personality hadn¡¯t changed either. She didn¡¯t fear him one bit. Zhou Wuchang took the seat at the head, saying to Yingbao: ¡°Sit.¡± The pce attendants on either side hurriedly fetched a chair for Yingbao to sit in. The imperial consort Shu also put aside her thoughts, carefully serving tea and water next to the emperor. ¡°Why didn¡¯t youe to see me after you arrived in Beijing?¡± Zhou Wuchang lifted his teacup and took a sip. Yingbao: ¡°You¡¯re very busy, master. I didn¡¯t want to disturb you unless it was something important.¡± Zhou Wuchang did not express agreement or disagreement, he said: ¡°I heard from old man Wu that you have sent him a lot of fruit. Why didn¡¯t you send me any?¡± Yingbao was taken aback for a moment. She quickly remembered that she had sent two baskets of fruit to Mr. Wu¡¯s family. Sheughed: ¡°More will be sent from home in a few days. I will surely present some for you to taste first, master.¡± Only then was Zhou Wuchang satisfied. He asked her about her daily affairs, stood up, and said to her: ¡°Come with me to the study. I have something to discuss with you.¡±
Yingbao immediately stood up, saying,¡± Yes.¡± Seeing that the emperor was about to leave, the imperial consort Shu couldn¡¯t help but feel anxious. She tried to keep him there: ¡°Your Majesty, aren¡¯t you staying for a meal? It¡¯s already prepared.¡± Zhou Wuchang casually gave her a nce, saying ¡°I¡¯ve more things to do. You have it.¡± After saying that, he turned and walked out of the hall. Yingbao paid her respects to the imperial consort Shu and followed him. The imperial consort Shu was so angry that she wanted to smash a cup, but she ultimately kept her temper in check. There were pce maids assigned by the emperor in the pce. She dared not make a fuss. Pce maid Zhuzhu quietly whispered into the imperial consort Shu¡¯s ear, looking around to make sure no one else was present: ¡°Your Highness, doesn¡¯t it seem like His Majesty¡¯s attitude towards that Jiang Yingbao is quite unusual? Is he considering epting her into the pce?¡± The imperial consort Shu was taken aback. She gave Zhuzhu a big ear swipe and said in a low voice: ¡°What nonsense are you talking about! His Majesty isn¡¯t someone you can just gossip about!Jiang Yingbao has been his apprentice since she was young. She¡¯s like his own daughter. Are you trying to get me killed by talking such nonsense?¡± Zhuzhu was so scared that she quickly kneeled down and struck her own mouth several times: ¡°Forgive me, Your Highness. I know I was wrong.¡± The imperial consort Shu sighed: ¡°Alright, get up.¡± Only then did Zhuzhu dared to pick herself up, keeping her head low and not daring to utter another word. The imperial consort Shu touched her own belly, said with a furrowed brow: ¡°Lady De¡¯s pregnancy is almost at the same stage as mine. We don¡¯t know who will give birth first. If she goes first, whether it¡¯s a boy or a girl, it doesn¡¯t help us. Zhuzhu, what should we do?¡± Zhuzhu shrank her neck, said in a low voice: ¡°I dare not say.¡± The imperial consort Shu nonchntly adjusted her robe, saying: ¡°Later, send a message to my father for me. Ask him toe to the pce.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Zhuzhu curtsied, ¡°I¡¯ll find someone right away.¡± Returning to Yingbao, she followed her master and came to the study. ¡°Sit down.¡± Zhou Wuchang sat behind the desk and asked: ¡°Do you still have any Health Medicine? I would like to buy some.¡± Yingbao sat down on a stool: ¡°Master, how many do you want?¡±
¡°Enough for a few months. An antidote or two would be better.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll prepare some when I return home.¡± Yingbao nced at her master, noticing that he looked much more haggard than before, appearing very weary. Zhou Wuchang massaged his temples and said: ¡°In the future, ignore the summonings from the pce¡¯s consorts. I also will warn them and forbid them from bothering your family unnecessarily.¡±
¡°Thank you for your kind consideration, Master.¡± Master and disciple exchanged a few pleasantries before Yingbao left the pce with Magnolia. Once home, Yingbao went alone to the flower room, taking out dozens of seedlings from the cavern, filled a fewrge water jars with Pupil Spring water, and nted various nts in the flower room. Chunniang joined her daughter in nting and watering the seedlings, talking to her about what was happening in the pce while working. ¡°Nothing much really, the Consort Shu in the pce had me take her pulse.¡± Yingbao wanted to avoid worrying her mother, so she gave a perfunctory response. Chunniang was puzzled, ¡°Aren¡¯t there imperial physicians in the pce? Why did they ask you to take her pulse?¡± She had learned a lot from her recent chats with Lady Wu and others, like how the Emperor and consorts were always examined by physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau. And those of lower rank, didn¡¯t have the privilege to call on these imperial physicians. Furthermore, outside doctors could not recklessly enter the pce to examine the consorts. If they did, they¡¯d be severely punished. ¡°I¡¯m not too sure.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t want to say more, continuing to nt by mixing pond mud and ordinary soil and shoveling it into flower pots. Though Consort Shu¡¯s motives were unclear, she was, after all, her master¡¯s consort. Yingbao preferred not to interfere in such matters, much less let her mother harbour displeasure towards them. Whether it was Consort Shu or other consorts, they might give birth to a crown prince in the future. If they wanted to put someone in a tight spot or suppress a certain official, it would be incredibly easy.
Seeing Yingbao was unwilling to borate, Chunniang didn¡¯t press further and started talking about household matters, ¡°Baobao, should we send a letter to your father, suggesting he bring your grandparents to Beijing?¡± Yingbao: ¡°My second cousin has already written back, informing them of Xiaojie¡¯s appointment at the Hanlin Academy. If father and grandparents want toe, they¡¯ll definitely send a letter.¡± After pausing for a moment, Chunniang sighed, ¡°Baobao, let¡¯s consider going back to our hometown. Your mother can¡¯t put her mind at ease here. And your father alone at home, it¡¯s not quite right¡­¡± Yingbao thought for a moment, and said, ¡°How about we return to the countryside once Mr. Wu¡¯s house is renovated?¡± At the moment, Mr. and Mrs. Wu were still living in her home; it wouldn¡¯t be right for her and her mother to leave for the countryside and leave them behind. Chunniang nodded, ¡°Fine.¡± The mother and daughter finished nting dozens of potted nts, washed their hands, and then returned to the room. Seeing that the mother and daughter had once again spent their time nting bonsai, Lady Wu suggested, ¡°Since your family does bonsai business, why not invite a couple of gardeners to help? It will save you the effort.¡± Chunniang replied with a smile, ¡°I¡¯d feel ufortable doing nothing. It¡¯s good to keep busy.¡± She was used to working in the field and enjoyed the hustle and bustle of life. If she had to stay in the house all day, she¡¯d probably fall sick from idleness in a few days. Weng Xiuxiu and two little maids came back from the vegetable field, put down their hoes, removed their muddy shoes, and started to get the table ready for dinner. The maids, at Yingbao¡¯s request, had taken advantage of the soil before it froze to dig out plots for nting cabbages, scallions, garlic, ginger, and coriander. This would be convenient for daily use.
They were very obedient, doing chores like washing clothes, cleaning, and watering the nts, in addition to taking care of the vegetable garden. Life was easier after the nting was done. The girls had time to work together and learn embroidery and garment-making from Weng Xiuxiu. Indeed, Weng Xiuxiu was very talented. Every piece of clothing and each pair of shoes she made was exquisite. Even a normal piece of linen could be turned into an exquisite blouse by her. Yingbao appreciated her work and gave her several pieces of silk fabric to make clothes for her brother, Jiang Jie, mother, and herself. Weng Xiuxiu didn¡¯t disappoint, tailoring elegant and beautiful robes for them all. Of course, while making clothes indoors, she could also take care of her child. After all, it was very cold outside now. A bucket of water thrown out would freeze on the ground almost immediately. Chapter 421: 417: I Want to Visit Your House_1 Chapter 421: Chapter 417: I Want to Visit Your House_1 The twelfth lunar month flew by in a blink of an eye. Seeing that it was about to snow, Yingbao prepared arge batch of medicinal pills and brought two baskets of fruit, personally delivering them to the Imperial Pce. Once the items were delivered, Yingbao didn¡¯t linger and promptly returned home. That day, they were celebrating Mr. Wu¡¯s housewarming. Yingbao prepared a gift, and together with her mother and younger brother, went to deliver it. Mr. Wu¡¯s house was not far from the Jiang Family, only separated by three houses. At the moment, there was a lively scene at the entrance of Mr. Wu¡¯s house, with carriages and horses continuously arriving, all carrying officials who came to congratte him. Mr. Wu now holds the fifth-grade official position of Sacrificial Wine at the Imperial College, a position high enough to grant him audiences with the Emperor. For this housewarming, all his subordinates were present, and even the Wen Family and Xiao Family came to congratte. Mr. Wu had not anticipated so many guests and was a little overwhelmed. Fortunately, his daughter Wu Jiang and son-inw came to help. Added with his son Wu Shi¡¯s effort to entertain his colleagues, they managed to keep the situation under control. Upon stepping into Mr. Wu¡¯s house, Yingbao and her mother saw that it was designed simrly to their own, divided into two sections.
However, the Wu Family¡¯s house did not have a pond, water pavilion, or arcade. Aside from therge canopy newly erected to entertain the guests, the yard was bare. No surprise there. Even though the Wu Family was a schrly household, it was in decline. After Mr. Wu suffered two bereavements, he did not resume his civil service career, thus resulting in financial difficulties. Although Mr. Wu¡¯s old home had some farnd, the yield was poor. Consequently, he gave up managing the farnd and transferred it to his nsmen. In the past two years, after bing an officer, his financial situation improved a bit. But there were still numerous reciprocal exchanges between colleagues. After saving up for a while, he bought this house. The remaining silver was intended by Mr. Wu for arranging a good marriage for his son. ¡°Please,e this way.¡± The steward of the Wu Family led the three of them towards the pavilion where the female guests were being entertained. Halfway there, Yingbao suddenly felt someone watching her. Raising her gaze, she saw several individuals standing at a short distance. Among them were Xiao Chengjun and others. He stood tall and handsome. By his side was Chen Tiantian, her face obscured by a veil. From afar, their matching attire made for a harmonious picture. Yingbao¡¯s gaze swept over Xiao Chengjun and locked with Chen Tiantian¡¯s. The other woman¡¯s eyes were filled with gloom, as if she was about to transform into a beast the next second and consume Yingbao whole. Yingbao decided not to bother with her for now, choosing to continue along with her mother and brother towards the inner part of the house. Upon seeing the Jiang Family arrive, Luo Zhao hurriedly went to greet them, ¡°Aunt Jiang, Sister Yingbao, Brother Ajie.¡± Jiang Jie greeted her in return, ¡°Sister Zhao.¡± Luo Zhao returned the greeting, her eyes glistening with joy, ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you guys for a long time. Come, let¡¯s go inside and talk.¡± Jiang Jie said, ¡°I won¡¯t be joining. There are a few colleagues over there I should greet. Please take good care of my mother and sister.¡± ¡°Sure, Brother Ajie. You go ahead. I¡¯ll take good care of Aunt Jiang and Sister Yingbao.¡± With that, Luo Zhao took Yingbao by one hand and Spring Lady with the other, leading them to her grandmother. Spring Lady and Yingbao paid their respects to Mrs. Wu, greeted a few other olderdies, and then took a seat. ¡°Is this the mother of Officer Jiang?¡± Ady, who appeared to be in her forties, asked with a smile.
Spring Lady promptly responded, ¡°Yes.¡± Thedy then turned her attention to Yingbao, sitting next to Spring Lady, ¡°And you must be the female disciple famously taken in by the Emperor during his hidden dragon period?¡± Yingbao smiled and nodded, ¡°Yes. Since I was a child, my martial brothers and I have followed our master on his travels, experiencing life-and-death situations together.¡± Thedy chuckled, picked up her teacup lid with her delicate index finger, stirred the floating foam on top lightly before dismissively remarking, ¡°No wonder.¡±
Old Lady Luo said, ¡°Yingbao, you may not recognize her. Thisdy is the mother of the Noble Consort, Lady Yao.¡± Yingbao got up to give a quick curtsey, ¡°So, it¡¯s Lady Yao. My apologies for the oversight.¡± Lady Yao hummed softly, ¡°I¡¯ve heard about you from the Noble Consort. Seeing you today, the praise wasn¡¯t false. You truly are a fine beauty.¡± Yingbao continued to smile, ¡°Thank you for the undeserved praise, Lady Yao.¡± Lady Yao put down her teacup and gently asked, ¡°I see that you are no longer a young girl, have you been married yet?¡± ¡°No, I haven¡¯t.¡± ¡°Ah, what a coincidence, I have a nephew in my natal house, who is about your age and has good looks.¡± Lady Yao smiled, ¡°I will call him overter, you can get to know each other.¡± The room fell silent, and everyone looked at Yingbao and Chunniang. Chunniang had never seen such a situation before, but she knew that Lady Yao was overstepping her bounds. Who was she to straightly propose a match without discussing with the girl¡¯s parents first? It was utterly disrespectful. Chunniang spoke up, ¡°Madam, although my daughteres from a peasant family, she has parents and siblings. It¡¯s not appropriate for her to meet with a man without their approval.¡± The room fell silent once again. Lady Wu was also angered by Lady Yao¡¯s impertinence, but she didn¡¯t show it. She addressed Lady Yao, ¡°Lady Yao, we cannot make decisions about Yingbao¡¯s marriage. Her master will handle it.¡± The underlying message was: stop daydreaming.
Seeing the tension, Lady Luo lightened the mood with a smile, ¡°Ah, it is so boring if we sit here doing nothing. Why don¡¯t we y some mahjong?¡± Luo Zhao immediately said, ¡°I¡¯ll get a set of mahjong right away! Jin Chan,y out the table quickly to let thedies take their seats.¡± The rest of thedies agreed in unison, ¡°Yes, yes, it¡¯s a good idea. I have even brought my own stakes, let¡¯s y a round.¡± Lady Yao originally wanted to vent her anger, but she was pulled by severaldies to sit down at the round table, and had to hold back for the time being. Meanwhile, Luo Zhao took Chunniang to another room. This room was very warm, and there was arge kang bed. Luo Zhao weed Chunniang and Yingbao to sit and rest on it. ¡°Auntie Jiang, Sister Yingbao, please rest here for a while. I¡¯lle to keep youpany once I am back.¡± Luo Zhao ordered the maid to bring out two sets of ivory mah-jongg, personally delivering them to thedies. Afterwards, she returned, climbed onto the kang bed, took a book, and handed it to Yingbao, ¡°Sister Yingbao, it¡¯s still early for the banquet to start, let¡¯s read a book to pass the time.¡± Yingbao nodded, took the book Luo Zhao handed over, and flipped through it casually. At this time, two children ran in, both chubby. One was about thirteen or fourteen years old, and the other was under ten. The two stood by the kang bed, curiously looking at Yingbao. The boy in his early teens asked, ¡°You¡¯re Yingbao, right?¡±
Yingbao nodded, ¡°Xiao Chengyu, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Xiao Chengyuughed, ¡°Yingbao, do you still remember me?¡± Yingbao was speechless, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡± She hadn¡¯t known many chubby kids in her two lives, and he was one of them. Xiao Chengyu scratched his head and asked, ¡°Yingbao, do you know where my elder brother Wei Zhan is?¡± Yingbao shook her head, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Xiao Chengyu was a bit disappointed, but quickly grinned, ¡°Yingbao, can I go to your house to y?¡± ¡°No.¡± Yingbao refused without hesitation. Xiao Chengyu pouted, ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Because my brother has gone to work, and there¡¯s no one at home to y with you.¡± Even if Jiang Jie were home, their family didn¡¯t want to get involved with the Xiao family. ¡°I don¡¯t need anyone to apany me, I can just y with the child.¡± Xiao Chengyu looked serious. Yingbao rolled her eyes and replied irritably, ¡°If you want to y with him, why do you need toe to my house?¡± Xiao Chengyu scratched his head, sneaked a nce at Yingbao, and said, ¡°Because¡­ because I want to drink your homemade fruit juice.¡± Yingbao was speechless.
However, in consideration of Wei Zhan, she eventually nodded, ¡°Fine, you cane tomorrow.¡± Xiao Chengyu let out a cheer, his eyes smiling into small crescents. The toddler at the side pleaded, ¡°Sister, I also want to go to your house to y.¡± Chapter 422: 418: No Injustice_1 Chapter 422: Chapter 418: No Injustice_1 Yingbao paused for a moment: ¡°Alright, you cane with Xiao Chengyu.¡± The boy was overjoyed when he heard this. He bowed to Yingbao and said, ¡°Thank you, sister.¡± He then greeted Chunniang, ¡°Aunt Chunniang, my name is Xiao Tong.¡± Now that Xiao Tong has grown up, he finally understood that Mr. Wu was not his biological father. Later, his mother from the Han Family and those from the Xiao Family were brought into Beijing, and Mr. Wu returned him to Han Yueniang. However, even after moving into the Xiao residence, Xiao Tong would still asionally go to Mr. Wu¡¯s home and stay for a few days, treating him as his kin. Chunniang merely nodded to the two of them without saying a word. She was still furious at the moment. What was wrong with that Lady Yao? She had the audacity to unterally arrange for their family¡¯s daughter to meet a stranger of the opposite sex. She was disregarding the status of the Jiang Family! Even in a vige, where the rules are not so strict, people know that before matchmaking, there should be a go-between, and the two families should have a chance to understand each other. Only then does a meeting between the prospective couple take ce, and only with the consent of the parents. Lady Yao, with her loose talk, was treating her precious daughter as if she was a concubine for someone else. It was disgraceful. If it hadn¡¯t been for the fact that they were guests in the Wu Family¡¯s house that day, she would have pped Lady Yao in the face.
Yingbao reached out and held her mother¡¯s hand, silentlyforting her. Feeling her daughter¡¯s concern, Chunniang calmed down a little and smiled at her, ¡°This Kang is quite warm. I feel like dozing off.¡± When Luo Zhao heard this, he leaned over and said, ¡°Auntie Jiang, if you¡¯re feeling tired, why don¡¯t you rest for a bit? I¡¯ll wake you up when the banquet begins.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Chunniang couldn¡¯t actually lie down, of course. She just leaned on therge embroidered pillow and pretended to close her eyes and rest. Xiao Tong and Xiao Chengyu left quietly when they saw this. But they ran into Chen Tiantian and Xiao Chengjun on their way out. ¡°Second brother, let¡¯s go and y pitch-pot.¡± Xiao Chengyu blinked at his brother, with a pleasing look on his face. Xiao Chengjun frowned at him, ¡°Where were you just now?¡± ¡°I was nowhere.¡± Ever since his father had a stroke, Xiao Chengyu and his mother¡¯s status in the house had plummeted. Since wide-scope elder brother Xiao Mo was not much of a participant in household affairs, the entire Xiao Residence was now under Xiao Chengjun¡¯smand. Thus, Xiao Chengyu was especially afraid of his second brother. Xiao Chengjun looked at his younger brother coldly, ¡°Do not run around in someone else¡¯s house. You are not a child anymore. If you offend anyone, or disturb any young girls in the house, I will not spare you.¡± Xiao Chengyu¡¯s eyes opened wide, and he stuttered, ¡°I, I didn¡¯t offend anyone, and, and didn¡¯t disturb any girls, I-I was just¡­¡± Then he suddenly could not bring himself to finish his sentence. Xiao Tong decided to help him out, ¡°We didn¡¯t disturb any girls. Sister Yingbao isn¡¯t a stranger.¡± As soon as Xiao Chengjun heard this name, his face darkened even more. Chen Tiantian suddenly smiled gently, ¡°So you were ying with Yingbao. Was she friendly to you?¡± Xiao Tong nodded his head, ¡°Sister Yingbao even promised that we coulde and y at her house.¡± Xiao Chengyu also hurriedly nodded his head. Chen Tiantian got an idea and asked with a smile, ¡°Young master, do you like Yingbao?¡±
Xiao Chengyu seemed confused, but he still nodded his head. Chen Tiantian covered her mouth andughed lightly, then she turned to Xiao Chengjun and said, ¡°Look, Chengjun, the young master already has a girl he likes. You should tell the Lady when we get back. It¡¯s time to start considering his marriage arrangements.¡± Xiao Chengjun raised his eyebrows, ¡°He is still so young. Our eldest brother isn¡¯t even married yet. How could it be his turn to have a marriage arrangement?¡± Chen Tiantian didn¡¯t say anything, but she already had a n in her heart.
When Xiao Chengyu heard Chen Tiantian mention to his elder brother that he had a girl he liked, he instantly understood her implication and angrily retorted, ¡°Who do you think you are! Daring toment on my affairs!¡± Although he feared his elder brother, he was not afraid of Chen Tiantian at all. He had been giving her some face just because she was the biological elder sister of Xiaotong. Now that she had touched a raw nerve, Xiao Chengyu¡¯s overbearing temperament red, he started to berate her recklessly. ¡°Insolent!¡± chastised Xiao Chengjun, ¡°Go home now! Write ¡®Book of Rites¡¯ fifty times as punishment!¡± Xiao Chengyu pursed his lips, ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± Having said that, he dashed off in a huff. Xiaotong blinked, following Xiao Chengyu and running off. Chen Tiantian held onto Xiao Chengjun¡¯s hand, whispering, ¡°Second Master, don¡¯t be angry. After all, he is just your half-brother. If you interfere too much, Lady might not be pleased.¡± Xiao Chengjun sighed, patting Chen Tiantian¡¯s hand, ¡°Our stepmother overly indulges him. If I don¡¯t intervene, he¡¯ll be entirely uncontroble. Tiantian, I apologize for the trouble. I shall ground him for a month when we return home.¡± Chen Tiantian leaned her head on Xiao Chengjun¡¯s shoulder and murmured softly, ¡°As long as you¡¯re here, I don¡¯t feel wronged.¡± ¡­ The next day, Yingbao prepared some fruit juice, but Xiao Chengyu and Xiaotong didn¡¯te over as she had expected. She didn¡¯t mind much and busied herself with arranging the potted nts in herrge flower room.
With the Lunar New Year approaches, the four seasons nursery was bustling with business as noble families flocked in to make reservations. Jiang Quan had given names to each pot of flowers, such as ¡®Prosperous Fortune¡¯, ¡®Wealthy Garden¡¯, ¡®Weing the God of Wealth¡¯, ¡®Longevity Blossoms¡¯, etc. Although the names were somewhat banal, they were quite apt for the festive asion. Capitalizing on the good business during the holiday season, Yingbao dug out all therge and small flowers nted in the grotto, transferred them into pots, watered them with Pupil Spring, ensuring they would stay fresh for a couple of months. However, if these flowers were left outside to freeze overnight, they would be dead by morning. But who with abundance of wealth to burn would leave such expensive flowers ranging from a few to several dozen taels per pot to freeze in this icy cold weather. ¡°Young Mistress, do you need my help?¡± Magnolia asked from outside the flower room, through a grass curtain. When Yingbao was working in the flower room, no one was allowed to enter unless they had her permission, except for Jiang Quan and Chunniang. Therefore, Magnolia could only ask from outside. ¡°No need, go back to your work. I can handle this by myself.¡± Yingbao stood up, admired the pots all around the room, and began counting with a charcoal pencil. There were thirty pots of mandarin trees, fifty pots of peonies, thirty pots of Magnolia flowers, fifty pots of peach trees, thirty pots of red plums, twenty pots of wintersweet, fifty pots of roses, and fifty pots of various types of orchids. The value of these potted nts and fruit trees varied, with the lowest price being ten taels and the highest reaching a hundred. If they were all sold out, she could make a profit of several thousand taels of silver. After finishing the ounting, Yingbao walked back to the flower room, when she suddenly saw snowkes fluttering down outside. The little maid, Xinghua, ran over, ¡°Young Mistress, Second Master is back!¡± ¡°Second Master? Has my second brothere back?¡± Yingbao quickly headed towards her mother¡¯s courtyard.
Xinghua and Magnolia trailed behind, lightly jogging along, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what Madam said.¡± Upon entering her mother¡¯s room, Yingbao indeed saw two boys standing inside. One was Huzi, and the other was Jiang Wu. ¡°Huzi! Xiaowu!¡± Yingbao went over to her brothers, smiling from ear to ear: ¡°You two are finally back.¡± She hadn¡¯t seen Jiang Wu and Huzi for several years, and now looking at them, she found that they had grown a lot taller and tanned. Huzi, in particr, already had the appearance of a tall youth. She might not even recognize him if she ran into him in public. Huzi grinned, revealing his teeth, ¡°Yingbao, you¡¯ve grown up to be ady now.¡± Jiang Wu even leaned his face in, feigning surprise: ¡°Wow! Sister, you¡¯ve really changed in your teenage years¡­and be uglier and uglier.¡± Chapter 423: 419: Daydreaming_1 Chapter 423: Chapter 419: Daydreaming_1 Yingbao twisted his arm with her hand: ¡°Who did you say is ugly?¡± But Jiang Wu¡¯s arm was as solid as a rock, and she couldn¡¯t move it. ¡°Ouch! Ouch! I am ugly, is that okay now?¡± Jiang Wu pretended to be in pain and surrendered, falling onto the kanga. Chunniang said with augh: ¡°What¡¯s all the fuss about? Go and wash your hands and face quickly. We¡¯ll eat in a while.¡± Thus, Huzi and Jiang Wu went to wash up. Yingbao asked the maids to go to the kitchen and alert the cooks to prepare a few more dishes. Luckily, there were plenty of cured meats, smoked fish, smoked chicken and sausages at home. The cooks just had to steam them. Apart from meat, a lot of vegetables were nted by the pond side and were covered with straw mats. Whenever they wanted to eat, they would pluck some leaves and stir-fry them with minced meat and garlic, making a delicious dish. Jiang Wu and Huzi returned after washing up and began to talk about their experiences in war while sitting cross-legged on the kanga with Yingbao. The reason they had returned home was due to the Emperor¡¯s decree to relocate them back to the Capital City, probably to rearrange their duties. Upon hearing this, Chunniang was very pleased: ¡°It¡¯s great if both of you could take up official posts in the Capital City. We can all be reunited.¡± Yingbao poured them almond tea and said, ¡°Huzi, if you really get a post in Beijing, you should consider bringing your uncle and aunt to the Capital City.¡±
The Uncle¡¯s wife had a son and a daughter, and when the siblings were grown up they would need opportunities for advancement, which they would have more of in Beijing than in the countryside. Huzi nodded and said: ¡°We¡¯ll see when the timees.¡± Chunniang looked at her son, then nced at Huzi and asked: ¡°Huzi, are you engaged yet?¡± Huzi took a sip of almond tea: ¡°No.¡± Jiang Wuughed and said: ¡°Our general wanted to marry off his daughter to Huzi, but Huzi said no. He said he has already been arranged a marriage back at his hometown.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you agree?¡± Chunniang didn¡¯t understand. Jiang Wu smirked: ¡°You should ask him.¡± Huzi finished drinking his tea and said: ¡°Matters of marriage are traditionally decided by the parents¡¯ decree and picture matchmaker¡¯s words. I can¡¯t promise anything without consulting them.¡± Chunniang: ¡­ Soon, the maids had prepared the meal and served it on the table ¨C a full spread. Yingbao brought a pot of fruit wine for her brother and Huzi, ¡°Drink a bit to warm yourself up, wait until Xiaojiees back, then you can drink some more.¡± Her eldest brother, Jiang Jie, wouldn¡¯t be back for lunch. He either had meals with the Luo Family or got some simple food in the public office, and wouldn¡¯t be home untilte afternoon. Chunniang asked, ¡°Should we also invite Master Wu?¡± ¡°Let someone deliver the invitation when Xiaojiees back. We just don¡¯t know whether Mr. Wu has the time.¡± After all, Master Wu was a busy man these days with many social duties. It was rare to catch a glimpse of him. Chunniang: ¡°Alright.¡± After the meal, Jiang Wu and Huzi walked around the courtyard before retiring to their room for rest. In the afternoon, Jiang Jie and Jiang Quan came back together. The roads had already been covered with white snow. Jiang Quan ran into the room, put a bag of money on the kanga, dusted the snowkes off his body, and said to Yingbao: ¡°All the flowers in our store have been sold off, and many have paid in advance.¡± He then took out the ount book from his pocket and handed it to his younger cousin, chuckling: ¡°There were only big clients today. Do you think we have enough potted nts?¡±
Yingbao took a look at the ount book and pointed at one of the orders, asking: ¡°Who is this Lun Family? Why do they need so many flowers?¡± They ordered eighty pots at once, which was a big deal. Jiang Quan peered at the book: ¡°The Lun Family? They have a daughter who is one of the Emperor¡¯s concubines. The steward who ced the order said that the concubine gave birth to a prince yesterday, the flowers are for the celebration of the prince¡¯s full moon.¡± ¡°No wonder.¡± Yingbao returned the ount book to him: ¡°There should be enough flowers in our greenhouse. Send them over tomorrow, and make sure they pay on the spot. We do not do credit.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Jiang Quan tucked the ount book away, and went out to meet Jiang Wu and Huzi.
In the evening, the Jiang family held a banquet and invited Master Wu. Wu Shi also came along. At the banquet, Elder Wu said, ¡°The Xiao Family is really absurd, they even sent a petition to His Majesty, requesting him to bestow a marriage. Fortunately, His Majesty did not agree to their request.¡± ¡°Who are they trying to marry off?¡± Jiang Wu asked curiously. Jiang Jie sneered coldly, ¡°Marquis Changshou actually asked His Majesty to marry my sister for his son. He¡¯s really dreaming.¡± It wasn¡¯t just that the Marquis Changshou was a noble in name only. Considering that his second son had an unclear rtionship with a tattooed woman, this simply won¡¯t be possible. Even though Marquis Xiao might not necessarily be requesting for his son, all of the Xiao Family¡¯s brothers lived under the same roof, thus marrying into such a family would inevitably be distasteful. Jiang Wu furrowed his brows. He did know about the Xiao Family. He also knew that the second young master of the Xiao Family was interested in Chen Guanglu¡¯s daughter and was protecting Chen Guanglu¡¯s widow and her son. Their family had a feud with Chen Guanglu. His father had even mentioned that Han Yueniang had kidnapped his young sister and had tried to kill her. Such a malicious woman was protected by the Xiao Family, and now they wanted to marry his sister. There must be something sinister behind this. ¡°When I meet the Emperor, I will definitely rify that my sister¡¯s marriage should be decided by herself.¡± Jiang Wu grumbled indignantly. Tomorrow, the emperor would meet the returning military officials, so he would certainly have the opportunity to exin this to the emperor. Elder Wu: ¡°The present n is not to advise the Emperor, but to find a suitable marriage for Yingbao as soon as possible. Otherwise, if more and more requests for the Emperor¡¯s decision on her marriage appear, even the Emperor will find it hard to refuse.¡±
After all, Yingbao was the Emperor¡¯s only female disciple. She was like his own daughter and whoever married her would certainly be favored by the Emperor. Jiang Jie and his younger brother Jiang Wu, nced at each other, both feeling helpless. With their father not in Beijing, the only ones who could protect their sister and make a decision for her were the two of them. But when it came to finding a good husband for their sister, they were truly at a loss. Moreover, their sister had mentioned that she did not want to get married too soon. How should they handle this? ¡°I¡¯ll discuss this matter with mother when we go back.¡± Jiang Jie said. Jiang Wu remained silent. Jiang Quan also looked worried. Their business had just started. If their younger sister married and left, how could he manage everything alone? He would not be able to manage both growing bonsai and selling goods, even if he multi-tasked, he would be overwhelmed. Worse, without his sister¡¯s support, the business might fall into decline and he could quickly be broke. The more Jiang Quan thought about this possibility, the more terrified he became. He suddenly stood up and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t we take Yingbao back to our hometown?¡± His business with his sister in the county was good, and they were earning no less than what they made in Beijing.
Moreover, their third uncle was the County Magistrate of Qinchuan County, no one dared to cross their path. Wu Shi frowned at him, ¡°Allnd under the heaven belongs to the emperor, do you think everything would be alright if you went to the county? Even with an imperial decree from the Emperor, wouldn¡¯t you have to obediently return?¡± Jiang Quan scratched his head, ¡°So what should we do?¡± Suddenly, Huzi said, ¡°Why not betroth Yingbao to Wei Zhan? They¡¯ve known each other since childhood, there¡¯s some affection there.¡± Elder Wu said, ¡°Discuss this matter with Madam Jiang at your leisure. My only advice is, it¡¯s better to act sooner rather thanter.¡± In recent days, people have been advising the Emperor everyday that Zhou Hao and Zhang Min had reached the age of marriage and should be granted marriages. This has also led to discussions about Yingbao, with proposals to send official matchmakers over. These marriage discussions were also linked to thews of the imperial court, stating that men must marry when of age and women must not remain unmarried when of age, or face severe punishment. In the end, there were those who wanted to drive the Emperor¡¯s closest associates away from him: Zhou Hao, Zhang Min and Yingbao, or even have them eradicated. The marriage issue was just a pretext. Chapter 424: 420: Fake Decree_1 Chapter 424: Chapter 420: Fake Decree_1 Yingbao was unaware that her two younger brothers were losing sleep and appetite over her impending marriage. Since the day of their feast, her two brothers seemed to have abruptly matured. Their words and actions had been imbued with a profound calmness. Then, the appointment letters for Jiang Wu and Huzi arrived. Huzi was given a position in Beijing¡¯s Imperial Army, an official grade six military rank. Jiang Wu was appointed as the drill master of Yuzhou, a fifth-grade official. He needed to leave for appointment early next year. Mother and Yingbao were both happy and a little worried. After all, Jiang Wu was still young, turning only fifteen after the New Year. He would have to travel thousands of miles away, with no possibility ofing home for several years. Yingbao: ¡°Mother, shouldn¡¯t we arrange a marriage for Xiaowu? He is going such a long way; he should have someone caring for him by his side.¡± Mother sighed: ¡°Where can we find a suitable match so fast? Ah, if only your father was still here.¡± Yingbao furrowed her brows in thought, ¡°What if I apany Xiaowu to Yuzhou?¡± Beijing was incredibly dull. With the Xiao Family and Chen Tiantian constantly causing strife, and her inability to kill them, she might as well get as far away as possible. After all, mother had Jiang Jie, and there were also Master Wu and his family to look after her. She could request the Emperor to permit her father to move to Beijing.
They could also bring grandfather, grandmother, and her second uncle¡¯s family. With the four-season potted nt shop of the Jiang family, they wouldn¡¯t need to worry about food and drink. Mother shook her head: ¡°No, you should stay home with me.¡± How could a young maiden be allowed to wander around aimlessly? Seeing the firm opposition from her mother, Yingbao said nothing more. After a moment¡¯s thought, she suddenly remembered Jiang Jie: ¡°Mother, we should invite a matchmaker to the Luo Family as well.¡± Even though the Luo Family expressed their intentions to have Jiang Jie as their son-inw first, they must also show cordiality too. As long as Jiang Jie had no objections, they must hasten to finalize the marriage. Mother nodded: ¡°A few days ago, I already asked olddy Wu to help find a matchmaker. But since everyone is busy preparing for the ancestor worship, she asked us to wait.¡± Yingbao was relieved, ¡°We still have lots of silk and satin, let¡¯s go to the jewelry shop to order some headwear and essories. We also need to buy some jade items. When the matchmaker arrives, we need to have a decent betrothal gift to give.¡± Mother: ¡°Then let¡¯s go to the market tomorrow. With the New Year approaching, we need to prepare some fabric to give the servants new clothes.¡± ¡°Yes, we also have to prepare new clothes for Xiaowu and Huzi.¡± Yingbao thought of buying some trendy fabrics and hiring a seamstress to make several fashionable robes for her two brothers and for Huzi and Jiang Quan. They were often out and about, so they had to be elegantly dressed. The next day, Yingbao and her mother, apanied by a maid, took their carriage to the market. First, they went to a jeweler and ordered six sets of gold-iid bridal headwear, two gold nes, several pairs of jade and gold bracelets, and assorted jade hairpins and ivorybs. For the men, they ordered several sets of leather belts and shoes. They requested the shopkeeper to deliver the items to Jiang Mansion. Afterwards, they bought dozens of bolts of silk and satin, and cotton, linen, and hemp fabric for the servants. They also hired several seamstresses from the silk shop to send them to Jiang Mansion. Then, they visited a shoe shop, purchasing several pairs of shoes and boots for the brothers and cousins, and a pair of cotton shoes for each servant and maid. The cost of all these was a few hundred taels of silver, making her mother frightfully worried, continuously asking her daughter: ¡°Do we have enough money?¡± All those purchases required only a deposit at first, and the remaining payment would be settled after delivery to Jiang Mansion. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mother, we have enough.¡± The four-season potted nt business that Yingbao and her cousin started had, in just over two months, made a few thousand taels of silver. Even after deducting the expenses for buying pots, seedlings, constructing the greenhouse, and buying shop space, their profit was still more than two thousand taels. Even after sharing with her second cousin, she could over a thousand, which was more than enough to cover today¡¯s expenses. Chunniang couldn¡¯t help worrying, but she also knew that these expenses were unavoidable.
Not only that, they had to prepare for New Year¡¯s gifts, to be distributed to rtives, friends, and Jiang Jie¡¯s colleagues. Although they would indeed receive reciprocal gifts, these gifts were not in the form of cash. Hence, whatever was spent could never be recovered. Being an official in Beijing was not easy. Despite her son¡¯s seemingly sufficient stipend, it was a challenge to support arge family and maintain social rtionships without some additional financial resource to provide liquidity. Fortunately, her young daughter and her second cousin had a small business. Otherwise, they would not even be able to afford their servants.
After visiting the shops, they went to the grain store to buy grains, salt and spices. They also purchased several jars of soybean paste and rice vinegar. Upon seeing that the soybean paste in Beijing cost a few dozen coins per catty, Chunniang couldn¡¯t help but grumble, ¡°If we had known earlier, we could have sun-dried several jars at home; it¡¯s too expensive!¡± Yingbao also found it rather expensive. A copper spoon alone cost more than a hundred coins which wasn¡¯t worth it at all: ¡°Next summer, we will sun-dry it ourselves.¡± The soybean paste was essential for their cooking. Including the servants, theirrge family of almost twenty used several spoonfuls of it a day, let alone the rice, noodles, oil, and the daily meat like chicken, duck, and fish. Yingbao roughly estimated that theirrge family spent about ten taels a day, which added up to three hundred taels a month. This only ounted for food consumption. If we considered the costs of reciprocity, and the monthly wages of the servants, they would need at least five hundred taels a month to get by. The mother and daughter finally finished their shopping and returned home in a carriage. In no time, the stores had delivered everything to their home. After Yingbao had checked everything once, she picked some boxes of beaded flowers from the other samples delivered by the shopkeepers and settled the bills. The valuable jewelry and fabrics were kept in Chunniang¡¯s room in camphorwood boxes with locks. These were being prepared as betrothal gifts. The rest was handed over to Weng Xiuxiu and a few newly recruited seamstresses, who were assigned to make clothes for the masters of the house. The clothes for the servants were left to them to make. Yingbao distributed cotton, cotton fabric, and hemp fabric to each servant, enough for each to make two sets of clothes.
The clothes for the male servants and young boys were delegated to several maidens. Since they didn¡¯t require any embroidery on their clothes, a few maidens could finish in a couple of days if they coborated. As for the rice, noodles, grains, oil, salt, and sauce, Yingbao stored them in a separate room and temporary entrusted the key to Magnolia. The kitchen staff had to ount for every item they fetched. After the Kitchen God¡¯s Festival, two eunuchs suddenly arrived from the pce, iming that they had beenmanded by the Emperor to summon Yingbao. Recalling what Master Zhou Wuchang had mentioned before, Yingbao questioned the two eunuchs, ¡°My master told me that if he would summon me, there would be an imperial decree. Why don¡¯t you have one?¡± The two eunuchs seemed a little flustered, but they soonposed themselves and replied, ¡°Yingbao, are you nning to defy and disrespect the imperial decree?¡± Yingbao scrutinized the two men, ¡°You had better tell the truth. Who ordered you, and why have you summoned me to the pce? If I hear a single lie, I will personally ask my master about it and hold you responsible!¡± One of the eunuchs¡¯ faces fell. ¡°Yingbao, are you threatening us?¡± he asked. ¡°Faking an imperial edict is a serious offense. Surely, eunuch, you know this, don¡¯t you?¡± Yingbao was not at all intimidated by the two eunuchs. They were just the dogs brought up by the Imperial Consort; it was them who had lied before, iming they were carrying the Emperor¡¯s oral decree when in reality, it was the Imperial Consort who, taking advantage of her pregnancy, had falsely issued the imperial edict. Chapter 425: 421: Bestow Divine Medicine_1 Chapter 425: Chapter 421: Bestow Divine Medicine_1 At this moment, Consort Lun has given birth to the first prince, and the Imperial Consort has no advantage, regardless of any moves she makes. Even if she too gives birth to a prince, he would only be the second prince. To surpass the first prince, either the Imperial Consort would have to be promoted to Empress and legitimise her own son, or eliminate the first prince, to possibly make her child be the eldest son. Thinking about this, Yingbao felt she should not mingle with the Imperial Consort. The Lun Family is also a great family in Beijing, Consort Lun¡¯s father is the current Prime Minister, and one of the founding heroes of the Zhou Dynasty, it would be foolish of her to get involved with Lun Family¡¯s rivals. ¡°Jiang Yingbao! You insolent!¡± A guard¡¯s face turned stern as he pointed at Yingbao, ¡°We have received orders from the Imperial Consort to summon you to the pce. You dare to defy the Empress, do you want to die?¡± ¡°Whom are you saying wants to die?¡± Jiang Wu came out from the house with a cold expression, ¡°You dare to fabricate imperial decrees, have you no regard for the emperor?¡± The guard was momentarily rendered speechless and harshly rebuked him, ¡°Very well, we¡¯ll see! We will report this to the Empress and she will deal with you and your family¡¯s crime!¡± With that, they left Jiang House, climbed onto a royal chariot, and quickly drove away. Yingbao watched the carriage move away with a twinge of unease in her heart. What on earth does the Imperial Consort Yao want to do, haunting her continuously? Jiang Wu took his sister back into the house, saying, ¡°Sister, it¡¯s not good news if the Imperial Consort Yao wants you in the pce at this time. You did the right thing by not going.¡±
In a few days, it will be the full moon banquet of the first prince. If anything happens prior to this, it would stir up a ho¡¯s nest. Leaving everything else aside, the Imperial Consort Yao is close to giving birth. If anything unexpected, like a miscarriage, happens after she meets an outsider, Yingbao will certainly get implicated. At that time, how would the Emperor appease the Yao Family¡¯s anger and punish the Jiang Family? The very thought of it was unbearable. ¡°I know.¡± It¡¯s not that Yingbao and her brother were being overly paranoid, it was because the political situation of the newly established dynasty was still unstable. Many noble families seemingly pledged loyalty to the new dynasty, but were, in fact, constantly watching closely. These people might think that if Zhou Wuchang could be the Emperor, then they could too. It¡¯s probably the reason why Emperor Zhou Wuchang has so many imperial consorts but has not appointed an Empress. Once an Empress is appointed, other families may be disgruntled and restless, taking covert action. As long as there is no Empress, everyone feels hopeful for their daughters, and this is why they temporarily suppress their desires. Indeed, who would want to venture into danger when they could achieve their goal withoutbat? The next day, Jiang Wu went with Lord Wu to attend the court meeting. Both of them were fifth-grade officers permitted to see the Emperor in the main court hall. However, the positions they stood in were only at the back of officers with first to fourth grades. Without knowing, not long after the court meeting started, someone used him of disrespect andwlessness. Jiang Wu was speechless and made a note of the person who used him. Officials who were used also had the opportunity to defend themselves. Therefore, after Jiang Wu returned home from the court, he wrote a lengthy letter of defense. In it, he poured out everything about the people from the pce who dared to forge the imperial decree. If it were other officers, they might be considerate and worry about ruining the Emperor¡¯s face, after all, the people who falsified the imperial orders were his consorts. But Jiang Wu didn¡¯t care and he wrote down exactly what these people said in the letter to let the Emperor see. Luckily, Emperor Zhou Wuchang paid much attention to this matter, asked for Jiang Wu¡¯s defence letter from the Prime Minister, and roughly went through it.
After reading, Emperor Zhou Wuchang¡¯s face darkened and he immediately went to Imperial Consort Yao. Imperial Consort Yao was about a month away from her expected delivery. At this moment, she felt heavy and was confused when she was ordered to kneel, ¡°Your Majesty, what have I done wrong?¡± Zhou Wuchang, with his hands behind his back, asked, ¡°What are you trying to do by repeatedly falsifying my imperial edict?¡± Yao Shufei was taken aback, ¡°I¡­ did not.¡±
Zhou Wuchang flung the document at her face: ¡°Look carefully, is there a single untruth in it?¡± Yao Shufei, trembling, picked up the paper and examined it closely, breaking out in a cold sweat. ¡°Your Majesty, I just wanted to invite Jiang Yingbao into the pce for a medical consultation, with no other intention¡­ Nor did I falsify any imperialmands.¡± Zhou Wuchang scoffed, ¡°You have the Imperial Medical Bureau to consult with. Why do you need to bring a young girl into the pce? What? Do you think my Imperial Physicians are all useless?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t mean that,¡± Shufei sobbed, covering her face. Zhou Wuchang gave her a cold stare: ¡°I¡¯ve warned you once before. Without arrangements from the Imperial Household Department, no one shall be allowed into the pce. Do you take my Imperial Pce for your Yao Family¡¯s backyard? Do you take my words as a gust of wind by your ear?¡± ¡°I¡­ I know I was wrong, ooh¡­,¡± she sobbed. Zhou Wuchang was unmoved. He walked to the door with his hands behind his back, looked at the pce attendants kneeling on the steps of the grand hall, and asked in a cold voice, ¡°Who forged the imperial edict the other day? Step forward!¡± The two pce attendants crawled out from the crowd, constantly bowing their heads, ¡°We were just following the orders of Consort Shufei¡­¡± Zhou Wuchang: ¡°Take them out and beat them to death!¡± A few guards stepped forward, seized the two pce attendants, and hauled them outside the pce gate. ¡°Emperor, spare us¡­ Emperor, spare us¡­¡± The two eunuchs kept begging for mercy, but their mouths were soon gagged.
The sound of the rattan beating rang in the grand hall, causing Shufei consort to faint. The pce attendants didn¡¯t dare to help her until Zhou Wuchang spoke. Then they ced Shufei on the bed and called for the Imperial Physician. That night, Yao Shufei gave birth to a baby girl. As she was premature, she was only a little longer than an adult¡¯s palm, wrinkled and red, crying weakly like a kitten. Imperial Physician Wen could only tell the truth to the Emperor, ¡°The baby is premature and weak. It¡¯s doubtful if she can survive.¡± Shocked, Yao Shufei was also on the brink of death. ¡°Take this and feed it to both of them,¡± Zhou Wuchang took out two pills encapsted in wax from a secretpartment and handed them to Imperial Physician Wen. Wen Jingyan received the pills, and upon opening them up, a refreshing scent hit him. The scent was very familiar. He didn¡¯t dare to hesitate, feeding one of the pills to Yao Shufei and dissolved the other one in water for the infant. The mother and daughter were finally safe. The news of Yao Shufei¡¯s premature delivery reached the Yao Family, who were furious, especially Yao Qian, a schr-official of the middle-ranking Imperial Secretariat. He mmed his fist on the table and rebuked the Emperor for his heartlessness and fickleness. However, upon learning that her daughter and granddaughter were revived by the Emperor¡¯s divine medicine, he reconciled his emotions and started to discreetly inquire about the origins of the divine medicine. But people around the Emperor imed that the Emperor could summon heavenly spirits, and that the divine medicine was a life-saving treasure given to humans by the Heavenly God. They also said that not only could the divine medicine save lives, it could also extend longevity. This left the Yao family in shock. The 72-year-old Duke of Yao was particrly fascinated by the divine medicine. It was said in the ssics that once you reached 73 or 84, you would enter the realm of death willingly. These two ages are critical stages in life; if you can make it past, you will live; if not, you will die.
The old Duke was strong-willed and feared death greatly. As he was approaching the critical age of 73, the old man lived in constant fear. He forbade his family members from mentioning his age and decided not to celebrate his birthday. Upon hearing that the Emperor had a divine medicine, the old man, white-haired and aged, wished to rush into the Imperial Pce and demand a pill from the Emperor instantly. Chapter 426: 422: Enthronement_1 Chapter 426: Chapter 422: Enthronement_1 The first day of the New Year came in the blink of an eye. First thing in the morning, four Pce carriages arrived, carrying two officers from Zhongshu Province, several Pce Maids holding gift boxes, a few eunuchs carrying ceremonial objects, as well as a group of guards on horseback. They arrived at the gate of the Jiang Family house, calling out loudly: ¡°A royal decree from His Majesty!¡± The gatekeeper boy was startled and rushed into the backyard to announce the news. Xu Chunniang and her daughter had gotten up early, dressed in new clothes, and were preparing breakfast when they were startled by the boy¡¯s announcement. They immediately called their two sons and Jiang Quan¡¯s Huzi to the door to receive the imperial decree. A group of people was weed into the main hall to read the imperial edict, and the whole family prepared a ceremonial table, properly dressed and kneeling to listen to it. It turned out that the Emperor was hosting a feast for his officials and their families in Taihe Hall today, inviting the Jiang Family to the banquet in the pce. There were two other decrees. One was to bestow upon Xu Chunniang the rank of Anren of the Sixth Rank and grant her a set of ceremonial attire and a silk ribbon, along with an official document. The other was to grant Jiang Yingbao the title of Second-ss Princess of Qinchuan County, with a set of ceremonial attire, a silk ribbon and a jade butterfly, and several corresponding ceremonial objects, along with eight Pce Assistants, a county mansion, a set of sedan chairs, and twelve guards. Looking at the Pce Maids and eunuchs holding the ceremonial objects, Yingbao was a tad bit stunned. A clerk smiled and said, ¡°Princess Qinchuan, you should ept the decree promptly. You will have to go to the pceter to express your gratitude.¡±
Yingbao promptly epted the decree with a bow. Holding the imperial decree and the jade butterfly, she didn¡¯t know what to say for a moment. She did not expect the Emperor to bestow upon her the title of a princess, granting her Qinchuan County as her territory. This was a treatment that only the daughters of a prince or a Commandery Prince had. After epting the decree, the Chunniang and the others wanted to invite the clerks and others to a meal, but they declined saying, ¡°We must return to report, we cannot stay for long.¡± Jiang Jie, seeing this, promptly fetched tworge red envelopes and ced them into the hands of the two clerks, and each of the eunuchs also received a red envelope. After sending off the officials who delivered the decree, the family looked towards the eight Pce Assistants. A senior Pce Maid bowed to Yingbao and said, ¡°I am Meixiang, wishing the Princess peace.¡± Another Pce Maid also knelt and said, ¡°May the Princess have great fortune, I am called Lan Xiang.¡± ¡°I am He Xiang¡­¡± ¡°My name is Qiu Xiang¡­¡± The four eunuchs also came to pay their respects: ¡°Guixiang, Jinxi, Yulian, Yudahai, wishing peace to the Princess.¡± Yingbao nodded, telling them to rise. The senior Pce Maid, Meixiang, said, ¡°Later, when the Princess goes to the pce to express her gratitude, allow me to assist you in dressing.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± said Yingbao, as she went inside with her mother. Xu Chunniang also had to dress in the outfit of a six-rank noblewoman, put on the silk ribbon, and go to the pce to express her gratitude, and to attend the pce banquet. Furthermore, she and her daughter needed to hear from Meixiang about the rules inside the pce, along with the required etiquettes. Fortunately, these Pce Maids can apany them into the pce this time. Even if they can¡¯t remember all the rules, having the Pce Maids next to them to give reminders, they should not make any mistakes. After the four Pce Maids had dressed Yingbao and her mother, and applied their makeup, they stood at one side with their hands down.
Yingbao¡¯s ceremonial attire was longer than her mother¡¯s; it dragged on the ground behind her, appearing particrly imposing. The moment Xu Chunniang put on the noblewoman¡¯s ceremonial attire, her aura was instantly elevated. With her beautiful features, she was in no way inferior to those noblewomen from prominent families. Late on, the whole family went to the pce for the banquet together, except for Jiang Quan, who was not on the invitation list. Fortunately, Jiang Quan was nonchnt. After cheerfully seeing off his aunt and little cousin, he returned to his room and sat on his kang to count his money.
When Yingbao¡¯s carriage reached the gate of the Imperial City, it was surrounded by officers¡¯ carriages and sedan chairs. Her carriage was a gift from the Emperor, so it could directly enter the city. With eunuchs and guards leading the way, the crowd at the gate let them through. They drove into the Imperial City, entered through the Xuanyou Gate, and arrived at the Meeting Gate outside the Zichen Hall along the north-south avenue. As soon as they crossed the Meeting Gate, they were inside the Imperial Pce. Inside the Meeting Gate were the Imperial Kitchens of the Pce Department, as well as the Pce Medicine Bureau, Wine Bureau, Clothing Bureau, Residence Bureau, and Carriage Bureau, a total of six bureaus, which were usually heavily guarded. Those who can enter through this gate are all confidants and close servants of the Emperor and the pce consorts. Right now, outside the Meeting Gate, the personnel of misceneous services such as the Provincial Directors, Imperial Pharmacists, Guards, Chariot Officials, Carriage Courtyard, Yellow Courtyard, and the Pce Soldiers of Inner Offices, are on standby, ready for summons at any time. The people in the pce responsible for purchasing and tribute are all entering the pce from here. Yingbao and her mother alighted from the cart, and followed by a few pce maids, entered the Meeting Gate. Subsequently, they arrived at Wenhe Hall, the side hall next to the Purple Imperial Hall. Meixiang said that the Emperor would temporarily stop here. At the entrance of Wenhe Hall, there were indeed many eunuchs and pce maids. From the look of it, the Emperor must already be inside the Hall. After being announced, Yingbao and Chunniang entered the hall.
There sat Zhou Wuchang in a bright yellow dragon robe, wearing a crown woven from gold thread upon his head, on the dragon throne. ¡°Long live the Emperor! May your life be filled with peace and fortitude!¡± The mother and daughter respectfully performed the ritual of three kneelings and nine bowings to Zhou Wuchang. Zhou Wuchang smiled: ¡°Rise. Fetch their seats.¡± The pce attendants on both sides immediately brought up two round stools. After thanking him, Yingbao and her mother sat down on the stools. She thought for a while and asked, ¡°Emperor, did you really assign Qinchuan County as my territory?¡± Zhou Wuchang gave a nod. Yingbaoughed: ¡°Then I n to go back and live in Qinchuan County in the future.¡± ¡°Dream on, you still need to stay in Beijing.¡± Zhou Wuchang took a sip of tea from his cup. ¡°Why?¡± Zhou Wuchang said: ¡°You are not yet married. The person who will be your husband will be selected for you, then you can move to Qinchuan County.¡± Yingbao: ¡°¡­¡±
Zhou Wuchang added, ¡°In today¡¯s pce feast, you should take a good look. If you find any gentleman pleasing, tell me.¡± Yingbao was at a loss for words. Zhou Wuchang: ¡°You are growing old. In our dynasty, it is rare for a woman to be unmarried at the age of seventeen. Every time the court convenes, I have to listen to those old ministers nagging. You, Zhou Hao, Zhang Min, and others have been impeached by those old ministers countless times. I¡¯m helpless.¡± ¡°What if the person I like doesn¡¯t live in Beijing?¡± Yingbao tried to stay confident. Zhou Wuchang: ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. As long as you identify who it is, I will give you two my blessings.¡± ¡°What if he doesn¡¯t agree?¡± Yingbao asked, batting her eyes. Zhou Wuchang smiled: ¡°No matter, I will summon him and inquire.¡± Seeing Yingbao about to speak again, the Emperor hurriedly said, ¡°The banquet is about to start, you guys go to the Chuigong Hall.¡± The Chuigong Hall is next to the Purple Imperial Hall and the pce consorts anddies were dining in this hall today. Seeing that her master had started to move people along, Yingbao and her mother had to excuse themselves. When they arrived at Chuigong Hall, a lot ofdies had already taken their seats in the Hall. Under the guidance of the eunuch of the pce, Yingbao and Chunniang found their respective seats. They had no choice, because of their different ranks, they were assigned different positions.
Luckily, the old Madame Wu and old Madame Luo were also there, their ranks were the same as Chunniang¡¯s, which was the sixth-ranked Anren, and they ended up sitting together. Seeing that her mother was sitting next to old Madame Wu, Yingbao felt relieved and nodded to thedies on her left and right as a gesture. She holds the title of the Second Rank County Lady, her status is equivalent to the royal kins of the imperial family and she is sitting with several imperial-decreeddies of the First and Second Rank. Meixiang secretly told her that some of thesedies were the birth mothers of Consort Shu Yao and Consort Xian Lv, and others were the mothers of Consort Hui Chen and Consort De Zhong. They looked young, about the same age as Chunniang. ¡°So you¡¯re the one who is the Emperor¡¯s female disciple?¡± Madame Lv asked with a warm smile. Chapter 427: 423: Choosing a Son-in-law_1 Chapter 427: Chapter 423: Choosing a Son-inw_1 Yingbao nodded: ¡°Yes.¡± Lady Lv smiled: ¡°I had heard of you before, but I never saw you. I didn¡¯t expect you to be such a lovely child.¡± ¡°Your praise is too kind,¡± Yingbao modestly replied. Madam Yao, who was sitting next to them, sneered and turned her head to chat with anotherdy. Lady Lv asked: ¡°How old are you this year?¡± ¡°Seventeen.¡± ¡°Have you been engaged yet?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°My! Such a good child, how is it that you aren¡¯t engaged yet?¡± Lady Lv¡¯s smile widened, she began to whisper: ¡°To tell you the truth, I have a daughter who is sixteen and adamantly refuses to discuss her marriage. It¡¯s absolutely worrisome.¡± Yingbao: ¡°Eighteen is a proper age for marriage. Your daughter must be reluctant to leave home.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the truth,¡± Lady Lv sighed, ¡°I wish to keep her with me for a few more years too, but the boys in other families are already engaged. If we wait any longer, it would only dy her.¡±
Yingbao: ¡­ Why do all mothers seem to share this mindset? Her mother seems to think the same. Lady Lv took a sip of the tea in front of her and whispered: ¡°Madam County, has your younger brother been engaged yet?¡± Yingbao blinked: ¡°He will be soon. It will be finalized after the New Year.¡± Her family had already sent her younger brother¡¯s marriage documents to the Luo Family, and the Luo Family had handed Luo Zhao¡¯s documents to the matchmaker. All that was left was for the Cab of Astronomy topute the auspicious date. Lady Lv seemed disappointed, but soon said: ¡°My daughter¡¯s temperament is simr to yours. When we go home, I¡¯ll have her send you an invitation. The two of you can get to know each other and be confidantes.¡± ¡°Thank you for your kind consideration,¡± Yingbao replied. After chatting for a while, the mother-inw of Concubine Chen leaned in and greeted Yingbao with a friendly smile: ¡°My daughters are close to the County Mistress of Qinchuan in age, you all must have a lot inmon.¡± Yingbao smiled delicately. While they were talking, they heard the royal eunuch annouce: ¡°Concubine Hui has arrived!¡± ¡°Concubine Xian has arrived!¡± ¡°Concubine Shu has arrived!¡± ¡°Concubine De has arrived!¡± Upon hearing the announcement, everyone hurried to their feet and kneeled down beside the table. Yingbao kneeled behind Lady Chen and Lady Lv, discreetly raising her head for a peek. She saw the four imperial consorts enter in a line. They were dressed in resplendent garments, their ornaments and crowns jingling delicately, their long ribbons trailing behind them like a profusion of blossoms. They were followed by several imperial concubines, as well as a multitude of pce maids and attendants. The four imperial consorts took their seats behind the main table, with the imperial concubines seated on each side.
The pce maids stood behind the imperial consorts, each holding a long-handled fan, while the other attendants, carrying ceremonial implements, stood to one side. Concubine Hui, who was in charge of the event, said: ¡°Ladies, please rise.¡± It was only then that the noblewomen were able to stand up. Concubine Hui: ¡°Please be seated. There¡¯s no need for formality.¡±
Everyone then took their seats. After Concubine Hui said a few encouraging words, the banquet began with dishes, fruit, and wine being served by the pce attendants. Yingbao noticed that the dishes at her side of the table were more plentiful than those at her mother¡¯s side, with a few additional dishes. Even the vessels used to serve the food were different. Regardless, the noblewomen ate very carefully, setting down their chopsticks after only a few bites. During the banquet, performers from the Ministry of Rites disyed their skills, and acrobats performed their tricks. A young girl contorted her body into a fold, using her mouth to pick at the silk flowers under a decorated stool. Yingbao was somewhat disinterested, and she waited impatiently for the banquet to finally end. After the four imperial consorts left with a crowd of attendants, many imperial consorts followed to visit their own daughters, leaving only the lower-ranked noblewomen in the great hall. After leaving the Grand Hall, Yingbao waited for her mother and the others, then left the pce with them. Once they had exited the Meeting Gate and climbed into the carriage, Yingbao remembered that the Emperor¡¯s teacher had asked her to visit the Zichen Hall to observe the young talents. She decided against it. Simply judging by appearance, what could one discern?
¡°Miss, please wait!¡± A hurried voice came from behind the carriage. Meixiang turned her head to see that it was a eunuch from Taihe Hall. Yingbao had the carriage stopped and saw a teenage eunuch running to the front of the carriage, panting: ¡°Miss, the Emperor requests your presence at Taihe Hall.¡± ¡°What am I to do in Taihe Hall?¡± Yingbao asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The young eunuch stealthily wiped his forehead with his sleeve. ¡°The Emperor said if you don¡¯t go, he will arrange the marriage directly.¡± Yingbao: ¡­ Her master was bing more and more unreliable. Turning to Chunniang, she said, ¡°Mom, you go home first. Meixiang and I will check it out.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The Emperor arranging Yingbao¡¯s marriage actually pleased Chunniang. Nowadays, their daughter held such a high position that she and her husband could not find a suitable husband for her. It would be better to let her master take the initiative. There¡¯s a saying that the teacher is the father for life. Zhou Wuchang counts as Yingbao¡¯s master and elder. He would definitely choose a good family for her. Yingbao got off the carriage, taking Meixiang and Lanxiang with her towards Taihe Hall.
When they got to Taihe Hall, they saw many old ministers leaving the pce. Yingbao hesitated a moment, then followed the young eunuch towards Liu Garden by the side of Taihe Hall. Inside Liu Garden, some young officers were gathered in small groups chatting and seemed not to have noticed the women¡¯s arrival. ¡°Yingbao?¡± A male voice sounded from the side. Yingbao turned around to see Wei Zhan and Wen Hengyin standing together. Zhang Min and Zhou Hao were standing next to them, as were Jiang Jie, Jiang Wu, and Huzi. ¡°Eh? When did you guyse to the capital?¡± Yingbao asked. Wei Zhan chuckled, ¡°Early this morning.¡± He, Wen Hengyin, and Zhang Min had ridden their horses day and night to catch the New Year¡¯s pce banquet. ¡°No wonder.¡± She had been wondering that this guy came to the capital and didn¡¯t go to find Huzi and Jiang Wu. Turns out he didn¡¯t have time. Wei Zhan scratched his head, sneaked a nce at Yingbao, and spoke in a low voice: ¡°Yingbao,e over here. I have something to say to you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Yingbao nced at the others and followed Wei Zhan aside. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ I heard from Huzi that your aunt is selecting a family for you.¡± Wei Zhan looked somewhat embarrassed: ¡°I¡­ I want to tell you¡­¡±
¡°What?¡± Yingbao was curious. Could it be that this guy wanted to volunteer for¡­ no, to propose a match? Wei Zhan took a deep breath and puffed out his chest: ¡°Well, how do you feel about me?¡± Yingbao¡¯s mouth twitched as she gave him a look: ¡°Not bad, a bit dark though.¡± ¡°You¡­ ¡± Wei Zhan looked helpless, ¡°If I stay indoors for a few days, I could lighten up.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really, really! My tan is because I¡¯ve been out in the sun.¡± Wei Zhan patted his chest, ¡°My mom is fair, my dad is also fair. There¡¯s no reason why I should be dark.¡± Yingbao held back augh: ¡°Alright, I believe you.¡± Wei Zhan grinned widely, showing his white teeth: ¡°Then I¡¯ll go and inform the Emperor.¡± Yingbao nodded. If she was forced to choose, then Wei Zhan it was. At the very least he seemed transparent, easy to read. Wei Zhan, overjoyed, ran towards Taihe Hall. He hadn¡¯t wasted a moment after receiving Huzi¡¯s letter and had rushed day and night to arrive just in time. Yingbao watched Wei Zhan frolic off in the distance with a faint warmth in her heart. Turning around, she saw her younger brother Jiang Jie and Jiang Wuing over. ¡°Sister, did you choose Wei Zhan?¡± Jiang Jie asked. Yingbao nodded. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you choose Wen Hengyin?¡± Jiang Wu asked. Yingbao was puzzled: ¡°Why should I choose Wen Hengyin?¡± Jiang Wu: ¡°I wrote to Wen Hengyin, telling him about your marriage selection and asked if he was willing toe. Yet, he came but you chose Wei Zhan.¡± Chapter 428: 424: Marquis Changshou Residence_1 Chapter 428: Chapter 424: Marquis Changshou Residence_1 Yingbao nced at Wen Hengyin who was standing not far away and said to her brother, ¡°We can¡¯t decide on this.¡± Her master would never agree to her marriage with Wen Hengyin, because his grandfather was the Imperial Physician, and her master didn¡¯t want his miraculous elixir to be used by the Wen Family. Moreover, her master was different from before. Now he was the Emperor, and he also knew some of her miraculous abilities. So she could marry Wei Family, which had no background, or a low-born officer, but she could not have any involvement with those aristocratic families, which included Zhong Chuyan, Zhou Hao, Zhang Min and others. It was even more impossible for therge families in Beijing, including the family of the Four Concubines. These were founding heroes with profound backgrounds. She, a county princess with miraculous abilities, who was not the biological daughter of the Emperor, might be disdained by the Emperor regardless of which family she married into. For instance, Zhong Chuyan was a descendant of General Zhong and heldmand of hundreds of thousands of troops in the northwest, with arge number of martial generals following him. If she married into the Zhong Family, it would certainly alert the Emperor. Zhang Min¡¯s father was a great schr who had been the prefect of Jingzhou. Now he had returned to Beijing, but had not contacted their family even once. It seemed that Prefect Zhang was a cautious man who didn¡¯t want to catch the Emperor¡¯s attention before his son got married. Zhou Hao was even more impossible. Since she was made a county princess, she had be his semi-daughter. Zhou Hao, the only nephew of Zhou Wuchang, had recently been appointed as the Commandery Prince of Han Mountain, so he obviously couldn¡¯t have any involvement with her. Thus, after careful consideration, Yingbao thought Wei Zhan was the best option. Her position now had made her marriage not just her own personal matter, a slight mistake could ruin the whole Jiang Family. Jiang Jie was silent for a moment, as though he had also figured it out. He spoke in a low voice, ¡°Wei Zhan is not bad either, Sis, atst you can get married.¡±
Yingbao:¡­. What did he just say? She red at her brother and said to him, ¡°If you have nothing to do on the third day of the new year, please invite Zhang Min¡¯s entire family and Zhou Hao to our house as guests. On the fourth day invite the Luo Family and the Wu Family, then on the fifth day invite your colleagues.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Jiang Jie knew the ways of the world. He personally drafted the list of gifts for the New Year celebrations, so he didn¡¯t need his sister¡¯s guidance. Yingbao just reminded him, and then returned home with a few Pce Maids. The next day, the imperial edict of marriage didn¡¯te. They didn¡¯t know whether it was because the Emperor was too busy and had dyed it. Chunniang kept looking out from under the eaves in excitement for a long time. She didn¡¯t see anyoneing from the pce, but instead saw the steward from the Marquis Changshou¡¯s Residence. The Marchioness Changshou, Madam Wang, had personally written an invitation letter, inviting Yingbao and her mother to a banquet in the Marquis Residence on the fifth day of the New Year, saying it was her 40th birthday. Chunniang didn¡¯t know what to do, so she came to her daughter for advice, ¡°Baobao, Marquis Changshou has sent an invite, shall we go?¡± ¡°Marquis Changshou, of the Xiao Family?¡± Yingbao thought for a moment: ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Why not? She would take this opportunity to understand the plot of the main characters up close. She always felt that the peace of these recent years was only the calm before the storm. Chunniang actually didn¡¯t want to go, but if she didn¡¯t, she wouldn¡¯t feel at ease about her daughter going alone to the banquet. ¡°Our family has no rtions with Marquis Changshou¡¯s family, and we don¡¯t have any reference for gifts. What should we send?¡± Chunniang asked. Yingbao: ¡°Ask Meixiang about this.¡± She herself didn¡¯t know what kind of gift would be most appropriate. Then she called Meixiang over. Under the guidance of this senior Pce Maid, they chose a pair of longevity brocade pictures. Now Yingbao was a county princess whose rank was one level higher than a Marquis. Therefore, the gift did not need to be too expensive, a token of good will was sufficient. On the morning of the fifth day, the steward of Marquis Changshou¡¯s Residence came to call on them again. This was a matter of courtesy, so Yingbao didn¡¯t notice anything out of the ordinary.
By noon, she was dressed neatly, and she and her mother climbed into the carriage. Four pce maids stood on both sides of the carriage, apanying them to the Marquis Changshou Residence. By that time, many nobledies and their daughters had already arrived at the Marquis Residence. Their ranks were not high, some even unsealed, and they all stood to greet Yingbao when she arrived.
The Marchioness Wang greeted them, taking the hands of Chunniang and Yingbao, and seated them in the main seats. Yingbao surveyed the assembly and saw that none of thedies were rted to the Emperor¡¯s consorts. She guessed that those who were willing to visit the Xiao family were probably old friends and rtives from the past. After some polite small talk, everyone started their individual conversations. Madame Xiao turned to Yingbao and said, ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to visit the County Lady and Jiang Anren for a while, but given our family¡¯s peculiar circumstances, I didn¡¯t dare to disturb.¡± ¡°Ah, thest time Chengyu came back home, he insisted on going to your house, but his second older brother punished him and did not let him go out for a month. Today, when he heard that the County Lady ising, he was overjoyed.¡± Chunniangughed and said, ¡°I was wondering what happened. We had ns to hang out, but then you didn¡¯te. That day, I had already prepared the fruit juice they both love.¡± ¡°You have been too kind.¡± Lady Xiao sighed, ¡°The Marquis¡¯s mobility is currently limited, and the second son is in control of everything at home. Chengyu is naughty and often annoys his second older brother, so he gets punished regrly.¡± Chunniang said, ¡°Children are often naughty. My two are still mischievous to this day.¡± After chatting for a while, Lady Xiao suddenly lowered her voice and said, ¡°A few days ago, the Emperor arranged marriages for both of my sons. The wedding is set for the twentieth of the first lunar month. Both sons will retrieve their brides on that day.¡± Yingbao blinked, looking at Lady Xiao, quietly listening to what came next. Madam Xiao said, ¡°Although the marriage matters are handled by the Department of Household Affairs, we still have to prepare at home. My second son let Han Yueniang ¨C a woman temporarily residing in our residence ¨C handle everything about his wedding chamber. I don¡¯t know what he was thinking.¡± Chunniang frowned and asked, ¡°Where is Han Yueniang¡¯s husband? Why hasn¡¯t he taken her back?¡± ¡°He was taken to Jin Country by barbarians,¡± replied Madame Xiao, ¡°and has been missing ever since.¡± The barbarians had taken the former emperor and empress along with other noble officials to Jin Country ¨C they were probably nevering back.
So, Han Yueniang, in essence, was a widow. It was unimaginable that Xiao Chengjun would allow a widow to arrange his new wedding room, instead of his own stepmother, who was the marchioness. While Madame Xiao felt bitter, she was also resigned. Why should she care about these troublesome affairs of the residence? The Marquis Changshou Residence, which supposedly held a lot of prestige, was essentially a cage. Not only were there spies sent by the Emperor to monitor every move, but she couldn¡¯t even send letters to her own family. Fortunately, she knew the Jiang Family¡¯s mother and daughter who had recently be well-known in Beijing. She could talk to them, so when she saw this pair of mother and daughter, she couldn¡¯t help but vent out all the mncholy that had been bottled up in her heart for so long. Yingbao curiously asked, ¡°Who will Xiao Mo and Xiao Chengjun get married to?¡± Madame Xiao replied, ¡°One is the daughter of Zhang, the Sima, whose father is an Earl. The other is a girl from Song Sima¡¯s home.¡± Although Sima Zhang¡¯s official position wasn¡¯t high, his family was noble, and his daughter, being promised to Xiao Mo, was certainly no disgrace to him. Song Sima was also influential, but none of his sons were sessful. However, his only daughter was extremely beautiful and quite a match for Xiao Chengjun. Yingbao looked thoughtful. As Xiao Chengjun was getting married, how should Chen Tiantian be arranged? After thinking for a while, she couldn¡¯t resist her curiosity and finally asked, ¡°Marchioness, I don¡¯t mean to be rude, but is Chen Tiantian the concubine of Xiao Chengjun?¡±
Chapter 429: 425: Single Man and Single Woman _1 Chapter 429: Chapter 425: Single Man and Single Woman _1 Madame Xiao smirked mysteriously, ¡°No. Originally, the second son nned to take her in, but she resolutely refused, insisting that she would only give herself to one man in this life and wouldn¡¯t be anyone¡¯s concubine.¡± This made Yingbao more curious, ¡°But she appears with Xiao Chengjun every day, who would dare to take her as theirwful wife?¡± Madame Xiao replied, ¡°She probably hoped to be duly married to the second son. However, this time she was disappointed. I heard from the maids in the front yard, ever since the second son received the imperial marriage decree, Miss Chen has been sobbing nonstop in her room.¡± Yingbao twitched at the corner of her eyes. Wasn¡¯t Chen Tiantian supposed to be Xiao Chengjun¡¯s beloved? Why hasn¡¯t he married her for so long? Could it be that what he really cherished were power and status? And also, Chen Tiantian is already twenty years old, is she prepared to always stick with Xiao Chengjun like this? ¡°Madam, the people from the main kitchen havee to say that the banquet is ready. Shall we begin serving the dishes now?¡± A maid came over and inquired from Madame Xiao. Madame Xiao nodded, ¡°Serve the dishes.¡± Today was her birthday, and she had invited people for four tables, but only two tables turned up. Fortunately, the mother and daughter of the Jiang family, who were county officials, were present; otherwise, it would have been too embarrassing for her.
Next, Madame Xiao invited all the women to sit in the flower hall, cing Yingbao and Chunniang in the main seats. After the feast, the guests all said their farewells. Yingbao and her mother also bid farewell to Madame Xiao to return home. Just as they were about to get into the carriage, they saw a chubby boy and a teen run up. ¡°Sister Yingbao! I want to go to your house to y!¡± The chubby boy, panting heavily, immediately reached out to tug at Yingbao¡¯s sleeve. Meixiang and Lan Xiang discreetly stepped in to keep the chubby boy away from their mistress and stood guard on either side of Yingbao. ¡°Chengyu.¡± Madame Xiao disapprovingly red at her son, ¡°You¡¯re already fifteen years old, yet you¡¯re still so impetuous.¡± The fifteen-year-old chubby boy, Xiao Chengyu, dressed in a new brocade robe with two buns on his head and his round chubby face looked slightly childish. He was now eagerly waiting for Yingbao¡¯s response. ¡°Alright, Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu, even Wei Zhan, are all there. You can y with them,¡± Wei Zhan had been staying at Zhou Hao¡¯s mansion for thest few days and had returned to the Jiang family home to celebrate the New Year. Xiao Chengyu jumped for joy and immediately called the little boy over, ¡°Let¡¯s go to Sister Yingbao¡¯s house to drink fruit juice.¡± The little boy seemed a bit disheartened, as if he had something on his mind. However, upon hearing about going over to Yingbao¡¯s ce, his eyes lit up. Like an adult, he earnestly saluted Yingbao, ¡°Happy New Year, Sister Yingbao. Wishing you a happy New Year as well, Auntie.¡± Chunniang nodded in response, speaking kindly, ¡°Happy New Year to you too. I¡¯ll make something delicious for you guyster.¡± ¡°Thank you, Auntie.¡± The little boy and Xiao Chengyu simultaneously expressed their gratitude. Then, the two young boys apanied by a servant left for the Jiang family¡¯s residence in a carriage. It was Lunar New Year¡¯s Day 5, and both Wei Zhan and Wen Hengyin Zhang Min were at the Jiang residence. They, along with Jiang Jie, Jiang Wu, Huzi, and Jiang Quan were fishing on the verandah, catching quite a few fish from the pond in Yingbao¡¯s yard. ¡°Brother Wei Zhan! I¡¯m here!¡± Although Xiao Chengyu was fat, he was quite agile. He ran over and started shaking Wei Zhan. Wei Zhan pushed him away with a look of disgust, ¡°You¡¯re shaking me so much my meal¡¯s about toe up. Lower your voice, we¡¯re fishing.¡±
Xiao Chengyu nodded, craned his neck to look at the pond, and saw several holes drilled into the ice surface where each was fishing. The little boy nced at these people and wanted to start a conversation, but they were all engrossed in watching the water surface and ignored him. Before long, two maids brought over steaming almond tea, serving each young man a cup. The men took a sip of almond tea with one hand, while holding a fishing rod with the other.
After finishing the almond tea, none of them noticed that Wei Zhan had disappeared. Inside the flower room, Yingbao squatted on the ground, nting freshly taken seedlings one by one into flower pots. After nting all twenty of them and getting up to fetch water from the tank, she noticed Wei Zhan standing not far away watching her. Startled, Yingbaoined, ¡°Why are you sneaking around?¡± Smiling triumphantly, Wei Zhan took out a delicately crafted box from his embrace and thrust it into her hands: ¡°This is for you. I didn¡¯t have a chance to give it to you the other day.¡± Picking up the hefty box, Yingbao nced at it and casually opened it to find a pair of wide bangles studded with gemstones. The gems were huge and the gold bangles were thick. The design was bold, quite unlike the style of this era. ¡°It came from a sea merchant,¡± Wei Zhan said. ¡°I guessed you¡¯d like it.¡± Indeed, Yingbao had a fondness for such real gold and gemstone objects ¨C sturdy, durable, and easily sold for money. ¡°Was it pricey? How much did you pay for it?¡± she asked. Wei Zhan scratched his head: ¡°It didn¡¯t cost much.¡± Seeing Yingbao re at him, he hurriedly added, ¡°Well, it cost just over five hundred taels.¡± Yingbao nodded, picked up one of them and slipped it onto her wrist. She jiggled it; it fit quite well but was a little heavy and inconvenient for work.
She slipped off the bangle, put it back in the box and closed the lid, then told Wei Zhan, ¡°I have something for you too.¡± Wei Zhan began to beam, his smile nearly reaching his ears. After some thought, Yingbao also pulled out a box and handed it to Wei Zhan: ¡°This flower can save lives. It can be taken orally or used as a poultice. Take good care of it. If you¡¯re out on military expedition, always keep it with you.¡± The box contained a whole Five Dingzhi, about the size of a sea bowl, with lotus-shaped pistil in the center. She had tasted it once; it was capable of rejuvenation. ¡°Alright.¡± Wei Zhan epted the box and carefully tucked it into his robe. He then raised his hand and finally touched Yingbao¡¯s hair, whispering, ¡°Yingbao, I like you.¡± Yingbao¡¯s heartbeat skipped for an instant, her cheeks reddened. ¡°I¡­ me too.¡± Having lived two lives, it was the first time she had heard such words said to her, leaving her feeling dizzy. A light sparkled in Wei Zhan¡¯s eyes. He was about to say something when he suddenly noticed someone standing next to them and snapped, ¡°What¡­ what are you doing here, little boy?¡± The curious little boy looked at the two of them and said, ¡°¡­My Father Wu said, it is improper for a man and a woman to be alone in a room¡­¡± Wei Zhan strutted forward, covered the little boy¡¯s mouth, and carried him outside. He scolded with a stern face, ¡°Stop talking nonsense!¡± Pouting, the little boy snorted and turned to run off. Wei Zhan turned back to look at the flower room. He really wanted to go back in and talk to Yingbao, but considering the little boy¡¯s words, he had to say, ¡°Yingbao, if you can¡¯t manage it all, I¡¯ll go and summon Huzi and Jiang Wu to help.¡±
Yingbao came out of the flower room: ¡°It¡¯s all taken care of. Go y with them.¡± Wei Zhan nodded, looking back at her as he walked away. Yingbao returned to her room, told Meixiang and others not to disturb her, and slipped into her Sanctuary. She came to the Pupil Spring, immersing the golden fragments clutched in her hand into the spring water. The golden fragments gradually dissolved in the water and then disappeared. It was as she had expected. Once the golden fragments had fused into the Pupil Spring, a fragment of a blurry memory appeared in her mind. The memory was somewhat scattered, and she had to make an effort to assemble it in order to make sense of it. However, connecting it with her previous dream, Yingbao roughly understood that these golden fragments were the eyes of one of her past lives. After those people killed her, in order to prevent her resurrection, or perhaps out of desire to obtain her powers, they sealed her eye fragments into the statue, draining the divine power of the fragments day and night. Now that she had retrieved two fragments and fused them into the Pupil Spring, she distinctly felt something ready to emerge from her body. Chapter 430: 426: Malicious Intent_1 Chapter 430: Chapter 426: Malicious Intent_1 But due to theck of fragments, this stirring power was suppressed once again. Suddenly, Yingbao felt the earth shaking, the roof of the cave made creaking noises, and visibly elevated a little at an rming rate. Next, many fragments of rocks fell down,nding in the cave house. Yingbao frowned, instinctively raising her hand to shield her head from the falling debris. Surprisingly, she was sessful in keeping the rocks about a foot away from her. She was startled and instinctively pulled back her hand. Therefore, the debrisnded all over her body. This¡­ did she now possess the powers of her dreams? Yingbao tried again and it was indeed so. It seemed that she could use her thoughts to control objects within the cave. For instance, she could harvest the crops in the cave with a mere thought or till thend inside it. She could also nt crops using her thoughts and water them. However, if she used this ability frequently, she would feel dizzy and extremely fatigued.
At this moment, she clearly saw that the dense Wudingzhi fungi on the cave roof were actually growing following a strange pattern. Thinking of the stone door, Yingbao guessed that the pattern in which the Wudingzhi grew was actually a huge Rune. Because the spiritual power used to create the Rune was extremely dense, it bred something like a Wudingzhi. So, was this cave actually the ce where she was sealed? Were they trying to trap her in this world forever? No, the cave house was her territory, including the small courtyard in the cave. All of it should have been her residence before. The issue was with the cave roof. The weird runes on the cave roof that possessed a massive spiritual power exerted immense pressure on her. Yingbao looked at therge glowing object in the middle of the pool. What they had sealed was actually this. The cave roof stopped shaking and there were no more pebbles falling. Yingbao looked around and found the cave house seemed to be a bitrger. After leaving the cave house, Yingbao zoned out for a while. She raised her hand, trying to control the teacup on the brick bed, but failed. After trying it a few more times, unsurprisingly, she couldn¡¯t use her mind control power outside of the cave at all. So basically, she was just an average human in this ce, with only a little bit of divine power, which was within the tolerance of the rules of this world. ¡­ In the Marquis Changshou¡¯s residence, Xiao Chengjun wasforting a crying Chen Tiantian: ¡°Tiantian, marrying a girl from the Song family is a strategic move. The new emperor fears our brothers, but he doesn¡¯t dare to move against the Xiao family lightly. Please endure it for a bit longer, as soon as the time is right, I will make you my legal wife.¡± Chen Tiantian nestled into Xiao Chengjun¡¯s arms, her heart filled with resentment. However, she didn¡¯t dare to lose her temper at him, and even less criticize him for betrayal. At present, she and her mother and brother rely on Xiao Chengjun for livelihood, living in luxury andfort. If she truly offended him, how could her family survive? As she was pondering how to handle Xiao Chengjun, she suddenly felt an itch on her forehead, and instinctively scratched it. An area of skin fell off right then.
¡°Ah!¡± Chen Tiantian brushed off what had fallen onto her chest, screamed in horror, and her hands started shaking uncontrobly. ¡°What happened?¡± Xiao Chengjun looked down at her. Chen Tiantian sped her forehead with her hands and screamed repeatedly, ¡°I don¡¯t want to die! I don¡¯t want to die! The one who should die is Jiang Yingbao! It¡¯s Jiang Yingbao!¡± Xiao Chengjun wanted to remove her hands to check what was wrong, but Chen Tiantian pushed him away, staggered to one side, got tripped by her dress, and fell onto the ground.
¡°Tiantian, what¡¯s happened?¡± Xiao Chengjun hastily lifted Chen Tiantian, forcibly removing her hands from his, only to see the skin across her forehead curling up like a parched paddy field. Xiao Chengjun recoiled in fear, stood up abruptly, then stooped down to ask again: ¡°Tiantian, what¡¯s going on? How did you lose your skin on your forehead?¡± Chen Tiantian burst into tears: ¡°Xiao Lang, save me! Save me.¡± Xiao Chengjun frowned but patiently asked, ¡°What exactly happened? Speak quickly.¡± ¡°It¡­ it was Jiang Yingbao, she¡­ she stole my life span.¡± Chen Tiantian, unbothered about anything else, revealed the existence of a voice in her mind. ¡°I¡¯ve been different from others since I was young, always hearing strange voices in my mind. There was always someone telling me that I would be queen of the world, ruling Phoenix Pce. But in recent years¡­ no, since the time I have vomited blood, I¡¯ve not heard a single sound.¡± Chen Tiantian wept pitifully: ¡°It must be some demonish trick Jiang Yingbao used. She¡¯s been a cmity since childhood, it¡¯s because of her my family fell from grace.¡± ¡°Xiao Lang, you must kill her! Only by killing her can we be well again, and your grand n of restoring the kingdom will seed.¡± Chen Tiantian looked up to Xiao Chengjun with earnest words: ¡°Xiao Lang, don¡¯t not believe me. The voice in my head told me that I am the girl of destiny, and you¡¯re the boy of destiny. We are destined toupy the highest positions, and destined to be husband and wife. Our child will also be a king.¡± Xiao Mo fell into silence for a moment, walked to the door to make sure no one was around, then returned. ¡°What do you mean by Jiang Yingbao? How could she have stolen your life span?¡± This was his first time hearing such a thing. Stealing someone¡¯s life span, this must be an incredible spell.
Whether it¡¯s a demonish trick or not, all he wanted to know is how Jiang Yingbao did it. If he could have a lifespan of hundreds of years, what¡¯s restoring the kingdom, what¡¯s hegemony, they are all nonsense. Of course, if one can obtain both, who would refuse? Chen Tiantian was stunned: ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know, but my stepfather once said that someone who practices winning by malice could achieve their goal.¡± Xiao Chengjun was lost in thought. After a pause, he nced at the horrifying wrinkles on Chen Tiantian¡¯s forehead, his brow furrowed in concern. ¡°Tiantian, has that voice in your head told you anything else?¡± Chen Tiantian shook her head: ¡°It only said this much, and also that Jiang Yingbao must be killed, the sooner the better.¡± Only by killing her could she be safe. She didn¡¯t want to die at twenty-one. Xiao Chengjun raised his eyebrows in deep thought, and after a while, he asked again, ¡°Tiantian, why didn¡¯t you talk about these things before?¡± Chen Tiantian was speechless, covering her forehead, and spoke softly, ¡°Xiao Lang, actually, Jiang Yingbao¡¯s real surname is Chen. She is my aunt¡¯s biological daughter, but she despises the poor and loves the rich, and refuses to acknowledge her ties with the Chen Family. Thinking about our rtionship as aunt and niece, I tolerated her again and again, and didn¡¯t want to hurt her. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t inform you about the truth.¡± Xiao Chengjun¡¯s eyebrows knit together even tighter.
He had heard about Jiang Yingbao not being the Jiang Family¡¯s biological daughter and her disputes with the Chen Family. He just didn¡¯t realize that she was capable of stealing a person¡¯s life span. However, it is extraordinary that she could ben the maker of significantly effective remedies at such a young age. Besides, she was malicious from her childhood, hurting frail and kind Tiantian again and again. That time, she knocked them all out and abandoned them in the snow, which almost killed them of freezing. Therefore, it came as no surprise that she has done such a heinous and unorthodox act now. ¡°Tiantian, you¡¯re just too kind.¡± Xiao Chengjun squatted down and held Chen Tiantian in his arms and sighed, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely kill her and retrieve your life span.¡± He needed to make a careful n, preferably learning the secret method first, and then killing Jiang Yingbao. Chen Tiantian threw her arms around Xiao Chengjun¡¯s neck, crying, ¡°Xiao Lang, this matter needs to be handled soon rather thanter. If this cannot be resolved in time, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t survive.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t bete.¡± Xiao Chengjun patted her back gently andforted her soothingly. Chapter 431: 427: Negligence_1 Chapter 431: Chapter 427: Negligence_1 In a sh, it was the fifteenth of the first lunar month. Yingbao and her mother changed into their light dresses, and went to enjoy thenterns with a group of pce maids and servants. Weng Xiuxiu also came along, carrying her daughter, fitting right in with the crowd. She and her daughter Wan Zhu were well-fed and well-clothed in the Jiang Family. They quickly regained their health and vitality, and Xiuxiu appeared to have rejuvenated significantly. ¡°Mother, they¡¯re beautiful!¡± Wan Zhu hugged Weng Xiuxiu¡¯s neck with one arm, pointing at the festivalnterns on the roadside with the other. Weng Xiuxiu nodded with a smile, ¡°Whichever one you like, mother will buy for you.¡± The county lord and Anren were both very amiable and had given her an extra red packet for the New Year, amounting to ten taels in total, as a gift for Wan Zhu. Xiuxiu nned to buy a rabbitntern for her daughter to bring her joy. Wan Zhu withdrew her hand and whispered, ¡°No, let¡¯s save the money for mother¡¯s old age.¡± Xiuxiu kissed her daughter¡¯s little face and said, ¡°Mother¡¯s old age is still a long way off, and festivalnterns aren¡¯t expensive. If Zhu likes one, we¡¯ll buy it. You can even light it tonight.¡± Only then did Wan Zhu nod and look carefully at both sides. The eaves of the shops on both sides were hung with all kinds of colorfulnterns emitting warm glows. There were zed pcenterns, lotusnterns, horsenterns, white elephantnterns, and crabnterns.
There were also toadnterns, official dolls¡¯nterns, carpnterns, immortal cranenterns, peacocknterns, mandarin ducknterns, bullnterns, and sheepnterns¡ªa great variety indeed. In front of the merchants¡¯ shops, all were hung with crabnterns and square-hole moneynterns, symbolizing wealth from all directions and the ability to maneuver freely. Yingbao and her mother strolled leisurely, finally stopping in front of their own shop. She spent over two thousand taels of silver to purchase this three-story building, which was now managed by her second cousin, temporarily selling potted nts for all seasons. When the price of potted nts went down in spring and summer, she would let her second cousin rent out one floor to sell Qinchuan County¡¯s specialties. Or perhaps opening a rouge and makeup shop wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea, by that time, her cousin Yanru could manage it. Considering Yanru could make rouge and makeup, she was likely experienced in that field and would find it easy to manage. Moreover, with her backing, old makeup shops wouldn¡¯t dare to make any underhanded moves. ¡°Madame Jiang, Yingbao, please go upstairs, everything is ready.¡± Jiang Quan stood smiling at the door, ¡°When the paradees byter, you can watch it from the upstairs.¡± Yingbao nodded and led her mother and the maids and servants to the second floor. The second floor was quite spacious, with tables and chairs near the window for pleasant viewing. The second cousin had even instructed the servant boys to brew almond tea and light manynterns, lighting up the entire floor. Under the eaves of the first floor, about a dozennterns were hung, and about ten colorful streamers were hung. On the streamers were yellow strips of paper, each with a riddle written on it. Visitors could guess the answers. Whoever guessed correctly could receive a corresponding prize. The rewards that Yingbao offered were very generous. She told the pce maids and servants by her side, ¡°You all can guess too. If you get it right, you can get a prize.¡± The least valuable prize was three colored sugar balls, followed by five candy balls, then ten candies, a silk flower, antern, and so on, with the top prize being a pair of silver-bead flowers worth five taels of silver. All these prizes were listed on arge red paper, and posted at the entrance of the shop to attract customers. Seeing that the county lord had given them permission to participate, the pce maids and servants couldn¡¯t hide their excitement. After bowing, they ran downstairs,ughing and joking around thentern riddles. Magnolia and Meixiang did not go downstairs, but stayed quietly by the county lord¡¯s side.
Xinghua, Zhenzhu, and Hupo had learned quite a few characters under Yingbao¡¯s supervision and could barely understand the riddles on thenterns. However, among the servants, only two could read, and the others were just there for the excitement. Whether they could read or not, these young girls standing under thenterns at the entrance of the shop made a beautiful sight, quickly attracting a lot of young men. Jiang Quan had a few servant boys nearby to watch, not allowing anyone to take advantage of the girls. Weng Xiuxiu also came to guess thentern riddles with her daughter, and actually guessed several correctly, though they were all candies.
Wan Zhu joyously took down the yellow strip of paper that her mother had correctly guessed and handed it to the servant in charge of distributing rewards. This servant was an official ve, named Xiong Shan, around thirty years old, a robust servant assigned to Jiang Jie by the Imperial Court. ¡°Uncle Xiong, my mother has guessed another one right, the answer to this riddle is ¡®Beginning of summer¡¯, is it correct?¡± Wan Zhu grinned at Xiong Shan with a smile. Xiong Shan took it and checked the answer. The riddle was ¡®Yu the Great bes the king¡¯ (guess one sr term), and indeed, the answer was ¡®Beginning of summer¡¯. ¡°That¡¯s correct, here are your prizes.¡± Xiong Shan counted out five candies for Wan Zhu. Wan Zhu was overjoyed and stuffed all the candies into her little bag. ¡°Mother, my bag can¡¯t hold anything else.¡± Wan Zhu nestled in Weng Xiuxiu¡¯s arms and said. Weng Xiuxiu, cradling her daughter,ughed and said, ¡°Then let¡¯s stop guessing and go buy antern.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xiong Shan nced at the mother and daughter, then suddenly said, ¡°I happen to have a rabbitntern here, I¡¯ll give it to you.¡± He then took out a small colourful rabbitntern from behind him, it was just the right size for a child of Wan Zhu¡¯s age to carry. Wan Zhu cheered and happily took it, ¡°It¡¯s beautiful, thank you, Uncle Xiong.¡±
Weng Xiuxiu felt somewhat apologetic and asked, ¡°How much for thentern?¡± Xiong Shan: ¡°I¡¯m giving it to Wan Zhu, it¡¯s free.¡± ¡°How can we ept this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a toy for children, worth nothing. Besides, you¡¯ve helped me make clothes before.¡± Xiong Shan nced at Weng Xiuxiu, ¡°Xiuxiu, it¡¯s not easy for you to raise a child. If you ever need help, just let me know. I will definitely help if I can.¡± Weng Xiuxiu¡¯s pretty face blushed, she gently nodded her head. Suddenly, the street was in an uproar, with the sound of gongs and drums echoing through the air. A group of shirtless men held aloft the Nomaden Dragon Lantern, waving it incessantly. From a distance, the dragon on thentern seemed to havee alive, baring its teeth and ws. Following the dozen or so men holding up the dragon, dozens more were carrying various Carp Lanterns, singing and dancing as they walked: ¡°In the first month of the year, the mirror of jade shines on the emperor¡¯s tform, lusty songs and quick drums bring the celebration, as the golden dragon and carp descend to the mortal world, bringing longevity for ten thousand years¡­¡± Following the dragon procession were many dancers and musicians, as well as people dressed up in various characters, such as Zhong Kui, Xiangliu, God of Wealth, Goddess and so on, dancing as they walked. These parades would walk around the Duan Gate of the Imperial City twice to perform for the Emperor and the imperial consorts on the Xuande Tower. Only after the dragon-dance procession had passed did Yingbaoe down from the upstairs with her mother. As she passed by Xiong Shan, she nced at him. This man had a stern face and a robust body, which matched Weng Xiuxiu quite well.
s, she had neglected the matter of lifetime partners for the servants and maids in her household. Especially the four Pce Maids given to her by the Emperor, and the two male servants of Jiang Jie, all of them were not young anymore. Just like Meixiang, she should be neen this year, right? Lan Xiang should also be eighteen or neen, it was high time they got married. But what kind of families should she find for them to match? Unlike normal servants, these pce maids were of good social status and could be sent back to their families when they got older if their masters were willing. However, Yingbao couldn¡¯t just let them go, considering that they were sent by the Emperor and could very well be his spies. Perhaps, when she returns, she should ask Meixiang and the others if they want to get married. If they do, she could arrange for them¡­ hmm, to seek a husband. Chapter 432: 428: Man in Black_1 Chapter 432: Chapter 428: Man in ck_1 ¡°Baobao, do you want to keep strolling?¡± Chunniang asked her daughter. Yingbao looked at thenterns that filled the streets and the joyous maids, ¡°Mother, if you are tired, go back first; I will continue strolling with them.¡± Having walked quite a distance, Chunniang indeed felt tired, so she nodded, ¡°Thene home early.¡± Daughter had so many people protecting her, and there were guards around. It was hard for anyone to get close to her. She was not worried that anyone would harm her daughter. Moreover, her two sons and Wei Zhan, Huzi were not far behind. If there were any anomalies, they could rush over. ¡°Alright,¡± Yingbao assigned four guards to escort her mother home. Hupo and Zhenzhu had no choice but to follow. Weng Xiuxiu saw that it was gettingte and that children are prone to fall asleep. So she also apanied Anren onto the carriage. Now, Yingbao was roaming the streets with four pce maids, two maidservants, and two guards. Whenever she saw something interesting, she would buy it. The street was filled with youngdies dressed in bright clothing and elegant young masters. Many of them wore masks ¨C adorable fox or rabbit masks, and ck-and-red ghost masks. Amidst the bustling streets, they seemed extraordinarily mysterious. Seeing all her maids looking envious, Yingbao stopped in front of a ghost mask stall and bought one for each of them. She also put on a golden fox mask and looked at herself in the stall owner¡¯s mirror. The bronze mirror was very clear, showing every detail. She spotted someone wearing a mask with a beauty¡¯s face, with whiteplexion and red lips, who passed by in the crowd.
Yingbao even caught sight of the subtly chilling gaze and a tinge of murderous intent in the man¡¯s eyes. She turned around, and there were only maids wearing ghost and rabbit butterfly masks behind her, nobody else. And all around her were people in festive clothes and robes, some holdingnterns, others eating candied haws. ¡°Miss, where are we going next?¡± Meixiang, who was wearing a ck-and-red ghost mask, approached Yingbao and whispered. Yingbao looked around and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± She didn¡¯t want to have a conflict with someone on the street. If it led to any injury to themon people or her loved ones, it would be a terrible oue. ¡°Yes.¡± Meixiang turned around to instruct several sisters to return home. Despite feeling regretful, the young girls protected their mistress and headed back. On the way, they ran into Wei Zhan and Jiang Jie, Jiang Wu. They were standing at a barbecued mutton skewer stall, each holding a bunch of skewers and eating with vigor. Seeing Yingbao, Wei Zhan, hurried over, handed the skewers to her, ¡°Here, they just grilled these. I was about to bring them to you.¡± He then took a basket from the servant, ¡°These are your favorite snacks and pastries. But eat less roasted chestnuts, they are not good for the spleen and stomach.¡± Yingbao epting the basket, looked inside to see dragon¡¯s beard candy, sesame and pine nut candy, chestnut cake, roasted chestnuts, fried Job¡¯s tears, along with candied haws and fried milk cake. These foods were still hot, exuding a delicious aroma. Yingbao took the basket, handed it over to Magnolia to hold, she removed her mask and began eating a skewer of mutton. Jiang Wu and Jiang Jie also came over and asked, ¡°Sis, why don¡¯t you want to stroll anymore?¡± ¡°It¡¯s getting toote. While we still have light now, let¡¯s get back early.¡± Lantern Festival night was not bustling on every street. In secluded areas, once thenterns hanging under the eaves were out, it would be pitch ck and very dangerous. To avoid unnecessary trouble, it would be wiser to get back sooner. Wei Zhan nodded, ¡°It is indeedte. Let¡¯s all go back together.¡±
So, the group started their journey back,nterns in hand. Nothing happened along the way. Yingbao noticed nothing suspicious and saw no one following them. But she did not believe the gaze she had encountered was unintentional, as the person had quickly averted their gaze and disappeared into the crowd. This was indeed very unusual.
In the wee hours, when everyone in the Jiang Residence was fast asleep, Yingbao heard a few people entering her courtyard, their steps light while heading towards her room. Then, she saw a bamboo tube piercing through the window paper, blowing smoke into her room. Yingbao covered her mouth and nose with a cloth, stood behind the window, and instantly entered the grotto. After a brief pause, the window was pried open, and someone turned in. They were all masked, dressed in ck, and noiselessly came to the bedside. They lifted the bed curtains, revealing the bedding bulging as if someone was sleeping inside. As they lifted the bedding, a person in ck eximed in a low voice: ¡°Not good!¡± Because there were only long, soft pillows under the bedding. Just as the two were about to retreat, Yingbao suddenly appeared, brandishing a long knife at them. ¡°Ahh!!¡± One of the people in ck screamed and fell down. The other person tried to counter, but before he could wield his knife, he was knocked to the ground. The two guards outside had already sensed something was wrong and quickly escaped. Yingbao leapt out the window to chase them, but managed to wound only one of them. The other person escaped in a different direction. Themotion in the courtyard had alerted the servants and guards in the house. Wei Zhan and Jiang Wu rushed over and saw Magnolia and Xinghua administering medicine to Meixiang.
In the room, Yingbao held one man by the neck, trying to remove the poisonous pill from his mouth. ¡°What happened?¡± Wei Zhan took the man in ck from Yingbao¡¯s hands, but was also unable to prevent his death. Yingbao scowled, wiping the blood on her hand onto the ck clothes: ¡°They¡¯re all suicidal attackers. They must havee to kidnap me. They all have lethal poison in their mouths.¡± She had wasted two vials of Five Tripods Elixir, yet still couldn¡¯t save them. It was infuriating. Wei Zhan furrowed his brows: ¡°Did they hurt you?¡± Yingbao shook her head: ¡°No¡±. Unfortunately, there were no survivors. She could have interrogated them. Chunniang hurriedly rushed over and almost fainted when she saw several dead bodies in the courtyard. ¡°Baobao, did they hurt you?¡± ¡°No, Mother, you should go back. They¡¯re just a few thieves. There¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡± Yingbao asked the maid to take her mother back to the room, then ordered the servants to report to the officials when dawn broke. Wei Zhan, Jiang Jie, Jiang Wu and others examined the bodies of the men in ck, but found nothing that could reveal their identities. ¡°Who would daremit such a crime in Beijing?¡± Jiang Wu was filled with lingering fear. If it weren¡¯t for his sister having some martial skill, they might have fallen victim to these men. Wei Zhan frowned: ¡°Could it be that their master holds a grudge against Yingbao?¡± The use of suicidal attackers suggested that the attackers came from a major family, possibly even martial generals.
However, evenrge families couldn¡¯t train many suicidal attackers. After all, these attackers were humans, with all human desires and impulses. They couldn¡¯t simply give up their lives for their masters unless there were significant benefits or they were coerced into doing so. ¡°Grudge? My sister hasn¡¯t offended anyone in Beijing, why would they attempt to assassinate her?¡± Jiang Wu pounded the table in anger. ¡°If I find out who the bastard is, I won¡¯t let him off!¡± Yingbao, however, had a suspicion. This matter was surely rted to Xiao Chengjun and Chen Tiantian. ¡°I guess it¡¯s the Xiao family,¡± Yingbao said. ¡°I¡¯m going to visit Marquis Changshou¡¯s residence tomorrow.¡± Wei Zhan frowned slightly. The mistress of Xiao residence was his aunt. What if she was involved innocently? But on second thought, if this matter wasn¡¯t resolved soon, his aunt being involved would be inevitable. It would be better for him to go there and see for himself. ¡°Yingbao, I¡¯ll go with you!¡± Jiang Jie shook his head: ¡°No, if we go to the Marquis¡¯ residence without any reason, that¡¯ll just give them an advantage. Sister, let¡¯s report to the officials first and directly im that they were sent by the Marquis¡¯ residence.¡± If there was a suspicion, they should ascertain it. Otherwise, it would disadvantage them to be indecisive. Chapter 433: 429: Unfit to Act_1 Chapter 433: Chapter 429: Unfit to Act_1 Upon recalling Xiao Chengyu and his mother, Xiao Madame Wang, Yingbao suddenly sighed, ¡°It¡¯s not the Marquis Changshou, but rather his second son, Xiao Chengjun.¡± Marquis Changshou, with a twisted mouth and nted eye, could hardly speak clearly. He could only think about preserving his life every day and hence had no spare time to hire someone to hurt others. Even Xiao Mo is now turning a deaf ear to everything outside the window and enjoying his half-day of leisure. In the Xiao Residence, only Xiao Chengjun and Chen Tiantian and her mother harbor hostility towards her. They are her mortal enemies. ¡°Alright.¡± In fact, Wei Zhan doesn¡¯t share any blood rtion with Xiao Chengjun. The only one who is his actual cousin is Xiao Chengyu. The next day, the Ministry of Justice sent many constables. After inquiring about the situation, they ordered people to carry away the three corpses. Later on, apanied by an official from the Ministry of Justice, Yingbao went to the Xiao Family. Wei Zhan and Jiang Wu Huzi also apanied her. They ordered the guard to open the gates of the Marquis Residence and barge directly in. All the servants of the Marquis Residence dare not obstruct them and could only run to the inner courtyard to report to Xiao Madame Wang.
However, Xiao Madame Wangpletely disregarded it and was having lunch with her son. Seeing the situation, the servants stepped aside, out of sight, out of mind. A group of government officials, under the instruction of the Marquis¡¯s servants, directly approached Xiao Chengjun¡¯s courtyard. Xiao Chengjun, neatly dressed, was sitting on an arhat couch looking towards the entrance. A beautiful young girl dressed in simple clothes, coldly scrutinizing him, stepped forward and said, ¡°Xiao Chengjun, you sent assassins to my Jiang Mansion. What was your intention?¡± Xiao Chengjun¡¯s face was expressionless. ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to y dumb.¡± Jiang Wu pointed at him and said, ¡°An assassin has confessed. They were following your orders to kidnap my sister.¡± In spite of his astonishment, Xiao Chengjun responded calmly, ¡°I hold no official rank, and I can¡¯t afford assassins. Do not frame innocent people.¡± An officer from the Ministry of Justice stated, ¡°In that case,e with me to the Ministry of Justice. If you are innocent or not, exin it to our benefactor.¡± Xiao Chengjun stood up, ¡°Alright, the innocent would clear themselves. I¡¯ll exin everything.¡± Yingbao sneered, ¡°What about Chen Tiantian? Take her as well.¡± Xiao Chengjun turned towards her, ¡°Jiang Yingbao, are you trying to take personal revenge in the name of justice?¡± Yingbao: ¡°You still deny it with all the evidence before your eyes, Xiao Chengjun. I just want to ask, what grievances are there between us that led you to send assassins to kidnap and kill me?¡± Xiao Chengjun¡¯s mouth twitched, he was momentarily speechless. Those assassins indeed were his, he had intended to kidnap Jiang Yingbao to a hidden ce, and make her reveal her secret of how she could steal people¡¯s life span. However, they turned out to be useless. The assassin who escaped yesterday night was already dead, thrown into the incinerator in his secret residence. Nothing could be found. As for Tiantian and her mother, they are also there. He was originally nning to observe how Tiantian and Jiang Yingbao exchange life spans, but the n was ruined by those fools. However, he was in no rush. The Ministry of Justice wouldn¡¯t be able to find any evidence proving he was the employer of those assassins because the assassins were given poison before they carried out the mission. If they didn¡¯t report back in time to take the antidote, they would soon die of poisoning. It was already dawn, and they should all be dead by now.
A smirk appeared on Xiao Chengjun¡¯s face. Without a witness, they wouldn¡¯t be able to hold him for long. His father, after all, was Marquis Changshou; even the Emperor wouldn¡¯t dare to use him without any reason. Wei Zhan and Jiang Wu searched the courtyard with their men but found no trace of Chen Tiantian and her mother. Only the young boy and Xiao Chengyu were together.
¡°It is possible that Xiao Chengjun hid them somewhere.¡± said Jiang Wu. There was no sign of her mother and daughter in the entire Xiao Residence, no one knew anything, it was probable that Xiao Chengjun had sent them away early. Jiang Wu then interrogated several old servants about the presence of any basements or cers in the residence, but all replied in the negative. This was rather strange. In the room, Yingbao and Xiao Chengjun were sizing each other up, both seeing contempt in each other¡¯s eyes. ¡°Take him back to the Ministry of Justice for trial.¡± The officer from the Ministry of Justice waved his hand, and the constables hoisted Xiao Chengjun away. Yingbao and Wei Zhan, along with several others, were following the crowd outside when they unexpectedly bumped into Xiao Mo. Xiao Mo was sitting in a wheelchair made of wooden wheels, quietly looking at her. Yingbao¡¯s gaze passed over his legs, covered in fox fur, before she turned her face away. Unexpectedly, Xiao Mo had be a crippled man unable to walk properly. No wonder Master Zhou Wuchang was so relieved in keeping the Xiao Family in Beijing, even granting his father the title of Marquis. So that¡¯s how it is.
She was wondering why the Xiao Residence would let the fool, Xiao Chengjun, take charge. Turns out his older brother had be disabled; this must be the main reason. ¡­ On the eighteenth of the first lunar month, Yingbao¡¯s imperial edict of arranged marriage arrived ratherte. However, the edict only mentioned the marriage, but not when she should get married. No wonder. The Wei Family was not in Beijing, and her parents were both far away. Since their only legitimate son was getting married, they would undoubtedly want to wait till his parents arrived before determining the wedding date. After receiving the edict, Wei Zhan¡¯s betrothal gifts arrived. Because the Wei Family owned two or three shops in Beijing, he didn¡¯tck money for the betrothal gifts. On seeing the boxes of silk fabrics, gold and silver jewelry, precious stones, pearl-studded jackets, and other gifts being carried into the house, Chunniang was utterly astonished. Did Wei Zhan give all the merchandise from his shops as gifts? This¡­ this was too much. Even if they converted all their money into dowry, it probably wouldn¡¯t amount to twenty percent of these gifts. Yingbao looked at Wei Zhan, who had a triumphant expression on his face, feeling speechless. Did his parents know about his extravagant spending? ¡°These two geese, I bought them at a high price, one male, and one female. You can clip their wings and raise them in the yard. Who knows, they mighty a nest of eggs.¡± Wei Zhan proudly presented the geese to Yingbao.
Yingbao stroked the terrified geese, ¡°Okay, we can just tie them by their legs with ropeter; there¡¯s no need to cut their wings.¡± Geese tend to migrate; after theyy eggs and hatch their goslings, she will release them. Next, the Emperor¡¯s rewards also arrived. A whole cartload of silk fabrics and jewelry, as well as various utensils for the wedding. The most important thing was, the residence of the County Lord was now appropriately renovated and ready for habitation. The residence of the County Lord consisted of three courtyards and several dozen rooms. Not only did it have a maid¡¯s quarters and a servant¡¯s quarters, but it also had rooms for guards, a stable, and arge kitchen courtyard. The kitchen courtyard was expansive, containing a well and a stream that connected to a water pavilion where the maids washed clothes and vegetables. There were two small vegetable gardens in the kitchen courtyard, a chicken coop, and a sheep pen. It seemed like this ce used to be the residence of some wealthy family. Yingbao toured around the ce with her family and decided to move in. They would leave the Jiang Mansion for her second cousin and the iing grandparents to live in. ¡°Yingbao, we need to heighten the walls of your residence.¡± Ever since the incident with the assassin on the Lantern Festival night, Wei Zhan was very worried and wished he could sleep next door to Yingbao.
Yingbao looked at the wall: ¡°Ok, let¡¯s talk about it after the first lunar month.¡± She wasn¡¯t too worried about herself, but she had to consider her mother and her younger brother¡¯s safety. The walls were a bit taller than those of the Jiang Mansion, but still, it wasn¡¯t quite enough. ¡°Alright, I will reserve the bricks and tiles outside the city first. Then we can start the construction directly.¡± Wei Zhan was secretly contemting whether he should live in the County Lord¡¯s Residence or his own house after they get married. Maybe, he should also raise the walls of his house. Jiang Jie said, ¡°Sister, there are regtions on the height of residential walls. I will inquire from the construction department about the permissible height. Also, I have news for you. Xiao Chengjun has been released.¡± Yingbao turned her head to look at her brother, ¡°He was released?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jiang Jie replied, ¡°Several people in the court spoke up for him. As the Ministry of Justice couldn¡¯t present any evidence and the boy kept his mouth tightly shut despite being tortured, they had no choice but to release him.¡± Chapter 434: 430: Wedding Ceremony_1 Chapter 434: Chapter 430: Wedding Ceremony_1 ¡°Have we found Chen Tiantian yet?¡± Yingbao asked. Jiang Jie shook his head. ¡°No, we haven¡¯t. My men haven¡¯t been able to find where Chen Tiantian and her mother have hidden themselves. Maybe what Xiao Chengjun said is true, that they have left the city.¡± Left? Where could she go? Yingbao didn¡¯t believe that Chen Tiantian could survive on her own without Xiao Chengjun. Plus, she was with her mother, Han Yueniang. And Han Yueniang¡¯s youngest son was still with the Xiao Family. Wei Zhan suggested, ¡°Yingbao, we could assign someone to surveil Xiao Chengjun. As soon as he moves, we can follow him.¡± Yingbao nodded. There was no other way. She didn¡¯t understand why Chen Tiantian and Xiao Chengjun couldn¡¯t just live happily together, embodying the beautiful story of lovers eventually getting married. As long as she lived peacefully, Yingbao might have let them go. After all, nobody should live in hatred alone.
Yet Tiantian and Xiao Chengjun insisted on provoking her and challenging her again and again. If she caught her this time, Yingbao would make sure Tiantian wouldn¡¯t see the light of the next day. ¡°Tomorrow is Xiao Chengjun¡¯s wedding to Xiao Mo. Will you go, Sister?¡± Jiang Jie asked. Yingbao asked, ¡°Did the Xiao Family invite us?¡± Jiang Jie nodded. ¡°Yes, they did.¡± This invitation was an honour bestowed on Xiao Family by the Imperial Court. All officers of sixth rank or higher in the capital who had dealings with the Xiao Family were invited. Because of Wei Zhan, the Jiang Family received an invitation too. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Yingbao said. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± She could have opted not to go, but since her brother Jiang Jie would be there, she had to go for his safety. Wei Zhan added, ¡°Yingbao, I¡¯ll go too.¡± Yingbao looked at him, ¡°Hmm, we three will go together.¡± Only then did Wei Zhan smile. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have someone prepare the presents.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡­ The twentieth day of the first month came quickly. The entrance to the Xiao Residence was bustling with carriages and horses. There was a never-ending stream of guests who came to congratte them. At the entrance, greeting guests, was Xiao Mo in his wheelchair and his younger brother Xiao Chengjun. Weizhan helped Yingbao out of the carriage, and they went into the Xiao Residence side by side. A ceremonial officer announced loudly, ¡°The Countess of Qinchuan has arrived!¡±
Xiao Chengjun and Xiao Mo greeted her with a bow. Yingbao nced at Xiao Chengjun indifferently, then looked at Xiao Mo, who looked thin and weary, his face devoid of any emotion. Once inside the Xiao Residence, they were guided to their seats in the hall. Weizhan and Jiang Jie were worrisome about Yingbao, little did they know Yingbao was more worried about them. She quietly handed both of them an antidote and whispered, ¡°Drink less booze, and don¡¯t follow the Xiao Family¡¯s servants alone.¡±
Both of them nodded, watching as Yingbao and her retinue entered the inner courtyard. This time, Yingbao had brought four pce maids and two eunuchs, filling up the small hall as they entered. Then, Madame Xiao came to give her thanks to Yingbao, talked with her for a while, and then left for other ces. Many women hade this time. Madame Xiao was busy catering to them all and there was seemingly no one to help her. Fortunately, nobody minded. The women all sat together, talking and gossiping about trivial matters. In a while, Wu Jiang came over with ady, greeting Yingbao, ¡°County Mistress! I¡¯ve been looking all over for you.¡± Yingbao: ¡°Aunt Wu, please sit down. What brings you to me?¡± Wu Jiang brought thedy next to her over, sat down next to Yingbao, and introduced: ¡°This is the wife of Minister Qin of the Ministry of Households.¡± Yingbao greeted with a slight bow: ¡°Greetings, Lady Qin.¡± Lady Qin smiled: ¡°Today I finally see the true face of the County Mistress, indeed extraordinarily striking.¡± ¡°You tter me. Lady Qin, your beauty and grace are equally iparable,¡± Yingbaoplimented. This Lady Qin was only in her forties, really quite beautiful, but a bit thin. Although thinness is considered beautiful these days, Lady Qin is already of such age, a little fullness would make her perfect.
Lady Qin touched her cheek and smiled: ¡°Ah, I¡¯m getting on in age, far from truly beautiful.¡± ¡°County Mistress, actually, I should thank you for saving my life.¡± Yingbao blinked: ¡°Lady Qin, what do you mean?¡± Lady Qin smiled: ¡°My husband is named Qin Zhaolin. A few years ago, you treated his hunched back, don¡¯t you remember?¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Yingbao really couldn¡¯t remember. Lady Qin: ¡°My husband is clueless sometimes. He only recently told me that the one who treated his disease was the County Mistress. Ah, how disrespectful, we have not visited you since.¡± ¡°Lady Qin, it¡¯s not necessary to worry, I had long forgotten about this.¡± Yingbao then recalled. This Qin Zhaolin should be her master¡¯s friend. During that time, she indeed treated him. Lady Qin expressed her apologies, finally saying, ¡°I gather the courage to ask you for something today. My grandfather¡¯s health has been poor recently, and I¡­ I want to buy a bottle of Health Pills from you.¡± Yingbao was surprised: ¡°Lady Qin, how did you know I have Health Pills?¡± ¡°My grandfather heard it from Master Wu.¡± Lady Qin said bashfully. Wu Jiang chuckled and said, ¡°My father sometimes takes the Health Pills to court. When others see and are curious, he simply tells them straight.¡± Yingbao: ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Alright, I will prepare some when I get back, at that time I will give them to Grandfather Wu to give to Minister Qin.¡± At present, she could only prepare these health pills for outsiders.
As for the better ones, other than giving them to her family, the rest went to her master Zhou Wuchang who would then distribute them to lower officials. Luckily, her master the Emperor was not stingy either. Every time he would send a lot of gold, silver, and jewels, making her now quite wealthy. She has stored a lot of gold, silver, jewels, jade, and piles of silk in her cave residence. Seeing Yingbao agree, Lady Qin was very happy and held her hand for quite some time expressing her gratitude. After a while, a servant came to invite them to their seats, and the three of them set off for the main hall. The main hall wasrge, with an incense table set up in the middle, waiting for the newlyweds to perform the bow ceremony. High-rankingdies sat on the right side of the room. The left side was where the male guests sat. The rest of the guests were sitting under the tents in the courtyard, separated by gender. A long red carpet wasid in the middle of the main hall, running straight to the front of the incense table. A brazier was also ced at the entrance of the hall. When the bridal sedan chair arrived at the main entrance, the master of ceremonies woulde to light the brazier for the bride to step over. While the banquet was going on, the sound of gongs and drums rang out. The bride¡¯s sedan chair had arrived. Yingbao could see the newlyweds entering the main hall without even getting up. It was Xiao Mo, he sat in a wheelchair, being pushed by a pce maid. He held a red silk rope in his hand, the other end held by the bride.
The two, one standing and one sitting, managed toplete the ceremony. Finally, Xiao Mo brought the bride to the bridal chamber. As soon as this ceremony was over, the sedan chair of Xiao Chengjun¡¯s bride arrived. The musicians continued to y their instruments. Marquis Changshou and his wife continued to sit in their high chairs, waiting for the newlyweds to show their respects. Yingbao was very curious about Xiao Chengjun¡¯s expression at this time, so she watched closely without shifting her gaze. Suddenly, Xiao Chengjun turned his head and looked to the right. His gaze passed over several people and directly met Yingbao¡¯s. His face darkened as he red at Yingbao for a couple of moments before withdrawing his gaze and dutifullypleting the bowing ritual with his new bride. Chapter 435: 431: Getting Married_1 Chapter 435: Chapter 431: Getting Married_1 Yingbao watched as the man paid his respects to the bride, Suddenly, her gaze shifted to a maid assisting the bride. Though the maid was cleverly made up, altering the features of her face, Yingbao recognized her. She was the missing Chen Tiantian. This Xiao Chengjun was truly interesting. What did he intend by cing Chen Tiantian next to the bride? With interest, Yingbao watched as theypleted the ritual. Passing the incense case screen, they proceeded to the bridal chamber. It was not customary for newlyweds to backtrack, so the wall door behind the main hall was removed. The couple would exit from the back door to the newlywed¡¯s courtyard. After the ceremony, everyone rmenced the banquet. The groom then came out to toast. But they headed towards the men¡¯s side, while the hostess of the Marquis took care of the women¡¯s side.
After the feast, Yingbao left the Marquis Residence with Jiang Jie and the others. ¡°I saw Chen Tiantian,¡± she told Wei Zhan and Jiang Jie. ¡°For now, don¡¯t act rashly. Let¡¯s wait until she leaves the residence.¡± Wei Zhan and Jiang Jie nodded in agreement. Although the Marquis¡¯ residence was in decline, there were still guards. It would certainly be impossible to forcibly take Chen Tiantian away for questioning. As the saying goes, the monk can run away, but the temple cannot run. They will just wait for her. After attending the wedding of the Xiao brothers, Yingbao began making medicinal pellets upon her return. When she had time, she would infuse Pupil Spring into the pond in her courtyard. The pond and well at the Jiang Mansion had also been infused with Pupil Spring. Thanks to this, her slightly older cousin Jiang Quan was also able to cultivate nts. Days passed and soon the first month was over. There had been no actions from the Xiao Residence. Chen Tiantian had not even once left the mansion. In March, the parents of Wei Zhan, along with a group of their family members, grandly entered Beijing. The very next day, Wei Zhan¡¯s mother paid a visit to ¡°Spring Mother¡± to discuss the wedding date for both families. Not long after, Jiang Eng¡¯s and Old Man Jiang Liu¡¯s families also arrived in Beijing. Jiang Eng¡¯s family came along with them. Huzi now served in the Imperial Army, and had been granted a house with nine rooms by the Imperial Court, which was more than enough for the entire family of Uncle Jiang Eng. Though Uncle Jiang Cheng didn¡¯te, Yuanbao, who had already been selected as a schr, and seven-year-old Dali, Jiang Cheng¡¯s son, hade to Beijing. ¡°Dali, call auntie quickly,¡± Jiang Liu¡¯s wife cheerfully patted Dali¡¯s head. Dali grinned at Yingbao: ¡°Auntie.¡± Yingbao patted his head and asked: ¡°Howe your sister didn¡¯te?¡± ¡°Mom said she¡¯s too young to travel long distances.¡± Dali, tilting his head at auntie, suddenly asked: ¡°Auntie, Daddy said you¡¯re going to get married, is it true?¡±
Yingbao nodded: ¡°Yes, it is.¡± Dali: ¡°Then after you get married, will youe back to Qinchuan County?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Great.¡± Dali held auntie¡¯s hand: ¡°I¡¯ll go back with you.¡±
He was afraid he would be stuck in Beijing and wouldn¡¯t be able to see mommy and sister again. Jiang Liuughed: ¡°This child misses his home. He wanted to go back the moment we left the county.¡± Dali shrunk his neck, sneaked a nce at his auntie, and noticed that she didn¡¯t seem angry, he whispered: ¡°Auntie, I actually also really want to see you.¡± Yingbao: ¡°I know. I¡¯ll take you home after a while.¡± Dali, relieved, joyfully ran outside to watch the wild geese. Madam Wang and Chunniang set Yingbao¡¯s wedding date for the twenty-third of the fourth month. Even though it was a bit rushed, Wei Zhan was very satisfied. If it wasn¡¯t for the tight schedule, he would have preferred to hold the wedding in March. The preparation for the wedding was now underway. Several elder sons of the Wei family have already gotten married, and did note to Beijing this time. Those who came were the unmarried daughters and younger sons of the family, a total of four. The head of the Wei family was thrilled when he heard that his legitimate son¡¯s fianc¨¦e is a county princess. He urged his wife to bring their kids to the princess mansion for a visit. However, Lady Wang turned them down mercilessly. Though the head of Wei family was dissatisfied, he did not dare say anything. Instead, he went to check on his shop in Beijing. It almost took his breath away when he found all the gold and silver jewelry in his store had been cleared out, and all the fine cloth from his silk store has been moved out for dowry to the Jiang family. The head of Wei family banged on his chest to catch his breath, and asked the store manager: ¡°What else has he moved? Tell it all.¡±
The Store Manager shook his head: ¡°There¡¯s nothing left in the shop.¡± The head of Wei family had a look. Indeed, the vast shop was nowpletely empty. He was furious, but he couldn¡¯t badmouth his own son in front of others. So he went to the ounting room to check the ounts. The ounts were correct, but all the silver coins on them had been moved by his son. The head of Wei family gritted his teeth, took out a stack of silver notes from his bosom, and pped it on the table: ¡°Replenish the stock as soon as possible. My eldest son is about to marry the princess soon. I can¡¯t be ridiculed for having our shops in such a state.¡± The ounting room logged this money in the book and called the store manager in, asking him to quickly buy new stock to fill the warehouse. On Yingbao¡¯s wedding day, the sky suddenly turned overcast, and there were shes of lightning and peals of thunder. Sitting on the red nket, Yingbao suddenly felt a strong palpitation. She frowned and turned to look out the window. While opening his face, the matchmaker clipped off the fuzz on her face, then washed it with clear water, applied the skin lotion, powdered it, and put on the rouge. Next was hairdressing and putting on hairpins, wearing beaded flowers and silk flowers. After she was well dressed, Chunniang, with reddened eyes, hugged her daughter and choked: ¡°Baobao, if Wei Zhan bullies you,e home and tell me. Don¡¯t suffocate yourself.¡± Although her husband had never hit her, it can¡¯t be guaranteed that others will not hit women like him.
If anyone dares to bully her delicate and soft daughter, she would never let him off easily. Yingbao smiled, ¡°Mother, Wei Zhan cannot beat me.¡± Chunniang was startled, then admonished, ¡°Which girl can still giggle when getting married? Be quiet, or else people willugh at you.¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t Iugh?¡± Yingbao was confused. Chunniang said, irritated, ¡°If youugh, people will think you are desperate to get married.¡± ¡°Let them think I¡¯m desperate to get married,¡± Yingbao hugged her mother and said, ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ll live with you after we get married.¡± Chunniang was about to cry again, while patting her daughter, she said, ¡°You silly child, once you are married, of course, you have to live with your husband and parents-inw. Where can you live casually with your mother?¡± Yingbao replied resolutely, ¡°I don¡¯t care, I will live with you. If we have to, we¡¯ll bring Lady Wang here too.¡± ¡°Nonsense.¡± Chunniang finally smiled through her tears, tidied her daughter¡¯s clothes again, tightened her hairpin, and took out a fire-protecting graph from her sleeve and put it in her daughter¡¯s hand, ¡°Take a look first, and put it in the dressing boxter. Mother will go out and have a look, and call your brother in to carry you.¡± Yingbao took the fire-proof picture and flipped it over, Humph! What kind of monsters are fighting here, it¡¯s not interesting at all. Suddenly, her chest ached again, and this time, the painsted longer. She was sweating coldly. What¡¯s going on? Yingbao suddenly became alert.
Because the book in her mind has turned a new page again. This time, a child appeared in the book, along with her brothers Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu. They were all lying in a pool of blood, dripping with blood. Yingbao covered her chest, struggling to stand up, and shouted to the outside, ¡°Somebody!¡± Meixiang and the others who were guarding the door rushed in. They were shocked to see her sweating: ¡°Princess, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Yingbao, neglecting all etiquette, shoved a handful of five-ding mushroom into her mouth and ordered Meixiang, ¡°Quick, go find the Eldest Master and the Second Master.¡± Meixiang didn¡¯t understand but still ran to the courtyard outside. Yingbao felt her hands and feet ice cold, as if all the blood in her body was about to coagte. Struggling to stand straight, she stumbled out. A few pce maids tried to support her, but she pushed them away, ¡°All of you, go and look for the Eldest Master and the Second Master, and Dali too! Ask where they are.¡± Chapter 436: 432: Bad guy_1 Chapter 436: Chapter 432: Bad guy_1 Yingbao rushed out of the courtyard, reaching the mansion¡¯s gate in one breath. There were quite a few carriages outside the gate, as well as horses that hadn¡¯t been unsaddled yet. Grabbing a horse from a servant, she leapt onto its back and galloped toward the location described in the book. People didn¡¯t understand why but instinctively felt something serious had urred. More people then rushed out from the mansion. Among them were Jiang Sang, Jiang Quan, and Huzi. Scrambling onto horses, they chased in the direction Yingbao had taken. However, the streets were crowded with people, leaving them no choice but to rein in their horses. Watching Yingbao¡¯s figure disappear around a corner, Jiang Sang was burning with anxiety. In a separate courtyard on the outskirts of the city. Xiao Chengjun and a veiled Chen Tiantian entered a room.
Inside the room, a frightened seven-year-old Jiang Dali retreated, hiding behind a little boy and Xiao Chengyu. Xiao Chengyu barked at Xiao Chengjun, ¡°Brother! Have you gone mad? Why did you knock out Brother Jiang?¡± Xiao Chengjun¡¯s gaze was ice-cold. With a small nod, two men came forward, bound Xiao Chengyu, gagged him, and tossed him aside. The fat little boy cried out and kicked wildly. His own legs were soon bound and he was thrown to one side. The little boy merely blinked, watching the scene unfold, not moving a muscle. Chen Tiantian stroked his head, her voice warm, ¡°Yuang, you did well. When we¡¯ve dealt with the Jiang family, we¡¯ll go find your father.¡± The little boy nced at Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu, lying on the ground covered in blood, then at Xiao Chengyu with a guilty look, and nodded. ¡°Yuang, go outside for now. Go to your mother.¡± Chen Tiantian added, even giving the little boy a light push. ¡°You don¡¯t need to feel guilty. The Jiang family deserves to die. They¡¯ve caused our family to be broken and disintegrated. This is just their retribution.¡± The little boy left the room silently, head bowed. That morning, he¡¯d lured Xiao Chengyu to the Jiang household, deceived the Jiang family kids out of the city and sent a message to Jiang Jie that Jiang Dali had sprained his ankle on the outskirts of town and needed help. Not only did Jiang Jie arrive, but so did Jiang Wu, both bringing four bodyguards. That group was nothing to them and was captured without a fight. The four bodyguards of the Jiang family had been in, Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu wounded and nowy unconscious. The little boy did not feel guilty but regretted that he would no longer be able toe to the Jiang house to drink juice. When the boy left, Chen Tiantian gave Xiao Chengjun a faint smile, ¡°Chengjun, let¡¯s start.¡± She¡¯d recently acquired a secret form from a sorcerer, iming that using the blood and personal effects of an enemy could break a curse. She had a lock of hair from Jiang Yingbao and a voodoo doll inscribed with Yingbao¡¯s name. Along with the blood from the Jiang boys, they should be able to lift the curse. Xiao Chengjun nodded, asking, ¡°We really don¡¯t need that sorcerer to do it?¡± ¡°No, we have the yellow talisman given by the Taoist. We just need to recite the spell.¡± And if it didn¡¯t work, they would find a way to kill Jiang Yingbao.
Chen Tiantian touched her face. It was peeling and quite frightful. Had there been a chance to kill Yingbao, she wouldn¡¯t have had to hurriedly use the boy as a substitute. The truth was, she couldn¡¯t wait any longer.
Death loomed like a sword hanging over her head. She felt tortured every second, fearing she might drop dead at any moment. In desperation, she sought help from a folk healer, learning how to exchange lives. The Taoist gave her a talisman, suggesting she could use the fresh blood of Jiang Yingbao¡¯s rtives instead of her own, which might also work. Chen Tiantian took out the Yellow Talisman and ordered Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu¡¯s blood to be drawn. She also demanded the servants to drain all the blood from the two men. ¡°Evil people! Evil people!¡± Upon seeing someone with a knife and bucket approaching his uncle, Jiang Dali screamed in fright and threw himself onto Jiang Wu in an attempt to wake him up. In reality, Jiang Wu was awake, but both he and Jiang Jie were tightly bound and could not move at all. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, soon it will be your turn.¡± Chen Tiantianughed cheerfully, ordered her men to hang Jiang Dali aside, and said in a soft voice, ¡°Little thing, watch carefully, they were all killed by that disaster, Jiang Yingbao. If it were not for your Jiang Family adopting her, how could you have met with such disaster?¡± Upon hearing her say this, Jiang Dali suddenly stopped crying and shouted loudly, ¡°You are the disaster! My aunt wille to rescue us soon, you liar! My father will never forgive you!¡± Chen Tiantian covered her mouth and chuckled, ¡°Your aunt is busy getting married, she has no time to save you. Boy, don¡¯t believe it? Just wait and see, even when your uncles turn into mummies and get burned to ashes, she won¡¯t even take a look at you.¡± Jiang Dali turned terribly pale, his lips trembling. He turned his gaze to his uncles lying on the ground and couldn¡¯t stop the tears from falling. It was his fault that his uncles were in this predicament. If he hadn¡¯t been so yful, he wouldn¡¯t have been lured to the outskirts of the city by the children and his uncles wouldn¡¯t havee to find him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Uncle Jie, Uncle Wu¡­ sob¡­ sob¡­¡± Jiang Dali could not stop crying.
Suddenly, there was a loud rumbling noise from outside, as if the house had copsed. Xiao Chengjun frowned and went out to check. Chen Tiantian suddenly felt a bit nervous and quickly urged the servants, ¡°Hurry up! Cut deeper!¡± The servant¡¯s hands were shaking, he hesitated at Jiang Jie¡¯s neck, then turned him over and stabbed Jiang Jie¡¯s wrist, causing blood to spray out. Jiang Dali cried out louder, ¡°Uncle, wake up and fight them! Wake up and fight them!¡± At this moment, Jiang Jie¡¯s vision was getting darker and he quickly lost consciousness. Jiang Wu¡¯s eyes were blood-red, he roared and struggled to loosen the rope a bit using his great strength, quickly drawing out one arm, but before he could get up, he was pinned down again by several people. Jiang Wu¡¯s struggled violently, and the skin and flesh on his arms writhed, revealing the bones underneath. Suddenly, constant screams came from outside, apanied by deafening rumbles, it was terrifying. Chen Tiantian was also getting scared, she instructed the servants to tie up the Jiang brothers properly and ran out to check by herself. When she looked out, it almost caused her jaw to drop. There she saw, Jiang Yingbao wielding a long de, killing anyone who blocked her path. She had already killed more than a dozen assassins and was heading towards them. Xiao Chengjun led a group of people to surround her, sneering continuously, ¡°Jiang Yingbao, you¡¯re seeking your own death!¡±
Yingbao didn¡¯t utter a word and raised her long de to sh him. The long de seemed to carry the power of thunder, directly crushing several servants and bodyguards. Xiao Chengjun avoided it quickly since he was in the back, and narrowly escaped the de. He was utterly terrified. When did Jiang Yingbao learn the Unparalleled Divine Power? All his guards couldn¡¯t stop a single woman. ¡°Fire arrows!¡± Xiao Chengjun retreated behind a rockery and yelled loudmands. But the archers had not even had a chance to draw their bows fully when they were shed by Yingbao who was rushing forward. Not only that, but she leapt in front of Xiao Chengjun and cleaved him in two with one stroke, leaving him no chance to escape. As Xiao Chengjun fell to the ground, Yingbao suddenly felt a severe pain all over her body. She looked down at her arm and saw thin, dense scratches spreading across it like a spider web. She wrinkled her eyebrows, without time to think why, and turned her gaze towards Chen Tiantian who was not far away. Frightened, Chen Tiantian screamed and turned around to run back inside. Chapter 437: 433: You Can Go to Die_1 Chapter 437: Chapter 433: You Can Go to Die_1 But how could she outrun Jiang Yingbao? She was about to be caught when she saw her child and her mother emerging from another room. She immediately cried for help, ¡°Mother! Save me!¡± Han Yueniang was also terrified and shouted, ¡°Come here quickly!¡± Chen Tiantian threw herself towards her mother, who quickly pulled her inside the room and shut the door with a bang. Yingbao sneered, ¡°You¡¯d better hide well.¡± Having said this, she turned and headed to another room. Her first priority was to find her brother. She could spare these trivial figures a few more breaths for the time being. She quickly stepped into the room and was hit by the strong stench of blood. ¡°Jiang Jie! Jiang Wu!¡± Jiang Yingbao was horror-stricken. She slew two ck-d assassins with her sword, ignored the fleeing servants, and rushed over to Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu. She checked Jiang Jie¡¯s pulse and could barely feel it. She used her sword to cut the ropes binding Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu, applied a bandage tightly to her brother¡¯s wrist wounds, and extracted juice from a ¡®Five Tripods Gingseng¡¯, a ginseng that had grown for many years, dropped it into Jiang Jie¡¯s mouth.
Then shepressed his chest and blew air into his mouth. Her actions were swift and proficient. Yingbao checked Jiang Jie¡¯s pulse again and seeing it had started to beat, she finally felt reassured. ¡°Sis, what happened to your hand?¡± Jiang Wu removed the rag from his mouth, disregarding the severe pain in his wounds and hastily asked. Yingbao pulled her sleeve down and handed two bottles of wound medicine to Jiang Wu, ¡°Hurry and apply the medicine, I am going to deal with the leader.¡± Saying this, she rose to her feet and headed for the door. At this moment, the courtyard was strewn with bodies. The door to the room where Chen Tiantian was hiding was wide open. She went in to see, but found no one. Jiang Yingbao quickly climbed onto the roof and surveyed her surroundings. She spotted several people on horseback heading toward the woods. Among them were Chen Tiantian and her mother. On the other side, dozens of horses were galloping in, led by Wei Zhan and her father, Jiang Sang. Ron Yingbao relieved her worries, picked up her knife and started chasing after Chen Tiantian and the others swiftly. She guessed that the woman must have initially wanted to escape towards the official road but had to turn around when she encountered Wei Zhan and others, and ran into the woods. This being the case, it was perfect. It¡¯s inconvenient to ride horses in the woods, Chen Tiantian would surely have to dismount and walk. As for her, she was excellent at running. It was only a matter of time before she caught up with them. By the time Yingbao rushed into the woods, Wei Zhan and Jiang Sang had already seen her and were heading straight in that direction. The woods were dense, filled with rocks and vines, making it extremely difficult to navigate. The horse beneath Chen Tiantian soon stopped and refused to move forward. ¡°Mother! Mother! What should we do?¡± Chen Tiantian¡¯s facecloth had fallen off, revealing a skin as horrifying as a spider¡¯s web. She anxiously called out to Han Yueniang. Han Yueniang frowned and said, ¡°Dismount and lead it over, then get back on.¡±
¡°But what if they catch up with us?¡± Chen Tiantian said with a sob. Han Yueniang sternly replied, ¡°You can stay here then!¡± Under her mother¡¯s harsh reprimand, Chen Tiantian¡¯s eyes filled with tears. She reluctantly dismounted and led her horse forward. When the horse finally managed to cross the stony path and thorny bushes, she was trembling so much that she couldn¡¯t mount.
An impatient guard said, ¡°Are you going or not? If not, we¡¯re leaving.¡± Their master was already dead. Some of them were considering fleeing, but Han Yueniang had said she could take them to Jin Country to live since her husband was an officer there and it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to take in a few warriors. Hence, the guards were undecided. This time their master had made a big mistake, and as aplices, they definitely couldn¡¯t stay in Dazhou. They might as well go to Jin Country with Han Yueniang. Although they were tempted, they also harbored great resentment towards Chen Tiantian. If it weren¡¯t for her constant misguidance, why would their promising young lord risk it all to murder the Jiang Family? Now, the ugly duckling not only led their master to death but also forced them to leave their hometown, separating them from their wives and children. ¡°Can you help me?¡± Chen Tiantian, unable to mount her horse after several attempts, was desperate. A guard suppressed his rage, dismounted, and helped her onto the saddle. Suddenly, a figure dressed in deep green robes, dappled with blood, emerged holding a long knife. She quickly and silently approached. ¡°Ahhhh!¡± Chen Tiantian screamed in terror, urging her horse to gallop away. A sh of cold light crossed by, and the horse fell into a pool of blood. Chen Tiantian stumbled into the bushes, her body covered with grass seeds and thorns. She backed away in fright, screaming incessantly, ¡°Don¡¯te over!¡±
Seeing this, Han Yueniang knew she could not save her daughter and urgently spurred her horse to flee. A few guards ran even faster than her, disappearing into the woods in an instant. Ignoring those people, Yingbao raised her long knife, ready to strike Chen Tiantian. ¡°Stop! Stop now!¡± Someone shouted. Turning to look, Yingbao saw a group of people on horseback rushing in. The person who had shouted was an official from the Ministry of Justice, who was holding a token and called out to Yingbao, ¡°My Lady, this case has been turned over to the Ministry of Justice. Please, don¡¯t kill anymore!¡± With a coldugh, Yingbao raised her knife again to strike. Chen Tiantian cried out in horror and passed out in fear. Suddenly, Yingbao was sucked into the cave dwelling by a great force. Due to the sudden incident, she was thrown hard against the cave wall, the impact leaving her in severe pain, her cracked skin oozing blood. Yingbao frowned, not understanding why she had suddenly been pulled into the cave dwelling. Lifting her head, she saw radiant light swirling on the cave ceiling, with arge rune faintly visible. She suddenly understood.
It turned out that everything was the work of the rune on the cave ceiling. Having realized this, she decided to destroy the runes! But before she could destroy the runes, she needed to kill Chen Tiantian first to eliminate future trouble. However, no matter what Yingbao did, she couldn¡¯t leave. Yingbao stared at the rune on the ceiling, her eyes narrowed. Was she trapped in this cave dwelling? She tightly gripped the long knife in her hand, her heart stirred, and her body slowly rose. She raised the long knife, exerted all her strength and shed it hard against the rune. For a moment, golden light shone brightly, and the rune emitted a dazzling glow. Yingbao¡¯s skin cracked open some more, and even her mouth was full of blood. She slowly smeared the fresh blood from her palm onto the long knife, and once again raised the knife to strike the rune. Crackling sounds rang out! Broken stones flew around, the rune dimmed a bit, and Yingbao¡¯s entire body was quickly soaked in fresh blood. She telekically picked up the five-ding herb that had scattered about and collected them into tworge gourds.
Afterward, she stuffed arge petal into her mouth, and also swallowed a half ginseng root. In a short while, she felt some of her strength return, and she raised her knife to strike again. After countless strikes, the rune finally shattered with a crack. As the rune copsed, the entire ceiling¡¯s rubble began to dance, gradually forming a tornado in the cave. Then, a golden orb and the pool turned into a stream of light, flying into Yingbao¡¯s eyes. At the same time, a rush of information flooded into her brain, reminding her of many things. Yingbao waved her hand, and the golden book and mirror from the courtyard came to her. The golden book and mirror trembled a few times, also turned into lights, and flew into her eyes. When Yingbao got out of the cave, she found that her parents, younger brother and Wei Zhan were all there, with gloomy faces surrounding her. ¡°Baobao¡­¡± Chunniang, seeing her daughter covered in blood, was extremely anxious. She hurried over and hugged her, ¡°Where are you hurt?¡± Yingbao shook her head, and after looking around, noticed that Chen Tiantian was still sitting nkly in her original spot. It turned out that the officials from the Ministry of Justice had tried to take Chen Tiantian away, but they were intercepted by the Jiang family and Wei Zhan, who insisted that she stay where she was and not move. Seeing their stubbornness, the official from the Ministry of Justice had to return to the city to report first, leaving the Jiang family and Wei Zhan to keep watch there. The disappearance of the County Lady was incredibly strange to the Ministry of Justice official, he needed to go back to the Imperial City to report this strange incident to the Emperor. Upon seeing Yingbao, Chen Tiantian burst intoughter, ¡°I told you¡­ you are a curse¡­ Not only are you a curse, but you¡¯re also a demon, a man-eating ghost! Look at you, you just came out of the underworld, right? Hahaha¡­¡± Yingbao squatted down, pinched her chin and said in a low voice, ¡°Chen Tiantian, I have some good news for you. The statue you ced in this realm was smashed by me, and the things you stole from me have been reimed. You wanted to collect virtues with them to absolve your sins, but that¡¯s probably not possible now. As for you¡­ you can now die.¡± Chapter 438: 434: Ungrateful Heart_1 Chapter 438: Chapter 434: Ungrateful Heart_1 When Yingbao finished speaking, she didn¡¯t give Chen Tiantian the chance to scream. She tightened her fingers, directly crushing Chen Tiantian¡¯s neck. As soon as she let go, Chen Tiantian fell to the ground like a rag doll. Yingbao felt a sense of relief, standing up, she suddenly felt as though she too had shattered from the inside out. She nced at her crumbling hands, then looked up at her frightened parents and brother, as well as Wei Zhan. Was she going to die? Yingbao was a bit perplexed. She had already destroyed the statues of Chen Tiantian and Xiao Chengjun, so why was she in this state? Without time to think further, Yingbao took out all the gold, silver, jewelry, and cloth, stored in her Divine Pupil and tossed them out. She also threw out a gourd filled with Five Ding Zhi. A portion of these treasures belonged to her and her parents, and the other half was the betrothal gifts from Wei Zhan. ¡°Baobao, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Seeing her daughter slowly shatter like ss, Baobao¡¯s mother burst into tears of fear. Yingbao shook her head, whispering, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, mother, it doesn¡¯t hurt.¡±
Yingbao¡¯s mother cried even harder, almost copsing uncontrobly if it wasn¡¯t for the bystanders supporting her. Jiang Sang tried to reach out to his daughter, but he was afraid of shattering her even more. He jumped anxiously, shouting, ¡°What should we do? How? Huzi, quickly go and call the Imperial Physician!¡± Huzi immediately acknowledged and ran off. Jiang Sang noticed the gourd left by his daughter, hurriedly rushed over and saw that it was filled with Divine Medicine that Yingbao frequently used. He immediately took out some Five Ding Zhi from the gourd and tried to stuff it into Yingbao¡¯s mouth. Yingbao refused it, ¡°It¡¯s useless.¡± She spected the medicine could possibly elerate her degradation. ¡°Father, mother, I will be your daughter again in the next life. Your biological daughter.¡± Jiang Sang nodded, too grieved to say anything. Wei Zhan forced his way forward, his face streaming with tears as he looked at Yingbao. ¡°Why? You were about to marry me. Why did it turn out like this?¡± Yingbao extended her hand, wiping his tears, and said quietly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Wei Zhan, I did not expect¡­this to happen.¡± She really did want to marry him, but she did not expect that after killing Chen Tiantian and Xiao Chengjun, she herself would be on the brink of death. ¡°Does sorry help? Quickly tell me how to save you.¡± Wei Zhan held Yingbao tenderly, crying out loud, ¡°Yingbao! Don¡¯t leave me! I beg you!¡± Yet, Yingbao¡¯s shape gradually turned into illusion, like shattering shadows, slowly being absorbed into an elliptical ck hole. Wei Zhan yelled, trying to rush towards the ck hole, but found himself grasping at thin air. ¡­ In this endless darkness, only a book radiated golden light. Yingbao stood in the void, and spoke to the book, ¡°Come out, stop ying around.¡± The golden book¡¯s glow gradually formed a small rabbit-like figure, shaking its golden long ears at Yingbao obediently, and blinking a pair of almond-shaped eyes hard. ¡°Spiritual! Spiritual!¡± It even gave itself a sound effect.
Seeing that Yingbao did not react, it unwillingly shrunk back and transformed into a small turtle, grumbling, ¡°Hmph! Not recognizing a good person¡­or a good turtle!¡± Yingbao took one of its legs and brought it to her eyes, ¡°Tell me, what kind of script have you been writing for me?¡± The golden turtle retracted its head guiltily, ¡°Nothing much, I just want you to understand that men in the world are fickle, and you should never be deceived by them.¡± Yingbao: ¡°When you paired me with Xiao Chengjun, why didn¡¯t you say so?¡±
She already knew that she had reincarnated so many times, even marrying Xiao Chengjun in one of her lives ¨C all of these were Xuanwu¡¯s misdoings. This little turtle was her Spiritual Pet, unexpectedly had also fallen into this realm with her, always in that small courtyard. However, when she was muddled and couldn¡¯t clearly remember her past lives, it conspired with the Mirror of Reincarnation, making her reincarnate over and over again. Yingbao knew it meant well, trying to prevent her soul from dispersing after death, hence it repeatedly simted her experiences from past lives in different worlds. However, it shouldn¡¯t have paired her up with Xiao Chengjun, even making her marry that scum. Every time Yingbao thinks about how nai?ve and weak she was in that life, how she was killed by that couple, she can¡¯t help bing furious. Xuanwu blinked its eyes, ¡°Wasn¡¯t I¡­trying to make you bewitch him and then dump him, causing him unbearable pain¡­¡± It didn¡¯t expect her to be so useless. Seeing that its master¡¯s face was growing darker and darker, Xuanwu hastily added, ¡°Later,ter didn¡¯t I make him die early?¡± Yingbaoughed out of anger: ¡®Oh, I really thank you.¡¯ She and Xiao Chengjun had conflicting BaZi (fortune based on birth date and time). Regardless of the life, they always ended up in deadly conflicts. Whenever she thought of the fact that they were once husband and wife, Yingbao felt nauseous. Xuanwu whispered, ¡°No need to thank, it¡¯s only right. Who asked our spirit souls to rely on each other.¡± If its master¡¯s spirit soul were to be destroyed, it would also die. Hence it had toboriously create many scripts for its master to solidify her three souls and seven spirits.
Sigh, it couldn¡¯t just write any script for its master. Everyone had to be the same as in her past life, otherwise, its master won¡¯t recognise who she is, won¡¯t remember what she experienced in her past life, and even forget who her enemies were. That would have been a disaster. Luckily, its master has recovered her senses now. Although her three souls and seven spirits were still a little scattered, overall, it wasn¡¯t too bad. Yingbao held the little turtle in the palm of her hand, looking at the pitch-ck void for a long while before suddenly asking, ¡°Xuanwu, can¡¯t we really go back?¡± Xuanwu replied, ¡°Technically no, because you revealed miracles there and were rejected by the Heavenly Dao. In addition, you destroyed the statues, killed Chen Tiantian and Xiao Chengjun, which would surely rm the bad guys.¡± It paused before continuing, ¡°If you go back, there is a possibility that someone might discover the clues, and the Supreme Immortal only needs to lift a finger to reduce Qinchuan World to ashes.¡± Yingbao queried, ¡°Who is the Supreme Immortal?¡± Xuanwu sighed, ¡°Nevermind if you don¡¯t remember, master. That guy is very powerful, and he also wronged you.¡± ¡°So he wronged me, and now he is going to wrong me again? How scummy can he be?¡± Yingbao was puzzled. Xuanwu: ¡­ Realising that her master¡¯s spirit soul was still iplete and many things had not yet been remembered, it sighed, ¡°Alright, if you really want to go back, I will think of a way.¡± Yingbao smiled faintly, ¡°You better start thinking.¡± Xuanwu hesitated for a moment, then advised, ¡°Master, you shouldn¡¯t cling onto your mortal desires. Collecting the Divine Bead Fragments and enhancing your cultivation base should be your primary goal.¡± Yingbao felt its words made sense, however¡­
She thought for a moment before asking, ¡°Isn¡¯t there a way for me to live out the rest of my life in peace in this realm and find the Divine Bead Fragments afterward? If I have regrets from this life, it would also affect my state of mind and hinder the progress of my cultivation, right?¡± Xuanwu was silenced, and with a bitter face, it bit its little w and dripped out a drop of golden liquid. ¡°As long as you eat this, you can go back.¡± Sigh, there goes its hundred years of cultivation base. The golden drop of liquid flew into Yingbao¡¯s forehead. Immediately, she felt warmth spread throughout her body. Suddenly, her body began falling uncontrobly. Yingbao waved, and the golden book along with Xuanwu, once again flew into her eyes. Chapter 439: 435: Reincarnation is Also a Technical Skill_1 Chapter 439: Chapter 435: Reincarnation is Also a Technical Skill_1 In the pitch-ck night, outside the town in the forest, a man sat nkly beside a bonfire, staring into space. ¡°Wei Zhan, go back.¡± Huzi came over and advised. ¡°Yingbao is gone.¡± Wei Zhan shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it.¡± Huzi sighed and sat down next to him. ¡°It¡¯s been three days. If you don¡¯t leave now, neither will Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu.¡± Wei Zhan nced at the two brothers lying not far away, saying nothing. The injuries of Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu hadn¡¯t healed, but they insisted on staying here, waiting for their sister toe back. It was said that the departed will return on the seventh day after death to bid their families farewell. They wanted to see their sister again and ask her what happened. There was a moment of silence, only the light from the bonfire flickered. Suddenly, something fell from a ce not visible, startling the group with a soft thud. Wei Zhan shot up and looked in that direction for a moment, then sprinted towards it. He looked carefully, and what he thought was a person falling, truly was.
Upon closer inspection, it was a woman in a green ceremonial dress. ¡°Yingbao!¡± Tears welled up in Wei Zhan¡¯s nose. He rushed over and carefully lifted the woman off the ground. It was indeed Yingbao. Wei Zhan trembled as he brushed the stray strands of hair from her face, and upon seeing her clearly, he held her tight against his chest. The emotions of losing and regaining made him break into a fit of crying. Huzi, along with Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu, ran over too, tugging at Wei Zhan¡¯s sleeve to verify if it was really their sister. Wei Zhan held onto her tightly, burying his face in her hair, whimpering. Finally, Yingbao came to her senses and weakly pushed him, ¡°I can¡¯t breathe.¡± Wei Zhan and the others were startled. Jiang Wu also started crying. ¡°Sis, you¡¯re not dead.¡± Yingbao tried to lift her head from Wei Zhan¡¯s cradle. ¡°No, I was supposed to be reincarnated, but since none of you burned paper money for me, I didn¡¯t have any gifts for King Yama and was kicked back.¡± ¡°What?¡± Is that even possible? Jiang Wu was dumbfounded, but at the same time, delighted. ¡°Thank god I didn¡¯t burn any.¡± Huzi blinked. ¡°That¡¯s not right, the family certainly burnt it. Maybe you haven¡¯t received it yet¡­¡± Jiang Jie quickly covered Huzi¡¯s mouth. ¡°We didn¡¯t burn it! We definitely didn¡¯t!¡± Yingbaoughed. ¡°Now that I¡¯m back, those little ghosts must have embezzled those funds.¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± Jiang Wu nodded incessantly. Wei Zhan picked up Yingbao. ¡°Let¡¯s go! We¡¯re going home!¡± The wild outdoors was filled with eerie chill, it was better to take Yingbao back home fast.
Not far away was a horse-drawn carriage originally for Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu. A young servant was fast asleep. ¡°Wake up, let¡¯s go home!¡± Huzi pped him, and the servant looked up groggily. Seeing the young Master Wei holding a woman, he immediately widened his eyes. Wei Zhan ced Yingbao in the carriage and urged the servant to start driving fast. ¡°What about us!¡± Jiang Wu called out discontentedly and quickly climbed into the carriage.
Soon, with Huzi¡¯s help, Jiang Jie also climbed aboard. The four of them squeezed into one carriage, just about fitting in. Wei Zhan still held Yingbao tightly in his arms, remaining silent the entire time. Huzi lit two torches, holding one himself and handing one to the servant. The carriage slowly moved on, and within half an hour, they reached the city gate. Seeing the gate closed, Huzi turned his head and said, ¡°How about we find an inn and stay there for the night? If we call to open the gates now, we might startle the Emperor.¡± Jiang Wu: ¡°Good, there¡¯s an inn not far from here. Let¡¯s go there.¡± ¡­ Once they were settled in the inn, Xuanwuid down three rules for Yingbao to prevent any suspicions from the upper realm. Firstly, she could no longer exercise the power of the Divine Pupil. Secondly, unless absolutely necessary, she must not kill. The world has its own naturalws, she must not arbitrarily control life and death, disrupting the bnce. Thirdly, they agreed to fifty years, after which, no matter what happened, she must leave.
Yingbao agreed to all of it. To be on the safe side, Xuanwu took her Scythe Knife, and begrudgingly said, ¡°From now on, Pupil Spring can only be taken once a month, not a drop more. I will keep your Gourd of Wudingzhi, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll give you a petal each month.¡± On the second day, Wei Zhan took Yingbao back to the Jiang Family. The carriage went directly through the side gate and stopped at the inner courtyard. When he, Jiang Jie, and Jiang Wu were seen escorting Yingbao, everyone was stunned. Chunniang and Jiang Sang closely examined their daughter, and after seeing no injuries, they were relieved. ¡°Quickly tell mother what happened?¡± Chunniang pulled her daughter into the house, waved away the maid and servants, and asked softly. Yingbao repeated the lie she had made up: ¡°King Yama said my life isn¡¯t over yet, so he sent me back.¡± Such tales weremon. Some people who wake up after a brief period of unconsciousness would tell others that King Yama didn¡¯t want to take them yet, and that they had more years to live. After clutching her daughter and shedding some tears, Chunniang sighed with relief: ¡°Thankfully, we didn¡¯t do anything. The Imperial Household Department had offered to take care of things for us, but your father didn¡¯t agree. He said you would definitelye back, and sure enough¡­¡± At that time, their grandparents and parents also came over. They didn¡¯t ask much, only urging Yingbao to take good care of her health as she seemed very weak. Looking at her family, Yingbao said, ¡°I want to go back to Qinchuan County.¡± She knew her grandparents and parents didn¡¯t like living in Beijing permanently, so she wanted to take them back home.
As for her younger cousins, they could stay here and fight for their futures. ¡°Going back is good.¡± Chunniang had wanted to go back for a long time, but had reluctantly stayed because her children were here in Beijing. Jiang Liu said, ¡°Heading back is fine, but we have to arrange Xiaojie¡¯s marriage first.¡± Xiaojie was now 16. Although that was his false age, it wasmon for people to get married at 14 or 15. Furthermore, after Yingbao¡¯s incident, they needed to hold a joyous event like a wedding. Chunniang agreed, ¡°We will arrange Xaiojie¡¯s marriage first. But what about Yingbao¡¯s wedding?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll ask the Wei family¡¯s opinion and select a new date.¡± Jiang Liu said, ¡°I think Wei Zhan really values Yingbao, his family will surely agree.¡± Chunniang nodded. That day, Jiang Jie delivered a letter to the Emperor stating that his sister had had an ident and fallen into a dark hole, but waster found. Although the story might seem ridiculous, he had to steer away from admitting how ludicrous it really was. As for the other spectators, most of them were family. Although there were outsiders present, they were all outside the barrier and didn¡¯t see or understood exactly how Yingbao had disappeared. The Emperor quickly responded to Jiang Jie¡¯s letter and sent the Imperial Physician to examine Yingbao. The Imperial Physician was Wen Jingyan, the grandfather of Wen Hengyin, who was already over seventy.
Along with him was his grandson, Wen Hengyin. Wen Jingyan took Yingbao¡¯s pulse and prescribed a tonic to nourish her blood, ¡°Your qi and blood are a bit depleted. Eat more foods like pork liver and spinach soup daily.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Thank you, Grandpa Wen.¡± Although she had never visited the Wen household, she always sent a gift to the old Imperial Physician during the holidays. After all, her ability to practice medicine wasrgely thanks to him. Wen Jingyan nced at her and subtly mentioned, ¡°You need to rest for a few more days. The Emperor will be conferring the title of Crown Prince soon, and it¡¯s not a good idea for you to attend such an event.¡± Yingbao was momentarily surprised, then understood, ¡°Thank you for the reminder, Grandpa Wen. I should indeed rest more.¡± Chapter 440: 436: Getting Married_1 Chapter 440: Chapter 436: Getting Married_1 [Dear readers, please note, if you are feeling lost, please refer to the previous two chapters. Due to your ardent suggestions, the storyline of reincarnation will be postponed. I¡¯ve decided to finish this first.] Having seen off Old Master Wen Hengyin, Yingbao indeedy idle at home. Her betrothal to Wei Zhan was missed, and as marriage is forbidden during the month of Wudu, the Wei Family and Jiang Family decided to set their wedding date for June instead. In June, not only was Yingbao to marry, but Jiang Jie had also chosen the same day to marry Luo Zhao. As such, guests would only need to bring one gift, saving face for both the Jiang and Wei families. A few dayster, the Emperor conferred the title of Chu Prince to his son born a few months prior. In a grand amnesty, the Emperor also promoted the prince¡¯s mother, Lu Xianfei, to Noble Consort. Consequently, every officer in Beijing went to congratte the Lu Family, and the Jiang Family was no exception. Yingbao didn¡¯t mind such events, delegating the task to her younger brother, Jiang Jie. She instead stayed at home, boxing thatrge gourd of Five Tripod Fungus her father had earlier obtained into exquisitely delicate jade boxes. Although these so-called jade boxes were just tiny boxes made from white jade, they were extremely cheap. Putting the Five Tripod Fungus in them could keep it fresh for a long time.
While Yingbao was dealing with the Five Tripod Fungus, Xuanwu sneaked out, pretending to gaze around before quietly swiping some fungus into his tortoise shell. Yingbao didn¡¯t pay this any mind and simply continued her work. Looking up, she noticed her second cousin had arrived and was whispering something to Meixiang, stealthily slipping something into her hand. Meixiang epted the item, her face flushed, before she turned back into the house. Yingbao watched her second cousin lovingly watching Meixiang for quite a while before he finally turned and left. The next day, Yingbao noticed a jade green hairpin in Meixiang¡¯s hair bun. Yingbao furrowed her brows, and the next day called over her second cousin. ¡°Second brother, are you nning on marrying Meixiang?¡± Jiang Quan was stunned by her question, but quickly recovered and nodded earnestly. ¡°Yes, I¡­ I do want to marry her.¡± ¡°And does she feel the same?¡± Jiang Quan scratched his head. ¡°I think she does.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t you propose directly?¡± Yingbao eyed her second cousin. ¡°You¡¯re not getting any younger either. What are you waiting for?¡± Jiang Quan blushed slightly. ¡°Well¡­ it¡¯s because Meixiang is your maid. I¡¯m a bit embarrassed.¡± It would surely be quite shameful if people found out that he was coveting his cousin¡¯s maid. Yingbao: ¡°Although Meixiang is a pce maid, she¡¯s also a decent girl. Her grandfather was once a schr. It wouldn¡¯t be bad if you married her.¡± Not to mention, Meixiang is literate and prudent, perfectly suited for her second cousin. Jiang Quan couldn¡¯t help but grin, stuttering modestly, ¡°Yingbao, if I marry her, wouldn¡¯t you be short-staffed?¡± Yingbao said irritably, ¡°So you¡¯re implying that all of my maids should stay single.¡± Jiang Quan scratched his head: ¡°Alright, I¡­ I will ask Meixiang right away if she is willing to marry me.¡± The answer was obvious; Meixiang was also very fond of Jiang Quan. Therefore, Jiang Quan employed a marriage broker, selected an auspicious date, and became betrothed to Meixiang.
After this event, several of the older maids around Yingbao suddenly also found their desired partners. Weng Xiuxiu and Jiang Jie¡¯s official servant became engaged. He Xiang and Qiu Xiang also formed rtionships with two guards from the County Prefecture. Only Lan Xiang, Magnolia, and Xinghua had yet to find their beloved ones.
Yingbao decisively set up marriage dates for all of them. She also gave each of them a sum of money as dowry so they could prepare their own wedding paraphernalia. As May passed by in a blink, Yingbao was once again prepared to get married. This time it went smoothly without any unexpected incidents. First, Jiang Jie carried his sister onto the bridal sedan, and then together with his younger brother Jiang Wu and Huzi, sent Yingbao straight to the Wei family¡¯s home. The doors of the Wei house opened wide with a red carpetid from the entrance to the interior. Wei Zhan dismounted from his horse, and a servant boy wearing a red waistband immediately took the reins. He walked to the eight-carrier bridal sedan, took a bow and arrow from the matchmaker, and shot an arrow without a tip at the door of the sedan. The pnquin door opened and the apanying maids stepped forward to help. The bride was dressed in a green brocade robe, embroidered with three golden phoenixes. She was wearing a pearl crown in her hair, with four golden phoenixes inserted on either side of her bun, and a pearl curtain hanging down on her forehead, just reaching the tip of her nose. Even the golden jade ne she was wearing on her chest was of great value. Magnolia and Lan Xiang were holding Yingbao, with two young maids behind protecting their mistress¡¯ long ceremonial robe to prevent it from getting scratched.
The newlyweds crossed over the brazier and entered the main hall. In the hall, the altar was illuminated by bright candles, with wafts of sandalwood incense. There were grains and various items like longan and red dates ced on top, each utensil adorned with a red ¡°double happiness¡± symbol. The master of ceremonies then recited auspicious words loudly: ¡°On this auspicious day filled with joy, we congratte the newlyweds on their journey to the center of the hall. Here they perform rites of respect, weing songs and dances. Just like pearls and jade, they are a perfect match. Like blossoms on a tree, they bear fruit in a shared home. The groom is free-spirited and handsome, the bride is beautiful and virtuous. No envy for gods or immortals, they are the perfect pair¡­¡± Wei Zhan turned his head to look at Yingbao beside him, unable to suppress the smile on his lips. Next, the master of ceremonies continued to sing: ¡°First bow to heaven and earth where fate descends¡­¡± Under the guidance of the matchmaker, the two knelt and paid respects to the sacred tablets on the altar. ¡°Second bow to parents in the high hall¡­¡± Wei Zhan and Yingbao knelt before the head of the Wei family and Lady Wang to pay their respects. ¡°The couple bows to each other¡­¡± Wei Zhan and Yingbao faced each other and bowed. ¡°The ceremony isplete! Congrattions to the newlyweds as they proceed to the bridal chamber¡­¡±
As the master of ceremonies made the announcement, the matchmaker presented a red silk cloth, handing one end to Wei Zhan and tucking the other into Yingbao¡¯s hand. Wei Zhan, leading with the red silk, took steps back towards the bridal chamber. Once entering the bridal chamber, the matchmaker had the couple sit face-to-face on the wedding bed. Next, Grandma Quanfu brought a red scale stick, handed it to Wei Zhan, and asked him to unveil the red cloth from the bride¡¯s head. The matchmaker chanted a long list of blessings: ¡°The little scale stick, ck and shiny, is used to unveil the bride¡¯s veil. The veil lifted, the bride takes on new responsibilities, first bing a wife, then the head of the family. A virtuous wife first, then a mother of many. The scale stick hits the ground andnds should be acquired. The scale stick leans against the wall, and the room will be full of descendants¡­¡± Then the couple shared the unifying wine and ate dumplings and tangyuan. When all the ceremonies werepleted, the matchmaker and Grandma Quanfu led the maids out of the bridal chamber and closed the door. ¡°Tired? Let me help you take off the crown.¡± Seeing Yingbao nod, Wei Zhan carefully removed the crown from her head, and also removed the long pheasant tassel. Then, he stood there, staring and grinning at her. Yingbao, her face red with embarrassment, suddenly remembered the fire protection card her mother gave her. ¡°I, I¡¯ll get you some water.¡±
Wei Zhan, also quite embarrassed, hurriedly got out of bed to get the water. Noticing the snacks on the table, he took a piece of each, ¡°Here, this was freshly made by mom, have some. Later, I¡¯ll have someone bring us some noodles.¡± ¡°No need.¡± Yingbao took the snacks, holding them in one hand and feeding them into her mouth with the other. Fearing that she might choke, Wei Zhan picked up the teacup and fed her some water. After Yingbao had two pieces of snack, she thought for a moment, then pinched another piece and stuffed it into Wei Zhan¡¯s mouth, asking, ¡°Are you hungry?¡± Wei Zhan blushed and shook his head fervently, then quickly nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll just have some snacks too.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have to go out to toast?¡± Yingbao asked curiously. She remembered that usually the groom had to toast the guests after sending the bride to the bridal chamber. Wei Zhan: ¡°No need, my mom and dad are there to host the guests. I just need to stay here with you.¡± Yingbao nced out of the window and noticed that it wasn¡¯tpletely dark yet, so she suggested, ¡°Shall we¡­ y a game first?¡± Wei Zhan almost dropped the tea cup in his hand, stammering, ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s still early, let¡¯s¡­ let¡¯s wait until the guests leave¡­¡± Chapter 441: 437: Play Again_1 Chapter 441: Chapter 437: y Again_1 Yingbao took out a deck of leaf cards from her sleeve and asked in confusion, ¡°Why?¡± Wei Zhan stared at the cards in his wife¡¯s hand, his mind suddenly clearing. He nodded, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s y one round.¡± And so, the two began to y leaf cards on the bed. The loser would wear a red paper strip on their forehead. In the end, Yingbao lost three rounds in a row. She blew away the paper strip that hung in front of her mouth, refusing to admit defeat. ¡°Again! I refuse to believe you can keep winning.¡± Wei Zhan nced at the darkening window outside and whispered softly, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, darling. We should rest.¡± Yingbao wanted to argue but remembering her mother¡¯s instructions, she could only nod in agreement. Wei Zhan carefully peeled off the paper strips from Yingbao¡¯s forehead, then tremblingly tried to help her remove her outer robe, cold sweats dripping from his forehead. Seeing him dawdle, Yingbao pushed his hands away and quickly removed her outer robe herself. She then took off her long skirt underneath, leaving only one white inner garment. She jumped off the bed, stretching her legs and arms.
Wei Zhan was stunned. ¡°You¡­ what are you¡­¡± Could she be nning to fight him? Yingbao answered, ¡°Sitting for too long has made my legs numb.¡± Wei Zhan heaved a sigh of relief. He also got off the bed, fetched a brush, and began to clean the dry fruits such as red dates and longan on the bed. He felt the bed to make sure no hard objects would hurt Yingbao before smoothing out the bedding. Thinking about what was toe, Wei Zhan couldn¡¯t help but blush. He was overflowing with joy. Yingbao was finally his woman. His lifelongpanion, the mother of his children. Wei Zhan¡¯s heart was filled with warmth. After making the bed, he saw Yingbao sitting by the table, examining something. He walked over. Craning his neck to see, he was surprised to find it was a birth control chart! Wei Zhan swiftly grabbed the booklet from Yingbao¡¯s hand and tossed it under the table. ¡°You don¡¯t need to see this. I¡¯m here.¡± Yingbao blinked. She was simply curious and didn¡¯t mean anything by it. It was impressive that someone could make two people look so ugly in a drawing. Wei Zhan took Yingbao¡¯s hand and led her to the bed, coughing lightly. ¡°The bed is ready, let¡¯s rest.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yingbao climbed into bed and slid under the covers, then watched intently as Wei Zhan removed his robe. Wei Zhan¡¯s hands trembled again. He turned his back and stripped down until he had only his white inner garment left. He nced at the candle and lowered the red curtain, followed by the bedposts. Wei Zhany down next to Yingbao and gradually moved towards her until he could hold her hand.
Small and soft. Just as the books had described, women¡¯s hands were indeed soft and delicate. They were even more enjoyable than a kitten¡¯s paws. Wei Zhan held Yingbao¡¯s hand and unknowingly fell asleep, snoring quietly. It¡¯s no wonder, since he had been busy all day and yed several rounds of leaf cards with his wife. Now fully content, he unexpectedly fell asleep as soon as heid on the bed.
Yingbao: ¡­ What did he mean by this? Could he be seriously ill? Xuanwu burst intoughter in her mind¡¯s eye. Yingbao¡¯s face darkened. She took out Xuanwu and threw him under the bed. Eventually, she also closed her eyes and slept, having a strange dream. She dreamed that Wei Zhan had turned into a cat, rubbing itself against her legs. The crowing of the roosters woke her from her dream. Wei Zhan also woke up, staring at her with a shy look on his face. Although the two red candles on the table were still flickering, the outside was already bright. As Yingbao was about to get up, Wei Zhan held her down, ¡°I apologize, darling. I¡­ I fell asleep.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, let me go. I need to visit the toilet,¡± Yingbao said. ¡°Oh.¡± Wei Zhan let go of her and sat up as well.
The two did not use the toilet inside the house, but opened the door and slipped out to the outhouse. Magnolia and Lan Xiang woke up early and had been listening for movements in the bridal chamber all along. When they saw the couple leaving the room, they walked in. Lifting the quilt, it was clean and tidy with nothing inside. Magnolia and Lan Xiang looked at each other, began to tidy up the bed, folded the quilt neatly, and hung up the mosquito. In a short while, a maid from the Wei family brought in a pot of hot water and bowed to Magnolia and Lan Xiang, saying, ¡°Sisters, the hot water is here.¡± Lan Xiang: ¡°Put it over there.¡± The maid ced the hot water pot on the ground and left. Lan Xiang fetched a copper basin, poured water from the pot into it and, taking out a new towel, ced it on the towel rack. Soon, Wei Zhan and Yingbao returned to the room. Lan Xiang helped Yingbao wash her hands and face, and then led her to use the privy behind the mosquito. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lan Xiang asked in a low voice, ¡°Miss County, did¡­ nothing happenst night?¡± Yingbao said emotionlessly, ¡°No, I was too tired.¡± Lan Xiang didn¡¯t quite understand.
Although she was already eighteen and had some things exined to her by Jiang Anren, she still didn¡¯t quite understand what ¡®too tired on the wedding night¡¯ meant. ¡°But the Wei family mighte for the white silk soon.¡± The white silk was something used on the first night of the marriage, it had to be shown to the mother-inw. Yingbao: ¡°Then let her ask Wei Zhan for it.¡± Lan Xiang said nothing more. After getting dressed, Yingbao followed Wei Zhan to serve tea to her inws. As soon as they entered the main hall, they saw several people already standing inside. ¡°Oh, our sister-inw is here.¡± A woman in her thirties smiled at her. There were also two young women in their mid-twenties and two teenage girls who also came over to greet her. Yingbao returned their greetings, and heard Wei Zhan introducing them to her: ¡°This is my eldest sister-inw, those two are my second and third sisters-inw, and these are my fifth and sixth younger sisters.¡± Following his introduction, Yingbao greeted them: ¡°Eldest sister-inw, second sister-inw, third sister-inw, fifth sister, sixth sister.¡± The women were all very polite, and the three sisters-inw insisted on giving her a weing gift. Yingbao epted, and signaled for Magnolia to return the favor.
Magnolia took corresponding gifts from the box she was carrying and presented them to the Wei family women. In a while, Mrs. Wang and her husband came out. A Wei family servant brought tea for the newlyweds to serve to their inws. Madam Wang epted the teacup, took a sip, and passed it to the servant. ¡°Baobao, from now on, this household is also your home. Feel free to ask Seveth Son for anything you need. If you encounter disrespectful servants, you don¡¯t need to hold back, just dismiss them.¡± Yingbao: ¡°Yes, mother.¡± Madam Wang took out a small gift box that was prepared in advance and stuffed it into the hands of her new daughter-inw: ¡°Take this and live a good life with Seventh Son.¡± Yingbao nodded, handed the gift box to Lan Xiang to keep, then served tea to her father-inw. The head of the Wei family drank his daughter-inw¡¯s tea, then took out a box to hand to his new daughter-inw. After that, a maid from the Wei family led Yingbao to the kitchen to cook. But ¡®cooking¡¯ really just consisted of taking the dishes prepared by the cook and pouring them into the pot, flipping them a few times with a spat, and leaving the rest to the cook. There were a total of five dishes, including fish, meat, vegetables, rice, and buns. After doing this once for each dish, she just stood by and watched. When the cook finished all the dishes and put them in the meal box, Yingbao carried it to the main room to serve her inws. After having a meal with her inws, Yingbao finally returned to the room with Wei Zhan. Then, the two sat facing each other on the bed, eyes staring at each other¡¯s. Seeing this, Lan Xiang hurriedly dragged Magnolia out of the room, and closed the door behind them. Yingbao: ¡°Why aren¡¯t you on duty?¡± ¡°I have a marriage leave, seven days.¡± Wei Zhan held Yingbao¡¯s hand. Yingbao thought for a moment and asked: ¡°Shall we y another round?¡± Wei Zhan shivered slightly, was about to shake his head, but seemed to have thought of something and nodded: ¡°Good! The loser has to take off a piece of clothing.¡± Chapter 442: 438: Who Is He_1 Chapter 442: Chapter 438: Who Is He_1 However, this time luck in the card game seemed to be against him. Wei Zhan lost five rounds in a row, stripping to nothing more than his underpants. Yingbao nced at his underpants, pondering whether to have another round. Wei Zhan also noticed his wife¡¯s gaze. His face turned as red as a monkey¡¯s butt, and he rushed to cross his legs, kneeling on the side of the bed. ¡°No more.¡± He said, feeling upset as he put away the cards. Then he stared at Yingbao nkly. ¡°Wife, we haven¡¯t consummated our marriage yet.¡± Yingbao blinked: ¡°You want to consummate it now?¡± Wei Zhan nodded his head. Yingbao, ¡°But it¡¯s daytime, speaking silver is not proper in broad daylight.¡± Wei Zhan looked at his wife with aggrieved eyes, ¡°We are husband and wife now.¡± Yingbao thought for a moment, ¡°Alright then.¡± Anyway, they had to consummate their marriage sooner orter, doing it in the daytime didn¡¯t make any difference.
Wei Zhan was overjoyed and quickly got up to put down the curtain around the bed. There¡¯s an old saying: Enjoying the beauty of the small garden fully, red peach flowers, white plum flowers, yellow vegetables flowers all indicate the arrival of spring. identally walking over the eastern hill, hearing the bird¡¯s singing, watching the dance of the swallow, and the busy butterflies. It was until after noon that Wei Zhan finally came out of the room, ordering the maids to bring water in for his wife to clean up. He also ordered some good-quality food to be made in the kitchen and sent into the room. Early the next morning, Yingbao was about to get up when Wei Zhan held her tightly. ¡°Let go, I want to greet my mother-inw.¡± Yingbao poked his arm in annoyance. ¡°No.¡± With his face pressed against his wife¡¯s back, Wei Zhan was as sticky as a ster: ¡°Mother said you don¡¯t need to greet her in the morning, she wants to sleep more.¡± Yingbao: ¡°That won¡¯t do, there are your sisters-inw, and your younger sister¡­¡± ¡°They can¡¯t control us,¡± Wei Zhan continued to stick to his wife. Yingbao: ¡°At least I have to go to the Gongfang.¡± Only then did Wei Zhan finally let go of his wife and sat up: ¡°I¡¯ll go too.¡± They got dressed together, went to the outhouse toilet, and then came back together to wash up and eat breakfast. So another day went by like this. On the third day, it was time for Yi Yue, the visiting of the bride¡¯s family. Wei Zhan got up early. He personally checked the list of gifts, then ordered servants to hitch the horse carriage, and loaded up all the gifts to be sent to the Yue family. After his wife was ready, they had a quick breakfast, then went to inform Lady Wang, before boarding the carriage to head to the Jiang Family. Watching the crowd go away, Wei D¨¤sao, from the Cao Family, sniffed and returned to her own courtyard. She told her husband, Wei Wenbo: ¡°You work so hard outside, and in the end, they just took away everything on a carriage. If people didn¡¯t know better, they would think our family is the Jiang Family¡¯s treasury.¡± Wei Wenbo was eating his meal and didn¡¯t respond.
Cao snorted and sat down next to the table, casting a nce at the food: ¡°I¡¯m telling you, you¡¯re too honest. You and second brother manage the business in Beijing, but others just took the pot away. You can actually tolerate this?¡± Wei Wenbo: ¡°Father has already made up for the loss, let¡¯s not bring this up again.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to mention it, but I feel it¡¯s not worth it for you.¡± Cao picked up a steamed dumpling and took a bite, whispering: ¡°Eldest son, why don¡¯t you talk to father about separation?¡± Wei Wenbo nced at his wife sideways: ¡°Separate? I can¡¯t believe you mentioned it.¡±
Cao: ¡°If we don¡¯t, we will end up with nothing. Didn¡¯t you see Qi¡¯s attitude? He would like to empty out all our family¡¯s possessions for the Jiang Family.¡± Wei Wenbo snorted: ¡°He just took some things that are on the surface. The bulk of it is still in father¡¯s hands. Stop meddling in such things.¡± Cao frowned: ¡°Whatever is in father¡¯s hands will all be left to Qi. We will be left with scraps.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know anything!¡± Tired of arguing with an ignorant and foolish woman, Wei Wenbo finished the porridge in his bowl and took a sip of tea that the maid offered. He wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, stood up, and left. Seeing her husband about to leave the house again, Cao quickly chased him and asked: ¡°Will you return for lunch?¡± ¡°No, I have a client to see.¡± Wei Wenbo did not look back. His manservant had already rushed out to hitch the carriage. Cao: ¡°Will youe back for dinner?¡± Wei Wenbo ignored her and walked straight out of the Moon Gate. Cao, stomping her foot angrily, turned around and went back into the house. At that moment, a woman came in and whispered something into Lady Cao¡¯s ear, then chuckled with her hand over her mouth. ¡°I¡¯m nearly fifty myself, and I¡¯ve never seen any mistress so shameless. Frolicking around with her husband in broad daylight, tsk tsk, she¡¯s even a countess. I can¡¯t bear to watch,¡± she said. Lady Cao¡¯s lips twitched, her mind full of mixed feelings. She herself had also been a bride once. Her husband used to dote on her the same way during their honeymoon period. But now, he wouldn¡¯t enter her bedroom even once a month.
She snorted and said to the woman, ¡°Be sure not to let my daughter hear this; we don¡¯t want to encourage improper behavior in youngdies.¡± ¡°How could I ever say such a thing to the youngdy?¡± The woman sat down at the table and stuffed a small steamed bun into her mouth. She was the wet nurse of Lady Cao, having been with her since she married into the Wei Family. Feeling herself different from the other servants, she would sometimes share meals with Lady Cao. Lady Cao also sat down and stared nkly out the door. Her family had a younger sister, born to her stepmother. She was about the same age as the Countess, and rather pretty too. She had initially thought to rmend her for Wei Qi, but her mother-inw, Lady Wang, had tly refused. Even now, her little sister was still not engaged. Perhaps her stepmother was still harboring the dream of marrying her daughter into the Wei Family. Perhaps she should invite her little sister to stay with them for a while? ¡­ The sixth lunar month of summer was the hottest time of the year. But it was also the lotus season. After Yingbao and Wei Zhan returned home, they went to a lotus pond on the outskirts of the city to appreciate the lotus blossoms. Apanying them were Jiang Jie and his wife. The lotus pond was vast, and the lotus leaves swayed with the breeze.
Bunches of lotus flowers stood proudly above the leaves, dazzling in their beauty. Yingbao had originally wanted to pick lotus flowers with her sister-inw Luo Zhao, but Wei Zhan held her arm: ¡°I¡¯ll apany you, let your brother take her.¡± Therefore, two pairs of people each boarded separate small boats, heading into the depths of the lotus pond to pick flowers. The lotus leaves of midsummer were very useful. Not only could they rece oil paper for wrapping food and desserts, they could also be used to make a cooling porridge. This time, Yingbao was picking lotus petals. After drying them, she would use them to make lotus petal perfume powder. The boatman pushed the small boat, parting the flowers and bushes, and entered the depths of the pond. Wei Zhan, quite pleased, busied himself with helping his wife pick lotus petals. The boatman curiously asked, ¡°Young mistress, why don¡¯t you just pick the whole flower?¡± Yingbao: ¡°I only need the petals. If I picked the whole flower, the yield of lotus seeds in your pond would be reduced.¡± The boatmanughed, ¡°Young mistress is so considerate.¡± The boat soon reached the inner part of the lotus pond, and the boatman said, ¡°There¡¯s an islet in the middle of this lotus pond, let me take you there.¡± Yingbao nodded. She had vaguely seen the islet from the shore, but because the lotus leaves were too tall and dense, she couldn¡¯t see what was on it.
The boat soon arrived beside the islet. There were pavilions and verandas on the islet, all very elegant. Wei Zhan jumped onto the shore first, then extended his hand to help Yingbao jump over. The boatman asked, ¡°Would the young master and young mistress like some fresh lotus root?¡± Wei Zhan quickly replied, ¡°Yes, please prepare it.¡± The boatman agreed and paddled away with his pole. Yingbao and Wei Zhan stepped onto the veranda and strolled along it. There were other visitors in the veranda as well, but not many, just two or three people. Suddenly, someone turned around and made eye contact with Yingbao. In the blink of an eye, Xuanwu in Yingbao¡¯s mind shouted loudly, ¡°Why is he in this world too?¡± Yingbao asked, ¡°Who¡¯s he?¡± ¡°The one who wronged you!¡± Xuanwu cried out. Chapter 443: 439: Once A Thief_1 Chapter 443: Chapter 439: Once A Thief_1 Yingbao stayed silent. She looked at them, asking Xuanwu inwardly, ¡°How has he wronged me?¡± Xuanwu indignantly replied, ¡°He broke his promise and betrayed you. Plus, he had you work for him for a hundred years without paying you!¡± Yingbao curiously asked, ¡°What work?¡± ¡°nting vegetables!¡± Xuanwu huffed, ¡°And then taking care of his spiritual pets!¡± ¡°Spiritual pets?¡± Yingbao asked, ¡°What spiritual pets?¡± Xuanwu muttered something, but Yingbao didn¡¯t catch it. Meanwhile, the man across from them said, ¡°Yingbao, it¡¯s good to see you well.¡± Yingbao frowned slightly, asking, ¡°Didn¡¯t you have a limp? How are you standing now?¡± Xiao Mo replied nonchntly, ¡°I can¡¯t always limp along. I need to stand up eventually.¡± Wei Zhan, carefully pulling Yingbao aside, asked with furrowed brows, ¡°Xiao Mo, does the Emperor know about your fake limp?¡±
A mocking smile tugged at the corners of Xiao Mo¡¯s mouth, ¡°And how do you know I was faking it?¡± Wei Zhan: ¡­ ¡°A few days ago you were in a wheelchair, now you¡¯re running around. What else could it have been if not an act?¡± Xiao Mo gave a light chuckle without responding to Wei Zhan. His gaze remained on Yingbao, but he didn¡¯t speak. Goosebumps rose on Wei Zhan¡¯s skin. Holding onto his wife¡¯s hand tightly, he murmured, ¡°Let¡¯s go somewhere else.¡± Yingbao nodded, asking Xuanwu inwardly, ¡°How did he wrong me? What if I kill him right now?¡± Xuanwu stuttered in rm, ¡°No, no, you can¡¯t do that! Actually¡­ you were the one who¡­ who stole his spiritual pet and ran away, so he issued a warrant for your arrest.¡± Yingbao: ¡­ So, she had once been a thief. Xuanwu continued, ¡°But, it was he who held you captive in the Valley of Immortals for a hundred years. He caused you not to see your parents and siblings and forced you to recite the Exorcism Mantra fifty times a day. Every now and then, he would even drown you in the Holy Spirit Water for ten hours, until you were half dead.¡± Yingbao: So, the guy is a sadist who enjoys torturing people. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say all this before? I met Xiao Mo when I was young, and I¡¯ve encountered him in both of my lives. Why didn¡¯t Xuanwu give me any hints?¡± Xuanwu: ¡°At that time, I didn¡¯t recognize him because he looked very different from that person.¡± On top of that, he didn¡¯t emit any divine radiance. ¡°Then how do you recognize him now?¡± ¡°Because I just saw a sh of divine light in him.¡± Xuanwu urgently said, ¡°Yingbao, we should run away. You can¡¯t beat him.¡± Oh no! It didn¡¯t want to be taken to the Fairy Residence to serve as a stone beast for a lifetime. Just as Yingbao was about to ask more questions, Wei Zhan pulled her away quickly. Finally, they were out of that man¡¯s sight. Feeling relieved, he said to Yingbao, ¡°I don¡¯t think there is anything interesting here. Maybe we should go somewhere else.¡±
Yingbao had the same thought, but the boatman had rowed away to dig for lotus root, so they might have to wait awhile before he returned. She picked up arge lotus leaf nearby and gave another one to Wei Zhan, ¡°When the boatmanes back, we¡¯ll leave.¡± Wei Zhan nodded, holding the lotus leaf and looking around. He saw two women selling lotus root starch soup in a pavilion and led his wife toward it. ¡°We¡¯ll take two bowls of lotus root starch soup.¡± Wei Zhan and Yingbao sat down, and he told the women, ¡°Add lots of malt sugar.¡±
The woman, dressed in blue flower-patterned cloth, responded, ¡°Right away, just give me a minute.¡± Lotus root starch soup needed to be made fresh, using boiling water from the small charcoal stove, poured while stirring constantly. It soon became thick in consistency. They further added dried osmanthus flowers and two spoonfuls of sugar icing. ¡°Enjoy your soup, but be careful¡ªit¡¯s hot.¡± The woman brought the two bowls of thick, transparent lotus root starch soup to Wei Zhan and Yingbao. While stirring her spoon to dissipate the heat, Yingbao asked the woman, ¡°Can I buy some of the lotus root starch you have here?¡± ¡°For sale.¡± The young woman answered with a smile, ¡°All our lotus root powder is new this year. How much would the youngdy like to buy?¡± Yingbao tasted a spoonful of the lotus root soup. It was sweet and rich, without a hint of sourness. It seemed that whoever made it had skilfully done so. ¡°If all of it is this quality, I¡¯ll take twenty kilos.¡± The woman hurriedly nodded, ¡°Rest assured, madam, all our lotus root powder is of high quality.¡± Yingbao said, ¡°Alright then, fetch it and carry it directly to the Wei Family¡¯s carriage by the riverbank.¡± The young woman agreed, ¡°Alright, as soon as my husband arrives, I¡¯ll immediately have him go home and fetch it.¡± While they were talking, a man came and took a seat at the stone table beside them. ¡°Bring me a bowl of lotus root soup.¡± Yingbao turned her head, seeing Xiao Mo dressed in white summer clothes, his hair held with a jade hairpin, his skin as white as jade. He seemed somehow different than before, giving off a taste of an exiled immortal. But if he¡¯s a Fairy Monarch from another ce, why is he here?
Could it really be that he¡¯s here to find his Spiritual Pet? Yingbao turned her gaze back, asking Xuanwu in her heart, ¡°You said I stole his Spiritual Pet, is that Spiritual Pet you?¡± Xuanwu: ¡­ Absolutely can¡¯t admit it! Yingbao was puzzled. ¡°Since he is a Fairy Monarch, and in a sense a local ruler, it¡¯s incredible that he¡¯de all the way here for a turtle.¡± Xuanwu burst into anger instantly, ¡°I¡¯m not a turtle! I¡¯m the divine beast, Xuanwu! Humph!¡± Seeing Xuanwu angry, Yingbao attempted to exin, but Xuanwu ignored her. Wei Zhan, who was eating the lotus root soup, noticed Xiao Mo sitting next to them and was a bit annoyed, though he didn¡¯t say anything. After all, the guy was here to eat, he couldn¡¯t drive him away. Wei Zhan continued grumpily eating his soup and suddenly spooned a mouthful towards Yingbao¡¯s mouth, softly saying, ¡°Madam, here, have a bite.¡± Yingbao opened her mouth and ate it. Wei Zhan subtly nced at Xiao Mo, sneering inwardly. He¡¯s a man. How could he not understand another man¡¯s intentions?
He didn¡¯t like the strange look Xiao Mo was giving Yingbao. He wished he could just hide her away. At least Yingbao was his now, and she would be the mother of his child in the future. This damned Xiao Mo, he should just roll as far as he could. At this moment, Yingbao continued to call Xuanwu, ¡°Alright, I just misspoke. I didn¡¯t mean to look down on turtles.¡± Xuanwu exploded, ¡°Once again, I¡¯m not a turtle, I¡¯m the divine beast, Xuanwu! If you mention that word again, I¡¯ll, I¡¯ll give the Holy Spirit Water back to him!¡± Yingbao was surprised, ¡°Did I steal the Holy Spirit Water too?¡± No wonder he hade chasing. Had she emptied his house? Xuanwu guiltily retreated, ¡°Yes! You¡¯re the one who stole it!¡± If it hadn¡¯t for her taking the Holy Spirit Water, his silly master might not have survived till now. She had lost her seven souls and three spirits back then, and only her human spirit remained. After countless rebirths, it took great effort to recover her lost souls. Upon hearing this from Xuanwu, Yingbao felt guilty. She nced at Xiao Mo and asked Xuanwu, ¡°Can you think of a way to move him?¡± Xuanwu said, ¡°I can¡¯t. He is now fully consciousness and will definitely seek you out.¡± Yingbao: ¡­. ¡°Will he destroy this ce?¡± She asked.
Xuanwu paused, then said, ¡°If provoked, he might.¡± He added another sentence afterwards, ¡°So it¡¯s better for us to keep our distance.¡± Yingbao: ¡°In that case, I must ask the Emperor for leave as soon as possible and return to Qinchuan.¡± Now Xiao Mo is still the son of Marquis Changshou and the Emperor will definitely not let him leave Beijing. So she should go back to her own territory and maybe she can ask Wei Zhan to stay in the countryside and she will live with him there. Chapter 444: 440: Lotus Root_1 Chapter 444: Chapter 440: Lotus Root_1 ¡°Madam, let¡¯s go.¡± After Wei Zhan finished his lotus root paste soup, he took his wife¡¯s hand and left once she finished as well. At this time, the boatman rowed over with about twenty lotus root chunks on his boat. Wei Zhan helped Yingbao onto the boat first. He gave a sigh of relief when he turned back and saw that Xiao Mo hadn¡¯t followed. The two of them navigated through the dense lotus leaves on the boat. Wei Zhan casually washed a piece of tender lotus root, took a bite, and found it to be incredibly refreshing and sweet. The boatman chuckled and said, ¡°In a few days, we¡¯ll have water chestnuts and barnyard millet here. If young master visits again, you can have some.¡± Wei Zhan smiled, ¡°I will buy some when the timees.¡± Yingbao quickly picked severalrge lotus leaves. She ced the lotus roots on them and immediately carried them back to the shore. At this time of the year, lotus roots are the most tender and delicious when eaten fresh. She wanted to take some back for her parents, grandparents, and her mother-inw to try. The boat quickly docked, and Jiang Jie and Luo Zhao also returned. They had bought quite a bit of lotus roots as well. ¡°Sis, let¡¯s go back now. It¡¯s gettingte,¡± Jiang Jie said.
Yingbao looked at the sky. The sun was already setting, ¡°Alright.¡± She turned to ask, ¡°has anyone delivered the lotus root paste?¡± The maid Magnolia nodded, ¡°Yes, I have already paid for it.¡± Xinghua added, ¡°It¡¯s all in the bup bag and we¡¯ve put it on the carriage.¡± Yingbao went to the cart and asked Magnolia to separate some of the lotus root paste; the remainder was given to Jiang Jie to take home. Thus, Magnolia poured half of the lotus root paste onto arge lotus leaf and gave the remaining bag to Jiang Jie. After returning to the city by carriage, Wei Zhan said goodbye to his brother-inw and took his wife directly home. Just as they entered the yard, they ran into his elder sister-inw from the Cao family and his second sister-inw from the Yu family. ¡°Ah, the seventh son and his wife are back!¡± Cao Shi greeted with a smile, ¡°Did you enjoy your time outside?¡± Yingbao politely replied, ¡°It was okay.¡± Cao Shi looked at the lotus leaf package in Magnolia¡¯s arms, curiously asking, ¡°What did you bring back?¡± ¡°We brought some lotus roots. Elder sister-inw and second sister-inw, would you like to try some? They¡¯re very tasty,¡± Yingbao said. ¡°That sounds great!¡± Yu Shiughed, ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten lotus roots for quite a while.¡± Yingbao turned to Magnolia and said, ¡°Give some lotus roots to elder sister-inw and second sister-inw.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Magnolia stepped forward and gave Yu Shi four roots and four roots to Cao Shi as well. Cao Shi looked at the roots in her hands, pursed her lips, and said cheerfully, ¡°Thank you, Yingbao.¡± Yu Shi also said, ¡°The lotus roots at this time truly are tender. Thanks, Yue.¡± ¡°We¡¯re family, no need to mention it. With the rest, I¡¯ll go and let my mother-inw try.¡± Yingbao nodded to her sisters-inw and went to Madam Wang¡¯s yard with Wei Zhan. Cao Shi held the four lotus roots, watched Wei Zhan and his wife walk away, and smirked.
She went back to her yard and threw the roots onto the ground, ¡°Is this even worth giving? If she¡¯s not embarrassed, I am.¡± Her daughter, Jade Pearl, came out from the house and saw the lotus roots on the ground, ¡°Mom, why did you bring this back?¡± Cao Shi rolled her eyes, ¡°Your auntie gave it.¡± Jade Pearl: ¡°Why would seventh aunt think to give this? Are we short of lotus roots in our kitchen?¡±
¡°She¡¯s from a poor background, treasures everything. Pearl, ask someone to throw it away.¡± Cao Shi went into the inner room and asked the Nanny, ¡°Did you have someone pick up my sister?¡± The Nanny sipped her tea, ¡°Yes, it should be about ten days.¡± Cao Shi nodded and settled on the bamboo chair, ¡°It¡¯s really hot today. It seems like it¡¯s going to rain.¡± A small maid immediately started fanning her. Nanny said, ¡°It¡¯s about time for it to rain, if not, the seedlings in the field will die of drought.¡± These subjects were out of Mrs. Cao¡¯s understanding and interest, her entire mind thinking about how to make a connection with her brother-inw Wei Zhan once her sister visited. In this family, it seemed the decisions were made by the father-inw, but the real householder was the concubine¡¯s mother. Her husband¡¯s birth mother and her father-inw were childhood friends and could voice a few sentences in his presence, but she, now aged and faded, was abandoned by him in an old house in Luzhou. Observing that Wei Zhan was about to have a child, Mrs. Cao was very anxious. Because once the Wei family had a direct grandchild, the father-inw and mother-inw no longer valued their side offspring. Therefore, she had to find an assistant, to distract the focus of her younger brother-inw. As for men, who doesn¡¯t cheat? Once there¡¯s a first time, there will be a second. He might just drive the homemade county daughter away.
While she was pondering this, a big wind blew outside, quickly followed by dark clouds and thunder. ¡°Oh dear! Hurry and close the windows!¡± The nanny stood up and ran outside to call the maids to close the windows. In the new room of the west courtyard, Yingbaoid on the bed, eating lotus slices while mentally asking Xuanwu, ¡°Why did the Supreme Immortal imprison me?¡± ¡°Because someone said you had fallen into devilry.¡± Xuanwu replied. ¡°Why did they say I fell into devilry?¡± ¡°Probably because your birth parents forced you.¡± Xuanwu wasn¡¯t sure before, because Yingbao never mentioned her birth parents. Later, he learned about it roughly from the self-generated story in the book of Heaven¡¯s Dtation. Adding up that the host has reincarnated many times, discarded by her birth parents every time, Xuanwu finally understood why Yingbao would fall into devilry. This was only in the mortal world, let alone in the Fairy World, her kindred¡¯s actions would be even worse. Because in that ce, the rule of survival of the fittest prevailed, where the strong were revered, and cultivators would go to any lengths to seize opportunities. In the mortal world, they would fight over property and the throne, even to the point of fratricide and parricide. Those cultivators, in order to seize a bit of opportunity, in order to live eternally, could do anything.
Her birth parents, for the sake of some kind of treasure, dug into her body when she was a few years old and looked carefully, even picking out a few of her bones, but they found nothing. Later they used her flesh and blood to refine pills, treating her as a human spiritual medicine for many years, until she fell into devilry and fled. The book of Heaven¡¯s Dtation showed that after the witch had cultivated to a high level, she was very savage, had strong killing instincts, and returned to take revenge, killing the whole Chen family. But she let go of one woman, who once fed her, named Chen Tiantian. Who would have thought that this act led to her soul being scattered. Xuanwu sighed and threw out a cantaloupe, ¡°Here, I nted this for you, it¡¯s ripe now.¡± The cantaloupe rolled on the mat and was caught by Yingbao. She stood up and found a small knife to peel it. Ever since she destroyed that cave, she found it inconvenient to store things daily, and let alone nting things on golden glowing objects, now everything had to be handled by Xuanwu. Sigh, who made her owe him a drop of blood? For now, she could only bear with it. Wei Zhan came back from his mother¡¯s ce, and saw at first nce, Yingbao peeling a cantaloupe, ¡°Where did the cantaloupee from?¡± Wei Zhan walked up and asked. Yingbao: ¡°Someone gave it to me.¡±
Wei Zhan became instantaneously alert, ¡°Who gave it? Howe I didn¡¯t know?¡± Yingbao cut the cantaloupe into small pieces and put them on a te. ¡°If you were to know, wouldn¡¯t that be terrible?¡± Wei Zhan picked up a piece to taste, and found the taste very familiar. He put his mind at ease, sat next to his wife and said, ¡°Once my holiday is over in a couple of days, I will go to the Ministry of War to see if my appointment hase.¡± He had been back to Beijing for quite a long time, and the Imperial Court should assign him a post. At that time, he would take his wife with him to take up the post, hopefully far away from Beijing. Chapter 445 - 441: Going Back to Hometown_1 Chapter 445: Chapter 441: Going Back to Hometown_1 At that moment, there was a downpour outside, whichsted all night. By the following day, the weather had cleared up and Wei Family¡¯s servants were clearing the umted water from the courtyard. Suddenly, two inner eunuchs, clothed in pce garments, arrived at the Wei family. They announced the Imperial edict to Yingbao, instructing her to immediately enter the Imperial Pce to see the Emperor. Despite being confused, Yingbao boarded the carriage and, apanied by two pce maids, entered the pce. The eunuchs brought her to a pce known as Zichen Hall. Inside the hall were several Imperial Physicians, the Noble Consort Lv, sobbing uncontrobly, and Emperor Zhou Wuchang. ¡°Your Majesty, the Commandery Princess of Qinchuan County has arrived,¡± one of the eunuchs quietly reminded the Emperor, who was sitting in a chair and massaging his forehead. Zhou Wuchang opened his eyes, saw Yingbao, and gestured for all the Imperial Physicians and pce attendants to leave. The Noble Consort Lv was also escorted to a side hall. Now only Zhou Wuchang and Yingbao remained in the hall, along with an infantying in a crib. Only then did Zhou Wuchang say to Yingbao, ¡°Go and see my son. He has been poisoned by a strange toxin, even the antidote you provided is ineffective.¡± Yingbao, as instructed, went to look at the child. Upon seeing his pallidplexion and weak condition, she was taken aback. ¡°What poison is he suffering from?¡± ¡°Unclear,¡± Zhou Wuchang replied dejectedly. ¡°The imperial physicians are all giving different diagnoses. I don¡¯t know whom to listen to, so I want you to help me.¡± Yingbao furrowed her brow and gently lifted the infant¡¯s eyelid, then ced her fingers on the pulse at his neck to feel it. Then, she took the infant¡¯s left hand and measured the hue and extension of the infant¡¯s fingerprints, sliding her thumb gradually from the tip of the infant¡¯s finger towards the tiger¡¯s mouth area. Indeed, the child was severely ill and showing signs of impending danger. ¡°Your Majesty, Prince Chu has been deeply poisoned. Have you given him the antidote?¡± Yingbao asked. Zhou Wuchang replied, ¡°Had I not given him your antidote, I fear he would already be dead. However, since then his condition has been fluctuating, and his body has be increasingly frail. Yingbao, tell me, do you have any way to save him?¡± Until now, he only had this one son. The remaining consorts had also given birth one after another, but they had all given birth to daughters. At the moment, while his daughters were safe and sound, his only son was continuously facing dangerous situations. It was evident to anyone with discernment that there was something strange at y. Even after he had had a number of pce attendants killed, attempts on his son¡¯s life continued. This truly infuriated Zhou Wuchang. However, even if he killed everyone suspicious orpletely purged the Imperial Pce, he would still fail to prevent these incidents from recurring. The enemy was hidden in the darkness, leaving him unable to guard against them. Furthermore, the child was so young that even if he was held in his mother¡¯s arms all day, they could still not shield him from being harmed in secret. Yingbao suggested, ¡°How about giving him some more antidote? I don¡¯t think the antidote is ineffective, rather, Prince Chu has been frequently poisoned and has already damaged his internal organs.¡± Zhou Wuchang nodded, watching as Yingbao took a small bottle of liquid from her bag and poured it into the infant¡¯s mouth. The infant subconsciously moved his mouth to swallow, disying a strong will to live. Zhou Wuchang leaned forward to watch for a moment, then sighed and said helplessly, ¡°I¡¯ve already had all the food and water in Zichen Pce under strict supervision, and we¡¯re not using any spices. There are people watching over the wet nurse day and night.¡± But they still could not prevent the hidden attempts on his life. After wiping the baby¡¯s mouth, Yingbao said, ¡°If it is poison, it may not necessarily be administered directly to the child. It could also be applied elsewhere and conveyed to the child through a medium.¡± This significantly broadened the scope. Given therge number of people in the Imperial Pce, the poison could be ced anywhere ¨C on the ground, walls, furniture, or even the child¡¯s toys. Then, someone might unknowingly bring those items to the child. For example, just like the handkerchief in her hand, if it were to be tainted with a potent poison, using a poisoned corner of it to wipe the child would be enough to make him unwell again. Moreover, the person hiding in the shadows does not want this child to live and would continuously attempt to poison him until he dies. Zhou Wuchang had already thought of this, but he couldn¡¯t possibly execute all the pce attendants. He might kill a batch only to have another batch take their ce. At that rate, he wouldn¡¯t need to manage state affairs anymore¡ªhe would have enough on his te dealing with affairs of the royal harem. Tired, Zhou Wuchang closed his eyes. After he had thought for a while, he suddenly said, ¡°Yingbao, I am entrusting this child to you. I want you to raise him.¡± As soon as Yingbao heard this, her eyes widened and she immediately refused: ¡°Master¡­ Your Majesty, I can¡¯t stay in the pce¡­¡± She knew that once she entered the pce, thoughts of leaving should be forgotten. Moreover, if something were to happen to this child again, she knew all fingers would point at her. Zhou Wuchang waved his hand: ¡°You won¡¯t be staying in the pce. I want you to take the boy out of the pce, to grow up outside its walls.¡± ¡°But¡­ Won¡¯t that be even more dangerous?¡± Yingbao was puzzled. Zhou Wuchang: ¡°I have my own arrangements. Just wait at home for news. Remember, don¡¯t speak of this matter to anyone, not even your husband.¡± He paused before adding: ¡°I will grant you Zhouhe County and Qinchuan County as your fiefdoms, and the tax revenue of Zhouhe County will serve as your son¡¯s nourishment fee in the future.¡± Yingbao wanted to argue further, but seeing the Emperor already putting pen to paper, she held her tongue. On returning home from the Imperial Pce, when Wei Zhan enquired about her visit to the pce, Yingbao replied wearily, ¡°The emperormanded us to relocate to Qinchuan County in a few days. He also granted me Zhouhe County as an additional fiefdom.¡± Wei Zhan was surprised: ¡°Why has he done this?¡± Who has ever heard of a County Princess with two fiefdoms? Even Princesses do not receive such a treatment. As Yingbao blinked while mulling over things, she casually said: ¡°Perhaps he wants to adopt me as his goddaughter.¡± ¡°Adopt you as his goddaughter?¡± Wei Zhan was somewhat relieved. After thinking for a moment, he asked: ¡°Should I also apany you to Qinchuan County?¡± Yingbao nodded: ¡°Of course.¡± Wei Zhan grinned broadly and said: ¡°That¡¯s excellent.¡± This way, he wouldn¡¯t need to be separated from his wife. Several dayster, the Imperial Edict arrived, elevating the County Princess of Qinchuan to the rank of Governor Princess of Chuanhe, and instructed her to move to her fiefdom within the next ten days. Wei Zhan was also granted the position of a guest of the Princess Residence, awarded the rank of a second-level National General. All these developments caused a stir in the Wei household, especially the head of the Wei family who could not hide his joy. He immediatelymanded his servants to prepare for his departure with his son back to Qinchuan County. Looking on, the matron of the Wang family asked coldly: ¡°What are you going to Qinchuan County for?¡± It was natural for his son to move with his wife, as Wei Zhan was essentially the son-inw of the Princess Residence. The master of the Wei family cleared his throat and said, ¡°I want to build a mansion for my seventh son. After all, when they return, they can¡¯t continue living in the countryside, can they?¡± ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. There will be officials from the Imperial Household Department to arrange for the construction of the mansion. It has nothing to do with you,¡± said the matron Wang in a light tone. ¡°You¡¯d better first take care of your illegitimate sons and daughters.¡± The master of the Wei family furrowed his brows and settled down in a chair beside him saying, ¡°Then shall I build arge mansion for you? You surely can¡¯t live in your daughter-inw¡¯s house when you return.¡± Lady Wang ignored her husband and ordered her maids to pack her belongings by herself. Of course, she had to apany her only child to live in Qinchuan County. With the day her son and daughter-inw had a baby, she could take care of some things. The master of the Wei family saw his wife ignoring him but still didn¡¯t get angry. He chuckled and said, ¡°Ajin, I¡¯ll stay with you tonight¡­¡± Lady Wang wrinkled her brow at the suggestion and said with disgust, ¡°You¡¯d better go elsewhere and not disturb my peace.¡± Chapter 446 - 442: Saving Lives_1 Chapter 446: Chapter 442: Saving Lives_1 Master Wei, fuming, left his wife¡¯s courtyard and was on his way towards his favourite concubine¡¯s chambers when he encountered his oldest daughter-inw in thepany of a refined youngdy. Upon seeing her father-inw, Madam Cao quickly pulled her younger sister in to greet him: ¡°Father, we were just about to discuss something with you.¡± Master Wei nced at the girl and asked casually, ¡°What matter?¡± ¡°This is my younger sister, Cao Qinqin,¡± Madam Cao replied. ¡°I¡¯ve asked her to stay with us for a while as apanion for Pearl, and she might also teach her some needlework.¡± Master Wei nodded, ¡°You don¡¯t need to tell me about these things. You can make the decision yourself.¡± Having said that, he swept off with his hands sped behind his back. Madam Cao turned and quietly said to Qinqin, ¡°My father-inw doesn¡¯t concern himself with household affairs, we should go inform my mother-inw.¡± It wasn¡¯t necessary, but Madam Cao wanted Qinqin to make an impression with her mother-inw. This way, Qinqin could oftene over to greet thedy of the house. Regr visits would provide her with opportunities to encounter Wei Zhan. ¡°Of course,¡± Cao Qinqin responded in a soft voice, ¡°I¡¯ll apany my sister to pay respects to Lady Wang.¡± Thus, Madam Cao led her sister to Lady Wang¡¯s courtyard. Lady Wang didn¡¯t really have anyment about her older daughter-inw bringing her sister to live here. After all, all her daughters-inw had their own courtyards ¨C whoever they wanted to take in was their business. She didn¡¯t care at all. However, since they had specificallye to greet her, it was only polite to reciprocate. Lady Wang gave them two rolls of cloth and, in passing, offered someforting words, ¡°If you need anything, just tell your sister. She can help you.¡± Cao Qinqin quickly expressed gratitude: ¡°Thank you for your concern, Madam.¡± Leaving Lady Wang¡¯s courtyard, Madam Cao gently said, ¡°Now we should go pay a visit to the Commandery Princess. We might even run into the Seventh Master.¡± Cao Qinqin shyly nodded her head. Meanwhile, Yingbao and Wei Zhan were in the middle of a discussion: ¡°The officials from the Imperial Household Department have decided that our residence will be in Zhouhe County. There¡¯s an existing house there with three sections. We can add two more courtyardster.¡± The Princess Residence cameplete with a guard of a hundred-plus men as well as several coachmen and servants. With so many people, they needed enough ces to live and kitchens to provide meals, so a mere three-section house would never be enough. Wei Zhan wasn¡¯t really concerned about where they lived. As long as he was with hisdy, he was content. ¡°Zhouhe County is fine, just a bit impoverished.¡± Not only impoverished, the officials there colluded with local dignitaries, oppressing themon people in countless instances. A newly appointed County Magistrate had once attempted to rein them but the effect had been minimal. There, the minor officials passed their positions from father to son and from grandson to grandfather, just like hereditary session. Furthermore, marriages between officials and local dignitaries weremon. After generations of this, they held the people of Zhouhe County in a firm grip; even the County Magistrate had to y by their rules. Opressed, themon folk had nowhere to air their grievances. Their only solution was to flee. Yingbao knew more about these issues than Wei Zhan did, but she didn¡¯t fear them. ¡°Worst case scenario,¡± she thought, ¡°we just kill a bunch of them to scare the rest.¡± As soon as this thought arose in her mind, Xuanwu chimed in, ¡°Lay down the butcher¡¯s knife and be a Buddha on the spot!¡± Yingbao burst outughing at this, startling Wei Zhan. ¡°What are youughing at, mydy? Did I say something wrong?¡± ¡°Not at all. We¡¯re going to Zhouhe County,¡± Yingbao responded. Suddenly, a voice outside called, ¡°Commandery Princess, the eldest madam has arrived.¡± Yingbao said, ¡°Allow her in.¡± A momentter, Madam Cao, leading her sister, came in. ¡°Congrattions on your promotion to Commandery Princess, Seventh Brother and Sister,¡± Madam Cao said with a bright smile, paying her respects to Yingbao. Her sister Cao Qinqin followed suit. Yingbao didn¡¯t move; her status didn¡¯t allow her to return the salutation to amoner. ¡°Please have a seat, sister-inw. And who might this be?¡± Madam Cao quickly replied, ¡°This is my younger sister, a year younger than the Commandery Princess. She came specifically today to make her acquaintance.¡± Yingbao found her words quite displeasing, and her face fell. Magnolia admonished, ¡°Madam, you must take care in your speech.¡± It would be absurd toe to the Princess¡¯s ce to recognise people; that person must be out of their mind. Madam Cao realized she had misspoke and hastily apologized with a smile, ¡°Look at me! I was so happy I spoke thoughtlessly. I hope the Princess won¡¯t be offended. This is my younger sister Qinqin; Qinqin, hurry and greet the Princess.¡± Cao Qinqin was inexplicably afraid of this extraordinarily beautiful Princess, and threw herself to the ground in a graceful bow to Yingbao. ¡°Please stand up, there¡¯s no need for such formalities,¡± Yingbao signaled to Magnolia who immediately went to help the woman up. Yingbao picked up her teacup but did not yet drink, merely stirring the foam on the surface. As if she hadn¡¯t noticed, Madam Cao sat on a stool and said, ¡°Princess, my younger sister is very good at needlework. See the colorful butterfly skirt she¡¯s wearing? It¡¯s her own embroidery. If you have any work that you need to be done, you can directly hand it over to her.¡± Yingbao put down her teacup, ¡°The Imperial Court has assigned me four embroiderers from the royal bureau, all of whom are very skilled. There¡¯s no need to trouble you, sister-inw.¡± Madam Cao was about to say something when Wei Zhan interrupted, ¡°Sister-inw, we can discuss thister. You should go back first. My elder brother might have returned.¡± Upon hearing Wei Wenbo¡¯s name, Madam Cao immediately stood up, bowed to Yingbao, and said, ¡°Then we will take our leave. We wille to bother you again tomorrow.¡± Cao Qinqin also stood up, bowed, and followed her sister out. Once outside, Madam Cao¡¯s face showed that she was displeased. Once they were alone, Madam Cao said to her sister, ¡°A country bumpkin actually dared to stand up to me. Can you believe her audacity? When she was a child, wasn¡¯t she begging in the marketce? Without the Emperor¡¯s protection, even the beggars on the street are better than her!¡± Qinqin lowered her head and did not speak. When Madam Cao had finished venting her spleen, she med her sister, ¡°Don¡¯t you always have a lot to say? Why are you silent in front of the seventh master?¡± Qinqin whined, ¡°Big sister, I want to go home.¡± ¡°What?¡± Madam Cao was furious, ¡°You¡¯re useless! No wonder you haven¡¯t found a good family to marry into even though you¡¯re already sixteen!¡± Hearing her sister¡¯s harsh words, Qinqin wanted to go home even more. It wasn¡¯t that she couldn¡¯t find a husband, but that her mother always wanted to marry her into a wealthy family, at least no worse than her sister¡¯s. After this incident, she realized that she would never be able to marry into the Wei family. Even if she flirted with the seventh master once, the Princess would probably kill her. Rather than that, she might as well marry a man with a simr background. It¡¯s better than being a concubine. Several dayster, the Princess of Chuanhe set off with an impressive caravan stretching for two miles. Jiang Jie, Jiang Wu, Jiang Quan, and Meixiang all stayed in Beijing. Now that Meixiang and Jiang Quan were married, Yingbao entrusted the store in Beijing to them to manage. As for her share of the profits each year, she asked her second cousin to split it equally with Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu. She herself had the tax revenue from two counties, more than enough to support over a hundred people. Moreover, there was also a textile workshop in Dongchen Vige, the special product store in Qinchuan County, the ie from Wei Zhan¡¯s property, the Emperor¡¯s rewards, all of which she could not spend all of. Even if the Princess¡¯s Residence had to support some officials and staff, the funds were more than enough. The caravan left the city and travelled slowly along the official road. After several hours, they had only travelled about twenty miles. As they passed a deserted field, someone suddenly ran out from the side of the road, shouting, ¡°Help! Officer, save me!¡± Chapter 447: 443: Dislike for Kids_1 Chapter 447: Chapter 443: Dislike for Kids_1 Yingbao looked out of the carriage window and saw a man and a woman running toward her carriage carrying a ragged bamboo basket. The guard quickly intercepted them, shouting out loudly, ¡°Who are you! Move away!¡± Yingbao blinked and when she saw their faces clearly, she called out to the outside, ¡°Let theme over.¡± Then, the man and woman ran to the side of the carriage. The woman wailed, ¡°Please save my child, he has been bitten by a venomous snake.¡± With that, she thrust the bamboo basket in her arms to Yingbao. Yingbao nced down and said to Magnolia, who was with her in the carriage, ¡°Bring him here, let me take a look.¡± Magnolia hurriedly carried the basket into the carriage. Yingbao saw the baby¡¯s small face turning pale gray, she sighed and told the man and woman, ¡°Your child is very ill and it may be difficult to cure.¡± The woman and the man knelt down in unison and kept kowtowing, ¡°Please help him, even if we have to work as oxen and horses in our next life we¡¯ll repay you.¡± The corner of Yingbao¡¯s mouth twitched and after a long hesitation, she nodded, ¡°Alright, but if he does not survive, you must not me me.¡±
¡°Of course.¡± The two kowtowed again, ¡°If you do not trust us, we are willing to be your ves and serve you for the rest of our lives.¡± ¡°Alright. Get up, we still have to move on.¡± Wei Zhan order the horse to trot along, ¡°Just follow us from behind.¡± The two nodded and went off to walk with the servants. Yingbao poked her head out of the carriage and said to one of the court eunuchs, ¡°Let them stay in the carriage at the back that carries misceneous items and don¡¯t allow them to get off unless necessary.¡± The eunuch agreed to her orders and ran to execute it. Yingbao then took a closer look at the baby and administered a little Five Ding Zhi. The child in the bamboo basket seemed to get a little better, even opened his eyes to look at Yingbao. She touched the baby¡¯s small face and yed with him, making the baby smile. Yingbao picked him up and whispered softly, ¡°From now on, you will be my child.¡± Magnolia sat by her side without making a sound. The babyughed even harder and made babbling sounds. At night, the caravan entered an inn to rest. Yingbao was led by the innkeeper, Wei Zhan, to a courtyard. Magnolia, carrying the baby in the bamboo basket, followed them. Then, Pce Maids, Xinghua, Qiu Xiang and He Xiang, came to serve Yingbao for washing and bathing. Yingbao also gave the baby a bath in passing. Wei Zhan asked displeased, ¡°Why do you keep him at your side? Wouldn¡¯t it be the same to hand him over to the maids?¡± ¡°It¡¯s different, I find him very adorable, and n to adopt him as my godson.¡± Yingbao answered while holding the baby and ying with him. Wei Zhan: ¡­
He secretively red at the baby after washing his face and hands. However, catching his re, the baby thought it was a game andughed out loud. At night, when Wei Zhan went out to check on the condition of his parents, Yingbao put the baby next to her and whispered to Xuanwu, ¡°Help me see if there¡¯s still any poison in this child.¡± Xuanwu snorted and unwillingly said, ¡°The poison has not beenpletely eliminated, didn¡¯t you notice his little face is still ck?¡± ¡°How to eliminate the residual poison?¡± Yingbao asked.
Xuanwu indifferently said, ¡°Bathe him in the Holy Spirit Water every day. After thirty days it canpletely remove the poison.¡± In fact, Yingbao¡¯s blood could have also immediately detoxified, after all, her body was reshaped by the divine beast Xuanwu¡¯s essence and blood, but Xuanwu wouldn¡¯t tell her that. Once she realized that her own blood could detoxify, she would undoubtedly think of that drop of golden blood. Xuanwu didn¡¯t want to give its flesh and blood to a mortal. Yingbao: ¡°Then give me a small basin of Holy Spirit Water now.¡± Xuanwu grunted, ¡°It¡¯s under your bed, you get it yourself.¡± Yingbao got off the bed and saw that there really was a y pot under her bed, she reached out and touched it, it was still warm. ¡°Thank you, Xuanwu.¡± She unwrapped the infant, stripping him of his swaddling clothes, and ced him inside the basin. The infant iled his tiny arms about, his face twisting as if he wanted to cry. Yingbao quickly took out Xuanwu and ced it into his hands. The infant paused, then clung to Xuanwu, delivering it straight to his mouth. He started to chew on the turtle shell, his drool flowing freely. Xuanwu seethed, wanting to scratch someone. This darn woman! How dare she let a mere mortal child gnaw on a divine beast like it was a tbread! Wei Zhan came in from outside, noticing his wife tending to the baby¡¯s bath, and said, ¡°If you love kids this much, we should have one of our own.¡±
Yingbao remained silent and beckoned Magnolia over to help hold the infant and prevent him from drowning. Magnolia asked with curiosity upon seeing the golden little turtle the baby was munching on, ¡°Where did you pick up this turtle, Commandery Princess?¡± ¡°This is my pet, not something I picked up.¡± Yingbao dried her hands with a towel, then turned to Wei Zhan, ¡°Have the arrangements for my parents been sorted out?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve had the postmaster prepare meals and hot water for them, there¡¯s nothing else to worry about for the moment.¡± Yingbao nodded: ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard. Make sure you rest early as we will continue our journey tomorrow morning.¡± Wei Zhan took his wife¡¯s hand, ¡°You should rest too, the maids are capable enough to look after the child.¡± ¡°I want to bring him with me.¡± It would be absolutely uneptable to hand the child over to the maid. If anything were to go awry, it would spell trouble for the whole family. Wei Zhan, helpless and realizing that resistance was futile, reluctantly gave up some space on the bed for the baby. After a full two quarters of an hour, Yingbao let Magnolia bring the baby over. She padded his butt with a diaper, wrapped him up in a swaddling nket, and settled him down beside her. At this moment, the infant¡¯s little face was all rosy, his eyes were closed and he had already drifted off to sleep.
The next day, Magnolia and others came in to change the baby¡¯s diapers and feed him sheep¡¯s milk. The sheep¡¯s milk was purchased from the postmaster, boiled once more and it smelled delicious. Several sheep were being raised at the station, usually herded out to pasture by the post riders. When they were about to leave, Yingbao bought actating ewe and amb from the postmaster, nning to carry them along in the carriage. They took their time on the road, and finally arrived at Zhouhe County after about ten days. The County Magistrate of Zhouhe County and several other officials stood ready to greet them at the city gate, saluting Yingbao¡¯s carriage. Yingbao did not enjoy such asions, so she left Wei Zhan to deal with it and continued on her way to the Princess Residence. This mansion had been under renovation ever since she was named Commandery Princess, and was almost ready by now. Upon entering the courtyard, Magnolia and several senior pce maids set about tidying up, cleaning the rooms, packing,ying mats and arranging bedding. The baby was held by Xinghua and followed closely behind Yingbao, examining the surroundings. Chunniang, Jiang Sang, and Old Man Jiang¡¯s family, including Jiang Liu, were settled in a separate courtyard to rest. Qiu Xiang and He Xiang, along with a few maids, were assigned to fetch water and cook for them. After doing a round, Yingbao had a good understanding of the mansion¡¯syout and decided to lie back down for a rest. Having spent over ten days bouncing about on the horse-drawn wagon was really unpleasant.
Luckily, there was the baby to distract her, otherwise, she would have preferred to walk. ¡°Chu Wuyang, give me a smile!¡± Yingbao teased the baby. She gave the baby a new name, Chu Wuyang. Meaning King Chu is safe and sound. Chu Wuyang looked at her with his brows furrowed, then rolled over using the strength of one leg. He then tried to crawl toward Yingbao but couldn¡¯t seem to make it move. ¡°Oh! You¡¯ve got some guts now.¡± Yingbaoughed at his efforts, took out Xuanwu and ced it on the bed to prompt the little child to crawl over. Xuanwu was resigned, rolling his eyes in annoyance and grumbling, ¡°I hate kids!¡± Especially salivating children. Chapter 448: 444: Little Fool_1 Chapter 448: Chapter 444: Little Fool_1 Upon seeing Xuanwu, Chu Wuyang¡¯s eyes lit up, and he energetically reached out with his little hands trying to get over. However, being only six to seven months old, he wasn¡¯t really able to crawl yet. Yingbao positioned her hand under his feet and, to her surprise, the little fellow stepped on her hand, swiftly propelling himself towards the small turtle and started gnawing on it. Xuanwu pped around in astonishment and promptly retracted its head and limbs into its shell, leaving Chu Wuyang to his devices. ¡°Commandery Princess, that couple is here,¡± Magnolia walked in and informed. ¡°Would you like to meet them?¡± Yingbao sat up and adjusted her skirt. ¡°Bring them in.¡± ¡°As you wish.¡± Magnolia left to fetch the visitors. In a short while, a man and a woman entered, bowed before Yingbao, and greeted, ¡°We pay our respects to the Commandery Princess.¡± Yingbao asked Magnolia and others to leave, stood up, and took a seat on the throne and inquired mildly, ¡°What are your names?¡± ¡°This servant¡¯s name is Anrou, previously a pce maid in Zichen Pce.¡± ¡°I am Gu Shun, formerly a personal guard of His Majesty.¡±
Yingbao raised her eyes to examine the two. The woman seemed to be in her early twenties, solemn-looking. One nce revealed her to be a person of grave and steadfast character. The man was under thirty, with a very ordinary appearance, someone who would disappear in a crowd. ¡°What will you do when people discover the King of Chu is missing from the pce?¡± Yingbao asked. Anrou lowered her gaze and replied, ¡°His Majesty has made arrangements to ensure that no one will know that the King of Chu is no longer in the Imperial Pce.¡± In other words, there must still be a baby in the pce serving as the stand-in for the King of Chu. Yingbao nodded, ¡°From now on, you will stay in my courtyard to take care of Chu Wuyang.¡± Anrou promptly replied, ¡°Yes.¡± Then Yingbao turned to Gu Shun, ¡°From now on, you will be called Chu Shun. Continue with your current duties, and when the king returns, you can revert to your original surname.¡± Gu Shun saluted and said, ¡°I obey themand!¡± Afterward, they both took their ces. Anrou worked with several pce maids to tidy up the small kitchen, and Chu Shun went to the outer courtyard to familiarize himself with the surroundings. The next day, when Jiang Sang and his wife said they were returning to Qinchuan County with their parents, Yingbao sent guards to apany them. Spring mother held her daughter¡¯s hand, ¡°Baobao, once things are settled here, return to Qinchuan County. Now that our whole family lives in the county town, you will have a ce to stay when youe back.¡± ¡°Okay, when the weather cools down, I¡¯lle back, and make a trip to Dongchen Vige too.¡± Yingbao handed over several bottles of medicine to her parents and several more to her grandparents, urging them to take care of their health. ¡°Cousin, you must indeede back.¡± Since the incident, Jiang Dali was full of guilt towards his cousin, not knowing how to make up for it. ¡°When youe back, I¡­ I will catch fish for you to eat.¡± Yingbao patted his head, ¡°Hmm, Dali, after you return, you must study hard and then go to Beijing and be a general like your uncle Jiang Wu.¡± Jiang Wu was appointed the deputymander-in-chief by the Emperor, responsible for protecting the Emperor¡¯s safety. Jiang Dali scratched his head, ¡°I will surely study hard.¡± ¡°Good boy, get in the carriage now and take good care of your great grandparents on the journey.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Jiang Dali got into the carriage and waved back at his cousin.
Yingbao watched the carriage grow distant and then turned around to speak to Wei Zhan, who was standing nearby, ¡°You go to the County Government and get the records ofst year¡¯s tax collection for me to check.¡± Now that Zhouhe County was hers, she had to know the exact tax returns of the past years. Not only that, but she also needed to see the sry records of all the officials in the county office, so she could keep track. Wei Zhan nodded, ¡°Let the Chief Historian and Storekeeper of your mansione with me, as they understand some records better than we do.¡±
The Commandery Princess¡¯s residence also has a Chief Secretary, along with two junior clerks. They not only serve as the Secretaries of the Princess¡¯s Residence but also as the Emperor¡¯s spies. Nevertheless, this did not prevent Yingbao from having them work. ¡°Go fetch Secretary Song and his men,¡± Yingbao ordered one of the Pce Attendants. An eunuchplied and set off to locate Secretary Song. In no time, Secretary Song, with his three-streak beard, arrived, he made a respectful gesture towards Yingbao, ¡°May I know the reason why the Princess has called upon me?¡± Yingbao: ¡°Mr. Song, go with the guest of honor to the County Government, audit their ounts, and also visit the Charity Granary to check how much grain is stored.¡± The most valuablemodity in Zhouhe County at present was grain, so she had to rify this. Secretary Song gave a nod, ¡°Yes, I will leave immediately.¡± So Wei Zhan left for the County Government office along with Secretary Song and others. A few dayster, Secretary Song brought the consolidated ounts of the County Government for Yingbao¡¯s review. With a grave look on his face, he reported, ¡°The Magistrate of this county has the surname Mei, the ounts presented by them seem irregr. I and the guest of honor visited the Charity Granary; the grain there not only fails to meet the required quantity but is mostly moldy and rotten.¡± ¡°Falls short?¡± Yingbao frowned, ¡°Summon the Magistrate Mei to see me tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Secretary Songplied.
Wei Zhan returned in the evening after a day¡¯s work. Yingbao helped him take off his coat and asked the maid to bring him water for washing. As Wei Zhan washed his face, he said, ¡°Indeed, there is a problem with this county. Most of the city residents live in abject poverty. I visited some viges and they were in worse condition, almost all vige folk were scantily dressed, resembling beggars.¡± Yingbao passed him a towel and asked, ¡°What about the crops? Is there any instance of abandon cultivation?¡± ¡°Yes, but I am not sure if it was deliberately or not.¡± Wei Zhan epted the towel to wipe his face, and gently kissed Yingbao¡¯s forehead, ¡°I will go look into it tomorrow.¡± Yingbao gave a slight p in jest, indicating there were maids around. Wei Zhan did not care, heughed and escorted his wife to their chamber. In the room,Anrou, who was watching baby Chu Wuyang, saw this and quickly left the room. Wei Zhan bent down to y with Chu Wuyang, who was kicking his legs and then sat down by the bed. ¡°My darling wife, stress left me with dead legs after days of running around and sorting out unruly louts. You have to reward me well.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll arrange to have a sumptuous meal prepared for youter.¡± Just as she was saying this she unexpectedly got pulled into his embrace. Wei Zhan, clutching his wife, chuckled, ¡°What I want is not that, you are ying dumb when you know what I desire.¡± Yingbao could only hug his neck and kiss him on the lips, ¡°Is that enough?¡±
Wei Zhan grinned and was about to return her kiss, when he heard Chu Wuyang making babbling sounds. Yingbao looked down and saw baby Wuyang, who had rolled over, grabbing at Wei Zhan¡¯s robe, made effort to lift his head towards her and called her, drooling all over Wei Zhan¡¯s robe. Wei Zhan pulled a face, quickly turning the baby over and took off baby Wuyang¡¯s clothes to wipe his mouth. Looking quite annoyed he said, ¡°Let someone take him out to y.¡± ¡°It is too hot outside; he was out ying earlier.¡± Yingbao picked up the baby and handed him to Wei Zhan, ¡°He wants you to hold him, so just do it.¡± Wei Zhan seemed helpless, holding Wuyang, he went to the window and pointed at the persimmon tree outside, ¡°Little fool, do you want to climb trees?¡± Wuyang blinked at him, then wrapped his small arms around his neck, leaning his head against him and closed his eyes. ¡°So, you were actually tired and wanted to sleep.¡± Wei Zhan patted him a few times, walked in circles around the room. Seeing the baby had indeed fallen asleep, he put him down on the small wooden cot and covered him with a small nket. He then came to his wife, bringing her into his embrace while she was examining the ount books. Chapter 449 - 445: Making Trouble_1 Chapter 449: Chapter 445: Making Trouble_1 ¡°Stop ying around, we¡¯re going to eat dinner soon.¡± Yingbao pushed away Wei Zhan¡¯s hand, turned around, and gently pushed away his head that had leaned in: ¡°You go sit down, I am going to look at the ounts.¡± Wei Zhan then squeezed himself next to his wife, stretching his neck to say, ¡°I¡¯ll look at it with you.¡± Yingbao felt helpless, so she just let him be. The ledger was riddled with errors and had obvious signs of tampering. The more Yingbao examined it, the angrier she became. This cannot continue, this county needs some serious restructuring, otherwise, wouldn¡¯t she starve next year? However, before she could even start to set things straight, arge group of brightly-dressed folks had gathered outside the Commandery Princess Residence moring for food. Some of them were shouting that their ancestors had always lived in Zhouhe County and existence had never been easy. However, with the arrival of the princess, a massive construction project had begun, making their lives even more unbearable. Yingbao called over official Song, and asked, ¡°Is this residence newly built by the Imperial Court, or is it a remodeled old house?¡± Official Song bowed and said, ¡°The old residence was purchased and remodeled by the Imperial Household Department. Money was also spent to purchase the surroundingnd, and it did not disturb the people.¡± Yingbao now understood. Apparently, someone doesn¡¯t take her, amonermandery princess, seriously, and is pushing her into a corner. Fine then. ¡°Send a few people to quietly find out who those people outside are and who is leading them. Don¡¯t rm them when you find out, gather more evidence against them, big or small. I want everything from petty theft to bullying the weaker people. Make sure to get statements from the victims.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this inappropriate¡­¡± official Song hesitated, ¡°Princess, those people are all local powers, we¡¯ve just arrived, we should not provoke them.¡± Yingbao gave official Song a sidelong nce, ¡°Are you saying that I, the Emperor-appointed Princess, am to be manipted by these unruly folks in my own fief? Even if they nder me, I cannot speak up?¡± Official Song bowed, ¡°Your servant does not mean that, it¡¯s just¡­¡± Yingbao waved her hand dismissively, ¡°You don¡¯t have to say more. You are not needed in this, I will have others do it. You can go now.¡± Official Song wanted to say something else but ended up saying nothing, he bowed his head and left. Yingbao then called Chu Shun and told him what to do. Chu Shun agreed without hesitation and left on his mission. That evening, Wei Zhan returned from outside the city with his men. When he heard about the people who had dared to cause trouble at the gate of the Princess Residence, he was furious. ¡°They¡¯re desperate!¡± We Zhan said, ¡°During these past few days, I¡¯ve been to several viges. There are many peasants who have no farnd of their own and rely on renting fields for their livelihood. However, the wealthy gentry and officials are colluding, falsely reporting the number and grade of theirnd to avoid taxes, the missing taxes are then imposed on the peasants.¡± ¡°In the viges, I heard various rumors of the ways the officials extract money from the peasants. One old man said they had to pay ¡®sunshine tax¡¯ for sunbathing under the city walls, failure to do so would lead to their arrest and subsequent ransom¡­¡± Yingbao heard all of this with a stern face. She then drew out a dagger and gave it to Wei Zhan, ¡°My master gave this to me, you take it. If you encounter such things, just arrest the officials involved. After interrogation, put them on trial in public and let the victims testify against them. If their crimes are severe, kill them on the spot!¡± This ce is her fief, there is no need to take any criminals to the Prefectural Government Office for trial. As long as the evidence is substantial, she can instruct the local magistrate to execute or imprison the criminals. Of course, high-ranking officials still need to be sent to Beijing, where they will be tried by the Ministry of Justice. Only after the Emperor¡¯s approval can they be executed. We Zhan took the dagger, looked at it, then sheathed it again. Although his position as a second-rank National General wasrgely ceremonial, he had dozens of followers who apanied him. If he really wants to, handling a few low-ranking officials would be no problem. However, it is Official Song¡¯s duty to supervise him and Yingbao¡¯s actions. If they were to do anything inappropriate, he would admonish them or directly send a report to Beijing to file aint. Therefore, Wei Zhan is more restrained outside, afraid of causing trouble for Yingbao. The next day, the troublemakers returned. This time, they not only yelled outside, calling for the Princess to leave Zhouhe County but also waved their clubs, pitchforks, and other weapons, attacking three or four guards at the door. When Yingbao and Wei Zhan heard the news, they walked out and stood on the steps, smirking. These people might think that because she was a woman, she was easy to bully, but they didn¡¯t know that even amoner princess could have them killed on the spot. ¡°Guards! Arrest these rebels!¡± shouted Wei Zhan, ¡°Those who resist will be killed without mercy!¡± All of a sudden, about a hundred guards appeared from behind the troublemakers, surrounding the group of forty or fifty people. Seeing this, the troublemakers were immediately thrown into panic. Some dropped their weapons and begged for mercy. But there were ten or so thugs who were fearless and started shouting that they would fight the guards to the death, only to get injured by the disarrayed swords of the guards. After this, the thugs became scared, all of themid on the ground begging for mercy. ¡°Take them to the County Government Office!,¡± Wei Zhan waved his hand and a hundred or so guards began to drag the rebels towards the County Government Office. The area outside the princess residence soon cleared as the crowd of spectators disappeared. Yingbao and Wei Zhan climbed into a carriage and headed towards the County Government Office. Magistrate Mei had already heard the news and knew that the princess and her husband were visiting, so he rushed out to greet them. Wei Zhan and his wife did not leave the carriage and said, ¡°From yesterday until today, dozens of rioters have attacked the princess residence. Magistrate Mei, as the master of a county and in charge of its peace, you decided to turn a blind eye to this, how is that? Do you think that because you are so far away from the Emperor, you can treat Zhouhe county as your own territory?¡± Magistrate Mei turned pale with fear and fell to his knees, stuttering, ¡°I truly did not know, and we never received aint from the princess residence.¡± Implied in his words was, if it was really so serious, why didn¡¯t the princess residencee to the county government to report it? Yingbaoughed, looking at Magistrate Mei, she found out that this man, in his fifties, was the same county magistrate who had handled the case of the Jiang and Chen families more than ten years ago. How coincidental. ¡°Magistrate Mei, today I am handing over these rioters to you, I wille for the result tomorrow. If you try to conceal their crimes, suppress the truth, and cover up for the criminals, you need not stay in Zhouhe County anymore, find a higher position elsewhere.¡± After Yingbao had said this, she turned to the Guards Captain, ¡°Write down the names, birthces, and house registrations of these people. When you return, check them one by one, make sure to verify the family situations of everyone within five degrees of kinship.¡± The Guards Captain boweed, ¡°Yes!¡± Magistrate Mei turned white as he listened. Among these people, many were rtives of his subordinates, as well as riffraff invited by the county magistrate himself. They originally intended to intimidate themoner princess and make her stay obediently in the residence without causing trouble. However, she ended up injuring so many of them and dragging them all the way to the County Government Office. If she found out that he was involved, he was afraid he would not be able to keep his official hat. What should he do? Chapter 450 - 446: Calculating on Fingertips_1 Chapter 450: Chapter 446: Calcting on Fingertips_1 The Guards Captain wrote down all the names of these people and then instructed the clerk to ess their family records to see what their ancestors had done. After all this fuss, the day had passed. The next day, the entrance to the Princess Residence was quiet, and no one dared to approach. A few dayster, the County Magistrate of Mei County, under Wei Zhan¡¯s supervision, held court to try those who were causing trouble. Those with minor charges were beaten twenty times in court and their families were asked to provide bail. Moreover, they were required to sign a pledge stating that if they dared to cause trouble or harass citizens again, they would face severe punishment. For those with existing criminal records, their days of reckoning had arrived. Chu Shun had managed to amass plenty of evidence of their habitual acts of bullying and oppression, and all the victims were brought in to identify their criminals and their crimes. The County Magistrate was breaking out in sweat as he tried each case and passed judgment. After judgment was rendered, Wei Zhan had the officials drag the criminals to the open space outside the County Government office to execute their sentence in front of the crowd. For a while, the entrance of the government office was filled with wails and cries, and everyone in the city came to watch. They were all filled with gratification. The County Magistrate and the Chief Clerk were panic-stricken. They knew that amongst the convicts were their own rtives, but they dared not utter a word. They had underestimated the Commandery Princess, thinking she was merely a paper tiger who relied on royal favor, andcked the authority of true royal rtives. Yet, she was swift and resolute, causing so muchmotion and arresting so many people all at once, without fearing retaliation when her enemies were cornered. However, since this incident, the security in the county town had significantly improved. There were more and more small businesses, and the number of farmers from outside the citying in to sell vegetables and wood had also increased. Time flew, and by the blink of an eye, it was August. Wei Zhan¡¯s own father, the head of the Wei Family, had bought two adjoining estates next to the residence of his daughter-inw. He renovated them and connected them into one bigpound and divided it into several courtyards. The reason was that there were too many members of the Wei Family, and the previous ce was too small and didn¡¯t have enough courtyards to amodate everyone. Wei Shixian had his own considerations for doing this. As a businessman, he naturally wanted to take advantage of the current trends to ensure longevity. Although the Wei Family had two firms in Zhouhe County, they hadn¡¯t been earning much. The problem was not with the business performance, but the fact that there were too many people that they had to show respect and regard to. They had to maintain good rtionships on all fronts. Since his son and daughter-inw had gained significant status in Zhouhe County and even the County Magistrate had to show them respect, he would be foolish to not seize the opportunity. So, Wei Shixian decided to move his family to Zhouhe County and rely on the influence of his son and daughter-inw. ¡°Jinniang, I have cleaned up your courtyard. You can move back anytime,¡± Wei Shixian said with an ingratiating smile to his wife. ¡°When Qi Lang and his wife have children, you cane back and help them.¡± Madame Wang thought about it and nodded: ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let Yingbao know, and I¡¯ll move back there.¡± During her stay at the Princess Residence, she realized that she was affecting the life of the young couple. Qi Lang and Yingbao were both very busy. If she continued to disturb them in their home, they would need to get up early to greet her and also to take care of her daily meals and living arrangements. It was a bit troublesome. Moreover, she wanted to have grandchildren soon, so it would not be good if the young couple spent too much time taking care of her. Upon hearing Madame Wang¡¯s n, Wei Shixian¡¯s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly instructed the maids to pack their belongings. When Yingbao heard that her mother-inw was moving back, she didn¡¯t find it surprising. Her father-inw had already bought the neighboring mansions and started refurbishing them. Most of the renovation was done, and it was natural for her mother-inw to move back to the Wei Family and manage household affairs. Fortunately, the two houses were close. It would be very convenient if her mother-inw wanted to visit. Yingbao had Magnolia move more than a dozen pots of flowers to the Wei Family¡¯s house and ce them in her mother-inw¡¯s courtyard. She also sent a few pots of mosquito-repellent nts. Magnolia obeyed the orders and soon returned, ¡°Princess, Lady Cao also wants some pots of mosquito-repellent nts.¡± Cao¡¯s woman had also returned to Zhouhe County this time, bringing with her Cao Qinqin, her sister. Initially, she was unwilling, but she thought that her father-inw would definitely buy a house in Zhouhe County. If she didn¡¯t join them, she might miss out on her own share, so she braced herself toe and also brought her sister along. Seeing this, the other sons and daughters-inw of the Wei Family also followed, each upying one courtyard. ¡°There are still a few in the courtyard, you can move some over there, send two pots to each house.¡± Yingbao said, reading her herbal book, without looking up. She had plenty of these mosquito repellent nts, so she had noints about giving some to them. Magnoliaplied and led a few maids to move the potted nts. Xinghua seemed displeased and murmured, ¡°Madam Cao really has no shame, always asking the Commandery Princess for things. If we didn¡¯t have what they wanted, wouldn¡¯t it make both of us look bad?¡± Magnolia gave her a stern look. ¡°We¡¯ve already given them; you should keep your thoughts to yourself. If the Wei Family hears this, they may think our Princess is stingy over a few potted nts.¡± Xinghua huffed but didn¡¯t say anything more. In the room, seeing that it was time, Yingbao took out the Pupil Spring for Wuyang¡¯s bath. After this final soak, the little one would bepletely cured. He was already doing well, fed on sheep¡¯s milk till he had be cherubic, and could even crawl a little on the bed. ¡°Oh, ah.¡± Wuyang called out to Yingbao, reaching out for her arms, wanting to be held. Yingbao undressed him and ced him in a basin of water. The water was warm, thanks to Xuanwu; it was just the right temperature for a bath. Young Wuyang, having grown ustomed to the daily baths, joyfully smacked his little hands on the water surface. After sshing water all over Yingbao, he giggled uncontrobly. ¡°See if I don¡¯t spank you!¡± Yingbao yfully swatted him on the bum and used a towel to wash his face and hair. Anrou walked in, holding Wuyang¡¯s clean clothes, and said softly, ¡°Commandery Princess, allow me to take over.¡± Yingbao murmured in agreement and straightened up. Wuyang blinked, protesting loudly while reaching out for Yingbao: ¡°Ah! Ah!¡± Yingbao rubbed his head, ¡°Behave and stay in the water. We¡¯ll get out in a bit.¡± Wuyang pouted but, as if he understood, he dropped his hands and started pping the edge of the basin. Anrouughed, ¡°Wuyang is getting smarter every day.¡± Wuyang turned his face away. Looking around for his toy turtle. Knowing what he wanted, Anrou put a small wooden turtle in the little one¡¯s hand. It was intricately carved and made on the instruction of the Commandery Princess. It was unpainted, but it looked lifelike. Wuyang chewed on the little turtle, then put it in the water, smacking it, hoping to make it swim. Yingbao continued reading her book, conversing with Xuanwu in her mind. ¡°My brother wrote a letter saying that Xiao Mo has mysteriously disappeared from Beijing and took Murong Xian with him. Where do you think he went?¡± Murong Xian had always been kept prisoner in a mansion near the pce by Zhou Wuchang. Despite being well looked after, he was kept under close surveince and couldn¡¯t step out of the residence. The mansion was guarded patrolled so heavily that not even a fly could get in. How did Xiao Mo manage to take such a conspicuous person out of there? Xuanwu: ¡°I¡¯ve done the calctions, and he must have gone to Jin Country.¡± ¡°Jin Country?¡± Yingbao frowned, ¡°What¡¯s he doing in Jin Country?¡± Xuanwu: ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He didn¡¯t care to know what that guy was up to. ¡°Is he nning to align with Jin Country?¡± Yingbao had always been suspicious of his motives. Xuanwu shook his head, ¡°He won¡¯t align with Jin Country.¡± He would probably destroy Jin Country first before considering allying with them. However, it dawned on him¡ª the surname of the Great One was Xiao, and he was Xiao Chengjun¡¯s blood brother. No wonder he was always taking the side of Xiao Chengjun and the Chen Family. Chapter 451 - 447: Seeking Trouble for Oneself_1 Chapter 451: Chapter 447: Seeking Trouble for Oneself_1 After August, the county government began collecting taxes from various viges. Wei Zhan sent people to apany the low-ranking Xiang Zhi officials collecting these taxes, recording how much grain each household turned in. Zhouhe County had a total of twelve townships, each township having about a dozen viges, with each vige supposed to consist of at least ten households. However, some viges had sparse poptions, some evencking ten households. Something was clearly off. Wei Zhan ryed all this information to Yingbao: ¡°Many people in this county are evading theirnd taxes, with the majority of resources concentrated in the hands of government officials and wealthy gentry. They even register their high-ss farms as lower-ss farms and asses households that own multiple courtyards as fourth-ss vigers.¡± These fourth or fifth-ss vigers pay much less in taxes, hence the gentry colludes with officials to maintain their lower ratings. As a result, these gentry can pay much less in taxes. But the county office keeps records of both high and low-ss farms to use when reporting taxes to the Imperial Court. However, because of the deceptive practices carried out by these officials, the county government struggles to collect the required amount of grain and thus pushes the remaining tax burden onto the impoverished popce. It is likely that this was what happened in Zhouhe County, leading to many powerless citizens being driven away. Yingbao, after perusing the investigation documents, stated, ¡°Start with the most arrogant of the gentry,pare hisnd records with those of the county office, then report to the Ministry of Revenue. If there is any evidence of concealment or deception, arrest all the parties involved, using their punishment as a warning to others.¡± The Emperor¡¯s master gave this county to her likely in hopes that she would govern it well. With this in mind, she wouldn¡¯t hold back. Wei Zhan nodded: ¡°Okay, I will start the investigation tomorrow.¡± ¡°When you go, bring Song Changshi with you.¡± Yingbao said: ¡°From now on, take more people with you when you go out, to avoid any nned retaliation.¡± Wei Zhan replied with a smile: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I always have dozens of people with me.¡± He was not a fool, knowing that doing these things was essentially cutting off people¡¯s ie, which would undoubtedly arouse resentment. But since this county had be his wife¡¯s domain, it had to be well-managed. Otherwise, they would not escape reproach if the people were unable to make a living. After chatting for a while, theymanded servants to bring meals, and they both would eat, wash and rest. In the following days, Wei Zhan was kept very busy and indeed arrested a bias gentry member. However, pulling out the radish revealed the hole, and Wei Zhan quickly unearthed several officials who had dealings with this gentry, which equated to helping this gentry conceal hisnd and underreport taxes. Among the culprits were the principal and county magistrate. Thereafter, Wei Zhan had the county magistrate order the arrest of this gentry and several rted officials. The county magistrate was almost exhausted, but he dared not disobey, so he had to issue several warrants of arrest and let constables catch the culprits. The next day, all these culprits were brought to the county office, and the county magistrate conducted the trial in court. In the end, the gentry household was ordered topensate the Imperial Court with several thousand stones of grain. If they were unable to do so, theirnd and property would be seized as coteral. The other officials who colluded with him were flogged several dozen times and stripped of their positions. Wei Zhan then recruited several ethically excellent schrs to make up for lower-level official work. Next, the process of tax collection went smoothly. Knowing that they were up against a tough opponent, the gentry did not dare to hide any information, silently paid all taxes and did not dare to cause any trouble. As she watched the state granary gradually fill up, Yingbao finally breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°The people regard food as their sky.¡± She could finally spend her rest of the year in peace. As the twelfth lunar month swiftly arrived, after the Kitchen God¡¯s Festival, several households in the county town delivered New Year gifts and greeting cards to the Princess Residence. Yingbao picked up a greeting card to read, then instructed Magnolia, ¡°Have these greeting cards and gift lists checked against each other, then send return gifts. If there are any invitations, reply with a letter, saying that I¡¯m currently too busy.¡± Magnolia agreed, took the greeting cards and gift lists, and left. In the evening, Wei Zhan returned and began discussing the weaving machines with Yingbao. ¡°We have distributed the five hundred custom-ordered weaving machines, as you instructed, to the Five Virtuous Families.¡± ¡°Five Virtues¡± referred to families who werew-abiding, harmonious, filial to elders, loving to siblings and youngsters, hardworking, and friendly to neighbors. In order to improve the economic circumstances of the poor in her county, Yingbao purchased five hundred weaving machines out of her own pocket, allowing these virtuous yet impoverished families to repay only two taels of silver per year until the cost was fully repaid. ¡°I also asked Chu Shun to bring a batch of cotton seeds from Qinchuan County. Come next spring, the townsfolk can nt them.¡± Wei Zhan sat down at the table and began to eat. ¡°That sounds excellent.¡± Yingbao served him dishes, carefully removed the bones from the fish, and ced the fillets in his bowl. Wei Zhan had been working outside all this time, appearing darker and thinner. Seeing this, Yingbao felt heartache. But managing two counties was no easy task. If they wanted the people of their territories to have enough food and clothes, hard work was necessary, especially in Zhouhe County. Wealthy individuals were unkind, poor ones turned ruthless, and some viges even formed groups to rob travelers during idle farming seasons. ¡°After the New Year, I¡¯ll apany you to see the four townships.¡± Not only did she want to make the entire county prosperous, she also nned to establish free schools in each township, so all vigers¡¯ children could receive an education. Only by instilling in them a sense of integrity and moral etiquette could their behavior be changed. She already had people create pictorial books promoting diligence, humility, kindness, filial piety, and love. During market days, these books would be posted in the gathering areas of each township for the locals to see. Even those who couldn¡¯t read could understand the illustrations. Wei Zhan nced at her and said, ¡°The vigers here are barbaric and not as civilized as those in Qinchuan County. You¡¯re better off staying at home.¡± He didn¡¯t want his wife to face any danger. Not only were the vigers barbaric, but some of the wealthyndlords were even more unrestrained. Twice while dining out, someone had tried to poison him. Fortunately, he was always cautious. Even if he epted food and drink from others, he would not consume them; instead, he would feed them to chickens and dogs first. Yingbao retorted, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, here, no one can defeat me.¡± Wei Zhan chuckled lightly, ¡°Alright, when it¡¯s time for the spring inspection, I¡¯ll take you with me. But when we do go, you must follow my instructions.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll do as you say.¡± The New Year¡¯s Eve arrived in a sh. The whole family gathered for a meal to bid farewell to the old year and wee the new one. Wei Zhan took his wife to his parents¡¯ house to celebrate the festival. Upon entering the gate of the Wei Mansion, they saw the courtyard was full of people. All seven concubines of family head Wei Shixian hade to Zhouhe County, and were now residing in the Wei Mansion. Not only that, but the children born to these concubines were also present, forming arger, assorted group. Some were even held by wet nurses, leaving Yingbao dazzled. They all bowed to Yingbao and Wei Zhan, speaking over each other in greeting the Princess. Wei Shixian, standing under the eaves of the main room, watched them with a delighted smile on his face. Wei Zhan, rendered silent by the sight, waved his hand, ¡°All of you go y elsewhere, stop crowding around here.¡± He then walked towards his mother¡¯s courtyard, hand in hand with Yingbao. Upon seeing this, Wei Shixian also followed. His favorite seventh concubine wanted to tag along, but he red at her: ¡°Back off!¡± The Madam couldn¡¯t stand seeing his concubines; their presence would only embarrass themselves unnecessarily. The seventh concubine sulkily turned away, her eyes welling up with tears. One of the Cao Family members came over and whispered to her, ¡°Why bother, Seventh Aunt? The Madam and the Princess dislike us the most. Even my husband, who works tirelessly to earn money for the family, is still unwee in their eyes.¡± Chapter 452 - 448: Little Master_1 Chapter 452: Chapter 448: Little Master_1 ¡°Humph! What¡¯s so special about her? She just got lucky! If I had been the Emperor¡¯s disciple, I might have been named a princess by now.¡± Seventh Aunt Niu Cui couldn¡¯t resist remarking. Niu Cui, the seventh aunt, was only neen this year, she was born into a family that ran a tofu shop. Because of her beauty, fiery nature, and sharp tongue, she was chosen by the Wei family head, who paid five hundred taels of silver and gave an extra house to marry her as the seventh aunt. Madam Cao retorted with a thin smile, ¡°Exactly, anyone who bes the Emperor¡¯s disciple would be crowned as a Commandery or County Princess, but she took the initiative.¡± Niu Cui nced at Madam Cao distastefully and went back to her room. She was indeed indignant and envious of Yingbao¡¯s good fortune, who was roughly her age, capable of marrying the wealthy and young seventh son, and possessing such an honorable status. However, she was not stupid. How could she not see that Madam Cao was deliberately trying to stir up trouble? Hah! She wanted to use her as a pawn? No way! Who in the Wei family didn¡¯t know that the family¡¯s future depended on Wei Qi, the seventh son? She was still so young, and if that old guy kicked the bucket, she would have to rely on Wei Qi to support her for the rest of her life. In Jiqing Yard, thenterns and decorations were hanged up. Madam Wang sat with Yingbao on the heated brick bed, teasing Chu Wuyang while examining her daughter-inw¡¯s small belly. She wanted to ask why the couple, who had been married for so long and were so deeply in love, had not conceived yet. But today was a holiday, and it was not appropriate to ask such somber questions. Once the new year was celebrated, she¡¯d invite a famous gynecologist from the major pharmacy, let him examine her daughter-inw, and see if she needed some tonics. While she was thinking, a maid reported, ¡°Madam, the kitchen just informed that the meal is ready, should they serve it now?¡± Madam Wang nced outside at the fading daylight and nodded, ¡°Let them serve it.¡± A quick dinner would allow her son and daughter-inw to retire early and rest. The maid bowed and retreated. Madam Wang ordered the maids to ce the banquet table in the front hall, and she led her son and his wife to the banquet with her. Of course, Chu Wuyang was also taken along, cradled in Anrou¡¯s arms. Because it was a family feast, men and women were not separated. The head of the Wei family and his wife sat around the table with Wei Zhan, his wife and several married sons. The five concubines and more than a dozen underage children all had a separate banquet in a side room, while their daughters-inw, grandchildren, and others had another table set up in the main hall. The first and second aunts did not attend, as they were living in seclusion in a nunnery in Luzhou and rarely appeared in public. During the meal, several adult stepsons in session proposed a toast to Wei Zhan and Yingbao. Wei Wng, who was only two years older than Wei Zhan and had yed with him since childhood, was closer to Wei Zhan than the other brothers. However, because he was mild mannered and had poor social skills, and his mother was not favored, the head of the Wei family did not particrly care for him. Yingbao looked at everyone at the table. Of Wei Zhan¡¯s six brothers, four were left and two died prematurely. The ones at the table were only Wei Wenbo, the eldest son, Wei Wensong, the second son, Wei Wenlin, the third son, and Wei Wuzheng, the fifth son. After dinner, several children, led by their respective mothers, came to kowtow to the head of the Wei family, his wife, Wei Zhan, and Yingbao, asking for new year¡¯s money. Yingbao instructed Magnolia to take out the prepared red envelopes and handed them out one by one. These children were the offspring of Wei family illegitimate sons, not yet adults. One of them was only a few months older than Chu Wuyang. It looked like he was about one year and a few months old, already able to speak. He was guided by his mother to call Yingbao his seventh aunt. Yingbao found the sight of such a small child stooping to kowtow to her amusing, so she reached out to touch his head, asking, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Fanzhi, my name is Fanzhi.¡± The toddler responded, pausing between words. Yingbaoughed, ¡°Fanzhi, what a good name.¡± Chu Wuyang, sitting beside her, stretched his head to look at Fanzhi, bobbing his head and mumbling something in a child¡¯s gibberish. Upon seeing the little one, Fanzhi came over, took Wuyang¡¯s small hand and smiled at him with a tender gesture, unlike the rough manners of other boys. Yingbao watched for a while, contemting. Chu Wuyang was growing up and certainly needed ymates. It might be good to invite Fanzhi over often to apany him. Mrs. Wang noticed it too, andughed, ¡°The two of them do seem to be getting along quite well.¡± She turned to her fifth daughter-inw and suggested, ¡°Yang, why don¡¯t we let Fanzhie over more often to keep Wuyangpany?¡± She didn¡¯t know about Chu Wuyang¡¯s identity, but seeing how much Yingbao cared about him, she started to pay more attention to this child too. Yang smiled slightly, ¡°That sounds great. I was also worrying that Fanzhi had no one to y with.¡± Standing aside, Cao rolled her eyes secretly. This Yang seems like a silent person, but now she is acting clever. In order to tter the Seventh Master, she is even willing to let her son be ymates with a servant¡¯s son. What a loss of status. The Wei Family¡¯s masterughingly said, ¡°Little Fanzhi is all alone, he can barely walk properly yet. It would be better to have two older kids to y with him.¡± He then turned to his oldest daughter-inw, Cao, and his second one, Mrs. Yu and said, ¡°Shu Nan of our eldest son¡¯s family and Mo Yu of our second son¡¯s family are around the same age, they are only four or five years old. Why not let them y with Wuyang?¡± Before Yingbao could respond, Cao retorted, ¡°Father, you must be joking. Shu Nan is wild, he wouldn¡¯t know how to y with young children.¡± Mrs. Yu also said, ¡°Father, Mo Yu is about to start studying, he has no time for y.¡± The master of the Wei family furrowed his brows, but as it was New Year¡¯s Day, he did not express his anger He only cursed them privately: ¡°Ingrates!¡± Yingbao smiled faintly, ¡°Father, Fanzhi alone is enough.¡± Even if my Sisters-inw agreed, I would still need to evaluate them. Those who can stay around Wuyang must be gentle, intelligent and understanding. Those children who reach out and push others, they must never stay. Once the New Year¡¯s money was distributed, Fanzhi indeed started ying with Wuyang. The two children sat on the kang bed, chirping and chattering in anguage that adults could not understand. asionally, Fanzhi would also patiently teach Wuyang how to call people. He repeatedly said to Wuyang, ¡°Brother, I am your brother.¡± Wuyang then mumbled a few words and actually called out ¡°brother¡±. Looking at all this from the side, Anrou, who had been watching, was filled with joy. She said to Yingbao with excitement, ¡°Commandery Princess, Wuyang can now call people.¡± Yingbao naturally also heard it. She gently petted the two children¡¯s heads and praised, ¡°Wuyang is very clever, and Fanzhi is even more clever. He can even be Wuyang¡¯s little teacher.¡± Fanzhi understood that the Seventh Aunt was praising him. His little face beamed with joy, tinged with a bit of pride. Seeing the two boys ying happily, Mrs. Wang was also quite pleased. She told Yang, ¡°You should bring Fanzhi over to y with Wuyang more often.¡± Yang nodded, ¡°Yes.¡± After a while, dusk gradually began to fall. The master of the Wei Family ordered people to set off fireworks in the courtyard. The fireworks boomed, bursting forth vibrant gleams in the sky. The Wei Family boys were like wild horses without reins, each holding different types of fireworks, running around the yard after lighting them up. Wuyang was so excited that he couldn¡¯t help leaping around in Anrou¡¯s arms, also wanting to y. Fanzhi, held in Yang¡¯s arms, was indifferent to all of this. He kept looking over at Wuyang. He still remembered the words of praise from his Seventh Aunt. He was supposed to be Wuyang¡¯s little teacher. Chapter 453: 449: Disappointed and Depressed_1 Chapter 453: Chapter 449: Disappointed and Depressed_1 After the fireworks, Yingbao took Wuyang and Wei Zhan home. Unexpectedly, Fanzhi insisted on going with them. Yang¡¯s mother had no choice but to let the nurse carry Fanzhi back with his siblings. Watching arge group of maids escort the Commandery Princess away, Yang¡¯s mother felt somewhat mncholy. Wng pulled his wife and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s okay, with Qi Lang and his siblings looking after him, Fanzhi won¡¯t cause trouble.¡± Yang¡¯s mother was not worried about her son, but felt somewhat upset that he would abandon his mother for his ymates. ¡°Wow, you are really generous, Fifth Sister.¡± Cao¡¯s mother walked up to them and mocked, ¡°To please his siblings, you¡¯ve even given up your son to apany a servant¡¯s child.¡± A frown formed on Yang¡¯s face, ¡°Sister-inw, please be careful with your words. Kids ying together is not a way to tter.¡± Wng was also displeased, but afraid that his wife would argue with his sister-inw here, so he quickly took his wife away. Seeing them leave, Cao¡¯s mother sneered and turned to go back.
Returning to her own courtyard, she was annoyed to find her husband had not yet returned and ordered her maids to look for him. All the couples had returned in pairs, but he just had a few drinks and left, not even watching the fireworks, leaving her wondering what he was up to. ¡­ The night passed without a word. The next day, Yingbao woke up early. She was about to get up, but was held back by Wei Zhan. ¡°Lie down a bit more.¡± He buried his face in his wife¡¯s neck and whispered, ¡°We don¡¯t have anything important to do, and your parents don¡¯t need you to greet them.¡± Yingbao had no choice but to lie down, she fumed, ¡°Today is the first day of the new year, we should go pay our respects early. It¡¯s only once a year, don¡¯t bete.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be fine in a while, we won¡¯t bete.¡± Wei Zhan pulled over the nket, covering them both. However, by the time they got up and washed, and rushed with their two children to the Wei Mansion, all the siblings had already arrived, waiting for them to eat dumplings. The head of the Wei family didn¡¯t say anything, just chuckled and let them take their seats. ¡°Let the kitchen prepare the dumplings.¡± The head of the Wei family ordered the servant. The servant agreed and quickly ran to the main kitchen. Lady Wang had the children Wuyang and Fanzhi brought to her side, ying on the big kang, and each handed them a piece of Yunping cake: ¡°Come, take a bite, step by step to a promotion.¡± Both children opened their mouths and ate. Fanzhi even patiently taught Wuyang to speak, ¡°Cake, cake.¡± Wuyang squinted his eyes and copied, ¡°Cake, cake¡± finishing with a proud pull at Yingbao¡¯s sleeve, seeking praise. Yingbao patted their heads, ¡°You are both intelligent children.¡± The two satisfied babies continued to y the talking game. Yingbao watched them for a while, thinking she should buy them some smart toys.
Like Tangram, Kongming Lock, Nine Linked Rings, although it might be too early for them to y with these, one could never predict a child¡¯s potential. ¡°Seventh Aunt.¡± A teenage girl came up to Yingbao and smiled, ¡°Can I live with you?¡± ¡°Why do you want to live with me?¡± Yingbao was curious. She recognized her, this child was Cao¡¯s daughter Jade Pearl.
Jade Pearl¡¯s eyes shimmered, ¡°I, I want to be your daughter.¡± Yingbao was taken aback, but Lady Wang calmly said, ¡°Jade Pearl, it¡¯s almost time for dinner, go find your mother.¡± Jade Pearl looked a bit resentful, but did not dare to disobey her step-grandmother, and had to leave the main room. Lady Wang turned to Yingbao and said, ¡°If anyone is nonsensical again, just drive her away.¡± She has no fondness for these children born by concubines, especially those bore by her husband¡¯s childhood sweetheart. Initially when she was afflicted with a chronic poison, all signs pointed to the matron aunts and their illegitimate children, yet the old bastard Wei defended their innocence and refused to turn them into the authorities. In the end, those concubines were sent off to the Wei family shrine for atonement, while the old man even provide them with extravagant monthly supplies. Thus, Lady Wangpletely lost faith in the head of the Wei Family. If not for the fact that her son was still young and needed her protection, and her unwillingness to hand over the Wei family¡¯s properties she worked relentlessly for, Wang Jin would have divorced Wei Shixian right then. Now, the insolent granddaughter of that concubine even dared to offend her, Lady Wang felt the irresistible urge to p her. Ten-year-old Jade Pearl harbored the audacious thought of bing the daughter of eighteen-year-old Yingbao. What a ridiculous thought. After dinner, Yingbao returned to the mansion with Wuyang and Fanzhi, while Wei Zhan was held behind by the head of the Wei Family for a chat. The head of the Wei Family called his seventh son into his courtyard for a casual discussion.
After mentioning a few business matters, the head of the Wei Family shifted the conversation to Wei Zhan, ¡°Seventh son, you¡¯re now a high-ranking official of the second rank, you need some reliable people by your side,¡± Wei Zhan looked at his father, ¡°Father, just say whatever you want to say, there¡¯s no need to beat around the bush.¡± Wei family¡¯s head cleared his throat, took a sip of his tea, ¡°Your second brother is quite educated and has had experience managing our shops. He¡¯s skilled in many aspects. It¡¯s better for him to assist you than some outsider.¡± Wei Zhan: ¡°Father, I have no need for the assistance of my second brother. It would be a waste of his talents if he were to follow me around.¡± The head of the Wei family nced at his seventh son displeasedly, ¡°What do you mean a waste of talent? I see you running around all day. Having someone help should lighten the load.¡± Wei Zhan pondered for a moment before answering, ¡°Father, those who assist me don¡¯t receive any sry. You should ask the second brother whether he¡¯s willing.¡± ¡°Whether he¡¯s willing, he must!¡± proimed the head of the Wei Family. In fact, the head of the Wei Family valued his oldest and second son most among his adult sons. Not only because these two were born from the women who apanied him as he grew up, but also because they were the eldest and second son whom he had raised with great affection. As for the increasing number of children afterwards, the head of the Wei Family was spread thin and had no time to pay attention. Therefore, if the seventh son could help one of his older brothers secure an official post, the head of the Wei Family would be quite pleased. Wei Zhan of course knew what his father meant. However, his father probably didn¡¯t realize that even though his official rank seemed high, he had no real power and couldn¡¯t nominate his brothers for any positions. If it were a low-ranking clerk, perhaps he could, but would his elder brothers be willing to take such a position that only paid a meager two to three coins a month?
¡°Father, if there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll leave.¡± Wei Zhan stood and walked out without looking back, ignoring his father¡¯s calls from behind. As he walked past the Moon Gate, he abruptly ran into a woman who appeared to be a rtive of his elder sister-inw. The woman didn¡¯t give way, mindlessly heading directly towards him. Wei Zhan sidestepped effortlessly to avoid her. ¡°Greetings, General.¡± The woman didn¡¯t give up, turning around to pay her respects to Wei Zhan. Weizhan didn¡¯t even bat an eyelid, and walked straight on. Since childhood, his mother had drilled into him various tactics and strategies to discern deception. Having traveled and fought many battles, what kind of person hadn¡¯t he seen before? He could see through this woman¡¯s petty games even with his eyes closed. Walking briskly out of the Wei Mansion, only then did Wei Zhan finally breathe a long sigh of relief. The Princess¡¯s Residence, where his wife lived, was much better. He feltfortable living there. Meanwhile, Cao Qinqin attempted to engineer a coincidence meeting with Wei Zhan, but he utterly ignored her, whichpletely crushed her self-confidence. She suddenly regretted following her sister to this ce. She was a decent maiden; such an act was utterly disgraceful. Cao Qinqin felt disheartened and ashamed to the extent that she wished she could crawl into a hole.
At that moment, she suddenly med her sister. Had it not been for her persistent persuasion, their parents would not have urged her to be someone¡¯s concubine. Now she was humiliated with her face trampled underfoot. How could she show her face in the future? Cao Qinqin lowered her head and gently wiped away her tears. ¡°Sister Qinqin, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Wei Wenbo appeared before Cao Qinqin at some point, and asked with concern, ¡°Who bullied you?¡± Chapter 454: 450: Resentment_1 Chapter 454: Chapter 450: Resentment_1 Cao Qinqin looked up to see her brother-inw, quickly wiping away her tears, whispering, ¡°No one¡¯s bullying me.¡± Wei Wenbo looked at her sympathetically, ¡°If there¡¯s anything troubling you, tell me, and I¡¯ll help solve it.¡± Cao Qinqin shook her head, bowed to Wei Wenbo, and hurried back to her residence. She had made up her mind; she would go home after the fifth day of the new year at thetest. Even if she were to remain a spinster for life, she wouldn¡¯t dare dream of the Great General of the Second Rank. Being his bedmate was a tempting thought, but it had to be someone he valued. Moreover, the Commandery Princess was divine like a fairy in both appearance and status. Whenpared to her, she was nothing but dust. The more Cao Qinqin thought about it, the more ashamed she felt. She didn¡¯t want to stay in the Wei Family¡¯s residence for another moment. ¡°Young Mistress, the Mistress is calling for you,¡± a maid from the Cao Family¡¯s residence came to ry the message. ¡°I understand.¡± Cao Qinqin looked at herself in the mirror, applied more powder to hide the redness around her eyes, before heading to her sister¡¯s room. Cao was sitting on the kang bed, caressing a piece of silk. When she saw her sistere in, she said, ¡°Qin¡¯er,e look at this. What would look nice made from this fabric?¡±
Cao Qinqin walked over and sat on the edge of the kang. She replied unenthusiastically, ¡°A gauze skirt would be good, it would be vibrant for the spring.¡± Cao nced at her and asked softly, ¡°Did you see Qi Lang just now?¡± Cao Qinqin stiffened, shook her head and said, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Useless!¡± Cao was somewhat upset as she threw the fabric aside, chastising, ¡°Today was a great opportunity for you. If you just talked a little bit more to him and acted a little more tenderly, what man wouldn¡¯t feel something?¡± Cao Qinqin¡¯s mouth twitched downwards, and tears suddenly fell. ¡°Sister, I¡­ I want to go home in a few days.¡± She had never been looked down upon so greatly before; Wei Qng didn¡¯t even deign to look at her. ¡°What? Go home?¡± Cao was even more displeased. ¡°If I had known that you didn¡¯t wish to stay in the Wei Family¡¯s house, why would I have brought you here? What? Can you find a better marriage prospect back at home with our parents?¡± Seeing that Cao Qinqin remained quiet, Cao reproached irritably, ¡°With your mummy¡¯s ambition, can she find any family better than the Wei¡¯s? Though you¡¯d be a concubine, Qng is a Great General of the Second Rank; even the County Magistrate has to offer his respects to his concubines!¡± The more Cao looked at her sister, the more frustrated she felt. She waved her hand dismissively, ¡°Fine, don¡¯t be so gloomy here, especially during the New Year. Go back. After the New Year, when my husband returns to Beijing, you¡¯ll go with him. If you can¡¯t find a good familyter, don¡¯t me me, your elder sister, for not helping.¡± Hearing this, Cao Qinqin felt a strange sense of relief. She bowed to her sister gratefully and ran back to her own room. On the second day of the Lunar New Year, just as dawn was breaking, several carriages and dozens of guards set out from the Princess¡¯s Residence, left the city gates, and headed for Qinchuan County. The carriages traveled at great speed, and arrived in Qinchuan County by the afternoon. As soon as thisrge entourage entered the city and the guards identified the insignia on the carriage, the guard at the gate went to report to the County Government office. By the time the carriage arrived at the Jiang¡¯s Residence adjacent to the specialty shops, a crowd of people was waiting at the entrance. Among them were the County Magistrate and other officials. Jiang Sang and his wife, as well as the families of Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng, were also present. ¡°Greetings to Commandery Princess! Greetings to the General!¡± Led by the County Magistrate, the crowd saluted as one. Wei Zhan got off the carriage and hastily helped them up, ¡°Your Excellency, there¡¯s no need for formalities.¡± He then said to the rest, ¡°Gentlemen, you may rise.¡± Jiang Sang, smiling heartily, invited the County Magistrate and his colleagues into his house, ¡°Your Excellency, pleasee in and talk. The rest of you, pleasee in and have a seat.¡±
He knew that his daughter would be returning home today, and he had prepared a feast and dishes in advance, meanwhile inviting their parents and brothers toe over. Madam Chun held her daughter¡¯s hand, smiling at her son-inw, ¡°Finally, you¡¯re home. You must be tired from the journey. Come in and warm up. I¡¯ve already had your rooms heated.¡± Yingbao nodded, smiling as she walked into the courtyard with her husband. When Madam Chun saw Wuyang, being held by Anrou, she pinched his tiger hat and eximed, ¡°It¡¯s only been a little while and he¡¯s already changed so much, growing even fairer.¡±
Wuyang smiled at Madam Chun: ¡°Mama!¡± ¡°Oh! He can talk already, call me grandma.¡± Madam Chun picked up Wuyang and walked into the house, ¡°Come, grandma has some treats for you.¡± Curious, Wuyang stared at Madam Chun for a while, looking around left and right, not shy at all. Yingbao went back to the room with her mother, while Wei Zhan was invited to the main room to have a chat with the County Magistrate. Aunt Zhou, Aunt Yanru, and Jiang Cheng¡¯s wife, Chou Rong, followed Yingbao into the west room. After everyone exchanged greetings, Aunt Zhou said, ¡°Your grandparents and sisters Dani and Erni are on the side of Plum Blossom Lane. They didn¡¯te here today as they knew there would be many people.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°Tomorrow, I¡¯ll go pay a visit to my grandparents and meet my elder sisters.¡± She hadn¡¯t seen them for several years, she didn¡¯t even know that Erni got married. Chou Rongughed, ¡°Yingbao, it¡¯s been so long that I almost didn¡¯t recognize you.¡± Once a tender little girl, she had now turned into an impressive young noblewoman. Despite her features not changing much, her overall appearance was highly authoritative, making people dare not look straight at her. Yingbao smiled, ¡°I¡¯m already eighteen, of course, I won¡¯t look the same as I used to. Sister-inw, why didn¡¯t you bring Dali and the others here?¡± Chou Rong replied, ¡°I was afraid they would make trouble, so I left them with our parents. I¡¯ll take them to Plum Blossom Lane tomorrow.¡± Yingbao nodded andmanded her maids to bring in all the gifts, which she then distributed amongst everyone.
Most of the gifts were thetest silks and satins, along with beaded flower toys, inks, papers and ink stones for her niece and nephew, and so on. As for her grandparents and her sisters, she would deliver their gifts when she visits Plum Blossom Lane tomorrow. After a while chatting together, Aunt Zhou asked about Yuanbao and Jiang Quan. Yingbao said, ¡°Brother Yuanbao is currently studying at the Imperial College, and he is expected to take the exam next year.¡± ¡°Erquan¡¯s wife is a pce maid from the Royal Pce. She is really nice, and her family background is clear. You and Uncle can go to Beijing next year when Brother Yuanbao takes the exam.¡± If Yuanbao passed the exam as a top schr with good ranking, he would surely be able to stay in Beijing as an official. After that, her uncle and aunt can visit Beijing or even live there permanently. After all, they still need to arrange Yuanbao¡¯s marriage. Aunt Zhou sighed and murmured, ¡°Ever since Erquan went to Beijing, he hasn¡¯t written a single letter. If it weren¡¯t for Yuanbao who had written to us in advance, I wouldn¡¯t have known that Erquan got married.¡± Yingbao blinked, defending her cousin, ¡°Erquan is busy every day. He was even busy in the shop the day before his wedding day.¡± Yanruughed and chimed in, ¡°Indeed, Erquan is really busy. Plus, since we and our parents were in Beijing at that time, he didn¡¯t write any letter.¡± Yingbao added, ¡°Erquan also said that, when he earns enough money, he will buy a big mansion in Beijing, and then he will invite aunt and uncle to live there for retirement.¡± ¡°Did he really say that?¡± Aunt Zhou¡¯sint vanished, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, ¡°His father and I don¡¯t want to spend our old age in Beijing. There are so many chickens and ducks at home, and two fat pigs, they can¡¯t be left unattended.¡±
Chapter 455: 451: Da He Returns_1 Chapter 455: Chapter 451: Da He Returns_1 As they were talking, Aunt Jiang Yunniang came in, followed by the pregnant Hong Xiao. Hong Xiao was already married and had happened to be visiting her parents¡¯ home for New Year¡¯s festivities that day. ¡°Yingbao,¡± Jiang Yunniang sat down next to Yingbao and handed her the box she was carrying, ¡°This is the wedding gift I¡¯m giving you.¡± ¡°Thank you, Aunt Jiang.¡± Yingbao epted the gift, showing no hesitation, and asked, ¡°Where do you live, Aunt? I¡¯ll make sure to visit when I get the chance.¡± She had heard her father say that he, along with her brother Dacheng, had bought a house in the county town for Aunt Jiang. This house was meant to be for Zhang Yuying¡¯s wife, but the couple moved in as well. They argued that they had never technically split from the family, thus they should all live together to care for their mother in her old age. Aunt Jiang was frustrated by their actions but couldn¡¯t make them leave, so she had to endure them. When Jiang Yunniang heard her niece wanted to visit, she was overjoyed. ¡°I live in Willow Branch Lane, your mother knows where. When are youing, Baobao? I¡¯ll prepare dumplings for you.¡± ¡°I suppose I coulde the day after tomorrow. I¡¯ll use that time to familiarize myself with the house.¡± replied Yingbao. Jiang Yunniang was moved to tears, knowing her niece wasing to her aid. Holding Yingbao¡¯s hand, she said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll chop some more chives first thing in the morning.¡± At this time, Hong Xiao stepped forward to perform a courtesy towards Yingbao, but Yingbao stopped her, ¡°Cousin, there¡¯s no need for formalities, you¡¯re pregnant, please sit.¡± The maid, Hupo, brought over a stool for Hong Xiao to sit down.
Hong Xiao was a bit tense. She smiled at Yingbao and greeted the elders present, then sat down on the stool, stealing nces at Yingbao, who was seated at the head of the table. Yingbao was wearing a red gown adorned with golden phoenix patterns and a blue cloud-patterned shawl. Her hair was neatly coiled up, secured with a phoenix-shaped golden hairpin, nked by two golden phoenix hairpieces. Her sparkling eyes and radiant teeth, as well as her delicate features, were as beautiful as ever, but now she carried an aura of authority. Hong Xiao, feeling intimidated, stopped looking and listened quietly to the conversation. Shortly after, the servants set up a feast in the side hall and invited the women to take their seats. The main hall also had two tables prepared, and the celebration began. As for the guards and servants, a feast was being prepared for them in the big kitchen, and they could eat when the masters were finished. ¡­ The next day, Jiang Sang and his wife took Yingbao and her husband back to the Plum Blossom Lane. Upon entering the courtyard, they saw Dani running over, surprised at Yingbao¡¯s appearance, ¡°How have you changed so much?¡± ¡°What¡¯s changed?¡± Yingbaoughed, ¡°You¡¯ve changed.¡± She felt Dani¡¯s stomach, ¡°You¡¯re about seven months along, aren¡¯t you?¡± Dani blushed and nodded, taking Yingbao over to their grandparents. Wei Zhan also came over, paid respect to his grandparents alongside Yingbao, and then distributed the gifts they brought. Jiang Liu, Yingbao¡¯s grandmother, was all smiles. She pulled Yingbao and Wei Zhan into the house and gave each of them a red envelope, ¡°This is your New Year¡¯s money.¡± Yingbaoughed, ¡°Grandma, we¡¯re married now, we don¡¯t need New Year¡¯s money.¡± ¡°Who says!¡± Jiang Liu retorted, ¡°We will give you New Year¡¯s money until you have children.¡± Dani chimed in, ¡°It¡¯s true, grandma said the same thing to me.¡± Jiang Liu nodded her head with a grin, ¡°Once you have children, I will give them New Year¡¯s money instead.¡± Just then, a few children ran in. ¡°They are Dani¡¯s children, and that little girl is from my older brother¡¯s family.¡± Dani introduced.
Yingbao took out a small silver gourd from her bag and handed them to the children. Jiang Cheng¡¯s youngest daughter, around four or five, was quite clever. She immediately bowed to Yingbao: ¡°Happy New Year, Aunty!¡± The other two followed suit, kneeling and bowing. At this time, another girl, about six or seven, came in, leading a two or three-year-old boy.
¡°Happy New Year, Sister Yingbao.¡± Jiang¡¯s younger sister formally greeted Yingbao and encouraged the little boy to wish his sister a happy new year. Yingbao also handed gourds made of silver to Jiang¡¯s younger sister and the little boy, saying, ¡°Remember to put your brother¡¯s silver gourd awayter. Don¡¯t let him put it in his mouth.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jiang¡¯s younger sister was particrly sensible, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sister, I will put the silver gourd away.¡± ¡°Good, good. Little sister, you take our nieces and nephews to y now, I have to talk to your sister Yingbao.¡± Sister Dani had a lot to tell Yingbao and hurriedly dismissed the children. Jiang¡¯s younger sister red at her, then finally left with her brother and the children. A man named Wei Zhan also went out to talk to his father-inw and Jiang¡¯s two uncles about the agricultural and sericulture situations in Qinchuan County. This county was also Yingbao¡¯s fiefdom, and all taxes from this ce belonged to her. Therefore, Wei Zhan needed to understand the situation here and review all the poor viges. Inside the house, Sister Dani, eating snacks brought out by her grandmother, told her cousin, ¡°Yingbao, let me tell you something, Chen Changping from the Xichen Vige is back.¡± Yingbao was surprised, ¡°Chen Changping? I thought he was dead?¡± ¡°Who said he¡¯s dead?¡± Dani popped a sesame candy in her mouth, creating a crunching sound. ¡°I heard that the Emperor pardoned everyone, and he was released from the southern frontier.¡± Yingbao was enlightened. Chen Changping participated in the rebellion against the king, but he was just an unknown flunky. Maybe he wasn¡¯t even a flunky, but was implicated in the mess and was sentenced to exile in the south. Last year, when the Emperor celebrated the full moon feast for his son, he pardoned many people. Their crimes were less severe, and presumably, Chen Changping was among those pardoned.
Yingbao pretended to ask casually, ¡°Is there anything special about himing back?¡± This man was destined to be only amon man for the rest of his life. Even his schrly reputation was probably gone. Dani sneered, ¡°As soon as he came back, he rushed to the n Leader saying he wants to teach at the school.¡± Yingbao frowned, ¡°With his abilities, he will teach? Which family would dare to let their child study under him?¡± Dani chuckled, ¡°That¡¯s exactly what the n Leader said.¡± ¡°So what happened next?¡± Yingbao asked, ¡°Did the n Leader let him teach?¡± ¡°No,¡± Dani grinned, clearly enjoying the story. ¡°Why would they need him when they already have enough teachers at the school?¡± Dani grabbed another handful of sesame candy, ¡°Yingbao, you wouldn¡¯t believe what¡¯s happening now. Chen Changping is helping his second daughter sell dumplings at the market. Once they make some money, he takes it to town to gamble and loses it all. You can imagine how angry that would make Chen Zhao.¡± Yingbao furrowed her brow. Chen Changping¡¯s behavior was within her expectations. He wasn¡¯t exactly a talented man to begin with. Once he fell into misfortune, it would be hard for him to rise again. ¡°Hey! I have one more thing to tell you.¡± Dani approached Yingbao with a mysterious air, her slightly corpulent face almost brushing against Yingbao¡¯s nose. Yingbao moved back a bit and asked, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Lately, Chen Changping has been mentioning you to people, saying that you¡¯re his daughter.¡± Dani winked at Yingbao. ¡°He even went to your eldest uncle¡¯s house to borrow money.¡±
Yingbao: ¡°Did my uncle lend him the money?¡± ¡°Of course not. My uncle¡¯s not a fool. If he were to lend money to that kind of person, who knows what kind of trouble he¡¯d get into?¡± Dani sighed and reached for more sesame candies, but Yingbao swatted her hand away. ¡°Eat less sweet stuff!¡± Chapter 456: 452: Song of Nine_1 Chapter 456: Chapter 452: Song of Nine_1 Erni reluctantly withdrew her hand and rubbed it with a handkerchief, casting a resentful nce at the sesame candy. Yingbao pretended not to see, and asked, ¡°When is your due date?¡± ¡°At the beginning of the third month of spring.¡± Erni rubbed her belly. ¡°Xiaoshui said, he would take leave in advance ande home.¡± Erni¡¯s husband, Xiaoshui, held the position of Sergeant in the county seat, working under Jiang Sang. Although it wasn¡¯t any official position, he was pretty influential in the county town. Also, with the financial aid from his elder brother Wang Dashan, he had bought a house in the county town. However, his parents couldn¡¯t bear to leave their old home and still lived in Dongchen Vige with his younger siblings. Erni also had to care for her mother from the Leng Family. Ever since she got pregnant, she went back to Dongchen Vige. She specifically rushed from her hometown because Yingbao wasing. Yingbao took her pulse, nodded, ¡°You are indeed robust, but you should not be traveling in a carriage back and forth.¡± Erni chuckled, ¡°It¡¯s no problem, my mother-inw put fiveyers of padding in our carriage.¡± The two chatted a bit about life, then the conversation shifted to Chen Zhao and Xubao.
Now Xubao was thirteen years old, studying at the vige school, which had now hired a veteran schr to teach, taking over Li Xu¡¯s job. ¡°Xubao has been living with his second sister, and he also helps her take care of the child after school. Did you know that Chen Zhao had a daughter? She¡¯s almost three years old.¡± Once Erni started talking, there was no stopping her. She told Yingbao everything that happened in Dongchen Vige: ¡°Chen Zhao¡¯s husband is not bad, quite honest, sells tofu at the market. His mother-inw, she¡¯s a tough one, keeps asking for money from her son and daughter-inw, causing amotion every time.¡± ¡°Also, Master Zhang Meng went to Yuzhou. Chuchu took her two children to join him. It¡¯s said that master Zhang Meng was recruited by Chuyan into the military, he¡¯s now a drillmaster head. Chuchu¡¯s younger brother, Chu Qing, also went with him, I guess they won¡¯t be returning.¡± Yingbao knew this. The Imperial Court had deployed armies on all sides, led separately by Chuyan, Zhou Fu, and two other generals. Chuyan had invited his sister and brother-inw as a source of support. She, all of a sudden, thought about Sister Wen Shu, who had been transferred elsewhere with Li Xu. She wondered if Madam Wen and her husband were also with them? At this time, Second Aunt Yanru came in holding her young son, ced him next to Wuyang: ¡°y nicely with your brother but don¡¯t go picking up firecrackers. Be careful not to blow up your hand.¡± Little Jiang Bao was pretty, fair-skinned, and with his beautifully drawn brows and eyes, he was as beautiful as a little girl. He blinked his eyes at Yingbao, then looked at Wuyang, who was drooling. He took the handkerchief his mother gave him and helped Wuyang wipe it up. Erniughed, ¡°Look at him, he¡¯s so neat, nothing like a country child. When Huzi was little, he would roll on the ground. Little Bao was always so delicate, even when he fell, he refused to put his hands on the ground. He always scraped his face during these falls. You can still see the marks on his face.¡± Examining him carefully, Yingbao noticed indeed little calluses on Jiang Bao¡¯s nose and cheek from where the skin had broken and healed. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to her nonsense, these are the scars from when Bao fell from a stool.¡± Yanru red at Erni reproachfully. ¡°Always teasing your brother.¡± Erni covered her mouth, giggling. Jiang Bao finished wiping Wuyang, then with a look of disgust, he threw the handkerchief off onto the ground. He then began to chat with him: ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Wuyang was observing his older brother with blinking eyes, unconsciously stuffing his hand into his mouth. Jiang Bao took his hand down. He seriously warned: ¡°You cannot eat hands, they are full of bugs.¡± Wuyang responded with an ¡°ah¡± sound, waved his little hand, and continued to stuff it into his mouth. Jiang Bao pulled a face, full of disgust, and said, ¡°You are really nasty!¡± Wuyang took his hand out of his mouth and pped it on Jiang Bao¡¯s shoulder, almost hitting his face.
Jiang Bao got angry and pushed Wuyang down. Anrou, who had been watching all along, was a bit nervous. She was about toe over and hold Wuyang, but Yingbao stopped her, ¡°Let the children y and fight amongst themselves, no need to interfere too much.¡± She didn¡¯t want to spoil Wuyang. Anrou could only step back and watch the two children from the side.
Although Wuyang was knocked down, he didn¡¯t cry. He flipped over and sat back again, looking at Jiang Bao as if thinking about something. At this moment, Jiang Bao was somewhat embarrassed. However, seeing his sister and mother not scold him, he exhaled in relief. He then sincerely said to Wuyang, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m your brother, I shouldn¡¯t have shoved you.¡± Wuyang blinked, then suddenly called out, ¡°Brother!¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Jiang Bao responded happily, and bent down to say, ¡°Let¡¯s brother teach you the multiplication table.¡± Then, he patted his little hands and began to sing, ¡°One nine is nine, two nines are eighteen, failing to greet each other; Three nines are twenty-seven, ying music by the fence; Four nines are thirty-six, sleeping in the night like sleeping in the dew; Five nines are forty-five, every house keeping salt hogs; Six nines are fifty-four, warm airing out of the mouth; Seven nines are sixty-three, pedestrians carrying clothes for warmth; Eight nines are seventy-two, cats and dogs look for a cool ce; Nine nines are eighty-one, poor people have finished suffering, only to be pestered by mosquitos and fleas just as they are about to sleep!¡± Wuyang looked confused, but that didn¡¯t stop him from enjoying learning to p along with Jiang Bao.
Seeing this, Anrou finally found peace in her mind. After finishing a meal at Plum Blossom Lane, Yingbao and Wei Zhan bid adieu to return to their shop. Wuyang, held in Anrou¡¯s arms, burst into tears as soon as they left the yard, extending his little hand and pointing towards Jiang Bao. Yingbao tried tofort him, ¡°We cane back next time, right?¡± Wuyang shook his head violently and repeatedly called out for his brother. Yanru proposed with augh, ¡°Would you like to go home with brother?¡± Wuyang nodded repeatedly in agreement. ¡°Oh my, this child understands what we are saying!¡± eximed Yanru in surprise. ¡°Is he one year old yet?¡± Yingbao responded, ¡°He just reached a year old.¡± In reality, Wuyang was only around eleven months old. Seeing Wuyang persistently reaching out to Yanru, Yingbao had no choice but to suggest, ¡°How about you and Jiang Baoe with me for a visit? Anyway, we are going to visit my aunt tomorrow, so we can go together.¡± Without much of a wait, Jiang Xiaomei arrived with little Jiang Shan from the Jiang family following her. Several children crammed into Yingbao¡¯s carriage. Wuyang was pleased to the brim and tried to squeeze between Jiang Bao and Jiang Xiaomei. Yingbao could not refuse him and had to ce him amongst children.
Upon reaching home, Yingbao simply let the children y on a Kang bed while she herself rested nearby. Jiang Xiaomei, only six or seven years old, had a knack for keeping children entertained. Before long, she had lulled Wuyang, Jiang Bao, and Jiang Shan to sleep and herself also dozed off. Anrou tucked the children in individually and covered the Commandery Princess with a quilt. They all slept until evening. When they woke up, Magnolia and Anrou were preparing meals for the children. Wuyang was overjoyed, holding Jiang Bao with one hand and Jiang Shan with the other, mumbling and murmuring joyously. When Chunniang and Yanru walked in and saw the children ying harmoniously, they stopped worrying and began to discuss the trip to the aunt¡¯s house with Yingbao. ¡°We¡¯re going to your aunt¡¯s house tomorrow and we shouldn¡¯t take the children,¡± Chunniang suggested. ¡°Zhang Yukun also has a few children, things might get out of hand if they start causing amotion.¡± Yingbao replied, ¡°I had no intention of taking them in the first ce. I was actually nning to leave them at home with Anrou and Xinghua.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. You might not be aware, but Zhang Yukun has moved his entire family, not only his wife but even the concubine and her daughter, to your aunt¡¯s house.¡± Chunniang said in a huff: ¡°Your aunt can¡¯t seem to do anything about it.¡± Chapter 457 - 453: Glorious Wealth and Honour_1 Chapter 457: Chapter 453: Glorious Wealth and Honour_1 ¡°Isn¡¯t that concubine¡¯s daughter of age?¡± Yingbao asked. Chunnian nodded: ¡°Indeed, she¡¯s not young anymore, she seems to be about fourteen or fifteen.¡± She nced at her daughter, lowered her voice and said: ¡°The neighbors are all talking about it. The concubine has hired a boatwoman to teach her daughter the pipa. I really don¡¯t know what she¡¯s thinking. Don¡¯t let Wei Zhan go and visit tomorrow.¡± Yingbao chuckled: ¡°How did Wei Zhan get involved in this?¡± Chunnian gave her daughter a reproachful look: ¡°I don¡¯t believe you didn¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°I did.¡± Yingbao hugged her mother¡¯s arm andughed: ¡°But Wei Zhan is not that kind of person.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be too sure.¡± Chunnian said: ¡°We must be cautious. If something embarrassing happens, our family will be disgraced.¡± ¡°I get it.¡± The next day, Yingbao, her mother, second aunt, eldest aunt, and eldest sister-inw visited Jiang Yunniang¡¯s house. Erni, who was heavily pregnant and found it difficult to move, stayed at home to keep their grandparentspany. Willow Branch Lane was not far away, but thene was narrow and could not amodate a carriage. So, Yingbao and the others entered thene, escorted by a dozen guards and pce attendants. The residents of thene came out one after another, whispering curiously, ¡°Which noble family does she belong to? Why have theye here?¡± ¡°Who knows.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s follow and take a look¡­¡± The crowd quietly followed the procession, slowly heading towards a certain house. Yingbao and herpany were all dressed in silk dresses, adorned with jingling jewelry, and wore either a top-quality fox fur cloak or a silk cloak. Golden hairpins swayed lightly on their heads. Yanru and Chou Rong even wore a circle of gold-studded hairpins, looking extravagantly wealthy. At this moment, Yunniang and her son and daughter-inw had already been waiting at the entrance of their house. As soon as they saw Yingbao and the others from afar, they hurried over to greet them. ¡°Baobao.¡± Yunniang grabbed Yingbao¡¯s hand and beckoned her siblings and nieces: ¡°Please,e in.¡± Zhang Yuying and her husband paid their respects to their aunts before Yingbao and Chou Rong. Then, they led everyone into the yard. The yard wasrge, with two entrance halls and about a dozen rooms. As soon as Yingbao looked up, she noticed Zhang Yukan and his wife, Zhang Jia¡¯s concubine and her daughter. Zhang Yukan stepped forward and bowed to Yingbao: ¡°Nephew pays his respects to aunt.¡± He then greeted Yingbao and Chou Rong: ¡°Cousin Yingbao, sister-inw, greetings.¡± Chou Rong returned the greeting, and Yingbao nodded at him, ¡°You too, cousin.¡± Zhang Yukan¡¯s wife and children also came forward to pay respects. Magnolia stepped forward to give the children red envelopes as New Year gifts. Once they entered the main hall, Yingbao took her ce in the seat of honor. Chunnian, eldest sister-inw Zhou, second sister-inw Yanru, and niece Chou Rong sat on either side. At this point, the concubine and her daughter came in and bowed to Yingbao: ¡°The humble woman pays her respects to the Commandery Princess.¡± Being a smart woman, Jiaoniang knew that the daughter of the Jiang family was now the high and mighty Commandery Princess. All of Qinchuan County belonged to her now. Even the County Magistrate had to pay his respects to her, let alone ordinary folk like them. Furthermore, Jiaoniang had heard that the husband of the Commandery Princess had also arrived in Qinchuan County and held a high rank. She sneaked a nce at Yingbao, who was sitting rightfully in the ce of honor, and felt nervous. ¡°She wouldn¡¯te to settle ounts with me, would she?¡± Yingbao nodded in acknowledgement, then turned to Jiang Yunniang, ¡°Aunty, where is Hong Xiao?¡± ¡°She returned to her husband¡¯s home yesterday.¡± Jiang Yunniang said: ¡°Her husband¡¯s house is far away from here, it¡¯s not very convenient for her to travel back and forth.¡± Yingbao nodded. Aunty Jiang Yunniang then took a seat next to them and started to chat. She was speaking enthusiastically, when the concubine suddenly pushed her daughter in front of Yingbao, saying, ¡°Commandery Princess, this is my daughter, and your cousin. She¡¯s fourteen this year, and can recognize a few characters. Would you consider allowing her to serve you?¡± Yingbao: ¡­ ¡°There are many who serve me, I don¡¯t need your daughter.¡± Yingbao nced at her impassively and then looked at the ¡°cousin¡± in question. Undeniably, the girl was indeed beautiful, possessing a delicate state that evoked sympathy at sight. But even in her beauty, Yingbao held no interest and certainly would not take her under her wing. Caught by surprise, the concubine didn¡¯t expect that the same girl who had nodded at her earlier would reject her so directly now. Just as she was about to say something, Yunniang couldn¡¯t hold back her anger anymore, and roared, ¡°Take your daughter and leave this ce, now!¡± As much as the concubine wanted to retort, she didn¡¯t dare to. Begrudgingly, she led her daughter out of the room. Upon returning to their room, she became more resentful. Despite being children of the same father, why was her son epted by the Jiang Family, yet they didn¡¯t extend a shred of goodwill to her daughter? No! She would not surrender so easily! If her daughter could forge a connection with the Commandery Princess, or even the princess¡¯s husband, then they would be able to enjoy endless riches and honour in the future. Moreover, Wangshu was so beautiful, she didn¡¯t believe that anyone would not be drawn to her. Beneath thoughts of a brighter future, the concubine¡¯s determination only waxed hotter. Had she known the Jiang Family possessed such fortune, she would never have antagonised them. If they hadn¡¯t fallen out, and her husband hadn¡¯t died, would her daughter be ostracised by the Jiang Family? The more the concubine pondered, the more regret she felt. She spent a long while instructing Wangshu. Wangshu shyly nodded, whispering, ¡°Mother, I understand.¡± ¡­ Midday came, and after a meal at Yunniang¡¯s ce, Yingbao and the others left their holiday gifts behind and took their leave. Just as they reached the entrance, they saw the concubine¡¯s daughter kneeling on the ground, knocking her head repeatedly towards Yingbao, ¡°Commandery Princess, I am your cousin, and your aunt¡¯s daughter. I am ready to serve you for the rest of my life, unchanging until death. Please ept me, I can do anything.¡± Yunniang was rendered absolutely speechless by the mother-daughter duo¡¯s audacity, wishing she could step forward to kick them. ¡°Wangshu! What are you trying to do?¡± She thundered angrily. Magnolia and several guards stepped forward, ready to drag away the kneeling girl. Yingbao waved her hand for them to stop, leaned over to ask the girl on the ground, ¡°What can you do? Tell me.¡± The girl thought for a moment, then said, ¡°I can y the lute, and I can also perform the Rainbow Feathers Dance.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± asked Yingbao. The girl looked lost for a moment, then said, ¡°I¡­I can sing songs.¡± Yingbao let out augh, ¡°Then you should find work at the Tile House, not here.¡± She didn¡¯t want to indulge a woman with hidden motives, even if she was barely in her teens. Strangely, the girl didn¡¯t seem embarrassed, but earnestly said, ¡°But mother said that going to you is our only chance of a better life, failing which we can try the Tile House.¡± For a second, everything fell into silence. Yunniang was utterly humiliated. She rushed back into the house, grabbed a handful of the concubine¡¯s hair, and began to drag her outside. Although the concubine was younger and seemed frail, she mustered all her strength to resist Yunniang, Yuying¡¯s wife then dashed towards them. She grabbed the concubine¡¯s hair and together with Yunniang dragged her out of the courtyard. ¡°Get out! Take your daughter and get out of my house!¡± Yuying¡¯s wife was equally enraged. Living under the same roof with such a scandalous woman would certainly bring trouble to their family. They would be drowned in the spit of their neighbours from left and right. Seeing her aunt-inw being forced out of the courtyard, Yukan¡¯s wife rushed out to interfere. But Yuying¡¯s wife was not afraid and began to argue with her. While grappling and cursing, she yelled, ¡°You can get out too! This house is in my husband¡¯s name and has nothing to do with my mother-inw. Letting you stay here is already out of consideration for our familial ties. Since your whole family wants to go to the brothel or Tile House, then hurry up and go!¡± Then she shouted: ¡°Yuying! Throw all their things out! If not, I¡¯ll divorce you!¡± Chapter 458 - 454: Welcoming the God of Wealth_1 Chapter 458: Chapter 454: Weing the God of Wealth_1 Zhang Yuying didn¡¯t hesitate, she turned around and entered her sister-inw¡¯s room and rolled the mother-daughter duo¡¯s belongings into the quilt. She then shouldered it all and dumped it in the alley. Today, the guards of themandery princess, her cousin, were present, and she was not afraid of her elder brother beating her up. She courageously shouldered Zhang Yukun¡¯s belongings as well, and dumped them together with the belongings of her sister-inw and niece. Now, the number of onlookers increased dramatically. Those who knew the details of the matter exined it to those who asked about it, concluding with, ¡°Such nerve they have, at such a young age, she aspires to join the Tile House. It¡¯s no wonder that Madam Jiang kicked them out of the house.¡± Another personughed lightly, ¡°This isn¡¯t surprising. The birth mother of the sister-inw used to be a street girl, we aren¡¯t sure who fathered her child. Her husband only didn¡¯t mind because the child was a girl, thinking that raising her would eventually earn them money. No wonder they have always preferred daughters over sons.¡± ¡°Yes, yes! I also know, the sister-inw was very harsh on her son back then, poord. If it weren¡¯t for Madam Jiang¡¯s kind-heartedness in taking him in, he would have suffered to death long ago.¡± The crowd conversed in whispers but dared not to say a word about Yingbao. It wasn¡¯t long before Zhang Yuying and her spouse had thrown out Zhang Yukun, his wife and children. Taking advantage of the presence of themandery princess, the couple stood in the doorway condemning Zhang Yukun and his wife. ¡°It¡¯s not that we¡¯re cruel, this house has always belonged to my husband. We were kind to take them in, only to end up harboring ungrateful wolves.¡± Zhang Yuying¡¯s wife, Mrs. Li, addressed the neighbors, ¡°Really, I¡¯m at the end of my tether. Mymandery princess cousin came for a visit, and the mother and daughter even tried to thwart her leaving by kneeling at the door, begging her to take them to lead a good life. Everyone, please tell me, have you ever seen such brazen mother and daughter?¡± ¡°I am clear about this today. From now on, Zhang Yukun and his family can go their way, and we¡¯ll go ours. If they dare to step into my house, I, Li Guixiang, will chop them with a kitchen knife!¡± Li Guixiang was through with pretending, and she went all out with her threats, irrespective of how it made her mother-inw look. She refused to back down. By that time, YingBao and her aunts had already left. Jin Yunniang returned to her room with a calm heart. Her eldest son had no affection for her, and her daughter-inw treated her as an enemy. Even her granddaughter had no respect for her as the grandmother. Even after living together for so long, the two children never once decided to call her grandmother. Instead, they treated the concubine¡¯s family as their true family. The reason why Jiang Yunniang refused to open a stall was that these two children often went to the stall to ask for money and caused trouble when they didn¡¯t get it. Even if they were scolded by their cousin, Jiang Cheng, they would justugh it off, run away, and continue to cause trouble the next time. Hence, in a fit of anger, Jiang YunNiang decided to stay at home. Today, her second daughter-inw finally managed to drive them out, and Jiang Yunniang felt much relieved. ¡°Mother.¡± The littled stepped in, holding a te of pastries, ¡°I noticed you didn¡¯t eat much today. These are the pastries that the big aunt sent, try them.¡± Jiang Yunniang looked at her son and sighed. Picking up a pastry, she said, ¡°Son, go to the special product shop for a few days to avoid being used by your aunt.¡± Now that the sister-inw had been driven out of the house, she would certainly want revenge, and the littled would surely be the object of her anger. It would be better for the littled to avoid her by staying with his older cousin for a few days, he could return after things quieted down. Her son nodded, put the pastry on the bed table, and went out. He went to his room to pack a few clothes and shoes, wrapped them in a cloth sack, and quietly left the yard. After standing for a while in front of the specialty shop, he entered the yard. He had a room here too, equipped with all the necessary items, including clothes, which his cousin had arranged for him. Her son put his package in the cupboard, sat down at the table, and started to read a book. Indeed, he would rather stay here, as it was peaceful and warm. If only that person could disappear, or if he could leave this ce to be far away from her and not be harassed and extorted by her in the name of being his birth mother. In the Jiang Mansion, a few children were ying together. Only Wuyang was sitting on a brick bed, pping his hands and looking around excitedly. Whenever someone was found, he burst into uncontrobleughter and insisted on getting off the bed. Concerned, Anrou immediately put him back in ce as soon as she saw Wuyang crawling towards the edge of the bed. When Yingbao came in, Wuyang¡¯s eyes lit up. He stretched out his little hands, wanting to be held. Yingbao picked him up and asked Anrou, ¡°Did the children cause any trouble being together?¡± ¡°No trouble, Wuyang has been very good,¡± Anrou replied. Yingbao nodded, holding Wuyang, she went outside, standing under the eaves and gazed into the courtyard. The weather wasn¡¯t too good. It seemed like it was going to snow. Wei Zhan and his father-inw rode out early in the morning to inspect the outskirts and hadn¡¯te back yet. Chunniang and her sisters-inw were discussing the preparations for the Small New Year on the fifth day inside the house. The fifth day of the New Year, apart from weing the God of Wealth, it was also necessary to chase away the five poverties, hold a fair, eat dumplings, clean the house, and pay homage to the ancestors. The five poverties referred to poverty in wisdom, education, wealth, destiny, and rtionships, which must be swept out on the fifth day with a broom to wee the God of Wealth into the house. The so-called five roads of wealth from the east, west, south, north, and center, on the fifth day, not only the elders in the family should not go out, but the women should also not visit others¡¯ houses. Moreover, raw rice should not be used for cooking at home, it was inappropriate to sew, and women should not go out to exchange New Year greetings, otherwise, they would be despised and considered to bring bad luck to their homes. Chunniang suggested: ¡°Why don¡¯t we invite father and mother here? Our ce is bigger and more lively with many people. Even if it doesn¡¯t work out, there¡¯s still a vacant room in the shop that can amodate people.¡± Elder sister-inw Jiang agreed: ¡°That sounds good, I¡¯ll talk to father and mother when I go home.¡± Yanru also nodded: ¡°Let¡¯s go with our younger sister¡¯s suggestion.¡± ¡­ After the fifth day, Jiang¡¯s old man and his wife followed their eldest son and daughter-inw back to their hometown. Dani and her husband, Zhang Shaodong, together with their children also returned to Chuanhe Town, stating that they still had chickens, ducks, and pigs back home. Although they had asked the neighbors to look after them, they couldn¡¯t always trouble others. The second daughter-inw didn¡¯t go home, she stayed to spend the Lantern Festival with Yingbao. Jiang Eng and his wife didn¡¯t go home either. This was Yanru¡¯s rare trip to the county town. Taking this opportunity, she wanted to stay a bit longer, visit her aunt, chat with her, and also pay a New Year¡¯s visit to her father. Yanru¡¯s stepmother is quite courteous to her now, she even personally invited Yanru and her family to stay for dinner. However, at the dinner table she repeatedly proposed that Jiang Eng find a job for her son, even suggesting that working at the Princess Residence was eptable. Almostughing out of anger, Yanru didn¡¯t linger after dinner, she quickly took her husband and child and excused herself. Walking on the road, Yanru said to her husband: ¡°You must never promise them anything in the future. ¡°Their son indulges in eating, drinking, gambling and everything else. Now dreaming up an easy life, he wants to intrude upon our family.¡± Jiang Eng replied: ¡°I¡¯m not foolish, would I simply agree to anything?¡± ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Yanru, holding her daughter, said as they continued walking, ¡°Huzi mentioned before, we should manage our family affairs well and then move to Beijing to live. He suggested that we temporarily live in the house of our third brother. After his mansion is renovated, we can move in.¡± Jiang Eng remained silent. In reality, he did not want to go to Beijing very much. Firstly, he was unfamiliar with the ce. Secondly, he didn¡¯t know what he would do there, which bothered him the most. But it seemed like he didn¡¯t have a choice, Huzi was not getting any younger and someone had to handle his marriage affairs. Chapter 459 - 455: Golden Little Turtle_1 Chapter 459: Chapter 455: Golden Little Turtle_1 ¡°Besides, sister is already grown up. After we move to Beijing, she can rely on her brother¡¯s official position to secure a good marriage.¡± Huzi is currently a Fifth-grade Martial General, his rank is not low. He is also holding a position in the Imperial Army. At least he should be able to find a suitable match from the official families for his sister. Jiang Eng nced at his daughter, ¡°She¡¯s only six¡± Yanru red at her husband, ¡°She is six now, won¡¯t she grow up in a few years? Moreover, girls in Beijing have to learn many things. If we move there now, we could hire a tutor for her to start learning slowly.¡± Jiang Eng scratched his head: ¡°Hiring a tutor will cost a lot of money. How can we survive eating through our savings? Huzi is indeed a Fifth-grade official, but his expenses are also high. The interactions among his colleagues, along with him having to eat, buy a house, and support several servants. Won¡¯t we just cause him trouble if we move there?¡± Yanru was interrupted. Indeed, moving to Beijing would require a lot of money. Without any extra ie, simply relying on Huzi¡¯s sry wouldn¡¯t allow them to live a life anywhere close to that of a wealthy family. ¡°What if we take some golden ear and snow ear mushroom spores with us?¡± Yanru suggested, ¡°Last time when I was in Beijing, I went to a pharmacy and asked about the prices of snow and golden ear mushrooms. A small box of dried snow ears costs twenty taels of silver. In my estimation, that weight could be at most half a pound.¡± Jiang Eng pondered for a moment and said, ¡°That might work, I¡¯ll have to discuss it with Yingbao.¡± Mushrooms are quite delicate; a slight carelessness can severely affect their quality. If they were to bring them along all the way to Beijing and they got spoiled, all their efforts would be wasted. Moreover, his niece Yingbao is quite skilled at cultivating mushrooms. The vigers all got their spores from her. Therefore, he needed to discuss with Yingbao how they could safely transport arge number of these spores to Beijing. Yanru lit up when she heard her husband¡¯s agreement: ¡°That¡¯s a great idea! We can discuss this with Yingbao when we go back.¡± ¡­ At this moment, Yingbao was inspecting the agricultural conditions of different townships in Qinchuan County with Wei Zhan. The entire county had started growing cotton, with varying amounts produced in different townships, but most were still primarily cultivating grains and rice. ¡°The new county magistrate is talented,¡± Yingbao praised. The county magistrate took his position fromst year, and he and our younger brother Jiang Jie were in the same Top Schr ss. From the report, he has a very organized n for agriculture and sericulture. He¡¯s established quotas on how much cotton, wheat, rice, and soybeans each family should nt each year. Furthermore, the county magistrate encouraged the vigers to open up wastnd. He asked them to cut grass andpost it for fertilization, promising to exempt thend tax for the first two years; the tax in the third year would be cut in half. In addition, he asked each household to raise more chickens and pigs. After that, he suggested they should pile the manure with tree leaves forposting. When theposting was done, he advised adding it as fertilizer in winter. Wei Zhan said with augh, ¡°With the county magistrate managing Qinchuan County, we can spend our effort on Zhouhe county.¡± Looking at the tax status, the people in Qinchuan County are living much better than those in Zhouhe county. No wonder some people would flee to settle here. Yingbao closed the documents, handed them to Wei Zhan and said, ¡°You can go check the condition of the public granary when the county government staff start working.¡± The public granary is the food reserve of the county¡¯s civilians and soldiers, and also its lifeline. In case of natural disasters and human distress, the grains in the public granary would be crucial. Therefore, it is key to understand the situation there. Wei Zhan nodded, ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Also, let the county magistrate gatherborers to dredge the riverbed near Chuanhe Town.¡± There is a piece of water clusters near Chuanhe Town, which gets filled up every few years causing inability to grow grains on both sides of the riverbed leaving a piece ofnd as big as Dongchen Vige useless, wasting hundreds of acres in the process. Now that our county has an excellent county Magistrate, why not ask him to dredge the riverbeds. ¡°Okay, but it will have to be done after the Lantern Festival,¡± Wei Zhan replied. ¡°I know that. You just need to inform the County Magistrate in advance.¡± Without realizing it, the Lantern Festival had arrived. Yingbao didn¡¯t go to the night market, she stood under thentern rack at her home¡¯s entrance, watching the fireworks. On the side, Anrou was holding Wuyang in her arms. Wuyang seemed utterly excited as his round eyes stared enthusiastically at thenterns. Erni was munching on some snacks, sitting with her stepmother Yanru and Third Aunt Chunniang, looking around the entrance. There was no other option, Yingbao wouldn¡¯t let them out. She only allowed for antern stand to be erected at the entrance, upon which hung two to three dozen multi-colorednterns for people to admire. Yet Wei Zhan and father-inw had left, allegedly to join the County Magistrate in patrolling the streets. Yingbao was teaching Little Sister Jiang how to guess riddles, when she suddenly heard someone call her name: ¡°Yingbao.¡± Looking towards the sound, she saw a man in a green robe, standing at a distance, looking at her. ¡°Xiao Mo?¡± Yingbao¡¯s face turned serious, on guard as she watched the man approach: ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Xiao Mo walked leisurely up to her, standing still right in front of her. The guards wanted to interfere, but Yingbao dismissed them: ¡°Take everyone back to the mansion.¡± Upon hearing themand, Magnolia led Anrou and the other children back home. Chunniang and Erni, along with the others who were also unclear about the circumstances, were escorted back to the courtyard by the guards and pce maids. ¡°Yingbao, no wonder I always felt like I¡¯d seen you somewhere before.¡± Xiao Mo smiled: ¡°So, you are the little demon that I could never find.¡± Yingbao twitched at the corner of her mouth, coldly responding: ¡°You¡¯re the demon.¡± Your whole family are demons! Without engaging in idle chatter with her, Xiao Mo directly asked: ¡°Yingbao, is Xuanwu here with you?¡± ¡°What Xuanwu?¡± Yingbao yed dumb. Xiao Mo paused to consider this for a moment, then rified: ¡°It¡¯s a small golden tortoise.¡± With a poker face, Yingbao responded: ¡°Never seen one.¡± Xiao Mo nced at her dismissively, ¡°But I smelled its scent on you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I had turtle stew for lunch.¡± Yingbao responded while surreptitiously trying tomunicate with Xuanwu. However, he kept silent. Xiao Mo nced around, then said: ¡°Yingbao, stop pretending. You are no different from me; you do not belong to this world either. Why note back with me?¡± Without uttering a word, Yingbao¡¯s gaze turned colder. Xiao Mo continued: ¡°I was careless before, so you don¡¯t need to dwell on past mistakes. Can assure you justice in the future. But this ce is definitely not suitable for you. You should leave with me as soon as possible.¡± ¡°What kind of nonsense are you talking about?¡± Yingbao replied coldly, ¡°You¡¯re not from this world, did youe from King Yama¡¯s ce?¡± Xiao Mo: ¡°Yingbao, don¡¯t deceive yourself. I must also tell you, Wei Zhan is actually your cousin; there is a blood connection between you two.¡± ¡°Bullshit!¡± Yingbao was furious and was about to summon the God Scythe. Xuanwu clung tightly to the trembling God Scythe,municating urgently to Yingbao in fear: ¡°Don¡¯t fall for his trick! Not a single one of the cultivators of the human n is a good person! He just wants to provoke you to make the first move. Once the taboo is touched, you will be pulled out of this world!¡± Was it indeed so? Yingbao gradually calmed down, giving Xiao Mo a faint smile: ¡°Xiao Mo, what exactly are you trying to achieve by telling me all this? You don¡¯t happen to be trying to sow discord between Wei Zhan and me, do you?¡± Wei Zhan¡¯s blood rtion with her was the one thing Xuanwu would know without a shadow of doubt. Though the Book of Heaven couldn¡¯t exin everything, it did record her multilife journey and all rted people clearly down to their eighteenth generation of ancestors. Xiao Mo watched Yingbao with a serious expression for a moment, then stated, ¡°Your grandfather and Wei Zhan¡¯s grandfather are cousins; there¡¯s no mistake about that.¡± ¡°And where did you get this information from?¡± Yingbao asked, narrowing her eyes in question. Even if Xiao Mo was a man of profound cultivation in another world, he was suppressed by divine providence here and reduced to an ordinary human body, making it simply impossible for him to examine bloodlines through magic. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have failed to notice that her bloodline was already quite different from before. To put it bluntly, her current body had been condensed into being by Xuanwu¡¯s own cultivation. Chapter 460 - 456: Dragon Slaughter_1 Chapter 460: Chapter 456: Dragon ughter_1 ¡°You don¡¯t need to know that right now. Come with me, Yingbao, and I promise to tell you everythingter.¡± said Xiao Mo. Yingbao: ¡°Why should I go with you? What exactly do you want to do? Xiao Mo, you swore in the past that if you harm my family, you would be struck down by divine wrath and would not have a peaceful death. Xiao Mo frowned: ¡°I won¡¯t hurt you, nor will I hurt your family. Yingbao, don¡¯t be stubborn.¡± Seeing that Yingbao still remained extremely vignt, Xiao Mo¡¯s face darkened, and he slowly raised his hand. Suddenly, several men cloaked in ck robes and wearing masks appeared behind him, rushing straight towards Yingbao. Yingbao stepped back a few paces, and a dagger over a foot long suddenly appeared in her hand. It was something she had kept before, ready to be used for self-defence. The ck-robed figures were closing in, but Yingbao stayed undaunted. In the span of a lightning sh, she had already exchanged a few blows with them. Upon seeing this, passersby scattered to avoid danger, identally knocking over severalntern stands amidst the chaos. Both adults and children cried out in shock as the entire marketce fell into chaos. Everyone fled as far as possible from the scene of the fight. The guards from the Princess Residence wanted toe and help, but their masters were caught up with those figures. They moved so quickly that it was impossible to tell friend from foe. In just a moment, the cloaked figuresy beaten on the ground, with the remaining few severely injured and bleeding heavily. Xiao Mo¡¯s face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. Ordinary men were all but useless! He cursed the fact that the injuries to his legs prevented him from taking action himself. Otherwise, why would he have to go to such great lengths for a mere mischievous sprite like her? Seeing Yingbao rushing towards him, the dagger in her hand shing coldly, Xiao Mo could not help but sigh, disappearing into the darkness in an instant. With Xiao Mo¡¯s departure, the immediate crisis was averted. Yingbao did not dare to pursue him into the darkness, so she could only retreat. ¡°Princess! Are you alright?¡± The guards rushed over to ask. Yingbao: ¡°I¡¯m fine. Tie up any surviving assassins.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The guards quickly restrained the injured cloak figures. However, it wasn¡¯t long before all the injured ck-robed figures breathed theirst. Yingbao had anticipated this. She wiped her dagger clean, had the guards go to the County Government to call for people to take care of the assassin bodies, nced towards the street from the steps, then turned and retreated to the residence. Chunniang and Erniang hurried over, ¡°Baobao, what happened?¡± ¡°Some assassins came, but I¡¯ve taken care of it.¡± Yingbao said: ¡°Mother, you all must stay at home in the near future. Don¡¯t go anywhere.¡± She couldn¡¯t be certain whether Xiao Mo woulde again, nor could she guarantee that he would definitely keep his promise. Yingbao was just curious as to why he wanted her to go with him. Was it really to demand and im back whatever he had lost? Chunniang didn¡¯t understand, but she still nodded her head: ¡°Baobao, don¡¯t worry. We won¡¯t go anywhere. But who sent those assassins?¡± ¡°It was Xiao Mo.¡± Yingbao said: ¡°Mother, why don¡¯t you and my aunts go back to your rooms to rest. I have some things to take care of and will fill you all in tomorrow.¡± After speaking, she had the maids send her mother and her aunts along with Erniang back to their rooms. She then went to the study alone. ¡°Xuanwu,e out.¡± She sat down in the chair and called out to the little turtle. A glint of golden light shed, and the little turtle waszing on the table. Yingbao stroked the little turtle¡¯s head and asked: ¡°Why does Xiao Mo want to take me away?¡± Xuanwu rolled his eyes: ¡°How should I know? Perhaps he¡¯s be obsessed with an idea, which is tormenting his heart.¡± Yingbao frowned and thought for a moment before asking again: ¡°Why does he call me a mischievous sprite?¡± Xuanwu shook his head: ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯m not a Bai Ze, how could I know everything?¡± ¡°But you¡¯re the divine beast Xuanwu, isn¡¯t the ¡®Tianyan Book¡¯ transformed from your turtle shell? Foresighting with it shouldn¡¯t be hard.¡± ¡°That¡¯s wishful thinking!¡± Xuanwu immediately bristled, indignant, and went to one side, protesting, ¡°Every foresight takes away a hundred years of my cultivation base, just for a boring question, are you insane?¡± Yingbao regretfully shook her head, ¡°Alright, never mind. I was just curious.¡± Xuanwu was silent for a moment, then slowly began: ¡°The Supreme Immortal¡¯s family was built on dragon-ying for thousands of years. That¡¯s all I¡¯m telling you.¡± Yingbao squinted her eyes slightly: ¡°Dragon-ying?¡± Xuanwu said no more, suddenly transformed into a golden light, and flew into Yingbao¡¯s forehead. The door of the study was pushed open, and Wei Zhan strode in. ¡°Yingbao, what happened earlier?¡± He held his wife¡¯s shoulders to carefully examine her: ¡°Are you hurt?¡± ¡°No.¡± Yingbao leaned against his chest, closing her eyes and listened to Wei Zhan¡¯s frantic heartbeat. Wei Zhan held his wife, after a long while, he asked, ¡°What did Xiao Mo want to do here?¡± Yingbao: ¡°He asked me to go with him.¡± Wei Zhan became immediately enraged: ¡°Did he really say that?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve killed all his dark guards, so he ran away.¡± Yingbao told the truth. Wei Zhan¡¯s heart tightened, he kissed the top of his wife¡¯s head and gently patted her back, ¡°Are you tired? If he dares toe again, I will seek revenge for you!¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Who could expect that Xiao Mo didn¡¯t show up till the end of the first lunar month. On this day, Yingbao prepared to return to Zhouhe County, intending to leave a few guards to watch over her parents, but Jiang Sang and Chunniang firmly disagreed. ¡°We have several servants in the house, why do we need guards? And I¡¯m not going anywhere, just staying at home to cultivate mushrooms and raise some chickens and ducks. Oh yes, I originally wanted to bring Youyou to the county town, but Youyou didn¡¯t want toe, so he is now being taken care of by my eldest uncle.¡± Chunniang held her daughter¡¯s hand: ¡°Don¡¯t worry and take care of your own business. You can leave the household affairs to us. If you have time,e home and see us.¡± Yingbao nodded. If it wasn¡¯t for the slew of matters waiting for her in Zhouhe County, she would want to stay in Qinchuan County all the time. After saying goodbye to her parents, Yingbao climbed onto the carriage, then poked her head out to wave at them. Jiang Sang and Chunniang also waved back at their daughter, ¡°Be careful on the road.¡± The carriage gradually moved away until they could no longer see it. Only then did Chunniang turn her head and said to her eldest sister-inw, who was wiping her tears: ¡°Elder sister, Xiang is working for his cousin-inw now, he will definitely make something of himself in the future, so don¡¯t worry.¡± Jiang Yunniang sighed: ¡°I¡¯m not worried, just a bit sad. If it wasn¡¯t for his irresponsible mother, why would he have to leave his home at such a young age?¡± Moreover, Xiang was raised by her, there was no difference from her own child, his departure was heart-wrenching, who knows when they would be reunited again. Chunniang stayed silent. She suddenly remembered her two sons, who were only two or three years older than Xiang, but they were now thousands of miles away in Beijing. Just like that, March in the lunar calendar arrived amid a light spring breeze. Wuyang was now a little over a year old and could take a few steps with Anrou¡¯s assistance. These days, Yingbao would bring them along with Wei Zhan to the nearby rural towns for a walk and to enjoy the spring scenery. When the carriage stopped for rest, Xiang snapped off a few tender willow branches from the riverside and wove two willow-branch hats, one for Wuyang and the other for Wei Fanzhi. The two children were ecstatic, and Wuyang even shook off Anrou¡¯s hand, wobbled a few steps, fell, then got back up again to keep walking. In a trice, he had solidified his footing. ¡°Commandery Princess, look! Wuyang can walk. He learned to walk without the use of restraint cords!¡± Xinghua eximed with delight. Chapter 461: 457: No Face_1 Chapter 461: Chapter 457: No Face_1 Yingbao smiled as she watched Wuyang stumbling towards her and tumbling into her arms. ¡°Miss!¡± Wuyang hugged Yingbao, seeking praise. ¡°Our Wuyang is really capable.¡± Yingbao patted his head and picked him up. At this moment, a shepherd rode arge water buffalo from a distance and stopped when he saw arge crowd. Wuyang pointed at the water buffalo with curiosity, wanting to go over. Yingbao didn¡¯t move. Wei Zhan and Chu Shun had already walked up to the shepherd to ask about local conditions. For example, whether anyone had run away from farming, be a bandit, or whether anyone was exploiting the people by collecting excessive taxes, and so on. The shepherd thought for a while, picked his nose and said, ¡°Yes, a few days ago some government officers came and asked each family in our vige to contribute a stone of grain. They said amandery princess had arrived from Beijing, the princess had a lot of servants and needed a lot of grain to feed them. The officers said they were collecting the grain by the order of the princess.¡± Upon hearing this, Wei Zhan¡¯s heart filled with rage. He asked, ¡°Are these government officers the ones who usuallye to collect taxes?¡± The shepherd boy nodded. ¡°Very well.¡±
Wei Zhan let the shepherd boy go and turned back to Yingbao, ¡°It looks like the government office ispletely corrupt from top to bottom. Without proper reform, it won¡¯t work.¡± Even though they were reducing taxes for the people, the officers still came to collect grain. Until such hypocritical scum was eliminated, the county would never be free of corruption. Yingbao: ¡°Don¡¯t expose this matter for now. When we go back let¡¯s post a notice to recruit a few teachers. Let¡¯s im that we are finding them for the children. We can recruit both martial and literary teachers, two for each.¡± Wei Zhan was confused, ¡°What¡¯s the point of recruiting just a few? There are dozens of officers in this county, and every officer is backed by a powerful family. If we want to rece them, recruiting less than a hundred will not be enough.¡± ¡°We are using this as a cover. No one knows how many we are recruiting. Once they pass the examination, we can keep them all,¡± Yingbao said. Wei Zhan realized, ¡°That could work. I¡¯ll put up the recruitment notice in every vige. Make sure each vige can recruit six people.¡± Yingbao: ¡°Remember, they must be honest people, and very poor.¡± When hiring people, it¡¯s best to choose those from poor families. They will be dedicated to maintaining their jobs in order to provide a stable ie to support their families. She wanted to rece those hereditary junior officials and officers with children from poor families. Of course, if these officers behaved themselves, she was not against being lenient to them. Because of the Imperial Court¡¯s hiring policy, namely hiring government officials and officers with wages instead of rotating duties among the citizens as before, these positions gradually became a source of ie for some people. Over time, some people even held onto these positions for generations, leading to rampant corruption. The government officers colluded, bullying and oppressing poor families without fear of retaliation. Even if they killed someone, the victim¡¯s family had nowhere to seek justice. Just earlier this year, she had made an example of one, yet they barely behaved for three months before causing chaos again. This time, they dared to act in her name. This was intolerable. Returning to Zhouhe County, Wei Zhan immediately had clerks write recruitment notices, which were posted in every vige market. Then people came one after another to apply for jobs. Among them, Wei Zhan checked the household registration of each applicant, confirmed their identity, and then eliminated those whose family members were junior officials or officers, as well as those from the rich and prominent families. About forty people were left. ¡°Send them to work in each vige. They will assist the vige Lizheng in collecting taxes. If they find anything wrong, they should report it immediately.¡± Wei Zhan told Chu Shun, ¡°You also take twenty guards with you. If anyone objects, take them directly back to the government office and let the County Magistrate teach them how to do things.¡± Every time Wei Zhan thought of that County Magistrate of Mei, he was filled with anger.
The old man was over fifty and should have been promoted to another position long ago. However, he was still a County Magistrate. Wei Zhan didn¡¯t know if it was due to insufficient achievement or if he deliberately stayed on the field, acting as a local official with the Emperor being far away from him. Either way, he was determined to drive that old man away. His stay in Zhouhe County would be a disaster sooner orter. Chu Shun saluted, ¡°Yes!¡± Only after Wei Zhan had dealt with his official duties did he leave the study.
Suddenly, he heard amotion and loud sobbing from his father¡¯s yard. Wei Zhan frowned and walked towards it with his hands behind his back. Just as he stepped into the Wei Mansion courtyard, he saw a group of maids and old women trying to separate two people, ¡°Lady, let go. You¡¯re ruining the eldest master¡¯s clothes.¡± Upon having her hands pried open by the others, Mrs. Cao wailed even louder. ¡°You heartless man! I¡¯ve worked so hard to manage this family and raise your children, and you want to take my sister as your concubine? Are you still a human being? My God, how could you do this?¡± Hearing these words, Wei Zhan had a rough idea of what was going on. He turned around and was about to leave. ¡°Qng! You stand still!¡± Seeing Wei Zhan, Mrs. Cao was filled with anger and rushed straight at him. The maids and old women saw this and quickly grabbed Mrs. Cao, ¡°Lady, what are you doing? Why are you going after Master Qng again?¡± As she cried and wailed, Mrs. Cao pointed at Wei Zhan, ¡°It must be your doing! You sted¡­ my sister is obviously¡­ ¡± Before she could finish her sentence, she was pped by Wei Wenbo. She was stunned. Wei Wenbo scowled and barked, ¡°Stop your nonsense! Believe it or not, I¡¯ll divorce you!¡± Mrs. Cao, dumbstruck, covered her face and looked at her husband in disbelief, ¡°You¡­ you hit me? You dare to hit me in front of others? Oh¡­ I can¡¯t live!¡± Seeing this, her nanny immediately hugged her andforted her, ¡°Mydy, you must think clearly. It¡¯s all that bitch¡¯s fault. How can you me Qng?¡± Now the one who cannot be offended is Qng. Thedy is confused. Mrs. Cao was soon escorted back to her courtyard by a group of maids and old women. The others also gradually dispersed.
Wei Zhan gave his elder brother a nce but said nothing, immediately heading for their mother¡¯s courtyard. Wei Wenbo lingered in the main courtyard for a while. He clenched his fist and headed straight out. All he did aftering back from Beijing was to tell Mrs. Cao that he had taken Qinqin as a concubine. But this woman made a fuss about it, utterly embarrassing him. She was really spoiled, bing increasingly unmanageable! Wei Wenbo decided that he would note back this year, and let her endure life in Zhouhe County with the children. ¡°Hitch the wagon, we¡¯re going back to Beijing!¡± He told his servant, ¡°Also take the box from my room out. Be careful and don¡¯t knock or bump anything.¡± The box was filled with his private possessions and valuable items, which he was taking to Beijing. As for the Cao family, they could live with their parents. They wouldn¡¯t starve anyway! ¡°Yes! We¡¯ll do it right away!¡± A few servants ran back into the mansion to move the boxes from Wei Wenbo¡¯s room. Mrs. Cao had no idea that her husband had taken away all the money and valuables in the house. Even the things that were worth a bit were all packed in a box and carried onto a carriage by the servants. Chapter 462: 458: Assassination_1 Chapter 462: Chapter 458: Assassination_1 Recently, in order to increase ie and reduce expenditure, Yingbao had severalrge mushroom sheds constructed within the residence. She also had two baking ovens installed, and invited all servants and guards to observe her process of mushroom cultivation. The primary mushroom she focused on was Xue¡¯er, as it tasted better than golden ear and was cheaper, making it easier for themon people to ept. She also nted a significant amount of golden ear, though not as much as Xue¡¯er. All these mushroom seeds were brought from Dongchen Vige in Qinchuan County. After soaking them in Pupil Spring, they had a very high germination rate. Once this batch of mushrooms matured, Yingbao nned to distribute some mushroom seeds among the poor families in the viges. She hoped it would encourage them to undertake additional work in their spare time to improve their living conditions. She would also cultivate a portion herself to maintain her team of over forty helpers. Of course, she would not give out the mushroom seeds freely. The vigers would have to sign a contract promising to repay the cost of the seeds once they sold the mature mushrooms. Everyone in the residence studied the process intently, including the guards, who asked Magnolia if they could buy some extra mushroom seeds to send back to their hometowns. Magnolia replied sternly, ¡°We don¡¯t have enough extra mushroom seeds at the moment. Once we do, you can directly ask the Commandery Princess.¡± A month and a halfter, five thousand Xue¡¯er and two thousand golden ear mushrooms ripened. All in the Princess Residence collectively harvested the mature mushrooms in half a day, part of the batch was dried out in the open while another part was baked. For this process, Yingbao had specifically hired two pharmacists who specialized in drying medicinal materials from a medicine shop to help with the baking of the mushrooms.
A few dayster, the mushrooms were dried one after another, yielding more than five hundred catties of dried mushrooms. Yingbao sent Chu Shun to transport the dried mushrooms to Qinchuan County and sell them to her older brother, Jiang Cheng. As her specialty shop was quite famous locally and they sold the most golden ear and Xue¡¯er mushrooms, it made more financial sense for her to control the sales, thus ensuring a higher profit. Within a few days, Chu Shun returned with six thousand taels of silver, which eased Yingbao¡¯s urgent need for cash. After all, Yingbao had invested a lot of money in improving the livelihood of local people, but the initiatives had not yet borne fruit. The cost of the five hundred weaving looms sent out on credit had not been recovered, and there were recurring monthly sries for more than forty temporary officers. Moreover, providing for the servants, guards, and horses of the residence also required money. Just when she was starting to feel relieved, as the summer harvest began, the temporary officers reported frequent actions by the tax-collecting government officers and wealthyndlords in various viges. These unscrupulous individuals swapped rotten grain with the vigers and cheated the locals by using smaller measurements to count their grain. Wei Zhan immediately led a group of guards to investigate and found it to be true. ¡°Bring them all back to the government office! I¡¯ll leave it to the County Magistrate to deal with them!¡± Wei Zhan then turned to Lizheng and asked, ¡°Did you know about this?¡± Lizheng was terrified and quickly shook his head, ¡°I had no idea they would do such a thing, if I¡¯d known earlier¡­¡± Before he could finish speaking, Wei Zhan cut him off, ¡°Since you im ignorance, I¡¯m telling you now. If I ever find out someone has been oppressing themon people, they¡¯ll not be let off easily!¡± He raised his voice on purpose so everyone at the scene could hear. Themon people started whispering among themselves and some directly knelt down and shouted praises to Wei Zhan. Seeing the situation was under control, Wei Zhan called over four temporary officers to rece the officers who had been collecting taxes. ¡°When you guys are collecting grain, you can¡¯t cheat in weight or amount. And you can¡¯t be biased; the damp and moldy grain cannot enter the granary, and neither can grain mixed with sand and rocks. Is that clear?¡± Wei Zhan scrutinized the crowd. The four temporary officers hurriedly guaranteed, ¡°We understand, Great General; rest assured we¡¯ll be strict with our duties!¡±
¡°Good, continue with the grain collection!¡± Wei Zhan left two guards there to maintain order and left for the county town with the rest. Halfway there, numerous arrows suddenly shot out from both sides of the dense forest. We Zhan knew he couldn¡¯t proceed further. Having fought in the army for many years, he knew that there must be some sort of trap set up ahead, and possibly an ambush from behind as well.
The only option was to head left or right, and take them down one by one. ¡°Follow me and charge this way!¡± Wei Zhan drew his waist sword and rushed towards the sparser part of the forest. The thirty or so guards followed closely behind, rushing into the forest along with their injuredpanions. Fortunately, the forest wasn¡¯t too dense, and Wei Zhan, high up on his horseback, quickly saw about twenty vigers trying to flee. ¡°Catch them!¡± Wei Zhan spurred his horse, caught one of them, cut him down with his sword, and rushed after the next one. The thirty guards also gave chase, quickly cutting down about a dozen archers. The remaining ones managed to escape. ¡°Don¡¯t prolong the fight!¡± Wei Zhan called back the guards who were about to give chase and ordered them to bring over those who were still alive. Several guards dismounted, brought over a few injured people, and threw them in front of Wei Zhan. Wei Zhan looked at the few men coldly and asked, ¡°Who sent you?¡± Terrified, the men trembled but dared not to speak. ¡°Since you won¡¯t speak, let¡¯s just kill them!¡± Wei Zhan signaled to the guards. Understanding, a guard approached with his bloody knife and decapitated one of the men. The others screamed with fear, fell to their knees and begged, ¡°I¡¯ll speak up! It¡¯s¡­it¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s Master Zhang who ordered us to ambush the official. We¡¯re justmon folk, please have mercy on us! Mercy!¡±
Master Zhang? Wasn¡¯t thendlord who was made an example ofst year also surnamed Zhang? ¡°Take these men with us, and the corpses and arrows as well. We must hurry back to the county town.¡± If they didn¡¯t, Master Zhang might have another trick nned. The guards quickly ced the corpses on top of the horses and also took the injured men with them. We Zhan spurred his horse to speed along the field ridges, avoiding the main path until he was out of this region. Only then did they return to the main path and headed straight for the county town. They didn¡¯t ask for help from the ry station and rushed back to the county town. Upon arrival, they dumped the corpses in front of the yamen (government office). A few injured guards returned to the Commandery Princess¡¯s Residence and reported to Yingbao. When Yingbao heard that Wei Zhan had been ambushed midway, she was immediately anxious. ¡°Was the ceremony host injured?¡± ¡°Commandery Princess, the general is unharmed. A few of our brothers were injured, but none seriously. The family doctor is treating them.¡± Said the Captain of the Guard. Relieved, Yingbao handed the Captain of the Guard a packet of medicine, ¡°Here are wound healing medicine and some pills for internal use. Distribute them to everyone.¡± The Captain of the Guard wasn¡¯t polite and epted the medicine, ¡°Thank you, Commandery Princess.¡± ¡°The few of you, rest at home. Don¡¯t be on duty until your wounds are healed,¡± said Yingbao. ¡°Understood!¡± The Captain of the Guard withdrew. Yingbao immediately changed into formal attire, put on the imperial tiara, led a ceremonial group out of her residence and headed toward the county government office.
At this time, there was a crowd gathered in front of the county government office, all discussing animatedly. Two guards loudly announced, ¡°These are assassins who tried to assassinate our great general in broad daylight! Everyone,e and identify whether you know any of them or if they previously worked for anyone. Anyone who can provide urate information will be rewarded by our Great General!¡± After the guards repeated the announcement several times, some people came forward to inspect the bodies. But most of them didn¡¯t recognize the dead men. Finally, a man in ragged clothes spoke up, ¡°Sir, I recognize these people!¡± Chapter 463: 459: Surpassing the Designated Role_1 Chapter 463: Chapter 459: Surpassing the Designated Role_1 Upon hearing this, the guard immediately brought the man to Wei Zhan. Wei Zhan was sitting in a chair near the entrance of the County Government office, asking, ¡°Tell me, who are they?¡± The ragged man saluted, ¡°My lord, some of them are the servants of Zhang, our vige¡¯s gentry, two others are close rtives of Zhang¡¯s son-inw. The rest I do not recognize.¡± Wei Zhan scrutinized the man, ¡°Where are you from? Why do you know them?¡± The poorly dressed man retaliated, ¡°I used to be a fellow viger of Zhang. Then his family had taken away our farnd, and my old father died at Zhang¡¯s hands. Since then, I¡¯ve been begging for a living in the county town. I remember all the people from Zhang¡¯s family clearly.¡± Wei Zhan remained silent, lifting his head, he saw his wifeing, apanied by a crowd of people. ¡°What brings you here?¡± Wei Zhan immediately stood up and came over to his wife. Yingbao looked at him briefly and asked, ¡°Why are you sitting outside?¡± Wei Zhan smiled, ¡°The county magistrate imed to be ill and didn¡¯te out, so I had to sit outside.¡± Yingbao looked around and said, ¡°In that case, let¡¯s set up a court outside the county office and personally handle this assassination case.¡±
After her words, she invited Song, a senior historian, and the rest of the officers from the Princess Residence. They brought a long table and set it up in front of the county office. Dozens of guards lined up on both sides. Yingbao and Wei Zhan sat next to the tribunal table. Behind them were pce maids holding fans, eunuchs holding umbres, and ceremonial attendants. An eunuch shouted, ¡°The Princess will hear the case here. If you have any grievances, please submit your petition. The Princess will help you. Today, she will hear the case of the assassination. There is currently one eyewitness. If anyone else recognizes the assassins on the ground, please step forward.¡± After a while, as the surviving assassins were being dragged over, two more men stepped forward, iming to recognize these people. ¡°I know them! This one is Zhang¡¯s tenant farmer!¡± An individual roared, ¡°They often followed Zhang andmitted atrocities. The heavens finally see this and decided to take them down!¡± Another agreed, ¡°Correct! These are the thugs of Zhang¡¯s family. Whoever dares to disobey gets hurt by them!¡± Yingbao looked at Song and said, ¡°Song, record all their testimonies and press their fingerprints.¡± Song didn¡¯t say a word this time, let a boy bring the pen and ink, and started writing by himself. With more and more witnesses, Yingbao not only listened to them using Zhang, but also guided them to say who was close to Zhang¡¯s family and whether there was evidence of collusion and joint crimes. Therefore, several people recounted that Zhang¡¯s family was in the grain business, owning thergest grain shop in the county. Zhang measured grain inrge units when buying, but in small units when selling. If anyone was dissatisfied, he would send his servants to beat them up. Others said that Zhang had many illegitimate daughters who he often sent to officials to be their concubines. One such daughter had been taken into the back yard of the county office half a year ago. No wonder! Yingbao and Wei Zhan exchanged nces and immediately issued the order: Arrest the entire Zhang family and bring them to trial. This time, the arrests were made solely by the guards of the Princess Residence, a total of over two hundred men, rushing to Zhang¡¯s mansion in the county town. All the men of Zhang¡¯s family in the county town were arrested and a seal was ced on their main gate. By the next day, the guards left the city and arrested all the men of Zhang¡¯s family in the countryside, throwing them into the county jail. At this point, Magistrate Mei appeared, exining to Wei Zhan that he was genuinely sick and bedridden, not deliberately absent. Magistrate Mei saluted Wei Zhan, ¡°Great General, you can hand over Zhang¡¯s case to me, I will surely handle it properly.¡±
Wei Zhan nced at him lightly, ¡°I have already reported the case of Zhang¡¯s assassination to the imperial court. I¡¯m sure the court will send someone soon, so Magistrate Mei, it is no longer necessary for you to interfere.¡± Upon hearing this, Magistrate Mei flinched and instantly said, ¡°That¡¯s impossible, sir. I am the parent official of this county. Your move to take over would be too presumptuous¡­¡± Wei Zhan sneered, ¡°You? Worthy of being the parent official of Zhouhe County?¡± He then ordered his men, ¡°Search the inner courtyard of the county office and arrest the fugitives hiding there.¡±
If his guess was correct, the now elusive Zhang should be hiding in the courtyard of the county office. ¡°Yes!¡± The guardsplied and stormed into the inner courtyard of the county office, indeed finding two men and one woman. Among the two men, one was in his fifties with white whiskers ¨C he was indeed Zhang. The other was a young man in his twenties with a clean-shaven face ¨C Zhang¡¯s legitimate son. The woman turned out to be Zhang¡¯s illegitimate daughter, whom he had gifted to Magistrate Mei as a concubine. Seeing that Wei Zhan suddenly let people search his residence, Magistrate Mei knew things were not good, he didn¡¯t dare to make a sound, wishing he could shrink himself into an unnoticed quail. When Zhang was dragged out, he was first beaten with a wooden board, then brought over for questioning. Wei Zhan sat behind the desk, mming the gavel, ¡°Zhang Jin! Confess honestly about your hiring of assassins! Who instructed you to do it? What was your goal?¡± Zhang Jin was initially reluctant to talk, but after being beaten with a wooden pper, he confessed truthfully. In fact, during thest assassination attempt, three wealthyndowners were involved. They all contributed archers, totaling sixty or seventy men. However, they were scattered on impact. Those men,mitting their first assassination of a government official, were somewhat timid. Many fled when they saw the unfavorable situation, no matter how Zhang Jin¡¯s son called them, they refused to turn back. This is the situation they ended up in. After hearing the confession from Zhang Jin and others, Wei Zhan thought, The county jail is almost full now. Even if it doesn¡¯t fit anymore, it needs to fit, and not one person can be missing. Until the end of the summer harvest, the assassination case involving Zhang Jin and three wealthyndowners finally came to an end.
The masterminds were sentenced to death with execution pending, the aplices were sentenced to 100 strokes of the cane and exiled for 3,000 miles, and everyone who participated had their family wealth confiscated for the state. Family members over three years old were sold as ves. This judgment was personally approved by the Emperor, treating it as treason. The severity of the punishment made the ministers draw their breaths. In addition, the county magistrate of Zhouhe County was dismissed for investigation, sent to Beijing, and awaited trial. Since then, the officials and wealthy gentlemen of Zhouhe County have been silent and dared not have any tricks. Yingbao took the opportunity to officially transform the forty or so temporary workers into formal positions, making them her left and right arms. Time flies, and before they knew it, two years had passed. Now, like the people of Qinchuan County, 20% of the households in Zhouhe County are growing mushrooms, and 60% of the farms have a highly efficient loom. Almost all the farmers in the county nted varying amounts of cotton, sesame, pepper, and other crops, and people¡¯s lives are getting better day by day. Those farmers who had fled also returned one after another, choosing to live in their hometown again. The young boy is now sixteen, still a young man, working as a scribe in the county office. After work, he still stays in the Princess Residence. Wuyang is already over three years old, looking chubby and roly-poly. He spent the whole day with Wei Fanzhi and Jiang Bao, and they were inseparable, even eating and sleeping together. One day, a group of people suddenly arrived outside the Princess Residence. The person leading the group was the eldest son of the Lun family and an imperial envoy.
Chapter 464: 460: Rescue_1 Chapter 464: Chapter 460: Rescue_1 The moment the two men stepped through the gates of the residence, they bowed towards Yingbao,ughing jovially as they said, ¡°Commandery Princess, the Emperor has a decree for you.¡± Yingbao and Wei Zhan returned the bow, and weed the two men to sit down in the main hall. The pce attendants hastily set up an incense table, asked the two hosts to purify themselves with a bath and burning incense, and finally all gathered in the main hall to receive the decree. As it turned out, this decree from the Emperor was promoting her father¡¯s rank from a ninth-rank county magistrate to a seventh-grade position, a sinecure that required no work but provided ie. Furthermore, the emperor requested her to cure the Prince of Chu. Yingbao was confused. Promote her father¡¯s rank and ask her to cure the Prince of Chu? But wasn¡¯t the Prince of Chu in good health under her care? Suddenly, she thought of something and looked up at the nobleman. The nobleman spoke in a low voice, ¡°The Emperor also has a secret decree for you, which I was instructed to personally deliver.¡± Understanding, Yingbao exchanged a nce with Wei Zhan and ushered the nobleman into the study.
Upon finishing reading the secret decree, Yingbao was speechless. It turned out that someone had poisoned the child who had been impersonating the Prince of Chu. Although he was treated in time, he was still hanging by a thread. To prevent any mix-up, the Emperor had instructed the nobleman to escort the faux Prince out of the Imperial Pce and openly announce to all that he was taking the child to Zhouhe County for treatment. ¡°Where¡¯s the child?¡± Yingbao asked. The nobleman replied, ¡°In the carriage, I will have someone carry him in immediately.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Next, Yingbao saw a tightly swaddled child carried into the study by a servant. The child was ced on an Arhat Couch and Yingbao had the servants and pce attendants dismissed. She personally unswaddled therge cloak, revealing an extremely thin two-year-old child. He had a sallowplexion and was gasping for breath. Yingbao quickly took out a vial of medicinal potion and dripped it into his mouth. The child swallowed unconsciously, not making a sound. After seeing him consume one small vial of the potion, Yingbao was slightly relieved. She stood up and asked the nobleman, ¡°Why is his body so weak?¡± This child lived in the Imperial Pce; there should have been no shortage of food and drink. Given his age, he should have been three or a little older, but he looked merely two, which was infuriating. The nobleman looked embarrassed, ¡°I¡¯m not sure. In the pce, the child has someone to look after him, and ordinary people cannot see him.¡± Yingbao¡¯s expression turned grave. Ordinary people cannot see him? So, this child had been under house arrest somewhere, and was not allowed to see outsiders. She looked at the frail child, reminiscent of her younger brother¡¯s childhood. She couldn¡¯t help but feel extremely distressed. He was so young and had been used like a pawn from a young age. Probably in some invisible corner, he had also been mistreated. Yingbao picked up the child and said to the nobleman, ¡°I¡¯ll take him to my courtyard. You all should wait here for now, it will not be toote to leave when he recovers.¡±
The nobleman bowed, ¡°I indeed intended to wait here. Sorry to trouble you, Commandery Princess.¡± Yingbao did not speak, she walked out of the study, cradling the child. Wei Zhan led the two imperial envoys to their guest rooms for rest. The apanying pce attendants and servants were arranged in another courtyard.
Yingbao brought the child back to her room and ced him on a small wooden bed. This bed was previously used by Chu Wuyang. Now, as he shared a room and meals with Wei Fanzhi and Jiang Bao, the small bed was seldom used. She silently summoned Xuanwu and asked, ¡°Do you think this child has a chance of survival?¡± Xuanwu sniffed, ¡°The chances are slim. The poison in his body has already prated his vital organs. It¡¯s most likely slow-acting poison, administered over a year or so. Perhaps there was some treatment, but a continuous supply of poison led to his current state.¡± Yingbao frowned. That is to say, the child has been poisoned continuously and uninterrupted all this time. His resistance this far is indeed admirable. ¡°How do we save him?¡± Yingbao felt deste, looking at the child inexplicably sad. Xuanwu: ¡°The same as before, immerse him in the Holy Spirit Spring, but for at least three months. If there¡¯s no improvement after three months, then there¡¯s no hope.¡± ¡°Okay, bring a basin of Pupil Spring water.¡± She would start detoxification by soaking him in it right now. This time Xuanwu did not hesitate to bring out a basin of Holy Spirit Water and handed it to the little master. Yingbao stripped the child of his clothes and immersed him in the warm basin of water. This soak would take an hour. Yingbao brought the bathing tools orderedst time, ced the child on top, immersing him in the water, his head was just above the water ensuring smooth breathing.
¡°Auntie!¡± Wuyang ran over quickly. Seeing his aunt bathing an unfamiliar child, he felt a bit jealous. He hugged Yingbao¡¯s leg, looking up and asked: ¡°Who is this brother? Let Auntie Mudan and Auntie Anrou bathe him.¡± Every time he bathed, it was Auntie Mudan and Auntie Anrou who bathed him, so he didn¡¯t want his aunt to bathe this child. Yingbao patted his head: ¡°This little brother is sick, we have to take care of him, just like when you were sick as a child, Auntie also took care of you.¡± Wuyang seemed to understand, looking at the child who had his eyes closed and asked: ¡°Auntie, what kind of sickness does he have?¡± ¡°He ate something given to him by a stranger and got poisoned,¡± Yingbao vaguely said. Wuyang curiously surveyed the child in the basin, and asked: ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± Yingbao thought for a moment and said, ¡°His name is Wumei.¡± She had just given him this name. No resentments, no regrets. This name could not only be just a name, but furthermore a life-saving symbol, because there isn¡¯t a king who likes to owe others favors, nor is there a king who hopes to have their stand-in living. ¡°His name is Wumei!¡± Wuyang didn¡¯t understand what Wumei meant, he just felt that this name was simr to his own. Yingbao nodded, patting his head: ¡°Go out and y with Jiang Bao.¡± Presumably, this child should be returning to Beijing soon, and the chances for him to y with Jiang Bao and Wei Fanzhi would be scarce. Wuyang obediently nodded his head, ran out to y with Jiang Bao. However, Jiang Bao and Wei Fanzhi were all attending lessons with their teacher, so he could only look through the door.
The teacher nced at him, pretending not to see him, instructing the children to read on their own. Wuyang, being a quick learner, began to follow along: ¡°At the beginning of mankind, the nature is fundamentally good! While nature draws humans toward each other, their habits pull them apart¡­¡± Sitting on the threshold, he had already recited a lengthy part. The teacher marvelled silently but said nothing. Because the Commandery Princess had said, to temporarily ignore him, to let him freeload at the door, so he could genuinely be interested in learningter. Two hourster, their tutor finally rang a copper bell, bringing the lesson to an end. Wei Fanzhi and Jiang Bao stood up, bowed to the teacher, then packed up their books, brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone, and put them back into their cloth bag. ¡°Brother Jiang Bao! Brother Fanzhi, you finally finished school!¡± Wuyang was overjoyed. He took Jiang Bao¡¯s book bag and insisted on wearing it. Jiang Bao had no choice but to tie a loop around the strap of the cloth bag and reluctantly let Wuyang wear it. Wuyang, carrying his brother¡¯s book bag, was gleeful and full of life as he trotted ahead. He urged, ¡°Brother Jiang Bao, hurry up! Wuyang is hungry!¡± ¡°Alright!¡± The trio ran into Yingbao¡¯s courtyard and sat down next to the round table in the main room. Wuyang loudly said, ¡°Auntie Mudan! Wuyang wants to eat cake!¡± Mudan brought out the freshly made cake, smiling kindly, ¡°You can each have one piece, lunch will be servedter, too much will spoil your appetite.¡±
¡°Okay!¡± Wuyang nodded his head forcefully. Overeating is ufortable, he did not want to be bloated. Chapter 465: 461: Pregnant_1 Chapter 465: Chapter 461: Pregnant_1 In the evening, the little boy, Wumei, woke up. Seeing Yingbao, he instinctively shrunk his body. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid.¡± Yingbao held a bowl of rice porridge and spoke gently, ¡°I am your auntie, I¡¯m here to feed you porridge.¡± Wumei frowned, looking suspiciously at the bowl that Yingbao was holding. ¡°Where¡¯s Atu?¡± he asked. Yingbao asked, ¡°Who is Atu? Is he one of the eunuchs?¡± Wumei kept his mouth shut and didn¡¯t answer. Yingbao scooped up a spoonful of porridge and brought it to his mouth, but the boy was wary and refused to open his mouth. Yingbao sighed, took a bite herself, then tried to feed him again: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s no poison in the porridge. Look, I¡¯ve even had some.¡± Only then did the little boy open his mouth and swallow a mouthful of porridge. The porridge had shreds of chicken, a little bit of chopped greens and egg drops. It tasted much better than before. Soon, Wumei had eaten more than half of the bowl of porridge.
Yingbao wiped his mouth for him and spoke softly: ¡°You can walk around a bit, then rest.¡± Listening to her, Wumei obediently stretched out his feet, allowing Yingbao to put on his shoes. Patting his head, Yingbao helped him put on his shoes and led him to the door. Outside, the sky was still bright and a few maids were busy. They moved dried clothes and bedding inside, folded them one by one, and put them away. After standing for a while, Wumei¡¯s lips began to turn pale, as if he was very tired. Yingbao picked him up, took him back inside and settled him back on a small bed. She took off his shoes and covered him with a quilt, ¡°If you¡¯re tired, sleep for a while. You can go outside and y tomorrow.¡± Wumei nodded and closed his eyes. Early the next morning, Wumei woke up. Under the care of Magnolia, he put on his clothes and shoes. They took him to Gongfang, where he brushed his teeth and washed his face. When they were feeding him, Wumei looked around. Not seeing the auntie from yesterday, he felt anxious, ¡°Where¡¯s auntie?¡± ¡°Themandery princess is not up yet.¡± Magnolia scooped up some porridge with a spoon and fed him, ¡°After you finish your meal, you will probably see her.¡± Wumei shrunk his neck, avoiding the spoon that Magnolia had, ¡°I want auntie to feed me.¡± Seeing his refusal to eat, Magnolia had no choice but to put down the bowl, ¡°Then you will have to wait.¡± Wumei nodded and stubbornly sat at the table waiting. When Yingbao and Wei Zhan came out of the bedroom together, they saw Wumei sitting listlessly at the table, looking pitiful and helpless. ¡°What happened?¡± Yingbao rubbed his head and took out a bottle of antidote, taking off the cap, ¡°Here, drink the antidote.¡± Wumei took it, sniffed it, then poured it into his mouth. The medicine was sweet and fragrant. After drinking it, he felt extremelyfortable all over.
Wumei reluctantly gave the bottle back to Yingbao and tilted his neck up, ¡°Auntie, feed me.¡± ¡°Alright, I will feed you after I clean up,¡± Yingbao said. Wei Zhan curiously looked at Wumei, ¡°He looks much smaller than Wuyang.¡± He had already learnt from his wife yesterday that Wuyang was the real prince and this one was just a decoy. He marveled, Yingbao was truly brave. If someone sneaked into the Princess Residence and harmed Wuyang, his entire family might suffer. ¡°Wumei should be about two months older than Wuyang,¡± Yingbao said, taking a piece of cloth from a maid to wipe her face.
Wei Zhan shook his head, ¡°I really can¡¯t tell.¡± Wumei was a good half a head shorter than Wuyang. His face was grayish and pale, breaking one¡¯s heart to see. He wondered what on earth the boy had gone through in the pce. While the couple were talking, Wuyang ran in. He grabbed Yingbao¡¯s thigh, looking up at her and crying, ¡°Brother Jiang Bao won¡¯t let me have a school bag. Wuu Wuu Wuu¡­ I want a school bag too, I want to go to school with them.¡± Yingbao crouched down and wiped his tears, ¡°You¡¯re still small, how can you go to school?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not small! I¡¯m not small! I¡¯m almost four years old!¡± Wuyang argued. Yingbao tried to hide her smile: ¡°If that¡¯s the case, you have to listen to the Master¡¯s teaching at school, study well, if you still like before, if you can¡¯t sit still for a moment and always running around, then you might as well not go.¡± Wuyang became nervous at these words, grabbing Yingbao¡¯s sleeve and promising: ¡°Mistress, I will listen to the Master, study hard, I will definitely not run around.¡± ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll have someone make a school bag for you, and then you can go to school.¡± Yingbao said. Wuyang shook his head like a wave drum: ¡°No, no! I want to go now!¡± He wanted to sit in the ssroom with Brother Jiang Bao and Brother Fanzhi, reading together, and even if it meant getting hit by the Master, it didn¡¯t matter. Yingbao pretended to be helpless, turning to Magnolia: ¡°Do you have any books? If you do, prepare a set for Wuyang.¡± Magnolia: ¡°Yes, we just bought some books, ink, and paper the other day. Since Young Master Wuyang needs them, I will go get them now.¡± Upon hearing this, Wuyang¡¯s eyes lit up as he watched Magnolia eagerly go and fetch the items.
Sitting beside them, Wumei stared at him for a long time before finally looking away. Wuyang turned his head to look at Wumei and asked, ¡°Wumei, are you also going to school?¡± Wumei furrowed his brows, not understanding why he was being called Wumei. In the pce, no one called him by his name, even Atu only called him ¡®Young Master¡¯, so he had always thought his name was ¡®Young Master¡¯. But, one day, he heard Atu talking to another eunuch about another child, also calling him ¡®Young Master¡¯, and he then realized that ¡®Young Master¡¯ wasn¡¯t his name. Yingbao: ¡°Wumei, from now on your name will be Wumei.¡± She then pointed to Wuyang: ¡°His name is Wuyang, and he is your younger brother.¡± Wumei looked at his aunt nkly, feeling a moment of joy in his heart. Does he have a name too? That¡¯s great! His name is Wumei. After breakfast, Wuyang and Jiang Bao went to school together. Wei Fanzhi was also there, wiping the dust off the tables and chairs with a rag. He was surprised to see Wuyang: ¡°Why are you here too?¡± Wuyang proudly said: ¡°Mistress is making me go to school!¡±
Wei Fanzhi¡¯s mouth twitched, he didn¡¯t say anything else and began to help Wuyang tidy up the table. He was two years older than Wuyang, so he was like his elder brother, and it was only right for him to take care of his younger brother. ¡­ A few dayster, Wumei¡¯s health gradually stabilized, and he was able to walk around the courtyard. It was now the warm spring season of March, the warm sunlight making everything feelfortable. Wumei followed behind Yingbao, watching her nt flowers and trees in the garden. Wei Zhan also helped his wife with the gardening, asionally turning around to nce at Wumei, and asked in a low voice, ¡°Who do you think this child really belongs to?¡± Yingbao: ¡°Probably a child from one of the houses of the Lun family.¡± Only by saying he was a child of the Lun family could they avoid any mishaps. Wei Zhan shook his head: ¡°The Lun family is cruel to send a good child to the pce to die for someone else, his parents must be heartbroken.¡± He then looked at his wife¡¯s belly and asked, ¡°Mistress, we¡¯ve been married for three years, why haven¡¯t you gotten pregnant yet?¡± Yingbao touched her abdomen, saying: ¡°I¡¯m already pregnant.¡± ¡°Wha-wha-what?¡± Wei Zhan jumped up, supporting his wife in excitement: ¡°Are you telling the truth?¡±
Yingbao slowly nodded: ¡°It should be true.¡± She hadn¡¯t had her period for thest two months, and when she asked Xuanwu, he told her that she already had a little seed in her belly. She had nned to tell himter, but he suddenly asked today, and she didn¡¯t have anything to hide, so she told him. ¡°Hahaha! I¡¯m going to be a father!¡± Wei Zhan lifted his wife by the waist: ¡°You should stop working now and rest in the house!¡± Chapter 466: 462: See You Later_1 Chapter 466: Chapter 462: See You Later_1 Wei Zhan hurriedly sent his wife back to her room and immediately dispatched someone to bring the house doctor over. Originating from the Imperial Medical Bureau, the house doctor was one of the benefits the Emperor had granted to the Commandery Princess. He was about fifty years old and had never risen to the level of Imperial Physician, only earning the title of doctor. Even so, his medical skills were far beyond those of most doctors in the county. As Yingbao extended her hand for Doctor Sun to take her pulse, she was reminded of Doctor Li from her hometown. Doctor Li and his grandson had been captured by the Jin Ren several years ago, and she didn¡¯t know their current fate. When they were taken, he had just been appointed Imperial Physician. Barely having settled into the position, a cmity struck. He, along with the craftsmen, treasures, and beauties were all taken by the Jin Ren as spoils, with no word of them since. Fortunately, his eldest grandson had managed to keep their medical practice going. Lost in thought, she heard Doctor Sun say, ¡°Congrattions, Commandery Princess, you are pregnant.¡± Wei Zhan, standing beside them, was overfilled with joy and hurriedly asked, ¡°How many months along is she?¡±
Doctor Sun stroked his beard, ¡°Based on Princess¡¯s pulse, it has been probably more than two months.¡± Upon hearing this, Wei Zhan felt both guilty and remorseful. Their intimate rtions had been continuous and he ought to have known if she was pregnant in order to avoid careless mistakes. Doctor Sun nced at him, saying, ¡°The Commandery Princess¡¯s condition is stable, but she needs to rest and not overexert herself.¡± Wei Zhan kept nodding, escorting Doctor Sun out of the inner chamber and asking about the precautions in detail. After dismissing Doctor Sun, Wei Zhan was rubbing his hands in tion. He instructed the maids to look after his wife well, then hurried to his mother¡¯s ce to announce the good news to Lady Wang. Lady Wang was instantly overjoyed and sped her hands together in prayer, ¡°May Buddha bless us, I¡¯m finally going to have a grandchild.¡± She had been anxiously waiting for three years, and now Yingbao was finally pregnant. ¡°Qng, how is Yingbao doing? Does she have any morning sickness?¡± Lady Wang quickly inquired. Wei Zhan shook his head, ¡°She says she feelspletely normal, just that she¡¯s been feeling tiredtely.¡± ¡°In that case, apany her more during the day and let her rest earlier at night. Lack of sleep can also make her feel tired.¡± Lady Wang gave her son a measuring look, and said in a low voice, ¡°For the next few months, you must avoid intimate rtions with Yingbao. Do you understand?¡± Wei Zhan¡¯s face turned the color of a purple liver and, squeaking out an agreement, he quickly slipped out of the room and returned to his own courtyard. In the blink of an eye, three months passed and the height of summer was upon them in June. Wumei had fully recovered by now. That day, the eldest son of the Lu family came to bid Yingbao farewell, ¡°Commandery Princess, we will be leaving the day after tomorrow and I came to say goodbye.¡± Yingbao: ¡°Are you nning on taking Wuyang back to the pce?¡± ¡°Yes! The Emperor has had the harem thoroughly investigated and such incidents will no longer ur,¡± replied the eldest son of the Lu family, ¡°Rest assured, Commandery Princess, Wuyang will be safe.¡± With previous concerns about various issues, the Emperor had now executed all those who had to be dealt with. The pce had almost entirely been ¡°refreshed¡± with many of the Pce Attendants and eunuchs being removed. Now was the time for the Crown Prince¡¯s return to Beijing. ¡°And what about Wumei? Do you n to take him back too?¡± Yingbao asked, ncing at the boy in the courtyard ying with a toy dove carriage.
The eldest son from the Lu family saluted, ¡°For now, Wumei will stay here. When the timees, I will have his biological parentse for him.¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°That¡¯s fine then, but please give me advance notice when they will being.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± In the evening, Wuyang returned from his teacher¡¯s house with Jiang Bao and Wei Fanzhi, showing Yingbao the calligraphy he had done, ¡°Miss, look at my writing. Even the teacher praised it.¡±
Yingbao took a look at the handwriting practice and nodded, ¡°You did a good job. Your writing has almost caught up with your two older brothers.¡± Delighted by her words, Wuyang dove into Yingbao¡¯s arms, gently patted her pregnant belly and asked, ¡°When my little sister is born, can I teach her how to read?¡± Yingbao chuckled, ¡°How are you so sure it¡¯s a sister?¡± Wuyang hummed, ¡°I just know!¡± Wumei stood quietly by, watching Wuyang. Seeing him cuddling in Yingbao¡¯s embrace, he couldn¡¯t help but squeeze over and cling to Yingbao¡¯s thigh, resting his face on it. Yingbao stroked his fluffy head and turned to Wuyang. ¡°Your uncle will take you to Beijing tomorrow. I¡¯ve asked Magnolia to pack all your toys. If there is anything else you want, tell me now and I¡¯ll send someone to buy it.¡± Wuyang was stunned. ¡°Who¡¯s my uncle?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Mr. Lu who often takes you to practice archery. Have you forgotten?¡± For the past three months, Mr. Lu had been portraying himself as Wuyang¡¯s uncle, often taking the children to y archery games. Since Wuyang seemed to like him, Yingbao decided to tell him the truth. Wuyang pouted and looked on the brink of tears, ¡°I don¡¯t want to go with him!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you always want to meet your father? If you go to Beijing with your uncle, you¡¯ll be able to meet your father,¡± Yingbao gently persuaded him. Previously, Wuyang had asked her why other children had fathers while he didn¡¯t. He had even secretly called Wei Zhan ¡®father¡¯, but Yingbao had stopped him. ¡°I don¡¯t want a father! Wah wah wah¡­¡± Wuyang cried relentlessly, his tears and mucus smeared on Yingbao¡¯s leg. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go with Uncle Lu!¡± Yingbao held Wuyang and tried to soothe him. ¡°Your mother and father miss you. They are waiting for you in Beijing,¡± sheforted him.
¡°No! No! No!¡± Wuyang shook his head vehemently, gripping Yingbao¡¯s arm tightly, ¡°I only want to be with you.¡± Yingbao felt a pang in her heart, but as the Emperor¡¯s eldest son, she couldn¡¯t keep Wuyang with her. ¡°Be a good boy, Wuyang. I will go to Beijingter and I will visit you then.¡± But no matter how she coaxed him, Wuyang continued to cry loudly, prompting tears to well up in Yingbao¡¯s eyes as well. Seeing this, Anrou and Magnolia rushed over, fearing that Wuyang might squish their mistress¡¯ belly, and immediately picked him up. Wumei quietly looked at Yingbao and asked, ¡°Auntie, do I not have to go with Uncle? Wiping her eyes with a handkerchief, Yingbao nodded, ¡°You don¡¯t have to return for now. You can stay here until your parentse to fetch you.¡± Wumei curved his lips into a faint smile. He nced at Wuyang who was still crying, and rested his head on Yingbao¡¯s body. Not having to go back was good. He wanted to stay with his aunt forever. That ce was too intimidating and scary. There was no good food, and even the water was limited. If he identally spilled his water, he would have to endure thirst until the eunuch brought more from outside. On the third day, Wuyang was lifted on to the carriage by Mr. Lu. Unlike the first time, Wuyang didn¡¯t wail. He just silently shed tears. Standing next to the carriage, Yingbao wiped his small face and passed him a bundle, whispering, ¡°This bundle contains thirty bottles of medicine. Keep it with you and don¡¯t give it to anyone else. If your stomach hurts or if you feel ufortable anywhere, drink one bottle. Understand?¡± Wuyang nodded, and looked at Yingbao, his face disying utter grievance. ¡°Why do I have to go back? Wumei was the one brought here by Uncle Lu, why doesn¡¯t he have to go back?¡±
Yingbao: ¡­ She didn¡¯t know how to exin. Wumei stood beside Yingbao, his fingers gripping a corner of her dress with a faint smile in his eyes. ¡°We¡¯re setting off now, excuse us!¡± Mr. Lu raised his fist to Yingbao in salute, ¡°Commandery Princess, we¡¯ll meet again.¡± Yingbao returned the gesture, ¡°Mr. Lu, take care on your journey. The weather is hot now, so make sure Wuyang drinks plenty of water to avoid heatstroke.¡± ¡°Understood. Please take care too.¡± Mr. Lu took a seat next to Wuyang and ordered the coachman to start the journey. Chapter 467: 463: Giving Birth_1 Chapter 467: Chapter 463: Giving Birth_1 Yingbao and Wei Zhan watched the carriage disappear into the distance, only then did they return to the mansion holding Wumei¡¯s hand. Wumei was swiftly walking into the room and helping her aunt sit on a high chair, tiptoeing to get a piece of fruit from the table, she handed it to her aunt: ¡°Auntie, have a fruit to quench your thirst.¡± Yingbao epted the loquat from Wumei with a heavy heart, ¡°Thank you Wumei, you eat too.¡± Wumei nodded and brought another one to Wei Zhan. Only then did she peel off the yellow-orange skin of the loquat, took a bite, and it was incredibly fresh and sweet. He sat by the Arhat couch, happily swinging his legs with cheerful mood. The days passed by one by one. It was quicklying to the end of October. There were no signs ofbour even a few days past her due date, Yingbao hadn¡¯t shown any signs of giving birth. Lady Wang was anxious and quickly invited two well-known midwives from the county to see what was going on with her daughter-inw. One of the midwives touched Yingbao¡¯s belly, frowning and said, ¡°The baby is in the right position, but it hasn¡¯t descended into the pelvis yet, it seems we may need to inducebour.¡±
Themonbour-inducing pill was made from dried rabbit brain grounded into a spherical shape, about the size of a seed of the Chinese parasol tree, and mixed with tiger bone powder, rabbit blood, seahorse, raw turtle, mercury, and more. Once a woman consumed it, contractions would start within a day. But inducingbor was risky, Lady Wang immediately refused: ¡°No! No inducingbor.¡± If the baby hadn¡¯t descended into the pelvis, it probably was not yet mature. It¡¯s said that a woman gives birth after ten months of pregnancy, just as a ripe melon falls from the vine, but if the melon is not ripe, it can¡¯t be forcibly plucked. The midwife saw that Lady Wang insisted, she didn¡¯t insist, ¡°Let¡¯s wait a few more days to see, if it exceeds ten days and the baby is not born, the baby¡¯s head will get hard, and it may be difficult to be born.¡± Upon hearing this, Wei Zhan immediately became nervous and asked anxiously, ¡°What should we do?¡± He would rather not have a child than let anything happen to Yingbao. The midwife nced at Lady Wang and said, ¡°Maybe you got the date wrong?¡± Wei Zhan looked at Yingbao perplexed. Yingbao sat up from the bed: ¡°Perhaps we really did miscalcte, let¡¯s wait for a few more days then.¡± So, they waited for quite a few more days, and it was soon midwinter. Lady Wang and Wei Zhan couldn¡¯t focus on anything else, they stayed by Yingbao¡¯s side all day. In the Wei Mansion, Cao¡¯s wife, elder brother¡¯s wife, and the second brother¡¯s wife were sitting around the stove chatting and cracking melon seeds. ¡°Could Yingbao be carrying a stillborn? She¡¯s past due and hasn¡¯t given birth yet, I¡¯m afraid something big is about to happen.¡± ¡°That¡¯s for sure, s, it¡¯s such a sin. If anything happens, Wei Zhan will be the unluckiest, she is after all amandery princess knighted by the Emperor, the top officials will surely hold someone ountable.¡± ¡°Goodness, would that implicate us?¡± ¡°Who knows.¡± While the several women were gossiping, they suddenly heard someone running outside. Cao¡¯s wife stood up, pulled up the door curtain and looked out, it was bustling on Lady Wang¡¯s side, with maids and old women huddled at the door, not knowing what they were doing. She smirked, turned to the others and said, ¡°Oh dear! Something might really have happened to Wei Zhan¡¯s ce!¡±
The wife of Wei¡¯s second son asked anxiously, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s send someone to check it out.¡± the wife of Wei¡¯s third son turned and ordered her maid, ¡°You go over to the main courtyard and snoop around, see what happened.¡± The maid agreed and ran out of the room. Not long after, the maid came back, excitedly saying, ¡°They said the Princess has started contractions, Lady Wang has brought in several midwives, even a divine witch has been summoned, I¡¯m afraid things are bad.¡±
Calling in a divine witch for childbirth, it must mean that the woman giving birth is having a difficultbour, unable to give birth. The women froze, their faces showing a variety of expressions. Cao¡¯s wife chuckled as she broke a few pumpkin seeds with her teeth, deftly spat out the shells, her tone was one of schadenfreude, ¡°s, people should not be too wild, isn¡¯t this payback?¡± The other two did not join in. It¡¯s best not to encourage such malicious talk. They have their own children; if this were to rebound onto them, it would be a disaster. At the Commandery Princess¡¯s residence, Yingbao really did go intobor, and there were indications of difficult birth. It was not that the fetus was in the wrong position, but that her belly was cramping, yet her cervix wouldn¡¯t dte. Lady Wang and Wei Zhan were on the edge, while Yingbao was strolling back and forth in the room, holding her belly with one hand and nibbling a crispy persimmon with the other. The midwife said, ¡°Walking around will help the fetus engage better, and thus facilitate faster dtion of the cervix.¡± The other midwife mentioned, ¡°In our hometown, some would bind the expecting mother on a mule and let it run around. The woman¡¯s wails were so horrifying they could be heard miles away.¡± Wei Zhan, feeling goosebumps, quickly stopped her from continuing, ¡°Stop saying that.¡± Yingbao, unbothered, excitedly asked, ¡°What aboutter? Did the woman and her baby survive?¡±
The midwife sat in her chair, legs crossed, and said, ¡°Of course, those who had smooth births did well, but those who ran into difficulties¡­ there was blood everywhere, her face went as white as paper. Could not survive.¡± Seeing the midwife feeding her wife with terrifying stories, Wei Zhan felt a rising anger but decided it was inappropriate to scold her at that moment. So he asked his wife, ¡°You should lie down for a while.¡± Weary from walking, Yingbao let Wei Zhan help her back to bed, mentally calling out to Xuanwu, ¡°Am I having a difficult birth?¡± Xuanwu: ¡°No, you¡¯re nowhere near having difficulty.¡± ¡°Why is it taking so long for me to give birth after so much pain?¡± Yingbao felt frustrated. Xuanwu: ¡°Because your child iszy and doesn¡¯t want to move.¡± Yingbao: ¡­ She felt that Xuanwu was deliberately mocking her. ¡°Should I take somebor inducing pills?¡± She was getting so tired that she thought of taking a nap before giving birth. Xuanwu: ¡°Then you should consume a Five Tripod Mushroom. Its effect is much better than the worldlybor inducing medicines.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, a palm-sized Five Tripod Mushroom appeared in her hand. Without hesitation, Yingbao put it in her mouth, chewed it up and swallowed. At this moment, she was alone in the bedroom except for Magnolia and Xinghua who were standing at the door, ready to answer her call.
Wei Zhan and his mother, Lady Wang, had stepped out to discuss with the midwife about whether to give herbor-inducing pills. After eating a whole Five Tripod Mushroom, Yingbao felt a warmth throughout her body, her abdomen seemed to be moving as though the baby was stretching and kicking inside. Soon, everything quieted down and then her belly started to contractions at intervals. About fifteen minutester, the pain intensified. Yingbao, holding back a scream, took deep breaths again and again, then told Magnolia, ¡°I¡¯m giving birth! Call someone!¡± In a panic, Magnolia shouted outside, ¡°The Princess is giving birth! Quick, someonee!¡± A surge of footsteps rushed into the bedroom. Wei Zhan swiftly held his wife, anxiously asking, ¡°What happened? Are you in extreme pain?¡± Yingbao was in such pain that sweat broke out and she simply couldn¡¯t answer. Lady Wang and the midwife tugged Wei Zhan, angrily ordering, ¡°Get out of here, stop making a mess!¡± Wei Zhan had no choice but to let go of his wife and retreat to the door, looking worriedly at his wife on the couch. Yingbao, now feeling woozy, followed the midwife¡¯s instructions to push subconsciously. She felt a warm stream flowed out of her body, making her feel rxed. At the sound of a baby¡¯s cry, the midwife gleefully said, ¡°Congrattions Commandery Princess, it¡¯s a girl.¡± A weight lifted off Yingbao¡¯s heart and she immediately fell into darkness.
Chapter 468: 464: Little One_1 Chapter 468: Chapter 464: Little One_1 ¡°Yingbao! Yingbao! Wake up!¡± Through a fog of drowsiness, Yingbao thought she heard someone calling her. After a herculean effort to open her eyes, she saw herself nestled in Wei Zhan¡¯s arms, his tears dripping slowly on her face. ¡°Wei Zhan, what are you doing?¡± She had only fallen asleep, why was he crying? Wei Zhan froze, looking down to see Yingbao awake, he was the very image of tion. ¡°Mydy, you are finally awake¡­¡± He carefullyid his wife down, rose out of bed, carefully surveyed her, ¡°Are you hungry? Would you like to wash up?¡± Mydy had been unconscious for two days. Even the doctor could not figure out why, he only suspected that she had fainted. Yet, no matter how the doctor tried to jolt her to consciousness, she had not awakened, and it had terrified him. Yingbao sat up slowly, seeing Wei Zhan¡¯s unshaven face, hisplexion haggard, she couldn¡¯t help but wonder, ¡°How long have I slept for?¡± ¡°Two days.¡± The memory of those two agonising days brought tears to Wei Zhan¡¯s eyes.
Yingbao thought: No wonder her whole body was stiff, she had actually been asleep for two days. She looked around ¡°Where is the baby I gave birth to?¡± Wei Zhan crouched down to help Yingbao put on her shoes, ¡°In the next room. Don¡¯t worry. The child is being looked after by your mother and a nurse. They¡¯re doing great.¡± Yingbao nodded, touched Wei Zhan¡¯s ubed head, and asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you brush your hair?¡± ¡°No time.¡± Wei Zhan helped Yingbao up, and led her to the privy in the adjoining room. Yingbao pushed him out: ¡°Let Magnolia and the others help me. You shouldn¡¯t stay here and watch me like this.¡± Even though they were husband and wife, some matters were still better done privately. Wei Zhan scratched his head, then went to call Magnolia and Xinghua to assist Yingbao while he went to the room next door to cradle his baby daughter. Upon hearing his son calling out for the maids, Lady Wang promptly asked, ¡°Is Yingbao awake?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Wei Zhan cradled the sleeping baby in his arms, ¡°I¡¯m going to show her our daughter.¡± ¡°Then you be careful.¡± Lady Wang tended to her granddaughter anxiously, ¡°Is there anything wrong with Yingbao? Can she move around?¡± Wei Zhan nodded: ¡°She moved to the privy a while ago. She seems alright to me.¡± Carrying the baby back to the main room, he ced her on the bed. The infant was rosy and peaceful, fast asleep. Her long eyshes, her nose, and her mouth all bore a striking resemnce to Yingbao. Wei Zhan looked at his daughter, an unconscious smile of fatherly affection spreading across his face. Lady Wang also came in, noting the absence of Yingbao, she figured she was still in the privy. She quickly instructed the maids to prepare hot water for her daughter-inw¡¯s bathing, and sent word to the kitchen to cook her some food. ¡°Tell them to prepare something light, less oil and salt.¡± She had already given a list of meals to the kitchen, asking the cook to prepare a variety of special meals for the new mother. But her daughter-inw had been unconscious for two days, which had terrified her. The maid acknowledged her orders and soon returned with hot water, which she took to the washroom. Once Yingbao had freshened up and changed her clothes, she emerged to see her mother-inw and immediately curtsied in respect, ¡°Mother, I¡¯m sorry to have worried you.¡± Lady Wang quickly helped her up, ¡°You lie down and rest now, our baby is on the bed, be careful not to knock her.¡±
Yingbao nodded,id back down in bed and turned to see her tiny baby by her pillow. She was awestruck. This was the child she had given birth to. Wei Zhan gently lifted the baby girl up, showing her little face to Yingbao, ¡°Who do you think she looks like?¡± Yingbao studied the face for a while but couldn¡¯t see any resemnce.
The tiny, glowing face that was even smaller than her palm, looked nothing more like a little monkey. It was an odd sight to behold. Yet her heart was strangely drawn to this little creature. It was a feeling that was both foreign and warm at the same time. Magnolia brought in the boiled water, ¡°Commandery Princess, the tea is ready, please have some.¡± ¡°Give it to me.¡± Wei Zhan took the tea bowl, propped up hisdy¡¯s head with one hand, and fed her the tea with the other. After drinking the water, Yingbaoid back down and turned her head to look at the baby. She suddenly thought, shouldn¡¯t she be breastfeeding her? But it seems like she has no milk. At that moment, the baby turned her head and whimpered softly, her mouth constantly moving as if she was looking for food. The Madam leaned over and said to Yingbao, ¡°You try feeding her.¡± Yingbao: ¡­ Madam Wang saw her daughter-inw¡¯s dilemma, she sent her son out, and then taught Yingbao personally how to breastfeed her child. But after a long effort, the baby didn¡¯t get to eat anything, and she cried out of hunger. Left with no other choice, Madam Wang had to call the wet nurse over. The wet nurse skillfully undid the front of her clothes and fed the baby.
Madam Wang sighed and said to Yingbao, ¡°In the past two days you were sleeping, you couldn¡¯t even swallow a drop of water, your milk probably dried up. If that¡¯s the case, you might as well let the wet nurse feed her. Don¡¯t worry, the wet nurse just gave birth a month earlier than us, her milk is still fresh. It¡¯s not a big deal if you don¡¯t breastfeed.¡± Yingbao looked guiltily towards her baby girl, ¡°Shall I try eating something to stimte milk production?¡± Madam Wang: ¡°You just woke up, focus on recovering first, what if you hurt yourself by taking the milk production stimnt?¡± Many women carelessly ate food to stimte milk production, but ended up with a breast abscess, the pain was unbearable. It was good that her daughter-inw did not have milk, they had a wet nurse in the house, there was absolutely no need for her to breastfeed. Moreover, women who don¡¯t breastfeed tend to resume their periods very quickly. Their bodies recover in half a year, and they can conceive again after a year. Just as Madam Wang was taking delight in these thoughts, Wumei ran in. He had just finished school and rushed to see Yingbao. ¡°Auntie! You¡¯re awake!¡± Wumei saw Yingbao leaning against the bed and excitedly eximed, ¡°Auntie, do you want to eat candy-coated hawthorn fruit? I¡¯ll go get it.¡± Today Brother Fanzhi gave him and Brother Jiang Bao each a shiny red candy-coated hawthorn fruit, bought from the market. He had only eaten two, and saved the other four for his aunt. Yingbao gave him a friendly smile: ¡°Wumei, you eat it, auntie can¡¯t eat it for the time being.¡± Wumei was a bit disappointed heid on the bed observing the baby who had just finished breastfeeding, he even stretched out his little hand to touch the baby¡¯s cheek, it¡¯s so soft. ¡°Why is she so small? And why is she always sleeping?¡± Wumei asked curiously.
Yingbao: ¡°You were like this when you were small.¡± Wumei didn¡¯t quite understand, but that didn¡¯t stop him from doting on this tiny being. ¡°Uncle says she is my little sister.¡± The little boy mumbled to himself: ¡°That means she will be my little sister from now on.¡± Wumei suddenly thought of Wuyang, who left crying, and sighed slightly. Wuyang is really pitiful, he had never seen the little sister, and from now on he won¡¯t be able to y with her either. ¡°Commandery Princess, the porridge is here, let me help you sit up.¡± Magnolia put the bow of porridge on the table and came to help Yingbao. Yingbao let Magnolia help her sit up, and was given a soft pillow to lean against by Magnolia. Magnolia served the chicken porridge and spoon-fed her. As Wumei watched, he couldn¡¯t help but swallow. ¡°If you want to eat, have Aunt Xinghua get you a bowl.¡± Yingbao ordered the maid, ¡°Give the young master a pair of bowl and chopsticks.¡± ¡°Yes!¡±, the maid quickly took another pair of bowl and chopsticks from the food box and served Wumei a small bowl. Wumei ate happily and quickly finished his small bowl. At this time, Wei Zhan walked in and said to Yingbao, ¡°My Lady, your father-inw and the others are here.¡±
Chapter 469 - 465: Surprise_1 Chapter 469: Chapter 465: Surprise_1 After Yingbao gave birth, Wei Zhan immediately sent Song Changshi to Qinchuan County to share the good news. He then personally wrote and sent a notice to Beijing. Jiang Sang, his wife Chunniang, and Yanru hurried over, bringing with them clothes for the baby suitable for all four seasons. Seeing her parents and second aunt arrive, Yingbao was anxious to get out of the bed. ¡°Baobao, stay in bed.¡± Chunniang helped her daughter back into a seated position: ¡°You¡¯ve only given birth a few days ago, you cannot get out of bed so soon. You need to recuperate properly. As the older generation says, if you tire yourself out so soon after giving birth, you might suffer from uterine prpse in the future.¡± Yingbao had no choice but to lie back down, saying, ¡°Father, mother, second aunt, you must have had a long journey. Go have some food and rest first, and we can talkter.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not tired, let us first take a look at our granddaughter.¡± Chunniang looked at the baby lying on the bed with affection and asked, ¡°Have you chosen a name for her yet?¡± Yingbao: ¡°Not yet.¡± Chunniangughed: ¡°Let¡¯s give her a nickname for now, so we can call her something.¡± Yingbao thought for a while: ¡°Let¡¯s call her Nuannuan.¡± ¡°Nuannuan, what a good name. Just hearing it makes one feel warm during winter.¡± Wei Zhan grinned widely, showing his teeth. These past few days, he had been busy looking after his wife and had forgotten to name their child. After the parents-inw and second aunt had seen the baby, Wei Zhan led them to the side hall for a meal. Rarely, he invited his father, the head of the Wei family, to mingle with the guests. Of course, his mother was also present at the table. Since then, Chunniang and her husband, Jiang Sang, stayed at the Princess Residence for more than a month, returning home only after the Cooking Stove Day. Just as the New Year was approaching, the emperor¡¯s rewards arrived btedly. Along with the rewards, there were also two royal edicts, separately summoning Wei Fanzhi and Jiang Bao to Beijing to serve as the Chu Prince¡¯spanions in reading. Weiwng and his wife were overjoyed upon receiving the edict, because it also stated that, as parents, they could apany them to Beijing and have a residence of a seventh-grade official in Beijing. This meant their son could potentially be granted an official title directly. Weiwng, upon receiving the edict, was so excited he didn¡¯t know what to do with his hands. The Wei family head was also very happy, patting his fifth son on the shoulder: ¡°You should apany Fanzhi to Beijing as soon as possible, I will contribute some funds for you. You should buy another house in Beijing, and I might pop over when I¡¯m free.¡± The grandson¡¯s trip to apany the emperor to Beijing might result in him being granted an official title. As a grandparent, he would naturally want to share in the glory. Although his son-inw was also a high-ranking official, he was married into the Princess Residence, which made the Wei household feel like they had wasted efforts bringing up this son. Upon hearing these words, Weiwng looked somewhat unnatural, and after brewing for a long time, he finally said: ¡°Father, I¡¯m not yet aware of the situation in Beijing. We¡¯ll talk about buying property thereter.¡± The Wei family head gave his fifth son a sideways nce, snorted twice: ¡°Alright, I know what you¡¯re worried about. I¡¯ll ask your eldest brother toe back, and you¡¯ll be in charge of managing our three properties in Beijing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not what son meant.¡± Weiwng hastily said, ¡°I just think the expenses in Beijing are quite expensive. As a business family, buying so many properties not only wastes funds but also incurs property taxes, I don¡¯t see the need.¡± The Wei family head red at him: ¡°I can afford the property taxes, no need for you to worry about it!¡± Weiwng¡¯s wife saw that her father-inw was getting angry, hurriedly pulled at her husband¡¯s sleeve, urging him to curb his words. Thus, the Wei head immediately wrote a letter to his eldest son, asking him toe back, and arranged for fifth son to manage the houses in Beijing. The Lady of the Cao Family was both surprised and remorseful. What surprised her was the good fortune of Weiwng. His son had been chosen by the emperor to study with Prince Chu. Everyone knew that the current emperor only had Prince Chu as his son, and the rest were daughters. Maybe other concubines had given birth to sons, but they didn¡¯t manage to survive. Being picked to study with the prince now, it was certain they would rise to high positions in the future, gaining titles and promotions without any doubt. What delighted her was that her husband was finally returning from Beijing. Presumably, he would bring along her half-sister. When the timees, she would definitely teach that little wench a lesson! Cao Family¡¯sdy was tormenting herself over how to manipte her half-sister who was about to return while regretting why her son couldn¡¯t be this lucky. If her son could also be the Chu king¡¯spanion reader, her husband would definitely hold back his dismissive attitude towards her. With such thoughts in mind, she said to Wei Wng and his wife, ¡°Fifth brother, fifth sister-inw, why not take your nephew Shu Nan to Beijing as well? He will be eight years old after the New Year and he could already take care of his younger brother.¡± We Wng nced at his sister-inw and said indifferently, ¡°I¡¯m sorry sister-inw, the imperial decree did not allow us to bring other family members.¡± Cao Family¡¯sdy: ¡­ She watched Wei Wng and his wife turn around and leave, her handkerchief twisted tightly in her hand. Humph! What¡¯s so great about it! Isn¡¯t he just apanion for reading? One day, if he offends the Chu king, he won¡¯t even know how he died! Princess Residence, Yingbao was preparing for her nephew¡¯s journey to Beijing. Medicine made from wu ding zhi was indispensable, as were some antidotes and medicine for all kinds ofmon ailments. ¡°You go to Beijing first, and then I will have your parents go there too. Your brother Huzi is getting married in March, and they were nning to go to Beijing to preside over the wedding anyway.¡± Jiang Bao nodded: ¡°I know.¡± Yingbao added: ¡°I will also arrange for Xinghua and He Xiang to go with you, along with your two servants, who will take care of your daily life for now.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Jiang Bao turned his head to Wumei, ¡°Is brother Wumei going?¡± On hearing this, Wumei immediately hid behind Yingbao and muttered, ¡°I don¡¯t want to go. I¡¯m just fine studying with auntie. Humph! I¡¯m very busy, I have to take care of my little sister every day. I can¡¯t go to Beijing.¡± Jiang Bao rolled his eyes. ¡°Does your sister need you to take care of her?¡± Wumei nodded vigorously: ¡°Yes! I tap-dance for my little sister every day, and she loves watching it. She always smiles.¡± ¡°Your sister is just over a month old, does she understand¡­¡± Jiang Bao was speechless. Wumei made a face at him, ¡°Of course she understands! My sister likes me very much.¡± ¡­ Two dayster, Jiang Bao and Wei Fanzhi, apanied by the county officer issuing the imperial order, returned to Beijing. Watching the several carriages gradually disappear into the distance, Yingbao then held Wumei¡¯s hand and went back to their residence. She was very assured about Jiang Bao¡¯s journey to Beijing, because his brothers Jiang Jie, Jiang Wu, Huzi and Jiang Quan were all in Beijing, and would definitely look after this little brother. Moreover, Wuyang grew up with him since childhood, they shared meals and slept in the same room. They were like real brothers and would certainly take care of each other. But, why didn¡¯t Wumei¡¯s parentse to pick him up? Ying Bao nced at Wumei who was looking down and sighed softly in her heart. This child was most pitiful. It was unknown what he had experienced in the imperial pce. At such a young age, he was extremely apt at reading people¡¯s faces and trying hard to please everyone in the house. She was afraid that someone would take advantage of him, so she took care of everything herself and did not let the servants underestimate this child. The so-called rge stores bully customers,rge servants bully masters¡¯, if a servant feels that their master is easy to manipte, they will not respect him. Therefore, she had to let Wumei understand that a master should have their dignity and servants must obey theirmands. A while ago, Yingbao had dismissed two disrespectful servants who had asked Wumei to massage their feet and shoulders. ¡°Auntie, will I go to school in the future?¡± Wumei asked, tilting his face up. Biao brother Jiang had left, and Brother Fanzhi had also left. Now he was the only one left in the school. He was a little afraid and did not want to face the stern teacher alone. Yingbao patted his head: ¡°Yes. I will find a few children of the same age as you to attend school. They will all have to call you elder brother.¡± Wumei¡¯s eyes lit up: ¡°Great! I¡¯ll be an elder brother then. Will they all have to listen to me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Yingbao nned to find some smart children from the countryside, slowly nurturing them to be her aides. Chapter 470 - 466: Divine Pupil_1 Chapter 470: Chapter 466: Divine Pupil_1 To select children for studying at the Princess Residence, it was necessary to first examine the families and parents¡¯ character. If the parents had bad characters, even if the child was very smart, they cannot be chosen. Yingbao wanted to see this for herself. Therefore, in March of the new year, she took her five-month-old daughter, Nuannuan, and four-year-old Wumei, surrounded by numerous guards, to the countryside for an excursion while also inspecting the selected farm children. These farm children came from differing financial backgrounds, and their parents and kin were mostly hardworking and capable, with simple thoughts. Even if they had minor faults, it wasn¡¯t significant. What reassured her more was they all came from exemry families. Ever since Yingbao implemented the exemry family que in the countryside and held annual selections, the vigers suddenly became more amicable. For they found that any household with the exemry family que not only received thirty pounds of rice and half a pound of salt per month, but also found it easier to marry off their children. The elders were often invited to sit at the head of the table when dining out. Even the local officials and minor officers were much more courteous to these families. This honor made the vigers immensely envious, and they corrected their own behaviors in an attempt to be selected as the next exemry family. Upon Yingbao¡¯s return from her excursion, she also brought back six young children aged seven to ten. They were ced in a courtyard within the Princess Residence, and each of them was assigned a young servant to take care of their daily life. In addition to this, Yingbao also gave each of them a coin for their monthly allowance for their daily expenses. These six children lived in three rooms, each room housing two children. They were paired based on their age differences, making it easier for the older children to look after the younger ones. Each of them had a separate bed and a separate cab ¨C the lockable kind, which allowed the children to keep their important items safely away. Their daily necessities and clothes, including shoes and socks, were of uniform style ¨C blue robes and white undergarments, simr to the schr¡¯s attire. Not only does this distinguish them from the servants of the residence, but it also informs the servants and maids that these children are to be treated with respect. Wumei was truly happy; he had be a senior apprentice. So, he gathered his snacks and handed out clothes as gifts to the younger apprentices. He initially wanted to live with them, but his aunt disallowed it. Time flew and it was July. Nuannuan was already nine months old when people from Beijing suddenly arrived iming to be servants of the Lun family, asking Yingbao to send Wumei back home. Yingbao sat on a high chair, examining the visitors. The two muscle-bound servants had a fierce appearance that did not resemble ordinary servants. ¡°Which branch of the Lun family are you from?¡± Yingbao sipped tea leisurely. The servants paused, apparently not expecting the princess to ask this question. The leading servant hesitated, then said, ¡°We are from a coteral line of the Lun family, not from the main house in Beijing.¡± Yingbao responded, ¡°I can¡¯t just give the child to you. Please return.¡± The leading servant was in a hurry. Arms akimbo, he said, ¡°Princess, our master misses the young master very much. Please allow us to take him.¡± Yingbao chuckled coldly, ¡°What is the name of your master¡¯s son? Let me hear it.¡± The leading servant was stunned. He only knew that he was toe to the Princess Residence in Zhouhe County to im a child. He did not know the child¡¯s name. ¡°Er¡­ the master did not mention the young master¡¯s name.¡± Yingbao put down her teacup and said in a cold voice, ¡°In that case, the person you are looking for is not in my residence. Go back and tell your master that if he wants to fetch someone, he needs the emperor¡¯s edict; otherwise, I will treat you as kidnappers and punish ordingly!¡± Having said this, she asked the guards to escort them out. The two servants nced at each other and had to leave the residence. But they didn¡¯t leave Zhouhe County. They settled down in an inn and often loitered around the Princess Residence during the day. All these events were reported to Yingbao. ¡°They don¡¯t seem to be here to fetch someone, it looks like they have other motives.¡± Wei Zhan said to his wife, ¡°Should we evict them from Zhouhe County?¡± Yingbao hesitated: ¡°Let¡¯s figure out their exact intention first.¡± She didn¡¯t want to guard against these people like warding off thieves every day. ¡°You write a letter and ask the Lun family in Beijing whether they are here to pick up a child or to make offerings for the dead?¡± Wei Zhan frowned, ¡°Isn¡¯t that too blunt?¡± Yingbaoughed lightly, ¡°What¡¯s blunt about that? I should add, make them deliver Wumei¡¯s medical bills, a total of five thousand taels of silver, eight hundred bolts of brocade, not a dime less.¡± The Lun family, they really have no shame! The next day, a fast horse departed from the Princess Residence, heading straight for Beijing. Twenty dayster, two servants who had been wandering around the county suddenly left. At the same time, several carriages arrived from Beijing. The eldest son of the Lun family personally came to apologize and delivered five thousand taels for medical bills, eight hundred bolts of brocade, and two boxes of jewelry and ornaments. Yingbao was not shy about epting it. She announced that Wumei would be her adopted son from now on, and that she wouldn¡¯t let him return to his birth family until he reached adulthood. Of course, this was also because Wumei did not wish to return. Yingbao had originally nned to ask the eldest son of the Lun family who Wumei¡¯s biological parents were, but then decided it wasn¡¯t necessary. What kind of parent would send their children to the pce to be a substitute for death? Now that they found no use for him, they wanted to get rid of this burden¡ªhow callous they were! After the eldest son of the Lun family left, Wumei slipped out of his room. ¡°Is your stomach not hurting anymore?¡± Yingbao asked, ¡°Would you like auntie to give you a few acupuncture treatments?¡± Wumei quickly nodded his head and then shook it, ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt anymore. I¡¯m all better now; there¡¯s no need to trouble auntie.¡± Yingbaoughed lightly, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you then hurry off to school?¡± ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Wumei hopped and skipped towards his school. Halfway there, he turned around and saluted Yingbao in a respectful manner, ¡°Thank you, auntie! From now on, Wumei will take care of you in your old age and be there until yourst moments!¡± ¡°Sounds good.¡± Seeing the seriousness in this little four-year-old boy, Yingbao felt a hint of nostalgia, as if she was seeing her younger self. Suddenly, Xuanwu called out in her mind, ¡°Hey hey! Let me tell you something amazing. The child you gave birth to has inherited your abilities; she was born with the Divine Pupil.¡± The smile on Yingbao¡¯s face gradually faded away. Getting up, she hurried towards Qingxin Yard. The yard was a space she specially arranged for Nuannuan, amodating her residence in the future when she grew up. During the day, Nuannuan would be ying in the yard under the care of her nurse and Magnolia. As she stepped into the yard, she saw Nuannuan sitting on a mat under a purple wisteria tree in the yard, holding a pellet drum in her hand and shaking it. Noticing Yingbao, Nuannuan revealed a wide grin and stretched her chubby arms towards her. Yingbao bent down to lift her daughter, scanning the faces of the four maids and nurse present. The women all looked panic-stricken, their eyes avoiding hers. ¡°What happened?¡± Yingbao asked. Magnolia knelt on the ground, whispering, ¡°Just now, I saw a golden glow in the youngdy¡¯s eyes, so I was a bit¡­ curious.¡± The other maidservants also knelt down, trembling with fear. Yingbao knew what scared them¡ªit was the fear of being silenced by her. She nced at her daughter, her eyes were innocently shining ck, with no abnormalities, and she sighed in relief. She turned towards Magnolia and the others andmented, ¡°The sun is scorching today and Nuannuan is holding a pellet drum. It must be the golden rivets on the drum that dazzled our eyes.¡± Magnolia quickly responded, ¡°Yes, I was mistaken. Now that I think about it, it must be so.¡± The other maidservants also agreed. Yingbao continued, ¡°There¡¯s no need to make a fuss. Nuannuan is my daughter and she¡¯s naturally different from others. There¡¯s nothing strange about that. However, this issue must not be spread. If I discover that there is false rumor circting, I will not let it pass!¡± Chapter 471 - 467: The Power of Bloodline_1 Chapter 471: Chapter 467: The Power of Bloodline_1 The maids knelt on the ground, ¡°Yes! We dare not spread rumors.¡± Yingbao¡¯s gaze shifted to the wet nurse, who immediately knelt down: ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything.¡± Indeed, she hadn¡¯t seen anything, she had just heard the surprise cries of the maids and came to investigate but found nothing. Yingbao nodded, then called Magnolia into the room. As she sat down on the Arhat couch and held her daughter on herp, she first studied Nuannuan¡¯s eyes, then asked Magnolia, ¡°Tell me what happened.¡± Magnolia thought for a moment, and said: ¡°I was ying with the littledy, when suddenly there seemed to be a sh of gold in her eyes, whichsted for several seconds. The few maids around the littledy all saw it, they said these were, were, were demon eyes.¡± ¡°Demon?¡± Yingbao asked quietly, ¡°Are there any demons here?¡± Magnolia shook her head: ¡°No, but older people tell tales of strange things, none of which we¡¯ve seen.¡± Yingbao: ¡°If there are no demons, how could my daughter rte to them? She just has brighter eyes than others.¡± Magnolia nodded: ¡°It¡¯s our ignorance, Commandery Princess, please punish us.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t me you. In the future, don¡¯t make a fuss about this kind of thing, if my daughter is really special, it¡¯s because the true God is protecting her.¡± Yingbao stroked her daughter¡¯s soft hair. Magnolia: ¡°Yes! We understand.¡± Yingbao: ¡°You go first, tell those children, from now on, don¡¯t let any news about Nuannuan get outside the courtyard.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Magnolia left. Then, Yingbao lifted up her daughter and observed her eyes carefully, asking Xuanwu in her heart, ¡°Why did her eyes emit gold light?¡± After a while, Xuanwu replied, ¡°Because she inherited the power of your bloodline.¡± Yingbao frowned: ¡°Will this affect her future life?¡± ¡°That depends.¡± Xuanwu said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you figure out what her power is first?¡± ¡°How to figure it out?¡± Yingbao asked. Xuanwu: ¡°Use the power of your bloodline tomunicate with hers.¡± ¡°Will it hurt Nuannuan?¡± ¡°You are her mother, how could you hurt her?¡± ¡°Alright, let me try.¡± Yingbao looked into her daughter¡¯s eyes, and the next moment she found herself in a valley filled with flowers and grass. A baby was sitting amongst the flowers, it was her young daughter. ¡°Nuannuan?¡± Yingbao walked over and tried to pick her up, but grasped air. Nuannuan also saw her mother and crawled towards her. Just as they were about to touch, Yingbao was abruptly brought back to reality. At that moment, Nuannuan was staring at her with a pair of ck-grape-like eyes and reached out her chubby hand to touch her face. Yingbao held her child in her arms, feeling both shocked and delighted. Her daughter¡¯s abilities were slightly different from hers, but they were almost the same overall. Her daughter¡¯s eyes also contained a separate space, filled with imagined flowers. Perhaps after a few years, that beautiful scene could be a reality, but it would take Nuannuan breaking through her current boundary. However, breaking through boundaries was difficult in this mortal world, even more so than reaching the heavens. As for her original eyes, one contained a destructive me, whereas the other contained ake, symbolizing life. Later because of the fragmentation of her soul, the Divine Pupil also shattered. Now, the power of the Divine Pupil was less than a tenth of what it used to be. ¡°Xuanwu, if I leave this world, can I take Nuannuan with me?¡± Yingbao asked while holding her daughter. Xuanwu: ¡°Usually not, unless you take her soul fragment with you.¡± Every dimension is distinct, even true gods can¡¯t descend into another world with their true bodies. Yingbao closed her eyes and felt a pang of sadness. Xuanwu leisurely said: ¡°Let me tell you something important, someone is collecting your soul fragments in other dimensions.¡± Yingbao frowned: ¡°My soul fragments?¡± ¡°Yes, how about I take you to retrieve your soul fragments?¡± Xuanwu excitedly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, as long as you merge with that fragment, I can bring you back here.¡± Yingbao: ¡°Is that possible? What about my body in this world? Will it dpose?¡± ¡°No, as long as you¡¯re quick, we can be back soon. Perhaps we can even make it back for your daughter¡¯s first birthday party.¡± Xuanwu, blinking his green eyes, said. Yingbao thought about it for a while, then finally said, ¡°Wait until Wei Zhanes back, I¡¯ll discuss it with him.¡± Since they were now a married couple, she should tell him about a lot of things, including the special abilities of their daughter. ¡°Whatever you want.¡± Xuanwu said, seeming somewhat downcast. After thinking for a while, Yingbao asked again, ¡°Who¡¯s collecting my soul fragments in the other dimensions?¡± Her fragmented souls attached to the golden pieces had already lost their consciousness, so they were useless but the golden pieces themselves should be useful. Otherwise, Chen Tiantian wouldn¡¯t have set up a statue to collect merits in this world. They probably were trying to melt the golden pieces into the soul using merits, but it¡¯s a pity they were unsessful. ¡°That¡­ family.¡± Xuanwu grudgingly said, ¡°So you need to hurry up and retrieve your Divine Pupil Fragment.¡± Without the Master¡¯s divine body, it would take a monkey¡¯s age to cultivate to the previous level without retrieving the Divine Pupil. Without divine power, the Master would just be a waste in the mortal world, easily crushed by anyone. Yingbao: ¡°The Dragon-ying family?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What about Xiao Mo? Did he leave this world?¡± Yingbao asked. Xuanwu: ¡°No, but he should be very busy recently.¡± ¡°Busy with what?¡± Yingbao was curious. ¡°Busy seizing power. He married the daughter of the ruling prime minister of the Jin Country, and fooled the old Emperor into thinking he¡¯s a reincarnated immortal. Hence, the Emperor of Jin Country appointed him as the State Preceptor.¡± Xuanwu, flipping through his Celestial Book, said, ¡°He seems to be nning to kill the Jin Country¡¯s Emperor and be the Human Emperor himself. So you better hurry up and retrieve the Divine Pupil Fragment. Otherwise, once the Jin Country¡¯s tens of thousands of Iron Cavalry step into the Central ins, and with Xiao Mo assisting from the side, your regime will have to change again.¡± Yingbao: ¡­ In the evening, Wei Zhan finished washing and sat next to his wife on the bed, asking, ¡°What important thing do you want to tell me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about your daughter.¡± Yingbao rested her head on his arm and slowly said: ¡°Today, the maids saw your daughter¡¯s eyes emitting a golden glow.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wei Zhan turned his head to look at his wife: ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, I have checked it, she inherited my abilities.¡± Yingbao extended her hand in front of Wei Zhan, and suddenly an apple appeared in her palm. Wei Zhan was startled: ¡°What¡­ what kind of ability is this?¡± He suspected that his wife was a tree fairy. Yingbao then produced arge Five Ding Zhi and ced it into Wei Zhan¡¯s hand: ¡°An Immortal¡¯s ability.¡± In this world, her abilities were suppressed, she could not move mountains and overturn seas, but it was enough to deal with ordinary people. Wei Zhan sat up abruptly, staring at his wife in surprise, ¡°You¡­ Are you really an immortal?¡± He had always thought that his wife was too beautiful to be human, and it turned out she was really an immortal. ¡°Just kidding, I am an ordinary person, just with a special ability, which your daughter has inherited.¡± Yingbao stroked her daughter¡¯s little head, saying, ¡°Maybe when she grows up a little, she can take you into her Divine Mansion to have a look.¡± Chapter 472 - 468: Silly Girl_1 Chapter 472: Chapter 468: Silly Girl_1 Wei Zhan furrowed his brows, focusing on his wife, ¡°Where were you when she grew up?¡± ¡°I was still here.¡± Yingbao embraced her daughter, ¡°Wei Zhan, remember, if someday I fall asleep again, don¡¯t panic, and don¡¯t feed me any medicine. Just watch over me.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Wei Zhan became anxious, seizing his wife¡¯s hands hurriedly asked, ¡°What do you mean? Are you sick?¡± Yingbao patted him reassuringly, ¡°I¡¯m just excessively sleepy, I¡¯m not sick.¡± She couldn¡¯t tell him the truth, so she downyed it. ¡°I¡¯ve just been very tiredtely. My lord, please take care of Nuannuan a bit more and keep herpany. Teach her to speak.¡± Wei Zhan became more worried, ¡°I would do these things without you having to tell me. Even if I¡¯m away for official duties, mother is here. Yingbao, don¡¯t scare me.¡± Yingbao pulled out a box full of five Dingzhi mushrooms that Xuanwu had collected, ¡°Keep this, it can save lives at critical times. I really am just excessively sleepy and don¡¯t have any other problems.¡± Seeing Wei Zhan still fixated on her, Yingbao hugged him again, soothing him in a low voice, ¡°Alright, I¡¯m very tired, let¡¯s sleep early.¡± Wei Zhan put the box aside, lied down next to his wife, held her hand tightly, and ced it on his heart. Yingbao¡¯s consciousness sank into the Divine Pupil, where she saw the giant sphere of light. The sphere had grownrger than before, as had the pool below it, but the whole silhouette still looked like an eye. Xuanwu floated in mid-air, standing on a shiny gold book, with a mirror floating above the book. ¡°Are you ready?¡± The golden turtle asked. Yingbao nodded, ¡°I¡¯m ready. Can you directly send me near the fragment?¡± ¡°If conditions permit, of course.¡± Xuanwu said, his body glowing bright gold. Yingbao instinctively covered her eyes, and when she opened them, she found herself lying on the ground, being buried by falling snow. Immediately after, a wave of cold swept over her, she shivered, and her body began to hurt. It was just like the feeling of a frozen limb suddenly exposed to hot water. Yingbao felt like she couldn¡¯t hold on any longer, and immediately took a bottle of Dashizhi juice and poured it into her mouth. The warmth gradually spread throughout her body, and she struggled to get up. Looking around, Yingbao stumbled towards a dpidated temple not far away. Only when her bare feet hit the icy snow did she realize she was barefoot. Yingbao didn¡¯t have time to consider, she rushed into the temples to avoid the cold. There were a few people in the dpidated temple at the moment. Men and women, old and young, all dressed neatly, not like beggars or refugees. They looked surprised when they saw Yingbao enter, but no one said anything. They all just silently watched her. Yingbao scanned the crowd, finally found an empty corner and sat down. Then, she asked Xuanwu in the Divinity Sea, ¡°Tell me about this body¡¯s condition.¡± It was obvious she had possessed the body of a girl who had just frozen to death. But the owner of this body had died not far from the temple, it was clear she had some rtion to the people in the temple. Or rather, there should be people she was familiar with in the temple. Xuanwu: ¡°The original owner of the body¡¯s name is Sheng. She was mentally impaired, the fourth in the family, hence called Sheng Si Niang. She was thirteen years old. Her parents had just passed away. She was traveling with her brother and sister-inw to seek refuge with rtives when they were caught in a blizzard. They took shelter in a broken temple, but she wandered away from the temple and froze to death.¡± Yingbao listened quietly to Xuanwu¡¯s introduction and looked down at herself. She was dressed decently in a filthy old cotton robe, but her shoes were missing. Seeing the thick calluses on the bottoms of her feet, she guessed that this child often ran around barefoot. Yingbao curled up in the corner, her feet on the icy ground were unbearable. At this moment, she really wanted to wrap herself in the cotton clothes and nkets she had. Or should she find another ce for shelter? She had stored quite a number of items in Xuanwu¡¯s ce, including food, some furniture and daily necessities, including cotton clothes and nkets, cookware, etc. She also had stored some silver coins, but not much, only over a thousand taels. While hesitating, suddenly a small hand reached out in front of her, holding half a bun. ¡°This is for you, eat it.¡± Yingbao looked up and saw a girl of about ten years old standing in front of her, looking at her withplex eyes. The little girl thrust half a steamed bun into her hand, then turned and walked back to join the group of people across from them. This child must be the niece of her original body, her silly Uncle¡¯s daughter. Yingbao clutched the half bun, taking small bites out of it. In her mind, she asked Xuanwu, ¡°Do you know which direction the Divine Pupil Fragment is in?¡± Xuanwu: ¡°Northwest, about a hundred miles away.¡± ¡°If you knew the direction, why did you throw me here?¡± Yingbao was dissatisfied. Xuanwu: ¡°Within a hundred miles, this is the only warm body avable.¡± Yingbao: ¡­. Xuanwu continued, ¡°This method is simple and quick. If you were to go through reincarnation, you wouldn¡¯t be able toplete the task in a short time.¡± Well, that was a solid reason. Yingbao quickly finished her half bun, looked at the group of people, decided to y dumb, and started wandering around the room. The main hall of this dpidated temple was still intact, at least the roof was not leaking, and the walls were intact. Some doors and windows were damaged, and half of the stone statue copsed as if someone had destroyed it with brute force. Who would have such power to smash half of the two Zheng tall Stone Statue of God? Curious, Yingbao walked up to the fallen statue to examine it closely. Suddenly, she saw something buried under the broken stones. Since she had nothing else to do, Yingbao bent over and began to clear away the stones. Unexpectedly, this body had great strength, and her hands and feet were rough, so the work didn¡¯t tire her out at all. At this moment, two seven or eight-year-old boys approached her and asked, ¡°Silly girl, what are you doing?¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t even look at them and quickly continued to throw the stones aside. Soon, she saw a man buried under the pile. He was well-dressed, with a big bundle on his back, lying face down, unmoving. At this, everyone in the temple screamed and stood up to look at the body. Yingbao was a bit startled, but more excited. She wanted the man¡¯s bundle, no, his shoes. Afterward, she would give him a proper burial as a way to repay his kindness. Yingbao grabbed therge bundle and forcibly dragged the man out of the pile of stones. After dragging him to the side, she sped her hands and bowed before untying the bundle. However, the knot of the bundle was on the man¡¯s chest, so Yingbao had to roll him over. This was a middle-aged man with a stubbly beard. His face was covered in dirt and grime, making it difficult to see his original features. But one thing struck her as odd¡ªhe must have been dead for a long time, yet his body hadn¡¯t stiffened yet. But Yingbao¡¯s attention was drawn to the bundle. She didn¡¯t give it much thought, she just opened it after untying it. As expected, there were clothes inside, along with a pair of intact cloth shoes, and two pairs of socks. Yingbao quickly put on the socks, then the shoes. The shoes were slightly big, but her feet weren¡¯t small either, so they were just about bearable. Luckily, these shoes hadces attached to the back which were probably designed in order to make walking easier. ¡°Little girl, give your bundle to your older sister to see.¡± A middle-aged woman came over and said to Yingbao. Yingbao shook her head and moved the bundle to herp. The woman was a little displeased and was about to scold her when she suddenly noticed that the dead man had opened his eyes. ¡°Ahh!¡± The woman was frightened, retreated a few steps, and fell to the ground. Chapter 473: 469: Martial Artist_1 Chapter 473: Chapter 469: Martial Artist_1 Yingbao also jumped in fright, but thankfully, she had studied medical skills and quicky realized that the man might not be dead. ncing at the shoes on his feet and the cotton robe draped over his body, she decided to try and save him. She took the middle-aged man¡¯s wrist and checked his pulse, detecting a weak but existent rhythm. Yingbao looked up at the crowd, seeing them all backed up in terror, she blocked their view and poured a bottle of medicinal liquid into the man¡¯s mouth. Then she quickly fastened her bundle onto him. She took items from the bundle because it was cold, and it wasn¡¯t polite to tantly take personal items. But now, she had shoes and a thick cotton robe, so she could depart first thing in the morning. ¡°Youngdy, bring that bundle over here!¡± The woman wouldn¡¯t give up, beckoning from a distance. Yingbao ignored her and remained silent in the corner. She was just a fool. There was no need to respond to these people. At this moment, the man lying face-up on the ground coughed a few times and feebly lifted his hand before letting it fall back down.
The crowd across from him had finally calmed down, realizing that he wasn¡¯t a dead body, but a living person. Now, they were no longer afraid. They gathered around, their eyes locked on the bundle, hesitating on whether to snatch it away. Yingbao was also observing them, thinking of ways to dispel their intentions. The woman from before couldn¡¯t restrain herself and squatted down to grab the bundle, but was shocked to find the middle-aged man was coldly staring at her. The woman trembled in fright, swiftly standing up and retreating several steps. Then, Yingbao saw the middle-aged man slowly sit up, even giving her a nce. ¡°I am a martial artist, I advise you not to act rashly,¡± said the middle-aged man hoarsely. The crowd instantly fell silent and returned to their previous positions. Yingbao furrowed her brow. Martial artist? What is a martial artist? She asked Xuanwu in her mind. Xuanwu: ¡°This world has a meager amount of spiritual energy, some people can cultivate physical ability, simr to body cultivation. Martial Artists are warriors who have practiced a certain kind of martial power. These individuals are extremely strong, able to deal with over a dozen mortals without issue.¡± Hearing this, Yingbao¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Does that mean that mortals can also cultivate?¡± ¡°Yes, but they first need to open their veins and temper their bodies with specially concocted spiritual medicines.¡± ¡°Spiritual medicine? Where can I find it? And where can I find the body tempering form? If I can find spiritual medicine and the form, I might as well take them back and let Wei Zhan and my brothers try it.¡± Xuanwu remained silent for a moment, ¡°Spiritual medicines are hard to find, but there are plenty of forms. There should be some for sale in the market here, though their quality varies.¡± ¡°Are they avable in the mountains?¡± Yingbao thought of her Divine Pupil. If she could find spiritual medicine, she should be able to grow them there, right? ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s not easy to find.¡± Xuanwu added, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t think about it too much right now. The priority is to get the Divine Pupil Fragment.¡± Once all the fragments are integrated, will she have to worry about not having spiritual medicine? This small world is only slightly better than the Mortal World. The spiritual medicines it produces are nothing more thanmon weeds in the Immortal Cultivation World.
Yingbao nodded, agreeing with Xuanwu¡¯s suggestion. ¡°Cough, Cough, young friend, thank you for your help. I am deeply grateful,¡± said the middle-aged man, bowing his hands towards Yingbao. ¡°Once I safely return, I will reward you generously.¡± He had been heavily injured and was trapped under a pile of rubble, managing to hang on to his life but with a broken leg. After being trapped for two days, he lingered in a state of semi-consciousness, but was vaguely aware that someone had moved the rubble and saved him, even giving him an unknown bottle of spiritual medicine. The spiritual medicine was extremely pure, a high-grade product that allowed him to quickly regain consciousness and his body to somewhat recover.
Yingbao stared at him nkly, not uttering a word. She was currently ying the fool and wouldn¡¯t admit to anything. The man looked at her again, seeing the child so stupefied, he thought he¡¯d mistaken his savior. But how could that be possible? He was sure the presence he sensed was from this child. The one who moved the stones and fed him the medicine. There was no way he could mistake it. Looking at the shoes on the girl¡¯s feet and the clothing draped over her body, he understood a bit more. Regardless, this girl had saved his life and there was no doubt about that. The man dragged his broken leg to the corner, took out a coat from his bundle to wear and retrieved some dry food and a bamboo tube-like water bottle. He handed two pieces of the food to Yingbao and began to eat his share, taking asional sips of water from the bamboo tube. Yingbao didn¡¯t stand on ceremony and started to eat the food she was given. This body was severely hungry. If she didn¡¯t refill her energy soon, she feared she wouldn¡¯tst. After eating down what seemed like two unknown pastries, she felt a warm sensation spreading throughout her body, quickly replenishing the energy she had lost. So she asked in her mind: ¡°Is there spiritual food in this man¡¯s rations?¡± Hearing Xuanwu¡¯s affirmative response, an idea sparked in Yingbao¡¯s mind. If she could bring some seeds back and nt them, would her world gradually have spiritual energy too?
She shared her thoughts with Xuanwu, who scoffed, ¡°Keep dreaming. If you want that world to have spiritual energy, it must have a living Spirit Vein, and a medium-sized one at that. If Spirit nts don¡¯t have spiritual energy to nourish them, they¡¯ll quickly turn into ordinary products. Trying to grow Spiritual Rice in the Mortal World isplete nonsense.¡± Yingbao listened to Xuanwu¡¯s mockery expressionlessly, secretly making a resolution. Once she retrieved her belongings, she would definitely empty out the properties of Xiao and Chen families in the Immortal Cultivation World. It was just a Spirit Vein. If she didn¡¯t have a medium-sized one, she could just use several low-grade ones. She¡¯d then bury them under Qinchuan County, set up a barrier there, and after a few years, the ce would surely be abundant with spiritual energy and Spirit nts covering the ground. The sky outside the dpidated temple gradually darkened. The people opposite her went out to find some kindling and built a fire inside the temple. Yingbao also went out. Unable to find dry wood on the ground, she climbed a tree and snapped off some thin branches. This body was very strong but it also got hungry quite quickly. After working for a while, her stomach started to rumble again. No wonder those people didn¡¯t dare to ask her to go back, they were afraid she¡¯d eat all their rations. Yingbao carried a bundle of firewood into the temple, setting it up in the middle between herself and the middle-aged man, and borrowed some fire from the other side to ignite it. The people on the other side didn¡¯t say anything, but their gazes towards her wereplex. Yingbao understood what they were thinking. Although her original body was very strong, it was a fool and could eat a lot. They couldn¡¯t defeat her but there was no use in scolding her either. They probably both wished and dreaded for her to leave, hoping she could protect them and ensure their safe arrival to their destination. The man thanked Yingbao again, extending two more pieces of dry food, ¡°Young friend, if you can return me to the Capital, I will be deeply grateful.¡±
Yingbao blinked and pointed to the other side, ¡°They are also going to the Capital. You can let them escort you.¡± The life of themon people in this world was also not easy. Anyone with means would want to live in the city. This was because this world had extremely ferocious beasts which destroyed farnd and attacked humans. It would take an entire vige of over a hundred people working together to chase away just one beast. This was why her brother¡¯s family had left to stay with rtives in the Capital when life became unbearable. Chapter 474: 470: A Different Beijing_1 Chapter 474: Chapter 470: A Different Beijing_1 Martial Artist Fang was taken aback, nced at the opposite side, and said no more. After consuming two pieces of dry food, Yingbao wrapped herself in a cotton robe and pretended to sleep, in reality, she wasmunicating with Xuanwu, asking about the state of this world. The night passed without words, and the snow ceased the next day. Yingbao dared not sleep deeply, she rested lightly, and as soon as dawn broke, she rose. Surprisingly, Martial Artist Fang could also stand, albeit with a slight limp. The rest of them also stood at the temple entrance and looked outside, seeing that the snow was knee-deep, they hesitated whether to continue their journey (or not). However, if they didn¡¯t leave, the food they had brought was limited and wouldn¡¯tst many days. Just as they vacited, they suddenly heard a middle-aged man asking, ¡°Are all of you also preparing to go to Beijing?¡± The eldest brother of the Sheng family turned his head and nodded. ¡°I¡¯m also going to Beijing. Could you give me a lift? Once we arrive, I¡¯ll surely repay your kindness.¡± Actually, Master Fang would rather the girl, Yingbao, give him a ride, but she didn¡¯t pay any attention to him at all.
The eldest Sheng brother thought for a while and asked, ¡°Sir, are you a resident of Beijing?¡± Master Fang nodded, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m from the Royal Pce of Rui in Beijing. I was staying in this temple while returning from an errand when I was inadvertently caught up in a skirmish between a group of martial artists in the middle of the night and ended up being buried under a stone statue.¡± Surprised, eldest Sheng brother eximed, ¡°There was a fight amongst martial artists here?¡± Some martial artists could be very domineering; anyone who provoked them would surely meet an awful end. ¡°They were just passing by and have left by now.¡± The people who buried me seemed like warriors going into the deeper mountains to collect spiritual medicine. They started fighting over unequal distribution and ended up damaging the stone statue. I was resting under the statue at the time and got buried before I could move away. Eldest Sheng brother sighed in relief and began discussing with his younger brother, ¡°This man says he is from the Royal Pce of Rui in Beijing, and wants us to take him there. What do you think¡­¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s give him a ride. It¡¯s on the way anyway,¡± second Sheng brother said casually, considering there was no loss to them anyway. Eldest Sheng brother appeared a little hesitant and said in a low voice, ¡°The snow outside is so deep, who can carry him?¡± Leaving aside the deep snow, even if there was no snow, they had to carry him the entire journey. Wouldn¡¯t they die of exhaustion? ¡°Don¡¯t we have the little sister? She¡¯s strong; she can carry him.¡± The second Sheng brother said carelessly. The woman nearby hurriedly said, ¡°The little sister, she is gone!¡± Everyone turned around and indeed, the fool had already walked out quite far wearing a man¡¯s padded jacket. ¡°Little sister! Come back!¡± Both the elder and second Sheng brothers panicked and yelled loudly, but the tiny figure turned around a corner and disappeared. ¡­ Yingbao walked fast and quickly avoided the group. She inquired from Xuanwu while directing herself. After walking for a stretch, she came across a vige, where a few children were ying with snow at the doorway. She approached and asked one of the children, ¡°Does anyone in this vige own a horse? I would like to hire a carriage.¡± The child stared at her for a moment and then ran back home. Soon, a viger came out and asked, ¡°You need to hire a carriage?¡±
Yingbao nodded, ¡°Yes.¡± She actually preferred to buy a horse, but farmers were not usually willing to sell their horses, unless the price was excellent. However, if she offered a high price, she might attract undesirable attention, and she might even be plotted against before she left the vige. As she did not know much about this world, she was of the opinion that not creating additional issues would be best, so she could only propose to hire a carriage. ¡°Where are you going?¡± the viger asked.
Yingbao estimated the direction, ¡°Beijing¡±. It was close to Beijing, so she just said she was going there. The viger looked the young girl up and down and began rubbing his chin. ¡°If you¡¯re going to Beijing, the trip will cost fifty taels of silver.¡± Yingbao replied, ¡°That¡¯s fine. But I only have five taels on me. Once we reach Beijing, my father will give you the remaining forty-five.¡± The viger was sceptical, ¡°What if your father doesn¡¯t pay?¡± Yingbao picked up a block of wood that a child had left on the ground and firmly squeezed it. The wooden block crumpled into dust. ¡°My father runs a security agency in Beijing. He is a man of his word.¡± Seeing a thin-looking girl crush a thick block of wood bare-handedly, the viger was suddenly astonished and began to believe her words somewhat. Who could afford to buy expensive spiritual medicine, just for a girl to open her meridians, and then let her train her body and practice martial arts, but a well-off family? ¡°Alright! It¡¯s a deal!¡± The viger finally made up his mind to take on this one-off business. Beijing was a hundred miles away. As long as you walked quickly, you could get there in two days at most. Within two days, you could earn fifty taels of silver. If he didn¡¯t do it, many vigers would likely rush to do it. So, Yingbao got on a tall horse carriage. The horses in this world were very tall, and she was not as high as a horse¡¯s back even when standing straight. The carriage was also tall. The huge wheels spun rapidly, kicking up a mist of snow. The only issue was that the road was too bumpy, leaving her disoriented.
Luckily, the carriage was equipped with thick straw mats covered in unidentifiable fur. It was only because of this that Yingbao was saved from total disarray. Two dayster, the carriage finally arrived at the gate of Beijing. The city walls of Beijing were incredibly tall, towering into the clouds. Countless bizarre beasts pulled sophisticated carriages in and out of the city. One viger turned his head and said, ¡°The carriage needs a hundred copper coins to enter the city, you must pay this amount.¡± Yingbao nodded, took out a small silver ingot, and handed it over: ¡°This is five taels, take it first, and I will give you the rest after we enter the city.¡± The silver ingot in the form of Yuanbao was internationally epted, being a precious metal. The viger took it, bit it, saw a tooth mark on it, and then put it away. He then took out a hundred copper coins to pay the entrance fee. After the carriage entered the city, the coachman asked repeatedly for the location of the escort agency. Yingbao asked him to stop at the entrance of a shop and took out nine silver ingots for him: ¡°Here, this is the fee for hiring the carriage.¡± The coachman was stunned for a moment, then he smiled. He epted the silver, checked each piece one by one, and stowed them all away. ¡°What about the hundred coins?¡± he asked. Yingbao took out a hundred copper coins and handed them to him. The coachman examined the coins and curiously asked, ¡°Why is the pattern on top different from the ones at my house?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just a simpleton,¡± said Yingbao seriously, ¡°This is the currency we use.¡± The coachman seemed both convinced and skeptical, but he still put away the coins and drove off.
Yingbao watched him leave before walking into the store. This store wasvishly decorated and very imposing. There were even two stone beasts standing at the front door, making it look like a royal family¡¯s mansion at first glimpse. Yingbao stepped up onto the tform and walked into the store, where she saw a row of tall counters covered in redcquer. Various items, unknown herbs, and animal skeletal remains were disyed on the shelves inside the counters. After looking around, Yingbao asked, ¡°Do you sell body-forging prescriptions?¡± The shop assistant nced at her and asked, ¡°What rank?¡± Yingbao asked, ¡°What ranks do you have?¡± ¡°We have all ranks from one to nine.¡± The ranking of a prescription was just like that of the medicinal materials. The higher the rank, the more precious it was, and the more expensive. ¡°How much for a third-rank prescription?¡± Yingbao asked. In fact, she wanted to ask about a ninth-rank prescription. The shop assistant replied, ¡°A third-rank prescription costs a hundred taels of silver. If you buy a full set of herbal materials, the third-rank prescription is free.¡± Yingbao was taken aback, then asked, ¡°How much is a set of herbal materials? What Tier Spirit nt is it?¡± The shop assistant gave her a disdainful look: ¡°You¡¯re buying a third-rank prescription and you¡¯re expecting top-tier Spirit nts? It¡¯s obviously entry-level!¡± With a look of impatience on his face, he said, ¡°A full set of third-rank prescriptions, including a set of herbal materials, in total will cost five hundred gold.¡±
Five hundred gold tranted into silver, was five thousand taels of silver. Yingbao walked out of the store in silence, carrying the two body forging prescriptions she had just bought, one was a third-rank and one was a fifth-rank. She had spent five hundred taels of silver in total. Afterward, she went to the bookstore for a stroll and bought several volumes of the Compendium of Spirit Medicines. The illustrations in these books were in full color and were extremely lifelike. Not only did these Spirit Medicine books have illustrations of Spirit nts, but they also had illustrations of animals, bones, shells, and minerals. Luckily, she had a basic knowledge of identifying medicinal materials. She recognized many of the herbs. Then, Yingbao went to the horse market and bought a tall steed, as well as a saddle, shovel, chisel, axe, rope, and so on. Without any further dy, Yingbao bought some cooked food and warming supplies, wrapped herself tightly, rode the horse out of Beijing, and headed straight to a destination dozens of miles away. This steed was very powerful. A journey of dozens of miles only took slightly more than an hour. Yingbao tightened the reins and looked at the mountain range ahead, frowning slightly. There seemed to be a divine temple on the mountain, grand and towering, with a constant stream of pilgrims. How was she supposed to take a fragment? Was she supposed to smash the statue in front of everyone? Chapter 475: 471: No Change Allowed for 100 Years_1 Chapter 475: Chapter 471: No Change Allowed for 100 Years_1 Yingbao asked Xuanwu in her mind, ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s here?¡± ¡°Certain!¡± Xuanwu had the Heavenly Proliferating Book to help it calcte, plus the allure of divine breaths; it couldn¡¯t be wrong. ¡°It¡¯s within the statue in the main hall. Hurry up, smash the statue, and take out the Divine Pupil.¡± Compelled by excitement, Xuanwu urged, ¡°Time is of the essence! Once you have the Divine Pupil, we should return immediately!¡± After looking around, Yingbao asked, ¡°After collecting the fragment, can I collect some Spiritual Medicines to bring back?¡± Xuanwu nodded: ¡°You can, as long as you¡¯re not caught. You can stay here in the mountains for as long as you wish.¡± It sniffed and said, ¡°There¡¯s a Spiritual Medicine Garden behind this temple. You can enter it and take some.¡± Yingbaoughed immediately. She got off her horse and led it as she asked, ¡°Can I take this horse with me? I spent over three hundred taels of silver on it.¡± Xuanwu¡¯s face disyed unwillingness, ¡°You can¡¯t! Creatures from this realm might not survive in that one, let alone reproduce, unless you feed it Spiritual Medicines daily.¡± Yingbao patted the horse regretfully, took off its saddle and bridle, and then gave it a light push. ¡°You¡¯re free. Go.¡± The horse blinked its big eyes at her and rubbed its head against her. Then it turned and ran into the forest. Next, Yingbao stepped up the stairs to the temple. The closer she came, the stronger she felt something attracting her.
Finally, she entered the grand temple and looked up at the two giant statues. ¡°These two statues look familiar. Who are they?¡± she asked Xuanwu with a smile. ¡°They represent the Master of the Xiao family and his wife.¡± ¡°The Xiao family again.¡± Yingbao shook her head and slowly took out the God Scythe. She leaped into mid-air and made a fierce cut towards one of the statues. A thunderous crash frightened everyone and cleared the hall. Seeing the situation escte, a junior monk ran to report to the abbot. By the time the abbot and arge group of people rushed into the hall, there were already bits and pieces of the statue scattered all over the hall. ¡°Who dares to cause such chaos!¡± The abbot was furious, raising his hand to signal his men to hunt for the culprit. ¡°Seal off the entrance to the mountain! No one leaves!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The temple warriors scattered, weapons in hand, running to every exit. At this point, Yingbao was behind the temple on the mountainside, sneaking into a courtyard full of Spiritual Medicines. Although there were high walls surrounding the garden, they couldn¡¯t stop Yingbao, who had integrated the Divine Pupil Fragment. Under Xuanwu¡¯s guidance, Yingbao dug up dozens of types of Spiritual Medicines. She took enough to meet the requirements of the form and transnted some into the Divine Pupil. ¡°I should go back now.¡± She had been out for long enough, and she didn¡¯t know if Nuannuan had been crying. Xuanwu made a sound of agreement, its body momentarily emitted a golden light. Granny Sheng¡¯s body slowly fell to the ground, turning into stardust, and gradually dissipating. When Yingbao opened her eyes again, she found herself lying in bed. Her daughter, Nuannuan, repeatedly stroked her hair, cooing, ¡°Mama, have you had a good sleep? Nuannuan wants to y with you.¡± ¡°Nuannuan,¡± Yingbao called softly. Nuannuan immediately widened her eyes, ¡°Mama! You¡¯re awake!¡±
Yingbao held her daughter in her arms, ¡°I¡¯m awake. My Nuannuan has grown so much.¡± Nuannuan pouted, wanting to cry, but father said Mama wasn¡¯t dead, just sleeping, so she shouldn¡¯t cry in front of Mama. Now that Mama was really awake, she was not supposed to cry at all; she needed to smile. With tears rolling down her cheeks, Nuannuan shed a big smile and threw her stubby arms around her mother¡¯s neck, letting the tears drip down her face.
Feeling heartbroken, Yingbao held her daughter tighter andforted her, ¡°Mama won¡¯t sleep that long again.¡± ¡°Hmm!¡± Nuannuan stifled a sob and hurriedly said, ¡°Nuannuan didn¡¯t cry. I just have a sour nose.¡± Yingbao paused and held her daughter tighter, asking, ¡°How old is Nuannuan now?¡± ¡°Three years old.¡± Nuannuan leaned her head on her mother¡¯s shoulder and said softly, ¡°You missed my birthdays twice.¡± Yingbao: ¡°I was wrong. I¡¯ll take you to the market to buy gifts and make up for your birthdays.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Nuannuan smiled through her tears. Xuanwu took the opportunity to say in Yingbao¡¯s mind, ¡°This has been quite a gain. I didn¡¯t expect to get the majority of the Divine Pupil Fragments. Combining these with the original ones, even if we don¡¯t get the rest, you can restore seventy to eighty percent of your divine power.¡± Yingbao smiled. Good, in a hundred years, she must return to the Immortal Cultivation World to reim what belonged to her. Yingbao had remembered many things, including her race and Mother God. Her mother was a Dragon God who ruled her entire n. Because she bore a child, she fell into a deep sleep, and during it, her people were ughtered by the Human n. The treasures in dragon territory were gradually stolen by humans, including the Holy Spirit Pool meant for young dragons to bathe and y in, which was stolen from the Golden Dragon n¡¯snd. Furthermore, Xuanwu was originally Mother God¡¯s Spiritual Pet. After the death of Mother God, it went around searching for her and, by ident, met up with her again in Xiao Mo¡¯s clutches. Latter on, when she had retrieved her mother¡¯s Reincarnation Mirror, she handed it over to Xuanwu for safekeeping as it had an independent space in its shell for storing many treasures.
However, many treasures were used on her one by one, which finally made her reborn and semi-divine. Even as a semi-deity, she was still no match for the entire Immortal Cultivation World. Even when killing became her instinct, the cultivators were still endless. It was no wonder that the original Mother God extracted her divine spirit and exiled it to the human world to be reincarnated. All in looking for a chance to survive. How unfortunate, she was still young, naive, and unwise to the evil and cruelty of the world, and yet she didn¡¯t survive in the end. Fortunately, Xuanwu and the Reincarnation Mirror collected her human spirit and fled from that ce. They underwent countless cycles of reincarnation in this world and searched through numerous books, nurturing her spirit. Yingbao began to feel murderous thinking about those lost memories. ¡°Yingbao!¡± Wei Zhan entered from outside and was overjoyed at the sight of his wife awakened. He hugged his daughter and embraced his wife, guiltily saying, ¡°What happened to you? You slept for over two years.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t happen again,¡± replied Yingbao as she leaned on her husband and lightly touched his thin face, asking, ¡°Is everything okay at home?¡± ¡°Everything is fine. Your parents came to see you half a year ago. They are still staying in the mansion,¡± Wei Zhan replied. ¡°The emperor also sent people over to check on you. He even called a few Forbidden Curse Masters to cast spells on you.¡± Yingbao was curious: ¡°What happened next? What did they say?¡± ¡°The sleepers didn¡¯t wake up, and the Forbidden Curse Masters lost face. They had to go back to the capital to report.¡± Wei Zhan couldn¡¯t help butin, ¡°Wife, what illness do you have exactly?¡± Yingbao encircled his neck, whispering, ¡°This won¡¯t happen again, I promise.¡±
Nuannuan, who had been set aside by her parents, was not satisfied. She wriggled into the middle of the two and reached her head in, ¡°Let¡¯s make a promise. No changes for a hundred years.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yingbao raised her little finger and pulled theirs, ¡°No changes for a hundred years.¡± Chapter 476: 472: Golden Spear and Iron Horse_1 Chapter 476: Chapter 472: Golden Spear and Iron Horse_1 In March, when peaches and pears were blossoming beautifully, the Emperor unexpectedly issued an edict instructing Wei Zhan to go to Beijing, andter armed himself to lead the troops to the northern border to resist the bandits from Jin Country. Yingbao left her daughter, Nuannuan, in the care of her mother-inw and apanied Wei Zhan to the frontier. At this time, the iron cavalry of Jin Country was unstoppable, advancing southward, and captured several cities before they finally arrived beneath the walls of Yanzhou City. Yingbao stood on the city wall, holding a bow and arrow. She slowly drew her bow fully, aiming her iron-fletched arrow at the chariot positioned in the center of the cavalry. Xiao Mo and she looked at each other from a distance, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. Yingbao squinted her eyes but didn¡¯t release the arrow because the distance was too great. Her bow and arrow were mundane, and even if she infused her divine power, she wouldn¡¯t be able to hit Xiao Mo. She slowly lowered her bow and waited for the attack from Jin Country, or rather, for Xiao Mo to advance. Suddenly, the horn of the Jin Ren resounded, and countless people rushed forward carrying their clouddders. Those carrying thedders were allmoners from the Central ins, who had been captured by Jin Country. ¡°Despicable! Shameless!¡± someone shouted angrily. Yingbao just watched silently,manding the archers to prepare.
One by one, thedders were raised and ced against the city wall. The archers did not move. They awaited hermand. Suddenly, the Jin Ren made their move. They spurred their horses forward, forcing themoners to climb thedders. Yingbao waved her hand: ¡°Fire!¡± A rainfall of arrows descended, instantly killing a batch of Jin soldiers. The remaining Jin soldiers had no choice but to retreat, yelling at the city wall. The terrified survivingmoners at the foot of the city wall huddled together closely, too afraid to move. For a moment, both sides were at a stalemate. Only then did Yingbaomand her men to use long-handled iron forks to topple over thedders one by one. Suddenly, she saw Xiao Mo¡¯s chariot slowly emerging from the middle of the troops, standing at the front of the Jin soldiers. He quickly formed hand seals and a brilliant radiance flowed from his fingertips. Instantly, the sky changed color, and a huge lightning bolt appeared from the sky, striking the city gate tower. With a crack, the city gate tower crumbled to dust, damaging parts of the city wall in the process. The Jin soldiers cheered, shouting ¡°Long live the Heavenly God¡± and ¡°Long live the State Preceptor¡±. As the second bolt of lightning was about to strike, the dark clouds dispersed quickly revealing the clear, blue sky. Jin soldiers: ¡­ Just as they were shocked, someone shouted, ¡°Run¡­¡± Before the words fell, several bolts of lightning roamed among the Jin iron cavalry, striking down like golden dragons. In a matter of seconds, nearly half of the Jin iron cavalry fell. The remaining cavalry and horses were thrown into chaos, trampling over each other. Their battle formation became a mess. Seeing this, Wei Zhan was overjoyed and immediately ordered the city gates to be opened. He led more than a thousand cavalry out to fight the enemy.
For a moment, the battlefield was filled with shing of weapons and the flying of flesh and blood. Xiao Mo was already on a hill somewhere, calmly observing the mortal warfare below him. ¡°Is this the result you wanted?¡± Yingbao, in her silver armor, slowly approached riding a ck warhorse. Xiao Mo looked at her indifferently and said, ¡°They¡¯re just a bunch of ants. Yingbao,e back with me. This ce is not suitable for us to stay.¡±
Yingbao¡¯s eyes were cold. ¡°Xiao Mo, why do you want me toe back? Is it because your Xiao Family is running out of dragon blood to refine pills? Or do you want to take my divine pills again to help the one you love to advance?¡± After she had integrated most of the Divine Pupils, her memories from the upper world slowly returned. When she was young and ignorant, she was deceived onto the Fairy Mountain, where she entered the Wuji Sect and became Xiao Mo¡¯s disciple. She thought she finally escaped heaven and avoided the pursuit of the Chen Family and the Xiao Family. But what awaited her was a huge conspiracy. Xiao Mo had indeed spent a lot of spiritual medicine on himself, which had allowed her to advance rapidly. Little did she know, he would drug her every month, discreetly severing her meridians and letting out a bowl-sized amount of her blood. If it hadn¡¯t been for Xuanwu witnessing this and quietly alerting her, she might have revered Xiao Mo as a respected master for a lifetime. Looking back, she was such a fool back then, sold off and still helping count the money. Latterly, Xuanwu covertly followed Xiao Mo and discovered that he was using Yingbao¡¯s blood to create a physical body for an ordinary woman, allowing her to undergo a rebirth and step into the path of bing a fairy. Afterwards, he nned to extract Yingbao¡¯s divine elixir and use it to advance the woman¡¯s cultivation. So Xuanwu developed a n to escape with Yingbao from the Wuji Sect. Xiao Mo closed his eyes, sighing: ¡°Yingbao, it¡¯s my fault, but Ling Yue is the saving Goddess, she can¡¯t fall, I had no other choice.¡± Yingbao gave a yful smile: ¡°So, you specifically came to this realm to get her divine elixir?¡± Xiao Mo dropped his gaze, only speaking after a long pause: ¡°You won¡¯t die from losing a divine elixir, but Ling Yue will. Among two evils, one must choose the lesser. I have no choice.¡± ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to?¡±
Xiao Mo lifted his eyes, saying indifferently: ¡°Tens of thousands of years ago, the Divine Realm disappeared, and now the Fairy World is also on the verge of destruction. Yingbao, you carry the blood of a divine dragon, can you really just watch as billions of creatures in the Fairy World perish?¡± Yingbao chuckled lightly: ¡°What do I have to do with the creatures in the Fairy World? Their demise is their own fault. Didn¡¯t you think to spare their lives when you ughtered my tribesmen? Now you are asking me to return virtue for malice, to sacrifice myself for my enemies, are you out of your mind?¡± Xiao Mo¡¯s expression changed slightly, but he quickly calmed down: ¡°Yingbao, once the Fairy World is annihted, this small realm will not escape either. What about the people you are protecting?¡± Yingbao slowly drew out the God Scythe: ¡°This is none of your concern.¡± Then in an instant, she swung at Xiao Mo. Xiao Mo swiftly dodged, a golden sword appearing in his hands. Yingbao leapt into the air, shing down with a destructive force. Xiao Mo lifted his golden sword to block. As the two fought, the sky was covered with dark clouds, with shes of lightning and rumbling thunder. Strands of golden lightning wove through the clouds, seemingly aiming for someone. Yingbao was not afraid at all, using the de of the God Scythe to lock onto Xiao Mo. Xiao Mo was a bit distressed. This body was indeed inferior. Whenever he exerted a bit of divine power, his body would deteriorate slightly. The sky¡¯s lightning finally struck. First, it hit Xiao Mo and then hit Yingbao. Yingbao only felt as if her scalp was exploding, smoke rising from her nostrils. But she knew she couldn¡¯t fall and she couldn¡¯t give up the opportunity to kill Xiao Mo.
So, she hacked at him with all her might once again. With a loud boom! Xiao Mo¡¯s body was hit by the God Scythe, instantly disintegrating like stardust. Yingbao quickly noticed that a fragment of the Supreme Immortal¡¯s soul was about to escape. She urgently summoned Xuanwu and threw him at the escaping soul shard, shouting, ¡°Swallow it!¡± Xuanwu emitted a blinding golden light, encapsting the fragment of the Supreme Immortal¡¯s soul in an instant. ¡°Good job!¡± Yingbao praised, calling Xuanwu back with a wave of her hand, and storing him back within her Divine Pupil. ¡°Digest it well, that¡¯s a fragment of a Fairy Monarch¡¯s soul.¡± Xuanwu was quite pleased and immediately started to digest the soul fragment of the Supreme Immortal. Once he had absorbed it all, his cultivation would increase by at least five hundred years. Right now, Yingbao sat on the ground, rolling up her sleeves to check her injuries. Her victory over Xiao Mo today was expected, but she didn¡¯t anticipate winning so easily, which was strange. Could it be that he had transferred all his cultivation to that Ling Yue immortal maiden? That was possible. Yingbao took a few medicinal pills and began to slowly restore her energy.
Although the Supreme Immortal had vanished from this realm, it didn¡¯t mean that he was dead. If he were to rise again, she needed to be on her guard. Chapter 477 - 473: In a sorry state_1 Chapter 477: Chapter 473: In a sorry state_1 With Xiao Mo¡¯s death, the formations of the Jin Country¡¯s Iron Cavalry were thrown into chaos, quickly copsing. Wei Zhan, Zhou Fu and Zhong Chuyan attacked from three sides, driving the Jin army out of the central ins in no time. They pursued the defeated army all the way to the Jin capital, setting fire to the Imperial Pce. When they returned, they brought back a group of former royal family members who had been captured by the Jin, as well as surviving princes and ministers and many skilled craftsmen. These people were all ragged and emaciated, looking like beggars. Doctor Li and his grandson were a bit better off, but not by much. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers depleted the entire Jin dynasty¡¯s food stores, taking everything of value. Every soldier returned with spoils of war. Upon their return, Emperor Zhou Wuchang promoted all military leaders by one rank. He also bestowed the title of Protector of the State on Wei Zhan, made Wei Zhan¡¯s father an honorary duke, and his mother ady of the third rank. He also awarded Yingbao¡¯s father, Jiang Sang, with the title of Honorable Duke, and his mother, Xu Chunniang, with the title of a County¡¯s Duke¡¯s Lady. In addition, he granted the title of Founding Baron to Old Man Jiang, a hereditary title, and the rank of Anren to his wife, Jiang Liu. When the imperial decree reached Dongchen Vige, the entire vige was buzzing with excitement. Old Man Jiang, at his age, had been granted a title ¨C and a hereditary one at that! What great favor from the Emperor! From now on, not only the n Leader and Lizheng had to pay respects to Old Man Jiang, even the senior official of the county had to respectfully call him Elder Jiang when meeting any member of the Jiang Family. In West Vige, Old Man Chen and his wife sat on a warm brick bed, shelling Gleditsia sinensis, while the sounds of gongs and drums could be heard from the Jiang Family¡¯s banquet. Chen¡¯s wife was old and frail, with white hair and a hunched back. As she slowly shelled the Gleditsia sinensis, she sighed, ¡°If our second son hadn¡¯t abandoned Yingbao back then, he might be a duke now, and we would have a hereditary title, bringing wealth and honor to our descendants.¡± Old Man Chen remained silent, his face hard. His son had be a ruin, why mention those things? ¡°Old woman, never again say that Yingbao is ours. If word gets out, we could be charged with pretending to be rtives of a government official. Can you bear that responsibility?¡± The Jiang family was not what it used to be, not something his family could afford to provoke. He just wanted to live a peaceful life for a few more years. Chen¡¯s wife fell silent. At that moment, Chen Xubao walked in, carrying two bowl of dumplings: ¡°Grandpa, grandma, my sister sent over some dumplings.¡± Old Man Chen nodded, set down the Gleditsia sinensis in his hand, took a bowl of dumplings, stirred it with the spoon inside, and asked, ¡°Did you drain the water from the rice seedling field?¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Xubao handed the other bowl to his grandmother, then sat down to help shell the Gleditsia sinensis. Old Man Chen nced at his grandson, saying, ¡°Once we sell these seeds, let¡¯s find a matchmaker for you. A few days ago, matchmaker Zheng came by, she said there¡¯s a girl from the next vige over. She¡¯s agreeable and hardworking, capable both inside and out. But her family demands a dowry of fifty coins and four bolts of cotton cloth. Your grandmother and I agreed.¡± Xubao shelled the Gleditsia sinensis quietly, answering in a low voice: ¡°It is all up to you two.¡± Old Man Chen sighed in relief. This grandson was a good boy, although he was quite quiet. Two years ago, he was ruined by his father, couldn¡¯t pass the imperial examination, and ended up giving up on studying. Since then, he had helped with the farming at home, asionally setting up a small stall in the market to sell the fruits grown at home. Taking each day as it came. Whenever Old Man Chen thought of his useless second son, he would get irritable. A once promising schr who had be useless thanks to his messy life. Lazy at home, he would disappear for days. When he came back, he either demanded money or slept. He should never have spent all that money on his education. As it turned out, it was all wasted. He couldn¡¯t write a decent script or properly wield a sword. Let him weed the field, and he would identally uproot the young nts. Another round of drums echoed through the vige, Xubao set down the Gleditsia sinensis, left the courtyard, and looked towards Dongchen Vige. A figure shuffled in that direction, hair a mess, face full of stubble, clothes rumpled, looking quite shabby. It was his father, Chen Changping. Xubao frowned, quickly caught up, and grabbed him: ¡°Father,e home for dinner.¡± Chen Changping shook off his son¡¯s hand, mumbling, ¡°I¡¯m going to find Yingbao, she¡¯s my daughter, I want to bring her back home.¡± ¡°Father! Are you out of your mind? Yingbao belongs to the Jiang family, stop making a fuss.¡± Xubao grabbed his old father again, trying to drag him back. Chen Changping struggled fiercely and shouted loudly, ¡°No! She is my daughter, your sister, all those ranks belong to our family, they¡¯ve all gotten it wrong!¡± Old man Chen came out of the house at the noise, he pped his son fiercely, ¡°Shut up! You¡¯ve had too much to drink!¡± Chen Changping was stunned by his own father¡¯s p, Xubao dragged him back into the room in a daze, and slumped him onto the heated tform. While helping him remove his shoes, Xubao wiped away his tears. So what if Yingbao was his sister? She doesn¡¯t like the Chen Family, she doesn¡¯t even like him, he knew that from an early age. Chen Changping was lying on the heated tform, mumbling continuously, ¡°She is my daughter, my daughter¡­ I know, I know everything¡­¡± ¡­ Another year begins. Yingbao is taking a walk in the garden with her daughter. With a gentle touch of her hand, all the flowers in the garden stretch out their branches and leaves, their buds sprouting from the ground and gradually blooming. Nuannuan widened her eyes and eximed, ¡°Mother, I want to learn it too!¡± Yingbao smiled, ¡°Once I¡¯ve opened your Spirit Veins, you¡¯ll be able to learn.¡± Nuannuan blinked and asked, ¡°Like father opening his Spirit Veins?¡± Yingbao nodded. She¡¯d already helped Wei Zhan open his Spirit Veins. Not only did his lifespan increased, his strength was also several times that of an ordinary person. Since there was no Spiritual Energy in this world, she bathed father and daughter in Holy Spirit Water every day to assure their daily cultivation. Once he breaks through the realm of mortals, he can start learning spells. Nuannuan was overjoyed, ¡°Mother, when will you help me open my veins?¡± ¡°Once the next batch of Spiritual Medicine matures.¡± Yingbao stroked her daughter¡¯s hair, ¡°It won¡¯t be long, just a month away.¡± With her Divine Power, those Spiritual Medicines were thriving in her Divine Mansion. She also sent some Spirit Grass for her daughter to nt in her Divine Mansion, which also grew rapidly. However, there was only a limited amount of Spiritual Flowers and Spirit Grass, so she let some of the Spiritual Medicine flower and seed for propagation before she harvested them. Currently, her Divine Mansion was about several hundred acres in size and was not only filled with a pool of Holy Spirit Water but also filled with various Spirit nts. Once this batch of Spiritual Medicine matures, she will not only be able to open her daughter¡¯s veins, but there will also be enough Spiritual Medicine left for her two younger brothers. If both brothers sessfully open their veins, she can also give their parents a try. While thinking about this, Yingbao asked Xuanwu in her heart, ¡°Can you send me to the Fairy World for a trip?¡± ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s dangerous there and your strength hasn¡¯t fully recovered yet, so you might encounter strong enemies.¡± Xuanwu knew what his master was thinking. To rob someone¡¯s Spirit Veins, one must have strength because the cultivators guarding the Spirit Veins are not likely to be weaker than those at the Transcendence stage. If she were to confront them alone, the master might win, but she¡¯s going to stir things up and is bound to be besieged. Chapter 478 - 474: Spirit Plant_1 Chapter 478: Chapter 474: Spirit nt_1 Yingbao: ¡°Once I¡¯ve finished opening the meridians for Nuannuan, Jiang Jie, and Jiang Wu, I¡¯ll make a trip to the Immortal Cultivation World.¡± Otherwise, they won¡¯t have enough spiritual power for cultivation, and opening their meridians would be for naught indeed. Xuanwu: ¡°Very well.¡± The master should indeed take a trip, for a fragment of the Divine Pupil is in possession of someone in that world. As long as it is retrieved, the master¡¯s strength can be restored to 99%. A month shes by. The spiritual medicines in the Divine Mansion gradually mature. Yingbao left behind a batch of seeds, began harvesting the medicinal materials, then followed the prescription to prepare the body-forging, meridian-opening tonic. Opening the meridians is extremely painful. It involves using spiritual power to clear all the spirit veins in one¡¯s body, allowing the spiritual energy to flow smoothly, and finally condensing one¡¯s spiritual root in the upper, middle and lower dantians. Yingbao initially feared that her daughter would not be able to endure the pain, but when she infused her with her own spiritual power, she gritted her teeth and persevered without uttering a word. ¡°Eighty-one spirit veins! Truly my daughter!¡± Yingbao joyfully discovered that her daughter was able to open eighty-one spirit veins in one go. Even in the Immortal Cultivation World, those who could open eighty-one spirit veins at their first attempt were among the top talents, with the potential to reach the Golden Immortal level in the future. Wei Zhan, on the other hand, only managed to form twenty-four spirit veins after three days. If he cultivates sessfully, he could potentially reach the Spirit Transformation level and extend his lifespan to over two thousand years. Once the spirit veins were opened, Nuannuan¡¯s eyes sparkled with golden light, which took a long time to recede. ¡°Mother, I feel like I can fly!¡± Nuannuan exultantly stood up from the bath, waved her hands, and the water in the pool started to spiral around her, like a water dragon frolicking around the little girl. Yingbao was slightly taken aback. Her daughter had actually advanced past the Mortal World and entered the Qi Cultivation stage. Wei Zhan, who had been soaking himself in the Holy Spirit Water for more than two months, only entered the Qi Cultivation stage a couple of days ago. Yingbao touched her daughter¡¯s forehead and transmitted the heritage of her Golden Dragon n into her mind: ¡°Follow your instinct, sense the divine power, and practice controlling it.¡± Nuannuan levitated in a seated position, closing her eyes to feel the Divine Mansion space within her body. Since she was a child, she had awakened her divine dragon bloodline and formed her own Divine Mansion space. Now that her spirit veins were open, she could use the divine power within the Divine Mansion. She drew out the divine power from within her Divine Mansion to strengthen her body¡¯s meridians. When the divine power was insufficient, she directly absorbed spiritual energy to rece it, inhaling and exhaling in aplete great cycle. Yingbao stood guard at her daughter¡¯s side, until after several hours Nuannuan woke up. She was now covered in ayer of greasy dirt, and her cultivation level had risen to the secondyer of Qi cultivation. Yingbao waved her hand and conjured a cleaning spell, instantly making her daughter clean. Nuannuan hugged her mother tightly, triumphant: ¡°Mother, can I learn spells now?¡± ¡°You can.¡± Yingbao passed on all the spells she knew to Nuannuan, admonishing her: ¡°You must not use spells casually in public. If you want to practice, you can go to your own Divine Mansion.¡± Nuannuan obediently nodded: ¡°I understand, Mother, I¡¯m not foolish. I will definitely not use spells in public.¡± Yingbao ruffled her daughter¡¯s hair, leading her out of the cultivation room. Eight-year-old Wumei was squatting in the courtyard outside the cultivation room, weeding the flowers. Seeing Nuannuan and their aunte out, he grinned, disying a mouthful of little white teeth: ¡°Hello, Auntie! Nuannuan,e and see, I brought back a flower from outside and nted it here.¡± He pointed at a twisted vine in front of him: ¡°It¡¯s called a winter jasmine. It¡¯s one of the earliest to bloom in spring. I¡¯m nting it now, so by next spring you and Auntie will be able to see it.¡± Nuannuan blinked, suddenly wanting to try and make the flower bloom just like her mother did. But thinking of her mother¡¯s orders, she held back. Yingbao bent down to take a look. Indeed, it was a winter jasmine. ¡°Where did you dig it up from?¡± Wumei: ¡°It was given to me by a ssmate.¡± Now Wumei was studying at a reputable school outside the Princess Residence. Each day, he was escorted there and back by the Princess Residence guards. Yingbao nodded, not saying a word. A few dayster, Jiang Wu and Jiang Jie arrived in Zhouhe County from Beijing, epting their sister¡¯s help to activate their Spirit Veins. In the end, Jiang Wu activated sixty-four veins, while Jiang Jie could only activate thirty. Afterwards, Yingbao infused Holy Spirit Water into the bath and instructed her two younger brothers to circte Dazhou within it. Two dayster, Jiang Wu stepped into the Qi Cultivation realm, whereas Jiang Jie showed no signs of progress. Seeing Jiang Jie¡¯s dejected demeanor, Yingbao encouraged him, ¡°With effort and dedication, even an iron rod can be ground into a needle. Don¡¯t be disheartened, it took your brother-inw more than two months to break through.¡± It was only after breaking through that they could possibly step onto the Immortal Path. Jiang Jie nodded, ¡°Then I will try to cultivate here for a month.¡± He was determined to learn how to cultivate, so he could pass this knowledge onto his children when they grew up. Yes, Jiang Jie¡¯s children could already walk, and there was another one on the way in his wife¡¯s womb. In the following days, Yingbao saw her younger brother Jiang Wu along with Wei Zhan and Nuannuan busily tending to the nts and flowers in the courtyard, or secretly ying with fire in a corner of the yard. Ever since Wei Zhan awakened his Fire Spiritual Root, he would periodically lightnterns for Yingbao, or lightmps in Nuannuan¡¯s rooms, creating interesting shapes to entertain his daughter. Yingbao let them be, while she discussed her ns to visit the Fairy World with Xuanwu. Her husband, daughter, and brothers were now capable of defending themselves in this world. However, relying solely on the spiritual power of the Holy Spirit Water wouldn¡¯t take them far, so she must bring a Spirit Vein to this world. As long as the Spirit Vein existed in this world, it would not be a problem for Jiang Wu and Wei Zhan to cultivate until they formed a Nascent Soul. She did not want to see her loved ones age and eventually disappear one by one. Xuanwu: ¡°Then you should pack food and survival gear to avoid repeating our previous mistakes.¡± ¡°No problem, this time I¡¯m even bringing a stove and a cowhide tent,¡± Yingbao had prepared a lot of things for herself this time, including essentials, food, and even some gold, silver, and jade. These valuables could be useful if she ended up in the Mortal World within the Immortal Cultivation World. Yingbao left a letter for her husband, then lied down on the bed. Everything went dark, and when she opened her eyes again, the scenery around her had changed. ¡°Did we reincarnate again?¡± asked Yingbao. Xuanwu: ¡°What else?¡± Yingbao: ¡°Is there a problem with our identities?¡± The Immortal Cultivation World was not like the Mortal World ¨C there were ways to expose reincarnated individuals and treat them as parasitic cultivators. ¡°No issue with the identity, you are currently the daughter of amon family in Xuanyuan City. You were out of the city withpanions looking for spiritual medicines when you were hit by a Demonic Beast. At present, you have four broken ribs, a fractured left arm, and you are hanging on an ancient tree at the edge of a cliff.¡± Yingbao looked down and saw nothing beyond the fog beneath her feet. She looked up to see the steep cliff. With a broken arm, it was impossible for her to climb up. Even if she could, she wouldn¡¯t dare as the demonic beast could still be nearby. Yingbao swallowed a Five-Ding Zhi, then retreated into her Divine Mansion. After drawing the Holy Spirit Water into a bath and sitting in meditation, she began to recover slowly from her injuries. Two hourster, Yingbao opened her eyes, dressed herself, put on shoes, and looked around after leaving the Divine Mansion. The robust cliff pine that held her was luxuriant, with vines resembling ivy entwined around it. Yingbao tugged at the vines, finding them strong. They would make good ropes if she needed any. But she merely thought as much, not intending to use these vines as actual ropes because she had several rolls of ropes in her Divine Mansion. However, it appeared there were several fist-sized fruits hanging on the vines. Although they were not fully ripe, they were glowing with a spiritual light, much stronger than the spiritual medicine nted in her Divine Mansion. It was a great find; the nt must be at least a mid-level Spirit nt. Chapter 479 - 475: Compensation_1 Chapter 479: Chapter 475: Compensation_1 Yingbao searched all around, looking for the root of this vine. She intended to dig up the whole spirit nt and put it into her Divine Mansion. Finally, Yingbao saw the root of the spirit nt. It was quite far from her, over ten meters away, deeply rooted on the cliff. This could be quite difficult. Yingbao thought for a moment, then called out Xuanwu. ¡°You go dig up that spirit nt.¡± She pointed to a ce over ten meters away. Xuanwu hummed and hawed. ¡°This is just amon spirit nt, and you treasure it?¡± ¡°I saw that the spiritual energy there was thick. What if we dig out a secret realm or a treasure trove?¡± Yingbao deceived. Xuanwu hummed a few times, and finally went reluctantly. It whooshed to the root, scratched with its front ws, dug a hole along the root and gradually burrowed into it. Yingbao didn¡¯t ck off either. She carefully removed the vine wrapped around the cliff pine. Suddenly, a strange peculiar bird flew over and attacked her. The bird had wings over a meter wide, and as it glided across, it emitted a mournful shriek that pierced the eardrums. Its ws were like glittering cold daggers, cutting down tree trunks as thick as wrists with one swipe. It almost toppled Yingbao from the pine tree and even knocked off two fruits. Yingbao was somewhat annoyed, holding back the severe pain in her arm she pulled out the God Scythe and fiercely shed at the bird. In fact, the God Scythe had be her personal artifact, which could not only protect her but could also fight on its own. The prerequisite was that she had to first provide it with sufficient divine power. In mid-air, with just one strike from the God Scythe, it cut off half of the bird¡¯s wing, and then Yingbao saw the bird rapidly spinning as it fell. With the battle over, the God Scythe returned and hovered in front of Yingbao. Yingbao grabbed it and put it directly into her Divine Mansion, By the time she had removed all the vines, Xuanwu had already crawled out of the hole, excited. ¡°Master, is your mouth blessed? You¡¯re so effective?¡± ¡°What?¡± Yingbao pointed at the vine under Xuanwu¡¯s feet. ¡°First, put the spirit nt away and give it to meter.¡± Xuanwu didn¡¯t hesitate and collected the vine directly. ¡°Youe over quick. There¡¯s great news!¡± Yingbao had to take out the God Scythe again, stepped on it and flew over. The hole that Xuanwu dug wasn¡¯t veryrge, but it was enough for her to crawl in. After crawling behind Xuanwu for a while, they reached arge cave. In the cave, there were six boxes, each covered with seal runes. Looking at the sealed runes on the boxes, they were at least several hundred years old, and these runes have already lost part of their function due to age. It¡¯s estimated that these were buried here by a cultivator whoter fell, and these became unimed items. Yingbao easily broke these runes, opened the boxes and saw that they were filled with spirit stones the size of eggs, all five attributes were present, and brilliant light circted on them. ¡°We¡¯re rich! Haha!¡± Xuanwu happily pounced on the boxes, instantly swept away three of them, nced at the remaining three and then went elsewhere. Yingbao knew this guy intended to share half each, so she wasn¡¯t polite and directly put the three boxes into her Divine Mansion. The spirit stones in the boxes were all of medium-grade, and estimated a box had thousands of stones, which should be enough for Wei Zhan and his brothers to cultivate for a long time. Xuanwu made a round and came back. ¡°There¡¯s nothing else, let¡¯s go out.¡± So, one person and one turtle crawled out of the cave, Xuanwu was so happy that it transformed into arge bamboo tablet, letting Yingbao sit on its back and flew her up the cliff. The top of the cliff was a lush forest, blocking the sky and the sun. It was unclear where this was. But Yingbao knew that this ce must be dangerous. Otherwise, this body wouldn¡¯t have fallen from the cliff. Therefore, they couldn¡¯t fly high. Otherwise, once they were found by a powerful being, she wouldn¡¯t know how she¡¯d die with this weak body of hers. So, one person and one turtle entered the forest cautiously, darting between the giant trees. When they encountered spiritual medicine, they dug up everything from mid-level and above and put them into the Divine Mansion. And for the high-level ones, they thought of ways to kill the apanying beasts, and dug it up together with the soil. They walked like this, stopping and going, and a day passed quickly. They still hadn¡¯t left the forest. Yingbao was getting a bit anxious. Her goal foring here wasn¡¯t just to dig up spirit nts. Most importantly, she had to go to the Wuji Sect or the Chen Family or Xiao Family territories and get one or two innate spirit veins. ¡°Xuanwu, can you see what ce is this?¡± Yingbao asked Xuanwu. Xuanwu leisurely flew and said at a leisurely pace: ¡°This ce is less than a thousand miles away from Vermilion Bird City. We¡¯ll be able to reach soon. You don¡¯t need to worry, first gather some spiritual medicine. Otherwise, we won¡¯t be able to enter the city. Also, you need to heal your wounds. Finding a doctor in the city costs a lot of money. If you don¡¯t want to use the spirit stones in the boxes, gather more spiritual medicine.¡± Yingbao was silent. Vermilion Bird City, her nightmare from thest lifetime. The Chen family sent her to Vermilion Bird City to be the Chen family¡¯s concubine. They were in agony for several years until she awakened the divine dragon bloodline and pretended to be well-behaved and pitiful. Then she took the opportunity to kill the guards and escaped. Since then, she had been avoiding Vermilion Bird City, as she had a shadow over this ce. Who would have thought that after all this time, she ended up back here. ¡°Xuanwu, tell me the details about this body.¡± She wanted to know if the current body she had was from Vermilion Bird City. Xuanwu quickly flipped through the Sky Book and muttered: ¡°This cost me 10 years of cultivation.¡± Yingbao ignored its grumbling and quietly awaited the news. In a short while, Xuanwu spoke: ¡°I¡¯ll only tell you her recent situation. This body is called Chen Shuyuan, the daughter of an elder from the Chen Family in Vermilion Bird City. A few days ago, she went into the forest with herpanions in search of spiritual medicine. They encountered a mid-level demonic beast. All herpanions ran away, and she fell off the cliff, seriously injured, and died.¡± ¡°The daughter of a Chen family elder? Which elder?¡± Yingbao was delighted. She didn¡¯t expect that this body of hers was actually the daughter of a Chen Family elder. This was great. Xuanwu: ¡°The fifth elder, Nascent Soul cultivation base.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Yingbao narrowed her eyes. The fifth elder, huh? After all these years, he¡¯s still at the Nascent Soul stage, he must be near the end of his lifespan. Even after drinking her blood, he hadn¡¯t advanced, he was really unlucky. Yingbao remembered that the fifth elder should be Chen Tiantian¡¯s great-grandfather. ¡°Master, don¡¯t daydream. There¡¯s a spiritual medicine over there!¡± cried Xuanwu. Yingbao waved her hand, the God Scythe appeared, and with a whoosh, it flew to dig the ground. Swish swish swish! The God Scythe quickly dug out a medium-level spiritual medicine that was half a person high, and happily brought it to Yingbao. Just as Yingbao put away the spiritual medicine, a gray rabbit poked its head out from behind a big tree, staring at her with resentful eyes. Yingbao hesitated for a moment, took out a bamboo tube of spirit water, ced it on the ground and said to the rabbit, ¡°This is for you, aspensation.¡± The rabbit looked skeptical. After Yingbao and Xuanwu floated away, it darted out, picked up the bamboo tube. It bit off the cork with its teeth, and a strong spiritual energy floated out, scaring it into immediately covering the small hole in the bamboo tube with its paw. Then it bent down to pick up the cork, hopped away, ran into the forest and quickly burrowed into a rabbit hole. Chapter 480 - 476: Vermilion Bird City_1 Chapter 480: Chapter 476: Vermilion Bird City_1 Yingbao and Xuanwu collected Spiritual Medicine as they made their way, quickly leaving the forest behind. To avoid Demonic Beasts, Xuanwu kept the Tianyan Book calcting, using up several dozen of Spirit Stones in the process. Finally, they arrived at Vermilion Bird City before nightfall. Yingbao put away Xuanwu and hobbled towards the city gates. The city guards included members of the Chen Family, one of them surprised to see Yingbao, ¡°Younger Sister Eleven, why aren¡¯t you with the team?¡± Yingbao gave the guard a weak smile and said, ¡°I encountered a Demonic Beast and got separated from them.¡± The gate guard nodded in understanding: ¡°No wonder I saw our n Leader rushing out of the city. He must have gone to lead a rescue mission, huh? How did you manage to get back by yourself?¡± If they were collecting Spiritual Medicine in a team, there would definitely be at least one person with a flying Magic Artifact. Without it, relying solely on their own cultivation base to travel thousands of miles would mean certain death if they encountered a Demonic Beast. ¡°I ran into a kind person who helped me get near the city before leaving.¡± Yingbao replied. She had already searched this body she possessed. It didn¡¯t even have a single storage bag, let alone any other Spiritual Artifacts. There was simply a backpack containing a dagger, a small chisel, several low-grade Spiritual Medicines, and some food and water. It made sense. At the early Foundation Establishment stage without having cleared the body of impurities, not eating food might not kill you, but it would certainly make you weak. The gate guard nodded, ¡°You should go home quickly and find someone to heal you first.¡± Once the n Leader returned, the physicians in the n would surely be busy, thus leaving no time to tend to these minor children. Yingbao nodded, slowly walked into the city, hailed a beast carriage, and headed towards the Chen Family. In Vermilion Bird City, the Chen Family ranked highly among the cultivator families. Every male member of the family had more than two women and they kept bearing children. If a child born had the potential, they would be given key training. If they didn¡¯t have Spiritual Roots or if their Spiritual Roots were poor, they could only be expendableborers. Chen Shuyuan, of such ilk, had mediocre Spiritual Roots. She had just barely reached Foundation Establishment but made no further progress after that. And so Chen Shuyuan was marginalized by the family, constantly doing family tasks in exchange for cultivation resources. This time she was injured and would have to pay out of her own pocket for treatment from the family physicians. Yingbao, with Chen Shuyuan¡¯s badge tied around her waist, walked into the family¡¯s pharmacy. She went over to the medicine cab first and handed over a mid-level Spiritual Medicine, ¡°I¡¯m injured. I¡¯ve broken a few bones and need to find a physician to set them.¡± The disciple receiving the medicine looked at her, took the medicine to carefully identify it, and then handed her a token, ¡°Go find Physician Meng.¡± Physician Meng specialized in bone injuries, but his charges were high. Without a mid-level Spiritual Medicine at least, you would not be able to afford his services. Two hourster, Yingbao¡¯s leg injury and fractured ribs had significantly improved. After resting at home for a couple of days, she would be as good as new. Yingbao sighed admiringly, ¡°How did he do that? I wish I had such powerful spells.¡± Xuanwu indifferently said, ¡°He has both Water and Wood Spiritual Roots and cultivates the Eternal Spring Technique. You don¡¯t have a Wood Spiritual Root, so you can¡¯t cultivate it.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yingbao returned to Chen Shuyuan¡¯s residence, a small courtyard with nine rooms amodating nine female Cultivators. At that moment, there was no one in the courtyard. She had no idea where they had all gone at thiste hour. Yingbao entered Chen Shuyuan¡¯s room,y on the small wooden bed, and muttered in her mind, ¡°Good heavens, she¡¯s a minor daughter of the Fifth Elder, but she lives like a servant.¡± She took out a pack of food from her Divine Mansion and ate it, then drank some water, forcing herself to sleep. She woke up the next morning as the first light of dawn peeked in through the window. She quickly got up. By now, the pain in her body had disappeared and her cultivation base was much more stable. Yingbao tidied up Chen Shuyuan¡¯s room, took a few sets of clothes and shoes, and packed a few cultivation books into her Divine Mansion. After that, she left the courtyard to go to the market. To sneak into the family forbiddennd, forcefully breaking in was not an option. She would need some concealment artifacts. Once she took the Precelestial Spirit Vein, it would definitely cause disturbances. The ancient ancestors of the Chen Family would definitely step in, so she also needed to prepare a Magic Weapon for escape. Preferably a high-level Magic Weapon that could take her a thousand miles away in one go. Yingbao entered a treasure shop and asked about concealment artifacts. The shop assistant looked at her and said, ¡°Low-level concealment artifacts cost a hundred mid-grade Spirit Stones; mid-level ones cost three hundred, and high-level ones cost one thousand.¡± Yingbao gulped. After some thought, she said, ¡°I¡¯ll take a low-level one.¡± No matter the level of the artifact, in front of Nascent Soul and Emanation cultivators, they were like child¡¯s toys. At a nce of their divine sense, all your artifacts and Magic Weapons would be revealed, regardless of whether you used them or not. All she needed to do was to avoid the eyesight of pedestrians andmon guards. As for the rest, that would be left to Xuanwu to cover. The shop assistant handed a low-level concealment artifact to Yingbao, who ced a hundred mid-grade Spirit Stones on the counter. Yingbao also spent ten mid-grade Spirit Stones to buy a cloak of concealment. When worn with the hood on and face veil pulled down, it would prevent visual detection by cultivators at or under the Core Formation stage. She then put on the ck cloak, went to another Treasure Pavilion, and purchased a high-level escape Magic Weapon that cost her two thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones. Yingbao, despite the pain it caused her, paid the fee. She then went to the market and bought a significant amount of Spiritual Wheat and Spiritual Rice, as well as some Spirit nt seeds. After mingling in the market for a while, she bought several storage bags before stopping her purchases. Looking at her own three boxes of Spirit Stones, only two boxes were left. She then turned into an alleyway. When she emerged from the other end, she had already changed her appearance. Not long after returning to the Chen Family, an announcement came for everyone to gather in the square. Following the crowd, Yingbao arrived at a massive martial arts training field, where she saw a crowd of more than a thousand people. This was just a fraction of the Chen Family. The others were either out on missions or were at other posts and couldn¡¯te. Chen Family¡¯s n Leader stood on a high tform and began to speak, ¡°The reason I have called everyone here today is that the Wuji Sect has sent people. They want to select a few disciples with great potential from our family. Anyone wishing to participate in the election, go to the mission office to register. The assessment will begin in three days.¡± Upon hearing this, the crowd below began to whisper and debate. Some were eager to try, while others scoffed. Because each contestant had to pay a hundred low-grade Spirit Stones. Once registered, whether you took the test or not, the fee was non-refundable. ¡°Hmph! They always talk about fairpetition, but in the end, aren¡¯t all the spots reserved? I don¡¯t want to waste my money warming someone else¡¯s palm.¡± ¡°Exactly! I¡¯ve participated countless times, and guess what? Even though I came in first, they still had interviews. And the only ones who passed were the pre-selected candidates.¡± ¡°I think the n Leader has gone mad with poverty, even squeezing us for what little we have.¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t underestimate the amount of money. If each of us pays a hundred registration fee, do you know how much that adds up to for two thousand people? Two hundred thousand! The n Elder regrly says some sect or another ising for recruitment. In the end, they¡¯re all damn scammers!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it true?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not registering this time!¡± ¡°Neither am I!¡± The crowd was indignant. Once the n Leader finished speaking, they all dispersed. Chapter 481: 477: Dragon Spirit_1 Chapter 481: Chapter 477: Dragon Spirit_1 Yingbao nced at the stage and realized that the family head was not the same one from her own time. She presumed that previous person must be no more. She followed the crowd as it began to recede, but halfway through, she noticed many others turning towards the mission hall. After a moment of hesitation, Yingbao also walked into the mission hall. A sign had been erected inside the hall that read, ¡°The Wuji Sect is recruiting disciples here.¡± She observed for a while before turning around to leave. By evening, the n was changing shifts at various posts, including the forbidden area. This was the moment when the guards were the mostx and the overall situation the most chaotic. Yingbao concealed herself with a magic artifact and, with Xuanwu¡¯s help in masking her aura, she slowly approached the forbidden area. Seizing the opportunity when the guards were frequentlying in and out, she stealthily slipped into the mountainside cave. She then followed the stone steps down, taking a separate path to a deeper passage.
Glimmers of various runes shone on the rock walls, easy to trigger if not careful. Under Xuanwu¡¯s guidance, Yingbao carefully avoided the seals and made her way to the depths of the earth. However, just as she approached the Spirit Vein, she was stopped by a stone door. Radiant light swirled on the stone door with various runes blinking incessantly, emitting a dangerous glow. ¡°I can¡¯t go any further.¡± Yingbao frowned. The restrictions on this ce had only grown more potent since she¡¯dst escaped from here. Xuanwu blinked and suggested, bringing out the Reincarnation Mirror, ¡°Use it to create another door.¡± Clearly unwilling, the Reincarnation Mirror wavered. Yingbao could onlypromise, ¡°After the deed is done, I¡¯ll give you half the Spirit nts.¡± The Reincarnation Mirror flickered a few times before flying next to the stone door. It drew a circle on the rock wall with its handle, immediately creating a door shrouded in white mist. Xuanwu was delighted and rushed in first, with Yingbao following closely behind. The Reincarnation Mirror transformed into a streak of light and whizzed into Yingbao¡¯s eyes. In the thick mist, Yingbao followed the light emitted by Xuanwu ahead of her. After what felt like an eternity of walking, they suddenly entered a vast cave. ¡°Wow, an innate Spirit Vein!¡± Xuanwu eximed in astonishment and transformed into a golden ray of light, diving into the spirit pool. As Yingbao approached the Spirit Vein, she saw a tiny, transparent dragon dancing and spinning energetically. It seemed excited to see her, affectionately rubbing its transparent dragon head against her face. ¡°Is this a Dragon Spirit?¡± Touching its transparent horn, Yingbao felt overwhelming sadness. She was clueless that the so-called innate Spirit Vein was actually formed from a Dragon Spirit.
No wonder everyone wanted to y dragons. So this was the reason. Holding back her sorrow, Yingbao gently said to the transparent dragon, ¡°Come with me, okay?¡± The little dragon seemed startled, but eventually nodded its head. In an instant, the dragon emitted dazzling light. The whole spirit pool transformed into a transparent luminescence and slowly flew into Yingbao¡¯s forehead.
Yingbao could feel her cultivation base gradually strengthening, especially her body. It advanced from the Foundation Establishment to the Core Formation, then from the Core Formation to the Nascent Soul stage. Suddenly, the entire space started shaking. The restrictions outside the cave put out a piercing noise. ¡°Not good! We¡¯ve been discovered, let¡¯s go!¡± Xuanwu turned and flew back to the misty passage, with Yingbao following suit. In the passage, they took out the Reincarnation Mirror once again. ¡°Take us to the outskirts of the city!¡± Xuanwu said. The Reincarnation Mirror shook, indicating that it couldn¡¯t. Yingbao could only say, ¡°Then take us to my house.¡± The Reincarnation Mirror flew out and drew a circr door on the rock wall. Xuanwu took the lead, with Yingbao following closely behind in a sprint through the white mist. When they stepped out of the portal, they found themselves in Chen Shuyuan¡¯s room indeed. Yingbao immediately stowed Xuanwu and the Reincarnation Mirror, sweeping her sleeve to disperse the white mist, restoring calm to the room. She also concealed her cultivation base back to the early stages of the Foundation Establishment before lying back on the bed and inspecting her Divine Mansion. The Divine Mansion had expanded several times and appeared more spacious than before.
The Dragon Spirit frolicked back and forth in the Holy Spirit Pool, like a child untouched by worldly matters. Yingbao felt a tinge of sadness. When it was alive, it might have been a very powerful dragon. That¡¯s why after so many years, the Dragon Spirit still retained a bit of consciousness. She didn¡¯t know how many such Dragon Spirits remained in the Immortal Cultivation World, but she nned to find them one by one and bring them into her Divine Mansion. ¡°Xuanwu, can you sense where my Divine Pupil Fragment is?¡± Yingbao asked. Xuanwu replied, ¡°It¡¯s on a person.¡± ¡°Who? Where are they?¡± No matter who this person was, she had to retrieve the Divine Pupil Fragment. Xuanwu said, ¡°It¡¯s on Fairy Bilian. She¡¯s a Chen Family elder, and you will meet her soon.¡± Yingbao scoffed, ¡°Fairy Bilian?¡± That was Chen Tiantian, wasn¡¯t it? So, she didn¡¯t die. At that moment, a copse took ce in the Chen Family¡¯s forbidden area, rming the two Patriarchs. The n Leader along with the five elders arrived on the scene, discovering to their horror that the innate Spirit Vein had disappeared. ¡°What happened?¡± The n Leader was furious, ¡°Did someone break into the forbidden area?¡± The guard captain knelt on one knee, trembling with fear, ¡°We have been guarding the entrance to the forbidden area and didn¡¯t notice anyone entering.¡±
¡°Then why is the Spirit Vein gone?¡± The n Leader demanded, ¡°Did it run out of the forbidden area by itself?¡± The guard captain¡¯s eyes welled up with tears, ¡°Seriously, no one broke in. The restrictions on the stone door were untouched and there were no signs of any disturbance.¡± The n Leader raised his hand in anger, but was stopped by the elder, ¡°n Leader, this matter is strange. Let¡¯s dy the questioning and prioritize finding the Spirit Vein.¡± The guard captain was his grandson, so he naturally couldn¡¯t allow anyone to harm his grandson. The n Leader stamped his feet angrily, ordering a search immediately. Regardless of how thorough the search inside and outside was, there was no trace at all. It was as if the Spirit Vein had vanished into thin air. Fairy Bilian slowly stepped forward, examining a rock wall over and over. She seemed to sense a different aura, corresponding with the Divine Pupil Fragment inside her. ¡°Someone was here.¡± Fairy Bilian extended her jade hand to touch the rock wall, then turned to the crowd, ¡°Call all Chen family members to the square, I want to search for someone.¡± She was sure that a person carrying the Divine Pupil Fragment had been here using some form of secret technique to prate into the earth¡¯s depths and take away the Spirit Vein. She added, ¡°This person¡¯s cultivation base is not lower than the Nascent Soul stage. It might even be the Mahayana Realm, we must be cautious.¡± ¡°What? Mahayana Realm?¡± The crowd gasped, ¡°What should we do? Bilian, quickly invite the forefathers of the Xiao Family to help us.¡± Fairy Bilian said, ¡°Even if we invite them, what good would it do? We don¡¯t know where that person has run off to. Moreover, we can¡¯t always invite others empty-handed, can we?¡±
The n Leader looked grim. Thest n Leader had a penchant for carrying all the important Family treasures on him. As a result, everything was decimated in that demonic woman¡¯s self-detonation. Now, the family¡¯s inventory is quite limited. Where could they possibly find the means to part with their treasures so easily? Now, even the Spirit Vein was gone. From now on, the Chen Family was truly finished. The elders were visibly perturbed. The loss of the Spirit Vein to the family was as devastating as having their backbone pulled out. Nothing significant would seed from here on out. Both the Patriarchs were in the Body Integration Realm, but due to their dwindling lifespan, they rarely ventured out. However, the gravity of the situation forced them to arrive at the square, scanning the Family members with their divine senses. Chapter 482: 478: Emptying the Warehouse_1 Chapter 482: Chapter 478: Emptying the Warehouse_1 But no matter how they scanned back and forth, they found no irregrities. The two elderly men shared a nce, sighing inwardly. They were certain one of their predecessors had stolen their Spirit Vein, but what could they do about it? The spiritual energy in this realm was bing increasingly scarce. Numerous ns and sects found it difficult to sustain themselves, and had to rely on ns and sects with Spirit Veins for survival. But their n had made many enemies over the years. If people got wind of their stolen Spirit Vein, the consequences were unthinkable. ¡°Chen Zhong, seal the news for the time being. We can¡¯t let outsiders know about our lost Spirit Vein,¡± one old ancestor said. ¡°Stay calm for now. We will slowly look into the matter and not rush.¡± The thief wouldn¡¯t wait around for them to find him. If they caused a ruckus that alerted everyone, that would be the most foolish and disastrous thing to do. The n Leader¡¯s nose twitched, nodding repeatedly. The ancestor nced at the dozens of kneeling guards on the ground, waved his hand, and they all disappeared. Seeing this, the elder seethed with rage. His heart ached so much that his teeth chattered, but he knew he couldn¡¯t voice his anger orints now.
The ancestor gave the elder a nce, then vanished from sight. With the ancestor gone and the dozens of guards missing, the n Leader had no choice but to go to the za and send everyone home, telling them all was well. Halfway through, Yingbao turned back. As doubts filled her mind, she began to ponder how to approach Fairy Bilian alone and how to defeat her. Her body had abruptly ascended to the Nascent Soul Realm, without going through the tribtion of thunder. Her realm was unstable, making her susceptible to sudden destruction. Thus, she had to act cautiously. But no matter how cautious she was, her current body wouldn¡¯t withstand a single strike from the other party. Word had it that Fairy Bilian¡¯s cultivation base had reached the Emergence Stage, a whole power rank higher than the Nascent Soul. Therefore, Yingbao didn¡¯t have much chance of victory. The night passed uneventfully. The next day, someone came to fetch Chen Shuyuan, iming the fifth elder wanted to see her. Yingbao followed this person to the fifth elder¡¯s residence and found more than a hundred young boys and girls in the courtyard. These were primarily the fifth elder¡¯s children or grandchildren, all descendants of his line. Seeing that the number of people was about right, the fifth elder announced, ¡°Today, Fairy Bilian is making a trip to the Wuji Sect. She wants to select a group of attendants from the younger generation to apany her. Those willing to go cane and draw lots. Whoever is drawn will apany her.¡± ¡°I¡¯m willing!¡± ¡°So am I!¡± Hands shot up among the young boys and girls. Going to the Wuji Sect, thergest sect in all the world. If lucky enough to stay there for cultivation, it was bound to be better than staying in their own n. Yingbao was ted. She hurried forward, eager to draw a lot. She whispered to Xuanwu, ¡°When it¡¯s my turn to draw, make sure I¡¯m chosen.¡± Xuanwu responded reluctantly. It didn¡¯t want its master to go to that ce, but there was no choice as the Divine Pupil Fragment yet to be retrieved.
This time, out of everyone in the fifth elder¡¯s house, only three were selected. Each of the other elders also had to select three, making it a total of fifteen people. Including the five from her own house, Fairy Bilian was to take away twenty attendants in total. When it was Yingbao¡¯s turn to draw, she picked a bamboo stick with a red circle on it. When she handed in the bamboo stick, a woman standing beside the fifth elder frowned and whispered something in his ear. Then, the fifth elder said, ¡°Shuyuan, you don¡¯t have to go. Give your spot to someone else.¡± Yingbao coldly asked, ¡°Why should I give up my spot? What if I don¡¯t want to?¡±
¡°Shuyuan!¡± The fifth elder was angered, his Nascent Soul Realm suppression force swept towards Yingbao. Yingbao feigned struggle but insisted, ¡°The fifth elder, you made us draw lots, and now you want me to give up my spot. How does that make sense?¡± Even though the fifth elder was Chen Shuyuan¡¯s biological father, he did not allow any child outside of his legitimate heirs to call him ¡®father¡¯. So, Chen Shuyuan still addressed him as the fifth elder. The fifth elder huffed coldly, raised his sleeve, and sent Yingbao flying out of the courtyard. ¡°Get out!¡± He shouted, ¡°If you can¡¯t bring twenty mid-level Spirit nts within this month, do not think of returning to the n!¡± Yingbao slowly rose from the ground, unaffected. Under dozens ofplex gazes, she returned to her room, locked the door, set up a restriction, then took out the wheel mirror, ¡°Take me to Chen Family¡¯s treasury. If I find Spirit nts, I¡¯ll give you half.¡± The wheel mirror cheerfully drew a circle in mid-air, and a circr gate surrounded by white mist appeared. Yingbao put on a concealment magic weapon, asked Xuanwu to hide her aura, then stepped into the mist. As she emerged from the mist, she saw row upon row of shelves, stocked with a dazzling array of spirit treasures and boxes of all shapes and sizes. Yingbao directly swept these items into her Divine Mansion, leaving nothing behind, including the valuable cultivation manuals and alchemy books on the bookshelves. Finally, she arrived before a huge alchemy furnace, filled with a pungent smell of blood: dragon¡¯s blood, demonic beast¡¯s blood, and human blood. Could the Chen Family really be refining pills using cultivators?
With a wave of her hand, Yingbao directly took the alchemy furnace and also the stacks of jade boxes marked with talisman papers piled up in the corner. Seeing the treasury was empty, Yingbao stepped back into the round gate and disappeared. Once back in her room, Yingbao immediately left the Chen Family, hired a beast cart, and left Vermilion Bird City. Once outside the city, Yingbao handed the coachman two low-grade Spirit Stones and headed straight for the forest. Xuanwuughed inside the sea of consciousness, ¡°As expected of you, master, as always. The Chen Family is done for this time.¡± A cultivation n losing their Spirit Vein and having all their treasury depleted was worse than having several elders killed. It would probably take them centuries to recover. ¡°The Chen Family has more than one treasury.¡± Yingbao smiled, ¡°I only emptied their most precious storage ce.¡± She had yet to see exactly what she had taken, but she knew they were all rare treasures. Just the cultivation manuals were an enormous wealth. These things were extremely valuable and could be sold for incredible prices in the market. And it seemed she had collected quite a few boxes of top-grade Spirit Stones. Suddenly, a massive pressure came from the distance, stunning all the insects and birds on the trees, causing them to fall fluttering to the ground. Yingbao sensed something wrong and immediately hid in her Divine Mansion, leaving Xuanwu to keep an eye on the situation. Xuanwu opened The Book of Sky, channeled divine power into it, and saw the outside world reflecting on the pages.
Two figures flew overhead through the forest, each with cultivation not lower than the Mahayana Realm. Yingbao looked at these two and found one figure particrly familiar. Right, that was Xiao Chengjun. He must have received Fairy Bilian¡¯s message and was rushing to Vermilion Bird City. Halfway there, he began searching for suspicious people in the vicinity. That¡¯s why he unleashed his pressure, intimidating everyone around. ¡°Does Xiao Chengjun have a Divine Pupil Fragment on him?¡± Yingbao asked. Xuanwu replied, ¡°No.¡± He paused a moment then said, ¡°He seems to be wearing Dragon Scale Armor, made from your mother¡¯s scales.¡± Even though Dragon God had self-detonated, many of its scales had survived, and some cultivators had swooped in to snatch them. Yingbao asked seriously, ¡°How can we kill him?¡± Chapter 483: 479: Top-Quality Spirit Vein_1 Chapter 483: Chapter 479: Top-Quality Spirit Vein_1 ¡°You must merge all the fragments of the Divine Pupil, and then retrieve the Heart-guarding Scale of your mother from the Wuji Sect,¡± Xuanwu said after some pondering. Originally, that Heart-guarding Scale was worn on Yingbao¡¯s body, butter it was taken away by Xiao Mo and kept in the Wuji Sect¡¯s storage. Yingbao kept silent. She knew that she must retrieve the fragments of the Divine Pupil, but her strength was insufficient. Even at her peak, it only equated to the Mahayana realm. With her current level of cultivation, she could be praised for even being capable of killing Fairy Bilian. However, if you were to add Xiao Chengjun to the mix, her chances of winning were slim. The only solution was to gather a few more Spirit Veins and thus maybe, significantly increase her cultivation base. After pondering for a bit while observing the Dragon Spirit lurking in the Holy Spirit Pool, Yingbao said to Xuanwu, ¡°Take a look around and see where else there are Spirit Veins ¨C let¡¯s go retrieve them.¡± Xuanwu made a bitter face, bit his w to shed some blood on the Heavenly Book and said, ¡°At a distant Wanxiang City, a million miles away from here, there are two Spirit Veins that belong to two cultivators¡¯ families.¡± ¡°Then we will go there.¡± Previously, Yingbao might have hesitated to undertake such tasks but ever since she found out that these Spirit Veins were actually imprisoned Dragon Spirits, she wished to break the cultivators into a thousand pieces. Xuanwu nodded.
Two dayster, Yingbao arrived at Wanxiang City. After feeding a mid-level Spirit nt to the Wheel Mirror, it broke through the void and took Yingbao deep underground. As expected, a Dragon Spirit was still imprisoned here. It was very weak ¨C it seemed as though it would just disappear in the next second. Yingbao reached out to it: ¡°Come here.¡± The Dragon Spirit stared at her for a moment before slowly approaching. Yingbao gently patted its transparent body and put it in the Divine Mansion. As the Dragon Spirit was taken away, the entire underground cave darkened. Yingbao quickly instructed the Wheel Mirror to open another door, directly to another Spirit Vein location. The Dragon Spirit here was fire red, emitting searing heat. It was also quite fiery-tempered and it immediately spat a mouthful of Spiritual Fire at Yingbao. But she found this Spiritual Fire to be vaguely familiar. When she was still in the egg, she had bathed in this same kind of spiritual fire. ¡°Hong Yue.¡± Yingbao softly called. It should be a dragon subordinate of her mother, assigned to incubate her. It was Auntie Hong Yue. The violent Dragon Spirit paused for a second, staring at Yingbao for a while, before slowly approaching. When it sensed a familiar fragrance, Hong Yue sorrowfully nuzzled against Yingbao. Yingbao reached out to it, ¡°Come with me.¡± Hong Yue nodded, flew a circle around the bottom of the cave, sucked up all the Fire Spirit Stones in the cave, and shot straight towards Yingbao. These Fire Spirit Stones were all condensed from its Spirit and it couldn¡¯t leave a single one behind. With two Dragon Spirits entering the Divine Mansion, Yingbao¡¯s cultivation level gradually skyrocketed, directly ascending to the Out-of-body Stage. She was just a tiny bit away from reaching the Division of the Soul Stage.
Seeing this, Xuanwu became extremely excited. Despite sacrificing a thousand-year cultivation base, he continued to calcte and pointed out several Spirit Vein locations for Yingbao. More than ten dayster, Yingbao sessively collected five or six Spirit Veins and raised her cultivation to the Nascent Stage. One day, Yingbao, now d in a ck robe, stepped inside the Qinglong City governed by the Wuji Sect. As soon as she entered the city, she felt that the atmosphere was off, as there were no vendors along the roads.
She concealed her presence, masquerading as a female cultivator at the Core Formation stage, and checked into an inn. Yingbao ced her name, from the family of Chen from the Vermilion Bird City, into the inn logbook. The innkeeper smiled: ¡°I heard that the Spirit Vein of your Chen Family was stolen, is this true?¡± With a surprised look, Yingbao eximed, ¡°What? Our Chen Family¡¯s Spirit Vein was stolen? How do you know about this, innkeeper?¡± ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t know? Nowadays, the story has spread all over the city. A demonic cultivator is disguising himself as a cultivator and stealing Spirit Veins left and right. Many established family¡¯s Spirit Veins have gone missing, and now they havee to Qinglong City to collectively request the Supreme Immortal to make a move,¡± he exined. Yingbao¡¯s face was full of sorrow, ¡°So you say it¡¯s true? I didn¡¯t expect such a thing to happen in my family while I was away. What are we going to do?¡± The shopkeeper consoled, ¡°Don¡¯t be upset, Fairy. Even if your family no longer has the spiritual vein, it doesn¡¯t matter for you female cultivators. You can just marry into a family that has one.¡± Yingbao: ¡­.. Stepping into her room and taking a seat on the Arhat Couch, she heard Xuanwu rambling, ¡°There are three spiritual veins within Qinglong City, all of them are top-quality. When will we go to take control of them?¡± Yingbaoy back on the couch and answered indifferently, ¡°The city is heavily guarded, and there will definitely be many high-level cultivators guarding the spiritual veins. We cannot go.¡± Xuanwu¡¯s gaze dimmed, it retracted its neck in dismay, sighing. Yingbao said, ¡°However, we can go to the Wuji Sect to obtain their superior spiritual vein.¡± The Wuji Sect covers a vast area and has many spiritual veins, most of which are high-quality. It is said that under Peni Peak, where the Supreme Immortal resides, an ultimate spiritual vein is hidden.
¡°Really?¡± Xuanwu¡¯s tiny eyes lit up again, ¡°Then let¡¯s hurry up.¡± Yingbao shook her head, ¡°We can¡¯t now, someone will definitelye in for inspectionter, we can¡¯t leave.¡± Sure enough, there was a knock at the door. Yingbao walked over to open the door, seeing four or five patrols standing at the door with a book in their hands. The one in the middle looked at Yingbao and asked with the book in his hand, ¡°Where are you from? Why did youe to Qinglong City?¡± Yingbao: ¡°I am from the fifth house of the Chen Family in Vermillion Bird City. I came to Qinglong City with the intention to join the Wuji Sect.¡± The man looked her up and down, and scoffed, ¡°With your capabilities?¡± He marked something in his book after saying that, and went to knock on another door. Yingbao mmed the door with a bang, seemingly venting her anger. The patrolsughed a few times without taking it to heart. After they had inspected and left, Yingbao let out a sigh of relief. She was just about to activate the Rebirth Mirror to open a passage when there was another knock on the door. Yingbao furrowed her brows and went to open the door again. A few young cultivators from the Chen family were standing at the door, the one in the lead being the legitimate daughter of the fifth elder, Chen Shuang.
Chen Shuang red at Yingbao with a displeased expression, ¡°Chen Shuyuan, why did you also follow here?¡± Yingbao nced at this woman, seeing that she was only in the early stage of Core Formation, she said coldly, ¡°Why can¡¯t Ie?¡± Seeing that she dare to retort, Chen Shuang raised her hand to strike Yingbao. Yingbao gently raised her finger, flicked lightly, and Chen Shuang flew out like a kite with a broken string. Everyone gasped in shock and quickly ran out to follow her. Chen Shuang broke through the stairs¡¯ railing of the inn and fell directly into the lobby on the first floor. Luckily, she had a protective magic weapon, otherwise, she would have made aplete fool of herself. Chen Shuang got up from the ground with a roar, ready to fly back to the second floor to fight Yingbao, but she was held back by a few others who rushed over. One said: ¡°I saw that Chen Shuyuan seems to have gained a great opportunity, and actually jumped from the Foundation Establishment stage to thete Jiedan Stage in no time. We should quickly go back and report to Fairy Bilian, and let her punish this insubordinate person.¡± ¡°Exactly,st time in the Demonic Beast Forest, she fell off a cliff and didn¡¯t die. Instead, she returned to the family earlier than us. There must be something fishy about this. Maybe it was Chen Shuyuan who colluded with the demons to steal the family¡¯s spiritual vein.¡± Chen Shuang seemed to be deep in thought, ¡°Well, two of you stay here and keep an eye on her, the reste with me to find Fairy Bilian.¡± After calming down from her anger, Chen Shuang also came to her senses. Her cultivation base is inferior to Chen Shuyuan¡¯s. If she provokes a fight, she would definitely end up worse.
Maybe Chen Shuyuan would take this opportunity to take revenge. After all, in the Demonic Beast Forest, Chen Shuang and her group had stolen her mid-level spiritual medicine and pushed her off the cliff. Yingbao, watching from the upstairs, saw that Chen Shuang and a few others left and directly headed in one direction. She thought for a moment, put on her invisible magic weapon, flew down from the stairs, and followed them. Chapter 484: 480: Ling Yue_1 Chapter 484: Chapter 480: Ling Yue_1 Yingbao has reached the Body Integration Realm in her cultivation base, and even though she is only using ordinary stealth magic artifacts, those below the state of Body Integration are still unable to detect her. Fairy Bilian, on the other hand, is at Emergence Stage, and with Yingbao¡¯s level now a whole realm higher, it means she could kill Fairy Bilian as easily as flipping over her hand. Chen Shuang quickly arrived at the opulent Cultivation Building and stepped inside. Although this was an inn, it was of high standing, catering only to cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage or higher, and its daily amodations were also quite expensive. Chen Shuang approached one of the suites and told everyone else to wait at the entrance while she knocked on the door. With the barriers released, Chen Shuang entered the room and saw Fairy Bilian leaning on a soft pillow, chatting with someone else on a Jade Brand. This Jade Brand was quite miraculous; once one inputs the breath into the Jade Brand, imagery can be projected when the two users aremunicating with each other. Chen Shuang also wanted a Jade Brand like this, but it was quite expensive, and as a direct descendant of the fifth elder, she also couldn¡¯t afford it. ¡°Fourth Elder, I saw Chen Shuyuan in the city,¡± informed Chen Shuang cautiously. Chen Tiantian looked at her dismissively, put the Jade Brand away, and asked, ¡°Where is she? Did you bring her?¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t bring her.¡± Chen Shuang said shamefully. ¡°Chen Shuyuan¡¯s cultivation base suddenly rose dramatically, now looks like she is in the Late Jiedan Stage, she must have encountered some grand opportunity.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Chen Tiantian seems interested when she heard about the opportunity, ¡°What kind of opportunity could allow a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator to rise up to Jiedan Stage in just a month?¡± Chen Shuang blinked and mysteriously said, ¡°Fourth Elder, I suspect it has something to do with the disappearance of our family¡¯s Spirit Vein.¡± Chen Tiantian squints her eyes, ¡°In that case, the one who stole the Spirit Vein might also be in Qinglong City.¡± ¡°Indeed!¡± Chen Shuang nodded heavily, ¡°The way Chen Shuyuan is behaving so fearlessly, she might be having an affair with that thief!¡± Chen Tiantian frowned and nced at Chen Shuang. ¡°You go out first, I need to find some help.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Chen Shuang left the room. Chen Tiantian picked up the Jade Brand, and just as she was about to touch it, her head suddenly flew off. Her eyes wide with astonishment, she saw a dark shadow standing in front of her, holding a long sword. Yingbao grabbed the fleeing spirit and sealed it in a transparent bottle, throwing it into her storage bag. With a wave of her hand, a golden fragment flew out from the headless body and fell into her palm. A cleaning spell hit the golden fragment, turning it into a streak of flowing light that flew into Yingbao¡¯s eyes. Immediately, her cultivation base soared again, breaking through the barrier of the Body Integration Realm and advancing directly into the Mahayana Realm. With only one step left to bing an Immortal, an ascendant of the Mahayana Realm stood before her now. Yingbao then looked over the entire Cultivation Building with her divine sense. With a sweep of her sleeve, Yingbao sent Chen Tiantian¡¯s corpse and belongings into her storage bag, and then disappeared instantly. A momentter, Yingbao appeared at a cliff. With a pointed finger, a cave appeared in the cliff face. She flew into the cave and set up a barrier at the entrance, taking out the Mirror of Samsara and instructed, ¡°Take me to the top-grade Spirit Vein of Wuji Sect.¡±
Half a momentter, Yingbao and Xuanwu appeared in a spacious cave filled with Spirit Stones. These diamond-shaped Spirit Stones, big and small, seemed to grow on the cave walls, emitting a radiant glow. Suddenly, a very familiar aura reached her, making Yingbao¡¯s heart jolt. This was¡­ the aura of the Mother Goddess!
Xuanwu also felt it and hurriedly rushed towards the depths of the cave. At the deepest part of the cave was an expansive area filled with all kinds of Spiritual Crystal Stones. In the middle of the cave was a gigantic Crystal Stone Pool. The radiant Crystal Stones resembled immortal flowers, filling up the entire pool. However, in the middle of the pool was an enormous pir that pierced the roof of the cave, and an elegant transparent dragon was coiled around it. Yingbao watched as the dragon¡¯s tail was nailed under the pir. ¡°Mother God!¡± She recognized that the transparent Dragon Spirit was actually the Dragon God, who was her birth mother. The giant dragon slowly turned its head. When it saw Yingbao, it began to struggle violently. But whenever it moved, the pir would emit runes, tightly adhering the dragon¡¯s body to the stone pir. Tears streamed down Yingbao¡¯s face. She wanted toe to the rescue but was blocked by Xuanwu. ¡°There¡¯s a powerful magic-taboo there. If you go, you¡¯ll surely share the Dragon God¡¯s fate.¡± The Dragon God seemed to realize something and gradually calmed down. It looked at Yingbao with a worried expression, wanting to say something, but can¡¯t. After some thought, Yingbao took out the Reincarnation Mirror and forcefully threw it towards the Dragon God. The Dragon God¡¯s eyes brightened, and it swallowed the mirror. This mirror was an ancient divine artifact, capable of travelling through the Ten Thousand Worlds, twisting time and space. It could solve any magic formation.
After the Dragon God swallowed the mirror, the magic formation sealing her started to distort. It wouldn¡¯t be long until she could escape. Yingbao looked hopefully at the Mother God, when she suddenly felt something slowly approaching from behind. Spinning around, the God Scythe in her hand came shing down. However, a spell came flying, not only dispelling her God Scythe attack but also sting Yingbao away, throwing her into the Crystal Stone Pool. The hidden dragon formation inside the Crystal Stone Pool slowly activated, and countless runes tightly entwined Yingbao. Xuanwu grew angry. Suddenly, his body grew exponentially, like a small mountain, and pped at the person with one w. The assant dodged, her silver-white skirt fluttering, and her pure white hair flowed around her like silk. A smile appeared on her stunning face as she waved her sleeve, and an exquisite pagoda appeared. ¡°Collect!¡± The woman yelled sweetly, and the exquisite pagoda emitted a dazzling light. Xuanwu was sucked in instantly. Then she looked at Yingbao with a smile and said softly, ¡°You are my sister¡¯s daughter?¡± Yingbao looked back at her coldly, ¡°And who are you?¡± The woman covered her mouth andughed, ¡°I am your aunt. Didn¡¯t your mother tell you? Oh, my mistake, you were still in the egg when your mother died.¡± Yingbao frowned at the woman, but she detected her own blood scent from her.
She suddenly remembered Xuanwu¡¯s words. Xiao Mo used to bleed herself every once in a while to save a mortal woman¡ªthat woman must be the person standing before her. ¡°I remember now, you must be Ling Yue.¡± Yingbao said coldly, ¡°The traitor who betrayed the dragon n.¡± Ling Yue was taken aback, then burst intoughter, ¡°Right, the world needs only one of me. What use are so many dragons? If they can¡¯t serve me, they¡¯re better off dead. In death, they can bless the Fairy World and provide mystic fate for cultivators.¡± Yingbao suppressed her anger and asked, ¡°Ling Yue, my mother personally trained you to be the future Dragon God. Why did you harm her?¡± She recalled what Xuanwu told her. After hatching Yingbao, the Mother God nned to take her on a tour of the Ten Thousand Worlds, and had already chosen a sessor. She nned to train her to be the next Dragon God. But then, something unexpected happened. The Mother God had no choice but to extract Yingbao¡¯s soul from the egg and send it to the mortal world for reincarnation using the Reincarnation Mirror. Looking back, Ling Yue must have been the one the Mother God was grooming, and she was the family member the Mother God least guarded against. That¡¯s why she was caught off guard, identally falling into the God ying Formation. Otherwise, the Mother God, being so powerful, couldn¡¯t possibly have lost to those scumbags. Ling Yue¡¯s face grew cold, and her beautiful eyes narrowed. ¡°The position of Dragon God is originally mine. Who does your mother think she is, to need her to cultivate me?¡± She looked up at the Dragon Spirit on the pir, her smile dazzling. ¡°Once I absorb your mother¡¯s Dragon Spirit, I will be able to smoothly ascend as the Dragon God. This is what your mother should do for me.¡± Ling Yue¡¯s beautiful eyes turned, her hands forming seals, and covering the Dragon Spirit. The vital energy from the Dragon Spirit was slowly drawn out and entered Ling Yue¡¯s mouth. Yingbao¡¯s eyes widened in anger. Her powerful spirit suddenly sprang out from Chen Shuyuan¡¯s body. As her hand extended, the God Scythe appeared in her palm. At this point, a brilliant light shed by. The Dragon God¡¯s spirit was freed from the pir and rushed towards her daughter.
Chapter 485: 481: Going Home_1 Chapter 485: Chapter 481: Going Home_1 Yingbao was overjoyed, directly absorbing the Mother Dragon Spirit into her Divine Mansion. As the Dragon God¡¯s Dragon Spirit entered the Divine Mansion, Yingbao¡¯s Nascent Soul skyrocketed from the Mahayana Realm all the way to the True Immortal Realm. A true Dragon God doesn¡¯t gain power by absorbing dragon spirits. What she needs is the support and faith of the Dragon n. Yingbao¡¯s God Scythe shed down towards Ling Yue, with a force capable of annihting the heavens and the earth. Ling Yue was greatly shocked, wanting to dodge but was powerless to do so. Her body rapidly disintegrated and shattered, leaving no trace behind. Yingbao seized Ling Yue¡¯s escaping Nascent Soul in one hand and used a soul-sucking technique to extract all her memories. The scenes appeared one after another. Ling Yue, starting as a small young dragon, gradually grew into a lively and adorable girl. Then she met the man she loved most in her life, who also happened to be her brother-inw, the only Phoenix God in the world, Chaoyan. But her brother-inw only treated her as a child, not showing any romantic feelings for her.
As Ling Yue grew older, her obsession increased. After several failed attempts to seduce Chaoyan, she began to resent her sister Lanyue, and even entertained thoughts of killing Lanyue to take her ce. However, before she could put her ns into action, Chaoyan left this realm, his whereabouts unknown. Ling Yue went to question her sister, but Lanyue only evaded her questions and didn¡¯t tell her the truth. Ling Yue was agitated and had no one to confide in, so in a fit of anger, she ran to the Human Cultivation World. The cultivators in this world tricked her, not only stealing her body but also her cultivation base and wealth. Eventually, she was discovered to be a dragon by the cultivators and was then imprisoned. She was bled daily and was vited by a bunch of disgusting old men. They wanted immortality and used her to increase their own cultivation base. They did every disgusting thing to her. Ling Yue couldn¡¯t escape and began to harbor a deep hatred for her sister as well as her own dragon identity. Finally, she met a youthful boy. He often came to treat her injuries, fed her Spirit Food, and would blushingly ask her what she needed, promising to fulfill her wishes as much as possible. Seeing a glimmer of hope, Ling Yue did her best to charm him, using her body to please him, telling him she was willing to bear his offspring. Years passed, and the boy grew into a powerful man. However, Ling Yue also became as weak as a mortal. Ling Yue hated those human cultivators, but she hated her sister and the Dragon n even more. They never came to rescue her, leaving her to suffer in the human world for more than a hundred years. A sinister thought began to grow in her mind, she wanted the entire Dragon n to be wiped out. As a result, many cultivators received a map to the Dragon n¡¯s territory and the Forbidden Curse. Dragons were hunted one after another. The Dragon n began to resist, but they were just over a thousand dragons against countless cultivators. They could not withstand the siege.
Despite this, the drawn-out battlested for several hundred years. It wasn¡¯t until Ling Yue personally took action and lured powerful cultivators into the Dragon God¡¯s pce and ambushed Lanyue, who had just given birth, causing Lanyue to self-destruct and making the entire Dragon n¡¯s territory disappear. Having experienced Ling Yue¡¯s entire life, Yingbao tensed, a cold chill running down her spine. With a clench of her hand, she crushed Ling Yue¡¯s Nascent Soul. She did not spare even these shards, directly absorbing them into her Divine Mansion, allowing her own cultivation base to step up a rank, reaching the Mysterious Immortal Realm.
As Ling Yue¡¯s Nascent Soul was annihted, her Exquisite Pagoda appeared. Yingbao reached out, immediately erased the imprint on it, and let Xuanwu out. Xuanwu was crying pitifully, and the golden book on his back had lost some of its brilliance. ¡°Someone ising,¡± but they couldn¡¯t reach due to the powerful prohibition. He only managed to approach temporarily. Yingbao knew who woulde here. This was Ling Yue¡¯s residence, and Xiao Mo needed her permission to enter. With a wave of her hand, Yingbao gathered all the Ice Spirit Stones within the cave into her Divine Mansion. Now reaching the Mysterious Immortal Realm, she was at the peak level in this world, eliminating the Wuji Sect would be as easy as crushing an ant. Perhaps there are a few older monsters that have a higher cultivation base than her, but their number does not exceed ten. These old monsters, having seen through life and death, returned to simplicity, some of them conceal themselves in the mundane world, enjoying the way of living of ordinary people; some travel the Ten Thousand Worlds, just like her bird-like father. Although her mother, the Dragon God, had a high cultivation base, her mind was pure, and she was constrained by heaven¡¯s rules, unable to leave the Dragon n¡¯s territory, which was why she was killed by those treacherous cultivators and rebels. Of course, a god cannot be killed unless they self-destruct. The Dragon God probably chose to do so rather than being humiliated and tortured by those human cultivators.
While she was distracted, a thunderous crash echoed as the seal of the cave was shattered, and a group of people rushed in. Leading the group were Xiao Mo and Xiao Chengjun, who looked extremely nervous. Behind them was a group of cultivators, each of whom had a cultivation base that was not lower than that of a Nascent Soul. Xiao Mo nced at Yingbao and was slightly taken aback, not recognizing who she was at first. Yingbao¡¯s ck hair was scattered about, and her silver dress trailed on the ground, radiating a luminous glow. This dress was formed from spiritual power. It fluttered without wind, enveloping her entire body in a faint glow. Combined with her facial features, which were quite different from those in the mundane world, and a golden spirit pattern on her forehead, she appeared like a goddess descended to earth. ¡°Who are you?¡± Xiao Mo asked, his face as cold as frost. He tightened his grip on his sword. Yingbao had no time to answer him. Her only desire was to kill these people and leave the Wuji Sect as soon as possible. The Wuji Sect was filled with various arrays. She didn¡¯t dare to take chances. The example of her Dragon God mother served as a dire warning. She certainly didn¡¯t want to be trapped and killed within the Immortal Execution Array. ¡°Demoness! You must be the one who stole the Spirit Veins!¡± Xiao Chengjun shouted sternly, ¡°Since you dared to enter the Wuji Sect today, prepare for your death.¡± With that, soft light spilled out from his sword, forming a multitude of sword arrays, charging towards Yingbao. Xiao Mo also drew his sword, sealing off Yingbao from all directions to stop her from escaping.
Yingbao¡¯s expression turned cold as she swept the God Scythe in her hand at Xiao Mo and Xiao Chengjun. In front of a Mysterious Immortal, these human cultivators were as fragile as paper dolls. Even Xiao Mo, who was in the Human Immortal Realm, could not withstand such power. Despite invoking a congenital spiritual treasure for protection, his body couldn¡¯t withstand an attack from an immortal who was five ranks higher than him. When Xiao Mo regained his senses, he found himself turned into a cloud of fog, floating mid-air, below him was a huge crater. The great protective array of the Wuji Sect was broken and the Fairy Mountain was in ruins. Xiao Mo looked around in bewilderment for the woman¡¯s whereabouts, but there was nothing. Before he had time to wonder where Ling Yue had gone, his consciousness gradually started dissipating, and soon, he plunged into darkness with a gust of wind. Before Yingbao left the Wuji Sect, she emptied the Book Pavilion, took all the treasures from the treasure chamber, and took all the Spirit Veins in the Sect into her Divine Mansion. She took two more Spirit Veins from Qinglong City and broke through the void to visit other ces, collecting arge number of known Dragon Spirits, then she returned to the mundane world. Now she has reached the Great Luo Golden Immortal Realm, even without the use of the Mirror of Reincarnation, she can tear through the void and walk through the Ten Thousand Worlds freely. However, she didn¡¯t want to break the rules of the mundane world and didn¡¯t want her husband and children to feel estranged from her, so she still returned to her original body and proceeded to her original location. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in pitch-darkness. She reached out and removed the bamboo cover from her body and sat up.
It was still her old room, and the bed remained unchanged. Yingbao looked back at the bamboo cover and saw that it was sewn with thick cotton. Was this¡­to prevent her from gathering dust? When she left the room, she suddenly noticed a middle-aged man sitting in a chair by the door, dozing off. Yingbao looked closely and saw that he resembled Wei Zhan. She poked his head and called out in a low voice took, ¡°Wei Zhan.¡± Wei Zhan suddenly raised his head. Upon seeing Yingbao, he appeared to be in shock. After quite a while, he finally pulled her into his arms and began to sob. ¡°You heartless woman! You left us for ten years! Ten years! If not for the fact that you were still breathing, I would have joined you,¡± cried Wei Zhan, tears and snot mixing freely, ¡°Do you know? Because you wouldn¡¯t wake up, your daughter refused to consider marriage proposals.¡± Yingbao patted his back,forting him, ¡°I won¡¯t go anywhere from now on. Let¡¯s stay together with our family forever.¡± Chapter 486: Four Hundred Eighty-Two: Becoming Young Again_1 Chapter 486: Chapter Four Hundred Eighty-Two: Bing Young Again_1 Wei Zhan finally stopped crying, and grasped onto Yingbao¡¯s sleeve with a wistful look, leading her to see his mother, Lady Wang. Lady Wang¡¯s appearance hadn¡¯t changed much, but her temples were already gray. Seeing her daughter-inw finally returning home, she heaved a sigh of relief and was overjoyed. She immediately ordered a servant to prepare some nourishing meals. Yingbao has been bedridden for many years, giving her a slender appearance. She needs a good deal of nourishment. Yingbao replied, ¡°Thank you, mother, but there¡¯s no need to trouble yourself. I will take you to a special ce.¡± Lady Wang, surprised, asked, ¡°Where do you want to go?¡± Wei Zhan nervously clutched onto Yingbao¡¯s sleeve, asking, ¡°Wife, where are you thinking of going again?¡± Yingbao, on one hand holding Wei Zhan and on the other leading her mother-inw, instantly transported them into her Divine Mansion. Her Divine Mansion was incredibly vast at this time, with a clear blue sky, bright sun, tall mountains, forests, andkes, stretching as far as the eye could see. She brought them to a valley. The valley was furnished with pavilions, flowers, birds, fish, and insects, along with all kinds of divine birds and spiritual beasts. In the middle of the valley, there was arge pool. This was the fusion of the Holy Spirit Spring and her Divine Pupil.
A multitude of transparent dragon spirits were frolicking gleefully within. Upon seeing Yingbao, they all flocked over and innding, transformed into an array of stunningly beautiful youths. They curiously looked over at Wei Zhan and Lady Wang, startling the two. Just as they were getting confused, a beautiful woman with ice-like silver hair approached, smiling beamingly at them. ¡°Mother, Wei Zhan, this is my Divine Mother,¡± Yingbao introduced. ¡°Divine Mother, these are my mother-inw and husband.¡± Lady Wang instantly realized, giving Lanyue a slight bow, ¡°So you are the mother of our families.¡± Wei Zhan stuttered a greeting, ¡°Divine Mother.¡± Lanyue helped Lady Wang up, smiling without uttering a word, and with a simple touch, a divine light entered Lady Wang. Upon contact, Lady Wang¡¯s appearance noticeably rejuvenated, her skin transformed to be smooth and white, and her hair turned ck and shiny, making her look like a beautiful young woman. Overjoyed, Yingbao gave Lanyue a bow, ¡°Thank you, Divine Mother.¡± Lanyue chuckled lightly, then proceeded to touch Wei Zhan¡¯s forehead. Wei Zhan¡¯s cultivation base began to soar, reaching the Nascent Soul Realm. With the rise in his cultivation base, he gradually became younger, and now standing side-by-side with Yingbao, they matched each other even better. Although Wei Zhan had cultivated before, reaching only the fifthyer, he understood what he was receiving now. He gave Lanyue a fist-and-palm salute, saying, ¡°This son thanks the Divine Goddess for her blessings.¡± Lanyue gave a slight smile before gradually fading away. Lady Wang was shocked, thinking something terrible had happened. She guiltily reacted, ¡°Yingbao, what happened to your Divine Mother? Did she¡­ because she transformed us¡­?¡± Yingbao reassured, ¡°Divine Mother has gone to cultivate. Mother, you need not worry.¡± For the Divine Mother to transform her husband and mother-inw, she indeed did pay a little price. However, being the Dragon God, even despite losing her physical form, she remained a considerably powerful entity. Given a little while of recuperation within Yingbao¡¯s Divine Mansion, she would gradually recover. Upon hearing this, Lady Wang and Wei Zhan felt much better. They then toured around the Divine Mansion with Yingbao.
At this point, the Divine Mansion wasparable to a vast Mortal World, and it was impossible for them to see everything in such a short time. Nheless, both were impressed and marvelled at the existence of such a divine and holy ce in the world. Yingbao slowly spoke, ¡°Mother, you and Wei Zhan could also stay here and cultivate. I have allocated an area for a manor where you could live with the children.¡± The Dragon God could be a deity because there was a Divine Mansion within its divine soul. After countless years, when the Dragon God perishes, before its divine soul disperses, it can choose to sacrifice it as a ce for the survival of the dragon n.
Her Divine Mansion will now be the dwelling ce of the dragon n in the future. Madam Wang felt rather moved, but remembering her granddaughter was still outside, she shook her head: ¡°Nuannuan is still outside, I¡­ I¡¯ll just stay with her.¡± Her granddaughter was still young, she had to get married in the future. By no means should she be trapped here. Seeing her mother-inw¡¯s worries, Yingbao didn¡¯t insist. She brought them to the manor. Theyout of the houses here differed little from the Princess Residence, but it had an additional Book Pavilion and Treasure Building. The entire collection of the Wuji Sect hadrgely been moved to this ce by her, including the medicine cauldron for refining elixirs and the alchemy storage room. She also moved in arge Spiritual Medicine Garden and a Spiritual Beast Garden, all of which were set up close by. However, she had ced restrictions in many ces, prohibiting casual entry. Yingbao handed a jade slip to Wei Zhan: ¡°This is the key to the Book Pavilion and the Treasure Building, you are free to read the books when you have time. Also, the restrictions in the medicine garden and the spiritual beast garden won¡¯t stop you. If you need anything, you can take it at will.¡± Wei Zhan took the jade slip and responded. Even though his cultivation base had increased, he had no clue about how to use spells, so he must read the books. Wei Zhan was anxious in his heart, worrying that his weak strength would make his wife look down on him. Then, Yingbao left the Divine Mansion with her mother-inw, but Wei Zhan stayed in the Divine Mansion to study the spell books.
Madam Wang and Yingbao returned to the Wei Mansion, startling all the servants and maids in the Jiqing Yard. Especially her personal maid, Ding Xiang, widened her eyes when she saw her mistress, who was decades younger: ¡°Madam? Are you¡­ are you Madam?¡± Madam Wang smiled and nodded, saying: ¡°Of course, it¡¯s me. The Commandery Princess has already woken up, and I¡¯ll write a letter to Nuannuan, asking her toe back and see her mother.¡± The Crown Prince had invited her granddaughter to Beijing to y a while ago, she was not at home at the moment, and so she said. Only then did Ding Xiang realize that the beautiful young girl next to her mistress was the Commandery Princess. She quickly knelt down before Yingbao and paid her respects, ¡°I did not recognize the Commandery Princess, please forgive me.¡± Yingbao: ¡°You¡¯ve done nothing wrong, get up.¡± The Ding Xiang standing before her was now in her forties, appearing significantly aged. She was likely old enough to be a grandmother. Ding Xiang thanked the Commandery Princess, stood up, and curiously scrutinized her mistress. As the Commandery Princess hadn¡¯t changed in many years, Ding Xiang, who had never seen her in her thirties, didn¡¯t feel anything different. But Madam Wang, who was in her fifties, despite being well-maintained, still looked like an old woman in her forties or fifties. The fact she suddenly looked like she was in her twenties, younger than thedies in the front yard, was indeed shocking. Madam Wangughed: ¡°What are you looking at? Go to the kitchen and tell the cooks to prepare a feast.¡± Not only her appearance changed to be younger, but her entire being was also in its healthiest and most vibrant state. Today, she was going to taste the foods that she dared not eat before. Ding Xiang eximed and hurried to the kitchen.
Soon, the entire mansion knew that the Commandery Princess had awakened, and Madam Wang had astonishingly regained her youth, standing together with the Commandery Princess, they looked like sisters. When the master of the Wei family returned from inspecting his shops, he heard the servants¡¯ discussions and couldn¡¯t help but rush to the Jiqing Yard out of curiosity. The several concubines exchanged looks, wanting to follow but afraid of Madam Wang¡¯s punishment; thus they sent maids to Jiqing Yard to sneak a peek. In the Jiqing Yard, Yingbao didn¡¯t avoid anyone and waved out two jars of Spiritual Wine, shocking the maids on both sides dumbfounded. This scene was also witnessed by the master of the Wei family. He tripped as he stepped into the threshold, almost falling. When he saw Madam Wang, the old man¡¯s eyeballs nearly fell out of their sockets: ¡°You you¡­ Are you really Ajin?¡± Chapter 487: Four Hundred Eighty Three: Dislike_1 Chapter 487: Chapter Four Hundred Eighty Three: Dislike_1 Madame Wang ignored him and continued discussing the making of clothes with her daughter-inw. Now that she has regained her young form, she no longer wants to wear the clothes of her elderly self. She¡¯s nning to try some younger designs. Master Wei stepped forward, examining his wife closely. The more he looked, the more amazed he felt, and a glimmer of hope rose in his heart. He tentatively asked, ¡°Ajin, why have you suddenly turned young again?¡± Seeing his wife not answering, he turned to Yingbao, ¡°Commandery Princess, you truly are an immortal, aren¡¯t you?¡± A decade ago, rumors spread that his daughter-inw was an immortal who defeated Jin Country with her divine powers. As a result, the Emperor granted both the Jiang and Wei families nobility. He had trouble believing the rumors at first, but after witnessing this himself, he¡¯s now fully convinced. His daughter-inw has slept for over a decade, and upon waking, his wife has turned youthful again. He¡¯s certain this is his daughter-inw¡¯s doing. Seeing his wife looking as though she¡¯s in her prime and himself with a white beard, wrinkles, and failing health, he grows hopeful. His gaze towards his daughter-inw bes fervent. ¡°Yingbao, you see your dad¡¯s health has been deterioratingtely¡­¡± Before he could finish, he was met with a re from his wife, Wang Jin. Madame Wang frowned, ¡°If you are feeling weak, go to the storeroom and get yourself some tonics. Yingbao just woke up today, why bother her with this?¡±
At this point, Master Wei no longer dared to upset his wife and sheepishly sat down, thick-skinned, ¡°Madame, I was just speaking casually, I meant nothing by it.¡± Madame Wang paid no attention to him and turned to Yingbao, ¡°We have received a new batch of silk at our fabric shop, with all new colours and patterns. Later, I will have some sent to the residence. We can make some more clothes for us and for Seventh Son.¡± Before Yingbao could respond, Master Wei hastily interjected, ¡°I will have those sent over immediately, and also some good quality jewelry and beaded flowers.¡± Madame Wang was silent. Yingbao quickly responded, ¡°Father, there¡¯s no need for the jewelry and beaded flowers.¡± She has several boxes of gold, silver, jade, and jewelry of all kinds in her storage. It¡¯spletely unnecessary to take any from his shop. Master Wei pped his thigh, ¡°What are you saying? We¡¯ve just received a batch of new jewelry, alltest styles of this year. Of course we should wear them first. When people see how good they look on us, they will surely buy more.¡± Yingbao: ¡­ It appears that her father intends her to promote his products. Madame Wang gave her husband a re but didn¡¯t object. Thus, fabric shop and jewelry shop kept delivering silks and jewelry to madame Wang¡¯s main hall, filling the ce. Yingbao casually picked few pieces and paid no more attention. Madame Wang selected around a dozen types of fabric and also picked several new pieces of jewelry before instructing the shopkeeper to take the rest back. Master Wei, grinning from ear to ear, also picked a few pieces and handed them to the seamstresses who came along, instructing them to make clothes as quickly as possible. After having a meal with her mother-inw, Yingbao returned to her own princess residence. Most of her maids married and had children, so Wei Zheng released them and found some younger maids to guard Yingbao¡¯s courtyard. Magnolia, however, did not want to get married and remained as a first-ss maid in the courtyard, supervising the new maids. ¡°Commandery Princess, would you like to wash up?¡± asked Magnolia, looking at her mistress. She felt a mix of amazement and joy; she was d she hadn¡¯t given up on waiting for her mistress¡¯s awakening. Yingbao nodded. ¡°I need a bath.¡± Although she had used a cleaning spell, she still felt uneasy after lying in bed for over a decade, even though the maids had been washing her body every day.
Magnolia quickly told the little maids to prepare hot water, organizing towels and clothes for Yingbao while keeping her updated with the happenings over the past decade. Young Master has married and is now an assistant in the Zhouhe County Government. Wumei¡¯s parents have never asked about him, likely they have no intention to have him back. Recently, Wumei apanied Nuannuan to Beijing for a trip and will not be back until June. A few years ago, the Emperor arranged a marriage for Jiang Wu with his own daughter. However, as the princess was young, the two have yet to marry.
Hearing this, Yingbao¡¯s eyelid twitched. Her master was definitely unreliable. Her brother was already so old, yet rather than finding him a match of simr age, he was given a child bride. ¡°How old is the princess now?¡± Yingbao asked. Magnolia: ¡°She is about fifteen this year, and the Emperor has set the wedding date for August.¡± Yingbao calcted Jiang Wu¡¯s age in her heart, estimating he must be around thirty. Sigh, her master really wasn¡¯t kind. After finishing her bath, Yingbao dismissed her maids and entered the Divine Mansion. Wei Zhan was practicing his spells within the estate. Seeing his wife arrive, he immediately came over with a smile: ¡°Yingbao, I¡¯ve already mastered two spells.¡± Saying this, he waved his hand and the flowers and nts around him slowly stretched their branches and leaves, growing much taller. Yingbao nodded: ¡°Good job. You have both wood and fire Spiritual Roots, suitable to practice the Eternal Spring Technique.¡± She reached out, took a box of jade slips from the Treasure Pavilion: ¡°This is the Eternal Spring Technique. Try practicing it first. If it doesn¡¯t work, we can switch to something else.¡± Wei Zhan scratched his head. Without a master¡¯s guidance, he had to figure out a lot on his own. Today, he casually picked up a book in the Book Pavilion, but he couldn¡¯tprehend it. Yingbao took a jade slip filled with spiritual energy and directly ced it on his forehead.
A surge of information flooded into his mind, and Wei Zhan suddenly understood everything. So this was how immortals read books. Yingbao used five jade slips on him, seeing that he was reaching his limit, she put the box away, and put it back into the Treasure Pavilion. Wei Zhan was now seated on a mat with his legs crossed, closing his eyes to digest the knowledge he had absorbed. Yingbao didn¡¯t disturb him. She went outside the estate. In a wave of her hand, a series ofrge courtyards appeared,plete with houses, gardens, flowers, trees, pavilions, and towers. She also named theserge courtyards, such as Peony Yard, Xiangzhu Yard, and Peach Plum Yard, and so on. In the future, she wanted to bring all her parents to live here. Her grandparents were old, they had to bring them in as well, including her two uncles and their wives. Frankly, Yingbao didn¡¯t mind bringing others in. If they lived here, everyone could live past a hundred years old. Or, she could set up a formation in Dongchen Vige, bury some top-grade spirit stones underground, and that should benefit the entire vige. Yes, if her grandparents weren¡¯t willing to move into the Divine Mansion, she could just set up a formation in the vige, turning it into a paradise for the elderly. After a night, Wei Zhan finally finished meditating.
His cultivation base was high enough, his spiritual sense was gradually bing stronger, and his ability to understand things naturally wasn¡¯t weak. ¡°Wife, let¡¯s go out.¡± Wei Zhan took his wife¡¯s hand, looking at her lovingly. He didn¡¯t dare to be intimate with her here, always feeling like her mother would discover, so he had to go out. Yingbao took his hand, and they instantly appeared inside a room in the princess¡¯s residence. It was clear daylight outside, the start of a new day. Wei Zhan was standing in the courtyard, waving his hand, a hundred flowers bloomed in the courtyard, even the weeds grew taller than a person. Wei Zhan sneakily nced at his wife. Seeing that she didn¡¯t seem angry, he quickly went to pluck out those weeds. ¡°Seventh son!¡± Wei¡¯s family head came running in a hurry. Seeing that his son looked younger, as if he had returned to ten years ago, he felt a little bitter and muttered: ¡°Seventh son, your dad didn¡¯t sleep all nightst night.¡± Wei Zhan was confused: ¡°Why?¡± The family head of Weiined: ¡°Your mom wouldn¡¯t let me in the house. She¡­she thinks I¡¯m too old¡­¡± Chapter 488: 484: Returning Home_1 Chapter 488: Chapter 484: Returning Home_1 Wei Zhan was speechless. His mother had not allowed his father to spend the night in her room for many years now, and his father hadn¡¯t said a word about it. But today, early in the morning, he actually cameining to him at the Princess Residence, Wei Zhan suspected his father had ulterior motives. ¡°Father, I¡¯ll talk to youter,¡± Wei Zhan signaled to a nearby maid. She stepped forward and greeted the Wei n leader with a respectful knee-bend, ¡°My lord, please enjoy morning tea in the front hall.¡± This was the Princess Residence, and the Master of the Wei family had no choice but to follow the maid reluctantly to the front hall. Weizhan got rid of his father and returned to his wife¡¯s room, ¡°You rest for a while, I¡¯ll be right back,¡± he said. He had spent the entire night with his wife, which was a bit unusual. It would be better for him to get some sleep after talking to his father. ¡°You go ahead.¡± Yingbao prepared to go back to Qinchuan County to organize some things to bring to her parents and grandparents. After that, she would have to go to Beijing to check on her two younger brothers and others like Jiang Quan and Huzi. Weizhan gave his wife a kiss and then went out to see his father. When the Master of the Wei family saw his son, he stood up immediately and asked anxiously, ¡°Qi Lang, how did you and your mother manage to rejuvenate yourselves? Can you also¡­¡± ¡°Father, it¡¯s hard to exin,¡± Weizhan said, ¡°If you can cultivate a calm and natural understanding, I can guarantee you will live a long life. As for bing younger¡­¡±
He looked at his father and hesitated, ¡°That depends on fate.¡± The master of the Wei family sat down in the chair with a dejected look, unhappy. But now that his son and daughter-inw were both important figures, he couldn¡¯t criticize them in front of the servants. After thinking for a while, he pitifully said, ¡°Then¡­I¡¯ll let the other maids go when I get home.¡± Weizhan remained silent. He had no desire or authority to meddle in his father¡¯s domestic affairs. As long as those concubines behaved themselves in the mansion, things would be fine. If they caused any more problems, he would invite his mother to live in the Princess Residence and never get involved with them again. Last time, his oldest nephew Shu Nan had gotten into a fight over a woman from a brothel and severely injured the other party. His father had to spend a lot of money to resolve the situation and save his nephew. Despite this, his sister-inw from the Cao family still made a fuss, crying hysterically that his father didn¡¯t care about her or her son¡¯s wellbeing. She even imed that if they had sent Shu Nan to Beijing, he would not have gotten into such a mess. Wei Zhan was frustrated every time he thought about the Cao family mother and son. ¡°Father, I have other matters to attend to. I won¡¯t stay with you any longer,¡± Wei Zhan got up and left straight away after speaking. When he returned to his wife¡¯s room, he saw her packing. Wei Zhan hugged his wife from behind and asked, ¡°Where are you nning to go now?¡± ¡°I want to go back to Qinchuan County for a while. Are youing?¡± Yingbao turned around and caressed his thin cheek. Weizhan nodded, ¡°Wherever you go in the future, I¡¯ll go. Don¡¯t think about leaving me behind.¡± Yingbao chuckled and nestled into his embrace, ¡°I know. Wait until you reach the level of divinity in your cultivation, then I¡¯ll take you on a journey through the Ten Thousand Worlds.¡± Actually, they could do it now, but they both had things tying them down at home, so it had to be put off until everyone had passed on a hundred yearster. Upon hearing this, Wei Zhan¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Really? Can I really travel through the Ten Thousand Worlds?¡± ¡°Of course, if Mother-inw and Nuannuan are willing, I can take them as well.¡± ¡°As long as Nuannuan is going, my mother will definitely agree.¡± His wife had been in a deep sleep for many years, and his mother had personally raised Nuannuan throughout that time. They even ate and slept together, so the person his elderly mother was most reluctant to leave behind was, naturally, her granddaughter.
The next day, without bringing anyone else, Yingbao and Wei Zhan rode out of the city and headed straight for Qinchuan County. As soon as they reached a solitary ce, Yingbao called back their horses. Holding Wei Zhan¡¯s hand, with a slight shift, they arrived at Dongchen Vige in Chuanhe Town. Jiang Sang, the Third Son of the Jiang family, had quit his position as county magistrate and moved back to Dongchen Vige with his wife to live with his parents and oldest brother. However, his Second Brother, Jiang Eng, had moved to Beijing with his family, where they lived with Huzi.
When Yingbao and Wei Zhan walked into the vige, the entire vige was stirred. Second Aunt Wang, who was selling apricots at the entrance of the vige, recognized the well-dressed young couple and stared at them for a long time. When she saw them heading towards Jiang¡¯s house, she suddenly remembered and eximed, ¡°Good heavens! Isn¡¯t that Yingbao? She hasn¡¯t changed at all!¡± She picked up her basket and ran back to her house, shouting as she went, ¡°Hey! Our Commandery Princess is back!¡± Her shout summoned all the vigers to the entrance of the Jiang family¡¯s house. The vige elder and his wife also arrived. Despite being over seventy or eighty years old, they were as light on their feet as ever, showing no signs of aging. The Jiang household was the same as ever, except that there were a few more servants around. Chunniang was making summer clothes in her room. She vaguely heard people shouting that the Commandery Princess had returned, so she quickly put down her needle and thread and ran out to check. By this time, Yingbao and Wei Zhan had already entered the house. Suddenly, Chunniang cried out, ¡°Bao¡¯er! You¡¯re finally awake!¡± Chunniang hugged her daughter, tears streaming down her face. She repeatedly touched Yingbao¡¯s face and hands to confirm that everything was real. ¡°Mother, have you been well?¡± Yingbao asked. She had been gone for over ten years, and she knew her parents must have been worried sick. Chunniang nodded again and again, ¡°Your father and I are both very well. Now, tell mother, what exactly happened?¡± Yingbao entered the room with her mother, ¡°Where¡¯s Dad?¡± she asked when she didn¡¯t see him. ¡°Your father and your uncle went to check on the pepper nts in the vige,¡± Chunniang replied. Recently, there had been quite a few people wanting to buy pepper seedlings, so Jiang Sang had pruned his own vines and sold them at a low price to people from outside the vige.
The Jiang family was no longer poor; every year they had a considerable amount of ie. In addition to the profit from their ownnd and the dividends from the shops and weaving workshop, they were saving most of the money that wasing in like snow. As a result, Jiang Sang rarely did any physicalbor apart from growing some mushrooms and other things. Yingbao suddenly wondered whether her fruit trees and grapevines were still there. Chunniang called out to Wei Zhan with a big grin, ¡°Wei Zhan,e in and sit down.¡± Weizhan followed his wife into the main room and sat down. A young maid served them tea. Before long, the Jiang household was surrounded by vigers. The vige elder and his wife also came and were invited into the main room to exchange greetings with Weizhan and Yingbao. Soon after, Old Man Jiang and his wife Jiang Liu also came over and were somewhat surprised to see Wei Zhan. The old couple had visited their granddaughter in Zhouhe County while she was still in a deep sleep. The husband of the granddaughter was certainly not like this, why had he suddenly be so much younger? Confused, they voiced their doubts. Yingbao smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s because Wei Zhan has had a celestial encounter.¡± ¡°Ah? What do you mean by a ¡®celestial encounter¡¯?¡± Old Man Jiang had never heard the term before and was curious. Yingbao: ¡°I¡¯ll exin in detailter.¡± There were too many people in the courtyard now and it would be tooplicated to exin everything at once, so she simply didn¡¯t say anything. After everyone exchanged pleasantries and chatted for a while, Old Lady Tang said, ¡°Yingbao, I¡¯ve been feeling unwelltely, can you check me over?¡±
Yingbao nodded and extended her finger to take the elderly woman¡¯s pulse. In fact, Old Lady Tang didn¡¯t have any serious health problems, but she was old, and her body was showing signs of wear and tear, just like a machine that has been used for many years. Yingbao turned to Wei Zhan and said, ¡°Use the Eternal Spring Technique on Old Lady Tang.¡± Wei Zhan stood up as he was told, held his hands together to make a seal, and cast the Eternal Spring Technique. Chapter 489: 485: Divine Tree_1 Chapter 489: Chapter 485: Divine Tree_1 In fact, Wei Zhan had justprehended a bit. The Eternal Spring Technique only reached the first level, yet it was enough to treat an elderly man with sub-health conditions. A soft glow shrouded Grandma Tang. After a short while, the glow dissipated, revealing Grandma Tang looking radiant with her previously sallowplexion glowing with health and vitality. Especially, her originally dull lips now showed a vibrant light red colour. Grandma Tang took a light breath and felt unprecedentedly rxed. Her various inner aches and pains were gone, and she immediately stood up to bow to Wei Zhan: ¡°I am deeply grateful to you, Lord.¡± Wei Zhan reached out a hand toward her, motioning for Grandma Tang to sit down. Turning his head to see n Leader Chen looking at him expectantly, he smiled and performed the Eternal Spring Technique on him as well. If just the first level of this technique could rejuvenate ordinary people, would reaching the highest ninth level allow him to bring the dead back to life? Thinking like this, Wei Zhan used the telepathic secret art to inquire of his wife. Yingbao replied: perhaps, but it wouldn¡¯t work if the person¡¯s soul has already dissipated. This spell would have a massive impact on ordinary people and natural living creatures. However, for high-level cultivators and high-level spiritual grasses and beasts in the Fairy World, it would merely slightly extend their lifespan and restore some injuries.
Wei Zhan understood and was happy in his heart. After practicing for a while longer and refining the technique to the third level, he will try it on his father. No matter what, that was his father. He couldn¡¯t just stand by and watch him age and die while he and his mother enjoyed a long life. Next, Wei Zhan performed it on his grandfather-inw, Old Man Jiang, and his wife, Jiang Liu, as well as the gathered Chen Sanyou and his wife, and his Master. There were a few elderly vige folks who couldn¡¯t get around because of their failing legs. They didn¡¯te over, so at the request of their families, Wei Zhan went to their homes to perform the spell respectively. An old man, who had been bedridden and skinny for half a year, tremblingly stood up and, supported by his grandchildren, thanked Wei Zhan. At this point, the whole vige was abuzz. Many people brought their children and rushed over. Some even carried their elderly parents to the Jiang Family to ask Wei Zhan for treatment. Wei Zhan didn¡¯t say anything and continued to perform the spell. Interestingly, with each person he treated, the Eternal Spring Technique suddenly advanced to the second level. At the second level, the Eternal Spring Technique could not only cure minor diseases and pains but also heal broken bones rapidly. Of course, it didn¡¯t mean growing a limb back. Rather, it helped restore functionality to the broken parts. After everyone in the vige left, Yingbao sat down with her family to talk. At this time, Jiang Sang and his elder brother Jiang Dng returned. Seeing their daughter sitting intact in the living room, they were both startled and joyous. Yingbao and Wei Zhan paid their respects to their father, then began to discuss their ns with the family. However, their grandparents and their uncle and aunt shook their heads, refusing to live in the Divine Mansion. They were used to living in this vige. They found joy in their daily interactions with their fellow vigers and didn¡¯t want to leave their homnd. Yingbao knew they would respond this way, so she proposed a second n. She would set up an array for the entire vige, using a spirit stone as the basis, and suffuse the vige with spiritual energy. So, the people living there could also live longer in the future. ¡°Good idea. Let¡¯s do it that way.¡± The Jiang brothers and their old father unanimously approved with both hands.
Although they didn¡¯t understand what arrays and spiritual energy were, Yingbao was an immortal. Whatever she decided must be right. Next, Yingbao used one hundred and eight top-grade Spirit Stones as cornerstones to create an array for the vige. The array¡¯s core was right at his house. If anyone dared to behave inappropriately in the vige, his father could directly expel them. This way, the safety of the vige was ensured. While setting up the array, Yingbao nced at Xichen Vige next door, the market outside the vige, and the houses of those who hade to settle here. After a thought, he included them as well.
When the array was established, all the nts in the vige had unexpectedly thrived a bit more. The n Leader and the elderly vigers were all overjoyed. With their youth long gone, who would not want to live a few more years? Now that Yingbao had given them hope to live on, the older vigers were so grateful they were in tears. Yingbao didn¡¯t hide these actions from anybody. He even relocated an evergreen tree from the Immortal Cultivation World to the center of the vige. The tree was extremely tall, its trunk was gnarled, and its leaves were dense. In the daytime, it could absorb turbid energy, and at night, it would emit Spiritual Energy. It was a treasure for Immortal cultivating families to protect their homes. After doing all this, Yingbao also brought the frail Youyou and his descendants into the Divine Mansion, hoping they would live a little longer there. A few dayster, people from several neighboring viges came to know that a divine tree had grown overnight in Dongchen Vige. Many people came forward to worship it, bringing along their old and young family members, hoping that the divine tree would keep their families safe and healthy. At first, the people of Dongchen Vige didn¡¯t mind, but soon they discovered that some outsiders were extremely disrespectful, secretly plucking the leaves of the divine tree when no one was looking. This angered the vigers of Dongchen Vige, especially the n Leader. His beard stood on end with anger, and he ordered the vigers to drive these people out, never to allow them into the vige again. ¡°Why won¡¯t you let us in!¡± The expelled people were unwilling and yelled out: ¡°The divine tree is for everyone. You can¡¯t be so overbearing!¡± The n Leader scoffed, ¡°This is our vige¡¯s divine tree. We allowed you toe in and worship it out of kindness, but you dared to pluck its leaves¡­¡± ¡°Exactly! Do you think you have the right to pluck its leaves?¡± Many vigers, holding sticks in their hands, pointed at the outsiders and said: ¡°Not killing you on the spot already counts as lenient! Don¡¯t evere in again!¡± ¡°Yes! Outsiders are not allowed in!¡±
Many people from Xichen Vige and a few other viges around shoved those outsiders, pushing them out of the boundary. It was easy to recognize the boundary, where vegetation grew luxuriantly, all belonged inside it; that was, under the divine tree¡¯s protection. This was the vigers¡¯ understanding. Eventually, the outsiders reluctantly left. The implicated outsiders, out of anger, punched and kicked the people who had secretly plucked the divine tree¡¯s leaves. In the following days, people continued toe and worship the divine tree, but the n Leader set the schedule, only permitting outsiders toe on the fifteenth day of each month, and they must not approach within 10 feet of the tree trunk. Surprisingly, those who were physically weak felt much better after spending a whole day in Dongchen Vige on the fifteenth day of each month. Even some long-standing illnesses seemed to have improved. As a result, more and more people came to Dongchen Vige for sightseeing and worship, and manynded up settling down around the vige or market, including quite a few wealthy people from the town. The n Leader¡¯s second son and a few smart ones quickly built an inn outside the vige, specifically for the tourists¡¯ business. As a result, the area of the market expanded further, with various restaurants and inns mushrooming, and various snack shops sprung up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. Chen Zhao and his wife also built arge restaurant on the market and helped his younger brother, Xubao, to build an inn next to it. One day, Sun Licheng arrived at Dongchen Vige, found Jiang Dng and said, ¡°Dng, I also want to buy a house in the vige. Can you make some concessions?¡± Now Sun Licheng was no longer serving as the Lizheng, having handed over his duties to his eldest son, who followed his father¡¯s footsteps. Luckily, his family had been fair and did not collude with the officials.
Chapter 490: 486: Choosing a Consort_1 Chapter 490: Chapter 486: Choosing a Consort_1 Jiang Dng had no objections, but he would still need to discuss with the n leader and the other vige elders. Stroking his beard, Chen, the n leader, pondered for a moment and said: ¡°It¡¯s okay for Sun Licheng to buy a house in our vige, but if others like Zhang San and Li Sie to buy as well, we won¡¯t be able to amodate them.¡± Dongchen Vige is only so big. Even if Yingbao included many farms, there wouldn¡¯t be enough space to construct many courtyards. ¡°We should establish some rules for our vige in the future to prevent others from wanting to move in,¡± suggested an elder. Jiang Dng nodded, ¡°Let¡¯s decide then: only those with marital connections or familial ties within three generations can buy houses andnd here. Everyone else is prohibited.¡± ¡°Indeed, let¡¯s proceed with this n,¡± the n leader agreed. ¡°What about Sun Licheng?¡± Jiang Dng asked. The n leader replied: ¡°He has been serving as our vige head for decades. Let¡¯s give him a break this time but make no exceptions in the future.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do that.¡± The agreement was unanimously reached and they even wrote an announcement to be posted on the notice board next to the divine tree.
Most of the children in Dongchen Vige had been to school, so they informed their illiterate parents about the content of the announcement. Meanwhile, Yingbao and Wei Zhan brought their parents into the divine mansion. Their grandparents and the aunt also entered. She then teleported to Beijing and brought them out. As Jiang Wu would be getting married in a few months, they took this opportunity to attend the wedding and visit other family members. The aunt was most delighted as she finally got to see her second son, Jiang Quan, and her third son, Yuanbao. She and her husband, Jiang Dng, were content living in the countryside and did not wish to settle in Beijing. However, if they could see their sons¡¯ families regrly, it would still make them very happy. ¡°Sister! You¡¯re awake!¡± Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu were very happy to see their sister. Jiang Jie even called his son to meet his aunt whom he had never met before. The little one was about seven or eight years old. He blinked his eyes at his aunt, then looked at his parents, asking curiously, ¡°Dad, why do you call auntie sister?¡± His auntie appeared much younger than his father, looking about the same age as his elder sister. How could she be his dad¡¯s sister? Jiang Jie: ¡­ Yingbao patted her nephew¡¯s head and smiled, ¡°I am older than your dad, hence I am your sister.¡± The little one seemed more confused than before. At this moment, Nuannuan and Wuhui returned. Hearing that her mother had arrived, Nuannuan ran into the house quickly. Seeing her mother sitting all right, Nuannuan burst into tears, rushing into Yingbao¡¯s arms. ¡°Mother! Mother! You are finally awake!¡± Yingbao hugged her daughter and whisperedforting words to her, ¡°It¡¯s all mom¡¯s fault, I won¡¯t leave you again.¡± She felt extremely guilty for missing out on her daughter¡¯s childhood. ¡°Wu¡­ wu¡­ Mother, Nuannuan misses you every day, but you have been unconscious for so long, Nuannuan is really sad.¡± Nuannuan couldn¡¯t stop crying while hugging her mother, making everyone in the room wipe their tears. Yingbao was almost heartbroken, she patted her daughter and coaxed her, ¡°Nuannuan, don¡¯t cry. Mother will take you to a ceter.¡± Nuannuan nodded, ¡°Mother, please take Nuannuan with you wherever you go.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After mother and daughter calmed down, Wuhui saluted Yingbao: ¡°Auntie, I am Wuhui. Do you remember me?¡±
¡°Of course, I remember you,¡± Yingbao looked at Wuhui fondly. ¡°You¡¯re all grown up now, aren¡¯t you seventeen this year?¡± Wuhui nodded, ¡°Almost eighteen.¡± Yingbao asked, ¡°Have you taken the imperial examination?¡± Wuhui scratched his head and shook his head: ¡°I want to study cultivation with Uncle Wei and Sister Nuannuan, I don¡¯t want to take the civil service examination.¡±
¡°Youe over here,¡± Yingbao beckoned him. Wuhui stepped forward and stood in front of Yingbao. With her hand on his head, after a moment of examination, she said, ¡°I will open your veins for youter.¡± Over the ten years when she was absent, Wuhui had been close to Nuannuan like a real brother. If so, she might as well help him and let him cultivate too. Wuhui was so delighted that he almost jumped up. He gave Yingbao a deep bow, ¡°Thank you, auntie.¡± After the family had dinner together, Yingbao brought them all into the divine mansion. Of course, that included Wuhui. She then chose several young children and opened their veins. Afterward, she brought a lot of body tempering spiritual medicines from Treasure Building and tempered their bodies one by one. When Wuhui felt the spiritual energy around his body for the first time, he felt like the whole world had changed. ¡°Auntie, I want to stay here!¡± Wuhui enjoyed thepany of flowers, grass, and spiritual beasts. Even if there were no humans here, he was more than satisfied. After thinking for a moment, Yingbao said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll pick a few more children toe here and practice with youter.¡± Wuhui wanted to say no, but knowing that his aunt meant well for him, he nodded, ¡°Okay.¡±
Jiang Quan and Yuanbao walked around and found it fascinating, but they still preferred the hustle and bustle of human life. ¡°Although it is good here, it¡¯s too quiet. I definitely can¡¯t stand it,¡± Jiang Quan asked his children, ¡°Do you want to stay or go back?¡± The two children shook their heads like rattle drums: ¡°We don¡¯t want to stay!¡± There were no ymates here, nor were there bustling markets. It wasn¡¯t fun at all. Jiang Jie¡¯s younger son, Jiang Qi, however, said, ¡°I want to stay, together with Brother Wuhui.¡± In the end, only Jiang Qi and Wuhui decided to stay in the divine mansion for dedicated cultivation. Needless to say, Nuannuan also stayed. She was afraid that her mother would abandon her again, so she decided to stay with Wuhui and Jiang Qi. After seeing her family members off, in a couple of days, Yingbao and Wei Zhan received a royal decree summoning them into the pce to discuss matters. Yingbao received the decree and rode the carriage with Wei Zhan into the pce. Not only the Emperor, but Empress Lu was also present in Zichen Hall. Now that Wuyang was the Crown Prince, Lu Consort naturally became the Empress. When the Emperor and Empress saw Yingbao and Wei Zhan, they stood up to greet them and gave them seats. After sitting down on his throne, Zhou Wuchang stroked his beard and asked Yingbao, ¡°Yingbao, I heard that there¡¯s a divine tree in your vige?¡±
Yingbao gave the Emperor a look and replied, ¡°It¡¯s not a divine tree. It¡¯s just vigers spreading rumors. Your Majesty, please don¡¯t believe them.¡± Zhou Wuchang just asked casually and quickly changed the subject, ¡°I¡¯ve been unwell recently, feeling dizzy and suffering from headaches if I sit for too long. So, I n to give the throne to Wuyang, allowing him to handle the government affairs.¡± Yingbao and Wei Zhan listened silently. Zhou Wuchang nced at the Empress. Immediately, Empress Lu said, ¡°But Wuyang is not married yet. We want to help him choose a consort and finalize the marriage first, to put our minds at ease.¡± Yingbao blinked, ¡°Your Majesty indeed has a point.¡± The moment she said this, Zhou Wuchang and the Empress were at a loss for words. After a pause, Zhou Wuchang cleared his throat and said, ¡°Yingbao, since you have been in a deep sleep these years, you may not know that Wuyang often goes to Zhouhe County. He and Nuannuan have grown up together since childhood.¡± Realizing what he was implying, Yingbao stood up, saluting Zhou Wuchang, ¡°Master, the matters of young people should be decided by them. I can¡¯t make decisions for Nuannuan.¡± If her daughter also liked Wuyang, she wouldn¡¯t oppose it. But, the boy was still immature,pletely immersed in cultivation, and even mentioned traveling around the Ten Thousand Worlds with his parents. Moreover, her daughter was only fourteen years old this year. Even if she really fell in love with Wuyang, she would not allow her to get married prematurely. Chapter 491: 487: Yellow-Haired Wild Man_1 Chapter 491: Chapter 487: Yellow-Haired Wild Man_1 Empress Lv was a bit displeased and nced at the Emperor. Seeing hisposed demeanor, she had no choice but to suppress her resentment and didn¡¯t dare disy her anger. The Emperor sighed inwardly, knowing that he cannot force his young apprentice now. From the moment this apprentice stepped into the grand hall, he felt as if he¡¯d been shocked into submission. He couldn¡¯t exude a hint of dignity in front of her. He knew the reason. His apprentice had been extraordinary since childhood, and now she was more imposing. Sometimes Zhou Wuchang wondered if she wanted the beautiful country, it would be a matter of the wave of her hand, and he couldn¡¯t resist. That was why he wanted the Crown Prince to marry Nuannuan as the Crown Princess Consort, so that the Crown Prince could stabilize the country in the future. After being an Emperor for so many years, Zhou Wuchang had be open-minded. Although power is a good thing, longevity is what matters. So, he decided to hand over the throne to his son to manage, and while he was still alive, he would learn the path of cultivation from the Jiang Family members, and then roam the world freely. ¡°Cough, let¡¯s talk about itter. The reason I invited you two here is not just because of the children. I want to stay in your hometown for a while.¡± Zhou Wuchang had already learned from the County Magistrate of Qinchuan County that many people had flocked to Dongchen Vige in Chuanhe Town. It is said that people who stayed there for a long time had vigorous bodies, keen ears, and sharp eyes. He wanted to see what was going on.
Yingbao bowed obsequiously, ¡°It is our honor that Your Majesty could visit. I will arrange afortable residence for you.¡± Zhou Wuchang smiled and nodded. Empress Lv wasn¡¯t very happy. She said grudgingly, ¡°Your Majesty, if you go live in the vige, what about me? Do you expect all the pce consorts to go too?¡± Zhou Wuchang said lightly, ¡°You stay in the pce and manage the matters here. Comfort all the consorts in the pce. When I am well-rested, I will naturallye back. Besides, Wuyang is already capable of handling things on his own, with his teachers by his side. I don¡¯t need to worry.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Empress Lv looked at the Emperor resentfully and said petntly, ¡°I want to go with you.¡± Zhou Wuchang frowned, ¡°Do you mean it? There will be no one to manage affairs in the pce if you go. Have you thought about it?¡± Empress Lv was startled and immediately said, ¡°It is just that I worry about you. If you don¡¯t want me to go, I won¡¯t go.¡± She regretted speaking in haste. If the Emperor really took her to the countryside, he would certainly have to select another consort to manage the pce. She didn¡¯t want to lose the authority to manage the harem. Zhou Wuchang saw through the disingenuousness of the Empress and sighed inwardly. The women in the pce imed to love him, the Emperor, but it was all fake. Nothing is more important than power. He was already old and no longer sought love. No matter how beautiful or charming a woman is, she will ultimately grow ordinary with time. He turned his head and said to his apprentice, ¡°Yingbao, Wei Zhan, you can go back. Wait until August and I¡¯ll go to Qinchuan County with you.¡± Yingbao and Wei Zhan stood up and said goodbye to the two Saints. As they left the gates of the Imperial City, Wei Zhan took his wife to the market to buy things. They bought a lot of cloth, grains, and daily necessities, as well as quite a bit of salt, sugar, soybean paste, and spices. They also purchased a lot of vegetable and fruit seeds. ¡°Mydy, with these, we won¡¯t have to worry about living in other ces.¡± Wei Zhan and his wife might not need worldly food, but their parents and daughter do, so buying more wouldn¡¯t hurt. Yingbao was thoughtful, ¡°Then let¡¯s go dig some medicinal herbs.¡± The more species in the Divine Mansion, the faster it should evolve. She figured why not nt all the nts in the world in the Divine Mansion. ¡°It is too troublesome one by one. Just shovel a piece of sod directly in.¡± Wei Zhan said cheerfully.
Yingbao thought for a moment and nodded, ¡°Then let¡¯s find an unimed wilderness.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go with you.¡± So the two of them instantly moved a thousand miles away. Yingbao looked around and saw no humans. With a wave of her hand, arge piece ofnd disappeared. After collecting this piece of sod and trees, she crushed a Spirit Stone and sprinkled it over the barrennd.
Then Wei Zhan used the Eternal Spring Technique, and soon wild grass and seedlings sprouted on the barend. They gradually grew, and once they reached waist high, they stopped growing. Wei Zhan and his wife looked at each other and smiled, then went to another ce. In less than two days, they traversed north and south, even crossed the ocean, and came to a strangend. Much to their surprise, the primitive people with curly yellow hair all over their bodies saw them and started hurling their spears at them while gabbling. Wei Zhan waved off the spears and with a touch of his hand, these people were immobilized on the ground. Yingbao swept around and found that there were viges here and farms nting strange crops. ¡°These primitives are really strange. They have yellow fur all over, and blue eyes, like ghosts.¡± Wei Zhan looked at the squirming primitives in fascination, ¡°They even don¡¯t wear pants. Ah, mydy, don¡¯t look.¡± Yingbao walked into the crop field and collected a patch of crops in the face of the menacing gaze of the locals. Then she threw down a few sacks of wheat and rice, ¡°These are for you. We will trade.¡± Although the primitives didn¡¯t understand what the ck-haired woman was saying, they knew that the sacks were meant aspensation for them. They couldn¡¯t help but pounce over, open the sacks and check. Unfamiliar grain! The primitives got angry, began yelling loudly, waving their fists in protest. Yingbao sighed, took out an iron pot, crushed a handful of rice to remove the husks, then put the white rice into the pot with some water, covered the pot, and with a snap of her fingers, a me ignited under the pot.
After a moment, a rich aroma wafted around. All the primitives swallowed salivating at the sight of the pot. One of them eximed out loud, ¡°Witch! You must be a witch!¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t understand what they were saying, but seeing they didn¡¯t mean harm, she ignored them. Soon, the rice was cooked. Yingbao took off the lid, waved away the steam, and pointed to the rice, ¡°You cane taste it.¡± Despite their hesitation, the leader stepped forward and shoved a handful of rice into his mouth with his dirty hand. After a bite, his eyes lit up, and he grabbed another handful of the still-hot rice and stuffed it into his mouth. Seeing this, the others huddled over and quickly finished a pot of rice. The smallest of them even picked up the rice grains from the bottom of the pot and stuffed them into his mouth. After finishing the rice, the primitives looked at Yingbao and Wei Zhan with smiles on their faces and started to gesture excitedly. Yingbao understood ¨C they wanted to trade more crops with her for rice and wheat. She then strolled around the farnd and took some crops that she had never seen before into her Divine Mansion. She also traded for some items from their homes. When Wei Zhan saw the primitive people¡¯s home, he couldn¡¯t help butment, ¡°They actually live in burrows. Can this even be called a house?¡±
The houses were basically semi-underground, covered with tree branches and wild grass on top. There was no kitchen. A few stones piled together with a pot on top eatures cooked meals. Of course, there were also houses made of stacked stones, which were windy and even exposed to light from the top. Chapter 492: 488: Earth Egg_1 Chapter 492: Chapter 488: Earth Egg_1 Yingbao and Wei Zhan were talking and gesturing animatedly, and she handed out a handful of hard candies to the dirty and bare-bottomed children. The children eagerly took them and immediately put them in their mouths. Within moments, they were screaming with joy, surrounding Yingbao, hoping for more. Yingbao picked up a twig and began to draw on the ground, her drawings indicated that if they wanted more candy, they would need to trade something from their homes. Anything would do, even seeds from vegetables. Most children didn¡¯t understand, but the adult primitives did. They immediately went home to find some seeds to give to the dark-haired witch. Yingbao inspected each seed. Among them, she found one kind of seed that was simr in size to soybeans and was elongated. She gestured and asked the locals, ¡°Can these be eaten?¡± The Primitive with yellow curled hair nodded in response. Eventually, Yingbao bartered wheat for many of these beans.
Before leaving, the people asked her again and again whether she would return, as they were obviously reluctant to see her go. Yingbao thought for a moment and then, with a wave of her hand, she built two neat rows of thatched huts for them. The primitives with yellow curly hair were astonished and dropped to their knees in thanks. Yingbao and Wei Zhan left and visited several more ces, collecting various types of seeds. ¡°Who would have thought that under the same sky as ours there are so many different races.¡± Wei Zhan couldn¡¯t help but exim when he saw a group of dark-skinned primitives. These primitives were genuinely primitive. They only made strange clicking sounds, and regardless of their age or sex, they were totally nude, lived in low shelters built from branches, ate raw flesh, drank fresh blood, were emaciated but surprisingly strong, and threw stones and spears when they saw Wei Zhan and Yingbao. They were even more barbaric than the yellow-haired primitives. Yingbao noticed that these primitives couldn¡¯t even farm, despite having vast fertilends; they, akin to monkeys, existed in the forest, hunting or gathering wild fruits when hungry, andying on the ground motionless when full, or engaging in indiscriminate mating. Seeing this, Wei Zhan quickly pulled his wife away. After several twists and turns, they finally found a city. It was hardly a city, with very few inhabitants, and the houses were crude. The streets were filthy and sodden, and feces and urine from both humans and animals were everywhere. Wei Zhan had seen on numerous asions the inhabitants of stone houses dumping their sewage into the streets, where maggots and flies swarmed. Fighting his revulsion, Wei Zhan once again dragged his wife away. But Yingbao stopped him, whispering, ¡°Let¡¯s buy something before we leave.¡± Finding a city-like ce had been difficult; she wanted to see what local products they had. ¡°Alright.¡± Covering his nose and mouth with his cor, Wei Zhan followed Yingbao, looking around. There were few shops in the city. Discounting the tall stone castles, it looked like a market town. Yingbao quickly found a jewelry store. Taking out two porcin vases, she asked, ¡°Would you want these?¡± The shop assistant¡¯s eyes widened. Although he didn¡¯t understand what the dark-haired foreigner said, he understood her meaning. The assistant quickly ran into the back room, informing a middle-aged man, ¡°Sir, a foreigner hase to our shop to sell Eastern porcin.¡±
The middle-aged man stood up immediately and rushed to the front of the shop. Sure enough, there were two exquisite porcin pieces on the counter. They were decorated with the beautiful and graceful images of Eastern women, as well as exotic nts, and some blocks of characters that he couldn¡¯t understand. Yes, this was the Eastern porcin that was hard toe by. However¡­
The man sized up the Eastern man and woman in front of him. Seeing their outfits made entirely from luxurious Eastern silk, he couldn¡¯t help but swallow his saliva. In his many years of business, this was the first time he had ever seen anyone wearing such exquisite silk clothing. The hem of the dress even trailed along the ground; it was such a waste. He turned his eyes and asked, ¡°Do you want to sell the porcin bottles?¡± Yingbao and Wei Zhan looked at him. The middle-aged man held up a finger, ¡°A gold coin for a pair of porcin bottles.¡± He wanted to say a silver coin but didn¡¯t dare when the words came to his mouth¡ªnot because he was afraid of them, but out of reverence for the silk they were wearing. To make it clear, the middle-aged man with a beard took a gold coin from his pocket, shook it, and pointed at the two porcin bottles, ¡°A gold coin for two porcin bottles.¡± Yingbao roughly understood and held up a palm, then turned it over, ¡°Ten gold coins.¡± She saw that the coin in the man¡¯s hand was indeed made of gold, weighing about four taels. Four taels of gold could be exchanged for about four taels of silver, and the porcin bottle she brought out only cost one tael of silver. The middle-aged man furrowed his brow and red at Yingbao, ¡°A pair of porcin pieces for ten gold coins? Are you crazy?¡± Seeing his tone was unfriendly, Yingbao also put on a straight face and directly took back the porcin bottles. The middle-aged man with a beard gasped when he saw that the woman could perform witchcraft, and hurriedly shouted, ¡°Stop!¡± However, Yingbao and Wei Zhan ignored him and walked away.
The middle-aged man with a beard rushed out but was already unable to see them. He couldn¡¯t help but beat his chest and stomp his feet in regret. His silk, just like that, was gone. Yingbao dragged Wei Zhan around a few more ces and finally reached an agreement with a duke in the city, selling him a batch of silk and some porcin. The duke was very generous. He took all the tens of rolls of silk and dozens of porcin bowls and dishes that Yingbao brought out, and paid them in gold coins on the spot. Holding arge bag of earned gold coins, Yingbao happily returned home with Wei Zhan. Wei Zhan stayed at the Divine Mansion, starting to nt the crops they had procured. Dayster, the crops began to mature. One of them, a tuberous crop, had a very high yield. A single nt could produce arge bunch, which Wei Zhan named ¡°Earth Egg.¡± People in a certain ce use this as a staple food, they clean it, boil it in water, peel it, and eat it directly. ¡°Yingbao, we¡¯ll distribute the Earth Egg to the vigers to nt.¡± Wei Zhan brought a cooked Earth Egg to his wife with great excitement. In the future, with this kind of crop, the people will definitely not go hungry. Yingbao took a bite of the cooked Earth Egg, it was indeed tasty, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that ce to have such high-yield crops. Wei Zhan, after a while, let¡¯s travel around again, we might find even more high-yield crops.¡± Although Dazhou seems peaceful and prosperous now, many people in the countryside are still hungry and cold. Normally, an acre ofnd can yield one or two stones of grain, barely enough for survival after taxes. If a natural disaster urs, the whole family would starve. However, the yield of these Earth Eggs is extremely high, with one acre ofnd able to yield over a thousand pounds.
Over a thousand pounds per acre! After taxes, what¡¯s left is more than enough to feed arge family. ¡°Alright!¡± Wei Zhan happily set to work in the field, applying his magic to promote the growth of the crops. This time, they brought back many exotic crops from foreignnds, and he wanted to nt and examine each one, selecting the most efficient ones for the vigers to grow. Nuannuan came running over, followed by Jiang Jie¡¯s little son, Jiang Qi. ¡°Dad! Mom! What are you doing?¡± Yingbao: ¡°Your father is nting crops. Since you¡¯ve been practicing the Eternal Spring Technique, why not help him out?¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Nuannuan ran over, her fingers dancing, forming a series of magical seals. The seedlings slowly grew, swaying like graceful dancers. Yingbao sat in a rocking chair, quietly watching this scene, her mind wandering far away. If the poption of Dazhou is sufficient, she would like to send them to other ces around the world to reproduce and thrive. In the future, the whole world will belong to Dazhou. Chapter 493 - 489: Sweet Potato_1 Chapter 493: Chapter 489: Sweet Potato_1 In the following days, the couple Yingbao and her husband roamed the world with their daughter, collecting various grains and crops. The crops yielding the highest volume of grains were potatoes and a type of red-skinned sweet potato, in addition to a type of corn. The corn¡¯s stalks were sweet, and the grains, once ground into flour, could be made into thin pancakes that were incredibly sweet and delicious. Wei Zhan highly prized this type of corn as its sweet stalks, once chopped down, could serve as excellent fodder for animals. ¡°We can save a lot of grain with corn as feed,¡± said Wei Zhan. During winter, cattle and sheep need to eat, and feeding them just regr grass won¡¯t suffice. They ought to eat abination of beans andboratory-approved green feed. This type of corn, once chopped and fermented with wheat bran and rice husks, could also serve as animal feed. ¡°The sweet potato is also quite good, it¡¯s aromatic and sweet when roasted,¡± Nuannuan said, handing freshly roasted red-skinned sweet potatoes to her parents. ¡°You both should try it, Wumei roasted these.¡± Yingbao took the sweet potato, peeled it, and found that it¡¯s flesh resembled cooked chestnuts. One bite revealed it to be even softer, stickier, and sweeter than chestnuts. Nuannuan raised her sweet potato and said, ¡°This one I have is yellow-fleshed and way sweeter than the white-fleshed ones. Look, mother, the skin even has a sugary coating.¡± Yingbao gave it a look and nodded, ¡°We could probably use this to make syrup. If glutinous rice and malt can be used to make syrup, there¡¯s no reason why these sweet potatoes, being so sweet, couldn¡¯t be. Let¡¯s try boiling a pot when we have time.¡± She thought they could merely follow the same procedure used with malt sugar and sugarcane. ¡°Mother, Wumei found some red fruits that are spicier than the Chinese Cornelian cherry. Go check to see if it can be used as a medicinal herb,¡± Nuannuan said while eating her sweet potato, pulling her mother toward a nearby plot of vegetables. Several rows of crops were bearing many fruits, some green, some red. They picked one and gave it a sniff; it had a strong spicy aroma. They weren¡¯t sure if it was edible. Wei Zhan leaned in to take a look and said, ¡°I recall people using these fruits as a spice. The locals also use it as seasoning, so it should be non-toxic.¡± His people also used the Chinese Cornelian cherry as a seasoning, which, when served as a sharp and hot soup with pepper, was very invigorating and could keep the cold away. Yingbao pulled apart a red fruit and tasted it, instantly feeling a burst of fiery spiciness on her tongue. She hurriedly rinsed her mouth with water, but her lips still felt like they were on fire. Seeing this, Wei Zhan scolded her, asking, ¡°Why would you recklessly eat things? Look, your mouth is all red.¡± He told his daughter to pick all the ripe fruits and let the doctors have a look at themter. Nuannuan agreed and she and Wumei ran off quickly. After having a bowl of water, Yingbao said, ¡°Let¡¯s call this thing chili. Once it¡¯s dried, it could be used as a medication for warding off the cold.¡± Wei Zhan responded in agreement. He applied the Eternal Spring Technique several times on his wife and carefully examined her lips. Seeing no swelling, he finally let out a sigh of relief. Unbeknownst to them, it was suddenly August. Jiang Wu and the princess were getting married. While the Imperial Household Department was in charge of the event, the Jiang family also spent a significant amount of money on wedding supplies, as well as decorating their home and courtyard. The princess stayed in a new room in the Jiang family home after the wedding, before eventually moving back to her princess residence or remaining with the Jiang family. On that day, the Jiang family¡¯s home was filled with guests, and several ministers came to offer their congrattions. The traffic in front of the Jiang family¡¯s home was so congested that it blocked the entire street. Yingbao was sitting and chatting with the old Mrs. Wu and a few familiar wives in her own room. At that moment, Madame Wen and sister Wen arrived, along with sister Wen¡¯s daughter and Wen Hengyin¡¯s child. Yingbao hadn¡¯t seen Madame Wen or sister Wen in many years. Upon their reunion, she saw Madame Wen¡¯s hair had turned white, and she was significantly more hunched over. After catching up for a while and discussing their health, they allmented the passage of time and its unforgiving nature. Yingbao thought for a moment, then secretly applied a technique that she released onto Madame Wen and sister Wen. She was highly cultivated, and a single ¡®Eternal Spring Technique¡¯ could restore a mortal¡¯s youth. So, Lady Wen¡¯s skin soon became smooth and delicate, her wrinkles gradually disappearing, and her back straightened up. Although Lady Wen¡¯s hair was still white, the roots had turned ck. Lady Wen also transformed from ady in her thirties back into a beautiful maiden in her twenties. Everyone else in the room was stunned. Old Lady Luo, leaning on her cane, looked at Yingbao with a burning gaze, as if she wanted to speak but stopped. Yingbao then performed the ¡®Eternal Spring Technique¡¯ on everyone else in the room twice over. She was now at the Mysterious Immortal Realm and existed like a god in this world, with no need to worry about being coveted. If anyone dared to harm her family, she could annihte the ten generations of that viin with a snap of her fingers. Old Lady Luo and Old Lady Wu instantly rejuvenated, ovee with joy. The two olddies stood in front of the mirror and couldn¡¯t tear their eyes away. ¡°Oh my, is that really me?¡± Old Lady Luo touched her face, and then looked at her own hands, overjoyed to the point of tears. Old Lady Wu was the same, even pinching her own arm to see if she was dreaming. The most excited in the room was Wu Jiang. She was already in her forties and did not expect to return to her youthful days in a sh. She hugged Yingbao, not knowing how to express her gratitude. ¡°Yingbao, you are my lucky star.¡± Wu Jiang suddenly felt lucky that she had married her daughter to Jiang Jie. Without this connection, how could she have encountered such an opportunity? She suddenly thought of her husband, her aging father-inw, and her father. She wanted to ask Yingbao if she could also rejuvenate them, but in the end she was too shy to speak. After the banquet, thedies gradually returned home. After Old Lady Wu returned home with her face covered by her sleeve, she hid in her room trying on clothes, and felt that all the clothes were too old-fashioned. Finally, she had her maid summon the steward and instructed her to go to the silk store and have the shopkeeper send some brighter materials. In the evening, with the support of a young boy, Old Mister Wu staggered home. Entering the room, he suddenly saw a young woman with silver hair sitting on his bed, which left him stunned. ¡°Who are you? How dare you barge into the master¡¯s bedroom?¡± Old Mister Wu, having had a few drinks, felt a little dizzy. Thinking he was seeing things, he leaned in to get a better look ¨C indeed, it was a beautiful maiden. He took several steps backward, thinking he had encountered the Fox Fairy. Just as he was about to turn and call for someone, he heard the young woman say, ¡°What are you shouting for? Don¡¯t you even recognize me?¡± The voice sounded familiar, but old Mister Wu had forgotten where he had heard it before. Looking puzzled at the young woman, he wondered if his wife had suddenly taken a concubine for him. Old Lady Wu red at him irritably, ¡°What are you looking at? Don¡¯t youe over here and see who I am?¡± She was feeling triumphant and decided to tease her husband a little. Looking at the young woman who was casting amorous nces at him, old Mister Wu was even more convinced that she was the beautiful concubine his wife had taken for him. Otherwise, why would she be sitting on his bedte at night, and his wife was not in the room. He guessed she had made room for him. With that in mind, Old Mister Wu moved forward a few steps, unsteadily sat on the bed, stretched out his foot, and said, ¡°Take off my boots.¡± Chapter 494: 490: Return to Youthful Years_1 Chapter 494: Chapter 490: Return to Youthful Years_1 Lady Wu was taken aback. Was this old man seriously asking her to remove his boots? Lady Wu, with her hands on her hips, pointed at him saying, ¡°I think you¡¯ve had too much to drink.¡± She leaned in to sniff him, then turned to call the maid over to bring some hot water for the master to clean himself up. Shortly after, the maid Atao carried in hot water. She set the kettle on the ground and then went to fetch a facial basin and a foot basin. After clean-up and a cup of tea, Mr. Wu eventually sobered up and looked at Lady Wu for a long while. ¡°Are¡­ are you Zhizhi¡¯s mother?¡± Seeing his wife nod, he hastily sat up, picked up an oilmp to get a closer look at his wife, eximing, ¡°How can this be? How can this be?¡± Lady Wu, quite pleased, whispered, ¡°Yingbao, that child, truly is an immortal. With just a wave of her hand, it¡¯s as if we became decades younger.¡± Rolling up her sleeves, she bragged, ¡°Look at this, my hand and my arm are so smooth, just like a girl in her teens. And, I¡¯ve grown back all my teeth.¡± She grinned at her husband, ¡°I had only my front teeth left, but now they¡¯re all back. Ha ha, I have returned to my youth.¡±
Mr. Wu, in astonishment, fell silent for a long moment. ¡°Is all you said true?¡± he reached out and pinched his wife, ¡°Am I dreaming?¡± Lady Wu pped her husband, ¡°Why did you pinch me? You¡¯ve even left a mark on my arm.¡± Mr. Wu, a look of envy, examined his wife while praising endlessly, feeling both astonished and regretful. Seeing the envy in her husband¡¯s eyes, the elderdy snorted, ¡°Tomorrow, you better hurry to the Jiang Family to see Yingbao. Oh, and remember to bring her the best ruby headpiece we have.¡± With this as a pretext, the old man won¡¯t feel awkward when he visits. Mr. Wu nodded immediately. The next day, when the sky was just starting to brighten, Mr. Wu got up and, together with his wife, they selected a red ruby and gold headpiece from their treasure room, recing the box with an exquisite one. After some thought, he also took out ginseng, bird¡¯s nest and a set of stationery, nning to give these to Yingbao¡¯s parents and her daughter Nuannuan. After breakfast, Mr. Wu put on clean clothes, took the gift, and headed to the Jiang Family. As soon as he arrived at the Jiang Family, he saw the Luo n Leader, Luo Daron, and Lord Wen Sng, Lady Wen¡¯s husband, were all there. All of them were holding gift boxes, probably to return the favor. The few men, knowing each other¡¯s thoughts, nodded to each other and greeted before stepping into the Jiang Family. Seeing the Jiang brothers and the Jiang patriarch again, they were all startled. It turned out that everyone in the house looked much youngerpared to the time they saw them, unrecognizable from the day before. The previous evening, Yingbao had rejuvenated her grandparents, parents, aunts, and even her second cousin couple back to their twenties. Yingbao and Wei Zhan were also present in the hall, greeting Mr. Wu and the others. Seeing how they all hesitated to broach the subject, Yingbao guessed their intentions and promptly performed the Eternal Spring Technique on them without further ado. Among these people were kind benefactors of her family and her brother Jiang Jie¡¯s father-inw and grandfather-inw, she needed to keep them well. Besides, her brothers were now married, she would have less chances toe to Beijing. Therefore, it was better to do them a favor to strengthen her brothers¡¯ footings in Beijing.
She was sure that from then on, no matter who they were, no one in the court would dare to easily offend the Jiang Family, no matter what ill intentions they had. Just a few momentster, Mr. Wu felt an increasing sense of ease in his body, age spots on his hands faded gradually, revealing a youthful and healthyplexion. Then, Yingbao took out arge standing mirror and let the men look at their reflections in it. The bright bronze mirror reflected every detail, all of which were in the likeness of young gentlemen.
However, these gentlemen still had white hair, and their beards remained unkempt, but their figures and eyes were no longer old. Old Master Luoughed heartily, stroking his beard to appreciate himself for a while, then bowed to Yingbao: ¡°Thank you, Little Immortal Yingbao, for granting me youth.¡± Old Master Wu and Wen Sng, among others, also bowed to Yingbao. Coming out from the Jiang family, Old Master Wu returned home cheerfully, only to bump into his son, Wu Shi, who was about to leave. He was quite disgusted seeing his son in an elderly and sloppy state now. Hmm! Previously, he had invited this son to apany him to Jiang Family, but thetter declined. His reasoning was that if he became young again, then his wife would certainly go looking for Yingbao too. Her family would follow in pursuit, leading to chaos. In the end, all of Beijing might go looking for Yingbao. If everyone had their wishes granted, all would be well, but if someone¡¯s goal were not met, then Yingbao would be the target of everyone¡¯s ire. Old Master Wu agreed with his son, so he did not insist. Anyway, he had already retired and did not need to serve anymore. If worstes to worst, he could leave Beijing and live in Dongchen Vige with Yingbao. Dongchen Vige was a good ce, with clear mountains and waters. He and his old partner could spend theirter years there. When Wu Shi saw his father walking into the house, he was stunned but said nothing in the end. He thought to himself, ¡°I¡¯m only in my fifties, not even sixty yet. I¡¯ll wait till I am seventy or eighty before seeking Yingbao¡¯s help.¡± As for Yingbao, after performing spells for Old Master Wu and others, she took her grandparents and parents back to Dongchen Vige.
She switched the sweet potato plots and some crops to her uncle, allowing him to sell to the vigers, and let Wei Zhan teach them how to cultivate. After that, she enclosed a piece ofnd in her own field and had arge threepound courtyard built on a whim. The houses inside were made of green bricks and roof tiles, supplemented by a well and a pond. This courtyard was reserved for Zhou Wuchang to live in, of course, the construction expenses must be borne by the Imperial Household Department. After making the arrangements clear to her uncle and n Leader, Yingbao sent her parents into the Divine Mansion, and then returned to Zhouhe County to bring her mother-inw and several maids there as well. When Wei Zhan¡¯s father saw Yingbao¡¯s return, he rushed over with eyes gleaming like he had found a gold mine. ¡°Yingbao, I want to live in your vige too.¡± Wang¡¯s wife owned a small courtyard in Dongchen Vige, but she did not allow her husband to bring his concubines there to live, leaving Wei Zhan¡¯s father with no choice but to ask his daughter-inw for help. Yingbao found herself in a difficult position, not for anything else, but worried that Wei¡¯s father would bring a group of concubines to Dongchen Vige and corrupt the atmosphere there. Dongchen Vige now is a nationally renowned wealthy vige. Not only does each family have money, but many of them also hold official positions, such as the Jiang family, Wang Ke¡¯s family, Chen Zhu¡¯s family, and a few others were at least minor officials. If Wei¡¯s father were to move there and make the vigers follow his example, taking in several concubines, wouldn¡¯t that turn things upside down? ¡°Dad, Yingbao can¡¯t make the decision on this matter.¡± Wei Zhan spoke. ¡°Thend in Dongchen Vige is extremely popr; it¡¯s not something that one can acquire if they have money.¡± Now, even the Emperor is abdicating his throne to the Crown Prince, to move to Dongchen Vige himself.
Once the retired Emperor moves there, all the wealthy people in the country will follow the trend. It is estimated that the whole Chuanhe Town will be as precious as gold. Wei Zhan¡¯s father looked stern and shot a re at his son. He did not know about the retired Emperor¡¯s n to move there, but, as a businessman, he had sharp instincts. Since the appearance of the Divine Tree in Dongchen Vige, he had bought arge piece ofnd nearby. Though it was near, it was still five or six miles away from Dongchen Vige. However, he had no choice. The slightly closer farnd and housing areas were all not for sale. Chapter 495: 491: Chili Sauce_1 Chapter 495: Chapter 491: Chili Sauce_1 ¡°Humph! I¡¯ve wasted my effort raising you as my son!¡± The patriarch of the Wei family grumbled indignantly, but he didn¡¯t dare to raise his voice. ¡°I¡¯ve already bought somend in Chuanhe Town. I¡¯m going to build arge mansion there!¡± Wei Zhan ignored him and was preparing to leave with his wife, but the Wei family patriarch stopped them, asking angrily, ¡°Where is your mother? Where have you sent her?¡± ¡°She¡¯s gone to the countryside to live out her old age,¡± Wei Zhan said irritably. The Wei family patriarch frowned and asked, ¡°Which countryside? Dongchen Vige?¡± Seeing that Wei Zhan was ignoring him, he eximed angrily, ¡°You unfilial son! You¡¯ve torn your parents apart! No! I¡¯m going too!¡± Wei Zhan, unable to shake him off, finally said, ¡°The customs are simple in Dongchen Vige, and they don¡¯t like it when someone has a lot of concubinesing and going.¡± One or two might be tolerable, but with all your seven or eight concubines, there would be a big crowd of young and old. People won¡¯t be able to tell who¡¯s who, and it would be quite shocking to the local customs. The Wei family patriarch was left speechless by his son¡¯s words. When he returned to his quarters, he found that several of his concubines had assembled, crowding the room. Not only were there concubines, but also their children and daughters-inw.
The Wei family patriarch looked around. The oldest concubine was over seventy, as old as himself. The youngest was in her thirties, about the same age as Wei Zhan. Since living in Zhouhe County, the Wei family patriarch hadn¡¯t taken on any new concubines for many years. However, he had many asional affairs outside, all with young and beautiful women who would have liked to return with him as concubines. While the Wei family patriarch was tempted to take them in, he held back when he thought about his wife, his son and daughter-inw, and his granddaughter Nuannuan. Now, looking around, he admitted there were indeed too many concubines in his household. Apart from the youngest one who hadn¡¯t borne him any children, all the others had. The children,rge and small, stood by their mothers, looking at him expectantly. s, this was all a sin. The Wei family patriarch slumped into his chair in gloom and looked at them coldly: ¡°What do you all want now?¡± Thedy from the Cao family, already in her fifties with hair turned white, stepped forward and gave a slight bow to the Wei family patriarch. ¡°Husband, what did the Commandery Princess say? Did she agree to let us go to Dongchen Vige?¡± The Wei family patriarch mmed his hand on the table and said impatiently, ¡°Go? For what? All of you, stop dreaming! Stay put right here!¡± Thedy from the Cao family couldn¡¯t keep up appearances after being scolded by the patriarch. She pulled out a handkerchief and burst into tears. Ever since she saw that the matriarch had regained her youth, she couldn¡¯t have been more envious. She sent people to inquire with the servants and maids in the matriarch¡¯s courtyard, but to her surprise, they were all tight-lipped this time and wouldn¡¯t reveal a word. Moreover, all these maids and servants looked joyous, as if they had also regained their youth. Thedy from the Cao family, along with the other concubines, sensed something was amiss. After a consultation, they decided to go over and check for themselves. However, when they arrived, the matriarch¡¯s courtyard was deserted. Everyone had vanished without a trace. Thedy from the Cao family panicked, so she and the other concubines decided to stay in the patriarch¡¯s courtyard and wait for a chance to ask him for information. ¡°Husband, in the end, this family should be managed by the matriarch. It¡¯s not wrong for a daughter-inw to worry about her mother-inw, is it?¡± She sobbed. In her heart, she was pondering that if the matriarch truly never came back, she, being the chief daughter-inw, would naturally be able to take over the reins of the family.
The Wei family patriarch waved his hand impatiently: ¡°Enough, all of you go back! I¡¯m not dead yet, so it¡¯s still not your turn to worry about managing the family affairs.¡± They had a steward and ounting clerks at home, andck of nothing essential, he couldn¡¯t understand why these women had such a knack for causing trouble. Indeed, as his son said, women were troublesome. They cried and threw tantrums all day long, to the point where it was giving him a headache. He nced at the old concubine. A woman in her seventies, if she stood next to his wife, others would undoubtedly mistake them for grandmother and granddaughter.
¡°Aman, how have you beentely?¡± The patriarch of the Wei Family was deeply concerned for this elder concubine who had apanied him faithfully for decades. He beckoned her to sit and chat. Aman sat down shakily and said, ¡°I am well Strangely, ofte I feel tired and can¡¯t stand for long.¡± ¡°Why are you running around with them causing a scene?¡± The patriarch of the Wei Family reprimanded her, then instructed a nearby servant to fetch two boxes of bird¡¯s nest and a box of ginseng from his private storage. Aman coughed a few times and covered her mouth: ¡°Thank you, my lord. Without your constant care, I would¡¯ve been dead and buried a long time ago.¡± The patriarch of the Wei Family frowned, looking at the person he cared for most, whose age was catching up to her, and couldn¡¯t help but feel mncholic. How wonderful would it be if she could also experience the same opportunities as his wife. However, Wei Zhan, the detestabled, was just as negligent as his mother, paying little regard to the Wei family members and even showing insincerity towards him, his own father. ¡°Aman, when my seventh son has time, I¡¯ll let him treat you,¡± the patriarch of the Wei Family said. Aman was surprised: ¡°Does the seventh master know medical skills?¡± ¡°Not medical skills. My seventh son has learnt a spell. If he treats you, you will surely regain your health.¡± The patriarch of the Wei Family stroked his beard and sighed, ¡°The Commandery Princess¡¯s medical skills are reputed to be better than my seventh son¡¯s. But since your statuses differ, ah¡­¡± Aman¡¯s eyes twinkled. She smiled and said: ¡°No matter how different our statuses are, she is still a daughter-inw of the Wei Family. My lord, you overestimate her. She¡¯s from a countryside family and has only achieved her current position thanks to the emperor¡¯s benevolence.¡± How things had changed! When they were young, even a ve in the Wei Family was more noble than anyone from the Jiangs. Now they¡¯re talking about status differences. What a joke! Touched by her words, the patriarch of the Wei Family sighed: ¡°Regardless, Chuanhe Town¡¯s Yingbao is a Commandery Princess now. Aman¡­ in front of me, you can say these things. But don¡¯t let her hear them¡­¡± Aman coughed into her hand a couple of times, then said softly: ¡°I must have spoken out of turn. I beg your pardon, my lord. It¡¯s just that my heart aches for you. You¡¯ve worked hard for this family all your life and ended up in a disagreement with your wife, being separated and living apart. In all my years, I¡¯ve never seen a wife throw her husband aside, living a carefree life with her own family.¡±
Seeing the patriarch of the Wei Family¡¯s face growing increasingly dark, Aman sighed: ¡°I¡¯m not trying to be a busybody. It¡¯s just that I can¡¯t bear to watch anymore. Even if the wife disregards you, she indirectly influences the seventh son and his wife to show disrespect to you.¡± The patriarch of the Wei Family, moved deeply by the concubine¡¯s words, was on the brink of tears. But due to his pride, he had to retire early and went inside his chamber. Aman smirked and called after him, ¡°My lord, let me send Cuicui in as your maid.¡± The patriarch of the Wei Family didn¡¯t respond. So, Aman walked out of the courtyard to the smallest concubine¡¯s house, with a smile, she said: ¡°Cuicui, the lord is feeling a bit tired, could you go care for him?¡± Reluctantly, Cuicui got up, called for her maid, and went to the patriarch¡¯s chamber. Back to Yingbao. She was working at the Divine Mansion with her parents, cultivating crops. After she restored her parent¡¯s youth and activated their meridian system for qi, their spiritual roots also showed signs of cultivating the Eternal Spring Technique. So they practiced this technique in the Divine Mansion to boost the growth of the nts. Thus, all the nts they gathered from different parts of the world were nted, each under the management of Wuxu and few others. Wei Zhan harvested corn and pulled some off the stalk to roast and eat while it was still fresh. Her mother made arge jar of soybean paste with yellow beans and added some chili peppers and pork to fry up a jarful of appetizing chili sauce. Nuannuan and Wuxu were particrly fond of this sauce and could finish half a pot of rice with just this apaniment.
Chapter 496: 492: Roasted Sweet Potatoes_1 Chapter 496: Chapter 492: Roasted Sweet Potatoes_1 In the second year of March, the Emperor abdicated the throne to the Crown Prince, and then went to Dongchen Vige with two of his imperial consorts, moving into the yard constructed for him by Yingbao. The hundreds of guards who apanied him barely squeezed into the yard temporarily, but it became unbearable over time. Among those guards, many were the scions of distinguished families. They had never endured such hardship before, and they all flocked to the attending ministers toin. ¡°This isn¡¯t a military expedition. We are always crowded in these tents, and even using thetrine requires queuing. Minister Lv, why not request the vige chief of this vige find us brothers an alternative ce to stay, as long as it doesn¡¯t affect our duties?¡± Minister Lv, who was the Empress Lv¡¯s biological brother and one of the ministers who moved into Dongchen Vige with the retired Emperor. He thought for a moment and felt the guards¡¯ request was reasonable. The homes in this vige were quite spacious, and by requisitioning two or three courtyards they could amodate all the guards. He rushed to report to the Emperor, only to receive Zhou Wuchang¡¯s response: ¡°If that¡¯s the case, let them return to Beijing. I am safe here, even safer than in the Imperial Pce. There¡¯s no need for so many people to disrupt the peace here.¡± Resignedly, Minister Lv instructed the guards to whittle over five hundred bamboo sticks, painting one end of a hundred of them ck with ink. Once dry, the sticks were mixed together and ced ck end internally into arge pen holder. Then, he gathered all the men and asked them to draw sticks. Those who drew a stick with a ck end were to stay, while those who did not were to immediately return to Beijing. The guards were left speechless when they heard this.
However, some willingly chose to return as, after all, there was no possible advancement for them in the countryside. The clever guards quickly traded their white sticks for the ck ones held by those willing to leave, and those who were slow were left without the opportunity to switch. While many were still debating whether to stay or go, those holding ck sticks were already registering with Minister Lv. Next, the guards with white sticks packed their bags, preparing to return to Beijing the next day. Many of them felt regret. As martial artists, they could easily gauge the condition of their bodies and since moving in, they all felt a profound sense of wellbeing. Even after exercising with stone locks, just a brief rest wouldpletely alleviate any muscr pain. Now that the Emperor was asking them to leave, it was likely they wouldn¡¯t be allowed to return. The guards had lived in the vige for a couple of months and could see people lingering outside every day. They had started since the first of the month, families taking turns to wait in line, hoping they could enter the vige on the fifteenth and worship the Divine Tree within. Some guards had seen vigers epting bribes from outsiders, letting a few of them stroll through the vige, picking a handful of fresh vegetables for them, and the outsiders would leave happily, without anyints. The scene echoed in the minds of the guards, filling them with apprehension. ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave!¡± One guard shouted, running up to Minister Lv with a grimace. ¡°Minister, I wish to stay here to serve the retired Emperor.¡± Minister Lv responded helplessly: ¡°The Emperor intends to retreat here. He doesn¡¯t need so many people. You all go first, and we¡¯ll talk about your duty rotationter.¡± If these guards were intended to stay here permanently, there would have to be a time limit. The long-term stay could be two or three years, and the short-term stay could be a year or half a year. Afterwards, who could or couldn¡¯te back was uncertain. The guard knelt on one knee, ¡°I don¡¯t wish to return, I just want to stay here and guard the Emperor.¡± Minister Lv stroked his beard, pondering for a moment, and said: ¡°The draw has already been done, and I cannot show favoritism. If you really want to stay, you might try to find someone outside to swap with.¡± This young man was the grandson of a Song family in Beijing, whose grandfather was the Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel. Minister Lv knew the family, so he treated the boy politely. Song Yu saw Minister Lv was not willing to relent, so he had to try and swap with someone again. In the end, he spent ten coins to swap his white stick for a ck one from a poor guard. Peopleughed at him for being foolish, spending ten coins for a chance to stay, wondering what his motivations were. Song Yu did not argue with them. He cheerfully carried his luggage back to therge courtyard.
In a blink of an eye, several months had passed, and the potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn grown in Dongchen Vige had all ripened. The vigers each boiled a pot of sweet potatoes and potatoes. If they couldn¡¯t finish it, they gave the leftovers to the pigs. Chen Zhao found that roasted sweet potatoes tasted sweet and persistent, so he had someone make a roasting stove and put it outside his tavern to sell roasted sweet potatoes. Sure enough, the roasted sweet potato business was very popr, mainly purchased by wealthy foreigners.
People from outside the vige were seeing this food for the first time, so they came over to inquire, even buying some raw sweet potatoes to bring back with ns of growing them as main crops next year. In the meantime, Wei Zhan gathered the County Magistrate of Qinchuan County and Zhouhe County and gave them a batch of sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn, asking them to distribute it to the viges, making sure that these crops were spread throughout the entire county. Before we knew it, it was the fifteenth of August. Dongchen Vige was bustling because many old ministers hade from Beijing wanting to pay their respects to the retired Emperor. Their carriages soon packed Chuanhe Town, and outside Dongchen Vige, there was a continuous flow of horses and carriages. The market at Dongchen Vige was as busy as a temple fair, with all the vendors and merchants picking up money like mad, so busy they could hardly cope. The inns were even more overcrowded, and the price of an ordinary guest room was more than ten times the usual rate. Despite this, the demand was still greater than the supply. Chen Xubao had no choice but to clear out their house rooms for guests to stay in. Chen Changping saw so many distinguished guests arriving, which sharpened his mind considerably. He focused on helping his son manage the inn, asionally making conversation with the distinguished guests. When these high-ranking officials learnt that he had once been a schr, but then was dismissed, they felt some sympathy for him and introduced him to several influential families, suggesting that he take up a staff position. After careful consideration, Chen Changping eventually decided not to go. He was in his twilight years, his mindset was calm, and seeing all these distinguished peopleing to stay in his small vige triggered a sense of pride in his heart unexpectedly. Thinking about it in a different way, he felt that living like this for a lifetime wouldn¡¯t be so bad.
His son Xubao¡¯s inn business was booming, and he generously gave his father a coin every month as pocket money. As long as he did not gamble, he could buy and eat what he liked with this money. Moreover, he was not interested in women and asionally taught his grandson. His life was pleasant and satisfying. Upon this realization, the resentment in Chen Changping¡¯s heart suddenly faded, and he started to behave more kindly towards others. Even when he saw the much younger Jiang family, he remained calm. Today, Zhou Wuchang was receiving ministers in the fruit orchard of Yingbao¡¯s home. Many types of fruit were arranged on the stone table in front of him, including mare¡¯s milk grapes from the Western Region, pears, tangerines, papayas, ripened persimmons, and a variety of sesame candies and hibiscus pastries. All these gifts were given by Yingbao and were said to be cultivated in a way that they possessed abundant spiritual energy. Eating them could prolong any person¡¯s life. Two old ministers approached Zhou Wuchang, weeping behind their hands, ¡°We¡¯ve missed Your Majesty so much¡­ ¡± Zhou Wuchang¡¯s face twitched, and he ordered his attendants to bring stools for them to sit on. These old ministers were fathers or grandfathers of imperial consorts, and he had to treat them with some respect. Consort Yao¡¯s eighty-year-old grandfather shakily sat down, trying his eyes and said, ¡°Your Majesty, I wish to stay here with you.¡± Chapter 497 - 493: The Grand Finale_1 Chapter 497: Chapter 493: The Grand Finale_1 Zhou Wuchang lightly coughed, taking a small sip of his tea, saying, ¡°Yao Qin, you¡¯re already advanced in years, the living conditions here are simple, and I¡¯m busy with my cultivation. It¡¯s not convenient.¡± Minister Yao quickly said, ¡°I can just live in the outer court, I assure Your Majesty that I won¡¯t disturb you.¡± Zhou Wuchang put down his teacup: ¡°That won¡¯t do, the outer court is resident to guards and pce attendants. It would be very inappropriate for Minister Yao to live there.¡± Minister Yao wiped his old eyes, saying, ¡°I even lived in horse stables when I was young. What does living with the guards matter now?¡± Minister Liu by his side quickly chimed in, ¡°Yes, yes, we¡¯re fine with living in the front court.¡± Surprised by the carefree attitudes of these two old coots, Zhou Wuchang gave augh, exhaling deeply, ¡°Since both ministers do not mind, I will have someone prepare rooms. However, you can only bring two servants each. The rest will have to leave the vige¡­ Oh, dear, I have no choice either. We have already disrupted the vigers¡¯ peace bying here. I don¡¯t want to make things difficult for the vige head and the n elders. I hope both of you will understand.¡± Old Yao and old Liu nodded their heads repeatedly, ¡°Your Majesty is right. Since we are living here, we must respect local customs. We are going to tell our attendants to stay outside the vige right away.¡± Yet, where else could they live? Even the viges five miles away were already upied by people from Beijing. With autumn already here, it¡¯s unthinkable to have their attendants sleep outdoors. There is no clear option but to go to the county town. Eventually, several old ministers settled down in Dongchen Vige, asionally strolling under the divine tree, craning their necks for a look. The n leader of the Chen family felt uneasy about their constant observance, so he had one of his young grandchildren put up a sign near the tree that read: ¡°Climbing and stealing leaves are forbidden. Vitors will be expelled from the vige forever.¡± As soon as the sign went up, the old ministers stopped gazing at the divine tree. However, they started visiting the Jiang Family and chatting with Elder Jiang. They even presented him with boxes of ginseng and donkey-hide gtin. Elder Jiang, though his hair was now white, had a young-looking face and wore a white silk robe. He had an air of an immortal. The ministers looked on enviously, particrly Old Yao, who feared death. He eagerly grabbed Elder Jiang¡¯s hand, affectionately calling him ¡°brother,¡± which gave Elder Jiang quite a start; he thought Old Yao had some unique hobby. Wriggling his hand free from Old Yao, Elder Jiang took a few steps back,ughing nervously, ¡°Gentlemen, please speak freely. There¡¯s no need for such familiarity.¡± Upon hearing this, Old Yao promptly said, ¡°I feel an instant kinship with Master Jiang and I wish to discuss the ¡®immortal fate¡¯ with him. Might it be possible for you to enlighten me?¡± Elder Jiang stroked his beard, ¡°Gentlemen, you¡¯re too kind. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m not knowledgeable about the ¡®immortal fate¡¯.¡± His granddaughter had restored his youth, but he himself had poor root bones and pulse energy and couldn¡¯t cultivate, so he didn¡¯t understand what ¡®immortal fate¡¯ was about. Old Yao didn¡¯t got angry. Instead, he said with a grin, ¡°I have heard from many people that your granddaughter is the reincarnation of the Heavenly Goddess. I wanted to visit for a long time but couldn¡¯t make the trip due to my frail body. Today, I, and a few others, came here to meet Commandery Princess Chuanhe. Do you think it would be possible?¡± Elder Jiang was taken aback for a moment, then promptly shook his head, ¡°My granddaughter isn¡¯t living here. She¡¯s in Zhou River Town. You should go to Zhouhe County to see her.¡± Old Yao shook his head as well. He had sent invitation cards and gifts to the princess residence before, but the princess only returned the gifts and showed no other indication. So this time, Minister Yao decided to make the trip himself. Fortunately, they managed to insist on staying, hoping that they might bump into the princess and her husband, as long as they lived in the vige continuously and permanently. Soon after, Minister Yao and the others experienced the extraordinary nature of Dongchen vige. After they settled in, their health improved day by day. Yao Qin was so happy that he immediately wrote a letter to his son to send over his daily necessities. He decided to retire in Dongchen Vige and do not wish to return to Beijing even upon death. After a few years, Dongchen Vige underwent a significant transformation. More and more people settled around the area, all with green-brick, ck-tile mansions. There were two markets now, one at South Slope, under the old vige. The vigers had revamped and built many inns and restaurants on the old streets, gradually forming a market there as well. But the markets of the South Slope wererger and more luxurious, and the original inhabitants were mostly wealthy. In recent years, due to people frequently seeking blessings from the Jiang family, the Jiang family reluctantly had to lead their children and grandchildren to live in Yingbao¡¯s Divine Mansion. In the end, even Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu were unable to resist the bother, bringing their wives, children, and those willing to leave from the Yue Family to live in the Divine Mansion. Seeing his daughter and son-inw leaving, Mr. Wu, after discussing with his wife and son, also proposed to follow Yingbao when she came to see him. Thus, Mr. Wu and his family of dozens also moved into the Divine Mansion. Afterwards, it was Lady Wen, her husband, and their son Wen Hengyin, as well as their daughter and son-inw. In the Divine Mansion, they each had their own piece ofnd, including houses and farnd. During their leisure time, they would farm, look at the surrounding exotic scenery, and Lady Wen and her husband would even gather some Spiritual Medicines, learning to concoct some medicines to improve their cultivation base. At the Book Pavilion, Yingbao allowed Master Wu Daozi to manage it. Everyone who wanted to borrow a book had to register first. Nuannuan came running with her younger brothers and sisters, ¡°Mother, shall we go to the inds tomorrow?¡± Yingbao nodded, pointing at a few of the cunning ones, saying: ¡°They haven¡¯t reached the fifthyer of Qi cultivation, they can¡¯t leave yet.¡± Many ces in this realm are very barbaric, especially hostile to outsiders, so children can¡¯t take risks without cultivating to the fifthyer of Qi or above. Jiang Wu popped a Spiritual Medicine into his mouth, chewed it a bit and swallowed it, saying, ¡°Sister, I¡¯ll go out tomorrow too.¡± He, along with Huzi, Wei Zhan, Wen Hengyin and the others, loved to follow their sister on her adventures. Not only do they encounter various strange beasts, but they also get see huge whales in the sea. Some of the whales were evenrger than the pces of the Imperial Pce, an awe-inspiring sight. Before Yingbao could reply, Jiang Quan intervened, saying, ¡°Why go to that ind? The people there are as poor as church mice, they can¡¯t even afford pants. Let¡¯s go to bigger neighboring countries. I¡¯ve brought a lot of silk and porcin, and I¡¯m ready to sell it.¡± For the past few years, Jiang Quan had been traveling with Yingbao all over the world, using the porcin he had made from domestic kiln-burning and the cotton silk fabric he had, to exchange for a lot of gold, silver, gems and exquisite crafts. He was ecstatic, ever since he entrusted his shop in Beijing to the shopkeeper to manage, and started to bring back goods from around the world to sell. As a result, his shop gradually became the most eye-catching major store in all of Beijing. Yingbao: ¡°The ind we¡¯re going to isn¡¯t the one to the east, it¡¯s further away. There are big lobsters there and I want to catch some to raise here.¡± ¡°Sea turtle! Sea turtle! I want to bring back a big sea turtle!¡± Jiang Qi was shouting. Last time they saw many huge tortoises on an ind,rger than the millstone of Dongchen Vige. His aunt only took in two or three, and they were imed by his younger brothers and sisters. He also wanted to bring back a turtle to use as a mount and to sleep on. ¡°Good, if we encounter one, we¡¯ll bring it back.¡± Yingbao agreed, then spoke to her second cousin, ¡°You don¡¯t need to be in a hurry, after we catch the lobsters, we will take you to trade silk.¡± Nothing was more important than eating seafood. Especially after mummy and Nuannuan had developed a spicy seasoning. Periodically, Yingbao would lead the family to the seashore to pick up seashells and catch lobsters. Cooking the giant oysters, which were as big as bowls, with the spicy seasoning was incredibly delicious, Master Wu Daozi and Mr. Wu loved that dish the most. Yingbao then nced back at the garden. Mrs. Wu, Mrs. Luo and others, were wearing fashionable dresses, delicate step shakes on their heads, draped in exquisite silks, holding round fans, were talking with a few of the silver-haired dragon youngsters, looking radiant and highly pleasing to the eyes. Chapter 498: Nuannuan Extra_1 Chapter 498: Nuannuan Extra_1 Dongchen Vige has be famous across the country as a vige of immortals. It is adorned with blooming flowers and abundant fruit trees. Each household cultivates special crops. My mother said that these are spiritual rice, wheat and sorghum, which can prolong life when eaten by mortals. By the way, my mother is a bona fide immortal. With a wave of her hand, flowers bloom and fruit trees mature. Our whole family has learned magic from her. Because mother has opened the spiritual veins for each of us and taught us how to cultivate. But then, many people came to Dongchen Vige to seek immortality, which annoyed the locals. So my mother set up an array inside and outside the vige. Only foreigners who reported in advance could enter and exit freely. This stirred up a ho¡¯s nest. Somehow, the Emperor found out and came to Dongchen Vige personally. After that, he simply refused to leave, even abdicating the throne to his son, Zhou Wuyang. His consorts and their families were unhappy about this and began to make a fuss. Especially the old men and women. They insisted on living in Dongchen Vige with the retired Emperor, iming they would protect his safety. Humph! The Retired Emperor is safe in the vige, safer than in the Imperial Pce, where would he need a group of old men and women to protect him? What¡¯s even more irritating is that the Imperial Army in Beijing also wants to protect the Retired Emperor. Dongchen Vige is only so big. If we let them all in, wouldn¡¯t it be as cramped as sardines? However, nothing can stand in the way of people¡¯s desire to seek immortality. Everyone is rushing to Dongchen Vige, causing trouble for the surrounding countryside. This has prevented them from farming peacefully, so my mother had to surround the entire Qinchuan County and Zhouhe County with an array. But then, the neighbouring county became dissatisfied, crying out from outside the constraints. Both the County Magistrate and Provincial Government officersined to the new Emperor about my mother, using her of caring only for her ownnd and disregarding the livelihood of the neighbouring county. I was really puzzled. My mother merely set up a boundary for her own territory. It did not obstruct traffic at all. Moreover, she left routes for people to pass through, specifically leaving pathways and waterways for carriages and boats. We only realizedter that the reason was that crops grew rapidly within the boundary, birds and beasts were flocking in, people living inside appeared younger and healthier, and life was very prosperous. As a result, people flocked to these two counties and once allowed in, they wouldn¡¯t leave, dead or alive. This caused a severe poption drain in the surrounding counties and local officials were extremely displeased. Fortunately, my mother noticed this situation and reformed the array rules, stipting that only locals were permitted to settle. That year, we went back to the vige with my parents to visit the Retired Emperor and his consorts. As fate would have it, we met the Emperor and his son. It turns out that the Emperor¡¯s eldest son was already fifteen. He hade with his son to tell his father that he wished to abdicate to his son. Of course, the Retired Emperor refused. He scolded his son for shirking his responsibilities and wanting to retire. The only way he would agree is if he was dead. The Emperor looked at the increasingly youthful retired Emperor and said faintly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hand over the reins to your son too, Father? I¡¯m already in my thirties and I don¡¯t want to waver anymore.¡± The Retired Emperor¡¯s beard bristled with anger as he pointed at the Emperor and said, ¡°When I abdicated to you, I was already in my sixties. How old are you now that you want to retire?¡± The Emperor said expressionlessly, ¡°At that time, you promised your son that as long as his son had an heir, I could do whatever I wanted afterwards. Now I have fulfilled my duty, having raised the heir of the Zhou family to be fifteen years old.¡± He paused, giving his son a nce before he continued, ¡°Yi has been attending court with me since he was seven. In the past eight years, he has be fullypetent in the affairs of the state. Father, you needn¡¯t worry about him being young. After all, I was also fifteen when I started handling court affairs.¡± Zhou Yi, at fifteen, was still very naive. He nced at his father, then at his grandfather, and did not dare to refute him. Zhou Wuchang¡¯s face turned dark, he had nothing to say. Indeed, he did say those words before. He didn¡¯t expect his son to use his casual words from back then against him. Let him do what he wants then. Zhou Wuchang asked indifferently, ¡°You¡¯re abdicating at such a young age, what do you n to do afterwards?¡± The Emperor replied, casting his eyes down, ¡°I wish to travel with my aunt and Nuannuan.¡± Zhou Wuchang snorted, ¡°Just because you want to doesn¡¯t mean you can.¡± He wanted to go too. But before he had the chance to say anything, Yingbao left. And once she left, she was away for a good half year. Just at this moment, an eunuch reported that the Commandery Princess Chuanhe hade to visit along with her daughter. So, when my mother and I entered the hall of the Retired Emperor, we saw my brother Wuyang, who looked pleasantly surprised, along with a teenage boy. Chapter 499: Nuannuan Extra Story_2 Chapter 499: Nuannuan Extra Story_2 Afterwards, the Emperor abdicated the throne to fifteen-year-old Crown Prince Zhou Yi, and merrily followed us into the Divine Mansion. Apanying him were several dozen Imperial Guards and pce maids, as well as several dozen vigers. My mother wanted to nt Spiritual Rice and Spiritual Wheat in the Divine Mansion and needed lots of help, so she chose a group that knew about farming and opened their meridians. Of course, after three years, my mother will send them out to reunite with their families, rewarding them with some overseas produce. Today is the day for us to pic by the sea again. Brother Wuhui and I, along with other brothers and sisters, take a boat out to sea to fish. First, we put down the shrimp cage that my mother gave us, then sprinkle some special shrimp-attracting powder. After waiting quietly for a while, many lobsters swim over. Wuhui and Jiang Qi were ecstatic, they suppressed their delight and waited for an hour before they started fishing the cages. Wow! Each shrimp cage contained severalrge lobsters. We only picked thoserger than five feet, and those below standard were thrown back into the sea. Brother Wuyang, with a lower cultivation base and a reserved demeanor, helped us cook the lobsters and oysters ashore. In fact, it was the guards who did the work, with him leading from the side.
Uncle Jiang Wu along with Uncle Jiang Hu went to catch sea fish. Once, they encountered an octopusrger than a house, which wrapped their fishing boat all at once. If it weren¡¯t for father, they all would have been dragged to the bottom of the sea. Such vacations ur once a month. My mother took us to y all over the world, but as soon as the three-year term arrives, those who were due to return started crying, asking to stay in the Divine Mansion. However, these people were all part of the Imperial Army, and Mother couldn¡¯t keep them without authorization. Besides, there were still many people waiting in line to enter. Brother Wuyang was the same. He had to return and let his father, the emperor, enter. On the day he was leaving, Brother Wuyang put the storage bag that my mother had given him into his embrace and took out many pearls to offer me. He looked at me and said, ¡°Nuannuan, these are what I¡¯ve found by opening mshells all these three years, all for you.¡± Each of these pearls was the size of a thumb, colorful, and very beautiful. I was just going to ept them, but Brother Wuhui took them. He bared his teeth andughed saying, ¡°Thank you, your highness, I really like them.¡± Then, he took out lots of strange shells and stuffed them into Brother Wuyang¡¯s arms, ¡°Here are the shells Nuannuan and I found, take these back and give them to the empresses and princes to look at.¡± Brother Wuyang¡¯s face fell, but he still epted the shells. His back when he left was full of sorrow, and Brother Wuhui¡¯s face didn¡¯t look good either. I was puzzled and could not understand why. Could it be¡­ they have some unspeakable emotions between them? Afterwards, my mother brought many more people into the Divine Mansion, including Grandpa n leader and his family, along with Master and his family. When we were on vacation again, we found out that we had entered a strange world. It was very simr to our own, but also differed. At the market here, bizarre looking creatures were being sold. There were those with rabbit ears, amb with a human body, and those whose heads were full of leaves. My mother said that they were all supernatural beings that human cultivators had captured for food. I saw an adorable little child with a pair of small horns on his head, crying in the corner of the cage. ¡°Mother, they look so pitiful, let¡¯s buy them,¡± I said. They were clearly in human form and being treated as ingredients felt really cruel. In the end, my mother bought all the supernatural beings from the market. Some were set free in the forest, others were taken into the cave mansion.
Those who were taken into the cave mansion were asked by my mother to sign a contract with us, prohibiting them from walking around otherwise. So, all the children in the mansion obtained a cute pet. My pet was that little supernatural being with horns on his head. My mother said he was a hundred-year-old Green Jiao in his youth. When he reaches five hundred years of age, he will be able to ride the fog and would serve as a decent mount. Touching the head of the little child that barely reached my knees, I told him, ¡°From now on, you will be called Xiaoqing.¡± I pointed at the white bird in Brother Wuhui¡¯s hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s Xiao Bai. You two should get along well.¡±
Later, I found out that on the surface, they might be living harmoniously, but they were actually sworn enemies. As soon as Brother Wuhui and I turned our backs, the two of them would start to fight. Xiaoqing¡¯s head would get hurt, and there were white feathers sticking out of the corners of his mouth. Xiao Bai¡¯s feathers would be plucked, and there would be a piece of scale on its w. I was very puzzled, so I asked them. The two of them hummed and hawed and gave me the general idea: it turns out that these two races have always been arch-nemesis, and there are often battles between them. Chapter 500: Nuannuan Extra_3 Chapter 500: Nuannuan Extra_3 I was speechless. I warned them that if this happens again, we would have to draw straws to see who needs to leave. None of them wanted to leave, so they had to make peace for the moment. Days went by, and then one day, Mother¡¯s Divine Mansion expanded again, evenrger than ten mortal worldsbined. In the midst of the ocean within the Divine Mansion, a grand and magnificent pce appeared. That was the Dragon God Temple. This meant that Mother had be the new Dragon God, and her Divine Mansion had be a stable ne. Here, countless nts radiated specks of spiritual energy, and a variety of spiritual beasts and birds appeared one after another. On this day, all of the dragon spirits materialized into true dragons, flying towards the Dragon God Temple in the sea. Mother, with me and Father, also appeared in this temple. Once again, I saw my Dragon God grandmother. She was dressed in a long silver gown, with long silver hair cascading down. Her face radiated a soft, beautiful glow like no other.
¡°Nuannuan,¡± She called me. I stepped forward, each stepnding on a lotus. Grandmother handed me a golden dragon pearl: ¡°This is for you.¡± I was a bit confused and looked towards Mother for guidance. Wasn¡¯t today the day that Mother was to ascend to godhood? Why am I being given the dragon pearl? Grandmother smiled and said, ¡°Your mother already has one. This one is my gift to you.¡± She spoke to Mother again, ¡°My child, I am going to find your father. I will return once I have found him.¡± Mother nodded and nestled her head against Grandmother¡¯s body. ¡°Mother God, pleasee back soon.¡± Mother handed a golden pearl to Grandmother, ¡°If you¡¯re in danger, crush this. It will bring you home.¡± The Dragon God gently caressed Mother¡¯s face, sighed, and disappeared in a sh. I found outter that Mother had used part of her spirit to forge into a pearl, creating a path home for Grandmother. After many years, the people living in the Divine Mansion began to start families, and even had children with Spiritual Roots. These children cultivated at a much faster pace than those who only opened their channelster on. Meanwhile, Mother had two more children, a younger brother and sister for me. This made my father and the others incredibly happy. From birth, both my younger brother and sister had tiny horns on their head. Like the emergence of a young deer¡¯s antlers, they were too cute. When they learned to crawl, my pets began to circle around them, fearing any scrapes, bumps, or insect bites. But my brother and sister were too active and crawled so fast that in a blink of an eye, they would either dive into the fish pond or crash into flowerpots. With this worry, Xiaoqing transformed back into his original form and kept the two children within his protective range. Yearster, once my brother and sister had grown to about the same height as Xiaoqing and started calling him ¡®Sister Xiaoqing,¡¯ I realized Xiaoqing was female.
When my brother and sister turned ten, Mother asked me to retreat into the Dragon God Temple and wouldn¡¯t let me out until I¡¯ve reached the state of Ascension. Decadester, I finally attained Ascension, all thanks to the dragon pearl Grandmother had given me. After reaching the state of Ascension, I used the remaining dragon pearl to cleanse Brother Wuhui¡¯s marrow, allowing him to cultivate towards the Nascent Soul as quickly as possible, so we could go out and explore together. Not in the mortal world, but in the great thousand worlds, or the Fairy World.
I heard that the Fairy World has be deste. Ever since the Wuji Sect was destroyed, manyrge families also met the same fate because the spiritual energy there had been exhausted, gradually reduced to a mundanend. But after all, it¡¯s still a divinend. Regardless of its vast territory, there are also many unknown secrets. We are going there to explore these secrets and figure out why the spiritual energy in the Fairy World is depleted. Mother said that the Fairy World used to be prosperous, with people of different races living in harmony. However, at some point, the human cultivators suddenly began to hunt down other races, causing many races to be wiped out one after another. With the extinction of thousands of races, the spiritual energy of the entire Fairy World gradually depleted, until nearly half of the Fairy World became a mundane world devoid of any spiritual energy. It was then that the human cultivators set their sights on the Spirit Veins buried underground. As a result, arge number of Spirit Veins were excavated and some were even used as a form of currency. But no matter how many Spirit Veins there are, they will eventually run out. Yearster, the human cultivators started to target the races with divine bloodlines. First, the Phoenix n was wiped out, followed by the Nine-Tailed Fox n. Finally, they turned their attention to the Dragon n. If it weren¡¯t for Grandmother sending Mother¡¯s spirit away at thest moment, the Dragon n would have probably been wiped out. Thus, I want to visit the Fairy World to see what is actually going on. While I am at it, I will transnt some of the nts and trees into the Divine Mansion. Mother said that the Fairy World has many ancient trees that are thousands to tens of thousands of years old. These trees, which are the treasures of Fairy World, have begun to wither due to theck of spiritual energy. Since I have mastered the Eternal Spring Technique, perhaps I can rejuvenate them. As for my brother and sister, they should have grown up once I return. By then, we siblings can go out together and see the vast world.
Chapter 501: Chen Zhao Extra _1 Chapter 501: Chen Zhao Extra Chapter_1 Today¡¯s business was especially good. The inn was full, entirely upied by guests from other ces here to eat. One of the customers specifically requested to eat the vige¡¯s vegetables or else he wouldn¡¯t pay. So, I went out to our vegetable garden and picked a basketful of cucumbers, melons, luffas, potatoes, along with some greens, spinach, and yam. These vegetables are grown by my grandparents. They had tilled many fields specially for my inn¡¯s use, right in front of and behind our house, nting dozens of types of fruits and vegetables. Of course, I pay them for the vegetables. Sometimes when fresh gamees into the inn, I cook it and serve them a portion too. I washed the vegetables and sent them to the kitchen. The cook in the kitchen was my son. He had just gotten married; his bride was a pleasant and pretty girl from Lin County city. Not only was my daughter-inw pretty, but she was diligent, and her family was quite well-off too. The reason my son managed to marry such a good wife was because her parents were in poor health and wished to stay in Dongchen Vige to receive treatment.
Ironically, the woman I originally agreed to let my son marry wasn¡¯t this daughter-inw, but for some reason, the woman who married into our household ended up being her. When my son saw his new wife was even more beautiful than the promised one, he epted her without anyints. Fortunately, the wife turned out to be kind, submissive, and polite ¡ª a real gem for our family. It wasn¡¯t until a woman came to my doorstep arguing with my daughter-inw that I found out why a different woman ended up marrying my son instead of the one mentioned in the marriage document. Sobbing, my daughter-inw told me that the woman was her elder blood sister. When she learned that their parents arranged her to marry into a rural merchant family, she protested vehemently and even threatened suicide. Seeing no alternative, their parents were forced to marry my daughter-inw to us instead. However, they didn¡¯t change the name on the marriage document because her elder sister used her own name to marry someone else. They didn¡¯t expect that two yearster, the elder sister would barge in demanding to swap the marriage back. Hugging our granddaughter who was just a few months old, my daughter-inw kept crying. From the looks of it, she desperately feared that we might abandon her and bring back her elder sister. I had tofort her: ¡°Qiong, don¡¯t worry, our family only recognizes you. You are my son¡¯s rightful wife who was carried in a bridal pnquin into our home. If that woman dares to make a fuss again, I will beat her with a rolling pin.¡± Only then did my daughter-inw burst intoughter. Carrying the child on her back, she helped me wash and cut the vegetables. Two monthster, my daughter-inw¡¯s elder sister returned, bringing along their mother and father¡¯s legitimate wife. Before me, that woman tearfully imed she was tricked by a man, the marital engagement that originally belonged to her ended up being fulfilled by her younger sister. I just listened without inviting them into the house. When they finished crying, I said, ¡°What you did was dishonest, too. What¡¯s the point ofing here and saying all this now? If truth be told, our family was deceived by your family. If ites down to it, we can always take this matter to the County Government.¡± The mother and daughter duo froze at my words. Their elder sister defiantly responded, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the County Government! I¡¯m already suffering, why should Qiong live afortable life while Inguish in poverty?¡± Upon hearing this, I hardened my voice: ¡°If that be the case, we have officials present in this inn. Let¡¯s invite one of them to make a judgement. But let me warn you, Qiong is the wife who was openly and legitimately married into my family. That fact cannot be changed, no matter what the official decides. As for you, there¡¯s a good chance you¡¯ll be punished and banished for deception.¡± The mother and daughter hesitated for a long time. Eventually, they proposed if they could stay in Dongchen Vige, they wouldn¡¯t bring up the past again. I sneered and ordered one of my servants to drive them away. However, considering that my daughter-inw still needs to visit her mother at their home, I gave them a sack of corn. It wasn¡¯t because I was trying to be kind, but because I knew if I didn¡¯t give them anything, they would surely make life unbearable for her mother.
I returned to my inn and sat by the window up on the second floor. I was gazing at the grand mansion of the Jiang Family; I haven¡¯t visited them for many years. It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t want to, but because I couldn¡¯t face Yingbao. Ever since my father framed Yingbao, my brother and I have not had the courage to face her.
Even though I have had a child since then, and he¡¯s married now, I still can¡¯t look her in the eye. In recent years, Yingbao oftenes back to pick vigers to travel with her to the Immortal Land. My son is very eager to go, but I can¡¯t bring myself to ask her. Chapter 502: Chen Zhao Extra _2 Chapter 502: Chen Zhao Extra Chapter_2 Today, our family is able to enjoy a wealthy and stable life thanks to her efforts. I am content and dare not ask for too much. When I was young, I was often scared of my mother¡¯s scolding and beating. I always imagined escaping from home, getting away from my mother, even if it meant bing a concubine in a rich family. I didn¡¯t want to stay at home. After my mother passed away, I realized that life with her was not so bad after all. As long as she wasn¡¯t in a bad mood or beating me, she would mend my clothes and would always sneak me a piece of meat during the festive seasons. So, I decided to stay at home, to take care of my younger brother, and to ensure he grew up healthy. Luckily, I fulfilled this. Not only did I earn money for my brother, but I also found him a wife and built arge inn for him. People said that I was foolish. My inws and sisters-inw cursed me for only caring about my own family. They forgot that their family was once poor and that I sustained them by doing business. I even upgraded our simple thatched hut into arge five-room brick-built house. Thankfully, my husband protected me. He forbade the family from saying a word against me; otherwise, he would have nothing to do with them. Only then did my inws, big sisters, and my younger uncle-brothers calm down. I was too busy to bother about their constantints behind my back. Later, Dongchen Vige started to be more and more famous. Observing the situation, I quickly bought several plots in the vicinity and built arge courtyard house where I moved in with my children and husband. When my brother needed more money, I shamelessly asked others to lend him some. I helped him buy a piece ofnd and repaid the loan after a short while because our own business was doing very well. From morning to night, people came to eat and drink.
The customers said that our food could cure illnesses, so they wished they could eat five meals a day here. Iter found out that the reason they dined at our restaurant was that all our vegetables were grown in the Array. They said that the vegetables were blessed by the Divine Tree and were Spirit Food. Since then, I gritted my teeth, hung a sign at our door stating that all the dishes at the restaurant are from Divine Tree Vige and can prolong one¡¯s life. Later, I raised the prices for each dish, five times the original price. But the locals never came to eat. My customers were all wealthy people from out of town. They didn¡¯t care about the money. The more expensive, the more willing they were to buy the dishes. In this way, I made a fortune. Some people called me a profiteer, saying that it¡¯s no wonder that businesspeople were looked down upon. But who could remember when I had integrity? I had been eating coarse grain and washing clothes in a hole cut out in the ice during winter with fingers frozen like radishes. Now that I am rich, housework is done by servants, and my grandchildren can go to school in Divine Tree Vige, studying in the same school as princes and princesses. Perhaps my granddaughter could even marry one of the noble family¡¯s sons in the future and be his wife. I delightedly thought to myself, I¡¯m really lucky that I listened to Yingbao¡¯s advice in the past and set up a small stall in the market, despite getting married and never leaving the vige. Now, looking back, Yingbao was my lucky star. I truly don¡¯t understand why my parents abandoned her. At this moment, my younger daughter ran upstairs to inform me that the Commandery Princess had returned and was talking to people in the vige. She urged me toe down and have a look. As if possessed by a divine envoy, I followed my daughter back to the vige. However, I couldn¡¯t get close because arge number of people surrounded the Jiang Family. Most of them were members of the Imperial Army and children of noble families. Surprisingly, they were not making noise but quietly listening to what Yingbao was saying. She said she wanted to choose a group of children to go with her and return ten yearster, and asked if anyone was willing. No one would refuse such an offer. Everyone raised their hands, including me. I felt guilt-free raising my hand because I assumed Yingbao had not noticed me. To my surprise, YIngabo, who was initially standing in the middle of the crowd, suddenly came before me and asked me earnestly if I truly wished to go with her. At that moment, I blinked back tears, nodded, and then shook my head, saying, ¡°I raised my hand for my son. He¡¯s not here; he¡¯s at school.¡± My daughter became anxious and quickly said, ¡°Mother, what about me? I also raised my hand.¡±
Yingbao smiled and agreed to take both my daughter and son. I looked at Yingbao with tears streaming down my face. I realized she was still willing to help me. After that, my children went with Yingbao, and they were gone for ten years. When they returned, their status was different.
Chapter 503: Chen Zhao Extra _3 Chapter 503: Chen Zhao Extra Chapter_3 The Emperor summoned them to Beijing and even granted them official positions. Before the departure of my daughter, she gave me the Elixir that Yingbao had given her, saying that if consumed, it could keep one¡¯s appearance unchanged for fifty years. I took it, so my face has stayed around thirty years old, which has inspired admiration in everyone. Even the birth mother of my daughter-inw started to curry favor with her, just because my grandson had been chosen to go to the fairnd. As the days passed, our tavern grew increasingly prosperous. My younger brother¡¯s inn was also rebuilt, turning into a three-story building. The first floor was built with bricks and stones, and the second and third floors were made of mortise and tenon wooden structures. Because more and more guests wanted to stay, and his yard was only so big, rebuilding it into a multi-storey building would amodate more guests. One day, I suddenly had a dream. I dreamed of my childhood and even dreamed of my mother. She was using a bamboo stick to beat a child. I took a closer look and thatmb was Yingbao when she was a few years old. I wanted to stop my mother, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn¡¯t. At this time, I discovered that my childhood self and my elder sister were hiding behind the door, peeking.
Then, I saw more scenes: Yingbao was beaten by my mother until her body was covered with bruises; the skin on her arms and face was even cracked, exposing the fresh flesh. She was lying in the haystack outside the yard, covered with a tattered reed coat. I saw my younger self walk over, toss a piece of ck bread from a distance, and put a broken bowl next to then run away quickly. I could clearly feel what my younger self was thinking. I was very scared of Yingbao at that time, really scared, because her eyes were very strange. But I never thought of helping her, and neither did my older sister. We would give her some leftovers after we finished eating, sometimes it was me, sometimes it was my older sister, but I found that several times my elder sister gave the ck bread to the dog at home. But I didn¡¯t say anything, nor did I think of telling my grandmother. Latterly, Yingbao gradually improved. I heard my grandma saying to my mother that she was really lucky. Even though she was beaten so badly, she managed to survive. It showed she was a wretched creature. At this time, my mother, cradling my little brother Xubao, was feeding him steamed egg custard,menting: ¡°It¡¯s good she survived. We need someone to do chores in the house in the future.¡± So my elder sister and I got some free time. Except for asionally fetching water from the river, she was given all the chores. Later, I learned from chatting with the girls in the vige that the Jiang family had moved out of Dongchen Vige, supposedly to Jiang Vige. But several times I saw Yingbao sneaking to Dongchen Vige, and I quietly followed her. I saw Jiang¡¯s couple hugged her and cried, and even stuffed several boiled eggs into her hands. I was thinking, when she returns, I will take the boiled eggs to my mother. As a result, I saw her sitting on the ground eating all the boiled eggs. I was very angry and ran to tell my mother. My mother immediately took out a stick used for beating clothes and went out. Led by me, she found Yingbao, and then she beat her severely. Jiang¡¯s couple tried to protect her, but they were also beaten several times. In the end, Jiang¡¯s third son beat my mother and threatened her that he would report her to the authorities if she dared to abuse Yingbao again. But my mother showed no fear, she yelled back, arguing how dare he scold her for disciplining her own daughter. She said even if the king¡¯s father came, she wouldn¡¯t be afraid. In the end, Jiang¡¯s couple was taken away by people, Yingbao was also lifted by her mother and taken home, and, naturally, she was beaten severely again. Yet Yingbao seemed very persistent. Whenever she had the chance, she would steal away. She wanted to see her foster parents. Later, my mother bought an iron chain to bind her ankle and tied her under a big tree. Holding Xubao, she pointed at Ying Bao and said: ¡°She¡¯s just a lowly creature, don¡¯t treat her as a human being.¡±
Then my mother taught Xubao to beat her with a bamboo stick, stating that she was just like a dog, and needed to be disciplined. The vige chief, unable to stand it, came to reprimand my mother. Only then did she unlock the iron chain from Yingbao¡¯s ankle. I heard the vige chief whisper to Yingbao, urging her to live well, as when she grows up and gets married, she will be able to leave and say, do whatever she wants. I saw Yingbao cry. She never cried when my mother beat her to that state. The vige chief just said a few words to her kindly, and she cried her eyes out.
At that moment, I felt some pity for Yingbao. I knew I was dreaming, and I wanted to wake up, but I was unable to. Those scenes shed one by one like a revolvingntern. I saw a flood in the vige, and our family went to the county seat. I also saw my parents take us to live in my aunt¡¯s house. Once, I went out to y with a few of my female cousins, and my second cousin lost her golden hairpin in the tree. I saw my teenage self keeping quiet, bending down pretending to fix my shoe, and then quietly put the golden hairpin in my sleeve. When I came back, I quietly tried the hairpin on in front of the mirror, but Yingbao, who just came in, saw me. I was very scared. Also, my second cousin was looking for her lost hairpin all over. After much consideration, I decided to give up the hairpin and put it under Yingbao¡¯s pillow. Later, Yingbao was severely beaten by my mother and locked in a chicken coop. A bitter, Yingbao was sold to the brothel by my mother. I saw my mother holding thirty taels of silver, joyfully saying to my father: ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that girl to be worth so much. She was sold for thirty taels. Now we can settle in the county.¡± Chapter 504: Chen Zhao Extra Story (Second)_1 Chapter 504: Chen Zhao Extra Story (Second)_1 In my dream, I was terrified, terrified that mom would sell me off too. If a girl enters the brothel, her life is ruined. Not only could she not find a good husband, but she also can¡¯t have children afterward. Those words were said by my cousin. In her disdainful gaze, it was as if my eldest sister and I were brothel girls. I was very angry and unconsciously held a grudge against Yingbao while hating my aunt¡¯s daughters even more. Later, my family bought a small courtyard in the county town where our family of five lived. Life in the county town was not easy. My eldest sister and I assumed all the household chores. More than once I wished my third sister was here to help, especially with theundry during the winter. My eldest sister didn¡¯t say much, but she didn¡¯t object either. Later, my eldest sister got married and wed a fisherman. The fisherman was dark and thin, but he treated my eldest sister well. Every few days, he woulde to town just to bring us fish. That¡¯s why my mom didn¡¯t object to the marriage. After the eldest sister got married, she followed the fisherman to fish in the river, but every once in a while, she woulde back to town to bring fish to her family.
My mom was naturally overjoyed. Sometimes she even sent the fish brought by my sister to her aunt¡¯s house. Because my eldest sister got married, all the household chores fell on me. I was depressed, but there was nothing I could do. Iter met many other young girls and often slipped out of the house early in the morning, only to returnte in the afternoon. At first, my mom scolded, but she never hit me, for fear her husband¡¯s friends would hear and be aware of it. A few yearster, my dad finally passed the schr examination. That day, our house was bustling. Neighbors from both sides came to congratte us. After bing a schr, my dad prepared to study at the county school. But first, the instructors would examine the moral conduct of the student and their family. Anyone found to have a bad character, would not be admitted, even if it was generations ago. After discussion, my mom and dad spent eighty coins to redeem my little sister. This price, so I heard, was granted because my father was now a schr, and our uncle was a sergeant. My mom was angry. After bringing back my little sister, she scolded her constantly, calling her a loss, a disaster, a lowly whore. My little sister fought back with insults of her own. It was a new type of humiliation for my mom, who immediately picked up a stick to hit her. But my little sister was already thirteen or fourteen years old. She was tall and pretty and agile. She snatched the stick from mom¡¯s hand and threw it over the courtyard wall. My mom was so angry that she sat on the ground and cried inconsbly. Seeing this, Xubao ran over to fight my little sister, but she kicked him over, pinned him down, and pped him a few times. Seeing this, I couldn¡¯t just stand by. I ran over to help, but I was no match for her, and ended up being pinned down and beaten by her instead. A few days passed by, and no matter what we did, we just couldn¡¯t deal with her. My mom, out of exasperation, withheld her food. But unexpectedly, she stormed in during our meal, grabbed the wooden barrel of rice, poured all the vegetables into it, climbed onto the roof, and sat there eating all the food bit by bit. It was such a big bucket of rice and two dishes, and she ate it all by herself.
During that time, our house was always in chaos. Mom regretted bringing her back. In the end, my mom stopped caring about her but would assign her chores. I originally thought my little sister would refuse, but she picked up the wooden basin without a word and left for the river, only returning when the dinner was ready. My mom didn¡¯t want to feed her, so she would hurriedly cook while she was out, quietly carrying the food into the room after it was ready. Little did we know, my third sister, as if she could predict what was happening, would jump straight in from the courtyard wall, kick open the door, snatch the food and run off.
Having to fix the door several times, mom gave up on the idea. Once, a VIP came to our home and wanted to see a swirling dance. My parents somehow persuaded my younger sister to perform for them. The VIP really liked the performance and gave her a valuable jade pendant as a reward. My mom was envious and told me and Xubao to get the jade pendant. Naturally, my third sister wouldn¡¯t allow it. We ended up fighting, and she stormed into my mom¡¯s room, chopped open my mom¡¯s wooden box with an axe, and took back the jade pendant. My mom was furious andined to my dad. But my dad told her to calm down, saying the VIP liked my third sister and he nned to send her to Prefecture City. He suggested my mom to treat my third sister well, as we might need her help in the future. Latter, my third sister was drugged with a knockout drug by my mother and sent off on a big boat to the Prefecture City. I kept dreaming. In the dream, my dad became a scribe at the Prefecture City¡¯s governor¡¯s office, and our family naturally moved to the Prefecture City. Chapter 505: Chen Zhao Extra Story (Second)_2 Chapter 505: Chen Zhao Extra Story (Second)_2 The Wei Family was wealthy in Prefecture City and had some connections with the Chen Family, hence we stayed at their ce. Yet, I was surprised that the matriarch of the Wei Family was actually a concubine. Iter found out that the ethereal mother of the Wei family had passed away from an illness years ago, and her only son had been taken away by his uncles until he grew up and returned to the Wei family. Because the Wei family was somewhat rted to the high-ranking Xiao family, I would often see Wei Qi, the seventh son of the Wei family, going to the provincial governor¡¯s mansion to see the young master of the Xiao family. He was quite proud and wouldn¡¯t really pay attention to me at the beginning. But as soon as he found out that my father held a position in the governor¡¯s mansion, he began to treat me with some respect. One time, I apanied Wei Qi to the governor¡¯s mansion to find my father when I happened upon my third younger sister in her delicate silk dresses. She was so beautiful that she could easily be mistaken for an immortal consort, to the point that I could barely recognize her. Wei Zhan also had his eyes glued to her and even went up to chat with her. At first, my third younger sister was polite to him, but as soon as she saw me, she scoffed and turned away dismissively. On the way, we came across a few officers from the governor¡¯s mansion who greeted her and even whistled at her, but she paid them no mind and walked away.
I was shocked. Wasn¡¯t my third younger sister a concubine in the governor¡¯s mansion? Why was she able to freely travel in and out of the inner and outer courtyards, and why was she able to put on a stern face to those high-ranking martial generals? The generals didn¡¯t seem to get angry at all and kept watching as she entered through the Moon Gate. I knew that behind that gate was where the governor lived, and ordinary people were not allowed inside. Even Wei Qi, a powerful young master, had to wait for passage through the gate. Yet, without anyone guiding her, my third younger sister simply walked in. So, I went home and told my parents about this. My mother pped the table in anger, ¡°Since she is so favored, why doesn¡¯t she put in a word for your father? After all, we¡¯ve taken care of her, but she has turned into an ungrateful wretch. If we had known, we would not have sent her to the governor¡¯s mansion. She¡¯spletely useless.¡± My father was silent for a long time before suddenly asking me, ¡°Ahzhao, do you want to get into the governor¡¯s mansion?¡± I was stunned. My father continued, ¡°If you want to go, I¡¯ll help you.¡± Thinking about the gant governor, my face flushed a deep red. My mother also said, ¡°Ahzhao, you are no longer young. If we weren¡¯t looking for a high-ranking family for you, we would have already started your matchmaking. The governor is of high status and not too old, and he doesn¡¯t have a principal wife yet. If you could gain his favor and bear him a son or daughter, you would be the mistress of the governor¡¯s mansion.¡± I was moved. Within a few days, my mother had a makeup artiste and teach me how to apply makeup. When I had finished putting on my vivid-colored makeup andvish dress, I looked at myself in the mirror and realized I looked very simr to my third younger sister. I was confused, ¡°Why have I been made up to look like this?¡± My mother, grinning, said, ¡°Because it makes you look prettier.¡± Deep down, I had to agree. Because my face is like my father¡¯s but my skin is more like my mother¡¯s ¨C slightly dark and yellowish. My eyes are also long and narrow like hers, not like my third sister¡¯s, which are lively and deep ck. My figure is also different ¨C I am slender with a slim waist, but my third sister¡¯s figure is straight and firm, standing there like a piece of bamboo. That evening, my father took me to the governor¡¯s mansion for a banquet.
The grand hall was filled with martial generals, as well as some of the governor¡¯s staff and officials. The governor was seated at the head of the room, holding a cup of wine. When he saw me, he was taken aback. My father quickly introduced me as his second daughter and mentioned that I wished to perform a piece for the governor. The governor agreed but kept staring at me, which caused my hands to tremble.
Finally, I took out a xun (a wind instrument) and yed the Changsheng Hall piece. The governor asked me toe closer and scrutinized me for a long time before asking, ¡°Are you and Chen Ying biological sisters?¡± I nodded. ¡°Do you wish to enter my mansion?¡± he asked. I nodded again. The governor lifted his wine cup and took a sip, saying, ¡°In that case, you may stay.¡± And so, I joined the governor¡¯s mansion as part of its inner household. That night, I served the governor. In those days, he favored me greatly, often calling me to his chamber. However, after each asion, he would have someone bring me a bowl of herbal soup to drink. I didn¡¯t understand at first, thinking it was a tonic. Onlyter did I discover that the soup was a form of contraceptive. Yet, even with this, I thought I was highly favored, so I plucked up the courage to bring up my father¡¯s situation to him. The governor was very straightforward and immediately signed an appointment letter, making my father the county magistrate of arge county. I was extremely pleased and managed to fit in well at the mansion, mainly because all the servants and maids were eager to please me.
I suddenly thought of my third sister and summoned her toe over. When she came, she was bare-faced but wore a chiffon skirt, and she looked as beautiful as a fairy no matter how you saw her. Secretly jealous of her beauty in my heart, I grumbled how she inherited all of the favored traits from our parents. Chapter 506: Chen Zhao Extra Story (Second)_3 Chapter 506: Chen Zhao Extra Story (Second)_3 But even if she¡¯s as beautiful as a fairy, what does it matter? She¡¯s not favored by themander-in-chief. All these days, I haven¡¯t seen her enter his bedroom even once. ¡°Come here, massage my back.¡± I lean on the Arhat couch, instructing her. Sure enough, my younger sister walks over, sits across from me, chews on a fruit from the small table, and teases, ¡°Are you itchy?¡± Angered, I sit up abruptly, knocking the fruit from her hand, and scold, ¡°Ungracious! You just take people¡¯s things to eat. Did I say you could?¡± She stands up, ps her hands together, startling me. However, she doesn¡¯t hit me, simply sneers disdainfully, and strides away. I¡¯m furious, and order the maid to stop her, but the maid is too timid to approach her. That night, when themander-in-chief summons me again, I exaggerate the rudeness of my younger sister and yfully ask him to discipline her. However, as he hears this, he immediately dismounts me, and orders a maid to lead me out. I¡¯m dazed, wondering what has upset him.
After that, he doesn¡¯t call for me again, nor does he send me any gifts. Unwilling to put up with this, and very curious about what happened, I go to my younger sister¡¯s courtyard to ask. However, I encounter themander-in-chief outside her courtyard, and he¡¯s talking to her about something, even reaching out to pull her close. She ps his hand away, turns around to go back into her courtyard, and even closes the courtyard door. I¡¯m stunned, and quickly hide behind a tree, fearing that his rage might involve me. However, he stands at the door for a bit, turns around and leaves, ncing over when he passes by the tree where I¡¯m hiding. I dare not breathe, waiting until he disappears before Ie out from behind the tree and rush back to my room. Two dayster, another banquet is held in themander¡¯s mansion, and we concubines are called to attend and entertain the guests. After several cups of liquor, the generals forget themselves, flirting with us, and themander-in-chief doesn¡¯t interfere, allowing everyone to enjoy themselves. I then realize that concubines in themander¡¯s mansion don¡¯t only serve themander himself, they also double as ythings for the guests. But what about my younger sister? I look around, only to see her sitting among a group of dancers, watching everyone coldly. Then, a martial general addresses themander, ¡°Great General, I would like to request the hand of Miss Chen Ying.¡± At these words, the room falls silent. All eyes turn towards the Great General. The Great General smiles faintly, responding, ¡°I cannot grant this.¡± A strategist nearby immediately teases, ¡°The Great General has only one dancer who knows the Hu Xuan dance, General Feng, you shouldn¡¯t put the General in such a difficult position.¡± Everybody bursts intoughter. Somebody else chimes in, ¡°We all have our eyes on Miss Chen Ying, General Feng, you need to get in line.¡±
General Feng flushes with embarrassment, but soon recovers, cuddling the concubine next to him, ¡°Then I¡¯ll request her from the Great General.¡± Themander agrees, orders someone to bring ten bolts of silk and some gold and silver, and gives them all to the concubine. As my mind is spinning, the Great General asks my younger sister to dance again. So I see her dance the Hu Xuan dance for the first time.
Her figure is like a nimble bird, jumping non-stop to the beat of the drum, a whole two hours, without themander ordering her to stop. I see that my younger sister is sweating profusely, her clothes sticking to her body. Suddenly, she copses, as if she has fainted. In the stunned silence, a young general rushes forward, picks her up and sprints out of the hall calling for a doctor. The banquet ends abruptly, and everyone loses their taste for drink, following out of the hall to see what¡¯s happening. I nce over at themander, and find that his face is very grim, probably because he¡¯s angry at my younger sister. For a long time, there are no banquets in themander¡¯s mansion. The monthly feasts haven¡¯t been held for a whole four months. I don¡¯t see my younger sister, rumors have it she injured her foot and is still recuperating. In these few months, themander summons no concubines, but the number of concubines has increased. One day, I finally see my younger sister again. She seems to have gained some weight, her skin is radiant and wless, and even more beautiful than before. She looks at me with her usual displeasing expression, which truly infuriates me. That day, Wei Qi visits themander¡¯s mansion, and for some reason, he and the young lord from the Xiao Familye to the courtyard meant for the concubines, where they bump into me. I see that the young lord is toying with a whip, at times striking at some flowers and nts. An ideaes to mind, and I lead them to my younger sister¡¯s courtyard.
Everyone in the mansion knows that the young lord is domineering and unpredictable, often whipping people on impulse. For someone as stubborn as my younger sister, it¡¯s easy to displease others. Let the young lord from the Xiao Family and Wei Qi deal with her then. Even if themander gets upset, both of them are his rtives. He can¡¯t possibly help outsiders at the expense of his own family. I watch as Wei Qi and the young lord from the Xiao Family enter my younger sister¡¯s courtyard and listen with glee to themotion. Chapter 507: Chen Zhao Extra Story (Third)_1 Chapter 507: Chen Zhao Extra Story (Third)_1 Soon after, a scream echoed from the courtyard. I was startled and quickly ran to the doorway to investigate. What I saw scared me half to death. My younger sister was dragging the young master of the Xiao family by his ear to the entrance. Wei Qi was silently following behind them, looking a bit dejected. I was confused and yelled out, ¡°How could you be pulling on the young master¡¯s ear?¡± My sister paid no attention to me, and continued to drag the Xiao¡¯s young master out the gate before shouting, ¡°If you dare to do this again, I¡¯ll break your legs!¡± Wei Qi and the young master of the Xiao family then quickly ran off, heads hanging low. I was somewhat puzzled, and seeing my sister turning toward me, I was so scared that I turned and ran. Later I found out that my sister had been bathing when the young master of the Xiao family and Wei Qi had broken in on her. I thought that would be the end of it, but the chiefmander caught wind of the event.
That day, all the concubines watched as the young master Xiao was whipped ten times. It was only then that I realized just how indulgent themander had been towards my sister. I considered myself experienced in such matters and knew that this man undoubtedly had ulterior motives. My sister had her own courtyard. She could freely move between the inner and outer yards, but couldn¡¯t venture beyond the mansion gates because soldiers guarded the entrance, allowing only certain people through. Her lifestyle was also different from the others. We only received three dishes per meal, while she was served four, with two of them being meat dishes. Also, when there was a feast, she didn¡¯t entertain the officers like the rest of us. She only associated with a group of entertainers. But these entertainers lived in therge, chaotic courtyard with poor food ¨C even worse off than we concubines. I felt worried, considering the disputes I had with her. Would there be a day when she would enact her revenge upon me? As a result, I quietly stayed in themander¡¯s mansion for over a year. During this time, many concubines were sent away by themander, and new ones were brought in. By this time, I was one of the old-timers in the mansion. As long as I didn¡¯t wander into the areas guarded by the soldiers, I was free to roam just like my sister. One day, mother suddenly came to see me, saying that my younger brother, Xubao, also wanted to be an official. She wanted me to put in a good word with themander. I shook my head, saying themander was not an easy man to persuade. In reality, it had been a long time since themander had seen me. However, he often visited my sister, sometimes even having meals in her courtyard. Mother was a bit upset, asking if I had grown a stiff wing (be too proud) and hence was unwilling to help. I was in a difficult position, yet I didn¡¯t want to be looked down upon by my family, so I said I would give it a try. At noon, when I was sure themander would not be around, I stealthily entered my sister¡¯s courtyard. Her courtyard wasrge with no specific nts or flowers, but there was a tall pavilion. Standing on it, one could look outside the mansion. I looked around and saw my sister sitting silently in the pavilion, gazing outside.
I lifted my skirt and climbed onto the tform. Following her gaze, I saw a group of young military officers standing outside, all of them looking dashing and youthful. A jolt went through my heart. Could it be that my sister had a crush on one of the military officers? At that moment, my sister turned around and asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I smiled awkwardly and sat down on a stone bench, ¡°Mother asked me to take care of you and said she¡¯ll send you a quilted cotton outfit when she has time.¡±
My sister gave a snort ofughter, turned her face away, and said nothing. I said, ¡°Sister, mother wants you to talk to themander and help find Xubao a job.¡± My sister replied, ¡°I don¡¯t have time.¡± Feeling frustrated, I said, ¡°Themander treats you so well, why won¡¯t you just ask him? If Xubao bes an official, won¡¯t that bring honor to you too?¡± My sister snapped, ¡°Get lost! Don¡¯t bother me with your family¡¯s petty problems.¡± I was furious, pointing at her, I shouted, ¡°No wonder mother called you ungrateful, it¡¯s true! Now that you¡¯ve gained some status, you don¡¯t even acknowledge your family.¡± My sister coldly red at me, making me so ufortable that I angrily stormed off the tform. A few dayster, several dancing girls moved into my sister¡¯s courtyard, and a gatekeeper was stationed at the entrance. I tried to enter but was stopped by the gatekeeper. She said, ¡°You need to obtain the youngdy¡¯s permission first.¡± Feeling helpless, I had to turn back. By the second year, many exotic flowers from the Western Region had been nted in the mansion¡¯s garden. The flowers were very beautiful, and we would asionally twine them into our hair. One day, I observed a young military officer presenting my sister with a handful of loquats, which she joyfully epted and returned his gesture with a sweet smile. I was thrilled and wanted to get a closer look at the officer, but he left quickly.
From then on, I began to keep a closer eye on my sister¡¯s activities. That¡¯s when I noticed that she had an icy demeanor towards me, but acted very friendly towards the young, handsome officers, always greeting them with a smile. Chapter 508: Chen Zhao Extra Story (Third)_2 Chapter 508: Chen Zhao Extra Story (Third)_2 I saw no less than three young officers were infatuated with her, often sending her gifts, all of which she epted. But she was extremely against Wei Qi, because whenever he saw her epting gifts from the military officers, he would immediately mock her, his words piercingly harsh. Whenever this happened, I would always step forward to support her, provoking her further. Latterly, those young military officers stopped appearing, and the Commander moved his office to the outer courtyard, also decreeing that women were not allowed to go to the outer courtyard anymore. But one time, I saw my third sister climb out over the courtyard wall again. I was curious where she was going, and how she nned toe back. As luck would have it, the Commander was justing in from the outer courtyard. I hurriedly told him about my third sister¡¯s climbing over the wall. I saw the Commander¡¯s face change drastically. He quickly rushed into third sister¡¯s courtyard to confirm it, then checked where she had climbed out from the wall, and then loudly called his guards to go and catch her. I had never seen the Commander so flustered before, and I felt a pang of jealousy in my heart. Two hourster, third sister was brought back, with one hand being held by the Commander himself, while her other hand was eating a string of sugared gourds. I subtly examined the Commander¡¯s face, found he looked stern, but his expression didn¡¯t seem angry.
After that, a few more maids were added to third sister¡¯s courtyard who followed her every step incessantly. And the original servants and maids never reappeared after that. Even the pre-existing dancers residing in the same courtyard were whipped as punishment. The following autumn, the Commander was ordered to go out to fight the bandits and was away for several months. Us concubines, having nothing to do, were ying cards in the room. The maids and older women in the mansion also began to shirk their duties,zing around in their rooms warming themselves by the fire and refusing to go out to guard the door. No one knew when third sister managed to escape from the Commander¡¯s Mansion and never returned. When the maids realised she was missing, the entire mansion was shocked. I was puzzled, the Commander¡¯s mansion had had such good days, why did she insist on escaping? She really must have been out of her mind. A monthter, themander returned to the mansion. He was in full armor with an angry face, having part of his beard cut off, looking absolutely fierce. The steward of the mansion was trembling in fear, kneeling on the ground as he reported the news of the dancer¡¯s escape. The Commander closed his eyes and contemted for a moment, then waved his hand, calling for the steward to receive punishment outside, and then he got up and went to third sister¡¯s courtyard where he stayed for a long time beforeing out. When he emerged, he was holding a letter, he stared at me for a long time before ordering someone to drag me away and flog me. I was inexplicably beaten with fifty heavy strokes until I passed out, then dragged away to be healed. After that, I was sent out of the Commander¡¯s Mansion. Luckily, my father had made a friend in the mansion, who had me sent to a medical clinic for treatment and notified my parents. My parents and younger brother arrived quickly. They didn¡¯t ask about my condition, instead, they med me for offending the Commander and causing him to scold my father. They also kept asking me where third sister had gone.
How would I know where she went. Within a year, my father was dismissed from his post, the charge being bribery and embezzlement of tax silver. Fortunately, the amount my father embezzled was small, and he managed to fill the gap in a timely manner. Otherwise it wouldn¡¯t just be dismissal, but exile or execution. My parents were furious, ming third sister for all of it, saying if she hadn¡¯t run away, our family wouldn¡¯t have such bad luck.
Now that he lost his position, our lives were over. They angrily searched everywhere but couldn¡¯t find her. After a year passed like this, one day, eldest sister came to visit our parents and told them she¡¯d seen third sister in Qinchuan County. She also said that she was livingvishly in the city, apanied by the two sons of her adoptive parents, not knowing how happy she was. My parents were furious and immediately set out with several servants for Qinchuan County. Eldest sister led them to third sister¡¯s courtyard, then she stood outside and silently watched as our parents marched in. Not long after, our parents came out. They went to the County Government and reported that their daughter had hung herself. In cases like this, especially when parents kill their children, it¡¯s not umon, the County Magistrate just let the Wuzuo inspect it, then dered it a domestic dispute, not a case. I didn¡¯t feel good about it and asked eldest sister why she just watched as our parents killed third sister, even if they just beat her up, they didn¡¯t need to go that far. Eldest sister only coldly replied, ¡°People like her, who disobey their parents and ignore human rtions, do not deserve to live.¡± I looked at the gentle eldest sister, who spoke the most ruthless words, all my hairs stood on end. Latterly, my father, under my uncle¡¯s rmendation, joined the King¡¯s service and became a staff member in the City King¡¯s Mansion.
Chapter 509: Chen Zhao Extra Story (Third)_3 Chapter 509: Chen Zhao Extra Story (Third)_3 At this time, my second cousin had already be a concubine in King Cheng¡¯s pce. Later on, King Cheng plotted a rebellion, but it was exterminated by the governor¡¯s troops. With the fall of King Cheng, all his followers were captured and thrown into prison, awaiting execution in the autumn. However, my family was taken for individual interrogation by the governor. The governor sat behind his desk, asking why my parents had killed my third sister. My mother copsed on the ground, unable to answer, and my father found himself unable to speak as well. The governor asked again, and then my mother, trembling, made up a reason, saying that she did it out of anger for him. I saw the governor smile, with a wave of his hand, someone brought in my eldest sister. The governor told my mother that as long as she strangled my elder sister on the spot, she could save her own life. Without thought, my mother agreed, taking off her belt to strangle my elder sister.
My elder sister struggled desperately, but her hands and feet were pinned down, she was unable to escape. As my mother sobbed, she tightened her belt, but my sister wouldn¡¯t die. Watching this horrific scene in terror, I copsed on the ground, unable to move. After what seemed like an eternity, my older sister was finally strangled to death by my mother. The governorughed out loud, his chilly gaze shifting toward me. Tears streamed down my face, my teeth chattering uncontrobly. My younger brother wet himself in fear, babbling nonsensical words and cursing erratically. From somewhere, I found the strength to hug him, covering his mouth. After strangling my elder sister, my mother seemed quite dazed. True to his word, the governor let her go, and me as well, but he didn¡¯t spare my father and my brother. My mother and I were sold in the human trafficking market ¡ª I was bought by a foreign merchant, and she ended up in a brothel. Several yearster, I heard that the governor had be the regent, powerful beyond measure. There were rumors that the regent loved whirling dances, and all the favored concubines in his mansion were whirling dancers. But he had no children and didn¡¯t establish a queen. The images in my dream stopped abruptly at that point. I woke up abruptly, my heart still pounding rapidly. Looking up at the mosquito above me, I pinched myself hard. Thankfully, it was all a dream, and I was not a concubine but a proper married woman. My brother was safe too, not beheaded.
And as for my father, he was also fortunate enough to be alive. I got out of bed and woke up my husband. ¡°It¡¯s not dawn yet, where are you going so early?¡± I nced at him and softly said, ¡°Just heading out for a walk.¡± My husband immediately sat up and put on his robe. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡±
So, we went out into the courtyard and looked around. The streets were wide. Lanterns hung at the doors of the inns, flickering on and off. Thinking about the scenes from my dream and then looking at the reality, I felt a sense of surrealism. ¡°It¡¯s cold outside, let¡¯s go back.¡± My husband took off his coat to drape it over me. I nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± Hand in hand with my husband, we returned home. The days that followed were peaceful and content. My grandparents lived to the age of ny-nine and died peacefully without any illness. My father lived into his eighties. On his deathbed, he grabbed my brother¡¯s hand and called out for my mother. I knew, although my mother had a bad temper and often hit us children, she was good to my father, giving him all her love. Only a tiny bit of her conscience was left for her children. When even that conscience was gone, she could ruthlessly kill any one of her children. My father was a heartless man, selfish, dark, and incapable, even towards his own son, he didn¡¯t have much affection. He and my mother, they were a perfect match.
I watched my father take hisst breath, his hand still tightly clenching my brother¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Change his clothes soon, it¡¯ll be harder to do soter.¡± The funeral director urged. I handed over a set of mourning clothes that had been prepared earlier and walked out of the room. Kneeling under the divine tree, I prayed silently for my father to find my mother in the underworld so that they could be together forever. Several yearster, as I was on my deathbed, I saw my third sister Yingbao again. She still looked as young as if she were a young girl, while I was bing elderly. Even after consuming the age-keeping pills, as a mortal, my body was still decaying. I took Yingbao¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Little sister, don¡¯t resent our parents, nor our elder sister, they¡¯ve already paid the price.¡± I wanted to tell her about the dream, but I didn¡¯t know how to bring it up. Yingbao, full ofpassion, gave me a red pill. ¡°Eat this, and you¡¯ll live for another fifty years.¡± I shook my head but took the pill anyway, intending to give it to my husband. He was the one who spent the longest time with me in this life, giving me more than my parents ever had. I had nothing to give back to him, so this was the best I could do. Yingbao said nothing and waved her hand, bestowing upon me the Eternal Spring Technique.
It brought me some relief, but I knew, the lifespan of a mortal is limited, and my time was nearly over. Chapter 510: Xiao Mo Extra Story_1 Chapter 510: Xiao Mo Extra Story_1 During an inspection tour in Qinchuan County, the local County Magistrate strongly persuaded me to visit a schr¡¯s home to watch his daughter perform the Hu Xuan Dance. I knew they were trying to offer me another beauty. With nothing better to do, and forck of entertainment in the county town, I decided to go. The dancer was a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl. She had sparkling eyes and alluring features, truly a rare beauty. I was somewhat intrigued. When I asked her if she wanted toe with me, to my surprise, she tly refused. She was rather forthright. Iughed it off. After all, I was notcking in femalepanionship, especially not beautiful ones. However, when I returned to the Prefecture City, the girl appeared in my residence. Obviously, I understood what happened: my subordinates had brought her. Her parents must have agreed to it as well. But, I didn¡¯t really mind. These kinds of incidents were all toomon, all the concubines in my back garden came to me this way. Later, whenever I held banquets for the generals, my feast was enlivened by the addition of a little dancer. She was not the best dancer, nor the most beautiful, but among them all, she was the most spirited. Seeing my fondness of her, my subordinates meant for her to share my bed. Thus, one night, they dolled her up and led her into my bedroom.
Leaning on my bed, looking at her charming figure, I beckoned her over. The girl stopped a few feet from my bed and asked seriously, ¡°If I sleep with you, will you let me go?¡± Iughed. This was the first time anyone had made such a request to me. What a fearless, naive child she was. ¡°No,¡± I said with a grin. ¡°You were a gift from your parents to me. Unless your parents ask for you back, you must stay here in my residence.¡± The girl¡¯s face fell. ¡°My dad said I¡¯m a dancer in your residence, here only to dance. If you can¡¯t let me go, why should I sleep with you?¡± With that, she turned and left. I fell silent. Hearing that someone tried to stop her outside, I loudlymanded them to let her go. I had plenty of concubines in my residence, most of whom I¡¯d never touched. A wave of my hand would bring a bevy of beauties flocking to me. So with this girl, as much as I admired her courage, I was also somewhat annoyed. So I treated her as a dancer. Every time I held a banquet, I would summon her to liven up the event. Many of the warriors took fancy to her, attempting to take advantage of her. In response, she dumped a te of food over their heads and loudly used me of going back on my word and bullying a child. All eyes at the banquet fell on me. What could I do? I pacified the soup-soaked warrior and ordered Chen Ying to stand under a te for ten hours as a punishment. Ten hourster, when the sky was already bright, I saw the girl standing straight beneath a tree in her red dress. She was cunning. Although standing, she was leaning against the tree and had fallen asleep. The te still bnced on her head, secured with a silk ribbon. Amused, I approached and prodded her on the head. The girl woke with a start. Seeing me, she didn¡¯t look guilty at all. Instead, she asked, ¡°Has ten hours passed?¡± I ignored her query and walked off. I¡¯d been busytely. Bandits were frequently appearing in the vicinity, some of them in groups of five to eight hundred. If not eradicated, they would undoubtedly be a serious problem. Two monthster when I returned, I hosted another banquet to reward the warriors. Once again, I invited the girl to dance. By now, none of the warriors dared to provoke her.
Casual teasing still took ce, but she didn¡¯t mind it. In the blink of an eye, a year had passed. The girl had grown taller and more beautiful. Every time she walked past the warriors, she attracted all eyes. Of course, my heart was moved too.
The desire to seek beauty is human nature, so I summoned her once again. She stood in front of my bed, asking the same question, ¡°If I sleep with you, will you let me go? My foster parents are suffering in the countryside. I want to go see them.¡± I pulled her into my arms and kissed her, holding her close, ¡°If you sleep with me, how can I let you go? But I could have someone check on the situation of your foster parents and give them some silver coins.¡± The girl nodded, then vigorously shook her head, pushing me away, ¡°Then¡­we can talk about it when we know the situation of my foster parents. I¡­I can¡¯t sleep with you now.¡± Resisting my grip, she turned and ran off. I closed my eyes, and it took a long while for my anger to subside. At that moment, I truly wanted to disregard all consequences and take her into my room, but reason told me I couldn¡¯t force her. She was a stubborn child. From what I¡¯d learned about her family, she was a fearless little firecracker. Chapter 511: Xiao Mo Extra Story_2 Chapter 511: Xiao Mo Extra Story_2 If she gets agitated, she can do anything, even shame me in front of all the soldiers. Of course, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m afraid of her. To be honest, I somewhat like her, so I indulge her again. Later, I had someone investigate her adoptive parents, and found out that they had died from an epidemic a few years ago. Only her two younger adoptive brothers were still alive ¨C one was mentally disabled and the other was ailing. I shared this information with her. The girl burst into tears and suddenly knelt before me. She asked me to let her go, saying that she wanted to return to take care of her brothers. As she said this, she undid her sash and threw herself into my arms, offering to serve me in bed. I frowned, pushed her away, and then got up and left. After that, I didn¡¯t pay much attention to her for half a year and didn¡¯t summon her, but I ordered the servants to keep an eye on her to prevent her from doing anything outrageous. The girl was very dejected for a while. She entrusted the silver and copper coins she had saved to a soldier to send to her brother, and also had a servant pawn her clothes. The servant dared not to, and only made excuses to refuse. I was slightly annoyed when I learned about this: she didn¡¯te to ask me, but instead asked my subordinates for help.
In the end, I didn¡¯t bother with her, and let her do as she pleased. Once, a young martial general suddenly proposed to marry Chen Ying, which annoyed me because this was the same general who had helped her send things to her brother. Of course I couldn¡¯t agree, so instead, I gave this martial general a dancing girl. This dancing girl also danced the Hu Xuan Dance and often had disputes with Chen Ying. Before long, Chen Changping brought his second daughter to me. Looking at the face that was very simr to Chen Ying¡¯s, I epted her. However, even though their faces were simr, she was not the same person. When satisfying my desires, I spitefully thought about whether Chen Ying would feel jealous. I also extravagantly gifted Chen Changping¡¯s second daughter with gold, silver, jewelry and silk, hoping to provoke Chen Ying¡¯s jealousy. But it didn¡¯t work, she acted as if nothing had happened and rejected my advances again. I was angry, so I made her dance throughout a feast, and she wasn¡¯t allowed to stop unless I said so. She danced continuously for two hours before copsing. I was taken aback at that moment, but someone rushed past me, picked her up and ran out of the hall, calling for the doctor. In the end, the doctor diagnosed that she had sprained her ankle earlier, and yet I had made her dance for over two hours. Feeling regretful and concerned, I ordered people to take good care of her. That night I went to see her. Holding her hand, I promised her that as long as she behaved, once she was healed, I would make her a legitimate concubine. She didn¡¯t seem very happy, and asked, ¡°If I be your concubine, can I freely go out?¡± I was silent, got up and left. She did this on purpose, purposefully upsetting me. Eventually, her leg healed and she became quieter, no longer climbing trees or jumping walls frequently.
During this time, I happened to be very busy, and didn¡¯t have much time to spend with her. Once, I saw her in the outer court, chatting with a few young martial generals, which made me alert. Consequently, I moved my office outside and ordered two olddies to guard the gates of the inner and outer court, not allowing anyone to enter or leave casually. But olddies could stop the martial generals, but they couldn¡¯t stop my Third Brother and Wei Seventh Young Master. One day, they broke into Chen Ying¡¯s courtyard and peeped at her bathing.
Afterwards, they came to me and asked for Chen Ying. I was furious and ordered the servants to flog my Third Brother ten times. My stepmother was distressed and made a fuss, finally taking Third Brother back to her maternal home. I was unmoved. Since my father¡¯s death, I¡¯ve always been considerate towards my brothers, respectful to my stepmother, and never harsh on them. But Third Brother has been overly spoiled. He often harasses the inner court, and this time he even coveted the girl that I was smitten with. I couldn¡¯t tolerate this. One day, Chen Zhao came to tell me that her youngest sister had run away by climbing over the wall. I was shocked and quickly led people out of the mansion to search for her, and also ordered all the city gates to be closed immediately. I dispatched more than a thousand soldiers to search for her in the city and finally caught her in a ready-made clothing store. From her bundle, I found all the gold, silver, jewelry and other ornaments I had given her. ¡°Why did you run away?¡± I asked, grinding my teeth. She looked at me with wide eyes and tantly lied, ¡°I didn¡¯t run away. I just came out to buy some food because the food at your house tastes horrible.¡± Iughed out of anger, pointing at her bundle, ¡°What¡¯s this, then?¡± She blinked and said, ¡°I have no money. I wanted to pawn this for some cash.¡±
I knew she was telling the truth. All her silver coins were given to the soldiers to send to her brother. All that was left with her were the ornaments and jewelry I had given her. As for whether her brother received them, I didn¡¯t care. Chapter 512: Xiao Mo Extra Story_3 Chapter 512: Xiao Mo Extra Story_3 I handed the bundle to the adjutant and led her away saying, ¡°If so, you can have whatever you want; I will pay for it.¡± She obediently followed and wanted to buy candy gourds when she saw them. I bought several, and she ate them all the way back to the mansion, even stuffing one into my mouth. At that moment, the anger in my heart extinguished instantly, leaving no trace. In the evening, I stayed in her courtyard and forcefully took advantage of her. She was very angry, biting and scratching me, but I enjoyed it. I was thinking, once back from my mission this time, I¡¯ll give her the status of a concubine. In autumn, bandits raided everywhere again, and foreigners were also on the move, viting our borders. I was ordered to assist the frontlines, so I instructed the steward to take care of the mansion and also to look after Chen Ying. Before leaving, I kissed her forehead and said, ¡°Behave and wait for me at home. If you feel unwell, summon the house doctor to check your pulse. Ask the steward for anything you want; he will arrange it.¡±
In fact, I was hoping she was pregnant already, bearing me a son or a daughter. If that were the case, her alone would be enough for my whole life. But I didn¡¯t dare give her any silver coins. All her jewelries from before were stored by me in the treasury¡ªI would naturally return them to her upon my return. Because I couldn¡¯t guarantee she wouldn¡¯t run away again if she had money. During the months on the border, I thought of her every day. I would buy any interesting item I found to take back to her, to make her happy. Thinking about her small expressions of scolding and anger, I felt so itching. One day, I suddenly received a letter from the steward, saying Chen Ying ran away. My heart felt as if it was plunged into icy water during the harshest winter, chilling to the bone. Once the wars concluded, I rushed back to the mansion. She really was gone. I found a letter on the pillow. In the letter, she asked me not to look for her and imed she only took her clothes and nothing else. At the end, she added that she was able to escape thanks to Chen Zhao¡¯s help. I understood what she meant by thest sentence¡ªshe wanted to me her escape on Chen Zhao. As she wished, I had Chen Zhao beaten fifty times, and threw him out of the mansion. As for Chuyan, who helped her escape, I couldn¡¯t touch him¡ªfor now. But he had to give me an exnation. Chuyan knelt before me and said that Chen Ying was his fellow townsman. He pitied her for being so worried about her brother that he sent her out of the city, solely because he too had a sister, who was harmed by bandits. I remained silent for a long time, then ordered him to receive fiftyshes. Afterward, I sent people to search everywhere. Failing to find any trace of her, I eventually had people station near Jiang Vige, where her brother was. If she was still alive, she would definitely go there. Half a yearter, I finally received news of her.
It turned out she had travelled back to Qinchuan County incognito as a beggar. She started a small business in Qinchuan County and finally went to find her brother after umting a sum of money. Seeing her brothers in such a destitute state, she brought them back to live in the city. It was then she found out that the money she sent previously, besides being used for her brother¡¯s treatment, had also been pocketted by her sister-inw. After taking her brothers to the city, Chen Ying went out to do business alone, often moving among the local hooligans. I ordered the local gang leader to protect her, not allowing anyone to touch her, or they would be severely punished.
The gang leader agreed and told his subordinates to treat her politely. I was angry and didn¡¯t want to interfere in her affairs anymore, but she haunted my dreams. I couldn¡¯t let her go, so I decided to leave her alone for a while and let her enjoy her freedom. At exactly this time, the court was unstable, and many people were eager to stir up troubles, so I couldn¡¯t afford to pay attention to personal matters. I thought, once the court is stable, and she¡¯s had enough fun, I would bring the three siblings back. But during the court rectification, someone impeached Chen Changping for corruption and exploitation of his vige. I wasn¡¯t the one investigating this case and had no intention of defending him, so Chen Changping was dismissed and investigated. I didn¡¯t care since my girl didn¡¯t like her parents and didn¡¯t need to rely on them to live. A yearter, I suddenly received a message that Chen Ying had hung herself. I was shocked and angry, my hands trembling as I held the letter. How could my girl hang herself? She was so full of life, even after so many hardships, she managed to make her way back to her home town. What reason could she have to hang herself? I immediately dispatched people to investigate and found out that she was killed by her own parents. ¡°Find them! Bring them back to me! I will deal with them myself.¡± I sent people to find the whereabouts of the whole Chen family, and the leads pointed to King Cheng. Just then, I received news that King Cheng was nning a rebellion, so I eliminated him in one fell swoop.
When that family was brought back, I interrogated them one by one, starting with their servants. One servant exined everything in minute detail, including who found her first. The servant said, ¡°The Mistress found her selling fish in the city. She identally saw the Third Mistress, so she trailed her. After finding her ce of residence, she told the Master and Madam. They then went to the small yard. The Madam ordered us to beat up the Third Mistress¡¯s brothers. Afterward, the Madam strangled the Third Mistress to death. We didn¡¯t dare to kill anyone. It was all done by the Madam herself, while the Mistress just stood outside the fence watching, never trying to stop it.¡± I waved my hand, having them take them away, and ordered the Chen family to be brought over. I looked at the weak woman below, curious how she could strangle a robust person to death. I told her, if she could personally strangle her eldest daughter to death, I would spare her life. Without a second thought, she agreed and put a belt around her eldest daughter¡¯s neck. I just watched, feeling rather bored. In fact, ever since I lost my girl, I¡¯ve lost interest in anything. Even whenter someone advised me to have more progeny, kill the Little Emperor, and ascend to the throne myself, I still found it uninteresting. I had many women in my backyard, but none could touch my heart. That girl was gone forever. I found many others who looked like her, but still couldn¡¯t dispell the sorrow in my heart.
Every time I thought about it, it hurt me deeply. Chapter 513: Previous Life Fairy World Extra Story_1 Chapter 513: Previous Life Fairy World Extra Story_1 The midwife ran out of the Chen family¡¯s home in a panic, and immediately told her husband when she got back, ¡°This is serious, the second daughter-inw of the Chen family just gave birth to a monster. You won¡¯t believe it the baby had scales on its back as soon as it was born, they were so slippery to the touch. It scared me so much I couldn¡¯t even look.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Wu Si was curious, ¡°So, is the baby not Chen Er¡¯s and was actually conceived with a demon?¡± Wu Si¡¯s wife patted her chest, ¡°Who knows? But you should¡¯ve seen the look on Chen Er¡¯s face, he was green.¡± Wu Si asked, ¡°And the baby? What did they do with it?¡± Demons are rarely seen these days, so how did Chen Er¡¯s family get tangled up with one? Wu Si stroked his beard, lost in thought. ¡°What else could they do? Chen Er drowned her in a basin of water himself. I didn¡¯t even finish my egg, I just ran off,¡± Said Wu Si¡¯s wife, feeling a burst of difort recalling the scene. The sight of the tiny baby struggling in the water was still vivid in her mind, the Chen Family were truly heartless. A few dayster, Jiang Sang from Jiang Vige found a baby. Apparently, he saved this baby from the mouth of a small demonic beast. Jiang Sang brought the baby home, who was naked and without a belly button cord, and named her Yingbao. Jiang Sang¡¯s wife had been unable to fall pregnant for years, so she was quite overjoyed when her husband brought home a newborn girl to adopt as their own. Jiang Vige was located on the edge of the Demonic Beast Forest, and all the vigers depended on gathering spiritual medicine for a living. However, the vige was often harassed by powerful wild beasts. They were annoyed by the disturbances but couldn¡¯t move away. But ever since Jiang Sang picked up the baby girl, the vige had been very peaceful ¨C norge or ferocious beasts have ventured into the vige since, much to the vigers¡¯ surprise and delight. Jiang Sang also noticed the little girl¡¯s unusual abilities. For instance, when his wife carried her to the vegetable field and happened to encounter a very ferocious green wolf. His wife was so scared she almost dropped the sickle she was holding. Just as the green wolf was slowly approaching, the little girl suddenly started to cry, causing the wolf to stop in its tracks and then turn and run. Xu Chunniang, still shocked, rushed home to tell her husband about it. Jiang Sang, while holding his daughter, took a careful look at her and found that aside from the scales on her back, there was nothing unusual about her. Therefore, Jiang Sang assumed that the child was the offspring of a human and a demon n. He told his wife about his conjecture, and she was overjoyed, ¡°That¡¯s great, we won¡¯t have to worry about anyoneing to find this child anymore.¡± After Jiang Sang noticed the child¡¯s abnormalities, he sprinkled her urine around his fields. Since then, no beasts had ever harmed his crops. In August of that year, when the annual monster tides were just around the corner, everyone in the vige fled. Seeing that the three Jiang brothers had not left, the n leader came to inquire. ¡°Big brother, second brother, third brother, even if you want to take advantage of the chaos, you need to stay alive. Leave with us, if we wait any longer it will be toote,¡± the n leader kindly advised them. Jiang Dage turned to his youngest brother, ¡°Sang, what do you say?¡± Jiang Sang looked at the baby girl in his arms and gently said, ¡°Baobao, why don¡¯t you and your mother go first, I¡¯ll follow youter, okay?¡± Despite his daughter being only six months old, she seemed to understand what they were saying and could even express herself by crying orughing. As expected, Yingbao immediately started crying loudly, her little hands clutching Jiang Sang¡¯spels tightly. Jiang Eng, seeing this, quickly said, ¡°Yingbao, then you stay here with your daddy and your uncle, okay?¡± Yingbao immediately stopped crying and startedughing instead, even patting her father¡¯s chest with her little hands. It seemed she was trying tofort her father. The n leader was stunned and could only say, ¡°Well then, just do whatever you think is best. But please, take the child and hide in the cer.¡± Every monster tide was dangerous, but it also presented opportunities, like picking up low-level wild beasts that the cultivators had killed and discarded. If they were lucky, they could even find a spiritual beast or two. Once sold in the city, they could earn a lot of silver. If they could save up twenty thousand gold, equivalent to two hundred spirit stones, they could purchase residency in the city. While it was only for one person, it would still allow their children to live and study in the city, and learn the ways of cultivation. But in Jiang Vige, no one had managed to save up twenty thousand gold in the past fifty years, meaning no one could enter the city to learn the Immortal Laws. Those who had managed to move to the city in the past never returned, ensuring that those left behind did not benefit. ¡°We¡¯ll be careful, don¡¯t worry, n Leader,¡± Jiang Sang said, ¡°Please take care of my parents, nephews and nieces.¡± Chapter 514: Previous Life in Fairy World Side Story One_2 Chapter 514: Previous Life in Fairy World Side Story One_2 He had originally nned to stay behind, and have his wife and daughter evacuate to the city with his eldest and second sister-inw, along with his parents. However, his little girl was crying nonstop, gripping onto him tightly. Her tiny hand held strength that rivaled a tiger¡¯s grip, almost tearing his clothes. Ultimately, he did have his selfish reasons, so he decided to let his daughter remain with him. A while ago, he saved up a lot of his daughter¡¯s urine, intending to test it against a wave of beasts. If it worked, he could finally gather enough money to purchase a household registration. At that time, he would let his wife and daughter move to the city, so they didn¡¯t have to constantly live in fear in this ce. The n Leader, seeing the Jiang Family¡¯s stubbornness, shook his head and walked away. Watching the n Leader leave, the Jiang brothers quickly sorted out their house, hiding food supplies and water-filled Gourds in the root cer. Firewood was also moved in, and quilts and other things were all ced into the root cer. The wave of beastssts more than two months, only receding when the first snow of winter descends. Therefore, food, water supplies, and necessities for warmth cannot becking. However, taking shelter in the cer has its drawbacks. Many of the Demonic Beasts have a keen sense of smell that surpasses even that of dogs. They can detect the scent of living humans and would not hesitate to dig through the ground to catch a human for consumption, which is why the vigers are afraid to stay. On the third day of August, Xu Chunniang took advantage of the fact that the beast wave hadn¡¯t fully arrived yet, making a lot of wheat buns and pulling up all the vegetables in the field to store them in the root cer. She also pickled a jar of salted vegetables, which she stored next to the buns. Jiang Sang spent these few days stocking up on firewood in the root cer, securing the entrance tightly, leaving only a small opening to enter and exit. Despite this, Chunniang¡¯s heart was still in turmoil, holding her daughter tightly as she stood in the doorway of the courtyard to look out. She could vaguely see small wild beasts darting out of the forest, but they always bypassed the Jiang family¡¯s home and ran off into the distance. By the tenth of August, a session of giant beasts started to appear. Their swift movements made the ground tremble as they ran nearby. Spring, cradling her daughter and hiding with her husband in the cer, felt her heart beating so wildly it was constricting her throat. It was her first experience with a beast wave¡¯s terror. She asked her husband in a whisper, ¡°Sang, what will we do if the beasts try to dig into the cer?¡± Jiang Sang, listening closely to the noises outside, reassured her in low voice, ¡°It will be okay, none of the beasts have set foot in our territory. It seems our daughter¡¯s urine can ward them off.¡± He nced at his little girl, whoseughter caused her eyes to squint, and sighed, patting her head saying, ¡°It¡¯s your dad who has wronged you, putting Bao¡¯er in danger.¡± Yingbao gabbled something, smearing drool on her dad¡¯s sleeve. On the fifteenth of August, the outside world was filled with roars from various beasts, causing Chunniang to turn pale with fright. Jiang San ate his tbread stuffed with salted vegetables, patting his wife¡¯s shoulder in silentfort. At this time, the wild beasts outside caught a whiff of the strange smell surrounding the Jiang¡¯s house, howled a few times, stepped back a few paces, and slowly bypassed their area. Many young beasts, being clueless, sometimes wandered onto the Jiang family¡¯s farnd, only to be driven away by the older beasts. Jiang Dng, watching this scene from a corner of the root cer, also found it amazing. Could his niece truly be the child of a great demon? Why else would all the giant beasts be afraid of even her urine? His previously nervous heart suddenly rxed, and his courage swelled. He called his second brother, who was sharing the root cer with him, to ry what he had observed. Jiang Eng also found it shocking, immediately crawling through the connecting tunnel to the third brother to ry what their eldest brother conveyed. Upon hearing this, Jiang Sang¡¯s spirits lifted. He handed two pieces of soiled diaper cloth to his siblings, ¡°Let¡¯s venture out, we might be able to find some Spirit Grass.¡± Many Spiritual Beasts thate from deep within the forest, such as the Flying Kangaroo, store Spirit Fruits and Spiritual Medicines in their pouches. Catching them would mean striking it rich. However, these Spiritual Beasts are exceedingly elusive and good at disguising themselves. Some of them even like to hide beneath the bellies of giant beasts. Jiang Eng took the soiled diaper cloth from his niece without disdain and tucked it into his waistband. Thus, Jiang Sang asked his older brother to stay in the cer, while he went out with Eng. Of course, they also made full preparations, donning coats made ofrge fluffy dog skins, dog skin mittens for their hands and feet, and even a dog head hat. Upon leaving the courtyard, Jiang Eng saw a dense mass of fierce giant beasts nearby, his legs shaking involuntarily. Despite the fear, once the bowstring is pulled it must be released. The pair steeled themselves and headed towards the giant beasts. A giant beast sniffed the air and stepped back a few paces when they approached, eyeing the odd pair suspiciously. Seeing that they didn¡¯t attack, Jiang Sang¡¯s heart rxed a little. He started searching for the small Flying Rat. Chapter 515: Previous Life Fairy World Extra Story_3 Chapter 515: Previous Life Fairy World Extra Story_3 But they returned empty-handed after searching all the surrounding giant beasts. Jiang Sang felt somewhat depressed and had to retreat. They dared not stray too far from their homnd because Mrs. Spring and Yingbao were still in the cer. A few more days passed, and they still hadn¡¯t found anything useful. They dared not hunt the demonic beasts, so they could only hide in the cer and wait for an opportunity. In no time, cultivators woulde to hunt the demonic beasts, and then they could pick up the leftovers. By the time September came, the wild beasts became more and more restless, destroying all the thatched cottages in the vige. Only the few cottages of the Jiang Family remained untouched by the beasts. However, some giant beasts began tentatively approaching. Upon seeing this, Jiang Sang¡¯s heart sank. Had they noticed something? Thinking of his wife and daughter, he was filled with intense regret. If he had known, he wouldn¡¯t have been so reckless. If his greed ended up killing his entire family, even if he went to the eighteenth level of hell, he wouldn¡¯t be able to redeem his sin.
Looking at Yingbao again, she was standing upright, listening to something, and suddenly she climbed up to Jiang Sang and clung onto him, crying out. Jiang Sang picked up his daughter, anxiously asking, ¡°What does Baobao want to do?¡± Yingbao blinked her eyes, and her small hand pointed towards the cer entrance: ¡°Ah! Ah!¡± Jiang Sang looked towards the cer entrance, asking, ¡°Does Baobao want to go out?¡± Yingbao nodded. Jiang Sang locked eyes with his daughter for a moment, sighed, and then, with his daughter fastened to his chest with a cloth strap, began to climb up thedder. Mrs. Spring was worried, asking: ¡°Where are you taking Baobao?¡± Before Jiang Sang could answer, Yingbao waved at her mother, then turned her head to look at the entrance of the cer. ¡°Mrs. Spring, I¡¯ll take Baobao up for a look, you stay here and wait,¡± Jiang Sang instructed before exiting the cer, climbing up thedder. After covering the entrance to the cer with a bundle of firewood, Jiang Sang left thepound, only to find a wild beast had already entered their vegetable field and was gleefully trampling their fence one by one. Suddenly, Yingbao let out a loud cry in that direction. The sharp sound startled Jiang Sang. The beast trampling on the fence was also taken aback, hurriedly lifting one front hoof, seemingly somewhat flustered. Yingbao let out another shout in that direction. The surrounding wild beasts were stunned, then suddenly turned tail and ran. Jiang Sang was left speechless. Because he saw a little creature, about the size of a hen, fall from under a giant beast¡¯s belly. His eyes widened in surprise, he immediately ran over and grabbed the small creature in his hand. ¡°Flying Rat! A Spirit Flying Rat!¡± Jiang Sang was so thrilled he wanted to scream.
From his waist, he pulled out a beast tendon rope he had prepared earlier and tied the tiny beast¡¯s feet. Carrying it, he returned to the cer. Under the light of the candle, Jiang Sang used tweezers to meticulously pull out each piece of Spirit Grass from the Flying Rat¡¯s tiny pouches. The small Flying Rat¡¯s wings and limbs were bound, its belly exposed. Seeing its stashes being stolen by this loathsome human, the creature squeaked in protest. Yingbao, held in Mrs. Spring¡¯s arms, wasughing at the funny sight of the distressed Flying Rat.
The Flying Rat nced at Yingbao and fell silent, looking somewhat resentful. Yingbaoughed until her mouth was wet with drool, sucking on her fingers. In the end, Jiang Sang pulled a total of five Spirit Medicines and two little Spirit Fruits, about the size of cherries, out of the Flying Rat¡¯s pouches. He handed the two Spirit Fruits to his wife, Mrs. Spring, and took out the Jade Box borrowed from the n Leader¡¯s house, storing the five Spirit Medicines inside. Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng were flipping through the torn Herbal Compendium to identify the names of the Spirit Grasses and found out that two of the Spirit Medicines were mid-level ones. The three brothers rejoiced. Jiang Dngughed: ¡°We¡¯ve hit the jackpot this time. Just these two mid-level Spirit Medicines could sell for two thousand gold coins alone.¡± Ordinary people are not like cultivators. Their currency is mostly copper coins and gold and silver. Getting two thousand gold coins at once is already a stroke of luck. If living in the countryside, this amount could provide for a lifetime offort. However, it still isn¡¯t enough to move to the city. Not only are non-residents not allowed to buy or rent houses, but everything in the city also costs money. Buying vegetables costs money, even water costs money, and even cooking a meal requires money to buy firewood and grain. Having two thousand gold coins isn¡¯t much in the city. It¡¯s just about enough for an extended family¡¯s expenses for a year. Jiang Sangughed, picking up the small Flying Rat, ¡°This little spiritual beast could also sell for a thousand gold coins.¡± The small Flying Rat seemed to have epted its fate andy motionless, letting the humans do as they pleased. Yingbao reached out with her little hand, babbling.
Jiang Engughed, ¡°Sang, Yingbao really likes it, let her keep it.¡± Jiang Sang smiled and patted his daughter¡¯s little head, putting the small Flying Rat in front of her. Yingbao wriggled out of her mother¡¯s arms and pounced on the small Flying Rat. Unintentionally, she put her finger near the small Flying Rat¡¯s mouth. The small Flying Rat growled and bit down, drawing blood from Yingbao¡¯s little finger. ¡°Aiya! Baobao¡¯s hand has been bitten,¡± Mrs. Spring quickly picked up her daughter, chastising her husband: ¡°This thing is still a wild beast after all, how could you let it near Baobao?¡± Jiang Sang angrily picked up the small Flying Rat, looking ready to swat it. Dare to bite his daughter; he¡¯ll kill it. Chapter 516: Previous Life Fairy World Extra Story Two_1 Chapter 516: Previous Life Fairy World Extra Story Two_1 Yingbao started to squabble and reached out its little hand to hug the flying rat. Jiang Eng, who did have some knowledge, stopped his younger brother: ¡°I noticed the runes on the little flying rat lit up. Has it formed a contract with Yingbao?¡± Some spiritual beasts do indeed ept their masters in this way, forming a contract. Although the Jiang family members could not cultivate, they often sold spiritual medicine that they had gathered to cultivators and knew quite a few secrets of the Fairy World. Jiang Sang paused, looked at his daughter, and asked, ¡°Baobao, have you made a contract with the mouse?¡± Yingbao giggled and once again broke free from her mother¡¯s arms and threw herself onto the flying rat. This time, the flying rat didn¡¯t bite her but swept its fluffy tail across its little master¡¯s face. The three brothers were suddenlyughing as Chunniang also let down her guard. Seeing the two little ones enjoying their ytime together, the family felt even more at ease. In the blink of an eye, two days passed. Jiang Sang took his daughter and went out with his two brothers once again. No wild beasts dared to approach their home surroundings. Not a single one was in their fields and farms, yet the rest of the area had been trampled t by wild beasts. However, on the trampled fences, Jiang Sang found several fruits of different varieties, all ripe spirit fruits.
These spirit fruits emitted a faint glow, showcasing their exceptional quality at first nce. Jiang Sang picked up the spirit fruit, feeling a tad regretful. If he had known that these high-level fruits were here, he would havee to check earlier. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen this kind of fruit before. Can we nt it?¡± Jiang Eng asked as he leaned in. Jiang Sang shook his head: ¡°We don¡¯t have the fate to cultivate immortality. We can¡¯t nt spirit nts.¡± They lived on the edge of the forest, even if they managed to grow spiritual nts, they would surely be ruined by wild beasts. Those beasts were extremely fond of spirit nts and could smell them from far away. They would probably nibble away the seedlings before they could bear fruit. Jiang Eng found it a pity. Suddenly, the little flying rat rushed over and snatched the spirit fruit from Jiang Sang¡¯s hand. Laughing on her father¡¯s chest, Yingbao kept her eyes on the little rat. Feeling triumphant, the flying rat darted out swiftly, making its way straight into the forest. Jiang Sang didn¡¯t bother looking for it and continued to search with his two brothers. Suddenly, several rays of spiritual light headed their way and quickly arrived in front of the three brothers. All of these people were dressed in shimmering white magical robes, adorned with flowing runes. Standing in mid-air, they looked down at the three Jiang brothers. One of them asked curiously, ¡°What method have you used to make the beasts retreat?¡± Jiang Sang was taken aback, subconsciously hugging his daughter even tighter, ¡°We don¡¯t know.¡± A lot of these cultivators are up to no good. Once they find out his daughter is out of the ordinary, they will surelye to snatch her away. Another one snorted coldly, ¡°Why are you wasting your breath, eldest brother? Just use Soul Search.¡± The Jiang brothers tensed up, immediately huddled together, gripping their sickles tighter. The cultivators gave a snideugh upon seeing this. Just as one of them was about to cast a spell, the first one said, ¡°Young brother, you must not act rashly. They are just ordinary people. The Enforcement Hall will start nagging again if they find out.¡±
He then swung his sleeve, turned around and flew away on his sword. The others looked at the Jiang brothers deeply before following suit. All three Jiang brothers were sweating buckets. Jiang Eng worriedly said, ¡°Considering the looks of those men, they clearly won¡¯t give up easily. I fear what might happen some day..¡± Jiang Sang returned to the cer with a solemn face, holding his daughter without uttering a word.
His heart was turning cold. Each of those cultivators was extremely vicious, even those who were from prominent families were just like bandits. He had be careless and forgotten, identally putting his family in danger. Feeling her father¡¯s anxiety, Yingbao patted his chest and let out a couple of sounds tofort him. Jiang Sang sighed, took his daughter off from his chest, and handed her to his wife. Chunniang took her daughter back and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why do you look so pallid?¡± Jiang Sang sat down on the nket, told his wife everything that had happened, and finally said, ¡°If those mene again in the future, you must never reveal anything or tell them anything about our daughter.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Chunniang furrowed her eyebrows, hugging her daughter tightly, ¡°What if¡­ after the beast wave, we send our daughter to the county town and ask our elder sister to take care of her?¡± Jiang Sang shook his head, ¡°No, Baobao can only stay with us.¡± His elder sister¡¯s family was not onlyposed of his sister. Her husband was a greedy man; he could never leave his daughter in that man¡¯s hands. ¡°Then what should we do?¡± Chunniang looked worried. Yingbao looked at her father, then her mother, hugged her mother tightly and rested her small head on her shoulder. Chapter 517 - 515: Previous Life Fairy World Extra Story_3 Chapter 515: Previous Life Fairy World Extra Story_3 But they returned empty-handed after searching all the surrounding giant beasts. Jiang Sang felt somewhat depressed and had to retreat. They dared not stray too far from their homnd because Mrs. Spring and Yingbao were still in the cer. A few more days passed, and they still hadn¡¯t found anything useful. They dared not hunt the demonic beasts, so they could only hide in the cer and wait for an opportunity. In no time, cultivators woulde to hunt the demonic beasts, and then they could pick up the leftovers. By the time September came, the wild beasts became more and more restless, destroying all the thatched cottages in the vige. Only the few cottages of the Jiang Family remained untouched by the beasts. However, some giant beasts began tentatively approaching. Upon seeing this, Jiang Sang¡¯s heart sank. Had they noticed something? Thinking of his wife and daughter, he was filled with intense regret. If he had known, he wouldn¡¯t have been so reckless. If his greed ended up killing his entire family, even if he went to the eighteenth level of hell, he wouldn¡¯t be able to redeem his sin. Looking at Yingbao again, she was standing upright, listening to something, and suddenly she climbed up to Jiang Sang and clung onto him, crying out. Jiang Sang picked up his daughter, anxiously asking, ¡°What does Baobao want to do?¡± Yingbao blinked her eyes, and her small hand pointed towards the cer entrance: ¡°Ah! Ah!¡± Jiang Sang looked towards the cer entrance, asking, ¡°Does Baobao want to go out?¡± Yingbao nodded. Jiang Sang locked eyes with his daughter for a moment, sighed, and then, with his daughter fastened to his chest with a cloth strap, began to climb up thedder. Mrs. Spring was worried, asking: ¡°Where are you taking Baobao?¡± Before Jiang Sang could answer, Yingbao waved at her mother, then turned her head to look at the entrance of the cer. ¡°Mrs. Spring, I¡¯ll take Baobao up for a look, you stay here and wait,¡± Jiang Sang instructed before exiting the cer, climbing up thedder. After covering the entrance to the cer with a bundle of firewood, Jiang Sang left thepound, only to find a wild beast had already entered their vegetable field and was gleefully trampling their fence one by one. Suddenly, Yingbao let out a loud cry in that direction. The sharp sound startled Jiang Sang. The beast trampling on the fence was also taken aback, hurriedly lifting one front hoof, seemingly somewhat flustered. Yingbao let out another shout in that direction. The surrounding wild beasts were stunned, then suddenly turned tail and ran. Jiang Sang was left speechless. Because he saw a little creature, about the size of a hen, fall from under a giant beast¡¯s belly. His eyes widened in surprise, he immediately ran over and grabbed the small creature in his hand. ¡°Flying Rat! A Spirit Flying Rat!¡± Jiang Sang was so thrilled he wanted to scream. From his waist, he pulled out a beast tendon rope he had prepared earlier and tied the tiny beast¡¯s feet. Carrying it, he returned to the cer. Under the light of the candle, Jiang Sang used tweezers to meticulously pull out each piece of Spirit Grass from the Flying Rat¡¯s tiny pouches. The small Flying Rat¡¯s wings and limbs were bound, its belly exposed. Seeing its stashes being stolen by this loathsome human, the creature squeaked in protest. Yingbao, held in Mrs. Spring¡¯s arms, wasughing at the funny sight of the distressed Flying Rat. The Flying Rat nced at Yingbao and fell silent, looking somewhat resentful. Yingbaoughed until her mouth was wet with drool, sucking on her fingers. In the end, Jiang Sang pulled a total of five Spirit Medicines and two little Spirit Fruits, about the size of cherries, out of the Flying Rat¡¯s pouches. He handed the two Spirit Fruits to his wife, Mrs. Spring, and took out the Jade Box borrowed from the n Leader¡¯s house, storing the five Spirit Medicines inside. Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng were flipping through the torn Herbal Compendium to identify the names of the Spirit Grasses and found out that two of the Spirit Medicines were mid-level ones. The three brothers rejoiced. Jiang Dngughed: ¡°We¡¯ve hit the jackpot this time. Just these two mid-level Spirit Medicines could sell for two thousand gold coins alone.¡± Ordinary people are not like cultivators. Their currency is mostly copper coins and gold and silver. Getting two thousand gold coins at once is already a stroke of luck. If living in the countryside, this amount could provide for a lifetime offort. However, it still isn¡¯t enough to move to the city. Not only are non-residents not allowed to buy or rent houses, but everything in the city also costs money. Buying vegetables costs money, even water costs money, and even cooking a meal requires money to buy firewood and grain. Having two thousand gold coins isn¡¯t much in the city. It¡¯s just about enough for an extended family¡¯s expenses for a year. Jiang Sangughed, picking up the small Flying Rat, ¡°This little spiritual beast could also sell for a thousand gold coins.¡± The small Flying Rat seemed to have epted its fate andy motionless, letting the humans do as they pleased. Yingbao reached out with her little hand, babbling. Jiang Engughed, ¡°Sang, Yingbao really likes it, let her keep it.¡± Jiang Sang smiled and patted his daughter¡¯s little head, putting the small Flying Rat in front of her. Yingbao wriggled out of her mother¡¯s arms and pounced on the small Flying Rat. Unintentionally, she put her finger near the small Flying Rat¡¯s mouth. The small Flying Rat growled and bit down, drawing blood from Yingbao¡¯s little finger. ¡°Aiya! Baobao¡¯s hand has been bitten,¡± Mrs. Spring quickly picked up her daughter, chastising her husband: ¡°This thing is still a wild beast after all, how could you let it near Baobao?¡± Jiang Sang angrily picked up the small Flying Rat, looking ready to swat it. Dare to bite his daughter; he¡¯ll kill it. Chapter 518 - 516: Previous Life Fairy World Extra Story Two_1 Chapter 516: Previous Life Fairy World Extra Story Two_1 Yingbao started to squabble and reached out its little hand to hug the flying rat. Jiang Eng, who did have some knowledge, stopped his younger brother: ¡°I noticed the runes on the little flying rat lit up. Has it formed a contract with Yingbao?¡± Some spiritual beasts do indeed ept their masters in this way, forming a contract. Although the Jiang family members could not cultivate, they often sold spiritual medicine that they had gathered to cultivators and knew quite a few secrets of the Fairy World. Jiang Sang paused, looked at his daughter, and asked, ¡°Baobao, have you made a contract with the mouse?¡± Yingbao giggled and once again broke free from her mother¡¯s arms and threw herself onto the flying rat. This time, the flying rat didn¡¯t bite her but swept its fluffy tail across its little master¡¯s face. The three brothers were suddenlyughing as Chunniang also let down her guard. Seeing the two little ones enjoying their ytime together, the family felt even more at ease. In the blink of an eye, two days passed. Jiang Sang took his daughter and went out with his two brothers once again. No wild beasts dared to approach their home surroundings. Not a single one was in their fields and farms, yet the rest of the area had been trampled t by wild beasts. However, on the trampled fences, Jiang Sang found several fruits of different varieties, all ripe spirit fruits. These spirit fruits emitted a faint glow, showcasing their exceptional quality at first nce. Jiang Sang picked up the spirit fruit, feeling a tad regretful. If he had known that these high-level fruits were here, he would havee to check earlier. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen this kind of fruit before. Can we nt it?¡± Jiang Eng asked as he leaned in. Jiang Sang shook his head: ¡°We don¡¯t have the fate to cultivate immortality. We can¡¯t nt spirit nts.¡± They lived on the edge of the forest, even if they managed to grow spiritual nts, they would surely be ruined by wild beasts. Those beasts were extremely fond of spirit nts and could smell them from far away. They would probably nibble away the seedlings before they could bear fruit. Jiang Eng found it a pity. Suddenly, the little flying rat rushed over and snatched the spirit fruit from Jiang Sang¡¯s hand. Laughing on her father¡¯s chest, Yingbao kept her eyes on the little rat. Feeling triumphant, the flying rat darted out swiftly, making its way straight into the forest. Jiang Sang didn¡¯t bother looking for it and continued to search with his two brothers. Suddenly, several rays of spiritual light headed their way and quickly arrived in front of the three brothers. All of these people were dressed in shimmering white magical robes, adorned with flowing runes. Standing in mid-air, they looked down at the three Jiang brothers. One of them asked curiously, ¡°What method have you used to make the beasts retreat?¡± Jiang Sang was taken aback, subconsciously hugging his daughter even tighter, ¡°We don¡¯t know.¡± A lot of these cultivators are up to no good. Once they find out his daughter is out of the ordinary, they will surelye to snatch her away. Another one snorted coldly, ¡°Why are you wasting your breath, eldest brother? Just use Soul Search.¡± The Jiang brothers tensed up, immediately huddled together, gripping their sickles tighter. The cultivators gave a snideugh upon seeing this. Just as one of them was about to cast a spell, the first one said, ¡°Young brother, you must not act rashly. They are just ordinary people. The Enforcement Hall will start nagging again if they find out.¡± He then swung his sleeve, turned around and flew away on his sword. The others looked at the Jiang brothers deeply before following suit. All three Jiang brothers were sweating buckets. Jiang Eng worriedly said, ¡°Considering the looks of those men, they clearly won¡¯t give up easily. I fear what might happen some day..¡± Jiang Sang returned to the cer with a solemn face, holding his daughter without uttering a word. His heart was turning cold. Each of those cultivators was extremely vicious, even those who were from prominent families were just like bandits. He had be careless and forgotten, identally putting his family in danger. Feeling her father¡¯s anxiety, Yingbao patted his chest and let out a couple of sounds tofort him. Jiang Sang sighed, took his daughter off from his chest, and handed her to his wife. Chunniang took her daughter back and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why do you look so pallid?¡± Jiang Sang sat down on the nket, told his wife everything that had happened, and finally said, ¡°If those mene again in the future, you must never reveal anything or tell them anything about our daughter.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Chunniang furrowed her eyebrows, hugging her daughter tightly, ¡°What if¡­ after the beast wave, we send our daughter to the county town and ask our elder sister to take care of her?¡± Jiang Sang shook his head, ¡°No, Baobao can only stay with us.¡± His elder sister¡¯s family was not onlyposed of his sister. Her husband was a greedy man; he could never leave his daughter in that man¡¯s hands. ¡°Then what should we do?¡± Chunniang looked worried. Yingbao looked at her father, then her mother, hugged her mother tightly and rested her small head on her shoulder. Chapter 519: Previous Life Fairy World Extra Story Three:_1 Chapter 519: Previous Life Fairy World Extra Story Three:_1 Jiang Sang rushed to his daughter, lifted her up in his arms, looked at the two corpses on the ground, and quickly nced around. Fortunately, there was no one around, these two men must have chosen to act here because they did not dare to kill in front of the whole vige. Jiang Dng¡¯s legs turned to jelly, he kept murmuring, ¡°What should we do? What should we do?¡± Jiang Eng pped his elder brother, eximing, ¡°Stop murmuring, bury the corpses quickly!¡± If someone found out that the Jiang family had killed two cultivators, the whole vige would be finished. Only then did Jiang Dng react, he immediately squatted down to inspect the bodies. He was not searching for treasure, but was looking for anything by which the identities of these men could be confirmed. During the search, he found that everything these men had was hanging from their waists, so he simply unbuckled their belts. ¡°What should we do? Where should we bury them?¡± Jiang Dng sobbed, asking his two brothers. Jiang Sang looked at Baobao, ¡°Baobao, can you set fire to these two to burn their bodies?¡± Yingbao blinked, waved her hand, a me shot directly at the two corpses.
In a matter of moments, only a pile of ck ashes remained on the ground. Jiang Dng tremblingly held a hoe with his second brother, and buried these ashes in the ground. Jiang Sang carried his daughter home, and checked the storage bags and identity tes found on the bodies with his brothers. The identity tes read: Chen Chao, a junior in the Foundation Establishment from the Chen Family of Vermilion Bird City, and another named Chen Lin, also a junior in the Foundation Establishment. The three Jiang brothers fell silent. Looking at Yingbao, they were filled with respect and admiration. Jiang Sang was both excited and worried. He was excited that his little daughter could kill two Foundation Establishment cultivators in one fell swoop. What worried him was, what if the Chen Family from Vermilion Bird City came after them? Wouldn¡¯t they be finished? The Chen Family from Vermilion Bird City is one of the foremost cultivating families in the area, with branches spread out in many ces. There is a branch of the Chen Family within hundred miles of them, although they are also mortals, if a child with a spiritual root is born, people from Vermilion Bird City woulde to take the child away for care and education. Jiang Eng did not seem to mind, he kept rummaging through the storage bags,menting, ¡°It¡¯s a pity we don¡¯t have Fairy¡¯s Fate, we can¡¯t open it. Who knows what¡¯s inside?¡± Jiang Dng dared not to look, and continued to sigh. Jiang Sang thought for a moment, picked up a storage bag and asked, ¡°Baobao, can you open this?¡± Yingbao took the storage bag, tipped it upside down, and a pile of things poured out. The three brothers were shocked, then ecstatic to see several dozen spirit stones glittering inside. Calcting one spirit stone as a hundred gold, these spirit stones alone were worth thousands of gold. Jiang Sang checked each item, finding small jade bottle containing a few pills about the size of his thumb, perfectly round and fragrant. Before he had a chance to get a closer look, the pill was snatched away by his daughter and she popped it into her mouth, squinting in satisfaction. ¡°No, you can¡¯t just eat anything!¡± Jiang Sang tried to get the pill out of his daughter¡¯s mouth, but she scrambled to the other side, clutching another pill in her hand.
Jiang Sang thought of Baobao¡¯s ability, and he dared not to use force. He exined in a soothing tone, ¡°We don¡¯t know if these pills are poisonous, tell Daddy if you feel ufortable anywhere.¡± Yingbao nodded her head, looked at the pill in her hand and popped it into her mouth without hesitation. She could feel the abundant spiritual energy in the pills, just what she needed to replenish what she had expended earlier. At this point, her own spiritual energy was surging inside her body, flowing smoothly through her limbs and skeletal muscles. It felt wonderful and she did not feel any difort at all. Jiang Eng stared at his niece for a while, then said with a smile, ¡°It seems these things are beneficial to Yingbao, let¡¯s leave them all to her.¡±
Seeing that his daughter wasn¡¯t affected, Jiang Sang nodded, but still warned, ¡°Don¡¯t eat too many, understand?¡± Yingbao nodded and shifted her gaze to another storage bag. Jiang Eng quickly handed over the one he was holding and let her open it. There were also a multitude of items in this storage bag, a few pills, some clothing and bedding, and two weapons; an ordinary dagger, and a curved knife sold in the Treasure Pavilion, a low-level magic artifact used by Qi cultivators. Jiang Eng picked up the curved knife and tried it. It weighed forty to fifty pounds, not something an ordinary person could wield. ¡°No wonder we can¡¯t stand a single strike from a cultivator, just by looking at this weight, it¡¯s not something we can use.¡± Jiang Dng suddenly remembered the magic sword used by their assants, where was it? He became nervous immediately, ¡°Second Brother, Third Brother! Where is that man¡¯s magic sword?¡± Chapter 520: Previous Life Fairy World Extra Story Three:_2 Chapter 520: Previous Life Fairy World Extra Story Three:_2 Jiang Sang furrowed his brows and promptly got up and ran out of the room. But after searching for quite a while at the ce where he and his brothers were working, he found no trace of the magic sword. What happened? Did the sword fly away? Not only him, Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng who also came out to search with him were equally puzzled. After searching every corner within two miles, they still couldn¡¯t find it. Just when they were at a loss, Jiang Sang suddenly thought of something and turned back home. By this time, his little daughter was already asleep, snuggling with a fluffy flying rat. Jiang Sang didn¡¯t make a sound and carefully tidied up the room. He wanted to put the cultivators¡¯ daily items back into the storage bag, but since he was not blessed with the luck of the immortals, he couldn¡¯t put anything into it. He could only wait until his little daughter woke up. The three brothers deliberated for a long time before deciding to leave the spirit stones to Yingbao.
Since she possessed the ability to cast spells, she definitely needed these things. Now, for their own safety, they had to support her unconditionally and help her be stronger. In addition to the spirit stones, they also found several books on mental methods of cultivation. Unfortunately, they couldn¡¯t understand any of it. These characters were different from ordinary text. Every single one was like hieroglyphics. Jiang Sang flipped through them a few times before tossing them into the pile of spirit stones for his daughter. He thought that once they had saved up to forty thousand gold coins, he would definitely send his daughter and wife to live in the county town. No, forty thousand gold coins would not be enough. They would also need to buy a small house in the county town, so they could settle down. If their family were to enter the city, they could also rest there. But how are they going to earn so much money? His parents hadn¡¯t managed to save even ten thousand gold coins in their whole lives, let alone twenty thousand or more. The beast meat and mid-level spiritual medicine they got from the beast tidest year only sold for more than four thousand gold coins. Together with their previous savings, the total was less than five thousand gold coins. However, the stroke of good fortune fromst year was hard toe by. The Jiang family had only encountered it once in many years, and it was all thanks to their little daughter. ¡°Big Brother and Second Brother, why don¡¯t we sell one of the storage bags? Together with all these odds and ends, we should be able to make up to twenty thousand gold coins. Then we can buy a household registration in the county town.¡± Jiang Sang suggested to his two brothers, ¡°Yingbao has a talent for cultivation. We might as well send her to a college in the county town for study. Then we can have someone to rely on in the future.¡± Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng had no objections, but this needed the approval of their parents, after all, they were the ones holding the money. When the three brothers told their parents, the old Jiang man and his wife had no objections either. If they could have a cultivator in their family, people would give them a few extra considerations when they sold goods in the city. They would even get a higher price. This was an unwritten rule. However, Eng¡¯s wife was not happy. She quietly grumbled to her husband in the evening, ¡°Why should we buy a household registration for a child who was picked up? Our Huzi is almost four years old. In two or three years, he can go to the city to check if he¡¯s got the Immortal Fate. If he does, all the family money was given to the adopted child. Isn¡¯t that holding back my Huzi?¡± Jiang Eng frowned, disapprovingly, ¡°What do you know? If it weren¡¯t for Yingbao today, our entire family would have been finished.¡± Leng Family¡¯sdy snapped, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for her, how could our family have provoked people from Vermilion Bird City?¡± ¡°You shut your mouth.¡± Jiang Eng was a bit angry, angrily reprimanding, ¡°Those cultivators from Vermilion Bird City, any who see medicinal herbs collectors want to rob them. Who dares to provoke them? Leng, remember, Yingbao saved our family¡¯s life, and all the money is earned by Yingbao. You¡¯d better not make light of serious matter. Also, don¡¯t gossip about our family¡¯s affairs to your family, or you will invite disasters.¡± Being harshly criticized by her husband, Leng¡¯s face lost all colour, and she was even more unhappy. However, she didn¡¯t dare to speak out now. In a blink of an eye, several months had passed. Yingbao had learned to walk, often running into the vegetable garden to pull out vegetables, and sometimes she even ran into the nearby woods with the small flying rat. This scared Chunniang, who then decided to always carry her daughter on her back to prevent her from running around.
Yingbao was unhappy, but after her unsessful resistance, she could only wait for her father toe back. One day, the vige organized people to go into the forest to pick herbs. Yingbao clung to her father and refused to let go. ¡°Bao wants to go! Wants to go!¡± By nature, she loved to roam in the wild and disliked being carried on her mother¡¯s back. So, she insisted on going to y in the forest with her father. Jiang Sang, having no choice and considering that his daughter could open the storage bag, was tempted.
If he brought the storage bag for gathering spiritual medicines, he could definitely bring back more. The team also often encountered cultivators¡¯ robberies. If that happened, all the hard work of a month or two would be in vain. Chapter 521: Previous Life Fairy World Extra Story Three:_3 Chapter 521: Previous Life Fairy World Extra Story Three:_3 However, those who robbed the Spiritual Medicine rarely killed people, so it should be safe for me to bring my daughter along. With this thought in mind, Jiang Eng happily agreed to his daughter¡¯s request. Little Yingbao was very excited to see her father¡¯s agreement. She grabbed the Flying Rat and said, ¡°Ratty ising too.¡± The Flying Rat is particrly good at finding Spirit nts. With it, I can definitely collect a lot of delicious Spirit Fruits. So, the vigers prepared for two days and then entered the forest together. This time, Jiang Cheng, the eldest son, went along with Jiang Eng instead of his father. Jiang Eng, carrying his daughter on his back and cutting through the forest, began his journey. Little Yingbao¡¯s face was covered with a cloth soaked in medicine, leaving only her eyes exposed. This was because the forest was filled with all kinds of poisonous insects. A single bite could be life-threatening. But the vigers had learned how to avoid these bugs. Each time they entered the forest, they brought a lot of Insect Repellents.
For instance, the clothes they wore and the boots on their feet had all been soaked in insect repellent. Hats made from medicinal herbs protected their heads and faces from venomous insects and snakes falling from trees. After the group entered the depths of the forest, they spread out and moved forward. To prevent anyone from getting lost, they asionally blew specially made whistles. Yingbao, eyes wide open, scanned the surrounding nts intently. When she saw those flickering with spiritual light, she urged her father to go and dig them up. Unconsciously, the medicine basket on Jiang Eng¡¯s waist was full. He urgently asked her daughter to put the nts with good quality into the storage bag. The storage bag was hidden in Little Yingbao¡¯s clothes, making it invisible to others. What Jiang Eng didn¡¯t know was that Little Yingbao, finding the bag ufortable, had already put it into her Divine Mansion. Of course, the Spirit nts that her father had asked her to collect were also in her Divine Mansion. When they rested in the evening, everyone silentlypared the Spirit nts they had collected. To their surprise, the baskets of Jiang Eng, his brother, and Jiang Cheng were the fullest. Especially Jiang Eng, he had actually collected several Mid-level Spiritual Medicines. Everyone was curious and asked, ¡°Eng, howe your luck is so good today?¡± Many Mid-level Spiritual Medicines are good at disguising themselves, and some even have Demonic Bugs or Demonic Beasts guarding them. Collectors might get hurt by carelessness, or they might not recognize them at all. Therefore, for everyone, it was a fortune to safely collect two or three nts in an outing. There was no one like Jiang Eng, who had collected several nts on the first day. Jiang Eng responded ambiguously to their inquiries with a smile, ¡°Indeed, I was lucky today. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be lucky tomorrow.¡± Seeing him being vague, the vigers didn¡¯t question further. Instead, they started to prepare their sleeping ces for the night. Then they took out their dry food and began to eat, washing it down with water brought in bamboo tubes. Yingbao took out a few buns from her storage bag and shared them with her father and others, hugging a bamboo tube to drink goat milk. Of course, while she was doing all these, her father, uncle and cousin formed a circle around her, blocking the view of others. After a full day¡¯s hike, everyone was exhausted. After setting up a night watch schedule, everyone huddled together, falling asleep soundly. They held their medicine baskets in their arms, covered themselves with specially made insect and beast-proof nkets, and huddled back to back. Two people would take the first half of the night shift, and two others would take the second half.
Jiang Eng and his brother took turns, with the older brother taking the first half of the night and Jiang Eng the second. Little Yingbao was sleeping soundly when suddenly she was awakened by a faint rustle. She opened her eyes alertly and a sh of golden light passed through them. She saw a group of crawling insects slowly moving closer. These bugs were disgusting, but several of them had flickers of spiritual light in their bellies. Yingbao¡¯s eyes lit up and she immediately freed her hand from her father¡¯s grasp, pointing at the bugs.
Several extremely thin ice spears flew out, instantly nailing those bugs to the ground. The bugs made a squealing noise which quickly alerted the person on night watch duty. ¡°Not good! There¡¯s trouble! Everyone, wake up!¡± Jiang Eng immediately issued a warning. If it wasn¡¯t for his daughter¡¯s sudden action, he wouldn¡¯t have noticed that they were surrounded by terrifying bugs. ¡°Light the torches!¡± an experienced viger urgently said. In the forest, they did not light fires at night for fear of attracting nearby Demonic Beasts. But now, they had no other choice. Everyone quickly lit their prepared torches, then formed a circle, back to back, and watched the surroundings vigntly. Under the glow of the torches, rows of dark long bugs all rose up their front halves, looking like horrifying ck snakes. They strongly focused their gaze on the few dozen delicious humans around them as if they were about to pounce at the very next second. ¡°So many Demonic Bugs?¡± Everyone gasped, their legs and feet began to tremble. Someone cursed in a low voice, ¡°Damn it! Why did we encounter these things?¡± These kinds of Demonic Bugs were products of the Dark Canyon. Vigers had only seen them in posters in the city. Today was their first time seeing the real bugs, and they knew there was no escape. A viger, almost scared to death, couldn¡¯t help crying, ¡°It¡¯s over! We¡¯re done for today!¡± His son was only three years old. If he died, how would such a small child and his mother survive? Chapter 522: Past Life Extra Story Four_1 Chapter 522: Past Life Extra Story Four_1 Upon seeing these demonic bugs, Jiang Sang felt a trace of despair in his heart. There were too many bugs. Even though his precious little daughter had some spells, it seemed impossible that she could kill off these bugs. Worst of all, these bugs did not seem to fear his little daughter. This was the most terrifying part. Jiang Sang grasped his daughter tighter unconsciously, and whispered, ¡°Baobao, follow the little flying rat and try to get home.¡± Yingbao tilted her head up and looked at her father in confusion. She then pointed to those ck bugs and said, ¡°Daddy, the bugs have beads.¡± Jiang Sang did not understand his daughter. He looked around, ready to help his daughter climb onto a nearby big tree. Once his cherished daughter was on the tree, the little flying rat could glide her far away. However, at this moment, those ck bugs started to move, charging towards the vigers in a frenzy. Jiang Sang¡¯s heart jumped into his throat. He immediately ced his daughter on the tree branches and shouted at her, ¡°Quick, climb!¡± Startled, the little flying rat dashed onto the tree, sping the cor of its little master with its ws and yanking her upwards as hard as it could.
Yingbao was thus hoisted up onto the branches by the little flying rat. Looking down, she saw numerous ck bugs swarming over her father and hisrades, ferociously gnashing their teeth. Furious, she thrust up her hand and arge ball of fire whirled downward. Itnded on the ck bugs, then quickly burst into mes. In an instant, the ming bugs turned into ash. The fire continued to spread, soon lighting up the entire forest. Jiang Sang and hisrades were locked in a desperate struggle with the ck bugs, hacking the bugs into halves with their knives and sickles. But there were too many bugs and they soon covered them. Just as they were sumbing to desperation, a wave of fire rolled up and instantly turned the ck bugs into ash. Curiously, the fire avoided them and only burned the bugs. Before long, the bugs around them had been burnt to nothing. The rest quickly fled. Jiang Sang and hisrades had been spared a hair¡¯s breadth from catastrophe. As they stood frozen in astonishment, a tiny figure leaped down from the tree and dove straight into the ash, digging fervently. Yingbao pulled out a round bead the size of a fingertip from the ash, then happily handed it to Jiang Sang. ¡°Daddy! A bead!¡± Jiang Sang was on the verge of tears; his little girl had rescued them once again. Jiang Cheng, quick to react, immediately went to his younger cousin¡¯s side to help her sift through the ash for beads. And sure enough, he found some. He then gathered all the beads he found and gave them to his younger cousin: ¡°Here, take these to y with.¡± He knew she had a storage bag to store items in. Yingbao smiled with joy and promptly stashed the beads her elder cousin had found in her Divine Mansion. Everyone began to help, passing all the beads they found to the little girl. Jiang Sang and Jiang Zhen, who led the group, stayed alert and scouted around cautiously. Jiang Zhen listened carefully to the surrounding noises and alleged, ¡°Sang, we cannot linger here too long. We have to leave immediately!¡± This part of the forest was eerie, and themotion just now must have attracted many demonic beasts, perhaps even other demons. So they had to leave. Jiang Sang nodded, picked up his little daughter, and instructed everyone to leave immediately. Everyone knew of the numerous unpredictability in the forest, so they did not squander any time. Picking up their medicine baskets, their medicine hoes, and their sickles, they quickly followed their experienced leader away. As Yingbao leaned against her father¡¯s chest, she nced regretfully at the remains beneath the tree.
There were still many glittering beads there that had not been collected. Not long after everyone had left, arge group of terrifying demonic beasts and bugs surrounded the area. They sniffed the ce, then lowered their heads to feed on the shimmering beads hidden in the ash. These were the crystal cores of the demonic bugs, rich in spiritual energy. Each one wasparable to a superior Spiritual Medicine. Jiang Sang and his crew hastened through the dark forest, guided by the little flying rat. Before they knew it, dawn was breaking, and they breathed a sigh of relief.
Those demonic bugs would note out during the day, so they were safe for the time being. The team leader, Jiang Zheng, asked everyone to check their baskets. They realized that they had lost quite a bit of medicinal herbs. The majority were lost or spilled during the bug attack, while some were eaten by the bugs. The most dreadful thing in the forest was not the demonic beasts, but the ubiquitous bugs. Jiang Zhen sighed and asked the group, ¡°Are we going back now or carrying on deeper into the forest?¡± The vigers glimpsed at their spoils and felt somewhat dejected. It took them a lot of effort to harvest these Spiritual Medicines, only to lose most of them. If they were to retreat now, wouldn¡¯t this outing have been futile? ¡°Let¡¯s keep going.¡± Someone proposed, reluctant to retreat just like that. It was difficult to embark on this trip. They had spent a lot of money just on insect repellents. If they didn¡¯t make any gains, they would be making a loss on this trip. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s keep moving. If we encounter danger again, everyone just has to fend for themselves.¡± Jiang Zhen rested briefly, then turned to Jiang Sang: ¡°Sang, is Yingbao capable of casting spells?¡± Chapter 523: Past Life Extra Story Four_2 Chapter 523: Past Life Extra Story Four_2 Jiang Sang could only nod, ¡°She knows a bit, but she¡¯s still a child. Her magic powers are weak, and you see how she¡¯s been sleeping sincest night. She simply exhausted herself.¡± Upon hearing this, everyone felt a pang of guilt, their hearts filled with gratitude for Yingbao. If not for Jiang Sang bringing his little daughter along, they would all have been finished this time. One of them said, ¡°Sang, don¡¯t worry. Once I collect a mid-level spiritual medicine, I¡¯ll give your niece one to restore her strength.¡± After all, wasn¡¯t it normal for cultivators to replenish their spiritual power with these spiritual medicines? If he managed to find a mid-level one, he would definitely give it to his little niece. The others also promised in session that if they managed to collect a mid-level one, they would give Yingbao one too. Jiang Sang epted their promises graciously on behalf of his daughter. Afterwards, everyone discussed and decided to follow Jiang Sang. After all, his family had a little flying rat, which could lead them to spiritual medicines and spirit fruits more easily. When Yingbao woke up from her slumber, she found herself bound to her father¡¯s chest. She nced around and saw the little flying rat frantically flying ahead.
Everyone was also following the flying rat quickly. In a little while, more than twenty people arrived in front of a cliff. The cliff was steep, making it impossible for the ordinary people to climb. Looking left and right, there were no other paths to be seen. The little flying rat was squeaking towards the cliff, indicating clearly that it wished to cross over. Jiang Sang shook his head. They were not cultivators, crossing such a high, steep cliff was impossible for them. Suddenly, Yingbao pointed at a bush and shouted, ¡°Daddy, over there!¡± Everyone¡¯s gaze followed to where the bush was. Jiang Cheng cautiously approached and after hacking down a clump of bushes with his sickle, he exposed a small dark cave entrance. ¡°Look out! There¡¯s something inside!¡± Jiang Zhen quickly warned Jiang Cheng, ¡°Get back real quick!¡± At this point, a swarm of ck things flew out of the cave, charging towards Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng was startled and quickly pulled back. Just as he was about to flee with the others, Yingbao conjured a me that burned all the ck things to a crisp. ¡°These are the blood-sucking bats!¡± Jiang Sang recognized them, the creatures struggling in the fire were the most terrifying bats in the forest. However, the bat shit was a type of medicine, and the price wasparable to mid-level spiritual medicine. ¡°Let¡¯s not leave right now, we¡¯ll see what happens.¡± Jiang Zhen, also very excited, said to Jiang Sang, ¡°Sang, with Yingbao here, we can go inside to take a look.¡± If they could gather the luminescent sand, then the trip wouldn¡¯t have been in vain. Perhaps everyone present could make a small fortune. Jiang Sang asked his daughter, ¡°Baobao, can we enter?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Yingbao nodded, looking excited and bold. So, Jiang Sang, holding his daughter and his second brother, led the way. The rest followed them into the cave that was twice the height of a person. The small flying rat had long jumped into its young master¡¯s arms, blinking its eyes as it peered into the cave. It had already smelled the aroma; as long as it passed through the smelly tunnel, it could enjoy the delicious spirit fruits.
The blood-sucking bats inside the cave saw the fresh humans entering and charged at them, but they were all incinerated by Yingbao. The rest of the bats saw the situation turning against them and quickly fled. The group, each holding a torch, walked into the cave and sure enough, saw a lot of luminescent sand on the ground. ¡°Great, there will be a few of you stay here to collect while the rest will follow Jiang Sang further in,¡± ordered the team leader Jiang Zhen.
So, three people stayed behind to collect the phosphorescent sand from the ground, while the rest continued to follow Jiang Sang further in. The further they went into the cave, the more luminescent sand they found and everyone¡¯s back basket was quickly filling up. Jiang Sang had also collected quite a bit, but his little daughter found it disgusting that this was bat¡¯s shit and refused to put them in her Divine Mansion or storage bag. Left with no other choice, Jiang Sang had to put all of them in the medicine basket. Yingbao pinched her nose and wanted to get down from her father. Jiang Sang had no choice but to put her down, instructing her to stay put, then he and his second brother and nephews all went together to collect bat dung. The bat¡¯s poop was quite different from ordinary bats. It gave off a faint blue light in dark caves, leaving a creepy feeling. But it was worth more than gold. The vigers from Jiang family were about to be rich. Just as he was thinking happily, Jiang Sang looked up to see his little daughter with her butt sticking out and crawling into a small hole. ¡°Baobao! Come back!¡± Jiang Sang was frightened. He immediately rushed over, wanting to pull his daughter out. But Yingbao had crawled in too deep for him to reach. Jiang Sang became anxious. He picked up his medicine hoe intending to dig open the entrance of the hole, but the cave wall was all rock. His medicine hoe was about to be ruined and he didn¡¯t even manage to dig out a single piece of rock. ¡°Baobao, good girl,e back quickly!¡± Jiang Sang was nearly crying as he coaxed his daughter time after time.
Chapter 524: Past Life Extra Story Four_3 Chapter 524: Past Life Extra Story Four_3 But Yingbao didn¡¯t respond, climbing further and further until she was out of sight. The others were stunned. Jiang Cheng tried to squeeze into the small hole too, but quickly got stuck. With no other options, they grabbed his legs and hauled him out. ¡°What should we do?¡± The group looked at each other, clueless. Jiang Sang took a seat on the ground, ¡°Baobao wille out. I will wait here.¡± Jiang Zhen, after pondering for a moment, said, ¡°Let¡¯s collect more of the glowstone sand in the cave. Take as much as you can. Once Yingbaoes back, we will return.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Meanwhile, Yingbao, with her small butt pedaling in the air, climbed for a long time before finally emerging from the hole. Before her eyes was a sea of Spirit nts. Xiaoshu, the small flying rat, flitted out first, and quickly flew back, grabbing onto Yingbao¡¯s sleeve and tugging in one direction.
Yingbao moved her short legs and ran down the slope, revealing a Spirit Treeden with fruit. ¡°Wow!¡± She looked up at the fruit on the tree, her mouth watering. The spiritual light radiating from these fruits was gentle, and they looked delicious at first nce. Xiaoshu flew to the top of the tree and began plucking the fruit, stuffing them into its own pouch. When the pouch was full, it tossed it to Yingbao. Yingbao sat on the ground and ate one first, then held out both her hands to catch the falling fruits. After an unknown amount of time, Xiaoshu grew tired and rested on a tree branch. Yingbao nced around, took out a small shovel from her Divine Mansion, dug up the vibrant Spirit Grass and Spiritual Flowers nearby and stowed them into her Divine Mansion. Soon, her spiritual power was depleted, and she started feeling tired, her eyes fighting to stay open. ¡°Xiaoshu, let¡¯s go home.¡± Remembering her father was still in the cave, Yingbao called Xiaoshu to go back. The little girl and her rat crawled back through the small hole. When they finally crawled out, they saw a very anxious father. Jiang Sang immediately hugged his daughter and gave her a firm pat on her bottom, ¡°Don¡¯t run off like that again!¡± At this point, Yingbao couldn¡¯t wait to show off her Spirit Fruits, and quickly fell asleep in her father¡¯s arms. When they saw Yingbao return, everyone sighed in relief, immediately shouldered their herb baskets, and journeyed back home. For unknown reasons, their trip back was very smooth, without encountering a single poisonous insect. A few dayster, they returned to the vige. The n Leader, wise and learned, was thrilled to see so many high-quality glowstone sands. He asked, ¡°How did you manage to get so much glowstone sand?¡± Blood-sucking Bats were fearsome creatures. A single bite could leave you handicapped if it didn¡¯t kill you outright. It was miraculous that these ordinary medicine gatherers managed to get so much without the help of a Cultivator. They then roughly exined the whole story. ¡°We owe a lot to Jiang Sang and his daughter. If not for Yingbao, we might have failed.¡± Jiang Zhen told the truth.
The n Leader¡¯s eyes sparkled, ¡°So Yingbao has begun her spiritual journey?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jiang Zhen exined, ¡°On the way back, we gave all the grade B Spiritual Medicines we collected to Yingbao to aid her in her cultivation.¡± The n Leader stroked his beard and nodded, ¡°You did the right thing. If our vige can indeed rear a child with spiritual roots, it would be a blessing for all.¡± If Yingbao does grow up with spiritual roots, they can have someone set up an Array to protect their Jiang Vige from many dangers.
The next day, Jiang Sang and a group of vigers took the glowstone sand to the county town to sell, and Yingbao followed to gain some real-life experience. When theyid several baskets of Blood-sucking Bat glowstone sand in front of the Treasure Pavilion¡¯s shopkeeper, his eyes nearly popped out. ¡°This much? Did you empty out a Blood-sucking Bat¡¯s nest?¡± The shopkeeper grabbed a handful to inspect, then smelled. He asked Jiang n Leader, ¡°Do you want to trade for gold or Spirit Stones?¡± Jiang n Leader said, ¡°Part of it for gold, part for Spirit Stones.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The shopkeeper didn¡¯t hesitate, and went to collect the gold and Spirit Stones. When Jiang Sang received his share of the gold and Spirit Stones, he immediately asked the Treasure Pavilion¡¯s shopkeeper to buy residency papers for his daughter and wife. He got forty thousand gold coins as well as a hundred Spirit Stones, plenty enough to settle his wife and daughter in the county town. However, one hundred Spirit Stones wouldn¡¯t be enough to buy a house, but he could rent one for them. In time, when they made more money and Yingbao was older, they could send her to school. When he got home, he told his parents, Jiang Lao and Jiang Liu, about securing the residency papers for his wife and daughter. Both of them agreed heartily, ¡°You did the right thing. We suddenly have a lot of money, which draws attention. It¡¯s better to get a ce for the children to settle in. I still have some. Take it and see if it¡¯s enough to buy a house in the town.¡± Jiang Sang shook his head, ¡°The money you have is public funds, you better keep it. Once we earn some more, we will bring the nieces and nephews to town to settle.¡± It was always dangerous outside, and every year there would be at least one Beast Tide. If they encountered one, survival was unlikely. Chapter 525: Past Life Extra Story Five_1 Chapter 525: Past Life Extra Story Five_1 Jiang Sang returned to his room from his parents¡¯ and handed a new household registration to his wife, ¡± Chunniang, I¡¯m going to take you to the city in two days. I¡¯ve rented a room there, and you and Yingbao will be living there for a while.¡± His wife was due to give birth in a few months, and he didn¡¯t feelfortable letting her give birth in the vige. The matter of killing two Foundation Establishment cultivatorsst time was like a de hanging over their heads, he was constantly wary of it falling, so he couldn¡¯t let his wife and daughter stay in the vige for long. Chunniang took the household registration, looked at it over and over with joy in her heart. She was pregnant with twins and had always been worried aboutplications during childbirth, so she had been on edge. Now being able to go to the city to give birth was the best news she could receive. In the city, there were many highly skilled medical cultivators. She could ask one of them to assist her in childbirth, that would put her mind at ease. Yingbao blinked her eyes and looked at her father, then at her mother, suddenly took out a few Spirit Fruits and ced them in front of her mother, ¡°Tasty.¡± Jiang Sang already knew that his daughter and the little Flying Rat had gone deep into the cave to find many Spirit Fruits. He smiled and stroked his daughter¡¯s head, ¡°Baobao, keep them for now, eat them when we get to the city.¡± Actually, he wanted to sell the Spirit Fruits that his daughter had brought out and exchange them for some gold, silver, or Spirit Stones. That way, her mother and daughter could live better in the city.
But thinking about how much his daughter had already helped the family, if he was greedy even for his child¡¯s snacks, he would be too disgraceful. Worst case scenario, he will go back to that cave to get more luminous night sand. Yingbao shook her head, picked up a fruit and ced it in Chunniang¡¯s hand, ¡°Baobao has lots, Mom eat fruit.¡± She took another one and gave it to Jiang Sang, ¡°Dad also eat.¡± She had already nted several Spirit Fruit trees in the Divine Mansion, they could flower in a few months, so she was not worried about running out of fruit to eat in the future. In addition to the fruit trees, many mid-level Spiritual Medicines were grown in the Divine Mansion. Once they matured into high-level ones, she would bring them out to exchange them for money for her parents. Jiang Sang picked up the fruit and, reluctant to eat it, tucked it into his bosom, nning to share it with his parents. Although he didn¡¯t recognize what kind of fruit it was, he knew that it was extraordinary. If sold to the Treasure Pavilion, it would certainly be worth a lot of money. But the fruits were his daughter¡¯s, how could he do such a thing. A few dayster, Jiang Sang brought his wife, daughter, and mother Jiang Liu to the city. The house he had rented was in a courtyard. There were a total of three households living in the courtyard, including him, and all were tenants. Thendlord opened the lock with a key and said, ¡°The room has a brick bed, you can heat it in winter if it¡¯s cold, but be careful about safety. If you cause a fire, you¡¯ll regret it.¡± Jiang Sang immediately assured, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we will be careful.¡± Thendlord gave a few more instructions, told them that they must pay next month¡¯s rent at the end of each month, and if they didn¡¯t pay on time, they would have to move out. Jiang Sang naturally agreed. After thendlord left, Chunniang put down her daughter and started to tidy up the room. There was nothing in the room except for arge brick bed and a stove. Jiang Liu went out to borrow a broom from the neighbor to sweep the brick bed, sighing as she swept, ¡°I thought the houses in the city are better than ours, but it¡¯s just a thatched house, and it costs twenty gold a month. It¡¯s not worth it.¡± Jiang Sang said, ¡°When we have money, we will buy a small courtyard. I¡¯ve asked around, one with three rooms costs a hundred thousand gold.¡± Jiang Liu was shocked, ¡°A hundred thousand gold? Is it a tile house or thatched?¡±
Jiang Sang, ¡°Thatched.¡± Jiang Liu fell silent and waved her hand, ¡°Let¡¯s stick to renting for now.¡± A hundred thousand gold was equivalent to a thousand Spirit Stones, and they couldn¡¯t afford even half of that amount now. Yingbao ran out of the room and saw several children ying in the courtyard. The oldest was eight or nine years old, and the youngest was only two or three. They were ying hopscotch.
The game was to draw six squares in the middle of the courtyard, and everyone would hop and kick a tile into each square on one foot. Yingbao watched with great interest,pletely unaware that someone next to her was watching the little Flying Rat on her head. At this time, Jiang Sang went out to buy things. Thinking that he needed to buy a bunch of bits and pieces, he picked up his daughter and went out together. He first bought two pots, one big and one small, and a few basins and sets of bowls and chopsticks. He also bought some towels, bedding, mattresses, and also grains, salt, vegetables and so on. He bought several steaming baskets for steaming buns, a few clothes boxes, and a brick bed table. For each item he purchased, he had his daughter put it in the storage bag, and they returned home lightly and easily. Chapter 526: Past Life Extra Story Five_2 Chapter 526: Past Life Extra Story Five_2 From then on, Chunniang and the grandmother lived in the county town with Yingbao. Jiang Sang stayed in the county for a few days before returning to the vige, saying he woulde back when his wife was about to give birth. Now that he had spent all his money and borrowed quite a bit from his parents, he had to return to collect herbs to earn money to repay his parents, and also to prepare for his wife¡¯s childbirth. A few dayster, Yingbao had be familiar with the other children in the courtyard and even let them touch the head of the Flying Rat. Although the Flying Rat was not really pleased, under the tyranny of its little master, it had to bear with the children touching itsrge tail. The children in the courtyard would often take Yingbao outside to y and show off their Flying Rat to others. A few children tried to steal the Flying Rat out of ill will, they soon found themselves with their hair set on fire by Yingbao¡¯s mes, wetting their pants in fright right away. From then on, everyone living in this alley knew about this extraordinary child from the Locust Tree Courtyard with a divine fate. Several months passed, and during the beast tide, Chunniang gave birth. As she delivered twins, Jiang Sang spent all the money he had earned recently to hire a medicinal cultivator to save the lives of the mother and the babies. However, Chunniang had lost a great deal of vitality and needed Spiritual Medicine to recuperate. This caused a lot of stress for Jiang Sang.
Just when he did not know what to do, his little daughter brought out a bunch of mid-level Spiritual Medicine and gave it to him, ¡°Daddy, give this to Mama.¡± Jiang Sang was stunned and, seeing no one around, quickly collected the Spiritual Medicine. He asked, ¡°Baobao, where did you get so much Spiritual Medicine?¡± ¡°I grew them,¡± Yingbao replied proudly, ¡°There¡¯s a lot more in the Divine Mansion.¡± On hearing this, Jiang Sang¡¯s face changed. He immediately gestured to his daughter to stop talking. He ran out the door to check and saw no outsiders around before he felt relieved. At this time, Grandma Jiang Liu and other family members were not around. They had gone to deliver red eggs to a neighbor¡¯s house and were chatting with others. The older brothers were also not around as they had taken their nephews and nieces to watch the cultivators casting spells. Jiang Sang let his daughter put away the Spiritual Medicine and said, ¡°Baobao, you must never tell anyone about you having Spiritual Medicine, even if it¡¯s your grandparents.¡± It was not that he did not trust his parents, but because he feared idle chatter. Yingbao didn¡¯t understand, but she nodded anyway. Overtime, Jiang Sang asionally sold a mid-level Spiritual Medicine at the Treasure Pavilion, which he would use to buy elixirs for his wife¡¯s recuperation also gradually bought some auxiliary cultivation elixirs for his daughter. Slowly but surely, Chunniang¡¯s health improved and the two boys grew plumper. When the babies had their one-month-old celebration, it started to snow outside, and the beast tide gradually faded. As the city gate opened, many people rushed outside. Some wanted to return home, while others wanted to follow the cultivators and pick up some leftover spoils. Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng also left the city, but they left their wives and children behind. The reason was that they had also bought a residence for Huzi and Yuanbao, and rented a small courtyard. The entire family lived in the three thatched rooms in the courtyard. Their n was to start sending them to school when the institutions opened in the spring. Jiang Dng and Jiang Eng¡¯s rented courtyard was not far from Jiang Sang¡¯s, so the Jiang children often came to take Yingbao out to y. One day, while the children were ying with stones at the door, a few children around teenage years approached. They were dressed in fine clothes, looking like the children of wealthy families. ¡°I want that little thing,¡± the leading boy pointed to the Flying Rat on Yingbao¡¯s head. They immediately moved forward to grab the Flying Rat. Eini and Yuanbao instantly stood in front of their little cousin, saying indignantly, ¡°This is ours.¡±
¡°Yours?¡± The leading boy sneered. Suddenly, he raised his hand to hit them, a cold wind apanying his palm. Was he actually using a spell to hit people? Yingbao was angry. She quickly stood up and waved away his attack. She threw a punch at him. With mes surrounding her fist, she sent him flying several meters away. The other boys cried out in surprise and immediately ran over. The leading boy was breathing shallowly and slowly.
¡°Young Master! Young Master!¡± They were almost crying as they quickly scooped up the young master and ran back the way they hade. Eini, sensing trouble, immediately grabbed her little cousin and ran away. Back home, they told Chunniang everything that had happened. Chunniang was so worried she didn¡¯t know what to do and started thinking about where to hide Yingbao. Assaulting someone in the county town could lead to a prison sentence, and if someone was killed, it was unthinkable. Yingbao didn¡¯t understand what was happening and continued to talk to her little brothers, blissfully unaware of the danger looming. Chunniang asked Eini and the others to go home quickly and not leave for a while. She then held her daughter¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you not to kill or injure people at will? Why don¡¯t you listen?¡± The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 527: Past Life Extra Story Five_3 Chapter 527: Past Life Extra Story Five_3 Yingbao blinked her eyes, ¡°He wanted to kill Second Sister and Brother Yuanbao.¡± She had seen it all, the man¡¯s palm was imbued with spiritual energy, clear intent to deal a fatal blow to her sister and Brother Yuanbao. Springmaid sighed, knowing that reasoning with a one-year-old child was futile, all she could do was wait for her husband to return and decide on what to do. Unexpectedly, before Jiang Sang could return, a group of people came knocking on their door. The leader, an elderly man exuded a powerful aura, clearly he was a cultivator. ¡°Bring out the perpetrator!¡± With a furious roar, he frightened the two twins into wailing. Springmaid tucked her daughter behind the door, instructing her to stay quiet, before stepping out herself to handle the situation. But just as she opened the door, Little Yingbao darted out, pointing at the old man and scolded, ¡°No shouting!¡± This person had frightened her brother, and she was livid. Seeing that the one who came out was just a one-year-old infant, the old man snorted coldly and demanded, ¡°Call your elders!¡± When Springmaid saw her daughter rushing out, her legs turned to jelly. She managed to steady her trembling heart and greeted the visitors with a slight bow, ¡°May I ask your purpose ofing, sir?¡±
Seeing that this woman was a mortal, the old man randomly gestured towards a teenage boy standing behind him and asked, ¡°Tell me, who harmed Boatman (Chen Chou)?¡± The boy pointed at Yingbao, ¡°It was her.¡± The old man turned to gaze at the less than knee-high toddler, twitching at the corner of his lips, ¡°Are you sure?¡± The teenager nodded fervently, ¡°I¡¯m sure, it was her. She punched Chen Zhou and sent him flying.¡± Springmaid instantly scooped up her daughter and protested, ¡°How can you make such baseless usations? My daughter is not even two, how could she punch someone and send them flying?¡± The old man nced at Yingbao, his gaze narrowing. There was spiritual energy surrounding the little girl. Apparently, she had received some form of divine favor. But even if she were blessed, even if she had begun cultivating from within her mother¡¯s womb, she shouldn¡¯t be capable of seriously injuring a fifthyer cultivator, right? ¡°Little child, show me your capabilities.¡± With a wave of his hand, the old man snatched Yingbao from Springmaid¡¯s embrace and ced her aside. Springmaid wanted to rush over, but was stopped by an invisible wall. Panicked, she screamed, ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± The old man ignored her and directed an attack at Yingbao. Seeing the old man not only frightened her brother and her mother but now also trying to punch her, Yingbao was furious and retaliated instantly. The two spiritual powers collided, causing everyone around to topple over. The old man was shocked to find his fist bleeding from the sh. On the other hand, the little girl frowned, seemingly puzzled at his great strength that toppled everyone in the yard. Yingbao calmed her surging internal energy, her small face alert as she carefully observed the elderly man on the other side.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Just before, she was almost sted off by him. Fortunately, she reacted swiftly and shielded her mother, preventing both of them from falling. Looking at the young girl, the old man felt as if he had found a treasure. After all, he was at thete stage of Foundation Establishment, nearly reaching Core Formation, yet he had been evenly matched with this youngster!
This child had a promising future. He had to take her back to the Chen family. Thinking up to here, he said cheerfully, ¡°Little girl,e with me. I assure you, you would live in a grand house and eat the tastiest food.¡± Yingbao replied, ¡°I¡¯m not going with you.¡± Having said that, she grabbed her mother¡¯s hand and went back into the house because her brother had been crying for a while now.
Seeing Yingbao¡¯s disrespectful conduct, the old man wasn¡¯t angered. Instead, he rebuked the teenager, ¡°Useless! You are even inferior to a one-year-old child!¡± The teenager hung his head low. A person nearby said, ¡°Second Uncle, are we just going to let it go after what happened to Chen Zhou?¡± The old man nced at the tightly closed door of the hut, scoffed and said, ¡°This child is a prodigy. If we bring her back to the Chen family, aren¡¯t all debts cleared?¡± Everyone understood, but another question arose, ¡°Second Uncle, we came here to investigate the disappearance of Chen Chao and Chen Lin. Wouldn¡¯t it be inappropriate to bring this child back to Vermilion Bird City immediately?¡± The old man¡¯s face darkened and he responded, ¡°Their life tokens have shattered; their chances of survival are slim. We just have to investigate who they have been associating with here. It wouldn¡¯t take much effort. Once we finish up here, I wille back for the child.¡± Saying so, he turned around and left, but not without leaving two disciples to keep an eye on the Jiang family. As soon as Jiang Sang returned, he heard his mother and wife recounting the recent events. He had already learned some of the situation from his nephews and nieces, so he wasn¡¯t surprised. But learning that the visitor hade from Vermilion Bird City and was from the Chen family, he began to worry. Pulling his daughter aside, he whispered, ¡°Do not use the storage bag in front of strangers and do not take things at random. I will take you to have your divine favor tested immediately and also find you a master.¡± Only by epting a master now and having a sect¡¯s protection could she escape the Chens¡¯ covetous eyes from Vermilion Bird City. Jiang Sang thought for a moment, considering all the information he had gathered. He decided to have his daughter acknowledge the person with the highest cultivation base in their county as her master. The person with the highest cultivation base in their county was apparently a female cultivator surnamed Wang.
Her family owned the Treasure Pavilion, where all sorts of magical weapons, spiritual tools, and elixirs were sold. Chapter 528: Past Life Extra Story Six_1 Chapter 528: Past Life Extra Story Six_1 The next day, Jiang Sang brought his little daughter Yingbao to the Baisheng Treasure Pavilion to meet the immortal Master Wang. But his daughter was not the only one who came to the Treasure Pavilion to seek apprenticeship; there were also a dozen other children. Among these children, the oldest were about ten years old and the youngest five or six years old, all of them having ties with the immortal realm. Jiang Sang felt a little anxious upon seeing this, because the owner of the Treasure Pavilion only epted two disciples, and now there were fifteen seeking apprenticeship. After a while, several servants came out, guiding all the children into the courtyard for assessment. Yingbao bid her father goodbye and followed the servants to a garden with her little short legs. The garden was lush with trees and had many fruit trees; Yingbao initially drooled over the fruits, but after staring at them for a while, she realized they were fake. Confused, Yingbao touched a fake tree with her small hand and found it had texture. Blinking, she climbed up a medium-sized tree and plucked a fruit. Only when she held the fruit in her hand did she realize it was made of mud.
Curious, she wanted to pick up another one to take a look, but suddenly the tree copsed and she fell to the ground,nding on her butt. ¡°Hahaha!¡± A burst ofughter came from behind. Yingbao turned her head and saw a five-year-old boy wearing a golden crown, pointing at her andughing, ¡°So stupid!¡± Yingbao clenched her butt, stood up from the ground, brushed off the dirt from her body, and retorted, ¡°You¡¯re the stupid one!¡± The boy wearing the golden crown snorted, walked over to her, and said, ¡°You must still be drinking your mother¡¯s milk. I don¡¯t want a child like you as apanion.¡± Yingbao frowned and seriously said, ¡°I¡¯m here to learn magic, not to be yourpanion.¡± The boy looked somewhat displeased, crossing his arms and said, ¡°Isn¡¯ting here just to be my studypanion? How dare you deny it?¡± Yingbao opened her mouth in surprise, ¡°But Daddy said I came here to find a master.¡± With a hum, the boy looked Yingbao up and down and said with a disgusted face, ¡°My mother doesn¡¯t ept girls as young as you as disciples.¡± Yingbao blinked, said ¡°Oh,¡± then turned and walked away. Seeing her leave, the boy took a step forward and stopped her. ¡°Hey! I haven¡¯t finished yet.¡± ¡°Then say it quickly.¡± Since they didn¡¯t want her as an apprentice, she¡¯d just go to the academy to learn to read and write, and learn magic herselfter. The boy frowned, ¡°Even if my mother doesn¡¯t ept you, you can still take me as your master.¡± Yingbao widened her eyes, ¡°Take you as my master?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He lifted his chin and said, ¡°I have already reached the third level of qi cultivation, so I can be your master.¡± Yingbao contemted for a while, but reluctantly nodded, ¡°Alright.¡± A smile immediately spread across the boy¡¯s face. He patted her on the shoulder, ¡°Then call me master.¡± Yingbao: ¡°Master.¡± A bigger smile appeared on the boy¡¯s face. He took out an amulet from the storage bag around his waist and stuffed it into Yingbao¡¯s hand, ¡°Here, this is a wee gift from your master.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn Yingbao took the amulet and examined it. She asked, ¡°What is this?¡±
¡°It¡¯s an amulet that can automatically block a Nascent Soul attack once.¡± The boy boasted, ¡°As long as you cultivate well, in the future, I will give you more treasures.¡± ¡°Can mortals use it?¡± Yingbao asked. The boy: ¡°Of course.¡± Yingbao¡¯s eyes brightened: ¡°Thank you, master.¡±
After thinking for a moment, she took out two fruits from her own storage bag and handed them to him, ¡°This is my apprentice¡¯s gift to the master.¡± The boy¡¯s smile widened as he touched Yingbao¡¯s head, ¡°What a good disciple.¡± Not far away, Wang Jin saw this scene, twitched the corners of her mouth, turned to the steward, and said, ¡°Keep this child.¡± She originally nned to find two childpanions for her son so they could grow up together, so by chance if she failed to survive tribtions, her son wouldn¡¯t be alone. But now her son surprisingly found a tiny apprentice and even gave the girl a wee gift, which was truly both ridiculous and funny. The steward agreed and asked, ¡°Shall we keep the other two as well?¡± Wang Jin nodded, ¡°Keep them too. Arrange a dedicated person to take care of their daily lives and let the four of them live in the same yard.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± the steward obeyed and left. From this day on, Yingbao stayed in the Wang Family, learning to read and write every day, as well as some spells. Wang Jin examined Yingbao¡¯s fit with the immortal path and found that her spiritual roots were peculiar. They weren¡¯t like the usualbination of water and fire spiritual roots, yet she could disy both water and fire spells. Wang Jin didn¡¯t know which mental method to teach her presently, so she decided to wait until Yingbao turned five before testing again. After all, most children only reveal their spiritual roots when they turn five. Wang Jin thought that perhaps Yingbao¡¯s spiritual roots were indistinct because she was too young. One day, a group of cultivators who imed to be from the Chen Family of Vermilion Bird City, came to the gate of the Treasure Pavilion, wanting to negotiate with the Pavilion owner.
Chapter 529: Past Life Extra Story Six_2 Chapter 529: Past Life Extra Story Six_2 Wang Jin invited them into the living room for a conversation, asking, ¡°I wonder what brings all of you here?¡± The elder at the front, in the Foundation Establishment stage, bowed towards Wang Jin. ¡°I will not beat around the bush. We are from the Chen family in Vermilion Bird City, here to reim a little girl who was reportedly admitted to Treasure Pavilion recently, hence we¡¯vee to give the host some trouble.¡± ¡°Reim a little girl?¡± Wang Jin frowned, ¡°May I ask the rtion between you and the little girl?¡± Chen Shan proudly said, ¡°I am the girl¡¯s master.¡± Wang Jin was surprised, ¡°Master? But the two girls I admitted recently are bothmoner children, and they have not taken on any master yet?¡± Chen Shan¡¯s face darkened, ¡°Master Wang, that Jiang girl was chosen by me to be my disciple a long time ago. Her parents abandoned her by admitting her into the Treasure Pavilion. I hope, Master Wang, you will return her to me.¡± Upon hearing this, Wang Jin sneered, then called for the steward, ¡°Go and bring the people from the Jiang family here!¡± The steward went off after giving his assent. Wang Jin thenmanded someone to bring Yingbao over and asked, ¡°Yingbao, have you epted this gentleman as your master?¡± Yingbao promptly shook her head, ¡°I never epted him as my master. They bullied my brothers and sisters, and they even made my little brother and mother cry.¡±
Chen Shan¡¯s face darkened, ¡°Little girl, didn¡¯t I tell you before that I wanted to take you as my disciple?¡± Blinking her eyes, Yingbao shook her head, ¡°I already have a master, I don¡¯t want to ept you as one.¡± She pointed at Wei Qi who had followed her, ¡°He is my master.¡± Wei Qi immediately puffed up his little chest, ¡°Right! I am her master, and who are you to snatch my disciple away!¡± Seeing a four or five-year-old boy say such words, Chen Shan couldn¡¯t help butugh. He turned to Wang Jin, ¡°Master Wang, opposing the Chen Family of Vermilion Bird City will not bear good consequences.¡± Wang Jin looked coldly at Chen Shan, ¡°What? So, the Chen Family of Vermilion Bird City wants to snatch someone from my Treasure Pavilion?¡± Chen Shan fought back unwillingly, ¡°This child was the one that I saw first, I am merely here to take her back, how is that snatching someone?¡± Wang Jin was almost amused by this man¡¯s unreasonable behavior. She waved her hand and had the group from the Chen Family kicked out of Treasure Pavilion. She had already reached the peak of the Core Formation stage, justcking an opportunity to step into the Nascent Soul stage. If she wasn¡¯t worried about her business in Vermilion Bird City, she would have done more than just driving them away. Chen Shan and his group were driven out of Treasure Pavilion by Wang Jin. Still unwilling to give up, they initially wanted to vent their frustrations on the Jiang family. However, considering the child involved, they ultimately refrained, but instead went to the Chen Family¡¯s branch in the county, asking them to keep an eye on the Jiang child. If given a chance, they were to bring her to Vermilion Bird City. The Chen branch family promptly agreed and immediately sent people to keep watch near Treasure Pavilion.N?v(el)B\\jnn However, their waitsted more than three years. In these three years, each time the Jiang child returned home, she was surrounded by Wei Qi and a group of guards. There was no opportunity for the Chen family to act at all. In these three years, Yingbao secretly gave the spiritual medicines grown in her Divine Mansion to her parents, who sold them to Treasure Pavilion. The Jiang Family finally bought a household registration for all members of the family and bought a big mansion in the county town where they all moved in. But in their free time, her father and uncles would still go to the forest to gather medicinal materials to earn the family¡¯s living expenses. Worried about the safety of her father and uncles, Yingbao gave each of them a protective Magic Weapon, a storage bag that didn¡¯t require the use of spiritual power to activate, and escape Magic Weapons. This cost her a lot of high-level spiritual medicines. She also nned to save up for a while to equip her family court with a Protection Array that couldn¡¯t be broken by anyone below Core Formation stage. One day, Wang Jin retested Yingbao¡¯s Spiritual Root and discovered she had not only the fire and water Spiritual Roots, but also the earth, wood and gold ones. After testing again, she returned to having dual Spiritual Roots of water and fire, which was quite outrageous. Wang Jin frowned at the little child, seeming puzzled. The child still hadn¡¯t found a suitable mental method, but she seemed to be able to execute any spell, particrly the fire series, which was exceptionally powerful. Although her attack power was intense, almost catching up with Core Formation cultivators, the cultivation base she exhibited was still at the fifthyer of Qi Refining.
Wang Jin looked at her own son. The eight-year-old Wei Zhan had broken through to the ninthyer of Qi Refining with the refinement of all kinds of high-level spiritual medicines. He kept moring to go out for training, saying that he couldn¡¯t beat his junior disciple because he hadn¡¯t been out for training. Wang Jin shook her head, deciding to take the kids out for a walk when she had time. But before they couldmence the journey, the gate of the Jiang Family was suddenly surrounded by a group of Chen family members.
A woman was crying miserably, pounding on the door of the Jiang family, demanding the return of her daughter. She said the girl has golden scales on her back, and there was a midwife who helped with the delivery as a witness. She urged the Jiang Family to return the child. Chapter 530: Past Life Extra Story Six_3 Chapter 530: Past Life Extra Story Six_3 Chunniang was horrified, pulling her husband in tears, ¡°How did she know about the scales on Baobao¡¯s back? Could she really be Baobao¡¯s birth mother?¡± Jiang Sang frowned, feeling a bad premonition. When he brought Yingbao home, nobody but his own family knew about the scales on her back. Why did the Chen Family insist that their daughter was her? He turned to his family, ¡°Have any of you spoken about Baobao to outsiders?¡± Old man Jiang and Jiang Liu shook their heads, ¡°Sang, you¡¯re overthinking. How would we gossip about Baobao¡¯s affairs?¡± Jiang Dng and his wife also said, ¡°We never talk about Yingbao around outsiders.¡± Jiang Sang then turned his gaze to his second brother Jiang Eng and his sister-inw, Mrs. Leng. Mrs. Leng guiltily avoided his gaze, refusing to meet eyes with her uncle. A few days ago, Mrs. Leng was chatting with some women outside. When they casually asked about Yingbao, she blurted out the fact that Yingbao was adopted by her uncle. She was then coaxed into telling them about the scales on Yingbao¡¯s back. Who would have thought that shortly afterward, someone woulde to im Yingbao?
¡°Sang, since they¡¯vee to im her, we should just hand her over. She was never¡­ ¡± Before she could finish, Mrs. Leng was pped by her husband Jiang Eng. ¡°What do you know?¡± Jiang Eng angrily retorted, ¡°The family who abandoned her in the first ce has obviouslye back with ill intentions. How could you have the heart to say such things?¡± If it weren¡¯t for Yingbao, how could their family have been able to buy a house and a household registration in the county city? Now that Yuanbao and Huzi were studying in school, where did the tuitione from? Could they have afforded it simply by picking medicinal herbs? This foolish woman, to dare to say such a thing in front of their third brother! Jiang Sang cast a cold nce at his sister-inw. Seeing her pped by his brother, he said nothing. Outside the courtyard, the Chen Family, unable to get an answer from the Jiangs, brought a local government officer and tearfully used the Jiang Family of child abduction. Jiang Sang had no choice but to step outside to confront them. Finally, the government officer summoned Yingbao from the Treasure Pavilion. After verifying the scales on Yingbao¡¯s back, the county government ordered the Jiang family to return the child. However, the Chen family was required to reimburse the Jiang family for the cost of raising her, even Wang Jin¡¯s intervention didn¡¯t help. Although the verdict seemed fair, itpletely overlooked the feelings of the Jiang family. Chunniang was in tears, holding onto Yingbao and refusing to let go. It was the officer who eventually took Yingbao by force and handed her over to the Chen family. Yingbao was outraged and aimed a me at the Chen Family, but they seemed prepared, a stranger, a cultivator at the Core Formation Stage, had her restrained and ced Binding Soul Locks on her wrists. In the blink of an eye, Yingbao was taken to the Chen¡¯s residence and locked in a dark room.N?v(el)B\\jnn A group of Chen family members came in, among whom was the old man who intended to take her as his disciple. Yingbao was furious and wanted to strike them, but she was immobile as she was tightly bound to a ck iron pir. Several unfamiliar cultivators circled her, checking the scales on her back, drawing her blood, andparing it to that of Demonic Beasts. Yingbao, having lost too much blood, passed out. When she woke up, she found herself facing her disgusted birth mother, Mrs. Han. Mrs. Han pped a bowl of porridge on the floor and coldly stared at her, ¡°Ungrateful creature, you have some nerve to still be alive after bleeding so much.¡±
Yingbao squinted her eyes. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that she couldn¡¯t move, she would have loved to burn the Chen household to the ground. ¡°Eat,¡± Mrs. Han kicked the bowl on the floor and sneered at the little girl squatting on the ground, ¡°Our dog¡¯s leftovers, consider yourself lucky.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t even nce at her, let alone pick up the food from the bowl. Her hands were bound behind her back as she pondered on how to break the Binding Soul Lock on her wrists.
Seeing the girl¡¯s defiant attitude, Mrs. Han became even more furious, she kicked her directly in the forehead. ¡°Han!¡± Chen Laoshuan entered, hands behind his back, and seeing this, shouted, ¡°What are you doing? Get out!¡± Seeing her father-inw intervening, Mrs. Han awkwardly left the room. Chen Laoshuan knelt down to Yingbao and said, ¡°Child, I¡¯m sorry you had to suffer. That Jiang family really is heartless, stealing you from our family and causing your parents to search desperately for you.¡± Yingbao stared expressionlessly at the old man¡¯s performance. Chen Laoshuan continued, ¡°Don¡¯t me your mother. She was just provoked. We brought you home out of kindness, yet you set her on fire. Of course she¡¯s upset.¡± After some thought, Yingbao said, ¡°I won¡¯t burn her anymore, so let me go.¡± Shaking his head, Chen Laoshuan replied, ¡°The keys aren¡¯t with me. Sigh, we¡¯re doing all this for your own good. Once we are back in Vermilion Bird City, we will certainly set you free.¡± Tilting her head, Yingbao asked, ¡°You¡¯re heading to Vermilion Bird City too?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Chen Laoshuan smiled, ¡°Once we¡¯re at the main house, you must behave well and not casually set people on fire.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Chapter 531: Past Life Extra Story Seven_1 Chapter 531: Past Life Extra Story Seven_1 Upon learning that his young disciple had been taken away by the Chen Family, Wei Qi immediately set off to her rescue with his guards. However, before he could leave the courtyard, his mother stopped him: ¡°Qi¡¯er, don¡¯t act rashly.¡± ¡°Why? Aren¡¯t you the most powerful, Mother? Why did you let them take Yingbao away?¡± Wei Qi burst into tears. Wang Jin slowly approached her son, patted his shoulder and said, ¡°Two Core Formation cultivators have been sent by the Chen Family from Vermilion Bird City, all for Yingbao. I can¡¯t beat them.¡± Crying with hups, Wei Qi struggled to leave: ¡°Those viins! I must save Yingbao!¡± Wang Jin sighed and held her son,forting him: ¡°I¡¯ve heard that they are taking Yingbao to Vermilion Bird City. They must love her talent so much that they want to train her. How about we go to Vermilion Bird City too?¡± ¡°Really?¡± Wei Qi wiped his tears and runny nose with his sleeve, his eyes brightened: ¡°Can I still see her? Will she still be my disciple?¡± Wang Jin nodded slightly: ¡°The Chen Family is also a great n. After we get there, we must investigate slowly and not act impulsively.¡± Wei Qi pouted, but the tears fell uncontrobly. He felt a sense of unease, feeling that he would never see Yingbao again.
Over the past three years, he had raised his young disciple with many high-level spiritual medicines. Now, his disciple had been snatched away in an instant. If he had known this would happen, he would rather take Yingbao away to Qinglong City or somewhere far away. Not long afterwards, Yingbao was locked in a sealed cage and taken to Vermilion Bird City. But even after arriving there, she was not let out. Instead, she was imprisoned within a huge cave. The cave was filled with numerous ck iron cages, and strange demonic beasts were locked in each of them. Most of the demonic beasts exhibited signs of intelligence and looked at her indifferently. They watched as a group of cultivators surrounded her, cutting away her flesh and bleeding her, and then forced her to swallow various medicinal herbs. From then on, the cultivators of the Chen Family would cut some flesh from Yingbao every few days. Once, they even split open her abdomen, searching for any treasures hidden within her body.N?v(el)B\\jnn This time, Yingbao nearly died and fell into aa for a whole month. The Chen Family, afraid to lose the source of this supply of flesh, finally dared not slice open her abdomen again. As days passed, Yingbao learned to endure and began to find ways to please others. One day, after another round of bleeding, a young girl came to feed her. With her hands trembling, she fed Yingbao, who was covered in blood, and asked: ¡°Yingbao, does it hurt?¡± Yingbao lifted her eyes to look at her, remaining silent. With tears streaming down her face, the girl asked, ¡°What¡­what do I need to do to kill you?¡± Yingbao watched her silently: ¡°I don¡¯t want to die.¡± How could she die when her vengeance remained unfulfilled? The girl fed her thest spoonful of food and stumbled out of the cave. Yingbao lowered her head to look at the feeding bowl left on the ground, and picked it up. There was a faint rune on the bottom of the bowl, barely noticeable unless looked at carefully. She kept the bowl in her Divine Mansion and studied the Rune carefully. It resembled the rune on her wrist, but was different in some ways.
Yingbao tried toprehend the rune andpared it with the Binding Soul Lock on her wrist. This could be an unlocking rune, but she didn¡¯t know how to unlock it. As a result, Yingbao spent her free time meditating in her Divine Mansion, trying to decipher the Rune. This took quite a while. There was no day or night in the cave, but there were Sunlight Stones. People woulde and rece them after a certain period of time.
Yingbao meticulously kept track of the times they reced the Sunlight Stones, trying to estimate how long she had been in the cave. Three years? Or five? Finally, one day, she unraveled the rune and applied it on the Binding Soul Lock on her wrist. With a click, the Binding Soul Lock on her wrist unlocked. The long-absent spiritual energy slowly seeped into her body. Overjoyed, Yingbao was about to celebrate when she thought of the impending arrival of the people from the Chen Family. She quickly locked the Binding Soul Lock again. Every time the Chen Family left, she would unlock the Binding Soul Lock and move around in the cave, allowing the spiritual energy to circte throughout her body. The demonic beasts silently watched her without making a sound. Yingbao whispered to them, ¡°When I be more powerful, I¡¯ll take you all out with me.¡± The eyes of the demonic beasts brightened, and they nodded in agreement. On one asion, after unlocking the Binding Soul Lock on her wrist and ankle, Yingbao opened her cage, went over to the cages of the demonic beasts, took out spiritual medicine from her Divine Mansion and gave it to them, helping them replenish their spiritual power. One of the beasts watched her for a long time before suddenly spitting out a Demon Core and pushing it towards Yingbao. Yingbao knew what it meant. It wanted her to absorb the Demon Core to boost her cultivation base. For the sake of escaping, she didn¡¯t refuse and epted the Demon Core.
Chapter 532: Past Life Extra Story Seven_2 Chapter 532: Past Life Extra Story Seven_2 Later, two more demonic beasts regurgitated their demon cores, handing them over to Yingbao. Yingbao carefully epted each of them and concentrated on absorbing their power. Eventually, one day, Yingbao overheard the cultivators who used to bleed her discussing the uing selectionpetition hosted by the Chen Family every three years. The chosen ones would have the honor to join the Wuji Sect. Yingbao knew that the previouspetition held by the Chen Family,sting for several days, had resulted in the absence of any Chen Family members in the cave. This was an opportunity. After once again being bled, Yingbao feigned unconsciousness to lower the Chen family¡¯s guard. At night, she overheard the guards had fallen asleep. She undid the Binding Soul Lock, even collecting the Xuanite cages into her Divine Mansion. She then opened all the cages containing the demonic beasts and gave them some high-level Spiritual Medicine to recover their Spiritual Power. Of course, she did not leave the Xuanite cages behind either, collecting them all into her Divine Mansion. If she failed this time, she might never escape again. Therefore, she had resolved to seed or perish trying.
Step by step, she walked towards the mouth of the cave, her heart pounding wildly. Over twenty demonic beasts quietly followed behind her without making a single sound. Getting to the iron gate, Yingbao hit the lock with a streak of me, gradually melting the thick Xuanite lock.N?v(el)B\\jnn She didn¡¯t know how high her cultivation base was, but the fire sheunched into the guard room instantly turned four guards into ashes. These guards were all at the Foundation Establishment stage. The passageway of the cave was long, and there were two more locked Xuanite gates. Yingbao destroyed all the iron doors to allow the giant demonic beasts to exit easily. Arriving at thest Xuanite door, the guards outside sighted Yingbao once she had melted the lock. He frantically sounded an rm but was immediately turned into ashes by her me. Yingbao covered the exit as the demon beasts squeezed out of the cave. Only when they had all exited did she mount a gigantic beast and rush outwards. This ce was supposed to be the restricted area of the Chen Family, and in the chaos, Yingbao couldn¡¯t identify which direction to escape to. A bird-like demonic beast soared into the sky and guided Yingbao the way to escape. In no time, many cultivators from the Chen Family arrived. Most were at the Foundation Establishment stage, but there were a few Core Formation agents. However, at this moment, Yingbao regarded them as insignificant as ants. She released a of mes, and the cultivators of the Foundation Establishment stage fell like burning butterflies. Naked, Yingbao rode on the back of the demon beast, her long hair rippling like seaweed, her body encircled by mes. Seeing her, the cultivators thought she must be some terrifying spirit. ¡°Not good! This woman is at the Nascent Soul stage, quickly call the ancestor!¡± someone shouted in rm. Yingbao merely cast them a cold look, unfazed. The gigantic beast hopped and darted away, quickly escaping the premises of the Chen Family territory.
Standing tall above the Chen Family estate, Yingbao let loose a streak of me with a flick of her hand. The mes, like slithering snakes, leapt towards the buildings and people, swallowing each and every one of them. As long as she survived, the mes would surely burn them all to nothingness. Yingbao let out a triumphant howl, rallying the demon beasts towards the city gate.
¡°You fiend! Where do you think you¡¯re going!¡± A golden light descended from the sky, shooting towards Yingbao. Yingbao drew her sword and swung at the attack. But her sword shattered, crumbling like tofu. Yingbao spat out a mouthful of blood, hastily throwing out a gigantic Xuanite cage. The demonic beast she sat on roared, carrying her into a frenzied run. Beasts continually fell around her, but other beasts filled in, ferociously guarding Yingbao in their midst. They quickly arrived at the city gate, where many cultivators were stationed. One of them brought forward a woman and a man, shouting at Yingbao, ¡°Surrender, or they die!¡± Yingbao¡¯s eyes narrowed. Upon recognizing who they were, sheughed loudly. Fire engulfed her body, and she suddenly charged towards the city gate. Wherever her mes passed by, everything was reduced to ashes, including the Xuanite city gate. One beast after another stampeded out, scattering in every direction. When the cultivators pursued, most of the demonic beasts had already disappeared.
It turned out that Yingbao had given some of the beasts Escape Talismans, allowing them to escape the vicinity of the Vermilion Bird City as quickly as possible. She and the beast carrying her had used a long-distance Escape Talisman, instantly appearing in a forest. Currently, she was seriously injured, lying on the back of the demon beast, unable to move. The previous attack had shattered her internal organs. If not for her unique constitution, she would likely have died already. Perhaps the high-level cultivator assumed the same, thus he didn¡¯t continue to pursue her. After all, she appeared to be a child of around ten, who due to years of torture, looked as frail as an eight- or nine-year-old. After an indeterminate amount of time, Yingbao woke to find herself nestled in the soft belly of the demon beast. Chapter 533: Past Life Extra Story Seven_3 Chapter 533: Past Life Extra Story Seven_3 The demonic beast had reverted to its original form, which was a ck and white striped mountain tiger. It was also severely injured, panting heavily. Yingbao took out some spiritual medicine and stuffed it into its mouth, ¡°Xiaohua, we haven¡¯t taken our revenge yet, you simply can¡¯t die.¡± The ck and white striped tiger looked at her and slowly chewed the spiritual medicine. Yingbao checked the medicinal ingredients in her divine mansion and found only a few mid-level ones left, the others were still immature. In recent days, she had given most of the spiritual medicine to the demonic beasts to help them recover their spiritual power, in preparation for this escape. Fortunately, most of them managed to escape. Thinking of the demonic beasts that died within the city, Yingbao felt a certain sadness. Among them, one had given its demon core, but it ultimately did not make it out. After lying in the same ce for several days, Yingbao was finally able to move again. She patted Xiaohua¡¯s belly, stuffed several spirit fruits into its mouth, and asked, ¡°Can you get up now?¡± Xiaohua finished chewing the spirit fruits, slowly stood up, looked at Yingbao, lowered its head, allowing her to step on its head to mount its back.
Yingbao took out a skirt from her divine mansion and put it on, only to discover it reached only to her knees. She frowned and put on a pair of pants. Luckily, the pants were waist-tied trousers that she could still wear, only that the original long pants had turned into shorts. ¡°Xiaohua, send me to Qinchuan County and then go. I need to find mom and dad,¡± Yingbao knew there might be an ambush waiting for her, but she had to return nheless. She would kill anyone who threatened her using her parents or her younger brother, and then she would lead her family to live in the forest. Demonic beasts were not the terror, the truly scary ones were the cultivators. Xiaohua howled once, and then trotted off in a certain direction. Later, Yingbao and Xiaohua got lost in the forest, and it took nearly a year for them to return to Qinchuan County. Gazing at the familiar city walls, Yingbao found her eyes filling with hot tears. During the year, she had encountered cultivators and whenever she encountered someone from the Chen Family of Vermilion Bird City, she would ask them the direction to Qinchuan County. Regardless of whether they answered or not, she spared no one and killed all of them. Yingbao hung a storage bag around Xiaohua¡¯s neck with a rope and patted it, saying: ¡°I¡¯ve put a lot of spirit fruits and spiritual medicine in here. Go back to the forest and cultivate, don¡¯t get caught by cultivators again.¡± Xiaohua rubbed its head against her, whimpering as if reluctant to leave. Seeing that it was not leaving, Yingbao frowned and said, ¡°You will be discovered by cultivators if you are here, it¡¯s better to go back.¡± But Xiaohua still looked at her without moving. Yingbao sighed, ¡°If you were the size of a kitten, I would take you along.¡± Xiaohua hesitated for a while, then its body suddenly started to shrink, getting smaller and smaller until it was the size of a kitten. It looked up at her, the storage bag hanging on its neck now dragging on the ground. Yingbao was overjoyed, immediately picked de-sized Xiaohua up and took the storage bag, then slowly walked towards Qinchuan County.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om She had grown a lot taller than a year ago, and due to exposure to the sun and rain, her skin had deeply tanned and not to mention, she had cut her hair into a buzz cut. Anyone who saw her would think she was a dark-skinned young boy. Upon entering the county, standing in front of her home, she noticed that the courtyard door was closed. She used her inner vision to scan the house, which was empty.
Yingbao did not rashly enter, instead she went to the Treasure Pavilion to inquire. The Treasure Pavilion was still there, and the shopkeeper was still the same one, only Lady Wang and her son weren¡¯t there. Yingbao didn¡¯t reveal her identity, instead she asked about the whereabouts of the Jiang Family. The shopkeeper nced at Yingbao and said, ¡°The Jiang family seems to have returned to the vige. Their kidcks spiritual affinity, after studying for a few years in the county, they returned to live in the vige. They onlye back when an beast tide arrives.¡±
Yingbao: ¡°Thank you, Shopkeeper. Would you be interested in buying some spiritual medicine and demonic beast materials that I have?¡± The shopkeeper nodded: ¡°Little brother, let¡¯s see what you got.¡± Yingbao took out everything she had got from the Demonic Beast Forest, making a huge pile. The Shopkeeper let two men sort through the items, putting the useful ones aside and the ones they didn¡¯t buy in another pile. After calcting, he said: ¡°In a total of five hundred and eighty spirit stones.¡± Yingbao: ¡°I want to exchange these spirit stones for an array, and some spirit talisman.¡± ¡°What type of array does little brother want to exchange? We have many types of spirit talismans, which ones do you want?¡± asked the shopkeeper. Yingbao quoted a few things and seeing that there were not enough spirit stones, she took out a few high-level spiritual medicines. Then she bought some daily necessities like clothes, shoes, bedding, tents, and pots, tes, and utensils, as well as many spiritual seeds. During the more than a year in the forest, she figured out what she wascking and bought all of them this time. If it weren¡¯t for theck of money, she would have liked to buy a spirit boat to travel as well. After leaving the county, Yingbao went to the Chen¡¯s residence and set the ce on fire. Afterwards, she arrived at Jiang¡¯s vige. Hiding in the forest, observing her parents working in the field from a distance, Yingbao didn¡¯t go over immediately.
It wasn¡¯t until nightfall, when all the vigers had returned home and there was no one outside, that she slowly made her way towards the Jiang¡¯s residence. Reaching the doorway of the Jiang¡¯s house, she saw her parents cooking in the kitchen, while her two younger brothers were sitting beside, wiping their bows and arrows. Suddenly, Yingbao stopped at the doorstep, just standing in the dark watching them. Mother Spring seemed to sense something, dropped her spat and ran out of the house. When she saw a thin figure standing not far away, she was startled. She took a few steps forward and asked tremulously, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Chapter 534: Past Life Extra Story Eight_1 Chapter 534: Past Life Extra Story Eight_1 Yingbao hesitated, unsure whether she should go over and identify herself. ¡°Baobao? Is that you?¡± Chunniang finally voiced out her question. Yingbao¡¯s tears gushed out in an instant as she threw herself into Chunniang¡¯s arms, ¡°Mom.¡± ¡°Baobao? Is that really you?¡± Chunniang choked up, carefully observing Yingbao¡¯s face. Indeed, it was her Baobao. Though she had be skinny and tanned, there was no doubt that her facial features were Yingbao¡¯s. Chunniang quickly pulled Yingbao back into the house and closed the doors and windows. Seeing his little girl, Jiang Sang could not hold back his tears, ¡°Baobao, have you been well these past years?¡± Yingbao nodded, ¡°I escaped.¡± ¡°I know. Some people from the Chen Family came to ask about you recently, and I knew something was wrong,¡± Jiang Sang said with a choked sob, touching his daughter¡¯s buzz-cut head. ¡°What have they done to you? Tell daddy.¡± His daughter looked to have suffered greatly. The once cheerful little girl now appeared frail and withered.
Her two younger brothers came over, looking curiously at their sister. Their memory of their sister had already blurred; they could barely remember her. Yingbao recounted what happened to her at the Chen Family, and concluded, ¡°Dad, mom, why don¡¯t youe with me.¡± Chunniang was frightened by her daughter¡¯s experience. Holding her and crying inconsbly, she examined her and discovered that the scales on her back were gone; only arge scar remained. ¡°Those damned people from the Chen Family, how dare they harm my child!¡± Chunniang couldn¡¯t stop crying as she touched the scar on Yingbao¡¯s back. The skin on her back was taken away by a cultivator from the Chen Family using a de because he wanted to use the scales for refining.N?v(el)B\\jnn Jiang Sang was silent for a long time before he said, ¡°Baobao, we will go with you. But we need to inform your grandparents first.¡± He knew if they didn¡¯t leave, they would definitely hold back their daughter as the cultivator from the Chen Family wouldn¡¯t give up so easily. Yingbao nodded, standing up, ¡°Then I¡¯ll return to the forest first to find a ce for you to settle down. I¡¯lle to pick you up after a month.¡± Chunniang grabbed her daughter, whispering, ¡°Don¡¯t leave just yet, let me prepare some good food for you to bring.¡± So Yingbao sat down again. Chunniang and her husband took out all the meat they had in the house, boiling and steaming it. They also made a lot of rice balls and bread with rice and flour. They even boiled all the eggs, which totaled over thirty. As the couple busied themselves in the kitchen, Yingbao told her two younger brothers about the insects and wild animals in the forest. She also gave them two long daggers for self-defense. It waste at night when Yingbao had a meal with her family and then left with plenty of dry food. The flying rat wanted to follow her, but Yingbao threw it back into the house and told it to continue taking care of the home. Yingbao then quickly walked into the forest, releasing Xiaohua from her arms and riding it deep into the forest. After searching a while in the forest, she finally found the cave of blood-sucking bats that she had found previously. When she entered the cave, the blood-sucking bats were frightened and fled.
Yingbao stopped at the entrance of the previously narrow passage and took out a Spirit Sword. She manipted it to carve the small passage into a circr holerge enough for a person to crawl through. Putting Xiaohua back into her arms, she slowly crawled into the round hole. After she came out from the other end, she looked around. This ce seemed to be a naturally formed secret realm, about ten times the size of the Jiang Family vige. There were norge animals inside, only small creatures like snakes, insects, rats, and rabbits. There were a lot of Spirit Grass and wild Spirit Fruit inside the secret realm, all of them being mid-level varieties.
It should be a decent ce for her parents to live. As long as they farmed somend to grow Spiritual Wheat and Spiritual Rice, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about food and drink. Yingbao walked around the secret realm, captured several potential dangerous giant pythons into the Divine Mansion and released them far away. She gave each of them a few High-Level Spiritual Medicine, saying, ¡°I set you free, you must behave and not hurt any humans with the surname Jiang.¡± The giant pythons stared nkly at their surroundings, nodded to Yingbao, picked up the High-level Spiritual Medicine, and slithered away. They were indeed trapped there for a long time and had not evolved for many years. They were naturally happy to finally be free. After Yingbao had cleared the dangerous creatures in the secret realm, she started to rearrange it. She brought in huge rocks to divide the bat cave in half; inside, another passage was opened to another area to facilitate travel for her parents. Of course, the exit had to be concealed and hidden using formations to ensure absolute security. After all this work, over twenty days had passed. Yingbao then went into the forest to bring back some giant bamboo and wood to build houses for her parents in the secret realm. Next, she made a trip to the county town and bought many tools and farming utensils. She also bought a pair of oxen, a male, and a female, for breeding. Chapter 535: Past Life Extra Story Eight_2 Chapter 535: Past Life Extra Story Eight_2 She also bought some chickens, ducks, and sheep, which she kept in the secret realm. That night, Yingbao returned to Jiang vige. Only after she made sure there were no abnormalities around, she walked towards her house. Spring Lady had been watching for her daughter all morning. Spotting a figure with short hair approaching, she quickly opened the door and pulled her daughter inside. Not only her father, mother and brother were in the house, but also her grandparents and uncles. Seeing Yingbao, their eyes couldn¡¯t help but redden. After exchanging greetings, both Old Man Jiang and Jiang Dabang expressed their willingness to go with their granddaughter, but Jiang Eng was hesitant. He also wanted to go with his big brother and third brother¡¯s family, but his wife was not willing. ¡°Your Second-Aunt and I won¡¯t leave for the time being.¡± Jiang Eng took out some Spirit Stones and handed them to Yingbao: ¡°Baobao, you bring these. You have a spiritual destiny, these Spirit Stones will be useful to you.¡± Yingbao shook her head: ¡°No need, you guys keep it.¡± As long as her parents are settled, she can go to the forest to collect Spiritual Medicine for sale, and she won¡¯t be short of Spirit Stones to spend in the future. On the other hand, Second uncle¡¯s family, Huzi is still young, Sister Erni is just a teenager, their future living expenses and marriage costs will require money.
After several repeats of refusal, seeing that his niece was still unwilling to ept, Jiang Eng could only sigh: ¡°Yingbao, a few days ago, a cultivator came inquiring about you. You must be careful.¡± Yingbao nodded and started helping her parents pack their stuff. Although the Jiang family had storage bags given by Yingbao, they were of small capacity. Just packing some food and bedding would fill them. With Yingbao¡¯s help, the houses of Jiang Sang and Jiang Dng were soon emptied. Yingbao then asked Xiaohua to get bigger, carrying her brother and grandparents, and slowly headed into the forest. Jiang Dng and his wife followed closely, with their three sons and eldest daughter, while Jiang Sanlong and his wife walked alongside their daughter. Their departure was so silent that the vigers didn¡¯t notice anything unusual, even the vige dogs were huddled in their nests shaking. Seeing his brothers leaving, Huzi couldn¡¯t help crying, making a fuss about going too. He was dragged inside by Leng Family and severely beaten. Jiang Eng coldly said, ¡°Why are you hitting him? Isn¡¯t it good that we stay ording to your wishes?¡± Leng Family raised her eyebrows, ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°It means nothing.¡± Jiang Eng pulled his son over, wiped his tear-streaked face, and said, ¡°In a while, I will send you back to the county town, you and your sister must live well there, and don¡¯t arbitrarily take in outsiders.¡± Leng Family crossed her arms and said, ¡°Who is an outsider? Jiang Eng, stop talking nonsense.¡± Last time, because her family had been staying in the Jiang Family¡¯s courtyard in the county town for a while, the entire Jiang Family immediately moved back to Jiang Family vige and locked all the doors. Jiang Eng didn¡¯t respond, pulling his son back into the room. Leng Family followed him into the room, still chattering incessantly: ¡°If our house has outsiders, it¡¯s that troublesome child we picked up, and now look, the whole family has followed her into the deep mountains and old forests to live like savages¡­¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Jiang Eng was angry, pointing at Leng Family and saying, ¡°Leng Family, don¡¯t think I dare not divorce you.¡± Leng Family immediately shut her mouth, turned around and ran out of the room to cry in her daughter¡¯s room. As for Yingbao, she led her parents on a journey thatsted two full days, finally arriving at the small secret realm. When they saw the scene inside the secret realm, they were overjoyed.
Old Man Jiang said, ¡°We live here, and we won¡¯t have to worry about the annual beast tide. Ah, it¡¯s just too good.¡± He had always dreamed of a ce where he could truly live and work in peace and contentment, free from terrifying cultivators and dangerous demonic beasts. Little did he know, his granddaughter had found him one. Both Jiang Dng and Jiang Sang were very satisfied with the ce and immediately began building houses.
Yingbao created two caves in a nearby cliff, ced some tools and daily necessities inside, and helped her father and uncle gather a lot of timber to facilitate their building.N?v(el)B\\jnn But she found a drawback. The ce didn¡¯t have a pond, which became a problem for the family¡¯s water consumption. Yingbao thought for a moment and then found a suitable location and started digging a pit. Her current magic power was profound, and in no time at all, she had dug out a pit about two yards square. Consequently, clear water continuously bubbled up from the ground. The water also contained thin spiritual energy, which was perfect for watering spiritual crops. Spring Lady was surprised and came over with her sister-inw to look: ¡°Oh, wateres so easily, Bao¡¯er, why don¡¯t you dig a few more?¡± Yingbao nodded and dug a few more ponds about a mile away. After digging the ponds, Yingbao left the secret realm to find fish, shrimps, and other things to bring back for cultivation in the realm. She then went and bought a lot of lotus, water chestnut seeds, as well as various Spirit Fruit Tree Seeds. Chapter 536: Past Life Extra Story Eight_3 Chapter 536: Past Life Extra Story Eight_3 This secret realm has four seasons and features rain and snow. When Yingbao looked up at the sky, she could see the rising and setting sun, just like outside. Yet when she went outside and let the Flying Rat take her high into the sky, she couldn¡¯t see such arge area below. Having studied in the Wang Family for some years, Yingbao roughly knew that this situation was likely due to a space-time rift caused by the distortion of time and space. Although there¡¯s no treasure here, for the current Jiang Family, this is an Immortal Blessed Land. Recalling what Madam Wang once said, the emergence of space-time rifts might be rted to divine fights in ancient times. Their devastating fights released immense energy, causing distortions in space-time and the formation of dangerous rifts and vortices. Therefore, within the range of a thousand miles, there should be more than one such space-time rift. Sitting on the Flying Rat, Yingbao looked around and quietly asked, ¡°Flying Rat, shall we look around and see if there are other secret realms?¡± With the improvement of her cultivation base, the Flying Rat which she made a contract with also evolved ordingly. Now that it has be a high-level spiritual beast, with a wingspan of about a zhang, it can carry her around in flight. Of course, the Flying Rat was quite smart, and to avoid attracting trouble, it usually remained the size of two adult human palms, just like Xiaohua. ¡°Squeak, Squeak!¡± The Flying Rat was naturally not against it and followed its nose in one direction. After flying for some unknown distance, the Flying Rat descended.
It found this ce with a rich spiritual energy, there must be good things. When itnded, it immediately shrank back to the size of a palm. It squatted on its little master¡¯s shoulder to rest and Xiaohua took the stage. Yingbao took Xiaohua out of her arms and tossed it onto the ground, only for it to grow into a giant upon exposure to the wind. Yingbao leisurely sat on Xiaohua¡¯s back and strolled towards the ce where the spiritual energy was most abundant. But when they arrived, they discovered this ce harbored a very deep abyss. This abyss extended from south to north, about a dozen miles long and ten or so zhang wide, fathomless. It was terrifying. And strangely, no nts grew near the abyss, even though the spiritual energy was so rich. It was as if this was a deadnd. ¡°Let¡¯s descend and take a look.¡± Yingbao jumped off Xiaohua¡¯s back, intending to let the Flying Rat carry her down. However, the Flying Rat was terrified and kept retreating backward. After thinking for a moment, Yingbao had no choice but to leave Xiaohua and the Flying Rat outside, and she began to climb down herself. But halfway down, she discovered something appeared to be slicing her skin, leaving cuts all over her body. Yingbao¡¯s eyes brightened, she pped an amulet onto her body and continued downwards. The amulet quickly broke, countless incorporeal swords shredded her clothes into pieces. Yingbao¡¯s eyes narrowed, disregarding her injuries, she continued downward. After an unknown amount of time, all her Amulets were used up. Her blood had almostpletely drained before she finally saw a pitch-ck object. From afar, its long form looked like a scythe dug into the cliff. But it was much bigger than a regr scythe. She stepped onto what seemed like a rooftop handle of the scythe, bent down to touch it and using her spiritual power, shattered the rocks above. The rocks tumbled down into the abyss, quickly revealing a handle covered in ck.
Sitting on the handle and gasping for breath, Yingbao put a spiritual medicine into her mouth. Countless incorporeal swords were still cutting her all over, yet she couldn¡¯t move anymore. Blood trickled onto the ck handle and was absorbed by this object bit by bit. Upon seeing this, Yingbao was both shocked and hopeful.
During her time studying at the Wang Family, her teachers had mentioned that a divine weapon would absorb a vast amount of blood while recognizing a new master, and it would continue until it waspletely subjugated. Many people couldn¡¯t endure the process and were drained to death, only those who made it through could be epted by the divine weapon. Back then, she thought, what kind of thing would be so vile as to drink human blood, if it were her, she wouldn¡¯t want such a divine weapon. She didn¡¯t expect to encounter such a thing herself, even if it was involuntary, she still hoped to obtain it.N?v(el)B\\jnn Yingbao¡¯s consciousness began to blur; she fainted with a sudden darkness before her eyes. At this moment, she had a dream full of bizarre scenes. She even dreamed that she had killed the Fairy Monarch of the Wuji Sect and rescued her mother. Upon opening her eyes, Yingbao found herself lying on the grass, Xiaohua kept nudging her with its nose and pawing at her. Meanwhile, the Flying Rat sobbed and wailed beside her, its tears soaking her face. Wiping her face, Yingbao sat up. The Flying Rat squeaked once and plunged into her arms, sweeping her face with its fluffy tail back and forth. Xiaohua stood still, shrank back into a small size and snuggled into her hand pleading for a touch. Looking at the sky, Yingbao asked, ¡°How did I end up here?¡± Did she not descend to the deep abyss? Was everything before a dream?
The Flying Rat kept making noises but unfortunately, Yingbao still didn¡¯t understand. Abruptly, a ck scythe-like object lodged itself in front of her, nearly hitting Yingbao¡¯s nose. Yingbao widened her eyes, grabbed the handle of the scythe and examined it up and down. ¡°What is this?¡± It had a ck handle that was long and a head that resembled both a sickle and a scythe, emitting a faint and cold glow. On the ck handle, a row of gold inscriptions stood out, none of which Yingbao recognized. However, she suddenly had a vision of scenes in which the God Scythe made kills of enemies. The sight of these scenes left her astounded beyond description; they were scenes of the wars between the old gods. Chapter 537: Past Life Extra Story Nine_1 Chapter 537: Past Life Extra Story Nine_1 Yingbao was struck with awe, yet at the same time, euphoria washed over her. This God Scythe, the Divine Reaping Blood Lust, emanates malevolent energy. It must be an Ancient Divine Weapon, although she isn¡¯t sure which Immortal owned it before. Regardless, it now belongs to her, serving its purpose fully. Yingbao stood up and realized she was naked. She hastily pulled out a set of clothes from her storage bag and put them on. As she swung the God Scythe, a flood of techniques suddenly manifested in her mind. They were all passed down to her from this Ancient Divine Weapon. Yingbao couldn¡¯t contain her joy and began practicing the techniques that appeared in her mind. Suddenly, within a radius of a hundred feet, grass and trees were obliterated, sand and stones were whirling, and Xiaohua and the Flying Rat darted for cover. ¡°What an incredible weapon!¡± eximed Yingbao after practicing all the techniques. She admired the destructive power of the God Scythe in her grip. With this weapon, if cultivators from the Chen Family dare toe, she would surely put them in their ce. Even if their family ancestors arrival, she believes she has the power to fight back.
Half a monthter, Yingbao returned to her secret base and found her parents and uncles built three wooden houses. Jiang Sang, her father, said, ¡°For now, we have made three houses. Your grandfather wants to buy some lime and tiles to build tiled houses.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go and do that. You all stay and clean up. Winter is soon and we¡¯ll have an influx of beasts.¡± Yingbao spoke while eating noodles made by her mother. Jiang Sang nodded in agreement: ¡°Alright, but with caution. Along the way, check upon your uncle. If necessary, bring Huzi and Erni back here.¡± This ce was vast and plentiful with spiritually potent fruit trees. Their needs could be fully met without us foraging for spiritual medicine. It would be safer for Huzi and his family here than outside. With these thoughts in mind, Yingbao left the secret base the next day to visit her uncle¡¯s family. This time, she didn¡¯t conceal her presence and flew atop the Flying Rat over the Jiang vige. However, she saw all the vigers gathered at a threshing ground with several cultivators hovering in the air, seemingly interrogating them. The vigers were trembling in fear. Jiang Eng was arguing, but he was sent flying by a spell. Yingbaos narrowed her eyes, descended from the sky, and slowly walked over. Now, with her short hair, emaciated face, and wearing boyish clothes, she believed nobody could recognize her. Indeed, as the cultivators saw her approaching, they shouted harshly, ¡°This is Chen Family¡¯s business. Stand back IMMEDIATELY!¡± Thinking Yingbao was just a passing cultivator, they announced their family name, attempting to intimidate and deter her. Before Yingbao could respond, Mrs. Leng suddenly shouted, ¡°She is the one you are looking for! That¡¯s Yingbao! Capture her!¡± Everyone was taken aback including the cultivators. Instead of rushing her immediately, they quickly formed a Sword Array andunched an attack at Yingbao. Yingbao slowly drew the God Scythe. mes scintited around the de and kept growing bigger. With a swift swing, she cast a wave of fire in all directions at them. In an instant, they were reduced to ashes. With a wave of her hand, their storage bags and swords flew into her hands, undamaged.
The entire vige was astounded, including Mrs. Leng. Seeing this, the Jiang n Leader, tears streaming down his face, bowed to Yingbao, ¡°Thank you, immortal, for saving our lives.¡± All the vigers bowed to Yingbao with the exception of the petrified Mrs. Leng. Running over, Huzi sobbingly clung to Yingbao. ¡°Please save my father. He¡¯s dying!¡± he cried.
Yingbao quickly rushed to her uncle¡¯s side and fed him an Elemental Pill. Erni, her face drowning in tears, yelled out, ¡°Yingbao, will my father make it?¡± After checking her uncle¡¯s vitals, Yingbao frowned and immediately summoned the Flying Rat. She hoisted her uncle onto its back. ¡°We¡¯re going with you,¡± Huzi and Erni replied in unison. Mrs. Leng lunged forward, ¡°Let go of my husband! You witch! Killer!¡± Jiang n Leader grabbed her and pped her. ¡°When will you stop?! Do you want to get the whole vige killed?¡± The rest of the vigers also chimed in, ¡°If you hadn¡¯t jumped the gun, how could the cultivators have hurt Eng?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn Just a moment ago when everyone denied seeing Yingbao return to the vige, only Mrs. Leng insisted she returned and woulde back again, and advised the cultivators to return, which spurred them to interrogate and attack Eng. Mrs. Leng clutched her face and bellowed in rage, ¡°I¡¯m just speaking the truth! The witch is the cause! Otherwise, why would the cultivatorse repeatedly for investigation?¡± Jiang n Leader was infuriated by this senseless woman. Hemanded the vigers to tie her up and throw her in the dungeon. They¡¯d decide her fate when Eng recovered. Chapter 538: Past Life Extra Story Nine_2 Chapter 538: Past Life Extra Story Nine_2 The first priority now was to erase any traces of the cultivators¡¯ presence. Otherwise, if more cultivators came, that woman¡¯s reckless chatter would mean doom for their vige. At this time, Yingbao was already flying to the county town with Uncle Jiang, with Huzi and Erni riding closely behind on Xiaohua. Upon reaching the county town, Yingbao directly flew over the city walls and entered. Meanwhile, remembering her little master¡¯s instructions, Xiaohua stopped near the county town to wait at the usual ce. Huzi and Erni had no choice but to wait there as well. Yingbao delivered Uncle Jiang to the Treasure Pavilion, attracting a crowd of onlookers. She bought an elixir for prolonging life and directly put it into Uncle Jiang¡¯s mouth. Afterward, she secretly cut her finger and dripped the blood into Uncle Jiang¡¯s mouth. The shopkeeper came out to disperse the onlookers, took Uncle Jiang¡¯s pulse, and then shook his head, saying, ¡°Your father¡¯s internal organs are all shattered, it¡¯s hard to keep him alive.¡± An ordinary person with such severe injuries could not be saved, not even by a divine elixir. Yingbao remained silent. She ced several high-level spiritual medicines on the counter: ¡°Change all of these for life-prolonging elixirs. I want the best ones.¡± If her uncle died, she wouldn¡¯t know how to face her grandparents. The shopkeeper sighed and exchanged five life-prolonging elixirs for Yingbao. The elixir could only prolong life temporarily, but could not cure the injuries. After consuming a few, they would be beyond medical help. Yingbao looked at Uncle Jiang for a moment, bowed to the shopkeeper, and took Uncle Jiang out of the county town. Upon reaching where Huzi and Erni were hiding, she let Xiaohua carry them on a dash towards the small secret realm. Halfway there, she sensed several people trailing her. Yingbao instructed the Flying Rat and Xiaohua to carry Uncle Jiang, Huzi, and Erni ahead first, while she stayed behind with the God Scythe in hand, waiting for the tailing individuals to approach. There were quite a number of them this time, more than a dozen cultivators, including four in the Core Formation stage. They surrounded her andid down the Skyting Array. With a coldugh, Yingbao held the God Scythe, which started to buzz with excitement. As soon as they approached, the God Scythe flew out, exuding a destructive force, and shed downwards at the crowd. The crowd tried to flee, but were surrounded on all sides by the de of the God Scythe. There was no escape. Just like that, Yingbao received a pile of storage bags, along with some spirit swords and magic weapons. Tossing these items into the Divine Mansion, Yingbao turned around and chased after the Flying Rat and the others. Once back in the small secret realm, Yingbao handed Uncle Jiang over to her father¡¯s care, while she hid in a cave to prepare pills. While she wasn¡¯t familiar with medicine-making, she knew how to mold pills. She crushed the life-prolonging elixirs, mixed them with her blood, some Spiritual Wheat Flour, and kneaded it into egg-sized pills. She made five in total, handing them all to her father. ¡°Give these to Uncle, one each day.¡± If even her blood couldn¡¯t save Uncle, she would be at a loss. Jiang Sang took the pills, put them into a jar, and closed the lid. They had already learned about the whole incident from the intermittent ounts of Huzi and Erni. They were heartbroken and furious. Who could have thought that the Leng Familydy was so foolish and said such things. She might have even intended to betray Yingbao, oblivious to the fact that those cultivators didn¡¯t value ordinary humans¡¯ lives. Jiang Lao Han eximed, ¡°Don¡¯t bring the Leng Family¡¯sdy here! The Jiang Family doesn¡¯t have such a malicious daughter-inw!¡± Turning to Yingbao, he continued, ¡°Did you hear that? Don¡¯t bring your aunt back!¡± Yingbao nced at Erni, who was crying incessantly, and nodded in agreement. Erni nced at her grandfather, then at her grandmother and her third uncle, but finally didn¡¯t dare to plead for her mother. The previous incident had truly frightened her. The cultivators looked at them like a group of insects, yet her mother infuriated them with her loose tongue and she didn¡¯t get the chance to cover her mother¡¯s mouth. Fortunately, Yingbao arrived just in time to save everyone. Erni now realized that if she wanted to protect her family and her brother and father, she would have to abandon her mother. Three dayster, Uncle Jiang finally regained consciousness. Yingbao used her spiritual power to observe his internal condition and found that his internal organs had improved. After consuming two more pills, he should be able to recover. The first thing Uncle Jiang said when he woke up was, ¡°Huzi, bring the paper and pen. I¡¯m going to write a divorce letter.¡± He could no longer tolerate that woman from the Leng Family. Foolishness was tolerable, but this time she had endangered the Jiang family. If it weren¡¯t for her constant meddling, how could Yingbao have been tormented by the Chen Family for years?N?v(el)B\\jnn Finally escaping and even taking the third brother¡¯s family into the forest for refuge, that Leng woman was making trouble again. Huzi was stunned for a moment, but eventually retrieved the writing materials and handed them to his father. Uncle Jiang carefully wrote the divorce letter, handed it to his grandfather, and said, ¡°I have been an unfilial son and I have to divorce the Leng Family woman today.¡± Chapter 539: Past Life Extra Story Nine_3 Chapter 539: Past Life Extra Story Nine_3 Jiang Lao didn¡¯t utter a word, but directly stamped his fingerprint on the divorce letter as a sign of approval. Jiang Eng tucked the divorce papers into his breast pocket andy back down, gasping for breath. ¡°When I am better, I will personally give this to the Leng Family,¡± he said.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Erni was heartbroken for both her father and mother, sobbing uncontrobly. Huzi was sullen for a moment before being quickly pulled away by Yuanbao to collect Spirit Fruits. When Yingbao had a spare moment, she tidied up the storage bags of the Cultivators and found quite a few valuable items. There were Magic Weapons, Array tes, and Array gs, as well as some talismans, spirit pills, and a good number of books. Yingbao kept what she could use, left the everyday items for her parents¡¯ use, and nned to sell the rest to the Treasure Pavilion in exchange for items she could use. As for the cultivators¡¯ storage bags, her parents didn¡¯t have the fate of immortals and couldn¡¯t use them, so she decided to sell them as well and trade for some things ordinary people could use. Three dayster, Jiang Eng hadpletely recovered. Upon his insistence, Yingbao took him to Jiang Family vige. Jiang Sang also went with them. At the Jiang Family vige, when Leng Family was seen locked in the cer, Jiang Eng immediately gave her the divorce papers. The Leng family woman wailed and sought death, hugging Jiang Eng and refusing to let go. Jiang Eng, however, was resolute. He packed Leng Family woman¡¯s clothes and gave her some silver coins, then gathered a few vigers to escort her back to her mother¡¯s home. The Leng Family estate was not far from the Jiang Family vige, approximately five to six miles, and Yingbao decided not to go along. The Jiang n Leader suddenly bowed to Yingbao, ¡°Fairy, please help us. With cultivators continuously experiencing trouble here, I¡¯m afraid they will destroy our vige.¡± The vigers also chimed in, ¡°Please help us, Fairy. Please take us with you.¡± Yingbao frowned and pondered, feeling their plea was reasonable. She had previously killed a group of cultivators and feared an inquiry was imminent. Fortunately, she left no survivors, so their investigation would take some effort. ¡°I can take you, but you can¡¯t leave for ten years.¡± Yingbao asserted seriously. ¡°If you are discovered by the viins, none of you will escape death.¡± The reason she avoided contact with the vigers was that she feared they would be targets of the Chen Family¡¯s reprisal. Yet now, they were asking her to lead them away, which made thingsplicated. ¡°We won¡¯t step out! We¡¯re tired of living in fear!¡± The vigers stated their determination. Yingbao quietly asked her father, ¡°Dad, can we take them with us?¡± Jiang Sang frowned. He was actually reluctant to bring so many people to the secret ce, these were his people. If they were killed by the viins, he feared his family would live a lifetime of guilt. ¡°Then take them. The ce seems quiterge, it should be able to amodate a hundred or so people.¡± Jiang Sang then sternly spoke to the n Leader, ¡°Leader, I must be clear. That ce is a secluded valley. Once you go there, try not to move in and out carelessly. If discovered, it would be like fish in a barrel, none of you would be able to escape.¡± The n Leader¡¯s eyes brightened and he nodded repeatedly, ¡°As long as we have enough to eat, we will not venture out carelessly. You can trust us, Sang.¡± The rest of them echoed, assuring they would not wander around. Life in the Jiang family had been much better than for the other vigers in recent years. Now, protected by the powerful Immortal, they¡¯d be foolish not to follow. Jiang Sang sighed and told everyone to pack up immediately. As soon as Jiang Eng got back, they would be leaving. Watching the vigers pack up lots of big and small bags, Yingbao thought it looked strenuous. She had a sudden idea and used the God Scythe to dig up a three-room thatched house and store it in the Divine Mansion. Her Divine Mansion was already quiterge, and storing a few dozen thatched houses was not a problem. When the vigers saw the Immortal storing an entire thatched house, they were surprised and urgently requested her to store their own homes as well. So that¡¯s what happened. Yingbao stored all the thatched houses in the vige in the Divine Mansion, including those of Jiang¡¯s uncles and her own. As soon as Jiang Eng returned, she took all of the vigers into the forest. Jiang Sang was cautious. He arranged for his brother to lead the way, while he and his daughter brought up the rear, carefully covering their tracks. Of course, they only did a perfunctory job, so it was not too obvious. As long as a beast tide came, all signs of their passage would bepletely wiped away. After two days and nights, they finally arrived at the entrance to the secret ce. This ce was remote and looked like a cliff with no apparent way through. Jiang Eng walked straight towards the cliff and instantly disappeared from everyone¡¯s sight. The vigers were surprised, but soon heard Jiang Sang say, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, just walk straight in.¡± This ce was protected by a formation Yingbao had set up. It appeared to have no path, but in reality, there was a passageway. The crowd couldn¡¯t help but plow straight ahead, and indeed, they stepped right into the cave. Once everyone was inside, Yingbao, who was covering the rear, used a stone to block the entrance of the cave. In this way, even if anyone identally stepped on it, they would not be able to enter the cave. The second array was at the deepest part of the Blood-Sucking Bat Cave, also set up by Yingbao, giving the illusion that it was merely a bat¡¯s nest. Only by going past a stone wall could one enter the passage leading to the secret ce. Once everyone entered the secret ce, they were immediately astounded by the scene before them, ¡°What kind of ce is this? Are there any Demonic Beasts here?¡± Chapter 540: Past Life Extra Story Ten_1 Chapter 540: Past Life Extra Story Ten_1 ¡°This is a small secret realm, there are no demonic beasts, and the beasts outside can¡¯te in.¡± Jiang Sang introduced to the n members: ¡°This ce isrge enough, we can cultivate fields and be self-sufficient, and won¡¯t need to gather spiritual medicines for food in the future.¡± The n Leader was thrilled: ¡°Is it true? Really, the demonic beasts can¡¯te in?¡± Jiang Sang nodded and led everyone around, allocating territories to them. Yingbao sat on the Flying Rat, asking everyone where they wished to live so she could ce huts ordingly. After a busy whole day, everyone was finally settled. Yingbao was so tired she didn¡¯t want to move. Chunniang was full of pain, having her daughter leaning on the bed, she fed her myself. Two little brothersughed by the side: ¡°Sister has be a big baby, and needs mom to feed her.¡± Yingbao ignored them, opening her mouth to enjoy mother¡¯s feeding. The Jiang Family quickly adapted to life here, even daring to grow spiritual wheat they¡¯d never grown before.
The n Leader and old man Jiangughed: ¡°Next year we¡¯ll harvest a lot of spiritual wheat, we¡¯ll surely sell it for a lot of money.¡± Old man Jiang: ¡°We won¡¯t sell ours, we¡¯ll keep it for ourselves to eat. Next year we¡¯ll grow some spiritual rice, we¡¯ll have spirit rice to eat.¡± The n Leader chuckled a few times and sighed: ¡°Where did we dare to grow spiritual nts in past years? They were spoiled by bugs before they could bear fruit. Now it¡¯s good, we can grow whatever we want in the future.¡± Soon it was winter. The houses of the Jiang Family were all built. The first floor was made of blue bricks, the second was a wooden floor, and the roof was covered with green tiles. At first nce, it was even better than the houses in the city. When the New Year was approaching, Yingbao brought back a lot of game meat from outside and distributed it to everyone, all caught during the beast tide. The whole vige, under the management of the n Leader, held a grand banquet and had a joyous New Year¡¯s Eve. The kids carriednterns from house to house, asking for candy and pastries. What they didn¡¯t know was that this year¡¯s beast tide was particrly long. Those fierce beasts roamed outside in groups until the first month of the year, relentlessly attacking the county town. The county was crowded with refugees. They had been staying in the city for several months, and their food was almost exhausted. Although the government provided porridge and game meat, there were too many refugees in the county, and the government¡¯s relief food was quickly used up. Fortunately, cultivators hunted outside, so the people in the city didn¡¯t starve to death. But when the firewood was used up, many people could only eat raw food. Eventually, the Wuji Sect sent many high-level cultivators who wiped out the rampant beasts. In a blink of an eye, several years passed, the cultivators who came to Qinchuan County to find Yingbao never ceased, and there were even many bad rumors, saying that she was an unforgivable witch who sucked human essence. Yingbao had grown up to sixteen, and her cultivation base made a rapid progress. One day, she took the Flying Rat out to find a secret realm, and suddenly encountered a group of young cultivators dressed in Wuji Sect clothes. They saw a stunningly beautiful girl sitting on a ck and white striped giant tiger,ing out of the forest, and they couldn¡¯t help being stunned. ¡°It¡¯s her! The demon woman who sucks men¡¯s essence!¡± One of the cultivators pointed at her and screamed: ¡°Catch her! The Chen Family in Vermilion Bird City offers a reward, a hundred thousand spirit stones alive, and fifty thousand dead!¡± Yingbao looked coldly at these cultivators, feeling annoyed. The Human n is really like a bunch of disgusting bugs, sickening her all the time.
Looking at their faces full of greed, they unanimously formed a formation to charge at her. Yingbao had mixed feelings.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Was it so difficult for her to make money honestly? Do they have to give her a windfall? Yingbao slowly drew out the God Scythe, leapt into the air, waiting for Xiaohua to retreat into the forest, she swung her knife down. These cultivators were instantly killed or injured to arge extent, but one used an escape magic weapon to get away.
Yingbao gathered a bunch of storage bags and many magic weapons and spirit swords, sneered, and gestured for Xiaohua toe over. In a secluded ce, Yingbao began to check what was in the storage bags, finding many spirit stones and elixirs, as well as numerous array gs, array tes, and amulets, which she could use well. The Wuji Sect was indeed arge sect, even the cultivators of the Foundation Establishment stage were so rich. Yingbao was satisfied, dividing the things up. Half would go to her parents when she returned, and she would keep the other half. As long as she made the entrance to the secret realm more hidden, she could travel around for a long time. A few more years passed, and Yingbao finally found a small secret realm, a littlerger than the previous one. The spiritual energy inside was very strong, suitable for humans to live. After cleaning up the environment and setting up the formation, Yingbao took her parents to the ce, and left them the Flying Rat. She herself started travelling with a peace of mind. Chapter 541: Past Life Extra Story Ten_2 Chapter 541: Past Life Extra Story Ten_2 This time, her travels took her not only to the forests but to various cities and provinces across the continent, where she found many rare treasures to prolong her parents¡¯ lives. Mortal lives are fleeting; she must ensure they live well, and spend more years with her, even more, otherwise, what¡¯s the point of her existence? One day, as she was just leaving a city and preparing to return, she was suddenly surrounded by countless cultivators. The cultivators were all dressed in the magical robes of the Wuji Sect, brandishing spirit swords and attacking her. Yingbao chuckled and slowly drew out her God Scythe. Suddenly, an immense pressure fell upon her, immobilizing her. She wanted to curse, but couldn¡¯t open her mouth. Even the God Scythe in her hand struggled forcefully, but, limited by its master¡¯s cultivation base, it was also suppressed by this immense pressure. Yingbao felt as though her spine was being crushed and she lost consciousness as her vision faded to ck. When she woke up, she wasying in a room, and someone was gently treating her with spiritual power. Yingbao immediately sat up and looked warily at this person. When she tried to utilize her spiritual power, she found that there was absolutely nothing within her meridians.
Shock overtook her and she quickly checked her body for a Binding Soul Lock, but found none.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om The man in white gently said, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, your meridians were damaged, that¡¯s why you can¡¯t feel your spiritual power.¡± Yingbao didn¡¯t believe it, she ran out of the room and found herself in the clouds, surrounded by cliffs on all sides. She tried summoning the God Scythe, but there was no response; it was no longer with her. Without the God Scythe and devoid of spiritual power, she was unable to leave the mountain. The man in white walked over slowly and said, ¡°This is the Wuji Peak of our Wuji Sect,mon people aren¡¯t allowed here. Little demon, stay here as my disciple. As your master, I will heal you and help you recover your cultivation base.¡± Caught between suspicion and confidence, Yingbao asked, ¡°Who are you? And why do you want to take me as your disciple?¡± The man in white answered, ¡°My name is Xiao Mo, the head of Wuji Sect. I want to take you as my disciple because I see your potential.¡± Yingbao frowned, ¡°But I¡¯ve killed many cultivators from your sect. Aren¡¯t you going to seek revenge for them?¡± Xiao Mo lowered his eyes, quietly looking at her, ¡°They were the first ones to attack, and they were weak. It¡¯s not your fault.¡± Yingbao was immediately cheered up and nodded, ¡°You¡¯re very understanding. I didn¡¯t want to kill them but they kept on harassing me. It was extremely annoying.¡± Xiao Mo smiled, ¡°So, are you willing to be my disciple?¡± Yingbao gave him a yful nce, her smile cheeky, ¡°I am willing¡±. She figured that if she refused, he would likely kill her, therefore it was wise to observe his intentions first. And so, Yingbao became the disciple of the head of the Wuji Sect, yet she still could not leave Wuji Peak. Her God Scythe was nowhere to be found; no matter how many times she asked Xiao Mo, he always said that he would give it back to her when her cultivation base was higher. Yingbao was frustrated but had no other choice. However, she ended up spending decades on the peak, and still couldn¡¯t leave. Although her injuries gradually healed, she started to forget things, frequently miscing items, and she would be extremely weak from time to time, all of which left her puzzled. Later, she met a golden tortoise. It always stuck to her, sharing stories with her.
Once, when the Fairy Monarch was not around, it asked Yingbao, ¡°Do you remember why you came to the Wuji Sect?¡± Yingbaoughed, ¡°Of course, it was because my master saved me.¡± ¡°Do you still remember your Xiaohua?¡± the tortoise continued. Yingbao scratched her head, ¡°Who¡¯s Xiaohua?¡±
The tortoise wore a pained expression, ¡°It was your spiritual pet, how could you forget?¡± Yingbao looked confused. ¡°My spiritual pet? Where is it now?¡± ¡°The Fairy Monarch defeated it and sent it back to the forest,¡± the tortoise replied. Yingbao felt a sudden pain in her heart, ¡°Why did he do that?¡± she demanded. Longingly, the tortoise gazed at her and exined, ¡°Because he wants you to be an unknowing and undisturbed medicine person.¡± Yingbao¡¯s mind exploded as vague memories began flooding back, though they were still unclear. But, she finally remembered her parents and her younger brother. She had to get off the mountain to see if they were okay. The tortoise bit her wrist, ¡°Don¡¯t act recklessly, you¡¯re no match for the Fairy Monarch right now.¡± Yingbao stopped, nodding slowly. Yes, she must be like the mortal kings of the past, endure hardship and n slowly. From then on, Yingbao acted wisely, deliberately seeking the favor of the Fairy Monarch. Following the stories told by the tortoise, she cooked him soup and mended his clothes for him. But his clothes never got damaged, so she had to purposely tear them, and then patch them up again.
Xiao Mo picked up the crookedly mended clothes, looking at her speechlessly, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Chapter 542: Extra Round of the Past Life-13 Chapter 542: Extra Round of the Past Life-13 Yingbao said with a chuckle, ¡°Master, I saw your clothes were torn, so I mended them for you. Aren¡¯t you moved?¡± She raised her bloody fingers to him and pouted, ¡°I¡¯ve pricked all my fingers.¡± Scenario Mo¡¯s brows twitched, he pushed her hand away, yet healed them with spiritual light, ¡°Don¡¯t do this again in the future.¡± Blinking her eyes, Yingbao recalled what the little tortoise had said, men often say one thing but mean another, so he was actually a bit touched, right? If so, that was good. Therefore, Yingbao sneaked into his cave again while the Fairy Monarch was away. After a bit of rummaging, she didn¡¯t find his clothes but a pile of cushions and pillows. All of them were excellent things woven from Heavenly Silkworm Silk, which was rtively tough to tear. Yingbao looked around and found a legendary sword on the wall, so she took it down. The sword already had a spirit and was unwilling to cooperate. Yingbao threatened to throw it into thetrine if it didn¡¯t cooperate, and the spirit of the sword instantly behaved much better.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om With the cooperation of the spirit sword, Yingbao cut all the curtains inside Xiao Mo¡¯s cave, and then used spiritual power to control the needle and thread to sew them.
Because of the hurried stitching, the stitches were quiterge, and the pillow even revealed its cotton filling. When Xiao Mo returned and walked into the cave, he instantly furrowed his brows. He saw that the gauze screens in the cave were tattered, the pillows looked like they had been scratched by a dog, and the Spirit Grass from the cushions was scattered all over the floor. At the right moment, Yingbao popped her head out and cheerfully asked, ¡°Master, the disobedient spirit sword tore up your cave. It pained me to see it, so I sewed them up. What do you think?¡± The spirit sword hummed with rage, but it dared not retaliate because this woman threatened to throw it into the dung pit of the spiritual beast. Xiao Mo pinched his brow and sighed. With a wave of his hand, everything in the cave was restored to its original state. Yingbao was stunned, grasping at Xiao Mo¡¯s sleeve, ¡°Master, what spell is this? I want to learn.¡± Xiao Mo brushed her away and threw out a few spell scrolls, ¡°Read them yourself.¡± Yingbao opened these books, but she couldn¡¯t recognize a single word, ¡°Master, howe I¡¯m illiterate?¡± she asked in confusion. Xiao Mo paused for a moment, and took out a jade slip from his sleeve, touching her forehead with it. A stream of information entered Yingbao¡¯s mind, all of which were various characters and interpretations, well over a hundred thousand. Looking at the books in her hand again, she could now read all of them. Yingbao happily returned to her room and read all the books in one go. Afterwards, when she wanted to go to Master¡¯s cave again, she found that a prohibition had been set up here and she couldn¡¯t get in. ¡°So stingy!¡± Yingbao grumbled and ran to the Book Pavilion. The Book Pavilion had three floors, she could freely browse the books on the first floor, but she wasn¡¯t able to enter the second and third floors. Yingbao spent a lot of effort to more or less finish reading the books on the first floor. Of course, she just casually flipped through them, looking more closely at the ones that were useful to her, and ignored the rest. She was afraid to put them in the Divine Mansion in case Xiao Mo discovered any clues, but keeping some in her storage bag was eptable.
She didn¡¯t know how many ¡®seasons¡¯ had passed, Yingbao stopped counting, but she was always looking for a chance to leave and prepared for it secretly. One day, the little tortoise told her that they had to go, because shameless Xiao Mo was going to dig out her spiritual bone. Yingbao nodded, calmly made a bowl of sweet soup for Xiao Mo, and walked into her teacher¡¯s cave with a big smile. Xiao Mo was reading a book and didn¡¯t even look up, ¡°Put it down.¡±
Yingbao put the bowl on the small table in front of Xiao Mo, sat next to him, leaned her head on his arm, and coquettishly said, ¡°Master, I¡¯m too lonely on the mountain. Can you bring a few people up to apany me?¡± Xiao Mo¡¯s eyes were as deep as the abyss, he stared at her for a while, stroked her head, and said in a soft voice, ¡°In a few days, I will bring a few people up to apany you.¡± Yingbao smiled like a flower, shaking Xiao Mo¡¯s sleeve, ¡°Master is so kind, you are the closest person to Baobao. ¡± Xiao Mo¡¯s fingers clenched slightly, he sighed, ¡°In a few days, I will take you down the mountain to have a look. After that, you will officially be a disciple of Wuji Sect, and also my oldest disciple.¡± Yingbao looked puzzled, ¡°So, I am not your disciple, Master?¡± Xiao Mo was silent for a moment, before saying, ¡°You have been, I just haven¡¯t announced it to the world.¡± Soon after he finished speaking, Xiao Mo went down the mountain, leaving Yingbao surprised as he didn¡¯t rush her out and seal off the cave as usual. Yingbao looked up at the spirit sword, slowly got up, and took it down, ¡°Tell me, where is my God Scythe?¡± At first, the spirit sword refused to say, but when Yingbao brought over a big bucket of water soaked with crane poo, the spirit sword pointed in a direction. Yingbao walked in the direction the spirit sword pointed, finally arriving at a cave. This should be the ce where Xiao Mo stored his treasure, the entrance was sealed with Runes, no one could go in. The little tortoise held an Exquisite Mirror in its paw and said, ¡°Use this.¡±
Chapter 543_End - 543: Prequel Extra Eleven Chapter 543: Prequel Extra Eleven Yingbao took the Exquisite Mirror, and as the mirror emitted a dazzling light, it instantly transported her inside the cave. She looked around but didn¡¯t find the God Scythe, so she asked the Spirit Sword, ¡°Where is it?¡± The magical weapons have a sense of each other, especially those that have developed spiritual intelligence; they ought tomunicate with each other. The Spirit Sword pointed towards a huge rock, ¡°It¡¯s right there.¡± Yingbao walked over and ced her hand on the giant rock, sensing with her mind. Indeed, a faint breath was transmitted, marking the presence of the God Scythe. Yingbao did not rashly split the giant rock which wasrger than a three-story building; instead, she took the whole piece into her Divine Mansion. After collecting a few more items, she hastily used the Exquisite Mirror to leave Wuji Peak, and then Wuji Sect. The Wuji Sect was too vast, and the Exquisite Mirror nearly exhausted its spiritual power to get Yingbao out, dimming immediately afterward. Yingbao found a forest and with the Spirit Sword, dug a hole and quickly hid inside.
She then, holding the Spirit Sword, entered her Divine Mansion and approached the giant rock, striking it with all her might. The rune on the rock flickered, all were suppressing the God Scythe. Struck by the attack, it emitted the sound of ringing metal, probably as a warning. But this was Yingbao¡¯s Divine Mansion, no matter how bright the rune or how loud the sound, no one would know. Yingbao spent ten days and finally split the giant rock, revealing the God Scythe inside. The God Scythe affectionately nuzzled its master, then suddenly turned and shattered the Spirit Sword. Yingbao touched the de and then opened the treasures she had collected from Xiao Mo, finding they were all high-quality Spirit Stones, along with many Elixirs and Magic Weapons. The little turtle smiled and said, ¡°With these items, you can cultivate up to the Mahayana Realm without any problems.¡± Yingbao thought so too, hence from her cave found her original clothes and put them on. Then she cut half of her long hair and styled it in a man¡¯s hairstyle. Picking up the God Scythe, she said, ¡°I want to go home first to check.¡± It took her several years to return to Qinchuan County, only to find it had drastically changed. The number of high-level cultivators walking on the streets had increased; they all were at least at the Core Formation Realm. Yingbao concealed her cultivation base to appear at the Core Formation Realm and went to the Treasure Pavilion to buy some items. As she reached the entrance, she encountered a brightly dressed young man, whose cultivation was probably at the Nascent Soul Realm. As soon as he saw Yingbao, his gaze glued onto her. ¡°Who are you?¡± he asked.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Yingbao nced at him and walked straight into the Treasure Pavilion, asking to buy the best Spirit Boat avable. The items in the Treasure Pavilion had also increased considerably; they even disyed High-level Spirit Boats on the counter. In the end, Yingbao spent a hundred thousand Spirit Stones to buy a fast Spirit Boat, as well as a portable dimension house. This portable dimension house contains a world of its own, equipped with defensive arrays and concealment arrays, making it an indispensable travel item and one she had long coveted but couldn¡¯t afford before. Now that her wish was fulfilled, Yingbao was very happy.
As she left the city and was about to start the Spirit Boat into the forest, suddenly someone came from behind and called out, ¡°You are Yingbao, aren¡¯t you?¡± Yingbao slowly turned and quietly observed the neer. The extravagantly dressed young man pretended to be calm, walking towards her while flicking his folding fan, ¡°Don¡¯t you recognize me?¡± Yingbao certainly recognized him, but she remained silent.
The young man seemed a bit dejected and abruptly closed his fan, ¡°I am your master, alright?¡± Seeing that Yingbao still did not respond, he said again, ¡°Hey! I am Wei Zhan, surely you must remember now.¡± Yingbao nodded and asked, ¡°Why are you following me?¡± Wei Zhan paused, seemingly not expecting her to ask this; after hesitating for a moment, he said, ¡°You are going to the Jiang Family Vige, right? I happen to be going there too; we can go together.¡± Yingbao thought for a moment, then finally nodded, ¡°Alright.¡± Thus, the two of them boarded the Spirit Boat and slowly flew towards the Jiang Family Vige. Wei Zhan kept looking at her, talking about the Jiang Family Vige, ¡°Thatnd has been bought by my family. We also set up arrays; apart from the local people, no one from outside can enter.¡± Yingbao regarded him, ¡°Why do this?¡± Wei Zhan scratched his head and spoke softly, ¡°In these hundred years, the beast tide has been very fierce. If we don¡¯t protect them, these mortals will hardly survive, so I set up the arrays to keep thempletely safe.¡± In reality, he was worried that if there were no mortals left in this ce, Yingbao and her family would never return. Yingbao gazed downward silently. When the Spirit Boat reached the airspace above the Jiang Family Vige, it was indeed protected by powerful arrays. Many people lived in the vige, but none of her parents or other rtives were there. Unable to determine if the inhabitants were descendants of the Jiang Family Vige, she thought of visiting the small secret realm.
¡°We¡¯ve arrived at the Jiang Family Vige; you can get off now,¡± Yingbao said unceremoniously to Wei Zhan. ¡°Also, I escaped from the Wuji Sect for your family¡¯s safety, it¡¯s best not to reveal any information about me to others.¡± Wei Zhan felt wronged at first, but seeing her earnest demeanor, he could only nod and disembark. She then turned around and came back, handing her amunication jade slip, ¡°Keep this with you, and just call out to me if you need anything. I¡­ I am your master, always on your side.¡± Yingbao epted the jade slip, thought for a moment, and gave Wei Zhan several ancient tomes on techniques: ¡°These are books from the collection of the master of Wuji Sect, I give them to you.¡± Wei Zhan was startled but epted them happily, saying, ¡°Thank you, Yingbao.¡± ¡­ Yingbao left Wei Zhan and flew back to the small sanctuary. The sanctuary was vibrant with life, Uncle Jiang and Second Uncle Jiang were still alive, but they had aged significantly. Several cousins had already be old men with white hair. Seeing Yingbao return, they were ecstatic beyond words, ¡°Yingbao, you¡¯re still alive?¡± Yingbao nodded and inquired about the whereabouts of her parents and grandparents. The eldest cousin said, ¡°Grandparents passed away a few years ago, and Uncle Three and the younger cousins moved to another ce to live bute back every year.¡± ¡°After our poption here increased, many moved out of the small sanctuary to live in Jiang Family Vige. The elderly remained here, enjoying their remaining years.¡± ¡°Since you left, Uncle Three, seeing that you hadn¡¯t returned, went out to look for you for some time. Later, when he heard that you were taken by Wuji Sect, he even thought about going there, but the journey was just too far¡­¡±
Yingbao: ¡°I know.¡± Wuji Sect was more than ten thousand miles from Qinchuan County. As a mere mortal with neither money nor power, he would not have found anyone even if he had gone, and might never have returned. Yingbao took out two bottles of life-extending elixirs and distributed them to Uncle Jiang and Second Uncle Jiang and the cousins, warning them not to reveal her whereabouts to outsiders. Then she turned around and left the sanctuary to look for her parents elsewhere. The family of Jiang Sang was in another small sanctuary, a ce unknown even to his brothers. The ce was nted with lots of spiritual grains and spiritual wheat, and various fruit trees and spiritual medicines. Beyond that, there was also a flock of spiritual bees, gathering quite a bit of honey each spring. When Yingbao appeared in front of the white-haired Jiang Sang and his wife, they were both stunned. ¡­ In the following hundred years, Yingbao traveled around with her parents and brother, seeking various spiritual medicines to extend their lives. Of course, no medicine was more effective than the blood of a true dragon. Because Wuji Sect had issued a warrant for her arrest, Yingbao had to ensure that her family never stayed in one ce for more than six months, otherwise, they risked being discovered. Jiang Sang and his wife, along with their two sons, didn¡¯t find this tiresome but rather enjoyed this carefree lifestyle. During the day, they sat in the spirit boat, sipping tea and admiring the scenery, and at night, they stayed in the Qiankun Pavilion to cook and rest.
Yingbao also found a secret method to open their meridians, initiating them into the path of immortality. But Jiang Sang and his wife were too old; even after several decades of cultivation, they had only reached the third level of Qi training. Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu fared slightly better, but their cultivation also stagnated after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. Yingbao was very anxious and wanted to find high-level spiritual medicines to enhance their cultivation bases, but those items were all heavenly treasures, not easily found. Decades passed unnoticed. One day, they arrived at a small city with a beautiful environment and plentiful high-level cultivators. Chun Niang decided they should settle here for a while. After settling her family, Yingbao changed her appearance and went out to search for heavenly materials and earthly treasures. Unknown to her, while exploring a hidden sanctuary, she encountered people from the Chen Family and Xiao Family. Smelling the blood on her, they joined forces and came at her. This time, the Xiao and Chen families gained no advantage, but Yingbao¡¯s whereabouts were exposed. To avoid implicating her parents and brothers, Yingbao led these pursuers in circles, killing many of them, but those chasing her became more and more numerous. This time, nearly everyone in the fairy world came to hunt her, annoying her endlessly. Some even imed she possessed a rare treasure that granted immortality to whoever obtained it. Yingbao knew this rumor was deliberately spread by the Chen Family to make her life difficult, as countless members of the Chen Family had died at her hands over the years. When she was surrounded again, Yingbao had intended to use the Reincarnation Mirror to escape, but these people had taken her parents hostage and killed her two brothers. Step by step, Yingbao walked into the Immortal Execution Array and plucked out her eyes: ¡°If you want the treasure,e and get it.¡± Her smile was devilish, ¡°But you must return my parents and brothers first.¡± Since she and her family couldn¡¯t escape, then everyone might as well perish together. At thest moment, she had wanted to send her parents and brothers away, but it was toote. Everything happened so hastily, just like her unanticipated birth. That day, a generation¡¯s witch was executed, but miles around were leveled, countless cultivators perished, including over ten Mahayana Realm cultivators. In the deste ruins, a young man holding a soulmp cried out, ¡°Yingbao, Yingbao,e back¡­¡± But the surroundings were deathly silent, without even the sound of insects. Wei Zhan looked around forlornly, his expression one of utter destion. This time, his little disciple was truly gone. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!