They Are All Good People

At that moment, everyone in the Yang family’s courtyard stared at Widow Chen.

They were all struck by how formidable she looked.

Some of the older villagers gradually recalled that when she was young, Widow Chen had been famous throughout the surrounding villages as a fiery little pepper. After her husband died, her family lost its main support, and she had been forced to rein in her temper and endure her days in silence.

But now, after hearing Widow Chen’s furious scolding, everyone felt immensely refreshed.

Old Lady Li had often abused her position as the village head’s wife to throw her weight around in the village. Quite a few young wives and older women had suffered at her hands.

But now that Yang An had been granted the rank of Shangzao and Li Yan the rank of Zanniao, the Yang family had its own noble titles. The Li family was no longer the sole power in Wanshou Ward.

With Widow Chen’s sharp tongue ringing in their ears, the villagers no longer feared Old Lady Li quite so much. One after another, they called out, “Hurry up and leave, Old Lady Li! Stop embarrassing yourself here!”

“The village head is such a good man. How did he end up with a wife like you?”

Several yellow-faced villagers who had just received their share of meat added, “Madam Yang was kind enough not to argue with you. But if you keep spouting nonsense here, we won’t care whether you’re the village head’s wife or not!”

Seeing that the entire Wanshou Ward had turned against her, Old Lady Li’s eyes filled with tears of rage. “You—you heartless ingrates!”

She grabbed her daughter-in-law and grandson and fled.

Everyone in Wanshou Ward burst into laughter.

Yang An had not expected Big Sister Chen to have such a viciously sharp tongue. After a brief moment of surprise, he grinned and pinched both of Manman’s little ears as he teased, “With Big Sister Chen around from now on, Sis will never lose an argument again.”

Li Yan laughed along with him.

After Widow Chen had driven Old Lady Li away, the cheerful, cozy atmosphere in the Yang family’s courtyard returned.

Yang An’s family of three continued distributing meat to the villagers, while the mother and daughter from the Chen family rolled up their sleeves and helped.

Old Lady Li, who had stormed away in a huff, walked some distance with her daughter-in-law and grandson, angrily wiping at her tears.

The angrier she became, the more often she turned around to curse as she walked.

“That Yang family is simply too cruel! Every one of them is vicious to the bone—especially those rotten Yang siblings!”

“And the old fool still says they’re good people! He must have lost his mind! It serves Yang An right that he keeps failing the examinations! He definitely won’t pass the academy examination in a few days either!”

The Li daughter-in-law hurriedly comforted her mother-in-law. “Please don’t be angry. After doing something so vile, the Yang family is sure to suffer retribution. Yang An has taken the exam so many times without passing; there’s no way he’ll succeed this time. Once our Dabao makes the list and Yang An fails, our family will finally be able to hold our heads high!”

Old Lady Li thought this made perfect sense.

She vigorously rubbed Dabao’s chubby cheeks. “Good boy, you must make your grandmother proud and pass this time! Whether your grandmother can continue to hold her head high in Wanshou Ward will depend entirely on you!”

They had already walked a long way from the Yang family’s home.

Yet Li Dabao was still thinking about the dried meat in Manman’s hands. He gazed up at his grandmother and said, “Grandma, I want some meat…”

Old Lady Li coaxed him, “As long as you make the list in this academy examination, I’ll cook meat for you every day!”

Dabao immediately perked up.

Puffing out his chest, he promised, “Don’t worry, Grandma. I’ll definitely pass!”

“Good boy. Grandma hasn’t spoiled you for nothing!”

At that moment, Old Lady Li seemed almost able to see it already: two days from now, her Dabao would make the list and take the top spot in the academy examination.

And the miserable sight of Yang An failing the examinations yet again.

She let out a cold snort. “Isn’t it just a matter of winning people over? Who can’t do that? Once Dabao gets into the Imperial Academy, I’ll hold a banquet too and invite everyone in the village! Then I’ll have them all point at the Yang family’s backbone and curse them!”

The Li daughter-in-law chimed in from the side, “Exactly! When the time comes, we’ll curse them good—not just Yang Ning, but Li Yan too! We’ll curse them until they’re ruined and disgraced, with no face left to keep living in the ward!”

Just as the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were indulging in their fantasies, a young, broad-shouldered man suddenly dashed between them, deliberately knocking all three of them over.

The sun had been shining nicely these past two days.

Much of the snow on the ground in Yunzhou City had melted, leaving many of the dirt roads in Wanshou Ward full of puddles.

Old Lady Li, the Li daughter-in-law, and Dabao were sent sprawling by the collision.

They landed in a muddy ditch, their entire bodies splattered with muck.

Old Lady Li immediately began cursing. “Ow! What kind of bastard was that? Don’t you have eyes?”

But while she was still shouting,

Zheng Fei, carrying a basket of wild mushrooms on his back, had already run far away. He muttered to himself, “How dare you curse Brother An? Sister Yang Ning is such a good person! Knocking you over was letting you off easy! If I weren’t afraid of the authorities coming after me, I’d have run you to death and still wouldn’t be satisfied!”

As he thought this, Zheng Fei quickened his pace and headed toward the Yang family’s home.

Wanshou Ward was not large.

Zheng Fei had grown up running wild in the mountains, and his legs were exceptionally swift. Before long, he arrived outside the Yang family’s residence.

He had not even entered the gate when he saw a large crowd gathered both inside and outside the Yang family’s home, every face beaming with joy.

Those leaving the house were even carrying things in their hands.

Not knowing what was going on, Zheng Fei grew curious. He stopped an old man who had just come out and asked with a smile, “Old sir, why is the Yang household so lively?”

The old man replied, “Young man, you look unfamiliar. You’re not from Wanshou Ward, are you?”

“You have a sharp eye, old sir.”

“No wonder you don’t know. Let me tell you, Li Buliang—the Yang siblings are truly good people! Some time ago, Li Buliang was granted the rank of Third-Class Zan Niao, and Yang Erlang was granted the rank of Second-Class Shangzao. We villagers spontaneously brought them congratulatory gifts.”

“But Young Master Yang was worried that after giving gifts, we’d have a hard time getting through the winter, so he butchered the black eagle he’d hunted and distributed the meat among us.”

As he spoke,

the old man raised the dozen or so pounds of eagle meat in his hand and waved it in front of Zheng Fei. “Look at this! More than ten pounds!”

The moment Zheng Fei heard the words “eagle meat,”

he froze. An indescribable shock rose in his heart, and his pupils widened slightly.

He did not even have time to bid the old man farewell.

He pushed through the crowd and hurried into the Yang family’s courtyard.

The black eagle’s body was enormous.

Lying there in the Yang family’s courtyard, it was impossible to miss.

The moment Zheng Fei entered, he saw it clearly. It felt as though a sledgehammer had struck his brain with all its might.

The eagle lying on the ground…

was exactly the same as the one Father and I had stolen…

So the eagle we stole was hunted by Brother An?

So Brother An clearly knew that we had stolen his things, yet he still helped us with Huang Peng?

When he realized this,

the color drained from Zheng Fei’s face. His legs felt as heavy as lead, and he stood rooted to the spot, unable to move.

Yang An, who was distributing the eagle meat among the crowd, noticed him.

With a smile, he called out, “Brother Zheng Fei, what brings you here?”

Hearing Yang An’s voice, Zheng Fei slowly raised his head and looked toward him.

The moment his eyes met Yang An’s warm, gentle gaze, a deep sense of shame welled up inside him—as if a rat that had been hiding from the light had suddenly been exposed to the sun.

Zheng Fei desperately wanted to hide.

When he saw Yang An walking toward him, Zheng Fei hurriedly set down the dried mushrooms and the few Vermilion Blood Fruits he had gathered for Yang Ning to replenish her qi and blood.

Then, without looking back, he ran out of the Yang family residence.

“Why are you leaving in such a hurry?”

Yang An was briefly stunned. The next moment, he realized the reason. He picked up the dried mushrooms Zheng Fei had left behind and murmured to himself, “Sigh… Uncle Zheng and Brother Zheng Fei are both such honest, simple people.”

At a farmstead outside Yunzhou City.

As noon approached and lunchtime drew near, Zheng Shoutian, who had been caring for his seriously ill wife, asked in confusion, “Why hasn’t Little Fei come back yet? He’s been gone all morning.”

Having offended Huang Peng, Zheng Shoutian was worried that his son might be targeted in retaliation and suffer some misfortune. With that thought, he pushed open the door and went out to search for him.

But the moment he stepped outside, he saw Zheng Fei sitting on the doorstep with his back turned.

Zheng Shoutian walked over and asked curiously, “Little Fei, you’re back. Why didn’t you come inside?”

Hearing his father’s voice, Zheng Fei slowly turned around. His face was streaked with tears.

“What happened, Little Fei? What’s wrong?” Zheng Shoutian asked anxiously.

Choking back sobs like a child, Zheng Fei said, “Dad… the eagle we stole… it belonged to Brother An…”

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There’ll be an extra chapter tomorrow.

T_T