The guard looked at the name card given by Tang Shen and respectfully welcomed the brother and sister through the door.

Tang Shen and Tang Huang waited in the hall for a while, before a tall, thin and slender old man wearing a gray cloth tunic walked inside. He first looked at Tang Shen and then at Tang Huang. Then he stepped forward, returned the name card to Tang Shen, and said: “This young gongzi, don’t know what your surname is? I am the steward of the Liang Manor. It is really unlucky today, daren went to Jinling, and I am afraid it will be eight days to ten days before coming back.” (TN: gongzi = respectful term for a young man, usually from a wealthy or noble family. daren = respectful term for an official, equivalent to ‘lord’ and ‘his excellency’)

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Liang daru went to Jinling?

Tang Shen didn’t expect that of the two people he planned to visit today, one didn’t want to see him, and the other couldn’t see him at all. He said: “My surname is Tang, and I met Liang daren once in Zhao Family Village, Wu County.”

The steward said: “Daren did go to Zhao Family Village two months ago. Tang Gongzi, are you looking for daren for something urgent?”

Tang Shen shook his head: “No, I just moved to Gusu City. I remember that daren once said that I can find him in the future, so I came here to pay a visit.”

Steward: “If there is no emergency, I will send someone to inform gongzi after daren comes back from Jinling. Can gongzi leave your address?”

Tang Shen told the steward his address, and the steward saw him out personally and returned the name card to him.

On the way home, Tang Huang whispered: “Brother, you actually know such a powerful person. Is Liang daren the governor of Gusu Prefecture? There are guards guarding the door.”

“You know quite a lot.”

“Of course, I don’t know who the magistrate of Wu County is, but who in our Gusu Prefecture doesn’t know Liang daru.”

Tang Shen wanted to say very much: Your brother I didn’t know about him two months ago. By the way, I don’t know who the county magistrate is either.

Tang Huang continued: “When Liang daru took over as the governor of Gusu, dad was very happy and told us it several times. Who among the scholars in the world does not admire the four great darus, but dad seems to have said that Liang daru was relegated to Gusu? Brother, what does relegation mean?”

Tang Shen frowned. He didn’t know anything about these official affairs. The original owner didn’t pay attention to these things, so his memory in this regard was also very vague. Besides, Tang xiucai was just an ordinary poor scholar. He didn’t know much, so he couldn’t say much about it either.

Tang Shen said: “How do you remember all these things? Dad also said this? I can’t even remember it.”

Tang Huang made a serious face: “Because dad said that even if Liang daru was relegated, he could still live a life of wealth and comfort like a god. He was quite envious of it. Brother, I also want to live a life like a god.”

Tang Shen: “…”

What’s going on with this father and daughter!

Back home, Tang Shen smelled something burning as soon as he entered the door. He quickly walked into the kitchen and saw Aunt Yao cooking something. The big iron pot was pitch black, and the smell of burnt food filled the entire courtyard. Aunt Yao coughed twice. Yao San happened to come home at this as well and hurriedly poured out all the pot of black paste.

Yao San: “Mom, what are you doing? It’s burnt.”

Aunt Yao’s cooking skills were pretty good. Ever since mother and son came to the Tang family, Aunt Yao had always done the cooking. This was the first time she had burned something.

Aunt Yao said: “When I came back and saw that you all hadn’t come back yet, I remembered what the little boss said about using flour to make sauce. So, I just wanted to try it with some flour we still had at home. I didn’t expect it to turn out like this. ”

Yao San was also very surprised: “Little boss, I have never heard that flour can be used to make sauce.”

Tang Shen didn’t expect that Aunt Yao’s first time burning food was from making sweet bean sauce!

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Aunt Yao, why are you in such a hurry and not wait for me to come back. Let me try it, and you can watch from the side first. I have only seen others make this sweet bean sauce, and I have never made it myself. I may need to try several times.”

“Okay!”

Aunt Yao cleaned up the kitchen and heated up a few steamed buns. After the family was full, they all came to the kitchen and watched Tang Shen making sweet bean sauce.

Tang Shen put on a coarse hemp tunic and rolled up his sleeves. He looked at the big dark iron pot, took a deep breath, looked away, and began to mix the flour paste.

Compared with other seasonings, white fine flour was quite expensive in this era. As he was experimenting at first, Tang Shen was not sure that he could actually make sweet bean sauce, so he only scooped out three spoonfuls of flour. He put the flour into the bowl, added water and stirred well, then added a little soy sauce and four tablespoons of sugar.

He then stirred everything evenly, heated the pan with a small amount of rapeseed oil, and poured a bowl of batter into it.

Not long after the pot was filled, Tang Shen could no longer turn the pot. The batter was burnt black and mushy, and the familiar smell of burnt batter soon filled the entire kitchen.

The four of them coughed and left the kitchen. Tang Huang said: “Brother, what you did is not even as good as Aunt Yao, you burnt it faster than her!”

Tang Shen said with annoyance, “Shut up!”

Tang Shen washed the pot and tried again. Tang Shen failed twice more.

Tang Shen seldom cooked in his previous life, but when he was a graduate student, his roommate was a “master chef” who loved to cook. Sweet bean sauce, peanut butter, green onion rolls, steamed buns and fried dough sticks were just some of the regulars. The night before, when someone said “I really want pizza”, the next morning his roommate would bring a plate of pizza out of the kitchen——all handmade, no takeout.

Tang Shen watched his roommate make sweet bean sauce, but it was a bit difficult to make it himself.

Looking at the batter in the bowl, Tang Shen’s eyes stopped on the dark brown rapeseed oil. Suddenly, he had an idea and poured the batter into the pan again. The three of them all thought that Tang Shen was going to burn it again this time. Unexpectedly, he began stirring the batter while holding an oil bottle and pouring oil down the edge of the pot.

The sizzling sound of oil popping sounded in the kitchen, the batter was being stir-fried into a sauce-brown color, and a strange aroma wafted out.

Inhaling the scent, Tang Huang licked her lips: “Brother, what does this smell like? It smells so good.”

But Aunt Yao said: “Little boss, don’t put so much oil. You asked me to try the street food today and I found that people in Gusu City have very bland tastes and don’t like oily food. If you put so much oil in, they can’t eat it.”

Tang Shen tasted the sauce and added a few spoonfuls of sugar. The sweet and soy aroma filled the small kitchen, and both Tang Huang and Yao San craned their necks, wanting to have a taste. Tang Shen put the sauce into a bowl, and the little girl rushed over eagerly.

“Let me try it!”

Tang Huang dipped some of it with his chopsticks. The brown sauce was thick and sticky and stuck to the tip of his chopsticks. The little girl licked it clean. “It’s so sweet and fragrant! It’s much better than the fragrant sauce that the village head’s family often makes.” As she said this, the little girl wanted to take another bite.

Tang Shen asked Yao San and Aunt Yao to taste it as well.

Yao San: “It’s delicious!”

Aunt Yao frowned and said: “It tastes good, but little boss, I can’t really get used to it. You put too much oil in it, it’s a bit greasy. Most people in Gusu City eat light food. Although they also like sweetness, they don’t like such heavy sweetness.”

Tang Shen said: “Aunt Yao, you said people in Gusu City don’t like too much oil?”

“That’s right, I ate at several stalls today, and they all put very little oil.”

Tang Shen: “Maybe it’s not that they don’t like eating oily food, but it’s because they haven’t found food that is ‘oily without being greasy’.”

“Ah?”

Tang Shen: “Have you noticed that the more oily something is, the more delicious it is?”

This question immediately stunned Aunt Yao. She pondered: “The deep-fried meatballs are indeed delicious, but you can’t eat them too much or it will be too greasy.”

Tang Huang raised his hand: “I like to eat fried dough sticks the most. Yesterday, Aunt Yao took me to eat at the breakfast stall in Gusu City. Gusu people also like to eat fried dough sticks.”

Tang Shen nodded: “Yes, people like to eat high-calorie foods. The higher the calories, the more delicious it is.”

“What does high calorie mean?”

Tang Shen: “It’s easier for you to gain weight.”

Tang Huang was shocked: “Then I can’t eat more fried dough sticks!”

Aunt Yao said in confusion: “I don’t understand what the little boss said, but do people in Gusu City really like to eat this food?”

Tang Shen smiled slightly: “Aunt Yao, you don’t like to eat it because you are older and your tastes are mild. Why don’t we open a stall in a few days and try it directly?”

At the same time, Tang Shen did not know that when he left Liang Manor, a figure following him quickly ran back to Tang juren‘s manor.

“You mean, the person Tang Shen went to visit is probably Liang daren?”

The maid nodded and said, “I watched carefully. Liang daren just left Gusu City this morning. Laoye mentioned this matter. That Tang Shen took out his name card and was welcomed into Liang Manor by the guards. Within a moment, the steward of Liang Manor personally sent him out. I thought this was not a simple matter, so I came back to report to the madam and did not give them the twenty taels of silver.”

Madam Tang was preparing and getting ready to rest. After hearing this, she put down her comb and started thinking.

This maid was her dowry maid. She had been with her since she was very young. She was young, but she was very good at her tasks, so she was sent to do this. What the maid said was most likely true. The person the Tang siblings went to visit was Liang daren.

“Madam?”

Madam Tang said: “Go to the treasury and get another ten taels of silver. Go to Linglong Embroidery Villa, pick out some clothes suitable for boys and girls, and give them to them. Then buy some household necessities, pens, ink, paper, inkstones, and some books. There is no need to give the money, just items. You don’t have to choose something too expensive, but it must be good quality and complete.”

The maid nodded: “Yes. Madam, just send some things? Do you want me to bring a word as well?”

“No need. They are relatives. We cannot be too close just because they may know Liang daren. Our family needn’t be so ingratiating.”

“Okay.” After saying that, the maid turned around and made to leave.

Madam Tang said: “Wait. Remember, they are still the young master and young lady of the Tang family no matter what.”

The maid thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

On this side, Yao San was still making thin pancakes when suddenly someone knocked on the door.

Tang Huang: “I’ll get it.”

When she opened the door, she saw a young woman in her twenties. Tang Huang was confused. Before she could speak, she heard the woman bow her head and say, “Young Lady.”

“Ah, I’m not a lady. Brother, someone is at the door, but I don’t know them. Could this be a mistake?”

Tang Shen came over and the maid said again: “Young Master.”

Tang Shen was confused for a moment, and subconsciously thought that the other had recognized the wrong person.

The maid said: “I am Madam Tang’s personal maid. You left in a hurry, and laoye couldn’t entertain you because he had something to do. Madam also didn’t know about it until you left. Madam specially sent me to send you some summer clothes and autumn clothes, as well as some books, paper and inkstones. She was afraid you didn’t prepare many things, having just arrived in Gusu City.” As she said that, several moving men carried two boxes into the yard.

Tang Shen looked at the boxes quietly and said, “Much thanks to Madam Tang’s kindness, but we have already bought everything we need. I’m afraid we have to trouble this sister to take it back.”

“Young Master, this is impossible. If I can’t complete my errand, I will be scolded by Madam.”

Tang Shen wanted to refuse, but the maid was very stubborn.

Finally, the maid left. Tang Shen looked at the two boxes in the yard and smiled helplessly.

Tang Huang and Aunt Yao opened the boxes and saw that it was really just some daily necessities, including clothes, pens, ink, paper and inkstones. There were no valuables, and the clothes were only prepared for Tang Shen and Tang Huang to wear. They were not silk and satin, but the style was generous and attractive. It was obvious that they had been carefully selected.

Aunt Yao said: “Little boss, your relatives are really nice. They didn’t just spend money on these things. They are all prepared with sincerity.”

Tang Shen said, “It’s only been a day and they already know where we live.”

Tang Huang: “Huh?”

Tang Shen checked the contents of the box, thought about it again, and said, “But Madam Tang doesn’t seem to have any ill intentions.”

They could only take one step at a time. 

In the next few days, Tang Shen thought a lot, and even thought about whether Madam Tang guessed that they wanted to separate their families, so she went out of her way to smooth the relationship in advance. But he rejected this idea.

Tang xiucai was the son of a concubine. According to the laws of this dynasty, the money he would get after the separation of the family was not much. Tang juren’s family would not deliberately plot against two children for this small amount of money. Moreover, what Tang Shen really wanted was to separate the two families, not dividing the money.

“Did they know that I went to visit Liang daru and wanted to get close to me?”

But after waiting for a few days, Tang juren, Madam Tang, and not even the maid appeared again.

Tang Shen: “Could it be that I think too much?”

Putting this matter behind him, his attention moved to Yao San who came home that afternoon with the stall certificate approved by the market.

Yao San: “Now we can finally open business.”

Yao San had built a breakfast cart these days. It was not as fancy as the breakfast carts of later generations. It was just a small push wooden cart. They bought a stove and coal, made a bucket of grain batter, and waited to set up a stall the day after tomorrow.

Ah Huang and the Yao mother and son were very excited, but Tang Shen thought a lot. He went out to visit Suijin Street again in the afternoon. In the evening he found Yao San: “Brother Yao, tomorrow you go out to the outside of the city and hire dozens of people, preferably men and women, old and young. Only hire them for an hour, and you can negotiate the price.”

“This is easy to do. There are many people in Gusu City and there are many idle people looking for work. But little boss, why are you hiring these people?”

“Are our flat pancakes delicious?”

Yao San swallowed his saliva and recalled the taste: “It’s delicious! Little boss, I really didn’t expect that the flat pancakes would be so delicious after being smeared with sweet bean sauce. But what relation is there between the two?”

Tang Shen said: “We don’t have much money and can’t wait to be discovered naturally. I have to make money quickly. It’s no use knowing that it tastes good. We must let more people know that it tastes good.”

“What does that have to do with hiring people?”

Tang Shen looked calm. He didn’t even take a breath when he spoke, and said very confidently: “Hire people, to be our customers!”

In the early morning of this day, many breakfast stall owners on Suijin Street noticed a new face coming.

The person pushing the cart was a middle-aged strong man, the person collecting the money was an old woman, and the person making the breakfast was actually a boy of thirteen or fourteen years old!

At first, there was no one in front of this stall. However, at some point, seven or eight people suddenly appeared. Without looking at the other stalls, they walked straight to the young man’s stall and formed a long queue.

“I heard the flat pancakes at this stall are delicious.”

“Right, I ate one last night and thought about it all night.”

Other stall owners: “…”

You are talking nonsense! This stall was obviously just erected this morning, which took less than an hour in total!

However, passers-by didn’t know that this stall just opened today.

Seeing so many people lining up and hearing people say how delicious the food was, many pedestrians stopped and joined the queue.

One person asked: “Brother, what are these multigrain pancakes? I have never heard of them in Gusu City before.”

Without waiting for anyone to reply, a middle-aged man in front of the queue said very enthusiastically: “Multigrain pancakes are very tasty. I bought one for my wife two days ago, and she thought about it for two days. But this boss only makes 100 pancakes a day. Once it’s done, there won’t be anymore sold. I couldn’t buy one until today.”

“What? Just make a hundred?”

“That’s right! Brother, I have already bought one. You can wait in line slowly, don’t be anxious.”

“Okay, thank you, brother. I will definitely buy one to try.”

Tang Shen finished making another multi-grain pancake, and Yao San’s loud voice traveled through half of Suijin Street: “Next one!”

Aunt Yao counted the money until her hands were sore, and Tang Huang looked on, dumbfounded.

“Aunt… Aunt Yao, please pinch me. Didn’t we just open the stall today, and it has only been two hours? Why are so many people queuing up to buy our multigrain pancakes? Am I dreaming…”

Tang Shen was immersed in making pancakes. After hearing this, he laughed disdainfully and thought to himself: Is this enough to be called “a lot of people”?

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

He used both hunger marketing and queuing marketing, such methods were successful a thousand years in the future. So wasn’t attracting more than a dozen customers easy as pie?

Other stall owners on the side: “…”

How shameless!!!

AN: Hired customer: This multigrain pancake is delicious, I eat it every day!

Tang Shen: I get customers based on ability.

Stall owners: How shameless!!!!

If you would like to show some ♡  then please consider supporting this translator! ლ(⌒εー)ლ

Before visiting relatives, Tang Shen had already asked Yao San to find out the situation of Tang juren‘s family.

The Tang family was a big family in Gusu City. Tang juren married a lady from another scholarly family in Gusu City more than 20 years ago, who was now the current Madam Tang. The couple had a harmonious relationship and had a son and a daughter. Tang juren also took in a concubine, and his second son by the concubine was as old as Tang Shen.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Tang juren‘s mother passed away two years ago. It was said that at that time they sent people to the Zhao Family Village to invite Tang xiucai to come back and keep vigil, but Tang xiucai did not respond. From then on, the Tang family never set foot in the Zhao Family Village again, and the two families completely lost contact.

Tang Huang was both curious and nervous about visiting relatives. When approaching and seeing the lofty front doors, the little girl said: “Brother, why don’t we go back.”

Tang Shen: “We already bought the gifts, how can we go back now? Just come in with me.”

Tang Huang gritted her teeth: “You can go alone. Besides, we can live a good life on our own, so why do we have to go find them?”

“You are also a member of the Tang family. There isn’t any hatred in the first place. As the saying goes, one would rather be a family than an enemy. Do you understand?”

Tang Huang followed her brother aggrievedly to the front doors of the Tang family.

Tang Shen stepped forward and knocked on the door. There was a sound of footsteps inside, and soon a small door opened from the side. A servant who looked like a doorkeeper came out of the small door and looked at the siblings: “Is there something you need, little brother? This is Tang juren‘s family house in Gusu. Do you have a name card?”

Tang juren was a scholar, and the Tang family was a literati family. Most outsiders who wanted to visit would send their name card one day in advance to inform the owner. Or just give their name card directly like Liang daru did and hand it over when visiting.

Tang Shen smiled and said: “There is no name card. My surname is Tang and my name is Tang Shen. This is my sister, her name is Tang Huang. We are from the Zhao Family Village. Please let your master know.”

As soon as Tang Shen finished speaking, the doorkeeper’s expression changed.

Today, before coming to visit relatives, Tang Shen and Tang Huang both changed into newly bought clothes. It was not silk and satin, but the material and cut was clean and elegant. In addition, the two siblings were good-looking with endearing features, so the doorkeeper had a good attitude towards the two children. But now when he heard that they were from Zhao Family Village, the doorkeeper looked disgusted and snorted: “Wait.” After that, he entered the small door, slammed the door, and left Tang Shen and Tang Huang outside.

Tang Huang had never been treated like this. The people in Zhao Family Village were simple and honest, and their neighbors all had good relations with them. The little girl was angry and upset, but Tang Shen only showed a meaningful expression and remained silent.

After a long time, a man who looked like a housekeeper opened the small door and led the siblings inside.

The Tang family house was a standard Jiangnan garden courtyard. At the entrance was a huge Taishan stone screen, with eight characters inscribed on it, “Extensive scholarship with unyielding dedication, earnest inquiry with close examination”, which came from “The Analects of Confucius·Zizhang”. The housekeeper led Tang Shen from the west corridor, past the west corner room, and after a few more turns, they came to a deserted and remote courtyard. After settling the siblings, the housekeeper left first.

A servant served two cups of tea to the brother and sister. Tang Huang took a sip and said, “Bah, it’s cold.”

Tang Shen didn’t drink the tea at all. He placed the gifts he brought on the table and closed his eyes to rest, and it was impossible to know what he was thinking.

After a while, footsteps came from the courtyard outside the house. Tang Shen turned around and saw a middle-aged man wearing a Confucian hat and a round-neck gold silk robe walking in. He was slightly portly and his steps were light. When he walked into the house and saw Tang Shen and Tang Huang, he paused and continued walking forward.

Tang juren sat in the main seat at the top, and the servant served him a cup of tea. He took a sip and looked at the siblings: “You are from Zhao Family Village?”

Tang Shen: “En, uncle, my name is Tang Shen, and this is my sister Tang Huang.”

Tang juren looked at Tang Shen with a strange expression, as if he was remembering the past. He said coldly: “So it seems you are my half brother’s children. Why did you come to Gusu City? Is there something you need?”

Tang Shen was about to speak when the housekeeper suddenly entered the room in quick steps and whispered a few words in Tang juren‘s ear. Tang juren stood up and said: “There is something I need to take care of, I will be dealing with it first. You may wait a moment, housekeeper, serve two plates of cakes.” After saying this, he hurried away without giving the brother and sister a chance to speak.

Soon, the housekeeper served several plates of snacks, which tasted good and were no longer cold like the two cups of tea.

Tang Huang ate a few mouthfuls and said, “Brother, how long has it been? Why hasn’t that Tang juren come yet?”

“Dis you really think he would come back?”

“Ah?”

Tang Shen looked at the cold refreshments on the table and stood up: “Are you full?”

Tang Huang: “I wasn’t hungry to begin with.”

“Okay, then let’s go.”

At first, it was Tang Huang who kept saying that they should leave, but now Tang Shen really decided to leave. The little girl was stunned and said, “Didn’t you say we came to visit relatives? Tang Shen, if we just leave like this, wouldn’t our visit today be in vain?”

“Didn’t we already come to visit relatives?”

“Is this called visiting relatives? We haven’t even talked to Tang juren at all.” After a pause, the little girl who was young but had a sharp mind: “Although he doesn’t want to talk to us either.”

“It’s enough after going through this process. The other doesn’t want to bother with you at all, and you know their attitude as well. The important thing is that we came and sat for a bit. What do you think we are really here for? That we are really here to visit relatives?”

“If it’s not visiting relatives, then what are we here for?” Tang Huang trotted to follow Tang Shen and left the courtyard.

Tang Shen’s hands were empty. He left the gifts in the room and said calmly: “Dividing the families.”

After the Tang siblings left the Tang Manor, the news spread to the main room within just a tea break. At this time, Tang juren was sitting at the table eating and did not appear busy at all. After hearing the housekeeper’s report that Tang Shen and Tang Huang had left, Tang juren snorted coldly and had the maid serve him a bowl of soup.

“Two little brats who came to sponge off on people.”

Madam Tang took the soup from the maid’s hand and handed it to Tang juren: “Tang Shen, Tang Huang? Are they the children of your half-brother? Don’t they live in Zhao Family Village? When did they come to Gusu City? Why didn’t you let me know.”

Tang juren finished drinking the soup: “Let you know for what, they are just two poor relatives who came seeking gratuitous financial help. When their father was still alive, my mother was so kind to him, she never treated him badly, and even if he went to live in Zhao Family Village, she still sent people to give him things during the holidays, treating him as her own. But when my mother passed away, he didn’t even come back to take a look. Isn’t he just a white-eyed wolf? The white-eyed wolf gave birth to two little white-eyed wolves, this kind of relative, as soon as they arrived at Gusu City and came to the Tang family, naturally it’s to ask for money.” (TN: White-eyed wolf=ungrateful)

Madam Tang frowned and said: “Don’t say that. What do children know? Their father’s affairs have nothing to do with the children. I remember that my nephew should be only twelve or thirteen years old this year.” She waved and called the housekeeper over: “Tell me what happened after they came today.”

The housekeeper relayed everything about the behavior of the Tang siblings after they entered the house.

Madam Tang said: “So, they also brought gifts? That’s quite sincere of them.”

Housekeeper: “They are all cheap things.”

Tang juren: “As I said, they came to sponge off.”

Madam Tang glanced at Tang juren then said to the housekeeper: “You just said that before Tang Shen left, he said that he had to visit someone else, so he couldn’t wait any longer?”

“Yes.”

After thinking for a moment, Madam Tang called her personal maid: “You go to the warehouse to get twenty taels of silver. If you go after them now, you should be able to catch up with the brother and sister. After you catch up, don’t disturb them first. Just watch from behind. Take a look and see who they went to visit today. After they return home, you go to their home and give them the money.”

Tang juren: “What are you doing!”

Madam Tang: “What am I doing? Those are your niece and nephew, only twelve or thirteen years old. When the two children came to Gusu City, the Tang family didn’t take care of them, but drove them away. This news will only harm your reputation after it spreads, and others will be criticizing your Tang family.”

“This, this… isn’t this because the people in Gusu City knew what their father did back then.”

“You used to bully their father a lot when you were young, am I wrong?”

“Whose side are you helping?”

Madam Tang: “Fine, just think of it as the pocket money that I, their aunt, give to my nephew and niece. Go now.”

The maid accepted the order and left. Tang juren was very disdainful, but Madam Tang was thoughtful. She asked: “Those two children have just arrived in Gusu City. What other relatives do they have to visit? Aren’t our family the only relatives in Gusu City?”

Tang juren: “Why do you care so much?”

Madam Tang opened her mouth but said no more.

On the other side, as soon as Tang Shen left the Tang Manor, he was pestered by Tang Huang who wanted him to explain clearly.

“What exactly do you mean by dividing the families? What are you talking about?”

Tang Shen’s head hurt from being pestered. He stopped, looked at his sister seriously, and said in a sincere tone: “Sometimes I really wonder whether I am an ancient person or you are an ancient person.”

“What?”

Tang Shen: “Pretend I didn’t say anything.”

As the brother and sister walked away, Tang Huang said, “Tang Shen, just tell me why we need to separate our families.”

Tang Shen: “Call me elder brother.”

“Elder brother!”

“Beg me.”

“Elder Brother, please, you are the best brother in the world.”

Tang Shen rubbed the goosebumps that appeared on his arms and said, “Do you still remember what dad told you about the Tang family when you were little?”

Tang Huang thought for a while: “Dad said that his brother had no ambitions and was stupid. But out dumb luck, he managed to pass the exams and become a juren in one fell swoop. It’s God’s injustice. Brother, I think Dad is right. Today after seeing that Tang juren, he doesn’t look like a scholar at all, his belly is so big.” The little girl drew a big circle around her thin waist.

“Don’t exaggerate. Yes, dad said that, but have you ever heard dad say a bad word about the old madam?”

Tang Huang recalled seriously: “No.”

“With our dad’s temper…”

Tang Shen added silently in his mind: When he wakes up in the morning, he curses Tang juren first, then after lunch he curses him again, and finally before going to bed at night he throws in some more curses.

“Hai, with our dad’s temper, he can’t even say a bad word about the old madam. It shows that the old madam treated our dad well, and our dad has nothing to say.”

Tang Huang: “So?”

Tang Shen: “So, the Tang family is also a well-reputed family in Gusu City. Even Liang daru, the governor of Gusu City has heard of Tang juren‘s name. The Tang family is so well-known, but our dad did not come back to keep vigil at the old madam’s funeral. You tell me, would everyone in Gusu City know about this or not?”

Tang Huang clapped her hands: “Of course they know!”

“To put it lightly, it is unfilial, and to put it harshly, it is a lack of character. It is indeed our dad who got into a dead end and did not do right. Now that dad is gone, others can’t blame our dad. Who do you think they would blame then?”

“…Us?” 

Tang Shen smiled and said: “The child is worthy of being taught. So going to the Tang family today is to express our attitude. Since the Tang family does not want to resolve the dispute, then we will separate the families directly next time we go. Otherwise, if something happens to Tang juren in the future, we must give a helping hand, otherwise we would be accused of being white-eyed wolves. But if Tang juren doesn’t help us when something happens to us, he could say that it was our dad who was unkind in the first place. In everything he has the upper hand, so say, don’t you think we have the short end of the stick?” Definitely the shortest end of the stick!

Tang Huang opened her eyes wide: “Tang Shen, you are so clever!”

“Call me elder brother.”

The little girl called sweetly: “Elder brother!”

Arriving at Tongde Lane, Tang Shen asked two families and soon found the Liang Manor.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The Liang Manor was different from the Tang Manor, though they were both wealthy families. In front of the Tang Manor were two round stone statues, but in front of the Liang Manor there were two majestic stone lions. In the Song Dynasty, not everyone could place stone lions at their doors. Two guards armed with spears stood on both sides of the gate of Liang Manor. When Tang Shen stepped forward, one of them came down the steps and examined him first.

This soldier was not as arrogant as some ruffian soldiers, and he was not vulgar either. He asked: “Who is it? This is the residence of Governor Liang of Gusu City. Do you have a name card?”

If you would like to show some ♡  then please consider supporting this translator! ლ(⌒εー)ლ

It was early morning when Tang Shen arrived at Gusu Prefecture City.

During this time in Zhao Family Village, the villagers were all working in the fields and there was no one on the road. However, there was already a huge flow of people in the Gusu City. The vendors were selling their goods and breakfast, and the peddlers were carrying the goods from one end of the street to the other.

Within a moment, two carriages passed by the brother and sister.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

“Brother, there are so many carriages, so many!”

Zhao Family Village didn’t see a single carriage for a month, but Gusu Prefecture City was packed with carriages and horses.

Tang Shen: “Grandma Liu probably looked like you now when she entered the Grand View Garden.” (TN: A phrase to describe someone who has not much sophistication/has barely seen much of the world)

“Grandma Liu, Grand View Garden. What are you talking about?”

“I am complimenting you on your beauty.”

Tang Huang: “…” Why don’t I believe it?

In ancient times, it was not easy to find a house to live in. Yao San had stayed here for a month and was familiar with Gusu Prefecture City. He took Tang Shen to find a house broker.

A house broker was equivalent to the real estate agency in ancient times, and the intermediary agent. In the Song Dynasty, it was illegal to buy and sell houses privately without using a house broker. 

After looking for a whole day, Tang Shen and Tang Huang took a fancy to a tile-roofed house with four entrances. The house was very small, with just a kitchen, a main room and a side room. A lot of the tiles on the roof were broken and there were several small holes in the walls. The house broker asked for three strings of coins a month.

Tang Shen was not good at bargaining. Fortunately, Aunt Yao was there, so they finally settled on two strings a month, and had to pay a six-month deposit first.

In the blink of an eye, half the savings was gone. The miser Tang Huang was stunned and refused to let go of the small purse of remaining money.

Since there were only two rooms, Tang Shen and Yao San shared one room, while Tang Huang and Aunt Yao slept in the other room. Aunt Yao kept saying: “This is not good! How can we share a room with the little bosses? San’er and I can just stay in the side room.”

Tang Shen: “At the age of six we begin learning literacy. At seven years old, girls and boys neither sleep nor eat together. Although our family house was just a few thatched houses, there were many rooms and each person had a room of their own. Now there are only two rooms, and Ah Huang is already nine, too old to sleep with me anymore.”

Aunt Yao said: “Then how about San’er and I go to the kitchen to make do?”

Tang Huang: “How could that be done? Aunt Yao, just sleep with me.”

Yao San: “Mom, we should just listen to the little boss.”

After allocating the rooms, handling the moving matters, and cleaning the house, Yao San came to Tang Shen and said, “Little boss, I will go out tomorrow to see if there is any work, and find a job to supplement the family income.”

Tang Shen said: “What kind of job are you looking for?”

“Guard. Don’t laugh. I’m a rough man with only a little strength to me. I only know how to do this. They didn’t want me before because I had my mother along with me. Now we have a place to live with the little boss, I can now easily find a job as a guard.”

“Brother Yao, don’t worry, I have something else for you to do.”

Yao San was stunned and said: “Something else? 

Tang Shen thought for a while: “Do you know where in Gusu Prefecture City there are the most people?”

“Of course it’s Suijin Street in front of Tianqing Temple!”

Gusu Prefecture City, Tianqing Temple, Sujin Street.

Tianqing Temple, also known as Xuanmiao Temple, was said to have been built during the Western Jin Dynasty on the order of Sima Yan, Emperor Wu of Jin Dynasty. The most popular place in the entire Gusu City was not the Hanshan Temple outside the city, nor the Xiyuan Temple inside the city, but this Xuanmiao Temple. There was a long street in front of Xuanmiao Temple called “Tianqing Temple Front Street”, and people in Suzhou call it Suijin Street.

Aunt Yao took Tang Huang out to buy some household items and do some sightseeing/shopping. Tang Shen and Yao San went to Suijin Street.

Yao San took Tang Shen to the busiest alleys of Suijin Street, where there were tailor shops selling silk and satin, rice shops, grain shops, wine shops, and various stalls. At noon, the two of them sat down in front of a wonton stall and while eating, Yao San followed Tang Shen’s instructions and said: “Shopkeeper, your wontons are so delicious that I almost swallowed my tongue while eating it. You must be a time-honored brand of Gusu City.”

The stall owner selling wontons said with a smile: “You are really good at talking. My wontons are also the best even in Suijin Street. We have been making them for more than 20 years since my father’s generation.”

Tang Shen: “Oh, is this still an ancestral craft?”

“Of course. Go and ask who makes the best wontons on Suijin Street. Nine out of ten people will definitely say mine.”

Yao San: “Your stall has to pay a lot of tax every year, right?” He made a gesture of rubbing his fingers, “And also some private fees?”

The vendor shook his head: “No way. Ever since Liang daru became governor of our Gusu Prefecture City, everyone knows that Liang Daru has always cared for the common people. Those hoodlums on the streets have long since dared not bully us casually. We only need to pay a fixed fee to the government. We have official protection.” He spat to the side, “Those shameless hoodlums, who dares to act recklessly in Gusu City? You must be foreigners, Gusu City is different from other places.”

Tang Shen: “We are from Wu County.”

“No wonder, our Gusu Prefecture City is a great place.”

After finishing a bowl of wontons, Tang Shen paid and left. Yao San calculated: “Little boss, the money received by the prefecture government is not much, but we only have fifteen strings left. After buying various household items, who knows how much will be left. There are no fruit trees in Gusu Prefecture City, so if we want to make fruit juice we have to buy fruit from someone else for the juice, which is a big expense.”

“Who said we are going to make fruit juice?”

Yao San was stunned: “Then what are we going to do?”

The two of them stood in the center of the bustling Suijin Street. Tang Shen said, “Brother Yao, do you see any difference between Gusu Prefecture City and the Zhao Family Village?”

Yao San looked around them for a long time and said: “There are many more people than in the Zhao Family Village, and there are more people selling things.”

“Gusu City has Osmanthus and Lotus wine, and Jinling Green Bamboo Leaf wine that comes from Jinling. There are seven or eight shops selling these two wines in Suijin Street alone. However, there is no wine in Zhao Family Village, only home-brewed rice wine, but mostly there is just herbal tea. People in the village don’t have anything tasty to drink so our fruit juice sold fine in Zhao Family Village, but in Gusu City, I can tell you that within a month of selling, we will be squeezed out of Gusu City and forced to return to the Zhao Family Village.”

“How can that be!”

Tang Shen and Yao San walked slowly on Suijin Street. Tang Shen carefully looked at the vendors on both sides. His eyes lit up: “Brother Yao, you are from the north, can you make thin pancakes?”

In the evening, the family returned to the house, and Tang Shen arranged for Yao San to buy some buckwheat noodles, black rice noodles, mung bean noodles, and some flour the next day. He asked Aunt Yao to take some money and go to Suijin Street to see and eat and taste the flavor of the Gusu City people.

Tang Huang said happily: “I will go with Aunt Yao.”

Spending money to eat outside, who wouldn’t want to do this?

Tang Shen said calmly: “You will come with me.”

Tang Huang: “Huh?”

“We’re going to visit relatives.”

Tang Huang didn’t understand what Tang Shen meant at first, and subconsciously said, “How could we have any relatives in Gusu Prefecture City?” But after a while, she realized and said quickly: “You, you really want to visit relatives? When father was alive, he said he wouldn’t go even if he starved to death. How can you go?”

Tang Shen looked at her: “So our father passed away. Little boss Tang, do you also want to starve to death?”

Tang Huang: “…”

After a while, the little girl muttered: “How could we starve to death?”

Tang Shen rubbed his sister’s head and said, “There is no grudge in the first place, so why not visit relatives?”

The mother and son of the Yao family looked on confusedly. Before coming to Gusu Prefecture City, they had never heard Tang Shen say that the siblings had relatives in Gusu Prefecture City. In fact, even Tang Huang forgot that they had such a relative.

The father of Tang Shen and Tang Huang, Tang xiucai, was actually from Gusu Prefecture City.

Two months ago, Liang daru asked Tang Shen if he was related to the Tang juren in the west of Gusu Prefecture City. Tang Shen only said that they were distant relatives. But in fact, they were not distant relatives at all. Tang Shen’s father and Tang juren were brothers. Except one was the son of the official wife while the other was the son of a concubine.

Tang xiucai‘s mother died early, so he was raised by his legitimate mother since he was a child, and was considered half a legitimate son. The Tang family was from a scholarly family, with a well-off family background. They were not considered extremely noble and wealthy, but they were also a family of literati and polite people. The legitimate mother’s relationship with Tang xiucai was not so good, but she would not purposely make trouble for him. He had been attending private school at home since he was a child.

Tang xiucai was an intelligent child since young. Because his mother died early, he was always very prideful and competitive. He felt that he was a son of a concubine and had no honor. Fortunately, he worked hard and became a xiucai at the age of fourteen, which could be regarded as a glorious achievement. The Tang family had high hopes for him, thinking that he could at least become a juren. Unexpectedly, from then on, Tang xiucai failed the exam four times.

On the fourth time, it was his eldest brother who was not very smart when he was young, but in his thirties, managed to pass the county examination in one fell swoop, and went on to pass the provincial examination the next year.

Tang xiucai was so angry that he fell ill. After he recovered from the illness, he took his whole family to his wife’s hometown of Zhao Family Village, and vowed never to return to the Tang family unless he passed the provincial examination.

Within two years, Tang Shen’s mother died. A few years later, Tang xiucai also passed away due to illness before he managed to pass the provincial examination.

When Tang Shen and Tang Huang were young, they often heard Tang xiucai complaining about the unfairness of the world. He couldn’t pass the provincial examination, but why was his stupid older brother able to? Therefore, the siblings also hated the Tang family since they were young. After transmigrating over, Tang Shen was completely uninterested in the grudges of his parent’s generation. According to his memory, although Tang xiucai always complained about the Tang family, he only complained about his elder brother becoming a juren and had no objection to others.

As the saying goes, the son should not talk about his father’s fault, only the person involved knows the details of what happened back then, and Tang xiucai had already passed away.

Tang Shen thought to himself: Dad, I can also be considered your son. From now on, I will take my sister to eat and drink delicious and tasty things. I promise not to embarrass you. Finally, he added silently: So tomorrow when we go to the Tang family, don’t be angry up there in heaven.

After saying this, Tang Shen raised his head and looked at the sky: “If there is no lightning or thunder, I will assume that you agree.”

Tang Huang happened to be passing by the yard holding a pillow. When she heard this, the corner of the little girl’s mouth twitched and she also raised her head to look at the sky.

Where was there any lightning and thunder on such a sunny day? There really must be something wrong with my brother’s brain!

Before she could take her eyes away from the night sky, Tang Huang suddenly saw a star falling from the sky and heading north. The little girl had never seen such a thing before. Frightened, she threw the pillow, and hugged Tang Shen’s arm: “Brother, what was that? What was that? Did you see it? The stars have fallen!”

Of course Tang Shen saw it. He was just talking to the dead Tang xiucai in his mind when a shooting star suddenly appeared. Tang Shen was also frightened and thought: This couldn’t be Tang xiucai scolding me, could it?

He forced himself to relax and recited the Eight Honors and Eight Disgraces and the Scientific Outlook on Development in his heart. He was an atheist and did not believe in these ghosts and gods.

“That’s called a meteor.”

Tang Huang asked: “Meteor?”

“Meteors are an astronomical phenomenon. The earth we were on now… Well, you don’t understand this. Anyway, you only need to know that meteors are normal. It is a star that happens to pass in front of us and you happen to see it. Some of them will also meet us regularly, for example, there is a star called Halley, which is a comet that will meet us once every 76 years.”

Tang Huang seemed to still be confused, but Yao San said from the side: “Little boss has read a lot, so he knows a lot.”

Aunt Yao: “Of course, scholars were different from us.”

It was too difficult to explain clearly to Tang Huang what a meteor was, so Tang Shen went back to his room to sleep after a few perfunctory explanations.

At the same moment, the capital of the Song Dynasty, Shengjing.

The majestic palace had a strict inner court.

In the dark night, a group of armored guards held long spears and marched on the bluestone in unison, making their rounds. There was silence in the palace. Except for the patrolling guards, only one magnificent building was still dimly lit.

The light flickered, then suddenly a gust of wind blew by and the room turned into darkness.

A scream suddenly came from inside.

“Come, come, quickly, light this longevity lamp for zhen!” (TN: form of self address by the emperor, similar to the royal we)

In an instant, two children in Taoist robes ran into the hall with their waists bent and came to a row of bronze lamp stands. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the lamp light was not extinguished, but only a few sparks were left.

The child was so frightened that his face turned pale, his legs shook, and he lit the nine longevity lamps tremblingly.

Among the golden bricks and carved beams, an old man wearing a white robe and had a long beard breathed a sigh of relief. He walked anxiously to the longevity lamp and stared at the nine lamps with obsessed eyes.

“What was that wind just now?”

The two children knelt down and said, “Your Majesty, please spare my life!”

The old man had a fair face, slender eyes and arched eyebrows. He looked at the two children quietly with deep eyes. He was silent for a moment, but before he could speak, a voice came from outside the room: “Your Majesty, the Imperial Astronomer has come to report!”

Emperor Zhao Fu of the Song Dynasty paused and said, “Summon.”

The Imperial Astronomer Li Xiaoren walked into the hall quickly. He kept his head lowered and did not dare to look up. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw two children kneeling on the ground, and Li Xiaoren cursed in his heart. When he heard that the lamp of longevity was extinguished, he hurried over, but he was a step too late. These two boys were both his proud disciples. Originally he thought that serving the emperor and guarding the longevity lamp would be a good job, but he didn’t expect that they would encounter such a disaster.

Wearing a Tai Chi Bagua official robe with a colorful golden pheasant tail feather tucked on the official hat on his head, Li Xiaoren knelt down and prostrated on the ground: “Your Majesty, there is a meteorite as big as a peach, leaving the Zigong, entering Taiwei, appearing above the Emperor Star, suppressing the southeast, passing through Tianshi Yuan Twenty-two stars to bring disaster, which may endanger our century-old Song Dynasty!”

A look of panic appeared on Zhao Fu’s fair face. He took two quick steps forward and then stopped: “Elaborate in detail.”

Li Xiaoren described the incident of the meteor in detail again, and said: “Your Majesty, the meteor stopped on the Emperor Star and disappeared without a trace. I’m afraid this is an ill omen.”

“Why?”

How could he know why. This meteor came inexplicably, starting from the south and sinking into the north. Could it be that something was going to happen in the south? A rebellious party interfering in politics?

Li Xiaoren suddenly thought of a person. He told lies with open eyes: “This star has fallen past the twenty-two stars in the sky, submerged into Ziwei, and then becoming invisible. It must have been hidden for many years. I observe the stars at night, and the Ziwei Emperor Star is bright as day. The imperial power is prosperous and has not had any impact in the past twenty years. I believe this evil star has already been subdued by Your Majesty and has been dormant beside Your Majesty for many years, only to show signs of revival in recent days.”

Zhao Fu narrowed his eyes: “Being subdued by zhen, dormant for many years… revival?”

Li Xiaoren gritted his teeth and reminded again: “Your Majesty, one must remove the root when cutting the grass.”

Zhao Fu looked at Li Xiaoren quietly. As the saying goes, accompanying the emperor was like accompanying a tiger. Li Xiaoren held his breath, like a child, not daring to breathe out.

“My dear official, speaking of which, he has also been in prison for twenty-four years.”

Li Xiaoren bowed to the ground, and said, “Chen is stupid and doesn’t know what Your Majesty means.” (TN: self address for officials)

Zhao Fu said impatiently: “Zhen knows, you are dismissed.”

“Chen retreats.”

Li Xiaoren trembled as he got up from the ground. Before he could stand upright, Zhao Fu said lightly: “Those two, drag them out and execute them.” 

The two children shouted: “Your Majesty, please spare my life, Your Majesty, please spare my life!”

Li Xiaoren stiffened, then left without looking up.

After leaving the emperor’s palace, Li Xiaoren wiped the sweat from his forehead and heard two screams from the palace behind him. Li Xiaoren acted as if he hadn’t heard anything and left the palace calmly.

Jiangnan, Gusu Prefecture City.

Knowing that they were going to visit the Tang family, Tang Huang was both curious and nervous. The little girl put on the new tunic and skirt that she and Aunt Yao bought on the street yesterday, which evoked a second look from Tang Shen.

Tang Huang said shyly: “What are you looking at?”

Tang Shen said with a smile: “It turns out that my little sister is also quite comely when not wearing hemp clothes? I used to think she was a mountain village woman.”

“…”

“Tang, Shen!!!”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The brother and sister set off to go to Tang juren‘s house in the west of Gusu Prefecture City. Before they left, Tang Shen said, “I almost forgot about something.”

After a while, he came out of the house with something in his pocket. Tang Huang didn’t see clearly, only that it was a placard of sorts.

Then the siblings went out and headed to Tang juren’s house in the west of Gusu Prefecture City.

If you would like to show some ♡  then please consider supporting this translator! ლ(⌒εー)ლ