Chapter 30 1/2

Sun Yuan-niang arrived at the entrance of the Ji family’s residence, straightened her clothes, and adjusted her hair bun. Seeing that she looked presentable, she walked into the Ji family’s courtyard with confident steps.

Unexpectedly, the courtyard was eerily quiet, with no signs of anyone around.

She decided to head towards the main courtyard of the Ji family’s house. As she approached the eaves of the house, she could hear voices coming from inside, though she couldn’t make out what they were saying clearly, but the tone sounded cheerful.

It seemed there were guests, making it lively inside.

Just as Sun Yuan-niang was about to spit out some contempt, she couldn’t help but feel resentful. Their family’s reputation in the village was in ruins, and everyone could talk about them as freely as they pleased, like rats crossing the street.

Yet, the Ji family seemed relaxed and harmonious. If they hadn’t treated the You family with any face, they wouldn’t have ended up in such a situation today.

Thinking about it, how could she not feel bitter in her heart?

Before she could voice her disdain, the Ji family’s servant, Da Niu, came out.

“Do you need something?”

Sun Yuan-niang immediately stood up straight and said, “I have some urgent matters to discuss with Li Zheng.”

“He’s having lunch.”

Da Niu had been working for the Ji family for several years, and they didn’t treat him like an ordinary servant. When they hosted guests, familiar people could sit at the table, and they always invited him to join without setting up a separate table.

Today’s meal was particularly good, and no one wanted to be interrupted while eating.

Seeing Sun Yuan-niang coming at this hour, Da Niu felt somewhat displeased. “Madam Sun, please wait a while.”

“I have important matters to attend to. Once I finish with this, there are other things I need to take care of urgently!”

Sun Yuan-niang felt even more unhappy when even a servant dared to speak to her like this. Those gossiping women in the village had changed their attitude towards their family, but now it seemed even the short-sighted peasants dared to speak to her rudely. “As a servant, how dare you take the liberty to speak to me like this! If my business is delayed because of you, can you bear the responsibility?”

Since Da Niu couldn’t argue with her, he had no choice but to go inside and inform Li Zheng.

When the people at the table heard that Sun Yuan-niang had arrived, none of them had a good expression. Ji Yangzong put down his chopsticks, scolded a few words, and then stood up.

“I’ll go take a look. Father-in-law and Mr. Huo, please continue eating. I’ll be back after dealing with this.”

Huang Yinsheng said, “Go ahead.”

Ji Yangzong hurried out and saw Sun Yuan-niang standing outside with an attitude. He frowned unhappily. “What are you doing here again?”

“I came to see Li Zheng. If you didn’t manage village matters, I wouldn’t have to come. But don’t worry, I won’t bother coming here in the future.”

Seeing Ji Yangzong’s impatience, Sun Yuan-niang felt no remorse for what the You family had done wrong. Instead, she didn’t even bother to save face and said proudly, “We have acquired property in the city. My husband and I will move to the city soon. We came today to handle some paperwork.”

Ji Yangzong sneered, “It seems you can’t stand staying in the village anymore and can’t wait to move to the city.”

“People aim for higher places, and water flows to lower places.”

Sun Yuan-niang was taken aback by Ji Yangzong’s directness, and her expression turned sour. Trying to save some face, she said, “My husband is talented and has been promoted by Magistrate Xue. He is a favored student of Magistrate Xue and will receive frequent instructions when we move to the city.”

“You should hurry then. With officials being transferred soon, Magistrate Xue will likely be transferred by March next year at the latest. Don’t end up empty-handed by then.”

“Thank you for the reminder, Li Zheng. Though there are only three or five months left, it should be easy for Magistrate Xue to handle two insignificant people like us.”

Before Ji Yangzong could respond, Sun Yuan-niang, feeling triumphant, said, “The common people, after all, cannot compete with officials. Otherwise, why would so many people want to study and take examinations? It’s all about being able to have a say someday.”

“Some common folks are ignorant and think they can speak up just because they are in a small position of power. When someone agrees with them, they think they are important and act recklessly, thinking they have the upper hand. But they don’t realize their recklessness has already laid the seeds of their own downfall.”

Ji Yangzong was startled.

Sun Yuan-niang pressed on, “Li Zheng, do you agree?”

“Even if they are common folks, they still have to uphold their reputation. If they suppress themselves out of fear of authority and don’t dare to speak up, it will only embolden the wicked.”

“Who did wrong first, who harbored evil intentions first, everyone knows in their hearts.”

A steady voice interjected, and Sun Yuan-niang looked up, frowning, “Dr. Huang is also here?”

Following him were Huang Manjing and Ji Taoyu. What surprised Sun Yuan-niang was that Huo Shu was also there.

She and Huo Shu had no dealings, but they had encountered each other several times in the Ji family’s house, and she had been frightened by him.

So now seeing him, she couldn’t help but feel apprehensive: “Li Zheng’s house is so lively.”

With Huang Yinsheng and Huo Shu present, Sun Yuan-niang felt a bit intimidated.

“Since you’re here for paperwork, Madam Sun, let’s go and leave your fingerprint.”

Ji Yangzong said, leading the way to the study room for the formalities.

With Sun Yuan-niang causing a scene, it wasn’t comfortable to continue eating, but fortunately, they had already eaten enough.

After handing over the papers, Huang Yinsheng didn’t stay long in the village and hurried back to the city.

There were many patients lately, especially with the change of seasons, and as the only physician in the clinic, he couldn’t afford to be away for too long.

After seeing off his father-in-law, Ji Yangzong returned from outside with a worried expression on his face. Though he knew Sun Yuan-niang was deliberately showing off today, her words undoubtedly struck a chord with him. If the Xue family really took action, the Ji family would be in trouble.

Going to the city and getting close to the Xue family was urgent. Although the Yu family was at fault in the matter with Taoyu, and Yu Lingxiao even shed tears at the assembly, pretending not to bear to part with Taoyu, they couldn’t afford to provoke the Xue family.

But who knew what else the Yu family might stir up in the future? They were always a trouble.

Huo Shu probably knew what Ji Yangzong was worried about.

“The Xue family hasn’t officially engaged with the Yu family at this time, it’s just a gamble. Yu Lingxiao has potential, and for these aristocratic families, he’s not the only option.”

Ji Yangzong looked at Huo Shu. “What do you mean?”

“If the gamble loses its potential, based on your understanding of the Xue family, would they continue to support Yu Lingxiao or abandon him as a pawn?”

“Indeed, Yu Lingxiao is talented and good-looking, which is what the Xue family values. But the Yu family is ordinary, and their relatives are not united. If they lose their potential, the Xue family, with only a daughter, will definitely not support them anymore.”

Huo Shu nodded, “That’s true. In that case, Li Zheng, you don’t need to worry about the Yu family anymore.”

Ji Yangzong still didn’t fully understand Huo Shu’s meaning, but Huo Shu didn’t say anything more.

After glancing in the direction of the Ji family’s kitchen, Huo Shu said, “Thank you for your hospitality today, Li Zheng. I’ll be heading back now.”

Seeing Huo Shu’s expression, Ji Yangzong calmed down and said, “Little Taoyu and her mother are probably almost done washing dishes in the kitchen. I’ll have them accompany you.”

“No need to bother.”

With that, Huo Shu left.

Ji Yangzong furrowed his brow, somewhat puzzled.

He returned to the house, and Taoyu had finished wiping her hands on her apron. “Did Uncle leave?”

“Yes.”

Taoyu closed the food container. “And what about Big Brother Huo?”

“Both of them left.”

“They left?”

Taoyu’s eyes widened at the news, and she quickly ran out, carrying the food container.

Ji Yangzong watched his restless son and said to Huang Manjing, “This child.”

“You bought a lot of shrimp today, and they’re still fresh and big. Taoyu said that nobody had a good meal because of Madam Sun’s visit, and she noticed that Huo Shu liked these shrimp, so she took some leftovers to give to him.”

“That’s good.”

Ji Yangzong said, “This child is considerate.”

“Huo Big Brother!”

Huo Shu walked towards the Zhao family’s direction, preparing to handle some business, but he heard a familiar voice behind him.

He turned around and saw Taoyu running towards him, holding the food container.

“You left too quickly.”

Huo Shu had walked quite a distance, and even though Taoyu ran to catch up, she was still out of breath. He quickly handed the food container to Huo Shu.

“What’s this?”

Taoyu gasped for breath and said, “The Yu family came and disturbed our meal. Dad was worried you didn’t eat well, so he asked me to bring the food container. There’s still a lot of food left at home. If you don’t mind that it’s leftovers, you can take these back to eat.”

Huo Shu neither confirmed nor denied but accepted the food container.

He opened it and glanced inside, then his eyebrows twitched.

Inside the container were some shrimp, but they were smaller than the ones on the table at noon. These shrimp had already been peeled but still had their heads intact. They were neatly arranged in layers on the plate.

Huo Shu thought that Taoyu had probably been busy cooking all morning and was tired, but then…

There was an inexplicable flutter in Huo Shu’s heart, making it hard for him to look away.

“I… I thought the plate wouldn’t hold much, so I peeled the shrimp.”

Seeing Huo Shu staring at the shrimp without shells, as if she had been seen through, Taoyu blushed slightly. “Do you have vinegar at home?”

Huo Shu closed the food container carefully and nodded.

“That’s good.”

Taoyu felt a bit embarrassed. “I… I’ll go back first. I’ve taken up a lot of your time.”

“Taoyu.”

Huo Shu suddenly stopped the person who was about to run away.

“Yeah?”

Huo Shu looked quietly at the little boy in front of him, and Taoyu’s brows furrowed slightly, looking at Huo Shu with confusion. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“It’s chaotic outside, don’t go out. If there’s an emergency, tell me.”

“Okay.”

Huo Shu opened his mouth to say something but didn’t know what to say. For the first time, he felt frustrated that he didn’t speak enough.

After a moment of hesitation, he said, “Go back.”

Taoyu responded with a sound.

As he turned away from Huo Shu and walked forward, his mind went blank for a moment. But then he thought that since Huo Shu accepted the food container, his steps became a bit lighter.

As he approached the corner, he suddenly stopped.

Taoyu pursed her lips and slowly turned her head to take a look at Huo Shu’s departing figure. However, when she turned her head, she saw that he was still standing there quietly, watching her.

The winter wind was a bit chilly, but it seemed to avoid Huo Shu as it passed by, as if taking a detour to leave. He just stood there in the wind.

Their eyes met, almost suddenly. In an instant, Taoyu felt as if something was surging up in her heart, and as her heart rate rapidly increased, she began to feel very warm.

Like floodwaters rushing in, or like the warmth of spring sunshine touching the ground, suddenly filled his body, making him feel full, as if even the cold wind didn’t feel cold anymore.

Taoyu quickly averted her gaze, took a deep breath, and raised her hand to touch her forehead, feeling something was off. She didn’t know if she had caught a cold in the morning and was now feeling chilly.

But these symptoms didn’t seem like the prelude to a cold, and her forehead wasn’t hot either.

She didn’t understand what was happening and quickly ran back as if escaping.

Two days passed, nearing the end of the month.

Ji Yangzong returned from the city with a gloomy expression.

He had gone to the prefectural yamen to discuss with the household registration officials about reporting the date for delivering grain to the city and to try to see if they could add some manpower this year.

Unfortunately, luck was not on his side. He unexpectedly ran into the magistrate at the household registration office, who criticized him for disturbing the busy prefectural government.

Being scolded by his superiors wasn’t a big deal, but the magistrate’s attitude made him suspect whether Yu Lingxiao and Madam Sun had said something unfavorable about him in front of the magistrate.

Ji Yangzong felt uneasy, and he was frustrated.

With the current chaos, the prefectural government needed to ensure that all villages delivered grain to the city granary. If something went wrong, although he, as the local magistrate, would bear the blame, what benefits would the prefectural government gain?

Ji Yangzong thought it was time to talk to the magistrate, with whom he had a good relationship, about the rotation of grain delivery to the city.

Just as he was frowning, he saw seven or eight villagers gathered together, discussing something animatedly.

Ji Yangzong held his breath, his face growing even more severe. He hoped they weren’t talking about his family’s affairs again.

However, before he could approach, some villagers spotted him.

“Magistrate!”

Several villagers ran up to Ji Yangzong as if they had found a backbone.

Before they even reached him, they shouted, “It’s terrible! Young Master Yu from the Yu family has been beaten!”

“What?”

The villagers repeated, “Young Master Yu has been beaten!”

Ji Yangzong sternly reprimanded them, “Don’t talk nonsense! He’s a Jinshi, who would dare to beat a Jinshi?”

The villagers, anxious to convince Ji Yangzong, said, “It’s true!”

“Just a few days ago, Madam Sun came to report that they had bought a house in the city and were planning to move there. Why would they let someone beat him?”

Ji Yangzong was afraid that the villagers didn’t know the truth and were spreading rumors. They might have made up such stories.

“Oh! If Magistrate doesn’t believe it, go to the Yu family and see for yourself. They just carried him back from the village road a while ago.”

The villagers waved their hands, saying, “There was blood everywhere, and Young Master Yu’s face was covered in dirt and blood. He was almost unrecognizable.”

“Yes, it’s true! It’s terrifying! Madam Sun was crying and screaming, and half the village could hear her.”

Ji Yangzong felt a chill run down his spine as the villagers spoke so vividly and unanimously. It wasn’t just one person saying this, but several.