Out on the sea, Sun Zheng was so hot that he could hardly stop fanning himself. The ship was now packed to the brim. The few senior officials had private cabins, but they had long since lost the comfort they once enjoyed.
The truth was, every time the ship traveled another li, his heart ached. Five hundred people—fifty strings of cash for every li. His heart was bleeding.
He even had the feeling that the Garlic-Head Hero was deliberately taking a roundabout route. But this was the open sea—how could anyone even take a detour out here?
He looked at Ji Wangfei. “Are they taking us the long way around?”
Ji Wangfei’s gaze was slightly blank. Though he was with the Sizhou Navy, there were no landmarks out at sea. He only knew the general direction; how could he tell whether they were taking a detour?
He sighed. “As long as we make it to Feng’an County, that’s enough. At this point… never mind the rest. We’ll just make do.”
He had completely given up struggling. Money or no money, it wasn’t his to pay anyway. The First Prince—er, His Majesty—was footing the bill.
Sun Zheng: “…”
He silently turned his gaze toward Li Chun, who was asleep nearby.
Li Chun’s injuries were severe. Although there was a physician aboard, the situation did not look good.
He had been running a fever on and off for the past two days, and the wounds had begun to fester and suppurate. If they could not find a better physician soon, his life might be in danger.
Just then, a hearty laugh rang out. “Brother Sun, Brother Ji, I’m back again! What would you two like to eat today?”
Sun Zheng: “…”
Honestly, there were times when he really wanted to swear. Brother this, Brother that—I’m old enough to be your father!
Of course, he didn’t dare say any of that aloud. He could only scream furiously inside his head.
Ji Wangfei shot out of the cabin. “What dishes are there?”
For the past two days, they had been eating nothing but radish-and-cabbage porridge. It had seemed all right at first, but after two days straight, even he was beginning to crack.
The main problem was that after eating the Garlic-Head Hero’s radish-and-cabbage porridge, he could never stop himself from farting.
Actually, no one could.
With the ships crammed full of people, everyone farting nonstop, one could imagine the smell.
Though they were at sea and the wind was constantly blowing, he still felt as if all three ships were filled with a strange odor.
At one point, he had even thought they had been poisoned, but after examining him, the physician had said there was nothing wrong.
He never expected that the Garlic-Head Hero would show mercy today and offer them a choice of dishes. How wonderful!
He had just started rejoicing when something tightened in a certain place, and another fart threatened to escape. He hurriedly clenched his muscles and held it in.
Xie Nanxiao had no idea that Ji Wangfei was struggling to contain himself. He announced today’s meal: “Radish-and-cabbage porridge.”
Ji Wangfei waited. When he saw that Xie Nanxiao had stopped and had no intention of saying anything else, he couldn’t help asking, “What else?”
Xie Nanxiao spread his hands. “That’s it. Radish-and-cabbage porridge.”
Ji Wangfei: “…”
“Wait. Didn’t you ask what we wanted to eat?”
Xie Nanxiao nodded. “Yes, I asked. That doesn’t mean we have anything else.”
Ji Wangfei: “…”
Gritting his teeth, he flung his sleeve and returned to the cabin, taking the opportunity to release the fart he had been holding in. It emerged in one long, mournful blast.
Sun Zheng, who had heard the entire exchange from inside, was grinding his teeth in anger as well. He had gotten excited too.
After all, for the past two days, he had been eating the same food as the naval sailors and rowers. It was an utter humiliation. He had never been treated like this in his entire life.
It was simply too much!
Once this was over, he would definitely have His Majesty destroy the Garlic-Head Hero, along with that Salted Fish Pirate. Every last one of them deserved to die!
Lin County.
In a small courtyard, Liu Xiaomei was boiling medicine.
A pot of rice porridge simmered on the stove. The rich aroma of food mingled with the scent of medicinal herbs, filling the entire kitchen.
Liu Xiaomei did not find the smell unpleasant in the least. Instead, it made her feel secure and at peace.
After they had arrived in Chunnan Commandery of Feng Prefecture, the Jinyang Army had seen how seriously ill her father was and suggested that they settle in Lin County. Lin County was one of the first counties the Jinyang Army had reclaimed, and its medical facilities were comparatively better.
The other counties were still being rebuilt. They were chaotic, and living conditions were poor.
They had accepted the suggestion without hesitation. Quite a few other families had made the same choice, all of them households with sick family members.
With the Jinyang Army’s organization, everyone soon completed the necessary formalities and arrived in Lin County.
They had borrowed money from the local government, rented a courtyard, and bought salt, oil, grain, and other necessities. They had taken their father to see a doctor and obtained medicine.
Her two older brothers and their wives had quickly found work. They were all young and strong, and the wages were not bad.
For the time being, she had been assigned to stay home and care for her father.
The sound of her father coughing in the neighboring room pulled Liu Xiaomei out of her memories.
Seeing that the medicine was nearly ready, she took a cloth to protect her hand, lifted the medicine pot, and poured the decoction into a bowl.
Liu’s father had already sat up. There was more flesh on his face now, and his eyes had improved somewhat. Though he still could not see clearly, he could make out vague shapes.
“Father, how are you feeling?” Liu Xiaomei asked as she carried the medicine over.
Liu’s father sighed. “After taking so much medicine, of course I’m better. It’s just costing too much money.”
At his age, this was the first time he had ever properly gone to an apothecary to have medicine prescribed. He had even undergone acupuncture.
People as poor as them usually either endured illness on their own or went into the mountains to gather whatever herbs they recognized. Whether they lived or died was ultimately left to Heaven.
Liu Xiaomei looked helpless, but her eyes still shone with hope. “The medicine isn’t expensive. My brothers are earning enough now.”
At that, Liu’s father’s expression relaxed, though he still said, “That may be true, but they haven’t been paid yet. We’ve already spent so much. Even a month’s wages won’t be enough to repay it.”
He could barely remember what had happened on the journey. He had been drifting in and out of consciousness. All he knew was that someone had carried him, and at times he seemed to have ridden a horse. It felt as though they had traveled for an incredibly long time.
He had only truly regained consciousness after being given medicine several times.
By then, they had already reached Lin County and rented this courtyard.
Liu Xiaomei disagreed. “Father, don’t worry about it. After two more acupuncture sessions and a few more doses of medicine, you should be almost recovered. Then you’ll be able to work too.”
Liu’s father was not very optimistic about that. He knew his own eyes best. A complete recovery was probably impossible.
But he did not say so. His children were filial. They had brought him all the way to Lin County and spent so much money on him.
The only thing he could do now was take good care of himself. As long as he could see something, he would be able to work.
And he was looking forward to it—looking forward to the day when his eyes would allow him to see again.
This was a world he had never seen or heard of before. He wanted to take a look for himself, to see all the wondrous things his children had described.
More than that, he wanted to see the Jinyang Army that had rescued their entire family—to see what sort of heavenly soldiers and divine generals they truly were.
As they spoke, the medicine cooled.
Liu’s father swallowed the bitter decoction without the slightest hesitation, then even licked the bowl clean. He refused to waste a drop.
Liu Xiaomei carried the empty bowl back to the kitchen. Judging by the sky, her brothers and sisters-in-law would not be getting off work anytime soon, so she squatted in the courtyard and began practicing her writing.
All four members of the family except her father were attending literacy classes. Since the family was poor and had borrowed their wages in advance, they could not bear to spend money on paper and brushes. In class, they dipped their fingers in water and practiced writing on the tabletop. At home, they practiced on the ground.
She had to learn her characters well. In the future, she wanted to attend medical school. She wanted to become a physician.
She had made that decision when she saw a female doctor at the clinic. She wanted to do something for the Han people—and for an army like the Jinyang Army.
That noon, the fleet from Sizhou finally arrived at Feng’an Wharf. Looking at the lively, prosperous harbor, envy and fervor flashed through Sun Zheng’s eyes.
Their dock in Sizhou seemed not to have been this lively in a long time.
The moment he stepped off the boat, a tall man approached from across the way. “Ah, you must be Lord Sun, I presume? I’ve long admired you. And indeed you are—positively ethereal, with the bearing of an immortal.”
Sun Zheng, his hair hanging loose and disheveled: “…”
He could let the “bearing of an immortal” slide, but what exactly did “positively ethereal” mean?
