The night grew darker by the minute, and the breeze carried a hint of chill. Shadows from the trees swayed across the ground.
The older woman sat in the courtyard, carefully sorting through a basket of jujubes.
“Miss Ji gave me the money this season. When is she coming to collect the jujubes?”
Just then, a noise came from a pitch-black corner. In the quiet of the night, it sounded especially abrupt.
The older woman’s expression immediately turned wary. She picked up the knife beside her and crept toward the source of the sound.
The noise continued from the corner. The older woman suddenly swung her knife down and shouted angrily, “Which bastard has the nerve to come steal from my house?”
The thing in the corner was so frightened that it fell backward into a pile of hay. He hurriedly yelled, “Big sis, I’m not here to steal anything! Put the knife down!”
The older woman ignored him. Though she could barely see, she swung wildly through the air. “I’ll chop you to pieces! You dare come steal from me?”
The beggar fled wildly around the courtyard, shouting as he ran, “Big sis—no, Auntie—no, my granny! You’ve got it all wrong! You really have!”
“I came to bring you good news! The stolen government silver is about to be recovered!”
He really had it hard. This was the only woman in the entire village who hadn’t been informed yet.
He had come early in the morning, but she wasn’t home. The neighbors said she had gone to the fields. He had come again at noon, but she was still away. The neighbors said she had gone to pick jujubes. Finally, he had come at night, only for her to take up a knife and try to chop him down!
Earning Miss Ji’s silver really wasn’t easy…
When the older woman heard what the beggar said, she rolled her eyes. “What does the government silver have to do with me? Even if they find it, they won’t give me a share.”
She sat back down beneath the tree and resumed sorting the jujubes by moonlight.
The beggar was panting from exhaustion. He took a few jujubes from the basket, pulled out a scrap of wastepaper, and drew something on it.
Everyone in the village had been informed successfully—from the elderly men and women who were bedridden and unable to move, to the little children who could not yet speak.
The beggar brushed the hay off his clothes and waved. “I’m off, Auntie.”
The older woman could not be bothered to answer and continued with her work.
The next morning, every commoner lining both sides of the street was discussing the matter. Even the children had a few words to add.
The men and women in the teahouses were talking about it too, and their stories grew more exaggerated by the minute.
“I heard the county assistant magistrate didn’t just steal once. He’s stolen dozens of times!”
“I also heard that even the county assistant magistrate’s quilts are made of gold thread. He spends money like water and is more extravagant than that person in the capital!”
“I heard the county assistant magistrate is planning a rebellion…”
“Really?”
“How could it be false? The county assistant magistrate even has his own army. Maybe there’ll be a war in a few days.”
The story became more and more absurd. By the time it had made the rounds, it had turned into a rumor that the county assistant magistrate would launch a rebellion within the next few days.
Ji Zhaoxi listened from inside the teahouse and could not help laughing aloud.
Just then, a tree branch suddenly stretched in through the window and poked her.
Ji Zhaoxi turned around in confusion. A beggar cautiously glanced around before handing her more than a dozen sheets of paper.
“Miss Ji, the news has all been spread.”
Ji Zhaoxi had not yet recovered her wits. She accepted the papers instinctively. “You’ve worked hard.”
She took out some silver and handed it to the beggar. He immediately stuffed it into his robes, then nodded solemnly.
“Miss Ji, until we meet again in the martial world.”
With that, he vanished without a trace.
That was what it was like being a beggar. Everything had to be done quickly. If you were even a little too slow, someone might beat you with a stick.
Ji Zhaoxi looked at her soldiers, then at the strange drawings in her hands. She was deeply moved.
“My soldiers have worked so hard.”
Fu Xianyan had long since grown immune to Ji Zhaoxi’s sudden emotional moments. He skillfully ladled her a bowl of porridge.
“Would you like anything else?”
Ji Zhaoxi did not answer. She stared at the dozen or so sheets of paper, her eyes reddening as the hand holding them trembled slightly.
Fu Xianyan: “…”
Frowning, he leaned closer to look. “Miss Ji, can you actually read that?”
The drawings looked like indecipherable scrawls, crooked and twisted. They were almost as bizarre as the venomous creatures he had seen before.
Xu Ancheng and Qin Qiwu also stared at the drawings in confusion. What on earth had been written there to move Miss Ji so deeply?
Ji Zhaoxi pointed to the first sheet and said in a choked voice, “The chickens in the east crow early, and the dogs in the west run fast. The aunties in the south curse viciously, and the old men in the north hit hard.”
On the second sheet, Xu Ancheng and Qin Qiwu’s expressions grew complicated as well.
Ji Zhaoxi sniffed. Fu Xianyan kindly handed her a handkerchief.
“Yesterday, someone chased me with a knife. Today, someone beat me with a stick. My shoes are torn, my feet are wounded, mud is stuck to my face, and grime has been added to my hands.”
When Ji Zhaoxi turned to the next page, she found a crumpled leaf tucked inside. Her eyes turned even redder.
“Miss Ji, not a single person in the entire village was missed!”
At some point, the surrounding townspeople had gathered around as well. As they listened, they too began to feel moved.
Fu Xianyan’s heart remained utterly calm. He looked at Ji Zhaoxi, who was desperately holding back tears, and then at Xu Ancheng and Qin Qiwu, who wore equally emotional expressions across from him. He fell even deeper into silence.
Ji Zhaoxi choked back a sob as she packed everything into her bundle.
Her soldiers had worked so hard. She would give them extra silver.
She suddenly noticed that Fu Xianyan had been unusually quiet. The moment she turned her head, Fu Xianyan instantly lowered his gaze and rubbed his eyes, pretending to be heartbroken.
Ji Zhaoxi sighed emotionally. “I finally understand how my father must have felt.”
Li Fu, standing in the corner, watched the scene and lowered his head to wipe away his tears.
As expected of Miss Ji. No wonder everyone liked helping her so much.
Zhou Cheng stared at the scene, his expression blank.
Was he really supposed to deal with a county assistant magistrate of unfathomable depth together with these four people?
Could he still make it to the county office entrance, kneel down, and confess his crimes…?
For some reason, Zhou Cheng constantly felt as though someone was watching him. Yet whenever he turned around, there was no one there.
A sudden panic seized him. Usually, when he felt that he was about to die, it meant he really was about to die…
The rumors grew more and more intense, but the county office remained completely unresponsive.
Night fell again.
The inn was bustling with activity. Li Fu worked while searching for Ji Zhaoxi’s figure.
Had Miss Ji gone upstairs so early tonight? He had wanted to ask whether she needed a junior assistant. He wanted to help her too.
“Li Fu, remember to wipe the stairs,” the innkeeper called from behind the counter.
“Got it.”
Li Fu muttered under his breath. They gave him every chore imaginable, yet he had never seen his wages increase.
Gradually, all the guests in the main hall went upstairs, and the peddlers on both sides of the street packed up and left. The inn grew quiet once more.
At some point, the innkeeper had gone to bed. Li Fu continued working with grunts of effort. When he looked at the gleaming main hall he had cleaned, his eyes filled with satisfaction.
Humming a little tune, he headed toward the rear courtyard in an excellent mood. Quite a few guests had given him tips today, and he felt every one of them was well deserved.
Ever since Zhang Shun had died, his luck had been getting better and better. He no longer had to worry about someone suddenly appearing and chopping off his head.
The rear courtyard was shrouded in darkness. Several lanterns swayed gently in the breeze.
