Pastoral Splendor

"Put you down?" Someone sneered coldly beside the big black fungus. "Who told you to bully a little girl? Let you learn your lesson first!"

Before Da Mu could even react, his body was suddenly sent flying as if he were floating on clouds, before crashing heavily to the ground. He scrambled to his feet, groaning, "Ouch! Ouch!" He pointed at Yan Ying, "Which eye of yours saw me bullying a little girl?" "It was clearly her, her, her..."

Da Mu was always tongue-tied, and now that he had suffered a loss, he couldn't even speak properly. He just blushed and looked at Yan Ying, who was smiling beside him, so angry that he couldn't say anything nonsense.

"I saw it with both eyes! And you still dare to argue? You're asking for a beating!" The rider, annoyed by Da Mu's defiant attitude, raised his whip and lashed it at him. Seeing the whip coming at him, Da Mu rolled on the ground like a ball, tumbling to the side, rubbing his head, and howling loudly, "He's hitting me! He's hitting me!"

Yan Ying looked up and saw a horse in front of her, with a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy sitting upright on it, dressed in white clothes and looking very dashing.

Since this young man was willing to meddle in other people's business, it seemed he did have some compassion. Yan Ying thought to herself, Yuzhou City was still about twenty miles away, and she couldn't guarantee she could sell the mutton once she got there. Why not see if she could sell the mutton to him?

Thinking of this, Yan Ying looked at Da Mu, who was standing up while rubbing his butt, and began to wipe away her tears: "Da Mu, your family is so hateful! Just because our Xiao family doesn't have any boys, you keep bullying us. Let me tell you, I'm not afraid of you. I'll find a way to get back at you!"

When Da Mu saw Yan Ying making a false accusation, he was so angry that his face turned red. Just as he was about to speak, Yan Ying started sobbing: "I just wanted to go to Yuzhou City to sell some things to supplement my family's income, and you chased after me and beat me. Tell me, are you even human?"

Hearing Yan Ying's words and seeing Da Mu standing there with a flushed face, yet not uttering a word of rebuttal, the boy naturally believed Yan Ying's words. He was furious and shook the whip in his hand: "You are truly despicable! Take another lash from me!"

Da Mu had originally intended to argue with Yan Ying, but he hadn't expected the white-clad youth to be so easily swayed. Before he, the aggrieved party, could even speak, the youth raised his whip to strike him, clearly not someone to be trifled with. Knowing he was outmaneuvered and unlikely to win an argument against the third daughter of the Xiao family, Da Mu figured it was best to slip away quickly. His eyes darted around, and he took off running down the path, disappearing from sight in no time.

“Girls, don’t worry, I’ve already chased him away.” The white-robed youth smiled at Yan Ying. “You can go to Yuzhou City now.”

Yan Ying wiped her eyes, lifted the cloth covering the mutton, and handed the basket to the young man in white: "Young master, why don't you do me a favor and buy my things? That way I can go home and won't have to go all the way to Yuzhou City."

The young man in white glanced at Yan Ying, a hint of embarrassment on his face: "Miss, I... I don't need this mutton. I don't cook for myself."

“Young master, please do us a favor and buy this sheep, otherwise our family will suffer.” Yan Ying wiped her eyes. “Our family was bullied by the Da Mu family just now. They keep driving their sheep to eat the vegetables in our garden. I’ve told them several times, but it’s no use.”

"This is outrageous!" The white-robed youth looked furious. "Isn't this bullying?"

"Yes, yes, they're clearly here to bully us." Yan Ying's expression turned sad, and her voice gradually lowered. "Today, they drove their sheep into our garden again. They not only ate our vegetables, but also some of the flowers I just planted. I was planning to sell them in Yuzhou City in a few days to supplement our income..." Yan Ying said pitifully, "I couldn't bear it anymore, so I slaughtered the sheep."

"Well done!" the young man in white praised Yan Ying. "We can't spoil them!"

"I want to go to Yuzhou City to sell mutton, but it's so late now, I don't know if there will be anyone in Yuzhou City who wants to buy mutton." Yan Ying secretly glanced at the white-robed youth and hesitated before saying, "Young master, you should just buy it. This mutton isn't worth much, two taels of silver at most."

Yan Ying didn't know how much a sheep should cost. After thinking it over, she figured two taels would be the minimum. If the old woman demanded one tael of silver as compensation, she could still keep one tael for herself. This young man in white looked like he'd never bought vegetables before; he might not even realize she was overcharging him.

"I..." The young man in white was a little embarrassed: "I came from the capital, and my master didn't give me much money. This is all the money I have on me now." He took off a pouch from his waist and showed it to Yan Ying: "Look, this is all I have. You certainly don't want to sell the sheep to me."

Yan Ying craned her neck to look and saw that there were only a dozen or so copper coins left. She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Looking at the white-clad boy's clothes, he didn't seem like someone who was poor, but she didn't expect him to be so penniless.

Seeing Yan Ying's disappointed look, the young man in white felt a little embarrassed and smiled at her, saying, "How about this, I'm going to be the tutor of the Prince of Yu's heir. That heir lives in a villa not far ahead. I'll take you there with me and see if we need to buy a kitchen. They are a noble family, so buying a sheep shouldn't be a problem for them."

Yan Ying glanced at the white-clad youth, hesitating. What if he turned out to be a bad person? As the saying goes, one should not have the heart to harm others, but one must be wary of others. One must be careful in everything.

"Miss," the white-clad youth said somewhat awkwardly, "I am not a bad person. My surname is Jian, and my given name is Jian Yifei. I am a guard in the Prince of Qin's mansion. The Prince of Yu saw me at the Prince of Qin's mansion last time and was very impressed with my martial arts. So he asked the Prince of Yu to write a letter to His Highness the Prince of Qin, inviting me to be the Prince's teacher and to personally instruct him in martial arts. You can rest assured and do not need to be so wary of me."

Yan Ying felt a little embarrassed by Jian Yifei's frankness and pointed to the small path beside the main road: "My family lives in Xiaojia Village. They all call me Sanhua."

"Sanhua?" Jian Yifei smiled. "Then do you have two older sisters, Dahua and Erhua?"

Yan Ying nodded: "There are three younger sisters, Sihua, Wuhua, and Liuhua."

Jian Yifei gasped in surprise: "You have so many sisters? Do you have any brothers?"

Yan Ying shook her head: "No, that's why that old woman Si Jin bullied our family. She called our family childless and said that we had no one to back us up and could only be bullied."

"This is outrageous!" Jian Yifei reached out to Yan Ying: "Come on up, I'll take you to the other courtyard, don't waste time."

Yan Ying nodded: "Okay." Jian Yifei held one of her hands, which felt very warm. Looking at the young man in white, his eyes were clear and without any impurities, which made her believe him involuntarily.

The Prince Yu's mansion villa wasn't far from Xiaojia Village. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a line of bluish-gray walls came into view, stretching out amidst the smoky green willows. In the distance, the glazed tiles could be seen shimmering under the midday sun. Along the wall was a row of flowering trees, their branches extending over the top of the wall, leaving a carpet of fallen petals on the ground.

Jian Yifei and Yan Ying dismounted and walked to the gate of the villa. The gatekeeper shouted, "Oh, where did this country bumpkin come from? Get out of the way!" He glanced at Jian Yifei, then hesitated. Although the young master's clothes were not made of the most expensive material, he looked handsome and refined, as if he were no ordinary person.

“Uncle, I’m from the Prince of Qin’s residence in the capital. My name is Jian Yifei.” Jian Yifei stepped forward, took out a letter from his pocket, and gave the gatekeeper a few copper coins: “Please take this letter to the young master. He will know what’s going on as soon as he sees it.”

Although Jian Yifei only gave him a few copper coins, the gatekeeper dared not neglect him when he heard that he was from the Prince of Qin's mansion in the capital. He glanced at Jian Yifei and nodded: "You wait here!" He turned and called inside, and an old woman responded and came out. After hearing the gatekeeper's words, she took the letter and hurriedly ran into the courtyard.

Before long, the old woman came out with a smile and said, "The young master has instructed that you should quickly invite Young Master Jian."

Yan Ying followed Jian Yifei toward the villa, but was stopped by the gatekeeper: "Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing trying to squeeze in there! This villa of the Prince Yu's mansion is not a place for a little girl like you to go."

Yan Ying glanced at the gatekeeper, a disdainful look on her face: "Didn't you see that I came with Young Master Jian? If the young master invited him in, he would naturally invite me in as well. Are you trying to stop him and get punished by the young master?"

The gatekeeper was stunned when he saw that Yan Ying showed no sign of panic or fear. He wondered who she was. After looking at her closely, he noticed that although Yan Ying's clothes were worn, she had a very pretty face, bright and clear eyes, and a demeanor unlike that of a country girl.

Could it be a young lady from some noble family disguised as someone coming to see the young master? The gatekeeper looked at Yan Ying, then at Jian Yifei, and finally decided to be a good person: "You may go in."

Yan Ying secretly breathed a sigh of relief, stepped over the high steps, and followed the old woman inside with Jian Yifei.

...