Traveling through time and space to become a lady of a noble family, but she only wants to escape

If we're talking about manual labor, we can only look for opportunities in the city. When Baizhi mentioned it to Nawu, Nawu jumped for joy: "Great! You're not a child! They won't refuse me! Let's go earn money!"

Bai Zhi didn't get a chance to speak, but she could guess that Na Wu had been planning to go to the city to make money for a long time.

Nawu's village was 30 kilometers away from the nearest county town. The next morning, Nawu hitched a ride on a fellow villager's oxcart, lying that Baizhi was a distant relative of hers, and the two set off together.

On the oxcart, Baizhi repeatedly told Nawu, "When we get to the city, don't call me by my name. I have amnesia now, and if someone I know recognizes me, it will be very troublesome for me."

"Then what should I call you?"

"Just call me 'sister'."

Nawu nodded. Bai Zhi sighed almost imperceptibly—she wondered how Qiaoqiao and Chuqi were doing. Cheng Mao should be taking them back to Qing County, right? But those two kids were both troublemakers; if they didn't want to leave and started making a fuss about finding her, that would be terrible. She had to hurry back.

For the past three days, she had tried picking at her forehead and jawline, but the mask fit perfectly, without a single stitch, looking exactly like her own face. Going back with such a face was definitely out of the question. All the entrances and exits to Ningzhou were being checked for barbarians; she would be arrested as soon as she entered. If she was lucky, she might be taken to Wei Fuguang and have a chance to explain, but if she was beaten to death by the angry crowd, she would be finished.

The best way would be to see Chu Yunchuan directly, but judging from her last visit to the garrison, the White Tiger Army would never allow a barbarian to get close to Chu Yunchuan.

As a result, Bai Zhi racked her brains but couldn't come up with any way to go back.

So we can only focus on the immediate problem and fill our stomachs before thinking about anything else.

After the oxcart rattled along for more than an hour, the town of the barbarian lands came into view.

This place is completely different from Dayan. Everywhere you look, there are small mud houses, though they are more refined than Nawu's, with strange patterns carved on the walls. The numerous compact mud houses, the vendors setting up stalls on the ground, and the busy barbarians together make up the town.

This place looks much more lively than Nawu's village, and there are even one or two restaurants.

Nawu suddenly mumbled a phrase in Mandarin, then smiled at Baizhi. Baizhi narrowed her eyes: "I already told you I don't remember how to say Man... I don't remember how to say it in my hometown dialect, we speak the Great Yan language."

“Ah, I forgot,” Nau said. “I just said that this is Taka, so we don’t have to listen to Madam Ge and we don’t have to speak the Great Yan language.”

Bai Zhi didn't quite understand: "Is this Taka?"

“It’s Taka.” Nau and Bai Zhi stared at each other for a moment before she realized, “You forgot about this too? Of the twenty-three tribes of the Sun God’s Land, Taka is one of the two who didn’t listen to Madam Ge.”

"Oh, I forgot." The twenty-three tribes of the Sun God's Land—that's really something new; Bai Zhi had never heard of such a thing before. "So the other twenty-one tribes all listen to Madam Ge?"

"Because Lady Ge is very capable, she taught other tribes to go to the Great Yan, do business with the Great Yan people, make money, and also taught everyone how to farm. So this time, the other tribes also joined in the war."

"Why don't Nataka and the other tribe go?"

"Taka is peaceful; they don't fight. There are very few people in Sanhoudi; they always hide and don't fight either."

The oxcart made its way through several narrow paths to the unloading point. Nawu started speaking in a foreign language with great enthusiasm, and after making some kind of agreement with the villager, the villager, beaming with joy, led the ox back home.

Bai Zhi asked, "When is he coming to pick us up?"

"He won't pick us up."

"They won't pick us up? How are we supposed to get back?"

“We’re not going back,” Nau said, puzzled. “Weren’t we here to make money? Are we going back after just one day? He won’t be back for another month, and then he’ll take us back with him.”

Bai Zhi: "……………………"

Thank goodness, she only wanted to do a day-wage job to earn a decent meal; she had no intention of getting rich here.

However, Nawu clearly misunderstood. She began to concentrate intently, asking from house to house. Baizhi couldn't speak the local language and couldn't speak here, so she could only follow along silently. But whenever Nawu pointed at her, people would shake their heads, and she didn't succeed with a single person along the way.

Bai Zhi asked Na Wu in a low voice, "What happened?"

Nau, hands on her hips, huffed and puffed out: "They said you're a woman and can't do any work. I said you can farm, and they said men are better at farming."

"Tsk." Bai Zhi scratched her eyebrows. "What if I don't do manual labor? I can bandage wounds, I know martial arts, I can keep accounts, and I'm skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. What do you think I can do?"

Following Bai Zhi's advice, Na Wu took her to a clinic, a martial arts school, an inn, and an opera troupe. Finally, a small restaurant was willing to let her wash dishes, but without pay, only providing two meals a day.

Nawu was initially unwilling, but Baizhi forced her to stay. So the two of them diligently washed dishes all afternoon, finally earning a delicious and satisfying meal after closing time in the evening.

The shopkeeper spoke a few words to Nau and then left. Nau translated, "He said we can sleep here, but don't touch anything in the shop."

With food and sleep secured, Bai Zhi ate heartily. Taka cuisine had a unique flavor: a pot of stewed, unidentified soup served with an unnamed wheat-colored staple food, heavily seasoned and salty, perfect for those who did physical labor.

It's delicious, but it's also incredibly cloyingly sweet.

After finishing a delicious yet difficult meal, Bai Zhi let out a long burp and exclaimed, "It's so good to be able to eat my fill."

Nawu imitated her and let out a very unpleasant fake burp. Baizhi laughed out of disgust, then picked up the clean bowl and plate and went to wash them.

The shopkeeper hadn't left any bedding, so Baizhi could only take off her outer garment and spread it on the ground, then lie down with Nawu.

Nao was inexplicably excited, like a child on a spring outing, constantly talking to Bai Zhi. Bai Zhi was really out of energy and could only give half-hearted replies.

After rambling on for a while, Nau suddenly said, "You are the chief's messenger. Even if you lose your memory, you will still have food to eat when you go back."

Bai Zhi had no desire to enter the wolf's den, so she replied evasively, "Impossible. They know I have amnesia, especially Madam Ge. She sees how useless I am now and might kill me."

"No, Lady Ge is not as bad as Prince Jing."

"..." Bai Zhi frowned and couldn't help but ask, "I remember you also said last time that Prince Jing was a bad person, why did you say that?"

“Because King Jing is a bad person,” Nawu said. “The Great Yan can eat its fill, but it watches us go hungry. King Jing is a bad person.”

"It's not like Prince Jing made you... leave us without enough to eat."