When Zhenshu turned around, she saw Zhenyuan sitting on the bed wrapping strips of cloth around her feet.
Meanwhile, Zhao He, who was squeezed on the stairs outside, shouted loudly, "Second Miss, hurry up and help your mother get dressed and hand her things. The bandits are here!"
The Wuling Mountains are winding and treacherous, and bandits often roam within them. However, since Zhenshu's birth, thanks to favorable weather and national peace, there have been no bandit attacks for many years. But she was quicker and more agile than the others. At this moment, she threw Zhenyuan aside, ran to the next room, carried Su's several bundles on her back, and tucked Zhenyi, who was not yet fully dressed, under her arm before rushing out.
Zhao He shielded her from the crowd on the stairs and helped her throw her things into the car before saying, "Second Miss, please drag Madam and Eldest Miss out as well. The situation is urgent, don't delay any longer."
Outside, carriages and horses, as well as handcarts and donkeys, poured in from the road in Huixian County, creating a chaotic scene of people jostling and shouting. Zhao He and the driver had to protect the two large carts from being separated, leaving Zhen Shu to handle the search. She squeezed into the inn and saw Su Shi already pushing her way down the stairs, but Zhen Yuan was still nowhere to be seen. She then pushed her way upstairs and found Zhen Yuan hiding on the bed, weeping and binding her feet. She threw down the binding noodles, grabbed Zhen Yuan, and yelled, "Go!"
Zhenyuan had bound her feet for many years, her toes tucked under her soles. She cried as she tried to stuff her feet into her shoes. But if she hadn't bound them, her feet would have been too big for the shoes to fit.
Zhen Shu picked up two shoes and bent over, saying, "Hurry up and climb up, I'll carry you out."
Zhenyuan cried and begged her to carry her, and only then did the two of them get out of the house. Something else had happened outside, and everyone rushed downstairs. Zhenshu also urged everyone to rush downstairs like a tide, and only after finally getting out of the house did she manage to put Zhenyuan into the carriage. Zhao He led the way, the driver drove, and the two large carriages sped off.
Zhenshu had a vague feeling that something was wrong, and suddenly slapped her forehead and said, "Oh no, my father is still at the inn."
Zhao He, caught up in the throng ahead, didn't hear Zhen Shu's words. He continued driving the carriage. Song Anrong, uncertain about his future and his daughter's reputation damaged, had drunk too much the night before and was still lying in bed in a private room. Zhen Shu helped him up and put on his coat before the two hurriedly left the inn. At this time, those running from the roads of Huixian were all refugees, their clothes blackened and their faces terrifying.
Song Anrong stopped one of them and asked, "Old man, why are you in such a hurry?"
The man waved his hand and said, "I can't say it, I can't say it!"
Song Anrong and Zhenshu ran after him, only to hear the man say again: "The Tartars came from the west, burning, killing, and looting. Overnight, Huixian County has been reduced to ashes. It's unbelievable."
Song Anrong exclaimed in surprise, "We are right under the emperor's nose, in the Central Plains, while the Tartars are far away in the northwest. How could they possibly get here?"
The man still waved his hand and said, "Don't mention it, don't mention it. Old man, you should run quickly too. The Tartars are still coming down. We might not be safe until we get past Wuling Mountain."
Although Song Anrong was still somewhat skeptical, he and Zhenshu joined the surging crowd and ran around.
Along this route were refugees fleeing from disaster, and they were all from Huixian County.
Song Anrong inquired with many people along the way and gradually learned the whole story.
It turns out that last night, a group of Tartars, whose origins are unknown, suddenly surged into Huixian County and caused chaos, looting people and property, setting fire to houses, and burning down the farmland that was about to ripen. As a result, the entire county of Huixian is now a scorched earth.
After passing Wuling Mountain, it was already noon. Song Anrong and Zhenshu were both sore from walking. They finally found Zhao He and the coachman driving the carriage, and Su Shi and the others were taking shelter in the shade under a big tree.
The family gathered together, all still shaken. Jung-won had lost one shoe on the way, and now her horribly deformed little foot was tucked under her skirt, too afraid to be seen.
Unlike the refugees, they had prepared for their journey with the full resources of their families. They simply packed a few things, ate some dry rations, and continued on their way.
Su said anxiously in the car, "It's truly a blessing from heaven that we were able to retreat safely. I knew this Caijia Temple was not a place for people to live, and it turned out to be true."
Having lost his horse, Song Anrong was walking with Zhenshu when he heard this and said, "Although we escaped, we harmed Cai Genfa's family."
Su retorted, "If you don't sell yourself to him, do you think he can escape, and his money can escape?"
Song Anrong didn't want to argue with her in front of the child, so he remained silent. Having escaped unscathed from this ordeal, Madam Su embraced Zhenyi and said, "My dear girl, once we reach the capital, we'll be living a life of luxury."
Zhenyi turned around and smiled, "If I want a face like Zhenyu's, Mother must provide it for me before I'll be happy."
Madam Su said, "I'll get you something. From now on, we'll live next door to the jewelry store. What can't we have?"
The looting of Huixian County by the Tartars caused a sensation throughout the court and the public, enraging the emperor. A swift and swift Tartar force had infiltrated the heart of the Central Plains, catching the local prefectures and counties completely unaware and unprepared. In a single night, they plundered people, gold, silver, and cloth within Huixian County, finally setting fire to the fields. They arrived with only a small number of cavalry, but left in a massive army. The local prefectures and counties remained completely oblivious.
They came from nowhere and went nowhere. Overnight, they seemed to have fallen from the sky and vanished into thin air, leaving no trace.
Emperor Chengfeng has been in power for over twenty years. Under his rule, the Dali Kingdom enjoys peace and prosperity, a rare period of stability and prosperity. Thanks to the court's relentless efforts in military and political affairs in recent years, the army is now strong and well-prepared, with the borders heavily fortified. Yumen Pass and Juyan Pass remain crucial checkpoints for garrisoning troops and cultivating the land. The Tartars have only operated in the far north, in the areas of the Gobi Desert and Karakorum. For over a decade, there have been few border incursions, let alone such a brazen incursion into the heart of the Central Plains, right under the emperor's nose.
Although this matter has passed, not only the princes and ministers of the court, but even the emperor felt a chill down his spine. Traveling east from Huixian County, crossing the Wuling Mountains, a fast horse could reach the capital in less than a day. If these Tartars had been a little bolder, and their horses a little faster, perhaps it wouldn't have been Huixian County that suffered, but Wenxian County, which is closer to the capital, or even the capital itself.
In the Yiqing Hall of the Eastern Palace, Crown Prince Li Xuzhe nestled in Consort Liu's arms, drinking a bowl of bitter medicine. After each sip, Consort Liu gently wiped his lips with a handkerchief to prevent the bitter medicine from dripping down his chin and wetting his clothes. He frowned as he finally finished the medicine, then dismissed Consort Liu and looked at Yu Yichen, who stood beside him holding a whisk, saying, "So, in the end, it was Du Yu who stole the gold mine blueprints?"
Yu Yichen replied, "Yes."
He wore a dark red eunuch's robe with black trim, his waist was loose, the red robe contrasted with his red lips, and his slender eyes under his long eyebrows were bright and lively. Although they were the same age, he looked much younger than Li Xuzhe.
Li Xuzhe sighed and said, "My second brother has changed too."
However, Li Xucheng was exposed by a mere gold mine map. What would happen when it came to the real battle for the treasure?
Yu Yichen helped him with a pillow so he could lie comfortably on the soft couch before saying, "The situation was urgent at the time, and besides, because of Du Wu, this servant did not dare to kill him."
Li Xuzhe nodded and said, "You did the right thing. Now we still need to rely on Du Wu to make further progress. Father Emperor was furious about the Tartar invasion of Huixian County and fainted on the spot that day."
Yu Yichen said, “Prince Ping has gradually taken control of Liangzhou, and His Majesty’s health has deteriorated. I’m afraid we don’t have another five or three years to prepare for this. Since the matter of the Great Xia River is already known in the court, we should contact the officials and scholars of various factions and ask them to submit a memorial requesting Prince Ping to return to the capital to visit his family.”
If he dares to come, have someone kill him on the way. If he doesn't dare to come, his rebellious intentions are obvious.
Seeing that Li Xuzhe was already drowsy, Yu Yichen leaned forward, knelt down on one knee, and whispered in his ear, "Your Highness, having offspring is still of paramount importance."
Li Xuzhe frowned and said with a wry smile, "I know! I know! I'll go to the Crown Princess's place tonight."
Yu Yichen summoned the female official who was close to the Crown Prince and gave her some instructions. Seeing that Li Xuzhe was already asleep, she went out to the side hall, put down her whisk, and called Mei Fu over to give him a few more instructions. Then she went alone to the residence of Crown Princess Wang Ling in Yuying Pavilion.
Wang Ling, dressed in plain silk robes with wide sleeves, was surrounded by a group of maids and palace servants feeding a foot-long silver carp in a bronze basin in the courtyard of Yuying Pavilion. When she saw Yu Yichen enter from afar, she waved everyone away and said, "Everyone, retreat to the outside and stand guard."
Yu Yichen smiled gently from afar and said softly, "The Crown Princess now has the appearance of an empress."
Wang Ling smiled and reached out to be helped into the hall. She sat down in her usual sandalwood armchair and stretched out her arm, saying, "Give me a massage. The other day, His Majesty was unwell, and I knelt outside the Funing Hall for two whole hours."
Yu Yichen beckoned a palace maid to bring over her feet, and knelt down to gently massage Wang Ling's legs, saying, "Since you're kneeling, your legs should be sore, why are your hands sore?"
Wang Ling's smile vanished, revealing two deep furrows running from her philtrum to her chin on her still-young face, giving her a fierce look. She said bitterly, "My Xiao Huan slept with that vile dog Liu Liangdi a couple of days ago. Her maids kicked Xiao Huan, and I had her beaten with sticks. Liu Liangdi complained to the Crown Prince, and although he didn't say anything, I'm sure he's somewhat disgusted by my ruthlessness."
Yu Yichen smiled gently: "So, first the dogs fight, then the people bite each other?"
Wang Ling thought about it and agreed, then laughed and said, "Other dogs have their seasons, but my little Huan can be around all year round..."
If Li Xuzhe had the skills of that lion dog, then all the women in the Eastern Palace wouldn't be so thirsty and unable to have sex.
When Yu Yichen saw the palace maid bring over the medicine soup, he took it and personally fed it to Wang Ling, saying softly, "Do you know about Du Yu, the former heir of the Duke of Du's mansion?"
Wang Ling said, "I know, I heard he went to Liangzhou."
Yu Yichen said, "That's right. But do you know why he ended up like this? He forced himself on his wife, was imprisoned, escaped from prison, was stripped of his title as heir apparent, and then fled to Liangzhou. Do you know why all of this happened?"
Wang Ling said, "Rumor has it that he is a wicked person who does all sorts of evil deeds. If he is a wicked person, what reason is needed?"
Yu Yichen smiled and shook his head, his long eyebrows and kind eyes fixed on Wang Ling, saying, "It's necessary. The new wife of Duke Du is not jealous, but she is very ambitious. She has given birth to a son and covets the position of heir apparent, which is why she tricked Du Yu into staging this big show. So do you think she has achieved her wish now?"
Wang Ling said, "Since Du Yu's position as heir apparent has been abolished, it is natural that her youngest son will take over."
After feeding Wang Lingrun the medicine, Yu Yichen wiped her lips, picked up a green plum with two fingers and told her to suck on it, before saying, "Du Wu holds military power in the entire Dali Kingdom, and everyone in the court fears him. But now that his son, who has fled to Liangzhou and refuses to return, has become a stain on his reputation, his life is becoming difficult. Between the Crown Prince and Prince Ping, although he prefers Prince Ping to succeed him, from now on, he can no longer say these words, and the Emperor will also become suspicious of him. As long as Du Yu does not return, he will feel like he has thorns in his back and will never have peace of mind."
Wang Ling gradually understood Yu Yichen's meaning and argued, "It is Consort Liu who has gone too far in bullying people."
Yu Yichen shook his head again: "You are the future Empress. For the sake of the greater good, you must also ensure harmony in the Eastern Palace. Otherwise, what's the point if you gain small advantages but lose the throne, like the Duke's concubine Ji Shi?"
Wang Ling sat silently for a long time before whispering, "I can only endure this for your sake!"
Yu Yichen offered a few words of gentle comfort before leaving Yuying Pavilion and heading towards Yiqing Hall.
Chapter 37 Zhenxiu
However, after the second branch of the Song family arrived in the capital, they stayed at an inn and searched for shops. In this prosperous era, prices were rising, and housing prices were also high. Renting a small shop in the capital could easily cost tens of thousands of taels of silver.
Song Anrong's entire net worth, including his land and fields, amounted to only 50,000 taels of silver.
After searching for more than a month, they finally found a small shop on a back street in the East Market. Since it had previously been a mounting shop, the interior was fairly decent. However, the rent was too high, a whopping 40,000 taels of silver, but the monthly rent was reasonable, only 20 taels of silver a month.
If the rent was deducted, Song Anrong's family would only have ten thousand taels of silver left to live on. Moreover, they would need to purchase various tools and materials for the shop, which would cost several thousand taels. After much deliberation, Song Anrong finally decided to rent the small shop. The ground floor had two rooms: the outer room served as a counter for receiving goods, and the inner room for mounting calligraphy and paintings. Upstairs, there were also two rooms; the inner room was for the women, and the outer room was for Song Anrong. There was also a small bed in the attic, which became Zhao He's living quarters.
Inside the first-floor room was a large table, left behind by the previous shop owner. Although it was severely cracked due to years of dryness, it was still usable. Besides this, the cutting boards, cutting knives, paintbrushes, brushes, and various types of palm brushes were all newly purchased. After setting up the brocade, Xuan paper, opera headbands, and other items, Zhao He began to try his hand at painting several works from Song Anrong's collection.
Once a few paintings are framed, they are hung in the shop as samples for display, specifically to attract customers.
More than two months had passed since they entered Beijing. Since their old family member, Cai Ma, did not come to Beijing with them, and the coachman had been dismissed, Zhen Shu was now the sole person in charge of cooking and tidying up the house.
On the first day of business, being located on a back street, few neighbors came to offer their congratulations. After setting off a few strings of firecrackers, Song Anrong and Zhao He sat listlessly at the counter. Su Shi, having been cooped upstairs for two months, was feeling restless and anxious, but because Song Anrong, Zhao He, and Zhenshu were all busy, she couldn't tell them. Seeing that the shop had reopened, she decided to go to the Song residence to inform them and offer her regards to Zhong Shi. So, she and Zhenyi dressed up and came downstairs, saying to Song Anrong, "We haven't informed the household about our trip to the capital. Why don't I go to the residence today and see what Zhenshu is up to? Go out and hire a carriage for me."
Since there was no one in front of the door, and Song Anrong was in a bad mood, he said without turning his head, "I'm busy right now, how can I go out and hire a car for you? Go upstairs quickly."
After spending two months upstairs keeping herself fair and delicate, Su was wearing her best autumn clothes, which she had just acquired, and was about to go out and show off when she heard Song Anrong's words and angrily said, "There are no birds in front of the door and no one in the shop. What's there to be busy about?"
Song Anrong stood up to argue with her, but Zhao He quickly stopped her and said softly, "Today is the first day of business. Let's all make money together in harmony."
Su walked to the back and saw Zhenshu squatting on the ground lighting the stove. Coal was expensive in the capital, so to save money, Zhenshu used cheap coal from stone coal mines. Only she had the skill to make it work, and no one else could do it.
Su said bitterly, "Living in such a cramped place, one would feel suffocated and moldy."
Zhenshu looked up and smiled, "Mother, this is already quite good. It was rented for tens of thousands of taels of silver. If you exchange that money for silver, you could build a small house. Just think of it as a golden nest."
In Su's mind, the capital city was a place of grand mansions, throngs of servants, and magnificent clothes and spirited horses amidst a courtyard full of spring flowers, not a place crammed into this small courtyard gazing at the gray sky above. She stood anxiously for a while, lifting her skirt, and not wanting to waste the beautiful clothes she had painstakingly dressed up, she took Zhenyi and the other two to go shopping at the embroidery and silver shop next door.
Zhenshu had just finished preparing lunch in the back courtyard when she suddenly heard a crying sound outside. She quickly peeked out and saw Su covering her mouth and lifting her skirt as she went upstairs, with Zhenyi following behind carrying a small bundle.
She first called Song Anrong and Zhao He in to eat, then took a plate and several bowls of rice upstairs. Now it was just one room, with beds on both sides. Su Shi lay on the bed, still crying incessantly, while Zhenyuan sat beside her, gently comforting her.
Zhenshu placed the plate in the outer room, came in, and asked, "What happened?"
Zhenyuan shook her head and sighed deeply. Su looked up and sobbed, "My Zhenxiu..."
Zhenshu, assuming that Zhenxiu had also encountered an accident on the way, asked in a panic, "What happened to Zhenxiu?"
Zhenyuan frowned and said, "Mother said that she went to the Huang family embroidery shop next door to look at fabrics and heard rumors that when Consort Rong's second daughter, Zhenyu, got married, the fourth daughter volunteered to be a concubine. When she arrived at the Beishun Marquis's mansion, she was kicked out by the fifth son of the Marquis's mansion."
So that's why Zhenyu was so eager to bring Zhenxiu to the capital. But Dou Keming wanted Zhenyuan, and now that Zhenxiu had gone, how could he be willing?
No wonder Zhenyu said to Dou Keming that day: I will definitely give you a second daughter as a concubine.
It turns out that she had her eye on Jung-soo all along, not Jung-won.
Zhenshu then asked Su Shi, "Since the Marquis's mansion kicked her out, where is she now?"
Madam Su shook her head and said, "How would I know? I'm afraid he's still gone back to the manor. After something like this happened, how can I be at ease if I don't go to the manor to see what's going on? It's hateful that your father just sits there idly and won't even hire a carriage."
They were an ill-fated couple, but things were somewhat better when they lived in Huixian County, where one was at home and the other was away. Now, crammed into this narrow shop, spending every day together, their resentment towards each other has only intensified.
Zhenshu advised, "Today is the first day of business. Businessmen believe in making money through harmony. Even if you have something very important to say, Mother, you shouldn't bother Father."
Hearing this, Su became even angrier and said resentfully, "Zhenxiu is still your sister from the same womb. Now that she has encountered such a big problem, you act as if nothing is wrong and even tell me not to be anxious."
Zhen Shu said, "If the Marquis's mansion doesn't accept her, she can simply return to the mansion. Even if she loses face, it's her own fault. Does she think she'll lack food and clothing?"
That day, Madam Su lay on the bed crying, attracting the curiosity of the neighbors who peeked out. Song Anrong had no choice but to arrange a carriage before dark, instructing her to bring Zhenyuan, Zhenshu, and Zhenyi back to the mansion the next day for a visit.
These days, Su had spent all her savings from the silk shop, embroidery shop, and silver shop. She had acquired some nice clothes, but she had no more money to earn. When she returned to the Song residence, she was penniless. She was no longer as generous as before when dealing with the servants. Although everyone in the mansion still looked at her the same way, she herself was poor and lacked ambition, so she became even more timid and ingratiating.
Madam Zhong, the old lady of the Song family, had long heard about the disaster in Huixian County. Having not received any news from the second branch of the family, she assumed they had also perished there. Now, hearing Madam Su's account of how they had managed to escape the land and houses and leave Huixian County, and how Huixian County had just happened to suffer the disaster, she naturally concealed the story of Zhen Shu being humiliated.