Chapter 193: Chapter 185: Secret

Meng Nan waved a dismissive hand. "There’s no point in telling me. I can’t handle this. Have them go see Lord Gu." He was only a minor Assistant Governor, and the matters he was currently managing were already beyond the scope of his duties. This refugee problem had far-reaching implications, and he had neither the power nor the authority to get involved.

On the way back to Huangtuo Village, the more Hu Feng thought about things, the more wrong they felt, and the angrier he became. He suddenly yanked the reins, halting the horse, then turned and scrambled into the carriage.

Bai Zhi was leaning against the carriage wall, drifting off to sleep. When the carriage stopped abruptly, she was completely unprepared. Inertia sent her tumbling forward, and with a THUMP, she face-planted on the floorboards. A warm trickle ran from her nose, and she saw stars.

Hu Feng scrambled in just in time to see her nose bleeding. He was so startled that his anger vanished in an instant. He quickly snatched the handkerchief from her hand to help her plug her nostrils.

Bai Zhi tilted her head back and shot him a sidelong glance. "Hey! What kind of driving is that? Who stops so suddenly? A couple more times like that and you’ll get me killed!"

Seeing that she was speaking with plenty of spirit and didn’t seem badly hurt, Hu Feng felt a little relieved. Only then did he remember why he’d stopped the carriage. His brow furrowed. "You said you’d help cure my amnesia. Were you telling the truth or not?"

Bai Zhi rolled her eyes and snapped, "Do I look like I’m lying? When have I ever lied to you?"

Hu Feng pointed to her medicine pouch. "You have all this incredible, life-saving medicine, so why haven’t you used any on me? You’ve only known Meng Nan for a few days, yet you’re willing to give it to him. Why are you so reluctant to use it for me?"

His words were practically dripping with jealousy.

Unfortunately, Bai Zhi didn’t pick up on it, and Hu Feng himself didn’t realize just how jealous he sounded.

Bai Zhi said, "Let me make two things clear. First, this medicine won’t work for your condition. Second, I only just got my hands on this stuff. If I’d had it sooner, do you think my mother and I would have suffered so much?"

That made sense. But she claimed she had only just gotten it. ’She’s been under my watch every day these past few days,’ Hu Feng thought. ’Where could she possibly have gotten this stuff?’

Before he could ask, Bai Zhi cut in, "You’re better off not asking, because I won’t tell you. Everyone has secrets, right? If I don’t want to talk about it, you can ask until you’re blue in the face, but it won’t make a difference."

Hu Feng fell silent. Since she was unwilling to talk, it was pointless to ask. He would just have to wait for the day she was ready to tell him.

Without another word, he turned, left the carriage, and continued on their way.

When Liu got back, Old Mrs. Bai was sitting in the courtyard pounding her legs. She had been going out to dig wild vegetables every day, and her old limbs, unused to activity for so many years, were starting to feel the strain.

Liu sidled up to Old Mrs. Bai and said in a snide, gossipy tone, "Mother, you probably haven’t heard yet. They’ve already started construction on that housing plot Bai Zhi and Zhao Lan just got."

Old Mrs. Bai immediately stopped pounding her leg and tilted her head up at Liu. "They’ve started already? That fast? Which masons did they hire?"

Liu shook her head, her eyes filled with raw jealousy. "I just went to take a look. They’re not our villagers—they’re all outsiders. And there are so many of them, at least ten or twenty workers! All the blue bricks and tiles have been delivered. She’s really making a splash! To buy so many bricks and tiles... she’s building a house like the people in the city!"

Old Mrs. Bai jumped up from her chair in shock. "What? She’s building a brick-and-tile house? And she hired ten or twenty people?"

Liu nodded. "Exactly. They delivered so many bricks for such a tiny plot of land. She must be building a proper brick-and-tile house."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.