Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Zhou Wenqing nodded, then slowly began to speak, each word clear and distinct:

"This last thing is for you to move everything you've prepared to the backyard, and then—no one is allowed to approach or disturb you, and no one is allowed to peek."

He paused, then glanced at Li Yi.

"Including you."

Li Yi's expression froze.

Zhou Wenqing crossed his arms, his tone light but carrying an uncompromising air: "If anyone is spying, I will immediately go on strike."

Li Yi's expression shifted for a moment, as if weighing his options, and finally, as if he had made up his mind, he nodded heavily, his expression solemn: "Young master, rest assured, I will guard the backyard well, not even a single sparrow will be able to fly in."

"That's good then~"

Zhou Wenqing relaxed and turned to slump back into the rocking chair. But then he caught a glimpse of the bulging sack and suddenly remembered something. "Oh, there's this too."

He pointed to the sack: "Pick one of these salt blocks and put it in the backyard, the one you just took. Don't forget about it."

"Yes," Li Yi replied, taking out the salt block on top and looking at the remaining salt bricks in the bag. He then asked, "What about the rest?"

Zhou Wenqing had already comfortably lay back down and casually waved his hand: "The rest is up to you, you don't need that much."

"Can't you use it?" Li Yi asked in surprise. "Young master, why don't you make more? But... it's too strenuous. Young master, you can give me some of the heavy lifting. I swear I will never teach it to anyone else."

"It's not strenuous."

Zhou Wenqing closed his eyes, frowned and said helplessly, "I didn't expect you to get so much at once. Just that one piece is enough for us to eat for more than half a year. That's enough."

He opened his eyes, looked at Li Yi, and his tone became serious:

"Make it and let's just have a taste ourselves. Ah Yi, don't tell anyone about this, and don't even think about selling it, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble."

"But……"

"No buts."

Zhou Wenqing abruptly cut off the conversation, even turning his back to Li Yi and simply waving his hand:

"Do as I say."

Li Yi stared at the back of the figure covered with the words "Do Not Disturb," opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed his words back.

So be it.

He sighed inwardly. After all, he was just a bodyguard. As long as the message was delivered, that was enough. As for how to persuade the young master to offer up his secret technique, he would leave that to the truly clever people after the young master entered Xianyang.

Li Yi said no more, only took a deep look at the figure swaying leisurely in the rocking chair, then turned and strode away.

The courtyard returned to tranquility. Zhou Wenqing closed his eyes and pretended to doze off. The rocking chair creaked softly, and the sunlight made one feel lazy to the bone.

Before long, his ears twitched slightly, and a smile unconsciously spread across his lips.

coming.

The courtyard gate creaked open, followed by a chorus of chirping and hopping sounds, like a flock of sparrows suddenly swarming into the garden.

Good morning, sir!

"Sir, the story from yesterday isn't finished yet; you must continue it today!"

"Sir, my mother asked me to bring some fruit. It's so sweet, I'll share half with you!"

Besides the group of little kids, a woman also came in.

She held her chubby little boy's hand in one hand, her face beaming with a simple and warm smile. Even before she reached him, her cheerful voice rang out:

"Young Master Zhou! Oh my, I heard you're feeling much better?"

It's Aunt Liu from next door.

Zhou Wenqing quickly stood up to greet her, smiling as he replied, "Thank you for your concern. I'm fine now. Aunt Liu, did you come today because you have a letter from home that you'd like me to look at?"

"No, it's not a letter from home!" Aunt Liu waved her hands repeatedly, gently pushing the boy who was half-hidden behind her forward, her eyes brimming with unconcealed gratitude and joy.

"I came here specifically to thank you! Yesterday I saw that little rascal squatting in the yard, scribbling around on the ground with a stick, scattering mud everywhere. I thought he was just causing trouble again, and I almost grabbed a broom and spanked him!"

As she spoke, she laughed first, her rough hands affectionately rubbing her son's head:

"Later I realized that the little rascal was actually writing! When I asked him who he learned from, he said it was Mr. Zhou... Ah, sir, tell me, how could we, a poor family, have imagined that our child would one day be holding a pen? It's truly... truly I don't know how to thank you enough!"

As the woman spoke, her eyes reddened slightly. She quickly took the bamboo basket from her arm and handed it to Zhou Wenqing without saying a word.

"We really don't have anything decent at home, so we've saved up these eggs. Please accept them, young master, they'll help you recover!"

The basket was lined with soft hay, and a dozen or so eggs lay round and clean inside.

That's quite a lot. Although he didn't think it was anything special, for a farmer, it would probably be more than half a year's worth of savings.

Zhou Wenqing quickly waved his hand to decline, saying, "Aunt Liu, this is too much! Teaching the child to write is just a casual thing for me, how can I accept such a kind gesture? Please take it back and cook it for the child, it's a time when he's growing..."

"How can that be!" Aunt Liu insisted on pushing the eggs forward, her tone resolute. "The young master is doing a tremendous favor by teaching his child to read. What are these few eggs compared to that? If you don't accept them, you're looking down on us unsophisticated people!"

Seeing her sincerity, Zhou Wenqing knew that refusing her again would only hurt her feelings.

He sighed softly, took the bamboo basket with both hands, and said gently, "Since that's the case, I'll accept it without hesitation. Thank you, Aunt Liu."

Aunt Liu then stopped crying and smiled, wiping her eyes with her sleeve, and said repeatedly, "That's right, that's right..."

She took Zhou Wenqing's hand and patted it gently, her eyes full of kindness and reluctance: "Seeing that you are well, I can finally put my mind at ease. You have such a refined and cultured air about you, unlike us rough people who toil in the fields. You are destined for great things and to become a high-ranking official."

She paused, her voice softening, tinged with understanding and melancholy:

"I know that you will leave sooner or later once you have recovered. If it weren't for... if it weren't for the fact that we really can't keep such an important person here, I would really like to swallow my pride and beg you to take Ah Zhu in, even if it's just to teach him a few words."

As she spoke, she gave Zhou Wenqing a warm smile and squeezed his hand tightly: "However, although this place is remote, it is also quiet. If you are tired or weary from being out in the future, you can come back and rest anytime. I dare not say anything else, but this courtyard and this village will always be open for you."

Looking at the genuine concern and warmth in Aunt Liu's eyes, Zhou Wenqing's heart softened.

He knew that Aunt Liu's family originally had an eldest son, who was about the same age as him. A few years ago, when the conscription order was issued, he was taken away and there has been no news of him since. His fate is unknown.

So ever since he was injured and moved into this village, Aunt Liu has always taken extra care of him. She would bring him a handful of freshly harvested vegetables from the fields; when she saw that he was picky about food, she would secretly slip him some dried fruit from her own garden; when his injuries had healed a little and he was able to walk around the village, she would enthusiastically introduce him to everyone she met, helping him gradually find a place to settle down in this completely unfamiliar place with its dialect and gazes.

Those small acts of kindness, like spring streams seeping into frozen soil, silently wove a gentle warmth into his most bewildered and helpless days a thousand years ago.

At that moment, she held his hand and said, "Always keep the door open." Zhou Wenqing suddenly felt that the land beneath his feet was no longer so unfamiliar, and the sounds of people and cooking smoke around him were no longer so distant.

Like a rootless duckweed, it finally touched the first handful of moist soil by the slowly flowing stream.

Zhou Wenqing's lips moved, but he really didn't know what to say in response to this simple kindness. He just took a deep breath, met Aunt Liu's earnest gaze, and nodded solemnly and heavily.

"Okay, Aunt Liu."

His voice was not loud, and even a little hoarse, but every word was clear: "I have remembered what you said."

"Alright, alright!" Aunt Liu said three times in a row, her wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothing out. "There's still a lot of work to do at home, so I won't bother you any longer. Please rest well, young master."

As she spoke, she reached out and gently patted her son's head, sternly instructing him, "And you, you must learn proper manners from your teacher! Don't do what you did last time, climbing trees to steal bird nests and falling flat on your backside!"

"Mom!" Ah Zhu blushed with embarrassment, quickly hiding behind Zhou Wenqing, peeking out half his head, and making a face indignantly, "That was so long ago! I haven't taken them out in ages!"

"You!" Aunt Liu pretended to pinch his ear, but Ah Zhu shrank his neck and crawled behind Zhou Wenqing.

Zhou Wenqing smiled and reached out to shield the little one behind her, saying gently, "Aunt Liu, don't worry about your work. Azhu has become much more sensible lately, so let him stay here. I'll watch over him."

"Oh, then I'll trouble you, young master!" Aunt Liu then withdrew her hand, wiped it on her apron, smiled gratefully at Zhou Wenqing, and turned to leave the courtyard with light steps.