Chapter 556: Chapter 556: Songshan Inkstone

The broken carriage and the dead horse were tied together, the carriage capsized, and the teacher fell out of the window into the ditch, trapped under the carriage body.

Fortunately, the width and depth of the ditch were just enough to accommodate a person. Otherwise, the carriage would have directly crushed down, and the teacher might have ended up as cold as the coachman.

Without wasting words, Qin Yao drew out the dagger she carried with her, cut the reins between the carriage and the horse, and propped up the carriage wall with her arms, lifting the heavy carriage entirely.

A figure was exposed before them, gasping for air. Liu Qi hurriedly climbed down to carry the teacher out.

The teacher’s dusty blue jacket was in tatters, his hair disheveled, with his cap long lost. His exposed skin was full of small scratches, and his condition seemed far from good.

Qin Yao released her grip, and the carriage fell with a bang, shattering into pieces.

"Teacher, are you alright?" Liu Qi asked with concern.

The person in his arms only gasped heavily, looking utterly terrified.

Qin Yao frowned slightly, squatted down in front of the two, and reached out to clear the messy hair from the teacher’s face to see his condition.

Unexpectedly, there wasn’t the expected wrinkled old face beneath; instead, it was a young face, looking no older than twenty-six or twenty-seven.

Liu Qi was startled, "Is Mr. Ding a young lad?"

"He is not Mr. Ding!" Qin Yao stated with certainty.

Her gaze turned cold as she stared intently at the vagueness in his eyes and demanded, "Who exactly are you?"

However, just as he was about to respond, the person’s eyes closed, his head tilted, and he fainted deeply.

If Liu Qi were not present, Qin Yao would have shaken him awake on the spot to question him further.

Liu Zhong, Liu Yang, and the others finally arrived, and Qin Yao looked up, seemingly spotting Liu Ji among them.

"Dear, are you alright?"

A familiar head popped out, and Qin Yao thought to herself as expected.

Seeing Qin Yao below, unscathed, Liu Ji was practically exasperated with himself. What could happen to her, with her martial prowess and unnatural strength? If anything happened, it would be to others.

Yet, his legs couldn’t help but follow the villagers running over. Halfway, he sobered up suddenly, realizing it was others who had toppled over, not Qin Yao.

But since he was already here, he might as well enjoy the spectacle.

At this sight, oh boy, a dead horse and a dead person, tonight’s dinner didn’t seem very appetizing.

Qin Yao ignored Liu Ji, who was sitting above watching the spectacle. Though unsure of who Liu Qi had pulled out, saving lives was urgent. She quickly directed Liu Zhong, Liu Yang, and others to place a door panel underneath, stabilize the person on it, and have the group use ropes to hoist and drag him onto the ground.

"Village Chief, who is this?"

The villagers who came to help were surprised. They initially thought it was the elderly teacher but unexpectedly found a young stranger instead.

Qin Yao shook her head, "I don’t know; we’ll have to wait until he wakes up to find out."

Qin Yao calmly arranged, "Liu Yang, you guys carry him back to the school. Liu Ji, you go into town with the others to fetch Doctor Jin, and make it quick!"

"Villagers who stay behind, help me get the carriage and coachman up."

Upon receiving their orders, everyone got busy immediately.

Liu Qi, Shunzi, and Liu Zhong had originally been driving the carriage into town to buy supplies. Now that the person was saved and with Qin Yao managing the situation, they naturally continued their unfinished task.

Liu Zhong hoisted Liu Ji onto the carriage, and the three sped towards the town.

As the carriage disappeared into the distance, Qin Yao then took up a rope to lead a few remaining villagers carefully down to the bottom of the ditch.

First, they got the coachman and horse up, followed by the damaged carriage. They picked up scattered luggage and other items, packed them neatly, and cleaned up the mess, a task that took nearly an hour.

Ah Wang and Liu Qi’s father drove a cart over to temporarily transport the dead horse and coachman’s body to the schoolyard, awaiting further arrangement until the unknown young man awoke.

The entire carriage body was dragged into the abandoned stone mill shed, everything awaited the man waking up.

With everything completed, Qin Yao carried a collected suitcase and returned to the village with the villagers.

Liu Ji worked fairly quickly. After reaching the town with Liu Zhong and the others by carriage, they found Doctor Jin, rented an ox cart, and hurried back. Qin Yao had just reached the school when the doctor arrived.

The villagers, upon hearing of this incident, came one after another to check on the teacher’s condition. The children stood in the yard, surrounding the dead horse’s body with worried looks, afraid that something might have happened to the new teacher.

Qin Yao spent a good while persuading them all to go back.

Soon, the school quieted down, leaving only Liu Yang, Qin Yao, the couple, and Doctor Jin currently examining the patient.

Liu Yang assisted Doctor Jin inside, while Qin Yao waited by the school’s classroom door.

In the adjacent empty room serving as a kitchen, lay the coachman’s already cold corpse.

Liu Ji first checked on the dead horse in the courtyard, clicked his tongue twice, then went to the empty room. From two meters away, he glanced at the coachman wrapped in a mat, shook his head sympathetically, then returned to the classroom.

"Dear, the coachman and horse fell to their deaths by accident; Mr. Ding won’t hold our village accountable, will he?" Liu Ji spoke while looking at the house on the east side designated for the teacher’s residence, seeing Liu Yang coming in and out carrying blood-stained cloths.

Qin Yao had a redwood box, full of mud scratches, at her feet, containing retrieved books, pens, inks, personal belongings, and a recommendation letter from the government.

The envelope lay on the top of the box, already opened.

Qin Yao pointed at the letter, speaking solemnly, "He is not Mr. Ding, his real name is Zhen Yubai, twenty-seven, from Ningxi County, a Scholar."

Liu Ji was stunned, "Not Mr. Ding?"

Qin Yao nodded, "But he is the teacher recommended by the government to our village."

"Changing people without notifying us beforehand!" Liu Ji said irritably.

Qin Yao squinted at him, "Lower your voice."

"Oh, right, right, sorry my dear." Liu Ji apologized with a sheepish grin, deciding not to go home, but finding a seat beside her to sit down.

His eyes fell on Zhen Yubai’s luggage box. Feeling itchy, he stealthily rummaged through it when Qin Yao wasn’t looking.

"This Mr. Zhen’s family background isn’t poor, all made of top-grade jacquard cotton, even the inkstone is a premium Songshan Inkstone..."

He muttered to himself, going through everything in the box, excitedly telling Qin Yao, "Dear, with such a wealthy background, why did he come to our village? So young, not going for the imperial examinations but teaching in this rural backwater, what’s he after?"

Qin Yao frowned slightly, warning him not to rummage through others’ belongings.

Though...

"Is the Songshan Inkstone very expensive?"

Liu Ji held up a palm, "This inkstone is fifty taels of silver, and it’s priceless in the market. Even my little brother lets me use the Songshan Inkstone occasionally."

He said enviously, "The expensive things certainly have their worth, it’s just more pleasant to use than the inkstone I bought for two taels of silver. If I could own a Songshan Inkstone too, I would die without regrets."

"Then go die." Qin Yao replied mercilessly.

Before Liu Ji could react indignantly, she got up and followed Liu Yang into the eastern room.