Pawnshop
"You brat, kneel down right now!" Old Master Tang kicked Tang Feng in the backside. Before Tang Feng could even process what was happening, his body obeyed, and he immediately knelt down before Old Master Tang. "Kneeling backwards! Face that way! Why are you facing me!" As soon as Tang Feng was kneeling properly, the messenger dismounted and respectfully read the imperial edict.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Tang Feng, son of the Grand Historian Tang Zhaonan, is a man of both talent and virtue, virtuous and gentle, and exceptionally talented. For his meritorious service in controlling the floods in Daze, I hereby appoint him as a fifth-rank official in the Office of the Director of the Imperial Stables, and bestow upon him eighteen mu of fertile land, fifty taels of gold, one hundred taels of silver, one hundred bolts of currency, twelve pieces of jewelry, and twelve bolts of silk and satin. This is my decree."
"Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty." Tang Feng accepted the imperial edict, inwardly chuckling, "This Prince Duan is quite swift; he barely arrived in Xiling before bestowing this official position upon me." Tang Feng smiled at the eunuch who was respectfully reading the edict, "Thank you for your trouble, sir. Would you like to come in for a cup of tea before you leave?"
"No, no," the young eunuch shook his head. "I see that Master Tang just returned to the manor today, so it's not convenient for me to disturb you. You and Grand Historian Tang can have a good chat. I'll be leaving now."
"Hehe! Take care." After dismissing the little eunuch, Tang Feng opened the imperial edict again and read it carefully. What title had he been given? He was probably still recovering from the kick his grandfather had given him earlier. "What kind of thing is a 'Sicheng'?"
"The position of Sicheng is a fifth-rank official, which is good in a way. After all, he's a big shot in the pawnshop, and it's not so good either. It's too leisurely, and he might not be needed for more than ten years." Old Master Tang stroked his beard. He was quite satisfied with Tang Feng's official position. Although it was a sinecure, it was stable! He only had one son. As the saying goes, serving the emperor is like serving a tiger. Rather than arguing in the court, it was better to have a sinecure and live a carefree life!
Tang Feng thought so too. This was just a minor official position, practically meaningless. The place could function without him. Qin Jiujiu stepped forward and said, "Xiao Feng, this is a good position. Godfather, you don't need to worry anymore. I've cooked some noodles, let's go eat!"
Grandpa Tang agreed and turned to walk into the house. Tang Feng followed behind, holding Qin Jiujiu's hand and saying, "Sister Jiu, I really missed you!"
"You're so sweet-talking," Qin Jiujiu tapped Tang Feng's head. "Aren't you going to explain? What's going on with Zhou Ziliang?"
"You knew all that?" Tang Feng scratched his head sheepishly. "I... him and I, this was an arranged marriage, wasn't it? We met at the academy... um, I don't think he's a bad person, so..."
"Didn't you say he was bad before? His crying, tantrums, and threats of suicide made the whole mansion a mess!" Qin Jiujiu rolled her eyes. She didn't have a good impression of Zhou Ziliang. She had never met him in person or spent any time with him, but she had heard many rumors. The servants in the mansion gossiped that Tang Feng was unworthy of Zhou Ziliang. This only made Qin Jiujiu more annoyed. She wanted to see who this Zhou Ziliang was. In Qin Jiujiu's eyes, Tang Feng was not only her savior from dire straits but also her younger brother whom she had doted on since childhood. How could she tolerate anyone saying a bad word about him!
Seeing that Qin Jiujiu wasn't very happy, Tang Feng took her arm and said, "Sister Jiujiu, he's really a good person, he's good to me... and good to me too. Another day, no! Tomorrow, I'll bring him to meet Father and to meet you."
Even though Qin Jiujiu was unhappy, she had to give Tang Feng face. "Fine! But I'm making this clear from the start: if he's not a good person, not even Father, not even anyone else, I won't agree to this marriage."
"Sister, it's not even a hint yet! There's no marriage to be discussed!" Tang Feng blushed, feeling a little shy. "Oh, can we not talk about this? I just got back, and you didn't even ask how I've been these past few years?"
"Do I even need to ask? Your face is practically beaming with joy!" Qin Jiujiu walked into the small kitchen and shooed Tang Feng out. "Alright, alright, stop following me. It's not like we'll never see each other again. Go wait for me at the stone table outside. I'll get you a bowl of noodles and I'll be right out." Qin Jiujiu had heard early in the morning that Tang Feng was coming back, so she hurriedly kneaded some dough and made some sauce. "Here, have a taste. I was a little rushed today, timing it perfectly, afraid the noodles would get soggy or cold." Tang Feng took the bowl of noodles and ate a few mouthfuls. "Sister, you really have to make this sauce. You can't get noodles this good at the academy. By the way, where's Liu Liu?"
"Oh! That's exactly what I was thinking! I don't think that kid is cut out for studying. He barely managed to finish the Four Books and Five Classics, so I stopped sending him to the private school to avoid him driving that old teacher crazy. That's why I had Liu Yiwan find him a job as a copyist at a pawnshop, so he won't be bored all day long."
Tang Feng smiled and said, "How could the second young master of the Tang family work as a clerk in a pawnshop? When I have some free time, I'll find him a good job."
"Yes, yes, yes, it's because you spoil him so much. No wonder that kid keeps calling out 'Brother Tang, Brother Tang' all day long," Qin Jiujiu said with a hint of reproach. "Go and rest after you finish eating! You must be tired from your journey, so I won't bother you any longer."
Tang Feng was indeed exhausted. He fell asleep before nightfall, lying in bed thinking about his experiences at Lishan Academy over the past three years. The struggle between Prince Duan and Prince Cheng seemed to be escalating. Now that Prince Duan had assigned him to the pawnshop, it was likely that, as Li Yunrui had said, "If you walk by the river long enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet." He would have to figure out how to keep his distance from these people; he didn't want to get involved. Tang Feng drifted off to sleep. He saw the vermilion palace walls and quiet corridors again. Following the path, he entered a palace and heard voices. He went closer to hear what was going on. Inside, he heard a man and a woman, and the names Da Ruan and Pu Yuan. Just then, a dagger slashed open the window and lunged at him. Tang Feng stumbled back, lost his balance, and fell heavily backward. He opened his eyes abruptly. It was... another dream... Just as Tang Feng was about to sit up, he heard Liu Yiwan outside wailing, "Young Master, wake up! Don't sleep, don't sleep! Master told me to wake you up!"
Tang Feng clenched his fist and shouted outside, "Liu Yiwan, are you trying to wake me up? Did nature send you a dream last night, making you responsible for waking me up first thing in the morning? Get out of here, don't bother me!"
"Young Master, please get up!" Liu Yiwan pushed open the door, pushed his head inside, and a pillow hit him squarely in the face. "Get out! I'm getting up."
"Young Master, I must help you change!" Liu Yiwan took the pillow off the bed and placed it on the bed. "You should dress nicely today. Young Master Zhou is waiting in the hall! He's been waiting for you."
"Zhou Ziliang is here?" Tang Feng jumped out of bed upon hearing this. "Hurry up! Why didn't you tell me?"
Liu Yiwan took out a light green undershirt from the closet. "Young Master, please wear this!" Tang Feng waved his hand impatiently. "What's there to choose? Anything is fine! Can you hurry up?"
"Young Master, are you in such a hurry to see the young marquis?" Liu Yiwan undid his clothes and helped Tang Feng put them on, not forgetting to tease him. Actually, Tang Feng wasn't in a hurry to see Zhou Ziliang; they had just seen each other yesterday! It wasn't like they hadn't seen each other for a year. The main thing was that he was afraid his father would talk to Zhou Ziliang about the marriage. Tang Feng knew he had to trust Zhou Ziliang, after all, he had promised him in Fenghe City, but he still felt inexplicably afraid.
"Father!" Tang Feng quickly washed up and rushed into the hall. He saw Old Master Tang sitting at the head of the table, Zhou Ziliang sitting to one side, and Qin Jiujiu standing there looking unhappy. Qin Liuliu, looking somewhat excited, stood at the door. "Brother, brother, sister-in-law is here! I feel like my sister is going to make things difficult for her. You have to help her!"
Tang Feng pinched Qin Liuliu's cheek. "Do you need to tell me that?!" Tang Feng then went inside, lifted his robes, and knelt down. "Good morning, Father."
"Good morning? It'll be lunchtime soon if we're any later," Old Master Tang slammed his teacup on the table. "Ziliang has been waiting here for almost an hour."
"Uncle Tang, Xiao Feng was tired from his journey yesterday, so it's normal that he woke up late. Please don't punish him."
"Young Master Zhou seems to care about my Xiao Feng," Qin Jiujiu said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at Zhou Ziliang.
"Of course, Xiaofeng is my betrothed, so naturally I would cherish her."
"Feeling sorry for him?" Qin Jiujiu walked up to Zhou Ziliang, leaned down to look at him, and said, "When my brother was begging His Majesty for a marriage decree in the palace, why didn't you feel sorry for him? When he was criticized by outsiders and talked about like a joke in Xiling, why didn't you feel sorry for him? When he was unable to resist the marriage in his mansion and almost hanged himself from the roof beam, why didn't you feel sorry for him?"
"I..." Zhou Ziliang was speechless after Qin Jiujiu's words, each one piercing his heart.
Tang Feng, sensing the tense atmosphere, stepped forward and tugged at Qin Jiujiu's sleeve. "Sister, he's been very good to me, don't..."
"Get off me! I'm doing this for your own good!" Qin Jiujiu shook off Tang Feng's hand. The memory of Tang Feng hanging from the rafters still lingered in her mind, and her anger only intensified.
"Jiu'er! How can you be so disrespectful? What kind of behavior is this? Get out of here at once!"
"Godfather!"
"Get out!" Old Master Tang was genuinely angry. What a mess this was all about so early in the morning! His future son-in-law was coming to visit, which should have been a happy occasion, but not only was his son late, but his usually obedient and sensible daughter was also being sarcastic and unreasonable today. Although his daughter was impulsive, every word she said was indeed reasonable.
"Father... how about... I go and visit Uncle Zhou today!" Tang Feng called out to Old Master Tang. "I haven't visited them since I came back, which makes me seem a bit impolite. I..."
"Go ahead, go ahead!" Tang Feng's gesture broke the deadlock, and Tang Zhaonan waved his hand in agreement.
Tang Feng grabbed Zhou Ziliang and pulled him outside as if fleeing. "You're usually quite talkative, what's wrong with you today? Why are you so dense?" Tang Feng complained as they walked. Once outside, he didn't forget to grab Qin Liuliu and give her some instructions: "Your sister is in a bad mood today, don't upset her. Go to the street and buy some white sugar and red bean cakes for her. Tell her it's from Ziliang and apologize to her."
"And you," Tang Feng rolled his eyes at Zhou Ziliang, "Sister Jiu has the best temper, how could you possibly anger her? Besides, don't you know how to coax her when you've angered her!"
"This... I can't coax her," Zhou Ziliang shook his head. "What she said makes sense, every word is true. What happened before was indeed my fault, and it's understandable that my sister is angry."
Tang Feng pursed his lips. "You're quite particular. Let's go to your house first! I'm going to the pawn shop tomorrow, so I probably won't have time to visit Uncle Zhou and Aunt Zhou. I'll go to Liufuji to buy some pastries for them to take back and try."
The Marquis's mansion wasn't far from the Tang residence. After buying their food from Liufuji, the two strolled leisurely towards the mansion. Just as they entered, the old steward came out to greet them. Seeing Tang Feng and Zhou Ziliang return together, the old steward was overjoyed. "Young Master, Young Master, you're back! I'll inform Master and Madam right away." Tang Feng followed behind Zhou Ziliang. This wasn't his first time there, but Tang Feng still couldn't help but remark, "Zhou Ziliang, your family is truly wealthy."
"What's there to envy?" Zhou Ziliang smiled. "After we get married, you'll be moving in."
"Young master, young master, the master and mistress are waiting in the lobby!"
Zhou Ziliang nodded. "Uncle Jia, you can go down now. I'll take Xiaofeng inside."
It wasn't Zhou Ziliang who entered first. Tang Feng intended to take two steps back to make room for the old butler, but he lost his balance and pushed the door open. Once Tang Feng regained his footing, he saw Zhou Wuhai and his wife sitting in the hall, looking at him. "Uncle Zhou... Aunt Zhou, hehe..."
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