Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Zhou Jia nodded. âYes! These people will do anything to get things done. Ah Qing is going to Le County again. Thinking about it, Iâm really worried. How are the people you hired?â
Li Yu smiled and nodded. âThe Head Shopkeeper brought people over early this morning. After Ah Qing took them away, the Head Shopkeeper sat here for a while and said that Li Fengqi and the woman he hooked up with had been arrested. Manor Head Chi offeredâ¦
âNo wonder I heard that Shen Zhong brought people to capture people in the city.â Zhou Jia looked up at the door. âLetâs go eat. Auntie He has already come here twice.â
When the family came out after dinner, it started to rain. Zhou Jia returned to the study to deal with official business. Yangyang brought his two younger brothers to play in the hall.
Seeing that the rain was getting heavier, Li Yu called Xing Hua over and asked,
âAre Zhao Cai and the others not back yet?â n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Xing Hua shook her head and said, âMadam, they havenât returned before dinner. The two stewards might not come back until tomorrow!â
Li Yu looked at Xing Hua and smiled. âDid Granny Yang tell you? What do you think?â
Xing Hua blushed and lowered her head, twisting the handkerchief in her hand shyly. âIâll listen to you. You can make the decision.â It seemed that this girl was also willing to marry Tiezhu. Li Yu smiled and said,
âThen how about I betroth you to Little Loach?â
When Xing Hua heard this, she looked up at Li Yu in a daze. âMadam, Granny was talking about Brother Tiezhu. Little Loach canât do. Heâs still a child!â
âHahaha.â Li Yu laughed out loud at her appearance. âAlright, since you like Tiezhu, Madam will betroth you to him.â
âMadam⦠Youâre teasing me again.â Xing Hua looked at Li Yu with a red face and stomped her feet.
Li Yu smiled at her. âI heard from Master that Tiezhu is also interested in you. Since both of you are willing, Iâll get Granny Yang to choose a date for you to get married.â
Xing Hua looked up at Li Yu and nodded heavily. âMadam, I understand. I still
want to come back and work in the future.â
Li Yu nodded. âAlright, youâll work in the inner courtyard before you have children. Bring Han Ling along.â
âYes! Iâll go down first,â Xing Hua said with a red face.
Li Yu thought about how she had yet to tell Zhou Jia that she had bought the land in Liang Village. She walked to the door of the study and saw that he was still dealing with the official business in his hands. She turned around and looked for Yangyang to ask him if he had given Little Loach and the others their names.
She found Yangyang, who was teaching Little Loach and the others in the outer courtyard classroom.
Li Yu stood at the door and waited for Yangyang to finish speaking before knocking on the door with a smile. âYangâer, I want to ask you if you have come up with names for Little Loach and the others?â
Yangyang shook her head. âNot yet! I would have forgotten if you hadnât mentioned it. â
Little Loach and the others looked at Yangyang and said, âEldest Young Master, you should have given us a name long ago.â
Yangyang asked in confusion, âUncle Xiang and the others donât use their names either? Arenât your names quite good?â
Li Yu said happily, âYour Uncle Xiang and the others were named by your father when he was a few years old.â
âOh!â Yangyang turned to look at Little Loach and the others. âBrother Loach, what name should I give you?â
Little Loach and the others looked at Yangyang. âWe donât know either. As long as itâs not too strange.â
Yangyang stroked his chin and walked around the classroom a few times. âIâll name you Ronghua and Fugui, after riches and glory! What do you think?â
Li Yu shook her head and said, âThe word Ronghua wonât do. Your uncle has the word Rong. â
âJust find a word to replace it.â Yangyang pointed at Little Loach with a smile. âBrother Loach will be called Zhou Fu, Brother Mao Dou will be called Zhou
Gui, and Brother Stutterer will be called Zhou Pu. Heâs simple and unadorned. Brother Maizi will be called Zhou Shi. Together, their names mean being well-off and simple.â
Li Yu smiled and nodded. âThatâs right. Iâll tell your names to the family later.â
Little Loach and the others looked at each other and bowed to Li Yu and
Yangyang. âThank you, Madam! Thank you for the name!â
Yangyang looked at them and said solemnly, âZhou Fu, Zhou Gui, Zhou Pu,
Zhou Shi, you have to remember your names.â
The four of them replied in unison, âYes, Eldest Young Master.â
Zhao Cai and Ruyi only returned to the capital the next afternoon. They brought back a few servants they had bought in Lin County and Hengshan Town, as well as farming tools and cattle.
Among the servants, one was surnamed Wang. There was a couple in their thirties. They had two sons, and a daughter. There was also a woman surnamed Li. The man owed a gambling debt and viciously sold the three of them. Another couple, surnamed Lai, was only in their twenties. Their eldest son was seriously ill and they had used up all his money for the treatment. They also owed a lot of money. Helpless, they could only sell themselves as slaves.
The tenants of the Wang family who did not have enough fields to plant also came to the capital with Han San.
Tang Yong gave the Wang Family Village fields to his married son and planned to plant more fields in Liang Village with his two younger sons and wife.
After Li Yu saw them, she asked Ruyi and Zhao Cai to bring them to Liang Village first to plow the fields as soon as possible. She would plant them after sending Li Qing away.
When Han San heard that Li Yu wanted Han Ling to work in the residence, he smiled happily and said, âMadam, Lingâer is obedient and sensible. Iâll send her to tne residence tomorrow.â
Li Yu glanced at Han San and smiled. âAlright, go back and make things clear to your mother and wife. Remember to breed more sweet potato seedlings when you go back. The fields in Liang Village also require sweet potato seedlings.â
Han San said happily, âYes, Madam. Donât worry, Iâve also hired someone to open the slope at the back of the mountain. There are more chickens and ducks this year than last year. When the villagers saw that the chickens and ducks on our farm were good-looking, they even asked us to buy chicks.â
Li Yu thought of the locust plague that year and her heart skipped a beat. âGo back and get Auntie Han to find more eggs. I plan to rear more chickens and ducks in Liang Village.â
Han San kept nodding. âGot it. Iâll tell my mother when I get back.â
âGo! Go to Granny Yang and collect a few materials to make spring clothes for your mother, wife, and children,â Li Yu said with a smile.
âAye!â Han San agreed with a smile and left.
Li Yu went to the front yard and saw Uncle Zhou, Little Loach, and the others.
Chu Sihai was overwrought. The people he had captured from Shanyang County and the people captured by the Ministry of Revenue gave up another group of people. As Zhou Jia had said, the six tribes had spies from the Second Prince.
In the end, this group of people confessed that they had always been contacted by Cheng He. They rarely met Cheng He, let alone found out the whereabouts of the Second Prince.
Chu Sihai thought of the people from the Cheng family who were still alive and guessed if they knew the whereabouts of the Second Prince. After thinking about it, he entered the palace and told Chu Yuhao his thoughts.
Chu Yuhao said bluntly, âGet someone to go to the place where the Cheng family is exiled and bring back a few Madams of the Cheng family in Yuezhou. Hand those people in the capital to the Dali Temple and sentence them severely. The two stewards of the Imperial Plantation will die. Their families will be sent to the salt farm to work and will never be pardoned.â
âYes, Your Majesty.â Chu Sihai bowed and left..
Comments(0)
Join the discussion — sign in to leave a comment
Sign In to CommentNo comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!