Chapter 116: Ping Zhi
The eighth day. The weather is clear.
Suitable for: traveling, moving, opening a business, signing contracts, planting trees.
Avoid: nothing.
A carriage was trundling towards Kaner Village.
The mountains and waters along the way were cold, yet there were no Rebels causing trouble.
Green shoots emerged beneath the traces of snow. The mountains were a patchwork of white and green.
The carriage driver had thought this trip would be extremely perilous and was prepared to risk his life, but the pay was so high that he came anyway.
Unexpectedly, upon entering the territory of Ming County, it felt surprisingly peaceful.
He even saw a tea stall.
An old woman and a young man were running it.
In the winter, the tea stall was steaming.
The carriage stopped.
The hand that lifted the curtain was fair and very elegant.
Some people, when they reach out a hand, possess an aura that stirs one’s imagination.
It felt as if a stunning beauty were sitting inside.
Yet, when the curtain was lifted, it turned out to be an old woman with a face full of wrinkles.
The old woman had many wrinkles and dark spots on her face; she looked nothing like a beauty.
However, when she jumped off the carriage, walked, or sat down, she gave the illusion of being a young lady of noble birth, a stunning beauty.
One felt she was extremely noble.
The old woman took a sip of tea, rested for a moment, and then got back on the carriage.
The driver, however, was the one asking questions.
“How do I get to Kaner Village? Is it still far?”
“It’s not far. Just go around this mountain and you’ll be there. You’ll see the village entrance is very lively with many people; that’s Kaner Village. Are you visiting relatives, brother?”
“I’m just dropping someone off. I’m just the driver. I brought a guest here, and it’s not my place to ask what the guest is doing. Probably visiting relatives,” the driver laughed.
He noticed the old woman only brought a small bundle, at most one change of clothes.
The old woman sat in the carriage.
Even though she was alone, she sat upright.
Her elegant temperament was carved into her bones.
The carriage continued on.
The clip-clop of the horses could be heard.
The curtains fluttered, occasionally revealing the mountains and forests outside.
This stretch of road was relatively flat.
The old woman took her husband’s surname, Yin, and her given name was Ping. Great-Aunt Yin Ping.
She had a bumpy fate and twisted experiences.
She had not expected that at the age of fifty, with greying temples, she would still have to travel alone by carriage to a village to serve as a teacher for two country girls.
The sound of carriage wheels rumbled. She sat alone, recalling most of her life.
Her family was poor, she was sold in her youth, and by good fortune, she was sold into the imperial palace.
She could not remember where her home was, who her parents were, or who was in her family.
Her memory began with the palace governess.
She remembered the governess’s whip dipped in water; it hurt terribly when it hit, but left no marks.
The governess named her Ping Zhi.
She told her to listen more, speak less, and block out everything irrelevant in order to survive.
The governess would also reward her with pastries.
The governess said she was very spirited, the best student, and could follow a noble in the future.
The governess said that following a noble didn’t necessarily mean enjoying blessings, and that one must still listen more and speak less; being able to survive was the real blessing.
Before she had finished her training, the governess died.
She didn’t know who the governess had offended, what she had seen, or what she had said.
She grew up in the darkest little room in the inner palace, starting with the most miserable odd jobs.
Improving little by little, changing places. She did as the governess said and reached the side of a noble.
She went from that little palace maid to a senior maid, then to a matron.
She climbed step by step among the inconspicuous servants in the imperial palace.
The group of girls who came with her all died. The girls who came a year before her all died. The girls who came a year after her also all died.
She was still alive. And she left the palace alive.
She was no longer called Ping Zhi.
She hid her name, met a suitable husband, and got married.
She took her husband’s surname, Yin, and changed her name to Ping.
She thought her life had already endured so much suffering, and having luckily survived, things should be better from now on.
She didn’t seek great wealth or status, just wanted to live out the rest of her life in peace.
Unexpectedly, her husband was forced to his death, and she was locked up by his unfilial, ungrateful sons, nearly starved to death.
Finally, because the Rebels broke the city, she was accidentally saved.
She used the Rebels to kill those unfilial sons, yet unexpectedly, the leader of the Rebels called for her, asking her to help do one thing.
To go and be a teacher, teaching two girls.
Listening to Commander Zi, there were two girls, one was The Eldest Miss, who might be married off in a year or two, so she would mainly be teaching the younger one.
Having lived a lifetime crawling and rolling in the inner palace, Great-Aunt Yin Ping was very sensible and immediately agreed.
Before coming, she had asked someone to inquire about the family, which was also what Commander Zi had someone tell her.
When she heard that the little girl’s father was once said to be an unfilial and unbrotherly person, she felt a bit disgusted.
She hated unfilial and unbrotherly people the most, just like her husband’s white-eyed wolves.
However, she had no right to be picky. There was no opportunity to choose.
Even if Commander Zi said if she didn’t agree, he could find someone else and she could go back.
But she knew that without Commander Zi’s protection, in this chaotic world, as a lonely old woman, she wouldn’t live long.
She distributed her husband’s wealth to the old and weak in his clan, took only a small bundle, and came by carriage.
Cold winds blew. Distant mountains layered. White hair grayed. Carriage wheels rumbled
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