Chapter 17 Ripples in the Wind "Ning Lulu, no maid in any household would dare to..."
17 Ripples
Whether the village chiefs understood Ji Ming's words or they themselves could not bear the consequences of petitioning the court, they did not rush to submit the petition, but instead continued to collect surplus grain from house to house day after day.
Farmers were busy figuring out how to save their families' food for the winter, and they couldn't spare the time for purchasing or correspondence. As a result, Ninglu's business was also not doing well, and she had to finish work early for several days in a row.
When she returned that day, the sun had not yet set. Ninglu leaped over the fence and entered. Dacheng and Yu Niang were not home, and the courtyard was deserted and unusually quiet.
Just as he was about to push the door open, his eyes darted around, and he moved quietly, tiptoeing to the window frame and peering through the crack in the window.
The thatched hut wasn't well-lit, and it got particularly dark inside in the afternoon.
Peeking through the window, Ning Lu saw no one on the bed. Looking down, she caught sight of Ji Ming sitting by the window, and she jumped in fright.
Before she could cry out and back away, she discovered that Ji Ming was asleep.
Ning Lu blinked, and seeing that his breathing rhythm hadn't changed, she decided to peek at him openly.
Her movements did not disturb him.
During this time, she traveled to several villages and had become proficient in using some of the original owner's skills. Footwork, aiming, and even breath control were no longer a problem for her.
With her current skill in skimming the water and climbing onto rooftops, she could even call herself a master of light-body kung fu.
That being said, as a frail female college student with absolutely no fitness awareness in modern times, she would subconsciously feel guilty every time she used these skills.
She couldn't imagine how many years the original owner had painstakingly honed her skills to leave her with so many escape techniques. All she could offer the original owner, besides a part-time job with the underworld's schedule, was a house with only a few days left on the lease.
But then she thought, if the original owner went to the modern world, she might face the same survival crisis as her. There was still someone in the world who could empathize with her pain, so she felt that she wasn't so unfortunate after all.
"Cough...cough cough..."
Ji Ming, leaning against the wall, frowned and tossed and turned. He first turned to the side and coughed with his head down.
Then his cough worsened, his thin body trembled incessantly, he remained weak with his eyes closed, his purple fingertips fumbling in his sleeve, and he covered his lips with a handkerchief with trembling hands.
The person rustled like autumn leaves, their long eyelashes fluttering, yet they remained closed for a long time.
When the coughing stopped, the fingers that had been covering his lips slid down to his chest, and then an unconscious groan was heard.
Ning Lu snapped out of her daze, taking in everything she saw, and unconsciously held her breath and pursed her lips.
She was always curious about what Ji Ming would do when she wasn't home.
This person doesn't seem to have any hobbies; besides reading, it seems all he does all day is sleep.
At this moment, the room was dimly lit, and his features were shrouded in shadow. His eyebrows and eyes were slightly open in his sleep, which should be the most unguarded moment. Even at such a moment, his expression always carried a faint sense of fatigue and impatience.
Ning Lu inexplicably felt that the room was too small to accommodate him.
Apply slight pressure with your palm to press the half-finger-wide window crack shut.
The cat lit a fire in the corner and boiled water again before she pushed the door open and went inside.
When I entered, Ji Ming was already awake, and he changed from a leaning posture to sitting upright.
He had just heard the sound of a fire being lit and water boiling in the yard, so he wasn't surprised to see her enter. He simply nodded in acknowledgment.
Ning Lu took down the herbs she had brought back last time from the wall, grabbed a handful, stuffed them into the kettle, and shook it.
"Drink water."
The earthenware bowl was pushed into his hands, and Ji Ming only glanced at the herbs inside before silently accepting it.
"Today...cough cough...very early."
"Business isn't good." Ning Lu pulled a bench closer to Ji Ming, tilting her head. "It's sunny outside, warmer than inside. Why don't you go sit in the yard?"
His gaze followed her words to the courtyard, and he remained silent.
"Then you should at least boil some hot water for yourself. The herbal medicine I brought from the next village last time was for coughs, but you wouldn't drink it. Were you afraid I'd poison it?"
"No."
After a long silence, he awkwardly uttered a "no." Ning Lu found it amusing and imitated his feigned profundity.
It's neither fish nor fowl, and not cool enough.
She had no choice but to change the subject: "It's early and warm today. After we eat, would you like to sit at the village entrance and listen to everyone chat?"
“Recently, when I go out, people still ask about you. They appreciate your help.”
"What kind of help is it if the letter wasn't even sent?"
"Whether the letter was delivered or not, you still helped write it. There's a saying: actions speak louder than words..."
Ning Lu sighed helplessly, "You scions of noble families have such complicated minds."
She got up and divided the leftover pigeon from last time in two, one half for soup and the other half for roasting. The soup went to Ji Ming, and the meat to her.
After dinner, once Ji Ming had taken his medicine and his complexion had improved, Ning Lu, too lazy to discuss it with him, simply grabbed her clothes and a stool, and pulled him outside.
She considered herself a person who respected other people's fates, but every time she looked at Ji Ming, she felt that he was very lonely and isolated.
For some inexplicable reason, she just wanted to take him outside for a couple of steps.
Having learned from this experience, when she goes back to read redemption novels, she will definitely not criticize the heroines for being overly compassionate.
Who could see a beautiful, lonely, sickly man without feeling pity?
Women are all too kind.
It was difficult to climb over the wall with him, so the two crossed the courtyard and went through the front door of Dacheng's house.
The moment Ning Lu stepped out of the courtyard gate, she hesitated and stopped, looking around for a moment to signal Ji Ming not to rush.
"Wait for me a moment, I rarely use the front door."
She cleared her throat, her serious expression making her look ridiculous. Ji Ming raised an eyebrow and smiled, obediently taking the things from her hands and waiting.
They ended up wandering through the streets and alleys. Boss Ning, known for his ability to navigate like a walking map, quickly activated the route and turned to pull him north.
Caught off guard by his rare, bright, and straightforward smile, Ning Lu paused for a moment: "Going out...going out is still fun, right?"
"Um."
Ji Ming nodded in agreement, his smile remaining unchanged.
Ning Lu wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but this man seemed to really enjoy seeing her embarrassed.
The two walked one after the other.
When they reached the village entrance, Ji Ming's hands had long since changed from clothes to a small stool and a bag of freshly roasted melon seeds.
Ning Lu, with her sweet talk, pinched a dumpling in her left hand, held a sugar cake in her right, and stuffed her mouth full of fruit.
It was warm today, and the sky was just beginning to darken. A group of people had gathered early in the morning under the locust tree at the village entrance.
The person in the middle waved to Ning Lu from afar.
Upon closer inspection, the two of them realized that the person standing in the middle was none other than Zhu Dacheng.
After a few steps apart, the two stopped in unison.
She moved closer to Ji Ming and whispered, "I heard from Yu Niang that he took a few medicine merchants up the mountain today. I wonder why he came back so early."
"Ning, you're here! I was just about to send someone home to call you."
The village elder sitting next to Dacheng said something to him, and Dacheng jogged over, nodded to Ji Ming, and made a gesture to help him with his things: "Young Master Ji is here too. Perfect timing, I have good news!"
Seeing this, Ning Lu quickly stepped forward to block Ji Ming, snatched the stool that Da Cheng had already taken, and hugged it back to her arms.
"I can do it."
It was rare to see her so wary, so Ji Ming silently took half a step back, letting her do as she pleased.
Approaching the crowd, she nodded to the village chief and spoke, but still habitually looked at Da Cheng with wariness.
"Today, when Da Cheng entered the city, he happened to run into the magistrate's entourage, who said that the magistrate had been summoned by the governor and was going to Changzhou."
"The magistrate took many people with him. The remaining soldiers said that the magistrate instructed them before he left that he would show consideration for the people's plight and waive the tax by half a month, and that they would discuss it again when he returned." Da Cheng replied with a smile, glancing at Ji Ming.
"Was that letter delivered?" Ning Lu and Ji Ming exchanged a glance and asked the question that concerned them the most.
The village chief shook his head.
"I sent Dacheng to find out what time would be appropriate to send the letter, and that's how he found out this information."
No one had told her about this.
Ning Lu pursed her lips and glanced at Ji Ming.
Instead of the teasing she expected, she heard Ji Ming ask coldly, "Was half a month effective?"
Ning Lu, staring down at the ground, blinked rapidly and swallowed hard.
Even after all this time, she still admires Ji Ming's ability to always ask the right questions.
The farmers sitting around didn't mind and happily agreed: "Of course it will be useful. We might come up with a solution in the next two weeks."
"Yes, we live one day at a time, and we can always make it through."
"Yu Niang and the others are discussing making some handicrafts to sell in a neighboring county and exchange for some grain."
Like ripples spreading from a rock thrown into a still lake, the previously subdued crowd became lively again, chatting about how to earn money to exchange for food.
As they were talking, several unmarried young women surrounded Ning Lu and pulled her to another side to play.
Even though she kept looking back, she was still being pushed further and further away.
The crowd spread out like stars. Ji Ming stood on the periphery with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over the group of simply dressed farmers before unconsciously settling on Ning Lu.
The air was filled with the cacophony of voices—discussions about making a living, children's weddings, or children playing.
All of this was unfamiliar to him, and had nothing to do with him.
Only that little shadow, shaking the stool in its hand while pointing to a corner and winking at him, was both comical and... adorable.
The long robe in his arms fluttered in the wind, and Ji Ming, as if possessed, followed her lead and began to walk.
The village chief, who had been watching him the whole time, immediately got up and followed.
"Young master, may I speak with you in private?"
The man leaned on his cane with both hands, his body trembling.
Ji Ming didn't want to pay attention, but when he caught a glimpse of Ning Lu watching them from time to time, he forced himself to stop.
This woman, who disregarded the law, surprisingly respected the elderly and cared for the young.
He lowered his eyes and flicked his sleeve, signaling the village chief to continue: "The whole village was extremely grateful for your help in writing the letter back then. We should have prepared a gift to express our gratitude in person, but nowadays, everyone is struggling to make a living."
"Right now, everyone has prepared a small gift, which I will pass on to you, young master, to express my gratitude for your great kindness."
His gaze shifted downwards, landing on the handkerchief the village chief was holding.
The checkered cloth had faded, and there was a stiff lump inside; you didn't need to guess what it was.
"The letter hasn't even been sent yet, so what's the point of talking about gratitude or thanks?"
"Don't laugh at me, young master, but there are hardly any scholars in the village, and none of them have ever dealt with officials. This petition for leniency was the last thing we could think of that day. If it weren't for your reminder, young master, we probably would have submitted the letter to the government the very next morning."
The village chief sighed, still shaken: "During these past few days of delay, I heard that some people in Pingcheng County couldn't pay their grain taxes and tried to plead with the magistrate's relatives, only to be beaten, thrown out, and imprisoned. It seems that if it weren't for your reminder, young master, the people in these villages would likely have faced the same punishment..."
"Furthermore, young master, your demeanor is extraordinary; you are no ordinary person. We are able to remain calm and hold on until this final day thanks to your presence..."
Ji Ming's eyes darkened slightly, and he gave a cold snort.
"Your village is very interesting."
Rumors circulated that the people of Changzhou were simple and honest. In his few interactions with these people, he had hardly heard a single sincere word.
"The decision was made by you; I only wrote it down." Ji Ming paused. "From now on, you only need to remember this one thing."
"The kindness of the esteemed person in bestowing upon us writing materials is a great blessing for us commoners, and we will naturally remember it."
Upon hearing this, the old man trembled and bowed solemnly.
"Ji Amin! It's windy over there, come here!"
The girl's urging came from beside him, and the coldness in Ji Ming's eyes dissipated as he glanced down at the handkerchief in the village chief's hand.
He lifted the corner of the handkerchief, revealing several strings of cash.
He pondered briefly, then picked up two strings of cash: "Consider it a loan. Someone will pay you back later."
Ning Lu couldn't see what they were doing, but kept standing on tiptoe and waving in the crowd. When he didn't move, she ran a few steps to him.
Catching a glimpse of the village chief's hurried departure, she tugged at his sleeve: "Ji Amin, I called you, didn't you hear me?"
Hit hard by this nagging, Ji Ming lowered his sharp eyes, grabbed her wrist with his other hand, and pushed the silver coins into her sleeve with his fingertips.
He was about to speak when a cough interrupted him, and the hand holding her wrist sank down.
"cough……"
Hearing his hoarse cough, Ning Lu immediately fell silent, took the coat from his arms, unfolded it, and handed it to him.
"You took the clothes to block the wind, didn't you? You're just standing there like an idiot without wearing them. You deserve to cough."
"Go on."
Ji Ming seemed not to hear, slowly pulling his cold fingertips back into his sleeve.
He coughed incessantly, his shoulders trembled, and his eyes were downcast, which inexplicably made him appear innocent and harmless.
"Young master is still young master, he needs to be served."
Ning Lu sighed, unsuspecting, and draped the outer robe over his shoulders.
"I'm not trying to be mean, but no matter what your past status was, you need to learn to take care of yourself now."
She wasn't tall; she had to stand on tiptoe to reach his shoulder. The ancient Chinese knotted buttons required exceptional dexterity, and Ning Lu, with her small, bird-like head, swayed from side to side for a long time without managing to straighten them.
“Ji Amin, you have to do these buttons yourself... It's too complicated, I don't know how.”
"Cough cough..."
"Then let's sit over there and do it. You're too tall, I can't reach you. You'll have to bend down a little."
Behind her, out of sight, people were already peering out curiously.
Ning Lu was completely unaware, but Ji Ming saw everything.
He smiled slyly and leaned in to whisper, "Ning Lulu, no maid in any household would dare to make the young master bow."
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