Meng Guanqi immediately lifted the curtain and climbed out of the carriage. He even stumbled when he landed, and A Sheng quickly caught him.
Steward Zhao looked through the lifted curtain, only to find the carriage completely empty. Shocked, he dismounted at once and asked, “Young Master, where is the physician?”
A trace of grief flashed through Meng Guanqi’s eyes, and tears welled up in them. He opened his mouth but did not know what to say.
A Sheng said indignantly, “The physicians in the prefectural city have gone too far. Young Master and I practically begged every physician in every medical clinic there, but not a single one was willing to come with us. Even when we offered a hefty sum, they still refused!”
Steward Zhao’s heart sank into an abyss. Having stayed by Magistrate Meng’s side for so long, he had seen far more of the world than these young men. He could immediately tell that someone had deliberately made things difficult for them.
It was already obvious who that person was.
Thinking back on what they had gone through over the past two days, A Sheng was so angry that he was nearly in tears. “In the end, Young Master knelt outside Prefect Song’s residence and begged him to see him. He knelt there for four whole hours, but Prefect Song never even showed himself. It must have been him. He must have ordered the physicians in the prefectural city not to come and treat our magistrate.”
Meng Guanqi had eventually fainted from kneeling, yet not a single person had come out of Prefect Song’s residence. A Sheng and the coachman, had no choice but to help Young Master back to the inn.
After Meng Guanqi woke up, he knew there was no hope of getting help. He was also afraid that something might happen to Magistrate Meng if he stayed away for too long, so he set off through the night and hurried back.
When Meng Guanqi saw Steward Zhao and one of his father’s personal attendants coming out together, he could no longer concern himself with the physician. “Steward Zhao, where are you going? How is Father now?”
Steward Zhao covered the memorial tucked against his chest and forced back the tears in his eyes. “Master has written a memorial and ordered me to personally deliver it to the capital. Young Master, hurry back. Stay by the magistrate’s side and take good care of him.”
Meng Guanqi’s expression changed drastically. He cupped his hands toward Steward Zhao in farewell. “Steward, take care on the way. I’ll go back immediately.”
Yu Dayong immediately urged the horse forward, and the carriage sped toward the county seat like a flying arrow.
Steward Zhao wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. “A Jian, let’s go.”
Zhao Jian answered in a low voice, mounted his horse, and galloped away.
The eldest young master is back!
Liu Zhi rushed back to the main courtyard as fast as she could to report. “Madam, the eldest young master is back!”
Madam Liu and Granny Qi were overjoyed and hurried out to greet him. Before they had even left the courtyard, they saw Meng Guanqi, dusty and exhausted from the journey, rushing toward them.
Seeing how exhausted Madam Liu looked, Meng Guanqi’s heart ached, and tears slipped from his eyes. He lifted his robe and knelt down. “Mother…”
When Madam Liu saw that there was no one behind Meng Guanqi and that dark circles had formed beneath his eyes, how could she not understand what had happened? She suppressed the ache in her heart, helped him up, and looked at him with concern. “You must be exhausted from the journey. Go wash up first, then come see your father.”
Meng Guanqi felt slightly relieved. Since his mother was still telling him to go wash up, it seemed that his father’s condition had not yet reached its worst. That was at least good news. He answered softly and returned to his bedroom.
During this period, because Magistrate Meng had fallen ill, he had moved back into the inner courtyard for the convenience of caring for him.
A Sheng went to the kitchen to fetch water.
The water on the kitchen stove could not be allowed to stop boiling. When Mama Mao saw A Sheng return, she was overjoyed. “A Sheng! You’re back! Did you manage to find a physician?”
A Sheng shook his head dejectedly. “Mama Mao, Young Master just got back and needs to wash up. I came to fetch some water.”
Mama Mao was startled. “H-How could you not find a physician?”
A Sheng had no choice but to recount Meng Guanqi’s ordeal all over again, wiping away his tears as he spoke. “Young Master suffered such a terrible humiliation. He was afraid of wasting time and didn’t dare stay in the prefectural city for long, so he hurried back.”
Mama Mao clenched her fists in anger. “Those damn people who look down on others! They even refused to let us hire a physician.”
But immediately afterward, worry filled her heart. Without a skilled physician from the prefectural city, what were they going to do about Master’s illness?
Li Xiaoxiao listened for a long time before finally understanding. So it was this Prefect Song who had interfered. He had actually forbidden the physicians in the prefectural city from coming to treat Magistrate Meng?
Even in the apocalypse, the strong would not prevent the weak from seeking medical treatment as long as the patient could afford the medical fees.
Only then did Li Xiaoxiao realize that some of the people in positions of power in this primitive society truly did not regard human lives as important at all. The magistrate of an entire county wanted to hire a good physician from the prefectural city, yet even that could be blocked by his superior.
If an ordinary person offended someone in power, what would happen to them?
She instantly felt that this era was not entirely good either. The single word “power” could actually stand above human life. In the eyes of those in power, human lives were truly as worthless as grass.
Did this Prefect Song have a blood feud with Magistrate Meng? Why else would he stop the physicians from the prefectural city from coming to treat him?
It was simply outrageous!
What Li Xiaoxiao did not know was that as soon as Prefect Song learned that Magistrate Meng had taken in refugees without authorization and opened the granaries to distribute grain, he had angrily written a memorial and sent it to the capital, impeaching Magistrate Meng in the harshest terms.
He was the prefect of Lin’an City and Magistrate Meng’s direct superior. Magistrate Meng had undertaken this action without obtaining his approval. If something went wrong and the matter was investigated, he, as the superior, would also have to bear responsibility.
Therefore, he had first impeached Magistrate Meng. One reason was to shift the blame, and another was to demonstrate his own impartiality and selflessness so that the punishment would not fall on him.
As for this troublesome magistrate, he would have been more than happy if he died immediately so that the whole matter could be written off. Why would he ever allow physicians from the prefectural city to cure him?
That was why Prefect Song would never meet anyone from the Meng family. Even if Meng Guanqi knelt to death outside his residence, if he were questioned about it later, he could still shift all responsibility away with the excuse that his servants had been ignorant and no one had informed him.
Besides, he had secretly instructed the physicians at the medical clinics not to treat Magistrate Meng. The Meng family had no evidence. If they dared to spread such accusations recklessly, he would not hesitate to punish them severely on the grounds of “slandering an imperial official.”
After Magistrate Meng died, the Meng family would have only this one son left, and he even held an academic qualification. Would they dare throw an egg against a rock?
So, making things difficult for Magistrate Meng was as easy for Prefect Song as lifting a finger. He was not afraid of retaliation from the Meng family in the slightest. Once he had sent the memorial, he considered the troublesome burden to have been thrown away. Not stepping on him again was already generous enough. It was absolutely impossible for him to help him.
Seeing A Sheng, a child of barely ten, struggling to carry a bucket back, Li Xiaoxiao reached out and took it from him. “I’ll do it.”
A Sheng breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Li Xiaoxiao enviously as she carried a bucket in each hand and strode along effortlessly.
When would he ever have that much strength?
After entering the west side room, Li Xiaoxiao put the water into the bathing room and secretly glanced at the young man sitting motionless at the table. A gloomy aura seemed to emanate from his entire body.
A boy of thirteen or fourteen was at the age when he was growing rapidly. The eldest young master looked much thinner than when she had first met him, and his clothes hung loosely from his body.
Meng Guanqi was resting with his eyes closed.
Three consecutive days of rushing about, combined with anxiety and worry, had left him completely exhausted. After finally reaching Lin’an Prefecture City, he had encountered obstruction and humiliation at every turn. The humiliation itself was one thing, but what had dealt him the greatest blow was that even after kneeling until his knees were raw, he had still been unable to find a good physician for his father.
The hand resting at his side unconsciously clenched tightly, his knuckles turning pale with a bluish tinge.
Over the past six months, the family had suddenly suffered one disaster after another, each blow arriving before he had even had time to recover from the previous one, leaving him almost no time to react.
Because his father was a concubine-born son, with a mild temperament and no desire to compete or fight, there was only one wife, one concubine, and a pair of children in the inner household. The intrigues and struggles of a great household had basically nothing to do with him.
As a result, Meng Guanqi had grown up in a peaceful and harmonious environment. His legitimate uncles were all accomplished in their own ways, leaving him little pressure to distinguish himself. Following his father’s advice, he never sought to stand out in his studies, remaining merely average among his many male cousins.
Therefore, his grandfather and grandmother, who were the heads of the family, did not pay much attention to their branch. However, because his father held a moderately important official position at court, they did not make things difficult for them either. They simply ignored them.
As a grandson, he only needed to pay his respects to the elders on the first and fifteenth days of each month and during major festivals. The rest of the time, he simply lived his quiet little life.
He entered school at six and became a xiucai at thirteen. He had never lacked food or clothing, nor had he ever needed to openly fight or compete with anyone. This had shaped Meng Guanqi’s relatively simple personality.
He had never imagined that after his father suddenly fell into disgrace, his grandfather and all his legitimate uncles would expel their branch from the family with such overwhelming speed. Even after he had boarded the carriage taking his father to his new post, he still had not fully recovered from the shock.
If he, as a grandson, had been struck this hard, one could imagine how devastating it had been for his parents, who had borne the brunt of it.
After arriving at this impoverished county office, the miserable journey had not stopped. His father had fallen gravely ill, and they had even been reduced to a state where they could not beg a single physician from the prefectural city to treat him.
This was going too far!
If he were still in the Meng residence in the capital…
He abruptly dismissed the thought because it was already completely meaningless.
The capital’s Meng family had driven them out at such a heartless time. They had already severed all ties with his family and had nothing to do with them anymore. Here, he could only rely on his father and himself.
Yet he had to admit that a higher-ranking official could crush a lower-ranking one. Without the Meng family as a powerful backer, a single word from a minor prefect could send his father to his death.
Qualifications for office. Power.
Never once had he felt that these two things were so important.
His family was now surrounded by enemies on all sides. Those with grievances against them sat securely in office at court, while his father had been demoted from a Ministry of Personnel official with real authority to this remote and impoverished county. It already meant that this was the end of his official career. Unless he achieved outstanding results in government, there was almost no possibility of his ever being restored to office.
The only solution Meng Guanqi could think of was to place first in the imperial examinations and enter the court as an official.
Only if he also managed to enter the court would there be a chance of returning this family, which was on the verge of collapse, to its former position.
It had always been easy to add flowers to brocade, but difficult to offer charcoal in the snow. It was better to rely on oneself than to beg others for help. Only by truly becoming strong could he have a voice, could he prevent these superiors, who looked down on everyone, from trampling on his dignity whenever they pleased!
He opened his eyes, a trace of resolve flashing through them, and once again tightened the hand resting at his side.
While he was deep in thought, he suddenly saw a maid carrying a bucket come out of the bedroom. He froze. “Y-You, what are you doing here?”
Ever since they had arrived in Miyang County, all the maids in his room had been sent away, leaving only male attendants.
Li Xiaoxiao lifted the bucket in her hand. “The water’s ready. You can take a bath now.”
Meng Guanqi recognized her as Li Xiaoxiao and frowned. “Why are you the one carrying the water? Where’s A Sheng?”
“A Sheng can’t carry water this heavy, so I brought it over for him.”
This was a wooden bucket, and even when wet but empty, each one weighed nearly ten jin. Once filled with water, it would weigh thirty or forty jin. A Sheng was only eleven years old. How could he possibly carry it?
…
You can grab the full book now on my Ko-fi page, available in both PDF and EPUB formats! 🖤
📎 Here’s the link to the full novel