The tenth section: Doing good deeds brings happiness

  Yun Ye didn't get a new official position, only confirmed his noble status. I don't know what Li Er thought about it. The news of the impending locust disaster was not publicly announced in the imperial court. The imperial court was blocking the news, which is a common trick used by rulers. When bidding farewell to Old Cheng, Yun Ye's face suddenly looked unpleasant. It goes without saying that Li Er was suspicious, suspecting the accuracy of the news, and maybe even suspected Yun Ye's intentions. Looking up at the gloomy sky, Yun Ye let out a bitter laugh. Who said that suspicion is the greatest virtue of rulers? Yun Ye only hoped that history would prove to be wrong, hoping that the recent heavy snow could alleviate the disaster. Let the cold come more fiercely! Freeze all the locusts to death on this harsh winter day.

  I did what I should do, and even what I shouldn't do, I have no regrets. This is Yun Ye's answer to himself. He even prayed to the heavens for a heavy snow to kill the locusts, and just thinking about it made him feel noble. The locusts would arrive at the latest in May, right during the wheat harvest season, when people were reaping, and the locusts were also reaping, it was just a matter of who was faster.

  Who cares, I'm not a god, nor do I rely on gratitude to survive. This is a feudal dynasty, the Li family's world. If I were to spread gratitude throughout the land, I'd probably lose my head soon. The people can only be grateful to one person - that's Li Er. Even Li Chengqian doesn't dare to monopolize all the gratitude in the world for himself. Forget it. Da Ya and Xiao Ya are still waiting for me to cook them something delicious. Just thinking about this, my mood clears up. I shoo away the unnecessary servants, only bringing Zhuang San and Liu Jinbao with me as we rush to the West Market on horseback. There are more shops selling cooking seasonings than vegetable markets.

  Cassia bark, Chenpi, star anise, galangal and Sichuan pepper have been widely used as medicinal herbs in traditional Chinese medicine. Soy sauce is still unknown when it will appear, don't even think about the delicious braised pork ribs, marinated pork ribs are no problem, sugar vinegar pork ribs are also no problem. Yun Yan sucked his saliva while cursing the shortage of materials in the Tang Dynasty. His grandma's, there was not even rock sugar, fortunately, there was brown sugar, which was still black and dirty, the purification problem has not been solved yet, try to make a few hundred kilograms when you have time to see if you can manufacture rock sugar, wealth!

  In the eerie gaze of the pharmacist, Zhuang San swept away five kinds of spices from the pharmacy, filling five large bags to the brim. He instructed his assistant to send them back to the Hou Mansion, ignoring the advice of the doctors in the store about the need for proper combination of medicinal ingredients and their respective roles. "What do these incompetent doctors know? If you have any skills, first try to save your own life," he said. "Who says that medicinal herbs are only used for cooking medicine? The fact that Master Hou uses them to cook dishes is a profound matter that I won't bother to explain to you."

  The warm sunshine in the morning made people feel relaxed and lazy all over. The three of them, Master and servant, strolled around Xicheng District, stopping to look at interesting things they saw along the way, buying fun stuff on a whim and tossing it into Liu Jinbao's bag. Before long, the two of them were loaded down with stuff, Liu Jinbao even had a sesame seed cake in his mouth as he walked, eating as he went, his big mouth being one of his few redeeming qualities. Zhuang Santing tried to stop Liu Jinbao's uncouth behavior but was stopped by Yun Yan. Zhuang Santing kept trying to advise Master Hou to set a good example for the household, saying that as a military family they should be strict and disciplined, looking to the Left Guard as their model, this was the only way to follow the rules of a military family.

  Yun Ye had never figured out why Li Er counted the potatoes as military achievements. Was he supposed to spend his whole life in the army? The civil officials were extremely jealous of these achievements. Chun Fang, an official from the Spring Hall, kept petitioning the emperor, saying that this great auspicious sign was unheard of since ancient times and was a gift from heaven, so they should offer sacrifices to thank heaven for its blessings. Incidentally, he also managed to get Lan Tian Hou transferred to the Temple of Agriculture to cultivate auspicious varieties. This was actually the result Yun Ye had been hoping for, but Li Er refused, citing that he was still underage and not yet capable of taking on important tasks. The Left Guard's mission was also dismissed, and Yun Ye was told to return home and wait for further instructions. He just hoped that the emperor would forget about him and let him live out his life in comfort.

  In the western city, crowds of people surged forward, although they couldn't quite reach the point of waving their sleeves like clouds. It was strange that on the narrow streets, wherever Yun Heng went, the crowd would automatically disperse, and not only did they not touch him, but they didn't even exchange glances. When Yun Heng secretly took pride in his own majestic aura, he suddenly saw the golden fish bag hanging from his waist, next to which was the milky white jade pendant that his grandmother had hung up that morning. Under the interplay of light and shadow, it seemed particularly luxurious. Looking again at the sky-blue brocade robe on his body, the gold crown on his head, and the two mighty guards with big waists standing behind him, he suddenly understood why others didn't dare to approach him - he was no longer a commoner who wandered the streets with ten bucks in his pocket, but a dignified marquis. Looking again at the pedestrians in the market, they were all wearing clothes made of various colors of hemp cloth, and few had silk or satin on their bodies. Since it was approaching the year-end festival, whether rich or poor, everyone would buy a few yards of hemp cloth to make new clothes for their wives and children. Those with slightly better family circumstances would buy half a bolt of silk brocade to wear on their bodies, saying it was prepared for their daughter who was about to get married. They would show off to people they met, saying that the silk brocade from Shu was expensive, but their daughter was going to marry a government official, and an official's family had to save face, so they had to grit their teeth and buy it...

  Yun Yan knew he had lost his temper, a nouveau riche in a brocade robe swaggering through the streets of Xi City where common people lived. In later life, he particularly disliked such people, although there was a suspicion that they were just sour grapes, but indeed he disliked the nouveau riche because their happiness was built on others' suffering. The small citizens could only curse silently in their hearts, Yun Yan didn't think the citizens of Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty would be more noble than those in later generations, judging from the sharp tongues of the people of Guanzhong, his ancestors were probably cursed to pieces long ago.

  His face burning with anger, his ears scorching hot, he turned around and glared fiercely at the two thugs. "Don't you know that nobles usually don't set foot in the Western Market?" he growled. "Are you waiting for me to make a fool of myself?" He lifted his foot and kicked the two men several times. The two men didn't care, thinking that the young master's fancy kicks wouldn't hurt them. Besides, the young master was spoiled and had a habit of venting his anger on others, but it was just a few kicks, and afterwards, there would be rewards. Hadn't they seen how Zhu San was kicked around until he became the head of the guards? Liu Jinbao always seemed to find excuses to get close to the young master, and after being kicked once, he would leave feeling refreshed and energized.

  The three of them fled from Xicheng in a sorry state, and as soon as they left Fangcheng, Zhuang San suddenly grabbed Yun Yan and flashed in front of him. Before the thing in his hand had even fallen to the ground, his fist shot out.

  A man, to be precise a bookworm, with grey and white hair, tall and thin in build, wearing a loose-sleeved gown, although the clothes were washed white and full of patches, they were clean and tidy, the stitches on the patches were fine and dense, it seemed that he treasured them. A cloth kerchief was tied around his head, and he wore socks on his feet, with a pair of shoes scattered to one side. His body was hunched over and trembling, Old Zhuang's punch just now was not light.

  "Master Hou, this little guy has been following us from the market and now he's jumped out. I'm worried that he's up to no good, so I took him down first." Zang San reported to Yun Yan, patting Old Zang's arm to signal him to relax.

  "Why are you following us? You're a scholar, you shouldn't have any evil intentions, why?" Yun Ye asked, crouching down.

  "Give me ten taels of silver and my life is yours!"

  This sentence made Yun Ye stunned, ten taels of silver, a life? What kind of person is this? Just about to leave, but saw a pair of blood-red eyes, full of pleading and sadness, long hands tightly clenched, fingernails broken without feeling. Yun Ye suddenly felt that this person was very interesting, he was undoubtedly proud, although lying on the ground with his head held high, nose bleeding without wiping it off. Staring at him, waiting for his decision.

  "You're a proud person, why humiliate yourself?"

  "I've spent my whole life studying, I've read the Five Classics, all for the sake of getting ahead in life and making a name for myself. I've endured twenty years of hard study, and traveled to learn from others for ten years, but I still haven't achieved anything. I have to rely on my wife's weaving to make a living. How can I bear this? Now she's seriously ill, and needs expensive medicine to survive. What I owe her, I'll repay with my own life."

  It's indeed the same as it was in the past! After decades of hard work, one illness brought him back to before liberation. Yun Ye didn't plan on doubting, although he had been deceived countless times in his later years, this time Yun Ye still chose to believe stubbornly. He liked beautiful things and liked to see true feelings in the world. As for money, even if he were a poor ghost in his later years, he wouldn't care, let alone now when he was wealthy. Ten taels of silver was a small matter, just consider it an act of charity.

  "A real man shouldn't humiliate himself, what's the big deal about a mere ten taels of silver? Just now my guard injured you, as compensation, these two silver ingots will serve as your medical expenses, take care of yourself." After finishing speaking, Yun Han had Liu Jinbao take out two large silver ingots weighing ten taels each and place them in Qian Tong's hands, then bowed and turned to leave.

  Tears streaming down her face, she clutched the two silver coins and watched as Cloudy Peak disappeared from view. She knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times, then put on her shoes and stumbled hastily towards the pharmacy.

  Having done a good deed, their mood was relaxed and they had already forgotten the earlier embarrassing incident. They retrieved the horses that had been left with someone to take care of and the three of them returned to the Yun residence laughing and chatting.