HUS Chapter 55: The Most Carefree Task
HUS Chapter 55: The Most Carefree Task
Dec 26, 2025
Accountant Li, Li Damu, was undoubtedly the most carefree person in this upheaval.
Now even Young Master Zhang had lost his peaceful and comfortable state of mind.
He had originally been the person most hoping his father would return later, but at this time he couldn't wait to send people to Phoenix Mountain Manor to find Zhang Yunyi but Accountant Li remained extremely carefree and at ease.
His most important task now was not reviewing accounts, but fooling around with Miss Xiaotan.
This was the task Yang Can had assigned him, and he very much enjoyed this task.
After another bout of hard work, Accountant Li floated out of the room with weak legs.
He felt he'd been working too hard lately and should take a rest tomorrow.
"Ah, Miss Qingmei."
Suddenly, Xiao Qingmei walked over from the opposite corridor with a bitter expression, and Accountant Li hastily greeted her with a smile.
This girl had been in Steward Yang's bedroom, so he couldn't afford to neglect her.
"Oh, it's Mr. Li."
Qingmei responded with a bitter face.
Dealing with those farmers who spoke tangentially and would trace things back three generations at the drop of a hat was truly exhausting.
She rubbed her aching cheeks, then shook her little hand that had cramped up from writing.
Watching her movements, Accountant Li couldn't help but be slightly surprised. Was Steward Yang... that vigorous?
Look how tired Miss Qingmei was.
"What are you staring at?" Xiao Qingmei glanced sideways at him and asked in surprise.
"Oh, nothing, nothing. Ahem, Miss Qingmei..., you've worked hard."
"Ha, do you even need to say it? Of course I've worked hard. Although they're willing, Steward Yang can't treat people like beasts of burden."
Xiao Qingmei grumbled resentfully. Accountant Li listened with his heart pounding in alarm.
Such bold and improper words, could they really be said so casually?
You dare say them, but I don't dare listen.
Li Damu now felt nothing but complete awe toward Yang Can.
This Steward Yang had schemes that ran too deep, he couldn't match him.
If you can't beat them, join them. Just become a loyal dog under his command.
This was Mr. Li's principle for dealing with matters.
...
Among the important figures in Feng'an Estate who had not yet been invited by Yang Can for tea, only the Zhang family's direct relatives and Corps Commander Kang Zhengyang remained.
Feng'an Estate was a large estate that could mobilize approximately five hundred corps soldiers.
Corps Commander had originally been a military position from the previous dynasty, which the Eight Great Clans had adopted and continued to use, becoming the title for leaders of powerful families' private troops.
Because corps soldiers had the nature of a military force, they could not be commanded by estate heads or leaders of certain towns or fortresses.
Therefore, they were directly controlled by the Clan Head and the heads of each branch.
The appointment, dismissal, and daily management of corps commanders were all decided by them. However, corps soldiers served as soldiers in wartime and as civilians in peacetime.
So from another aspect of their nature, they were still subject to the control of estate heads.
As a result, corps commanders inevitably had to frequently deal with estate heads.
Moreover, wars rarely broke out between the great clans, so the relationship between corps commanders and estate heads became even closer.
Sometimes, corps soldiers would act as enforcers for estate heads, serving as accomplices to tyranny but no matter what, corps soldiers and corps commanders remained the people in a village least influenced by the estate head.
Corps Commander Kang Zhengyang was currently stroking the "Yang Can Plow" with a beaming smile.
His expression was just like when he was twenty-some years old, stroking his wife's smooth skin.
This was the second "Yang Can Plow" he had obtained.
Being able to get two of these new plows when they were in such high demand was entirely due to his position as corps commander.
The Kang family had three brothers and four sisters, which could be considered a large family.
After using this new plow, even if each Kang household only freed up one able-bodied laborer, they could be gathered together to do something.
Kang Zhengyang had already calculated it. By gathering the manpower freed up from Kang family relatives and friends' households, plus bringing in family members of corps soldiers close to him.
This way, he could use Kang family members as the core to form a small-scale trading caravan.
At that time, with capital pooled from all sides of the Kang family, they could do some business with the Xianbei tribes.
They could purchase iron pots, salt, tea, and cloth from Tianshui City to sell to the Xianbei tribes.
Then exchange them for felt blankets, honey, beeswax, and even medicinal herbs like Chinese angelica and astragalus from the Xianbei tribes to sell in Tianshui City.
The round trip wouldn't be too far, with Feng'an Estate as the midpoint node, it could be profitable.
He was just thinking of having his son call over several brothers and brothers-in-law to discuss his plan when an uninvited guest arrived at his home.
The visitor was none other than Leopard Head Cheng Dakuan.
Cheng Dakuan and Kang Zhengyang were very familiar. The two of them were the best fighters in Feng'an Estate and had known each other since childhood.
More than twenty years ago, the two competed for the position of squad leader in the corps soldiers, and ultimately Kang Zhengyang won the position.
In a fit of anger, Leopard Head went to Phoenix Mountain Manor and became a guard there.
After years of grinding away, Leopard Head's career development once surpassed Kang Zhengyang's but now, he had been knocked back to square one and still ranked below Kang Zhengyang.
Yet as he sat cross-legged on the kang in the Kang home, he showed no awareness of being disgraced.
Instead, it was Kang Zhengyang sitting opposite him who looked heavy with worry.
"Surnamed Kang, our Lord Yang doesn't ask for much. As long as after Zhang Yunyi returns to the estate, you outwardly show obedience while secretly following our Lord Yang's instructions. If so, everything you have can be preserved, and Lord Yang absolutely won't touch you."
Kang Zhengyang sat with a somber expression and said nothing.
Leopard Head curled his lips, "Surnamed Kang, your martial skills are not as good as mine. How you climbed to the position of squad leader back then, after all these years, you must have figured it out. Surnamed Zhang thought you were easier to control than me, so he strongly recommended you to our corps commander at the time."
Kang Zhengyang couldn't keep his composure anymore and said in a deep voice, "Why are you telling me this? What, you want to settle old scores with me?"
Leopard Head said, "I'm just telling you that Zhang Yunyi doesn't owe you any favor. Right now, the old Zhang family is already facing disaster, you shouldn't make a mistake. Otherwise, if Zhang Yunyi falls, do you think you won't be implicated at all?"
Kang Zhengyang said mockingly, "Implicated how? Demoted to the bottom like you?"
"You..." Leopard Head's beard and hair stood on end as he flew into a rage.
However, he suddenly thought of something, sneered, and sat back down.
"If you don't know what's good for you, then when Zhang Yunyi falls from power, the person who will replace you as corps commander will be me, Leopard Head."
Kang Zhengyang ignored his threat and pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "In other words, your move against Estate Head Zhang is not the Clan Head's intention?"
"Of course not. If it were, why would I come looking for you? However, do you think, with things having reached this point and with the young mistress backed by the Suo family standing at the front, will the Clan Head protect Zhang Yunyi?"
Of course he wouldn't. Dealing with these estate managers who bore the Second Branch's mark was in line with the Clan Head's interests to begin with.
How could he possibly try hard to protect Zhang Yunyi?
Zhang Yunyi was like a local tyrant in Feng'an Estate, but at Phoenix Mountain Manor, he was just a country bumpkin who schemed everywhere.
After pondering for a long time, Kang Zhengyang finally raised his head.
"You came today without giving me advance notice. So I won't host you. We'll talk again next time."
Although Leopard Head hadn't studied, he still understood what Kang Zhengyang meant by this statement.
"Ha ha ha, you kid, your fists and feet aren't as good as mine, but this brain of yours is more nimble than mine. If I had your brain, I wouldn't have had to spend so many years of effort to climb to the position of guard captain."
Kang Zhengyang stabbed him in the heart with a deadpan expression, "You're the former guard captain. Right now, you're nothing."
...
The day after Kang Zhengyang agreed to cooperate with Yang Can, Estate Head Zhang, Zhang Yunyi, whom the large and small managers in the granary had been eagerly awaiting, finally "returned."
There were two armed forces in Feng'an Estate that Yang Can dared not ignore.
Zhang Yunyi, driven to desperation, might not hesitate to turn against him.
People from the Central Plains could flee to Longshang, so couldn't people from Longshang flee to the Central Plains?
If he dared to be careless, he might very well capsize in the gutter.
Now, the corps soldiers controlled by Kang Zhengyang had already sided with him.
The most powerful armed force in Feng'an Estate was in his hands.
The other armed force in Feng'an Estate consisted of the martial instructors personally selected and trained by Zhang Yunyi to guard the estate.
Yang Can had never thought of recruiting them, and on the surface... he showed no guard against them either.
Zhang Yunyi was openly escorted back and then stuffed into the granary, right in front of those martial instructors.
As the Estate Head of Feng'an Estate, Zhang Yunyi had special privileges.
For example, in the granary where he was imprisoned, he was the only one inside.
"Mr. Li, what's going on? How did the estate head get escorted back by Steward Yang? Could it be... could it be that the Clan Head is going to move against our estate head?"
Miss Xiaotan's face turned pale with fear. She anxiously grabbed Li Damu's sleeve, her eyes brimming with tears.
It wasn't that she had any feelings for Zhang Yunyi, although she had also been bedded by Estate Head Zhang.
It was just that everything she relied on for survival now came from the Zhang family.
If the Zhang family fell, what would become of her, a mere woman?
Li Damu's face was ashen as he said through gritted teeth, "What a Yang Can, what a Steward Yang! He even deceived me!"
Li Damu patted Xiaotan's hand and comforted her, "Don't be afraid. It's not the Clan Head moving against Estate Head Zhang. If it were the Clan Head, it wouldn't be this much trouble."
Hearing this, Xiaotan said joyfully, "Then... can we send someone to appeal to the Clan Head?"
Li Damu sneered, "The estate head brought twelve experts and still couldn't reach Phoenix Mountain Manor. Now that he's a prisoner, do you think others can make it to Phoenix Mountain?"
Xiaotan's expression changed, "Mr. Li, then what do we do?"
Li Damu said with a somber expression, "This is clearly a scheme by the eldest branch's young mistress. You saw it too, the people Steward Yang is using were all sent by the young mistress. These people previously disguised themselves as agricultural advisers, plow makers, bah! However, you don't need to worry too much."
Li Damu pulled Xiaotan over and held the petite woman in his arms, softly comforting her, "Even if something happens to the Zhang family, I will protect you. You're just a little maid. I don't think Steward Yang will deliberately make things difficult for you."
Xiaotan suppressed her disgust, kissed Li Damu on the mouth, and said tenderly, "Then... I'm counting entirely on you, sir."
"Don't worry, don't worry."
"But Mr. Li, is our estate head really going to fall just like that?"
"Fall? More than that!"
Li Damu's face showed fear as he said, enunciating each word, "Little Tan, you don't know. Observing this man Yang Can, his manner is gentle and refined like a cultured gentleman, yet his heart is venomous like a viper, truly a wolf in human form. He retracts his claws and hides his fangs like a silent and reserved scholar, but when he strikes at people, he must drain their life before stopping. When he acts, it's like shocking thunder and lightning, every move crushing hearts and breaking spirits. When he schemes, he's sinister and ruthless, in everything cutting grass and removing roots. Even vipers are not as treacherous as him, even poisoned wine pales compared to his cruelty. He regards human life as worthless as grass, discarding heavenly principles like worn-out shoes."
Xiaotan's face turned deathly pale as she exclaimed in shock, "Mr. Li, what do you mean by this?"
Accountant Li said grimly, "Zhang Yunyi is finished! The Zhang family is doomed!"
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