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Xiao Yuan patted him on the shoulder: "Why are you talking about this in front of the children? They don't understand, they'll think you really dislike them." Cheng Mutian laughed: "My son is only three years old, he can recite 'Evening Mooring and Watching Cockfighting,' do you think he wouldn't understand what I'm saying?" Xiao Yuan shook her head with a smile, took the two children's hands and went to their room to look for "White Glazed Pomegranate Boy".

As Xiao Yuan had predicted, none of the families with sons possessed such an item. A Cai helped search for a while and said, "Young Madam, why not follow the custom of adults and send back something similar?" Xiao Yuan, who was already troubled, was delighted and said, "That's a good idea." A Cai rummaged through the box again and found a "white-glazed green-painted crawling doll." Xiao Yuan took it and examined it. The doll was entirely covered in yellow and white glaze, but the eyes and mouth appeared to be dotted with green glaze, and the buttocks were decorated with green glaze. Seeing her examining it closely, A Cai assumed she thought the gift was too small and said, "Young Madam, this 'white-glazed green-painted crawling doll' is at least a string of cash more expensive than Madam Yang's 'white-glazed pomegranate-shaped boy doll.'" Xiao Yuan laughed, "It's not a matter of price. Well, since we can't find an exact replica, we'll have to make do with this. Hopefully, Madam Yang is easy to talk to."

Her wish was beautiful, but Madam Yang disappointed her. It is said that in front of the maid who brought the return gift, she smashed the "white glazed green-painted crawling doll" to pieces, cursing the young mistress of the Cheng family for being too vicious and deliberately smashing her "white glazed pomegranate boy doll" to curse her to be childless.

When Xiao Yuan heard the maid's report, Wu Ge was also beside her and asked, "Mother, I was the one who dropped that baby. Did Madam Yang scold me for causing her to be childless? What does 'childless' mean?"

This child was incredibly clever. Xiao Yuan was silent for a moment, then comforted him, saying, "It has nothing to do with you, and you didn't do it on purpose."

The Cheng and Yang families lived close by, and the maids kept reporting that Madam Yang was standing at the door cursing and yelling, and even after being slapped twice by Master Yang, she wouldn't stop. Xiao Yuan was worried that Madam Yang's loud outburst would traumatize Wu Ge, so she sent someone on a fast horse to the city to search for half a day. Finally, they bought an identical "white glazed pomegranate-shaped boy doll" and hurriedly delivered it to her, which finally calmed her down.

Chapter 171 Official Fans

"Second Brother, what exactly is the feud between my third brother and Master Yang?" After finishing her business with Madam Yang, Xiao Yuan finally had some free time to ask Cheng Mutian.

Cheng Mutian replied, "As long as he's your third brother, he can't escape the label of 'concubine.'" Xiao Yuan laughed and said, "That's what I was thinking too. Did he lose a whole estate because of a fight with Master Yang over a woman?"

Cheng Mutian shook his head and said, "It's not exactly jealousy. That woman was originally Master Yang's concubine." Xiao Yuan's eyes widened: "He actually sold Master Yang's concubine... No, you clearly said that he sold the estate to Master Yang because of the new concubine he bought." Cheng Mutian said, "Yesterday you must have realized that the estate was given away for free by your third brother because his new concubine wasn't bought, but stolen from Master Yang's favorite concubine. He stole her, lost the argument, and naturally had to pay some money."

Xiao Yuan despised He Yaohong's behavior, but he was, after all, her third brother and had treated her very well, so she had to defend him: "Concubines are meant to entertain guests. Like the concubines in Jin Jiu's family, which one didn't come out to entertain guests several times a month? Some of them were even taken into the room by guests on the spot. For this, Master Yang is demanding an estate. Isn't that going too far?"

Cheng Mutian naturally understood why she was so "indignant," and chuckled, "That's not a concubine, but a legitimate concubine with a 'concubine certificate.' You saw Master Yang's youngest daughter yesterday; your third brother stole her—her birth mother." Xiao Yuan was dumbfounded. This... this... her third brother's taste was getting stranger and stranger... She was inwardly criticizing He Yaohong when Cheng Mutian said, "Although your third brother is somewhat unethical, in my opinion, this matter isn't entirely his fault. Think about it, since she's a legitimate concubine and has given birth, she naturally wouldn't greet guests like a concubine. So how did your third brother get to know her? Even if he happened to see her at Master Yang's house, he couldn't possibly have pulled her into his room, could he? Are the servants at Master Yang's house just for show?"

Xiao Yuan sat up abruptly: "It must have been Master Yang's doing. But what good would it do him? He doesn't seem like the type to lack a manor." Cheng Mutian said, "Master Yang's elder brother is a colleague of your third brother. The Yang brothers were fighting over the family property, and your third brother helped Master Yang's elder brother, causing Master Yang to lose a lot of money. That's probably why he hates your third brother and wants to get his money back from him." Xiao Yuan gritted her teeth and said, "Despicable and shameless. We must be careful when dealing with him in the future." Cheng Mutian said, "I told you long ago that he's not a good person. Otherwise, I wouldn't have sprinkled mustard on the rooster's wings yesterday. I wanted to let him know that I'm not someone to be trifled with, and that he shouldn't try to take advantage of our family in the future. Also, I'm determined to have those few acres of paddy fields. If you give in to him today, he'll want even more tomorrow."

Xiao Yuan said worriedly, "My third brother only helped his elder brother, and he's already setting up a scheme. If we prevent him from buying the paddy fields, won't he hate us too?" Cheng Mutian laughed, a laugh that was both confident and a little embarrassed, "I was just bored sitting here. If he has the ability, let him use all his skills. I'll play along to the end." Xiao Yuan said with a smile, "I think you got addicted to cockfighting yesterday."

Having decided to be more assertive, the couple began discussing how to buy all the paddy fields on that side of the mountain. Just as they were getting into a lively discussion, a maid came to report that Master Yang had come to apologize. Cheng Mutian asked in surprise, "He's come to his senses and wants to give up the paddy fields?" Xiao Yuan replied, "How could that be? He must be here because of Madam Yang's outburst yesterday." She promised Cheng Mutian she wouldn't see Master Yang again, and then, hiding in her room, pushed him out.

As expected, Master Yang came because of Madam Yang's tantrum. He handed a small, round porcelain bowl to Cheng Mutian and apologized, saying, "My wife is eager to give birth to a child day and night, so she was a little impatient. She has no ill intentions towards Young Madam Cheng. She specially asked me to send a box of powder to express her apology. I hope Young Madam Cheng will be magnanimous and not take it to heart."

When Cheng Mutian saw him bringing out the powder, his face immediately darkened. However, upon hearing that it was Madam Yang's intention, he calmed down and said, "The children are ignorant. When Wu-ge saw your Zi-niang give him the 'White Glazed Pomegranate Boy,' he thought it was a gift and didn't need to be returned, which is why he carelessly dropped it. I will definitely discipline my son more strictly from now on and teach him not to accept gifts from such a wealthy young lady." Master Yang was caught off guard and looked embarrassed. He sat for a while and then took his leave.

Cheng Mutian went back to the inner room and slammed the small bowl heavily on the table, angrily saying, "They said they came to apologize, but they didn't mention a word about their daughter's improper gift-giving. They only said that their wife was a bit reckless because she wanted a son. Does that mean they blamed us for being in the wrong first?" Xiaoyuan comforted him, saying, "Forget it, didn't you already shut him down? He's learned your lesson, and he'll probably be more restrained in the future." Cheng Mutian pointed to the box and said, "Madam Yang gave it to you. You can use it on any servant."

Xiao Yuan lifted the porcelain lid and found a box of fine "official face powder." It was fine-textured, with a lustrous white color, and embossed with raised orchid patterns. The powder was excellent, but she dared not use it, laughing, "Giving it to the servants to wipe their faces would harm them." This official face powder was also known as "Hangzhou powder," or more colloquially, "lead powder." Although Xiao Yuan didn't know its specific chemical composition, she knew that using it to wipe one's face would be harmful. Therefore, she called to A Cai and instructed, "Pour out all the powder. You can keep the box for yourself." A Cai, assuming Xiao Yuan disliked Madam Yang, didn't ask further and went out to smash the porcelain bowl to pieces.

Having suffered a humiliation at Cheng Mutian's place, Master Yang took it out on Madam Yang upon returning home, angrily cursing, "I haven't even settled accounts with you for the matter of Su Niang's birth mother, and now you're not even properly teaching Zi Niang, causing me to lose face completely." Madam Yang, fearing a beating, dared not argue back, saying, "That whole family is truly ungrateful. You went to apologize, and all you got was anger." Master Yang narrowed his eyes and ordered, "Take the two children and go meet their young mistress, saying you've come in person to apologize." Madam Yang refused, standing there unwilling to move. Mr. Yang, exasperated by her stubbornness, smashed a vase at her: "Fool! Use this opportunity to sound them out, find out about the paddy fields, see what their plans are. We have no property in Lin'an. He Laosan's estate only has a few vegetable plots. If we can't buy the paddy fields, we'll have to spend our savings." Mrs. Yang muttered, "Spending our savings is fine, it's not like we're broke." Mr. Yang cursed, "Spending our savings is fine, but who told you to give birth to a money-losing daughter? So many people go bankrupt marrying off their daughters in Lin'an. Do you think I want to be busy with money?"

Madam Yang felt extremely wronged. She wasn't the only one who had given birth to a money-making child. If she had known things would turn out this way, she wouldn't have replaced that concubine with Su Niang's birth mother. Otherwise, there would be someone else to share the blame with her. Seeing that she still didn't get up, Master Yang threw another vase at her. She quickly called her own daughter, Zi Niang, changed her into a new dress, and then called Su Niang, the daughter of her concubine, over, scolded her a few times, and led them to the Cheng family.

Although it was a mountain dwelling, several servants were still guarding the main gate of the Cheng family's residence. After she had someone announce her arrival, a young maid led her to the second courtyard. There, she saw Xiao Yuan and several maids busily pouring rice water into a round powder bowl. Curious, she asked, "What are you doing?" Xiao Yuan brought her a bowl of rice water that had settled, pointing to a layer of white, powdery powder at the bottom of the bowl, saying, "This is 'powder essence.' After drying it in the sun, it becomes face powder." Madam Yang made no attempt to hide her disdain, saying, "You're still using rice powder? Didn't I send you a box of 'official powder'?"

Xiao Yuan smiled and said, "'Official powder' is too precious; I can't bear to use it. I'll just use this rice flour on my daily face." Madam Yang said with pity, "I'll have someone send some spices over later. You can add them to your rice flour, and it'll be 'fragrant powder.'" Xiao Yuan feigned surprise and gratitude, thanking her again and again. The maids could hardly contain their laughter and quickly brought a cup of tea to Madam Yang. Xiao Yuan smiled and said, "Look at me, I forgot to invite you to sit down. Please come in quickly."

Madam Yang led her two children into the hall. Seeing that the furnishings were just as simple as Xiao Yuan's clothes, she became even more convinced that Xiao Yuan was poor. She felt that it was beneath her dignity as a lady of a wealthy family to apologize to a country bumpkin, so she didn't mention the incident of Zi Niang cursing her for giving her the trinkets. Instead, she asked some casual questions: "Are your two sons your own? Where are they?"

Since she was certain that the Cheng family was poor, Xiao Yuan went along with it and said with a smile, "Our family is poor, how could we afford to support a concubine? Of course, they are our own children. The eldest is practicing his boxing right now, and the youngest is probably with the teacher." As she spoke, she turned to call the wet nurse and asked her to bring the two young masters to accompany the little guests.

Although Madam Yang felt the Cheng family was poor, she didn't believe the claim that they couldn't afford a concubine. She said, "That day in the village, the village that sells paddy fields, I saw those farmers earning extra money by helping others harvest bamboo shoots, and they even bought concubines to help with the work. You are, after all, landowners, how could you not afford a concubine?" Xiao Yuan knew she was waiting for her to say something unvirtuous, so she asked in return, "Yesterday at your house, I didn't see any concubines either?" Madam Yang's expression became somewhat unnatural. She said, "The journey was long, and I sold several concubines when I came to Lin'an." Xiao Yuan was determined to find out if her third brother had been tricked, so she pressed on, "You only have concubines in your household, and that little girl was actually born to a concubine? Madam Yang is truly magnanimous."

Madam Yang spat first, saying, "The concubines were all drugged when they entered the house. How could those lowly women, who are ridden by thousands, be worthy of bearing children with my master?" Master Yang kept the matter of Su Niang's birth mother a secret, but she couldn't wait to boast about it to the whole world. So she continued, "Yesterday when you came to my house as a guest, I wanted to tell you about Su Niang's birth mother, but my old master interrupted me. I'll tell you today, but you mustn't tell my master that I told him."

Chapter 172 Master Yuan Proposes Marriage

Madam Yang was so understanding, so Xiao Yuan nodded repeatedly: "Of course, I was just listening to your gossip, why would I tell your husband?" As she spoke, she handed over a cup of honey tea to soothe his throat. Madam Yang took the tea and took a sip, then began to tell the story with great enthusiasm: "Our master wanted me to choose a concubine, dress her up as a concubine, and send her to spend the night with a guest. I thought that since she was a concubine anyway, a fake concubine was no better than a real one, so I secretly switched her with Su Niang's birth mother. The next day, when the guest woke up and found out that he had slept with the master's concubine, he tried to sneak away, but our master caught him, made him write an IOU, and that's how we got the estate for free."

After hearing her words and connecting them with Cheng Mutian's analysis, Xiaoyuan roughly understood the cause and effect of the matter. She was filled with resentment and deliberately asked, "Wouldn't it be better to let the concubines go and entertain the guests directly? Why insist on pretending to be proper concubines? It's so embarrassing if people find out." Madam Yang pouted and said, "It is embarrassing, otherwise why would our master stop me from talking about it yesterday? As for why, that's not something a woman like me would know. I just do what my master says. Asking too much will make him angry."

Xiao Yuan asked again, "Wasn't that concubine sold on the spot?" Madam Yang said angrily, "That wretched woman was our master's darling, he couldn't bear to sell her, and he even scolded me severely." After she finished speaking, she smiled smugly, "Not two months later, they found out she was pregnant. They called a doctor to examine her pulse, and after calculating the date, it turned out to be that guest's child. Our master was furious and personally took a big board and aborted her pregnancy, then threw her back to that guest's house." Xiao Yuan asked again in doubt, "That guest took her in?" Madam Yang smiled and said, "That guest naturally didn't want to take in a withered flower, but his wife heard that this concubine was injured and could no longer have children, so she decided to take her in. She probably felt that since she was going to take a concubine anyway, it was better to take in this one who couldn't bear children than to bring in someone who could bear a son and steal the family property."

Hearing this, Xiao Yuan was secretly alarmed and made up her mind to keep her distance from the Yang couple from now on.

After speaking so much, Madam Yang's mouth was dry. She picked up the honey tea and took another sip. She had been so eager to boast about her skills that she hadn't had time to savor it properly. Now, however, she could taste the flavor and couldn't help but exclaim, "What a fine tea! How was this made?" Xiao Yuan knew she was referring to the "whisking tea" technique commonly used in Song Dynasty tea ceremonies and smiled, "This is honey fruit tea. It's made by brewing fresh seasonal fruits and then adding honey."

"So simple?" Madam Yang withdrew her praise and became dismissive. They were indeed hermits, lacking even the proper etiquette of "preparing tea" and "serving tea." Though she looked down on them, she couldn't bear to put down her cup until she finished the honey fruit tea. Only then did she remember the true purpose of her trip and hurriedly asked, "You have plenty of dry land on this mountain, why buy paddy fields? Wouldn't that cost more money?"

Xiao Yuan smiled gently: "As Madam Yang said, there is only dry land on this mountain. We people from Lin'an need to eat rice every day. If we don't buy a few acres of paddy fields, where will our food come from?" Madam Yang wanted to refute, but found that she had already defined them as poor people, so she couldn't find any words to say. She could only pick up her empty cup and mumble a few words.

Her daughter, Zi Niang, seemed to know that her mother was embarrassed and needed someone to help her out. She rushed in crying and complained, "Brother Wu hit me." Madam Yang quickly pulled her aside and examined her carefully. Seeing that there were no injuries on her body, she turned her attention to Xiao Yuan: "How did you raise your child? It's one thing to not treat him well when he comes to your house as a guest, but to actually hit him is another."

Xiao Yuan hurriedly called Wu Ge over and asked, "Did you hit Zi Niang?" Wu Ge pulled Su Niang to the front, pointed to a red mark on her face, and shouted, "Who hit her? It was clearly her who hit Su Niang! Look at her face, she whipped her with a thorny vine." Xiao Yuan cupped Su Niang's face and looked at it. Sure enough, although the mark was thin, the skin was slightly torn up, and some small thorns were embedded in it. She gasped and quickly ordered someone to summon Doctor Yan.

Seeing that it was Su Niang who had suffered the loss, Madam Yang was no longer so angry. She said, "It's nothing serious, no need to call a traveling doctor." Doctors in the Song Dynasty were divided into resident doctors and itinerant doctors. Resident doctors were mostly highly skilled physicians who rarely went out, generally waiting for patients to come to them. Itinerant doctors, also known as "traveling doctors" or "grassroots doctors," were what Madam Yang referred to as "traveling doctors." They didn't have fixed clinics and often practiced medicine in the countryside, or set up stalls to sell medicine and treat patients. The doctor Yan, who the Cheng family had invited to stay on the mountain, was the most skilled doctor in the pharmacy. Hearing there was a patient, he hurried to the door, but upon hearing Madam Yang call him a "traveling doctor," he was quite displeased and his face darkened as he was about to retort. Xiao Yuan, afraid of giving herself away, quickly gave him a wink, telling him to keep quiet.

After the prescription was written, A-Cai, following Xiao-Yuan's instructions, fetched the medicine and handed it to Madam Yang. Although Madam Yang had no intention of treating her illegitimate daughter's injuries, why not accept medicine given away for free? So she took it, called over Zi-Niang, and swaggered away to take her leave.

After they left, Xiao Yuan asked Wu Ge, "You really didn't hit Zi Niang?" Wu Ge nodded firmly. Xiao Yuan asked again, "Then why did Zi Niang hit Su Niang?" Wu Ge said, "Because I gave the toys to Su Niang to play with, but not to her." Xiao Yuan was both amused and exasperated; the problem was still with him. "Then why didn't you let Zi Niang play with them?" Wu Ge thought for a moment and said, "I don't like her. She's domineering; she only allows me to play with her, not Su Niang." Xiao Yuan pulled her into her arms and stroked her, sighing inwardly. This pampered young master had no idea of the hardships of an illegitimate child. "Good son, you saw what happened today. If Su Niang is better off at home, don't favor her, understand?" Wu Ge asked, "Otherwise, they'll hit her?" Xiao Yuan sighed and nodded. Wu Ge replied, "Alright then, next time only invite Su Niang to come over to play, not Zi Niang."

Did he understand, or not? Xiao Yuan was a little troubled, and was about to examine her son's little brain when Cheng Mutian came in carrying a large box and beckoned her to look: "Wife, you don't like lead powder, so I specially came to the city to buy you some other things." As he spoke, he opened the box lid and first took out a round box: "This is 'purple powder' made from rice flour, lead powder, and sunflower seed juice. It is said that the empresses in the palace of the previous dynasty used this." Then he took out a brocade box shaped like a sunflower petal: "This is 'Jade Maiden Peach Blossom Powder' made from gypsum, talc, clam powder, wax, musk, and motherwort." After he finished explaining, he pushed the large box towards her and said: "I didn't know which one you liked, so I bought three boxes of each. Use whichever you like."

"Going down the mountain to buy face powder?" Xiao Yuan looked at him suspiciously and asked, "Did I overhear Madam Yang mocking me?" Cheng Mutian blushed and said matter-of-factly, "It's my own home. What do you mean by overhearing? I was listening openly and honestly. Your husband can afford good face powder, why would I let you be mocked by her?" Hearing this, Xiao Yuan chuckled to herself, feeling both happy and touched. She quickly went to get water to wash her face, immediately trying out her husband's gift. The "purple face powder" contained "lead powder," which was actually lead powder. She picked out the three round boxes and set them aside, taking only a small amount of "Jade Maiden Peach Blossom Powder," mixing it well, and applying it to her face. She then leaned close to Cheng Mutian and asked him if it looked good.

Cheng Mutian looked at her again and again, without answering, but expressed himself through his actions. He kissed her face, then her mouth, then her neck, and kissed her until they reached the bed. Xiao Yuan cried out, "Today is not the right day..." Before she could finish, Cheng Mutian silenced her with his mouth. Anyway, there was no fine for having more children than allowed in the Song Dynasty, so she let it go. As Xiao Yuan thought about it, she involuntarily wrapped her arms around his waist and went to meet him.

...

After the two had finished their marital relations, they were still cuddling in bed when they suddenly heard Wu Ge's voice from outside: "Father, Mother, Master Yuan is here." Cheng Mutian exclaimed, "Oh dear, I forgot to lock the door." He hurriedly sat up and said, "Please have Master Yuan sit in the hall. Go and serve him some tea." Wu Ge didn't understand why he was being asked to serve tea when there was a maid. He thought his father was asking him to respect his teacher, so he agreed, put down his hand that was about to push the door open, and went out in another direction.

As Cheng Mutian heard his footsteps fading away, he quickly pulled Xiao Yuan up, hurriedly dressed her, and tidied her appearance.

When they came out, Master Yuan was sitting in his chair, feeling uneasy, so he didn't notice that Cheng Mutian's clothes were wrinkled or Xiao Yuan's hairpin was crooked.

He was usually a very imposing man, but today he didn't even dare to raise his head. Cheng Mutian found this very strange and couldn't help but take a few more glances at him. He saw that he was wearing a square cap and a loose robe, looking very refined and handsome, as if he had dressed up specially.

Xiao Yuan also noticed Yuan Fuzi's deliberate embellishment and guessed his purpose for coming, but deliberately did not ask him what he came for. Instead, she chatted about trivial matters: "Brother Wu, have you been studying diligently these past few days? Have you been causing any trouble for the teacher?"

When Master Yuan heard her ask the question, he stood up in a panic, but then realized something was wrong and hurriedly sat down again, replying, "Brother Wu is extremely intelligent; he is the fastest at recognizing and memorizing characters."

Cheng Mutian said, "He wants to finish learning quickly so he can go have fun."

"No, no..." Master Yuan didn't know how to answer this question and began to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Xiao Yuan glanced at Cheng Mutian, secretly amused. He was a cunning fellow too. She then asked Master Yuan, "Is Brother Chen keeping up with his studies?" Master Yuan replied, "Brother Chen has memorized the entire Thousand Character Classic and can recite several hundred poems. He will surely pass the imperial examination in the future." Master Yuan thought to himself, if he didn't explain his purpose soon, the young master and young mistress might even ask about Cheng Si Niang's studies. So he mustered his courage, stood up, and bowed, saying, "Young mistress, I wish to redeem A Yun from her servitude. I hope you will grant me permission."

Xiao Yuan deliberately probed, "It's just a matter of a maid being promoted to a concubine, and then exchanging her for a contract of indenture. What's the point of redeeming her?" Master Yuan laughed and said, "I'm just a poor scholar. Why would I take a concubine? I want to marry her as my principal wife." Xiao Yuan felt relieved and asked happily, "Are you really willing?" Master Yuan nodded firmly and said, "I'm an only child, so I'm not afraid of gossip. As long as the young mistress agrees, I will marry her."

It turned out that he wanted to marry a maid. Xiao Yuan found it boring, so she quickly said to Yuan Fuzi, "Master Yuan is all alone and has no one to care for him. Why don't you check the almanac and pick an auspicious day to hold the wedding for him?" Knowing that he was not interested in hearing this, Xiao Yuan called the head of the sewing room and asked her to take Master Yuan to have his measurements taken to make the groom's clothes. She also sent someone to inform A Yun to return to the mountain.

Ah Yun, not knowing what urgent matter she needed to discuss with Xiao Yuan, rushed back the next day, only to find Xiao Yuan laying a contract of indenture in front of her, smiling at her and saying, "Tear it up or burn it, it's up to you. Is your wedding dress ready? Do you need help from the sewing room?" Ah Yun became coy, "Young Madam, you know?" Xiao Yuan glared at her, "He's already come to propose, how could I not know? Are you planning to keep it from me all this time if he doesn't come?"

Ayun shook her head repeatedly: "I'm not sure whether he wants to marry me or take me as a concubine, so I dare not tell the young mistress." Xiaoyuan asked in surprise: "I haven't told you whether it's a wife or a concubine yet, how do you know now?" Ayun pointed to the contract of sale and smiled: "If it's a concubine, the young mistress will definitely not allow it."

"That's hard to say," Xiao Yuan teased her deliberately. A Yun, however, said seriously, "If he only wants to take me as a concubine, I won't agree. Although I'm just a maid, I've seen quite a few concubines over the years, and not many of them have a good ending. Aunt Ding couldn't even protect her own daughter. Aunt Ji gave birth to a son but lost her life. And Qiu Ye, who was once the young master's concubine, although the young master was kind and didn't sell her into a brothel, she still ended up in the orphanage."

Xiao Yuan nodded with satisfaction: "It's good that you understand. You girls have all been by my side since you were little. I sincerely hope that you will all have a good outcome." A Cai tossed the box to A Yun and said with a smile: "A few artificial flowers to add to your makeup and congratulate you on your 'good outcome'." A Yun jumped up shyly and wrestled with her.

Xiao Yuan watched with a smile for a while, then quietly withdrew, feeling that she had also been touched by the joy and felt refreshed.

Tian Da had been waiting at the foot of the steps for quite some time. Seeing her come out, he hurriedly stepped forward and reported, "Young Madam, I went to that village again today, but the village chief is still hesitant." Xiao Yuan had been wondering about this these past few days, and upon hearing him say this, she asked, "Master Yang offered a high price, so why doesn't the village chief just sell the paddy fields to him? Is it because they don't want to sell the whole mountain and want to keep a few acres for themselves?" Tian Da shook his head and said, "That's exactly what I went to inquire about today. It turns out the village chief is afraid that if we sell the paddy fields to Master Yang now, we'll get angry and refuse to hire them to collect bamboo shoots."

Xiao Yuan exclaimed with delight, "I was just worried about how to buy land, and the village chief has come up with a brilliant idea! Besides that village, are there any other places around our estate?" Tian Da thought for a moment and replied, "There are a few, but they're quite far away." Xiao Yuan said, "Far away isn't a problem. We can clear out a few rooms for them to live in. The wages we're offering are already quite high, so I'm sure some people will be willing to come." Tian Da nodded and asked, "Does the young mistress intend to hire someone else?" Xiao Yuan smiled and said, "Yes and no."

Chapter 173 Teasing

Following Xiaoyuan's plan, Tian Da went to the bamboo forest. The hired workers were unwilling and pleaded for a long time without success. They had no choice but to pay their wages and return to the village, looking back every few steps. Tian Da did not go to the village to recruit more workers. After dismissing the existing workers, he came to report to Xiaoyuan: "Madam, the matter has been settled. What should I do next?" Xiaoyuan said: "You don't need to do anything. Wait for their village chief to come to you. Actually, I wasn't entirely sure about this matter. If they don't come back, we'll have to go to another village to hire people."

Would the village chief sell the paddy fields to them because of this? That probably depends on whether he wants immediate or long-term benefits. Seeing the worry still on Xiao Yuan's face, A Cai said, "Young Madam, it's nothing. At worst, we'll raise the price and make sure that Master Yang, who plotted against the third young master of the He family, doesn't succeed." Xiao Yuan heard her indignant tone and smiled bitterly, "For the matter of losing the estate by stealing a concubine, Third Brother should also be punished severely. If he hadn't gone to other people's houses to take concubines, this wouldn't have happened." A Cai deeply agreed with this view and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Absolutely right, otherwise why hasn't our young master ever had such a thing happen?"

Xiao Yuan smiled and said, "Young Master isn't here right now, so he won't hear you praising him. Let's wait until he comes back. The jar of sealed bamboo shoots that the cook made last time didn't turn out well, so the workshop tried making a few more jars. I heard they're being opened today. Go find a light outfit, and we'll go take a look." A Cai brought her a vest to change into, and the two of them went out towards the workshop halfway up the mountain.

As they walked along a mountain path, they encountered Master Yang. Xiao Yuan nodded slightly in greeting and stepped aside to let him pass. Master Yang stopped as he passed her, and in front of the maids and servants, untied a purse from his waist and placed it in Xiao Yuan's hand, speaking with extreme gentleness, "Madam He, did the powder I gave you last time work well?" Xiao Yuan, bewildered by his sudden action, didn't have time to think it through and hurriedly threw away the purse, saying, "Don't talk nonsense! That powder was a gift from Madam Yang as an apology." Master Yang smiled without speaking, gazing at her with deep affection. She couldn't linger here; she should leave first and think things through later. Turning to leave, Xiao Yuan caught sight of the maids and servants following behind, all looking on with eager curiosity. Who knew what they might be saying about her behind her back? She had to punish Master Yang on the spot and make her mind clear.

Ah Cai had followed her for many years. Seeing her stop and frown, she immediately guessed what she was thinking and instructed the other servants, "Quickly shout and call the villagers to come and teach this rambling thief a lesson."

When the other servants saw that Ah Cai had spoken up about beating Master Yang, and then looked at Xiao Yuan, who also seemed to agree, they assumed that Ah Cai and Master Yang were on good terms. They all put their hands together like megaphones to their mouths, ready to shout for help.

Seeing their actions, Master Yang laughed: "Disciplining me is a small matter, but if the secret between your young mistress and me were to be exposed, wouldn't she have to die to prove her innocence?"

A woman's reputation is more important than her life. When Master Yang poured a basin of dirty water on Xiao Yuan, she had no way to defend herself, and the servants couldn't help but hesitate.

A-Cai glanced at Xiao-Yuan, gritted her teeth, took a few steps to Master Yang, and slapped him twice across the face with both hands, screaming loudly, "Don't think that just because I'm a maid, you can flirt with me as you please."

Master Yang was stunned by the two slaps and didn't know how to fight back, standing there blankly.

The servants realized that Ah Cai was protecting the young mistress, so they quickly surrounded her, calling for servants while keeping Xiao Yuan outside.

Just now, Ah Cai's scream had startled many villagers, who had been unaware of what was happening and had come to investigate. Hearing the servants' shouts, they all angrily exclaimed, "So it's that Master Yang who's been harassing our young mistress's maid! Let's beat him up!" The villagers in the mountains were very simple and honest, acting on their impulses. Before Xiao Yuan could react, a group of people had already swarmed forward, using fists, hoes, carrying poles, and even shovels, all attacking together. They beat Master Yang until his head was bleeding profusely, and he lay on the ground unable to move. Xiao Yuan hadn't expected things to escalate like this in an instant. Fearing someone might die, she quickly ordered the villagers to stop and had them cut down trees on the spot to make a makeshift stretcher to carry him to Yang Family Village.

Seeing that Master Yang was covered in blood and had fainted, A Cai panicked and said, "Young Madam, I'll have Doctor Yan go and examine him. If he dies, we'll be in big trouble." Xiao Yuan remained calm and said, "Tell him to prepare his medicine box, but don't go there on your own. We must pretend to be angry and indignant, otherwise they'll become even more arrogant." After saying that, she instructed Tian Da's wife, "Quickly tell your husband to ride to the city, find a lawyer to write a complaint, and send it to the magistrate's office. Don't forget to slip him some money." Tian Da's wife asked, "Complain about Master Yang? Complain about what? Although I'm just a country woman, I know that harassing someone's maid shouldn't be done like this." Tian Da's wife seemed honest, but she was actually a clever woman. She was reminding Xiao Yuan that she couldn't let news of Master Yang harassing her get out, otherwise it would damage her reputation.

Xiao Yuan hesitated. Knowing the Yang family's temperament, they would definitely go to the authorities to report them. The Cheng family had to be the first to do so. But what should she accuse them of? Accusing them of harassing the young mistress of the Cheng family would only harm her in the end, so that was definitely not an option. Accusing them of harassing a maid would be too lenient a charge...

Seeing her in a dilemma, A-Cai resolutely said, "Young Madam, let's give them a taste of their own medicine." Xiao-Yuan didn't understand at first, but when she did, she was stunned: "Ke-Cai, you want me to sue Master Yang for harassing his concubine?" Tian Da's wife was also stunned: "A-Cai, do you want to become the young master's concubine?" A-Cai hurriedly shook her head and said, "I won't be a concubine, not anyone's. It's just an excuse. We know it in our hearts, right?" Xiao-Yuan shook her head and said, "This isn't something that can be done just by talking. If it really goes to court, you'll have to appear in court. If everyone knows you're Cheng's concubine, how will you ever get married?" A-Cai herself was stunned: "I didn't think that much..." The three of them discussed it back and forth, but couldn't come up with a good solution. They could only send someone to keep an eye on Yang Family Village to prevent them from going down the mountain to file a complaint, and then send Tian Da down the mountain on horseback to find Cheng Mutian.

Tian Da went to the city and found Cheng Mutian, who was buying things for the Dragon Boat Festival. He said, "Young Master, Master Yang harassed A Cai and we beat him up. The young mistress is afraid that they will file a lawsuit first, so she wants to submit a complaint."

Cheng Mutian only had his wife on his mind and didn't care much about the maid's safety, so he said, "Go find a lawyer to file a complaint yourself. Why are you coming to me?" Tian Da stammered, "The beating was too heavy... Young Madam wants to file a more serious charge, otherwise Master Yang will turn around and accuse her." Cheng Mutian smiled happily, "Beat him, everyone gets a reward." He then asked, "Did Young Madam send you to find me because she has a brilliant plan?" Tian Da explained A Cai's idea and said, "This method is good, Young Madam..." "But I'm unwilling." Cheng Mutian frowned and said, "Young Madam is right. I don't want to have another concubine for no reason. Besides, this matter doesn't need to be so complicated. You go and find a lawyer to file a lawsuit first. I'll find a street performer and a few others to pose as a fake concubine." Tian Da hesitated and said, "I'm afraid that's not a good idea. Street performers go around singing and performing; they'll be easily recognized." Cheng Mutian smiled and said, "The Yang family just came to Lin'an. We can fool them into not recognizing us. Besides, I'll make sure my act is convincing; it'll be perfect."

Hearing his certainty, Tian Da felt reassured and went to find a lawyer to write the legal document. Cheng Mutian, on the other hand, took Cheng Fu with him. They first found a singing girl working at a teahouse, gave her one hundred coins, and promised to give her another one hundred coins after the matter was settled. Cheng Fu laughed, "Only two hundred coins in total, cheap, cheap." Cheng Mutian smacked him, saying, "Impulsive! Do you think everyone else is a fool? Just because you say she's my concubine doesn't mean she's my concubine!" Cheng Fu asked, puzzled, "Then what should we do? Should we hold a banquet when we get back?" Cheng Mutian smacked him again, sat down at the teahouse, gave the singing girl a seat, and raised his voice to instruct him, "Go find a matchmaker and have the concubine document written right now."

Cheng Fu understood, smiled and congratulated him, then turned to find a matchmaker wearing a vest and carrying an umbrella. The matchmaker had the concubine's document ready; they filled in the name, pressed their fingerprints, and that was it. Cheng Mutian, a businessman of many years, was extremely thoughtful. Fearing that the singing girl might use the document to frame him later, he did something extra when pressing the fingerprints, which Cheng Fu watched from the side with great admiration.

After everything was settled, he delivered the "concubine" and the marriage certificate to Tian Da, then went out to the street to continue buying things for the festival, and didn't return home until it was getting late.

Seeing him return so late, Xiao Yuan asked anxiously, "Did Tian Da not find you?" Cheng Mutian replied in surprise, "It was just a maid being harassed, why are you so anxious?" Xiao Yuan sent the servants to tell him the truth. Cheng Mutian immediately flew into a rage, grabbed the long stick that Wu Ge had been practicing his martial arts in the corner, and was about to rush to the Yang family to seek revenge. Seeing that he didn't doubt her and Master Yang at all, Xiao Yuan felt very relieved and hugged him, saying, "Second Brother, he's already bedridden and can't get up. If you hit him again, he'll die." Cheng Mutian angrily said, "He deserves to die." Xiao Yuan said, "He deserves it, but if you pay for it with your life, what will happen to me and our sons?"

Cheng Mutian threw down the stick heavily, saying angrily, "Then I'll wait until he's healed before I hit him." He turned around, put his hands on Xiaoyuan's shoulders, looked her up and down carefully, and asked, "You weren't taken advantage of by him, were you?" Xiaoyuan threw herself into his arms and choked up, "You don't know what happened back then. When I first came back, the servants all believed that I had an affair with him and stood there dumbly at the back, not daring to come up. It wasn't until Acai said she was going to beat that guy surnamed Yang that they believed me a little."

Chapter 174 The Dragon Boat Festival is Approaching

Seeing his wife's distress, Cheng Mutian comforted her and then summoned Tian's wife, giving her two instructions: first, to keep a close eye on the children and assign more people to watch over them when they went out; second, to be wary of the Yang family's extortion and to stay far away from any members of the Yang family when they saw them.

Tian's wife accepted the order and went down to make arrangements. The next day, news came from the village on the other side of the mountain and the government office at the foot of the mountain. The village chief ultimately chose the long-term interests of the village chief and decided to sell the paddy fields to the Cheng family. The government office accepted the petition, but because Master Yang was seriously injured, the court could not open immediately and had to postpone it for a few days.

Standing in the hall, Tian Da recounted the events one by one, and added, "The village chief requires us to hire at least ten men from his village every year when we harvest bamboo shoots." Xiao Yuan nodded in agreement and said, "Don't worry, we'll hire even more when we plant wheat and paddy fields next year."

Just as Cheng Mutian was about to ask him about the specifics of the situation at the government office, Tian's wife suddenly rushed in, anxiously saying, "Madam Yang is leading a group of servants towards our house! I called a few guards and stopped them halfway. Young master, young mistress, what should we do?" Cheng Mutian stood up abruptly, angrily saying, "I didn't even bother to cause them any trouble, yet she comes knocking on our door. This is outrageous!" He then ordered more men to be sent back to the Yang family. Xiao Yuan quickly advised him, "Why bother arguing with a shrew? It'll only lower your status. Besides, she's a woman; if she gets hurt, we'll be the ones who suffer."

Tian's wife also said, "Who knows, she might be here to trick us. What if the young master goes and she falsely accuses him of harassment?"

Cheng Mutian, after hearing Tian Da's wife's advice, was both amused and exasperated. He said, "I have no experience dealing with women. What do you think we should do to get rid of her?" Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan also felt troubled and said, "I have no experience dealing with shrewish women either. What should we do?"

Before they could come up with a solution, someone came to report that Madam Yang had returned home. Cheng Mutian laughed, "They must have received news that the authorities want them to appear in court." Wu Ge jumped in from outside and said, "No, it's because I hit Zi Niang that she rushed back." Cheng Mutian and Xiao Yuan both looked up at the wet nurse. The wet nurse thought that the master would blame her for not watching the children properly, and stammered, "Wu Ge said that as long as he hit Madam Yang's daughter, Madam Yang would definitely go back to protect her, and wouldn't care about causing trouble at our house." After she finished speaking, she waited anxiously for them to say what the punishment would be, but unexpectedly, Cheng Mutian ordered someone to bring a dozen or so coins to reward her, saying, "You've done the job well and didn't hurt Wu Ge, very good."

Seeing his nanny receive a reward, Wu Ge jumped three feet high with joy: "I want a reward too! Reward me so I don't have to go to school tomorrow!" Xiao Yuan grabbed him and threw him to Cheng Mutian, saying, "How dare you lay a hand on a little girl! That's so ungentlemanly! Tell your father to beat you!" Cheng Mutian, however, hugged him and praised him: "Well done, that's how it should be. But you must be careful not to hurt her, or we'll be in the wrong." Wu Ge, with an expression that said, "Don't worry about me," patted his little chest and said, "My master taught me how to hit someone hard without leaving a mark. They definitely won't be able to find fault with me."

Cheng Mutian held Wu Ge in his arms, growing more and more fond of him. He specifically instructed Xiao Yuan to make his favorite "cold noodles" for dinner. Xiao Yuan, having learned a way to appease Madam Yang, was also delighted. She took a silver armband, hooked it around her sleeve, and personally went to the kitchen to knead the dough. With nothing to do in the mountains, she would go to the kitchen to learn whenever she felt bored. By now, her cooking skills had greatly improved. She scooped a ladle of fine flour and a ladle of fresh flour, added locust leaf water, chrysanthemum water, and some unknown wild vegetable water, and tossed it to the cook to knead the dough. Once the dough was kneaded, she cut it into thick strips, put it into a pot to cook, and then poured it into a basin of cold spring water to rinse. The cook who was helping her scoop out the cooked noodles, sprinkled some soy sauce, vinegar, salt, garlic, melon, and bamboo shoots on top, and asked with a smile, "Young Madam, are you in the mood to make 'cold noodles' for Brother Wu today?" Xiao Yuan reminded her to put in less vinegar while laughing, "I'm just waiting to go to court and fight a lawsuit, how could I not be in the mood?"

As they were talking, the "cold noodles" were ready. Xiao Yuan brought them to the table, and each of Cheng Mutian, his two sons, and Cheng Si Niang served themselves a bowl. Wu Ge, holding his noodles, didn't eat them. Instead, he ran to the corner and tried to do a handstand. Xiao Yuan was startled: "What are you doing?" Cheng Mutian was in a good mood today and didn't scold him. He laughed and said, "Last time I took him to the night market, he saw 'Zhao Yeren's' 'eating cold noodles upside down.' He must want to learn how to do it." Xiao Yuan couldn't understand some of the entertainment programs of the Song people. She didn't know what was so interesting about eating noodles upside down. She grabbed Wu Ge and scolded him, "You're Cheng Zilin, not 'Cheng Yeren.' Sit down and eat properly, or you won't be able to taste Mother's 'cold noodles' next time." Wu Ge made a face at her and said, "Mother only cut a noodle, and it's as thick as a finger. The flavor was all mixed by the cook." Cheng Mutian covered his mouth with one hand and slapped his bottom with the other, scolding, "Nonsense."

Xiao Yuan didn't feel embarrassed at all, and said confidently, "If your mother is a master of cooking, then what will our family's cook do?" Wu Ge served himself a bowl of noodles and said with a smile, "What Mother said makes sense. You sit down, I'll go and bring you a bowl of noodles." Xiao Yuan grabbed him and asked, "Who is it for?" Chen Ge answered for his brother, "Su Niang." Wu Ge glared at him, "You talk too much."

Cheng Mutian, unable to contain his anger, slapped her hard across the face, scolding, "I just praised you a few times, and you're already acting up again. We'd rather avoid the Yang family than go near them, but you insist on getting close to them." Seeing that the slap wasn't hard enough, Xiaoyuan quickly pulled Wu Ge aside to smooth things over, saying, "Childhood sweethearts, childhood sweethearts." Cheng Mutian hadn't considered this at all, and laughed at her words, "You really think too far ahead. How old is he? What does he know? He just felt sorry for Su Niang." Xiaoyuan glared at him and said, "If you know, why did you hit him?"

So that's where they were waiting for him. Cheng Mutian said angrily, "Then let him deliver it, so that others will falsely accuse us of poisoning." Wu Ge was frightened and hurriedly said, "I won't deliver it, I won't deliver it." Xiao Yuan looked at his pitiful little face and wanted to coax him a few words, but after thinking about it, she held back. Although this child was clever, he had a simple living environment and a simple mind. It would be good if he could gain some experience through the Yang family incident.