Chapter 7

After the commotion caused by the young beauty, the father and son of the Zhong family clearly felt a bit embarrassed, and the conversation became less lively than before. Seeing this, Zhang Weixin apologized to the father and son of the Zhong family, saying that he was not a heavy drinker and had been overworked during the day, feeling very tired now. He wanted to rest first and would talk with them the next day. The father and son of the Zhong family had no objections and immediately ordered the steward, Zhong Fu, to take the two guests to rest. They themselves went straight to the back of the house, presumably to deal with the young beauty. Watching their hurried figures, Wang Feng couldn't help but worry about the young beauty who had caused the trouble, fearing that she would be severely punished by her angry father and brother. However, worrying was of no use; as an outsider, he couldn't interfere with their family affairs.

Back in the guest room, Zhong Fu had people bring tea and then left. The two of them drank a few sips of tea and were discussing how to arrange their lives after the large group arrived the next day. Then Zhong Fu knocked on the door again. When Wang Feng opened the door, he saw Zhong Fu bowing and saying, "Please follow me to bathe and change clothes." Zhang and Wang had walked all day on the mountain path, covered in sweat, and were worried about not being able to take a bath and get a good night's sleep. Now the host had even thought of this, and they were more than happy. Although they had no change of clothes, being able to take a hot bath was enough to satisfy them. Following Zhong Fu to the bathing room in the side courtyard, they found that Mr. Zhong had been extremely considerate, preparing two sets of clean clothes for them. Zhong Fu pointed to the change of clothes and said, "These are two new sets of clothes made for my young master, which he has never worn. The master asked me to give them to the two young gentlemen, saying that he was afraid they had left in a hurry and didn't bring a change of clothes." The two naturally thanked him repeatedly.

In the bathing room, two wooden tubs were placed side by side. Lying in the large tub, the pores of their bodies opened up under the stimulation of the hot water, and the comfort and relaxation were enough to drive away all fatigue and烦恼. Wang Feng closed his eyes, leaning against the edge of the tub, almost moaning with pleasure. He said to Zhang Weixin, who was beside him, with a regretful look, "Mr. Zhang, didn't the ancients have the habit of having maidservants attend to their baths? Why didn't Mr. Zhong arrange for two maidservants to serve us? Does he think we are country bumpkins who don't understand such things?"

Zhang Weixin was amused by his words, threw the towel in his hand onto Wang Feng's face, and said irritably, "The ancients said, 'When one is full and warm, one thinks of pleasure.' It seems to be true. You just had a full meal and a couple of drinks, and you don't know what your situation will be tomorrow, yet you're already thinking about having beautiful women bathe with you. Be careful, tomorrow when you wake up, you might find a group of soldiers with knives and guns standing by your bed, ready to take you to the dungeon and give you a good beating."

"Not to that extent! Mr. Zhong treated us so well, he wouldn't do such a thing! If he wanted to catch us, he wouldn't wait until tomorrow; he could just send soldiers to catch us now," Wang Feng said, not believing it.

"It's dozens of miles from here to the county town. It takes a day just to send a message. Do you think it's like our time, where you can just make a phone call?" Zhang Weixin continued to scare him.

Hearing this, Wang Feng suddenly sat up, stretching his head in front of Zhang Weixin, and said nervously, "Then why are we still taking a bath here? Shouldn't we escape quickly? Are we just waiting to die here?"

Seeing that he had scared him enough, Zhang Weixin pushed Wang Feng's head and said, "Just take your bath honestly. I was just scaring you!"

Wang Feng, knowing he had been tricked, was indignant but couldn't do anything to Zhang Weixin. He could only lie back in the tub, feeling depressed, and mentally punch the hateful Mr. Zhang a thousand times. At the same time, he vowed to expose the "vile behavior" of this seemingly honest and kind Mr. Zhang to the public in the future.

After the bath, they changed into soft, new clothes, feeling extremely comfortable. Their dirty clothes were taken away by the servants of the Zhong family, who said they would wash them and bring them back. The two returned to the guest room, estimating it was around eight or nine o'clock in the evening. For modern people, it was far from bedtime. However, in this ancient village a thousand years ago, there was nothing much to do for entertainment. At this time, except in some big cities, people generally went to bed when the sun set, and there was no night life. The two could only chat aimlessly while drinking tea. Originally, Wang Feng had brought a laptop and a PSP game console when he went on the trip, but to avoid unnecessary trouble, he left them at the team's camp. Now he could only think about the game plots to pass the time.

While Zhang and Wang were idling in the room, in the back of the Zhong family's house, the four members of the Zhong family were holding a family meeting about the impolite behavior of the young Miss Zhong. Although Mr. Zhong was very angry, the consequences for Miss Zhong were not severe, as she was currently hugging her mother's arm and pouting. Mrs. Zhong first scolded her sternly, saying it was outrageous and that she would be severely punished, but then she petted her head and said it wouldn't happen again, while giving Mr. Zhong a meaningful look. Thus, Mr. Zhong, who was both afraid of his wife and doted on his daughter, could only calm down and punish her by forbidding her from going out for three days. Whether this punishment would be strictly enforced was already beyond Mr. Zhong's control.

After pouting, Miss Zhong began to tell her parents and brother about the new martial arts moves she had learned today. If the room had been bigger, she would have demonstrated them. Mr. Zhong knew immediately that his precious daughter had gone to Yuxu Palace to learn martial arts from the Taoist Yuxu Zi. He said irritably, "I said, where have you been all day? You've gone to that old Taoist Yuxu Zi to practice martial arts again. I've told you many times not to always learn those rough and violent moves."

Seeing that his daughter was not convinced, Mr. Zhong continued earnestly, "As a girl, you should learn embroidery and needlework. Your actions and manners should be those of a lady, not like a wind that comes and goes. A few days ago, you beat up the son of the county school's Doctor Xu, making me embarrassed to see Doctor Xu. If you keep this up, who will dare to marry you?"

Hearing this, Miss Zhong stood up indignantly and said, "That Xu boy deserved it. He followed me all afternoon like a sticky plaster, and I couldn't shake him off." She even waved her little fist, and if that Xu boy were there now, he would definitely have another black eye. Mr. Zhong looked at his "tough" daughter and shook his head helplessly. He wasn't afraid of offending Doctor Xu, as he had excellent relationships with the county magistrate, the chief clerk, the county captain, and the constable, even though he was no longer in office. Doctor Xu wouldn't even have a place to file a complaint. Moreover, Mrs. Zhong's brother was the vice-governor of the Nanjing留守推官 in Youdu, so he wasn't afraid of any complaints.

Miss Zhong clearly despised the Xu boy and didn't even want to mention him, so she decided to change the topic. She put down her fist, sat next to Mr. Zhong, and pulled his arm, asking, "Father, what's the background of those two strange monks who came to our house today? Why are they dressed so strangely?"

Mr. Zhong, who was clearly at a loss with his daughter, could only respond, "What strange monks? They are two very knowledgeable scholars. You must not call them strange monks in front of them, as it is very impolite."

Miss Zhong said不服气地, "If they are not monks, why do they have such short hair?"

"They are from overseas, and in their place, that is probably the custom. Look, the Khitans don't tie their hair either," Mr. Zhong explained patiently.

"Hmm, that makes sense. Father, where exactly did these two strange... scholars come from overseas? They have lived abroad for so many years, why did they come back now? Are there any others? Besides, they said they came by sea, but I heard from the villagers that they came down from the mountains in the west. They might be bandits in disguise, and Father brought them home. Aren't you afraid they might harm us from the inside?"

Mr. Zhong, who had a lot of questions, stood up and paced a few steps in the room, then said calmly, "I am not so naive. These people have unknown backgrounds. Although I am no longer in office, I still care about the safety of the people here. I brought them home to keep an eye on them. Even if they are bandits in disguise, as long as we catch the two in the house, we will have hostages, and the bandits outside will be hesitant to attack."

Mr. Zhong stroked his beard, paused, and continued, "Moreover, I have already sent Zhong Gui to the county office to find County Captain Chen, asking him to bring soldiers to Huangshan Store for drills, just in case. If they are bandits in disguise, Captain Chen will naturally catch them all. If they are really overseas Han people, then everyone will be happy, and they might even be useful to us."

If Wang Feng were there, he would certainly be in awe of Zhang Weixin and want to bow down to him as a master. Unfortunately, he didn't have千里眼 or 顺风耳, and now he could only stand outside the guest room, idly counting the stars, which were much more numerous than he had ever seen before, to pass the time before bed.