Chapter 41: The Mei Family

Chapter 41: The Mei Family

Transferring the name and affection of a deceased loved one to someone who resembles her, even if there are many underlying reasons, is a desecration of the deceased.

Du Yunse would never do such a thing, no matter the reason. Fortunately, he is not an emperor, and Brother Hua will always have his back.

"The deer antlers and lingzhi brought by Sixteen are perfect for the prescription Old Physician Gu prescribed. I'll head to the city later to buy the remaining ingredients. The sooner we start using these precious herbs for nourishment, the better the results."

The medicinal herbs sent by Sixteen indeed alleviated Du Yunse's pressing needs, but they also made him more acutely aware that, as a pawn, his every move was being closely monitored by the emperor and his son.

Just as Qiu Huanian had found out in the prefecture city that his physical constitution was weak, Sixteen set out from the capital with the medicinal herbs. This was both a gesture of goodwill and consideration, and a subtle reminder and warning.

The Crown Prince was subtly letting him know that he hadn't completely fallen out of the emperor's favor, and also implying that the emperor had long since placed Du Yunse in his own camp. Du Yunse was a smart man, so Sixteen only needed to deliver the herbs and say or do nothing else.

The emperor's commands are hard to disobey, and his intentions are unpredictable. It is not something a subject can refuse at will.

Du Yunse could only strive to continuously prove his worth in this chess game where the world was the board, making the right moves at every turn, seizing opportunities amidst the risks, and ensuring his family had a better life.

"Even with the main ingredients, the remaining herbs are not cheap," Qiu Huanian sighed.

After careful calculation, the new house, along with furniture and decorations, would cost a total of twenty-two taels, far exceeding the estimated cost of fifteen taels for building a brick-tile house in the village.

However, the high cost is justified. The two-courtyard house with a garden that Qiu Huanian designed is a cut above the typical brick-tile houses in the village.

The ancestral home is the cornerstone of the family. Building it well from the start will benefit the family for decades to come. Though the cost is high, it's worth it.

The family's twenty-seven taels had shrunk to just four taels, but in the past twenty or so days, the Sorghum Candy business had earned over four taels, making up for the shortfall. With income and expenses balanced, there was no danger of a financial crisis.

"Lingzhi and deer antlers shouldn't be consumed in excess. Old Physician Gu's prescription should be taken every three days. The amount sent by Sixteen will last a long time. Let's spend two taels to prepare ten doses first, and we can talk more after finishing them."

They say that prolonged illness turns one into a good doctor. Although Qiu Huanian has not yet been "prolongedly ill," he has already familiarized himself with the prices of the herbs in the prescriptions prescribed by Old Physician Gu.

"Brother Hua, don't be reluctant. Your health is the most important."

Qiu Huanian smiled and hummed in agreement, nestling into Du Yunse's embrace under the night sky, surrounded by the noisy chirping of cicadas.

Du Yunse stretched out his arms, holding Qiu Huanian tightly, as if forgetting they were outdoors and the self-restraint and propriety ingrained in his heart.

Qiu Huanian had silently changed him.

...

Sixteen had been staying in the back room, and Qiu Huanian and the others did not disturb him. He only came to the front during meal times, always bringing some game, sometimes rabbits, sometimes foxes, allowing Qiu Huanian to collect several pelts.

One evening, Qiu Huanian had been waiting for Sixteen to come for dinner but didn't see him. Just as he was about to go to the back to check, Sixteen suddenly dragged in a half-grown wild boar from the back. The boar was as big as an adult's embrace, with blood still trickling from the wound on its neck, showcasing Sixteen's precise and lethal skill.

Wild boars usually move in groups, and there were no such large beasts in the mountains behind Du Village. Qiu Huanian knew that Sixteen must have gone somewhere far, likely not just to hunt the boar, but he didn't ask further.

The small wild boar had little meat, yielding only about fifty catties after processing. The advantage was that the meat was tender, unlike the tough meat of an adult boar.

In the hot summer weather, without a refrigerator, it was difficult to preserve meat. Qiu Huanian made ten catties of jerky for the family, kept five catties for themselves, gave five catties to close neighbors in the village to taste, and sold the remaining thirty catties in town.

Small wild boars usually follow adult boars, and it was rare for anyone in Qingfu Town to hunt a small boar. The thirty catties of meat sold out quickly, fetching a higher price than regular pork.

The wild boar meat sold for forty wen per catty, and the heart, liver, lungs, and offal were processed for fifteen wen per catty, totaling one and a half taels of silver.

Sixteen did not interfere with how Qiu Huanian handled the game he brought back, still only appearing during meal times.

A few days passed like this. Qiu Huanian was casually painting in the study when Wei Liuhua suddenly rushed in urgently.

Qiu Huanian noticed she was covered in sweat and invited her to sit down, turning to pour water. "Take a moment to catch your breath, then speak slowly."

Wei Liuhua, however, couldn't wait. After catching her breath, she said urgently, "Brother Hua, my parents-in-law are back!"

Qiu Huanian raised an eyebrow. Zhao and the others were back?

After the academy exam, Du Yunjing's family, who had committed misdeeds, were forcibly detained by the servants of Feng, the examination commissioner, to prepare for Du Yunjing and Li Guer's wedding. Now, over twenty days later, the wedding must have taken place.

"They're all back?"

"All of them, Du Yunjing, Li Guer, and Fu Bao are all here, coming by mule cart from the direction of Zhang County. A neighbor I'm close to happened to see them and quickly returned to the village to tell me, so I could come out first. They must be home by now."

Wei Liuhua had enjoyed a few months of tranquility and was now about to return to her previous hardships, feeling completely unwilling.

She knew what her in-laws had gone through in the city, and because of Meng Fuyue's influence, most people in the village knew too. With Zhao's temper, how could she bear it? She would definitely shut the door and take out her anger on the eldest son's family.

Wei Liuhua pulled a purse from her bosom and set it on the table. "Brother Hua, here's the one tael and three mace of silver I've saved over the past few months from selling beetroots and doing needlework. Once they return, this money will definitely not stay in my hands. The only person I can trust is you."

Wei Liuhua shook out the silver in front of Qiu Huanian, counted it once, and then put it back. This money was saved penny by penny, exchanged for silver, and hidden away. It was all the future support for her and Youge, and she wouldn't let anyone take it away!

Qiu Huanian nodded, "Leave it with me, and you can get it back whenever it's convenient for you."

Having resolved the issue of the money, Wei Liuhua hurriedly ran back home. Youge was still at home, and with those people back, she was really worried about the child!

The Zhao family squeezed into a mule cart and returned to the village. When they left, each had their own thoughts, filled with ambition and satisfaction, but now they all returned with gloomy faces, silent and brooding.

Li Guer had tied up her hair, dressed as a married woman. Just before entering the village, Zhao's lips moved as if she wanted to scold Li Guer or tell her to cover her face and hide, but in the end, she said nothing.

In just over twenty days, she seemed to have aged more than a decade, her face full of vicissitudes.

Seeing the outline of the houses in Du Village, Du Baoquan let out a deep sigh and said with a trembling voice, "We're back, finally back."

Du Yunjing, however, still wore a gloomy expression, his eyes fixed on the rolling wheels, scaring Fu Bao, who had wanted to make a fuss, into silence.

In Du Village, where Du Yunse was, would there still be a place for him?

Du Yunjing could feel that the gazes of the villagers they encountered along the way were strange, full of schadenfreude and glee.

This was no wonder, as Du Yunse had already returned to the village. How could he tolerate Du Yunjing? He must have already spread the story of what happened in the city, adding his own embellishments, throughout the village.

Du Yunjing, projecting his own feelings, hated Du Yunse to the point of wishing he could eat his flesh. Overwhelmed by anger, shame, and resentment, he actually vomited blood.

"Husband, are you okay?" Li Guer gently took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth.

Du Yunjing grabbed Li Guer's hand tightly, leaving blue-purple marks on her fair wrist, but Li Guer remained silent.

Du Yunjing wiped the corner of his mouth with Li Guer's hand, the blood smearing, making his face appear even more sinister and terrifying.

With such a face, he smiled lightly and said, "Don't worry, wife, it's nothing."

...

After returning home, Du Yunjing's family closed their doors and did not come out. Although the villagers wanted to watch the drama, they didn't want to cause trouble and all kept their distance.

Qiu Huanian didn't know the current situation of this family, nor did he care to know. With the clan leader keeping an eye on things, Wei Liuhua wouldn't suffer. No matter how they stirred up trouble, it wouldn't affect Qiu Huanian's current life.

Qiu Huanian's attention was now focused on cotton pest control. The vinegar residue had already been bought from the county. Huang Erniang's spice shop had been transferred to someone else, but it didn't affect their purchase of vinegar residue.

Qiu Huanian combined the needs of the clan leader's family and Yun Kang's family and bought them together. Because of the large demand, the spice shop owner agreed to deliver vinegar residue to Du Village every ten days, saving them the trouble of traveling back and forth.

In addition to purchasing vinegar residue (a byproduct used in traditional farming), Qiu Huanian also made several simple sprayer devices to spray diluted bio-enzymes (natural enzymes used in farming) on the cotton.

Since plastic wasn't available, the spray nozzle had to be crafted from wood—a delicate task. Luckily, it wasn't too much work, and there was no rush to finish, so Qiu Huanian spent some time each day and managed to make four of them.

Rubber tubing was out of the question in that era, so Qiu Huanian substituted repeatedly cleaned pig intestines instead, tightly tied at both ends with hemp rope to prevent leaks.

With this setup, a modern pressurized sprayer was out of the question. Instead, Qiu Huanian created a linkage-based mechanical device. When operating it, liquid was poured into a wooden water tank coated with tung oil (a traditional wood sealant), and by stepping on a pedal next to the tank with his foot, the water would be forced upward into the pipe and sprayed out through the nozzle.

This sprayer couldn't reach as far as a modern high-pressure one, but it was definitely easier and more even than watering by hand.

Since deciding to grow cotton, Qiu Huanian had been pondering how to make a sprayer device. Each design was refined through trial and error, and the final product was a testament to his dedication.

Sixteen was deeply interested in the sprayer device and the cotton Qiu Huanian was growing. As Qiu Huanian tested the sprayer, Sixteen watched quietly from the side.

Seeing that Sixteen had been silent for a long time without leaving, Qiu Huanian took the initiative to ask, "Would you like to try it, Sixteen?"

Surely, Sixteen wasn't just curious and wanting to play with a water gun!

Sixteen shook his head and said to Qiu Huanian, "You are very clever."

Over the past few days, he had watched Qiu Huanian meticulously adjust the details and eventually succeed in creating this ingenious device.

Qiu Huanian was taken aback that the usually reserved Sixteen would praise him so openly. After a moment of hesitation, he modestly replied, "It's just a small trick, nothing special."

Sixteen, however, said, "Would you mind if I reported this to my master?"

Tell the Crown Prince (the heir to the throne)? A sprayer didn't seem important enough to bother someone like him. Moreover, if Sixteen really wanted to report it, could Qiu Huanian even stop him? Why bother asking?

Qiu Huanian found himself increasingly unable to understand Sixteen.

"Besides the sprayer, there's also the cotton," Sixteen added, speaking more than usual. "If what you say is true, and your method can yield a bountiful cotton harvest in Zhang County's climate, my master could petition for you to be granted the title of County Lord (a noble title)."

"..."

Qiu Huanian was completely stunned by Sixteen's words, not sure which part to think about first.

First, Qiu Huanian had never mentioned anything about a bountiful cotton harvest recently. Sixteen knowing this meant he'd been secretly looking into their affairs.

Second, while the value of the cotton cultivation method was high, as a commoner, Qiu Huanian could never be granted the title of County Lord for it—a legitimate noble title.

For this to happen, Sixteen's master, the Crown Prince of the Yu Dynasty (a historical period), would have to exert significant influence. Sixteen's relationship with the Crown Prince was much closer than Qiu Huanian had imagined.

Finally, what was the nature of his relationship with Sixteen? Why would someone like Sixteen suddenly speak so much and consider such matters on his behalf?

Qiu Huanian didn't hide his confusion, yet Sixteen gave no explanation and simply asked again, "What do you think?"

Qiu Huanian could only say, "I study cotton cultivation and compile agricultural texts (guides on farming techniques) to share this method freely with the people, so that more can afford cotton. I do things the right way, so it's your call whether to report it or not."

Sixteen nodded, "I will stay for three more days, observe your pest control (managing insects that harm crops) efforts, and then leave."

"..." Even knowing that Qiu Huanian planned to test the bio-enzyme pest control method within three days, Qiu Huanian finally understood, at last, what Sixteen had been busy with.

As Sixteen turned to leave, Qiu Huanian hesitated for a moment and called out to him.

"Sixteen, I won't pretend that I don't desire the title of County Lord, but even without it, I can live well on my own. If this matter is difficult for you or could endanger you, please don't force it. Your safety is more important."

"..."

Sixteen didn't turn back. Several times, Qiu Huanian expected him to speak, but in the end, he just walked away from the front courtyard with slightly hurried steps.

Qiu Huanian watched his ghostlike, silent figure, and for some reason, felt a sharp pang of bitterness and sorrow.

...

Only when he returned to the back room did Sixteen press his hand against his chest. This spot, which he thought had long stopped hurting, was now pounding violently within his chest.

It wasn’t a new wound, but an old pain from years past that had never faded. Long buried, it was suddenly awakened by a long-lost concern, now clamoring fiercely.

Qiu Huanian...

Sixteen didn’t know how to feel about him, this person who was likely his last living relative.

What he had been searching for wasn’t him, but his elder sister, who had been reduced to bones after enduring countless inhuman tortures, never found by her family, suffering until the end.

Back then, he was still enduring days at the palace’s training institute, enduring harsh training and beatings, learning loyalty and sacrifice, becoming a deadly shadow.

The experienced overseers at the training institute never misjudged anyone. He had indeed become an obedient hound, willing to do anything for his master’s commands, only then could he escape that place.

He had lost his name—a loyal dog wouldn’t bear such a name.

But deep down, there was still a hidden longing—to find his elder sister, who had gone missing after offering incense outside the city before the Mei family massacre. She was the only one besides him who might still live.

He had found her, but he was thirteen years too late, so late that not even dreams could save her.

She had left behind a child, a boy who looked just like her, smart, diligent, and flawless in every way, with no trace of his father’s despicable lineage.

But Sixteen still refused to acknowledge him. He stubbornly refused to tell this clueless child about the Mei family.

Yet when he unexpectedly heard Qiu Huanian’s concern, he felt such an overwhelming ache...

Sixteen was closing his eyes, trying to calm the emotions he shouldn’t have, when he suddenly heard an unusual noise behind him. His eyes sharpened, and he turned swiftly, his hand already reaching for the hidden blade in his sleeve.

"You?"

Seeing that the person behind him was Chun Sheng, the child from Qiu Huanian’s household, Sixteen calmly retracted the hidden blade and asked what he wanted.

Chun Sheng nervously swallowed. Although Sixteen had been quite calm these past few days, Chun Sheng was still a bit afraid of him.

But for the sake of his wish, Chun Sheng mustered his courage and came.

"Uncle Sixteen, c-can you teach me how to hunt?"

Before Sixteen arrived, Meng Wudong, who could catch rabbits, was Chun Sheng’s idol. After Sixteen came, that idol quickly changed.

Sixteen initially wanted to refuse outright, but as the words reached his lips, he changed his mind. "Why do you want to learn hunting?"

"If I can hunt as much as you do every day, I can earn a lot of money, help the family like my sister does, and Brother Hua will keep doting on me. Big brother won’t force me to study anymore!"

Sixteen frowned and asked coldly, "Do you think Qiu Huanian treats you poorly?"

"No!" Chun Sheng instantly panicked. "I didn’t say Brother Hua treats me poorly! It’s just... everyone in the family is so capable. I can’t cook, I can’t embroider, and I’m worse at studying than Yun Kang. I... I..."

Chun Sheng cried out, "I’m so useless. Brother Hua might... might want a more capable child in the future."

"..."

Sixteen had fought desperately in life-and-death battles and had been immersed in the deceitful palace for many years. Just a slight show of temper was enough to scare an ordinary child.

Realizing this, he toned it down a bit, though his voice remained cold despite his efforts to soften it.

"Your two older brothers aren’t like that. At your age, you should put your heart into studying."

Chun Sheng lowered his head, tears still streaking his face, but he stubbornly refused to leave.

Sixteen looked at him, and in that moment, he saw his younger self. Before the great upheaval, he too was naive and impulsive, spoiled by his family and oblivious to the world, with only some odd little troubles each day that made his elder sister cover her mouth and laugh softly.

At this age, when he was seven, the border was suddenly breached. Sixteen's grandfather, as the defending general, fell on the city wall, and the entire Mei family was massacred by the enemy. When the battle report reached the court, his grandfather was accused of dereliction of duty, and the dead were denied any honors. As the sole survivor, he was taken into the imperial court, stripped of his name and identity.

Sixteen looked at Chun Sheng, so naive, so foolish, so much that it stirred an impulse in him.

"Hunting is just about catching some wild beasts, trading them for a little money. It’s not worth teaching."

"Then what does Uncle want to teach?" Chun Sheng asked, his breath quickening with excitement.

Sixteen flicked the hidden sword from his sleeve, its blade flashing like water, sinking a foot into the ground beside Chun Sheng.

"Killing," he said.