Chapter 053
Author: Feast of Masks
Raws: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3185016
Translated by Pill Bug
Edited by Gumihou
The copper gong in front of Zheng Lizheng’s house was struck again. The last time the gong was sounded, Zheng Lizheng had been brimming with confidence and self-assurance.
Today, Zheng Lizheng looked visibly worn out.
This time, the one in charge was not him, but Patriarch Xue.
A few chairs had been arranged just beyond the steps of the main house and there were no exceptionally important people seated on these chairs. The only person standing on the ‘stage’ was Patriarch Xue, who took the stage with a stern expression and a pipe in one hand as he addressed the densely packed villagers beyond the steps.
“Let’s not speak of the past. Who in this world has never made a mistake in their life? Old Master Zheng here means well; he wanted to do something good for the villagers. That is the absolute truth, something that I can vouch for with great confidence. As for rumours of him pocketing the money and refusing to share it with the villagers, there is no truth to that! Have none of you observed just how anxious he has been these past few days? He had fallen so sick that he had barely gotten out of bed!”
Immediately, countless pairs of eyes turned towards Zheng Lizheng, seated at the top of the stairs. There was no malice in their gaze, only pity and regret.
Even so, having pity and regret directed at him did not sit well with Zheng Lizheng. Yet, he could not fault them for it. Indeed, who could he blame for this situation? Though Patriarch Xue’s words contained some hidden ridicule, the very same words had also diffused the villagers’ anger. Not to mention, it was Zheng Lizheng’s own lack of vigilance that had allowed him to be duped by the wealthy man. To make matters worse, he was now being openly mocked by his old rival.
“Let’s not talk about this anymore. No one could ever be happy to allow their comrades to waste their efforts. However, now that this has happened, complaining won’t change anything. We now face a different problem. Someone else has declared an interest in purchasing the hill, but the question now is: to sell it or not? Naturally, the price would not be as high as what the nobleman had offered, but as we all know, that barren hill is not worth that much to begin with. This is a lesson for us all. One should not be greedy for things that do not belong to us. After all, how can money just fall out of the sky so easily? The best way to earn a living is through good honest hard work.”
“The Patriarch is right. If we hadn’t been greedy, that wealthy man wouldn’t have had the chance to trick us.”
“It was all because of greed, loh.”
As the villagers lamented and sighed over their own actions, to Zheng Lizheng, it felt as though every one of these sighs and exclamations were directly aimed at him. While none of the villagers mocked him in his face, he still felt as though they were subtly ridiculing him. Really now, after having been so clever and cautious his whole life, to think that he would suddenly stumble on this hurdle and fall flat on his face. Moreover, he even exposed this weakness in front of his old rival and had to endure the knowledge that he was being openly judged and talked about by the villagers under his care.
While Zheng Lizheng was lost in his thoughts, someone in the crowd was already asking who this mysterious second buyer was and how much they had offered for the barren hill.
Patriarch Xue smiled gently and raised a hand to quiet the crowd. Once the villagers had settled down, he said, “It is someone we know well, one of our own. Unlike outsiders, this person won’t try to cheat us. After all, we are fellow villagers and every one of us knows this person quite well.”
“You’ve said so much, but just who is this person, ah?
“That’s right, ah. Just who is willing to spend so much on that bit of barren land?”
That was when Patriarch Xue finally said, “It’s Gouzi from the second branch of Xue Lanxiang’s family. He’s willing to pay one hundred taels of silver for this hill.”
The crowd immediately erupted in shock.
“Gouzi from the second branch of Lianxing’s family?”
“Didn’t that lad enter the academy to study?”
“What did he buy the land for?”
Patriarch Xue raised his hand again to calm the crowd and said, “As for the reason? Well, this old man isn’t the best person to explain it. Let us have Gouzi personally speak with everyone.”
Following his words, a young man stepped forward from where he had been standing off to the side. It was really the Xue Family’s Second Branch’s Gouzi.
However, this Gouzi was different from the one they remembered. Many of the villagers had seen Xue Gouzi before. How to explain it? Well, he was not a bad-looking child by any means, but he rarely spoke and was often found walking around the village with a distinct gloom over his head, similar to one of those stray dogs often found roaming the countryside.
Now, however, there was a completely different air about him. His back was straight, and there was an aura of confidence about him that they had never seen before. Although the villagers were not educated and could not articulate their thoughts properly, they had the impression that this aimless stray dog had suddenly transformed into a carefully bred and trained hunting dog. A prized dog filled with vigour and command whose presence alone set him apart from the rest of the villagers.
After attending a town school, this person had undergone a complete transformation!
Of course, there were some who recalled the competition within Xue Lianxing’s family. Even back then, Xue Gouzi had shown some extraordinary ability. Ordinary people could never even attract a single glance from a Xiu Cai, but this youth actually earned the praises of two senior Xiu Cai masters, ah! Back then, the villagers were only mildly interested in the spectacle since it was nothing more than just idle entertainment for them. Now, however, with their own interest at stake, everyone paid more attention to the youth standing with quiet confidence before them. Seeing his unwavering composure, they felt a newfound closeness to him.
On Xue Tingxiang’s side, after coming up the steps, he first saluted Patriarch Xue and the other village seniors, earning nods from the older men as they stroked their beards approvingly. Only then did he turn to face the gathered villagers.
“Greetings to all my fellow villagers, greeting to all my respected elders, it is an honour for this junior to be here.” He bowed, straightened up, and gave them a shy little smile. “In fact, it is my granduncle who allowed me the honour to speak here despite my lack of eloquence. I am not much for grand speeches. I just think that it is a pity to let the hillside, which everyone had worked so hard to clear, simply go fallow. I happened to have two classmates whose families are in business and took the chance to persuade them to cooperate with me in purchasing the land. Though the land may not be good enough to raise crops, it is still possible to grow vegetables, raise chickens and ducks or grow fruit trees. In short, the investment will not lead to a loss.”
He paused for a moment before adding, “Naturally, if the village had plans for the land, please pretend that this junior had ever said anything. No matter what, the village’s interest should take priority.”
With that, he stepped aside and let Patriarch Xue have the centre stage again.
Patriarch Xue said, “That is the core of the situation. I have called you here because we must come together as a village and make the decision together. Such an important decision should not be left to one or two persons, like last time. When happens next depends on everyone’s choices. Let me say this now, this child, Tingxiang, has stepped up to to assist our village in solving this issue. He even pulled his classmates into this matter by convincing them to do business here. Now, I should say that his classmates could have done business at either Shangshui Village or Bull’s Horn Ridge, two villages that are closer to town than we are. The only reason they chose our village is because of Tingxiang’s face.”
The crowd below erupted into a flurry of chatter and hushed exchanges.
After a while, someone blurted out, “Well, why not just sell it? Even if we can’t sell it for 500 taels, 100 taels is not bad. That way, we can all at least get a little something.”
“It’s not like that hillside is much use to us just sitting there. We even have to worry about naughty kids running in there and tearing their clothes on the brambles.”
“It’s not like I wish to talk bad about that place, but the broken thing only produces brambles. Those useless things produce too much smoke when burned. If we try to dry it out, those things would just erupt in one big flame and disappear in a flash.”
With someone leading the way, more voices chimed in naturally after them.
Patriarch Xue asked once again if anyone had objections, but how could the villagers have any? While each household may not receive two taels of silver, a few hundred coins is still money. It was certainly better to have some compensation after having sweated for days and getting nothing but a few broken brambles in return.
“Since everyone is in agreement, I shall have Tingxiang here hand the silver over to Zheng Lizheng. Once Zheng Lizheng gets the deed done, everyone can then come and collect their share of coins.”
“Yes, yes, yes, since the old patriarch has spoken, what else can we say? We can just consider this as benefiting from Gouzi’s good fortune.”
“Why are you still calling him Gouzi? He’s changed his name, he’s now called Tingxiang,” someone interjected.
“Right, right, right, he’s called Tingxiang. Tingxiang really is capable now. He can solve our problem by casually asking two classmates for a hundred silver taels.”
“This is what they call ‘the juniors are amazing.’”
This was something that happened every time the village wrapped up an important discussion. Once the main topic was dealt with, they would descend into casual chatter with seven mouths and eight tongues wagging all over the place.
On that day, the focus of the talk was on Xue Lianxing’s Second Branch’s junior Tingxiang.
Inevitably, people began to compare the main branch’s Xue Juncai to Xue Tingxiang again. The last time it happened, he had already been suppressed, but now? The difference was even more apparent.
In one corner of the crowd stood the Xue family members.
Disbelief wreathed Xue Qingshan’s face. There was no need to mention Yang’shi’s eyes, which were opened so wide that they looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. As for Old Man Xue, he had a very complicated expression on his face. It was such a major decision, but Xue Tingxiang did not even breathe a single word about it to the family, going straight to the Patriarch instead.
Sun’shi glanced at the main branch couple and turned pointedly to her man, “Tingxiang is certainly capable. He has a talent for getting things done, unlike some people who only know how to put on airs.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than someone approached Old Man Xue for a chat.
“Lianxing, this grandson of yours is truly remarkable; he will surely grow up to be a great man in the future.”
“With such capability, there is no guessing what the future holds.”
“Lianxing is bound to enjoy great fortune from now on.”
The ones speaking were either elderly men around the Old Man Xue’s age or elders from other clans. Old Man Xue could only maintain a polite smile as he gave vague answers to their effusive praises.
Meanwhile, the couple from the main branch looked even more sullen.
……
On the other side, Patriarch Xue smiled at Zheng Lizheng and said, “Old Junior Brother Lizheng, I shall entrust this matter to you. You should do your best and see to it that the deed gets done properly. We, the villagers, are all waiting.”
Zheng Lizheng felt a surge of frustration stuck in his chest. All the ‘good guy’ roles had been snatched up by the Xue family, leaving his face all trampled and muddied by the incident. Not to mention, the man even had the cheek to order him around as though he were a servant or an errand boy.
The worst part was that he couldn’t refuse. Who asked him to swallow that damned Young Master Mao’s nonsense in the first place?
“You don’t have to worry, it shall be done quickly,” he said.
Patriarch Xue smiled and nodded. Then, he reached forward to pat Zheng Lizheng’s shoulder condescendingly before strolling off in a leisurely way.
Zheng Lizheng felt another wave of frustration welling up in his chest.
After leaving the Lizheng’s house, Patriarch Xue returned home, with Xue Tingxiang accompanying him.
At the gates of Patriarch Xue’s house, the Old Patriarch turned to Xue Tingxiang and said, “Alright, there is no need to accompany this old man anymore.”
“Granduncle.”
“You’re not bad at all. You have brought honour to our Xue family.”
Xue Tingxiang gave him a shy little smile, “Granduncle, I cannot bear seeing everyone getting so angry and anxious over the matter. Since there is a way for me to help, it is only natural for me to assist.”
Patriarch Xue patted him on the shoulder. “Alright, you little rascal, there’s no need to put on an act in front of this old man. Granduncle doesn’t care what your plan is. So long as it benefits the interest of our Xue family, all is well!”
With that, he started to hum a little-known tune as he stepped into the courtyard. It had been a long time since he had the opportunity to put down someone in such a satisfying manner. As he savoured Zheng Lizheng’s frustrated face, Patriarch Xue felt that he could eat a few extra bowls of rice that night.
Tingxiang stood at Patriarch Xue’s gate for a moment longer.
So long as it is in the best interest of the Xue family.
As long as it brought honour to the Xue family, or better yet, suppressed the Zheng family at the same time, it was considered a good thing. This was the very leverage that Xue Tingxiang used to persuade Patriarch Xue to step in.
Patriarch Xue had always been this way. It was because of this reason that he had once supported Xue Qingshan. It was why he had leaned on Old Man Xue so strongly to send Xue Gouzi to the academy instead of Xue Juncai. It was all for the sake of the family’s reputation. Therefore, when Xue Tingxiang proposed this plan to him, he did not hesitate to stand on Xue Tingxiang’s side to achieve his own goals and bully Zheng Lizheng a little.
Xue Tingxiang smirked to himself a little before turning to leave.
In fact, Zheng Lizheng handled the transfer of the deed quite neatly, realising that it was not something that could be delayed any longer. The very next day, the deed was processed.
Soon after, the villagers gathered at his house to collect their share of the money from the sale of the land. However, Zhao’er did not participate, nor did Xue Tingxiang.
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“For you.”
Xue Tingxiang handed the land deed, stamped with a bold red seal, to Zhao’er. Contrary to his expectations, she did not look too happy.
To be honest, she had been weighed down by something for the past few days.
Because Xue Tingxiang had been so busy running his scheme, he had not noticed her unusual mood until now. “What is wrong?”
Zhao’er let out a gusty sigh and cast a glance at him. Then, she said, “Do you know why I added a few dozen more taels onto the payment of the land?”
Xue Tingxiang pursed his lips but said nothing. He pulled on an attentive look on his face, inviting her to explain.
Yet, at that moment, Zhao’er was at a loss about how to put her thoughts into words. In the end, she simply said, “Don’t do something like this in the future.”
It made Xue Tingxiang uncomfortable to see Zhao’er acting like this. It did not help that her awkward way of speaking brought to mind the quarrels his dream-self had with the other Zhao’er. After marriage, the two had quarrelled a lot. Although Zhao’er was unwilling to quarrel and his dream-self often held back from starting fights, their relationship was rarely harmonious.
Though he did not speak his views out loud, he strongly believed that he was in the right. As for Zhao’er, she would act in the way she believed was right without saying anything to him; if she could not do as she pleased, she would maintain a mutinous silence. This frustrated his dream-self since he believed that she was not considerate of him, only wishing to do things her way. Even so, even though she acted as she pleased, she was not happy either. Somehow, no matter how both sides refrained from open quarrels, neither ended up happy.
“You think I did a bad thing?” He suddenly said, voice taut with tension.
Zhao’er sighed inwardly but forced a smile. “Let’s not talk about this anymore. It’s still a good thing in the end.”
In fact, she could not put all the blame on him for this incident. Her little man could not have pulled this scheme off on his own. She was the one who had acted behind the scenes and fanned the flames of public discontent. However, she had not expected matters to turn out so seriously. What was more, she had been shocked by Xue Tingxiang’s skill at manipulating people.
During the early stages of the plan, she had even felt gleeful and clever over the idea of tricking someone into letting them get hold of the land. However, when she went up to the mountain and saw the smiles on the villagers’ faces as they toiled the land, whatever joy she had felt vanished without a trace.
She could not even say what she felt so unhappy about, not to mention guilty. It felt like she was deceiving the entire village, not just the Lizheng for her own selfish gains. It’s not like the village owed her anything, so what made it right for them to trick the entire village just because they wanted to do things with a little less trouble?
The effortless way in which they had manipulated so many people left Zhao’er feeling uneasy, which was why she had consulted with Xue Qinghuai and the others on the pretext of using their partnership funds to purchase the land. She did this even though she could have gotten her hands on the land with just her own money. After the discussion, the amount was set at 50 taels more than she had initially intended to invest.
“You think I did a bad thing?”
“Gou’er, we…”
“So, you do think I did a bad thing!” Xue Tingxiang stated as he pressed his lips even more tightly, his jaw clenched as he stared at her.
“No, I don’t think you did a bad thing. I know you’re just trying to do your best and get things done, I just…”
“You just what?”
“I just feel that we shouldn’t deceive people so casually. No matter what, we should strive to achieve what we want through upright means. That is… we shouldn’t make a fool of other people and toy with them… You can’t know what I felt when I saw those people toiling so happily up on the mountain. I… my heart felt very uneasy… I believe that people should respect others and not play around with their fate just because they are cleverer… I felt… I felt very bad…”
Zhao’er’s little speech became increasingly close to babbling at the end. Xue Tingxiang’s eyes seemed to grow darker and darker, and there appeared to be a heavy sort of pressure around him.
However, Zhao’er was still rambling on half-coherently, apparently unaware of his increasingly dark mood.
“Gou’er, Elder Sis knows that you’re clever. Even back when everyone said that Xue Juncai was the clever one, I knew that my Gou’er was so much cleverer than him. But, even though you are clever, you shouldn’t rely on your cleverness as a crutch… That is, you should use your cleverness for good and go down the right path…
Seeing you like this really worries me. We deceived so many people today, but what if we’re deceived by someone cleverer and stronger? Also, doing things this way is just… too easy, don’t you think so? Elder Sis is afraid that you would one day get bored by the easy victories and try something even more dangerous and bring heaven-flooding disaster down on your head…”
Something more dangerous? What could be more dangerous? Controlling the court? Toying with the emperor’s power?
In truth, Zhao’er was right. He really was this kind of person. Hadn’t he gotten bored playing games and winning through schemes to the point of messing about with powers that were not his? He was a selfish person who prioritised self-interest above all else, a schemer who had no eyes for imperial law and no respect for rules. He had never cared about others or who got hurt as he trampled over them to achieve his goals.
Zhao’er never had any formal education. Therefore, though she understood many profound principles, she could not express herself well. Even so, Xue Tingxiang could understand the meaning behind her slightly garbled words.
His immediate reaction was to sneer and scoff at her words, feeling that it was not worth his time to even explain his actions. However, as she continued to ramble, his thoughts inevitably followed and… he realised that she was saying all of that because she was concerned for him.
In short, was the extra 50 silver taels added to the amount he had suggested… because she feared that one day someone would criticise his behaviour if it got out that he had masterminded a scheme to purchase the land? She must know that it was not something he was willing to hear, but she insisted on speaking her mind anyway.
The heavy pressure that had been hanging about him silently dispersed. Xue Tingxiang relaxed the tight muscles around his jaw and lips.
Instead of criticising her confused babbling, he said, “Then, have you thought about what legitimate means we could have relied on to acquire this piece of land?”
“We could…”
“Indeed, we could have gone directly to Zheng Lizheng. With a bit of effort and money, we could have secured the land. However, have you thought about what would happen next? I can tell that you value this piece of land very much and have great plans for it. With your abilities, I’m sure you will make a lot of money from that land. However, have you thought about what to do once someone becomes jealous and tries to cause trouble? It may be possible to handle one or two people, but what if half of the village becomes jealous of your success?”
Zhao’er opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Xue Tingxiang stopped her with a finger to her lips. “And don’t bother bringing up the deed or honour. You should understand how things truly work in the countryside!”
Zhao’er was stunned, as though struck by lightning.
That’s right, ah. The countryside operated on a different set of rules than larger towns or cities. The laws of the land were only as powerful as the people in charge of the village decided them to be. At times, the power of law could be compared to a family with a large number of men. In a small village, families with more men in their household held the most power.
Zhao’er had once seen two villagers fight over water during the drought years. Even though someone died in the fight, nothing happened to the killer. The government could not do anything because there were too many people involved, and no one knew exactly who had killed him. Two elders from the village sat down together, and after a line from you and a word from him, that person’s death was settled just like that.
She had also seen families with no male heirs where the man had died, leaving only widows and orphans behind. If the clan decided to, they could force the helpless widows and children out of the house and land, handing the property to a relative with the same surname under the pretext of preserving the family line.
“Zheng Lizheng has always seen the Xue family as their great enemy. Even if we did put in the effort and purchase the land through legal means, should anyone decide to stir the pot, he would not hesitate to stir things up in the shadows. Also, don’t forget that above us, there’s Grandfather and Grandmother, as well as the main branch people. So long as we still live under this roof and so long as we carry the surname Xue, we have to be on our guard.
I know you really want this piece of land. That was why I used certain methods to obtain it. It helped that the methods also happened to eliminate certain future worries. However, if you don’t like it, I won’t do something like this again.”
The more he spoke, the sadder and more morose his tone became. The brilliance in his eyes dimmed like a gem that had lost its shine.
Xue Tingxiang’s sad expression immediately sent Zhao’er into a panic.
“I’m not saying that you’re wrong. I just-” She scrambled for something comforting to say to her sensitive little man, she finally sighed and said, “Aih, this is all my fault. I shouldn’t have accused you. I was just worried that you picked up some bad things…”
Xue Tingxiang suddenly smiled. His gloomy eyes brightened with a warm glow as he beamed like a sly little child. “Then again, there is no need for you to worry. Once I become a Xiu Cai, there’s no need for us to use these underhanded methods any more.”
“Gou’er…”
“Since you accused me wrongly, you should compensate me. I have always wanted you to kiss me. So, just kiss me once as compensation.”
Uh…
[Gumihou: Uh…]
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