Chapter 8

“This year’s autumn harvest hasn’t been particularly good or bad. If we follow last year’s tax rate, the villagers can still get by.”

In the afternoon, just as the sun was setting behind the mountains, the Ji family’s dinner was already prepared.

With the sun no longer scorching, the breeze was pleasant as the family gathered under the trees in the yard to eat.

Ji Yangzong and Huang Yingsheng toasted each other with a few cups of liquor, discussing the collection of medicinal herbs today and then moving on to the autumn harvest.

In recent years, taxes had been increasing, making life difficult for the common people.

With the northern war seemingly halted this year, they hoped there might be some relief in taxes.

“Until the officials from the county government come down, no one knows how much taxes will be this year. Not only have agricultural taxes increased, but commercial taxes have also become burdensome. Merchants in the city are worried every day.”

Huang Yingsheng sighed. In these times, both farmers and merchants were struggling, leading more people to try their luck in government positions.

Ji Yangzong poured another cup of wine for Huang Yingsheng and said, “Fortunately, Er Lang has passed the exam. From now on, we’ll have the right to exempt taxes. Once the marriage between Xiao Taozi and the You family is settled, our family will benefit too.”

Ji Yangzong couldn’t hide his joy at this thought. Paying forty percent of their harvest as taxes was almost half of their yearly grain output. Being able to exempt this amount was like waking up from a dream.

“Once he’s our son-in-law, our son-in-law, our pharmacy will also prosper.”

However, Huang Yingsheng didn’t share Ji Yangzong’s enthusiasm. He put down his chopsticks and glanced at Ji Taoyu, who was sitting next to Huang Manjing, burying his head in his meal.

He asked Ji Yangzong, “Are you suggesting we rush the marriage before the government starts collecting taxes?”

“Though the goal is somewhat clear, this marriage has been agreed upon long ago and must be done sooner or later.”

“In the fall, when people have a bit more money, it’s the best time for big events in the village. There isn’t much to discuss with the villagers. Furthermore, forty percent of the harvest is a significant amount. If we don’t pay it this year, we can save more than ten stone of grain. Why not arrange the marriage sooner?”

Huang Yingsheng sighed again and looked at Ji Taoyu, who was still eating quietly. “I know you’re listening. Tell us, what do you think?”

Ji Taoyu lifted her head, swallowed the food in her mouth, and blushed slightly when she saw the three of them staring at him.

“By the command of my parents and the matchmaker, I will obey my father’s wishes.”

“If you don’t object, your grandfather has nothing to say. In recent years, there have been many families with ill intentions towards Xiao Taozi. Luckily, the engagement was decided early, and Er Lang has achieved success. This has driven away those with malicious intentions. Xiao Taozi will go to a good family early, and there will be one less worry.”

After speaking, Huang Yingsheng looked at Ji Yangzong and Huang Manjing again. “But one thing, we shouldn’t rush to urge the You family to complete the marriage. We don’t want people to gossip about Xiao Taozi.”

“Before the provincial exam, Er Lang mentioned to me that if he passed, he would come to propose marriage. I’m sure he’s already prepared. We don’t need to say much.”

“Let’s eat.”

After dinner, Huang Yingsheng rode his donkey cart back to the city, while Ji Taoyu and Ji Yangzong escorted him to the main road of the village before returning.

Ji Yangzong looked at his son, who had grown to his ears, as if he had just reached his knees yesterday. Walking with his hands behind his back under the setting sun, he was in a cheerful mood.

“Raise a soldier for a thousand days, use him for a moment. In recent years, your mother and I have been working hard for the You family. Since Er Lang passed the exam, we’ve sent him books every now and then and used our connections to send him to the best academy in the city. It’s almost as if we’ve raised him as our own son.”

“In a few days, the You family will hold a banquet to celebrate. By then, we’ll know when your engagement will take place.”

Ji Taoyu stepped on a dried mud lump, listening to her father’s chatter. As she thought about going to someone else’s home, there was an inexplicable feeling in her heart.

Although Yu Er Lang was knowledgeable and reasonable, and she had seen her a few times, they hadn’t spent much time together. She wasn’t at the point where he felt completely at ease about living with him.

She didn’t feel much joy about getting married. Instead, she felt a bit lost, and he just murmured a response to her father.

Ji Yangzong noticed that his daughter didn’t seem too excited and was about to ask what was wrong. Just as they entered the courtyard, a desperate cry interrupted him.

“Li Zheng, Madame Huang, I’ve brought my useless son Xia here to apologize to Taoyu!”

“What’s going on?”

Ji Yangzong, seeing the mother and son from the Yu family with red eyes, looked to Huang Manjing for an explanation.

“I don’t know either.”

But Ji Taoyu, watching the mother and son approach, felt a slight movement in her heart. She hadn’t expected Madam Sun to bring Yu Xia over to apologize to her parents.

Before she could say anything, Madam Sun scolded sternly, “Kneel down!”

Yu Xia wiped his eyes and knelt in front of Ji Taoyu. Madam Sun said, “Apologize properly to Taoyu.”

Under the gaze of several pairs of eyes, Yu Xia felt deeply humiliated. With thin skin, he felt hot all over at this moment.

He didn’t dare to look at Ji Taoyu and could only bow his head, his voice choked with tears as he said, “Taoyu, I shouldn’t have caused you embarrassment by pushing you into the water that day. I was blinded by jealousy, and I panicked when I saw you fall into the water. But the crowd was so thick that I was pushed away in an instant. When I came back, I was relieved to see that you had been rescued.”

“I was really scared. After coming back, I couldn’t eat, drink, or sleep well. The more I thought about it, the more regretful I felt. So I came here today to apologize to you. I was wrong.”

Ji Yangzong and Huang Manjing suddenly realized the reason behind the situation and couldn’t help but be shocked and dismayed.

“How could you do such a thing! Taoyu has always been frail since he was young. You could have killed him by pushing him into the water!” Huang Manjing was furious and didn’t care about the villagers around as she questioned Yu Xia’s crime.

Ji Yangzong’s brows furrowed deeply. “This is unacceptable! You two were supposed to go to the city together. How could you do something like this?”

“This child deserves to be scolded and punished. When I learned about the incident, I scolded and punished him severely. I thought the most important thing was to apologize to Taoyu. That’s why I brought him here. It’s also my fault for not disciplining him well, allowing him to do such unethical things. I will make sure he learns his lesson at home in the future.”

Madam Sun brought a basket of eggs and two old hens from their farm. “I know I’ve wronged Taoyu. Please accept this small gift as compensation for his injury. We will also compensate for all the medical expenses incurred due to Taoyu’s injury.”

Although Ji Yangzong and Huang Manjing were angry, they could see that Madam Sun had followed all the proper protocols for making amends. They found it difficult to scold her further.

They turned to Ji Taoyu to see what she thought.

Ji Taoyu hadn’t told her parents earlier because she didn’t want them to worry. She hadn’t expected Madam Sun to come and apologize directly, so she decided to settle the matter once and for all to ease her parents’ minds.

Difficult are the hearts of parents. Seeing this, it seemed that Madam Sun didn’t instruct Yu Xia to do this.

She looked at his crying brother on the ground and said, “I’m still standing here in one piece. Yu Xia, don’t think you’ve done nothing wrong just because nothing serious happened. If it weren’t for the righteous person who saved me, I would have been in real trouble. I’m sure you’ve seen who saved me. From now on, don’t spread this incident further, causing trouble for kind-hearted people.”

“He definitely won’t say anything. He’s the one at fault in this matter!”

Ji Taoyu glanced at Madam Sun, who was speaking up for Yu Xia in a panic, and she shut her mouth.

“I understand. No one else will know about this incident from now on.”

Yu Xia said cautiously, “I won’t have any improper thoughts again in the future.”

“In that case, there’s nothing more to say. Yu Xia, you can get up now.”

“Thank you, Taoyu, for your forgiveness.”

Seeing Madam Sun backing down from the matter, Huang Manjing approached and helped Yu Xia up.

However, Huang Manjing couldn’t help but feel sorry for her child and said, “Madam Sun, our families have always had a harmonious relationship. I hope you will take good care of Yu Xia in the future. If he still behaves like this after marrying into his husband’s family, he may suffer.”

Madam Sun blushed with embarrassment at these words, feeling ashamed. She could only promise, “Yes, Madam Huang, you’re right. I will definitely pay more attention to disciplining him in the future.”

After the mother and son from the Yu family left, Ji Yangzong closed the courtyard gate and turned to his son sitting under the canopy, feeling both angry and helpless. “Why didn’t you tell us earlier? You were bullied for nothing. If we had known earlier, we would have gone to the Yu family and sorted it out. We wouldn’t have let them come here and cry and apologize.”

“Yes! I thought it was your carelessness, but it was actually Yu Xia’s doing. I invited you to go to the city early in the morning, thinking it was just an accident. If I had known, I wouldn’t have let you go.”

Huang Manjing was very scared after thinking about it.

“I wanted to tell my parents to go to the Yu family to reason with them, but wouldn’t that make the whole village know that I was saved after falling into the water? If the Yu family doesn’t admit that it was him who pushed me, they might say that I fell in on my own. People might even think that we are bullying the villagers because of our status as government officials. It’s not certain that we would come out on top in terms of reason or reputation.”

“I was very angry at first, but when I calmed down and thought about it, rushing to seek justice would ultimately be more trouble than it’s worth. That’s why I agreed with Madam Sun first to see what her attitude was. If she pretended that nothing happened, I would know what kind of people they are, and I would tell my parents about it later and decide how to deal with them in the future. If she could teach Yu Xia a lesson and bring him here to apologize, it would be an act of kindness.”

Ji Yangzong and Huang Manjing thought about it carefully and agreed with Ji Taoyu’s approach. They admired his meticulous thinking but couldn’t help feeling like they had been taken advantage of.

“Although that’s true, we can’t let the Yu family off so easily in the future.”

“Dad, you’re a government official. How can you say such things? It’s Yu Xia who’s at fault. Madam Sun and Uncle Yu are usually honest people. There’s no need to blame them.”

“The reason why Yu Xia acted impulsively is probably because of Yu Erge.”

Ji Yangzong suddenly realized and sighed, “I used to see Yu Xia going in and out of the Yu family’s house all the time. I didn’t realize he had such thoughts. This can’t go on. This marriage can’t be delayed any longer.”