by N/A
"Xiao Gui." Du Xiao Li thought of her clever appearance this morning. Indeed quite fitting of this name.
"Miss, what are you looking for me for, if there's nothing, I want to go back to accompany my grandpa." Xiao Gui wiped her tears and said.
"Don't cry." Du Xiao Li smiled at her and said, "If I can cure you grandpa, but I want you to follow me, are you willing to recognize me as your master?"
"What?" Xiao Gui's hand froze on her face just like that as she dazedly looked to Du Xiao Li.
"I said, if I can cure your grandpa, give him a place to retire to, and then let you follow me, work for me, and never to betray me, are you willing?" Du Xiao Li patiently explained.
"You can cure my grandpa?" Xiao Gui emotionally looked to Du Xiao Li and said, "As long as you can cure grandpa, I will follow you, and never betray you in this lifetime!"
"Xia Yuan, bring the things, let's go see her grandpa." Du Xiao Li instructed.
"Yes, miss." Xia Yuan went out and came back carrying a satchel.
Sitting in the Du family horse carriage, the little beggar was somewhat reserved. In the past, whenever she encountered those official family's misses, which one didn't look to her in disdain. Not letting the guards shoo her away was already considered good, she'd never thought that she would one day be able to sit in such a luxurious horse carriage.
Before leaving, Du Xiao Li had already told Du Yun Han that she might not return tonight. Du Yun Han understood that Du Xiao Li was someone with her own views, and further understood that with this daughter, he could only go along with her willfulness. Thus, he nodded in agreement. When their horse carriage passed through the city gates, it was already almost time for the gates to close.
The horse carriage continued along for a long while before finally reaching a strip of broken down houses in the outskirts. Du Xiao Li, seeing that they'd traveled for this long, looked to Xiao Gui and asked, "You need to walk this far every day to enter the city to go begging?"
"No." Xiao Gui shook her head and said, "In the past, when grandpa's body was still well, we wouldn't leave the city at night. Normally, we would just randomly find an eave to sleep under for the night. Afterwards, grandpa fell ill, so we went to go find a place to stay. Grandpa would rest there, while I enter the city to go begging. Sometimes, when it gets late, I would just randomly find a place to sleep for the night by myself and then go back early next morning to see grandpa."
Ch. 062.4 – Army Outside the City Gates (4)
Army Outside the City Gates (4)
T/N: Chapter sponsored by Nikita, Anon, Gilly, and Jayer! Thank you for sponsoring!
Hearing the little beggar's words, Du Xiao Li suddenly felt somewhat sad inside. If Xiao Gui had parents, she wouldn't have had to suffer these hardships. Just like the past life her, so small. If not for that distant relative's family, she also would have more or less ended up like this.
"How old are you?" Du Xiao Li asked.
"Grandpa also don't know when's my birthday, so he just had the day he found me picked as my birthday. The day before yesterday, I'd just past my twelfth birthday." Xiao Gui said.
"Then you're a year younger than me." Du Xiao Li said. Looking to her current appearance, she asked, "Are you a girl or boy?"
"I'm a girl." Xiao Gui said, "Grandpa said my appearance is handsome, so he let me dress like this, letting others be unable to see my true appearance."
Du Xiao Li laughed. Although she couldn't see her true appearance, those bright eyes of hers still drew people in. At least, she herself got drawn in, no?
The horse carriage traveled according to Xiao Gui's directions and arrived at a broken down house. Seeing this house, Du Xiao Li recalled the placed she lived when she'd just arrived in this world. Comparing the two, she discovered that the place the beggars lived was indeed much better than her house at the time.
Because the old beggar's situation was rather dangerous, Du Xiao Li directly entered the house and saw an old beggar laying on top a pile of dry straw. Next to him also stood a doctor and a guard. The two seemingly were conversing about something.
"Let the guard have the doctor sent back." Du Xiao Li said to Xia Yuan. Xia Yuan went forward and spoke to the two, and soon after, the guard went out with the doctor.
"Grandpa." Xiao Gui came to the old beggar's side. Seeing him only just breathing, not having any energy to speak, her tears that had been stopped with great difficulty began streaming down again.
"Let me see. You stand to the side." Du Xiao Li came to the old beggar's side and crouched down, grabbing his dirty right hand and began taking his pulse. Soon after, she began examining his body.
"Miss, can my grandpa still be saved?" Xiao Gui held her breath as she watched Du Xiao Li give the old beggar a check up, and asked when she finished.
"He's okay." Du Xiao Li accepted the silver needle Xia Yuan handed over, saying: "In a bit, when you're watching, don't make a sound."
"En, en." Xiao Gui looked to Du Xiao Li's appearance, and instinctively believed that she can save the old beggar. Perhaps it was also because Du Xiao Li was the last straw in her grasp.
Du Xiao Li injected the needles into the old beggar, afterwards had the water in the bowl fed a little to him, then took out from another case a slice of cut ginseng and put it in his mouth.
"Alright, he'll be able to wake up soon. He previously wasn't that seriously ill. Just, because it wasn't treated in time, and in addition to the starvation, it thus became dangerous. Once he wakes up, feed him some porridge....." Du Xiao Li finally recalled that they didn't have anything here. Where would they get porridge and pot?
'Bang---'
Xiao Gui instantly knelt down by Du Xiao Li's foot, continuously saying: "Thank you miss, thank you miss. Now that miss saved my grandpa, Xiao Gui is willing to follow miss, asking miss to think of a way to completely cure grandpa."
"Miss, I heard Ying Ge say the estate we bought isn't far from here, how about we go there tonight?" Xia Yuan said.
"You know where it is?" Du Xiao Li asked.
"That guard knows. Our forces in the capital more or less all know." Xia Yuan replied.
"Then we'll go to the estate once he returns."
A while later, the guard had the doctor sent back before the city gates closed, and soon after, returned to the beggar's place. Learning that Du Xiao Li wanted to go to the estate, he thus voluntarily drove the horse carriage for them, bringing them to the estate.
Right now, it was already nighttime. Du Xiao Li smelled the scent coming from the yet to ripen grapes, feeling soothed inside.
The horse carriage stopped before a courtyard. The guard went and knocked on the door. Once the door opened, he took out a token, and the gatekeeper thus opened the door. The guard returned to the horse carriage and drove it into the courtyard.
While entering the courtyard the old beggar woke up. Xia Yuan instructed the kitchen to cook some porridge over for the old beggar to eat. Luckily, at night, what everyone ate was precisely porridge, so there was still some left, and a bowl was directly brought over.
The old beggar, learning that Du Xiao Li had saved his life, repeatedly thanked her. Afterwards, he finally had the porridge that was brought over finished. Soon after, he also ate two pieces of pastries before stopping.
Xiao Gui, seeing that the old beggar, who was still at his dying breath less than an hour ago, at this moment, able to eat on his own, incessantly thanked Du Xiao Li with continuously running tears. Watching the old beggar eat the porridge, her own stomach also began crying out.
"Xia Yuan, first take her to go wash and change." Du Xiao Li looked to Xiao Gui and said.
"Yes, miss." Xia Yuan said, "You follow me."
Xiao Gui followed Xia Yuan out. However, this was also Xia Yuan's first time here, so she could only call a servant girl from the estate to lead them.
Du Xiao Li knew that the estate has some commonly used medical ingredients, and thus prepared a prescription for the old beggar, letting someone cook
the medicine for him. Afterwards, she also prescribed a medicine bath, letting him soak in the medicine bath, while also cleaning his dirty body.
Xiao Gui although was around the same age as Du Xiao Li, her body however was much smaller than Du Xiao Li's. Wearing the servant girl's clothes, it looked very unfitting.
After a while, once Du Xiao Li and them finished eating dinner, and the old beggar also tidied up, Du Xiao Li had the steward here arrange a room for him, letting him go to sleep first.
"Miss, miss, think of a name for me too." Xiao Gui giddily looked to Du Xiao Li, appearing different from the sobbing girl from this afternoon.
"Why?" Du Xiao Li asked.
"Won't I be following miss now? Then I'm miss's person. Xia Yuan and them all have nice sounding names, so I also want one." Xiao Gui said.
Du Xiao Li thought for a moment and said, "Then you'll be Qiao Zhu then."
"Qiao Zhu? Okay, from now on, I'm called Qiao Zhu." Xiao Gui, now having changed her name to Qiao Zhu, knelt before Du Xiao Li with a thud, saying: "Thank you miss, if not for encountering miss, Qiao Zhu would have turned into an orphan again. Grandpa is very important to Qiao Zhu. Miss is like Qiao Zhu's second parent. Qiao Zhu from now on will definitely properly repay miss."
"Miss, Qiao Zhu's life contract has been drafted." At this time, the steward walked in with a sheet of paper.
(T/N: Literal name of it would be 'selling body to slavery' contract.)
Du Xiao Li skeptically looked to the steward. She didn't let him prepare one though.
Seemingly guessing Du Xiao Li's doubts, the steward explained, "This servant heard miss Xia Yuan say that Qiao Zhu will be following miss, and thus wrote up this life contract. The name was filled in just now."
"Life contract, I know, but I don't know how to write. How about I stamp my fingerprint?" Qiao Zhu said. She then stamped her own fingerprint onto the life contract and had the life contract handed to Du Xiao Li.
Du Xiao Li looked it over, then gave it to Xia Yuan.
Just then, a clamor sounded outside the door. Xia Yuan asked, "Steward, what's going on outside?"
"It's like this, since this is miss's first time coming to the estate, I wanted everyone come meet miss. But everyone had already gone to bed, so just now I had someone go call them. Right now, it should be them." The steward explained.
"Eh--" Du Xiao Li originally wanted to say no need, but thinking that they'd already gotten up, thus said, "Then let's just meet them."
T/N: I was literally halfway through this chapter and was about to go to bed when I saw the notif for kofi, so decided to stay up another hour to finish it. Anyways, finishing up the last part to this chapter tomorrow, and I can finally start translating the fluff with ML. I want to cry.
Ch. 062.5 – Army Outside the City Gates (5)
Army Outside the City Gates (5)
The steward let everyone stand in the courtyard and had all the lanterns lit, however it was still somewhat dark. Du Xiao Li came out into the courtyard. Borrowing the lantern light and moonlight, she still had the people in the courtyard all studied clearly.
There weren't many people in the entire estate. The servant girls and boys added together only came to twenty some. Despite seeing Du Xiao Li was just a thirteen year old girl, they still respectfully bowed to her.
Du Xiao Li said a few perfunctory words, and then let them go back to continue sleeping. These people were all found by Fu Wan San and were all honest and well-behaved people, so there was no need for her to say anything more.
By the time Du Xiao Li finished her bath, it was already deep into the night. When Xia Yuan went to take a bath, Du Xiao Li had Qiao Zhu called before her, letting her move a stool to her bedside to sit.
"Qiao Zhu, do you know who I am?" Du Xiao Li asked.
"Prime Minister Manor's Miss, should be that rumored talentless, virtue-less, unlearned, and uncultured Du third miss that just arrived in the capital the day before yesterday." Qiao Zhu said.
"How do you know?" Du Xiao Li asked.
"There isn't anything in the capital that I don't know!" Qiao Zhu patted her chest and said. Suddenly, she realized that her actions just now were somewhat unfit for her current attire and shyly laughed out, putting away her hand and saying, "The Du family's previous miss, Du Ke Xin, isn't as nice as miss."
"Hehe, you're very familiar with the people of the capital?" Du Xiao Li was amused by Qiao Zhu's appearance.
"Of course I'm familiar. We, as beggars, eat the household's food and listen to the household's affairs. The affairs of those official family's children are often brought out and talked about. We hear it a lot." Qiao Zhu proudly said.
"En, you know that I've just arrived in the capital and aren't familiar with the affairs of the capital. In the future, with you following by my side, whenever I encounter any problem or person, I will ask you." Du Xiao Li said.
"No problem, leave it to Qiao Zhu." Qiao Zhu boldly said, and then somewhat embarrassedly looked to Du Xiao Li, asking: "Miss, now that I'm following you, what will grandpa do?"
"First let him stay here for now. I bought a piece of land behind the Du Manor. When the time comes, we'll be building a fence, and just let your grandpa watch the perimeter there. That place is only separate from the Du Manor by a small river, and it's convenient for you to go see him." Du Xiao Li thought for a moment and said.
"Really? Thank you miss, you really are Qiao Zhu and grandpa's lucky star!" Qiao Zhu happily said.
"Miss, we seem to have found a little honeybee! This mouth is sweet like it's smeared in honey!" Xia Yuan returned from her bath, and upon hearing Qiao Zhu's words, teasingly laughed.
"Hehe." Qiao Zhu, after getting teased by Xia Yuan, embarrassingly laughed.
"Alright, everyone's all tired today, go rest soon." Du Xiao Li said.
"Miss, I want to go watch over grandpa." Qiao Zhu said.
"En, go then."
Qiao Zhu made a sound in response and happily ran out, heading to the old beggar's room. After Xia Yuan blew out the lantern light, she went to the side room. However, she and Du Xiao Li both didn't sleep, each practicing their inner energy on their bed.
The morning of the next day, Qiao Zhu waited outside Du Xiao Li's door, and after hearing movements inside, knocked on the door and entered carrying a basin of water.
"You sure learn fast, having just become miss's servant girl, and already acting the part perfectly." Xia Yuan looked to Qiao Zhu and said. Seeing her delicately pretty face and clever eyes, she said with a smile, "Miss, we seem to have found a charming person!"
Du Xiao Li also finished dressing and turned to look at Qiao Zhu. Although she was already cleaned last night, the light was dim and wasn't as visible as during the day.
"Miss, this is the clean towel I got from asking the mama here." Qiao Zhu had the basin put down and said.
"How's your grandpa doing now?" Du Xiao Li walked over to wash her face and asked.
"His spirit is much better than before! Miss's medical skills are truly amazing!" Qiao Zhu said with a smile.
"We have to rush back this morning. Before leaving, I'll perform acupuncture on him again. Once he arrives in the capital and is closer, I can properly treat him again and have the previously left behind ailments cured. If my father acts fast, you two will only be separated for just ten some days. You don't need to worry too much." Du Xiao Li said. She turned around and saw Qiao Zhu's face filled with tears, "What's wrong?"
"Wuuwuu, aside from grandpa, there has never been anyone be this good to Qiao Zhu before. So this is what it feels like to be care about by someone other than grandpa. Wuuwuu, to be able to encounter miss is really great!" Qiao Zhu just cried out.
Xia Yuan walked over and wiped her tears for her, saying: "Miss is a very good person. What we can do is just have miss served well, and have the things she orders take care of."
"En, en, I know, I will!" Qiao Zhu nodded her head and said.
Du Xiao Li smiled, but didn't say anything. She di
dn't want to say that she saw her past life's shadow from Qiao Zhu, and that's why she wanted to treat her well. Just like herself in the past, often yearning for someone to be good to her.......
After eating breakfast in the estate, Du Xiao Li didn't have time to properly tour her estate. Just, when they were heading out, they passed by the grape orchard, and she stopped for a look.
The grapes were planted on the two sides of the path according to Du Xiao Li's instructions. Currently, there were already strings of grapes hanging on there. This year, the north was rather warm, so looks like this grape will ripen soon.
"So this is grapes!" Qiao Zhu followed down from the carriage and looked to the garden full of grapes in surprise.
"Yes, miss likes to eat grapes very much. En, regarding miss's matters, I'll slowly explain them to you when we get back. What miss likes, and what she doesn't like, you have to remember well." Xia Yuan said.
"Okay."
Du Xiao Li strolled around the grape orchard for a little while, and then immediately got back on her carriage and headed off towards the capital. But before they could reach the city gates, they encountered the army not far from the gates. If not for that guard stopping the horse carriage in time, they probably would've collided with the people riding the horse in front.
"What happened?" Xia Yuan asked.
"We seemed to have ran into the army returning to the city." The guard replied.
"Didn't they say they would arrive tomorrow? How come they returned today?" Qiao Zhu mumbled to herself.
"Miss, Feng Ming seems to have the rule, when encountering the army returning to the city, one must descend the carriage to welcome." Xia Yuan said.
Du Xiao Li pulled open the curtains for a look. The entire army, because of their horse carriage, stopped moving, and everyone all had their gazes directed at her horse carriage. Looks like she had no choice but to descend the carriage. Thus, she said to Xia Yuan and Qiao Zhu, "Let's go then."
Qiao Zhu and Xia Yuan got down first. Then, they helped Du Xiao Li get down.
As soon as Du Xiao li got down, she locked eyes with the person in black armor leading the troops in front. Startled, she thought to herself, 'How come it's him?!'