Grass and mustard reign supreme

Chapter 151 A wonderful misunderstanding

When Yang Can rushed back to Phoenix Villa, a few snowflakes began to fall again.

The snowflakes seeped into the collar of the mink coat, feeling cool, but since there was no wind, it wasn't too cold.

Leopard Head Cheng Dakuan and several guards rode alongside Yang Can, their imposing figures resembling a moving iron tower.

Leopard Head was originally assigned to guard Chicken and Goose Mountain to take care of his daughter, but because of the words of the two Mohists at the foot of the mountain, he was temporarily transferred back to his side.

Cheng Dakuan is now Yang Can's top fighter. With this "iron spear" by his side, Yang Can feels more at ease.

After all, the Mohists act in secrecy, and Yang Can really didn't know whether the Mohists had transformed yet, so it was difficult to judge whether Qin Mo Juzi was hostile.

The guards at the mountain gate had already spotted several fast horses approaching. They were very familiar with the figure on the chestnut horse leading the way; it was none other than Yang Can, the chief steward of the eldest branch.

Cheng Dakuan, the former leader of the eldest branch, who was standing next to him, was even more conspicuous with his towering appearance.

The servants dared not delay. Working in pairs, they pushed open the two heavy, vermilion-lacquered doors. The hinges creaked as they turned, the sound particularly clear in the quiet snowy weather.

Yang Can dismounted swiftly and decisively.

He tossed the reins to the guard, tightened his fur coat, and stepped through the gate.

But as soon as he entered the gate, he did not go into the inner courtyard, but instead turned around and went into the gatehouse next door.

The fire in the gatehouse was burning brightly. Old Liu, the head of the village guards, was sitting in front of the fire warming himself. Hearing the noise, he looked up and saw that it was Yang Can, the chief steward of the eldest branch. He immediately jumped up.

Old Liu said with a big smile, "Oh, it's Steward Yang back! Come on, warm yourself by the fire."

Yang Can closed the door, rubbed his frostbitten hands, walked to the stove and sat down, and asked with a smile, "Are there many people visiting the mountain today? I went down the mountain early this morning, so don't miss any important guests."

"The Grand Steward is truly a meticulous person; no wonder the Clan Master values ​​him so highly!"

Old Liu first flattered her before laughing and saying, "Don't worry, Elder Steward, the second day of the Lunar New Year is quite quiet. It's not until the third day that the guests will flock in."

As he spoke, he walked over and reached out to flip through the register on the table.

"Head Steward, only two groups of people came today. They are all old stewards who manage the mountains and forests for our Yu family. They are familiar faces who have passed down their duties from father to son and from son to grandson. They came to kowtow to the lord and offer some mountain delicacies before leaving."

"Are they all old folks from the manor?" Yang Can frowned slightly. According to what the two people down the mountain said, Qin Mo Juzi couldn't possibly be of this identity if he came up the mountain.

"That's right," Old Liu said with a sigh. "Back then, their father brought them to pay New Year's respects to the master. Now, it's their turn to bring their children and grandchildren. Time waits for no one!"

Old Liu couldn't help but sigh at how quickly time flies.

At this point, he suddenly slapped his forehead: "Oh, right, there are two other people who came specifically to visit you, Grand Steward. One is Young Master Zhao, and the other is Young Master Luo. They said they are old friends of yours, Grand Steward."

A visitor to me? An old friend of mine? Yang Can wondered, when did I meet any Young Master Zhao or Young Master Luo?

Yang Can hurriedly asked Lao Liu a few questions, but Lao Liu couldn't remember them clearly and only gave a general description of what the two guests looked like.

Yang Can immediately became suspicious. There were only three groups of people visiting the mountain today. The first two groups were minor stewards in charge of the nearby forests. They were servants of the Yu family for generations, and it was unlikely that they were Qin Mo Juzi.

Could it be that this Qin Mo Juzi is one of the two worshippers, Zhao and Luo?

Just now at the foot of the mountain, those two Mohists from Qi mistook me for a fellow Mohist, so it's certainly possible that this Mohist from Qin could also be one.

So, this Qin Mo master mistakenly took me for a fellow disciple, but since it was inconvenient to reveal his identity as a Mo practitioner, he made up an identity and came up the mountain to find me.

Thinking of this, Yang Can nodded: "Alright, as long as there are no important people visiting, it's fine, so as not to be negligent. Okay, you go ahead and do your work."

Outside the gate, Cheng Dakuan was waiting with several guards leading their horses.

Yang Can came out of the gatehouse and instructed, "Send the horses back to the stables and let them rest. Da Kuan, you stay here."

Yang Can walked towards his residence, and the guards led his horse to settle it, while Leopard Head quickly followed Yang Can.

When they arrived at the gate of Yang's residence, Yang Can suddenly stopped, waved to Leopard Head, and whispered something to him.

Leopard Head listened intently, his eyes gradually widening in surprise.

After giving his instructions, Yang Can asked, "Got it?"

Leopard Head nodded quickly, and Yang Can said, "Go and prepare quickly, and come to the flower hall to see me when you're done."

Leopard Head agreed and quickly left, while Yang Can straightened his clothes and went into his residence.

"master!"

"I've met the master."

When the servants in the house saw their master return, they all stepped aside to pay their respects.

Yang Can nodded and asked, "Where is Madam Qing?"

"Reporting to Master, Madam is managing affairs in the flower hall."

Yang Can nodded and headed towards the flower hall.

As soon as I entered the flower hall, I saw Qingmei wearing a light green embroidered plum blossom jacket, instructing the old women and maids on the purchases to be made after the New Year.

Upon seeing Yang Can enter, Qingmei immediately dismissed the servants and greeted him with a smile.

As she helped Yang Can take off his fur coat, she said, "You're back early. I thought my husband wouldn't be back until evening."

Yang Can's daughter lives at the foot of the mountain. Yang Can's purpose in going there is, of course, to visit his adopted children, but more importantly, he wants to see his daughter.

So logically, he shouldn't have returned too early. It wasn't even dark yet, so Yang Can's return time was indeed somewhat unexpected for Qingmei.

Yang Can sat down in the chair and said with a smile, "Something came up at the last minute, so I came back early."

Because he was having Leopard Head make some preparations, he wasn't in a hurry to see Young Master Zhao, so he casually asked, "Have the managers returned the gifts?"

"Return."

Qingmei came over and poured tea for Yang Can: "We didn't return everything. We returned the heavier items, kept a few, and took a few more from our warehouse as return gifts."

As Qingmei poured him tea, she said, "I told you, my husband, that you will be taking up your post after 'Renri' (the seventh day of the first lunar month), and now is a crucial time."

My husband appreciates your kind invitations, but he dares not accept such a generous gift. If the patriarch finds out, it could ruin his future, and that would be disastrous.”

"Yes, that's a good way to put it." Yang Can praised, "You really are my virtuous wife!"

Qingmei's eyes crinkled with delight at his praise. She walked up to Yang Can, put her hands on his shoulders, and said coquettishly, "My husband praises me as a virtuous wife, but there are some things he doesn't want me to know."

Yang Can wrapped his arms around her soft waist and asked in surprise, "What have I been hiding from you?"

Little Green Plum wrinkled her nose coquettishly and said, "No? Then... Husband, what kind of humble family do you come from in Jiangnan?"

Yang Can's heart skipped a beat: "A poor family is a poor family, what kind of poor family could it be?"

"Is it?"

The little plum blossom playfully slapped away Yang Can's large hand that was sliding towards her shapely buttocks, and said with a half-smile, "To be able to take a great Confucian scholar as your teacher and to be able to enter the world-renowned Xuanxing Pavilion as your disciple, you from a humble background must be quite extraordinary, right?"

Yang Can was dumbfounded. He understood what Xiao Qingmei said, but he couldn't understand the meaning behind it.

What great Confucian scholar as a teacher, what disciples of Xuanxinglu? What on earth is Xuanxinglu?

As someone from the Suo family, Xiao Qingmei had heard of the renowned Xuanxinglu in Jiangnan.

There were no academies in this era, but there were places where great scholars gathered to run schools, which can be considered the predecessors of later academies.

The location of such schools is often named after the place or the headmaster's pen name, plus words like "hu" or "tang" to form the name of the academy.

Xuanxinglu was a famous academy in the Southern Dynasties, but the problem was that Yang Can had never heard of it.

In order to create an identity that would not be easily investigated, he casually made up the name of the Luo family in Jiangnan. It was because he had heard someone say while he was herding horses on the ranch that ten of the horses from their ranch that were sold to Jiangnan had been bought by the Luo family of Wuzhou for a large sum of money.

That's why he mentioned it casually when he later fabricated his identity.

Then, when he heard Qingmei mention some great Confucian scholar from Jiangnan and Xuanxing Hall, he wondered if it was something his two "old friends" had told him.

Yang Can's mind raced, and he asked, "From whom did you hear this?"

Seeing his surprised expression, Qingmei laughed: "What, I stumped you? Of course, these words were said by your good fellow disciple, Young Master Zhao Chusheng."

"Zhao Chusheng?" Yang Can was even more bewildered.

Xiao Qingmei then told Yang Can how Zhao Chusheng and Luo Mei had come to visit.

Later, suddenly remembering something, Xiao Qingmei twisted her waist, sat on Yang Can's lap, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Qingmei whispered in Yang Can's ear, "Let me tell you, that Young Master Luo is actually a woman. I bet she's Young Master Zhao's lover."

Yang Can appeared nonchalant, but inwardly he was wary, asking, "Where are they now?"

Qingmei said, "I arranged for them to stay in Jingyun Pavilion in the backyard. Since Luo Mei was pretending to be a man, I naturally pretended not to know and arranged a separate guest room for her."

Qingmei chuckled and said, "But I'm a very understanding person. Her residence is next to Young Master Zhao's, so it would be very convenient for her to have an affair. I'm just doing her a favor."

At that moment, a tall figure flashed past the door of the flower hall; it was Cheng Dakuan.

He saw Qingmei snuggling in Yang Can's arms and hurriedly backed away, but Yang Can still saw him.

Yang Can patted Qingmei's bottom and said gently, "I'll go to the study to see him. Send a clever maid to invite Young Master Zhao over alone."

Qingmei kissed him on the cheek and said coquettishly, "Tonight, you have to tell me the story of your Xuanxing disciple."

If your story isn't complete, I'll bite you to death!

……

Yang Can followed Cheng Dakuan into the study. Cheng Dakuan pointed to the dust collector on the ceiling and said to Yang Can, "Master, look, everything is arranged properly."

Following Cheng Dakuan's directions, Yang Can looked up, and Cheng Dakuan quickly walked behind the desk.

A curtain embroidered with bamboo hung down against the wall near the desk.
Cheng Dakuan pointed to the spot and said to Yang Can, "Master, you see, you can start it by sitting here."

Yang Can nodded, walked behind the desk and looked at it again, then nodded in satisfaction.

A moment later, a maid's voice came from outside the door: "Master, Young Master Zhao has arrived."

"Please invite Young Master Zhao in," Yang Can said, waving his hand at Cheng Dakuan, "Go and stand guard outside the door."

Yang Can's study is not big; bookshelves line the four walls, leaving no place for anyone to hide.

It's nothing compared to Yu Xinglong, who uses a study as his own and can easily build a secret room with hidden doors.

Cheng Dakuan nodded, bowed, and withdrew.

Zhao Chusheng walked in, looking slightly reserved.

As soon as the man entered, Yang Can's gaze was fixed on him.

It wasn't that Yang Can wanted to deliberately scrutinize the person, but rather that this person was far different from his expectations.

His dark skin resembled that of a farmer who had been exposed to the sun for many years. His hands were clasped in front of him, his knuckles were thick, and his fingertips were calloused. He looked more like a craftsman than a scholar.

Yang Can thought to himself: Is this the legendary mysterious Mohist? Or is he a Qin Mohist Grandmaster?
This… with that thick, dark skin, that restrained expression, those hands that didn’t know where to go…

People would only believe he was a farmer working in the fields; he doesn't seem to have anything to do with the word "tycoon" at all.

Impossible, absolutely impossible!
Then... could he be a Confucian scholar from Xuanxinglu in Jiangnan?
Yang Can shook his head slightly. That was even more impossible. How could those Confucian scholars have such a down-to-earth, human touch?
Zhao Chusheng was also looking at Yang Can at this moment.

The man before me was dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, with a jade belt around his waist. His face was as handsome as a pine tree under the moon, and his demeanor was as calm and composed as a deep pool. Even his posture was as upright as a bamboo.

Zhao Chusheng subconsciously withdrew his hand, feeling somewhat ashamed of himself.

Shouldn't I, the Grand Master of the Mohist School, embody this kind of style?

Unexpectedly, many stories of the Mohist ancestors flashed through Zhao Chusheng's mind:

The first great master, Mozi, was a high-ranking official in the State of Song, who debated with the feudal lords; the second, Meng Sheng, was a nobleman in the State of Chu, who kept his promise even unto death; the third, Tian Xiangzi, rose to the position of prime minister in the State of Qi; and the fourth, Fu, was a highly trusted minister in the State of Qin…

But by his generation, the tycoon had hidden himself in the city, and even meeting a stranger was a source of anxiety for him.

A wave of sorrow washed over him, and Zhao Chusheng's Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.

He didn't mind living in seclusion in the city, but the fact that such a prominent figure had fallen so low showed that the Mo Clan had also declined.

Don't you see how Confucianism is thriving in the imperial court these days? Its disciples are everywhere, serving as important officials.

But my Mohist school is gradually declining. Now that I am so powerful, finding a fellow disciple is like finding a needle in a haystack.

He came here to confirm whether Yang Can was a member of the Mo Sect, but his introverted nature prevented him from speaking.

From childhood to adulthood, he was most afraid of dealing with people, and only when facing the refined iron in the furnace and the wood shavings did he feel completely at ease.

Faced with someone as dignified as Yang Can, he considered over a dozen opening lines, but none of them seemed appropriate, and his tongue felt tied in knots.

An awkward silence filled the study before Yang Can broke the ice.

He clasped his hands together and asked with a gentle smile, "Are you the scholar from Xuanxing Pavilion in Jiangnan?"

Zhao Chusheng was taken aback upon hearing this, then his face flushed red, and he hurriedly waved his hand and said, "No, no, no, I am not a student of Xuanxing Studio."

That was...that was something my good friend Young Master Luo said offhand to make it easier for him to enter the manor. I'm truly ashamed..."

He's not a disciple of Xuanxinglu? Then...

Yang Can's mind raced, and suddenly his right thumb gripped the first joint of his index finger, his right wrist lightly resting against his left wrist. His posture was as dignified as a sturdy pine tree, and he asked in a deep voice, "Holding fast to the rules and adhering to the principles, do you know the way?"

Zhao Chusheng's eyes lit up instantly, and almost reflexively, he clenched his left fist, extending only his index and middle fingers and bending them into a "rule" shape.

He straightened his back, stretched out his right hand like a ruler, and rested it firmly under his left elbow, excitedly saying, "With the plumb line as our guide, our comrades are united!"

Huh? This farmer really is a member of the Mohist school! You really can't judge a book by its cover!

Yang Can suddenly remembered the ink talisman he had found, so he took it out of his pocket and showed it to Zhao Chusheng: "Do you recognize this ink talisman?"

Zhao Chusheng became even more excited: "I recognize it, I recognize it, I have one too!"

Zhao Chusheng hurriedly took out his bronze ink talisman from his pocket and flashed it in his palm.

The bronze talisman had an antique color and worn edges; it was the token of his identity as a member of the Mo Sect.

Unlike Yang Can, Yang Can's ink talisman only has one ancient seal character "墨" on the front.

However, the front of the ink talisman in Zhao Chusheng's palm was an ancient seal script character "钜".

Zhao Chusheng's gaze was fixed on the wooden talisman in Yang Can's hand. The character "墨" (mo) had a concealed beginning stroke and a graceful ending stroke, perfectly conforming to the rules of the Mohist school.

Especially the seemingly random ink lines on the side are key hidden marks for distinguishing authenticity.

That's right, Yang Can's ink talisman must be real.

Zhao Chusheng was overwhelmed with excitement. He strode forward and snatched the ink talisman from Yang Can's hand. He compared it with the ink talisman in his own hand, and the edges of the ink matched perfectly.

Zhao Chusheng slammed the two ink talismans heavily onto the desk, then grabbed Yang Can's hand with his other hand.

The calluses on his palms made Yang Can's hands itch, but he didn't care. He shook Yang Can's arm hard, his eyes reddening: "Fellow disciple! We are fellow disciples!"

Yang Can was stunned. "I just wanted to confirm your identity. Who said we're from the same sect?"
Don't come any closer! Don't try to scam me!

But Zhao Chusheng was already in tears, holding his hand tightly and refusing to let go, his voice filled with the sob of joy at finding something he had lost: "Friend Mo! I've finally found a fellow disciple!"

(End of this chapter)