When Miss Jun and her party returned to Zhangqing Mountain, dusk had already set in.
In the countless cold days, the mountain village was filled with thick smoke from cooking stoves, and now every household had received lamp oil. Although it was unusual at first, Liu'er went through the village and questioned why they didn't light lamps. Was it because they wanted to hoard the lamp oil given by her Miss?
"The lamp oil was given to you for lighting lamps. If you don't light them, what are you saving it for? It's not yours; it's my Miss's. Are you trying to covet my Miss's belongings?"
Though this logic seemed somewhat confused, it also seemed to make sense.
Thus, the villagers who were originally reluctant to light lamps honestly began to do so, and there were even women who extravagantly started to work under the light of the lamps.
Even though dusk had just fallen, the houses in the village were lit up, and when viewed from a distance, they looked like twinkling stars, warm and peaceful.
"You've worked hard." Under the big tree at the entrance of the village, Miss Jun smiled and bowed in gratitude to the dozen men who had escorted her.
The men hurriedly returned the gesture with constraint and watched Miss Jun leave before relaxing. Someone took responsibility for leading the horses to the stable.
Although Liu'er originally said there would be a horse for each person, the horses that arrived were not distributed to everyone but were taken care of by specific people. They would collect a horse when needed.
The remaining men laughed and talked as they walked into the village, encountering Xia Yong coming towards them.
"How was it today?" he suddenly asked.
One man immediately brightened up.
"Today was really good; we encountered more than twenty bandits," he said.
"Yes, that's right, we thought it was going to be another fruitless trip," another man also said happily, "it's been a long time since we last encountered any."
In the twilight, Xia Yong's expression looked dull and heavy.
A villager reached out and tugged at the two men who were gesticulating and excitedly about to continue their story.
The two men sheepishly stopped talking.
The scene fell into an oddly silent calm.
"Village chief, we…" a man boldly started to explain.
But Xia Yong raised his hand to stop him.
"It should be so; since we have taken from others, we must do work for them," he said, "go back."
With that, the men breathed a sigh of relief and cheerfully walked past Xia Yong and away.
Xia Yong stood still, glanced outside the village, and hesitated before walking towards Miss Jun's courtyard. Miss Jun's yard was even brighter with lights, and the laughter and talking of Lei Zhonglian and others came from the adjacent courtyard, where Liu'er and the cook had brought them food.
Miss Jun's side, however, seemed somewhat quiet.
Xia Yong considered his words and was about to clear his throat with a cough.
"Is it fun outside?"
A female voice came from inside the house.
Xia Yong stopped in his tracks.
Hanqing?
His expression showed surprise. Hanqing had hardly ever come down the mountain for many years, let alone enter someone else's home.
And Hanqing had even taken the initiative to ask about the outside.
After a moment of silence, Xia Yong turned and walked away.
Inside the house, Miss Jun was unaware of Xia Yong's hesitation and departure at the door. She spread out her freshly washed hair and looked at Zhao Hanqing, who was curiously toying with the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone at the table.
"Dry my hair," she called out.
Zhao Hanqing uttered a response, put down the brush, and came over, skillfully helping Miss Jun to dry her hair over the brazier.
"Add some cypress branches and dried flowers for a pleasant scent," she added.
Such a ritual was customary only in wealthy households. Ordinary families, especially those here who could barely fill their bellies, who would pay attention to how to dry their hair better?
When she was out and about with her master, she would simply wash her hair during the day and let it dry in the sun, and it was only back in the imperial palace that there were various ingenious little touches.
Miss Jun glanced at her.
Zhao Hanqing also wrote a fine hand, utterly different from her master's, probably taught by Xiao Zhi.
Although she had always lived in the mountains without interacting with outsiders, and was adept at climbing and hunting, she was not rough or vulgar. Every gesture she made subtly revealed decent manners.
Xiao Zhi.
Miss Jun silently repeated the name.
Which prominent family or clan bears the surname Xiao... Xiao? Northern lands...
Xiao!
Miss Jun suddenly stood up, and the pull on her scalp caused pain. Zhao Hanqing also let out an exclamation.
"I wasn't paying attention."
They said at the same time, apologized to each other, looked at each other, and then both laughed.
"It's me, getting distracted by my thoughts," Miss Jun laughed, touching her hair. "You go read the medical book I've written, I'll do it myself."
Zhao Hanqing made an acknowledging sound and went back to the desk without further politeness.
During the day, Miss Jun had been teaching her to identify herbs, and at night, she still had her read medical books.
The medical book was Miss Jun compiling the knowledge learned from her mentor into a book, and when it was completed in the future, she would write Zhao Zhiyi's name on it, of course adding an alias—Mister Qingshan.
But now, Miss Jun was not in the mood to think about her mentor.
Ah, Xiao.
If you mention the most prominent Xiao family in the north, it's the Qi dynasty's royal family, destroyed by the Jurchen people.
The Qi dynasty once had remarkable glory as well, holding the sixteen prefectures of Yan Yun at their hands, and the Jurchen were just one of their vassal tribes.
Of course, that was a very long time ago. Over twenty years ago, before the Jurchen breached the Great Zhou Capital and plundered the emperor, Qi had already been annihilated by the Jurchen.
It couldn't be, could it?
Miss Jun looked at Zhao Hanqing, who was reading seriously, with a complicated expression.
Meanwhile, on the mountain, Yang Jing and Xia Yong were standing outside Xiao Zhi's door with similarly complex expressions.
The yard and inside the house were both brightly lit, a charcoal brazier burned inside the room, but Yang Jing and Xia Yong had no intention of entering, and Xiao Zhi, sitting inside the door, didn't find it improper either.
"She said it was to provide escort, but in fact, she was leading these people to hunt for bandits and outlaws," Xia Yong said, his expression somewhat uneasy. "These past days, she's killed all the bandits and outlaws in Qingyuan Prefecture, and the rest have been scared off."
He gave a bitter laugh as he spoke.
"I think next time, she might even go beyond Qingyuan Prefecture."
"She provided food and drink, employed our people to escort her, and nobody feels good about disobeying her," Yang Jing spoke.
Xiao Zhi smiled.
"Exterminating bandits, huh," she said. "She really does have a physician's benevolent heart."
She paused after saying this.
"How did a person like him teach such a disciple?"
Both Yang Jing and Xia Yong knew to whom she was referring. Yang Jing had no particular reaction, while Xia Yong hesitated to speak.
"Actually, big brother also had a benevolent heart," he couldn't help but say.
"Since she wants to do these things, and importantly, she has offered a generous reward," Xiao Zhi said, steering away from Xia Yong's topic, "money in exchange for service, a fair deal, with everybody getting what they want. It's good."
That was an agreement.
Yang Jing and Xia Yong concurred.
Footsteps came from behind them, accompanied by a humming girl.
This tune was familiar to Yang Jing and Xia Yong; they often sang it themselves, but it was the first time they heard Zhao Hanqing humming it.
The three exchanged perplexed glances.
"Mother, Uncle Yang, Uncle Xia, you're all here," Zhao Hanqing came in and smiled as she waved her hand to them.
In her hand, she held a veil.
Has she even stopped covering her face?
"It's nighttime, it won't frighten anyone," Zhao Hanqing said, quickly stepping inside the house.
In truth, it was never others she feared frightening, but her own fear, reluctant to face her reflection, but now she was not afraid anymore.
Xiao Zhi turned to watch her daughter go inside and smiled.
Yang Jing and Xia Yong also showed smiles, gave their respects, and were about to leave when Zhao Hanqing poked her head out, as if she remembered something.
"Oh right, mother, Uncle Yang, Uncle Xia, next time Sister Jiuling goes out, I want to follow," she said, looking a bit sheepish and anxious, then hurriedly added an explanation, "I need to buy some medicine at the Prefecture, which we don't have on the mountain, and while I'm there, I can learn about more medicinal herbs at the medicine shops."
Daring to leave the mountain, daring to remove the mask, she even dares to leave Zhangqing Mountain?
The three looked even more astonished, and Xiao Zhi smiled.
"I spent over a decade of effort, but it doesn't compare to her in just a few short months," she laughed. "This really makes one feel somewhat frustrated."
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Thank you to Bingyi from the south, 11 pages of famous rewards, He's Bi, thank you all.
Continue to have a happy holiday.