Meng Anci stared intently at his teacher, at his reddened eyes, at his hands being tightly gripped by the people, and at him helping up the people kneeling on the ground one by one.
He suddenly thought of himself.
Before his aunt arrived, he was chased and beaten by the village children, and he watched helplessly as his mother and sister suffered all kinds of grievances in front of their uncles and elders just to get a bite to eat.
So when his aunt sent him to school, he studied with great enthusiasm. When Su Wenqian showed him a little appreciation, he seized the opportunity to offer tea and become his apprentice.
He wanted to climb a big tree and make it his ladder to heaven.
He wanted to become a high-ranking official, he didn't want to be bullied, he wanted to keep climbing up the ladder and trample everyone under his feet.
But at this moment, the belief in my heart seemed to collapse instantly. It turned out that Su Wenqian's words about serving the people and benefiting the local area were not just empty words. He really was doing practical things for the people.
Looking at Su Wenqian, who was surrounded by people, Meng Anci's image of an official suddenly became clear and bright at this moment, and quietly took root and sprouted in his heart.
It turns out that at the end of the ladder to heaven, one is not above ten thousand people, but... among ten thousand people.
One large and two small ones stood blankly under the eaves like three wooden stakes.
Madam Su arrived in a hurry with her maid. She squeezed through the crowd, stood in front of Su Wenqian, and skillfully took out a handful of silver coins and stuffed them into the old man's hand.
Hiding behind his wife, Su Wenqian called out loudly, "I am well aware of the sentiments of my fellow villagers."
But the imperial court has a law that officials cannot accept gifts from the people. So... I'll buy these things at market price, and consider it a gift from you, how about that?"
"How can that be? This is all from our heartfelt wishes; how can we accept Lord Su's money?"
"Yes... we don't want money, we just want to deliver... no one can stop us, whoever tries to stop me, I... I... I..." The old man stammered for a while, then lay down on the ground and shouted, "I'm not getting up!"
Upon hearing this, everyone put their belongings down on the ground and lay down in unison. "That's right, if Lord Su won't accept it, we won't get up... In this thawed March weather, we might as well freeze to death."
Seeing this, Madam Su was both amused and exasperated. "Why don't you all listen to me? Lord Su is getting a promotion, but if the rivals find something to use against him... he might lose his position and could even be imprisoned."
Some people instinctively stood up, but were quickly pushed back down by those around them, who whispered, "You're just kidding... Don't believe it, just lie there."
Madam Su glanced at her disheveled husband and said with a forced smile, "You've sent far too much. We can't possibly eat all of this at the government office. How about this, I'll take a little of everything."
This will satisfy everyone, and Lord Su will also be able to enjoy the food. What do you think?
As she spoke, she handed the money pouch to the maid. The maid had seen this kind of thing many times and naturally knew what to do. She held the money pouch and followed Madam Su quietly.
When the people saw that Madam Su had actually taken some food from their own belongings, and thinking about Lord Su's future prospects... they had no choice but to sit up.
"Okay... take more eggs, they'll keep longer."
Madam Su readily agreed, "Okay... I'll take more eggs."
"And fish..."
"Alright, alright..." Madam Su responded one by one. Although her husband was a prefect, he spent most of his monthly salary on helping the people. The Su Household's expenses were entirely supported by her mother-in-law's dowry.
Now that my mother-in-law has passed away, my maternal uncle's family will naturally stop sending money and gifts. Besides, my uncle is quite old, and I've heard his health hasn't been good lately...
From now on, I'll have to be very careful with my finances. Luckily, I returned to Beijing to report on my duties; otherwise...
Madam Su sighed, only feeling relieved when she caught a glimpse of the maidservant stuffing money into the people's bags.
After seeing the people off, Su Wenqian finally breathed a long sigh of relief. He put his hat back on and looked up to see three people under the eaves.
He sighed, "Why are you all joining in the fun?"
Jin Shanyao up the brocade box, "Mine is different from others. I carved a jade ring for you to keep you safe... I also drew two talismans for my niece-in-law."
Madam Su beamed with delight upon hearing this, but pushed Su Wenqian away with displeasure, saying, "What do you know? We're family." With that, she pulled Jin Shanyao's hand and led him toward the inner courtyard.
"Come on, come on... I had the kitchen prepare a lot of food today, let's have a good meal."
Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi followed Madam Su towards the back courtyard, while Meng Anci came to Su Wenqian and respectfully bowed.
"Teacher, this is a gift I prepared for you. I hope it will bring you success in your future career."
Su Wenqian saw that it was a book with the title " Gazetteer of Qingzhou Prefecture " on the cover. "Does Qingzhou Prefecture have this book? How come I don't know about it?"
Meng Anci smiled and said, "It was written by the student himself. It records the teacher's achievements during the past three years in Qingzhou Prefecture."
Su Wenqian was surprised; he didn't even know what he had done. Curious, he took the gift and looked through it, his smile gradually widening. " Anci is so thoughtful; the teacher really likes this gift."
When Meng Anci heard that he liked it, his smile became even brighter. Su Wenqian's heart stirred slightly, and he felt that Meng Anci seemed to be treating him differently today.
He remained respectful, but with less affectation. He was still intelligent, but with more composure. He was happier than anyone else to see the changes in his students.
" Anci, you only have two years left until the provincial examination." Su Wenqian put away his books and said seriously, "Your teacher is waiting for you in the capital. If you encounter any problems you don't understand, you can write to me."
Meng Anci solemnly, "I will certainly live up to your expectations."
The master and disciple discussed their studies for a while longer until a maid came to fetch them, at which point they went together to the backyard.
In the backyard of the government office, Madam Su had already prepared a large table of dishes. Su Wenqian changed into an indigo casual suit and sat in the main seat.
He joked with a smile, "The new prefect will be arriving soon; I wonder if Miss Jin will have forgotten me."
Jin Shanyao glared at him, then handed him the brocade box. "You're my nephew, how could I forget you..."
Su Wenqian took it and opened it. The jade ring came into view. The jade ring was crudely made, and knife marks could still be seen on the surface of the jade. However, it was warm to the touch, and there seemed to be a golden light flowing inside.
He laughed and said, "Did you make this yourself?"
Jin Shanyao lightly twice and chuckled awkwardly, "The jade is mine, the design was drawn by Anci, and the jade ring was carved by Meng Anzhi."
Su Wenqian said "Oh," and then added, "So you didn't do anything?"
"Hey you, didn't I say the jade is mine..." Jin Shanyao pointed to the red rope, "Look, and this rope is the one I tied."
*Pfft... Madam Su couldn't help but laugh out loud. Seeing everyone looking at her, she coughed lightly, "The rope is tied very well; it looks sturdy."
Jin Shanyao an eyebrow, "That's... you should wear it, it'll keep you safe..."
As he spoke, he took out two more talismans and handed them to Madam Su. "These two are Truth Talisman. Those people in the capital are all treacherous and never tell the truth. These talismans will work."
Madam Su quickly accepted it, her heart warmed. "Thank you so much, Miss Jin..."
"No need to thank me, you gave me a gift too, it's just reciprocity..."
"Yes, yes, it's only fair," Madam Su laughed heartily, putting away the talisman. She looked up and saw Meng Anzhi placing a medicine box on the table.
She opened the medicine box, which contained bottles of different colors, each labeled with a tag.
" Lord Su, Madam Su, I wonder what you will encounter on your journey to the capital."
"Here you have hemostatic medicine, antidote, and ginseng pills for emergency use," she said, then pointed to two red bottles. "This is Anzhi Hall's new face cream, specially brought for Madam Su to try. And this beauty-enhancing and calming tea, I hope you like it."
"I love it, I love it..." Madam Su smiled from ear to ear. She quickly called over a maid to carefully put away the medicine box, and then took the jade ring from Su Wenqian's hand and put it on his body.
The jade ring Jin Shanyao is said to bring peace, but it's really about saving one's life...
After putting it on, Madam Su grabbed the jade ring and stuffed it into Su Wenqian's collar.
The warm jade against his chest instantly made him breathe more easily and made him feel refreshed.