The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 869 - 847: No Blame

Chapter 869: Chapter 847: No Blame

Bai Shan immediately realized, "Why are you helping us, yet you have County Magistrate Yang arrange people?"

County Magistrate Tang glanced at him and said, "Guess?"

After speaking, he smiled and turned to go inside the hall with Dafu to drink tea.

Luojiang County was County Magistrate Yang’s territory, and unlike County Magistrate Tang in Yizhou City, whose powers were greatly limited, County Magistrate Yang’s words were almost law in Luojiang County. If he dispatched people to find something, the level of secrecy was definitely high.

At least it was sure to be better than the people dispatched by County Magistrate Tang.

County Magistrate Tang did not leave immediately; he needed to think again about whether there were any issues that he had missed.

His visits were not easy; the more times he came here, the greater the possibility of drawing attention, so he had to be more thorough.

County Magistrate Tang sat at the table, his left hand gently sliding the teacup, and all he had to do was look up to see the two standing in the courtyard.

Bai Shan asked Manbao, "Are you alright?"

Manbao looked up at him with a puzzled expression and then shook her head, "I’m fine."

As they were speaking, Daji came out from the house. He walked up to Manbao, knelt before her, causing Manbao to startle and step back. Recovering, she went forward to pull him up, "Daji, what are you doing?"

"Miss Man, Erji..."

Manbao’s eyes reddened slightly, and she shook her head, "I... I don’t blame him."

Manbao tried hard to pull him up but realized she couldn’t; she turned her head to look at Bai Shan for help.

Bai Shan stepped forward, and with one hand each, they finally managed to pull Daji up.

Manbao’s eyes reddened slightly as she said, "Just now my friend told me that if I feel resentment and sorrow, I should try to see him with empathy. I put myself in his shoes, and I thought, if I were his age, with his experiences, I probably couldn’t have done any better. He’s not at fault."

Manbao paused before continuing, "He’s also a victim. I can’t just blame the murderer; I can’t blame a victim just like my parents who were trying to escape."

What Manbao didn’t voice was that, over these twelve years, it wasn’t clear whether the deceased Bai Qi and her parents were more tragic, or if Erji, who was alive but could only be paralyzed in bed, reliving that day’s events over and over again, was more tragic.

Daji pressed his lips tightly, holding back tears in his eyes and not letting them fall. His heart was sour and painful. He opened his mouth and finally turned to Bai Shan, kneeling down to kowtow to them both.

He thought that Manbao’s friend was Bai Shan since they were the only two standing together.

County Magistrate Tang in the hall did not hear what they were saying, but by looking at their expressions, he could guess.

He sighed softly, slightly lowering his gaze as he continued to think; indeed, solving cases had its annoyances, yet it was also the most touching.

Bai Shan, however, watched Manbao for quite some time. Seeing her eyes red with lowered spirits, he said nothing, tacitly letting it go, and stepped forward to pull up Daji.

The three of them stood in the courtyard talking.

"Daji, can’t Erji’s leg be treated?" Bai Shan asked.

Daji shook his head, "When I took him back then, the Old Madam called for a very good doctor to see him, but it was no use."

What’s more, Erji’s leg had atrophied, one of them even amputated; how could it be treated?

Daji paused and then said, "It’s just very painful, especially below the waist. He has some old injuries that can’t be healed. On rainy days, it hurts unbearably."

And this is Yizhou, where rainy days are the most common and sunny days are the rarest. Now it’s spring, so he fell ill as soon as he arrived.

Manbao glanced inside, tapped her toe, and finally said, "Perhaps I should take a look."

Daji’s nose stuffed up, his eyes sour, he stepped aside, choking back, "Thank you, Miss Man."

Inside, Bo’an had just tucked Erji in and laid him down when he saw them come in, and he stepped aside.

Erji propped himself up on his arm, opened his mouth as he looked at Bai Shan and Manbao, but didn’t know what to say.

He had never seen Bai Shan before, let alone Manbao.

Back in the days when he served the master who went to serve as an official in Yizhou City, the lady had not yet given birth, and later he was arranged to stay on the farm. Aside from his own family and Dafu’s family, and the occasional visit from Old Madam, he did not see anyone else.

Manbao stepped forward, glanced at the blanket covering his legs, then looked at his face and whispered, "I’m learning medicine, let me have a look at you."

Erji extended his hand, then hesitated somewhat, "How could I trouble Miss Man?"

Manbao sat down on the chair by the bed and said, "It’s no trouble."

She took his hand to feel his pulse and, after looking at his complexion, said, "Let me see your tongue coating."

Erji stole a glance at Brother Xiang before sticking out his tongue for Manbao.

Manbao nodded as she inspected, then asked, "Does it hurt a lot?"

Erji made a sound, looked puzzled at Manbao.

Manbao asked, "Does your lower back hurt a lot?"

Erji shifted uncomfortably and said softly, "Not too much."

Manbao rolled up her sleeves and said, "Come, let me turn you over and have a feel."

Erji was startled, "That’s not right, that’s not right..."

"What’s wrong with that?" Manbao went directly to turn him, and Bai Shan immediately helped. Erji became even more flustered, hastily looking toward Brother Xiang.

Daji wanted to intervene, but he hesitated for a moment, and in that moment of hesitation, Bo’an had already stepped forward to help turn Erji over.

Manbao lifted his lower garment with practiced ease, rubbed her hands together, then pressed on his lower back. Erji, who was still objecting, cried out in pain.

Bo’an couldn’t help but glare at Manbao.

Bai Shan gave him a warning look.

Manbao, not noticing, eased her pressure as she continued, "Does this hurt?"

"Uh..." Erji gave a muffled affirmative.

Manbao pressed another spot and asked, "How about here?"

Erji groaned, and Manbao knew, asking, "Is it aching, dull pain, or sharp pain?"

Erji did not speak for a moment.

Manbao pressed several times to let him feel it, and Erji hissed, "It’s aching, but there is some sharp pain over there..."

"Here?"

Erji murmured, "Yes."

Manbao thought for a moment and said, "I’ll write a prescription for you, and come to give you some acupuncture tomorrow, that’ll make you feel better."

Manbao then looked at his leg, knowing she could do nothing for it, and helped him to lie back down.

Erji’s face was entirely flushed. As he saw Manbao clean her hands and was about to leave, he couldn’t help but call out to her. When she turned back with a clear-eyed gaze, Erji clenched the blanket in front of him and, after mumbling for a while, said, "I’m, I’m sorry..."

His voice was almost inaudible, but the room was so quiet, Manbao heard him.

Tears streamed down Erji’s face as he couldn’t hold them back. With trembling lips, he said, "I was panicking. The knife kept chopping at me, and... and I threw the bag out. When they saw the package was empty, they were about to kill me. My foot slipped, and I fell down..."

It was summer then, and he, a servant, wore thin clothing. There was no way to hide those things on his body. When he fell, he didn’t think too much about it, but afterwards, he realized it was going to be bad.

Especially when there was no word from that couple.