Chapter 32 Settling Down

An ordinary carriage was waiting outside the courtyard to deliver the order to the government office of Huangzhou Prefecture.

There were already quite a few women waiting there. Lingyi, dressed in cotton clothes and with her face covered by a headscarf, walked over with her head down and stood behind them. People kept coming over, and as the crowd grew, it became noisy and bustling until a minor official came out of the yamen and signaled everyone to be quiet, and the scene gradually quieted down.

He took the booklet and called out names one by one. Those whose names were called stood on the left and were assigned to different places. Lingyi's name was near the end. Several groups of people walked ahead of her, and finally her name was called. She was assigned to a county on the outskirts of the prefectural capital.

There were sixty or seventy people who were assigned to go with her, mostly women and children, and seven or eight kids. They followed the guide all the way back to Qixian. Although it only took half a day, Lingyi had never walked so far before. She was panting heavily and her feet ached. And this was only with a bundle on her back. Looking at the others, who were all carrying bedding and luggage, no one, whether children or old women, complained. In fact, they were quite energetic. She didn't say anything and just quietly followed behind.

Upon arriving in Qi County, the village headman took out a register, called out names, and assigned houses to them.

Lingyi had been in a daze the whole way, and only now did she realize why so many people had come here.

It turns out that Huangzhou was first occupied by the White Lotus Sect, then captured by Xuzhou, and then recovered by Jizhou. Before that, the population was reduced to less than one-tenth. Qin Lie ordered tens of thousands of people to be relocated from Jizhou and other states. Although they left their homes, they were given houses and land when they arrived, so many people came voluntarily.

Ling Yi and her entourage were all widows of the Jizhou army who had lost their husbands on the battlefield. Qin Lie had previously allocated a piece of land in Jizhou for them to live and work on, without charging any taxes or fees. However, now that more and more soldiers were dying and the children were growing up, how could that land support so many people? Moreover, the land was the private property of the Jizhou army, and they were only allowed to cultivate it for free.

Although once they arrived here, they would be treated like ordinary people, subject to the same land taxes, poll taxes, and corvée labor, they would receive their own land and houses. Furthermore, for widows and wounded soldiers, all taxes would be halved for the first five years. Taking advantage of this opportunity, many people signed up to come to Huangzhou.

The person who told Lingyi these things was her new neighbor, Aunt Zhou. Her husband had died in the battle to defend the city, following Qin Lie's elder brother, leaving her with an unborn child and an elderly mother.

Despite her hardships, the woman remained kind-hearted. She quickly packed her things and prepared a meal. Seeing no movement from next door and noticing the low mud wall, she peeked out and saw that Lingyi only had a bundle and hadn't even brought pots and pans. She then warmly invited Lingyi to come to her home for a meal.

After Lingyi finished eating, she took Lingyi to other familiar widows' homes to buy extra bedding, made up the bed for Lingyi, and then went back to her own home.

The next morning, Aunt Zhou came again to invite Lingyi to her house for breakfast.

Lingyi was used to fine clothes and delicacies. Covered with a damp, coarse quilt, she didn't sleep well last night. But she had to go to select land today and couldn't delay, so she had to get up reluctantly.

Zhou Sao's family had been eating black cornbread and corn grits for a while. Lingyi managed to eat some, and then went with Zhou Sao to the village headman. Once everyone was there, they went to choose a plot of land.

After walking for more than an hour, they finally arrived at a vast expanse of wasteland. The village headman lamented, "This used to be fertile land. Although it suffered a severe drought, we managed to salvage most of it the year before last. Unfortunately, after more than a year of fighting, it was all abandoned again. However, it will only take one or two years to recover. We will give each person ten mu (approximately 0.67 hectares) of land, regardless of age. You can choose your land and come to me to collect your land deeds."

Lingyi didn't understand any of this and just followed Aunt Zhou.

Aunt Zhou squatted down, picked up some soil, rubbed it, and smelled it. Her face lit up with joy. "This is truly top-quality soil!"

Her family consisted of three people and owned thirty mu of land. The land tax in Jizhou was not high to begin with, and it was halved in the past five years. Unless there was a major disaster year, the family not only had no worries about food and clothing, but could also save money at the end of the year.

The land allocated to the widows of the fallen soldiers was all top-quality land from before, leaving them little to choose from. Zhou Sao quickly made her selection and asked Lingyi, "Sister, which plot do you want?"

Once Lingyi left the Prince's residence, she was determined to return to the capital and had no intention of lingering there.

Upon hearing this, he simply replied, "I don't understand these things, I'll listen to you."

Aunt Zhou said, "Alright, you don't look like the type to do manual labor. Why don't you choose a plot next to my field? I'll farm your field as well later."

After choosing their plot of land, the two women lined up to receive the land deed from the village head. By the time they returned, it was already getting dark. Although Zhou's son, Xiao Shitou, was only ten years old, he had already prepared a meal and was waiting for them to come back.

Lingyi felt even more guilty after receiving so much help from Aunt Zhou and seeing how sensible Xiao Shitou was.

She knew perfectly well that the master of their household had died in battle because of her father, the Emperor. She made up her mind that after she left, she would secretly leave the silver notes that Granny Shen had given her to them. Although it could not alleviate their pain of losing their loved ones, it was at least a small token of her affection.

Although a field was selected, it was still impossible to cultivate it because spring had not yet arrived.

The group was constantly busy. The houses they were given were among the best-preserved, yet they were still covered in cobwebs and in a state of disrepair.

Everyone helped each other, repairing windows and doors, setting up tables and chairs, and then cleaning everything thoroughly.

After finishing all that, everyone set up spinning wheels and looms. Since they couldn't farm, they spun thread and wove cloth, never stopping for a moment.

These women, who have lost the pillars of their families, remain vibrant despite their hardships, all determined to make their lives better.

Lingyi had never lived such a life before, nor had she ever met such people. Although she was not very familiar with them, she tried her best to learn from them and took the opportunity to walk around the village.

Firstly, it was to make more public appearances in hopes of attracting the attention of spies like Xie San Niang. Secondly, it was also to familiarize themselves with the terrain and check whether they were truly unguarded.

After some time, no spies contacted her, and she found no one watching her. It seemed that she would have to return to the capital on her own.

But before she could plan her route, the arrival of another group of people dispelled her idea.

There were more than a thousand refugees, who were arranged by the village head to live on the opposite bank of the river, just across from them.

They were all emaciated and dressed in rags. When the village head was distributing houses and land to them, a burst of joyful weeping erupted from the other side of the river, and the sound could still be heard from afar.

Zhou Sao and the others didn't think much of them at first, because each person could only be allocated five mu of land. Although they cultivated the remaining five mu, they had to buy it back with silver after three years. If they couldn't afford to buy it, the government would take it back.

For farmers, the land is everything; whoever owns more land has more power and influence.

However, upon hearing the crying, Aunt Zhou's eyes still welled up with tears: "They're all just pitiful people. Alas, I only survived because of that dead man. Otherwise, I don't know if I could have survived in this world."

After sighing, he instructed Lingyi, "There are men on the other side of the river. You look too attractive. Be careful when you go out again."

At first, the people from that side didn't dare to come over. These were all widows of the Jizhou army, who were naturally a head taller than them.

But when they fled here, they lacked too many things. Many shops in the prefecture were not yet open, and even if they were, they might not be able to afford them. So they had no choice but to swallow their pride and cross the small bridge to borrow from here.

The people over there were quite shrewd; those crossing the river were mostly women, and one doesn't hit a smiling face. So, back and forth, they gradually became acquainted.

It was from them that Lingyi learned about the situation outside.

The Seventh Prince withdrew from Hengzhou and joined forces with Danzhou to launch a counterattack on the capital. The new emperor was killed by Liu Yunfei, and Geng Qing fled the capital in panic and returned to Shuzhou.

The twelfth prince and Grand Secretary Cui were killed while in prison.

When they broke into the Xie residence intending to eliminate them completely, Xie Yu and the Crown Princess had already disappeared.

A few days later, Xie Yu appeared in Zhuozhou and married the third young lady of the Song family.

The Song family, for over a decade, has guarded the southeastern coast, a behemoth akin to the Jizhou army.

With the support of the Song family, the Crown Princess's son declared himself emperor in Zhuozhou and changed the era name to Chengtai.

Lingyi felt as if she had been struck by lightning; she could hardly believe it, but the facts were right in front of her, leaving her no choice but to believe.

Qin Lie couldn't possibly have arranged for so many people to deceive her, and now there's no need for him to deceive her at all.

In truth, she knew that since Xie Yu could abandon her once, he could also abandon the Sixteenth Princess.

At that time, she and Xie Yu had not really crossed that line, so there was no question of owing each other anything; however, the Sixteenth Princess had already married him and had a child, yet he was still so heartless, which made Yi feel a chill run down her spine.

There was also the seventh prince, who killed his own nephew and brother, and even his father died under mysterious circumstances.

How many people like Aunt Zhou in this world suffer endless hardships just to try to survive?

The princes and grandsons of the emperor were born into a family of great wealth and honor, destined to enjoy endless riches and glory throughout their lives. Yet they went to such lengths for power!

Seeing that she looked unwell, the woman asked, "Does the young lady have relatives in the capital?"

Lingyi said sadly, "There aren't any now."

The woman comforted her, "If they're gone, they're gone. Who told us to live in such chaotic times? Every family has lost a few members. There's fighting everywhere. It's already a miracle that we survived. We fled from Jin County, and the journey was fraught with danger. Fortunately, we've arrived here and can finally settle down. You're still young. Even if you lose your family now, you'll have a whole family to support when you marry and have children."

She hadn't said more than a few words when she started talking about marriage, mentioning how many young men were on the other side of the river, how honest and capable they were, which made Aunt Zhou keep pursing her lips.

After the woman left, Aunt Zhou warned Lingyi, "Don't be fooled by her. She's very shrewd. If you marry that man, all the land and houses will belong to him. If he turns his back on you, where will you go to seek justice all by yourself?"

Lingyi nodded blankly, but she didn't take it to heart at all. Her mind was filled with thoughts of her sixteenth sister and the crown prince's child, who were in Zhuozhou, far away from here, and there was war going on along the way. She knew it would be extremely difficult to get there, and she felt endless sorrow.

Aunt Zhou said this not only to Lingyi, but also to many others, yet some widows still began to secretly meet with men from the other side of the river.

In recent days, several more groups of refugees have arrived, and now there are seven or eight thousand people gathered on the other side of the river. Among those who have made it this far, there are naturally outstanding individuals who are capable, eloquent, and also quite good-looking.

Less than a month later, three men moved across the river and into the widow's house.

Another person joined Lingyi's household; she was a palace maid who had escaped from the palace. When she came with the woman, she recognized Lingyi.

During her time here, Lingyi learned to boil water, clean the courtyard and house, and wash clothes, but she still ate at Zhou Sao's house, even though she was given some silver, it was still inconvenient. So she simply took in the palace maid Bicao, making her life much easier.

Bicao couldn't do the work in the fields, so she simply handed it all over to Aunt Zhou to do, essentially renting it out and collecting less grain as rent each year.

However, this has created new problems.

Lingyi had two thousand taels of silver notes and several dozen taels of loose silver, enough to live on for decades.

But Lingyi didn't want others to know about that silver note and cause any trouble.

On the surface, the two of them only had the small amount of food given to them by Aunt Zhou, but they always had money to spend. This couldn't go on for long.

We still need to think about making a living.

By this time, many merchants had settled in Huangzhou. Lingyi took Bicao for a stroll and finally decided to make embroidery.

Bi Cao was originally a palace embroiderer, and Ling Yi knew the patterns of the tribute flowers in the capital very well. Although her painting skills were not outstanding, she was good at drawing patterns, which would be a refreshing sight in Huangzhou.

The two got right to work, bought embroidery thread and fabric, and started working that very day.

Bi Cao embroidered flowers, while Ling Yi made sachets and pouches in the style of the capital. She put some refreshing or calming herbs inside. She had made many for the Crown Prince before, and she also had a foundation in pharmacology from the Fifteenth Princess. They sold quite well in the state government shops.

However, this is only Huangzhou after all. Although there is no shortage of buyers, they cannot command high prices. Two handkerchiefs with exquisite embroidery, crafted with the skills of the imperial palace, only sell for one tael of silver.

Lingyi's sachets and pouches only cost two hundred coins each.

The two of them were meticulous and didn't rush the work. Earning two or three taels of silver a month was enough for them. Gradually, Bi Cao gained some fame, and some people came to her to order custom veils or fans, asking for even more money. They could earn more than four taels a month.

Each time he sold the silver, he would buy food or other things when he returned home, gradually replacing the things in his house with new ones, and he lived a rather enjoyable life.

That day, after the two women finished selling their goods and left the city gate, they were about to get into their oxcart when they heard a rapid hoofbeat. A messenger came galloping by, shouting, "General, return to the city! General, return to the city!"

The crowd quickly made way, and the people who were originally going in and out of the city gate stopped moving, all craning their necks to wait.

In just a few months, Huangzhou has become visibly prosperous, especially the city gate of the prefecture, where pedestrians come and go in an endless stream.

The people here didn't leave, and more people who heard the order kept pouring in. Before long, the city gate was crowded with people.

Lingyi wanted to leave, but seeing the expectant eyes of the driver craning his neck, she could only wait.

Before long, the army arrived at the city gate like a black tide, with banners waving and horses in formation.

Qin Lie, clad in full armor, rode a tall horse, his posture upright, his face handsome, his expression cold and stern, as he galloped past.

The people immediately knelt down, shouting in unison, "General! General!"

They were filled with love and admiration, regarding the man who had brought them a peaceful life as a god, and some even kowtowed and prostrated themselves in tears.

Lingyi knelt on the ground, supporting the oxcart, and waited until the entire army had passed before getting up.

With the money they earned this time, they finally replaced the secondhand bedding they had bought before. These were all purchased with the help of Aunt Zhou. After replacing them, Lingyi didn't plan to use them anymore, so she gave them back to Aunt Zhou.

When she arrived at Zhou's house, she happened to see Zhou and her mother-in-law arguing. Upon seeing her, Zhou's mother-in-law was like seeing a savior, saying, "Xiao Ling, you've come at the right time! Come and talk to this fool for me!"