Chapter 24: Kneel

Chapter 24: Kneel

Zhu Yan stood silently at the cave's entrance for a long time without uttering a word.

Wen Ruan was taken aback for a moment before realizing he was in the way; he quickly stepped aside. "Your Highness is going to...?"

"How so, can't you walk by yourself?"

The recovered Sixth Prince had a mouth that... made him want to shut it up.

Hei Gou, the black dog, nudged Wen Ruan's leg quietly, its dark eyes looking at him as if asking whether he needed an escort.

Wen Ruan quickly stroked its head and said, "Actually, I have an estate right at the foot of the mountain, it's quite close."

No need for your escort.

Zhu Yan hummed in acknowledgment. "So you're a little liar who's good at coaxing people."

Wen Ruan: "Huh?"

"Who was it that said they were scared not long ago," Zhu Yan looked at him with his deep, dark eyes, speaking slowly, word by word, "and couldn't venture far?"

Wen Ruan: ...

Wasn't that just to preserve your fragile pride?

So should he be afraid now... or not?

Zhu Yan turned around and walked away. "Everyone's dead, how boring."

So the meaning was... there would be no more danger in these mountains?

"Hold on," Wen Ruan subconsciously grabbed his sleeve. "The poison in your body..."

He didn't need an escort, but what about the Sixth Prince...

Zhu Yan lowered his gaze to look at the hand on his sleeve. "Are you concerned about me?"

Wen Ruan felt a strange sense of unease from those words, as if they contained hidden meanings like 'how dare you', 'do you even deserve to', 'you still remember to ask'. He instantly withdrew his hand and rushed out of the cave first. "If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. Your Highness, take care!"

It wasn't that he said it, but this person was really hard to get along with.

He considered himself someone who enjoyed interacting with others, willing to chat with anyone, and had never made enemies due to his words. But this Sixth Prince... was truly someone he dared not provoke.

After all, this was a feudal society with strict hierarchy. If the other party got truly angry, they could kill him.

Zhu Yan: ...

Hei Gou: "Woof!"

Zhu Yan glanced sideways at the dog. "Do you want to go send him off?"

Hei Gou wagged its tail. "Woof!"

Zhu Yan sneered. "Do you think he cares about you?"

Hei Gou whimpered softly, tucking its ears back.

Zhu Yan took one last look at the cave, then stepped out. After taking a few steps, he saw Fang Rui.

Fang Rui, after seeing piles of masked men's corpses scattered around, thought it was necessary to search further inside. He hadn't expected to actually find them.

"I knew you hadn't left yet! Was it satisfying killing so many people today? Hey, doggy, are those pomegranate flowers by your ear? Did you come here to celebrate your birthday? With whom, and why didn't you invite me!"

Zhu Yan looked at the overly lively, scatterbrained youth in front of him, whose own dog seemed to dislike him, with an indescribable expression.

Fang Rui hadn't finished talking yet. "I'm telling you, you're too unprofessional. We agreed to fight together, but you went ahead alone? Do you even consider me, Little Marquis Fang, in your eyes?"

Zhu Yan: "Kneel."

Fang Rui was incredulous. "Are you justified in bullying people?"

Zhu Yan's frosty gaze bore down on him, and it seemed his hand was about to raise—

Fang Rui dropped to his knees with a thud, swiftly kneeling. "What happened, anyway? Is it wrong that I rushed over upon hearing the news?"

Zhu Yan: "I know you're used to being careless, but did you dare to be late for my matters?"

"No, I swear, I'm helping you fight!" Fang Rui detailed the encounter with a masked man, describing how high his martial arts were and how marvelous they were. "...He even knew formations!"

Zhu Yan gave him a 'keep making things up' look.

Fang Rui was genuinely aggrieved. "I swear I'm not lying! That masked man was incredible!"

Zhu Yan: "Where is he?"

Fang Rui whispered, "...He left."

Zhu Yan turned and walked away.

Fang Rui: ...

He was utterly speechless now, wanting to ask the Sixth Prince where he found such a person, but it was pointless to ask!

"Are you waiting for it to rain and sprout?"

After a long while, the Sixth Prince's disdainful voice came from behind him, telling him to get up and stop kneeling. The Sixth Prince seemed to be in a rather good mood?

Fang Rui got up quickly, dusting off the dirt on his knees, and jogged over. He scrutinized the Sixth Prince's expression... but couldn't read it. Looking at Hei Gou, inspiration struck—could it be because of the pomegranate flowers?

"Who picked these flowers? It certainly wasn't you; you've always hated the pomegranate blossoms of May, nor was it the dog; a dog follows its master's nature, knowing that you dislike them, it wouldn't dare either," Fang Rui felt that there must have been someone else present just now, "Who was it?"

Zhu Yan: "Noisy."

Fang Rui suddenly caught a subtle scent and furrowed his brows, "Did you take the Hundred Refinement Pill? Have you been poisoned? Do you know that medicine can't be taken lightly, the quick detoxification within two hours comes at the cost of your health, it might take half a year or more to recover after taking it! Where's Lan Tian, where did he go, why isn't he with you? Never mind, I'll have to do it myself, I'll send you back to the mansion! Let me tell you, this time you must take your medicine properly, otherwise, you won't be able to withstand any hardships in the short term..."

Zhu Yan suddenly stopped and turned to look at Fang Rui.

Fang Rui felt his scalp tingle under his gaze, "What, what is it?"

Zhu Yan: "Give me your clothes."

Fang Rui blinked his round eyes, confused, "What?"

Zhu Yan pointed at him, "Your clothes, give them to me."

Before Fang Rui could react, his outer robe was stripped off. The Sixth Prince, who usually didn't care much for his own body and was always complaining about something, merely frowned, showing a momentary disgust before shaking off the dust on his outer robe and putting it on.

After using the Hundred Refinement Pill, one's body becomes weak and susceptible to colds, the most important thing to note is to add clothing... Has the Sixth Prince changed his ways?

Good heavens, which deity imparted this wisdom! One should definitely pay their respects!

Fang Rui dared not speak again, fearing that this master would become disgusted and strip him again.

Today's Sixth Prince was very out of character, his madness was different from usual, yet he hadn't even had any alcohol?

Fang Rui stole several glances at Zhu Yan, when the other party looked at him coldly, he cleared his throat and forced the conversation back to the topic, "By the way, did you get the seal?"

Zhu Yan gave him a look, leaving him to interpret the meaning —

What else? Were you waiting for you? The yellow flowers would have wilted by now.

Fang Rui: "…"

The two returned directly to the city after descending the mountain, riding their horses through shortcuts without passing by the estate, thus unaware of the major incident that occurred there.

Wen Ruan hadn't had the chance to transplant the mountain plants he had been thinking about, instead, he faced his chaotic fields head-on.

The field ridges were in disarray, seedlings were strewn everywhere, dry firewood from an unknown source was scattered here and there, thrown into the newly sprouted fields, some still blackened, clearly having been burned recently.

Wen Ruan closed his eyes, but his voice remained unusually calm, "What happened?"

"There were bandits," Nanxing had already arrived, "Intentionally causing chaos."

The estate manager, Liu Dahai, hurried over as well. Having experienced everything from start to finish, he reported truthfully, "…They were all hooligans who steal chickens and dogs, reckless and unscrupulous, as if they were being paid to do a job. They came with dry firewood and flint, straight for our fields. No matter how we shouted or tried to persuade them, it was useless. A solid fight broke out here. When Nanxing returned, those people became afraid and fled quickly…"

Nanxing: "We caught three of them, how to deal with them is still pending Young Master's instructions."

Wen Ruan noticed that there were many people at the scene, a few of whom seemed familiar.

Liu Dahai immediately explained, "They're all here to help. Didn't Young Master kindly teach them farming before? They're all farmers, honest-hearted, seeing that we were in trouble, how could they just stand by and watch? Many of them are from the Sixth Highness' estate next door, and there's also an old man, no one knows him, he came from outside, seems like he's looking for you."

Wen Ruan: "Looking for me?"

"Yes," Liu Dahai pointed to Luo Linchang sitting by the field ridge, "He's crying right there."

Luo Linchang wasn't being bullied, he was just heartbroken over the crops, he wasn't actually crying, his eyes were just red from urgency, muttering 'wasted, wasted', indeed making him seem like he was crying.

Wen Ruan didn't recognize him, but the emotions were similar. Regardless of whether this was his hard work, these were crops, food, they couldn't be treated so recklessly!

This was an era of severe lack of resources, with limited technological civilization. Merely climate disasters could claim countless lives. Many people died simply because they couldn't eat, starving to death. Food was the foundation of people's livelihood, the hope for every ordinary person to live safely, how could it be treated so lightly!

His eyes blazed with fire, his lips tightly pursed.

Nanxing rarely saw the young master like this. No matter the situation, the young master was always easy-going, loving to smile. He wouldn't panic no matter how anxious others were, he knew how to speak, how to comfort people, how to coordinate everyone's emotions, always able to resolve matters before others truly got angry. This time… it couldn't be settled so easily.

Wen Ruan's voice was slow, carrying a subtle sense of stillness, "Targeting me, Wen Ruan, specifically destroying my fields, should they be considered enemies? Nanxing, we've just come to the capital, have we ever made enemies with anyone here?"

"No, Young Master," Nanxing replied, "You only have blood relatives."

"Relatives, huh…"

Wen Ruan narrowed his eyes, "Even if they tore down the estate and left me nowhere to settle, I wouldn't be angry, but these are crops, shouldn't they be returned?"

Nanxing nodded, "It's very appropriate, moreover, they also took away Miss Li Yue'e."

Wen Ruan: "She came?"

Nanxing: "She wasn't being chased, it seemed to be a coincidence that she bumped into that group of villains. At the time, we were short-handed, she couldn't bear to see it, and came to help. But since she didn't speak, our people didn't notice her at first. Later, when the men helping mentioned her, they couldn't find her. It seems that during the chaos, she was accidentally… taken away."

Wen Ruan was so angry he laughed, "Nanxing, don't come back tonight."

Nanxing knelt halfway to receive orders, "Young Master, please instruct!"

"You go into the city now, greet the Huo family's business and ask them for help, hold back goods in several directions; drink with the brothers of the Canal Gang in the city, see if they can give face and leak some information; and send a message to Lady Liang you met today, say I'll send her a great fortune…"

Wen Ruan pondered, issuing instructions one after another, each item meticulously detailed.

In his view, the Duke's Mansion's tactics were simply low-level. To truly strike someone, one should aim for the sore spot, targeting the most crucial area to make the opponent feel pain immediately, and never dare to offend again. What did the Duke's Mansion care about the most, what could they not afford to lose?

He hadn't known them for long, but he could see that it boiled down to two things: money and face.

He hadn't expected the people of the Duke's Mansion to be so unrefined, daring to touch his fields. Since that was the case, don't blame him for being impolite!

Revenge must be taken, those who dared to reach out to him would have their claws broken, kindness must also be repaid, the farmers near the estate must be remembered for their help, and Miss Li Yue'e must be brought back!

…

At the Duke's Mansion, they were waiting for the aftermath. After doing such a big deed today, surely there would be some reaction from others, right?

They didn't know where Wen Ruan was today or what he had done, but waiting until nightfall without a reply… what was going on? Didn't they agree to give feedback after finishing their business? It couldn't just pass like this, could it?

That would be quite laughable. This young master who had just returned to the manor seemed very fiery in temperament, shrewd and not one to suffer losses, but it turned out he was easy to bully? A ball of cotton, acknowledging every hit, cowering before anyone who came? Those harsh words and cunning… were they just bluster, afraid when it came down to it?

This was truly…

Madam Zhou covered her mouth with her handkerchief out of boredom: "I'm keeping Ru Jie'er practicing embroidery; I must go back and check on her."

Restraining her didn't work; mother and daughter had different opinions on the marriage, and they were currently at odds. But the Pan family… the daughter had misunderstood. It wasn't a matter of whether she wanted it or not; it was whether she could refuse it.

Lady Lu the Elder nodded slightly: "It's late, drinking too much tea isn't good either. Let's call it a day."

She also needed to think carefully about whether to act as a matchmaker for Wen Ruan. That young lady from the An family had no objections, but how to make Wen Ruan marry was a problem, and whether Wen Ruan himself was suitable was also an issue.

Lady Lu the Younger stood up and bid farewell to her aunt: "My husband doesn't like being served by others; Aunt, I'll leave first as well."

The others also followed suit, leaving one by one.

A tea party where everyone had their own thoughts ended just like that. No one worried about Wen Ruan's side anymore, nor did anyone think that Wen Ruan was planning something big.

Wen Yu was the same.

He had followed Jing Yuqing all day today and was very tired. Knowing that this future third-place laureate was frugal, he had cleverly sent money over, wanting to leave a mysterious impression for the future, without meeting immediately. He could tell that Jing Yuqing was grateful, searching everywhere for his figure…

He didn't appear, and Jing Yuqing didn't use that money but put it away, heading into the mountains to dig some medicinal herbs himself.

What could Wen Yu do but follow? The mountain Jing Yuqing entered happened to be next to Wen Ruan's estate!

The atmosphere in the mountains seemed a bit off. He heard some commotion but didn't move, focusing solely on Jing Yuqing. Jing Yuqing was fully intent on digging medicinal herbs or wild vegetables and didn't notice anything unusual. However, the future third-place laureate clearly wasn't suited for such rough work and accidentally injured himself.

Wen Yu hurried over to help, and thus the two met.

This wasn't part of Wen Yu's plan, but… it seemed acceptable.

Jing Yuqing lived up to being a future third-place laureate, refined and courteous, humble and polite. He didn't dare look him in the eye seriously, repeatedly thanking him. The atmosphere was quite nice at the time, with the hazy feeling he imagined, a sense of anticipation. At least this person felt good about him.

The next morning, the side gate of the Duke's manor was knocked on, stirring the masters one by one. Their hearts, which had been hanging, finally fell to the ground—

Something major had happened. There were problems with the businesses under the manor's name, each shop having issues!

As a large clan, the Duke's manor certainly had properties, estates, commercial assets, vegetables, rice, oil, grains, and various necessities of life, all operated. However, they couldn't form a network, and production capacity was limited. The ladies of the manor also had dowries, and within those dowries were some shops, doing all kinds of businesses. None of them were particularly skilled at management, unable to achieve great wealth, but maintaining daily operations and covering expenses wasn't a problem. With small business scales, nothing major usually happened, but who knew that today they would all have problems at once!

One shop's supply chain was blocked; the supplier didn't deliver on time and said there would be no goods for the next half month. If you want to sue, fine—it's just a breach of contract fee, right? When the court rules, I'll pay you then. Another shop had buyers returning goods on a large scale, saying they didn't want them anymore. You say there's a deposit? Keep it yourself then; I don't want it anymore—just follow the rules in the contract. Or it was a buyer in a hurry, agreeing to pick up the goods today, only to find the supplier didn't deliver on time, causing a delay. Since the buyer didn't know the supplier, wouldn't they cause trouble at the Duke's manor's shop?

Well, previously, they always complained that the managers of each shop weren't capable, unable to do business, with few customers and little popularity. Now, there was certainly popularity—the shops were being vandalized!

What was going on! Suddenly, everyone faced the same situation together. How could it be so coincidental? Could it be Wen Ruan?

Everyone in the Duke's manor was very reluctant to think in this direction. As an outsider, how could he have such significant power in the capital?

Wen Yu sensed something amiss: "I'll go to the shops and take a look."

I feel like something is beyond our control.

Wen Ru also jumped up: "I'll go too!"

Among the shops being disrupted were the dowry shops recently allocated to her. Although she wasn't married yet and didn't even know who she would marry, once they passed through her hands, the shops had problems. In the future, if others found out, it would be embarrassing for her!

Madam Zhou slammed the table: "Servants! Send someone to the estate to see what our young master is doing!"

Wen Ruan, of course, was busy with the fields.

Newly sprouted seedlings were easy for others to destroy, but replanting them well was difficult. Fortunately, the time was still short; the seedlings had just been pulled out. As long as the root system wasn't damaged and the buds weren't entirely ruined, they could be saved, replanted, and nurtured with soil and water to regrow.

But replanting and watering at this stage wasn't as simple as when planting. Planting could be simpler—dig a hole, throw in the seeds, cover them, water them, and leave them alone. Now, special attention had to be paid, with controlled force. Digging holes also required skill, and water couldn't be poured directly onto the roots but had to be filtered, consuming considerable effort.

Luo Linchang, the head of the estate, boasted about what his young master said: these corns, regardless of whether others could grow them or not, would yield at least three times the normal amount per mu in the fall! The harvested grain would also be delicious, sweet, glutinous, and filling!

He could tell that these seedlings were different from what he had seen before, likely due to some special cultivation technique.

"Almost forgot," Wen Ruan called Liu Dahai over, "there's a type of grass in the mountains that can be planted together. Perhaps we can harvest excellent varieties. Gather some people and come with me to the mountains!"

"Yes!"

A group of people went into the mountains again at night, dug out another type of grass, and interplanted it in the fields, complementing the newly replanted seedlings. It looked incredibly beautiful.

Not all seedlings could be salvaged, so what could be done with the remaining land? Only replanting was possible. The season hadn't completely passed yet, so the replanted seeds could still grow well, although the harvest might be a few days later than the others.

You ask why not replant everything to save trouble? Of course, it was because they didn't have enough seeds!

Wen Ruan had worked hard for three years to obtain this batch of good seeds, conducting experimental plantings on different lands in Sizhou. This time entering the capital, he didn't know what environment he would face. If things didn't go smoothly, wouldn't it be a waste? So, he didn't bring many seeds.

With this busyness, they directly worked until the evening of the second day.

Although they arranged for rotating breaks in between, no one really rested and were all very tired. But strangely, they felt reassured, looking at the vast fields with the seedlings now standing tall and vibrant. Everyone's eyes were filled with hope.

"How scary it was, such a terrible field, seedlings pulled out like that, the young master said they could be saved, and they really were! Look at them now, how good they are…"

"These seedlings are growing strong; the harvest this year will definitely be good!"

"I wonder what kind of seeds the young master used. I've never seen them before. Do you think he'll sell some to us after the fall?"

Such was the scene amidst the bustling activity and hopeful anticipation in the fields.

"Liu Dahai said it's called corn, and its yield per mu is at least three times ours..."

"Really? There's such a fine grain in the world!"

"Honestly, I want to kowtow to Young Master."

"So do I."

"Me too..."

Whoever would bear to bully such a good person as Young Master, playing such low tricks, better not regret it later!

Deep into the night.

After a day of frantic efforts, the Duke's Mansion, with no signs of improvement or gain, was on the brink of madness.

Why so complicated? Asking for favors, spending money, none of it worked; someone was clearly out to get them! They were willing to suffer great losses just to inflict damage!

Was it really Wen Ruan? Could they smooth things over now?

But the series of blows that followed told them this was just the beginning, mere appetizers. They mustn't be alarmed, or else... how would they survive in the future.