Chapter 145: Chapter 145
Chapter 145
Yueqian separated herself and returned shortly after. Even though in First Furen Tang’s residence, Yueqian felt relieved because she had found a solution for the other party. However, as she walked out of First Furen Tang’s house, her face was exceedingly sorrowful.
"Please take good care of First Furen Tang and Mujin. Don’t let Mujin fall ill like her mother," the beautiful woman instructed Mujin’s maid. Her demeanor was tense and deeply saddened.
This made the person who had been secretly hiding breathe a sigh of relief. When Yueqian left, she went to report the situation to her master. The master and servant both burst into laughter upon hearing this.
"It seems that even the demoness couldn’t do anything upon her return. Phew! I’ve been worried for so long, but it turns out... the wicked woman doesn’t know everything after all!"
"Indeed, miss. I was quite worried myself when I heard she was coming. Remembering how she rampaged over a decade ago still scares me. I feared she would use her power to search the entire manor and find something."
"Hmph! If she wants to search the manor, let her do it. It’s not our doing anyway."
"Hehe, that’s true. If she really does search the manor, you could get rid of two enemies at once, miss."
"I heard that she has changed quite a bit since her return. Living in the countryside with her husband has probably humbled her. Besides, the Qin family has disowned her. She’s truly powerless now."
"Yes, that’s right. Today, I heard she went to the Qin Manor to visit her mother with the eldest young miss. It seems she took her mother’s dowry with her as well."
" It was her mother who spoiled her until she was ruined," the noblewoman sighed, waving a small fan in her hand leisurely.
"Though she claims she was not the one who poisoned, the so-called pregnancy supplements she supposedly came across by chance to hasten First Furen’s physical deterioration were all provided by her!"
If that little demon Qin truly caused a scene, both she and her would likely be implicated. Thus, it wasn’t possible to eliminate another wicked woman this time, but she wasn’t in a hurry. She could wait for First Furen Tang to pass away before vying for the position of the principal wife again.
Moreover, she had evidence proving that the other party orchestrated everything. When the time came, she could reveal this villainy and eliminate another viper!
This is exactly what they mean by “the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.”
Upon returning to the manor, Yueqian found that her husband and younger siblings had arrived before her. The three of them looked distressed, likely having witnessed ’hell’ firsthand."
"..... Hollow clusters confined,
In deep sorrow, they mourn,
Until the very end, near death...”
"I assume you understand Master Pu Jian’s poem now," Yueqian said as she approached them, still lost in their reverie.
The beautiful woman smiled slightly as she sat down between them. Since her voice echoed from behind, Mu Heng’s heart had been heavy with melancholy. Seeing her mocking smile, he understood even more why this poem was used to describe the capital’s wickedness, as she had previously mentioned.
Earlier, everyone dreamt of the capital. Even Mu Heng wanted to send his younger siblings to study there. In his mind, the capital was a place like a dream, where people dressed beautifully and lived in wealth, with food so exquisite they could only imagine it in their lives.
But who knew the capital wasn’t like that at all? The cruelty people faced was severe, and for some, death might have been preferable.
In the stables, many women sat, selling their bodies. Their expressions were deeply dejected. They sold their bodies to vulgar men just to get food and water for their families. Some wanted to die but couldn’t; others became playthings for others. If these people lived in the countryside, at worst, they would spend their days foraging for wild food. If they were lucky, they might get meat; if not, they’d eat vegetables and grasses. No one would starve to the point of self-destruction.
"Why do they stay here? If they moved out of the capital, they might have a chance to survive, right?" Mu Heng said helplessly. He couldn’t understand what these people were thinking. Why didn’t they just move away?
"It’s not that simple. They’ve never lived in the countryside and don’t know where to go. This all stems from fear. They’re afraid of moving. What if they encounter bandits along the way? Or what if they find worse people? Some have families to care for. Now, sacrificing themselves alone so that others can survive should be enough. That’s their way of thinking."
Yueqian shook her head at Mu Heng’s thoughts. Even she, who had been exiled to the countryside, did the people in the capital imagined about her situation. Did they think she could find happiness there?
She believed that when they heard about bandits in her town, did they assume she was dead, or worse, had been violated by the bandits?
All of this was due to the difficulty in communication and the poor transportation infrastructure, which posed significant obstacles. While laws existed, they couldn’t be enforced everywhere. Villagers could easily turn from famers into bandits because the law couldn’t reach them consistently.
For Mu Heng and his siblings, who had originally lived in the countryside, they understood its harsh realities. However, these hardships were not necessarily worse than those faced by the impoverished in the capital. Their thoughts, such as "Why stay here?" and "Why not escape?" were understandable and valid.
Even Qu Yi, who had been abused by her own relatives, felt that the abuse was less severe compared to what the people in the capital endured.
It wasn’t as if people who lived well didn’t face challenges. Some were wealthy and reputable; even some servants in certain manors dressed in luxurious clothes, looking better than those in the countryside. Therefore, seeing only this, it was easy to assume that people in the capital lived well.
The capital had a constant flow of people, with many caravans passing through various towns and stopping there for trade, as it promised the highest profits. Wealthy people resided there, so goods sold well. Additionally, the capital had high-quality items that could be sold in other towns. As a result, merchants traveled from distant towns to the capital and then back to remote towns.
This singular trade route was due to poor transportation. In the era she came from, purchasing goods from surrounding towns or forming trade groups with neighboring cities empowered merchants to set their own prices and have greater bargaining power. However, in this era, people didn’t know how to do that. Traveling from one village to the city was difficult enough; how could they possibly band together?
These hardships, someday Yueqian would make them disappear!
"So, they will stay here forever?" Mu Heng exhaled in frustration. Why did people despise the countryside so much? Clearly, if life had to be so miserable, it would be better to live freely in the countryside.
"And this is your opportunity," Yueqian smiled. She already knew they would return with such a dismal feeling. Sending them out to see the harsh reality of the place called "the capital" would inevitably prevent them from returning happily.
"........." Mu Heng did not respond. He remained silent and thoughtful, but his brows furrowed in tension, indicating that he was trying to find an answer within the day.
Yueqian gently patted his shoulder, looking at the children who were still sitting with sullen faces, amused.
"Alright, we can think about this gradually, but I don’t think the rumbling noises can wait any longer," Yueqian teased them. It seemed that the food she had sent with them wasn’t eaten sufficiently. They must have shared it with someone else, or else their little tummies wouldn’t be growling softly like this.
Upon realizing this, Xiao Long and Huan’er felt a bit embarrassed. They had given their lunch boxes to a group of starving children who looked like they were on the brink of death. Those children even picked up fallen rice from the ground to eat. Seeing this, how could they continue eating?
As a result, they ended up hungry like this. However, even if they could go back in time, they would still give the food to the starving people. Who knows how long those people hadn’t eaten? While just returning home meant they would get to eat delicious food, enduring hunger for one meal wasn’t hard for them.
"Skipping lunch like this means you can’t handle spicy food for dinner. So, tonight we’ll have radish soup and stir-fried vegetables with minced pork. I’ll also steam some mixed vegetable buns in case you want to have more later," Yueqian said, listing the dinner menu. Just imagining the delicious food made the children unable to contain their excitement.
What had once been despondency now turned into great enthusiasm.
"Xiao Long will go start the fire."
"Huan’er will help wash the vegetables." The two children knew to assist their sister-in-law from the start. Previously, they had cooked their own meals. Qu Yi, who rarely got to handle food because her vile relatives never let her near it, quietly followed behind.
Inside, she had many words stuck in her throat. Although Miss Yueqian was only a sister-in-law, not even sharing blood with the young master and young miss, she saw the affection and concern in her eyes when she looked at the two children. It was the same look she had once received from her mother. Of course, after losing her mother, she never received that look from anyone else again.
"Qu Yi, help Huan’er wash the vegetables. You need to learn how to cook too. In case I’m busy one day, you’ll need to help out," Yueqian told the girl who was silently following.
Qu Yi nodded and hurried to assist her young miss. Yueqian watched the three children busy helping her prepare the food and couldn’t help but sigh.
These children still needed much guidance. Yueqian could teach them to read and write, but in the future, they needed to grow beyond that. All the essential knowledge and arts that they should know must be passed on to them fully. It seemed she would need Mujin’s help to find teachers for them starting tomorrow.
Xiao Long had free time all day, so he should learn strategy and martial arts for self-defense. Huan’er, being a girl interested in healing, should study with a herbalist. For the other half of the day, she also needed to learn the etiquette of a young miss and have at least one special talent. Yueqian would find a music teacher for her.
During this time, Qu Yi wouldn’t need to follow the other two around and would have time to learn embroidery herself.With a plan for the children in place, the next step was to help her husband gain a reputation. In order to build reputation, she and her husband agreed that they would try to find a way to improve the living conditions of the poor in the city. But how to achieve that? They still needed to work together to find a solution.
