Pastoral Splendor

The sound of horses' hooves echoed, raising a cloud of dust on the path, and the silhouettes of the riders could be vaguely seen.

"Isn't this the young master who came to Old Master Xiao's house last time? Why is he here again today?" The villagers were whispering among themselves. One of the women rolled her eyes and said, "Oh dear, could it be that the young master has taken a fancy to Sanhua and wants to take her back as his concubine?"

"The young master is so young, he's probably not even married yet, so why are you talking about concubines?" Someone shook their head: "You're overthinking it!"

The woman blushed and retorted, "I heard that in wealthy families, there are maids who serve the young masters and grandsons when they are fourteen or fifteen years old! Although the Xiao family is a bit poor, all of their girls are beautiful and have impeccable looks!"

"No way..." an old woman said hesitantly, "A few years ago, didn't Xiao Wangshi want to sell that sixth girl? But Xiao Laoda refused. He said that no matter how poor he was, he would not sell his child, let alone send her to be a maid in a wealthy family! No way, no way."

"Whether it will work or not, we'll see." The woman twisted her body, snorted, and walked into her room. "Now that we've made contact with the Prince's Mansion, Old Master Xiao's family is going to live a good life from now on."

Xu Yixuan and Jian Yifei arrived at the Xiao family's house, but Yan Ying was nowhere to be seen. Si Hua led them to the fields: "Second and Third Sisters are helping with composting today."

Sihua had two long braids and walked with a bouncy gait, very lively. Xu Yixuan looked at her back and chuckled: "Master, look at these girls from the Xiao family, they're really strange. Their family is so poor, yet they're still so happy."

Jian Yifei sighed, "That's what it means to live well. Even with a lot of money, without a joyful heart, it's hard to survive in this world." He seemed to see a small house before his eyes, with a woman in her thirties inside. Her features were delicate, but she always looked worried and distressed. He shook his head, and the image disappeared, but his heart remained heavy.

"Father, Second Sister, Third Sister, Prince Xu is here!" Before even reaching the edge of the field, Sihua shouted at the top of her lungs, and the people working in the field all looked up.

"Miss Xiao." Xu Yixuan strode forward, a cheerful smile on his face. "I did as you instructed today. I'm afraid that soon someone will come to Xiao Family Village to buy your pickled cabbage." As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly felt a sour, pungent smell rush into his nostrils. He covered his nose with his sleeve and took a few steps back. "What are you doing?"

Boss Xiao looked at Xu Yixuan apologetically and stammered, "Young Master, we are composting fertilizer. Please go away so as not to offend your senses."

Xu Yixuan took a few steps back, looking at the piles of black and yellow stuff in the field, and felt extremely uncomfortable. He ran to a tree, leaned against it, and vomited loudly.

Seeing Xu Yixuan's appearance, Erhua couldn't help but giggle. Yanying rolled up her trouser legs a little higher and didn't look in Xu Yixuan's direction. This young master of the Prince's mansion naturally couldn't stand the sour smell. Let him go to the side and vomit for a while first.

“Miss Xiao, do you need my help?” Jian Yifei tied his robe to his waist and started to roll up his trousers, which startled Boss Xiao, who waved his hands repeatedly: “No, no! Young Master Jian, you should go back. There’s really nothing fun to do in this countryside.”

Previously, the highest-ranking official Xiao Laoda had ever met was the village head. But ever since Yan Ying had a dispute with Old Lady Si Jin over killing a sheep, he had become acquainted with a prince. To Xiao Laoda, the prince's mansion was an unattainable place, seemingly floating in the clouds. Everything in the mansion, even the smallest cats and dogs, was extraordinary.

Even Prince Xu treats this Young Master Jian with utmost respect. How could I possibly let him do farm work? Old Master Xiao was so anxious that his face turned red. He kept nagging, "Young Master Jian, there's really no need to help. If we men work for a couple more days, we can finish the work in the fields."

Seeing that Jian Yifei had already neatly rolled up his clothes, Yan Ying secretly praised him: "Young Master Jian, if you want to help, then please carry the excrement from that cesspool over for us."

“Okay.” Jian Yifei readily agreed and walked in the direction Yan Ying pointed. Xu Yixuan had stopped vomiting by now, staring blankly at Jian Yifei’s back, and shouted, “Master, I’ll come too.”

Rushing to the cesspool, Jian Yifei was already scooping out the excrement with a ladle. Xu Yixuan had only stretched his neck when he saw white maggots rolling around inside. A stench hit him, and he couldn't hold it in any longer. He turned his head and vomited violently, emptying his breakfast completely.

"Young Master, please don't force yourself." Several guards quickly followed, admiring Jian Yifei's back as he carried the buckets of manure. Although many people in the Prince's mansion came from mountain villages, it would be very difficult for them to go back to doing this kind of work. They were really not used to it. But this young master Jian didn't care at all. Carrying the two buckets of manure, he walked briskly and quickly reached the field.

"No, if Master can do it, so can I!" Xu Yixuan glanced over there; Miss Xiao was smiling sweetly at her master, like a flower blooming in spring. No, he wanted to help Miss Xiao with the work too, so she would smile at him like that! Xu Yixuan clenched his fist: "You all go scoop the manure."

The guards exchanged worried glances, then reluctantly walked to the cesspool and began scooping out excrement. Xu Yixuan stood to the side, lifted his long robe, covered his nose, and rolled up the legs of his trousers. As if walking through a pile of cotton, he trudged to the cesspool, frowned at the excrement, gritted his teeth, bent over, and lifted the two buckets.

He walked unsteadily towards the edge of the field, feeling as if he were about to suffocate. But the thought of Miss Xiao smiling sweetly at him gave him renewed energy. The guards thoughtfully didn't fill the manure bucket to the brim, so walking was easy and no excrement spilled. When he carried the bucket to the edge of the field, Boss Xiao quickly took it from him: "Young Master, you really don't need help. My two maids and I are enough."

Xu Yixuan stepped back a little, put down his robe, and smiled at Yan Ying: "Miss Xiao, do you need my help?"

Yan Ying looked at Xu Yixuan's furrowed brows and forced cheerful expression, and secretly found it amusing. She pointed at Jian Yifei and said, "When you can be like your master, carrying buckets of manure without frowning, then you can come and help."

Jian Yifei strode briskly along the ridges of the fields, his two buckets filled to the brim, yet they remained perfectly level and steady, without spilling a drop. His head was held high, as if he were doing something very enjoyable, showing no sign of pain. Xu Yixuan, watching Jian Yifei's upright figure, suddenly felt a pang of shame. Compared to his master, he was like a blade of grass under a towering tree; no wonder Miss Xiao didn't like looking at him.

Listening from the side, Elder Xiao sighed repeatedly. Had his third daughter gone mad? How could she speak to Prince Xu like that? He kept waving his hands, "Sanhua, Sanhua, stop talking! Take Prince Xu and Young Master Jian back. Stand here and don't get their shoes dirty!"

Yan Ying walked out of the field and washed her feet in the nearby stream. The black mud was washed away, revealing a section of her tender, lotus-root-like calf, which was white and slender, making Xu Yixuan stare in disbelief.

None of the young ladies he had ever seen before had ever lifted their skirts. Even the maids who served him were all dressed very conservatively, wearing silk trousers even in the middle of summer, only revealing the tips of their embroidered shoes. Now, suddenly seeing a pair of fair and smooth legs, his head buzzed, and he couldn't help but panic. He quickly turned his face away, but couldn't help but secretly turn back to peek into the stream village.

Jian Yifei carried several buckets of manure for Boss Xiao, spreading some throughout the field. She then went to the streamside village to wash her shoes, which were covered in mud and had turned yellowish.

Yan Ying jumped ashore from the stream, splashing the white water onto Jian Yifei's clothes, leaving a few wet spots. Jian Yifei glanced at Yan Ying and smiled, "Miss Xiao, you jumped really high. You're a good candidate for martial arts."

"Learn martial arts? Young Master Jian, are you willing to teach me?" Yan Ying was overjoyed. She squatted down, pulling at the wildflowers by the stream while watching Jian Yifei wash his shoes. Jian Yifei was quite skilled; if she could learn some good martial arts, it would be good to be prepared.

Jian Yifei felt somewhat embarrassed by Yan Ying's gaze. No girl had ever looked at him so intensely before. Back in the Qin Prince's mansion, although he was favored by the Prince, his social status was still what it was. The young ladies ignored him, and the maids looked down on everyone else. No one had ever paid him any attention before. Now, he could feel two gazes fixed on him, and he felt uneasy all over. He felt a mix of sweetness and fear in his heart, and his heart was pounding wildly, completely lacking its usual calm.

"Master, Master, please take her as your disciple too." Xu Yixuan couldn't help but rush forward and block Yan Ying from Jian Yifei's way of smiling sweetly at her. "That way I can have another junior sister."

...