Volume 1, Chapter 17: What Trouble Could They Possibly Cause

Yin Tiantian noticed that her young master was deeply attached to that green peony. He would keep it tucked against his chest during the day, hide it under his pillow when he slept at night, and sometimes fall into a trance while staring at it for the entire day.

Perhaps the other person associated with that green peony was someone of great importance.

Thinking this, she felt a slight ache in her heart. She was afraid that the person might be a young woman, yet she also chided herself for being overly sentimental. Hadn't she told herself long ago that this life was meant only for repaying a debt of gratitude, and nothing more?

When it was time to sleep, she lay with her back to Cui Heng, calculating how to finish her current embroidery batch so she could buy another quilt. Since men and women must maintain their distance, what would happen if the young master eventually met the woman he loved? Would she mind them sharing a blanket?

For some reason, she felt restless that night; the more exhausted she became, the less she could sleep. Her body grew stiff from lying still, and she didn't know when she finally drifted off. Before falling asleep, she reminded herself that she couldn't delay any longer—she had to go plant the wheat tomorrow.

It rained a little during the night, making the air even colder. Taking advantage of the damp soil, Yin Tiantian and Father Shen took the wheat seeds to the field.

Upon arrival, however, they discovered someone was already there. Gao Xing, the village bully, was busy sowing wheat in their field.

"What are you doing? This is our family's land!"

Father Shen rushed forward to reason with him, but Gao Xing, a sturdy and imposing man, shoved him to the ground with one hand.

"What do you mean 'your land'? This is wasteland; whoever plants it first owns it! Your land? Do you even have any land?"

"My wife and I have been tilling this soil for years; it hasn't been wasteland for a long time! Whoever breaks the soil owns it! If you occupy our land today, I will bring the village head here!"

Gao Xing and his sons ignored Father Shen and continued sowing.

"Go complain wherever you want. I’m telling you, I’ve already planted half of it, and no one can stop me! The Gao family has taken a fancy to this wasteland, so go find somewhere else to cool your heels!"

The Gao family clearly had no intention of being reasonable. Father Shen, unable to win by force or argument, simply laid down in the dirt.

"You’re just bullying us because we have few people! If you have the guts, run me over! If you push me too far, I’ll hang myself at your doorstep and return as a vengeful ghost to claim your life!"

"Seeing us down on our luck, you think anyone can bully us, right? Go ahead, bully me!"

The Gao family had many men. Gao Xing ordered his three sons to lift Father Shen up and toss him to the edge of the field, then they simply went back to sowing as if nothing had happened.

Father Shen was so enraged that his vision went black, and he fainted.

"Father! Father, are you alright?"

Many villagers were waiting for the night's rain to sow their own fields. Seeing the scene from nearby, someone ran off to report it to the village elder. Realizing things might end in a fatality, the Gao family finally stopped.

Father Shen’s chest heaved violently as he struggled to breathe.

"He’s still breathing, he’s not dead yet!" Gao Xing sneered.

Father Shen’s chest rose and fell even more sharply.

"Gao Xing, say less! Why do you have to take advantage of everyone? Don't you know the Shen family relies on this little plot of wasteland to survive all year? Stealing their land is no different from killing them!"

"Exactly! If you anger someone to death over a piece of land, aren't you afraid of the consequences? We are all neighbors; why must you bully them like this?"

Gao Xing, accustomed to bullying, reflexively retorted, "I’m not bullying Shen Dalao; I’m bullying you. Do you have a problem with that?"

The person who had stood up for Father Shen immediately shrank back.

The Shen family was already suffering one misfortune after another. Yin Tiantian frantically pinched Father Shen’s philtrum and the pressure points on his hands, finally bringing him back to consciousness.

Yin Tiantian was also furious. "I am going to call the village elder to settle this! If we don't clear up who owns this land today, no one will be planting anything!"

The Gao family didn't take her seriously at all. "Pah! You little wench, what are you squawking about? I am going to plant this land today, and I’d like to see what you can do about it!"

Knowing she couldn't win a physical confrontation, Yin Tiantian scoffed. "Go ahead and plant. Once the sprouts come up, I’ll pull every single one out to feed the pigs! You keep planting, I’ll keep pulling. If you don't mind wasting your seeds, then by all means, proceed!"

"Let’s just wait for the village elder to come and judge who this land belongs to!"

"You little girl, you’re vicious and unreasonable! But I like your spirit! Where did Shen Dalao dig you up from? My three boys haven't taken wives yet; why don't you marry into our family instead? You look quite pretty. If you can handle it, it wouldn't be a problem for the three of them to share one wife!"

The Gao family made lewd remarks to mock her. Any other young girl would have been moved to tears, but Yin Tiantian wasn't angry at all.

"Only beasts like cross-breeding. We are human beings; I don't speak to beasts, and I don't understand their barking anyway!"

Insulted, Gao Xing grew angry and swung a fist the size of a bowl at her.

Had that punch landed, it could have cracked a skull open. Yin Tiantian tried to dodge but couldn't. She watched in horror as his fist drew closer, feeling the wind of it against her face. She closed her eyes, but the expected pain never came. She opened a slit in her eyes and saw her young master standing in front of her, catching Gao Xing’s punch.

Gao Xing’s face twisted in agony. She hadn't even seen her young master move, but somehow, Gao Xing was sent flying off the ridge and into a thicket of thorns below.

Cui Heng’s stance was slightly unsteady, and Yin Tiantian quickly reached out to support him, noticing his injured leg bracing against the ground.

"Young master, is your leg alright? Why did you come out?"

They had been arguing for quite a while, so someone must have run home to inform him. The doctor had strictly ordered him not to move that injured leg and to stay in bed for at least three months. Yet here he was, not even a month later, out in the fields. She wondered if his wounds had even healed!

"You dare hit my father!"

Seeing this, Gao Xing’s three sons charged forward. Before they could even get close to Cui Heng, they were each struck in the head by small stones and began howling in pain, clutching their skulls.

No one dared to move now. Gao Xing climbed out of the thorn bush, shivering as he pulled the spikes from his body.

When the village elder and the village head arrived simultaneously, the Gao family tried to play the victim.

"Village elder, this was originally wasteland. We were just planting when they suddenly appeared and forbade us from doing so. Not only that, they even resorted to violence!"

Gao Xing pulled a thorn from his face and held it up before the elder. "Village elder, you must seek justice for us!"

It was the height of the planting season, and the authorities had repeatedly stressed that every household must ensure their land was sown. Who would dare cause trouble at such a time?

"Who is making trouble here?"

The village elder was a man of great authority. He followed the Gao family's pointing fingers and saw... an old man, a cripple, and a young girl? How could they possibly be the ones causing trouble?

Looking at the Gao family—from the father to the sons, all of them big and brawny—any one of them could have sent the three of the Shen household flying!

The village elder’s face darkened. "If you are just wasting my time, I will have you sent to the county magistrate!" He clearly didn't believe the Shen family was capable of such a disturbance.

"No, village elder, we aren't lying to you! They really won't let us plant! That little girl even said that if I planted the wheat, she’d wait for it to sprout and pull it all up to feed the pigs! She—she said it herself! If you don't believe me, ask her!"