"Alas..." Meng Shaode couldn't express his distress. He sighed and shook his head. His mother's illness had to be treated.
They should hurry on their way. Once they reached Nanming City, they would be able to find a doctor.
A Jiu didn't want to bother. She got into the carriage and leaned in the corner to sleep.
Spiritual Spring Space.
A Jiu heard the gurgling water and her heart leaped with joy. She rushed forward and propped herself on the edge of the spiritual spring, spreading her hands to measure.
It seemed to have grown a size larger.
She hadn't encountered anyone who needed help recently, so she hadn't had a chance to use it. How had it grown larger?
Now, the spiritual spring was about the size of a water vat's opening.
It looked like four or five water skins wouldn't be enough to fill it. Now, they truly wouldn't lack water.
"Wait... Young Master Meng, wait for me! You've left this old man behind. What if wolves come? Won't this old life of mine be over?"
As the carriage shook, A Jiu, in the Spiritual Spring Space, heard Steward Li crying out in panic.
"Master De, Master De, please be kind. If you're willing to give this old man a ride this time, this old man..."
He gritted his teeth and said, "This old man is willing to take out all the gold ingots I have deposited at the merchant guild in Nanming City and give them to you. I won't keep a single coin."
The carriage lurched violently, and A Jiu was jolted awake from the space.
Then came a thud: "Oh, my back!"
A Jiu quickly lifted the curtain of the rear window and saw Grandma A Jiu on the ground, holding her lower back and preparing to get up.
Her trembling, bow-legged gait wavered a few times before her small "three-inch golden lotuses" found their balance.
My goodness, A Jiu's heart skipped a beat from fright.
"Grandma, are you alright?"
A Jiu quickly got out of the carriage and carefully checked on Madam Wang.
Madam Wang bared her teeth, her old face flushed red. She pointed at Steward Li, who was running up, and gritted her teeth, cursing,
"Why are you barking nonsense, you wretch? Weren't you dead just now? You might as well keep dying! You scared this old man half to death!"
She strode forward, grabbed Steward Li by the collar, and slapped him across the face.
"Grandma..." A Jiu stared blankly.
Steward Li, who was spinning around from the slap, clutched his face. Upon looking closely, he realized who it was:
"You... Madam Wang, how can you hit this old man? Besides, you took the silver back then. You're in the wrong, no matter how you look at it. How can you have the nerve to hit me?"
"What is 'nerve'? This old man specifically..." Madam Wang raised her hand to slap him again.
Steward Li stumbled back several steps, looking at Madam Wang in terror. Though her frame was small, her strength was astonishing.
"Mother!" Meng Shaode's hand, still holding the horsewhip, dropped to the ground in shock as he ran to the back and saw: "My mother... she's so fierce! She... didn't fall to her death."
"Mother, are you alright? I told you not to climb so high."
Cai Lihua went to check if Madam Wang was injured.
A Jiu watched this and felt it was superfluous. Seeing that her grandmother had slapped Steward Li's face until it was swollen, it was clear she was fine.
Seeing Cai Lihua dismount, Steward Li seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw:
"I know you're also going to Nanming City. If you take me along, I'll give you five hundred taels of gold once we arrive. That's enough money for you to eat and drink for a lifetime!"
"Five hundred taels?" Wu Dalei and Li Jiaxifu's eyes widened.
"And gold?"
In this era, even being a county magistrate for a lifetime might not earn that much. Steward Li had saved five hundred taels of gold.
Even A Jiu was shocked to hear this. Where did this old fellow get so much money? It was enough to buy several large courtyards.
Madam Wu limped forward quickly: "I'll give you my seat. How about you give me half of that money?"
"This carriage belongs to my Meng family. What business is it of yours?"
Cai Lihua glanced at Madam Wu and curled her lip in disdain. She had been relatively quiet these past two days and couldn't find anything to retort.
Her words made Wu Dalei pull his mother back, signaling her to stop talking.
"Why should I trust you?" Cai Lihua said, reaching for her cleaver.
"I... I have a deposit receipt." Steward Li, flustered, took off his sock and pulled out a piece of paper.
Cai Lihua saw it and cursed inwardly. How could this old fellow hide things so well? He might even have hidden something in his trousers.
She snatched it and looked: Jiuyang Merchant Guild, deposited five hundred taels of gold.
She turned and handed it to Meng Shaode: "You see if it's real or fake."
Meng Shaode took it and pressed it to his nose. He gasped:
"This is real. The official seal is here."
A Jiu squinted at Steward Li. She knew him best; he was cunning and sly.
He hadn't been robbed of this money by bandits or thieves. He truly valued money over his life.
Cai Lihua pondered. With such a large sum, her daughter would definitely be well-fed and plump. But should she accept the money or not?
"What good is gold?" Madam Wang suddenly blurted out and kicked Steward Li.