The Leisurely Life of a Peasant Woman in the Tang Dynasty

The maid quickly brought the record book. Tang Youyou flipped it open and took a closer look, frowning even more. The record book clearly recorded the number of households and personnel who had received supplies today. It was indeed three hundred households. However, Tang Youyou felt something was wrong.

"Mom, what's wrong with you?" The sensible Tang Wan asked with concern when she saw her mother's strange expression.

"It's okay," Tang Youyou put down the record book and rubbed Tang Wan's head, "I'm just a little tired."

Although she said that everything was fine, Tang Youyou couldn't let it go in her heart. She vaguely felt that there seemed to be something fishy hidden in the distribution of these relief supplies.

The next morning, Tang Youyou used the excuse of going to the temple to burn incense and came to the meditation room of Monk Huiren. Monk Huiren was the abbot of the temple. He was upright and kind, and was deeply loved by the people. Tang Youyou came here to inquire about some information from him.

"Donor, are you here for the relief food?" Monk Huiren seemed to see through Tang Youyou's thoughts at a glance.

Tang Youyou didn't hide anything and revealed all her doubts and speculations. After listening to him, Monk Huiren pondered for a moment and said, "Donor, you may not know that among these disaster victims, there are inevitably some people with ulterior motives who want to take advantage of the situation and falsely claim the relief supplies."

"Master, what you mean is..." Tang Youyou was shocked.

"I am just guessing. You may want to investigate secretly and perhaps you will find something." Monk Huiren said meaningfully.

After returning from the temple, Tang Youyou began to investigate the matter. She first carefully checked the list of victims, and then personally visited several households severely affected by the disaster, hoping to find some clues. Tang Jin and Tang Wan also volunteered to help, one observing people coming and going at the village entrance, and the other asking around for information.

"Mom, I found a suspicious person!" Tang Jin ran back panting and whispered in Tang Youyou's ear, "I saw Sun Mazi sneaking back from outside the village with a bulging cloth bag in his hand. I don't know what's in it."

Sun Mazi was a notorious idler in the village. He liked to steal and do nothing on weekdays. In this famine, he "naturally" became one of the victims.

"Let's go and take a look at Sun Mazi's house!" Tang Youyou made a quick decision and took Tang Jin and Tang Wan straight to Sun Mazi's house...

Tang Youyou rushed to Sun Mazi's house with her two children, but found nothing. There was only an old mother at home, sitting in the yard basking in the sun.

"Where is Sun Mazi?" Tang Youyou asked.

The old mother glanced at them with her cloudy eyes, shook her head, and said vaguely, "I don't know. She went out early in the morning."

Tang Youyou knew her mother was hiding something, but she didn't point it out. She took the children to search around Sun Mazi's house. Tang Wan was very attentive and noticed that the fence in Sun Mazi's backyard seemed to have been moved, so she pointed it out to Tang Youyou.

Tang Youyou gently pushed aside the fence and found a path behind it, leading to the woods outside the village. Tang Youyou's heart moved, and she took the children along the path to chase after him.

At the same time, Tang Xiaoya was playing with the children at the village entrance. Suddenly, she saw Sun Mazi talking to a strange man in the woods not far away. They looked furtive and kept looking around.

Driven by curiosity, Tang Xiaoya quietly moved a few steps closer, hid behind a big tree, and eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Thanks to you this time, otherwise I wouldn't be able to carry so much food by myself." Sun Mazi said in a low voice with a flattering smile on his face.

"It's no big deal. As long as you can help me get the list of those disaster victims, we two brothers will get rich together in the future!" The strange man patted Sun Mazi's shoulder, with a hint of pride in his tone.

"That's that's..."

Although Tang Xiaoya was young, she understood that the two men were doing something bad. She didn't dare to delay and ran all the way back to the village, where she found Tang Youyou who was anxiously looking for her.

"Mom! Mom! I saw Sun Mazi..." Tang Xiaoya breathlessly told Tang Youyou everything she saw.

After hearing this, Tang Youyou had already made up her mind. She told Tang Xiaoya not to make it public, and then discussed countermeasures with Tang Jin and Tang Wan.

"Tomorrow is the day to distribute relief food, so let's do this..." Tang Youyou whispered in the children's ears, revealing her plan.

The next morning, Tang Youyou brought Tang Jin and Tang Wan to the warehouse where the relief food was being distributed. As planned, Tang Jin disguised himself as a disaster victim, blending in with the crowd and secretly luring Sun Mazi to the back of the warehouse. Tang Youyou, on the other hand, hid in the shadows, waiting for Sun Mazi to take the bait.

Sure enough, when Sun Mazi saw Tang Jin appear, he thought he had an opportunity and followed him secretly. After Tang Jin led Sun Mazi to the warehouse, he followed Tang Youyou's instructions, pretending to accidentally fall to the ground and threw the cloth bag on the ground.

Seeing this, Sun Mazi was overjoyed, thinking it was a piece of cake. He ran over quickly, snatched the cloth bag, opened it, and saw that it was indeed full of food.

"Haha, I'm rich, I'm rich!" Sun Mazi was ecstatic and hugged the cloth bag tightly in his arms.

"Sun Mazi, what are you doing?!" At this moment, Tang Youyou and Tang Wan walked out from the darkness and shouted sternly.

Sun Mazi was so frightened that his soul flew away, and the cloth bag in his hand fell to the ground with a "thump" sound...

Sun Mazi was so frightened that his face turned pale. The cloth bag in his hand fell to the ground, and the food inside spilled all over the floor. He hesitated and tried to explain, but was defeated by Tang Youyou's sharp gaze.

"Sun Mazi, what else do you have to say?" Tang Youyou asked harshly, with suppressed anger in his voice.

"I...I..." Sun Mazi's eyes flickered, but he couldn't utter a complete sentence.

"Someone come, arrest Sun Mazi!" Tang Youyou shouted loudly, no longer giving him a chance to quibble.

The surrounding villagers had long been fed up with Sun Mazi's actions. When they heard Tang Youyou's cry, they all stepped forward and tied Sun Mazi up.

At this moment, County Magistrate Wang and several yamen runners arrived upon hearing the news. When he saw the scene, his face suddenly darkened.

"What's going on?" asked County Magistrate Wang in a deep voice.

Tang Youyou told County Magistrate Wang the whole story in detail, and called Tang Xiaoya, Tang Jin, and Tang Wan to her side, asking them to tell County Magistrate Wang everything they had seen and heard.

After hearing this, County Magistrate Wang was furious. He pointed at Sun Mazi and shouted, "How dare you, Sun Mazi, falsely claim relief grain? Do you have any respect for the law?"

Sun Mazi knew that his crime was exposed and dared not hide it any longer. He had to explain in detail how he colluded with the strange man, how he stole the list of disaster victims, and how he embezzled the relief grain.

After hearing Sun Mazi's confession, County Magistrate Wang was so angry that he trembled all over. He immediately ordered Sun Mazi to be arrested and tried on a later date.

After dealing with Sun Mazi's matter, County Magistrate Wang turned and looked at Tang Youyou, his eyes full of admiration.

"Madam Tang, thanks to you, this case has been solved. You have eliminated harm for the people, which is truly a great deed!" County Magistrate Wang said with a bow.

"Your Excellency is overpraising me. I just did what I should do." Tang Youyou said modestly.

County Magistrate Wang nodded, and then ordered his men to re-register the recovered relief grain and distribute it to the victims who really needed it.

When the villagers saw this, they all looked at Tang Youyou with gratitude and gave her a thumbs up. Tang Youyou's name spread throughout the village again, and everyone praised her as a brave, kind, and righteous person.

In the evening, the afterglow of the setting sun fell on the quiet village. Tang Youyou and his family sat in the yard, eating a simple dinner with happy smiles on their faces.

"Mom, you were awesome today!" Tang Jin said excitedly while eating the rice in his bowl.

"Yes, mother, you are our hero!" Tang Wan also said.

Tang Youyou looked at the two sensible children and a relieved smile appeared on her face.

At this time, a monk appeared at the gate of the courtyard, clasped his hands together, and smiled at Tang Youyou...

"Amitabha," Monk Huiren clasped his hands together and looked at Tang Youyou with a kind look, "Donor Tang, I came here today to thank you for your noble act."

Tang Youyou quickly stood up to greet him, "Master, you are so polite. Please come in."

Monk Huiren sat down on a stone bench and said slowly, "I heard that you exposed Sun Mazi's evil deeds and recovered the relief grain for the people. Such a righteous act is truly admirable."

Tang Youyou smiled faintly, "I just did what I should do, Master, you are overpraising me."

"Don't be so modest, benefactor," Monk Huiren said. "I would like to hold a prayer ceremony for you in the temple, firstly to thank you for your kind act, and secondly to pray for peace for the people."

Tang Youyou hesitated, "Is this... too much trouble?"

"No, no," Monk Huiren smiled and waved his hand. "This is what our temple should do. Besides, I believe that many people would like to take this opportunity to express their gratitude to our donors."

Seeing that Monk Huiren was so persistent, Tang Youyou stopped refusing and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Master."

"Amitabha," Monk Huiren put his hands together, "Well done, well done."

As the news spread, the villagers all said that Tang Youyou was a really good person. Not only was she kind and generous, she also alerted the masters in the temple to perform a ritual for her. For a time, Tang Youyou's name became even more famous in the village.

The Dharma Assembly is scheduled for the early morning of three days later.

That day, just after dawn, Tang Youyou and his family arrived at the temple under the leadership of Monk Huiren.

Many villagers had already gathered in the temple, all of whom had come voluntarily to attend the Dharma Assembly. Seeing Tang Youyou's family, the villagers all looked at them with admiration, and some even stepped forward to express their gratitude.

Tang Youyou responded with a smile, but she felt a little uneasy in her heart, as if something was about to happen.

The Dharma Assembly began. Monk Huiren stood in front of the Buddha statue, muttering something in a low and solemn voice.

The incense was burning and the Buddhist chants were ringing. Tang Youyou knelt on the futon, but she felt strange gazes falling on her, making her feel uneasy...