Chapter 17

Wishing everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival and a family reunion.

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What Yang Shouwen was telling, of course, was the story later known as one of the Four Great Classical Novels, "Journey to the West."

In fact, the story of "Journey to the West" evolved from the tale of Xuanzang's journey to obtain Buddhist scriptures, and was finally compiled into a book during the Ming Dynasty.

Youniang was still young, and telling her "Dream of the Red Mansion" might be beyond her comprehension.

In his previous life, Yang Shouwen only started to read "Dream of the Red Mansion" after he became paralyzed. Before that, he had picked up the book more than ten times but always gave up halfway, unable to finish it. "Water Margin" was a story from the Song Dynasty, and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was something a girl would never like. After much thought, it seemed that "Journey to the West" was the most suitable.

As Yang Shouwen had anticipated, Youniang was completely engrossed.

The monkey that would later captivate countless people also successfully attracted Youniang.

Starting from the origin of the spiritual root, he narrated all the way to the enlightenment of the true essence of Bodhi. Although the original text was not long, to tell the story, he had to add many of his own elements, which took a lot of effort.

Before he knew it, it was already noon.

The sound of a carriage came from outside the courtyard, and Lady Yang returned from the county town.

Yang Shouwen finally found an excuse to stop and put Youniang down, then got up and walked out.

However, as soon as he stood up, he almost fell to the ground. His legs were numb from holding Youniang while telling the story! Yang Shouwen leaned on the corridor pillar, moved his legs, and saw Lady Yang carrying a small package, walking in gracefully.

"Put the things here."

In the front yard, there was a shed. After Lady Yang entered the small courtyard, she said to the person outside.

Yang Shouwen walked over and found that a carriage was actually parked outside the courtyard. The carriage was loaded with nearly twenty jars of various sizes, making the wheels creak. The driver was a strong young man. Hearing Lady Yang's instructions, he carried two jars from the carriage and walked in.

"So much wine?"

Yang Shouwen couldn't help but be surprised.

Lady Yang said, "Nizi didn't ask for good wine, just ordinary wine, which doesn't cost much.

It cost one guan and four hundred coins, and another fifty coins for the carriage, which I already paid the driver. This is because the wine shop didn't have much wine. If we had spent two guan, we could have added at least ten more jars... Nizi, is this enough?"

"Enough, more than enough!"

Yang Shouwen didn't know the prices outside, nor did he know how much wine two guan could buy.

Actually, the wine Lady Yang bought wasn't high-quality, but for the consumption level in Changping, it was considered good wine for ordinary people.

"Nizi, why did you buy so much wine?"

Yang Shouwen smiled and said, "Aunt, you don't need to ask, you'll know when the time comes."

"Being mysterious!"

Lady Yang laughed and scolded, then handed the package to Yang Shouwen.

"Go eat quickly. Since I came back late, there wasn't time to prepare a meal, so I bought some Juhu cakes in the city. Have something to tide you over, and I'll cook something nice for you in the evening."

Juhu cakes were a very famous food in the Tang Dynasty.

Made with one pound of flour, half-cooked mutton was added and then baked until the skin turned golden. One Juhu cake weighed about two pounds and was a favorite of the Hu people, though it had a strong gamey smell.

Yang Shouwen didn't fuss, took two Juhu cakes to the kitchen, cut them with a knife, and placed them on a plate, bringing them to the porch. He sat Youniang on his lap and gave her a piece of the cake. But to his surprise, Youniang said seriously, "Brother Nizi, I don't want to eat this, I want to eat peaches."

"Youniang, stop being silly, where can we get peaches at this time of year?"

"I don't care, I want to eat peaches."

Youniang's rare defiance surprised Lady Yang.

Yang Shouwen thought to himself that he had underestimated the appeal of "Journey to the West" to children.

He quickly whispered to comfort her, and finally managed to make Youniang change her mind. After eating the cake quietly, she ran to the center of the courtyard, stomping her feet and chanting "change, change, change," which made Yang Shouwen laugh.

"Acting crazy, are you possessed?"

"Aunt, don't worry. I just told her a story, and she got too engrossed, so she's acting like this."

Lady Yang couldn't help but laugh, looking at the crazy Youniang, and could only shake her head helplessly.

In the afternoon, Yang Shouwen took Youniang to graze the cattle and told her two more segments of "Journey to the West."

In the evening, after a day of wild play, Youniang was soon tired and climbed onto the bed early to sleep.

Yang Shouwen finally had some free time and picked up the "Records of the Western Regions of the Great Tang," reading it under the lamp.

However, the writing of this era was a headache for him, and he soon felt sleepy, so he prepared to go to bed.

Just then, he heard Lady Yang's voice from outside, "Nizi, get up quickly, Sir has arrived."

Sir was the term used by servants in the Tang Dynasty to refer to the master of the house, which was Yang Shouwen's father, Yang Chenglie!

If his father came so late, something must have happened.

Hearing this, Yang Shouwen quickly got up, put on his clothes, and walked out of the room.

"Why did Father come?"

"I don't know. Sir just arrived and is waiting for you in the main hall."

Yang Shouwen nodded and walked along the porch, quickly reaching the main hall.

However, as soon as he entered the main hall, Yang Shouwen was stunned. Yang Chenglie was dressed in black, looking like a merchant.

In the Tang Dynasty, butchers and merchants wore black, commoners wore white, and soldiers wore yellow.

Yang Chenglie was sitting upright, with two packages and two straw hats in front of him, looking as if he was about to travel.

"Father, what's this...?"

"Yang's wife, keep watch outside. I have something to discuss with Nizi."

"Understood!"

Lady Yang was actually very tired.

She had been up all night the previous day and had been busy all day. However, since Yang Chenglie had given instructions, she naturally followed them, taking her needlework and sitting on the porch to sew.

"Nizhu, sit down."

Yang Chenglie pointed to the seat in front of him and said in a serious tone.

Yang Shouwen quickly sat down, looking at Yang Chenglie with confusion.

It was clear that Yang Chenglie was also very tired, with a hint of fatigue in his eyes.

The murder case must have been a great burden, possibly even alarming the county magistrate and earning his rebuke.

"You did well yesterday."

Yang Chenglie closed his eyes and, after a moment's thought, said, "If you hadn't rushed to Maitreya Temple, a bigger incident might have occurred. However, you know that the murderer, who failed and even lost one of his men to you, will not give up."

"I understand, Father."

"So I'm worried about any mishaps and have devised a plan with your Uncle Laohu to lure the snake out of its hole."

Yang Shouwen's eyes narrowed, and he remained silent.

"I have announced that we found an important piece of evidence at Little Maitreya Temple. I believe the murderers will certainly appear. However, just waiting is not enough; we need to investigate secretly. Your Uncle Laohu is now in charge in the city, mobilizing the militia to search. However, the murderers may not be hiding in the city but elsewhere."

Yang Shouwen's eyes darted, and he immediately understood.

"Do you mean they might be in Guduzhu?"

Yang Chenglie nodded and said softly, "Guduzhu is not part of Changping, and the situation is complex. One wrong move could alert them. So I plan to secretly visit Guduzhu and seek help from the local authorities. The people in the government office are not suitable for rash actions, so I plan to take you with me... You have recovered from your illness, are brave and meticulous, and have trained in martial arts with your grandfather. Most importantly, you have never been in the public eye, so no one in Guduzhu will recognize you.

What do you think, are you willing to go with me?"

In his memory, he had not left the village since moving to Changping at the age of four.

Yang Shouwen thought for a moment and said softly, "I am more than willing to help Father."

Yang Chenglie smiled in satisfaction and handed a package to Yang Shouwen, "This is the clothes I prepared for you. Go change, and we'll set out tonight."

"Understood!"

Without a word, Yang Shouwen took the package and returned to his room.

The package contained clothes similar to what Yang Chenglie was wearing. After putting them on, Yang Shouwen found that they fit perfectly. It seemed that Yang Chenglie was not as indifferent to Yang Shouwen as he had imagined. Otherwise, he wouldn't have brought clothes that fit perfectly.

After changing, Yang Shouwen picked up his tiger-swallowing spear and went to the front yard.

"Nizi, be extremely careful when you go out with Sir, and don't act rashly."

As they were about to leave, Lady Yang held Yang Shouwen's hand and repeatedly warned him.

"Don't worry, Aunt... Just make sure to comfort Youniang when she wakes up tomorrow.

Tell her I'll come back and tell her more stories, and that she should stay at home and not go out for a while."

Yang Shouwen wasn't worried about anything else, but he was afraid that Youniang would be upset if she woke up and didn't see him.