Chapter 49 Huang Daopo, I even held you when you were little!
Jiang Yuzhi did not sense any other aura on the old spinning wheel, but her intuition told her that the spinning wheel was not simple.
She took out two long-lost paper figures from her small bag, handed one to Bai Yan and told him to keep it close to his body, and stuck the other on the loom. If anything was amiss with either of them, she could sense it in time and use her divine hearing to help.
That night, Bai Yan did not return to his own room, but slept on the tatami mat in Jiang Yuzhi's room.
Under the bright moon, everyone in the bamboo house fell into a deep sleep.
Why is it like this again? Even ghosts keep having dreams. Jiang Yuzhi stood there, used to it, surrounded by a mist.
Not long after, someone gently took her hand from behind, which was hanging down naturally.
Jiang Yuzhi was startled, abruptly pulled her hand away, and quickly turned around, her face full of vigilance. "Who?"
The man looked aggrieved. "I've missed you so much, my wife. Don't you recognize me?"
White inkstone?
A thin mist drifted between them.
Does he not remember? Or does he forget his memories as a living person whenever he is in his current state?
Jiang Yuzhi looked him up and down, then tentatively stepped forward and suspiciously reached out to pull open Bai Yan's collar. The little paper figure that had been attached to his inner garment during the day was intact.
Hmm, it shouldn't be something else in disguise.
Bai Yan's face was pale and her ears were red. She didn't resist at all. "Wife... we're still outside. It's not appropriate for us to..."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuzhi looked up, only then realizing how inappropriate her actions had been. She quickly pulled her clothes back, coughed lightly twice, and calmly turned her back to look around. "You can see your surroundings now. Have you been here before?"
A hint of disappointment flashed in Bai Yan's increasingly light amber eyes. As she straightened her clothes, she said, "No."
"Let's go take a look."
"Okay." Bai Yan jogged a few steps and took his wife's hand again. This time she didn't refuse, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily curled up.
In unfamiliar surroundings, it's better to be close together. Jiang Yuzhi thought to herself.
Before me stretched an endless cotton field.
The brown and white cotton plants, as tall as Jiang Yuzhi's shoulders, were the source of their arduous journey as they walked one after the other through the field.
As they walked, Bai Yan led the way, while Jiang Yuzhi kept watch behind.
About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea has passed. Jiang Yuzhi thought they would never reach the end, but they finally walked out of the cotton field and found a bright and clear view.
On the open land, there was a familiar spinning wheel, with the picked and carded cotton piled on burlap sacks, soft and light.
A woman sat on the ground beside the spinning wheel, skillfully spinning white cotton into even and strong cotton thread.
Jiang Yuzhi felt as if she had seen the woman somewhere before.
They stopped some distance from the spinning wheel.
"You've arrived?" The woman didn't turn her head, her voice filled with laughter.
“You are Huang Daopo,” Jiang Yuzhi said with certainty.
"Little Zhi doesn't recognize me?"
Don't you recognize her? Jiang Yuzhi was stunned. Apart from seeing the clay statue of Huang Daopo at the Huangpo Temple during the day, where else had she seen it?
Huang Daopo finished setting up the thread in her hand, stood up, ignoring the few cotton lints sticking to her body, and slowly walked to Jiang Yu with a kind smile on her face.
She looked to be only in her twenties or thirties, but at this moment she looked like a real sixty-year-old woman, hunched over, took Jiang Yuzhi's hand and patted it twice, "It doesn't matter if you don't remember. You were only two or three years old then. I was traveling in the mortal world and happened to pass by your family's ancestral hall. I saw that I was enshrined there, so I shamelessly went in to rest. You happened to be hiding in the ancestral hall and could see me. Now you've grown up so much."
Jiang Yuzhi didn't remember much, after all, she was only two or three years old when she could walk steadily, but she suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.
"I'm sorry, Mother-in-law." Her eyes were filled with apology.
“Little girl, you’re being too polite. Come, sit with your grandmother for a while,” Huang Daopo said, glancing at Bai Yan. “You should come too.”
Bai Yan nodded nervously and followed behind them.
Huang Daopo waved her hand, and the spinning wheel and cotton pile disappeared from their original spot, replaced by a wooden table and bench, a common sight in a farmer's home.
"Speaking of which, I even held you in my arms back then," Granny Huang poured out a full bowl of water and handed it to Jiang Yuzhi. "If this young master doesn't mind, he can pour himself a bowl of water to drink."
"Thank you, Grandma." Upon hearing the permission, Bai Yan took the teapot that had just been put down and poured a bowl for herself.
Seeing that he looked pitiful, Jiang Yuzhi couldn't help but introduce him to Granny Huang, "Granny, he is a very good friend of mine. I don't know why he came here with me this time, but he means me no harm."
"Xiao Zhi is still so kind. I summoned you here, so of course I know who he is. I just don't like him."
Bai Yan didn't know where he had offended Huang Daopo, so he dared not speak anymore and just kept gulping water down his throat.
"Don't worry about him, Xiao Zhi. Do you remember why you came to see me?"
Jiang Yuzhi stretched out her hand and showed the gold thread on her wrist to Huang Daopo, "This thread."
"You should have already guessed what this wire is for."
"I...repair it?"
“Clever girl, your grandmother can’t really teach you anything,” Huang Daopo pointed to the sky, “It is the most benevolent thing. The cotton has already been picked, and most of the dust and debris has been flung out. It’s time to spin the thread.”
Huang Daopo gently grasped the gold thread on Jiang Yuzhi's wrist; the thread was now long enough to wrap around her wrist more than once.
"Is the spinning wheel ready?" His eyes were full of fine lines, and his loving gaze fell on Jiang Yuzhi's face.
"Spinning wheel?" Jiang Yuzhi was completely confused.
"Xiao Zhi is smart and will understand soon. Grandma can only teach you some skills that are different from ordinary people. This young master should also be by your side. Remember to study hard."
The two spirits, though bewildered, listened attentively to the lesson.
Huang Daopo sat down in front of the newly appeared loom, muttering to herself.
"I still prefer that hand-cranked spinning wheel, but things are different now. Everyone needs to make a living, and spinning wheels need to be upgraded. The bad ones will be buried and replaced with better ones. The one in the bamboo house has been given to Xiaozhi. She should cherish it."
"I will, Mother-in-law."
The cotton threads were slowly woven into cloth on the loom. Huang Daopo wove very slowly, the shuttle weaving back and forth through the cotton threads.
Jiang Yuzhi was very familiar with this set of movements, but she also sensed that something was different.
The cotton cloth woven by Huang Daopo exudes a soft, lustrous sheen, flowing from her hands to the shuttle and then to the cotton cloth itself.
Jiang Yuzhi was mesmerized.
A batch of complete cloth was woven without anyone noticing.
"Do you understand?" Huang Daopo put the cloth away with satisfaction. The loom, also about the size of a palm, floated in her hand.
Jiang Yuzhi shook her head honestly.
"It's alright. This loom is also for Xiaozhi. Take it and put it in your bag."
The little loom obediently drifted to the small sash around Jiang Yuzhi's waist, pushed open the sash, and slipped inside.
"It's getting late, Xiaozhi, you must take good care of yourself and don't let yourself be dragged down by someone you don't know well." As she spoke, Huang Daopo gave Bai Yan a meaningful glare.
Bai Yan had no idea how much Huang Daopo disliked her, and dared not ask at all when it was true. She stood next to Jiang Yuzhi, looking aggrieved.
Jiang Yuzhi placed her hand on the small bag and said solemnly, "I will, Mother-in-law."
Huang Daopo nodded in satisfaction, her eyes crinkling. "Hmm, Grandma is leaving now. When Xiaozhi wanted to leave, she thought of the spinning wheel in the bamboo house and she could go out. She was so anxious that she grabbed this young master, otherwise she would have been unable to pull him down."
As she finished speaking, Granny Huang slowly walked away from them, about to disappear from their sight, when she seemed to remember something. "There's a poor little fellow in Wannan. Don't be afraid of him. He did some bad things, but he doesn't mean any harm. If you can, Xiaozhi, please take him in." Then she disappeared completely.
“My lady…” Bai Yan’s eyes were moist as he looked innocently at Jiang Yuzhi.
"...Although I don't know the reason, my mother-in-law meant no harm."
"I know, but... have I ever caused trouble for my wife before?"
Jiang Yuzhi frowned slightly. "I don't know either," she said, unwilling to think about it further.
"My wife, can you comfort me?"
"How do you want to comfort me?" Jiang Yuzhi asked hesitantly.
Bai Yan calmly stretched out his arms.
really.
The expected request.
Jiang Yuzhi reluctantly stepped forward and hugged him, while silently imagining the shape of the spinning wheel in her mind.
The two souls vanished like smoke.
Just like when she returned from the underworld last time, Bai Yan's soul returned to her body, while Jiang Yuzhi entered the realm in her physical form as a soul.
She didn't have time to check on Bai Yan's condition. As if sensing its owner's return, the spinning wheel transformed into a streak of light and disappeared into the small bag.
Jiang Yuzhi opened the small bag, and the spinning wheel and loom were placed side by side.
Her heart seemed to have settled down.
As dawn broke, the white inkstone slowly awoke.
Jiang Yuzhi's concerned face greeted him. "Are you feeling unwell?"
Bai Yan pressed hard on his temples, "It's alright, it just feels like I had a very long dream."
I don't remember again.
After a moment, Bai Yan noticed something was missing from the room. "Yu Zhi, where's the spinning wheel?"
Jiang Yuzhi opened the small bag and handed it to Bai Yan, saying, "We've met Huang Daopo here."
"us?"
"Um."
Bai Yan felt his head was hurting even more. Why did he have no memory of it?
"I can't remember. Is it because I'm just a mortal? Can't I retain memories of gods?"
"Maybe so. Don't overthink it. Let's go to the temple to pray to Granny Huang and thank her for her guidance. We can also buy you some breakfast while we're at it."
"Alright."
...
When Jiang Yuzhi saw the statue of Huang Po in the temple again, she felt that the clay statue was more spiritual than a deity; it looked more like a compassionate ordinary woman.
They devoutly lit incense and left the Huangpo Temple along with the flow of people going to work.
The yamen runners from the prefecture were already waiting outside.
I wonder where that poor little guy that Granny Huang was talking about is.
There's no beginning or end, and I don't know how to find it.
Jiang Yuzhi decided to put the matter aside for the time being and listen to what the yamen runner had to say.
The two constables were both burly men, each carrying a food box containing what appeared to be freshly bought breakfast. Jiang Yuzhi could already smell the aroma.
One of them excitedly wanted to grasp Bai Yan's hand, but then, remembering his status, he restrained himself. "Your Highness, Miss, this is the breakfast that the Prefect ordered us to buy. The officials you brought are currently investigating, and the Prince's side is still waiting for you to go there personally. What do you think is the best time?"
Bai Yan tilted his head, his eyes questioning Jiang Yuzhi.
"Mingze, let's eat first. After we finish eating, we'll go and probe the depths of Prince Huai'an's abilities."
"good."
So the ghost and the human who had just come out went back and had breakfast together with the yamen runners in the dining hall of Huangpo Temple.
The two constables were initially quite reserved, but soon they began to recount the actions and deeds of the Prince of Huai'an in detail.
When Princess Nanzhao was still alive, the Prince had little presence. Unlike other noble sons, he was dissolute and rude, rarely leaving his residence. He liked raising sheep and had a sheep that he had raised from a lamb to adulthood. Occasionally, he would take his sheep to wander in the vegetable garden, and he would send servants from his residence to buy the vegetables that the sheep ate.
Princess Nanzhao has passed away, and Prince Yang's old age is also nearing its end.
To overcome his grief, the prince raised another dog.
Later, for some unknown reason, the Prince's mansion began to purchase grain on a large scale. The prefect initially thought that the Prince of Huai'an was up to no good, until he saw him again.
The once frail prince became fat and chubby, so much so that his flesh jiggled when he walked.
The prefect was unsure of what to do and didn't know how to report it.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuzhi was speechless. Could it be that the grain harvested was all eaten by the Prince? Otherwise, how could he have become so fat in such a short time?
But we can't just eat all the grain we buy, can we?
It seems like a somewhat outrageous fact; we'll just have to wait for them to see for themselves.
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