Chapter 5

Turning the corner past the screen wall, Ding Yi saw a large crowd gathered at the gatehouse. Outside the main gate, there were still a dozen or so loafers leaning against the wall, grinning with ill intent and spouting obscenities: "If it were up to me, this scholar Ding would have been castrated long ago..." "Wouldn't it hurt more to do it now? If they had known from the start, they would have cut it off long ago!" "You're right! In these twenty years, have you ever heard of any of the Ding family's servants or maids being taken in? No! If you say they are unkind to the poor, they won't even admit it after the deed is done! Even those who were kicked out for getting pregnant have been heard of!"

This drew cheers from the loafers, who all agreed, "That's right!" Someone even suggested that Ding Yi's father might have been castrated, and that Ding Yi might have been adopted, as the Ding family was known for eunuchs. Er Gouzi, feeling indignant, pushed his way to the door and shouted at the loafers, "Your mother, your father was the one who was castrated! If it weren't for me sneaking into your mother's bed at midnight, where would you all be now?"

The loafers, not to be outdone, started cursing back. Some of them reached for their waists, and the glint of metal in the sunlight was unmistakable—short knives or daggers. It looked like they were about to turn a verbal fight into a bloody one.

"Ding Yi," Ding Yi put a hand on Er Gouzi's shoulder and said with a smile, "Dogs biting people is common, but have you ever seen a person bite a dog?"

The loafers laughed even harder, feeling more confident and brazen in their insults. Ding Yi smiled and shook his head, then said to the loafers outside the gate, "If I submit a complaint to the yamen, do you think your masters would even say a word for you?"

This was a tactic he had learned from Peng Zhang, who used his scholar status like a credit card. The old saying goes, "Old tricks work if they work," and this one silenced the loafers immediately. The reason was the two words "student" in Ding Yi's self-address.

In those days, calling oneself a student wasn't a sign of respect for the other party but a way to flaunt one's scholarly status and declare one's allegiance.

The loafers' hands, which had been reaching for their waists, dropped unconsciously. In the yamen, whether it was a clerk, a legal advisor, a county magistrate, or the magistrate himself, all were scholars. Ding Yi, with his scholar status, was part of their circle. Scholars could fight among themselves, but it was not the place of these ruffians to insult them.

Of course, if Ding Yi were a poor and powerless scholar, the loafers wouldn't have been afraid, but the Ding family was clearly not in that state. In terms of money, they couldn't match the Ding family. Ding Yi, feeling annoyed by the loafers, said to Er Gouzi, "Close the gate. Just looking at these flies makes me sick."

"You don't have to be afraid! This Ding's scholar status won't last much longer!" A voice suddenly burst out from the gatehouse. Ding Yi recognized the voice and turned to see a young man in scholar's robes running out, someone he seemed to recognize.

The young man was well-groomed, with a jade ornament on his head. He ran up to Ding Yi, pointed at him, and said smugly, "Ding Rujin, we've been classmates, so I'll be honest with you. If you know what's good for you, hand over Ruyu. Otherwise, don't say I didn't warn you!"

"Don't say I didn't warn you?" Again? Peng Zhang had said something similar earlier, and now this one was saying it too.

For Ding Yi, who had come from another world, this phrase was particularly sensitive. In his previous life, once someone said this, it usually meant they were about to do something very serious.

Ding Yi's eyes lit up. He smiled even more warmly, bowed, and said, "This brother looks familiar... Ah, I remember, you're the one who came this morning and called me a 'traitor selling his head,' right? We've already cut ties, haven't we? Even though you cut your robe at home with scissors, we can't really call it a classmate's bond anymore, can we?"

"Stupid and ignorant!" the young man cursed.

It's not easy for a fool to pretend to be smart, but it's even harder for a smart person to pretend to be a fool.

Ding Yi smiled. Whether by his intuition, which had saved his life many times, or from the perspective of criminal psychology and profiling, he knew that the young man in front of him was a smart person pretending to be a fool.

After all, the Ding family was not poor, and Ding Yi had a scholar's status. Logically, a young man who looked like a scholar would never resort to forcibly taking a maid. If he wanted Ruyu, he should have come quietly and tried to persuade or threaten Ding Yi. Why bring so many loafers? They would cost money, and he must have had a reason to spend it.

Even if he really got Ruyu—though Ding Yi would never do that—he would certainly have some conditions that Ding Yi couldn't accept... Ding Yi had a hunch that this young man and Peng Zhang were working together, one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop.

But since the other side wanted to play the fool, Ding Yi would indulge him: "Uncle Zhong, do we owe this man any money?" Ding Yi asked the old steward, who shook his head. Ding Yi's heart eased a bit. At least it wasn't some melodramatic debt collection scenario. "Do we owe him any grain? No? Do we have any dogs?"

"We do," Uncle Zhong, hunched over and surrounded by the loafers, replied, "Dogs are for guarding the house, so we have to keep them. We have eight in the courtyard and three puppies in the back."

"Close the gate," Ding Yi instructed Er Gouzi. The main gate was already closed, so only a side gate remained. Er Gouzi was quick, but before he could close it, many people pushed him aside. Ding Yi then said, "Release the dogs."

It seemed the young man and the loafers were seasoned. Fighting and cursing had its limits, but dogs were a different story. Besides, as Ding Yi had pointed out to Uncle Zhong, they didn't owe him money or grain, and he wasn't a creditor or an official. Trespassing and being bitten by dogs was their own fault.

If it came to the yamen, the Ding family wasn't short of money.

Moreover, Young Master Feng wasn't really there to take a maid by force.

"Mr. Ding! You're finished!" The young man, his jade ornament askew, shouted angrily, "From today on, the Feng family's security service won't protect your goods! I want to see how you'll transport your goods! Uncle Zhong, you should know, right? The northern waterway, the eastern sea route, without the Feng family's reputation, how will your goods move? Ridiculous! Let's see how long the Ding family can last!"

Ding Yi's face darkened. Indeed!

So, this was the real reason why the Feng family had brought so many loafers to create a scene.

He wanted to spread the word through these loafers: the Ding family is finished.

It wasn't about a maid; it was about cutting off Ding Yi's roots.

If the Ding family's business collapsed, what options would Ding Yi have besides following the advice of Peng Zhang and joining the eunuch faction?

And Ding Yi immediately had a target for his hatred. This Feng, who had destroyed the Ding family's foundation, would be the one Ding Yi wanted to eliminate. With his sources of income cut off, how could Ding Yi possibly take revenge? This way, it wouldn't be the mastermind forcing Ding Yi to go undercover; Ding Yi would be eager to do it himself to gain power and take revenge.

After sending the young man and the loafers away, Ding Yi turned to Uncle Zhong and asked, "What rank is the Guangxi Educational Inspector? How much power does he have? Uncle Zhong, this is important. If you don't know or can't explain clearly, just say so. I need to ask someone else." Ding Yi added this to avoid the old steward speaking in riddles like Peng Zhang.

"Established in the first year of Zhengtong, the Educational Inspector is appointed from the Censorate in the two capitals and the Censorate in the thirteen provinces. They are known as Educational Inspectors and hold the rank of Fifth Grade. As for their power, they oversee the education of the entire province, hence the title 'Educational Inspector'..." Uncle Zhong, understanding the gravity of the situation, spoke frankly.

After he finished, Ding Yi looked at him with a half-smile and said, "Give the people who are leaving their travel expenses and send them back home quickly."

Uncle Zhong frowned, "But, young master, we don't have the money..."

Ding Yi shook his head and looked at Uncle Zhong for a moment before saying, "We don't have time for these games, Uncle Zhong. If we don't have enough money, we'll have to resort to the most foolish method, and you and Ruyu will have to bear the burden."

Uncle Zhong's face changed as if he didn't recognize the young master he had watched grow up.

The so-called foolish method that Ding Yi casually mentioned was simple: embezzlement.

If the young master gave ten taels of silver, Uncle Zhong would cut it in half, and Ruyu, who distributed the silver, would cut it in half again. By the time it reached the servants, it would be two and a half taels per person.

So, Ding Yi said, Uncle Zhong and Ruyu would bear the burden.

But if this idea came from a seasoned official in the yamen, it would be understandable. How could a scholar who only read books come up with such a scheme? Yet, Ding Yi had effortlessly dispelled Uncle Zhong's doubts.

Uncle Zhong looked at Ding Yi for a long time. This was his young master, the one with the faint scar on his hand from falling off a longan tree at the age of five. But Uncle Zhong knew he couldn't treat Ding Yi as a young master anymore. So, he stepped back, as he had done in front of Ding Yi's father, "Yes, I'll take care of it."

Ding Yi nodded, signaling Uncle Zhong to go ahead.

He had no time to worry about a few taels of silver, as he finally understood how Peng Zhang had almost openly taken those silver ornaments. ——————————————

New book, please vote, recommend, and collect!

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