Waiting For Your Two Taels of Silver

The young man ambled downstairs, his peripheral vision catching a familiar figure disappearing from view.

Wasn't that the young man who was supposedly Gong Cheng's brother-in-law?

Why is he only leaving now?

The young man beckoned a servant to ask what was going on. He wanted to know Shen Tang's purpose for staying at the Moonlit Pavilion. To his surprise, the servant replied with envy, "You mean that young lady? She's here to buy back her father, Old Chu, who works in the kitchen. So filial."

Upon hearing this, the young man lowered his eyelids, lost in thought.

"Who is this Old Chu you speak of?"

Since she's a descendant of the Shen Clan, even if she had a father, he would have lost his head long ago. How could he be working as a handyman in the Moonlit Pavilion's kitchen?

This person is already full of suspicious points, and at a time like this, she's still adding servants? What does she want with an elderly handyman?

The young man's eyes darkened slightly, his mind racing through a thousand possibilities.

He was naturally meticulous and suspicious, so he wouldn't let this slide.

"Uh... I've only been here for three months, so I don't know much. I just know Old Chu works in the kitchen and is a quiet, strange person."

Unable to get a clear answer, the young man didn't press further.

"Call your manager here."

Outside the Moonlit Pavilion.

Old Mr. Chu held a worn-out bundle in his arms, gazing calmly at the empty street. Shen Tang stood beside him, silent.

The shopkeeper, wanting to give the "grandfather and grandson" who hadn't seen each other in years some privacy, and considering it was daytime and unlikely to encounter danger even in the bustling brothels and entertainment houses, confidently bid farewell to return to his shop and business.

After seeing the shopkeeper off, Shen Tang looked up at Old Mr. Chu again. He still had the same expression. She opened her mouth, unsure how to break the awkward silence, when her motorcycle trotted up, nudging her affectionately with its head, holding the reins in its mouth.

Shen Tang instinctively took the reins.

She thought of a way to start a conversation.

"Old Mr. Chu, it's still a long way back. Why don't you get on... the mule's back?" She had intended to say "horseback," but no matter how tall and beautiful her motorcycle was, it was still a mule, not a horse.

I can't just call a mule a horse...

"Old Mr. Chu?"

Shen Tang called out softly again, finally rousing Old Mr. Chu, who seemed lost in thought and distracted.

He glanced at the motorcycle. The motorcycle looked back at him.

He then looked at the young man, who was shorter than his chest and the new master, and who was also looking at him.

Stared at by both the person and the mule with the same gaze, he felt a subtle shift in his mood. His lips twitched, and he lowered his head, saying, "This servant dares not."

Shen Tang: "..."

He calls himself "servant," but his demeanor and his eyes are completely at odds with this self-appellation. It feels very incongruous, and I just can't get comfortable hearing it. So she waved her hand, "Old Mr. Chu, you don't need to call yourself 'servant.' You can use your given name or courtesy name."

Old Mr. Chu's expression froze at her words, but he didn't argue. He simply went along with it.

"Yes."

"Then what is your given name and courtesy name? My surname is Shen, my courtesy name is You Li, and in my family, I am..." Exchanging names was one of the markers of growing familiarity. Shen Tang started her self-introduction in the standard format, pausing at her family ranking—

What was the original body's family ranking?

Never mind, I can't recall it right now, it's not important.

So she made up a number.

"I'm the fifth. You can call me Wu Lang too."

If he called me Wu Niangzi, I wouldn't mind either.

It's just...

To be a beautiful young lady and constantly be mistaken for a handsome young man, the native people of this world's eyesight is a bit faulty.

Old Mr. Chu said, "Chu, Chu Yao, courtesy name Wu Hui."

"Chu Yao? That's a good name. 'The banners churn like clouds, the blades interlace like forests. Yang Hui spits fire, illuminating the wilderness and obscuring the marshes.' Yao means to shine, radiant and brilliant. And your courtesy name, 'Wu Hui,' means no darkness, no obscurity. The meaning is excellent." Shen Tang habitually offered a round of professional flattery, swallowing her complaints.

Blessings are good, and a name and courtesy name are good, but unfortunately, reality often contradicts blessings. The person who chose the name and courtesy name hoped for a "radiant and brilliant, no darkness, no obscurity" life for him, but in the end, he was bought off in his old age to wash dishes and plates in the kitchen, and it seems his Literary Heart was also crippled.

Sigh, it's a complete tragedy.

She brought up the past again, pointing at the motorcycle with its innocent gaze, "Sir, would you like a ride? The motorcycle is very well-behaved and doesn't bump around."

Chu Yao took the motorcycle's reins from Shen Tang's hand and gestured for her to get on the mule. After she was seated, he said calmly, "There is no way a master would walk while a servant rides. This is not proper etiquette."

Shen Tang muttered, "Where are all these rules coming from..."

I bought Old Chu to take over Qi Shan's role as an "NPC guide." I really didn't plan on having an elderly person take care of me, let alone someone who will play the role of a "half-teacher" in the future.

Chu Yao said, "It's different."

Shen Tang asked doubtfully, "How is it different?"

Respecting the old and cherishing the young, that's the same everywhere.

Chu Yao, holding the reins in one hand and his worn-out bundle in the other, walked towards the street. Instead of answering "How is it different," he asked a rather strange question.

"How much did you spend to buy me, Wulang?"

This was asking how much money it cost to buy him.

Shen Tang hesitated, her expression uncertain. "Although I should consider your feelings and report a higher price, that wouldn't be honest... The person in charge originally intended to bid five taels, but he misunderstood our relationship, thinking we were grandfather and grandson. Out of sympathy, he voluntarily reduced the price by two taels."

Little did he know, Chu Yao, who had his back to her, showed a flicker of strangeness on his face, a mix of suspicion and struggle, complex and unresolvable. After a long while, he still hadn't responded. Just as Shen Tang was wondering if he was ignoring her, she heard him murmur, "So... it was three taels?"

Shen Tang: "..."

Five minus two equals three...

Was this math problem that difficult?

Did he need to hesitate for so long?

Be more confident, it is three taels!

"Yeah, three taels, I shouldn't have miscalculated..." Shen Tang counted on her fingers, certain she hadn't made a mistake. Then, she began to doubt if she had the right person – if he hesitated this much over such a simple arithmetic problem, was the esteemed Mr. Chu really as amazing as Qi Shan said?

Or was Qi Shan pulling her leg?

So, Shen Tang asked a question she had been holding back for a long time.

"Yuan Liang mentioned before that you are talented. Talented people, even when at their lowest, can always find a way to live better. Why didn't you redeem yourself? Or is it that you can't?"

Although the offal of pigs, cows, and sheep were sold cheaply, they still cost money to buy. Many ordinary people couldn't afford them, which showed that Chu Yao lived frugally but wasn't without income.

After working in the kitchen of Moonlit Pavilion in Xiaocheng for so many years, hadn't he ever thought about taking on a side job to earn some money to buy his freedom?

With his education and abilities, he would be more sought after than ordinary folks anywhere. Therefore, Shen Tang couldn't understand it.

"Before Xin Kingdom fell, sinners like me couldn't redeem ourselves."

"But Xin Kingdom has already fallen."

Such rules would naturally be void.

Unexpectedly, Chu Yao said something that confused her.

"It's not that I was unwilling, nor that I was unable."

"Huh?"

If that was the case, why didn't he act?

Chu Yao smiled, a hint of confusion and helplessness in his eyes, sighing with a sense of resignation that Shen Tang couldn't quite decipher. His next sentence successfully left her completely bewildered, her eyes full of question marks.

He said, "I'm waiting for Wulang's three taels of silver."