Chapter 49: Forty-Nine: Little Sister: I Won

Forty-Nine: Little Sister: I Won’t Leech Off Him (Thank you, “TalkativeNuisance,” my bro for the Silver Support!)

That loud “Good Brother-in-Law!” nearly sent some in the county magistrate’s hall into blackout.

Even Ouyang Rong nearly broke composure.

But the most embarrassed person in the hall was surely the Xie noblewoman hiding behind the back hall.

As for Wang Cao himself, his face didn’t flush a bit; even after Ouyang Rong spat tea mist in his face, he calmly wiped his face, his gaze still tender—and once he’d shouted “brother-in-law,” the words came easier with each repetition.

Originally, Ouyang Rong had planned a role for Xie Lingjiang in this grand courtroom drama, as he’d promised her before—to play along with him.

So toward the end of the drama, the female private secretary would step out to deliver a few thunderous lines, and if needed, with her righteous indignation persona, she could even scold her senior brother as a corrupt official shielding merchants… followed by another round of tussling.

But this unexpected “brother-in-law” left the woman behind the curtain too flustered to show her face.

Wang Cao had no shame, but she had a thin skin and cared about her dignity.

Think of it—this righteous female private secretary secretly involved with a corrupt official shielding merchants? In public, she denounced him with holy light; behind closed doors, what had actually happened? The image was too grotesque to imagine…

Still, that “brother-in-law” slightly disrupted the plan, but Ouyang Rong and Yan Liulang adapted on the fly, finished the courtroom drama swiftly, reached a rough agreement on grain inspection, and dismissed the grain merchants—some pleased, some anxious.

Watching Yan Liulang lead the crowd out, the young county magistrate brushed dust off his sleeve, chuckled softly, turned, and walked to the back hall. He pushed open the door and saw Little Sister seated sideways on the railing beneath the funnel-shaped courtyard, tossing fish feed into the water with a flick of her wrist.

Xie Lingjiang’s expression looked perfectly calm.

Ouyang Rong approached.

“No wonder your cousin likes sweet zongzi—your mouth’s coated in honey.”

“What about me?”

“Looks salty, but sweet inside—sharp tongue, soft heart.”

Xie Lingjiang’s lips curved slightly, then vanished. “You don’t look like someone who eats salty zongzi.”

Ouyang Rong smiled and changed the subject.

“How about switching the order? Let your cousin go first?”

“Because he called you brother-in-law?” Xie Lingjiang asked without turning her head.

“No,” Ouyang Rong shook his head. “Because whether we switch or not, the result’s the same.”

Xie Lingjiang stared straight ahead, bit her lip, and said: “Put him last.”

“Fine.”

She tossed another handful of fish feed, voice level: “He’s just blabbering. Don’t take it seriously.”

“Oh.”

Perhaps because her senior brother answered too quickly and too readily, Little Sister fell silent. The air beside the courtyard grew cold.

Ouyang Rong seemed oblivious to the tension, turned, and waved his hand:

“Let’s go eat.” His movements were crisp and clean; before leaving, he added: “Don’t overfeed the fish. You’ll foul the water.”

“… ” Xie Lingjiang.

Alone beside the back hall courtyard, she turned to gaze at the empty courtroom, stunned.

After a moment, she lifted the fish feed box, as if to dump it all into her senior brother’s pond—then paused mid-air, set the box down, and walked off with a stiff face.

She had food to eat.

I won’t leech off him.

…

The inspection order was set.

Ma’s and Li’s grain stores were inspected together, but Ma received more personnel. Wang Cao and the other grain merchants still waited in line.

Even now, Longcheng’s grain prices remained high; the ban order from Jiangzhou on Dragon Boat Festival had only slightly lowered market prices.

Eighteen taels per dou.

Still hugely profitable.

Clearly, outside merchants were still holding firm, and many local gentry were watching and waiting.

Within Longcheng County, grain merchants with stockpiles held varied attitudes—some scrambling for escape time, others hoping prices would stay stable.

So Ma wasn’t in a hurry to leave Longcheng immediately, nor to ship out all his stock.

The merchant’s shrewdness led him to first obtain the official transit permit, ship out a portion of his clean grain, secure warehouse space, and if a crash came soon after, be the first to flee—with minimal losses among all grain merchants.

If prices stayed stable and he could keep milking the market, he could always bring the grain back later—water transport was convenient, as long as the warehouse gates weren’t locked. Ma’s warehouse space was as flexible as his moral compass.

As for Ma’s earlier flattery and promises of family favors before the young county magistrate, they were all empty formalities—discarded the moment he left Longcheng. Whether he honored them depended on circumstances—also flexible.

In truth, as a noble’s white glove, Ma had little real power. In this era, merchants held low status and had to cling to power brokers, using their influence as a shield.

That afternoon, Ma received another good piece of news.

Yan Liulang and his men had finished inspecting Ma’s first warehouse at the dock—roughly a thousand shi of grain.

From the county office, Ma learned he could obtain the transit permit early and ship out the cleared portion immediately.

Ma’s square face broke into a wide grin. Under the cold stares of fellow merchants, he accepted two canal boat transit permits from the smiling County Magistrate Ouyang.

After more polite promises, the young magistrate not only saw Ma off with courtesy but dispatched the assistant magistrate to accompany him to Penglang Ferry, helping organize local porters and boatmen so his grain could be loaded and depart that very night!

The County Magistrate Ouyang truly kept his word—no obstruction whatsoever. From the Longcheng county office to Penglang Ferry, all paperwork flowed smoothly.

Ma was quite satisfied, even developing some fondness for the young magistrate—until he reconsidered: his grain was clean anyway; the court’s fuss was just noise. Of course the magistrate should serve him well—now he felt perfectly at ease…

Master Ma was quite satisfied, developing a certain fondness for the young county magistrate, but then he thought again: his grain had always been clean; it was merely the court making a fuss—this magistrate serving him so diligently was only proper, and he instantly felt much more at ease…

Ma stood on the steps, sleeves tucked, smiling as bare-chested porters carried sacks of grain onto the boats.

The low labor costs in Longcheng due to the disaster pleased him—he’d save more.

Though only a thousand shi had been inspected, a small fraction of his total stockpile, it had already filled two medium-sized canal boats to the brim.

Spotting fellow merchants watching silently nearby, Ma walked over, greeted Wang Cao and others. They offered forced smiles, some not even replying.

The merchants exchanged a few words, but the once-united grain circle now lacked its former familiarity. Soon, silence fell.

Ma didn’t care. He casually suggested: “Why not all go have dinner together later?”

Only the first batch of grain was being shipped; the bulk still sat in Longcheng. He wouldn’t leave on tonight’s boat, and grain prices hadn’t dropped yet.

Wang Cao and the others exchanged glances, each offering excuses to decline.

Ma smiled dismissively. Then a junior clerk ran up: “Master, both canal boats are fully loaded, but it’s mealtime—should we let the boatmen and crew eat before setting off?”

Master Ma smiled dismissively, when suddenly a junior clerk ran up: “Master, both grain barges are fully loaded, but it’s mealtime—should we let the boatmen and crew eat before setting off?”

“Eat? Eat? Eat? You’re getting paid to work, not to eat! Who gets such luxury? Get them moving now—no dawdling! Half pay if they delay!”

The clerk bowed and hurried off to urge the crew.

Soon, the two canal boats cut through the river, its surface gilded by the orange sunset, slowly pulling away from the dock.

The sun sank below the horizon, night crept in, cloaking the ancient ferry.

Ma stood on a high bank, squinting after them. Other merchants watched the lone silhouettes of the two boats on the river, faces complex, sighed, and prepared to leave.

Ma caught sight of departing merchants out of the corner of his eye. He tucked his sleeves, whistled a tune, and caught up to them, calling out:

Out of the corner of his eye, Master Ma spotted the grain merchant colleague leaving; he tucked his hands into his sleeves, whistled a little tune, and hurried after them, calling out to stop them.

Wang Cao and the others turned.

Ma warmly clasped their arms, shook his head: “Hey, no need to be downcast. In a few days, when your grain’s cleared, you’ll be able to ship out too…”

Wang Cao suddenly froze, murmuring: “Ma… Ma Manager.”

Ma, facing away from the ferry, smiled: “What? Want to join me for a drink again?”

“N-no… not that… you… seem…”

“What?” Ma touched his own face, curious.

Then he noticed—under the dim night, Wang Cao and the merchants beside him were staring blankly at his back, their eyes reflecting something red on the river.

Huh? The sun had set—why was there still a sun?

Ma turned around curiously.

And in the eyes of the tall middle-aged grain merchant, two red suns appeared… no, not suns—two flames, dancing on the river beneath the night sky.

The Great River—two canal boats had become fire ships.

Ma stood stunned. Wang Cao, who’d been watching for a while, opened his mouth: “It… seems… your grain’s gone.”

“…???” Someone collapsed to the ground.

Master Ma was still stunned when Wang Cao, who had been watching for a while, opened his mouth and blurted: “It seems… your grain is gone.”

Forty-Nine: Little Sister: I Won’t Leech Off Him (Thank you, “TalkativeNuisance,” my bro for the Silver Support!). Yet no one questioned the origin of this ability—after all, the Peacock Demon Clan’s innate talent was precisely Star-Turning and Sky-Shifting. Her technique was akin in essence.

After deflecting Cao Yuwei’s attack, the Lady of Beauty did not press forward, remaining still.

Cao Yuwei frowned. Was this girl’s perception so sharp? After igniting his flame armor, he had other techniques ready—if she’d attacked, he’d have seized her with them. But she didn’t advance, forcing his prepared ability to stall.

His battle blade slashed again, its intent fiercer than before. Cao Yuwei moved with the blade, merging man and weapon, charging straight at the Lady of Beauty.

The Lady of Beauty wielded her Tianji Feather again, forming the Celestial Circle, then instantly teleported to a new position—deflecting his attack and breaking his lock. In the next instant, she was elsewhere. The gold-red glow on Cao Yuwei’s body flickered out—if she’d been slower, another ability would have struck.

A battle of endurance! She seemed determined to outlast Cao Yuwei.

The beautiful young lord’s Heavenly Mechanism Feather executed Heaven’s Mysterious Circle once more, followed by an instantaneous teleportation, shifting her position—dissipating the opponent’s attack while also breaking their lock-on. In the next instant, she was already on the other side. The golden-red light on Cao Yuwei’s body flickered and vanished; had she not dodged swiftly, another ability would surely have been triggered.

Please exit the translation page, please.

Yet no one questioned the origin of this ability—after all, the Peacock Demon Clan’s innate talent was precisely Star-Turning and Sky-Shifting. Her technique was akin in essence.

After deflecting Cao Yuwei’s attack, the Lady of Beauty did not press forward, remaining still.

Cao Yuwei frowned. Was this girl’s perception so sharp? After igniting his flame armor, he had other techniques ready—if she’d attacked, he’d have seized her with them. But she didn’t advance, forcing his prepared ability to stall.

After countering Cao Yuwei’s attack, the beautiful young master did not press forward but stood motionless in place.

Cao Yuwei frowned slightly—could this girl’s perception truly be so sharp? After donning his flame-armored form, he had other techniques ready; had the beautiful young master pressed her assault, he would have been certain to restrain her with them. But since she did not advance, his poised ability had to be cut short.

The battle knife slashed again, its blade intent stronger than before, and Cao Yuwei moved with the blade, becoming one with it, charging straight toward the Beautiful Lady.

The Beautiful Lady raised her Heaven’s Mechanism Feather once more, executing the Heavenly Mystical Circle, and in an instant teleported, shifting her position. As she neutralized his attack, she also broke his lock-on; the next instant, she was already on the other side. A flash of golden-red light flickered across Cao Yuwei’s body—if she had not dodged so swiftly, another ability would surely have descended.

Endurance battle! She seemed determined to outlast Cao Yuwei.

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