Perilla left, taking Prince Zhen with her, leaving Yi Qing with an inescapable annoyance.
Yi Qing tossed the medical book aside and muttered, "If you're going, just go properly. Why leave me with such a problem?"
Perilla had said that if Yi Qing truly had no feelings for Xiao Tian, she should find someone else. It couldn't be that hard to find a companion in such a large general's mansion.
Moreover, Perilla had also said, "If all you want is companionship, Xiao Tian is clearly not suitable since he's already deeply in love with you."
But Yi Qing thought that besides being herself, she was also a mother.
When she got hurt, she could lick her wounds, but what about Baozi?
After all, she had a burden to carry, so she couldn't be carefree.
"People should just live muddle - headedly. Why think so much!" Yi Qing sighed.
Xiao Tian and Baozi had both gone to the academy. In the morning, she had even sighed to Xiao Tian that she was so idle in the mansion that she felt like mushrooms were growing on her. She was planning to go to the academy to talk to Lu Tianxun.
"About what?" Xiao Tian was on high alert as soon as he heard the name, and his furrowed brows showed his displeasure.
"The medical clinic has closed down," Yi Qing rolled her eyes. "I've got nothing to do in the mansion. How about suggesting that Lu Tianxun set up a medical department in the academy and I can be a teacher there? What do you think?"
Xiao Tian defeated her with just one sentence.
He said, "Can you read?"
The illiterate Yi Qing wilted like an eggplant beaten by frost.
Xiao Tian cleared his throat and said, "Starting tonight, I'll teach you to read. Five characters a day. During the day, you practice writing at home. And the mansion's warehouse, haven't you always wanted to take inventory? You can supervise the inventory..."
Learning to read was okay, but just thinking about doing accounts made Yi Qing's head feel like a mess.
She couldn't help but mutter, "How do other ladies manage the household? Do they have to take inventory of the warehouse themselves?"
Xiao Tian said, "Speaking of this, I remembered that you don't have any capable maids by your side. Later, tell Lady Di to pick some useful ones for you."
Yi Qing curled her lips. "I'll do it myself."
If her mother had had reliable people around, would she have been bullied by the Marquis of Huai'en for so many years?
So Yi Qing thought that maybe she should go to the slave market to see if she could find suitable people.
Although slave traders could send people to the mansion, they often exaggerated the qualities of the slaves. Since she had nothing to do anyway, she decided to go and have a look herself.
In ancient times, it was very common for people to sell themselves into slavery. So there was a bustling slave market next to the mule and horse market.
Yi Qing changed into men's clothing and went out with two guards. She said to them, "Just follow me from a distance."
"Yes, Lady."
Yi Qing strolled leisurely to the slave market. Sure enough, it was extremely bustling. There were men and women of all ages, some selling themselves individually, some selling their whole families.
Yi Qing left after only looking for a while. Her mental fortitude was weaker than she had imagined.
— After all, having received an education on equality, she couldn't bear to see such a scene.
Although the medical clinic had closed, many things were still left inside. So she planned to go and clean it up.
Perilla was right. She wasn't a stubborn person, so she gave up the idea of reopening the medical clinic.
Passing by the bustling South Street, she just wanted to buy some beef tongue cakes, but unexpectedly, she ran into an acquaintance and witnessed a big drama.
"That's him! That's the one who pawned things here. I recognize him!" A young woman's excited voice came. At the same time, she grabbed a man. "Don't go! Don't go! It's you!"
Yi Qing didn't intend to meddle in other people's business at first, but when she glanced over, she saw that it was a little girl of fourteen or fifteen. She was short, plain - looking, dark - skinned, and thin, looking malnourished.
That wasn't a big deal, but the person she was holding was an acquaintance.
Yi Qing stopped in her tracks and squinted at the long - unseen Marquis of Huai'en, her own father.
This was in front of a pawnshop, and the location was quite intriguing.
There was a big character "pawn" embroidered on the little girl's jacket, so it was obvious that she worked in the pawnshop.
The Marquis of Huai'en was involved with a pawnshop? This was interesting.
More and more people gathered around. The Marquis of Huai'en's face turned bright red with anger. He impatiently shook off the little girl forcefully. "Where did this crazy girl come from? Let go of me quickly."
But the little girl used all her strength and held on tightly to his sleeve.
"Rip—"
The little girl actually tore his sleeve.
The Marquis of Huai'en flew into a rage. "Pay for it! This is the finest Shu brocade. This piece of clothing costs twenty or thirty taels of silver. Pay up!"
The little girl staggered from being pushed. Looking at the half - torn sleeve in her hand, she suddenly threw it on the ground forcefully. Then she came over and grabbed the Marquis of Huai'en's robe. With tears in her eyes and stubbornly biting her lips, she said, "It's you! Although you were in disguise that day, I'd recognize you even if you turned to ashes!"
At this time, a spectator was impatient. "Little girl, you can't just hold on to someone like this. You have to tell us what's going on!"
This was exactly what Yi Qing was thinking.
The little girl said, "Everyone, please judge for me. My name is Jushuang. My father has been the accountant in this pawnshop for more than ten years. I'm sure many of you know him."
"Accountant Zhang?" someone asked.
"Yes, that's my father," the little girl said with tears in her eyes. "Our family wasn't very rich, but we lived a moderately comfortable life. Who would have thought that misfortune would strike? My father suddenly fell seriously ill in the spring. A single dose of medicine could cost three or five taels of silver. We've spent five or six hundred taels of silver in total..."
Everyone gasped. Five or six hundred taels of silver was a huge amount of money.
It was only because Accountant Zhang had been an accountant for so many years. For an ordinary family, this amount was unimaginable.
The little girl continued, "The pillar of our family fell, and there was no income. Fortunately, the owner of the pawnshop took pity on us and agreed to let me take over my father's job. I've been walking on thin ice for more than half a year without making the slightest mistake."
Everyone gasped again.
Female accountants were rare. They were like female generals, only existing in legends, storybooks, and on the stage.
No one expected that this little girl could take on such a responsibility at such a young age and become the accountant of such a large pawnshop.
"… But a few days ago, our pawnshop accepted an antique porcelain vase as collateral for three thousand taels of silver. Later, we found out that it was fake. All of us were fined a year's monthly salary. Others might be able to endure it, but my father is at home waiting for the money to save his life!"
Three thousand taels of silver... Everyone's eyes widened again. It seemed that their eyes were going to pop out today.
"So I wasn't willing to let it go. I've been keeping an eye on the entrance these days," the little girl said. "It's him! It's definitely him! Although he was in disguise that day, I'm sure it was him."
Under everyone's scrutiny, the Marquis of Huai'en flew into a rage. "I'm the Marquis of Huai'en. How could I do such a thing for just three thousand taels of silver!"