On the second day after the emperor returned to the city, it began to drizzle in Quecheng.
This was the first rain of the new year, bringing with it a damp and cold breath, shrouding the entire imperial city in rain and fog.
The rain continued for three days without stopping. The water level of the pond in the city rose, washing out the fallen leaves and dead branches of the entire winter into the river, as if to clear out some old secrets accumulated in this ancient city.
In the early hours of the morning, the sky was gloomy as usual, the humidity made people sleepy, and there were few pedestrians on the street, and no one was in high spirits.
The side door of the backyard of Wangchen Tower creaked open, and a servant wearing a straw raincoat and a hat walked out. He carried a wooden box wrapped in oilcloth onto an ox cart, and then drove the cart towards the back alley as if he knew the way there well.
The ox cart swayed through the streets and alleys, took shortcuts on various narrow roads, and finally stopped at the back door of a quiet mansion.
The boy jumped out of the car and rang the door knocker.
Dangdangdang, no more, no less, exactly three sounds.
After a while, the gate was half opened, and a woman with tied hair and dressed in men's clothes stuck her head out.
The servant respectfully handed over the box wrapped in oilcloth.
"These are the newest red-throated pearls, weighing four ounces and three cents. They should be enough to last until late spring or early summer, but there's no more to go around."
Xiao Nanhui carefully wiped the water off the oilcloth with his sleeve and said with heartfelt gratitude, "Thank you for your help. Please tell your shopkeeper that I'll bring him some food when I have time."
The servant chuckled and took out a crumpled piece of straw paper from his lapel and handed it over.
Xiao Nanhui took it and looked at it, and instantly recognized the author of the vigorous and flamboyant calligraphy.
"My shopkeeper knows that Miss Xiao is a generous person who doesn't want to owe favors to others, so he has already drawn up a list. You only need to buy according to the list and don't have to bother thinking about it yourself."
The first line was filled with raccoon dog plush mushrooms worth ten or twenty gold coins. Xiao Nanhui smiled and put the piece of torn paper away. The little bit of gratitude he had just felt had disappeared without a trace.
"Shopkeeper Yao is truly thoughtful."
"Of course, of course." The servant climbed onto the oxcart swiftly, turned it around and headed back the way they came. "See you later, Miss Xiao."
The ox cart creaked away and disappeared at the corner of the alley. Xiao Nan stood there for a while, then carefully picked up the box and went back inside.
The continuous rain made the roof tiles slippery. The wall that you could walk on like flat ground on normal days is now difficult to walk on, let alone while holding something in your hand.
Xiao Nanhui took some effort to land.
Now, whenever she is at home, she stays in Aunt Dai's yard.
Because only here will I not meet Xiao Jun.
The girl who used to always wait for her on the swing on time was nowhere to be seen. There was some water accumulated in the yard, reflecting the dead grass on the wall, making it look even more desolate than in winter.
Xiao Nanhui sighed and walked to the small stove beside him. A small pot of medicine was heating on the stove. A layer of white frost had already appeared on the outside of the pot, and it was obvious that it had been simmering for a long time.
She untied the small box from the oilcloth and opened it, revealing three porcelain bottles held together by soft silk. She carefully removed one, using the warmth of her palm to melt the seal around the bottle, and poured the bluish-white powder inside into the medicine jar.
A sweet and warm smell filled the air. Xiao Nanhui touched his fingertips with a little powder and put it in his mouth to taste it. It was very bitter.
That's the smell of shallow water redthroat pearls.
Red-throat pearls are the medicine that Aunt Dai has been using for three years. They are a powder made from the secretions of mussel shells that are dried and mostly collected near the southern sea city. They have a miraculous effect in relieving labor pains and dispelling wind and cold. In ancient times, it was a good medicine for people living on the coast to prevent typhoid fever. Nowadays, there are very few merchants selling them in inland areas, and the shallow water red-throat pearls produced in streams are even more difficult to find.
The misfortune that happened many years ago still left irreversible damage to Aunt Dai's body. In addition to the terrible scars on the surface of her skin, the flesh and bones that had been crushed and cut inside her body would still ache from time to time. This pain was most unbearable after the winter every year, especially on rainy and snowy days.
Ever since she started receiving a salary in the army, she began to ask Yao Yi to help her search for various medicinal ingredients and prescriptions. She has accumulated a lot of experience over the years. Among them, the red-throat pearl is the most suitable, but it is a little difficult to find, and she always owes a lot of favors to Yao Yi.
After resealing the medicine jar with lacquer bone pills, Xiao Nanhui picked up the box and headed towards the main house.
Fang pushed open the door, and as soon as her left foot touched the ground, she noticed that there was another person in the room.
Someone got there first and occupied the only chair in the room, and was enjoying a plate of persimmon cakes.
Xiao Nanhui walked forward expressionlessly and snatched the plate back.
"This is what I gave to Aunt Dai. How could it be in your stomach?"
"Eating too much of this stuff will make you get irritated. I mean well." The scavenger's cheeks were puffed up, and his fingers were still stained with icing sugar. He fumbled with his clothes and turned around to complain, "You've been back for a few days, and you're still avoiding me. Did you do something wrong?"
Xiao Nan didn't even look back, but put the plate in his hand aside and carefully put the box in the corner.
The next second, Shrike's big face appeared in front of her.
"There's something wrong with you."
Xiao Nanhui snorted coldly, glanced at Aunt Dai who was sleeping in the inner room, and turned to add new charcoal to the brazier.
She guessed that Shrike's big, solid head was not that smart at all, and he would not know what she had been thinking over the past few days.
As expected, the other party pondered for a moment, then gave a greasy, pretentious smile. "Did that Su Pingchuan kid have something against you again? I think you should ask the old emperor to transfer you back to Subei. After all, you've been fighting that Xu Shu for many years, and you've accumulated enough experience to write a book."
Xiao Nanhui said nothing, but his hand holding the tongs unconsciously exerted force, and his knuckles turned white.
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