Chapter 6: Difficulties

When the officer came to take the rope, he was very satisfied.

"Not bad, not bad..."

After saying that, he took out the key from his body and prepared to open the chain on Chen Shiyi.

Unexpectedly, a loud voice nearby stopped the officer's actions.

"Sir, this woman is my maid. Everything she does is for the master. If you want to remove the chain, it should be the master who should take it."

Chen Shiyi's heart skipped a beat and he looked up at the source of the voice.

The young lady of the Marquis's Mansion raised her chin slightly and stared at Chen Shiyi with contempt, as if she was looking at a disobedient object.

Chen Shiyi was very anxious and just hoped that the officer would not listen to Miss Wen, otherwise, all her suffering last night would be in vain.

The officer looked left and right, with a hint of sarcasm in his smile.

"Who do you want to give it to?"

Miss Wen turned her head away haughtily.

"Of course it should be given to the mistress of the house, my mother."

The officer thought for a moment and then walked to the side.

Chen Shiyi hurriedly grabbed the official's sleeve.

"Sir, I did all this work. You promised me last night."

"Aren't you her maid?"

When Chen Shiyi heard this, he suddenly felt powerless.

You are the one who does the work, so why should the benefits always be given to others?

But, is there room for her to speak here?

She could only watch helplessly as the police officers walked towards the Wen family.

He turned around, clenched his teeth, and swallowed the anger.

Suddenly, the officer came back and opened the chain for Chen Shiyi with a very unhappy look.

The young master of the marquis's mansion, who was following behind him, looked tired, but gave Chen Shiyi an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Zhirou was ignorant and said some nonsense. Please don't mind it."

Chen Shiyi no longer had the excitement he had before, and was replaced with only waves of grievance and sadness.

"That's what I deserve..."

"Yes, Zhirou is too strong to try to take advantage of you. It's her fault. I will discipline her in the future."

Chen Shiyi said nothing more and turned around. At this moment, he felt more relaxed in his heart than in his body.

I never thought that the person who spoke so harshly before would say sorry to me softly.

She didn't know why the prince of the Marquis' Mansion would stand by her at the critical moment. He was indeed not friendly enough to her before, just like the young lady of the Marquis' Mansion. Why should they lower their noble heads to a maid?

But at this time, she didn't want to speculate too much.

"Brother, what's wrong with you? My legs and feet are already red and swollen. I finally got this opportunity, but you turned it down?"

Wen Zhirou didn't understand why her brother did this.

Mrs. Wen pulled Wen Zhirou's sleeve.

"Zhirou, your elder brother has his own plans, I'm fine."

Wen Zhiheng sighed helplessly and explained to everyone.

"Zhiyuan and I are in chains and can't do anything. You have never suffered hardship before. Along the way, we have to rely on the maid to help us. If we offend her thoroughly, it doesn't matter if we suffer a little when we are exiled. But what about Rui'er? He is still a child."

Everyone sighed and fell silent.

Wen Zhirou felt very sad after hearing this and couldn't stop crying.

"Brother, what are we going to do in the future? You were about to get married to Mo Xunyan from the Xiangfu, and now this has happened. She probably won't wait for you, right?"

Wen Zhiheng's head was slightly stiff.

"If you don't want to wait, then don't wait. My marriage with her has always been delayed and has encountered many twists and turns. Five years ago, her grandfather passed away and I had to observe a three-year mourning period. Three years later, her mother passed away and I had to observe another three-year mourning period. Now I can't wait for her to pass the mourning period, so I am exiled with my whole family. I guess a blessed girl should not marry an unblessed family."

"But she and you grew up together..."

Wen Zhiheng smiled bitterly.

"Childhood sweethearts? But we have been engaged since childhood. Now we are in such a state of criminal status that we are not even as good as common people. Don't even think about it."

“Can we go back later?”

Who will know in the future?

This incident happened too suddenly, without any sign before. He was involved in his father's affairs. The crime accused in the imperial edict was embezzlement of dike repair funds. How could this be possible? The letters exchanged and the words of the torturer were sharp, as if they were fabricated out of thin air. They were all revealed to the public in an instant, as if they had been prepared long time ago.

He must have been framed.

Who has such great power?

After all, the Marquis' Mansion is very powerful in the entire Daye.

Forget it, the past is just a thing of the past.

However, if he had the chance, he would definitely overturn the charges against the Marquis' Mansion in this lifetime.

Without the chains, Chen Shiyi felt much more light-hearted and walking that short distance every day was no problem at all.

Lu Erniang's urging voice no longer rang in his ears. There was no endless firewood to chop, no endless clothes to wash, and endless meals to cook. Now he just walked around and looked at the scenery on both sides. Chen Shiyi felt that these days of exile were much more comfortable than those in Xiangyang Village.

It is a little chilly in spring, and some of the winter grass has already felt the change of seasons and is slowly growing tender new buds. The bleak winter is gradually fading away.

Ahead, you will pass by a big elm tree.

Chen Shiyi recalled that in the past, there was an elm tree growing beside an empty field ridge at the end of the village. Every spring, the elm flowers, accompanied by new green, bloomed in clusters, as if the tree was full of copper coins.

She is the best at climbing trees, and no one in Xiangyang Village can compare to her.

Every year, the tenderest leaves and fruits of the elm tree are always yours.

This elm tree is taller and bigger than the ones in the village.

I haven't climbed trees for a long time, so my skills should not be rusty, right?

As luck would have it, the place where they rested was right under this elm tree.

Chen Shiyi took the opportunity to use his hands and feet to climb up quickly and swiftly.

Rui'er held his head high.

"Sister, be careful, don't fall down."

When Chen Shiyi heard Rui'er's childish voice, he broke off a few branches and quickly slid down the tree.

She handed one of the green branches to Rui'er.

"Sister, what is this?"

"This is elm money. It's delicious and sweet."

Rui'er used her chubby little hands to pick a few pieces and put them in her mouth, imitating Chen Shiyi's example, her eyes shining.

he asked quickly.

"Sister, can I..."

Before Rui'er could finish his question, Chen Shiyi quickly stuffed a few more into his mouth and touched his head.

"Take it..."

Rui'er happily took the elm money back to the Wen family. He stuffed one into his mouth and before he had even eaten a few pieces, he kept feeding them to Wen Zhiheng.

"Uncle, is it delicious? Is it sweet?"

Wen Zhiheng's hands were handcuffed and he leaned against the tree trunk, eating the elm money given by Rui'er, and couldn't help revealing a look of joy on his face.

"It's delicious. Be good, Rui'er, eat it yourself. When your uncle finishes eating, you will have nothing left."

Wen Zhirou held the green branch and looked left and right, seeming a little worried.

"What is this? Can I really eat it?"

Wen Zhiyuan said with a smile.

"This is elm money. Ancient books record that it is not only edible, but also has the effects of clearing away heat, calming the mind, and digesting food."

The Second Young Master's wife tore off a few pieces of elm money and fed them to Wen Zhiyuan, and whispered.

"Sister Zhirou, please eat quickly. Even though the maid is a stranger to us, she is kind-hearted. It's great that she can share her food with us."

Mrs. Wen nodded.

"We are in trouble now, so we should stop being picky..."

Wen Zhirou curled the corner of her mouth.

"I've never seen it before, I'm just asking..."