Burrow
Su Feng's newly prepared path arrived quickly. Wu Goulang's wings were still covered in frost, and he was quietly drinking water to the side.
Looking at the new travel permit in her hand, Jie Xiangsi breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, this time the travel permit was normal. Her current identity is Zhou Yanzhi's maid, while Ji Feng is Zhou Yanzhi's guard.
With everything prepared, the three of them entered Yangqu City before sunset.
The carriage rumbled through the quiet street, the wind carrying the cool snowflakes that brushed against every pedestrian, the chill making everyone quicken their pace to get home.
Jie Xiangsi lowered the carriage curtain, turned to look at Zhou Yanzhi who was reading a book beside her, and tentatively asked, "Cousin, don't you think there's something strange about Yangqu City?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanzhi closed the book in his hand and said calmly, "Yes."
Despite being close to the capital and experiencing frequent natural disasters, the imperial court has allocated a considerable amount of disaster relief funds, so the economy should not be too bad. Why then are the public facilities in Yangqu City so dilapidated?
On the contrary, the residents of the city were unusually energetic, with rosy complexions, not like people who had suffered from famine for many years. There was an odd sense of disharmony in their appearance.
Suddenly, a commotion arose ahead, and a small figure was lifted out and thrown onto the street, still crying out, "Please, my mother is really dying, please have some mercy and give me some medicine!"
But the person who suggested her was not moved by her and just kept telling her to leave.
The sound of a child crying reached the carriage. The two people inside exchanged a glance, and Zhou Yanzhi called out to Ji Feng, who was driving the carriage, "What happened?"
Jifeng truthfully recounted what he had seen.
Zhou Yanzhi frowned and ordered, "Go and take a look."
Ji Feng responded with a "yes," and the carriage set off again.
...
Snowflakes fell gently in the wind. Ping An clung tightly to the door frame of the pharmacy, her hands gripping the door tightly. Thinking of her seriously ill mother, even as her fingers were being pried apart one by one, she resisted the urge to cover them again, choking back tears as she pleaded, "When I've saved up enough money, I'll come back to pay. Please, just give me a packet of medicine!"
Some people couldn't bear it, but they were all struggling themselves, so how could they possibly have the energy to help her? They could only turn away with tears in their eyes.
Annoyed by the commotion, the shopkeeper gave a wink to the shop assistant, who sighed, picked up a stick, and was about to step forward.
Just as the stick was about to strike that frail body, a cold voice rang out.
"stop!"
Ji Feng swung away the wooden stick and helped Ping An up, who was crying uncontrollably.
Upon seeing this, Jie Xiangsi took out a handkerchief from her sleeve, knelt down and wiped the little girl's tear-streaked face. Then, as if by magic, she took out a piece of candy from her purse and put it in the little girl's hand, saying softly, "Don't cry, it's alright."
Unexpectedly, the young girl saw her as a lifeline and knelt down with a thud, clutching Jie Xiangsi's clothes and pleading, "Please, young lady, have mercy! Could you lend Ping An some money? I'll repay you double when I've saved enough. I'll even be your bride in my next life..."
Before she could finish speaking, Xie Xiangsi deftly took out a silver ingot from her purse and said gently, "Take it."
Ping An burst into tears of joy, not even having time to say "thank you," and hurriedly took the money to get the medicine.
Seeing the young girl enter the pharmacy, Xie Xiangsi stood up and met Zhou Yanzhi's gaze. "Young Master." Zhou Yanzhi nodded to her and then glanced discreetly at the people in the shop.
The meaning of unrequited love is clear; look in that direction.
Some people in the store were looking at them with strange, cold, spying eyes, as if they were outsiders intruding on their territory.
When Ping An came out after getting the medicine, Jie Xiangsi went up to her and bowed slightly, saying, "Little girl, are you going home?"
Perhaps because Jie Xiangsi had helped her earlier, Ping An had a good impression of her and was now completely unguarded. She nodded, pointed to the medicine packet in her hand, and said, "My mother is waiting for me at home."
Hearing this, Xie Xiangsi smiled and said, "It's getting dark, why don't we take you home?"
Ping An hesitated for a moment, "This..."
Touching the medicine packet in his hand, Ping An decided to trust Jie Xiangsi. "Then thank you, young lady."
Jie Xiangsi smiled and waved her hand, and the group followed the road Ping An pointed out and left the city.
...
Looking at the increasingly desolate scenery around her, Jie Xiangsi was somewhat alarmed and asked with some doubt, "Little Ping An, have you and your mother always lived outside the city?"
With a piece of candy in his mouth, Ping An said indistinctly, "No, we used to live in the city."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanzhi, who was sipping tea, put down his teacup and asked somewhat seriously, "Then why did you move out of the city?"
Perhaps because she had never met Zhou Yanzhi before, Ping An did not reply to Zhou Yanzhi's words. Instead, she carefully moved closer to Jie Xiangsi, looking cautious and frightened.
Zhou Yanzhi: "..."
Am I that fierce?
Jie Xiangsi chuckled, patted Ping An's back gently, and said softly, "Don't be afraid, our young master is just a little cold-hearted, he'll be alright."
Seeing Ping An look up at her, Jie Xiangsi nodded slightly to her.
Having received assurances, Ping An replied softly, "I don't know either. One day, a lot of people suddenly barged into our house and said they wanted to renovate it and told us to move to the outskirts of the city. So we moved there."
Thinking of the dilapidated and unsightly buildings in the city, Zhou Yanzhi asked in confusion, "How long have you been gone?"
Ping An frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "It seems to be after the floods in early summer this year."
Jie Xiangsi couldn't help but ask, "But it's already winter, why isn't it fixed yet?"
Ping An shook her head. "I don't know either."
Seeing that they couldn't get any information, the two had no choice but to give up on starting with Ping An and let Ping An stick his head out to point the way to Ji Feng outside the carriage.
Before long, the carriage stopped in front of a very simple thatched house. Ji Feng got out of the carriage, knocked on the door, and reminded him, "Young master, we have arrived."
The makeshift house was not very sturdy, and the old wooden door creaked in the cold wind.
Two muffled coughs came from inside the house. Hearing the commotion outside, the coughing stopped for a moment, followed by a woman's hoarse voice, "Is that An'an?"
Hearing his mother's voice, Xiao Ping'an quickly jumped off the carriage and ran into the house. "It's me! Mother, I'm back!"
Seeing this, the remaining three followed Xiao Ping'an into the courtyard. Ji Feng and Zhou Yanzhi were not allowed to go inside, so Xie Xiangsi went in to see what was going on.
Upon entering the house, Jie Xiangsi was truly astonished by the scene before her.
The room was not large to begin with, and there was only one bed inside. But this small bed was full of people. They looked emaciated, and only their still-moving eyes proved that these disheveled people were still alive.
The room reeked of a lingering musty smell, permeating every corner and silently eroding the vitality within.
Upon seeing a stranger suddenly enter the room, a young woman who seemed out of place with her surroundings, a woman leaning against the wall coughed twice and patted Ping An, "An An, who is this?"
Ping An turned around and saw that it was Jie Xiangsi. He patted his head in annoyance and took the woman's hand, saying, "Mother, this is the kind person I just told you about. She lent me money to buy medicine."
After saying that, she twisted the hem of her clothes and walked up to Jie Xiangsi. She pointed to the woman who had spoken earlier and said awkwardly, "Miss, that is my mother."
Seeing the woman looking at him, Jie Xiangsi smiled slightly and said, "Greetings, Madam."
"No, no, no, young lady, please..."
Knowing that it was Jie Xiangsi who had helped her daughter, the woman, with a pale face, tried to get off the bed and kneel down to express her gratitude, but she was too ill and coughed incessantly if she made any big movements.
Xie Xiangsi quickly stepped forward, pressed the person back, and said softly, "Madam, there's no need for such formality."
As Xiao Ping'an patted his mother's back, watching her grow increasingly frail, his eyes welled up with tears, and he whispered "Mother" through a sob.
The woman turned her head and coughed lightly twice, then raised her hand to touch Ping An's head, gently comforting him, "It's alright, Mother will be alright."
After calming Xiao Ping'an down, the woman turned to meet Jie Xiangsi's gaze and gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, young lady. I was deeply grateful to hear that you helped my daughter. Thank you in advance."
Jie Xiangsi shook her head, "It was nothing."
Looking at the wooden-like people around her, Jie Xiangsi tried her best to remain calm, but she still felt a strange unease. She hesitated for a moment before asking, "May I ask... about them?"
Perhaps sensing Xie Xiangsi's fear, the woman took a breath and explained, "Don't be afraid, young lady, they are all my neighbors."
Jie Xiangsi nodded, then slowly asked, "Why...why are you living in the same house?"
Upon hearing this, the woman sighed deeply, her eyes glistening with tears. "The men in our families all worked in the mines. They all died in last year's floods. The government officials said they would rebuild houses for us, but they just kicked us out of the city. We have no money and no strength, so we have no choice but to build our own houses and live together."
Hearing this, Jie Xiangsi felt a pang of sadness and asked, "Then... what about the house?"
The woman gave a mocking laugh. "Who knows?"
Who are you?!
Suddenly, a voice came from outside the courtyard, and a little boy slightly older than Ping An ran in, saying urgently, "Aunties, something bad has happened! There are two strangers outside the courtyard!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than the little boy looked at Xie Xiangsi inside the house and shouted sharply, "And who are you?!"
Seeing that he was about to pounce on Jie Xiangsi, Ji Feng, who was following behind the little boy, grabbed the little boy by the collar and pulled him aside, saying, "Don't be so presumptuous."
Seeing the little boy being carried by Ji Feng, the women who had been sitting motionless on the bed became anxious. Even Xiao Ping'an's sickly mother forced herself to get up and get out of bed. "Let him go!"
Seeing this, Zhou Yanzhi spoke up: "Monsoon."
Upon hearing this, Ji Feng released the little boy's collar, but didn't let him move an inch.
Xiao Ping'an quickly stepped in front of the women, saying urgently, "Aunties, don't get agitated, these two are my benefactors too!" Then he scolded the little boy who had been blocked, "Qin Wang, apologize quickly!"
After saying that, Xiao Ping'an was about to kneel down in front of the two of them when Xie Xiangsi, who had rushed forward, stopped him and whispered to Zhou Yanzhi, "Young Master."
Zhou Yanzhi gave Ji Feng a look, signaling him to release Qin Wang.
Realizing he had wronged the three, Qin Wang felt somewhat guilty and bowed to them, clasping his hands in apology: "I'm sorry, Qin Wang was rude."
Seeing that Zhou Yanzhi's expression had eased slightly, Xie Xiangsi helped him up and said softly, "It's alright, go back now."
After everything calmed down, Zhou Yanzhi frowned almost imperceptibly as he looked at the furnishings in the room, then turned to Ping An's mother and asked, "After the flood, didn't the imperial court issue any disaster relief funds?"
The woman coughed and said softly, "Natural disasters happen every year, and officials get rich every year."
...
As the carriage rolled over the muddy snow, a few deep sighs came from inside.
"Natural disasters happen every year, and officials get rich every year."
As Jie Xiangsi read the woman's words aloud, a chill ran down her spine. The natural disaster that had caused the people to complain so much had become a golden opportunity for officials to make a fortune. Were those sitting in official positions truly human, or were they evil spirits in human skin?
Looking up at Zhou Yanzhi, who had been silent ever since they left Ping An's house, Jie Xiangsi said softly, "Cousin, I have a question for you."
Zhou Yanzhi turned his head to look at her.
Jie Xiangsi slowly said, "The night you accidentally entered my room, were you injured because of that silver ingot?"
Pulled back to that night, Zhou Yanzhi nodded and said in a deep voice, "The silver was given to me by a woman from Yangqu. She was being chased and was on the verge of death. When she saw me, she used a silver hairpin to cut her calf and gave me the silver hidden in her flesh."
Zhou Yanzhi still remembers the resolute look in the woman's eyes. Before she died, she clutched his clothes and said in a hoarse voice, "Lord Zhou, there are too few good officials in the world. I only believe in you. I beg you... to rid the people of Yangqu of the evil..."
Zhou Yanzhi sighed, "That same night, someone broke into the Dali Temple and tried to steal that ingot of silver."
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