“Father!”
The moment Yu Zhuo ran in, he couldn’t help calling out.
Yu Qingshan, deep in thought, turned and saw his second son, and before he could react, he saw his daughter following behind him too, and shouted in alarm. “What are you two here for, go back right now!”
Yu Zhuo, just one step away from reaching his father, came to an abrupt halt at his father’s words.
Yu Fuling pulled back her steps just in time to avoid colliding with her second brother’s back.
“You’re Fuling, aren’t you?”
Village Head Liu knew every household in Baijia Village inside and out, and the moment he saw an unfamiliar, fair-skinned young girl come in alongside Yu Qingshan’s second son, he guessed at once who she was. “Come, come over here.”
The way he beckoned her over looked just like calling over a kitten or a puppy.
Yu Fuling walked slowly over to her second brother’s side, timidly tugging at his sleeve, looking at Village Head Liu. “Second Brother, didn’t we come to see Father so we could go home?”
Village Head Liu froze, the smile in his eyes slowly turning to confusion, wasn’t she supposed to be the fine young lady from the Marquis’ estate?
Why did she seem so dull-witted?
“I…”
Yu Zhuo was stunned, he’d never once seen his sister look this timid, not even Lehuan was this shy.
“Second Brother.”
Yu Fuling tugged at Yu Zhuo’s sleeve again, her tone carrying a hint of panic, her eyes reddening too.
Yu Qingshan looked at his daughter’s manner, utterly puzzled, and after a long moment, he suddenly understood, his gaze turning gentle as he looked at her. “Fuling, come here to Father.”
Yu Fuling gazed at her second brother pleadingly, and Yu Zhuo, seeming to understand too, took his sister’s hand and walked her over to their father.
“Fuling, don’t be afraid, Father’s right here.” Yu Qingshan carefully sheltered his daughter in his arms, looking at Village Head Liu with an apologetic expression. “Village Head Liu, what I said just now truly wasn’t meant to shirk responsibility. To be honest with you, Fuling wasn’t brought back by us, she was thrown out. That’s why I said she has no connection to the Marquis’ estate at all anymore, and on top of that, ever since she’s come back, she’s been…”
He didn’t finish the sentence, only let out a heavy sigh.
“Father, I’ll be good.”
Yu Fuling blinked her big eyes, looking dazed and confused, leaving even Yu Zhuo stunned.
“So that’s how it is…” Village Head Liu, still unwilling to give up, looked at Yu Fuling, and seeing her cowering fearfully in Yu Qingshan’s arms, felt his hopes sink again and again, it seemed the plan he’d wanted to carry out was falling through. “It’s getting late, you all should head home now.”
What he needed was an intermediary who could help him curry favor with the Marquis’ estate, a timid little girl who’d been thrown out by that very household, forced into the role, might drag him down along with her instead.
“Thank you, Village Head Liu.”
Yu Qingshan thanked him and led his children away, turning and slowly walking off.
Only once they were on the road home did Yu Zhuo finally come back to himself, staring at Yu Fuling in shock. “Wait, you…”
“Second Brother, you told me yourself that going head to head with Village Head Liu never ends well, and Father’s words made me realize that Village Head Liu must be in some kind of bind, otherwise why would he bring himself to ask a favor of someone he looks down on?” Sometimes, playing dumb is a form of wisdom too. Yu Fuling looked at her father’s grave expression. “Father… I didn’t mean it that way.”
“Fuling, you did very well.”
Yu Qingshan looked up, if before, his gaze toward his daughter had always carried more guilt than anything else, now it held approval instead. “The moment I saw you two come in, I’d honestly already braced myself to have it out with Village Head Liu. I never expected you’d defuse a whole conflict so easily with just a few words.”
“Father, what exactly was Village Head Liu asking of you? And how did it end up involving Fuling?” Yu Zhuo couldn’t help asking.
“The officials from the county office love coming into the village to squeeze money out of people. Baijia Village doesn’t have a scholar’s protection like the neighboring village does, and it’s not as wealthy as other villages either, not that it’s much of anything, but for the villagers here, one visit from those officials costs them half a month’s food money. It’s happened often enough that the villagers grumble endlessly about it, and it gives Village Head Liu a headache too. But he’s just a small village head, and he doesn’t have a single relative with any real power or an official position, so he set his sights on Fuling instead.”
“I just came back from the Marquis’ estate, and he wanted to borrow the Marquis’ influence to intimidate the officials squeezing money from the village?”
This kind of extortion wasn’t anything unusual, it happened often enough in the city too.
“Borrowing the Marquis’ influence was just the first step. His real goal was to attach himself to the great tree that is the Changxing Marquis’ household.” Yu Qingshan knew Village Head Liu’s character all too well, a man of humble origins, hungry to rise above his station, to have everyone answering to his call.
“Village Head Liu’s not stupid. If he happened to send someone to keep watch and found out Fuling was faking it, he’d definitely make things even harder for our family.” Yu Zhuo’s tone carried a note of resentment.
“So we need to think of a way to draw his attention elsewhere.”
Yu Fuling stroked her chin, and suddenly her eyes lit up. “That grove, everyone thinks there’s a beast inside it. If the villagers knew there was no beast at all, and instead plenty of wild vegetables and medicinal herbs, even if it can’t be sold for money, it could still help improve their meals…”
“Yu Fuling, what are you talking about? There really is a beast in that forbidden grove, it’s terrifying.” Yu Zhuo shook his head, cutting his sister off. “You mustn’t be careless about this.”
“Second Brother, I’m not being careless…”
Her second brother had his own affairs to attend to, and Yu Fuling didn’t want to disrupt his plans, let alone give him something else to worry about. “Let’s just hurry home, so Mother doesn’t worry.”
“Autumn harvest is coming next month, and Village Head Liu will surely be run off his feet busy, there’s no way he’d come looking for trouble with us anytime soon. And if word of this got around among the villagers, it would hurt his standing in Baijia Village.” Yu Qingshan had always been an outsider in this village, if it truly came down to it, he could go settle somewhere else. He simply refused to believe that under all of heaven, there wasn’t a single place for his family to call home. “Let’s get home first.”
Yu Fuling took her father’s words to heart, for the Yu family, outsiders as they were, to gain a firm footing in the village, they’d need to help the village solve real, concrete problems.
They couldn’t rise to the top in one leap, but at least they could stay in the village with their heads held high, no longer having to watch other people’s moods.
And in the grander scheme of things, every household in Baijia Village might one day owe the Yu family a debt of gratitude.
Seeing her husband and children return safely, Zhang Qiaofeng asked nothing, simply bringing dinner to the table with her youngest daughter.
“Where’s Yu Heng?”
“He’s in the room keeping Shuiqin company.” Zhang Qiaofeng sat down beside her husband, and seeing his brow furrowed, put a piece of food in his bowl for him. “If worse comes to worst, once this year is over, our whole family could go stay at my family’s home for a while. Once we’ve worked hard for a few years and saved up some silver, we’ll move into town. I refuse to believe our whole family, with hands and feet intact, could really be driven to ruin by that Liu Youde.”
Yu Fuling sat with her bowl, quietly watching her parents.
The way her parents got along was very different from the Marquis and his wife.
Her parents were the kind of couple she’d only ever seen in storybooks, walking through life hand in hand, of one mind.
The Marquis and his wife, who outsiders saw as a harmonious couple in perfect accord, were more like superior and subordinate at home, Yu Fuling had never once seen any affection pass between them, always so formal, so correct and courteous.
But…
Something occurred to Yu Fuling. She counted the days, five days from now would be the Marquis’ wife’s birthday.