Chapter 64

Originally, Wang Lun had planned to avoid causing trouble for Chao Gai before the incident of the birthday tribute convoy in early June. However, he never expected this man to be so tactless, coming to him on his own initiative and even using despicable methods.

Just a moment ago, he learned from Zhu Gui that on New Year's Day, a scholar-like man had come to Li Family Ferry Inn, asking for the Ruan brothers by name. Who didn't have relatives and friends in the mountains? At the time, it didn't raise any suspicion, and the inn's head only sent someone to the naval camp to fetch the three Ruans. The scholar then had a seemingly profound conversation with the three Ruans and left. A few days later, on the Lantern Festival, the scholar came again, this time openly declaring himself to be Wu Yong, a village school teacher, in front of the inn's staff. Before leaving, he even deliberately pulled Ruan Xiaoer aside to talk for a while, then left with a flourish.

When Wang Lun first heard about this, he felt both angry and amused. Was such a low-level scheme so easy to pull off? How could Wu Yong be so shameless, coming to show off? He even came multiple times, not minding the trouble. The first time, he tried to hide his intentions, but when there was no reaction, the second time he didn't bother to hide at all, openly declaring his name in front of Zhu Gui's men, as if afraid that Wang Lun wouldn't react and show the brilliance of his plan!

But this man didn't even bother to gather accurate intelligence before coming to make advances! If he knew that Wang Lun wasn't on the mountain, he would have been kicking and pounding his feet in frustration!

Truly, the tree wants to be still, but the wind won't stop!

Wang Lun had planned to rest and recuperate after returning from the capital, practicing his sword and learning horsemanship in his free time, and then setting out for Cangzhou in March or April to meet Wu Song. But these out-of-tune scholars kept coming to cause trouble.

However, he also blamed himself for not explaining things clearly to the three Ruans. He had been hesitant to speak ill of his friend in front of these straightforward heroes, so he only mentioned Chao Gai and not Wu Yong, even omitting Han Bolong, for fear of embarrassing Zhu Gui. Later, others in the stronghold followed his lead, only mentioning Chao Gai and not others. This wasn't a big deal, and as the stronghold grew, it gradually faded from people's minds.

But he never expected Wu Yong to be so bold. Logically, he didn't know that the three Ruans were unaware of his alliance with Chao Gai, yet he dared to come alone, not fearing that he might be captured and lose his life!

Others might not understand the three Ruans, but Wang Lun did. The so-called Living Confucius even pretended to pull Ruan Xiaoer aside in front of everyone to act mysterious. Who was Ruan Xiaoer? A man who would rather commit suicide in battle than be humiliated, how could he betray his master, even if the persuader was his so-called old friend?

Thinking of this, Wang Lun sneered. Wu Yong, you, the master of many schemes, calculated that I, Wang Lun, was a narrow-minded chief who couldn't tolerate others, and came to sow discord based on the principle that "a leopard can't change its spots." But you didn't expect that the heavens have their own plans, and this Wang Lun is no longer the same Wang Lun!

However, these were not the most important things. The most important was that Wang Lun didn't expect his arrival to bring subtle changes to those around him.

At least, before the birthday tribute convoy incident, Chao Gai and Wu Yong's loose partnership had now become a tight-knit alliance. They no longer just cooperated when needed and dispersed when not. According to the information from Zhu Gui, Wu Yong had stopped teaching and now lived with Han Bolong at Chao Gai's estate. It was said that Chao Gai had spent several hundred strings of cash to buy each of them twenty-five acres of land, indicating that the three intended to stay together for the long term.

Thinking of this, Wang Lun shook his head helplessly. It seemed that Chao Gai, after failing to rob the convoy that night and offending Wang Lun, now felt threatened by the growing power of Liangshan and was trying to fortify his estate. He had bought 1,200 acres of land in Xixi Village but didn't rent any of it to the former tenants, as they often spoke well of Wang Lun, making Chao Gai distrust them. Instead, he sought people from Yuncheng County, offering them a generous deal of only 40% of their harvest, compared to the usual 60-70%, and providing them with housing, hoping they would fight for him in times of need.

Chao Gai had even armed these tenants with weapons and frequently trained them. Fortunately, the government tolerated and even encouraged the existence of local militias, which allowed Chao Gai to grow and flourish.

"Truly, man has no intention to harm the tiger, but the tiger has the intention to harm man!" Wang Lun sighed, looking at the burning charcoal in the brazier.

Wen Huanzhang, who was sitting nearby sipping tea, smiled and asked, "Is there something troubling you, Chief?"

Wang Lun laughed and said, "It's not a big deal, just some scoundrels causing trouble!" He then recounted the events, as Wen Huanzhang was a trusted friend and he didn't fear being laughed at.

Wen Huanzhang listened carefully and then smiled, "With your magnanimity and wisdom, how could that scholar dare to come and make a fool of himself?"

Wang Lun chuckled but remained silent. Wu Yong must have felt very confident about Wang Lun's character to act this way. If it were the old chief, he might have scolded the three Ruans without thinking, possibly even driving them to the enemy. But these were not things to be openly discussed, and Wang Lun just shook his head and smiled bitterly at Wen Huanzhang's concerned gaze.

Wen Huanzhang didn't blame him and said, "Given the enmity, it seems these people thought they couldn't avoid it and decided to strike first. I see no intention in you to harm them; otherwise, I would be happy, as this would be a perfect opportunity."

"Frankly, I have over five thousand people to feed and clothe in my stronghold. I don't have the time to worry about what a few scoundrels are thinking. I'm not their father, worrying if they are pretending or if they can't eat or sleep well!" Wang Lun sighed, poking the charcoal.

Wen Huanzhang clapped and laughed. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and a straightforward voice called out, "Brother, are you asleep? My three brothers can't sleep, so we've come to chat with you!"

It was as if speaking of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrived. It was clearly the Ruan brothers outside. Wang Lun responded, and Jiao Ting, who was resting in the outer room, opened the door. The man hadn't slept all night, and no one knew what he was doing in his room.

When the three Ruans entered, they were all smiling and warmly greeted, "We didn't expect Mr. Wen to be here too! Perfect! Our mother heard you returned to the mountain and made a big fish. We brought it for you to enjoy, and Mr. Wen and Brother Jiao should also try our mother's cooking!"

Wang Lun quickly said, "I wasn't home for the New Year, and I haven't even paid respects to my mother. It's shameful that she still thinks of me!"

"Brother, you're busy with important matters. You can visit your mother anytime. Don't worry about it!" Ruan Xiaoqi said, speaking frankly, treating Wang Lun like a brother.

Wang Lun stood up and invited the three heroes to sit, and Jiao Ting fetched chopsticks. The six of them sat by the brazier and ate the fish, which weighed about five or six pounds, perfect for a group. Ruan Xiaoer had brought wine, and they ate and chatted.

During the meal, Ruan Xiaoqi looked at Wen Huanzhang's elegant way of eating fish and said, "We have an old friend like Mr. Wen. He came to visit us for the New Year a few days ago!"

Wang Lun and Wen Huanzhang exchanged a glance and smiled. Ruan Xiaowu asked, "Why are you two smiling?"

Wang Lun didn't say anything, fearing it might create a rift between the three Ruans and Zhu Gui. He trusted these straightforward men and didn't take it to heart, saying, "What is the name of your old friend?"

"It's Wu Yong, the village school teacher! He suddenly became very polite, coming to visit us on New Year's Day and again on the Lantern Festival. I told my mother, and she said he must be lonely and unhappy living alone!" Ruan Xiaoer replied.

"Brother, he's a talented man. We three brothers have tried to persuade him to join us, but he prefers to teach in the village school!" Ruan Xiaoqi added.

Wang Lun smiled but didn't say more, just encouraging the three brothers to drink and eat. They chatted for about half an hour, and the three Ruans, along with Wen Huanzhang, said it was late and left. Wang Lun saw them off, and as he opened the door, he saw three people standing outside. Two adults and a child, the child's face was purple from the cold. Wang Lun scolded, "Li Si, you brought your wife and child over without knocking. Look at the child's face! Come in and warm up!"

Ruan Xiaoqi, who didn't know Li Si, laughed, "This man is so formal, making the child suffer! Don't be so formal next time; Brother Wang is very easy-going, he won't eat you!"

Everyone laughed, and the three Ruans and Wen Huanzhang said their goodbyes. Wang Lun and Jiao Ting welcomed the Li family from Xixi Village. The wife took out a piece of clothing, and Li Si said, "Brother, it's the New Year, and I have nothing to offer, so my wife made you a piece of clothing. Although it's spring, it's still cold. Please take care of yourself; we all depend on you!"

Wang Lun smiled and said, "Li Si, you've become quite eloquent in two months! Very well, I'll wear it tomorrow!"

The Li couple looked pleased, and Jiao Ting took the clothing and went into the room. Wang Lun held the child and chatted with them by the fire. Later, when the couple saw it was late, they said their goodbyes. As they were about to leave, Li Si said, "Brother, the young men from our village want to send the reward money back to the village. It's a lot, about 14,000 strings of cash from over 200 young men. I don't dare make the decision, so I wanted to ask your opinion!"

---

The page turned, and an ad began.

The page turned, and the ad ended.