Upon seeing Ye Caiping, Magistrate Lu immediately reined in his horse.

Ye Caiping quickly greeted him, "Greetings, Your Excellency."

Old Lady Ye and Madam Du had met Magistrate Lu before, but Ye Caiping had not revealed his identity at the time. They were both shocked to learn that he was the magistrate.

He immediately knelt down to pay his respects, and the villagers beside him also knelt down.

"Please rise, there's no need for such formalities," said Magistrate Lu.

Grandma Ye and the villagers then stood up timidly.

Magistrate Lu dismounted with the help of Clerk Luo, looked at the courtyard behind Ye Caiping, and smiled, "If I remember correctly, this isn't Madam Ye's house, is it?"

Ye Caiping stepped forward: "This is my eldest brother's house."

"I knew it! Haha, let's go to your place first and then talk in detail."

"good."

Ye Caiping then led Magistrate Lu forward.

Magistrate Lu was completely unpretentious, walking alongside Ye Caiping. Two rows of bailiffs followed behind them.

The villagers had never seen anything like it before. They were both afraid and curious, following at a distance, marveling, "Cai Ping has such a good relationship with the county magistrate!"

In the eyes of the villagers, the county magistrate was their parent official, the clear sky above their heads.

I'm afraid even to hear about it, let alone see it or get so close to it.

...

They soon arrived at Ye Caiping's house.

Ye Caiping then noticed that a carriage had been following them all along, and the county magistrate's wife got off with the help of an old nanny.

Ye Caiping quickly led the magistrate and his wife into the house and served them tea.

Magistrate Lu said, "Gu Han has been captured."

Ye Caiping breathed a sigh of relief.

Magistrate Lu continued, "Upon receiving your message, I immediately ordered the city gates closed. Since he's a cripple and can't walk fast, he was quickly apprehended. He's now imprisoned."

Ye Caiping asked, "How did he know about yellow cassava?"

"This is indeed our yamen's fault. Last time, when I was inspecting the yellow cassava with some yamen runners, a man named Chen Shui overheard their conversation."

"But Chen Shui was a glutton and a drinker. One night, he got drunk with Li Zhiyuan and blurted it out, which Gu Han overheard. Gu Han then went to steal cassava, hoping to steal the credit."

Ye Caiping frowned: "Does Gu Han have anything else to say?"

Gu Hanyuan is the heir of the Ningguo Marquis's mansion. It is unknown whether he will reveal his identity in order to extricate himself.

“No, not at all,” Magistrate Lu said. “I checked his household registration book, which says he’s from Liuxi Town in Bozhou. He has no clan or family, and doesn’t even have a village. He doesn’t look like a good person.”

Ye Caiping nodded. Generally, people who are expelled from the family genealogy are given a new household registration book with no clan information. It is obvious that such people have made a big mistake and are looked down upon.

Gu Han dared not reveal his original background.

After all, the current Ningguo Marquis's mansion is run by the stepmother, and if she speaks out, she might be harmed.

Magistrate Lu said, "Yellow-fleshed cassava is the new staple food for our entire Great Zhou. Stealing yellow-fleshed cassava is a serious crime. But we cannot investigate him in detail now. We can only detain him for the time being and make a decision after the yellow-fleshed cassava has been promoted."

Ye Caiping said, "Thank you for your trouble, sir."

"No, it is I who have caused trouble for Lady Ye. It is all the fault of those careless yamen runners. I have already punished them. The two who let slip were given ten strokes of the cane and had their salaries deducted for three months. Chen Shui, who was drinking, was given twenty strokes of the cane and was dismissed."

"By the way, I heard that your nephew passed the prefectural examination, and I have prepared a gift for him."

Ye Caiping was taken aback: "Thank you for your reward, sir. But there's no need to give him a gift. I'm afraid that your praise will make him arrogant."

Magistrate Lu laughed and said, "Then don't tell Ye Niang that it was given to her by me. Just give it to her parents and say that it was given to her by her parents."

Ye Caiping couldn't refuse any longer: "Then thank you, sir."

"I would like to take another look at those sixty acres of cassava fields. Lady Ye, please accompany me!"

Ye Caiping nodded: "Alright, shall the magistrate's wife go?"

The magistrate's wife smiled and said, "I won't go, you all go!"

“Then I’ll call my dad and my older brother to go with me.”

Ye Caiping curtsied, turned and went out. Soon after, she called over Old Man Ye and Ye Daquan, and also invited Madam Du into the house to greet the magistrate's wife together with Old Madam Ye.

Only then did he go out with Magistrate Lu and the others.

...

After Ye Caiping left, Old Madam Ye and Madam Du looked at the magistrate's wife, their bodies stiff with nervousness, unsure of what to say.

The magistrate's wife was kind and approachable, praising Ye Xuan for his talent in passing the imperial examination at such a young age, and also complimenting Jin'er and Huan'er on their beauty.

Grandma Ye and Madam Du were both beaming with joy.

The magistrate's wife said, "I think Madam Ye looks quite young, maybe thirty?"

Grandma Ye nodded hurriedly: "Yes, yes!"

"Why don't you find someone else at such a young age?"

Grandma Ye said, "Sigh, she can decide for herself. We won't make decisions for her. As long as she's happy, that's all that matters."

Du said, "In the past, there were many suitors, but they were all ugly and wicked, none of them were good, or they just wanted to take advantage of the family line. It's better not to marry into such a family."