After The Coquettish Fake Master Was Driven Away - Chapter 26

In this shaded place where no sunlight reached, his heartbeat gradually steadied. Xie Jinning took off his straw hat, smoothing the sweat-damp hair behind his ears.

A breeze drifted past. He squinted slightly, letting the coolness carry away the stifling heat and stickiness from his body.

Not far away, the man stood with his back to him. The taut muscles of his back looked like a rock-hard shield, swelling and stretching with each bend, rising and falling with natural rhythm. Even in such simple movement, he exuded a powerful, beast-like aura.

That kind of physique wasn’t something one could get just from farmwork. And at times, the sharp edge of his presence slipped through—he looked nothing like the villagers here.

Could it be… he was also from outside, just like him?

The thought flickered for an instant, then was broken up by the burst of rich sourness exploding in his mouth. Xie Jinning winced, waiting until the tang dispersed before releasing the hem of his clothes and propping his chin with both hands on his knees.

Savoring the fruit slowly made the taste last longer. The sharp acidity that kept his mouth watering gradually gave way to a gentle sweetness, like swallowing a mouthful of nectar—sweet, but never cloying.

When he chewed again, the softened flesh was tender yet still chewy, sweet with a lingering hint of tartness. Even after swallowing, the flavor lingered at his throat, far tastier than dried fruits that were only sweet.

Xie Jinning normally disliked sour things and favored sweetness, yet here he was popping one after another until his cheeks puffed out.

Until his fingers touched nothing.

“?”

Opening the palm-sized cloth bag, he found one side already emptied, with fewer than five left on the other.

Where had Yan Yi gotten these? No—he said he had traded for them, right?

He’d better ask where. He wanted more.

Stuffing the candies Uncle Xie had bought him into the same cloth pouch, Xie Jinning tied it up and gave a small yawn. Bored, he sprawled over his knees, plucking at little grass blades sprouting from the ridges between the fields.

The yellowing leaves wound around his pale fingers as he twisted them, but he didn’t pull them out by the roots. When released, the bent blades slowly straightened again, swaying to the side, only to be caught once more.

Suddenly, a bamboo basket appeared in front of him. He magnanimously let the poor grass go and looked up: “What for?”

“Uncle Xie said there are berries to pick over there. He was worried you’d be bored, so he asked me to come invite you.”

“Berries?” Xie Jinning’s eyes lit up. “Are they tasty?”

Dried fruit made the mouth dry. Fresh berries would be perfect to moisten it.

“I haven’t tried them,” Yan Yi said.

His gaze slid down to those rosy lips. His throat, still parched despite water earlier, burned once more. A bead of sweat slid along the bob of his Adam’s apple, disappearing into the steam-hazed chest below.

“But I imagine they’re good.”

Behind the thickets on the other side came the faint noise of children at play.

Some ran and chased one another, some gathered berries. The outer bushes had already been picked clean. Some carefully wrapped their harvests to take home and share with family, others ate on the spot, faces smeared in juice.

While the adults worked in the fields below, the children clustered here in groups of twos and threes, laughing and chasing, lively as could be.

When strangers approached, a few children stopped and, without speaking, rushed toward Xie Jinning.

One bold boy grabbed the hem of his robe and peered up in wonder: “Big brother, who are you? You’re so pretty—are you an immortal?”

They didn’t know what immortals truly looked like. They just saw how beautiful he was, dressed all in white, like sunlight draped over his shoulders.

Hearing this, Xie Jinning didn’t scold him for dirtying his clothes. His lips curved up naturally as he replied cheerfully: “Of course—”

The children gasped in wide-eyed awe.

Xie Jinning wagged a finger. “Not really. I’m just an ordinary person.”

“Ah.” The boy sighed in disappointment, but didn’t let go of his robe. He stared at him with shining eyes. “Pretty brother, how come I’ve never seen you before?”

“Yeah! If I’d seen you before, I would’ve remembered. You’re too good-looking to forget.”

Another boy came closer, hugging his leg and making exaggerated winks. On his baby face, the expression looked comically out of place—who knew where he’d learned it from?

Xie Jinning burst out laughing.

Already strikingly handsome, now with his cheeks flushed and eyes curved in mirth, he looked as fresh as spring blossoms—breathtaking.

Children were drawn to beauty by instinct. His bright, unguarded laughter spread to them, and soon they were giggling as well. Even the ones lingering outside let go of their shyness and crowded around him, chattering like a flock of sparrows.

“Pretty brother, can I marry you? My mom said I have to marry a pretty wife.”

“No way, Wang Eryin, you’re younger than me. If anyone’s marrying, it should be me first.”

“My mom says I should let younger ones have things.”

“You’re all wrong! Stop fighting.” A girl’s voice cut in.

“Niuxiaoya, who are you calling wrong!”

Little Niuxiaoya, with her double buns and rosy cheeks, declared, “My mom says boys can only marry girls. Since you’re all boys, you can’t marry Pretty Brother.”

“Then what do we do?”

“Easy! I’m a girl, so I can marry him. And he lives next to me—he can come over every day so I can see him.”

Niuxiaoya pushed through the crowd, hugging Xie Jinning’s other leg, blinking up at him: “Brother, am I right?”

Childish words, childish words.

Not wanting to dampen their excitement, Xie Jinning only chuckled, patting two small heads before pulling a pouch from his robe.

Gulp.

All around, the children swallowed hard, their gazes fixed on the sweets in his hand.

“I only just came here, so let’s use these candies as our first meeting gift. From today, we’re friends, alright?”

“Yay!”

“Candy!”

“Pretty brother, you’re the best!”

Li Husheng and Niuxiaoya, delighted, took the large piece of candy but didn’t hoard it. Instead, they carefully broke it into smaller pieces, sharing them out evenly until everyone had one, then popped theirs into their mouths. Sweet smiles bloomed on their faces.

Watching the group—about six or seven years old—Xie Jinning suddenly asked, on impulse: “Why are you all playing here at this hour? Don’t you have private school to attend?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he remembered—Hetian Village had no such school. Too late to take it back, he bit his lip in regret.

He himself never liked studying. Why was he asking them this?

The boy named Wang Eryin was the first to respond. Tilting his head, he asked blankly, “Silk potato? Can you eat that?”

“Not silk potato—private school,” Xie Jinning corrected with a smile. “It’s a place to study. Kids your age can go there to learn, then later take the county exams.”

The children exchanged looks, still confused, clearly not knowing what he meant.

He was about to change the subject when he felt a tug at his sleeve.

“Brother, do you mean a school?” Li Husheng asked, a dimple flashing on his cheek. “My mom said schools are really expensive and only in faraway towns. We don’t have that much money, so we can’t go.”

“Yeah,” Wang Eryin added gloomily. “Even Big Brother Xie Zhu, who’s so smart, couldn’t go to school. So how could we?”

The one they mentioned was Xie Zhu.

Another child, hearing of this for the first time, asked, puzzled, “Why go to school at all? Isn’t playing together every day better?”

“Yeah!”

“But my dad says, if you study, you can become an official. Officials are powerful—they can order people around!”

“Really?”

“Then if I became an official, could I order people to harvest the wheat, so my parents could just sit and rest?”

Listening to their chatter, Xie Jinning lifted his gaze past them, to the yellowing ridges of fields stretching behind.

Hetian was poor and remote. Generations here were all farmers, with no means or chance to study. Their children were bound to repeat the same fate—trapped in this poor village forever.

A pang of regret stirred in him. But then, his heart began to pound, an idea slowly taking shape.

He wasn’t good at farm work, couldn’t help his father that way, nor gain a foothold in the village.

But…

He could read.

Spoiled and playful though he was, forever skipping lessons, before entering the academy he had studied alongside his elder brother, Xie Zhaoming, under a hired tutor.

Though he hadn’t memorized many poems nor grasped grand principles, he had learned the basics of literacy, how to form words and sentences.

Bl00d rushed faster through his veins, surging to his head. Voice trembling, he asked: “Then… do you all want to learn to read?”

“Yes!” Li Husheng burst out, eyes bright. “My mom said officials can make lots and lots of money, and eat lots of delicious food.”

“Then I can eat meat every day?”

“Can I eat candy every day too?”

“Then I want to study! Brother, teach me!”

Ordering people around hadn’t excited them much, but the promise of good food had them all clamoring, hands waving eagerly.

Warmth surged in Xie Jinning’s chest. For the first time, he felt he’d found his purpose for staying in Hetian Village.

His face flushed, eyes alight, he declared: “Good. Then I’ll teach you to read and write.”

Literacy was the first key to breaking poverty. Once the door was opened, everything afterward became possible.

By the bushes, there were eight children in total—five boys, three girls. Six clustered close to him. Two sisters lingered at a distance, holding hands timidly, too scared to approach.

Earlier, Niuxiaoya had shared candy with them on their behalf.

When Xie Jinning looked over, they flinched and even stepped back, like startled deer, though faint hope still flickered in their eyes.

Only when he waved them over did they slowly draw near.

The older girl shielded her younger sister, speaking timidly: “Brother, can girls learn to read too?”

Their clothes were patched and worn, the stitching crooked, the fabric faded. As they came closer, he noticed bruises faintly visible on their arms where sleeves didn’t cover—marks of being beaten.

His expression shifted.

Li Husheng whispered in his ear: “Brother, they’re from Tian Lao’er’s house. Their mom ran off with another man, so Tian Lao’er vents his anger on them. Poor things.”

“Of course you can,” Xie Jinning said at once, softening his smile so as not to frighten them. His voice was as gentle as a breeze. “Boys and girls can both learn.”

Back in the capital, there had been many talented women in the academies, daughters of noble families, but no less capable than men.

“But brother, I don’t have money for tuition,” the older girl, Tian Xiaohua, whispered, clutching her sleeve. “He says my sister and I are just money-wasters. He’ll never pay for us to study.”

“My family doesn’t have money either…”

“Mine too. My mom says this year’s harvest is poor. She sighs every day at home.”

One by one, the little heads drooped again.

Xie Jinning froze—at the mention of money, and at those bitter words, money-wasters.

Or perhaps both.

His frown eased. Raising a finger to his lips, he whispered: “Don’t worry. Brother won’t take money.”

“But don’t tell anyone yet. Wait till I sort some things out. Tomorrow, at the start of shenshi, meet me here. How about it?”