Chapter 159 Gift Giving
The three girls, not understanding what was going on, followed Ye Wan out the door.
Hui Gu was driving the carriage, which carried Ye Wan and three others. Although it was a little cramped, it was still okay.
Er Ya lifted the carriage curtain, her cheeks flushed. "It's so much better to have a carriage. Back then, we had to run to town on foot. Now it's so much faster."
Upon arriving in the prefectural city, Ye Wan sat down at a noodle stall with her three maids. Not long after, she saw a short, fat man with his features all squeezed together, swaggering through the city with two servants.
"Mother, where is Auntie?" Er Ya looked around.
"Don't speak, just look." Ye Wan told Er Ya to keep quiet.
Then I saw that short, stout man talk to a servant and then enter a teahouse with a lewd look in his eyes.
Before an incense stick could burn, Ye Wan and the three girls had just finished eating their noodles when the short, stout man came out, followed by a sobbing woman.
Da Ya said in a low voice, "That woman looks a bit like the matchmaker who came to our house."
Ye Wan thought to herself that Daya was indeed intelligent.
She sighed and said, "This whole thing is aimed at you. The Nie family planned to kidnap you and ruin your reputation. Hui Gu found out in advance and had the matchmaker's daughter take your place."
"Mother?" Daya looked at Ye Wan in surprise.
"Let's go, you brought this on yourself."
Ye Wan led the three away from the noodle stall, looking at them calmly, "I brought you out today to teach you a lesson: I will not offend others unless they offend me."
Sanya asked curiously, "What if someone tries to harm me?"
"Cut the weeds and eliminate the roots."
Ye Wan stroked the hair of each of the three girls one by one, "This world is inherently unfair to women. No matter when or where, you must protect yourself. If one day you are accidentally tricked by someone, you must never take your own life."
Someone in the opposite attic had their window open and overheard these words.
"Where did this woman come from, daring to utter such outrageous words? Women should be obedient, gentle, and virtuous, and uphold the three obediences and four virtues, and be chaste and virtuous. If she is like what she says, wouldn't she be a shrew, a poisonous woman, or a harlot?"
The man put down his teacup as he spoke. He had thought she was a beauty from behind and thought Minxian was really nice, but when she turned around, she was plain-looking, had such a dark face, and was spouting nonsense. It was really disappointing.
“Young Master Pei, this is from the village over there on the mountain. Her surname is Ye. She is the one I mentioned before.”
Magistrate Wu's face darkened. He hadn't taken a woman seriously, but he hadn't expected her to incite the villagers to band together and even clear land without permission.
Thinking of Lin Anyuan again, he suddenly felt extremely annoyed.
Speaking of which, Magistrate Wu still had a sword hanging over his head.
That night, the person who broke into his room and gave him a portrait of the person looking for him suddenly disappeared.
He couldn't find the person either.
"Hmph, you're a truly incompetent magistrate. I'm exhausted from the journey; let's find a place to settle down first." Pei Zhichuan got up and left.
Magistrate Wu followed with a dark face. What was this well-bred young master doing traveling around Min County for no reason?
Since they came here to travel, that should have been enough. Why did they have to come and show off in front of him, when he just couldn't afford to offend them?
I've been having really bad luck lately.
“Magistrate Wu, it seems you have a problem with me?” Pei Zhichuan suddenly appeared in front of Magistrate Wu again.
Magistrate Wu shuddered and wiped the cold sweat from his brow. "No, Young Master Pei, this way please, this way please."
...
...
"Lord Lin, this way please."
Afu, who was by Prince Jing's side, personally led Lin Anyuan to see the house, and was very attentive.
"This is the residence that the master arranged for you. Take a look and see if there is anything you are not satisfied with. I will have it changed immediately."
"Not bad." Lin Anyuan thought the four-courtyard house was alright.
This was the home of a county magistrate that he had previously raided.
That magistrate had done many bad things, and when he was offered amnesty, he scared himself to death, and all his wives and concubines ran away.
King Jing was a man who valued talent. He was willing to employ anyone who was useful, as long as they were offered amnesty. As for the most heinous rich and powerful gentry, he would simply behead them and confiscate their property.
Seeing that Lin Anyuan seemed quite satisfied, Afu thought to himself that Lord Lin was really easy to please, and then pointed to the men and women standing in two rows.
"These are the servants who used to serve this house. This is Steward Lin. From now on, these people will serve you."
As soon as Afu finished speaking, the middle-aged man standing at the front hurriedly bowed and said, "This old servant greets Lord Lin. It is truly an honor to share the same surname as you."
Lin Anyuan nodded. "Since your surname is Lin, then stay."
The women's team mustered up their courage and glanced at Lin Anyuan's people, their cheeks immediately turning red with embarrassment.
A pretty maidservant gracefully bowed and said, "This servant, Xing'er, greets Lord Lin."
Lin Anyuan frowned. "Send them all away."
She reeked of perfume; it was absolutely suffocating.
Butler Lin was taken aback for a moment. “Sir… these are all maids who were originally in this mansion. They have already been trained. Don’t worry, they are quite efficient.”
“I come from a peasant background and I’m not used to being served by so many people.”
Lin Anyuan walked inside as he spoke, leaving the servants looking shocked.
"Butler, why won't Lord Lin let us serve him? What did we do wrong?" Xing'er burst into tears, her face streaked with tears.
"Well... perhaps Lord Lin prefers quiet," Butler Lin said uncertainly.
Actually, he felt that it was Xing'er's feigned attitude that made Lord Lin tell them to leave.
However, he wouldn't say anything more about it; he was just lucky to have been allowed to stay because his surname was Lin.
"Since the adults have told you to leave, then you should all leave. I'd like to ask how to leave."
Before Butler Lin could even ask, a distinguished guest arrived.
"Why didn't you invite us to your housewarming celebration today?"
The eldest, second, third, and fourth young masters all came, and they didn't come empty-handed; each of them brought a gift.
"Young Master, you flatter me. This is hardly a housewarming celebration." Lin Anyuan came out from the backyard and greeted him with a smile.
He's captivating even when he's not smiling, and even more so when he smiles.
"Brother Lin, you're too kind. This is my congratulatory gift."
The eldest son, Murong Wen, had his attendant bring over a land deed. "I don't have much to give you, so I'll give you these twenty acres of fertile land."
"Young master, you are too kind. I shall accept your offer." Lin Anyuan accepted the gift.
The second young master, Murong Wu, chuckled. "Big brother, did you give this to him so he could go farming?"
"Lin Anyuan, take a look at my congratulatory gift."
The items were brought in; the second young master had given them a box of pearls.
"These are all top-quality pearls from the East, for you."
The third young master, Murong Qiu, chuckled, "Second brother, Lord Lin isn't a woman. Why are you giving him pearls? Do you think he likes pearls?"
Upon hearing this, the Second Young Master Murong Wu's face darkened.
Lin Anyuan's smile remained unchanged. "Third Young Master is joking. Pearls are valuable, but I'm a vulgar person who likes money."
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