"Why are you giving me your monthly silver?" Ah Jiu asked him in surprise.
"I don't have any use for silver. From now on, all my monthly salary will go to Sister Ah Jiu." Tuoba Yan had a smug look on his face every day since he joined the official entourage. At least he had a chance to help Sister Ah Jiu.
"Keep it yourself, I don't want it."
"For..." Tuoba Yan's words were cut short as someone behind him came running in a panic.
"Oh dear, Miss Jiu... Miss Jiu, please wait."
The village head stumbled along.
"Be careful, old man." Tuoba Yan quickly helped him, or the village head would have fallen.
"Grandpa Lizheng, what's wrong?" Ah Jiu frowned, seeing him so flustered for the first time. Something big must have happened.
"Oh... you? Are you the one making the officials wait? Now the villagers know, and they're making a fuss."
The village head didn't know how to get to the point.
"Fuss... about what?" Ah Jiu had made all the arrangements.
"Let's talk as we walk." The village head grabbed Ah Jiu and pulled her back:
"Come, come, the villagers know about Hui'er's mother's illness. They say it's contagious, and now everyone is making a fuss. And they heard you stopped them from taking her away. What are we going to do?"
"Hui'er's mother? It's true that I didn't let them take her away yet." Ah Jiu finally understood.
"If something goes wrong and it spreads to our village, who will take responsibility?" The village head's face turned red and then dark with anxiety.
Tuoba Yan followed behind, unable to interject, just watching what his sister Ah Jiu would say and do.
When Ah Jiu arrived at Hui'er's house, a dense crowd had gathered. Some had just returned from the fields, their pant legs still rolled up, carrying hoes.
Others had stopped their old oxen to watch.
It was a tightly packed crowd, even more people than at a usual village meeting.
There were also crying sounds from within the crowd.
"Make way." Ah Jiu pushed through the crowd to get closer.
"Official inspection, everyone make way!" Tuoba Yan shouted loudly, chest puffed out, and everyone looked over.
Seeing they were soldiers, they automatically parted to create a path.
"Miss Jiu, how could you keep someone with a fever in the village?"
"That's right."
"We know you have connections with the officials, but you must consider all our lives."
The noisy clamor in her ears drowned out Hui'er's cries at the door.
Ah Jiu didn't say anything. She couldn't explain it clearly now. All she could think about was whether Hui'er's mother would improve.
Looking at the scene, she knew they couldn't wait until tomorrow. If the villagers caused a commotion and a few troublemakers went to complain, she and her family would be finished.
"Miss Jiu, don't think that because you sell us seeds, we have to respect everything you do."
"Exactly. You're an outsider after all. If you don't want to live, we still do."
Seeing Ah Jiu's silence, many in the crowd became agitated.
"If you don't let the officials take her away, we'll report you to the county yamen."
"Yes, if the county yamen doesn't handle it, we'll report it to the prefect."
"Yes." A chorus of agreement rose, deafening.
"Stop arguing." Tuoba Yan saw Ah Jiu's pale face and his heart broke. He raised the saber at his waist and roared, finally bringing a brief moment of calm.
"Hui'er, stop crying." Ah Jiu helped her up. To her surprise, Hui'er threw herself into Ah Jiu's arms:
"Sister Jiu, I'm so scared. Everyone wants to take my mother away, sob sob sob." She was sobbing uncontrollably, unable to speak clearly.
"Don't be afraid." Ah Jiu stroked Hui'er's head, then turned to face the crowd. "This illness is not contagious. It's not a plague, so you don't need to be so agitated."
"Not contagious? Miss Jiu, don't speak lightly. It's all over the city. This illness came from Nanzhou County, and Nanzhou County has become a mass grave."
"Exactly, if it weren't contagious, how could so many people have died?"
"Because they ate the flesh of the dead. Would you eat it?" Ah Jiu suddenly raised her voice, her eyes scanning the crowd sharply.
"You have been blessed by the King of Nanming. Even during the drought, you received some grain to fill your stomachs, at least you wouldn't starve to death, let alone eat human flesh. But not everyone is so lucky. What? You see others on the brink of death and don't think about helping them, but instead want them to die quickly? Isn't this kicking someone when they're down?"
Tuoba Yan was also startled. It was the first time he had seen his sister Ah Jiu so fierce.