Chapter Fourteen: Training (Part One)

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Pei Qinghe instructed Madam Chen to look after Madam Lu, then summoned the young physician.

The nineteen-year-old doctor was surnamed Bao, and his given name was Hao.

He had originally been an orphan. At the age of nine, he was taken in by Sai Huatuo. Though he was called the old physician’s apprentice, in truth he merely carried the medicine chest, boiled herbs, and handled odd jobs as an apothecary’s boy. Sai Huatuo had never sincerely taught him much medicine. Bao Hao had learned everything by watching with his eyes and listening with his ears.

That day, when Guard Gao had gone into the county town to find a physician, Sai Huatuo had been terrified that he would be conscripted himself. Without hesitation, he pointed at Bao Hao, that unfortunate boy.

“Your Excellency, I’m already over fifty. I can’t endure a long journey of jolting and hardship. Bao Hao is my apprentice. He’s studied for ten years and has already completed his training. Just take him along.”

And so Bao Hao had come with the soldiers.

Last night had been the first time Bao Hao had ever used acupuncture.

Although he had watched it performed hundreds, even thousands, of times and secretly practiced on his own arm countless times, when it came time to do it for real, his heart had raced and his hands had trembled. How could he possibly have pierced the right points?

As for writing prescriptions and boiling medicine, however, he was thoroughly practiced. Whenever his master, Sai Huatuo, treated someone and wrote out a prescription, whether for a headache, fever, or stomachache, he used only a few dozen formulas over and over. Bao Hao had long since memorized them backward and forward.

When Pei Yun had questioned him the previous night, Bao Hao had spilled everything in a rush, like beans pouring from a split bamboo tube.

There was nothing to be done but make do.

Pei Qinghe looked at him. “Doctor Bao, I’ll leave the daily preparation of the medicine to you. My grandmother has a quick temper and a difficult disposition, so I hope you’ll be patient with her.”

The young doctor was clearly timid. Last night, Pei Qinghe’s icy severity and domineering manner had frightened him into unusual meekness.

“Sixth Miss Pei, please rest assured. I’ll do everything in my power to care for the old madam.”

Pei Qinghe gave a slight nod.

Madam Lu had lain in the prison cart for several days. She had not missed a single dose of medicine, three times a day. Once soft white wheat buns had been soaked in hot water, she could manage one or two.

Whenever Pei Qinghe had free time, she came over to visit. Her harsh words, cutting remarks, and biting sarcasm had instead stirred Madam Lu’s will to live.

“I’m not going to die.” Lying in the prison cart, Madam Lu angrily bit into a large piece of bun as though she were biting into someone’s flesh. She chewed with all her strength. “I refuse to give that wretched girl what she wants.”

“She looks down on me as a burden and can’t wait for me to die halfway there. But I refuse to—hic—”

Madam Chen was both amused and exasperated. She hurriedly brought over a waterskin and gave Madam Lu a drink.

“That’s enough. Don’t talk while you’re eating, or you’ll choke.”

“You have enough strength to curse people now, Sister-in-law. Looks like you’ve made it through the crisis. Let me give you one piece of advice: stop saying things without the slightest proof.”

“If Swallow or Feng hears you, they’ll surely run to Qinghe and tell her.”

After eating white buns for several days, Pei Qinghe’s standing among the clansmen had risen sharply. Her prestige was at its height, and Pei Yan and Pei Feng had become her most loyal little followers.

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“I’m her grandmother,” Madam Lu said, trying to sound fierce despite her lack of confidence. “Could she really eat me?”

Madam Chen shot her a sidelong glance. “Qinghe is coming.”

Madam Lu immediately fell silent, closed her eyes, and pretended to sleep.

Madam Chen grinned from ear to ear.

It was one of the few amusements available on the road to exile.

Traveling all day was truly exhausting. The good news was that after consuming an entire cartload of grain, they had gained an extra wooden cart. Whenever they grew tired, they could take turns resting in it.

If things continued this way—eating their way forward—the number of empty wooden carts would steadily increase. They also had more than a dozen sturdy mules and donkeys that could be taken to You Prefecture.

Pei Qinghe was very pleased with this arrangement. In private, she gave fifty taels of silver to Guard Gao and another fifty to Commandant Sun.

That was equivalent to both men’s salaries for an entire year.

Those who ate another’s food became less inclined to complain; those who accepted another’s money found their hands tied.

Guard Gao no longer grumbled or frowned. From time to time, he even took the initiative to ride into the mountains and hunt game. The common soldiers got to eat meat, while the Pei family, young and old, could at least drink meat broth and have a little oil in their bellies.

Commandant Sun also became increasingly lax in supervising the Pei family.

At first, the family’s rations had been plain white buns. Later, vegetable filling was added and they became stuffed buns. For the past two days, they had even been filled with meat.

Every day, Pei Qinghe would “invite” one of the Crown Prince’s guards to ride ahead at full speed to the next relay station and arrange in advance for pork with a good balance of fat and lean meat.

If they were going to train, eating their fill was not enough. They needed meat as well. Only with sufficient nourishment could they have the strength to endure.

The silver ingots in the chest flowed out like water.

Aunt Wu, who managed the money, was so distressed that her face nearly cramped. She hugged the chest tightly.

“Qinghe, we had five hundred taels of silver in all, and almost half of it is gone already. Shouldn’t we try to spend a little less? We ought to save some for when we reach You Prefecture…”

“We can’t afford to save this money.” Pei Qinghe’s expression turned solemn. “Guard Gao is contributing both men and effort, so we have to show our gratitude. Commandant Sun needs to be properly handled as well. Otherwise, how could we be living so comfortably now?”

That was true.

Among the families of disgraced officials sent into exile, countless people died of illness, hunger, or exhaustion along the road. It was hardly unusual for them to be bullied by the soldiers escorting them.

The life the Pei family was living now hardly resembled exile at all.

Aunt Wu painfully put the chest away and let out a long sigh.

“We’ve spent almost everything already. Once we reach You Prefecture, we’ll have nothing left.”

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Pei Qinghe arched a brow. “Once we reach You Prefecture, I’ll have my own way.”

What way?

Could she conjure silver and grain out of thin air?

At the thought of grain, Aunt Wu could not resist adding, “Shouldn’t we economize on the food as well?”

“We can’t.” Pei Qinghe replied, “We need to eat our fill so we’ll have the strength to train.”

During these past few days, Pei Qinghe’s intentions had become perfectly clear. Yet the instant she spoke of training, there was a distinctly chilling edge to her words.

Aunt Wu fell silent for a moment before speaking quietly.

“You are the head of the Pei clan. You are leading us forward, so we will follow wherever you go.”

This ninth-branch aunt, Madam Wu, was named Xiuniang. She was forty years old this year.

In her previous life, she had led the women and children in a desperate struggle to survive. The people around her had died one after another, and of all those who had endured and continued to follow her, only a little over thirty remained. Wu Xiuniang had been one of the calmest and most trustworthy among them. The rebel army’s money and provisions had always been managed by Wu Xiuniang.

Pei Qinghe stared steadily at Wu Xiuniang. Through that familiar face, she seemed to see her former self—the woman who had refused to accept the contempt of fate and had pressed forward in fury. Her blood began to surge hotly through her veins.

“Don’t worry. I will lead everyone to survive.”

“Not merely survive. We will live well. We will eat our fill and dress warmly, and no one will dare bully us!”

Two flames gleamed in Pei Qinghe’s eyes. One was the flame of confidence; the other, the vigorous fire of ambition.

Moved by the intensity of her emotions, Wu Xiuniang felt her heart burn with warmth and nodded firmly.

Pei Qinghe raised a brow and continued.

“If we want a good life, we must first possess the ability to protect ourselves. I’ve already drawn up several key principles for our training. Auntie, please call all the squad leaders over.”

The girls and boys under eight were too young. If they could barely maintain formation and keep from falling behind, that was already good enough.

The older women over sixty found traveling difficult, so they took turns riding in the prison carts. Naturally, they were not idle while seated there. They were responsible for caring for all the children under three.

The main force requiring training consisted of the four squads led by Pei Yan, Pei Yun, Ah-Hong, and Wu Xiuniang, along with Pei Qinghe herself—a total of one hundred and fifty-nine people.

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