Chapter 26: Taoyuan Valley

Previously, Tian Mi had found more than a dozen wild mountain peach trees on the mountain. Though the fruit was small and still fuzzy, the trees were large and about seven or eight years old. Tian Mi carried a hoe and an axe to dig them up and bring them back. She also took two peach trees, an orange tree, a tangerine tree, a cherry tree, and a pear tree from her space and planted them near her house.

Taoyuan Valley didn’t just have peaches.

On either side of the valley entrance, the houses were occupied by her eldest uncle’s family, second uncle’s family, her own family, Uncle Cui’s family, and the second Uncle Cui’s family living on the left side.

On the right side were Uncle Xu with his family, Uncle Chen’s family, and Uncle Liu’s family.

The people of Fengqiu Village even built a long shed for the livestock. They loved the animals dearly, as they helped with a lot of work. Ten horses were kept at Uncle Xu’s place, and the rest were kept at Tian Mi’s.

The boys, eager to help, would fight over who would care for the animals every day. However, the animals would often run to Tian Mi, asking for water, leaving her both amused and helpless.

With the autumn rain came the cold. After a heavy downpour, the deep autumn in the valley turned chilly. Fortunately, everyone had winter clothing, and most of the houses in Fengqiu Village had been completed. With everyone living close together, they were able to avoid getting soaked.

When the weather cleared up, everyone in the valley gathered to help the people of Fengqiu Village build their houses and make furniture, determined to finish before winter arrived. Tian Mi, Xu Feiyan, her second cousin, and Chen Miaomiao also joined in to help prepare the hay.

While they were busy in the valley, disaster struck the surrounding mountains. Bai Dongyuan sent out twenty small teams, each with thirty men, to search the mountains for people hiding there.

They captured the men, took the young and beautiful women, looted food, and left only the elderly and weak behind. The people could only kneel and cry, “Heaven, how are we supposed to survive?”

These savages didn’t care about the people’s survival. Anyone who resisted was killed on the spot.

They forced the able-bodied to run deeper into the mountains.

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In Taoyuan Valley, four people arrived, their faces filled with panic. Among them was Zuo Zhengfeng, along with his two siblings and the younger brother’s servant. The younger brother, Huang Shengying, was a chief clerk at the county office. He didn’t want to be involved with Prince Yu, so he fled early, taking his servant and widow sister into the deep mountains. Last month, Zuo Zhengfeng had found him and begun his underground work. They never expected to find such a place in the mountains—one with high walls that seemed even safer than the places they had been hiding. They saw hope here, knowing that if they ran deeper into the mountains, they might end up as food for the wild animals. They decided to try their luck and stay here.

The gate was tightly closed, and they couldn’t open it. They shouted from the outside, “Is anyone there? Is there anyone in the mountains?”

By the time they arrived, the construction of the houses in Fengqiu Village was nearing completion. Most people were inside Taoyuan Valley, with only Tian Mi’s grandmother and a few aunts preparing lunch for everyone. When they heard the calls at the gate, they went to tell Tian Dabiao and others.

Tian Dabiao, Uncle Xu, and Tian Mi came to the top of the courtyard wall and looked down at the four people below.

“Who are you, and what do you want here?”

Tian Mi had lost some weight over the past month. She now weighed just over forty kilos and appeared visibly pregnant, with her double chin no longer as noticeable.

It took Zuo Zhengfeng a while to recognize her, but when he did, he called out in surprise, “Miss Tian! It’s me! We’ve been looking for you these past two months! Boss Feng wants to buy your medicine!”

Tian Mi had already suspected that Zuo Zhengfeng was from the government, so she allowed them into Taoyuan Valley to talk.

Seeing that Tian Mi knew them, Uncle Xu went back to continue helping with the house construction in Fengqiu Village.

Tian Mi led them into the main room of her house, where she offered them some water.

As soon as they arrived near the house, they could smell the strong scent of herbs. Tian Mi and the others had almost used up all the medicinal materials they had gathered from the bandit’s den.

Tian Dabiao also sat with them to welcome the guests.

Tian Mi first introduced Tian Dabiao to them and said, “It’s too chaotic outside. If I go to the county town again, it might not be safe, which is why I haven’t gone.”

Zuo Zhengfeng introduced himself and then introduced Huang Shengying and his sister Huang Zhihui. He said, “Miss Tian, you’re right. It’s chaotic outside now. After Bai Dongyuan’s men raided the villages, they’ve come up the mountain. We were also forced to run deeper into the mountains. Miss Tian, could you let us stay here for a while?”

Tian Mi had been wondering how he found her, but now it was clear that they weren’t specifically looking for her—they had simply stumbled upon her hiding place while fleeing.

Tian Mi didn’t want to take in any unnecessary people and cause trouble, and she was about to refuse when Zuo Zhengfeng took out a stack of silver notes and said, “This is our lodging fee, and we’ve brought our own food.”

Tian Mi took the silver notes, counted them, and found two thousand taels. She was surprised at how skillfully he had managed this situation.

Clearing her throat, she said with a serious tone, “Ah! This world is indeed in turmoil. It’s unsafe to go out with everything being so chaotic. It’s not impossible for you to stay, but our rooms are limited. You’ll have to set up a tent in the shed outside.”

Huang Shengying said, “Thank you, Miss Tian. However, it’s inconvenient for my sister and us to stay together. Could she stay with you?”

Huang Zhihui quickly added, “Miss Tian, don’t worry. I’m very quiet and can help with the work. I can do any kind of work.”

Huang Zhihui appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen, and she had clearly endured hardship in life. She had married at seventeen, but by the age of twenty, she had become a widow. At twenty-one, her in-laws shamelessly took her dowry and drove her back to her parents’ home. Fortunately, her brother later passed the imperial exams and became a scholar, which allowed their family to settle down.

Huang Shengying had continued his studies and passed the imperial exams, full of ambition to go to the capital to further his studies. However, his maternal uncle, a member of the royal family, passed away. He had to observe mourning for three years, and his position as a clerk at the county office, which was controlled by Prince Yu’s people, led to his services being seized by the court. He was given a position as a sub-clerk and lost his chance to continue his studies.

Tian Dabiao saw that having a woman around would be inconvenient in a shared tent with three other men. He also felt more at ease knowing someone could care for his daughter, especially with her pregnancy. So he said to Tian Mi, “Mi’er, let Huang Zhihui take care of you! This way, your father will feel more at ease.”

Tian Mi nodded in agreement.

That night, Bai Mucheng wiped out the elite troops of the Qi King’s army, then counterattacked and took two county towns from the Qi King. During this busy period of recovery and settlement, Bai Mucheng couldn’t afford to rest. He had been working non-stop, as any pause made him think of that shameless woman—so fat, yet so spirited under the moonlight.

Thinking of her made him furious. How could a decent young woman become a bandit, tease him, and even feed men medicine for pig breeding?

Suddenly, he remembered the incident and wondered if the medicine had worked on her.

He was certain it hadn’t—he couldn’t be that unlucky.

That day when he woke up in the cave, his head was pounding, and his body ached. He was filled with shame and rage, wanting to kill the sleeping woman, but the stain of red on the bedsheet made him both angry and frustrated. He stormed out of the cave.

He sent his subordinates to look for her, but there was no news. Even with such distinctive features, she couldn’t be found. He feared that in such chaotic times, her survival was slim. Strangely, Bai Mucheng felt a twinge of loss.

Perhaps it was for the best—the world was now rid of one less woman who could bring disaster.