The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 819 - 797 Visiting the Grave (Extra 9 - s as a reward for the book friend "Jinyiwei: Rongrong")

Chapter 819: Chapter 797 Visiting the Grave (Extra 9 Chapters as a reward for the book friend "Jinyiwei: Rongrong")

Watching Manbao carry the wooden basin away, Junior Ms. Qian thought for a moment before turning and walking towards the main house’s entrance, just as Old Zhou and Ms. Qian were also getting up.

They had, in fact, not slept all night and started getting ready to get out of bed as they heard activity in the yard.

Junior Ms. Qian knocked on the door and Old Zhou, donning his clothes, stepped outside, making room for them.

Junior Ms. Qian entered and whispered what Manbao had just said, then she asked, "Mother, does Manbao know?"

Ms. Qian nodded, "If she wants to go, let her go. But don’t let word out yet. The office is investigating this case, and Manbao says she might seek justice for Two from the County Magistrates, but still... for now, don’t let word out."

Junior Ms. Qian quickly nodded, feeling a bit anxious in her heart.

This wasn’t just their family’s matter; the whole village was involved. If they failed to get justice and Zhou Yin was found guilty, then the whole village would suffer.

Dawn was just breaking when Manbao, carrying a basket filled with incense sticks and paper money, went to the Bai Family to find Bai Shan.

The servant guarding the gate was taken aback by the knocking sound, then opened the door and stared blankly at Manbao, "Miss Man, it’s just getting light."

"I know. Is Bai Shan up yet?"

The servant said distressedly, "I’m just the gatekeeper; the young master is in the second courtyard. Perhaps you should go look for him yourself."

After saying this, he stepped aside to let Manbao in.

So Manbao carried the basket inside.

The servants of the Bai Family, except for those in the kitchen, had also just gotten up not long ago. Those who went out to clean and those dumping ashes all appeared a bit stunned to see Manbao, but they still stepped aside and bowed to greet her.

Manbao made her way unhindered to Bai Shan’s courtyard, where an alert servant had already gone ahead to report her arrival.

Bai Shan was also up but hadn’t yet had time to wash. Hearing the noise in the courtyard, he poked his head out the doorway and waved to Manbao, "I still need to clean up. Wait for me in the hall."

Manbao replied with a nod but handed the basket to a servant nearby to put away, then entered his room. While watching him wash his face, she said, "Are you going to come with me to sweep the tomb? I have a lot to tell you and need your help to think things through."

Bai Shan knew as soon as he heard her that she must have asked her parents about it last night—wondering what the outcome had been?

He nodded repeatedly, "Alright, wait for me. After we have breakfast, I’ll go with you."

As Bai Shan washed his face, he said to the servants waiting on him, "Go to the kitchen and take two servings of breakfast. Whatever is available is fine. There’s no need to wait for everything to be ready."

Manbao took a seat in a nearby chair and said, "I’ve already had noodles and don’t wish to eat."

Bai Shan nodded to the servant, "Go on then."

The servant left at this instruction.

After Bai Shan cleaned his face and hands, he went to comb his hair. By the time he had finished grooming himself, the servant had brought breakfast.

Manbao, seeing the servants coming and going, said with curiosity, "There are so many people I haven’t seen before."

Bai Shan nodded and explained, "Grandma brought them from Longzhou not long ago. You might not have seen them, but they are born to our household."

He passed a set of chopsticks and a bowl to Manbao and asked, "Are you sure you won’t eat a little more?"

Manbao shook her head, "I have no appetite."

Bai Shan then sped up his eating, it seemed the blow he received wasn’t small, otherwise, he wouldn’t have lost his appetite.

Once Bai Shan finished eating, he put down his chopsticks and stood up, "Let’s go."

"Are we not going to pay our respects to Grandma Liu?" Manbao asked.

Bai Shan shook his head, "Just have a servant inform Grandma; we can pay our respects when we return. She only just got up a short while ago."

Manbao asked a servant to retrieve her basket, and then carried it as they both headed outside.

Daji seemed to appear out of nowhere, following behind them as they exited the front gate.

Manbao glanced at him and led them towards the cemetery at the edge of the village,

As they were going up the hill, Manbao said seriously to Daji, "Daji, we need to talk quietly, could you please stay a bit farther away and not listen?"

Daji nodded silently and stopped walking.

The two then reached the grave of Manbao’s younger uncle. From where Daji stood, he could see them but couldn’t hear their conversation.

Manbao took out all the incense sticks and candles from the basket, and Bai Shan helped gather a handful of dry grass. They struck a flint to light the grass, and then lit the incense.

Holding a bunch of incense reverently, Manbao knelt down to offer it, while Bai Shan waited beside her.

Once Manbao placed the incense, she found a spot on the grass to talk with Bai Shan.

Without hesitation, she told him all about the investigation from yesterday and then asked, "Tell me, how can I persuade County Magistrate Tang to help clear my father’s name?"

"That’s tough," Bai Shan said. "Although County Magistrate Tang did ask a question, he’s now in Yizhou City and is the magistrate of Huayang County, how could he possibly take charge of Luojiang County?"

"County Magistrate Yang is not as capable at solving cases as County Magistrate Tang, and this is an old case. If County Magistrate Yang isn’t able to solve it, wouldn’t everyone in our village be implicated?" Manbao said. "So, we still have to seek help from County Magistrate Tang."

Bai Shan pondered for a moment before responding, "Even if we want to ask for help, we should ask County Magistrate Yang first. Since the incident occurred in Luojiang County, County Magistrate Tang, if he wants to investigate, must obtain Yang’s permission. If we can persuade Yang to request Tang’s assistance, it would be much easier."

"That’ll have to wait until he’s back from his wedding," Manbao said.

"Yes," Bai Shan agreed, calculating with his fingers, "Even if he comes back right after getting married, it will still take almost a month. There’s no rush."

Manbao sighed, "Alright, then we’ll just have to act as if nothing happened."

Bai Shan nodded, comforting her, "You are your younger uncle’s daughter, which makes you part of the Zhou Family just like you’re the child of your own parents. Don’t be sad."

"I’m not sad anymore, it’s just that my heart feels sour, and a little bit bitter. I just feel so bad for them," Manbao said.

"It’s been twelve years, and I didn’t even know about them. They were not only killed but also had to bear a wrongful name. Even family members can’t visit their graves openly, which hurts me a lot."

After thinking for a moment and glancing around to see that Daji was the only person nearby, Bai Shan reached out to embrace Manbao, gently patting her back, "What if you cried a little?"

Manbao, feeling his embrace and with a blush on her little face, pushed him away, "Are you taking advantage of me?"

"How old are you, and how old am I? What advantage could I possibly take?" Although he said this, Bai Shan’s ears turned red, and he protested loudly, "I am comforting you as a friend, okay? It’s you who’s seeing things, thinking crooked."

Manbao, surprised that he was arguing with her even when she felt so troubled, kicked out at him in frustration. Bai Shan leapt back and started running away.

Manbao picked up the basket from the ground and chased after him, running all the way down the hill without catching Bai Shan and eventually had to stop, gasping for air.

Also out of breath, Bai Shan stopped, turned around to look at her and asked with a smile, "How about it, don’t you feel better now?"

Manbao carefully considered her feelings and indeed, she wasn’t feeling troubled at all anymore.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.