Chapter 318 Zheng Su

Chapter 318 Zheng Su

The next morning, Meng Wan heard Huang Ye and Lan Niang talking, but his eyelids were glued shut and he couldn't open them.

"Madam Zhu, Lord Zhu has come to pick you up. He's at the foot of the mountain."

Lan Niang chided, "I already said we're going home today. He could have just waited at home."

"Ye Geer, I'll be off then. Don't wake Wan Geer—let him sleep a bit longer."

The door was pushed open and closed again, letting in a gust of cold air. Meng Wan curled deeper into the blanket, wishing he could bury his entire head inside.

His movement was stopped by a large hand, and his whole body was pulled into someone's embrace.

Wrapped in familiar warmth, Meng Wan let out a satisfied sigh. "Why are you here? What about morning court?"

Song Tingzhou lay down beside him. "His Majesty canceled morning court today. I have a half-day off—I'll take you home now and head to the yamen in the afternoon."

"Canceled morning court?"

Meng Wan's eyelids snapped open instantly. He rested his chin on Song Tingzhou's collarbone, full of curiosity. "Isn't His Majesty usually diligent? He's never canceled morning court except on holidays before, has he?"

Song Tingzhou tucked the blanket back around him. "His Majesty is getting older and his strength is failing him. It's only natural he's not as energetic as before."

Meng Wan was still sleepy. He burrowed into Song Tingzhou and yawned, then remembered the gossip he wanted to share. "Have you heard what happened in the palace? Lan Niang said a young palace maid hanged herself in the imperial study. A lot of people have heard about it."

Song Tingzhou's arm around his waist tightened. He tilted his head and whispered something close to Meng Wan's ear.

Meng Wan's eyes shifted subtly at what he heard. The two nestled together, murmuring softly, and dozed off again until the morning sunlight filtered through the paper window, slanting into the room, before they slowly opened their eyes again.

Meng Wan was still half-asleep. Seeing the man lying beside him, he took a moment to come to his senses.

Song Tingzhou's high-bridged nose was striking in the morning light. His eyelids were closed, his lashes not long but thick, his lips neither thin nor full—soft and warm when he kissed.

His features were sharp, cold and intimidating when he worked at the yamen. Even asleep, he didn't look particularly gentle, but Meng Wan couldn't help but adore him.

Slowly and carefully, Meng Wan propped himself up and pressed a kiss to his lips, taking great care not to wake him.

Meng Wan rarely woke before Song Tingzhou. As for Dong Da, there was no need to elaborate—his whole family had been sent to the yamen, and everyone in the estate had seen it.

The tenant farmers had inexplicably received cows yesterday, and today Dong Da was arrested. Each of them feared getting caught up in trouble, their hearts racing with anxiety. Every household was watching the master's courtyard.

Having them all outside saved Meng Wan the trouble of sending someone to summon them one by one. He called Yu Geer to the center of the threshing ground and, under the gaze of hundreds of men and women, announced casually, "From now on, Yu Geer is the new estate steward. Whatever you need regarding planting and rent collection, ask him. He'll come to the city to report to me."

A small estate was just about farming matters—not worth too much of Meng Wan's attention.

The estate steward's authority was neither great nor small, and it was certain some would resent a young lad in the position.

But Yu Geer at least had his husband, who shared kinship with the villagers, to support him. After dealing with a few troublemakers, the rest dared not openly object even if they had reservations.

Besides, objecting was useless.

Hidden in the crowd, Zhu Niang looked forlorn, envying Yu Geer's good fortune.

Back when they were both forced to choose households, Zhu Niang had held her head high. She had picked one of Dong Da's nephews, but after going back with him, she hadn't actually married him. Instead, she used money to temporarily win over the family, claiming she was the master's most favored concubine who had been sold off for offending the young master. If they dared force her, when the master came to retrieve her, they'd be in for trouble.

Unexpectedly, the man had been arrested this morning. Only then did Zhu Niang learn the family had planned to flee in the middle of the night but, wary of her supposed status as the master's concubine, hadn't dared bring her along.

Zhu Niang felt relieved inwardly. Seeing Yu Geer now favored by Meng Wan and promoted to estate steward, she compared herself to him and was flooded with mixed emotions.

Having connections in the yamen made things easy. Tao Shi brought clerks from the Shuntian Prefecture to re-verify everyone's household registers and land records on the spot, and conveniently registered the cattle Dong Da had purchased under each family's name in the Yellow Register.

With the cattle registered in the official records, they truly belonged to them now.

A group of tenant farmers who could barely afford to eat suddenly received a cow per household!

The fear that had kept them on edge all night, the sense of being lost in a fog, suddenly gave way to a feeling of security.

Whatever happened with Dong Da or Yu Geer, nothing was more real than a cow—let alone the silver the master had also bestowed.

"The master told me that regardless of how taxes were handled before, starting this year, after the autumn harvest, we first set aside next year's seed grain, then split the rest sixty-forty with the master," Yu Geer said, plucking up his courage.

This was already the best deal of any estate in the area. Before everyone had even recovered from the shock of the cows being registered, they heard this piece of good news.

By now Meng Wan had already left, and the tenant farmers crowded around Yu Geer, peppering him with questions.

Zhu Niang watched Yu Geer surrounded by the crowd, then quietly slipped away, heading toward the estate's outskirts.

Song Tingzhou got up not long after Meng Wan did. Meng Wan didn't ask Huang Ye to prepare breakfast, planning to find a food stall in the city once they arrived.

The luggage had been mostly packed the night before. With Huang Ye and Zhifan around, Meng Wan could simply play the hands-off boss.

The carriage was stopped at the entrance of Muquan Estate. Chi Yu looked at the woman before him, finding her somewhat familiar. "My lord, young master, someone has blocked our carriage."

Meng Wan lounged lazily against Song Tingzhou, unwilling to move, already guessing who it was. "If she were smart, she would have come to me this morning when she heard I made Yu Geer the estate steward, rather than blocking our carriage now. She must still harbor some foolish hopes."

A rare look of disgust crossed Song Tingzhou's usually impassive face. In his early days in officialdom, what he'd seen most wasn't the greed and stupidity of officials, but the unwritten rules of the court.

Country gentry like the Tong family tried to push people onto him, junior officials tested him with beauties at banquets, senior officials condescendingly offered him concubines as favors—such things were endless and tiresome.

After arriving in the capital, it had quieted down somewhat. He hadn't expected that within half a year, this would happen again.

Those who were passed around like gifts were pitiful and innocent, but did that mean Song Tingzhou had to accept them to be considered a just magistrate?

There was no such logic in the world.

And Song Tingzhou wouldn't let anyone set that precedent.

He handled matters far less gently than Meng Wan. Sitting unmoving in the carriage, he coldly instructed Chi Yu, "Tell her this: either live out her days on the estate, or run off and become a vagrant. If she dares to make trouble again, sell her to another village directly. No need to let her displease the young master."

Chi Yu repeated the message as instructed. Following Song Tingzhou's orders, he didn't wait for Zhu Niang to move from in front of the carriage—he cracked the whip and drove the horses forward.

Zhu Niang was bold, but even she had to scramble aside as the hooves nearly trampled her.

She shouted incredulously at the carriage, "Lord Song! If you act this way, aren't you afraid the Imperial Consort will be displeased, or the Duke dissatisfied?"

The carriage's quickening pace was answer enough.

Zhu Niang chased after it, unwilling to give up. "I can serve as a lowly maid in the Song household—even a servant who splits wood and washes clothes!"

A person couldn't outrun a horse. The carriage quickly disappeared from Zhu Niang's sight.

Her thoughts were in turmoil. With her looks and talents, she refused to settle for marrying in the estate, but she couldn't return to the Nie family or enter the city. She had no one to call on, no one to help.

But before she could decide what to do, Song Tingzhou, his patience exhausted, sent the masked hero Chi Yu back. Chi Yu grabbed Zhu Niang and dumped her in a nearby village.

This time there was no good treatment. Chi Yu directly had the village head find her a formidable household, one capable of keeping the proud-hearted Zhu Niang in check.

After finishing this and entering the city, Chi Yu spotted the Song family carriage parked by the roadside from afar. Gui Qian was guarding it, while the others were having breakfast.

"My lord, young master, I'm back!" Chi Yu said, lacking any sense of propriety as he plopped down next to Meng Wan, only shifting to the seat across after Song Tingzhou shot him a glare.

"I saw her off to her wedding." Chi Yu said in an odd, uneasy tone, somehow feeling that he'd be doing this sort of thing again in the future.

Song Tingzhou was clearly annoyed. "No need to bring up such things in front of the young master."

Meng Wan trusting Song Tingzhou was one thing; Song Tingzhou not wanting such matters to sully his ears was another.

Meng Wan listened quietly nearby. He ate slower than Song Tingzhou, but the man's appetite was bottomless, so he'd peel an egg for Song Tingzhou or scoop over two wontons he couldn't finish.

By the time they got home, the sun was already high in the sky, casting a warm glow on those outside.

Song Tingzhou walked Meng Wan to the door but didn't step inside, turning right back around to head to the Shuntian Prefecture to handle official business.

Huang Ye packed away the luggage while Meng Wan, as usual, made a stop at Chang Jinhua's courtyard first.

"Ma, where's A Yan?"

Chang Jinhua was sewing something on the kang. Seeing Meng Wan return, she quickly had Yunque bring out the fruits and dried snacks from her room and set them on the kang table. "Yesterday, Da Lang took him to the Wu house to meet Zhao Yuan's father-in-law. He came back all down in the dumps and has holed up in his courtyard all day without coming out. He even ate breakfast in his little courtyard today, with Tong'er keeping him company. I just went to check on them—those two kids, I don't know what's gotten into them, neither one has a smile, looking like they've got the weight of the world on their shoulders."

Meng Wan sat down beside Chang Jinhua and couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile. He knew exactly why A Yan and Tong'er were like this.

The Jiangnan region had always been a hotbed of literary culture. The Zheng family of Suzhou Prefecture ran a tight ship, producing scholars for generations—countless provincial and county degree holders, and even over a dozen metropolitan graduates.

Even with Suzhou Prefecture packed with academies of every size, the Zheng family's century-old "Suzheng Academy" was among the cream of the crop.

Zheng Shushen's father, Zheng Su, was the academy's headmaster. Though his two sons had stalled at the xiucai level, he had countless disciples, some of whom even held top posts in the capital.

The daughters and young men of the Zheng family mostly married these scholars. Wu Zhaoyuan, as his most prized disciple, naturally married his youngest son, Zheng Shushen.

With a family of such standing and such a strict household, if A Yan just behaved himself and paid his respects to the elders, it'd be fine. But if he tried to get cute and show off his cleverness in front of Zheng Su, he'd likely get reamed out without a second thought.

They wouldn't care one bit that his father was the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.

Meng Wan felt extremely pleased at this thought. He didn't fuss over A Yan, instead mulling over whether the Wu place was too small—whether to invite Old Master Zheng to their place or buy him a new house.

The Bian family's five-courtyard mansion was a bona fide haunted house. He didn't believe in that stuff, but it wouldn't be right to have the old master teach in a place like that, would it?

It was already late today. Tomorrow morning, he should take A Yan for another visit to feel out Old Master Zheng's stance.

Though it wasn't a formal apprenticeship, the tuition gift and tea ceremony couldn't be skipped.

Meng Wan treated this as a matter of great importance. In the afternoon, he spent ages in the storeroom, loaded up a cart of goods, and still felt it wasn't enough. The Zhengs were refined literati who might not look kindly on vulgar trinkets. After mulling it over, he painted a picture of A Yan and Tong'er playing in the snow at the Wu place.

Look! Isn't my son just adorable? Master, won't you consider taking him in?

Song Tingzhou came back, took off his ice-cold cloak, and hung it on the screen.

Several oil lamps lit the room, with two candles burning beside Meng Wan. He lounged serenely in a specially modified chair, the backrest stuffed with soft cotton and upholstered in pricey brocade. Just looking at him reclining there looked comfortable.

Song Tingzhou stood silently behind him, watching him carefully craft each stroke, not making a sound to disturb him. But his presence was hard to ignore, and Meng Wan noticed him immediately.

"You're done at the office? It's already this late?"

Meng Wan rinsed his brush in the nearby brush washer and set it aside. Every morning, Zhi Mao would carefully wash and care for the brushes he and Song Tingzhou used, so he didn't have to bother with it.

"Done painting?" Song Tingzhou took his right hand and gently kneaded it.

Meng Wan got up from the chair. "Done for now. I'd planned to bring it to Old Master Zheng tomorrow, but I can't finish it today. I'll see if I have time tomorrow."

"You're heading to Zhaoyuan's place tomorrow morning?" Song Tingzhou finished with his hand and moved to his shoulders, the whole routine going off without a hitch.

Meng Wan rolled his stiff neck. "I should have gone with Sister-in-law that day to pay a visit. The estate head was skimming off too much, leaving the tenants skinny and sallow-faced, with kids even running off to beg for food. If I hadn't stepped in when I did, the estate head's family would've covered their tracks once they came to their senses. That's why I didn't go over there."

Song Tingzhou pressed harder with his hands. "The man's already in custody. Vice-Prefect Ma handed down three years of exile."

Word got around that the man was sent over by the Prefect's husband. Of all the punishments warranted for Dong Da's family's crimes, Vice-Prefect Ma handed down the harshest one.

No wonder he'd been a slick operator in the Shuntian Prefecture for decades—he knew how to read his boss's mood.

The tenant got exiled and would likely never come back. Meng Wan was very pleased with this outcome.

Anyone who dared to skim off him would have to cough up double what they'd taken.

The next morning, Meng Wan had planned to take A Yan and Tong'er to Wu Zhaoyuan's place by himself, but to his surprise, Song Tingzhou, who usually headed straight to the yamen after court, came hurrying back.

He handed the reins of his horse to Xue Sheng and said to Meng Wan, "Court was short today. His Majesty asked a few questions of some civil and military officials and then called it done. I'll go with you to Zhaoyuan's place."