My Fulang is a Delicate Flower Chapter 78 Part 2

After everyone had left the assembly, Huang Manjing called softly, "Let’s eat."  

Ji Yangzong, hands clasped behind his back and brow furrowed, entered the house.  

Ji Taoyu served everyone rice.  

With the door closed, they could finally speak freely.  

Ji Yangzong couldn’t hold back his frustration. "This prefect will be here for five years. Who knows how we’ll survive that long?"  

Picking up his bowl, he added, "He knows exactly who to squeeze—the weak. If the poor paid the prefectural tax while the rich paid double, it might at least seem fair, as if he genuinely cared for the people. But making everyone pay almost the same? It only makes the weak weaker and the strong stronger."  

Huo Shu said, "If he targeted Tongzhou’s wealthy families, they’d revolt, and the prefect knows he couldn’t handle that. So he exploits the lower classes while protecting the rich to secure their support."

Ji Yangzong guessed it must be so. He couldn’t help shaking his head, feeling utterly exhausted.  

After eating, though the weather wasn’t hot, he still went to take a nap.  

Huo Shu went to the livestock shed to feed the animals, while Ji Taoyu returned to his room.  

He picked up an abacus and flicked the beads, calculating: "Taxes amount to fifteen hundred wen, prefecture taxes eight hundred wen, and seventeen shi of grain."  

Finished, he sighed. If the family relied solely on that bit of farmland to get by, even with these calculations, the year’s expenses wouldn’t leave them much to spare.  

And that was assuming their household was small.  

Fortunately, they had other sources of income.  

But who knew how the merchant taxes would be this year?  

Ji Taoyu’s heart was also in turmoil—not because his family couldn’t afford the taxes, but because he was worried about the situation.  

If the times were unstable, the common people couldn’t live and work in peace, and that would affect many.  

Distractedly, he put the abacus away. Turning his head, he spotted the wine jars in the corner and, as if bewitched, went to fetch one.  

The peach wine brewed in the summer already carried a fruity fragrance. He had also added plenty of sugar cubes, which had since dissolved without a trace.  

He scooped out a spoonful, and as the wine stirred in the jar, the room instantly filled with a sweet, intoxicating aroma.  

Ji Taoyu took a small sip, full of anticipation. The fruit wine wasn’t just fragrant—it tasted sweet too.  

Perhaps the sweetness and fruitiness masked the strong liquor, making Ji Taoyu feel like he was drinking fruit soup.  

The autumn wind carried a hint of midday heat, instantly setting his fair face aflame.  

When Huo Shu returned from feeding the horses, he caught a faint whiff of alcohol as soon as he stepped inside.  

Raising his eyes, he saw the young ger slumped over the table.  

His brow furrowed, and he strode forward. "Xiao Taozi?"  

Ji Taoyu lifted his head dizzily, his vision swimming. Then he collapsed into Huo Shu’s arms.  

Huo Shu scooped up the limp figure and carried him to the bed. "Why were you drinking?"  

In just the blink of an eye, he’d managed to drink himself into a stupor.  

As he removed Ji Taoyu’s shoes, Huo Shu asked again.  

"Just wanted to taste it. Didn’t expect it to be so strong."  

The slurred voice was even softer than usual.  

Huo Shu saw Ji Taoyu’s flushed face, his eyelids heavy and unfocused.  

"A-Shu, do you want to try…?"  

At least he still remembered him.  

Huo Shu’s gaze fell on those slightly parted lips, redder than usual, glistening with traces of wine.  

Without answering, he leaned down and pressed in.  

Ji Taoyu’s mind was foggy, and now, with his breath being stolen, he soon forgot how to breathe.  

Panicked, he patted the man on top of him.  

"Too sweet."  

Huo Shu released him slightly.  

Ji Taoyu blinked dazedly. "Huh? Am I sweet?"  

"I meant the wine."  

Huo Shu replied.  

Once Ji Taoyu caught his breath, he tried to close the distance again.  

But Ji Taoyu turned his head away slightly, uncooperative.  

"You're just too rough."  

Huo Shu’s eyes softened, oddly pleased by Ji Taoyu’s little tantrum.  

"Alright," he coaxed gently.  

Only then did Ji Taoyu comply again.  

By the end of the tenth lunar month, the You family’s new house stood tall and spacious, now the largest and grandest in the village, with no trace left of its former earthen shack.  

You's mother, with great ceremony, hired the city’s Four Master Services and Six Specialty Teams to host the housewarming banquet, inviting many guests.

While the villagers fretted over taxes, the You family was bustling with noise and excitement. It was said You Lingxiao now held a post in the prefecture and had even invited colleagues, making it all the more ostentatious.  

The locals felt no joy—only growing resentment.  

While their lives were mired in hardship, these officials and gentry built towering mansions and feasted guests. Who could stomach it?  

The banquet was set for the twenty-second. The Ji family was among the invited, but Ji Taoyu had no desire to attend. Coincidentally, someone in Hongli Village was also hosting a feast that day, so the young couple planned to go there instead, neatly avoiding the You family.  

Yet, despite the You family’s grand preparations, their housewarming banquet didn’t go smoothly.  

The day before the feast, the Four Master Services and Six Specialty Teams came to make arrangements, then returned to the city.  

Late that night, long after most villagers had gone to bed—some even extinguishing their lamps early to save oil—the You household’s backyard suddenly echoed with the shattering of jars against walls, piercing the silent night.  

You's mother and You Lingxiao, who had just retired to rest for the next day’s event, bolted up in alarm. They lit a lamp and rushed outside, only to catch a glimpse of two figures vanishing into the darkness.  

The night wind was strong, instantly snuffing out their lamp.  

You Lingxiao, chasing to the gate, saw no one clearly.  

Then, a foul stench filled the courtyard—rotten eggs, or perhaps a mix of feces and urine.  

You Lingxiao, a scholar who had never so much as touched dirt, let alone handled manure, gagged violently, clutching his mouth as he retched in the corner.  

You's mother, more resilient, lit a torch and illuminated the scene—only to find their pristine walls smeared with filth, still dripping.  

In the dark, it was one thing, but seeing it clearly made even the hardiest farmers recoil in disgust.  

"Which damned bastard did this?!"  

You's mother shrieked into the night, her curses rousing nearby households, their lamps flickering back to life.  

The quiet village stirred awake.  

Ji Taoyu, curled under the blankets in Huo Shu’s arms, was just drifting off when their door was knocked. Both heard Ji Yangzong’s voice outside: "Who’s there?"  

Ji Taoyu jolted awake, clutching Huo Shu’s arm. "Did something happen?"  

Huo Shu sat up, throwing on a robe, with Ji Taoyu clinging close behind.  

They soon learned of the You family’s misfortune.  

At first, the entire household was stunned.  

Once confirmed, silence fell.  

Ji Taoyu pressed his lips together to stifle a laugh, burying his face against Huo Shu’s wrist.  

Thinking he was cold, Huo Shu wrapped him in his outer robe.  

"Who would do such a thing~"  

Ji Yangzong mused, struggling to maintain his solemnity as village head and not blurt out the rest—what a brilliant move.  

"The stench is unbearable. Sun niangzi is screeching up a storm, swearing to find the culprit."  

Ji Yangzong said, "How’s she going to do that? Pitch-black night, no witnesses. Whoever did this isn’t going to confess."  

A villager chimed in, "Exactly! Now none of us can sleep."  

Ji Yangzong tightened his robe. "I’ll go take a look. You all go back to bed—no need to wait up."  

Huang Manjing frowned. "So late? Why bother? Let them deal with it."  

"If I don’t go, they might suspect us. You know how Sun niangzi is. Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon."  

With a sigh, Huang Manjing let him go.  

As expected, Ji Yangzong’s trip yielded no justice.  

Under the moonless sky, no one knew who was responsible. The villagers who came to see only left with a good laugh at the You family’s expense.  

Mouthing sympathies, they secretly relished the spectacle.  

You Lingxiao, face ashen, spent the night with You's mother scrubbing their walls.  

The next day, the Four Master Services and Six Specialty Teams tried masking the stench with incense, but few villagers attended. The town guests, too refined to mention the lingering odor, made excuses to leave early.  

What should have been a grand celebration turned into a farce.  

Within days, the You family brought back two servants—likely fearing another "attack."