58 Chapter 58
◎Impersonating Madam Cheng◎
That day, after Gui'er sent Xiaoqi to the private school, she went to buy some things as instructed by Cheng Mu. Unexpectedly, she saw Saohu and Li Yu, who looked exhausted, on the street.
At first, Gui'er thought that they came to the city without their master's knowledge and must be doing something bad, so she followed them quietly, intending to catch them in the act.
Then, I found out that the place they were going to was Baoqing Hutong. Were we going to find them?
Looking at their expressions more carefully, they were frowning and looked terrified. He remembered that before Cheng Mu left home, she warned them to take good care of the house and fields and not to come to the county town unless there was something important. Could something have happened?
Then, Gui'er jumped out and blocked their way. "Why are you here?"
"Gui'er!" Li Yu was pleasantly surprised. Saohu worriedly suppressed his words, "Gui'er! Something's happened!"
"What happened?" Guier glanced at the two of them.
"Someone's looking for trouble with Madam Cheng—" Li Yu started, but Sao Hu stopped him again. "Instead of saying it twice, take us to see Madam Cheng first, and we can talk together."
Upon hearing something was wrong, Yu extinguished the stove, washed her hands, and rushed to the east wing. Xiaoliu, who was sewing a purse, had also bitten the thread and put it aside. She leaned over to listen.
Saohu and Li Yu gulped down two bowls of water, their clothes were wet. After replenishing their water, they breathed a sigh of relief, as if they had finally come back to life.
Cheng Mu: "We're here now, but we're leaving at 11:00 AM? Let's sit down and talk."
Sao Hu wiped the water from her mouth with the back of her hand and asked, "Madam Cheng, do you still remember the time when I sold a hundred dan of wheat seeds to the Prince of Yanyun's Palace two years ago?"
Cheng Xi nodded, "Of course I remember."
"The steward in charge of wheat planting and harvesting came and said that Madam Cheng's wheat yield was less than two stone per mu. He had evil intentions and wanted to bring Madam Cheng to the government to face charges. Xiuying, who claimed to be Madam Cheng, was arrested!"
Yu exclaimed, "Xiuying!"
Cheng Mu asked him, "Is the steward's surname Lu?"
Sao Hu nodded vigorously, "His surname is Lu! He was the one who trampled on our village crops and injured Zhao Dezi two years ago! Zhao Dezi recognized him!"
Yu looked at Cheng Mu in horror, "Madam Cheng, what should we do?" Her tears came immediately and she took out a handkerchief from her waist to wipe her tears.
Cheng Mu came to the county town to avoid Lu Qun'er from causing trouble for her. Lu Qun'er didn't find her, but the trouble did come.
What's more troublesome is that Xu Xiuying pretended to be her in order to repay a favor and was arrested.
Lu Cricket is in the old palace. Should she go to Yunzhou to save her? How?
Seeing Cheng Mu's solemn expression and silence, Gui Er simply said, "I'll go save Sister Xiuying!"
Yu's eyes widened. "You little girl, you're already grown up, but you still don't know how high the sky is and how deep the earth is!"
"You two shouldn't go back." Cheng Mu finally said, "Li Yu will stay here with Aunt Yu to take care of Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi. Saohu, Gui'er and I will go to Yunzhou City."
Xiaoliu hugged Cheng Mu's arm and said, "Mom." His eyes were full of worry.
Yu sighed, "If only Master Huang were still here."
Cheng Mu hugged Xiaoliu and comforted them, "It's not scary over there. Lu Qu'er is only in charge of the palace's fields, not the chief steward. There is always someone to keep an eye on him." Besides, everyone in the old palace had gone to the capital, and the entire palace was gone, so Cheng Mu didn't need to hide anything.
It has been a long time since I last saw Gui'er. Although Li Yu came with worry, after seeing Gui'er, his mind was all on her.
He followed Guier closely as she cleaned up his quarters at the gatehouse.
"Guier, do you miss me?" Seeing that there was no one around, he moved a little unsteadily.
Gui'er kicked him away and said, "Why are you lighting a fire that can't be extinguished? Besides, is this the time to start a fire?"
The slutty fox has blisters on her mouth. If Xiuying is captured, she might suffer some harm.
"Tell me everything about Manager Lu's troublemaking, from beginning to end. When did he go, how did he go, how many people did he bring with him, what did he say, how skilled were he... Tell me everything in detail!"
Li Yu stood still and scratched his head. "We were harvesting corn in the back mountain at that time."
After the new emperor ascended the throne, the country was named Yan, and Yanyun City was also renamed Yunzhou.
The entire Prince Yanyun's Palace moved to the capital, and Lu Qu'er was one of the people who stayed behind. Naturally, the responsibilities he was in charge of also changed. He took over the palace's fields, which was a lucrative job he asked his brother-in-law, Chief Steward Lei, for.
The previous year, the yield at the prefectural farm had doubled, but this year's harvest had fallen back to below previous levels, yielding only a fraction of the previous crop, with many ears of wheat containing only empty husks. He tried to keep the matter a secret with his brother-in-law, but the story got out anyway. His brother-in-law, assuming he'd rigged the farm, not only reprimanded him but also ordered him to find a way to make up for it as soon as possible. Others who disliked him naturally didn't want him to get away with this, so the master eventually found out.
The first thing Lu Cricket did when she came back was to vent her anger on the seed seller and swear to recover all the losses from her.
He took a sedan chair and brought a dozen servants with him. They stopped and started many times and it took them three days to reach Zhaojia Village.
At that time, everyone in Zhaojia Village was harvesting corn. The fields were bustling with activity, and the rice by the Santou River was also growing well, which was very disturbing to watch. At his signal, the servants walked along the Santou River, harvesting as they went. Soon, each of them harvested a large bundle.
When they reached the edge of the wheat field, they found it very eye-catching, and the servants each cut a bundle.
The horses that came were all loaded with rice and wheat.
When the villagers found out, they tried to reason with them, but the servant said arrogantly, "This is what Madam Cheng owes our master!"
The key point is that none of the acres of land they harvested belonged to Mrs. Cheng.
"Where does Madam Cheng live? Lead the way!"
Zhao Dezi saw it in the cornfield. He knew who the guy was even if he turned into ashes, so he quickly grabbed Zhao Afu and the others and told them who this guy was.
Zhao Afu and his companions went to find Mr. Zhao Baye. Over there, Lu Qu'er and his companions captured a child and asked him to lead the way for them.
When they arrived outside Cheng Mu's house, the servants shouted outside, but no one answered, so they kicked the door.
At this time, almost all the people in Zhaojia Village had arrived. Li Yu and his friends heard about the incident from the hill behind the mountain and rushed over.
Xu Xiuying and Badou were working in the greenhouse at Cheng Mu's side. When she heard a commotion in front of the house, she hurried to wash her hands and clean up. As soon as she stood still in the courtyard, the front and back doors were kicked open at the same time, and a gust of wind rushed in, bringing in a lot of unfamiliar faces with aggressive expressions.
Badou was so scared that he hugged Xu Xiuying and buried his face in her.
"Mr. Cheng," two servants pushed Xu Xiuying, "our boss wants to see you!"
A servant was at the door reporting to Lu Quer, "Mrs. Cheng is in the house."
"Bring it up."
The servant brought Xu Xiuying out. Lu Qu'er put a cushion behind her waist on the sedan chair, leaned lazily, and looked at the legendary Madam Cheng with her falcon eyes.
She has slightly plump skin and a medium build. She wears an old white shirt and a green silk skirt. Her eyebrows are tightly furrowed and her face is rosy. She is three parts pretty and seven parts charming.
A widow of this color is certainly not worthy of the name of breeding.
"Madam Cheng, do you know who I am?"
Xu Xiuying naturally didn't know, but she knew that this group of people came to cause trouble for Madam Cheng. Since she was mistaken for Madam Cheng, she might as well take the blame for her.
"I don't know your name, sir. May I ask your name?"
Lu Cricket bowed to the east and said with great authority, "The current steward of the imperial residence is responsible for the planting and harvesting of the thousand acres of imperial farmland."
A servant added, "It's Manager Lu."
Xu Xiuying imitated Cheng Mu's usual way of bowing and said, "It's Manager Lu."
Lu Quer's expression changed instantly, and she cursed, "You woman are so ignorant of human affairs! How dare you fool the people at Qianlong Mansion! Remember two years ago when you sold 100 dan of wheat seeds to the Yanyun Palace, claiming that they were excellent and could yield 3 or 4 dan per mu? Now, the imperial farmland of 800 mu yields less than 2 dan per mu. Are you colluding with the rebels and plotting rebellion? Come, arrest this woman and escort her as a thief!"
Xu Xiuying panicked for a moment.
The servants came to grab him, and Badou cried loudly.
Badou's mother watched from a distance, extremely anxious, fearing that those people would tie up Badou as a traitor as well. Finally, she bravely knelt down and begged for mercy, "Master Lu! The child knows nothing, please let him go!"
The servant went to see what Lu Qu'er meant to do. Lu Qu'er had no intention of tying up the child, so the servant threw Badou back and just tied up Xu Xiuying.
Badou's mother pulled Badou back and covered his mouth to prevent him from howling.
Xu Xiuying knew very well what Lu Quer had said about the palace coming to buy wheat seeds. She also knew that the official at that time asked the villagers why they could not save the seeds. The villagers did not know the reason and just said that Madam Cheng said it was not possible, and they felt it was a good deal even though the yield was high but they could not save the seeds.
"Manager Lu, when the people from the palace came to buy wheat seeds, they knew clearly that they couldn't save any. He asked everyone in the village, and everyone can testify. Madam Cheng said that they would need to come back to buy again next year. If anyone secretly saved the seeds, they wouldn't be able to harvest even an acre and a half of grain, and it would have nothing to do with her. Do you dare to call that person out to confront them?"
Xu Xiuying argued vigorously, but Lu Cricket turned a deaf ear to her. "Can everyone in your village testify? Do you think everyone in your village wants me to kidnap you and hand you over to the authorities as a thief?"
The crowd of onlookers dared not utter a word. The families whose land had been arbitrarily seized by this steward Lu did not dare to come out and ask for respect.
No one dared to reveal that Xu Xiuying was impersonating Cheng Niangzi. Xu Xiuying took the blame for Cheng Niangzi's misfortune, and the villagers looked up to her.
Sao Hu couldn't help it and pulled Li Yu out, "You! You are wrongly accusing someone of being a thief. How can you be so unreasonable? Don't talk nonsense here!"
Lu Quer made a gesture and seven or eight servants rushed forward. Sao Hu and Li Yu fought for several rounds, but they were defeated and found an opportunity to slip away.
Lu Cricket didn't let anyone chase him. These villagers were like quails, and they just needed to know how powerful he was.
Li Yu was running so hard that his lungs were burning with anger. Seeing that no one was chasing him, he said to Sao Hu with shame, "It's not that I didn't try my best, but I really can't win. The two of us have no choice but to go to Puyang City to report to Madam Cheng. Madam Cheng will find a way to save Xiuying."
Saohu had no other choice but to agree to this.
However, they did not set off immediately. Instead, they quietly followed Manager Lu and his group to find out where they were taking them, whether to Yunzhou or to Beijing.
After following for several miles and confirming that they were heading towards Yunzhou, they turned back and headed towards Puyang City without stopping.
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