Chapter 8: Meeting the County Magistrate, His Fame Spreads Far and Wide...
The following day, monks came to the altar to chant sutras and perform rituals to bid farewell to the soul of the old scholar.
Relatives and friends who lived far away rushed over overnight to pay their respects and were burning paper money in the mourning hall.
Zhang Ting and County Magistrate Niu, dressed in mourning clothes, stood in front of the gate, repeating the same procedure as yesterday. Around 11 PM, when relatives and friends had all arrived, the two went to the back to help.
There was a funeral feast at Shenshi today. Liu Xiuqun and several uncles from the village were in charge of the kitchen. The attendants of County Magistrate Niu also set up the chairs. The two of them had nothing to do. When they saw Wang Ying return with the geomancer, they hurriedly asked where the burial site should be.
"On the ridge west of the village."
Zhang Ting knew that the place had a wide view and beautiful scenery, making it a blessed land.
County Magistrate Niu also said that he passed through there on his way here, and that it was a beautiful place with clear waters and lush mountains, where the wind could gather and energy could be concentrated.
After the funeral feast was over, the guests were seen off, and the relatives and friends were settled, the three of them discussed taking turns keeping vigil and assigned their respective times before going to rest.
Zhang Ting was to keep vigil at the hours of You (5-7 PM) and Xu (7-9 PM), kneeling before the spirit tablet to burn paper money for the deceased.
His eyes were fixed intently on the flames burning in the basin, lost in thought.
After an unknown amount of time, all was quiet; everyone must have been asleep.
A rich fragrance suddenly wafted from behind Zhang Ting. She raised an eyebrow. This person was walking without making a sound.
Gently remind the other person, "You shouldn't be here."
The other person ignored her advice, knelt down beside her, and threw the paper money into the basin.
“I’ve come to see my maternal grandfather off.” He turned to Zhang Ting, a look of melancholy in his eyes. “I won’t be able to attend your funeral tomorrow.”
Since the man was of low rank and belonged to a different family, he was indeed not allowed to accompany the funeral procession.
Seeing this, Zhang Ting stopped trying to persuade him.
"And... thank you." My aunt told him last night that this person had saved the day, otherwise the family would have fallen apart in an instant.
Zhang Ting simply paid back the debt at the right time to avoid future gossip.
She smiled slightly, "I only did what I was supposed to do, there's no need for thanks."
The other person pursed their lips and after a long while said, "You are a good person."
Zhang Ting received the "good guy" card and thought to herself with delight: "It's true that telling too many lies can lead to a qualitative change; now I'm quite adept at telling the truth."
Men and women should not have physical contact, so he couldn't stay in the mourning hall for too long, lest his aunt find out.
I wanted to say something to Zhang Ting, but she was lost in thought with her head down.
Is she some kind of blockhead?
Liu Xiuqun went back to her room in anger.
When Zhang Ting came to her senses, she found that the person was no longer there, and she couldn't help but shake her head: "Kids are just too sleepy, they can't even overcome this little difficulty."
At the end of the Xu hour (7-9 PM), Wang Ying came to take over the shift.
Zhang Ting had to get up early the next day, so he didn't go home but slept directly in Wang Ying's room, where County Magistrate Niu was also sleeping.
Afraid of waking people, she imitated Liu Xiuqun's walking posture during the day, and sure enough, she made no noise.
Exhausted from a long day, Zhang Ting quickly fell asleep, unaware of when County Magistrate Niu left.
When I woke up, it was already late in the morning. I quickly got dressed, washed up, and ate.
Just as dawn broke, the filial daughter carried the spirit tablet at the front, followed by people carrying the coffin. The monks from yesterday also came to chant sutras. Zhang Ting, County Magistrate Niu, and their relatives and friends lined up in the funeral procession.
Upon arriving at the cemetery, relatives and friends wept uncontrollably.
When the auspicious time arrived, Wang Ying, Zhang Ting, and County Magistrate Niu burned incense and lit candles to perform the opening ceremony.
Eight women dressed in mourning clothes slowly lowered the coffin into the tomb, shovelful by shovelful of yellow earth gradually burying the coffin, while firecrackers went off and paper money filled the air.
......
After the funeral ceremony, all the relatives and friends left.
County Magistrate Niu kowtowed to the old scholar one last time, then stood up and took out a silver ingot, handing it to Wang Ying. "Sister, you have nothing else of value. Your teacher has already passed away. Use this money to find another job."
After arranging the funeral, Wang Ying had very little money left, but she refused to accept the money from Magistrate Niu.
“When my mother was alive, I supported my family by farming, and we lived a fairly comfortable life. I already know my sister’s feelings, and that’s enough.”
When Magistrate Niu saw that she insisted, he took back the silver in his hand, but in his heart he was sneer: If life was good, how could the teacher have died of illness?
But she didn't linger, bidding farewell to Wang Ying and Zhang Ting: "I have official duties to attend to and cannot stay any longer. I am in the county government office. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, please feel free to come to me."
Both Wang and Zhang agreed.
After Magistrate Niu left, Wang Ying burned another handful of paper money for her mother. As she burned it, she said, "Consider the money from the other day as something your sister owes you. I will definitely repay you when I have the money in the future."
Zhang Ting hates complicated and messy relationships. "Sister, just consider it as me returning the favor to my teacher. There's no need to talk about this anymore."
Wang Ying was speechless for a moment, then nodded.
Zhang Ting subtly steered the conversation toward County Magistrate Niu, inquiring about her background.
Wang Ying said: "County Magistrate Niu was my mother's student. She also received my mother's kindness when she was young. Later, she passed the imperial examination and became a Xiucai. However, she was born into a noble family and entered officialdom through hereditary privilege. She was previously the county magistrate of Qiuyu County in Zhangzhou Prefecture. Later, in order to take care of her elderly parents, the court specially allowed her to be transferred back to Lütian County to serve as the county magistrate."
However, Wang Ying remained tight-lipped about the specific favors he had received.
Liu Xiuqun had finished cooking lunch and came to call the two of them back.
After the meal, Zhang Ting, as usual, inquired about Wang Ying's future plans.
Wang Ying treated Zhang Ting with more affection, saying that he planned to observe three years of mourning for his mother first, during which time he would farm to support himself, and make other plans after three years.
Zhang Ting disagreed with her words. "You don't have much money, and you have a nephew who is about to get married. All you want to do now is farm?"
But outwardly, he praised her filial piety, saying that she had gone through a lot, was very thoughtful, and was the most filial woman he had ever met.
As expected, Wang Ying was very pleased. When chatting with Zhang Ting about other trivial matters, she could answer fluently. Wang Ying even lamented that he had become acquainted with her much later.
During this time, Zhang Ting also made grand promises to Wang Ying, saying that she greatly admired his character and that if she became successful in the future, she would definitely help him out.
Wang Ying blushed with embarrassment, but secretly he was very fond of Zhang Ting.
After sitting for a while, Zhang Ting declined Wang Ying's invitation to stay for dinner and went home.
After that day, everyone who came to pay their respects to the old scholar praised Zhang Ting.
Zhang Ting's virtues gradually spread in Lvtian County and Luchuan County.
......
Li An sent an invitation to Xu You's residence that very day, but the servants told him that she had gone ice skating with her friends.
Helpless, Li An could only ask Xu You to come out again during his next day off.
After returning to the county school and studying for a few days, Li An kept this matter on his mind, thinking about how to handle it.
During this break, Li An finally found himself with free time, which annoyed him: "You, a commoner, are busier than me, a scholar?"
Li An looked down on Xu You, so he simply set up a private room at Qingfeng Tower and casually prepared some dishes to entertain her.
Xu You had been seated for quite some time when Li An finally arrived late.
Xu You knew that Li An, a female ruler with official rank and family background comparable to hers, looked down on her. She came only to see what Xu You was up to.
She was getting impatient, but Li An preemptively struck with a sarcastic remark: "Oh, our Miss Xu has finally found some free time."
Xu You retorted without hesitation, "I can't compare to you, Miss Li, who has so many important matters to attend to."
Li An snorted coldly, then sat down and called the waiter to serve tea again.
After all this commotion, Xu You suspected that Li An was just looking for trouble and was here to play a trick on him!
She was so angry that she was about to leave, but Li An stopped her: "Is this how you treat your benefactor?" If it weren't for Zhang Ting's request, she wouldn't have wanted to keep Xu You.
She also needed to put on a show for Zhang Ting, lest Xu You take advantage of her and Zhang Ting be unable to handle it.
Seeing Li An's matter-of-fact attitude, Xu You was at a loss for words: "What kind of benefactor are you?"
Li An held the freshly served tea, skimmed off the foam, took a sip, and said, "I heard you're planning to start a business and acquire some assets, but you're having trouble figuring it out."
Both of them came from powerful families, so Xu You didn't doubt how she knew, but he was very suspicious of her motives.
"So what if it is?"
Li An put down his teacup, stood up and said, "We are both from powerful families and have known each other since we were young. I feel a little sorry for you when I see you in such a difficult situation."
Xu You stared at Li An suspiciously. What good was her reluctance? Even though she had already passed the imperial examinations, she knew nothing about business.
Could it be that Ang Lee has recently studied the ways of business and achieved great success?
Moreover, Xu You believed that he had a bad relationship with Li An, and he was even more confused about her reasons.
When Ang Lee saw that she didn't believe him, he wasn't in a hurry and still firmly believed that she was simple-minded and easily fooled.
So, he shook his head and said with feigned regret, "I know someone who is quick-witted, thoughtful, knowledgeable, and extremely skilled in business. It seems you are not fortunate enough to get to know her." After saying that, he pretended to be disappointed in Xu You and was about to leave the private room.
As soon as she stepped out of the private room, sure enough—
Xu You hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed her, pressing himself against her warmly, "Sister Li, please wait. It's all my fault for being ungrateful. Please don't hold it against me and tell me about this matter properly."
Li An scoffed lightly. The more enthusiastic Xu You became, the more he looked down on her. But because of Zhang Ting's matter, he was happy to just go along with her.
After Xu You had bowed and made a show of being humble, Li An then instructed her: "That person is a close friend of mine and Sister Zou. You must not be tactless and offend him, causing us to be implicated!"
Seeing that not only Li An valued that person, but Zou Yueru also cherished her, Xu You took her even more seriously, truly believing her to be some reclusive master. He quickly promised to treat her well and even if his plan failed, he would still give her a generous gift.
Seeing this, Ang Lee finally nodded in satisfaction, told her some details of that day, and praised Zhang Ting's foresight that day, but didn't mention the main part at all.
Xu You seemed to have been fed a mouthful of candy, only to be forced to spit it out after tasting it, and hurriedly urged Li An, "Explain in more detail."
Ang Lee kept her in suspense, saying, "You'll hear what she has to say then."
Xu You had been back in her hometown for a long time, and her aunt was already urging her to return. She could only stay for a few more days at most, and she couldn't help but feel anxious. She tugged at Li An and said, "Then please introduce me to her immediately, Sister Li!"
She was in a hurry, but Li An was not. He slowly sat down, picked up her tea and drank it. "I still need to ask Sister Zhang carefully whether she is willing to see you."
"Then Sister Li must put in a good word for me."
Ang Lee smiled smugly: "That's for sure."
A note from the author:
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