The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 913 - 891 Temptation

Chapter 913: Chapter 891 Temptation

The trio, walking obediently out of the courtyard, glanced back and upon seeing that the teacher was no longer watching them, turned their heads to ask Daji, who was standing by, "Who has come to visit our home?"

Daji replied, "Lord Wei and County Magistrate Yang are here."

Bai Shan paused for a moment, while Manbao turned to ask directly, "Did Lord Wei come to handle the case of the Prince of Yizhou?"

Bai Erlang asked, "Is he going to be arrested?"

Manbao was somewhat expectant but still rational, "Then why come here? Shouldn’t he directly go to arrest people? What if they run away? So, he’s not here to make arrests?"

Bai Shan said, "Not so fast, I guess."

"How is that fast? We’ve compiled the evidence for a month now; shouldn’t they be arresting people by now?" Manbao also felt their pace was too slow.

Daji looked at the three innocent young masters and kept silent.

The three naively and happily went next door to find Lord Wei and County Magistrate Yang.

They were not familiar with Lord Wei, but they did know County Magistrate Yang well.

Lord Wei had happened to be on inspection in Luojiang County and took the opportunity of a rural inspection to visit Qili Village with County Magistrate Yang.

He had specifically come to see Old Madam Liu, and the conversation had already reached midway when, glancing sideways, he saw three young men and women entering the courtyard and being stopped by attendants outside. He paused for a moment, squinted his eyes to look, recognized Bai Shan and the others, and couldn’t help but laugh, "I haven’t seen you for four years, and the three children have all grown up."

Old Madam Liu said with a smile, "Yes, in the blink of an eye, four years have gone by."

She raised her voice to have Nanny Liu let the children in.

Bai Shan and the other two entered the room to greet them; having seen Lord Wei only a few years ago and not being very young at the time, they still remembered him.

Lord Wei smiled and nodded, then asked, "Were you just reading with the teacher?"

The three of them answered in the affirmative.

Lord Wei then said, "Then let me examine how well you’ve learned your lessons."

The three of them felt somewhat helpless inside, thinking why did these adults always like to test the knowledge of studying youth whenever they met, regardless of whether they were familiar or not.

But Lord Wei didn’t just ask; he immediately began his examination after asking, focusing on Bai Shan, of course, but Manbao and Bai Erlang were not left out either.

County Magistrate Yang stood to the side and slightly behind Lord Wei, tilting his head and giving the three a slight shake of the head. Having seen this, they looked confused for a moment; was he signaling them to perform poorly?

During their hesitation, Bai Shan mumbled and missed a few questions, Manbao also performed poorly, and Bai Erlang, relieved, simply answered correctly if he knew and directly said he didn’t understand if he didn’t.

To their surprise, Lord Wei was all smiles throughout, stroking his beard with an approving face and saying, "Not bad, not bad at all. The three of you have learned your lessons very solidly."

Bai Shan, Manbao, and Bai Erlang: ...

Lord Wei looked at them and smiled, asking, "Have you ever considered studying in the capital?"

Bai Shan’s heart stirred and he asked, "A school in the Capital? But we already have a teacher, and what he teaches us is no less than what we would learn at a school."

Lord Wei also knew about Mr. Zhuang. After pondering for a moment, he said, "What if you were to enter the Highest Institute?"

Bai Shan said, "I’m afraid we might not even pass the examinations, right?"

Lord Wei laughed and said, "I can recommend you, which would allow direct admission into the Highest Institute."

Then Bai Shan pointed at Manbao and asked, "Can she also get in?"

Lord Wei: "This... Young Lady Zhou is a girl, and our dynasty doesn’t have a precedent for admitting women to study."

Before Manbao could speak, Bai Shan had already said, "Then we won’t go either."

Bai Erlang, although very tempted, glanced at Bai Shan and then at Manbao, still forcibly held back his words.

Lord Wei smiled, looking at Old Madam Liu, "Old Madam, although Luojiang County is not under the Prince of Yizhou’s territory, it is too close to Yizhou. A fast horse could travel there and back in one day, which is not as safe as the capital."

He advised, "After all, the capital is under the Emperor’s feet. They will be students of the Highest Institute, and it would not be easy for anyone to jeopardize their lives."

Manbao and Bai Shan surreptitiously looked up at County Magistrate Yang.

County Magistrate Yang once again gently shook his head at them.

Compared with Lord Wei, they naturally trusted County Magistrate Yang more, so they kept their heads down and remained silent.

Old Madam Liu was very tempted, her hands clenched around the chair, but after a long pause, she still suppressed that impulse and shook her head slightly at Lord Wei, "We appreciate your kindness, Lord Wei, but I am old and not suited for the exhaustion of travel. When one gets older, one’s vision gets narrow, and I only wish for my descendants to be safe and sound. Other prospects can be set aside, so it’s better to have the three children stay and study under Mr. Zhuang’s tutelage."

Lord Wei knew that she didn’t trust him or the capital.

With a sigh in his heart, thinking even he didn’t trust himself, how could he expect others to believe?

Lord Wei stood up and smiled, "Old Madam can consider it further. I am about to inspect Luojiang County for a couple of days, and after visiting Yizhou City, I need to travel elsewhere. It will be about a month’s time, during which the Old Madam can think it over. If you change your mind, you can send someone to find me anytime."

Lord Wei glanced at Bai Shan and Bai Erlang, "These positions at the Highest Institute are not always available. It’s a reward I received after being granted an audience."

After finishing, Lord Wei looked at County Magistrate Yang and suggested with a smile, "County Magistrate Yang, how about we take a look around the countryside? I suppose the rice seedlings have all been planted by now?"

"Yes, the winter wheat has just been harvested," County Magistrate Yang replied with a side-smile, gesturing Lord Wei to walk outside, "Every household is currently drying the wheat. You might still be able to see it."

Old Madam Liu asked Bai Shan to see Lord Wei out. Bai Shan hurriedly pulled a little friend along to follow.

Once everyone had left, Old Madam Liu let out a sigh of relief, taking a cup of tea from Nanny Liu and lamented, "It’s truly a pity."

"Old Madam, I think what Lord Wei said is not without merit. After all, the capital is under the Emperor’s feet. Going there, the young masters might actually be safer, and they could enter the Highest Institute. Even if the young master sat for the examinations two years later, there is no guarantee he would be admitted to the Highest Institute."

"Under the Emperor’s feet there are many nobles; throw a stone in the street and out of ten people, nine would be officials, and the remaining one could likely be connected to an official. Our humble family would be like meat on a chopping board there; it would be better to stay in Luojiang County. Below us, our family is not insignificant, and above us, we have County Magistrate Yang to rely on."

"But Luojiang County is also very close to Yizhou City."

Old Madam Liu sighed, "Indeed, it’s too close, but what can we do? There is one County Magistrate Yang and one County Magistrate Tang in this world. Where could we find a third?"

Nanny Liu then fell silent.

As he sent the visitors away and watched them leave from afar, Bai Shan whispered to the two little friends, "They say one should not take rewards without earning them. Lord Wei’s offer seems too generous; even my grandmother didn’t dare to accept it, indicating it must come with strings attached."

However, Manbao had noticed when Lord Wei mentioned "being granted an audience" and asked, "Could it be that the Emperor is aware of our situation and thus gave the spots to you? But my own father also died; why didn’t I get any benefit?"

"Therefore, it definitely isn’t because our fathers died that we got this offer," Bai Shan stated confidently.

Manbao snorted, "Then they must want us to do something. Really, they should have just laid it out clearly. If the price isn’t right, we could still negotiate. Why be so vague?"

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