Chapter 5 World One
Today is the fifth day of disaster relief, and Mu Nanxing is preparing to go to the city wall for another inspection.
The refugees who fled to Fuling City due to the flood should have arrived one after another by now, and it is time to prepare for the next step of resettlement.
There were two light knocks on the door, and Mu Nanxing called out "Come in," and the voice quietly came in. Mu Nanxing was wearing only a white inner garment, with the bamboo green gold brocade robe still hanging on her body, when she heard the sound of water sloshing behind her, accompanied by the sound of a handkerchief being twisted.
Mu Nanxing frowned and looked towards the source of the water sound. The servant who served him should have put down the water and quietly went out.
At this moment, she twisted the handkerchief in her hands and turned to face Mu Nanxing. She walked towards Mu Nanxing with a graceful figure.
Baoshan stood on tiptoe and put the handkerchief in her hand against Mu Nanxing's face.
Mu Nanxing only smelled the fragrance of the warm breeze, but not pungent. He was dazed for a moment and failed to dodge Baoshan's hand in time, allowing the wet handkerchief to touch his face.
Mu Nanxing turned sideways, and the handkerchief left a long and narrow water mark on his face.
Bao Shan exclaimed softly, causing Mu Nanxing to stare at her with wide eyes.
"Please let you come?"
Baoshan took the handkerchief back into his palm. If he hadn't been worried about the water on it, and considering Baoshan's current conflicted mind, he would have definitely crumpled the handkerchief into a mess.
"Brother Feng Hui said that since I am the young marquis's man, I can't just do nothing in the future.
The young marquis doesn't like people who don't do anything, so he simply let me take the servant's place and let me serve him from now on."
Mu Nanxing's brows remained fixed, and he thought to himself: Feng Hui certainly seems like someone who could say that. After all, in his eyes, whether male or female, there is only usefulness and uselessness.
But when had she become so close to Feng Hui that he even called her "Big Brother"? As for becoming his woman? He just kept her by his side, how could he call her his own?
Seeing Mu Nanxing frowning, as if he was about to explain something, Bao Shan spoke in a panic.
"But I hurt myself just now, did I injure the young marquis?"
Mu Nanxing's thoughts were interrupted by her, and he replied coldly: "It's just wiping my face, how could it hurt? Or do you think I'm so easily hurt?"
"No, it's not. It's just that I hurt the young marquis once before, and I just thought it wouldn't be too much to be more careful."
Baoshan is a woman at heart, and her actions are not mature or steady enough.
Although he tried his best to restrain himself, his gaze always fell on Mu Nanxing's chest.
When she looked at him, Mu Nanxing felt an unusual burning sensation in his chest. The tooth marks that had long since faded reappeared, burning his chest and causing a slight pain.
"If the young marquis doesn't like being washed, then let me help you get dressed."
Baoshan secretly looked at Mu Nanxing's expression.
Mu Nanxing really didn't like others to help him wash his face and mouth.
Since he was five, he had done all these things by himself, no longer relying on others. But getting dressed? Mu Nanxing lowered his head, his eyes passing over the pair of slender fingers that seemed as if they could be broken with a squeeze.
Baoshan raised her eyes timidly, feeling at a loss.
"Brother Feng Hui said that the young marquis has never had a maid, only servants. If the young marquis treats me as a servant, he won't feel so uncomfortable."
When mentioning Feng Hui, Mu Nanxing thought of the method of preserving the fragrance, and his heart sank slightly.
"Then you will only be responsible for getting and changing clothes, and don't worry about the rest."
Compared to washing his face, Mu Nanxing considered carefully and chose to change his clothes.
Well, there were servants who had occasionally helped him dress before, so he didn't think anything big would go wrong.
Baoshan immediately responded.
Mu Nanxing washed her face neatly and even brought her own face towel.
Baoshan was waiting beside them, as still as a piece of wood, without saying a word.
She didn't walk forward until Mu Nanxing reached out to dress herself.
"Young Marquis, let me do it."
Mu Nanxing had no choice but to stop what he was doing, open his arms, and let the treasure fan move.
Today's robe has three or two bamboo leaves embroidered on the collar, which is small but thoughtful.
Wearing this robe is not complicated. You just need to put on the sleeves, tidy up the intersection of the two lapels, and then tie the belt.
Mu Nanxing looked straight ahead and never looked down at the treasure fan.
Bao Shan held the brocade robe in her hand and whispered, "Young Marquis, could you please lower your head a little? I can't reach you."
Mu Nanxing could only lean forward, his eyes naturally looking downwards.
He could only see Baoshan's black hair draped over her shoulders, which was soft and neatly tucked behind her ears.
The ears were small and round. Mu Nanxing remembered what Li Qingyu said: those with such beautiful ears are most suitable for wearing earrings.
When saying this, the usually gentle Li Qingyu showed a worried look on his face, and his tone was gentle but with regret.
At that time, she was being mocked by other noble ladies because her earrings could not cover up the flaws on her ears.
When Mu Nanxing learned about this, he immediately went to find those noble ladies and questioned them harshly, scaring them so much that they apologized repeatedly. Li Qingyu blamed him for acting recklessly.
It had been a long time since that incident, but the words Li Qingyu said to the maidservant still lingered in Mu Nanxing's heart, making him feel annoyed every time he thought of them.
"Nanxing is still young. Although he was thinking about me, he acted too impulsively and recklessly. How can anyone trust and rely on him in the future..."
The precious fan had its lapels straightened out without a single wrinkle.
She held the two straps in her hands and heard Mu Nanxing's voice falling above her head.
"Why don't you wear earrings?"
Baoshan looked up at him for a moment, then immediately lowered his head.
"My parents were afraid that I might be targeted by bad guys while I was fleeing, so they asked me to take off my jewelry and makeup and paint my face with charcoal to avoid being seen.
Later, when the money was gone, I no longer had to hide, but I also lost the desire to decorate my house."
The two laces were tied together and the two people were very close to each other.
All the breaths of the treasure fan fell on Mu Nanxing's chest.
She tied her hair into an extremely beautiful knot, and thus distanced herself from Mu Nanxing.
The delicate ears, along with their owner, disappeared from Mu Nanxing's sight.
Mu Nanxing led his group to the porridge shops at various city gates and finally came to the East Gate. He had already determined the number of refugees who had fled to Fuling City this time.
Food will eventually run out, so it is better to teach people how to fish than to give them fish.
Allowing the refugees to settle down and find work would also provide them with a foundation for survival when the disaster relief food ran out, preventing them from panicking. Food, clothing, shelter, and transportation were the most important aspects of people's livelihoods. Mu Nanxing had already arranged for soldiers to repair the houses where they lived.
Because of the tight timeframe and the large number of refugees to be accommodated, it was inevitable that the houses were simple.
Mu Nanxing went to see it and found that the house was spacious and ventilated enough. Although it was simple, it had everything it needed.
Baoshan didn't see Feng Hui, and wanted to ask but didn't dare to open her mouth to ask, as she didn't understand what was happening in the court.
It would be bad if you asked something you shouldn't have and made people dislike you.
While Mu Nanxing was listening to his subordinates' replies, he accidentally saw Bao Shan's look and paused.
"Feng Hui is repairing the house. When can he come back?"
He asked this question suddenly, and his subordinate was stunned for a moment, then replied.
"General Feng will be back in the evening."
Baoshan worked with the soldiers who were distributing porridge in the porridge shed. She picked up the spoon from the pot and filled the bowls of those who came to receive the porridge.
The porridge spoon was made of pure iron. After using it for only an incense stick of time, Baoshan's wrist became sore and weak.
Because her wrist was weak, her right hand lost control. Suddenly, she loosened her grip, and the porridge spoon collided with the iron pot, making a loud clattering sound. Bao Shan was startled and took several steps back.
Mu Nanxing happened to be walking up to her. Seeing her like this, he couldn't help but wonder what life she had been through before fleeing. She couldn't even hold a porridge spoon steadily. The soldier quickly retrieved the porridge spoon and held it in his hand again. Everyone knew that Baoshan had good intentions, and that with her beauty, there was no way she should be holding such a clumsy object as a porridge spoon.
Only the little soldier could not resist Baoshan's repeated requests and handed the spoon to her.
The young soldier was full of regret at this time, especially when he saw the cold expression of Marquis Mu, he was even more afraid that Mu Nanxing would blame Bao Shan for this matter.
When the young soldier saw Bao Shan wanted to speak, he was afraid that she would say something wrong and make Mu Nanxing even angrier, so he apologized first.
"It was Miss Baoshan who saw that I was tired and wanted to help. But the porridge spoon was too heavy, and Miss Baoshan was weak, so she didn't pay attention and dropped it."
Mu Nanxing's eyes were full of frost. He looked at the soldier who was apologizing, but spoke to the treasure fan.
"Since you know you are useless, find a good place to stay."
Weakness is useless.
Baoshan shook her body, but listened to him and stayed aside and no longer interfered with the porridge distribution.
In addition to the porridge cooked with whole grains, the porridge stall also has whole grain cakes. Today, they also use corn flour mixed with water and steamed soft buns in a steamer.
The people lining up for the porridge were relatively well-behaved. After all, they were sent from the capital, and they had a natural deterrent effect on the refugees. But there were a few exceptions in the porridge line. A few men pushed their way to the front of the line, and the rest of the group didn't dare to say a word.
The soldier in charge of distributing the porridge looked at it and saw that no one had any objections. He didn't want to cause any trouble, so he gave them the porridge and let them leave.
These men not only received the prescribed amount of cakes and steamed buns, but also took a few more and put them in their arms. With their unwashed hands, they tossed the steamer left and right.
"You can take it and leave! You don't have to eat it if you turn over it again!"
The leading man looked up and saw that it was a soldier, and he restrained his hands a little.
But these soldiers did not look strong, so although they restrained themselves, they were not afraid in their hearts and their hands kept moving.
Baoshan saw that the soldier's eyes were wide with anger, but she remembered the military rules and could only suppress her anger.
Bao Shan looked at those people and found that they seemed familiar. He quickly went over them in his mind and his heart began to beat fast.
She hesitated for a long time, but still walked forward and covered the rebellious hands with the lid of the pot.
The men were happily picking up the food when their fingers were pinched by the pot lid. They immediately grimaced and cried out in pain. Their eyes blazed with anger as they glared at the culprit.
Seeing a delicate young woman, and one who was exceptionally beautiful, the anger in his heart shifted and went straight to the lower level. Several people exchanged glances. A few days ago, a high-ranking official from the capital came to inspect this porridge stall. Perhaps to save face, he hadn't seen any sign of the high-ranking official in the past few days.
Now, in this porridge stall, besides the refugees queuing up for food, there is only a young soldier and this beautiful woman.
As for where the soldiers who usually followed them had gone, the men did not think too much about it. They just thought they were lazy and ran away somewhere else.
The three of them could easily subdue the soldier and the woman, so they started to speak without restraint.
"Where are you from? Why didn't I see you a few days ago?"
"Look, you made my hand red. Come and blow on it."
"You're not venting your anger on this little soldier, are you? Who are you to him? Are you his mistress?
This little soldier is so weak, what good can you get from following him? It’s better to follow me…”
"Haha, that's right, why not follow us?"
The little soldier held the porridge spoon, wishing he could smash the three of them's heads with the iron spoon.
Because of anger, his face and neck were completely red.
"Shut up! What are you trying to do in broad daylight?"
"Oh, what can you do if we want to do something?"
"How dare you! There are so many people here! How can we allow you to be so presumptuous!"
The three men turned around, and everyone whose eyes caught their eye lowered their heads, and the entire crowd fell silent.
The little soldier was suddenly angry and anxious. How could they do this? He was the one who provided porridge every day.
Now that these three men were speaking rudely, no one of them spoke.
Seeing that the crowd was unusually quiet, the three men were satisfied and turned around to catch the treasured fan.
But before the hand touched it, the sharp whip injured the fingers, and the fingers immediately swelled up.
Seeing Mu Nanxing, Baoshan's eyes twinkled like stars, and she immediately flew to Mu Nanxing's side like a young bird returning to its nest. Then she hid firmly behind Mu Nanxing, avoiding those prying eyes.
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