Zhan Feiyu pulled Yang Xu, who was indignant, and nodded with a smile, "Alright, ten taels of silver it is."
"Not that much. My old woman isn't trying to extort you. How about this: you take me to the clinic, and we'll see what the doctor says." The old woman stopped crying. Her words surprised the onlookers.
Earlier, when the old woman spoke, she had demanded the hairpin from Zhan Feiyu's head. Everyone was poor, and they didn't know how valuable the hairpin was, but it was certainly worth more than ten taels of silver.
The old woman was a bit greedy, which was normal. After all, the young girl had caused her to lose a finger. Whether it was sympathy for the weak or robbing the rich to help the poor, everyone had some of these thoughts.
But they didn't expect the old woman to be willing to give up ten taels of silver. If they went to the clinic, the medical expenses would probably not even be one tael.
Yang Xu was also confused. He looked at the old woman still slumped on the ground. Was she not here to extort money?
"I'm not going to the clinic. You go yourself. Take the ten taels of silver. If there's any extra, leave it." As soon as Zhan Feiyu said this, He Nuan, who was beside her, took out two five-tael silver ingots and handed them over.
"I just saw it. It wasn't this young girl who pushed her." Just as everyone thought the matter was resolved, a clear and cold voice came from the steamed bun shop.
Everyone turned to look. The speaker was the "Baozi Xishi" (Steamed Bun Beauty). Looking at her left face, she was a rare beauty.
Her face was as small as a palm, her skin as smooth as jade, and her eyebrows like distant mountains. When she looked at people, her eyes sparkled. Even though her gaze was cold, it still seemed to hold a watery tenderness.
But looking at Baozi Xishi's right face through the white mist was truly shocking.
A burn scar sprawled across her cheek. The gnarled scar looked like red worms congealed together. It was a little better during the day, but if you saw it late at night, it would probably scare people to death.
Meeting the gazes of the passersby, Baozi Xishi's expression was cold, and her voice was even colder, "I was standing on a stool moving the steamers."
There was a dirt stove on the left side of the steamed bun shop, with five layers of bamboo steamers on it. Baozi Xishi was not strong enough to move three or five layers of steamers with one hand like other shop assistants. She could only move them one layer at a time, which was why she stood on a stool. Standing higher naturally allowed her to see clearly.
"Sister Jia wouldn't lie. Madam, are you deliberately extorting the young girl because she's well-dressed?" A woman with a basket on her arm glared angrily at the old woman, who looked guilty, and shouted, "Go ask around this street. Sister Jia is an honest person."
"Yes, last time my son came to buy steamed buns, his silver bracelet fell on the ground, and Sister Jia sent it back to me," another uncle chimed in, his words full of gratitude.
This was a full moon gift from his brother-in-law to his son. A pair of silver bracelets cost ten taels of silver. Most people would have kept it, as the child was young and wouldn't notice the bracelet falling. By the time the family discovered it, three days had passed. Fortunately, Baozi Xishi heard about it and returned it.
"You're all bullying me, an old country woman." The old woman got up from the ground and spoke angrily. Suddenly, she rushed forward as if possessed.
The two aunts in front of the shop quickly moved aside. The old woman was old, and her bones were brittle. If she fell again and they were held responsible, they would probably have to pay three to five taels of silver to settle the matter.
"Who told you to meddle?" After cursing Baozi Xishi with spittle flying, the old woman pushed with both hands, and the five layers of bamboo steamers crashed down.
Baozi Xishi stood to the side and was lucky to dodge quickly. Otherwise, if the steaming hot steamers had smashed down on her head, her face would have really been scalded.
But the person was fine. All the white steamed buns in the steamers fell to the ground, causing everyone to exclaim.
After the old woman threw her tantrum, she squeezed into the crowd and ran away in a flash, so fast that everyone didn't have time to react.
"This damned old woman, wasting all these steamed buns!"
"Yes, she ran away quite fast, didn't even cry about her broken finger."
"These steamed buns are all covered in dirt." Several aunts helped pick up the steamed buns that had rolled onto the ground. The old woman had great strength. All seven or eight dozen steamed buns from the five layers of steamers were not spared; they all fell to the ground.
Meat buns were two wen each, and vegetable buns were one wen each. Baozi Xishi lost over a hundred wen at once.
Zhan Feiyu looked at the now dirty steamed buns with a bitter face, feeling even hungrier.
"Miss, I'll come back to buy some later," He Nuan said gently. After roughing it for so long, making steamed buns and dumplings took effort, and He Nuan hadn't done it.
Zhan Feiyu's eyes lit up, and she nodded, "Then Yang Xu and I will go back to the carriage first."
He Nuan took out another tael of broken silver from her purse and placed it on the long table by the door. "This is for the steamed buns. If you don't mind, everyone can take two steamed buns back to eat."
Although they had fallen on the ground, they had only gotten a little dirty. If the outer skin was peeled off, they could be eaten. No one was willing to spend two wen to buy dirty steamed buns, but if they could get two for free, everyone was delighted.
"No need..." Baozi Xishi was about to refuse, but He Nuan had already turned and left. The others immediately crowded at the shop door, waiting to each take two steamed buns.
In the carriage, Zhan Feiyu lowered the curtain. "A Nuan, have you sent people to keep watch?"
"Yes, they've already gone." He Nuan nodded. Even though the old woman was disguised very well, in front of the well-trained Jinlong Guards, these tricks were not enough.
Yang Xu stared blankly at Zhan Feiyu and He Nuan and asked dazedly, "Watch who? That old woman?"
"That old woman is a bit suspicious. The pushing and shoving just now was also intentional," He Nuan said. The reason she didn't intervene was that she could tell the old woman was just an ordinary person without any martial arts skills. It was also to avoid alerting the enemy.
When they were in Stone Village, Yang Xu had seen He Nuan in action. He also knew that she and her brother were sent by Scholar Gu to protect Zhan Feiyu. They must be the elite guards of the scholar's mansion. It was not surprising that He Nuan had noticed something unusual about the old woman.
"How did you discover it?" Yang Xu looked at Zhan Feiyu. He had been practicing martial arts with his father for many years and hadn't noticed anything. Was it because scholars were more powerful?
Zhan Feiyu didn't keep him in suspense. "She fell to the ground. In such a situation, the elbows would usually hit the ground first, and the hands wouldn't be injured."
When falling backward, the buttocks would hit the ground first, and to maintain balance, the elbows would also hit the ground simultaneously, with the hands raised. If she fell forward, her palms would hit the ground, which could break her fingers.
But Zhan Feiyu was in front of the old woman at the time. If she fell forward, it meant someone behind her had pushed her, and it had nothing to do with Zhan Feiyu.
Yang Xu had also practiced martial arts for several years. After Zhan Feiyu explained, he understood. However, he hadn't thought in that direction at the time, so he hadn't paid attention to the details.
"Secondly, the old woman initially asked for the hairpin on my head. If this hairpin was bought for ten taels of silver, it would only be worth one or two taels at most if pawned," Zhan Feiyu judged that the other party was definitely not an old country woman. If she was greedy and extorting money, she might as well ask for three to five taels of silver. Why go through so much trouble?
If she was a seasoned con artist, she would have a way to sell the hairpin. But the old woman changed her mind and asked Zhan Feiyu to take her to the clinic, which meant the other party was not after money.
"So the clinic might be a trap?" Yang Xu's face tensed. No wonder Sister A Nuan offered ten taels of silver, and the old woman refused.
"Perhaps. But a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. I don't intend to take risks. I can only send people to keep watch." Zhan Feiyu nodded. With the precedent in Huaian Prefecture, she didn't dare to take risks relying on protection. Life is precious, and she didn't want to die young.
...
Qiu Zongxi was overjoyed to receive Zhan Feiyu and Yang Xu, and immediately ordered his servants to arrange accommodations.
As night fell, under the candlelight, Zhan Feiyu put down her book and looked at He Sheng, who had come to report the news. "Have you found out? I feel that with those forty-eight bodies hanging on the city wall, this must be aimed at Yang Xu."
After settling down in Elder Qiu's courtyard in the afternoon, He Nuan and the others had sensed unidentified people approaching the courtyard, but they had no ill intentions. They were not from Zhan Feiyu's side, so they must be here to protect Yang Xu. They should be former subordinates of the General's Mansion.
"The old woman's surname is Mao, and she lives in Nanmen Alley. She has a good-for-nothing son. Mao's late husband was a barefoot doctor, so she knows a bit about medicinal herbs. She usually goes to the mountains to dig for herbs to sell, and she also sells some 'dog skin plaster' in the villages below." He Sheng didn't mention that the old woman also sold fertility drugs in the countryside.
Some rural women who couldn't have children, or those who had given birth to several daughters and wanted a son, always thought of trying some folk remedies. Mao would concoct some medicine, and it would work four or five times out of ten, so she had some reputation.
She also knew how to swindle and deceive. Once she identified a target, she could sell a dose of fertility medicine for one tael of silver.
Zhan Feiyu nodded. This sounded like no major problem. "Has she lived in Xiangwu County for twenty to thirty years?"
"Yes, there are many old residents in Nanmen Alley. After Dr. Mao passed away, Mao and her son have been living here. However, she usually goes to the villages to collect and sell medicine, so not many people in Xiangwu County recognize her." Although nothing had been found yet, He Sheng had still sent people to keep watching, preferring to err on the side of caution.
"If there's a problem, and one plan fails, there will definitely be other moves. They will reveal themselves sooner or later." Zhan Feiyu was not worried. She had previously shown the Jinlong Guard token to Commander Wu.
For now, Xiangwu County was relatively safe. At least the garrison would not be a hindrance. As for the Border Marquis Mansion, whatever they did was just a dying struggle. As long as the Emperor intended to restore the Yang family, no one could stop them.
Picking up her book again, Zhan Feiyu's hand tightened, and she suddenly asked, "Could someone be trying to kill the Yang family?"
Earlier in Huaian Prefecture, Zhan Feiyu had almost been trapped and killed in prison. Those many elite soldiers were not the work of a single prince or family, but a joint effort by many people, relying on the principle that the law does not punish the masses. And the Emperor, out of consideration for familial affection, would not investigate deeply, so the matter was dropped.
Perhaps in the Emperor's eyes, Zhan Feiyu had only suffered minor injuries, and nothing major had happened. He couldn't investigate princes in the palace for the sake of a young girl.
Thinking of Yang Xu's question in the kitchen, Zhan Feiyu truly did not have the magnanimity of Old General Yang. She remembered this grievance, but now her arm could not twist the thigh. She could only accept it. If she found an opportunity for revenge, Zhan Feiyu would never show mercy.
The Yang family now faced the same situation as Zhan Feiyu did before. The princes in the palace and the ministers in the court would certainly not be happy with the Yang family guarding the seven northwestern garrisons. This meant that the salt tax was firmly controlled by the Yang family, and the Yang family was loyal to the Emperor. They probably wouldn't get even a penny of profit from it.
To change this situation, they only needed to join forces to kill the Yang family. This way, the Emperor would have to choose new people to be responsible for the seven northwestern garrisons and the salt fields. Then, everyone would compete based on their abilities, and it would depend on who could place their own people.
The annual salt tax was as high as fifty million guan. With this money, they could win over court officials or cultivate private troops.
He Sheng was not surprised that Zhan Feiyu thought so deeply. He said in a deep voice, "There are nearly 300,000 troops stationed in Longyou Dao. Besides the garrisons in various prefectures, counties, and districts, the seven garrisons have nearly 200,000 troops."
The garrisons scattered in various places were responsible for the safety of their respective prefectures, counties, and districts. However, once a war broke out, the garrison troops would also gather to aid the border.
The Emperor's concern about the Yang family's military power was also due to this. The 300,000 troops obeyed only the Yang family's orders. How could the Emperor, who was far away in the capital, feel at ease?
Zhan Feiyu put down the book she had just picked up, her brows furrowed, and her voice revealed a hint of worry. "So if something happens to the Yang family, the people behind it can not only profit from the salt tax but also possibly gain some military power."
"Currently, it seems so, but I don't know much about military affairs." He Sheng was not hiding anything. It was just that after becoming Zhan Feiyu's bodyguard, the classified information he could access was obtained from the local Jinlong Guard informants. However, they did not know deeper classified information. The person who truly knew was Yin Wuyan, the commander.
...
The next morning, even though the sun had come out, it was still so cold that one wanted to stay in bed. The weather in Longyou Dao was such that it was almost freezing.
He Nuan made dumplings with lamb filling. One bite and the flavor was so good that one could bite off their tongue.
Yang Xu ate one bowl after another with his head down. The dumplings were as big as gold ingots. No matter how much Zhan Feiyu liked them, eight were enough for her. Looking at Yang Xu's posture, he could probably eat twenty.
Qiu Zongxi led Zhan Feiyu towards the study. "Is it that fools have all the luck?"
Looking back at Yang Xu, who was eating with relish in the house, Zhan Feiyu smiled. "The masses are joyful, as if enjoying a great feast, as if ascending a stage in spring. I alone am tranquil and unmanifested, like an infant not yet weaned. A general should be like a newborn, while the court is full of treacherous officials."
His steps faltered. Qiu Zongxi looked at the young girl smiling like a flower in the sunlight. He didn't expect her to have such high praise for Yang Xu, or rather, for the Yang family. Thinking about it again, he understood. If it weren't for this, why would she be willing to send so much silver to the army?
"What I cannot do, Yang Xu can do. And what I can do is merely send more external possessions." Zhan Feiyu's tone was sincere. She was afraid of death and could not fulfill her duty by dying on the battlefield. All she could offer was money.
Qiu Zongxi pushed open the study door and let Zhan Feiyu in. "You don't need to be so self-deprecating. What you have done is something that ninety-nine percent of the people in Daqing Dynasty cannot achieve."