Chapter 235: Hard to Rate, Hard to Rate
When Wen Xiuyi returned to the small, broken house in the evening, he caught the drifting aroma of food the moment he opened the courtyard gate. He froze for a moment and walked over, only to see his son sitting behind the stove feeding the fire, while his daughter stood before it, stir-frying dishes.
“Oh, how did you two get here?” Wen Xiuyi was incredibly happy to see his daughter and son.
The brother and sister pair had originally gone straight to the prefectural office to look for him, but the people there told them that Scholar Wen had been busy visiting the villages beneath the prefecture seat these past few days and would definitely be out right now—as for where exactly he went, they didn’t know either.
Upon learning that Wen Xiuyi wasn’t staying in the housing arranged by the prefectural office but was living at their own place instead, Wen Yao thought of their small, broken courtyard, which was how she brought Wen Jun here to find him.
“Dad, are you tired? Rest for a bit, dinner will be ready right away,” Wen Yao said with a smile.
Wen Xiuyi was touched to the core. As expected, a daughter was the most considerate.
Wen Jun, who had laid down his scalpel to feed the fire: “???”
Since it was just a family of three, Wen Yao simply made three dishes and a soup, and considerately bought a bottle of Maotai from her space for Wen Xiuyi.
Looking at the Maotai on the table, Wen Xiuyi couldn’t help but laugh. “Yao’er is getting more and more generous now, knowing your dad loves this exact thing.”
Wen Yao rolled her eyes with disdain. “Isn’t it because I just got a windfall of silver? Otherwise, I’d never be willing to part with it, it’s deathly expensive. Once our own wine is ready, you can drink our own from then on; I won’t buy this again.”
Wen Xiuyi naturally poured himself a cup, and upon hearing her words, he asked, “A windfall of money? Where from?”
Only then did Wen Yao recount the matter of the Empress Dowager’s reward.
Wen Xiuyi understood. “Oh, that. I heard Li Fu mention it. They truly are mother and son; both of them love to eat.”
Wen Yao nodded. This was probably genetic. The Empress Dowager had given birth to two sons: one was the Prince of Fu, and the other was the current Emperor. She just didn’t know if His Majesty currently on the throne possessed this attribute as well.
Thinking of this Emperor, the original book’s description of him was actually that of a good Emperor—it was just a pity he didn’t have a long life.
The root of his illness had been planted from long-term overwork. When he fell gravely ill, the flock of princes below began to harbor restless thoughts, rearing to go, all wanting to ascend that high seat. The male lead of the original book, with the help of the female lead, managed to stand out despite his young age and became the new generation of Emperor.
Calculating it this way, this person was actually Li Yi’s cousin—a first cousin, unlike the kind born to the other princes.
Wen Yao froze.
Seeing the shifting and unpredictable expressions on her face, Wen Xiuyi and Wen Jun thought something was wrong with her.
“Yao’er, Yao’er?” Wen Xiuyi called out a few times.
Wen Yao snapped out of it, looking at the father and son pair as she spoke: “Dad, Brother, Uncle Li is the Prince of Fu, and Li Yi is the heir apparent, which means the male lead is Li Yi’s first cousin.”
“Ah?” Both father and son were somewhat surprised. Wen Xiuyi asked, “The male lead is a prince?” Judging by Li Fu’s age, his elder brother—tsk tsk, this Emperor was quite prolific.
Wen Yao nodded. He was also an unfavored one whose maternal family possessed humble power without any assistance, a counterattacking male lead who climbed to the high seat entirely on his own ability and the female lead’s aid.
Sometimes Wen Yao thought, Do all those authors like to write this kind of trope? Does a person with nothing successfully counterattacking give a great sense of achievement?
Wen Xiuyi asked directly, “Then is this male lead a good person? Will he deal with Li Fu in the future?”
At this very moment, all Wen Xiuyi thought about was his good friend’s safety. If—if this male lead was a villain, then he would secretly take his good friend and flee, changing their names to farm together in the countryside.
Wen Yao smacked her lips. “Well, about that, it’s hard to rate, hard to rate.”
If you said he was bad, he indeed possessed the capability to govern a country. If you said he wasn’t bad, this person would use any means necessary to achieve his goals. Under his governance, the citizens of the Annan Kingdom could be considered to be living in peace and prosperity.
In short, it depended on which stance one took.
Wen Yao let out a deep sigh. “Let’s eat first. Who cares whether he’s a good person or a bad person? How old is this person right now? The female lead hasn’t even been born yet… though it seems it’s getting close. We’ve been here for almost a year too.”
While eating, Wen Xiuyi said, “I was just thinking, if he really becomes the Emperor in the future, I could tip off your Uncle Li in advance so your Uncle Li can treat him better, which might secure his wealth and glory in the future.”
Yet Wen Yao didn’t care at all. “Dad, just rest assured. Uncle Li lives a peaceful and smooth life his entire existence, nothing happens to him. His carefree disposition actually saves him a lot of trouble. At least in the original book, I didn’t see the male lead deal with Uncle Li, so don’t worry about it.”
Wen Xiuyi thought about it. “Alright then. But that personality of his is indeed—sometimes living freely is instead a means of self-preservation. Let’s eat, let’s eat.”
After the three finished dinner, Wen Jun voluntarily washed the dishes. The family of three sat in the living room chatting. Since it was still early, Wen Yao pulled a deck of playing cards out from her space, and the three played Fight the Landlord.
“Oh my, I just remembered. I had a slip of the tongue last time and mentioned Mahjong to your Uncle Li.” Wen Xiuyi gave a hehe smile to please his daughter. “Daughter…”
Wen Yao’s eyes practically rolled to the heavens, and then she vanished on the spot.
Wen Xiuyi and Wen Jun were long since used to it, it was just that—why did this girl have to take the playing cards inside with her when she went in? He had wanted to take the opportunity to see what cards she held.
When Wen Yao came out again, a set of Mahjong tiles had been added to the table.
Wen Xiuyi took one look. “Oh, it’s made of jade?”
Wen Yao: “The description says it’s made of jade stone, but I reckon it’s not any good material, or it’s imitation jade. What kind of real jade can you buy for just five hundred-odd yuan? Dad, you’re thinking too much.”
Wen Xiuyi felt them; the texture wasn’t bad. “This will do, this will do. It’s a pity we’re short of one person, otherwise we could play a round. Is there an instruction manual or something? Have Xun Feng send it to your Uncle Li later.”
Without raising her head, Wen Yao said, “Write it yourself.” How could this thing have an instruction manual? Isn’t it all something that can only be sensed rather than explained? This is a national treasure passed down hand-to-hand.
Wen Xiuyi packed up the Mahjong tiles. “Write it myself it is.” Could writing this with his good handwriting possibly defeat him?
The three continued to play Fight the Landlord, and the day’s entertainment activities finally ended after Wen Xiuyi lost to the brother and sister pair time after time, and shamelessly reneged on his plays time after time.
Because Wen Xiuyi still had to go down to the villages the next day, the three tidied up and went to bed.
The next morning as soon as they woke up, Wen Yao prepared breakfast and decided to go wander around the surrounding villages with Wen Xiuyi. Wen Jun, on the other hand, mentioned that Dr. Jin had instructed him with a few matters before they came, and he needed to visit a good friend who practiced medicine in the prefecture seat on Dr. Jin’s behalf.
Wen Yao gave Wen Jun fifty taels of silver to buy gifts, and left with Wen Xiuyi. The office would send a carriage to pick him up, so there was no need to walk either.
These past few days, Wen Xiuyi basically stayed in each village for three days, surveying the soil quality there, looking at the growth status of the crops in the fields, and then recording them one by one to find suitable methods for them to solve the yield problem.
