Chapter 78

Chapter 78

After the first lunar month, the weather began to warm up.

The people of Yunfu Prefecture heard that smallpox in Qing'an Prefecture had been completely contained, and that the authorities were also promoting a kind of vaccination to prevent smallpox.

They half-listened, mostly skeptical.

How could you even prevent smallpox?

But whether true or not, at least the fact that Qing'an Prefecture had contained it was good news.

If it could really be prevented ahead of time, even better.

Qi Yuanjing and Shan Yue came back sooner than expected. When the authorities learned the vaccination worked, they sent physicians to learn the method. Each county in Qing'an Prefecture sent three to five physicians to Yeping County to learn the vaccination technique, and they only left once they'd mastered it.

No need for them to keep shuttling people back and forth anymore.

After wrapping things up in Yeping County, the two returned to Yunxi County. Other physicians who wanted to learn could come to Yunxi County to find them.

After getting back, Qi Yuanjing brought Shan Yue to have a meal with Shen Song and Xie Zhiyu. During the meal, he deliberately raised his cup and apologized to Shen Song for having sent Xie Zhiyu into danger.

Shen Song asked, puzzled, "Why apologize to me? Before you met me, weren't you two always good friends? And anyway, we're good friends too. If you need help, I'd definitely help you."

Qi Yuanjing was deeply moved and downed three cups straight.

Seeing him drink so happily, Shen Song figured it must taste good and asked Xie Zhiyu to pour him a cup.

Xie Zhiyu muttered, "Can't I pour my own?" even as he reached for the jug and poured Shen Song a small half-cup.

Shen Song picked it up, warily sniffed it—it had a somewhat pungent smell. He took a curious sip. At first he didn't react, but as the liquor spread on his tongue, the full taste of alcohol flooded his mouth. The spiciness made Shen Song's brows knit tightly, and he quickly set the cup down, refusing to drink another drop.

"Made from grain—why waste it?" Xie Zhiyu teased.

Shen Song was conflicted. "Can you drink it for me?"

"Drink your own wine."

"You poured me too much—I only asked for a tiny bit." Shen Song tugged Xie Zhiyu's hand, making him look at the cup. "Look how much you poured?"

Xie Zhiyu wouldn't have it. "I poured very little. Normally a full pour is a whole cup. Drink it yourself—don't be difficult."

Shen Song didn't want to drink. He looked at Xie Zhiyu, brows slightly furrowed, with a somewhat pitiful expression, and struggled, "You drink it, Xie Zhiyu. When I drink, it feels like my tongue is being bitten by the wine. It's uncomfortable. I don't want to."

Xie Zhiyu looked at Shen Song.

Ah... a look he'd never seen before.

How adorable.

Qi Yuanjing's light laugh came at the wrong moment. Xie Zhiyu looked up and shot him a glare.

He didn't keep staring at Shen Song. Ears turning red, he turned his head away while grabbing Shen Song's cup and downing the rest of the wine in one go.

Seeing the wine was taken care of, Shen Song smiled happily.

But Xie Zhiyu, having drunk the wine, felt a bit warm.

Qi Yuanjing teased, "Aren't you the one who doesn't drink? And now you're drinking?"

"I used to not eat either," Xie Zhiyu said calmly.

Qi Yuanjing was left speechless. Shan Yue watched his disciple get shut down and wondered why he was so keen on trading barbs with someone he could never outtalk.

Wasn't it a waste of energy?

Catching his master's gaze, Qi Yuanjing straightened up and changed the subject. "When Master and I got back, the authorities had also issued their verdict on Magistrate Xu and the others."

"Stripped of their posts?"

Qi Yuanjing nodded. "Because they assisted us and made the variolation successful, that counted as a major merit. But failing to contain the outbreak, causing severe consequences, was a capital offense. Merit and fault offset each other—they were dismissed. Cui Shan was also dismissed. The other deputy magistrates were demoted three ranks with fines, and those with no further room to demote were stripped of their posts entirely."

"Lucky for them—they kept their lives." Xie Zhiyu said, "With records like that, it's better they don't serve as officials."

Qi Yuanjing sighed. Fortunately, Yeping County hadn't suffered even greater losses, or the merits wouldn't have been able to offset the faults. He thought of something and asked Xie Zhiyu, "Did the authorities punish you for leaving the county office without permission?"

"Fined my salary, and my promotion was cancelled." Xie Zhiyu had just received the official notice that morning.

Qi Yuanjing raised an eyebrow. "So you get to stay here—silver lining?" He glanced at Shen Song.

"Xie Zhiyu, were you punished?" Shen Song asked, worried.

Xie Zhiyu explained the details and told Shen Song not to worry and to eat well.

Qi Yuanjing and Shan Yue planned to keep researching smallpox, hoping to find a better preventive method than variolation.

That was a long-term project.

For now, the more pressing matter was leading their people to teach how to grow herbs.

Zhao Feiyi was among them—he was better at tending medicinal herbs than any of them.

They were assigned to different villages based on which herbs they could grow.

Qi Yuanjing was assigned to the little mountain village.

Most of the kids in the small mountain village ran around bare-bottomed. Clearing wasteland required weeding, and the children had to help too—no one could rest.

The villagers worked without pause, all wanting to finish the land as quickly as possible and successfully plant the herbs.

Qi Yuanjing led his people to the already-cleared plots and taught the villagers how to plant medicinal herbs.

By noon, his subordinates brought food.

Ordinary households had no habit of eating lunch. Qi Yuanjing saw eight bare-bottomed boys nearby and called them over. He took one steamed bun for himself and gave the rest to the children.

At first, the children didn't dare take them. Qi Yuanjing said he couldn't finish his share and asked them to help him eat it.

The children were astonished—such white-flour buns, with rich, fragrant meat and vegetables, and someone actually couldn't finish them?

Truly a great man.

The food was quickly distributed. The children each took one bite and then stopped, holding the food in their hands, just staring and swallowing.

Qi Yuanjing asked, "Not to your taste?"

The boy who looked a bit older said, "We want to take it home for our families to taste too. Our families have never eaten buns like this."

"It's just a small piece—eat it yourselves." There were only four buns total; he'd taken one, leaving three to be split among eight children, so each got very little. Qi Yuanjing said, "It's just money, isn't it? No big deal. Once I teach you to grow herbs, you'll all be able to earn money in the future."

The children's eyes sparkled, their faces full of admiration.

Qi Yuanjing looked into their eyes and found himself thinking of the way Shen Song had once looked at Xie Zhiyu.

Back then, Xie Zhiyu had pulled out all the stops to seduce Shen Song.

But all he got in return was admiration.

Just thinking about it made Qi Yuanjing want to laugh. The fact that the two of them had finally ended up together took some doing.

-

At the Shen family farm, the poultry, fish, and pigs were all plump and well-fed.

Today, quite a few people had come to the farm—not from restaurants or taverns, but rather other livestock farmers.

Even after the fish had matured, adding another source of meat, it still wasn't enough to meet the demand from restaurants and taverns.

And the Shen family's farm simply couldn't expand any further.

The restaurants and taverns in Yunxi County couldn't secure daily supplies of poultry, fish, and pork. Meanwhile, those in Mingqing County that hadn't yet secured Shen family dishes and meat kept sending people to ask when they could be added to the order list.

The Shen family felt that things were already good as they were—if they expanded any further, they wouldn't be able to handle it.

After a family discussion, they decided to sell feed.

The feed was made from all the wheat chaff from Shen Family Hollow. This was a joint project involving all the villagers of Shen Family Hollow. Village chief Shen Gaoshan was put in full charge, leading the village in selling feed to earn money.

The wheat chaff that each household produced was also sold, and grain shops would buy it too. Not just during famine years—even in previous years, they had eaten this stuff.

If they didn't eat it, they'd go hungry. There was no choice.

In the past two years, their village had enjoyed bountiful harvests, so they no longer had to eat it. Although it didn't sell for much, a few extra copper coins were still better than nothing.

Word had it that the Shen family had the village chief lead the village in making a kind of feed to sell, using their wheat chaff as the main ingredient, mixed with forage provided by the Shen family.

This forage was grass grown on land enriched by the Superpower, then harvested, dried, chopped, and mixed into the wheat chaff in set proportions.

This was a village-wide effort, with every household taking part. The Shen family didn't provide wheat chaff—they provided the forage.

Cutting, drying, and chopping the grass were also done by the villagers, as were the subsequent mixing and bagging of the finished feed.

The Shen family was responsible for finding sales channels, then handing all follow-up coordination over to the village chief.

Some of those working at the Shen family farm had worked in this industry before. When they heard the Shen family was selling the same feed used at their farm, they all reached out to farmers they'd worked with before who were still in the livestock business.

They told them to come buy the feed.

The livestock raised at the farm on the Shen family's feed really did grow visibly day by day—sleek and shiny. They got sick less and just packed on the pounds. And the poultry, fish, and pork raised at the farm were delicious too.

The Shen family farm's vegetables and meat were famous throughout Yunxi County.

Those who heard from old friends working at the Shen family farm that the farm was selling feed to outsiders all got up before dawn to come to the farm.

When you thought about it, livestock feed wasn't much different from a chef's recipe.

Following the Shen family's suggestion, Shen Gaoshan took the farmers who wanted to buy feed up the mountain to the breeding area to see the livestock. Only by seeing the results firsthand could people feel confident about buying.

The farmers who came were all a bit uneasy—some unconsciously rubbed their fingers, some didn't dare meet anyone's eyes, clearly nervous. On the way up the mountain, even though they were full of curiosity, no one dared to be the first to bring up the feed.

After seeing the Shen family's poultry, piglets, and fish, everyone was burning with desire.

They'd known the Shen family's livestock were good, but they hadn't expected them to be this good.

If they could use the Shen family's feed, wouldn't they be able to raise theirs just as well?

After touring the breeding area up the mountain, Shen Gaoshan was the first to bring up the feed.

The price was 30% higher than the best feed on the market.

But even so, everyone who came bought some anyway.

They knew how popular the Shen family's livestock were.

The feed was expensive, but they'd make more money in the end!

No one hesitated—everyone who came bought at least some.

Not long after the first batch of buyers returned home, others came back to Shen Family Hollow to buy more.

It turned out that their poultry, which had been a bit listless before, had perked up noticeably after eating the feed.

The villagers of Shen Family Hollow started visiting relatives more often.

The village's feed sales directly affected how much money they could divide each month.

The more they sold, the more each household got.

More and more people learned that Shen Family Hollow was selling livestock feed, and every day people from other villages came to buy it.

Because the feed was expensive, even though people came daily, they were all livestock farmers, so the crowds were small. Those who just raised a few chickens or ducks at home wouldn't come to buy Shen Family Hollow feed.

It wasn't worth it.

Two months later, the first batch of farmers using Shen Family Hollow feed sold their animals.

The restaurants and taverns in Yunxi County knew about the Shen Family Hollow feed operation. When these farmers came to sell their poultry, as long as the restaurants confirmed it was raised on Shen Family Hollow feed, they'd buy it.

And whether it was raised on Shen Family Hollow feed was obvious at a glance—the animals were glossier and larger than others.

But overall, in size and taste, they still couldn't match the Shen family farm's products.

The Shen family farm's land—including the mountain lake and the lotus pond fed by water diverted from it—had all had their underwater mud enriched by Shen Song's Superpower.

Everything raised there was on energy-rich soil, which was naturally better than just eating feed.

The Shen family farm's vegetables and meat remained the first choice for restaurants and taverns. People were willing to buy anything from the Shen family farm, no matter the price.

Having eaten the Shen family farm's vegetables and meat for so long, diners could feel the changes in their bodies even without paying close attention.

Especially those who ate them on a regular basis.

They all felt they hadn't had even minor illnesses in a long time, and they had great energy every day.

Not only did they save a fortune on tonic medicines, but the Shen family farm's vegetables and meat were also top-notch in flavor—a rare delicacy.

The farmers who'd made money loosened their wallets, expanding their operations wherever they could.

The amount of feed they bought from Shen Family Hollow also increased significantly compared to before.

The livestock they raised sold out as soon as they were ready for market—there simply wasn't enough to meet demand.

Some people didn't sell to restaurants and taverns—they sold to merchants who traveled by water.

Those merchants also needed to eat well now and then, and they knew all about the Shen Family Farm.

It was just that the Shen Family Farm was too small—its produce couldn't even supply the restaurants and taverns of one county, let alone them too.

When they heard the poultry was raised on the same feed as the Shen Family Farm's, these people started getting interested.

At first, they bought a few to try for themselves and see how they tasted.

After tasting and finding the flavor really excellent, they all started getting ideas one by one.

Some placed big orders for poultry with the farmers, while others went straight to Shen Family Gully to buy feed.

The village had plenty of wheat bran, and with purchases now, there was more than enough supply.

Every household in Shen Family Gully sent the same number of people to make the feed. They were busy, but everyone was happy inside.

Making money—who wouldn't be happy?

They hoped even more people would come to buy feed, wishing all the feed in the village would sell out.

While Shen Family Gully was busy selling feed, a long carriage procession arrived at the Xie Mansion's main gate, guarded by many sword-carrying guards, with even more hidden guards lurking in the shadows.

The Grand Empress Dowager Lu Yuanzhi had arrived in Yunxi County.

Xie Zhiyu had long arranged for the courtyard to be prepared. But with so many belongings brought, the courtyard they stayed in couldn't hold everything—it took filling two adjacent courtyards to the brim before everything was properly stored.

Lu Yuanzhi looked at Xie Zhiyu's residence, feeling distressed, thinking his place was too small, and said she wanted to swap it for a bigger one.

"In the future, after you marry, two people will live together—how could such a small space be enough?"

Xie Zhiyu didn't care about the courtyard; he didn't feel his current place was small.

Compared to the imperial palace, no courtyard was large.

What he cared about was his marriage to Shen Song: "When will we go to discuss the marriage between Shen Song and me?"

Lu Yuanzhi tilted her head slightly, and a matron nearby immediately came over to massage her.

Closing her eyes, Lu Yuanzhi sighed softly: "My child, when will you call me mother?"

Xie Zhiyu frowned a little.

In the evening, Fang Zheng came to see Xie Zhiyu, saying the Grand Empress Dowager had asked the Imperial Observatory to pick auspicious dates, and asked Xie Zhiyu to see which one was best.

Xie Zhiyu had him go to the study to talk, and he carefully looked over the three chosen dates, all falling within the next two months.

Fang Zheng said: "Her Majesty came out this time without anyone knowing, and His Majesty is doing his best to cover for her, so she can't stay here too long. Once matters are settled, she must head back to the capital right away.

Earlier, the request for you to push the date back was also to give more time to prepare everything. Even if the wedding date is tight, there's no need to worry. The palace embroiderers have finished sewing all the wedding clothes, and everything is fully prepared. Her Majesty also brought trusted embroiderers along, so if the wedding clothes don't fit, they can be altered right away."

Xie Zhiyu picked the closest of the three dates, which was eighteen days later.

Fang Zheng glanced at it, a smile on his face, thinking to himself that the young master must be really anxious.

He nodded and said: "This old servant will inform Her Majesty of the date you've chosen, but the specific day will still need to be discussed with the Shen family when Her Majesty meets them tomorrow. At that time, Her Majesty will emphasize the date you've picked, and if the Shen family agrees, then it'll be set for eighteen days later."

"Can't you just not mention the other two dates?"

Xie Zhiyu was really impatient.

Fang Zheng chuckled softly: "This old servant will mention your request to Her Majesty."

"Young master, when going to the Shen family tomorrow to discuss the marriage, Her Majesty can't reveal her true identity and can only go as an elder of your family. You may address Her Majesty as 'aunt.'"

Fang Zheng stated the second matter for tonight's visit.

Xie Zhiyu had no objection to this. The relationship between him, the Grand Empress Dowager, and His Majesty wasn't something that could be spoken of openly.

He didn't want it either.

"Mm, do as you've arranged."

On the surface, Xie Zhiyu was still the son of Prime Minister Xie, the legitimate heir of the Xie Mansion.

After the palace coup, Prime Minister Xie resigned from his post, and his second wife and her son were executed for secretly helping the rebel prince. Now, the Xie family was managed by a collateral branch acting on behalf, which had been serving the Grand Empress Dowager all along.

The next day, when going to the Shen family, Xie Zhiyu truthfully gave a rough account of the Xie family's current situation. When the Shen family heard that his father had gone into seclusion and was unseen, and both his mother and stepmother had passed away, it was a situation they hadn't expected, and they were a bit at a loss for what to say.

Except for Shen Song, the Shen family members also didn't dare to look directly at the future son-in-law's aunt.

This woman was stunningly beautiful, looking very young. Her fingers were slender like scallion whites with painted nails, dressed in luxurious brocade with an air of nobility, bearing a six or seven-tenths resemblance to the future son-in-law.

Even with a smile, she exuded an indescribable authority, her demeanor elegant and noble, completely out of place with all of Yunxi County.

Even in the entire Yunan Prefecture, you couldn't find another person like her.

Shen Song was lively by nature and fearless; everyone was the same in his eyes. Only he could chat back and forth with Lu Yuanzhi.

"Song Geer, how did you and Yu'er meet?"

"We met on the road, Auntie."

"On the road?"

"It was the day I was selling snakes, and the snake got squeezed and ran off, so I went into the carriage where he and Qi Yuanjing were. I saw Qi Yuanjing that day, but he was in the carriage and didn't see me. Hmm, then it should be that we met in the cave. No, that's not right either—Xie Zhiyu didn't see me that day either. We actually met in the backyard of Pingshun Medical Hall. I gave him vegetables, and he gave me a jade pendant. In the end, he didn't take the vegetables I gave him."

After Shen Song finished, Lu Yuanzhi looked curious and puzzled, wanting to hear Shen Song explain in more detail.

So Shen Song recounted the detailed story of how he and Xie Zhiyu met, and the Shen family also heard it in such detail for the first time. The two were truly destined to meet like that.

The Xie Zhiyu that Lu Yuanzhi heard about from Shen Song's mouth was completely different from the one she saw.

What she saw was a person who was stern and rarely showed expression. But the Xie Zhiyu in Shen Song's words had many emotions and didn't speak very pleasantly.

When Xie Zhiyu heard Shen Song say that he sometimes spoke unpleasantly, he was silent for a moment before saying: "Shen Song, sometimes you have to let me speak the truth."

Shen Song grabbed Xie Zhiyu's hand, smiled, and said: "I haven't finished yet. Even though you might speak unpleasantly, I'll still like you a lot."

Xie Zhiyu coughed lightly, his ears turning red: "The family's all here."

"I know."

"Then why are you still saying these things? Aren't you embarrassed?"

Shen Song didn't quite understand: "Liking you—why can't everyone know? Aren't we discussing marriage today? It's exactly because I really like you that I'm marrying you and having kids with you."

Xie Zhiyu's face was flushing red. He raised his head slightly, struggling to suppress the smile at the corners of his mouth: "Say whatever you want, then."

The Shen family members were all laughing, and the old couple said apologetically to Lu Yuanzhi, "The child is still young and doesn't quite understand things. Please don't mind what he said."

But the look they gave Shen Song held not a trace of blame, only nothing but smiles and joy.

And a reluctance to let go that couldn't be ignored.

Lu Yuanzhi looked at Xie Zhiyu, her eyes slightly reddened.

With Shen Song and the Shen family by his side from now on, he'd be happy now, wouldn't he?

The wedding was set for eighteen days out, just as Xie Zhiyu wanted.

The Shens thought it was too soon at first and wanted the latest possible date.

But Lu Yuanzhi said she'd already gotten everything ready, even bringing Shen Song's share with her. The Shens tried to say they'd prepare it themselves, but Lu Yuanzhi said, "Song Geer originally saved my Zhiyu. To me, this debt isn't something I can repay with just stuff. What I've put together for Song Geer is my way of thanking him as his aunt, in gratitude for saving his life. This only happens once in a lifetime, so please take them, in-laws."

The Shens wanted to say more, but when they saw Shen Song's wedding attire, which was no less splendid than the legendary empress's phoenix robe, they couldn't find the words.

They could never have afforded an outfit like that on their own.

The Shens accepted the gifts, and Liu Chunxia asked Lu Yuanzhi for her detailed address. "The rice, flour, produce, and poultry we raise are top-notch and good for one's health. We'll have merchant caravans deliver some to the capital every now and then. Don't say no, in-laws, or we won't feel right about keeping all this."

Lu Yuanzhi nodded with a smile, glanced at the older maid beside her, who quickly wrote down the address of a courtyard in the capital and handed it to the Shens.

Shen Song and Xie Zhiyu's birth charts had already been matched for the wedding, and the Imperial Observatory had figured out the lucky dates a while back, writing them all down.

The day suitable for the betrothal ceremony was three days later.

The betrothal gift boxes lined up as far as the eye could see, causing a stir in all the nearby villages, and everyone came to see which family was celebrating such a happy occasion.

When they heard it was Shen Song of the Shen family who was betrothed to the County Magistrate, everyone was totally blown away.

Families who'd still been hoping to send a matchmaker for Shen Song thought they'd misheard.

When did he ever get chummy with such a big shot?

No wonder the Shens wouldn't let any matchmakers through the door anymore—nobody in Yunxi County was higher up than this guy.

The folks in Shengou were just as stunned. They knew the Shens rubbed elbows with bigwigs, but they never imagined they'd marry into the County Magistrate's family.

From now on, they'd be in-laws with the County Magistrate too!

They wouldn't dare cause any trouble because of it, but it was a heck of a thing to brag about.

On the day of the betrothal, Shengou was bustling with excitement all day long.

With only thirteen days until the wedding, the Shens expected to be extremely busy.

In reality, the people brought by their in-law's aunt had everything prepared within ten days, arranged in perfect order, and even altered the wedding attire to fit perfectly.

The day before the wedding, Shen Song couldn't see Xie Zhiyu.

Xie Zhiyu was playing chess with Lu Yuanzhi at the residence. After Lu Yuanzhi lost to Xie Zhiyu for what seemed like the umpteenth time, she let out a soft sigh. "Zhiyu, your chess style is too aggressive."

Xie Zhiyu was momentarily stunned, then said, "I only know how to play this way."

Lu Yuanzhi was also a bit surprised that Xie Zhiyu would bother to explain himself to her, and couldn't help but smile.

"Let's stop here for today. Your mother has invited an old acquaintance over, and I'll take you to meet him."

Xie Zhiyu followed Lu Yuanzhi to her courtyard and saw an old Taoist with disheveled white hair and beard, dressed in tattered clothes and covered in clinking trinkets, sitting cross-legged on the ground in the courtyard, reading someone's fortune.