Chapter 231
Officials of Great Yan had two days of rest a month. However, the guards in Yue Fuguang's retinue, despite being officials of Great Yan and drawing a salary from the imperial court, answered only to her.
Therefore, she gave each person four days off a month, with the leave schedules all arranged by Zhang Fang and the Shen sisters.
She remembered Yu Huaixian saying that today was his day off.
[Master, for an immortal, you're getting quite accustomed to eating mortal food.]
"Little Zhu, your master is merely adapting to local customs. The spiritual fruits and vegetables of the immortal realm certainly have their own flavor, but the worldly food of this mortal realm also has its unique charm."
Yu Huaixian smiled and said, "I had nothing to do, so I came to the East Market for a stroll and just happened to see your carriage."
He wouldn't dare admit that his granduncle had sent a message home, saying that their cousin was coming out to catch an enemy "spy" today and ordering him to provide close protection.
Zhang Fang and the others had good martial arts skills, but the family didn't dare entrust their cousin's safety entirely to outsiders.
His grandfather and the elders had instructed him that in times of danger, he was to be his little cousin's human shield. He could be injured or even die, but his cousin couldn't lose a single hair!
Yu Huaixian didn't think there was anything wrong with the elders' instructions. After all, she was the golden child of the Yu family. With her around, the Yu family would have nothing to worry about for three generations.
Besides, his little cousin was an Immortal Lord descended to the mortal realm. As long as he had one breath left, she would definitely have a way to save him. He was just that confident!
While Yu Huaixian was still fantasizing about being a human shield for his immortal cousin, his sleeve was tugged by Shen Dongxue beside him.
Yu Huaixian turned to look at her in confusion, only to see one, two, three... twelve shocked faces behind him.
What was going on? Why did they have such expressions? Did something happen that he didn't know about while he was chatting with his cousin just now?
He silently questioned his colleagues with his eyes.
Zhang Fang quietly pulled him a few meters away and whispered breathily in his ear, "An immortal! Really?!"
The question was directed at him, but his eyes were darting toward Yue Fuguang's carriage.
Yu Huaixian was taken aback by his question and mirrored their shocked expressions. "You guys didn't know?!"
The shock of the group turned into bewilderment. 'Were we supposed to know?'
'We had no idea! No one told us!'
The crowd was speechless, but Yu Huaixian read the meaning in their eyes.
He silently turned around, his back to them, and then flashed a massive grin, baring his teeth and gums. Suppressing tears of laughter, he hurriedly rubbed his face with his hands.
He didn't dare let these guys, who were all brawn and no brains, know that he was laughing at them.
To think that even the usually clever Shen sisters had been kept in the dark.
By the time Yu Huaixian turned back around, he had already put on a serious face.
The crowd understood; this guy must have been secretly laughing at them just now!
However, for the sake of the answer that was practically bursting out, they endured it!
Yu Huaixian nodded vigorously at the dozen or so people, then secretly pointed a finger toward the sky.
The meaning was self-evident.
The guards: So everything we've been hearing is true! It's not that the Junior Preceptor is comparing herself to an immortal, she is a real immortal!
The crowd thumped their heads in frustration; they should have figured it out sooner!
Only this made the abnormal behavior of all the court officials make sense!
Then was their guard team of several dozen people just... decorations by the Immortal Lord's side?
Whether they were decorations or not, everyone made up their minds to cling tightly to the Immortal Lord's golden thigh for a hundred years without letting go!
Yu Huaixian rather unkindly admired his colleagues' ever-changing expressions in silence. Their faces shifted from feeling utterly lost to sudden enlightenment, then to excitement and inexplicable thrill. If it weren't for the fact that they had already started scaring passersby, even making two chubby, pink-cheeked children cry, Yu Huaixian really wouldn't have bothered to remind them: your facial expressions are out of control, bros!
Yue Fuguang paid no mind to the silent exchanges among the guards outside, still looking at the scenery along the way with great interest.
Passing by a farmer selling vegetables, Yue Fuguang saw several baskets of fresh wild greens in front of him. Thinking of shepherd's purse dumplings, she decided that on her next day off, she could visit the estate to check on the progress of the villa's construction and the planting of fruit trees and flowers.
Most importantly, she could go over and cast a localized spiritual rain to help them survive and grow as quickly as possible.
A little further past the vegetable farmer was a peddler carrying a shoulder pole. Both ends of the pole were hung with small items like needles, thread, and combs.
Yue Fuguang couldn't help but think of the disappearance case involving Gao Ming. Whenever young girls or young wives were said to have eloped, eighty percent of the time, the partner was a peddler.
Peddlers: In the end, it's our profession that takes all the blame!
The East Market was very bustling today. There were many pedestrians on the street, including both luxuriously dressed people and commoners in plain clothes.
She even saw a few scholars wearing the attire of provincial graduates. Judging by their accents, they were all from out of town. Had they come to the capital a year in advance to prepare for the exams?
Early next spring would be another year for the metropolitan examination. It wouldn't be surprising if a few new metropolitan graduates emerged from among these people next year.
At this moment, the soft, sweet voices of children begging their parents to buy toys drifted into her ears, along with the hawking of various stalls. A few porters carrying goods walked briskly through the crowd, repeatedly shouting for people to make way.
Occasionally, a carriage would pass by. The crisp ringing of the bells on the carriage frame mingled with the peddlers' cries, the haggling of shoppers, and the footsteps of people walking by.
This filled the entire street with a vibrant atmosphere. Who could have imagined that in less than a month, a plague would break out everywhere, affecting even the capital at the foot of the Son of Heaven, leaving the people in a state of panic.
[Master, looking at this peaceful scene, it's hard to imagine what it will be like in a month when the plague runs rampant, people's livelihoods are ruined, the population withers, and everyone fears for their lives.]
"Little Zhu, the scene you described won't happen. We caught Qi Ming, one of the main culprits, today. Even if Gan Sheng wants to send someone else, I don't think Emperor Mingxi is someone to be trifled with."
Emperor Mingxi: I have already sent a message by carrier pigeon, ordering people to infiltrate Nanyue and stir up trouble. I believe that in a few days, Gan Sheng will be so overwhelmed with his own mess that he won't have time to worry about Great Yan.
She believed that after the maneuvering of the monarch and his officials, along with their previous instigations, even if the temporary alliance formed by the four countries didn't break down immediately, there wouldn't be any more major joint movements.
To think they dared to make a move against their Junior Preceptor—did they really think they wouldn't fight back?
The group continued down the street, and the variety of shops on both sides increased.
Yue Fuguang saw a blacksmith shop nearby. She could hear the clinking sound of iron being forged inside, and a few newly made kitchen knives and agricultural tool parts like hoes were hanging at the door.
[Master, are these agricultural tool parts the standard models you gave to the Ministry of Works?]
"They should be. I wonder how effective these new agricultural tools are for the commoners."
Wang Shouchen, who was following a few hundred meters away, had the most right to speak on this. To sum it up in one sentence: all the commoners who used them said they were great!
He had visited a few households, and enshrined in their main halls were portraits or statues of the Junior Preceptor.
Before the sacrifice five days ago, the commoners had only set up memorial tablets in their shops. But ever since the commoners standing at the very front had seen the Junior Preceptor's true face that day, they had all eagerly brought back statues or portraits to worship.
Aside from the imperial court officials, the earliest people to worship the Junior Preceptor were the commoners who manufactured and used the agricultural tools.
Wang Shouchen glanced at the blacksmith shop they were passing by. He was ninety percent sure that this shop must be worshipping the Junior Preceptor.