The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 914 - 892: Don’t Want to Be Hit

Chapter 914: Chapter 892: Don’t Want to Be Hit

"What does Lord Wei want us to do?" Bai Erlang asked.

Bai Shan replied, "It should be said that it’s the Emperor who wants us to do something." The quota for the Highest Institute is obviously requested from the Emperor; could Wei Zhi possibly give away his own limited quota to them?

The three huddled together and guessed but couldn’t figure it out; however, they felt it must be related to the Prince of Yizhou.

Unable to come to a conclusion, they decided to go back and ask their grandmother, but Old Madam Liu was feeling unwell and had already retired to her room.

Bai Shan hadn’t even entered the house; he stood outside the courtyard and thought for a moment, then said, "Grandmother must have been tempted. It was a great effort for my dad to get into the Imperial Academy, and he was among the top four scholars. Let’s not ask her, lest we make her feel sad again."

Manbao suggested, "Then let’s ask Lord Yang."

County Magistrate Yang was taking Lord Wei around the village, so the three found a relatively high spot to squat on, watching County Magistrate Yang leading Lord Wei wandering through the fields. Manbao tilted her head and asked, "Do you think Lord Wei is a good or bad official?"

Bai Shan replied, "Who knows? I think you can’t just judge a person by appearances. Even seeing what they do or say isn’t enough to judge their character or their effectiveness as an official; adults are complicated."

Manbao thought for a moment, then nodded, "You have a point."

Bai Erlang almost had a headache, "Whether adults are complicated or not, I don’t know, but I know you two are being very complicated right now."

Manbao and Bai Shan both sighed, "It’s necessary to be complicated. Even when we were inside [the house], they didn’t mention Prince Yizhou; obviously, the case isn’t closed yet, and they still persuaded us to go to the capital. Alas, adults’ thoughts are more complex; we speak our minds, but they don’t express theirs clearly."

Bai Shan thoughtfully said, "Next time, we should also hide our thoughts and not let them know."

The two companions nodded in agreement and continued squatting, watching the two officials below. Feeling their legs getting tired, they simply sat down on the grass, "When will they finish talking?"

"I don’t know, let’s wait a little longer," Bai Shan said casually, pulling at a blade of grass, "It won’t be for long. It’s almost dinner time; our family won’t eat, but the other villagers have to eat, right? They can’t possibly have dinner at someone else’s home."

Manbao and Bai Erlang thought it made sense, so they kept waiting. Unexpectedly, Wei Zhi really did turn around and went to a villager’s home for dinner.

The three friends sitting on the slope were stunned, and Daji reminded, "Young Master, Young Master Tang, Miss Man, we should go back for dinner too."

Manbao suddenly jumped up, tiptoed, and having discerned something, she said, "It looks like they went to my house. Let’s go, let’s go eat at my house."

Manbao took the lead and dashed down the hill, Bai Shan and Bai Erlang following her down the slope, running after Manbao to Old Zhou’s house.

Sanya was about to go out to call her auntie back for dinner, but she bumped into her right at the door, "Auntie, we have officials at our place, and the great-aunt is going to slaughter a chicken. Grandfather is in the main room talking with the senior official."

Manbao acknowledged her and was about to enter the house when County Magistrate Yang came out from the main room. He stood at the doorway, glanced at the three, nodded slightly, and then walked out.

Manbao looked at the attendant of Lord Wei standing at the doorway, and then at County Magistrate Yang wandering around their small courtyard, wobbling in and out.

Manbao rushed into the kitchen and said to Ms.Qian, who was chopping chicken, "Sister-in-law, Shanbao and Bai Erlang are also eating dinner here."

Ms.Qian smiled and replied, "Alright, we cooked an extra pot when County Magistrate Yang came with the senior official; there should be plenty."

Only then did Manbao leave the kitchen. Bai Shan and Bai Erlang had already greeted Lord Wei and Old Zhou in the main room. The three kids casually strolled to the small courtyard, County Magistrate Yang, standing by a tree with his hands behind his back, turned and smiled as he heard them, "I remember when I came last year, there wasn’t a peach tree here. When was this planted?"

"My fourth brother bought a peach tree this year and planted it," Manbao spoke gravely. "He said there are too many boys in the family, and he wants a daughter, so he planted a peach tree to attract one."

County Magistrate Yang was perplexed, "Why would planting a peach tree attract a daughter?"

Manbao continued, "Because my fourth brother thinks there are too many boys in the house, planting peach blossoms might not only attract a daughter but could also be good for finding daughters-in-law."

County Magistrate Yang: ...

Bai Shan redirected their off-topic conversation, "Lord Yang, why has Lord Wei arrived?"

County Magistrate Yang glanced outside before responding, "Didn’t you ask Old Madam Liu?"

"Our grandmother is unwell; it would not be right to disturb her."

County Magistrate Yang naturally could guess why Old Madam Liu was unwell—perhaps it was not so much physical ailment as it was distress, right?

He looked at the three young people still looking at him innocently and thought for a moment before saying, "Lord Wei is here to investigate matters concerning the Prince of Yizhou. If he gets the evidence..."

Seeing the trio’s eyes light up, County Magistrate Yang paused before continuing, "If he gets evidence that the Prince of Yizhou is still harboring traitorous intentions, the Emperor will surely demand accountability."

The three of them said in unison, "Then he should inquire."

County Magistrate Yang couldn’t help but flick Bai Shan’s head, "Of course, he should inquire, but I fear that as soon as the ministerial petition is raised, it won’t even be presented at the court before the palace insiders know of it."

The three couldn’t understand why that was an issue. Petitions were meant to be known to everyone.

"The Empress Dowager is still around, and Lord Dou is also in the Central Secretariat. The petition might get intercepted before it even reaches the court. Therefore, to bring this case to light, the impact must be significant and must not come top down but bottom up. It should spread throughout the court before the people in the palace even know, so the Emperor and the court will have no choice but to act," he explained.

The trio from the Zhou Family was stunned, then Manbao asked, "Is this the Emperor’s idea, or is it Lord Wei and his cohort’s plan?"

Yang Heshu looked at them approvingly, capturing the crucial point very well. "I originally thought it was the idea of Lord Wei and Lord Tang, but now it seems it’s the Emperor’s intention."

Manbao and the others understood, "So they want us to file a formal complaint, to act as a catalyst?"

Yang Heshu nodded.

This was now becoming the issue for Manbao and Bai Shan, as they were the aggrieved parties, while Bai Erlang was merely involved by association. He looked at them and said, "It sounds mighty impressive."

Bai Shan and Manbao glanced at him and said, "Why don’t you do it?"

Bai Shan said, "To file a formal complaint, one must first endure a beating with a ’killing awe baton’. So whose beating would it be, mine or Manbao’s?"

Manbao nodded, "The sticks they use are not the usual rattan we are punished with, but thick wooden rods as stout as a leg. A single blow might not draw blood, but it could shatter internal organs."

Thinking of their slender statures, the two potentially dominated by the wooden rods shivered simultaneously, and even Bai Erlang couldn’t help but shudder.

Yang Heshu: "... it won’t actually come to passing through the ’killing awe baton’, but it’s good that you recognize this risk. The dangers in the capital are not limited to this."

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