Chapter 28 - 1#

Settling Down - He Hates His Majesty, He Hates Him to Death#

The house the middleman took Yanzhi to see was in a small alley on the south side of Shiyan Town.

The alley was named “Tianshui Alley” (Sweet Water Alley). As soon as Yanzhi stepped over the threshold, a sweet and fragrant scent wafted toward him.

“Wow—” Yanzhi sniffed.

He looked around and finally locked his gaze on the water well in the yard. He jogged forward, squatted by the well, peered inside, and sniffed seriously.

Tanggao followed behind him, also running up and, mimicking him, stood on its hind legs with its front paws on the edge of the well, wagging its tail vigorously.

“So fragrant!”

“Ao-wu—”

“Sister-in-law Yang, I know! The reason this alley is called ‘Sweet Water Alley’ is because the water here is sweet, right? The water in this well is also sweet, right? Can I have a sip?”

The middleman, Sister-in-law Yang, was silent for a moment. Looking at his joyful expression, she really couldn’t bear to tell him the truth.

“Young Master, that’s the neighbors steaming brown sugar cakes.”

“Oh…”

Yanzhi choked, lowering his head even further in embarrassment.

This well is so round, the water inside is so clear, and the little dog by the well is about to climb in…

“Ah!”

Yanzhi turned pale with fright. Regaining his senses, he hurriedly pulled back Tanggao, who had almost fallen into the well.

“No running around!” Yanzhi gave its bottom two forceful swats. “I can’t swim. If you fall in, I won’t be able to save you!”

Tanggao, unaware of what had happened, looked at him pitifully and let out a couple of “ao-ao” cries.

It was only mimicking its master.

Sister-in-law Yang picked up a wooden board from by the wall: “Come, come, let’s cover it with this.”

“Okay.” Yanzhi hurriedly put down Tanggao and stepped forward to help.

Under Sister-in-law Yang’s direction, he placed the board over the mouth of the well and then lifted a piece of bluestone to weigh it down.

“Mm, that’s about right.” Sister-in-law Yang stood with her hands on her hips, nodding with satisfaction. “The previous owner left this. If you move in, either keep the dog tied up or cover the well as soon as you’ve drawn water, understand?”

“Yes, I understand.”

With the well sealed, Yanzhi followed Sister-in-law Yang to see the rest of the place.

Unable to see the other version of itself in the well anymore, Tanggao wagged its tail and circled the well anxiously a couple of times. Then, seeing Yanzhi was gone, it chased after him and circled around his feet.

The house wasn’t large, but it was more than enough for one person.

Upon entering the gate was a small courtyard paved with stone bricks, so it wouldn’t get dirty and muddy even when it rained.

A small patch of ground was left unpaved and enclosed by a fence for growing vegetables. It hadn’t been tended to for some time, so it was overgrown with weeds, but they could just be pulled out.

There were three rooms in total, built around the courtyard.

Directly across from the courtyard was the main room for receiving guests.

The side room on the right was the kitchen, with a brick stove.

The side room on the left was the bedroom. Though small, it caught the morning sunlight, making it very comfortable.

The owner had already moved to the city and taken her belongings, leaving only a few items too heavy to move, like the large water vat in the yard.

Now the entire house was empty. If Yanzhi was willing and a price was agreed upon, Sister-in-law Yang could inform the previous owner in the city, and he could move in immediately.

Sister-in-law Yang patted her chest and said: “I am the only middleman in Shiyan Town, registered with the government. I won’t ruin my own reputation.”

“Don’t worry about tables, chairs, or benches either. I’ll take you to the carpenter later; he’ll make whatever you need.”

“I guarantee the Young Master will move in before the New Year, living comfortably and peacefully for a good year.”

Yanzhi was very tempted and almost agreed immediately, but as he opened his mouth, he suddenly remembered something and stopped himself.

He puffed out his chest and said seriously: “I… I still want to see other houses and compare!”

“Fine—” Sister-in-law Yang drawled with a smile. “Since there’s nothing else to do before the end of the year, I’ll accompany you. You’re quite sharp for your age.”

Of course!

Yanzhi was secretly pleased, and like Tanggao, his tail was almost up in the sky.

Of course he was smart!

So, Sister-in-law Yang took him all over the town, looking at every vacant house.

Most of the people in town were locals who had lived there for generations and wouldn’t move easily, so there weren’t many houses for sale. They finished the tour in one day.

After looking at everything, Yanzhi still preferred the first one. After several careful inspections to ensure there were no major problems, he decided to take it.

Actually, the method for inspecting houses was something he had learned from His Majesty.

It rained a lot in the south, so the house’s foundation should be higher to avoid flooding.

The south was damp, so the house should be at least one step higher than the courtyard to avoid dampness.

The south…

In the past, when His Majesty led his troops to fight in the south, he had his soldiers set up camp like this.

This was one of the few useful things His Majesty had taught him while he was by his side.

Yanzhi shook his head to cast aside thoughts of His Majesty and continued his inspection.

Three days later, the tofu lady returned from the city.

Arranged by Sister-in-law Yang, Yanzhi met her and sat down to negotiate the price.

Finally, Yanzhi bought the small house for thirty-seven taels of silver.

Additionally, he had to pay Sister-in-law Yang three taels as a fee for her hard work taking him around these past few days.

Yanzhi had been worried that going to the village head to process the documents would expose his whereabouts.

But Sister-in-law Yang waved her hand and directly arranged a new identity for him—

The tofu lady’s distant younger brother!

Government regulations stated that taxes must be paid on house sales, but if transferred to a relative, the tax was lower.

Shiyan Town was a small place; the village head knew Sister-in-law Yang and likely helped her often, so he agreed readily.

Thus, on the official documents, Yanzhi took the tofu lady’s surname and was called “Pei Zhi.”

He pressed his thumbprint on the documents and tucked away the property deeds.

Next, Yanzhi had to have furniture made, buy bedding, and purchase pots and pans.

Seeing his money box suddenly half-empty, Yanzhi felt a bit uncertain.

He made up his mind that once he settled in, he must find some work to refill his money box.

*

After this series of tasks was completed.

In the blink of an eye, it was the twelfth lunar month.

There was no bed in the bedroom yet, and in the middle of winter, he couldn’t sleep on the floor.

Yanzhi stayed at an inn at night and during the day took Tanggao to the house to tidy up, washing the floors, sweeping away cobwebs, and pasting new paper on the windows.

The elderly carpenter making his furniture, knowing his situation, intentionally sped up his work and finished a bed for him first.

On the day the bed was finished, Yanzhi checked out of the inn and moved in with his bags and packages.

He tied Peanut Cake in the yard while Tanggao ran around.

Yanzhi brought out the only item in the house, a broken-legged desk, and carefully placed his mother’s tablet on it. Finally, he set out the brown sugar cakes he had bought on the street and bowed respectfully three times.

Although the furniture wasn’t finished yet, his family… had many living things!

It didn’t look empty at all!

Yanzhi was particularly satisfied!

While it was still early, Yanzhi put on a smock for work and rolled up his sleeves, preparing to pull weeds from the vegetable patch in the yard.

Although it was winter and nothing could be planted, if those weeds weren’t pulled now, the roots would grow deeper and be even harder to pull in the spring.

Yanzhi found them unpleasant to look at.

He crouched in the soil, humming a song freely, pulling the weeds out by the roots and tossing them aside.

Tanggao circled around him, playing for a while. Seeing Yanzhi ignored it, it mimicked him, scratching at the soil with its paws and tearing at the weeds with its teeth.

After working like this for a while, the sky darkened and the wind picked up.

Yanzhi stood up and went to the water vat to scoop water and wash his hands.

Since his pots and pans weren’t complete and he didn’t have much firewood, he didn’t cook dinner. He sat before his mother’s tablet and ate the brown sugar cake offering as his dinner.

Mother had already eaten; he was eating her leftovers, so she wouldn’t mind!

Delicious!

Tanggao ate snacks with him, and Peanut Cake ate some hay.

After confirming the door was locked, Yanzhi briefly wiped his body and tucked himself into bed.

Tanggao had rolled in the mud that afternoon. Although it had been washed clean, Yanzhi still didn’t let it on the bed, instead building a nest of straw for it by the couch.

It was growing larger and larger; once it had suddenly jumped on the bed and almost flattened Yanzhi.

He had to set rules for it now!

When it grew even larger, he would move it to the yard to sleep with Peanut Cake.

Yanzhi reached a hand out from the covers and stroked Tanggao’s furry head.

Tanggao buried its face in the straw and let out two purrs.

“You want to sleep?” Yanzhi smiled with eyes curved. “Then sleep.”

He withdrew his hand and pulled the covers over his head, burrowing inside.

“We have a home. Sleeping at home, I’ll surely sleep very well… I have a home again…”

The cold wind howled outside, swirling dry branches and fallen leaves that brushed against the window paper with a rustling sound.

As he was about to drift off, Yanzhi was still smiling foolishly: “My home… my home with Mother… so good… cough, cough…”

*

The next morning.

The warm winter sunlight shone through the window paper onto the couch.

Yanzhi woke up dazed, rubbing his eyes and wanting to roll over to avoid the light, but suddenly found his body incredibly heavy and aching, unable to move at all.

What happened?

Did a thief break in last night and beat him up?

Or had he turned into Tanggao and rolled around on the floor?

Yanzhi’s body was sore, and his head was muddled.

After an unknown amount of time, he thought of the correct answer—

Could it be a cold?

Yesterday while pulling weeds, he thought there were only a few left, so he hadn’t returned to the room even when the wind picked up, staying outside for a while.

Now look, another cold.

Thinking this, Yanzhi shrank further into the covers.

It was okay; he’d had colds before. If he wrapped himself up tightly and broke a sweat, he’d be fine.

Tanggao had been awake for some time. It climbed out of its nest and, seeing his condition wasn’t right, let out a couple of “ao-ao” cries at him.

Yanzhi reached out with effort and stroked its head, saying weakly: “Don’t cry out; you’ll disturb the neighbors. I’m fine; I’ll be okay after a nap.”

“Wu-wu—”

Tanggao lay down obediently.

Yanzhi closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep again.

—So sore, so painful.

Just like when His Majesty used to bully him.

His Majesty would pin him to the bed, using his lips and tongue, mouth and teeth, leaving red marks all over his body.

In a daze, Yanzhi felt as if he were back in the Taiji Hall.

The quilts and clothes tightly wrapped around him felt like the tall, forceful Emperor during their sexual encounters.