Ch. 416..420: The Princess of Northern Land Chapter 416-420

Chapter 416: Chapter 416 Men and Women are Different (7)_1

Recalling Lin Ziyin’s displeased and fierce gaze, Congyi and others knew they had offended her. The Prince surely wouldn’t hold a grudge against Miss Lin for long. Moreover, with Miss Lin’s intelligence, she wouldn’t let things escalate with the Prince. However, it was a pity for them, her servants. They did not know whether Miss Lin would show them a pleasant face in future encounters.

"Brother, how are you doing?" After sending off Chu Suifeng and his men with an angry glare, Lin Ziyin quickly tiptoed to inspect the wound on Lin Changshu’s neck.

"I’m fine." Lin Changshu, having narrowly escaped death, had a pale face, but he didn’t want Lin Ziyin to worry about him. He put on a brave front to comfort Lin Ziyin, "Don’t tell Grandpa and your sister-in-law about today’s events."

"I know." These were the same words she’d uttered when she had been hurt by Si Jinhan.

"The Prince held back." Lin Changshu added another comment.

Upon examining his neck injury, Ziyin understood this fact. The injury on Lin Changshu’s neck was not severe, just some light bruising. Considering Chu Suifeng’s strength, if he actually intended to harm Lin Changshu, Lin would certainly be dead by now.

"Are you truly unwilling to go there?" After his neck felt better, Lin Changshu asked with a bitter heart. Although as a elder brother, he didn’t wish for Lin Ziyin to enter the Wang Residence, he was unable to comprehend what she was thinking.

In Lin Changshu’s eyes, what Lin Ziyin conveyed to Chu Suifeng were mere excuses to fool him.

Given the Lin family’s wealth, her future husband, though not required to be extraordinarily rich, would undoubtedly not be an ordinary farmer. In this era, if a man had some wealth, there were always women flocking to him. Even a reigning princess would not dare to stop her consort prince from having concubines.

If what Ziyin said to Chu Suifeng spread, it would surely affect her reputation. After all, men do not care much for jealous women.

"What I said to the Prince was from my heart." Lin Ziyin reaffirmed, "In this life, I will either remain unmarried or ensure that I am the only woman in my husband’s life."

Hearing this, Qiaoqiao felt a turmoil in her heart. She was brought up in a wealthy household where women were taught to be subservient to their husbands, and Ziyin’s words opened up a new world for her.

Meanwhile, Hong Ying and Lu Luo looked at her with some worry. Though the idea of marriage excited them as women, it did not seem practical. From the day’s events, it was evident that the Prince was determined to have Ziyin. If she were to enter the Wang Residence and remain so jealous, it would invite gossip, and even potentially damage her reputation.

"Why did the Prince send so much lumber?" Lin Changshu asked, looking at the lumber in the room.

"I have a significant use for this lumber. From now on, no one is allowed to come to this courtyard, not even brother, sister-in-law, or grandfather." Lin Ziyin hesitated before speaking.

Upon hearing this, Lin Changshu became anxious. The lumber was sent by the prince, and Ziyin seemed mysterious. It looked like this was not just ordinary lumber.

"Rest assured, we will not come here. I will let them know." Lin Changshu promised. His neck, now applied with medicinal ointment by Lin Ziyin, felt cool and refreshed and no longer uncomfortable. "I have to go now. I am needed in the field."

"Take the ointment with you and apply it again in the evening," Lin Ziyin said, handing him the ointment.

Master Hui Zhen really treats you well," Lin Changshu responded, unceremoniously accepting the ointment. This ointment was given to Lin Ziyin by Master Hui Zhen of Ding’an Temple. Anyone else would have to offer many favors and rack their brains just to get a little ointment from the Master. But Master Hui Zhen had never been stingy to Lin Ziyin. Thus, the Lin family was well-stocked with this ointment.

After seeing off Lin Changshu, Lin Ziyin started focusing entirely on the production of the crossbow.

Strictly speaking, the crossbow, as a type of melee weapon, does not have much power. However, in warfare, infantry and cavalry need the cooperation of crossbowmen.

Chu Suifeng’s soldiers had crossbowmen. Lin Ziyin had seen the crossbows they used, which could only fire one bolt at a time and had a range of only about thirty meters, giving them no advantage in a battlefield scenario.

But the crossbow that she, Lin Ziyin, intended to make could fire five bolts at a time and had a range of about eighty meters. This seemingly small modification could make a significant difference in the battlefield.

Chapter 417: Chapter 417 Unexpected Person(1)_1

The production of the rapid-fire Zhuge Crossbow requires superb craftsmanship and highly stringent material requirements. The critical issue is that this crossbow lacks feather wings at its tail, which decreases its speed and compromises stability when fired. Once slowed down, the enemies can easily dodge the crossbow’s attack.

Lin Ziyin has cleverly designed some small mechanisms in the groove and made some changes to the arrowhead to compensate for this deficiency.

In the hut at the courtyard entrance, both Hong Ying and Lun Luo felt a myriad of emotions. The reason being the fact that Lin Ziyin was tinkering with the crossbow indoors, leaving only Qiaoqiao by her side to assist.

What did this imply? Of course, it suggested that Lin Ziyin was still holding grudges against her and Lun Luo.

"As long as we have the young lady in our hearts, she will reciprocate," Lun Luo responded, gritting her teeth.

"You?" Hong Ying looked at Lun Luo in surprise.

"Since the prince has given us to the young lady, we belong to her. From now on, I will only listen to her," Lun Luo’s attitude was very firm.

Hong Ying was genuinely surprised. Being chosen by the Prince to be hidden guards from a young age, their credo had always been to fight for the Prince. Even if they are entirely devoted to Lin Ziyin now, according to Hong Ying, it’s only because Lin Ziyin holds a different status in Chu Suifeng’s heart. Protecting the Lady of the Wang Residence is within their duties. However, what Lun Luo said meant differently; she had abandoned the Prince.

Was this considered betrayal?

Hong Ying was filled with confusion.

"Young lady, be careful." Qiaoqiao looked at her fair skin being cut by the tool with a heart full of pity. When she offered to bandage it, Lin Ziyin refused, "Don’t worry, once I become more skillful, I will endure less injuries."

What Lin Ziyin meant by less injury was not no injury. Crafting a crossbow was a technical task, and both wood and bowstrings could easily injure the hand. Her fingers were usually well maintained but were inevitably hurt now.

"Young lady..." Qiaoqiao looked at her with worry, her face full of sympathy.

Even though the wheat had been harvested, the work in the fields had not yet ended. Lin Ziyin had been staying in a quiet courtyard every day, with Jue Hui and Hong Ying specifically assigned to guard the entrance.

Even the most obtuse among them noticed something odd. When Lin Changshu subtly brought it up among the family, no one from the household was allowed to visit anymore.

Yanzhi and Changting went to school every day, so they barely saw Lin Ziyin. Even when they came back in the evening, they could not see her and their attempts to visit her were thwarted by the elderly.

"Why isn’t sister coming out to have dinner with us?" Changting was still a child. Not seeing Ziyin at the meal table, he started to throw tantrums and refuse to eat after a few days.

He didn’t eat, so Yanzhi didn’t either.

"Your sister has essential work to do indoors, and meals are sent to her directly. All she hopes for is for you to focus on studying and growing up. You’re already so big, still clinging to her; if she knew about your behavior, do you think she would be angry?" The old man glared at Changting, "Useless."

Upon hearing the old man calling him ’useless’, Changting’s face instantly turned red, and then he picked up his bowl and started eating in silence. Once he started eating, Yanzhi immediately followed suit.

Seeing this, Guo Huiniang, who was heavily pregnant, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After six days, the wheat from all households in Shili Village was almost entirely warehoused. The spring wheat harvest was successful, averaging four bushels per acre, an amount that almost exhilarated the families who cultivated wheat.

With so much wheat, even if they didn’t earn much from the rice, they would not worry about going hungry. Of course, the rice hasn’t yet yielded any income, and this thought was just a hypothesis. Didn’t they see how every household’s rice in the fields had already blossomed and was growing robustly?

Chapter 418: Chapter 418 Unexpected Person(2)_1

Thinking of not having to starve all year round, nearly all the villagers were overjoyed.

Zhou Dasheng’s family was not under the protection of the Lin Family, so naturally, there was no opportunity for them to sow spring wheat. However, with the wheat harvest, they also celebrated with the rest of the village. Firstly, the whole family had work to do at the Lin’s every day, and their daily income was quite substantial. Secondly, when they had free time, the Pang Family and Little Pang together went to the fields to pick up the remaining wheat spikes after harvesting, and they actually gathered quite a lot after the wheat harvest.

To avoid annoying others in their village, the Pangs always waited until others had finished their harvest and moved out before they went to the field to pick up the leftover wheat.

People in the village treasured their food, naturally not wanting to abandon the wheat left on the ground. But even the most thorough farmers could not completely pick up every single piece left in the ground.

By picking up what was left, the Zhou Family managed to collect enough wheat to fill a bag. These were quantities they wouldn’t have dared to dream of before. The Little Pangs thought about befriending the Lin Family so that they could share in their prosperity and plant the next season’s wheat.

"Mom, we have picked up so much that, come the New Year, there will be enough for making dumplings every day," Little Pang raved about their harvest with great excitement while carrying her basket.

"With the end of the wheat harvest, there wouldn’t be much left behind in the fields, as everyone will be turning the fields to plant white radish," Little Pang murmured, somewhat regretful. If she had a little more time, she could have picked up a few more bushels to take home. "You only have these little ambitions, always talking about dumplings. It’s not like our family lacks food."

"Mom, I’m just worrying about you and the kids being stinted," Little Pang laughingly said, getting carried away with her conversation with Madame Pang, she accidentally bumped into a person coming from the opposite direction.

"Didn’t you watch where you were going?" Ma Zhicai finally gathered his courage to go out for a walk to clear his mind. After failing the Scholar exam twice in a row, he was feeling extremely embarrassed. He hadn’t expected that shortly after stepping out of his house today, someone would bump into him. Upon looking up and realizing it was Little Pang, a notorious stingy chatterbox from the village, his mood darkened further.

Returning from the Lin’s field, Little Pang was busy picking up the wheat with Madame Pang while it was still daylight. She was covered in dust from head to toe. Coupled with the fact that it was summer, and people tended to sweat more, she smelt so strongly of sweat that anyone could smell it from a distance.

Ma Zhicai, considering himself a scholar, always upheld a superior attitude. After being bumped by Little Pang and subsequently met with the foul smell of sweat, he felt like he was about to throw up.

"Oh, isn’t this our Ma Tongsheng?" Little Pang realized she had bumped into someone and was about to apologize. It wasn’t her broad-mindedness, but Madame Pang had repeatedly instructed everyone to avoid conflicts with fellow villagers and refrain from taking advantage of others. So, it was more of a natural reaction to apologize after realizing she had bumped into someone.

Unfortunately, Zhicai’s words were too harsh, and knowing that the Ma family and the Lin family had a tense relationship, Little Pang, who had the intention to impress the Lin Family, altered her apology, "Shouldn’t Ma Tongsheng be nested at home studying, waiting for next year’s Scholar exam? Why would you come out on such a hot day? Aren’t you afraid of wasting your study time?"

She deliberately stressed the words ’Tongsheng’ and ’Scholar’, which were clearly a mocking at Zhicai.

Zhicai could understand her mockery towards him. Seeing Little Pang’s plump face laughing at him, his anger started to rise, "What do you care about what I do? You should apologize for not watching where you’re going."

It was at this time that the villagers were making their way back from the fields. Many people saw Little Pang and Zhicai arguing and gathered to watch the drama unfold.

Seeing so many people gathering around, Little Pang got excited. With her mother-in-law not showing any intention of stopping her, she felt even more confident. If she helped the Lin Family by belittling Zhicai, would Lin Ziyin allow her family to work in the workshop as well? Or at the very least, they could remain as permanent workers in the Lin household.

 

Chapter 419: Chapter 419 Unexpected Person(3)_1

The more she thought about it, the more excited she became, and the more vigorously she spoke. "I’m telling you, Ma Tongsheng, this road doesn’t belong to your family alone. Why can’t I walk here? I, a fully able person, am assisting an elder to walk. Shouldn’t you make way for us? Oh right, now I remember."

As she spoke, she stared at Ma Zhicai with ill intentions.

Some onlookers intentionally urged her on, "What did you think of?"

"I’ve just remembered who really is blind. It’s none other than this Ma Tongsheng here. Forsaking a golden phoenix for the title of a ’Tongsheng’, I wonder who he’s trying to impress with this act?" Little Miss Pang explained loudly.

Everyone erupted into laughter upon hearing this.

"Ah, no wonder he can only keep the title of Tongsheng with his narrow sight. How could he possibly become a scholar? Is that not right, folks?" Little Miss Pang, seeing the crowd’s support, doubled down on her speech.

"Exactly!" Many people loudly agreed. The villagers who worked at the Lin Family’s place frequently mingled with Lin Changshu and Wu Dayou, and naturally took the Lin Family’s side when issues arose.

Ma Zhicai had never been publicly humiliated like this before. Amidst the crowd’s loud laughter, his face turned beet red — he looked unusually fierce. How dare these peasants laugh at him! Once he becomes a distinguished graduate, he’ll make sure not to spare a single one of them.

Almost all the villagers in Shili Village practiced martial arts. Ma Zhicai’s threatening gaze didn’t intimidate anyone. On the contrary, seeing him enraged made everyone laugh even more.

"I’m telling you, Ma Tongsheng, if your studies are so poor, you’re not trying to falsely accuse me, are you?" Little Miss Pang continued to provoke him.

"You bump into people and have the audacity to speak such nonsense. You’re nothing more than a shrew." Stung by her words, Ma Zhicai started to fight back. Coarse language that he normally wouldn’t utter started spilling out of his mouth.

"Listen to him, everyone! Is this how a scholar talks? All he can say is ’nonsense’ - where have all his years of studying gone? Ah, he must have fed it to a dog." When it came to verbal fights, Little Miss Pang was hardly ever bested in the village.

Ma Zhicai, a man who highly values his reputation, couldn’t hold his ground against her. "You, you’ll spend the rest of your life as a Tongsheng."

Little Miss Pang really knew how to hit where it hurt. She purposely brought up the things Ma Zhicai didn’t want to talk about.

Madam Pang stood off to the side quietly listening, showing no intention of stopping Little Miss Pang.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Before Ma Zhicai could raise a fist in his heated state, Mrs. Yan forced her way through the crowd. Upon spotting Little Miss Pang, she lunged at her, aiming for her chubby face.

Little Miss Pang was so focused on mocking Ma Zhicai that she didn’t notice Mrs. Yan’s approach. Caught off guard, she found herself on the back foot, getting scratched all over her face.

Everyone was gathered outside in the summer heat, their faces covered in sweat. The scratches on her face stung fiercely in the heat, and she could tell she was bleeding.

This was unacceptable. Every woman cared about her appearance. Even though Little Miss Pang was plump, she didn’t want her face to bear the brunt of someone’s rage. "You shameless woman! With your son’s behavior, he dreams of becoming a scholar? Look at yourself before you spray crap. You have a pig’s face. You’ll never amount to anything. You’ll never have a scholar in this lifetime." As her mouth spouted insults, Little Miss Pang did not hold back with her hands. Standing taller than Mrs. Yan, she lunged forward and managed to grab Mrs. Yan’s long hair.

When women fight, if their hair gets grabbed, they have little chance of escaping.

Mrs. Yan was considered rather fierce in the village. She was quite a match for Little Miss Pang. With her hair caught, she could only stoop and circle around Little Miss Pang, putting her at a disadvantage. However, Mrs. Yan was not one to admit defeat easily. She kept kicking at Little Miss Pang’s knees until finally, unable to withstand the kicks, Little Miss Pang was forced to release her grip.

Chapter 420: Chapter 420 Unexpected Person(4)_1

The two were in a direct face-off, exhibiting all their various combat skills. Clawing, scratching, biting, pulling, kicking, all moves were on the table.

Ma Zhicai stood by, watching his mother and Mrs. Pang quarrel. The rage on his face was clear to anyone, but as a man, if he were to get involved in a women’s fight, he’d doubtlessly be laughed at by everyone in the village. Although he yearned to step in and thrash Mrs.Pang, his pride took precedence, leaving him no choice but to be a silent bystander.

"Look at me, I’m nearly beaten to death by this shrew, and you just stand by watching? Is that funny to you?" Mrs. Yan, noticing her eldest daughter-in-law Mrs. Huang returning from work, suddenly found her spirits lifted. She didn’t believe that she and her daughter-in-law together couldn’t defeat Mrs. Pang.

Mrs. Huang was reluctant to get involved. In her sight, the shrewish Mrs.Yan seemed invincible. For years, she had suffered under Mrs. Yan’s hands. Seeing the situation unfold, she had initially planned to hide, but was spotted by Mrs. Yan the moment she arrived.

Since her mother-in-law had issued a direct command, she could not avoid it. Otherwise, she’d probably be beaten half to death by Mrs. Yan once they got home.

"Stop it, everyone just stop it." Mrs. Huang, compelled to join the brawl, wasn’t genuinely willing to help Mrs. Yan, she just wanted to calm the rising storm. She tried to restrain Mrs. Pang while advising Mrs. Yan to back down.

It wasn’t out of favoritism, but simply because she was too scared to restrain Mrs. Yan.

With Mrs. Huang holding her back, Mrs. Pang started receiving more hits from Mrs. Yan.

Mrs. Pang didn’t consider herself a soft touch, so when things got tough she decided to retaliate against both Mrs. Huang and Mrs. Yan.

Mrs. Huang was left with no choice but to retreat.

"How dare you bully my mother?" At this critical juncture, the Zhou brothers, Zhou Ming and Zhou Fa, arrived at the scene. Despite their generally violent temperaments, the brothers had always been respectful towards their mother. When they were returning home carrying sacks of cereal, they spotted a crowd from a distance. They initially thought it would be entertaining, but as they approached, they heard their mother’s angry voice and discovered her being accosted by the Ma mother-daughter duo. Were the Mas picking on them for having fewer women in their family?

Without wasting a word, each brother stepped in and knocked an assaulter off her feet.

"You men dare to lay a hand on our women?" Witnessing this, Ma Zhicai burst into anger.

"Go to hell." Zhou Ming had long been displeased with Ma Zhicai. This boy, just because he’s spent a few extra days reading books, dares to look down on us with his nose up in the air. What’s the big deal? After so many exams, he’s still just a Scholar.

Take the scholars from the Lin family’s private academy as an example. Now, they were real scholars. Not only practiced in both writing and martial arts, but they also participated in social practices in the fields. The Lin academy has been operating for just over a year yet has already produced two promising young scholars. In contrast, what did Ma Zhicai amount to?

With this perfect opportunity, Zhou Ming immediately landied a kick on Ma Zhicai.

Technically, Ma Zhicai, as a man, should only feel the pain of Zhou Ming’s kick. However, in reality, he fell right to the ground after the kick.

"What a useless guy, just like a woman." Zhou Ming snapped their lips contemptuously.

The surrounding villagers burst into laughter.

Feeling humiliated and with his face burning, Ma Zhicai, rose to his feet and stoically looked at Zhou Ming. "Enough with these insults," he said, his voice cold as ice.