IDWBE -Chapter 560 The Slave Oversteps

The Shar Pei, with its wrinkled face, kept barking furiously at Lin Yi. Lin Yi pretended to want to kick it, but instead of backing off, the dog charged at him.

Guan Xiaoqi was startled and quickly stepped in to block it, shouting, “Xiao Hu, go away!”

Turning back to Lin Yi, she explained, “In Ankang City, we don’t seem to have this breed of dog. I’ve never seen one before. In the past two years, many people from Sanhe have come here, and a lot of them keep this type, though I don’t know what it’s called.”

Lin Yi said, “A Shar Pei. Only found locally in Sanhe. They are indeed aggressive. Usually used as hunting dogs, not herding dogs—how is it supposed to watch over your cattle and sheep?”

Guan Xiaoqi lifted her head proudly. “It’s very smart. This afternoon, I drove the sheep up the mountain. If any wandered off, it chased them back. When it got dark, it even helped herd them into the pen.”

“That is pretty clever,” Lin Yi said curiously. “Last time I came, you didn’t have any cows. How come you suddenly have cows now? You really are bored, huh?”

Guan Xiaoqi laughed. “That cow originally belonged to our family. After the village moved, my father didn’t want to sell it, so it was kept with relatives. Yesterday I brought it back.”

Lin Yi suddenly grew curious. “Why did your father make you so angry that you’re throwing such a tantrum?”

“Well, what can he do?” Guan Xiaoqi sighed. “Ever since I left home, he’s done nothing all day, hanging around the gambling dens. He’s become a hopeless gambler. Honestly, I wish I hadn’t met you, but there’s no going back now.”

Lin Yi felt unfairly accused. “That’s not my fault, right? No matter who you marry, your father is idle anyway.”

Guan Xiaoqi sighed. “If I married someone else, he wouldn’t have so much silver, the neighbors wouldn’t look up to him, and he wouldn’t have become like this.”

“Well, I guess that’s my fault too—too rich, too powerful,” Lin Yi said with a wry smile. “Later, I’ll have someone make sure no gambling house dares let him in again.”

Guan Xiaoqi hesitated. “No need, it’s not really like that.”

“You don’t dislike him gambling?” Lin Yi asked, puzzled.

Guan Xiaoqi explained, “After my mother died giving birth to me, he had to be both father and mother. Life hasn’t been easy for him. He’s always frowned and frustrated. Ever since I entered the Wang Mansion, he’s been happier. Since he’s happy, why should I stop him?”

“I remember you said something once: the most important thing in life is to live happily and do what you want.”

Lin Yi said, “Gambling is a bad habit. No family fortune is enough for it.”

“At worst, I’ll give him a bit of my monthly allowance,” Guan Xiaoqi said sulkily.

Lin Yi asked, “How much is your monthly allowance?”

The monthly allowance in the mansion was set according to royal rules and managed by Zixia and Mingyue. Lin Yi didn’t really know the exact amount.

Guan Xiaoqi smiled. “You love money so much, and you don’t even know?”

“My love for money has always been consistent,” Lin Yi replied casually. “But small sums aren’t something I pay attention to.”

“I, though without formal status, get eleven taels a month,” she said. In the past, even working hard all year with her father, they barely earned a few taels, and if her father needed medicine, they might even go into debt.

Lin Yi calculated in his head. With six women now, one year would cost over a thousand taels. “Heartache, huh?”

Guan Xiaoqi covered her mouth, laughing.

“It’s fine. I earn money for women to spend. It’s only right!” Lin Yi said righteously, though inwardly he felt it was a lot. If the palace expenses were added, the number would be astronomical—just thinking about it gave him a headache.

“Hmph,” Guan Xiaoqi snorted. “I don’t believe your nonsense.”

“I’m telling the truth,” Lin Yi swore, then changed the subject. “You get this much silver each month. You can’t spend it all, right? Giving it to your father for gambling would be a waste.”

“You’re overthinking,” Guan Xiaoqi rolled her eyes. “At most, I can give him three taels a month. Even if he loses a lot, with the Wang Mansion’s reputation, no one would make a big deal. At worst, they’d take a little face, but it wouldn’t matter.”

She wasn’t stupid—just limited by her upbringing. After a few months in the Wang Mansion, she had a clearer understanding of things.

Though she had no formal status yet, she was a woman Lin Yi valued. Outsiders had to respect that “aura.” No one could easily bully her, and her father couldn’t be trifled with either.

Loan sharks in gambling dens were mostly shrewd. Lending her father money wasn’t really about profit—it was about currying favor. If her father couldn’t repay, even a hundred of them couldn’t really harm him.

It was different from Prince Heshun. Prince Heshun was raised in luxury, reportedly playing dice at age three. Once he joined the tables, his wins and losses were never below ten thousand taels. Even fallen on hard times in Ankang City, he ran rampant. The loan sharks tried to trap him, manipulate him—everything. Yet no one dared openly humiliate Prince Heshun. His daughter was still a Wang Mansion princess.

“What about the rest of the money?” Lin Yi asked.

“I can’t even spend it all,” Guan Xiaoqi frowned.

Lin Yi laughed. “Food, drink, and clothing are all provided by the mansion. How can you not have enough?” The house and animal pens were even paid for with his private funds—she didn’t spend a single coin.

“Then I’ll just say it?” Guan Xiaoqi hesitated. “Don’t blame anyone recklessly, and don’t let me look bad at the end.”

“Am I that kind of person?” Lin Yi said irritably. “Just say it. I’ll keep it a secret.”

“Fine,” Guan Xiaoqi went all in. “On the surface, I belong to you. Zixia even gives me two girls to serve me. But secretly, I’m nothing. Those two girls—I have to reward them with silver, or who knows what they might do behind my back?”

“Just a few tens of cash for two girls isn’t enough?” Lin Yi wasn’t surprised. In the palace, it was common. His mother spent hundreds of taels a year on temple and palace servants.

“Last month, Prince Guozi’s grandson’s full-month ceremony—I went with the princess. Just the additional gifts were five taels!” Guan Xiaoqi complained. “I’ve only been in the Wang Mansion a few months, and I’ve already given away over thirty taels in gifts. How can I possibly have money left?”

“Social obligations are indeed a big expense,” Lin Yi sighed. “From now on, just play humble. If you can avoid going, avoid it.”

“But if everyone else goes and I don’t, what will people think of me?”

Lin Yi laughed. “Let them say whatever they want.”

Guan Xiaoqi pouted. “I can’t embarrass myself. Anyway, it’s your money. Spend it—what else can I do?”

“Fine, suit yourself,” Lin Yi said, unsure how to handle this. He couldn’t stop all social exchanges either—he’d already canceled royal subsidies; forbidding gifts and obligations would be too harsh.

That night, the meal was simple—millet porridge cooked by Guan Xiaoqi herself, with preserved eggs and pickles.

Lin Yi marveled, “You don’t need to treat guests like this, right?” He’d never had such a humble dinner in his life.

“No one delivered ingredients today,” Guan Xiaoqi said as she slurped the thin porridge. “I don’t have time to go buy vegetables either.”

“Those two girls dare treat you like that?” Lin Yi’s anger flared.

“I told you, don’t get mad. Otherwise, I’d be in trouble both inside and out,” Guan Xiaoqi said casually. This was the lesson Zixia taught her: a woman should keep her duties and not distract the prince.

“If I kick them out, what can they do—start a rebellion?” Lin Yi said sternly.

“That wouldn’t happen. Letting them go is easy, but I’d gain a bad reputation. Then finding others who genuinely serve me? Impossible,” Guan Xiaoqi laughed.

“That doesn’t mean the servant should overstep the master,” Lin Yi said angrily. “Someone!”

“Your Highness!”

Tan Fei leapt over the courtyard wall and respectfully stood before Lin Yi. He had been outside, hearing every word of Lin Yi’s conversation with Guan Xiaoqi thanks to his peak ninth-rank skill, but he had to act as if he knew nothing. Lin Yi hated others knowing his “private matters.” Too much knowledge meant trouble.

“Hey, can you listen properly?” Guan Xiaoqi grew a little anxious.

“What’s the rush?” Lin Yi sighed. “I’m doing this for your own good.”

“I said, if it’s for my good, don’t make such a fuss. Then I’d be in an awkward position later. I’m begging you, okay? Don’t interfere with our affairs.”

“Fine,” Lin Yi waved Tan Fei away. Once Tan Fei left and closed the door, Lin Yi asked, “You’re just willing to take the abuse?”

“When I want to teach someone a lesson, I don’t need your help. Otherwise, I’d look weak, and they’d have even more reason to look down on me,” Guan Xiaoqi mumbled.

“Then fine. I’ll mind my own business,” Lin Yi said. Palace squabbles were vicious—and senseless. The two girls didn’t even realize they should quickly deliver ingredients, waiting to get caught.

At night, Lin Yi, already asleep, was awakened by thick smoke. Opening the window, he saw flames spreading at the mountain foot.

Guan Xiaoqi handed him a cup of water. “It’s harvest time. You forbid burning straw. During the day, the military, constables, and patrols everywhere are on duty. No one dares, so they burn secretly at night.”

“Damn it, might as well burn during the day—then I could stay far away,” Lin Yi muttered. His nose was already congested, now irritated by the smoke.

Guan Xiaoqi explained, “Every household has land. If straw isn’t burned, there’ll be no harvest next year.”

“Seems I was foolish,” Lin Yi suddenly realized.

Although he grew up an orphan and suffered a lot, he had no farming experience. At first, he didn’t understand why the people were so insistent on burning straw. Guan Xiaoqi’s words reminded him: villagers follow centuries of experience.

First, pathogens and insect eggs often hide in straw. Burning kills them efficiently and cheaply, ensuring fewer pests and weeds in the next season.

Second, weed seeds mostly lie on the soil surface. Burning straw clears most seeds, reducing weeds next year.

Finally, ashes contain potassium and phosphorus, enriching the soil for crops.

“Of course, you were foolish,” Guan Xiaoqi said bluntly. “From ancient times, there’s no reason not to burn straw.”

“That’s my mistake,” Lin Yi admitted. He’d been too headstrong. Without shredders, fermentation, biogas, pesticides, quality seeds, or fertilizers, what else could the people do to ensure a good harvest besides burning straw?

“Good that you understand,” Guan Xiaoqi said calmly.

“Are the villagers secretly cursing me?” Lin Yi smiled wryly.

Ridiculously, he had been so proud all this time.

“You are the regent prince. How dare they curse you,” Guan Xiaoqi said.

“Alright, I’ll admit my mistake and correct it.”

The next day, Lin Yi went straight to Ankang Prefecture.

Ma Jie was dozing in front of the hall. Seeing Lin Yi, he rubbed his eyes repeatedly, confirmed it wasn’t a mistake, and knelt with a thud. “Long live Your Highness a thousand, a thousand, thousand times!”

“Rise,” Lin Yi said, sitting in the polished pine chair. “Cancel the straw-burning ban. Let the villagers do as they wish.”

“Your Highness is wise!”

Ma Jie was so overjoyed he almost cried. He had been worried for nights over the straw-burning issue.

If Lin Yi had forbidden it, he wouldn’t have dared disobey. The villagers dared to resent him in secret, and some even cursed him as a corrupt official. Last month, while inspecting the harvest outside the city, an old woman even spat on him!

So his exclamation, “Your Highness is wise,” was sincere.

Lin Yi reminded him, “Still, the autumn harvest cannot be delayed. Keep an eye on it.”