Chapter 89

Liang Da Zhuang

Qiqi

Spring Palace Picture

Shi Xuedong

Qiqi's so-called travel funds are really not much—barely enough for their three meals a day; as for thoughts of buying horses or hiring carriages, they can only be a luxury.

Hu Xiaotian

Yi Zhan

Great Shu State

Hu Xiaotian's destination, Qingyun Xian, where he is to take office, belongs to Xiezhou jurisdiction; it is a small county town nestled in mountain valleys, said to be the poorest place in Xiezhou and even the whole Xichuan.

Harmony Prefecture City

The gate guards were standing in the afternoon sunlight, lazily sizing up passersby with listless gazes; because the weather was overly sultry, those standing in the shade of the city wall couldn't be bothered to move their feet.

Because the Panlong Mountain Range forms a natural barrier, war rarely reaches Xiezhou; it's said there has been no fighting for nearly fifty years here, so it's no wonder the garrison at the gate is lax.

Hu Xiaotian and his two companions were all travel-worn; in the past they would definitely have been the focus of strict security checks, but now they swaggered openly into Xiezhou. The gate guards merely gave them an indifferent glance, almost without pausing before slipping away elsewhere; the long peace has made the guards lose even basic vigilance.

Zhou Tutor

Hu Xiaotian secretly sighed how strange this world is; his father's reason for taking advantage of a fire to loot is still because of him—originally he had betrothed himself to a daughter of the Zhou family, but later Zhou Ruizhen, upon learning he was an idiot, regretted the marriage, and his father took this as a deep grudge.

Hu Xiaotian does not harbor such deep hatred toward the Zhou family, after all, his present self is completely different from his past—no one would willingly give their daughter to a deaf-mute idiot.

Zhou Mansion

According to Hu Xiaotian's thinking, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse; even though Zhou Ruizhen has been stripped of office and reduced to commoner status, having once been a top-ranking official of the court, he wouldn't live in such an ordinary civilian house. Unless, after suffering setbacks, he decided to lie low in the city, temporarily reining in his ambitions and political aspirations to become an ordinary petty citizen.

The three stood before this utterly ordinary gate, hesitating a moment before Hu Xiaotian finally knocked on the door; there wasn't even a gatekeeper outside, and for a former top-ranking official to have fallen to this state could be considered shabby. Qiqi this little girl—no one knows what connection she has with the Zhou family, why she would go to such trouble to come seek refuge with them. Thinking of Ande Quan, the Senior Eunuch, Hu Xiaotian grew ever more certain that Qiqi had close ties to the imperial family; although he was curious, he had no intention of probing deeper, for the various pursuits they had encountered along the way because of Qiqi had already proven that a tremendous conspiracy surely surrounded this girl, and Hu Xiaotian did not want to provoke trouble voluntarily. Politics is not something ordinary people can afford to play with—it's too exhausting; in both his past and present lives, Hu Xiaotian has lacked interest in politics.

After waiting a long while at the gate, someone finally came to open the door—a middle-aged mute. Seeing that Hu Xiaotian and his two companions were strangers, he gestured for a long time. Although Hu Xiaotian had once been a medical doctor, he did not understand sign language, and Murong Feiyan and Qiqi were likewise ignorant; all three stared dumbfounded. Murong Feiyan, somewhat bewildered, said to Qiqi, 'Could we have come to the wrong place?'

Qiqi bit her lip, seeming equally at a loss before the situation.

Just as they were puzzled, a gentle voice from inside the courtyard called out, 'Ah Fu, are there guests at the house?'

The mute nodded and turned back; from the doorway the group saw a middle-aged beautiful woman in plain clothes and a hairpin of twigs walking slowly over. She was in her forties, with a kind countenance and dignified appearance, though her temples were already streaked with white hair. Although she dressed plainly, her bearing and demeanor showed she was no ordinary countrywoman.

The mute stepped aside, and the middle-aged beautiful woman came to the door, glanced at the three, and smiled, 'May I ask what brings you here?' She had never seen any of them before, which was why she asked.

Hu Xiaotian cleared his throat and made a respectful bow, 'Madam…'

Upon hearing him address her that way, the middle-aged beautiful woman immediately corrected him, 'Sir, although I am not young, I have never married.'

Hu Xiaotian instantly felt embarrassed—apparently this woman was an older unmarried maiden, and he had misjudged her; unintentionally calling her 'madam' had offended her. He hurriedly apologized, 'Miss… I spoke rashly, I spoke rashly.'

Seeing his embarrassment, the middle-aged beautiful woman couldn't help but laugh; her face lit up with liveliness, her eyes sparkling, her radiance captivating—it was easy to imagine that in her youth she must have been stunningly beautiful, and though her bloom had faded, some charm remained. She said softly, 'You don't need to call me Miss; given my age I could be your elder, so you may call me Aunt. I just don't know what brings you all to my home.'

Hu Xiaotian and Murong Feiyan both turned their gazes to Qiqi; they had thought that delivering Qiqi here would settle everything, but they hadn't expected that no one here knew her.

From Qiqi's expression it seemed she didn't recognize those two either; she blinked and asked, 'May I ask if this is the residence of Grand Tutor Zhou?'

The middle-aged beautiful woman shook her head and said, 'There is no Grand Tutor Zhou here! You all had better go back.' As she said this, her expression turned somewhat cold. ********************************************** Birthday, asking for votes, asking for blessings!

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