The Emperor’s Beloved Ugly Girl

81. The Money Left

Translator: Iris Guo

“Quite impressive.” Zhong Mingwei enjoyed A’Chou’s massage. He got sweaty and a little short of breath with a faint smile. “The instructor at the Imperial Household Study used my writing as a copybook for calligraphy. What do you think?”

“Wow, I bet you’re pretty good.” A’Chou applied hot compress on Zhong Mingwei’s calf and knee with handkerchiefs. “What about your brothers? As the saying goes, indigo blue is extracted from… from…”

“Indigo blue is extracted from the indigo plant, but the color is bluer than the plant it comes from.”[1] added Zhong Mingwei while gasping.

[1] Note: A Chinese saying. Extended meaning: Good teachers would be proud of the students who are hard-working to surpass them from their training and education.

“Too hot?” A’Chou got worried.

“You want me to make it cooler?”

“It’s okay. Comfortable.” Zhong Ming paused and frowned. “It’s very sore under the knee.”

“I suppose you have been frozen badly and the coldness has penetrated into your bone.” A’Chou sighed gently, changed the handkerchief on Zhong Mingwei’s red knee, and continued uneasily: “Your legs must always be kept warm. You can’t catch a cold in any case.”

When Zhong Mingwei was sent to NingGuTa, it was the coldest season. He was already seriously injured and had a bumpy journey that lasted for months, so his condition definitely got worse. When he arrived at NingGuTa and suffered from the freezing weather, he became totally paralyzed.

Zhong Mingwei knew A’Chou was right. He was afraid that she would get worried, so he comforted her: “It’s okay. See, I’m still wrapped in a blanket and sweating all day in such hot weather. I won’t catch a cold!”

“Of course you’re fine now, but how can you keep warm in winter?” A’Chou looked around the empty and shabby room, thought about the thin quilts in the box, and was extremely upset while gnashing her teeth: “I have to find someone to make a heated bed in a few days. You had a hard time recovering, and I’m afraid that your condition will get worse in the winter.”

Zhong Mingwei also knew about that, but…

He bit his lip and asked: “Do we have enough money?”

“I told you not to worry about it! You always ask too much!” murmured A’Chou while pressing a new handkerchief on Zhong Mingwei’s knee hard. Then, she paused and whispered: “Seriously, don’t worry. We didn’t spend much on the food, and I still have more than ten liang of silver ingots left, which is more than enough to rebuild the house.”

Zhong Mingwei was sure that A’Chou was exaggerating, so she might only have eight liang, even five liang of silver ingots left. He felt unspeakably frustrated because he never imagined that one day he would care about such little money. Now he even thought about working to support himself, so that A’Chou wouldn’t be so tired.

But what kind of work could he do as a paralytic?

“I mean it.” Zhong Mingwei was silent for a long time. A’Chou realized that he didn’t believe her and lost her pride. She grabbed his hand, pulled it gently, and whispered: “I met a Mrs. Chen at the foot of the mountain, and she promised to find me a job. I can make money, for real. Don’t worry about it.”

Zhong Mingwei became more depressed, which was more than words could describe After a while, he asked gloomily: “Who’s Mrs. Chen, and what job?”

A’Chou hastened to answer: “There’s a Jixian Study at the foot of the mountain, and I met the teacher Mr. Chen a couple of times when I asked him for water. Mrs. Chen is his grandmother, a really nice lady. She admired my embroidery and promised to find me a job in the Chen Village. She always keeps her word, and I leant the exquisite embroidery from the palace, which is rare. So I’ll definitely get a lot of local customers, and our life will be better.”