Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

The words left He completely baffled. How could she possibly understand things like county exams and education commissioners? But she relaxed a bit when he said Zhang Yang wouldn’t suffer for it.

Zhang Yang himself was also very worried. After school that day, he couldn’t help but bring the matter up with Mr. Zhou.

Mr. Zhou told him coolly, "It’s of no concern. You just focus on your studies." After a moment of silence, seeing Zhang Yang was still a bit bewildered, he added softly, "At a time like this, he wouldn’t dare!" With that, he said no more.

Zhang Yang still didn’t quite understand, but he didn’t ask any more questions. ’If Mr. Zhou says it’s fine, then it must be fine.’ He didn’t know why he trusted him so much.

The autumn harvest was a joyous time. However, ever since this County Magistrate Li arrived, it seemed his specialty was making people miserable.

The summer tax had been increased by forty percent, so for the autumn tax, everyone was already prepared to be extorted, assuming it would also be raised by forty percent. But who would have thought that not only did he raise the tax, but he also added a few new fees: any household living within the bounds of Little Qing Mountain would have to pay an additional "mountain usage fee," and households near the Little Qing River and the Qinghui River would have to pay a "river usage fee."

This time, all hell broke loose.

When Juhua heard Huai Zi talk about this upon his return, she couldn’t help but be sarcastically impressed by the County Magistrate. ’Look at that,’ she thought, ’such a high-class way to be greedy. What a clever excuse—if you collect acorns on the mountain or catch fish in the river, you naturally have to pay taxes.’

She asked, "So how are you all handling it?"

Huai Zi sneered, "Of course we’re not paying. If we pay this, what’s next? How are we supposed to live? We all agreed that starting today, we won’t go to the mountain to collect acorns, and we won’t go to the river to catch fish or shrimp."

Juhua looked at him, amused. ’That’s a clever answer,’ she thought. ’Unless the government office posts people to watch the village, who’s to know if you’ve been collecting or not? But everyone knows it’s just an excuse. Whether anyone actually collects acorns is irrelevant.’

Of course, saying they wouldn’t collect acorns wasn’t a real option. If they didn’t collect acorns, what would they feed their pigs? So, when the acorns ripened and fell, men and women, young and old, all went up the mountain just as they always did, joyfully carrying bags and baskets to gather them.

Huang Yan’er chose this exact moment to bring his men to Qingnan Village. He blocked the mountain path near the Zheng Family’s home, stopping the crowd. He thought he’d caught them red-handed and could now threaten to arrest them.

Hearing that "the Wily Bastard"—the nickname people around Xiatang Market had given Huang Yan’er—had arrived, people from all over the mountain swarmed over.

When Huang Yan’er saw this, he was dumbstruck, instantly filled with regret.

Last time, during the summer tax collection, everyone had argued and complained, but in the end, they had paid. He’d thought these people were afraid of the government. In his excitement, he had forgotten about being surrounded the last time he came to Qingnan Village. Besides, he had to come. The Lord County Magistrate’s grand scheme for gathering wealth depended on him to carry it out.

Li Changming spoke to him slowly and deliberately, "Does Scholar Li from our village have to pay taxes?"

Huang Yan’er replied with feigned arrogance, "Scholar Li holds an official rank. Of course he doesn’t have to pay taxes."

Li Changming smiled. "Well, that’s perfect. We’re all helping Scholar Li collect acorns." The crowd chimed in, saying that Scholar Li’s household was large and prosperous now, so he had more pigs to feed, which naturally meant he needed more acorns.

Huang Yan’er was furious. He knew they were lying but was powerless to do anything about it. He blustered, "You insolent peasants! How dare you oppose the Lord County Magistrate! Just you wait—your families will be ruined and you’ll all die!"

As soon as he said this, everyone’s expression changed. Dozens of men—Li Changming and his brothers, Qingmu, Zhang Huai, the three Liu Family brothers, Sun Tiezhu, Zhao San, and others—all surged forward.

Huang Yan’er and the two other bailiffs stumbled back in fear. His voice trembled as he shouted, "What do you think you’re doing? Don’t do anything rash! I’m carrying out the Lord County Magistrate’s orders!"

Zhang Huai sneered, "You dare tarnish the Lord County Magistrate’s name? Why would the Lord County Magistrate make Scholar Li pay taxes?"

Li Changming stared at him coldly. "It’s obvious he’s trying to skim something for himself, taking advantage of the fact that the Lord County Magistrate can’t be here in person."

Huang Yan’er was filled with hatred and fear. Unable to control himself, he started making threats again, his words vicious and cruel. He didn’t realize this would be the last straw. It’s not clear who started it, but suddenly carrying poles and clubs were swinging. The three men were pinned to the ground and beaten brutally until their faces were swollen like pigs’ heads. Only then were they let go and chased out of Qingnan Village.

While the crowd outside was in an uproar, the Zheng Family household descended into chaos—Liu Yunlan was about to give birth.

It turned out that when she heard people from the government office had arrived, she had become very uneasy. Juhua, worried about her, had stayed behind to keep her company. Zhao San’s entire family had gone up the mountain, so they had sent Zhao Qing over for Juhua to look after. The three of them had shut the courtyard gate and were shucking corn inside.

Later, children were running around outside, shouting that a fight had broken out. Zhao Qing dashed over and pressed his ear to the courtyard gate, listening to the commotion outside.

A wave of anxiety washed over Liu Yunlan, and her heart began to pound erratically.

She asked Juhua nervously, "Juhua, will this cause trouble? Those men are from the government office, after all."

Juhua comforted her, "It’ll be fine. My brother and the others know what they’re doing. They must have planned it out beforehand. Besides, they’re only beating up the bailiffs, not the Lord County Magistrate himself."

As Juhua was straining to hear what was happening outside, she suddenly glimpsed blood seeping out from under Liu Yunlan, staining a large patch of her light gray skirt red. She asked in a panic, "Sister Yunlan, are you... are you going into labor?"

’Her due date is close,’ Juhua thought. ’The fright probably brought it on early.’

Liu Yunlan looked down and was startled as well. Only then did she notice the discomfort in her belly. In her panic, she remembered the Yang Family’s previous instructions and, in a reversal of roles, comforted Juhua. "It must just be starting. It’s nothing serious. I’ll go inside first. You go get help."

Juhua calmed down as well. She told Zhao Qing not to run off, then helped Liu Yunlan into the house. She didn’t take her to her brother and sister-in-law’s bedroom, but to another room. Inside was a simple bamboo bed, but it was neatly made. There were also two stools and other items like basins and buckets. The window opened onto the back courtyard. This was the room the Yang Family had specially prepared for Liu Yunlan to use as a birthing room.

After settling Liu Yunlan, she quickly turned and jogged out to get help.