Lu Lin stopped mid-bite, awkwardly pointing to himself. “So… what about me?”
Lu Yang laughed. “You don’t count. What, I’m gonna come asking you for a plate?”
Lu Lin relaxed at that. He didn’t want to linger too long—there were still four small buns left in the bowl, and he wanted to take them home while they were still warm so his husband could try them.
“These buns—how’d you make them? I can’t get mine to taste like this. These are even better than the ones I buy outside.”
Lu Yang waved it off for now. “I’ll teach you another day.”
Getting the buns this good took practice. No one was stealing his business overnight.
And if he opened a shop, he’d need help. If Lu Lin was up for it, maybe they could team up in the future.
After sending Lu Lin off, Lu Yang called for Xie Yan to come check over the return visit gifts.
He’d bought two pounds of brown sugar the day before—one pound stayed at home, the other was for today.
The pork had been bought by Luo Dayong. They’d gotten a half side of pork—thirty-seven pounds in total. He’d used just over three pounds for the buns that morning. For the visit, he planned to cut off another three pounds to bring along.
Sugar, pork, a full basket, plus fifteen leftover meat buns—plenty for a respectable return gift.
Lu Yang worried his mother-in-law might overthink it. He wanted to take just two pounds of pork and leave the rest. But Zhao Peilan stopped him, holding his hand down.
“We’re bringing all of it.”
The Lu family’s delicate little brother had been pushed to the edge in their household. Always talking like he was ready to die—how could his father not feel heartbroken?
Lu Yang knew she meant well, so he didn’t argue.
“Thanks, Mom.”
They didn’t have a cart for now. The trip was over five miles, and they’d have to walk it.
Xie Yan had walked so much yesterday that his legs were still sore—he was wobbling like a newborn deer.
Lu Yang went to borrow a cart and had no trouble at all. People practically wanted to lend him one. Even their tone was overly polite.
“Scholar Xie really treats his husband well. That return gift is generous—we don’t even give gifts that nice at New Year!”
“No kidding! Scholar Xie married himself a real catch. Their household’s bound to thrive from now on!”
…
Lu Yang gave them a stiff smile, all politeness, no warmth.
Luo Dayong’s visit had done the trick—these folks would behave for a while.
Now he could let them stew a bit, keep up the cold, angry front.
Once the return visit was over, he could start showing up around the village again.
And if he waited till after the visit, there was an advantage—it would look like both dads had talked him into moving forward peacefully, choosing harmony over resentment. But truthfully, he still hadn’t swallowed the insult.
He could flip the script anytime he wanted—and for now, that gave him a seat at the table.
On the road, Lu Yang was teaching Xie Yan: “I’ve thought this through. It’s not hard to handle. The key is having a voice—you need a chance to speak, and for them to actually listen. Once there’s real communication, they can’t hold a united front.”
“They’re just leaning on the fact that they’ve got numbers. So… make them turn on each other.”
Xie Yan listened carefully, but he was out of his depth.
“Like… sow discord?”
Lu Yang nodded and praised him. “Exactly. Smart thinking. But the real trick is how to do it. Who do you stir up? Who do you drive a wedge between? That’s the part that matters.”
Xie Yan really was a scholar. He frowned in thought for a bit, then said, “Like the ‘Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors’ story?”
Lu Yang hesitated. Then decided not to pretend.
Pretending he didn’t understand would only mean a long-winded explanation—eight hundred years later and people would still be debating it.
He agreed with the strategy, but now they had to figure out how to make it work in real life.
This wasn’t theory on paper—this was real life, real knives in real hands.
“A tongue can hold a life beneath it—this is no game.”
Xie Yan thought for a long while, rubbing his red, puffy eyes. “What if I pick someone obvious as the scapegoat, then publicly repay them? Just one family—what about the rest?”
Lu Yang praised him. “You catch on quick. No wonder they call you the top scholar. But that plan’s too soft—go harder.”
Thinking harder wasn’t Xie Yan’s strong suit.
So Lu Yang asked, “What did your fourth uncle do? And how did your other relatives and the villagers behave?”
Xie Yan understood immediately.
Getting something for nothing.
Use their own tricks against them.
He wouldn’t have to give up a single coin or plot of land—just use his words.
If he said he repaid someone, then he did. If others disagreed, they’d just look greedy.
Because that one family was greedy, he had “no money” left to repay the rest.
Let them fight among themselves. Once the unity crumbled, he could pick them off one by one.
As for how to do that, who to ally with, and who to take down—that was the “social homework” Lu Yang left for Xie Yan.
“Stop just memorizing books,” Lu Yang said. “We study so we can live better—not to be pushed around.”
He added, “I know it’s hard for you to explain things face-to-face. So don’t put yourself in crowds. Find the setting that works for you. Pick your moment—and take them down one at a time.”
Xie Yan took it to heart.
The look in his eyes burned bright.
His starry eyes practically turned into twin suns.
Lu Yang unconsciously straightened up, clearly proud of himself.
Li Village.
At the crack of dawn, Li Feng brought Lu Liu back to the new village.
Li Feng had been changing his attitude by the day. He trusted his own judgment and could see Lu Liu’s sincerity. He didn’t even wait for the formal return visit—he started preparing the return gifts with the mindset of “we’re going to build a good life.”
He packed up ten pounds of freshly made rice cakes.
He still had two rabbits left from his last hunting trip up the mountain. Back then, he’d said he was too busy with the wedding to go hunting again and purposely saved two rabbits—for the return visit, to save money and look good.
But today, the rabbits were a no-go.
One of the females was pregnant—not something you give away.
That left the one male rabbit. But his mother, Chen Guizhi, wouldn’t let him take it.
Chen Guizhi shot Lu Liu a quick glance, then pulled Li Feng into the kitchen to talk.
“Are you out of your mind? Twenty taels for the bride price, three banquet tables, and it’s only been a few days? Now you’re sending the Chen family more stuff? Do you know how much ten pounds of rice cake is? And you still want to give away a rabbit? Why don’t you just choke your father-in-law to death with it?”
Li Feng just felt that bringing no meat made things look cheap.
Chen Guizhi sneered. “And you think the Chen family was generous with their end of things?”
She made him cut the rice cakes down by half. “Even five pounds feels like too much!”
Li Feng compromised—if he wasn’t taking the rabbit, he’d keep the full ten pounds of rice cake.
“It’s a big basket. If I only pack in a little rice cake, it’s gonna look weird.”
Chen Guizhi fired back, “And those two giant wooden chests? Full of junk. That looked fine to you?”
She was talking about Lu Liu’s dowry.
Li Feng added casually, “Oh right—his winter coat’s too thin. It gets cold down in the valley. I’m thinking of buying him a new one.”
Chen Guizhi nearly exploded.
She paced around the kitchen, fuming, then spun around to face him. “So now you’re just like your second brother? Got yourself a spouse and forgot about your mother? Turning your back on your own family?”
She had chosen Lu Yang specifically to make sure the eldest son’s husband could keep the younger daughter-in-law in line.
But now, her second son, Li Tian, was totally out of her control. He barely contributed money these days, keeping all the field earnings for his little household.
That couldn’t go on. They hadn’t even split the family yet. The third son hadn’t even gotten engaged. What were they planning?
If they were serious about building a good life, fine—after all, they married a man, not a woman. Chen Guizhi could live with that.
But Li Tian’s wife ran back to her family all the time. Thick-skinned and shameless—yelling didn’t work. Hitting was out of the question—Li Tian protected her fiercely.
She once hit Li Tian twice, and his wife stirred up drama right after.
Things were already a mess at home, and she hadn’t had time to manage the old village or take care of Li Feng’s meals.
She never expected that marrying off Li Feng would turn into a trap. And this little pretty-faced husband even had the nerve to wrap her eldest son around his finger.
Chen Guizhi, as tough as they come, couldn’t help the pang of pain at the thought that both her sons were no longer on her side.
Li Feng didn’t want to argue. He said gently, “I’m not like second brother. No matter what, I’d never side with the Chen family. Look, we haven’t made a big deal out of any of this. Lu Yang hasn’t even kicked up a fuss—he’s been really well-behaved lately…”
Chen Guizhi snapped her head around. “Well-behaved? Lu Yang???”
Li Feng: “…”
Okay… it wasn’t the most convincing thing to say.
But honestly—he really had been well-behaved these past few days.
