Chapter 2 of 10
Chapter 2
13 min read3,160 words
On the third day, Fang Xing could shakily get out of bed with the help of Xiaobai.
Xiaobai had no name. She was sold into the Fang household at the age of six and encountered a major upheaval in the Fang household at ten. At the time, since Fang Xing was in a coma and the buyer of the Fang household's main residence was urging, the head steward, Fang Jielun, decided that anyone who wanted to leave could be given their freedom.
Xiaobai had no family and did not want to leave, so she followed to this estate and continued to serve Fang Xing.
"Master, be careful," Xiaobai stood behind Fang Xing, supporting him lightly, her young face full of concern.
Fang Xing waved his hand, holding onto a osmanthus tree, looking at the vast land ahead, and suddenly shouted, "I, Fang Xing, am also a landlord now!"
The land covered more than 300 acres, and it was early summer. Men and women worked in the fields, and their children, left unattended, played by the fields.
The osmanthus tree was large, blocking the scorching sun from Fang Xing. He watched the scene with great interest until a piece of news shook him awake.
"Master, do you... want to see the young lady from the Zhang family?" Xiaobai came to support Fang Xing, biting her lower lip, and hesitantly said these words.
"Zhang family's young lady?" Fang Xing was dazed, turning to scold, "Didn't that young lady break off our engagement? Why should I go see her? Do you want me to embarrass myself!"
Xiaobai's face was full of fear, and she was about to kneel. Fang Xing grabbed her, almost being pulled down due to his incomplete recovery, and frowned, "What are you doing? Get up, let's talk properly."
"Yes, Master," Xiaobai straightened her body and pointed to three small houses to the north, saying, "Master, after you broke off the engagement with the Zhang family, the young lady from the Zhang family had a falling out with her family. She requested to be expelled from the family and followed us here, living there ever since."
The feudal rites and morals are truly deadly! If I hadn't woken up, that young lady's life would have been ruined!
"Let's go, help me see her." The love novice, Fang Xing, could not contain his excitement and wanted to see Zhang Shuhui, who had remained loyal to him.
It was not far, also for safety reasons. A single woman living in such a place, if left unattended, might have been harmed long ago.
Xiaobai supported Fang Xing to the door. Fang Xing coughed dryly, not knowing what to say, so he gave Xiaobai a look.
The feudal society is truly great! A look can solve everything.
Xiaobai called softly, "Young lady, young lady, my master has come."
The news of Fang Xing's recovery had already been spread by Fang Jielun as a tool to stabilize the situation.
It made sense; with so many people on the estate and the master being in a coma for three years, it was inevitable that people would become restless over time.
There was no sound from inside. Just as Xiaobai was about to raise her voice, a clear voice came out, "Young master, please wait a moment."
The voice was like a clear spring in the mountains, a lark in the forest, making Fang Xing deeply enchanted.
Xiaobai leaned close to Fang Xing's ear and said, "The young lady needs to get dressed, otherwise it would be too impolite."
Fang Xing ignored her, only wanting to see what the girl who had followed him looked like.
After a while, a light step sounded, and Fang Xing stared at the door until a girl walked out, head lowered.
Zhang Shuhui wore a ruqun (a traditional Chinese dress), with only a wooden hairpin in her thick hair. Although her head was lowered, Fang Xing still saw her long eyelashes, a small and delicate nose...
She had a good figure and very smooth skin. Fang Xing secretly swallowed, made a bow, and said, "Young lady, you have been through a lot."
Zhang Shuhui's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she said softly, "Seeing young master awake, Shuhui is not tired."
What a virtuous and gentle lady! Fang Xing's gaze moved from Zhang Shuhui's head to the inside of the room, where he saw several unpainted low stools and a table with sewing materials on it.
Fang Xing looked at Zhang Shuhui, who kept her head lowered, and his throat suddenly went dry. After a while, he said, "Young lady, your noble character is commendable. We will discuss everything after I recover. I will not be a Chen Shimei."
"Chen Shimei? Who is Chen Shimei?" Zhang Shuhui was only seventeen and had been living alone for three years, so she was naturally curious about her 'husband' and boldly raised her head to ask.
Her small face, with delicate features, made Fang Xing speechless. It wasn't until Zhang Shuhui couldn't bear his fiery gaze and lowered her head again that he came to his senses.
"Uh! A faithless man." Fang Xing, recalling Zhang Shuhui's clear eyes, felt somewhat embarrassed and coughed dryly, "You rest well, I will come see you again tomorrow."
Watching Fang Xing's somewhat slow-moving back, Zhang Shuhui stood in place, her eyes red.
Three years! If it were an ordinary girl, she could have had a child by now.
"Master, do you really want to marry the young lady from the Zhang family? But she has been expelled from the Zhang family!" Xiaobai supported Fang Xing, cautiously reminding him.
Fang Xing saw Fang Jielun waiting at the door and smiled, "Do you want your master to be an irresponsible scoundrel?"
"No!" Xiaobai felt her probing was a bit too forward, but fortunately, the answer was what she most wanted to hear, "Master, the young lady from the Zhang family is deeply devoted to you. You must not let her down, I, I..."
In the early Ming dynasty, storybooks were already popular, especially in the distant Beijing, where many poor scholars made a living from them. So Xiaobai had read many storybooks with happy endings and envied the love in them.
"Master." Fang Jielun stopped Fang Xing and whispered, "Master, Zheng Songtao is here again."
"Who is Zheng Songtao?" Fang Xing had only been awake for a few days and was not very familiar with these people.
Fang Jielun's face was grim, but seeing Fang Xing's gradually normal body, he smiled with relief, "Master, Zheng Songtao is the local grain collector."
Grain collector? Fang Xing had been catching up on a lot of knowledge in the past few days and asked, "How much land tax do we have to pay?"
"Master!" Fang Jielun stomped his foot, "You are a juren (scholar-official)! We only have more than 300 acres of land. According to the court... no, according to the local rules for juren, we are exempt from taxes!"
"Right," Xiaobai also said, "Master, ever since you... well, after that, Zheng Songtao came to collect taxes every month."
Damn! As a member of the landlord class, Fang Xing wanted to enjoy the privileges, and besides...
"Am I a juren?" Fang Xing felt his feet floating, and the clouds in the sky seemed to sway.
"Yes!" Xiaobai said proudly, "Before Master passed away, you became a juren, which caused a sensation at the time."
"Then I don't have to pay taxes?" Fang Xing was unsure.
"You don't have to pay taxes!" Fang Jielun and Xiaobai said firmly.
Fang Xing recalled the many privileges of the scholar-official class in the Ming dynasty, his confidence grew, and he waved his hand like a great man, "Let's go, let's meet this grain collector."
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