Chapter 99: Changing Perspectives
Wang Shuniang looked over, thought for a moment, and finally told the truth, "Not yet... If I tell this girl, I'm afraid she won't let us come..."
"But we didn't intend to hide it from her. We just wanted to tell her about it later..."
Zhao Yan smiled gently and said, "It's right for my cousin's wife to do this. After all, we are family. I can help in any way I can, and I will do my best. There have been too many misunderstandings between our two families in the past, and we haven't had a good opportunity to talk it out. What happened to my brother Zhao Xun last time was indeed his fault. Afterwards, I wanted to take him to apologize to my cousin, but Huatang disagreed. We had no choice but to not go. Today, I want to apologize to you, even if I don't ask for your and my cousin's forgiveness."
Wang Shuniang felt that Zhao Yan was not as annoying as her husband said. Three years ago, Yu Hui took Hua Tang to the capital. When he came back, he said that the third young master Zhao had very high standards and definitely did not like Hua Tang. She didn't know whether this girl would suffer if she insisted on marrying him.
He also said that he had been in the prime minister's residence for two months and had not seen anyone except a few maids. Even his brother-in-law, who was about to get married, had never passed by him, let alone taken his cousin from the countryside seriously.
When she saw him today, she felt that Yu Hui was talking about another person. Although Zhao Yan was an official, he was polite and spoke nicely. He always called her "cousin-law" and was very respectful even after the divorce, making her feel that they were a family.
"We were also wrong in what happened last time. We beat up that kid Gian afterwards. No matter what, you can't let a snake bite someone. Even if it's not poisonous, it's a sin if it scares someone."
"Zhao Xun was wrong. If he hadn't been at fault first, how could he have made his cousin and nephew so angry? He deserves it."
Having said that, we are even now.
Zhao Yan said, "The official outside just now said that the case cannot be accepted. He certainly didn't lie to my cousin's wife."
"Generally, all cases handled by the government office require the plaintiff to come in person. Even if there is no plaintiff, a power of attorney is required. This is to prevent someone from taking advantage of the situation to commit evil deeds."
"But since my cousin's wife is here, I'll send a few people with her to go to the old uncle's house. The lawyer will write a letter of authorization, and we can just put our fingerprints on it. After that, we'll have the officials take over the case and investigate Zhao Laosan."
"My cousin's wife just needs to provide some evidence."
Wang Shuniang didn't expect it to be so easy. "Is that it? What if Zhao Laosan denies it?"
Zhao Yan said gently, "Don't worry about this, cousin. If an official refuses to confess during an investigation, the crime will only be aggravated. He wouldn't dare to do that."
"Does my cousin want him to pay grain as a fine, or silver as a deduction, as a punishment for seizing the land?"
Wang Shuniang thought for a moment and said, "How about giving us some food..."
"Okay, let's do it this way. Once this is done, it will be considered an apology from Zhao Xun and me for what happened that day."
"Okay, actually it's not entirely your fault..." Wang Shuniang whispered.
"Then it's settled. But my cousin's wife, please don't tell Huatang yet. She doesn't like me very much now, and I'm afraid she doesn't want me to do these things." Zhao Yan said.
Wang Shuniang immediately nodded to show her understanding.
The two talked about some more things, and finally Zhao Yan comforted her with a few words before sending her away.
After leaving the government office, Wang Shuniang couldn't believe that the matter was finally completed. She was both happy and worried.
The good news was that my uncle's family finally got their land back, and they no longer had to borrow food from everywhere. The bad news was that it was Zhao Yan who helped them.
Although she had not received much education, she knew that several families in the neighboring village had also filed petitions, and they all followed the procedures, step by step, and no one could be missed.
It was obvious that the matter she dealt with today was directly handled by Zhao Yan. To put it bluntly, it was based on connections, especially the relationship between relatives.
She was a little worried that Huatang would be angry when she found out, but her joy outweighed her worries, and soon she forgot about it.
Zhao Yan read the petition over and over again. This was his only way to get close to her, even if she didn't know. He didn't want these local scoundrels to bully anyone in his family.
He did not let Wang Zhubu do this, but took a carriage and took people to find the old uncle in person. The old uncle He Youjin opened his cloudy eyes, nodded after listening to what he said, and then pressed his fingerprints on the power of attorney under his instructions.
After a few days, he brought forward the trial of Wang Shuniang's case. Originally, he thought that these scoundrels would delay the progress, so he sent someone to keep an eye on Zhao Laosan.
Unexpectedly, he confessed to several more crimes after being stared at.
The official said that Zhao Laosan secretly cut down trees in the back mountain and sold them, but the government had expressly prohibited private cutting of trees in the back mountain.
After he learned about it, he immediately sent people to investigate.
When Zhao Laosan heard the news, he panicked and not only confessed to his crime of illegally cutting down trees, but also confessed to the crime of illegally occupying land.
The land of her uncle's family was successfully recovered, and Wang Shuniang was very grateful to Zhao Yan.
Yu Hui, who was originally somewhat dissatisfied with Zhao Yan because of the previous incident, also changed his mind.
That day, Zhao Yan accompanied Wang Shuniang and He Youjin to reclaim the land in front of everyone's witnesses. They also ordered the government office to register the size and quantity of the land again.
He Youjin was very happy to get his own land, but because he was old, he had to go back early.
At this time, only Wang Shuniang and Yu Hui were left.
Zhao Yan looked at the peaceful village in front of him. He imagined that Huatang used to play and jump on this pure land. If she had not met him, she might still have lived a happy life, but now everything has changed.
After a long while, he said, "Cousin, I heard that Huatang's house is still here. I want to go and see it."
Out of gratitude, Wang Shuniang said she would take him there personally. However, because of what happened before, Yu Hui couldn't be so enthusiastic and just followed behind indifferently.
After a while, they arrived at Yu Huatang's former house. Because it was winter, all the weeds around it had withered, so he could easily see the situation inside when he came down from the ridge of the field.
This house must have been sold in a hurry, and the things inside are placed in a mess, especially the embroidery on the table. You can still see the girl sitting here, quietly threading the needle.
Yu Hui took a few glances, felt bored, and went back.
Wang Shuniang followed his introduction, "This house was built when her parents were still alive, and these bricks were made by her father himself. Later, they encountered a storm at sea and never returned."
"Yu Hui felt it was too dangerous for her to stay at home as a little girl, so she slept at my house for the first few years. Later, when she grew up a little, she came back to live on her own. We also contacted the neighbors to help look after her."
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