She was smaller than Liu, so Liu had to hold her tightly from behind.
Liu shook her head decisively, took a stool from outside, and mounted her horse by stepping on the stool.
She was a little scared, but mostly excited; the view from horseback was so high!
"Sister-in-law, hold on tight to me."
Liu wrapped her arms around Ye Panjiu and couldn't help but sigh, "Little sister, you're so thin, your waist is so slender."
Ye Panjiu was both amused and exasperated. "I'll eat some more, giddy up!"
The horse started galloping, and Liu was startled. Her heart pounded, and she hugged Ye Panjiu even tighter.
After her younger sister was dismissed and sent home, she could see clearly that her sister was like a different person, but she grew to like her sister more and more.
The two men, one horse, and Ye Erniu returned to the Ye family at the same time.
Grandma Ye was waiting anxiously at the door. "You're finally back! Why did you take so long today?"
She immediately noticed the piece of wood tied to Ye Erniu's fingers. "Erniu, what happened to your hand?"
Ye Erniu looked relaxed. "It's nothing. I just tripped and fell. I'll be fine in a few days."
Grandma Ye frowned, not believing it at all.
Ye Panjiu stepped forward and took Ye Laotai's arm, leading her into the house. "Mother, let's go inside and talk."
Old Man Ye and Guan Muning were sitting in the courtyard. When they saw that the others had returned, Guan Muning immediately got up and went to the kitchen.
She went to serve the dishes, wanting to do what she could for the Ye family.
Liu hurriedly went with her, afraid that she would bump into something.
Once the Ye family members were seated at the table, Ye Panjiu made no attempt to hide anything and recounted everything that had happened that day.
This also includes her slashing Du E'li's hands and face.
Old Man Ye looked at her disapprovingly, "Girl, next time you should let me do this. If word gets out that you're doing this, it will damage your reputation, and people will say you're cruel."
Ye Panjiu didn't care at all. "The more you care about reputation, the harder it is to achieve anything. I only do what I think is right, and I don't care what others think."
Grandma Ye slammed her hand on the table. "Yes, my daughter is right. As long as our Ye family has a clear conscience, that's enough. My son's finger is broken!"
Seeing that Old Madam Ye was about to start cursing, Ye Panjiu quickly put some food on her plate and said, "Mother, it's all over now. The more you curse, the angrier you'll get. Let's eat."
Grandma Ye choked for a moment, then picked up some food and ate.
It's really bad to talk badly about people behind their backs, but she really felt suffocated if she didn't say anything!
Ye Panjiu changed the subject, "The winter solstice is in a few days, and I want to eat dumplings."
In ancient times, the Winter Solstice was a major festival, very lively, and she was quite curious about it.
When Grandma Ye heard this, she also got hungry. Dumplings were a precious delicacy. "In previous years, our Ye family never ate dumplings. They were always given to us by the villagers. This year, we'll make more and give some to everyone."
The Ye family used to have no flour to eat, let alone eggs or meat for dumpling fillings; they simply didn't have the money to buy them.
Madam Liu nodded. "Okay."
As the meal was almost finished, Old Man Ye suddenly thought of a problem, "Can we afford to pay back these two hundred and fifty taels of silver?"
Ye Panjiu put down her chopsticks. "If you can't afford to pay, go to the Qian family. The magistrate will take care of it."
Old Man Ye glanced at Ye Erniu, then looked at Ye Panjiu, "Daughter, this shop is yours, so you should keep the money."
No one else spoke, but there was no objection either.
Everyone assumed that Ye Panjiu was the true person in charge of the Ye family.
Ye Panjiu looked at Ye Erniu, "Second Brother, how about 150 taels as your compensation?"
Ye Erniu was so startled that he dropped his chopsticks. Sun asked anxiously, "Does your hand hurt?"
Ye Erniu hurriedly shook his head, "It doesn't hurt, no, no, this is too much, how can I take so much? Just give me two ounces, little sister, I'll buy a few jars of wine to drink."
Sun glared at him, "Doctor Gu said you can't drink alcohol now!"
She then looked at Ye Panjiu, "Little sister, it is indeed too much. You were able to get this money because of your relationship with Magistrate Chu."
Otherwise, how could they possibly lose so much money?
Ye Panjiu smiled, but her tone was firm: "One hundred and fifty taels for my second brother and sister-in-law, fifty taels for my eldest brother and sister-in-law, and I'll take fifty taels. That's it, no need to argue anymore."
Not only was Ye Erniu unable to hold the chopsticks, but Ye Daniu was also stunned.
Before they could speak, Ye Panjiu got up and walked towards the backyard. "I'm tired, I'm going to take a nap."
The shock in Madam Sun's eyes gradually turned into delight: one hundred and fifty taels!
She had never seen so much silver in her entire life!
Ye Erniu scratched his head, still unable to accept it. How could he, as the second brother, take his younger sister's money?
Old Man Ye tapped his pipe. "Alright, second son, you'd better watch your hand. Listen to the doctor. Second son, you've got a lot to worry about."
“Oh, Father, don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on him,” Madam Sun replied.
The next day, Qian Ziyu woke up.
"It hurts, it hurts!"
He shouted urgently, grimacing.
The head guard breathed a sigh of relief, then knelt beside him. "Young master, you're finally awake! I was so worried!"
Qian Ziyu glanced at him, lying face down, not daring to move. "I won't die. Has a doctor examined me?"
"Greetings, Your Excellency. But these guards around you are no ordinary men, young master. I'm afraid we can't afford to offend them!"
Qian Ziyu gasped, "Do you need to tell me?! Get me paper and a pen!"
One of the guards went to fetch the jailer.
The head guard asked in confusion, "Young master, what do you need paper and pen for?"
"Idiot! Write to your older brother or cousin to borrow money, what else can you do! Live in this prison cell for the rest of your life?" Qian Ziyu roared.
If he had known that coming to Qingshui County would bring him such suffering, no matter how much Du E'li cried, he would never have come!
Thinking of this, he asked, "Where is E'li?"
She was locked up separately.
Qian Ziyu frowned. "Why was he locked up alone? What did you hear?"
The head guard shook his head. He hated Du E'li. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't have had to endure twenty lashes. He didn't care whether she lived or died.
The other guards also shook their heads, unanimously agreeing that Du E'li deserved it.
The paper and pen arrived quickly, and Qian Ziyu was sweating profusely from the pain when she picked up the pen, but she gritted her teeth and wrote.
My elder brother is far away in the capital. He found his sister-in-law, who has a gentle nature and will definitely be able to help him.
The head guard took the letter and was heading to Shuzhou. Chu Guan sent a guard to accompany him.
In the afternoon, the guard returned to the county government office with 250 taels of silver.
He had just returned to the Qian family home and hadn't even had a chance to go see the young mistress when the master invited him away.
The master was furious and berated the fool, saying that the Qian family should just pretend that Qian Ziyu never existed!
The old lady still dotes on her grandson, so she gave him two hundred and fifty taels of silver and told him not to bring Qian Ziyu back to the mansion yet.
Otherwise, his father would definitely beat him to death.
Chu Guan carefully counted the 250 taels of silver and put them away. He then immediately released the men.
The head guard dared not say anything to Qian Ziyu, and was determined to delay Qian Ziyu's return to the Qian residence.
"Who gave you the money? Was it your sister-in-law?" Qian Ziyu asked.
The head guard nodded. "Yes, the young mistress gave the money without saying anything and didn't let anyone else know."
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