Category: The Big Landlord

You can find my updating schedule under the translations tab of the menu bar.

---

Prev | Contents | Next

Chapter 65.1 – Night Attack and Encirclement

It was night. Five men dressed in black broke into the An manor, which was bathed in darkness.
Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels(.)com
The five men in black split up into four directions. Two of them went to An Zi Ran’s bedroom, and the other three went to Steward Su, Su Zi, and the accounting rooms respectively.

During the day, they were able to effortlessly examine the layout of the An family manor. At this moment, in this unguarded place, the two people dressed in black rushed to An Zi Ran’s bedroom.

It was three a.m. and everyone was fast asleep.

The lights in An Zi Ran’s bedroom have long been extinguished. The room was so quiet that you could even hear the flutter of a mosquito’s wings.

One of the men in black pulled out a pipe filled with knock out drugs. He blew the vapor from the pipe into the room. After he finished, he waited a while before carefully opening the door and walking in. The bead curtains made a crisp impact sound. It was very unexpected in the silent night, but the people on the bed did not move at all.

The two men in black glanced at each other.

One of them walked over and carefully lifted the quilt. When he saw that beneath the blanket were not two people, but two big pillows, he was shocked. Just as he was about to say ‘not good,’ a sound of kacha* sounded behind him. That crisp and shocking sound was enough to make his whole body jump and his heart to thud with alarm.

[*T/N: 咔嚓 Chinese onomatopoeia for the sound of breaking or snapping]

The man in black turned cold all over.

When he turned around, his companion had already fallen from the hands of a tall man, and was lying out cold on the floor. His eyes were wide open, frozen in fear.

Their target, An Zi Ran, stepped out from behind the tall man. The white moonlight shining in through the window fell upon his face, revealing a cold and ruthless expression.

The remaining man in black instantly felt a chill climb into his heart.

A second later, there was another corpse on the floor.

An Zi Ran looked at Fu Wu Tian who broke the necks of the two men in black with his bare hands. The disparity in strength was great. He already knew that Fu Wu Tian’s martial arts was stellar. These two men were also pretty good, but for Fu Wu Tian to resolve them so easily, his strength was obviously above expectations.

Fu Wu Tian noticed his gaze and turned his head to meet his eyes, “What is it?”
Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels(.)com
An Zi Ran looked away. “Nothing.”

Fu Wu Tian did not expose his lie. But he did not think that his wang fei would not be used to these kinds of situation. Because the first time they met, the scene was bloodier than it was now. But the more it was like this, the more curious he was about wang fei. He still remembered wang fei’s expression from that time. He had the calm and unperturbed countenance of one who had been tempered by blood.

After a while, the situation was also wrapped up over on Ge Qian An and Shao Fei’s side.

The rooms where Steward Su and his son lived were connected. The two men in black who went to those rooms were resolved by Ge Qian An, and Shao Fei took care of the one who went to the accounting room.

Five bodies were transported out of the house overnight and left in front of the door to the government office.

Prefectural Magistrate Jiang and the others who heard the sound at the government office door immediately ran out. The one who knocked on the door wasn’t there, but there were five corpses on the ground. These were the men that they had sent to the An manor.

The guards went over to check if the men in black were still breathing. Finding no signs of life, their faces changed colors, and they immediately hurried back to report. “Da ren, they are already dead.”

Prefectural Magistrate Jiang’s complexion turned ashen. “Dispose the bodies.”

After he gave out the order, he turned around and headed back inside.

The group of people that had rushed out all went back inside. None of them could have foreseen this unexpected turn of events. Their opponents were a mere businessman and a landlord. They actually had the guts to kill the five men that they sent out. This was really unbelievable, but they could only silently swallow this lost.

Liu Fei Hong, who heard the news, hurriedly climbed out of his bed and rushed over. He saw the room full of people with grave expressions. He didn’t even take notice of Qian You Hao and the others who got up and bowed to him. He quickly sought out Jiang Zhong Ting. “I heard that the people we sent to the An manor were all killed. Is this true?”

“I’ve already had someone take care of the corpses. Now we can be certain that the ledger is in the hands of An family’s young landlord.” Jiang Zhong Ting’s expression was still twisted into something ugly. Not only was he unable to obtain the ledger, but he also lost five elite trusted agents. It wasn’t difficult to cultivate an elite agent, but to find one that he could trust was hard.

Liu Fei Hong was even more anxious. “Since it is confirmed, then we must immediately find an appropriate time to end the An family.”

As long as the ledger was not retrieved, he would be sitting on pins and needles. When he first received the news he was unwilling to believe it, that some little nobody would have a ledger with such fatal evidence in it, and he never knew that such a book existed.

If it weren’t for Jiang Zhong Ting this time, he would probably die very miserably.

“We must retrieve this ledger as soon as possible, we cannot delay any longer!” Jiang Zhong Ting said with a sullen face. He sacrificed five men on this mission. He must get that book back to make up for his losses.

“What are you waiting for? As far as I’m concerned, there is no need to wait until tomorrow. We will send out the troops right now and encircle the An family.” Liu Fei Hong was so agitated that he stood up, wanting to go out right away. That ledger hung over his head like the sword of Damocles*.

[*T/N: The original text used 心病 “heart disease,” but I thought “sword of Damocles” would be the better English equivalent.]

“Liu da ren, wait a moment!”

Qian You Hao suddenly called for him to halt.

Liu Fei Hong was impatient, but seeing that it was Jiang Zhong Ting’s trusted aide, he tried to exercise patience. “Is there something else?”

Qian You Hao explained, “I think there’s something odd about the An family. Our men were quite skilled, but they were killed not long after entering the An manor. The An family is merely a landlord of An Yuan County. They’re all normal people, how could they possibly kill our men. Da ren, don’t you feel that this is very strange?”

[T/N: Dun dun dun… There’s a smart one on the villain side.]

Prev | Contents | Next

---

Big welcome to new patreon member:
Fariza boua ♡ฅ(ᐤˊ꒳ฅˋᐤ♪)

Prev | Contents | Next

Chapter 64.2 – Fu Wu Tian’s Power

“Why do I have to give it to him?”

An Zi Ran looked up at him. “Are you saying you’d rather destroy the ledger?”
Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels(.)com
Since the book was stolen, Jiang Zhong Ting would certainly guess that it was in their hands. If they didn’t hand it over they will keep thinking about it. Even if they told them that the ledger was gone, the other party wouldn’t believe it.

Shao Fei suddenly laughed out loud. When An Zi Ran looked at him, he said proudly, “Wang fei, there’s something you don’t know, our wang ye’s power is so great. Even without reporting to Chong Ming Emperor, you can easily take the heads of these worms in Da Ya.”

An Zi Ran looked at Fu Wu Tian.

Fu Wu Tian declined to comment.

An Zi Ran felt that he had to get to know Fu Wu Tian anew.

There was a bright smile on Shao Fei’s lips. He was also very shocked when he first found out. Wang ye was not a prince, and definitely not the emperor, but his power* was even greater than that of Zhang Sun Cheng De. If Zhang Sun Cheng De ever commits a crime in the future, wang ye could climb over Chong Ming Emperor’s head to take care of him.

[*T/N: 权利 quan li: power, right, privilege]

Because, this was the power given to wang ye by the previous emperor!

The current emperor has been on the throne for twenty-seven years now. But he didn’t succeed the throne after the emperor’s death. Rather, the previous emperor had abdicated and then gave him the throne.

The emperor really liked Fu Xiao, his nephew, and he had the intention of passing the throne onto him. But Fu Xiao has always been embroiled in military matters, and he preferred living freely on horseback, so he refused the throne. Thus, the previous emperor could only pass the throne onto his only son. He had many daughters, but only Fu Chong, this one son.

Later, the previous emperor transferred his love for Fu Xiao onto his son, Fu Wu Tian.

After Fu Wu Tian was born, his parents left him in the wang fu (the Fu palace) when he was barely three months old. At that time, the emperor had just retired for a few years. After hearing about Fu Wu Tian’s circumstance, he brought him into the imperial palace and raised the child by his side for a few years. Gradually, he became shocked by the intelligence and courage that Fu Wu Tian exhibited when he was a child, and he liked him even more.
Translations by Vanilla Muse
Two years before the death of the previous emperor, Chong Ming Emperor began to reveal his true colors, gradually developing in the direction of an incapable ruler. At that time, the previous emperor was already powerless. His body was very weak. All year round he lay in bed sick. So he pinned his hopes on the young Fu Wu Tian, and gave him the right to behead an incapable ruler above him and the power to get rid of corrupt officials below him.

Everyone in the imperial court on both the civic and military side, including the current emperor, was aware of this.

Because the previous emperor made this announcement in front of everyone, even some common people have heard of this matter.

Since then, Fu Wu Tian has often suffered assassination attempts.

Later, Fu Xiao, who was far away at the border, heard of about this situation and brought him over to the border. A few years passed. Then Fu Xiao and his wife died, and Fu Wu Tian brought back their ashes. But after the funeral, Fu Wu Tian returned to the border.

During this period, he returned no more than three times.

Although he held such great power over the people of Da Ya, this was only his second time returning to the capital. The first time was when he brought his parents’ ashes back.

At that time, an official objected to his mother being buried in the Imperial Tomb with Fu Xiao, because she wasn’t a native of Da Ya. The result? Fu Wu Tian cut him into two pieces with one sword swing. It took a long time for the official to stop breathing. At that time Fu Wu Tian was only ten years old. His imposing aura as a war god was already beginning to show then.

Since then, no one thought of Fu Wu Tian as an easy to bully youth.

And then later, the prestige of the God of War gradually spread.

……

An Zi Ran stood in the garret and looked at the streets of An Yuan County. This was the tallest building in the An family. From here, one could see a lot of things happening on the streets of An Yuan County: the bustling crowds on the streets, people hawking their wares, the kind face of an old man selling buns…

No one would have thought that under this scene of peace and enthusiasm, there was a hidden force. This force brought with it a concentrated stench of decay. A little carelessness will erode the entire An Yuan County.

Just as he was about to zone out in his thoughts, a hand suddenly touched his waist.

An Zi Ran’s gaze trembled as he brought his elbow up in an attack. His movements were very sharp, not the least bit sloppy. Most people would be hit, but the person behind him easily received his attack and neutralized the force, holding his elbow in one palm.

“Wang fei.”

A burning breath was close to his ear.

Fu Wu Tian’s low voice carried the unique charm of a mature man as it entered his ears. The tall body completely enveloped him, as if he was surrounded by his arms.

An Zi Ran was more determined than ever to exercise every day. He was only sixteen years old now, and there was room for growth. He knew that he could not grow as tall and strong as Fu Wu Tian, but he must at least exceed that man’s shoulders.

“Have you arranged everything already?”

“En.”

“When do you think they will make a move?”

When An Zi Ran said this, he eyes swept over the people that were lying in wait near the An family estate. They were all sent by Prefectural Magistrate Jiang to monitor them. It has been two days already.

Fu Wu Tian’s eyes followed An Zi Ran’s gaze and also saw the people who were watching the An family. There were more than ten rough ones, almost everywhere, and they monitored the whole family thoroughly, ensuring that not even a fly could escape.

“Wait for them to manufacture some evidence to seize the An family.”

“…Don’t you think this question is the same as not answering?”

“Wang fei, this prince is not done talking yet.” Fu Wu Tian’s low laughter seeped into his ears again.

An Zi Ran went silent.

“Before this, they will send someone to confirm whether the ledger is in the house or not.”

“Tonight?”

“Most likely.”

They’ve been enduring for two days. Ten out of ten, they were unlikely to wait any longer. In addition, even Liu Fei Hong has secretly rushed to An Yuan County this morning. It was impossible for them to resist the temptation of acting tonight.

An Zi Ran suddenly looked forward to the arrival of the night.

It’s been a long time since he experienced this kind of excitement.

Prev | Contents | Next

---

Welcome to the patreon family Clare! ଘ(੭ˊ꒳ˋ)੭✧⁎₊˚✧⁎₊⁺˳✧༚ So happy to have you with us!

Thank you to Tosin Adekunle for the coffee \(^-^)/

Prev | Contents | Next

Chapter 64.1 – Fu Wu Tian’s Power

Ever since Jiang Zhong Ting’s arrival at An Yuan County, County Magistrate Zhang has been so anxious that he was beginning to foam at the mouth.
Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels(.)com
Yong Province and Hong Province were two different places, no matter what they couldn’t be mashed into one piece. As the prefectural magistrate of Yong Province, for Jiang Zhong Ting to come to Hong Province, it was the equivalent of intervening in another family’s affairs. He certainly must have thick skin to do so. But County Magistrate Zhang was only a small county magistrate, so he didn’t have the power to resist Jiang Zhong Ting.

Don’t know what Jiang Zhong Ting said to the prefectural magistrate of Hong Province, but the prefectural magistrate not only didn’t stop him, he also gave Jiang Zhong Ting the right to dispatch his men and local officers. Now, even County Magistrate Zhang had to listen to Jiang Zhong Ting.

“Husband?”

Madam Zhang looked worriedly at County Magistrate Zhang, who was pacing around in the room. She was a woman. She didn’t know much about outside matters, and she rarely participated in matters concerning men, but that didn’t mean she didn’t understand anything.

Ever since the An family changed masters, from An Chang Fu to An Zi Ran, the people of An Yuan County benefited over and over again. Every household received some sort of favor, whether big or small. Someone good and kind like the young landlord of the An family definitely did not deserve a bad ending. Furthermore, if the An family went down, then An Yuan County will also be implicated in some way. The people’s livelihoods, which have finally stabilized, will start to waver again.

County Magistrate Zhang released a heavy sigh. “Wife, I am just a small county magistrate.”

He knew what his wife was thinking. He also wanted to help the An family. These days, he also felt the joy of the people of An Yuan County, but he could do nothing.

Madam Zhang said in a low voice, “Husband, it’s not that I am telling you to stop this from happening, but you can still send a letter to the An family right?”

County Magistrate Zhang said, “I am discontent, my wife. I have already written a letter, but to deliver it into the hands of the An family’s young master will be difficult.” Jiang Zhong Ting was staying inside the county right now, and he had eyes everywhere. If they were discovered trying to help the An family, then they would suffer.

Madam Zhang suddenly took hold of his hands with joy, “Husband, you forgot you still have me!”

County Magistrate Zhang was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that his wife was indeed the best messenger. Having her go would be perfectly proper and justifiable.

Madam Zhang had a habit of going to the temple every month to light incense. She didn’t have a set schedule of going, just every month three or five times. The month had just changed to May, and she had yet to visit the temple. This was the perfect excuse.

“Then I will have to trouble my wife for this task.”

County Magistrate Zhang took the letter hidden in his sleeve and handed it over to his wife.
Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels(.)com
Madam Zhang quickly stuffed the letter into her sleeve. The couple discussed some places of attention, and then went to arrange the temple visit.

Jiang Zhong Ting’s people didn’t doubt her at all, and allowed Madam Zhang to leave with her two maidservants.

……

The letter soon arrived in the hands of An Zi Ran.

On the letter, An Zi Ran’s name was written as the receiver, but the sender’s name was not present. The other party said that the letter was very important and that An Zi Ran must open it personally.

Who would write to him at this time in the junction?

An Zi Ran couldn’t guess who the sender might be. He opened the letter and read it. At the end of the letter, a name was written.

The name was Zhang He.

Zhang He was County Magistrate Zhang’s full name. Before, he and An Chang De worked together to make things difficult for the An family. An Zi Ran never forgot about this matter, so seeing that the sender was actually Zhang He, his heart was inevitably surprised.

“It seems that this Zhang He still has a bit of conscience.” Fu Wu Tian swept over the contents of the letter and immediately guessed his purpose. If it were not for the people of An Yuan County, he would not dare to take such a big risk.

The superior above Zhang He’s head who could influence and decide his future career was Liu Fei Hong, the prefectural magistrate of Hong Province. Although he was not the first prince’s person, he was a student of Zhang Sun Cheng De. And most of the officials listed in the bribe book were officials of Hong Province, including this Liu Fei Hong.

Liu Fei Hong’s greed was not small. Recorded in the ledger, he was the one who accepted the most bribes.

Since Fu Yuan Wu, the first prince, already knew about this, then Liu Fei Hong must also know. Rather than wanting the credit for accomplishing a meritorious deed, Liu Fei Hong was more anxious about getting the ledger back. Otherwise, once the book was presented to Chong Ming Emperor, even if Zhang Sun Cheng De stepped forward, Liu Fei Hong could not be saved.

Under this threat to his life, Liu Fei Hong and Jiang Zhang Ting colluding together was a predictable event.

Even the prime minister, Zhang Sun Cheng De, might be involved. On the contrary, An Zi Ran hesitated. Fu Wu Tian had only returned to the imperial court for several months, and suddenly offended both a prince and the prime minister. Above that, there was also the emperor who was eyeing his military power with a covetous gaze*. The situation did not seem to be very good.

[*T/N: 虎视眈眈 to glare like a tiger watching his prey (idiom) / to eye covetously]

“Are you planning to bring this ledger before Chong Ming Emperor?”

An Zi Ran folded up the letter, preparing to find a time to burn it. However, Fu Wu Tian’s answer surprised him.

Prev | Contents | Next

---

Massive hugs for my new patrons:
StarryArcana ｡ﾟ.(*♡´◡` 人´◡` ♡*) °・
Safir Ahmad (⊃｡•́‿•̀｡)⊃⊂(´･◡･⊂ )∘˚˳°

Prev | Contents | Next

Chapter 63.2 – Ledger

An Zi Ran sat motionless in the great hall with a look of contemplation on his face.
Support the translator. Read this on www(.)vmnovels(.)com
Fu Wu Tian also did not move.

The servants did not dare to come in and bother them. Everyone thought that the young master was angry, so when they passed by the great hall, they consciously lightened their steps.

And then a person suddenly barged in.

The person came in running and breathless. Seeing An Zi Ran and Fu Wu Tian sitting in the great hall, the person couldn’t help being stunned. Then he asked with surprise, “Lord, gong zi, how did you two know that I would come back today? I obviously did not inform you yet!”

Ge Qian An glanced at him and said coolly, “Dimwit.”

Hidden resentment seeped through in Shao Fei’s expressions. Couldn’t he even express a bit of surprise?

Fu Wu Tian asked, “How is the matter going?”

Shao Fei’s regained his composure, and then he took a book out from his sleeve. In a proud voice* he said, “If, I, Shao Fei take action, naturally the task will be successfully accomplished. I have already obtained the evidence. It is a ledger. Inside is not just a record of gong zi’s father, but also many other people…”

[*T/N: 邀功 yao gong: to take credit for somebody’s achievement]

After receiving the ledger, Fu Wu Tian handed the book directly to An Zi Ran.

An Zi Ran casually flipped through the book and found that it was a bribe book. Moreover, there were more than one or two officials that accepted bribes. If the contents of this book were spread, it was estimated that more than half of the officials in the Hong Province would lose their posts. At that time, it wouldn’t just be a problem incriminating the An family. Would the prefectural magistrate of Yong Province dare to offend so many officials and bring this book to light? If he did not have a strong backer he would never dare!
Translated by Vanilla Muse
Seemingly knowing the doubts in his heart, Fu Wu Tian explained, “Jiang Zhong Ting is not an extroverted official. Behind him he has a strong backer. It is likely that this ledger was meant to be handed to that person. At that time, Jiang Zhong Ting will gain more than just the An family.”

Accepting bribes have always been a corrupt phenomenon in officialdom.

Da Ya’s notion of holding farmers above businessmen was something passed down from the former emperor. So Chong Ming Emperor also did not like businessmen. So businessmen and merchants had to do everything possible to bride officials to pave a path for themselves. The Chong Ming Emperor would like this point even less. So if that strong backer took this ledger up to the Chong Ming Emperor, it would definitely get the emperor’s strong support.

“Who is this backer behind Jiang Zhong Ting?” An Zi Ran asked.

“The first prince, Fu Yuan Wu. Empress Zhang Sun Tian Feng is his mother. The current prime minister, Zhang Sun Cheng De is his maternal grandfather. With his grandfather’s support, Fu Yuan Wu is a strong contender for the position of crown prince.”

An Zi Ran’s expression became unclear.

He did not expect that the backing behind Jiang Zhong Ting was so tough.

If Steward Su had not told him about the marriage contract at the beginning, then he would not have taken his sister and brother into the capital, and he would not have known that An Yu Zhi’s marriage partner was actually Da Ya’s god of war. He would also not have married Fu Wu Tian in place of An Yu Zhi. In that scenario, it was likely that the An family would die under his reign.

Thinking up to here, he couldn’t help but look at Fu Wu Tian. “This ledger… What do you plan to do?”

Fu Wu Tian heard the probing nature of his question. His keen eyes narrowed slightly. “We can talk about this ledger later. It seems that there is someone who is of more pressing concern at the moment.”

He was not wrong. Jiang Zhong Ting was so anxious at the moment that he was foaming at the corner of his mouth.

Guard Two did not see the contents of the book, but the person who gave the ledger to him told him what was inside. After the book was snatched from him, he was also unable to conceal the fact that he had been at that place, so he immediately sent a carrier pigeon to Jiang Zhong Ting. Then he hurried back to An Yuan County to meet up with Qian You Hao.

The shrewd Qiao you Hao immediately recognized how much benefits that ledger could bring them, so he sent two guards to monitor the An family right away.

Although it was impossible to determine whether it was really the An family that stole the book, their suspicion was the strongest, because the timing was simply too coincidental.

The next day, Jiang Zhong Ting personally brought people over to An Yuan County.

Jiang Zhong Ting is a shortsighted person. Although he was uncertain whether the account book was in An Zi Ran’s hands or not, he still decided to take a risk out of desperation.

However, he was not an official of Hong Province, so before he could make a move, he must inform the prefectural magistrate of Hong Province. This way, he could justifiably mobilize his officers and men. After receiving the news from guard number two, he wrote a letter without delay, and sent it to Jun Zi City through carrier pigeon.

The other party from Jun Zi City responded very quickly.

When Jiang Zhong Ting arrived at An Yuan County, the reply letter had also arrived in his hands. Seeing the red stamp of approval, plus the token of command in his hand, his mood became very excited.

“Let’s go, we are entering the county.”

Prev | Contents | Next

---

Also, a BIG welcome to new patrons:
martha johnston ✧*.◟(ˊᗨˋ)◞.*✧
Sadie Ⓗⓐⓟⓟⓨ❤ヾ(◍’౪`◍)ﾉﾞ

Prev | Contents | Next

Chapter 63.1 – Ledger

Currently there was an aura of low pressure in the great hall of the An family residence.

An Zi Ran sat in the main seat. His face was covered with frost. Fu Wu Tian sat in the seat beside him. In contrast to An Zi Ran, his expression was quite leisurely and was not affected at all.

To the left and right was Zheng Bi, her daughter, Wang Qing Lan, and her maid Qi Qiao. Both Wang Qing Lan and Qi Qiao had anticipatory looks on their faces as if there was about to be a great show.

Steward Su and his son, Su Zi, stood in the middle. The father and son pair looked at each other.

“Young Master, this is my fault, please don’t blame Su Zi.”

Steward Su was the first to break the deadly still atmosphere of the great hall. If it weren’t because he didn’t pay attention to the second concubine, then this kind of thing wouldn’t have happened. The young master clearly told him to be vigilant, but he was negligent. It was his fault.

Hearing that his father wanted to shoulder the responsibility for him, Su Zi hurriedly explained. “It’s not father’s fault. It’s my blunder. If I wasn’t so careless, then…”

“Don’t say anymore.”

An Zi Ran interrupted his words in a light voice.

At this time, Zheng Bi said in Schadenfreude delight, “Zi Ran, this is not a little matter. If he made a mistake, then he needs to be punished. You can’t hesitate just because you’re bias. Without rules, how will you manage the An family in the future!”

“That’s right!” An Ke Xin immediately agreed.

An Zi Ran glanced at them indifferently and said nothing.

Seeing that punishment was not meted out, the two were unhappy. Just as they were about to say more, Ge Qian An, who had returned from Jun Zi City, suddenly came into the great hall.

“Lord, I have finished investigating.”

Fu Wu Tian said, “Then tell everyone what happened.”

“Yes, Lord!”

Ge Qian An then reported his findings.

The blame of this incident really couldn’t be laid on Su Zi’s head. Two days ago, Fang Jun Ping and her daughter had their maid go outside to buy some knockout drops. Those two prepared for two days, and then waited for both An Zi Ran and Steward Su to be absent from the house before they struck.

Ever since Su Zi was able to keep accounts by himself, An Zi Ran handed over the accounting task to him. Sometimes Su Zi would be so busy that he would eat inside the accounting room. Today was also the same.

Fang Jun Ping and her daughter planned for one of them to lead Su Zi away, while the other one spiked his food with knockout drops.

After successfully knocking Su Zi out, they took the key from him and stole ten thousand pieces of silver along with some precious pieces of jewelry from the An family storehouse.

This was obviously an act of thievery!

Even if Fang Jun Ping and her daughter were members of the An family, under the laws of the Da Ya Empire, this was still an act of crime.

An Zi Ran wasn’t distressed about a few pieces of jewelry and the ten thousand pieces of silver. When An Chang Fu was still alive, the dowry that he had prepared for An Qiao E was much more than what they had stolen. After all, he was hoping for his daughter to marry some big official, so the dowry couldn’t be too shabby. An Zi Ran was simply surprised by the actions of those two.

The An family didn’t treat the mother and daughter pair badly. Unless they did something wrong. Otherwise, what was meant to be given to them was still given. What’s more, there will come a day when that amount of money will be spent, whether it was now or later. Looking at it long term, it was definitely not wise to leave the An family. If the main perpetrator of this incident was Zheng Bi and her daughter, then perhaps An Zi Ran could still understand.

“Even if Su Zi was not entirely wrong, he still holds some responsibility. Ten thousand silver is not a small amount, not to mention a few pieces of valuable jewelry, which adds up to a large sum of money.”

Zheng Bi said, unwilling to overlook this point and spare Su Zi.

Who in the An family did not know that An Chang Fu’s storehouse held a lot of valuable things. The jewelry that Fang Jun Ping and her daughter stole must be very expensive. Even if the total value did not add up to ten thousand silvers, they must still cost several thousand silvers.

When Su Zi heard this, his vision turned black.

Ten thousand silvers. Even if they sold him it would not be enough to cover that amount.

Steward Su also looked worriedly at An Zi Ran. He didn’t mind serving the An family like a dog for the rest of his life, but Su Zi still has to get married in the future. If he has such a large debt on his back, which girl would want to marry him in the future?

“This matter cannot be laid on Su Zi’s shoulders,” An Zi Ran calmly summed up. “The money and jewelry that the second concubine and her daughter stole, we will just say that it is An Qiao E’s dowry. This is their own choice. I will not report this to the authorities. But if they want to return to the An family in the future, the door will not be opened for them.”

This level of dowry, perhaps it was enough to marry a rich businessman. But if the match was a big official or a member of the imperial family, then this paltry amount was not enough. Who didn’t know that the bigger the dowry the bigger one’s face, and the higher one’s status will be in the husband’s household? An Qiao E wanted to marry into the imperial family with this amount of dowry, she was simply too naïve.

But no one knew what those two were thinking.

At this moment, Zheng Bi was actually a little envious of Fang Jun Ping and her daughter. At least they have money, but there wasn’t even a shadow of Ke Xin’s dowry.

After the matter was resolved, everyone went back to their rooms. Except for two people.

Prev | Contents | Next

---

(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ A big hug to Pollinere for joining us on Patreon!

Bonus chapter brought to you by supporters on ko-fi. ^-^ Thank you to Jessica Lins for topping up the coffee counter. ☕

---

Prev | Contents | Next

Chapter 62.2 – Development

Qian You Hao peered inside the rice shop and saw An Zi Ran talking with Manager Feng. He frowned.

He thought that the things that An Zi Ran had done before all had other purposes behind them. It was only that other people did not know the truth. So he was always waiting for An Zi Ran to reveal to his true colors. But he did not expect to see this scene.
Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels(.)com
An Zi Ran once again disregarded the interests of the An family to benefit the people of An Yuan County. This kind of behavior only gave off the impression that he was trying to help the people of the county become rich. Perhaps he really had no other purpose and he was just trying to increase the standard of living for the people here?

“Da ren, it looks like we will have to move up our plans.”

The guard looked around in a vigilant manner and then whispered in Qian You Hao’s ear. To them, they saw An Zi Ran squandering his family assets in a manner that did not reap big returns. In this kind of situation, even if the government confiscated the An family’s properties, the profits were likely to be much less than expected.

“We’ll talk when we go back.”

After Qian You Hao spoke, he turned around and left.

The guard quickly followed.

The two then returned to the inn. Originally they had intended to live in An Chang De’s house, but they were worried that this would attract An Zi Ran’s attention, and there were also some things that they did not want An Chang De and his wife to know.

The guard poured a cup of tea for Qian You Hao.

Qian You Hao picked up the cup but then put it back down again. “Is there still no news from that side?”

The guard replied, “I have been in contact with them. I believe we will obtain the evidence soon. But An Chang Fu’s crime may not be to the level of needing the government to search and seize his house.”

Qian You Hao was unconcerned. “If there is not enough evidence, we will just create more. If the evidence is not incriminating enough, we will just have to make it worse. The great Prefectural Magistrate has already made preparations. Just wait for the right timing. We can’t let this great opportunity go to waste. This operation must be successful.”

The guard was aware that several big names were implicated in this case. There was no room for mistakes.

What these two didn’t know was that An Zi Ran was already aware of their plans. Furthermore, two days later, right when the evidence arrived in their hands it was snatched away. The person who took the evidence quickly rushed into an alley and disappeared.
Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels(.)com
The excited expression on the guard’s face froze. His reaction was not considered slow, but by the time he rushed into the alley, the other person had already disappeared. There was not a single figure in the empty alleyway. There was only a single cat lazily sunbathing atop the wall. The cat meowed when it saw the guard.

Shao Fei, who had nabbed the evidence from the guard, did not immediately rush back to An Yuan County. He stayed there to make some arrangements. When he finished, he left the place.

An Yuan County

The workers hired by the An family have already begun to demolish the old warehouse. The warehouse was in shambles on the ground and dust filled the air.

Whether it was out on the fields, or inside the county, it was flourishing everywhere.

No one expected that An Yuan County would experience such a big change in just a few months. Even County Magistrate Zhang was starting to look upon the An family favorably.

County Magistrate Zhang was the local official of An Yuan County. He was not a completely clean official, but he was at least a good official that worked for the sake of the local people. If An Yuan County could develop and thrive, then it was good for him too. So he did not participate in An Chang De’s plans. He also did not know that they had revitalized their plans.

In the month of May, every household was just starting to prepare for the harvest.

Because An Zi Ran promised that he would purchase their crops at a price higher than the market price, everyone was in high spirits.

The fields were affected by disaster this year, and three or four hundred kilograms of rice were lost, but one acre of land could still produce four or five hundred kilograms of rice. After the families paid their land rent and kept some foodstuffs in storage, they would sell whatever was left over. But because Hong Province was the hometown of rice that specialized in producing rice, the price of rice was lower than everywhere else.

A bucket of rice was equivalent to twenty kilograms of rice. It could sell for a hundred coins in other places, but in Hong Province it could only sell for about eighty coins, and some places were even lower, so people did not actually earn much by selling their rice.

The An family was willing to accept their rice. Whether the buying price was higher than the market price or not, they were still very happy.

Since the men left home to work for the An family, their daily lunch was provided for by the An family. The men’s meal portions were relatively large. Because they were no longer eating at home, some of the families’ situation began to improve.

But on this day, trouble was brewing in the An family.

Prev | Contents | Next

Prev | Contents | Next

Chapter 62.1 – Development

The next morning.
Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels(.)com
After eating breakfast together, the two split up.

An Zi Ran had to go to the rice shop and the fields to deal with some follow-up matters from yesterday’s incident. Fu Wu Tian was going to implement the plan he wrote yesterday. The process was complicated and troublesome, and there was no manpower around him, so this time he wanted to go out in person.

Fu Wu Tian walked his wang fei to the door and then went back into the house. When he passed by the dining hall he heard the sound of a table and chairs being dragged.

“Gu ye*?”

[*T/N: 姑爷 gu ye: son-in-law (used by wife’s family)]

Standing not too far away was a maid dressed in a pink dress. In her hands was a platter of food. Her cheeks were red and her expression was slightly ill at ease. She did not expect to meet the An family’s son-in-law here. But gu ye really was very good looking. She had never seen such a handsome man. Every time she laid eyes on him, her cheeks couldn’t help but flush red.

Fu Wu Tian noticed the congee and salted vegetables in her hands. “Who is eating inside?”

The maid hurriedly replied, “It’s Concubine Fang and Eldest Miss.” Afraid that gu yu might have doubts, she also explained, “They woke up early this morning and said that they wanted to eat in the dining hall, telling the kitchen to cook something for them, so Chef Wang had me bring this congee and salted vegetables to them.”

The young mastered had passed an order saying that the second and third concubine could only have congee and salted vegetables for their meals this month. There was still two more days to the month. So if they didn’t buy food from outside, they could only eat this stuff. They must’ve used up their savings, so they could no longer purchase food from outside.

“Go give it to them.”

Hearing his command-like words, the maid took a moment to react. Then she gave an affirmative sound and immediately turned to deliver the food to the dining hall.

After a while, subdued eating sounds came from inside the dining hall.

Fu Wu Tian turned and left.
Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels(.)com
Jade Water Courtyard, the courtyard where Zheng Bi lived.

After hearing that Fang Jun Ping and her daughter were eating congee and salted vegetables in the dining hall, Zheng Bi smiled coldly and placed a stuffed dumpling into An Ke Xin’s bowl. “Ke Xin ah, eat some more, mother’s money will not be eaten up in these couple of days. Unlike some people who can’t even hold out for the last two days, and letting that little brat have the last laugh.”

[T/N: She calls An Zi Ran “brat” or “bastard”]

Although these days they carried the same notion of going up against An Zi Ran, that did not mean that they were very harmonious under private circumstances. In actuality, Zheng Bi earnestly wished for Fang Jun Ping and her daughter to have bad luck.

An Ke Xin ate the dumpling with satisfaction, and then revealed a mocking smile with her mother.

As for yesterday’s business, she has long forgotten everything.

As long as she didn’t want to marry, she didn’t think that An Zi Ran would really dare to force her!

At the An family rice shop, a crowd of people were craning their necks outside the door. These were the people who all registered yesterday. They were farmers who came ready to work today. Some of them have farmland, but they still coveted the three times monthly salary that the An family was offering. So they had the women of the house take care of the fields while they rushed over here to work for the An family.

Inside the rice shop, Manager Feng brought over the papers that he wrote up the night before and showed them to An Zi Ran. The papers contained some unimaginable content.

“Young Landlord, the things that you told me yesterday, I have written them all down. Take a look and tell me if anything else needs to be added.”

An Zi Ran took a look at the carefully and neatly done work. Words were written neatly on the large piece of paper, just like a bulletin announcement. The words were written in a clear and concise manner. Anyone with basic literary skills should be able to understand.

“For this group of workers, change the clock in time to eight in the morning…”
Translations by Vanilla Muse
After listening to the revisions, Manager Feng couldn’t help but be amazed. According to these times, the working hours were four hours in the morning, and four hours in the afternoon, for a total of eight hours everyday. In the middle there was even a one-hour break. Compared to other places that had a workday of ten to twelve hours, their workday was shorter by two to four hours. Not to mention the monthly salary was one hundred coins.

“Young Landlord, wouldn’t this be too…”

Manager Feng finally showed some hesitation.

An Zi Ran interrupted him. “It’s fine, just do as I say.”

Manager Feng saw that An Zi Ran was set in his decision and that there was nothing he could do to change his mind, so he ordered some people to announce the news.

This time there were a lot of workers recruited. Some time ago, many families followed Zhou Laohan’s example*, and the An family ended up taking back a number of fields. These fields needed people to look after them, and An Zi Ran was preparing to expand the production of certain precious varieties of rice such as gong mi*, black rice, and purple rice. In this aspect, it was also necessary to recruit skilled workers.

[*T/N: Refer to chapter 55.]

Furthermore, there was also the matter of constructing a warehouse for storing rice.

The An family’s original and current warehouse was already quite old. Some places have been damaged and there was even rain leakage in certain areas. An Zi Ran wanted to expand the warehouse, so he was preparing to build a new one. The original warehouse needed to be knocked down. It was a relatively large project so many workers were recruited.

The group of workers that he changed the clock in time for would be the ones to take on this job. This type of work required a lot of physical exertion, so those with greater physical strength were more preferential.

Of course, the treatment for the other workers would not be much worse.

Thus, when Manager Feng put up the announcement outside it instigated an immediate uproar. The illiterate hurriedly asked what was written, and then the news spread all at once. Some people could not believe that such a good thing would happen to them.

Standing apart from the crowd, several people looked upon the scene with cold eyes.

Prev | Contents | Next

Q: Why do you use passwords for NSFW content?
and
Q: Why is the password not working?! 😡

A: Please refer to the FAQ section for full answers. 😭💦

---

Translator’s Note 7/14/2020: I’m trying to see if I’ll get flagged for putting up the NSFW content in Chinese. If I do, then I’ll take it down. But if I don’t get flagged, I’ll leave it up, and maybe readers who are having trouble with the password can MTL the NSFW part? Just copy the URL, plug it into your translator of choice, and select from Chinese to English.

T/N 12/8/2020: Page flagged, Chinese text removed.

---

Prev | Contents | Next

Chapter 61.2 – Imperceptible Influence

An Zi Ran’s scalp began to go numb. He had never been this close to another person before. The last time was an exception. He was so tense that his body had become rigid. He tried to take in a deep breath. “I can’t sleep if you’re like this.”
Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels(.)com
Fu Wu Tian turned him around and then drew him tightly into his embrace. Although An Zi Ran’s back was towards Fu Wu Tian now, his back was pressed firmly up against the other man’s chest. The other person’s body temperature was even more obvious than before. Fu Wu Tian tucked An Zi Ran’s head into the crook of his neck and rested his chin on the top of the youth’s head. It felt like he was sinking into the other person. His buttocks were turned towards the other person’s lower body and he could feel a soft lump through the thin layer of their clothes.

This position…

Although he didn’t have to face Fu Wu Tian, it felt even worse.

“I think you should let go…”

Before An Zi Ran could finish speaking, Fu Wu Tian suddenly turned him back around and the two became face-to-face again. The eyes that were looking at him seemed to be shining brightly.

An Zi Ran relented. “…Just turn me back around.”

Fu Wu Tian did not comply this time. His voice floated over to him in the dark. “Wang fei, have you forgotten your promise to this prince?”

An Zi Ran, “…”

He’s been had!

Just as An Zi Ran was about to fly into a rage out of humiliation, Fu Wu Tian suddenly buried his head in his neck again. The low laughter seemed as far away as the sound of a violin, sexy and charming, it was the best laugh that he had ever heard. He was usually proud and calm, but this time he did not know how to react.

“Wang fei.”

Fu Wu Tian slowly withdrew his head from his neck.

An Zi Ran raised his head. A shadow suddenly covered him and warm lips blocked his mouth. The hormonal scent of the two men was like a blend of water and milk. Fu Wu Tian’s kiss filled his mouth with a thick, mature scent, almost confusing his nerves.

The two slept together day after day, and they were almost always together, so he slowly got used to the scent of Fu Wu Tian’s presence. At this moment, he was kissed by the other man, but he did not feel repulsed or uncomfortable at all. Instead, he had a very accustomed feeling…

Looking at Fu Wu Tian’s handsome face from up close, the frequency of his heartbeat increased. At that moment, An Zi Ran finally understood, he was imperceptibly influenced.

Click Here to Continue Reading

Password: TBL61

Prev | Contents | Next

---

 

Link to chapter on Patreon. Fair warning, Patreon content is for patrons only.

Prev | Contents | Next

Chapter 61.1 – Imperceptible Influence

An Zi Ran and Fu Wu Tian returned to the bedroom.
Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels(.)com
Xia Lan and Dong Lan followed behind, each carrying a basin of hot water. An Zi Ran left Qiu Lan and Chun Lan behind at the Fu Palace to take care of the little bun, so the maids serving them were switched to these two girls.

These two were biological sisters. They have served Liu Mei Xiang for some years. Unlike other maids they would not gossip unnecessarily and they were very responsible and dutiful.

The last time An Zi Ran went to Jun Zi City, he left these two behind so that they could assist Su Zi.

After setting down the hot water, Xia Lan and Dong Lan placed the towels on the side and then left the room.

An Zi Ran first washed his face, then washed his hands, and finally wiped it with Fu Wu Tian’s towel. When Fu Wu Tian set aside the papers with the plan and came over, he immediately saw his crumpled towel. He looked over at the youth who was calmly drinking tea by the table.

An Zi Ran pretended not to notice his gaze.

The corners of Fu Wu Tian’s lips unexpectedly curved up. He took up An Zi Ran’s face towel and used the same basin of water as An Zi Ran’s to wash his face. Then he wiped his hands with his own towel.
Translations by Vanilla Muse
The whole process was exactly the same, even the placement of the towels was almost the same.

Sitting behind Fu Wu Tian, An Zi Ran was in the perfect position to witness the scene. His lips couldn’t help but twitch a bit. Compared to Fu Wu Tian, he still needed to temper himself.

Fu Wu Tian extinguished the flame in the outer chamber and then came inside.

An Zi Ran untied his belt, took off his outer robe and hung it on a hanger, leaving himself in only a white top and trousers. Then he climbed onto the bed and bundled himself up in the quilt, exposing only a pair of black pearl-like eyes that radiated with a mellow and smooth light.

The corner of Fu Wu Tian’s lips curled up as he too took off his clothes and climbed onto the bed.

Fu Wu Tian’s body was tall and broad. When he got into the bed, the once spacious bed suddenly became narrow. As he approached, An Zi Ran saw a very strong and powerful body hidden under a thin layer of clothing. It was very masculine.

At this point, this masculine scent shrouded over his head.

“Wang fei, aren’t you hot?” Fu Wu Tian asked.

Because Fu Wu Tian’s back was towards the light, An Zi Ran couldn’t see his expression. He replied in a flat voice, “Not hot.”

The quilt was thin and there was a hint of coolness in the late spring.

Fu Wu Tian lay down on his side, but he did not immediately fall asleep. Instead, he propped his head up with one arm and gazed at An Zi Ran with a burning light in his eyes.

An Zi Ran was a person who kept his word. Since he promised not to turn his back on Fu Wu Tian when they sleep, he lay facing the other man. So even though he felt that this was a test of his nerves, he did not turn over. However, Fu Wu Tian not only stared at him, his body was so close that he was practically enshrouding the youth. The pressure was quite high.

“You’re not sleeping?” An Zi Ran asked.

“Looking at wang fei’s sleeping face, this prince is fully satisfied.”

From the darkness came such embarrassing words.

“Fine, then don’t sleep.” An Zi Ran firmly controlled his mouth to keep it from twitching. He couldn’t help wanting to turn his back towards Fu Wu Tian, but then he remembered the promise that he made not long ago and he endured. He thought about it and then he simply covered his face with the quilt.

This time, the quilt was suddenly pulled away.

There was a rush of cold air and then a strong and warm body squeezed in with him under the quilt. An Zi Ran furrowed his brows and glanced at the other man.

“Sleep a little closer.”

This wasn’t an inquiry. Fu Wu Tian pushed his pillow closer, and before An Zi Ran could react, he stretched out his long arm and enveloped the youth, bringing his head up against his broad chest. An Zi Ran’s entire person was completely wrapped up in the other man’s embrace.

An Zi Ran squeezed his arms between their bodies in a fluster, trying to keep some space between them.
Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels(.)com
But even though he managed to retain some space between them up top, he was unable to prevent their closeness down below. Beneath the quilt, their legs were so close that they were practically intertwined. An Zi Ran could feel the heat emanating from the other man’s body as well as the unshakeable strength of his sturdy thighs. If he moved his legs even slightly, he could feel the friction of their skin rubbing up against each other. A strange feeling like that of an electric current flowed through his legs making him instantly numb.

“Let go of me,” An Zi Ran said with a taunt face.

Fu Wu Tian buried his head in An Zi Ran’s neck and breathed in the youth’s fresh scent. “Not letting go.”

Prev | Contents | Next

---

Welcome to the patreon family:
Kittyice o(^▽^)o