Great Tang Idyll

"Everyone, I suddenly remembered that there's still an important task at home for me to tend to, so I'll be leaving." The more Jia Wei'ran thought about it, the more worried he got, so he decided to go home first.

Everyone understood what he was going through. Things will be troublesome for him now. Once the two children, Xiao'bao and Juan'juan, go back home and tell their parents about the matter, it would be hard to predict what will happen when his father takes office.

After waiting for Jia Wei'ran to leave, the rest of the people looked at each other and suddenly laughed.

"Today was really fun. I didn't expect to meet two children. I'd say that the two children of the Zhang and Wang manors are the most fortunate. They have been together since they were young. It's so much better than having parents look for a random marriage candidate. Sister Qi, don't you agree?"

A woman commented; she was envious of Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan. They have been together since they were young, so when they grow up, they will get along perfectly.

The other man, who was more burly, said at this time, "It's not just that. Look at the place where the two little kids were sitting just now---it happened to be the corner of the wall. The one called Xiao'bao always sat with his left side turned to us, while the one called Juan'juan was sitting more on the inside.

They also have knives. If I'm guessing correctly, then if an unarmed person really wants to do something to them, the person will be injured. Xiao'bao never used his right hand when eating. He was obviously unaccustomed to eating with his left hand. Don't be fooled by how he was eating so smoothly with his left hand. Every single time he ate, his right shoulder would move too. "

"What's there to pity? He has a lethal weapon in his right hand. He faced us with the left side of his body. When he jumps into action, he can transfer the momentum of his turn to the weapon in his right hand. It would be difficult for others to guard against. Think about their sitting posture when they were sitting there just now. As a girl, Juan'juan should have sat with her legs together, but they were slightly apart, and Xiao'bao sat with one foot in the front and one foot behind.

I thought for a while before I realized that if someone rushed over and wanted to hurt them, Xiao'bao could just turn around and thrust his weapon out, while Juan'juan could move behind him. If the Juan'juan could also attack, then they could change their positions. After this, the attacker would be restrained by Xiao'bao.

According to their height, as long as the knife is sharp enough, Wang Juan can stab the knife into the person's stomach. These two children are not ordinary. Fortunately, Master Jia didn't fight with the children, otherwise if he really bullied them, he would be the one that would suffer."

The strong man stood up. While holding a chopstick in his hand, he acted out the motions for others to see as he talked. He used a stool as a placeholder for Wang Juan, and he took Zhang Xiao'bao's position. When someone came in front of him, he just turned around and thrusted the chopstick in his right hand out while moving his feet. He stabbed again and shifted his position again. Through this process, his body had turned a full circle. He swung out with the chopstick again.

If the chopstick was a knife, the attacker would try to block him, but after he changed his position, the stool, which represents Wang Juan, would be exposed. As long as she holds a sharp knife in her two hands and moves forward, the person in front of her would be completely vulnerable to her attack.

"It turned out to be like this. That's too scary. The two children were also guarding themselves from us when they were sitting there. Good thing Master Jia didn't go up to them."

The woman finally understood the techniques behind the position changes. She didn't expect that the two children were sitting strategically. No wonder they had their backs against the corner of the wall.

Young Master Han also nodded. "It's really unusual. This shows that they have been taught by others. Given the financial resources of the Zhang and Wang family, it is too easy to obtain two good daggers. Perhaps the daggers even have poison on them. Jia Wei'ran should be depressed this time. I wonder, if there really is danger, would Juan'juan actually make a move?"

"If it was me, I would. Even if I don't have such a good dagger, I would try to use the hairpin on my head to pierce the attacker. The one facing the most danger is Xiao'bao. He's the first one to deal with the person's attack. Juan'juan must be the most fortunate person since she is able to grow up with a person like this."

Qi Xiao'ying said with a look of anticipation, and at the same time looked at Han Xuan'feng next to her. ‘Xuan'feng' was just a nickname, his given name and real name was ‘Han Chang' and ‘Han Sui'jiu', respectively. His literary talent was beyond description--in a blink of an eye, he could compose a perfect poem. He was not ordinary at all.

Furthermore, he carried a sword with him. She heard from others that his riding skills and archery skills were not bad. He was the only person left in his family, but he did not become a wandering traveller like other people did. He relied on himself to earn money, writing for others, guarding the conveyance of goods or freight. Although it wasn't a lot of money, he didn't ask others for help.

It was a pity that his family background was a little worse, or it can be said that he had no family background since he was only one person. If he was from a manor, then she could...even if the manor was not comparable to the Zhang Manor and was just any ordinary manor, then it would be enough. Maybe, she could think of a way to ask Juan'juan how her family runs their manor, and when the time comes, it wouldn't be too troublesome for her to get him a manor.

She planned to go find Juan'juan tomorrow. Juan'juan was such an intelligent child, so she should know quite a bit. If he could earn more money, she would have an excuse to give her family.

Qi Xiao'ying thought of this as she turned her eyes. In this short moment, she had set her mind to help Han Xuan'feng. If she waited any longer, there would be no time left. Her family was now constantly looking for candidates. If it weren't for the fact that those people were not good enough, she would probably be married already.

"Xiao'ying is indeed an extraordinary lady. If it was me, I would be willing to be like Xiao'bao and stand on the side." It was unclear if Young Master Han was a bit drunk from the wine, or if he said this intentionally. After he said this, he was afraid to look at Qi Xiao'ying. Whenever people looked over to him, he would always avoid their eyes a little bit.

*

Jia Wei'ran did not dare to make any delays when he came out of the restaurant. He found a carriage and paid double the price, so that the coachman would rush to the capital. From here to the capital, it would only take one day by horse. It would take two days if the person rode their horse a bit slower, but it would take more than three days on a horse carriage.

Originally, he wanted to see what the San'shui County was like. He had inquired about a lot of things, but he felt that it was better to see the place with his own eyes. This time he finally saw with his own eyes that the drought in the San'shui County was not a big deal, and from time to time, there were ships bringing food in.

The local people were also looking for work on their own. There were more small businesses, and there were also a lot of people helping to carry the cargo at the wharf. In addition, taxes were exempted, so after the autumn harvest, the people still had some spare grains in their homes.

But the only difficult thing to handle was the two Zhang and Wang manors. Before he even came here, he inquired about the two places. In fact, the whole administrative office treated those two manors as if they were their own family. During critical moments, they even delivered good news by travelling at the speed of 800 li1 a day, which was normally used for urgent reports only.

Originally, he wanted to find a chance to meet the people of the two families. Who would have expected that the meeting would commence like that? The two children have heard everything. He shouldn't have mentioned anything about building an Imperial road, or make them pay for road repair costs. Rather than hoping that those two children won't tell their parents everything once they get home, it was better for him to go back to the capital to find the father and discuss this with him.

"The title of ‘brother' is too much for me, Young Master, you should call me Crazy Horse like others do. I am indeed from this place. My father was also a coachman, but he is too old to work now, so he handed the job over to me."

The coachman was a young man. Hearing his question, he quickly replied and at the same time, he whipped his riding crop.

"Oh, brother, why do you have such a name? I wonder how is your father doing? I heard that because of this drought, there is not much money left in everyone's home." Jia Wei'ran continued talking.

The coachman pulled back his dangling leg and he shouted out to his horse a few times, then he said, "My surname is Ma, as in the character for horse, and I drive my horse carriage crazily quick, so others call me Crazy Horse. Actually, I rode my carriage that quickly only once. It was because I was drunk, so I didn't think about how tired out my horses would be and I kept rushing them.

My father is not bad now. There is not much to do all day, and he is much healthier than before. Young Master, since you're in such a rush to get back to the Capital, should I make my horses go faster? "

"No, it's not good if your horses become exhausted. I heard people say that the Zhang and Wang manors---the ones from the Tu'qiao Village--- did a lot of things. I heard that they raised the prices, is that true?" Jia Wei'ran asked nonchalantly.

"That's fake. I know some of the things over there. They have never done anything to drive up prices. It must be that someone who is jealous of them is spreading rumors. If I get to know who this person is, I will let him know whether or not it hurts to be whipped by a riding crop."

The coachman looked like he was ready to fight to his death when he tried to rectify the reputation of the Zhang and Wang manors.

Jia Wei'ran obviously didn't want to hear such words, so he asked again, "Then they are good to you? Do they usually give you some money? Otherwise, there won't be so many people helping them buy those kinds of wine dregs left behind during wine making."

Hearing this, the coachman smiled and said, "They are indeed good. Like what you have just said, they do give us some money. As long as we put one or two small flags on or beside our horse carriage, they will pay us on a monthly basis. Although it's not much money, it is better than nothing at all."

"Flags? What are they for?" Jia Wei'ran really didn't know about this. He now recalled that when he got onto the carriage, he did see a drawing on the carriage mentioning something about a fabric shop. Now he understood that this was a way of earning money.

"This is called an advertisement. I don't quite understand it myself. Anyway, as long as it is placed on the carriage, they will pay for it." The coachman continued.

Translator's Note

1. 800 li

This refers to travelling 800 li or ~400 km in a day on horseback. This is the fastest speed that messages or reports can be delivered at.

Note that this ‘li' is different from the ‘Li' in Li Xun.