The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 619 - 608: A Fox Exploiting the Tiger’s Might

Chapter 619: Chapter 608: A Fox Exploiting the Tiger’s Might

The guard’s eyes flashed with a dark gleam as he clutched the box, "Open it. Who knows if there’s evidence of collusion with assassins inside?"

Bai Erlang was furious, "Where would a student like me conspire with assassins?"

He directly pulled out a key and with a snap, he opened the box, which contained all his belongings, mostly silver, with a small portion being copper coins.

He showed the contents to the guards briefly before closing the box intending to tuck it into his embrace. However, the guard held on and, with an inscrutable expression, said, "I need to take this box with me, to check if there’s a hidden compartment."

Manbao and Bai Shanbao, upon hearing the quarrel inside the room, hurried in. Hearing the guard’s words, Manbao immediately took out a piece of clothing from a cabinet by the side and spread it on the bed, while Bai Shanbao opened the box again, took out all the money, and very generously handed the box to the guard, "Here, take it and check."

A dark light flickered in the guard’s eyes as he sternly observed the three young people, closed the box, and handed it to the person behind him.

Zhou Silang, who followed into the room, saw their faces and knew things were not looking good. From the way they had carelessly smashed the kitchen, he knew these people were not to be trifled with.

He stepped forward, anxious, fumbled on his person, and finding no money, he disregarded everything, and grabbed the silver on the clothing to stuff it into the guard’s hand in an attempt to bribe them.

But Manbao caught his hand, while Bai Shanbao shook his head at him.

The guard squinted his eyes, and the atmosphere in the room grew strange.

Zhou Silang couldn’t help but look towards Daji, feeling that in this room, it was only the two of them mature enough to handle the situation.

Daji was silent for a moment, then slightly shook his head at Zhou Silang.

Zhou Silang’s hand stiffened. He looked at his younger sister and slowly withdrew his hand from the silver, looking at the silent guards and others, unsure of what to do.

The leading guard sneered and waved, "Continue searching, and be thorough!"

The moment his voice fell, one guard’s hand swept over, and the vase Bai Shanbao placed on the shelf hit the ground and shattered with a crack.

Bai Erlang’s eyes widened.

The guards rolled up their sleeves and began to ransack the room, throwing beddings on the floor, moving tables and chairs roughly, opening closets and chests, and scattering clothes and toys everywhere.

Finding nothing, the leading guard waved his hand, ready to move to the other rooms.

Bai Shanbao had been holding back his temper, pressing down Manbao with one hand and Bai Erlang with the other, not letting them lose their tempers.

Once they reached the courtyard, the guards’ gaze fell on the legitimate wife’s chambers, and with their entourage, they moved forward. Bai Shanbao could no longer hold back and stepped up to block them, "This is my husband’s room and study..."

The guard sneered coldly, "Every room must be searched, step aside!"

"Bai Shan," Mr. Zhuang stood on the veranda, signaling him to step aside with a shallow smile, "Let them check then."

Only then did the guards notice someone standing on the veranda. The night was too dark, and they had only lit a single lamp inside, so they hadn’t seen him at first.

Now, taking a careful look, they realized Mr. Zhuang was standing on the veranda, with Zhou Lijun and the kitchen maid standing behind him.

Zhou Lijun trotted up, grabbed her little cousin’s hand, and shook her head at her.

Mr. Zhuang took a step forward, smiling genially at the guards, "I would ask you gentlemen to search carefully, so that we may sleep more soundly."

A yamen runner glanced at Mr. Zhuang, then at the guards, and couldn’t help stepping forward to whisper to the guard, "Sir, this family has a somewhat different background, they know our Lord Tang; they seem to be old friends."

The guard’s heart skipped a beat. Tang He came from the Tang family of Jinyang, his old friends...

The guard became slightly more courteous, but still led his men to search each room carefully, though they dared not damage anything further.

Bai Shanbao and the others watched coldly, neither scolding nor currying favor. Once Mr. Zhuang sat down behind the desk, Bai Shan went to the kitchen to fetch a pot of hot water that was always kept boiling, to make tea for him.

Seeing how calmly the three youngsters, as well as Mr. Zhuang leisurely sitting and sipping tea, the leading guard dared not be too presumptuous.

He secretly glared at the yamen runner. Someone with a background, why didn’t he say so sooner?

The yamen runner lowered his gaze to avoid his look.

Zhou Silang looked around, feeling unsettled.

He wanted to pull out some money to bribe the guards, but seeing the expressions on Manbao and the others, he hesitated.

So he could only bow to see the search party out, waving his hands obsequiously, "My Lords, please take your time, take your time."

When the people had walked far away, Zhou Silang straightened his back and secretly sneered, turning to close the door.

He dashed to the study, where Manbao and the others were tidying up.

Although they hadn’t damaged anything during the search, the study was still left in disarray, and some calligraphy and paintings had been smeared, all of which needed to be carefully reorganized.

Zhou Silang went straight to Mr. Zhuang, "Mr. Zhuang, won’t we offend the officials by doing this? Those guards seemed very arrogant, and if they come after us later..."

Before Mr. Zhuang could speak, Manbao was the first to respond, "Silang, these kinds of people won’t be swayed by money. If we’ve made enemies, we’ve made enemies. We need power to keep them in check."

"Indeed, if they had taken Bai Er’s money box, who knows how much more they would have confiscated from other rooms," Bai Shanbao said. "But we’ve already secured the money. If you give them silver now, they will take the money but still hold a grudge in their hearts. They’d continue to smash things, and they won’t let us off afterward."

"They’re currently searching for assassins. If they encounter this crucial moment, just a word from them suggesting we’re connected to assassins, and we wouldn’t be able to clear our names. Don’t even think of having an easy time," Bai Shanbao said. "So, either Bai Er should have let them take the money box from the start and then we could settle the disaster by losing some property once they’re out the door, with no connection to us."

"Or we’ll have to counter power with power afterward," Bai Shanbao said. "The worst thing to do would be to try to bribe them midway. That would indeed be like losing the wife and the soldiers, gaining nothing."

Mr. Zhuang nodded approvingly, "That’s right, the man is a scoundrel, and must be dealt with in such a way."

Zhou Silang sighed, "I don’t know what that official said, but their attitude softened suddenly. I hope they won’t come back to trouble us later."

Mr. Zhuang thought for a while, then stood up and went back to his room to fetch a bag of money to give to Zhou Silang, saying, "Tomorrow buy some items to thank the County Governmental Office. In a few days, when the County Magistrate Tang isn’t so busy, we’ll invite him to dine with us to acknowledge his favor."

Zhou Silang blinked, belatedly catching on, "Ah, because of the County Magistrate Tang."

Bai Erlang angrily said, "These people are too wicked, what’s the difference between them and bandits?"

Manbao asked, "We can leverage power, but what about ordinary families who encounter this?"