Chapter 1: The Miserable Transmigration

  If you can beat it, fight; if you can't beat it, run. This is Jiang Xia's guiding principle for doing things and getting along with people. If someone knows they can't win a fight but still insists on fighting, that kind of person can only be called a fool. As someone who likes to play smart, Jiang Xia would never do something so foolish.

  In the Xiangyao Mountain Villa, Jiang Xia ordered people to prepare more than 20 tables of dishes for the over 200 guards to have dinner. He himself sat in a private room with Yang Yiqing and Yang Jingjing.

  Jiang Xia carefully poured a cup of wine for Yang Yiqing, smiling and saying: "This afternoon was completely a misunderstanding, please don't take offense, Yang sir."

  Yang Yiqing originally had a request for Jiang Xia, but after hearing about Yang Jingjing's matter, Yang Yiqing immediately changed his mind. Asking someone to do something is not as reliable as forcing them to do it in a legitimate and reasonable manner, the latter is always more secure than the former.

  Yang Yiqing looked at Jiang Xia with a faint gaze, his finger tapping on the table as he said: "My daughter is a delicate flower, from childhood to adulthood I couldn't bear to touch her once, how dare you hit her?"

  Yang Jing looked at Yang Yiqing in surprise, thinking that Father was telling lies without blushing or skipping a beat. What's the point of being reluctant to touch even once? Locking himself in the woodshed to reflect on his mistakes, hadn't he done things like kneeling all night in the ancestral hall without eating?

  However, Yang Jingjing also knew that Yang Yiqing was looking for Jiang Xia to settle accounts, so she didn't bother talking either.

  She was interested in seeing how Jiang Xia would respond, but unexpectedly Jiang Xia's face changed and he shook his head, saying: "Yang sir, this is where you're wrong. I have to say a couple of things to you."

  Yang Yiqing was taken aback, why didn't this kid play by the rules? After saying that, shouldn't he be trembling with fear and begging for mercy, then I would take advantage of the situation to ask him a question, if he answered well, I would let him off, and then I would get the answer to how to solve the border defense fund.

  "As the saying goes, 'A father's fault is not teaching his child.' Look at your daughter, Yang. She's clever, smart and lovely. Who wouldn't like her at first sight? I've seen many beauties, but few are as charming as your daughter. You can count on one hand how many there are."

  Jiang Xia's continuous praise made Yang Jing's face turn red, she had never encountered anyone who would so bluntly compliment her beauty since childhood. The modesty of a young lady made her laugh and lower her head, at this moment, looking at Jiang Xia, she felt that he wasn't as annoying as before.

  Unfortunately, happiness comes and goes quickly. Jiang Xia suddenly changed the subject: "It's such a peerless beauty, but you, Yang Daren, have cultivated her to be arrogant, unreasonable, and prone to violence."

  I'm sure you're aware of what happened at noon today. Your precious daughter not only didn't follow the rules and insisted on buying something I had already chosen, but also lost to me in the bidding. What's more, she even dared to order her bodyguards to take action against me. If I hadn't brought my own bodyguards, I would have been at a disadvantage today.

  "Okay, actually I also suffered quite a bit."

  As he spoke, Jiang Xia rolled up his sleeve, revealing two rows of neat teeth marks on the inside of his mouth, indicating that the person who had bitten him must have had a lovely small mouth and beautiful teeth. However, the deep wound also proved that the person who had bitten him at the time must have used all their strength.

  Seeing that wound, Yang Yiqing's old face couldn't hold up for a moment. Moreover, what Jiang Xia said earlier was also true, and Yang Yiqing had learned from Ah Da that Jiang Xia was telling the truth.

  Yang Yiqing said with some embarrassment: "I was remiss in teaching my daughter, this is my fault, but after all she is a girl, you... seem to have done something wrong too?"

  Jiang Xia raised his head and said, "Lord Yang still knows that his own daughter is a girl. We should speak reasonably and with a clear conscience. You say you know your own child is a girl, why didn't you teach her the three virtues and four moralities of women, embroidery and female red? Why didn't you restrict her to being a lady who doesn't leave the house, but instead let her learn martial arts?"

  I'm a bookworm, studying Confucianism and Mencius' teachings, advocating for the gentleman's etiquette. Your family's precious daughter was so aggressive towards me at that time, everywhere she went, she would deliberately try to harm me, and I don't know how many times her legs kicked my groin.

  Although I have no strength to bind a chicken, I am after all a man. Can I still be bullied by her, a weak woman, in the midst of a large crowd? If so, would I still have the face to live in this world in the future? Of course not.

  "So I must retaliate. But where should I hit her? Hitting the face hurts one's dignity, hitting the chest is called being a rascal, and hitting the belly is feared she can't take it... So... May I ask, Lord Yang, if you were in my shoes, where would you hit?"

  "This......" Yang Yiqing suddenly didn't know what else to say.

  This matter was spoken from Jiang Xia's mouth, and the whole thing became his daughter's unreasonable fuss. He, on the other hand, was courteous everywhere and tried to yield. No matter how high-ranking Yang Yiqing was as a second-grade official, he couldn't ignore reason. If at this moment he still had to maintain the governor's dignity and suppress Jiang Xia, then Yang Yiqing really couldn't do such a thing.

  Jiang Xia shook his head and said: "Yang sir, actually I didn't blame your daughter, but rather it was another person that pained my heart."

  "Ah... who is this Jiang Gongzi?" Yang Yiqing was completely unaware that he had been led by the nose by Jiang Xia's few words, and his original purpose for coming here had been completely forgotten.

  Jiang Xia looked up at Yang Yiqing as soon as he heard the question. Yang Yiqing felt a little uneasy in his heart, and indeed, Jiang Xia said: "What pains me is you, Lord Yang."

  "What?" Yang Yiqing was taken aback: "How can Master Jiang say such a thing?"

  Jiang Xia said: "Let Qianjin be young and ignorant, a bit willful, a bit arrogant, all of these are normal. But you, Yang Daren? You are an official appointed by the imperial court, representing the image of the imperial court, representing the emperor's vision for selecting officials. It can be said that you represent the imperial court, the emperor. However, what have you done? Without asking about right or wrong, you brought your guards to my Xiangyang Mountain Villa, and your purpose was actually to help Qianjin regain face."

  I have three questions to ask Lord Yang. Firstly, are those guards dispatched by the imperial court? If so, what authority do you have to bring them here to resolve your personal matters? Secondly, even if I am at fault in the matter with your daughter, should you not report it to the authorities and let them handle it? Is it proper for you to bring armed men here privately? Do you have any regard for the laws of the great Ming dynasty? Thirdly, this whole affair was started by your daughter, yet now you come with a large retinue of guards, flaunting your power and feasting in my humble mountain villa. I'd like to ask, Lord Yang, do you plan on paying for the food and drink those guards are consuming outside? If not, should I go appeal to the authorities or even to the Emperor himself?

  It's all over! These four words are now the only thing in Yang Yiqing's mind. Jiang Xia's words, from shallow to deep, have finally pushed Yang Yiqing to a dead end. Yang Yiqing was just going to bring people to ask about what happened at noon, but Jiang Xia has elevated it to the point of disregarding the Great Ming law, tarnishing the image of the imperial court officials, and tarnishing the emperor's wisdom in recognizing people. And his own suggestion to invite everyone to dinner has now been cleverly turned into a show of force, forcing ordinary civilians to invite him to dinner.

  Yang Yiqing's forehead was covered in cold sweat, he had been an official since the Hongzhi era and had never been pushed to such a state in all his years of navigating the bureaucracy. Yang Yiqing wiped away his sweat with his sleeve as he carefully said: "Young Master Jiang has misunderstood, misunderstood. Today I only brought my daughter here to understand the situation at noon, now that it's clear she was not at fault, when we get home I will certainly discipline her properly."

  "As for the guards outside, they are only here to ensure my safety and not to show off their military might. Whatever amount of silver is spent on their food and drink, I, Yang Yiqing, will reimburse it."

  "Dad... what are we afraid of him for? Lock him up and give him a few lashes, I'll see if he still..."

  "Shut up! If you keep talking nonsense, I'll go back and whip you a few times."

  "Hey... wasn't General Yang just saying that you couldn't even bear to touch your precious daughter? How come now..." Jiang Xia looked at Yang Yiqing with a puzzled expression.

  Yang Yiqing felt that his old face had been lost here for a lifetime, and he asked: "Young Master Jiang, the wine bills outside and inside the house, how much silver do you think they add up to? I'll settle the bill and leave with my men immediately."

  Jiang Xia nodded and said, "Director Yang is still very reasonable. The wine feast at my Xiangyang Mountain Villa has always been famous for its color, fragrance, and flavor. All the materials used are of the highest quality. Those wine feasts outside are our top-grade wine feasts here, each table is equipped with abalone, ginseng, and shark fin, and the silver cost per table is probably around 300 taels."

  "Three... three hundred taels?" Yang Yiqing almost bit his own tongue.

  Three hundred taels, an ordinary family would probably use it for four or five years. Yang Yiqing looked at Jiang Xia coldly and said: "Young Master Jiang, isn't this a bit excessive?"

  Indeed, outside it's already approaching thirty rounds of wine and food, three hundred taels per table, isn't that nearly ten thousand taels of silver?

  Jiang Xia looked at Yang Yiqing in surprise: "What? Lord Yang, you don't believe me? Alright, please wait a moment. As it happens, the young master of the Wei Guo Gong's household is here. I'll send someone to invite him over as a witness. He often attends banquets at my place and naturally knows the prices."

  After finishing speaking, Jiang Xia immediately got up and prepared to order someone to invite the young master of the Wei Guo Gong's family to come over.

  Yang Yiqing hastily stopped him, originally it was already embarrassing enough now, if he let the young master of the Weiguo Gong house come and confirm afterwards, wouldn't it be even more embarrassing to say that he didn't have any silver to pay the bill? Yang Yiqing said with a hint of embarrassment: "Young Master Jiang, I'm in a hurry today and didn't bring that much cash on me, please...".

  "Want to sign the contract?" Jiang Xia nodded: "Lord Yang is a second-grade official, signing contracts here is no problem at all. You just wait for a moment, I'll get someone to write an IOU and prepare the seal mud, then come find Lord Yang to sign."

  Before leaving, Jiang Xia still didn't forget to turn back and say a sentence to Yang Yiqing: "Lord Yang, don't forget, with reason you can travel all over the world."