The Slender Waist-Chapter 301 - 210: Crisis of the Beam Installation
Chunpei Academy was Wen Xingsu’s former residence, and Pei Jue never lived here before nor does he now. However, upon returning from Bingzhou, he didn’t force Feng Yun to move to his dwelling.
The two of them were both very busy, and no one mentioned this matter.
Once Feng Yun returned to her room, she had Xiaoman grind the ink and wrote an official document concerning the construction project of the council chamber according to protocol, then called for Ge Yi to come in.
"Submit this to the General."
Ge Yi’s eyes widened in astonishment.
Hadn’t the General just been here?
Why wouldn’t the young lady discuss matters with the General directly and instead use such a complicated process?
Feng Yun seemed to see through his thoughts and smiled slightly.
"Each thing in its own category. Public is public, private is private. Hurry and go, will you?"
Ge Yi bowed his head in guilt, "Yes."
The room became somewhat quiet.
Feng Yun patiently recalled the events of that night, but they were still blurry and unclear.
Yet she forgave herself.
After all, with memories from two lifetimes, in her heart, it wasn’t the first time with Pei Jue, with too many past events and memories intertwining, it certainly wouldn’t be pure.
She sighed and, taking Xiaoman with her, went to arrange their meal.
Ge Yi came back very quickly, bursting with excitement and smiling broadly.
"Young lady, young lady... I’ve got good news."
Feng Yun looked at him silently, motioning for him to speak.
Ge Yi said gleefully, "Just now, when I went to deliver the documents, I saw many supply carts pulling goods into the camp. They said it’s all winter clothing. Now the Northern Yong’s army won’t be lacking, and the Great General can be at ease."
Feng Yun uttered an ’oh’ and nodded.
"Send Qian Sanniu back to Changmen and inquire about the progress of the winter clothing we hurriedly produced with Mrs. Ying. Also, tell Wen Hui to pick two cooks for me from Yutangchun, and find a dozen or so experienced helpers to come over."
-
In the following days, Feng Yun was out early and returned late, making daily trips to Mingquan Town.
Cong Wentian, with his nimble hands and feet, had recruited a group of craftsmen in the area and quickly built simple shops and dwellings according to Feng Yun’s requirements, aiming to complete the construction before the start of the negotiations.
Feng Yun also busied herself preparing for the negotiation banquet and miscellaneous goods store, planning to start a few small businesses related to food, clothing, and daily life.
When the time comes, the entourage from both sides will be substantial, and necessities for clothing, food, lodging, and transport will be in demand.
She must earn back at least a portion of her investment.
Most importantly, all the land near the negotiation hall was hers, and as the major landlord there, anyone wanting to do business would have to deal with her, and she could make money simply by collecting rent...
She had beautiful dreams, but the road to and from Mingquan Town was not as welcoming; constantly running about outdoors left her extremely tired.
It seemed Pei Jue was also busy, or maybe he was just angry, as he had visited Chunpei Academy only once in five days.
She, too, wished she could avoid him.
What’s done was done; she had acted shamelessly in a clear conscience, indisputably.
She couldn’t recall the details of that night clearly, but in the short term, she didn’t want to touch him again. Pei Gou was too greedy; not killing her might have been an act of kindness on his part.
-
Five days later, the roof was completed on the council chamber, and Cong Wentian found a propitious time for the crowning ceremony, set precisely at 5-7 AM.
For this, Feng Yun departed for Mingquan Town before dawn.
Perhaps it was because she woke up too early, but she yawned as she got into the carriage, and halfway through the trip, she felt sleepy, supporting her forehead and letting her thoughts drift away, half-asleep.
"Got it..."
"Got what?"
"The Great General..."
"Your waist needs to learn a lesson."
"Mm, Mr. Pei..."
A few inexplicable sentences surfaced in her mind, startling Feng Yun awake. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
This...
It couldn’t be her, right?
Her cheeks flushed red from white, and she suddenly felt hot.
It couldn’t possibly be her, just a figment of her imagination...
She might have fallen from grace, but she still had her limits.
She suspected that waking up too early had caused a hallucination.
Thud!
A heavy collision sound came, and the carriage shook violently after hitting something unknown, shattering her daydreams.
The carriage was dispatched from the camp by Pei Jue. The last time her carriage had tumbled down a cliff, it was wrecked, and the horses were killed. Upon her return to Xinzhou, she had no carriage of her own to use, which made traveling back and forth to Mingquan Town inconvenient, so she had gotten one from King of Hell Pei.
Feng Yun was startled and quickly came to her senses, "What’s going on?"
Ge Guang, the coachman, didn’t respond.
Feng Yun lifted the curtain and saw a little beggar running swiftly away from the carriage.
Ge Guang’s heart raced like thunder, and upon seeing the young lady, he finally exhaled the breath he’d been holding.
"I was scared to death; I almost ran into him."
Feng Yun also let out a sigh of relief and lowered the curtain, "Let’s go."
Ge Guang turned back and whispered, "Miss, the little beggar slipped a note to me."
Feng Yun slightly narrowed her eyes, signaling him to hand it over.
The handwriting on the note was crooked, as if written with the left hand to disguise the penmanship.
But the content of the note was what truly shocked Feng Yun, causing her to break out in a cold sweat.
"Quick, rush to Mingquan Town."
Ge Guang didn’t know what had happened but complied with an affirmative response.
"Drive!"
Upon arriving at Mingquan Town just before the hour of 5-7 AM, Cong Wentian had already made preparations. The materials and workmen were all waiting there, and there was an offering table set up in front of the council hall with more than ten steamed buns, two or three kinds of fruit, and a slice of pig’s head meat.
When Cong Wentian saw Feng Yun coming, he stepped forward with his hands clasped and joyfully said,
"Madam has arrived just in time. We are about to worship the beam, please come to offer incense."
Raising the beam during construction, just like breaking ground, is a critical process, requiring a ceremony to invite the gods’ blessings.
The workmen, having exhausted themselves over many days and having endured two days of heavy rain, had put in considerable effort to reach this point, working night and day. Finally, it was time to raise the beam, and all the craftsmen present were spirited.
Feng Yun glanced at the offering table and walked towards the pile of timber, asking Cong Wentian.
"Have these all been checked?"
For building a house, the beams, carrying the weight of the roof within the building’s framework, are extremely crucial.
Having repaired houses all his life, Cong Wentian naturally understood this principle.
Seeing something odd in Feng Yun’s gaze, he followed her and whispered, "I have inspected them all. The timbers are of good quality—pine, beech, and elm—all very sturdy. The officers from the Prefecture Treasury said that transporting them via water from Fuzhou took some effort..."
Feng Yun turned around, "Take me to have a look."
Cong Wentian was taken aback.
Normally, he took charge of council house matters, controlling all the details while Feng Yun simply understood the overall direction. Because in the matter of building construction, Cong Wentian had more confidence in his expertise than Feng Yun.
Being much older, he didn’t feel displeased, but the junior apprentice by his side was not happy.
"Is Madam distrusting my master? The auspicious time is upon us; missing it will delay the construction schedule."
Cong Wentian frowned, "Presumptuous."
The apprentice shrunk his neck and fell silent.
He said, "Madam, don’t pay attention to his nonsense; feel free to check thoroughly."
Feng Yun bowed and said, "Please excuse me, Uncle Wentian. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but the peace treaty between the two countries is very important, and I have not been sleeping well these past few days, feeling restless. Last night, I had a nightmare in which the Bodhisattva told me there was something wrong with the wooden beams, which is why I am so unsettled..."
Upon hearing this, Cong Wentian also became anxious, "Let’s go, let’s take a look."
The mention of a dream sent by the Bodhisattva indeed caught the attention of the workmen, and Cong Wentian led Feng Yun into the timber pile for another inspection, with several craftsmen also running over to help lift and search.
No problems were found with the timber stacked outside. Feng Yun’s palms were covered in sweat, and she was beginning to wonder if someone was playing a cruel joke on her when suddenly she heard Cong Wentian gasp sharply.
"There really is a problem..."
He sighed again, "This is indeed not easy to notice."
Cong Wentian pulled out a piece of pine and said, "Look, miss."
To prevent the wooden beams from moisture, mold, and insect infestation, they were all coated with a layer of tung oil. Cong Wentian carefully scraped off the oil to reveal faint cracks in the timber.
At first glance, these cracks didn’t seem significant and the timbers looked usable, but as roof beams, they could affect the load-bearing capacity. If the main beam was also flawed and there were many such cracked timbers, a major disaster would inevitably occur.
Cong Wentian broke out in a cold sweat.
"Heavens, that was a close call."
He then looked at Feng Yun with a pale face, continuously begging for mercy.
"It was this old man’s failing eyesight. Please punish me, Madam..."
Feng Yun trusted Cong Wentian.
A lifetime master craftsman, his reputation was more precious than life itself; he would never compromise the integrity of the beams.
She said, "The priority now is to inspect the timber, use the good ones, and quickly replace those with issues."
Cong Wentian replied, "I understand, but regarding the timber, I am afraid we will need to trouble the Great General..."
The supply of materials was managed by the Prefecture Treasury, be it bricks, tiles, or timber, all of this was not Cong Wentian’s responsibility.
Feng Yun nodded, "First offer incense to express gratitude to the Bodhisattva."
It was a narrow escape.
During the beam worship ceremony that day, Cong Wentian was exceptionally devout, thanking the Bodhisattva for saving him from calamity.
But Feng Yun was unusually silent, staring at the majestic council house for a long time without saying a word.
From the timber pile, they selected a high-quality piece of timber to complete the beam raising ceremony and then began sorting.
Upon later inspection, a total of eighteen pieces of timber were found to be problematic.
The marks on the timber indicated that, had they not been discovered, they would have been used in the main hall of the council house.
Feng Yun instructed Cong Wentian to make arrangements, and on her way back to Xinzhou City, she made a special effort to search the area where she had encountered the little beggar.
There was no one; the little beggar had vanished without a trace.
Who could have sent her the warning?
