Chapter 24

During the meal, they continued discussing the debt issue. Zhao Peilan, speaking intermittently, revealed more details.

At first, they couldn’t withstand the pressure and gave away some land.

Later, they refused to give more, but the land remained there, and every harvest season, villagers would come and snatch the grain, often clashing with the tenant farmers.

They had considered reporting it to the authorities, but whenever they tried, a crowd of people would kneel and beg for mercy, softening their hearts. The first attempt failed, then the second, and after that, the villagers realized they had nothing to fear.

Lu Yang: “…”

No wonder people called them “meat buns”—soft, fragrant, and completely defenseless. Even passing dogs would take a bite, let alone humans.

When asked about their remaining assets, Zhao Peilan sighed even louder.

“It’s not that I’m hiding anything from you—we really have nothing left. His father was just a scholar. After passing the exams, a wealthy landowner offered some goodwill money, and he received over a hundred taels of silver. Later, he acted as a guarantor for someone and took on a private tutoring job. Over the years, he saved some money. With it, he followed the landowner’s advice and bought a small shop. The rest he invested in farmland.

“In total, we had thirty-two acres. Some were given away earlier, and the rest… I’ve sold it all.”

The shop had failed long ago.

Outsiders assumed their family lived off rental income, referring to the farmland and shop.

The silver from selling the land after the autumn harvest had been used for the betrothal and wedding expenses.

Zhao Peilan was considering selling the shop to tide them over.

Lu Yang disagreed.

None of them knew how to farm. Keeping the shop meant they could start a business and generate income in the future.

Besides, they no longer had farmland to work on anyway.

As she ate her bun, Zhao Peilan tentatively suggested, “How about we move to the county? Liu-ge is skilled—our family could sell buns together.”

Lu Yang had considered this even before getting married.

“It’s doable, but we need to settle things in the village first. Otherwise, every time they go to the market, they’ll stir up trouble again. If it happens too often, even the best craftsmanship won’t keep customers.”

He thought carefully before adding, “This has to be resolved. Xie Yan still needs to take the imperial exam and aim for the top scholar rank. If his reputation is ruined in the village, it’s one thing. But if the gossip spreads to the county, then to the provincial capital and eventually the imperial city, people will say he’s a debtor who doesn’t pay what he owes. Who will associate with him then? His path will be completely blocked.”

Xie Yan, who had never planned on becoming a top scholar: “…”

Lu Yang turned to look at Xie Yan’s solemn face and continued, “Scholars value integrity and reputation. We need to clear up these messy accusations.”

Xie Yan hesitantly muttered, “I won’t make it to top scholar anyway.”

Lu Yang casually responded, “Got it, future top scholar.”

Xie Yan: “…”

He wanted to argue, but he didn’t dare.

Lu Yang then inquired about the wedding procession.

Xie Yan explained, “I have a good friend from my studies whose family is in business. He arranged it for me.”

Lu Yang raised an eyebrow. “Such a capable friend, but he didn’t send a few people to back you up?”

Favors like these could only help temporarily, not permanently.

When traveling outside the village, Xie Yan valued his reputation. He hadn’t invited anyone to the wedding banquet, only promising to bring his spouse along to treat them to a meal when he visited the county next.

Lu Yang made a mental note of it.

He then asked where Xie Yan was currently studying.

At the mention of this, Zhao Peilan started crying.

It turned out that after the incident with Fourth Uncle causing a scene at the county school, Xie Yan had been unable to continue studying there and had to switch to a private academy.

However, private academies charged expensive tuition. This year, they couldn’t afford it, so Xie Yan had been studying at home. After selling the land in autumn, Zhao Peilan felt this situation couldn’t continue, so she arranged his marriage.

She had her own reasons—she knew that bringing in someone strong-willed was the only way to suppress the troublemakers.

But she also feared bringing in a tiger, which would leave her and her son with no way to survive. When Xie Yan repeatedly insisted that the Lu family’s young master was weak, she had stubbornly gone ahead with the match.

Who would have thought that even a rabbit, when cornered, would bite back? The soft and gentle young master she had seen during the match turned out to be so fierce after entering the household.

Xie Yan handed his mother a handkerchief and seized the opportunity to express his wishes: “I don’t want to study anymore.”

Lu Yang assumed Xie Yan was reluctant to spend money and reassured him, “Don’t worry about it. Just focus on your studies—I’ll figure out the tuition.”

Most private academies resumed classes after the New Year, on the sixteenth of the first month.

Lu Yang carefully assessed the Xie family’s situation and mapped out what needed to be done.

Saving money was a priority. His first goal was to gather enough silver for tuition, books, and writing materials.

Next was preparing for winter. It was already the cold season, and they barely had any firewood, let alone meat, eggs, or vegetables. How could they survive like this?

Then there was the New Year. He couldn’t return to his family empty-handed. He needed to prepare a proper gift for his two fathers.

Most importantly, when he returned home, his fathers would be worried sick after hearing that he had “married into a wolf’s den.” The biggest advantage of this marriage had been the supposedly good financial standing of the Xie family.

When he visited, he had to present a generous return gift to ease their worries and prevent them from feeling guilty or regretful.

And, above all, there was the matter of the village’s disorder, which directly affected Xie Yan’s reputation. That had to be handled properly.

Based on the timeline, he needed to first prepare the return gift, then stock up on winter necessities, and finally prepare New Year’s presents.

Once those were settled, life would stabilize, and he could start saving for tuition.

Looking at the sky, Lu Yang turned to Xie Yan and said, “Let’s go to the county. I’ll check on that shop of yours and meet your good friend. We also need to buy some essentials—flour, for example. We can start making and selling buns to get by.”

The Xie family didn’t own livestock—no ox carts or donkey carts.

Even the horse had been borrowed from Xie Yan’s friend for the wedding procession and had already been returned.

Lu Yang planned to meet this friend and assess his character. Maybe he could borrow a donkey or something.

If this friend had been generous enough to lend a horse, surely, he had a donkey to spare.

Zhao Peilan, seeing how hurriedly Lu Yang was about to leave, hesitated. “Isn’t it too late to go now?”

Lu Yang shook his head. “Not at all. Mother, don’t be afraid if you’re home alone. There’s food in the kitchen for lunch. Before I leave, I’ll make a round through the village—no one will dare bother you after that.”

Zhao Peilan: “…?”

“How exactly are you going to ‘make a round’?”

Lu Yang smirked. “I’ll go around borrowing carts. They’ll ask where I’m going, and I’ll tell them I’m heading to the county to report them to the authorities. I’ve never been humiliated like this before! Those scoundrels—just because I married a scholar, they think they can harass me? If I don’t have them flogged, I might as well not be called Lu!”

Zhao Peilan shared his anger but pointed out, “They’re not afraid of being reported anymore.”

Xie Yan, on the other hand, immediately started drafting a complaint letter.

He was truly furious this time!

Lu Yang told Zhao Peilan not to worry and hurried after Xie Yan, who was already grinding ink, preparing to write. Seeing him so serious about it made Lu Yang’s heart warm.

“Look at you, all worked up. Were you actually planning to submit that?”

Xie Yan looked up, confused. “Aren’t we reporting them? If not, doesn’t that mean you’re no longer a Lu?”

Lu Yang found him adorably foolish.

“That was just for show. Besides, what does it matter if I’m not a Lu? I can take your surname instead.”

He grabbed a stack of paper from the desk, filled with Xie Yan’s past writings.

“This is enough to scare them.”

As Zhao Peilan cleaned up after breakfast, the two of them set off early, hoping to return before dark.

Before they left, Zhao Peilan handed Lu Yang a coin pouch containing just over a tael of loose silver. Lu Yang accepted it without hesitation.

He was certainly bold—dragging his little scholar husband along, he retraced his morning path, going door to door in the village, asking to borrow a cart while loudly declaring he was going to the county to file an official complaint.

The villagers who had disrupted the wedding panicked.

“Why are you reporting us?” they protested. “You owe us land and silver! We were just collecting our debts! Even if you report us, the magistrate won’t care!”

Lu Yang sneered. “That’s a separate matter. Yesterday was my wedding day—you all know exactly what you did. If I have to lose my dignity, let’s see if you can handle a flogging!”

Seeing no one willing to lend a cart, he simply grabbed Xie Yan and started walking.

When a few villagers tried to block their path, he waved the stack of papers in his hand. “I don’t mind adding a few more names to this complaint.”

The troublemakers panicked, torn between stopping him and backing off.

They refused to lend him a cart but still followed from a distance, nervously trying to talk him out of it.