Judge of the Song Dynasty

“I believe that there are many wealthy businessmen with money piled up in their treasuries.”

Zhang Fei said, “If you can persuade them to join in, not only would it solve the capital problem, but it can also increase your influence. It’ll then be much easier for you when you go on to do your other business!”

In fact, Ma Tianhao had also vaguely guessed this point. He said, “But persuading them to contribute money is not an easy task.”

Zhang Fei sighed, “If I could handle everything, why would I need to cooperate with you? I think this matter should be easier than persuading the authorities.”

If he could handle both the money and the authorities, he could cooperate with anyone else!

Ma Tianhao felt a bit embarrassed and said, “I want to know what kind of guarantee the imperial court can give me.”

Zhang Fei immediately placed a prepared document on the table. “This is just a preliminary draft, but certain key clauses will not change. Currently, the most uncertain thing is how much interest should be set and whether the ownership of the house should be forfeited to the lender or taken for public auction to pay off the debtor’s debt.”

This is because I currently lack information on how the numbers add up. If you can provide the numbers to me, I can immediately come up with a concrete plan.”

Ma Tianhao took a look at the draft and then said to Zhang Fei, “Did you write this?”

Zhang Fei nodded. Ma Tianhao said, “It’s certainly not as well written as your complaint documents.”

Zhang Fei was taken aback, “Why do you say that?”

Ma Tianhao said, “If a complaint document is written like this, how could the government possibly bother reading it?”

“Due to the limited time, this was rushed out. Mogul, please bear with it.” Zhang Fei showed no sign of annoyance. His writing was indeed not great by the literary standards of this day and age. It was written with very plain language, just clear sentences, and no spelling mistakes. In fact, his complaint documents were written like that as well.

Ma Tianhao felt that the wording was a bit long-winded, but upon careful consideration, he felt that every clause was indispensable, creating a feeling that was hard to articulate.[1]

The core idea of the draft was that the imperial court would establish this contract as a legally acceptable standard.

This was not a simple matter!

Ma Tianhao tilted his head and asked, “Can you really do it?”

Zhang Fei said, “I’m more concerned about whether you can persuade those wealthy merchants to join.”

“Good!”

Ma Tianhao slammed the document in his hand onto the table. “It’s a deal.”

Zhang Fei said, “Hold on. We haven’t discussed my payment yet.”

Ma Tianhao asked, “How much do you intend to ask for?”

Zhang Fei raised five fingers, “Five hundred strings of coins.”

Ma Tianhao nodded, “Very reasonable.”

Zhang Fei smiled, “These five hundred strings are just for buying this contract, not for hiring me long-term. This is a one-time deal. If you have other requests, we’ll have to negotiate a separate price.”

Ma Tianhao raised his eyebrows, “That’s a bit much.”

Zhang Fei said, “It’s definitely not too much, and I think it’s better for you this way. If there are officials who want to cause trouble for you later, you can also claim that we are no longer associated.”

After a brief contemplation, Ma Tianhao said, “Alright, if you can get it done, money is not a problem.”

Zhang Fei laughed, “If money is not a problem, then there is no problem.”

Just then, they heard the sound of hooves outside, and Ma Xiaoyi’s voice shouting, “Dad! The wine is here! The wine is here!”

As soon as the words fell, Ma Xiaoyi entered the room, carrying two jars of wine.

Ma Tianhao laughed heartily, “The timing of this wine is perfect. I was just about to have a hearty drink with Zhang San.”

Ma Xiaoyi looked puzzled and glanced at Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei smiled, “I’ve not disappointed.”

Ma Xiaoyi was overjoyed and jumped forward, “I told you, Brother San would definitely be able to persuade you!”

Ma Tianhao looked a bit embarrassed, “It seems that you’ve had better foresight than me this time.”

Ma Xiaoyi, seeing his dad admitting defeat, was ecstatic. He placed the two jars of wine on the table, ” Brother San, tonight, we brothers must outdrink Dad as payback for making me go so far to buy the wine.”

Ma Tianhao sneered, “You two young ones can come at me. If you can knock me down, I’ll double the payment.”

Zhang Fei immediately said, “What are we waiting for then?”

At around midnight…

“Hoo.”

Zhang Fei shook his head, blinked hard, and turned to Li Si who was helping him, “Li Si, you are really useless. I asked you to come up to the table to help us outdrink that Dour Enforcer, but, I ended up drinking a few drinks for you instead. It was three against one, and we still lost against him. It’s really infuriating.”

Before the recent drinking session even started, Ma Xiaoyi had set the tone to challenge his dad. The result was that he was no match for Ma Tianhao, forcing Zhang San to drag Li Si onto the table.

But it was all in vain.

Li Si couldn’t even handle two bowls of wine and ended up vomiting.

No match at all.

In the end, Ma Tianhao even rode his horse back, steady as can be.

An embarrassment for the younger generation!

Li Si looked apologetic, “Brother San, I’m really sorry. My family was very poor before, so I’ve never had much to drink.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine!”

Zhang Fei waved his hand, saying, “You need to practice more. You’ll encounter such situations often in the future. Burp!”

When he was an underling before, he often needed to drink on behalf of his boss at the drinking table. After such drinking sessions, he had to continue working early in the morning. The boss wouldn’t remember if you helped him drink the day before; he would only remember if you were late or left early today. If you didn’t have connections, you had to go all out in every way.

“Oh!” Li Si nodded awkwardly, suddenly saying, “Brother San, we’ve arrived.”

Zhang Fei looked up and found that they were already in front of the main gate of Xu manor. He blinked and said, “Let’s go through the back door.”

Li Si hesitated, “But at this hour, there’s no one watching the back door.”

“We’ll climb the wall!”

“Ah?”

“Ah what!” Zhang Fei said, “I’m not drunk yet. If that woman sees me coming back so late after drinking, she’ll nag at me all night. Let’s go, go, go!”

The two of them swayed to the back door.

“You carry me up first, and then I’ll pull you up.”

This was someone with experience. When Zhang Fei was in college, going out at night meant climbing over the wall to get back to the dormitory. So this was a skill he had mastered.

“No need, no need. I can carry you up, and then I can get up by myself. I might not be good at drinking, but I still have some strength.”

Li Si, who had been of no help at the drinking table all night, finally found an opportunity to showcase himself.

Back against the wall, feet planted firmly, hands folded in front of the abdomen.

A full-on posture!

Zhang Fei did not stand on ceremony. He stepped on Li Si’s palms. Due to the alcohol, his balance was lacking, and he swayed a bit. Fortunately, Li Si’s lower body was stable, holding Zhang Fei firmly.

Carefully, Zhang Fei supported himself against the wall with one hand and slowly stepped onto Li Si’s shoulder with one foot.

As the two were fully focused on scaling the wall, they suddenly felt a faint flicker of light. Zhang Fei didn’t react for a moment, thinking it was just his eyes playing tricks. He continued climbing more vigorously. Then, he heard someone beside him ask, “What are you guys doing?”

Li Si turned his head and saw Xu Zhiqian tilting her head slightly, looking at them expressionlessly. She stood beside a young plum tree, holding a small lantern.

“Lady Xu!”

Li Si exclaimed, subconsciously standing upright.

“Oh, damn!”

Immediately, a mournful cry was heard.

Li Si suddenly remembered that Zhang Fei was still standing on him. He wanted to protect him, but it was too late.

Zhang Fei had already lost some sense of balance. With Li Si standing up, he couldn’t maintain his stability. He desperately swung his hands backward, about to fall. He glanced at Xu Zhiqian, a revengeful thought flashed in his mind. Combined with the effects of alcohol, he twisted his body and directly pounced towards Xu Zhiqian.

Xu Zhiqian widened her phoenix-like eyes, watching a dark figure rushing towards her, motionless.

Splash!

“Ouch!”

“Third Brother!”

“Miss Qian’er!”

Zhang Fei was seen forcibly tackling Xu Zhiqian to the ground.

So fragrant! So soft!

Zhang Fei lay on top of Xu Zhiqian, not feeling any pain. In his heart, he smirked, thinking, “You little girl, that day it was clearly you who jumped at me, but somehow it seemed like my fault. Today, let me show you what it feels like to be tackled by someone.”

However, Xu Zhiqian let out a painful scream, unable to recover her senses for a while.

“Brother San! Lady Xu!”

Li Si, who had been standing stunned, hurried over. He was about to support Zhang Fei when Zhang Fei waved his hand, blocking him, “Are you silly? Make accusations first. You’ve been playing with Qingmei for so long, how come you haven’t learned any tricks.”

As he spoke, Xu Zhiqian immediately woke up. She pushed against Zhang Fei with all her strength, “You lecher, how dare you lie on me. Get up!”

But where could she push him away!

“You dare to call me a lecher. Well, take your time pushing then!” Zhang Fei closed his eyes and tilted his head.

“Hoo, hoo!”

“Are you snoring? Brother San, did you fall asleep on Lady Xu? This is not acceptable.”

Li Si said dumbly.

Hearing Zhang Fei snore, Xu Zhiqian blushed with embarrassment and anger. She immediately struggled to push Zhang Fei away, “You lecher, get up quickly. I’ll get you back for this.”

Seeing that Xu Zhiqian couldn’t push Zhang Fei away, Qingmei rushed to help, but it was also in vain. She became anxious and shouted at Li Si, “What are you doing standing there like a fool? Come and help!”

“Oh, oh, oh!”

Li Si still had some strength left. He went up and pulled Zhang Fei up, muttering to himself, “Huh? Why is Brother San much heavier than before?”

On the other side, Qingmei also helped Xu Zhiqian up.

Xu Zhiqian was disheveled and disoriented. When she stood up, her head was dizzy. She didn’t know if it was from the fall or from anger. Suddenly, she lifted her head, looked angrily at Zhang Fei, and said, “You lecher, I’ll fight you.”

She swung her fist towards Zhang Fei as if she had gone mad.

“Lady Xu, calm down. Brother San didn’t do it on purpose. He’s drunk.”

Li Si quickly stood between Xu Zhiqian and Zhang Fei, shielding Zhang Fei.

Xu Zhiqian swung her fists a few times, but realized she was hitting Li Si instead. She stomped her foot forcefully, “Li Si, move aside quickly.”

Li Si turned around, looking pitiful, “Lady Xu, Brother San is really drunk, it’s not intentional. Look, he’s even asleep. Ah, it’s all my fault because I can’t drink. Brother San got drunk because of me. It’s all my fault.”

“You!”

Xu Zhiqian pointed at Li Si, her delicate body trembling, “Alright, alright! He’s asleep, right? Carry him inside first. I’ll make him sober.”

After saying that, she turned and entered the courtyard.

After hesitating for a while, Li Si obediently helped Zhang Fei walk inside.

Once they entered, they saw Xu Zhiqian and Qingmei looking at them coldly. There was a bucket placed beside them.

Li Si recognized this bucket. It was used to collect rainwater under the eaves.

“Put him down!”

“Lady Xu, Brother San…”

“Put him down!”

Xu Zhiqian’s voice suddenly rose.

Li Si was frightened and shivered. He had never seen Xu Zhiqian display such a temper. He had no choice but to place Zhang Fei on the corridor.

“Are you continuing to pretend to be asleep?!”

Xu Zhiqian lifted the wooden bucket, ready to pour!

“Damn!”

Zhang Fei bounced up in place, moving like a clever rabbit, leaping to the side. A bucket of water was poured where he had been lying just moments ago.

“That was close! Good thing I dodged it.” Zhang Fei patted his chest, then pointed at Li Si, “Li Si, you really have no loyalty! You just threw me away like that.”

Li Si said dumbly, ” Brother San, weren’t you asleep?”

Zhang Fei awkwardly coughed, “I was awakened by a nightmare.”

Seeing the two joking around, Xu Zhiqian’s anger surged again. She rushed forward, lifted the empty bucket, and shouted, “You lecher, I…!”

“What do you want to do? Assault is against the law.”

“Stop right there.”

“I won’t stop.”

Zhang Fei circled around a pillar, protesting as he dodged, “I’ve been wronged. I want to defend myself.”

Xu Zhiqian almost fainted from anger, “You still have the nerve to say you’ve been wronged?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Zhang Fei, hiding behind the pillar, turned his head and said, “But you, you’re playing double standards. Last time, when you were drunk and threw yourself into my arms, I was a lecher. Okay fine, I admit it. Today, when I got drunk and threw myself into your arms out of fright, again, I’m a lecher. Do you have any sense of fairness?”

“I don’t have a sense of fairness? Then let me ask you, who was hugging me and refused to let go that day.” Xu Zhiqian was already in a state of confusion, ignoring everything.

Zhang Fei immediately retorted, “And who was sleeping in my arms? If I didn’t hold you, wouldn’t you have slipped down? Was I so heartless as to pour water on you. Even in a courtroom, the presiding judge would definitely rule in my favor for acting bravely!”

In his heart, he wondered, would they really rule in his favor?

“You!” Regarding the incident that day, Xu Zhiqian also knew where she was at fault. She continued, “Alright, let’s not talk about that day. Just now, the two of you sneaking around and climbing my house’s wall, what’s your explanation?” For more chapters visıt novel•fire.net

Zhang Fei said, “Do you think I wanted to climb the wall? I just thought it was late and didn’t want to disturb your rest.”

Xu Zhiqian scolded angrily, “As a guest, drinking until the middle of the night, not entering the front door but choosing to climb the wall, is this the proper behavior of a guest?”

“I…”

“You have nothing to say!”

“Sigh.”

Zhang Fei suddenly sighed deeply, “Yes, I admit I was wrong. I shouldn’t have come back so late, but now I’m pushed to a desperate situation. I have to find a way to fight back. Can sitting at home solve everything? It’s not easy for me either!”

Towards the end, his tone carried a hint of sadness, causing Xu Zhiqian to pause and ask, “What did you do?”

The reason she came out immediately earlier was because she was worried that Zhang Fei might take desperate actions. However, she was well aware that it was completely unnecessary.

Zhang Fei said, “I went to see Ma Tianhao.”

“Ma Tianhao?”

Xu Zhiqian asked in surprise, “Why did you go to see him?”

Zhang Fei replied, “To discuss working together.”

“Working together?”

Xu Zhiqian was agitated, “He specializes in lending money! You’re clearly making a deal with the devil.”

Zhang Fei hurriedly explained, “Hey, you’ve got it wrong. I’m not making a deal with the devil. I’m going to persuade him to be kind.”

“Persuade him to be kind?”

“Yes!”

Zhang Fei nodded and said, “I asked him to lower the interest rates of their pawnshop to at most one percent.”

“You asked?” Xu Zhiqian found the situation absurd, “Do you think I’m a three-year-old child? Who do you think you can fool with that?”

“This is absolutely true!”

Zhang Fei said seriously, “In fact, I had planned to do this before, but it was all ruined by you. That’s why I was so angry back then. You’re the Benefactor’s daughter, and yet you completely ignored the evidence and made guesses based on your own likes and dislikes. You’ve tarnished Benefactor’s reputation.”

Xu Zhiqian retorted, “You always act covertly and sneakily. How can you not make people suspicious? If you were open and honest, why would I suspect you?”

Zhang Fei snorted, “I only hid it from you because I knew you had a bias against me. Whatever I say, you won’t believe. And facts have proven me right. In your eyes, I’m a criminal. If it’s not conspiring with evil, it’s colluding with the devil. If your Senior Brother Wang did the same, would you think the same?”

Xu Zhiqian felt a little fearful, “Ddon’t bring up Senior Brother Wang like that.”

Zhang Fei smirked, “Don’t want me to bring it up? Fine, I won’t. Let’s talk about Benefactor then. If Benefactor asked me, I’d definitely tell him. In fact, I intended to explain things to him that day. It’s just that he trusted me and didn’t press for an explanation. But it doesn’t mean I’m not open and honest.”

Xu Zhiqian glanced at Zhang Fei with a hint of guilt in her heart.

In fact, when she saw Zhang Fei being so honest with Xu Zun, she vaguely felt that things might not be so simple. There was a slight sense of guilt in her heart.

“Alright!”

Suddenly, Xu Zhiqian said, “If what you said just now is true, then I admit that I wrongly accused you.”

Zhang Fei firmly stated, “You must apologize properly. Otherwise, this matter won’t be over.”

Can’t let it go?

Xu Zhiqian said coldly, “But if you are lying to me..!”

Zhang Fei said directly, “Then I will die a horrid death.”

Xu Zhiqian was taken aback.

[1] Classical Chinese writing tended to be concise and literary, which can lead to ambiguities. Zhang Fei is writing in a more plain, modern style, which is why Mogul Ma is surprised.