I’m the Farmgirl You Can’t Mess With
Chapter 741 - Chapter 741 Stop

Chapter 741: Stop Chapter 741: Stop Editor: Atlas Studios There were not many people in Xingzhou Prefecture, and Mu Shi’s appearance was different from ordinary people.

Moreover, he often carried wild game to sell, so it was very easy to find him.

As expected, the manservant found out in less than two months that Mu Shi was from Nearhill Village.

He stayed in town as an assistant shopkeeper.

Seeing that Mu Shi had brought Shu Wanniang out of the deep mountains to live in Nearhill Village, he sent a message back to his master, Shu Qing.

At that time, Shu Qing was busy building a good relationship with the main family and settling down.

He couldn’t find the time to deal with this matter at all.

Thus, he only got someone to send money to the manservant and asked him to continue keeping an eye on Mu Shi.

As long as Mu Shi stayed in Xingzhou Prefecture with Shu Wanniang and didn’t do anything that would damage the Shu family’s reputation, he wouldn’t bother with them for the time being.

By the time Shu Qing finally gained a foothold in Lin’an City and freed up his hands to deal with this matter, three years had passed.

At that time, Mu Yangling was already old enough to run around.

That manservant had also settled down in Xingzhou Prefecture and established a family of his own.

In the letter that he wrote to Shu Qing, the compassionate manservant hinted that Mu Shi and Shu Wanniang kept their noses clean and might stay in Nearhill Village for the rest of their lives.

After all, this was his biological daughter.

Since she wouldn’t get in his way, Shu Qing naturally wouldn’t kill her.

Therefore, he only instructed the manservant to continue to keep an eye on them.

As long as they didn’t do anything to hinder the Shu family and didn’t leave Xingzhou Prefecture, it wouldn’t be a problem.

He didn’t mention helping his daughter who was struggling to make a living at all.

The manservant felt disappointed, but he still did as he was told.

Although his wife and children were in Xingzhou Prefecture, his parents and other relatives were still working in the Shu family.

Things had always been peaceful.

The manservant had never appeared before the Mu family, so it was naturally impossible for Mu Shi to discover it until the Jin soldiers attacked Xingzhou Prefecture.

The manservant died in the war.

His wife knew that he was a manservant of the Shu family in Lin’an City and was tasked to stay in Xingzhou Prefecture to attend to some matters.

If they, an orphan and a widow, wanted to live, they could only seek help from his employer’s family and her in-laws in Lin’an City.

Therefore, the manservant’s wife hired someone to write a letter to explain the situation here and spent a lot of money to get someone to send it to the Shu family.

Shu Qing only noticed one sentence in the letter.

“Many people fled south to surviveaEUR|” Did the ‘many people’ include the Mu family?

Would Shu Wanniang choose to come here to ask for help because the Shu family was in Lin’an City?

Shu Qing wasn’t the only one who was worried.

Shu Mingxiang was also worried.

At that time, he had just passed the Juren Examination and was about to participate in the Imperial Examination.

If he passed, he would be able to advance further.

Whether it was becoming an official or an imperial scholar, reputation was extremely important.

If Shu Wanniang went south and was met by others, one could easily associate her with Old Madam Shu and Shu Shuniang based on the similarity in their appearances, and also her name.

Shu Mingxiang shuddered at the thought.

The fourth branch’s life in the capital was not easy.

Although they were rich, they had no power, and they had few offspring.

Moreover, they were a collateral branch of the Shu family, so having more money made them the target of public criticism instead.

At that time, Shu Qing was only a low-ranking official of the fifth rank.

He had used his connections with the Shu family and didn’t come from a two-ranked jinshi^.

At that time, the fourth branch really needed a two-ranked jinshi.

The fourth branch had placed all its hopes on Shu Mingxiang.

Therefore, Shu Mingxiang only had to show a worried expression in front of his father and Shu Qing directly helped him think of a solution without him asking.

That isaEUR”to make the Mu family disappear completely, or make the Mu family unable to leave Xingzhou Prefecture.

The former was very difficult to achieve as they had to wait for the Mu family to go over before they could kill them.

It was uncertain if the killers could find them in such chaotic times.

However, Shu Qing, who happened to know that the West Camp of Xingzhou Prefecture was expanding to recruit military households, quickly thought of a solution.

Let Mu Shi become a soldier!

After entering the military, without connections and money, Mu Shi’s death was a near-certainty.

Not to mention anything else, with his ability, Mu Shi would definitely be enlisted into the vanguard camp.

As a vanguard, Mu Shi couldn’t possibly escape death time and time again.

There were many generals in the army who were eager to claim military merits.

When the time came, they would definitely be able to make Mu Shi unable to rise again.

After losing Mu Shi, there would still be males in the Mu familyaEUR”Mu Bowen.

As long as there were still males in the family around, their household’s military status could not be revoked.

Seeing as Mu Bowen was weak and sickly, it was uncertain if he would be able to survive into adulthood.

Without Mu Shi, the Mu family would lose their claws and teeth, so they naturally would not be afraid of Shu Wanniang hindering them anymore.

Old Madam Shu also knew about this matter.

Although she had cried for her daughter, that was all.

She even vaguely blamed her for being careless back then and being abducted up the mountain by the bandits.

Worst thing was, she didn’t die at the time, causing the Shu family to have such a weakness.

However, Shu Mingxiang naturally wouldn’t say that it was his father’s idea, thus could only take responsibility for the matter.

But he really regretted it in his heart.

It was all that manservant’s fault for not being too inobservant back then, to be unaware that the Mu family had developed connections with Qi Xiuyuan.

If they knew that Qi Haoran was indebted to Mu Yangling, why would they have enlisted Mu Shi in the West Camp?

Alas, it was too late to say anything now.

The fourth branch of the Shu family was dispirited.

They thought that this matter would end here.

They had already swallowed their losses, but they did not expect Mu Yangling to continue to harp on this.

When she returned home, she looked for Zhu Liang and asked him to send an invitation to the Shu family.

She wanted to have a good talk with the patriarch of the Shu family and Shu Qing.

Seeing that the Princess Consort was fuming, Zhu Liang hurriedly agreed respectfully and jogged out.

On the way, he bumped into the Prince.

When Qi Haoran asked, he waved his hand and said, “Don’t send the invitation yet.

Wait for me to talk to the Princess Consort.” Qi Haoran did not agree with Mu Yangling meeting them directly.

He said, “You’re a married woman and can’t represent the Mu family.

If you go, you’ll probably be humiliated by the Shu family.

Those aristocratic families are all sharp-tongued.” “There’s still Bowen.” “All the more reason not to go.

No matter what, Bowen is still the Shu family’s grandson and is of a lower seniority.

Wouldn’t we be pushing him to the center of the storm if we let him stand up for us?

Besides, there’s the seniority thing.” “Then what do you suggest we do?” “Wait.” Qi Haoran said, “Wait for Father-in-law to come.

Father-in-law’s surname is Mu, not Shu, and he’s not related to the Shu family by blood.

Back then, the Shu family first wanted to kill Mother-in-law before scheming to get him enlisted in the military.

The former is reason enough to sever all ties, and the latter constitutes a deadly feud.

No matter what he does, he can justify himself.

Moreover, Father-in-law is a second-grade general.

Just this identity alone is sufficient to suppress them.

When the time comes, I’ll go along with him.

I won’t say anything.

Just by sitting there, my presence can suppress the Shu family until they can’t breathe.

Then, the Shu and Mu families can negotiate terms and conditions so that they’ll have nothing to do with each other going forward.” Qi Haoran held Mu Yangling’s hand and sighed.

“Even if Father-in-law wants to guard the border, he will often return to the capital in the future.

It’s inevitable that he will bump into the Shu family.

We can’t always avoid them, so let’s settle what needs to be settled.” Mu Yangling thought for a moment and nodded.

“You make sense, but I just can’t take this lying down.” At the thought that Old Madam Shu actually forced her mother to kneel today, she was furious.

Why did her delicate and frail mother have to kneel while feeling such emotional pain?

Qi Haoran: “aEUR|” Looking at his furious wife, Qi Haoran felt that if he didn’t let her vent her anger, he and his son would suffer.

Qi Haoran hesitated and said, “It’s impossible to hit the Shu family’s seniors, but as a Princess Consort, you should be able to lecture them.” Seeing the faint smile on Mu Yangling’s lips, Qi Haoran said in fear, “But don’t go overboard.

Otherwise, the imperial censor will impeachaEUR|”