Chapter 32: The Wind on Wuji Slope

The long night stretched on, and Wang Baochuan sat by the lamp, reading a book. Her heart had never felt so peaceful. Being a clear-headed and insightful person was truly a delight.

Lately, she had been reading a lot, from miscellaneous essays and anecdotes to historical records from various dynasties.

She didn’t fall asleep until very late. She dreamt all night, dreaming of the wind on Wuji Slope and the eighteen years she spent in the cold kiln.

Back then, she was very busy, running around every day to make ends meet. Often, she had to walk halfway up a mountain to find wild vegetables. She would toil all day, returning home at dusk. To save lamp oil, she would go to bed early.

Day after day, the only joy in her long life was the little moments she shared with Xue Pinggui. They didn’t spend much time together. They had met a few times before their marriage, and after a month of marriage, Xue Pinggui left to join the army.

So, eighteen years was a very long time, long enough for her to constantly romanticize Xue Pinggui in her memory, imagining their interactions in a different light.

As for their reunion eighteen years later, she didn’t see the Xue Pinggui she remembered in that King of Xiliang. Later, Xue Pinggui even teased her, saying he recognized her at a glance, but she didn’t recognize him at all.

Nonsense, were there many women digging wild vegetables on Wuji Slope? She could have guessed it!

In her previous life, she wasn’t angry when she learned that Wei Hu had embezzled Xue Pinggui’s military pay. In fact, all her resentment was directed at Wei Hu.

It wasn’t until she drank that bowl of lotus seed soup, her consciousness fading as she fell into the lake, that she realized that even if Wei Hu hadn’t embezzled the military pay, even if she hadn’t suffered in the cold kiln, but had simply lived a peaceful life for eighteen years, she wouldn’t have had a good outcome.

Because who was by Dai Zhan’s side? A wise and capable minister, her children with Xue Pinggui, and the supporters of Xiliang. She had no children to rely on, no family to support her. All she had were the few beggar friends Xue Pinggui had made during their hardships.

Even if Xue Pinggui hadn’t killed her, she would have been a superfluous person in the palace. The Emperor was Dai Zhan’s, and the throne belonged to Dai Zhan’s son.

When she woke up, her pillow was soaked with tears. She wrapped herself tightly in her quilt. Thankfully, it was just a dream. She hadn’t repeated her mistakes.

The winter was harsh. Wang Baochuan sold her jewelry, opened a porridge stall every three days to give out porridge, and even had the servants in the mansion help the homeless people repair their shelters, giving them a place to stay.

She also opened a silk shop. From raising silkworms and reeling silk to weaving and embroidery, she employed women from the surrounding villages. Those who weren’t skilled could go to the Wang family’s estate to learn from the embroiderers. She hoped that these women could find their own value and have more opportunities to earn money.

Wang Yincui couldn’t stand her for being so public and would often make sarcastic remarks. At first, Wang Baochuan would deliberately retort, but she gradually realized that the more she responded, the more the woman would jump around. So, she simply ignored her.

One day, she was riding in her carriage and passed by Wuji Slope. It had only been a month, and Xu Wanning was already braving the cold, digging wild vegetables in the snow with a basket in her hand.

There were no wild vegetables in winter. They could only dig some wild radishes and grass roots to fill their stomachs.

After winter arrived, there wasn’t much work to be done in the capital. Xue Pinggui could only chop wood and sell it.

Xu Wanning couldn’t bear to see him going out early and coming back late every day, so she volunteered to share the burden.

The carriage stopped. Xu Wanning saw Wang Baochuan getting off the carriage and felt a little awkward. She was wearing a dark gray patched short jacket, her dry black hair tied up with a wooden hairpin. But this wooden hairpin was made by Xue Pinggui himself, and she loved it dearly.

“Miss Xu, long time no see. How have you been?” Wang Baochuan walked over. The cold wind cut through her face like a knife.

Xu Wanning put down her basket, straightened up, and her face was full of sweetness. It had to be said that women in love really had a good complexion, but her fair face, lacking the nourishment of facial cream, was prone to peeling and cracking, especially in this season.