Chapter 33 Human Life is of the utmost importance
"About a year ago, a foreign merchant who had been doing business with us for a long time suddenly brought a group of slaves into the customs for sale."
Feifei said this and forced a smile at Qiuxuan.
"You may not have received an order from the Emperor prohibiting border guards from interacting with foreign merchants, but people have to eat, and this man has never caused us any trouble."
Feifei paused for a moment and said, "I don't dare to say it now."
"What kind of person is that foreign merchant?"
"His last name is He Lai, and everyone in the caravan calls him Old He. He has this long beard, is tall and thin, and has a bad eye." Feifei gestured. "He likes to talk, but his Mandarin accent is strange. I always can't help laughing when I chat with him."
"What about Lu Dongfeng?"
"She was a slave brought by Old He. She had good medical skills and could save people. There were never enough doctors at the border, so we kept her."
"She joined the military camp?"
Feifei shook her head: "She's only in the wounded camp outside the military camp."
"I later discovered that he often went to the Wounded Soldiers' Camp to look for Lucina."
"'He' refers to Jing Bei'an?"
The nanny outside the door coughed heavily twice again. Feifei had no choice but to nod, then quickly got up and left.
The afternoon rain did not fall through, and now dark clouds covered the moon again.
Qiu Xuan sat alone in the pavilion in the garden, listening to the north wind rustling the bamboo forest.
"Liangzhou... Liangzhou again..."
Qiuxuan vaguely remembered that she had heard her grandfather say this.
The two witches and shamans also appeared in Liangzhou.
*
The rain is getting heavier.
The palace walls appeared taller and taller in the dark wind and cold rain, surrounding the entire palace and making the people inside feel as if they would be trapped and drowned.
The eunuch came in from outside the palace in the rain and when he met the patrolling guards, he showed them the cat in the basket.
"It's the princess's cat."
The princess's cat is beautiful and quiet, and is very popular among the dignitaries in the city. It is often booked out before it is born.
These cats are so precious.
The inner guards quickly asked the eunuchs to guard it.
This must be a visit from a noble person in the palace. If anything goes wrong, he might even lose his life.
From then on, eunuchs had unimpeded travel.
He carried the basket and walked into a palace room and went straight into the main hall.
The rain flowed down his clothes onto the ground, leaving long water trails.
The palace maids and eunuchs who were on duty in the palace packed up silently and quickly, then hid in the corner of the palace.
"Your Highness." The eunuch walked into Jiang Jinhan's study and placed the basket at his feet.
"Thank you for your hard work." Jiang Jinhan bent down and took the cat out of the basket.
The white lion cat meowed softly.
"You've worked hard too." Jiang Jinhan gently straightened its long fur.
His slender fingers gently passed through the pure white fur, and the cat nestled comfortably in his arms, purring contentedly.
Jiang Jinhan was very agile and quickly found the tube of letter paper he wanted in the belly hair.
"Meow."
The white lion let out a dissatisfied cry. Jiang Jinhan scratched its head and shook out the letter from the reed tube with one hand.
This is a re-copied receipt, dated twenty-five years ago.
Nangong Pu, then governor of Liangzhou, bought a pair of beautiful slave siblings from a foreign merchant named Ma.
"When did Nangong Pu resign and return home?"
"Your Highness, he died in office 25 years ago. It is said that he died of abdominal pain."
"So the Nangong family didn't make it public."
Jiang Jinhan pointed to another name on the note.
"Where is this person?"
"We only found the portrait left behind when we entered the Pass in the archives of Liangzhou Prefecture." The eunuch took out an oilcloth bag from his arms and placed it on the table.
Jiang Jinhan cut it open with a knife and shook the scroll open with one hand.
The painting is quite vivid.
The man with a mustache had a smile on his face and looked very talkative.
He also has one white eye, which appears to be blind.
Jiang Jinhan frowned slightly.
The cat in his arms sensed his owner's uneasiness and cried softly.
Jiang Jinhan comforted it silently.
"The shaman is also blind in one eye."
The previous one is, and the one before that is also.
The rain outside the window was getting heavier and heavier, as if it had been raining for three days in a row. Suddenly, the outside was illuminated by a cold light, making it as bright as day.
*
The roar of thunder covered up the voice of Wu Zhuang.
"What did the Imperial Master just say?"
The emperor's voice came from behind the curtain.
"The changing of seasons, thunder and rain, one year more or less, are all natural."
Wrapped in the curtain, Wu Zhuang's voice seemed to have an echo, ethereal and making people lost in it.
"There were more in the past few years, but there will inevitably be fewer in the next few years. There haven't been any records of thunderstorms or rainstorms in the past few years, so when they do occur, they are inevitably accompanied by extraordinary disasters."
"According to the Imperial Master's opinion, what should we do?"
"Heaven has made up for the lack of rain in previous years. I believe that Your Majesty should also do the same while on earth."
"oh?"
"Inspect the palaces and temples within the capital and settle old debts."
The light of lightning pierced through the layers of gauze and lit a little light in Wu Zhuang's eyes.
Almost at the same time as the thunder came Wu Zhuang's last words of advice.
"Your Majesty should also compensate those ministers who declined the reward for their meritorious service in the past."
When Wu Zhuang came out of the purification room, the rain had stopped.
She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled the remaining spice in her lungs.
“This is what it feels like to be alive.”
"Sister, let me help you." Ji Zhuang said respectfully.
Wu Zhuang naturally put his hand on Xi Zhuang's wrist, then turned his head to Feng Xu who was holding the lamp and said.
"Thank you, Attendant Feng, for lighting the way ahead."
"It's what I should do."
The palace lanterns hung low, illuminating the stone road ahead, but hiding Feng Xu's pale and frightened face in the darkness.
The Shaman Village was not the Shaman Village he knew.
This shaman has no hands and doesn't like to talk.
But.
The sound of the witch brother and sister talking and laughing came from behind.
Feng Xu knew that he should tell as many jokes as possible at this time to make Bo Wuzhuang laugh.
But he couldn't say it.
He couldn't help but wonder where the current shaman villages came from and where the previous shaman villages had gone.
Feng Xu never felt that his godfather's death was so untimely. What he told him was far less than he thought.
"Constant Servant Feng."
Feng Xu stumbled, turned around and said with a smile:
"Master Imperial Master, what are your instructions? The ground is slippery after the rain, so you must be careful."
"His Majesty has given instructions." Wu Zhuang handed Feng Xu a memorial.
"Please ask Attendant Feng to go to the Yunyang Marquis's residence tomorrow."
*
"Yunyang Jun, Nangong Shao, was a man of integrity and steadfastness, rising early and staying up late. As the Empress's Grand Chamberlain, he was forthright and rebuked the Empress. Without Yunyang Jun's prudent actions and his loyalty to the state, the Empress would have nearly made a grave and irreversible mistake. He shared the Empress's worries, humbly refusing to accept rewards, truly setting an example for all ministers."
He was given a fief of 100 households, 1,000 pieces of jade and silk, and 100 bushels of pearls to show his special generosity."
After Feng Xu finished reading the imperial edict, he tried his best to remain calm and walked towards Nangong Shao without looking around.
"Old lady, please stand up."
"The Imperial Master had a dream and recalled how the old lady helped Your Majesty to relieve Empress Lu's worries after her death. The old lady did not ask for any reward at the time, but Your Majesty was so grateful that he doubled the reward."
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