Ren Jidian thought: (Is this really..... my adoptive father? What happened to him?)
Lord Baphie heard this and answered telepathically.
[Yeah, he's Qing Daitong. He was a high-ranking member of the Imperial Army once, the former Emperor's second-in-command. But I won't say anything else since you still haven't apologized to me.]
(I wasn't really asking you for information, it was more of a rhetorical question.) Ren Jidian answered in his head. (I can figure things out on my own, just you wait.)
"Did you sleep well last night, A-Ren?" Qin Daitong asked, his long eyebrows reaching past his temples.
He was wearing shabby robes that covered his amputated lower half that was cut off past the knees.
Ren Jidian can't help but look at this man pitifully. But it also felt disrespectful, and out of character for someone who was raised by this cripple for a long time.
"I did, Father." He answered.
"That's good. I have noticed that we had ran out of elderberry once again. Our own tree became infested with mites." His father scratched his head.
"Old Lady Ling needed it to soothe her nerves again. Would you mind buying some with me in the market?"
"Oh, uh..... Of course, Father." He leaned down and offered his arms.
Qing Daitong just blinked at him. "What are you doing, son?"
"Uh..... Would you like me to carry you?" He asked awkwardly.
His father stared at him for a long time, then laughed. "Hahaha, you can't carry me with those Yin arms, son. You and I know that very well."
Ren Jidian frowned. "I could try, Father. I'm stronger than you think."
(And what's a Yin arm, by the way?) He wondered.
Lord Baphie's condescending voice came to his head. [Still think you don't need my help explaining the world? Haven't you studied this already in History class?]
(Like I said. Highest grade is B+ in PE, I barely attend school. I just skate all day.)
Baphie: .... .... .... ....
Ren Jidian then had a lightbulb moment. (Aha! I think I got it figured out. Since Alpha and Omega are pretty Western terms, I'd say Yin and Yang was what these ancient people used to refer to them, right?)
(Yin is associated with feminine energy, so that's gotta be Omega. And Yang for masculine, so Alpha. Am I right or am I right?)
Lord Baphie just said sarcastically: [Wow, what a genius for realizing something so obvious.]
(Whatever, man. At least I figured it out without your help.)
[Call me Father or Great Lord.]
(I'll call you fat goat if you don't shut up while I'm trying to concentrate in being a transmigrated MC here.)
This did shut the goat up, and Ren Jidian went back to focusing on what his adoptive father was saying.
"Pardon, Father? I was a little out of sorts because of the..... cat. Yeah, the incident with the cat, I am still mad about it."
[You're a terrible liar.]
(And you're a very fat goat.)
Qing Daitong just chuckled while they were bickering and reached out to pat Ren Jidian's head.
Ren Jidian lowered his head to let him reach it, feeling a little..... strange. It was strange to have a gesture like that from a father figure.
His real one never even smiled at him, the one who gave birth to him. And the one who sired him... Well, he never met that Alpha douche so there's that.
Meanwhile, Qing Daitong was smiling so affectionately at him while patting his head. "Ah-Guang, you must calm your temper at all times. Especially when you are outside. Yin people who act too tough are not accepted well in society."
"I was born a Yang, but I have many Yin friends so I know what it's like. I have sheltered you for too long so you may not know the ways, but you have grown now and... Well, I would not be around forever."
Ren Jidian frowned, his heart somehow aching for this person who was not even his father.
"Don't say that, Father. Do not speak of a storm that is still yet to come, or it might come faster."
"Haha, but it will come anyway." The crippled man smiled sadly. "Even now, I am just a useless man without legs, only able to feed you with congee and fruits and vegetables in my garden."
"I do like your congee." Ren Jidian lied. "And I have grown healthy from the fruits and vegetables, haven't I? Much better than eating junk foo---- I mean, whatever unhealthy food rich people are eating."
"Come, come. Ignore my whining now, you must have gotten tired of comforting your old father all the time." Qing Daitong said. "Well, if you wanted to help carry me so much, just bring me to the wheelbarrow and let us set off to the market."
"Oh.... We're using a wheelbarrow." He nodded dumbly, muttering. "Like a wheelcair."
"Hmm?"
"Nothing, Father." He smacked his dumb tongue. "I'll get you there. Where was it again? Damn cat made me forgetful."
"Outside at the toolshed." The man pointed east. "Oh, and our satchel of coins are on the drawers to the right in case you forgot as well."
"Thank you, Father." Ren Jidian smiled and lifted the man up----
"Oooooof!"
He can't even lift Qing Daitong three inches off the ground.
Qing Daitong had his pretty strong arms around his neck too, which also felt heavy. His whole body probably weighs around 60 kilos even without the legs.
The man furrowed his bushy brows. "If you can't carry me, it's alright---"
"I can! I'm not just a weak Yin man!" Ren Jidian insisted.
And after several tries later, he did manage to carry Qing Daitong at the expense of having his arms so sore they felt like soggy noodles.
"Very good, Ah-Guang." Qing Daitong patted his head. "Though you may want to replenish your strength a bit after that."
Ren Jidian was already panting and sweaty. "Why, Father? I'm just pushing this wheelbarrow to the market."
"The market is three lis away."
Ren Jidian: .... ... .....
A Chinese Li or also known as a Chinese mile is 500 meters. And that was the modern approximation. It could be shorter or longer according to ancient times.
So three lis was more or less 1.5 kilometers. Great.
Ren Jidian could almost feel his soul leave his body just like it does whenever there's a sprinting class in PE. "Can't we hail a horse carriage or something? Even a wagon would do."
"We could if they happen to pass by. " Qing Daitong said. "But you know how uncommon wagons are in our neck of the woods. Why, the last I saw one was maybe two years ago!"
He heard the annoying goat in his head snicker. [Pffffft. Forgot to tell you that you and Qing Daitong basically live in recluse and away from civilization due to his illness, haha!]
(I would really turn you into a fur coat one day, you smelly old goat!)
But there's no point on lamenting about his family background of reclused medicine scholars, so he set to work to push a wheelbarrow with his father in tow for almost two miles.
It turned out to be the longer type of li. Added to the dizzying heat of the summer, Ren Jidian was close to fainting and the only thing stopping him from doing so was his strong distaste for being weak.
By the time they arrived at the market, it was already midday with the yellow sun shining high above the several stalls in this very dry afternoon.
"Have some water, son." Qing Daitong offered him a water gourd that was one of the three that was already in the wheelbarrow.
"You go first, Father.... hah....." Ren Jidian try to gave a fake smile but it came out as a wince instead.
"I barely need it more than you do, son. Just take it." His father insisted and handed out the gourd. "You don't have to push me all the time either, I can walk with my hands in here."
"Don't!" Ren Jidian stopped him.
Even with his strong arms strength, it really looked too pitiful to see this man swing his weight with both hands and much worse in public.
He can already feel the stares of the people buying vegetables and meat here. Ren Jidian scowled at them and looked as intimdating as he can, and some did turn to mind their own business.
But some laughed and pointed at them, whispering jokes about the old crippled man as they passed by.
"Ignore them, son." Qing Daitong said. "Remember what I told you earlier. Don't seek trouble as a Yin."
Ren Jidian gritted his teeth, but knew that his father was right. Most people in this market are Yang men and women. They tower over him menacingly.
There was also a slave trade nearby and a pleasure house selling off Yin men and women.
"It's a Yang's world." He mumbled under his breath.
Qing Daitong sensed his unease, and said, "Well, luckily my friend who sells elderberries is a Zhong woman who is very nice. We could also buy some rice and other goods at Lord Jiang who is also a Zhong."
Zhong means 'middle', so Ren Jidian assumes this was the ancient Chinese term for Beta.
As they bought elderberries from the Zhong merchant, they overheard her talking to another customer who is a Ying noble lady in fine robes. She wore a hairpiece with a golden hibiscus flower, blue-lined green robes with a red sash.
"You are off to buy these again? Haven't you bought almost a jin last time?"
Jin was approximately half a kilogram, so that really was a lot of elderberries.
The noble lady smiled politely and spoke with a refined tone. "His Majesty liked elderberry tea very much and he had said he preferred your berries out of all that we delivered to him. It helps soothe his condition."
Rend Jidian's eyes widened at this and he immediately grabbed the Yin lady's shoulder. "Which His Majesty???"
The Yin lady blinked in surprise, then answered. "The Empress, of course. The Emperor is currently away for the negotiations with the Borderland tribes. Everyone knows this."
Qing Daitong chuckled. "Forgive him, we are not exactly one to hear news of the Imperial Palace from where we hailed from."
"The Empress..."
"Yes..." The noble lady looked at him strangely. "Can you unhand my robes now? They are made of fine silk, if you cannot tell."
The Empress was sick..... so that means Wei Sizhi was sick. And the Emperor was away. So this means...
He grinned. "Have you ever considered having your Empress checked by a physician? My father and I happened to be one."