Union

Chapter 15 Rushing
Prefect Wei arrived very quickly.

As soon as he entered the room, he kicked Wu Liang hard. Wu Liang originally thought that his backer had come and was about to cry out for justice, but unexpectedly, Prefect Wei kicked him hard in the chest.

Wu Liang was in so much pain that his face turned pale, but he was shrewd enough not to cry out. He just kept apologizing, "Brother-in-law, I know I was wrong. I was dizzy and did something wrong. Brother-in-law, you can kill me. I have embarrassed you and my sister."

He deliberately mentioned "sister," but it didn't soften Wei Zhizhou's heart. Wei Zhizhou, still not satisfied, kicked him twice more, "You ignorant little beast, always causing trouble outside. What kind of brother-in-law am I to you? A concubine's brother dares to call me brother-in-law. Guards, take him away and give him thirty lashes first."

The onlookers, eager for a good show, gathered outside the side room to watch the spectacle. Initially, upon seeing Prefect Wei arrive, they inwardly cried out, thinking that Steward Wang and his party were in for trouble. But to their surprise, the situation suddenly reversed; Prefect Wei not only didn't support his brother-in-law, but instead severely punished him.

If Wu Liang were to receive thirty strokes of the cane, he would probably lose half his life.

So the question is, who exactly is this group of people who offended Wu Liang and made Prefect Wei so furious?
Everyone strained to listen, but they could hear nothing more.

With Wei Zhizhou's men starting to drive people away, even though everyone was reluctant to leave, they could only regretfully return to their rooms.

Back in the side room, how Prefect Wei tried to get close to Steward Wang and gloss over the matter was discussed.

Yunying was sitting in her room and could hear everything that was happening next door.

Overwhelmed with emotion, she became even more silent.

The rain drizzled for two days, and Yunying and her group stayed at the inn for those two days.

The weather finally cleared up, and everyone packed their bags to set off, only to receive news of another landslide ahead.

Nearly half a month of rain finally caused secondary disasters, blocking the roads ahead. People either had to detour fifty miles to pass through other sections of the road, or wait two days for the roads to be cleared before continuing their journey.

Butler Wang decided to continue waiting.

Yunying and the others were finally released.

This was because of the incident that Liang Gongzi had caused a couple of days ago. Not only did he not gain any advantage, but his own sister was also implicated and was expelled from the prefectural government.

From then on, the people of Jinzhou knew that several important figures, whom even the prefect could not afford to offend, were staying at this inn. Not only did the innkeepers and managers become even more respectful, but even the merchants who stopped for a meal or a night became more well-behaved.

At this time, the security in Jinzhou had improved, so Aunt Ding asked Steward Wang if he could take the girls for a walk in the streets. Steward Wang thought of the girls' beautiful appearance and was worried that they would cause trouble again, so he decisively refused the request.

Aunt Ding had no choice but to go to the street and pick up some delicious food and fun toys, and specially invited the girls to sit in her room in the afternoon.

Yunying and the others spent the afternoon in Aunt Ding's room, and then had dinner together before returning to their rooms.

The next day, before Yunying could even decide what to do, Qiuning came looking for her with needle and thread.

Seeing Yunying idly flipping through a book, Qiu Ning said, "You should do something more serious. Don't spend all day reading these useless books. We're not going to become the top scholar."

Yunying: "Then what should I do? Do needlework like you? You know I'm not good at needlework."

"It doesn't matter if you don't learn it well, just make at least one thing. It's our good intention." Qiu Ning secretly told her, "I heard from the maid that Ruizhu is very diligent and has already made a whole set of clothes for the Second Master. Mu Jin is not bad either. She is skilled at making shoes and I heard that she has made several pairs of shoes for the Second Master. My embroidery skills are just average, but my stitches are neat enough, so I'll make a few purses for the Second Master."

Yunying glanced at the lotus-green purse in Qiu Ning's hand, embroidered with green mountains and clear waters and white cranes spreading their wings. Regardless of the craftsmanship of the purse, the artistic conception alone was profound and transcendent, which even Yunying liked.

But this was for that second master...

In order to please the second master, the other three of them put in a lot of effort to prepare their clothes, shoes and socks, hoping that the second master would have more pity for them.

Only she, so lazy and inattentive, only found out about this today.

In the afternoon, Yunying stopped reading books and started learning how to make knots from the maid who served her.

Aunt Ding came over once in the middle of the day. Seeing how busy she was, she finally showed a look of approval and spoke to Yunying in a softer tone.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and it was soon time to continue our journey.

Before setting off, Butler Wang subtly reminded everyone that the road ahead would be even more difficult, and that the food and supplies would be more meager, so that the girls should be mentally prepared.

She was mentally prepared, but Yunying never imagined the journey would be so arduous.

The further south they went, the more rugged the roads became, and the more snakes, rats, insects, jackals, tigers, and leopards appeared. They didn't even dare to open the windows while sitting in the carriage, and every time they heard the sounds of those predators, they were terrified and wished they could huddle together.

By the end of the day, everyone's clothes were soaked with sweat. Several girls and maids even developed high fevers due to the shock, exhaustion, and heat.

Yunying also had a persistent high fever, and her body, which had just recovered, became weak again.

Too many people were seriously ill, making it impossible to continue, so the group had to find another place to stay.

Fortunately, the accompanying senior doctor had brought plenty of herbs and pills, and was himself a highly skilled physician. After several days, everyone had recovered considerably, and they set off again.

In the evening, the group finally arrived at the post station.

The post station was very simple, with only the postmaster, a waiter who ran errands, and a cook inside.

This is a family of three.

Butler Wang asked them to prepare some good dishes, but this place was too remote, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a deep mountain forest, there were no good dishes at all, all they had were old cured meat that had been stored for several years, and mushrooms picked up after the rain.

They made a mushroom soup, and with some dried vegetables and dried meat prepared in advance by Steward Wang, everyone managed to have a reasonably palatable meal.

After that, the meals became even simpler. Sometimes, in order to make time for their lodging, they didn't have time to cook lunch and would just eat dry rations.

As they got closer and closer to Lingnan Prefecture, they found they had no money left to spend.

The people here are so poor. Everyone is thin and pale, with a bitter look on their faces and hunched backs.

Their clothes were also tattered, patched upon patched, and so worn from washing that their original color was no longer visible.

Even upon reaching the county town, everything was dusty and gloomy. The people's faces showed poverty and fear. Especially when they saw their carriage passing by, they all kept their distance in fear and trepidation, some even kneeling down and kowtowing, saying, "My lord, this humble subject did not mean to offend you."

It's true. Before coming to Lingnan, I had only heard that the area was poor. But when I actually arrived and saw these scenes, I realized that even the words "shocking" were not enough to describe it.

Ruizhu and the others were clearly uneasy about the situation. Finally, during dinner, they couldn't help but ask Aunt Ding, "Is Lingnan Prefecture poorer than here?"

The answer was yes, and they knew it in their hearts, but they were terrified and wanted to hear a negative answer from Aunt Ding.

Looking at the girls' bewildered faces, Aunt Ding sighed softly, "What does it matter whether they're good or bad, poor or not? They've come this far, there's no turning back."

Ruizhu and the others lowered their heads, their faces filled with sorrow. Yunying knew that these three girls, who had gone south with unknown intentions, were now filled with deep regret.

It was truly impoverished here; they couldn't even afford a proper table for a feast. Even in the best restaurants, the finest banquets were merely for the birthday celebrations of the young maids in the noble household. How could these girls, who had always lived in luxury and had never experienced hardship, possibly bear it?

The girls became even quieter, staring blankly at the sky every day, and even stopped doing needlework.

In this silence, the group finally entered Lingnan Prefecture.

This is not the end of this journey; they still need to continue south.

Although the second master of the Marquis's mansion held a position in Lingnan Prefecture, he did not serve in the prefectural city of Lingnan Prefecture, but rather as the magistrate of Yungui County in Funan Prefecture, which was under the jurisdiction of Lingnan Prefecture.

First, there was a little incident when we entered the city of Lingnan Prefecture.

When a young man and woman entered the city, the city guards checked their identity documents and travel permits.

Their identity documents were fine, but their travel permits were clearly problematic.

The two young men blushed and pleaded for mercy, even trying to bribe the city guards, but they were eventually taken away by the soldiers.

A passerby, seeing this, said, "Although Lingnan Prefecture is poor, the prefect is capable. These soldiers are also doing their duty and dare not be perfunctory."

"But we're just too poor, too poor..."

(End of this chapter)