Chapter 76: Inviting a Wolf into the House
Jiang Mansion.
The early morning was still somewhat quiet.
Jiang Huaisheng brought some wontons from a street stall for his wife, but they had already gone somewhat cold.
Madam Wu only took one bite before her face turned pale, and she felt like vomiting.
Jiang Huaisheng patted her back, and only after she felt a bit better did he say, “The weather is cold and the roads are slippery; you shouldn’t go out. Just walk around the room a few times. If you’re truly bored, you can find some leisure books to read.”
He went to pay his respects to his Mother.
Jiang Huaisheng hesitated for a moment, but still brought up the matter of Sister Yu.
“Mother, may I send someone to issue a warning? That gentry member surnamed Liu is far too arrogant.”
Old Madam Jiang rubbed her prayer beads.
Jiang Wan and Jiang Rong were both at their grandmother’s place early in the morning, accompanying her for breakfast.
Hearing Father’s words, Jiang Wan covered her mouth in surprise. “Is Sister Yu still going to be a concubine?”
Jiang Rong, his chubby white face topped with two particularly prominent dark circles under his eyes, said, “With Jiang Yu’s sharp-tongued and mean nature, for someone to still want her as a concubine, their eyes must be truly blind!”
Old Madam simply asked, “What were you doing going out so early? The world outside is in chaos, and Ronger almost met with an accident. If anything else were to happen to you, are you trying to kill this old woman with grief?”
When asked why he had gone out, Jiang Huaisheng found it difficult to say, fearing his Mother might think it was because Feier was greedy and made him go.
He had no choice but to listen to his Mother’s lecture.
…
Jiang Changtian arrived at the government office.
He saw the private secretary berating the Yamen Runners.
They were scolded on normal days, but today it was exceptionally loud.
Jiang Changtian quickly retreated a few steps.
If the Yamen Runners saw him witnessing them getting scolded, they would surely tease him and make fun of him later.
“The mountain bandits in Jishan County to the north have led refugees to revolt, beheaded the County Magistrate, and declared themselves kings. Now they are bringing an ever-growing crowd to attack the Prefecture City. The Magistrate hasn’t slept all night, and you lot are still slacking off! If the Rebels come here, what can you do? Open the gates to welcome them?”
Jiang Changtian exited the government office.
The office was very chaotic today, and no one would notice him.
He was just a minor overseer at the Herb Preparation Bureau; though called an overseer, his authority was extremely limited.
In fact, with his capabilities, he had once won the favor of the County Magistrate and gained his respect, but after learning he was an unfilial and unbrotherly man, the County Magistrate became filled with disgust toward him.
The Magistrate felt unlucky just running into him and would avoid him whenever possible.
His life felt as if it had been stuffed into a short wooden barrel with a lid on top, preventing him from taking a single step upward.
No matter how skilled he was at socializing or how eloquent he was, he was still struggling inside the barrel.
He was only fit to speak with base and lowly people.
He wandered through the marketplace.
There were still many people on the street during the day; after all, they still had to make a living.
The Herb Preparation Bureau was for preparing medicinal herbs.
In addition to the herbs strictly apportioned to each village, the government office also had a budget to purchase medicinal herbs.
The minor overseer had this power—a small procurement right.
Because medicinal herbs were numerous and fragmented, it wasn’t big business, and the people above didn’t care for it. Moreover, the position carried heavy responsibility despite little authority; the previous overseer had been beaten to death for losing herbs.
Jiang Changtian arrived at a small inn on the edge of the city.
“Mr. Jiang is here!” A boy saw him and ran over, shouting with a look of excitement.
Because Jiang Changtian had previously given his Mother three doses of medicine, her illness had recovered.
He felt that Mr. Jiang was much more capable than a doctor.
Mr. Jiang hadn’t even charged him money.
Jiang Changtian walked into the room in the inn’s backyard and saw that there were quite a few people inside, each of them sturdy and fierce.
Acting as if it were normal, he asked, “Are there any medicinal herbs today?”
When everyone saw that the person who entered was a thin, weak man who looked light and airy, they reined in their fierce aura.
An old man with a scar on his face walked over and said with a smile, “Mr. Jiang, why have you come so early to collect herbs? Don’t you usually come in the afternoon?”
Jiang Changtian said candidly, “The private secretary is scolding people. I was afraid of running into bad luck if I went in, so I came out first.”
The old man laughed, “The private secretary is a master, so it is indeed best to avoid him. There aren’t many herbs this time; see if you can use them. That medicine for bruises and injuries you gave me last time was truly effective. Do you have any more? Could you prepare a bit more for me? These times are so chaotic.”
“Who’s to say otherwise? The private secretary said the mountain bandits in Jishan County led a group of people to attack the county office and declared themselves kings, and they are currently disciplining those constables. It is said that the authorities have already sent troops, telling those constables to prepare to welcome them.”
The old man was stunned for a moment.
He continued, acting as if nothing was wrong, “Whose troops?”
Jiang Changtian shook his head simply, “How would I know? I just heard a sentence or two, something about ‘catching a turtle in a jar,’ so I hurried out. If you ask me, attacking the county office is like an old man hanging himself—suicidal. If they really need money, they should go rob those wealthy families. Just like Master Liu in our village; he is taking his sixth concubine the day after tomorrow. His home is filled with mountains of gold and silver, yet he still wants to take concubines and have more children to carry on his legacy.”
The old man turned around slowly to get the herbs and said slowly, “How does Mr. Jiang know that Master Liu is taking a concubine?”
Jiang Changtian opened his eyes wide and said earnestly, “Master Liu is from our village, so we would certainly know if he were taking a concubine. He is famously frugal; outside, he pretends to be very poor, but in reality, his cellar is filled with silver. He buried silver ingots in the soil with melons, but he couldn’t even bury them properly—they were exposed and discovered by a farmhand. That farmhand just happens to be a relative, so it can’t be false… Are these all the herbs? The quality isn’t very good, so I’ll take them, but the price must be two coins less than before, otherwise, I won’t be able to explain it.”
Jiang Changtian took the herbs and said, “Have Xiao Douzi come with me to get the ointment. I still have some left, though not much.”
The old man told the boy who had just called out to Mr. Jiang to help carry the herbs.
Jiang Changtian carried a light bundle himself, while Xiao Douzi carried a large bundle on his back. The two figures walked out of the inn and quickly disappeared into the alley.
This was a bandit den.
The bandit stronghold was deep in the mountains, so it was also suitable for gathering herbs.
Jiang Changtian would come periodically to collect herbs.
His status was low, so the people he dealt with were just these riffraff.
He walked out of the alley and continued toward the government office. When passing the bearded man’s wonton stall from the morning, he suddenly asked, “Xiao Douzi, are you hungry?”
Xiao Douzi swallowed his saliva and shook his head, “Mr. Jiang, I am not hungry.”
Jiang Changtian handed the stall owner six coins and said, “Give me a large bowl, with extra soup, and an empty bowl.”
The stall had a sign saying one bowl for five coins.
The owner efficiently took the money and gave them a bowl of wontons and a bowl of soup.
Jiang Changtian pulled Xiao Douzi to sit down at the small table in front of the stall.
Xiao Douzi thought the soup was for him, and he was already very happy; this was meat soup, and there was meat in the wontons.
As it turned out, Mr. Jiang pushed the wontons to him and drank the soup himself.
“You eat. I have already eaten breakfast.”
Mr. Jiang picked up the soup and began to drink it slowly.
Xiao Douzi only felt that the white steam rising from the bowl of wontons blurred his eyes.
Mr. Jiang was truly kind. If his Father were still alive, he would surely be as kind as Mr. Jiang.
His Father had been killed by a great lord; that lord had raised a precious sword and killed his Father.
That lord looked a bit like Mr. Jiang.
No, no, Mr. Jiang was much better looking.
He ate the wontons, tears in his eyes; the wontons were so hot.
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