CH 101

Tang Tianyuan told Official Sun their difficulty in suppressing the bandits. And as he expected, Official Sun left the same day. He left with various gifts, ready to go to Chizhou Prefecture Mansion to intercede in person.

There was no other option. With more two hundred hectares of land, the combination of the newly harvested grains with the previous harvest added up to nearly a hundred (dry) liters! According to the current rates, this was worth about twenty thousand taels of silver! 

Moreover, this year was different from previous years. The grain levy had to be handed over based on their actual harvest. Now that all his grain storage was emptied out, Official Sun would have to pay the taxes out of pocket. Just thinking about this painful thought caused Official Sun to have countless sleepless nights.

The arrival of Official Sun was quite unexpected to Zong Yinglin, but he still received him. As soon as Official Sun saw Zong Yinglin, he grieved out ‘how difficult it was to grow grains,’ ‘how abhorrent the bandits were, pushing this lowly official to wits end,’ ‘if Lord can help get the grains back, then you’ll be this lowly official's great benefactor, and will definitely be repaid in multitude,’ etc etc.

Zong Yinglin was a sensible person, and after listening to Official Sun’s cry, he asked, "How did you find this official here?"

Official Sun thought that Zong Yinglin was blaming him for acting so inappropriately. He quickly apologized with a smile on his face, and asked his servant to bring the gifts over.

Zong Yinglin had no choice but to ask the details carefully. He quickly understood: it was Tang Feilong's idea. That kid was quick witted… Since he couldn’t solve this problem and did not want to go through the trouble or use his own money, he encouraged others to do it.

Zong Yinglin stated, "Since you have come all the way here, it would be too inhumane if this official doesn't help you."

Official Sun hurriedly agreed.

At this time, a person walked in from the outside. Without giving a single glance at Official Sun, he walked directly to Zong Yinglin.

Official Sun felt that this person lacked much discipline. Others are inside discussing an important matter, how could he come in without knocking on the door?

The man looked anxious as he walked to Zong Yinglin. He lowered his head and said a few words into Zong Yinglin’s ear. His voice was very low, so Official Sun didn't hear a word.

Zong Yinglin's expression changed slightly as he nodded. "I see."

After the man left, Zong Yinglin said to Official Sun, "There’s some problems, we will talk about your issue another time."

"But my Lord..." Official Sun was put in a difficult spot. When Zong Yinglin mentioned ‘another time’, he felt a sense of uncertainty. This time was different from the last time; this was a reasonable request. Aren't they just a bunch of bandits, all they needed were some soldiers.

Zong Yinglin shook his head helplessly and scolded him, "Listen to yourself, all you do is ask for this and that! Just for those few taels of gold, how many times do I have to wipe after your mess?! I originally expected you people to keep an eye on this and keep the matter subdued, but look at what you’ve done now! Not only did you not keep an eye on the people, look at how much trouble all of you have caused!"

Such a harsh scolding made Official Sun very confused, "Sir, what did this lowly official do wrong? Please clarify."

It seemed he was still in the dark. Zong Yinglin powerlessly waved his hand. "Forget it, you can go back first. The bandits on Phoenix Mountain can't be suppressed yet."

Official Sun returned disappointed.

He wanted to find someone to complain about, and scolded Zong Yinglin for being unreliable. He searched and searched, but couldn't find a suitable person, so Official Sun went to the County Magistrate to explain the circumstances.

Tang Tianyuan was a little surprised, he thought in the worst direction: Could it be Zong Yinglin might have noticed something?

He was going to discuss with Tan Lingyin. He hadn't seen her for a day, so he missed her. This way, he could also see what she had prepared for him.

The more Tang Tianyuan thought about it, the more excited he became. And so Tang Tianyuan directly went to the Southern Study.

Oh, no one's here. He asked around, and those who had seen her told Tang Tianyuan that Head Commissioner Tan had gone out early in the morning.

Gone out? She must have gone to pick something for him. Thinking of this, Tang Tianyuan's mood became even more turbulent.

Tang Tianyuan’s insight was quite accurate.

Tan Lingyin thought it through. She didn't want to believe that Tang Feilong was playing tricks on her emotionally. If he really was, then she would just beat him again. So she decided to give him something in return.

But what to give? This was a difficult choice, so Tang Lingyin took Tang Tang for a walk in the downtown area, going into every store.

Tang Tang had been growing new teeth recently. Tan Lingyin was afraid that his teeth would itch and bite others without warning, so she put a rope around his neck. When Tang Tang gets bigger, she even planned to get Tang Tang a muzzle, helmet, or something of that sort. After all, Tang Tang was a lion, so he must not have the opportunity to hurt people.

Tang Tang was very aggrieved. It really, really has never bitten anyone nor did it plan to bite others in the future– Pampered, well fed, well sheltered, why would he want to bite anyone?

Even after going through the whole area, Tan Lingyin still couldn’t decide what to buy. Why not go look at some fresh embroidery patterns, pick a few, and embroider something herself? Although her craftsmanship was not very good, with beautiful vivid colors, it shouldn't be too ugly, right?

Just as Tan Lingyin was about to go back, Tang Tang dragged her towards the city gate.

Tan Lingyin followed Tang Tang for a few steps and asked, "Tang Tang, what do you want to do?"

Tang Tang turned his head to look at her and whined coquettishly.

It probably wanted to get out of town to play. Tan Lingyin knew that lions live in uninhabited places and naturally like the wild. So she followed Tang Tang out, reminding him as she walked, "Just play for a little while."

The young man guarding the city gate looked at the strange girl talking to her dog. Hmm, her dog looks quite weird too...

During this season, there was really nothing to see outside the city. Looking around was a barren land, either withered yellow or scorched orange. Occasionally a cluster of greenery could be spotted,

presumably a type of pine or cypress. Tan Lingyin took Tang Tang to the river side and loosened his rope. She bent over to pick up a small piece of wood and threw it into a distance. When Tang Tang saw this, he ran over to bring it back to her.

Tan Lingyin thought this was quite fun, so she threw it again, and Tang Tang ran to pick it up again.

And so, one person and one lion continued to play this game.

Tang Tang ran out again, but suddenly turned back halfway.

"Tang Tang, go pick it up." Tan Lingyin said.

Tang Tang didn't listen to her, he turned and desperately ran towards her.

Tan Lingyin didn't have time to wonder. She only felt a sudden sharp pain at the back of her head. Her eyes went black and she quickly fell unconscious.