Chapter 75: Aren’t You Curious Why I Know All This?

Chapter 75: Aren't You Curious Why I Know All This?

The admiration the sisters-in-law had for He Zhiran was swiftly shattered by her next words.

"Mother, all my sisters-in-law, the scraps of cloth were given to me for free by the cloth merchant. I thought they could be used to mend clothes, so I didn't refuse them."

"Second Sister-in-law, aren't these scraps meant for making shoes?" she blurted out loudly.

"Making shoes?" He Zhiran wore a look of confusion. How could such small pieces of cloth be used for shoes?

It wasn't her fault for not knowing. The original owner disliked women's household chores and forbade the servants from doing them as well. Hence, she had no knowledge about the materials needed for making shoes.

As a soul from thousands of years in the future, He Zhiran's shoes were either issued by the military or bought outside. How would she know about this?

Second Sister-in-law seemed to have discovered something new as she circled around He Zhiran.

"Little Ninth Sister, don't tell me you've never even seen a pair of shoes being made?"

He Zhiran shrugged her shoulders and casually made up an excuse.

"While at home, I spent all my time immersed in medical texts, learning medicine. There wasn't much time left for such distractions," she explained.

The sisters-in-law, impressed by Ninth Brother's wife's exceptional medical skills, readily accepted her explanation.

It was understandable that with such dedication to her craft, she might not excel in traditional feminine skills like sewing.

After several days of nomadic living, the sisters-in-law had gradually adapted to their new reality.

Carrying a bag brimming with scraps of cloth, they settled down after dinner to sew shoes.

Food was stored in the carriage, and He Zhiran had left behind roasted chickens and ducks for the family, while the rest were distributed among the officials and the Xie and Fang families.

The Xie and Fang family expressed their gratitude profusely and offered to pay for the provisions.

Observing their eagerness to repay her, He Zhiran mused to herself,

"Go ahead and enjoy! Don't feel burdened, it's all on the dog emperor's tab."

But such thoughts remained within the confines of her mind; she dared not voice them out loud.

After the polite exchanges, He Zhiran firmly dismissed those insistently offering her silver, finally attaining some peace and quiet.

Although the sisters-in-law enjoyed the taste of Ninth Brother's wife's cooking, considering her exhaustion today, they urged her to go rest in the tent and took some meat and vegetables from the carriage to prepare dinner themselves.

Upon returning to the tent, she saw Mo Jiuye sitting there with a blade of grass between his teeth, seemingly lost in thought.

Deciding to sit beside him, her mind was preoccupied with the anecdotal accounts of Mo Jiuye's background that she had read.

She was also pondering how to subtly convey what she knew to Mo Jiuye.

Mo Jiuye looked at the silent He Zhiran and took the initiative to speak.

"You've had a tough day. If you're feeling unwell, I can help massage you."

He Zhiran highly approved of Mo Jiuye's massage skills. Upon hearing him offer to massage her, she instinctively felt a soreness in her back and waist.

"Actually, I do feel a bit uncomfortable."

Without hesitation, Mo Jiuye moved behind her and started massaging her shoulders.

He Zhiran glanced around, noticing that her family was engrossed in their tasks and no one paid attention to them. Only then did she speak up:

"I encountered someone unexpected today in Pingyuan County."

"Who?" Mo Jiuye's tone remained somewhat stiff, but He Zhiran was already accustomed to it.

"Nan Qi!"

"Prince Nan Qi?" Mo Jiuye sounded clearly astounded. "What would he be doing here?"

This was also the question lingering in He Zhiran's mind.

Fortunately, there were records of this encounter in the annals of history.

She pondered over how to tell Mo Jiuye without arousing suspicion.

After much deliberation, He Zhiran found herself at a loss.

Despite exhausting all her wits, she couldn't come up with a plausible excuse. Yet, considering the magnitude of the matter, she felt it necessary for Mo Jiuye to know.

Since she intended to share this with Mo Jiuye, He Zhiran decided to go all out and test the waters by revealing the matter first.

"I'll ask you this. If I were to say that I know the purpose of Nan Qi's visit to Pingyuan County, would you find it odd? Perhaps you might even suspect me to be a spy sent by Nan Qi?"

Without hesitation, Mo Jiuye replied, "If you were truly someone from Nan Qi, I wouldn't be alive right now. There'd be no need for him to go through such elaborate means to send someone here for an assassination attempt."

"Are you not curious as to how I came to know about these matters?"

Mo Jiuye didn't hide his true thoughts. "I am indeed curious. You've mentioned before that everyone has their secrets. My stance remains the same: As long as you don't act against the Mo family, I won't actively probe into your secrets."

These words, He Zhiran had heard them from him for the second time.

Indeed, he kept his promise and never asked what he shouldn't.

After her probe, He Zhiran spoke slowly. "A few years ago, a master diviner predicted for Nan Qi that a noble person would appear in Pingyuan County in August of this year."

Mo Jiuye found the idea of seeking a nobleman through a master's divination rather absurd. However, it wasn't unusual for Nan Qi to do such things.

Ever since an unknown time, Nan Qi had become deeply devoted to these forms of divination, to the point that he once sought out renowned soothsayers to predict his fate.

Thus, he didn't doubt He Zhiran's words in the slightest.

While he couldn't inquire about how He Zhiran knew these details, Mo Jiuye felt he could ask something else.

"Will he really find this so-called nobleman?"

Not intending to hide anything, He Zhiran replied, "If I hadn't appeared in Pingyuan County today, he would have already met this nobleman."

"How so?" Mo Jiuye was confused. He couldn't figure out how He Zhiran was connected to this matter.

"The nobleman's name is Fei Nanyu. He passed the scholar examination as the top candidate at the tender age of 12, a man of exceptional talent..."

He Zhiran selectively shared some of Fei Nanyu's background, how they met, and how he had assisted Nan Qi in ascending to the throne.

Of course, she decided to keep the matter of Fei Nanyu's regime change to herself for the time being.

After all, such a notion was too implausible. On one hand, she was concerned that Mo Jiuye might not believe her, and on the other, she didn't want him to learn about these matters too soon.

Her arrival had already altered much; who knew what greater changes the future might bring.

So many inconceivable facts had flooded Mo Jiuye's mind that he was now deep in thought.

The name Fei Nanyu rang a vague bell in his memory; he felt as if he had heard it somewhere before but couldn't quite place it.

Seeing that Mo Jiuye remained silent, He Zhiran assumed he didn't believe her tale.

Turning her head, she found him frowning in contemplation.

"Why, do you find any inconsistencies in my story?" she asked.

Mo Jiuye shook his head. "I'm just trying to recall who Fei Nanyu is. There's something oddly familiar about the name."

He Zhiran didn't push for an answer, content instead to bask in Mo Jiuye's massage.

Mo Jiuye pondered for quite some time.

"I recall now."

He Zhiran probed further, "Where did you hear about this person?"