Chapter 338 Checking into the Inn
When traveling, they always use the bedding, sheets, and duvet covers they bring themselves. Although they have arrived at their destination, since they are still staying at a post station, Xiao Yang decides to continue with the same routine.
The guards and other servants were not so particular. After checking the rooms and finding that everything was relatively clean, they began to assign rooms, move luggage, and arrange carriages and horses.
After everyone settled into their lodgings, the rain outside not only did not lessen, but instead became even more intense. The wind whipped up the rain and lashed against the windowpanes, making a series of dense sounds.
Xie Wanniang changed into a clean, plain-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) and sat down at the table. She first took her own pulse, and then took the pulses of the two children, Jiang Yuan, Haitang, and Xiaoyang in turn.
"Haitang, go and tell the cook to make a pot of brown sugar ginger water. Also, take these medicinal herbs with you and have the cook make them into a medicinal soup. We'll distribute it to everyone in the team later, and everyone should have a bowl."
Haitang asked in confusion, "I just got a little rained on, why do I have to start taking medicine?"
Xie Wanniang looked out the window at the endless rain. "Dinghai County is by the sea, and the rain in October is cool and damp. If we get caught in the rain and don't get rid of the chill in time, we can easily catch malaria. We've traveled a long way and are already a bit tired. We can't afford to have any problems here. Go and make sure everyone has brown sugar ginger water and herbal medicine."
Seeing Xie Wanniang's serious expression, Haitang also took it seriously. She replied "Yes" and ran to the west wing to deliver a message to the cook.
Meanwhile, in a secluded courtyard in Dinghai County, a middle-aged military officer dressed in brocade robes sat in a chair, his belly sticking out, playing with a jade pendant in his hand.
Standing opposite him was a tall, thin, and ordinary-looking young man, who was none other than his subordinate, Han Shun.
"Han Shun, how's the matter going?" The middle-aged military officer didn't even look up, his voice carrying a hint of laziness and greasiness.
Han Shun bowed and replied, "Your Excellency, I have already contacted Wang Sao, the cook at the post station, and Liu Ertian, the postman. We have something on both of them that they can use against us, and they have agreed to help us."
He paused for a moment and then said, "Sister Wang will add something to the food she prepares for them, and Liu Ertian has already tampered with the water tank in their yard. People who eat and drink that food and water will fall ill in a day or two, with symptoms exactly the same as malaria and dysentery, which ordinary people cannot detect."
The middle-aged military officer raised his eyelids slightly, a faint smile playing at the corners of his lips: "Have you found a scapegoat?"
Han Shun nodded, "It's found, sir, you can rest assured."
Although they had planned from the beginning to do it secretly, making Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang's group think that they had contracted diseases such as malaria and dysentery because they got caught in the rain on the way and were suffering from acclimatization problems.
But as the saying goes, man proposes, God disposes, and they couldn't guarantee that Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang wouldn't become suspicious.
To prevent Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang from becoming suspicious and tracing the clues back to them, they deliberately took a roundabout approach and threw out two scapegoats when they were doing this.
The middle-aged military officer nodded in satisfaction. "That's good. Now we can just sit on the platform and watch the show."
Han Shun, however, was not as optimistic as his master. He cautiously glanced at the smug middle-aged military officer and said, "My lord, I've heard that this Lord Jiang has a very powerful background, and that Princess Huian is a relative of His Majesty the Emperor within five degrees of kinship. Would what we're doing be...?"
"What's there to be afraid of?" The middle-aged military officer interrupted him, his tone laced with sarcasm and arrogance. "As long as you handle things cleanly and efficiently, who can trace it back to us? Even if someone is going to suffer, it should be those two scapegoats. Besides, the position of Commander of Dinghai Guard is a lucrative one, coveted by many. Even if suspicion does arise in the capital, there are plenty of people who will suffer before us."
So what if he's the emperor? Does the emperor really disregard public opinion and the overall situation and plow through all the suspected generals of Dinghaiwei, and all the suspected officials and families of Ningbo Prefecture?
They were in the southeastern coastal region, which perfectly illustrates the saying "the mountains are high and the emperor is far away." Even if the emperor or other important figures wanted to protect Jiang Yuan, Jiang Yuan would still have to live long enough for the emperor or someone else to send someone over.
If they had acted faster and Jiang Yuan had died sooner, they could have completely erased those suspicious traces.
The middle-aged military officer acted recklessly, completely disregarding Han Shun's concerns.
Han Shun, observing the situation, dared not say anything more. After complimenting his master a few times, he bowed and withdrew.
The middle-aged military officer got up and walked to the window, looking at the rain outside, a sinister glint in his eyes: "Jiang Yuan, is it? I'll see how many days you can last."
Meanwhile, in the inn's large kitchen, Aunt Wang was carrying a bowl of freshly made chicken soup, trying to put it into a food box.
This was a job she was used to doing, but at this moment, she couldn't help but feel her hands trembling.
There was no way around it; it was her first time doing something wrong, and with her guilty conscience and worry for her son, it was really difficult for her to behave normally.
She was a widow who was left with a son and a daughter after her husband died. Her daughter, like her, was not well-liked by her husband's family. Fortunately, her family had some connections. After asking for favors and giving generous gifts, she relied on her good cooking skills to bring her daughter to the kitchen of the post station.
She was a cook, and her daughter helped with chores and learned her skills in the process.
As for her son, he was the only male heir in her husband's family, so he was always spoiled and pampered by his grandparents.
She had considered disciplining her son, but both he and his grandparents were very opposed to it.
Their only requirement for her was that she bring money home every month.
She was weak-willed and concerned about her reputation, so she had no say in front of her in-laws and could only watch helplessly as they raised her son to be idle and lazy.
But she never dreamed that her son would now be learning to gamble.
She and her daughter spent most of their time at the inn, only returning home for one or two days each month. As a result, she had no idea when her son had picked up these bad habits.
It wasn't until the people from the gambling den came to her and showed her the huge IOU her son had signed, and her son, who was beaten black and blue, knelt on the ground crying and begging her, that she realized that her son had not only learned to gamble, but he had even gone so far as to borrow money from the gambling den, and he had borrowed a thousand taels of silver at once.
That's usury! A thousand taels of silver with compound interest—even if the whole family sold themselves, they still couldn't raise that much money.
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