Chapter 42
A look of doubt appeared in Li Huijue's eyes. "This person is skilled in using poisons and is treacherous. He must be from a humble background."
"To appease public anger, let them kill us."
"Cousin, is it possible that this person can't be killed?"
Ning Shiyu smiled faintly, handed Li Huijue a cup of hot tea, and then slowly revealed Mian Zhushan's identity.
"This man is the eldest son of the leader of the Mianzhu Rong tribe."
"He is also the brother-in-law of the current King Rong."
Li Huijue looked surprised, and her tone became a bit more serious, "Cousin, the Mianzhu Rong King you mentioned, is he the former Mianzhu Rong King?"
Ning Shiyu nodded in response.
Only then did Li Huijue realize that this person's status was so noble among the Rong people.
The current King of Nanrong was formerly the Rong ruler of the Dali tribe.
He unified several tribes before growing into the Nanrong people we know today.
Among these tribes, the Mianzhu and Quyan tribes were the strongest.
When the Rong king unified this tribe, he did not use his barbaric methods to kill and drive them away.
Instead, they used marriage alliances.
The current queen of Rong is Mianzhushan's younger sister.
"These tribesmen all share a common trait: they are not only ruthless and vicious, but also prone to holding grudges."
“If you only consider the people’s anger and execute Mianzhushan, the Mianzhu Rong clan will not resent the people of Wangkang City, nor will they resent General Liu.”
"I will only be jealous of you."
"From this day forward, you, Li Huijue, the eldest son of the King of Qin, will be the enemy of the Mianzhu family."
"Huijue, our purpose in coming here is only to provide reinforcements."
"Never put yourself in danger."
After some pointers, Li Huijue suddenly understood and said, "Cousin, thank you for reminding me."
“I am now releasing all good deeds.”
"Tomorrow, he will claim that he was rescued by his subordinates."
Ning Shiyu smiled gently, her smile encouraging. "Okay."
After six months of turmoil in the southern border region, the war finally ended perfectly with the Southern Rong sacrificing a city.
Half a month later, an imperial edict arrived from the court, ordering General Liu Yi to send troops to oversee Wangkang City.
This time, the Northwest reinforcements not only helped them drive away the Southern Rong people.
The soldiers that Li Huijue brought also helped him find the mole who had been hiding among his men for many years.
The day before his departure, Liu Yi held a grand banquet and invited Li Huijue and his soldiers.
However, only Li Huijue was present. General Liu inquired and learned that Ning Shiyu had gone to visit an old friend.
In the west of Lingnan City lived a shaman goddess who was over sixty years old.
People come to her every day for exorcisms and rituals to help the dead find peace.
Moreover, the war has resulted in the deaths and injuries of countless soldiers over the past six months, and the number of people arriving in recent days has been particularly large.
They were mostly women and old women.
Among the waiting crowd, one man stood out.
He looked to be at most twenty years old, with a handsome face and gorgeous clothes.
Yet she possessed a cold and aloof demeanor, making people hesitant to approach her.
As soon as he stood there, many bold young women and women turned around to look at him.
Unfortunately, everyone is treated the same way by the shaman goddess; they must be done in a specific order.
No one is an exception.
Otherwise, the girls would be willing to do him a favor and let him ask first.
At the same time, the crowd couldn't help but be curious and whispered among themselves, "Judging from his fair complexion, he must be from a big city."
"He looks like a young master from a wealthy family. Do wealthy families also believe in shamans?"
"Don't wealthy families only believe in the God of Wealth?"
"How could that be? People also believe in the Goddess of Fertility and the Emperor Wenchang, one for seeking a career in government and the other for seeking offspring."
"Those who know a few words are different; they even know how to ask for a test."
A flurry of chatter ensued, with each woman chiming in with her own comment, and the women chuckled incessantly.
Mu Li and Zhuang Xing, standing to one side, were on guard, constantly keeping a close eye on their surroundings.
Seeing the women around him dressed in tattered clothes, he knew his master was fastidious and could tolerate it today.
This surprised them all.
He was even more curious. He had never believed in these things before, but today he insisted on coming here to ask the shaman goddess.
Just now, Mu Li had intended to wait in line for their master.
Ning Shiyu, however, insisted on waiting.
The two of them were also unable to figure out what their master was thinking.
Looking at Ning Shiyu himself, he was calm and collected, having heard everything the others said, but he did not respond.
He has no interest in anything around him.
It was almost dark when it was Ning Shiyu's turn.
The shaman goddess was dressed in a strange outfit, with bird feathers on her head and colorful tattoos.
Inside the room, pine smoke curled around the bronze drum, and the shaman goddess twirled three polished animal bones between her fingertips.
The ochre pattern at the corner of the eye flickered in the candlelight.
Seeing that Ning Shiyu was different from others, he looked shocked.
He asked, "Aren't you from Lingnan?"
Ning Shiyu said calmly, "Yes."
"Then do you know the rules for coming here?"
Ning Shiyu replied respectfully, "I know."
Those who come to the shaman goddess to ask about the gods will not be given silver directly, but they will not come empty-handed either.
The people either gave them grain and meat, or clothes they had made themselves.
For them, this is already the best thing.
The shaman goddess asked solemnly, "What do you want to ask?"
Ning Shiyu's eyes showed a faint sadness, and his voice was tight as he said, "My aborted child, he... is only two months old."
He felt a dull ache in his heart, which he didn't even realize until the very end, and his voice trembled slightly.
The shaman nodded in agreement and first used the animal bones in front of her to divine for Ning Shiyu.
She held the animal bones in her hands, raised them above her head and chanted softly. After a moment, she suddenly threw the bones onto the plate, and the three bones made a crisp sound as they struck the bronze.
It finally came to rest in the firelight in a 'one positive, two negative' position.
The shaman said solemnly, “Your child has nowhere to go. He has no clothes to wear and no lamps to light his way.”
"He can only appear in his mother's dreams."
Ning Shiyu felt a pain in her chest. In her last letter, Fu'er said that she often dreamed of a naked child.
Tell her to ask the shaman goddess of Lingnan.
Therefore, Ning Shiyu would never have thought of coming to this place.
His seemingly absurd actions were actually just to put Fu'er at ease.
But what he found to be somewhat similar to what Fu'er had said.
Ning Shiyu's face was pale, his heart was aching, and his fingertips turned white from clenching his fists.
"If you want him to leave completely, you have to burn a set of his clothes first."
"I am helping you, providing him with fire for three days and guiding his way." (For dramatic purposes only; please do not believe in superstition.)
Ning Shiyu looked sorrowful and took out a luminous pearl from his bosom.
It instantly brightened the dimly lit room.
The shaman and her apprentice stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
The shaman was not a greedy person, and immediately stated, "This thing is too precious. Everything depends on your wishes; ordinary things will do."
After Ning Shiyu stood up, he bowed to the shaman goddess again, a hint of pain flashing in his eyes, "This is just a bead."
"To me, my child whom I never had is the most precious."
"Unfortunately, he was not meant to be with us in this lifetime."
"I'll trouble the shaman goddess to take care of things for him."
After saying that, he strode out of the house.
The shaman immediately called out to him, "Young master, please wait a moment."
Ning Shiyu slowly turned around, and then heard the shaman goddess add: "Judging from your appearance, young master, you are destined for a love tribulation that you cannot avoid. Being too attached to love will drain your spirit."
"I hope you will not become obsessed with this idea, young master."
Ning Shiyu felt a slight sting in his heart, realizing that he had only come here to seek peace of mind and could not be completely trusted.
He raised his hand in a salute and strode out of the house.
Then he had Mu Li go to the shop and buy two sets of baby clothes to burn for his unborn child.
He had just returned to the military camp.
When summer arrived, it got a bit hot for Fu'er and her sister to share a room.
Especially for Le Ge'er, who is already six months old, he can't stand being squeezed at all.
Helpless, Fu'er had no choice but to move to the storage room to sleep.
Although the storage room was cool, it was also damp. After sleeping there for a few days, Fu'er developed a rash.
After learning about the situation, Granny Yu once again encouraged Madam Wen to persuade her daughter to return to the Ning residence.
When Wen's words failed to convince her, she came to the shop herself to persuade her.
This time, she not only brought the ointment, but also had the servant deliver an ice chest to Fu'er.
The stuffy room instantly felt much cooler.
Fu'er developed a lot of rashes on her arms and legs.
Granny Yu couldn't help but worry, "Miss, why don't you come back with me?"
"If this continues for a long time, what will happen if someone gets sick?"
Fu'er remained unmoved and had her own plans. "Don't worry, Granny, I'm tough and will be fine."
Granny Yu helped her crush the dried flower petals and handed them to Fu'er, who was preparing the spices.
"It's nothing serious, you won't get a rash."
"Summer is only halfway over."
She glanced at her skin, which looked so supple it seemed you could pinch water out of it, and laughed, "You've been pampered by the young master until you're as white as tofu, yet you say you have thick skin and tough flesh."
"He's back, how can I not feel heartache?"
Fu'er paused in her movements, then remained silent.
At this time, in the backyard, with only the two of them, Granny Yu didn't need to hide from others.
He whispered, "Miss, the young master has sent a letter."
"Guess what he said?"
This is also why Granny Yu wanted Fu'er to return to Ning Residence these days.
Before leaving, Ning Shiyu still wrote back, explaining important matters, but his heart was full of concern for Fu'er.
Granny Yu thought that he had stayed in Lingnan for two months, which could be considered as two months of suffering.
If Fu'er is brought back to the Ning residence, he will be happy to see her when he returns.
Fu'er has never been able to remain calm and composed when it comes to Ning Shiyu's matter.
He put down his tools and replied in a muffled voice, "What did he say?"
Instead of replying immediately, Granny Yu moved to the table and poured out the summer soup she had brought.
"Girl, come and sit down quickly, have a bowl of hot soup to quench your thirst."
Fu'er was also a little tired, so she sat down on the embroidered stool but did not drink.
What happened last time left her with a lingering trauma.
Granny Yu joked, "Why don't you even believe me? I personally brewed this summer soup."
Lotus seed and lily bulb soup.
"Yesterday, Xiang'er and I went to the young master's estate. The tenants picked them, and they were very fresh."
To discourage her from encouraging her, Granny Yu drank a bowl of wine herself first.
She cooked it this morning, and it's long since gone cold now.
Fu'er loves this summer soup the most; she can usually drink two bowls in one go.
Seeing that the old woman had drunk it, he then brought over his bowl to drink.
"The lotus roots in the farm are growing well, and the lotus flowers are blooming beautifully."
"Last year, didn't you pick a lot and make incense?"
Are you going again this year?
Fu'er certainly wanted to go. She mixed lotus and plum blossoms together and placed them in the room where the fire pit was lit in winter.
It smells fresh and pleasant, filling the whole room with fragrance.
Unfortunately, there were few lotus flowers, and since her family didn't own any land, they could only pick them from Ning Shiyu's estate.
If Ning Shiyu hadn't kicked her out of the Ning residence, she probably would have picked them long ago.
But Ning Shiyu's decision to kick her out of the Ning residence in the pouring rain was like a needle pricking her heart from time to time.
Fu'er shook her head and said, "I'm not going. The spice shop's fragrance is enough anyway."
"Granny, it's hot here. You should go back soon."
Granny Yu sighed, seeing that she seemed determined this time, no matter how she tried to coax her.
Fu'er wasn't fooled.
So we had to go back to the topic of our master.
"Don't you want to know what the young master said in his letter?"
These days, Fu'er is still somewhat worried about Ning Shiyu in Lingnan.
Every time she passed by a teahouse in the market, she could hear the vendors inside discussing the war in Lingnan.
When she suddenly heard Ning Shiyu's letter, her subconscious reaction was also to want to know.
It was clear that Granny Yu showed no sign of worry, so she guessed that Ning Shiyu should be out of danger.
After she got up, she continued with her work, stubbornly saying, "I don't want to, he kicked me out."
"His affairs are none of my business."
Granny Yu smiled helplessly and had no choice but to tell the truth, "The young master is coming back."
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