Great Tang Idyll

What Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan said made other people move a bit farther away from Han Yong'yao--- they were afraid of getting implicated. After the parents and guardians heard of this, they also persuaded their children to not get too close to those two at night when they were sleeping. Some people immediately asked others to go to the Taoist temple to ask for a talisman. Yeah, a Taoist temple, since the Buddhist temples were almost demolished so those were hard to find.

Yuan Xing'yi and Han Yong'yao were only scared at first, but after hearing Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juanwere talking constantly about this, they felt even more terrified. They kept stumbling and tripping as they walked. Their eyes were dull and expressionless, and they kept looking around nervously every single time they noticed the slightest movement such as grass being blown by the wind.

When the two of them looked around, others would look too, making the atmosphere even more tense. Previously, when they travelled, there were a lot of talking voices, but they had now disappeared. Only Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan were telling stories about ghosts and monsters.

When they were eating at noon, Han Yong'yao and Yuan Xing'yi couldn't eat a single bite. They forcibly drank some water, and their eyes were visibly sunken.

"Young Master, Young Master, there is news from home. Last night, a haystack in the house suddenly caught fire, and following that, an entire field of hay burned too."

Just as Han Yong'yao was wondering what to do when night came, a servant from his family ran over from behind and panted as he spoke.

"It burned? How did it burn it? Was it done by someone, or did it happen spontaneously?" Han Yong'yao frowned when he heard that the hay in his house was burned. That hay could have been used as firewood or for composting. A lot of money was lost now.

"It's not known. It shouldn't have been done by someone. No footprints were seen nearby. The bailiffs arrived there first, and they said that it happened spontaneously. However, someone said that last night they heard some noises. It sounded like the firecracker called Sky Jumping Monkey sold by the Zhang manor."

The servant looked at Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan, who were sitting there eating, and answered the young master's question.

Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan naturally heard them too. The two looked at each other, trying to hold back the smile, and looked at Han Yong'yao suspiciously.

"The haystack at Young Master Han's house caught on fire? Aiya, this costs a lot of money. This is so weird. Why does trouble keep arising at our places in the past two days? The other day, someone tried to poison the fishes at my house, and then a fire was started at Young Master Han's house? It really didn't happen spontaneously?"

Zhang Xiao'bao said angrily, Wang Juan also joined it, "Ain't that right. Who is so bad that they are targeting us? Aiya, would something happen to Young Master's Yuan house? Did the fire injure people?"

Wang Juan's last question was exactly what others wanted to know.

The servant immediately replied, "No one was injured. The haystack was left outside, and was quite far away from the houses. I wonder to whom have Young Master Zhang's house sold the Sky Jumping Monkey to?"

The servant suspected that the people of Zhang Xiao'bao's household. He heard that the Zhang manor had caught the three people who wanted to poison the pond. There were rumors that they belonged to the Han family. If it was thought of in this way, then it was only normal that they would retaliate.

Zhang Xiao'bao didn't pay attention to the servant's words. How could a servant question a manor's young master? It would only be acceptable if the question was asked by the servant's master.

"Shut up, how can you say something like this. Young Master Zhang, I have not disciplined my servant strictly. However, this is indeed what I wanted to ask. As long as you could find who you sold it to, this can be investigated."

Han Yong'yao knew what Zhang Xiao'bao was thinking as soon as he saw Zhang Xiao'bao's attitude. People from his own family talked over top of him. Others will only think that his family did not know how to manage their servants. They never saw the servants brought by Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan act like this. They always followed them silently, and occasionally, they would just smile when others talked about their young masters.

Moreover, when the servants talked to each other, it seemed like Zhang Xiao'bao's servants were educated. For a moment, someone would talk about the ‘sparse floating leaves', and in the next moment, someone would reply with ‘next year spring begins', etc. With this stark comparison, it was obvious who were better and who were worse.

He glared at his servant and then explained to Zhang Xiao'bao before he talked about what he intended to say.

Zhang Xiao'bao shook his head cluelessly, "I don't know. It's sold every day, so who knows who the buyer is? Juan'juan and I aren't home. Could it be that Young Master Han suspects that Juan'juan and I rushed back home last night and used the Sky Jumping Monkey to burn the hay in your home? Someone intended to put poison at our place, and we never suspected Young Master Han."

Han Yong'yao bottled up his anger. He knew what was going on, but he couldn't say it. His face turned red, and after a few breaths, he squeezed out a smile and said, "No, how could it be the Zhang family. Just like what the Young Miss from the Wang family said, there must be someone who wants to harm our manors."

Yuan Xing'yi, who was next to him, heard the conversation between the two parties, and he turned his head to look at the place where his family stayed. Then, he looked at the innocent expressions on Zhang Xiao'bao's and Wang Juan's faces. He became worried, but he also understood what was going on.

Li Xun came over at this time and said, "The haystack at Young Master Han's house was burned? I remember I bought a lot of firecrackers a few days ago. Among them, I also bought two hundred Sky Jumping Monkey. Buying more is cheaper. Could it be my manor's people?"

"No, no, how could the person be from Young Master Li's household? An outsider, it must be an outsider." Han Yong'yao could only swallow the broken tooth into his stomach1. What can be done since he was the one who started this? He felt anxious and angry in his heart, and his facial expression became ugly again.

"Young Master Han, don't think too much. It's just a bit of hay, it's not worth a lot of money. If you need to use hay, you can buy it from my house. I'll sell it to you at a cheaper price." Zhang Xiao'bao continued to anger Han Yong'yao.

Zhang Xiao'bao was actually very unwilling to do this in his heart. Why was he so fixated on messing with this child? However, if he didn't scare him, Han Yong'yao would send more people to cause trouble at his manor. Zhang Xiao'bao wouldn't have the time to deal with that, so he could only resolve this matter according to how a child would. This was all because Han Yong'yao had some power in his family.

"Okay, thank you Xiao'bao." Han Yong'yao was really scared now. The Zhang family seemed to be able to do anything. In particular, the kid in front of him knew what was going on, but he was pretending to be cute. None of the children from rich families were easy to deal with.

At this moment, while Yuan Xing'yi was worried about what happened, a servant hurried over. Before he could speak, Yuan Xing'yi asked, "Did something happen at home? Were the haystacks set on fire by the Sky Jumping Monkey firecracker?"

"Young Master, no. Last night, someone passed by the front of the manor and they were selling split soybeans and paste that were infested by bugs. They were also selling what should be grass that sprouted before autumn came-- it was still green and it was very cheap. They asked around about the Zhang Manor, saying that they planned to go to the Zhang Manor to sell it.

The housekeeper got people to buy some. However, today morning, four horses and six cows from the master's household began to have diarrhea, and they can't even stand up anymore. Didn't you send someone to go back to deliver a message last night? We felt that things didn't seem to be that simple, so I was sent over to inform you."

"Who was it? Who wanted to harm our family's cows and horses? And they even specifically asked where our family was located? Good thing Young Master Yuan's housekeeper bought them, otherwise my family's cows and horses would have to suffer. Young Master Yuan, your household suffered collateral damage."

Before Yuan Xing'yi could speak, Zhang Xiao'bao yelled out angrily and turned to Yuan Xing'yi to thank him.

"You're welcome. Xiao'bao's family is lucky." Yuan Xing'yi also squeezed out a smile, and then he said to his servant, "Go back and tell them that there is no need to investigate the matter anymore, and there is no need to report to the officials. They won't be able to find that seller. Who were the ones responsible for feeding the cows and horses? How come they didn't notice that something was wrong with the fodder?"

"Young Master, of course they looked at it, but there was nothing odd about it. There was just grass and beans." The servant replied. He knew that the person who fed the cows and horses was going to have it bad now.

Wang Juan interrupted at this time and said, "Young Master Yuan, do you think it's like this? The fodder was moldy, but then this shouldn't affect the cows--- the cows at my home are able to eat just anything. Then it should be croton seeds. How could that not be seen though? Think about it, if you boil the croton seeds in water, and then soak the soybeans and grass in that water, no one would notice, right?"

"Yes, the intelligence of the young miss of the Wang family is not ordinary. Boiled croton seed water. How cruel." Yuan Xing'yi looked at Wang Juan's as she blinked her big eyes innocently. He felt a bitter taste in his mouth thinking about how great she was for being able to figure out what happened, while his Housekeeper was enticed by the cheap price.

"Go back quickly, and tell my family to not think much about it. Use the rest to make compost." Yuan Xing'yi said to the next person.

Once the servant left, Yuan Xing'yi swept his eyes across Zhang Xiao'bao's and Wang Juan's body. After thinking for a bit, he said, "When I get back, I will get people to guard the manor. If anyone still wants to cause trouble on the Zhang manor, I will definitely not let them off--- especially the ones who tried to poison your fish. Don't worry."

"Really? Young Master Yuan, get that servant to come back quickly. I just thought of a solution. Cook garlic with vinegar and get the cow to drink it. See if that works?"

Wang Juan batted her long eyelashes.

Yuan Xing'yi was stunned for a moment, scrunching his face together. He nodded, "Okay, thank you, Young Miss Wang."

His servant came back and he retold the servant what Wang Juan said. The servant was a little concerned about this method and asked, "Young Master, will this work?"

"Okay, go. Can things become worse? If they don't drink it, they will die." Yuan Xing'yi believed that Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan understood what he said just now was a compromise so they gave him a solution. They no longer had the need to sabotage him.

Han Yong'yao didn't have as many thoughts as Yuan Xing'yi, so he didn't even think about apologizing. He didn't understand what Yuan Xing'yi said. When others no longer looked at him, he asked, "Brother Xing'yi, you are really going to help the Zhang Manor? They had just caused you trouble."

"I'm helping myself. Don't think about harming them when you get back. Hold it in and wait until the new county magistrate arrives." Yuan Xing'yi advised Han Yong'yao. If he doesn't listen, then nothing could be done.

Translator's Notes

1. Swallow the broken tooth into his stomach 打落了牙往肚子里吞

This means to accept your own tragic fate because you're incompetent.