Chapter 548: Questioning

"Finally, we've reached Anqing."

Wu Dacai wiped the sweat from his forehead and, leaning on his crutch, squeezed through the crowded Jixian Gate.

Inside Jixian Gate, the street before him was a sea of people, a cacophony of weeping, laughter, shouts, and curses all blending together.

After the Anqing rally to the king Army entered Nanzhili, it halted in Xuzhou to rest and reorganize. Pang Yu's original plan was to return to Anqing in separate groups, sending the cavalry back first for replenishment and training. But because the Roving Bandits had risen again, with three or four groups of Camp Heads operating between Lu'an Prefecture and Hezhou, the entire Jiangbei region had become a threat zone. They could only move together as one force, especially since all the wounded soldiers had to be brought along. At times, their marching speed was only twenty li a day.

It was only after entering Tongcheng that they finally stabilized. Originally, each unit should have been sent back to its garrison, but Pang Yu demanded that the rally to the king army come to the Prefectural City first. All troops were to march through the city, assemble at the Drill Ground, and only then return to their garrisons.

Wu Dacai had the Document Team plan this in advance, and the result was even better than he had imagined. Nearly everyone in the Prefectural City had come, many of them Family Dependents of those in the army. They had originally been notified to wait at the Drill Ground, but how could the dependents hold back? They all ran outside the city to wait, moving along the column to search for their own relatives. Those who found them cheered all the way, following the troops into the city, making the roads impossibly congested. Even the Pacification Commissioner's soldiers could not clear a path.

The commotion up ahead was fading into the distance, and the road was no longer so jammed. Wu Dacai's wound had not yet fully healed, so he was marching with the military hospital unit. The atmosphere in this section was far worse. Although casualty statistics had been sent back to Anqing earlier and the various families had long since received the news and were somewhat prepared, when they actually saw their own friends and relatives disabled, they still could not help but weep in unison.

The sick and wounded were all lying on carts. The road surface was already crowded, and when dependents saw their friends and relatives, they all swarmed around them. Every cart was surrounded by people, women crying and children shrieking. By the roadside, there were also dependents of fallen officers and soldiers who had come to summon their souls, tossing fistfuls of paper money that danced in the air, creating an atmosphere of utter misery and gloom.

After struggling for a long time, they finally entered Jixian Gate, only to be blocked again by a new crowd of wounded soldiers' dependents who had just rushed over. The Pacification Commissioner's soldiers dared not beat or scold them, and could only try to persuade them with kind words, but it had little effect. The street was filled with the sound of weeping.

Wu Dacai was also stuck, unable to move forward or back. Out of boredom, he glanced back. Shen Dafu's carriage was a few vehicles behind, but he could see that the curtain had not been opened.

After the last incident with the merit reports, rumors had been spreading everywhere in the army. Many people did not believe that a cripple like Wu Dacai had killed so many Tartars. Wu Dacai had also caught wind of some of these rumors. Naturally, he was angry, but such talk was spread in private. If he made a big show of arresting and suppressing people, it would only make it known to everyone and become even harder to explain clearly, which might not be a good thing. Wu Dacai swallowed his anger for the time being, only having the Clerk Officer privately collect information on who had spread the rumors.

But Shen Dafu had been somewhat cold toward him afterward. He did not know if it was related to this. Wu Dacai had not figured out how to broach the subject and explain himself the entire journey. During the march, there had been more time to interact, but now that they were back in Anqing, the opportunities were far fewer. Wu Dacai hesitated for a moment, then finally started walking toward that carriage. Just as he took a step, several Medical Officers gathered in front of the carriage. Wu Dacai quickly stopped. Then the carriage curtain moved, and Shen Dafu's figure appeared in his line of sight. She exchanged a few words with the Medical Officers, then got off and walked with them toward an alley to the east.

Wu Dacai lived right at Jixian Gate. That alley over there could bypass this stretch of road. The Medical Officers were surely annoyed by the jam and were walking to the government office. Wu Dacai pursed his lips. Suddenly, a burst of startled cries came from up ahead. He turned his head to look and saw a chaotic crowd gathered around. It seemed someone else had collapsed on the ground, drawing many onlookers.

Wu Dacai had already seen this scene several times today. He simply had Tang Sheng clear a path, pushing through the crowd as they walked inside.

In the very center was a cart carrying a wounded soldier. The soldier had only his left hand and was lying on the cart without getting off; his legs were probably ruined too. He could only call out from the cart. On the ground beside the cart lay a young woman. Two Pacification Commissioner soldiers found it awkward to pull her up. Another elderly woman was wailing loud enough to shake the heavens, crying even more miserably than those bereaved dependents behind them. Two small children beside her were badly frightened, staring at the gathered adults with faces full of terror as they wept.

Wu Dacai pointed at the woman on the ground and said to the two Pacification Commissioner soldiers, "Find a few women to help. First, help her onto the cart."

The two Pacification Commissioner soldiers had returned from the rally to the king campaign. Before Wu Dacai was wounded, he had ridden his horse through the column countless times every day, so they naturally all recognized him. During this merit evaluation, this Deputy Chief Clerk had held up several Companies, delaying his signature for ages. Even when a Company Commander went to plead, it was no use. In the end, it took Zhuang Chaozheng and Chen Rulie personally going to negotiate. Now, no Camp Head dared to offend this Deputy Chief Clerk. They quickly called over a few women nearby to help, lifting the woman on the ground onto the cart, where she and the wounded soldier clung to each other, crying even harder.

Wu Dacai ignored them. He lowered his head and said to the wailing elderly woman, "This official is the Deputy Chief Clerk of Anqing Battalion. Auntie, do not worry. A broken hand is nothing to worry about. Anqing Battalion manages the Rations and Pay; your livelihood is secure."

The elderly woman wiped her tears and said, "But no one said how much we'd get. How is the whole family supposed to live..."

"Go to the Drill Ground. Find their Company's Clerk Officer and go with him to the Military Office to check. You will certainly not be left without food and clothing."

Only then did the elderly woman stop her wailing. She grabbed the cart wheel and stood up.

Wu Dacai breathed a sigh of relief. He turned his head and saw the two small children standing nearby. Remembering the mannerisms he usually saw in Pang Yu, he immediately spread his palm open and stretched it toward Tang Sheng.

After a long moment, nothing was placed in his hand. Wu Dacai turned his head, only to see Tang Sheng still standing there in a daze.

"Sir, what do you want?"

Wu Dacai said angrily, "I'm staring at two little kids. What do you think I want!"

Tang Sheng said cautiously, "Sir, do you want to clip their fingernails and eat them? I didn't bring any scissors."

"Who the hell wants to eat fingernails! Stop believing those folk remedies from marketplace witch doctors and learn properly from the Military Medic doctors. Hurry up and give me that sugar cake we bought in Luzhou Prefecture!" Suppressing the urge to hit someone, Wu Dacai said with displeasure, "From now on, we're working in the government office. That requires method. You must be diligent. You need to fix those bad habits from the Firearm Team."

Tang Sheng dared not talk back and could only agree repeatedly. After fumbling around in his clothes for a moment, he finally pulled out a flattened pastry. Wu Dacai took it, flipped it over and inspected it a few times. When he looked up, his face was full of displeasure. He raised his hand to point at Tang Sheng, his eyes glancing around, and finally lowered his hand again.

Tang Sheng hurriedly pulled out another piece. "Sir, here's another good piece. This one didn't get crushed."

Wu Dacai grabbed Tang Sheng by the collar and cursed in a low voice, "This piece is for the wife. I, your old man, went all the way to the north and didn't bring anything back for the family. How am I supposed to explain myself? I told you, you need to use method!"

He let go of Tang Sheng and turned to face the two small children. A smile immediately piled onto his face as he handed over the pastry. The two children stopped crying.

The disabled soldier on the cart quickly said to the elderly woman, "Hurry, have the children kowtow. This is our Lord Wu. It's all thanks to the military hospital he set up that my life was saved."

Wu Dacai quickly waved his hands. Facing the wounded soldier's family, he said gently, "Sir Pang said that it is because of the heroic fighting of officers and soldiers like you that Anqing Battalion has its present day. Whatever I do for you is only my duty. Hurry on to the Drill Ground now."

He shot a look at the two Pacification Commissioner soldiers, who quickly shooed away the onlookers in front. The cart finally began to move again.

Wu Dacai wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked up to get his bearings. The residence Pang Yu had allocated to him was right on the inner street of Jixian Gate. He could already see the main gate.

A sudden surge of excitement rose in his heart. He looked back and saw the column was still jammed. After giving a few instructions to his attendant clerk, he hurriedly walked in that direction. The main gate was open. In front of it was a figure in a skirt, half-hidden by the corner of the wall. Wu Dacai's heart beat rapidly a few times.

Wu Dacai's crutch clacked rapidly against the stone slabs. He nimbly weaved through the crowd, rushing to the gate. His line of sight rounded the corner of the wall, and with a face full of smiles, he appeared before that skirt. Wu Dacai froze for a moment, and the smile on his face vanished in an instant.

It was the face of the maid that appeared before him. Wu Dacai stood stunned for a moment, then asked, "Where is the madam?"

As soon as the maid saw it was Wu Dacai, she let out a shriek and cried out joyfully, "Master, you're back! The people from the government office said to wait at the Drill Ground. Madam went to the Drill Ground before dawn."

Wu Dacai let out a somewhat disappointed "Oh," and turned to go back to the column. Suddenly, he turned back around and looked the maid up and down for a moment. After a year apart, this maid seemed to have grown taller and filled out, no longer as skinny as before.

Seeing Wu Dacai about to leave, the maid hurried after him. "Master, now that you're back, do you want something to eat? Madam said that you soldiers couldn't even get chaff to eat on the road, and that you might have even eaten human flesh. Madam has everything prepared. This servant just needs to heat it up."

"What the hell does she know." Wu Dacai casually cursed. After finishing his appraisal of the maid, he hesitated for a moment. His eyes roamed over the maid's figure once more. Finally, he turned around, stepped through his own front gate, and said, "Come here. Your master has some things to ask you."

The maid followed him in. "What does Master want to ask about?"

"Your master has been gone so long, of course I need to ask." Wu Dacai coughed once and turned back to Tang Sheng. "You guard the door."

Tang Sheng froze for a second. Before he could even ask, Wu Dacai was already hurrying deeper into the house, saying to the maid as he went, "Asking about household matters. Let's go to your room."

The maid said blankly, "This servant's room is a mess. Wouldn't Master prefer to ask questions in the main room?"

Wu Dacai said impatiently, "Can it be more of a mess than a military unit? Hurry up. Your master still has duties to attend to later."

The maid dared not disobey and could only follow Wu Dacai toward the West Wing in the outer courtyard. As soon as they entered her room, the door bolt slid shut with a click.

Tang Sheng stood in front of the gate. All he heard from the courtyard was a shriek, which then immediately faded away. Tang Sheng nervously twisted his head to glance back, then immediately turned forward again.

Tang Sheng seemed to understand something, but he couldn't quite figure out exactly what it was. He fidgeted uneasily in place, constantly turning his head, his face full of fear and anxiety.

From the courtyard behind him came faint, strange sounds. Before him, the street inside Jixian Gate surged with crowds, a chaotic din amidst the cries and wails. Soul-summoning banners fluttered in the wind, and paper money danced in the air. A muscle on Tang Sheng's left cheek twitched incessantly, making him look as if he were both crying and laughing.

Suddenly, a figure burst through the fluttering paper money. Tang Sheng was startled. A woman had hurriedly arrived at the gate.

The moment she saw a guard at the door, her face lit up with joy. She beamed at Tang Sheng and said, "I only found out at the Drill Ground that my husband was escorting the column into the city. Made me run all that way for nothing. So he really did come home first. Quickly, take me to see my husband."

As she spoke, she walked straight inside. Tang Sheng had only started following Wu Dacai after Wangzhuang and had never seen this woman before, but she clearly knew Wu Dacai very well. He had absolutely no idea what to do. Seeing the woman about to enter the courtyard, Tang Sheng hurriedly blocked the gate. "The master is asking questions."

The woman froze. "Asking whom?"

Tang Sheng stood there dumbly, unable to speak. Suddenly, another sound came from inside. The woman turned her head to look at the West Wing in the outer courtyard, her expression slowly darkening. She shoved the scrawny Tang Sheng aside, took a few large strides to the maid's room door in the West Wing, and fiercely kicked the door panel.