The servants in the village had never regarded Ran Yan highly. Not only was her character perceived as weak, but despite her destitution, she still held her gaze high as if speaking to her was an insult to her dignity.
Even though Ran Yan was no longer favored, she was still the legitimate daughter of the Ran Family. Publicly, the Ran Family claimed that Ran Shiqi was recuperating from an illness on the estate. So, although the servants held no fondness for their mistress and never took her to heart, they did not dare to make things difficult for her— at most, they treated her with disregard. However, the incident the other day when Zhou Sanlang was brought back from the brink of death had been witnessed with their own eyes. The buzz wasn't just limited to the Zhou Family village; everyone on the estate started to see Ran Yan in a new light, and naturally, their attitudes became much more respectful than before.
After reading the letter, Ran Yan carelessly tossed the note into her bundle, "Wan Lu, give him the half tael of silver as a reward."
Caught off guard, Wan Lu, despite a thousand unwilling thoughts, couldn't embarrass her mistress in front of others. She handed what she was holding to Madam Xing, unwound the heavy half tael of silver from her waist, and with a strained smile, presented it to the Servant, "Anyone who helps my mistress will certainly not be mistreated. Thank you for your help this time."
The Servant was at first astonished, but upon actually feeling the half tael of silver, as though waking from a dream, he busily said, "Thank you for the reward, Mistress. If there's anything you need in the future, just command me, and I will do my utmost."
Ran Yan nodded slightly, "I appreciate it."
Though the words were uttered politely, they still surprised the Servant, who knew it was a tactful way of dismissing him. He quickly stuffed the money into his sleeve and bowed as he retreated.
"Hmph, what a face!" Wan Lu muttered under her breath.
Neither Madam Xing nor Ran Yan continued the conversation. As an uncherished legitimate daughter, Ran Yan was loath to spend any reward money— who would come to curry favor for no reason? Furthermore, the Ran Yan of the past could kindly be described as an untainted orchid in an empty valley; more bluntly, however, she was someone who valued face over all else. Despite living worse than the main house's Maids, she still believed she was better than everyone; she couldn't see the reality.
Today's events had made Ran Yan realize the importance of money. If she must survive in the Great Tang, she would have to find a way to make money. Yet, the appearance of this particular inkstone had prevented her from settling her mind.
"Let's go visit Mister Sang Chen first." Ran Yan grabbed the inkstone tray and hurried out the door.
Wan Lu quickly stashed the two taels of silver and left the rest of the items for Madam Xing to deal with. Lifting her skirt, she ran to catch up with Ran Yan.
Madam Xing looked at the unsealed letter— its contents were brief and merely polite words of inquiry. It also mentioned that the two taels of silver inside the bundle was the fee for the Doctor the day before, a fee which was not accepted and returned via Madame Liu. Only Madame Liu couldn't leave Zhou Sanlang's side because he was still very weak, so it was entrusted to Sang Chen to bring along.
Ran Yan suppressed the turmoil within her heart, trying her best to walk as usual.
It was early morning, and along the interweaving riverbanks of the village, houses had backyard doors that opened along the riverbank. Stone steps led directly into the water, and women from each household were already on these steps, washing rice and vegetables, chatting with each other in soft dialects.
There was also a black-awning boat loaded with some goods, slowly moving through the water, asking the women washing vegetables if they needed to purchase or exchange anything.
Looking at such a tranquil and peaceful scene, the restlessness in Ran Yan's heart gradually calmed. Yet, her steps did not slow down. It was as if a forensic doctor needed to reach the crime scene in the shortest amount of time when breaking a murder case— Ran Yan had grown accustomed to dealing with things in this manner.
Wan Lu, knowing that Meng Hall was to the east of the village, assisted Ran Yan in that direction.
A day's plan starts with the morning. One could already hear the clear voices of reading children before even seeing Meng Hall's schoolhouse.
Listening to the voices, Ran Yan could tell there weren't many students— only about fourteen or fifteen of varying ages. The younger ones' voices were blurry, cute and childish, while the older ones already had the beginnings of adolescent characteristics.
In the village alleys, occasionally bumping into a few villagers, Sang Chen held a square inkstone hurriedly in her hand. Although they were full of curiosity, they all immediately stepped aside respectfully and bowed.
Doctors, since ancient times, have been respected by people. Who is not afraid of aging, illness, and death? A person like Sang Chen, capable of "bringing the dead back to life", naturally evokes awe in people's hearts.
The Meng Hall in the village was just a room two measures wide, built along the water like the houses of commoners, with no yard in front nor steps leading to the river at the back. Instead, there extended a water platform about three feet wide, surrounded by a newly nailed poplar fence that seemed to have been put up only a couple of days ago, judging by its color.
The houses in the Tang Dynasty were generally low, but this Meng Hall was slightly higher than ordinary houses, and well-constructed, which showed how much the villagers valued education.
Wan Lu peeked into the house and saw rows of children of all sizes sitting on their knees, nodding and reciting the "Thousand Character Classic" led by Sang Chen. The smallest child could barely walk steadily, let alone sit with legs folded; even standing, they could only use a low table. However, with a serious face, they held a book that was difficult to grasp due to their small hands. The child knitted their tiny brows and their little mouth moved along with the loud reading, looking quite impressive—despite holding the book upside down.
The boy whom Wan Lu had made cry that day was now sprawled out on the mat, fast asleep and drooling on his cheek, smacking his lips as if dreaming of delicious food.
Three older children secretly poked each other with small twigs—now one poking another, now one poked in return. A girl occasionally stole glances at the boy who was earnestly memorizing, while another boy, puffed up with anger, reached to pull her hair...
In such a small Meng Hall, it was a scene of utter chaos, yet full of liveliness.
And Sang Chen, as if oblivious to it all, continued to shake his head and sway with eyes closed, more engrossed in his recital than anyone else.
Wan Lu covered her mouth to stifle a laugh, whispering softly, "I had no idea that the most bustling place in the village was the Meng Hall!"
Sang Chen stood outside quietly waiting, watching Sang Chen's enraptured expression and feeling almost cruel to interrupt. Even though she was in a hurry, she always followed principles when handling matters, so she remained at the door, waiting until their morning reading was over.
The "Thousand Character Classic", as the name suggests, is only a thousand characters long. But since the children were of various ages, some had finished learning while others knew only a few phrases. Thus, Sang Chen led them in reciting the entire text twice, then the first half twice again, and finally just the first few sentences.
After the complete recitation, Sang Chen focused on explaining the first section.
During this time, the area in front of the Meng Hall was also bustling. A few girls around fourteen or fifteen years old, accustomed to the route, tiptoed along the base of the wall toward the window. They seemed to be a group at first glance, but upon closer observation, Ran Yan noticed that their subtle actions were often filled with hostility, either "accidentally" stepping on one another or "unintentionally" kicking each other.
Those girls were obviously regular onlookers. As they almost reached the window, they suddenly saw Ran Yan standing boldly at the entrance and were taken aback, with disdain or hostility flashing in their eyes.
As the voices inside ceased, Ran Yan coolly withdrew her gaze, and thus Wan Lu went ahead to invite Sang Chen out.
Wan Lu, indignant that those girls showed such disrespect to her wife, also felt a mockful sentiment stirring. She moved swiftly, almost as soon as Ran Yan gestured, she was already at the doorway, gently knocking and saying, "Mr. Sang, I am Wan Lu from the Ran household. My wife has some important matters to discuss with you, Mr. Sang. Please, could you see us?"
The girls' faces flushed red in an instant, throwing resentful glares at Wan Lu's departing figure and then scattering like a bunch of scared rabbits.
Ran Yan watched the lively group of girls leave with a light smile. It seems that Mr. Sang is quite popular in the village!