Chapter 144 Assuming Office

Chapter 144: Taking Up the Post

Song Tingzhou looked at his disheveled appearance, his heart aching beyond words. He could only wipe away his tears with his hand and soothe him, saying, "It's my fault for making you suffer."

Meng Wan composed himself in his embrace for a moment, then rubbed his own eyes. "I'm fine; I've just been running back and forth in the town. By the way, what happened to your leg?"

Pulling back slightly, he noticed that Song Tingzhou's left leg was wrapped in thick bandages, and he was already swaying unsteadily after standing this long. He didn't seem to be doing much better than Meng Wan.

Song Tingzhou's expression softened, and he spoke gently, "I fell by accident. It's nothing."

Meng Wan asked anxiously, "You fell? Is it serious? Has Dr. Miao checked on you? If your leg is injured, why did you ride a horse?"

Seeing Song Tingzhou about to collapse, Xue Sheng quickly helped him sit down. "Fulang, let's talk when we get in the carriage. Please wait here for a moment. The master said the carriage was too slow, so the horse-drawn cart is following behind; it should arrive soon."

"Alright."

Meng Wan then thought of Qing Xing. "Did you go to the Chen residence? Did you see Qing Xing? She might be hiding there too."

"We just arrived in town and haven't seen Qing Xing yet." Though they had indeed come from the Chen residence, they hadn't even entered the gate, worried about Meng Wan's safety. Hearing commotion on the main street, they rushed over, without even looking for their several cartloads of luggage.

Dr. Miao, being elderly, was following in the cart and hadn't arrived yet; otherwise, he would have been worried. Meng Wan had brought the entire family to Lingnan; he couldn't let Qing Xing run into trouble before they even reached their destination.

"Forget it. The town isn't safe. Let's not split up. We'll search together once the carriage arrives."

Qin Jiao had beheaded a frenzied mountain wolf, its corpse lying in the open space before them.

With many people gathered here, including skilled fighters like Qin Jiao and Xue Sheng, they deterred the wild beasts. For now, no beasts dared attack, but it might not last long.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before Dr. Miao and the others arrived by carriage. Xue Sheng busied himself, first helping Meng Wan and then Song Tingzhou onto the carriage, so he could go back to search for Qing Xing without worry.

The front building of the Chen residence was still burning; since the structure had collapsed, anyone inside would have perished. The other servants had either fled or died. The once bustling home of the local gentry, filled with guests just a few days ago, now appeared deserted.

The manor had been ransacked. While others searched the remaining Chen buildings for the Song family's luggage, Xue Sheng called out twice in the courtyard. Qing Xing indeed came out from the back second floor, accompanied by Min Geer and the poor couple.

Seeing Meng Wan safe, she rushed over excitedly to ask after him. When she saw her grandfather, she hugged him and wept.

The soldiers not only found all their lost luggage but also unexpectedly discovered a great deal of wealth plundered by the Chen family over the years.

This money was now out in the open; too many people had seen it. Silencing them would only invite more trouble later. Meng Wan decided to have the chests sealed and left a few soldiers to guard them.

When they reached the county seat above Pingshi Town in a few days, Song Tingzhou would inform the local county magistrate about the matter, and it would be out of their hands.

They commandeered a few more carriages in town and discarded some of their belongings, barely managing to squeeze nine cartloads of luggage.

Now that everyone they sought had been found, they should have left the town immediately. But Meng Wan still remembered the little mute boy he had tricked into helping him escape. Though there weren't five hundred soldiers, rescuing one child was still possible.

However, as they headed toward the temple, too many beasts made the horses refuse to go forward. Xue Sheng decided to go alone. He was agile and confident he could move through the area alone.

Recalling Meng Wan's description of Chu Ci, he found the mute young Daoist in the back courtyard room, covered in blood. Fortunately, the blood on him wasn't his. When Xue Sheng found him, the young Daoist was clutching a pile of medicine bottles, looking utterly bewildered.

After one of the mountain demon cubs died, the creatures went berserk and, as expected, attacked the gray-robed Daoist first.

The gray-robed Daoist lost an arm to the mountain demon, but managed to poison the beast before it fell.

Ordinary poison was ineffective against the mountain demon, but the gray-robed Daoist's poison was unparalleled. He poisoned the beast but was also bleeding profusely, and his whereabouts were unknown.

Chu Ci was lucky not to have been killed, but he didn't dare pursue.

He could only rummage through the alchemy area, picking out pills that seemed like antidotes. He had known since childhood that Chu Yujing, who pretended to care about him most, actually wanted him dead most. He was about to gamble on one of the two bottles he thought were most likely antidotes when Xue Sheng arrived, sent by Meng Wan.

If not for Xue Sheng's arrival, he would have taken one at random.

"So someone really came for you. You didn't lie to me." The young Daoist was brought before Meng Wan. Dipping his finger in blood, he wrote this sentence.

With bloodstains on his Daoist robe, he looked eerie. Meng Wan felt like vomiting again.

Song Tingzhou held him with concern, gently patting his back and handing him a water skin.

Meng Wan took a couple of sips of water from his hand, which eased the burning sensation in his stomach slightly, and said weakly to Chu Ci, "Of course I didn't lie to you. Now you can gesture; there's someone here who understands you."

The carriage was packed with people, and Chu Ci was covered in blood. Even in winter, the metallic smell of blood was strong. At least the boy had saved his life, so Meng Wan didn't have the heart to throw him out.

After leaving town, Min Geer and his parents got off, freeing up space in the carriage.

Qing Xing bid them farewell. The couple had a brush with death and nearly thrown their son into a pit of fire; they must have learned many lessons.

Even if their family was poor, children still preferred to be with their parents.

But now their carriage had an extra orphan.

Qing Xing had been taken to the Chen residence by Chu Yujing, because it was also safe from mountain demon attacks. She and Min Geer's family had witnessed Chu Yujing's death in the fire.

At that moment, she didn't yet know the mute boy was Chu Yujing and Chen Yong's son. She told Meng Wan about Chu Yujing's death.

Meng Wan glanced at Chu Ci, who remained expressionless, as if he had anticipated this outcome.

"Since you have nowhere to go, you can come with me."

Chu Ci made a few silent gestures.

Qing Xing translated simultaneously, "He says he wants to go to Suzhou."

Meng Wan leaned against Song Tingzhou's shoulder and chuckled lightly, "You're just a little kid, twelve? Never mind getting sold by traffickers—do you even have a household registration?"

Chu Ci clutched the bulging medicine bottles in his arms. He raised his hand, then lowered it helplessly. He was the product of Chu Yujing's hatred; born mute, no one had ever registered him.

"Since you saved my life, I'll help you register and raise you until you're eighteen. When you turn eighteen, you can go wherever you want—the world's your oyster. How about that?" Meng Wan patted Song Tingzhou's arm beside him, and the latter whispered in his ear, "Agreed."

Chu Ci looked at the two of them and, after a brief hesitation, slowly nodded. It couldn't be worse than being abandoned by his biological father and controlled by his eccentric master with poison.

At this point, Meng Wan was utterly exhausted. He sat beside Song Tingzhou, listlessly leaning his head on the other's shoulder, and gently touched his lower abdomen.

Song Tingzhou tightly held his other hand. Having ridden hard to rush over, his left leg was throbbing with pain. Yet he noticed Meng Wan's movement immediately. "What's wrong? Does something hurt?"

Meng Wan guided his hand to his abdomen, then looked up at him without speaking. His long, thick eyelashes fluttered slightly, carrying an indescribable implication.

Song Tingzhou was initially puzzled, but as his eyes met Meng Wan's, a sudden realization struck him like a thunderbolt. He tried to stand up abruptly, forgetting he was in the low carriage and his leg was still injured.

Meng Wan could only watch as he hit his head on the carriage roof, aggravated his leg injury, and collapsed beside him with a muffled groan.

Ignoring the pain, Song Tingzhou quickly called to Qing Xing, who was taking Chu Ci's pulse. "Miss Miao, please examine Wan'er again."

"But I just took Fulang Meng's pulse when I got on the carriage. Slight fetal instability. Once the convoy takes a break, I'll get the herbs and decoct some medicine for him. Fulang Meng is young and in good health; a few doses and plenty of rest should restore him." Qing Xing looked puzzled, suspecting that Song Tingzhou might have hit his head. But then she remembered she hadn't mentioned anything about the fetus, at Meng Wan's request.

Song Tingzhou only caught certain words. "Fetal instability? Xue Sheng! Stop the carriage first and take Miss Miao to get the herbs."

The carriage hadn't even reached the manor. A bewildered Xue Sheng took Qing Xing to get the herbs, decocted the medicine, and only after it was ready did they continue their journey.

At the manor, a few soldiers remained on guard, along with A Xun and the other three, who had been found at a nearby farmhouse.

As soon as they got on the carriage, it became crowded again. Qing Xing and Chu Ci moved outside to make room for a few clever little kids.

A Xun was truly remarkable. He led his younger siblings to evade the Chen family's search, following the dog hole Meng Wan had mentioned, and took them to hide outside. When the adults didn't show up for a long time, he even thought to go ask for help from nearby farmers.

He was sure he'd done something great and was capable, dying for praise from the adults. But Meng Wan had taken his medicine and fallen asleep leaning on Song Tingzhou, and Song Tingzhou was with a stern face. He could only stick his little head out through the carriage curtain to talk to his sister.

"Sis, when I saw many people coming outside, I immediately took my siblings and crawled through the dog hole!"

Qing Xing smiled. "Well done. Tell Grandpa later. Don't talk now; Meng Fulang needs to rest."

"Alright."

A Xun pulled his head back with some disappointment, but couldn't help adding after a moment, "After we crawled out of the dog hole, we lay in the haystack, and no one saw us!"

"I know, A Xun. Lower your voice."

"Oh..."

"Sis, who is that little boy next to you?"

"How do you know each other?"

"Why is he coming with us?"

————

On the road, out of concern for Meng Wan's health, the journey to the nearby county, which should have taken three days, dragged on for four and a half days. Chang Jinhua was extremely anxious, fearing that something else might happen on the way.

Fortunately, they finally met Song Tingzhou and Meng Wan at the inn safe and sound.

"Why did it take so many days?" Her words were full of concern.

Not wanting to worry her, Meng Wan picked and chose what to tell her: that they had been invited to a feast by the Chen family, but then wild beasts from the mountains suddenly came out and bit many people to death. Fortunately, they all managed to flee the town.

Chang Jinhua was shocked. No wonder people said all sorts of bad things about Lingnan; even the wild beasts on the mountains dared to come down and hurt people!

Song Tingzhou took the documents to the local county office and told the county magistrate who he was and what had happened in Pingshi Town. The magistrate was an old official who hadn't moved from his post in decades, treating the post as a retirement sinecure. He said he understood without much interest.

Having delivered the message, Song Tingzhou did not linger. He planned to rest one night at the inn and then immediately set off for Xiwu Prefecture.

Returning to the inn, he found Chang Jinhua with red eyes, wiping tears. Meng Wan was at a loss, trying to console her, "Isn't this good news? Why are you crying?"

Chang Jinhua was such a strong-willed person, yet she had cried twice recently: once out of worry for her son's whereabouts, and this time from tears of joy.

Seeing Song Tingzhou return, she said emotionally, "Go to Xiwu for your post by yourself. I'll stay in the county to accompany Wan Geer. He isn't three months along yet and shouldn't be constantly traveling back and forth."

After this ordeal, Song Tingzhou absolutely did not want to be separated from Meng Wan. He could only persuade Chang Jinhua, "Both Qing Xing and Doctor Miao said Wan'er has nothing serious. If we take care on the road, wouldn't it be better to settle down and recuperate at my post?"

Meng Wan was already tired of traveling and also wanted to get to He County quickly. "Mother, rest assured. The three of us in our group are doctors. Are you afraid they can't take care of me? If I'm separated from my husband, I'll be even more restless."

Since ancient times, medicine and poison have not been separate. Chu Ci was raised by the Weird Taoist from a young age and also understood medical knowledge. In some aspects, even Doctor Miao was not his match, for the Weird Taoist's methods, though different from traditional doctors, had their merits.

The two managed to persuade Chang Jinhua. They left again bright and early the next morning and traveled without any further twists, arriving smoothly at Xiwu Prefecture.

After arriving at Xiwu Prefecture, they didn't linger either. Song Tingzhou freshened up, took the gifts, and paid a visit to the Prefect of Xiwu. As a new official, he'd be under the prefect's thumb for the next few years. There's no harm in being too courteous, but too much becomes bribery of the superior officer—he had to strike the right balance.

So Meng Wan prepared some precious medicinal herbs and silk purchased from the Yangzhou area for him.

The Prefect of Xiwu Prefecture was surnamed Liu, also quite old. The officials sent to Lingnan were mostly jinshi without any connections.

When serving as a local official, he was restricted by local powers and couldn't escape. If assigned to another region, having a few scholars pass the provincial examination would count as merit, and one might be able to move. But in Lingnan, there wasn't even a proper academy, let alone juren scholars. The few xiucai in the prefectural school were just choosing the best of a bad lot; not a single scholar could pass the exams.

Without political achievements, they couldn't be promoted. Thus, most officials in Lingnan just muddled along. After all, though the common people suffered, the officials themselves got gifts and bribes from the local gentry, so they were still well-off.

When Song Tingzhou presented the valuable gifts and his appointment credentials, Prefect Liu gave him a somewhat friendly smile and, for the sake of the gifts, offered a few words of advice.

"Jingxing, you have just arrived in Xiwu and have won my favor. Let me give you a few words of caution."

"Our Xiwu Prefecture has many mountain strongholds, with wild animals and bugs everywhere, and each has its own beliefs. Every village has its own chieftain in charge, and they rarely report to the authorities."

"But precisely because of this, they are extremely hostile to outsiders. Unless necessary, avoid associating with such barbarians, lest you be offended by them."