Fan Zehao was unconcerned. He hadn't been sick in years; even the common cold would detour around him.
"If I didn't have the strength of a fool sleeping on a cold kang, all from my internal fire, how could I possibly get sick with such a robust body? It's you who lost considerable strength after giving birth to those two brats. With this rainy weather, you should be more mindful of keeping warm."
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned his head and instructed Chunfen to ensure his wife did not get wet in the rain. If she did, a beating would be the least of her worries; her head might not remain attached to her body.
"Your maid understands. I absolutely will not let Madam get caught in the rain!"
With her assurance, Fan Zehao felt somewhat relieved, but without his personal supervision, he couldn't shake off his unease.
Watching his wife's carriage recede into the distance, Fan Zehao led the remaining men to dig mud from where the carriage wheels had sunk into the pit. After much effort, they finally managed to pull the carriage back onto the road.
Wiping the rain from his face, he said in a low voice, "Later, investigate which authority is responsible for this stretch of road. How dare they disregard my words as if they were nothing! This time, I'll use the heads of these local officials to make my point."
Feng Xiao, suppressing a smile, cupped his hands and replied, "Yes."
He had occasionally heard the Emperor curse before, but those were always common vulgarities. Hearing him say "butt" today, he suddenly felt the Emperor was quite... amusing. He never seemed to consider his dignity or status when speaking; his nature was truly direct.
At this moment, Zhao Jiaqi had already found the village Feng Xiao had mentioned.
The village was so rudimentary that it didn't even have a decent archway, which was a rarity in Yun Country at that time.
Nowadays, most rural areas used at least a mule cart for travel. Families in better financial situations had ox carts, and those who were willing spent money on horse-drawn carriages.
While it couldn't be said that every household had tiled roofs and brick houses, at least they had brick structures, spacious courtyards, and bright rooms. Their courtyards were filled with chickens, ducks, and geese, and they even raised a couple of pigs, not for sale, but for meat during the New Year.
In contrast, this village had mud-brick houses, scattered and uneven. Some houses had partial roofs, while others were missing half of theirs. It was not uncommon to see houses without doors.
Given the state of affairs, even rats would weep here. Whether houses had doors or not was irrelevant.
Due to the rain, no villagers were seen on the muddy paths. Shi He found a house that looked relatively better and went to knock on the door.
After a long while, someone from inside the courtyard finally called out impatiently, "Who is it? Can't you be quiet on such a rainy day?"
Accompanied by grumbling, a gap finally appeared in the dilapidated wooden door, and a head peeked out. The visible wrinkles on his forehead were deep enough to catch flies, and the old man looked to be at least sixty years old.
He was startled to see strangers standing at his door, and even more so to see the carriage. He shivered as he draped his padded jacket over his shoulders and asked, "Who are you, and what do you want with me?"
Shi He said, "Old man, we are traveling to the inner city to visit relatives. We took a shortcut because we were in a hurry, and then we ran into this rainy weather. We'd like to stay at your home for the night. We're willing to pay rent!"
Upon hearing that they were looking for a place to stay and were willing to pay, the old man's face creased further with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. He opened the door wide and enthusiastically invited them in.
"Come in, come in! To tell you the truth, my house is the most well-built in the entire village, with a complete roof and a door. You've come to the right place!"
Zhao Jiaqi followed the old man into the house and nodded inwardly. His words weren't false; Shi He had searched the entire village, and this was indeed the best-looking house.
Of course, there were only a dozen households in the whole village, and this one was the standout.
As soon as their group entered, the old man hurried over and asked, "How much rent will you pay?"
In the blink of an eye, he pointed to the north and south wings of his courtyard and said, "These rooms don't look like much, but they definitely won't leak. You can use the kitchen as you please, just pay for the firewood. But the rent cannot be less."
He mentioned rent twice before they had even spoken a word since entering.
Seeing this, Zhao Jiaqi signaled Chunfen to hand him a silver ingot; otherwise, his mouth wouldn't be shut.
Perhaps she might have inquired about the rent price before, but with the rain pouring down, Zhao Jiaqi had lost the leisure for such matters.
Chunfen said, "Sir, here are ten taels of silver as rent. Do you think it's enough? If not, we'll go to someone else's house."
When the old man heard that they might leave, the silver in his hand would slip away!
Ten taels was already an exorbitant price. He would have agreed even if they wanted his entire house.
"It's enough, it's enough! You can stay as long as you like. Also, feel free to use the firewood from the kitchen. If it runs out, there's a pile of firewood in the backyard. You can choose any room you like to stay in; my son and I will stay in the east wing."
Having received the silver, the old man became more enthusiastic. Now, he no longer mentioned needing to buy firewood.
Chunfen nodded in agreement and found a relatively clean room to start tidying up with Su Ya. Fortunately, there were quilts in the carriage, otherwise, in this household, Madam and Sir would have slept cold.
Master and Madam occupied one room, Shi He and Feng Xiao stayed in the room next to their masters, Chunfen and Su Ya were opposite them, and the remaining guards were in the room next to Su Ya and Chunfen.
It was a bit cramped, but not having to endure the rain and having a place to shelter and sleep was already a good outcome.
Chunfen boiled two pots of hot water. While helping her wash, she said, "Madam, this place is too poor! It's even poorer than Nanling Village after the war. The population is small, and the houses are so dilapidated, yet no one bothers to repair them. How do they live?"
Zhao Jiaqi, while washing, also felt that there was something amiss, but as newcomers, they truly didn't know where the problem lay.
She put down the towel in her hand, looked at the gloomy sky outside the window, and her mood darkened: "Later, find out some information about this old man's family and also inquire about the reason for their poverty!"
However, the local officials truly didn't take her husband's words seriously. They didn't repair the roads or care about the villagers' livelihoods, allowing this place to fall into such disrepair.
Fortunately, winter had just passed, so there was no need to worry about snow collapsing the roofs; otherwise, with these houses, many people would have been crushed.
If they were unlucky, and not crushed, they would likely freeze to death.
Chunfen nodded, "Your maid will make discreet inquiries. Madam, please rest. I'll go and get some ginger soup for you."
As soon as she left, Fan Zehao returned with Feng Xiao. They were soaking wet, water dripping from the hem of their clothes, their hair plastered to their faces, looking quite disheveled.
"Husband, quickly take off these wet clothes, wash up, and change into dry ones. Don't catch a cold in this weather."
Fan Zehao took the towel his wife handed him and roughly wiped his hair and face, cursing, "What kind of hellish place is this? Such a short stretch of road, and the carriage got stuck in a pit three times! No road repairs, and the houses are like this. If I find out who is in charge of this area, you'll see how I deal with these officials who take their salaries but do no good!"
The human heart is treacherous, and the martial world is complex.
He was working hard to do useful things for the common people, but they, in turn, were being disingenuous. They sat in high positions and had no idea how the common people lived.
Every day, the matters he saw in memorials were almost all beautified by them.