Volume One, Chapter 35: Close the Door and Unleash Willow Moon

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“Even so, that won’t do!”

Lin Tianlei said coldly, “He bears a different family name. What right does he have to enter our ancestral shrine?”

“He is one of the people of Azure Grove Village! Of course he must enter the ancestral shrine!” the village headman, Zhao, shouted angrily.

Uncle Zhao, stop arguing. I never said I wanted to enter Azure Grove Village’s ancestral shrine.”

Lin Tianlei sneered. “At least you know your place.”

“What?”

The village headman Zhao said anxiously, “You are one of our villagers, and now you have even passed the provincial examination as a graduate. You ought to enter the ancestral shrine!”

Fan Xiu smiled. “Though I am a provincial graduate, I have already decided to abandon scholarship for commerce. I will not enter officialdom. Besides, I once heard my father say that our Fan family came from Liang Province. Even if I were to enter an ancestral shrine, it should be the Fan family shrine in Liang Province.”

Lin Tianlei looked at the village headman with disdain. “Did you hear that? He does not care for Azure Grove Village’s ancestral shrine in the slightest, yet you still want him to enter it?”

Another young man standing nearby chimed in, “In the Great Yin Dynasty, scholars rank above farmers, artisans, and merchants. He refuses to remain a scholar and insists on becoming the lowest of the merchants. How could someone like that enter our ancestral shrine?”

A look of unwillingness appeared on the village headman’s face.

No matter how one looked at it, Fan Xiu was still a provincial graduate.

If he entered their ancestral shrine, it would bring honor to the entire village of Azure Grove. Future generations would know that their village had produced a provincial graduate.

But these members of the Lin family were narrow-minded. They cared only about what lay before them, and there was simply no reasoning with them.

Still, Fan Xiu was right.

If he were to enter an ancestral shrine, it would be the shrine of the Fan family in Liang Province. Azure Grove Village simply lacked the fortune to claim him.

“Since that is the case, let us forget it,” the village headman said helplessly.

Fan Xiu cupped his hands. “Village Headman Zhao, I came to ask you for a favor.”

“Oh? Go ahead. So long as these old bones of mine can help, I certainly will,” Zhao assured him.

Their village had finally produced a provincial graduate.

Yet Fan Xiu was being harassed at every turn. As village headman, Zhao sincerely wished to help him.

Fan Xiu smiled. “It is nothing major. I simply need some cooking pots.”

“What? Pots?” Zhao asked, his eyes widening.

“I have recently started a business selling food, and I need some pots for steaming.”

“Then you may use the pots in my home,” Zhao immediately replied.

“One will not be enough.”

Fan Xiu looked around at the villagers of Azure Grove. “I will probably need ten pots. Do not worry—I will not use them for free. Anyone who lends us a pot will receive ten copper coins a day. If you also provide firewood, you will receive twenty coins a day. If you help tend the fire and do the cooking, you will receive thirty coins a day.”

At the prices Fan Xiu named, eagerness instantly appeared on the villagers’ faces.

They could earn ten coins simply by lending out a pot?

And if they helped with the cooking, they could earn as much as thirty!

When they worked outside the village, even in the best of times they could barely earn thirty coins. On ordinary days, they could not even make twenty.

“Me!”

“And me!”

“I want in too!”

“…”

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In an instant, dozens of people began shouting.

Just then, Lin Tianlei stepped forward. “Everyone, do not act rashly.”

Then he looked at Fan Xiu with a cold laugh. “Would you really be this generous? Thirty coins just for tending a few pots? Do you take us for fools?”

Fan Xiu chuckled lightly. “There is money to be made, so naturally everyone should share in it. After all, I am also a member of Azure Grove Village. Since I have found a way to earn money, I should bring the villagers along.”

He had considered setting up several pots in the Fan family courtyard.

That would have been simpler, more convenient, and less expensive.

But in a village, the most dangerous thing was envy.

If the villagers learned that he was making money, they might well interfere and cause trouble.

Since that was the case, he might as well bring some of them into the business.

There would still be risks, but it was better than having the entire village turn against him.

The village headman Zhao gave him a thumbs-up. “As expected of a provincial graduate! What breadth of mind!”

Then he glared furiously at Lin Tianlei. “You are judging a gentleman by the heart of a petty man! The provincial graduate’s generosity is beyond your comprehension!”

Fan Xiu cupped his hands. “Village Headman Zhao, I shall leave this matter in your hands.”

“Very well!”

Zhao nodded. “Rest assured. I will take care of it and find you ten reliable households.”

Fan Xiu trusted the village headman Zhao.

After bidding him farewell, Fan Xiu returned home. Taking the prepared cold rice noodles and tea-marinated eggs, he set out for Far-Reaching County with Fan Tie.

But the moment he left the house, Shadow, dressed in plain homespun clothing, followed him.

“Willow Moon? Why are you following me? And what are you wearing?” Fan Xiu asked with a frown.

He was genuinely afraid of this fierce woman.

“Yesterday, you encountered danger. Eldest Sister ordered me to accompany you so that nothing would happen to you again,” Shadow replied.

After Fan Xiu had been kidnapped the previous night, Shadow had told Xiao Ruoqing what happened, frightening her badly.

She had then ordered Shadow to protect Fan Xiu.

There were members of the Fan family here, while Xiao Wan and the others were guarding the outside, so nothing should happen. Even if trouble did arise, whether Shadow was present would not make much difference.

However, she needed to conceal her identity and disguise herself as an ordinary villager so as not to attract attention.

To avoid any mishaps, she had borrowed some clothes from her sister-in-law, Madam Li, changed her hairstyle, and made herself look as ordinary as possible.

Even members of the Blood Feather Guard would never recognize her at a glance as the famed commander of the Blood Feather Guard.

Fan Xiu said emotionally, “I knew it! Your sister really does have feelings for me! Just wait. Sooner or later, I will make you call me brother-in-law.”

Shadow shot him a sidelong glance without saying a word.

She did not know how to respond.

Call him brother-in-law?

If he knew that Xiao Ruoqing was the empress, would he still dare to take on the title?

With Shadow following him, Fan Xiu soon arrived at Far-Reaching County.

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This was not Shadow’s first visit to Far-Reaching County.

She had searched the county extensively while trying to find Xiao Ruoqing, so she knew the place fairly well.

But today, she immediately sensed that Far-Reaching County was very different from before.

People hurried along the streets, and stern-looking constables appeared everywhere.

Fan Xiu noticed it as well and asked, puzzled, “What is going on? There are even more constables than before?”

Because of Scarface Zhang’s death, there were indeed more constables on the streets.

But today there were not merely a few more—there were many more, and they were clearly searching for something.

“Stop!”

At that moment, a squad of constables suddenly blocked Fan Xiu’s path.

Fan Xiu asked in surprise, “What do you want?”

Shadow, who had been following behind him, silently shifted closer to his back.

The leading constable’s gaze fell upon Shadow. He barked coldly, “Who are you people, and what are you doing in Far-Reaching County? And what are you hauling in that cart? Open it!”

Fan Xiu raised an eyebrow.

These constables truly did not treat him like a provincial graduate at all!

Folding his arms, Fan Xiu narrowed his eyes. “I drank tea with Magistrate Liu this very morning, and you are asking who I am? What is your name?”

Provincial graduates possessed the privilege of exemption from corporal punishment and imprisonment.

Even if he had truly committed a crime, these constables had no authority to arrest him—much less when he had done nothing wrong.

The constable froze.

He had drunk tea with the magistrate?

Suspicion filled his eyes as he looked at Fan Xiu’s shabby clothes and the broken wooden cart he was pulling. His expression immediately darkened.

“Damn you!”

The constable shouted angrily, “You? A provincial graduate? You dare deceive me! Brothers, I suspect he is an agent of the Starfield Kingdom. Arrest him!”

“Go to hell!”

Fan Xiu kicked the constable in the chest, sending him sprawling, and cursed angrily, “You are nothing but a lowly constable, yet you dare arrest me?”

I even brought a bodyguard with me today!

The constable lay on the ground and shouted furiously, “Seize him! Seize him!”

The several constables beside him immediately charged toward Fan Xiu with vicious expressions.

Fan Xiu quickly stepped back and moved to Shadow’s side. Pointing at them, he ordered, “Willow Moon, go! Beat them up for me!”

Willow Moon: “?”

“What is that look for? You like fighting so much. Now you have a chance to fight, so get moving!”

Fan Xiu shoved Shadow forward, then retreated behind her, wearing an expression of someone ready to enjoy the spectacle.