Chapter 71

The Song Xingren family suddenly fell into chaos, and Gao shi stopped scolding, screaming, "Hurry, go and fetch the physician!"

The family members all had different expressions on their faces, none of them willing to go out. But seeing Song Xingren's face turning red with anger, Song Zhishen could only grab a straw hat to cover his face which was full of wounds, and hurried out.

"The anger attacks the heart, excessive phlegm causes confusion, and twitching of the limbs... The old man has had a stroke," the physician diagnosed after a round of examination, prescribing medicine and handed it to Gao shi, "At this age, he cannot get angry, smoke less, as smoking too much can produce excess phlegm and easily block the heart and lungs."

Gao shi nodded in agreement, but hesitated when it came to paying the doctor's fee, starting to pretend to be poor, "physician, you know our family is poor, we really can't afford the fee. But my fourth uncle is now an official and has returned, you can go to them for the fee."

The physician: ???

"What do you mean by that, old lady? You called me to come and examine, so naturally, you should pay the fee, even if you were to ask for it, it should be you, not me. Why ask me?"

Gao shi covered her face and pretended to cry, "You know, we've been clashing with the evil spirits, encountering trouble every time we go out. We just can't go out. If you don't go, you'll lose the money for the treatment."

The physician was annoyed by her manipulation and glanced at the lowered heads around. "You all, you are really bullying people too much! Don't expect me to come and examine you in the future!"

After saying that, he angrily walked away carrying his medical box.

Leaving the Song Xingren's house, feeling unhappy, he turned and went to Song Xingyi's house.

The servant brought back by Song Dingxiang did not enter the house to serve but was squatting next to the carriage chatting with a few guards. When he saw a physician rushing towards him, he stood up and asked, "Who are you? What do you want?"

The physician bowed politely, "Young man, I just finished examining the third son of the Song family. They didn't even give me the fee, just said to come and ask you... um..."

The servant was amused, almost laughing, "What? Ask us? That's really interesting. Wait here, let me go ask."

He went in and came out within a tea time, gathered a few guards, and said to the physician, "Don't worry, I'll go get the fee for you."

With a sneer, he led the way with his men.

"Where are Song Zhishen and Song Zhiyang?" The servant pushed open the door of Song Xingren's house and swaggered in with his men.

Zhu shi poked her head out and exclaimed, "What are you trying to do?!"

In a loud voice Mò Yún said, "Someone went to the county princess to complain, accusing Sòng Zhìshēn and Sòng Zhìyáng of being unfilial to their parents. Their elderly father became sick and they didn't even provide money for medical treatment. We were specially sent to seek justice for the two elderly people and bring these two unfilial sons to the yamen for trial!"

Gāo shì listened inside the house, her eyes almost bulging out, and she exclaimed loudly, "What nonsense, my sons are filial. We didn't refuse to provide money for medical treatment, we simply don't have the money, so we asked the doctor to ask the county princess for it."

Mò Yún continued, "The county princess said that if the elderly couple had no children or grandchildren, she would support them without any complaints. But now, the two elderly people not only have sons but also grandchildren, yet they are begging others for money for medical treatment, which is unfilial. Since they are unfilial, they naturally need to be brought to trial! Go, bring out those two unfilial sons!"

The guards rushed in like wolves, and there was a cacophony inside the house. Sòng Zhìshēn never imagined that he would be betrayed by his own mother, and he cried out, "Mother, please give the money for medical treatment."

Gāo shì clutched her purse tightly, panting anxiously at the window.

It was only when both sons were dragged out of the courtyard that she shouted and ran out, "I'll give, it's just money for medical treatment, I'll give it, I'll give it!! Fourth Sòng, have you lost your conscience? You have become wealthy now, and yet you turned a blind eye to your brother's plight. You heartless person..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Mò Yún slapped her.

"Shut up! Do you know you're insulting the one personally appointed by the emperor? It's only because my master is kind-hearted, otherwise someone else would have cut out your tongue!"

Gāo shì covered her face, looking at the imposing guards, and ultimately did not curse again. She reluctantly took out the purse, counted out more than twenty copper coins, and handed them to Mò Yún.

Mò Yún took the coins, sneered, "You are really interesting, this old lady of yours. Your husband is sick, your son doesn't want to pay, and your grandson is also not willing, yet you desperately look for others to pay for the medical treatment. Are your son and grandson just decorations?"

With that, he gestured for his men to take the two brothers and left.

Gāo shì was really angry and furious, she clenched the purse and walked home step by step, full of resentment.

The old man was sick, and both sons were unwilling to pay, claiming they had no money. The grains they took back were all sold early, but the money from selling the grains was tightly held by her, not willing to spend a single coin.

Gāo shì was infuriated, she said she would have the yamen arrest them. Who knew that these two sons had completely turned into scapegoats.

"If you want no one to support you in old age, then go ahead and arrest us all." Sòng Zhìshēn spread out his hands. "What do I fear? My wife is suffering in the ancestral hall, my daughter has died, my son has gone to his in-laws' house. I solely rely on this little bit of money and grains to support myself in old age. If it's for you, what will I eat and drink?"

Sòng Zhìyáng remained silent, as did Zhū shì, but from their demeanor, it was clear that they would not spend a single penny.

Gāo shì's face darkened. She had originally planned to send her son to get medicine, but now who would dare to give the money for medicine to those two sons?

She was afraid that they wouldn't even return with the medicine. She had to swallow her pride and go to Sòng Xìnghào's house, where she begged and pleaded until sending a young servant to the town to help fetch the medicine.

"Stroke?" Sòng Dingxiang asked.

Mò Yún replied, "The doctor said that the old master appeared to have phlegm obstructing his mind and his internal heat was too high. After drinking a few doses of cooling medicine, he should recover."

Lǐ shì said, "Your Third Granduncle has a strong body, it's just that the son born to his wife isn't easy to deal with. Dingxiang, should we go visit him?"

Sòng Dingxiang said, "Visit why? Don't get entangled with them again. Zhenzhu, go to the Lǐ Shèng's house, get a chicken, pick a basket of eggs, and pack a basket of the seasonal fruits to send over."

Zhenzhu exclaimed and went out to find someone.

"Where were we just now? Oh right, we should start the business of selling spicy cabbage. We have all these things gathered, when the frost descends in two days, it will be perfect for collecting cabbage. We'll have Lǐ Shèng transport them for us, and we can operate over there."

"Why not here, with such a big courtyard being left vacant…" Zhāngshì looked at the large courtyard and felt it was a waste.

"Stay here and get skinned alive?" Sòng Dingxiang laughed. "No one should stay here, I see that Third Grandaunt's memory isn't great, going back and forth like this is enough to make people uncomfortable."

In plain words, she remembered what was eaten but not the lashings, as long as she could get her hands on some money, she would probably be willing to endure a beating.

Sòng Zǐjǐn said, "I really can't understand why Third Grandaunt holds onto money so tightly? She won't even give a few coins for medical treatment, what is she planning to do?"

Lǐ shì said, "To get ahead, to take advantage of as seniors. Those from the Sòng family with official positions, who wouldn't want to gain an advantage? Now the line set clear boundaries, but what you can't see… it's hard to say. In my opinion, this official position given by the emperor is a disaster, it always leaves my heart unsettled."

Sòng Dingxiang laughed, "Grandmother, where are you going with that? The emperor means well with this. In my opinion, we should make it known, whoever dares to use our name to deceive others, we'll capture them without a second thought."

"Yes, capture them directly!" Sòng Xìngyì also understood that he was too kind before and let his brother's family members bully them.

Why not pick on the eldest and second eldest families?

Why not dare to bully the sixth, but only focus on their own family for money?

It was simply because he valued brotherly affection too much, especially his third brother.

After dinner, Sòng Zǐjǐn stubbornly refused to go back and insisted on staying with Zhāng shì for the night. Lǐ Yúnshēng had no choice but to tag along for the night, unwilling to leave his wife alone.

Although Sòng Dingxiang had mentioned that she only wanted to catch up with relatives today, aside from Sòng Xīngrén's family causing trouble, none of the uncles from the eldest and second eldest families had come.

The next day, the village head came and said he wanted to build an archway for Sòng Xìngyì and his family in the village.

Sòng Xìngyì was taken aback and asked, "Build an archway for what? What's the point of having an archway for no reason?"

The village head explained, "Our village has produced a county official, both of you, so we need to establish an archway, it's a significant event for our village. And you don't need to pay for it, I've discussed it with the elders, we'll use some village funds to build it."

"We appreciate your kindness, village head," Sòng Dingxiang quickly interrupted, "But we can't have an archway, there's no need to make a fuss. If you really want to build something, why not build a school? My parents and I have also discussed it, we plan to donate ten acres of land to the village for a field, and the produce from that field will be used exclusively for the children in our village to study."

The village head was astonished, "This, how can this be…"

Sòng Dingxiang said, "Education is important, we don't expect all the children to become scholars or officials, but we hope that through education, they can learn more words and understand more things."

"This, this is a great initiative!" The village head's face flushed with excitement, "But, but if we build a school, where will we find a teacher?"

"You don't have to worry about that," Sòng Dingxiang reassured him, "My younger uncle studied at the academy in town and knows many classmates, there should be someone willing to come here to teach. I've already selected a location for the school, it will be in the courtyard where we used to make soy sauce. We'll renovate the building nicely, and you don't have to worry about the funds, our family will take care of it."

In the past, several large buildings were constructed to make soy sauce, some had heated floors for fermenting beans and others were used for storing fermentation jars, all well-lit. Because they were afraid of beans molding, the buildings were made of good materials, even the floors were laid with large blue bricks bought specifically for the purpose.

The yard was flat and spacious enough for children to play during their free time.

"So… no more soy sauce?" The village head asked, his initial excitement fading. The soy sauce workshop also employed many people for work, and in their spare time, they could earn a decent income each month, which was quite good.

"We won't be making it here anymore, I want to establish a large workshop in the county, where we can work in the future. Village head, you know our situation, with a workshop here, no one can supervise, and if something goes wrong…" Sòng Dingxiang explained.

The village head immediately thought of the Sòng Third Family, nodding in understanding.

Sòng Dingxiang continued, "To be honest with you, even though we've been bestowed a title by the emperor, we ultimately come from our village. We all know each other well and understand each other's temperaments. But we're afraid that someone might develop the wrong intentions, using our village's reputation to deceive others and tarnish our village's name."

The village head quickly shook his head and said, "That won't happen."

Song Dingxiang said, "Of course, it's unlikely to happen, but it's important to prevent things before they occur. The village head also announced that if anyone really does such a thing, they will be directly sent to the county prison. We all hold official positions appointed by the Emperor himself, so we must not make any mistakes. Otherwise, it will be a collective crime. Village head, think about the Xu family..."

The village head remembered the former Xu family head who used to be arrogant and now looked at the current one, feeling a sudden shock.

"You can rest assured, County Princess, I will keep a close eye on them and make sure they don't cause any trouble. By the way... there is one more thing." The village head looked embarrassed, "The Xu family head has come to see me several times, saying they have done something wrong and want to make amends by offering some of the clever youngsters in their family to serve as servants or maids for you."

Song Dingxiang looked surprised, "How can this be allowed? Is it really necessary to sell their children in such a way?"

The village head chuckled, "I said the same thing, but the Xu family head is insistent on doing so. He was also present when you visited yesterday, but you mentioned not seeing any outsiders, so he had to leave."

Song Dingxiang smiled, "This is absolutely unacceptable. We are all villagers and should not degrade ourselves to the point of selling our own children for such purposes. My attendants were all gifted by the princess consort and are sufficient."

The village head hastily agreed, "You are right. Servants for the County Princess and the General must be carefully chosen. The people in our village may be good at farming, but when it comes to other things, they really can't compare."

Song Dingxiang just smiled and handed over a few land deeds from Li shi to the village head, "These are the deeds for the ten acres of land I mentioned, all adjoining each other and of good quality. What do you think?"

Trembling, the village head took the deeds, "Isn't this five acres of land part of your dowry, County Princess?"

Song Dingxiang replied, "Yes, I specifically selected the best ten acres of land. Now that the fields are harvested and freed up, they can be used by the village next year."

"This is... " Even though it was just five acres of land, it was part of Song Dingxiang's dowry, so it was surprising for the village head.

Song Dingxiang said, "Our village has few people but plenty of land. Building a school is a big deal, and we can't neglect it."

The village head carefully accepted the land deeds and solemnly said, "County Princess, rest assured, I will make sure to establish the school, so that all the children in the village can receive an education and understand things."

Education is important.

Song Xingyi didn't value educating young girls at first, believing that women without talent possess virtue. However, Song Zijin married into a wealthy family and became a capable housekeeper, while Song Dingxiang was even more remarkable, rising to great heights.

If one does not study, how can they catch the Emperor's eye?

It's absolutely necessary to study!

After sorting out the matter of the sacrificial land, they began discussing the banquet. Although the Song family received honor, their foundation was this village, which they must protect.

They couldn't afford to provide all the dishes and utensils for the banquet, so they needed to borrow clean and suitable items from several families.

"It's not just our village, neighboring villages can also join. I calculated that the items from my home, my fifth and sixth grandaunt's home, won't be enough. We also need the village head's help to arrange everything. Another thing is finding good chefs. This banquet will last three days, so we need to figure out what dishes to prepare, estimate the expenses, and calculate how much money we need. Village head, could you assist us with this?"

Excited about the responsibility given to him, the village head enthusiastically replied, "County Princess, don't worry, I will take care of this immediately and ensure that you have nothing to worry about."

As he got up to leave, Song Dingxiang stopped him with a smile.

"Hold on, I haven't finished speaking yet. Please wait a moment."

Embarrassed, the village head turned back and said, "I got too excited. Please forgive me, County Princess."

Song Dingxiang smiled, "Of course, no hard feelings. One more thing, my family wants to purchase more land, preferably adjacent and larger. Do you have any suitable options?"

The village head thought for a moment and said, "There is a suitable option. Just north of your family's fruit orchard, there are several hundred acres of land. It used to be cultivated by someone, but after some incidents, the land was abandoned. It's also adjacent to a water pit and the barren land near your family's lotus pond. The largest piece of land is over there, but it has been abandoned for many years, so cleaning it up would be quite a task. The rest is just scattered small plots. We only have one manor here, and there aren't many wealthy landowners coming to buy land in this area. It's mostly the villagers who open up the land, so there isn't much available."

This village is a mixed surname village, meaning that most of the residents were soldiers or refugees who gathered together from a few dozen people to a few hundred. There isn't much history or better quality land here.

Originally, some people left the village during a disaster, but later, refugees arrived and were given the scattered pieces of land to cultivate. This is why there aren't any large plots of land available.

Upon further investigation, it turns out that the several hundred acres of land were originally owned by a high-ranking official whose house is now a general's residence. Due to the sparse population in this area, even though it is registered with the government, there aren't many people to cultivate it, which led to its abandonment.

The village head returned with a map, showing that this piece of land is the largest in the area. It not only borders the water pit but also surrounds it, with one end next to the mountain and the other next to the river.

This is indeed a very prime piece of land.

Song Xingyi and her younger uncle, Song Zhixuan, both have unused tax exemption quotas. On the other hand, Song Dingxiang and Zhou Yinuo own fertile land bestowed by the Emperor, although not nearby but not too far from the county town.

Song Dingxiang, busy with her return from the capital, had someone check the harvest in the land, but the exact location was unclear.

This time, she helped Song Xingyi's family buy the land.

Song Xingyi and Song Zhixuan both became officials, and the Emperor bestowed them some silver. Especially Song Zhixuan, who received more silver.

With the help of their colleagues, they bought a small courtyard in the capital, leaving the rest for Song Xingyi to bring back.

Courtyards in the capital are expensive, and so is the land. Buying a mu of land there could purchase three to four mu back home.

It's more cost-effective to grow crops on land purchased at home. As for the Zhang shi, with two sons under her name, and with her earnings, each son can now buy several tens of mu of land.

In this day and age, land is essential for people's survival, and everything else is secondary. During times of great disasters, most of those who survive are farmers who own land.

Once the decision was made on which piece of land to buy, the village head ran to the county town to get the necessary approvals and came back with red seals. Without even catching his breath, he started organizing the feast.

Although a lavish feast may seem expensive for three days, it's actually not. Song Dingxiang had grains, vegetables, and pigs at home.

Purchasing hundreds of jin of fish and chickens would be enough. The village only had about four to five hundred people, which was already a fairly large village.

The neighboring villages with good relations combined had only six to seven hundred people.

With ten people seated at each table, large pots of cabbage, potatoes, pork, stewed tofu with fish, stewed chicken with green beans, and stewed eggplant were served.

Large mantou breads and noodles were plentiful, but leftovers were not packed up; when one group finished eating, others would take their place at the table, not minding that some dishes had been partially eaten.

The Fifth and Sixth Grandaunts from the village arrived, not as guests, but to help with the preparations. Gao shi also brought Zhu Shi along, shamelessly diving into the crowd and eating heartily.

They were unbothered by the comments and even filled large pottery bowls from their pockets to take home after finishing eating.

The eldest and second granduncles did not attend, but Song Dingxiang sent two tables worth of feast dishes to their homes. However, Song Xingren's family was not offered any, which clearly showed a strain in their relationship.

The behavior of Gao shi and Zhu Shi is both laughable and pitiful. It is unclear why they have chosen to alienate themselves from such a good relative.

Now, they are not welcomed by anyone and even denied any feast dishes. The mother and daughter-in-law come to eat every meal, take leftovers back with them, and then throw tantrums upon returning home.

Song Xingren lay crooked on the bed, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth, his hands trembling and curled up, seemingly unable to do anything in the future.

"Go ahead, eat, it won't kill you!" Gao shi glared fiercely at Song Xingren. "You're truly impossible to die, I was blind to marry you back then, didn't benefit at all, and now you've become a nuisance. No one wants to see me. What am I even living for? Go ahead, eat, your fourth brother's family hosted a feast, but they didn't send any dishes to our house. Hmph! What a disgrace! Sooner or later, it will end up like the Xus, the whole family will be finished!"

Song Xingren wailed and babbled with his mouth full of food, struggling to swallow. Tears welled up in his eyes, unsure if it was out of anger or regret.

Gao shi continued muttering nonsensical things, but she failed to notice the look of disgust in Song Xingren's eyes directed towards her.

——— TNote:

My translating works may not be the best, but luckily, there are kind souls who do not look down on me, always encouraging me, giving me the motivation to continue writing.

I only hope that if you do not enjoy reading my translation, could you quietly leave, instead of saying hurtful things?

One negative comment from you, and I will truly feel sad for a long, long time...