Chapter 100: Great Drought, Praying for Rain

Chapter 100: The Great Drought – Praying for Rain

"Why aren't you angry?" On the way back, with only the two of them left in the carriage, Bing Wengu leaned close to Nan Jinping, grinning like a shameless fool.

Nan Jinping’s beautiful almond-shaped phoenix eyes slanted toward Bing Wengu, her chin slightly raised as if looking down her nose at him, exuding disdain and contempt.

"You wouldn’t dare!" Nan Jinping sneered coldly. "This lord is still somewhat infatuated with your looks right now. But if you dare betray me, I’ll slip poison into your food, chop it off, and then—snip!"

She made a scissor-cutting motion with her fingers. "Without that damn thing, you won’t need concubines anymore. Unlike you, this lord has never cared much about that sort of thing. I’ll stick with you forever."

"And you? If you don’t want Mom and Dad to find out you’ve become a eunuch, you’ll need my cover. Then you’ll have to obey me!"

"Whoa!" Bing Wengu wasn’t frightened—instead, his eyes gleamed with a strange excitement.

Suddenly, he pulled Nan Jinping into his arms, enveloping her completely. His gaze was like that of a beast ready to devour its prey, terrifyingly bright.

"Darling, you’ve leveled up. This trick is way more ruthless than the one I taught you before. I love it—you’re a master manipulator." Bing Wengu went in for a kiss. "Let me taste if my sweet, scheming darling is as sweet as tangyuan."

Nan Jinping struggled, but how could she overpower the ox-like strength of Bing Wengu? Soon, she ran out of energy and could only lie helpless under his whims.

When the carriage entered the rear courtyard, Nan Jinping was still dizzy and disoriented from the kisses. It wasn’t until she heard a familiar voice—one that shouldn’t have been there at that moment—that she jolted awake.

"Are Jin Geer and Da Lang still in the carriage? Why haven’t they come down yet?" Miao Shi asked anxiously. "Could the two still be arguing?"

Nan’s father was sweating bullets. "Should I go check? If they’re really fighting, I can mediate."

The gatekeeper quickly blocked his path. "Sir Nan, it’s best not to disturb them. The dear and his husband are discussing private matters inside. It’s not a good time for interruptions."

*Bedroom business—of course it’s important!* The gatekeeper thought to himself. *Definitely not something to be interrupted.*

But Nan’s father and Miao Shi grew even more anxious.

Inside the carriage, Nan Jinping faintly heard Miao Shi and her father’s voices and jolted awake, shoving Bing Wengu away.

"Mom and Dad are outside! Get up!" she hissed, kicking at him and pinching his rock-hard abs in embarrassment and urgency.

Bing Wengu grabbed her hand, his eyes dark with desire. "Darling..."

"Get up now! If Mom and Dad see you like this, you’ll be sleeping on the spare bed for a month!"

Bing Wengu held her hand, his thumb rubbing against her skin suggestively.

Nan Jinping yanked her hand back, glared at him, hastily straightened her clothes, and jumped out of the carriage.

"Mom, Dad, Brother, why are you here?" she asked.

Just as Miao Shi was about to answer, Bing Wengu sauntered out of the carriage. He gave a casual nod to Miao Shi, Nan’s father, and Nan’s eldest brother.

"Mom, Dad, Brother."

Miao Shi forced a smile and peered behind Bing Wengu. When no one else emerged from the carriage after a long while, she awkwardly withdrew her gaze.

"Well, dear son-in-law, since you have urgent matters to attend to, we’ll just speak with Jin Geer for a moment." She pulled Nan Jinping into an empty room.

"Jin Geer, where’s that young lad?" Miao Shi asked immediately.

"Him? Wen Gu sent him to work the land."

"What?!" Miao Shi gaped. "Toil in the fields?!"

"Hmm."

"Don’t be foolish and get tricked by your son-in-law!" Miao Shi said urgently. "You can’t trust a man’s words at a time like this. That young lad looks so delicate and frail—does he seem like someone who can farm?"

Nan’s father added, "What I fear most is that your son-in-law hid him away somewhere, lying to you about sending him to farm. Then he’d use official business as an excuse to visit him, leaving you in the dark."

Nan’s eldest brother chimed in, "What kind of farmer costs a hundred strings of cash? Our whole household bought a family of servants to serve us, and it only cost a few dozen strings. Only those who serve... *other purposes* cost over a hundred. People like that aren’t bought to work, but to…"

Nan Jinping watched his family, who were even more anxious than he was, and felt warmth in his heart. "Father, Mother, Eldest Brother, don’t worry. Wen Gu doesn’t like that kind of Shuang Er—a term for a delicate or effeminate man."

"Doesn’t like him? Then why would he spend a hundred strings to buy him? He’s so stingy—even after becoming a high-ranking official like the county magistrate, the only pouch he carries is the one you made for him back then," Miao Shi said.

Nan’s father added, "If he doesn’t like him, why spend a hundred strings on a farmer? Our family are farmers—since when did farmers become so valuable?"

Bing Dalang said, "Doesn’t like him? What man *wouldn’t* go for such a delicate, effeminate Shuang Er?"

"Wen Gu doesn’t. Wen Gu likes someone like me," Nan Jinping suddenly declared.

Miao Shi, Nan’s father, and Bing Dalang had been about to continue persuading him, but Nan Jinping’s sudden confidence startled them.

Miao Shi didn’t know when her once-insecure and introverted young lad had become so… self-assured.

She studied Nan Jinping closely and immediately noticed something amiss. His clothes were wrinkled and disheveled, as if hastily thrown on. His lower lip seemed slightly swollen, and the corner of his mouth had a small tear.

Miao Shi flushed with embarrassment—how could she not understand why the two had delayed getting off the carriage earlier? It wasn’t an argument; it must have been… *that*.

This… this was just too shameless.

"Father, Mother, Eldest Brother, don’t worry. Wen Gu genuinely doesn’t care for that kind of Shuang Er. He admires those who are self-reliant, sharp, and driven—not the type to cling to men," Nan Jinping said with a smile. "Besides, Mother, am I not charming enough? I can write storybooks and earn money. A young lad like me is probably hard to find. If he abandons me for someone else, it just means he’s blind."

Miao Shi was stunned. She suddenly realized that as her young lad spoke these words, he seemed to radiate a kind of brilliance, too bright to ignore.

Had she underestimated her young lad? Without her realizing, he had grown from a helpless sprout anyone could trample into a sturdy tree.

After seeing off Miao Shi and the other two, Nan Jinping pushed open the door to his room. The moment he stepped inside, someone grabbed him from behind and pinned him against the door, covering him in kisses.

"Bing Wengu! Are you a freak? The rougher I am to you, the more excited you get!" Nan Jinping shouted angrily.

"Mmm, I like it," Bing Wengu managed between kisses, too busy to form proper words.

After a steamy night, Bing Wengu arrived at the yamen the next day, where Zhao Weihai and Chu Hongyu exchanged knowing looks.

Zhao Weihai smirked suggestively. "I couldn’t help noticing that the Bing County Magistrate looks glowing today. Last night must have been quite satisfying, no? Surely it’s time to give my brother-in-law a proper status now. What a strange turn of events—when Your Excellency first arrived, I never imagined we’d have this kind of connection!"

Bing Wengu gave him a strange look. "Assistant Magistrate Zhao, you’re making it sound like there’s some improper connection between us. What ‘connection’ could there possibly be? At most, we’re just colleagues."

"Magistrate Bing, you can’t just mess with him and then deny it!" Zhao Weihai protested. "My brother-in-law is a respectable Shuang Er—even if he signed a deed, that doesn’t mean you can disrespect him as you please. Since you took advantage of him last night, you must take responsibility today!"

Bing Wengu replied, "If your brother-inlaw was wronged last night, then go arrest the culprit in the farmlands and interrogate him. Once you find the right man, make him take responsibility. Oh, and don’t forget to pocket the sale money. As for me, I was in my husband’s bed all night and never stepped out."

"You—you sent Wu Geer to farm?!"

Bing Wengu nodded. "I spent so much silver—of course he can’t just farm. Later, I have plans to build roads. He can go work on those."

"You—you—!" Zhao Weihai pointed at him, shaking with anger.

"Didn’t he say he’d do anything to serve me? I’ve got plenty of attendants, but I *do* need someone to farm."

Zhao Weihai's lips were purple with rage, his entire body trembling.

"Assistant Magistrate Zhao seems heartbroken. If you truly can't bear it, fine—I'll make an exception for a thousand strings of cash. You can have him back."

"You only spent a hundred strings to buy him in the first place!"

"Assistant Magistrate Zhao, what nonsense is that? In business, who looks at the purchase price?" Bing Wengu shook his head disapprovingly. "Consider how common folk trade—stuff bought for pennies can be resold elsewhere for ten or twenty times the price."

"Out of professional courtesy, I didn’t inflate the price too harshly. Otherwise, if I sold him into a brothel and simply advertised that he was 'attached' to me, he could fetch tens of thousands of strings. Believe me?"

Unsurprisingly, Zhao Weihai passed out in anger once again.

Bing Wengu tutted. "Magistrate Zhao’s health is truly poor. Being so frail, no wonder he serves the people so poorly."

Madam Han stared at the cracked earth and the scorching sun in the sky, her eyes filled with despair. "If it doesn’t rain soon, we'll lose this year's harvest."

"Madam Han, perhaps we should invite a Taoist or Buddhist monk to pray for rain?"

Madam Han glanced at the sky and asked the yamen officer's leave to seek out Bing Wengu to report the situation.

As they arrived at the yamen gates, they saw a Taoist priest swishing a horsetail whisk, dancing in front of the yamen to pray for rain.

"Magistrate." Madam Han bowed upon seeing Bing Wengu.

Bing Wengu raised a hand. "What brings you to me, Madam Han?"

"I’ve also come regarding the rain prayers." Madam Han looked at the Taoist, her eyes anxious. "Magistrate, this priest isn't the one you previously summoned to the yamen?"

Bing Wengu replied, "Correct. That one was a fake—he couldn’t summon rain. This one has other skills."

Madam Han knew the rest wasn’t her place to ask. "Magistrate, do you think these prayers will bring rain?"

"No." Bing Wengu stared at the cloudless sky.

Meanwhile, the people of Ji County knelt before the Taoist, begging the heavens for rain.

Others prostrated themselves at the Dragon King Temple, begging the Dragon King for rain.

Without exception, their faces were twisted with worry.

"Please, Dragon King, have pity—make it rain!"

"Gods above, we beg you to pity us! Open your eyes and see our suffering! If it doesn’t rain this year, we'll have to sell our kids or eat each other!"