Chapter 92 The Chaos in Wancheng In a daze, the figures of the brother and sister saving people...
The group rushed into the city before noon, but the sun was already completely covered by clouds.
The damp chill of the twelfth lunar month made Guo Jia reach up and tighten his clothes around his neck.
He looked up at the sky; with this temperature and this sky, it looked like it would snow heavily today.
Fu Xiao was entering the city for the first time, and everything was new and exciting. Deng Zhao led his horse beside him and said coldly, "Don't get too excited. Once you've delivered it, hurry up and leave!"
However, these words did not dampen Fu Xiao's interest in the slightest. He still stared wide-eyed at his surroundings.
Along the street, old men with gray hair and beards set up simple stalls, children played and chased each other, women in colorful cloth skirts carried bamboo baskets and walked among them, and men in coarse cloth short clothes squatted by the roadside eating pancakes.
Suddenly, the sound of copper bells jingled, and a magnificent carriage with a canopy slowly passed by them. Chickens ran around in front of the houses, dogs stood guard, children squatted down, calling for their mothers. It was the first time Fu Xiao had ever seen such a lively place.
Seeing Deng Zhao walk forward, Guo Jia slowed his pace and walked alongside Fu Xiao on the other side. He leaned over and whispered to him with a smile, "Xu Hong... should still be in the city."
He glanced at Fu Xiaoqi's changing gaze and led the way: "East Market, Wu's Rice Shop."
For some reason, Deng Jie always felt that the atmosphere in the city was a bit off today.
There were more people on the street than usual, chatting in twos and threes, some pulling each other along as they hurried towards the East Market, which made her very uneasy.
"Master!" Afu darted out from the street and ran towards Deng Zhao. "You're finally back! Something terrible has happened in the city!" Deng Jie and Guo Jia quickly surrounded him, and Fu Xiao also stopped his carriage.
Afu lowered his voice and said, "This morning, everyone in the market was saying that Wu's gold certificates were poisoned. The people from Liu's embroidery shop have already started a commotion at the market entrance, demanding an explanation from Wu. Madam has gone there too..."
Upon hearing that Yu Qiu was also there, Deng Zhao's expression changed drastically. He shoved the reins into Afu's hands. "Fengxiao, let's go!" Guo Jia grabbed him and gave him a wink. Deng Zhao glanced at Fu Xiao and said to Afu, "Afu, take the carriage and horses back to the residence." Turning to Fu Xiao and Deng Jie, he said, "We'll go together!"
The East Market was in complete chaos.
Liu Lanzhi, along with more than ten embroiderers, surrounded the shop assistant of Wu's Rice Shop. The shop assistant squatted on the ground with his head in his hands, not daring to move.
The embroiderers held up long pieces of plain silk with the four characters "Wu's Golden Curse" written in cinnabar on them. They faced the onlookers and denounced the poison of the Golden Currency Voucher, demanding that Wu Gao appear and give an explanation. The crowd was agitated and shouted that they wanted to find Wu Gao.
Guo Jia squinted and saw that the banners of Wu's Rice Shop had been torn to shreds and the shop's entrance had been smashed and was askew.
Deng Zhao looked around but couldn't find Yu Qiu. Just as he was about to step forward to take charge for the embroiderers, Guo Jia pressed down on his shoulder: "Given your cautious nature, my sister-in-law must have gone to invite Lord Lu. We must be wary of Xu Hong!" As he spoke, he pulled Fu Xiao over: "Keep a close eye on him. Xu Hong must be in the crowd."
Limited by the crowd and with his view obstructed, Fu Xiao spotted a tree not far away. He immediately slipped out of the crowd, climbed to the treetop, and searched carefully from above.
Just as he was checking the crowd, he saw someone push a cart out of the alley, squeeze into the crowd, and shout: "Fellow villagers! Wu Gao is hiding and dares not see anyone, Lu Kang has locked the granary and refuses to give out grain, but the Deng family is collecting coupons at this time. They are all in cahoots!"
Fu Xiao was startled; the man was none other than Xu Hong! He had swaggered into the middle of the market!
Xu Hong ripped open his shirt to reveal the red rash on his chest and shouted, "Everyone, look carefully! These poisoned vouchers made my whole family sick, and I'm sure you all are too! Today I'm going to burn these damned vouchers!" His words were echoed by the surrounding people, and a triumphant smile appeared on their lips.
Seeing the public outrage boiling over, he raised the torch stuck in the front of the car and set it on fire, shouting, "Everyone, burn the coupons! Let Lu Kang take a good look at them and make sure the Deng and Wu families come out to compensate us!"
His demonic voice summoned resentment, and the crowd surged and clamored. His voice was eventually drowned out by the roar, but the moment the flame in his hand ignited the cart full of gold vouchers, the white smoke, stench, and blue flames still shook the crowd back a circle. Then he shouted, "Everyone, burn the poison vouchers!" The crowd began to surge forward, throwing the gold vouchers they were carrying.
Fu Xiao was shocked, but afraid of losing Xu Hong, he dared not climb down the tree. He could see clearly from the tree that Guo Jia and the other two were trying to squeeze into the crowd, but were blocked on the outside by the surging crowd.
"Don't burn the poison coupons!" Deng Jie shouted from the crowd. "There will be poisonous fumes!"
"Get out of here! Get out of here! Don't push forward!" Deng Zhao was desperately pulling the people around him back.
But the three men's bodies were no match for the frenzied public opinion. People shouted and yelled, and the market was filled with angry curses against the Wu family, the Deng family, and Lu Kang.
People scrambled to throw their gold certificates into the fire. Those in the front row were choked by the eerie blue flames and acrid white smoke, but people behind them kept pushing forward.
Guo Jia had just finished telling Deng Zhao that "we need to put out the fire first" when he caught out of the corner of his eye that Deng Jie had slipped into a nearby house. He immediately pushed through the crowd and chased after him.
Knowing the urgency of the situation, Deng Zhao turned and rushed towards the prefect's residence. The most urgent task at hand was to ask the prefect to evacuate the crowd and extinguish the fire.
Fu Xiao watched from the tree as Xu Hong ignited public opinion and retreated into the alley. He jumped down from the tree and chased after him.
Guo Jia chased into the house and saw Deng Jie tear off his personal gold lock and stuff it into the woman's hand: "Please, Auntie, bring out all the cloth in the house. Let's cut it together and soak it in water with wood ash. Otherwise, when the poisonous smoke comes, none of us will survive!"
The woman hesitated for a moment, but Deng Jie showed her the "Taiping Qinglingjian" from his waist: "This method was personally taught by the immortal!"
Upon hearing the words "Immortal Master," the people inside the house crowded around to look at her treasure mirror. It was even more exquisite and solemn than the inscriptions on the wooden talisman hanging under the eaves. They praised each other and then set off to search for treasures in their neighbors' houses.
Deng Jie rolled up his sleeves and went to the well to fetch water. He pulled out a dagger from his sleeve, lifted his cloak, and cut off the fabric from the hem of his lower garment.
"Miss Deng!" Guo Jia took the bucket from her and joined her in the work.
Deng Jie took the wood ash handed to him by the woman and poured it into the water. While stirring, he explained to everyone, "The immortal said, 'Cover your face with a damp cloth and use the ash water to filter the smoke; this can ward off the poisonous aura of the metal demon.' Everyone, please remember to cover your mouths and noses..."
Her voice was clear and steady, which was especially reassuring in this chaotic moment. Everyone respected her and did as she instructed.
After assigning the task of making masks to everyone, Deng Jie and Guo Jia each put on one, and the two of them, holding wet strips of cloth, headed towards the fire.
"Go find the Prefect," Guo Jia stopped Deng Jie, "I'll go this way."
Deng Jie tried to hand him the strip of cloth, but he shook his head: "It's alright, there are always more people coming out from this side. We'll only need more when the Prefect arrives with his men." Deng Jie nodded, and the two ran off in different directions.
Just as Deng Jie turned the corner, he bumped into his brother and sister-in-law leading Lu Kang's soldiers as they hurried over.
She immediately went to them, distributed the strips of cloth to everyone, and pointed in the direction of the houses, telling them, "They're still making them over there. If you don't have enough, go get some quickly!"
Lu Kang immediately ordered his troops to split into three groups: one group to evacuate the crowd, one group to block the streets and demolish houses near the flames, and one group to prepare water to extinguish the fire.
Deng Zhao also grabbed Yu Qiu's shoulder and said, "Go back to the house and organize some people to carry water together!" After saying that, he pushed Deng Jie towards the houses and said, "A-Jie, continue to organize the soaking of cloth. I will go to the market with the Prefect."
Not long after Deng Zhao and Lu Kang left, a muffled sound came from the alley in the market, followed by several plumes of white smoke. Xu Hong must have hidden the ghost gold supply wagons in several places! Deng Zhao cursed and rushed towards the smoke with his knife.
After distributing the masks to the officers and soldiers, Deng Jie, thinking that Guo Jia was still inside and worried that they might encounter others, casually wrapped three more pieces of wet cloth around his arm and plunged into the thick fog.
In Liu's Embroidery Workshop in the East Market, Jiao Zhongqing was guarding it alone. He originally wanted to stop Liu Lanzhi, but the girl couldn't stand it and insisted on taking the other girls from the workshop to demand an explanation, asking him to help guard the workshop.
He felt like a spineless man, unable to stand up for her in a situation like this, and instead hiding in the background.
The street was noisy and the commotion was getting louder and louder, making him increasingly uneasy. He paced back and forth at the entrance of the embroidery shop, peering towards the market entrance, hesitating whether to go over.
Just as they were hesitating, they heard a great commotion on the other end, and suddenly white smoke rose up as the crowd surged.
His heart skipped a beat. Could something have happened to Miss Liu? He turned and ran in that direction, only to see Liu Lanzhi emerge from the crowd and run toward him.
He rushed forward, but Liu Lanzhi grabbed his hand and exclaimed, "Something terrible has happened! They've burned the coupons! Chaos! Utter chaos!"
Before Jiao Zhongqing could react, she grabbed him and pulled him back, saying, "Let's go back quickly and close the embroidery shop. This smoke stinks! We have to leave right away!"
The two had just entered the embroidery shop and hadn't even had time to lock the door when a crowd surged up behind them. They heard someone shout, "That embroidery shop belongs to the Deng family! Everyone, hurry and rob it!" In a panic, the two scrambled inside and locked the door from the inside.
The surging crowd outside the embroidery workshop pounded against the wooden door, making it rattle loudly. Jiao Zhongqing braced his back against the latch, when suddenly he felt a blow to the back of his head. Liu Lanzhi saw blood dripping onto his collar and pulled him back, saying, "Stop guarding! Let's... let's go to the cellar!"
The cellar was small and contained only valuable fabrics.
Not long after they went inside and closed the partition door, they heard the sound of the wooden door being smashed open outside, with shouts of "The Deng family owes us money!" and "They all owe us money!" This was followed by the sounds of looms being smashed, shelves collapsing, cloth being torn, and dye vats in the backyard being smashed. Liu Lanzhi leaned against the stairs, her heart aching as she listened, and tears streamed down her face.
The girls in Lanxinfang on Flower Street fled in panic due to the smoke.
"Where are you going, my lady?" Xu Hong's voice made Liu Niang tremble all over, and his approaching smile made her collapse to the ground.
"M-My lord..." She instinctively tried to back away, but her hair bun had already hit the wall. She quickly smiled apologetically, "Why aren't you running away, my lord? This smoke is making it hard to open my eyes."
Xu Hong squatted down and lifted her chin: "I came here specifically to thank you, Madam. Thanks to you for telling everyone about the poison of the Golden Voucher, it saved me a lot of trouble."
Liu Niang shook her head in fear: "I...I didn't..."
"Hey, my wife, don't be so quick to deny it."
His thumb pressed heavily against Liu Niang's trembling lips. "I already know the doctor's background, I know you've met her, and I know they reminded you about the poison gold. You meant well!"
He chuckled, "It's just that news always travels fast. If one person knows, a hundred people will know, and the whole city will know. I was originally worried about when to make my move, and I was also concerned about having so many gold vouchers that I didn't know what to do with. Now it's all right. This city will soon become a poison city, and my mission has been completed, so I came to thank you, my wife, before I left."
He got up with satisfaction, and in front of Liu Niang, he opened his clothes and reached out to wipe the "red rash" on his chest, which turned into rouge and spread out.
Just as he was about to leave, Liu Niang grabbed the hem of his robe: "You, you can't leave! You're the one who's ruined everyone!"
Xu Hong's expression changed drastically, and he drew his sword from his waist: "You talkative whore! Your crippled body is just a burden to me. Let me send you on your way!" Just as he was about to strike, a green shadow suddenly rushed over. It was Deng Jie, who held a dagger and plunged it into his lower back. He then rolled under him, grabbed Liu Niang, and started to run away.
"You wretch! You dare to come back!" Xu Hong roared, his eyes bloodshot, and chased after her with his knife raised. Liu Niang pushed Deng Jie aside, but was slashed across the chest by the blade, blood splattering everywhere.
Xu Hong froze, then fell to the ground.
Behind him stood Fu Xiao, clutching a blood-soaked ring-pommel sword.
Deng Jie looked up, disregarding his fear, and forced himself to suppress his trembling body as he crawled over to turn Liu Niang over and check her wounds.
She deftly untied the cloth strip wrapped around her hand, handed it to Fu Xiao, and then covered Liu Niang's mouth and nose.
"Let's go first!" Fu Xiao called out to her as he crouched down.
"She can still be saved!" She quickly took off her cloak and pressed it tightly against Liu Niang's wound. After the bleeding slowed down, she said to Fu Xiao, "Take her away!" Fu Xiao nodded fiercely, picked up Liu Niang, and seeing that Deng Jie's legs were weak, he helped her up with one hand.
The two had just rushed out of the alley when they ran into Deng Zhao, who had come looking for them.
Deng Zhao helped his sister up and led Fu Xiao: "This way!"
Guo Jia had finished distributing the strips of cloth, but the smoke inside was getting thicker and thicker.
He could vaguely see two people struggling by a bonfire ahead. He strode forward and saw a man roughly snatch the gold voucher from the girl's hand and throw it into the fire before disappearing into the thick smoke. The girl knelt down and wailed, and Guo Jia then recognized her as A Qiao from Liu's Embroidery Shop.
Seeing her crawling towards the fire, Guo Jia grabbed her tightly, saying, "This voucher is poisoned! Let's get out of here!"
Aqiao cried out in anguish, "Three months' wages! If even that's gone, who can I complain to? I don't even have the receipts for the debt!" As she roared, she inhaled the toxic fumes and began to cough violently, her face turning blue.
Guo Jia pressed her to the ground and forcibly fastened his mask to her face: "The ghost metal has melted; saving your life is the priority! If you cry out again, the poison will penetrate your body even faster!"
But A-Qiao went mad as if she had lost her mind. As soon as Guo Jia loosened his grip, she got up and tried to crawl into the fire to pick up the half-burnt coupon with her bare hands, completely disregarding the fact that her fingers were being eroded by the fire.
Guo Jia disregarded everything else, gritted his teeth, and struck her neck with a chop to the side, using his sleeve to extinguish the flames, but he couldn't stop her charred fingertips in time.
Thick smoke billowed as Guo Jia stumbled through the alleyway, carrying the unconscious A Qiao. The once familiar streets and alleys were now shrouded in smoke, turning into a maze, and with each step, his feet felt heavier.
His throat burned like he was swallowing hot coals, and his vision was blurred by tears. He himself found it absurd that he would ever risk his life for a complete stranger.
In a daze, the image of the brother and sister saving people appeared before my eyes.
If it weren't for them... ha.
Guo Jia's lips curled into a helpless smile, completely unaware that when he coughed again, he spat out blood.
Just as despair was creeping into Guo Jia's heart, he suddenly heard two familiar voices.
The brother and sister were calling him.
Ignoring the tears welling up in his eyes, he forced himself to open them wide and pull himself together.
He ran as fast as he could in the direction of the sound.
The group finally reunited at the market, and Deng Zhao took A Qiao from Guo Jia's arms.
Guo Jia stumbled, and Deng Jie rushed forward and caught the swaying Guo Jia.
His pale face was covered in soot, and he kept coughing up dark red blood. Deng Jie quickly took off the last piece of cloth from his hand and covered his mouth and nose.
Then he moved to Guo Jia's lap, lifting him onto his shoulders. Guo Jia was too exhausted to argue anymore and slowly blinked in response.
"Let's go!" Deng Zhao ordered, and the group headed towards the main street, where they happened to run into Yu Qiu and his servants who had just finished transporting the last cart of water vats.
Upon seeing this, she immediately directed two supply wagons to be brought out. Liu Niang and A Qiao were placed in one wagon, while Guo Jia lay down in another. Deng Jie sat in the wagon, wiping his mouth and nose with a soaked cloth and holding his cold wrist tightly. Several pulse readings showed that his pulse was floating and rapid, indicating damage to his lung meridian.
Even though she had taken off her cloak, she was sweating profusely with nervousness in the cold winter.
"It's snowing." Fu Xiao felt a chill on his nose and looked up at the sky.
"It's snowing... I hope it's a heavy snow." Deng Zhao frowned, hoping the snow would cover up the smoke.
When everyone returned to the Deng residence, Yu Qiu ordered people to tidy up the first floor of the east corner tower and use a screen to divide it into two rooms, one inside and one outside, for Guo Jia and the two young ladies.
Seeing that it was getting dark, Yu Qiu ordered someone to bring a lampstand and light candles for Deng Jie to use for illumination.
While everyone was tidying up the corner tower, Deng Jie instructed Afu to go to the kitchen to prepare egg whites, simmer licorice and bean soup, and cook rice water. He also wrote a recipe for sulfur honey water and gave it to a maid, asking her to make several copies so that she could get some sulfur from Deng Zhao and send them to various medical clinics. He also instructed her to say, "Be sure to say that this is a recipe from Master Yu Ji and Doctor Hua."
After the three were settled in their lodgings, Deng Jie knelt down beside Liu Niang, undid her clothes, and gently touched the edge of her wound with his fingers. Liu Niang dared not cry out, but the pain made her break out in a cold sweat.
Deng Jie said softly, "I'll try to be gentle, please bear with it."
She soaked a fine linen cloth in warm water, wrung it out, and gently wiped the wound.
Liu Niang gasped, her fingers gripping the bedding tightly.
But more than her physical injuries, she felt saddened that she had become the source of this chaos.
She had intended to keep this secret forever, but when she saw Deng Jie attentively tending to her wounds, tears welled up in her eyes: "Miss Deng... Xu Hong said... it's all my fault... I leaked the information..."
Deng Jie glanced at her but didn't stop what he was doing. "Don't say that. He's deliberately provoking you."
She took the prepared wound medicine and applied it evenly to the wound. "Xu Hong had planned this all along. Even without you, he would have taken action anyway. Besides, I was the one who told you first. If anyone should be blamed, it should be me first, right?"
Liu Niang pursed her lips, her voice trembling, and shook her head repeatedly.
Deng Jie smiled at her, took out some fine linen and began to bandage her. After wrapping her up layer by layer and tying a knot, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at Liu Niang's eyes, which were filled with guilt, worry and fear, she wrung out some warm water and wiped her face: "Alright, don't think about these things anymore. You should recover first. I'll have someone bring you some antidote soup later, so that your poison will gradually dissipate."
With tears in her eyes, Liu Niang slowly nodded and watched her get up and walk towards A Qiao on the couch next to her.
Deng Jie checked on A Qiao. Fortunately, Guo Jia fastened her mask in time. The poisoning was still mild, but her right hand was burned. She would definitely not be able to weave cloth until the flesh had fully healed.
When Aqiao woke up, her eyes were vacant. She just stared blankly at the candlelight, unwilling to speak. She let Deng Jie cut away the charred flesh and apply ointment without making a sound.
The maid brought over some medicine and fed it to her. Deng Jie was worried about Guo Jia, so he comforted her first, saying, "Your hand... can only wait for the flesh to grow back, but the ointment needs to be applied regularly. Fortunately, the symptoms of the gold poisoning are not severe. I'll go see the doctor first, and then I'll help you with moxibustion later, so that the poison can be cleared faster."
Aqiao remained unresponsive and lay down as the maidservant arranged her.
Deng Zhao and Yu Qiu stood guard beside Guo Jia, while Fu Xiao squatted alone by the wall.
Seeing Guo Jia's ashen face, and Deng Jie's continued absence from the inner room, Deng Zhao frowned and said, "Should we go to the clinic and ask a doctor to come over? A-Jie can't handle this alone."
Yu Qiu shook his head: "The clinic must be overflowing with patients by now. If it weren't for Ajie at home, the three of them probably wouldn't even be able to get a bowl of medicine."
Deng Zhao glanced at Fu Xiao, turned around and said disdainfully, "Why are you still here? You can go back now."
Fu Xiao immediately stood up, but pointed to the sky and said, "At this hour, the city gates must already be closed!"
Deng Zhao raised an eyebrow and said, "Then go stay at the inn." He then took out a money pouch from his sleeve and threw it at him, "I'll pay for it."
Fu Xiao immediately tossed the phone back to Fu Xiao: "Isn't there a curfew in the city? I dare not go out on the streets. I'll just rest here! No need for you to spend money, brother."
Deng Zhao snorted coldly, "There's nowhere for you to rest here. You'd better leave now!" Just as he was about to get up and shoo him away, Guo Jia suddenly started coughing violently.
Deng Zhao and Yu Qiu quickly gathered to look. Deng Zhao brought over a bronze bowl, and Yu Qiu handed over a cotton cloth.
Just then, Deng Jiegang finished dealing with Aqiao and came out of the inner room. He saw Guo Jia coughing up bloody foam and hurriedly called Afu to bring the egg white. Deng Zhao helped Guo Jia open his chin and forced him to vomit.
The intense vomiting made Guo Jia's throat hurt even more, and a burning sensation overwhelmed his mind, making it impossible for him to think or speak. Deng Jie slowly fed him warm honey water, followed by licorice and bean soup.
Compared to poisoning, Guo Jia's throat and lung meridians were probably more seriously damaged.
Although Yu Qiu ordered people to light charcoal fires in both compartments, the room was still only one level of ventilation, and wisps of cool air seeped in through the gaps in the lattice doors.
Guo Jia lay stiffly with his eyes closed. Deng Jie repeatedly checked his pulse to confirm, sweat beading on her forehead. Suddenly, she shuddered, reaching out to check Guo Jia's forehead and neck, then turned to Deng Zhao and said, "He... he's starting to lose his temperature! He needs to be moved to a warmer place!"
Deng Zhao squatted down beside the bed, and Yu Qiu hurriedly called Fu Xiao over to help.
They helped Guo Jia onto Deng Zhao's back, Deng Jie draped a blanket over Guo Jia, and Yu Qiu and Deng Jie, with Deng Zhao on either side of the blanket, rushed towards the main building.
On the way, Yu Qiu instructed her maid to light all the charcoal in Guo Jia's room and seal the windows and doors.
Deng Jie tucked two layers of blankets around him, placed a bronze stove at his feet, called a maid to stand guard, and went downstairs to prepare the medicinal herbs.
When Yu Qiu accompanied her downstairs, he saw that she was unsteady on the stairs, so he helped her up: "Why don't you rest first? Your brother and I will watch over Fengxiao here."
Deng Jie wiped the fine sweat from his temples, his eyes slightly red, and looked back at Yu Qiu: "I'm not tired, I'm scared..."
Yu Qiu had never seen Deng Jie so helpless before. She gently hugged her and patted her back, saying, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Fengxiao is a lucky person and will surely be blessed. Tell me about your condition, and your sister-in-law will send people to various medical clinics to inquire about prescriptions. You can also study at home slowly. We will definitely make progress."
Deng Jie nodded, tears streaming down her face.
Deng Zhao returned to the corner tower and saw Fu Xiao still squatting by the wall. He helped him up and said, "I'll have someone tidy up the second floor. You can sleep upstairs tonight and leave at dawn tomorrow."
Fu Xiao took a step back and said, "No need for all that trouble, I'll just lie here!" He pointed to the bed where Guo Jia had lain.
Deng Zhao glared at him, pointed at him, and said in a low, harsh voice, "What are you up to? There are two girls lying inside, are you going to share a room with them?"
Fu Xiao was shocked and waved his hands repeatedly: "How could I dare to have such thoughts at my elder brother's house? You would have killed me! I just happen to see that your mansion is short of people. I will keep an eye on things for my elder brother tonight. If anything happens, I will call for help. At least I can be of assistance."
Deng Zhaoxin's heart sank. Thinking about it, it made sense. Tonight was destined to be anything but peaceful. The servants would probably have to take turns resting to keep up. So he nodded slowly and repeatedly warned, "If you dare to offend me in the slightest, I guarantee you won't leave this room alive!"
Fu Xiao repeatedly cupped his hands and nodded.
Inside the embroidery workshop's cellar, Liu Lanzhi peered through the entrance and listened: "It seems there's no sound."
Jiao Zhongqing put down the blood-stained cloth in his hand, staggered forward and pushed the partition out with Liu Lanzhi, but a dull thud came from the heavy object scraping against the partition.
The two exchanged a startled glance, then strained together, but the partition only bounced slightly.
"It must be those loom racks that have collapsed!" Liu Lanzhi shouted anxiously.
Jiao Zhongqing refused to give up and continued his efforts, but the partition remained firmly in place.
The cellar was so small that it wasn't worth searching for, and the damp, chilly air seeped into their bones.
Liu Lanzhi was shivering from the cold. She took the fabric that was originally intended to be used to make clothes for the Lu family and wrapped it around herself. Seeing that Jiao Zhongqing was struggling in vain and was even pulling on the wound on his head, she comforted him and told him to save his energy and rest first.
Jiao Zhongqing stopped what he was doing and felt his teeth chattering. Liu Lanzhi moved closer to him, lifted the cloth, and wrapped him up in it.
Jiao Zhongqing's heart skipped a beat, and he pulled Liu Lanzhi into his arms. "Miss Liu... I was rude..."
Liu Lanzhi's eyes welled up with tears. She didn't even know if the two of them could make it through the night. Ignoring all propriety, she turned and embraced him. "Fool, even the master knows how we feel. What are you pretending for..."
Jiao Zhongqing tightened his grip on her arm. "If we could get out... would Lanzhi be willing to marry me?"
The girl in his arms didn't answer, but buried her face even deeper and nodded.
Deng Jie looked at A Qiao and Liu Niang again before feeling relieved and returned to Guo Jia's room with the medical scroll and medicine bag.
Although it was disrespectful for their reputation to be alone together in a room, nothing was more important than protecting his life. Guo Jia was coughing badly, and she needed to try different remedies.
Guo Jia's head was spinning, and in his hazy state, he only knew that he was leaning on Deng Jie and being coaxed to drink one cup after another, but in the end, he coughed and vomited again and again.
Despite being heartbroken by the vomit, Deng Jie still mustered his spirits to write down the prescriptions, record the medical cases, and continue reviewing the files. The more he reviewed, the colder his heart became, and finally, tears welled up in his eyes.
"A-Jie." The door was gently knocked open, and it was Deng's mother who slowly walked in carrying a lacquer tray.
"Mother?" Deng Jie quickly wiped his face and stood up to greet her. "Why aren't you asleep yet, Mother, so late?"
Deng's mother handed her the chicken soup on the plate, saying, "I heard Fengxiao coughing for so long, and I figured you must still be with him, so I came to check on him."
Deng Jie looked somber, gently placed the chicken soup on the table, and sighed heavily: "I've tried so many remedies, but none of them worked. They just made him vomit even more."
Deng's mother picked up the soup spoon and fed the chicken soup to Deng Jie: "Jie'er, you worry about others, but your mother worries about you."
Deng Jie's nose stung with tears. She took a sip, then buried her face in her mother's arms, letting out a muffled groan, "Mother..."
Deng's mother's hand paused slightly in her daughter's hair. The muffled, nasal "Mother" sound suddenly brought her back to the snowy night in the old house in Xinye.
At that time, Deng Jie was only eleven years old. Her father and brother left home one after another. The mother and daughter huddled in the thatched roof of the house, and the little girl would snuggle in her mother's arms and call her "Mother".
Memories flashed by like a revolving lantern. When the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, her husband was conscripted into the army and never returned. When Deng Zhao was just over twenty, she hardened her heart and sent her son to the south to make a living, fearing that he would follow in her husband's footsteps and die on the battlefield.
Her neighbors praised her for her exceptional talent, but a woman's life was ultimately not enough to earn a living. During her most difficult time, she pawned her dowry jewelry just to get half a month's worth of food for herself and her daughter.
A slight tremor ran through the girl in her arms. Looking down, Deng's mother noticed a single silver strand in her daughter's black hair. Yes, the girl who used to snuggle up to her and act spoiled was now staying up all night for others.
Five years ago, Deng Zhao brought his new wife and daughter to Lujiang, and their lives changed dramatically.
Yu Qiu was a clever child who took good care of the mother and daughter. The house was decorated exquisitely, and she didn't ask about their expenses. She catered to their preferences and satisfied their various needs. Naturally, Deng Jie also became closer to this sister-in-law, and even decided to study medicine because of her heart palpitations.
She watched with a mixture of relief and melancholy. The children had found a new world. The little girl who used to tug at her sleeve and cry had gradually grown into a capable young woman. She had even started calling her "Mother" like her brother had. This "Mother" finally revealed her strength.
“Don’t worry, Jie’er. As Mencius said, ‘When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it will first test his mind and will.’ For someone as intelligent as Fengxiao, this calamity may well be a test from Heaven.”
Deng's mother gently stroked her back to comfort her, "The effects of medicine are like spring mud protecting flowers, taking effect silently, so it can't be rushed. A doctor can't collapse himself; his body can't collapse, and his spirit can't collapse either."
Deng Jie looked up, tears welling in his eyes, his nose red, and nodded vigorously. He then picked up the chicken soup and drank it all down.
"You should also get some rest," Deng's mother reminded him again before leaving. Deng Jie nodded and pulled his mother's outer robe tighter. "Mother, you should rest early too. I'll finish trying this medicine."
Suddenly, shouts came from the direction of the corner tower, startling the two of them, who went out of the corridor to look.
Then a servant boy and a maid rushed over, and the lights inside the room came on. A dark shadow was cast on the lattice door, and it was impossible to see what it was doing, but it was struggling and shaking violently.
From upstairs came Deng Zhao's hurried footsteps and shouts: "What happened?"
The maidservant rushed out, shouting, "Something terrible has happened! Miss Aqiao has gone mad! She's going to kill Liu Niang!"
Everyone was shocked to hear this. Deng Zhao hurriedly put on his outer robe and went downstairs. He bumped into his mother and her husband, who were also rushing to the scene, and stopped them, saying, "Mother, go back to your room. I will handle this. Ah Jie, go and watch over Feng Xiao. Don't come out!" After saying this, he hurried towards the corner tower.
At this moment, Yu Qiu also came down wearing a fur coat and helped Deng's mother: "Yes, yes, the two of us will go over there. Mother still needs to guard the main camp. If Ming'er is woken up, someone will have to soothe him!"
After Deng's mother went upstairs, Deng Jie thought that if Liu Niang's injuries worsened, he would still have to go. He closed Guo Jia's room door and followed his brother and sister-in-law to the corner tower.
When Deng Zhao arrived, Fu Xiao was snatching the candlestick from A Qiao's hand and smashing it on the ground: "Crazy woman, what are you doing!"
But then they saw A-Qiao, her eyes red and veins bulging on her forehead, pointing at Liu Niang, whose head was bleeding profusely on the bed, and roaring: "It's all because of that harlot's loose tongue! If she hadn't spread the word about the poisoned gold, how could we have suffered this disaster today?"
She still tried to rush over, but Fu Xiao pressed her to the ground. The servant was trembling with fear. When Deng Zhao came in, he grabbed a piece of hemp cloth from the table and pressed it haphazardly onto Liu Niang's wound, causing Liu Niang to cry out in pain.
Deng Jie rushed in, took the cloth from the servant, gave a few instructions, and immediately began to treat Liu Niang's fresh wounds. Liu Niang groaned and wept incessantly, and Deng Jie stopped the bleeding while wiping away her tears.
Aqiao lay on the ground still screaming. Deng Zhao grabbed Aqiao's hands and gestured for Fu Xiao to take her out first.
The two carried Aqiao to the outer room's couch, and Yu Qiu quickly came forward to comfort her: "Today's chaos is not Liu Niang's fault. Xu Hong had planned it all along, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to set fire to the poisoned gold everywhere in such a short time. Even if it wasn't Liu Niang, he would have found an opportunity to incite everyone."
Aqiao, however, stubbornly shouted, "But what about my wages for three months? They threw all my gold certificates in and burned them. I worked for nothing for three months, and we won't have any food at home for the New Year... not to mention..."
She raised her hands, trembling, and cried out, "My hands... Will I never be able to weave again... How am I going to live?"
Yu Qiu glanced at Deng Zhao, took a gold bracelet off his wrist and stuffed it into her hand. "This is to be considered as compensation from the Deng family for your wages and medical expenses. If you are still unable to weave next year after you have recovered from your injury, come here to find me. I will arrange a job for you in the house that is not too strenuous. What do you think?"
Aqiao looked at Yu Qiu in disbelief, then glanced back at Deng Zhao. The thing she had risked her life for could be resolved so easily in their eyes. She felt both resentful of their different backgrounds and ridiculously like a shrew. She laughed while crying, clutching the gold bracelet and saying nothing more.
Seeing her like this, Yu Qiu instructed a maid to take her to the second floor to settle her in, so as not to disturb Liu Niang's rest any longer.
Just as they finished settling things at the corner tower, before Deng Zhao and his two companions had even stepped out the door, the gatekeeper came running to report: "Master! Soldiers have arrived outside with Jiao Zhongqing's mother, looking for someone!"
Yu Qiu, clutching her chest, felt her legs go weak. Deng Zhao, startled, quickly caught her and handed her to Deng Jie, saying, "You two mustn't collapse! Ah Jie, quickly take Jing Yuan back to rest. Leave this to me."
Outside, the wind and snow were raging. Deng Zhao had been running so fast that he hadn't noticed that the ground was already covered in snow.
After the disturbance on the street, Jiao's mother waited and waited at home for her son to return, but he did not come home. She chased her second husband and youngest daughter to ask the neighbors for a long time before someone told them that they seemed to have seen him near Liu's embroidery shop.
When her second husband saw that the snow was too heavy, he refused to go again. So Jiao's mother had to sneak out to look for him at night, but she was caught red-handed by the patrolling soldiers. Only then did she ask him for help.
Deng Zhao followed the soldiers and Jiao Zhongqing's mother to the East Market. On the way, he inquired with the soldiers and found that the fire situation had been dealt with.
The soldiers told him that the snow had suppressed the smoke, and the number of houses demolished was not large, so it was still within a controllable range.
Xu Hong's body was also found. A shop assistant from Wu's Rice Shop identified him as Wu Gao's boss, and they also found the seals of Yuan Shu and Hui Qu on his body.
The officer approached him again and whispered, "The Prefect said that I should tell Lord Deng that there is something to discuss with him tomorrow and that he would like to ask Lord Deng to come to the Prefect's residence at Chenshi (7-9 AM)."
Deng Zhao sighed inwardly; at least this matter was finally settled.
The soldiers were so polite; the prefect must want him to cover some of the losses. It just so happened that I also needed to inform him of my plan to exchange iron for grain. So, I exchanged the warrants and bowed to the soldiers to accept the order.
The three rushed to the embroidery workshop. Soldiers, carrying torches, found the doors wide open, the floor in disarray, the loom racks broken and scattered with tattered pieces of cloth. Jiao's mother cried out, "Zhongqing! Zhongqing!"
Deng Zhao surveyed the area inside and out, and remembered that there should be a cellar here, which was currently being weighed down by wooden frames. He then called for soldiers to come and help.
When the cellar partition was lifted, Jiao Zhongqing and Liu Lanzhi were seen embracing each other tightly, their hair and eyebrows frosted over, with a wisp of white vapor still visible.
Jiao's mother shouted her son's name, but Deng Zhao stopped her outside and, together with the soldiers, carried the two out of the cellar. The soldiers found a night watchman to help, and the watchman pushed a cart over and took the frozen two men back to Jiao Zhongqing's home.
Although reluctant, Jiao's mother eventually agreed to let Liu Lanzhi stay at home to recuperate.
When Deng Zhao returned to the bedroom, Yu Qiu was already asleep. He took off his outer robe, which still felt chilly, and sat alone in front of the charcoal brazier to warm his hands.
These past few days have been truly agonizing. I had hoped for a peaceful holiday, but so many troubles have arisen. I need to consider how the Prefect plans to act tomorrow and devise a way to prevent my family from suffering too much loss for no reason.
The flames flickered and swayed, and he wasn't the only one staring at them.
In Guo Jia's room on the second floor, Deng Jie was also staring blankly at the candlelight.
He didn't vomit after taking the last dose of medicine, but no one knew if it would be effective. Besides, the medicine wouldn't take effect immediately, and he wasn't sleepy at all, so he could only lean against the table, propping his face up, and wait foolishly.
The candlelight cast shadows on Guo Jia's reclining figure, and she recalled once again his imposing and spirited appearance from the day before, but now he lay there with his eyes tightly closed, seemingly dead.
Looking at his pale, bloodless profile, and recalling his usual playful, serious, flustered, and silent expressions, I felt a pang in my heart, silently shed tears, and secretly resolved to heal him.
The snow fell silently, covering the rooftops of Wancheng with a blanket of white. Heaven and earth seemed to know better and fell silent, letting this little bit of human attachment sway in the long night.
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