Master Qin put his hands behind his back, looked up, and thought for a while. "Hmm, I have a vague impression. That woman, Liu, seems to have some connection with Master Song. He even sued her in court, saying that she owed money or something."

Qin Yu quickly stepped forward and tried to persuade them, saying, "The matter of the eldest son's family has nothing to do with them. They are an innocent family and have nothing to do with the shady dealings of Master Song."

“What you’re saying, Dalang, is not quite right,” Uncle Qin said as he walked to Qin Yu’s side. “This Liu family’s eldest daughter-in-law was originally sold to Master Song for a total of one hundred copper coins. But somehow, Master Song changed the subject and it became Liu’s daughter.”

"What?"

Qin Yu became anxious. "Father, you're involved in forcing women into prostitution?"

Madam Hu also hurried forward, staring at Master Qin with a serious expression.

Master Qin was utterly helpless and sighed, "Do you think that wearing this official hat is easy for me? Even the fiercest tiger can't fight against a local tyrant?"

"But you shouldn't have either."

"I know I shouldn't have saved this, but I have to repay the favors I owed before. This is the only time, and I won't do it again."

Qin Yu also knew the hardships his father had endured. The ways of officialdom were varied and complex, and most people appeared glamorous on the surface, but behind the scenes, they could be stabbed in the back by someone and lose their entire family. Therefore, he loathed such things.

Putting himself in her shoes, if he disliked her, Yun Ruochun certainly wouldn't like it either. He had been shamelessly pestering her just to make her like him and then slowly win her back.

But now that his father is involved in what happened back then, if she knew, she would probably stay far away and wouldn't even glance at him again.

Madam Hu was well aware of Qin Yu's thoughts, and she devised a compromise.

“I have a plan. Isn’t Madam Yun born with superhuman strength? Let’s hire a female constable so that she can spend time with us day and night. That way, her impression of the county government will naturally change.”

Another advantage is that if Yun Ruochun comes to the county government office, Qin Yu will give up his desire to go out and stay at home.

But this idea was immediately rejected by Master Qin.

"No, no woman holds an official position in this dynasty."

"That's nonsense. What's wrong with women? How are women any less capable than you men? Besides, she's born with superhuman strength. She might be better at catching thieves than those mediocre constables in the county government."

Qin Yu echoed:

"Father, Mother is right. Besides, there are female officials in the inner palace. Where can't they hold official positions? If Father were to recruit female constables, the people might even praise you for your wisdom."

Master Qin kept waving his hands.

"What nonsense! Your way of collecting fees is so blatant that you're letting people use connections. How can that be convincing? Even if that Aunt Yun came, would you want to see her being ostracized by the yamen runners? There's no shortage of ways to manipulate power in the government."

Qin Yu understood the hidden meaning in Master Qin's words and said with delight:

"Is Father testing her abilities? Is it possible that he will accept her as a female constable as long as she accomplishes something that convinces everyone?"

"Nonsense, when did I ever say such a thing?"

That's what your father meant.

Madam Hu firmly denied this statement, insisting that regardless of whether Master Qin meant it that way, the matter remained the same.

Master Qin stormed off in a huff, not at all worried, since not everyone is like Wu Song, who could kill a tiger while drunk.

In Qin Yu's heart, Yun Ruochun was the most perfect woman in the world, but how to tell her about this was a big problem.

Qin Yu thought for a while, and then a quirky and clever person popped into his mind.

She was familiar with Chen Jie and must have already learned his identity from him, but she didn't tell her family. She even tried to get Chen Jie to find out about his character, whether he had concubines or mistresses, and that he was a clever little devil.

Furthermore, he noticed that Yun Ruochun's skin was fairer and more delicate, and she could use idioms or allusions when talking to him, suggesting that she had attended a private school. Therefore, he suspected that there were plans to marry her off to a powerful and wealthy family.

So if he were to ask this young girl for help, she probably wouldn't refuse.

**

Yunling didn't have the time for that.

After returning home from Mengtai, she devoted herself to making cotton quilts. In order to acquire the land for the main house as soon as possible, she worked late into the night, sketching the layout of the future house by the light of a small candle.

That's what she thought.

First, the passageway between the main house and the house needs to be cleared. A stable needs to be built in the far left corner of the wall so that a horse-drawn carriage and a donkey cart can be placed together.

A hut was built next to the stable for visitors. To the right of the hut were designated areas for beekeeping and mushroom cultivation. Because royal jelly was a major source of income, the beekeeping area was larger than the mushroom cultivation area.

To the right of the mushroom cultivation area is the warehouse, used to store cotton lint and cotton fabrics. To the right of the warehouse is the reception room.

Yunling planned to make the reception room more formal, with a large reception table, high-quality shelves to display their products, and a large white wall to hang Zhang's color-blocked dresses in the future.

So the reception room faces the main entrance, and there is a large vat between them for washing cotton. Yunling's design also caters to what her mother said: "Putting the sea in front of the door brings good fortune."

To the right of the large vat, six stoves were to be built for steaming cotton, while to the left of the large vat, which is to the right of the outhouse and stable, bamboo poles were to be placed for drying cotton.

The two side rooms are located to the right of the reception room. If there is not enough space, the reception room can be used to set up two bed boards for one night.

The right side of the entire plot of land, which is the direction where Yunling's family now lives, Yunling will call the privacy zone, needs to be blocked by a wall.

In the private area, Yunling will design a large courtyard, with several pigs raised in the far right corner. To the right of the pigsty is the outhouse, and to the left is the vegetable garden, thus creating a circulation loop.

The kitchen is located to the right of the outhouse, making it convenient to bring the boiled hot water to the outhouse bathing area.

Since the place is much larger than before, Yunling plans to give Yun Ruochun, Yun Ruoxia, Yun Chu, and herself each a room. In her room, she will build a cat tree so that Dahei can play to its heart's content.

We also made two nests so that the kittens could come in and escape the cold during the day.

She showed the design drawings to her family, and they were all extremely satisfied. Just when she thought she was sure she could pass Lu Yinghuai's test,

Lu Yinghuai frowned slightly. "Lingniang, this idea is good, but you didn't take what I told you to heart."

Yunling's heart skipped a beat.

Lu Yinghuai then asked, "Where is my room?"