Chapter 1 Autumn Sounds (Grade 7)

  Sun Cai's head had been gone for a long time, and Wang Xun sat alone on the couch, staring blankly at the iron certificate of pardon in the brocade box.

  "Alright, stop staring. Even if you keep looking at it, it's still just a piece of iron and won't turn into gold!" Uncomfortable with Wang Xun's distracted expression, Cloud Aunt smiled and stretched out her finger to poke his forehead.

  "Ah!" Wang Jun suddenly woke up, instinctively stretching out his arms to tightly hold the brocade box containing the iron certificate in his bosom. This action made Yun Ni laugh dumbly, shaking her head and scolding in a low voice: "Look at you, so spineless! What's the point of holding onto the iron certificate? Who can still snatch it from you? Besides, this thing is only useful for intimidating that rustic Sun fellow. If you really get into big trouble, it may not be of much use!"

  She saw the disbelief on Wang Xuan's face, and she smiled and continued: "One day as a king, one day as a minister. Do you think this thing can really ward off all disasters? Next door, your Uncle Cheng's family had three of these things back in the day, one was bestowed by the great-grandfather emperor, and the other two were bestowed by Emperor Taizong. But when Empress Wu came to power, didn't they say that if you wanted to exterminate a clan, you could just exterminate it? I didn't let you know about this before because I was afraid that if you knew about it, you would rely on it and cause an irreparable disaster. This thing is the last protective charm of our Wang family. We can't take it out unless absolutely necessary, or else if we do take it out and it doesn't work, then our Wang family will be completely doomed!"

  "Haha, haha!" Wang Jun was scolded to the point where he only had the qualification to smile foolishly. Putting down the iron certificate, he got up and walked behind Yun Niang, gently pressing on her shoulders, "Isn't there still you? You are the second iron certificate of our Wang family. With you here, no one can do anything to the Wang family!"

  This was indeed his heartfelt words, although it was obvious that he was flattering. Today's events had given him a huge shock. Firstly, he hadn't expected that his own family would still have such a treasure as the "Iron Certificate of Exemption from Death". Secondly, he hadn't expected that the great calamity that had frightened him and Ma Fang into a state of utter panic could be so easily resolved by Yun Niang with just fifty taels of silver. And Yun Niang's performance while speaking to Sun the Captain was something he had never seen before in his life. The various tactics she employed, including intimidation, bribery, coercion, and appeasement, were all used to great effect, each one more clever than the last. Although Wang Xun had always thought that his own cunning was among the best in Chang'an City, today's comparison with Yun Niang made him realize just how childish his usual tricks were.

  "Good grief!" Cloud Aunt slapped Wang Cong's hand away with a loud smack, her expression a mix of pity and exasperation. "When can I take care of you? Normally I urge you to make progress, but you always think I'm nagging. Now do you know the severity of the situation? A mere constable from the yamen has left you at sixes and sevens! As the saying goes, 'A governor who destroys his own family, a magistrate who ruins his own household.' If one doesn't have a solid official hat to shield oneself, no matter how large one's family business or wealth may be, a single lawsuit can make it all disappear into someone else's pockets!"

  "Wasn't I inexperienced before?" Having just owed Yun Niang a great favor, Wang Xun didn't dare to speak back, and smiled awkwardly, speaking in a low and submissive tone.

  "This time you've learned your lesson, right!" Yun Yi slowly stood up, shaking her head with a bitter smile. "You half-grown kid, always thinking you're the smartest person under the sun. You ignore everything adults say. When you get into trouble, that's when you remember what we told you. By then, it's all too late and there's no place to buy regret medicine!"

  "Heh heh!" Wang Jun followed closely behind his stepmother, just like when he was a kid, with a silly grin on his face.

  Yun Yi walked a few steps, saw Wang Xuan still stuck to her back like a tail, and had to turn around again, smiling and scolding: "What are you following me for? Don't you hurry up and think about what to do next? Didn't that Sun captain say so? The Wan Nian County government office is also acting on orders, who really wants to take action against you, even Zhang county magistrate himself may not be too clear!"

  "So, so I hope Auntie can give me some more advice!" Wang Xuan scratched the back of his head and said pitifully.

  "You, how can I put it!" Yun's aunt couldn't shake him off, nor could she really let him get into trouble and be caught by the yamen. She had no choice but to turn around again, walk to the front of the Hu bed, and sit down heavily. "First, you have to give your aunt a clear account, have you done anything recently that's harmful or unjust?"

  "I've never done anything that goes against the law or morality. But if you want to nitpick, you can always find some fault in everything!" Wang Xuan thought for a moment and muttered under his breath.

  "Useless thing, and yet someone still dares to come and provoke him? Probably because flies don't bother with eggs that aren't rotten. " Seeing Wang Xun still denying it, Yun Ni suddenly changed her expression from the loving mother hen she was earlier when protecting Wang Xun in front of outsiders, to a completely opposite cold smile as she pursued the questioning.

  "Hard, hard to pick on, I'm afraid it's possible to pick out a little bit!" Wang You was seen by Cloud Aunt with a guilty conscience, and could only tell the truth, "Apart from the industries that you handed over to me, I've also lent out some money in the past two years, I think you're aware of this. In addition, last year when the Wei River flooded, I took advantage of some farm households being unable to make a living and bought a batch of land at a low price, I'm sure you understand what's going on. And then there's occasionally helping someone out in a fight, or racing horses in the market... But as for driving people to death, I really haven't done anything like that!"

  "So that means you're involved in the case Sun Captor mentioned earlier?" Cloud Aunt sighed, her face full of fatigue.

  "The kid just told Sun the captain, basically all true. Of course, try to make his own responsibility a little smaller!" Wang Xun nodded, with a face full of grievances.

  "You, you're really incapable of even being a spoiled brat!" Yun's aunt was furious and poked him hard with her finger. "Isn't this just giving someone a handle to use against us? How can our family be so short on money that we have to resort to forcing people into desperation?"

  "It's not entirely a forced sale!" Wang Xuan dared not hide, covering his forehead and muttering in a low voice, "Everyone else is taking advantage of the situation to grab land, I'm just following the crowd! The Qin brothers grabbed even more than me, but did the authorities do anything to them? They're just bullying me because I'm soft!"

  "That's right, bullying is just for people like you who don't have a conscience! Can our family compare to the Qin family?" Cloud Aunt raised her palm to hit, seeing Wang You with a pitiful look, her heart softened, and she put her arm down again.

  Although she is not Wang Xuan's biological mother, after all, she has been raising him since he was a child and always treats him as her own flesh and blood. Unable to bear seeing Wang Xuan distressed, she sighed softly and said in a low voice: "The key now is not these cases, but to find out the origin of this storm? To what extent will the government investigate? Today, I can use my ancestor's prestige to intimidate that rustic Sun, but next time if someone else comes, it won't be as easy!"

  Lian Yun's aunt also felt embarrassed, and Wang Xun's heart was even more anxious. He carefully pointed to the brocade clothes on his stepmother's body with his hand and whispered: "Don't you still have this life-saving dress? It's one level higher than the county magistrate of Wannian!"

  "Pfft!" She couldn't bear it anymore, and with a smile, Cloud Auntie gave him a good whack on the back of his head. "You really believe that! This life-saving garment is actually worthless. If County Magistrate Zhang really wanted to deal with us, he could just report it to the higher-ups and have this garment confiscated by tomorrow. Besides, this clothing was bought with money in the first place, and it's far from being a proper life-saving garment. Your grandfather has never held office, where would I get him a proper life-saving garment to wear?"

  "Ah!" Wang Xuan's mouth was agape, the gap between his upper and lower teeth wide enough to fit a duck egg. Today's events were too bizarre, almost every single one of them exceeded his accumulated common sense from before. The iron coupon, once the emperor's, now the minister's; changing emperors would greatly devalue its effect. The official attire of the imperial court's ladies could actually be bought, and a county magistrate with real power could easily take it back. Calculating this way, the Wang family's influence he had always relied on was basically non-existent. It was just that he hadn't gotten into too much trouble before, so no one wanted to bother him.

  Thinking of this, he couldn't help but break out in cold sweat. To say nothing of other things, just the cases that Sun Captor mentioned today, if they had really fallen on an ordinary person's head, they would have probably been beheaded several times already. How pitiful that I used to think that I had the protection of my ancestors' prestige behind me, how pitiful that I used to think that by pulling together a group of fellow nobles and forming a clique, we could act with impunity in Chang'an City.

  Just as I was regretting not leaving earlier, I heard Cloud Aunt sigh and say in a low voice: "You shouldn't be too anxious either. This life-saving garment hasn't been taken back yet, has it? As long as I can protect you for one more day, I won't just sit back and watch you get caught."

  "Sorry to trouble you, Auntie!" Wang Xun's heart warmed up, he stood up and bowed respectfully to Cloud Aunt.

  "Nonsense, what's the trouble? If this family didn't have you, could your aunt still survive?" Cloud Aunt's eyes reddened as she said in a low voice. "In those years when your father bought me this life-saving dress, he was probably thinking of today too. He did things prudently and always thought several steps ahead. It's just that he left early and didn't get to personally teach you how to grow up!"

  "Grandfather is heartbroken for your sake, so he bought you this dress to wear!" Wang Xuan saw Yun Niang's tears welling up and couldn't bear to ask about his own affairs anymore, forcing a smile to comfort her.

  As soon as the mention of Wang Jun's father, Yun Niang's words became unstoppable. "At that time, your mother had just passed away. I was a daughter of a merchant family, but your grandfather insisted on making me the legitimate wife. It was inevitable that some people in the mansion would be unhappy about it. Coincidentally, the emperor was building a palace and needed money, so he decided to sell some official titles. Your grandfather gritted his teeth and spent 2,000 taels of silver to buy this fourth-rank noblewoman's title for me!"

  "Why didn't Grandpa buy one for himself too?!" Half out of curiosity, and the other half to tease his stepmother, Wang Xuan looked up with a smile and asked.

  "I also wanted to buy it. But the government later changed its mind and refused to sell official titles to men!" Yun's aunt smiled, a faint happiness rising on her face.

  "What's that again?" Wang Xuan completely turned into a curious baby, grabbing Yun's words and asking non-stop.

  "At that time, Prime Minister Zhang Jiuling opposed it, saying that officials are the arms of the imperial court and the system is the foundation of the state. Those who buy official positions spend money, and after taking office, they will naturally make a profit from the people's heads. The territory of the Tang Dynasty is so vast, and the imperial court cannot catch all corrupt officials and punish them according to the law. If this continues, those originally honest officials will see that corrupt officials have not been punished and will follow suit. In this way, it won't take long for the Tang officialdom to find no clean officials. Any policy from the central government to the local government, even if it is a good policy for the people's welfare, will become an excuse for officials to make money, thus becoming a bad policy. Gradually, the foundation of the Tang Dynasty will be hollowed out by corrupt officials, repeating the mistakes of the Sui Dynasty!"

  "He really dares to say it!" Upon hearing this, Wang Xuan couldn't help but blurt out a word of praise.

  Yun Yi nodded slightly, "Old Zhang Chengxiang, it's true that he was very bold back then. Even your grandfather admired him for this. Due to his obstruction, the Emperor had no choice but to withdraw the edict and stop selling official titles. However, Li Linfu, the Minister of Rites at the time, saw through the Emperor's intentions and proposed only selling women's imperial decrees, not men's official titles. After all, except for Empress Wu Zetian's reign, there was no precedent for women holding office in any other dynasty. As long as the Tang Dynasty ensured that women did not hold office afterwards, the imperial decrees could be sold freely, and selling as many as they wanted would not disrupt the official order!"

  "Ah!" Wang Xun was stunned again, his mouth wide open. He usually chatted with a group of nobles about some officials' strange stories in the imperial court. But they were all boring stories like "golden houses and hidden beauties", "cutting peaches and breaking sleeves", and were all rumors without any truth. None of them was as vivid and realistic as what Cloud Aunt told today.

  "So, not long after that, Old Zhang was dismissed by the Emperor and replaced by Li Linfu. The officials of the Tang Dynasty are getting easier to deal with, as long as you can bribe your superiors, you can sit safely in your position, and it doesn't matter how you stretch out your hands downwards. That's why your father suddenly woke up and hopes that you will become an official this lifetime. He doesn't expect you to revive the family's fortunes, at least get a official hat to wear, so as not to be bullied by others!"

  "Child knows wrong!" Recently for more than two years, Wang Xuan accepted the other's teachings with a sincere heart for the first time without complaining that Yun Niang was nagging.

  "You just know that. It's not urgent in the next day or two. Let's get through this hurdle first, and then we'll find another way. I always feel that this storm is not coming for you, but there is a mystery behind it. So in these few days, don't provoke any more trouble, focus your energy on investigating the official news, as long as we can find the real target of the person behind the scenes, we may be able to turn danger into safety!"

  "Hmm!" Wang Xuan nodded in agreement. In his heart, he admired Yun Niang extremely.

  The mother and son discussed several key action details, but before they could decide which step to take first, the gatekeeper reported that Ma Xiao Gong Ye and Zhang Tan Hua, Lei Bing Cao's three came together. Wang Xun was overjoyed when he heard this, and he quickly excused himself from Cloud Madam, personally going to welcome them at the entrance of the house.

  After meeting, seeing three friends all with a worried face, he felt warmer in his heart and smiled, saying in a low voice: "I myself was not careful, got into trouble. And even dragged a few people to worry about it together, thinking about it, I'm really ashamed!"

  "What nonsense! Are you driving us away?" Lei Wanchun and Ma Fang each gave him a punch, scolding with a smile.

  Zhang Xun was a civil official and did not act as recklessly as Lei Wanchun and Ma Fang. He shook his head, smiled and responded: "Second Brother, don't be polite. Usually, you guys play with things that Zhang is not good at, so he tries not to force himself in front of everyone. But now Second Brother has encountered trouble, if Zhang retreats further back, wouldn't all the classics he read have gone to waste?"

  Having said that, he put away his smile, and between his eyes, a straightforward air appeared.

  Wine slave's note: Correction, this chapter is Chapter 7 Part 1. Yesterday's chapter was Chapter 6 Part 2, not Chapter 6 Part 3. Bowing deeply and begging for collection.