Great Tang Idyll

Book 2: Chapter 88

"Second brother, you could talk?" The third brother was the most surprised. Even though he was worried about the situation at home, he still looked at his second brother, who had never spoken before, with fear.

"Yes. If I don't speak now, I will not have a chance to speak. The Han family chose the wrong opponent. The Zhang and Wang manors are not that simple. Unless the Emperor makes an order, no one in the entire San'shui County would be able to control them." The second brother's voice was a little hoarse when he spoke. He wasn't sure if this was because he had a sore throat or if it was because he hadn't spoken in a long time.

The third brother had no choice but to acknowledge the Zhang and Wang manors' power in the San'shui County. Just now, he heard with his own ears that they were able to easily give away half a catty of wood fungus and half a catty of snow fungus. If anything happens in the country, the bailiffs will definitely inform them. However, he was unsure whether or not the Recorder and Magistrate Assistant had been bought off by them.

He was still clear-minded. He knew that the county magistrate here had left, and a new magistrate was going to replace him, but hadn't arrived yet. During this time, the county's affairs were taken care of by the Recorder and Magistrate Assistant. If they wanted to convict people, they didn't even have to report it, or they could just report it secretly.

He was also afraid that his family would be affected. He sat there with a sad expression and said, "What about my family?"

"Family? You're still thinking about your family? Why didn't you think about what would happen to them after you poisoned the pond? What if someone in your family accidentally ate the fish, and died from poison? Have you thought about that before?"

Er'gou appeared at the entrance of the manor. He was fine before he heard what the third brother said, but after hearing his words, he was unable to control himself and shouted at the third brother.

"It's not easy for me either. It was all just so that I could earn some money. It's nothing more than just killing the fish in the pond anyway. At most, the manor's master would lose some money." The third brother really didn't know what to say anymore, so he came up with this excuse.

However, as of a few days ago, the fish no longer belonged to the master family. The fishes were going to be used as food for the residents of the two manors during the new years. A few of the fishes in the pond belonged to me too. If you poison the fish to death, what will we eat? Eat you? Each person can take a bite out of you, and even if we eat your bones too, there would still not be enough for us. Don't you think you would be let off easily."

After hearing Er'gou's words, the third brother became even more frightened. He shriveled himself into a ball, and did not dare to speak out. The second brother had no choice but to say, "We want to live well."

"Who doesn't want to live well? Just because you want to live well, you want to poison our fish?" Er'gou said contemptuously.

"Brother Er'gou, now is not the time to talk about this. Master, Madam. I am Liu'er. We need to bring his family over here. Do you have a family?"

At this moment, a little girl stepped out from behind Er'gou. She briefly greeted Father Zhang and Madam Zhang Wang, and then pointed to the second brother and asked.

"No. I don't have anyone in my family anymore. Who are you? What do you want to do? Liu'er? I never heard of that name before. Are you a resident of the Zhang and Wang manors?" The second brother looked back. It seemed like the expression in his eyes was always this ice cold.

But Liuer was not afraid, and she said, "I am Liu'er, Feng Liu'er. In the evenings, I help Brother Er'gou with accounting. I heard that something was happening here so I came over. Master, Madam, hurry up and go to sleep. This person is not bad."

As Liu'er spoke, she pointed at the second brother with her little hand.

If someone else said something like this, Father Zhang wouldn't pay attention to that person at all, and Madam Zhang-Wang would also not agree. However, because the person in front of them was this little girl, they had no choice but to take her words into consideration. Their son and daughter-in-law thought highly of Liu'er, and they gave her a lot of gifts and even reserved a place in the Between The Water And Clouds for her family to stay at.

It seems that there weren't any other people that received this kind of treatment from their son and daughter-in-law. They weren't able to understand themselves, but they believed in their son's judgement.

"Housekeeper, I'll leave this matter to you to handle. Liu'er is a good child." Madam Zhang- Wang glanced at Father Zhang and then spoke to Housekeeper Zhang. After speaking, she and Father Zhang left.

"Qiao'er, did I say a lot of things that I shouldn't have said today?" Father Zhang felt like he acted a bit unreasonable just now, especially towards his wife.

Madam Zhang-Wang was only in her twenties and was not old at all. When she heard this, she smiled and replied, "My husband, nothing you say is ever wrong. My mother used to tell me that in front of outsiders, what a man says is always right. As long as the wife is by her husband's side, she will take care of any mistakes.

Mother said that a good wife would be able to guide her husband so that he can avoid all dangers. The man should stand in the front, while the woman should stand in the back. If there is trouble, the man should be the first one to step forward. When the man makes a mistake, the woman should take responsibility. This is what it means to be a family. The true rise and fall of a household depended on the woman of the family.

Xiao'bao said he was going there to see the lake. Next year, my husband should also take me there. We can go there to see how the lake surface is calmer than the human heart, to see how one greeting is welcomed by thousands of people, to see the fragrant flowers and peaceful grass, to see the fondness of green mountains and blue water. Going during the Autumn is fine too. Thousands of red leaves with a touch of green luster; remnants of a waning moon hanging amidst the infinite stars. Rowing the light oars slowly with the current; disregarding the woes of the human realm or underworld. "

"Qiao'er~! I...I."

Madam Zhang-Wang didn't wait for Father Zhang to finish speaking, and she interjected.

"Hmm, the lines are average, but it's hard for a child under three years old to come up with lines like that. I will teach them well later. It is a pity, my wife, why don't you teach them? You are the female scholar of this generation."

Father Zhang nodded slightly. He did not say many praises, but he was very satisfied with his daughter-in-law. It was not easy for a child that young to write such a thing. In particular, the first three words, lalala', completely encapsulated the mentality of a child. If it was changed to apply to adults, the poem would perhaps be better.

Madam Zhang-Wang was also very satisfied with Wang Juan. This was not only because she wrote a few words, but more importantly, it was because she always stayed beside Xiao'bao to help come up with ideas and find loopholes in plans. She knew best in her heart that the two children spent countless nights thinking about manor's matters.

Apart from the time when the night watchmen were all asleep, the two little children stayed awake trying to come up with plans. Although she couldn't clearly hear what they were saying, new arrangements always appeared the next day. For example, those people who tried to poison the pond were caught because of the two kids' proposition. At the beginning, she thought that her children were just playing around, so she went along with them. She had no idea how effective the arrangement was and that danger would arise on the manor.

"My wife, what are you thinking of? Let's go rest. If we give our son a younger brother or sister, will he be as smart as Xiao'bao? It would be good too if we can have a daughter like Juan'juan." In Father Zhang's mind, he was still dreaming about having another child. If it was a boy, he would be like Zhang Xiao'bao, and if it was a girl, she would be like Wang Juan.

"Whatever my husband says. What I want to say is that the font of the characters written by Juan'juan is different from what we have seen in the past. I don't have the ability to teach them. As long as their stomachs are filled, and they can stay warm. This world no longer has a female scholar, only Madam Zhang-Wang and Xiao'bao's mother. Whoever thinks they are amazing can try to compare themselves to me. They can try to give birth to a son like Xiao'bao. Just the Between The Water and Clouds alone would be enough to scare her."

Madam Zhang-Wang said proudly.

Father Zhang didn't want to hold his son up on a pedestal that was too high, otherwise it would hurt a lot if he fell down. "What's between the water and clouds? You have to take care of him in the future and don't always dote on him."

"You are always reading by yourself and never care about your son." Madam Zhang Wang immediately said with dissatisfaction when she saw that there was no one else around.

Father Zhang didn't care about her change in attitude. Qiao'er was well liked by her parents, was able to cook delicious food, knew how to take care of others, and more notably, her literary talent was better than his. Ever since she married him, she never showed off to outsiders and she focused on managing the household wholeheartedly, and was really good at it.

She was the female scholar of the generation. He married up by marrying her, furthermore. Sigh, I need to do well in the examination next year and raise my social status so that I can make Qiao'er proud.

"Yes, what my wife said is correct. What's wrong with the water and clouds?" Father Zhang willingly compromised. He contributed too little for this family, particularly since he hasn't made a name for himself yet. As for his seven-rank official title? It was obtained with the help of his son and daughter-in-law.

Hundreds of thousands of catties of grain were given out for nothing, and more than 30,000 poultry were released. The arrangements made in the county, the contributions made to the state, and the auspiciousness omens for Imperial court were all the doings of his son and daughter-in-laws.

When gifts were given to families with newborns, money wasn't given. Instead, the gifts were items needed by the parents and children. When the elders of any families were celebrating their birthday, a team of carriages were sent over to liven the atmosphere. When any bailiffs were getting married, firecrackers were set off in the entire village. When any bailiffs were injured, the doctors would rush over in the shortest amount of time with the highest quality medicinal herbs.

According to his daughter-in-law's words, this was to let those bailiffs get used to the Zhang and Wang manors. Even without mentioning the manors, they will never forget about the manors.

Madam Zhang-Wang smiled at Father Zhang, "The Between The Water and Clouds is not simple. Yong'cheng, let's talk when we get back to our room."