Chapter 21: Arrival in the Capital

The next evening, Xia Qingfeng and her group finally arrived in the capital. Upon seeing the towering gates of the capital city, Xia Qingfeng felt neither joy nor sorrow, only a deep sense of determination.

Indeed, the matter with Cui Liu had made her realize that in this era, human life is as fragile as grass. Only by becoming stronger can she protect herself, her child, and those around her.

Xia Qingfeng was assigned to a three-courtyard residence in the southern district of the capital. This had been arranged by Cang Qiyuan in a letter, and the residence was not in his name, so the outside world had no idea it was connected to him. It was safer for her to stay here.

Xia Qingfeng thought to herself: No wonder it took the space spirit almost a week to write the letter. It was so detailed—how long was that letter?!

The eastern district of the capital was home to officials and aristocrats, with the Marquis of Xiping’s mansion and the Marquis of Wuting’s mansion located there. Naturally, the Grand Marshal’s residence was also in the eastern district. In contrast, the western district was where the commoners lived, a place where the underworld and all kinds of people mingled. The northern district was home to small families of moderate wealth or minor officials, a place where people didn’t have to worry too much about making ends meet. The southern district, where Xia Qingfeng lived, was the wealthy area, home to the capital’s richest merchants and business tycoons.

This classification didn’t need much explanation—except for the eastern district, the other three districts could easily be distinguished by real estate prices alone.

After settling in, Cang Ji led two maidservants to the inner courtyard. “These two maids are to serve you as instructed by the master. Both are skilled in martial arts—one is good at lightness skills, and the other is strong. You can trust them for any tasks.”

Xia Qingfeng smiled and said, “Thank you to your master.” She then asked the two maidservants, “What are your names?”

The two maidservants knelt and replied in unison, “Please, Mistress, grant us a name.”

Xia Qingfeng waved her hand repeatedly, “Get up, I’m not worthy of being your mistress. You’re servants of the Grand Marshal, I’m only borrowing you for a few days. Why don’t you just keep your old names?”

Cang Ji also knelt and said, “The master instructed me to give these two maids to the madam. Please accept them, or I’ll have difficulty explaining it to the master. I hope you won’t make things difficult for me.”

Xia Qingfeng immediately jumped up and said, “Alright, alright, I’ll accept. But please, don’t kneel like that.”

The three of them stood up.

Xia Qingfeng looked at the two maids and said, “I’m not good at naming, so how about you keep your original names? What were they?”

…There was a brief silence in the room.

Then, a skinny girl spoke up, “This servant is called *Ban Jin*, and she is called *Ba Liang*,” she said, lowering her head after speaking.

Xia Qingfeng…

Xu Xiaoxiao…

Cang Qiyuan really is terrible at naming!

Then Cang Ji spoke up, “Cang Dao is responsible for managing all the guards at the Grand Marshal’s residence, and he’s the one who chose these two maids’ names.”

…Well, there’s nothing more to say. No wonder these two maids asked for new names the moment they arrived.

“Alright, I’ll give you new names then!”

“Thank you, Mistress!” The two maids hurriedly expressed their gratitude, as if afraid Xia Qingfeng might change her mind.

Xia Qingfeng thought for a moment and said, “I have a maid called Cui Liu, so how about you be named Xia He and Yin Xing?”

“Xia He thanks the Mistress for granting the name! I am skilled in lightness skills, and I also know how to do hairdressing and embroidery,” the thinner maid curtsied and said.

“Yin Xing thanks the Mistress for granting the name! I’m strong…” Then she scratched her head and asked, “Does being able to eat a lot count?”

“Heh heh heh.” Xu Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but laugh.

Cang Ji also couldn’t help but comment, “If you’re serving the Mistress, you’re in for a treat. Madam’s cooking is absolutely amazing; I guarantee you’ve never had anything that delicious.”

Yin Xing’s eyes lit up, “That sounds wonderful, thank you, Mistress.”

Cang Ji handed over the contracts of servitude to Xia Qingfeng and then took his leave.

As for the matter of the contracts, the space spirit had already discussed it with Xia Qingfeng earlier. The space spirit said, “This world is different from the one you lived in before. There’s no well-developed legal system here, and the hierarchy is strict. There’s no such thing as equality for all. For your safety, you must accept the contracts of servitude. If the servants are loyal, you can treat them well. Even their descendants can be freed from servitude—how you handle that is up to you.”

Xia Qingfeng understood that she had to face reality, so when she received the contracts, she didn’t make things difficult. She simply stored them in the space.

Xu Xiaoxiao was curious about the maids’ abilities and asked Xia He to show her how she flew and asked Yin Xing to demonstrate her strength.

Without saying a word, Yin Xing immediately lifted a stone table in the courtyard. Xia He also flew back and forth a few times in the yard. Xu Xiaoxiao clapped her hands in delight, insisting that Xia He carry her and fly around at least once before she’d be satisfied.

Xia Qingfeng also wanted to fly, but she wasn’t a child. It wouldn’t be right to have Xia He carry her and fly around, sigh!

“Do you want to fly, Feng’er?”

Xia Qingfeng couldn’t help but nod.

“I’ll take you flying in the future.”

“Forget it, I’m an adult… What did you say? Don’t you not have a body?” Xia Qingfeng asked, confused.

“Cough, let’s not talk about this for now. I’ve been riding in the carriage all day, and I’m tired. It’s best to rest early!” After saying that, the person quickly disappeared.

“I haven’t eaten yet, it’s too early to rest. Clarify what you meant, hey! Hey…”

Today, the space spirit unexpectedly sensed the changes within itself, and that’s why it couldn’t help but say those words. Ever since Xia Qingfeng brought the villagers of Yong’an Village to dig for herbs, and also saved someone at the market two days ago while teaching the people about first aid and hygiene knowledge, it had begun to feel different. This gave it hope.

But it still couldn’t say anything for now. It was afraid of scaring her.

The dinner was prepared by the house’s cook, and the flavors were quite mild, which Xia Qingfeng, who was studying medicine, was very satisfied with.

However, the three meat lovers couldn’t stand it. No, now there were four, including Ginkgo. She had heard from several guards about how amazing the madam’s cooking was. Along the way, they had eaten many delicious things, which had made her crave them. Although she didn’t dare to bring it up to the madam, the disappointed look in her eyes during meals made Xia Qingfeng feel bad. So, she made the decision: tomorrow, roast a whole lamb.

To buy the lamb, it had to be Cang Jian. The last sheep he brought back was particularly fat. Xia Qingfeng also asked him to buy a plumper old hen, as it was for Cui Liu’s body recovery. Cui Liu had suffered a lot this year and was physically weak, so she couldn’t undergo major surgeries like bone-breaking and bone-setting. Therefore, Xia Qingfeng needed to first help her regain her strength.

Xia Qingfeng suddenly thought of the children at home and asked Cang Jian to check if there were any milking sheep available, and to buy one. Don’t expect to find a milk cow, though; they were probably only introduced to China at the end of the Qing Dynasty. This alternate timeline was similar to history in many ways, so Xia Qingfeng didn’t dare to wish for that.

Thinking that eating too much lamb could cause heat, she then prepared a tea with ingredients like *gangmei root*, *mountain sesame*, *five-finger orange*, *light bamboo leaves*, *wood butterfly*, *cloth dregs leaves*, *sea golden vine*, *money grass*, and *golden cherry root* to clear heat and reduce fire.

Cang Jian, after getting up early to practice his skills, left and didn’t return until it was past the midpoint of the *si* hour. When he came back, he had brought two male sheep, two female sheep, and one old hen.

Xia Qingfeng was in a bit of a dilemma: “These sheep… they aren’t a pair, right? No matter which one I butcher, I’ll be breaking up a family!”

Cang Jian wiped the sweat from his forehead and pointed at one of the male sheep, saying, “This male sheep and those two female sheep are a family. And both females are pregnant. I’ve been searching all morning, but I didn’t come across any mothers who just gave birth. The old man selling the sheep said that they couldn’t be separated, and insisted on selling them as a group. So, I had no choice but to buy them all. According to the old man, in a couple of days, this one with the big belly will give birth, and the other one is expected to give birth in about a month.” He then pointed at another sheep and said, “This one is the one we’ll roast.”

Well, this one was the fattest.