“I often worry, what will become of Xing'er when I pass away one day?”
“As long as you remain in Siyang, we will care for Xing'er just as we do Ruijin and Ruili.”
Standing outside the door, Luo Yuxing overheard the conversation inside. He halted the servant carrying tea, waving them away.
His expression weary, he walked out of the hall, his eyes finally reddening uncontrollably.
Though he’d been young when his parents died, two-year-olds weren’t completely without memory. The sudden loss of the two people who had doted on him left even a small child somber in the family's oppressive atmosphere. He often hid and cried, which only deepened his grandfather’s sorrow.
After coming to Siyang, far from the capital, he gradually forgot some of the past grief. But now, with the old wounds reopened, he understood more as he grew older, and the sorrow cut deeper than before.
Afraid his grandfather would realize he’d overheard, he claimed he wanted to feed the fish in the pavilion. Dismissing the servants, he sat by the lake, his vision blurred by tears.
“What’s wrong? Did something important fall into the lake?”
Lost in grief, Luo Yuxing hadn’t heard the footsteps behind him. Startled by the concerned voice, he quickly wiped his eyes and turned to see Zhang Ruijin. Flustered by his own impropriety, he stood at once.
At a loss for an excuse, he simply went along with Ruijin’s words. “Yes.”
Ruijin had originally come with his father to thank their teacher. But seeing Luo Yuxing’s distress, he couldn’t bring himself to leave.
“What fell in? Was it from this side? Maybe we can fish it out with something.”
Luo Yuxing shook his head. “Something small… it’s gone. No use looking.”
Ruijin frowned. He considered calling a servant, but seeing Luo Yuxing’s red and wet eyes, and knowing how much he valued his dignity, he decided against it.
Instead, he pulled a handkerchief from his waist. “Don’t cry. If it was something bought in town, I’ll go with you tomorrow to get another, alright?”
Luo Yuxing took the handkerchief and nodded silently, head bowed. Ruijin found his pitiable state hard to ignore. Though he’d meant to pay respects to their teacher, he couldn’t abandon him now. He reached out. “Didn’t you say last time you couldn’t paint winter plum blossoms well? Since we’re free now, how about I teach you?”
Though they saw each other daily in class, Ruijin who was serious and proper, rarely spoke much beyond scolding Ruili. This was the first time he’d been so warm. Luo Yuxing hesitated briefly before placing his hand in Ruijin’s.
Glancing down at their joined hands, he noted how Ruijin’s palm was a full size larger than his, despite their small age difference. The usually stern boy’s hand was unexpectedly warm…
Within days, Qin Hongde’s martial arts schools in the city shut down one after another, while Ji’an Martial Arts Academy’s business flourished.
Even without official orders forcing the Qin family to close, the fallout from the false accusation was severe enough to send their ventures into a nosedive, though shutting down outright was even more decisive.
Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He also heard that the county magistrate had been impeached by the Prefectural Judge and reprimanded by the Prefect. His annual evaluation was effectively ruined. Deputy Magistrate Zeng, however, emerged unscathed. Though this matter hadn’t involved him to begin with. He’d merely come to spectate and stepped in something foul. Yet escaping entirely spotless wasn’t so easy either.
Little Ruili mentioned seeing his great-grandfather visit the Luo residence with gifts, only to be turned away by Luo Yan. Presumably, the man now knew Luo Yan’s identity. Trying to poach a student from the former Chancellor of the Imperial Academy in ignorance wasn’t just mortifying, it had also earned him an enemy. In that regard, his misfortune rivaled the county magistrate’s.
The Zeng family, too ashamed to harass the Zhang family further, kept quietly to themselves as if no connection had ever existed. Later, the county magistrate even came to seek reconciliation. Zhang Fangyuan knew a single incident wouldn’t topple the man, they’d still cross paths often in Siyang. So he neither agreed nor refused outright, though inwardly he resolved never to respect the county magistrate as before.
The ordeal made Zhang Fangyuan focus more on Ruijin’s studies. After these twists and turns, he realized true stability and smooth sailing required scholarly honors. Among scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, scholars ranked first - this wasn’t just talk. Only after a taste of legal troubles did one grasp its importance.
After the autumn harvest, Zhang Fangyuan opened the granaries again to aid the poor. The lawsuit’s favorable outcome had relied on public support, had the Zhang family not built goodwill over the years, few people would have spoken up. Popular sentiment and reputation were not things to be squandered.
Amidst the bustle of settling affairs, late autumn arrived unnoticed.
The Zhang brothers’ trade team returned from their first successful trip to Suzhou. They’d befriended a major Suzhou cloth merchant, securing long-term contracts for silk. The team also brought back the latest Suzhou fabrics and furs, delivering some to the Zhang family first.
Xu He picked out fine pieces for the children’s autumn clothes and sent two bolts to Luo Yuxing.
The late autumn chill had grown sharp. Xu He brought a bowl of warm soup to the storeroom for Zhang Fangyuan. The harvest season was always the busiest. With land taxes, grain taxes, and auditing tenant farmers’ yields had kept him up nights tallying accounts.
Zhang Fangyuan sipped the soup, his spirits lifting slightly.
Xu He sat beside him, eyeing the ledgers. The columns of numbers made his head ache. “Things were simpler before, counting copper coins one by one. But we have no time for that now.”
Zhang Fangyuan pointed at several chests. “If this year’s accounts aren’t settled properly, we won’t have a good New Year.”
Thank you for the chapter!!!
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