Chapter 47: Jealousy

Chapter 47: The Jealous One

Upon hearing Scholar Zhao's anxious mention of the Empress and Crown Prince, Zhao An realized it was already year-end. This meant the child in Zhao Qingcheng's womb had been born and likely appointed as Crown Prince.

As for Li Xiuye’s original Empress, she had long been banished to the cold palace. When Zhao Qingcheng was made Noble Consort previously, the former Empress was conveniently deposed, elevating Zhao Qingcheng to the de facto head of the imperial harem.

Now that another Empress had emerged, Zhao An guessed it must be Zhao Qingcheng.

The Zhao Tongming family had always been rather short-sighted. Sent to the capital, they likely couldn't resist temptation and might have been incited to harm Zhao Qingcheng—it wasn't implausible. Besides, apart from targeting Zhao Qingcheng, they probably had no access to other consorts.

Still, this was all Zhao An’s speculation, so he could only say to Scholar Zhao, "Village Chief, don’t worry. The soldiers only asked you to hand over the land deeds without pursuing anyone else in Zhao Village. That means this matter has nothing to do with us. You should go home now."

Scholar Zhao could have figured this out himself, but in the moment, he couldn’t help seeking an authoritative voice to assure him that everything was truly fine. Only then could he finally go home reassured.

As he rode his donkey home, he inwardly berated himself for his lack of composure, thinking Zhao An truly lived up to being a prime minister’s son—remaining so calm even in the face of such a grave matter.

Unconsciously, Scholar Zhao’s view of Zhao An had fundamentally shifted. Even if he found some of Zhao An’s actions disrespectful of hierarchy and hard to agree with, when important matters arose, he still habitually sought Zhao An’s opinion.

However, Scholar Zhao had a tendency to forget past pains once the wound healed. The moment he returned home, he felt discontent again. The land deeds he had worked so hard to obtain were taken away before they'd even warmed his hands. Would Zhao Tongming’s fields now be farmed by government officials or sold to others? If another family moved into the village, would the balance of power shift?

Liu Huan was far more concerned about the land than Scholar Zhao. The moment Scholar Zhao left, he went to find Zhao An and suggested, "When I was outside, I heard that when someone commits a crime, their confiscated land is turned over to the local government as ownerless land, available for sale."

Zhao An understood his implication. "The villagers have some spare money lately. Why not pool their money to buy back all that land?"

Zhao An didn’t want unfamiliar, unknown people moving into the village. More importantly, Zhao Tongming’s land consisted of adjoining plots, the kind wealthy households and gentry favored.

He couldn’t imagine what would happen if another powerful family settled in the village. The glassware from his kilns, the high-yield crop strains he secretly cultivated, and even his extraordinary abilities would no longer remain secret.

At this point, Liu Huan’s thoughts aligned almost perfectly with Zhao An’s. His main concern was that if another wealthy family moved in, they would never consider the villagers’ interests as Zhao An did. The village’s industries would then be at risk. Just like when Zhao Tongming was still in the village, the villagers hardly benefited and had to tread carefully to avoid being exploited.

Since Liu Huan and Zhao An were of one mind, they quickly decided to use the money the villagers earned from selling bricks and tiles, along with some clan assets the village had retained, to buy back Zhao Tongming’s land from the county government and designate it all as communal ancestral land.

This communal ancestral land would be collectively owned by everyone in Zhao Village. Since it involved using funds already promised to the villagers, even though Zhao An and Liu Huan had reached an agreement, they decided to gather everyone at the training ground by beating a gong and drum to discuss the matter.

In truth, there wasn’t much to discuss. For most commoners, owning land felt more secure than holding onto cash.

However, a discordant voice emerged from the crowd: "If the communal ancestral land belongs to everyone in Zhao Village, does that include the Zhao family, not just us Lius?"

Liu Huan nodded and said, "Of course it includes them. The Zhao family took turns working the kilns and never missed daily training. They’ve fulfilled their duty to protect Zhao Village, so they should also share in the funds for buying the communal ancestral land."

Liu Hu, who had been specially tasked with asking the question, quickly stirred up enthusiasm: "We’re one community in Zhao Village. We shouldn’t divide into Lius and Zhaos. I won’t say such things again."

"Right, right!" The other villagers chimed in agreement, with the dozen or so Zhao households responding the loudest.

In such moments, even if some clever individuals sensed something amiss, they could only follow the crowd’s voice amid the collective fervor.

Liu Huan nodded, dabbing at nonexistent sweat from his forehead. This was his first time using such public persuasion tactics, and the results were better than expected, the process remarkably smooth.

However, in Zhao An’s eyes, the coordination between Liu Huan and Liu Hu seemed somewhat stiff. But he smiled without speaking, watching them perform. After all, their intentions were for the village’s good.

Unfortunately, Feng Shaoping had gone to Nanyue. If Zhao An wanted to buy land from the government, he needed a middleman. With the closer-related Feng Shaoping not in Changxi County, he could only turn to Feng Shopkeeper at Ruyi Restaurant.

Just as Zhao An began preparing gifts to seek help, and Scholar Zhao started planning how to casually showcase his former classmate relationship with Provincial Scholar Wang in the county town, County Magistrate Feng arrived at Zhao Village with a group of people, beating gongs and drums. This time, he wasn’t accompanied by eunuchs from the Imperial Household Agency, yet the scene felt strikingly similar to earlier in the year, if not more deferential.

He personally came to Zhao An’s doorstep and, upon seeing him, immediately saluted with clasped hands: "The edict enfeoffing the Crown Prince has reached the county. This humble official congratulates the Imperial Uncle!"

Previously, Zhao An was merely the brother of a favored consort—his status as imperial kin somewhat uncertain. Now, he was the Crown Prince’s maternal uncle, and County Magistrate Feng had finally resolved to show his respects.

In fact, compared to regretting not paying respects to Zhao An earlier, County Magistrate Feng’s deepest regret was not having a daughter. All he had were good-for-nothing sons he couldn’t marry off for wealth and glory.

Of course, such private thoughts only surfaced in the stillness of night, in half-dreams.

Now, fully awake, he naturally wouldn’t say anything to displease Zhao An. Without even waiting for Zhao An to speak, he directly presented the land deeds of Zhao Tongming’s family: "This is a small token of my esteem, hoping to make the Imperial Uncle’s rural retreat more leisurely, free from financial worries."

Zhao An would never accept such ambiguous bribes, nor did he feel qualified to.

Still, he accepted the deeds, laughing heartily: "How fortuitous! Our villagers have pooled money to buy this land as communal ancestral land. Since you’ve brought the deeds, we needn’t make the trip." He called toward the door: "Clan Leader Liu, Village Chief Zhao, come quick. Give Magistrate Feng the silver, and this deal is done."

County Magistrate Feng, holding the silver Zhao An insisted he take, felt it burn his palms. But then it occurred to him that communal ancestral land was tax-exempt. Instantly, he believed he understood Zhao An’s motive: registering the land under his name as communal ancestral land to avoid taxes, with this silver serving as a payoff.

Both sides were satisfied with the transaction. Of course, once it concluded, Zhao An keenly wanted County Magistrate Feng to leave. But since the magistrate had come all this way, he had to at least offer a meal.

Zhao An’s household meals were always prepared by Uncle Hai. His skills naturally couldn’t compare to the magistrate’s chef, who was renowned for ham dishes even praised by palace staff.

Yet, after eating the homestyle cooking at Zhao An’s home, County Magistrate Feng effusively praised: "This is returning to simplicity. It’s been ages since I’ve tasted such genuine homestyle flavor. It reminds me of my late wife, alas～."

He took out a handkerchief, dabbed at the corner of his eye, then looked Zhao An up and down: "The Imperial Uncle, living long in the countryside, shouldn’t be without someone to care for you. I know a He family running several shops in the prefectural city, with a daughter yet unmarried. Why not have her come serve at your side, attending to your daily needs?"

Zhao An nearly laughed aloud. This guy was introducing him to Feng Shaoping’s former potential match, and even suggesting she become a concubine. He almost felt sorry for the Miss He.

But Zhao An held back his laughter, waving a hand: "Magistrate Feng, haven’t you heard? I’ve already married into a hunter’s family from the Great Green Mountains. My wife is incredibly strong, capable of killing tigers and bears. If she found out I even considered someone else…" He shook his head as if too afraid to continue, then added to County Magistrate Feng, "She might even blame you, sir."

"Such a termagant…" County Magistrate Feng began, but Zhao An cut him off: "But what can I do? I love her robust nature and jealous disposition."

At that, what more could County Magistrate Feng say? Zhao An had no parents left. Since the villagers knew of this marriage and didn’t object, and even the Empress hadn’t opposed it, it was beyond a county magistrate’s authority.

Just as County Magistrate Feng lowered his head to hide his expression, a small crumpled paper ball hit Zhao An’s forehead. Picking it up from the table, he unfolded it to find four hastily scribbled characters: "Am I the jealous one?"

Zhao An knew this handwriting all too well—he had memorized every word of Hu Sheng’s letters.

So Hu Sheng had finally returned. He couldn’t help but stand up, but remembering County Magistrate Feng was still there and Hu Sheng hadn’t shown himself, he had to see the magistrate out first.

Tucking the note openly into his sleeve, he picked up his teacup for a sip: "It’s getting late. Winter days are short, Magistrate Feng. Best return to your office early."

Such a perfunctory send-off. Fortunately, County Magistrate Feng knew his place—he was here to curry favor with the new imperial kinsman. Facing this obvious dismissal, he still smiled: "Thank you for your concern, Imperial Uncle. It is indeed late. This humble official takes his leave."

This was absolute nonsense—they had just finished lunch. Even on the shortest day of the year, sunset was hours away.

Zhao An had also learned to pretend not to notice, politely seeing County Magistrate Feng to the door. The moment the magistrate’s carriage departed, he shut the gate and looked around the empty courtyard, taking the note from his sleeve again to confirm he hadn’t dreamed it.

"Ah Sheng, where are you hiding? Come out." He finally chose to call out.

Then a remarkable thing happened: Hu Sheng emerged from the shadows of the house, smiling faintly: "So this is how you tarnish my reputation while I’m away."

Zhao An looked intently at him: "But I also said I love you."