“It’s a wheelchair? A wheelchair is no easy task to make.”
A carpenter, tapping and hammering away at various pieces of wood, raised a deeply wrinkled face. He squinted up and down at the blueprint handed to him by Xiao Changling.
Xiao Changling’s blueprint was exceptionally detailed, with the exact dimensions of every single component meticulously rendered in fine brushwork.
The finished appearance alongside section views of each disassembled detail looked far too professional to have been drawn by an amateur.
The carpenter flipped the Xuan paper back and forth, up and down several times. Finally, he shook his head and said, “The construction period for this is too long. I can’t take this on right now.”
Immediately, two silver ingots were placed onto the wooden workbench beside him, landing with a thud that caused the sawdust on top to fly up into the air.
The carpenter turned around in shock to find two fifty-tael silver ingots, totaling a full hundred taels of silver.
That was no small sum.
The carpenter instantly put down the work in his hands and scooped up the two silver ingots with both palms. Turning them over to inspect them thoroughly, he caught sight of the official inscriptions stamped upon them and stared in disbelief at the woman before him clad in a white fox-fur cloak.
Xiao Changling’s face was mostly concealed under the hood of her fox-fur cloak, rendering her features impossible to see clearly.
Trembling with apprehension, the carpenter picked up one of the silver ingots and tried to shove it back into Xiao Changling’s hand, saying, “One ingot is more than enough, more than enough! There is no need for so much money.”
Xiao Changling did not accept it. “Finish it as quickly as possible,” she said. “I need it by the day after tomorrow.”
“The day after tomorrow?!”
A look of complete bewilderment washed over the carpenter’s face. Under normal circumstances, crafting a wheelchair would take at least half a month.
Although he had plenty of apprentices, every one of them had other tasks on their hands. Being close to the border, some soldiers would come to him to polish weapons, not to mention orders from nearby residents, none of which were anything beyond making simple stools, tables, or door panels.
Now, with the end of the year approaching, his schedule was actually quite packed.
Yet, heavy, cold silver sat right in his hands.
Xiao Changling nodded slightly and said, “I must trouble you.”
“Of course, of course! No trouble at all!”
The carpenter immediately bowed at the waist, politely bowing and scraping as he saw her off. “Please rest assured, My Lady! I will definitely work overtime through the night to get your order built.”
Xiao Changling stood by the roadside. All around, soldiers were continuously passing by in search of traces of Ning Yan. In their hands were stacks of faded portraits; even if Ning Yan were to stand right in front of these soldiers now, they might not necessarily recognize her at a glance.
A woman with unpinned hair and no armor looked nothing like a general who slaughtered enemies on the battlefield; she looked far more like the ordinary wife of a common household raised on the border.
“You know what should be said, and what should not be said.”
Xiao Changling shot a side glance at the carpenter.
The carpenter immediately nodded and bowed, saying, “Yes, yes, yes. Rest assured, My Lady, I understand completely.”
Most of those who ordered custom work from him were people in the military, to say nothing of ordering something like a wheelchair. This lady was likely of highborn origin from some grand official’s family; her speech and demeanor were effortlessly elegant and noble.
She spoke with a natural authority that demanded obedience without needing to raise her voice. As a minor figure, the carpenter naturally knew how to keep a secret, terrified that a single slip-up might cost his entire family their lives.
Feeling the weight of the brocade pouch containing silver ingots and loose silver in her hand, Xiao Changling walked over to a pharmacy at the corner of the street.
She knocked her knuckles against the wooden door, and a young apothecary assistant immediately came to lift the wooden doorboard and welcome her inside.
“Welcome, customer!”
The young apothecary assistant blinked her eyes, as bright as purple grapes, and asked, “Where are you feeling unwell?”
The child’s voice was crisp and lively.
Xiao Changling’s expression softened slightly. She spoke softly, “I want to purchase some herbs.”
The young assistant raised his head in confusion and said, “Oh, alright! So you are here to buy herbs.”
It was currently the hour when the consultation hall closed its doors to patients. Unless someone was in a dire rush or suffering unbearable physical distress, no one would knock on the doors at this hour.
Xiao Changling did not buy pre-made wound-healing balms directly; instead, she only bought raw medicinal herbs.
She was cautious by nature and would not let outsiders know what medicine she intended to compound.
The herbs she bought today were merely tonics to nourish the body when taken individually. She purchased as many as five whole roots of ginseng alone.
The young assistant shrank beside his elder’s side, watching this extravagant customer who bought nearly eighty taels worth of medicinal ingredients in one go.
Nourishing luxuries like donkey-hide gelatin and bird’s nest, which were usually impossible to sell and constantly rejected by ordinary buyers for being too expensive, were merely weighed roughly in this noble guest’s hands, as if she were still dissatisfied with their insufficient quality.
The handsome lady’s brows were slightly furrowed, making everyone’s heart beat nervously for fear that she might look down upon the herbs in their small pharmacy.
“That will be all. Wrap them up for me.”
The pharmacy manager immediately stepped forward to carefully package these precious medicinal items one by one.
“Say, how did our town suddenly get someone so rich?”
A man dressed like a street thug muttered at the doorway.
Beside him, a man disguised as a beggar snorted twice through his nose: “She’s so pretty, she’s probably just some maidservant from the Princess’s Manor.”
At the mention of the Princess’s Manor, a look of contempt flickered in both of their eyes.
When Xiao Changling emerged from the consultation room carrying the medicine, a series of sharp, piercing gazes gathered on her back.
Her snow-white fox-fur cloak remained completely immaculate.
She did not even cast a glance at the people staring sharply behind her.
“Tch, and here I thought she was someone amazing. She’s nothing more than someone who couldn’t survive in the imperial palace and got chased out here. Her own master is useless, yet acting as a servant, she sure holds her head high.”
The man dressed as a thug sniffled and gulped down a mouthful of strong liquor, clearly mistaking Xiao Changling for a purchasing maidservant sent out from the Princess’s Manor.
“Say, the end of the year is coming soon, and our harvest this year hasn’t been good. We have to give an account to the boss somehow.”
……
Ning Yan stayed alone inside the room. Propping herself up with both arms, she struggled to move along the floor, her legs fixed in place by wooden splints.
Inside the dim room, the only sounds were the crackling of the charcoal fire and the howling north wind blowing outside.
There was not a single spot on Ning Yan’s body that did not hurt.
On top of the pain, there was a numb, tingling sensation, like ants gnawing away, crawling through the marrow of her bones.
When Xiao Changling pushed the door open, this was the scene that met her eyes.
A teacup lay shattered on the floor, and Ning Yan was using a cloth to wipe up the water stains on the ground.
Upon seeing the door open unexpectedly and the bright light streaming in from outside, Ning Yan’s pupils contracted violently.
She seemingly had not expected Xiao Changling to return so quickly; a momentary look of panic and hidden fear immediately flashed across her face.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t do it on purpose.”
Although this house looked simple and unpretentious, the tea set used inside was top-tier. Just like the woman before her, whose attire was entirely simple, she wore a white fox-fur cloak worth a thousand pieces of gold.
Xiao Changling’s brows instantly knit together tightly: “Who allowed you to get out of bed?”
Her low bark caused Ning Yan’s body to freeze instinctively.
That’s right, Xiao Changling had said she needed her to be good, and if she wasn’t good…
Ning Yan bit her lip tightly. Her fingertips turned white from exerting strength as she tightly clutched the cloth on the floor: “I wanted to get out of bed to drink some water, but I accidentally knocked it over.”
Xiao Changling looked at the shattered porcelain bowl on the ground, a trace of regret flashing through her eyes.
This porcelain bowl belonged to a set with the adjacent tea service, all of which she had brought out from the imperial palace.
Although she possessed no real power or influence, she was still an authentic princess after all. Even though she was banished to this place, she still had to maintain the dignity of the royal family; her food, clothing, and daily utensils were all of the finest quality, though her subsequent monthly allowance had been divided up by her subordinates.
Now that one tea bowl was smashed, the entire set could no longer be used as one.
Hearing no response from above, Ning Yan knelt on the floor, cold sweat oozing from her temples.
She had originally wanted to map out the layout of the room, but she had not expected to run right into Xiao Changling pushing the door open before she could finish investigating.
“I am sorry. It is my fault. Whether you wish to beat me or scold me, I am entirely at your disposal.”
As she spoke, Ning Yan lowered her head like a large dog that had done something wrong, looking utterly pitiable no matter how one looked at her.
Xiao Changling was annoyed by her sudden move out of bed and reached out to support her, but Ning Yan avoided her touch: “I can do it myself.”
Exerting force through both arms, Ning Yan hoisted her body back onto the bed.
Her long hair was half-dry, scattered loosely over her shoulders. In the flickering firelight, she truly embodied the beauty seen under the lamp; the more one looked, the more breathtaking she appeared.
It was a completely different kind of beauty from when she used to ride horses and gallop across the battlefield.
Xiao Changling could not help but take a couple extra looks.
Whatever anger had been in her heart dissolved into almost nothingness.
Just as her thoughts settled, a female physician carrying a medicine box lifted the door curtain and stepped inside, softly calling out, “Miss.”
Xiao Changling said to Ning Yan, “Unfasten your trousers.”
The person on the bed stiffened abruptly. She raised her head to look at Xiao Changling in complete disbelief, then immediately suppressed the vigilance and shame deep within her eyes.
Was this the punishment for not staying obediently in bed to wait for Xiao Changling’s return?
Ning Yan’s fingers pressed against her waistband, a blush spreading across her face in waves, her eyes filled with intense endurance.
“Must it really be like this?”
Xiao Changling stood to the side. The female physician was already kneeling on one knee on the floor to open the medicine box, revealing rows of golden needles lined up inside.
Ning Yan’s grip on her waistband tightened even further.
Two people… this was already beyond Ning Yan’s expectations and surpassed the limit of her endurance.
Right now, aside from praying that Xiao Changling would show her more mercy and tenderness, she had no other choice.
“Can I have only you?” Ning Yan raised her head, her eyelashes trembling slightly as she spoke. “You wouldn’t want… others to share me, would you?”
Wasn’t her position that of a favored concubine?
Xiao Changling frowned and said, “Hurry up and unfasten your trousers so I can have the doctor examine the injury on your leg. What strange nonsense are you talking about? I am no doctor, so how am I supposed to examine your injury?”
Ning Yan froze in astonishment.
Was it actually just to inspect her injury?