Incident in the Suburbs of the Capital
As soon as the words one million were spoken, Feng Chen Yu immediately knew that she was being played.
She glared at Feng Yu Heng and said through gritted teeth: “You’re doing this on purpose, right? You know that I have one million taels of bank notes in my possession, and you are doing everything possible to steal it from me! Am I right?”
Feng Yu Heng nodded and said very honestly: “That’s right. That’s entirely correct. But I did not do anything. Instead, it was you who came to me.”
Feng Chen Yu gnashed her teeth in anger so tightly they nearly shattered! But what could she do? She had indeed been the one to come asking for help, and she absolutely had to ask Feng Yu Heng for help.
She stabilized her emotions then asked: “Is there no room for negotiation at all?”
Feng Yu Heng sneered, “Someone is confused. When you had the drug, why did not you come negotiate with me?” She glared at Feng Chen Yu with a sharp gaze. “Eldest sister, a financial loss may prevent a disaster. Do you understand this concept?”
Chen Yu obviously understood, but she had already promised this million to Feng Jin Yuan. Although her father had no come and asked her for it, based on her understanding of that person, it was not that he did not want it. Instead, he was thinking about how he should spend that money.
“Then check to see if I am pregnant first.” Feng Chen Yu had reached a conclusion. Let me see if I truly am pregnant before we take the next step.
“Ok.” Feng Yu Heng reached out her hand, “Give it to me.”
“What?” Chen Yu was stunned, “What do you want”?
“The bank note! You can pay in silver as well. It will be a bit troublesome, but I can send a servant to bring it from your courtyard.”
“No need.” Feng Chen Yu angrily rolled her eyes, “Take care of seeing me first, and I will send someone back to fetch it.” She said this while walking to the door. Opening it, she said a few words to Yi Lin then watched her struggle to walk through the snow.
When she returned, Feng Yu Heng was holding something in her hands. Chen Yu did not recognize what it was and naturally did not care too much. She only said to Feng Yu Heng: “Yi Lin has already gone back to retrieve it. Can you examine me now.”
Feng Yu Heng handed the things in her hands over. There was a long-thin stripped object and a small transparent cup of some unknown material.
Chen Yu held it in her hand and felt odd; however, when she heard Feng Yu Heng tell her what these two objects were for, her face immediately turned bright red “How… how could I do such a thing?”
“Why can you not?” Feng Yu Heng became quite unhappy, “Have you never gone to the latrine? Let me tell you, this is the most accurate way of determining whether or not you are pregnant. Just the cost of these two things, do you know how much they are worth? More importantly, it’s something that can not be bought regardless of how much money you have! This is a rare item from the Persian eccentric. Don’t assume that the ten thousand taels you are spending is a waste. I even feel I have asked for too little.”
Chen Yu once again realized that there was no way to communicate with Feng Yu Heng. The things she found difficult to speak about were so casually spoken from her mouth. It seemed that she did not feel embarrassed in the slightest. If she continued to be shy in front of Feng Yu Heng, she would only lose even more face. It would be better to just grit her teeth and make use of these things. Either way, there was nobody who could see her.
Feng Chen Yu made a decision and brought the items with her into the latrine. When she returned, she handed the long item to Feng Yu Heng.
There were two red stripes. Feng Yu Heng shrugged: “Early-stage pregnancy.”
“What?” Chen Yu did not understand.
She explained once more, “That is to say you are pregnant. This is guaranteed.”
“It can be determined like this?”
“It can.” Feng Yu Heng nodded then said: “Reach your right arm over. Since you don’t seem at ease, I will check your pulse.”
Chen Yu quickly extended her arm over and saw Feng Yu Heng feel it for a while then let go. She repeated the words she said earlier: “Early-stage pregnancy.”
Chen Yu let out a sigh filled with despair. It seemed that she would need to decide between her future and her wealth.
“Think carefully on it.” Feng Yu Heng stood up, “I need to go out today. When your bank note has been retrieved, send it to the treasury of the county office. Qing Yu happens to be here today. Just hand it to her.” When she finished speaking, she opened the door then left. Wang Chuan hastily entered the room and picked up a cloak for her then followed her out of the courtyard with Huang Quan.
Feng Chen Yu was left alone in the room. The thing she had just used was still on the table. It still clearly displayed two red lines. She did not know what it was, but Feng Yu Heng had told her that two lines appearing signified pregnancy. If it were only one line, then she would not be pregnant. She trusted Feng Yu Heng because the signs of pregnancy were already becoming quite apparent.
Forcefully repressing a nauseous feeling, she sat down for a little longer. Only when Yi Lin returned through the thick layer of snow, gasping for air, did she stand up. Along with Yi Lin, she went towards the treasury of Tong Sheng pavilion.
At this time, Feng Yu Heng had already reached the main road. It had snowed too heavily the day prior, so it was impossible for carriages to move along the main road. If people wanted to go out, they would need to wade through the snow. Many people were sweeping away the snow, but they were all sweeping the area before their own doors. After being swept, piles of snow were left to the side. These piles of snow caused the roads to become narrower.
The governor had sent people out to clean up the snow, but there simply was not enough manpower. In such a large capital, it was not possible for it to be completely cleaned in an instant. Moreover, there were many officials who would try to get an advantage and offer some special incentives, so practically all of the people sent out by the governor would offer their services to those families.
When they reached Hundred Herb Hall with great difficulty, they were sweating profusely on this cold day. When the people in Hundred Herb Hall saw Feng Yu Heng arrive, they quickly went to receive her. They received her cloak and said: “Boss, there are not many people who came for examination. But there were quite a few who fainted from the cold outside. Shopkeeper Wang took responsibility and brought them into the shop and is taking care of them now.”
Feng Yu Heng nodded, “You have done what’s right.” She spoke while walking in. Passing through the outer hall, she lifted the curtain to the inner hall and saw seven or eight people lying down inside. Wang Lin was presently directing some of the store clerks to give the fainted people medical soups. With a brazier lit in that room, it was very warm.
Feng Yu Heng did not say too much and went forward to examine the sick. Of those who were sick, most were older and a few were children. At a glance, it could be seen that they lived their daily lives as beggars. The snowfall from the day before was truly catastrophic. With no place for them to hide, fainting on the street is normal.
When they saw that a girl wearing very proper clothes was personally examining them, they all felt a little embarrassed, as she was even willing to go forth and touch their dirty wrists.
Wang Lin saw Feng Yu Heng but saw that she did not say anything before getting to work. Thus he was not too polite and simply explained to everyone: “This is our Hundred Herb Hall’s boss. She was also personally conferred the title of county princess Ji An by the Emperor.”
Hearing him say this, everyone felt overwhelmed by this unexpected favor. This was the dignified county princess! Yet she was checking the pulse of a beggar. This was something that they could never have imagined even in a dream.
Wang Lin explained: “Everyone, do not feel ill at ease. Our county princess is very adept with medicine. The famous medical pills of Hundred Herb Hall are personally made by the county princess.”
While Wang Lin was explaining, Feng Yu Heng examined every one of them. After that, she calmed down a little bit. Although they had many chronic illnesses stemming from their poor living environments, all the Winter storm accomplished was only a bit of freezing and fainting. Hundred Herb Hall had acted in a timely manner, which ensured that they did not suffer more serious problems.
She informed everyone: “There is no need to worry. Since you have come to Hundred Herb Hall, treating you is our duty.” She then looked at the clerks who were holding medical soups and nodded: “These medical soups will get rid of the cold and warm you up. It also has the ability to improve your body’s immune system. Everyone, drink it all. It will take at most one day to recover.”
They did not understand what improving the body’s immune system meant, but they knew that Feng Yu Heng meant this medicine was very good. Thus, they all rushed to drink the medicine.
A woman in her early 50s was holding a child in her lap. Wiping away a tear, she said: “Last night, the snowfall collapsed the hut we were living in. I thought that we would not be able to continue living, so I walked towards the street to see if any kind houses would take in this child out of kindness to allow him to live. But, nobody would open their doors. In such heavy snow, we could no longer continue walking. Someone said that Hundred Herb Hall was just ahead, and the boss and shopkeeper were both living Bodhisattva. Perhaps we would be able to be saved there, so we came in the direction of Hundred Herb Hall.”
Hearing her say this, the other people also began speaking. Their stories were roughly the same, and they all felt that Hundred Herb Hall was a path to life.
Feng Yu Heng was very moved from listening to them. She also gave a look of praise to Wang Lin. She knew that she had not put much work into this shop. It was mostly managed by Wang Lin. The prestige Hundred Herb Hall had today could not be separated from the work Wang Lin had done.
Wang Lin was a little embarrassed to have received praise. He quickly arranged for a clerk to continue adding coals to the brazier to allow the room to warm up even more. He also told everyone: “It has already stopped snowing outside. Looking at the weather, it should not snow any more, so you can relax. Although our Hundred Herb Hall can not keep you forever, it can at least help everyone through these difficult times. We will not allow you to freeze to death nor starve to death outside.”
Everyone felt another surge of emotion. Wang Lin excused himself then quickly pulled Feng Yu Heng to a side hall.
“Young miss, we can not continue like this.” Sweat could be seen at his brow, although it was unknown if it was from anxiety or from heat. “We can save eight people, but what if it reached 80? This snowfall has covered the entirety of the capital. The number of people affected by the disaster will not be limited to just them. If they hear this news and come to Hundred Herb Hall, we would not have the ability to handle it.”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry.” Feng Yu Heng gestured for Wang Chuan and Huang Quan to put down the large paper bags they had been carrying onto the table, “I brought some tea tea from the manor. There is no need to boil it in water. You can just directly place it in hot water. Go prepare some pots with large openings and boil some more water. Then go find some more cups. We will set up a tent outside of Hundred Herb Hall’s entrance. As people come and go, regardless of what type of person comes, we will give them one cup of free tea.”
“Understood.” Wang Lin nodded, “Like this, there won’t be as many people who will faint from the cold. With hot tea being served outside, there won’t be as many rushing to squeeze into Hundred Herb Hall.” He agreed and carried a few bags out to prepare.
Wang Chuan was not assured and said to Huang Quan: “Go take a look too. It would be best to speak with the restaurants nearby to see if you can borrow some more cups. Even paying a bit of money is fine.”
Huang Quan nodded and left.
Feng Yu Heng was finally able to sit down and catch her breath. She had come wading through the snow, so she truly was quite tired.
“Fortunately, this is the Winter disaster. If this was the Summer flood, problems would be much larger.” She sipped a mouthful of hot tea poured by Wang Chuan. She was still quite worried about Xuan Tian Ming and could not help but ask: “Do you think anyone will clean the roads outside of the capital? If we were to go to the military camp by foot, how long would it take?”
Wang Chuan helplessly shook her head, “There is no need to think of walking there. Given the heavy snowfall, it’s very likely that we would not reach it even if we traveled for three days and three nights. If the situation of inside the capital is like this, how could there possibly be anyone sweeping the snow in the suburbs.”
Feng Yu Heng sighed. She knew that there was nothing that could be accomplished through worrying alone. She could only wait a few more days to see if the snow would melt a little. She had to wait for carriages to be able to make use of the roads.
As the two waited for Wang Lin to finish his preparations to pass out warm tea, the curtain was suddenly lifted and Huang Quan hurriedly returned. Her face was filled with concern. Upon seeing the two, she hastily said: “Something happened in the suburbs!”