Master Song was also frustrated. He had just arrived at his doorstep and still managed to trip and fall on flat ground. Who could he blame for this bad luck?

Is it really his fault for forcing his daughter to apologize, which caused her to fall?

No, Master Song didn't believe any of this. He thought his daughter must have been upset and wasn't watching where she was going, only caring about her own anger, which was why she tripped. Alas, it was all the result of her willfulness.

"What should we do with these things?" Although they were all good items, Zhao Guihua really didn't care for them.

"You decide what to do," Zhou Laoda said indifferently.

It would be a waste to throw it away, but it would feel awkward to keep it. So Zhao Guihua simply took a bolt of silk and half of the pastries and half of the maltose and gave them to the village chief.

“Let’s split this between our two families. Don’t refuse. Actually, I don’t even want half of it. But if I give it all to you, you definitely won’t want it either, so let’s split it. Everyone gets a share, right?” Zhao Guihua forcefully stuffed the item into the village chief’s hands.

The village chief pondered for a moment, then accepted the money and said in a low voice, "Master Song doesn't seem like a bad person. He probably won't do anything to harm anyone. But I reckon he does have something to ask us. Don't worry too much. We'll cover for him together."

"No, that's not what I meant." Zhao Guihua was a little embarrassed; she really hadn't thought of it that way.

"It's alright. We fled here together and finally managed to live a peaceful life. We, as a village, must be united and not let outsiders bully us. If we are not united, then outsiders will look down on us even more." The village chief said solemnly, and then took his belongings and two daughters home.

"Oh dear, I just didn't want to keep the gift from Master Song all to myself, but why did the village chief think so much about it? After he said that, my heart, which had just settled down, is in my throat again." Zhao Guihua suddenly felt annoyed.

"Forget it, what's meant to be will be. Let's just take it one step at a time. It's getting late, let's wash up and go to bed. Let's not worry ourselves sick before anything even happens." Perhaps because he had been drinking, Old Zhou was carefree.

"Father, Mother, what are you talking about?" Xingxing tilted her head, somewhat confused. "Master Song didn't mean to harm us. He probably just wants us to help him out."

“What can we do to help him? All we know is farming, nothing else,” Zhou Laoda and Zhao Guihua said in unison.

"Xingxing doesn't know either, but he won't harm our family," Xingxing said confidently.

Then I'll just leave it at that and go to sleep peacefully.

At the Song residence, Master Song summoned a doctor to examine Song Jiao's facial wounds. After examining her, the doctor said they were just some external injuries, and that both sides of her face would likely scab over by tomorrow morning, so the problem wasn't too serious.

Aside from the immediate impact on appearance, it will recover completely after the scabs fall off and the skin has healed for a while.

Song Jiao threw a huge tantrum over this, and it took Song Yuanwai a long time to calm her down. However, he would not cause any more trouble for the Zhou family. Although he felt some resentment, it was mainly his own daughter who caused the trouble, so he would let it go for now.

He has more important things to deal with and doesn't have time to focus his energy on these trivial matters.

"Has Qingfeng gone to sleep?" Master Song asked Steward Zhao.

"Reporting to Master, Young Master Tie is still reading in his room."

Master Song turned and headed straight for the west courtyard, saying, "I'm going to check on him."

After leaving the main hall, passing through the corridor, and then through an archway, you arrive at the west courtyard. The west courtyard is full of servants and guards of the Tie family. After the Tie family's guards welcomed Master Song inside, they indeed saw that candles were still lit in Tie Qingfeng's room.

"Young Master, Master Song is here," the guard reported as he entered.

Tie Qingfeng put down his book and came out of the house. At this moment, Master Song was standing under a tree in the courtyard. The shadow of the tree at night enveloped him completely.

"Uncle Song, why are you here so late?" Tie Qingfeng bowed to him.

"You're still up so late, aren't you waiting for me?" Master Song took two steps closer, a gentle smile on his face.

Tie Qingfeng lowered his eyes. "Uncle Song came to apologize to him personally because of me. I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"What's this? Jiaojiao was the one who made the mistake today. We need to stay in Yegou Village for a while and try to get along peacefully with the villagers to avoid unnecessary trouble." Master Song looked at Tie Qingfeng's pale face with pity in his eyes.

Tie Qingfeng's father was his classmate and friend, but his career was not smooth and he has never truly entered the officialdom. Tie Yusheng, who is also Tie Qingfeng's father, was a top scholar in the imperial examination and was personally appointed as the third-ranking scholar. He has now risen to the rank of third grade.

However, Tie Yusheng had had a difficult time conceiving children over the years. In addition to his first wife, he had taken four concubines and only had four daughters. He had never had a son before. Unexpectedly, when Tie Yusheng was nearly fifty years old, his wife suddenly became pregnant and gave birth to a son for him.

Tie Yusheng doted on his only son like the apple of his eye. Little did he know that his youngest and most beautiful concubine in the backyard would secretly poison Tie Qingfeng, who was only two years old at the time, in an attempt to kill him.

Fortunately, he was discovered in time and was able to save his life. However, he has been sickly ever since, with a very weak body, and he often falls seriously ill.

When asked why she was so cruel as to harm a child, the concubine could only cry. Later, it was discovered that she had fallen into a trap set by Lord Tie's mortal enemy.

This concubine, aside from having a presentable face, was practically brainless. She was easily instigated by a maidservant planted by Lord Tie's mortal enemy, and ended up doing something foolish.

After the incident, the concubine was dealt with privately by the first wife, and the maid was given a death sentence.

No matter how much they try to remedy the situation, they cannot change the fact that Tie Qingfeng was murdered. Over the years, the residual poison in Tie Qingfeng's body has not been completely eliminated, and he has suffered from illness for many years.

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