Category: The Big Landlord

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Chapter 127.3 – Finally?

Xu Wei Ye held back a belly full of anger. He watched the two Zhou elders leave, and as soon as they were gone, he went directly to Zhou Ling Long’s room. Without beating around the bush, he said: “Did you tell your father and mother anything that should not be said?”

Because the door to the room was closed and they were speaking with sign language, the servant girl Ling Zhi did not know what they were saying.

Zhou Ling Long lowered her delicate and graceful head.

She could lip read, so she didn’t need Ling Zhi to interpret.

Xu Wei Ye walked over, pinched her forcefully by the chin, and forced her to raise her head. In a cold voice, he said: “Zhou Ling Long, you should remember what I told you before. If you dare to say something that shouldn’t be said to other people, then don’t blame me for being cruel. You don’t want to see your father and mother get into any accidents, right?”

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Hatred immediately flashed through Zhou Ling Long’s eyes, but she was also helpless to do anything. She had agreed to marry Xu Wei Ye because he had threatened her with the safety of her parents. This was the reason why she had played her role for the past six years.

“Ling Long, in fact, I don’t want to hurt you either. As long as you are obedient, I can guarantee not to touch your father and mother. Furthermore, I’ll provide them with food and clothing, and not treat them shabbily.” Xu Wei Ye suddenly softened his voice.

If it was before, Zhou Ling Long might still believe him.

But ever since talking to her parents, she knew that Xu Wei Ye’s words were just meant to coax her into obedience. She would no longer believe his words anymore.

Zhou Ling Long was silent for a while. Then she made a few hand gestures.

Xu Wei Ye looked at Ling Zhi.

Ling Zhi interpreted: “Master, she said that as long as you keep your promise, she won’t tell them.”

Xu Wei Ye nodded in satisfaction, “Don’t worry, I will abide by my promise.” His avaricious gaze lingered on Zhou Ling Long’s pretty face, but then his brows immediately furrowed as he thought of something. She was beautiful indeed, but it was unfortunate that she was a dead-eyed fish in bed, thus, any interest he had disappeared.

After Xu Wei Ye left, Ling Zhi and the other servants also excused themselves, leaving Zhou Ling Long alone in her room.

Zhou Ling Long stood up all of a sudden. There was determination in her clear eyes. She lied to Xu Wei Ye. In fact, she had already told her parents everything, especially about the account book. The reason that Xu Wei Ye came to her courtyard every month was precisely because of the account book.

At first, Zhou Ling Long didn’t know anything, because Xu Wei Ye would have Ling Zhi and them feed her a kind of water that made her lose her consciousness every time he came. One day, she suspected that there might be something wrong with the water, so she secretly poured out the water when Ling Zhi’s back was turned.

Only then did she find out that Xu Wei Ye was using her place to do the accounts, while making others mistakenly believe that he was staying with her for the night. Xu Wei Ye found out later, but she knew that the account book was hidden somewhere in her courtyard.

At night, while everyone was asleep, Zhou Ling Long got out of bed to look for the account book.

The first night was not fruitful. Due to her lack of sleep, her complexion was not good, but her servants did not pay it much mind. They only thought that she was too excited to sleep because she had just met her parents yesterday.

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The next several nights were the same, and her complexion got worse and finally dark circles ringed her eyes, drawing the servants’ attention. Fearing that they would find out what she was doing, Zhou Ling Long did not dare to leave the room that night. She knew that Ling Zhi and the others must be watching her in secret.

She might be born with certain defects, but she was not stupid.

However, despite not leaving the room, Zhou Ling Long still could not sleep. She lied on the bed tossing and turning. She couldn’t figure it out. She had already searched every place where a person could hide things, but she still couldn’t find the account book.

She has lived in this courtyard for six years. She had never stepped out of this courtyard, but precisely because she was alone in here, she would sometimes walk around the courtyard in boredom. She did not dare to say that she was familiar with every brick and tile in this courtyard, but she was definitely more familiar with this place than Ling Zhi and the other servants.

Where is it?

She had searched inside and out… her thoughts suddenly screeched to a halt.

Zhou Ling Long sat up abruptly in bed. Her eyes widened.

She thought of a place that she had never searched through, not because she didn’t want to, but she had subconsciously thought that it was impossible, so she never thought about it.

And that place was…

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[Author’s Note: Can anyone guess where?]

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Chapter 127.2 – Finally?

“Xu Wei Ye, return our daughter to us!”

Seeing that Xu Wei Ye was finally willing to come out, the two elders of the Zhou family flushed with anger. They weren’t putting on a show this time. They really hated Xu Wei Ye. It was he who had ruined their daughter.

Xu Wei Ye glanced at them with an insincere smile. Then he said to An Zi Ran and Fu Wu Tian: “Household matters. I have exposed you to a nonsensical scene.”

“It doesn’t sound like a household matter. They are saying that Mayor Xu forcefully abducted a village girl.”

How could An Zi Ran let him go? As soon as he opened his mouth to speak, his words indicated that he was ready to intervene in this matter, and it also hinted that his crime of abducting a girl would result in jail time, which immediately made Xu Wei Ye’s complexion go black.

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Xu Wei Ye’s expression was stiff: “Wangfei should not be misled by what they are saying. I did not abduct anyone. It was mutual. Their daughter had agreed to marry me. Their son can even testify for this matter…”

Old woman Zhou sneered, “If you didn’t force Ling Long ot be your concubine, then why have you refused ot let us see her for six years? If it’s not for a guilty conscience, then do you need to be so defensive?”

“This is a misunderstanding… Ling Long’s health has always been poor.”

With both An Zi Ran and Fu Wu Tian present, Xu Wei Ye was even more adamant about not wanting the Zhou elders to see Zhou Ling Long. He didn’t want any unfortunate mishaps to occur.

Old woman Zhou continued to sneer: “As her mother, I am most aware of my daughter’s health condition. Before she got married, her body was always healthy. How come she’s unwell as soon as she entered the Xu Manor, and to be sick for six consecutive years at that? Mayor Xu, do you not feel ashamed to spew such lies?”

Xu Wei Ye’s complexion flip-flopped between blue and white at her words, but he still did not yield. But if he knew what old woman Zhou was going to do next, then he would definitely regret not complying right away.

Seeing that Xu Wei Ye was still refusing to agree, old woman Zhou abruptly walked up to An Zi Ran and Fu Wu Tian and knelt down with a plop. “Wangye, wangfei, this old woman knows that you are Mayor Xu’s master. I beg you, please help us. Let us meet with our Ling Long.”

She kowtowed to them twice. Each bow resulted in her head knocking soundly against the ground.

An Zi Ran helped her up and promised her: “Rest assured, I will definitely stand up for you.”

Xu Wei Ye’s expression immediately crumbled. “This is a matter between the Xu family and the Zhou family. Even if you are my master, you can’t just intervene in this subordinate’s household matters, right?”

“Normally, I can’t.” An Zi Ran gave him a meaningful look. “But if it involves abduction, then it’s a different matter.”

The implication of his words was that he still intended to get involved.

Xu Wei Ye knew that they would not change their minds. In the end, he had no choice but to take them to see Zhou Ling Long. The two elders were afraid that he would go back on his words, so they wanted An Zi Ran and Fu Wu Tian to go with them. Xu Wei Ye also had to concede to this demand.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

The courtyard where Zhou Ling Long lived was relatively remote. Not many people were there. But there were four people taking care of Zhou Ling Long, two men and two women. They were practically attached to her sleeves, following her wherever she went. Xu Wei Ye had specifically chosen these four people. There was one man and one woman who understood sign language, so they normally took turns.

In order to prevent them from secretly passing messages, he had her directly summoned to the front hall.

A beautiful white figure soon came stumbling out before them. The rumors were true. The girl was as beautiful as a fairy, like a rose dewed with clear water, she was elegant and pure like a lotus. Her eyes were extraordinary limpid, like a lake with water so clear that one could see through to the lakebed.

Zhou Ling Long could not believe that Xu Wei Ye was finally letting her see her parents. She had run out in a great hurry. But no matter how hasty her appearance looked, a beauty was still a beauty.

Seeing the parents that she had been separated from for six years, Zhou Ling Long started to cry.

The two elders of the Zhou family also had tears in their eyes. No longer caring about the situation and location, they ran over and gripped their darling daughter’s hands. A pair of wrinkly and dried up hands cupped her cheeks.

“You’ve lost weight…”

Zhou Ling Long shook her head vigorously.

Old man Zhou gently wiped away the tears from the corner of his eyes and turned to look at Xu Wei Ye: “Mayor Xu, we want to say a few intimate words with Ling Long in private. There shouldn’t be any problem with that, right?”

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Xu Wei Ye opened his mouth to protest, but then he saw An Zi Ran observing him. If he refused too vehemently right now it might arouse their suspicion. “Fine. Ling Zhi, bring them to Ling Long’s room to chat.”

Receiving the hint, Ling Zhi nodded.

The two elders have not seen their daughter for six years. Taking advantage of this opportunity, they talked for a long time, up until Xu Wei Ye became impatient and sent someone to rush them, only then did they reluctantly parted from their daughter and came back out to the front hall.

However, in order to ensure that they could see their daughter at any time in the future, the two elders forced Xu Wei Ye to make a promise in front of An Zi Ran and Fu Wu Tian.

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Chapter 127.1 – Finally?

The two elders of the Zhou family have two children, one son and one daughter, Zhou Shan and Zhou Ling Long.

The age difference between Zhou Shan and Zhou Ling Long was quite large. The two Zhou elders had Zhou Ling Long when Zhou Shan was eighteen years old. Thus, the two elders of the Zhou family have always regarded Zhou Ling Long as a treasure, even though they later found out that she was deaf and mute. But apart from these defects, she was just like a normal person in all other aspects.

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Zhou Ling Long was only twelve years old when she was forced to marry Xu Wei Ye. It has been six years now. She was only eighteen years old at present. She was in her prime, her life was just starting, but she was already thrown behind bars.

Because of what happened with Zhou Ling Long, the two elders of the Zhou family almost broke off relations with Zhou Shan, and refused to recognize him as their son. Furthermore, they stopped accepting support from him since six years ago.

The two elders moved out of the Zhou family and found a shabby place near the Xu Manor. For years now, they’ve looked towards the Xu Manor’s direction every day, missing the daughter who was kept inside the Xu Manor’s walls.

Xu Wei Ye would not let them see Zhou Ling Long, so this was all that they could do.

In the past six years, the two elders went to the Xu Manor again and again, but they were turned away at the door every time. However, the two elders never gave up. Every so often, they would go to the Xu Manor. This was one of the reasons why they moved to the vicinity of the Xu Manor.

However, because the two elders no longer accepted their son’s support, they had to earn their living expenses themselves. Learning of An Zi Ran’s intent to hire workers, the two elders rushed to sign up.

The two of them were quite old, but their bodies were still tough.

Towards this kind of elderly people, An Zi Ran had the people working under him assign some lighter tasks for them.

On this day, the two elders of the Zhou family received two unexpected guests. The two guests stayed for a while and then left. The next day, the two elders of the Zhou family went straightaway to the Xu Manor.

Xu Wei Ye was not surprised when he heard that they had come again. He had long gotten used to it. The two elder’s perseverance made him a little annoyed, but because they were Zhou Shan’s parents, he couldn’t do anything to them.

“Don’t let them in. Drive them away.”

The people from the Imperial Fu Palace were still living in his manor. If they saw the two elders they would definitely ask about the matter, so he had his servants drive the two elders away before the people from the Imperial Fu Palace could find out.

However, what he did not expect was that An Zi Ran had planned this incident, so when the servants ran out to drive them away, An Zi Ran and Fu Wu Tian ‘coincidentally’ came back.

“What’s the matter?” An Zi Ran walked up to them and asked the doorman, who was sweating profusely.

The two elders sat on the steps of the Xu Manor without a care for their image, and adamantly refused to leave. The doorman knew that they were the father-in-law and mother-in-law of his master, so he did not dare to really hurt them.

When he heard An Zi Ran’s question, the doorman did not dare to tell him about the relationship between these two elders and his master, so he could only vainly explain that these two people were here to cause trouble.

“He’s speaking nonsense. We came to look for our daughter Ling Long. Six eyars ago, Xu Wei Ye snatched our poor daughter away to become his concubine. And he refused to let us meet for so many years. He deserves to be hacked a thousand times by swords!” Old woman Zhou cried loudly.

Hearing her words, the doorman became anxious.

An Zi Ran’s eyes narrowed, “Is what she said true?”

The doorman wiped his sweat, “This…”

At this time, Xu Wei Ye finally came out in a hurry, and when he saw An Zi Ran and Fu Wu Tian, his expression turned a bit ugly. For the love of Buddha, the thing that he feared had really happened!

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Chapter 126.2 – Zhou Ling Long

“Speaking of which, that girl is really pitiful. Although she is deaf and mute, she is still a pure and innocent maiden. I have seen that girl. She is pure, beautiful, and very gentle. It is a pity that she is ruined by that Xu Wei Ye who is always courting death.”

“What are you afraid of? He can’t even protect himself right now. He has been throwing his weight around Ali Xiang for so long, but now people from the Imperial Fu Palace have finally come, do you think there’s still a place for him…” The peasant woman spoke boldly and even deliberately raised her voice as if she was afraid that others would not hear her. But then she lowered her voice and said, “Let me tell you secretly, sooner or later, the people from the Imperial Fu Palace will take care of Xu Wei Ye.”

The other woman was startled: “How do you know?”

The peasant woman smiled triumphantly, “This is what my son told me.”

The other woman showed a ‘no wonder’ expression, and said sourly, “I wish my son was as smart as yours.”

Whenever the peasant woman’s son, Li He, was brought up in conversation, all of the neighbors in the area would praise him. But Li He was actually just a thirteen-year-old boy. Ever since Li He was young, he realized the importance of knowledge, so he would always do everything possible to learn and gain new knowledge. In the end, he really became a self-made genius.

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The boy was still young, but he had an active mind, and the way he spoke and did things was as reliable as an adult. There were many times when his mother and father would ask him for advice if they couldn’t make up their minds, just like with the matter concerning the Imperial Fu Palace’s recruitment of workers. Once he heard the news, Li He immediately told them to quit working for Landlord Zhou.

His parents have long since been accustomed to listening to their son’s advice, so they agreed without hesitation.

As for the matter of the Imperial Fu Palace planning to take care of Xu Wei Ye, it was Li He who had accidentally let slip that bit of conjecture in front of his parents the day before yesterday. At the time, he had also warned them to not spread this news around.

But Li He would never have expected that his mother would forget his warning in the blink of an eye.

“Excuse me…”

A clear voice sounded from behind the two women.

The peasant woman was so frightened that she let out a startled sound. When she turned around, she saw two men with outstanding appearances. They exuded an uncommon noble aura, and their every movement glowed with spirit and vigor. The peasant woman’s heart drummed heavily in her chest, and she finally remembered her son’s warning not to tell others. It couldn’t be that these two men have heard her, right?

“Who are you two?”

The other woman’s eyes became wary.

An Zi Ran nodded at them and said politely: “Just now, I heard you talking about Landlord Zhou. I want to ask, what is this business about selling his sister for glory, can the two of you tell me?”

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The peasant woman breathed out a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn’t about Xu Wei Ye, then it was fine. Everyone in Bailian Xiang already knew about Landlord Zhou selling his younger sister for glory.

The other woman tugged at the peasant woman’s clothes, hinting at her not to talk too much.

The peasant woman gave her a look that said ‘it’s okay.’ Then she turned her head to face An Zi Ran and Fu Wu Tian, and said with a smile: “These two sirs must be outsiders, so it’s natural for you not to know about this. Landlord Zhou’s family was originally very poor, and then I don’t know what turn of fortune it was, but it caused him to cross paths with Mayor Xu, and in the blink of an eye he contracted hundreds of acres of land at once. In the following year, the Zhou family built a house, and in the year after that, Landlord Zhou suddenly ignored the opposition of the two elders in the Zhou family and married his sister, Ling Long, off to Mayor Xu. Ling Long was born deaf and mute, but she has always been a pure and pretty girl who was very likable and sensible since she was a child. Alas, she was ruined just like that.”

“So that’s what happened. Thank you.” An Zi Ran thanked her.

“You’re welcome.” The peasant woman waved her hand. Then she revealed a hesitant expression of wanting to say something but being unable to say it.

An Zi Ran asked: “Auntie, do you have anything else to say?”

The peasant woman smiled awkwardly, “That is, can you please not spread around what you have just heard? My son told me not to tell others, but I temporarily forgot.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t say anything.”

“Then, thank you.”

After bidding the two women farewell, An Zi Ran and Fu Wu Tian diverted back to the Xu Manor, and did not go to Landlord Zhou’s house. This trip was more fruitful than they had expected. They had unexpectedly gained new information, and if they used it properly, they could remove Xu Wei Ye even quicker.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

At the entrance of the Xu Manor, they met Guan Su and Shao Fei, who were just about to go out. Compared with their good news, the results that the other two men got were not as good, because Zhou Ling Long rarely left her room, and there was always an accompanying maid by her side, so they couldn’t find a good opportunity to make a move.

It was inconvenient to speak at the door, so An Zi Ran had them go back to the room before telling the two men what they had heard. If Zhou Ling Long was a good one, then they could start making a move with her.

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Chapter 126.1 – Zhou Ling Long

December 30, 27^th Year of Emperor Chong Ming

There was only one month left before the Chinese New Year. During this time, An Zi Ran only received one letter from Jun Zi City. Head Steward Fu had penned the letter, and it reported the situation of the little bun and the laowangye*. The gambling house’s business was only mentioned in a few simple sentences, which evidently meant that nothing big had happened.

[*T/N: Reminder, the laowangye is Fu Wu Tian’s grandfather]

However, news that Fu Yuan Fan was keeping an eye on Tian Long Gambling House has spread.

After An Zi Ran and Fu Wu Tian left Jun Zi City, Fu Yuan Jian came around looking to cause trouble with Tian Long Gambling House, but he did not gain anything from doing so. Fu Yuan Fan was still a prince after all. Although Fu Yuan Jian was backed by the Zhao family, he did not dare to cause too much of a scene, and in the end, the matter was settled by leaving it unsettled.

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But this was only one of the reasons. In fact, there was another more important reason.

A problem had occurred in the harem.

Emperor Chong Ming’s beloved Yan-fei* caused a huge wave in the harem.

[*T/N: Reminder, Yan-fei was the beauty that made the emperor go crazy for her for a whole month, which was unprecedented due to the emperor’s lascivious nature. Yan 艳 should be the title conferred to her by the emperor, which means “colorful / splendid” and fei 妃 is the suffix for “imperial concubine.”]

Relying on Emperor Chong Ming’s favor, she straightforwardly challenged several of the most respected imperial concubines in the harem. Furthermore, Fu Yuan Jian’s mother, Yun-fei, was the first one to get implicated.

Yun-fei was born in a military family, and she inherited her father Zhao Gang’s direct, upright, and unyielding character. This kind of character was Emperor Chong Ming’s least favorite, but because he needed her father, Emperor Chong Ming was still considered polite to Yun-fei. The two have always treated each other respectfully, and there were seldom any disagreements between them.

This was up until Yan-fei challenged Yun-fei, and Emperor Chong Ming actually disregarded Zhao Gang’s face* and rebuked Yun-fei in public. Furthermore, he restricted her and ordered her not to leave the Qin Palace for two months. For the emperor to so openly side with Yan-fei, this caused a great disturbance in the harem.

[*T/N: The Chinese concept of “face” encompasses honor, dignity, reputation, respect, etc.]

Fu Yuan Jian was worried about his mother, so he did not dare to cause any trouble during this time.

Therefore, Emperor Chong Ming could not be bothered to pay attention to Fu Wu Tian’s whereabouts. For the sake of a beautiful concubine, he had pushed himself onto the top of a crashing wave.

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But everyone was also very curious about how Yan-fei was able to make the emperor so crazy for her.

Emperor Chong Ming loved beauties, so the more beautiful a woman was the more likely she was to attract his attention. However, even though Yan-fei was a beauty, her appearance was definitely not the best amongst the many beauties in the harem. As a matter of fact, her looks probably ranked somewhere in the middle or lower. But she was able to get the emperor to make so many exceptions for her, and he even punished Yun-fei, one of the Four Concubines, for her.

“Wangye, what kind of person do you reckon this Yan-fei is?”

The two were strolling slowly through Bailian Xiang, when An Zi Ran suddenly thought of the news that second uncle had sent, and he became curious about this Yan-fei.

Fu Wu Tian crossed his arms behind his back and gazed out into the fields with his dark eyes, “What kind of person is she, this prince does not know, but there must be some mystery behind this person.”

An Zi Ran arched an eyebrow, unsurprised.

Even someone who was not very familiar with Emperor Chong Ming could see that there was something weird about the whole thing, so for someone who was close to the emperor, Fu Wu Tian could certainly see it. It was just that he could not understand what methods the other party used.

“The women in the harem are full of tricks, but no matter how novel the woman, Emperor Chong Ming should have already seen a lot.”

“Regardless of what methods she used, the more chaotic the imperial family gets, the better it will be for us.” A strange light seemed to flash across Fu Wu Tian’s eyes, like he was looking forward to the future.

An Zi Ran noticed and abruptly chuckled.

That’s right. Although they didn’t know the reason, the longer this situation persisted, the better it would be for them. By the time they publicize the production of cotton, it would be too late for the other side to react.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

The two of them walked as they talked, and they soon came to Landlord Zhou’s neighborhood without realizing it.

Landlord Zhou lived in a courtyard. The area of the courtyard was only about half the size of Xu Manor, but it was even more austere than Xu Manor.

[*T/N: 庄院 zhuang yuan – 庄 refers to the holdings of a landlord in imperial China. 院 is a courtyard.]

An Zi Ran and Fu Wu Tian did not approach the courtyard, and they were about to make a detour when the conversation between two peasant women not too far away caught their attention.

“Have you heard, yesterday a bunch of people resigned from working for Landlord Zhou again.”

“Of course I’ve heard. My son had already quit his job half a month ago. At that time, Landlord Zhou refused to let him go, saying that if he resigned, he would not give him his salary.”

“Pei, what a monster!”

[T/N: pei – to spit in contempt]

“If it were before, then it’s definitely impossible for us to just let things go, but now it’s all good. The salary from the Imperial Fu Palace is more than double that of Landlord Zhou’s, and my son can also receive one month’s worth of salary and food in advance. Our family doesn’t have to care about those few copper coins anymore. If anything, we can just think of it as giving to charity. I really want to see what Landlord Zhou will do without any workers to tend his fields.”

“Landlord Zhou must be anxiously spinning around in circles right now.”

“Then let him spin. Who told him to sell his younger sister in exchange for glory? Now, retribution has finally come.”

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Chapter 125.3 – Counterfeit Contracts

Shao Fei’s mouth widened as he listened to Guan Su talk. “No way. He really hid the account books in the concubine’s room?”

Guan Su shook his head, “This matter is not for certain yet. We only know that Xu Wei Ye often works in his fifth concubine’s room, but we don’t know if he just brings the account books there to work, or if he really hides the account books in his fifth concubine’s room.”

“Find out where the account books are being kept as soon as possible,” An Zi Ran said.

The planting of the cotton could not be delayed anymore. If Bailian Xiang was not suitable for growing cotton, then An Zi Ran could consider temporarily slowing down his management of this place, but since it was the same as Xinhe, then it was necessary to solve the issue as soon as possible.

“Understood,” Guan Su replied.

When Guan Su left, he dragged Shao Fei, who still wanted to stay in the study, away with him, leaving the study room space to An Zi Ran and Fu Wu Tian.

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An Zi Ran felt a pair of big hands covering his head. Rough finger pads pressed against his temples and soothed away the tightened nerves with gentle force. After a while, he lifted his hands to grasp Fu Wu Tian’s hands.

The white hands were a sharp contrast to the big honey-colored hands. He had always known that Fu Wu Tian was very burly, but every time he compared himself with the man, he felt as if he looked like a woman, because only women were petite.

“I don’t think I’ve ever given you a massage before.” An Zi Ran raised his head, looked at Fu Wu Tian’s close up, handsome face, and suddenly thought of this topic.

Fu Wu Tian lowered his hand and kissed him gently on the lips. There was a hint of a smile in his gaze. “This prince is very happy to serve wangfei.”

An Zi Ran has realized that Fu Wu Tian, this man amongst men, this human fighting machine was not like other men at all, and he did not care about saving face. He was actually very good with emotional words, and he was the type that said whatever he wanted, without having any misgivings or apprehensions.

An Zi Ran didn’t know if Fu Wu Tian was doing it intentionally or unintentionally, but he always felt that the man’s words were very sincere, like a hand gently plucking the strings of his heart, stirring up incomprehensible ripples in his heart.

“After we finish dealing with Xu Wei Ye, let’s go back to Jun Zi City. I’ve been away for more than a month already. I don’t know how the little bun is doing, and I don’t know if Grandfather has been secretly bullying him while his second uncle* is away.”

[*T/N: ‘second uncle’ should be referring to Fu Yi Ming. As a refresher, he is the head steward of the Imperial Fu Palace, and also the illegitimate son of FWT’s grandfather.]

An Zi Ran stroked his lips with his finger, and then changed the subject as if nothing had happened.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

However, Fu Wu Tian was not going to pretend that nothing had happened. He felt that the wangfei was seducing him, so he needed to do something. Thinking like this, he immediately grabbed An Zi Ran by the arm and lifted him up. While An Zi Ran was reeling in surprise, Fu Wu Tian leaned in and kissed him. His tongue slipped passed An Zi Ran’s lips to entwine with his tongue.

In this zero distance contact, their bodily fluids mixed together, and lust gradually pervaded the space between them.

NSFW Link

PW: TBL125c

傅无天将书桌上的东西扫落下去，然后一只手托住安子然的臀部将他抱到上面，将健壮的身躯挤进他的两腿间，撩起他的袍子将白色的褒裤拉下来，浑圆的臀部仿佛迫不及待的弹跳出来一样，隐秘的部位亦隐约可见，看得他一阵口干舌燥。

虽然两人已经做过多次，但是被他用直白赤裸的目光看着私处还是很不适应。

安子然想合上双腿，却反被傅无天扛到肩膀上，双手更是在他身上煽风点火，很快便将他体-内汹涌的情欲轻易的撩起来，下面硬得不能再硬。

当一根比他更硬更烫的棒子冲撞进来的时候，安子然略不适的皱起眉，仿佛一块坚硬又滚烫的铁块镶在他体内，烫得他脚趾都蜷缩起来了。

铁块慢慢的动起来，一次次强而有力的抽插顶得他的身体差点掉下去，不过每次在边缘的时候又被拉回去，两人结–合的地方便又深了几分，每一次都令安子然不由自主的吐出一丝呻吟声，与男人的低吼声交织在一起，直到热液悉数喷射出来……

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Chapter 125.2 – Counterfeit Contracts

After returning to his room, Xu Wei Ye was unable to hold back, and he left the manor in search of Landlord Zhou.

Xu Wei Ye had left it up to Landlord Zhou to handle the paperwork, because his every move was monitored, so he had no choice but to leave it to him.

“What? You want it this afternoon?”

Surprise painted the entirety of Landlord Zhou’s face. Yesterday, Xu Wei Ye was just saying that they could evade for two more days, but today he was suddenly rushing the schedule. To be able to create something watertight and not suspicious in such a short period of time was hardly possible.

Xu Wei Ye did not explain the specifics to him. He just told him that it must be completed by this afternoon.

Landlord Zhou hesitated for a moment, “I will try my best.”

In the afternoon, Landlord Zhou did indeed manage to complete the fake contracts, but due to the time constraints, the results were not as good as expected.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

Xu Wei Ye did not have the luxury to care so much. When Guan Su brought Shao Fei over again, he handed over all the papers to him.

“Guan-daren, you have to be careful. These contracts have been sitting around for so long, so some of them may have some small problems, such as damage or dampness.”

Guan Su smiled and said: “Mayor Xu, you can be at ease. No matter how damp it is it’s impossible for these contracts to grind out black ink like an ink stone. Unless these contracts are fake, don’t you agree?”

Xu Wei Ye put on a fake smile.

Back at where they were staying, Guan Su pulled out the sheaf of papers and placed it in front of An Zi Ran. Although they were counterfeits, the workmanship was really meticulous.

“Xu Wei Ye must have spent a lot of money for this paper, huh?”

Shao Fei had a gloating expression on his face. They had already known that Landlord Zhou had no paperwork, and that Xu Wei Ye definitely would not be able to bring out the contracts.

Fu Wu Tian picked up a contract, “The craftsmanship is indeed quite good.”

An Zi Ran said dismissively: “No matter how good it is, it is still a fake. After all, counterfeit is counterfeit. It cannot be perfect and without flaws.”

If these counterfeits were shown to professionals with experience in this area, then they would definitely be able to pick out the flaws.

So An Zi Ran did not intend to return these contracts to Xu Wei Ye. This was also the reason why he had asked Xu Wei Ye for the contracts. The purpose was to force him to make a counterfeit copy. With these contracts in hand, it was the equivalent of having written evidence in hand. Xu Wei Ye would never have expected that he had personally delivered the evidence to An Zi Ran.

“How is the investigation of the account books going? What are the results?” Fu Wu Tian asked as he handed over the contract to An Zi Ran.

Guan Su suddenly started to laugh, “I already have some progress.”

An Zi Ran raised his head and glanced at Guan Su with unexpected surprised. Guan Su was able to find out something so soon? The speed was much faster than what An Zi Ran had thought.

Xu Wei Ye was different from his father. His father was an honest and biddable person all his life. He had never thought of using power for personal gain, and he only took one wife in his entire life. But Xu Wei Ye was different. Ever since he became the mayor of Ali Xiang, his appetite has gradually been tempted. If he did not have ten concubines in his residence, then he has at least seven or eight concubines.

However, most men like the new and dislike the old*, and Xu Wei Ye was no exception. But Guan Su still discovered one abnormal act of his.

[*T/N: 喜新厌旧 – to be enamored with new people, and get bored of the old]

Xu Wei Ye had nine concubines, and all of them were beautiful like flowers, but one of them was quite special. That would be Xu Wei Ye’s fifth concubine. The fifth concubine was very beautiful, but she had one fatal defect. She was a deaf-mute person. A deaf-mute person meant that she was unable to speak and hear.

After Guan Su discovered this, he immediately focused his attention on her.

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Deaf-mute people did not invite fondness [from men like Xu Wei Ye], and Xu Wei Ye was also not an affectionate person that could give deep love to others, but he still visited his fifth concubine once every other month, and occasionally even twice.

Originally, such a phenomenon was very normal. After all, she was still Xu Wei Ye’s concubine, so it would be normal for him to spend the night with her.

However—

Guan Su accidentally learned from a few gossipy maids of the Xu Manor that Xu Wei Ye was quiet every time he spent the night in the deaf concubine’s room, and the candles in the room were always lit, often until very late into the night.

When most people hear these words, they would think that the fifth concubine was a deaf-mute person, so it was normal that there was no voice, but Guan Su has keenly discovered something wrong. How could a person like Xu Wei Ye maintain his interest in a concubine who could not speak for such a long time?

Guan Su suspected that Xu Wei Ye actually used the cover of his fifth concubine to do the accounts in her room.

At the beginning of each month, Landlord Zhou would hand over the accounts of the previous month to Xu Wei Ye. Because this was evidence of Xu Wei Ye’s corruption, he would not trust someone else with this task.

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[T/N: Nouns in Chinese do not have plural forms. The only way to know if something is singular or plural is based on the preceding classifier, but sometimes there is no classifier in the text, so I can only guess. Like the contract (or contracts) being spoken about in this chapter. By logic, it should be plural contracts, because every farmer should’ve signed a contract, but sometimes a singular classifier is used, so it makes me uncertain.]

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Chapter 125.1 – Counterfeit Contracts

The next day, they sorted out the accounts for Bailian Xiang.

The reason why there were so few accounts for Bailian Xiang was indeed related to Xu Wei Ye. It was because these were false accounts that he had created.

Landlord Zhou contracted about eighty percent of the land in Bailian Xiang, but the real manipulator behind everything was Xu Wei Ye. Landlord Zhou was just someone he had shoved into the spotlight to make everyone think that he was the contractor, but the real beneficiary was Xu Wei Ye.

Xu Wei Ye used Landlord Zhou’s name to contract the land of Bailian Xiang for personal gain, but in reality it didn’t cost him a single coin. Except for a small portion of the food harvested every year, everything else went into Xu Wei Ye’s pockets.

These past few years, Xu Wei Ye grew complacent, thinking that the people from the Imperial Fu Palace would never appear, so he didn’t even do the public accounts for the past two years.

Because of this, when An Zi Ran asked to see the account books for Bailian Xiang, Xu Wei Ye was flustered and submitted an account book full of errors and negligence.

However, this explained why Xu Wei Ye was able to embezzle so much money and build a luxurious manor even though Ali Xiang was so poor. On this one point, one could not help but admit that he was clever. At the very least, he did not embezzle from the villagers.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

But no matter how smart he was, Fu Wu Tian still intended to deal with him.

If Xu Wei Ye had decorously served as the mayor of Ali Xiang, then it would definitely be beneficial to him in the future. It was just a pity that although he was clever, his way of looking at things was bad.

Because Bailian Xiang’s affairs were exposed, Xu Wei Ye had no choice but to temporarily give up on trying to trip An Zi Ran up, and focus all his attentions on Bailian Xiang.

An Zi Ran wanted to reclaim the land in Bailian Xiang, so he was bound to go to Landlord Zhou again. Originally, as long as Landlord Zhou refused to let go of his property, then he could create some trouble for An Zi Ran and them, and thwart their plan. But there was one fatal problem.

From the start, Xu Wei Ye never thought that the people from the Imperial Fu Palace would show up, so he did not have Landlord Zhou pay for the contracts, and he also did not ask Landlord Zhou to sign his name on the receipts, because the ultimate beneficiary was himself.

Now, they didn’t even have a single piece of paper to prove that the land in Bailian Xiang was under Landlord Zhou’s name.

Without these papers, it meant that the land that Landlord Zhou owned in Bailian Xiang was not legitimate. If word of this matter spreads out, then Xu Wei Ye would become the first suspect.

For this reason, Xu Wei Ye had to get someone to forge a counterfeit contract. Landlord Zhou was supposed to have contracted Bailian Xiang for eight years, so the paper for the contract had to be eight years old. He searched for a long time before he finally found a yellowed piece of paper with eight years of history.

After Xu Wei Ye finished forging the contracts, An Zi Ran just so happened to send someone over to ask him for the contracts of all the villagers who had contracted land in Bailian Xiang.

In order to let the ink on the forgeries dry until it was impossible to discern that it was newly written, Xu Wei Ye had his servant reply to them, saying that he forgot where he had put the contracts because it has been so long, and that he would send them over once he found them, but he did not specify a time.

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After a while, Guan Su came over with Shao Fei.

Xu Wei Ye had his servant give the same reasoning as before, but the servant replied: “Master, that Guan-daren said he brought someone over to help you search.”

[*T/N: 大人 daren – title of respect toward superiors]

“What did you say?” Xu Wei Ye, who was leisurely drinking tea, suddenly froze. He abruptly put down the teacup and stood up.

The servant was taken aback, “They are already outside.”

Xu Wei Ye’s face flickered with uncertainty for a while, and then he gritted his teeth and said: “You go out and tell them that we don’t need help. I’ll have someone send the contracts over in the afternoon.”

“Yes, master.”

As if accepting this answer, Guan Su quickly took Shao Fei away.

Xu Wei Ye violently swept the teacup off the table and onto the floor. He was becoming more and more apprehensive of the people from the Imperial Fu Palace. For them to have wordlessly and silently forced him to this step, he really could not look down on them.

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Chapter 124.2 – Big Landlord Zhou

Not long after, Guan Su and Shao Fei arrived at Bailian Xiang.

Bailian Xiang, like Xinhe, had a good geographical environment and climate, but the development of Bailian Xiang was worse than that of Xinhe. This was what it seemed like based on the data, but when they saw Bailian Xiang with their own eyes, that didn’t seem to be the case at all.

Bailian Xiang wasn’t wealthy, but it was definitely not worse than Xinhe.

The houses had tiled rooftops, and they stretched in neat orderly rows as far as the eye could see. The crops in the fields were growing well. It was evident that the farmers put a lot of care into their fields. And the harvest amount should be sufficient.

What was strange was that the villagers looked to be in the same state as the villagers in Magou River. Not only were their clothes shabby, their complexions weren’t much better either.

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Upon asking around, Guan Su and Shao Fei found out that these fields weren’t theirs. They were only hired help working under a big family by the surname of Zhou.

Landlord Zhou was the one who contracted about eighty percent of the land in Bailian Xiang. But Landlord Zhou was a stingy man, so he didn’t pay the villagers much in terms of wages.

The two asked a villager where Landlord Zhou’s house was, and then went to go look for it. But before they could utter out a greeting, their faces were met with a closed door. They didn’t even get a glimpse of Landlord Zhou. With no better option, they hurried back to An Zi Ran.

After listening to Guan Su’s retelling of what had happed, An Zi Ran could not help but recall the account book in his hand, which he had procured from Xu Wei Ye.

Xu Wei Ye didn’t want to give it to them at first, but now the state of affairs has turned in An Zi Ran’s favor. The villagers of Ali Xiang now knew about the existence of the Imperial Fu Palace. If Xu Wei Ye were to put on airs again, Fu Wu Tian could kill him with a single sentence, and other people would only think that Xu Wei Ye had reaped what he sowed. So, Xu Wei Ye deliberately made up an excuse to delay for two days before having servants bring the account books of recent years to An Zi Ran.

An Zi Ran’s knowledge of Bailian Xiang came from these account books. The ledgers for Bailian Xiang were cleaner than the ledgers for Xinhe – in this case, cleaner mean simpler – because the annual grain output of Bailian Xiang was recorded to be half that of Xinhe.

The area of Bailian Xiang was not smaller than that of Xinhe, and the population there was about the same as Xinhe, so why was the output halved? Now it would seem that this issue had a lot to do with this Landlord Zhou.

“This matter must be connected to Xu Wei Ye.”

An Zi Ran’s eyes narrowed, and he surmised right away that Xu Wei Ye must have hidden a few more detailed ledgers that he did not hand over. Moreover, it was related to this Landlord Zhou.

Shao Fei immediately said, “Do you want me to go arrest Landlord Zhou, and then interrogate him?”

“Stupid!” Guan Su shook his head. “If the two really have any ulterior secrets, then Xu Wei Ye should already know that we went to look for Landlord Zhou. They will definitely be prepared. In my opinion, the top priority should be to find the real account book.”

“Guan Su is right.” An Zi Ran nodded. “Xu Wei Ye is very cautious. The account book should be in his hands. I will leave this matter to you. Be sure to find that account book.”

Shao Fei wanted to refute, but he closed his mouth angrily when he heard this sentence.

Just as they had suspected, Xu Wei Ye already knew about what happened.

Landlord Zhou was a timid person. When he learned that An Zi Ran’s men were looking for him, he was worried that they would discover something. He immediately sent someone to notify Xu Wei Ye, but Xu Wei Ye scolded him instead.

“You moron! If they had sent someone to tail you, then our relationship would be exposed!”

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Landlord Zhou was stunned by Xu Wei Ye’s berating. When he finally reacted, he immediately broke out in cold sweat and hurriedly said: “It shouldn’t be possible. I didn’t see them. They couldn’t have guessed that quickly, right?”

Xu Wei Ye was so angry that he kept pacing back and forth.

At this time, it was no longer the question of who should be held accountable. He was certain that An Zi Ran suspected him, because the Bailian Xiang ledger that he had given An Zi Ran before was a fake.

From the start, there was no account book for Bailian Xiang. He had used two days time to write out the fake ledger, and had obscured a lot of information. An Zi Ran was a smart person. There was no way he would not see through the ruse.

“Mayor, what should we do now?” Landlord Zhou was already out of his wits.

Xu Wei Ye snorted: “As long as the real account books are still in my hands, he can’t do anything to me without evidence.” He was betting on this.

Landlord Zhou subconsciously asked, “Then where is the account book kept?”

Xu Wei Ye glanced at him coldly.

“Don’t worry. I have already hidden the account book in an absolutely safe place. They won’t be able to find it.”

What he didn’t know was that there was no absolute safe place in the world.

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Chapter 124.1 – Big Landlord Zhou

In just one short month, An Zi Ran spent tens of thousands of taels of silver.

The money was not used to just buy back the land from the villagers of Magou River and He-Li, but also from other places. It didn’t matter whether the land was suitable for growing cotton or not, An Zi Ran bought up all of it from the villagers.

Some villagers didn’t believe it at first, but as more and more people surrendered their land, they also could not hold themselves back.

Later, An Zi Ran specially set up some sites in several densely populated places, like He-Li. In addition to reclaiming the land in Ali Xiang, there was also [worker] enlistment.

In just a few short days, a large sum of money was spent. Without the support of Tian Long Gambling House, An Zi Ran would not dare to do so.

He hired all the young, middle-aged, and some elderly people in Ali Xiang as workers. He hadn’t considered it before, but this base number alone was very large.

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“This is too crazy!”

Shao Fei shook his head. When he heard the number, he was stunned into silence for half a day before making a squeaking sound. The wangye had never treated them poorly. But when compared with the wangfei, the wangye’s generosity could not even be compared to the scraps of wangfei’s generosity. It really was better to follow the wangfei.

Guan Su’s long and narrow red phoenix eyes* glanced at Shao Fei with amusement. “What’s so surprising? This number is actually much less than expected.”

[*T/N: 丹凤眼 dan feng yan – it translates to “red phoenix eyes,” and is used to describe eyes whose outer corners incline upwards]

This was true. An Zi Ran had budgeted two hundred thousand taels of silvers for spending, but he did not expect that Ali Xiang would be destitute to this degree. Contracting a few acres of land for one year only took one string of coins. It was much lower than his original allotment of three to fours silver taels.

Shao Fei took a peek at An Zi Ran and Fu Wu Tian, who were talking softly to each other, and whispered to Guan Su, “Why do you think the wangfei wants to grow a crop like cotton? What is the use of this thing?”

He has seen the matured appearance of cotton. It was a mass of white thing. Even if he thought about it until his brain fried, he couldn’t figure out what it could be used for. It wasn’t like he could eat it!

“You’ll know when it is time.”

Guan Su had an expression of ‘I am deliberately not telling you to string you along.’

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An Zi Ran had already shown him the plans. If there were no unexpected mishaps, he would become the person in charge of Ali Xiang.

Shao Fei ground his teeth together. If Guan Su didn’t want to tell him, then fine, whatever. If anything, Shao Fei could just find an opportunity to ask the wangfei. The wangfei should tell him, right?

[T/N: No, my dumb summer child. AZR won’t.]

Guan Su knew what he was thinking with just a look, and said gloatingly, “Let me be responsible and tell you: it won’t happen!”

“You…”

Just when Shao Fei was about to refute, he heard the wangye calling for them to go over.

Before Shao Fei could react, Guan Su walked past him without even so much as a by your leave. Shao Fei gritted his teeth for a bit, and then immediately followed him over.

When he arrived in front of Fu Wu Tian and An Zi Ran, Guan Su glanced at the account book they were looking at. It was the land confluence of Ali Xiang.

It has almost been a month since the Magou River incident.

Eighty to ninety percent of the villagers in Ali Xiang have returned the lands that they previously contracted [with Xu Wei Ye]. The remaining ten to twenty percent didn’t have much impact on their plans, so they could ignore them for the time being, but An Zi Ran’s furrowed brows indicated that the situation was not that simple.

Guan Su asked: “Is there some issue that we overlooked?”

An Zi Ran spread out the topographic map of Ali Xiang, and outlined some areas with a brush dipped in red ink. The range of these regions was huge. They were all land that had been recovered from the villagers. But what was strange was that there were some good locations that were not depicted.

“What is this?”

Shao Fei could not understand at all.

But no one answered him.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

Guan Su touched his chin, “These places are all in the same location. Nowadays there have been no signs of activity [in this area]. Could it be that someone have contracted all of this land?”

If the other party was a rich person in Ali Xiang, then it was entirely possible for them to develop and expand on their own, and it would be reasonable for them to not sell this land.

An Zi Ran said: “That possibility is very likely!”

Fu Wu Tian said: “Bailian Xiang* is also very suitable for growing cotton. Moreover, the area is not small.”

[*T/N: Bailian = white lotus. Xiang = countryside, village, or town.]

An Zi Ran nodded: “In any case, we must also recover the land in Bailian Xiang. Guan Su, go with Shao Fei to investigate who is the contractor of the land, and see if you can convince the other party. If the other party refuses, come back, and we’ll make new plans.”

Guan Su immediately dragged Shao Fei away from the Xu Manor. Halfway through their journey, they shook off the people that Xu Wei Ye had sent to follow them, and then rushed the rest of the way to Bailian Xiang.

Xu Wei Ye seemed to be getting more and more impatient recently, as if some urgent matter had occurred, and he was becoming less and less cautious in the way he handled matters. Before, he still knew he had to pull the wool over people’s eyes and fool them, but now he gave off the feeling of a shattered pot.

Guan Su originally thought that he would have a decent opponent this time. He liked to cast a long line in order to catch a big fish*.

[*T/N: “cast a long line in order to catch a big fish” is a Chinese idiom that means, “to play the long game for big returns”]

As it turned out, Xu Wei Ye’s performance disappointed him too much. Xu Wei Ye planned for ten long years, but at the critical juncture, he ended up dropping the ball.

This kind of person couldn’t even be considered a proper opponent. Therefore, Guan Su didn’t take him seriously.

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