[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful":3,"chapter-even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-chapter-57":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Even a Gentleman Must Be Careful",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2268677,4429,"Chapter 57: Fifty-Seven: Sweet Talk Let Off the Hook?","even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-chapter-57",57,"\u003Cp>Fifty-Seven: Sweet Talk Let Off the Hook?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just eat your meal, stop staring at my face—pass the dishes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On Lu Ming Street, behind the county magistrate’s residence, beside the courtyard of a grand hall, Ouyang Rong, Xie Ling, and Yan Liulang sat together at a table eating after many days apart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong set down his bowl and looked up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling and Yan Liulang immediately lowered their heads and kept eating, perfectly in sync.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young county magistrate sighed… Fine, my little sister eats my looks, but Yan Liulang, you too? You eat just to stare at my face?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He placed a pair of chopsticks and bowl on the table beside him for Liu Ashan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That morning, Ouyang Rong had been busy with the large sand table simulating flood control in the magistrate’s backyard; Xie Ling and Yan Liulang came to discuss matters with him, and by noon, Ye Weilai and Ban Xi arrived to bring them lunch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong did not let the two young maids serve them; instead, he had Liu Ashan escort the reluctant girls back to Mei Lu Yuan, mainly because that silver-haired maid was too clingy—Xie Ling and Yan Liulang were both present, and he felt embarrassed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong turned to glance at the enormous sand table in the courtyard; though it was noon, the sky beyond the eaves had grown dim, as if a storm was brewing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Has anything been widely discussed in the county lately?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He picked up his bowl again and asked casually while picking up food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling and Yan Liulang couldn’t help glancing at him again—surely he didn’t truly not know what everyone’s been talking about these past two days?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Liulang was the first to speak: “The common folk have been buzzing about the magistrate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Me? What’s there to buzz about?” The young magistrate paused mid-bite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thanks to your daily opening of the granaries to distribute cheap grain, rice prices in Long City have nearly collapsed—no one foolishly buys high-priced grain anymore; everyone waits for the ‘five-cash grain’ in the morning. Local and out-of-town grain merchants are now scrambling to offload their stock, and the current highest price for rice in Long City is no more than nine cash per dou.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Liulang finally let out a long-held breath, pointing as he spoke:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Earlier, when you lifted the grain rationing to attract merchants, didn’t some people claim you were secretly selling grain from your own family? Now all those people have fallen silent. The common folk are overjoyed to get cheap grain and say you’re a good official, carrying on the legacy of the late Di Fuzi, who once relieved famine and controlled floods.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling smiled faintly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Also, your single status—arriving alone in office with no house, no concubines—is now the talk of the streets. And the day before yesterday, when you went to the Horse Market to buy a maid, you brought back a silver-haired girl instead…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The townsfolk say you’re a true upright official—honest, selfless, compassionate. These stories have already spread to neighboring counties… Every other county magistrate has multiple concubines, but only you show no interest in women.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young magistrate’s mouth twitched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why does being praised by the people feel so unpleasing? Hmm… even a single dog gets compliments, right?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong was not uninterested in beauty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Quite the opposite—he was a seasoned rogue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now he only wanted to build his career; after relieving famine and controlling floods, he felt more like a passerby than a returnee—what ties did he need to keep? Unless he couldn’t go back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, while maintaining this upright gentleman facade, he feared he might lose control, especially around girls like his little sister, Ye Weilai, and Ban Xi—who never guarded themselves around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Enough of these irrelevant topics.” Ouyang Rong shook his head and asked instead: “How are the grain merchants faring now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Liulang chuckled:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Following your orders, I’ve been delaying the cases against Ma the Merchant and Li the Merchant, and the warehouse inspections at the docks have been paused. These merchants were frantic a few days ago—every day someone came to pressure us for progress, especially Ma and Li.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But every time they pressed me, I told them the magistrate had ordered a temporary halt to investigations to continue warehouse inspections. Yet these two hesitated each time—they’re scared. So I kept dragging it out… By the way, these past two days they haven’t come at all. I wonder if they’ve sensed something.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They’re all thousand-year-old foxes—they understand ‘Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio’ perfectly.” Ouyang Rong smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“‘Strange Tales’?” Xie Ling asked curiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong didn’t explain; he asked her: “Has any grain merchant come looking for me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His little sister replied crisply:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve been busy with the sand table in the backyard these past two days. Wang Cao and several other merchants came privately, but as you instructed, I turned them all away with excuses.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong asked further: “What excuses did you give?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling glanced at him: “The illness from your previous drowning—still not fully recovered, lingering damage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong nodded and turned to ask: “With so much ‘five-cash grain’ released from the public granary, how much do we have left?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Liulang seemed prepared—he dipped his finger in water and traced figures on the table, then looked up and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Including the grain converted from silver donated by Liu Ziwén and thirteen other local gentry before the Dragon Boat Festival, plus the grain we secretly bought at inflated prices, minus losses from work-for-food relief… The county granary has now distributed over sixteen thousand shi, leaving fifteen thousand shi remaining.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong said directly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Keep ten thousand shi as reserve; sell off the remaining five thousand shi within three days.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He instructed Xie Ling: “After three days, if anyone comes again, bring them in.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, say your illness has cleared up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Liulang’s expression turned serious: “My lord, five thousand shi of grain probably won’t completely crash the grain prices.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young magistrate looked curious: “Who said I wanted to crash Long City’s grain prices?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, both Xie Ling and Yan Liulang were confused: “Then how else will you force them to sell cheap?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why do I need to force them to sell cheap?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling and Yan Liulang exchanged glances and blurted out:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Obviously—we buy up all their grain cheaply, and then we’ll never lack grain again!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong laughed and shook his head, then teased: “Little sister, Wang Cao’s your cousin-in-law—he calls you ‘sister’ every time he sees you, so sweetly. Yet you’re hoping he loses everything, even his undergarments?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling wrinkled her delicate nose: “I already said I’m not close to him—and merchants like him deserve it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She paused, noticing her brother’s silent smile, then turned her head away, her gaze drifting toward the courtyard, softly: “He’s just calling me that out of habit… Brother… you’re not going to let him off the hook just because he’s sweet-talking, are you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong first blinked, then realized she meant the time Wang Cao had called him “brother-in-law.” He shook his head: “That’s not it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They all said he’s just shouting nonsense, Senior Brother… you’re not seriously going to let him off because he’s sweet-talking, are you?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The little sister’s chopsticks poked at a few soft grains of rice in her bowl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong no longer teased—he turned directly to Xie Ling and Yan Liulang:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have no time to play games with them until they’re ruined. Besides, I suspect Liu Ziwén won’t just watch me feast. And from day one, I said I came to Long City for only one thing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling’s eyes gleamed as she looked at the calm magistrate before her and finished: “Relieve famine. Control floods. Deliver justice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong nodded: “Carry out my instructions.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Lingjiang’s eyes gleamed brightly as she looked at the calm Senior Brother at the table and added: “Relief for disaster, flood control, justice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling and Yan Liulang both bowed in unison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The grand hall, dim despite midday, flashed with lightning, then thunder rolled in belatedly, followed by a slow drizzle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside, the hall smelled of ancient incense; outside, the plum rain fell—there was the flavor of southern Jiangnan… Oh, right, this *is* a Jiangnan ancient town.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong rose and walked to the moss-covered eaves, reaching out to catch a raindrop, studying it closely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind him, Yan Liulang’s joyful voice rang out: “Wonderful, my lord—it’s plum rain! The grain piled in the dock warehouses will spoil faster—the merchants will panic!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young magistrate shook his head and murmured: “The floodwaters from Yunmeng Marsh are coming soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared at the sand table through the rain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here it comes! Cough, cough—dear brothers, are you all back at school… (fog)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The great flood of Yunmeng Marsh is coming soon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared at the sand table through the rain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here it comes! Cough cough, aren’t our good brothers off to school… (fog)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1500,"2026-06-19T21:28:25.445Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","d5cc3f6009df39c57ba386f6255af6a2ac82f6e025cad2f3ff3ddb337835b918","even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-chapter-58","even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-chapter-56",864,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Feven-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-cover.jpg"]