Chapter 8

Wang Rouhua filled the water tank with a full tank of water. The water in it was not from the sweet water well but was mountain spring water brought from inside the imperial palace by the guards on the city wall.

In return, Wang Rouhua helped the guards who had no family in the capital to mend and wash their clothes. Although she said she did not want money, the guards never let her work for free. Every time, a few copper coins would come down with the clothes to be mended and washed in a basket.

Wang Rouhua also heard that the nobles in the imperial palace had gone to Cuimai Mountain to avoid the epidemic, and they would not return to the palace until the weather turned cold.

The epidemic in Dongjing City became increasingly fierce, and even during the day, there were hardly one or two pedestrians on the streets, and if there were, they were in a hurry...

The wealthy families had all left, and the people left in the city all had reasons to stay, enduring the harsh conditions and waiting for the autumn wind to arrive.

Wang Rouhua became extremely cautious and never ventured more than ten steps away from the foot of the imperial city. The imperial city enclosed the Zhao royal family and also provided a natural protective layer for Wang Rouhua and her son. Therefore, no one had died near her home.

This was partly due to the efforts of the Kaifeng Prefecture, as the area around the imperial city was under strict surveillance. Now, not only were people not allowed within ten steps, but they were not even allowed within ten zhang (about 33 feet).

The source of this epidemic was eventually found, and it must be said that the Kaifeng Prefecture was a very efficient government department. It turned out to be just dysentery, not a fierce epidemic (cholera), which relieved everyone.

If it had been a fierce epidemic, who knows how many people would have died in Dongjing...

After learning it was dysentery, Wang Rouhua would wash Tie Xin Yuan with warm salt water three times a day. Of course, the little fox received the same treatment. Every evening, when Wang Rouhua bathed Tie Xin Yuan and the little fox, the guards on the imperial city wall would laugh and cheer.

The house was filled with a sour smell, which was left after Wang Rouhua had thoroughly fumigated the entire room with vinegar three times.

A new mosquito net almost occupied half of the room, and Wang Rouhua did not allow Tie Xin Yuan to go outside the net. She checked the net thoroughly every day, and only when she found no mosquitoes would she feel at ease.

Although Tie Xin Yuan wanted to go back to the place where the fly agaric mushrooms grew, he could not find any opportunity. As soon as he dared to crawl out of the net, Wang Rouhua would give him a few hard slaps on the buttocks.

Finally, the autumn wind arrived.

The fruit pits that Wang Rouhua planted in front of the house sprouted a tender green branch. Such a tender branch could not withstand the impending cold winter, which greatly disappointed Wang Rouhua, who had wanted to plant a fruit tree for her son to enjoy.

However, there was a good side: the epidemic was slowly disappearing...

Wang Rouhua watched the street in front of her house, and since no dead bodies had been transported out for three days, she finally felt at ease.

But she immediately locked her son and the little fox in the house, pushed the chicken cart, and hurried to Machang Street.

As a farmer, Wang Rouhua knew that autumn was the time to store food, especially in a famine year like this. The price of grain would soon rise, and no one understood the importance of grain to a family better than a farmer.

Tie Xin Yuan, who was already nine months old, could stand steadily on the ground. After four months of continuous exercise, he could walk without Wang Rouhua's support, though he still could not run.

Peeking through the door crack, he saw his mother had gone far, so he waved to the fox. The fox skillfully crawled out from under the door, climbed to the top, and used its mouth to lift the latch, then pushed open the door with its paws.

In four months, Tie Xin Yuan had grown a bit, but the little fox had grown into a beautiful half-grown fox. Once its light yellow baby fur shed and new fur grew in the winter, it would become a full-grown silver fox.

When they quickly arrived at the place where the mushrooms grew, Tie Xin Yuan was so disappointed. The grass mushrooms were everywhere, but the fly agaric mushrooms had withered, and black spores were scattered everywhere. There was not a single mature mushroom growing.

The little fox enjoyed eating the grass mushrooms and sometimes brought them to Tie Xin Yuan, wondering why he did not eat these delicious mushrooms.

The saying that mushrooms from the north can withstand the cold wind was completely wrong.

The wind blew from afar, lifting the fallen leaves and hitting the high walls, then falling to the ground. Soon, the fallen leaves almost covered Tie Xin Yuan's feet.

His heart felt as bleak as the autumn wind—what wonderful mushrooms, so suitable for a child's protection, how could they not grow a little longer?

The little fox seemed startled and suddenly darted to Tie Xin Yuan's side, crouching by his legs and chirping at a place with many fallen leaves.

A gray-brown hedgehog rolled out from the fallen leaves. Tie Xin Yuan glanced at it, but his eyes quickly lit up when he saw a few red mushrooms among the fallen leaves.

Unable to wait, Tie Xin Yuan kicked the hedgehog away with his tiger-head shoe, took out the bamboo tube his mother had made for him, carefully picked the mushrooms, and then sealed the tube, feeling that heaven was not so unkind to him.

The rest of the fly agaric mushrooms had turned into spores, but this was not a big problem. When the rain came next spring, they would grow again.

Walking home along the city wall, Tie Xin Yuan did not feel the slightest bit tired. After entering the house, he had the fox re-latch the door and crawl back in from under the door.

The room was very dark. To keep warm, Wang Rouhua had sacrificed the necessary window, only using branches to create a makeshift barrier above the door. The house faced south, like the imperial palace.

A beam of light still shone through the door, illuminating Tie Xin Yuan's proud and somewhat arrogant little face. The little fox chirped and crawled into the basket under the bed, watching as Tie Xin Yuan carefully tore the mushrooms and placed them on the brazier to dry.

After a long time, Tie Xin Yuan took off the handkerchief tied around his nose, leaned on the door, and took a deep breath of fresh air. Looking at the charred yellow mushroom pieces on the tile on the brazier, he laughed triumphantly.

Grinding the dried mushrooms into powder was something the young Tie Xin Yuan could not do. He carefully stored the dried mushrooms in the bamboo tube and gestured for the fox to hide it, worried that if his mother found it by accident, she might make a soup with the fragrant dried mushrooms for him.

The little fox was very good at hiding things, and no one knew where it would hide them.

After doing all this, Tie Xin Yuan felt very tired. Climbing onto the low bed, he fell asleep without even taking off his tiger-head shoes.

In his dream, he saw Yang Huaoyu, wielding a long spear and covered in wounds, fighting like a mad tiger against the fully armored guards. He finally knelt down when the guards' spears pierced his thighs, still babbling about wanting to fight.

At the same time, Bao Zheng sat in the hall, judging cases and writing judgments, quickly handling a thick stack of documents. Then he threw down his pen, laughed, and left, leaving the hall filled with the cries of the people, almost lifting the roof...

"Yuan'er, wake up, Yuan'er, wake up..."

A distant voice came, and Tie Xin Yuan mumbled "Mother!" and then shivered, sitting up.

He saw Wang Rouhua staring at him, her eyes full of surprise. Tie Xin Yuan sighed lightly and closed his eyes in resignation.

Sure enough, his small body was picked up by his mother, who quickly spun him in the air, raining kisses on his face, head, stomach, and buttocks...

"My Yuan'er can speak."

"My Yuan'er can call me mother."

"My Yuan'er is indeed the smartest. The dog egg from the Tie family still couldn't call people at two years old, always calling his father 'Duo Duo.'

Ha ha ha ha, my son is indeed the smartest..."

"Seventh Brother, did you see? Did you hear? Our child can speak..."

Wang Rouhua's transition from joy to sadness was very quick. Tie Xin Yuan felt her warm tears on his face, sighed again, and reached out to hug the woman who had been his only companion in life. In this life, their connection would no longer be just blood, but also emotion, binding their lonely lives together like ropes.

That night, Wang Rouhua was so excited that she did not sleep at all, constantly encouraging Tie Xin Yuan to speak. After patiently calling her "mother" dozens of times, he could no longer resist the sleep and fell into a deep slumber.

Wang Rouhua, who had not slept all night, came out of the house at the first light of dawn and excitedly shouted to the guards on the city wall, "Brother Zhang, my Yuan'er can speak."

The guard on the city wall, rubbing his sleepy eyes and yawning, said, "Wife of the Tie family, it's not unusual for your son to speak, but it is surprising that you are shouting so early in the morning."

"My Yuan'er can speak, he called me mother dozens of times last night."

The guard laughed, "My son has been calling me father for over ten years, and I still beat him when he deserves it.

Since your precious one can speak, it means he has grown up and is now at the age where he should be beaten. I saw him running around the city wall yesterday, ha ha ha..."

"Running around? That's impossible, I locked the door."

The guard on the city wall chuckled, "Your son is a little devil, and the fox you keep is almost a spirit, able to open the door for your son.

Heh, with such a son, Wife of the Tie family, you will have plenty of trouble in the future!"

Wang Rouhua's face immediately changed, and she turned and went back into the house, pulling the fox out from under the bed and staring at it fiercely, "Did you open the door for Yuan'er?"