Chapter 128 A Gift
A group of people were walking on the road.
Ye Wan looked left and right, but there was no car.
"If the price is right when we go shopping today, we should buy a cart. Do you think a donkey cart or a horse-drawn cart would be more suitable?"
She felt it was too conspicuous not to buy a car before, but now she feels she must buy one.
With so many people in my family, it's so inconvenient to have to walk every time we go out, or sometimes even hire a car.
Huigu said, "A horse-drawn carriage is better. Although horses are a bit more expensive than donkeys, they pull the carriage faster."
As for oxcarts, we won't consider them; they're too slow.
Ye Wan nodded, "Okay, we'll buy a carriage then. Does Silly Girl know how to drive?"
The silly girl carrying Sanya on her back shook her head.
Huigu smiled and said, "I know how. I can teach anyone who wants to learn."
Ye Wan made the final decision: after seeing her parents and Er Ya, she would immediately go and buy it.
“Er Ya must be overjoyed,” Daya said with a smile.
Ye Wan looked at her, "Are you unhappy?"
Daya paused for a moment, then nodded, "Happy."
Ye Wan clicked her tongue twice. "That's right. How can a young girl be more old-fashioned than me? Remember to express your thoughts more often in the future. Look at Er Ya, nothing can be done without her. We even went to great lengths to bring her back so that she could have a bite of meat."
Hui Gu followed behind, watching Ye Wan smile.
Ye Wan is only five years older than Daya, and she is already a mother.
When we arrived at the courtyard gate, it was closed.
Ye Wan's face immediately darkened. "Something's happened!"
Pushing open the door, I found the courtyard completely empty.
Huigu looked around and said, "There are no signs of a fight in the courtyard. Let's find someone to ask around."
"People came and arrested all the elderly men in town! When this family arrested them, they were shouting and yelling, and for some reason, the two men who arrested them seemed to have injured their eyes..."
Ye Wan asked urgently, "What about this family?"
"I don't know. When she ran away, she was carrying a bundle on her back. That girl, who was only a teenager, said she was going to escape to the south!"
How could Er Ya possibly go south?
Ye Wan thought for a moment, "Let's hurry to the prefectural city!"
Xilailou is on the south side.
...
...
"Master Fang is here!"
At the entrance of the county government office, the crowd automatically parted to make way for the person who had just spoken. He stood not far away, dressed in a dark long gown, with an impressive air about him, and wearing a straw hat, so his appearance was not clearly visible.
"Are you Fang Daru?"
Someone on the opposite attic immediately stood up excitedly.
Murong Wu's eyes lit up in the crowd, and Chu Xiujie clenched his fist.
"Fang Daru" said in a hoarse voice, "I am Fang. Since you're forcing me out, I'm here. Release the innocent people."
"What nonsense are you spouting? I'm looking for traitorous spies. How can you prove you're a great Confucian scholar?"
Magistrate Wu came out, staring intently at the man.
This looks somewhat similar to the one in the previous portrait...?
"This." The newcomer showed off his hand, revealing a thumb ring.
Magistrate Wu hurriedly went inside and whispered to Pan Dong, who was drinking, "This is the thumb ring of a great scholar."
It is said to have been bestowed by the late emperor, and there is only one of its kind in the world.
Although he is just a minor county magistrate, he knows a lot.
Pan Dong came out from inside, smiling. "Great Confucian scholar, where is your personal seal?"
"They're lost." "Master Fang" said in a low voice, coughing as he spoke. "Release them."
Pan Dong stared at the composed "Master Fang" for a moment, then suddenly laughed, "Quickly, release them! Get doctors for all the injured old men. Master Fang, please come!"
"Did you see that? These devils! How dare they pressure a great scholar like this! Let me go! If I don't stand up today, I'll be unworthy of being a scholar!"
Tao Chuang was furious, his whole body pounding with rage. "These beasts, using such despicable methods..."
"Are you crazy? Shut up!" Er Ya exclaimed, stomping on his foot in frustration.
"Er Ya!"
Upon hearing Ye Wan's voice, Tao Chuang paused and stopped rushing inside.
"mother!"
Er Ya almost burst into tears when she saw Ye Wan. She almost couldn't hold back this fool. If she ran over, she would be hacked to death.
Ye Wan hurriedly asked Er Ya, "Are you alright? Where are my parents?"
Er Ya made Ye Wan lower his head and whispered a few words in his ear.
Ye Wan breathed a heavy sigh of relief upon hearing this, "It's good that you're alright."
The crowd was buzzing with discussion.
"Weren't we supposed to be looking for rebel spies? Why are we looking for a great Confucian scholar instead?"
"Shh, do you want to die? Who knows what's going on up there?"
Murong Wu flicked his fan, his eyes still fixed on the entrance of the county government office. "Was that Fang Daru just now? I didn't expect to get him so easily."
Chu Xiujie gritted his teeth, "No."
He had just received the ring from Lin Anyuan, and Lin Anyuan had borrowed it yesterday.
The person in front of me...
At this critical juncture, why are they all so troublesome?
Upon hearing that it wasn't true, Murong Wu immediately lost interest. "Let's go back to the Liu family."
Chu Xiujie's face turned green again. What on earth did the Second Young Master come here for? Did he come to talk about love?
Ye Wan spotted Chu Xiujie and the people around her.
Without giving it much thought, he focused his gaze on "Master Fang" standing at the entrance of the yamen.
She couldn't hear what "Master Fang" was saying from this distance, but she always felt that this person was familiar.
Er Ya reminded her, "Mom, what are you looking at? Let's go quickly."
The crowd gradually dispersed, and Ye Wan, disregarding everything else, quickly led her people to Xilailou.
At the entrance of the yamen, "Master Fang" glanced thoughtfully in this direction.
"Great Confucian scholar, please come in. We'll be asking you to bestow your calligraphy upon us later." Pan Dong stared at the person in front of him with a forced smile.
He looked younger than he had imagined. He had the privilege of seeing Master Fang's calligraphy before; if this man couldn't write like him...
"Let's go."
"Fang Daru" sounded hoarse.
He was missing a "gift," and this person in front of him was just right.
The person in the attic was no longer there.
...
...
"Do you keep your word regarding the conditions you agreed to before, girl?"
At Chef Peng's house, Chef Peng asked Er Ya in a low voice.
The kitchen was a crowded and noisy place, so he hid the person at home.
He risked hiding these people, and he didn't know what they had done wrong. However, he knew that Madam Ye had a recipe, and recently a new cook had joined them, whose culinary skills were on par with his.
If he could have more signature dishes, he could still hold onto his position as head chef with ease.
Ye Wan replied, "Of course I keep my word."
Aunt Cai and the old man coughing were fine; it was just a recipe for a dish. But Er Ya was really clever; she even knew to lead people away.
If the old man with the cough gets arrested, given his kind heart, he'll definitely jump out and claim to be the great scholar Fang.
They might have been discovered to be not him and already been beaten to death.
Thinking of the "great scholar" she had seen today, Ye Wan taught Chef Peng a dish.
Chef Peng's eyes lit up after taking a bite. "This tastes amazing! If Lady Ye really gave me the recipe, it would be worth selling for twenty taels of silver!"
"Of course, Chef Peng, just pretend we were never here."
"Mother, I'm sorry."
After leaving Chef Peng's house, Er Ya lowered her head and spoke softly.
"There's nothing to apologize for. You protected my family, and I should be thanking you." Ye Wan spoke gently to Er Ya, a rare occurrence for her.
"But I made my family lose money, that Chef Peng just said..."
Twenty taels of silver! It nearly broke her heart. That was a fortune! So much money! She couldn't even be sold for twenty taels of silver.
Ye Wan smiled and said, "These are all material possessions; nothing is more important than life."
With the money Lin Anyuan left behind, she already had a considerable amount of money. She had no shortage of food or drink, so she could say those words without any burden.
"Mom, you are so good."
"If you are well, then your mother will be well."
Er Ya thought about it and realized it was true. When she treated her mother badly before, her mother never gave her a kind look.
But she was still very happy.
“Father and Mother, after this incident, we can’t live in that courtyard anymore. Why don’t you come with us to live in the countryside? We can build two more houses next door.”
Finding a secluded spot, Ye Wan looked at the coughing old man and Aunt Cai.
The town was crowded and noisy, and it was still chaotic. No one was causing trouble now, but if they did later, she would have to run between the town and the village, and she couldn't keep up for the time being.
The old man had already heard that the government was indeed looking for a great scholar, and that they had already found him.
"But……"
Aunt Cai interrupted him with a dark face, "Alright, enough with the 'buts.' What did you promise me back then? Now get out of here."
The old man glanced at his wife's face, but ultimately didn't dare to reveal his plans.
"Uncle, Aunt, I'm planning to go to the capital. If I'm too late, I'll miss my train."
Tao Chuang hadn't spoken a word since Ye Wan arrived, and now that he finally opened his mouth, he looked like a wilted eggplant.
"When are you leaving?" the old man coughed.
"I'm leaving today," Tao Chuang said, head bowed.
Aunt Cai said, "Go to the courtyard and take your things. There's travel money and winter clothes. When you have money later, remember to pay your junior sister back. It was all bought with her money."
"Thank you very much, Auntie and Junior Sister. I will definitely pass the exam this time."
Tao Chuang bowed to Grandma Cai and her husband, as well as Ye Wan.
Then, stumbling and falling, they went to get their things.
"What's wrong with him? Why does he look like this?" Ye Wan felt that Tao Chuang's condition seemed a bit off.
"She must have been traumatized just now," Er Ya muttered.
I've heard that great Confucian scholars hold a very high position in the hearts of scholars.
Ye Wan said, "Let's go buy a carriage to go back."
Er Ya was overjoyed when she heard this and immediately started humming a little tune.
When they arrived at the place to sell horses, Ye Wan didn't know how to choose, but luckily Hui Gu did.
Huigu picked out a piece of cloth that she found acceptable, and asked for forty taels of silver.
"Good heavens, so expensive, we should rob them!" Ye Wan muttered under her breath.
"Madam, is this the best one you've chosen? It was brought over by merchants from out of town. I heard it's a crossbreed of warhorses from the border regions, so it's naturally expensive. They even give you a carriage to take with you."
Huigu glanced at the carriage a few times. "Buying horses is fine. As for this carriage... we can find a carpenter to make it ourselves when we get back."
Daya said, "There are carpenters in our village."
Ye Wan also looked down on the simple carriage, and after haggling for a long time, he finally bought a horse for thirty-five taels.
Then...they hired a car and the family went home.
Ma Ranghui is the only one in the family who knows how to ride a horse.
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