Qian Duo was unaware of the feud between Zhao Liangcai and the Qian family. By the time she sought refuge with her aunt, Madam Qian, Zhao Liangcai had already enlisted.
After her uncle's passing, Zhao Liangcai continued to send money home. Madam Qian never revealed to her niece how she had mistreated her previous son, leading Qian Duo to misunderstand their relationship and employ the wrong approach.
Her hasty and misguided start meant a correct ending was out of the question.
After playing by the stream for a while, everyone resumed their tasks.
Qin Junyao followed her mother, learning about wild vegetables and collecting plants not yet in her spatial dimension to transplant later that night.
Through experiments over the past two days, Qin Junyao discovered another function of her spatial dimension: it couldn't keep things warm, but it could keep them fresh.
The radishes she had pulled out two days prior still had perky leaves, a promising sign.
While digging for wild vegetables, Qin Junyao found an ant. She happily placed it on her left palm, intending to store it, but it wouldn't go in.
After some thought, Qin Junyao crushed the ant and then tried again. Success! It was stored.
It seemed her spatial dimension couldn't sustain animals. Qin Junyao reminded herself not to be too greedy.
With green plants appearing, Qin Junyao could take out purslane again. Recalling Qin Da Niu mentioning that Qin Mu liked to mix purslane with chili peppers, she added some red chilies to her basket.
Having prepared food for the evening, Qin Junyao began to diligently dig for herbs.
"Jun Jie Jie, don't dig."
As Qin Junyao was digging up a plant by the stream, Sheng Yining suddenly called out to stop her.
Hearing Sheng Yining's cry, Qin Junyao halted her actions.
"It's okay, it's okay, Jun Jie Jie. This is Ji Tou Huang Jing. It's quite rare in our area. It would be a shame to dig it up when it's so small," Sheng Yining carefully examined the plant, which was only two inches tall.
"What is Ji Tou Huang Jing?" Qin Junyao had never heard such a strange name.
"It's also known as Ji Tou Shen. It has the effect of nourishing the spleen, moistening the lungs, and replenishing Yin and body fluids. It's a medicinal herb."
Medicinal herb? That was good.
"Yining, you said this is Ji Tou Shen. Is it a type of ginseng?" Qin Junyao was a complete novice when it came to medicinal herbs.
"Jun Jie Jie, please just call me Yuanyuan. Calling me Yuanyuan feels more intimate, hee hee."
"This is Huang Jing, not ginseng. It's just called Ji Tou Shen."
"There are three types of Huang Jing. One resembles ginger, and that's the best. This type is slightly inferior, and Da Huang Jing ranks third."
"This Ji Tou Huang Jing is abundant in the imperial city. It likes water and cannot tolerate drought. It's uncommon here. Jun Jie Jie, you see..."
Sheng Yining genuinely loved medicine.
For a single herb, she explained to Qin Junyao everything from its application to its efficacy and even its compatibility with other herbs.
Qin Junyao's head was swimming.
"Jun Yao, let's go back," Qin Mu's call was a salvation for Qin Junyao. She stood up, picked up her basket, and pulled Sheng Yining towards their encampment.
"Jun Jie Jie, you're the first person who hasn't gotten bored listening to me talk about herbs," Sheng Yining let Qin Junyao pull her along, her hands and feet dancing with joy.
Infected by Sheng Yining's happiness, Qin Junyao teased her with a smile, "Yuanyuan, you love herbs so much. You'll surely be an excellent doctor in the future."
Hearing the word "doctor," Sheng Yining's smile slowly faded.
"What's wrong, Yuanyuan?"
"Jun Jie Jie, I can't be a doctor. Alas, if only I had been born a hundred or eighty years earlier," Sheng Yining's voice was filled with longing.
Qin Junyao asked curiously, "How do you know you could have been a doctor if you were born then?"
"Empress Shengmu was still alive then. Jun Jie Jie, don't you know about Empress Shengmu?" Su Dan Novel Network.
This was the third time Qin Junyao had heard about this fellow villager. She hadn't gotten clear answers the previous two times, but she hoped to understand better this time.
"I live in the countryside and don't know much. Yuanyuan, can you tell me about her?"
Sheng Yining perked up again, "Of course! I love hearing stories about Empress Shengmu."
"Jun Jie Jie, let me tell you, when Empress Shengmu was alive, women could hold office. Women could also be doctors and coroners. For us unmarried girls, we could go out freely back then."
"If we wanted to study, or do business, we could. Marriage and childbirth couldn't be forced. In short, whatever men could do, women could do too."
At this point, Sheng Yining sighed again, "It's a pity Empress Shengmu has passed away. Within ten years, the court began to dismiss female officials, and the requirements for women became increasingly strict."
"Now, women are not allowed to be doctors, coroners, or teachers. Hmm, in some places, women aren't even allowed to study."
"And," Sheng Yining turned to Qin Junyao and said, "women who are unmarried at sixteen are taxed. Families of those unmarried at twenty are subject to punishment."
"Women who cannot bear children without illness, who are not filial to their parents or serve their in-laws, and whose husbands are not allowed to take concubines, are also punished."
Sheng Yining scratched her head at this point, "There's a lot more I've forgotten. Let me just tell you about Empress Shengmu's story."
Qin Junyao no longer wanted to hear Empress Shengmu's story. The original host would turn sixteen in a year and a half, and now, it was her who had to face this reality.
Qin Mu and her second aunt were often scolded by Grandma Qin. It seemed this wasn't solely due to their personalities, but largely because they dared not resist. Resistance might lead to being dragged to the yamen and flogged.
Thinking of this, Qin Junyao's good mood, stemming from the potential expansion of her spatial dimension due to the appearance of green plants, vanished.
What was she to do? Marry into another family and live a life of subservience? Or live to twenty and have her entire family imprisoned?
Then, could she possibly take in a son-in-law or remain a widowed woman for life?
.
"General, those mountain rats were so plump just now. It's a shame we didn't catch them," Deng Zui looked back wistfully in the direction the mountain rats had fled.
Mountain rats, they ate wild mushrooms and tree roots and drank from forest streams. Their constant running made their meat firm, unlike the common grey rats that fed on grain.
And now, the General had forbidden them from catching them.
"How about I leave you here in the mountains to eat mountain rats for a lifetime?" Zhao Liangcai examined the tracks on the ground. There seemed to be rabbits nearby.
"General," Deng Zui saw the look in Zhao Liangcai's eyes and changed his tune, "Boss, how can I stay in the mountains forever? I'll follow you my entire life."
"Heh, heh," Deng Zui didn't even dare to look at Zhao Liangcai now. He turned his gaze away and took a few steps back.
He had been too rash. Seeing that the General was in a good mood, he had become a little presumptuous. Deng Zui reminded himself to speak less and do as the General commanded.
Perhaps due to the proximity of a water source, Zhao Liangcai and his men did indeed find a rabbit hole.
They worked together to find the entrance, wet some branches, and smoke out several rabbits.
After picking out five large ones, Zhao Liangcai chose a cute, brown baby rabbit from the smaller ones and tucked it into his embrace. The rest were released.
"Clean the rabbits here before we take them back," Zhao Liangcai instructed his men and then went to pick some grass for the rabbits to eat.
"Boss, we also need to weave a basket for Axe, otherwise the baby rabbit will have nowhere to live," Deng Zui, who had just reminded himself to speak less, forgot again.
Zhao Liangcai looked at the treeline, devoid of any rabbits, and scratched his beard.
He had forgotten about Axe.