Zhu Datou left the government office and returned to his inner courtyard.

Then a servant reported that Aunt Zhang, disheveled, was sent back to the mansion and taken to the woodshed by the First Madam to await her judgment.

Zhu Datou was furious whenever he thought about the sordid affair between Steward Zhang and Aunt Zhang.

To his surprise, Aunt Zhang was still sent back to the mansion in this manner, making him feel utterly humiliated.

The thought that everyone in Heshun Prefecture knew that he, the county magistrate, had been cuckolded by his own steward made him want to drown the adulterous couple!

"Where? Take me there right now!" Zhu Datou said.

The servant quickly stepped forward to lead the way for Zhu Datou.

The servant pushed open the door to the woodshed, and Zhu Datou saw two women and a man lying on the ground.

One of the women was wearing a servant's clothes, and the other woman was wearing a peach-colored dress and was crawling on the ground.

Zhu Datou said coldly, "Aunt Zhang."

Aunt Zhang heard the voice and slowly looked up at Zhu Datou.

Zhu Datou was startled by the person in front of him!

Where did this ugly woman come from!

She started sobbing as soon as she heard Zhu Datou's voice, "My lord!"

Aunt Zhang's face was swollen beyond recognition, and her voice sounded like she had a mouthful of water in it.

Zhu Datou was certain it was Aunt Zhang, and seeing her like this, he couldn't bring himself to ask any questions.

He said, "You adulterous couple have disgraced me greatly. Drowning you in the pond would be too lenient for you!"

The more he spoke, the angrier he became. All the good things in the mansion were in her courtyard, yet she was so ungrateful and still had to cheat on him with someone else.

If that's the case, then he'll let her steal as much as she wants!

"Guards! Throw Zhang into jail and let this slut be ridden by men every day!"

"Steward Zhang dared to covet my woman! Have him castrated! Before he dies, I'll make him a castrated dog!"

"And her good-for-nothing brother, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been the subject of such a ridiculous rumor!"

If he didn't have powerful connections, he would have been in serious trouble just because of this rumor!

"And this maid, throw her into jail too. She's a traitor who has betrayed her master. Let her share the good fortune with Zhang!"

After Zhu Datou finished speaking, he turned and left. Even if Aunt Zhang wanted to beg for mercy, she couldn't grab a single piece of clothing.

...

Zhang Shuqiang and Aunt Zhang have been punished, justice has been served, and Tongzi has been given a proper burial.

The government discovered a considerable amount of silver in Zhang Shuqiang's possession. Madam Zhu claimed that Aunt Zhang and Steward Zhang had colluded to steal money from the Zhu family.

Eighty percent of the silver was recovered, and the remaining twenty percent was used as compensation to cover the medical expenses of the victims' families and injured villagers.

The government officials delivered the money to Tianmiao Village. After the village chief received it, he convened a meeting of the villagers.

The decision was made that the Wu mother and son would take 40%, and the remaining 60% would be given to the injured villagers.

After receiving the 150 taels of silver, Wu sat in the courtyard for a long time. Only when Xiao Fa cried out that he was hungry did she get up, close the courtyard gate, and go to the kitchen to cook for Xiao Fa.

The perpetrators were brought to justice, and Lu Qiqi returned to Tianxin Village to rest for two days.

The reason she didn't reveal that Miao Dajiang had been imprisoned was because she was afraid someone would follow suit.

If someone with ill intentions finds out, that would be terrible!

You should know that for ordinary people, once they are imprisoned, there is absolutely no way to escape; they only face death.

Therefore, she could only tell Miao Dajiang to keep this matter a secret and keep it to himself.

"Qiqi, Zhao Zhiwei said the pulp is ready and we're going to make paper today. He asked me to let you know. If you have time, could you please ask him for advice? Or give me some pointers? Hmm... could you give me some pointers?"

Li Changlong walked into the house from outside the courtyard, his forehead still glistening with sweat in the sunlight.

Lu Qiqi put down her teacup, stood up and said, "Then let's go take a look."

After saying that, she shouted into the kitchen, "Wednesday, come out quickly, your sister is going to take you to see the papermaking."

"Hey, here I come," Wednesday's voice was crisp, and then he ran out of the kitchen.

He even brought Zhou Yi along when he came out, grinning as he said, "Sister Lu, I also want to take my brother to see it."

Why not?

Lu Qiqi smiled too, "Let's go together!"

And so the four of them went together to the paper mill.

The paper mill was a bit far from the courtyard, and it took Lu Qiqi half an hour to get there.

As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw layers upon layers of villagers, completely surrounding the courtyard.

A sharp-eyed villager spotted Lu Qiqi and shouted, "The village chief is here! We can begin!"

After the villagers finished shouting, the path into the house naturally cleared, and Lu Qiqi walked straight into the house.

This room was originally used for making pottery jars; it's a large, open-plan brick building.

Following Lu Qiqi's design, four large rectangular pools were built in the brick house to hold the pulp for papermaking.

Lu Da was tall and stood out in the crowd; Lu Qiqi spotted him immediately.

The thought that Lu Da not only helped her arrest the thugs but also managed to take care of things at the paper mill made her realize that he was an exceptionally capable person.

Zhao Xiaodong saw Lu Qiqi and jumped up, waving, "Village Chief, over here! Over here!"

After the villagers made way for her, Lu Qiqi went inside.

Zhao Zhiwei, having changed out of his long robe and cloth clothes, was now wearing a coarse cloth short jacket with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, standing by the pool stirring the bamboo oars.

Lu Qiqi watched them, their eyes sparkling with excitement, as if success was just around the corner.

Zhao Zhiwei took out the stick and said, "Alright, bring over the bamboo screen used for papermaking."

Upon hearing Zhao Zhiwei's words, Zhao Xiaodong quickly went to the side and picked up the bamboo curtain for him.

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