Chapter 53: Ningguang Peak

"Old man, may I have a bowl of water?" Jiang Yun Chu approached with a chuckle, she looked at the manor's name, and her smile deepened.

That old man wore coarse hemp clothes patched over many layers, had straw sandals on his feet, and his waist was bent.

"Go ahead, the water over there is clean."

The old man showed no expression, pointing to a water bucket not far away.

Jiang Yun Chu drank a bowl of water, then filled her waterskin, and only then walked over to the old man, handing him two copper coins.

"This... water isn't worth money." The old man was somewhat agitated; although he said that, he couldn't bear to return the copper coins.

"Old man, please keep this money; I just wanted to ask, how is this manor? Can you harvest any grain this year?"

Jiang Yun Chu looked at the crops; their growth was promising, this year should be another bumper harvest.

"Harvest?"

"Hey, in these times, just not starving to death is enough." The old man sighed helplessly.

They are tenant farmers, relying on working others' land to make a living.

They have no house of their own, no land of their own; wherever they work, they stay in temporary shelters, and if they don't work, they can only starve to death.

This is the fate of tenant farmers.

There are also short-term tenant farmers who own a house and a small plot of land; during busy farming season they go out to work for wages.

Jiang Yun Chu's face darkened; she looked at last year's ledger, the harvest had been good, and these tenant farmers directly received fifty percent of the grain—surely they shouldn't be going hungry.

The Imperial Consort has always been kind-hearted; the grain given to tenant farmers has always been split fifty-fifty.

"Last year's harvest was fine—how could there not be enough to eat?" She adjusted her emotions, fearing there might be a misunderstanding.

The old man sighed, speaking bitterly: "Even if the harvest is good, what does it have to do with us tenant farmers who have no roots?"

"The landlord gives us whatever share he wants—if he wants to give one tenth, it's one tenth; if he wants two tenths, it's two tenths."

"Our family of five—how could that be enough to eat?"

"My granddaughter couldn't be raised; the day she was born, someone took her away."

Jiang Yun Chu froze for a moment; had her eyesight gone bad?

Had I just misread the manor's name?

No way!

"Is this the manor of the Regent Prince's Manor?" Jiang Yun Chu asked.

"Yes."

"What share of grain do the tenant farmers get?" Jiang Yun Chu asked again.

The old man stood up: "Thirty percent."

"That little?"

Clearly the ledger shows each tenant farmer's signature, clearly it was split fifty percent—how could the old man say thirty percent?

In this, who is lying after all?

Actually, she didn't need to investigate carefully; she already knew the answer.

The old man basically doesn't know who he is; he has no reason to deceive himself.

"Zhang Lao San, what are you muttering about? Do you still want your year-end grain share or not!"

A voice came from not far away; that person's gaze was somewhat stern, looking at Jiang Yun Chu's eyes, not friendly.

Jiang Yun Chu nodded at that person, then said to the old man, "Thank you, old man, for letting me drink a bowl of water."

Afterwards, she turned and left.

Right now the most urgent matter isn't the manor; she needs to go to Ningguang Peak. Affairs here with the manor probably can't be resolved quickly; she needs to think it over carefully.

"Who is that person, and what did they say?" A middle-aged man walked over to the old man, looked at him, and asked.

"Just someone asking for water; they didn't say anything."

The old man shook his head, picked up a hoe, and began weeding.

Moreover, this plot of land isn't even the tenant fields they rent; it belongs to the landlord.

"You're an old tenant farmer of the manor; you should know what can be said and what cannot." The landlord threatened him, then walked back.

He just felt uneasy inside, but after thinking it over, there didn't seem to be any problem.

Miss Su Xin had already left; that person just now wasn't someone from Miss Su Xin's entourage.

Surely I was overthinking it.

Jiang Yun Chu rode a horse all day, and only then arrived at Ningguang Peak.

Ningguang Peak is a mountain; why is it called Ningguang Peak instead of Ningguang Mountain?

Because at the summit resides a master named Ningguang.

This mountain is named after her.

Ningguang Master.

"Madam, please halt; you cannot go further." At the mountainside, a boy‑like attendant stepped out, holding a book, and blocked Jiang Yun Chu.

"I am Jiang Yun Chu of the Regent Prince's Manor, here to pay respects to Master Ningguang."

"This is the greeting gift I brought; I hope you, young sir, will pass along the message."

The attendant was young; after sizing up Jiang Yun Chu for a moment, he then picked up the package, gave it a shake, and told Jiang Yun Chu, "Madam, you indeed cannot proceed further; please wait while I convey the message."

"Thank you for the trouble, young sir." Jiang Yun Chu performed a salute, standing properly outside.

She is now a supplicant, so naturally she must observe the host's rules.

After a full half hour, the young attendant who had just gone up the mountain returned, holding the package.

"Our master said he won't come down the mountain, won't take disciples, won't accept students; please, madam, go back." The young attendant smiled gently, extended a hand, and made a gesture to depart.

Jiang Yun Chu leaned against the tree, then, under the attendant's astonished gaze, sat down directly.

Just a moment ago she still looked like a young lady from a prominent family—how did her bearing suddenly change like that?

All the more like a rascal!

"Our mister said……"

Before the young mister could finish his words, Jiang Yun Chu pointed to the tree behind her, then to the grass just now.

"Am I outside your area?"

"Is the place I'm at not within the young mister's jurisdiction?"

She added another sentence, then broke into a beaming smile.

The meaning has been made quite clear—since I'm not in your area of responsibility, where I am has nothing to do with you.

……

The young mister choked a little, thought it over, and still advised, "Our 【everyone】 hasn't come down the mountain for eighteen years." (Because the term "everyone" is easily confused with the word, we deliberately use 【everyone】 to indicate it.)

"Madam, why be so obstinate?"

These children are all orphans, picked up by various sects, and their ties with the everyone are not deep; in fact, many have never even seen the everyone's face.

"When the young mister becomes a father, perhaps then you'll understand my feelings."

Jiang Yun Chu fell silent, leaning against the tree, watching the dappled shadows, thinking of the few children in the manor.

She didn't understand that before either.

But now she seems to have understood, and she's grown a little more curious about Kang Ying.

Then the young mister stopped speaking, instead hiding in the shade and reviewing his books.

One day… it passed quickly, the scorching heat baking on the skin, giving a feeling of collapse.