The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 565 - 554 Task

Chapter 565: Chapter 554 Task

Manbao and Bai Shanbao exchanged glances before stiffly relaying their sneaky intrusion into the neighboring Yan Family’s home that day.

Mr. Zhuang showed no emotional fluctuation, evidently prepared for the children’s mischief, and listened quietly as they continued.

When Mr. Zhuang heard the two phrases Manbao had memorized, his expression changed, and after a moment of silence, he asked, "Where is the booklet?"

"Daji took it," said Bai Shanbao. "He wouldn’t show it to us, claiming he had already sent it back to my grandmother."

Mr. Zhuang instinctively looked out the window, where a figure was clearly visible, obviously Daji.

The three children didn’t mind Daji knowing that they had told him, and likewise, Daji did not fear his awareness.

But upon reflection, the matter itself wasn’t of great importance, the content listed in that booklet was.

Mr. Zhuang rubbed his forehead and asked, "What do you intend to do?"

Looking at the bewildered Bai Erlang, Mr. Zhuang turned his gaze onto Bai Shanbao and Manbao and asked, "Now that you know of such a booklet, what do you intend to do?"

Manbao said blankly, "We don’t intend anything, we just thought since this is evidence of a crime, shouldn’t it be handed over to the court?"

Mr. Zhuang sighed and asked, "To whom will you hand it over?"

Bai Shanbao said with less confidence, "To County Magistrate Tang?"

This was the only official they knew in Yizhou, and he was also in charge of the Yan Residence.

"And what then, after County Magistrate Tang takes it over, what will he do?" Mr. Zhuang leaned against the bedstead and pressed his hand down for them to sit on the footstool.

Manbao and Bai Shanbao sat down, and Bai Erlang joined them. They thought for a moment and said, "He should lodge a formal impeachment and transfer the evidence to the Ministry of Justice and Punishments, right?"

"Yizhou is the Prince of Yizhou’s fiefdom. Do you think his evidence can safely reach the Ministry of Justice and Punishments in the capital?" Mr. Zhuang paused before continuing, "Even the evidence in your hands, can you guarantee its safe delivery to County Magistrate Tang?"

Not only Manbao and Bai Shanbao were stunned but even Bai Erlang opened his mouth wide, "Are they really going to kill people to silence them?"

"Naive children, the account books you saw began with the ninth year of Dazhen, and the tenth year brought floods; do you still not realize what silver they embezzled?" Mr. Zhuang said, "Think about the number of people who died in that flood three years ago, how many officials were beheaded after. A few more lives, yours included, what’s the impossibility there?"

Manbao, slightly angered, looked up to speak, but Mr. Zhuang continued, "Not just you but also your families behind you."

Manbao then choked on her anger, her mouth agape.

"So it was right for Daji to take it away. You are still young; this is not something you can handle."

Bai Shanbao incredulously asked, "Then, do we just do nothing?" This contradicted the education he had received since childhood.

Mr. Zhuang reached out and patted his head, saying, "Wait for the right moment."

"You are young now, accustomed to immediate effects from your actions, but you must realize that most matters in this world do not show immediate results," he said.

"Just as when you plant seeds in spring and wait until autumn to harvest, you learned to read at the age of three, but it’s only now that you come to take the government school exam, and it could take until your coming of age or even longer before you can enter into officialdom. That, too, is one affair," Mr. Zhuang slowly said, "And so is the matter with the Prince of Yizhou; we also must wait for that opportune moment."

Bai Shanbao and Manbao pondered in thought.

Mr. Zhuang didn’t rush them, allowing them to kneel and contemplate.

After a while, Bai Shanbao nodded and said, "Teacher, I understand. I will remember this in my heart and not shout it from the rooftops, quietly waiting for the right moment."

Manbao also nodded.

Mr. Zhuang was pleased and thoughtfully said, "For the next couple of days, pull out the Book of Han and the Book of the Later Han to read, not superficially, but take a careful look and count how many officials were beheaded."

Manbao blinked, and she and Bai Shanbao nodded blankly.

Now, the officials who had been beheaded in the Book of Han and the Book of the Later Han wouldn’t be explicitly listed; one needs to read carefully. For example, the first Chapter of the Book of the Later Han is the Annals of Emperor Guangwu, during which there was a war. Not accounting for ordinary soldiers’ deaths in battle, plenty of people with names and titles perished, fighting me, and I fighting you.

And during that period, attacking each other was a common occurrence, and Mr. Zhuang was certainly not just asking them to count the heads.

Why was this particular head chopped off, and why did that one survive? The life of this individual and what related events occurred after that person’s death.

Thus, the books they would need to read were not limited to the Book of Han and the Book of the Later Han.

Mr. Zhuang listed the questions they needed to answer on paper, handed it to them, and then waved his hand, saying, "You should also go get some rest."

Seeing all the questions written on paper, Bai Shanbao suddenly remembered something very serious, "Teacher, I still need to prepare for the government school exams."

So where would he find the time to look up the answers to so many questions?

Mr. Zhuang said distantly, "If you have time to crawl through holes in walls for fun, surely you have time to read?"

Bai Shanbao, with his neck retracted, walked out feeling guilty, Manbao too dared not speak a word and obediently followed behind, while Bai Erlang had a face full of schadenfreude.

Outside, Daji stood in the courtyard watching them.

Bai Shanbao didn’t have the time to deal with him, walking back to his room, disheartened.

Daji silently watched until all their lamps were lit before he knocked and entered Mr. Zhuang’s room.

Mr. Zhuang hadn’t gone to bed but was sitting at the table. As soon as Daji came in, he motioned him to sit down for a talk.

Mr. Zhuang was now receiving a hefty teaching fee from Old Master Bai and Ms. Liu for the personal education of Bai Shanbao and Bai Erlang—not a sum taken lightly.

In this era, the relationship between a formally acknowledged master and disciple was like that of father and son, sharing common interests.

So Daji hadn’t thought of keeping this matter from Mr. Zhuang from the start.

He recounted the day’s events in detail, mentioning a few differences from what the three young masters had said, such as Miss Man seeming to know there was something hidden in the wall, directly reaching to touch it.

However, Mr. Zhuang skipped over this point and asked directly, "Where is the booklet?"

"I’ve sent it back to Qili Village."

"Is the messenger trustworthy?"

"Trustworthy, he is one of our Bai Family’s servants. Old Madam has opened a shop in Yizhou City, and the manager and the staff there can be trusted."

Mr. Zhuang paused, somewhat surprised to learn about the Bai Family’s shop in Yizhou.

After some thought, he smiled and said, "Your Old Madam really trusts this old teacher and also has confidence in your young master."

Daji bowed his head and explained, "The shop was purchased two years ago."

He hesitated before continuing, "Before we came, Old Madam mentioned that if the young master passes the government school exam, we would visit the family in Yizhou City; if not, we’d listen to the teacher and go elsewhere to study—that would also mean there’d be no need to disturb them with a visit."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhuang understood that while there was a kinship with that family, the relationship was probably distant and not very close, so there was no need for regular visits.

He nodded, "I understand. In the next few days, make sure to keep a close watch on them, and don’t let them run around outside again."

Daji bowed and answered respectfully, "Yes."