The chill crept silently into the small side room in the backyard of Huichuntang, condensing into a thin frost that quietly covered the window lattice.
Chen Yu subconsciously wrapped herself tighter in the worn-out thin quilt, but the chill felt like fine needles, seeping in through the gaps in the quilt.
The room was dark, with only a faint ray of light filtering through the paper windows, barely outlining the table, chairs, and bamboo bed.
At three o'clock in the morning, the drums on the imperial city gate towers were the first to sound, followed by the drums on the main streets.
The sound of drums reverberated throughout the city, reaching all directions, breaking the silence before dawn and announcing the arrival of a new day.
There are no roosters crowing in Fengjing, and Chen Yu has gradually gotten used to getting up at the sound of the drum.
This morning, my eyelids felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton, and my eyeballs rolled back and forth under my thin eyelids.
Only when the three drumbeats ended did it struggle to spring away.
The air was filled with a complex aroma of herbs: aged angelica, slightly bitter bupleurum, and spicy cinnamon...
My vision was blurry, but the hazy sleepiness didn't last long.
An extremely sharp chill suddenly pierced through that fragile barrier, shooting straight to the top of her head and forcibly pulling her out of her deep sleep!
It felt as if a cold hand was gripping his heart tightly, causing Chen Yu to freeze completely.
Right beside her bed, there was a thick shadow, a human-shaped silhouette...
Silent and motionless!
"woke up?"
His voice was a little hoarse, but Chen Yu finally recognized him in the dim light of day.
"Manager Wang... what are you doing?!"
Hearing her trembling voice, Wang Chong grabbed the thin blanket and covered his chest tightly, glancing towards the doorway, and grinned.
"We've run out of the medicinal herbs we brought, and we're setting off back to Xianyun County this morning. I was worried about Sister Yu, so I came to check on her."
Chen Yu was stunned. She had thought that Wang Chong would keep an eye on her and would never leave before the provincial examination.
Unable to understand why, she jumped up, knelt on the bed, and kowtowed to him.
"Uncle Wang, please give me a few more days. I can pass the imperial examination. I will definitely pass it!"
Wang Chong shook his head and chuckled, "If it were in previous years, it would be fine, but this year, Princess Shuofeng insisted on coming to join in the fun."
Moreover, talented women in the capital all had to fill vacancies for the provincial examinations, making it extremely difficult to pass the provincial examinations in Zhongchen Road.
"Sister Yu, don't be naive."
He leaned down and whispered in Chen Yu's ear,
"Just do as I say, and I'll clear your debts. Think of your father and younger brother, and stop struggling."
He gently patted her shoulder, made no other overstepping moves, and turned to walk away.
Chen Yu clenched her fists tightly on the bed, her petite body trembling uncontrollably.
His mother drowned, his father broke his leg, and he had a younger brother.
The funeral expenses nearly emptied the family's savings. Her father still needed to treat his leg and take medicine, and she also had to raise her younger brother. The burden of life fell entirely on Chen Yu's shoulders.
He was thin and weak, so he couldn't do any manual labor, and he couldn't even get short-term jobs.
What stable jobs are available in Xianyun County that can earn money every day?
They were so poor they could barely afford to eat when the kind-hearted owner of the pharmacy, Mr. Wang, extended a helping hand.
They were all neighbors and often interacted, so Chen Yu never imagined that Wang Chong was actually a loan shark.
Not only could the principal not be repaid, but the compound interest had already reached several hundred taels.
Even if they sold their property and their entire family of three, they still wouldn't be able to repay such a large sum of money.
At this point, Wang Chong made a request: if everyone did as he said, the debt, including principal and interest, would be forgiven.
For the sake of his family, he was willing to endure any hardship or fatigue, but to gamble with the imperial examinations was something Chen Yu was extremely unwilling to do, but what good was it if he was unwilling?
She had heard of the methods used by those who lend money at exorbitant interest rates, and it was common for families to be ruined and people to die.
With a disabled father and a young brother, how could Chen Yu dare to gamble?
As if all his strength had been drained, he lay slumped on the bamboo bed, staring blankly at the sunlight streaming into the room.
In the front hall, the young manager yawned, "Uncle Wang, are you going back so early?"
"Silly boy, the imperial examination is just around the corner, and this time Princess Shuofeng and talented women from the capital will also be participating. It will surely be a grand event."
"Once the results are released, there will be plenty of disappointed scholars who failed. What are you thinking if you don't use this time to stock up on medicine?"
The young shopkeeper scratched the back of his head and said with an embarrassed smile, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Second Uncle."
Wang Chong glanced behind him and said, "I'm going back to my hometown to gather medicinal herbs. I might not be back for several days. Please take care of Sister Yu."
Fengjing is going to be lively soon, so don't let her wander around aimlessly, lest she accidentally bump into some important person.
The young manager almost rolled his eyes; what he was saying...
Let alone wandering around, Miss Chen Yu hardly ever leaves her room. She spends all day studying and reviewing her lessons, so she doesn't have any free time for that.
He laughed and saw his second uncle to the door, watching the donkey cart drive away.
The drums sounded and the city gates opened. Wang Chong missed the first wave of people entering and leaving the city, but the city gates were still bustling with activity.
He arrived on a donkey cart laden with medicinal herbs, having walked the entire way. Now, he sits leisurely on the cart, quite content.
While waiting in line to leave the city, Wang Chong glanced around with his hands in his pockets.
Upon discovering that only the city gate guards were present and no additional personnel had been added, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The checks to leave the city were less stringent than those to enter, and they were quickly turned in.
He respectfully handed over the document, and the clerk glanced at it twice. "Is your name Wang Chong? The herbal medicine shop in Xianyun County?"
Wang Chong's heart skipped a beat; he had never been asked anything when he left the city.
He quickly stood up and bowed, "Indeed..."
Before he could bend down completely, with a sharp snap, the city gatekeeper slammed the gate shut and called to his men.
"What are you doing?!"
In the blink of an eye, Wang Chong's arms were firmly locked.
The carriage driver was dumbfounded. "No... why are you locking up my manager?"
Wang Chong didn't dare to struggle, but he still raised his head and shouted, "Sir, why are you locking me up?"
The people queuing to leave the city quickly made way, but they all craned their necks to peek inside.
"Enough with the nonsense!" the city gate guard shouted. "Don't you know what you've done wrong? Take him away and send him to the Jingzhao Prefecture."
"Your Honor, you have wronged me! I am just an honest and law-abiding doctor."
While shouting, he was quickly calculating in his mind.
No! It doesn't make sense no matter how I look at it.
On the surface, he was a pharmacy owner, but underneath he was a loan shark.
Guiya had taken over the Nine Gates and was busy integrating them, so how could he possibly have set his sights on this person who lent money in Xianyun County overnight?
Despite being a completely marginal figure, he had to go through the connections of the Jingzhao Prefecture and be notified at the city gate well in advance.
When did the Fengjing government become so efficient? What merit does a small-time moneylender from a county near Fengjing have?
Could it be that my true identity has been exposed?
not good!
Just as Wang Chong was about to shout, a tremendous force suddenly struck his chest and abdomen.
With a muffled groan, he immediately bent over, all his words cut off, and was dragged away by the city gatekeeper.
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