Meizi Village is not far from the house; it takes about fifteen minutes by horse-drawn carriage.
The opposite bank is the former Dahe Village, which is now guarded by soldiers and cannot be approached easily.
People are building a wall on the other side of the river, blocking the view from this side of the manor.
Zhen Wanwan got out of the car with her child in her arms. Apart from a few scattered households, only that house was in the best location in the village, attracting a lot of attention.
Trees were planted on both sides of the road, and it was not conspicuous when passing by the village from the outside, as long as you did not come in.
Zhen Wanwan was very satisfied with this. Someone outside the house noticed them coming and ran into the house without stopping.
A short while later, Feng He came out with a group of people to greet them.
"Madam Zhen, you've arrived! Please come in and have a look!"
Although Zhen Wanwan didn't come over often during this time, she never stopped providing me with good food and drinks.
Unlike his appearance when we first met, Feng He now looks much fatter.
Feng He greeted Zhen Wanwan with a smile as she entered the house, explaining, "This is what I did at the back, following your instructions. I specially raised the wall by half a foot and put broken knives on top of it, so not even a bird can fly in!"
Zhen Wanwan looked up at the high wall. Perhaps because of the good location, the wall was raised, but it did not affect the indoor light.
"Thank you for your hard work, Lord Feng! I recently brewed some new fruit wine, which my mother and the others really like. If you don't mind, you can take some back for Madam Feng and the others to try when you have time."
Upon hearing this, Feng He smiled and said, "Then this humble official will not stand on ceremony."
His wife loves this wine the most, and she always asks him to have a few drinks whenever he comes home.
The house's structure was almost identical to the one she had seen last time, only the details had been cleaned up, making it appear exceptionally exquisite.
What interested Zhen Wanwan even more was the group of people standing under the door and wall, including the elderly, children, men and women, who did not look like workers.
Noticing Zhen Wanwan's confusion, Feng He pointed at them and explained, "These people are tenant farmers. They heard that their master's people had arrived, so they've been waiting here since early this morning!"
Zhen Wanwan silently gazed at the old man and child in the corner, guessing their purpose for coming.
Most of the land in Anqing Prefecture had already been taken over by landlords or officials, leaving these ordinary people with no choice but to rent land to survive.
Back when they lived in Xinyang Prefecture, there were also families who rented land, but most of those people were so poor that they had no choice but to become tenants.
People with some spare money will do everything they can to buy one or two acres of land.
This is because Xinyang Prefecture has very low output, resulting in relatively low tax revenue.
In contrast, Anqing Prefecture had pitifully high tax revenues. If the people toiled all year and production declined, it was as if the whole year's work was for nothing.
In particular, some families with little land may even have to pay taxes to the imperial court.
Although tenant farmers have to rely on their landlords for their livelihood, they can still live a more prosperous life if they have a good landlord.
Zhen Wanwan only recently learned that this piece of land in Guangling County was specially acquired for her by Zhu Yuan.
So that she could live a peaceful life.
After thinking for a moment, Zhen Wanwan took a deep look at the group of tenants and made up her mind.
However, it's still early to choose a date; it's not yet time to plant next year.
Let's make plans after she and Zhuyuan get married in March and move here!
She has enough space in her own space to keep her busy, so why is she so anxious about things outside?
After thinking it through, Zhen Wanwan led Zhang Mama and Feng He to admire the scenery of the mansion.
When they were alone, Feng He whispered, "Madam Zhen, there's a hidden stone door here that leads directly to the foot of the back mountain. If anything happens, you can evacuate in time."
"This was a special instruction from the master, and I personally led the team to set up the passage!"
Zhen Wanwan looked at the artificial hill in front of her in surprise. She didn't expect Zhu Yuan to have thought so far ahead and to have done such a big thing behind her back.
However, she accepted this kindness!
"Thank you for your trouble, sir!"
On the way back, Granny Zhang looked at her with a hint of something in her eyes.
"What do you want to ask, Granny?"
Zhang Mama hesitated for a few seconds, then looked at Zhen Wanwan seriously and reminded her, "This old servant has wanted to say something to you for a long time, but I hesitated because it involves the son-in-law."
Zhen Wanwan raised an eyebrow and feigned surprise, asking, "Why would you think that, Granny?"
Seeing that Zhen Wanwan was completely unaware of the situation, Zhang Mama was worried that she had been deceived, and she didn't care whether it would affect their relationship.
In her opinion, Zhen Wanwan is young and easily blinded by love and romance.
I can't see the people around me clearly.
“This servant believes that the young master is not as simple as he appears! Although he is the biological father of the two young masters, his origins are ultimately unknown.”
"And when he confessed to the old master and old lady that day, he said that his background was tragic, but he did not say where his ancestral home was or what clan his ancestors were for three generations."
"Moreover, judging from Young Master Li Yuanzhou's behavior these past few days, he clearly comes from a wealthy family and shouldn't lack the care of his relatives..."
"But why did the son-in-law specifically send the child to you to raise? His explanation for the child was simply that both parents were dead, but he didn't say why they died!"
Zhen Wanwan was genuinely surprised to hear what Zhang Mama said.
She hadn't expected Zhang Mama to be so observant; even she had overlooked many things.
She knew about Yuan Huizhou's affair, but Zhen's family and Zhang Mama, who lived with her day and night, were unaware of it.
It's understandable that Granny Zhang would suspect Yuan Huizhou's background.
However, Granny Zhang was right about one thing: although Zhu Yuan had told her about his family situation.
However, no one knew about his background, including his ancestral home.
All she knew was after the two met.
General Xiao's most trusted strategist also had officials like Lord Feng and Magistrate Chen as his underlings within Anqing Prefecture.
Anyone with a brain knows that a military strategist in a military camp could not possibly have so much power that a court official would act as his subordinate.
Most importantly, these officials had great respect for Zhuyuan!
Zhen Wanwan's mind was already filled with countless questions, but she wasn't the type to pry into other people's secrets.
Fearing that the secret was too heavy for her to bear, she pretended to be deaf and dumb.
As long as Zhu Yuan doesn't say anything, it seems she can live her quiet life forever.
But is that really possible?
Seeing Zhen Wanwan's ever-changing expression, Zhang Mama pursed her lips and hardened her heart to continue, "This old servant doesn't mean to sow discord between you and your husband. We've all seen how good your husband has been to you along the way."
“But you are not alone now. You have two young masters behind you. If the young master has a huge secret, I'm afraid you will live the rest of your life in fear.”
Zhen Wanwan was well aware of these things.
It seems that she was blinded by love some time ago, and with the encouragement of her family, she tore apart this thin veil of affection.
At that time, she simply felt that having someone backing her up would make things easier, but she didn't think about taking on the risks.
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