Chapter 27

Seeing this, Lin Wanjun exclaimed in surprise and hurriedly went to help the person on the ground. Qingyun was also in a lot of pain from the collision. With a mournful face, he sat up with Lin Wanjun's help. Before she could speak, the woman came out. She was holding a broom. She first glanced at Qingyun, and then quickly grabbed the child who was trying to run away.

"You little rascal! I'm going to chop off your hands and feet! You're a habitual thief, that's unacceptable!" With that, he grabbed the child by the collar and slapped him twice. The child's dusty face immediately flushed red. His eyes were filled with tears, but he stubbornly refused to let go of the steamed bun he was clutching tightly.

Seeing this, the woman tried to snatch the things from his hands, but the child quickly bit her a few times, which angered the woman, who slapped him several more times. Qingyun didn't care about the pain anymore; after all, he was just a child of a few years old, and if he continued to hit him like that, it would be terrible. She quickly grabbed the woman's hand, which was about to strike again, and said, "Sister, please have mercy."

The woman, seeing that the child had bumped into Qingyun quite badly, and noticing Lin Wanjun's attire beside her, calmed down considerably and quickly complained, "My lady, it's not that I intentionally bullied a child, it's just that she's a notorious beggar on this street and has stolen from me several times already. If I don't teach her a lesson, it'll be hard for me to swallow my anger."

Qingyun clutched her stomach, but still managed a weak smile. "Though my words may be harsh, I suppose you're a kind person. This child is just used to sleeping with you."

The woman's burly figure trembled upon hearing this, seemingly pleased with the words. "My wife is right. I turned a blind eye the first two times, but this time she really went too far!"

"It's easy, it's easy..." Qingyun leaned against Lin Wanjun, her face covered in cold sweat. She took out ten coins from her pocket and stuffed them into the woman's hand. "I'll pay off the debt for this child this time. You don't need to send her to see the magistrate. There's no need to get angry over this."

Ten coins could buy three bowls of hot noodle soup at the market in Kyoto. Although this was a border region where food was scarcer, the money was definitely enough. Seeing this, the woman took out five coins and returned them to her, saying, "I won't take more from you, madam. But you should mind your own business, child, and don't cause trouble for yourself."

Lin Wanjun, who had been standing silently by, thanked the woman. As soon as the woman released the child, the child darted away and disappeared in no time.

The woman's prescient expression appeared on her face. "I told you this child is ungrateful."

Qingyun smiled, her body hunched over in unbearable pain. Before she could say anything more, she finally couldn't hold on any longer and fainted completely. Lin Wanjun had sensed Qingyun's forced behavior from the beginning, and now that this had suddenly happened, she panicked and hurriedly asked the woman where there was a traveling doctor.

The woman pointed her in a direction, and Lin Wanjun hurriedly carried the unconscious Qingyun there. However, as they walked, they realized they were lost, and the person leaning against her was terribly hot. Lin Wanjun was also sweating profusely with anxiety.

Just as they were about to ask someone else, the child from before suddenly appeared out of nowhere, his hair and face disheveled, making it impossible to tell whether he was a boy or a girl.

She was seen holding her little hand and tugging at Lin Wanjun's clothes, walking in one direction as if she were pointing the way. Lin Wanjun then realized what was happening and quickly followed the child's directions to a clinic.

When Qingyun woke up, she saw towering beams and pillars. She sat up and looked around before realizing that she was lying on the ground with only a simple straw mat on it. Lin Wanjun happened to come from the doorway. When she saw that Qingyun was awake, she quickly put down the bowl of water she was holding and came over to help her up.

However, Qingyun's gaze was completely drawn to the child standing to the side, clutching the hem of his clothes, looking bewildered. She knew this was the child from earlier. Lin Wanjun recounted what had happened. Qingyun was fine, just a little overheated and weak. She was given some calming and tonic medicine and was alright after drinking it.

When Qingyun asked about the child, he learned that the child had no parents, lived alone, and was mute.

Lin Wanjun helped Qingyun lean against the wall and brought her some water to drink. Qingyun was very thirsty, but the moment she put it in her mouth, she choked on the sand and pebbles. She quickly took another sip to get it down, but then she vomited instinctively.

Wiping the water from his chin, Qingyun frowned and asked, "Why is the water like this here?"

Lin Wanjun looked embarrassed. "It's a long way to fetch water from this village, and the wind blows along the bumpy road, so it's inevitable that some of this stuff will get there." Moreover, although Song Chaoyun installed double-handled pots in every household, the villagers don't believe in these things and still carry raw water to fill their pots.

Upon hearing this, Qingyun thought that simply doing it wouldn't be effective; ultimately, it was necessary to imprint the habit of hygiene in people's minds, otherwise it would all be in vain.

She rubbed her shoulders and stretched her body, and surprisingly felt that she had a lot more strength. She couldn't help but marvel at how skilled the doctor was.

Lin Wanjun took the bowl back to the table. "The imperial physicians dare not prescribe strong medicines. Although these folk clinics are not as famous as them, they are still willing to take the plunge."

Qingyun understood this principle. After all, if you have an upset stomach, they can prescribe some laxatives and you'll be exhausted and recover after half a month of rest. But if Song Chaoyun were to act like this, her entire family would be beheaded a hundred times over.

She looked at the child who had been standing as punishment, called someone over, glanced at him, and then removed the dandruff from the child's head. Her cold hands brushed aside the hair covering the child's face, revealing a tender little face.

Qingyun smiled, took out some more money from her purse, and said, "I'm fine now, you don't need to worry." She then placed the money into the other person's hand, wanting to say something more but unsure how to begin.

Because she knew that the money could only solve the immediate problem, and if it ran out, she would have to steal again. In this world, what else could an orphan do to survive? Thinking of this, tears welled up in Qingyun's eyes. She desperately suppressed her complicated emotions, emptied her pockets, and gave all the money to the child.

She wasn't crying out of pity for the child; she was hating her own powerlessness, because she was utterly powerless now. Seeing this, Lin Wanjun quickly took the child in her arms and walked out. The child stared at her with incredibly pure eyes.

Seeing this, Lin Wanjun signaled that she could go back, but after the person left, she called her back, gave her the extra few dozen coins in her pocket, gave her a few words of advice, and watched her walk away before getting up and going back.

"I think you shouldn't force yourself to go. You should go home and rest," Lin Wanjun said.

"It's alright, I'm much better now," Qingyun waved his hand.

Lin Wanjun didn't believe her this time. She talked on and on about how panicked she was when she fainted. Qingyun could only make assurances and promises, saying that she didn't know how to work, but would just watch over things. Only then did Lin Wanjun let her go.

After this ordeal, the two had already wasted a lot of time. In just a few more hours, the sun would probably be setting. They could only quicken their pace toward their destination. Before they even reached the fenced yard, they heard Feng Sijing's loud voice. He was banging a little boy on the head with a ladle, yelling, "You think you're so good with words! You think you're so reasonable! Get back to work!"

Lin Wanjun covered her mouth and chuckled, "Looks like he couldn't out-argue Lord Mu."

Qingyun's sun throbbed. These two actually argued for so long over something like this. Are they children?

Only a few people brought by Feng Sijing were at home; the actual owner of the house hadn't returned yet. Upon seeing Qingyun, the man exchanged a few pleasantries before explaining what he needed to do.

The roof tiles need to be completely replaced. Some broken tiles are still on the roof and are definitely unusable. There's also a crack inside one of the load-bearing columns. The work is actually quite simple, just a bit tedious.

Qingyun went in for a look. It was small, simple, and very rudimentary. Most of the criminals exiled here were in such conditions. Speaking of which, she had asked Lin Wanjun why Feng Sijing, also a refugee, could act so arrogantly. She recalled what Lin Wanjun had said.

“Feng Sijing has only been demoted; he is still a law-abiding citizen. If the emperor shows mercy, he still has a chance to go back.”

As for Qingyun, she definitely won't have that opportunity. Right now, she's only managed to get a few kind words from her master, something Song Chaoyun had warned her about from the beginning.

Lin Wanjun carried the ladder to pass tiles to the people above, while Qingyun followed Feng Sijing back into the house. Feng Sijing took out several wooden planks and forcefully stuffed them into the cracks. Then he hammered wooden nails into the sides of the pillar. After this series of operations, he was done.

Qingyun: "? Gone?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Sijing raised an eyebrow at her, somewhat surprised, "That's all."

Qingyun's expression changed for a moment, unsure how to answer, "How long can this kind of reinforcement last?"

Feng Sijing naturally understood this logic. He plopped down in a chair, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Even if they know they can't make it, so what? Timber is already scarce, and besides, their family can't afford to buy it. The timber used for building houses now is all mined from the deep mountains in the south. How long will it take to get here? Can they wait?"

This wasn't something Feng Sijing made up; it was the reality of the times. What could ordinary people change? Even firewood for cooking was rationed, so where could they find wood that had grown for decades to bear weight?

Qingyun was speechless for a moment. Seeing her like this, Feng Sijing just smiled and picked up the hammer again to get back to work.

Just as Lin Wanjun was about to climb down the ladder to get the tile, she saw Qingyun already holding it up and handing it to her. She was about to say something reproachful when she heard him say, "I know what I'm doing. It's alright now."

The group worked until evening. The fiery red sun only peeked out from the horizon, stretching across the entire sky. Everyone's clothes were soaked. The child that night rushed into Qingyun's arms as soon as he saw her.

She felt deeply guilty about what happened that day and had been living in constant fear for the past few days, worried that her older sister might die from a cold. The girl sobbed on, tears streaming down her face. Qingyun glanced around at the crowd, who were somewhat embarrassed by the scene.

He patted the girl's head and gently comforted her, "I'm fine."

Although the family only served sweet potato rice, a mixture of coarse rice and sweet potatoes, Qingyun ate it with relish, since she had only drunk some water and hadn't eaten anything at noon.