Chapter 231: Being Too Clever Leads to Trouble

Zhang Li Lao’s two daughters were both married off, and now he lived with his grandchildren. The entire household consisted of four brick-and-tile rooms in the north wing and four wooden rooms each in the east and west wings—twelve rooms in total, which made them a fairly wealthy family in Gaoshan Tun.

Yet, for the first time in his life, a real official was visiting his home. Despite his frantic efforts, he was still drenched in sweat. After finally selecting a few clean clothes, he handed them over hesitantly. It wasn’t until Zhang Yue smiled, thanked him, went inside to change, and then handed back his wet clothes that he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although his family had some extra money, they usually wore only silk and cotton clothes. He had only seen silk a few times when visiting the city. Now, holding it in his hands, he noticed its fine texture, softness, and smoothness, so he couldn’t help but stare at it longer.

When his granddaughter Xi Er brought in a bowl of ginger soup served on a wooden tray, he quickly took another bowl and handed it to Zhang Yue, saying, “I specifically asked to add brown sugar to it. You’ve just been in the rain—drink this hot soup quickly to ward off the cold and relieve fatigue.” Seeing Zhang Yue drink the bowl of hot ginger soup in big gulps, he rubbed his hands together and apologized, “With such an incident happening today, I truly feel ashamed to be the village head. Sir…”

“This is your home, not a courtroom. Stop calling me ‘sir’ every time,” Zhang Yue said. The warm ginger soup filled his stomach, and the frustration from the earlier attack gradually dissipated. “Since I’ve said that the past is forgotten, there’s no need to hold grudges later. It’s just that someone reckless from your village has caused trouble. As the village head, you can privately investigate and give them a lesson.”

“Yes, yes.”

It was the first time Xi Er had seen her usually stern grandfather bowing and scraping like this in front of others. Her eyes kept wandering across Zhang Yue’s face. Of course, she knew what “sir” meant, but in her imagination, officials should be older men with gray hair—how could he be a young man almost her age?

Seeing Zhang Yue speak calmly to her grandfather without even glancing at her, she felt a bit resentful. The young men in the village would turn away whenever they saw her—was this guy made of wood?

When her grandfather handed over her wet clothes, she took a closer look and realized the fabric was even finer than her sister-in-law’s best clothes. There were even shiny silver threads in the belt. The luxury of it left her in awe and filled her with envy.

“Third Uncle, we’ve brought Master Liu here!”
At the sound from outside, Zhang Yue stood up immediately. Zhang Li hurried over, pulled back the curtain, let Zhang Yue go first, and then followed. Xi Er didn’t understand why this young official wanted to see Master Liu—after delivering clothes to her grandmother, she was sent out on another errand to buy wine. Though she wanted to stay and watch this noble young man more, she had no choice but to take the money reluctantly.
There was only one family in the village that sold homemade rice wine. She ran there, paid for a large gourd of wine, and then hurried back carrying it. When she saw her house in the distance, she suddenly heard someone calling behind her. Turning around, she was stunned and quickly exclaimed, “Brother Yue!”
The man nodded at her with a smile and asked, “Sister Xi Er, are you here to buy wine? Do we have guests at home?”
“It’s not a guest—it’s an important person!” Xi Er added another hand to hold the heavy gourd, complaining indignantly, “It’s the first time I’ve seen Grandpa treat someone with such respect—more even than he treats my own father! By the way, Brother Yue, are you here to find my elder brother? I heard he went with Grandpa to fight with people from the neighboring village today, but was caught by that important person. It’s raining now, so he’s probably working in the fields!”
Yue Changtian glanced in the direction of the Zhang family’s yard and shook his head with a smile. “I’m not here for your elder brother. Now I understand—it must be that young Lord Zhang. He’s a very important person, so of course your Grandpa has to serve him with great respect. His family is extremely wealthy. Don’t you like the hairpin your elder brother bought for your sister-in-law? Even his maids have at least ten or eight such hairpins, none of which are the same. Just one meal requires several people to serve, with a dozen or so bowls and dishes—something your peasant family can’t even imagine.”
Ten or eight, none the same! Xi Er, being a beauty-loving girl, admired most of all the silver ornaments her sister-in-law wore on festivals, as well as the cosmetics bought from the city. She thought those were the finest things, but now Brother Yue said that even the maids had such luxurious items. Her envy was clearly visible on her face.
“No wonder. I could tell from his manner and way of speaking that he’s different from us…”

“Of course. After all, he has an uncle who is a duke…” Yue Changtian sneered. Seeing Xi Er looking at him with a puzzled expression, he knew it was pointless to explain these things to a country girl who didn’t understand court ranks. So he smiled and said, “The marriage arrangement your grandfather found for you is considered top-tier in Gaoshan Tun, but it’s still from a peasant family. Above that are scholars who have studied and those who have passed the imperial examinations. I don’t know how many more levels it takes to reach their status. In short, the richer the person, the more exhausting it is to serve them. You must take good care of him later—his single hair is thicker than your leg. Maybe that way you can even get some dowry.”

Xi Er was greatly stirred by Yue Changtian’s words. Thinking that he was her elder brother’s friend, she became even less cautious and quickly stepped forward to ask more questions. Listening to Yue Changtian talk about what Zhang Yue had done since taking office, she became filled with longing, and another thought began to form in her mind.

Not to mention the marriage arranged by her grandfather, among the other young men in the village who were about his height, who could compare to such grandeur? Just by sitting there, he made everyone else bow and smile in deference. How glorious it would be if she could have such a husband! Lost in her fantasies, she thanked Yue Changtian absentmindedly and headed back home, unaware that the Yue brother she trusted so much was watching her retreating figure with a cold smile.

“She’s just a vain country girl who’s obsessed with wealth the moment she hears the word ‘rich’!”

After walking around a few houses, Yue Changtian joined up with several men who had been waiting there. After exchanging a few words in low voices, they headed outside the village. Within the time it took to drink a cup of tea, they arrived at a forest behind Gaoshan Tun, where they brought out several horses. Climbing onto their horses and shaking the reins, he ordered the others, “Go and inform Bin Hong, Zhao Wan, and the others. Tell them I’ve completed all the tasks they asked me to do. The master won’t interfere with what they do from now on. It’s up to them from here on!”

Zhang Yue, who was in the Zhang family’s main hall talking with Master Liu, was both surprised and delighted. He had initially been just curious, but after talking, Master Liu mentioned many principles related to building canals and dikes, and his carpentry skills were actually for making farming tools rather than furniture. Zhang Li, who was praising him, even brought out a few farming tools made by Master Liu, which made him even more satisfied. Who would have thought that this trip would end up yielding such a treasure?

The animal husbandry during the Ming Dynasty was far inferior to that of the Song Dynasty. Therefore, instead of relying solely on draft oxen, it would be better to depend on mutual cooperation among farmers. Yet if the existing farming tools could be improved, farming efficiency would increase significantly, thereby boosting yields as well.

“Grandpa, the rice wine is here!”
“Why such a racket? Can’t you see the master is talking with Master Liu?”
Zhang Li Lao was very pleased to see that Zhang Yue seemed to value Master Liu greatly, as it was he who had recommended him. If anything went wrong, he could at least help Master Liu. Seeing his granddaughter enter noisily with the wine gourd, he scolded her sternly before turning to Zhang Yue with a smile and saying, “Master, it’s already noon. We farmers don’t have much good food, but this morning Xi Er picked some fresh wild vegetables, and a young man brought us two wild rabbits. How about you keep them and have a meal with Master Liu?”
Zhang Yue initially wanted to decline, saying it was no trouble, but since Zhang Li Lao insisted so earnestly and Master Liu seemed to have more to say, he readily agreed. Compared to the meal at Old Yang’s house, the Zhang family’s meal today was carefully prepared, with no lack of oil, salt, soy sauce, or vinegar. Though they were farmers, their cooking was no worse than that in the city. Xi Er served them personally, wearing a warm and attentive smile. Master Liu, in high spirits, praised her for being sensible, causing Zhang Yue to glance at her a few times as well.
Zhang Li Lao also boasted that he had found a good match for his granddaughter, describing how honest and capable her future son-in-law was and how prosperous their family was, completely unaware of Xi Er’s stern expression beside them. As Zhang Yue ate and drank, and since Master Liu had agreed to go to Qingzhou with him, he happily ordered Lian Sheng to take out a pair of silver coins from his purse, saying they were for Xi Er’s belongings. Seeing that the pair of silver coins weighed at least two taels, Zhang Li Lao was overjoyed and quickly ordered Xi Er to come forward and kowtow. No one else noticed, but Xi Er’s expression changed as she held the silver coins before quietly leaving.
The rice wine was sweet and fragrant, but quite strong. Zhang Li Lao and Master Liu drank four bowls each and soon got drunk. Although Zhang Yue was more restrained, he still ended up drinking two bowls. After the meal, he felt drowsy.
Hu Qi and the others were used to Zhang Yue and had eaten at many farmers’ homes. Before the meal, he instructed his three brothers to stay guard while he went around the village—after all, the previous attack couldn’t be taken lightly. With someone sowing discord among the farmers, it was necessary to investigate thoroughly.

After Zhang Yue got drunk, Lu Ba, Wei Jiu, and Qin Shi realized it was impossible to ride back at that moment, so they ordered Lian Sheng and Lian Hu to help Zhang Yue into the bed in the east room to rest. Seeing Xi Er, who was quite attractive, peeking at the door for a while before running away, the three of them exchanged glances and started laughing.

In that master’s room, weren’t all the maids as beautiful as flowers? Add in the two daughters from the Du and Meng families—how could anyone else catch their eye? So, Lian Sheng and the others stayed inside while Lu Ba and the rest sat outside. Before long, Xi Er brought tea made with walnuts and pine nuts. Everyone felt thirsty after eating, so they drank it one after another.

Half an hour later, Xi Er quietly entered the room. Seeing the three big men fast asleep, she showed a delighted expression and quickly slipped into the inner room. Sure enough, the two attendants were already asleep, heads touching, on small stools, while Zhang Yue on the bed was even snoring steadily. Thinking of what Yue Changtian had said about the grandeur of wealthy families, she went straight up and sat on the edge of the bed. She stretched out her hand but pulled it back, staring at Zhang Yue in a daze, gradually filled with countless thoughts.

In plays, when a young master is in trouble and a young lady saves him, there’s usually a happy ending. But when a commoner girl saves a young master, it seems she always ends up with a heartless man! What if this lord woke up and turned against her?

After thinking it over, she suddenly regretted it. Gritting her teeth, she stood up abruptly. When she went to the front, she found that the old lady had also fallen asleep by the stove, which panicked her even more. The powder she used was something she had bought from Old Chen earlier, meant to deal with her dull husband after marriage. This time, she had put it in all the food and tea, knocking out even her own family. What should she do now?