Chapter 83: Dream

When Chen Pingan climbed out of the well, carrying a basket of mud on his back, he was a bit dazed.

Outside the well stood a group of scholars in tall hats and wide robes. The one at the head was the old official from the Ministry of Rites who had loudly scolded the supervising official beneath the memorial archway. Beside him stood the former supervising official who had built the covered bridge before leaving office, rumored to be Song Jixin's father, Master Song. His complexion was slightly fairer than it had been in the town. The other five or six people, mostly in their thirties or forties, all possessed an extraordinary aura, looking even more like high-ranking officials than Master Song.

In fact, not only was Chen Pingan stunned, but this group of officials from the Ministry of Rites of the Great Li Dynasty, the most prestigious department, were also shocked to see the only wealthy man in the town who owned three bags of gold essence copper coins. Was this raggedy youth covered in dust actually holding wealth equivalent to half the Great Li Emperor's treasury? And then, he spent lavishly, buying up the entire five mountain peaks, including the dilapidated mountain?

Ruan Qiong did not appear, but the girl in green, Ruan Xiu, stood side by side with the magistrate of Longquan County, Wu Yuan. The latter's eyes were focused inward, his face indifferent, his gaze slightly lowered. It gave the impression that Master Wu, whose backing was frighteningly strong, was sulking with the officials from the Ministry of Rites. After all, no one would be happy to have such a large piece of fat carved out of their territory by a group of outsiders.

The incident that occurred beneath the memorial archway ended with Wu Yuan unexpectedly retreating completely, allowing Dong Hu, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, to take all sixteen characters from the plaque. Even though a seventh-floor Qi refiner serving as a secret guard confirmed that the characters on the plaques had lost all their spirit and that there was no need to use precious wind and thunder talismans, Minister Dong still insisted on his own way, as if he wanted to tear down the plaques and carry them away. He completed all the rubbings with the wind and thunder talismans he had brought, and then, satisfied, took his subordinates from the Ministry of Rites to stay in a large family's residence in Peach Leaf Lane.

Wu Yuan's reputation among the common people, which he had painstakingly earned through the construction boom in the town, was suddenly reduced to its original state. The people of Fortune Street and Peach Leaf Lane were happy to see this happen and gossiped about it after dinner, mostly gloating, feeling that Wu Yuan was just a pretty face with no substance. Some said that they would admire Wu Yuan's backbone if he dared to stand up to the people from the Ministry of Rites, but now, they were afraid that he would act like a coward in front of the Ministry of Rites and then bully the locals after he officially put on the magistrate's uniform.

Chen Pingan lightly jumped down from the well carrying a basket of soil. Standing in front of these Great Li officials, Vice Minister Dong Hu smiled, stroking his beard, and said, "You must be Chen Pingan. My name is Dong, and I work in the Ministry of Rites of the Great Li Dynasty. I'm not here on official business. I just had a whim and wanted to see what the owner of the five mountain peaks looks like. Now that my wish has been fulfilled, this trip has been worthwhile."

At the end of his words, the old Vice Minister looked around and laughed heartily.

Except for Master Song, who came from the kiln administration, the other officials from the Ministry of Rites laughed along, as if Minister Dong had told a great joke.

Chen Pingan was a little embarrassed. He couldn't understand the official language of the Great Li that the old gentleman was speaking.

Wu Yuan's lips curved into a subtle arc.

Master Song, who was fluent in the town's dialect, had no intention of helping his superior from the government.

Because the two belonged to different factions, and they had completely fallen out not long ago. If Emperor had not personally ordered him, Song Yuzhang, to accompany them on this trip south, he would never have had the opportunity to be a part of it. The Ministry of Rites was full of scholars, the seeds of scholars who had fought their way across a single-plank bridge with thousands of troops. Therefore, the verbal battles in this department were truly sophisticated, elegant, and wonderfully brilliant. Fortunately, Song Yuzhang was a strange person who could get used to living in a small town. After returning to the capital, he simply did his work silently and didn't feel any frustration or resentment.

Minister Dong had cultivated in the government for most of his life, almost entirely climbing his way up in the Ministry of Rites. As the only department in the Great Li court that could compete with the Ministry of War, Dong Hu, as the third in command, was clearly a sharp-minded old fox. He immediately realized his mistake and thought of finding a way to save face. He turned to look at the only daughter of Master Ruan, hoping that she could help him translate.

However, Minister Dong immediately dismissed the idea. A military sage of the Wind and Snow Temple, whom even the Emperor treated as an honored guest, wouldn't allow him, a mere Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, to order Master Ruan's daughter around. If the girl was a difficult character who didn't understand etiquette and felt that he had slighted her, she might complain to her father. Then, Sage Ruan only needed to send a light sentence or two to the capital, and his position as a third-rank official might still be there, but he would definitely not be comfortable in it. The old man's thoughts raced, but it all happened in an instant. The Minister decided to change his mind, smiling and looking at the girl, about to ask if Miss Ruan was comfortable living here and if the Ministry of Rites could help her find an elegant and clean residence in Fortune Street or Peach Leaf Lane in the town.

But the next moment, something astonishing happened. The daughter of Master Ruan, who was unattainable in the eyes of all the officials from the Ministry of Rites, quickly walked to the side of the mud-covered youth, probably conveying Minister Dong's words to him. The fact that the youth listened to the girl's words with a calm expression truly shocked these officials from the Ministry of Rites.

Chen Pingan had no idea that such a small matter could cause these honored figures from the capital to have thoughts that traveled millions of miles away. After carefully listening to Ruan Xiu's translation, Chen Pingan smiled and said to her, "Xiu Xiu, please tell this old gentleman that I'm just a kiln worker from the Dragon Kiln, and now I'm a handyman at the blacksmith shop. The reason I was able to buy those mountain peaks is thanks to Master Ruan."

As soon as the girl in green heard the address "Xiu Xiu," her pair of autumn eyes narrowed into a pair of crescent moons with a smile. Finally, she happily repeated everything in the authentic elegant language of Dongbao Pingzhou to the old Minister of the Great Li Dynasty. All the officials from the Ministry of Rites, including Dong Hu, were of course fluent in the "grand elegant language" of the continent. Otherwise, wouldn't it confirm the fallacy that the Great Li Dynasty was a northern barbarian dynasty? In fact, in the Great Li capital, the ability to speak fluent grand elegant language had become an important standard for distinguishing between high-ranking and lowly families.

Dong Hu's expression became even more kind and amiable, smiling and nodding gently. After listening to Miss Ruan's explanation, he said that he wouldn't disturb Chen Pingan's work. He troubled Miss Ruan to help them say goodbye to Master Ruan. Since Master Ruan was busy forging swords, they couldn't possibly disturb him, otherwise His Majesty, who had long admired Master Ruan, would definitely punish them.

Ruan Xiu had no interest in these polite words. She gave a sound of disinterest. The old Minister, who was already a seasoned veteran, dared not show any dissatisfaction. After introducing Miss Ruan to several scenic spots in the Great Li capital, he led the team away with a composed expression.

Song Yuzhang walked at the end of the team, and Wu Yuan walked after Song Yuzhang.

Ruan Xiu accompanied Chen Pingan to dump the mud in the basket. As she walked, she said, "My dad said that the matter of buying the mountains will be finalized soon. In addition to this group of officials from the Ministry of Rites of the Great Li Dynasty, land surveyors from the Imperial Observatory will also need to be present. Together with you, the three parties will sign the document to finalize the deal. However, the land surveyors led by the two Azure Crow Masters are still carefully surveying the terrain and feng shui of all the mountain peaks. It's estimated that it will take a few more days before they come out of the mountains."

Chen Pingan thought for a moment, put down the basket, looked at the busy figures around him, and asked, "Shall we go to the stream and talk as we walk?"

Ruan Xiu smiled and said, "Okay."

Ruan Xiu intentionally lowered her voice and said softly, "In addition to deploying Azure Crow Masters and ordinary land surveyors, the Imperial Observatory has also sent many Qi refiners from various schools of thought. They also brought two young Mountain-Moving Apes, one with a silver back and one with long arms. They are usually released into the deep mountains and forests and are only used when needed to split mountain peaks or move hills."

"There are also Mountain-Removing Armored Soldiers created by the Taoist Talisman Sect. They are very magical. A thin piece of paper, after being infused with true Qi by a Qi refiner, can be transformed into a tall armored soldier seven or eight zhang tall, with immense strength. Although they are not as good as Mountain-Moving Apes, they are obedient and will never cause accidents. Mountain-Moving Apes are violent in nature, especially young Mountain-Moving Apes, which are particularly difficult to tame. Once they get out of control, there will definitely be heavy casualties. Even if they are suppressed and killed, it would be a great loss. I heard that there are also Mountain-Opening Puppets personally made by the Mo Family Giant, which I have never seen before. If I have the chance, I will definitely go and see them in the future."

"My dad has chosen two shops for you, one for firecrackers and one for herbs, right next to each other, which you are also familiar with. If you have no objections, my dad can immediately help you finalize the deal, because this kind of small transaction doesn't involve a dynasty's feng shui gains and losses and mountain and river luck, so it's not as troublesome as buying mountains."

Chen Pingan thought for a moment and smiled, "Of course, no problem."

Ruan Xiu suddenly remembered something and said mysteriously, "My dad said in private that the Great Li Emperor personally spoke and decided that since the town now belongs to the Great Li territory, all the magical artifacts and items left in the streets and among the common people will be bought back by the national treasury at high prices. In the end, they collected about twenty decent old objects in the town. The things handed over by Fortune Street, Peach Leaf Lane, and the common people were about half and half, but the selling prices were not high at all. In the end, the Great Li Emperor personally took out seven or eight items to make up thirty items, which were used as prizes for thirty of the mountain peaks, which was equivalent to giving them away for free. Ordinary people of course don't know which mountain peaks have prizes and which don't, but my dad learned that Divine Show Mountain and Ruin Mountain will definitely have them, and they are of excellent quality, among the best. In addition, the Great Li court may bestow a mountain god to be stationed on our family's Lantern Mountain and your Ruin Mountain."

Chen Pingan took a deep breath, squatted by the stream, his brows furrowed.

It all seemed a little unreal.

The Mud Lane youth had never dreamed that he would have such a day.

The grass-shoe youth's dreams were at most related to festive Spring Festival couplets, imposing door gods, fragrant meat buns, and a full bag of jingling copper coins.

Ruan Xiu squatted down with him and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Chen Pingan hesitated, but he couldn't seem to explain it, so he shook his head and casually pulled up a licorice root, chewing it familiarly.

After a moment of silence, Chen Pingan turned his head and smiled, "Miss Ruan, don't be angry that I called you Xiu Xiu in front of the others. I was very nervous when I saw so many high-ranking officials, so I just wanted to pretend to be very familiar with you."

Ruan Xiu blinked and asked a seemingly unrelated question, "Um, have you heard from that friend of yours recently, the one who wears both a saber and a sword?"

Chen Pingan was confused and said, "You mean Miss Ning? After she left, I haven't heard any news from her."

Ruan Xiu smiled.

Chen Pingan suddenly raised his head and turned to the stone arch bridge. A familiar flash of red was rushing towards him, her two legs moving like wheels.

Chen Pingan had a bad feeling and quickly stood up. The little girl in the dirty and wrinkled red cotton-padded coat came in front of him, looked up at him, and to his surprise, she was full of tears, wrinkling her small face that had been tanned a lot, sobbing, "Scholar Ma from the school is dead. He told me to find you before he died."

(Tomorrow, will be released. Chen Pingan will also leave the town tomorrow.)