Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
Advance chapters available for patrons on Patreon. And a chapter can be sponsored by buying me a ko-fi.
If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, Chen Buyu and the others would never have imagined that the Liang Wang could be so perverse.
The entire secret room was filled with various tools such as hanging rings, bindings, candles, incense burners, and copper flower pestles; bloody evidence was everywhere.
Old Li limped forward and carefully made rubbings of the patterns on the pillars with soft paper and a brush.
Then he took several rubbings and compared them one by one, saying solemnly, “They almost completely match the remaining patterns on the back bones of several victims.”
“Sir, human blood has been found in the grooves and the gaps between the floor tiles.”
“Sir, four complete boxes of spirit incense were found in the drawer.”
“Record everything. Don’t let any evidence slip by. Verify carefully and bring all the evidence back to the yamen!” Chen Buyu shouted in a deep voice.
“Yes!”
When Ye Wuchen was hurriedly pushed in, the yamen runners had already begun to move the various pieces of evidence in the secret room.
The shackles and ropes were clearly visible, and bloodstains were visible everywhere— in the cracks of the floor tiles and on the hanging pillars. The facts were irrefutable, and Ye Wuchen couldn’t help but gasp.
“Young Prince, Young Prince!” a servant cried out, supporting the unconscious Ye Wuchen, shouting urgently, “Quickly, fetch the physician! The Young Prince has fainted from a stroke!”
….
Afternoon.
In the south warehouse of the city, several wooden sheds had been erected in front of the gate. Inside, twenty or thirty women were busy starting fires, heating pots, washing rice, and cooking porridge.
“Miss Jiu Jin, Hui Chun Tang has sent another batch of freshly ground medicinal herbs.”
“Alright, set them aside in the usual place. We’ll use them again when we run out of ingredients after our rice porridge is cooked.”
“Doctor Xiao He, please continue to oversee things here. Make sure the dosage and steps for adding the herbs are correct, follow the order exactly.”
The young man named Doctor Xiao He turned and bowed to Jiu Jin. “Don’t worry, Miss Jiu Jin, everything will be cooked according to Miss Yu’s porridge recipe.”
Jiu Jin nodded happily. “I’ll go to the crossroads to meet my young lady.”
Doctor Xiao He became even more invigorated upon hearing that Miss Yu would come to check on things personally, and he reminded the workers around him to work diligently and not slack off.
A quarter of an hour later, Yu Linlang’s carriage indeed arrived at the warehouse door.
Yu Linlang followed Jiu Jin around the warehouse and then inspected the porridge-cooking area.
When everyone saw their mistress arrive, they all stepped forward to greet her, their faces filled with gratitude.
They were all women from poor families. The employer had offered them twenty days’ work, paying them one tael of silver and providing food.
This generous reward was like a windfall.
Initially, they had only come to try it out, but after receiving their daily wage of fifty coins, they could hardly believe such simple work existed.
It was just washing, cleaning, and cooking; fifty coins a day was equivalent to two or three days’ hard labor for any man.
Now, the women had become increasingly skilled and diligent, their hands and feet always clean and efficient.
Yu Linlang inspected the area and nodded secretly. “The first batch of medicinal porridge is ready. Take some to the city gate first thing tomorrow morning to distribute.”
“Are the lot numbers prepared?”
“Yes, they’re all ready. We’ve prepared five thousand numbers so far.”
Yu Linlang nodded. “That shouldn’t be enough. Make more lots. Distribute them one by one, making sure each starving person has a number. They’ll use their numbers to collect the porridge. No one will be given multiple lot numbers, and proxy collection is not allowed for now.”
“Prepare a number book. Check off each lot collected each day.”
“Distribute the first round for three days. We’ll see how the patients’ conditions are and then make further plans.” After giving her instructions, Yu Linlang reminded the women washing rice and cooking porridge to bring cloths, wash their hands frequently, and use soap balls for cleaning.
In this era, the most common cleaning products were orange-shaped spherical soap balls, made from crushed and ground natural soap pods. The wealthy would usually add some precious fragrances. Although they couldn’t compare to the various cleaning products available today, they were sufficient for ordinary cleaning.
“If you run out of soap balls, just let Jiu Jin replenish them. There’s no need for you to be frugal; regular cleaning is good for you and others.”
The women nodded in agreement, noting the details.
“Dr. He, we’ll need your help from Hui Chun Tang for some things later.”
“No trouble at all,” Dr. He replied with a shy smile. “Miss Yu is so kind; this is a good deed that brings blessings and virtue. Hui Chun Tang is only offering a small helping hand, but we are happy to serve you.”
Saying goodbye to the busy women, Yu Linlang boarded the carriage, a self-deprecating smile playing on her lips.
She felt Dr. He looked at her as if she had a halo around her; she wasn’t that kind.
If she were truly compassionate, she had an inexhaustible supply of rice and other goods in her personal shopping space.
She was simply doing what she could.
For example, when she inspected the granary earlier, she had Jiu Jin keep watch at the entrance while she secretly filled a row of empty barrels with beans.
Grain productivity was low in this era, and she couldn’t risk her own safety to provide a continuous supply of rice and grain to others.
What she could do was limited and had to be documented. These grains and medicinal herbs were all transported from Jinling along the route, with proper documentation.
Even if she secretly added a few dozen more bushels of beans, it wouldn’t be too conspicuous. Being too conspicuous would far exceed the crop productivity of this era, and she didn’t intend to stir up trouble and be worshipped as a great demon or deity.
Besides, the shopping space was something her inner demon desired.
If the situation weren’t so urgent, she wouldn’t have wanted to use it.
Were the starving people miserable? Of course, they were. But the most miserable were the women and children. Many families were selling their children to survive.
She could only offer a small helping hand; she couldn’t contribute anything more.
The carriage slowed down as it passed Fuchang Gate in the south of the city and the bustling Xinshui Street.
Jiu Jin added a piece of silver charcoal to the basin and rubbed her hands together. “Are you cold, Miss?”
“Not bad.”
The carriage stopped abruptly, and the coachman’s muffled voice came from outside, “Miss, there’s trouble ahead. We’ll wait a bit before we go.”
Jiu Jin lifted the curtain and peeked out, frowning. “Miss, it seems some street thugs are overturning someone’s stall.”
“Oh, they’re fighting!” Jiu Jin excitedly rubbed her hands together. “A carriage stopped over there, hehe, someone went to help…”
She stopped mid-sentence and immediately slammed the curtain down. Yu Linlang, who had been about to peek out, shrank back. “What happened?”
“Bad luck, it’s him.” Jiu Jin’s mouth curled up so high it could almost hang an oil bottle.
“Who is it?”
“Whoosh!” The next second, the curtain was roughly flung open.
Jiu Jin glared angrily.
Yu Linlang then heard Mu Zhao’s reprimanding voice, “Xiao Feng, how can you be so rude?”
Guys, ads are my only source of revenue, so please do not turn on the AdBlock when you are accessing this website…. Thank you, this would be a great help…
You can buy me a ko-fi and sponsor a chapter on: https://ko-fi.com/midnightrambles
Or become a Patron or access advance chapters on: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=45665005
If you support me, I would be able to provide more chapters….
Previous • Table of Contents • Next
