Chapter 6

Jingzhou is a key transportation route from southwestern Hunan to Guizhou and Guangxi. To the west of the city stands Feishan Mountain, known for its "peril, steepness, peculiarity, and beauty," and is hailed as the "First Peak of Southern Chu." Opposite the city, there is another peak called "Wulaofeng," with five peaks standing side by side, resembling five elders.

Jingzhou is not only picturesque and charming but also strategically located, bustling with merchants and traders, making it a very prosperous place. The locals, due to frequent interactions with outsiders, generally speak Mandarin, giving the city a cosmopolitan feel.

However, Ye Xiaotian comes from the capital, where people have high standards and lofty ambitions. To him, no matter how large the cities he has seen on his journey, they all seem like rural towns, and the people living in them are just country folk. He would only take places like Suzhou, Hangzhou, or Nanjing seriously.

Because of this mindset, Ye Xiaotian entered Jingzhou City with ease and confidence, showing no signs of nervousness. He saw an old man with white hair leading a little granddaughter with two braids, walking slowly. Ye Xiaotian immediately greeted him and asked, "Old sir, do you know where the Yang family residence is? Ah, the master of the Yang family, Yang Lin, serves in the capital. I'm sure you must know where his residence is."

The old man: "@#%￥%&&*&&…………"

Ye Xiaotian said, "Uh... does the old sir speak Mandarin?"

The old man shook his head, clearly someone who could understand but not speak Mandarin. Ye Xiaotian smiled bitterly and retreated, then stopped a scholar, bowing and asking, "Ah! Sir, could you please tell me where the Yang family residence is? The master of the Yang family serves in the capital, his name is Yang Lin..."

"Phew!"

The scholar, who had been smiling and returning the greeting, suddenly changed his expression, spat in disgust, and walked away. Ye Xiaotian shook his head and sighed, "It's always easy at home, but hard on the road. The people of Jingzhou are not very friendly!"

Ye Xiaotian, with a stiff upper lip, asked around for a while and finally found out where the Yang family residence was. He gradually made his way to a quiet, long alley. The Yang family residence was vast, taking up half the alley. At the entrance of the alley stood a memorial archway. As he approached the Yang family's gate, he saw a red-lacquered door with a red copper door knocker, blue bricks paving the ground, and white stone steps, all very grand.

On either side of the gate were a pair of stone lions, and on either side of the stone lions were six stone horse posts, each carved from a single piece of white marble, with stone monkeys on top, symbolizing "immediate promotion to a noble rank."

At that moment, all twelve horse posts were occupied by horses, and many vehicles were parked by the wall, indicating that many people were visiting the Yang family.

Ye Xiaotian stood in front of the grand gate of the Yang family residence, his heart surging with emotion: after enduring countless hardships and trials, he had finally arrived at his destination... no, the Yang family residence.

In the capital, Ye Xiaotian had heard storytellers tell the story of "Journey to the West." At that moment, his feelings were just like those of Tang Sanzang, who had finally obtained the true scriptures and felt a sense of relief and joy after enduring so much hardship.

Ye Xiaotian, full of enthusiasm, was about to knock on the door when the Yang family's gate suddenly opened with a loud bang. A man with outstretched arms flew out, landing with a thud in front of him, scaring Ye Xiaotian into lifting his foot to avoid getting his shoes dirty from the blood spewed by the man.

A thin servant in a blue robe and a small hat staggered out of the Yang family's gate, hands on his thin waist, standing on the stone steps. Four burly servants followed, each holding a cudgel.

The thin servant adjusted his crooked hat and shouted, "You little scoundrel, don't you know where to beg? Do you think our Yang family is easy to bully?"

The man who had flown out was middle-aged and had taken a hard fall. He clutched his stomach, curled up like a shrimp, and took a long time to catch his breath. He spat out a mouthful of blood and said, "I... I am really an old friend of Lord Yang. I passed through this place, ran out of money, and only asked for some travel expenses."

The thin servant glared and shouted, "Phew! When did our master ever have such an incompetent old friend, who has to beg at the door? You insolent peasant, how dare you argue? Come, beat him, beat him hard, until he changes his tune!"

One of the burly servants immediately ran down the steps, took off his shoe, grabbed the man by the collar, and slapped him with the sole of his shoe, making his head sway like a rattle, like a small boat in a storm, leaving Ye Xiaotian speechless.

The thin servant stood on the steps, smirking, and said, "Do you know what the people of Jingzhou call me, the Yang family's steward? 'Iron Rooster!' You dare to scheme against me, Yang Sanshou. You must be blind."

At that moment, a flock of geese flew overhead, and their calls echoed. Yang Sanshou pointed to the sky and said proudly, "I, Yang Sanshou, don't even pluck a feather from a passing goose, yet some blind fool dares to take advantage of our Yang family. Do you deserve to be beaten?"

"Don't... beat me, don't beat me, I... I have nothing to do with Lord Yang..."

The middle-aged man, unable to escape, with his cheeks swollen and unrecognizable, cried out for mercy. Yang Sanshou laughed and said, "You only cry when you see the coffin. You are a despicable person!"

"Kick him out!" Yang Sanshou ordered, then waddled into the Yang family's gate.

The servant who had slapped the man put on his shoe, kicked the man in the buttocks, and shouted, "Get lost! If we see you again, we'll beat you every time!" Then he glared at Ye Xiaotian, who was standing nearby, and growled, "What are you doing here?"

Ye Xiaotian was startled and quickly stepped back, maintaining a safe distance, and forced a friendly smile, "Just a passerby! I'm just a passerby!"

The Yang family servant, hearing his accent, waved him away, "Stay away, or we'll take you for a thief!"

The Yang family's gate slammed shut with a loud "bang," making Ye Xiaotian shudder. He looked at the man on the ground, with a bruised face and blood on his lips, and felt a chill run down his spine, thinking, "Yang Lin, you've really put me in a difficult position!"

Seeing the man's pitiful state, Ye Xiaotian dared not approach the Yang family's gate. He suddenly remembered that Yang Lin had said he and his wife were estranged and lived separately. Thinking about how his family had ignored him after his imprisonment, Ye Xiaotian's heart sank: "Lady Yang and her husband have a strained relationship, and she is obsessed with money. This letter of mine..."

The man got up, spat a mouthful of blood at the Yang family's gate, and limped away. Ye Xiaotian thought for a moment and followed the man, frowning: "If I just go to the door and ask Lady Yang to divide the family property and give me five hundred taels as a reward, I might end up even worse than this man.

Yang Lin, Yang Lin, you failed as an official and as a person. But don't drag me down with you. I traveled a thousand miles to Jingzhou, and it wasn't easy. I've suffered more than Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West. I haven't even received the five hundred taels yet, and I can't just leave."

The more Ye Xiaotian thought, the more unwilling he became. As he walked, he suddenly saw a man selling pears under the archway. A basket of yellow pears was in front of him, and the pear seller was sitting lazily on the ground, listlessly watching the people passing by.

Ye Xiaotian's eyes lit up, and he squatted in front of the man, picked up a pear, took a bite, and asked, "How much are the pears?"

The pear seller, seeing a customer, sat up straight and said, "One coin for three pears."

Ye Xiaotian took out a coin, gave it to him, and picked two larger pears, putting them in his pocket. He leaned against the stone base of the archway and nodded toward the Yang family's direction, saying, "Why are there so many carriages and horses in front of the Yang family's gate?"

The pear seller said, "I heard that Lord Yang died, and people from all over are coming to pay their respects."

Ye Xiaotian thought, "Yes, my journey was slower than the official post, so the news of Yang Lin's execution must have already reached here."

Ye Xiaotian asked casually, "Did the Yang family bring Lord Yang's coffin back so quickly?"

The pear seller sneered, "I heard that Lady Yang wasn't in a hurry to bring the coffin back from the capital. She's a money-grubber, even greedier than her husband! But the funeral still has to be held, or how can they collect gifts?"

He wouldn't have dared to say this, but hearing Ye Xiaotian's foreign accent and his lack of respect for the Yang family, he felt safe to speak the truth.

Ye Xiaotian followed his lead, "Yes, I heard that the man who was just beaten was an old friend of Lord Yang. I wonder if it's true. The Yang family is really ruthless."

The pear seller sighed, "Who would disagree? The Yang family, so large, even mistreats their own daughter, let alone outsiders."

Ye Xiaotian was about to steer the conversation toward the Yang family's daughter, but the pear seller brought it up himself. Ye Xiaotian quickly asked, "What about the Yang family's daughter?"

The pear seller nodded toward a lane, "See that alley? It's a dead-end. At the end is a small courtyard where the Yang family's eldest daughter lives. She was expelled from the Yang family over two years ago and receives only a small amount of coarse rice each month. Ah, the heart of a woman can be the cruelest..."

Ye Xiaotian was overjoyed. This was like a pillow being delivered when he was about to fall asleep. He had all the information he needed without much effort. After chatting a bit more with the pear seller, he found an opportunity to slip into the dead-end alley.

Ye Xiaotian had endured great hardships to reach Jingzhou, and the only motivation that kept him going was the five hundred taels. He had already planned how to spend the money and what business to start. He wouldn't give up easily.

Seeing that Lady Yang was not a good person, Ye Xiaotian thought of the Yang family's daughter. Their interests aligned in this matter. Finding the Yang family's daughter would give him a strong ally in the city. They could present Yang Lin's will to the court together and let the officials decide.

Once the matter was brought to court, no matter how domineering Lady Yang was, she would have no choice but to follow Yang Lin's will. After receiving his share of the reward, he would leave Jingzhou immediately. What could Lady Yang, a local snake, do to him?

This was Ye Xiaotian's plan. He thought quickly and acted decisively. He entered the dead-end alley, walked to the end, and saw a dilapidated courtyard with a stone wall about a person's height. The courtyard was desolate, clean but lifeless.

Ye Xiaotian threw away the pear core, wiped his mouth, and called out, "Is anyone home?"

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1. When my protagonist's surname was Yang, people always asked why he was always surnamed Yang. Now that my protagonist is not surnamed Yang, people keep asking why he isn't surnamed Yang. Brother, what are you trying to do? Isn't it just a matter of a single thought? Do you need a reason?

2. If you want to be an extra, please post in the extra thread. Don't worry about the number of pages. I might not use some names from the beginning, but I will check the later ones.

3. Thank you, EarGen, DaYong, and other friends for your support. It feels like a girl getting married, embarrassing.

4. (1) Log in (2) Add to favorites (3) Vote (4) Click (5) Comment. Little friends, got it?

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