TGCFNM -Chapter 294 Performing Along the Way

After Fuxiang knelt down, just then Zhang Dong arrived with a group of people. The two groups caught sight of each other and froze on the spot.

Uncle Wu tried to help Fuxiang up, but she kept her head down, pressed to the ground, refusing to rise.

At this moment, Fuxiang’s father seemed to understand something. Nervously, he looked at Zhang Dong and asked, “Brother Zhang Dong… in your family… in your family… is there a county magistrate?”

Zhang Dong blinked in confusion but nodded. “Yes… Our Lord Chu.”

Fuxiang’s father’s face went pale. He, along with about ten of his people, immediately stepped forward and kowtowed before Chu Ling.

“My Lord Chu, we, lowly commoners, had no eyes to see; we did not know you were resting here and rashly disturbed you. Please, my Lord, spare us.”

Chu Ling quickly had Wan Sanjin and the others help them to their feet. Then she looked at the group and said, “I am indeed a magistrate, but I am not in the county office right now. And this place is not my private property—how could I forbid others from coming here?”

Seeing that the group still looked terrified, Chu Ling didn’t fully understand why, but she knew that gentle words would be useless at this moment.

So—

“Everyone, stand up!” Chu Ling shouted firmly.

The people quickly rose, panic written all over their faces as they looked at Chu Ling.

Chu Ling exhaled deeply, about to ask questions, when Ghost Scholar lightly tapped her shoulder with his fan. “They call themselves lowly commoners.”

Chu Ling froze for a moment, then recalled Ma Zhao. She remembered how someone had framed the former Crown Prince for rebellion, causing nearly a hundred thousand troops of the Yuanzhou garrison to be unjustly executed, and all their relatives were branded as criminals, destined to live their entire lives as lowly commoners, never able to rise again.

They were lowly commoners?

Descendants of the Yuanzhou garrison?

Chu Ling opened her mouth, then looked at Fuxiang. “Sister Bodhisattva, do you have relatives who were part of the original Yuanzhou garrison?”

Fuxiang fearfully glanced back at her father.

Her father quickly stepped forward, cupped his hands respectfully, and said, “My Lord, I am Liu Shenyi. My younger brother Liu Shenfu committed a capital crime and was buried in Yuanzhou. But he is my brother, so I brought my whole family to pay our respects. We would never deliberately cause trouble. And… and…”

He cautiously lifted his head to gauge Chu Ling’s expression, feeling slightly relieved, and continued, “A senior official said that now everyone may visit. People in the village have already returned from paying their respects. As long as one pays fifty taels of silver as an ‘opening fee,’ they can enter.”

“Fifty taels!” Chu Ling’s eyes widened in shock. She was no longer the naive newcomer who knew nothing; she knew very well that fifty taels of silver was an astronomical sum for an ordinary family—especially for people branded as lowly commoners.

This was clearly taking advantage of their desire to honor their ancestors to extort money!

Fuxiang’s father knelt again, and the others followed suit.

“My Lord, please rest assured. This is money we’ve saved over more than ten years; it’s all legitimately earned. My Lord, please, have a sip of hot tea…” Fuxiang’s father trembled as he took a small pouch from his waist and respectfully held it out before Chu Ling.

Chu Ling shook her head slightly, feeling a pang of sadness. “I don’t want this money. Keep it for yourselves.”

Fuxiang forced herself to remain calm and cast a glance at Chu Ling, then helped her father to his feet and said softly, “This gentleman is a good person.”

Fuxiang’s father clutched his pouch tightly. Even after being helped up, he still bowed deeply to Chu Ling.

Chu Ling looked at the old man before her. Judging by the fact that his own younger brothers were just a few years his junior, this man’s age likely meant he had already risen to a certain position in the Yuanzhou army.

He had once thought that if one person could achieve success, the whole family would enjoy prosperity. But because of the power struggles among high-ranking figures, the Yuanzhou army had become the victim, and their families were collectively punished, condemned to a life of low status.

“The state of Dazhou is such a mess… truly pitiful,” Chu Ling murmured with a wry chuckle, then went back to sit down.

The others exchanged glances, unsure what to say.

Wan Sanjin cleared his throat lightly and looked at everyone. “Meeting like this is fate. Out here in the wilderness, it doesn’t matter if we gather together for a meal. Besides, we don’t even have any food yet.”

Su He also put on a serious expression. “We’ve all encountered the same ghostly misfortune. Right now, we’re all just pitiful people—no distinction between magistrates or commoners. Let’s just eat together.”

Gradually, Fuxiang’s father and the others were persuaded. After all, no one had intentions of taking advantage of them—just a meal, nothing more.

So everyone used stones or leaves they could find along the roadside to make a makeshift ground covering and sat together.

After Xiao Hua returned, Zhang Dong went to help roast the chicken.

On Fuxiang’s side, the two young performers, Dashi and Xiaochui, went over to help as well.

The group sat around together. At first, the atmosphere was awkward, but gradually they began to chat. With Uncle Wu, the shrewd businessman, present, things smoothed over quickly, and the barriers between them disappeared.

Through their conversations, Chu Ling gained a clearer understanding of the lives the families of the former rebels had endured.

First, in the household registry, they were listed as low-status people, which meant they could not engage in trade, take the imperial exams, or learn a craft. If discovered, they would be punished with thirty blows—a near-death sentence.

Moreover, the low-status could not own land; they could only work for others, and their wages were a third lower than ordinary people. These people had virtually no rights. If someone from their ranks was as beautiful as Fuxiang, they would have already been taken as a concubine.

Even as a concubine, one had no guaranteed status and could be sent away at will.

Fuxiang had escaped such a fate because, at the time, Liu Shenyu had gathered a group of people who had been reduced to low status. They gradually came together, forming a community, a small but real force, and established a new village. Now, with Dazhou in turmoil, as long as they didn’t wander, they could live relatively safely.

Uncle Wu could not help but sigh. “It’s thanks to you. Otherwise, who knows what kind of lives they’ve endured?”

Fuxiang’s father gave a bitter smile. “What kind of lives? Days of beatings and hunger, days when sickness could not be treated for lack of money… we couldn’t even report incidents to the authorities. Afraid of being beaten, afraid of starvation, we had no choice but to try to find another way.”

Wan Sanjin asked curiously, “Uncle Liu, so you all traveled along the way performing to earn money for the memorial?”

Fuxiang’s father nodded. “The people I lead are all going to pay respects. Since we can perform a few tricks, we earn our way along the route. It’s a way to fulfill a wish, and after this trip, we won’t go again.”

Fuxiang’s father glanced at Fuxiang with concern, then at the young people around him, hoping the journey would go smoothly.

The Ghost Scholar lightly rested a hand on Chu Ling’s shoulder. “This Uncle Liu is probably not Fuxiang’s biological father. Her real father is likely Liu Shenfu. Otherwise, it would have been far too dangerous for Fuxiang to come out of that place.”

Chu Ling looked at the worried expression on Fuxiang’s father and sighed.