MLMD -Chapter 77 Are You Kidding Me?

The sixth day of the third lunar month—an auspicious day for marriage, moving into a new home, and traveling far.

For everyone in Yue Family Manor, young and old alike, this was a major occasion. Nearly half of them were moving into the city to live—into none other than the former residence of their old nemesis, the Wang family. The sense of satisfaction throughout Yue Family Manor was indescribable.

On the day Yue Yang moved into the new residence, every merchant house, official family, and gentleman of Yingzhou City was present, along with officials of all ranks. Even Zheng Fakui personally came to offer congratulations. The liveliness was beyond words. Faced with such a grand scene, even the Yue family’s old matriarch could not suppress her excitement and came out in person to receive the guests. Watching the endless stream of people, her heart was filled with both joy and a tinge of bitterness—she did not know how many years it had been since she had seen such a sight. And she knew very well that all of this had been brought about by her grandson.

“The ancestors of the Yue family truly accumulated great virtue—great virtue indeed!” Seeing the crowds of well-wishers and the loads upon loads of gifts being carried in by the servants, the old matriarch’s mouth had been smiling nonstop for quite some time.

“If only the Linglong sisters could give the Yue family another son or daughter…” At this thought, the old matriarch’s graying brows knit slightly. She looked at the Linglong sisters who were attending her, her gaze lingering on their lower abdomens before asking, “Ling’er, Long’er, you’ve been consummated with Zhenghong for several months now. Have you noticed any changes in your bodies?”

“Um… ah…” The Linglong sisters were momentarily stunned, then quickly understood what the old matriarch meant. Their pretty faces instantly flushed red. Though they were already married women, the two were still very shy. In the end, it was Yu Ling who, blushing, softly replied, “Replying to Old Madam, these days the young master has been busy with land reclamation, training soldiers, and arranging city defenses. He always returns very late, and sometimes doesn’t come back for days at a time. Seeing how hard he works, this servant didn’t dare to… to… so… so…” At that point, Yu Ling could no longer continue.

“Sigh… you two girls!” The old matriarch pointed at them, scolding with a hint of exasperation. “You’ve followed me for more than ten years—how can you not see this clearly? It’s right for you to care for the young master, but everything has its priorities. Matters of continuing the family line are of the utmost importance. You both know that once this busy period passes, the young master will go to Mongolia to marry the daughter of the Khorchin tribal chief. Though I’ve never dealt with Mongolians, I’ve heard that Mongolian women are not as gentle as our Han daughters—they believe in striking first. Though she will be the principal wife when she arrives, if you can bear a son or daughter before her, your future days will be much easier. Don’t you understand? To put it plainly, this is about competing and seizing the initiative. Fall one step behind, and you’ll fall behind at every step. Do you understand?”

Watching the old matriarch tap her cane repeatedly against the ground, the Linglong sisters—who had served her for over ten years—knew perfectly well what she meant. Blushing deeply, they lowered their heads in silent assent.

After admonishing the sisters, the old matriarch looked around and suddenly remembered something. “By the way, where has Zhenghong gone? I haven’t seen him since early this morning. Where did he go?”

“The young master didn’t come back last night. He’s still at Yue Family Manor,” Yu Ling quickly answered, her tone full of unconcealed concern. “Recently he’s been busy training troops, recruiting soldiers, and reclaiming farmland. He’s grown visibly thinner from exhaustion.”

“That child—how can he be like this? What day is today? As the young master of the Yue family, how can he not be here? Is he going to make all these guests wait for him? This is outrageous!” The old matriarch scolded angrily, then quickly sighed. “Sigh… but it’s understandable. So many matters are resting on his shoulders alone—it truly isn’t easy for him. Whether it’s land reclamation, training troops, or arranging city defenses, which one doesn’t require his personal attention? Enough, enough. Today, this old body of mine will help him out. Ling’er, help me go greet the guests in front. They’ve come from afar to offer congratulations—we can’t neglect them, can we?”

“Yes, Old Madam!” The Linglong sisters hurriedly supported the old matriarch as they headed toward the front courtyard…

While the old matriarch was entertaining guests, what was our Yue family’s young master doing? This famous Caoshou officer of Yingzhou City had arrived in modern times and was sitting in a café in Mingzhu City, sipping coffee.

Watching white-collar workers pass by outside—some in suits and ties, others in professional outfits—Yue Yang suddenly felt as though ages had passed in a blink. Just yesterday, he had been fiercely drilling soldiers armed with sabers, spears, and muzzle-loading muskets, struggling to survive. Today, he was in a neon-lit modern city, listening to popular songs, watching luxury cars stream down the streets, and seeing fashionably dressed beauties strolling past. The intense contrast was enough to drive a fragile person insane.

Of course, Yue Yang had always considered himself mentally strong—but now he realized he wasn’t as resilient as he thought, because he had discovered a problem. And for him, it was disastrous news: something was wrong with his jade pendant.

Soft lighting illuminated the space around him—bright but not glaring, with excellent visibility. Sitting on the sofa, Yue Yang gently stroked the jade pendant in his hand. Its quality was poor to begin with: a white jade piece with some mottling, carved into a ruyi shape. The fact that he had bought it for only a hundred yuan spoke volumes about its inferiority. Yet today, three cracks had appeared on its surface.

At first, there had been only one crack. When Yue Yang first noticed it, he thought he had accidentally knocked the pendant. But he soon realized things were not so simple. Over the past period, after shuttling twice between the Ming dynasty and modern society, two more cracks had appeared. Only then did Yue Yang understand how serious the situation was.

“It seems my earlier belief—that I could freely travel between modern times and the Ming dynasty—was far too optimistic,” Yue Yang muttered, lifting his cup to take a sip of coffee, only to find it unbearably bitter.

His heart was filled with hesitation and confusion. The reason he had dared to organize militias and even kill without fear in the other time-space was because he had the jade pendant—this heaven-defying cheat. If things truly went wrong, he could escape back to modern society using the pendant, buy himself a new identity with money, and live safely. In this world, he didn’t need to worry about Huang Taiji, Daišan, or bandit rebels like Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong coming for his life. At the very least, his personal safety was guaranteed. And with the powerful productive capacity of modern society, he could continuously supply support to his enterprises over there. But all of that shattered with the appearance of those cracks on the jade pendant.

Yue Yang made a rough estimate: the pendant now had three cracks. When those cracks spread across the entire piece, it would shatter into fragments.

“It seems… this jade pendant can be used at most five to seven more times. If it really breaks, I’ll have to remain in that time-space forever!” Gazing at the familiar yet strange buildings and scenery outside the window, Yue Yang felt deep reluctance.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered staying in modern society forever—but he could no longer return to his old life. In that other world, there were too many people and matters he could not abandon. Once he was gone, the militia he had single-handedly built would quickly collapse. Without his protection, Yue Family Manor, the old matriarch, his younger sister Yue Ying, the Linglong sisters, and the hundreds of people of Yue Family Manor would all become prey for others.

With a soft sigh, Yue Yang was about to lift his cup when he realized the coffee had gone cold. Just as he was about to gesture to the waiter, he noticed the door ahead open. Zhao Santong, dressed in a crisp suit, walked in. His gaze swept the room, quickly settling on Yue Yang. He strode over and, upon reaching him, laughed. “Brother Yue, you finally show your face! If you’d come any later, this old brother of yours might have swallowed up all your money!”

Yue Yang laughed as well. “If the famous Third Brother Zhao really had such a narrow outlook, that would be quite a disappointment.”

“Alright, enough joking!” Zhao Santong plopped down carelessly, pulled a white bank card from his pocket, and tossed it to Yue Yang. “Everything you asked me to auction off these past days has been sold. The total is three hundred and sixty million. It’s all on this card—the password is written on the back. Keep it safe. If you lose it, don’t blame me!”

“Heh, many thanks, Third Brother Zhao!” Yue Yang took the card and casually slipped it into his pocket, as if it were only a few hundred yuan rather than several hundred million. Seeing this, Zhao Santong couldn’t help but nod inwardly—this Brother Yue was no ordinary man. If it were him, he certainly wouldn’t be so nonchalant upon suddenly obtaining hundreds of millions.

After putting the card away, Yue Yang smiled at Zhao Santong. “Third Brother Zhao, I’ve heard you have extensive connections. Could you help me acquire a batch of items? Don’t worry—I’ll pay whatever compensation is due.”

“What items?”

“Some industrial machinery.”

“Machinery?” Zhao Santong’s smiling face stiffened slightly, the grin slowly fading. He pondered for a moment before asking, “Brother Yue, what do you need industrial machinery for? You should know that machinery is nothing like trading calligraphy, paintings, or antiques. Especially high-precision machines—those are under national control and regulation. You’re not asking your old brother here to break the law, are you?”

Though Zhao Santong spoke in a joking tone, anyone could hear the refusal beneath his words.

Seeing the guarded look in Zhao Santong’s eyes, Yue Yang instead smiled. Leaning back against the sofa, he said casually, “Don’t worry. I won’t make you break the law. The machinery I want won’t involve state secrets. I only need some very simple machines. Here’s the list—if after looking at it you still say it involves state secrets, I’ll turn around and leave immediately and won’t trouble you again.”

With that, Yue Yang took out a list and handed it to Zhao Santong.

Zhao Santong took the list and gave it a quick scan. His mouth immediately fell open, and he barked in a mix of embarrassment and anger, “Brother Yue—are you kidding me?!”