Chapter 46: A Stealthy Advance under Cover of Deception

Early the next morning, Yang Can took Li Damu and Qingmei to see Zhang Yunyi.

Upon hearing the purpose of Yang Can's visit, Zhang Yunyi readily agreed without a moment's hesitation.

"I have always conducted myself with absolute uprightness and transparency. Frankly, I welcome a thorough investigation, as it will serve to prove my innocence beyond any doubt."

With a hearty laugh, Zhang Yunyi immediately instructed his steward, Wan Tai, to summon the head accountant of the estate.

Yang Can then spoke up, saying, "Although Mistress Sangzhi and Mistress Xiaotan are both attentive and gentle, I have no need for personal attendants here. It would be best if the estate master reassigned them back to their original duties."

Hearing this, Li Damu let out a sudden, loud cough.

Zhang Yunyi glanced at Qingmei, assuming the young maid was suffering from a bout of petty jealousy toward Executor Yang.

*Ah,* he thought, *Executor Yang has taken a fancy to this little maid from the Young Mistress's household, likely because he offended the Su family too severely before and now wishes to mend fences through indirect means.*

If that were the case, Yang Can would naturally be dependent on Qingmei's goodwill and eager to please her.

With this thought in mind, Zhang Yunyi stroked his beard with a smile and said, "Since the Executor has no need for them, I shall simply recall them."

"Ahem! Cough, cough, cough..." Accountant Li coughed violently a few more times.

Master Zhang glanced at Li Damu and remarked, "Mr. Li will be auditing the account books of the Fengle Estate for the past three years, which is bound to be grueling work. How about I assign either Sangzhi or Xiaotan to serve you tea, pour water, and attend to your daily needs?"

"Hahaha! Master Zhang is truly thoughtful and considerate, so I accept this kindness without pretense. However, there is no need to choose—Mistress Xiaotan will do splendidly. Hahaha, she will do just fine."

Unable to contain his eagerness, Li Damu immediately claimed his favorite option.

Zhang Yunyi found this entirely agreeable. Although Sangzhi was merely a concubine, in Master Zhang's eyes, she was still a commodity that could be used for leverage. But such leverage had to be worth the cost, and in his estimation, Executor Yang certainly matched Sangzhi's value. As for Xiaotan, she was merely Sangzhi's personal maid, and he had intended to assign her to assist Li Damu anyway.

Thus, Zhang Yunyi smiled and gave his consent.

A short while later, Wan Tai arrived with the estate's head accountant. After giving brief instructions, Master Zhang had the head accountant lead Li Damu away.

Yang Can then said, "Since I am unversed in accounting, and the most crucial task has been entrusted to Mr. Li, I cannot simply remain idle. Perhaps I should inspect various parts of the estate. Otherwise, once word reaches the Clan Head and the Young Mistress, I would be hard-pressed to offer a proper explanation."

Zhang Yunyi raised an eyebrow. "Shall I accompany you?"

Yang Can politely declined, "With spring plowing now underway, there is no need for the Master to put himself out. However, I do indeed require a few individuals who are well-acquainted with the estate's operations to guide me."

Knowing that Zhang Yunyi would never feel at ease without someone keeping watch, Yang Can allowed his gaze to sweep over the group of stewards standing behind him.

Zhang Yunyi smiled and said, "Agriculture is the foundation of my Yu family, and the Feng'an Estate relies primarily on farming. Well then, let Steward Lai Gulu and Field Inspector Peng Jin accompany Executor Yang on his inspection."

With Lai Gulu managing the people and Peng Jin managing the land, the pairing was entirely appropriate.

Consequently, Lai Gulu and Peng Jin accompanied Yang Can and Qingmei out of the Feng'an Fortress.

The moment Yang Can departed, a shadow of suspicion crossed Zhang Yunyi's eyes.

An audit of the estate's accounts was inevitable, and he had long since mentally prepared for it. Of course, actual preparation had been impossible because Second Master Yu had handed over the account books far too quickly.

Yet, in any endeavor, the decisive factor was always human agency. And as for the personnel involved, he had already paved the way with Yang Can. He had also sent word to Senior Executor Li Youcai. Logically speaking, he had already secured Yang Can's cooperation, and he felt even more confident about handling that fellow Li Damu.

Still, he feared the unpredictable ambition of a newly appointed official—what if this Yang Can harbored excessively greedy designs?

...

Lost in these calculations, Master Zhang beckoned his steward, Wan Tai, closer.

"Wan Tai, go and give a few quiet words to Lai Gulu and Peng Jin. Tell them to... tend to Executor Yang with the utmost care."

Understanding the unspoken meaning, Wan Tai nodded and said, "Rest assured, Master. I am on my way."

"Wait!"

Zhang Yunyi called him back. His gaze darkened, and his expression grew conflicted.

After a long pause, Zhang Yunyi stroked his beard and slowly instructed, "Have our people make preparations. Should the situation spiral beyond control..."

Zhang Yunyi's hand swept downward from his beard across his chest with a decisive, ruthless motion, resembling a falling blade.

Even though Wan Tai had followed Zhang Yunyi since his youth and had handled his fair share of dirty work, he could not help but feel a jolt of shock.

"Master, Executor Yang is an emissary sent directly by the Clan Head! If something were to happen to him here on our estate... even if there is no proof, we will never escape culpability."

Zhang Yunyi sneered, "No matter how grave the consequences, could they possibly outweigh our involvement in the 'mountain goods smuggling' affair?"

Wan Tai was momentarily stunned. Zhang Yunyi consoled him, saying, "As long as there is no concrete evidence, even the Clan Head cannot condemn us to death. But once the matter of the 'mountain goods smuggling' comes to light, you know full well what the outcome will be."

Clenching his teeth, Wan Tai's eyes flashed with a cold light. "The Master is right. This subordinate knows what must be done!"

...

Accompanied by Yang Can, Qingmei first visited the village workshop, then spoke with several villagers. Next, they toured the irrigation canals outside the village and finally arrived among the patchwork fields to the west of the village.

Standing on a raised ridge between the fields, Yang Can gazed out at the peasants tilling the soil. The spring breeze brushed against his face, filling him with a sense of invigoration.

Suddenly, a wave of delicate fragrance drifted over. He turned his head to find Qingmei's pretty, expressive face close to his own.

"Hey, are we... just going to wander around aimlessly like this all day?"

Yang Can chuckled softly. "What? Are your feet already tired?"

Glancing sideways, Qingmei noticed that Peng Jin and Lai Gulu were chatting idly beneath a tree.

She lowered her voice and protested, "Didn't you say someone else would break the deadlock? Then why are we putting ourselves through this hardship? My feet are aching."

With that, she stretched out her foot.

Yang Can looked down and saw a dainty deerskin boot peeking out from beneath her pomegranate-red skirt. Even the shoe appeared exquisitely small.

Catching the directness of his gaze, Qingmei self-consciously pulled her foot back under her hem.

Pouting playfully, she scolded, "I'm talking to you, did you hear me?"

Yang Can spread his hands in a helpless gesture. "If you and I had remained cooped up inside Feng'an Fortress, how could Master Zhang not grow suspicious?"

Pleading coquettishly, Qingmei said, "Oh, I know you're full of clever tricks. Just think of a solution, then."

A wicked grin spread across Yang Can's face. "Well, there is a solution. For instance..."

Meeting Yang Can's mischievous gaze, Qingmei's pretty face suddenly flushed crimson, resembling the blooming blossoms of the valley apricot trees in spring.

"Hate you! Do you have a death wish?"

Stretching out her foot, Qingmei pressed down with mock force on Yang Can's shoe.

Perhaps because her foot was so tiny, or perhaps because her body was so light, the pressure felt less like a step and more like a gentle stroke, leaving Yang Can's heart fluttering with fond amusement.

As for Su Chanzhi, Yang Can had been like Pigsy devouring the ginseng fruit—he hadn't even had the chance to savor the flavor. Pan Xiaowei, on the other hand, was like a female demon consuming Tang Sanzang, possessing an entirely different allure.

As for little Qingmei, Yang Can felt no urgent desire to claim her prematurely. Could this subtle, lingering ambiguity not be a delightful experience in its own right?

...

The thawing of the frozen earth in Longshang occurred much later than in the Central Plains.

The sowing season here was generally about a month later than in the Central Plains. While the fields of the Central Plains were already lush with thriving green sprouts, spring plowing had only just begun here.

Across the vast, flat plains, a busy agricultural scene unfolded. Freeholders, hereditary retainers, and tenant farmers of the Feng'an Estate were all hard at work turning the soil.

The newly plowed earth lay loose and soft, resembling ripples of golden waves.

Unlike the pitch-black, oil-rich soil of Liaodong, the earth in Longshang was predominantly yellow or brownish-yellow. Though not black topsoil, this region was nonetheless known as the "granary of Longyou," boasting exceptionally fertile ground.

The black soil of Liaodong was naturally formed chernozem, created by the gradual decomposition of abundant organic matter—a heaven-sent fertility. The soil of the Hetao region, meanwhile, relied on irrigation from the Dragon River, whose waters were rich in various biological nutrients, thereby compensating for the land's inherent shortcomings.

The wife of Leopard-Head Cheng Dakuan was busy toiling in the fields at this very moment. Her father-in-law, Old Man Cheng, guided the plow while Mistress Cheng led the ox. Meanwhile, her two sons and several cousins of similar age played happily along the field ridges. Their infant daughter, swaddled tightly in blankets, lay fast asleep upon a clean tree root that protruded from the ground beneath a large tree.

Cheng Dakuan was the eldest son of the Cheng family and the most accomplished among them. With six younger brothers and two sisters, they represented the glorious martial achievements of Old Man Cheng's lifetime. Two of Cheng Dakuan's younger brothers had perished in childhood, leaving him with four surviving younger brothers and two younger sisters, all belonging to a family of freeholders.

Naturally, the Cheng family's livelihood was vastly superior to that of the tenant farmers. Yet this superiority was relative only when compared to those tenants.

As the eldest son and the most prosperous member of the household, Cheng Dakuan frequently extended a helping hand to his siblings. Had he used his status as a steward of the Yu family solely to support his own immediate nuclear family, his standard of living could have been far more affluent.

Adjacent to Cheng Dakuan's plots lay the lands belonging to his brothers and sisters, arranged neatly in succession. This vast expanse of farmland entirely belonged to the Cheng clan.

Since his younger brothers' households did not own a draft ox, waiting for their eldest brother's ox to become available would risk missing the optimal farming season. Consequently, they were forced to pull the plows themselves. Without robust laborers in the household, such backbreaking work would have been entirely impossible.

Fortunately, Old Man Cheng's extraordinary talents extended beyond mere procreation; the children he sired were consistently taller and stronger than ordinary people. The Cheng brothers were all broad-shouldered and powerfully built, possessing immense physical strength. Thus, grueling as the labor of pulling a plow might be, the Cheng family was fully capable of enduring it.

In the field, Second Brother Cheng and his sixteen-year-old eldest son had hemp cloths resting over their shoulders. Bending low and straining their legs, they labored like prime oxen to till the soil.

Sweat streamed down their faces, soaking into their chests and backs, or dripping straight from their foreheads and chins into the earth. Second Sister-in-law Cheng held the plow handle from behind, the family of three working in unison.

By plowing a bit more land now, once their eldest brother's ox was freed up, they would be able to finish the remaining fields much faster. In turn, that would allow their other brothers' households to catch up on their farming all the sooner.

Suddenly, a pair of straw sandals appeared right in front of Second Brother Cheng.

Lifting his head, Second Brother Cheng saw half a face, stubbly and bristling like a halberd, beneath the brim of a bamboo hat.

Before he could even make out the man's features, Second Brother Cheng recognized him.

With a joyful cry, he blurted out, "Eldest Brother?"