The craftsmen the village headman had found arrived at Shen Ning’s house the next day.
After taking a general look around, Laotie, the head of the craftsmen, told Shen Ning that the roof leaked because it had gone too long without repairs. In fact, the walls and timber were still quite sturdy, so the work would not take long. Ten days would be enough to finish everything.
Shen Ning breathed a sigh of relief, then moved her bedding into the woodshed in the courtyard.
The woodshed was small, but it could barely keep out the wind and rain. She would make do with it for ten days.
They would begin by repairing two rooms. Once those were finished, she and Xiao Nanchen would move into them separately, and only then would the other rooms be repaired. Otherwise, they would have nowhere to live at all.
On the first day, Shen Ning supervised the entire time. After inspecting the craftsmen’s work and the timber, bricks, tiles, and other materials they had brought, she finally set her mind at ease after confirming that there were no problems.
Her only requirement was that the repairs be sturdy and neat. In addition, she had the kitchen and toilet remodeled. The old stove was far too dilapidated, and the toilet was even more indescribable.
She drew a simple diagram and had the carpenter make several small items along with a large wooden barrel. She planned to have a simple flush toilet installed for herself.
The septic tank would be placed in the rear courtyard. There happened to be two vegetable plots there, which could be used for watering the vegetables.
The carpenter found the things she had drawn very novel. After asking her to explain them clearly, he thumped his chest and assured her that there would be no problem at all.
Early the next morning, Shen Ning prepared a meal for Xiao Nanchen. She kept it warm in the pot along with some sugar-filled baked flatbreads, then took the white sugar and headed for the county town.
By her reckoning, she now had more than seventy taels of silver in hand. Ten taels would be more than enough to repair the house, which meant she would still have over sixty taels left.
For an ordinary farming family, that would absolutely be a fortune. But Shen Ning was different. She had too many things she wanted to do and certainly could not let money tie her hands and feet.
There was no need to hurry, though. She would take things one step at a time.
At the village entrance, she spent three copper coins to ride in an ox cart. By the time it creaked and swayed all the way to the county town, there were already plenty of people in the streets.
Shen Ning went straight to Rongkang Store. The shop assistant was still Xiaobaiyan, the same one as last time. When he saw her, he froze for a moment, then asked in surprise, “You really came?”
Shen Ning looked at him oddly. “I said I’d come sell white sugar after three days.”
Xiaobaiyan gave her a suspicious look, then walked over and lifted the cloth covering her basket. When he saw the white sugar inside the wooden box, he froze again. The next moment, he swiftly covered the basket, grabbed Shen Ning by the arm, and dragged her through the door beside the counter.
“Come, come, come. Our honored guest, let’s speak inside.”
For a moment, Shen Ning felt as if she had been dragged into a VIP room while shopping at a mall.
Xiaobaiyan had completely changed from his earlier perfunctory attitude and now seemed exceptionally enthusiastic. “Honored guest, please have some tea. I’ll go fetch our shopkeeper.”
Before long, footsteps sounded. Xiaobaiyan entered through the door at the rear and turned around to bow. “Shopkeeper, the honored guest is here.”
Shen Ning set down her teacup and looked up. A young woman in a smoke-purple, narrow-sleeved vest, her hair arranged in a married woman’s coiffure, walked over. Her expression was gentle and amiable.
“Is this the young lady who wishes to sell white sugar?”
Shen Ning hummed in reply and gestured toward the basket on the table beside her. “It’s all there. Shopkeeper, you may inspect it.”
The female shopkeeper walked over and removed the cloth. When she saw the frost-white sugar in the wooden box, her eyes lit up as well. After a pause, she dipped her finger into some and tasted it, then covered the box again and said directly, “Name your price.”
Shen Ning asked, “Wasn’t it one tael of silver for one tael of sugar?”
The female shopkeeper smiled. “That is indeed the usual price. However, your white sugar is of excellent quality, and there is so much of it… How about this? You have a little less than eight catties of white sugar here. I’ll pay you eighty taels. How does that sound?”
Shen Ning smiled brightly. “Then thank you, Shopkeeper.”
The female shopkeeper shook her head with a smile. “I’m the one who should be thanking you. This is a rare commodity. My name is Su Lianyi. If you have any more white sugar in the future, I’ll take as much as you have.”
Shen Ning already knew how rare white sugar was and did not want to invite trouble. She smiled and said, “Where would I get any more? Even this much was given by relatives in the capital to the elders of our family.”
Su Lianyi smiled. “It needn’t be anything else in particular. If you come across any rare goods, you may come find me. I will certainly give you a fair price. May I ask how I should address you?”
Shen Ning had a very good impression of the female shopkeeper. “My surname is Shen.”
While Shen Ning was speaking with Su Lianyi, the shopkeeper of Rongkang Store, two tall men on horseback, covered in dust and frost from the road, entered Qingyuan Village.
“What do you mean, alive you must see the person, dead you must see the corpse? There are so many bodies, trampled by horses and burned by fire. How could anyone still make out their original features? Didn’t they already find the body?”
One of them grumbled in a low voice, his eyes full of impatience.
The other man’s expression was solemn. “Given that person’s status, position, and reputation, his life or death is naturally of extraordinary importance. Forget it. If they tell us to search, then we’ll search. In any case, the various groups are only going through the motions… They even found the Split-Ice Armor. Naturally, the corpse belongs to that person. Who else could it be?”
“Exactly. All right, we’ve been traveling all night. Let’s find a household and have breakfast before we continue back. When the time comes, we’ll simply say that we found no clues.”
“Villager, we’re passing through and would like to buy some food. Would you be willing to accommodate us?”
The two stopped outside a household and took out a piece of broken silver.
It was rare for the villagers to see such tall, fine horses. Moreover, it was obvious at a glance that the two men were no ordinary people. The villager being addressed did not dare refuse them, especially since they were offering silver, and hurriedly agreed.
The two men tied their horses to the large tree outside the gate and entered the villager’s courtyard. They did not go any farther inside, instead sitting directly in the courtyard just inside the entrance, where they could see their horses outside.
The farmer’s wife was already busy in the kitchen, while the farmer went to the chicken coop and caught a hen to stew for the two gentlemen.
Just then, an astonished voice sounded outside the gate. “Huh? Whose horses are these?”
Shen Qingsong, Shen Ning’s male cousin, happened to be passing by with several loafing companions. When they saw the imposing tall horses, their eyes immediately lit up. They crowded around and reached out to touch them.
At that moment, a shout came from inside the courtyard gate.
“Get lost!”
Shen Qingsong immediately wanted to curse back, but when he turned around and saw that the other man was tall and powerfully built, dressed all in black, with a sword hanging at his side, he instantly lost his nerve.
He did not dare say a word. He merely muttered under his breath as he turned away with his companions. After they had taken only a few steps, however, they saw Xiao Nanchen sitting at the entrance of the courtyard and immediately found a target for their frustration.
“That idiot dared to hit someone last time. Come on, let’s teach him a proper lesson!”
The group of loafers charged over with loud laughter, intending to bully Xiao Nanchen the same way as before.
Xiao Nanchen was holding a sugar-filled baked flatbread in both hands and eating it with complete satisfaction. It was sweet and fragrant—so delicious…
When he saw the group charging toward him, he swiftly tucked his hands behind his back.
“What are you hiding? Take it out!” Shen Qingsong shouted with a mocking laugh.
One of the men beside him rushed over and tried to pin Xiao Nanchen down.
But this time, Xiao Nanchen remembered Shen Ning’s instruction to fight back. He charged headfirst at the approaching man and grappled with him. He was strong, but had no technique. Two fists could not withstand four hands, and one of his legs was still useless. Before long, they had him pinned down.
Not far away, the two soldiers disguised as horseback travelers heard the commotion and walked out of the courtyard to watch. When they saw that it was merely a group of country bumpkins fighting, they immediately watched with mocking amusement.
“They’re like a pack of wild dogs…” one of them sneered with a laugh.
But at that moment, his smile froze. First he stared in disbelief, then suddenly seized his companion.
“Seventh Brother, look. Quickly, look at that man.”
His companion followed his pointing hand, and his expression stiffened as well.
“Does he look like him?”
“T-too much like him…”
That face truly looked extraordinarily similar. Yet when the two men saw the man’s shabby clothes and disheveled appearance, they simply could not believe it. They called the villager inside the house out instead.
“Who is that man over there, the one being held down?”
The villager bent respectfully at the waist. “That’s Zhao Nan from our village. He’s an idiot…”
So he really was a villager from this place—and an idiot at that.
The two men breathed a sigh of relief, but their hearts remained full of suspicion. After all, how could there be someone in the world who looked so much like another person?
They had once served under Prince Ding for two months and had been fortunate enough to see that exalted Prince Ding of Great Xuan from afar once.
How could this idiot look so much like Prince Ding?
When they saw the idiot use brute force to knock down several people around him, the two exchanged a glance and decided to approach and investigate.
Almost at the same moment, the idiot seemed to have been frightened. He suddenly charged toward them, limping awkwardly, looking both wretched and pitiful.
The loafers behind him shouted, “Catch him!”
The idiot ran past the two men. At such close range, that face looked even more similar…
Only his frightened yet ferocious, muddled eyes were utterly different from those of Prince Ding.
That man had the eyes and bearing of an eagle and a wolf. How could he possibly be this innocent and muddle-headed?
Even so, it would be better to confirm it, just to be safe.
The two men stepped forward and directly blocked the group of loafers. Shen Qingsong was a typical bully of the weak. He came to an abrupt halt and did not dare advance any farther. He muttered, “We were only joking around with the idiot. What’s it to you?”
“Get lost!”
Shen Qingsong gritted his teeth and snorted. “Fine, we’ll get lost!”
Ahead of them, Xiao Nanchen seemed to have been startled. He sprinted away, running straight into the mountains.
Once he entered the mountain forest, he abruptly darted into the grass. Using it as cover, he continued deeper into the mountains, his eyes already filled with icy menace.
The instant his consciousness had returned, he had already faced the two men directly. From their expressions, he knew they had recognized him. But judging from how surprised they were, they had probably encountered him by chance rather than having found any clue.
After all, Xinzhou was utterly opposite from the place where he had disappeared after something had happened to him. Whether they were people who wanted to kill him or people searching for him, they would not think of coming this way within such a short time.
Therefore, if he dealt with them directly, he should be able to live peacefully for a while longer.
Soon, the two men rode after him into the mountains. But before long, they discovered that the idiot they had still been able to see moments ago had vanished.
They tightened their reins and looked around. After a moment, the horses that had been pacing in place suddenly grew uneasy. They repeatedly snorted, anxiously swishing their tails and turning in circles.
The two men suddenly felt a chill creep over them, as if they were being watched by some wild beast.
Sensing something, they abruptly turned around. Both men felt their spines go cold.
Not far away, a figure stood silently before them. The wretched and comical idiot from earlier was simply looking at them, his gaze calm and icy…
……
After getting off the ox cart, Shen Ning carried her things home. She had bought some new ingredients, and she had also gone to the blacksmith’s shop to pick up the surgical knives and other items she had ordered. Both of her hands were full.
But when she arrived home, she discovered that Xiao Nanchen was nowhere to be seen. She hurriedly went to ask the craftsmen working in the courtyard.
After learning from them that Shen Qingsong had brought people to tease Xiao Nanchen, Shen Ning went straight to her uncle’s house. When she entered the courtyard, she saw that the entire family was eating.
Dong Chunhua hurriedly covered the plate of scrambled eggs with the sieve used for holding steamed buns before looking up at Shen Ning.
“Shen Ning, what is it?”
Shen Dacheng, Shen Ning’s paternal uncle, looked bewildered and timid. He fumbled about helplessly, unable to get a word out.
Shen Ning looked at Shen Qingsong. “Where did you take A-Nan?”
Shen Qingsong shouted unhappily, “That idiot hit a lump onto my head and then ran off himself. Who knows where he went? You didn’t pay me any silver to look after that idiot.”
Then he chuckled. “Maybe he ran into the mountains and a tiger dragged him away…”
Bang!
Shen Ning slammed her palm down on the table, then reached out and grabbed Shen Qingsong, dragging him outside.
“You were the one who went to my house and hit him. Now you’re coming with me to find him. If we can’t find him, I’ll drag you off to feed the tiger too.”
Dong Chunhua panicked. “Hey, you dead girl, what are you doing… Ah! How dare you push me? Ow, my back!”
Shen Qingsong tried to struggle, but he unexpectedly failed to break free. Seeing the icy expression on Shen Ning’s face, he realized that she was truly furious and hurriedly shouted, “I really didn’t hide him! He ran toward the foot of the mountain. Right, those two men riding the big horses seemed to chase after him to watch the excitement. They had knives with them. Maybe they killed the idiot!”
Shen Ning’s movements froze.
She suddenly remembered a plot point mentioned in the book.
The general idea was that assassins happened to pass by and see Xiao Nanchen. Then, with my king’s unparalleled schemes, he lured the assassins into the mountains and killed them despite his injuries, only to be left gravely wounded and on the verge of death.
As fate would have it, the supporting female character, Li Yushi, encountered Xiao Nanchen early one morning while gathering medicinal herbs. She treated him and saved his life, thereby becoming the future Emperor Jingyong’s savior.
Shen Ning shoved Shen Qingsong aside and turned to leave.
Shen Qingsong fell to the ground with a thud. Dong Chunhua cried out in alarm and hurriedly went to help her precious son up, not forgetting to shout abuse at Shen Ning’s retreating back.
“You dead girl! With strength like that, why don’t you go plow the fields instead…”