Chapter 33: The Red-Clad Lady's Midnight Flight

Shi Keren, a prominent village elder in Dengzhou Prefecture, retired due to a herniated lumbar disc; he was only forty-one years old.

Tonight, the Japanese pirates from Zhifu Island and the sea bandits from Futou Village were expected to raid Zhang Village. However, Zhang Chen did not hide in the county seat. He was determined to defend Zhang Village to the death, swearing to protect the safety of the region. This gained him a tiny bit of favor in Old Shi’s eyes.

During dinner, Shi Keren’s legal wife, Lady Li, brought up the marriage prospects of their youngest daughter, Shi Peike. At the time, Shi Keren was silently complaining about Zhang Chen. After all, Zhao was Zhang Chen’s mother, yet in Zhang Village, Zhang Chen had actually called her a "madwoman" and a "shrew."

"Zhang Chen is unruly and no good," Shi Keren cursed inwardly, but then, recalling Zhang Chen’s vow to defend the village to the death, he remarked offhandedly, "Zhang Chen, or Zhang Chuyang, has his merits. He’s not bad after all!"

Shi Xiangyu, Shi Peike’s personal maid, happened to be present. She passed on these words to another maid, Xiaoyun: "When the Mistress and Master were discussing the young lady’s marriage, the Master said that Zhang Chen is actually quite decent."

A few minutes later, Xiaoyun told her fellow townsman that the Master had said Zhang Chen was talented and handsome, and that he felt Zhang Chen was a suitable match for the young lady.

Passed through many mouths in the Shi household, the Master’s words became distorted, turning into a full-blown rumor. Eventually, it became the talk of the town that Shi Peike wanted to marry Zhang Chen as his legal wife, and that if Zhang Village successfully repelled the pirates and bandits tonight, Master Shi would send a matchmaker to propose.

Soon, the rumor spread beyond the Shi residence, reaching every street and alley of Fushan County. Both Qi Yuxuan, the legitimate daughter of Qi Dazhi, and Shi Peike, the legitimate daughter of Shi Keren, were now rumored to be vying to marry Zhang Chen as his primary wife.

In the living room, Magistrate Tian Xuewen, his wife, their second daughter Tian Yachun, and his nephew Tian Yayi were all stunned. Dongmei, Tian Yachun’s maid, cursed internally that Zhang Chen, that "little turtle," had suddenly become a hot commodity, making it even less likely he would want to marry her mistress as his legal wife. *Sigh.*

"So they all want to marry Zhang Chen? Let them have him," Tian Xuewen grumbled. "Yachun, in a while, Father will find you a young gentleman better than Zhang Chen. Go to sleep."

"Mistress, the news about your divorce from Zhang Chen must have been spread by him. He’s sending a signal to the Xu family." Cursing Zhang Chen in her heart, Dongmei left the living room and caught up with Tian Yachun: "Mistress, we cannot just let this go, but the Master refuses to let you marry him. *Sigh.*"

"If I go to Zhang Village now, Father will surely be on guard against me. I cannot use the family servants." Tian Yachun gritted her teeth and cursed Zhang Chen: "Use the servants from the Zhang estate. Dongmei, go find Zhang Erchen and tell him to send one hundred servants to escort us to Zhang Village. I will be at the North Gate in half an hour."

"Understood!" Dongmei hurried out of the Tian estate. Risking the danger of the pirates, she set out for Zhang Village in the middle of the night—the Mistress was truly bold!

The Zhang estate was not far from the North Gate. Forty-five minutes later, Zhang Erchen arrived at the gate with one hundred servants, grumbling, "Sister-in-law, I can’t stop you and my brother from playing this 'Red Buddha Night Run' game, but you can’t ruin me, your brother-in-law, forcing me to ride to Zhang Village in the middle of the night! This is a disaster!"

"Leave the servants, Erchen. You go back to sleep," Tian Yachun told the guards to open the gate. Although the gates were closed at night, the guards dared not refuse the Magistrate’s daughter.

"My brother has a foul mouth. If I don't escort you tonight, he'll definitely curse me once you two make up." Cursing Zhang Chen, Zhang Erchen led the hundred servants to escort Tian Yachun and Dongmei out of the city on horseback. "Pirates and bandits usually attack at midnight, but that’s not a rule. They might attack as soon as it gets dark. Sister-in-law, there is a high chance they are attacking Zhang Village right now. We are walking straight into a trap, like throwing a meat bun at a dog."

Even though Tian Xuewen had written the divorce papers, Zhang Erchen felt that Zhang Chen and Tian Yachun would end up together regardless. Tian Yachun was beautiful and obsessed with his brother; heroes have a hard time resisting beauty, and in the end, his brother would surely accept her.

"Zhang Chen’s plan is to ambush them." Tian Yachun cursed Zhang Chen: "Before the village militia collapsed, Zhang Village was safe. If he weren't confident in repelling or annihilating them, he would have hidden in the county seat long ago. So, we are safe."

The air of the Ming Dynasty was unpolluted. Despite the waning moon, the light was bright. To travel faster, Zhang Erchen had the servants light torches, and the group of over a hundred rode hard toward Zhang Village.

Fifteen minutes after Tian Yachun left the North Gate, the slow-to-react Tian Xuewen finally realized something was amiss. He soon discovered that Zhang Erchen had taken one hundred servants to escort Tian Yachun to Zhang Village. Upon hearing this, he was nearly livid: "Riding to see a man in the dead of night? The Tian family’s reputation is ruined! It’s a tragedy, I’m so angry!"

"It’s all your fault, you old fool," his wife retorted. "The world is getting more chaotic. Instead of letting Yachun stay in her room as a delicate lady, you made her run around managing the shops until she’s become wild!"

"The pirates and bandits could attack Zhang Village at any moment tonight. Yachun is in great danger. I must go to save her." Tian Xuewen rushed out of the estate. Half an hour later, he led a thousand militia soldiers out of the North Gate, telling himself he was going to destroy the pirates and save his daughter in the process.

Traveling at twenty kilometers per hour, Zhang Erchen and Tian Yachun spotted a blazing fire in the northeast after fifteen minutes.

"It’s Zhang Village! They’ve burned it!" Zhang Erchen shrank his neck. "Sister-in-law, it’s over. Let’s turn back."

"That’s not Zhang Village; the fire is too far away," Dongmei said, cursing Zhang Erchen as a coward.

"It must be the Qishan Thousand-Household Office. The pirates have broken through and are likely killing, looting, and burning everything," Tian Yachun sighed. "We’re more than halfway there. Speed up; we’ll be at Zhang Village soon."

...

Closer to the Qishan Thousand-Household Office, Zhang Chen, who was lying in ambush in a small grove, was the first to notice the inferno. With his keen hearing, he could even hear the screams of the wounded drifting on the wind.

"The pirates took the Qishan office by surprise," Zhang Chen shook his head. "We don't have the strength to rescue them now, but we will avenge them later."

"Burning the office means their raid there is finished," Feiniu cursed. "They are likely heading toward our Zhang Village now."