A Good Country Wife
Chapter 491 - 485_1

Chapter 491: Chapter 485_1

Haishi and a few others were saddened by the news, but they managed to control their emotions. After all, having faced such a disaster, the experiences of these past days had prepared them mentally. The situation as it stood was considered quite fortunate, at least they were able to find a few of their people. Haishi and Musheng’s wives had been found; after all, as married women, many households were reluctant to pick them, except for Zhuzi’s wife, who, being beautiful, had been sold off. There were also a few young girls, unripe but pretty, who had been sold. The rest were all brought back.

"Brother Erhu, I entrust my friend to your care. He is a good man, and I hope you will treat him well." Thanks to his relationship with Haishi, Master Feng had personally delivered the man. Earlier, Zhao Erhu had already given Master Feng the silver for buying people, and Master Feng handed over the remaining silver and the servants’ contracts to Zhao Erhu.

Zhao Erhu had Haishi and the others take their family members back to settle in. Since he had known beforehand that their families would be coming, Lin Yue had specially arranged for them to stay in a large courtyard. Now, there was no need for additional arrangements; they could move in directly.

This time, a total of nine people were bought back, young and old. Haishi’s wife had previously been a manageress beside the lady of the house and knew many things. Lin Yue assigned her to oversee matters at her side. Musheng’s wife was skilled at embroidery, and Lin Yue thought about teaching her some embroidery techniques. In the future, she would buy some girls who were good with a needle and have her manage the embroidery room. The rest were also placed in suitable positions.

After arranging for these people, Lin Yue discussed with Zhao Erhu about buying more servants, "Erhu, I still want to go to the agency to buy some servants. I’ve had this thought for a while, but at that time, I didn’t know the condition of Haishi and their families. I was worried that it wouldn’t be easy to arrange for newcomers. Now that things are basically settled, and I have placed them, the number of hands I need is still insufficient. Mainly, these people can still help with household affairs, but no more. What I need most now are those with some skills. Among them, only Musheng’s wife is good at embroidery, so I still need to buy some people."

"Alright, arrange as you see fit. Having more hands to help you is good. You don’t need to attend to everything personally, which is impossible to manage. Look how you’ve worked yourself thin these days, and you won’t even take a rest when told." Zhao Erhu was also busy these days, unable to always look after his young wife. Now, bringing it up, he couldn’t help but nag Lin Yue a bit.

"It’s just this busy period. Aren’t you the same, busy from dawn to dusk, too preoccupied to even touch the ground? What good does it do to complain about me?"

"How can we be the same? Do you think that little body of yours can compare to mine? It wasn’t easy to fatten you up a bit, and now look at what’s become of you. Didn’t Physician Jiang instruct you to take good care of yourself and not overwork? Yet you don’t listen. If your health suffers, you’ll hate having to take those bitter medicines." Zhao Erhu became irritable at the thought, especially after seeing Zhao Yunxiang’s condition. He couldn’t stand seeing Lin Yue neglect her health.

Lin Yue didn’t argue with Zhao Erhu on this topic, "Alright, alright, stop fussing over me. I have a sense of measure. Let’s talk about buying servants. You won’t even let me go out, so I’ll have to send someone to the city to have the agency deliver some people for me to choose from. It’ll just cost a bit extra for the service."

Lin Yue was ready to act upon saying this, but Zhao Erhu stopped her, leaving her looking at him puzzled, "You agreed already, so why are you stopping me?"

"Wait another two days. I heard from Manager Liu that a large group of penal slaves will be sold here in Xin’an City. Recently, there’s been chaos in the Capital because of Prince An’s rebellion, which involved a great number of people. These people, including Haishi and others, got implicated due to this plot. The Capital couldn’t sell them all, so many were sent down here to be sold. Take this opportunity to pick some out; you might find quite a few who are suitable."

"So it was Prince An’s rebellion. I remember Prince An is the brother of the same mother as the Fourth Princess, right? When I was in the Capital, Brother Jiang mentioned that there was something off about Prince An. I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly. I wonder if the Fourth Princess was implicated. For us, this is actually good news. With Prince An’s downfall, the Fourth Princess has lost her support. Whether or not she was implicated, she won’t become a threat in the future, and I won’t need to worry about her anymore when I go to the Capital."

Lin Yue felt she wasn’t one to commiserate over others’ misfortunes. When she saw a rival suffer, she even felt somewhat relieved. Back in the palace, if it weren’t for her alertness, she didn’t know what the Fourth Princess might have done to her. Even during this time, though far from the Capital and back in Xin’an City, Lin Yue still worried about the Fourth Princess seeking revenge. Now, she could finally put this concern to rest.

When the Fourth Princess first schemed against Lin Yue, she didn’t tell Zhao Erhu the full story, merely mentioning a little about it so he wouldn’t worry. Still, that was enough for Zhao Erhu to take a strong dislike to the Fourth Princess. Now, hearing Lin Yue speak in this way, he felt the past events were probably not that simple. Otherwise, knowing his young wife’s temperament, she would not remember simple provocations to this day. Moreover, her expression clearly showed relief. It was likely because she felt the threat from the Fourth Princess was gone, the unintended hints in her words revealed the truth.

Since his young wife was intentionally keeping things from him, probably to spare him from self-reproach and overthinking, Zhao Erhu wouldn’t ask. Things that had passed and posed no threat were not worth bringing up again. His job was to work hard and ensure better protection for his wife in the future, to prevent similar events from happening. However, he still needed to inquire about the Fourth Princess’s fate to ensure there were no lingering dangers.

"I haven’t heard anything about the Fourth Princess, but since she had a grudge with you, I’ll ask someone to find out more. Once I get news, I’ll tell you."

Before Zhao Erhu had a chance to find out more, a letter from Jiang Ziqi arrived. Knowing Lin Yue’s issues with the Fourth Princess would concern her, Jiang Ziqi clearly detailed the matter of Prince An’s rebellion and the Fourth Princess’s outcome in his letter. The Fourth Princess was executed for aiding Prince An’s conspiracy while in the palace, along with him. The Zhang Family, long-standing rivals of the Jiang Family, were also implicated in the treason case and faced extermination. Zhang Peilan, the legitimate daughter of the Zhang Family, naturally couldn’t escape unscathed. Although she wasn’t sentenced to execution, she was relegated to exile, three thousand miles away with the women of her family. It was uncertain whether such a pampered young lady could survive the treacherous and distant journey.