Exiled individuals giving silver to the escorting commander and government officials in exchange for protection was no secret. As soon as Qi Yue entered the posthouse, someone led her into the main upper room.
The posthouses of Beiyuan were crude, and although it was called an upper room, it was barely any different from the servant quarters of the Ducal Mansion.
Guan Yidao was sitting beside the table, eating his dinner.
One meat dish, one vegetable dish, and a pot of wine.
Seeing her come in, as if he had been expecting her, he didn't even lift his head and kept gnawing on a pig's trotter in his hands.
His full beard was smeared with grease, and as she approached, Qi Yue noticed a ferocious scar beside his eyebrow.
"What are you looking at? Want some?"
With a "thud," a bone was slammed onto the table by Guan Yidao.
Qi Yue frowned slightly and bowed a little.
"Qi Yue wouldn't dare covet the commander's food."
"Hmph, as if you would dare!"
Guan Yidao poured himself another drink and let out a contented hum.
"Speak, what brings you here?"
Qi Yue took out the one hundred silver note and placed it on the table.
"Commander, we have someone ill in our family and would like to request the commander's permission to buy some rice and to borrow some cooking utensils."
She had rice and utensils in her space, but it wasn't convenient to bring them out.
The corner of Guan Yidao's lips, hidden beneath his beard, twitched, and after wiping his fingers on his sleeve a couple of times, he picked up the silver to inspect it.
Suddenly, he laughed, a laugh filled with obvious mockery.
"I heard you were asking the guards about whether widows need to be exiled, right?"
Qi Yue was astonished.
What was this all about?
Why would an escorting commander ask such a question?
"You should thank the laws of Beiyuan for being lenient," Guan Yidao tucked the silver into his bosom and laughed again, "otherwise, Xiyan might have been buried long ago, no?"
What did he mean by that? Could he be someone close to the Zhao Family?
Just as Qi Yue was about to speak, he had already stood up and called for the government official to come in.
"Go fetch some rice and lead this Zhao family mistress..." He glanced at Qi Yue with a smirk, "No, Miss Qi, to the small kitchen."
He paused then added, "In the future, make sure the Zhao family's steamed buns are the edible kind."
"Yes," replied the government official, then asked, "Should we treat the second branch of the Zhao family the same?"
"What second branch of the Zhao family?" Guan Yidao furrowed his brows and kicked the government official, "Haven't they been disowned?"
"Yes," the official nodded obsequiously and hurried Qi Yue away.
Even standing in the small kitchen, Qi Yue still couldn't figure out what was happening.
Why did she find Guan Yidao so strange?
Considering Zhao Yongzhe and his son hadn't eaten in two days, Qi Yue decided to cook some watery porridge.
The water in the tank was full of impurities, so she used spring water from her space.
Perhaps it was because of the one hundred silver note, the government official also brought her several white steamed buns and some vegetables.
Qi Yue steamed the buns and made a simple vegetable soup.
After borrowing a food container from the government official, she carried the porridge and buns back, just in time to hear Shen Yu preparing to clean Zhao Yongzhe and his son's faces. Qi Yue set down her things and went to help.
The two men hadn't had the chance to be cleansed all day; now covered in dust mixed with blood, Zhao Yongzhe and Xiyan looked quite unrecognizable.
"It's all my fault for being in a daze all day, only remembering this now," Shen Yu said as she straightened Xiyan's hair, tears streaming down her cheeks once more.
Seeing this made Qi Yue's heart ache, and she quickly helped Shen Yu to one side.
"Mother, you and the younger aunts go eat first. I'll take care of this here."
Wiping away her tears, Shen Yu replied, "Yueyue, let's eat together!"
Qi Yue shook her head.
"I've already eaten in the kitchen."
When it came to food, she never shortchanged herself; she had taken a roasted chicken from her space to eat while cooking the porridge and was satisfied now.
Seeing that Qi Yue looked well and not starved, Shen Yu then went to eat with the others.
Qi Yue figured that Zhao Yongzhe and his son would soon wake up, so she hurriedly cleaned their faces to feed them some porridge.
Without a basin, she could only use a water jug and wet a cloth to wipe their faces.
Zhao Yongzhe may have been older, but his features were still clear and unique, making him quite a handsome elderly man.
"Mm, he looks like my father," she remarked, softening her touch while she observed him.
If he had such good fortune as her father, she thought, she should take extra care of him.
Her mind was a whirl of thoughts as she continued to clean Xiyan's face.
At first, she was distracted by her thoughts and didn't pay much attention. When she did take notice, she was utterly astonished.
Rumors had it that Xiyan was extremely handsome, but Qi Yue had only heard about it.
Now, with the real person before her, she truly understood what the phrase "indistinguishable beauty between a man and a woman" meant and how far such beauty could transcend.
To say that Xiyan's beauty could overturn states and charm like a celestial being was no exaggeration at all.
Especially those eyes.
Qi Yue had never seen anyone with such beautiful eyes before.
Thick lashes covered the lower lid, curled so much they met with the delicate brows above, creating an enchantment.
Even with his eyes tightly closed, the corners of his eyes were turned up, forming an elegant curve like poised butterfly wings ready to take flight.
She could scarcely imagine what it would be like when those eyes opened, what kind of exquisite allure they might reveal?
Suddenly, the previously motionless Xiyan wrinkled his brows as if about to awaken.
Qi Yue quickly averted her gaze, slightly flustered as she tossed the bloodstained cloth aside.
With her body tense, she stared at his eyes as if they would open any moment—