Miss and farmhand

Huang Xingtong has been visiting the academy less and less these days, mainly because he is afraid of upsetting his elder brother and wants to ease the tension between them. So he only goes every few days to see if the students need any answers. And these days, the students seem to be seeking him out less and less. He is happy to be free and doesn't care much about other matters except for official duties.

That morning, he stayed in the room with his wife as usual.

Since Shen Xuying's health had improved day by day and her spirits had been better than usual, she had begun to pay more attention to her appearance. However, today she did not want the maids and servants to do it for her; she sent them away and asked Huang Xingtong to do it instead.

As Huang Xingtong combed his wife's hair, he asked, "Is there something you want to say?"

With the unspoken understanding of an old married couple, Shen Xuying said, "What exactly happened between Yi Niang and that young man Yun? Didn't they say they were leaving a while ago, and then they had a big fight? But the other day when I saw them, it seemed like things weren't going to be like that."

Huang Xingtong combed his wife's hair with a focused concentration characteristic of men doing fine work, treating it like a paintbrush, making sure each strand was distinct. His mind was on this, so he didn't pay much attention to his words: "Anyway, if your mother isn't in a hurry, let her take her time. She'll regret it later—hey, don't move, you'll hurt yourself."

Shen Xuying turned her head and slapped his hand twice, but then she couldn't help but think of the day they made clothes. Huang Chu had also slapped Huang Muyun like that, and then it was natural. It didn't look like she was really angry with him, nor did it look like she was in love. It was more like the actions between people who had been together for many years, just like how she treated Huang Xingtong.

The feeling was so unusual that she couldn't understand it and was even a little afraid to ask Huang Chu.

After a while, Huang Xingtong had almost finished combing her hair, creating a neat, simple, flat, round bun.

While helping her choose a hairpin, Shen Xuying said, "...It would be best to ask Yi Niang another day. If she is really interested, then don't worry about those things and just get married sooner rather than later."

Huang Xingtong tugged at her earring and laughed, "You're in such a hurry. I think your mother is quite wild. She's not really worried about anyone; she just hasn't gotten over that hurdle in her own heart."

Shen Xuying glared at him in the mirror: "She's wild at heart. If we get married, I'll go wild with her."

He lowered his head again, frowning slightly, and said, "I've just felt uneasy these past few days, worried that something might go wrong. I don't know if it's just overthinking or if I really have a premonition. I'll go to the temple to ask another day; perhaps they can offer some answers."

Huang Xingtong chuckled, about to tease his wife a couple more times: "You're getting more and more superstitious as you get older."

Someone came to report that the eldest daughter, young master Yun, and young master Shi had important business with the master.

When Huang Xingtong met them in his study, he thought they were going to talk about business. These days, these young people were usually very enthusiastic, but he didn't expect them to look so serious as soon as they came in. They then told him about their discoveries over the past few days, as well as the gift list.

As Huang Xingtong listened, his face darkened.

He saw further than the three young men. He knew that those in the shipping business couldn't avoid dealing with pirates, but he never imagined the relationship would become so close. Judging from the gift list, it was as if they had paid homage to each other and become sworn brothers.

This is entirely different in nature.

He held the red paper in his hand and pondered for a moment, while Huang Chu and the other two remained silent.

Huang Xingtong said, "This matter does indeed need to be reported to the magistrate. But the three of you should know that it's not something that will yield immediate results just because I report it."

Stone was puzzled: "Why do you say there can't be immediate results? Shouldn't a matter as serious as piracy be prevented as strictly as possible? But based on my observations from my last voyage, the local coastal defenses have many weaknesses. If pirates attack from the sea, we can't defend against them for long!"

In addition to the gift list, Shi Tou also brought Huang Chu's previously entrusted record of the coastal defense inspections, and told Huang Xingtong about his findings.

"That's a better starting point... I think the county magistrate probably doesn't know that coastal defense is like this. The garrison and the county don't actually have close ties, and the problem of military households receiving salaries without working is fundamentally unsolvable. They usually turn a blind eye, not wanting to push them too far. But according to your explanation, the situation is even more serious than receiving salaries without working. However..."

He hesitated and tapped the table. "This record can't be used either. Otherwise, if they're spying on military secrets, they won't just investigate anything else; the first people they'll investigate will be you and me. Once this kind of thing is on paper, it's impossible to explain."

"Then let's not take a record. Sir, you take me there, and I'll say I saw it with my own eyes—" Stone paused, now understanding the crucial points, "—my words probably won't carry weight, I'm not qualified, am I?"

Huang Xingtong sighed and nodded.

"The weak coastal defenses and the collusion between pirates and local merchants are two closely related issues, but they involve two different systems. There must be a complex web behind it all... But don't be discouraged. Now that I know, I have to think of a way. I'll go to the magistrate today to sound him out. If there's an opportunity, I'll reveal some of the information you've found. This," he said, pointing to the gift list, "don't reveal it yet. It would be too reckless to hand over our biggest trump card all at once. We can't just feed this information to the magistrate ourselves; we should give him bait so he gets interested and investigates on his own."

Stone was still somewhat hesitant, wondering if such caution was necessary, and whether it might cause them to miss the opportunity to wipe them all out, thus giving the Zhou family and the pirates a chance to prepare a response.

However, both Huang Chu and Huang Muyun understood the significance of Huang Xingtong's cautious approach.

Huang Xingtong was worried that they might do something unexpected in their impulsiveness, so he reasoned with them, especially with Shi Tou.

"Many of the troubles in officialdom are not actually about whether the task is easy or difficult. If it really comes down to it, it can be done quickly without much delay. Most things are not complicated, at least legally speaking, there shouldn't be any problems. But the problem lies in the source, in whether or not to do it at all."

His smile was somewhat bitter and helpless. "You two have both met our magistrate," he gestured to Huang Chu and Huang Muyun, "did you think he was completely unreliable, so you came to me first?"

Seeing them both nod, he chuckled and said, "Actually, it's not just him who's like this; most people are. It's best not to do anything if you can avoid it. If nothing happens, then nothing's wrong. Imagine a perfectly good merchant, with such a large business, suddenly being accused of colluding with pirates, and people are sent to investigate. Of course, the magistrate wouldn't want to. Even if they actually find out something, his first reaction wouldn't be that he's glad they investigated, but rather that they shouldn't have investigated, because sure enough, they found something."

The other three listened in stunned silence. They were full of enthusiasm, but they couldn't possibly have come up with such a thing.

Seeing that they had taken his advice to heart, Huang Xingtong said, "Just be mentally prepared. I'll send someone to deliver a message, and I'll go check it out this afternoon."