A few more days passed and it was October. Xia Mingming's hope of taking the Dayan exam was officially ruined. Yu Shu's life became better. She still set up a divination stall in Autumn Osmanthus Lane during the day. More and more customers came to ask for divination. It was common for her to charge a hundred or so coins. Sometimes, she could earn one or two taels of silver a day. Her hard work was not in vain.
The only drawback was that she was very unlucky recently. She fell when she went out, bumped into people when she walked, and choked when she was eating. She suspected that Jing Chen's Ketu Star was about to break out. She was worried all day long. Every time she went out, she would use the six lines to calculate a complete divination for herself to avoid being hit.
Recently, Yu Shu saved some money and planned to go to the north of the city to visit several famous Da Yi Store. She wanted to try her luck and see if she could get a few good cheap books to read. She had been relying on her old books and didn't learn anything new, so she made little progress.
Yi Study was different from other subjects. Each subject was related to each other. The more comprehensive it was, the more exquisite it was. With her current ability, it was more than enough for her to set up a stall on the street to calculate divination, but there were too few things that she could really bring to the public.
Early in the morning, she decocted Jing Chen's medicine and watched him drink it. Then, Yu Shu dragged the listless Xia Mingming out of the door. She had two things to do today.
"Why did you drag me out? I don't want to go to the street."
Yu Shu ignored his complaints. She hired a donkey cart from Xiliu Street and asked someone to send it to Qianyuan Street. It was diagonally across half of Anling City. If they didn't take the cart and just walked, it would be dark by the time they walked back and forth.
Even so, they didn't arrive at the central city until after a nap. After getting off the cart, Yu Shu gave the coachman her hard-earned money. After asking for directions, she pulled Xia Mingming and walked for a hundred steps to the north. Not far away, there was a broad road that ran from east to west.
At the end of the street, there was a tall archway made of gray stone. The four pillars were straight and there were no words on them. One side was painted with a blue sky and a white sun, and the other side was painted with a bright moon and a tide. You had to crane your neck to see the whole picture. People who passed the archway, including carriages and horses, took a detour. There were two or three constables in neat dark green uniforms, hairpin hats, and short weapons on their waists. They were patrolling around solemnly.
This was a market on Qianyuan Street. As long as they passed this street, they would arrive at the north of the city. Yu Shu once heard from a waiter in Mingyuan Casino that "A Qianyuan Street is divided into the north and south. The three religions and nine streams converge in the south of the city. Glory, splendor, and wealth gather in the north of the city." Now that she saw this street, it didn't lose to the capital five hundred years later. It even had the aura of an ancient dynasty.
"Brother, may I know how to get to the nearby posthouse?" Yu Shu stopped a passerby who was walking towards them and asked.
Xia Mingming didn't pay much attention to it when he heard that she was talking about the "trading house". He looked around the market. When Yu Shu led him to the entrance of a post house, her expression changed when she saw the fodder for the horses in the enclosure.
"Why did you bring me here?" Xia Mingming looked at Yu Shu with a guarded expression and wanted to break free from her hand.
Yu Shu grabbed her tightly and pushed her into the post house. She said, "What else can I do? I want you to write a letter home."
Xia Mingming shook her head like a rattle drum. "I, I still haven't thought about how to tell my family. Give me a few more days, okay?"
"I might as well let you stay for the New Year." Yu Shu sneered and mercilessly pushed her inside.
Xia Mingming wasn't as strong as Yu Shu. She was pushed inside by her. She squeezed a path through the crowded restaurant and rushed to the counter. She asked the waiter for a pen, paper, and envelope. She pulled Xia Mingming to the seat by the window and pushed the pen into her hand. She threatened her with her finger on the table, "Think about it now. If you think about it, write it for me. If you finish writing, wait for me here. I'll go somewhere else. If I don't see your letter when I come back, I'll make you sleep on the street tonight."
As she said that, she took out twenty copper coins from her cloth bag and gave it to her. "If you're hungry, go out and buy a sesame seed cake. You can try running around and see if I'll look for you."
After leaving these words, Yu Shu didn't care if Xia Mingming was willing or not. She swaggered off, leaving her alone scratching her ears and cheeks.
Rather than saying a thousand words, it was better to see it with one's own eyes. Yu Shu crossed Qianyuan Street and walked around the northern part of the city. She could see the difference.
The roads in the northern part of the city were twice as wide as those in the southern part of the city. Most of the people on the streets were riding on horses and sedan chairs. The horses were a mix of yellow and white, while the sedan chairs had a red roof and green lids. The sedan chairs had a golden beak and hanging tassels. The windows were painted with flowery colors and the curtains were embroidered with auspicious patterns.
As for the pedestrians, they were well-dressed and their manners were appropriate. There was no mention of daily necessities when they talked.
Perhaps the person sitting in a sedan chair that passed by was an important person.
There wasn't a single beggar to be seen on the streets, not to mention those who were disheveled. Today, Yu Shu was wearing a robe that reached her feet. Her waist and wrists were tied up, and her hair was properly tied into a bun. She was dressed in the standard attire of a peddler. However, when she saw that the servant leading the horses was dressed in bright satin, her clothes unwittingly looked shabby.
Yu Shu walked along this street. The shops on the sides of the street were neat and tidy. If they weren't made of red tiles and painted walls, then they were made of green bricks and white floors. There were almost no stalls wandering around on the street. It wasn't as noisy as it was in the southern part of the city, and it was more peaceful. Even the bells from the Daoist temple a few streets away could be heard.
Separated by a street, the difference between the north and the south. Yu Shu had a feeling that she should be careful with her words and actions. Recently, she had a lot of troubles, and she had to go out, so she could only try to avoid trouble.
Yu Shu found the "Xianghe Barter House" according to the place she inquired about before she came. The barter houses in the northern part of the city didn't like to "gather together" like the southern part of the city. Of course, there were places like "Autumn Osmanthus Lane" and "Vientiane Street", but those places were often full of trouble. With her current situation, it was not suitable for her to go there.
Yu Shu was now very regretful that she lost the Yellowfrost Stone that Jing Chen gave her. If she had that stone, she wouldn't have to be so careful and be on tenterhooks all day long.
The reason why she was in a hurry to drive Xia Mingming away was because of this consideration. Last time, when the Ketu Star flared up, Xia Mingming almost died on the boat. This time, she didn't know how much trouble was waiting for her. She couldn't take care of her all day long, so she sent her home early to save her from suffering in the future.
In order to enter the library of the Xianghe Barter House, she had to pay twenty taels of silver. Yu Shu gritted her teeth and paid the fee. She took the exchanged sections and entered the back hall. Seeing the bookshelves and cabinets filled her eyes, she immediately felt that the twenty taels of silver was not spent in vain. This place was suitable for people like her who copied books to read.
The library of the Great Barter House normally didn't allow people to enter as they pleased. Correspondingly, you could enter and copy as you pleased, but you weren't allowed to take the book away. You could only buy the book with money. This was the same rule as the three Great Barter Houses in Yiyang City.
The good thing was that there were refreshments provided. Although it was a small portion, it was enough for Yu Shu to last through lunch.
After soaking in the library for half a day, Yu Shu watched the sunset shine through the windows. She tidied up the passages she had copied and packed up to leave, intending to pick up Xia Mingming from the posthouse.
When she reached the entrance of the Great Barter House, she saw two sedans parked outside, blocking the entrance. Yu Shu moved to the side, wanting to wait for them to pass first.
Two young ladies walked out of the sedans one after the other. Their figures were slim, and they both held round fans to cover half their faces. What made Yu Shu curious was that they were dressed the same way.
They wore light yellow silk with narrow sleeves pinched at the waist. Below it was a long skirt with a floral pattern, and on the outside was a light muslin robe. At the waist hung eight jewels, a fragrant sachet, and a red cattail tassel hung from the handle of the fan. One of the fan's faces was embroidered with a fish wearing a lotus, while the other was embroidered with a butterfly in love with a flower.
Sensing Yu Shu's gaze, the young lady with the butterfly in love with a flower glared at her. Sensing this unfriendly gaze, Yu Shu hurriedly turned her head and pretended to be a passerby, afraid that she would bump into some unreasonable rich young lady.
Sister, I was treated as a prodigal son and beaten up on the streets.
Fortunately, the two didn't argue with her and entered the Great Barter House. Yu Shu rubbed her nose against the fragrance and left behind them. She didn't notice that as soon as they entered the Great Barter House, a customer came up to them and led them away. Their voices disappeared behind the door of the library, "Is this the Great Barter House Xingxuan mentioned?"
"It's indeed Xianghe. Look for it, the book she said should be inside."
In the end, Xia Mingming didn't write a letter to her family. Yu Shu didn't really throw her on the streets. Instead, she brought her home from the Great Barter House and ignored her. She just wanted to isolate her for a few days and make her back off.
At night, Yu Shu couldn't sleep and got up to do her accounts. The table was filled with copper coins and silver coins. Kim Bao smelled money and tried to climb onto the table from her trousers, but she pulled him away. He anxiously circled around her feet and screamed, waking up Yu Xiaoxiu who was sleeping soundly.
"Sister, why aren't you asleep yet?" Yu Xiaoxiu rubbed his eyes and popped his head out from behind the screen.
"I'll sleep later," Yu Shu saw that he was woken up and bent over to pick up the culprit, Kim Bao, from the ground. She poked its head, "If you make any more noise, I'll lock you in a cage."
"Squeak!" Kim Bao wasn't intimidated. It moved its limbs, trying to break free from her hands and jump onto the table. It didn't want to give up the chance to have intimate contact with the pile of silver coins and silver coins.
Yu Xiaoxiu walked over and pleaded for Kim Bao, "Just let it play with it so it won't make a fuss."
Yu Shu didn't spoil Kim Bao like Yu Xiaoxiu. She grabbed the bamboo cage on the table and stuffed it inside. She handed it to Yu Xiaoxiu and said, "It won't know where to hide it if it plays with it. What does it want money for? It's not like it can spend it."
Yu Xiaoxiu wanted to help but couldn't. He could only look at the dejected Kim Bao in the cage sympathetically.
"Ah!"
A scream rang through the courtyard in the middle of the night. Yu Xiaoxiu was shocked. Yu Shu frowned, put down the abacus, stood up and walked out. The scream clearly came from Xia Mingming's room.
When she walked out of the courtyard, Jing Chen happened to open the door and walk out. Yu Shu saw that he was only wearing a thin robe, so she waved at him and said, "Don't come out, I'll go take a look."
Jing Chen now knew that men and women should be different. He wouldn't break into Xia Mingming's room even if Yu Shu didn't say it. He just stood at the door and didn't go forward. He looked in the direction of Yu Shu, in case of any accidents.
Xia Mingming's door was closed. There was no one else in the courtyard. Yu Shu grabbed the iron bar against the wall and knocked on Xia Mingming's door, "Mingming, Mingming, what's wrong with you? Open the door."
There was no response from inside, so Yu Shu leaned against the door and listened. She could hear intermittent cries coming from inside the room. She looked at the tightly shut door and was afraid that something might have happened inside. In a moment of desperation, she inserted the iron bar into the crack of the door and used all her strength to pry open the latch inside.
It was dark in the room, but she could still see the shadows of people. She didn't find any thieves. Yu Shu lit the lamp in the dark and saw Xia Mingming sitting on the bed, holding his knees and crying with his hair disheveled.
Yu Xiaoxiu stuck his head outside the door and didn't want to come in.
Yu Shu put down the iron bar, walked over and sat down on the bed. She reached out and pushed her, "What's wrong? Are you having sleep hysteria? Why are you crying? Don't you know that others need to sleep at night?"
Xia Mingming heard the sound and raised her head, revealing a sweaty face. Under the light, her face was pale. If it wasn't for Yu Shu's courage, she would be scared to death by her ghostly appearance.
"What?"
"Dead, dead …" Xia Mingming's voice was twitching, and her eyes were full of fear.
Yu Shu's heart skipped a beat. She remembered Xia Mingming's ability to kill people in her dreams. She immediately grabbed her shoulder and asked, "Who's dead? Did you have a nightmare?"
Fourth Sister, it's my Fourth Sister.
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