Surviving in the General's Mansion - Chapter 7: Washing Workshop

Chapter 7: Washing Workshop

“You may go back for now. I don’t need you to attend me at the moment.”

Cang Chuli seemed to be in a very bad mood. The moment he left the dungeon, he gave the order to dismiss her.

Xia Heng nodded in acknowledgment and stood where she was, waiting for him to leave.

Only after he was out of sight did Xia Heng lift her bewildered eyes…

Her mental map only extended as far as Tingtao Pavilion.

They had walked too quickly just now. She had only focused on keeping up with Cang Chuli and hadn’t memorized the way.

After wandering around by instinct for a while, Xia Heng finally ran into an older woman sweeping the ground with her head lowered.

Xia Heng hurried over to ask for directions. The woman listened carefully to what she said and looked her up and down, but she did not speak. She merely led Xia Heng to a main road, pointed ahead, and gestured for her to go that way.

Still a little confused, Xia Heng thanked her and followed the direction the woman had indicated. After walking down the road for some time, the surroundings finally began to feel familiar.

Wasn’t this the communal kitchen Chuqing had brought her to that morning?

It was still a little early, so the communal kitchen was probably preparing the midday meal. Wisps of smoke curled from the chimney above.

Relying on her memory, Xia Heng headed toward the main courtyard. Just as she reached the entrance, she happened to run into Chuqing coming out.

Xia Heng quickly explained what had happened.

“I see. That’s all right. Just do whatever the general tells you to do,” Chuqing said at once. “I was just about to go to the Washing Workshop to collect the general’s clothes. Come with me. I’ll show you the way while we’re at it.”

Xia Heng agreed, and the two of them left the courtyard together.

“That auntie you mentioned should be Uncle Zhao’s wife.”

Seeing Xia Heng look surprised, Chuqing smiled.

“Uncle Zhao used to be one of the Old Marquis’s subordinates. He followed the marquis into battle and fought the enemy. Later, after he married, Aunt Zhao followed him with the army and worked as a rough-service cook.

“To guard the grain, Aunt Zhao would sleep in the storehouse. But one time, spies from another country set fire to the storehouse.

“The storehouse was in a remote place. It wasn’t discovered by the patrol until the fire had already grown large.

“In the end, Uncle Zhao rushed in and rescued Aunt Zhao after she had passed out. But by then, Aunt Zhao had inhaled too much smoke, and afterward, she could no longer make a sound.

“Uncle Zhao inhaled smoke when he carried her out, too, and he was also struck by a falling beam. That’s why his legs aren’t very good now.

“But don’t ever bring this up in front of him!”

Chuqing fell silent for a moment.

“After that, Aunt Zhao couldn’t be around smoke anymore and couldn’t work in the kitchen, so the Old Marquis arranged for both Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao to come back and found them work in the residence.

“Many people in the manor retired from the battlefield. My father did, too,” Chuqing said softly.

“My father was wounded in the leg by the Tatars. After he returned to the capital, it was hard for him to find any other work. Fortunately, the Old Marquis was kind and took in many former subordinates like my father, giving families like ours a way to survive.”

Seeing Xia Heng listening so intently, Chuqing grew a little embarrassed.

“Look at me, why am I telling you all this? The next time you see Aunt Zhao, remember to greet her. She’s a very good person. When I was little, she even used to slip me snacks.”

“All right. I definitely will next time!”

Xia Heng felt a faint stir of emotion in her heart…

When they reached the Washing Workshop, it was like entering another world. A dozen or so women had tied their sleeves up with cloth strips.

In front of each woman were two large basins. Some scrubbed the clothing by hand, while others beat it with wooden paddles.

Once an item was clean, they placed it into the other empty basin.

Clothes hung all around on drying racks. Most were men’s garments, though there were also maid uniforms like the one Xia Heng was wearing.

Seeing Xia Heng and Chuqing come in, a woman who had been scrubbing away with sweat pouring down her face broke into a bright smile. In a loud voice, she called out, “Qingyatou, you’re here! Are you here to pick up the general’s everyday clothes? Perfect timing. The other pieces are dry, too! Take them all with you!”

“All right, Aunt Yang.”

Only then did Aunt Yang notice Xia Heng. Her eyes lit up, and she stopped what she was doing.

“Oh my, this girl is so pretty!”

“This is Miss Xia. She’s new to the manor. Like me, she serves the general!” Chuqing replied.

Xia Heng smiled and greeted Aunt Yang.

“Hello, Aunt Yang. You can just call me Ah Heng.”

“Ah Heng, is it? What a pretty girl. Are you betrothed yet?”

The woman beside Aunt Yang cut in.
“She’s the newcomer here, Sister Li. Don’t go scaring the poor girl!”

Aunt Yang turned and clicked her tongue at Aunt Li.

“Listen to you! I was just asking!”

The women doing the laundry immediately broke into a lively chorus of teasing. Chuqing took the opportunity to lead Xia Heng into the inner room.

A woman dressed in plain clothes spotted Chuqing and took several sets of clothing from the rack behind her before handing them over.

Chuqing accepted the clothes.

“Aunt Chen, this is Miss Xia. Like me, she’s one of the general’s maids. You’ll probably be seeing her often from now on.”

After the introduction, she turned to Xia Heng and said, “This is Aunt Chen, the manager of the Washing Workshop. If you need to pick up clothes in the future, just come to her.”

After Xia Heng greeted her, she followed Chuqing back the way they had come.

When they left, the aunties were still washing the clothes in their hands while gossiping away.

“The husbands of these aunties all serve under the general. They’re stationed at the border and don’t come home often. For the families who were truly struggling, the general arranged work for them here…”

On the way back, Xia Heng listened to Chuqing’s explanation while lifting her head to glance at the vivid blue sky.

Her hands slowly tightened around the men’s clothing in her arms.

It was a strange feeling, as though every character from the book had stepped out of the painted scroll.

They laughed and cried. They were flesh and blood. Every single one of them had their own story.

Perhaps from this moment on, Xia Heng could no longer treat them as simple NPCs…

Inside the study.

“That short blade was a military style.”

“You mean someone from the army?” Zhang Qiang asked gravely.

Cang Chuli pondered for a moment.

“Huaxia’s four armies, totaling four hundred thousand soldiers, all use the same style of weapon. The more common something is, the less likely it is to draw suspicion.”

He paused slightly there.

“Though the short blade is small, it still has some weight to it. It must have been forged from refined iron. Those inferior goods in the army can’t compare.”

At this point, a trace of mockery entered his tone.

“Investigate.”

“Yes, sir!”

Zhang Qiang answered at once.

The mastermind behind the scenes likely never would have imagined that while the weapons in Cang Chuli’s army looked no different from those used by Huaxia’s other three armies, they were, in reality, shoddy goods that someone had cut corners on.

Huaxia’s soldiers replaced their weapons once every three years.

Fortunately, every time Cang Chuli reported his weapon requirements, he always left himself some room and requested extra quantities. On top of that, the soldiers in the army cared for their weapons, and after several major victories in battle, they had seized some weapons from other nations. Though the collection was somewhat mismatched, at least they had not reached the point where they had no weapons to use.

This return to the capital was precisely to thoroughly investigate the secret replacement of the army’s weapons.

He had already reported the matter to the Emperor. Judging from the present situation, however, these two waves of people did not seem to be from the same group. Otherwise, they would not have made such a low-level mistake.

“General, are you still going to keep those women by your side? This subordinate believes that would be improper.”

“It’s fine. Liu Hao has already looked into them…”

Halfway through his sentence, Cang Chuli came back to himself.

“You’re afraid they’ll kill me?”

“General! You can’t guard against thieves for a thousand days!”

Deputy General Zhang spoke with heartfelt earnestness, and even more worried creases appeared between his brows.

“There isn’t time. I originally wanted to kill them all, but now I have to force them to reveal themselves. Don’t worry. I won’t die at a woman’s hands.”

Seeing that he could not persuade Cang Chuli any further, Deputy General Zhang could only withdraw with a grim, bitter expression.

Forget it. Once he got back, he would warn Zhao Fu again. They absolutely had to keep a tight watch on those women and not allow the general to suffer the slightest mishap.

After Deputy General Zhang left, Cang Chuli sat alone in the study, his expression hidden in shadow.

His left hand covered his right shoulder. The injury was real. It was only to keep Uncle Zhao from worrying, and to lure out the big fish behind the scenes, that Cang Chuli had ordered Deputy General Zhang to keep his mouth shut.

Aside from himself, only two people knew about this injury. One was Deputy General Zhang, Zhang Qiang. The other was the current Emperor, Dongfang Wei.

Dongfang Wei did not agree with him risking himself like this, but both of them knew all too well that the Huaxia of today no longer had time for them to handle things slowly…

“Someone, prepare a carriage. Call Qiulin over!”