The yamen officer squeezed the silver pieces in his palm, glanced at them with feigned indifference, and finally broke into a smile.
“Hey! Old Li!” He waved to the officer who was roughing up the servant below the hall. The two exchanged a look, then retreated to the door with their batons, speaking to Fu Ming with much more courtesy.
“You see, we have to follow the rules here. Otherwise, if the master blames us, we won’t be able to explain ourselves.” The officer was respectful, while the servant he had scolded earlier was still lying on the ground, cursing under his breath in anger.
“Right, if anyone could just come to the yamen and beat the drum randomly, how could we ever have a peaceful dream?”
The officers at the door played good cop, bad cop, babbling on and on, and only after prying two more pieces of silver from Fu Ming’s hand did they reluctantly say, “Alright, alright, I see you’re sincere. I’ll go in and report for you.”
With that, the two officers quickly slipped into the yamen, closing the door behind them.
“This is just too much…”
The beaten servant limped over, complaining to his master with great grievance, “When have we ever been treated like this?”
Fu Ming was also fuming inside, but he had no other choice at the moment. He could only sigh heavily, take out his purse, and give the servant some money to find a doctor.
The servant understood that Fu Ming was rewarding him for his diligence, and happily took the money and left.
The advisor was hiding behind the yamen door. Seeing the two officers enter with joy, he immediately put on a stern face and asked, “What’s going on outside?”
The silver they had just received hadn’t even warmed up in their hands, and the officers’ faces twisted for a moment at the advisor’s voice. But they quickly put on a fawning expression, rubbing their hands together and offering a piece of silver.
“What else could it be? They’re shouting that bandits have kidnapped someone and want us to take charge.”
“Bandits?” The advisor raised his eyebrows, delighted at the silver in his hand, but still picky on the surface. “Is it the ones from the east or the west?”
“It must be the ones from the west.”
Old Li, who had just been rough, clapped his hands. “The ones from the east haven’t been causing trouble for a while now.”
“Hmm?” The advisor immediately raised his eyebrows, glaring at him warningly. “Are you out of your mind, talking nonsense?”
“Look at my big mouth!” Old Li immediately realized his mistake, giving himself a light slap. “We’re ignorant, how would we know which bandits are the real bad guys? We have to rely on the master to decide.”
“Hmph, know what to say and what not to say.”
The advisor found this more agreeable, giving the officer a sidelong glance before turning to head to the back courtyard, twirling his mustache. “Bring in two people who know the situation for questioning, and report to our master.”
“Ugh, what a piece of work.” The two officers spat after the advisor left. “That filthy thing from the palace, really thinks he’s something.”
“If it weren’t for our yamen taking him in, he’d have starved to death outside!”
The two officers, having vented their frustration, grumbled a bit more before turning back to open the main door, glaring at Fu Cong and Fu Ming. “Please, you two, we need to ask some questions for the master.”
“Are you really candidates heading to the capital for the imperial examination?”
The county magistrate finally put down his teacup and looked up slightly, glancing at the advisor in front of the desk.
“Indeed.”
The advisor respectfully handed the petition to the county magistrate, his face a bit flustered. “Not only does the kidnapped person have a title, but the Fu family brothers also have some wealth in the Central Plains. Sir, this matter must be handled…”
“Hiss… Have you sent someone to ask at the West Mountain?”
The county magistrate closed his eyes, gently stroking his white beard, and after a while, opened one eye to look at the advisor. “If it’s them, tell them to release the person quickly.”
“I’ve asked, sir.” The advisor clapped his hands, his face even more anxious. “The second master over there replied, saying they never bring men back to the mountain, and they’ve never seen any young master.”
“It’s not them?”
This was somewhat unexpected. The county magistrate shook his head, pondering for a while, then nodded towards the east with a sly look on his face.
“Send someone to find out if Zang Liujiang has changed his ways and started doing these things too?”
The advisor’s eyes lit up, lowering his voice to the magistrate. “If it really is them… our master will be pleased.”
After being questioned by the officers, Fu Cong and Fu Ming left the yamen exhausted. The servants waiting outside rushed up, concernedly checking if their masters had been troubled by the officers.
“It’s fine, don’t bother me.”
Fu Cong pushed away the servants surrounding him, sitting on the ground with his arms crossed, looking up at the dark sky with a sour nose.
Fu Ming was also extremely tired. He waved the servants away and sat next to Fu Cong to discuss. “We can’t tell our parents about this.”
Fu Cong naturally understood. The Fu family had kept Yu Huishui’s background a secret, but the two of them had known about it since they were young. If their mother, who loved Huishui so much, found out he had been kidnapped by bandits, she would be heartbroken.
“Tomorrow, big brother, you should take people to the capital.”
Fu Ming looked at the sky, reaching out to pull Fu Cong up. “If no one goes to the capital to oversee things, our parents will start to suspect.”
Fu Cong was pulled up by Fu Ming, wiping his eyes, his worry evident.
“I really don’t know what kind of life Huishui is living now. He’s so picky with food, he might be so thin he’s unrecognizable.”
Yu Huishui, cornered by Zang Liujiang at the table, frowned deeply. Facing the spoonful of fish soup Zang Liujiang offered, he said fiercely, “I won’t eat.”
Zang Liujiang, quick as lightning, shoved the spoon into Yu Huishui’s open mouth, his handsome eyebrows raised, looking quite fierce.
“What do you mean ‘no appetite, so I won’t eat’? You barely ate anything at lunch, even a chicken pecking at your food wouldn’t be full.”
Yu Huishui, unable to resist him, had no choice but to grab the bowl of soup from Zang Liujiang’s hand and return to the table, eating carefully until he was seventy percent full before Zang Liujiang let him go.
After eating, the two tidied up the bed to sleep. While doing so, Zang Liujiang suddenly remembered something, stopping his hand from dusting the quilt, and said to Yu Huishui, “Those two wolf pelts need to be aired before they can be made into clothes. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to the private school at the foot of the mountain to buy books, and we’ll buy a few outfits along the way.”
Yu Huishui was holding a book he had scavenged from the study. Zang Liujiang’s fifth brother had left behind many useful books, which calmed Yu Huishui’s anxiety over losing his books.
“I’m not going.” Yu Huishui disliked buying clothes and immediately refused.
“That won’t do. If my brothers see that I married a wife and didn’t even buy her fitting clothes, they’ll skin me alive.”
Zang Liujiang shook the quilt, making it warm and neat, then suddenly had a mischievous thought, leaning close to Yu Huishui. “If you don’t buy, then you’ll have to wear my clothes every day.”
Yu Huishui turned his head to look, seeing Zang Liujiang’s playful expression, he raised the book to hit him but remembered his earlier words and held back.
“…Right, we should buy some, and I need to meet your brothers.”
Zang Liujiang raised his eyebrows mischievously, about to turn away when he heard Yu Huishui hesitantly say, “Should I… buy a few dresses?”
Dresses?
Zang Liujiang’s eyebrows twitched, and he couldn’t help but imagine Yu Huishui in a dress.
It would be quite nice… no, it would be extremely nice.
Yu Huishui brought up dresses for a reason. After being seen through by Qin Xiaoyuan, Yu Huishui had been worried. Although Qin Xiaoyuan secretly promised not to tell anyone before leaving, if everyone could see he was a man at a glance, what was the point of disguising?
Zang Liujiang understood his concerns. After a long silence, Zang Liujiang spoke first, “Dressing as a wife doesn’t necessarily mean wearing dresses.”
His broad hand gently shook Yu Huishui’s wrist, coaxing him sweetly, “If you don’t like it, we won’t wear it.”
A strange emotion crept into his heart, a bit sour, warm, and filling his chest.
Yu Huishui let him hold his hand, nodding slightly, then took the initiative to say, “We should still buy a couple, just in case outsiders see.”
“Whatever you say.” Zang Liujiang finally saw a smile on Yu Huishui’s face, and he smiled along with him, lying down beside Yu Huishui.
They slept soundly through the night, waking up in the morning.
Yu Huishui was the first to open his eyes, awakened by the heat from Zang Liujiang beside him. He couldn’t understand if this man was made of hot iron; the bed had been comfortably warm before sleep, but now it was so hot he was sweating.
Kicking off the blanket, Yu Huishui turned away from Zang Liujiang’s arm, sitting up to catch his breath, feeling better.
Looking down at the culprit, Zang Liujiang was still asleep, his chest rising and falling with his breath, his black hair spread out, making him look even younger.
So young, yet already a bandit leader? Yu Huishui couldn’t help but be lost in thought, his gaze on Zang Liujiang’s face slowly drawn to his rising and falling chest.
He couldn’t help but look; he’d never seen muscles so finely toned and proportioned. Even Fu Cong and Fu Ming couldn’t compare to Zang Liujiang’s physique.
How could he be so strong when they’re all men? Yu Huishui wondered, touching his own arm.
A thin layer, making Yu Huishui a bit discouraged.
If I eat well, could I be stronger too?
The morning light was still faint, filtering through the paper window, casting a dim shadow in the room. Yu Huishui’s gaze grew more curious, inexplicably wanting to see how much he differed from Zang Liujiang.
His hand slowly moved to his inner garment’s waistband, a soft rustling sound. Yu Huishui paused to confirm Zang Liujiang showed no signs of waking, then secretly opened his inner garment.
The difference was stark.
Yu Huishui’s gaze swept over his flat body, only his chest slightly more ample, with no extra soft flesh elsewhere.
Suddenly, a sharp intake of breath broke the silence in the room.
Yu Huishui’s ears perked up, and he quickly looked up to see Zang Liujiang turning over, covering his eyes with his hand, peeking through his fingers, shaking with suppressed laughter.
The morning in the stronghold was peaceful, bandits and villagers living harmoniously. Each family held their rice bowls, watching as the big boss, with a palm print on his face, followed the big boss’s wife, who had been in the stronghold for three days. The two occasionally tangled together, the big boss’s wife’s slaps landing on the big boss with great force, truly a heroine among women.
Finally coaxing Yu Huishui, Zang Liujiang’s arm was numb, but he had no regrets about pretending to sleep and peeking, secretly deciding to do it again next time.
Today was just a casual trip down the mountain. Zang Liujiang led an ordinary horse from the stable, wrapped Yu Huishui in a couple of ill-fitting clothes, and with a flick of the whip, they rode down the mountain together.