The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 463 - 452 Arrangement

Chapter 463: Chapter 452 Arrangement

Ms.Qian took out a string of coins and, together with Junior Ms.Qian, they divided these one thousand copper coins into ten strands, a hundred per strand.

The village chief couldn’t help looking over repeatedly, noticing how fast the mother and daughter-in-law were counting. He couldn’t help but ponder, as few in the village could count so quickly, even when it came to counting money.

It seemed that ever since Manbao began attending school, the people of the Zhou family had become particularly adept at counting. Sometimes, one could even hear the Zhou children counting one, two, three, four... in the village.

Having this weight on his mind for so many years, Old Zhou couldn’t wait any longer. He shook the bundle that the yamen runner had brought, took out two sets of tattered clothes and shoes, placed the money inside along with the official notice from the yamen, and then walked outside together with the village chief.

Standing at the door, the village chief asked, "Whose family do you plan to visit first?"

"Let’s go to Uncle Lai first, see if he is willing to..." Old Zhou had already thought about the order, following the closeness of each family’s relationship with his own.

The village chief had no objections and nodded, "Zhou Hu’s family should have no issues either, and then there’s Daliang’s father..."

The village chief naturally had some thoughts of his own, knowing that these families all had fairly good relationships with the Zhou family and had been looked after by Zhou Yin to some extent.

Old Zhou nodded and, braving the blazing sun, headed first to Uncle Lai’s house.

Meanwhile, Manbao was feeling somewhat gloomy as she ate her cheese. It was chilled and gave a cooling sensation. After several bites, her mood finally started to improve.

Bai Shanbao and Bai Erlang were also sitting nearby, eating with relish.

Ms.Liu looked in from outside the window for a moment, then turned and walked away. Daji followed her in silence.

Nanny Liu glanced at him but said nothing. Once they were in the main courtyard, Nanny Liu stood under the eaves, instructing the maids to go make tea or fetch the ice basin. Suddenly, she had them all running about at her command.

Daji followed Ms.Liu inside, standing to the side with his hands hanging down.

Ms.Liu placed her hand on the table, pinning down an envelope. She took a sip from her tea bowl and asked, "Did Manbao say anything?"

"She said the yamen runner came to report a death. The Zhou family has already received the official document," Daji paused before adding, "Miss Man complained that the yamen runner was too greedy, taking and eating at the Zhou’s, and was disrespectful in his language. She was somewhat angry."

Ms.Liu smiled and said, "Well, it’s normal for a child to have spirit. It seems Lord Wei only made arrangements in Liangzhou."

Daji kept his head down and remained silent.

On the third day of the new year, just as the household was busily engaged in business, an envelope was delivered into his hands. Recognizing the sender’s mark from the capital, he hesitated whether to send it immediately to Yizhou, but seeing it was not marked urgent, he curbed his impulse.

This morning, shortly after Ms.Liu returned home and dealt with her daughter-in-law, Daji quietly came back from the school and handed the envelope, which he always carried with him, to Ms.Liu.

The letter, delivered by a person sent by Wei Zhi, contained the latest news about the situation in Yizhou.

The case involving the breach of the Qianwei Weir last year had been half-judged before the new year, implicating Lord Yan, the Governor of Yizhou, who was sentenced to decapitation, confiscation of property, and exile for three degrees of his kin; countless officials were entangled as well, suffering a range of punishments including execution and exile.

The judgments for the military governor of Yizhou and the Prince of Yizhou had been pending, and the court had been arguing back and forth for nearly a year over the matter. Lord Huang had been detained while the Prince of Yizhou had been kept in the capital, with personal freedom except for not being allowed to leave the city.

Finally, in April, the emperor passed judgement—Lord Huang was exiled, and the Prince of Yizhou was reprimanded and had one of his counties taken away as punishment.

Wei Zhi told Ms.Liu that in June, during the thousandth anniversary of the Empress Dowager’s birth, the emperor couldn’t possibly execute the Prince of Yizhou. Besides, they lacked solid evidence linking the breach of the Qianwei Weir to the Prince of Yizhou, and even if they had...

Without an act of rebellion, the emperor would not execute the Prince of Yizhou.

Ms.Liu gripped the letter tightly in her hand, and it took her a while to suppress her emotions and continue reading. At the end of the letter, Wei Zhi informed Ms.Liu that he had already arranged a new identity for Zhou Yin, which could ensure the Zhou family would be extricated from the affair.

But Ms.Liu needed to make sure the Zhou family would accept the documents sent by the County Governmental Office, for the yamen had identified the deceased in Liangzhou as Zhou Yin, and the Zhou family had to acknowledge it as well.

Otherwise, if the Zhou family adamantly denied that the deceased was one of their own, the yamen could only start their investigations again, and they could not force the Zhou’s acknowledgment.

In reality, the situation in Qili Village was quite simple to control. Both the mindset of the Zhou family and even that of the entire village of Qili Village was easy to grasp, as long as their desires in the matter were catered to, reaching the goal would be easy.

And what they desired was extremely simple.

It was safety!

As expected, the Zhou family did not hesitate much before complying with the matter in due course.

Ms.Liu took a sip of her tea, her mood somewhat improving. She put away the letter on the table, intending to hide it well.

These items could serve as evidence if the case were ever reopened in the future.

She consoled herself, "Although the way forward is still obscure, at least she knew who the young couple was that had extended their help to her son back then; she had also found a well-placed ally in the court; and now, she had momentarily extricated the Zhou family from this affair, securing their safety by a considerable measure..."

These were all good things, weren’t they?

The most important thing was that her grandson was growing up, safe and sound, and smartly so.

If they couldn’t reverse the verdict in three years, then it would be five years, ten years, or even fifteen...

Ms.Liu composed her emotions, looked up at Daji, and said, "You must keep a close eye on the young master and Miss Man every day, don’t let them get too mischievous, and ensure they study well with Mr. Zhuang..."

Daji bowed and agreed.

Only then did Ms.Liu wave him away.

Nanny Liu tiptoed in and refilled Ms.Liu’s teacup.

Ms.Liu smiled at her and asked, "Is Liu Gui still working in the fields?"

Liu Gui was Nanny Liu’s son, who originally managed the estate in Longzhou. He came at the end of last year to settle the accounts and for some reason, Ms.Liu kept him stay.

The plots of land near the Bai family that were planted with fruits, vegetables, wheat, and rice were now under his care. He had quietly constructed several stone houses nearby, living there usually and not in the servants’ quarters of the Bai Family.

These lands extended to Old Master Bai’s fields, so people from Qili Village hardly went that way. Moreover, the Bai Family did not hire villagers to build the houses; it was only after spring that the villagers belatedly realized several stone houses had sprung up there.

When they inquired, they found out those houses were built by the Bai Family to accommodate the servants and to raise cattle and sheep.

Upon knowing this, the villagers couldn’t help but click their tongues, feeling that even the Bai Family’s cattle and sheep lived better than they did.

Because they rarely went there, no one knew that seven or eight people were living in that area, usually with just one or two appearing in public, the others seldom venturing to the village or towards the Bai residence.

Nanny Liu had no idea what the old lady was up to and wouldn’t inquire. She simply bowed and said, "He’s in the fields indeed, mentioning that the melons we planted caught some insects, and he’s currently catching them."

"Ask him to come over. I want to inquire about the fields."

"Yes."

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