Chapter Nineteen: Taking a Concubine

“One family gets fifty taels of silver—why? Before, when you barely scraped by, they all ignored you.”

Xia Hua approached and stood beside Zhang Chen. “Young master, don’t forget, when we arrived in Zhang Village, we had just over three hundred taels of silver. Today, you swindled one hundred and ten thousand taels in the county seat. Hmm, why should you hand that hard-earned silver over to them?”

“Fine, then each family gets fifty taels. Train hard and sweat in peacetime so there’s less bloodshed in war. The militia will train daily, with evening drills whenever needed.”

Zhang Chen patted Xia Hua’s head and handed her several silver notes totaling five thousand taels. “Tonight, we’ll invite Uncle Qi, Uncle Zheng, Wang Shumeng, and Zhang Yixin for drinks. From now on, manage the household affairs; don’t meddle outside.”

After consulting Zhang Chen, today they tidied up the large courtyard on the main street. Zheng Shizhen bought more than twenty experienced servants—cooks, attendants, and maids—from the county market. They moved everything from the small courtyard on the back street into the big courtyard on the main street.

From now on, Zhang Chen lived in that large courtyard and instantly became the sole landlord and gentry of Zhang Village.

That evening, Zhang Chen hosted Qi Guoshu, Old Zheng, Wang Shumeng, and Zhang Yixin for drinks.

He gave Xia Hua five thousand taels to manage the household. Suddenly, an idea struck her, and her face flushed with excitement. “Young master, you—you want to take me as your concubine, don’t you?”

In the Ming Dynasty, marriage was polygamous, and taking a concubine was a simple ceremony: the man would bring the bride home in a flower sedan chair through the side gate, and relatives and friends would have a meal together to celebrate.

Xia Hua was Zhang Chen’s personal maid. Zhang Chen was just inviting some friends and family for a meal. The witnesses at the gathering would make Xia Hua officially become his concubine.

“You guessed right, but there’s no prize.” Zhang Chen patted her head.

Xia Hua had been abused and bullied by the original mistress since she was twelve. After Zhang Chen came from the 21st century to the Ming era, he felt love and familial care from Xia Hua, which gave him a sense of warmth and belonging.

Therefore, as soon as Zhang Chen established himself in Zhang Village, he decided to take Xia Hua as his concubine.

In the Ming Dynasty, it was very difficult for a maid to rise to the status of the male master’s concubine. Even if a maid bore the master a son, becoming a concubine was not easy.

The Tian family had driven Zhang Chen to Zhang Village, and only Feiniu and Xia Hua, among the servants, were willing to stay loyally by his side to settle here.

Qi Guoshu admired Zhang Chen greatly. Zhang Chen had just gained a foothold in Zhang Village and was already taking Xia Hua as his concubine. Zhang Chen was a man of strong loyalty and affection, a true hero!

Respecting Zhang Chen deeply, Qi Guoshu said, “Master, this is not appropriate. The timing for letting Miss Xia Hua move in is wrong. We can’t provoke the Tian family any further; otherwise, they might act desperately.”

“Uncle Qi makes a good point. You just swindled sixty thousand taels from the Tian family; Tian Xuewen must be furious. As their son-in-law, taking a concubine without permission is an insult to them. Tian Xuewen might turn against us completely. Young master, wait a little while longer. Once this storm passes, then you can take Xia Hua as your concubine.”

Feiniu had just arrived and felt happy for Xia Hua. Young master hadn’t fully established himself in Zhang Village yet but was already preparing to take Xia Hua as his concubine. He had not let Xia Hua down. Young master was a man of loyalty, and it was worth all his effort to support him!

“Young master, I’m not in a hurry. Let’s wait a bit longer.” Xia Hua cursed the Tian family silently.

“Tian Xuewen can turn his back if he wants. I doubt he has the guts to send men to Zhang Village to capture me. Until I pass the imperial examination, I won’t go to the county seat.”

Zhang Chen cursed Tian Xuewen under his breath. “Uncle Qi, today I bought a box of Liaodong brandy in the county. Tonight, we’ll have a good drink together.”

“Chuyang, you—sigh.” Qi Guoshu sighed, but seeing Zhang Chen insist on taking Xia Hua as his concubine that very night, he said, “Alright, I’ll drink with you tonight.”

Only then did Qi Guoshu remember the matter he came to discuss. Shaking his head, he said, “The oldest villagers in the village, Zhang Genzhu and Liu Laogen, are both over seventy. Master, Zhang Genzhu, Liu Laogen, and several others in their sixties have asked you to spare the forty-one households led by Wang Lao’er who didn’t fight last night…”

Zhang Chen had killed Wang Laoda and Wang Laowu and ordered the remaining forty-one able-bodied men and their immediate families to move out of Zhang Village.

Unwilling to leave, Wang Lao’er and the others asked the village elders like Zhang Genzhu and Liu Laogen to plead with Zhang Chen.

The elders agreed to intercede but dared not approach Zhang Chen directly.

So they came to ask Qi Guoshu to petition Zhang Chen.

In the Ming Dynasty, filial piety was paramount. Zhang Chen, aspiring to pass the imperial exams, dared not ignore the elders’ face. He smiled and said:

“We must respect the elders’ wishes, but this is a one-time exception. Wang Lao’er and the other forty-one men will serve as the village’s suicide squad in the next battle. If they survive, they may continue living in Zhang Village. If they die, their immediate families will receive the benefits due to martyrs’ relatives.”

“That’s a fair decision, master. I thank you on behalf of Wang Lao’er and the others!”

Qi Guoshu saluted Zhang Chen. With his decisive action in killing Wang Laowu and Wang Laoda, he had deterred troublemakers. Zhang Chen had also helped more than thirty households whose houses had been burned by bandits, winning the hearts of the villagers. His blend of firmness and kindness—gentle yet powerful—made him no ordinary man.

Qi Guoshu was the village head of Zhang Village and served as Zhang Chen’s logistics chief.

Zheng Laotie was the leader of Zhang Village’s flintlock rifle research team.

Wang Shumeng was the captain of the Zhang Village militia.

Zhang Yixin was the head of the militia intelligence team.

At the first hour of the Dog, in the front courtyard of Zhang Chen’s residence, Zhang Chen, Qi Guoshu, Zheng Laotie, Wang Shumeng, Zhang Yixin, and Zhang Chen’s steward Zheng Shizhen drank and chatted, enjoying a scene of peace and unity.

At the same time—

In the backyard of the Fushan County government office, the residence of county magistrate Tian Xuewen—

In the living room, a family meeting was about to begin.

Present were County Magistrate Tian Xuewen, his lawful wife Wang, the biological mother of Tian Yachun, Tian’s second daughter Tian Yachun, and his nephew Tian Yayi.

Tian Yachun’s personal maid Dongmei sat in to listen.

The meeting began with Tian Yayi speaking first: “Zhang Chen cheated us out of sixty thousand taels. We can’t let him go. Uncle, tomorrow I’ll take the county constables to Zhang Village to arrest that fraudster Zhang Chen!”

Inwardly, Tian Yayi cursed Zhang Chen. Zhang Chen, disguised as Xu Xin, swindled my uncle, the county magistrate, out of sixty thousand taels. That bookish fellow is no fool; he’s sharper than me!

“Zhang Chen is part of the Tian family by marriage. His cheating the master of sixty thousand taels is a family financial dispute. By law, the authorities can only mediate, not arrest.” Wang scolded Tian Yayi.

“How could you not realize that? How did you even pass the county and prefectural exams? Zhang Chen knew this too, which is why he dared to swagger around the county treating Xu Gongzi’s illness and swindling the writer siblings out of fifty thousand taels in the afternoon.”