Miss and farmhand

Zhao Yuze stayed on the ground for more than a month, and through Huang Chu, he made contact with the sea, first with Azhu, and then with Ji Zheng.

I learned from Ah Zhu that Ji Zheng was wavering. His background was not difficult to trace. In this dynasty, it was common practice to compile records. Every government office had a warehouse full of archives that were easy to check. Famous pirates were usually listed separately with their life stories written down. There was no tracing back to their ancestors. It was as if pirates were vicious criminals who sprang up from the sky and had no parents.

Later, they discovered his ancestral home was in Min, which brought them even greater joy. People in Min have a particularly strong sense of clan ties, and in such a harsh environment, family and relatives are their only support—something Ji Zheng had inherited. They found his home, a branch of a large Tu ethnic group. There was only an elderly mother, half-blind and half-paralyzed, in her eighties. Despite her advanced age, befitting the woman who gave birth to the "Sea King," she was surprisingly in good spirits, clear-headed and able to speak. She always told others that her son had died at sea and was being cared for by the village, but in reality, she didn't know what her son did for a living; people were constantly bringing things back from the sea.

So the stakes rose. Did he want to be emperor and king at sea, or return to bring glory to his ancestors? In Southeast Asia, such an incomprehensible choice would undoubtedly be the former, but for Ji Zheng, the latter was certainly on his mind. He was dying, and the time he had spent at sea far exceeded the time he had spent on land. More importantly, his mother was also dying. At this point, it wasn't a matter of filial piety, but rather a deep sense of fear. If this opportunity hadn't come, it wouldn't have been a big deal if he and his mother had never seen each other again; fate had dealt them a cruel hand. But the opportunity was before him, giving him a glimmer of hope, a burning desire that would haunt him, and the thought of losing it would be unbearable.

Only after confirming this did Zhao Yuze prepare to set off. Of course, the Vice Commander-in-Chief was not idle during this time either; everything was ready.

However, Ah-Zhu said that some people in the fleet were unwilling, and the leader of them was Kobayashi.

This is actually quite unnatural. It's true that Kobayashi is Japanese, but he's become quite Sinicized. And he's just a small boat owner; no one would specifically make things difficult for him because of his status. They'd have to consider Ji Zheng's feelings. Ah Zhu said that after Kobayashi offered her to her, he became quite ambitious and fawned over Ji Zheng. He wanted to continue at sea, and he no longer mentioned his previous talk of naturalizing in Southeast Asia.

The matter was of utmost importance, so he told Zhao Yuze, who astutely remarked, "It's possible that the Japanese pirates in Liaodong have made contact with him."

Huang Chu let out a soft "ah".

What surprised her was not the present, but the glimpse of Kobayashi from her past life that she could vaguely see.

Xiao Lin in his previous life might not have been like this now, but the paths led to the same destination. Huang Chu even suspected that in his previous life, he would have been killed by his fellow villagers for the sake of his ship and his men.

But now the tables have turned.

It was already mid-spring when Zhao Yuze set off. Huang Chu was at ease; she knew that a turning point had already occurred, long before the cannons fired. They were a year ahead of schedule, and the imperial court was a year ahead of schedule—that was enough.

What would be a catastrophe for insignificant people like them is nothing more than a stone that a giant almost tripped over, which was seen in advance and gently kicked away by a vast and ancient dynasty.

June 4th is an auspicious day.

Huang Chu and Huang Muyun's wedding date was set for this day.

Originally, the whole family was a little embarrassed and not in a hurry, but Huang Chu suddenly had an idea.

She wanted Huang Muyun to "marry" from Jinlou and come to their family.

When she gave the land deed to Huang Muyun, she felt as if she were returning something to its rightful owner.

"Do you want the betrothal gifts?"

Huang Muyun sighed. He was now quite adept at understanding Huang Chu's thoughts. Huang Chu was just using the pretext of giving him a betrothal gift, but in reality, he was too lazy to manage the Golden Pavilion and was dumping the trivial matters on him.

He took it and put it in his sleeve. Huang Chu patted his ear and said, "Good boy."

He turned around and bit her wrist.

Shen Xuying didn't care about anything else; as long as the date was set, she was happy and excitedly started preparing—she didn't know what to say, dowry? bride price? In short, she wanted to buy things for the children, the more the better. She even made twelve new clothes for Huang Chu in one go.

They hired a carpenter to make furniture. When it came to the bed, there wasn't time to have one custom-made for a new wedding. They'd find wood, carve it, and have it meticulously crafted; a good one could last for over a decade. Of course, there were also ready-made ones, especially from experienced carpenters. After all, there's no shortage of wealthy families marrying off their daughters. Just as they were about to recommend one to Shen Xuying, Huang Chu said, "Don't worry about that, I'll have Changzhi handle it."

Huang Muyun later found out and asked her, "How would I know where to buy a bed?"

Huang Chu looked at him with a hint of terror in her eyes and said in a deep voice, "I don't care, figure it out yourself."

On this very day, cannons roared at sea, and fishermen along the coast noticed some changes in the tides.

Two or three days later, people said that the imperial court was fighting with the pirates and that they were going to suppress the bandits.

Then came the constant barrage of artillery fire, and occasionally a few tiny black dots, the size of sesame seeds, could be seen on the distant horizon—the shadows of warships.

157.

"That's true. You don't know, when they sent people to search the ship, they were all fierce and menacing. They all thought there were some escaped criminals hiding on the ship and that they would behead them if they took me away. When I was caught, they even put me in shackles, almost like I was in a cangue. I really thought I was going to die. Unexpectedly, they sent me ashore safely, and a fat steward came. I couldn't understand a word he said. One minute he was threatening me, asking if I knew any dangerous people on the ship, and the next minute he was smiling at me, telling me not to forget him if I made a fortune in the future. I was dumbfounded. When he saw that I didn't speak, he seemed to become wary again and took me down to be locked up. He didn't even remove the shackles from me. I stayed in a storeroom for a short while before someone came to take me out and remove the shackles from me. The people who took me away were from the Huang family. I even saw them stuff a very heavy purse into the fat steward's hand. When the fat man saw me off, he even hugged me and called me brother. He was such a good change of face."

Huang Xingtong was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in two examinations and held the official position of Hanlin. Later, he voluntarily resigned from his post and returned to his hometown to run a school. Jianshan Academy is a well-known and excellent academy in the prefecture.

Huang Xingyu, however, was unsuccessful in the imperial examinations. As the elder brother, he was still only a Xiucai (a lower-level scholar) and had repeatedly failed the exams. He could only work as a tutor in the academy run by his younger brother.

Shen Xuying was the youngest daughter, and her upbringing was more relaxed. She first met Huang Xingtong at a lantern festival when she was young. Huang Xingtong helped her solve twenty riddles, winning her a lantern depicting a moon rabbit pounding medicine. Several years later, Huang Xingtong passed the imperial examination at the county level and came to the Shen family to propose marriage. Shen Xuying was naturally willing, but her parents disliked the Huang family's low social standing, considering him only a minor scholar. They insisted he return after passing the provincial examination. Shen Xuying caused a scene at home, becoming the laughingstock of her peers for her eagerness to marry. However, when Huang Xingtong returned, he had become a Hanlin scholar, a position of great importance. Naturally, her parents' objections disappeared, and Shen Xuying happily married him.