"Ah hahaha, hahaha!"
Liang Qu leaned against the door in a half-crouch, laughing so hard he could barely straighten up. Liang Guangtian's sheer shamelessness had completely tickled him.
Liang Guangtian's face flushed crimson. "Wh-what are you laughing at?"
"S-sorry, it's just too funny." Liang Qu caught his breath and stood upright, though the smile remained plastered across his face.
Liang Guangtian grew irritated. Feeling like an entertainer made to dance for someone's amusement, he said in an unfriendly tone, "Can it be done or not? Just give me an answer!"
Liang Qu scratched his cheek and agreed without hesitation. "Of course it can."
"Really?!"
Liang Guangtian was overjoyed, while secretly thinking his nephew was remarkably dense—taken in by a few words and led around by the nose.
"Of course it's real. Seven taels of silver without room and board; ten taels includes lodging; twenty taels includes lodging and medicinal broths; fifty taels includes room, board, medicinal broths, and medicinal baths. If he wants better meals, that's extra. The term is only three months. Naturally, the instruction is identical; how much he learns is entirely up to him."
Pausing briefly, Liang Qu added, "I'll have a senior martial brother teach everything that needs teaching. The martial hall keeps its doors wide open and welcomes everyone. Why wouldn't it be allowed? You may not act like a decent human being, but I won't hold that against Liuzi. If he wants to go, by all means, let him go."
"You—you!"
Liang Guangtian's eyes went wide, and he moved to push his way inside to argue.
*Bang!*
Wood collided hard with cartilage, mashing and twisting his entire face into a distorted mess before throwing him back with violent force. His upper body flew backward, and he landed flat on his backside in the dirt, covered in dust.
Sitting up and reaching out to touch his face, he found his hands slick with bright crimson. A nosebleed!
Liang Guangtian scrambled up and threw himself at the door, pounding until the entire frame shuddered. He shouted furiously, "Liang Qu! Don't you hide in there without making a peep! If you had the guts to play me for a fool, why don't you have the guts to open the door? Open up! You had the guts to mock me, so open the door! Open up, open up, open this door right now!
"Has anyone ever seen such an ungrateful wretch? You become a martial master and suddenly you don't recognize your own poor relatives? I am your biological uncle, and Liuzi is your younger brother! Don't you forget that your surname is Liang!"
"Bullshit!"
The sudden shout gave Liang Guangtian a fright. Turning his head, he saw a woman leaning over the adjoining courtyard wall.
Ah Di stood on a stool to peer over the wall, hands planted on her hips as she yelled, "Uncle? An ugly thing like you has the gall to call yourself Ah Shui's uncle? When Brother Liang died, did you help carry his coffin? When Ah Shui had nothing to eat, did you ever lend him a single grain of rice?
"And back when the family estate was divided, Liang Qu was too young to know better, but we saw it all clear as day! If you hadn't played the scoundrel, would Brother Liang have ended up with nothing but a single boat, scraping by all alone with Ah Shui?
"Oh, and now that Ah Shui has made something of himself, you come groveling for benefits? Where in the world is there such a sweet deal? Are you a beast? You're worse than a beast!"
"Where did this insolent wench come from? Who asked for your input? Watch it or I'll slap that mouth of yours!"
"I'll slap you first!"
A white-bearded elder walked up to the doorway. Hearing those words, he cast aside his hardwood walking stick, spat into his palm, strode forward, and swung his arm in a full, vicious arc.
*Smack!*
A crisp crack rang out. Liang Guangtian let out an anguished wail as his head spun. He spun halfway around from left to right before collapsing to the ground. Clutching his swollen cheek, he looked up—and his heart seized with sheer terror.
"V-village Elder?"
In Dashun, every two hundred and eighty households formed a single li, and ten households contributing the most adult males and grain tax were chosen as li heads. In the whole of Yixing, there was more than one li head.
Had this been an ordinary li head, Liang Guangtian would not have been so terrified. But the elder before him was anything but ordinary; he was the most powerful of them all!
The Chen clan patriarch!
The Chen family held sway over half of Yixing. As clan patriarch, the highly venerated Chen Zhao'an naturally served concurrently as a li head—or rather, that had always been the way of things, and all the other li heads bowed their heads before him.
Below the county level, Dashun appointed no imperial officials. Even a large town like Pingyang Town, which rivaled or even surpassed some county seats, was no exception; maintaining local order fell entirely to the local magnates.
Chen Zhao'an was to Yixing what Yang Dongxiong was to Pingyang Town!
Village elders were inherently tasked with guiding the populace toward virtue and settling disputes. Thus, even though the Chen clan patriarch held no direct authority over those surnamed Liang, Liang Guangtian did not dare show the slightest disrespect. In fact, if Chen Zhao'an had lost his balance after delivering that slap, Liang Guangtian would have had to rush forward to support him.
Clutching his face, Liang Guangtian knelt in the dirt and wailed, blood and dust smearing across his cheeks. "Elder, my life is so bitter! I never imagined my Liang family would produce such an ungrateful wolf! Look at my nose—it was broken by my own nephew! I am his biological uncle!"
"A man without shame, a beast dressed in robes—you even dare lie to my face?! Liang Guangtian, I merely thought you were lazy, gluttonous, and heartless, but I never expected you to be so utterly shameless, lower than pigs and dogs! To sit by and watch your own nephew starve—do you even deserve to call yourself an elder? Well?!"
Liang Guangtian fell silent. Amid the dizzying swing of emotions, he finally realized why Chen Zhao'an had struck him.
After finishing his rebuke, Chen Zhao'an staggered back a few paces. Someone beside him immediately picked up his walking stick and handed it back.
Grasping the cane, he brought it down hard across Liang Guangtian's back, making him shriek and writhe on the ground. After crawling some distance, Liang Guangtian scrambled onto all fours and bolted out of the courtyard, not daring to look back.
Watching Liang Guangtian flee in disgrace, the crowd erupted into laughter.
"Thank you for stepping in, Elder."
Without anyone noticing, Liang Qu had opened the door and bowed deeply in gratitude.
He had heard the commotion outside from the start and taken in the entire scene.
It was fortunate that Chen Zhao'an had intervened; had Liang Qu been forced to lay hands on his uncle himself, it would have turned into a messy affair.
Chen Zhao'an said nothing at first. Leaning on his walking stick, he straightened his back and looked Liang Qu up and down, nodding continuously.
At sixteen, the youth already showed signs of a tall, imposing build. His features were handsome and upright, as different from an ordinary fisherman's child as clouds from mud, inspiring a touch of humility in those who beheld him. Moreover, he carried the noble air of a virtuous gentleman.
Looking around at the gathered crowd, the elder praised, "Look, look at him! 'Let not men look down upon the shallow pool; a sleeping dragon may well dwell within!' In this modest Yixing of ours, a hidden dragon has truly emerged!"
Whether junior or senior, everyone standing behind Chen Zhao'an nodded in agreement.
Liang Qu bowed once more. "The Elder flatters me too much. I am thoroughly unworthy."
"Nonsense, I haven't spoken a word out of turn. It isn't as though our Yixing has never produced martial practitioners before, but every one of them moved away to Pingyang Town. Now, despite your esteemed standing as Master Yang's personal disciple, you still look out for your fellow townsfolk. That alone marks you as a man of virtue and excellence."
"It is all thanks to the Elder's wise guidance in leading the people toward goodness."
Liang Qu bowed yet again.
He understood the purpose of Chen Zhao'an's visit.
Between setting up porridge stalls and funding the town's River God Sacrifice out of his own pocket—and most importantly, declining the free cottage renovations in favor of the community—Liang Qu had become an exemplary model of public benevolence.
As the preeminent local magnate, Chen Zhao'an could hardly ignore such deeds; he had to make a visible gesture of support. Chasing off Liang Guangtian was nothing more than lifting a finger along the way.
After a round of mutual pleasantries, the atmosphere grew warm and harmonious.
Chen Zhao'an then brought out the main reason for his visit. "You have done so much for Yixing, and everyone here naturally remembers your kindness. You declined to have your home repaired, so let us townsfolk repair it for you! Every household can send someone to help out for a couple of days—it's no trouble at all.
"Furthermore, I will make arrangements for the River God Sacrifice as swiftly as possible. When the time comes, you shall serve as the chief celebrant and read the sacrificial prayer!"
Chapter 58