Chapter 131: So These People Have Quite the Background!
Yu Zhengqing hadn’t expected that something he had been tense about all night would go so smoothly.
“Brother, you’ve worked hard. How long have you and the other officer been stationed here?”
“How long?”
Upon hearing Yu Zhengqing’s question, the older officer, Zhuang Laotou, seemed to drift into deep thought. He furrowed his brows, the wrinkles on his forehead deepening as he tried to recall.
“Brother Zhuang, you’re getting confused again. You’ve been here for forty-one years, and I’ve been here for twenty-three!”
The younger officer walked in, holding two large skewers of roasted meat. Seeing Zhuang Laotou struggling to remember, he laughed heartily and handed him one of the skewers while teasing him.
“That’s right! Forty-one years—an entire forty-one years. I came here when I was twenty. Back then, there were more than a hundred of us stationed here.
Over time, those from various backgrounds who chose to come here voluntarily didn’t interact with us much. The criminals who were exiled here couldn’t just sneak away either—most people can’t cross Jiuzhong Mountain.
Even if they have the skills to escape, their families can’t, so they stay.
Gradually, the imperial court withdrew most of its people, and our fellow officers died one by one. Now, it’s just the two of us left.”
Hearing this, Yu Zhengqing felt a deep respect for them.
“You two have spent more than half your lives here, dedicating your lives to the imperial court. You are truly admirable.”
The two officers exchanged glances and burst into laughter.
“That’s right—we’ve given most of our lives to this desolate land and the imperial court. This is our life now. By the way, what’s your name?
Did you bring us anything this time? Our salary hasn’t been paid in three months. Once you get back, remember to stop by the post station and send our wages home.”
“Wages?”
Yu Zhengqing was momentarily stunned.
He had no idea how much the two officers earned per month, let alone how to deliver it to them.
“This is my first time taking over, and I’ve had too much to adjust to. No one reminded me, so I forgot about your payments. Next time, I’ll bring them. But I did bring some white rice and flour—I’ll give them to you later.”
“That’s great! We ran out of rice and flour two months ago. We thought about going to the sealed-off city to buy some, but it’s too risky.
Eating roasted meat every day has given us mouth sores. Some rice porridge would be a blessing.”
Hearing there was rice and flour, Zhuang Laotou’s mood lifted.
But Yu Zhengqing felt uneasy.
If he hadn’t been exiled here, he never would have known about these two men, who had spent decades in service, unable to spend their earnings and living alone in this harsh land.
Compared to the nobility in the capital, indulging in lavish feasts and pleasures, these two had spent their lives in solitude and hardship, yet they had remained steadfast.
In some ways, they suffered more than the exiles.
The criminals, if they managed to survive, at least had hope. If an imperial pardon was issued one day, they might have a chance to return home.
But these two?
It was as if they had been forgotten, left behind with no replacements sent by the court.
Who among the high-ranking officials and nobles ever remembered the struggles of those at the bottom?
“Haven’t you ever thought about finding a way to return home? After all, you must have family you haven’t seen in decades.”
“Of course, we have. I joined the army at sixteen. When I left home, I was just a boy, with parents and siblings still there. But time passed, and I lost all hope of returning home.”
The two men, who had been silent for too long, opened up when Yu Zhengqing touched upon this topic.
Zhuang Laotou’s eyes turned red as he spoke.
Meanwhile, the younger officer’s tears began streaming down his face.
“I’m forty-three now. I enlisted at eighteen and was already engaged. But fate sent me here.
Apart from Liang Chao helping us send letters and money home, we have had no contact with our families.
My fiancée has probably been married off for years—maybe even with grandchildren by now.”
In the past, people married young.
Imagining the person he had longed for living a different life, the younger officer couldn’t hold back his tears.
Zhuang Laotou smacked him on the shoulder and changed the subject with a firm tone.
“Why are you crying? Liang Chao managed to get reassigned—maybe you can too. Didn’t your mother say before you joined the army that you were destined for wealth and prosperity? That you’d have a big family?
You’re only forty-three—you still have plenty of chances!
But as for me, if I die one day, you have to find me a spot facing my hometown and bury me there.”
“Don’t say that, Brother Zhuang! If you die and the court doesn’t send replacements, I’ll be completely alone.”
The younger officer wiped his tears away, panicking at the thought.
Zhuang Laotou laughed heartily.
“Alright, then I’ll live another twenty years to keep you company!”
After his laughter died down, he turned to Yu Zhengqing, who had been moved by their conversation.
“Brother, sorry you had to listen to our ramblings. We don’t have much to do here, so all we do is think about home.”
Yu Zhengqing snapped back to reality and smiled.
“It’s only natural. I understand.”
Feeling a pang of sympathy, he took out the silver notes he had initially planned to keep and handed one to each of them.
“By the way, the people in this exile group are no ordinary criminals. The Yu family still has two daughters in the capital—one is a prince’s wife, and the other is a minister’s wife. They’ve been sending generous bribes, and these two hundred taels of silver are from them, meant for you.”
“Oh? So these people have powerful connections? That’s great! Even though we haven’t received our official wages, this hundred taels of silver, combined with our back pay, will make a nice sum to send home.”
Zhuang Laotou inspected the silver note carefully. Once he confirmed the amount, his smile widened.
His earlier sadness vanished.
“That’s right! If it were Liang Chao handling this, who knows how much he’d pocket for himself? It’s been years since we’ve had such a windfall. Brother, you really know how to do things properly. At least this time, the bribe money actually made it into our hands!”
