The Road to Glory

Chapter 13

"I'll pay you... two copper coins..."

Looking for her?

After brief contemplation in her room, Wen Yu found a newly cut handkerchief without embroidered patterns yet, covered her face with it, and stepped out.

The embroidered handkerchief with the hidden emblem had only been sold this morning. Even if her personal attendants were in Yongcheng, they'd need some investigation to find her address—it was impossible for them to locate her this quickly.

Therefore, the visitors at her door were most likely sent by that noblewoman.

At the courtyard gate, Hou Xiao'an turned upon hearing footsteps from behind, his eyes immediately widening in astonishment.

The girl covered in rash marks seemed like two different people with and without her face covered.

With the veil concealing half her face, she instantly became distant and enigmatic. Even wearing the same old gray padded jacket, she commanded such presence that no one dared underestimate her.

Even this sparsely furnished courtyard, simply because she stood there gracefully, seemed less dilapidated.

While Hou Xiao'an's eyes were still wide as copper bells, Wen Yu had already looked toward the gate.

Outside stood a round-faced maid and two young servants, all dressed in quite decent fabric. The maid stood on the steps with her hands tucked in her sleeves, while the two servants held items below.

Not recognizing the maid as the one she'd seen that morning, Wen Yu asked, "Are you from the Xu residence?"

The maid, who had initially looked down upon the shabby place, found her confidence waning when she met Wen Yu's gaze. Though the woman's eyes were calm, the maid unconsciously softened her tone. "Yes, are you the embroiderer who made the fan cover for my mistress?"

Wen Yu nodded. "Thank you for making the trip."

The maid quickly said it was nothing, just doing her job for the household. Impressed by Wen Yu's refined speech and extraordinary bearing, she became more respectful, signaling the two servants to bring forward the trays. "This is satin silk fabric. The embroidery pattern is underneath. The threads were specially brought back by my mistress from Suzhou—all dyed real silk, unavailable in Yongcheng. My mistress said if you make any mistakes, there's extra satin silk, but no extra thread. So please be careful with your stitches."

Wen Yu merely gave a slight nod. "Naturally."

The maid then gestured for the servants to carry the trays inside. Hou Xiao'an, who had been clinging to the doorframe, quickly stepped forward saying, "I'll take them! Please come in for some tea, miss and gentlemen!"

Seeing the messy courtyard just after pork processing, the maid declined, citing other household matters, and bid farewell.

As they left, Hou Xiao'an, holding the stacked trays with one hand, enthusiastically waved goodbye with the other.

Only after closing the courtyard gate did Hou Xiao'an lean against it, admiring the trays with great fascination. When he looked at Wen Yu again, his eyes shone like gold ingots."My god, Sister Fortune! How did you manage to connect with a prestigious household like the Xu family? You should know, twenty years ago, all the shops in Yongcheng bore the Xu name! Though they've declined somewhat recently, allowing our Proprietor and the He family who took over Yongcheng's canal transport business to share a large portion of the market. But no matter what, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse—did you see? Even when servants go out on errands, the Xu family sends carriages! That carriage parked at the alley entrance had everyone peeking out to look!"

Wen Yu said, "It was just a coincidental order I received while selling embroidered handkerchiefs at the tile market this morning."

But inwardly, she couldn't help thinking: if what Hou Xiao'an said was true, and the Xu family already held such power in Yongcheng, then whoever Madam Xu was going through such efforts to prepare gifts for must be even more influential.

Hou Xiao'an followed closely behind her carrying two trays, pressing further: "Sister, how much can you earn from this order? Those wealthy families are always generous—it must be at least seven or eight hundred coins, right?"

Xiao Huiniang, knowing this child always lost his senses at the mention of money, chuckled: "They already gave your Sister A Yu a full tael just as a deposit!"

Hou Xiao'an nearly stumbled with the trays, his eyes widening as he stared at Xiao Huiniang: "How... how much?"

Wen Yu calmly stated: "One tael deposit, five taels for single-sided embroidery, fifty taels for double-sided embroidery."

Upon hearing the last figure, Hou Xiao'an felt the silver he heard was no longer just silver.

As Wen Yu tried to step toward her room, a figure suddenly blocked her path—Hou Xiao'an knelt holding the trays, two streams of tears flowing down his cheeks, sincerely and earnestly pleading: "Sister, please teach me embroidery!"

Wen Yu felt somewhat flustered, saying: "Get up first."

Xiao Li, who had emerged from the kitchen unnoticed, found this scene utterly embarrassing. Covering his face with his hand, he said: "Don't ever tell people I'm your brother outside."

Hou Xiao'an scrambled to his feet, sighing dramatically at the sky with pained anguish: "Fifty taels! That's fifty taels!"

Xiao Huiniang, knowing this child was always theatrical, washed vegetables by the water vat and laughed: "You think those fifty taels are easy money? Your Sister A Yu practices Suzhou embroidery—it takes at least ten years of foundation to reach her level. Moreover, the client needs it urgently, allowing only one month. At most, she can only complete single-sided embroidery. Double-sided embroidery takes immense time and strains the eyes—countless embroiderers have gone blind from it."

Letting the lightly falling snowflakes land on his face, Hou Xiao'an spoke with unusual seriousness, as if not joking: "If anyone would give me fifty taels, I wouldn't mind going blind..."

Xiao Li suddenly said coldly: "Have you fallen into a money pit?"

Only then did Hou Xiao'an break into a radiant smile, turning to show his little canine teeth: "Second Brother, don't be so fierce! I was just joking!"

He turned around, fawning obsequiously toward Wen Yu: "Sister A Yu, if there's anything you need Xiao'an for in the future, just give the order!"

Wen Yu found this young man's familiarity somewhat overwhelming. Moreover, in front of that Rogue, she dared not openly poach his follower. Frowning slightly, she glanced toward the Rogue.Xiao Li, feeling too embarrassed by the association, promptly distanced himself from Hou Xiao'an, saying, "He's always been money-grubbing. If you need him to do something, just give him a copper coin, and he'll run faster than a donkey at a mill."

Hou Xiao'an immediately protested indignantly, "Second Brother, how can you say that..."

Xiao Huiniang was long accustomed to the bickering between the two brothers. She helped Wen Yu carry a tray and only spoke after they entered the room, "Please excuse their behavior. These two have always been like this. You'll get used to it in time."

Wen Yu, unaware of the young man's background, replied, "I can see that Second Master and that young man are as close as real brothers."

Xiao Huiniang smiled at this but then sighed, "Xiao'an has had a hard life. His father died while performing corvée labor, leaving behind his mother and a chronically ill grandmother. His mother made a living by washing clothes for others. One heavy snow year, while washing clothes by the river, she either slipped into the water from the cold or chose to end her life. By the time someone found her, she was already frozen solid in the river ice..."

As she spoke of this, Xiao Huiniang's face was filled with compassion.

Wen Yu felt a heavy weight in her chest upon hearing that Hou Xiao'an's father had died during corvée labor.

Corvée labor and taxes were the foundation of the state, yet they also lay like a mountain upon the common people.

She listened as Xiao Huiniang continued, "After his mother was gone, only he and his seriously ill grandmother remained. During that heavy snow, the child knelt in the streets begging, but he was either chased away by merchants or beaten by beggars who controlled the area. Starving desperately, he stole freshly steamed buns from a vendor and was nearly beaten to death when caught. Huan'er found him and brought him home. I cooked him a bowl of noodles and told him to eat while it was hot. His stomach growled like thunder from hunger, yet he shook his head and said he wasn't hungry, asking if he could take the noodles back for his grandmother. I told him there was more in the pot, and only then did he wolf down the bowl."

Recalling those events, Xiao Huiniang shook her head, "It's just pitiful—the child ran through the snow clutching that bowl of noodles, but he still couldn't get his grandmother to take her last bite..."

"All these years, I've repeatedly asked him to move in with us, but the child refuses, treating the gambling house as his home instead. He only comes over for meals during festivals."

As Wen Yu listened to Xiao Huiniang's rambling account, the weight in her chest grew heavier.

She hadn't expected that seemingly carefree young man to have such a background.

His slickness, cleverness, and ability to read people were undoubtedly honed through years of struggling to survive.

How many children like him existed across the entire Great Liang?

Even if Wen Yu didn't want to think about it, she had to admit that the Great Liang's century-old reign was indeed deeply afflicted.

Though her father and brother had long advocated for integrity and reform, their efforts remained negligible against the Great Liang—a giant beast festering with sores and pus.

She knew her father had been waiting—waiting to ascend the highest throne before wielding bold reforms, abolishing old systems, establishing new laws, and administering strong medicine to the Great Liang beast.

But with the outbreak of war, many of her father and brother's aspirations and plans became difficult to realize.

Yet this did not lessen the guilt Wen Yu felt at this moment.

The common people supported the Wen imperial family and court officials through their corvée labor and taxes. While the masses suffered, as one of the supported Wen imperial members, how could she not feel ashamed?Because of Xiao Huiniang's unintentional remark, Wen Yu remained absent-minded even during the meal.

Seeing her only picking at her rice and eating listlessly, Xiao Huiniang placed a portion of stir-fried bamboo shoots with pork into her bowl and asked, "Does it not suit your taste? Why haven't I seen you eating properly?"

Wen Yu replied casually, "I'm thinking about how to earn more money."

Xiao Huiniang laughed and said, "Money can never be fully earned. How come you, young lady, are just like Xiao'an, so fixated on chasing after wealth?"

Upon hearing this, Hou Xiao'an, with his eyes shining brightly as he shoveled rice into his mouth, exclaimed, "I'm willing to serve Sister A Yu faithfully, ready to come at her call!"

Xiao Li tapped him on the head with his chopsticks and said disdainfully, "It's 'faithfully serve,' not 'ready to come at her call.'"

Hou Xiao'an covered his head and chuckled, saying, "It's the same thing anyway, as long as the meaning gets across!"

Having reached this point in the conversation, Wen Yu put the small bite of rice she had picked up with her chopsticks into her mouth, thought for a moment, and then said, "Then I'll trouble you, Brother Hou, to gather some news about Luodu and Fengyang from the market area. For every piece of information you bring back, I'll pay you... two copper coins."

Xiao Li suddenly looked up at her.

Hou Xiao'an was delighted to hear there was money to be made but still puzzled and asked, "Sister, how is this related to earning money?"

Wen Yu simply wanted to know the current political situation and the state of the war. Being alone, to avoid falling into the hands of villains again, she couldn't rashly set out on her own. She had to wait for her personal attendants to come and escort her before heading to Southern Chen.

However, after the rebels captured Luodu, in order to further crush the morale of Great Liang, they were undoubtedly determined to take Fengyang, where her father and brother had retreated.

She was somewhat worried about the war situation in Fengyang.

Now, under the gaze of the two, she had no choice but to offer an explanation: "Frequent warfare naturally affects the tea-horse trade in various regions. When trade routes are cut off, many goods from the south can't be transported to the north. With shortages in the north, prices will rise, right? Similarly, if goods accumulate in the south and can't be stored for long, they'll have to be sold at a discount. Although we don't have the means to transport southern stockpiles to the north for sale, by understanding the movements of the war, we can predict which goods will soon be in short supply and see price increases."

Xiao Li's gaze toward her suddenly turned into the scrutinizing watchfulness of a hawk on the hunt.

Author's note:

Sorry, dear readers, today's update is late QAQ. I'll send red envelopes in the comment section as an apology~