Chapter 48: So It Turns Out I've Met a Good Official

Once Meizi finished her porridge, Meng Changqing had someone help her sit down in a corner.

After telling Laicai and the guards to step back, she asked Meizi, "Which county are you from?"

"County Magistrate, we are from Qianzeng Village under Liangzhou Prefecture," the woman beside her said. Fearing the official might blame her for being talkative, she quickly added, "She is a person of few words."

Meng Changqing nodded and said to Meizi, "Your physical weakness is caused by long-term starvation. Given your condition, you do not meet the requirements for labor service. Why did you come here?"

"We were all..."

"Let her speak for herself."

Meizi said, "It was my husband who said that coming here meant we could eat our fill and save the food at home."

"You can indeed eat your fill here, but we only take those capable of working," Meng Changqing said. "As a special act of grace, I will allow you to rest in the pit for one day tomorrow. I will have this sister bring your food to you, but after one day, you must work alongside the others."

"Thank you, County Magistrate," Meizi said, kneeling before Meng Changqing.

The woman beside her coached her, "You must thank the Magistrate for his grace."

"Once you've recovered your strength here, go back and rest. I'll go outside and notify the guards in your group."

The woman assisting Meizi sighed repeatedly, "Oh my! It turns out Liangzhou Prefecture has encountered a good official. No wonder the men have enough to eat and even bring food home. Oh, Meizi, we've met a good official."

When Meng Changqing emerged from the kitchen, the people waiting outside had multiplied.

After giving instructions to the guards, she asked, "Where is Laicai?"

"The Madam called you all over for soup, so he went ahead," Bafang said, wiping his mouth. "Young Master, how is the person inside?"

"She's stabilized." Meng Changqing handed him the needle case.

"Then it's nothing serious, right?" Bafang asked. "If someone dies right after arriving, we'll be in trouble."

"What's there to be troubled about?" Meng Changqing said. "When has labor service ever been without death? As long as the city walls are completed, no one will hold us accountable for a few hundred deaths."

Bafang asked, "The way you put it, does that mean the person won't live?"

"If things continue as they are, she likely won't live long. She is under the jurisdiction of Liangzhou Prefecture; she shouldn't have starved to this extent." Meng Changqing asked, "What kind of soup did Mother stew?"

"Red bean soup, simmered with brown sugar. It's very sweet."

"Since you've already had some, take the needle case back for me first, then find a new official document book. I'll need it when I return."

"Yes, ma'am."

When she arrived at the pit where Lady Wen and the others were, her mother also brought up the matter.

After hearing Meng Changqing describe the woman's situation, Lady Wen sighed, "The poorer the family, the harder it is for a woman to survive."

Liang Jiuqiu said, "Being given a bit of food just to keep you barely alive is actually a good outcome. Most are sold off for silver to keep the rest of the family alive. If they are sold to a good household, they might escape their fate, but most are sold to places that cannot be seen, where they are tortured to death."

Lady Wen patted her back. "It's getting late. Go to sleep first; I need to speak with Changqing for a while."

"Why is Mother so emotional?" Meng Changqing asked.

Lady Wen lowered her voice slightly. "You will know sooner or later, so I might as well tell you now. Your mother was sold by her own family for silver. She was resold several times by human traffickers, but fortunately, she didn't end up in a foul place; she was bought by her master and taught the craft of embroidery. Your mother is a very grateful person. Years ago, she entered the General's Mansion as a concubine specifically to save her master. Otherwise, your mother would never have taken an interest in a man of your father's age."

Meng Changqing had vaguely heard rumors before, which came in various versions, but only now did she know the truth.

"What crime did my mother's master commit?" Meng Changqing asked.

"It was because of an embroidery piece sent to the palace," Lady Wen said. "That was over ten years ago. The late Emperor was still on the throne then, but in reality, the current Emperor was already managing the state, and it was a time of chaos in the inner palace. The Eastern Palace was equally unstable; the current Noble Consort and the Crown Princess of that time were fighting for power, looking for any excuse to find fault with one another. It wasn't actually a problem with the embroidery itself, but in the end, it implicated your mother's master. Your mother had no connections in the capital and had no way to save him. While she was trying to bribe people everywhere, she happened to hear that I was looking for a concubine for your father. She volunteered to be your father's concubine, with the sole condition that I save her master."

"I see." Meng Changqing set down her soup bowl.

Hearing movement behind the curtain, Lady Wen decisively changed the subject. "There are now thirty thousand people. Are you confident you can complete the city walls?"

"They must be completed! With personnel and materials ready, even if the Yan army attacks, I will finish the walls amidst the flames of war!"

Meng Changqing suddenly remembered, "Mother, did you see Brother Dai today?"

"I sent him to Liangzhou City to procure supplies; he should be back by evening. Do you have business with him?"

"I previously asked him to find several doctors in Liangzhou City, but he hasn't replied to me about it."

"Little Dai told me that he followed those doctors' advice for two days, but no one is willing to come here," Lady Wen said. "Liangzhou is already short on medical supplies and doctors. When you went to the military camp to select people, I had wandered through Liangzhou City. In the entire city, there are only two prominent pharmacies, and they only have one or two resident doctors. They can barely handle their own business; how would they be willing to come here to suffer? Little Dai even looked for doctors in Yangmen County, but they said they would be willing to make house calls for emergencies, but staying here every day is impossible."

"What kind of emergency requires waiting for a doctor to travel dozens of miles to save a life?" Meng Changqing suddenly asked, "How is business at Doctor Hu's pharmacy?"

"Don't count on him for that idea," Lady Wen said. "It's not easy enough that he's willing to stay in Liangzhou. If you push any further, I'm afraid he'll take his family and flee overnight."

"Mother misunderstands. I only wanted to ask him to write some prescriptions."

Lady Wen replied, "Then consider it a misunderstanding."

Meng Changqing coughed twice. "I still have to write official documents for Lord Wei. I'll head back now. Mother, please rest early."

"You should rest early as well."

Meng Changqing was destined not to sleep early. She revised the documents for Wei Fangyun over and over; once she reached the more profound sections, sleepiness vanished entirely. Hearing the third watch announced outside, she simply stepped out of the pit.

Looking into the distance, the silhouette of the city walls could be seen under the moonlight.

The documents intended for Wei Fangyun reached the Emperor a few days later.

"Lady Wen is so law-abiding and disciplined; how did she raise someone like Meng Changqing?" The Emperor stared at the vast amount of praise at the beginning of the document, feeling quite perplexed.

The document was five pages long in total, and three of them were entirely dedicated to flattering his superior.

Day and night rotated between heaven and earth, and the work shifts at the construction site never ceased.

In the blink of an eye, it was the twenty-eighth day. Another six days had passed, and it was time for the shift change.

At the beginning of the Wei hour, the morning shift was just finishing. Meng Changqing walked toward the city walls carrying her fine hemp rope. Every day at this hour, she would go to measure how much of the wall had been newly built.

From the Wei hour yesterday until now, the finished height of the wall had increased by nearly half a mile.

Currently, the length of the city wall had reached nearly eight miles.