Chapter 142

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

A little was added at the end of the previous chapter yesterday; if any friends find the content doesn't connect, please flip back a page and refresh.

Lying on the ground was precisely Xiang Lin, the young scion of the Xiang family who had recently caused an uproar throughout Hua Prefecture City.

He was fast asleep, and despite being called several times in succession, he showed no reaction at all.

The steward hurriedly squatted down to push him, then turned and shouted loudly: "Go find Master Xiang! Go find Master Xiang!!!"

Several young servants who were still inside the room lifting the licorice cover all scrambled to rush out, but they got jammed at the doorway and tumbled out in a heap.

Song Miao turned her head and saw Liang Yan staring fixedly at the underside of the table inside the room, his fists clenched tight, his face flushed red, his whole soul seemingly gone, not knowing how to dodge; she hurriedly pulled him away.

Under the table, the steward pushed for a long while before Xiang Lin woke up with heavy sleepy eyes; seeing someone in front of him without looking clearly, he opened his mouth to complain: "Why have you been coming later and later these past two days?"

"Young Master, it's me!" The steward had no choice but to say.

Hearing the wrong tone, Xiang Lin opened his eyes and immediately trembled all over in shock, whispering: "Sheng Shu, why is it you?"

While saying this, he kept feeling his way to peek outside.

The steward helplessly said: "Master Xiang isn't here!"

He added: "For no reason at all, what are you hiding here for, Young Master? Don't you know they've been searching for you outside until the world turned upside down, neglecting the family business and leaving everything undone? Master Xiang used every connection and ounce of strength, searching everywhere, turning over all four counties of Hua Prefecture, nearly having to go to Yingzhou—thinking you'd been kidnapped by kidnappers!"

Xiang Lin hurriedly grabbed the steward's sleeve: "Sheng Shu, I know you've always looked after me; don't let my father find out! Please don't let my father find out I'm here!"

But these words came too late.

It was just the time Xiang Yuan returned, accompanied by the head of the Xie family; both were anxious and furious, their mouths blistered with worry. As soon as they entered, they saw several young servants bumping into them.

The servant running fastest saw Xiang Yuan and blurted out: "Master Xiang, we've found the young master!"

Xiang Yuan was stunned and could hardly react; he didn't even care to correct the "eldest/youngest" ranking, and hurriedly asked: "Where? How is the person? Is he intact??"

Another servant at the side quickly chimed in: "Fine, fine, not a single hair missing—the young master is currently in the room at the back!"

Xiang Yuan was in his prime, strong and sturdy, usually steady, but upon hearing this, his foot went soft as he stepped down the stairs, and he nearly missed a step.

Fortunately, the head of the Xie family beside him grabbed him and comforted him: "Younger brother, don't panic; the person has been found, and since he's unharmed, that's better than anything. Let's see if the child is frightened or has suffered any grievance!"

He added: "You must coax him well!"

The two almost ran all the way inside, while the servants sprinted with all their might just to stay a few steps ahead and lead the way.

But unexpectedly, they hadn't run far before several servants turned a corner, leading the people toward a storeroom on one side.

Seeing them heading to the storeroom, Xiang Yuan was stunned and about to ask, when he saw Song Miao and Liang Yan standing outside, along with several servants, and the storeroom's large door was open.

He had already sensed something was wrong by now; not bothering with this place, he caught sight of the steward squatting before a table, strode in, stepped forward, and before seeing anyone, he heard voices first.

"Sheng Shu, I truly didn't mean it; it was Xiao San and the others who said if I hid, I'd make Father anxious, let him know I was wronged and afraid, and then he wouldn't want to change Liang Yan's surname to Xiang anymore!"

"I didn't go anywhere; I've been staying right here. You must help cover for me and don't let Father find out, or he'll hit and scold me again!"

Though it made no sense at all, hearing these two sentences, how could Xiang Yuan not understand what had happened?

He felt a surge of rage rising from his heart and lungs, rushing straight to the crown of his head, nearly making his hair stand on end with anger.

The head of the Xie family beside him saw things were going badly and hurriedly stepped forward a few paces to pull him back.

Xiang Yuan waved his hand, suppressed his anger, stepped forward a few more paces, and looked down; he saw the position the steward was blocking, and under the table lay a mat from who knows where, a pillow, and a thin blanket.

To one side, there was also a copper pot, a pair of chopsticks, and several lotus leaves; on the lotus leaves were leftover dry steamed buns and side dishes—the dishes were ones he had eaten last night: stir-fried wood ear with pork shreds, and drunken quail mixed with vegetable gourd—the pork shreds and quail were both eaten, leaving only the wood ear and vegetable gourd lying there greasily.

And his own son had obvious red marks on half his face, all from the mat, his hair a mess, eye discharge not wiped away, looking as if he had just woken up.

—At this point, he was still trying to clear himself, blaming it all on others instigating him!

—At this point, he still knew to eat only meat and not the vegetables!

Xiang Yuan, angry to the point of laughing, called out in a sinister voice: "Xiang Lin!"

This call was less like calling a name and more like calling for his life.

Xiang Lin had been pleading with the steward; hearing the voice, he sat up in fright, kicked with his foot, and his head hit the tabletop—"Ouch" and "Clang" sounded at the same time.

The "Clang" was the copper pot placed at the tail of the mat being kicked over by him.

A stench of urine immediately spread.

Xiang Yuan's anger grew even greater.

—They'd even brought a urinal!

He looked left and right; the licorice stick beside him was short and small, not easy to use, and there were no other sticks. Anxious and angry, he shouted: "Xiang Lin, get out here!"

Xiang Lin was unwilling to move; he huddled in the corner, leaning against the wall, holding onto the steward to shield himself.

Xiang Lin wouldn't budge when called, and Xiang Yuan couldn't wait to call again; he stepped forward, pulled the steward away, and dragged Xiang Lin out.

Xiang Lin grabbed the table leg and refused to let go, shouting "Father" nonstop, and also yelling "I know I was wrong! Spare me!!"

Xiang Yuan had no patience for nonsense; he grabbed the person's leg and pulled him out, not bothering to look for any stick or rod, and used his hand to slap his son's buttocks several times in succession.

This succession of slaps carried his anger; though somewhat restrained, he still used seventy or eighty percent of his strength.

Before the slaps even landed, Xiang Lin let out a sharp, piercing "Ow" and started crying; but once the slaps truly landed, the crying finally became "real," nearly turning into wails and howls.

The head of the Xie family saw the situation was bad and hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, shouting: "Brother! Brother! He's your only son; do you still want your son? What will you do if you truly beat him bad or cripple him??"

Xiang Yuan sneered: "If I beat him bad or cripple him, I, his father, will raise him! Better to let him lie dead in bed than cause such trouble—I, his father, fight tooth and nail outside every day to earn him food and drink, and he pulls this! Such a son, better off without him!"

"The boy is just a bit naughty; it's not that serious! Just teach him well and it's over; weren't you obedient in everything when you were young?" The head of the Xie family hurriedly advised, and while advising, he made eye signals to the steward on the side.

The steward also desperately grabbed Xiang Yuan's hand and hurriedly called out: "Master Xiang, even if you don't want your own son, at least think of your late wife in the netherworld..."

By now Xiang Lin's face was covered in snot and tears; hearing the steward say "wife," he opened his mouth and wailed loudly, no longer calling "Father," but calling "Mother" instead.

He added: "You might as well beat me to death! Is the food and drink you earn for me?? You're earning it all for that Liang Yan; everyone says he's the bastard you fathered outside, brought back specially to share the spoils!!"

Xiang Yuan's eyes nearly split with rage, and he scolded: "Wretch, you say that again!"

Xiang Lin instead went all in, sobbing as he spoke: "I'll say it! My maternal grandfather, grandmother, and uncles all told me before, if it weren't for my mother's dowry back then, your business would never have gotten off the ground! Now my mother, my mother... my mother is gone, and you want to change the surname of a bastard sired outside and divide the family property, you ingrate! You Xiang-named, you son of a bitch!"

Shopkeeper Xie wished he could leave immediately, and even more wished his own two ears were deaf; for a moment letting go wasn't right, and not letting go wasn't right either.

Xiang Yuan had already broken free of the hands pulling him on both left and right sides, rushed up, and gave his son a fierce beating, shouting as he beat: "Where did you hear such nonsense! I'll teach you to not learn well! I'll teach you to spout rubbish! I'll teach you to stir up such chaos! You wretch, did I give birth to you to collect a debt?!"

For a moment the room was filled with unceasing wailing cries, and there were also people on the sides going up to persuade them.

Outside the room, Liang Yan heard Xiang Lin say he was Xiang Yuan's bastard, and his eyes went straight with anger, wanting to rush in; he rushed a few steps, but then stopped again, and stumbled back out in a daze, standing there soul-lost.

Song Miao saw his appearance, and also saw that inside wouldn't quiet down for a while; she sighed inwardly, but pulled him to one side, called to him, and asked: "How old are you?"

After a few breaths, Liang Yan returned to half his senses, and said: "Just last month I turned eight."

Song Miao then said: "That Young Master Han yesterday, do you remember? The one who ate at the same table."

Liang Yan nodded woodenly.

Song Miao then said: "Young Master Han previously helped make tables and chairs at my house, his skill is very solid — he started as an apprentice to an old carpenter at age six, later relied on making tables, chairs, cabinets and stools for people in the countryside to earn money for food, also earned money for paper and ink, and now studies at the Taixue, his learning is very good, he can support himself just on the court's subsidy, and still has quite a bit of surplus money; getting an official post is only a matter of these one or two years."

"You are eight this year, though it's not good to compare with others, but have you thought about what you want to do in the future?"

"Scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants — whichever one, as long as you work hard, you can be self-sufficient — do you want to study, farm, do business, or learn a craft?"

Liang Yan's whole person seemed to come alive, tilting his head up he said: "Jiejie, I want to join the army! I've wanted to join the army since I was little!"

And he clenched his fist and said: "I'll make it so all the bandits under heaven can't beat me! I'll instead catch them and earn merit and reward!"

Song Miao did not comment on Liang Yan's "I want".

An eight-year-old child still has countless opportunities to make mistakes, let alone a path he himself has determined to choose.

She said: "Then you need very good martial arts to make all the bandits under heaven unable to beat you; can you endure that kind of hardship?"

"I can." Liang Yan said seriously.

Song Miao then said: "Don't be anxious for now, wait a couple of days, then find a chance to speak to your Uncle Xiang, and ask him to pick the best martial arts hall under heaven for you and send you there to learn martial arts."

And asked: "Are you willing to change your surname to Xiang? And change it back later?"

Liang Yan said: "I won't change it, I don't want their silver or money, don't want their property, I have hands and feet, once I learn a skill I'll be able to support myself in the future."

Not to mention inside the Xie residence, how Xiang Yuan beat his son, and how Liang Yan made up his mind; a few streets away at the Hua Prefecture Government Office, it was quite another scene.

Han Li led a group of students to report at the prefectural office; not only did Hua Prefecture Assistant Magistrate Cen Dezhang personally welcome them, but at noon he also specially hosted a banquet to entertain them.

Those who learned of this news were naturally not only the miscellaneous servants responsible for setting up the banquet.

In the rear office, Head Clerk Qian Zhongming was sitting reviewing a stack of official documents sent up from the various counties, flipping through them while asking: "You're saying, Cen Tongpan today hosted that group of people from the Capital, and in the end didn't use singing courtesans?"

"Yes, they were originally prepared, but not long after they went in, they were sent back out again, as can be seen."

Qian Zhongming laughed 'hehe', shook his head and said: "Students are ultimately still particular, too thin-skinned."

His subordinate saw he was in a very good mood, and hurriedly said: "Qian Head Clerk, several counties below have sent people to report, only saying they cannot gather that many corvée laborers to repair the embankments and dams, and want to ask the prefectural office to extend the deadline a bit, because the floodwaters have not fully receded, many places still need manpower to tidy up, a little later would just avoid harming the people's livelihood!"

Qian Zhongming coldly snorted, and said: "Open mouth people's livelihood, close mouth people's livelihood, those who don't know would think they're all surnamed Zhao — do they take me for a fool! Last month Cen Tongpan said it once, the prefectural office issued a decree, I already reminded them of this matter, and how long has it been, they still can't gather people!"

And said: "Don't think I don't know, it must be that below they're thinking of using this opportunity to scrape enough profit before they can settle down and return."

That subordinate accompanied with a smile: "Just know nothing escapes Head Clerk's sharp eyes — heard they've already prepared heavy gifts, all delivered to your residence, only begging you to speak a few good words, so they won't be caught and held by the Tongpan."

Qian Zhongming was about to ask further, when outside another miscellaneous servant messenger came, saying: "Head Clerk Qian, the Tongpan requests you to come over."

Qian Zhongming unhurriedly put away the materials in his hands, locked the door, and only then slowly walked toward the side hall.

When Qian Zhongming entered, Han Li was speaking with Cen Dezhang; seeing someone come in, he stopped talking.

That Cen Dezhang said: "Just about to introduce — this is the prefectural office's Head Clerk of many years, called Qian Zhongming, very capable; in the future if you have any matters, you can just call him to help arrange."

Han Li nodded, first stood and performed a bow, then said: "Qian Head Clerk."

The full title of Head Clerk is Du Head Clerk, the prefectural office's chief document reviewer, managing archives, registers, financial accounts, criminal case files, etc., named because "every hole and every eye passes through his hands".

Though merely a clerk, as the saying goes "officials have no feudal tenure, but clerks have feudal tenure"; for someone like Cen Dezhang who has only been in office half a year, and this is his first time serving as such a major Civilian Official as Tongpan, ten of him added together might not equal one Qian Zhongming in familiarity with the prefectural office's internal situation.

For a moment Cen Dezhang introduced Han Li again.

Qian Zhongming heard this and hurriedly said: "This lowly official has long heard of your great name, this one is a famous talent of the Taixue!"

He followed with several sentences of flattery.

Han Li waved his hand, but said: "This time is urgent, really must trouble Qian Head Clerk to help — Cen Tongpan said last time it was already arranged for the four counties to each conscript one thousand corvée laborers, and wants to ask how the progress is?"

Qian Zhongming sighed, and said: "It was already ordered down long ago, but right now each county suffered disaster severely, all come to plead, wanting an extension of a few days; this lowly official thought, if we urgently conscript, manpower at each place won't be complete, they certainly won't have time to verify, might just randomly arrange people to hand in the quota, instead making the disaster-stricken commoners worse off, so I made the decision to extend a few days."

Speaking, he looked toward Cen Dezhang, and asked: "If it's urgent, this lowly official will arrange people to urgently urge them; what does the Tongpan think?"

Cen Dezhang hearing this also shook his head, and sighed: "Forget it, just extend two more days then."

And turned to Han Li: "Zheng Yan, just as well you still have to prepare the earlier matters, why not first attend to the other matters, let the corvée laborers here wait a bit?"

?? Thank you lamiar for personally gifting me a sachet:)

? Thank you Special Mission Cat Cat for personally gifting me three peace talismans, kelp, book-friend, book-friend three people each gifting one peace talisman =3=