Zheng State Officials and Soldiers

Time passed.

Half a month flew by.

The day after their wedding, Wei Tu and Xinghua returned to their duties, busying themselves inside and outside the Li Residence without the slightest slack.

The two of them were even more diligent than before.

The First Mistress of the Li Family noticed all these improvements. Every few days, Madam Li would praise them once or twice, expressing her great satisfaction with the marriage she had arranged.

Compared to Wei Tu, Xinghua had undergone a significant change. Previously, she would secretly pilfer bits of meat in the kitchen, but after getting married, she changed her ways.

If a pound of meat shrunk to seven ounces after cooking, she would serve those seven ounces directly to the inner residence's dining table, without any trickery or sneaking any for herself.

Sensing that Madam Li's satisfaction with her had reached its peak in the past ten years, Xinghua then tiptoed and cautiously paid her respects in the afternoon, informing Madam Li of her and Wei Tu's intention to request leave to visit their hometown.

"The books say, 'Unsolicited kindness often hides a thief...'" Madam Li was sewing shoe soles in the living room, the hemp rope making a soft huhu sound as it passed through layers of cloth. She looked up at Xinghua and said with a smile.

Although her words were harsh, paired with Madam Li's gentle smile, Xinghua's nervousness when facing her employer diminished significantly.

"I've seen all the work you've done these past few days. Don't worry, I won't find anyone to replace you before you return."

Madam Li made a promise.

"Thank you, First Mistress," Xinghua said gratefully.

"There's one more thing..."

Xinghua hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and revealed her plan for Wei Tu to rent the Li Residence's grain fields and become a tenant farmer.

Once winter passed, they could start planting wheat, beans, and rapeseed.

By then, finding unclaimed land in the Li Residence's grain fields would not be easy.

"Brother Wei won't neglect feeding the horses..." Xinghua added in a low voice, seeing that Madam Li didn't respond this time.

She knew this request was a bit much.

Even the most capable person couldn't do the work of two.

If they tried to manage both farming and feeding the horses, and fell short in either, it would be a loss for the Li Residence.

Secondly, the Li Residence was located in the county town. If Wei Tu rented land to farm, he would have to rent land near the riverbanks around the county town to accommodate feeding the horses.

Riverbank land was different from dry slope land; it was top-tier, fertile land.

Even without meticulous care, it could yield a bountiful harvest during a drought.

"We'll discuss the matter of renting the land after you and Wei Tu return from visiting your hometown..." Madam Li neither refused nor agreed.

"Yes, First Mistress."

Xinghua left the inner courtyard with a somewhat dejected air, her head bowed.

That evening.

After hearing Xinghua's account, Wei Tu comforted her, "Since First Mistress didn't refuse your request, it means she is considering it. It's just that as employers, they can't agree to two things for you at once."

He didn't say the rest.

Madam Li's actions were reasonable. Indulging servants too much would eventually lead to them becoming overbearing.

The fact that the Li Residence was managed so meticulously by Madam Li, and that the servants both respected and feared her, all indicated that Madam Li was a mistress who understood how to manage a household.

"If she doesn't agree this time, there will be next time. If you ask a few more times, First Mistress is soft-hearted. Her purpose in managing her subordinates has been fulfilled, and she will agree..."

Wei Tu voiced his opinion.

Even if it didn't work out.

In five years, after his Health Cultivation Technique reached completion and he entered the Qi Sensing Realm, the money spent renting land to farm would be insignificant.

Currently, with the warm current nourishing his limbs, he possessed a strength of a hundred to eighty catties with every swing of his arms.

Once his Health Cultivation Technique was perfected, his physical condition would undoubtedly be even better.

With this physique, after practicing techniques and studying some military books, he could participate in the Martial Arts Examination and strive for the title of Martial Scholar or Martial Graduate, or he could become a Household Guard Martial Master and be a guest of wealthy families.

In Zheng State, the Martial Arts Examination was "preceded by martial skill, followed by strategy."

As long as one's martial arts were proficient, even if their military strategy was slightly weaker, they could still achieve success in the examination.

"Okay, when we get back, I'll ask First Mistress a few more times." Xinghua was amazed by Wei Tu's thorough analysis, and at the same time, she was extremely happy.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking.

Wei Tu and Xinghua packed their belongings and left the county town in the dark, heading for the countryside.

Wei Tu's ancestral home was in Wei Family Village, Changming Township, under Qingmu County.

It was about twenty-odd li of official road and seven or eight li of mountain path to travel from the county town to Changming Township.

Halfway along the road.

There was a mule cart going their way on the official road. Wei Tu and Xinghua paid a small sum and got on.

By the time they reached the end of the official road, it was already the fourth watch of the day, with about two hours left until dark.

Xinghua decided to save money and avoid staying at an inn, opting to travel the mountain road all the way to Changming Township.

"It's cold, and the tigers and wolves on the mountain are hungry and coming down. Traveling the mountain road at this hour, if you don't make it home, it'll be too dangerous."

The cart driver, a kind-hearted man, overheard Wei Tu and his wife discussing their visit home and immediately chimed in with a warning.

"Besides the wild beasts on the mountain, there are also bandits... If it were just your man going back, it wouldn't be much of a problem, but with a woman along, those people won't show any mercy."

After stopping at the inn, the cart driver spat a thick glob of phlegm onto the ground and offered another warning to Wei Tu and his wife.

Heeding advice is like eating a full meal.

Xinghua saw that many people staying at the roadside inn were not dressed expensively, so she no longer insisted. She took out some silver and rented a lower-grade room.

Night.

The two slept in their clothes.

Around the fourth watch of the night, due to his habit of caring for horses, Wei Tu woke up once.

At this moment, he heard a faint, chaotic sound of horse hooves outside.

Wei Tu walked to the window and pushed the casement open a crack.

Soon.

He saw the source of the horse hooves hundreds of meters away, illuminated by the bright moonlight.

It was a troop of several dozen cavalrymen, wearing helmets and red leather armor. The leading cavalryman held a banner embroidered with the character "Zheng."

"Zheng State soldiers?" Wei Tu was surprised.

Cavalrymen among the official troops were always a rare sight. He had only seen them a few times in Qingmu County.

Their appearance outside the inn this time must have a reason he was unaware of.

As Wei Tu observed, a fight broke out among these dozens of soldiers. After about fifteen minutes, the sounds of fighting gradually subsided.

A short while later, the cavalrymen left one by one, disappearing onto the official road.

On the ground, however, there were now some swordsmen holding Hengshan Sabers.

"Were the soldiers suppressing bandits?"

Wei Tu guessed.

"Could it be that there's been a famine somewhere else? That's why there are bandits?"

There were two types of bandits: those who were inherently wicked, like highway robbers, and those who were good people forced into banditry by famine.

Qing Feng Prefecture was rampant with swordsmen, especially during the "Red Dragon Overturn" in the Year 15 of Qing'an. In some severely affected areas, three out of every ten households had men who were swordsmen or bandit swordsmen.

"I hope this doesn't affect the county town. If the disaster worsens and the displaced people become bandits, attacking cities and seizing strongholds, then we servants of prominent families will have to serve as conscripted laborers..."

Wei Tu's eyes showed worry.