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墨書 Inktalez
Qiao Yuanyu stared blankly at Zhang Yunrong. "Yunrong, I think there's something wrong with my ears. I seem to hear Eunuch calling my name again?"
Zhang Yunrong panicked. "You... you didn't hear wrong. I heard your name too."
Qiao Yuanyu was completely flustered, stammering, "No, no, it can't be me. My name, right?"
Zhang Yunrong speculated, "Maybe after we left, Hanno added it."
Qiao Yuanyu fumed, "Sneaky!"
"Sister Qiao, Eunuch is calling your name again. Hurry up and go out!" One of the older girls urged Qiao Yuanyu.
Another girl laughed, "After knowing Sister Qiao for so many years, I still didn't know she understood horseback riding! Truly, one cannot judge a book by its cover!"
Although Hanno was a common enemy of all the noble ladies in the capital, there were still rivalries among them when not facing Hanno directly. In this situation, many who had long disdained Zhang Yunrong and Qiao Yuanyu were naturally reveling in their misfortune.
"Qiao Yuanyu, Qiao Yuanyu, why are you still not here?" Eunuch urged again.
"What should I do, Yunrong?" Qiao Yuanyu was on the verge of tears.
Zhang Yunrong was also close to crying.
"What else can we do? Hurry up and go out." Mrs. Qiao approached with a stern face alongside Madam Zhang. "During the hunting competition, as long as your name is on the list, you cannot be absent without reason. Do you want to be punished by the Emperor yourself or drag your father and brother into it?"
Qiao Yuanyu's mother's reaction made her burst into tears. "I... I'll go."
Madam Zhang sighed. "Why did you have to provoke Lady Li? Wasn't the previous lesson enough?"
"We didn't expect her to be so despicable and scheme against Yuan Yu like this!" Zhang Yunrong said indignantly.
"Is it only allowed for you to scheme against others, but not for them to scheme against you?" Madam Zhang retorted. "Before, Lady Li didn't hold it against you because she was magnanimous, but even the most forgiving person won't tolerate being schemed against repeatedly."
Zhang Yunrong was left speechless.
After opening her mouth several times, Zhang Yunrong finally whispered to Qiao Yuanyu, "Yuan Yu, don't be afraid. Just get on the horse and take your time completing a lap. After all, Hanno can't ride either. With her accompanying you, it won't be embarrassing!"
"But I can't ride! I've never even gotten on a horse before. I'm scared—"
"Fool." Mrs. Qiao was so exasperated by the two foolish girls that she cursed under her breath. "Do you see her? Does she look like someone who can't ride?"
Zhang Yunrong and the others hurriedly looked toward the competition field and saw Hanno elegantly leap onto the horse with a stunning move. The posture and grace… if Hanno couldn't ride, Zhang Yunrong would gladly offer her head as a seat.
"Qiao Yuanyu, Qiao Yuanyu, Qiao Yuanyu…" The Eunuch's voice grew increasingly impatient.
Mrs. Qiao sighed. "You've already embarrassed yourself enough. Just get on the horse and don't worry about it. You can dismount after everyone else has crossed the finish line."
Mrs. Qiao's expectations were low; at least this way, she could ensure her daughter's safety and prevent any falls that might lead to injuries. If Qiao Yuanyu were to fall and ruin her looks or become crippled or foolish, it would be unbearable for the Qiao family.
"Wah…" Qiao Yuanyu couldn't help but burst into tears.
Even while crying, Qiao Yuanyu had to participate in the horse race, sitting stiffly on the horse without moving as everyone pointed and laughed at her until the competition ended. Meanwhile, Hanno, upon hearing Elder Brother Li's suggestion, restrained herself from showing off and only secured a middle-ranking position, which was already quite sensational. The men praised Hanno as a "Heroine," following the Emperor's words, while the women tore up many handkerchiefs in frustration. Hanno had already outshone them in music and arts; now that she could ride as well—and perhaps even shoot arrows—she was truly exceptional in both literary and martial skills, leaving all the women in the capital feeling overshadowed; she was their greatest rival!
After the horse race, Hanno's life became peaceful. Those young ladies who had been hostile toward her no longer dared to provoke her for fear of suffering the same fate as Qiao Yuanyu. This girl had been taken back to the capital by her mother after the race, and it was expected that she wouldn't reappear in the social circles of capital ladies for at least two or three years.
Most of the time, Hanno strolled near the camp with Mo Yan, the Princess, and Qi Xueru, enjoying the scenery. Occasionally they raced horses or ventured into the woods to hunt, bringing back game to improve their meals. During this time, they taught Qi Xueru how to ride and shoot arrows; however, Qi Xueru lacked strength and couldn't draw a bowstring, so Hanno made her a crossbow instead. With this crossbow, Qi Xueru managed to hit one or two mountain chickens and rabbits.
Although there was plenty of food brought by the Imperial Kitchen, there were even more people present. Even though they bought food from local farmers each time, it still wasn't enough for everyone in the camp. Therefore, most people ended up eating roasted meat: roasted chicken, roasted rabbit, roasted deer, roasted badger, roasted venison… aside from some variation in types of meat, there were only a few methods of roasting or flavors available; otherwise it was just various meat soups that would become tiresome after a few meals. Hanno and her group simply refused food from the Imperial Kitchen and decided to handle their own meals instead; at least they could add Beggar's Chicken or Beggar's Rabbit to their menu when it came to roasting meat. Hanno cooked various meats with instant noodles together, filling the entire camp with an enticing aroma. Soon many others followed suit and began cooking meat with instant noodles themselves, resulting in an overwhelming scent of instant noodles wafting through the camp.
Hanno placed several roasted Beggar's Chickens on the table and took out a long plastic bottle. He opened the cap and poured out a few pink tablets, about the size of a coin, into six bowls.
"What is this?" Mo Yan, the Princess, asked curiously. She noticed the tablets were a beautiful shade of pink and reached to take one from the bowl, but Hanno stopped her. "I'll give you a bottle. If you want to see it, you can take your time at home."
"Alright," Mo Yan replied with a smile. "But you still haven't told me what it is!"
"This is an effervescent tablet," Hanno explained. "It dissolves quickly in water and produces a lot of bubbles during the process. We've been eating nothing but roasted and boiled meat lately, without any fruits or vegetables, so our vitamin intake has been low. These tablets can help supplement our vitamins."
"What are vitamins?" Geng Shi'an, who was a doctor, quickly asked upon hearing a term related to medicine and health.
"Vitamins are a type of trace organic substance that humans and animals must obtain from food to maintain normal physiological functions. They play an important role in growth, metabolism, and reproduction. In short, they are one of the nutrients that keep our bodies healthy," Hanno answered vaguely. "Just know that eating more fruits and vegetables will give you plenty of vitamins."
"Oh—" Geng Shi'an nodded, somewhat understanding.
Hanno then poured hot water into the bowls. The tablets dissolved instantly, creating bubbles that made them dance up and down in the water until they completely disappeared, leaving behind five bowls of pink, transparent liquid that looked quite beautiful.
"It's so pretty! I wonder how it tastes?" Qi Xueru exclaimed.
"Why not try it and find out?" Hanno distributed the bowls to Yue Yunfei and the others. Each person extended their tongues to taste it, and their eyes lit up.
"It's sweet!" Yue Yunfei exclaimed after taking a big gulp. "It's really good."
"It tastes like peach," Geng Shi'an added after taking a large sip.
Mo Yan, the Princess, unabashedly asked Hanno for more: "I don't want one bottle; I want two—no, three bottles!"
Hanno laughed. "Alright, three bottles it is."
She happened to have green apples, oranges, and peaches in her hands, enough to give one bottle of each to Mo Yan, the Princess.
Qi Xueru sipped the delicious potion from the edge of her bowl, completely unhurried. Hanno wouldn’t forget her; Mo Yan, the Princess, would have one, and so would she.
After eating and drinking their fill, the group lost interest in hunting and decided to ride nearby for a leisurely stroll. They moved away from the main force and wandered around the Enclosure. There were many farms near the Enclosure, but due to the soil and water conditions, life was not easy for them. Even hunting in the forest to improve their living conditions was not feasible since most of the game belonged to the royal family, making the farmers' lives significantly worse than those in Aoyama Village.
Arriving at the riverbank, it was just as Mo Yan, the Princess had said; the river here was very murky, half filled with yellow mud and sand, resembling the Yellow River before it was managed.
"This river needs proper management," Hanno said to Elder Brother Li.
Elder Brother Li nodded. "It's up to you, dear."
Just then, a group of over ten strong men came along driving donkey carts loaded with water buckets. They filled half of each bucket with water from the river before placing them on the carts; the other half was carried by the men. Each bucket they carried was twice the size of an ordinary household bucket. The men struggled a bit under the weight but clearly had grown accustomed to it, walking steadily.
Mo Yan, the Princess spoke up to everyone: "These men must be villagers from nearby. They have to make two trips back and forth to carry this amount of water just to supply drinking water for three households. It's very hard work."
Qi Xueru asked in surprise, "Does it take that long?"
Yue Yunfei sighed. "There's no choice; the river water is too muddy. Many things inside can't even settle."
Geng Shi'an also sighed. "Even so, many children and elderly people still get sick after drinking this contaminated water."
He had treated children who had swollen bellies from drinking water filled with mud and elderly people who nearly died from vomiting and diarrhea due to weak constitutions after drinking it. At that time, he felt powerless, only able to watch these people die. Geng Shi'an thought he must find a way to help these elderly folks and children; unfortunately, years had passed without any clue.
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