Volume 1: My Territory, I Am in Charge Chapter 17: Good and Evil

  The Zhao residence was also bustling with excitement at this time, the sound of gongs and drums had become a single point, on the stage, the deputy jing acted silly and stupid, the deputy mo inserted jokes and teased, amused, and another person pretended to be an official, four or five people spoke, learned, teased, and sang, performing comical performances, the whole audience laughed with joy, shouting "good" voices continuously.

  "What is this?" Zhao asked curiously, looking at this thing that looked like a later dynasty's small article.

  "Second Master, this is called a variety show. After they finish performing, it's the movie that's even more enjoyable to watch!" said Xi, whose eyes were fixed on the stage.

  "Oh!" Zhao Yan nodded, he still couldn't quite understand the "Mandarin" of this era, just like a northerner who went to the south to listen to pingtan, others seemed to be enjoying it, but he was mainly guessing at the plot, following along with the lively scene, after watching for a while, his interest began to wane.

  Suddenly, a burst of laughter erupted. Zhao Che turned his head to look and furrowed his brow. A group of people around him were laughing loudly without regard for their image. In the middle of the day, a banquet had been set up in the mansion, inviting the heads of various estates, local officials, village elders, and several wealthy families from the area. At noon, when eating, Zhao Che didn't hear them say a few words, they were all busy drinking and eating. The sound of clinking dishes and lively chatter at the banquet made his appetite greatly reduced. Now even the fruit and pastries on their table had been eaten clean, and several pots of tea had been refilled!

  "Second Master, they're just a bunch of country bumpkins who haven't seen the world and haven't eaten anything good!" Xian Xi looked at Zhao Chu with some displeasure and disdainfully swept them with a glance.

  "Alas, I don't know whether it's good fortune or bad!" Zhao Chu sighed lightly and said, "Let's go with Jian Xi to take care of some business!" He stood up and left his seat, saying that these people were all figures with a certain status on the ground, and they couldn't possibly not understand basic etiquette. What he saw in their eyes was different from what he saw in Jian Xi - it was greed, unbridled and reckless. They saw the grand mansion, but the master of the house was just a child, and it was inevitable that they would have thoughts of taking advantage of him. Just as things were settled inside the mansion, trouble from outside might be brewing!

  Zhao Mou hadn't finished urinating when he heard a commotion and the shouts of the guards outside, so he quickly finished up, pulled up his pants and ran out. "What's going on?" he hastily asked Jian Xi, who was standing guard at the door.

  "Second Master, it seems that some naughty kids from the village are climbing over the wall to watch the show and the guards are chasing them away!" Xixi replied.

  "Hurry up and take a look, don't let the kids hurt them!" Zhao said as he ran towards that direction. When he arrived, he saw a group of children playing guerrilla warfare with the guards, chasing them away from one side and then climbing back up from the other side. The guards were running around frantically trying to cope, some people had already gotten anxious and picked up their crossbows, loading them with pellets ready to shoot.

  "Stop it, don't hurt anyone!" Zhao Shu hastily shouted. In this era without TV or computers, having a troupe of opera singers come to the village was a big deal. If they weren't afraid of them, the adults would probably all come to join in the excitement, let alone these over-energetic kids.

  "Second Master, these little bastards are too troublesome, they're deliberately causing trouble. If we don't teach them a lesson, they'll think our manor is their own vegetable garden!" Yang Feng said, his head covered in sweat and speaking with urgency.

  "Second Master, we're not causing trouble, just want to watch the show!" A child shouted from atop a wall about five or six meters high, it was unknown how they climbed up there.

  "Second child, how is it you? Hurry up and come down, don't fall!" Zhao Di recognized that the speaker was Leijia's second child. "Xian Xi, quickly find a ladder and bring them down!"

  "Second master, no need for a ladder, I can come down myself!" Erwa said, hugging the big tree by the wall and sliding down. Several half-grown children followed suit afterwards.

  "Is there anyone else outside?" Zhao asked.

  "Second Master, there are still some little ones, they can't climb up and are crying anxiously below!" Erwa said with a pat on the back, looking embarrassed.

  "Master Yang, open the side door and let them in!" Zhao Shu turned his head to say to Yang Feng standing behind him.

  "Second Master, this isn't right, is it? They don't understand the rules. If they damage anything in the mansion, we can't be held responsible!" Yang Feng furrowed his brow and advised.

  "I won't let them, I won't let them! When the time comes, I'll take care of them and they won't dare touch anything in the mansion!" Erwa hastily said, seeing Yang Feng's disapproval.

  "Let them in, don't my words count?" Zhao Yan said with a gloomy face.

  "Second Master, I...I'll go open the door right away!" Seeing that Zhao had already gotten annoyed, Xi gave Yang a poke to signal him to hurry up and take care of it.

  "Second Master, the steward says it's getting cold outside and the warm pavilion is ready. The theater troupe has also moved there. Please go take a look at the shadow play, we're just waiting for you to start the show!" A young servant ran over and said.

  "Alright, tell Zheng Da that I've brought a group of friends over. Don't let anyone else go upstairs on the second floor. Also, instruct the kitchen to prepare more fruits and desserts to be sent up."

  "Yes, I'll go and do it!" The little servant immediately went down to instruct, and in the time it took to speak, a group of more than ten children big and small rushed in. Er Wa quickly gathered the "troop" and introduced his friends to Zhao Che: Big Egg, Second Dog, Third Hair, Fourth Tiger and so on - all nicknames that he couldn't remember for the moment. He led them up to the warm pavilion.

  In the warm pavilion, there were braziers placed everywhere, making it much warmer than outside. The pavilion was adorned with flowers and grasses, and silk curtains hung on the walls. The tables, chairs, and tea tables inside were all exquisite. Not to mention Erwa, even the newly seated Baolang and Haocan felt luxurious. These children had never seen such things before, and although they had been frolicking outside, as soon as they went upstairs, they were all wide-eyed and didn't know where to put their hands and feet.

  "Don't move, have some discipline!" A four or five year old child, who was probably craving something sweet, saw the candied fruits on the table and reached out to grab one, but was slapped on the hand by the second child. The little guy pouted his mouth, about to cry.

  "Second child, the things are for everyone to eat, why hit him!" Zhao Ke hurriedly grabbed a few honey dates and put them in his hand, saying, "See Xi, let's share the things with everyone to eat!" At first, they were still a bit restrained, but children are still children after all, and they couldn't resist the temptation of delicious food for long.

  "Second Master, this fruit is really delicious!" Erwa said with her mouth full of food, speaking indistinctly.

  "Of course, these are all made by chefs from the capital, using only the best ingredients, so they're delicious!" Xian said with a smile. "This one is made with chrysanthemum flowers that were just picked this year, it's even better than that one!"

  "Thanks, Uncle Xi. This chrysanthemum cake is definitely something my wife has never had before. Can I bring some back for her to try?" Erwa asked, seemingly having long forgotten the past grievances between them.

  "This... is alright, I know that Xinteng Niang is a good child!" Seeing the joy on her face, he immediately said. At this time, he discovered that there were bigger children who had clenched their fists around the food they had received, unwilling to eat it, and were definitely thinking the same as Erwa, wanting to bring it back home to show filial piety to their elders and leave some for their younger siblings.

  The firecrackers stopped popping, and the show began. The room fell silent, and to make it easier for everyone to see, some of the lanterns were covered up. The butler was thoughtful and knew that the master had invited children, so the shadow play was performing "children's programs" to create a lively atmosphere, and all the children's eyes were attracted to it, and the upstairs also fell silent. It wasn't until then that Zhao noticed that although these children were from the countryside, they were more polite than the people downstairs, perhaps because they felt their clothes were not clean, so they sat on the floor without anyone sitting in a chair. He quietly ordered the servants to find some cushions for the children to sit on, to prevent them from catching cold.

  The play went on until the moon was high in the sky before it ended, and after seeing off the guests, Zhao invited Erwa and the others to come again tomorrow. After several days of hustle and bustle, he ended his fasting, moved back from the Taoist temple to the Xia courtyard, and he was also exhausted, lying in the bathtub with a series of yawns.

  "Second Master, I took it upon myself to handle something today. Please punish me!" Seeing Xi saw Zhao Chu come out and pour him a cup of water, then retreated to the side to plead guilty.

  "What's wrong, what have you done?" Zhao Yan said with a smile, sitting cross-legged on the bed.

  "Second Master, I brought all the remaining fruits in the kitchen back home for Erwa and the others without telling you!" Xiqi said with her head down.

  "What's the point of doing this?" Zhao Zhan said calmly, taking a sip of water as he saw that the children had all been given paper packages when they left.

  "Second Master, when I was young, my family was poor, and my parents died. Only my sister and I were left, and our food had run out for a long time. One evening she cried because of hunger, and I told her to wait until dawn before I would find something for her to eat. The next morning, I went to the street corner and begged for two pancakes. When I returned home, my sister... had already starved to death!" He couldn't help but burst into tears as he said this. "Today, seeing children secretly hide food to save for their younger siblings, and Second Child thinking of his mother, made me think of my own sister. I couldn't bear it, so I took the initiative to divide everything among them." Xiqi sobbed as she spoke.

  "Hehe, it's just this, since I've given it to you, then so be it. From now on, don't ask me about such things, just handle them yourself. You must remember, accumulating virtue and doing good will always bring a good reward!" Zhao Xiao said with a smile.

  "Second Master, I remember!" Seeing Xi nodded vigorously and said, he suddenly had a strange idea. The king was so young in age, should be himself coaxing him, now how did it become himself accepting the king's 'teachings' every day? Who is older after all!