Jing Xingzhi’s Daily Life in Ancient Times

Jing Erniu finished eating two steamed buns and arrived at the inn.

He headed straight to Jing Xingzhi and Fang Ge’er’s room. Since there was a young couple inside, Jing Erniu knocked on the door first and asked, “Xingzhi, Fang Ge’er, are you up?”

Jing Xingzhi, awakened by Uncle Erniu’s shout, opened his eyes and found himself with Liu Fang in his arms.

Liu Fang’s head emerged from his embrace, and he wanted to continue sleeping with his head on the pillow but forced himself to wake up. Liu Fang squinted as he opened his eyes, rubbing them with one hand. He remarked, “I think I heard Uncle Erniu talking.”

“I’ll go check, and you can go back to sleep,” said Jing Xingzhi. He donned his clothes and swiftly moved to open the door.

Jing Xingzhi, revealing half of his body, grinned sheepishly. “Uncle Erniu, good morning. I woke up late; such a shameful thing.”

“Hey, aren’t young couple like this? I was the same at your age,” Jing Erniu said outside the door.

Jing Erniu handed the meat buns to Jing Xingzhi, pausing before bursting into laughter. His face wrinkled with amusement, he said, “I have something else to tell you.”

“I just went out and saw Jing Weizhi and Lan Cao. Those two seemed to be crazy. It must have been our ancestors who did it, who made them do bad things. These are their karma. They haven’t been back to our village for years, so they didn’t get retribution. Yesterday they visited back, and have their retribution!”

Jing Erniu said with a serious face, as if he had a talk with his ancestors.

Jing Erniu viewed this retribution as the manifestation of his ancestors in this world. Otherwise, how else could they assist the little scholar like this?

Jing Xing’s parents must have gone to Jing Weizhi’s current residence, and took some action.

Feeling a bit awkward being compared to his ancestors, Jing Xingzhi changed the subject and asked, “Those two people are acting irrationally. Where are they now?”

Jing Erniu replied, “They are at Cross Street. It seems they keep talking about a ghost on the street!”

Jing Xingzhi’s evil plan processed like what he had expected, perhaps even better. He initially thought it would only target the injured Jing Weizhi, but now he learned that Lan Cao also attacked by the evil energy.

Seeing Jing Xingzhi’s silence, Jing Erniu shared his thoughts, “Xingzhi, when your mother passed away, everyone was too occupied to bury her and didn’t seek justice. Now that you’re older, do you want Jing Weizhi to explain his actions?”

In Jing Erniu’s perspective, someone as despicable as Jing Weizhi deserved severe consequences. On the other hand, the little scholar and Fang Ge’er, bereft of parental care at a young age, were now managing their little share of the Jing family’s inheritance.

What concerned Jing Xingzhi was Liu Fang. He posed a scenario, “If I pursue the case, can Xiao Fangfang’s slave status be properly removed? Now that everyone knows about Jing Weizhi’s misdeeds…”

People involved in illicit affairs might not be willing to continue working with a crazy and bad person.

The chief clerk and Jing Weizhi lacked any significant connection such as in-law ties or firm friendships. With no apparent benefits to offer, Jing Weizhi was bound to become the discarded villain by the chief clerk.

Jing Erniu brightened up, expressing optimism, “This should work! Considering Jing Weizhi’s wrongdoing, everyone knows the officials must be just, and it doesn’t make sense to do otherwise!”

He emphasized the nature of the situation, asserting that people, including state inspectors and censors, weren’t be oblivious.

Jing Xingzhi appreciatively smiled, saying, “Thank you, Uncle Erniu, for the good news. Enjoy your meal.”

“Haha, you enjoy yours. I’ll head back to the village and inform others. I’ll catch up with you later. I’ll pick you up soon.” Jing Erniu, feeling an urgency to share the news, expressed his intention to return.

“You can go back first. No need to pick us up. We’ll manage on our own; it’s not far. Nothing will happen on a clear day.” Jing Xingzhi assured him, allowing Jing Erniu to leave promptly.

After Jing Erniu’s departure, Jing Xingzhi brought the buns inside, and he and Liu Fang discussed eating before heading out to observe what had happened to Jing Weizhi and Lan Cao.

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Jing Xingzhi paid the rent, left the inn with Liu Fang, and headed towards the cross street.

Upon arrival, they found no one there. Inquiring with passers-by, they learned that the cook and servant from Jing Weizhi’s house had attempted to persuade the couple to return and had just left. Since they knew the couple’s nature, the townspeople observed the situation without much sympathy.

Expressing gratitude, Liu Fang and Jing Xingzhi proceeded toward the crossroads.

After a while, they spotted Jing Weizhi and Lan Cao, accompanied by a fat young man who seemed disgusted by the couple. When Lan Cao fell down, he didn’t even care about her.

This young man was very fat and white, identified by Jing Xingzhi as Jing Dabao from his memory, wore extravagant clothes with arrogant gesture.

Jing Dabao noticed their gaze and responded aggressively, “What are you looking at? Let me beat your butt until it’s swollen!”

Jing Dabao was in bad moon but these annoying people kept pointing at him and scolded them. They really deserved to be scolded back!

Jing Xingzhi glanced at him indifferently, “I’m Jing Xingzhi.”

Jing Dabao suddenly shook with fear and stepped back abruptly, as if avoiding the two like a ghost.

He knew that his parents had spent a night in the countryside, people in the town said it was the ancestors of the Jing clan couldn’t stand his parents, so they visited his parents to give them a lesson.

Why did the ancestors of Jing clan take an action? It was because his parents had mistreated Jing Xingzhi. This perception turned Jing Xingzhi into an evil ghost in Jing Dabao’s eyes, prompting him to flee out of fear.

“Don’t come here, I have no grudge against you!” Jing Dabao pleaded, running away, even forgetting about his two parents.

Jing Xingzhi, finding the situation uninteresting, suggested to Liu Fang, “Let’s return to the inn. I’ll send a letter to the academy requesting leave, and then we’ll prepare to report to the county official.”

“Okay, that fat man is too cowardly. No wonder people said the cook and servant had to coax the couple away, and he’s too scared to show up,” remarked Liu Fang, observing Jing Dabao from a distance.

“Evil people will be punished by evil people. Aren’t they two such people? The son they raised now is just like them,” Jing Xingzhi reflected on the unfortunate turn of events.

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Jing Erniu hurried back to the village, spreading the news about Jing Weizhi and his wife’s madness.

The villagers were shocked, with comments like, “He visited yesterday and is going crazy today!” and “What a coincidence! It’s like the God has eyes!”

The village chief, Jing Baibai, opened the ancestral hall, offering tributes, lighting expensive incense, and cleaning the hall. He felt a strange sense that someone had visited the ancestral hall.

After completing the tasks, Jing Baibai heard about the little scholar’s desire to pursue justice and agreed to support the effort. The village elders were invited to discuss, preparing to go to the county together to seek justice for Jing Xingzhi’s deceased mother.

Jing Erniu sensed the village chief’s unspoken thoughts. The fact that the ancestors took action for Jing Xingzhi indicated their favor towards him. While contemplating the village’s potential transformation with Jing Xingzhi as the leader, Jing Erniu entertained hopeful thoughts.

They might have the legendary three-yuans.

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When Jing Xingzhi and Liu Fang returned to the village, they noticed an odd atmosphere. It seemed like everyone was watching them, some with relief, others with smiles as if they had found money or treasure. The peculiar gazes left Jing Xingzhi and Liu Fang feeling perplexed.

Silently, they approached each other, exchanging looks of shared confusion, deepening their sense of unease. After greeting the villagers, they returned home, closing the courtyard door.

Once inside, Jing Xingzhi waited for Liu Fang to turn around before whispering, “They look at me so strangely.”

Surprisingly, Liu Fang said at the same thing, “They look at me so strangely.”

“Huh?”

“You-”

“I think-”

After a brief back-and-forth on who should speak first, they both laughed.

Jing Xingzhi took the lead, “I felt so weird. They looked at me like I was a big treasure.”

Liu Fang, in turn, “Well, it seemed that they looked at me like I found a giant treasure.”

Puzzled, Jing Xingzhi questioned, “What did I do?”

Liu Fang, contemplating the villagers’ expressions, connected the dots. “It must be about that couple’s situation. It must have nothing to do with Jing Weizhi’s money; the villagers are very good; they didn’t care about his riches. But it must be related to today’s events. What else happened today?”

“Jing Weizhi going crazy with Lan Cao,” Jing Xingzhi replied.

Liu Fang raised an eyebrow, looked at Jing Xingzhi, and confidently stated, “They must think the ancestors showed up because of you. The couple’s madness in town, driven by the ancestors in our village, makes them believe it’s connected to you!”

Jing Xingzhi: …