Chapter 13: Becoming a Tyrant

Chapter 13: Becoming a Bully

Zhao An had expected that having another person in his bed, especially someone he liked, would keep him awake. Yet, from the moment Hu Sheng lay down, he remained perfectly still. Listening to his soft, even breaths, Zhao An soon drifted into a deep sleep.

However, the thought of ripening the strawberries in the morning lingered in his mind, so he opened his eyes at the first hint of dawn. He quietly slipped out of bed, whispered guiltily, "I’m going to the outhouse," and then left the room.

By then, Hu Sheng was already awake but kept his eyes closed. Not long after, Zhao An returned, carefully crawling back into bed, seemingly intending to catch a little more sleep.

Hu Sheng, now fully awake, listened as Zhao An’s breathing gradually became regular. He quietly turned over and saw a foot that had kicked out from under the covers. The round toes were tinged with a faint pink. It should have been a foot unaccustomed to labor, yet the soles had recently developed a few calluses—a clear sign that he had been through some hardship lately.

Amidst the crowing of roosters and the barking of dogs, the sun gradually crested the distant mountaintops, casting a golden glow. By the time Zhao An finally awoke, Hu Sheng had long since risen and departed, leaving only fifty taels of silver and a note on the table. "I have retrieved the redemption money for Uncle Hai and Qintong. The rest is compensation from Zhao Tongming."

Upon seeing the silver and the note, Zhao An’s first thought was that his sneaky early morning preparations had been for naught. He put down the note and hurried outside, ducking into the burlap tent Hu Sheng had set up the previous night. Sure enough, not a single one of the bright red strawberries was missing.

He chastised himself for sleeping in and felt that Hu Sheng had been too heartless to leave without even a word. Most infuriating of all was the weather—last night’s heavy rain had given way to a clear, sunny morning.

Since the strawberries had already ripened and there was no one to give them to, he could only sell them to Ruyi Restaurant. As usual, he took Qintong with him, repeatedly instructing Uncle Hai, who was left to mind the house, "Do not open the door for anyone unless we return."

Uncle Hai agreed, but Zhao An still felt uneasy. After a moment’s thought, he added, "After we come back, let’s look around the village and buy two guard dogs to raise."

Hearing this, Uncle Hai suggested, "Why not buy two young servants instead? Raise them well, and they’ll surely be loyal to you, young master."

After all, raising two dogs consumed about as much food as raising two people, though buying dogs was cheaper than buying people.

However, Zhao An’s expression immediately darkened. "Uncle Hai, think about how it felt when you were sold. How could we even consider buying people?" Now that he had Uncle Hai and Qintong with him, they were already part of his circumstances. If he were to buy people, he couldn’t bring himself to do it—call him hypocritical if you will. Though he couldn’t control others, he could at least control himself.

Uncle Hai wanted to argue that some families couldn’t afford to raise their children and that buying these children and giving them food was actually a kindness. But then he thought back to his own experience and realized that being sold was indeed not a good feeling.

In the end, he didn’t voice his objection, simply nodding to Zhao An and saying, "When you return, young master, we’ll pick out two of the best puppies."

Satisfied, Zhao An took Qintong to the village entrance to wait for Liu Hu’s ox cart, but after a long time, no one showed up. Finally, he saw an elderly woman and hurried over to stop her. "Has the ox cart to the city already left?"

Instead of answering, the woman turned and fled at the sight of Zhao An, like a mouse spotting a cat. Qintong was baffled by this reaction, but Zhao An rubbed his nose and suddenly remembered his heroic display from the day before—he had probably scared the villagers.

Since his image as a bully had already taken hold, Zhao An decided not to bother correcting it. He took the basket from Qintong and said, "Go catch her and bring her back."

The elderly woman’s pace was no match for Qintong’s agility as a young boy. It didn’t take long for him to catch her. Once he had her, he asked puzzled, "Auntie Liu Song, what wrong have you done? Why did you run at the sight of my young master?"

It turned out this was Liu Song’s mother, the same Liu Song who often exchanged goods with Uncle Hai. Trembling before Zhao An, she said, "Last night’s heavy rain ruined the seedlings of many families in the village. Liu Hu’s family was also affected, so he probably won’t be driving his cart for a while."

"Thanks for letting me know, auntie," Zhao An said politely before signaling Qintong to let her go. The elderly woman then hurried away at a much faster pace, quickly disappearing from Zhao An’s sight.

With no cart available, they had to walk to the city. Even the main road was muddy and slippery, so much so that Zhao An, who was carrying nothing and even using a walking stick, nearly slipped and fell.

Qintong fared much better than Zhao An. Having spent this time running around chopping firewood and familiarizing himself with mountain paths, he navigated the muddy road with far more stability.

Progress was slow, and it took them a good two hours to reach the city. When they arrived at Ruyi Restaurant, Feng Shopkeeper said with a smile, "I thought you weren’t coming. After last night’s heavy rain, far fewer people came to the market today, and we've got half as many customers."

Hearing this, Zhao An said directly, "If business is slow today, these strawberries don’t need to be sold. I’d like to give them to a friend."

Feng Shopkeeper had been about to try bargaining down the price, so this response displeased him. But then Zhao An added, "My friend is named Hu Sheng. He has blue eyes—You know him, I take it? He stayed at my place last night, and I promised to give him some strawberries. But he left early this morning on urgent business before I could find him. If you don’t mind, could you deliver a few dozen strawberries to him?"

"So Young Master Zhao is also a friend of Hu Sheng!" Feng Shopkeeper’s tone instantly grew warmer. "He’s very close to the fourth young master of my cousin’s family. How about giving some strawberries to the fourth young master and having him pass them along?"

Only then did Zhao An learn that the person who often showed off in the streets in luxurious robes and even used Lightness Kung Fu in public was the son of the County Magistrate.

At this thought, he felt a twinge of jealousy. This fourth young master could often be with Hu Sheng—they might've even slept side by side, and perhaps done even more.

So he couldn’t help asking, "I wonder if this fourth young master is married? Strawberries are very popular among ladies. If he has a wife, I should send some to her as a gesture of goodwill."

Gifting to women was indeed a common practice, so Feng Shopkeeper saw nothing unusual about the question and replied naturally, "What a pity. The fourth young mistress died ten years ago due to a difficult birth. The fourth young master has been grieving for her ever since and hasn’t remarried."

Logically, someone like Hu Sheng wouldn’t be interested in a married man. But if the man was a widower, that might be a different story.

Just as Zhao An was lost in thought, a voice broke in, "Why are you so interested in my marital status? Do you have an unmarried sister at home looking for a husband?" Feng Shaoping thought to himself that the sisters in Consort Li’s family were probably as beautiful as this young man before him.

Little did he know that Zhao An found his tone flippant and even thought disdainfully that even if Hu Sheng had poor taste, he probably wouldn’t be interested in someone like this.

A/N:

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