Chapter 436: Being Plump Is Truly a Blessing

The sun rose in the east, sank again beneath the western glow of sunset, and after this cycle of rising and falling repeated itself once more, Zhu Ping’an’s working days at the Hanlin Academy finally came to a temporary halt. In their place arrived a rare and precious stretch of leisure—a long holiday lasting over a month.

This was a special favor granted by the Great Ming to newly appointed officials. Only fresh jinshi could enjoy such generosity. It fell under the category of home-visiting leave. Other officials were entitled to such leave only once every three years. Officially, the holiday lasted one month, but travel time was calculated separately according to distance. Once everything was added together, Zhu Ping’an’s leave amounted to a full fifty days.

In addition to the holiday itself, he also received a home-visiting allowance of five taels of silver. However, only three taels were paid in actual silver; the remaining two taels were issued in baochao—paper notes.

Holding the baochao between his fingers, Zhu Ping’an was struck speechless. The Jiajing Emperor was truly stingy beyond belief. These two strings of paper money, once converted, were worth barely ten copper coins—and even that was only in theory. In reality, no one was willing to exchange them at all. This kind of paper money had already stopped circulating during the Zhengde era, yet the Jiajing Emperor was still using it to muddle through official payments. Having such a miserly boss was enough to make anyone dizzy with disbelief.

The Ming dynasty’s official salaries were famously low, and on top of that, it was common for part of one’s pay to be substituted with goods “provided by the emperor.” Surplus cotton cloth, silk bolts, random odds and ends from the Imperial Household Department—whatever the treasury or inner court happened to have too much of, that was what got handed out. And sometimes, as today, even obsolete paper money…

The problem was that these items were nowhere near worth their nominal value. It was nothing short of imperial high-handedness.

Once this holiday ended and he returned from Xiahe, he would have to seriously think about earning money. These salaries simply weren’t enough. When he came back to the capital, it would no longer be appropriate to continue living in the Linhuai Marquis’s residence. He would need to rent a place of his own, and under the very shadow of the Son of Heaven, rent was anything but cheap. One couldn’t just sit around and slowly exhaust one’s savings.

On the day the leave began, they only worked for half a day. By noon, they were dismissed. After sharing lunch together, Zhu Ping’an, Zhang Siwei, and Wang Shizhen bade each other farewell.

Zhang Siwei was returning to his home in Shanxi. Wang Shizhen was heading to Shandong to reunite with his family at his father’s post. Zhu Ping’an, meanwhile, would be traveling south to his hometown, Xiahe Village. Three friends, heading in three different directions.

Since they would all be meeting again in just over a month, none of them felt the sorrow of parting. Smiling and chatting, they exchanged lighthearted farewells, agreeing to bring local specialties when they returned so they could taste one another’s hometown flavors.

After noon, with the sunlight warm and gentle, Zhu Ping’an walked back toward the Linhuai Marquis’s residence, facing the sun as it bathed the streets in gold.

At this moment, the Linhuai Marquis’s residence was caught in a state of pain mixed with joy.

The pain came from the fact that the family’s recent investments had failed yet again—and this time the loss was even worse than before. Nearly half of the Linhuai Marquis’s assets had evaporated. If not for the Marquis’s recent promotion to Left Military Commissioner of the Nanjing Command and Superintendent of River Defense, the residence would already have been filled with wailing and tears. Thankfully, the news of his promotion had barely managed to disperse the dark clouds hanging over the family.

Even so, whenever the matter was mentioned, the Old Madam and the others still clenched their teeth in heartache.

The household’s “little demon” was also suffering these past few days. He had thought that once his country-bumpkin brother-in-law became an official, he would finally be free to play with the neighborhood girls to his heart’s content. Who could have guessed that his father would invite yet another rigid, old-fashioned tutor into the house…

The ones in the best spirits were probably only Li Shu and her maid.

The bun-faced little maid handed over a thick stack of silver notes along with deeds to houses and land. Her round face looked as though it had been dipped in honey, her eyes squeezed into narrow crescents of delight.

“Look at you, no ambition at all…” Li Shu scolded lightly with a laugh, reaching out with her slender fingers to pinch the maid’s chubby cheek.

“Heehee~ Miss, you’re amazing!” the bun-faced maid said with genuine admiration, her voice full of awe.

“It’s not that I’m amazing,” Li Shu replied, her lips curving in a faintly mocking smile. “It’s that they’re too greedy. Greedy people are always short-sighted. Give them a single bone, and you can peel a whole layer of skin off them.”

She accepted the silver notes and deeds, didn’t even bother counting them, and casually placed them into an open jewelry box beside her. Then, pouting slightly, she added with pointed sarcasm.

If the Old Madam or the First Madam had been present, they would have recognized the deeds inside that jewelry box at a glance…

When Zhu Ping’an returned to the Linhuai Marquis’s residence, he was just in time to hear a child’s howling that sounded like a pig being slaughtered. Not long after stepping inside, he was greeted by a scene of utter chaos—chickens flying and dogs jumping.

The Linhuai Marquis, his layers of fat wobbling violently, was in hot pursuit of the little demon. The child fled in utter panic, screaming at the top of his lungs like he was facing execution—shouting things like “Mother, save me!” and “Grandmother, help!”

The First Madam stood to the side, anxiously trying to persuade the Marquis to calm down. The Old Madam, supported by maids, watched the fleeing child with a tense expression, constantly calling out reminders like “Careful!” and “Slow down!”

Several of the young ladies of the household stood nearby under the watchful eyes of maids and matrons, observing the spectacle. Li Shu was also among them, surrounded by servants, covering her mouth as she watched, a trace of barely concealed amusement flickering at the corners of her eyes.

“Oh! The young master-in-law is back—over here…” the bun-faced maid spotted Zhu Ping’an and waved to him discreetly, her eyes curving into cheerful crescents.

Zhu Ping’an walked over. With a gossip-loving maid like her around, it didn’t take long for him to learn the full story.

It turned out that the little demon had been driven nearly mad after being forced to study nonstop for days. While his father was out visiting friends, he defied the tutor’s authority and snuck out to play.

He gathered with the little demons from several nearby noble families not far from home, playing a game of “mounted warfare”—riding sticks as pretend horses and mock-fighting each other in noisy chaos.

Completely absorbed in the fun, he failed to notice the Linhuai Marquis returning from his visit.

By the time he realized it, it was too late. He was caught red-handed.

The household rules were strict, and the little demon knew exactly how serious the consequences were for skipping lessons and sneaking out—especially when discovered personally by his father. His face turned green on the spot.

But when it came to quick thinking, the little demon was frighteningly sharp—even to himself.

At the very instant he was seized, his brain went into overdrive. In a flash, he came up with what he believed to be a perfect escape plan. The moment inspiration struck, he was practically bursting with pride.

I’m a genius. I’m too damn clever.

In the martial world, boldness comes from skill—and at that moment, the little demon embodied it perfectly.

“Hehe, Uncle, you’ve got the wrong person,” he said, turning around and flashing the Marquis an innocent grin.

In that instant, he wasn’t just a clever youth—he was a youth with nerves of steel, an actor worthy of an emperor’s stage. He smiled calmly, spoke confidently, and sounded utterly reasonable.

Unfortunately, things did not unfold as he imagined.

The Linhuai Marquis exploded on the spot, looking ready to cleanse the family of disgrace at any second. Terrified out of his wits, the little demon bolted, clutching his head as he ran—leading to the frantic chase all the way back into the residence.

By the time the bun-faced maid finished recounting the story, the Linhuai Marquis had already caught the little demon and was delivering a ferocious beating.

Watching the scene, Zhu Ping’an couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Being plump really was a blessing.

So damn durable.