Chapter 48
Lu Huaying's mother, Wang, passed away when Lu Huaying was not yet three years old.
At that time, her father was away on a campaign with a thousand elite soldiers, her eldest brother and second brother Lu Hongbi were taken away by their maternal uncle from the Wang family to study, and her wet nurse had recently gone to Suzhou with her son who was a merchant. Her grandfather, the old Duke of Yan, was not at ease leaving the young Lu Huaying in the care of a maid, so he took her to his side and took care of her personally.
The old Duke of Yan spent his life on the battlefield, and even though he is quite old, he still can't shake the habits he had when he was young; he practices swordsmanship every morning.
Lu Huaying would go to pay her respects to her grandfather every day, and when she saw him practicing his sword in the courtyard, her eyes would light up.
The maid was afraid that she would get hurt if she got too close, so she pulled her back and prevented her from going forward.
Lu Huaying shook off the maid's hand, happily went into the room, and soon dragged out a folding stool. She pushed it into the corridor, sat obediently on the stool, and watched with great interest as the old Duke of Yan practiced his sword.
The old Duke of Yan thought his granddaughter was just curious for a moment.
The next day, as the old Duke of Yan was wiping his knife in the courtyard, he heard footsteps at the door and a small head peeked in.
"Grandpa!"
A childish voice rang out as three-year-old Lu Huaying rushed in with her short legs. She ran to the old Duke of Yan's side, hugged his leg, and looked up at him with a sweet smile.
Looking at his beautiful and lovely granddaughter, the old Duke of Yan's heart softened instantly. He put down his knife, picked up his granddaughter, and went to the back garden to see the flowers.
Lu Huaying tugged at her grandfather's beard: "Grandpa, I want to see the knife!"
The old Duke of Yan paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "The knife isn't pretty. Grandfather, take Feifei to see the flowers."
Lu Huaying squirmed in her grandfather's arms, kissed him on the cheek, and rubbed against his neck, saying coquettishly, "Grandpa, I want to see the knife!"
When she put on a coquettish act, the old Duke of Yan would indulge her every whim: "Alright, alright! Whatever Feifei wants to see, your grandfather will grant it!"
The old Duke of Yan put Lu Huaying down, picked up his knife, and practiced a set of "wind blowing leaves" in the courtyard.
Lu Huaying watched with great interest.
She watched for several days. One day, after the old Duke of Yan finished practicing his swordplay, Lu Huaying ran over with a handkerchief in her small hands to wipe his sweat, and tugged at his robe, saying, "Grandpa, I want a sword too."
The old Duke of Yan had his servants bring over a few small knives for Lu Huaying to play with. She shook her head vigorously, pointing at the old Duke of Yan's large knife: "I want one like Grandpa's!"
She had beautiful features and a sweet, soft voice, but her face lit up as she stared at a large sword that was taller than her when it stood upright, eager to try it out.
The old Duke of Yan couldn't help but chuckle. He lifted Lu Huaying to the front of the broadsword and held her little hand, letting her touch the blade.
That was the first time Lu Huaying had ever touched a knife.
...
The procession leaving the city headed towards Liucheng, gradually leaving Xizhou, which stood majestically between the rivers, behind them.
Suddenly, a lively camel bell jingle drifted in from outside the carriage curtain, mixed with voices and the melodious sound of a pipa. A caravan was coming from the opposite side of the road, passing by the group.
Lu Huaying came to her senses, put away her saber, and instead of putting it back in the box, hung it on her waist.
Starting today, she can carry her own knife with her at all times.
...
As evening fell, a post station came into view. They stopped to rest for the night, and after breakfast the next morning, they continued their journey.
A majestic mountain range, perpetually snow-capped, stretches to the horizon, its snow-capped peaks piercing the clear, vast blue sky. A rising sun illuminates the mountains with golden rays, bathing their snow-white peaks in a golden glow, while their bases remain silently shrouded in shadow.
In the middle, it is vast and boundless.
Chai Yong and Pei Jingyao were visiting Xizhou for the first time. Overwhelmed by the magnificent and vast scenery before them, they couldn't help but gallop on their horses. The morning sun shone on them, and they looked dashing in their fine clothes and spirited horses.
Inspired by their enthusiasm, Xiao Suniang also wanted to get off the carriage and ride a horse. But when she lifted the curtain, a biting cold wind blew in, and she shivered and immediately gave up the idea.
On the third day, they returned to Liucheng.
Lu Huaying took the document to the government office to see Clerk Ma. Clerk Ma was very polite, looked Lu Huaying up and down, and then took out his seal and stamped it.
After leaving the government office, Lu Huaying prepared to return to the mud house where she had lived for three years.
When the neighborhood head heard that Lu Huaying had returned, he rushed over with a beaming smile and said, "Third Sister, you've taken the wrong road!"
He directed the driver to a courtyard not far from the government office and explained, “Third Sister, your ‘Dan Jing’ has been sent to the capital. According to the rules, the government office should reward you, but Registrar Ma can’t make that decision. He said we should wait until the new magistrate of Liucheng arrives. Until then, you can stay here for now.”
When the Empress ascended the throne, the people presented her with auspicious gifts, which the government was obligated to reward. Usually, a small monetary reward was sufficient. However, Lu Huaying presented a "Scripture of Alchemy," posing a challenge to the officials of Liucheng, who were unsure how much reward to give her.
Some people scoffed, believing that Lu Huaying's "Dan Jing" was fake, or even if it were real, it would be nothing more than a pile of useless waste paper.
Although the official position of Magistrate Ma was not high, he came from the Ma clan, one of the powerful clans in Xizhou. He was more knowledgeable than the average person. He had heard of the "Dan Jing" (Classic of Alchemy) and thought that the high-ranking officials and nobles in Luoyang would definitely be interested in it. After asking for the opinions of his elders, he gave Lu Huaying some reward money and arranged a new place for her to live.
Lu Huaying asked the neighborhood head, "Is my second brother going to do hard labor?"
The magistrate's expression changed, and he smiled, "Third Sister, the order for your brother to do hard labor was given by the Prefect. I didn't want to make things difficult for you; I was just relaying the Prefect's message! Wasn't your brother injured? Let him stay home and recover. The Registrar said that there will be no hard labor conscription until the end of this year."
Lu Huaying breathed a sigh of relief.
The new residence was a separate courtyard. Fang Zheng said that the things from the earthen house had been moved over. Lu Huaying walked into the courtyard and saw the familiar water vat and mortar and pestle.
Xiao Suniang looked around and, seeing that the courtyard was small, immediately sent her servants to stay at the inn. Chai Yong and Pei Jingyao helped carry the luggage and also went to the inn.
After Wang Yu and the others settled in, Lu Huaying still went to the earthen house.
The people of Huangtu Lane were overjoyed to see her return safely. They came over to congratulate her, and the children excitedly surrounded her. They followed her wherever she went.
Lu Huaying played with the children for a while, then took out the reward money she had just received from Magistrate Ma and distributed it to her neighbors in Huangtu Alley.
Winter is approaching, the most difficult time of the year.
The neighbors were extremely grateful.
Before returning to her new residence, Lu Huaying asked her neighbors about a big man with large ears.
She heard from Chai Yong that Big Ears had volunteered to help Chai Yong deliver the message in order to repay his kindness.
On the day Big Ears arrived in Xizhou from Liucheng, he was ambushed outside the city, knocked unconscious, and dragged away. When he woke up, all his belongings were gone, including the letter Chai Yong had written to the governor.
There were many bandits roaming the trade routes between the various oases in the Western Regions, plundering passing caravans. Chai Yong and Pei Jingyao both thought that Big Ears might have encountered a group of bandits who mistook him for a fat sheep and robbed him.
Big Ears felt ashamed for losing the letter and stayed in Xizhou to continue running errands for Chai Yong.
After Wei Mingsu arrested the chief clerk, Big Ears bid farewell to Chai Yong, saying, "I am a rough man, incompetent. I was supposed to deliver a letter for the prince, but I lost it and couldn't help him. I'm ashamed. Now that Third Sister has been released..."
"If you release me, I won't have to stay in Xizhou anymore!"
After saying this, he ignored Chai Yong's attempts to persuade him to stay and silently returned to Liucheng.
Lu Huaying wanted to thank Big Ears in person.
One of the neighbors, a Hu man, recognized Big Ears and said, "I saw him in the market area a few days ago, but I haven't seen him in the last two days."
Lu Huaying asked her neighbor, Big Ears, where he lived and went to find him.
Big Ears lived not far from Huangtu Alley, in a low earthen house dug out of the ground.
The neighbors all said that Big Ears hadn't gone out. Lu Huaying stood at the door and called Big Ears' name several times, but there was no response from inside the earthen house.
She frowned slightly, glanced at the snow, saw no footprints, called out "Big Ears" again, and stepped into the house.
It was just as cold inside as outside, and the light was dim. A tall figure lay motionless on a pile of hay, his hair disheveled.
"Third Sister, don't go over there!" A-Yu was startled and stopped Lu Huaying, quickly walking to the haystack and touching the large...
He breathed a sigh of relief and turned around, saying, "He's still breathing and has no injuries. He probably just caught a cold."
Lu Huaying heard from her neighbor that Big Ears lived alone, and said, "Take him to the pharmacy."
A-Yu carried Big Ears on his back and went out; the two went to the pharmacy.
The doctor took his pulse, and without even writing a prescription, he directly told the shop assistant to get the medicine, saying, "It's just a cold, not serious. He probably went into a coma after being hungry for a day or two. Go back and feed him something."
Lu Huaying and Ayu carried Big Ears back to the yard.
Two horses were tied to a stone by the gate. Chai Yong and Pei Jingyao came over and were talking in the courtyard. When they saw them returning with Big Ears on their backs, they were stunned for a moment and came over to help.
Afu had just cooked a pot of soup, and Ayu dissolved the medicine in the soup and fed Da Erduo two bowls of soup.
Afu thought Big Ears was starving to death, and his expression gradually became serious. He then stewed another pot of meat.
In the afternoon, Big Ears woke up, smelled the aroma of meat, jumped out of bed, rushed out of the room, and headed straight for the big pot of stewing meat in the yard.
Afu screamed in fright, stopped Big Ears from jumping into the pot, scooped a bowl of meat and stuffed it into his hand: "You eat it!"
Big Ears ate four bowls of meat before patting his belly, putting down the bowl, and looking up. He saw Lu Huaying and Chai Yong walking over with their sabers, let out a burp, and his face turned bright red.
Two days ago, he caught a cold but had no money to see a doctor. Relying on his large size and strength, he thought he could just tough it out. Little did he know that a cold could make someone fall into a deep sleep.
Big Ears scratched his head awkwardly and laughed, "If it weren't for Third Sister returning to Liucheng today, I, the number one hero of Liucheng, might have starved to death at home. Third Sister saved my life again today!"
Everyone laughed.
...
The letter announcing Lu Huaying's safe return to Liucheng was delivered to Xizhou.
Tong Jin then brought the letter into the study.
Wei Mingsu was recuperating in his room. After reading the letter, he looked up at the window for a moment, lost in thought, then looked away and burned the letter on a candle.
Tong Jin took out another letter and whispered, "My lord, Lord Fan and the others are almost here."
Wei Mingsu nodded and said, "Tell Zhou Qin's people to proceed according to plan."
"Should we go together?" he said, turning and leaving.
The door opened briefly and then closed again, causing the candlelight to flicker.
Wei Mingsu looked down at his hands. The candlelight made them appear reddish, and there seemed to be a layer of dark red blood on his palms.
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