The Farm Girl and the Executioner (Rebirth) 24p2

Chapter 24: Follow-up in the City p2

The new prescription was indeed much cheaper. It was originally fifty copper coins per dose, but now it was twenty. Seven doses cost one hundred and forty copper coins.

Jiang Huaizhen had brought all the silver left over from buying the medicine and bricks last time. After paying for the medicine this time, she had one tael and five hundred and sixty copper coins left.

Looking at Old Madam Jiang, who was sitting in a rattan chair in the clinic, she turned to the apprentice who was getting the medicine and asked, “How much does a ginseng root cost?”

The apprentice stopped and replied, “That depends on the weight. The older it is, the more expensive it is. Anything over three years is expensive. A good quality one would be eight or nine taels. A slightly inferior one would be about five taels. And for the older ones, a catty can cost over a hundred taels.”

Jiang Huaizhen lowered her eyes slightly. She had taken on the job of an executioner, enduring the scorn of everyone, and she only earned eight taels of silver a year, with one tael being skimmed by the petty officials. How could she afford ginseng?

Just as she was feeling dejected, a hand reached out and linked her arm. “Don’t worry. We’ll save up the money.”

Jiang Huaizhen hummed softly in agreement.

Just then, a mother and her two children entered the clinic. The younger son in the mother’s arms had a sallow complexion, and he seemed to have some chronic illness. He didn’t look well.

The three of them told the apprentice their situation and sat down to wait.

The young girl, as soon as she sat down, couldn’t help but look around. She glanced at Jiang and Lin standing in front of the medicine cabinet, and her eyes suddenly lit up. She stood up and waved. “Lin Shuang—”

The newcomer was Wang Chun’er, whom Lin Shuang had met when she was carrying the yams to the city. They had also watched Jiang Huaizhen’s execution together at the execution grounds.

Lin Shuang was also a little surprised. The last time they had parted, she had said they would meet again if fate allowed. She hadn’t expected to see her on her second visit. It was truly fate.

She quickly walked over and linked her arm. “What are you doing here?”

But Wang Chun’er’s gaze kept drifting toward Jiang Huaizhen, her eyes filled with surprise and disbelief. She stammered, “This… this… isn’t that…”

Lin Shuang smiled and gently knocked away her hand that was pointing at Jiang Huaizhen. “Don’t make a scene.”

Wang Chun’er swallowed. “How… how is she a woman?”

“Are you disappointed that she’s a woman?” Lin Shuang looked at her with a half-smile. She remembered that at the execution grounds, this girl had said she wanted to marry someone like Jiang Huaizhen.

Wang Chun’er quickly shook her head. “No, no… I’m not disappointed… Sigh, what’s there for me to be disappointed about?”

Her voice was not at all dejected, but she soon looked up again. “I didn’t expect you to know her. You didn’t even tell me that day.”

“You didn’t ask,” Lin Shuang turned to look at Jiang Huaizhen and winked at her.

Jiang Huaizhen’s beautiful eyes swept over Wang Chun’er, and she nodded.

Wang Chun’er’s face instantly flushed red. She remembered what she had said to Lin Shuang that day and was extremely embarrassed. She stammered, “That… that… I was just talking nonsense that day. Don’t take it to heart.”

Lin Shuang chuckled and asked, “What’s wrong with your brother?”

At the mention of this, Wang Chun’er’s eyes immediately grew dim. “Tuberculosis. We didn’t have money before, so we kept putting off treatment. The longer we waited, the worse it got, and now he’s like this. I don’t know if he can be cured.”

Lin Shuang was filled with sympathy and patted her on the shoulder. “There’s always a way. We’ll find a solution.”

“Yes, there will be a way,” Wang Chun’er sniffed. “And we’ve found a way… Lin Shuang, I’m getting married.”

Hearing this, Lin Shuang was about to congratulate her, but seeing her expression, it didn’t seem to be the case. So she asked, “Which family are you marrying into? Did they agree to pay for your brother’s treatment?”

“The Qin family’s young master, from the Benevolence Hall. They gave a betrothal gift of ten taels of silver. With so much money, he can definitely be cured, right…” her voice was faint.

Lin Shuang’s heart skipped a beat, and she blurted out, “You’re marrying into the Qin family for a chongxi marriage?”

Wang Chun’er looked up in astonishment. “What’s wrong? Do you know the Qin family too?”

Lin Shuang stood there stiffly, her head buzzing. She had thought she had escaped this fate, that she would have no more connection with the Qin family in this life. From now on, she and Jiang Huaizhen would earn money and live a good life, and it would be better than her past life no matter what.

But she never expected that this plague-like nightmare would still find its way to her.

If it were someone else, she would just pretend she didn’t know, and it would have nothing to do with her.

But she had met Wang Yuanxiang.

Fate was truly a trickster.

She didn’t care about anything else and pulled Wang Chun’er out of the clinic, lowering her voice. “Of course I know the Qin family. Because before you, the person who was supposed to go to the Qin family for the chongxi marriage was me. My uncle was also going to sell me for ten taels of silver. It was Huaizhen who took me away. I never expected that they would find you.”

“The Qin family is a pit of fire. It’s not too late to get out now.”

In her past life, because her birth characters had been changed, Qin Chong’s death had been blamed on her. The Qin family had used this as a pretext to torment her in every possible way, making her life a living hell.

According to the trajectory of her past life, Qin Chong would die on the fifteenth of the twelfth lunar month. She couldn’t predict if the Qin family would still blame his death on Wang Chun’er.

But with Old Madam Qin’s personality, Wang Chun’er would definitely not have an easy time.

As a friend she had met a few times, she had to try to persuade her.

But Wang Chun’er shook her head dejectedly. “It’s too late. The money has already been divided up. There’s only a little left for my little brother’s treatment. I have no other choice.”

Hearing her words, the suffocating feeling of being buried in a coffin enveloped Lin Shuang, and her knees began to ache faintly. She had to support herself on a nearby chair. “You have to think carefully. One wrong step leads to another.”

Wang Chun’er lowered her head and replied, “I know. I appreciate your good intentions. Since the Qin family is looking for someone for a chongxi marriage, if it’s not me, it will be someone else. If it’s destined to be a bitter fruit, then let me bear it. Anyway, a woman has to get married. It doesn’t matter who I marry. And I got ten taels of silver, which can at least treat my little brother’s illness… If Young Master Qin really gets better, then maybe it won’t be so bad.”

These words were very familiar, because Lin Shuang had thought the same way in her past life.

She hadn’t expected Qin Chong to get better at the time. She just thought that leaving the Lin family and going to a new place might be better.

But she never expected to have escaped the wolf’s den only to enter the tiger’s lair.

“Chun’er…”

Wang Chun’er looked at Lin Shuang, her eyes red, and shook her head. “Lin Shuang, I have no other choice.”

A sense of desolation rose in Lin Shuang’s heart, but she was powerless.

She had Jiang Huaizhen to save her, but Wang Chun’er didn’t.

And so far, Wang Chun’er had shown no intention of resisting, just like herself in her past life. In the end, Jiang Huaizhen hadn’t been able to stop her.

Fortunately, just before she died, she had come.

She took a deep breath. “Then after you go, you must take care of yourself. If… one day you can’t take it anymore, you can come and find me. My home is in Whitewater Village. You can find me by asking around.”

This was the only way out she could leave for Wang Chun’er.

Wang Chun’er didn’t know why Lin Shuang was helping her. They had only met for the second time. She thought that perhaps it was because she had also almost been married into the Qin family for a chongxi marriage that they had a mutual understanding. She said gratefully, “Lin Shuang, thank you.”

As she spoke, she caught a glimpse of Jiang Huaizhen carrying Old Madam Jiang out of the corner of her eye and quickly said, “You… she’s coming out. You should go back too. If we’re fated, we might meet again in the future.”

Even in this situation, she still held a glimmer of hope. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. At worst, she would be a widow.

Lin Shuang couldn’t say anything else. She let go of her arm, said “take care,” and walked toward the grandmother and granddaughter.

After leaving the Everlasting Peace Hall, she thought Jiang Huaizhen would ask something, but the other didn’t say a word, so Lin Shuang temporarily suppressed her worries.

And at this moment, she also saw the current situation very clearly. She needed to earn money, a lot of money. Including the old woman’s current illness, Jiang Huaizhen’s profession, and the unknown future, perhaps money couldn’t solve everything, but it could solve most things.

And she had just told Chun’er that if she couldn’t bear it in the future, she could come and find her. If she was still as poor as she was now and had no say in anything, how could she help her?

Passing by the blacksmith’s shop, she remembered what she had said the day before yesterday about getting a large flat-bottomed pot to start a business. She couldn’t help but look at it a few more times.

Unfortunately, her pockets were empty, and she resisted the urge to go in and ask for the price.

She would wait a little longer.

Perhaps it was because of Doctor Xue’s words that Old Madam Jiang’s obsession and entanglement with Jiang Huaizhen’s profession as an executioner had finally been resolved a little. Or perhaps it was because the cost of the medicine had been greatly reduced, easing the family’s financial burden, and her mood was not as heavy as before. Her long-furrowed, stern brow had gradually relaxed, and her tone was unusually light.

“Is that earthen kang really that magical?”

Lin Shuang said, “Let’s put it this way, when it gets cold, once you’re on the kang, you won’t want to get off. And after the kang is heated, the room also gets warm. Even if the stove fire goes out, the kang will stay warm for a few hours.”

“I’ll have to see if it’s really as magical as you say. Don’t let Doctor Xue come and laugh at us.”

Lin Shuang looked at her. “Then if it’s really as magical as I say, what does Great-grandmother plan to do?”

Old Madam Jiang glared at her. “You sharp-tongued little girl. What, are you trying to argue with an old woman?”

“I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare,” Lin Shuang’s mood had improved slightly. She looked at Jiang Huaizhen and said, “Anyway, we’re coming back in a couple of days to sell the herbs at home. Let’s not go shopping today and just take a cart back, okay?”

Jiang Huaizhen: “Okay.”

It wasn’t until they were on the ox-cart, halfway home, that Lin Shuang, who was sitting next to Jiang Huaizhen, suddenly asked in a low voice, “If it were a girl from another family in the village who was sent to the Qin family for the chongxi marriage that day, would you have saved her?”

Jiang Huaizhen replied, “That day, I would have.”

“Why?”

“Because that was my first execution. I thought that by saving one person for every head I took, I might be able to reduce my sins.”

“And now?”

“Now, I don’t think what I’m doing is a sin,” Jiang Huaizhen looked at her. “Of course, if she was unwilling, I wouldn’t have forced her. So that girl named Chun’er today, is she being sent to the Qin family for a chongxi marriage?”

“Yes.”

“It seems she didn’t accept your help.”

Lin Shuang lowered her eyes. “Maybe she will need it in the future.”

Jiang Huaizhen said, “It’s alright. If she needs help in the future, then we’ll help her in the future.”

Lin Shuang reached out and linked her arm, saying softly, “Alright.”