Chapter 7: The Year (Revised)

“There is still more than a month left before you complete your mourning period; you must return then.” Lady Xue’s tone was flat, but in truth, she was somewhat worried for Xu Weishu.

Now that her parents were both deceased, her marriage would have to be decided by her uncle and aunt. Lady Xue didn't need to think to know what kind of family the current Duchess would select for her. It just so happened that this young lady of the Xu family was very clever, yet her ideas were somewhat out of step with the times. To say she was simply naive and ignorant of the world might not be quite accurate, but it was true that her temperament was straightforward.

Having spent three years together, Lady Xue was skilled at reading people. She could see that while Xu Weishu was somewhat idle in her habits, her disposition was broad-minded.

At her own manor, she never put on airs; she lived however was most comfortable. She didn't find three dishes and a soup to be shabby, nor did she find exquisite delicacies to be a waste.

Occasionally, old "friends" would visit, their words laced with sarcasm, mocking her current attire and grooming as being inferior even to the nouveau riche in the capital. Yet, she never showed anger. If it were anyone else, they might have even felt like seeking death.

The servants of the Duke's Mansion were disrespectful to her and skimmed from her household allowance, but as long as they didn't cross her bottom line, she didn't care at all. She didn't care about losing face, and she might not even consider it disrespectful if a certain servant stood tall and met her gaze with a slight edge.

Lady Xue always found it quite incredible that the Duke's Mansion of the Great Yin Dynasty could raise such a girl.

However, given the peculiar temperaments of the Duke and Duchess back then, it was only natural that they would raise a daughter who was a bit more peculiar.

Everything Lady Xue could think of, Xu Weishu could also think of.

Marriage was indeed a problem, but she wasn't overly worried. In any case, she would still marry the second son of the Jun family as before, and she wouldn't fall into the same predicament as the original owner of this body. To put it bluntly, the primary responsibility for the original owner's tragic fate lay with herself. The decades of lonely existence in the Guixu had been enough to grind away most of her impatience and anxiety.

Currently, Xu Weishu had great confidence in her own patience. No matter what kind of life she faced, she was certain she could make herself live freely and as she pleased.

Of course, she had no intention of repeating the same mistakes.

If there were a way to escape the control of those two and spend less energy playing wits with them, that would be even better, but alas, there are no perfectly flawless things in this world.

As usual, Lady Xue did not stay long at the manor. Besides teaching Xu Weishu, she also taught two other girls, both from ordinary farming families. As for how she was hired as an educational governess, one could only call it a stroke of fate.

Baoqin supported Lady Xue, seeing her properly out the door, and even packed a bag of medicinal tea made by Xu Weishu for her.

Sitting in the carriage, Lady Xue looked back once.

Actually, thinking about it carefully, if the young lady of the Xu family passed this hurdle and followed her for the rest of her life, it wouldn't be out of the question. Having taught her for three years, she truly felt this young lady was an easy person to get along with and a rare woman with a clear head.

There was no rush for this matter; she would have to wait and see.

The winter weather grew colder and colder.

It was a day of heavy wind and snow. After waking up and practicing two large characters, Xu Weishu had originally intended to curl up in her room with Qiuqiu all day. However, before noon, a letter arrived from a friend she had recently made on Dongxiao Mountain—a friend of a different generation.

It was a piece of ordinary, yellowed old paper. Baoqin unfolded it for her and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "What flower is this?"

There wasn't a single word on the paper, only a flower.

An edelweiss.

Xu Weishu froze, then gave a bitter smile.

That fellow's painting skills were truly excellent; if he went out to set up a stall and sell them, he might even live a decent life. It was just that Xu Weishu didn't like this kind of gift at all.

One look and it was obvious: that fellow had run out of grain again and had come specifically to leech off her. But her own food supplies weren't that vast; feeding her own family shouldn't be a major problem. The problem was, her friend was supporting over three hundred people!

That old man had a habit of picking up people whenever he had free time!

Since the tenth year of Tianzheng, the Great Yin Dynasty had been plagued by disasters: earthquakes, floods, droughts, hailstorms, and plagues. Year after year, the people's lives were miserable. That was one thing, but the State of Qiang was also mobilizing its troops, leading to frequent warfare. Domestically, civil officials were vying for power with constant partisan struggles, military generals were nurturing enemies to maintain their own influence, and peasant rebellions were springing up like mushrooms after rain, refusing to die out. The lives of the common people grew harder with each passing year, showing increasing signs of people placing their hopes in gods and Buddhas to save them from their suffering.

The signs of chaos under heaven were becoming increasingly obvious.

In less than ten years, the various princes would carve out their own territories, and wars would be incessant.

Xu Weishu had been pondering that once she finished her period of mourning for her parents, she should find a way to escape the Duke's Mansion, leave the capital, and find a safe place to build a highly secure home—ideally a stone castle. If the world were to fall into chaos in the future, at least she could protect her family's safety.

Since her friend was short on grain, Xu Weishu thought about it and went to the granary to check her own stores.

There were forty-three bags of various grains left. Besides flour and rice, there was also some sorghum, totaling over four thousand catties.

The manor had a bumper harvest this year, but the land wasn't actually that much—only about thirty mu—and it was quite barren soil. Xu Weishu had only harvested twenty percent of the grain, leaving the rest for the farmers themselves. This twenty percent was enough to feed her family.

After all, there weren't many people in the manor now, and they also raised chickens and ducks, planted some vegetables, and had some spare cash, so they often went out to buy meat.

However, to help her friend, unless she used her reserve funds—the silver sent by Jun Zhuo—it wouldn't be enough.

Xu Weishu didn't mind spending money to help raise others; to her, this friendship was practically a tool for accumulating merit.

It was just that her capacity was limited, and she had a large family to support. Looking at the current year, everyone's lives were surely becoming more and more difficult.

It was time to find a way to secure some income.

Xu Weishu sighed.