Chapter Fourteen: The Handsome Youth Amidst a Turbulent World

With a face full of anxiety, Xu Xin did not bother with formalities toward Tian Xuewen. He clasped his fists in respect and said, “Master Tian, our young master’s condition suddenly worsened fifteen minutes ago. Doctor Ma said that only by using several exceptionally rare and precious treasures from the Qingshou Trading Company’s Dengzhou branch—such as the thousand-year-old Lingzhi mushroom and the five-hundred-year-old ginseng—can we treat him.”

“But the young master and young lady don’t have much silver left. Master Tian, the eldest young master sent me to seek your help…”

Xu Xin was blunt, showing no hesitation. “Doctor Ma said those rare treasures require at least one hundred thousand taels of silver. Master Tian, we are short by fifty-seven thousand taels. The young master asked me to borrow sixty thousand taels from you.”

“The health of Master Xu is paramount. A sum like that, I can arrange,” Tian Xuewen said, startled to the point of staggering. “What—sixty thousand taels of silver!”

“Within three to five days, our master’s men will arrive from Jinan to Fushan County, and the silver will be returned within that timeframe.” Xu Xin, clearly impatient, stood and made as if to leave. “If you won’t lend it, fine. I’ll go directly to Dengzhou City to borrow it.”

It was only natural that Xu Xin, a guard of the provincial governor Xu Congzhi’s household, was unafraid of a mere seventh-rank county magistrate like Tian Xuewen. Tian Xuewen cursed Xu Xin silently but smiled and said, “Yes, yes, yes. I will immediately send the silver note over.”

…

Half an hour later, Tian Dafu, the chief steward of the Tian household, escorted Xu Xin to the front gate of the Tian estate. They parted with reluctance.

After exchanging a few polite words, Xu Xin took his leave.

Old Tian, the gatekeeper of the Tian estate, saw Xu Xin, who had borrowed sixty thousand taels of silver, leave. He watched as Xu Xin disappeared around the corner and thought, *This is it—the sixty thousand taels are gone!*

Tian Dafu, in his fifties, had a strange feeling—without basis, he suspected Xu Xin might be a fraud. But since his master Tian Xuewen and the second young lady Tian Yachun both confirmed Xu Xin’s identity as a guard of the provincial governor’s household, he dared not question them.

Unlike Tian Dafu, Old Tian had grounds to believe something was amiss. He thought that Xu Xin, who bore a striking resemblance to Zhang Chen, was in fact Zhang Chen in disguise.

That noon, at the Tian estate’s gate, Dong Mei had thrown a silver note to the ground for Zhang Chen to pick up, treating him like a beggar.

Zhang Chen was furious and fainted.

After being revived by Feiniu, Zhang Chen seemed like a changed man, wearing a sardonic smile. He shouted, “If it’s free, why not take it?” and urged Feiniu to pick up the silver note.

This Zhang Chen was completely different from the one before he passed out.

Old Tian had a strong feeling: back then, Zhang Chen did not care about Dong Mei’s insult, nor about Tian Yachun’s disdain, nor even about the county magistrate’s Tian family.

---

Though Xu Xin, the yellow-faced man with a thick beard, wore a worried expression, Old Tian noticed a hint of worldly cynicism curling at the corners of his mouth.

Thus, Old Tian believed that Xu Xin—who closely resembled Zhang Chen—was indeed Zhang Chen in disguise.

Zhang Chen was no longer the man he used to be. The previous night, he had killed three bandits, including their leader Wu Datou. Today, he had slain the ruffians Wang Laoda and Wang Laowu of Zhang Village.

Zhang Chen had impersonated Xu Xin to swindle sixty thousand taels of silver from the Tian family. Old Tian, in his fifties, took a deep drag from his dry pipe and thought, *The second young lady and Zhang Chen are officially husband and wife. The sixty thousand taels taken from the Tian family won’t be recovered. How interesting. I’m old now, I know nothing!*

Unaware that Tian Dafu suspected his identity, Zhang Chen hurried back to the Gaosheng Inn. He washed off his disguise with hot water.

Without changing clothes, he grabbed the bag containing his garments and slipped quietly out of the inn, deciding not to return. He didn’t mind losing the deposit left at the front desk.

With the sixty thousand tael silver note in hand, the deposit was mere pocket change.

He hurried to the Zhang family’s villa on East Street, found a secluded spot, climbed over the courtyard wall, and slipped into the Zhang estate.

Ma Tingyu and Zhang Erchen were holding a literary gathering at the Zhang villa.

Zhang Yuanyi, who had passed away, was likely the wealthiest man in Fushan County. The Zhang estate’s villa was large and luxurious—an ideal place for such a gathering.

Zhang Erchen wished to curry favor with the provincial governor’s legitimate daughter, Xu Zihan, so he and Ma Tingyu jointly hosted this event.

Zhang Erchen was fifteen years old, the half-brother of Zhang Chen.

Having failed the county exams multiple times and concluding he was no scholar, Zhang Erchen had given up on the imperial exams.

He indulged in eating, drinking, gambling, and womanizing—all to an expert degree, earning the reputation of a notorious playboy in both Fushan County and Dengzhou Prefecture.

This was the Zhang family’s villa, and Zhang Chen knew it well. After vaulting the wall, he slipped behind the outhouse in the southwest corner of the garden.

Behind the outhouse was a foul stench; no one came there. Only then did Zhang Chen change clothes, donning a scholar’s long robe and hanging a finely carved jade pendant at his waist.

A sophisticated young man in a corrupt world.

He bundled up his warrior’s uniform and tossed it into the cesspit, then grinned as he acted as if he had just finished using the outhouse.

---

Hurrying to attend the literary gathering, the swindler Zhang Chen sought to establish an alibi.

Washing his hands in a copper basin nearby, Zhang Chen noticed a noble youth approaching from the villa’s back gate.

The noble youth wore a blue satin robe embroidered with fierce beasts, his hair tied with a blue ribbon. At his waist hung a jade pendant on a green silk leather belt, and on his feet were a pair of fine cloth shoes. Using a delicate silk handkerchief, he wiped the sweat from his plump face, casting a disdainful glance at Zhang Chen.

“Well, well, if it isn’t my very own big brother Da Sha,” he sneered.

The noble youth, Zhang Erchen, had a few beads of sweat clinging to his mustache. His face was powdered, but a glimpse beneath the handkerchief revealed a blotchy complexion. A stout servant girl fanned him with an exquisite folding fan.

Though it was September and not hot, the corpulent Zhang Erchen was sweating profusely.

“Last night, the young master killed three bandits. Today, he beat to death two ruffians from Zhang Village,” said the stout servant girl, Dong Cao, formerly Zhang Chen’s rough attendant. She dared not look directly at Zhang Chen. *The young master is truly formidable!*

“Old Two, you fool, why are you only just arriving? I’ve been here since the hour of Shen and now it’s your turn,” Zhang Chen scolded Zhang Erchen, ignoring Tian Yachun and Dong Mei, who stepped out from the back garden.

“I’m your real big brother. Tian Yayi, that bastard, calls me Da Sha, but that’s to insult you as a fool. You, big fool, actually follow Tian Yayi and call me Da Sha,” Zhang Chen snapped.

Tian Yayi was Tian Xuewen’s nephew and a classmate of Zhang Chen at both the county and prefecture schools. He had often bullied the bookish Zhang Chen in the past.

“You have a point,” Zhang Erchen retorted, cursing Tian Yayi and then Zhang Chen. “What do you want from me, big brother? I have no silver. If you want to borrow money, don’t come to me!”

“Last night, we killed nearly three hundred fierce bandits at Zhang Village and seized treasures worth over one hundred thousand taels of silver. Old Two, I have money; I’m not borrowing from you.”

Zhang Chen pulled a copper coin from his pocket. “Old Two, let’s gamble. Guess which side the coin will land on. If you guess right, I’ll give you the jade pendant at my waist. If you guess wrong, you give me Dong Cao. Don’t say you’re afraid to gamble.”

“Only idiots gamble,” Zhang Erchen replied, coveting the jade pendant for a long time. He pushed the stout servant girl Dong Cao toward Zhang Chen.

“It’s rare you dare to gamble with me, big brother. Dong Cao was your rough attendant before. Whether I guess right or wrong, I’ll give Dong Cao to you. She’s yours now.”

“Zhang Chen, miss, I can confirm you’re not short of silver,” Tian Yachun scolded Zhang Chen. “You must know Xu Xin. Zhang Chen, you actually impersonated Xu Xin to swindle six hundred thousand taels of silver from our family. Miss confirms you, you big scoundrel, aren’t stupid at all!”