Surviving in the General's Mansion - Chapter 34

Chapter 34: The Zhao Family

By the time Xia Heng and Chuqing watched Wude finish his third bowl of rice, neither of them could sit still any longer.

“Wude, um… maybe stop eating for now.”

Wude halted mid-step on his way to ask Uncle Xiang for a fourth bowl of rice.

Chuqing pulled him back and patted his stomach.

“Aren’t you stuffed? That was your third bowl! How did you manage to eat so much?”

Wude shyly lowered his bowl. His little hands clutched the hem of his clothes, and his face flushed red.

“Did Wude eat too much?”

Xia Heng hurriedly said, “No, no. Big Sister is just worried that eating too much first thing in the morning will be hard to digest and hurt your stomach.”

Wude blinked his big eyes and replied, “It won’t! Back at the temple, Wude was always the one who ate the most, so I usually got my food last. That way, I could just take away all the rice that was left.

“The abbot and my senior brothers said Wude is still little and growing. And since I practice martial arts, I use up a lot of energy! Once I grow up, I won’t eat so much anymore.”

Chuqing stared, completely dumbfounded.

In Xia Heng’s mind, a whole lineup of classic little Shaolin monk images flashed past-young ancient detectives, Wulong Courtyard, and the like.

A genius? A prodigy monk???

“Your master was right!”

Chef Xiang came over with the rice bucket in hand, beginning his daily “just a little more” routine.

He had discovered that ever since he started doing this, the public kitchen had far fewer leftovers.

As a bonus, he got to train his arm strength. Even tossing a wok had become much easier!

He added a loosely filled bowl of rice for Wude and said kindly, “It’s fine, Wude. Eat up! Uncle Xiang has plenty here. Just don’t stuff yourself too full, all right?”

Wude’s eyes shone. He thanked Chef Xiang, then returned to his seat and continued eating with his head down, occasionally picking up a chopstick or two of vegetarian dishes.

Before Xia Heng and Chuqing could react, half a bowl of rice had also appeared in each of their bowls.

A miscalculation. They really shouldn’t have indulged Chef Xiang before…

But as they watched Wude eat one bite after another with such relish, the two of them suddenly felt that maybe they could manage it after all.

=========

Zhao Die and Zhao Siyan were kneeling in Tingtao Courtyard.

Their colds had not yet fully healed, and now their bodies trembled uncontrollably.

But more than the cold, it was fear.

These past few days, they had known that Qiulin and Xia Heng were helping handle accounts in the main courtyard.

They were so busy they were practically impossible to find.

Cang Chuli was even worse. He and his two young attendants seemed as if they wished they could eat and sleep in the study every day.

At first, the sisters had been somewhat envious. But after seeing Qiulin’s and Xia Heng’s dark circles grow worse by the day, all they felt was relief.

Only today did the sisters learn that what those people had been investigating recently were the Ministry of Revenue’s account books!

And the person they wanted to bring down was their father-Zhao Fan!

“General, this servant’s father has been wronged…”

Zhao Die’s voice was hoarse. She did not actually know whether her father had been wronged, but at this moment, it felt as though these were the only words she could say.

If their father’s principal wife had not sent someone to pass them a message today, they would not even have known that their family home had already been surrounded by the Imperial Guard. People were allowed in, but no one was allowed out.

Their father’s principal wife had told them to beg Cang Chuli for mercy, to whisper into his ear like favored bedmates.

Zhao Die stared dazedly at the door to Cang Chuli’s room.

But they had never shared a bed with Cang Chuli at all! Would their pleading even be of any use?

Click.

The door to Cang Chuli’s bedchamber opened from the inside.

The young general was wrapped in a fox-fur cloak, truly so handsome it was almost unreal.

Zhao Die felt as if her fever had muddled her brain completely.

After kneeling for four hours, she had finally seen the person she wanted to see, yet she had no idea what to say.

Watching him walk toward her one step at a time, Zhao Die licked her cracked lips and prostrated herself on the ground.

“General, this servant’s father has been wronged.”

“Wronged?

“The Ministry of Revenue’s account books clearly record several transactions where money went out but none came in. The amounts just so happen to match exactly what the Emperor allocated to the Zhenbei Army, and your father’s official seal is stamped right on them. And you’re telling me he was wronged?”
Zhao Die lifted her head and looked at the person before her.

“It was clearly the Zhenbei Army’s military pay, yet it was handed out elsewhere to fatten other soldiers and horses?

“Do you know what it feels like to go hungry?

“Do you know my Zhenbei Army never should have suffered so many casualties? They should have lived to return in triumph with me.”

Zhao Die wanted to say she knew. She had known since she was little. But the words would not come.

Even though she was only a sheltered young lady raised in the inner quarters, she knew who it was that kept Huaxia safe.

“Have you forgotten why your father sent you to the General’s Mansion?”

Zhao Die’s mind went completely blank. Beside her, Zhao Siyan trembled like a leaf.

Cang Chuli paid them no further attention. He walked around the two of them and went straight out the door.

Mo Bai gave a cold “hmph” and followed after his master.

Uncle Zhao looked at the two girls still frozen in place, then limped forward.

“Go back.”

Zhao Die finally came back to herself. Slowly, she bent down.

Her forehead struck the cold floor.

Tears fell in great drops.

“Thank you, General.”

Yes. She had nearly forgotten. Their father had sent them to the General’s Mansion to act as spies.

She had wanted to break away from the Zhao Family for a long time. She had thought that as long as she could attach herself to the general, she would be able to bring her mother out when the time came. Who cared what that old man said?

Before then, she would just pass back a few scraps of information to fool him…

But there was no chance now. As that thought struck her, Zhao Die suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed onto the icy cobblestone ground.

Zhao Siyan struggled to carry the feverish, unconscious Zhao Die back, though she herself was on the verge of collapse.

All of a sudden, the weight on her back lightened. Forcing herself to focus, she saw only the back of a man.

Then someone steadied her as well. Before she could see who it was, her vision blurred, and she knew nothing more.

Deputy General Zhang and Zhao Fu were patrolling with the personal guards when, from a distance, they spotted a frail young woman staggering along with another frail young woman on her back.

One glance at their figures was enough to tell them it was the two Zhao Family sisters.

Their general had never ordered anything to be done with the sisters, so the two men had planned to go over, lend a hand, and send them back while keeping a closer eye on them.

Who would have thought that before one of them could even be sent back, the other would collapse too?

In the end, each man had to carry one of them, hauling them back to the courtyard like sacks of sand.

Xia Heng was helping in the communal kitchen, boiling hot water while also peeling garlic and shaving the skin off radishes.

Ever since the last time she had volunteered to help chop vegetables, Chef Xiang had never let her touch a kitchen knife again.

His exact words had been that even a pig would find the pieces she cut too big to swallow.

When Deputy General Zhang came to find her, the radish in her hand was still only half peeled.

After hearing Deputy General Zhang explain the situation, Xia Heng told Chef Xiang and then returned to the small courtyard with a jar of ginger-and-scallion drink.

“Tsk. I said it, didn’t I? Skin and bones like that-how could they possibly be healthy?”

Chef Xiang muttered to himself as he chopped away with loud thunks.

By the time Xia Heng and Qiulin returned, Zhao Fu had already invited the mansion physician over.

Doctor Sun took one girl’s pulse with one hand while stroking his beard with the other.

After he finished with one, he moved on to the other.

Xia Heng set the jar on the table, folded her arms, and waited off to the side.

Qiulin also leaned against the wall with her arm still suspended, quietly waiting for the doctor to finish.

“Their wind-cold had yet to clear, and today they were chilled again. It has become more serious.”

“I will write a new prescription. Have the medicine prepared and decocted, then give it to them and let them rest properly.

“That water of yours can be given to them once they wake up.”

Doctor Sun had smelled that pungent aroma from a long way off.

Since ancient times, ginger had been one kind of traditional medicine, mainly used to dispel dampness and cold. This girl had thrown ginger and scallions together at random, but by sheer luck, she had hit on something useful.

“You can add some brown sugar as well.”

Xia Heng nodded repeatedly, indicating that she understood.

Qiulin followed Doctor Sun back to get the medicine.