Chapter 110 Chapter 110 Update.
The county magistrate was busy with his official duties inside. When he saw the second master coming, he asked everyone else to leave.
"Shouyu is here, where are the people who followed you? Why don't you even help me change my clothes?"
The Second Master's robe was still soiled from cleaning the remaining stove. He ignored this and said:
"The basalt furnace exploded."
"I know about this, too."
The person who had just been sent away was the one who had urgently reported this matter. "The Xuanwu furnace is broken, and it will delay the construction for many days. Shouyu should think about how to build a new furnace as soon as possible to avoid delaying the important matter."
The Second Master was annoyed by his words and said, "The explosion of the basalt furnace harmed two miners, and the illegal mining harmed hundreds of miners. This is our fault."
The county magistrate said, "My brother, you are mistaken. Back then, when you were only ten years old, you already learned the art of iron smelting from the fragmentary manuscripts of our ancestors. You even advanced day by day, using blast furnaces, which were twice as effective as the government-run crucibles. This is a golden opportunity for us brothers to divide the land and become kings, restoring our ancestral legacy! These people were originally slaves, born to provide for us. What crime have you and I committed?"
At this point, he asked, "Has your newly acquired maid been serving you the daily elixir? I heard she's been keeping watch over you lately."
His brother loved to study the fragments of ancient books and tinker with machines. The Alchemy Building was formerly the Craftsman Building built by the county magistrate for his brother. On the day when the iron smelting technology was finally developed, the county magistrate was so excited that he bowed to the ancestors again and again in the ancestral hall.
Later, his brother became obsessed with immortals. He often made elixirs and prayed to immortals and gods, and gave up his interest in studying smelting skills. However, by that time, the four blast furnaces underground had been built, and the county magistrate already had grand plans in his mind.
"That girl is good, but you have a cold after all, and you need to rely on elixirs to treat it. Remember not to indulge in excessive sexual activities, as this will damage your health."
"Brother, there is no need to ask about what happens in my bedroom." The second master said sarcastically.
Ji Xu has been following the Second Master into the Alchemy Building to serve him recently. She has no knowledge of alchemy or iron smelting, and she follows him in just to see when the Second Master wants to change clothes or when he is thirsty, and to do some odd jobs like adding tea and pouring water. In fact, any maid can do these things.
But the Second Master insisted that she follow him all the time, and she was the one who kept watch over him at night, making people feel that he couldn't live without her.
There were rumors in the mansion that she had been taken as the second master's concubine.
Although it was not pointed out explicitly and there was no title of concubine or wife, everyone thought that they were a couple. It was probably inevitable that Xing would exaggerate and talk about the misunderstanding to others everywhere.
As a result, the servants in the mansion treated her with even more respect.
Even Ji Xu's monthly salary was increased to two taels per month by the treasury according to the share of a concubine.
Ji Xu was too lazy to explain. This misunderstanding only tied her to the Second Master more tightly. It also had temporary benefits for her. Not to mention the monthly allowance, she could also easily withdraw what she needed from the warehouse.
For some reason, after the Second Master returned from the county court that day, the county magistrate ordered the medical officer to take the Second Master's pulse.
Afterwards, Yu presented the dark ochre pill to the Second Master and asked him to take it. Without even seeing him eat it, he fell to the ground and could not get up.
"Second Master, one of these herbs, the Dragon's Mouth Grass, was purchased by the master at great expense. It has been refined into a pill and must be taken daily. Second Master, please stop teasing us and refusing to take it. This cold will penetrate into the bones for a long time and can be fatal."
When Yu said this, Xing glared at Ji Xu fiercely, blaming her for allowing the Second Master to refuse to take the elixir.
"I have served you for a short time and don't know how to behave. Please don't degrade yourself!" Yu begged.
Later, Erye remained silent for a long time, and finally, he took it amidst the repeated calls of "Please, Erye".
He really didn't get cold again during the past few nights, so Yu Jixu felt much more relaxed while keeping watch. He no longer had to add charcoal and quilts to him and run around busying himself.
It was a long night and the second master could not fall asleep in his tent, calling out to the secretary several times.
Ji Xu heard this from outside, raised the felt curtain and asked, "Are you feeling cold again?"
The lights in the inner room had been blown out, and it was pitch black. Someone from inside the tent said, "It's not cold. I was just asking what you're doing. Why aren't you sleeping yet?"
"I'm pounding and boiling the herbs. Second Master, do you remember the old doctor who came to take your pulse the other day? I asked him to write a prescription for your burns and asked the warehouse to prepare the medicine."
"Are you ill?"
She heard the sound of the curtain being lifted in the darkness, but couldn't see clearly. She still held onto the curtain and said,
"It's not me. Second Master, do you remember the miner who got his face burned that day? He was a tough guy too. At night, they said he was going to die, so the iron officials threw him aside and waited for his body to be collected in the morning. Who knew he was still breathing? I took this medicine and applied it internally and externally. After two days, he's getting better. It looks like he can survive."
She recently followed the Second Master into the Alchemy Building to serve. The Second Master was busy repairing and inspecting various places, so she took the opportunity to do this.
In the darkness, the Second Master said, "I just thought he was going to die."
She hooked the felt curtain, knelt down and continued to grind the medicine.
"He can live. When he was half-grown, he kept calling for his mother. Perhaps there was something in his mind that helped him to hold on. He told me yesterday that fortunately he still has one eye that can see. If he can get out alive, he will sew for his blind mother for the rest of his life."
The Second Master fell silent after hearing this. Ji Xu assumed that he was going to sleep and was about to lower the felt curtain.
"Don't lower the curtain." The second master said again.
"There are candles lit here, so it won't dazzle my eyes?" Ji Xu said.
"No problem."
Ji Xu did as he said, then sat down to mix the medicine into a paste, and set up a furnace to boil the medicine. He had to go down to the Dan Tower early the next morning and had no time to do these things. He could only do it at night. Saving a life is also a good deed.
Here the felt curtains were half tilted, the candlelight was yellow and bright, her shadow was gentle and silent, she finished all these in an orderly manner before going to sleep.
"What is Xu's idea?"
Only then did he realize that he had not slept yet. Ji Xu lay on the couch and thought for a while:
"I can live peacefully with my mother and sisters, and then open a restaurant, with guests coming and going, and it will be bustling and lively."
Because the Second Master valued her, Ji Xu had unimpeded access in the mansion, but only within the mansion. Not to mention leaving the city, she couldn't even leave the mansion now.
The doorman said, "This is the master's order. Rumors are spreading everywhere outside, and the situation is chaotic. You are a girl from a young family, so you'd better stay at home and serve the second master well."
Even when the younger sisters received their monthly allowance and wanted to go to the West Market to buy some candy, they were stopped. However, because of Ji Xu's status as the eldest maid, the servants also said:
"Just tell us what you want to buy, and we'll go get it."
Even my sister's sugar figurine was delivered to me, but I was not allowed to go out without permission.
According to Ji Xu's observation, the Second Master's whereabouts were always in the Alchemy Building, the Banquet Hall, and the courtyard, and he was also restricted. One day, he suddenly wanted to buy cinnabar from a certain shop in the West Market to paint, and it was Yu who ordered it, as if he knew that Ji Xu could not leave the house now.
"Go to the bookstore at the back. They sell cinnabar from Jiangnan. It has a good color and doesn't fade."
Yu sent the errand boy to go and buy it, but he came back and said that he didn't buy it.
"That store hasn't sold cinnabar for many years. There is top-grade cinnabar from Chang'an in the warehouse. It is also very good for Second Master to use." Yu said.
That day, Ji Xu came back from visiting his sister in the lower courtyard and heard the maids saying:
"The King of Yan has set up a hunting ground for the spring hunt and has sent an invitation to the Second Master and the County Magistrate to go hunting in Yan State. When they heard that the nobles had hunted prey, they were in high spirits and gave money to the servants like water. I wonder who the Second Master of our courtyard will take with him."
"Usually, when something like this happens, it's always the three older girls like Yu who go along. But this year, that may not be the case."
Seeing Ji Xu coming in, they hurriedly dispersed.
Inside the room, on the table was a new dress sent by the storekeeper. The material was very fine, and there was also a golden phoenix hairpin and a pair of moon-shaped pendants.
The water shield, water chestnut and lotus coming in and out couldn't help but take a look.
Xing flipped through it behind people's backs and saw that it was an embroidered long-sleeved jacket. She tried it on herself secretly and saw that the waist was obviously thinner. Her face changed for a moment and she took off her hairpins and earrings.
Ji Xu just came in. Xing glared at her, stomped her foot and left. During lunch, the second master mentioned this matter and asked Ji Xu to accompany him tomorrow.
"The journey to Yan State is long, I'm afraid she can't handle it alone." Yu said.
"Crowds of people only disturb the pleasure of solitude."
When General Yu heard what Master Erye said, his face flushed with shame and he stopped arguing.
Ji Xu had a premonition that this trip was not just about hunting, because when she was underground in the Alchemy Building, she saw boxes of swords being shipped out, but the Second Master was in an exceptionally good mood, as if he was looking forward to this hunt.
The next day, Ji Xu wore a long-sleeved jacket, put on the golden phoenix hairpin and the bright moon pendant, and accompanied the second master to the State of Yan.
The procession from the County Magistrate's Mansion was huge, with luxurious cars and black umbrellas and red banners. The whole street was crowded with people, and the people watching the excitement on the roadside were pointing and talking.
I saw that the palace soldiers were leading the way, in the middle were the nobles' precious carriages, and at the back were the baggage carts. The carriages were covered with black cloth, and deep ruts were left behind as they passed by.
The red-flagged carriage that Ji Xu rode in was a type of carriage only available to officials of the rank of two thousand stones. It was rare to see one in the past, let alone ride in one. It was quite new to ride in it at first. Because it was for the Second Master's travel, the carriage was covered with brocade mattresses, and there were a few tables and pillows, a plum blossom incense burner, and a ceramic stove for making tea. Since the carriage was on a flat road, there was no need to worry about bumps.
After leaving the city, I saw the snow on the roadside melting, the grass growing and the birds singing, full of vitality.
The State of Yan was adjacent to the Xiongnu and had barren land. The weather had been bad recently and it rained all the way there. The baggage cart got stuck on the way, delaying us for quite some time.
At sunset, they arrived at a garden in Wen'an County of Yan State. Fortunately, the rain had stopped. As they walked into the garden, they found that it was not as barren and desolate as the remote areas. Traces of human efforts to expand the garden could be seen everywhere.
People mined soil to build mountains inside. The artificially carved mountains are quite steep and rugged, quite as dangerous as Erqiao, and there are deep forests and steep ravines, which is very natural.
Driving in from outside the garden, we saw many rare birds and beasts, even foxes, wolves, tigers, bears and bears, but they were kept in cages.
Minister Li said that it would be released into the mountains tomorrow, and strong men from all over would hunt it and compete for the bounty.
It is worth mentioning that this Li Shizhong, who was supposed to be the attendant of the Prince of Yan, should not be called Shizhong according to the etiquette. Shizhong was an official who followed the Shaofu and guarded the emperor. He was a close minister of the emperor, so he was called Shizhong. The attendant of the Prince of Yan was actually called Shizhong, which was an application of the emperor's etiquette.
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