The pottery bowl couldn’t possibly shatter on its own, and Yin Le hadn’t learned the skill of striking from a distance.

So... Da Lang was shocked as he looked up, wondering where the dart and the person had gone.

Yin Le stepped out from behind the pillar, holding two darts tied with string. The two shattered bowls were broken by these special darts.

"Well, do you believe it now?" Yin Le stood with arms akimbo, smiling in front of the siblings.

Si Niang gave a shout of surprise, her big eyes staring curiously at the darts in her hand, asking, "Senior Sister Le, why do you tie strings to the darts?"

Da Lang was curious too, and although he didn’t want to admit it, he was indeed impressed.

After all, Senior Sister Le had only just started practicing martial arts for a little over two months. If she hadn’t been secretly practicing diligently, she couldn’t have mastered the art of darts in such a short time.

Yin Le brought the string-tied darts closer for the siblings to see.

While others tied red ropes or other markers to their darts’ tails, hers were all tied with long, sturdy strings.

Yin Le asked smugly, "Clever, isn’t it? This way, I don’t have to run back and forth picking up darts!"

Of course, she also had eight darts without strings for greater distances.

Moreover, if the distance is too far, a long string would increase weight and drag, reducing the darts’ power.

Second Lang and Sanlang came running over, looking at the stringed darts and then at the shattered pottery bowl on the ground, exclaiming in unison, "Can it really be done like this?"

Why not? Yin Le pocketed the darts into her waist belt, squatted down, and while gathering the broken pottery pieces, said:

"Something good may not always be suitable, but what suits you is the best."

The four siblings nodded in agreement, having learned something new.

Recalling the rent collection the next day, the four exchanged glances, quickly tidied up the bowls and chopsticks, and excitedly began preparations for the rent collection, filled with anticipation.

Qin Yao returned to her bedroom, closed the door to block out the noise from the yard, lit the candle in the room, sat at the desk, and opened the letter she hadn’t yet read.

Upon opening the letter, unlike previous lengthy styles, this one had only two pages.

Seeing the playful "Greetings to my lady" at the beginning, Qin Yao raised her delicate eyebrows, feeling a bit of amusement in her previously busy and exhausting days.

[My lady, Ah Wang and I have safely arrived in Yingtian Prefecture. If all goes well, by the time you receive this letter, I should already be in the exam hall. Wish me success, my lady!]

The rest consisted of Liu Ji’s greetings to the family.

[My lady, how is Da Lang? How is Second Lang? How is Sanlang? How is Si Niang? How are Old Huang and Old Qing? How are you?]

[Ah Wang and I are fine, the teacher is good, the senior apprentice brother is also good, Shi Tou and Ah Gu are all good...]

Qin Yao frowned, reasonably suspecting Liu Ji was padding words just to fill the letter and make it look better.

At the end of the letter was a single non-trivial line: [My dearest wife, I miss you very much.]

"Hiss~" Qin Yao suddenly felt a twinge in her teeth, glanced up, and noticed the honeyed plum drink that Mrs. Li had just brought over, hurriedly taking a big sip.

The sweetness of honey quickly washed away the sourness, and her teeth finally felt comfortable.

Qin Yao put down the letter, turned back, and saw the vast starry sky outside the wide-open window.

In the yard, a few lanterns swayed gently in the breeze. The people who had been making noise in the yard were now gone, and the world was unusually quiet, allowing the gentle sound of the mountain breeze to be heard clearly...

"Yin Le! It’s time for extra practice!"

Qin Yao abruptly stood up, shouted towards the backyard, then stepped out with large strides and began walking towards the back mountain.

A tense response came from the newly built side room in the backyard, followed by the door opening. Yin Le hurriedly adjusted her practice clothes while trying to keep up with her teacher.

The master and apprentice practiced until the beginning of the hour of the pig (9 p.m.) before coming down from the back mountain, with Yin Le so exhausted she was like a dog.

One advantage of Mrs. Li’s family moving back was that the master and apprentice could take a bath and sleep after their late return.

In the kitchen, a big pot of hot water was heated, with each of them carrying a bucket to their designated shower room—one using the old shower room, the other heading to the newly built one in the backyard. After a quick and efficient wash, all the lights in the yard were turned off, and peace was restored.

Before falling asleep, Qin Yao was still pondering how to divert the villagers’ hatred in the morning.

Thinking and thinking, she gave up.

Tomorrow’s matters are tomorrow’s worries; off to see Zhou Gong!

She had a restful night’s sleep and woke up naturally.

At dawn, Yin Le’s movements while fetching water were either something she had grown used to or she was simply too tired to notice.

By the time Qin Yao got up, the family’s ox cart and horse cart were already set up and parked outside the main gate.

The four siblings had specifically changed into cool, convenient hemp clothing for the tasks ahead, and they were loading their necessary items onto the cart.

They brought several pairs of baskets to load more rice and minimize the number of trips.

They also brought an abacus and scales—these were the most important items that mustn’t be forgotten.

The pens, ink, paper, and inkstones were all packed in Second Lang’s book box, which they tucked into the cart before patting their hands and returning for breakfast.

Today’s breakfast was light: white porridge with small dishes—a comfortable start to a hot morning.

After breakfast, the five family members, along with Yin Le, headed out the door.

Yin Le drove the horse cart with Second Lang, Sanlang, and Si Niang.

Da Lang drove the ox cart himself. Qin Yao, not too confident, sat with him until reaching the village well. Discovering the young boy managed the ox cart skillfully, she felt relieved.

"Drive slowly," Qin Yao advised.

They agreed with smiles, steadily leaving Liu Family Village and heading toward the town.

Qin Yao watched them go until they were out of sight, then refocused, ready to handle her tasks.

She unfolded the tax document copied from the village chief, applied the watery porridge from home, blew lightly to make it sticky, and pasted the document on the village notice board.

Villagers gathered around, asking eagerly, "Village chief, is it about the grain tax?"

As Qin Yao nodded, more villagers crowded around, and those who could read recited the document aloud for others to hear.

Qin Yao stood by, ready to explain further.

When the villagers learned of the additional grain tax this year, they were shocked and prepared to question her, but Qin Yao preemptively shouted:

"I know everyone’s worried, but please, hold on and listen to me first!"

The villagers turned their attention to her.

Surrounded by eyes filled with anger and confusion, Qin Yao steeled herself and solemnly accused:

"It’s all the village chief’s fault for keeping it under wraps. If he hadn’t, I wouldn’t have just learned about the court’s increase in grain tax upon returning from the town last night, leaving us all unprepared and disgruntled..."

The villagers’ eyes shifted from puzzled to clear, generously saying to Qin Yao, "It’s not your fault, village chief. If anyone’s to blame, it’s the village chief for hiding such a major piece of news until the last minute, making everyone unhappy!"

Far away in town, the village chief suddenly sneezed loudly and looked curiously at the scorching sun overhead.

It wasn’t cold at all, so why did he feel a chill down his back?