In fact, the money box of the young lady from her family contained, at most, over three hundred taels of silver. The young ladies of the Duke Mansion receive two taels of silver as their monthly allowance, plus the red envelopes received during festivals, to accumulate this much.
Saving this money is no easy task; those old won always find excuses to extract a little when the young lady receives her allowance.
"Put it away! Tomorrow, have Mama inquire around; we must know his na. When we arrive at Grandfather’s house, we can send soone to express our gratitude!"
Being able to travel by boat these days naturally led Yao ngxian to think of the Autumn Examination. That young man carried himself with remarkable poise, yet he was still youthful, very likely a scholar attending the Autumn Examination, perhaps already a scholar. If he failed, he would have returned ho long ago. However, the Dayan Dynasty has only one young scholar like this, Gu Chengyu.
Yao ngxian’s notions are speculative. She had people inquire about Gu Chengyu’s family, which originally were re farrs, although they seed to have prospered later, they were still considered re affluent peasants! How could a farr’s son possess such martial skills? In any case, he didn’t seem like a farr’s son.
After als, Gu Chengyu began practicing calligraphy. Practicing calligraphy requires concentration and tranquility, so he instructed Ming Mo not to allow any disturbances.
By the ti Gu Chengyu finished practicing calligraphy, night had fallen. Ming Yan had already lighted the lamps in the room. Gu Chengyu washed his hands in a copper basin nearby when the door was opened from outside.
Gu Chengyu didn’t need to look to know it was Ming Yan, who was on duty today.
"How are those River Bandits? Did you ask the boatman when we will arrive at the next dock?"
"Reporting to Young Master! I inquired just now, and they said by noon tomorrow we should reach the dock, there’s also a checkpoint there. Young Master wanted to write a letter, right? I asked Mr. Sun’s people; they already wrote their letters and requested to send them back to Jingyuan Prefecture with ours." Ming Yan stepped forward to hand a dry cloth to Gu Chengyu for drying his hands.
"Hmm! But there might be checks tomorrow; it’s unknown if there’ll be ti to send the letter. Have Ming Mo rent a horse cart to send the letter to the escort agency. We bought quite a few things this ti; we might as well send them back too. It’s uncertain how long it will take."
Gu Chengyu was planning, if tomorrow’s checks would take a few days, they would switch to horse carts. Just that too many things were inconvenient for travel. It’s better to let the escort agency send them back first, and anyway, the letters need sending. His mother could then look at the items he bought and add so more.
"Does Young Master want to change course and take a horse cart? We’re not far from Jingyuan Prefecture already, and taking the boat is faster." The Young Master was initially planning to rest at ho for over a month before traveling to the Capital. If the boat delays, the days at ho would surely be short.
This return wouldn’t be void of social engagents. There are plenty to visit, and more guests visiting, along with the need to celebrate the scholar title and host banquets, and also arranging a marriage for the second young lady. The month is pretty packed.
"We’ll see tomorrow! Are Mr. Sun and the others awake?"
"They are awake, had their als, only Mr. Ye seems low in spirit, like he’s been frightened."
Gu Chengyu frowned upon hearing this; Ye Zhiqiu has a weak constitution and suffered a fright, likely he will be bedridden for days again, and he must go see him.
"Why didn’t you ntion it earlier? Though the night isn’t too late, I will go see him." The boat has no doctor, he knows a smidge of dicine, better to check for peace of mind.
Gu Chengyu entered Sun Xian and the others’ quarters with Ming Yan, the room was spacious, enough for two people comfortably.
"So late, why co over?" Sun Xian, opening the door, saw Gu Chengyu and uttered this while stepping aside, letting the two enter.
"I heard from Ming Yan that Brother Ye is unwell, so I ca to see. Has Brother Ye improved?" Gu Chengyu walked to the bed; Ye Zhiqiu was still awake.
"It’s nothing serious, just a bit weak; sorry to trouble you to check on !" Ye Zhiqiu hurriedly sat up, only to be pressed back by Gu Chengyu.
"You’re unwell, don’t bother with formalities. I know a bit of dicine; let take your pulse." With that, Gu Chengyu took hold of Ye Zhiqiu’s wrist to feel his pulse.
After a long while, he released his hand, "Just a fright, nothing too serious. Recuperate for a few days, you’ll be fine. Those people were River Bandits; if you hadn’t killed them, everyone on board would have died by their knives. Brother Ye, by eliminating them, you did a public service for the people. Don’t overthink; take the dicine pills I provide, and rest well."
Gu Chengyu knew Ye Zhiqiu’s issue was more psychological. The previous night, Ye Zhiqiu witnessed the River Bandits attempting to sneak attack Sun Xian, which led to his intervention to kill them. Being his first kill, his psyche was inevitably affected; while he could offer so guidance, ultimately the resolution lies within himself.
Ye Zhiqiu looked at Gu Chengyu’s ever calm and composed face and forced a bitter smile. He only killed one River Bandit, yet feared for two days. Gu Chengyu, who killed many bandits, remained unfazed. Indeed, so are born to accomplish great feats!
After comforting Ye Zhiqiu, Gu Chengyu returned to his room.
Suddenly, a commotion arose ahead, and Gu Chengyu paused to listen, realizing the noise ca from the deck.
Seeing his master looking toward that direction, Ming Yan quickly explained, "It’s those passengers; they’ve been clamoring for a while. They want the boatman to refund them, yet the steward explained he didn’t have much silver with him and asked everyone to wait. Till they reach the Jingyuan River dock, he would fetch the silver. But they refused, insisting the steward pay now, compensating for their loss, as everyone was frightened. Naturally, the steward wouldn’t agree, leading to the dispute."
Gu Chengyu continued toward his room, conversing with Ming Yan.
"Loss?" Indeed, two passengers died this ti! Though those two were alone, and no family mbers ca to mourn, compensation should still be made; after all, they sacrificed for the life of everyone on board.
Gu Chengyu planned to contribute; once the boatn identified the families, compensating would be appropriate. Incidentally, he was part of the group assembled to fend off the River Bandits for everyone’s survival.
This incident warranted refunding the previously collected silver, as everyone’s life nearly vanished. Even though the River Bandits were eventually killed or captured, the credit couldn’t be attributed to the boatn.
If not for Gu Chengyu and others, the River Bandits might have succeeded. On such a vast river, where could anyone flee? They’d have walked into the lion’s den!
Normally, large boats should be prepared. Yet, be it the boatn or the few guards, each only possessed diocre skills, neglecting the passengers’ lives.
This ti, the boatn will likely incur significant losses, seemingly unfortunate for them, but considering conducting business on waterways poses great risks!
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