Chapter 7

The five gold leaves were exchanged for fifty taels of silver, and Madam Wen’s jewelry was pawned for a hundred taels. This was all their remaining wealth.

Xu Qinyu and Madam Wen carried the large bundle of silver back to the yamen without fear, as Raozhou City had a military camp and frequent patrols, ensuring good security.

Soon, they returned to the yamen, where Deputy Officer Chen and his men had already handed over the serious criminals and left. The yamen would send these criminals to the coal mines.

Pei Weixuan and Pei Jianing were still waiting in the yamen, with the two children sleeping on Pei Weixuan’s shoulders. Upon closer inspection, Xu Qinyu noticed that Pei Weixuan’s face seemed flushed. Feeling something was wrong, she touched his forehead and found it burning hot. He had a fever, which explained the redness in his face that morning. She had thought it was because he had been eating better recently.

“Fourth Brother, you have a fever,” Xu Qinyu said worriedly.

His forehead felt like it was around forty degrees Celsius, yet he had still been carrying the two children all the way.

“It’s nothing,” Pei Weixuan said, barely lifting his eyelids; even the corners of his eyes were red. His voice was melodious, like jade, but now it was slightly hoarse due to the fever. Throughout the journey, he only spoke when necessary.

Xu Qinyu had barely heard him say a few words.

Hearing that he had a fever, Madam Wen and Pei Jianing became anxious and wanted to take him to a clinic.

Pei Weixuan said, “Let’s handle the household registration first.”

Xu Qinyu took Feng’er from Pei Weixuan’s arms. Feng’er, being a year older than Yuan’er, was slightly heavier. Pei Jianing also took her niece from her brother. They went to find the registrar and explained their situation.

The registrar gave them a list of household registration fees for Raozhou City and its surrounding towns and villages.

The original owner of Xu Qinyu’s body was literate and had beautiful handwriting, so Xu Qinyu could read the characters. However, she wasn’t the original owner and couldn’t imitate her handwriting. It seemed she would need to practice more to avoid revealing herself when writing letters to the original owner’s parents in the future.

Seeing the registration fees on the list, Xu Qinyu was astonished. It was incredibly expensive. To register in Raozhou City, each person needed to pay a hundred taels of silver!

The larger towns near Raozhou City required ten taels of silver per person. Smaller and more distant towns required five taels of silver. Ordinary villages had a registration fee of about one tael of silver. Only about ten villages didn’t require a registration fee because they were near the iron and coal mines. These two mines were located to the north and south of Raozhou City, each about a hundred miles away.

Madam Wen looked at the registration fees, hesitating to point to one of the villages that only required one tael of silver.

Xu Qinyu quickly pointed to a place called Yuanbao Town. “Mother, let’s register here. It has a dock, is the closest to Raozhou City, and has soldiers patrolling, so the security must be good. Living here will make it easy to enter the city. The town is large and has everything we need. We can even do some small business in the future.”

She had heard many small traders mention Yuanbao Town outside, knowing it had the largest dock. With a canal, there was naturally a dock.

The canal was used not only for transporting coal and iron but also for many merchant caravans doing business. There were other towns with docks, but Yuanbao Town had the largest dock and the most population. Moreover, the name Yuanbao, meaning “treasure,” sounded prosperous and auspicious.

Madam Wen looked at the registration fee for Yuanbao Town, which was ten taels of silver per person. She couldn’t help but say, “Yuniang, ten taels of silver per person is too expensive. We only have a hundred and fifty taels left. After registering, we still need to buy a house and other necessities. We should keep some silver for emergencies. What if we need money later and have none left?”

She had initially wanted to go to a better town, but ten taels per person was too much. Weixuan was also sick. He had been frail since childhood and needed expensive medicine, so she wanted to save some silver just in case.

Xu Qinyu shook her head. “Mother, I still think a larger town is better. We won’t have to travel from the village to the town for business. For six people, the registration fee is sixty taels, leaving us with ninety taels. We can rent a place in Yuanbao Town first and see how it goes. Ninety taels should be enough. What do you think?”

If they went to a small village, it would be hard to do any business, and she would have to travel to the town every day, which would be exhausting.

Madam Wen hesitated, looking towards Pei Jianing and Pei Weixuan.

Pei Jianing lifted her eyelids slightly. “Let’s listen to Fourth Sister-in-law.”

Having witnessed Fourth Sister-in-law’s cooking skills, she knew they would rely on her to make a living. If they registered in a village, they couldn’t expect Fourth Sister-in-law to travel to the town every day, which would be too tiring.

Pei Weixuan also nodded in agreement.

Seeing that her children agreed to settle in Yuanbao Town, Madam Wen reluctantly agreed.

After paying the silver and obtaining the household registration certificate, the group left the yamen to find an inn to stay at temporarily and to get a doctor for Pei Weixuan. As they were leaving, they ran into the Wen family.

The Wen family had entered the city, found an inn to stay at, and then came to the yamen to register.

Old Master Wen had two legitimate sons and one illegitimate son. These three sons had children, and those children had grandchildren, so the Wen family had a population of twenty to thirty people, even in the capital.

Seeing Madam Wen, the Wen family members ignored her and went straight into the yamen.

Madam Wen walked slowly, glancing at the elderly woman with graying hair at the back of the Wen family.

That was Madam Wen’s mother, Madam Gui, who was now in her fifties. When Madam Wen entered the palace and became a concubine and later empress, the Wen family treated Madam Gui very well.

Now that Madam Wen was exiled, the Wen family couldn’t openly vent their anger on her, so they took it out on Madam Gui.

Madam Wen felt heartbroken, which was why she had endured the Wen family’s mistreatment along the way.

Leaving the yamen, Xu Qinyu couldn’t help but look back at Madam Gui. She knew Madam Wen was worried about Madam Gui, but she didn’t want to leave the Wen family. When Madam Wen became one of the four concubines, Old Master Wen elevated Madam Gui to the status of a concubine and returned her indenture, making her a free woman. However, being a concubine didn’t make her a wife; she was still a concubine, though she had the title of wife and could be divorced.

If Madam Gui was willing, she could divorce Old Master Wen, and Madam Wen would support her mother. But Madam Gui was also soft-hearted and didn’t dare to break ties with the Wen family. This was likely because Madam Gui had been a maid to Old Madam Wen all her life, always under her control, and never developed the mindset to resist.

However, since they were all in Raozhou now, there would be ways to help.

Xu Qinyu didn’t want to see Madam Gui continue to suffer.

After leaving the yamen, Madam Wen’s eyes were red, worried about both her aunt and her son.

Carrying the two children, they soon found an inn.

They didn’t dare to choose a poor inn, as they still had ninety taels of silver and feared attracting thieves. They couldn’t afford a luxurious inn either, so they chose a mid-range one, renting a large shared room for a hundred wen, just enough to accommodate the six of them. Once they found a place to stay, Pei Weixuan collapsed, and Madam Wen’s tears fell.

After instructing Ning Jie’er to take care of the two children, Xu Qinyu and Madam Wen went out to find a doctor.

Doctors were easy to find, and there was a clinic nearby. The doctor came to diagnose Pei Weixuan, and as he examined him, his expression grew serious. “It is indeed a fever, likely caused by exposure to rain and wind, but… but…”

Although it was a fever, there were other symptoms. Sometimes, the doctor couldn’t even feel the patient’s pulse, as if his body should be dead, yet he was still alive.

When the doctor explained this, Madam Wen’s tears began to fall.

The doctor continued, “Your son’s body can’t withstand much more. The other symptoms are puzzling, and it seems like poisoning, but I’m not well-versed in toxins. I’ll prescribe some fever-reducing medicine to lower the temperature first. If you’re worried, you can consult another doctor.”

Madam Wen was stunned.

Xu Qinyu was also shocked, not expecting her husband’s condition to be so severe, with poison in his body. He had been carrying the two children all the way, and she thought he was just weak. But was he poisoned before or during the exile?

After thinking for a moment, Xu Qinyu realized that her husband, being the fourth prince and the younger brother of the crown prince, born to the empress, was likely poisoned in the palace. She knew how terrifying the power struggles for the throne could be, which explained why the new emperor dared to let him leave. It seemed Madam Wen didn’t know about her son’s poisoning. Her mother-in-law was truly naive, yet she survived in the palace and even became the empress. It was purely by luck.

Madam Wen was heartbroken. Xu Qinyu paid for the medicine and went to get it.

The fever-reducing medicine wasn’t expensive. Xu Qinyu borrowed a small stove and a clay pot from the inn’s kitchen to brew the medicine. On the way back, she also bought some food and a few sets of inner and winter clothes, estimating the sizes for the six of them. They hadn’t washed for over a month during the exile, and their bodies were sore and smelly. The innkeeper was kind to let them stay.

After returning, Madam Wen brewed the medicine in the kitchen while Xu Qinyu asked the inn for hot water to wash thoroughly. She changed into the inner and winter clothes, feeling much more comfortable. The clothes she bought were cheap and comfortable, not stylish. The colors were dull, making them look a bit unattractive.

After washing, she called for hot water for Ning Jie’er to wash. Once they were both clean, they washed the two children. When everyone was clean and comfortable, she took out the meat buns she had bought and shared them. The meat buns cost two wen each and tasted average.

The two children ate and then fell asleep. Xu Qinyu went to the kitchen to take over the medicine brewing from Madam Wen, allowing her to wash and eat.