Chapter 7: Positive

With the help of Alu, a local, Wen Youqing quickly settled everything at home.

Shen Zijie also noticed the extra maid in the mansion and asked, "What's the truth? Even children can lie."

"Then I'll need my husband's help to check~" Wen Youqing was waiting for the worried Shen Zijie to come and ask.

Soon, Shen Zijie found out that Alu was the eldest daughter of Zhang Zhong, a soldier guarding the border. After Zhang Zhong died, Alu followed her remarried mother to the home of a doctor.

"The doctor is not good to her?" Wen Youqing asked affirmatively.

"The neighbors say she's very good, and I heard from the housekeeper that she has asthma, and her father comes to bring her medicine every now and then. It's really thoughtful," Shen Zijie paused. "Saving people is good, but there are so many children like this at the border. You have to be careful."

Even when Shen Zijie expressed dissatisfaction, he did so indifferently.

Wen Youqing nodded, thinking of the bruises on A Lu's body. She initially thought that she was beaten by her stepfather, but even after being here for so long, new bruises still appeared on A Lu's body from time to time.

Is it her preconceived notion?

As long as this girl doesn't have any bad intentions, it's fine.

What's more important now... Wen Youqing looked at Shen Zijie, who had obviously lost weight, and said, "If you need anything, you can tell me about the things in the city. If there's anything I can help with, I can at least share some of the burden so you don't have to be so tired."

Shen Zijie took a big sip of barley porridge and a big bite of egg pancake, and said vaguely: "Not tired, not tired at all. Look at me, I am full of energy every day, how can I be tired?"

Shen Zijie has been leading people to reclaim wasteland recently. Although he promised to divide the land, few people are willing to follow him.

Wen Youqing knew that Shen Zijie would not tell his family about his difficulties, so she directly exposed his disguise and gave him a large piece of marmot meat sent by his subordinates. She said, "Yesterday you fell asleep while soaking your feet without even taking off your clothes. Do you remember?"

Shen Zijie was startled and said with a wry smile, "There were a lot of things going on yesterday, a lot."

"You can trust me." He was the one who enlightened her about fish and fishing. Wen Youqing had to find a way out for herself.

The next day, just as Shen Zijie was about to leave, he saw Wen Youqing waiting at the door with her sleeves tied up. Thinking of the sand stuck in his teeth and the sun, Shen Zijie really didn't think the delicate young lady in front of him could withstand it, so he hurried over to stop her.

Before she could even begin, Wen Youqing handed over a windproof hat and said, "It's windy and dusty outside. I know I can't handle it, and I won't pretend to share your hardships. I saw a lot of fog this morning, so I decided to get the women and children in the village to weave some large nets and place them in the fields to block some of the moisture."

This method was novel, and Shen Zijie had never expected it. He asked in surprise, "Where did you know such a good idea?"

"When I was little, I didn't like reading, so I hid some books like 'The Exploitation of the Works of Nature,' and they've come in handy." Wen Youqing packed her things. "Husband, take care of yourself, and don't work too hard."

"You should also take care of yourself..." Chen Zijie didn't react, and watched Wen Youqing and Si Shi leave the door in silence. After the people left for a while, he murmured, "That's amazing."

Those coarse gauze were used to cover carriages and horses when traveling, and the four seasons would make them into even thinner gauze.

Wen Youqing had seen this method on the news before, and she wasn't sure if it would actually work. She first found a house that looked decent. Just as she was about to knock on the door, Si Shi said, "Madam, why don't we go to the homes of those women and children?"

Wen Youqing said, "A piece of tattered cloth like this could last them a few years. If we gave them the things, would they really be willing to leave them hanging in the fields? The Guo family is a middle-class family in the village, barely enough to make ends meet, and they always want to eat a few more mouthfuls of food."

Si Shi nodded and knocked on the door. A Lu was in charge of moving the gauze from the back.

…

After being busy day after day, A Lu finally took a day off to celebrate her mother's birthday.

Wen Youqing gave her an advance on her wages and also gave her some small gadgets she brought from Beijing to take back with her.

A Lu was so happy about a few small silk flowers that she burned three days' worth of wood ash and gave instructions here and there.

Si Shi smiled and said, "Just like a little adult, don't worry, I am here." A Lu put his hands together and prayed, "Borrow the painting from the Goddess of Harmony." Then he went home with peace of mind.

Even without a helper, Wen Youqing still had to continue working. She quickly found out about the most powerful magnate in Xunyang City, Mr. Guo, and prepared all the tools to visit him.

After knocking on the door several times, there was no response. Wen Youqing said, "Excuse me," and decided to go in and put the cloth on first, then explain things to the Guo family when they arrived. But as soon as she entered the main courtyard, she was hit by a strong mutton smell, like a lot of mutton cooked together, undercooked. It was like lacquer in her nose, and she couldn't wash it off.

Si Shi felt something was wrong, so he protected Wen Youqing behind him and said, "Miss, let's go back first and call some people over..."

Before he could finish his words, Wen Youqing pulled out a butterfly knife from his waist and interrupted him softly, "Go back and call for help, quickly!"

Since getting married, Si Shi felt that the young lady's temperament had changed a lot. Now seeing this reckless man who was determined to do what he said, she hurried back to call for help.

The Guo family still had some wealth. Wen Youqing walked in and out of the courtyard for a long time before he followed the smell to the side room in the backyard. The smell of blood was very faint, replaced by a very faint aroma of meat.

Maybe I was overthinking it, or maybe I really wasn’t good at cooking, which is why it turned out like this.

Wen Youqing tucked the knife back into his sleeve, retreated a few feet, and called out, "Is anyone there? Is Mr. Guo here?"

As expected, someone in the room immediately opened the door a little and squeezed out, then quickly closed the door.

No matter how quickly the door closed, Wen Youqing could still hear the sound of dishes being cleared away.

The middle-aged man who emerged had a kind face and said with a bow, "Whose family are you from? Is there anything I can do for you?"

Wen Youqing raised the gauze in her hand and said, "I'm just a maid in the residence of Commander Shen. Lord Shen has come up with some methods to collect water. Although a cup of water... the amount is not large, it is still useful. I want to try it out in the village. Are you Mr. Guo? I wonder if your family is willing to do it? Ah, these gauze are provided by the government office. You just need to see the results."

The middle-aged man said enthusiastically: "I am the housekeeper. Of course I am willing to do what the superiors said. Please follow me." Then he led the person to the front yard.

There seemed to be a gaze from behind, clinging to her like snot. Wen Youqing followed him away calmly. She felt uncomfortable, but apart from the smell, there was nothing unusual.

After going out, Wen Youqing walked quickly for a long time before he ran into Sishi who was bringing people with him.

Si Shi supported Wen Youqing and asked hurriedly, "Miss, would you like to go back and rest first? I can take the others with me."

"No, no," Wen Youqing hurriedly stopped him. "I have no idea. I guess the mutton was just a little too strong. The rest is nothing. I'm making a fuss out of nothing."

—

When the watchtower's drum struck three times, Wen Youqing suddenly woke with a start. Moonlight cast the shadow of the window frame on the wall. She reached for the teacup on the bedside table, but her fingertips touched something cold.

From the first day she came, A Lu was afraid that she would not be used to it, so she learned to arrange flowers like the noble ladies had heard from somewhere, and sent her a clay pot.

The clay pot stood quietly on the table, and the reeds inserted in it had exploded and scattered all over the ground at some point.

This feeling of uneasiness followed Wen Youqing for several days.

That day, Wen Youqing was about to go see the doctor again when he saw Shen Zijie walk into the courtyard with a gloomy expression. The hem of his official uniform was stained with dark red, and a corner of a blood-stained document was visible from his sleeve.

"Don't go to the East Wing at noon." Shen Zijie grabbed her wrist with surprising strength. "Mrs. Wang wants to borrow a place to dry books."

"What book?" Wen Youqing asked.

"Don't get involved with bad books," Shen Zijie warned her, then hurried away. She had never seen Shen Zijie like this before.

But when the clepsydra pointed to noon, Wen Youqing was somehow led around to the dog hole under the east wall, which was specially reserved for A Lu and had never been sealed.

Ten-foot-long bamboo mats covered the entire courtyard, but what was spread out were not books, but hundreds of various items, including shoes, pendants, sandbags, and even a long, thin bone that did not look like it belonged to an animal...but each item was embroidered with strange runes: a lotus with open eyes, an upside-down gossip, and a crow with three tail feathers.

Just as she stood up to leave, Madam Wang appeared like a ghost at the corner of the corridor, her gold and jade armor scratching across the embroidery frame, "This is an offering to Empress Hehe. Would you like to add some needlework to Madam Shen's collection?" She smiled and raised the frame, embroidering something on a piece of bright red silk cloth.

Wen Youqing slowly took a half step back, a smile on her face: "What is the Queen of Harmony?"

"Of course it's the Empress who blesses peace and prosperity." Madam Wang looked at her intently, as if surprised that she didn't know. "The nobles in the capital also offer sacrifices to her. Madam Shen, don't you know?"

I don't know, of course I don't know. Looking at this situation, it must be some kind of evil cult. How could the people on the border actually believe in such a deity?!

After exchanging a few words, Wen Youqing made an excuse to leave.

The various objects looked like they had been looted from many people, like relics. And that bone didn't look like it belonged to a pig. The few words from the old papers rose to life and rushed back into her mind. "Wait until the adults come back."

Wen Youqing was listless the whole day. She was not familiar with that smell, but it was precisely because of the unfamiliarity that she thought about something else.

As soon as Shen Zijie came back, he saw Wen Youqing poking at the Hu pancake in front of him. This was the first time he saw Wen Youqing lose her appetite.

He tiptoed over and patted Wen Youqing lightly.

Wen Youqing was startled and turned around suddenly. When he found that it was Shen Zijie, he relaxed and said, "I was scared to death... Please sit down first, I have something to tell you."

Seeing the serious expression, Shen Zijie stopped laughing and sat down quietly.

Wen Youqing didn't keep the secret and said directly: "I suspect that people in the city have started buying and eating people."

If people were exchanging their children for food and burning their bones for cooking, the city would have been in ruins.

But people in the city still celebrate festivals and pursue fashionable styles in fabrics. How could it have reached that point?

Shen Zijie was a little unconvinced. He just said "Why...", but before he could even utter the first two words, he suddenly seemed to think of something, and his eyes instantly hardened.

No, it's not impossible.