Chapter 116

Murong Feiyan said, "You dare to insult me, you little brat—believe it or not, I'll twist off each of your ten fingers one by one."

"There's no need to be so vicious… In my hometown, only intimate people talk like that." Hu Xiaotian wasn't lying—without intimacy, how could you just casually do that?

"Bullshit! You think I don't know what that means? You can say it to whoever you want, just not to me." In terms of eloquence Murong Feiyan can't match him, but in terms of strength she can take him down in a minute.

"I won't say, I won't say… I'll never say it again!"

Murong Feiyan finally released Hu Xiaotian's fingers. Hu Xiaotian looked at his reddened index finger, "You little brat, fierce enough—someday I'll get you back, not just get you back, I'll also shout 'damn!' into your ear, and this index finger of mine will definitely have its revenge—not that I won't retaliate, a gentleman's revenge may take ten years, but it's not late." He pursed his lips, feigning pity: "My fingers are about to be twisted off by you."

Murong Feiyan had no idea he harbored so many petty thoughts: "You deserve it!"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Don't always think ill of me; actually I can barely be considered upright."

"A truly upright person would never do such petty things."

Hu Xiaotian knew she was referring to Le Yao's matter, sighed and said, "It's a long story; I'll tell you the details another day." He didn't want to dwell on the topic of the young widow/woman, after all he harbored some improper thoughts about it, so he hastily changed the subject: "The shopkeeper Liu's son has indeed become a bit hot-headed; with his temperament, who knows what trouble he might stir up later—letting a young man suffer some setbacks and hardship isn't necessarily a bad thing."

Murong Feiyan looked at him with a scornful face, constantly saying others are young while not looking at her own age. Although she scorned him, she couldn't deny that what Hu Xiaotian said made sense. She still felt some worry: "What if the Wan family colludes with the government to harm Liu Kuohai?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Even without state law, there's heavenly principle; even if Xu Qinglian is wholly biased, he wouldn't dare secretly harm Liu Kuohai's life—Liu Kuohai coming to cause trouble, even if handled impartially, he still couldn't escape punishment. I think Xu Qinglian, to show fairness, will most likely hold a public trial, and the trial won't be held too soon."

Murong Feiyan found it strange. How could Hu Xiaotian be certain the trial wouldn't be held too soon?

Hu Xiaotian, however, had his own reasoning: given Xu Qinglian's reputation for greed abroad, this guy would certainly not pass up such a lucrative opportunity—he'd likely extort the plaintiff and then heavily extort the defendant as well; if you don't court death, you won't die. Let you, you greedy bastard, as long as I catch your handle, heh heh, I'll slap off your official hat, the chief seat of this county office. I'm destined to sit there, Hu Xiaotian's desire for power, unbeknownst to himself, sprouted like bamboo shoots after spring rain.

After arriving in Qingyun, Hu Xiaotian felt like a wealthy man for the first time—three hundred taels of gold, which is no small sum, more than the pocket money he brought from the capital; an ordinary family could live comfortably for a lifetime with that.

Once people have money, they inevitably become extravagant; Hu Xiaotian, whether in his past or present life, is no one who practices thrift. After lunch that day, he took Liang Da Zhuang out shopping, while Murong Feiyan's whereabouts were unknown—actually she was there. She had no interest in accompanying Hu Xiaotian on leisurely strolls, and she had always disliked his spoiled aristocratic airs. "Rich and mighty?" she thought, "All that copper-stench."

Hu Xiaotian first went to the silk shop and had several outfits made—Buddha needs gold adornment, people need clothing. Going out, especially as the local administrator of Qingyun County, a few decent sets of clothes are essential, so he specially brought along the small sketches he'd drawn, which included a collared shirt, straight trousers, and even undershirt vests with round‑mouth cloth shoes, and even the loose shorts commonly worn in summer he sketched out. Although these garments aren't fit for going out, wearing them at home would surely be comfortable; long robes and overcoats are likewise needed. As for these, Hu Xiaotian didn't need to rack his brain—just take whatever fabric is good, make whatever is fashionable, and incidentally he also made a few sets of surgical garments, cutting out drapes, disinfecting cloths, and the like; heaven knows when they might be useful, but it's always good to be prepared.

After ordering the clothes, he went to the horse market together with Liang Da Zhuang—in this day and age, traveling without a horse or carriage is simply impossible; Qingyun County's horse market can't compare to the capital's, it's tiny, and after looking around there's no good horse to be found—in fact Hu Xiaotian and Liang Da Zhuang are laymen; even if a thousand‑mile horse stood before them, they wouldn't recognize it. They picked two sturdy tall horses and bought a carriage, finally having transport again.

Finally, Hu Xiaotian braved the risk and went to the place where the Black Miao tribe sold silver ornaments, buying a pair of bracelets and a hairpin for Murong Feiyan; that day he saw her lingering at the stall, reluctant to leave, and he kept it in mind. Regarding girls, he has always been very attentive.

Returning to the inn with a cart full of purchased spoils, Murong Feiyan, when facing Hu Xiaotian, had the sensation of confronting a nouveau riche landlord.

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "When the serfs stand up and sing, having money means you must spend it—otherwise how could you promote Dakang's economic prosperity?" He summoned Murong Feiyan to his room and secretly handed her the bracelets and hairpin.

Upon seeing the silver ornaments he handed over, Murong Feiyan's pretty face involuntarily flushed, revealing a rare maiden's bashful shyness: "Why are you giving me things for no reason?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "We share weal and woe; since I have meat to eat, you naturally deserve soup to drink." He spoke as if it were obvious, yet everyone knows his hidden motive—Sima Zhao's heart is known to all—Murong Feiyan faintly guessed he might have another agenda, but she still accepted the silver ornaments, whispering, "I've taken the things, but don't think this little gift can buy me."

Hu Xiaotian smiled narrowly, "I certainly don't mean that." He secretly thought, sugar‑coated cannonball—don't think that stripping off my sugar coating means anything; sooner or later I'll strip you naked and then see how you block my cannonballs. Hu Xiaotian's talent for fantasizing has absolutely reached a top‑tier level.

Before his butt even touched the stool, the Wan mansion sent another gift—Wan Ting Sheng had awakened, but the road to recovery was still long; moreover, Hu Xiaotian had secretly laid a feng shui trap, and Wan Boh Ping, needing his help, naturally dared not offend him lightly.

The gifts were several bolts of fine silk and satin, all premium goods transported from Jiangnan, incomparable to the ordinary fabric Hu Xiaotian had just bought at the silk shop. Two of the bolts were clearly for women's use, so Hu Xiaotian naturally passed the silk on to Murong Feiyan; she probably also understood the sugar‑coated cannonball logic—strip off the coating and fire the cannonball back at him—and she gratefully accepted all these gifts he sent.

The owner of Fulai Inn, Su Guangju, also learned today that Hu Xiaotian had once posted the Wan family's bounty notice; seeing the Wan family come over with gifts, he vaguely guessed Hu Xiaotian might have cured Wan Ting Sheng's illness. Wan Ting Sheng's condition had been the talk of the town since yesterday—every notable physician in Qingyun County had been summoned, yet without exception they were all driven out in disgrace. Even the head of the Spring‑Return Hall, Liu Danggui, was expelled, showing how grave Wan Ting Sheng's injury was; yet Hu Xiaotian had actually posted the bounty and come out unscathed, reportedly escorted out respectfully by Wan Boh Ping. Looking at his previous attire, which was very plain, yet this time returning from the Wan mansion he had not only bought a carriage and horses but also purchased many other things; seeing the Wan family again send over bolts of silk and satin, Su Guangju grew ever more suspicious, feeling this young man was certainly no ordinary person.

Liu Danggui inquired at the government office and learned that his son had been taken by those constables into the county hall and immediately thrown into jail; County Magistrate Xu Qinglian was said to have left the city to inspect the embankment of the Tongji River, leaving only the chief clerk on duty in the county. Liu Danggui also heard that the Wan family had let word out that they would certainly investigate this matter to the end; he was terrified, his mind in turmoil—the Wan family wielded great power, while he was merely an ordinary physician in Qingyun County, how could he stand up to them? Moreover, this time it was his son who had come to the door to cause trouble, so the lawsuit was surely a lost cause. Liu Danggui pondered back and forth— to undo the bell one must still tie it; this affair still required him to go to the Wan family to apologize, yet the Wan family's gate was not easy to enter. Liu Danggui tried again and was turned away by two vicious servants.

Su Guangju felt deep sympathy for his old neighbor's plight, but there was nothing he could do; when the Wan family people came over, he initially thought they were looking for trouble at the Spring‑Return Hall, only to realize upon arrival that they were actually delivering gifts to Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian's current state is precisely one of spring‑time success—no worries about food or drink, and he still has a great deal of gold in hand; to him this is merely the first step, as long as his plan succeeds, Wan Boh Ping that old fox will continue to send him gold endlessly; what he lacks now is authority. Tomorrow, upon taking office, he will become the assistant magistrate of Qingyun County, the county's unequivocal second‑in‑command; after enduring hardships and trials, Hu Xiaotian finally feels that his suffering has turned to sweetness, and even in his dreams he can't help but laugh.

The knocking at the door shattered Hu Xiaotian's beautiful dream; he felt a bit vexed, covering his head with a pillow, the lovely dream disturbed, he wanted to get up but noticed a certain part of his body was erect—then he recalled he had just had a spring dream, the female lead being the young widow/woman Le Yao, vaguely remembering they were about to engage in intimate contact, only to be interrupted by the knocking. Hu Xiaotian drew a deep breath, threw off the covers, and gave his body a quick cool‑down by exposing it to the air.

The knocking continued, unhurried and steady, sounding very polite; Hu Xiaotian was visibly impatient: "Who is it?"

A cautious, respectful voice from outside replied: "It's me!"

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