The Leisurely Life of a Peasant Woman in the Tang Dynasty

The night was as cool as water. The wind from the grassland carried a hint of chill as it blew through the tent, making a rustling sound. Tang Youyou's heartbeat also accelerated with the shaking of the tent. She didn't know why Ayi Na brought her out so late at night, but she chose to trust this girl with clear eyes.

The two of them, one in front and one behind, moved lightly between the tents. The dim firelight made their figures appear exceptionally slender. In the distance, soldiers gathered together, whispering to each other, occasionally erupting in rude laughter.

Ayi Na took Tang You You and hid behind a huge tent. She lowered her voice and said, "I overheard my brother and General Hu Han talking. They said you were spies sent by the court to spy on our military..."

Tang Youyou's heart tightened. As she expected, someone was secretly spreading rumors! "Your brother? He is..."

"He's General Tuoba, my brother and the leader of the tribe," Aina explained. "He's an upright man and wouldn't easily believe these rumors. But General Huhan has been inciting the tribe, and now everyone is looking at you with strange eyes."

Tang Youyou recalled the hesitant look on Chief Tuoba's face during the day, as well as the soldiers' deliberate distance. It seemed that these rumors had already fermented in the foreign tribes.

"My brother is still hesitant, but General Huhan has already led people to find him. They want to..." Ayina paused at this point, her face turning pale. "They want to imprison you and wait until they find out the truth!"

"What!" Tang Youyou was shocked. Once imprisoned, she would lose the initiative and the consequences would be disastrous! She had to find a way to stop this!

"No, I have to explain it to them!" Tang Youyou said as she was about to go out, but was stopped by Ayi Na.

"You're crazy! Going now will only intensify the conflict!" Ayi Na said anxiously, "Listen to me, I'm going to find my brother right now. I'll do my best to convince him to trust you. You wait here!"

Before Tang Youyou could answer, Ayi Na turned and ran towards Chief Tuoba's tent. Tang Youyou looked at her back, her heart filled with worry, but she also knew that rushing out now would only make things worse.

As time passed, Tang Youyou's heart grew heavier. She seemed to hear the quarrel coming from afar, but she was powerless and could only wait anxiously.

Suddenly, the tent curtain was pulled open, and the dazzling light made Tang Youyou squint. General Hu Han's rugged face appeared in front of Tang Youyou, his eyes flashing with a fierce light, "Come with me!"

"Where are you taking me?" Tang Youyou asked calmly, looking directly at General Hu Han, trying to find a flaw on his face.

"Hmph, you'll know when you get there!" General Hu Han pulled her out of the tent roughly. Several soldiers immediately surrounded her and pushed her forward.

Wang Jin panicked when he saw this and quickly stepped forward to explain, "General, this is all a misunderstanding. We are really envoys sent by the court to help you!"

"Shut up!" General Hu Han glared at him fiercely. "You cunning Tang people, you can't believe anything you say!"

Wang Jin wanted to explain further, but was roughly pushed to the ground by a soldier. He struggled to get up, but saw that Li Huaiyong was also escorted over by the soldiers. Both of their faces were filled with anxiety and helplessness.

"Chief Tuoba, this is a token from the imperial court, please take a look!" Li Huaiyong took out a gold medal from his arms and held it high, regardless of the soldiers' obstruction.

The Tuoba leader took the gold medal and examined it carefully, but his frown deepened. He threw the medal to the ground and said coldly, "What does this thing mean? Maybe you stole it!"

"You..." Li Huaiyong was hesitant. He didn't expect the other party to be so arrogant and unreasonable that he didn't even recognize the token of the court.

"Enough!" General Hu Han drew the scimitar from his waist, pointed at Tang Youyou and the others, and shouted loudly: "You spies, don't even think about quibbling! Come, tie them up for me!"

Seeing the situation getting out of control, Wang Jin and Li Huaiyong closed their eyes in despair. Tang Youyou looked at the group of foreigners who had been blinded by hatred, and suddenly an idea came to her mind...

"Wait!" Tang Youyou suddenly spoke. Her voice was not loud, but she was extremely firm. "I know you don't believe us now, but we can prove our sincerity..."

She looked around, her gaze finally landing on a woman not far away who was coughing non-stop. "If you trust me, I can try to use my medical skills to help alleviate her condition."

General Hu Han laughed contemptuously, "Just you? What medical skills does a Tang woman know!"

"General!" Ayina, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up. "Let her try. There's nothing to lose anyway."

General Hu Han hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded. After Tang Youyou got permission, she immediately walked over to the woman, carefully inquired about her condition and performed a simple examination.

"She has caught a cold and needs immediate treatment." Tang Youyou turned to look at Ayi Na, "Excuse me, where can I find hot water and a clean cloth?"

Although Ayi Na was reluctant, she still prepared hot water and cloth according to her instructions. Tang Youyou soaked the cloth with hot water, wrung it out, and applied it to the woman's forehead and chest, and then taught her how to perform acupoint massage.

After doing all this, Tang Youyou did not rush to explain, but just waited quietly. As time passed, the woman's cough gradually subsided, and her breathing became much smoother.

"How is it?" Aina asked anxiously.

"It's fine now, but I still need to rest and recuperate." Tang Youyou replied, "If you trust me, I can prescribe another herbal remedy that will be more effective."

"No need!" General Hu Han interrupted her coldly, "Who knows if you're just being mysterious!" He waved his hand, "Take them away and keep them under strict supervision!"

Tang Youyou wanted to fight for it again, but was forcibly dragged away by the soldiers. Returning to the simple tent, they were greeted by even stricter guards and even worse treatment. Food was reduced from three meals a day to two, and they were all coarse grains that were difficult to swallow; water was also rationed, with only a small pot of water each day, barely enough to drink.

"What should we do? This isn't a solution!" Li Huaiyong paced back and forth anxiously in the tent. "They don't trust us at all. All our plans can't go forward!"

Wang Jin sighed and shook his head weakly. Tang Youyou sat in the corner, silent. She understood that it was useless to say anything now. Only by finding a breakthrough could she break the deadlock.

It was late at night. The cold wind howled outside the tent, and there was a dead silence inside. Tang Youyou lay on the cold wool felt, but she had no desire to sleep. She knew that if the trust issue could not be resolved quickly, all communication plans would fail, and they might even be trapped here forever.

Suddenly, a burst of tiny footsteps came from outside the tent, coming closer and closer, and finally stopped in front of their tent. Tang Youyou suddenly opened his eyes, held his breath, and listened attentively.

"Squeak-"

The door of the tent was gently opened a crack, and a dark shadow flashed in. Tang Youyou's heartbeat suddenly accelerated. She sat up alertly and saw the face of the person in the faint moonlight - it was Ayi Na!

Ayi Na was obviously also startled by Tang Youyou's reaction. She lowered her voice and said, "Shh! Don't make a sound, it's me."

"Ayi Na? It's so late, what are you doing here?" Tang You You asked in a low voice, while signaling Li Huaiyong and Wang Jin to keep quiet.

Ayi Na walked to Tang You You, took out a sheepskin water bag from her arms and handed it to her, "Here, drink some water."

"How come you..." Tang Youyou was a little surprised, but also a little moved.

"Shh! Don't talk." Ayi Na interrupted her, "I know you are good people. The general is... just too cautious."

Tang Youyou took the water bag and drank a few sips. A warm current flowed down her throat into her stomach, dispelling the chill in the tent and warming her heart.

"Thank you, Ayi Na." Tang You You said sincerely, "But we can't just sit there and wait for death. We must find a way to resolve the misunderstanding."

Ayi Na sighed, "I know, but the general is very stubborn. It's hard to change his mind..."

Tang Youyou fell into deep thought, she quickly analyzed the current situation in her mind: General Huhan was full of hostility towards them, and it would be extremely difficult to persuade him; although Chief Tuoba did not express his position, he obviously also had doubts about them; the only one who showed goodwill to them was Ayi Na, but she was insignificant and could not change anything.

"Is there really no other way?" Tang Youyou muttered to herself.

Suddenly, she remembered that when she examined the woman, she found that she seemed to have other illnesses besides the cold. "Ayi Na," Tang You You grabbed Ayi Na's hand, "Do you know if there is anyone else in the tribe who is feeling unwell?"

Ayi Na didn't understand why, but she thought about it carefully. "It seems... quite a few people have been coughing a lot recently, and some have even developed rashes."

Tang Youyou's heart moved. How come these symptoms are a bit similar to... "Can you take me to see it?"

Ayi Na hesitated for a moment, "But..."

"Please, Ayi Na!" Tang You You held her hand tightly, "This may be our last chance!"

Ayi Na looked at Tang You You's earnest eyes and finally nodded, "Okay, come with me."

The two tiptoed out of the tent and disappeared into the night. In the distance, from a larger tent, a faint muffled cough could be heard...