The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 1129 - 1108: Peeling

Chapter 1129: Chapter 1108: Peeling

As the curtain dropped and the carriage rolled away, both of them turned their heads to look at Bai Erlang.

Bai Erlang raised his hands defensively and shouted, "If you dare to hit me, I will dare to go back and complain to my teacher."

Before boarding his own carriage, Liu Huan and Yin Huo heard his words clearly: ...

Yin Huo went home, and naturally, he wouldn’t speak of these matters to his family. However, Liu Huan was different; he promised Bai Shan that he wouldn’t tell others, but his family wasn’t "others" to him.

His elder brother must have gone out to socialize again, so Liu Huan immediately turned to find his grandfather.

Doctor Liu had just returned from the yamen and was in his study, frowning and writing something, when he saw his young grandson peeping through the door and asked, "What is it?"

Liu Huan ran in with a smile to grind ink for him, then asked, "Grandfather, do you know Chen Fulin?"

Upon hearing this, Doctor Liu lifted his eyelids to glance at his grandson, put down his brush, and asked, "Why do you ask about him?"

Liu Huan shook his head, "Just curious."

"Curious about what?"

"Curious if you particularly dislike him."

"Why should I dislike him without any reason?"

"Because he’s not a good man; he’s a hypocrite," Liu Huan didn’t think like the adults who considered looking at evidence and other aspects. To him, a stranger he had never heard of was certainly someone to mistrust based on his friends’ judgment.

True, he was this biased.

So, when Doctor Liu asked, he spilled the beans about the grudge between Bai Shan and Chen Fulin.

Doctor Liu’s expression grew thoughtful and he asked, "This matter from over twenty years ago, did your classmates tell you this?"

"Yes, grandfather, who is Chen Fulin, and why have I never heard of him before?"

Doctor Liu gave him a look and said, "He is a subordinate of mine. Where is your classmate from? Is the incident at the Imperial Academy their doing?"

Liu Huan was startled, shook his head, and then midway, nodded.

Seeing his grandson alternating between shaking and nodding his head, Doctor Liu said irritably, "Either it is or it isn’t, what do you mean by shaking then nodding your head?"

Liu Huan scratched his head and simply narrated the entire incident from the beginning to the end, primarily, he didn’t think Manbao could influence the Emperor, but the matter did indeed involve her.

Doctor Liu looked thoughtful, and Liu Huan, still enthusiastic, asked, "Grandfather, why would the Ministry of Revenue still want such a scheming person?"

Doctor Liu lifted his eyelids and looked at him saying, "What’s wrong with a scheming person? How many true gentlemen are there in this world?"

Liu Huan was taken aback, "So, grandfather, do you still think what he did was right?"

"Nonsense, of course not," Doctor Liu said, "But you can’t just listen to one side in this kind of matter, don’t worry about it."

He paused and then looked at him, "When did you become friends with Divine Doctor Zhou Junior? I wasn’t aware."

Liu Huan said with a chuckle, "There’s a lot you don’t know."

Doctor Liu then tapped his head with a book and said, "Cut the nonsense. In a few days, it will be the Empress Dowager’s festival. Your elder brothers will be on the field riding and shooting arrows, and I, well, don’t expect much competition from you, just make sure you stay out of trouble."

"Grandfather, when have I ever caused trouble for you?"

"Hmm," Doctor Liu chuckled, "Not much, huh? Come on, tell your grandfather how did you meet Divine Doctor Zhou Junior at the Imperial Academy?"

Liu Huan blinked.

Doctor Liu stared at him and pointed to his chin, saying, "Think hard, see if you can come up with a good reason."

Liu Huan grinned and then ran off.

Doctor Liu huffed, "Naughty boy."

Doctor Liu looked down at the memorial he was writing, picked it up, and tossed it directly into a nearby brazier, sighing.

If that’s indeed the case, then there’s no need to intervene for him.

After some thought, Doctor Liu summoned a servant, "Go find out what recent news has come from Chen Fulin’s house, especially anything about his old acquaintance from over twenty years ago."

The servant left to carry out the task.

Today, Chen Fulin suddenly received such a blow, and was still somewhat dazed when he got home, barely reacting.

So, he did not notice that many more people were around his house.

But Mr. Zhuang was alert from the outset, hearing Manbao passionately recounting the story at home, he said, "Be more cautious when you go out these days, even be more careful with your words."

Bai Shan asked, "Does he really plan to fight like a cornered beast?"

Mr. Zhuang shook his head, "It’s not him we are guarding against, but those who are now watching him."

The three disciples all looked confused.

Mr. Zhuang then said, "In normal times, exposing such a scandal about Chen Fulin would be nothing, at most the Censorate would impeach him. It could either be an exposure of his past deeds, or I might be criticized and leave the capital. But now, during his promotion period, pulling one thread affects the whole body."

Mr. Zhuang, having been a steward and adviser in politics, continued, "At this time, regardless of whether he moves up a step, remains in place, or steps down, he’s blocking someone’s path."

"Some people want him to be promoted, others want him to stay where he is, and some might want to bring him down," Mr. Zhuang said, "With so many eyes on him, and since we are currently his biggest adversaries, be careful not to be used as pawns."

The three nodded fervently, behaving obediently.

Mr. Zhuang stared at Manbao and said, "Especially you."

Manbao shrank her neck, "Why me again?"

"Who else but you? You’re frequen