Chapter 42 The little beggar walked away in such a hurry, without even turning his head back...
Just past noon, most of the city's residents rushed to the execution ground to see how He Renzhi would be brought to justice.
Of the people in Huaiyuan, seven or eight out of ten have left.
Vendors who used to get up before dawn to fight for a good stall are now abandoning their hard-won spots, leaving them lying on the roadside. Even the stingiest shop owners have surprisingly granted their employees half a day off.
From elderly women with white hair leaning on canes to infants nursing in their mothers' arms, the market was packed with people. The taverns and teahouses across the street were also crowded from early morning, and the best seats by the window on the second floor were all snapped up.
Everyone was waiting to see what would happen.
After parting ways with the audience at Lingbao, Yu Nie, as previously agreed, went to the restaurant alone.
But before going to the restaurant, she was worried about the progress of Langxi's birthday gift, so she took a detour to Xiangyun Pavilion first.
To her surprise, the boss rubbed his hands together and came up to her with a big smile, but his tone was extremely embarrassed as he told her that the Moon Embroidery she had chosen earlier had been accidentally cut too much by the shop assistant.
That piece of cloth wasn't enough to make even one new cloak.
Fearing she would be angry, the shopkeeper hurriedly took out a new piece of cloth from the cabinet and handed it to her: "Young Taoist priest, look, it's from the same batch of fabric, the pattern is exactly the same. I've already had the embroiderers work through the night, and I guarantee it will be perfectly embroidered and delivered to you before the auspicious time at the beginning of the month."
The other party has already corrected the mistake.
Yu Nie didn't make things difficult for them and agreed, "Alright, as long as we don't miss the appointed time, that's fine. I hope the boss will keep a close eye on things this time. My sister's birthday is extremely important to me, and we can't afford any more mishaps."
The boss readily agreed.
Having received the other party's promise, she left Xiangyun Pavilion with the peach wood sword in her arms and began to ponder the matter of going to Longdao.
She has now raised enough money to go to Longdao.
Without needing to calculate, she knew from the letter from her martial uncle Cui Miaochang that he would likely return to the temple around the first day of next month.
The journey to Longxi is long and arduous, taking at least ten days round trip.
Yu Nie knew that if he delayed any longer, he might not be able to finish this matter before his uncle Cui Miaochang returned to the mountain.
Moreover, Langxi's birthday is also at the beginning of next month.
In other words, she could not delay any longer and had to set off within two or three days at the latest.
She thought to herself, and soon arrived at the restaurant.
Looking up at the sign, Yu Nie slung the peach wood sword behind his back and stepped into the restaurant.
The large hall was empty; including her, there were only three tables of guests.
She glanced upstairs and saw that it was even more deserted. The window seats, which would usually be full at this time, were all empty.
The waiter was dozing off, leaning against the counter with his chin propped up. Hearing her footsteps, he hurried over to greet her.
The young servant, with a round face and dark eyebrows, took off the towel draped over his shoulder and, speaking with a thick local accent, asked solicitously, "What would you like to eat, sir?"
Yu Nie chose a seat facing the street and sat down.
The servant poured her a cup of tea.
Last year during the Lantern Festival, my uncle Cui Miaochang brought a few of them to this shop.
She still had some recollection of the taste of a few of the dishes.
After ordering the dishes that Langxi and the others wanted, she then ordered two more dishes: "Let's have some green bamboo mushrooms and sweet and sour lotus root ribs. The sweet and sour flavor of the lotus root ribs should be as strong as possible. And a pot of rice wine."
"Alright, rest assured, sir, I guarantee you'll be satisfied."
After the servant finished writing down the names of the dishes, he turned around to report them to the kitchen.
As if remembering something, Yu Nie called out to him again: "Wait a minute, our people have something to do and will be a little late. There's no need to rush to serve the dishes."
The servant smiled knowingly: "I understand. Several tables of guests today did the same thing, ordering their food and rushing to the execution ground to see He Renzhi lose his head. Your friends... I suppose they're going to join in the fun too?"
Yu Nie didn't deny it: "Yes."
The servant, all smiles, said, "I'll serve you a few refreshing cold dishes first. The hot dishes will be freshly cooked and served as soon as everyone is here, guaranteed to be piping hot. Is that alright with you?"
Yu Nie replied in a light and cheerful tone, "Thank you for your trouble. We'll do as you say."
"Alright!" The servant deftly shook the towel in his hand and draped it back over his shoulder: "I'll get it ready for you right away."
Before leaving, he added, "If you need anything else, just let me know."
Having said that, the servant withdrew and went to the kitchen, stepping on the slightly creaking wooden floor.
With nothing to do, Yu Nie idly propped his head up with his hand, casually pulled a chopstick from the bamboo tube, and fiddled with it between his fingers.
She was very good at twirling pens in the lab before, and now she's doing just as well with chopsticks.
In the blink of an eye, she suddenly recalled the scene when she saw Zijing off.
What she disliked most in her life was parting.
They had known each other for almost a month, which wasn't a long time, but the things they experienced together were all major events: pacifying Rou Ran, eliminating treacherous officials, and even her creation of peacock blue.
Profound events always leave a deep impression.
These few things combined are more exciting than everything she's encountered in the past few years combined.
The chopsticks between her fingers had stopped sometime earlier, hovering in mid-air, motionless for a long time. The image of that person's departing back flashed through her mind again, and she muttered to herself, "Leaving in such a hurry, without even turning back..."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she shook her head self-deprecatingly. The person is gone; what's the point of dwelling on it? Such rambling would only make it seem like she can't let go.
After a moment, she sighed lightly, then thought: Returning to Jian'an might not be such a bad thing. At least she could avoid the swords and spears of the battlefield and wouldn't have to live in constant fear. As long as she kept an eye on Huan Xun, he could live a peaceful life as a civil official.
Putting everything else aside, at least it guarantees that I'll stay alive.
Anyway, this peaceful period won't last long. The whole world will soon fall into chaos, and war is only a matter of time.
Moreover, the Northern Ye dynasty was firmly controlled by powerful clans. Those in power were all-powerful, indulging in feasts and revelry while trampling on the common people. The people were exploited like weeds, suffering immensely.
She had heard from Langxi that the late emperor wanted to break the situation where the imperial power was controlled by powerful families, so he implemented the examination system for seven years. This year, for some unknown reason, it was put aside again.
The path for those from humble backgrounds to rise through the ranks and become officials has once again been blocked. The only way to enter officialdom is through the most prestigious families that select officials based solely on merit.
It is said that "only talent matters," but who doesn't know that "family background" is the core condition for entering officialdom? No matter how outstanding your talent or how prestigious your position in the south, if your family background is not strong, it is useless.
As a student who had attended school, Yu Nie understood that this action was clearly a step backward in history.
It is also known that turning backward instead of moving forward will never end well.
At this moment, she felt it was not worth risking her life for such a dynasty.
She was thinking to herself when she glanced at a ragged, limping little beggar on the roadside.
At only six or seven years old, he had already learned to bow to passersby while holding a broken bowl, and he was so thin that he looked as if he could be blown away by the wind.
Seeing the little beggar's emaciated appearance, she couldn't bear it and got up to push open the door and go out.
She walked to the little beggar outside, squatted down, took out five taels of silver from her waist, and stuffed it into the little beggar's hand: "Take this money, so you can at least buy some food to fill your stomach."
She said apologetically, "Sister, I didn't bring much money today. If you get hungry another day, go to Lingbao Temple, which is seven miles from the city gate. Someone there will give you something to eat."
The little beggar, clutching the gleaming silver, blinked his large, bright eyes and repeatedly bowed in gratitude, his head almost touching the ground: "Thank you so much, kind sir, thank you so much, kind sir..."
Yu Nie quickly reached out to support her and said softly, "Don't be so polite with me. Take good care of this money and don't lose it on the way."
Unexpectedly, the little beggar stared at her for a moment, then lowered his head, took out one or two taels of silver from his hand, and returned the rest to her, saying in a childish voice, "Sister, you are kind, but this is too much silver. My mother said that it is not easy for ordinary people to earn money, so I will only take this little bit. One or two taels of silver is enough for my mother and me to buy a lot of food."
Upon hearing this, Yu Nie was taken aback. She lowered her eyes to look at the silver in her hand, then looked up to meet the little beggar's large, sunken eyes. Those clear black and white eyes shone brightly, reflecting her image.
Suddenly, a wave of sadness welled up in her eyes. She shook her head and, without saying a word, stuffed all the silver back into her small hands.
“Your mother is right, but… my sister is young and strong, and she can perform rituals for people, so making money is easy for her.” She patted the girl’s head: “Take this money back with you. If it’s not enough, come find me at Lingbao Temple outside the city.”
Feeling that simply giving money wasn't thoughtful enough, she turned around and bought a few steaming hot meat buns from the shop. She then quickly asked the shopkeeper to wrap the freshly baked roast chicken from that morning in oil paper and stuff it into the child's hands.
The little beggar repeatedly declined, but under her "forceful" approach, he could only clutch the silver and food tightly in his hand as if they were incredibly precious treasures. He then bowed three times before leaving with gratitude.
Watching the little beggar's retreating figure, Yu Nie felt a heavy weight in her heart.
After the shop assistants finished packing her food, the two of them stood at the door.
The servant praised her, "Sir, you are truly kind-hearted. It is rare to see someone give so much to a beggar."
He sighed and said, "This little girl has been begging on this street for some time now. At first, many kind people gave her alms, but later more and more people came to beg. Gradually, no one gave her any food anymore."
"Is it because... if I give it to her, it will attract more other beggars?" she wondered.
The servant gave a helpless smile: "Young Taoist priest is wise. There's a saying that goes, 'Saving one person is easy, but saving thousands of people is difficult.'"
“But we can’t just not save them,” Yu Nie said.
The servant replied, "The world is in such a desolate state, with so many beggars. I'm afraid that the Taoist priest's kindness alone is not enough to save them all."
Saving one person is easy, saving a hundred is difficult. The saying may be crude, but the principle is sound.
Her kindness was but a drop in the ocean compared to the immense poverty.
After saying this, the servant turned and went into the shop.
As she watched the little beggar's departing figure, she suddenly had a new answer to her previous question, for some reason.
It's certainly not worth risking your life for a corrupt dynasty. But if it's for the sake of millions of ordinary people, then it's incomparable.
As she pondered, a familiar voice came from behind her: "Qiqi..."
She turned around and saw that Lang Xi and the others had returned from the execution ground.
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Author's Note: The Huaiyuan arc is nearing its end. Thank you all for your favorites and comments! [starry eyes][dog head with rose in hand][let me see][keep it up][laughing][laughing][laughing]
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