Chapter 42: Pleasing Oneself, Pleasing Others

That night, after Lin Hansu returned to the manor, she reorganized the land deeds.

Even though she already knew that The Du Brothers had occupied a lot of fertile land in recent years by using the Prince’s manor’s name, the final tally still left her speechless.

There were over 300,000 mu of fertile land under the Prince’s manor’s name. 120,000 mu of this was the manor’s actual property; Second Brother Du and Du San fraudulently occupied nearly 100,000 mu using the manor’s name, and Madam Wu’s maternal relatives occupied another 30,000 mu.

There were also 50,000 mu belonging to unregistered hidden fields.

After personally investigating over the past few days, Lin Hansu also heard many old rumors: over the years, The Du Brothers and Madam Wu’s relatives had countless incidents of beating or killing victims in order to seize their land.

However, she did not intend to use this as an opportunity to overthrow The Du Brothers.

Firstly, how many families in the entire Great Wu noble class haven’t engaged in such schemes of forceful seizure? If she were to make trouble using this, it would inevitably draw the attention of other nobles, needlessly increasing her enemies.

Secondly, the nobles’ land seizure must have been coordinated by local officials. If Lin Hansu dug deep into this matter, she would definitely provoke the entire officialdom of City.

Instead of confronting them head-on, it was better to share the profits and win them over.

Princess Xingguo had set her KPI at 60,000 mu, but Lin Hansu’s ambition was far greater than 60,000 mu.

Her plan was that, after completing the KPI, she would hand over another 10,000 mu to the Lanyang Prefecture Yamen to be used as ‘official land’.

Every prefecture and county in Great Wu had official land, the output of which was used to subsidize the operation of the yamen and the officials, essentially serving as local private coffers.

This would be used to gain the support of Li Fengrao and others for Lin Hansu’s subsequent actions.

She would then allocate another portion of fertile land to the City ‘Orphanage’ as public land to gain favor with public opinion.

Of course, a portion of the land exceeding the KPI would inevitably become Princess Xingguo’s private property.

Lin Hansu calculated carefully: even after taking care of all parties, quite a bit would still remain. That remaining land would quietly be transferred to the Young Master’s name.

If she wanted the Young Master to have a splendid future, money was essential to pave the way.

However, all of this was predicated on the successful recovery of the land.

She figured The Du Brothers and Madam Wu’s relatives would not just sit around and wait for death.

“Knock, knock~”

The knocking interrupted Lin Hansu’s thoughts. “Come in.”

“Mistress, Squad Leader Ding just asked this servant to prepare some items to be sent to Diying Garden. I came specifically to report this.”

Wansu stood just inside the door.

Lin Hansu did not raise her head, her gaze still fixed on the ledger. “What does he lack?”

“Squad Leader Ding wants three basswood barrels, one chi and one cun in diameter, and one chi and eight cun high, as well as willow charcoal.”

…

The request was a bit strange. Lin Hansu took her eyes off the ledger, thought for a moment, and said, “Just have the manor’s carpenter make three and send them over.”

“What about the charcoal?”

“Send thirty catties of the White Sawtooth Oak Charcoal from my room.”

“Squad Leader Ding asked for forty-five catties, and he specifically instructed that it must be willow charcoal.”

“He won’t burn good charcoal but insists on burning that willow charcoal.”

Lin Hansu muttered under her breath, then said, “Send what he asked for.”

Willow charcoal was certainly good charcoal for common households, but it was far inferior to the White Sawtooth Oak Charcoal burned in Lin Hansu’s room, which cost ten taels of silver per thousand catties.

Having received Lin Hansu’s instructions, Wansu went to the storeroom to retrieve the goods, and Lin Hansu once again focused her attention on the ledger.

After two or three breaths, she suddenly stood up, pushed open the window, and stretched her slender hand outside to feel the temperature.

For the entire winter, Diying Garden had been heated by the underfloor heating system. The weather had warmed up in the past few days, and the heating had just been turned off.

He wants charcoal, is he feeling cold?

A moment later.

“Granny Zhang, go to my room and fetch two quilts to send to Diying Garden. Choose the thickest and warmest ones.”

After the New Year passed, the children immediately began looking forward to the Lantern Festival.

Amidst the lingering festive atmosphere, on the eighth day of the first lunar month, the Emperor of Great Wu issued an edict to the world:

‘Southern Zhao has long received the grace of the nation and served as a vassal state. It should have dutifully performed its duties and upheld the loyalty of a subject, thus fulfilling Our supreme intention of pacifying distant peoples.

Unexpectedly, your ruler is muddle-headed and his governance is misguided: he disregards rites and laws, exceeds his bounds without restraint; he harbors treacherous intentions, sheltering rebels and accommodating traitors—

Heaven punishes the guilty, and justice leaves no room for refusal!

By Imperial Decree, We appoint the Duke of Zhenguo, Xia, as the General Who Conquers the South, commanding 100,000 Heavenly Soldiers to immediately raise an army and punish your state!’

All parties were not surprised, as news of the imperial court’s decision to deploy troops against Southern Zhao had already begun circulating late last year.

As for the common folk, they didn’t take it too seriously either. Out of the fifteen prefectures in the world, Great Wu occupied eleven, while Southern Zhao only held the single prefecture of Yun Prefecture, a place with limited land and sparse population.

Whether in terms of territory, population, or Soldier count, Great Wu exceeded Southern Zhao tenfold or more.

It was no different from a fierce tiger pouncing on a rabbit.

It was expected that the day the Heavenly Soldiers reached the border between the two countries would be the day the ruler of Southern Zhao begged for surrender.

This Southern Expedition would most likely be an armed parade.

Two days later, elite garrison troops from the area surrounding the capital, including the Xiaoyong Army of Lanyang Prefecture, successively set off, heading to Central Heaven for assembly.

On the same day.

Jiang Yuan, whom he hadn’t seen for a long time, unexpectedly came to Diying Garden with her younger brother.

On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month before the New Year, Lin Fuyao had encountered Ding Suian and Jiang Yuan discussing music theory in Halberd Hall. Since then, Jiang Yuan had not appeared again.

Ding Suian could figure out with his toes that the Prince Yinyang’s concubine must have been worried that he, a coarse Soldier, had seduced her daughter, which was why she forbade Jiang Yuan from interacting with him again.

At Chen Shi (7-9 AM), Ding Suian handed the manuscript to Jiang Xuan for transcription and went to the main hall himself.

Just like before, Jiang Yuan, who was sitting quietly in the hall waiting, immediately performed an impeccable ‘wanfu’ greeting upon seeing him.

Ding Suian found the girl’s rigid formality every time a bit much, and couldn’t help but laugh, “Miss Jiang, don’t you get tired doing that every time?”

Jiang Yuan replied, “Through respectful propriety, one can then discuss the methods of the Dao.”

What chirping nonsense was she speaking? He couldn’t understand.

“Heh heh, Miss Jiang, do you have something specific you came for today?”

“I specifically came today to bid you farewell.”

“Farewell?”

“Yes, tomorrow I will be returning to Central Heaven with my mother.”

“Oh? Leaving tomorrow? That’s good. If you go back early, you can still catch the Central Heaven Lantern Festival.”

Great! It’s good that she’s leaving!

If she went back early, the business of outsourcing the ‘Yinyi’ Protective Aura could start sooner!

Jiang Yuan, whose head was slightly bowed, glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Seeing that upon hearing she was leaving, he showed no sadness at parting, but instead looked delighted!

Jiang Yuan suddenly became a little unhappy and fell silent.

“When you return, remember to practice the Qin frequently. You can pass on the Qin music I taught you to your Law Academy classmates.”

Ding Suian instructed earnestly. Jiang Yuan quickly put away her minor feelings and gave another graceful bow. “I have a concern, and I would like to consult Brother Ding about it.”

“I wouldn’t presume to be consulted, but we can certainly discuss it.”

“Well, after returning to the capital, I need to choose a musical instrument to serve as my Soul Pivot. Since childhood, I have played both the Qin and the Guzheng, and I find it difficult to choose between the two. If it were you, Brother, how would you decide?”

It is an extremely crucial matter for a Law Cultivator to choose their life-bound Soul Pivot instrument.

It concerns the progress and upper limits of the Law Cultivator. Jiang Yuan’s teacher and mother, who are both masters of the Qin and Guzheng, want her to choose the Guzheng. Using the Guzheng as the Soul Pivot is expansive and unrestricted, allowing for the smoothest collection of spiritual energy, naturally leading to faster progress.

However, Jiang Yuan herself preferred the Qin. Yet, Qin music is lofty and understood by few; although its upper limit is high, progress is slow, and it has always been an unpopular Soul Pivot among Law Cultivators.

Ding Suian thought for a moment. “I’ve heard people say: ‘The Qin pleases oneself, the Guzheng pleases others.'”

“The Qin pleases oneself, the Guzheng pleases others?” Jiang Yuan repeated softly, her Phoenix eyes—similar to Lin Hansu’s but appearing clearer and more innocent—looking over at him.

Ding Suian continued, “The meaning is that the Qin is solitary and lofty, corresponding to internal observation and self-appreciation; the Guzheng is brilliant and colorful, embodying ritual music and Indoctrination.”

This saying is related to the ‘anti-performance nature’ of the Guqin. Because the Guqin lacks bridges for conduction, sound is only produced by the silk strings vibrating the Paulownia wood soundbox. The sound energy conversion rate is extremely low, and the finger techniques inherently avoid strong sounds.

Listeners must be in an absolutely quiet environment and within three steps of the performer to hear its clear notes.

It is highly unsuitable for performance.

However, this environment makes it very easy for the performer to enter the Concept of their own playing.

Simply put, it is suitable for self-entertainment, which is why there is the saying, ‘The Qin pleases oneself.’

The Guzheng, however, is the exact opposite.

The movable bridges act as levers, and the string vibrations are transmitted through the sandalwood to the curved soundboard, resulting in an extremely high sound energy conversion rate.

Moreover, performance emphasizes tension; when strumming vigorously, the sound can penetrate courtyards a hundred steps away.

It is best suited for performance in large settings.

This is the origin of the saying, ‘The Guzheng pleases others.’

Ding Suian explained in detail, and Jiang Yuan listened carefully, her delicate brows furrowing occasionally in deep thought.

Based on his understanding of noble Young Ladies like her, she would most likely choose the’self-pleasing’ Qin as her Soul Pivot.

Unexpectedly, after Jiang Yuan carefully listened to Ding Suian’s analysis and pondered for a long time, she said, “Brother Ding, the Simplified Character Notation you taught me is only suitable for Qin music. Is there a way to convert the Simplified Character Notation into Guzheng notation?”

“You want to choose the Guzheng as your Soul Pivot?” Ding Suian was very surprised. He couldn’t help but say, “I saw you carrying that Cangliu Qin with you these past few days, so I thought you would choose the Qin.”

Jiang Yuan gave a forced smile. She wanted to say something, opened her cherry-red mouth, but then said nothing at all.

She then looked into the distance, her calm gaze holding a melancholy unique to her age. “Whether it’s the Qin or the Guzheng, both are for cultivation. My personal preferences are not worth mentioning. Whatever makes Mother happy and is beneficial to cultivation is good.”

After all that discussion, she still chose the latter—pleasing others—over pleasing herself.

Jiang Yuan’s personality was practically the mirror opposite of her Maternal Aunt’s.

As an outsider, Ding Suian found it awkward to comment, so he only said, “If Qin music can be notated, Guzheng music can naturally also be notated. It’s called Gongche Notation.”

“Gongche Notation? Brother Ding, where did you learn so many skills?”

“Heh heh, they were all taught by a Daoist priest named Hu.”