And so He Lingchuan did not beat around the bush either. "Correct. These are deeds for the transfer of subsoil rights, and that is precisely how the prefecture command recognizes them. Therefore, the tenant farmers working the soil will continue to work it; as long as they pay their rent on time, they will not be driven off."
The village elders murmured among themselves, all nodding in agreement.
"Good. Then let us get down to business." Here came the crux of the matter. "Where is the legal basis for claiming that a villager's land sale requires the township's approval?"
The owner of subsoil rights possessed the right to collect rent from tenant farmers. But if these old fellows made trouble from within, the Xin Township office holding the deeds might well fail to collect a single copper.
Other villages might fear the authorities, but Shuangyu Village seemed to be an exception.
The village chief spoke slowly, "This is established custom. Long before Great Yuan was founded, Xin Township followed this system—and not just Shuangyu Village."
"Thirty years ago, and again twenty years ago, Great Yuan promulgated decrees: any local conventions or crude customs that conflict with national law are automatically null and void."
Village Chief Liang smiled. "Yet all of Xiazhou has remained this way all along, not just Xin Township. Eldest Young Master He surely knows that the law does not punish the masses. If the prefecture command wants to make an issue of us, then dozens of other townships and thousands of other villages would have to change and be penalized first!"
He Lingchuan folded his arms slowly, his tone mocking. "In other words, you want to test the law yourselves?"
Village Chief Liang waved his hands repeatedly. "We cannot bear such an accusation. We are merely upholding village customs, as we have done for decades."
Anyone who had never lived in the countryside could never appreciate the sheer weight behind the words "village customs and local conventions."
From outside, a villager shouted, "That's right! Even if you could pin a crime on us, the other villages and townships wouldn't agree to it either!"
A chorus of agreement echoed from the crowd outside, loud and numerous.
He Lingchuan sneered inwardly. What did other townships and other villages have to do with him? His old man had handed him this one errand; once it was done, he was finished with it.
These villagers looked simple and honest on the surface, but their words boiled down to a single point:
Want the village to agree? Pay more money.
Whenever a villager sold land to outsiders, the village always extracted an extra "nod fee."
These fellows were certainly bold—daring to shake down the government itself.
Naturally, He Lingchuan understood that not every village possessed such audacity. Most country folk, if not completely submissive, feared officials like tigers; otherwise, how could the government exploit them? Shuangyu Village, however, was home to families of meritorious veterans and fallen heroes, and had produced an elder in a Daoist order. Perhaps someone influential was even pulling strings behind the scenes. That was why they were strutting around with such arrogance, daring to test the mettle of the new prefectural administration.
The four great clans had been hammered several times recently by He Chunhua until their flesh and bones ached; perhaps they were looking to score a point back.
Other villages were also watching this closely. If even the new prefecture command bowed to local village rules, this precedent would become impossible to stamp out in the future.
He Lingchuan rose abruptly. Behind him, all seven men laid their hands upon their hilts. Shan Youjun even pushed his blade halfway out of its scabbard, the reflected chill of steel flashing right across the village chief's eyes, looking ready to erupt into slaughter at the slightest disagreement.
The village elders' expressions changed.
Agitated, the crowd of villagers outside surged in anger, pressing toward the doorway to rush in.
Shan Youjun eyed them askance, sneering inwardly: *A bunch of unruly rabble!*
The rock wolf suddenly rose, crouching as if to pounce. A furious roar erupted like a thunderclap on dry land, shaking everyone's heart and lungs.
With its fur bristling, it looked larger than a male lion, and a series of deep growls reverberated throughout the hall. Terrified, the elders and villagers fell back several paces in unison.
Human fear of yaoguai was etched into their very bones. In sheer intimidation alone, the beast outmatched all the burly men combined.
A villager yelled, "What do you think you're doing?! Just because you're the Governor-General's son means you can murder people?!"
For the moment, no one dared step forward.
"Which of your eyes saw me killing anyone?" He Lingchuan scoffed. "Village Chief Liang, what is your stance on the transaction?"
Pinned beneath the wolf's stare, Village Chief Liang's spine grew rigid with cold dread, yet he still braced himself and said, "Vi—village rules cannot be broken! Young Master He, you're using a yaoguai and vicious soldiers to intimidate us! We will lodge a complaint with the prefecture command!"
Other elders hid behind him, chiming in, "That's right! If the prefecture command covers it up, we'll go straight to the capital and petition the throne!"
Bailiff Zhou was also terrified. Trembling, he stammered, "Eldest Young Master, please, let's talk this out peacefully!" The wolf was drooling from the corners of its jaws, so he dared not get any closer either.
He had petitioned the prefecture command for reinforcements to mediate—was he now supposed to become the mediator between them?
"Petition the throne?" He Lingchuan looked taken aback, then burst into hearty laughter. Placing his right hand behind his back, he waved to his personal guards.
*Clang!*
Shan Youjun slid his saber back into its scabbard, and the others released their hilts as well, their postures no longer aggressive.
"Village Chief Liang misunderstands. When did I ever wish to intimidate you?" He Lingchuan picked up the bowl of cold boiled water on the table and downed it in one gulp. "Now that our discussion is concluded, am I not even allowed to stand up and stretch my limbs?" With that, he rolled his neck, eliciting a few crisp cracks.
The elders looked at each other. Village Chief Liang frowned. "Concluded?"
"Indeed. You won't agree, and we aren't willing, so aren't the talks broken down?" He Lingchuan said with a beaming smile. "Done and done. I'm heading back to report."
"What kind of game is Eldest Young Master He playing?" Village Chief Liang's face darkened with displeasure. "So what is the final word on this land deal?"
"The final word? There is none. A dead knot has been tied here; someone more capable can come untie it another day." He Lingchuan took a step toward the doorway.
The rock wolf trotted at his side; no one dared approach.
The elders could not figure out his angle. They felt someone dispatched by the prefecture command would not give up so easily. Still, failing to reach an agreement today was a good thing; the longer this dragged out, the better it was for Shuangyu Village.
In any case, their own people were farming the land. Every day the prefecture command delayed resolving the matter was another day of lost revenue for the government.
Yet just as He Lingchuan reached the threshold, he paused and said abruptly, "Ah, right. It's already noon. Village Chief Liang, do you provide lunch for your guests?"
Village Chief Liang truly did not want to host him. But since the young master had asked, and local officials dining in the village was common practice, he could only reply, "We do, though there's nothing fancy to eat out here in the countryside."
"Nonsense. Eating here seems wonderfully rustic to me." He Lingchuan walked up to the village chief, ignoring the wary looks of the others, and patted his shoulder. "Don't look at me like that. Official business is done; in private, I'm a very approachable fellow."
He was a full head taller than Village Chief Liang, so even clapping the man's shoulder was an act of looking down on him.
Village Chief Liang did not believe for a second that official business was finished. He assumed the lad was about to switch tactics—soft persuasion after hard pressure failed. It was a ploy he often used himself.
Yet the boy was an official of sorts and the new Governor-General's own son; some face had to be given. Moreover, the rock wolf had already retreated to the corner of the room to lie down, and the thugs behind the wealthy young master were no longer acting so fierce.
If this young master wanted to put on a show, he would play along to the end.
And so Village Chief Liang forced a smile, gave a few agreeable replies, and then called out to the villagers, "There's no spectacle to see here! Scatter, all of you!"
The elders exchanged glances. The two oldest among them headed home first, while the rest stayed behind to keep company.
They, too, suspected this young fellow had more tricks up his sleeve.
Yet He Lingchuan did nothing out of line afterward. He simply kept Village Chief Liang by his side, touring the village and the terraced fields while tossing out questions from time to time. With a large crowd trailing closely behind them, he had the exact bearing of a superior official inspecting the countryside.
The midday air was slightly warmer. Seven or eight village children were roughhousing and playing. Spotting them, He Lingchuan produced a handful of malt candies from his robes and asked with a genial smile, "Who wants candy?"
The candies he took out were wrapped in colorful paper, bright and pretty. Country children were never shy with strangers; they swarmed forward, stretching out their hands.
He Lingchuan gave two to each of them.
In truth, he felt somewhat stumped. Among them were five boys, three of whom had round heads and round faces, their hair shaved nearly bald except for a small tuft left over both the front and rear fontanelles.
With identical hairstyles and similar ages, these human cubs looked practically the same. How was he supposed to tell them apart?
He glanced at Shan Youjun, who merely blinked back without offering any hint. He Lingchuan then peeled a candy himself and handed it to the youngest child.
"Little friend, what's your name?"
The boy was around four or five years old. Taking the candy, he popped it right into his mouth and mumbled, "I'm Liang Yu."
"Oh." He Lingchuan immediately switched targets and handed out another candy.
The next child was named Liang Su.
That had to be the one. He Lingchuan's smile grew even warmer. "Whose child are you?"
The boy pointed toward Village Chief Liang, who promptly said to He Lingchuan, "This is my third grandson."
He Lingchuan scooped the child up in his arms. "How many grandchildren do you have?"
"Three grandsons—this is the youngest—and four granddaughters."
"And your sons and daughters?"
"Two sons and three daughters."
Teasing the child, He Lingchuan chuckled. "You are truly blessed, Village Chief, to have a house full of children and grandchildren at such an age."
He seemed to take quite a liking to Liang Su, carrying him in his arms the entire way. Lacking experience with toddlers, however, once Liang Su finished both candies, he grew uncomfortable in the unfamiliar hold and began squirming, unable to break free.
Watching this, Village Chief Liang felt his heart beat like a drum with growing unease. "The boy is rowdy, Young Master. Best put him down so he doesn't stain your clothes with yellow mud..."
"I think he's quite amusing. Let me hold him a while longer."
He Lingchuan caught the look on the chief's face and paid no heed to the mud stains on his robes.
Liang Su squirmed twice more, then suddenly burst into loud wails.
They had already drawn near the village houses, and the child's resonant crying echoed through the settlement. From a large house not far ahead, a woman emerged, wiping her hands as she hurried over. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"
She came straight for the child, so He Lingchuan handed him over. As soon as the woman cradled him and murmured a couple of soothing words, Liang Su stopped crying and buried his head against her chest.
He Lingchuan flicked away the clumps of dirt on his hands. "And who might this be?"
Village Chief Liang introduced her. "This is my third daughter-in-law, and Su'er's mother."
Holding the child, the woman curtsied and nodded to the village chief and He Lingchuan, then turned and hurried away.
Yet He Lingchuan's gaze remained glued to her retreating figure.
Village Chief Liang was all too familiar with men looking at his daughter-in-law like that. He could only cough loudly twice, feeling nothing but contempt inside. Then he heard He Lingchuan say, "Village Chief Liang, no wonder your grandson is so adorable." *So it's because his mother is beautiful.*
Village Chief Liang hardly knew what to say and could only manage a perfunctory smile. Fortunately, his daughter-in-law looked back just then to add:
"The meal is ready."
It was mealtime, and the aroma of food wafted throughout the village.
Since He Lingchuan was staying for lunch at the village chief's house, the elders and villagers felt awkward about following along to watch, leaving them no choice but to disperse.
Chapter 241