Chapter 377 War of Words

Chapter 377: Battle of Words

As soon as Chang Jinhua returned, the house felt full of life again. A Xun came home from the Zheng house and was all over her once more.

To take care of Chang Jinhua's health, tonight's spread was on the lighter side, with a special medicinal stew prepared just for her. Whenever Chang Jinhua was home, the whole family ate in her courtyard; when she wasn't, the kitchen just sent meals around to the different courtyards.

An ordinary woman like her seemed to be the real backbone of the family.

After a nice, lively dinner, A Xun promised Chang Jinhua he'd have Tong'er come over tomorrow. Tong'er and A Xun split their time between the two households, but Tong'er ended up at the Song place more often than not. He had been raised by Chang Jinhua since childhood, with an even deeper bond than Chu Ci, her honorary grandson. So of course he missed her, not having seen her in ages.

That night, Meng Wan and A Xun bunked in Chang Jinhua's room. It had warmed up a bit lately, and Meng Wan usually slept in a proper bed in his and Song Tingzhou's room. But Chang Jinhua preferred the kang, so Meng Wan accompanied her.

"It's just a little cold, no need for you to fuss over me like this. Besides, Yunque and Wei Ying take turns keeping watch in the outer room—I'm not short on attendants." Even though she said that, Chang Jinhua was still touched by Meng Wan's concern.

Meng Wan climbed to the foot of the kang to make the bed. "I'm not here to look after you—can't a guy just miss his mom?"

After washing up, A Xun crawled into the middle of the bed, hugging the new, much softer addition—a giant plush doll—and said with a yawn, "Yeah, yeah! Grandma, A Xun misses you! My father said that once I turn eight, I can't sleep with you all anymore. This is the last time... Daddy, give me a hug."

Even though Meng Wan was the strictest with A Xun at home and was always picking on him, A Xun still loved his dad the most.

Meng Wan tucked the blanket in so tight there wasn't a gap and gave him a couple of half-hearted pats. In less than fifteen minutes, A Xun closed his eyes, his breathing gradually evening out.

Chang Jinhua brushed the hair from A Xun's eyes with her wrinkled, calloused hand, her eyes full of love. "Our A Xun's a year older now, and so much taller than last year."

Watching the kid grow up was the starkest reminder of her own slow aging.

"You have no idea how much money that kid blows through." Meng Wan sounded totally fed up. He was starting to get a glimpse of that despair felt by capital families who spoiled their good-for-nothing sons—the ones who bought minor official posts and spent a thousand taels while earning a single string of coins.

"I've still got a good bit of savings put away. How many figurines can A Xun buy in a year? I'll make up the difference." Chang Jinhua only knew the figurines were pricey—she had no idea A Xun had stashed away several boxes of them.

"Hah." Meng Wan let out a cold laugh and, lying there in bed, rattled off a string of numbers.

Chang Jinhua was quiet for a long moment, then finally said in a low voice, "Yeah, he needs to be reined in. Ten taels a month is too much. For a little kid like that, two taels is plenty."

The next evening, Meng Wan went to pick A Xun up himself, but he wasn't happy about it one bit, because his dad had walked in right as Master Zheng was tearing into him. His monthly allowance got slashed from ten taels to two, just like that.

Two taels!!!

Aaaah!

Meng Wan behaved himself and stayed home with Chang Jinhua for a few days until she was completely in the clear, then headed out with Chi Yu to add to A Xun's dowry.

Of the betrothal gifts Meng Wan had sent to the Ge family, the rest stayed with the Ge family. The eighteen loads of gold, silver, and jewels were meant to come back as part of the dowry, while the paintings, calligraphy, and imperial gifts would come back when the couple made their post-wedding visit home. There weren't enough ready-made clothes, so a few more loads needed to be added—luckily, it was all ready to go, they just had Lanyue deliver it to the Ge house.

The odds and ends had been taken care of by Huang Ye long ago. The most important thing was the shops and land meant to go at the very bottom of the new groom's dowry chests.

"So this shop's going for thirteen hundred taels?"

Meng Wan stood on a street in the Third Ring City, looking up at the two-story shop in front of him. Not big, not exactly small either—the location was solid, right near the Shuntian Prefecture.

The shop sold paintings and calligraphy, and it was still open for business. A jewelry shop on the left, a cosmetics shop on the right, and across the street was a pretty big bookstore. Shops like this all clustered together, which made the area look classy and impressive.

As luck would have it, the bookstore was one he was familiar with—the shop banner had "Kongmo Bookshop" written on it in big letters.

Meng Wan smiled to himself, thinking back to their days in Changping. Back then, when they'd first moved to the prefectural city to settle down, they'd had less than twenty taels to their name and could barely even afford rent. It was selling books that had turned things around for them.

"Master, right this way." Gu Yazi rubbed his hands together as he greeted him. His daughter worked at the cotton mill, and now the neighbors couldn't stop singing her praises. In public, everyone said nice things, but behind her back they whispered that Mei Niang, a young woman, working out in public like that was bad for her reputation.

Gu Yazi didn't care. As a people broker, his reputation was already in the gutter. What mattered was the real money in his pocket—never mind his daughter's wages, just the fact that his brokerage had gotten its foot in the Song family's door was already worth it.

Meng Wan walked in. The shopkeeper figured he was just a customer looking to buy some paintings, but the second he spotted Gu Yazi tagging along, he knew exactly why they were there. His smile froze, and he ducked his head and stepped back.

The boss was selling the shop and heading back to his hometown, and he was taking all the antiques and calligraphy with him. Even if a new owner came in, there was no telling if he'd keep the guy on.

Meng Wan took a lap around the place, upstairs and down, figuring the little building was pretty decent and the location was good. Sure, the price was a bit steep, but it wasn't like he couldn't swing it. Shops in the capital went fast—if he didn't grab it now, it might be gone in a couple of days.

"Alright, it's settled. Go hash out the details with the seller, and wait for me at the Shuntian Prefecture office this afternoon. I'll send someone over with the money, and we'll put the shop in my son's husband's name."

It helps to have people in the government. The Shuntian Prefecture folks handled the deed and land title for Meng Wan without breaking a sweat.

Gu Yazi was thrilled—this one deal would net him a commission of several dozen taels. He'd done work for Meng Wan before and knew that with Meng Wan's people around, dealing with Shuntian Prefecture was quick and painless—no need to bow and scrape, those folks would take care of everything politely.

When he heard the deal was actually done, the shopkeeper hesitated, then stepped forward to ask, "May I ask what business you're planning to run here, sir? Will we still be able to keep working here?"

Meng Wan didn't stop walking. "I'm going to open a medical clinic for my son here. The new owner is my son's husband—whether you stay or go is up to him."

On top of this shop, Meng Wan had also bought a three-courtyard house nearby for Chu Ci and A Xun. What the family had was the family's—they ought to have some property of their own too. Both of these went into A Xun's dowry.

After they left the painting shop, Gu Yazi went off to find the seller, while Meng Wan made a beeline for the Kongmo Bookshop across the street. He loved reading all kinds of books and had collected tons of miscellaneous writings from all over. Usually, the household servants went out and scoured the bookshops for him, so he rarely had to go looking himself. Since he'd run into one today, might as well take a look around.

The moment he stepped inside, he caught the faint smell of ink mixed with the rich, mellow scent of incense. Right in the middle was a setup that looked familiar—the incense burner in front of the Wenchang Emperor statue was burning strong. When Meng Wan walked in, a scholar in a blue robe was bowing respectfully at the offering table.

The metropolitan exam was in two days, and these scholars weren't here mainly to browse or buy books—most of them were here to pray.

Farther in, you could see scholars in twos and threes, or off by themselves. Some were quietly reading or copying texts, but more were huddled together whispering.

At this point, only a handful could still settle down to study. No one knew the misery of studying better than these imperial candidates who'd fought their way up through the exams. Ten or twenty years of grinding, all for this moment—coming to the capital for the metropolitan exam—so of course they were keyed up and itching to let off steam.

A few scholars in blue cotton gowns were standing in a corner on the second floor, holding forth loudly. At first they were just guessing the exam questions, but then they turned the conversation to the examiners.

There wasn't much to say about Lord Ran, whose reputation preceded him, but the one stirring up the most controversy was Song Tingzhou. Some praised him as a pragmatist, others scoffed at his hard-nosed style, and a few even questioned what he'd actually accomplished in Lingnan.

Meng Wan strolled slowly up the stairs, but his steps were stopped short by a phrase: "Lord Song's move here is clearly shaking the very foundations of the state."

He raised an eyebrow, softened his footsteps, and climbed the stairs slowly, stopping at a spot neither too close nor too far to listen.

A square-faced scholar, perhaps caught up in the excitement, failed to control his volume, his voice slightly louder than before: "Equal land distribution? Since ancient times, farmers have had their own fields. To suddenly disrupt and redistribute them now—wouldn't that drive the honest folk who have diligently saved up their family estates to lose their homes and livelihoods?"

The success of the equal land policy in Lingnan was evident to the emperor. This year, the policy was to be extended to the entire southern region.

Compared to the northern lands too cold for winter labor, the southern landlords and country gentry were clearly more numerous. These imperial candidates generally came from well-off families; few were poor. Once they passed the county exam, they had no worries about landlords and gentry offering them land.

With land and no field tax to pay, they naturally resented being asked to redistribute their holdings. Wasn't the whole point of climbing to this rank to gain official positions and land?

After working so hard to pass the exams, their land would actually decrease. How could a mere salary support a large family in maintaining its dignity?

One of his companions hesitated, saying, "I've heard that in some places, much of the good farmland is controlled by powerful clans and magnates. Honest folk have no land to farm and are forced to become tenants. If the equal land policy could truly be implemented, allowing the suffering commoners to have land to till, it might not be a bad measure."

The earlier man sneered: "Brother Zhang, you're mistaken! The status of the gentry wasn't achieved overnight—it was built through generations of hard work, mostly ancestral foundations. To redistribute it would chill the hearts of the industrious."

Someone who found this reasonable added, "Brother Zhou makes a valid point. Don't you know that those poor farmers who sell their land are forced to do so with a knife at their throats? And what of the inveterate gamblers, the hopeless drunkards, the idle loafers—those who don't work and squander their family property? Should they also get a share?"

The scholar surnamed Zhang vaguely felt their arguments had some merit, but they weren't addressing the core of the equal land policy. Yet he couldn't find the words to refute them.

Just then, a group of scholars in brocade robes with gold and jade hairpins nearby seemed to have overheard their discussion and chimed in with a compliment: "Well said."

Their group numbered about a dozen, but most were attendants. The masters were four young men surrounded by the others. They appeared to be scholars on their way to the capital for the exams, exuding extraordinary bearing, dressed in refined elegance, with pride and flair in their brows—like young lords carved from gold and jade.

Their demeanor differed from the free-spirited capital dandies like Qin Jiao. Whether in features or bearing, they carried a warmth and refinement characteristic of the Jiangnan region, with an air of reserved nobility and aloofness that made it clear at a glance they were scions of distinguished families.

The leading brocade-clad young master gently waved his folding fan, his gaze sweeping over the few blue-robed scholars who had been speaking moments before. "What these gentlemen say is quite right. Lord Song may be talented, but the equal-field policy is indeed too hasty. The great families have built their positions through generations of management, and only then have we achieved the current stable situation. The great clans are the foundation of the state—if the foundation is unstable, how can the nation remain secure?"

"The equal-field policy is nothing but pie-in-the-sky talk."

His voice was clear and resonant, yet carried an unshakable confidence, as if what he said were the absolute truth. The scholars around him nodded in agreement, and those with sharper connections cast glances of admiration and flattery toward the brocade-clad young master.

Meng Wan's eyes fixed on the books on the shelf before him, his fingertips tracing the fresh pages, his gaze gradually darkening—a bunch of narrow-minded fools, and they dare question my man?

"I think you fellows are going too far," a scholar suddenly retorted from the corner. "The essence of the equal-field policy is for the common people of the world. How many wealthy farmers are there in all of Yu? How many great clans? The majority are farming households who can barely eat or keep warm. The equal-field policy Lord Song implemented is not just arbitrarily seizing the land of the wealthy. Compared to his original proposal in the palace examination, the equal-field decree implemented in Lingnan is far more refined—it is not the empty talk you claim it to be."

He was plainly dressed, not tall, and spoke with a thick regional accent, but Chi Yu found it especially familiar.

"Husband, he's a scholar from Lingnan!" Chi Yu said happily.

Meng Wan's eyes brimmed with a smile. "Not just a Lingnan scholar—he's an acquaintance."

The speaker was none other than Lu Su, a scholar from Heshan County.

Ever since Teacher Nie led his people to assist in Xiwu Prefecture, the level of learning in the region had improved by more than a little. Combined with the rise of various workshops in the area, the common folk not only farmed but also had other trades to supplement their household income. Men, women, old, and young all pitched in, and farmers, craftsmen, merchants, and traders each found their proper place.

The entire prefecture saw vast amounts of silver circulating, driving livelihoods across the region. Agriculture flourished, and the area was bustling with renewed activity. With money in hand, the people could afford to send their children to school. Though only modest results were visible now, given time, Lingnan was certain to become a thriving literary hub!

Others might not know, but scholars from Lingnan—whether of gentry or common birth—all regarded Song Tingzhou as their model. They alone understood the true nature of the equal-field policy.

Lu Su was not alone; he had two companions from Xiwu Prefecture with him. They lacked Lu Su's patience—from the moment they heard those men speak of Song Tingzhou shaking the state's foundations, they had been holding back their anger, glaring coldly at the group. Had it not been for the fact that the other side outnumbered them—they were only three, and Lu Su was a bit of a pushover—they would have already lashed out.

The brocade-clad young master seemed not to expect anyone to challenge him, least of all a scholar from some obscure, remote region. He let out a disdainful snort and announced his pedigree: "I am of the Luo clan of Lin'an Prefecture. And where are you from, scholar, that you defend Lord Song so ardently? Could it be that you are a Lingnan scholar?"