Chapter 103: I Authorize You to Take Charge

Chapter 103: Chapter 103: I Authorize You to Take Charge

The spectating villagers looked at Ouyang Mingruo as if she were the heroine of an idol drama, naturally projecting an ethereal, otherworldly image onto her. Hearing her timidly claim that Zhang Yun was forcing her to find a cheap hotel to stay in, their sense of justice instantly overflowed!

Before Zhang Fu could come out of the kitchen to express his stance, the villagers at the door had already begun their swift condemnation.

"Zhang Yun! You’re going way too far!" one villager scolded.

"She came from so far away to find you," another chimed in. "It’s one thing if you don’t have any considerate words for her, but to drive her out to a cheap hotel without even offering her a bite of food or a sip of water?"

"She’s an outsider in this unfamiliar countryside. Where is she supposed to find a hotel in the dead of night?" a third person added.

"Are you really comfortable leaving a girl as beautiful as Miss Ouyang out there?" a fourth demanded.

If they hadn’t felt so inadequate and unworthy, some of them would have volunteered themselves to host Ouyang Mingruo at their own homes.

Zhang Fu hurried over from the kitchen, smiling to smooth things over. "Zhang Yun definitely isn’t a heartless boy. He’s just embarrassed because you’re all staring at him! Go on, head back home!"

Being shooed away like this, they couldn’t justify standing at the door any longer and could only clamor as they left.

"Miss Ouyang, don’t misunderstand. Zhang Yun is just shy!" one villager called out.

"He’s never brought a girl home before, so you must be his first... HEHEHE!" another teased.

"Don’t be afraid!" a third reassured her. "We support you. If he dares to give you a bad attitude, we’ll all help you scold him."

After chasing everyone away, Zhang Fu smiled. "I just remembered, the fish in the pond haven’t been fed yet. I’m going to go feed them. I’ll just sleep at the shack over there to keep an eye on the pond tonight. I won’t be coming back."

"Dad!" Zhang Yun was utterly speechless, realizing his father was making a run for it!

When he and Xiuxun had spent just a little time in the kitchen in broad daylight, his father had thought that an unmarried man and woman being alone together would invite gossip. Yet now, he was deliberately setting him up to spend the entire night alone with a woman!

"It’s settled then," Zhang Fu said. "Miss Ouyang, please make yourself at home. Until I get back, I’m giving you the authority to be the master of the house!"

"Ah? Would that be alright? Zhang Yun will yell at me..." Ouyang Mingruo was overjoyed but maintained her timid facade.

"He wouldn’t dare! I’ve authorized you, so he has to listen to you."

"Thank you, Mr. Zhang!" Ouyang Mingruo immediately agreed with a bright smile.

Although Zhang Fu felt pressured and even a bit inferior around her, he knew that if his son could land a daughter-in-law like this, it wouldn’t just save him decades of struggle—it would truly allow them to leave their rural poverty behind! The destinies of their future children and grandchildren would be changed forever.

He immediately gave one last instruction. "Zhang Yun, listen closely. You are not allowed to bully Miss Ouyang, and you’d better cook a nice dish for her yourself later!"

Ouyang Mingruo quickly offered another sweet thank you. "You’re too kind, Mr. Zhang. Also, please just call me Mingruo."

Before leaving, Zhang Fu shot his son a meaningful look that conveyed a massive amount of information.

His gaze practically screamed that when he said not to "bully" her, he only meant verbal bullying. If things naturally progressed to that other kind of "bullying," he had to seize the opportunity. He was reminding Zhang Yun of his second uncle’s teachings: be bold, be attentive, and be thick-skinned. It was cliché, but it worked!

Though it was just a single glance, it was packed with implications—and to his own surprise, Zhang Yun understood it instantly!

It was an unspoken look of mutual understanding that all men shared.

This left Zhang Yun speechless. He wondered if his father was truly that desperate for him to get married right away.

Hearing Zhang Fu close the courtyard gate behind him, Ouyang Mingruo stared at Zhang Yun with a teasing half-smile. "I have the Imperial Sword now. Are you going to disobey?"

Zhang Yun rolled his eyes at her. "It’s not about disobeying, it’s about me not understanding. This is my house, and this is my village. Why did everyone, from my dad to the neighbors, instantly turn into your personal fan club?"

"Because I’m a good person!" Ouyang Mingruo said, tilting her chin up with a beaming smile.

"Hmph, it’s more like having money means you can do whatever you want!"

"Look at you, getting all sour! Did I stroll into the village tossing cash around? Of course not. It’s simply the natural charm of my beauty and elegance."

Zhang Yun couldn’t refute Ouyang Mingruo’s words. Reality was just that superficial. Whether male or female, good-looking people always had the advantage. Combine that with a humble, friendly demeanor, and the effect was multiplied.

"Xiaoyunzi, pour Her Highness some tea!" Ouyang Mingruo commanded, putting on an aristocratic tone to boss Zhang Yun around.

Zhang Yun chuckled and scolded, "That’s enough! Give you an inch, and you want a mile."

"Are you going to pour it or not?" Ouyang Mingruo pantomimed raising a sword. "I have your father’s authorization to act as the master of the house! Hmph, this isn’t just an Imperial Sword anymore; I’m the temporary Emperor!"

"Oh, a Queen isn’t enough, you want to be an Emperor? Do you know anything about music?" Zhang Yun mocked.

Ouyang Mingruo lifted her chin. "Of course I do! I can play the piano, the violin, and the cello!"

Zhang Yun laughed. "PFFT! That’s nothing. I can play over a hundred instruments."

"You’re just blowing hot air!"

"No blowing required. I used to have a synthesizer that simulated over a hundred instruments."

"Screw you!"

"A female Emperor who knows music... does that make you a Musical Dictator? Or rather, a Clit-tator?"

"Screw you!"

"Are you hungry? Do you want me to whip out my noodle for you to eat?"

"Screw you..."

Zhang Yun smiled and shook his head. "Look at you! You’re so fake! In front of others, you pretend to be a weak, harmless, good girl, but behind their backs, you’re constantly telling me to screw myself. Where’s your grace? Where’s your elegance?"

"Have you said a single decent thing to me?" Ouyang Mingruo gave him a massive eye roll and looked down to finish her sweet rice wine with egg. "I’m full! This was actually pretty good. Make this for me again Ming Tian morning for breakfast!"

Zhang Yun refused. "You think you’re ordering at a restaurant? No can do. This is sweet rice wine from Xiuqin’s House, and that was the last of it."

"Who is Xiuxun? Why is she sending you wine?" Ouyang Mingruo asked, her face full of gossip.

"Why should I tell you?" Zhang Yun ignored her probing.

Ouyang Mingruo looked at him with a beaming smile. "TSK, TSK! Xiaoyunzi actually has admirers! Then again, I suppose you’d be considered a huge heartthrob with those looks out here in the countryside. Now that you have money, it would be weirder if girls weren’t throwing themselves at you."

Too lazy to keep bickering with her, Zhang Yun’s expression turned serious. "Why are you really here? Everyone’s gone now, so let’s get down to business!"

Ouyang Mingruo quickly dropped her relaxed posture, instantly shifting from playfully naive to imposing and assertive. "That day, you said my life was following one of two scripts. Neither was correct. I’m not being forced into an arranged marriage, nor am I surrounded by powerful enemies or being targeted by some arrogant young master. I..."

She looked at Zhang Yun, her gaze somewhat complicated. "I really just want to recruit you as a live-in son-in-law!"

"Damn it!"

Zhang Yun had been earnestly waiting for her big reveal, only to be hit with that same line again!

"The person who tried to kill me last time... even without concrete proof, I know exactly who it is. Ouyang Chunqiu!"

Seeing her slightly gloomy expression, Zhang Yun ventured a guess. "Your brother? Because he’s an idiot and your dad wants to pass the family leadership to you, so he wants to take you out?"

Ouyang Mingruo rolled her eyes at him. "There you go, writing scripts again... He’s my younger cousin, not an idiot. He’s incredibly talented!"

Zhang Yun’s imagination immediately filled in the blanks. Ouyang Kunpeng was the head of the family and naturally didn’t want to hand the family over to his nephew in the future. But he likely didn’t have a son, and Mingruo was a daughter who would eventually marry into another family.

Ouyang Chunqiu probably couldn’t wait and decided to just eliminate Mingruo directly. With no competitors left, he would naturally be next in line to inherit.

"Why did you stop writing your scripts? You probably got it right this time," Ouyang Mingruo noted.

"You know what I’m guessing?"