Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 78 Little Beggar

This case is adapted from real events
Of all horror stories, the scariest part is not the story itself, but the fact that it is based on real events.

You can’t look directly into people’s hearts.

-----------

Although autumn is about to begin, the weather is still very hot. The cicadas on the trunk of the thickest locust tree in the county government office are chirping so loudly that people feel drowsy.

"These things are roughly like this, do you understand?" In the Fengxian County government office, "acting county magistrate" Yan Mingzhang carefully explained various matters.

Su Zhan, the "serious" county magistrate who hadn't yet taken office, sat crookedly on one side, his eyes blurry and his eyelids drooping. He propped his face up with his hands, his head nodding from time to time, unable to resist dozing off. Su Zhan was startled awake by Yan Mingzhang's question. Startled, he accidentally bumped into the pen holder, causing it to topple over. A pen fell onto the inkstone, splashing a few drops of ink and staining the books on the desk.

"..." Yan Mingzhang frowned slightly, looking at Su Zhan with a look of disappointment. Su Zhan was so frightened that he sat up straight.

"Cheng Xuan... I..." Su Zhan wanted to explain, but looking at the ink spot that was getting bigger and bigger, he swallowed and couldn't say the words.

"Jing Jun, the county magistrate is the parent official of the people. How can you be competent for such a big responsibility with your current condition?" Yan Mingzhang's tone was a little impatient. After the handover, he would go to other counties for inspection, but Su Zhan now looked like a hopeless person. Yan Mingzhang was so angry that he wanted to grab his ears and force all these matters into him.

Seeing Su Zhan's bewildered and slightly fearful expression, Yan Mingzhang turned his head away, sighed, and walked away, "We'll continue in the afternoon."

Su Zhan watched Yan Mingzhang walk out, sighed, and leaned back in his chair. It wasn't that he didn't want to learn, but just listening to Yan Mingzhang talk about these trivial matters made him feel overwhelmed, as if he was back in his childhood, when the old scholar at home was teaching him about knowledge. The county magistrate is the parent official, and he is closely related to the livelihood of the people. He understands this principle, but just looking at it and listening to it makes him feel sleepy! He can't control himself!

----------

Yan Mingzhang came out of the house, feeling a little depressed. He saw Rong Wanyin sitting at the stone table in the yard, peeling all the roasted melon seeds into a small plate. When there were a handful of melon seeds, she poured the kernels into her mouth in one gulp, squinting her eyes to savor them carefully.

Yan Mingzhang couldn't help but smile bitterly. This little girl knew how to eat, and he felt a little relieved. Yan Mingzhang walked over and sat down sideways on the stone bench. He also took a handful of melon seeds from the plate and started peeling them. He peeled one absentmindedly and put it in his mouth, but it tasted bland.

"Are you unhappy?" Rong Wanyin asked with a smile, tilting her head.

"No..." Yan Mingzhang smiled helplessly. Looking at Rong Wanyin who was staring at him with a smile, he seemed to realize that his brows were still furrowed, so he changed his words and said, "Why do you say that?"

"Your eyebrows are so wrinkled that they can hold a melon seed! And you still say you're not unhappy." Rong Wanyin pushed the small plate filled with melon seeds in front of her towards Yan Mingzhang, "Eat it! When I'm unhappy, I eat, and I feel happy after eating."

Yan Mingzhang picked up a melon seed and put it into his mouth elegantly.

"Not like this! Like this, like this!" Rong Wanyin gestured, "Pour the whole plate in! It's super satisfying!"

After Rong Wanyin finished speaking, she picked up the small plate and poured it into Yan Mingzhang's mouth.

"Hey hey hey... um..." Yan Mingzhang's mouth was stuffed with melon seeds. The aroma of the melon seeds filled his mouth, and the crispy texture was really satisfying.

Rong Wanyin smiled with a proud look: "Isn't it very satisfying?" Yan Mingzhang chewed hard, holding back a cough, and gave a thumbs up helplessly.

Rong Wanyin glanced back at the study, a clear understanding dawning on her mind. While peeling melon seeds, she slowly spoke, "When I was little, my grandfather and maternal grandfather taught me a lesson. My grandfather was in charge of literature, and my maternal grandfather was in charge of martial arts. Children are playful, and I loved following my grandfather in wielding swords and spears. Whenever he'd talk about things like the Three Character Classic or the Thousand Character Classic, it would get me in a daze. It worried him so much that his hair turned white. He said he'd taught top scholars before, but he'd failed miserably against a little girl like me."

Yan Mingzhang listened attentively without interrupting her, and also imitated Rong Wanyin and peeled melon seeds.

"Later, Grandfather tried every possible means, using threats and bribes. In the end, he told me stories about various historical heroes, but he stopped at the most crucial part and deliberately put the book away, warning me not to peek and that he would continue the story tomorrow. But the more a child is told not to read, the more he wants to read. So he would secretly read, and once he started, he couldn't stop. From then on, he fell in love with reading. Reading requires literacy, so he also learned to read seriously..." Rong Wanyin smiled, "This method won't work. How about a different one? Knowledge gained from books is shallow; true understanding requires personal experience. Why don't you take Lord Su to various places to observe the people's conditions? Seeing the people living in dire straits, perhaps Lord Su will be touched and change his attitude. Although he is a bit of a dandy, he is not a very evil person after all."

Yan Mingzhang stuffed the freshly peeled melon seeds into his mouth, nodded in agreement as if thinking about something.

Rong Wanyin was a little surprised by Yan Mingzhang's actions. This guy was too easygoing. He just ate the melon seeds she had just spent so much time peeling. Rong Wanyin sighed softly, "My melon seeds..."

"Are you feeling better?" Rong Wanyin looked at Yan Mingzhang with a smile.

"Yeah." Yan Mingzhang nodded.

"No expression at all?" Rong Wanyin narrowed her eyes and raised her eyebrows.

"There's a new shop across the street. How about treating you to a meal?"

"Take Lord Su with you!"

"..."

----------

"Three guests, your noodles are here!" A new noodle stall had opened in the alley across from the county government office. The old man manning it skillfully served three bowls of plain noodles. Plain noodles, as the name suggests, are soup noodles without any vegetables.

"Is this the new shop you mentioned?" Rong Wanyin really wanted to throw down her chopsticks, but because she absolutely couldn't waste food, she couldn't do so even if she was angry. "At least give us a piece of meat!"

Yan Mingzhang, however, remained calm and composed. He folded the handkerchief in his hand, wiped the bowl and chopsticks clean, and arranged them neatly, as if it were some kind of ritual. Only then did he start eating: "This shop is indeed newly opened..."

"You didn't say to eat all the noodles!" Rong Wanyin became more and more angry as she looked at the watery noodles.

"You didn't ask!" Yan Mingzhang smiled and didn't care.

Su Zhan, on the other hand, was careless and didn't care whether the table and chairs were clean or not. He sat down, picked up his chopsticks and started eating: "It tastes good!"

Rong Wanyin was already accustomed to Yan Mingzhang's "rituals." In some areas, he was particularly "fussy." After hearing Su Zhan's words, Rong Wanyin also picked up her chopsticks and began to eat. To be honest, the taste was indeed good. The noodles were chewy and the broth was rich.

At this time, a little beggar about eleven or twelve years old came over from the depths of the alley, holding on to the wall, staggering, and fell headfirst to the ground.