Wife, Don't Be Like This!

Chapter 120 - The Return of Luo Tianxuan

The first ray of sunlight in the autumn morning passed through the curtains. Yang Siyao's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she had already woken up.

Their two bodies were still entangled together. She could feel some weight on her body; it was the man's palm still wrapped around her slender waist.

Her mind was still a little dazed.

It was as if something had happened, causing her brain to go blank, and this blankness had even continued until now. Of course, as her consciousness awakened, the blankness gradually dissipated, and then some chaotic memories gradually emerged from her mind.

Slowly, she blushed.

The intense sense of shame made Yang Siyao unable to stop a mournful cry from escaping her throat.

But she quickly covered her mouth, stuffing all the remaining sound back down. Even though she had mastered a lot of theoretical knowledge, Yang Siyao would never have thought that she would be so crazed, as if she had lost her mind and become a different person.

Scene after scene appeared in her mind.

Sound after sound echoed in her ears.

Her pretty cheeks grew redder and redder. She seemed to have a fever, her whole body scalding hot.

Her body twisted slightly. Without waking Song Yan, she wriggled out of his embrace bit by bit, then messily put on her clothes and hurriedly fled from the room.

If she stayed in this room, she was worried that more and more terrible images would appear in her mind.

She needed to wash her face with cold water to sober up a little.

She also needed to properly clean her teeth and mouth.

Yang Siyao, oh Yang Siyao, you've really gone crazy.

To this day, Yang Siyao still didn't understand why things had evolved into what they were last night. As long as she didn't encounter matters related to her sister, she was usually relatively calm. But when she lay together with Song Yan, that calmness seemed to have completely disappeared.

After Yang Siyao left, Song Yan also slowly opened his eyes.

He had been awake for a while. It's just that he could see that even though she cultivated seduction arts, Yang Siyao's skin was still very thin. If their eyes met, Yang Siyao might let out a mournful cry and then run out to dig a hole and bury herself.

Imagining that scene in his mind, he found it a little amusing.

He let out a heavy breath. In one night, he finally understood what kind of charm a woman who cultivated seduction arts possessed.

I have to say, seduction arts are simply the greatest invention of this era, bar none.

It wasn't just the feeling of ecstasy on the bed. For a martial artist, the improvement brought by a woman who had cultivated seduction arts was in no way inferior to a so-called panacea.

The growth of his internal force was even more exaggerated than what the mysterious woman had brought him on his wedding night.

But Song Yan was also a little suspicious in his heart. If it were just like this, then there should be few women in the Central Plains who had cultivated seduction arts who would dare to appear in public. Most of these women would be abducted by martial artists.

But in reality, it didn't seem to be this way.

Women who had cultivated seduction arts could appear in public openly and would not be attacked in any way. They could receive guests at the Jade Gathering Garden, or marry high officials and nobles to become concubines or even wives.

Could it be that someone like Yang Siyao was a special case, and not every woman who cultivated seduction arts could provide an increase in power to a male martial artist?

Or was this something special about himself?

The 'Hundred Treasures Compendium'?

Was it the collision of the 'Hundred Treasures Compendium' and seduction arts that produced some kind of special change?

Although he had doubts in his heart, Song Yan was not too worried. At least for now, this change had not caused him any negative effects.

His eyes slowly closed.

Song Yan activated the 'Vajra Arhat Art'.

This time, the internal force lasted a little longer, about twenty seconds or so, before it was also completely consumed.

When Song Yan's figure reappeared, the gazes of some of the handmaidens towards him were a little strange.

Normally, the status of a live-in son-in-law is very low. They have to greet their wife every morning, cannot sit at the main table for meals, and do not have much spare cash on them.

They are like a little concubine in a large household, receiving a tiny bit of silver each month... If they want to do anything, they must get permission from the wife's family.

As for things like visiting a brothel, it is absolutely not allowed.

Although they wouldn't be drowned in a pig cage, a punishment would be unavoidable.

As for things like bed-warming handmaidens or taking concubines, they couldn't even dream of it.

To put it bluntly, the status of a live-in son-in-law is probably not even comparable to that of a high-level servant.

But look at their Young Master-in-law.

Her Highness the Grand Princess dotes on him, the Third Young Master is obedient and docile, the Second and Eldest Young Masters are also quite respectful, the Third and Fourth Young Misses are very fond of him, and the Second Young Miss personally protects him...

They even arranged four bed-warming handmaidens for him.

What kind of treatment is this? For a live-in son-in-law to reach this level, there's no one else like him.

But even so, this Young Master-in-law seemed to still not be satisfied. That woman, Yang Siyao, has also been taken down by him... Nominally, she is still the Young Master-in-law's older cousin, although they have no blood relationship.

However, the Young Master-in-law is also a capable person. He resisted the Wokou and was ennobled. Thinking of it this way, they no longer felt it was a big deal. After all, since ancient times, it has been quite normal for a capable man to have three wives and four concubines.

Song Yan had never cared much for the gazes of others. The Luo family was in the ironware business. Although the scale was not large, they should have an iron-smelting workshop. So he had Gu Banxia lead him to take a look.

He knew that the Ning Kingdom... no, not just the Ning Kingdom, but in this current era, various technologies were very backward. Ironware had not even been fully popularized.

He also knew that the best craftsmen were naturally conscripted by the government. The Directorate for Imperial Manufactories was the one that handled this work.

These people were the so-called 'artisan households,' who worked for the government for generations.

Don't think for a moment that this was some 'iron rice bowl' or a good job.

In this era, the social status of artisan households was very low, only slightly better than merchants. As for income, they were a thousand miles behind merchants. To be able to have enough to eat was already considered quite good.

In this era where scholars held power, 'all pursuits are lowly, only studying is noble.'

It is said that more than twenty years ago, there was once a craftsman who improved the art of papermaking, greatly increasing the efficiency of paper production. The paper produced was also whiter and more suitable for writing.

This should have been an incredible invention, but in the end, the reward this craftsman received was only twenty copper coins.

Twenty copper coins... even the capitalists of later generations were not so black-hearted.

And these were the official craftsmen.

As for the status of civilian craftsmen, it was even lower. Of course, their skills would also be worse.

It's just that even though Song Yan was mentally prepared, he still couldn't help but click his tongue when he saw the Luo family's blacksmith shop.

Crude.

Very crude.

A row of adobe houses. In front of the houses were a few furnaces plastered with mud. Next to them was a quenching trough. This was the iron-smelting workshop.

No blast furnace, no bellows, no coke. They were even just burning ordinary charcoal.

With this set of equipment, one could imagine the quality of the ironware produced.

Song Yan thought for a moment. Normal iron smelting might require a high temperature of over a thousand degrees. To make steel, you needed at least fifteen hundred and above. This equipment wouldn't work. Perhaps he could try the blast furnace method?

Of course, not the super blast furnaces of modern society. With the industrial level of the Ning Kingdom, it was fundamentally impossible to make.

Using coke as fuel, and also adding limestone as a solvent, and needing bellows to increase combustion efficiency and raise the temperature, and then melt the iron ore into molten iron.

Song Yan envisioned it in his mind. Although it would be somewhat difficult, no matter what, it would be much more advanced than the current iron-smelting technology of the Ning Kingdom. The weapons and armor forged would also be sharper and sturdier.

Of course, to build a blast furnace, he had to first prepare coke and fire-resistant bricks...

After some thought, Song Yan helplessly discovered that the things he needed to create were far more numerous than he had imagined.

A pity. Time was a bit tight. He had to finish manufacturing the armor and weapons for the soldiers under his command before heading to Xinhou County. Otherwise, their fate would just be to be slaughtered.

Song Yan stayed here for a period of time. Then, under his command, one by one the iron-smelting workshops were all dismantled. At the same time, this area was cordoned off. A large number of 'farmers' patrolled back and forth, preventing outsiders from approaching.

Then, in a place not far away, a brick kiln and a charcoal kiln had already begun to emit rolling thick smoke.

Time passed day by day.

The nail the Yang family had planted in the Luo family was extremely well-hidden and had not revealed the slightest flaw from beginning to end. Lei Yi had not yet appeared for the time being. But that mountain bandit Ma Han whom he had met before had actually found Song Yan.

Although he was a murderer, he was also a man who kept his word.

It's just that this Ma Han seemed to have misunderstood Song Yan's words, thinking that Song Yan was going to bring him to justice. Therefore, he came alone.

Helpless, Song Yan spent a great deal of effort to appease and persuade him.

In addition, his reputation was pretty good. Finally, he made Ma Han believe that he had no intention of wiping out the mountain bandits and really wanted to give them a future.

Song Yan had had his eye on this group of mountain bandits for a long time. Each one was tall and large, and they all came from hunter backgrounds. They were natural archers and crossbowmen. He was in need of just such talent.

As for being a mountain bandit for a lifetime, or joining Song Yan's command to become a soldier, to guard the border and kill the enemy on the battlefield—this choice was not difficult.

Both were ways of making a living with one's life on the line, but killing enemies on the battlefield had much more of a future than being a mountain bandit. At least one could see a little hope.

Therefore, Ma Han gleefully returned to the mountains and brought down all the remaining mountain bandits. The number was not large, only a little over a hundred, but it already made Song Yan overjoyed.

As for the identity problem of these mountain bandits, it was also simple. The two brothers, Luo Tianshu and Luo Tianquan, had already completely taken control of Ningping County. To arrange an identity for these people in Ningping County was not a difficult matter.

These mountain bandits were also temporarily arranged by Song Yan at a Luo family manor... Luo Yuheng had many manors under her name, occupying an extremely large area. One of the manors was temporarily occupied by Song Yan.

In this manor, Song Yan built a one-thousand-meter circular running track and various modern training facilities. Although they were a bit crude, they were enough.

As for training the troops, it was done according to Qi Jiguang's 'Jixiao Xinshu', combined with a portion of a militia military training manual.

The standard of food was also quite good, completely according to the standard of the Luo family's servants. It was guaranteed that there would be at least one meat dish every day.

In the beginning, these mountain bandits still felt that just eating and drinking every day, then running, forming ranks, shouting slogans, and then doing some strange things like pull-ups and sit-ups was really too easy.

But when these bandits really started, only then did they discover that the difficulty was not ordinary.

After one day, their bodies seemed to have completely stiffened. It was as if their whole bodies were cramping. The next day, they were even more sore all over. A slight movement would make them grimace in pain.

Of course, for these bandits, although training like running was very tiring, they could still bear it. The most unbearable thing was standing at attention. They completely didn't understand what was the point of standing there motionless under the big sun.

Before they knew it, the time had already reached the ninth month.

The weather grew colder.

The nail still made no unusual moves. However, the number of refugees on the street was increasing.

It was said that the Jurchens felt that the grain they had plundered was not enough for the winter, so they attacked several more county towns in Pingyang Prefecture. Even in the prefectural city, many people were worried that Qian Yaozu couldn't hold off the Jurchens' attack and were fleeing to the interior.

After all, fleeing to the interior was just abandoning one's property. But if they fell into the hands of the Jurchens, they would be made into dried rations.

It seemed that a great flood had also occurred in the southern regions. Many commoners were displaced. In order to survive, they fled north.

The rich Song Prefecture became the best target. It is said that the Provincial Governor Fang Hai has already begun to meet with the large households and rich merchants in the city, preparing to have these people donate money and grain to set up soup kitchens.

For those large households, this was, after all, a time to expand their family's prestige, so they would more or less donate some. It's just that how long this donated money and grain could last could not be guaranteed.

Even Luo Yuheng, who was always lazy on a normal day, had become rarely busy. These days she was often running about, and then one carriage after another, filled with grain, would drive into Ningping.

In the middle of the ninth month, a great storm hit Song Prefecture.

The rain was torrential. Even in the daytime, the whole world was a pitch-black expanse, as if shrouded in a layer of black silk cloth. Only the occasional flash of lightning could bring a little bit of brightness.

The sound of thunder rumbled, shaking the entire city.

Song Yan stood at the window, his expression ice-cold.

The weather this year was really too abnormal.

For a place like Song Prefecture, although there was a lot of rain, generally speaking, the rain would decrease after summer. A sudden downpour like this, in more than a dozen years, it was the first time he had seen one.

The pattering sound of the rain had already covered everything. He didn't even hear the footsteps behind him. Not long after, a robe was draped over Song Yan's shoulders, warding off the chill.

Turning to look, he saw it was Yang Siyao and Gu Banxia.

The two had come treading through the rain. Even with an umbrella, many parts of their bodies were still wet.

In such a downpour, an umbrella was probably of little use.

Looking out the window again, the falling raindrops had almost connected into a line. The lines of rain were woven into a curtain. Under the layers of rain curtains, even within the Luo Mansion, one could only barely make out the outlines of the buildings in one's vision.

With such a downpour, the Yi-Luo River was probably going to flood as well.

Originally, Song Prefecture was still helping the disaster victims from the south, but now it seemed that Song Prefecture itself was not much better off.

Such abnormal weather, coupled with the early arrival of the cold, a thought continuously grew in Song Yan's mind.

He might have been unlucky enough to have run into the legendary Little Ice Age.

The so-called Little Ice Age refers to a period of significant global cooling, characterized by an overall drop in temperature, frequent natural disasters, abnormal climates, and various extreme weather events such as severe droughts and floods alternating.

And the consequences of the Little Ice Age are not just floods, but also the resulting sharp decline in grain production, which in turn triggers famine.

Famine further exacerbates social conflicts, leading to peasant uprisings.

Floods can even lead to outbreaks of plague.

Ancient China experienced a total of four Little Ice Ages.

The first was from the end of the Shang Dynasty to the beginning of the Western Zhou Dynasty. The most update n0vels are published on novel•fire.net

The second was from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the beginning of the Western Jin Dynasty.

The third was from the end of the Tang Dynasty, through the Five Dynasties, to the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty.

The fourth was from the end of the Ming Dynasty to the beginning of the Qing Dynasty.

It can be unceremoniously said that every appearance of the Little Ice Age represented the fall of an old dynasty and the rise of a new one. Every appearance was the darkest and most turbulent era in the land of the Central Plains.

I can't be that unlucky, can I?

Song Yan's brow was tightly furrowed. He had roughly calculated the time. The era he was in now, converted to the previous world, should be the early Tang or mid-Tang period. There should still be some time before the Little Ice Age.

Is it just a pure coincidence, or is it that the pattern of the Little Ice Age's appearance is different in the two parallel worlds?

If it's the latter, then there's going to be trouble. One can imagine that for the next few decades, or a hundred years, there might be chaos that sweeps through the entire Central Plains.

Faintly, Song Yan could already see the tragic scene of 'white bones filling the fields, and no rooster crowing for a thousand li.'

After a long while, Song Yan let out a heavy breath.

He was just a man, not a god. The climate was not something he could change.

Perhaps the two kinds of crops he had brought should also be planted. If high-yield crops could be promoted, perhaps fewer people would die in the face of this disaster.

The wind and rain were still roaring.

The large trees in the courtyard were shaking wildly. From time to time, a cracking sound could be heard. Perhaps a tree trunk had been directly snapped by the wind. Bean-sized raindrops smashed on the ground, splashing up sheets of water.

Boom... Crackle!

Another bolt of lightning tore across the sky before his eyes.

In the fleeting brightness, Song Yan actually saw a hazy silhouette.

It was a human figure.

Just a dozen or so meters outside the window.

Suddenly seeing such a scene, Song Yan's heart skipped a beat. His original vexation was replaced by a surge of fear. In this kind of weather, it really was a bit ghostly.

Rumble!

Another deafening roar.

A gleaming white light tore through the firmament. That human figure was already just a few meters away.

Although the rain was heavy, at such a distance, he could still make out some things. From her clothes and her figure, it should be a woman.

She wore a long white dress, walking just like that in the rain. But what was bizarre was that apart from her shoes, her body was not stained by much rainwater. She wasn't even holding an umbrella. When the bean-sized raindrops fell towards the top of her head, it was as if an invisible barrier was blocking them, and the rainwater all scattered to the sides.

A fierce wind blew past, and the dress clung tightly to her body, outlining a gaunt silhouette.

She also had a veil on her face.

The familiar figure allowed Song Yan to recognize the woman's identity... it was his wife, Luo Tianxuan.