Chapter 1820 – Out of Oil and Candlewick
Ma Xiu was not just a refugee; he was also a runaway slave.
As he spoke in a calm tone, Jiang Pengji and Lü Zheng both felt a surge of restrained anger.
Back then, Ma Xiu indeed escaped to the relatively stable Beiyuan to avoid disaster.
But he never expected that, compared to the bloody chaos of the times, the soft knife that is Beiyuan would be far more painful.
When Ma Xiu fled with his family, they had some silver coins. He knew better than to flaunt his wealth and managed to avoid attracting attention. However, trouble started once they arrived in Beiyuan. As commoners, their status was even lower than the rumors suggested. Many refugees, like Ma Xiu, fled to Beiyuan, but the local officials treated these people like livestock. The forced labor was the harshest, and the taxes were the most burdensome, practically squeezing the life out of them.
When Ma Xiu realized the dire state of Beiyuan and wanted to leave, a coup erupted in the court.
The new regime was even more ruthless towards commoners and fleeing refugees. If taxes weren’t collected, people were immediately relegated to the lowest status, sold like cattle. Some disillusioned scholars from poor backgrounds tried to reason with them, only to suffer brutal consequences.
Naturally, Ma Xiu’s family’s savings couldn’t withstand such exploitation, and they sought to escape.
Unfortunately, it was a den of wolves; it was easy to enter but hard to leave.
Beiyuan had the smallest population among the five kingdoms, and the controls on citizens leaving were strict. Eventually, it escalated to the point where anyone trying to escape would be killed.
Ma Xiu could only bide his time and look for opportunities.
Then, a calamity fell from the sky, striking him right on the head.
To counter the powerful factions, a group of enlightened individuals formed a “New Faction,” intending to assassinate the old regime. But before they could strike, the old faction’s leader discovered their intentions and wiped out the New Faction in one fell swoop.
Well, “wiped out” isn’t entirely accurate, as there were survivors.
One survivor found his way to the back door of Ma Xiu’s residence, collapsed in the snow, and was rescued by Ma Xiu’s wife, who had gone out to buy supplies.
When the old faction came knocking, Ma Xiu’s family was arrested for “harboring a criminal.”
Their possessions were confiscated, and they were thrown into the lowest status.
Ma Xiu became a menial worker in the back courtyards of the Beiyuan aristocrats, while his wife and daughter were taken away and sold to a brothel, and his son was sold off and castrated…
Driven by guilt, his wife committed suicide by smashing her head against a pillar.
His daughter left behind an unwanted child from an unknown benefactor and died of illness in a dark alley.
His young son was killed by the soldiers of the Yi Clan during a palace coup.
After much hardship, Ma Xiu wandered with his young granddaughter, being sold from one hand to another until he finally ended up as a gatekeeper in a small town near the border. Hearing that enemy soldiers were coming to attack, Ma Xiu packed his belongings and joined the stream of refugees fleeing to Snow City.
Before coming, Ma Xiu had actually prepared himself for death.
He had heard of Qi Guanrang’s ruthless methods against refugees and knew that this decision was correct. He also understood that crashing in would surely cost him his life. But… remembering that he was once a Dongqing person, he had no expectation of returning to his homeland, only hoping for his granddaughter to be taken in by someone, or sold off rather… At worst, he would be buried near Snow City, the closest point to Dongqing.
They had walked all this way on foot.
Ma Xiu was fortunate enough to have some tattered shoes, scavenged from an unknown corpse, while many others were barefoot.
Before they could reach Snow City, they were discovered by patrolling cavalry scouts and captured without exception.
Thinking they would die, unexpectedly, these soldiers gave them food and told them to go back, forbidding any thoughts of sneaking into Dongqing.
Ma Xiu heard the surrounding refugees crying out in despair, and he learned from some about the identity of the enemy’s leader.
In that moment of despair, it felt as if a glimmer of hope emerged from the darkness.
“Grandpa?”
His granddaughter was so thin, with a big head and a small body, making him worry that she might break her neck if she wasn’t careful.
Ma Xiu said, “Don’t worry, Grandpa has a plan.”
He said that, but inside he felt no assurance at all.
Nonetheless, he gathered the courage to seek out Jiang Pengji and reported his name.
No one considered that this old man had any connection with the ruler of the land, and even Ma Xiu himself wondered if, during his youth, he had really known someone like her—or if those youthful memories were just a daydream of an old man.
As he anxiously awaited the summons and finally trembled as he met Jiang Pengji, it felt like time itself had reversed.
What he saw was not just this imposing female lord before him, but also the lively young man in red from his youth, who laughed and shouted in Langya County. Two distinctly different scenes were overlapping in his mind, seamlessly fitting together, be it the people or the landscapes.
Time flies; the years treat me like a blade of wind and snow, but you remain the same bright youth.
As he recounted these events, Ma Xiu’s murky eyes showed no signs of emotion.
It wasn’t the calm after a storm, but a stifling silence.
Jiang Pengji arranged proper accommodations for Ma Xiu and had a physician check his pulse. Ma Xiu smiled and expressed his thanks.
The physician prescribed medicine and reported back to Jiang Pengji.
“The symptoms are of running out of both oil and wick… without precious herbal medicine to sustain him, he has but a few months left…”
The physician could treat ailments but not extend the life of someone nearing the end.
All Jiang Pengji could do was ensure Ma Xiu’s final days were a bit better, hoping he could live a little longer.
She paused in her paperwork, ink splattering in small black dots.
“How much longer can he live?”
The physician replied, “By next spring or early summer.”
Jiang Pengji waved her hand, “You may leave; I understand.”
The live stream today was very quiet, not even the mischievous dried fish made any comments.
Qi Guanrang asked her, “What is the lord thinking about?”
She slowly murmured, “By next spring or early summer, can the world be united…?”
Meanwhile, Ma Xiu sat in silence with Lü Zheng, while Ma Xiu’s granddaughter nibbled on a fragrant and soft meat pie, savoring every bite.
“…everyone has their own fate… it’s just a matter of destiny… why does the young one appear so sad?”
Lü Zheng self-deprecatingly said, “Usually, my heart is as cold as ice, but today seems extra heavy.”
But Ma Xiu smiled, “Today is actually one of the most joyful days I’ve had in over a decade.”
To find someone to entrust his granddaughter to before dying was indeed a moment of joy.
Lü Zheng wanted to say something comforting, but nothing came to mind.
Nostalgia was merely nonsense.
For someone like Ma Xiu, who had suffered for half his life, the more beautiful his youth was, the more it highlighted the misery of his later years.
If they were to reminisce, it would only sprinkle salt on Ma Xiu’s wounds.
“…if anything were to happen to you, I would treat this child as my own.”
Ma Xiu didn’t get sentimental, waving to the child. She hesitated, put down the meat pie, and sat down beside Ma Xiu’s bed.
“From now on, you shall be my fake father,” Ma Xiu joked rarely.
Lü Zheng darkened his face and corrected him, “It’s grandpa!”
By adopting Ma Xiu’s granddaughter as a foster daughter, he inadvertently lowered his own ranking in relation to Ma Xiu!
The little girl blinked, uncertain what to call him.
