Xue Zhi and Zheng Xiu waited for the whole afternoon without moving. When it was getting dark, the servant came back, and the news he brought back was not good news. Li Mang, the son of Li Guanshi, was recuperating in the house. They waited in the dark for the whole afternoon, but did not see anyone. Only her mother sent food out once.

Zheng Xiu was not anxious, and said, "We still have to stay here for two days. You should be patient and monitor in secret. If you find anything, report it immediately."

The servant looked at Xue Zhi again, and Xue Zhi nodded and said, "My wife's meaning is my meaning. You should do as I say."

The servant responded and went down.

Xue Zhi said to Zheng Xiu again: "I will have someone send you and A Shao back tomorrow morning. I will just watch over you here."

Zheng Xiu disagreed and said: "You are injured and the situation on the farm is like this. How can I let you stay alone?"

Xue Zhi said: "My little wound is nothing. The wound has scabbed over. You also know that there is cat stuff on the farm. With you and A Shao around, I can't move freely."

"I'm just worried that you might overreach and hurt yourself!" Zheng Xiu insisted, "I won't let you go back alone."

The two started arguing. Xue Shao was afraid that they would quarrel, so he interrupted them, "Dad, Mom, isn't it just a problem with someone on the farm? There's no need to argue over it." He then turned to his father and said, "Dad, we've seen all kinds of storms out there. You can handle this, right?"

Xue said straightly, "It's really nothing, but your mom..."

"Mom is an adult now, she knows her limits. Besides, if you are worried, you might as well go back to the mansion and mobilize more people, then you won't be afraid of anything."

Xue Zhi sighed and said to Zheng Xiu, "Forget it, if you want to stay, then stay. I'll send more people to follow you. If anything goes wrong, you and A Shao will go back to the city as soon as possible."

Zheng Xiu also nodded, "I know, if something really happens, I will definitely not drag you down."

"What do you mean by dragging us down when we are a family?" Xue Zhi looked at her and said very seriously, "I just don't want anything to happen to you."

Zheng Xiu also nodded in understanding. No matter how stupid she was, she could see that Xue Zhi cared about her even more than he cared about himself.

The two looked at each other quietly for a moment, then smiled at each other and looked away.

Xue Shao: ...

Weren't we about to quarrel just now? Why is the situation wrong now? I suddenly feel a lot more...

The dinner at the farm was still not very good, but fortunately Xue Zhi had sent someone back to the city to buy some fresh food in the afternoon. Bai Zhu heated it up in the kitchen and finally prepared the dinner.

At night, the whole family slept in the same room. Zheng Xiu and Xue Shao slept on the bed, and Xue Zhi asked someone to find a soft couch and move it to the window in the room.

Zheng Xiu, Fen Ge and Bai Zhu used bedding to decorate the old couch, tested the softness and hardness, and then let Xue Zhi sleep on it.

Xue Zhi didn't think there was anything wrong and fell asleep happily.

The three of them worked hard all day and soon fell asleep together.

The next morning, after they got up, the servant brought the news that when the storyteller Liu was preparing breakfast for her son in the kitchen, they found a paper bag she left behind. When she didn't notice, they took some powder from the paper bag and hid it.

Soon the powder was presented to Xue Zhi.

Zheng Xiu was also watching and smelled it, but didn't know what it was for a while.

However, Xue Zhi's face changed after smelling it, and he dipped a little powder with his fingertips and tasted it. Soon he spit it out and said coldly: "It's Wu Shi San!"

The so-called "Wu Shi San" is a kind of Chinese medicine powder, its main ingredients are stalactite, purple quartz, white quartz, sulfur, red ochre, in addition to some auxiliary materials. It is said that this powder was originally invented by Zhang Zhongjing for patients with typhoid fever, because this powder is hot and dry, which is very beneficial to patients with typhoid fever.

But later, many people found that Wushisan can make people excited and hot, and mixed with strong liquor to make people feel like they are floating in the air. Its use has changed.

Zheng Xiu knew that during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, it was a fashion to serve this thing.

The era she traveled through was fictional, and there was no Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties before, but in the previous dynasty, taking "Wushisan" became a fashion similar to the Wei and Jin period, and the upper class celebrities took it to show their status. In the words of the ancestors of this dynasty, it was like taking black smoke and miasma, and it was unbearable to look at it. Therefore, since the founding of this dynasty, Wushisan has become a banned substance. Although it is occasionally sold among the people, the price is sky-high!

How can a steward who is said to be poor and can barely afford to buy such a thing? !

Xue Zhi gave a cold order: "Immediately capture steward Li and his men!"

The servants and guards responded and went to take them.

Soon, steward Li, Shu Liu and Li Mang were all captured.

Li Mang's current reaction is the best evidence. After taking Wushisan, it is necessary to use cold food, drink warm wine, take off clothes and sweat, exercise and sweat to disperse the drug effect. He was pulled out of the house in this way at this time - his upper body was exposed and full of alcohol. And his mind was not very clear.

Manager Li and Shu Liu were forced to kneel down. Xue Zhi looked at them coldly, "What a pair of evil slaves who pretend to obey but secretly disobey! They keep saying that the harvest has been poor for years and there has been no progress. Now you explain to me, where did the Five Stones Powder that Li Mang took come from?!"

Shu Liu hurriedly said, "Second Master, you misunderstood. What Five Stones Powder? I don't know! My son has been sick and is so unconscious."

Manager Li also said, "Yes, Second Master, I have only heard of Five Stones Powder and have never seen it! Besides, I don't have the courage to take such a forbidden item!"

Xue Zhi said, "My men found the Five Stones Powder in the kitchen themselves. What else do you have to say?" As he said that, he took the small bag of powder that the servant had presented to them and threw it in front of the two of them.

Manager Li and Shu Liu both changed their expressions upon hearing this, but Manager Li reacted quickly and said, "Second Master, maybe your servant made a mistake. My wife and I have never touched this thing. Do you think it is possible that it was dropped by someone else?"

He denied it flatly. Catch the thief and the stolen goods, catch the adulterer in pairs. He would never admit that he was convicted based on a little unclaimed powder.

Xue Zhi sneered again, "You are servants of the Duke of Qing's Mansion. Why should I waste my breath on you? Just saying that such a forbidden item was found on the farm is enough to kill you, the manager! Come on, kill Li Mang who took Wu Shi San first..."

He sent someone back to the city to deliver a letter the night before, and a pair of guards came to the Duke of Qing's Mansion early that morning. At this moment, he gave an order, and two tall and strong guards immediately lifted the frail Li Mang up from the ground.

Xue Zhi was really angry. Manager Li shuddered. Before he opened his mouth, Shu Liu said with tears streaming down her face: "Second Master, if you want to kill me, kill me! This matter has nothing to do with our boss and Amun. I was obsessed and wanted to use Wu Shi San to treat my son's typhoid fever. I didn't expect that he would become addicted to the medicine. His temperament would change drastically if he didn't take it for a day... All this is because of me, because of me..."

Manager Li's face changed drastically, and he hurriedly grabbed her: "What are you saying, what are you saying!"

Shu Liu just cried and said, "I can't hide anything. I knew I could hide it for a year or two, but can I hide it for a lifetime? Boss, this is shocking! I have had enough of the days of fear. If I continue to endure it, I will become like Jingying... Please let Second Master kill me, please kill me..."

Manager Li, a grown man in his thirties, also had red eyes and said, "We are one body. You thought of the idea, but I did it. If anyone has to die, I will die first." Then he knelt in front of Xue Zhi, kowtowed hard and begged, "Second Master, my ancestors have served your family for generations. Please give me some respect and spare the lives of my wife and children!"

Shu Liu could not bear the pressure from Xue Zhi and admitted his guilt. Manager Li simply confessed and told him everything that happened in the past. It turned out that there was a disaster that year, and Li Mang went to the water to rescue food in person, and he caught typhoid fever when he came back. Manager Li and Shu Liu spent all their savings but still failed to cure him. Later, Shu Liu remembered that he had heard people in the palace say that Wu Shi San could cure this, so he bought some with his last money. Unexpectedly, after taking Wu Shi San, Li Mang's condition really improved, but this thing was addictive and difficult to quit, and it became a bottomless pit that ate up all the money in the family...

The family's money was used up, and Manager Li couldn't watch his son die like this, so he thought of a way to sell all the grain seeds and fruit tree seedlings on the farm and replace them with a batch of inferior products of equal quantity. Then he used his position to fire the tenants who were experienced and good at farming, and only hired those who were inexperienced, so that they could not tell the quality of grain seeds and fruit tree seedlings.

Because the good grain seeds and fruit tree seedlings were becoming less and less, the income of the farm was also decreasing year by year. Except for him and Shu Liu, no one knew what was wrong. People outside actually believed the rumors about his walk, saying that it was because Jingying, who was imprisoned here, was possessed by evil spirits. It was a good thing that those capable tenants were even less willing to work for their farm, for fear of really getting involved with unclean things.