Chapter 73

Chapter 73

This successful bandit eradication resulted in no harm coming to civilians, making it a significant achievement.

Originally, based on Yun Zhangxie's merits, he could have been directly promoted. However, bandit suppression was different from other achievements, and Vice Minister Yun felt it would be better to rein in Yun Zhangxie’s rapid rise.

Thus, when the emperor proposed promoting Yun Zhangxie, Vice Minister Yun politely declined on his behalf.

Vice Minister Yun: "Zhangxie is still young. This time, he just got lucky. He hasn’t accomplished much yet, and if he’s promoted too quickly, he might become cocky and overconfident."

The emperor found this reasoning sound. After all, young people should gain more experience before achieving great things.

The Yun family had shallow roots, with no strong alliances among the noble families in court, and they were the emperor’s loyalists. If possible, the emperor hoped the Yun family could produce more capable individuals.

An emperor’s game was all about balance.

The court was filled with many factions, the most powerful among them being the old aristocratic families.

It was often said that emperors were fleeting, but noble families endured.

Some old aristocratic families had deep-rooted influence. Even if dynasties changed, they could sustain themselves through their resources.

Such noble families posed a threat to the emperor.

Many emperors, upon ascending the throne, preferred to promote humble families who relied on them.

These humble families had shallow foundations and were often at odds with other noble families.

Such families had neither the means nor the strength to harbor disloyalty.

The Yun family was also of humble origins. Even though several members now held official positions, compared to the true noble families, the Yun family still paled in comparison.

For example, the Yu family, relatives of the imperial family, had six candidates pass the imperial exams this year alone.

And that was just one year’s output. Including previous years and those already serving in court, they numbered in the dozens.

Then there were the old aristocratic families, such as the Li family of Quyu.

The Li family had produced a Grand Tutor and three zhuangyuan (top exam scorers).

Currently, most of the Li family’s officials served in the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Rites.

These noble families had abundant resources and numerous descendants.

They were wealthy, owned extensive landholdings, and had many children.

With their own private schools, they naturally worked hard to cultivate talent in all fields.

But when a family’s influence grew too great, and too many of its members held official positions, the emperor would see them as a threat.

The emperor did not promote Yun Zhangxie, but Yun Zhangxie did not feel regretful.

Rather than seeking a quick promotion, he favored steady career growth.

There was also good news: though he wasn’t promoted, the emperor lavished him with rewards.

These rewards were all his to keep.

The emperor awarded him two thousand taels of silver, a pair of gold hairpins, a jade pendant, and a pile of luxurious silks and satins.

The rewards arrived in the eleventh month, delivered in bulk to the county yamen’s back courtyard.

Yun Zhangxie was not short of money, so he split the two thousand taels of silver equally between Liu Shi and Su Qingruo, giving each a thousand taels.

With more silver on hand, they could confidently handle social engagements, gifts, or household expenses in the future.

The pair of gold hairpins went to Su Qingruo as a mark of status.

The jade pendant was given to Liu Shi.

As for the silks and satins, there were many, including over a dozen bolts of premium cloud-patterned brocade.

Yun Zhangxie first took Su Qingruo to select the ones he liked, leaving the rest for Liu Shi, the head of the household, to oversee.

Su Qingruo was hesitant at first, thinking he had enough clothes and didn’t need to pick any specially.

But with Yun Zhangxie egging him on, he eventually stepped forward and chose four bolts.

He picked two bolts of cloud-patterned brocade—one in a deep rouge hue for Lou Ge’er’s clothes, and another in a soft, muted green for himself.

After selecting the cloud-patterned brocade, he chose two bolts of heavy brocade—one in a hazy pink and another in lavender.

A single bolt could make several sets of clothes, so four bolts were plenty.

Once Tian Sang carried away the four bolts, the remaining fabrics were taken by Liu Shi to the storeroom.

Since there were so many fabrics, Liu Shi logged each one carefully as they were stored.

As she recorded, she said to Qing Shan, "Later, take this emerald-green bolt and that peach-blossom pink one to Ai Cao and Shan Li. They’re grown now and will soon be old enough to marry—they ought to look their best."

Then, she glanced at Qing Shan.

"Pick one you like as well."

Qing Shan thanked her and, without hesitation, chose a bolt she liked.

Afterward, she took the two bolts Liu Shi had mentioned to Ai Cao and Shan Li’s rooms.

Now that Ai Cao and Shan Li were older, they no longer roomed together as they once had.

When Qing Shan delivered the fabrics, she noticed neither had an attendant. Upon returning, she brought it up with Liu Shi.

Liu Shi agreed that it was time to give them attendants.

Having attendants would make sure they were looked after when going out and keep them from being slighted.

With this in mind, after wrapping up the ledger, she called for Aunt Liang.

Aunt Liang was getting older, and Liu Shi, given her senior status, knew Yun Zhangxie would support her in retirement.

Might as well take this chance to buy a few more servants for the household and let Aunt Liang retire for good.

Liu Shi called Aunt Liang over to ask how many servants would be appropriate this time.

Aunt Liang thought for a moment and said, "Let’s start with four. It’s not suitable to buy too many, given the young master's circumstances—he won’t be here long-term. If we have too many servants, it’ll be inconvenient when we move later."

When purchasing the servants, Liu Shi took Aicao and the others to the servant market.

Since they were buying personal servants for the two of them, it was only natural to let them choose who suited them.

Aicao never dreamed the day would come when he would become a master himself. He was buzzing with excitement when they went to the servant market.

But just as he was selecting servants one by one, he heard a voice he never expected to hear.

The voice belonged to his younger brother—Su Wangzu.

Now, Aicao and Shanli had come of age.

Similarly, Su Wangzu had also become a young man.

He had come to the county town because he had recently set up a small trade there.

Later, when he heard that Su Qingruo and the others were staying at the county yamen, he decided to stake out the back gate, hoping for a chance to see his older brother and sister.

Then he saw Liu Shi taking Aicao and the others out in a carriage, so he followed them all the way to the county servant market.

At first, he didn’t recognize Aicao and Shanli. It wasn’t until he heard the servants beside them calling their names that he worked up the courage to approach them.

Aicao frowned when he saw Su Wangzu. "What are you doing in the county?"

Shanli’s reaction was even more vehement. "You—were you following us?"

Su Wangzu quickly explained, "Third Brother, Fourth Sister, don’t worry. I’m not here to cause trouble. I’ve just been missing you."

They didn’t believe him. Before Aicao could say anything else,

Yuan Zhi stepped forward and glared at Su Wangzu. "Su Wangzu, mind your tongue. They are our family’s young master and young lady—they have nothing to do with your Su family."

"We only severed relations with Eldest Brother, not Third Brother and Fourth Sister. Now that they’re older, they should return home for marriage arrangements. They are part of the Su family, so their marriages should naturally be decided by our father."

The moment Shanli heard this, she couldn’t hold back and shouted,

"What nonsense are you spouting? Our marriages have nothing to do with the Su family. We’re not going back with you!"

Hearing this, Su Wangzu immediately flung himself to the ground and began bawling at the top of his lungs.

"Heavens above, what an outrage! The county magistrate is stealing away our family’s sons and daughters! There’s no justice, no law—first he forced our eldest brother into marriage, and now he’s trying to take Third Brother and Fourth Sister too!"

At first, Aicao didn’t react, but when he did, his face turned red with fury.

He had never seen someone so shameless. There was absolutely no improper relationship between them and their brother-in-law.

Their brother-in-law treated them like his own children.

Yet this person was turning things upside down, claiming they had been forcibly taken?

Aicao couldn’t take it anymore. He stepped forward and landed a stinging slap across Su Wangzu's face.

"That's enough of your filthy lies! How dare you spread such slander!"

Seeing this, Yuan Zhi also stepped forward to hit him, preventing Su Wangzu from spreading any rumors.

Soon, the county authorities caught wind of the incident and sent two constables to take him away.

To be honest, if Su Wangzu hadn’t shown up on his own, Yun Zhangxie wouldn’t have even remembered him.

Now that Su Wangzu had walked right into their hands, it happened to align with Yun Zhangxie’s intention to reform some of the bad habits in Qiuping County.

To curb the trend of rumor-mongering, he decided to make an example out of Su Wangzu.

After Su Wangzu was arrested, Yun Zhangxie didn’t personally interrogate him. Instead, he sent Hunter Chen to beat him.

Every day, Hunter Chen would give him ten lashes, slowly wearing him down like a blunt knife cutting flesh.

Only after Su Wangzu had been broken and compliant did Yun Zhangxie finally find time to see him.

After more than ten days of torment, Su Wangzu had long since been broken.

The moment he saw Yun Zhangxie, he burst into tears, crying, "Where’s my father—my dad? I want to see them—I want to go home!"

Yun Zhangxie remained silent. The Su family surely knew Su Wangzu had been arrested by the authorities.

Over those ten days, members of the Su family had come to demand he be freed.

The troublemakers got a beating, while the compliant ones were simply driven away.

Yun Zhangxie wouldn’t kill Su Wangzu for spreading rumors, but he also wouldn’t go easy on him.

In the novel, this brother-in-law had committed far too many misdeeds.

He needed to beat some sense into him to prevent him from causing harm to others in the future.