“General Feng is, no matter what, a proper fifth-rank general. Even if he cherishes talent, he wouldn’t go so far as to make a joke of his only young gentleman.”
The Feng family had one principal wife and two concubines, yet only two children. One was born to Feng Wanhe’s first wife—that is, although Feng Ruo Jing and Feng Xiao Hu were brothers, they were not born of the same mother.
Feng Wanhe’s first wife had died young from illness, leaving behind only a young gentleman. With the Feng family line needing an heir, he later remarried his current principal wife.
The principal wife was a capable woman. In the second year after their marriage, she gave birth to Feng Xiao Hu. Now Feng Xiao Hu was nearly four years old, yet he was the only legitimate son in the household. Neither of Feng Wanhe’s two concubines had borne children.
With so few children in the family, no matter how rough and martial Feng Wanhe was, he treated his children exceptionally well.
How could he possibly be so muddle-headed as to let his own young gentleman do such a thing?
“That makes sense,” Qin Xiaoman said. “Then does that mean the two of them had already been in contact before?”
But after hearing Du Heng’s words, Qin Xiaoman felt it still didn’t quite add up.
“They’ve only met a few times at most. The only real face-to-face encounter was when the Feng family first arrived in the county. That day, outside the Feng residence, everyone was busy unloading luggage. When Feng Ruo Jing got down from the carriage, the horse jolted—it was Yi Yan who grabbed the reins.”
“Could he really have fallen for him just from that one time?”
Du Heng replied, “Why not? There are plenty of sheltered young ladies who read a few stray books and end up admiring the author behind the brush. Let alone this—meeting face to face, with someone stepping in to help. That’s more than enough for a noble young gentleman who rarely goes out to take a liking.”
At this point, he cast a slow glance at Qin Xiaoman. “And who was it, exactly, that couldn’t keep their hands to themselves after three days?”
Qin Xiaoman waved him off. “No need to bring up past glories. I had no choice back then—I had to seize the opportunity. Young Master Feng, on the other hand, surely has plenty of options.”
“So you’re saying you only chose me because you had no other options?”
Qin Xiaoman grinned broadly. “How could that be? We’re talking about serious matters here. Serious matters.”
“If Young Master Feng really has taken a liking to Yi Yan, then what do we do?”
Du Heng felt brushed off and drooped a little, clearly displeased, but he still said, “If that’s true, both of them are bound to be unlucky.”
Yi Yan was like a wooden post deep in the mountains, one that had never known human presence. Even now, having gained a bit of worldly exposure after coming to the county, at heart he was still a wooden post.
If Feng Ruo Jing took a liking to him, would he even be able to stir Yi Yan’s heart?
Most likely, even if Feng Ruo Jing handed him a token-of-love handkerchief, Yi Yan would only think it was a square of decent fabric—and wiping his feet with it wouldn’t be surprising at all.
And if Yi Yan were to take a liking to Feng Ruo Jing instead, with their backgrounds so vastly different, if he dared to overstep his bounds, Feng Wanhe would probably storm into the county yamen wielding a real Guan Yu broadsword to arrest him.
Du Heng let out a sigh. Such trouble. Truly such trouble.
……
The evening breeze brushed against their faces, carrying a faint scent of roasted chestnuts. Winters in Qiuyang County were mild, and the smell of roasted chestnuts made it feel even warmer.
“Brother, I want roasted chestnuts!”
Inside the carriage, Feng Xiao Hu had a keen nose. Hearing him, Feng Ruo Jing, whose gaze had been drifting toward the carriage curtain, snapped back to himself.
He was about to say that once they returned home it would be time for supper, and if Feng Xiao Hu snacked on the road he’d surely have no appetite later.
But before the words left his mouth, his eyes swept over the man walking beside the carriage with long strides, his expression indifferent.
“All right,” Feng Ruo Jing said. “But you’re not allowed to eat too much.”
He leaned slightly out of the carriage window. “Your name is Yi Yan, right?”
“Mm.”
Hearing the reply, Feng Ruo Jing’s brows lifted slightly. “You should be more familiar with the county. Could you go buy some roasted chestnuts that taste good?”
Yi Yan didn’t answer, but his steps clearly quickened. Before long, he had moved ahead of the carriage.
Seeing this, Feng Ruo Jing called for the carriage to stop.
In no time at all, a bag of hot, freshly roasted chestnuts was delivered into his hands. Feng Xiao Hu happily grabbed it and hugged it tight.
But Feng Ruo Jing’s gaze remained on the taciturn man outside. After delivering the chestnuts, Yi Yan said nothing, his face as cold and solemn as ever, continuing to walk beside the carriage.
He didn’t even spare Feng Ruo Jing a glance, let alone speak a single word to him.
Feng Ruo Jing remembered something his mother had once told him when she was still alive: truly good men in this world were not always the ones who treated you exceptionally well from the very start. If a man was warm and attentive to you, either he had an ulterior motive, or it was simply his nature—he treated you well, just as he treated everyone else well.
Those who wore cold expressions and were difficult to approach were more like chestnuts. As long as you endured the hardness and cracked open the shell, you would reach the soft, sweet flesh inside. And once such a man set his heart on someone, he would set it on only that one person.
Feng Ruo Jing felt that Yi Yan was exactly this kind of man.
He pressed his lips together lightly. “Does Qiuyang County… get snow?”
“Obviously.”
Hearing those four words, Feng Ruo Jing thought for a moment that he must have imagined them. His eyes froze as he stared at Yi Yan.
After confirming that it was indeed his own reply, he clenched his teeth and said, “I have only just arrived in Qiuyang County and am unfamiliar with the local weather.”
Yi Yan lifted his gaze and glanced toward the person seated calmly inside the carriage.
Feng Ruo Jing, caught off guard by the sudden look, felt his ears turn red. Just as he was expecting Yi Yan to say something, he instead heard, “We’ve arrived. This humble one will take his leave.”
With that, Yi Yan gave a slight bow, turned around, and left.
He did not know whether it was merely his imagination, but Feng Ruo Jing thought Yi Yan’s steps on the way back seemed noticeably lighter than when he had come.
Feng Ruo Jing ground his teeth in irritation and snatched the freshly peeled chestnuts from Feng Xiao Hu’s hand, stuffing them straight into his mouth.
“Hey! Brother, how can you do that!”
By the time they returned to the inner residence, it was already late. Yi Yan went to the kitchen to collect his own portion of dinner, as he always did, and carried it to the gatehouse to eat.
Holding his food box, he had barely stepped inside when he saw two people waiting there, both wearing exceedingly kindly smiles.
“What is it?” Yi Yan asked.
“Did you safely escort Young Master Feng back?”
Yi Yan nodded.
“Go on, eat. Eat.”
At the sound of this, Yi Yan sat down at the table, opened the food box, and picked up his chopsticks, ready to begin. But when he looked up and saw that the two of them had yet to leave, he set the chopsticks down again.
“If Master and Madam have something to say, you may speak.”
Seeing this, Du Heng sat down across the table together with Qin Xiao Man.
“Yi Yan,” Du Heng began, “I was thinking today that you’re no longer young. When I was your age, I was already close to getting married.”
Since both of them had sat down, Yi Yan felt he truly was hungry, so he resumed eating while listening to Du Heng speak.
By this point, he more or less knew what Du Heng was going to say next, but he did not interrupt, only giving a brief grunt of acknowledgment.
“When I first came to Qiuyang County to take up my post, you followed me without hesitation. Both Xiao Man and I remember that loyalty clearly. As the saying goes, if others think of you, you must also think for others. Now that you’re getting older, I can’t help but consider these matters on your behalf.”
Yi Yan looked up at the two of them. “Is Master planning to arrange a marriage for this humble one?”
Qin Xiao Man hurriedly said, “Arrange what, arrange? Your Lord Du here is the most democratic of men. He just wants to hear what kind of person you like.”
“This humble one has never thought about it.”
“Don’t be shy,” Qin Xiao Man said. “By now I’ve become acquainted with quite a few families here in Qiuyang County. Just tell us what you’re thinking, and we can surely find someone suitable for you.”
Yi Yan looked at the two of them, who were unusually enthusiastic today, and paused for a moment.
“This humble one wishes to join the army. These matters can be discussed later.”
They had originally come only to test the waters with Yi Yan. This young man turned out to be straightforward, holding nothing back even with those close to him.
Hearing this, both Du Heng and Qin Xiao Man were taken aback, and they could not help exchanging a glance.
“You want to go to General Feng’s garrison?” Du Heng asked.
Yi Yan neither confirmed nor denied it. Seeing his reaction, Qin Xiao Man immediately put on an expression of complete understanding, as though to say I knew it all along.
Qin Xiao Man turned to look at Du Heng, waiting for him to speak.
Du Heng fell silent for a moment before saying, “A man should strive to better himself. You are still young. Going out to see more of the world and gain experience is not a bad thing. However, you must think carefully about why you were unwilling to go in the first place, and whether the reason that has changed your mind now is strong enough to support you all the way forward. I’ll say the same thing as always—you must think it through yourself.”
“Yes,” Yi Yan replied. “This humble one remembers Master’s instruction.”
“Eat your meal properly. Xiao Man and I will head back first.”
After leaving the gatehouse, Qin Xiao Man planted her hands on her hips and spoke impatiently.
“What did I say? And you still didn’t believe me, analyzing everything so confidently! Take a good look—your Yi Yan, who’s usually so honest and obedient and only listens to you, hasn’t he already gone completely bewitched?”
Du Heng was amused by Qin Xiao Man’s remarks. “People say a grown daughter can’t be kept at home forever. Men are no different.”
“I just didn’t expect Yi Yan to really have those intentions,” Qin Xiao Man said. “With that personality of his, barely willing to say a word more than necessary, I thought he’d live like that for his entire life.”
Du Heng shook his head. “Matters of the heart have never been something one can explain clearly.”
“So you’ve agreed, then?”
“What use is my agreeing? In the end, it still depends on the person himself.”
Du Heng sighed helplessly. Not to mention the rigid barriers of family status now—even in the era he once lived in, such things had never changed much.
Whether things would succeed or fail in the future would depend on Yi Yan himself. After all, he was an adult, with his own thoughts and considerations. Others could only offer advice.
Still, Du Heng supported him in his heart. “So long as a feeling urges someone to improve themselves and make positive changes, then even if the obstacles ahead—the ravines and torrents to cross—are far greater than usual, I believe it is still something good, something not wrong.”
Regardless of whether the outcome would ultimately satisfy everyone.
Qin Xiao Man took a deep breath. “So he really did come from a great household—who would’ve thought he could make an iron tree bloom.”
Du Heng’s brow twitched slightly. Some people appeared cold on the surface, but who knew what they harbored inside.
After some time passed, Yi Yan truly did go to the garrison to report for duty. This delighted Feng Wan He immensely. He even went to Du Heng to boast about it at length.
“I said it before—no one doesn’t think about a bright future.”
“After being a household servant for so many days, he finally figured out that joining the army is far more glorious.”
“In the end, it’s all thanks to this general’s heroic bearing, inspiring these young men to admiration and changing their minds.”
“…”
Du Heng could not help thinking that there really were people this thick-skinned—or perhaps all military men were simply this straightforward.
Even so, he smiled and said a few good words on Yi Yan’s behalf. When he heard Feng Wan He promise to cultivate Yi Yan properly, his smile grew all the more radiant.
He was simply waiting to see the talented person Feng Wan He personally trained turn around and abduct his own son. He hoped that when the time came, Feng Wan He would still be able to look pleased with himself.
At the end of November, the assistant magistrate of the penal office submitted the results of the interrogation of the bandits for Du Heng’s review and final decision.
“The bandits captured this time a total of sixty-eight. Among them are forty-two adult men and twenty-six women and children. After investigation, the vast majority are natives of Qiuyang County, with only a very small number coming from outside.”
Du Heng listened to the report while flipping through the case records.
This time, the bandit suppression operation had uprooted the main stronghold of the Qiuyang County bandits. Though a few scattered remnants were still at large, they would no longer be able to amount to anything significant. With the garrison troops now stationed nearby, they would hardly dare to come out and cause trouble again.
All the property seized from the mountain stronghold was first used to make up for the court’s losses in public grain, with the remainder entered into the county’s public accounts. In fact, it did not consume much of the funds allocated for the bandit suppression.
What was difficult now was how to deal with the captured bandits. According to imperial law, those who took to banditry and disrupted the people’s stability could, depending on the severity of their crimes, be sentenced to death, or, if lighter, exiled to the frontier.
However, after reviewing the interrogation results, Du Heng found that the formation of this bandit group traced back to the great drought of years past. The countryside had seen almost no harvest at all, and farming households truly could not survive. Some chose to leave their homes and beg in other counties, while others took up banditry as a means of living.
As the years passed, poverty deepened and county administration grew corrupt. More and more common people, unable to bear the heavy burden of exploitation, joined the mountain bandits. What had once been a group of barely a dozen gradually expanded to its present size.
Some of the bandits had even married and had children, with the intent of passing this life down through generations.
The rampant rise of banditry, after all, was also a consequence of troubled times.
By the letter of imperial law, most of these people would be sentenced to death, with the remainder largely exiled to the frontier.
The law was rigid, but people were living beings. Whether to punish severely or show leniency ultimately lay in the hands of the local officials.
“This batch of bandits is nearly half the population of a lower-tier village under the county,” Du Heng said. “If they are punished harshly, the county’s population will only shrink further.”
The penal office clerk replied, “What Your Excellency says is entirely true. Still, they are troublemakers after all. If there isn’t a proper punishment, it will be difficult to explain things both to those above and those below.”
Du Heng acknowledged this with a brief sound.
“Handle the bandit leaders strictly according to the law, as a warning to others. Those whose offenses are severe should be reduced to slave status. The remaining men will all be conscripted for county labor—just in time, since we lack manpower for waterworks construction. If they work diligently and reform themselves, they may be released back to their native places after five years. As for the women and children, place them at the county’s public estates to work.”
Seeing that the punishments were balanced—heavy and light where appropriate—providing explanations upward and downward alike, and also adding labor for county projects, the penal clerk felt that, selfishly speaking, this was far better than sending them off to the frontier to guard other lands. After all, these were people raised by the soil and water of Qiuyang County.
“This humble one will go confer with the various offices and carry out the arrangements at once.”
Thus, waterworks construction gained another batch of free laborers, further accelerating the pace of progress.
Du Heng had added usable manpower to the works office, and taking advantage of the moment, the works clerk brought several documents to see him.
“What is it—are you dissatisfied with using this group of people?” Du Heng asked.
The clerk smiled. “How could this humble one be dissatisfied with the free labor Your Excellency has sent to assist with waterworks construction? These people are strong and capable; they work quickly.”
“Then what is the matter?”
The clerk said, “At present, we have more than enough labor. The inspection and repairs of the Minyin River and the surveying of canal routes are nearing completion. However, the timber and stone materials held by the county offices are insufficient for waterworks construction. The revenue office conducted an accounting two days ago and estimates that additional building materials will need to be purchased.”
Du Heng had anticipated this issue back when he planned the waterworks. Not only did the county accounts have little silver that could be directly used, but stored materials were also scarce. The previous group of officials had practically wanted to sell off the county offices themselves just to turn everything into silver for their own pockets—a clear example of those above failing to set a proper example.
“Are there alternative places to purchase materials?” Du Heng asked.
“If we’re spending money, and the county government is paying, there are plenty of places to buy from,” the clerk replied.
He opened the ledger he had brought. “Many local gentry, landlords, and squires in the county own quarries and private mountains. The Wei family, the Huang family, the Yuan family… they’re all listed here.”
Du Heng flipped through the dazzling array of entries detailing each family’s forests, lands, and other holdings, and said leisurely, “They certainly have plenty of assets. They must be quite wealthy.”
The clerk smiled awkwardly. After all, these families had been rooted in Qiuyang County for generations.
In small counties like this, the poorer things became over time, the more severe land consolidation grew, and the stronger and more domineering the local gentry clans became.
As Du Heng looked through the selected families, he saw that beyond descriptions of their properties, there were also detailed records of family members’ official titles and scholarly achievements—anything that could be shown off. He intended to study them carefully.
“You may go back to your duties first,” Du Heng said. “I will consider this carefully and give you an answer later.”
That afternoon, after handling a case, Du Heng brought the compiled information on the county gentry back to the inner residence, planning to work overtime on it later.
Even on warmer winter days, darkness fell earlier than usual. After dinner, Du Heng reviewed Cheng Yi’s schoolwork for the day in the study, then guided the fidgety little Dan Ce through writing two characters.
“Why does big brother’s name have so few strokes and is so easy to write, while Dan Ce’s name has so many strokes and is so hard!” Dan Ce complained.
Du Heng looked at Dan Ce gripping the brush, his lips puckered enough to hang a teapot from, and flicked his nose. “Write properly. You talk too much.”
Cheng Yi stood at Du Heng’s side. In the past two years of studying, he had grown quickly, and now, standing there, he was already slightly taller than Du Heng’s ear when Du Heng was seated.
He obediently ground ink for Du Heng and Dan Ce, performing the dullest of tasks with remarkable patience.
When Qin Xiao Man came in carrying a cup of light ginger soup to ward off the cold, he saw Du Heng with a child on each side. The three of them shared more than a little resemblance in their brows and eyes.
Finding it amusing, Qin Xiao Man set the ginger soup on the table and asked, “Finished writing yet?”
“No matter how difficult the characters are, Dan Ce can write them,” Dan Ce declared.
Qin Xiao Man leaned in to look. On the white paper were the three characters Qin Dan Ce. Though the strokes were unsteady due to the child’s young age, they were neat and proper.
After finishing his own name, the little one who had just complained about difficulty did not stop his brush. Off to the side, he added a few strokes and wrote the two characters Cheng Yi.
Seeing this, Qin Xiao Man’s expression brightened as he looked at Du Heng. “Dan Ce has quite a good memory—he learned it after only being taught a few times.”
Du Heng was also a little surprised. He had only held Dan Ce’s hand to teach him how to write his own name. The little one disliked writing, so his older brother had written his own name off to the side. Just from watching, Dan Ce had managed to learn it.
“He’s just like his little father,” Du Heng said. “Quick-minded, but unwilling to put in the effort where it counts.”
Qin Xiao Man shot Du Heng a look and said, “Hurry up and drink the soup. Once you’re warmed up, it’s time to go to bed.”
Dan Ce set down his brush and pushed the paper with his writing toward Du Heng. “Daddy, did I write it well?”
“You did great.” Du Heng looked at his clingy son, pulled him close, and kissed him on the cheek. “If you can write this well every day, Daddy will really be at ease.”
“Then Dan Ce will write this well every day!”
Du Heng raised an eyebrow at him. “Why are you being so sweet-tongued today? What trouble are you plotting now? Let me tell you, your Uncle Yi has already gone off to swing a real Guan Gong saber for someone else. Daddy won’t be swinging any big saber for you.”
Dan Ce said seriously, “Big brother said Uncle Yi is an adult. Adults have adult things to do. Dan Ce won’t pester Uncle Yi.”
Then he rubbed back and forth against Du Heng’s arm. “But big brother isn’t an adult. Dan Ce wants to sleep with big brother tonight.”
Du Heng pressed his lips together. He knew it—this kid would never be obedient for no reason.
Qin Xiao Man said, “Cheng Yi doesn’t have to study tomorrow. Let the two of them go back to their room and play a bit longer. It’s fine.”
“Little Daddy is the best!”
Dan Ce cheered happily, quickly grabbing Cheng Yi’s hand and dragging him off to drink the warm soup. As they went, he said to Cheng Yi, “Big brother, I’ll play with the big saber for you later. I’m way better than Hu Zi. When he comes over tomorrow, don’t watch him play.”
Du Heng watched the two children—one sitting properly, the other kneeling on the stool—drinking the warm soup together.
Cheng Yi usually didn’t eat much, but he liked food. He couldn’t even finish half a bowl of soup. Dan Ce, on the other hand, drank his own bowl clean and then helped finish Cheng Yi’s leftovers as well.
Du Heng smiled and shook his head.
After the two children returned to their room, Du Heng finally took out the files he had brought back from the yamen.
Qin Xiao Man sat cross-legged beside him, reading through the contents together with him.
“The county government is going to purchase materials for waterworks construction,” Qin Xiao Man said. “Whoever gets chosen won’t just land a big order—it’s more important that they’ll establish ties with the county office.”
“Then just don’t have any dealings with them,” Qin Xiao Man added.
“I can avoid dealings myself,” Du Heng said, “but in the end these matters are handled by subordinates. You can’t stop them from having contact.”
Qin Xiao Man understood as well. Local great households naturally wanted to build personal ties with the county government—it made many things easier to handle.
Being selected this time to sell construction materials was, to them, a very desirable assignment.
“If you can’t stop it, then pick a decent family,” Qin Xiao Man said.
He flipped through the files and immediately spotted the Wei family listed at the top. His brows furrowed. “The Wei family won’t do. Wei Bai was already disrespectful toward the county office before, and the last time we visited, that Scholar Wei was squeezing the tenant farmers.”
“I know,” Du Heng said. “Jiang Qi mentioned that the Wei family is an old-established gentry household in the county. Wide connections, lots of property—a real local powerhouse.”
If they had been decent people, Du Heng might have considered maintaining limited dealings. Unfortunately, even without digging deeply, it was already clear they were not good actors. There was no way he would help them grow even more arrogant.
“So the Wei family is out first. The rest will need further investigation.”
The two of them studied the files together for more than half an hour without reaching a final decision, but they did gain a clearer picture of the local power structure.
At present, the waterworks project was proceeding steadily. With the year’s end approaching, Du Heng didn’t intend to be stingy with the county staff. He planned to give all the officials some year-end rewards. After all, over the past half year, the people in the county office had been working quite diligently.
In past years, things usually became idle after the autumn harvest. This year, however, both the county and the villages were busy with waterworks construction all through winter. One task followed another without pause—it truly wasn’t easy.
When the military office escorted the reformed bandit women and children to the public estates, Du Heng and Qin Xiao Man took the opportunity to go along to inspect the estates in the countryside. They selected poultry, pigs, sheep, and other livestock in advance, planning to distribute them before the county office closed for the New Year holidays.
At the same time, they could also check on the progress of water channel and waterwheel construction in the various villages.
After making arrangements at the public estate, Du Heng and Qin Xiao Man strolled around together.
Enthusiasm for building irrigation channels in the countryside was extremely high. Everyone was eager for the coming spring and summer, hoping their rice seedlings could be irrigated by waterwheels. After Du Heng convened a meeting with the village heads, all twelve townships rushed to measure land and form cooperative groups. In less than ten days, some villages had already come to submit their survey registers. Once the works office verified them as accurate, the revenue office quickly released the funds.
By now, all twelve townships had successively gone to the county office to receive their subsidies, throwing themselves energetically into waterwheel construction.
The countryside was lively, much like during spring plowing season.
Holding the village maps drawn up by the works office, Du Heng and Qin Xiao Man checked whether the placement of waterwheels was appropriate, treating it as a spot inspection.
In areas close to rivers and irrigation channels, the constructed devices were drum wheels. As long as the embankment was reinforced to block part of the water flow below, the wheel’s rotation could lift water into bamboo tubes, channeling it into troughs that flowed directly into the paddies. This directly saved manpower during spring and summer, eliminating the need to carry water by hand.
For higher fields farther from rivers and channels, a different kind of waterwheel was built. These required oxen or human power to tread and turn the wheel, drawing water into the fields. It was said that one person operating such a waterwheel could irrigate five mu of land in a day. Using oxen was even more efficient, allowing irrigation of even more fields.
Most craftsmen were familiar with the construction of both drum wheels and tread wheels. There were also many written records from the water-rich Jiangnan region. Once introduced, they could be put to use directly. Du Heng felt much more at ease with this than if he had to handle everything personally.
“Slow down, slow down.”
“Be careful—don’t damage the canal route planned by the county.”
Hearing the voice in the distance lecturing workers like an old father, Qin Xiao Man looked up. He pointed at the map and said to Du Heng, “This spot isn’t marked in red on the map. Why is someone building a waterwheel here too?”
Du Heng checked the map and verified it.
Just as he was about to make a note, a works office attendant hurried over. “My lord, this isn’t one of the waterwheel sites planned by the county. This land belongs to Landlord Huang. Hearing that the county is developing waterworks to aid irrigation for farming, Landlord Huang has funded the construction of waterwheels on his tenant farmers’ land at his own expense. They’ll connect it to the county’s planned canals afterward.”
“Is this really inappropriate, my lord?”
Du Heng waved his hand, letting the attendant retreat and busy himself elsewhere. He and Qin Xiao Man quietly observed the tenant farmers working with their landlord to build the waterwheel.