Chapter 66: Eternal Encounter Song (Part 5)-1
After the thirteen northern prefectures fell into Danqiu’s hands, General Yu Jie, Xu He Xue, had once recaptured six of the Yan Pass prefectures. While he was there, Ju Han Pass was the Great Qi’s defensive line. Sixteen years after his death, Ju Han Pass fell, and the strategic fortress of Yongzhou became the Great Qi’s last line of defense in the north.
For sixteen years, this area had been frequently harassed by barbarians. Emperor Zheng Yuan had ordered troops to be stationed there for defense. Although the national treasury was depleted, military spending was never neglected.
There were two major clans in Yongzhou, the Qin and the Wei. The two families were connected by centuries of intermarriage, and they were also the two generals stationed in Yongzhou after General Yu Jie’s treason and execution.
General Qin Ji Xun of the Qin Army was the Defense Commissioner of Yongzhou. He and General Wei De Chang of the Wei Army became sworn brothers, jointly defending the border for sixteen years, earning considerable merit.
Ni Su left Yun Jing in early spring and arrived at the border city of Yongzhou just as summer began. Born in Que County in the south, she could never have imagined the rugged mountains and vast plateaus of this place if she hadn’t seen them with her own eyes.
After the start of summer, the temperature difference between day and night was significant. During the day, Ni Su followed the locals and wrapped her face with a gauze scarf to protect her skin from the sun. At night, she had to wear thicker clothes to stay warm.
“My dear, is my grandchild still alive?”
The old woman paced back and forth outside the curtain, listening to her daughter-in-law’s heart-wrenching cries of pain. She muttered anxiously.
Ni Su’s hands were covered in blood. She gently pressed on the baby’s head, but it remained motionless. Her heart sank. “You waited three days after labor started to seek a physician, how can the child still be saved?”
“Ah?”
The old woman almost fainted. Her unmarried daughter supported her as she looked at the busy figure inside. “Then what’s the use of us inviting you?”
“Aunt Wang, the stillborn child is stuck. If it’s not removed, Ping Niang will die!” The midwife emerged from behind the curtain, speaking to her kindly.
“When I gave birth to A-Feng, I wasn’t as delicate as her, why couldn’t she give birth?” The old woman complained.
“Every woman’s situation is different. If the pelvis isn’t open enough, the baby will get stuck in the birth canal. It’s not her fault she can’t give birth.”
The woman’s voice from behind the curtain was clear and resonant. The midwife saw her feed Ping Niang something through the curtain and hurriedly said, “Miss, the baby is already dead, you can’t give her medicine to open the pelvis at this time!”
“It’s not medicine to open the pelvis, it’s a pill to replenish her qi and blood.” After speaking, Ni Su comforted Ping Niang, who lay on the bed, drenched in sweat. “Don’t worry, if this medicine harms you, I’ll give you my life.”
Her words were directed at Ping Niang, as well as the distrustful old woman and midwife outside the curtain.
Ping Niang was in too much pain to speak, tears filling her eyes. Ni Su observed Ping Niang beneath her clothes. After a moment, she immediately called the midwife in.
After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Ping Niang, her voice hoarse and exhausted, gave birth to the stillborn child. The midwife, drenched in sweat, wrapped the baby in a cloth.
Ni Su also had beads of sweat on her temples. She cleaned her hands and emerged from behind the curtain. The unmarried daughter, seeing the blood on Ni Su’s clothes and recalling her sister-in-law’s cries, turned pale, realizing for the first time how painful childbirth could be.
“I’ll write a prescription. Please make sure you get the medicine to help her recover.”
Ni Su spoke, but seeing the old woman hesitate, not responding, she added, “They aren’t precious medicinal herbs. Childbirth is never easy for any woman. You must have also been in pain back then. She’s lost her child, her heart is also aching.”
Ni Su wrote the prescription and handed it to the daughter, then left with the midwife.
“Miss, have you really studied medicine?”
The midwife struck up a conversation.
“It’s a family tradition. I’ve learned it since I was young,” Ni Su replied.
“So you really come from a medical family. Miss, that pill of yours was truly effective. I thought it was for opening the pelvis, but it turned out to be for replenishing qi and blood.”
The midwife had never met a young woman like her, so young yet skilled in gynecology, treating everyone with courtesy and respect.
“I’ll give you today’s consultation fee, and I’d like to ask you for a favor.”
Ni Su paused and said.
“Tell me, Miss.”
The midwife didn’t expect such good fortune and beamed.
“I suspect that old woman won’t be willing to spend money on medicine for her daughter-in-law. Keep this money. Half is for Ping Niang’s medicine, give it to her sister-in-law, and keep the other half for yourself.”
The midwife hadn’t expected this request. She was stunned for a moment, then nodded after a while. “You have a kind heart, Miss, but there are so many cases like this, how can you possibly help everyone?”
“Life is never easy for the poor. My father often provided free medical treatment to farmers in the countryside.” Ni Su paused, then added, “I’d also like to ask you about the difficult cases you’ve encountered while delivering babies. I’m young and haven’t seen many patients. I want to hear how you solve these difficult problems.”
“You want to learn our folk remedies, Miss?”
The midwife was slightly embarrassed.
“As long as they’re effective, they’re good remedies. As a physician, one should be open to all methods.”
“What do you mean by ‘all methods’?”
The midwife was confused.
Ni Su smiled. “I’m asking you to teach me. I know you’re the best midwife in this area. If you’re willing to be my teacher, I’ll bring you a tuition fee tomorrow.”
The midwife had lived in this impoverished area her entire life, delivering babies for the poor. There were better midwives in Yongzhou City, serving wealthy families and enjoying a certain status and wealth. She couldn’t compare to them and had never been formally addressed as “Teacher.” She had only heard children in school address scholars that way.
“I’m not a teacher, Miss. Please don’t say that.” The midwife smiled, returning half of the consultation fee to Ni Su. “I don’t need that half. I’ll keep it to buy medicine for Ping Niang. If you want to know anything, just come to my house.”
Ni Su thanked the midwife and parted ways, heading towards Liu Alley in the west of the city. The setting sun painted the sky like crumpled gold foil. Before Ni Su reached the well at the end of the alley, she saw the wooden cover being pushed open from below. A cloth-wrapped head popped out, and a pair of dark eyes looked up, seeing her. “Miss Ni, I think my father is back!”
Ni Su had come to Yongzhou with Qing Qiong, but hadn’t met his father. He had left a letter in their home at the bottom of the well, the crooked handwriting legible only to Qing Qiong.
The letter said he had gone to a neighboring county for work.
His legs weren’t good, so he couldn’t travel far or do heavy work. He was probably making boxes and cabinets for people.
Ni Su and Qing Qiong had been in Yongzhou for half a month, but he hadn’t returned.
“There are candies on the table. He must have bought them for me.”
Qing Qiong climbed out of the well, covered the opening with the wooden board, and locked it. After his mother returned to Youdu, he and his father had moved to live at the bottom of the well.
The bodies at the bottom of the well had been excavated and buried by General Yu Jie years ago. His father, a carpenter, had carved out a wider space at the bottom, making it somewhat livable.
“Then where did he go?” Ni Su asked.
“Probably outside the city,” Qing Qiong guessed. “It’s almost dusk. At this time, there shouldn’t be anyone passing through Sang Qiu. My father must have gone to sweep General Xu’s tomb…”
He stopped abruptly.
His eyes met Ni Su’s.
“Why didn’t you tell me he had a tomb?” Ni Su quickly approached him.
Qing Qiong paused for a moment, then said, “That’s not a tombstone erected to commemorate him.”
How could the people here commemorate him?
Ni Su knew that sixteen years ago, the Emperor had ordered Xu He Xue’s execution, and Jiang Xian Ming, acting on public opinion, had him dismembered. The public opinion he followed was that of Yongzhou.
At the foot of a hill, on a rugged cliff face, stood a tombstone.
The cold wind whipped at Ni Su’s veil. She had learned to ride during her journey to the capital with a ghost. Now, sitting on horseback, holding the reins, she could clearly see his name engraved on the tombstone, even from a distance.
A broken silver spear was embedded in front of the tombstone. Qing Qiong said it was the one he had used in life. After sixteen years of wind and sun, the spear was rusted and disfigured.
“Father, don’t hide!”
Qing Qiong saw the figure hiding behind the tombstone.
Hearing his voice, the man peeked out, saw Qing Qiong on horseback, and another young woman on horseback beside him. He slowly emerged from behind the tombstone, cane in hand, holding a cloth.
“Are there more children here again?”
Qing Qiong saw the dirty cloth in his hand and knew he had been wiping the tombstone.
“Eh.”
Fan Jiang reacted slowly, then looked at Ni Su. “And this is?”
Qing Qiong dismounted and whispered to his father. Ni Su also dismounted, her hand subconsciously gripping the strap of the medicine basket. The closer she got to the tombstone, the more clearly she saw the childish scribbles in charcoal. The crooked characters for “bad person” hadn’t been completely wiped off by Fan Jiang.
“General Xu’s soul has returned?”
Fan Jiang’s beard trembled.
“Father, this is Miss Ni, the one who summoned him back.” Both father and son spoke slowly. Qing Qiong finally explained everything.
“Where is General Xu?”
“Father, General Xu has returned to Youdu.”
Qing Qiong tugged on his sleeve.
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